United States Policy Towards The Iraq War - 1501 Words

United States policy towards the Iran-Iraq war was interesting to say the least. While the United States claimed to be a neutral party, they supported Iraq for the majority of the war, supported Iran for a brief period, then went back to only supporting Iraq. Both sides committed numerous atrocities and war crimes, and for the most part received little to no American condemnation. Through this essay, I will explore the reasons for the US involvement, and their responses to a number of war crimes, particularly Iraq’s use of chemical weapons throughout the war. Firstly, it is important to understand why the United States decided to support Iraq. One of the reasons, is their loss of Iran as one of their â€Å"twin pillars.† When Nixon took office in 1969, his administration undertook a major review of US Persian Gulf policy. As part of an effort to redefine US military interests in key areas throughout the world by way of supporting certain states with arms rather th an military forces. The result was the Nixon Doctrine, which relied on security cooperation with regional states to protect US interests around the world. In the Gulf, the United States heavily supported Iran and Saudi Arabia, a strategy that would quickly be known as the â€Å"Twin Pillar Policy.† Unfortunately for the United States, the overthrow of the Shah in 1979 shattered the pillar that was Iran. The leader of the Islamic revolution in Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, denounced the United States as the â€Å"GreatShow MoreRelatedThe Realist and Liberalist Perspectives on International Relations and US Policy Stance Toward Iraq1186 Words   |  5 PagesThe Realist and Liberalist Perspectives on International Relations and US Policy Stance Toward Iraq There are two prominent stances in International Relations. The schools of thought are commonly referred to as realist and liberalist. There are various names that they are called, and they can also be split further into subdivisions. However, for the purposes of this question I will just refer to the main schools of thought, and the main aims of both the paradigms. At aRead MoreEssay about Machiavelli and War on Terror1100 Words   |  5 Pagesnewly acquired state. Machiavelli lived in a time when a ruler could come to possess another kingdom through the simple act of war. Yet, in our modernity, a ruler cannot simply declare war and occupy a territory. He must also face repercussions from the other world powers that are in existence today. Our time has evolved and a ruler now has to take into consideration the opinions of other world powers along with the opinion of other global organizations such as NATO and the United Nations. In termsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Proclamation Of Baghdad Essay1495 Words   |  6 PagesTowards the beginning of Emma Sky’s memoirs of her time working as a representative and advisor to the United States government in Iraq, she writes of one day in 2003 when the people of the city of Kirkuk, where she was stationed, whispered frantic rumors of a Jihadi infiltration of the city. To allay those fears, Colonel William Mayville, Commander of the U.S. Army s 173rd Airborne Brigade in Kirkuk, prepared a media statement for the city. The speech was entitled â€Å"to the People of Kirkuk ProvinceRead MoreInternational Policy Between Western Countries And The Middle East Essay1377 Words   |  6 PagesCHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION 1) ISIS changed foreign policy between western countries and the Middle East Data Analysis and Sources: *Empirical history USA Foreign policy: From 1945 to 1990 the United States of America kept an important military deployment in Europe and Asia and in contrast they had a low military footprint in the Middle East counting relying instead on their local allies; more particularly the conservative Arab monarchies in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Persian gulf and hadRead MoreGeorge W. Bush s Foreign Policy Successful1601 Words   |  7 Pagesforeign policy successful?  ¬ â€Å"Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel American resolve† - George. W. Bush Prior to World War I, the United States’ foreign policy remained predominantly isolated. However, upon the end of the war, American foreign policy saw a pragmatic shift from its original isolationistic nature to XXXXX . America’s policy then wasRead More Efficacy of Iraqi Sanctions Essay1540 Words   |  7 PagesEfficacy of Iraqi Sanctions As United States foreign policy has matured in the wake of the Vietnam Conflict, a seemingly bloodless, less nationally controversial tool than war has emerged. The United States has begun to slap economic sanctions on rogue nations in lieu of or in addition to sending in the Armed Forces. This policy of sanctioning nations begs one to ponder the legitimacy thereof. A specific case to be examined is the Iraqi conflict. In response to Iraqà ­s hostile takeover of KuwaitRead More The Effects of Reagan and Bush’s Policies in El Essay1696 Words   |  7 PagesThe Effects of Reagan and Bush’s Policies in El Salvador and Iraq United States foreign policy, since the Cold War, has been driven by ideology: good versus evil, capitalism versus communism, and democracy versus totalitarianism. America’s foreign policy objective from 1945 to 1991 was to contain communism, prompting Cold War calculus – the enemy of your enemy is your friend. The United States, following Cold War calculus, allied with unscrupulous leaders opposed to communism,Read MoreThe September 11 Terrorist Attacks904 Words   |  4 PagesFollowing the September 11 terrorist attacks, American foreign policy altered to a more neoconservative approach embracing a proactive policy contingent upon American military power. Unlike the previous cold war policies of the Truman Doctrine that advocated deterrence and containment, this new approach became a hybrid of Wilsonianism and Jacksonianism where liberalism fused with realist means to produce a unilateral American government unafraid to demonstrate their power in order to preserve AmericanRead MoreThe United States Military Functions As The World s Police1215 Words   |  5 PagesAfter the Civil War and by the mid-20th century, the United States had become the governing force in international relations. Some have argues that the United States’ military functions as the world’s â€Å"police.† This essay covers international events from the past five years that can be tracked back to a foreign policy created after the Civil War and the manner in which this shift occurred and the consequences the United States faces as a result of its status as policemen of the world. Also, the actionRead MorePoliceman of the World Essay916 Words   |  4 Pagesindependence from the British in 1776, the United States foreign policy over the years has gone from expansionist to isolationism to defending democracy. With the responsibility of defending democratic rights for those who cannot defend themselves, the United States in my opinion has taken on the role of â€Å"policeman of the world.† This role became more evident with the use of U.S. military force in international incidents like U.S. intervention in the 2011 Libyan Civil War to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Evolved in Response to Antibiotic Free Essays

