Operation case (THE MONGOLIAN GRILL) Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Operation (THE MONGOLIAN GRILL) - Case Study Example In addition, Mr. Butkus should ensure that all new staff understands the concept fully before commencing work. This includes thorough orientation and training to ensure new staff understands the four main features: entertaining and interactive environment, fresh and healthy food ingredients, unlimited food quantities, and customer involvement during food preparation. If Mr. Butkus chooses to move the cooking grill to the center in order to allow more space, he should also consider hiring additional staff immediately to work part time. The idea is to allow enough time for the new employees to train and understand the concept as well as to familiarize them to customers. Mr. Butkus, the owner of the Mongolian Grill restaurant in London Ontario considered a major design decision on whether to change the change the original design of the Waterloo location in order to increase the grill capacity and serve customer faster. The major decision for Mr. Butkus was whether to add a second area for food preparation or to move the cooking grill. i. Move the cooking grill from the corner to a central area in the restaurant in order to increase counter space. This strategic decision would create more space and allow the restaurant to accommodate more patrons, especially during the peak hours. ii. Immediately hire more cooks to work during busy periods in order to reduce workload to existing staff. The current staffs are overworked and may not perform as expected for the company to meet its operational objectives. Hiring additional staff would ensure that the restaurant does not neglect important aspects of operations including cleanliness and focus on fresh foods. Furthermore, tired staff may be detrimental to the restaurant. Therefore, this decision would ensure that staff focuses more on delivering the best service, a primary goal for the business. iii. Allow two cooks to work 30-minute intervals covering a single shift. Although this would increase the cost

The Opportunities and Challenges of Contemporary Public Health Policy Essay

The Opportunities and Challenges of Contemporary Public Health Policy for Specialist Community Public Health Nursing - Essay Example This paper is a critical review of the available literature on specialist community public health policy in England as applicable to health visiting. Some of the more recent position papers along with several research papers on the role of health visiting nurses, their qualifications and skills and the relevant policies will be reviewed. The advantages of health visiting to the target segment and the various challenges faced by health visitors as well the administration will also be discussed to understand the health visiting environment in England. Specialist community health policy in England Despite recognizing the importance of public health promotion and preventative strategies through community settings, public health issues concerning health visiting still remains a subject that attracts much attention. Health visiting may have evolved from simply being concerned with sanitation to addressing maternal and child welfare; it is now being touted as the most essential of services in the realm of public health. Today, health visiting in England and UK as in other countries is being given the importance that it demands. This concept of health visiting primarily focuses on generating awareness among individuals, families and communities as a whole of the importance of ensuring the wellness of both the child and the family (Carr et al, 2012). However, there is an increasing awareness among practitioners and policy makers alike of the need for effective policies and implementation strategies to cater to the demanding and more complex needs of the changing community settings which are more heading towards being multi-ethnic and diverse in nature. There is evidence of a multi-pronged approach to developing health visiting services in England. This can be seen from the initiative by National Health Services (NHS) in gathering evidence base for improving public health based on a three-tier structure that takes in to account the strategic directions set by a board of advisors in collecting the evidence base, dividing the work based on reference group and forming of user panels to establish a framework for evaluation of the evidence base (Bull et al, 2004). The Royal College of Nurisng (RCN), UK’s largest association of nurses, midwives, health visitors and other practitioners has published a position paper on health visiting (â€Å"Pillars of the Community: the RCN UK position on the development of the registered nursing workforce in the community†) which has since been instrumental in contributing to the decision of the Department of Health to endorse the coalition government’s pledge to increase the number of health visitors from 8000 to more than 12000 (an increase by 4200) and also the ‘Health Visitor implementation Plan’ set to guide and strengthen health visiting service in the country, as part of the â€Å"A Call to action: 2011’ publication that endorses a four tier model: Community; Universal; U niversal Plus and Universal Partnership Plus (Health Visiting Services & Public Health Nursing: a consultation document, 2012). Concerns have been raised on the role of health nurses in the community settings where it seemed to take on the role of surveillance more than support to the families of the different communities. However, specialist community

Waste Management And Remedial Measures Environmental Sciences Essay

Waste Management And Remedial Measures Environmental Sciences Essay Waste is being generated by the humankind from the beginning itself like that of the animals they hunted for, bones, wood from trees etc..Its just that as the time passed, the composition and the amount of waste generated has shown a drastic change. The progress of civilization resulted in the generation of more complex nature of waste. The increasing industrialisation and consumerism from the 19th century resulted in pollution of earth by the burgeoning generation of non-biodegradable waste. The increasing population, then increasing demands, then increasing industrialisation is the cycle which is continuously adding to the non-biodegradable waste in the environment. Classification of waste: According to the source of generation, the solid waste can classified as: Household waste or the municipal waste Industrial waste or the hazardous waste Biomedical waste or the infectious waste Municipal waste- The municipal waste includes the household waste, construction debris and waste from the streets. The municipal solid waste generated has grown from 6million tonnes (in 1947) to 48 million tonnes (in 1997)! Shockingly, more than 1/4th of this waste is not collected at all and more than half of the cities in India do not have the adequate capacity to transport it and also many available landfills are not managed well and are also not inclined to safeguard the soil and groundwater from contamination. Also, some of the household waste can be hazardous like old batteries, paint tins, old medicines, etc. A table showing the time taken by the waste to decompose: Type of waste Time taken to decompose (approx.) Organic waste (Fruits, vegetables, etc.) 1-2 weeks Paper 10-30 days Wood 10-15 years Woolen items 1 year Metals (aluminium, tin, etc.) 100-500 years Plastic bags 10,00,000 years! Glass bottles Not yet determined! Industrial waste- The industrial waste can be said to be hazardous since it can very often contain toxic substances. Such waste can be highly inflammable or explosive and can also react on exposure to certain things. Around 7 million tonnes of hazardous waste is generated in India mainly in the cities; Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The waste generated by industries is primarily metals, chemicals, paper, pesticides, dyes, etc. Hospital waste- It refers to the waste generated during the diagnosis, treatment of human-beings or animals or that generated during the research activities undertaken in the field. This type of waste can be highly infectious and can result in serious damages to mankind if not managed properly in a scientific manner. Such waste can be soiled waste, anatomical waste, sharps, chemical waste, discarded medicines, etc. The government has enforced Bio-medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules,1998 for making the medical institutions to handle the waste properly. Regarding the project: Though the educational institutes do not burden the environment with waste as compared to the waste generated by other organisations, still they generate a significant amount of waste which can become difficult to manage without any expertise in the field. In fact, such waste can become even harmful if not handled properly. So, attention needs to be paid towards this and therefore we are undertaking this research project to find out the system of managing solid waste in SVC, to find the loopholes, problems or inefficiencies in the processes (if any) and to try to provide remedial solutions to such bottlenecks. One of the main idea which seems apparent and emphasises the importance of this project is that the educational institutes seem to be generating waste primarily which is biodegradable in nature. Biodegradable waste is the waste which is of plant or animal or natural origin and can be broken down into simple compounds by microorganisms. It can be decomposed by the microorganisms ultimately. So it gets back into nature unlike the non-biodegradable waste which stays in the environment for an indefinite period of time (like plastic). Methodology: Data Collection Primary Sources Secondary Sources Student interviews Personal observations Campus administrators interview We will be relying primarily on secondary source of data for this project since this source is likely to provide us a very precise and accurate information saving our time and cost of collecting primary first-hand information. We will also be observing the practices in the campus for some first-hand information and patterns on waste generation and we will also interview a sample of students from the campus to gather primary data. Our source of secondary information is Mr. AT Sutar, Campus Administrator of SVC. So we will collect information from Mr. AT Sutar through a personal interview and then collect data and analyse it to reach a specific conclusion about the state of waste management in the campus. Some of the questions posed to Mr. AT Sutar in the interview were: Q- What is the area of land occupied by the campus? Q- What kind of waste is generated in the campus? Q- How does the waste generated from different colleges differ in composition and volume? Q- What is the procedure of collection of waste? Q- How is the waste stored before it goes for its final treatment? Q- How is the waste disposed off ultimately? Q- Is there any waste which you think can be controlled? Q- Is there any problem presently being faced in waste management? Some important questions that we asked to the students were: Q- What is the waste that you throw in the college dustbins? Q- Is the waste generated by you constant or varies over time periods? Q- Are there any specific factors which you think results in unnecessary increase in waste generation in SVC? Q- What would be your views if the colleges take a decision to ban or restrict the use of non-biodegradable substances like polybags and thermocol in the campus (SVC)? Findings: By the interview with Mr. AT Sutar the students and our observation, we found the following information about the waste generated and its management procedure in SVC: Type of waste generated: Being an educational institute, the main type of waste generated is stationery which includes papers, pens, pencils etc. The quantity of such waste is the highest from Symbiosis Institute of Design (which is around 7-10 times the waste generated by any other institute) due to the nature of the subjects taught. Food waste is also generated in a significant quantity from the campus cafeteria, juice centre and mess. Further, the campus medical centre generates bio-medical waste which requires special treatment due to its harmful nature. Since the advanced medical treatments are not performed here, the bio-medical wastes composition is limited to sharps, bandages etc. which is relatively east to handle vis-Ã  -vis the waste of other medical institutions like hospitals. But the amount of sharps and related waste also increases tremendously during the health check-up of the students at the campus which requires attention. Other waste includes plastic, thermocole, glass, tin and also the decoration material and allied waste which is observed during the institutions fests and extra-curricular activities and competitions. Our interviews with the students revealed the following additional information: While eating in the mess, students initially take a good amount of food in their plates and sometimes a lot of this goes waste when they do not like its taste or when they become full. This results in food wastage. Students also said the reason for increase in non-biodegradable waste in campus during college fests can be due to the use of decoration materials like thermacole and upon questioning whether they would be able to substitute them with the biodegradable substances, their reply was in positive which implies that there was non-awareness among them about the issue and they can be able to reduce non-biodegradable during fests if motivated to do so. Sources of waste generation Colleges Eating outlets Medical centre Other general waste SID SCMS-UG SIMC SIS Mess Cafetaria Juice centres Stationery, glass, tin, thermacole etc. Food waste like unused food, leftover food, spoilt fruits and vegetables etc. Sharps, bandages etc. Campus cleaning, Xerox centre waste Type of waste generated Waste Collection: The waste is collected through 3 big dustbins kept at each floor of every institution in the campus. The cleaning staff has the responsibility of segregating the waste after it is collected in the dustbins. Then this waste is accumulated in the basement after segregation for sending it to its place of disposal or treatment. Waste Treatment: The biodegradable waste like food waste is sent to the biogas plant and the other waste which cannot be treated by the campus is sent with the PMC waste disposal truck which takes a round in Viman Nagar daily. The biogas plant was established in the campus in 2005 with a cost of around 10 lakhs and is currently being operated by 3 specialist employees. The capacity of the biogas plant is much more than is being utilised and the energy generated by the plant is being utilised for boiling the water which in turn is used for cleaning the utensils of the colleges mess and cafeteria. The pressure generated of the biogas is very less which further creates less power/electricity. This implies that the biogas plant in the campus is being underutilised. Problems identified: The problems identified by us are: Excessive wastage of food by the students. Significant increase in the generation of non-biodegradable waste during college fests extra-curricular activities. Underutilisation of biogas plants capacity. We also didnt recognize any recycling activity in the campus. Recommendations: The wastage of food by the students can be reduced by inducing them to take food in little amounts and to take it again if they want rather than putting it altogether in one go in their plates. Posters can also be put up regarding this in the colleges mess so that the students are reminded of it every time they are putting food in their plates. During the college fests, students can be encouraged to reduce the use of non-biodegradable substances as far as possible. Other substances like polybags and thermacole can be banned in the campus and fines can be imposed on any student found using them to strictly discourage their use. Also, the biogas plant in the campus is being underutilised to a great extent. The plant gets input (biodegradable waste) to its full capacity occasionally during the college fests when the amount of waste generated is 3-4 times the waste generated during the normal college days. So the plant has an idle capacity of about half its full capacity during the maximum period of the year. Further, we feel that the investment made in the plant is not yielding sufficient returns as the amount of power being generated is very less apparently due to the low capacity utilisation of the plant. So, for tackling this issue, it is required that the plant is made to operate on its full capacity. Now this cannot be done by asking students to unnecessarily generate more waste within the campus but it can be solved by tying up with PMC and getting the required biodegradable waste from the PMC garbage truck which further reduces PMCs waste processing load too. Once the biogas plant starts operating on its full capacity, it will result in the generation of more power which can further be used in the college and save funds on electricity bills. Further, to encourage recycling in the campus, students can be induced to form up clubs for the purpose of taking up the recycling activity (even if its on a small scale) and stimulating their creativity to generate the best creations out of the waste. Also, the three Rs ideology can be of great help in guiding the waste management in SVC. Reduce Recycle Reuse Improvement in waste management Amount of waste generated

