Understanding Leadership

Idyllically, our society has today become a society of institutions. Apparently, they need to be led in an organized way, lest everyone fails, now and the time to come. When our organization fails to be effective and responsible, there are terrible things that are likely to fill the void. In this case, performing, responsible management is the alternative to tyranny and our protection against bad leadership. Managing with courage enables the leader to be enthusiastic and focused in his dealings, hence leading people in the right direction. In most cases, when management fails, totalitarianism prevails. The Drucker article by Peter F. Drucker gathers series information about leadership and management. From the article and in juxtaposition of my personal experience, I feel it wise to share the various ways through which I can exercise leadership in our society today in order to lead people to the direct path. Nevertheless, in leadership, there are a lot that one may encounter that can either weaken or strengthen him as a leader. All in all, by the end of the day, ultimate measure must be attained that the society can appreciate.My Strength in Relation to LeadershipAs a leader, I must admit that I have good and admirable communication skills. This is awfully important when it comes to leadership because those in employment inherently need to understand the nature of task you are giving them. I set my goals appropriately and allow the people I lead to set theirs too. By the end of the day, they have to be met however difficult the situation may be. In so doing, I speak clearly when talking to someone, and in cases where I have to address them on media, I ensure that the electronic me ssages are not vague. Proper communication ensures that none of the information is left out and the recipients act on them accordingly. On the same plinth, I am a leader who possesses good social skills. A leader is someone who needs to regularly meet strangers in order to discuss business. In so doing, one must be able to socialize without any discrimination. Likewise, while talking to the employees, one should be outgoing and so that you can be liked by the workers. I am a leader who exercises social skills adequately in order to accommodate everyone. My skills come as a no surprise, but it is seen in every aspect of my communication. On the same pedigree, I posses high listening skills, I speak comfortably about the products sold and the business at large. This puts me in high possession in case of competition, because of the high standards of decorum that I posses. I love the fact that I am a leader who is confident, determined and work with others as a team. In my leadership, I am able to push through the drawbacks that may affect the business with a lot of confidence. I am much determined that in so doing, I must achieve positive result. While dealing with the setbacks affecting the business, there are a lot of huddles that comes on the way, however, I remain steadfast to ensure that I push through to win by the end of the day. In addition, I involve other stakeholders in decision making and solving of problems that affect the business. I am a leader who is flexible and ever ready to change with the changes, as long as they lead the business towards the right direction. I am a leader who goes with priority. Prioritization is hugely important, and often, when lacking, it holds people back. I look at what is most important to the business at the very particular time. When that that thing is not well done, it gives me space to explore on my creativity and efficiency. Through prioritization, the team is well led because every worker knows what to do at an appropriate time. In the same connection, I keep to my words. This comes in the sense that when I promise to do something to the employees, I have to accomplish it despite the huddles met on the way. Some of the promises that I ensure that are taken care of include, the end year party, additional training to the employees to help them gain much experience, granting more vocational time to them and I ensure that I follow through no matter what. I came to realize that this does not only build trust, but also increases the level of productivity, motivation and engagement.Values that Shape my Leadership SkillsI am a loyal and respectful leader. In the first case, I respect myself and my job too. On the other hand, I ensure that the workers are treated with demureness in every realm. High standards of ethical values are maintained at work place in every circumstance. Development of greater employee loyalty and respect lead to respect among the employees and the employer. Another aspect of my value that helps me move to greater heights is the aspect of fair dealing. I have the history of fair and just connections with the employees. I ensure that the employee who deserves promotion is promoted without fear or favor. On the same line, when it comes to motivating the workers, I do it diligently so that none of them feels left out. I come to learn that when an employee is motivated, he gets the intrinsic drive to do the work and the morale is boosted in order to give outstanding outcome. I am someone who bases his decisions on values, and not beliefs. For example, when situations arise at work place, I have to deal with it head on until I arrive at a decision on what to do. I do not use beliefs to formulate responses. I use substantial values to formulate my responses, and the method has always given me the best solutions. On the same pedigree, I stimulate visions and inspire others. My job creates vision and inspires others to make their visions a reality. They get passion and interest in whatever thing they do because of the zeal and zest they get from me. As a leader, I focus less on numbers, and more values of building a team that brings positive results.What I can Contribute as far as Leadership is ConcernedThis question stern leads to some useful questions that a leader should ask him. Contributions a leader makes should be geared towards the success of the organization. They can either be short, medium or long term contributions. Moving in that line helps the leader to stay focused in his plans. Remarkable leaders think about their contribution, and how their leadership is making a difference to people, products, processes, Customers, and the community at large. As per my case, I am a leader who is a connector. I focus to connect the employees, colleagues, superiors, and the clients. I foster the work done by these parties with a lot of collaborations. I also display genuine considerations for the respect and openness. In so doing, I fully understand the concern of others and in case there is any that requires my attention, I effusively react to it on time so that none can feel offended. As a leader, I am an implementer. In this case, I do planning on time, I discipline those who go contrary to the organization's expectations or those who do not follow the ethos, pathjos and the logos of the company. I also measure the work to be done by every individual and monitor how the work is being done. In so doing, no of the stone remain unturned. Most importantly, I ensure that the organization's resources are well kept and are used for the benefit of the organization and not any other purpose. Depending on the management level, I implement the set goals and ensure that they are in constant line with the strategy set. Interestingly, I give reward to the employees who adhere to the rules set and those who do their work diligently without getting into problems with others. Such acts makes the organization lively in most of the time, hence makes people to work in unison. My third profile is that I am a resolute leader. This is one of the most parts that fail many leaders. It sometimes becomes awfully difficult to make decision concerning the organization. Some might be affecting the welfare of the workers; others might be for the rank adjustments, among many others. Making such decision may affect people in series of ways, nonetheless, the have to be made for the progress of the organization. While making such decision, I become agile and independent and I display great aplomb concerning the very decision. I put into action what is necessary and priority to the organization at that particular time. Despite the interruptions and ambiguities that characterizes such decisions; I remain steadfast to ensure that they are implemented. It is important to remain focused on what is essential and to avoid unnecessary disruption when faced with challenges regarding such hard decisions. I ensure that the energy I spend to influence and convince people point out to the direction I want them to go. I am a visionary leader. I exercise my vision starting from the short, medium and long term objectives. I also look at the in-depth in which the objectives are to achieved and plan for the appropriate pedagogical approach to realize them. When I realize that an approach to be implemented might not work to bring success, I swiftly pull out and employ an appropriate pedagogy. In the same pedigree, I am accurately study the environment under which some things can best work out, and help my workers to anticipate on what is coming and develop sound strategy for copying what can bring success. As a visionary leader, I innovate and seize profitable business opportunities that are not identified by others and venture into them. In so doing, I have the ability to forgo networks and partnership and even influence from other people that can make me not realize what is beneficial to the organization. While taking business, my communications are imbued with my vision because I have the talent to inspire and motivate other with my ideas.Areas to work on in respect of LeadershipBeing a leader is not easy, and it frequently requires time and patience to master the role. At the core, all that most workers want is someone to guide them rather than boss them around. If your intentions and motives are in your company and team's best interests, you're unlikely to fail. There are so many things that as a leader you should put into consideration for the things to work out properly. As a leader, one should try and work on excessive connectivity. Constant connectivity allows the managers to provide feedback on the go. It also helps them to manage workers across all the working zones. The only problem associated with it is that it can always lead to an always –connected, omnipresent approach of leadership, which may disgust many employees, hence making them not to work meticulously. A leader should not be stagnant. It is always important to lead a team that grows. In this dictum, growth starts with the leader himself. This is realized in his ideas, action plans, and how he implements the plans. A stagnant leader is an egocentric leader. He is adamant to the progress of the company, hence unyielding any fruit. It is easy for the company to lose credibility if there is no continued innovation. A leader who does not remind the organization of its purpose does not motivate the team hence losing focus. On the same plinth, a leader should not need to be liked. Leaders are first people and it is natural that they want to be liked. Instead of a leader trying to be well liked among the employees, they should seek to be understood and respected. Similarly, respect is two way traffic, you first respect the workers is when they retaliate. Proper communication with everyone at work place keeps the members in the loop about the reasons behind the decision made. Most importantly, a leader should not be hypocritical in nature. He should do what he says and reverse the same. Hypocrites in most cases lead the business to failure.Short, Medium and Long Term Leadership Plans in LeadershipIn order to be successful in any ordeal, it is pivotal to plan appropriately. Taking charge of the future should be done strategically. One needs well kept records of measurable milestones and goals. In the same line, one needs to upgrade the skills and update the knowledge and information on frequent basis to en sure that they are attained as planned. As a leader, I have my short, medium and long term plans that help me in leading the team. As short term plan requires, I am inherently curtained that the company rules and regulations are followed because through them, the medium plans are achieved. On the same note, I ensure that promotions are done appropriately so that the company can be led into the right directions. The medium plans include developing a larger and more professional network with other related companies so as to expand business territory. The long term plans on the other hand is to ensure that the organization is autonomous and can support workers from and outside the nation. The plans are implemented one after the other to ensure that all are attained. Innately, I have to remain a leader of the people at all cost. I have to ensure that I maintain the highest standards to leadership skills and avoid anything that can paint my leadership blue. In order to construct my leadership skills and learning opportunities, I ensure that I am ready to learn from others. I also organize for conferences where we meet as managers to learn from one another. Most importantly, I give social support to the society in order to maintain good relationship with them in most cases. This is achieved by creating job opportunities to the society within the premise, and also relaxing the prices of the commodities so that everyone gets serviced by the end of the day.ConclusionFrom the analysis made, series of conclusion can be arrived at. It is important to note that The Drucker article by Peter F. Drucker gathers series information about leadership and management. It explains ways in which one can becomes a successful leader in the society. Borrowing my skills from the article, I have learned that a leader is nurtured and through the process, he should become a responsible person in the society. My leadership skills have taught me a lot in life and have taken me to high platforms to negotiate businesses for the betterment of the organization I lead. That which crowns all is that a leader should be humble. Humility is a very important aspect that all leaders should posses.?

