Organic Food †Good for you, Good for the environment Essay

Organic food has quickly gained popularity over the years. What started as a trendy method that celebrities adopted has expanded mainstream and can be found in any thriving metropolis as well as many smaller towns and cities. Organic food refers to any type of produce or meat product that has not be treated with additional chemical preservatives when it is grown and therefore is considered to be of benefit to those that choose organic produce. Yet there are those that have not jumped on the organic bandwagon as they have reservations towards this option. We will examine both sides of the argument so as to analyze and finally decode the language that is organic food and come to the clear conclusion that organic food should be an investment we make for proper nutrition and health. Understanding Organic Food One of the most basic human needs is food. We need to feed our bodies with food in order to do any of the daily tasks that we may embark on. This need used to be supplied with food that was wholesome and pure. Our ancestors ate the fruit of their labor which was food that was grown in their farms or in local surrounding areas. We have come a long way from this with the expansion and growth of not only the population but also the technology that speeds up the 2 packaging and assembly of some of the larger chains which supply millions of households with food. Our food no longer is home grown; little do we know where in fact it comes from and for that matter what is being added to our food to give it color, taste and preserve its freshness. Organic farmers are looking to close the gap between the supplier and the ultimate consumer. By buying organic produce we go back to a simpler time where we knew where our food came from and what agricultural methods the farmer used to cultivate the food we put in our mouth. Critique Skeptics and critics of the organic food movement question if buying organic produce is worth it. They believe that organic food is costly compared to commercial and industrial produced food. It can cost a consumer anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars to purchase organic products vs. commercial products. This is due to the methods that organic farmers use when they grow their produce such as crop rotation which is a method that organic farmers use to maximize the soil and land they have by alternating the type of crop they grow. This method leads to less amount of one type of product being produced and also less variety or produce being only available in particular time periods or seasons. It also means that farmer will use less of the soil and less land. This can be a big disadvantage as in the United States alone 140 hectares of farmlands have been lost in the last 30 years to make room for non-agricultural purposes such as building urban cities and highways (Cunningham & Cunningham 2010 pg. 201) therefore it may seem to some that all the land given for the purpose of agriculture should be used and even exploited for maximum profit options. Another disadvantage that organic products have is their shelf life. Because no preservatives are used to keep the product fresh, organic products must be consumed within a very short time frame, which can be a big inconvenience to the consumer on a strict budget 3 looking to really expand the freshness of their products without the need to buy a large amount of groceries every few days. If we look at the economic disadvantage that buying organic food has we can see why some people are still skeptical of trying or buying organic products. With the economy still trying to recover from a period of recession and the job market being scarce, people have become savvy shoppers and want to stretch their dollars. While buying commercial products may seem like the best option when saving money, there are other ways to save and still enjoy the benefits that come from buying organic produce. When it comes to matters of health and giving your body the best nutrients, it is important to learn the facts and really analyze the options before making such an important decision. Benefits There is no denying the benefits that buying organic produce has over the conventional method and while the arguments for those opposing organic produce are valid they do not give the consumer the various methods and options they have when choosing organic products and thus it is up to the consumer to study and analyze the progress that organic farmers and retailers have taken in an effort to make organic produce more cost effective as well as various methods that can be taken to naturally preserve the freshness of the produce. Like all things when demand is high cost normally goes down, however because organic produce requires special labor, the cost of buying organic produce is also higher than the conventional method. A recent head-to-head comparison done by a group of Colby College students in 2011 was conducted surveying various commonly purchased products, comparing the prices of both non-organic and organic products and it was concluded that organic products can have a mark-up of up to 117% compared to non-organic products. According to these studies 4 organic carrots cost $1. 51/lb. while non-organic carrots cost $. 77/lb. , a difference of +96% for the consumer buying organic carrots over non-organic. (White Pillsbury, Melissa 2013). While the actual price may vary by location, it is true that organic products do cost more than their non-organic counterpart. One way to offset the cost of buying organic produce is to shop directly from the farmer. By doing this, the consumer not only can ensure that they are buying organic products, they also save money as the farmer will sell directly to the consumer and not have to spend extra money on packaging or transportation costs when selling to wholesaler. Farmers markets are growing in size and vary from city to city. If the consumer lives in an area where the resources for organic produce are scarce or they lack the time to visit a farmers market, they also have the option to subscribe to a monthly at home delivery service usually offered directly from a local farm such as Farm Fresh To You (www. farmfreshtoyou. com ) or Full Circle (www. fullcircle. com ) . These are at home delivery programs that work directly with a local farm which offer the convenience of having the products delivered to your front door, they also take the guess work off what products to buy. Each box of produce delivered weekly or bi-weekly depending on the type of membership you have signed up for, has a variety of hand-picked produce that is both fresh and in season. Another argument that is commonly brought up when discussing organic foods is that organic products lack preservatives that keep it fresh. Once again, a very valid point however, if the consumer were to investigate a little further, they would learn that farmers are great resources to look in to for special tips on how to naturally preserve food without the need for chemical preservatives. Some tips might be as simple as the storage of the produce. One such example is to keep commonly used fruits such as apples and grapes refrigerated at 32-36 degrees Fahrenheit (FarmFreshToYou. com) and away from vegetables to avoid ripening too early. Other methods 5 that have been successful in prolonging the freshness of organic produce are canning, drying, or freezing. These are also at home methods that the consumer can learn that will lock in the flavor and freshness of the produce at the time of purchase thus saving the consumer money. There are many food movements that have come and gone, some being too extreme to be adapted and adhered to permanently; the organic movement has proven not to be just another fad. Buying certified organic foods is the way to go because it helps the environment thanks to the type of natural soil the farmers use when cultivating such crops and also keeps agriculture growing. Organic farmers may seem like the winners in this deal due to the high cost of organic goods but in reality buying organic foods will be extremely beneficial for our health and wellbeing. References Associated Press. Not Quite Pesticide Free. Environment. 2002; 44:5-6 Costenbader, Carol W. The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest. North Adams, MA: Storey, 2002. Print. Cunningham, W. P. , & Cunningham, M. A. (2010). Environmental Science: A Global Concern. New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill â€Å"National Rural Ecology Centre. † National Rural Ecology Centre RSS. N. p. , 2009. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. â€Å"Storage & Use Tips. † Storage & Use Tips. Farm Fresh To You, n. d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. White Pillsbury, Melissa. â€Å"Price Differences: Organic Versus Non-Organic; Store Versus Farmers’ Market. † Price Differences: Organic Versus Non-Organic; Store Versus Farmers’ Market. Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, 2013. Web. 12.

