Political Science Study Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Political Science Study Review - Essay Example In this reading, we are looking at three kinds of variables, which are independent variable, dependent variable and intervening variable. Firstly, when we look at independent variable, it can be mentioned as the ethnicity of the people and the culture followed by them. The reason for this is it is on these elements the whole study of research is based on. The ethnicity and culture of the various group of people is determining the flow of the research and is the one which decides about the dependent variable and intervening variable. On the other hand, the dependent variable is the protest or rebellion. Here, it is the ethnicity and culture of people which causes protest of rebellion among various groups of minority and majority in a community. These independent and dependent variables are the cornerstone of the research and bring about a clear picture of the study conducted by the researcher. There is also intervening variable which plays a significant role in conducting the empirical study by the researcher. As per (Nevarez)â€Å"A third variable that is simultaneously independent and dependent.Here the intervening variable can be pointed out as the residential locality. Residential locality in this research study stands between ethnicity and culture of the people and the resultant factor protest or rebellion. Here, just because someone is from a particular ethnicity cannot cause protest or rebellion. Instead, there need to be a localization of different ethnical people in a locality for protest or rebellion to occur. ... The ethnicity and culture of the various group of people is determining the flow of the research and is the one which decides about the dependent variable and intervening variable. On the other hand, the dependent variable is the protest or rebellion. Here, it is the ethnicity and culture of people which causes protest of rebellion among various groups of minority and majority in a community or society. These independent and dependent variables are the cornerstone of the research and bring about a clear picture of the study conducted by the researcher. There is also intervening variable which plays a significant role in conducting the empirical study by the researcher. As per (Nevarez)â€Å"A third variable that is simultaneously independent and dependent .Here the intervening variable can be pointed out as the residential locality. Residential locality in this research study stands between ethnicity and culture of the people and the resultant factor protest or rebellion. Here, just because someone is from a particular ethnicity cannot cause protest or rebellion. Instead, there need to be a localization of different ethnical people in a locality for protest or rebellion to occur .Here we can understand that ethnicity or culture of a particular group reflects on their centralized living locality and this leads to protest and rebellion on them by major ethnical people. Causal mechanism and other factors related to research Here the causal mechanism focus on the credible pathway that connects the ethnicity and culture of a population to protest and violence. The causal mechanism in this reading which relates the independent variable to dependent variable is the religion. In her book (Tienda 5)writes â€Å"Causal inferences becomes

Fpl Harvard Business Casw Essay Example for Free

Fpl Harvard Business Casw Essay The fourth largest electric utility company in the United States and the largest electric utility in Florida is the FPL Group, which formed in 1925 from the consolidation of several gas and electric companies. FPL as a company continued to grow after 1925 because the ever increasing Florida population demanded more and more electricity. This trend continued until the 1970s when operating problems, and the rising cost of fuel and construction, caused a reduction of the company’s profitability. To address this issue, then Chairman Marshall McDonald, decided to make four major acquisitions: Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company, Telesat Cablevision Inc. , CBR Information Group Inc. , and Turner Foods Corporation. FPL also attempted to improve operations by employing 1,700 teams for quality control to find ways to improve operations. This notion lead FPL to be recognized as â€Å"one of the best-managed US corporations,† when the quality control teams found ways to improve efficiency within FPL by decreasing customer complaints by 60%, and decreasing downtime operations by 12%. Despite these enhancements, FPL still had company troubles to include: problems with a nuclear plant, demand was growing at a faster pace in the 1980s than expected, one of their acquisitions had lost $250 million since being acquired, and employee morale was low due to all the new management regulations. Kate Stark, the electric utilities analyst at First Equity Securities Corporation came across a decision involving this Florida electric utility company, FPL. The decision begins with the buzz that FPL may decide to freeze its dividend at $2. 8 per share or even potentially reduce the dividend at FPL’s annual meeting. Kate had previously valued FPL with a â€Å"hold† recommendation three weeks earlier with the belief that FPL will either keep its dividend payout at $2. 48 or slightly increase it. However, with the news of this new rumor about FPL dividends, FPL stock price fell by 6% because a freeze of the dividend would mean that FPL would end a 47-year streak of ann ual dividend increases. Now Kate is reconsidering her â€Å"hold† rating and contemplated issuing a new updated report to revise her investment recommendation. It is now to decided how a change, if any, to the current dividend policy would affect shareholders, which option would have the greatest benefit to the shareholders and FPL, and what should be advised to investors with regard to FPL stock. Two theories of dividends come up with the FPL Group. The first theory is the Signaling Hypothesis and the second theory would be the Clientele Effect. The Signaling Theory is essentially the theory that managers of a certain company have better information and are more informed internally about a firms future prospects than the public stockholders. Future dividends are paid out of future profits, so any change in dividends to be paid is viewed as an indication of what future profits are going to be. Thus, when dividends are increased or decreased, stock prices tend to increase or decrease. The second theory relevant to the FPL group dividend policy is the Clientele Effect. Different clienteles of stockholders favor diverse dividend payout ratios. Different firms also have altering ways of calculating and paying out dividends. Thus, when a firm switches its payout ratio a current clientele will leave and a different clientele will join. The rule of thumb is that if more investors leave or leave faster than a new clientele could replace them, then there could be a temporarily depressed share price. There are two important issues that are facing the FPL Group in the May of 1994. The first is the concerns of potential competition resulting from industry deregulation and the second is the reexamination of a high dividend payout ratio already previously noted. The arrival of retail wheeling from the National Energy Policy Act of 1992 threatens to change the shape of the entire electric utilities industry. The Florida Public Service Commission is not currently considering a retail wheeling proposal, but the current trend in the industry is to increase the competition. The implementation of such a proposal, however, would expose FPL to numerous competitors and possible losses, for example, as shown in California; California had already implemented a retail wheeling program and the program had a severe adverse effect on the three major utilities in that state. Competing with rival utilities must now be a primary concern of FPL and FPL now needs to ensure that it has the ability to meet the challenge of competition from both in state and out of state providers. The current payout ratio is too high from FPL’s perspective because they need the extra capital to be able to fund new projects if the new wheeling regulations were to be implemented. FPL just could not afford to pay out 90% of its earnings given the possible need to expand in the face of new competition. Although FPL has had success in the past and present, the threat of retail wheeling means FPL must hold on to cash. Continuing a high payout ratio just isn’t feasible because of the severe challenges FPL would face if the retail wheeling plans were put into action. FPL must be prepared for this eventuality, so FPL needs the funds to ensure financial stability while protecting future profitability. A lower payout ratio would allow FPL to have the capital necessary to hedge itself from losing big to increasing competition. The problem now lies in the confidence of investors if FPL were to cut dividends. It is to believe that FPL will indeed cut their dividends or freeze them at the least to insure financial stability in times where the future is uncertain. The additional retained earnings from a reduction or halt of dividend payout will open opportunities for FPL to compete in a new open market, reduce their debt ceiling for added cash to fund and expand new opportunities for growth and allow for a more industry standard payout ratio for future growth. This may not at first be what a shareholder would want to see, but the positive outlook for the long run, outweigh the negative impacts of the short run. As a result of this analysis, FPL looks to be a very reliable investment for the future with a positive upside for future growth potential; however the only drawback would be how much exactly a dividend cut would actually affect the initial stock price, which is hard to tell. Kate Stark should absolutely keep her â€Å"hold† recommendation on FPL stock for the previous conceived reasons. There are no notions to believe FPL is in any urgent financial trouble or that there will be a drastic dividend cut. FPL’s stock will fall with the announcement of a dividend freeze or reduction; it is just a matter of how much. There is an upside potential for FPL and there is evidence that they will be prepared for more competition. The FPL stock price again will drop initially with the announcement of a dividend freeze or reduction, but â€Å"hold† on to the stock to not take a loss, and continue to â€Å"hold† the stock because the FPL group provides sound evidence that the stock price will continue to rise in the near future. References: Welch, Jonathan B., and Anand Venkateswaran. The dual sustainability of wind energy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13.5 (2009): 1121-1126. Soosay, Claudine, Andrew Fearne, and Benjamin Dent. Sustainable value chain analysis–a case study of Oxford Landing from â€Å"vine to dine†. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal 17.1 (2012): 68-77. Pitman, Glen, et al. QFD application in an educational setting. International Journal of Quality ; Reliability Management (2013). Plant, Robert, Leslie Willcocks, and Nancy Olson. Measuring e-business performance: towards a revised balanced scorecard approach. Information Systems and e-business Management 1.3 (2003): 265-281. Evelyn, John J., and Neil J. DeCarlo. Customer focus helps utility see the light. Journal of Business Strategy 13.1 (1992): 8-12. Gupta, Neeraj J., and Christina C. Benson. Sustainability and competitive advantage: an empirical study of value creation. (2011). ;