Food and Agricultue Essay

Provide at least two modern examples of how the United States has increased its food production. Genetically modifying foods is one way the United States has grown its food increase. The use of genetically engineered crops has grown rapidly in countries such as the United States, especially for soybeans, corn, and cotton where GM crops make up between 70 and 90 percent of total production (Turk, 2014). Ways the United States has increased food production farmers have utilized numerous process, some of which include irrigation and crop otation which can increase the long term sustainability and has been standard practice for many years. A step taken nearly 50 years ago to increase food production was the green revolution, which focused on â€Å"monocultures of single crops and required significant inputs of energy, water fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides† (Turk, Bensel, 2014). â€Å"Advocates say that they have increased agricultural production by more than US$98 billion and saved an estimated 473 million kilograms of pesticidesfrom being sprayed. † (Turk & Bensel, 2014, Ch. 3. 3). Tools such as herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides reduce crop losses both before and after harvest, and increase crop yields. A plentiful supply of fresh produce is vital for a healthy population. Numerous scientific studies demonstrate the health benefits of regularly eating a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables and consumers are increasingly aware of these benefits. Agricultural productivity is key to ensuring that this demand can be met at an affordable price; and crop protection products help increase productivity and usable crop yields (Turk, 2014). Discuss how these changes have affected the environment, and what impact they have on food safety? The use of genetically modified foods have be studied for years some improvements have been made. But the biggest issue is what has it done to the soil the water and the air let alone the food itself. Allergic reaction occur when the immune system interprets something as foreign, different and offensive and reacts accordingly. All GM foods, by definition have something foreign and different. And several studies show that they provoke reactions (The Open Nutraceuticals Journal, 2011, 4, 3-11). Changes is agriculture have affected our environment with soil erosion, water pollution, air pollution, and habitat destruction (Turk, 2014). I believe that this will always be an issue and will continue to have pros and cons but with proper testing they can be better. http://www. academia. edu/542384/A_Review_on_Impacts_of_Genetically_Modified_Food_on_ Human_Health http://www. croplifeamerica. org/crop-protection/benefits/increase-food-production Turk, J. , & Bensel, T. (2014). Contemporary environmental issues (2nd ed. ). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Irish Scrappage Scheme Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Irish Scrappage Scheme - Essay Example Recall that the questions we are concerned with are (i) whether the scrappage scheme has had a positive impact on the aggregate sales of cars in the domestic market and (ii) whether the introduction of the scrappage scheme has created a substitution effect from G and C band vehicles to A and B brand vehicles. The hypothesis and the basic setup In order to empirically examine these questions, the easiest and simplest methodology adoptable is that of using two different OLS regressions for cases (i) and (ii) to test whether the introduction of the scheme led to any significant departures in the time series observations of our dependent variables. As mentioned earlier, our dependent variable for case (i) are the quarterly car sales over the sample period of 2003 to 2010. Incorporating an indicator variable for the time periods which were under the coverage of the scrappage scheme as an independent variable, one can conceive an OLS specification to see if the there was a significant impact of the dummy on the dependent variable. However, in order to obtain precise, valid estimates it is crucial to control for other factors that may have influenced car sales during the sample period. To better understand the reasoning, consider the following regression: (1) represents the dependent variable, denotes the constant, i.e., the inte rcept, denotes the dummy for the scrappage scheme, represents a vector of controls and is the stochastic disturbance or the error term . can be defined as : And Thus, the coefficient signifies the impact of the scrappage scheme on the dependent variable . If we find is statistically significant from zero, the implication will be that the scrappage scheme had an impact. The sign on the coefficient will indicate the direction of the impact. Therefore, if the coefficient is found to be significant and positive, that will imply that the scrappage scheme led to an increase in the dependent variable . If on the other hand we find the coefficient to be negative, that will imply that the scrappage scheme led to a decline on the dependent variable. The coefficient vector includes the coefficients on the individual variables included as controls. The signs and significances of these coefficients will reveal the direction and importance of the control variables for the determination of the dep endent variable. Therefore, for case (i), we can take the time series of car sales as our dependent variable

Reading Response of the TWO readings Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reading Response of the TWO readings - Assignment Example ng at their own homes to workshops and factories, where tea became part of daily routines, replacing gin and beer as the national beverage.2 In â€Å"A Taste of Empire, 1600-1800,† James Walvin argues that the demand for luxury staples, such as sugar, tea, tobacco, and chocolate, are products of social and economic changes in British life. He asserts that the demand for tea increased because Britain also became a world superpower who used slavery trade and wars to attain their economic ends.3 Both Pomeranz and Topik and Walvin agree that tea is related to trade and colonialism because it is a product of international trade and demand for it increased because of the need for other luxury staple products. Pomeranz and Topik and Walvin note the increasing demand for tea using the same information that tea became popular in Europe during the eighteenth century because of cheaper sweeteners. They are also similar in addressing the slave trade that became an important driver to reducing the prices of sugar and to highlighting the role of trade to expanding colonialism. Walvin asserts that the slave trade decreased sugar prices,4 and Pomeranz and Topik agree that the â€Å"availability of cheap sweetener† encouraged tea consumption.5 What is different between the two is that Pomeranz and Topik focus on workshops and factories as main social influencers of tea consumption,6 while Walvin is more general in emphasizing that even the poor in Europe, especially in Britain, dr ank tea in large amounts.7 Walvin further informs the text of Pomeranz and Topik by describing the slave trade, and how Britain’s rise as a commercial and military power played a role in its global trade goals and practices,8 whereas Pomeranz and Topik shows how the British used the Opium War to manage its tea trade with China.9 Pomeranz, Kenneth, and Steven Topik, eds. â€Å"Brewing Up a Storm.† The World that Trade Created: Society, Culture, and the World Economy, 1400 to the Present. NY: M.E. Sharpe

Applying Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Applying Theory - Essay Example The first part will explain Beattie’s model of health promotion including its relevance to the contemporary public health. Eventually, the strengths and weaknesses of the model will be identified and thoroughly discussed. Upon identifying the different behaviour change models, the second part of the paper will discuss about the strengths and weaknesses of each framework. Beattie’s model of health promotion is one of the most commonly used frameworks that enables the health care professionals to thoroughly examine the health determinants aside from developing a list of highly recommended responsive action to improve the health and well-being of the patients. The Beattie’s model of health promotion is composed of four paradigms known as: (1) health persuasion; (2) personal counselling; (3) community development; and (4) legislative action. (Beattie, 1991) These four paradigms are basically used in capturing the entire picture which is necessary in allowing the health care professionals to develop effective action plan. Basically, the health persuasion technique includes the bio-medical approach upon analyzing the main cause of a particular behaviour. Under the top-down or authoritative, the relationship between the patients’ diseases, lifestyle, risk factors, the suggested way of controlling lifestyle, and the risks of not being able to follow the health care professionals’ health advice are being identified (Piper, 2007). On the other hand, the bottom-up model is used in as a patient-centered approach of health promotion. It simply means that the patients are given the opportunity to have power or control over their health care treatment or medication (Beattie, 1991). Regardless of whether the health promotion plan is physician- or patient-centred, the application of the Beattie’s model of health promotion enables the health care professionals to analyze

Music Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Music Study - Essay Example Recorded on a piano, roll the â€Å"Maple Leaf Rag† was named after a short-lived Sedalia social club and â€Å"he gave the genre its iconic masterpiece. It was also ragtimes biggest hit. The phenomenal success of the Maple Leaf Rag sparked a nationwide ragtime craze.† (Levang) â€Å"Three Dances† by Susato, the Renaissance Flemish composer, instrumentalist and publisher, celebrates dance music. The three pieces include simple but artistic arrangement of dance music. â€Å"Tielman Susato...established himself in Antwerp, c. 1529, as music copyist, flutist, and trumpeter, and later as publisher. In 1543, he produced the Premier Livre des chansons à   quatre parties. . ., including eight chansons by himself.† (Reese, 290) Thus, this paper makes a comparative analysis of the two celebrated musical pieces of different period and category. â€Å"Maple Leaf Rag† (1916) by Joplin has been celebrated as a multi-strain ragtime and it is adorned with athletic bass lines and upbeat melodies. There are four parts in the piece and each of them has a recurring theme striding bass line with abundant seventh chords. The piece, which has a single movement or section, belongs to the genre piano piece with the instrumentation of piano and has a romantic genre piece style. â€Å"The explosive popularity of the Maple Leaf Rag...was founded on fortuitous circumstance... It was in all ways an unlikely combination. And yet it happened... Joplin wasn’t the only composer of ragtime in the 1890s, or even the first one.... But Joplin was the decisive ragtime composer, the one whose musical imagination gave ragtime its finest expression.† (Levang) The music combined march tempos, minstrel-show songs, and the ‘ragged" or syncopated rhythms. The syncopation of the rhythms is especially evident in the transition betwe en the first and second strain and it was impressively original at the time of its composition. The careful construction of the ragtime tune in the piece excels all