string(113) " a solution to become more resistant to the antibiotic until it completely becomes unscathed to them \(Bright\)\." How have Mycobacterium tuberculosis evolved in response to antibiotic use? Section 1 P1: (Words: 177) Since antibiotics has been discovered in 1920 by a Scottish microbiologist Alexander Fleming, people began to have access to treatments for infectious diseases (Bright). However, over time these M. tuberculosis has evolved and became resistant to antibiotics through constant use and incorrect usage (Bright). We will write a custom essay sample on Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Evolved in Response to Antibiotic or any similar topic only for you Order Now It is important to solve this health issue because it has created a serious problem to the people who are infected by diseases since these antibiotics are no longer effective. It is estimated that approximately 77,000 people were killed by resistant M. tuberculosis in the United States (Bright) and the medical cost to treat infections with antibiotic resistance has reached as high up to 44 billion dollars every year (Larsen). In the article of â€Å"Antibiotics Resistance† by Pushpa Larsen, roughly about 70 percent of those 2 million people in the United States who has became infected with diseases within a year were resistant to antibiotics that was being commonly treated in the hospitals (Larsen). With an overuse and misuse of antibiotics by the human population, it increases the chance of M. tuberculosis to evolve and have the ability to become resistant. Section 1 P2: (Words: 482) As people take antibiotics constantly and antibiotics that treats for a variety of M. tuberculosis, over a period of time it usually results in M. tuberculosis being resistant, and the only way to solve this is to change the human behavior. Since M. tuberculosis can reproduce rapidly within hours or days, the big population of the M. uberculosis causes the increase of adaptation to different environment (Bright). The ‘fast generation’ mentioned in the article of â€Å"Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance,† claimed that with such massive population, it also can rise the possibility of mutation in genes which causes variation (Bright). With having more chance of resulting variation among these huge quantity of population in M. tuberculosis, there will be more chance of these M. uber culosis with mutation to be selected for the environment due to natural selection. With M. tuberculosis being able to use specific tools gained from the gene, each can perform different methods of being resistance to the antibiotic’; for example, by taking ‘a gene from another bacterium’ (Bright). Scientists measure the percentage of M. Tuberculosis by using a special tool called, spectrophotometer to shoot out light and count the percentage of M. tuberculosis present in the tube. A certain amount of M. Tuberculosis will be added into the tube and place it inside the spectrophotometer to measure the percentage of population present in the tube by using a specific light of wave length with a scale pointing to how much light is being present (Ferguson, 2012). With having a higher population in the culture, the less light it will be shown in the spectrophotometer (Ferguson, 2012). When antibiotics are added into the tube, those that are not resistant to the antibiotics are being killed, but those that are resistant survive (Ferguson, 2012). The measurement will show the amount of population being resistant to antibiotics by the scale shown in the spectrophotometer (Ferguson, 2012). There are no treatments to stop the M. tuberculosis from being resistant to antibiotics. However, we can help solve the problem of more bacteria being resistant to antibiotics by decreasing the amount use of antibiotics and taking antibiotics in the full cycle as prescribed by the doctor (Bright). The amount of antibiotics that people take is about 235 million doses a year, and approximately ‘one third to one half’ of the antibiotics being taken are not needed (Larsen). A research has found that patients have been demanding antibiotics from doctors even though the patient’s cold or other infections does not require any antibiotic use (Bright). The antibiotic misuse by people is that patients usually stop taking antibiotics once they feel that their cold or viral diseases is much better (Larsen). This can lead to the resistance in M. tuberculosis and ‘develop a stronger defense’(Larsen). By changing the human actions towards the use of antibiotics, it can help solve the problem of bacterium evolved in response to antibiotics. Section 2 P3 + P4 combine (Words: 407) The measurement of spectrophotometer to determine the percentage of M. Tuberculosis and the theory of natural selection both determines an effective way of observing how M. Tuberculosis evolved in response to antibiotics. By measuring the percentage of M. Tuberculosis present in a tube, the method of using spectrophotometer helps scientists to observe and witness the evolution of how M. Tuberculosis became more resistant to antibiotics overtime (Ferguson, 2012). The resistance of M. tuberculosis in ntibiotics due to evolution theory of natural selection, those that favors in the natural selection tends to survive and reproduce to carry on their traits (Bright). As they reproduce, an immense volume of culture is being duplicated which increases more chance of variation among the tremendous population (Bright). Scientists uses tool like spectrophotometer to observe the rate of M. Tuberculosis being killed, and how those survived bacteria regained its immune towards antibiotics the next time it is being added to the culture (Ferguson, 2012). As each time an antibiotic is being added to the culture, those without resistance dies and those with, remain alive (Ferguson, 2012). Those that does live, increases and continues to grow (Ferguson, 2012). But, when an antibiotic is being added into the culture again in the next round, the rate of resistance of M. Tuberculosis increases in terms of building up a defense and using methods as in gaining a gene from a bacteria to become immune to antibiotics (Bright). Overtime, the increase number of antibiotics added into the culture rapidly escalates and boost up the number of M. Tuberculosis being resistant (Ferguson, 2012). By looking at the theory of natural selection, those with best suited traits tends to be selected for, and reproduce in massive quantities which increases a greater possibility in variation. Either an antibiotic is being ameliorated from the former antibiotic or a completely recent developed antibiotic is invented, M. Tuberculosis will always find a solution to become more resistant to the antibiotic until it completely becomes unscathed to them (Bright). You read "Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Evolved in Response to Antibiotic" in category "Essay examples" As more M. uberculosis gain further ability in building defense against the antibiotics, the more they reproduce those immune duplicates, the more difficult it will be for the human to fight against these M. Tuberculosis since they develop resistance. With the overpopulation of these cultures, the probability of variation is very high due to mutation in the gene (Bright). The method of m easuring the increase in resistance helps benefits scientists to understand how M. Tuberculosis has evolve in response due to antibiotics and natural selection by using spectrophotometer. Section 3 P5 + P6 combine: (Words: 429) With the science application use of measurement of M. Tuberculosis percentage resistant to antibiotics and the theory of natural selection effects us socially in terms of causing chaos among the society with being unable to cure these M. Tuberculosis as they continue to become more resistant. Patients usually demands and gives pressure on doctors to provide them with antibiotics even when not needed (Bright). This usually is the reason to why M. Tuberculosis evolve and become resistant to antibiotics rapidly as more variation is present by the massive reproduction of M. Tuberculosis (Pitman, 2004). If the doctor suggests the patient to not take antibiotics, because it might cause the resistance towards antibiotics, then it is likely that patients will still insist to take those antibiotics just to cure their infections or cold. Such aspect of the patient shows that they have no tolerance towards the future crisis of the uprising war between antibiotics and M. Tuberculosis. When a doctor insists their patients to take antibiotics as described in the instructions of the cycle, patients usually feel that their freedom of choice is being pressured and mostly they will go with their own opinion and decision making towards the use of antibiotics (Tekstiin, 2009). As patients sense that their cold or infectious disease has become better, they usually stop taking the antibiotics (Tekstiin, 2009). The reason for this is because some patients think that their immune system have the ability to fight against the bacteria present in their body. Research have found that taking antibiotics are very detrimental to the body in terms of damaging the good bacteria, as well