Saturday, August 31, 2019

Ellen Moore: Living and Working in Korea Essay

The Korean culture on the other hand uses indirect communication which makes it hard for western cultures to understand what is really meant or wanted. In addition, the Confucianism in the Korean culture teaches to show respect for teachers and superiors. Showing respect to a teacher/superior implies to not ask questions to avoid offending the speaker by implying that the teaching is not well done and that the group cannot follow the subject taught. In this case the cultural behavior of the Korean consultants is causing major problems. Since the knowledge of the Korean consultants is by ar not as enhanced as the knowledge of the American counterparts, Scott is trying to give the consultants instructions how to tackle certain problems and how to structure the project, but is not able to confirm if these instructions were understood or if more explanations are needed. In addition, this cultural behavior is reducing the consultants’ ability to openly communicate with their superi ors such as Scott, Ellen, Jack and the client and speak freely about concerns, questions or better solutions they might have. Another communication barrier can be recognized in regards to gender. In Confucianism the male-female relationship is equal to superior-subordinate relationship. This causes major tension in the communication between Ellen and Jack since his norms and values might have led him to devalue the authority of Ellen’s input. This might explain why he is holding meetings without inviting Ellen and his refusal to use Ellen’s memo she prepared detailing the progress during her absence. Since Ellen is not speaking the Korean language and needs to rely on a translator, her ability to manage the team effectively and her understanding of different nuances in the Korean language are decreased and sometimes even diminished. Missing language skills is the third major communication barrier in this case which becomes very apparent at the dinner when Jack makes a very passive-aggressive speech in Korean. When the translator stops translating (Jack told her so), Ellen is confronted with not only the language barrier, but also with the cultural barrier of the superior-subordinate relationship and has to confront Jack and tell him to speak in English in order to keep the threats against the translator minimal and to ensure that she can understand the speech going forward. Another challenge this team is facing is an unclear leadership and direction which is causing interruptions in the decision making process. The misalignment between Jack’s and Ellen’s instructions causes inconsistencies and insecurities in the team. The Korean consultants are not sure which orders to follow and due to the cultural familiarity with Jack and the high power distance in the Korean work culture, they are ignoring Ellen’s instructions. The decision making process is further slowed down by major cultural difference in regards how and how quickly project related decisions are made. The American culture is known for quick decision-making whereas the Korean culture has a very high uncertainty-avoidance. This risk avoidant culture is driving Jack’s decision to conduct further market research even if that is outside of the scope of the companies deliverables. Since Korea is a collectivist society in which group decisions are valued, his unilateral decision in regards to the market research suggests that he does not view Ellen as part of the group. The differing attitudes toward hierarchy and authority make it very hard for the American consultants to gage what the knowledge of the team is and how much is really understood. The American culture has a very low-power distance compared to the high-power distance work culture of Korean’s. This is minimizing the knowledge and idea exchange which is very critical especially in consulting projects. Another major challenge is the missing group development. The Five Stage Model describes the first of these stages as the forming stage where team members get a feeling of how they fit into the team and what their responsibilities and tasks will be. Due to the constant disagreements and power struggles between Ellen and Jack, the group building process is majorly interrupted. No trust can be built between the team members and the leaders and will eventually cause the failure of the project. The last challenge is the low emotional and cultural intelligence in the group (EQ and CQ). In order for all members of the group to feel comfortable around the other members of the team, trust has to be developed and a sense of group identity and group efficacy has to be established. This would convey the efficiency and productivity of the team and the awareness of cultural differences. In this case, Ellen destroys the chance to get closer to an integrated group when she interrupts Jack during a meeting and makes him â€Å"lose his face† in front of his subordinates. In the Korean culture this is a huge sign of disrespect and she will be not able to regain trust or authority without any intervention from the management team. Q2: The 1st alternative would be to remove either Jack or Ellen from the team. Ellen’s removal would appease the Korean hierarchy and would give the team a unified leadership under Jack. Nevertheless, removing Ellen from the team would challenge the successful completion of the project since her expertise and experience is needed. Even if a suitable replacement for Ellen could be found, the person would need time to get up to speed and additional expenses would be occurred for the relocation package of the new person and a severance payment or relocation package for Ellen who would need to move to another project which most probably would be in a different country. This could possibly damage Andrew’s leadership and reputation. On the other hand, removing Jack from the project team would not be received well by the Korean consultants and the management team and the cultural differences would increasingly prohibit the project from succeeding. The 2nd alternative would be to keep status quo and leave the team as it is and let the situation take care of itself. The assumption here would be that Ellen has adjusted to different cultures in prior assignments and might be the best person to get the team back on track. The advantage of this solution would be that no initial cost is required and everybody continues in their role without major interruptions. The drawback with this solution is that this alternative is very risky. The team has already reached a point where action needs to be taken. The work environment and the tension between Ellen and Jack did not improve over the last weeks and additional resources will be needed to keep the project on track. The ultimate alternative in this case is to restructure and redefine the team. Ellen should be the sole team leader in regards to tasks, deadlines and milestones. Jack should be assigned to a specialized role on the consulting team, so that on the one hand his technical expertise is still available if needed, but on the other hand his control as a leader is decreased significantly, so he cannot interfere with the work flow of the team anymore. In order to make the restructuring of the team successful, Ellen should address the above mentioned challenges one by one, to ensure the highest possible success rate. In order to address the communication issue and the high-power distance work environment, she should establish an nvironment, where team members can anonymously state their opinion, ask questions or introduce new solutions to problems the team is currently facing. This could be established by creating an anonymous drop box (physically or digitally) which would be read daily by Ellen and topics submitted would be discussed during the meetings. For certain specialized tasks, subgroups should be created to make sure the high-power distance wo rk environment can be decreased and different viewpoints and ideas can arise from free discussions. This solution will improve team functionality and eliminate time lost on tasks not related to the project, preventing further delays. Furthermore Ellen would need to make the team aware of the cultural differences and try to make the team find common solutions which are acceptable to everybody (Adaption). Commonly agreed on procedures for office behavior or approval processes will make it easier for the employees to follow rules and to work efficiently. Team building sessions will be required to brainstorm team values, individual roles and decision making processes. This will eliminate the disconnect between leadership and subordinates while accelerating the group development. The demotion of Jack out of a management position will be potentially damaging to his reputation but will be counteracted by his new role as a specialized consultant with technical experience. The additional costs associated with the recommended solution are minimal. Nevertheless, gaining the buy-in of the Korean management team will be difficult. If the proposed solution does not work due to the missing of the Korean management team, Andrew would need to assume this position by himself.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Dramatic impact Essay