Video news release Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Video news release - Essay Example Through undertaking a survey of 77 television stations that broadcasts to 50% of the USA population, the CMD found that there were 36 video news release that were aired by these television stations incorporated and disguised as part of their own news, without disclosing to the audience the authentic source of the video news (). However, the major problem associated with the video news release is that the television stations that broadcasts these types of news fails to balance the clients news with their own independently researched footages, so as to present to the clients the actual status of the clients. More than 75% of the USA adult population depended on television news to be informed on what is happening around the world. Therefore, the television news that is aired on a daily basis has a great influence on the ability of the people to evaluate everything, ranging from consumer products to government policies (). The government has also been known for contributing the highest p ercentage of video news release that are aired by the television news, while political parties and other politically-based organizations are keen to broadcast their opinions to the public though the use of the video news release. There has been a recent controversy over the state of the video news release being incorporated within the normal news broadcast by televisions to the public, but the controversial debate has not deterred the television stations from continued airing of the fake news (). The controversy has led the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to investigate the conduct of the television stations that incorporates corporate clients or the government released video news release as their own news. This resulted to the issuance of the FCCs April 2005 Public Notice, which provided that the television stations must always disclose the sources of their news

Gendered art critique - Midterm essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Gendered art critique - Midterm - Essay Example In this piece of art, the artistic talks about the Chibinda Ilunga sculpture, being a composition of the Chokwe people of Central Africa. The sculpture is a depiction of a legendary leader that was a masterful hunter, a successful king, and one that was a descendant of a deity. Gender refers to a person’s sense of self and inner identity, unlike sex that biologically defines feminism or masculinity of an individual. Gender cuts across all the social aspects of life including art. The kind of male-dominated culture that existed before and now its effect remains in various issues in the current society. In arts, many artists have tried to explore, reinforce and challenge the gender distinctions promoted by the traditions. Many artists through presenting their personal experiences on historical and political agenda encourage us to question the assumptions commonly made about gender. The differences in gender considerations manifest in various artworks done by various artists. The artworks depicted men as always possessing the powerful body and great leadership skills. From a different perspective, the artworks depict females as passive, eroticized subjects meant for the viewer’s pleasure. For example by looking at Chibinda Ilunga sculpture below , it shows a reflection of a powerful person as he wears a leadership hat, holding a stick, and a horn. The male nude is one of the artworks one will hardly find in the general art exhibitions. Most of the artists lack the urge of using male nudes as a subject matter to their art productions. The male nude is an artwork written and drawn by the artist and author Kyra Belan. It follows her interest in the exploration of the male nude in the field of art. The understanding of freedom of art fuels my analysis of Belan’s work. Belan narrates about her challenges in exhibiting her images of the male nude in the public and the associated criticism. The display of male nude

Resource and Capabilities of Huawei Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Resource and Capabilities of Huawei - Essay Example Global telecom market has gone through systematic changes wherein from a fragmented industry, it becomes more like a centralized industry with the focus on developing core competencies through the centralization of manufacturing and production facilities. With the changes in the technology, however, there occurred a systematic shift in the way organizations in the industry attempted to dominate the market. Â  However, there still remains a big question mark as to whether the firm will be able to climb the technology ladder and start offering high-end technology products in the international market. It is also critical to note whether the firm will be able to challenge CISCO-one of the leading providers of networking and communication equipment in the international market. If it can what resources and capabilities it may require to successfully challenging the CISCO. Â  The resource-based view of the strategic management indicates as to how firms can develop their internal resources and capabilities in order to perform better than their competitors. Resource-based view also indicates that a firm must deploy its resources in most efficient and optimal level so as to maximize the returns for shareholders. Development of strategic capabilities is, therefore, one of the most critical aspects of strategic management which a firm needs to perform. The acquisition of various resources and competencies, therefore, offer a firm a great opportunity to develop its competitive advantage and successfully meet the competitive challenges. (Cromb,2006). Â  The resource capabilities can either be specific to the organization as well as generic capabilities that allow firms to focus on their customer needs and requirements to deliver value. Various studies indicate that the high performing firms which focus on delivering value to a greater extent basically distinguish such firms from the low performing firms.(O’Regan & Ghobadian, 2004).

BURGER KING CASE STUDY Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

BURGER KING CASE STUDY - Term Paper Example Experts suggested that the campaign was a clear indicator that Burger King was the favorite burger of the Americans. This is because consumers ate Whopper more often than the other products. The campaign also doubled Whopper sales in the quarter that ended on December 2007. The burger also got a replica of Whopper at Madame Tussauds in the same year. The campaign was able to reach both the old and the young. It was also well received by the advertising and branding experts (Faheem 3). The Pros and Cons of Using Viral Marketing Campaigns to Promote a Product Consumers are capable of spreading online information about services and products to their peers through forwarding e-mail through viral marketing campaigns. Because the information spreads very fast and through the online medium, it cannot be obstructed by geographical boundaries. Therefore, it has the ability to reach many potential customers within a very short time (Dekimpe, Gijsbrechts, and Wuyts 257). Viral marketing assists a business to remain afloat in the competitive business world through a strategy that is easy to incorporate in a defined buyer-society and empower the unattached audience with marketing tips, guidance, and training. The word of mouth idea strengthens the peer-to-peer recommendation of the service or product. It also assists the business to get revenue from local interest in the scheme (Borade 1). There are possible risks linked with the use of viral marketing campaigns. When the message spreads like a virus over the internet, it is difficult to gain control of the process again. Furthermore, because the customers are free to spread any message, it is impossible to control the message they are writing to their peers. When consumers are unable to edit the message, they are less likely to spread the message thus making the campaign ineffective. If the process of spreading the messages gets out of control, it may cause logistical issues such as high costs and slowing down of the Web s ites (Dekimpe, Gijsbrechts, Wuyts 261). Thus, the process can be costly to the company if gets out of control. Factors That Resulted In the Success of the Whopper Freakout Campaign The success of the Whopper Freakout campaign can be asserted by the innovative advertising campaigns that Burger King had run back in the late 1950s. The most successful of all the campaigns was the 1974 â€Å"Have it Your Way† campaign, which motivated customers to order a burger the way they preferred it. In the following years, the fast food company has launched a number of innovative and unconventional campaigns that assisted Burger King in increasing its visibility among the target customers and promote its products. Another factor that can be attributed to its success is the fact the campaign featured a viral marketing website, which was composed of the videotaped consumer reactions. The campaign was also backed by other promotional components such as print, online ads, and TV advertisements. A reputable company CP + B. designed the advertisements (Faheem 3). The Whopper Freakout campaign generated a lot of interest among the target consumers who consisted of the technology savvy youngsters and it quickly spread by the word-of-mouth marketing (Faheem 3). In other words, the campaign made people start talking about the products as they even spread through the internet. Word-of-mouth marketing puts the brand directly into the conversations among

Hell Hath No Fury Like Medea Scorned Essay Example for Free

Hell Hath No Fury Like Medea Scorned Essay In Euripidess Medea, revenge can lead to destructive actions. This theme is a central part to the tragedy, mostly because it pops up time and time again. Euripides, through the use of motif, makes Medeas desire for revenge seem conceivable. Not only has Jason left her by marrying Creons daughter, but Creon has exiled her from Corinth because she â€Å"nourish[es] rancorous ill will toward [Jason and Creusa] whom [he] intends to protect† (Euripides 92). The protagonist is left with ultimately nothing and blames her misfortune on Jason. Throughout the play, Medea is described as a very determined and passionate woman who will stop at nothing to serve her sweet revenge. The death motif supports Medeas theme of revenge because it foreshadows her plans for vengeance. Medea shows the horror that can come when a person lets desire for revenge rule ones life. Death pops up very early in the play, when â€Å"death is [Medeas] wish† (87). She explains how she wishes death on herself, her enemies, and her children. She could â€Å"think of nothing but the death of three persons† (96). This foreshadows her plans for revenge because she eventually kills Creon, his daughter, and her own children, leaving Jason with nothing. Medeas plan for revenge starts with her children delivering a golden wreath and cloak that is cursed to burn the wearers body to death to Jasons new wife Creusa. This leads to not only the death of Creusa, but also her father, Creon. Although Medea has caused much damage and havoc, her vengeance does not stop there. She wants Jason â€Å"crushed, boneless, and crawling,† and she wants to sever all ties with him (119). She claims that â€Å"as long as [my children] live; I shall be mixed with him† (120). This brings her to her final and most destructive act of revenge: she kills her own children therefore leaving Jason with no wife or power. Ultimately, Medeas theme of revenge is supported throughout the tragedy and ends with Medea coming out victorious yet left with nothing to live for in her life. Death is brought upon multiple characters and is mentioned multiple times throughout the play. Euripides, by using theme and motif, sends a clear message that revenge can seem to control ones meaning of life and leave a person empty and with nothing except for a rancorous spirit. Medea ends with the protagonist exiting, carrying her dead boys with no home, family, or a reason to live. The protagonist’s need for revenge leads to irreversible destructive actions that not only leave Jason with nothing, but Medea as well.