Mechanised Forces In Asymmetrical Forms Of Warfare History Essay

Mechanised Forces In Asymmetrical Forms Of Warfare History Essay Oxford Dictionary defines Asymmetry as lack of symmetry while others define it as not balanced or regularly arranged on opposite sides ie lacking equality and balance. Asymmetry is evident when two adversaries differ in availability of resources or technology, leading to an imbalance. Many authors use this term in the same breath as guerilla warfare, terrorism and/or insurgency which to an extent are actually tactics which address the disadvantage occurring due to asymmetry. Any imbalance between two belligerents would force the one who is weaker to resort to alternate tactics and concepts in order to negate the conventional, organisational or technological superiority of the stronger of the two. The conflict thus breaks away from military boundaries and now encompasses other environments, typically physical, where now it may involve civilians. More often than not, the winnings accrue from winning over the people and their minds and by moulding opinions in own favour. Thus the tactic s employed to achieve symmetry by the weaker actor do not follow set rules or positions and attempt to undermine the strength of the stronger adversary by exploiting his weakness and impacting him psychologically more than physically. Asymmetric warfare is considered as a subset of the Fourth Generation Warfare and can take on any form including information operations, guerilla warfare, urban operations or low intensity conflict; all unorthodox, irregular form of operations only to achieve symmetry. The Indian States and mostly the Indian Armys experience in combating this form of warfare is unique. Starting with the North-East insurgency, the IPKF imbroglio, ongoing low intensity conflict (LIC) in Jammu Kashmir and the developing Left Wing extremism, our experience is tremendous. Having said so, it must be admitted that in all this, the employment of mechanised forces has been restricted, except during the IPKF operations. Hence, the question of its relevance in such operations is bound to arise in our context. Relevance of Mechanised Forces in Forms of Asymmetrical Warfare Conventionally, the impact of mechanised force is synonymous with mobility, firepower and shock action. However, its employment in forms of asymmetrical warfare is under debate. Indian experience has not found much use of the mechanised elements except when absolutely necessary viz operations in Sri Lanka, Kashmir (Sopore) and Punjab (Golden Temple). This is more so drawn from the fact that utilisation of mechanised elements during internal security tasks raises the psychological level of conflict and draws un-necessary attention, both media and global. Further, impact of heavy armour and threat of collateral damage is inherent in employment of mechanised forces and hence its usage is deliberately restricted internally. Evidently, the utility of mechanised forces in their present form is limited in Internal Security tasks. However, contingencies for the employment of mechanised forces by the Indian Army do exist and shall become a reality in the near future as the country finds itself a footing as a regional and economic superpower amongst the comity of nations which would thrust upon her enhanced international commitments and responsibilities. India would need to demonstrate its will and capability to employ and deploy its military component beyond its national borders and in increasing numbers. Some of these contingencies could be:- United Nations mandated peacekeeping or peace-enforcement missions. Even today mechanised sub-units are operating as part of brigade groups in UN Peace-keeping duties. Out of Area Operations (OOAO). The main concept of OOAO envisages carrying out operations outside national boundaries either unilaterally or multilaterally towards fulfillment of military or political objectives. However, the obligations to undertake OOAO in the developing global environment would include maintaining regional stability and ensuring own national interests, wherein there may be occasions for military deployment in regional nations, independently or as part of regional alliance. As part of International Force in counter terrorist and counter insurgent operations. Examples of utilization of mechanised forces abound outside especially the operations of Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), US Army in Iraq, Russians in Chechnya, etc. even our own experience and lessons learnt whilst employing mechanised forces as part of IPKF in Sri Lanka are valuable. A SWOT analysis of the characteristics of a mechanised force would allow us to arrive at the best method of employment and thus the tactics required to be followed. (PHOTO SWOT ANALYSIS) While there is no denying the fact that one of the major characteristics of armour ie mobility is severely hampered in such operations, the exploitation of the other characteristics offset this disadvantage. Firepower. The target acquisition and engagement ability of the armour allows it to deliver precision fire even in restricted terrain. This obviates the need of Air Support and thus avoids collateral damage. The availability of secondary armament in the form of a machine gun is a major advantage. Shock Action. The physical presence and arrival of armoured forces in the area of operations is a symbol of power and destructive capability. The physical presence of armoured troops provides a deterrent effect and lends to strike fear in opponents not similarly equipped. Armour Protection. This characteristic plays a major role in LIC operations and MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain) wherein the small arms fire is negated effectively. However, weapons of the adversary may also include rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) which can be offset by additional protective systems like the explosive reactive armour (ERA) and operating techniques viz combined arms team. Flexibility. LICO and MOUT will involve small team operations with decentralized control. The tank or Infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV) are most suitable weapon platforms for leading such operations due to their inherent flexibility through communications and advanced battlefield management systems (BMS). History has been replete with examples of mechanised employment in asymmetrical forms of warfare. Recent instances are the Russians in Chechnya, the Israeli experiences and the extensive use of mechanised units in Iraq. Let us very briefly analyse some of these experiences which may suggest the relevance of mechanised forces in such operations or otherwise. Russians in Chechnya Russian invasion of Chechnya in December 1994 was a classical example of an asymmetrical battle in urban terrain between a conventional superpower versus the unorganized but highly motivated Chechen fighters. After failing to topple the anti-Russian regime in Chechnya through covert means, the Russians launched a major conventional effort to oust Djokar Dudayev, the renegade former Soviet Air Force officer who headed that separatist movement. While the Russian mechanised formations initially had some success driving the Chechens from the open areas of northern Chechnya, their lack of a plan for the operations in the city of Grozny, led the Russians to adopt the strategy of driving an armoured column into the center of town and capture the main administrative buildings, on the assumption that serious resistance would then cease. The Russians suffered numerous casualties and were forced to withdraw. The resulting military disaster has become a classic case study of the folly of using m assed armour without organizing combines arms teams, in an urban terrain. The Israeli Experience In response to the Hamas suicide bombing in Netanya, the Israelis launched OPERATION DEFENSIVE SHIELD (Intifada-II for the Palestinians) aimed to eliminating the safe havens of Hamas fighters in the refugee Camps. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attack on the Jenin Camp gives us major lessons in employment of mechanised forces in urban terrain while countering asymmetrical tactics. IDF used its mechanised forces in conjunction with infantry and Special Forces troops in combined arms teams. This allowed them to exploit the firepower, protection and shock effect of the armoured sub-units. Mechanised columns were used to isolate the Camp initially and then as part of combined arms teams, they were utilised to invest and further assist the infantry in clearing the Camp. Lessons learnt by the Israelis make the tanks relevant in such operations albeit with certain modifications to the tactics and organisation. US Army in Iraq The extensive use of tanks by the US Army in its counter insurgency operations in Iraq firms in the relevance of mechanised units, especially in urban terrain. The US Army, after initial setbacks, changed tactics and started employing mutually supporting combined arms teams of tanks and infantry. The vulnerability of the armoured columns to insurgent tactics in urban terrain was offset by use of infantry in close support. Tanks were preferred over Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) due to the low survivability of the latter and the fact that risk of carrying troops in an APC was not worth the loss of lives. Commanders consider the intimidation and firepower of the Abrams a crucial tool for putting down the insurgents. When the Marines crushed insurgent-held Fallujah, they brought in two extra brigades of M1 Abrams tanks. The precision firepower, armour protection and ability to operate in small teams independently gave the commanders on ground the flexibility and reduced casualties a nd collateral damage. (Photo : Abrams tank upgrade for urban operations) Its a dirty, close fight, says an article in  Armor, the US Armys official magazine of tank warfare, by a group of officers led by Maj. Gen. Peter Chiarelli of the 1st Cavalry Division. Be wary of eliminating or reducing heavy armor as the Army modernizes, the officers warn, arguing it is crucial against insurgents crude but effective weapons. The M1 tank is still the platform of choice, says Colonel Russ Gold, a former commander in Iraq and chief of staff at the U.S. Armys Armor Center in Fort Knox, Primarily it was the shock effect, and it provided a lot of protection. Before OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, the Army had one vision for the future: the notion that a lighter, more mobile force would make armor obsolete. Now, the Army is recognizing that the tanks must be upgraded, he says, so that their armor can be used even more effectively, especially in the cities. IPKF in Sri Lanka Not much has been written or analysed with regards to the employment of mechanised forces by the IPKF but the operations of the one armoured regiment that was employed is a pointer to certain tactical lessons for the future. In asymmetrical forms of warfare and especially in urban terrain, the primacy of infantry is established but the commanders generally have a tendency to restrict the use of armour as part of road opening or operating base security. Generally the trend in IPKF operations was to break down the tank troops into individual weapon platforms with them being placed in support of the infantry coy / platoon. This led to enhanced casualties due to the inadequate knowledge of Infantry Company / platoon commanders on employment of tanks and also enhanced the vulnerability of tanks. Another lesson was the vulnerability of a tank to the threat of IEDs and chemical energy weapon systems. (Photo : T-72s damaged in IED blasts in IPKF) Tactics of Employment Tactics vary constantly with the situation especially when facing asymmetric challenges. Particularly, the urban terrain does force change in tactics and method of employment of mechanised units. Some of these have been discussed below. Employment of mechanised forces in isolation would be a retrograde step. The success of the mechanised units as part of an integrated task force or combat team is obvious. A combined arms team consisting of elements of armour, infantry and engineers is a potent force for such operations. They are mutually supporting and can exploit the characteristics of each other. Command and control of ibid combined arms teams needs to be dwelled upon. The command of such teams must be bestowed upon the one most capable to exercise operational control over the others. It shall be extremely difficult for the infantry commander to exercise control over the armoured troop and the Engineers detachment and hence, the obvious choice is the armoured troop leader due to his effectiveness in controlling his troop as well as the Engineer detachment while the infantry provides the close-in protection and clearing tasks. Needless to say, communications and infantry-tank cooperation would require tremendous coordination. For effective mutual support, the US Army utilized the box or the diamond formation wherein several Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) were grouped together. Tactics employed was to position vehicles at the four points of the formation and advance using slow, coordinated forward movements allowing time to scan the areas that may be dominated by the enemy. When movement was halted, the AFVs took up positions on crossroads in order to provide better observation and coverage. At the Combat Group level, dispersion was maintained by employing several box formations moving in parallel through blocks or streets and coordinating their advance and firing sectors in order to reduce the chances of fratricide. This also enhanced the lateral security of the columns. Organisational changes may have to be resorted to in order to enhance the survivability in such asymmetrical conflicts. We presently follow the traditional four troops with each being a three tank troop while the squadron headquarters is equipped with two tanks. It may be prudent to re-organise the combat team prior to deployment in such operations, to only three troops in a squadron with each troop being a four tank troop. The second tank in the squadron headquarters be replaced with an ICV with command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I systems) on board. A four tank troop has major advantages as the troop now can operate in two tank sections with inherent mutual support. This would also confirm to the recommended formation of employment. In Iraq, the increasing demand for armoured units establishes the relevance and importance of mechanised units in asymmetrical conflicts especially fighting in built up areas (FIBUA), or as US Army would put it, MOUT. Another relevant thought process is the coercive impact of armoured units in such operations whereby, the armoured forces have been used as a visible symbol of power threatening the psychological domain of the adversary and impacting his morale. Conclusion The Indian Armys experience in asymmetrical forms of warfare is well known albeit more infantry oriented being related to internal security. Our infantry units are now adept and do adapt accordingly. However, the mechanised forces have remained under utilized except for their employment during IPKF operations and as part of UN peace keeping duties. As evident, the mechanised forces have a major role to play in asymmetrical conflicts and MOUT and the experience of other armies, especially the Israelis and the US Army, has been encouraging. There is a need to study their operations and gain from their experience, in order to prepare ourselves and our troops for such asymmetrical conflicts in the future. Even in conventional warfare there may be a need to re-invigorate the FIBUA technique of fighting, going by the fact that in developed terrain there may be a need to capture certain built up areas.