Islam is the second religion of the book Essay

Incidentally, the term: â€Å"People of the Book† comes from the Qur’an which cites both Judaism and Christianity, religions which came before Islam, as having part of its origins in the prophet of Abraham. In this, we can see a respect for the other religions; a respect which is lost on the perception of a vocal minority of Muslims and as a result, a perception that Muslims hate all other religions. This is false and dangerous assumption for both sides. Belief in Islam requires that a convert believe in only one God, the revelations which he has given to his people from his angels, his messengers and chiefly, the prophet Mohammad whose writings from 610AD until his death in 632 AD helped to compose the Holy book of Quran. It is a central belief and one that is seen as the most important: That there is no â€Å"God but Allah and Mohammad is his prophet. † This is required of all those wishing to consider themselves Muslims and followers of Mohammad and his teachings. There are an estimated 1. 6 billion Muslims with an annual growth rate which exceeds all other religions in the world. Muslims are spread all over the world but are highly concentrated in the Middle East. Pakistan is the most heavily populated country of Muslims and even America has an estimated seven to ten million Muslims in the country. Muslims believe that the Koran is the literal word of God and was made such by a visitation of the angel Gabriel to the prophet Mohammad. Angels are described in the Koran as: â€Å"messengers with wings. Two or three of four pairs. He adds to Creation as He pleases. † This is a central belief as well as the fact that Mohammad, despite his greatness in the religion of Islam, is not considered a deity of any kind. Neither is Jesus who, despite being highly regarded in the official teachings of the last fourteen centuries, is considered to be only a man and a prophet of God’s, although his greatness is not to exceed that of the prophet Mohammad. God is a central theme of the religion and his is referred to as: â€Å"God, the One and Only: God, the eternal, Absolute, He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto him. † It is also a central theme of Islam; the Day of Judgment. Similar to the Christian belief in predestination, many Muslims believe that people are predestined as to whether they will enter heaven or enter hell on the Day of Judgment. That is not to say that an individual does not have the freedom to choose, rather that God, from the beginning of time, knows the destination of every person who ever existed, or who will ever exist. In this fervor, the message of a complete submission to God is central as well as to the belief in Islam. Disbelief and a failure to submit to the will of God are one of the main offenses which, according to the Koran, will result in a person, on the Day of Judgment, going to hell. The latter is one of the main appeals that individuals have for Islam as in many countries with a high population of Muslims, the living conditions are less than substandard and people live a very tough existence. Lastly, one of the most important and central teachings of Islam is called the â€Å"Five Pillars of Islam. † There are five major aspects of Islam which individuals are strongly encouraged to observe. The first is belief in Mohammad as the prophet of God and that the words of the prophet which are located in the Koran are the literal word of God. The second is praying in the direction of Mecca, five times a day. The third is the giving of alms or charity to the poor and needy. The fourth is fasting during the month of Ramadan in which one must not eat or drink from dusk to dawn. The last is called the Hajj or a pilgrimage during the fourth Islamic month to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. † The latter will compel millions of Muslims, sometimes two and three million Muslims at a time, to go to Mecca at the same time in order to fulfill their last duty, or pillar of Islam. When asking Mr. Aziz about the importance of the religion of Islam within his own life, he gave a very passionate and informed response. â€Å"In America, there is a great deal of misconception about the religion of Islam and as a Muslim; it is my responsibility to live in a way that would help to dispel those myths. Although not in the same light, nor with the same amount of spotlight, it is similar to the experience that the American boxer, Joe Louis had while he was the Boxing heavyweight champion of the world. His manager was careful not to have Joe Louis portrayed in a way that would add to the misconceived stereotypes about African Americans at that time since the last African America boxer, Jack Johnson, had done the opposite and was shunned by America. † When asked if he has found this to help within his own life; the conception of others about him, his ethnicity and his religion, Mr. Aziz had a mixed response. â€Å"There will always be people who will not change their opinions about the Middle East or Islam. I can’t really help that. However, for three high majorities of people who make the effort to know me, they have sometimes come out and said that they were wrong about Muslims, or at least about me. There is still a hint of racism within such sentiments. However, it is progress. † Mr. Aziz then talked to me about his religion. â€Å"In Islam, there are five pillars which every Muslim is expected to respect and obey these pillars. In no specific order, these five pillars are to travel to Mecca at least once in your life, to give to charity, to pray five times in the day while facing in the direction of Mecca, to fast during the Holy Months and to believe that there are no gods but Allah and that Mohammad is his messenger. The last is the most important and is what helps to connect the more than 1. 6 billions Muslims in more than a hundred countries in the world, each one to the other. It is very important to all Muslims. I have not yet gone to Mecca but I hope to by the end of the decade. I have not always been faithful in the completion of the other four on a daily basis as most people of faith experience a lapse in their faith and devotion. That has happened before. However, I am quick to connect the dots and to separate myself from whatever vehicle is serving as an impediment to my faith. † â€Å"Fasting is also important. During the Holy month of Ramadan, there is to be no eating during sunlight. This is one of the most difficult of the five pillars. The reason to fast is that it will help to bring the believer closer to God through the realization that God is the supplier of everything and that nothing can be done apart from him. We eat his food and breathe his air. We use his sunlight and are stewards of his world. In comparison with God, man is so small and weak. Sometimes people forget that. Fasting helps to remind them. † Mr. Aziz also prays five times a day as well as gives to charity. â€Å"I wake up at 5am and pray then as well as at 8am, noon, four pm and before I go to bed at 9pm. Since I was raised to do this and to adhere to the five pillars, this has become a habit of mine and is not really difficult. I remember as a child, I rebelled a great deal towards this especially since I wanted to stay in bed. It was not until two consecutive years, did I feel its difficulty ease and I began to enjoy it. † It is also important to give to charity. This does not solely mean money. There are many people in the world who are very poor and do not have the money to give. To give to charity, or to give alms, means also to be helpful to one’s neighbor. Whether it is shoveling the snow from an elderly neighbor’s driveway or simply just informing a person at the grocery store that they dropped their purse; these all are examples of charity. † Mr. Aziz also speaks to the importance that his religion has towards his community. â€Å"Even though here in America, there is an estimated three to seven million Muslims, there are very few where I live and no places of worship. One of the reasons for the latter I believe is caused by the beliefs that the people in the surrounding towns have about Muslims and that we are all terrorists. Therefore, there have been many attempts, to diffuse any building plans for a mosque. † How do you feel about that? â€Å"It is discouraging to me but me and fellow Muslims meet in people’s homes in order to worship and pray. It is similar to the 1st century Christians who were barred from worshiping by the Roman authorities or the Jews who during WWII were not allowed to worship either. We are not under the same level of persecution but as these other two groups. However, it still requires some planning. † â€Å"It is my family and friends which help to lay a foundation of faith within my life. There are few Muslims in the surrounding areas. Therefore, the friends that I do have and which practice Islam as well as my family, for more than one reason, provide a structure and foundation for me. This is very important. America does not have the same problem with their Muslim population in comparison to the troubles in Europe because we have assimilated. This is important to a degree. We do not want to become completely Americanized but in the process, love American sports and the traditions that come with this country. † So we are then relegated to worship nearly in private. † It is one of the prices to pay for being a Muslim in America. However, since the majority of American Muslims are doing well in America and enjoy this land, we are content to pay some of that price. We are Muslims first however and Americans second. Just as Christians have as a major aspect of their identity in which it cannot be separated from who they are, the same can be said about Muslims. † â€Å"The societal restrictions towards Muslims in America have eased up. However, as a Muslim in America, I still feel as though I am a foreigner in a country that I immigrated to legally over twenty years ago. America has still given me more opportunities than my homeland. I just look forward to the day when I can be truly being considered an America. If I do not live to see that day, I will be sad but I will remain happy that I have had such a rewarding and blessed life while living in America. † Mr. Aziz still continues to work and to support his family. When asked about the faith of his two daughters, Mr. Aziz comments: â€Å"They are eight and ten years old so they are young, but not too young to understand some of the world around them. I hope that I can keep them from experiencing instances of racism or prejudice. I do not however, that the worst that they receive in America, is still better than what they could have hoped for in Pakistan. That is why I am hesitant to complain too loudly. I am still able to raise my children, along with my wife, in the ways that we choose. This is a great freedom that America has; its religious freedom. I recently watched a documentary on Thomas Jefferson and learned that he was instrumental in creating a foundation of religious freedom that is present in America. This happened more than two hundred years ago. Yet, I am a recipient of such actions even today. It is very amazing to me and I am very appreciative. † â€Å"I am proud to be an American. However, I am also proud to be a Muslim. It seems that in the past few years, especially since 9/11, such sentiments have been seen as an oxymoron. I believe that they are one in the same as America promises religious freedom to all who will practice their religion of choice without breaking the law. This is the great gift that America’s forefathers and all who help to preserve such efforts, to contemporary Americans and all who will follow. It is the effort of every Muslim, not to be swayed by the fleeting morals of a society but to hold firm to the faith and teachings of Islam. This is what I am attempting to do. I have not always been successful and have fallen away from my faith from time to time. It is important, just like with anything in life, that once somebody has fallen short of their personal expectations, to get right back up and to try again. Religious faith is an ongoing process and does not stop while one is alive. † This is my hope and prayer for me and all others who feel that the law can only go so far and that a personal relationship with God is paramount in a person’s life. WORKS CITED Armstrong, Karen Islam: A Short History New York: Random History 2006 Burns, Ken Thomas Jefferson New York: Steeplechase & PBS Films 1997 Miller, James Religions of the World. New York: WW Norton 1987 The Holy Qur’an (2002) New York: Oxford University Press An Interview with Mr. Aziz. Recorded with his permission on November 1, 2007 and Transcribed on November 4, 2007.

First three chapters to edit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8750 words

First three chapters to edit - Essay Example The anxieties over quality, on the other hand, have necessitated the need to design online courses that meet the set minimum standards of quality and industry demands. It is on this basis that faculty-designers have emerged as critical a component in the development of online courses. Given the importance of faculty-designers, there is a need to ensure that these faculty-developers possess requisite skills and competencies that are crucial in maintaining the quality of online courses. This chapter presents the issues surrounding the skills, competencies and best practices for designing online courses. In addition to these issues, this chapter will also present the purpose of the research, research questions and hypotheses, justification and significance of the research, as well as limitations and assumptions for the research. Faculty designers try to employ the principles of instructional design that uses those tenets to design course materials. However, they are often made responsible for the creation, development, and management of online classes without any formal preparation for performing these tasks (Carliner and Driscoll, 2009). This can result in a practice where faculty-designers tend to create certain courses without possessing the basic instructional development skills and competencies in these areas. This problem is compounded since the professional and scholarly community has not yet identified the basic instructional design skills and competencies that the faculty-designers should possess before they are assigned the task of designing various courses. Such competencies and skills for faculty-designers developing online courses are embedded in instructional design theories related to the content expertise as well as their understanding of the concepts of education and instructional design (R eigeluth, 2012). These ideas are also associated with the conceptualization of how learning theories support adult learning. The rapid growth of online