The Last Spin Essay Example for Free

The Last Spin Essay Two boys, named Tigo and Dave, who were both enemies and both belonged in two different gang’s had never met each other before and engaged themselves in the game known as the ‘Russian Roulette’. They had to settle a situation for their gang’s. Apparently, Dave and his gang member’s had set foot on the territory that belonged to Tigo and his gang member’s. When they engaged themselves in the ‘Russian Roulette’, Tigo wore a green silk jacket with an orange stripe on each sleeve and had thick black hair and a nose that was a bit too long. Meanwhile, Dave wore a blue and gold jacket and had large eyes that were moist – looking. They were both sitting in the middle of a basement room on two different chairs with a table in the middle. On the centre of the table there was a Smith and Wesson . 38 Police Special that was worth forty five dollars and three . 38 Special cartridges. Tigo had referred to the gun by saying ‘I like a good piece’. It all began when Tigo loaded the first cartridge, twirled the cylinder, placed the gun on the side of his head, squeezed the trigger and nothing happened. They kept on going while talking amongst themselves, until Tigo added an extra cartridge to change and lower the odds. Afterwards, they still kept on going, while talking amongst them, until Tigo re added an extra cartridge to make it even money and decided that they could not keep on playing this game for the rest of the night. He had said ‘To hell with the club! ’ and decided to ignore the situation. Meanwhile, Dave had wondered if they should become friends and said ‘†¦Friends? ’ Tigo agreed and decided that they shall do ‘The Last Spin’. The tragic event occurred when Dave picked up the gun, placed it on the side of his head and fired. There was an explosion and half of Dave’s head was ripped away and shattered his face. A small, sharp cry had escaped Tigo’s throat, a look of incredulous shock knifed his eyes and he placed his head on the table and wept. 2. At the beginning of the story, Dave and Tigo are separated because: They are both each other’s enemies. They both belong in different gang’s. They both have no blood for each other. They have never met each other before. They have never crossed paths before. As the story continues, Dave and Tigo are brought together because: They both have to settle a situation for each other’s gang. They both have girlfriends. They are pretty lucky. They both have to stick to their gang’s They both went through the spinning of the cylinder without one of the cartridges coming out of the barrel several times when they squeezed the trigger. They both agree to become friends when Dave says ‘†¦Friends? ’ They both want to go to the lake on Sunday with their girlfriend’s in one boat. If I were to film the story I would chose Johnny Depp and Al Pacino to cast in the roles of Tigo and Dave because they have both played in different gangster movies when they were younger or recently. For example, Al Pacino acted as an Italian mafia named Michael Corleone in the ‘Godfather Trilogy’ in 1972, 1974 and 1990 and also as a young Cuban refugee who turns into a gangster named Tony Montana in the movie ‘Scarface’ in 1983. Besides, Johnny Depp has acted as an American bank robber in the Midwest during the early 1930s named John Dillinger in the movie ‘Public Enemies’ in 2009. Furthermore, the set I would use would be in a small basement room with a bit of light that is coming from a light bulb that is hanging from the ceiling, a few windows but some of them would be broken and damaged, a door that is old and rusted, a grey floor covered with some dust and dirt, a grey ceiling that has some cracks and some spider webs, and some grey walls that are covered with graffiti. Inside the basement room I would have a table, two chairs and some boxes that are spread around and are stacked up one on top of the other. Some of the directions I would give to the actors, Al Pacino and Johnny Depp would be to mention that Tigo and Dave are enemies and at the end of the short story, they become friends. I would also tell them to express their feelings and emotions such as when they are about to squeeze the trigger and shoot the Smith and Wesson . 38 Police Special next to their heads, when they speak about their girlfriends and when Tigo starts weeping because Dave’s head has been ripped away from the explosion. Last of all, I would tell them to use gangster voices and expressions. 4. Some of the words that I think are KEY to our understanding of the story would be: Enemy. Club. Settle. Situation Friends Explosion. Weeping. 5. Some grammatically incorrect sentences that I picked out are: I seen pieces before I’ve seen pieces before. I got no bad blood for you I’ve got no bad blood for you. We going to sit and talk all night Are we going to sit and talk all night. I man, you got to admit your boys shouldn’t have come into our territory last night I mean, you’ve got to admit that your boys shouldn’t have come into our territory last night. I got to admit nothing I’ve got to admit nothing. I never seen you either I’ve never seen you either. Where you from originally? – Where are you from originally? Why you giving me a break? Why are you giving me a break? The they get to be our people’s age and they turn to fat They get to be our people’s age and then they turn to fat. You’re the one needs the courage: You’re the one who needs the courage. There should be some body you can trust There should be somebody you can trust. Well here goes Well here it goes. We keep this up all night We can keep this up all night. 6. To begin with, in the passages of description, the author, Evan Hunter, describes Tigo and Dave and the different objects. Secondly, in the lines of dialogue, he describes the different discussions amongst themselves. Thirdly, in the passages of description and narrative he uses the Third Person Point of View by using the word ‘He’. However, in the lines of dialogue he uses Second Person Point of View by using the word ‘You’. Furthermore, in the passages of description and narrative, Evan Hunter, pretends to be in the same room as Dave and Tigo so therefore he can give more information to the readers. Last of all, the purpose of the Second Person Point of View by using the words ‘You’ in the lines of dialogue is used so that the author can pretend to be part of Dave and Tigo’s conversation so he can give more information to the readers. 7. Today’s age is more or less the same as the past generations. In the past, there were many wars were many people were killed. For example, in Europe there was World War One from 1914 to 1918 in which the Allied Forces (France, England, United States, Russia and Italy) fought versus Germany who belonged in the Central Powers and later on, there was World War Two from 1939 to 1945 where again, the Allied Forces fought versus Germany, Italy and Japan who belonged in the Axis Powers. Secondly, there also were many famous criminals. For example, there was John Dillinger from the United States, Jack the Ripper from England and Jacques Mesrine from France. Last of all, there were many different Civil Wars that erupted in different countries. For example, there was the American Civil War in the United States from 1861 to 1865 and the Irish Civil War in Ireland from 1922 to 1923. However, in nowadays, there are still some Civil Wars such as the Somali Civil War in Somalia that erupted in 1991 and the Civil War in Afghanistan that erupted in 1978. In nowadays, there is still some violence because nearly every single day, there are many stories on the news about children that have been kidnapped by one or several pedophiles. For example, there is Marc Dutroux from Belgium. Secondly, there is the Death Penalty which was used in many different countries in the past but today, it is still used in countries such as the United States, Korea DPR, China and Cuba. Last of all, there were many gangs in the past but they still exist today in the United States, South America, Eastern Europe and China. For example, in China you have the gang known as the ‘Triads’. To conclude, there is violence because of Terrorism. There is always a Terrorist Group such as Al Qaeda, Hamas or the Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) or an individual person who always has to commit an act of Terrorism to induce fear in victims who are ruthless and not protected against Terrorism. Therefore, they kill, injure, maim, destroy and terrorize many citizens. The Terrorist Group or individual person commits the Act of Terrorism for various reasons such as Revenge, Communism, Separatism, Poverty and Economic Disadvantages, Globalization, Religion, Social and Political Injustice. Additionally, there is violence within the Child Soldiers in countries such as Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo because they are brainwashed by their factions, clans or leaders and are ordered to kill other people who are defenseless when they are given an AK – 47. A perfect example would be the movie ‘Blood Diamond’ with Leonardo Dicaprio and directed by Edward Zwick. Last of all, there is violence in many different sports such as football (soccer) and basketball. It may happen when the supporters of a certain team will fight against the supporters of another team if they have any rivalries. For example, the Chelsea supporters will fight against the Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspurs or Manchester United supporters. This would create violence because many of them would get killed, wounded and stabbed. A second example would be a football player that would get killed by its own supporters. An incident of this type occurred in the 1994 World Cup in America where a Colombian football player, Andres Escobar, had accidentally scored an own goal in a match against the United States, a match which Colombia lost 2:1. On his return to Colombia, Andres Escobar had been confronted outside a bar in Medellin by a gunman who shot him six times. When he shot him, he always repeated ‘Goal ‘after each shot.