In 1915, Arthur T. Miller was born in the city of New York, where his family business was ruined after the stock market crash of ’29. This had a continuous affect on his life and work. The half-Austrian, half-American playwright wrote Death of a Salesman in 1949, at the age of 34. Along with his other acclaimed plays (including All My Sons and The Crucible): Death of a Salesman includes his common themes of corruption, society’s deterioration, the â€Å"Great American Dream† and lost values. Set in the Mid-20th century after the Second World War: Death of a Salesman is a tale of values lost to a world where they now carry little weight and of a man, in himself, lost to those values and in so doing isolating himself to the ever-changing world. Renowned as one of the best plays to ever come out of America. A particularly dramatic and significant scene in this attack against capitalism is the â€Å"restaurant scene†, in which a father-son bond is torn in tragedy, brotherly love is dissipated and life grinds to a halt for an old, tired man. The scene in general is a very significant part of the play as it acts as the final â€Å"trigger† for Willy Loman to take his own life. We know this as, in the scene that directly follows this, Willy is quoted saying: (To Stanley) â€Å"Here’s some more, I don’t need it anymore†¦ † This shows us that he has (after this event) well and truly given up on this life, by stating that he will no longer be needed to use his money for he will die and in doing so provide his family with some insurance support, making this scene very significant indeed. The final trigger that I mentioned could be a number of events. Firstly, some critics believe, the fact that Biff has realised the truth: â€Å"I was just a shipping clerk†, which Willy has shut out for countless years deep inside, is the fatal factor of Willy’s suicide: that he himself, through Biff, finally sees what his life has lived up to – nothing. We can see evidence of this in the garden scene where he tries to leave something, however small, behind as his â€Å"legacy†: â€Å"I’ve got to get some seeds, right away. Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground. † He has an urgent need to leave something behind and the seeds are a metaphorical representation of this. Some critics feel that this scene is significant as it builds up to the next scene where Willy has a â€Å"flashback† of Biff’s discovery of The Woman, revealing to the audience for the first time the event that sparks the turmoil that Biff suffers for the next fifteen years of his life: The knowledge of his father’s infidelity shatters this ideal that he has held for so long. This would patch up the â€Å"missing link† and explain to the audience how Biff went from the loving son we saw in the earlier â€Å"flashbacks† to the almost hateful adult we see in the present. Others however believe that it is what has happened before this scene that makes it so significant. Due to the tension build up up-until then was mounting by Willy’s encounters with Howard, Bernard and Charley beforehand constituting harsh blows to the fantasy through which Willy views his life; his constructed â€Å"reality† was falling apart. The audience, after seeing Biff’s own disappointment through his conversation with Happy, are curious to see how Willy will react to yet another letdown. And after seeing how badly he does take it, we know this is the final straw/chapter in his life. Biff has also experienced a moment of truth, but he regards his epiphany as a freeing experience from a lifetime of distorting lies. He wishes to leave behind the â€Å"facade of the Loman family tradition† so that he and his father can begin to have an honest relationship. Willy, on the other hand, wants his sons to help him in rebuilding the elaborate fantasies that have been crushed so many times before. Willy drives Biff to produce a falsely positive report of his interview with Bill Oliver; Happy is all too willing to comply. When Biff fails to produce the expected report, Happy, comes in with lies about the interview. Another point of significance is the event of Biff’s Epiphany. Here he realises the truth for the first time â€Å"I was never a salesman for Bill Oliver† and in doing so he shows Willy the truth as well. He actually HAS the epiphany at Oliver’s office but here is the first time we, as the audience, heard or know of it. Many say that Biff is the main reason why Willy takes his life as Miller states himself: â€Å"†¦ Had Willy been unaware of his separation from values that endure he would have died contently while polishing his car†¦ But he was agonized by his awareness of being in a false position, so constantly haunted by the hollowness of everything he put his faith in†¦ † And so if Biff had not confirmed what Willy had always known all along then maybe Willy might either still be alive or dies happily. However this point is very controversial. Biff is determined to break through the lies surrounding the Loman family in order to come to terms with his own life and his own identity, which his father made for him years a go. Intent on revealing the simple truth behind Willy’s fantasy: Biff’s identity crisis can only be resolved by destroying his and his father’s disillusionment, which has a devastating effect on Willy – leading to his suicide. However, taking into account of all the above, I personally believe this act is significant to the play as it provides great sympathy for all of the main characters. Biff, by his stage directions, is made to look sympathetic: â€Å"(takes a breath, then reaches out and grasps Willy’s hand)†¦. (Smiling bravely)†¦ (Gets down on one knee before Willy) and so on. Even by the stage directions, the audience is shown the character of Biff as a sincere and caring person with an undying love for his father. Willy is shown sympathy through the mere bombardment of misfortunes that he faces: â€Å"I was fired, and I’m looking for a little good news to tell your mother†¦ â€Å". Willy will be onstage in utter confusion and desperation in this scene, (at a loss), and empathy would be felt by the audience due to the music and lighting which places the audience into Willy’s frame of mind. Happy is given sympathy by the fact that the audience can see that Biff has snapped out of â€Å"The Great American Pipedream† and Happy has not, and in doing so ensures his future life will be just like Willy’s – and that is definitely an aspect for sympathy. Linda also is shown sympathy in this extract as Willy mentions her: â€Å"†¦ because the woman has waited and the woman has suffered†¦ â€Å". Another factor of the act’s significance is that it is riddled with dramatic impact, through lighting, music and action. Music provides a good medium for emotions and also works were as a foreshadow of events-to-come. Music such as the â€Å"Raucous music† used in the setting of the restaurant can show what the event will unfold to be. Also the flute music indicates a more relaxing and nostalgic appeal as the flute was Willy’s father’s trade. Lighting is a huge dramatic effect as it is the only way, unless the theatre is packed with playwrights, that the audience can understand what is happening – especially during â€Å"flashbacks†. (Light on area snaps out). The use of lighting also allows the audience to empathise with Willy by â€Å"seeing† what he does: (light fades low on the restaurant). Also it can be used to set a scene as in the restaurant: â€Å"a red glow rises behind screen at right†, here Miller employs the colour scheme to complement the music, which in turn foretell the upcoming event. There are many â€Å"dramatic† moments in this scene. One of which is the event of the trumpet note: Biff: â€Å"Listen, will you let me out of it, will you just let me out of it! † Happy: â€Å"What the hell! † Willy: â€Å"Tell me what happened! † Biff: (to Happy) â€Å"I can’t talk to him! † (A single trumpet note jars in the air) Before this, tension was building up slowly (speeches becoming shorter and shorter), with Biff’s frustration to tell his father of his revelation and Willy’s determination to hear what he wants to. It builds at an exponential rate until the trumpet note. This is used here to empathise to the audience of the final breakdown between father and son. It is also a symbol of the heightened tension and emotions running. The audience is shocked and taken back by this, not suddenly, but still effectively. Sympathy is also felt at this point as these two once worshipped each other and now they are at this time of hatred. We can also, as the audience, know that Biff want to â€Å"let him out of it (Willy’s dreams)†. Another dramatic moment was when Willy tells his boys: â€Å"I was fired today†. This is not a surprise to the audience, as we knew it would come; however when it came comes as a shock. It is abrupt and early on into the scene. Beforehand he was talking â€Å"in tongue† and the audience sees that he is confused. However this speech is a rare piece of metaphorical language used in the play as Miller tries to use as much â€Å"everyday† language as possible to keep a more naturalistic appeal and less focus on how characters are saying things but on what they are actually conveying through speech. He speaks of â€Å"the woods are burning†, which shows the desperation Willy is in and the fact that: he is seeing everything crowding around him, his dreams are burning, his dream of a country retirement, his beloved nature (woods) is being consumed by materialism (fire) – and so is he. Also this metaphor re-enforces itself with: â€Å"burning†¦ big blaze†¦ fired†. This adds troubled depth to his life. The â€Å"flashbacks† that Willy has are very dramatic. Re-enforced using lighting and music as well they seem to â€Å"patch up† key points about the past that are missing. The whole play is about â€Å"patching up† the middle of a story that we already know the ending of â€Å"Death of a Salesman†. I use â€Å"flashback† in a loose sense, as they are not actually flashbacks. They, on stage, would be just as loud as reality, have the same lighting, are not distorted and so on. Also the fact that they are so alike to reality shows us that in Willy’s desperation to justify his own life, he has destroyed the boundaries from past to present. All of the â€Å"flashbacks† are juxtaposed with scenes of failure. The final dramatic scene in this extract is Happy’s line of: â€Å"No, that’s not my father†. This is incredibly â€Å"low† and spiteful; the audience would not expect this even of Happy, who we know is already quite two faced in the way he acts towards Willy. Extremely tragic. This is right before Biff’s â€Å"elegy† of Willy in which he refers to him as a Prince. However Happy cant even acknowledge him as a father. In Happy’s defence Willy ahs not really been the ideal father, but he still had Hap’s best interests at heart. However the audience can see that the character of Biff as a â€Å"changed man†: no longer bound into the capitalistic system that engulfed Willy, no longer deluding himself or others, no longer a â€Å"LOW-MAN†. In this extract, references are made to many different other stories. In Biff’s speech Miller refers to â€Å"A Troubled Prince† as in Macbeth. In the scene afterwards where Biff is knocking on Willy’s door, also have similarities to Macbeth. Willy’s flashback to avoid the truth is reminiscent of Oedipus poking out his eyes. And finally Happy’s dismissal of Willy is like that of Peter and Jesus. This makes the scene significant as it contains all of these epic references. Death of a Salesman is a tragic tale of a man caught in a system he never got to know. During this restaurant scene, Willy decides he is worth more dead than alive because all he had left was his sons and after their failures and the breakdown of their relationship he is nothing. This scene in the restaurant is the most important of the entire play for this reason. It is also very dramatic as it reveals the death of a man, by the failures of him as a father, a salesman and of a man.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Animal Farm Essay Example for Free (#9)

Animal Farm Essay Animal Farm by George Orwell is an allegory written in 1943. It was also made into a TV film version in 1999 directed by John Stephenson, produced by Greg Smith and Robert Halmi and distributed by Hallmark Films. Animal Farm is a deceitfully simple story about a group of farm animals who are tired of living in a dystopia caused by humans. They rebel and create their own way of life, only to find themselves back in a dystopia caused by animals. The film follows the plot line of the novel closely but changes some major details. While the film and the novel Animal Farm are basically one in the same and have similar plot lines, the film had less detail, while the novel was thoroughly detailed. The differences between the film and the novel were points of view, exposition and major plots. Orwell tells the story of Animal Farm through a third person, omniscient point of view. The narrator is never involved in the action of the story, but knows everything. This point of view allows readers to see into the minds of the characters and understand their motivations. The film is told by a narrator, a character in the novel, Jessie. It explains the film in a way that she sees everything occurring. It also stops most of the dialogue between the animals and they don’t really talk like they do in the novel. Another difference between the novel and film is the exposition, which gives background information on the plot. In the novel, some of the events that occur in Animal Farm’s exposition play important roles later on in the novel. In the novels exposition, Orwell describes many of the animals that are important to the novel. In the films exposition, very little time is spent on developing the characters of the important animals. Also, the song Beasts of England is not sung in the exposition, unlike the novel, this song plays a very pivotal role later on in the novel. In the film, they don’t know the characters very well and the animals don’t really sing it, they hum it. This takes away from the mood of the song. The movie is merely an adaptation of the novel into film, so almost all the events that take place in the novel will take place in the film. Another difference between the novel and film is the major plot differences. The novel and film follow the same plot line but there are some major differences. In the novel, Old Major died about 3 days after his speech from natural causes. While in the film, Mr. Jones shoots Old Major minutes after his speech, while they’re reciting the Beasts of England song. In the novel, all of the animals could speak while in the film it was arrated by Jessie which cut the dialogue of most of the animals. The end of the film and novel differ greatly. In the novel, the animals are sadly dominated by Napolean. But in the film they somehow overthrow his power and finally bond together for another attempt at a utopia. The film covered major ideas but missed some details, characters, and small stuff that made the novel so interesting. It’s quite apparent that there are many significant differences between Animal Farm the novel and the film. There are a number of differences between the use of point of view, the exposition, and the major plots. Animal Farm is a simple story about a group of farm animals who overthrew their human dictators and their animal counterpart who dictated them also. The novel was very detailed and had many characters which made it very interesting. While the film had less details, and characters which made it a little dull, and boring. These are my comparisons of the film and novel called Animal Farm. Animal Farm. (2017, Feb 02). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Fight Club Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fight Club - Movie Review Example Tyler Durden expresses the belief that previous generations were defined by the battles they fought, whether those battles were on the battlefields in Germany and Japan, or the battlefields on college campuses in the 1960s. Man--the male--especially has been defined through violence, and the lack of either a "proper, respectable" American war between Vietnam between the Gulf War or any social cause around which the youth rallied stripped that immediate definition away from a couple of generations. The result was unquestioning acceptance of consumerist mentality and the idea that you could define yourself by what you own instead of what you believed in and fought for. This failing led to a true existential moment that is dramatized perfectly in this film. At the beginning of the film the character of Jack is living in fat city in his prefabricated "essence." But as Sartre says, "man chooses his own self" (279) and the movie follows Jack's existential journey as he does that very thing. What makes this film so terrific, however, and what makes it stand out from similar films is that the fight for Jack's identity is presented not as an existential struggle between a man and his own soul, but rather as a struggle between two different men. Enter Tyler Durden, who forces Ja

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Business Strategy and the Kingspan PLC Group Case Study