The Impact of Technology on a Home Schooled Education Essay -- essays

The Impact of Technology on a Home Schooled Education The field of technology is constantly improving, expanding, and changing. Over the past decade, Internet use and web-based communication have sky rocketed, enabling businesses, families, schools, and students to communicate more efficiently. An abundance of information is now available, literally, at the â€Å"click of a button.† This decade-long expansion of technology has had a remarkable impact on the effectiveness of home schooling, making sources available in seconds and instilling valuable life skills in each student that are vital for a successful future in this world of technological growth. The purpose of this research paper is to illustrate the positive impact of emerging technologies on home-schooled children, to demonstrate how technology is improving the effectiveness of these learning environments, and to display the augmentation of educational possibilities for students. The impact of the Internet and the great quantity of its use in public and home schools has grown tremendously over the past decade. Now, many children have the luxury of logging onto an instant messenger program to chat with friends instantaneously or sign into their personal email accounts to check new messages. Years ago, the idea of email was unheard of and unknown of to most. Suddenly it seemed that practically overnight, everyone had a personal email account. With this came the words â€Å"You’ve got mail,† and there began a new era. Email gave home-schooled students the advantage of being able to connect with others students easily. It connected students who live next door to each other to students who live in a complete different country. Email has facilitated the process of ... ...ademic Search/EBSCO database. Eichenlaub, N. (1999, November 28). E-Home Schooling: The Impact of the Internet on Home Schooling. Retrieved March 10 from the World Wide Web: http://www.slais.ubc.ca/people/students/student-projects/N_Eichenlaub/500-WWW/references.htm Strauss, Howard. (1999). The Future of the Web, Intelligent Devices, and Education. Educom Review, Volume 34 Number 4. Retrieved April 15, 2003 from the EDUCAUSE database on the World Wide Web: http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/html/erm9944.html Shemitz, J. (2002, December 29). Jon's Home school Page. Retrieved April 10, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.midnightbeach.com/hs/ Rutkowski, Kathleen. (1998, May/June). Home school Pioneers on the Web. Voices of the Web. Retrieved April 9,. 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/may98/voic0598.htm

The Women’s Rights in Jackson Era

â€Å"Meekness, humility, gentleness, love, purity, self-renunciation, subjection of will†¦. The fairest flowers, which our fallen world can produce,† woman†s virtues, according to the most acceptable definition of the natural order in society (Melder 2). Men and women occupied totally different social situations. Between 1815 and 1840 the circumstances of women†s lives changed in a number of ways, especially in education, under law, and in the attitudes influencing woman†s social status. The most significant phase of American women†s education before 1850 was the female seminary movement, which in it†s serious phase began about 1815. Emma Willard, the founder of one of the earliest seminaries wrote the first â€Å"comprehensive design for a female institution of learning to be circulated in America, Plan for Improving Female Education (Melder 16). In 1821, she began The Troy Female Seminary which became one of the most advanced and famous institutions for educating women in the United States. Catherine Beecher, like Emma Willard, â€Å"sought to change the emphasis in the curriculum from fashionable subjects to more substantial courses, including, Latin, philosophy, history, chemistry, and mathematics. She created The Hartford Female Seminary, considered a model building â€Å"with it†s large hall seating 150 pupils at writing desks, a library, dressing room, and nine recitation rooms†(Davis 399). One of the most useful contributions of the seminary movements before 1850 centered around making school teaching a major vocation for women. Women replaced men as teachers first in the New England states during the 1830s, and spread through other regions in the 1840s. â€Å"School reformers believed that the introduction of women teacher would not only be economical, but that the influx of females would raise the quality of instruction†(Melder 25). Education gave women practical experience in leadership as well as examples to follow, yet produced a double standard in learning, limited opportunities to use their new knowledge, and the pattern of unequal pay for the same work as men. Further evidence of the changing status of American women may be found in the law. According to Blackstone†s interpretation of women†s legal condition, â€Å"By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law, that is, the very being, or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage† offering women little freedom (Melder 120). But in 1823, Maine gave legal protection to the property rights and personal independence of married women who had been deserted by their husbands, and Massachusetts followed in 1835. Then in New York in 1836, came an early proposal to give married women the right to hold independent property. While not many other legal firsts were granted to the women†s cause, during the 1830s, American women participated in a series of reform movements which included the use of strong drink, education, and the issue of slavery; each of which would benefit the well-being of the woman†s cause. Women were finally involved in the formation of meetings, circulating pamphlets and newsletters, while gaining a new since of sisterhood and intellectual independence. Socially, woman†s position began to change considerably. â€Å"After 1800, middle class American women apparently developed a distinct sense of their appropriate sphere†(Melder 7). Women were to elevate the intellectual character of her household [and] kindle the fires of mental activity in early childhood†(Graves 402). The private home was now the woman†s domain in keeping the peace and â€Å"practical piety†(Melder 8). Woman†s crowning glory was motherhood; â€Å"in the bearing, nursing, and rearing of her offspring, she could most fully carry out the responsibilities of her appropriate sphere†(Melder 9). â€Å"The relations between mother and child might hold a key to the solution of many social and moral ills, and perhaps the future of the nation itself†(Davis 22). While Elizabeth Cady Stanton omits the word â€Å"obey† from her marriage vows, women would be assigned to â€Å"conserve the moral and religious values, especially to transmit these values to succeeding generations†(Melder 143). Women were still considered second class citizens, sub-sets of their husbands, and limited mostly to the home and care of the children; much less given any real or significant rights. Women were considered mere objects of beauty, and were looked upon as intellectually and physically inferior to men. The struggle for women†s rights was a product of change, challenging conventional attitudes, demanding the end of restrictions, expanding opportunities for women, and helping to organize them nationally. The movement†s purposes, momentous yet simple, were described by an advocate in 1840: â€Å"I shall claim nothing for ourselves because of our sex, we should demand our recognition as equal members of the human family. The term â€Å"Woman†s Rights† will become obsolete, for none will entertain the idea that the rights of women differ from the rights of men. It is then human rights for which we contend†(Davis 158).