Procurement of Goods and Services Strategies

Procurement of Goods and Services Strategies Introduction Procurement is the acquisition of goods, works and services. The process covers a whole cycle from the identification of needs through the supply of the product and to the end of the service contact and even the end of the useful life of the asset procured. This chapter explains the background of this research work, the problem discussion and the overview of the structure adopted in this dissertation. Background The speed of technological advancement is so much now that no part of the global world can afford to be left behind especially now that the world has become a global village. Businesses all over the world are hence looking for strategies that will position them and make them have a competitive advantage whatever it takes. Such competitive advantage could be gotten from doing business at a low cost achieving lot of savings or having an effective work system. That is what a good procurement best practice strategy can deliver to any organisation. Many Organizations are now seen trying to focus on making their procurement strategies as efficient and cost effective as possible to ensure they have a competitive edge in their industries. According to source one management services, LLC, (2008) the advent of Best Practice Procurement Processes has suddenly seen a lot of companies realizing substantial cost reductions through: Having a proper understanding of the cost drivers used in determining total cost of ownership. Elimination of all non-value adding process thereby Increasing efficiency across the entire supply chain. Aggregation of demand, supplier rationalization, strategic sourcing, and enhanced supplier relationships resulting in improved cycle time. Electronically enabling the supply chain through the use of paperless e-Procurement tools and e-commerce portals. Reduction of carrying costs, warehousing, movement, obsolescence and shrinkage through the alternative inventory ownership agreements – retained consignment and vendor managed inventory. Problem discussion Different strategies are often used in achieving the best procurement processes in various industries. The need for developing countries especially Nigeria industries not to be left behind in utilizing these opportunity has necessitated this research work. For the purpose of this study, I will consider the extent to which procurement practices in Nigeria has adopted the three key strategies discussed in the work namely the lean supply, the e-procurement and the green supply strategies as it relates to environmental friendly policies adopted by various organisations in Nigeria. Kirk Zylstra (2007 p 10), argued that the main objective of all supply chain executives today is he to ensure that future business forecasts, ever changing customer demand, and other variations across the supply chain do not upset their carefully laid cost-reduction plans. Its however been discovered that the main obstacle to this vision is the ability to model budgets, accurately tie real costs to operations, and develop processes that execute these plans daily. This is where the application of lean principles to supply chain operations can help. According to Len Cooper, Senior Vice president of supply chain Halliburton, confirms that Halliburton is focusing mostly on Lean strategies with suppliers, and less so on Six Sigma because, as Cooper explains, Lean focuses on speed and throughput, which is easier for suppliers to apply and is in fact a goal for our suppliers. He went further to states that ‘’we would rather have our best suppliers grow with us, especially in these times, rather than go out and find more suppliers in order to gain access to additional capacity. We wanted to share our Creativity Over Capital ideas and experiences and benefits with them. In one of the report done by Andrea Ovans of Harvard Business report on E- procurement at Schlumberger Oilfield Services, (the worlds largest oil service company on is using the Web to revolutionize the way it buys equipment and supplies) on What they accomplished by moving to e-procurement?. The brain behind the strategy, Paris-based Alain-Michel Diamant Berger explains that ‘’We replaced a number of different systems some that were paper based, some that were automated with a single desktop system. Thats allowed us to streamline and speed up our entire purchasing operation. He further confirmed that buying supplies and equipment has often been very slow and complicated in the past, with lots and lots of papers and approval processes involved before executing a buy. However employees now act as their own purchasing agents, placing orders directly through their PCs and receiving the goods they need much more quickly. The advantage here is that the e procurement single system adopted by Schlumberger which help to consolidate purchases and gain greater volume discounts from our vendors. According to Derek Parker The ultimate aim is to achieve specific, measurable results that improve competitiveness across the supply chain by applying sustainable development practices.’’ Suppliers are often made to understand that sustainable practices improve the long term financial bottom line and in many cases the ‘greening’ of supply chain has a positive interaction with a move towards lean manufacturing, and sustainable processes which are ways of eliminating waste. From the aforementioned strategies adopted by Schlumberger, Halliburton and other organisations described as seen above, it is obvious that there is need to adopt a more aggressive strategy as that adopted by these organisations in order to remain competitive and relevant to their respective industry. The purpose of this research therefore is to evaluate the extent to which these all important strategies have been adopted by organisation in Nigeria, noting the implication and the key hindrance inhibiting these strategies. It is also critical to note that while Sustainable Procurement activities are common in many developed countries, the awareness and implementation is still relatively low in most developing countries. While I recognise the important role that procurement policies can play to support of sustainable development, this research is aims to contribute to the adoption of sustainable procurement strategy in developing countries especially Nigeria. Overview of the dissertation structure The whole dissertation is divided into six major chapters. This chapter which serves as the introduction gives the background and overview of the importance of the topic, the purpose of the research and finally the research questions then introduced. The second chapter provides the reader the opportunity to have an insight into the literature review on some the topics related to the research. This leads us to the third chapter giving the details of the methodology adopted in the carrying out the research. It explains the purpose, the approach and the strategy adopted for the research. It also shows the synopsis of how I arrived at the method I finally adopted for the research. Chapter four gives the highlight of the background of the companies used for this case study and all data gathered in the course of the research. These data were analysed in chapter five while a final conclusion and implications was drawn in chapter six based on the findings of the data analysis. 2.0 Literature Review With the global economic melt down across the nations, organisations are expected to seek a way out of this challenge, among others, looking for a way to reduce turn around time and cost through their procurement strategies. Competition therefore in today’s global market is not only between different companies but also between supply chains management systems. The evolvement in technological advancement and organizational improvements are important for effective supply chain management; however, the main cause of SCM improvements according to juril et al, (2006) is not the implementation of an information system itself, but rather a change and an integration of business processes. Over the years some changes have taken place in the development of innovative procurement strategies especially in sectors like manufacturing, retail, oil and Gas, construction and even service oriented industry. Jim Scotti, (2007) believes Procurement is now evolving into a far more strategic discipline, driven principally by a greater awareness of the financial implications of executing the function well. There are different procurement strategies adopted by organisations in the market place but using the best procurement practices would guaranty the desired success for any organisation. Based on different literatures written by authors the subject of procurement, some of the commonly adopted procurement best practices include: Creating an efficient system that would save time and money. Creating a pre-qualified and broad supplier base which enables all suppliers to be uniformly and objectively evaluated. Creating a comprehensive bid specification with full details before an invitation for bids is sent to the suppliers in the supplier pool.   Creating mutual acceptance of the process whereby every supplier in the pool knows that it can bid low on any supply.   Ensuring full transparency of bids through sending bid results to all suppliers that participated in the bid.   Monitoring every step of the workflow process to ensure clear communications, attention to every detail and a deliverable end product.   Ensuring that work is performed per specifications and on time.   Completing the project with accurate invoicing.   With the advent of Best Practice Procurement processes, a lot of companies have realized substantial cost reductions through understanding the cost drivers that determine the total cost of the supply chain and completely eliminating all non-value adding process in their supply chain line For the purpose of this report three strategies for achieving Procurement best practices will be considered and these include the adoption of the lean supply, e-procurement and adoption of the green supply strategies. While a lot of research has been done on the lean supply and e-procurement and their benefits if properly implemented, not much seems to be mentioned on the green supply principles and need to implement these strategies to achieve procurement best practices while considering the environmental friendly green supply chain management scheme in various organisations and how companies can benefit from this inevitable procurement procedure. Lean Supply Strategy Lean as described by Nigel (2006) is the process of achieving the flow of products and services to meet customers demand in the right quantity, right time, right place at the lowest price with no waste. The key principle focuses on maximizing customer value by producing goods and services with higher quality, fewer defects eliminating various forms of waste or any non-value adding activities through all possible continuous improvement processes. Womark (1996) described the five principles of lean, which includes: identify the value demanded by customer Identify the steps involved in the whole value stream Generate a flow in the value stream Produce only what is pulled by customer Strive for perfection through continuous improvement The adoption of these key principles in procurement activities in order to ensure that the organisation maximises the value of every good or service purchased explains the reason for lean supply or procurement as it applies to this research. R. Stratton (2003) believes Lean supply enables flow and the elimination of wasteful processes within the supply chain. Its focuses on continuous improvement strategies, through the elimination all non-value creating activities, reducing waste and effectively the cost of procurement. According to Lubben, (1998), lean supply aims at improving efficiency, quality and delivery performance of suppliers. It also focuses on removing all non value adding activities so as to reduce the cost of supply of material. For any procurement strategy to succeed the purchasing manager must be able to connect the strategy with the financial implication or performance. W.D. Presutti Jr. (2003) Benefit of adopting lean procurement Organizations within a lean supply chain are able to leverage their own lean journey more easily, delivering better customer value by responding more efficiently, quickly, and predictably to customer needs. That, in turn, facilitates the operation of the lean supply chain, creating a virtuous cycle that ultimately translates to superior financial performance for these organizations. In the article ‘Halliburton pushes Lean Six Sigma to its supply base’ (2009), the use of lean six sigma between 2004 and 2008, tripled their output from its manufacturing plants without any meaningful increase in the total capital footprint for those plants. The companys manufacturing cycle times were reduced, increasing their asset utilization out of all their equipment. According to Len Cooper, who is the Senior Vice president of supply chain management in Halliburton states that the lean process alleviated the need for more capital investment to support the type of output growth they experienced with the adoption of lean six sigma. Generally, the adoption of lean supply gives a lot of other benefits which includes achieving a minimal level of defects in supply, frequent deliveries.