Business Strategy and the Kingspan PLC Group - Case Study Example According to this view strategy wraps around trading formulas into an acceptable systems where all or part of the firm's investment portfolio are integrated. This view is governed by rules that do not deviate, based on anything other than market action and it eliminates emotions bias because the systems operate within the parameters known by the trader or an investment firm. The proponents of this view argue it in two ways: firstly where a trader only needs to trade at the beginning and at the end to ensure the payoff and secondly it is applied between the start and the maturity of the derivative where a trader needs to trade more than once to ensure the payoff at maturity. 1 It relies on the collection of economic data which consists of measurable values of prices and changes in prices, for measurable commodities for example the cost of a particular commodity and how much of it is being used, the relationship between the general level of prices and the general level of employment this including the observable forms of economic activities such as money, consumption, preferences, buying, selling and prices. A strategy can also be viewed as a planning process that can allow an organization to concentrate its resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, serving as a fundamental underpinning of marketing plans designed to reach an organizations marketing goals, policies and action tactics into a cohesive whole. This view may take the form of market dominance where organizations are classified based on the market share or dominance of organization for example, a market leader, a market challenger and a market follower. It may also take the form of the dimensions of the strategic scope relating to the market penetration and strategic strength of the competing firms, where by competitive advantage such as cost leadership, product differentiation and market segmentation can be achieved. 2It also takes the form of dealing with the firm's rate of new product development and business model innovation. It also describes how the firm sh ould grow which is normally done by horizontal integration, vertical integration, diversification or intensification. Another view of a strategy is a process of specifying an organization's visions, initiatives and processes in order to deploy their online assets including: websites, digital audio and video content, rich internet applications, community groups, banner advertisements in a manner that maximizes the business benefits they provide to the organization. This plan is normally presented in three ways:-identifying key opportunities or challenges in a business where online assets can provide a solution:-identifying the unmet needs and goals of the customers that align with key business opportunities and lastly developing a vision on how the assets will fulfil the business and customer needs, goals, opportunities and challenges. The other view of strategy is concerned with geographic direction of state's foreign policy. This describes a foreign policy thrust

Monday, August 26, 2019

Victimization within Controlled Populations Essay

Victimization within Controlled Populations - Essay Example The second context of organizational crime is the technological advancements and innovations that make it possible for criminals to proliferate their activities below the radar screen of many authorities. Through the use of the Internet and electronic banking, criminal organizations are finding these means extremely convenient and simple to operate in order to extract large funds usually at the expense of an unsuspecting victim. The third context of organizational crime is the ability to propagate large schemes involving financial corruption by defrauding not only the citizens but civic institutions. The fourth context is through the ability to manage identity fraud itself based on the slow speed of authorities in catching criminals and the speed that these criminals can manipulate the system to their advantage. The largest degree of success in lowering victimization rates is to continue making the public aware of these types of frauds and illicit activities being performed. The average citizen is entirely unaware of these problems existing or that there are such deviant activities being committed. By continually educating citizens of the dangers of even letting someone look at their personal identification is a license to a potential criminal to engage in unsavory activities. A second and most important element in lowering victimization rates is to help the victim regain his/her self-worth and through this "umbrella" a person does not feel ashamed in reporting the crime itself. Many times, judicial authorities tend to look upon the victim as the criminal insomuch as making the victim believe they should have know this could happen to them. By also ensuring that many of these groups are not provided a safe haven in any democratic country will ensure that they cannot use that country as a base for illegal activities and through "cooperating with foreign partners in the investigation and prosecution of international crime groups and assisting our foreign partners in that endeavor by providing them with training and technical assistance in the recognition, investigation and prosecution of these groups." (International Crime Control Strategy) Through the many efforts of both government and international agencies, it is entirely possible to lower victimization rates wherein the criminals have a lower success rate in infiltrating any person's life or well-being. Many strategies have been put in place by the U.S. government, such as: Cooperating with foreign partners in the investigation and prosecution of international crime groups and assisting our foreign partners in that endeavor by providing them with training and technical assistance in the recognition, investigation and prosecution of these groups Cooperative Investigation Established a working relationship with the Special Frauds Unit of Nigeria's Federal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau to combat Nigerian organized criminal activities FBI, DEA and Customs Service are currently engaged in a

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Muman resource management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Muman resource management - Assignment Example Human resource planning occurs in the broad context of strategic and organizational planning of business involving forecasting the future needs of an organization in terms of human resources and the way in which it will be met. The main perspective of this assignment is to critically analyze the human resources based function of a selected organization and the company which has been selected for the same is Toyota Inc. Toyota: A Detailed Overview Toyota is basically an auto manufacturing company, with its headquartering located in Tokyo, Japan. The name of the company has been abbreviated with the name of Toyota Motor Company (TMC). After the names of General Motors and Volkswagen, Toyota is known as the 3rd largest automobile company of the world. It was 1937, when this great company has been founded by Kiicchiro Toyoda. TMC is basically a subsidiary of Toyota Group, one of the largest conglomerate groups of the world, both in terms of size and revenue recognition as well. The share s of the company are registered on three different stock exchanges of the world, which predominantly are New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). Toyota made 7,308,039 of units in the fiscal year 2011. Apart from that, the company also earned net revenue of Japanese Yen (JPY) 18.583 trillion in the fiscal year 2012 with net income of JPY 283.55 billion. The company currently has more than 300,000 employees working in around 60 countries of the world (Financial Highlights of Toyota, 2012). The shares of the company are very famous among the general public and most of the investors think that it would be wonderful choice to invest only in the stocks of Toyota merely because of its high growth rate and strategy to comply with the effective compliance with both internal and external stakeholders. HR planning in Toyota Toyota is one of those companies which bounds with ad hoc and perfect strategies both in marketing and Human Resources v iewpoint. The company complies with all the sufficient knowledge and information about the Human Resources functions and has a great knowledge about all the labor laws (Christopher & Jain, 2010, 475). Toyota Inc equips their human resources manager and heads regarding managing their workforce accordingly and effectively as according to them, it is the most important and essential function for them. The company has a perfect loyalty and promotion system for the employees from which the motivation level of the employees enhanced tremendously well. Toyota is one of those companies which have a very low turnover rate merely because of its human’s friendly strategies. By far and large, it could be said that Toyota Inc is moving with a perfect human resource policy from which they can attract the recognition of more and more employees. Human resource policies refers to the formal guidelines and rules that is put by businesses in place to train, hire, reward and assess the members o f their work force. Sound human resource policy is very essential in the growth of any business or company (Poole, 1999, 457). One of the greatest human resources policy initiated by the company is the utilization of management by objectives (MBO) in which the management gets the employees participated in

Smith & Ricardo vs. Malthus, Bentham, Senior, J.S. Mill and Say Essay - 2

Smith & Ricardo vs. Malthus, Bentham, Senior, J.S. Mill and Say - Essay Example Both theories assumed that there was full employment in a country (Smith, 35). Malthus has vehemently opposed Ricardo’s doctrine on political economics stating that it was impossible for effective demand to incur a deficiency. However, Malthus did not quantify his argument by explaining how effective demand could be in excess or deficient. This aspect of invalid quantification of the argument resulted in anonymous adherence to Ricardo’s doctrine by statesmen, city, and the academic world. The effective demand which was an idea that Malthus tried to nature, vanished into thin air since its discussion ceased and it was also ceased to exist in the city’s literature (Malthus, 10). Jeremy Bentham became the leading theorist in Anglo-American in the field of philosophy of law. James Mill was Benthans student and collaborator. He held an absolutely different opinion on the monetary economy in comparison to Ricardo’s ideas. He was absolutely aware of the relevance of saving that is forcefully imposed on consumer prosperity, saving and investment relationship. The monetary view was based on the fundamental concepts employed in his theory of utilitarian decision making. His work is valued and considered as a leeway to modern economics. The utilitarian concept stated that nature has placed human beings under the sovereign governance of either pain or pleasure and on the other hand the measure of wrong and right. These factors in their entirety govern mankind in whatever he thinks, says or does (Bentham, 21).

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Nucleons Stocks in the Stock Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nucleons Stocks in the Stock Market - Essay Example In this way, the investors in the stock market will automatically become owners or stockholders of Nucleon. Second, Nucleon can generate cash from loans. This large –sum debt will create a creditor-debtor relationship. The debtor will be Nucleon whereas the creditor will be the company or individual that lends money to Nucleon. The following paragraphs explain why the pilot in-house capital budgeting is the best investment choice in this case study(Louderback, 326). Â  I recommend that the company pursue its plans to set up its own pilot plant. This is the best choice of the three possible alternatives. For, the second alternative is not a good choice because the third party that will be contracted by Nucleon may not have the capacity or the money to produce the CRP -1 gene clone. Furthermore, the most important factor in not choosing alternative 2 is confidentiality. Meaning, there is a possibility, even a small one, that the subcontracted third party will abuse its responsibility not to divulge or abuse the confidential formula or processes in manufacturing the CRP -1 gene clone(Needles, 367). Â  In terms of risk, the third party may then set up its own marketing department and to sell the CRP -1 gene clones without reporting such sales to Nucleon and pocket the profits themselves. Further, the third party will then eat away or pirate many of CRP - gene clone clients. As for the other choice which is to license manufacturing and marketing rights to another biotechnology group, it is worst than the subcontract choice here. For, the chosen biotechnology group could then learn the secret formula and confidential processes of mass producing CRP -1 gene clones. In fact, the upfront cash that the Nucleon will receive in exchange for the secret processes and formulas given to the third party to produce the CRP -1 gene clone is only a small matter.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Technological Forces of cars industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Technological Forces of cars industry - Essay Example In addition, new materials that make the car lighter will enable the manufacturers to increase fuel efficiency whether they are powered by gasoline, electricity, or flex fuels. Technological forces will result in cars that go farther for less cost. Electricity is the fuel of choice for many people that see it as sustainable and environmentally friendly. It can be produced from solar or wind and can utilize hydrogen through the use of fuel cells. However, the battery has been the weak component in the system. They are traditionally heavy, dirty, have a limited storage capacity, and a short lifespan. Lithium Ion batteries do offer some promise as improvements have been made in recent years. Don Hillebrand, director of the Center for Transportation Research at Argonne National Laboratory "believes that the ultimate medium for electric vehicles' batteries may well be lithium ion, the same material used today in batteries for laptop computers" (Orzech, 2007). Lithium Ion is poised to replace the existing battery technologies of lead-acid and nickel-metal-hydride, and the new high-end electric roadster Tesla is powered by 6800 lithium batteries. As the industry bridges the gap to the totally electric automobile and a move away from gasoline, the interim period may be fuelled by natural gas. Natural gas is a technology that has been largely overlooked due to a few disadvantages.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Separation of Powers Essay Example for Free