Thomas Jefferson’s Vision of a Free Holding Yeoman Society

Thomas Jefferson is considered as one of the most influential personalities in the history of the US. Jefferson who was the third President of the United States is regarded as one of the most prominent figures in the US, is characteristically known for his ideological promotions of republicanism in his stint as the president. Some of the famous events that are associated with his presidency include the 1803 Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition during the period between 1804 and 1806. Thomas Jefferson is also accredited for authoring the Declaration of Independence and since he was a philosophical thinker and politician, he idealized the concept of a free holding yeoman society which was a series of complex ideologies which emphasized various virtues. It was during the 18th century that a number of influential â€Å"poets, politicians and economists created in America a complex of ideas which has been called the Jeffersonian myth† (Hess, 1992). This concept generally emphasized various virtues with simplicity and purity leading and the principal dictated a variety of social choices. The Yeoman term generally refers to farmers who usually cultivate their own land. The yeoman thus can be considered as a small farmer who holds a piece of land. Since Jefferson hailed from this type of yeoman society, he had first class experience of the issues and challenges they faced and therefore in his presidency he decided to make amends so as to ensure that this class in the society was prosperous. This philosophy was coined in a time that could be considered appropriate for a country that was settled by â€Å"land hungry men† (Hess, 1992). Most English men were used to a social system in which the ownership of land was a symbol of a man’s stand in the society and the political power that he yielded. Thomas Jefferson and J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur came up with a philosophy that dictated the natural rights of any man to own land and that the ownership of land by any man obviously gives him a social status and dignity. The philosophy goes further to describe how mans interaction with nature â€Å"makes him virtuous and happy†. This philosophical thinking as Jefferson and his colleague tend to challenge the government is that it â€Å"should be dedicated to the interests of the freehold farmer† (Hess, 1992). This policies and principles held a lot of significance for Jefferson who is considered as the brains behind the western land policy. In Jefferson’s own words he described the small and self sufficient as â€Å"the chosen people of God† and thus asserted their importance if the new republic would have any chance to survive. Jefferson described the â€Å"virtuous yeoman† as the moral backbone that would lead the nation to greater heights and thus prosperity would be easily achievable (Hess, 1992). The issue of land was embedded deep in Jefferson’s heart and he believed that it was the core of an envisioned republic. Thomas Jefferson had a landscape vision that mainly depended on the unlimited expansion of most of the wilderness in the country and thus make it the peoples will to settle and subdue it for settlement and cultivation purposes. This vision was just a vision and its applicability mainly depended on the prudence of the government of that period in applying the â€Å"public land policies fairly and justly†. Jefferson held the belief in his heart that â€Å"land was the clay from which a free society would be molded and preserved† (Hess, 1992). However, one of the issues that he had to deal with was those of religion. Although religion was a predominant force during his government, it had failed to provide what Jefferson’s landscape vision promised to produce. Land in this era was considered to offer the much needed cohesion and was therefore viewed as an â€Å"icon of secular religion† (Hess, 1992). The success of Jefferson‘s policies and philosophical thinking are still evident today and the western range is the product of his landscape vision. The landscape vision which was envisioned in the â€Å"Jeffersonian agrarianism† was built on a firm foundation (Hess, 1992). This had the obvious effects of spilling its advantages in the years that were to follow and most of its effects are still visible today. The western range which was a harsh testament of nature in the state of a wilderness became a land that would become exceedingly abundant. However, the alteration of nature and its overuse can be considered as one of the negative aspects of his landscape vision. Various factors one of them being drought led to the overstocking of the ranges in a way that nature was almost strained beyond its holding capacity and thus became unforgiving with adverse effects. Collisions among farmers with diverse wants is also a major shortcomings but the experience that was gained from the harsh reactions of nature served to teach the inhabitants valuable lessons and thus take some measures into considerations during when setting future plans.

3 Problematic Parallel Lists

3 Problematic Parallel Lists 3 Problematic Parallel Lists 3 Problematic Parallel Lists By Mark Nichol When listing within a sentence, take care in sentence construction to employ conjunctions and punctuation correctly to achieve proper parallel sentence structure, as discussed in the discussion and revision of each of the following flawed sentences. 1. Smith worked as a chess coach, tutor, and led overnight camping trips. This sentence lacks a verb corresponding with tutor, just as worked is associated with â€Å"as a chess coach† and led pertains to â€Å"overnight camping trips,† as in â€Å"Smith worked as a chess coach, acted as a tutor, and led overnight camping trips.† It appears, however, that the writer intends worked to apply to tutor and â€Å"chess coach† in parallel, with both supported by â€Å"as a,† but the punctuation does not allow this construction. For the statement to be syntactically valid, tutor must be preceded by a conjunction and its own article: â€Å"Smith worked as a chess coach and a tutor and led overnight camping trips.† (If the second a is omitted, the implication is that Smith was a chess coach and a chess tutor; the sentence works this way only if tutor and â€Å"chess coach† are transposed so that tutor is not mistakenly linked to chess.) 2. Regulatory technology aims to make regulatory compliance more integrated, streamlined, and less costly.   The first and third adjectives in the list are provided comparative modifiers, and the implication is that streamlined shares more with integrated, but the comma prevents that association. In order for integrated and streamlined to share more, they must be treated as a phrase separated by and and both commas must be omitted: â€Å"Regulatory technology aims to make regulatory compliance more integrated and streamlined and less costly.† Alternatively, integrated can be assigned its own instance of more: â€Å"Regulatory technology aims to make regulatory compliance more integrated, more streamlined, and less costly.† 3. Firms need to ensure that workflow, queue management, control reporting, exception management, efficient and streamlined processes are in place.   â€Å"Efficient and streamlined processes† is intended to be understood as a factor equivalent to the other four listed beforehand, but the writer has mistaken and for the conjunction that necessarily precedes the final item in the list. Because it is within the final item, another conjunction is required: â€Å"Firms need to ensure that workflow, queue management, control reporting, exception management, and efficient and streamlined processes are in place.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How Many Tenses in English?50 Latin Phrases You Should KnowPreposition Mistakes #3: Two Idioms