( Handfield, 1993) He further argued that because there are smaller number of suppliers, this could lead to developing a long term relationship between the buy and supplier which eventually leads reduced products price that would benefit the purchasing organisation. Strategies to adopt a lean supply system Inadequate management of the procurement process adds cost and adversely impacts customer service. In the current competitive environment such inefficiencies can no longer be tolerate. It is therefore necessary for organisations to focus more on their supply chain management system and adapt the concept of strategic lean supply chain management to their internal systems so as to eliminate all non value adding process. Sidney Hill Jr (2008) argued that the lean supply chain system cannot just happen. They emerge from strong working relationships between supply chain partners i.e the purchasing organisations, who are thoroughly committed to continuous improvement processes. Organisations especially the multinational expected to help their train their suppliers to fit into the required standard for supply. This could be organising training for their staff and help setting up some infrastructure that would encourage the lean practice. E-procurement Strategy E-procurement can be seen as a very valuable tool for organisations experiencing difficulties in their supply chain. If properly implemented, e-procurement can be used to connect a link between companies and their business processes with suppliers while managing all interactions between them. It encourages management of correspondence, bids, questions and answers, previous pricing, and multiple emails sent to multiple participants. Defined in different ways by many scholars. Presutti, ( 2002) describes electronic-procurement as the productive use of the internet to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the supply end of the supply chain. Davila et al. (2002) describes it as any technology designed to facilitate the acquisition of goods over the internet. Most literatures written on e- procurement addressed various issues in their definition. While some such as Brunnelli, (1999), Carabello, 2001 and others limits the definition to acquisition of goods over the internet, Scott and Westbrook (1998); New and Payne, (1995) believes that it should have a broad definition which includes the entire value chain, including materials and supply chain management from the extraction of raw materials to its end of useful life. In most recent times, there has been a change of focus from the strategic view of market to an internal re engineering discovered in supply chain management. This is obvious because e-procurement provides a set of built-in monitoring tools to help control costs, maximum supplier performance and deliver value to the purchasing organisation if adequately maximized. Benefit of e- procurement strategy The use of e-Procurement system help managers make decisions through access to catalogues of many suppliers keeping track of all means of bids while leveraging on knowledge to obtain better pricing. It provides organised, standardized and track able information with the elimination of the use of paper work. Kalakota and Robinson, (2000) explains that the main objective of any company’s e-procurement strategy is to better manage the firm’s operational costs. Basically, the strategy of e-procurement could be seen under two broad umbrella: the effectiveness and the efficiency of use- Davila et al, (2002) and Presutti (2002). Dai and Kauffman, (2000) however argues the benefit in e-procurement in terms of the high returns on investment (ROI) achieved through reduced operating and search cost. A view of benefit of e-procurement adopted by Davila et al, (2002) and Presutti (2002) explains the efficiency and effectiveness of using e-procurement. This includes: a better managed inventory level, cost effectiveness and savings achieved, improved efficiency of the procurement process, reduced maverick spending and better flow of information between buyers and supplier. According to Davila et al (2002), the main reason for the investment on the technology platform used for e-procurement is to achieve cost saving. He confirms that the adoption of e-procurement technologies reported a savings of 42 per cent in purchasing transaction costs. A summary of the various benefits associated with e-procurement as seen in many of the literatures includes but not limited to; Better value for money. Its helps to reduce inventory level and therefore serves as a cost saving measure for the organisation. The managers often know the product, the bid prices and the supplier to contact whenever the product is needed. Completely reduces transaction cost such as requisition, ordering administration and storage cost. E-procurement solution helps firms to interact with a wider supplier base and gives firms the opportunity to reach the unknown but qualified source of suppliers. It also provides the spirit of fair play. There is reduced duplication leading to a more efficient purchasing. It increases the ability to track strategic information and data on procurement including purchasing patterns. E-Procurement systems also allow multiple access levels and permissions help managers organize administrative users by roles, groups, or tasks. Procurement managers do not need to be as highly trained or paid because such systems are standardized and easy to learn. The system also links together the company’s procurement unit/department around the world and allows them share information about their best suppliers According to (Presutti, 2002) , the e-procurement system enables firms to more efficiently and accurately capture and aggregate budget spending in various purchasing product area, allowing the firms to bring what may be significant buying power leverage to market. The online real time of e-procurement technology no doubt provides buyers and sellers with the opportunity to share information in building specification of products which add value to resulting product and build strong relation. The larger the base of participating suppliers, considering the benefits to both sides, the greater will be the business value of e-procurement solution. (Presutti, 2002) In conclusion, every organisation’s goal is to achieve a good return on investment. According to OSD (2001), e-procurement enables the reduction in cost of goods procured and procurement processing time and cost have direct impact on return on investment (ROI). E-procurement risk management As seen from the numerous literatures on e-procurement, the research on the adoption of e-procurement has been made tremendous impact in many organisation, unfortunately not much as done on the risk management of e- procurement, especially within the industries considered in Nigeria. Douglas Hubbard ( 2009) describes ‘Risk management as the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risk followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events’. Risk management is the finding out the possibility of ‘a wrong’ happening, how it can be avoided, fixed or reduced to the barest minimum whenever it occurs Davila et al (2002), agrees that new e-procurement technologies has become an vital part of supply chain management activities and that the rate of adoption will accelerate as aggressive users share their experiences and perceptions of low risk. He went further to argue that the actual benefits and risks of e-procurement technologies and manger’s evolving perceptions about the benefits and risks will determine the speed at which the technology moves from its developmental infancy to the adoption and the maturity stages. E-procurement is no doubt growing in most industry and this is due to the competitiveness in most industry and the ever changing nature of the demands of the customers. Some of the risk identified in different literature includes: External business risk: This happen when there’s no effective communication between the organisation’s e procurement system and the customers and suppliers. External parties such as suppliers need to be able to develop internal systems that facilitate the communication through electronic means (an issue that demands technology investments as well as incentives) connected to the e- procurement system. To achieve a successful e-procurement technology, suppliers must have an electronic access via the Internet and should provide sufficient catalogue choices to satisfy the requirements of their customers-purchasers. Although most suppliers, especially in low margin industries, may be undecided or even unable to meet such demands without guarantees of future revenue streams. And also since some of the business models associated with e-procurement technologies (e.g. auctions, consortia, and exchanges) may be thinking of using suppliers with whom the buyer has not previously transacted business, companies need to develop mechanisms that provide the buyer with assurances that the supplier meets or exceeds recognizable and industry enforced standards relating to supplier quality, service, and delivery capabilities. Reputation risk: This type of risk occurs when there’s a breach of data that can damage an organisation’s reputation. Reputation risk occurs for example, when there is duplication in the information on the system which jeopardizes the reliability of the information Implementing e-procurement strategy requires not only having a successful purchasing process in place but also the ability to integrate all existing infrastructures. Okah et al (2007) Technology risk: As the growth of e-procurement advances, most organisation fears the lack of a widely accepted standard and a clear understanding of which e-procurement technologies best suit the needs of each company. This lack of generally acceptable standard serves as a hindrance to the use of commonly integrated software across all e-procurement activities. This suggest that an acceptable and open standard would be required to fully integrate all facilitates among the various organization using the e-procurement technologies. Without widely accepted standards for coding, technical, and process specifications, the adoption of e-procurement technology will be slow and will fail to the desired benefits. Process risk: Frew (2005, p 397) explains that process risk are risk associated with the security and control of the e-procurement process itself. There is need to provide evidence to non users that this technology will not breach control or security or any privacy issue. Organizations must be confident, for example, that unauthorized actions will not disrupt production or other supply chain activities when committing to e-procurement technologies Internal Business risk: According to Davila, et al, (2002) certain risk that are linked with the adoption of e-procurement need to be addressed before these technologies are widely accepted. Although, e-procurement in itself reduces the risk of human factor, maybe due to loss of certain document or misappropriation of data, but there is still a human interface which can also result to a form of risk or error. Okah (2008) describes it as human error risks. In conclusions risk are sometimes unavoidable but adequate measure should be in place to mitigate any kind of such risk whenever it arises and that is the purpose of risk management as it applies to procurement. Davila et al, (2002) also described some risk associated with the integration of technologies with existing information systems, with the business models that these technologies impose on supplier-customer relations and with the security and control mechanisms required to insure their appropriate use. Avery, (2002) however believes that e-procurement are essentially global, many of its limitations come from the geographic, cultural and organizational limitation of the underlying businesses in which they are adopted. Green Sustainable Procurement Strategy There has been increased awareness in our environment as its affects global warming, production of non recyclable packages and some toxic substances. A lot of Organisations have been seen applying the green principle to their organisation activities including the supply chain activities. A Green Sustainable Supply Chain can be defined as the process of using environmentally friendly inputs and transforming these inputs through change agents whose by-products can improve or be recycled within the existing environment. This process develops outputs that can be reclaimed and re-used at the end of their life-cycle thus, creating a sustainable supply chain.- Patrick P (2007) According to Seuring, (2004), Green supply chain management, could be referred to as environmental supply chain management or sustainable supply chain management. This includes green purchasing, green manufacturing/materials management, green distribution/marketing and reverse logistics (Sarkis, 2005) The environmental sustainability according to Madu, et al., (2002) has gradually become part of the overall corporation culture and, in turn, has helped to restructure the strategies of corporations With this increasing awareness in environmental sustainability, companies are beginning to streamline their operations and look for means of reducing their excess inventory, determine the optimal right-shoring plan, and reduce fuel expenses and logistics costs while reducing overall carbon emissions. Purchasers are therefore faced with enormous task of focusing on the design and packages of the products supplied by their suppliers The act of purchasing activities that include the reduction, reuse and recycling of materials is therefore paramount to organisation competitive existence in the marketplace- Carter, et al. (1998) Procurement officers are now trained to go for product with less non recyclable bye products or packages. Study has shown that the cost of most goods are in the packaging, thus if the packaging can be reduced, perhaps made to be recycled, the cost of the product will eventually be low. According to Faith-Ell, et al., (2006) the environmental performance of products and services can improve if purchaser express environmental preferences through the so called green procurement Walton, et al., (1998); Zhu and Cote, (2004) confirms that organisations that adopt the green supply chain management system may generate environmental and business performances. Following various legislation by different Government, consumers are beginning to have preference for product or services produced by environmental friendly organisations. Purba, (2002) also confirm that the practise of a green supply chain, can result in an improved environmental performance through the reduction in waste and emissions as well as better environmental commitment while improving competitiveness (better product quality, increase in efficiency, enhancing productivity and cutting cost), resulting to a better economic performance (new marketing opportunities and increasing product price, profit margin, market share and sale volume). This was supported by Derek Parker who confirms that the ultimate aim of green supply is to achieve specific,measurable results that improve competitiveness across the supply chain by applying sustainable development practices. It is therefore clear based on all the stipulations from the various authors like Walton, et al. (1998), Zhu and Cote (2004) and Purba (2002), as well as other procurement experts, that organizational performance is considered to include environmental and financial performance. The pressure is therefore on all organisations to improve their environmental performances which is a result of the world’s globalization rather than localization (Sarkis and Tamarkin, 2005). Benefits of green supply The benefits of Green supply goes beyond the reduction in waste and emission to the environment but it also benefits the organisation in terms of cost savings. Stevels, (2002) categorised the benefits of green supply into three folds: the financial implication, the company reputation and the societal perception. The financial implication: The green supply chain management practice helps in lowering cost prices for supplier and in turn results to a lower cost for their customers Lower cost of ownership for customer. Better competitive advantage Result to more customers In terms of reputation: Less rejects for supplier Better compliance for societal values. Confirms technological and environment awareness in terms of societal perception: Green supply chain management helps motivation of stakeholder for environment better image for supplier and producer feel good and quality of life for customer Make industry on the right track for society. Green supply chain management helps in lowering the environmental load for environment Duber-Smith, (2005), also highlighted ten reasons why organisations should adopt the green supply strategy: target marketing, sustainability of resources, lowered costs/increased efficiency, product differentiation and competitive advantage, competitive and supply chain pressures, adapting to regulation and reducing risk, brand reputation, return on investment, employee morale, and the ethical imperative. Supplier Evaluation/Selection The responsibilities of buyers or purchasing Managers has changes significantly especially in this competitive environment from purchasing products and service to meet customers needs. It has become necessary for purchasers to provide quality products, delivered just in time by working with adequate numbers of suppliers. Suppliers therefore play a key p