Separation of Powers Essay The major objective of this essay is to defend the assertion that separation of power in Zambia is relative. This essay will begin by giving a brief description of the concept Separation of Powers. executive, legislature and the judiciary. Thereafter, a Main Body shall provide a detailed discussion over the assertion after which a conclusion will be given to summarise the discussion. According to the online business dictionary, Separation of Powers is a constitutional principle that limits the powers vested in any person or institution. It is this principle that divides government authority into three branches namely the Executive (President or Prime Minister and the cabinet), Legislature (Parliament or Senate) and the Judiciary (Chief justice and other Judges). From this definition, Separation of Powers entails that each organ of the state, namely t will perform its functions without undue interference from the other organs. Each organ therefore, should be left to do what is assigned to it under the constitution. If any organ is not performing well it ought to be reminded and its performance monitored by way of accountability. This is not interference but a system of checks and balances in the interest of good government. But separation of powers does not mean insulation of powers because the three organs of the State, particularly the Executive and the Legislature, are at one level or another bound to interact and indeed complement each other in the running of the affairs of the State (World bank, 1992). The executive branch of the government of Zambia is made up of the chief of state president Michael Sata; vice president Guy Scott; the president is both the chief of state and head of government. Cabinet is appointed by the president from among the members of the national assembly. Chief of state includes the name and title of the titular leader of the country who represents the state at official and ceremonial functions but may not be involved with the day to day activities of government. Head of government includes the name and title of the top administrative leader who is designated to manage the day to day activities of government. For example in the UK the monarchy is the chief of state while the prime minister is the head of government. The legislative arm of the government; unicameral National assembly in Zambia is made up of 158 seats, 150 are elected by a popular vote, 8 members are nominated by the president to serve 5year terms (Bratton, 1994). Some of the functions of the legislature include; a)  Impeach the president for gross misconduct, commission of a criminal offence or violation of the constitution; b) Remove the president, cabinet ministers or any other official holding constitutional office such as the Chief Justice, Supreme Court and High Court Judges by a vote of no confidence for incompetence; c) Approve the national budget and make alterations without changing the total figure; d) Scrutinize public expenditure as well as Defense, Constitutional and special expenditure; e) Ratify the declaration of a state of emergency and approve its extension; f) Ratify the country’s foreign policy and international treaties to be entered into on behalf of the country; g) Create public offices; h) Dissolve itself. The judiciary is made up of the court system of Zambia, these include; Supreme Court (final court of appeal; justices area appointed by the president), High Court (has unlimited jurisdiction to hear civil and criminal cases, Magistrate’s court and Lo cal court (ibid). The constitution stipulates a hybrid form of government; a mixture of presidentialism with elements of the Westminster tradition of parliamentary democracy. The current system is, however, closer to the presidential model with delegated powers, and even â€Å"close to the top end of the range of presidential powers† (Burnell 2003: 48). As in other presidential systems the distribution of power between the legislative (parliament) and the executive (the presidency), is unbalanced in favour of the latter. As the 1995 Constitution review commission clearly spelled out: the president is in a position to â€Å"exercise a dominant influence on the legislature†; and â€Å"no sufficient countervailing safeguards are in place to check the executive branch and thus balance the powers† (GRZ 1995: 15, 17). One, if only formal, indication of the weakness of parliament in the Third Republic might be that the average number of bills passed did not exceed that of its predecessors in the First or Second republics. The legislature and even single MPs have various means of controlling the government and initiating legislation. These include the private member bills, Standing Orders, parliamentary questions, the Committee of Supply, the Public Accounts Committee, the Estimates Committee, the Committee on Government Assurances, the Committee on Delegated Legislation, before 1999, seven departmental orientated ‘watch-dog’ committees, as well as the ad-hoc select committees which can consider the ratification of presidential nominations to official appointments such as the attorney-general, Supreme Court judges or the governor of the Bank of Zambia. The problem with all the committees and the provisions for individual MPs to get a hold on the government is that – despite MPs’ lack of special expertise due to shifting membership in committees as well as the lack of support staff it provides â€Å"answerability† without â€Å"enforceability†, which is essential for an â€Å"effective instrument of accountability† (Burnell 2002: 307). The vast MMD majority until 2001 and the ability of government to control and monopolize the legislative timetable made parliament even weaker, although MMD MPs were by no means under the strict control of the party whip or leadership. Since the MMD lost its majority in the 2001 elections and experienced more serious internal factionalism, there are clear indications that the government has to be more responsive to parliament. However, through the powerful position of the Assembly Speaker the ruling party and the government is still largely able to control Assembly p rocedures. A similar context applies to those institutions that are supposed to be instruments of horizontal accountability, such as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Office of the Auditor-General, the Commission for Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), the ECZ and the HRC. These institutions have been proven largely ineffectual, although the courts have sometimes made rulings against the government. Again, there seems to be some improvement since 2001, which, however, seems to be well calculated and directed by the Mwanawasa government at least in the case of the ACC, when the latter was allowed to investigate corruption cases of the Chiluba government. The reason why these institutions are unable to make an impact is because, although legally autonomous, they have very few powers (apart from one exception; the ACC cannot initiate prosecution on its own), and are financially dependent on the government. They are chronically underfunded and despite being presidential appointees, all commission heads do have secure conditions of service. These institutions are therefore highly sensitive to signals coming from the Office of the President, which prompted the MMD’s first Minister for Legal Affairs Rodger Chongwe to refer to them as â€Å"agencies of illusion† GRZ (1999: 104). The Republican Constitution provides for impeachment proceedings against the president for violations of the constitution (Article 37). This provision is difficult to implement and needs a one-third majority in parliament to debate a motion alleging the president has committed â€Å"any violation of the Constitution or any gross misconduct†, while a two-thirds majority is then necessary to start an investigation by a tribunal appointed by the chief justice. If this tribunal finds that â€Å"the particulars of any allegation specified in the motion have been substantiated†, the National Assembly might by a motion of not less than two-thirds resolve that the president has been guilty. Only then shall the president cease to hold office. All attempts to impeach the president have failed in the past. Legally the civil service is non-partisan, but in practice the administration has often been politicized. This is not only a heritage of the old one-party system and a legacy of neopatrimonial rule, but has also been employed deliberately by the new administration. One case in point is Chiluba’s introduction of the post of district administrators (DAs), which are political appointees to direct politics at the district level under his control. The partisan application of the Public Order Act by the police in favour of the ruling party in the run-up to elections is another example. Generally, what has come to be known as ‘rampant’ or ‘endemic’ corruption in the cabinet and other state bodies is only possible with a willing civil service. In an authoritarian political and administrative culture where superiors are not supposed to be challenged and ‘hints’ by superiors are taken as ‘orders’, and in which legal-rational procedures are not regularly adhered to, but irregular (not to say illegal) actions or non-actions are taken as ‘normal’, the civil service cannot be non-partisan but is an instrument of the ruling party. Peter Burnell’s analysis of the endemic â€Å"financial indiscipline† clearly shows that the political and administrative framework for this â€Å"enjoys active connivance from senior government figures and is an entrenched feature of the politico-administrative culture† (Burnell 2001b: 49) in other words: it is deliberately nurtured by the political elite for personal and political gain. At present, local government is not only dysfunctional in its set up but is in many respects derelict.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Functions in the Human Body