as decreasing the competition between the harmful bacteria and the beneficial bacteria existing in your body (Tekstiin, 2009). In the future when people are infected by infectious diseases, the infection in the human body will not be effected by the antibiotics since they have evolved resistance towards antibiotics (Tekstiin, 2009). With this reason, as more people get infected with diseases, the antibiotics will be ineffective and cause turmoil among the society because doctors will be unable to cure them since the resistance in M. tuberculosis continues to rise rapidly. As a large percentage of the people becomes infected with diseases that are unable to be treated, the world could lose a massive population because more and more people are infected by the disease each day. The science application of measurement on resistance in M. Tuberculosis and the natural selection links to the factor socially with the cause of ineffectiveness of most antibiotics towards M. Tuberculosis, causing a huge loss in human population. Section 3 P7 + P8 combine: (Words: ) Scientists observe the measurement of percentage in M. Tuberculosis by looking at the curve of the increasing resistance in antibiotics as the natural selection provides the chance of stronger resistance due to variation of M. Tuberculosis; and with this, scientists are able to predict that it will effect the society economically in terms of medical costs to treat resistance in antibiotics. With people constantly overusing antibiotics for treating their infections or cold; overtime, those M. Tuberculosis that survived recovers by reproducing a large quantity of population and develop a defense against the antibiotics (â€Å"Antibiotic resistance,† 2008). As more antibiotics are given and added to kill the M. Tuberculosis, they become more resistant each time and soon, they will become completely resistant to antibiotics within a short period of time. As the number of resistant M. Tuberculosis increases, the more time and money scientists will have to invest on research and create antibiotics to treat the infected growing human population. With the experimentation, tools and a variety solutions of antibiotics, it all comes with a large amount of money. The healthcare system might find themselves drowning and finding difficulty in finance since a large amount of money will be spent on medical research and care (â€Å"Study on the,† 2009). Also, they will find trouble in restoring their stability in health care for the people when several people are dying since no treatment can be cured (â€Å"Study on the,† 2009). However, it is not only the scientists and the healthcare association who suffers, but also the infected patient’s families as well. To treat such infection with resistance towards antibiotics it comes to a huge cost in finance for the patient’s family (â€Å"Study on the,† 2009). The prediction of the high medical cost in the future by looking at the increasing rate of resistance of M. Tuberculosis in antibiotics by the scientists show how this problem of the uprising resistance towards antibiotics effects us economically when no cure can be treated. Section 4 P9: (Words: 309) The social limitations of the measurement in the increasing percentage of M. Tuberculosis developing into a newly developed antibiotic resistant bacteria links with the natural selection of massive reproduction in the M. Tuberculosis that increases the chance of variation among the huge population, that causes the rising probability in resistant to antibiotics, which creates a numerous number of patients to suffer severely when no treatments are to be able to completely cure the continuous developing new bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Understanding the measurement of the change in the increase rate of new evolved M. uberculosis effects not just the people but also the society in whole as well. Overtime, as people continuously take antibiotics to treat infections, those survived M. Tuberculosis develops into a new stronger bacteria resistant to the antibiotics, due to natural selection of variation among the huge population of the culture (Larsen). As scientists creates new antibiotics to treat such newly developed antibiotic-resistant M. Tuberculosis, the se variation in the M. Tuberculosis will continue to become stronger and develop immune towards these new antibiotics (Bright). By applying the theory of evolution of M. Tuberculosis being more resistant to antibiotics by natural selection of variation in overpopulation, it impacts on the people socially with infections that continuously rises in population and keeps on developing into a new and stronger M. Tuberculosis that is unable to be treated, it will cause a major problem in our society where a large percent of the human population are suffering from the continuous developing new variation of M. Tuberculosis (Bright). With the huge population of culture, variation among these population is high which increases the rising rate of new developed M. Tuberculosis resistant to antibiotics that causes an issue in our society of people to be troubled by the fact of the continuous treatment to cure for unrepeated variation in M. Tuberculosis. Section 4 P10: (Words: 345) The measurement of the rising percentage of the huge population in newly developed antibiotic-resistant M. Tuberculosis, and the overpopulation in natural selection that leads to the high possibility in variation effects the people economically in terms of the difficulty in treatment necessary to cure the patient’s continuous infected disease that is antibiotic-resistant with the variation in the M. Tuberculosis, that causes billions of dollars to treat this non-stop evolution of M. Tuberculosis. As doctors treats patients with antibiotics for their infected disease, some M. Tuberculosis in the infected disease are killed and some remain alive (Pitman, 2004). Those that survives, reproduces in large quantities and in those massive population, the high probability of variation that becomes immune towards antibiotics among the huge population rises (Pitman, 2004). When scientists invents new antibiotics to treat for the newly developed M. Tuberculosis, the survived M. Tuberculosis evolves and becomes more resistant to antibiotics because of natural selection (Pitman, 2004). M. Tuberculosis adapts to the antibiotics and evolve in response through the constant use of antibiotics that causes them to become more resistant (Pitman, 2004). With people spending roughly about 44 billion dollars every year on treating the continuous appearing new variation of M. Tuberculosis, it has created a burden in finance when there are no treatment to completely obliterate the variation in M. Tuberculosis since they always develop resistance to antibiotics (Larsen). In order to treat the continuous antibiotic-resistant variation in M. Tuberculosis, it will effect tremendously on the infected patient or their family and the hospital in terms of the finance in the medical cost (â€Å"Study on the,† 2009). In the end, people will end up paying endlessly on antibiotics to treat these non-stop evolving resistant variation in M. Tuberculosis. With the continual of M. Tuberculosis in evolving into a newly antibiotic-resistant with the natural selection of variation because of the massive population that increases the possibility of mutation in gene, it will cost economically on the people to spend on the treatment to cure for the never-ending variation in M. Tuberculosis that is resistant to antibiotics. Works Cited Antibiotic resistance. (2008). Retrieved from http://www. sciencedaily. com/articles/a/antibiotic_resistance. htm Bright, K. (n. d. ). Applied evolution unit: Evolution of antibiotic resistance. Retrieved from http://evoled. dbs. umt. edu/lessons/background. htm Ferguson, D. 2012, May 14). Measuring antibiotics resistance. Personal Communication . Larsen, P. (n. d. ). Antibiotics resistance. Retrieved from http://www. naturalchoice. net/articles/antibiotics. htm Pitman, S. (2004, December). Antibiotic resistance. Retrieved from http://www. detectingdesign. com/antibioticresistance. html Study on the economic impact of antibiotic overus e and antibiotic-resistant infections. (2009, October 19). Retrieved from http://www. news-medical. net/news/20091019/Study-on-the-economic-impact-of-antibiotic-overuse-and-antibiotic-resistant-infections. aspx? page=2 Tekstiin, T. (2009, November 11). The long-term effects of antibiotics on health and immunity. Retrieved from http://inhumanexperiment. blogspot. jp/2009/11/long-term-effects-of-antibiotics-on. html Bibliography Davies, J. , Davies, D. (n. d. ). Origins and evolution of antibiotic resistance. Retrieved from http://mmbr. asm. org/content/74/3/417. full Kunkel, D. (n. d. ). Antibiotic resistance: Delaying the inevitable. Retrieved from http://evolution. berkeley. edu/evosite/relevance/IA1antibiotics2. shtml Microevolution antibiotic-resistant bacteria. (2012, April 18). Retrieved from http://alexa2b. edublogs. org/2012/04/18/microevolution-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria/ How to cite Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Evolved in Response to Antibiotic, Essay examples