History of the West Nile Virus Essay -- Biology Medical Biomedical Dis

History of the West Nile Virus Abstract West Nile virus (WNV) is a virus that is transmitted by mosquitoes. It has been found in humans, birds, and other animals, typically in Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. In 1999, WNV was detected in the United States for the first time, and since then it has spread across the U.S. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 15,000 people in the U.S. have tested positive for the WNV infection since 1999, including over 500 deaths. Many more people have likely been infected with WNV, but have experienced mild or no symptoms. What is the history of the West Nile virus? West Nile virus is an emerging infectious disease that can cause encephalitis (inflammation of brain tissue) and or meningitis (swelling of the tissue that encloses the brain and spinal cord). West Nile virus is a newly emergent virus of the family Flaviviridae, found in both tropical and temperate regions. Its group is classified in Group IV (gram(+) single stranded, RNA). Its genus is Flavivirus. It?s commonly found in Africa, West Asia, the Middle East, and more recently; North America. It may result to serious illnesses if not reported to the hospital in time. Knowing its history, how it?s transmitted, symptoms, treatment, and prevention will probably keep one from getting it. In 1937, West Nile virus was first discovered in a feverish woman in the West Nile district of Uganda in Central Africa. The virus became recognized as a cause of severe human Meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the spinal cord and brain) in elderly patients during an outbreak in Israel in 1957. In the early 1960?s, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (affecting horses) was first found in Egypt and France (We... ... people may need to go to the hospital where they can receive supportive treatment including intravenous fluids, help with breathing, and nursing care. To help prevent WNV: Empty plastic wading pools at least once a week or store in a position that water will drain. Make sure your backyard pool is maintained properly. It is though that once a person has recovered from WNV, they are immune for life to future infections with WNV. This immunity may decrease over time or with health conditions that compromise the immune system. As long as people get older or immune system is weak you may end up getting it again. This is very important because just to know if people can get it again when there immunity isn?t work very good. The U.S. government and its citizens should care WNV 4 because there is no vaccine to cure it or it can mutate and get even harder to fight it off.

The Life and Work of William Butler Yeats Essay -- Biography Biographi

The Life and Work of William Butler Yeats Born in Dublin in the year 1865, William Butler Yeats would go on to become universally recognized by his peers as the greatest poet of this century writing in the English language. This recognition would come as early as 1828, a decade before his death with the publication of arguably his finest volume, The Tower (Fraser, 207). The son of one time attorney and later well known painter John Butler Yeats, W.B. Yeats was of partially Cornish and Gaelic decent, born near Dublin and raised between both England and Ireland. Though born in Dublin and raised between England and Ireland, Yeats would develop, through his mother, a love for the west country of Ireland that would last all his life. Parts of his childhood and later vacations would be spent in County Sligo, the childhood home of both his parents. Yeats would later depict his beloved County Sligo in such works as "The Lake Isle of Innisfree". These works would serve as a symbol of his imaginative escape from the disappointments and unpleasant realities of life (Magill, 1957). Yeats's childhood would be broad in education and personal experiences. Yeats would become a youth full of internal contradictions, often spawned by his desire to question all that he was taught. Spiritually, educationally, and personally, Yeats seemed to himself pulled in different directions, unable to decide on a clear path. These internal contradictions would come to shape the writer and man that he would one day become. Much of childhood for Yeats was spent in London, where he attended the Godolphin School. At the age of fifteen, Yeats returned to Dublin and attended the Erasmus Smith School. In the tradition of his family, Yeats studied art... ...thors: A Twentieth Century Gallery. Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1970. Kunitz, Stanley J. and Howard Haycraft, eds. Twentieth Century Authors: A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Literature. New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 1942. Magill, Frank N, ed. Cyclopedia of World Authors: Revised Edition, Volume III. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1974. Rogers, Pat, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of English Literature. New York : Oxford University Press, 1987. Scott-Kilvert, Ian, ed. British Writers. Volume VI. New York: Charles Scribner & Sons, 1983. Stock, A.G. W. B. Yeats: His Poetry and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1964. Unterecker, John. A Reader's Guide to William Butler Yeats. New York: Octagon Books, 1959. Yeats, W.B. The Autobiography of William Butler Yeats. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1916.

Euthanasia Essay -- Mercy Killing Papers

Euthanasia The term 'Euthanasia' comes from the Greek word for 'easy death'. It is the one of the most public policy issues being debated about today. Formally called 'mercy killing', euthanasia is the act of purposely making or helping someone die, instead of allowing nature to take it's course. Basically euthanasia means killing in the name of compassion. Euthanasia, can be either 'voluntary', 'passive', or 'positive', Voluntary involves a request by the dying patient or their legal representative. Passive involves, doing nothing to prevent death - allowing someone to die. Positive involves taking deliberate action to cause a death. Euthanasia, at the moment is illegal throughout the world apart from in the State of Oregon, where there is a law specifically allowing doctors to prescribe lethal drugs for the purpose of euthanasia. In the Netherlands it is practised widely, although, in fact, it remains illegal. I believe that everyone has the right to choose how they live and die. Everyone deserves respect, freedom and the power to control their own destiny. Not everybody will have an easy death. Some terminal pain cannot be controlled, even with the best of care and the strongest of drugs. Other distressing symptoms, which come with diseases, such as sickness, no mobility, incontinence, breathlessness and fever cannot always be relieved. Pain is not always the issue - quality of life is too. Most people want to die with dignity, but some people may spend the last moments of their life, in a way which to them, is undignified. Having the right to control over their own life and death helps people keep human dignity in the face ... ...nimal is put to sleep. The owner is upset over the loss but they feel that they have done the right thing, by putting the pet out it's misery. I do not think we can look at human life in the same way however, as humans' are treated better than animals and have more respect. But what is better, letting someone suffer a prolonged and very painful life, or allowing him or her to die with dignity, in peace and without pain? This issue needs a lot of thought. Many people agree with voluntary euthanasia, many disagree but there is also a large amount of people undecided on the matter. The time will come when the Government and medical services will have to open their eyes to euthanasia, and there will be a lot of debate on the subject. Until then the euthanasia debate will continue to linger, like a terminal disease.