Plato Essay -- Philosophy Philosophers

Plato Plato was born in Athens to a wealthy family and lived from 429-347 B.C.E. He was Socrates' greatest student and held his teacher in such high regard that in most of his works Socrates plays the main character. Some people doubt the existance of Socrates but, "like nearly everyone else who appears in Plato's works, he is not an invention of Plato: there really was a Socrates" (Kraut). Plato wrote many works asking questions about terms such as justice, piety, and immortality to name a few. His works include but are not limited to, The Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Euthyphro, and his most famous work The Republic which was a work about justice. In 387 B.C.E. Plato founded the first great school of antiquity called "The Academy". This school was famous throughout the world and its most famous student was Aristotle. Plato's work has not ceased to influence great thinkers throughout history. In this paper, I will be discussing Plato's "Theory of Ideas or Forms" and "The Allegory of the Cave". "The Allegory of the Cave" is discussed in Plato's Republic. The Allegory tells the tale...

Organizational Buyer Behavior and Buyer-Seller Relationships Essay

Business to business marketing also known as Industrial marketing is the marketing of goods & services to organizations including commercial enterprises, government and other profit & non-profit institutions for use in the goods & services they in turn produce for resale to other customers or to facilitate the operation of their enterprise (Reeder, & Brierty, 2002). Business to business market is characterized by few customers who buy in very large quantities and are geographically concentrated. The customers are professional and rational in their purchase approach. The nature of demand is derived demand, which is usually customized. The channels of distribution are shorter and there is more emphasis on personal face-to-face communication. In this era of globalization the business environment is characterized by intense competition. To sustain and grow in such a competitive economic environment, business organizations are under tremendous pressure to manufacture a product or provide a service that is of optimum quality, is customized to individual customer requirements and is delivered on time at minimum possible price. The role of the suppliers is crucial in helping the business organizations to achieve this objective. To succeed and grow in such business to business markets business marketers need to understand the Business Buyer Behavior and evolve close, enduring and long-term relationships. Business Buyer Behavior Understanding the dynamics of business buying behavior including the organizational buying process, the types of buying situations, forces influencing the organization buyer behavior, the composition of the buying center and the motives and the roles played by each member of the buying center is crucial for business marketers to identify profitable market segments, locate the various buying influences within these segments and reaching these buyers efficiently and effectively with product or service offerings that satisfy their needs. The Organizational Buying Process The organizational buying behavior is a process rather than an isolated program. It involves comprehensive phases or stages. The process begins with the recognition of a need for a product or service by someone in the company. Broad parameters for the desired product/service are then worked out. Detailed specifications and description for the desired product or service are developed. Once the company has defined the product /service it needs then the search for potential suppliers who can meet the needs begins, alternative suppliers are identified, asked to submit their proposals and the proposals analyzed. The short-listed suppliers are invited for negotiations and the final suppliers are selected. The order is then placed with the selected suppliers on the agreed terms. Finally the performance of the firms supplying the required products/ services is reviewed periodically. The buying process stage of the potential buyer for the seller’s product or service will have a major implication on the marketing approach to be adopted by the seller. Types of Buying Situations There are basically three major types of buying situations, namely the straight rebuy, modified rebuy and new-task buy. In a straight rebuy situation the buyer reorders a product or service without any modifications on a routine basis through the purchase department. In a modified rebuy situation the buyer may wish a modification in product/service specifications, prices, terms of supply etc. This situation usually involves more number of participants in the buying decision process. In a new task buying situation the company is buying a product or service for the first time. In such a situation the organization buying process is more complex and involves many more number of participants from different departments in the organization. The buying company also needs to decide on the product/service specifications, prices, delivery terms, order quantities, service terms etc. Forces Influencing Business Buying Behavior The organization buying behavior is influenced by environmental forces like changes in the domestic and global economy and changes in the technologies. The rapid strides made in information technology especially Internet technology has had a major influence in the way businesses buy. For example most of the small and large business organizations buy computer systems from Dell through its well developed website www. ell. com. Organization buying behavior is also influenced by the organizational forces like centralization and decentralization of purchase and strategic role and priorities of purchase prevalent in the given organization. The group forces influencing behavior include the composition, motives and the roles played by each member of the buying center. Buying Center It is the decision-making uni t of a buying organization and comprises of all members of the organization who are involved in the buying decision process. The members of the buying center will change depending on the product/service being purchased and the buying situation in which it is being purchased. The buying center members may play any one or a combination of the five roles namely, users, influencers, buyers, deciders and gatekeepers. Users are the members who will actually use the product being offered. Influencers are members who influence the purchase. Buyers are members who have the formal authority to make the purchase. Deciders are members who have formal or informal power to select/approve the final suppliers. Gatekeepers are members who control the flow of information from the seller to other members of the buying center. The buying motives/objectives of each member of the buying center through which the members evaluate potential suppliers may differ. The motives may include task oriented objectives such as price, quality, service and Return on Investment and non-task oriented objectives such as recognition, promotion, increments and job security. Companies involved in business to business marketing need to clearly identify the buying situation, the stage or the phase in the buying decision making process for the product being offered, the various forces influencing the buying organizations behavior, the composition of the buying center, the role played by each member of the buying center and the criteria on which they evaluate the suppliers for each individual customer. Based on such an understanding they should evolve suitable marketing strategies for success. For example Unilever the British FMCG major may need new high-speed packaging equipment for its innovation in detergent ‘small & mighty’. Companies in the business of packaging equipment need to understand that it is a new task buy situation for Unilever. And the company may be in the need identification stage of the buying process. They need to have closer relationship with the members from different functional areas like operations, engineering, design, finance and purchase who may comprise the buying center, understand the motives of purchase and the role played by each member. This is crucial because each of this buyer behavior characteristic will have an implication on the buying decision process at Unilever. This will help the supplier to evolve suitable marketing strategies to be the favoured supplier of Unilever. Relationship emphasis in Business to Business Marketing In the highly competitive environment that is prevalent today, suppliers have evolved into business partners. There is a major emphasis on close and long-term relationships in the business to business markets. To maintain the relationships, business markets must develop an intimate knowledge of the customers and add value to it. Relationship marketing centers on all marketing activities directed towards establishing, developing and maintaining successful exchanges with customers (Morgan, & Hunt, 1994). A strong relationship between the buyer and the seller is a win-win situation for both. The seller will have a competitive advantage over his competition and the buyer will have effective business solutions to his problem. The relationships between the buyer and the seller in the business to business setup are positioned on a spectrum with transactional exchanges on one end and collaborative exchanges at the other extreme with value-added exchanges in the middle. Transactional Exchanges focus on timely exchange of a product/service for a competitive price. Economy and necessity are the main motivational factors of such exchanges with little interest on the part of the buyer or the seller to extend the relationship. Such types of exchanges may be preferred by the buying organization when the purchase decision is not complex, the purchase is considered to be less significant to the achievement of its objectives, many suppliers are available and the supply market is stable. Here the business marketer need not make any specialized investment in building relationships. For example the supply of office stationery and cleaning services may call for a transactional relationship. Value added exchanges focus on complete understanding of the present and future needs of the customer and meeting those needs better than the competitor by customizing the firm’s offerings to the needs of individual customers. For example Intel Corporation, a leading player in the semiconductor industry has understood the changing computer server needs of it corporate clients and has developed and introduced a new chip that lowers electricity consumption to a very great extent. This has drastically reduced the huge electricity bills of its customers like Google Corporation that maintain thousands of servers world wide (Edwards, 2006) Collaborative Exchanges focus on building a strong social, economic, service and technical ties over a long period of time for mutual benefit through reduced costs and increased value. Such exchanges are very crucial when the market is very dynamic, the complexity of purchase is very high and the product/service being purchased is very crucial for the performance of the end product of the buying organization. In such situations the switching costs involved in changing a supplier are also very high for the buying organization. For example Asin is the sole supplier to the Japanese car manufacturing major Toyota Motors for â€Å"p-valve†, a critical brake part used in all Toyota vehicles worldwide. Aisin works in very close collaboration with Toyota Motors and is highly involved in the product development process at Toyota Motors to keep pace with the innovations being made in the Toyota vehicles and meet the JIT production requirements of Toyota (Liker, 2004). Business Marketers have some flexibility in deciding where to participate along the relationship continuum. It basically depends on the characteristics of the market, the type and price of product/service being offered and the significance of product/service being offered to the buying organization. However rival companies are continuously working towards taking away the best accounts and so also the requirements, expectations and the preferences of the individual customers keeps changing continuously. To meet these challenges business marketers must develop mutually beneficial relationships with individual customers by developing a deep understanding of their needs. Information should be openly shared to benefit both the buyer and the seller. The systems, procedures, and routines of the buyer and seller should be connected to facilitate operations. There should be very good cooperation between the buyer and seller and both should treat the buying situations as joint responsibilities. Both the buyer and seller should invest in processes and procedures that are necessary to meet the specific needs of the exchange partners. Such mutually beneficial relationships between the buyer and the seller will result in better service to the business customer as the seller will be able to provide customized product/service solutions that precisely meet the individual customer needs. Conclusion Business to business markets are growing in volume as compared to consumer markets. The characteristics of the Business to business markets call for closer buyer seller relationships. Companies operating in the Business to business markets should clearly study the organizational buyer behavior with respect to the product or service they offer. They should decide on the type of relationship, ranging from transactional exchange to collaborative exchange, which they should adopt with each customer to gain competitive advantage in the intensively competitive business environment.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberias Iron Lady