Social Work Case Study

Question: Discuss about the Social Work Case Study. Answer: Impression of the Client: Jessica Smith has approached to the community centre with hope of some mediation and guide due to the present turmoil in her family life. From the given referral, she has been assessed as a quite sensible human being and a dignified personality. Besides, she has been a doting mother and presently is worried about her childrens future and safety as her partner Jim fails to carry out the responsibility as a father and family-head. The main issue Jessica has been facing with her partner Jim, who has become alcoholic; also, he has not been contributing financially in the family, as he prefers to spend more on alcohol. At present, the entire pressure of running a family is on Jessica and the absence of her partners emotional and financial support has made her dejected. As Jessica is a self-earning woman and self-possessed too she will only need guidance and before her problem aggravates she may need some mediation of the community centre (Thompson, 2015). Applying Ethical Principles: The first ethical principle that will be under consideration in this case is the clients confidentiality. Since Jessica has a sensitive case and she has trusted the community center in this matter, it is the responsibility of the center not to disclose her identity and details (Practical Ethics Series, 2017). Any advice or opinion will be provided with the permission of the client (Practical Ethics Series, 2017). Working in Partnership: Working in partnership in the context of social work underpins the ideas of empowerment, humanity, trust, equity, independence and respect (McAuliffe, 2014). According to this concept the client is valued, his needs and strengths defined, the barriers of the persons cased are identified, next solutions are developed. Working in partnership facilitates the workload to be equally distributed among the practitioners, organization as well as the users (Glasby Dickinson, 2014). Thus, adequate support is possible to offer to the client and expert professionals are able to work together in their respective expertise. In the very first meeting, working in partnership is certain to help in the case of Jessica because she has been having a serious issue to deal with. To help Jessica in recovering the situation, one psychological counselor along with a marriage counselor can be called in. The psychological counselor would help her recovering from depression and provide her suggestions on how to manage her childrens emotions, who are also going through a tough phase. On the other hand, the marriage counselor would help her to communicate with Jim and make peace with him. Lastly, I would act as her moral support all through the session and as a community member would resource her with better earning ways in the community so that she becomes self-reliant financially. References: Glasby, J., Dickinson, H. (2014).Partnership working in health and social care: what is integrated care and how can we deliver it?. Policy Press. McAuliffe, D. (2014).Interprofessional ethics: Collaboration in the social, health and human services. Cambridge University Press. Practical Ethical (2017) (1st ed.). Retrieved from https://www.acwa.org.au/resources/ACWA_Code_of_ethics_Jan_2017.pdf Thompson, N. (2015).Understanding social work: Preparing for practice. Palgrave Macmillan.

My Alert Case free essay sample

Was the first to see the business opportunity in the mobile alerts. The idea was already working well in another channel (Internet). The mobile phone market was growing very quickly. They offered a wide range and tailor-made services. Besides as MyAlert will be the first in the market, the technology investment could became a strength and turn it in an entry barrier, thing that actually happened. For these reasons we can assert that MyAlert was a good business idea. Which is the competitive advantage of MyAlert when it is launched? How the competitive advantage and business model evolves? Why? Is it sustainable? The competitive advantage of MyAlert at the begging was its own technological platform (MAGO). The platform was Valuable because was the core of the business also it was Inimitable, Rareness and Original due to they developed it from the scratch and was the first in the market specifically designed for its business model. We will write a custom essay sample on My Alert Case or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Content Production Design Packaging 1- Corporate Customers Distribution Sales 2- Other Customers Provision of Infrastructure (Mobile Operators) Looking at the value chain of MyAlet we can see highlight in red their core activity, their platform allowed them to distribute the content throw the network to the final customers, the key was that the platform has a great scalability able to distribute data throw different technology enablers (GMS, GPRS†¦) From the beginning they realized that text alerts could be used to provide customized services for corporate partners exploiting new business opportunities and here we can see a new competitive advantage because the company was able to introduce their investors into its own value chain getting content and a solid customer portfolio. This is a win win situation, the investors provide contents and the MyAlert provides them a new innovative service for them increasing the company revenues as well as turn over for the shareholders, this business model provides feedback itself being able to maintain it in the long run. After the merger MyAlert, which started providing data services for the mobile industry, changed its product portfolio and business model providing technology and mobile marketing services. Thanks to MAGO platform MyAlert was far superior technologically than Buongiorno!. On the other hand appeared a new product â€Å"consumer services† (ring tones, logos†¦) the new company had to adapt its business model including consumer services which soon produced benefits. Also they were able to keep creating new business models as â€Å"Digital Marketing Project†. As we have seen MyAlert is a good example of how a company is able to adapt and survive in a really dynamic environment what changes pretty fast, adapting and creating new business models and investing in technology in order to keep its leading position. Is the merge with Buongiorno! a must or just a good idea? Definitely the merge was a MUST, MyAlert had become a world leader and to keep this status they needed to remain this position in every market, soon they realized that it was impossible to achieve through organic growth. The economical environment was unstable due to the dot com crisis, investors become more demanding looking for positives results in the short term, competitors started to appear and revenues from advertising and m-commerce were reduced due to the economic crisis. All this factors push to Mr. Jorge and his team to look for a similar company with the same goal to join forces and survive in the long term, and this is how they found Buongiorno! And merge in order to keep growing in a very competitive dynamic market.