Starbucks Coffee Essay Example

Starbucks Coffee Essay Example Starbucks Coffee Essay Starbucks Coffee Essay This one phrase sums up Starbucks Coffee’s approach to attracting more customers. They want the customers to feel that they are not â€Å"primarily about coffee† (Holmes, 2004). Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz explains further, â€Å"You get more than the finest coffee when you visit a Starbucks – you get great people, first rate music and a comfortable and upbeat meeting place† (Starbucks Corporation, 2007). Indeed, from that single coffee shop in 1971 (Gallo, 2006), Starbucks has evolved into a global brand that is a hybrid of a place where you can get good coffee, good music, a good book and where you can meet up with friends or business partners. Initially just another coffee shop, Starbucks morphed into a cozy hang-out place in the mid 1980’s – an idea brought about by Schultz’s visit to Italy. Charmed by the pleasant environment enveloping Milan coffee places, Schultz got convinced that this set-up could work in America; hence, the Starbucks of today (Gallo, 2006). Central to the transformation into a comfortable meeting place is not just Starbucks’ irresistible coffee but also a more personal kind of customer service that was achieved through a two-fold approach. First leg of this approach was the inclusion of a wider variety of coffee flavors and other drinks such as chocolate, juice and iced drinks in the menu – as this move gave the customers a wider array of choices, it expanded Starbucks’ market, which initially just covered the coffee-drinking public. Also part of this strategy allowing customers to individualize products by giving them the option to dictate the size, temperature and extra ingredients (i.e. whipped cream, coffee strength, caramel, etc.) of their favorite Starbucks drink (Gallo, 2006). To strengthen this image of personalization, Starbucks made an effort to build a personal relationship with their customers. In fact, a coffee giant that expanded to 12,440 location sin 36 years, Starbucks like to operate like a small, local store where the customers feel like they know the people behind the counters and vice versa (Kiviat, 2006). â€Å"It’s part of the reason [people] go [to Starbucks],† attests CEO Jim Donald (Kiviat, 2006). And to make sure they keep their base of loyal customers (and make sure they continue to add to this base), Starbucks invests a lot on the people working for them – whom they fondly call as â€Å"partners† (and not employees). â€Å"We realize our people are the cornerstone of our success, and we know that their ideas, commitment and connection to our customers are truly the essential elements in the Starbucks Experience,† Schultz expounds (Starbucks Corporation, 2007). Maintaining a ‘knowledgeable workforce’ requires Starbucks to give its partners a rigorous 24 hours of training (divided into six classes discussing different aspects of the job) before being able to stand in the front lines. The logic behind this is that, as Sarah Lockyer writes, Starbucks believe that â€Å"employees should be fully versed in how to make [drinks] and how to market them as well. They should be able to describe the contents and, especially if it’s part of the job description, spell the item correctly on a chalkboard or a menu† (as cited in Ablanalp, Reiliey, Bigler, Laracuente, n.d., p.5). This seemingly hard process of getting incorporated into the Starbucks Company comes with benefits, though. Partners are given stock options and health care benefits and are encouraged to share their opinions on operations and to make their own decisions regarding customer relations. And because partners feel more like their own managers than mere â€Å"worker bees†, partners start feeling good about their work, which in turn equates to a positive relationship with customers (Ablanalp et al.). It is also this commitment to an intimate set-up of operations that prevents Starbucks from using machines in churning out coffees. Schultz explains that it is in their utmost concern that the company’s culture does not get diluted with growth – they pride themselves for their hand-crafted beverages and their beverages are going to stay hand-crafted. Despite criticisms and harsh suggestions that they should snap up and accept the fact that machineries are important to increase efficiency, Starbucks remains firm. Jim Alling, president of Starbucks Coffee US, argues, â€Å"As much as we want to meet people’s desire to produce beverages quickly, we also realize that people want a smile with their drink, that they don’t want to feel rushed† (Kiviat, 2006). Another ploy to making sure Starbucks keeps it edge over the competition is their constant attempt at venturing to other endeavors that will greatly compliment their coffee and enhance what they proudly call as the Starbucks Experience. Like most of their other undertakings, Starbucks crossing over to the music business started from something that they already had and just expanded to cater to customers’ demands. When Schultz noticed that while waiting for their orders customers would often get up and ask about the song playing in the background, it gave him the idea of selling CDs of their ‘house music’ at the cash register (Holmes, 2004). Today, Starbucks has extended to more than just selling CDs – it has now partnered with music labels, started its own 24-hour digital music channel on XM Satellite Radio (genre of which is more adult-oriented jazz, blues, and alternative rock), and built the alternative record retailer HearMusic Coffeehouses in Santa Mon ica, San Antonio, Miami and Bellevue, Washington (Starbucks Corporation, 2007). And Starbucks coverage just keeps getting wider. Kiosks and stalls that sell Starbucks coffee can now be spotted on Barnes Nobles bookstores and some campuses (Ablanalp et al.). With the help of Kraft, their products are now also being sold in supermarket shelves and are now featured as Dreyer’s ice cream flavors. The company may now even start to attempt competing with McDonald’s and Burger King in attracting midday crowd – something that will surely boost sales because as of the moment, 60% of Starbucks’ sales are made before 6 a.m. (Gallo, 2006; Kiviat, 2006). Despite the fact that Starbucks’ price list is not exactly the most affordable in the market, people still continue to support its products. This may be traced to the fact that customers, like Starbucks, believe that â€Å"with any product, there is an inherent link between quality and price† (Starbucks Corporation, 2006). Starbucks got it right when they said that quality is the best and most sustainable driver of higher prices paid. Since Starbucks pledge to deliver uncompromising quality on their coffee, people are almost always willing to pay premium prices to have the privilege of sipping from a Starbucks cup. But Starbucks is not all about making money. The company always insisted that â€Å"putting people before products just made good common sense† (Starbucks Corporation, 2007), they always made a point to not forget that aside from an entrepreneurial mind, they also have a social responsibility. They have maintained environmental stewardship and literacy campaigns on top of producing great-tasting coffee. This, Starbucks shares, endears them more to the people and makes them truly part of a community where a Starbucks is located (Starbucks Corporation, 2006). Some business onlookers may get critical of Starbucks seemingly spreading themselves thin. The company looks like they have tried to cover –and is still trying to cover – a lot of other business endeavors. John Glass, who covers Starbucks for CIBC, says that Starbucks has fallen into a trap. â€Å"You have to have new products. That’s the retailer’s dilemma,† he says (Kiviat, 2006). But who is to say that this game plan is not working for the company? Surely, with its recent efforts at global expansion, Starbucks strategy is – contrary to what the pessimists will say – making them a stronger coffee magnate. On top of their already uncountable stores in America, Starbucks continues to reach out to Europe and Asia. Currently, there are now more than 13,000 Starbucks Coffee Shops in 40 countries, including Japan, Philippines, China, Hongkong, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Egypt. In 36 years, Starbucks Corporation has indeed grown into something that nobody may have envisioned when it first came into operation in 1971. Nowadays, Starbucks is not only parallel to good coffee but also to good music, books, food, and community service. Its influence has blown up to include not only the business people and the old who are wont to grab their daily dose of caffeine but also to kids, who now have the option to order chocolate or juice when they tug along with their parents as they drop by for their cappuccino, and students, who has found the perfect study place in Starbucks’ comfortable couches and mellow music. Undeniably, Starbucks has managed to employ a marketing strategy that is not in need of the aid of countless TV and radio advertisements – the image they painstakingly built throughout the years becomes enough for them to survive in an industry where coffee shop companies mushroom so fast. Lucky for the company, they have found the perfect mix of good product, incomparable customer service, and global brand imaging that keeps customer tied to their name. And, as they continue to move forward with the same approach, Starbucks Coffee is sure to stay afloat for a very long time.

Cause Marketing

I chose to research the topic of cause marketing to benefit the nonprofit cancer community, specifically nonprofit cancer survivor camps for children, teens and young adults. These camps have not used this fundraising strategy and I believe they could benefit from it greatly. This research will provide the tools and understanding of how to design a custom program with for-profits which will fit their marketing and business goals, while raising profits for the camp’s operational costs. Introduction to Cause Marketing Cause Marketing is the cooperative efforts of a for-profit business and a non-profit organization for mutual benefit. (Wikapedia) The company puts the power of its brand and marketing behind the nonprofit’s cause to generate profits for both. (Daw, p. 1) The for-profit has the ability to reach consumers the nonprofit would not be able to for donations, while making the for-profit appear more socially responsible to consumers. â€Å"Numerous studies have shown cause-related marketing has helped increase a company’s profits. (Wikapedia) It also raises awareness for the nonprofits cause and reaches more supporters while increasing funding for the cause. â€Å"Today, more and more companies are realizing they can no longer afford to be anonymous benefactors or disengaged citizens. † (Daw, p. 28) In recent years the term has come to describe a wider variety of marketing initiatives based on the cooperative efforts of business and charitable causes. However it is important to differentiate cause marketing from corporate philanthropy or sponsorship, it is in fact an intersection of the two. Sundar, p. 208) The objective of all cause-related marketing programs is sales and a promotional campaign is undertaken to that end. Sponsorship and corporate philanthropy is a fixed amount of money which is negotiated and donated in advance to a nonprofit organization for an event or program. (Sundar, p. 208) In return for sponsorship the nonprofit uses its marketing to promote a companies involvement and support of the cause. For example, the company’s logo will appear on the nonprofits marketing materials for an event. Overview of Findings Studies done by Cone Inc. a marketing communication agency that tracks American attitudes towards corporate support of social issues, have brought cause marketing data into sharp focus. (Sundar, p. 207) In the Cone Corporate Citizenship Study the consumers’ answer to the statement, â€Å"I am likely to switch from one brand to another that is about the same in price and quality, if the other brand is associated with a cause. † has been staggering. In 2001 81% agreed they would switch brands, in 2004 86% would switch and in 2006 89% stated they would switch brands if associated with a cause. Cone Case Studies 2001, 2004, 2006) â€Å"Cone research reports†¦have identified key motivators that are driving changes in the corporate sector: employees, communities, and consumers are all demanding that companies play an active role in building community and demonstrate what they stand for. Cause related shopping is the second and third means of providing charitable gifts for those who planned to give a charitable donation over the holiday season. (Daw, p. 2) In fact the British Business in the Community 21st Century Giving Research showed that 83% of those who participated in a cause initiative said it enabled them to support a charity more that they would have otherwise done. (Daw, p. 32)This is dramatic indicator of consumer attitudes and an important differentiator for product marketing.