Banking Crisis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Banking Crisis - Research Paper Example It is important to ensure close co-ordination between the Federal Reserve and the Government, because monetary policies should be complementary to fiscal policies for achieving the country’s objective of sustainable and long term economic growth. Evolution of Central Banking The concept of Central Bank evolved in the second half of the 19th century. The banking institutions started with commercial purposes or government banks have transformed into central banks in most of the countries. Bank of England model has been adopted by several countries. Central banks became the lender of the last resort and started issuing notes. In the aftermath of the great depression the independence of the central bank has been curtailed in US. However, gold standard and laissez faire brought back independence to central bank to ensure monetary stability. The  US Federal Reserve came into existence in 1913 through passing of The Federal Reserve Act. Panic in 1907 in banking circles gave rise to demands for reforms in banking sector and the National Monetary Commission was set up for this purpose. In mid 1990’s â€Å"in the wake of Russian default, the Fed lowered short term interest rates to minimize the consequences of international financial conditions for the US economy and to ameliorate those conditions abroad.† (Neely 35) Many world countries have agreed to adopt gold standard system in Bretton Woods Conference in 1914 which envisaged economic discipline among the nations. The role of central bank has increased substantially since stability of the currency is an important factor in international finance. But, gold standard has failed due to devaluation of currencies by several countries to protect their national economies. The International Monetary Fund created in Bretton Woods in 1944 with the aim of preserving global monetary order introduced fixed exchange rates of the currencies in relation to US Dollar or gold. This system has also failed due to v arious practical difficulties. Introduction of fluctuating exchange rates later coupled with internal economic factors has increased the clout of central banks further and most of the countries started adopting fluctuating exchange rate system based on demand and supply. Paul Krugman stated â€Å"Under the "floating" exchange rates we have had since 1973, exchange rates are determined by people buying and selling currencies in the foreign-exchange markets. The instability of floating rates has surprised and disappointed many economists and businessmen, who had not expected them to create so much uncertainty.† From the simple bartering system, the monetary order has undergone changes over years in tune with the dynamic economic environment, technological developments and introduction of exotic derivative products in banking and financial services sector. In determining the value of money in modern economy, the fiscal measures of governments and the monetary control measures of the central bank play very crucial roles. David Kupelian stated â€Å"Despite the varied theories espoused by many establishment economists, it was none other than the Federal Reserve that caused the Great Depression and the horrific suffering, deprivation and dislocation America and the world experienced in its wake. At least, that’s the clearly stated view of current Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.† The globalization phenomenon gaining momentum during the recent years

Arabizi (Arabic Chat language) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Arabizi (Arabic Chat language) - Research Paper Example Arabizi or Arabish is also known as the chat language as many young Arabs use this language virtually on the platform of internet or mobile phones. This language was born in the late period of the twentieth century around 1990s. It was this time when the communication through text was on its peak in the Western zones and has ever since grown rapidly among the Arab youth; especially in Lebanon and Jordon. The rise of this language has gotten mixed reviews from people. Some have criticized the language and claimed that such a trend would lead to the disconnection between the Arab youth and its tradition while others have argued that this language just makes communication easier. This research paper looks in to the aspect of how the usage of this language is affecting our society, exploring both the negative and the positive side while stating that the rise of this language has in fact bought the world closer and made communication easier. ... both Amelia Naidoo’s article and Ibon Villelabeitia’s article, I concluded that mixing English language with Arabic language â€Å"Arabizi† and educating Arab students in English language have disadvantages such as destroying the native language, which in this case is Arabic’ (Ali.F.Ahmed). Language is the most significant part of communication and its also and important part in defining your identity; and therfore the use of Arabizi is not only weaking the arabic of the Arab youth but also pulling them away from their true identity. Ahmed continues his article by stating ‘Amelia Naidoo referred to research studies at AUS, speaking English as a second language destroys the natural identity and sometimes the whole culture of an Arabian’ (Ali.F.Ahmed). Although being distant from Arabic may lead to the youth being detached from its heritage, Arabizi cannot be blamed for the loss of identity between young Arabs. This point can be further strength ened by the views of Ali Naseer a frequent Arabizi user ‘For me, it is difficult to express myself in Arabic. I cannot write slang in Arabic because it is difficult, while in Arabizi I can. I do not see any evidence that Arabizi weakens my Arabic. The same could be said about weakening the English language but it is not true. I think people are oversensitive about this issue’ (Ghanem, 2011). Although Arabizi has been criticized for many reasons one of them being is pulling the youth away from its identity; that being its language. People fail to recognize that use of Arabizi makes communication easier when using modern devices like World Wide Web or cellular phones. This language makes communication easier as it is impractical to switch keyboards to write Arabic in its original script, as most of the modern devices

Western Imperialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Western Imperialism - Essay Example Western imperialism is a recurrent theme in much of the historical and anthropological literature.By looking at a map of Africa, we can see a graphic example of how imperialism has affected the evolution of African countries and how the period of the "great empires" has devolved to "spheres of influence" in Africa today (Kindersley).The irony in analyzing imperialistic settling in Africa is that Africa provided the starting point for humanity over 2 million years ago. The great age of colonization from Europe started with the explorations of the Portuguese, shortly followed by the Spaniards, the Dutch, and then the rest of Europe.The English started the slave trade in the well-known "triangle" route between the UK, Africa and the Caribbean, starting in the early 1600's. On the route from the UK to West Africa, the ships' captains transported rum and trinkets, and sometimes firearms. They picked up slaves in West Africa, generally dealing with the coastal tribes who kidnapped or trade d for slaves from the interior of the Continent. The slaves were then transported to the Caribbean, generally to work on sugar plantations. At that point, the ships dropped off slaves and bought rum to transport back to the UK. The French began a similar trade, sourcing slaves for their plantations in the Caribbean.The rest of Africa was largely ignored until the Dutch settlers-the Boers-came to Southern Africa in the late 1700's. They co-settled with the English and engaged in wars against the tough native Zulus, Bantus and other tribes of the southern part of the Continent. The "golden," or "infamous," depending on your viewpoint, age of colonization was the 1800's. During that period, slavery declined but other forms of exploitation thrived. The discovery of gold and diamonds in South Africa and Rhodesia led to a renewed interest by Great Britain in that area. King Leopold of Belgium took over the Congo in the 1860's and ran it as a personal fiefdom for its mineral wealth. France took over what is now called French Africa (centered around the Ivory Coast), while Germany took what was then called Southwest Africa, but is now called Namibia. They also took Zambia. In East Africa, the British took Kenya and Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania), but failed to take the Sudan (Kitchener's famous routing in Khartoum). The French failed to take Madagascar, but took Reunion as an important naval base. They took Algeria, first as a French colony in the 1800's, then as a French "dpartement outre-mer," or non-contiguous state within France itself. The US only had a marginal role, with the 1820's founding of Liberia as a home for freed slaves. The capital of Liberia, Monrovia, was named after President James Monroe. In the early 1900's, the Italians managed to take Ethiopia. Their control was always loose, and generally limited to the Coptic Christian part of the country. During the Mussolini years of the 1920's and 1930's there was a constant low-level war, which resulted in Italy's loss of Ethiopia in the early 1940's as they pulled back their troops to the home country. Imperial rule in Africa varied from one conquering country to another. By far the worst human rights atrocities were committed by Belgium's King Leopold and his successors in the Congo and Rwanda, the two Belgian colonies in Africa. Brutal suppression by mercenaries kept the population down while the land was mined for copper, diamonds and gold. Probably the best (post-slavery) administrators were the French, who inculcated the West African colonies with language, investment and promotion of locals to important government posts. With independence in 1960 and beyond, the European colonists gradually abandoned their colonies. Portugal (Angola), Germany (Namibia) and Belgium (Congo and Rwanda) have the least to do with their former charges. France has retained stronger contacts through the CFA zone (there is

Organization Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organization Development - Essay Example It is understated but valuable. It explains that organizational change involves unfreezing, then transformation and, finally, refreezing. The first step is the point at which an organization realizes its need for change. In the second step, the transformation occurs. After the changes in the organizational development have actually occurred, then the last step is where the changes are incorporated into the organization’s routine. Another theory is called the action-research model. In this model, the organizational development comes through identifying the problem. This involves developing a hypothesis and then data are analyzed. This theorem looks like it is recurrent in nature. It is cyclical. This means it can happen repeatedly during the process of change of the organization (van Aken & Berends, 2007). Another theory about organizational development is called the general system theory. It explains and emphasizes the importance of the organization’s external environment. It seems to suggest that an organization takes something from its environment, transforms it, and then gives it back to the environment when it has been changed. It describes the symbiotic relationship between an organization and its environment. It then becomes clear that the atmosphere of an organization is dynamic. This applies to both internal and external environments of an organization. Ideally, there is not a single moment when an organization is not looking for a solution, as real life is highly dynamic. This also describes the market place. When an organization unfreezes, its starts looking for how it can change a prevailing condition. According to van Aken & Berends (2007), this happens in search of a solution. An organization identifies a problem which hitherto has been a solution to another previous problem. In other words, before unfreezing, the organization had the same conditions because

Case Studies Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Studies - Case Study Example From this perspective the sample should be dependant on the quantity of people entering the store but if we were to select one out of every five people that would represent twenty percent of overall entrants into the store. The method of determining information from the customers would be an in person survey with close ended questions. In situation #2 it is my recommendation that the airline should use a convenience sampling method. The means by which we should select the sample would have to be proportionally representative insofar as we and not only looking for people who would typically fly in airplanes but they must also be university students. Finally the sample size should be restricted by the overall budget. If the cost is $75 per student we would need to determine how many people we can interview based on the overall budget is $7,500 than the number of interviewees would be 100. However the number should ensure that the confidence level is larger than 95%. In situation #3 the type of sample that should be utilized is a systematic sampling method in which every nth person is chosen at a predetermined point in the city. The method of choosing the sample should be along the lines of every fourth or fifth tourist that they encounter.