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberias Iron Lady Ellen Johnson was born on  October  29, 1938, in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, amongst the descendants of original colonists of Liberia (ex-African slaves from America, who promptly on arrival set about enslaving the indigenous people using the social system of their old American masters as a basis for their new society). These descendants are known in Liberia as Americo-Liberians. Causes of Liberias Civil Conflict The social inequalities between indigenous Liberians and the Americo-Liberians have lead to much of the political and social strife in the country, as leadership bounced between dictators representing opposing groups (Samuel Doe replacing William Tolbert, Charles Taylor replacing Samuel Doe). Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf rejects the suggestion that she is one of the elite: If such a class existed, it has been obliterated over the last few years from intermarriages and social integration. Gaining an Education From 1948 to 55 Ellen Johnson studied accounts and economics at the College of West Africa in Monrovia. After marriage at the age of 17 to James Sirleaf, she traveled to America (in 1961) and continued her studies, achieving a degree from the University of Colorado. From 1969 to 71 she read economics at Harvard, gaining a masters degree in public administration. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf then returned to Liberia and began working in William Tolberts (True Whig Party) government. A Start in Politics Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf served as Minister of Finance from 1972 to 73 but left after a disagreement over public spending. As the 70s progressed, life under Liberias one-party state became more polarised- to the benefit of the Americo-Liberian elite. On April 12, 1980, Master Sergeant Samuel Kayon Doe, a member of the indigenous Krahn ethnic group, seized power in a military coup and President William Tolbert was executed along with several members of his cabinet by firing squad. Life under Samuel Doe With the Peoples Redemption Council now in power, Samuel Doe began a purge of government. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf narrowly escaped- choosing exile in Kenya. From 1983 to 85 she served as Director of Citibank in Nairobi, but when Samuel Doe declared himself president of the Republic in 1984 and unbanned political parties, she decided to return. During the 1985 elections, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf campaigned against Doe and was placed under house arrest. An Economists Life in Exile Sentenced to ten years in prison, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf spent just a short time incarcerated, before being allowed to leave the country once again as an exile. During the 1980s she served as Vice President of both the African Regional Office of Citibank, in Nairobi, and of (HSCB) Equator Bank, in Washington. Back in Liberia civil unrest erupted once more. On 9 September 1990, Samuel Doe was killed by a splinter group from Charles Taylors National Patriotic Front of Liberia. A New Regime From 1992 to 97 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf worked as Assistant Administrator, and then Director, of the UN Development Program Regional Bureau for Africa (essentially an Assistant Secretary-General of the UN). Meanwhile, in Liberia, an interim government was put in power, led by a succession of four un-elected officials (the last of whom, Ruth Sando Perry, was Africas first female leader). By 1996 the presence of West African peacekeepers created a lull in the civil war, and elections were held. A First Attempt at the Presidency Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf returned to Liberia in 1997 to contest the election. She came second to Charles Taylor (gaining 10% of the vote compared to his 75%) out of a field of 14 candidates. The election was declared free and fair by international observers. (Johnson-Sirleaf campaigned against Taylor and was charged with treason.) By 1999 civil war had returned to Liberia, and Taylor was accused of interfering with his neighbors, fomenting unrest and rebellion. A New Hope from Liberia On 11 August 2003, after much persuasion, Charles Taylor handed power over to his deputy Moses Blah. The new interim government and rebel groups signed an historic peace accord and set about installing a new head of state. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was proposed as a possible candidate, but in the end, the diverse groups selected Charles Gyude Bryant, a political neutral. Johnson-Sirleaf served as head of the Governance Reform Commission. Liberias 2005 Election Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf played an active role in the transitional government as the country prepared for the 2005 elections and eventually stood for president against her rival the ex-international footballer, George Manneh Weah. Despite the elections being called fair and orderly, Weah repudiated the result, which gave a majority to Johnson-Sirleaf, and the announcement of Liberias new president was postponed, pending an investigation. On  November 23, 2005, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was declared the winner of the Liberian election and confirmed as the countrys next president. Her inauguration, attended by the likes of US First Lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, took place on Monday, January 16, 2006.Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the divorced mother of four boys and grandmother to six children, is Liberias first elected female president, as well as the first elected female leader on the continent.

Graduation Party Ideas Make It Legendary!

Graduation Party Ideas Make It Legendary! You did it! All those 24-hour Red-Bull-and-Calculus benders did the trick. Now, as you consider the final weeks of your college experience, you think, â€Å"Hey, I should totally celebrate by throwing THE MOTHER OF ALL PARTIES.† You should do that. Here are the five best types of parties for graduating college. Pick your poison and get ready to forget everything you’ve learned over the past four years. The Kegger Not innovative, but still fun. Get together some of your friends from the College of Education or Mechanical Engineering program and get crazy. When you’re throwing one of these, remember to go simple. Cheap food, lots of inexpensive alcohol, and a few bottles of whiskey. Now you’re talking fun! Drinks: PBR, Jack Daniels, and Jello Shots. Food: Taquitos, Oreos, Chips, and Queso. Activities: Quarters, Beer Pong, and Strip Poker The Club Party For you and your buddies from the School of Marketing, Broadcast Journalism, Education, or Nursing, maybe a club party is the right speed. Here, you can drink, dance, and still manage to give your outgoing selves a chance to meet some new people. Dress up, drink some Appletini’s and bask in your success at the same time you scope out the hotties. Drinks: Cosmopolitans, Whiskey Sour, Bloody Mary, Boilermaker Food: Macaroni Bites, Fried Oysters, Mini Cheesecake Activities: Dancing, Wet T-Shirt Contests, Retreating to a Private Bottle Service Table The Cheese and Wine Party If you are graduating with a degree in Philosophy, Literature, Journalism, or History you may want a party that is quiet enough so that you can discuss your favorite topics. You can throw this in your home or apartment, as long as it is in good taste and excellently furnished. Having a good amount of medium-quality wine and unique appetizers is all you need to get this party set up. Once there, though, you may need to do some official activities to get people to feel comfortable. Drinks: Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc (Check out Good Wine Under $20 for more ideas) Food: Teleme Cheese, Stuffed Mushrooms, Salmon Bites Activities: Charades, Apples to Apples, Icebreaker Games The Theme Party Nothing says fun like a graduation party that’s also a costume party. You can make it easy so that guests must come in their cap and gown, or turn it into a toga party. Either way, it makes for a night full of unique activities and foods that your guests will never forget. The only thing to keep in mind, however, is that many grads have family and friends who will be joining them. Make sure your theme is inclusive enough so that everyone feels like they’re welcome to join in. Drinks: Choose drinks that go with your party. If you have a Renaissance party, mead might be a good choice. For a toga party, you’d want to have lots of dark red wine. Just keep drinks consistent with your theme. Food: Food should also be consistent with your party. If you have a 80’s themed party, you might be able to just get away with traditional party snacks. If you decide to have a Meditteranean-themed party however, you might have olives, falafel, or gyros. Do some research to see what foods will be delicious, cheap, and fun. Activities: Again, research will be your key friend for developing the right activities. You might choose some specific dances and games that relate to your chosen theme. You might also decide to have a contest for the best costume. Grad Party Tips No matter which party style you pick, here are some of the key things to remember when you throw your party: Have extra. Make sure you have extra food, drinks, toilet papers, and game boards. Create something to save memories. Give out â€Å"yearbooks† or other party favors that guests can share and sign. You don’t have to have your party on graduation day. Pick a day that is less stressful. Your guests won’t have to worry about their company as much. Send out invitations at least a week in advance. As graduation gets closer, everyone’s schedule fills up, so make sure your party gets on the list. Choose low maintenance, if possible. The goal is for all of you to have fun. That’s kind of hard if you’re running around cleaning up spills and creating culinary masterpieces. What do you plan for your grad party? Do you have some more ideas to share? Hurry up!