Functions in the Human Body Part A Digestive System The digestive system is the system of organs that takes food in, the digestive system is a set of organs that transforms whatever we eat into substances that can be used in the body for energy, growth and repair. The main functions of the digestive system are ingestion, digestion, absorption, and defection. Ref: (Class Notes 2015) Explain the functions of each part of the digestive system identified in the diagram above? The Mouth The mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and saliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth. The tongue is a muscular organ and has many taste buds, which are accountable for the tastes: sweet, sour, bitter and salt. You would get a range of different flavours as the tongue moves the food around the mouth. The food in your mouth moves from tooth to tooth to have it made into a pulp with the aid of saliva. The tongue would then pass the pulp (bolus) down the throat. There are four types of teeth. Individually they have their own functions in the breakdown of food. The first would be the incisors, there are four in each jaw. They are sharp, chisel shaped teeth that are used for cutting and biting. Next to these on both sides are the canines, canines are cone shaped teeth frequently called the eye-tooth. They have a sharp point and you would use them to tear food. There’s to in each jaw. Next are the premolars, there are four of them in each jaw, they would be used for crushing and crunching of food. There blunt broad teeth with two sharp ridges. Molars are similar to premolars and are six to each jaw, they are also blunt broad teeth but have a larger surface area. Each has four surface points. The salivary glands there are three parts of the salivary gland you have the parotid gland that is situated below the ear, the submandibular and the sublingual gland, they are situated below the tongue. Liquid called saliva is secreted from them. It contains water, mucus and the enzyme salivary amylase. The function of saliva is to lubricate the food with mucus, making it easier to swallow. The Oesophagus It’s a muscular tube that leads from the pharynx to the stomach. The food moves through it by a muscular contraction known as peristalsis. It’s part of the digestive system. It is the tube that carries food from your mouth to the stomach. The muscles contract and relax creating a wave like motion on the tube. The lining of the oesophagus secretes mucus to ease and oil the passage of food. Once food touches the end of the oesophagus it presses against the cardioesophageal sphincter. The Stomach The stomach is a C-shaped elastic sac. The wall of the stomach is a grouping of layers of muscle fibre with an inner mucous membrane. The mucous membrane has a lot of doublings called rugae. When the stomach is full is will stretch out allowing expansion, then it would contract when it empties. When the stomach is full it can hold up to approx. 4 litres (1 gallon) of food. The Liver The liver has numerous functions, its main function inside the digestive system is to process the nutrients absorbed from the small intestine. Bile from the liver secreted into the small intestine also plays a significant role in digesting fat. The liver only makes bile. The Gallbladder The gallbladder is a pear-shaped deep structure located under the liver and on the right side of the abdomen. Its main function is to store and concentrate bile, a yellow / brown digestive enzyme formed by the liver. The gallbladder is part of the biliary tract. The Pancreas The pancreas is a greyish pink gland organ it’s placed in the upper abdomen, it lies behind the stomach and intestines (guts). It is roughly the size of a hand. The pancreas has to major functions, one of them is to make digestive enzymes which help us to digest food. Enzymes are special chemicals which help speed up your body’s processes. The second one makes hormones which regulate our metabolism. Hormones are chemicals that can be released into the bloodstream. The Large Intestine The large intestine is a thick tube that’s approximately 1.5 metres (5 feet) long it receives waste from the small intestine, it hangs around the small intestine in an arch shape. It involves the caecum, colon, rectum, and the anal canal. The colon holds bacteria which breaks down any remaining food and makes some significant vitamins. It also deals with waste within the body. Small Intestine The small intestine is approximately six metres (18 feet) long. 90% of the digestive process takes place here in the small intestine. It’s a coiled tube that has three parts which are the duodenum, jejunum, and the ileum. The wall of the whole of the small intestine is significantly folded, each of the villi contains more projections called microvilli that absorbs food and passes it onto the capillaries. Muscles of the walls contract and relax so that the villi sway about. Appendix The appendix is a narrow tube attached to caecum and it is about 9 cm long. The appendix is not a vital organ you can live without it. The appendix sits at the junction of the small intestine and the large intestine, the appendix sits in the lower right abdomen. The function of the appendix is unknown. A theory is that the appendix acts as a storehouse for good bacteria â€Å"rebooting† the digestive system after diarrheal illnesses. Rectum The rectum is a short straight section of the alimentary canal, it leads from the colon to the anus and thus to the outside world. A human rectum is approximately 12cm long.The rectum is a chamber that begins at the end of the large intestine. It is usually empty only receiving the contents of the colon called faeces when they are ready to be passed out of the anus. The Anus The anus starts at the bottom of the rectum. The anorectal line separates the anus from the rectum. Tissue called fascia surrounds the anus and joins it to nearby structures. Circular muscles named the external sphincter form the wall of the anus and hold it closed. The glands in your body discharge fluid into the anus to keeps it surfaces moist. Outline the composition of Proteins, Fats and Carbohydrates, and explain how each of them are digested and absorbed by the body. Proteins, fats and carbohydrates are all in the body. Protein helps the body to grow, it builds muscle and gives you energy. Protein accounts for 16% of a person’s total body weight the reason for this is because connective tissue, skin, hair and muscle are all made up from protein. Carbohydrates are sugars the body uses for energy, simple carbohydrates give the body quick energy. Fat is also another way it helps the body grow, your body needs fat to process vitamins. Polyunsaturated and monosaturated fats are good for your body. Source Function Digestion Proteins Fish Red Meat Beans Dairy Products The functions of protein are to help the body to grow and repairs any damage done to your body .i.e. Cuts. The Stomach – the enzymes pepsin begins the digestion of proteins in the stomach breaking it down into large polypeptides. The Small Intestine- enzymes from the pancreas, trypsin, and chymotrypsin break the large polypeptides into smaller chains. Finally the small intestine breaks up the small polypeptides into individual amino acids ready for absorption. Fats Dairy Products Meat Olive oil Avocados Sunflower oil The functions of fat are to help the body grow. In the small intestine, fat are emulsified by bile salts from the liver. Lipase from the pancreas breaks down fat into fatty acids and glycerol ready for absorption. Carbohydrates Rice Potatoes Pasta Cereals Flour The functions of carbohydrates are a release of energy Salivary amylase creates the breakdown of polysaccharides in the mouth. Part B Draw a diagram of a typical cell, and state the function of each of its organelles? Cells are the most important units of life. Our bodies contain over 100 trillion cells, they do everything in a human body from providing structure and stability to providing energy and a means of reproduction. Ref: (Class Notes 2015) Cell membrane The cell membrane forms the outer edge of the cell and allows certain materials move in or out of the cell. Cytoplasm Cytoplasm is a gel-like material inside the cell that contains water and nutrients for the cell. Nucleus The nucleus directs the activity of the cell and contains chromosomes with DNA that contains all genetic information. Nuclear Membrane Nuclear membrane separates the nucleus from the cytoplasm. Ribosomes Ribosomes make protein for the cell. Golgi Body Golgi bodies are used in the cell for packaging and secreting of energy. Lysosomes Lysosomes are chemicals that are used to digest waste. Vacuoles Vacuoles are storage areas for the cell. Mitochondria Mitochondria breaks down food and releases energy to the cell, it’s like a powerhouse as it provides the cell with energy. Endoplasmic Reticulum Endoplasmic Reticulum moves materials around the cell. Classify tissues into the four main groups; epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous, give an example of each? (Table format will suffice) There are four main tissue groups within the body, there are some functions and examples below for the four main groups of tissue within the body. All four cells work together in the body. Type Of Tissue Function Example Epithelial The functions of the epithelial are that the epithelial cell from the skin protects underlying tissue from injuries, harmful chemicals, invading bacteria and excessive loss of water. A sensory stimulus penetrates specialised epithelial cells. Epithelial tissue is widespread throughout the body and aid protection absorption and secretion, it’s made of closely packed cells. The cells are arranged in continuous flat sheets. They form the covering of all body surfaces. Connective The function of the connective tissue is to join bodily structures like bones and muscles together and it holds the tissue together in their place. Connective tissue connects all other tissues in the body. It consists of many different types of cells in the body and is surrounded by non-living fluid. Muscle The functions of muscle tissue are that muscle tissue is a soft tissue that composes muscles and provides rise to muscles. Muscle tissue varies with function and location in the body. Muscle tissue is tissue that contracts and relax there are 3 types in the body, the skeletal muscle tissue, smooth muscle tissue and cardiac muscle tissue. Nervous The functions of nervous tissue are to form communications network of the nervous system by conducting electric signals. The nervous tissue forms the organs of the nervous system it’s made up of a special kind of cell called a neuron it’s also called a nerve cell. Nerve cells are long and narrow. A human has 100 billion nerve cells. Ref: (Class Notes 2015) (www.google.co.uk) Explain the difference between benign and malignant tumours? A tumour develops when a group of cells escape from their normal orderly process of cell division and they begin to multiply in an uncontrolled way, after a while plenty of these abnormal cells will be produced to form a lump, that is called a growth or a tumour. Two important differences between benign and malignant tumours are invasion and spread. Benign Benign tumours do not spread they can grow to a very large size, but it wouldn’t go to other parts of the body. Benign tumours push the surrounding normal tissues and organs out of their way. Occasionally pressure from a benign tumour could damage surrounding structures but the benign tumour never invades into those structures. There are several hundred different types of benign tumours that can develop in our bodies. Malignant Malignant Tumours have the power to spread by sending off seelings of tumour which can pass through the blood or lymphatic system to other parts of the body. The Seedlings would then settle in other organs and form what are called secondary tumours or metastases. A malignant brain tumour is a fast-growing cancer that spreads to other parts of the brain and spine, brain tumours are graded between 1 and 4, and a malignant brain tumour is either grade 3 or 4. Most malignant tumours are secondary cancers that mean it starts in one part of the body and spreads to the brain. The primary tumours are the ones that start in the brain. The word cancer only relates to malignant tumours. With malignant tumours it eats away and destroys the normal tissue around the affected area in which it has started off at. The difference between benign and malignant tumours is that a benign tumour is non-cancerous were as a malignant tumour is cancerous. If has nothing to do with frequency in some of the organs of the body, benign tumours can be very large in size were a cancerous tumour can be very small. Ref: (Class Notes 2015) (www.google.co.uk) Part C Label the urinary system using the diagram overleaf. The urinary system is one of the human’s body’s waste disposal units and its filtration unit. It contains the kidneys, ureters (tubes connecting the kidneys to the bladder), the bladder and the urethra. The urinary system helps empty the body from potentially harmful waste substances like urea and alcohol. It does this through filtration and excretion. Explain the structure and function of each element of the urinary system? The urinary system consists of the kidneys, the ureters, the bladder and the urethra. The major function of the urinary system is to get rid of all waste products and excess fluid from the body. The kidneys are the main organs of the urinary system. The urinary system produces a hormone which is responsible for controlling the rate at which red blood cells are made and an enzyme is responsible for controlling blood pressure. Inside each kidney there are approximately 1 million tiny nephrons, they are the units that clean the blood. All of the functions are needed for helping the body to maintain homeostasis also known as balance. Urinary System Structure Function Kidneys The structures of the urinary system are the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and the urethra they all work together in the body. The kidneys are dark red, bean-shaped organs, it’s about 11cm long Inside each kidney there a 1 million tiny nephrons. The functions of the kidneys that they filter blood in order to get rid of wastes and excess water. The waste and water would be excreted as urine. The kidneys filter about 200 quarts of blood a day and produces about 2 quarts of waste and extra fluid. Ureters The structure of the ureters is that the ureters are tubes made up of smooth muscle fibers that propel urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. The functions of the ureters is that the ureters is the tube that carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder, all humans have two ureters one is attached to each kidney. Bladder The structures of the bladder is that sometimes it’s called the urinary bladder it’s a sac-like organ in the pelvic cavity. The functions of the bladder are the bladder is a reservoir for urine. The bladder has an internal sphincter that relaxes when the walls contract, thus opening and emptying the urine into the urethra. Urethra The structure of the urethra is that it’s a narrow tube passing from the bladder to the outside of the body. It’s shorter in women making them more susceptible to infection. The function of the urethra is to take urine from inside the body (the bladder) to outside. In men the urethra is the passage for semen. Ref: (www.google.co.uk) (Class Notes 2015) Draw the structure of a nephron and explain how it produces urine? A nephron is an important functional part of the kidneys. Both kidneys have around a million minute nephrons. Nephrons reside in the cortex and medulla it produces urine from filtrate, filtrate is the fluid that remains in the nephron after filtration its then removed from the bloodstream passing it to the bladder, a nephron is an intricate structure in the body it serves two purposes it filters and removes waste products and maintains the body’s water supply. Ref: (Class Notes 2015) Name and explain three diseases / disorders which affect the urinary system? There are a lot of diseases and disorders that affect the urinary system in different ways. Kidney Stones Kidney stones are deposits of substances found in urine and would form solid stones in the renal pelvis, bladder or the ureters. It can be extremely painful and if they needed removing it would be done by surgery. Glomerulonephritis Glomerulonephritis is a type of glomerular kidney disease in the kidneys the filters become inflamed and scarred and would slowly lose their ability to remove waste and excess fluid from the blood to produce urine. Cystitis Cystitis is an inflammation on the bladder and would cause a person pain when passing urine. Sometimes it’s caused from infection. It’s very common in women because of the part of the shorter length of the female urethra. Ref: (Class Notes 2015) Nicole O’Brien

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Arguments Against Transformational Leadership Management Essay