An overview of IEEE 802.11 (wireless network standard) Essay

An overview of IEEE 802.11 (wireless network standard) - Essay Example It is the most widely used wireless network standard. 802.11b standard was ratified by IEEE in 1999. The main features of this standard are as given below.These features are adequate for most data transfer applications and for accessing internet but might be inadequate for multimedia acce It might also face problems when users in large number access the network from a single access point. The frequency of operation, i.e., 2.4 GHz, coincides with the spectrum used by cordless phones, microwave ovens, etc. Therefore the interference problems are more likely to occur.802.11a suits to the conditions of multiple users accessing the network with high data rates. It is best suited for classrooms where students can access multimedia, digital video or database packages (BECTA, 2005).IEEE accepts the 802 standard logical link control (LLC) protocol. It also offers, for the purpose of wireless communication, physical layer (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) sub layers. There are two physical layers offered by 802.11 namely, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) and frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS). According to the transmission methods and frequencies 802.11 is categorised into three main groups; 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g. The main features of these three categories have already been stated above. The main drawback of 802.11a is that it is not backward compatible with 802.11b as both of them use a different frequency spectrum. This results in lesser interest of users towards 802.11a. The advantage of 802.11a, however, is that it operates in 5 GHz spectrum which can be used unlicensed. The 2.4 GHz spectrum used by other two standards interferes with that of other devices such as cordless phones and microwave ovens. The 802.11 MAC supports two basic medium access protocols: contention-based distributed coordination function (DCF) and optional point coordination function (PCF). (Zhu, Hua, Li, Ming, Chlamtac, Imrich & Prabhakaran, B., 2004). PCF causes the wireles s channel to be divided into super frames. Super frames in turn provides two periods, a contention-free period (CFP) for PCF and a contention period (CP) for DCF. There is a device known as point co-ordinator which is usually an access point (AP). The point co-ordinator polls for grant of access to the wireless channel at the start of CFP. On obtaining the channel, it checks the stations regularly and sets priorities to these stations as per their importance, i.e., their

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy Essay Example for Free

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy Essay The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) have a Code of Ethics called the ‘Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy’. The framework was first published in 2002 and was reviewed in 2013. Within the Code of Ethics it states what the ethical principles and personal moral qualities are (in this piece of work I shall be explaining 4 of them). The ethical principles that I found in the BACPs Ethical Framework were (as follows): Being trustworthy Autonomy Beneficence Non-maleficence Justice Self-respect The personal moral qualities that I found in the BACPs Ethical Framework were (as follows): Empathy Integrity Respect Competence Sincerity Resilience Humility Fairness Courage The ethical principles and personal moral qualities that I shall be explaining are: Autonomy Beneficence Humility Non-maleficence Autonomy is â€Å"respect for the client’s right to be self-governing† (that is what the framework says). This means allowing the clients to make their decisions independently if they wish to. This principle highlights the importance of reinforcing a client’s ability to be independent in all aspects of their live. Beneficence is â€Å"acting within the best interests of the client based upon the  assessments† (that is what the framework says). This means working closely on an individual’s level of competence and ensuring that there are services that the individual can access with the suitable training/experience. Humility is â€Å"the ability to assess accurately and acknowledge one’s own strengths and weaknesses† (that is what the framework says). This means working to the best of a counsellor’s ability and knowing their own strengths and weaknesses and knowing that if they cannot manage something then they must seek advice from supervision. Non-maleficence is â€Å"avoiding sexual, financial, emotional or any other form of client exploitation; avoiding incompetence or malpractice; not providing services when unfit to do so due to illness, personal circumstances or intoxication† (that is what the framework says). This means that the counsellor has the responsibility to prevent the client from any harm that may happen whilst the client is in their care due to them being vulnerable. Reference: http://www.bacp.co.uk/admin/structure/files/pdf/9479_ethical%20framework%20jan2013.pdf This is the website/document that I used to access the information to help me write this piece of work on 09/09/2014 at 14:19