About Different Essay Writing Formats

About Different Essay Writing Formats About Different Essay Writing Formats An essay writing format is something that concerns students who are not aware of their peculiarities. True, it is sometimes possible to get totally lost in the variety of those page numbering techniques and the and Bibliography sections. If you are one of those students who do not have a clear understanding of what distinguishes MLA from APA, then the following content is just for you. The present article will try to narrate of the most common formats for academic papers of the modern educational institutions. The most frequently used formats in the modern high schools, colleges and universities are APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian, Oxford and Harvard. Apart from these ones, there are a few more, but they are used not so often. The tutors, in their majority, prefer the listed ones for the students who compose written assignments. These formats have their unique peculiarities, so the students would need to master these all in order to get the high marks and no complaints from their tutors. No need to panic. These are not too complicated and all of the students who have the desire to write well and obey the formatting rules would eventually master all of these formats. In case you belong to the category of students who have no or minimal desire to learn all of the mentioned formats and their peculiar characteristic, you are welcome to order the paper online – from the Internet-based custom paper writing company. Its staff knows how to work with any of the mentioned formats, so you will have no troubles in this regard. Once you order a paper composed by a freelance writer, you obtain the high-quality product and what is even more pleasant, you would not need to bother formatting the paper on your own. All you would need to do is to state which particular format you need during the order placement procedure. The rest will be done for you at quite an affordable price. You will get the completed essay formatted as needed within the time frame you specify in the order instructions. Leave the headache of formatting to the freelance writers from the online custom paper writing company and you will still succeed in this case. All you would need to do is to care about the credible online agency you address – you need the good assistance, not the poor one. So, select the writing agency with consideration and mind the price you might pay for addressing a poor company – you may lose the academic position and be accused of academic dishonesty. To avoid the latter ones – choose the writer to work with the utmost attention. offers professional essay writing help you can fully rely on. You will get a high-quality custom essay paper from highly qualified writers.

Different Types of Renewable Energy Systems Research Paper

Different Types of Renewable Energy Systems - Research Paper Example In recent years when threats of global warming and the significant contributory impact of oil and petroleum products to global warming has become a more imposing reality, the use and discovery of renewable sources of energy became even more imperative. Renewable sources of energy include sources of energy taken from resources which are generally and constantly being replenished within the human timescale. These sources mostly include sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat. These sources also have a lesser impact on the environmental and ecological conditions of the planet. In Australia, renewable energy has gone through significant improvements since 2006 with about 30,000 gigawatt-hours of energy produced from the renewable energy which accounts for about 13.14% of energy production in the country. The expansion in solar and wind energy was observed more in the solar and wind generation with other sources also increasing. These sources include hydroelectricity, wind , bioenergy, large-scale solar and marine energy (The Climate Group, 2013). These renewable sources of energy shall be discussed in this paper, with a primary focus on solar, geothermal, wave, biofuel, and biomass energies. Wind energy and hydropower also comprise of the renewable energy mix, these bring a lot of economic, technical and environmental advantages both to the developed and developing nations. Energy policymakers all around the world are now paying great attention to harness the renewable energy.... Hydropower?............................................................................................... 32 5.1 Australia’s Hydropower Initiatives †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 34 5.2 Global Hydro Power Trends†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 38 5.3 Future Global Outlook for Hydropower†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 40 5.4 Australia’s Wind Energy Capabilities†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 41 6. Hydropower and Wind Energy Sectors of Bangladesh†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 45 6.1 Wind Energy of Bangladesh†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 48 6. Other Major Hydropower International Players†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 56 6.1 China’s Hydrocarbon Projects†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 56 6.2 Brazil’s Hydropower Projects†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 58 6.3 Venezuela Hydropower Competence†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 58 6.4 Hydropower Capacity of Russia†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 58 6.5 USA’s Hydropower Capacity†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 58 6.6 Canada’s Hydropower capabilities †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 59 7.1 China’s Wind Energy Capabilitiesâ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 60 7.2 USA’s Wind Energy Capabilities†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 60 7.3 Brazil Wind Energy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 61 7.4 Russia’s Wind Energy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 62 7.5 Canada’s Wind Energy Capabilities†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 63 8- Biomass†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 65 8.1 What is biomass

Investment Basics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Investment Basics - Essay Example Creating portfolio involved asset allocation, asset selection decision, and asset execution. In asset allocation, the investors will decide on what marketable securities will he be investing, either in equities, fixed-income securities, and real assets (physical or identifiable assets). After the allocation, investors need to select on what are his asset preferences between stocks, bonds, and many more. The selection will be followed by the execution of investment portfolio and investment strategy. The final part of the process is performance evaluation wherein investment is constantly monitored by the investors themselves or through a portfolio manager. The Four Investments for Consideration in any Investment Portfolio Bonds (Municipal & Corporate). It is a debt instrument with specific return, interest and principal, and maturity date (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2008, p. 157). Municipal bonds are debt securities issued by the government level whose maturity date is in a long-term basis. T hese bonds are considered to be secured and these are issued in order to support government operations and projects for the common good. Municipal bonds are known to be tax-exempt but it depends upon the purpose and jurisdiction. Corporate bonds are debt securities issued by corporations or business firms to finance variety of private purposes. These bonds are subject to a much higher interest rate for it is a risky investment (Brigham & Houston, 2009, p. 196). Stocks (Common and Preferred). These are issued securities that represent ownership. Ownership through the purchased of stocks are called stockholders which these are represented by stock certificates. Usually, stock prices of companies who are financially stable are high compared to those who are poor in performance because the higher is the value of the stocks the greater is the return of investment. There are two types of stocks, the common and the preferred stocks. In terms of the declaration of dividend and bankruptcy, p referred stockholders are satisfied first before the common shareholders (Investors Business Daily, 1996, p. 36). Both stocks running after income, the only difference is the risk involved. Preferred stocks are less risky but the growth income is fairly dependable while common stocks assumed higher risk but unlimited growth in income and capital gain (Rini, 2003, p. 33). Mutual Funds. It is an investment that used money â€Å"from a group of people with common investment goals to buy securities such as stocks, bond, money market instruments, a combination of these investments, or other funds† (Mobius, 2007, p. 3). These groups of investment securities are put together in a portfolio and it is appropriately managed by a portfolio manager. More often, investors prefer to invest in mutual funds because of access to a diversified portfolio, liquidity, and expertise by professional fund managers; however, mutual funds shared almost the same risk with investment in individual stock s, and drawbacks are always present. Derivatives. It is a financial instruments based on financial measurement of other assets that usually comes in contracts (Bragg, 2002, p. 156). Some of derivative instruments are forward, future, options, and swaps. The value of derivatives is based on the prices of some underlying assets or instruments. It also involved contracts between a seller and a buyer wherein the value is based on bargaining power (Rezaee, 20001, p. 390). Risk

Evolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Evolution - Essay Example This paper will critically reflect upon adaptation, which is one of the aspects of evolutionary theory. Furthermore, it will discuss whether the aspect can be studied in real time or not and are the microorganisms used within it with a rapid generation time. In the last part of the paper, the concept of antibiotic resistance will be addressed and its links to differences in bacterial genomes. Evolutionary theory is a theory of changes in organic design through contingent selection and controlled random mutations. The evolutionary theory was published by Charles Darwin. Evolution is the binding force of all biological research. The principle of randomness, the genetic principle and the principle of self-replication are some basic principles of evolutionary theory (McGrath, 2005, pp. 227).  Since its inspection, evolutionary theory has been popular among ordinary audience and scientists. The evolutionary theory itself is negated by some of its aspects ,however, some of them are very astonishing. This paper will critically reflect upon adaptation, which is one of the aspects of evolutionary theory. Furthermore, it will discuss whether the aspect can be studied in real time or not and are the microorganisms used within it with a rapid generation time. In the last part of the paper, the concept of antibiotic resistance will be addressed and its links to differences in bacterial genomes. Every aspects of the form and behaviour of organisms are influenced by evolution.  Amongst them, the most prominent are the specific physical and behavioural adaptations that are the outcomes of natural selection (Walsh, 2007, pp. 281). Fitness is increased by these adaptations through aid of activities, like attracting mates, avoiding predators and finding food. The adaptations take place within a population or species. The process that makes organisms better suited to their habitat is referred