recruit, select and induct staff Essay Example

recruit, select and induct staff Essay Example recruit, select and induct staff Paper recruit, select and induct staff Paper 1 . What is a selection report, how is compiled, what is included in a selection report and why is it an important piece of documentation in the recruitment and selection process? The selection report is the official record of the selection process. The main purpose of the selection report is to convey the panels recommendation, and provide enough information for the delegate to make an informed and fair recruitment decision. The final decision to select an applicant or take other action rests with the delegate. The selection report should also be used when providing eedback to individual candidates who request post-selection feedback. The selection report must demonstrate with rigour how the selection panel used an evidenced base selection process to arrive at its conclusion, and will be used in the case of a review. Documents to be attached to the selection report include: 0 referee checks 0 a copy of the interview questions (interview guide and selection options matrix) 0 the short-listing grid 0 any other evidence gathered which supports the recommendation 2.. Recruitment is one of the functions that HR practitioners are responsible for. What is recruitment nd what does it involve? How does recruitment fit into the HR life cycle? Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, selecting, and onboarding a qualified person for a Job. At the strategic level it may involve the development of an employer brand which includes an employee offering. Human resource management (HRM), also called personnel management, consists of all the activities undertaken by an enterprise to ensure the effective utilization of employees toward the attainment of individual, group, and organizational goals. An organizations HRM function focuses on the people side of management. It consists of practices that help the organization to deal effectively with its people during the various phases of the employment cycle, including pre-hire, staffing, and post-hire. The pre-hire phase involves planning practices. The organization must decide what types of Job openings will exist in the upcoming period and determine the necessary qualifications for performing these Jobs. During the hire phase, the organization selects its employees. Selection practices include recruiting applicants, assessing their qualifications, and ultimately selecting those who are deemed to be the most qualified. How does an interview panel will assess each applicant and select the preferred candidate? After the final interview, panel members should compare their ratings and judgements amongst themselves. It is preferable to review candidates and their performances immediately after the interview process whilst the information is still fresh in the minds of the panel. All discussion should be s upported by assessment evidence not Just personal impression. Candidates should be rated against the agreed and specified criteria and not against each other. Further information from ny additional sources should be included in these discussions. Time to review and discuss should be timetabled into the interview/selection planning. However, it is not essential that recommendation for appointment has to be made on the same day as the interviews. Every appointment is a serious investment and the selection decision considered an option and is preferable to making what could prove to be a poor appointment due to a hasty decision. 4. What is discrimination? What can organisations do to ensure that they comply with anti discrimination and equal opportunity legislation in the recruitment process? Direct or overt discrimination is any action that specifically excludes a person or a group of people from a benefit or opportunity, or significantly reduces chances of obtaining it because a personal characteristics, irrelevant to a situation, is applied as a barrier. National and state laws cover equal employment opportunity and anti- discrimination in the workplace. Youre required by these laws to create a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. Its important that as an employer, you understand your rights and responsibilities under human rights and anti- discrimination law.

How to Use Focus Groups in Marketing Research

How to Use Focus Groups in Marketing Research Focus groups are a form of qualitative research that is commonly used in product marketing and marketing research, but it is a popular method within sociology as well. During a focus group, a group of individuals- usually 6-12 people- is brought together in a room to engage in a guided discussion of a topic. Lets say youre beginning a research project on the popularity of Apple products. Perhaps you want to conduct in-depth interviews with Apple consumers, but before doing that, you want to get a feel for what kinds of questions and topics will work in an interview, and also see if consumers might bring up topics that you wouldnt think to include in your list of questions. A focus group would be a great option for you to talk casually with Apple consumers about what they like and dont like about the companys products, and how they use the products in their lives. The participants of a focus group are selected based on their relevance and relationship to the topic under study. They are not typically chosen through rigorous, probability sampling methods, which means that they do not statistically represent any meaningful population. Rather, participants are chosen through word-of-mouth, advertising, or  snowball sampling, depending on the type of person and characteristics the researcher is looking to include. Advantages of Focus Groups There are many advantages of a focus group: As a socially oriented research method, it captures real-life data in a social setting.It is flexible.It has high face validity, meaning that it measures what it is intended to measure.It generates quick results.It costs little to conduct.Group dynamics often bring out aspects of the topic or reveal information about the subject that may not have been anticipated by the researcher or emerged from individual interviews. Disadvantages of Focus Groups On the downside: The researcher has less control over the session than he or she does in individual interviews.Data can sometimes be difficult to analyze.Moderators require certain skills.Differences between groups can be troublesome.Groups can often be difficult to pull together.The discussion must be conducted in a conducive environment. Basic Steps In Conducting a Focus Group Some basic steps should be involved when conducting a focus group, from preparation to data analysis. Preparing For the Focus Group: Identify the main objective of the focus group.Carefully develop your focus group questions. Your focus group should generally last 1 to 1 1/2  hours, which is usually enough time to cover 5 or 6 questions.Call potential participants to invite them to the meeting. Focus groups generally consist of six to 12 participants who have some similar characteristic (e.g., age group, status in a program, etc.). Select participants who are likely to participate in discussions and who don’t all know each other.Send a follow-up invitation with a proposed agenda, questions up for discussion, and time/location details.Three days before the focus group, call each participant to remind them of the meeting. Planning the Session: Schedule a time that is convenient for most people. Plan the focus group to take between 1 and 1 1/2 hours. Lunchtime or dinnertime is usually a good time for people, and if you serve food, they are more likely to attend.Find a good setting, such as a conference room, with good airflow and lighting. Configure the room so that all members can see each other. Provide nametags as well as refreshments. If your focus group is at lunch or dinnertime, be sure to provide food as well.Set some ground rules for the participants that help foster participation and keep the session moving along appropriately. For example- 1. Stay focused on the subject/question, 2. Keep the momentum of the conversation going, and 3. Get closure on each question.Make an agenda for the focus group. Consider the following: Welcome, review of agenda, review of the goal of the meeting, review of ground rules, introductions, questions and answers, and wrap up.Don’t count on your memory for information shared at the focus group. Plan to record the session with either an audio or video recorder. If this isn’t possible, involve a co-facilitator who takes good notes. Facilitating the Session: Introduce yourself and your co-facilitator, if you have one.Explain your need and reason for recording the focus group discussion.Carry out the agenda.Carefully word each question to the group. Before a group discussion, allow everyone a few minutes to carefully record his or her responses or answers. Then, facilitate discussion around the answers to each question, one at a time.After the discussion of each question, reflect back to the group a summary of what you just heard. If you have a note-taker/co-facilitator, he or she may do this.Ensure even participation among the group. If a few people are dominating the conversation, then call on others. Also, consider a round-table approach in which you go in one direction around the table, giving each person a chance to answer the question.Close the session by thanking the participants and telling them that they will receive a copy of the report generated as a result of the discussion. Immediately After the Session: Verify that the audio or video recorder worked throughout the entire session (if one was used).Make any additional notes on your written notes that you need.Write down any observations you made during the session, such as the nature of participation in the group, any surprises of the session, where and when the session was held, etc. Updated  by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

SUMMARY South African Opposition Picks New Voice Essay

SUMMARY South African Opposition Picks New Voice - Essay Example To entice black voters, the party will have to strive for new policies that address the needs of low income young blacks. Because the next national vote is not until 2014, Ms. Mazibuko must try to place pressure on the government through parliamentary sessions. The previous leader of the party, Athol Trollip, did not appeal to the wider voting public because he is a 47 year old white farmer. In choosing a new type of leader, the Democratic Alliance is attempting to turn over a new page in politics and offer themselves as a viable alternative to the ruling African National Congress. Although the party will focus specifically on blacks’ issues, it is a party that will stand for South Africans are all races. Historically, the Democratic Alliance has been thought of as a white-dominated party. This decision to appoint a black leader is a step into the future and will hopefully result in the Democratic Alliance making more of a difference on the South African political

America's involvement in international affairs in the late 19th Term Paper

America's involvement in international affairs in the late 19th century - Term Paper Example These goals were sought after industrial revolution brought in new set of challenges for the economy and general social and political attitude for the nation as a whole. The America hence figured a well of potentials at seeking to expand and acquire further internal progress with international relations in order to address the increasing necessity for the means to produce goods that directly varied with the demand growth of the period which consequently implied the inevitable requirement for greater number of resources or raw materials most of which are normally found in abundance beyond the country. At a point, American investments focused on mining and sugar operations in Cuba and for several grounds, American interventions were evident in providing aid for Cuban rebellion at the aim of obtaining independence especially when the U.S. saw how such event drastically affected its economic conditions when campaigns to support demolition of American road structures and milling companies became intense. Similarly, though without much success, the United States expressed an intent to settle dispute of 1895 between Venezuela and British Guiana.