Leadership Styles And Their Role As A Strategic Manager Business Essay

Leadership Styles And Their Role As A Strategic Manager Business Essay INTRODUCTION:- This study is based on leadership styles and their role as a strategic manager and impact of these leadership styles on the overall performance of the organization. Through this study, we will also come to know that how different kinds of leadership style are adopted by strategic managers to attain their organizational goals and prospective. LINK BETWEEN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP:- Leaders are the persons who actually made strategies for the company. They set objective, goals and future prospectus of the company. They are dealing as a strategic manager and leader at the same time. In other words they are the major stakeholders due to heavy investment in business. After making strategies, leaders forward their decision to their subordinate team members and they make strategies how to achieve those goals. LITERATURE REVIEW:- a leader is someone who exercises influence over other people. (Huczynski and Buchanan,1933) Leadership is a lifting of people vision to a higher sight, the raising of their performance toa higher standard, the building of their personality beyond its normal limitations (P.F.Drucker,2001) the leader must have infective optimism. The final test of a leader is the feeling you have when you leave presence after a conference. Have you a feeling of uplift and confidence? (Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, 1956) In 1986 Peters and Austin highlighted the characteristics of leaders and also compared it with managers (Non-Leaders). LEADERS MANAGERS Provide necessities to people Provide consultancy/solutions to everyone. Flexible to adjust among people Dont put their selves into formalities Provide solution at doorstep Work more than others Keep in contact with everyone Listen everyone Easily access by common people Fair dealing with all Make good decisions Dont make any discrimination Happy to deal with tough problems of people Persistent to outcome Provide simplify directions Tolerance in attitude Make close relations with people Strong faith He trusts people Ambassador of people for critical issues Dont waste time on unproductive works Dont like to praise himself by others Takes blame for any mistake Happy to give credit/reward to others Provide effective feedback to improve efficiency Good command on business and getting work by employees Dont get into formal discussion Happy to work under pressure One face person Open minded Try to reduce paperwork environment Encourage own staff to be promoted Make promises and honour these Dont have luxury office Priority is companys success Dont shy to learn from mistakes Supervise more people Give instructions to employees about work Dont happy to live among people Put himself into formalities Staff cannot access him easily Work less than others Dont like to get involve with inferior groups Good communication skills Biased among employees Seek support by groups Overconfident Good command to dodge people Hesitate to take decisions Mostly confused Having less patience Does not create close relations with people More flexible for seniors Create paper environment Holds decisions and information Waste time on un-related works and sources Prominent Keen to find culprits Always find ways to take credit Always search information Biased while assigning work Hatred to all staff members Evaluate business for his/her benefit only Try to find out new ways to handle employees Write lengthy formal letters equivocates hold tactics to handle situation have mysterious life style involve more paperwork find better alternatives in other organizations lack of making promising seeking for luxury office give priority to him/her self scare to find and learn from mistakes Leadership and management are key players of an organization. Both play a tremendous role in the progression of the company. The below are some key features of leadership and management working together to achieve strategic objectives. Vision Strategy:- Leaders define vision and make strategy for future goals and prospective. But on the hand, it is the responsibility of manager to make strategy to attain vision set by leaders. He has to look after all the operational activities of the organization and make staff more productive and efficient. Change and stability:- Whenever leaders feel, they bring changes in organizations and managers arrange stability in changing environment of organization and make tasks more smooth and optimistic. Energizing and monitoring:- Leadership boost up employees to improve their performance and the manager keep an eye on employees performance and utilize human resources in best possible way. To be a successful company, it involves managers and leaders at the same time. But manager should be leader and leaders dont have to inevitably be manager. National council for education in Management leadership published a research project under the title of leadership development: best practice guide for organizations (2001). in this publication, they highlighted nine principles of best practices under three heading. STRATEGIC IMPERATIVES:- Leadership development, to be effective, must be driven from the top with specialist support. It should be designed to support and drive the business, cultural differences and different approaches to development. STRATEGIC CHOICES:- An articulated framework for career development. Variable amounts of formal and informal development. Grow your own senior people or hire them in. The value of competency frameworks and performance management. Retention and reward strategies. EVALUATION:- An explicit and shared evaluation process:- Now a days, organization we find different people withholding different kind of powers. They perform their duties but they act of behalf of leaders of the company. They use power to be more productive and result oriented. There are five kind of powers we find in most of the organisation. Legitimate power:- The person who holds this kind of power is because of his/her position in organization. Coercive power:- This type of power mostly production managers hold because they use it to control people and produce result according to set schedule. Reward power:- Leader has the ability to give benefits and rewards to result oriented employees. Expert power:- These people enjoy power because of their skills, expertise and knowledge. They also treated in organization as benchmark. Referent power:- There are some people who have desirable resources and qualities. ANALYSE THE IMPACT OF MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP STYLES ON STRATEGIC DECISIONS SABRI GROUP OF COMPANIES Sabri group of companies was established in 1960 and now it has largest distribution networks in signage media all over Pakistan. It is one of the most diversified businesses in Pakistan. This is also the first company in Pakistan who fixed manufacturing flex substrate plant. Organizational chart http://sabrigroup.pk/ LEADERSHIP AND MANAGERIAL STYLE IN SGC:- It is very settled organizational structure. Although it is a family business and the most eldest person is assumed to be the main decision maker of the organization especially when heavy amount of funds are required. If we analyse the structure of Sabri Group of Companies (SGC), then we realized that it fits in one of the structural form of Henry Mintzberg which is Simple Structure. Small companies operate like this structure and SGC is one of them. Owner his self makes most of the main decisions but he also gets consent of his team managers. By having this simple structure, management can respond quickly to any problem. Although it is not very big organization but it has established its decision making structure. Their decision making structure is involved the following principles; Extent of control Centralization Dissect ion of labour Departmentalization By having extent of control, the total number of people will be determined according to the size of the work so they can be effectively managed. All subordinates have been assigned their tasks and they perform their daily tasks according to given format. This activity leads to little interaction between employees and supervisor and supervisor can supervise more employees in same time. All the staff members have been assigned their tasks and jobs very clearly and they perform their work more effectively and well organized way. As management needed, it assigned some departmentalization tasks and people having same kind of skills in one department work together. They also share their experiences and learn from others. TASK 2 A VISION OF LEADERSHIP TEAM WORK AUTOCRATIC LEADERSHIP:- Management observed that market is going to very diversified and versatile then it decided to go for diversification. It took very bold decision and decided to launch new brands and it also rebranded all its existing products. By analysing future growth, company took this step and company put pressure to team members to product positive results. THE PERSUASIVE:- As company has taken the decision at its own; now it felt that it has to motivate its team members to produce good results. It put a lot of efforts to share its vision and future prospective with employees. Without having a clear picture of companys objectives, team members cannot produce as per desired level. THE CONSULTATIVE:- Although leader has to authority to take final decision. But it seems to be looking better to get consent from other team members. By this exercise, the morale of the whole team gets high and everyone feels proud to be a part of new strategic decision. These activities also result in to develop nurturing self-esteem, developing mutual trust, inviting participating. DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP:- This organizations leadership strategies are very much close to democratic leadership. While launching new or revise existing policies or deciding to go for diversification, it discusses with its group/ team members and get their consent. All the team members play a very vital role to attain the future prospective of the company because all know the importance and worth of these prospective. Through this company cant only come out with effective decision and policies but also it know the implementation of the decision? All members have already taken precautions and threats to attain this target. All the group members become very much enthusiastic and perform in positive ways. Everyone feels that his act is very important to company thats why his sense of responsibility increases and perform for the betterment of the company. SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP:- According to situation and importance of the task, leaders appointed other persons as a leader for a specific task. By doing this, not only they handle situation with very positive way but also they set examples for other that they can also lead other people if they have the ability to do so. MIAN MUHAMMAD MANSHA YAHA FROM PAKISTAN He has established 40 companies. He owns the Muslim Commercial Bank is also setting up a $ 17m paper mill. He is one of the richest Pakistanis around. NISHAT GROUP It is a group which established and developed by Mian Mansha. Nishat group is a leading organization which is serving in Textiles, Cement and Financial Services. It has assets of over Rs.300 billion (US$ 5 billion), it is also one of the top five leading companies of Pakistan. It has the privilege to be largest and trend setter player in each sector stated above. Common goal:- Nishat group has established group of people who work for them. They clearly shared their vision and goals with team members. They prepared them so well to accomplish task collectively. Broad knowledge and prospective:- All team members of this company are very skilled persons. They use their skills to make task easier and also share ideas for future tasks. All persons are very supportive to each other. Improved return on change investment:- They are very innovative persons and in true sense they are the key players for implementing strategies. They always in search of finding ways and means to make positive change in organization. They also seek ways to reduce companys investment and use current resources in better ways. Better use of facts and data:- Team members effectively use available facts and data in very efficient manners and make realistic policies. They try to reduce hypothecation environment. They use data as reference and make future strategies accordingly. Faster response to challenge and opportunities:- They are very flexible to modify themselves according to situation. They are happier to face new challenges and enjoy opportunities. In their opinion it is a way to enhance and utilize our interpersonal skills. Not only they work for productivity of company but also at the same time they grow themselves. Bring solution:- They are the actual representatives of leaders. They always bring solutions rather than contacting leaders and seeking for solution. It is their duty to handle situation without wastage of time. The progress of company is very much dependant on their turns. Behavioural approach:- The leadership of this company is very much close to behavioural approach because most of the decisions are based on real time situations and leaders are keen to solve problems by interacting others. Leadership is also interested to understand other people behaviour and convert it for productive purpose. It may be related to interpersonal skills by directing and providing them proper training. Leaders proof themselves as roll model and motivate employees to be like them. Management grid:- Task orientation:- Management is very much concerned about its tasks completion and productivity. They have zero tolerance in this regard. People orientation:- This organization knows the importance of teams members and it tries to establish very good relation with its co-workers / managers. Sometimes it get involved with its staff members by creating emotional environment and giving them thought that they are the main key players for the organization and people work as its their own company. This organization is the mix of different kind of leadership styles. Top management changes its leadership style according to the need of the company. KEY TASKS OF CORPORATE LEADERS:- Sharing vision and objectives:- Mian Mansha has developed a team who works according to his vision and action plan. Although his prospective is very broad but he shared and explained it with his team members to make it more effective and realistic. Determining and overseeing the courses of action:- He does no let people free to do all the tasks at their own. He also evaluate all the tasks and give opinion on them. He also help subordinates to make their action plan more effective and efficient. Leading a continuous organization process:- Being the leader of the organization, he gets involve themselves in all the processes of the organization. He is a keen researcher to dig out methods to improve procedures. Promote and Manage valuable knowledge:- He is very much concern about managing employees. He encourages and promotes efficient employees. He has made retention policies for productive employees. Achieving a quality of life in the organisation:- He tries to develop quality culture in his organization. He believes that quality culture leads to produce quality employees. Although it is not easy to establish quality environment within organization but he still treat it at priority. Partridge observed (1989, p205) that Managerial work across all levelsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is characterised by pace, brevity, variety, and fragmentationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it is hectic and fragmented, requiring the ability to shift continuously from relationship to relationship, from topic to topic, from problem to problem. THE FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT:- Every management has 5 main functions to establish. If he/she successfully develop these areas then they are on right track towards their goals. Planning Organising Commanding Co-ordinating Controlling MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES (MBO):- This idea developed by Peter Drucker (1940s and 1950s) and he stated this in his book the practice of management (1955). Setting objective for the organisation Organizing the work Motivating the employee Job measurement Developing people Set out their clean objectives Make plans to enable objectives Implement those plans Monitor and evaluate WHY DO LEADERS ADOPT DIFFERENT STYLES? In 1976, F.Fielder argued that it is easier to change someones role or power, or to modify the job he has to do, than to change his leadership style. P. Hersey and K.H. Blanchard argued that A leaders strategy should not only take account of the situation, but also thee maturity of those who are led. The leaders have TASK BEHAVIOUR OR RELATIIONSHIP BEHAVIOUR. On the following grounds, leaders decided that which leadership sytle they have to use. Delegating Participating Selling Telling Wright and Taylor in 1984, developed a checklist to help leaders to improve employee performance. What is the problem? It is the responsibility of leaders to take necessary action to find out the problem. It should be considered the know the background of problems then get some solution. Is it serious enough to spend time on? Management evaluate problems then take actions accordingly. If management find out to solve this problem is useful for company and it is not wastage of time then they treat it as most important task and solve it as early as possible. Because employee performance is directly related to production. What reasons may there be for the problem? How can it be solved? They also highlighted some alternatives for the problems solving and implement one best to fit it. Evaluating of the leaders performance:- There is also a need to evaluate leaders performance. Because they also have to assess their selves with the passage of time. They develop strategies to grow and establish themselves. They are the persons who create directions for whole organization. Emotional intelligence:- Companies conduct 360 degree of employees before sending him/her on any training. As companies know their employees better ways then they motivate their values, and goals. Their goals should be settled in encouraging environment and there should be supportive policies to attain personal goals and objectives. There is also a need to provide models to employees to enhance their interpersonal skills and increase morale. According to Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence is The capacity or recognising our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships. The ability to perceive, to integrate, to understand and reflectively manage ones own and other peoples feelings. (John D.Mayer, quoted in people Management (28 october 1999):49) BOOKS REFERENCE Business studies as level, third edition, by Dave Hall, Rob Jones, Carlo Raffo, edited by Lan Chambers and Dave Gray 2004,2005 Build your own rainbow, by Barrie Hopson and Mike Scally,3rd edition, 1984 Business studies now for GCSE, second edition, by Karen Borrington and Peter Stimpson, 2002 Cultivate a cool career, by Ken Langdon, 2004 Business the ultimate resource, A Bloomsbury reference book, created from the Bloomsbury business database, 2002 Business studies, by Peter Stimpson, 2002 Introduction to management by Tony Dawson, 1998 Learning and development, by Rosemary Harrison, fourth edition, 2005 Leadership coaching by Graham lee, 2003 Managing for results, 2nd edition by Gillian Watson and Kevin Gallagher, 2005 Managing your time by Julie-Ann Amos, 1998 Management skills by Patricia Buhler, 2001 Management by Stephen P. Robbins Mary Coulter, 7th edition, 2001 Management and organisational behaviour by Laurie J Mullins, sixth edition, 2002 Management development strategies and action by Alan Mumford and Jeff Gold, 4th edition, 2004 Modern business administration by Robert C Appleby, 6th edition, 1994 Managing activities by Tina Stephens and Richard Pettinger, 2005 Operations and quality management by hodder and Stoughton, 1999 Putting the one minute manager to work by Kenneth Blanchard Robert Lorber, 1994 Personal effectiveness, by Diana Winstanley, 2005 Time management by Polly Bird, 2008 Time management and personal development by John Adair and Melanie Allen, 1999 The six sigma leader, by Peter S.Pande, 2007 ONLINE REFERENCES http://www.nishatpak.com/history-and-development.html (24-03-2011,16:41) http://www.buzzvines.com/pakistans-super-rich-people (24-03-2011,16:39) http://sabrigroup.pk/(24-03-2011:15:47) http://worldwork.biz/legacy/www/downloads/Personal_Development_Plan.pdf (08-03-2011:13:01) https://online.businesslink.gov.uk/Horizontal_Services_files/PDPSample.pdf (08-03-2011, 13:00) http://www.diycommitteeguide.org/article/monitoring-and-evaluation (26-03-2011; 11:48) http://www.umanitoba.ca/student/u1/lac/media/Learning-Styles-06.pdf (26-03-2011; 13:26)