Jute Material Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Jute Material - Coursework Example Due to its resistive nature, the dry jute shows signs of being loaded after 23 milliseconds in the test. As indicated by the graph above the progress that follows soon after is represented by a shoot that is almost linear to the almost 2200 Newton’s mark after which the graph begins a drop, which creates a spike. The drop records a low of slightly above 1500 newton after which more force is applied to the jute where it spikes up to a force of 3300 newton. After which the drop follows. The drop is characterised by spikes resulting from the applied force as depicted in the graph in the twentieth and forty-sixth millisecond gap. The uncharacteristic drops in the loading process indicate a difference in dry jute that is uncharacteristic of the normal loading curve on the solid materials, and it reveals some characteristics of the dry jute.The test time that is recorded by the dry jute on the load increase is approximately 36 milliseconds after which the load is at the peak. The ov erall test records a time of approximately 46 milliseconds. From this, it is evident that the unloading or negative slope part of the graph takes less time compared to that of the loading part. The dry jute graph exhibits some unexpected results. Being a solid material, the graph that was expected on loading should have been characteristically smooth (Rees, 2000, p.123), but in this case, it had recorded instances and occurrence of sharp peaks in both the loading and unloading process.... 21), the fibre loses its elasticity element and enters the permanently deformed state. The fibre lingers shortly in the deformation phase, before suffering a complete breakdown in structure in this state. The breakpoint in the dry jute case is recorded at approximately 20.5 Joules. Wet Jute In construction, Jute is mostly used in its dry form. The presence of fluid in the internal structure of jute affects its mechanical properties as displayed in the graph. The effect of having the fluid in the jute is blown up when the material is put under high deformation forces. The wet jute displays similar properties in the initial test phases as depicted by the graph. The wet jute in this case is raw jute, which has not been pre-processed. It is harvested straight from the farms and used in this experiment. In the first stage of testing, the fibre shows resilience to the impact test forces just as the dry jute. It begins to show signs of deformation slightly before the twenty-third millisecon ds mark. After which it takes on elastic properties as the dry jute, with the graph being more linear-like when compared to the dry jute. The curve leading to permanent deformation in this case tends to arc more and its start point occurs earlier than that of dry jute. The breakpoint of wet jute is recorded at about 17 Joules. However, it takes about 40 milliseconds for the wet jute to get to the breaking point in the graph. Graph 2: Standard force Test time graph By applying standard force on the subjects, it is easy to establish the ultimate and yield stresses on the fibres. The dry and wet jute display different results in the experiment as indicated by Barsom and Rolfe (1999, p. 291). In conducting this experiment, the dry and wet jute

Annotated bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Annotated Bibliography Example This source is important to the topic in that it gives practical approaches based on mind exercises that work to bring about happiness, and supports that indeed the subconscious mind is the determinant of one’s quality of life. Flanagan expresses a notion that since the world is all material, and human beings are material as well, finding a meaning for living that is beyond material is necessary. He then brings in Buddhism and states that in it one can find peace of mind since it employs a balance between morals and the subconscious mind, and that it is through Buddhism that humans can find a path to flourishing. This source is relevant to the problematic in that it indirectly supports that the subconscious mind is indeed the control centre for any mystical experiences and meditation exercise; which is what Buddhists practice and preach. In Watson’s book, it is revealed that the once rivaling concepts between science and Buddhism concerning the wellbeing of human beings are now merging. Watson explains that while the scientific approach based its notions on theories, Buddhism believed in practice. Concisely, the two parties have contributed in the understanding of what it takes to achieve wellbeing; relating well with the environment, with others, with our emotions, and with our embodiments. Watson’s information explains that unlike the parities that put an abyss between the two contexts, what they have both concluded is that no one part is able on its own. Rather, it is an interconnection of various aspects that contribute to the powers of the subconscious mind. In this book, the authors address the powers of the subconscious mind mostly in mystical experiences by highlighting the mind’s understanding from a Buddhist’s perspective. The highlighting analyses the levels of the mind and also the mode of stretching its understanding beyond the [usual] discursive thought level. To further explain, the authors discuss the elements of

LOVE. -- OB Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

LOVE. -- OB - Research Paper Example These techniques even though in many cases prove useful; it fails in majority of the situations. This causes the conflict to rise which in turn leads to negotiations. Some of these negotiations are arbitrated by third parties while others are handled by managers themselves. There are critical aspects of negotiations as well which are discussed in later. Overall, whether conflict is positive or negative for the company depends on the outcome. Sometimes a conflict can have a positive outcome in the short-term but the results can be devastating in the long-run and vice versa. In the 21st century, workforce and workplace etiquettes are both going through rapid changes because of cut-throat competition. Such changes are placing stress not just on the management but also the workforce which is increasing the chances for workplace conflict and deviant behaviors at workplace (De Dreu, 2008). Thus, highlighting the importance for effective conflict management is crucial. Unfortunately, no literature has yet been linked to conflict management and worker issues that may cause conflicts (De Dreu, 2008). For many years now, scholars and academics in organizational behavior and psychology have conducted vast researches on the workplace conflict. While some have conducted studies on the negative side of it, others have examined the positive effects. According to De Dreu (2006), positive functions of conflict are linked with learning, improved quality of decisions, creativity, innovation and overall enhancement in productivity and team effectiveness. On the contrary, De Dreu and Gelfand (2007) has noted the negative functions of conflict such as increased stressed, low job satisfaction and vice versa of positive functions. Many scholars would argue mostly on the positive functions that arise from the conflict issues such as those related to tasks (e.g. designing best strategy) rather than personal issues (e.g. disagreements on

Jute Material Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Jute Material - Coursework Example Due to its resistive nature, the dry jute shows signs of being loaded after 23 milliseconds in the test. As indicated by the graph above the progress that follows soon after is represented by a shoot that is almost linear to the almost 2200 Newton’s mark after which the graph begins a drop, which creates a spike. The drop records a low of slightly above 1500 newton after which more force is applied to the jute where it spikes up to a force of 3300 newton. After which the drop follows. The drop is characterised by spikes resulting from the applied force as depicted in the graph in the twentieth and forty-sixth millisecond gap. The uncharacteristic drops in the loading process indicate a difference in dry jute that is uncharacteristic of the normal loading curve on the solid materials, and it reveals some characteristics of the dry jute.The test time that is recorded by the dry jute on the load increase is approximately 36 milliseconds after which the load is at the peak. The ov erall test records a time of approximately 46 milliseconds. From this, it is evident that the unloading or negative slope part of the graph takes less time compared to that of the loading part. The dry jute graph exhibits some unexpected results. Being a solid material, the graph that was expected on loading should have been characteristically smooth (Rees, 2000, p.123), but in this case, it had recorded instances and occurrence of sharp peaks in both the loading and unloading process.... 21), the fibre loses its elasticity element and enters the permanently deformed state. The fibre lingers shortly in the deformation phase, before suffering a complete breakdown in structure in this state. The breakpoint in the dry jute case is recorded at approximately 20.5 Joules. Wet Jute In construction, Jute is mostly used in its dry form. The presence of fluid in the internal structure of jute affects its mechanical properties as displayed in the graph. The effect of having the fluid in the jute is blown up when the material is put under high deformation forces. The wet jute displays similar properties in the initial test phases as depicted by the graph. The wet jute in this case is raw jute, which has not been pre-processed. It is harvested straight from the farms and used in this experiment. In the first stage of testing, the fibre shows resilience to the impact test forces just as the dry jute. It begins to show signs of deformation slightly before the twenty-third millisecon ds mark. After which it takes on elastic properties as the dry jute, with the graph being more linear-like when compared to the dry jute. The curve leading to permanent deformation in this case tends to arc more and its start point occurs earlier than that of dry jute. The breakpoint of wet jute is recorded at about 17 Joules. However, it takes about 40 milliseconds for the wet jute to get to the breaking point in the graph. Graph 2: Standard force Test time graph By applying standard force on the subjects, it is easy to establish the ultimate and yield stresses on the fibres. The dry and wet jute display different results in the experiment as indicated by Barsom and Rolfe (1999, p. 291). In conducting this experiment, the dry and wet jute

LOVE. -- OB Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

LOVE. -- OB - Research Paper Example These techniques even though in many cases prove useful; it fails in majority of the situations. This causes the conflict to rise which in turn leads to negotiations. Some of these negotiations are arbitrated by third parties while others are handled by managers themselves. There are critical aspects of negotiations as well which are discussed in later. Overall, whether conflict is positive or negative for the company depends on the outcome. Sometimes a conflict can have a positive outcome in the short-term but the results can be devastating in the long-run and vice versa. In the 21st century, workforce and workplace etiquettes are both going through rapid changes because of cut-throat competition. Such changes are placing stress not just on the management but also the workforce which is increasing the chances for workplace conflict and deviant behaviors at workplace (De Dreu, 2008). Thus, highlighting the importance for effective conflict management is crucial. Unfortunately, no literature has yet been linked to conflict management and worker issues that may cause conflicts (De Dreu, 2008). For many years now, scholars and academics in organizational behavior and psychology have conducted vast researches on the workplace conflict. While some have conducted studies on the negative side of it, others have examined the positive effects. According to De Dreu (2006), positive functions of conflict are linked with learning, improved quality of decisions, creativity, innovation and overall enhancement in productivity and team effectiveness. On the contrary, De Dreu and Gelfand (2007) has noted the negative functions of conflict such as increased stressed, low job satisfaction and vice versa of positive functions. Many scholars would argue mostly on the positive functions that arise from the conflict issues such as those related to tasks (e.g. designing best strategy) rather than personal issues (e.g. disagreements on