Pixar and Walt Disney Merger

NEW YORK – Mickey Mouse and Nemo are now corporate cousins. Walt Disney has announced that it is buying Pixar, the animated studio led by Apple head Steve Jobs, in a deal worth $7. 4 billion. Speculation about a deal being imminent raged on Wall Street for the past few weeks. Disney has released all of Pixar's films so far, but the companies' current distribution deal was set to expire following the release of this summer's â€Å"Cars. The merger brings together Disney's historic franchise of animated characters, such as Mickey, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck, with Pixar's stable of cartoon hits, including the two â€Å"Toy Story† films, â€Å"Finding Nemo† and â€Å"The Incredibles. † â€Å"Disney and Pixar can now collaborate without the barriers that come from two different companies with two different sets of shareholders,† said Jobs in a statement. â€Å"Now, everyone can focus on what is most important, creating innovative stories, characters and films that delight millions of people around the world. † As part of the deal, Jobs will become a board member of Disney, the companies said.And John Lasseter, the highly respected creative director at Pixar who had previously worked for Disney, will rejoin the House of Mouse as chief creative officer for the company's combined animated studios and will also help oversee the design for new attractions at Disney theme parks. â€Å"The addition of Pixar significantly enhances Disney animation, which is a critical creative engine for driving growth across our businesses,† said Disney CEO Robert Iger in a written statement. During a conference call with analysts Tuesday, Iger said that acquisition discussions had been going on for the past several months.Jobs added that after a â€Å"lot of soul searching,† he came to the conclusion that it made the most sense for Pixar to align itself with Disney permanently instead of trying to distribute films on its own or si gn with another movie studio partner. According to the terms of the deal, Disney (Research) will issue 2. 3 shares for each Pixar share. Based on Tuesday's closing prices, that values Pixar at $59. 78 a share, about a 4 percent premium to Pixar's current stock price. Shares of Pixar (Research) fell slightly in regular trading on the Nasdaq Tuesday but gained nearly 3 percent in after-hours trading.The stock has surged more than 10 percent so far this year on takeover speculation. Disney's stock gained 1. 8 percent in regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange and was flat after-hours. Prior to the deal's announcement, some Wall Street observers had speculated that Disney may be paying too much for Pixar. A source tells FORTUNE that some Disney board members also thought the price was too high. To that end, Disney chief financial officer Thomas Staggs said during the conference call that the deal would reduce Disney's earnings slightly in fiscal 2006, which ends this September, a s well as fiscal 2007.He added though that Pixar should add to earnings by fiscal 2008 and that Disney was still on track to post annual double-digit percentage gains in earnings through 2008. But one hedge fund manager said that the risk of Disney losing Pixar was too great. â€Å"The question isn't did Disney pay too much but how expensive would it have been for Disney if Pixar fell into someone else's hands,† said Barry Ritholtz, chief investment officer with Ritholtz Capital Partners, a hedge fund that focuses on media and technology stocks. Jeffrey Logsdon, an analyst with Harris Nesbitt, agreed with that assessment.He said that Pixar's â€Å"success quotient† justified the price of the deal. Pixar has yet to have a flop with its six animated movies. They have grossed more than $3. 2 billion worldwide, according to movie tracking research firm Box Office Mojo. Disney, however, has struggled in the computer-generated animated movie arena. Even though its most recen t CG-animated film, â€Å"Chicken Little† performed better than many had expected at the box office, it was not as big a hit as any of the Pixar films. â€Å"Robert Iger has made no secret of the fact that he wanted to get the animated business back to where it was.It's what Disney has known for but the movies they did in-house did not do as well as the ones they did with Pixar,† said Michael Cuggino, a fund manager who owns about 100,000 shares of Disney in the Permanent Portfolio and Permanent Portfolio Aggressive Growth funds. Pixar has yet to announce what movies it is working on after â€Å"Cars,† however. It is believed that Pixar's next film about a rat living in a fancy Parisian restaurant, tentatively titled â€Å"Ratatouille† may be released on 2007 and that a â€Å"Toy Story 3† may be in the works as well.Jobs said during the conference call that nothing has been decided about future Pixar releases yet, but added that the company feels s trongly about making sequels to some of its previous hits. And Iger said that announced plans for Disney-produced animated films, including the release of â€Å"American Dog† in 2008 and â€Å"Rapunzel Unbraided† in 2009, are still on track. It would have been unthinkable to imagine Disney and Pixar teaming up just a few years ago.The two companies broke off talks to extend their current distribution agreement in 2004 due to a strained relationship between Jobs and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner. But since Iger succeeded Eisner last year, he has extended an olive branch to Jobs. Disney and Apple have already announced several online programming deals during the past few months. Disney now has agreements in place to sell hit ABC prime time shows, such as â€Å"Desperate Housewives† and â€Å"Lost†, as well as content from ABC Sports and ESPN on Apple's popular iTunes music and video store.Cuggino said the addition of Jobs, who will also become Disney's l argest individual shareholder, to Disney's board could mean that more innovative digital deals could be in the works. â€Å"Jobs is a dynamic personality who knows consumer electronics. It's an opportunity to bring some youthful energetic thinking to Disney's board. † Disney, like many other large media companies, has seen its stock price stagnate during the past year as investors have flocked to more rapidly growing digital media firms such as Apple as well as search engines Google (Research) and Yahoo! Research) But Logsdon said the acquisition of Pixar could help Disney increase revenue throughout all of its business lines. So even though some may be quibbling in the short-term about how much Disney had to spend, he thinks Disney made the right move. â€Å"It's a smart strategic deal,† Logsdon said. â€Å"The benefit in theme parks, consumer products and cable will probably make this deal look a lot smarter a year or two from now. â€Å"

Themes in Frankenstein

Shelley uses multiple narrators, nested and cast narratives and an epistolary style to tell the study of Frankenstein. Comwork forcet on the heart of these and wherefore she may have d superstar this.bloody shame Shellys narrative Frankenstein was written in 1818. The write uses incompatible types of techniques to create a innovation of different narrators and points of views by using a underframe of epistolary. Frame narration is as well as an other great part of the tonic that supports the complexness of bottoms in the book. These help dedicate the suspicion element, characters point of view, the identicality surrounded by the main characters, and allow the ratifier to unwrap a individualized opinion without the writer resorting to the device of an omniscient narrator.The book starts with the letter from Robert Walton describing his voyage to the North Pole and his sight of an ill man, who Walton later nurses back to health A man in scummy condition pg.11. Afte r a recovery, the stranger, overlord Frankenstein, tells him the allegory of his life. The garner set up the clean and create suspicion cod to the reader non knowing what the importation of these letters is. However, Walton is the first of the characters that tells his story, which gives the reader an profit to conclude for himself slightly his opinion towards the different characters. This device, skeletal system narrative, establishes a complex layer of stories, hence, the reader listens to Victors story, so does Walton, and Waltons infant to him.Throughout the story, Victor occasionally interrupts and addresses Walton directly, or when Walton signs the letters he is sending off to his sister. These atomic number 18 the first encounters with the different language devices that bloody shame Shelly uses to create much depth in addition to a different social system to other books. Moreover, the reader is compelled to give more attention to the book, in order to make th e plot, and have an own opinion about the different situations in the book.Furthermore, the letters withal display the similarity between Walton and Victor, since they some(prenominal) seek to discover and complete objectives for the world. For case Walton describes how it will benefit the entire mankind race Inestimable benefit on all mankind to the last contemporaries (pg.16 Walton) and Victor states that it will reveal the greatest power in the world open a new way, explore dark powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation (pg.49 Victor). The breathing in to figure out the answer drives them some(prenominal) to their death and that of other innocent lives, demonstrating how the inquisition to solve such mysteries, with desire and determination, slew result differently than ones expectations.On the other hand the letters uniformwise surface the resemblance between other characters. Walton and the creation, Frankenstein, both present their lonelines s and their wishing to find a friend to division their stories. The isolation and loneliness in the novel is one of the most signifi tailt themes, which argon presented throughout the form of epistolary. In the crack of the letters Walton expresses his lonesomeness I shall institutionalize my thoughts to paper, it is true but that is a unfortunate medium for the communication of senseing.I desire the fellowship of a man who could sympathize with me, whose eyeball would reply to mine. You may deem me romantic, my lamb sister, but I bitterly feel the want of a friend (Shelley 10). This is one of the first encounters with the theme, but later on this suffering repeats itself with the creation, Frankenstein, When I looked around I saw and heard of none like me. Was I, the, a colossus, a blot upon the globe from which all men fled and whom all men disowned?Chap. 13 pg. 105 The most clutch reason why Mary Shelly would keep abreast to such a social organisation, would be to take the similarity between a regulation human and a zoology, overly cognize as a monster, and matching hopes of not resulting abandoned. Mary Shelly questions here if humans and monster voice a similarity, and if the humans can also posses these qualities of monsters. This insight to the emotions and perspectives of the characters, establishes an insight for the reader to their feelings and deeper thoughts, as well as a bond between the reader and character. Mary shelly motivates the reader to develop a personal opinion about these characters and the entire story and to judge whether or no the creature is a monster or exclusively misunderstood.Frankenstein has a very creative structure that helps create a meaningful effect on the reader, and compelling story. This form of frame narration, multiple different perspectives, provides us with the opportunity to develop our own opinion towards the characters and their actions. not only opinionsare formed, but we also come to realiz e that creatures and humans, in this novel, share certain similarities. These can be construe that us humans have traits, similar to monsters, or the other way around. Overall, the novel has effects that cannot be established if the form of epistolary would have not been applied. This shows the complexity of layers in this novel and how the variety stimulates the story and provokes the reader.