Argumentative paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Argumentative paper - Assignment Example However, an objective observation of this issue and ready commonsense do indicate that Etzioni is highly misplaced in his beliefs. McDonald’s and other fast food outlets are actually safe and viable platforms for encouraging values like hard work and discipline amongst youngsters, while allowing them to earn money for investing in education and other value addition activities. One single belief that rings throughout the article written by Etzioni is his disbelief in the capabilities, decision making capacities and commitment of the contemporary teenagers. Perhaps, Etzioni is totally oblivious of the fact that these so called â€Å"young, yet uninformed individuals (2)† he is so doubtful of could be much more informed and ambition driven than he expects them to be. Yes, it is true that some teenagers earning money from fast food chains may spend it in an irresponsible way. However, this fact could not be transposed on all the teenagers working with fast food chains in a much generalized context. Fast food chains only provide an avenue for earning money and acquiring skills to the teenagers. They simply cannot have such a pervasive impact on the academic and career choices of the teenagers, if they are well placed in the basic values, which are mostly imparted at school and at home. So, fast food chains are in a sense neutral. If the parents and the schools do take pains to impart the right values to the kids and have confidence in them, there is nothing much to fear. The second peculiarity of Etzioni’s approach towards the issue is that the vantage point from which he tends to observe it is utterly distant from an understanding of the contemporary realities in which the teenagers live and grow. Etzioni is still hovering in the era of â€Å"newspaper route and sidewalk lemonade stand (1)†, while the world has moved on into the realm of the internet and satellite TV. The teenagers today are much more informed and are introduced to the r ealities of life at quiet an early age as compared to what it was a few decades ago. The careers they aspire to pursue in the future mostly require an insight into and grounding in the way organized corporations work and operate. Besides, considering the rising cost of education, good earning opportunities during school days could somewhat cushion their college expenses at a later stage. Fast food chains like McDonald’s facilitate the teenagers with both these requisites, and that too in a safe and regulated environment. Some critics of the teenage employment opportunities provided by fast food chains may seem right in suggesting that engaging in relatively high paid and comfortable jobs, with no opportunities for skill enhancement, at such a tender age may dilute the sense of ambition and aspiration in the teenagers. One thing that such individuals and groups need to realize is that fast food outlets are never supposed to inculcate ambition and drive in school going kids. Th ey are simply running a business, which extends an opportunity to the teenagers to work and earn. The work ethics and aspirations of the teenagers are influenced by a much larger environment, which includes the guidance, support and expectations extended by the family, the education and skills imparted by the schools, the extracurricular activities accessible to the teenagers,

Politic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Politic - Essay Example The latter represents people’s participation in the environmental changes. â€Å"A direct cause is a cause that leads directly to an observed effect. The observed effect that we are concerned with is the rise in the Earth’s temperature (David Humphreys, p.19). Scientists agree that the direct cause of this heating â€Å"is the change in the radiative forcing of the Earth’s climatic system as the result of increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases† (David Humphreys, p.19). The main underlying cause identified is the burning of fossil fuels including oils and coals: things that are very much essential to â€Å"energy generation and industrial production† (David Humphreys, p.20). The underlying cause simply refer to human activities that results to the the increased concentration of greehouse gases in the athmosphere. Surprisingly or not surprisingly, the term inquality has surfaced to be one of the underlying causes of environmental degradation. What once only a social problem now lays inside the perimeter of environmental concern. Inequalities discussed in the book covers political ineqaulities, economic inequalities and inequality of knowledge. Citing the situation in El Salvador, the book Environmental Issues and Responses specified the ways in which inequality can cause much damage to the environment. Coffee cultivation was seen as one of the primary causes of deforestation in the country. The scenario â€Å"needs to be understood in the context of a global market and its demands for cheap coffee production† (Aradau, p.45). The economic inequality between the rich and the poor in El Salvador and the developed versus the underdeveloped countries in the globalized economy can provide justification for the abuse of the environment (Aradau, p.45). Another cause of environmental degradatio n in El Salvador was the â€Å"civil war from 1980 to 1992, during which the army bombed and burnt forests and land in order to destroy the resources used by the

Operations Mangement Coursework (Five Questions)

Operations Mangement (Five Questions) - Coursework Example An organization uses operating performance to attract and retain customers and also serve them in a profitable manner (Hsu, Tan, Kannan &Keong Leong 2009, p. 835). Operations vary in different industries, but in general, they include things like on-time delivery, customer acquisition, running efficiently, and developing new products and services. According to Barney (1991, p. 56), the internal organization of resources in a firm is the determinant of the firm’s performance and strategy. Barney further defines resources as capabilities, assets, attributes, knowledge and information, and all things that are under control of the firm to enable it implement strategies that aid in improving effectiveness and efficiency. Porter (1996), on the other hand, asserts that the most essential resources are the ones that are hard to imitate, superior in use, more valuable, and difficult to substitute. According to the two authors, a firm’s competitive advantage resides on inherent heterogeneity of strategic resources that are controlled by the firm (Barney 1991, Porter, 1996). Therefore, failure to strategically integrate operations, finance, and marketing results in a weak and inconsistent company’s strategy, and its execution will be inefficient and flawed. In today’s world operation activities have become the dominant element in planning and management of production capacity (Stevens 2009, p. 5). Whether you are running a manufacturing firm or a service company, the organization deals with issues of what and the amount of production, and means of measuring performance. In many firms, operations are viewed as an identical partner with finance and marketing. The operations staff of an organization concerns with the planning and management of production capacity, accompanied by production facilities and equipment. Operations gives an

Organizational Learning, Predictive Analysis and Emerging Technologies Research Paper

Organizational Learning, Predictive Analysis and Emerging Technologies - Research Paper Example 186). Secondly, this has awakened the organizations to the significance of organizational learning when managed in correlation to the objective of benefitting from the new technologies (Gilley & Maycunich, 2000, p. 186). Organizational learning has both social and technical dimensions, when delved on in the light of the recent technological innovations and developments. As per a technical approach towards organizational learning, learning is primarily about a seamless and applied storage, analysis, interpretation and response to the information and data existing within and outside the organizations (Gilley & Maycunich, 2000). These data and information may be both quantitative and qualitative. On the contrary a social approach towards organizational learning delves on the varied human aspects of predictive analysis like the personnel mindset and the technology related literacy at the disposal of employees (Gilley & Maycunich, 2000). In that context, technological literacy and a more adaptive approach towards facilitating a technology driven predictive analysis is something that can either be acquired through the regular social interactions within organizations like a joint effort aimed at making sense of some data and information, attempts to observe and emulate employees and colleagues who are technically skilled, situated practices, etc. Yet, everything could not be left to informal modes of gaining the right attitude and skills, and organizations are also required to pursue a more proactive approach. When it comes to implementing new technologies to facilitate a more accurate predictive analysis in organizations, Argyris (1977) holds that though inculcating a technological mindset is... The researcher states that the dawn of the 21st century represents a marked shift in the way organizations work and operate in the sense that many mundane aspects of the organizational working could conveniently be automated in the light of the varied emerging technologies. These emerging technologies not only pose new challenges within the domain of organizational learning, but also facilitate a more accurate predictive analysis, thereby adding to organizational productivity and profitability. In the current context, with new technologies coming to fore, the organizations simply cannot afford to ignore pursuing a theoretical approach towards organizational learning, when they promise a more factual and pragmatic possibilities in the area of predictive analysis. A lackluster attitude towards the very nature of learning in an organizational context portends degradation and loss, at least in a relative context. With the emergence of varied IT based technologies, which facilitate a mor e realistic and accurate conduct of predictive analysis, learning could be considered to be both a process as well as a product. In the domain or organizational learning, the researcher suggests that two big challenges before organizations are to align the employee mindset in consonance with the emerging technologies and to impart the required technical literacy. In conclusion, the benefits accrued from this will result in multiple gains facilitated by more accurate, prompt and reliable predictive analysis.

Celebrating, not mourning provides comfory for the living Research Paper

Celebrating, not mourning provides comfory for the living - Research Paper Example It seems time to change our cultural values whose foundation lies upon untested theories that create lengthy and distressing models which ensue in more depression rather than alleviating it. In contrast, dia de los muertos or day of the dead celebrated in Mexico is an ideal model focused on reuniting and honouring beloved ancestors, family and friends. It was believed that life is only a dream and a human being was truly awake only after his death. Thereby, death was not deemed as a mysterious and fearful ending but a realistic familiar makeup, as much a part of life as life itself. The importance of this day can be judged from the fact that it constitutes a national holiday. Festivals are arranged to commemorate ancestors. Private altars are built decorated with sugar skulls, marigold flowers, favorite foods, beverages, possessions of the deceased. Thus, focus is placed on praying for the deceased and incurring their pleasure; the exact opposite of grief culture. So instead of blind ly following mourning and grieving rituals, we should adopt a more rational approach (Rambo, 2005). Celebration of mortality is not restricted to Mexico. Veneration and worship of ancestors is faithfully observed in many parts of the world. For instance, the Chinese believe that all bodily aspects are inherited from parents who continue to work for ones well-being until one is on a firm foothold. Therefore, it is imperative to pay homage to the deceased for their gracious deeds. They occupy the position of guardian angels for the living, protecting and steering their lives to the right path. It is imperative enough to form a part of ‘filial piety’ which is the most important of the eight earthly duties that Chinese must perform. Crying over a situation will not make it any better; but acceptance of loss and commemorating memories is an integral part of the healing process. Fulfillment of earthly duties can lead to inner satisfaction; moreover, showing venerating the dec eased would establish a feeling of closeness, as if they are watching over us. Many Catholics, Buddhists also practice ancestral rights in which they honor the memories of their ancestors usually on their death anniversaries. In India, Hindus frame the portraits of their deceased and decorate them with marigold flowers as opposed to western culture which involves decorating graves with flowers. In addition, Hindus make prayers and seek the guidance of their ancestors which sounds more sensible than shedding tears over stony graves. Similarly, ancestors have been exalted to the position of deities in many African countries. Veneration of ancestors is a cornerstone of various religions practiced there. It can be concluded that ancestral rites is one of the most unifying characteristic of different cultures and religions from east to west (Park, 2010). On the other hand, habits like grieving are disastrous because the real world will never change to fulfill our wishes so people stand t o lose even more because of continued mourning. As we cannot handle he thought of our own non-existence so it is no surprise why we fail to come to terms with the absence of our loved ones. The risk of indulging in drugs or alcohol to let out sorrow or reinforce denial accelerates