Includes recommendations for banking in China Essay Example for Free

Includes recommendations for banking in China Essay The bank is progressively upgrading its services and is attempting to match the best practices in the banking industry. This is evident from its Factoring programme for businesses. This enables business people to assign receivables to Bank of China and in turn they are provided with all facilities for collection, finance of trade, risk control and ledger sales management. In addition there is easy finance on production of delivery of goods, provision of capital at low cost, protection of credit to the seller despite any financial difficulty of the buyer, thus in some cases it will be the buyer also who will be benefiting along with the seller in case Factoring is undertaken. The Factoring services include export and import factoring as well export and domestic invoice discounting and domestic full factoring. Being the first and the largest factoring services provider in China’s banking sector, it has build extensive experience in this field and therefore will provide assured services. (Factoring, 2006). BOC has developed partnerships with large state held Chinese corporations such as the oil and petroleum company China National Petroleum Corporation. This will add value to its global business and create partnerships for growth. Security and risk management in Bank of China is dependent on its corporate governance policy. This is determined and controlled by the board of directors which oversees the overall operation and administration. As per standard norms of banks, committees are appointed to supervise various banking functions which include those for strategic planning, audit, risk management, personnel and remuneration and transaction controls. (Governance, 2006). The various stake holders in the bank include apart from the state government, the share holders, a board of directors, in which the posts of Chairman and President are said to be separate, a board o f supervisors and senior management. (Governance, 2006). The large quantum of non performing assets and a state control however does not immediately contribute to confidence in this area. The Bank is prone to provide for areas which are determined by the Central government and to that extent its policies are not ruled by the needs of ensuring profitability and efficiency. The picture in China is however continuously changing and greater progress in this sphere is anticipated in the future. HSBC exploits it legacy of banking in China to effect as it has been present in the Middle Kingdom since 1865. (HSBC China, 2006). The Bank provides the customers the advantage of being a single banker for domestic as well as foreign banking services thereby providing it convenience, speed, security and assurance. (HSBC China, 2006). HSBC is seen to operate at an entirely different level. The products, services and processes for the customers have been well established by the bank. It is now marketing these facilities to provide growth both in the personal and business banking sectors. Modern banking as practiced by HSBC is not only creating facilities such as automated teller and cash machines but actually recognizing the benefits of customers using these. This leads banks as HSBC to sponsor various gift schemes for users who use cash machines or pay their bills online. This indicates that services are not mere conveniences but offers which enable the bank to actually increase its efficiency. Then there are services such as money managers for the business, high interest deposit bonds, money market account and clients deposit account which enables pooling of money in a single account. HSBC also manages pensions of employers for a business as well for individuals. For business there are other factilities that are being provided such as business internet banking as well as HSBCnet which provides larger companies with a complete range of services on the internet, invoice finance, Against the internal growth outlook of Bank of China, HSBC is seeking more challenges externally as the Worlds local bank and is investing in many developing countries such as Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and even Iraq. (Schuman, 2006). The low penetration of modern banking systems services for example credit cards in China which for a 1. 3 billion population has only 10 million card holders has promised greater possibility and scope for banks such as HSBC. While HSBC sees itself as the Worlds local bank, the BOC wants to seek primacy in Chinese banking by providing assistance in doing business globally. Thus there is a difference in the focus of both the banks. This also underlines an essential difference in the states of the Chinese banking industry vis a vis global banking conglomerates as HSBC. The Chinese banking industry is still in its nascence and thus sees itself as a provider of financial services to its domestic clientele be it personal or corporate to operate internationally. On the other hand HSBC sees itself as a bank for global banking regardless of the nationality of its clients. The Bank of China will have to face these challenges in the future in a very cohesive manner. Bank of China is well established domestically as well as globally. It can conduct sustained operations as it has adequate experience and exposure to varied political, economic and financial regimes. The global orientation of the bank is particularly favorable for its sustained growth and expansion in the future. It can thus provide the lead to other banks in China.