Answer Americas Call :: essays research papers

Answer America's Call   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the history of America there have been several different answers to her call. Every different time period has had it's own call, from the days of Jefferson and the Constitution, to the days of Kennedy and the Vietnam conflict. What is this generation's call? With the Cold War dead and behind us, America is calling from a different line. No longer is America in need of a sophisticated high budget military, but for new minds and ideas. Long gone are the days of fighting in the streets over a lone silver dollar. Instead America is in the race for new technology and the minds and sophistication that go with it. So long M-16, hello IBM, satellites, and laser technology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Earlier generations had no idea of what electronics could provide. The strongest country in the world was the one with the most men. Then came guns, then nuclear weapons, and finally computers. No longer do we need to send most of our country's men off to fight. Rather we can just sit some of them down on a computer and do just as much damage. With computers and the viruses that go with them, people can destroy the economies of whole countries without wasting a single American life. Countries can crumble with the push of a few simple buttons on a keyboard.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  But to understand all of this new technology requires a great deal of knowledge. Not just anyone can sit at a computer and make a country crumble. It takes an intelligent person to even turn on a computer. No longer can America turn to just anyone off the street to help the country. So with this in mind, we strive to answer Americas call, education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When forming the government, it was feared people would not be smart enough to understand the rights and privileges granted to them; people now should be as equally concerned. Not that the government will not survive, but rather if it is going to prosper, as it has, with all of this new technology. No longer will a high school education prepare people for the workplace, as it did just ten to twenty years ago. Now people need not only a high school education, but a college degree, and more to prepare themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the thousands of colleges and universities to be found, everyone should be able to receive this education required for the everyday changing society. But not everyone is seeking the education required. People have lost interest and the desire to stay in school. But with the society changing, people must have the training to produce and use new technology.

Isolation And The Individual I :: essays research papers fc

Nothing is more apparent in the genre of satire than the ridicule of the vices and immoralities of society. This focussing on the defects of society as a whole doubles as a function of this genre of literature and a framework within the plot or theme of the novel or story. The satirist emphasizes the ugly ramifications of society, but to do so the satirist needs a vehicle for the observation of society’s actions and effects as a whole. This society is often represented as a microcosm or series of microcosms along a journey and the vehicle for the observation of the presented society is an individual located on the outside. To ensure that the individual is fully isolated from society and thus capable of objectively observing the follies of the world, the individual is given characteristics of a distinctive identity. The concept of an individual may be summarized in a statement made by Rick Hoyle: â€Å"The human self is a self-organizing, interactive system of thoughts, feelin gs, and motives that characterizes an individual. The self is reflexive and dynamic in nature: responsive yet stable† (Hoyle 2). Therefore, the outsider must be an individual, fully capable of organizing his or her thoughts and emotions and the consequences of each upon the self and the world. Logically proceeding the definition of the individual outside of society is the definition of society; a term that â€Å"can be used to designate the specifically relational system of interaction among individuals and collectivities† (Sanford 219). By positioning the polarities of individual and society in a conflict of values the satirist has created an effective method for criticizing society. The major trends the satirist may attribute to the individuals separated from society are the inability to integrate themselves into society, a certain degree of naivetà ©, and have definite flaws. These trends are apparent in the protagonists of the satiric novels: Mark Twain’s Hu ckleberry Finn Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 and Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mark Twain’s satirical novel Huckleberry Finn has a main protagonist that is a precocious boy named Huckleberry Finn. Huck Finn’s initiation into society and society’s values is at Miss Watson and the widow’s home after his father’s death presents the civilized part of the society that Huck has not been exposed to before. It aggregates Huck’s education both as an individual and as a part of society up to the time when he sets out on a raft to Jackson’s Island; and his acceptance of Jim begins his exclusion from society.

big lots :: essays research papers

Big Lots Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Big Lots Inc. is not your everyday retail store such as Wal-Mart or K Mart. Big Lots, Inc. is the largest broadline closeout retailer in the nation. Big Lots’ theme is â€Å"Brand names at closeout prices!† This motto is the foundation of what the company is built upon. More than 3,000 manufacturers provide the company’s stores with brand-name products at prices 20-40% below traditional discount retailers. Big Lots meets the needs of customers by providing an assortment of merchandise, including consumables, seasonal products, furniture, housewares, toys, and gifts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Big Lots was established in 1982 through Consolidated Stores Corporation. The stores name was called Odd Lots which made its debut in Columbus, Ohio. In 1985, the company made its initial offering on the American Stock Exchange. At this time Big Lots was first launched. Thanks to their buyers, managers, associates, and other supporters, the company celebrated its first billion dollar year in 1993. In 1994, the company acquired Toy Liquidators which added 82 stores in 38 states. Two years later Consolidated Stores Corporation doubled its size and sales with the purchase of KB Toys. Big Lots Furniture became one of the fastest-growing furniture retailers after it began with 9 freestanding stores and 53 in-store departments in 1997. After gaining shareholder approval, Consolidated Stores Corporation changes its name to Big Lots, Inc. in 2001. After rebranding was complete in 2002, the company made many improvements in the Big Lots shopping experience, including updat ed, attractive stores and even better customer service. The changes bring record-setting increases in customer transactions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most closeout retailers rely on the distribution of weekly or monthly circulars to inform customers of the latest deals. Big Lots uses targeted mixtures of circulars to drive immediate customer traffic along with network television advertising to build awareness with consumers. In 2003, launched it’s first-ever $50 million television advertising campaign. Commercials can be seen all over daytime and nighttime television. With a host of different types of products to market, Jerry Van Dyke plays the lead role in promoting the company’s products. Consumers also receive a weekly sales promotion in the mail that brings to life what Big Lots has to offer in its â€Å"Here today, gone tomorrow† deals. Advertisement strategies have the potential to make or break a company. Fortunately, the company seems to be moving in the right direction. Location on the other hand is also a key factor in a company’s success.

Teacher Interview Report

Actually, this is my second time to do teacher interview. Last time, I went to Shi Pai Junior High School to interview a teacher and asked something about the class management. From the interview, I’ve learned a lot from the teacher and her belief of teaching Chinese. Though to certain degree, this time the report is quite similar to the last report that I’ve done. However, this time, by the demand of teacher Alice and the class objective, my target interviewee must be an â€Å"English† teacher. At first, I was very nervous about how to find an English teacher in junior or senior high school because I’ve got in touch with all my English teachers for several years. it may be very embarrassing to go back and the teacher doesn’t recognize that I used to be her student) Fortunately, one of my best friends in my night school class, knowing my worriment, introduced me an English teacher in Shilin High School of Commerce whom she loves and admires very much. Here, I want to say thanks to my dear friend. Without her, I really cannot finish writing this assignment. Below, there are some basic info of the teacher and the questions that I’ve prepared for the teacher interview,