Political Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Political Science - Essay Example In 2003, Dinesh DSouza wrote an article published on the web in the National Review Online, titled â€Å"10 Great Things: What to Love About the United States† that said that the wealth gap was not a problem, that their was an upside to the wealth gap and that the critics â€Å"ignore what is unique and good about American civilization.† This discussion will compare and contrast these two articles. The themes and conclusions of both articles have been presented in the first paragraphs of this discussion. Next, the arguments the authors use will be briefly outlined. Then the persuasiveness of each article will be evaluated. Norton and Ariely use quantitative evidence or numerical evidence. They present various statistics: Specifically, three sets of statistics. They begin by identifying the wealth gap. In the United States today the wealthiest 20% of the population owns 85% of the national wealth and the bottom 40% â€Å"own very near 0%.† In fact, since many are in debt and have no assets they may control negative wealth, or even less than zero. These numbers came from an analysis by Edward Wolf of New York University. In The LA Times survey the sample was asked what they thought was the distribution of wealth in America (not what it is but what they think it is). They thought the distribution of wealth was less unequal than it is. They thought that the wealthiest 20% owned only 60% of the wealth and the bottom 40% had 10% of the wealth (not zero or even less). Then when asked what they wanted the â€Å"ideal distribution of wealth† to be they said even more even than their perception. They want the top 20% to own 30% of the wealth and the bottom 40% to own 25%. Basically, most Americans do not realize how uneven wealth distribution is in the United States, they think it is less uneven than it is and they want it to be even less uneven than they believe that it is. In â€Å"10 Great Things:

Celebrating, not mourning provides comfory for the living Research Paper

Celebrating, not mourning provides comfory for the living - Research Paper Example It seems time to change our cultural values whose foundation lies upon untested theories that create lengthy and distressing models which ensue in more depression rather than alleviating it. In contrast, dia de los muertos or day of the dead celebrated in Mexico is an ideal model focused on reuniting and honouring beloved ancestors, family and friends. It was believed that life is only a dream and a human being was truly awake only after his death. Thereby, death was not deemed as a mysterious and fearful ending but a realistic familiar makeup, as much a part of life as life itself. The importance of this day can be judged from the fact that it constitutes a national holiday. Festivals are arranged to commemorate ancestors. Private altars are built decorated with sugar skulls, marigold flowers, favorite foods, beverages, possessions of the deceased. Thus, focus is placed on praying for the deceased and incurring their pleasure; the exact opposite of grief culture. So instead of blind ly following mourning and grieving rituals, we should adopt a more rational approach (Rambo, 2005). Celebration of mortality is not restricted to Mexico. Veneration and worship of ancestors is faithfully observed in many parts of the world. For instance, the Chinese believe that all bodily aspects are inherited from parents who continue to work for ones well-being until one is on a firm foothold. Therefore, it is imperative to pay homage to the deceased for their gracious deeds. They occupy the position of guardian angels for the living, protecting and steering their lives to the right path. It is imperative enough to form a part of ‘filial piety’ which is the most important of the eight earthly duties that Chinese must perform. Crying over a situation will not make it any better; but acceptance of loss and commemorating memories is an integral part of the healing process. Fulfillment of earthly duties can lead to inner satisfaction; moreover, showing venerating the dec eased would establish a feeling of closeness, as if they are watching over us. Many Catholics, Buddhists also practice ancestral rights in which they honor the memories of their ancestors usually on their death anniversaries. In India, Hindus frame the portraits of their deceased and decorate them with marigold flowers as opposed to western culture which involves decorating graves with flowers. In addition, Hindus make prayers and seek the guidance of their ancestors which sounds more sensible than shedding tears over stony graves. Similarly, ancestors have been exalted to the position of deities in many African countries. Veneration of ancestors is a cornerstone of various religions practiced there. It can be concluded that ancestral rites is one of the most unifying characteristic of different cultures and religions from east to west (Park, 2010). On the other hand, habits like grieving are disastrous because the real world will never change to fulfill our wishes so people stand t o lose even more because of continued mourning. As we cannot handle he thought of our own non-existence so it is no surprise why we fail to come to terms with the absence of our loved ones. The risk of indulging in drugs or alcohol to let out sorrow or reinforce denial accelerates

Comments and suggestions Essay Example for Free

Comments and suggestions Essay People at authorities from different branches may need to meet on a regular period. Travel cost for representatives is an additional expense which could be controlled by implementing an internet based intranet. This intranet must have chatting capability which can facilitate online conferences. Authorities no longer need to travel to the main office; instead they can set down in front of their computers, log on to the website and talk to each other like what they do in conventional conferences or meetings. This not only eliminates travel expense, but it also promotes confidence for each person participating the meeting or conferences. Because he is at the same location where he is assigned, he’ll be able to produce situational reports at real time when necessary, and seek previous documents that was not initially told to prepare but was necessary in the meeting proceedings. People who travel might accidentally leave some important documents behind which will only result to unsuccessful participation. File sharing through File Transfer Protocol (FTP) An FTP system included in the internet based intranet can address the problem to achieve fast and reliable file and information sharing among different branches. This is very beneficial in file sharing and retrieval. Company-specific reports generated by the different information management systems installed in different departments can be directed to its FTP system. In this manner, FYC can achieve an organized information storage system. A person authorized to collect reports from different branches no longer need to call all branches simultaneously because the reports can already be retrieved through the FTP system attached to the intranet. Plus, retrieval of these reports can be accessible within a matter of seconds depending on the speed of the internet connection and the size of the files to be retrieved. This type of collection of reports ensures consistency of shared information especially in situations where one form of data or information is required to be disseminated to all branches. All in all, this is an effective time management and communication system for FYC. The ability to post Schedules and Messages This will achieve standardized calendar systems for all branches of FYC. Messages and schedules posted on the site is 99% accurate and safe since you can be sure that this information comes from those persons who are authorized to post it. Posting of messages and schedules once is more reliable than disseminating information through phone calls since an information officer might not consistently disseminate the information at all times. All you have to do is just key-in the information that needs to be posted. Comments and suggestions from different addressee can be posted as a forum thread which will help the top management to address problems that had arising in connection with any communication.