Arguments Against Transformational Leadership Management Essay A person can have many distinctive qualities, leadership is among those qualities, not everyone possess such quality, which made this quality special and extraordinary. In the field of business, a decision often comes down to success and failure, leadership is one of the most important quality for a managerial person to have. As Thomas J. Watson, Jr. had put it: I believe the real difference between success and failure in a corporation can be very often traced to the question of how well the organization brings out the great energies and talents of its people. Leaders that can bring positive or beneficial effect to a group or enterprise are consider as a transformational leader, they are energetic, passionate, not only they focus on the systems and the structure of a business, they also focus on the individual employee to do well and to be successful as well. According to Cox (2001), leadership is divided into two categories: transactional leadership and transformational leadership. The distinction between the two, according to James McGregor Burns work on political leader (1978), are those ones who uses the policy of rewards to motive and earn his/her employees efficiency and loyalty, is called transactional leader; and those ones who gets involve with his/her employee, also possess determination and committed towards success as well as motivates its employees in exchange for their high performance, also their loyalty. However, in this ever changing world, business leaders needs improve his/her skill and ability in order to coordinate wit h the change. In this particular essay, the main focus will be on the transformational leadership and some of the arguments and criticisms against it, as well as some counter arguments in favor of the transformational leadership; along with supporting explanations, facts and various examples. Arguments against Transformational Leadership Theory: Study results shows that Transformational Leadership have its positive effect on organizations, improve its work productivity, performance and as well as the creativities, according to Bass and Avolio (1994), it can be found in every aspect of an enterprise, because sometimes transformational leaders are the type of leaders needed for an company to survive, according to Burn (1978): recognizes and exploits an existing need or demand of a potential followerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ looks for potential motives in followers, seeks to satisfy higher needs, and engages the full person of the follower. A transformational leader in an organization often break through its frame of organization culture and thrive, which made transformational leadership one of the most renewed and popular leadership theory in modern days, nevertheless, its resplendency is not without oppugns. There are many criticisms against the theory of transformational leadership, one of the criticism is transformational theory is very difficult to be trained or taught, because its components are too comprehensive; on the other hands, one of the argument against transformational leadership is that followers might be manipulated by leaders and there are chances that what they gain is so little compare to what they lost. Among them all, one of the important key criticisms against transformational theory is accusing it to be only for the selected individuals, which may lead to abusing of power. As Colonel Mark .A Homig (2001) have stated that: Transformational leadership is a double edged sword. Which means that, when a transformational leader over done his part in terms of leadership, his/her innate defect in personality or even later life experience can turn him/her into another type transformational leadership, the one on the opposite side-Pseudo transformation leadership. According t o Mark. A. Homig: has a potential immoral and unethical dimension that could be exploited by an unscrupulous leader inflicted on naive and unsuspecting followers. For example, Adolf Hitler was elected as the leader of Germany, he came into power during Germanys economic inflation and depression in 1920s, he did pull Germany out of its economic depression, however, after first couple of years honeymoon between him and the country, his follower later become so obsessed with him and followed him blindly into his conquest for his so called Lebensraum for Germany, which brought one of the worst disaster to Europe. Other example is Shoko Asahara, founder and leader of Aum Shinrikyo, also known as Aleph, a Japanese cult that is responsible for the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995. The second key argument against transformational leadership is the un-clarity of its definition and components, since the definitions of the four components (Inspirational, Intellectual, Idealized, and Individualized) associated with transformational leadership are overlapping each other. According to Brayman (1992), the transformational leadership looks more suited to be a set of personality characteristics rather than special requirements. There are other various arguments against transformational leadership as well, like the ones associated with ethics, according to Avolio and Howell (1992), qualities that makes a great leader can lead to unethical act, as the first key point in this section stated, such leader can make his/her follower to make unethical decisions and even commit crimes as well, according to Yukl.G. (1998). One example for this case is Hitler. Within this essay, the focus will be on the above arguments, in the following section, and in-depth analysis will be done. Supports for the Transformational Leadership theory: Two of the key arguments against transformational leadership theory primarily focus on the un-clarity of its concepts, and accusing it to be misleading. However, if we take a closer look at the details and examine the core components of the transformational leadership theory, one can easily notices the arguments against transformational leadership is losing its roots. Based on Benard. M, Bass (2006)s book on Transformational leadership, the qualification of transformational leaders are those who has great personality qualities and the ability to influence others in exchange for their loyalty, it focuses on the processes between the leader and followers. Therefore, those who uses negative examples of transformational leadership such as Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini to fault the transformational leadership theorys core concept is false, because idea or the overall construction of the theory of the transformational leadership is solid, and does not varies when people interpolate it dif ferently. Arguments such as the requirements for transformational leadership are sets of personality traits, and it cannot be taught or learn, Oscar Arias have stated: More than knowledge, leaders need character. Values and ethics are vitally important. The basics of leadership can be taught. What is desperately needed is more responsible leadership a new ethic to confront the challenges of our day. Based on an interview and commentary essay done by Jonathan P. Doh (, many educators believes that transformational leadership can be taught, in fact all types of leadership can be taught and learned. Here are some of the quoted interviews from that report: Jay Conger (Professor of Organizational Behavior at the London Business School and Senior Research Scientist, Center for Organizations at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles) have :Yes, most definitely. Here work experiences, bosses, special projects, and role models, education all play a role in leadership development. Using an analogy with sports, not everyone can become an outstanding player despite coaching, yet most will benefit and improve their game. A few will go on to become stars or outstanding leaders given coaching, extensive experiences, and personal drive. Also from Kim S. Cameron (Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at the University of Michigan Business School.) said that: Some people have an inclination to learn some competencies faster or better than others, of course, and some people reflect more charismatic or likable characteristics than others. But many great leaders are not those that appear on the covers of Time and Fortune. They have learned to achieve spectacular results in their own circumstances. Think of parents. Can people learn to become better parents, or are we just born either competent or not? Everyone would agree that effective parenting can be learned and improved. So can effective leadership. Leadership can also be taught, according to Jay Conger, Kim Cameron, and Steve Stumpf (cited in Jonathan P. Dohs interview essay), have all agreed that leadership can be taught, but only to a certain extent. The reason behind this is the three dimensions of leadership: skills, perspectives and dispositions. Just like in school, everything can be taught to students, but there are always some students do better than others, in terms of adapting knowledge, and the ability of applying the knowledge that they have learned. Skills can be taught, and perspectives can be trained, however, dispositions such as ambitions, mental capacity, etc.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.is difficult to teach. Bottom line is, leadership can be taught and learned through education and training. There are a lot of examples of leaders that proved valuable to a company, just to name of few in this essay. Steve Jobs is one of the perfect example, he was fired from apple and later came back, and turned Apple into one of the most profitable technology company in the world. Another example is Gordon Bethune, CEO of Continental Airlines (merged with United in 2010), and he joined Continental Airlines during its bankruptcy, during that time, company was losing $55 million dollars per month, he, however, not only eliminated the debt they had at that not, but also increased Continental Airlines stock price from $2 a share to $50 a share. Conclusion: In conclusion, Transformational leadership theory have proved its value throughout the modern days, even if there are some criticisms, it still not enough to effect the core concept of transformational leadership theory. Counter arguments in support for the transformational leadership theory, have proved its aptitude in work performance, quality and earn their loyalty. Key arguments have been vindicated in this essay, even though, motive of a leader sometimes is questionable, but this does not change the core construction of the theory; transformational leadership theory or any leadership theory can be learned or taught, only difference is how well one can adapt and apply the knowledge of leadership. Transformational leadership is surely one of the most popular theory, and most likely will become the resolution for todays organization, as todays enterprises facing many tough challenges such as creativity, sustainability, and uniqueness.

Monday, August 19, 2019

All Dogs Really Do Go to Heaven Essay -- Literary Analysis, Indra, Yud

At the end of the masterpiece, The Mahabharata, Yudhisthira and a dog meet Indra. Indra tells Yudhisthira that he will take Yudhisthira to heaven if Yudhisthira leaves the dog behind. Yudhisthira refuses and it is revealed that the dog was really Dharma. For passing this test, Yudhisthira is rewarded with heaven. This scene perfectly encapsulates the themes of duty, loyalty, fairness, and dharma and being justly rewarded for such actions that were present throughout the entire Mahabharata. It is important to note that the dog followed Yudhisthira during the entire journey to heaven. Even when Yudhisthira’s brothers, Arjuna, Bhima, Nakula, and Sagadeva and their wife, Draupadi, were falling off of the Himalayan mountain range, which is why there was only Yudhisthira and the dog when Indra appeared, the dog continued to follow Yudhisthira. For the dog being so â€Å"†¦highly devoted†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Mahabharata, p. 109) it was Yudhisthira’s duty to show loyalty to the dog. It is much like how Krsna offered Karna to fight with the Pandavas against the Kauravas since he was a Pandava brother. However, because he was abandoned at birth by Kunti and â€Å"†¦enjoyed sovereignty for thirteen years without let or hindrance,† (Mahabharata, p. 111) with the Kauravas, Karna decided that it was his duty to fight alongside the people who were most loyal to him, the Kauravas. During the time of The Mahabharata dogs were far from man’s best friends. Dogs were considered impure. Most people would have cast aside a lowly dog for the chance at heaven, especially after being told by Indra himself that â€Å"there will be no cruelty in doing so† (Mahabharata, p. 209). However, Yudhisthira choose loyalty over what many people would have considered the common-sense option of Indra’... ... fighting the Pandavas, he and Gandhari still supported their children once the war began. Dhrtarastra even attempted to kill Bhima after the Pandavas had defeated the Kauravas. In a very symbolic way Yudhisthira is like Dhrtarastra. He could not see his father even when Dharma was standing right beside him. However, Dharma supported Yudhisthira through the entire journey like only a family member would. Consequently, Yudhisthira’s duty was to treat the dog with the same loyalty he would a known member of his family. Yudhisthira’s journey to heaven was a trying one. He lost his brothers and his wife during it, yet a random dog followed him the entire way. When given the chance to go to heaven if he would cast off the dog Yudhisthira displayed the fairness, duty, loyalty, and dharma that were present in the rest of The Mahabharata and was rightfully reward for it.