Riordan Manufacturing Supply Chain Design Essay Example for Free

Riordan Manufacturing Supply Chain Design Essay A supply chain is the process of moving information and material to and from the manufacturing and service processes of a firm (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Two components encompass the focus of the supply chain: the production, planning, and inventory control process and the distribution process. The supply chain is part of daily business operations and directly affects productivity, efficiency, and financial profitability. Proper management of the supply chain ensures a business delivers quality, cost-efficient products to customers while remaining competitive in today’s global market. Team B provides a review of Riordan Manufacturing’s (RM) production strategy and describes supplier relationships and how they affect the supply chain. Finally, Team B explores how lean production principles and inventory requirements can be used to determine appropriate supply chain processes. Electric Fan Manufacturing Strategy RM uses the level production planning strategy of maintaining a stable workforce to produce electric fans at a constant output rate (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Shortages and surpluses are absorbed with inventory levels, order backlogs, and potential lost sales (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Employees benefit from stable work hours at the cost of increased inventory levels, increased potential of lost sales, risk of obsolete products, and decreased customer service (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Electric Fan Supply Chain RM’s supply chain process flow in Figure 1 provides raw materials to the manufacturing plant and warehouse at the input end and the supply of  completed plastic fans to the customer on the output end of the supply chain (Jacobs Chase, 2011). The supply chain for the individual manufacturing processes is detailed in Figure 2. Figure 1 Riordan Manufacturing Supply Chain Figure 2 Manufacturing Department Supply Chain Process Supplier Relationships and the Supply Chain RM uses vertical integration as the framework for structuring supplier relationships. A vertically integrated process allows RM to control supply chain activities. Strategic activities are a key source of competitive advantage. Instead of outsourcing non-core activities and maintaining only core competencies under management control, RM evaluates each activity using required coordination (the difficulty of ensuring how well activities integrate with the process), strategic control (degree of loss that would result if supplier relationship were severed), and intellectual property techniques (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Other types of losses important to consider include specialized facilities, knowledge of major customer relationships, and investment in research and development (Jacobs Chase, 2011). RM does not outsource activities requiring frequent information exchange but instead outsource highly standardized, well understood, and easily transferrable activities to specialized business partners. Such strategic planning led to RM offshoring their entire fan operation from Pontiac, Michigan, to Hangzhou, China in 2000. This decision allowed RM to operate in a more feasible location, expand exponentially, and maintain financial stability (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Electric Fan Supply Chain Metrics A performance measurement system is vital for businesses to operate efficiently and effectively. According to Jacobs and Chase (2011), â€Å"process performance metrics give the operations manager a gauge on how productively a process currently is operating and how productivity is changing over time† (p. 116). Two metrics used to evaluate the performance of the RM’s electric  fan supply chain are utilization and productivity. Utilization measures the rate at which resources are used compared to time available for use by calculating time activated divided by time available (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Productivity metrics determine the amount of output per unit of time by calculating output divided by input (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Metrics used by consumers to measure supplier performance are also the strategies suppliers use to improve their services. Examples of metrics include improved quality through lower product defects, cost-efficiency, timely delivery, and shorter order fill time. Globalized businesses must not only have capable supply chain partners that support global market initiatives but also have the capability to lower supply chain costs (Handfield, 2012). Lean Production Principles RM can adopt Toyota’s lean principles by using the just-in-time inventory approach that emphasizes elimination of waste (Jacobs Chase, 2011). The lean process is essential for inventory management to reduce manufacturing cost and increase productivity. Inventory is controlled using the lean principles by eliminating extra processes and ordering supplies just-in-time based on value streaming. Value streaming involves understanding â€Å"the value-adding and non-value-adding activities required to design, order, and provide a product or service from concept to launch, order to delivery, and raw materials to customers† (Jacobs Chase, 2011, p. 421). RM’s electric fan production system uses a push system for input from a number of specialized departments such as receiving, molding, trimming, and assembly. Implementing a pull system for its production process helps master the lean production principles through more efficient inventory management and shorter lead time by focusing on building what customers want, when they want it versus producing too many goods that sit in inventory or become obsolete (Turner, 2013). Sales Forecast Forecasting sales provides necessary information to determine inventory needs, production plans, and resource needs to create customer value. Sophisticated statistical analysis, cyclical and seasonal factors, and historical data are important factors in creating a sales forecast for RM. Forecasting Technique Forecasting techniques can be subdivided into two major groups: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative techniques use subjective data that is difficult to represent numerically. It is based on the opinion and judgment of key persons, specialists in products and markets. Quantitative techniques involve numerical analysis of past data unbiased by personal opinions or judgment. This technique employs mathematical models to project future demand. Quantitative forecasting is subdivided into two major groups: time series techniques and causal techniques. RM forecasts future sales based on an average of the previous three years production with the idea that history repeats itself. A quantitative forecasting using the time series technique results in the forecast in table 1. This demand forecast provides information management needs to make decisions on production planning, inventory, and marketing activities. Electric Fan Production Planning Aggregate Production Plan RM’s electric fan aggregate production plan in Table 2 specifies the optimal combination of fan production rate, workforce level, and inventory on hand to minimize the total production-related costs over the planning horizon (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Because RM uses the level production planning strategy, inventory is a cost of business that RM accepts. RM will continue to employ a stable workforce at the cost of inventory. This results in level production of 96K units per month. Fluctuations in demand shown in Figure 3 are absorbed by inventory levels, order backlogs, and potentially lost business (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Figure 3 Riordan Manufacturing Electric Fan Demand and Production Master Production Schedule RM’s master production schedule in Table 3 is the time-phased plan specifying how many and when RM plans to build each electric fan model. Materials Requirements Plan Materials requirements planning (MRP) is essential to manufacturing organizations for calculating and maintaining optimum inventory levels to meet production requirements. Material requirements planning (MRP) is a computer-based inventory management system designed to assist production managers in scheduling and placing orders for dependent demand items. Dependent demand items are components of finished goods—such as raw materials, component parts, and subassemblies—for which the amount of inventory needed depends on the level of production of the final product (Reference for Business, 2nd ed., 2013). A proper MRP puts the organization in a proactive position rather than reactive. MRP assists in reducing inventory levels and component shortages and ensures the right materials are in the right place at the right time, which increases productivity. Other benefits include improved plant efficiency, reduced overtime, higher production quality, and less scrap and rework. RM uses MRP to optimize production based on forecasted sales. Table 4 provides a forecast of finished goods inventory based on the forecasted demand. With this data the  organization can forecast and plan for future production requirements and use materials requirement planning to coordinate accurately inventory, shipping, and production. Riordan Manufacturing uses a fixed order system or meeting its materials requirement needs. They procure the assembled motors for the fans from local manufacturers in quantities adequate to meet its order requirements. They also purchase the plants plastic polymer requirements from local suppliers. To assure consistent operations and quality control, Riordan manufacturing has a set of procedures developed for the management of receiving raw materials, tracking products during manufacturing, accounting for the finished goods inv entories. Conclusion The supply chain is an integral part of an organization’s manufacturing process. A successful supply chain is able manage production costs, increase efficiency and effectiveness, and control inventory flow while averting financial impacts from unexpected supply chain disruptions. Last, an effective supply chain is easily integrated into a business’s production planning, scheduling, and forecasting strategies to achieve maximum results. Reference Handfield, R. (2012). Supplier Development Strategies and Outcomes. Retrieved from http://scm.ncsu.edu/scm-articles/article/supplier-development-strategies-and-outcomes Jacobs, F. R., Chase, R. B. (2011). Operations and Supply Chain Management (13th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Reference for Business, Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed. (2013). Materials Requirement Planning. Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/small/Mail-Op/Material-Requirements-Planning-MRP.html Turner, C. (2013). Pull System. Retrieved from http://leanmanufacturingcoach.com/pullsystem.htm