Globalisation Effect On Unemployment And Economy Economics Essay

Globalisation Effect On Unemployment And Economy Economics Essay The ever growing impact of Globalization highly supported by the technological innovations on the global market, created new approach and understanding in the labour market. The restructuring of economic and corporate systems resulted of dismantling the traditional institutions, organizations and social protection, paving the way to further insecurity in jobs i.e. incomes for the exerted human power, not only in poor the countries, but in the rich and developed countries as well. The global competition among the corporations, the raise of the number of world inhabitants, technological contribution on production and services, moreover; the global economic issues, led to immense pressure on employers to adopt more flexible, non-standard labour policies with more and growing unwarranted work arrangements. To sustain in these turbulent waters, is the game of adaptation to the ever evolving social and economic uncontrollable macro environment. Since the old and new theory Survival of the fittest is still the most accurate, the only way for both employers and the employees to reach a win-win situation is through finding the perfect common denominator, through which an employee will secure his life and the employer his business. The right balance between the opportunities and threats will be by captivating advantages of opportunities and trying to avoid the threats. As an employer or employee, to survive this never-ending game, the opportunities are there to be seized. Through rapid changes and adaptations, common denominators can be innovated. The emergence and the impact of Globalization Technologys contribution The 21st century is guided by a new era in enterprises ongoing quest for increasing profit through a significant competitive advantage over the rivals. For the first time in history, we can now claim to live in One World. Globalization has removed many of the gaps that have existed between and among nations. While the physical divide is still present, the impact of the Information Highway on how we communicate and live in the present day is simply staggering. Through globalization, cultural exchange is now open and dynamic. Economies have also been merged, with the economic life of an Asian country affecting other nations in other parts of the world, and vice versa. Rapid improvements in information technology have allowed us to exchange information and communicate almost everywhere, anywhere, and anytime. The nature of business and how it is done had also improved by leaps and bounds all because of globalization. MNCs as tools for globalization Since technology is the main driving force of globalization, MNCs struggled heard to monopolize it. From the invention of the machines, then the aviation industry to the invention of the internet they all served as means for dominance. Just the nature of the tool varied from the hard to the soft power. The symbols of the modern soft means i.e. IMF, WB, internet, language, International business laws and regulations, WTO etc. are the humble servants of the Economic and Financial might of MNCs. These facts led the Big Brands to be the synonym of globalization. The global markets and the labour force These breakthroughs in communication have revolutionized business, commerce, and even the personal lives and relationships of millions of people. Indeed, globalization has produced a new age of connectivity in culture, society, economy, social life, technology, and politics. Globalization, as a general term, is best understood as the spread of ideas about the environment, democracy, human rights, and less complicated issues like fashion and fads. The mass marketing of computers and the wide availability of Internet services have brought many parts of the world together, as if we are all rush on a single pattern or web of daily life. Countries today do not just export raw materials or the usual projects. Global exchange is now taking place as the market of ideas, manpower recruiting through the use of technology. Because of the electronic media, vast amounts of important personal information can reach any parts of the globe in no time. Business establishments, whether big or small, are using the Internet in many ways to build or expand their companys recruitment system through their website or through mediators. With the ever improving technology, new labour markets blossom, high demand for cheap labour, and also greater competition. Making investments in information and communication technology is now a must for any business enterprise. Globalization and the Internet have created many advantages for organizations around the world. This advantage can be utilized while avoiding many business or geographical obstacles by using Internet properly. Employment and globalization For many, globalization is equated with economic interdependence. At the dawn of the 21st century, the scale and magnitude of global economic interaction appears to be unprecedented. The volume of capital flows far exceeds that of the past. The developing world, too, have increasingly become a part of global trade and capital flows. Contemporary patterns of economic globalization suggest the emergence of a new international division of labour. In short, the world has reached a stage in which one can meaningfully refer to one global economy. The question is whether globalization processes have reduced or exacerbated wealth inequalities  within developed countries and developing  ones. While markets will produce winners and losers, liberals argue that the openness accompanying globalization will benefit all. Others see the potential to produce widening disparities. The short answer is that the effect of globalization has been both positive and negative and is dependent on a range of domestic and international factors. Extensive evidence also exists to support the claim that economic interdependence is related to more peaceful relations. States, for example, that trade more with each other are less likely to go to war. The direction of the cause is less clear, however. In other words, does greater trade lead to peace or does peace lead to greater trade? The greater ties from interdependence have been argued to lead to both greater cooperation and conflict. The relationship is, in fact, most likely nonlinear. Variations of the working methods and the Human Recourses Competitive advantage and the competitors Competitive advantage can come in one or combination of the following factors where labour force has very significant role in almost every one of them: Price, Experience, service, Quality, Location, Customer service oriented. The better your business performs against one of these factors, the more likely you are to succeed. Being the low cost provider of a good or service can be a quick path to gaining more business or market share than your competitors. The more efficient firms labour force is the more are the chances to compete in this category. Certainly a firm will need a lower labour, materials or overhead cost, because an organization may find that their competitors are willing to cut prices in response. After all no one can expect that a competitor will let the rival take their customers away without a fight. So if an organization is willing to go down this path it would be better to be certain that they truly do have lower costs, supported mainly by low paid employers or specially arranged non-standard forms of employment. Service can also be serious differentiator and competitive advantage. If a firm can respond quicker, get it done quicker, or get there sooner, customers may prefer it over the competitors even though it costs them more. Yet; these maneuvers heavily rely on well experienced dynamic workforce who will create the much needed differentiation alongside the existing processes and the procedures. Quality is important in almost every industry. Customers do not like to pay good money for work that has to soon be redone or have to purchase a new unit that fails prematurely. Most products are somewhere in between the super and bad quality and the astute business person will seek to produce the highest quality within his means. This detail is also highly related to the workforce and its ability to create quality business with the least cost possible. Over the long term producing higher quality is almost always less expensive as organizations dont have to deal with as many returns, or as much scrap, or rework. Location can also be a competitive differentiator. If a firm best suitable location in town, then people will have buy from you unless they are willing to drive longer distances to get it. Getting the goods or the services to the customers by certain delivery employees is a kind of location based selling. Prices might be higher than normal but not so high that people refuse to buy. If firms distant service competitors charge for travel time, other things being equal, organizations can charge more money but not so much more that it pays the customer to use competitors products or services. Customer Service base can also be a competitive advantage. Something is highly related to the employees and their attitudes towards the customers, even if this will cost the firms the cost of training and developing such employees. So what if you are a little more costly, or even a little slower? Most people hate change. The prospect of needing to invest the time and energy to build the necessary trust with one of firms competitors can be a real deterrent. We live in a changing world. New competitors with better products or service arrive on the scene almost daily. When demand for firms product or service slacks or increases, it is highly related to the workforce. It is true that the overhead cost, product quality and the price has their significant role, yet the core of these will remain the workforce who are the most significant determines of organizations competitiveness. Standard employment and Nonstandard form of employment. Nonstandard form of employment is usually defined in negative terms in contrast to so-called standard employment. It is, a category that includes relatively varied forms of employment, and these need to be explicitly differentiated in a detailed analysis. The standard employment terms are more or less the same in different countries, moreover they are identical in most common markets like the GCC, organizations do not utilize any part time employees as per the GCC labour law, an employee can only work and operate in companies that sponsor work permitresidency. However companies extend the service of special consultants that work on projects basis. The standard employment is mainly characterized by the following features: Full-time employment with an income sufficient for survival, Permanent employment contract, Integration into the social security system (particularly health and pension plan), Work relationship and employment relationship clarified, Employees subject to direction by the employer. For the functioning of the labour market it is significant that compared with typical forms of employment, whatever their differences, increases the potential flexibility of businesses and, to some extent also of the employees concerned. Nonstandard form of employment deviates from in terms of at least one of the standard criteria: Part-time work, with regular weekly working hours less than under regular contractual level and pay reduced accordingly. Marginal employment, which represents a specific variety of part-time work defined in terms of payment below a certain level. Mini jobs, employees are paid according to hours of service theyve exerted. Limitation of weekly working hours to a maximum amount has been abolished. Fee basis/freelancers, based on experience, internships. Agency work, which is different from all other forms because of the tripartite relationship between the employee, the agency and the company hiring the worker. This peculiarity results in a differentiation between the employment relationship (between the agency and the employee) and the work relationship (between the company and the employee). Self-employment is intended to replace the traditional freelancer category (for example lawyers or doctors even merchandisers), It is not always easy to differentiate between employment and self-employment as the lines between the two can be rather fluid. The workforce and the employment market Individual features can appear in combination form thus, for example, agency workers or part-time workers can at the same time have a fixed-term employment contract. The constant and the obvious are the ever growing bargaining power of the employers due to vast amount of labour supplied and the scarcity of jobs offered. The fearful part is the gap that is steadily and constantly growing between the two. Among many reasons these points could shed the light upon the most significant: Population growth. Production industry is shrinking worldwide except for China and Germany. World economic crisis. Technology Urbanism These major macro aspects are among the most significant factors that are widening the gap among the employers and the employees resulting in high unemployment rates. Moreover; they are creating new unconventional means of employment which usually benefit the employer. Future of Non-standard forms of employment The profiles of a typical forms of employment not only generate the above problems during an individuals working life (above all in terms of income, employability and employment stability), but also creates significant long-term problems in terms of social security. The consequences go beyond the labour market and affect individuals post-work lives, with a considerable impact on social security, especially pensions. In welfare states, such systems are very much focused on working life and strictly linked to the criteria of standard employment (financed through contributions of employers and employees and based on the principle of equivalence). Analysis of the resulting social problems renders the traditionally strict demarcation between labour market and social policy obsolete. Any approach to reform requires integrated solutions. The accumulation of social risks means that, compared to people in standard employment, those in a non-standard employment are more likely to be only on low wages (due to advanced age) and are therefore more often in receipt of governmental or social organizations welfare. The analysis of macro environment as for the organization The macro environment of the organization is the uncontrollable part of external forces that might affect the vision and the strategy of any organization. The macro environmental elements which mainly consist of Political, Economic, and Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL) aspects and forces might affect the organization either positively or negatively in the growth era of non-standard forms of employment. The positive effects will be considered as opportunities and the negative ones as threats. Opportunities: The non-standard form of employment will open the doors for the new blood from the same or totally new workforce market to pour in the organization; this will bring in the new knowledge, new ideas and innovations a new and dynamic approach to the conducted business. The result of flexible working hours will add efficiency to the production and the outcome since the old boring 9 to 5 system does not exist in the non-standard form of employment. The twenty-first centurys organizations are shifting from communality to diversity to increase dynamism and innovative thinking system among the employees. The high level of shifting hours where lot of employees will leave the job at certain hours and come back later on wouldnt be achieved if advanced IT systems and software didnt exist, since its almost impossible to calculate the total working hours of each employee and calculate the payments accordingly. This whole flexible workforce structure will reduce the labour cost of the organization. For example, instead of paying overtime for working during the night, replace those employees with another who can and willing to work at nightshifts. Furthermore, the organization will save vast amounts of retirement pension funds which will remove a heavy burden from the companys shoulders. The reduction of the labour cost will provide a major competitive advantage for the organization which will lead the competitors to adopt the same strategy. New Strategy, new blood, new technical and IT know how, along with talented educated dynamism from both sexes and innovations that they will add to the organization will be considered as major opportunities for any given organization, especially when theyll have an weaponless army of employees not registered in any form of labour unions etc. since they are not the conventional (standard) form of employees. Threats The non-standard form of employment will spread quickly due to the competition among the rivals; this will result to certain instability in the economy and therefore economical fluctuations. These facts will lead to inevitable inflation to the economic system resulting raise in wages (working hours honorary), therefore rise in rents and expenses so the sequence of the vicious circle will be inevitable, backfiring on the organization in itself. Laws and regulations plus the labour unions who will lobby against the non-standard form of unemployment will be considered a major threat for an organization where in most countries especially in the GCC countries the employment should be on the standard basis, since any employee will be registered under the name of a specific kafeel (Guarantor: could be the organization or the name of the business owner) and where very strict universal and local laws are imposed on the employers especially what concerns the human rights or juveniles related issues. The most threatening fact will be the employee high turnover rates within the organization which will result mainly of knowledge loss i.e. losing knowledge out of companies, moreover; increased turnover triggers diminished effectiveness in corporations. High turnovers will cost companies large amounts of money to recruit new ones (Advertising, mediating agencies, the time for hundreds CVs screenings, selecting, interviewing etc.) while retaining employees through incentives and trainings will cost much less. Such means can be used to cut attrition and increase retention numbers. Working hard at keeping employees through learning and development, retention and persistency rates, an organization not only will cut attrition, but also theyll build a priceless vault of knowledge and loyalty towards the organization. Synopsis: Opportunities Threats New workforce market Cheap labour Competitive advantage More effective production New blood, new know how Diversity Technology and IT Experience / Know how Strategic Imperative (must) High / selected competencies Flexible working hours No Labour unions / home restrictions Gender balance (if applicable) Production and incentives No retirement / pension problems No aging workforce Inflation Raise of wages Rents and inflation Social issues Political issues War Economic crisis Laws and regulation Shared knowledge and experience Less loyal employees Money based relationship Labour unions Human rights / juvenile Reputation Very high labour turnover rate The analysis of macro environment as for the individual The fact of the rise of non-standard forms of employment is considered to be at the macro environmental level of the individual where the uncontrollable several external forces are affecting the plans and life of any person. As discussed previously, the macro environmental elements which mainly consist of Political, Economic, and Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL) aspects and forces might affect the individual either positively or negatively. The positive effects will be considered as opportunities and the negative ones as threats. Opportunities: The non-standard forms of employment will open new horizons as for the individual where he or she might find a chance of being hired to a certain job or position that wasnt handy before, the odds are bigger since the constant change in the workforce at any given organization will increase the probability of job vacancies. Mostly in the underdeveloped countries and due to high levels of unemployment, chances of being hired are scarce and where nepotism and interventions are the only recruiting factors, individuals find fairness and equal chances for being hired through non-standard forms of employment. Usually when hired by non-standard forms of employment higher (per hour compensation) than fixed wages are expected even if the paid amount is considered cheap labour (effective) as for the hiring organization. The real challenge will be extending as much as possible the hours of being hired. Flexible hours will create the chance and the opportunity for the employee to be able to pursue another interest during or after the traditional 9 to 5 working hours. An employee could continue his / her education at the university, or pursue even higher education if possible. Time flexibility will allow the employees to spend more hours with their families or look after a hobby they like. Technology is considered an opportunity for many employees where the job could be accomplished without or by minimum physical presence at the office. Thanks to the technology virtual offices can easily be setup among employees hundreds of kilometers apart. Even traveling to host/home countries for short period of time is possible due to active, dynamic and low cost communication means. Any task could be accomplished within two days for example and the employee could return to his office and continue the job after a while. This would have never accomplished if there wasnt this technological breakthrough. One of the most annoying aspects for the new recruits especially for the fresh graduates is obtaining experience, mainly where there are high unemployment rates and starting a career is a hard task to be achieved. With non-standard forms of employment, chances will be granted for the fresh graduates to acquire working experience even for short period of time. This will allow them to look for the next vacancy empowered with a certain experience theyve acquired, levering their chanced to be reemployed. It is obvious that being involved and living with active job demands will increase the standard of living for any individual and his/her family. The higher the income generated will be resulted in higher spending due the high potential of the disposable income. Furthermore with the help of non-standard form of employment the employee might have the chance of being promoted and he/she might be invited on the same basis to operate on the other outlets due to the expending strategies that their organization might adopt, or be invited to help a franchisee to inaugurate certain tasks. Non-standard form of employment offers variety of experiences to the employees due to the fact that they will experience several types of carriers during their productive life span. The versatility acquired by the employees will increase the chances of being rehired since the adaptive attitude that theyll foster will be considered added value to the new recruiting organization. Threats The most dominant threat as for the non-standard form of employment will be the retirement where the dynamism of youth will diminish gradually and the chances of being employed will decease. This will add immense pressure on the individual therefore the society will be effected and eventually the state. The constant fear of the absence of safe and steady income will push the employee to a certain austerity measures on his/her spending, therefore consumers spending index will decrease resulting a standstill or slowing the markets normal cycle, which in itself will create a hassle in the marketplace resulting in more job cuts. Furthermore countries economical system is balanced upon the spending power of the population backed by the banking system through micro or medium loans. These loans are hypothecary i.e. based on certain guarantee to the bank, which in most of the cases are, the fixed salaries presented to the banks through certain documents which are approved by their organization. Technology and new machinery are spreading like the fire in the woods; this will affect the job market resulting raise in the unemployment figures, especially for low competency based positions. Uncertainty, lack of income and unconventional working hours will surly affects the lifestyle of any individual especially on those who have a family. On the long run such occurrences will have its devastating consequences on the social structure of that country, which in itself will backfire of the whole economy. Any kind of riots or wars will result a total standstill of the income in case of non-standard form of employment due to the fact that is based on the hours spent in job. The greed of employers could lead to exploitation of the employees by several means. One of the most famous among them is the so called trial period, where the employee agrees to be testes on job for an unpaid certain period of time. The result could be the extension of this period or the employer keeps testing employers for two moths then another employee for another two months and so on. This whole non-standard system will definitely alter the unemployment rates where lots of people will be considered as employed, which in fact they are not. The frequent change of the employees due to the fact that they can be easily substituted will result in total change in organizations values and personnel attitudes where the factor of loyalty will be considered an obsolete theory. Synopsis: Opportunities Threats New Job opportunities Equal and fairness Higher per hour / wages More flexibility / freedom Technology/ Communication means Transport and low cost airlines Learning curve and experience Constant demand of new recruits Career path in various organizations Raise the standard of living Franchising, expansion Versatile employee Retirement and pension No more safe and continues Income Technology new machinery Cultural identity Family issues War and riots Exploitation / misuse Unemployment real figures Values and attitudes Easily substituted Conclusion The global turbulent economy affected widely by the globalization factors and theories, sharpened the competition reducing the profit margins. Moreover, because of the greater employment risk and/or the short periods of employment involved, when they lose their jobs. The differences between agency workers and those in standard employment are particularly striking, with the exception of those on marginal wages. After getting job-less approximately one agency worker in two receives the lower Type 2 unemployment benefit, whereas the figure is only one in seven in the reference group. The main reason for this drastic difference is the fact that the previous period of employment subject to compulsory social insurance was not of sufficient duration. In addition, any claim to Type 2 unemployment benefit presupposes that savings above a certain threshold are first used for the purpose of subsistence. In these circumstances the greater degree of individual responsibility for old age provisions demanded of employees becomes unfeasible. What is relevant in the long term in both individual and collective terms is the insufficient integration of such individuals into the pension insurance system. The low levels of contributions made as a result of long periods of part-time work or an entire working career spent on mini-jobs but also unemployment after the expiration of fixed-term jobs results in individuals only having a claim to pension benefits that are inadequate for subsistence purposes. The changes that have occurred in types of employment increase the risk of poverty in old age for the individuals concerned. For years, this issue was regarded as having been solved in Germany, but it could re-emerge in the future unless appropriate measures are taken. And from a collective point of view, the necessary top-up transfer payments represent a considerable drain on public budgets and bring with them the risk of gradual erosion of the basis for contributions.