Amazon.com Case Study Essay

1-2 Amazon Discussion Questions 1. On a scale of â€Å"1† (Very Poor) to â€Å"5† (Excellent), how would you rate Jeff Bezos as an entrepreneur? How would you rate him as an operating manager? Support your rating from case specifics. I would rate Jeff Bezos 10 as an entrepreneur, and 7 as an operating manager. On one hand, he identified book retailing as an industry segment that could exploit the power of emerging Internet technologies and found the Amazon.com, which enjoyed several years of tremendous growth, from an online bookstore into an online superstore, expanding the online business from retailing to auctions and marketplaces. He propelled the company through the dot com crash by partnering with traditional retailers and on to being a highly profitable online retailer. On the other hand, in order to support its rapidly growing and increasingly complex business, he invested heavily to develop state-of-art digital business infrastructure and operations which could provide the best-in-class retailing, fulfillment, and customer service capabilities, but built with rapid growth in mind, the distribution infrastructure provided roughly 70% to 80% overcapacity in late 1999. In early 2001, the company faced tremendous pressures from Wall Street and the company’s shareholders to achieve profitability. From 1997 to 2000, the Gross margin increased from 29 million to 655 million. However, the operating expenses also increased rapidly, from 61 million to 1519 million! The company simply could not make profit! 2. Trace the evolution of the Amazon.com business from the company’s launch in 1995 to the dot.com collapse in 2000. How did the company’s strategy change over time? How did IT capabilities evolve? What value did it deliver to all stakeholders? From its online bookstore launch in July 1995 till it went public in May 1997, the company located itself as an online retail bookstore, focused on redefining and enhancing the online shopping experience, including browsing, searching, personalized store layout and recommendations, shipping carts, 1-Click shopping, wish lists and greeting cards. Beginning in 1998, the company began aggressively expanding into new product categories and into international markets, becoming an online superstore selling a wide variety of products in over 160 different countries. During 1999, the company began exploring new business models including auctions and marketplaces. For these new businesses, the company provided software and services but did not assume control of inventory. As such, it played the role of an agent, not a retailer. During early 2000, the company expanded its marketplace business model through a series of equity partnerships with leading online retailers. How did the company’s strategy change over time? Within the first six years of its inception, Amazon transformed itself from an online bookstore into an online superstore selling a wide variety of products both nationally and internationally. Amazon set out with the strategy of becoming â€Å"Earth’s Biggest Bookstore† and to support its rapid growth it aligned its business model to â€Å"get big fast.† How did IT capabilities evolve: Capabilities enable a company to execute its current strategy and also provide a platform for future growth. Amazon used its IT capability as a powerful tool to enable operational cost savings, revenue growth opportunities, drive asset efficiencies and to create for itself a sustainable advantage. Stage I: Using IT to drive cost savings: Amazon used IT to control and bring down its raising fulfillment costs by computerizing and interconnecting even the notoriously labor-intensive activities like picking and packaging. Stage II: Using IT to drive revenue growth: Amazon used IT to create business intelligence to get to know its customers, markets and competition better and leveraged this capability to increase its revenues by attracting more customers and also by increasing the per customer purchase value. Stage III: Amazon created for itself a unique asset base comprising of its brand, customer relationships, the technical and fulfillment infrastructure, and leveraged it to create for itself a capability that could not be easily imitated by its competitors (online and traditional) or new entrants. Stage IV: Using IT to create sustainable advantage: Amazon’s digital business infrastructure, which linked its customer facing processes to its backend processes, helped it create a sustainable advantage for itself which served as an entry barriers for competition. The IT enabled commerce platform that Amazon built for itself is the key to its success. The value it delivered to all shareholders is its brand, customer relationships, technology, infrastructure, financial strength, people, and leadership in the dot com industry At the heart of Amazon’s value proposition is the fact that it leveraged its existing IT system and transformed it into a commerce platform, and this allowed Amazon to pursue new IT enabled strategic growth initiatives. In this process Amazon created value for all its stakeholders. Customers: Amazon’s sophisticated browsing experience with enhanced search capabilities, wish list, recommendations, shopping carts, one click shopping, personalized consumers shopping experience. Industry: Amazon’s business concept not only helped Amazon grow, rather it developed a value network for all the industry participants. Amazon’s  adoption of digital business capabilities compelled the retail industry to adopt and grow, or at least consider the new business model. Shareholders: In the early years, since Amazon had fewer physical assets, its asset turnover was extremely high. As Amazon.com began investing in its IT infrastructure and distribution network it increased its asset base and therefore had to look for new avenues to increase its revenues and to fuel its evolving business model. 3. Do you degree with the decision to pursue the Toy’s â€Å"R† Us deal? Support your decision with case specifics. Why did Amazon.com do the deal? Should Amazon.com do more deals like this? What impact does the Toys â€Å"R† Us deal have on the Amazon.com business model in early 2000? I agree with the decision to pursue the Toy’s â€Å"R† Us deal. Amazon.com found that its digital business infrastructure was a proprietary asset that would provide sustainable advantage, while supply chain, inventory management, and order fulfillment processes were difficult to efficiently scale across a diverse range of products. The dot-com stock market crash exacerbated the company’s problems and, by mid-2000, many of its online retail partners had declared, or were heading toward, bankruptcy. This caused Amazon.com executives to reevaluate the company’s business model. Rather than partner with dot-com retailers, attention shifted to traditional retailers that wished to develop online retailing capabilities and to upgrade their traditional distribution and fulfillment capabilities to enable the end-to-end visibility and speed required when doing business online. They should do more deals like this. The Toy’s â€Å"R† Us deal enabled the company to explore a new business model as a logistics services provider (Toy’s â€Å" R† Us would maintain control of product sourcing and marketing, as well as ownership of inventory) as it simultaneously expanded into a new market (traditional retailers) with its existing online retail product. 4. Consider the challenges facing the company. As a member of the Amazon.com board of directors in 2001, what actions would you take? Two of the biggest challenges that Amazon faced in early 2001 were whether it’s new â€Å"infrastructure services† model could develop into a competitive advantage that would be difficult to imitate by the competition and how to guard itself from increasing competition from traditional retailers. One way to deal with competitive threats from traditional retailers is to build an alliance with them. Amazon should continue to expand in the traditional retail market by attracting more retailers to sell to their products using its commerce platform. Teaming up with traditional retailers would require a delicate balance as it is important that this alliance between Amazon and its retail customers represents a win-win scenario. This will help Amazon use its fixed cost distribution network to capacity thereby increasing its benefits of scalability. Further it would allow Amazon to leverage its capabilities, increase revenues and develop its commerce platform into a strategic advantage that would be hard to imitate by new entrants or by traditional retailers.

Harlequin Enterprise Mira Decision

Harlequin enterprise had a competitive advantage in the women’s romance fiction genre up until the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Harlequin faced steady loss of share in a growing women's fiction market due to the popularity of single title novels. It is costly to imitate but to stay competitive I would recommend that Harlequin perform a limited launch of Mira by re-developing titles in their back-list and generating direct-to-reader sales through the Book Club, while it explores global distribution and marketing relationships. The Mira decision is great way of gaining new grounds but there are numerous issues surrounding it. First, competitions are fierce and there is great deal of threat to its potential in the U. S market. The agreement with Simon and Schuster at the end of romance wars may not be sustainable. If harlequin launches Mira in direct competition with S&S it would be very difficult considering harlequin is dependent on S&S for the distribution of its series titles within the U. S market. If Mira is pursued, harlequin would have to redevelop its distribution chain and its value chain within U. S. Harlequin’s brand loyalty is strong due to its readership base. This is evidenced by the direct-to-reader Book Club, which currently provides 3/8 of US Sales at significantly higher margins than indirect sales. With this value, harlequin should proceed cautiously but look towards reducing external threats and external opportunities. The Mira decision could be the solution to increase sales. With harlequin’s reputation of producing high quality books, Mira could be successful. There’s a great deal of risk involved in this investment, with significantly higher cost for production, distribution and marketing and considering harlequin’s inadequate expertise outside of the romance realm. As with the 1987 worldwide case, I believe harlequin could learn from their mistakes and be optimistic towards their future.

A Separate Peace: Destroyed Everything Essay

In the 1940’s, World War II had a huge impact on the everyday lives of Americans. Many people had to sacrifice money, supplies, food and even lives to contribute to the war effort. However, the characters in John Knowles’ â€Å"A Separate Peace† appear to be sheltered from the influences of the international conflicts as a result of attending an all-boys boarding school. The novel focuses on the friendship between Finny and Gene, two friends who bonded during the carefree summer sessions at the Devon School. When the winter approaches, the students find themselves having to deal with stricter administration and rules. The new order and increasing impact of the war causes the students to stress and worry. In an effort to relieve the misery, Finny decides to organize a winter carnival for the pupils. Although the festivities of the winter carnival suggest that the boys have been successful in creating a separate peace, Knowles’ use of war imagery in describi ng the setting, prizes, and the boy’s behavior suggests that this peace is illusory. Although the setting of the carnival seems serene at first, a closer look at the descriptive language reveals that the Devon school is in a war-like state. The brutal winter causes the students to have a depressing view of their school life. The despair that the cold weather has brought with it causes Gene to loathe winter, he compares it to a â€Å"corrupt†¦conqueror† who’s presence has â€Å"destroyed everything†. In spite of getting ready for a carnival, Gene still finds it hard to return to the pleasant mood that he had felt during the summer semester. The difference between winter and summer signify the difference between times of war and times of peace. Like the winter season, the war appears to demolish everything, including the feeling of happiness. On the day of the festival, the students still cannot get rid of his glum attitude. Knowles describes the Saturday of the carnival to be â€Å"battleship gray†. Through the use of foreshadowing, th e author reveals the tension among the boys. Even though the students manage to get along at first, the sullen weather hints to the clash that will take place later on. As the activities are taking place, Gene shows amazement at the fact that everyone appears to be so careless and unrestrained. The narrator feels that the carnival had allowed the students to be liberated from the â€Å"gray encroachments of 1943†. The carnival permitted the students to have one day of freedom from the strict administrations at the school. However, Gene automatically connects the warm feeling to the horrific war. He realizes that the lack of restraint on the students is only temporary; they will soon have to return back to their normal lives after the carnival. This is similar to the way the peaceful life at the Devon school is only for the time being, the boys will eventually have to face the reality of the war when they graduate. Despite Finny’s effort to recreate the lighthearted summer life by organizing the winter carnival, he is unsuccessful because the school is not the friendly haven it once was. The rewards offered at the winter carnival reflec t the boys’ loss of innocence as they struggle to become men. At school, the students are taught to prepare themselves to fight in the war. This is the reason why one of the sought after prizes is a â€Å"set of York barbells†. It reveals the desires of the young men to serve their country. The teenagers all want to become great soldiers and to do so, they must start training as early as possible. Knowles shows that the characters are growing up and are accepting of their future in the war. The winnings also exposes that the adolescents are no longer the innocent kids they once were. A piece of hair â€Å"cut under duress† that once belonged to the â€Å"professional town belle† was placed on the prize table. The fact that the boys are after locks of hair from a prostitute means that they are going through hormonal changes and are testosterone-driven. As a result of not knowing how to deal with these developments, the students resort to taking forceful actions to fulfill their desires. Gene’s classmate, Brinker goes through great lengths to get awards which include doing irresponsible things. However, he does not show remorse for these actions. Brinker places the money from the â€Å"Headmaster’s Discretionary Benevolent Fund† on the prize table with â€Å"silent dignity†. As the kids grow older, they begin to act unethically and show a disregard for authority. As they lose their innocence, their moral compass also disintegrates. Although they are struggling to become adults, they end up acting immature and childish. The prizes appear to be normal on the surface but the deeper meaning reveals the teens’ malicious behavior. The normally well-behaved students act unruly and aggressively suggesting that they are taking on the demeanor of soldiers they are destined to become. During the planning of the carnival, the boys take on roles that parallel military positions. Brinker naturally played the part of the commander, he â€Å"super vises the transfer† and walks around â€Å"giving orders† to other students. The boys are acting more and more like soldiers as they grow older. When they get together, they operate as if they were actually in the military. The violent nature of the boys becomes evident when Knowles points out that the designated trumpet player, Chet, blew the â€Å"barbaric call of a bullfight†. The author is comparing the students to bulls, both are wild and brutal. The boys are no longer civil and friendly with each other; they have turned against their classmates. Like many real soldiers, the boys appear to be obsessed with violence and cannot contain their craving to fight. Though the carnival starts off good-naturedly and fun, it soon turns ugly when the cider-fueled boys show their savage behavior. They break â€Å"apart into a riot† and explode â€Å"like a bomb†. Despite Finny’s intention of having a jovial carnival, they young men ruin this chance by unexpectedly acting out. They could not hold back their destructive ways any longer, and the carnival gave them the perfect opportunity to break out. As it is in the war, peace at the Devon School is not possible and violence is inevitable. Chapter 9 ends with a telegram from Leper, a former student who had enlisted in the army, informing Gene that he has escaped from the military. This shocks the students back to reality as they come to the understanding that the war is real and that they are unprepared for such dangers. Using war-centered word choice, John Knowles makes it very clear that the feeling of peace that the characters feel is deceptive and short lived. Therefore, all the boys can do is wish for the war to end so they can find a real and permanent peace.