Nikola Tesla Essays -- Tesla Coil Science Electricity Electron

"Nikola Tesla is the world's greatest inventor, not only at present but in all history...His basic as well as revolutionary discoveries, for sheer audacity, have no equal in the annals of the intellectual world." (Hugo Gernsback, science editor and publisher.) Father of Alternating Current and AC induction motors, Nikola Tesla is known best for the high voltage generator that bears his name- the Tesla Coil. But this limited recognition hardly does justice to his legacy as an inventor. His name should be placed besides Thomas Edison, perhaps his biggest rival, for his contributions to electronics. But while electromagnetism was Tesla's primary focus during his life, the scope of his work and ideas were not so limited. He had many strange inventions and discoveries, many of which where not realized because of his opponents or for personal reasons. Others, as we will see, were simply too far-fetched or ambitious. But much of that story's been told before, just as it has been for countless other great scientists and inventors. Here I hope to focus more on the nature of the man that gives birth to the idea of a global night-light or a mail tube beneath the Atlantic, and the other radical ideas that such a mind could create. It's difficult to say why some of the more abnormal, and perhaps more interesting, details of history are forgotten or conveniently left out. Perhaps for simplicity, or perhaps to make history look more noble and admirable. Personally, I believe it's similar to people trying to forget their mistakes and the times they were "less than bright," in order to create an exaggerated image of themselves. Similarly, history tries to forget its more embarrassing moments, so that it may create a more more noble... ...If she needed me, nothing else mattered. As long as I had her, there was a purpose in my life. Then one night as I was lying in my bed in the dark, solving problems, as usual, she flew in through the open window and stood on my desk. I knew she wanted me; she wanted to tell me something important so I got up and went to her. As I looked at her I knew she wanted to tell me- she was dying. And then, as I got her message, there came a light from her eyes- powerful beams of light...Yes, it was a real light, a powerful, dazzling, blinding light, a light more intense than I had ever produced by the most powerful lamps in my laboratory. When that pigeon died, something went out of my life.Up to that time I knew with a certainty that I would complete my work, no matter how ambitious my program, but when that something went out of my life I knew my life's work was finished."