Austin Museum Of Art :: essays research papers

The Austin Museum of Art was the first of the three galleries attended. At the time, the museum had a touring â€Å"Rock and Roll† exhibit, which had its focus on the influence of the Rock –and-Roll culture on art. The pieces were arranged in a chronological order and started with the Pop Art of the early 1960’s. Located in the section were two silk screens, one of Mick Jaggard and the other of Prince, done by Andy Warhol. There were a few other pieces in this time period that helped to point out a major turning point in both art and photography. It was now okay to use other people’s photographs in an art piece. Also, it symbolized a beginning of the manipulation of the photograph. No longer were the artists bound to having their work on paper, there were new and limitless areas to explore now in photography. These were the main works that caught my attention in the museum, but there were many other pieces. Other works went through the abstract and full of color 1960’s, until the newer more mechanical art of the 1980’s and 90’s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After attending the Austin Museum of Art, the students headed for a smaller, more informal gallery. The Dumont Gallery contained works from various photographers that were entered into a contest earlier in the year. Now the pictures were traveling around the state of Texas, and had even made a stop at the MSC in College Station. The pieces in the exhibit made visible the numerous ways in which art and photography can be presented. There were huge photographs, Polaroids, pictures developed onto clothing, series photographs, bound pictures, and a large amount whose methods of production could not be identified. There was one group of photographs done by the same artist that truly caught my attention. The artist, while a young woman did not have a very interesting life, and often sought refuge in the Nancy Drew mystery novels. Now, she has often caught herself talking to people about her life and actually telling the events that happened in the books instead of her l ife. It was because of those events that she did a series of photographs were she dressed up like Nancy Drew and posed in her pictures that played out the different stories from the books. She decided, why not be her if you think you are her.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

myths :: essays research papers

Myths are entertaining stories; they cover the basis from Heroin adventures, tales of heroism, passionate love stories, Monsters, Gods and much more. In their time myths would serve many important functions for the society and culture that believed in them. Myths attempt to explain the unanswerable questions to provide reasons that things are the way they are. Classical myths are terrific entertaining stories, the most common are of the Greek and Romans. For the ancients, they had a religious significance. They explain the creation of the universe, the condition of the natural and social words, the authenticity of Kings or the beginning of religious rituals. Myths had various functions in society, one of them was religious function, and stories that concern themselves with the nature and actions of Gods and the way they relate to the human race. The myth would inform the Romans and the Greeks which Gods they should petition for specific types of help. Some Gods were Goddess Hestia, for the safety of house and family. Athena, for wisdom and courage, Demeter for an abundant harvest and Zeus for Justice and military might. Myths, also explore all aspects of life. Love can be painful as in the night of Echo and Narcissus, both Echo and Narcissus remain solitary tragic figures, cursed with loneliness and tormented by a love they can never have. Myths can serve to justify or validate social standing or political power in the world. The Romans for example used mythology to establish lineage for the rulers. Roman myths showed their line of Kings and later emperors to be descended not only form great heroes, but from the gods themselves. The cosmological function of myths is to help us understand more fully who we are, Questions like who am I? How am I to conduct my self, where am I going? How can I best serve this world? The shaman was the one person that you could go to get answers to things that where unknown. Most of the time he was the old wise man that knew a lot, he was like a teacher to the people, his role was a mediator between people and spirits, they were historians they kept most of the stories and happenings of the community and would pass them on the future generations. Today this person is called a Scientist, they play that same role they give us answers to the unknown and they keep records of it and pass on to future generation and

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Paulo Freire Essay

In â€Å"Pedagogy of the Oppressed†, Paulo Freire presents two concepts of education, banking and problem-posing. Specifically, Freire argues that in banking, teachers assume students are passive, take all control, determine what will be learned, and â€Å"fill† students with pre-selected information. Problem-posing education allows people to develop their human natures fully because it depends on dialogue, recognizes the relationship between people and the world, encourages discovery and creativity, and leads to transformation. Freire criticizes the banking method throughout the essay and clearly praises problem- posing in more than just an educational settings. For instance, narration sickness is a term used when the teacher talks about a subject as if it were â€Å"motionless, static, compartmentalized, and predictable. † In addition, necrophilia is another one of Freire’s exaggerated imagery, comparing the banking concept and oppression to the love for the dead. Freire supports the problem-posing method as being the only educational concept needed. His essay is well laid out with examples and supporting details, but is this practical for public education? Freire says that to be truly committed to ending banking the students must reject it all together. I have mixed feelings. It’s not that I do or don’t support this statement, but I do believe both concepts are necessary at some point in education. Some information presented to students can only be taught through repetition, memorization, and narration. For example, math and science equations are concepts needed to be memorized in order to complete problems. The way a student memorizes it can be creative and active, but it still falls under the banking category for needing to be told how to perform it.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Parris and Procter Essay

How does Miller use setting and action in Set 1of ‘the Crucible’ to establish atmosphere and set the scene for the events which are to unfold?  This essay recounts the various ways in which Arthur Miller uses setting and action to set the atmosphere for the coming events in ‘the Crucible’. During the 1950’s whilst ‘the Crucible’ was being written a phenomenon called McCarthyism was occurring. McCarthy, who was the US president at the time, was determined to hunt down communists in the USA. He was paranoid about Communists and McCarthyism is the name given to the paranoid behaviour of his government in the hunt for communists. Miller was called in front of the judge and was tried, as were a number of his friends, but Miller was not convicted although others were. This is where Miller’s idea for ‘the Crucible’ originated. The link between McCarthyism and the witch-hunt is persecution, which is a common parallel in both situations. Being based on a true story about a historical witch-hunt creates dramatic tension in that the audience are expecting a play based on fact rather than fiction. The audience at the time would have known that the play was about McCarthyism, and by claiming that the play was based on fact Miller creates excitement in the audience who are prepared for a factual account of McCarthyism. It is notable that Miller was unable to perform his play publicly in the US at the time and it had to be performed in Belgium. By using the Salem witch-hunts Miller introduces the audience to the theme of good and evil. The setting and actions in Set 1 establishes atmosphere in particular for the events that are to unfold in the rest of the play. Set 1 in Act 1 is a small, simple bedroom. Within the room there isn’t much furniture and the room appears to be very cold and inhospitable. The room is brightened up by the description of the morning sunlight streaming in through the window, but the window is described as narrow so dulling the image of the room and limiting the sunlight streaming in through the window. The audience then has an image of a small slit of light entering a room of darkness, which creates a visual drama between light and dark. Similarly, the set in Act 2 is described by Miller as ‘the low, dark and rather long living room of the time.’ Again the Set which is a room in Act 3 is described as ‘solemn, even forbidding. Heavy beams jut out, boards of random widths make up the walls.’ As in set 1 there are two ‘high’ windows with ‘sunlight pouring through’. Finally in set 4 Miller describes the prison cell as ‘in darkness but for the moonlight seeping through the bars.’ The set of act 1 indicates a similar parallel in the set of the scene of John Procter in a prison cell, with the light streaming through. Whilst the audience contemplates whether there is hope of Proctor not being accused of dealing in witchcraft, sunlight streams in to the courtroom from the high windows. This represents a glimmer of hope for John Procter. Proctor’s wife then lies to say that her husband is not a lecher, thinking that she is protecting him, and the audience sees all hope dashed away. Later in Set 4 in the prison cell Miller uses the metaphor of moonlight seeping through the bars to show that not all is lost in despair. In all these sets Miller uses the stylistic device of light coming through windows in dark rooms making the audience think that the whole story will be dark with small glimmers of hope throughout. The use of light and dark in the set draws on a parallel of good and evil, hope and despair, justice and injustice. By allowing darkness rather light to dominate so despair, injustice and evil form the dominant atmosphere. The changing atmosphere in the similar settings leaves the audience un-prepared for what is going to take place next. Set 1, as can be seen by examining the text further, the bedroom is always full of tension and it is never the set for anything calm. Bedrooms are normally where people go to relax and sleep but this bedroom is the place where people go to argue and accuse each other of waywardness. This particular bedroom doesn’t belong to anyone and is described as ‘A small upper bedroom’. Bedrooms are normally personalised and made comfortable for the persons whose room it is but this one is cold and bland. This at once tells the audience that this room will be the centre for grievances and dilemma. The first character the audience meets in Act 1 is Reverend Samuel Parris, who is described as in his middle forties. The audience instantaneously get the impression that Parris is a man easily angered as his first words spoken are â€Å"Out of here!† Here Miller adds the action of Parris â€Å"scrambling to his feet in a fury†, which immediately creates tension. Reverend Parris’ short temper and his desperate manner, which he uses to get what he wants, are seen here. His intense anger comes through again when he is arguing with John Proctor â€Å"Man! Don’t a minister deserve a house†¦.†. Parris’s greed shines through and the audience sees a man out to get what he wants and not what’s best for the Church, which he is meant to serve. The audience also see his pretentiousness â€Å"I am a graduate of Harvard College†. He seems to believe that he is superior to everyone else. The confrontation in set 1 Act 1 set the scene for what is to be a far more serious conflict between Parris and Procter in the courtroom. At this point a different atmosphere is created by the tension. Here again there is an argument between Parris and Procter, but roles are reversed, and Proctor seems to be in control. The tension is also amplified by the way in which Parris speaks â€Å"in deadly fear, to Elizabeth†. Deadly fear is strong language and emphasises to the audience that death is in the air. Set 1 Act 1 also prepares the audience for Act 4 Parris is seen out of character where he is grovelling and begging for Procter to confess to dealing with witchcraft, demonstrating the extent to which Parris will go to get a confession, which the audience knows is false.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Walgreens Analysis