Strategic Management in FedEx in response to Competition

Strategic Management in FedEx in response to Competition History of air carriers as given by Coyle et al attributes the use of airplanes for mail transport as the starting point of the airline industry (Coyle et al, 2006:158). From mail transport air transportation moved to passenger, transport where the industry has all through established its dominance especially when it comes to transporting passengers over long distances in very short periods of time. The services offered by for-hire carriers can be classified into all-cargo, air taxi, commuter, charter and international services (Coyle et al, 2006:159). All-cargo carriers such as FedEx and UPS airlines are primarily concerned with the transportation of cargo. Federal Express Corporation, which is a cargo airline, is based at Memphis in the United States of America. Federal Express Corporation also known as FedEx is the largest airline globally with regard to freight tons but in terms of fleet size, it is the worlds second largest airline (Zhang, 2006:98). The corporation provides direction and financial reporting for a number of companies, which collectively compete under the Federal Express name globally. The companies include FedEx Ground, FedEx Express, FedEx Office, FedEx Freight, FedEx Services, FedEx Trade Networks and FedEx Custom Critical (FedEx.com, 2010:110). Before the Federal Express became Federal Express Corporation it was known as FedEx but it adopted the current name under which it currently operate in 1998 when it acquired Caliber System Inc. Federal Express Corporation built on its strength of express delivery service and formed more diversified company which incorporated different but related businesses (Denton, 1992:86). Federal Express Corporation is the leading firm in the transportation industry globally. The company has managed to attain its current position by incorporating what it takes to be a major player in the global market (Gp-Training, n.d.). FedEx Corporation has built superior virtual, physical and people network to shape network economy in the global scale. The following discussion will seek to conduct a strategic management analysis of FedEx based on two models; Porters five forces model and the SWOT analysis. The two models have been selected based on the reason that they provide a step-by-step analysis of an organization. They are objective and can enable a planner or strategic manager to make accurate predictions of a business or project. Further, they greatly assist in prior determinations before capital investments are made, for instance, they greatly assist in determining whether the goals and objectives of a particular business are attainable. SWOT Analysis and five forces model of Federal Express Corporation Introduction SWOT analysis refers to an evaluation technique deployed in determining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and techniques in a business venture. On the other hand, Michael Porter established a structure that models a business as being influenced by five main forces. This model is very important and can be used by industries to understand their operations better. According to Overbeck (2009:126) porters five forces, which is a model for industry analysis, include rivalry, threats of substitutes, Buyer power, Supplier power and Barriers to entry or threat of entry (McGrew Wilson, 1982:75). In addition, FedEx SWOT analysis presents various opportunities as well as strengths of the company, which have made it become one of the market leaders globally. However, the company also has a number of threats and weakness that should be addressed to be able to become even more prosperous in future. Source: Hill, C. and Jones G. (2009:67). Strategic management theory. New York: Cengage Learning. Porters Five Forces model Rivalry According to Hill and Jones (2009:42), competition between rival firms according to traditional economic model drives profit to ultimately zero. However, competition is not perfect and businesses are not basic passive price takers but they strive for competitive advantage over rival firms. Application of rivalry, which is Michael porters first force to the Federal express, is evident. For instance, the corporation was faced with threatening rivalry challenge before it occupied the current position in the industry. For instance, the entry of competitors in their market. UPS in particular, posed a major threat. The company was ready to spend enormous sums of money in market penetration. For example, it invested in a thirty million dollar ad for purposes of competing with FedEx. Another challenge facing FedEx is the progressive developments in technology which act as substitutes to transnight mail delivery, for example, fax and emails. The entry of UPS into the market posed a severe thr eat to FedEx, serious enough to cause Pauline and Farhoomand (2000:88), to report that the transportation volume of FedEx was going down. FedEx Corporation responded to the threat of rivalry that threatened its progress and in January 2000, it resorted to reorganize the company into groups operation by doing business with the whole FedEx family. According to Hill and Jones (2009:42) it is important to reconsider strategy in order to compete effectively in the market. The theory of Porters five forces model state that such action should only be taken after understanding the structures of the industry (Goodwin, 2001:178). The resolution was that the five subsidiary companies and FedEx corporation was to compete collectively but to function independently, a strategy that boosted their pursuit for an advantage in the industry. This is in accordance with the strategic management theory and the model of Porters five forces, which further advocates the scrutiny of competitive forces in the market before identifying threats and opportunities as well as coming with a suitable strategy (Hill Jones, 2009:201). Another strategy that FedEx Corporation used was improving product differentiation by embracing innovation and offering high quality products and services to customers. According to (Goodwin, 2000:67), FedEx Corporation pooled its marketing, sales and customer service function that enable customers to access services of the group at a single point. The reorganization cost FedEx Corporation 100 million USD in a span of three years, but the end justified the means. These measures retained FedEx in the market, but did not frustrate UPS which in a number of years has managed to scoop its fair share of the market. Today, FedEx has grown into a multi- billion corporation owning various companies namely the FedEx corporation, FedEx Ground, FedEx Express , FedEx Freight, FedEx custom critical, FedEx Trade Networks and FedEx Kinkos . On the other hand, UPS has grown to the largest package delivery company on the globe owning companies like; UPS Mail Innovations, UPS Air Cargo, UPS Capital Corporation, UPS Consulting, UPS Aviation Technologies, UPS Mail Boxes Among Others. Threat of Substitutes A substitute product in Porters model is a product in other industries which could be deployed as an alternative to another product from a different industry. The threat of substitutes according to the five forces theory therefore exists when the demand of a product is affected by change in price of a substitute product (Overbeck, 2009:56). The same way the price elasticity of a product is affected by same substitute products hence when more substitutes become available, it influence demand, which becomes more elastic because customers have more alternatives. Competition can be endangered by threat of substitutes when they come from outside industry. Strategic management theory and five forces theory according to Hill and Jones (2009:53) assert that existence of very close substitutes poses a strong threat in the market and leads to reduced profitability. To deal with such a challenge the two theories support the idea of diversifying a companys products and service as FedEx did (Hill Jones, 2009:53-54). FedEx embraced technology and innovation, which enhanced reliability and speed of deliveries in the firm. The company adopted next day delivery services, which completely revolutionized the industry. This made it preferable to many customers because it became reliable and convenient. Perishable commodities could reach their intended destination with appropriate time, which consequently reduced competition among its rivals. According to Overbeck (2009:45), FedEx Corporation Company under the leadership of Smith pioneered a number of technological breakthrough that propelled the firm above all others. For instance, over 100000 PCs loaded with Federal Express software made to log and link customers into tracking and ordering systems were introduced in FedEx. Federal Express also, became the first to issue their drivers with handle scanners, a device that alerted customers when packages were either delivered or picked up. According to Pauline and Farhoomand (2000:113), Federal Express Co rporation was the first to launch a website with tracking and tracing capabilities. Such strategies helped the company to grow without feeling the pinch of the threat of substitutes. Buyer Power This is the impact that customers (buyers) have on a producing industry. According to Overbeck (2009:89), there are factors that determine the buyer power. Federal Express Corporation has been shaped by the buyer power especially corporate buyers who have enormous bargaining power resulting from the large amounts of purchases they make. Buyer power is also influenced by the switching costs. It is a fact that buyers power greatly influences FedEx. For example, it gained a huge share of the catalogue business because it was able to offer buyers lower prices as compared to UPS. The company has always tried to expand with the demand of its customers (Overbeck, 2009:89). FedEx Company has used information technology that has been quite significant in the globalization of trade, effective and efficient sharing of information within and outside the company, improved customer service and reduced costs of services offered by the company. As a result, the buyer power is skewed towards Federal Express Corporation because it provides the services that the buyer demands. According to five forces theory and strategic management theory, buyer power is a very significant consideration in designing business strategy (Hill Jones, 2009:50-52). On the other hand, buyer power also constrains FedEx in some ways. The delivery has nominal switching costs such that when a customer is not satisfied, they can easily switch to the competitors services. For instance, when UPS made its entry into the market, offering its services at half the price offered by FedEx, many of its customers disregarded the switching costs and moved to UPS. Supplier Power Supplier power illustrates the ease with which suppliers can determine prices. Supplier power id determined by the number of suppliers available in an industry, the distinctiveness of their services or products their influence over a company. The more supplier options open to a company, the less the likelihood of high supplier power. According to Hill and Jones (2009:52), a powerful supply has the ability to influence the producing industry. According to five forces theory and strategic management theory, suppliers can easily determine the future and progress of a firm and so can the third parties (Hill Jones, 2009:53). While other rival companies in the industry were sub-contracting their shipment to third parties and buying space on commercial airlines, Federal Express Corporation tried to acquire its own transportation fleet and in the tenth year, it became the first company in the United States to achieve 1 billion USD revenue mark in ten years without corporate mergers and acquisitions. According to Farhoomand and Pauline (2000), Federal Express Corporation does not have external factors that influence its internal decision and operation and has been able to advance greatly in the industry this is because Federal Express Corporation has limited influence of buyer power. Barriers to Entry/ Threat of Entry Hill and Jones (2009:43) argue that industries possess some characteristics, which protect the lofty levels of profit of firms in the market, which prevent additional firms from entering the market. It is this inhibition of additional rivals in the market, which is termed as barriers to entry. According to Strategic management and five forces theories, barriers to entry reduce rate of entry of new businesses, which therefore maintains the high level of profit for those firms that are already in the industry (Hill Jones, 2009:87). The sources of such barriers include government created barriers, Asset specificity, patents and proprietary knowledge and organizational economies of scale. Federal Express is already in the industry and dominating the industry already (Farhoomand Pauline, 2000:79). Therefore, it is not faced with any barrier to entry into the industry. FedEx and the other delivery companies already in the market like UPS are the cause of the barriers. They have large brand name as well as established relations with foreign countries. Smaller companies will have an almost impossible task of penetrating the market because of the large capital requirements. With little capital, it will be impossible to offer competitive prices. Further, reaching the standards set by the market giants is an uphill task. Federal Express SWOT Analysis FedEx SWOT analysis presents how the company has been able to use information technology in defining its strategies (Quality-Assurance-Solution, n.d.). Information technology apart from improving the performance has made it possible for the company reaches new associates or groups of people. SWOT analysis of FedEx Company involves analyzing strength, weaknesses, opportunities as well as the threats of the company in accordance with the SWOT analysis theory (Burger, 2008:12) Strengths of FedEx SWOT analysis theory according to Burger (2008:13) is very instrumental in helping companies identify internal and external attributes and factor, which affect the companies resource capability. According to the theory, internal attributes are strengths and weaknesses while external attributes are opportunities and threats (Burger, 2008:13). FedEx strengths in the transport industry include ; Efficient service delivery to customers. The company gives the needs of customers first priority. This has instilled customers with confidence in the company, thereby making it quite preferable among many people in the global market. In addition, Grignard (1994) argues that the strength of the company is the ability to offer express mail services, which ensures that mails are delivered overnight. This has made the company to outdo many major players in the industry such as United States Postal Service in terms of service delivery as well as customer service. According SWOT analysis theory such strength is very crucial in making FedEx realize its objectives (Burger, 2008:13). FedEx Company also has a very strong brand name, which gives it its place in the global market. FedEx is known for its innovativeness. It has proved time and over that it is capable of initiating great ideas that totally change the market. For example, the purchase of their own airplanes and ships instead of hiring. This boosts a customers confidence in the company as they are guaranteed that third parties are not a party to the delivery of their parcels. Further, FedEx is known as a market leader. Its known for its use of advanced technology and effective communications systems in all its operations. Its a recognized worldwide transportation company and its also known for its ability to take in smaller companies to expand its needs. Above all, its greatest strength is its brand name and the goodwill or reputation attached to it. Weaknesses SWOT theory according to Burger (2008:12) states that weaknesses are some of the internal conditions, which prevent companies from achieving their objectives. For instance, the dispute between the company and its pilots is an internal crack which could damage its reputation

Getting Through College :: Nutrition Health Papers

Getting Through College â€Å"When in doubt eat fruit.† That is the advice Francesca Haller gives her daughter, Nicole, any time Nicole is hungry and isn’t sure what she wants. Nicole is a sophomore American Sign Language major at Northeastern University. The anticipation of attending college floods teenagers with numerous thoughts. Living on their own, going to class when they please, staying out as late as they want, and surviving on food the dining hall provides or what they buy at the grocery store. More free time, or lack there of, may bring students spinning downwards towards bad eating habits and malnutrition. Rolling out of bed five minutes before class means grabbing a coffee on the way. Too much homework or a big project might mean skipping a healthy dinner and cooking some Ramen noodles or snacking on chips all night. This is where the â€Å"convenience foods† come in which are factory made dishes or meals that only need to be heated up or need just one or two additional ingredients. For students who refuse to be part of the stereotype, or gain weight at all throughout their college years, skipping meals and dieting comes into play. Eating disorders can plague students as well. According to The Kellogg Report: the impact of nutrition, environment, and lifestyle on the health of Americans, without the more watchful eye of a parent, students with eating disorders may be more apt to go unnoticed for a longer period of time. Teresa Fung, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at Simmons College has noticed trends in college students’ eating habits. â€Å"They have no time to eat, and nutrition is not a priority to them; therefore, they’re not paying attention to what they are eating. There is a small number of disordered eating, but not usually to the extent of eating disorders,† said Fung. â€Å"Also, the less-then-optimal healthy way of eating is also partly the result of not knowing that some foods look healthy, but they are not, and also the general lack of nutrition knowledge.† Boston Nutritionist, Jenna Hollenstein, has also seen many trends in college students, but said that they differ according to age, sex, education level, and much more. â€Å"For example, the ‘freshman 15’ is a pretty well-known phenomenon but the tendency for newly married women and men to gain weight is lesser known. Young adults not living with parents or elders tend to eat fewer fruits and vegetables and are also likely to eat higher-fat diets,† Hollenstein said.