Primary and secondary Data Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Primary and secondary Data - Essay Example With the transformation of the globe, various trends of globalization are paving the way for new business opportunities. The ease of getting access to information has significantly beefed up the level of competition that exists in the global markets. In order to gain advantage in this competition, it has become very necessary for the companies to undertake significant amount of research before the process of launching a new product or service in the market. The conduction of research helps in the process of estimating the needs as well as the demands of the market. About the company The company that has been considered in this case is California based Monster Energy Corporation. Talking about the company, it can be said that it is one of the leading marketer and distributor of various energy drinks and beverages. Some of the most popular brands under the product portfolio of the company are Monster Energy, Hansen’s, Peace Tea, Worx Energy, Blue Sky etc (Monster Energy Company, 2012). Talking about the market segmentation for the company’s products, the focus for the US markets mainly depends on the young audience. Also, the company’s products are segmented and targeted towards the masses of some of the foreign markets which are spread in the developing as well as the developed regions. In this case, it has been assumed that the company is trying to launch a new energy based drink for the US market. The speciality of the new product is that this energy drink is exclusively for the female audience. Hence, the audience that needs to be segmented in this case is mostly the young female population residing in the US. Different types of data and research methodology Market research is a very vast domain, which comprises different kinds of approaches, tools and techniques. While trying to conduct a market research, it needs to be highlighted that the data can be of two types. There can be primary or secondary data. Primary data are gathered by the researcher for the purpose of finding more relevant information for the project at hand (Burns and Bush, 2006, p. 146). On the contrary, secondary data are already available as some other researcher has actually collected or compiled the data for relevant usage in their respective project (Zikmund and Babin, 2007, p. 160). Now, while discussing the types of research methodology, it can be said that it can be either descriptive, exploratory or causal in nature. Descriptive research is conducted when the main objective is to describe market related characteristics. Exploratory research is done when the focus is to discover new insights in regards to the main research question. Causal research is done when the researcher wants to explore a particular cause and effect kind of a relationship (Malhotra and Dash, 2008, p. 81). 5 different types of secondary research The five different types of secondary research that are available to the researcher are: government publications, online dat abases, data from previous research available in various research papers and research magazines, published magazines, secondary data from syndicate organizations. Nature of Research required for the new product Taking into consideration the nature of the product, it can be appropriate to do a secondary research followed by a primary research to gauge the reaction of the consumers in regards to the

Virgin bed & breakfast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Virgin bed & breakfast - Essay Example There has been provided the analysis of the difference between the underlying profit and the statutory profit of the virgin bed and breakfast. The estimated profit with the tax of ?481m is ?110m. This recorded as being high because of the increased interest charged on the B&B working capital faculty and the government loan plus the size of lower balance sheet (Taparia, 2003 Pg. 38). Income statement information for the six months is restated according to an interim financial report that would provide consistence with the restatement in the 2013 annual reports and accounts for B&B and Virgin. Summary Income Statement 4 months to 30 May 2013 4 months to 30 may2012* 12 months to 31 December 2012 1000? 1000? 1000? Fundamental Net Interest Income Fundamental net non interest income** 723.1 900.9 1,722.4 39.0 14.7 36.5 Fundamental net operating Ongoing administrative Deficiency on loans and advances to customers Net deficiency on investment securities 637.3 816.4 1,533.4 (103.5) (104.5) (2 31.2) 7.3 3.2 57.5 Unrealized fair price movements on financial instruments Hedge vanity Other net administrative expenses - Provision for customer restore Gain on rebuying of capital instruments Profit on disposal of credit linked notes (43.9) (12.8) 79.2 (23.5) (34.4) (75.2) 3.1) (65.2) (65.0) - - - - 348.1 Statutory profit before taxation 347 550 1,298.2 The Virginia will apply some derivative financial equipment for economic purposes. Some of the instruments made and accounted for the compliant fair value. If the effective fair value is established, the movement fair value movement of the derivative is set in part or in full by the value of the edged instrument. In the virgin B&B, basis swaps are designated into a cash flow hedge. The active customer contact program for all unsecured loan payment protection is keenly observed. For the pest analysis, the Virgin has established some strongholds for its survival. Some established mechanisms of survival that would ensure that the vi rgin bed and breakfast would achieve its objectives. Several proposals have been made for the favour of the industry. Through the proposed functioning of the government departments and agencies, the virgin B&B would establish its objectives. The UK government has proposed some tax proposal that may be an increase of 5-10% that would make the UK one of the highest tax holiday destinations. This would cause a decrease for people coming into England but could increase our sales, as we will have prices below average. In addition to this, There could be an increase in travel to the UK which is due to exchange rates being low and thus and increase in customers for our B&B. Change of trends towards luxury hotels or camping and other alternative ways of travelling may influence our sales. In the side of technology, In the future, businessperson may require expensive technologies and consequently would not be able to provide all the essential facilities for our target customers needs. Balanc e Sheet Assets Q1 Ending 31st September 201 Q2 Q3 Q4 Cash/Overdraft 30,290.00 60,389.60 60,389.60 60,389.60 Total assets 30,290.00 60,389.60 60,389.60 60,389.60 And Stockholders' Equity Shareholder’s Capital 50,000. 50,000.00 50,000.00 50,000.00 Owners Equity 19,710.00 10,389.60 10,389.6 10,389.60 Total Liab 30,290.00 60,389.60 60,389.60 60,389.60 Bed & Breakfasts can have a great competitive advantage to the other Hotels in UK; this takes the advantage of

Opportunity for Expansion - the Case of Wal-Mart Essay

Opportunity for Expansion - the Case of Wal-Mart - Essay Example The expansion of a firm in the international market is often considered as the most effective method for increasing organizational competitiveness and ensuring a long – term growth. In practice, this strategy can be risky, especially if it is not carefully planned. The level at which opportunities for expansion need to be used by organizations for improving their market position is reviewed in this paper. Reference is made to a specific organization, Wal-Mart, a major competitor in the global retail industry. Currently the firm operates in about 27 countries (Wal-Mart 2012, corporate website). Despite its success, the firm tries to secure its market position through continuous expansion; in US market, where the firm is based, the chances for further growth seems to be limited. The expansion in the international market seems to be the firm’s only chance for achieving a long – term growth. 2. Expansion in new markets – Wal-Mart 2.1 Background Wal-Mart is a l eading firm in the international retail market. The firm’s stores are dispersed globally, making Wal-Mart one of the most powerful competitors in its industry. The firm was first established in 1962, in USA (Wal-Mart 2012, corporate website). ... In 2010, the firm planned to increase their international stores, approximately by ‘600 stores worldwide’ (Tice 2010). For the US market, the establishment of just 160 new stores was considered as sufficient for responding to customers’ needs (Tice 2010). In 2012, the firm plans to invest a high amount of money, about $750 million (CBC News 2012), for expanding its operations in Canada. The above investment involves in the ‘renovation and expansion of the firm’s existing stores creating 14,000 new jobs across Canada’ (CBC News 2012). It should be noted that in 2011, the firm had developed a major plan of expansion in the US market, adding ‘hundreds of small stores across US under the name Wal-Mart Express’ (Bustillo 2011). This is an effort for expansion in the internal market, as combined with the expansion internationally, which is considered as quite important for standardizing the firm’s performance in USA. The opportuni ties of expansion given to Wal-Mart, as described above, are analyzed below; reference is made to appropriate theory but also to the practical implications of the particular initiatives. Also, the potential effects of these strategies on the organization’s performance are discussed, as they can be estimated by using the figures presented in the firm’s financial reports for the last 5 years, a period during which the firm’s efforts for expanding internationally have become intensive. 2.2 Evaluation of the firm’s current expansion strategies 2.2.1 Organizational expansion in theory The decision of organizations to expand their activities internationally can be based on different criteria. According to the ‘monopolistic advantage theory’ (Luo 1999, p.27), organizations may decide to expand in the global