Walgreens Strategy Analysis Retailing: MKTG 3740 B April 7, 2013 I. History and Mission Statement Walgreens has grown from a small, neighborhood-oriented drug store to a trusted, national pharmacy. Founded in 1901 by Charles R. Walgreen, the company bloomed from a commitment made to perseverance. Walgreen came from Dixon, Illinois at the age of sixteen, working an unpleasant job at a drug store after he lost a portion of a finger that left him incapable of continuing a career in athletics.He left with an ambition of entrepreneurship as the flourishing city of Chicago welcomed him with the booming pharmacy business. Devoted to his goal, Walgreen worked his way through gaining experience and financial stability within the growing industry. His work experience through jobs with different pharmacies allowed Walgreen to analyze the strengths and weaknesses in their business operations. Focusing on the gaps in service and the needs by customers that were not being met, Walgreen had an oppo rtunity to capitalize on the industry’s shortcomings by opening his own pharmacy.After earning enough money to put a down payment on a loan for the store that he was working in at the time from Isaac Blood, Walgreen finally owned a store in a great location just south side of Chicago in a prosperous area. He renovated the space, employed a colleague, broadened the selection of products offered, and priced at a fair rate to improve efficiency. One of the differentiating strategies that Walgreen implemented was through utilizing his development of the â€Å"two-minute† drill.This service allowed a local customer to call Walgreen’s store, request an item, and have it delivered by one of Walgreen’s handymen within two minutes of the customer calling. The good reputation of his service spread quickly among the community. The next chapter in Walgreens store innovation and competitive edge was his idea to sell hot food items during the winter, cooked by his wife , Myrtle Walgreen. The trend of that time for many businesses was to have a soda fountain that served cold drinks and milkshakes, which Walgreen also served during the hot summer months.His approach to customer service carried through to winter months with the hot food serving, while his competitors failed to keep up with what would eventually become an essential part of drug store business. Walgreen’s store was growing at a strong pace. By 1929, he had 525 operating stores, 633 in 1975, and hit one thousand open stores in 1984. Today, Walgreens opens around 425 new stores, on average, each year. Through the company’s mission statement, Walgreens strives to be the most trusted and innovative pharmacy with health and wellness solutions and serve consumers across the U.S. Walgreen set out to help people get well and stay well. With constant innovations in technology and customer satisfaction, the company is expected to continue to soar. II. Key events that shaped the com pany Over the past century, there have been economic conditions, changes in demographics, technological advancements, and competitive pressures that Walgreens has had to face and overcome. The first major event that shaped the company was the featuring of the soda fountain in the store in 1909, which lead to the introduction of the malted milkshake that became an American icon.Although a minor triumph at the time, the milkshake attributed to the growth of the company overall. The next event to affect the company hit hard. The Great Depression was a difficult time for most businesses and many were dying out and closing. Walgreens, though vulnerable itself, was able to push through this time by implementing the value of marketing. Through smart advertising and innovations in customer service, Walgreens not only survived the depression but also was able to help by employing workers and added to its testament of always being able to adapt to the changing times.After the death of Charles Walgreen in 1939, his son took over the president position in the company. Fast-forwarding to the next significant even in 1950, when Walgreens opened its first small, self-service store. This event is representative of the innovation and move toward the future that Walgreens will continue to see. A jump to 1975 is a marker of importance as the company reached $1 billion in net sales. In 1999, Walgreens. com opened, offering a convenient shopping experience for its customers online.Today, them most influential growth strategy Walgreens has implemented is the partnership with Alliance Boots to form the world’s first pharmacy-led enterprise. The two brands coming together will position Walgreens for growth in the long-term by transforming Walgreens drug stores into a community, daily living destination while expanding across new avenues of markets and reinventing cost structures. III. Key Financial Data The financial highlights from the income statement of Walgreens Co. n 2012 include a net sales figure of $71,633 million; a decrease of 0. 8% from the previous year. Net sales combined with a cost of sales of $51,291 million lead to a gross profit of $20,342 million; again, down from the previous year by 0. 7%. A net earnings comparison shows a 21. 6 % decrease from $2,714 million in 2011 to $2,127 in 2012. Some in-store sales figures help explain some declines with a prescription sales decrease of 3. 1% and front-end sales increase of 3. 6%.These key financial figures represent a trend in diminishing profits for Walgreens in prescription drugs for the past fiscal year, but a growth in front-end sales, which is an indicator of pharmacy-related issues. IV. The drug store industry analysis As an industry that has been around since the late 19th century, the drug store is comprised of staples and pharmaceuticals retailing. History of the industry recalls the first drug store being opened in 1823 and strictly worked with pharmaceuticals under the first regist ered pharmacist. As the tores became more popular and customers’ needs grew for different products, the industry transitioned into including staple items. Today, the average retail products include (but not limited to): prescriptions, food, cosmetics, toiletries, and tobacco products, but dominate in the pharmaceutical department that holds the highest profit. Chain drug stores currently possess the greatest market share in the industry when compared to independent stores and the majority are incorporated at 76% of all drug store firms. Among the top three company chains are CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid.This segment within the industry is highly competitive with demand growing. V. The future of drug stores With demographics changing, especially within the U. S. , the future of drug stores is expected to transform their product offerings. A shift to concentration on prescription drugs sales, as the general public grows older, will be responsible for a decline in products that are no longer demanded as staple items (ex. beauty aids and fragrances). A growing trend seen in the current market is self-diagnosis and self-treatment along with the addition of generic drug sales.Customers are being offered a generic drug alternative for a lower price and are becoming more inclined to self-treating without the help of a pharmacist. Another movement towards the future includes implementing advancements in technology. Many stores currently use self-serve checkouts and photo printing booths. Advancements in electronic prescription filling and ordering refills online are playing a big role in development. Therefore, a broader depth of target market research and differentiation in product offering based on research results may be beneficial to the survival and growth of the drug store industry.VI. SWOT analysis of Walgreens Strengths and weaknesses Walgreens, as mentioned before, is one of the leading examples of success within the drug store industry. A continuous ne ed for improvement and adaptation to the changing market keeps Walgreens alert and attentive, in step with customer wants, which serves as one of its major strengths. The past 3 decades for Walgreens have been those of growth and exceeding competitive sales. The use of technology incorporated in Walgreens store operations allows the company to receive and analyze real-time sales data and customer interaction.Systems such as the POS (Point of Sale) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) generate up-to-date information on impact of certain store displays on sales and record marketing data needed to maximize profits. In order to serve customers more effectively, Walgreens offers convenient services online, such as photo printing and prescription call-ins. The implementation of technology as a tool for tracking data and servicing is another strength of the company. Walgreens offers a loyalty program to its customers to further improve on customer satisfaction.The reward program, call ed Balance Rewards, is a point-based system that gives discounts and coupons to customers whenever they use the loyalty card and earn points. Many ways to earn points include filling prescriptions, purchasing certain items in-store and online, using the mobile app to purchase items, and a Steps with Balance Rewards that tracks when the customer is living a healthy lifestyle. The customer can redeem his or her rewards for more coupons and discounts on future purchases. While the success of Walgreens is prevalent, weaknesses within the company prevent Walgreens from reaching perfection.A major weakness and concern for the company is opening too many stores. This may seem strange, considering the growth in demand for more stores is perceived as a positive characteristic, but cannibalizing their own market at the growing pace could lead to a mass reduction in sales and revenue by stealing customers from their current top selling stores. As Walgreens is always adapting to its market and looking for new opportunities, an important factor to look into would be limiting how many new stores they are opening and evaluating their product portfolio. Threats and opportunitiesThreats are inherent in any business. Competition would not be possible without external threats. The biggest threat to Walgreens is the rise in grocery store and supermarket discounters. Before, drug stores competed against other drug stores and pharmacies in a highly competitive market. Now, stores like Target and Kroger are offering prescription drug services and are able to do so at a discounted rate. Since these stores carry a much larger assortment of products and more SKUs than a typical drug store, they operate at lower costs and charge a cheaper price.The current economic state poses a threat to businesses everywhere. Within the drug industry, the cut from Medicaid in 2007, by $3. 6 billion, impacted many pharmacies and affected the sales of generic drugs in the U. S. Today, uncertainty around the long-term viability of the Affordable Care Act is threatening the insurance industry, or at least the affordability of coverage. Currently, about half of the states in the U. S. are refusing to participate in the new insurance exchange program, which is driving insurance rates up drastically.Moving away from the challenges of business, opportunities also present themselves within the industry. One opportunity that Walgreens may be looking into is how to market more towards the generation it has been growing with: the baby boomers. This market is the general population that is now getting older and has the most experience with Walgreens. As this generation ages, their needs change and require different products. More prescriptions for aging health issues need to be filled and less beauty supplies are being purchased, for example.The opportunity to transition and focus on this particular market could benefit Walgreens’s sales. Further prospects for Walgreens includes going global. International business opportunities offer drug stores an entire new market, which if executed correctly, can be a major growth possibility. It’s easy to oversaturate a market when operated domestically, as is the case is for Walgreens in the U. S. , so expanding past our borders to different nations may be a prospective move for the company. If there was only one opportunity Walgreens should take on, it would be most important to increase the sales of non-prescription items.Although marketing towards the older generation and profiting from more prescription fills is demanded, incorporating the sales of items that people will buy, as a related product to their main purchases, will boost profit. VII. Competitor’s strengths and weaknesses Walgreens’s biggest competitor is CVS (Convenience, Value, and Service). CVS Caremark is the largest, most profitable drug store/ retailer in the U. S. Strengths CVS Caremark operates under three different retailing segm ents: the CVS pharmacy, Caremark pharmacy services, and its MinuteClinic.Under these three segments, CVS is able to offer its customers lower prices, loyalty programs, cover over two thousand healthcare plans, and operate a walk-in clinic service. Through their services, CVS is able to hold the strongest market share at almost 20% of the prescription drug market. It also has one of the largest loyalty programs for customers; more than 500 million customers who use the loyalty card through the Extra Care program. CVS has made substantial investments in technology and incorporating it into their programs.The company’s strengths have lead them to push a revenue of over $100 billion and net income of $4 billion. Weaknesses The only complaints to come from a customer’s point of view at CVS is that the store consistency varies occasionally, meaning one CVS store may be too different in product offering than another CVS store, which confuses some customers. The employee turno ver rate is also higher than ideal for a large company operating many stores, meaning focus should include keeping employees happy with more benefits. VIII. Key competition comparison SimilaritiesBoth Walgreens and CVS have loyalty programs that they use to reward customers and offer valuable customer data. Using a customer rewards program to offer coupons and discounts builds loyalty to that company’s brand and image. This incentive strategy has worked well for both companies. However, they differ in the way each one works. At CVS, when a customer purchases multiple items in one transaction, the reward points/ coupons are split amongst the items within the one transaction. The customer receives more incentive with each purchase whereas at Walgreens, the reward is based on the number of transactions only.A customer can purchase the same number of items in each store, but receive more reward points/ coupons at CVS. Differences When compared to CVS, Walgreens carries more of a â€Å"mom and pop† store reputation, which benefits their image. The company’s stores are all linked, making it easier for customers to get prescriptions filled at any Walgreen store, which is an advantage over CVS. Walgreens also offers prescription labels and in-store advertising in other languages and is open 24 hours in many locations across the U. S. , another incentive that CVS does not offer.These distinctive traits represent Walgreens’s commitment to pleasing its customer and fulfilling needs. CVS is differentiated from Walgreens through store layout and product offering. CVS stores are known to be larger and customer more customer-friendly in space and appearance than Walgreens. CVS has also brought in more net revenue, over $100 billion as compared to Walgreens at $75 billion, leading by about $25 billion. As mentioned earlier, Walgreens has seen a diminishing performance, financially, while CVS is rising. IX.Recommendations The first recommendation fo r Walgreens to move towards better sales and profits in the future would be to capitalize on the baby boomer generation. As explained before, this would require readjusting the marketing platform to appeal to more prescription sales and aging health products. This strategy has potential for short-term and long-term growth. The second recommendation would be to become aware of cannibalizing its own market. This strategy would lessen the investments in real estate space being made currently.Instead of opening more and more new stores each year, the company should focus on evaluating and expanding the current services in each existing store. Innovations in store layouts and product differentiation in the existing stores may help individual store sales and not oversaturate the market with too much of the same thing. The final recommendation for Walgreens is to enhance its customer service through the convenience factor. Developing more online services will help also help the aging gener ation as it becomes more difficult for them to get in a car and drive to a brick-and-mortar store.This kind of innovation is what customers like to see in businesses and the company will be benefiting from the multichannel strategy. X. References CVS Caremark |. (n. d. ). CVS Caremark |. Retrieved April 7, 2013, from http://info. cvscaremark. com/ Page Through Our Past: Page 4 | Our History | Walgreens. (n. d. ). Welcome to Walgreens – Your Home for Prescriptions, Photos and Health Information. Retrieved April 7, 2013, from http://www. walgreens. com/marketing/about/history/hist4. jsp