Molecule may be key to nicotine addiction :: essays research papers

A single molecule may be partly to blame for nicotine’s addictive allure, a finding that researchers say could lead to potential therapies to help millions of smokers quit a life-threatening habit. More than 4 million people around the globe — 440,000 of them Americans — die from smoking-related causes each year. And, the nicotine-laced smoke damages more than just their lungs. The California researchers not only pinpointed a molecule responsible for nicotine addiction, they also created specialized mice to make it easier to search for other molecules impacted by nicotine addiction. The research team started by fiddling with a single gene to create mice that were hypersensitive to nicotine. The genetically engineered mice were tripped up by the tiniest exposure to nicotine — a concentration 1/50th of the strength of nicotine coursing through a typical smoker’s blood. Once hooked, the mice experienced classic signs of nicotine dependence that keep smokers puffing, the research team reports Friday in the journal Science. â€Å"Dependence-related behaviors, including reward, tolerance, and sensitization, occur strongly and at remarkably low nicotine doses† in the mice, the research team wrote. In humans, reward arrives as a pleasant little jolt of dopamine, a calming brain chemical unleashed by nicotine. The body’s tolerance for the drug leads to more smoking. Sensitization means not feeling good without a nicotine fix, said Henry Lester, a biology professor at the California Institute of Technology who was among the paper’s 10 authors. In mice, researchers saw reward when mice chose nicotine hits over salt, changed body temperatures as evidence of tolerance and more running around among sensitized mice. Other researchers praised the study. The findings â€Å"not only provide direct evidence of how nicotine promotes dependence, but also raise fundamental questions about the genetics of addiction,† researchers at the Centre Medical Universitaire, in Geneva, Switzerland, wrote in a companion piece. Could drugs fight addiction? If the findings in mice hold true for humans, the work points to a specific target for a new drug to attack, others suggest. People become dependent on nicotine when it parks in nerve cell receptors designed for the chemical acetylcholine. Once nicotine fills that space, dopamine is released. By knowing the specific parking place where nicotine can exact a high toll, a drug could be fashioned to fill it. â€Å"The power lies in the ability to be so specific. In being so specific, you can treat the cause without the ramifications of the side effects,† said Stephen L.