Nature of Morality Essay

A Russian born American science-fiction writer and biochemist once quoted, â€Å"Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what’s right. † This statement generates a series of controversial questions. What is right? How do morals affect people and society in which we live? Does everyone have specific morals by which they try to live their life? How does someone realize what their morals are? What are morals? These questions cannot be truthfully answered because everyone has their own definition of what is right and what is wrong and how one should live their life. My definition of morality is the concern with the distinction between good and evil or right and wrong, which can be seen through someone’s actions based on their ethical principles. That is, if someone lives their life based on their morals. Morality plays an important role in your life and the lives of others whether or not you live with it or not. Philosophers John Stuart Mill and Immanuel Kant have two very different views when it comes to the nature of morality. Kantianism and Utilitarianism are two theories that attempt to answer the moral nature of human beings. Immanuel Kant’s moral system is based on a belief that reason is the final authority for morality. John Stuart Mill’s moral system is based on the theory known as utilitarianism, which is based upon utility, or doing what produces the greatest happiness. Perhaps most importantly, they are looking for morality in completely different places. For Kant, an action is good or not based on intentions. If you shoot at someone with a gun and try to kill them, but miss and instead the bullet grazes off a piece of skin that was about to host a malignant and lethal tumor, you are still a villain and not a hero. Though this sounds like a ridiculous example, the point is that no person can completely control all the variables that are around him; Kant thought that nobody should be blamed for randomness. Mill, on the other hand, was of a much more experimental bent. None of us can ever know what another person’s intentions are, so he thought that the only practical place to look for morality is in results. To him, a well-intentioned bumbler who ruined anything he came in contact with was no better than a malicious individual who caused the exact same chaos. It’s the results that matter. Another emphasis of utilitarian philosophy is another major difference between them. To a utilitarian like Mills, the natural objective that people should shoot for was their own happiness. Happiness, he argued, was something every person understands†¦ a goal that he can see and work toward, unlike the many other things that some philosophies pursue. Kant’s categorical imperative hardly seems to be concerned with happiness at all. To him, ethics was a universal thing – each act is good or it is not; who does it is as irrelevant and whether it is enjoyable. Instead of pleasure, the metrics for Kant are the greater good and universality. One statement of his categorical imperative might be, â€Å"is the world a better place (greater good) if everybody did this all the time (universality)†. You can see that from these two differences alone we can very easily end up in completely different places. With Mill, we have to think around our actions†¦ since the outcome is what’s important, it is often better not to try if we might fail. With Kant, we have to think about everyone else†¦ since universality is important, no exceptions to the moral code are generally permitted in any circumstance. Let’s look at an example testing both arguments. The deontologist position is somewhat a little more complicated than the consequentionalist position. Kant believes in a theory of categorical imperatives. A categorical imperative would denote an absolute, unconditional requirement that exerts its authority in all circumstances, and is both required and justified as an end in itself. Kant bases his decision making on a universal maxim, something that does not qualify as an end in itself. The act itself must have moral content if it is carried out solely with regard to a sense of moral duty. Imagine Nazi Germany for a moment. Imagine the Gustapo searching German quarters for violations against the protecting Jews, in a time when they were banished to concentration camps. Imagine the Gustapo coming to a house where Jews were living and questioned the Jews if they were in fact Jews or German citizens. Kant would argue that it is wrong to rob yourself of the moral duty of the universal maxim and pretend that you are in fact German. Basically, the result of the decision, by Kantian logic would be that these people are to be whisked away to concentration camps. But it is of no dilemma for Kant. You have maintained a sense of moral obligation to adhere to the categorical imperative of truth and reason. Kant concluded that the expected consequences of an act are themselves morally neutral, and therefore irrelevant to moral deliberation. The only objective basis for moral value would be the rationality of the Good Will, expressed in recognition of moral duty. The consequentionalist position is in fact very simple. Its maxim, under the doctrine of utilitarianism, is to achieve the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people. To Mill, no matter how cruel of the actual act that is involved, no matter what extent of grotesque and dirty nature of the act, that as long as the end result is better for more people than the act is inherently justified. To Mill, the universal maxim was happiness. He believed the intrinsic moral value of life was for everyone to attain happiness and pleasure. In the same exact situation described above, Mill would have no problem lying to the Gustapo for a greater amount of happiness for humankind (i. e the Jews). It doesn’t matter that they abandoned a sense of â€Å"moral duty†, the bottom line to Mill is that they achieved what human nature should always be in search of: the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. By using this example, many people see that they would never adhere to Kantian logic; it seems ridiculous and in fact morally obtrusive itself. However let’s take another example where one may completely agree with Kant, based on the same principles. Imagine the entire city of Chicago has received word that the water system is completely diluted with bacteria and soon a plague develops amongst the entire city†¦as it spreads through airborne. Now imagine if you will, for sake of the hypothetical point, that the government was able to contain Chicago in a large dome so to stop the spread of the immediate effects of the epidemic to other parts of the world. Yet, many people are talking about revolting against the government dome and roaming outside, because they are in fact not â€Å"infected† yet. Let’s also pretend that the only way to stop the spread of the disease is to eliminate all citizens in Chicago by means of smart missiles. The question then becomes†¦ Is it morally right to kill every citizen in Chicago for the benefit of the world? In Mill’s eyes, yes, more happiness for the entire world is better than more suffering for the entire world. Hence, he would bomb Chicago so the world is â€Å"saved. † Yet in Kant’s eyes, the act itself is so repulsive that it goes against the moral duty and maxim of society to actually destroy massive amounts of human life to save more people. The ends to Kant are of no regard. It is the act in which is against his categorical imperatives. Comparing these two philosophers, it is hard to choose who I agree with more. When it comes down to it, it becomes a question of the ends or the means. A Utilitarian aspect could be more appropriate for one situation; while a Kantian perspective might be better for another. In the system of Utilitarianism, the ends justify the means, and actions are judged on the results, not on the intentions or motives. For Kant, the end results were not important in determining whether an action was just or not. Motive was everything to him, and he had very strict views on how to judge the morality of an action. In society these days, Utilitarianism is the name of the game. The basic philosophy of Utilitarianism, the idea of the greatest good for the greatest amount, is one of the basic building blocks of the democratic system. If a person lives on the principles of Utilitarianism, they disregard the motives involved in an action. Utilitarian’s try to separate the action from the actor, and look at the bigger picture over the individual. Followers of Kant (among others) disagree with this approach, and claim that in this system, minorities and individuals are often overlooked and brushed aside. Kant argues that any action cannot be moral unless the motives are moral. For each of these philosophies, the question of living the â€Å"good life† is an intricate part of the belief system. For the Utilitarian’s, living a life that benefited as many people as possible, in essence, a life that caused the greatest widespread good results would be considered a life of virtue. For Kant, the only moral action is one that is done entirely because of obligation. After researching both of these views, I would have to say I agree more with the Mill’s utilitarianism theory. I am a people pleaser, I like to see the happiness in people. I like doing things that will result in the greatest happiness. Here are a couple reasons why I agree. First, it links happiness with morality, instead of possibly pitting happiness against morality (such as Kant’s view). We think it makes sense with common beliefs about morality. For instance, in general, it backs up murder’s being wrong, lying, rights. So Utilitarianism gives us a system to our intuitions. Second, everyone agrees that pain is bad and pleasure is good. Everything being equal, though people have many different and conflicting moral beliefs, people agree that pain is bad, and pleasure is good. Third, Utilitarianism requires us to balance our interests with those of others. Fourth, Utilitarianism doesn’t rely on vague intuitions or abstract principles. It allows psychologists and sociologists to determine what makes people happy and which policies promote the social good. And lastly, utilitarianism does not rigidly label actions as absolutely right or wrong and it allows flexibility and sensitivity to the circumstances surrounding an action. This makes it practical. Act Utilitarianism is sensitive to the situation, but Rule Utilitarianism can be as well, as long as one can provide a rule that maximizes happiness in general, which also applies to this situation.

African American Essay

Created in 1975, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf, focuses on the struggles of black women not only from that era, but issues still pertaining to black women 35 years later. Shange’s powerful choreopoem is comprised of seven women trying to â€Å"sing a black girl’s song†¦. Sing a song of life, she’s been dead so long†(Shange 18), creating a voice for every woman. None of these women possess a name, only a color, to show that they represent all women of color. Shange includes themes of love, abandonment, sexuality, abortion, and domestic violence to emphasize what women in her community were and still are subjugated to. Through dance, poetry, and music these women slowly but surely find their true identity. Ntozake uses her work as a tool to empower all â€Å"colored girls† by creating these seven strong women that form a bond when they are able to find their identity as black women, and essentially in their journey make it to the end of their rainbows without committing suicide. When looking into Shange’s life there’s no question that situations, which she had observed day-to-day or experienced herself, were imposed on her writings. Born as Paulette Williams she was raised in a middle class family, which was not a childhood common for blacks. Her family moved to St. Louis and she attended a non-segregated school where she had to endure blatant racism at the mere age of eight years old. She rebelled against her family’s satisfaction with being a part of the middle class when she still had to deal with the hardships of being black and a woman. Realizing that in the real world there were limitations being set on blacks and women in society, produced her anger: the catalyst to her decision to write to not only empower women, but to empower and teach young girls about social issues as well. Paulette showed that women could be successful when she entered Barnard College, but during this time her happiness that stemmed from her success turned into melancholy when her husband left her and she attempted suicide many times. She overcame this and let her voice come alive through her works. Her experience shows why the theme that runs rampant throughout her writings is for black women to rely on themselves, and to not allow themselves to become dependent on a man, for this is the only way they will become whole and attain their true identity. The girls in For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf, like Paulette all overcome their issues when their voice is no longer silenced, and do not commit suicide. Williams later took the African name Ntozake Shange meaning, â€Å"she who brings her own things,† and â€Å"one who walks with lions. † She explained to Allan Wallach in Newsday that it was necessary for her to embrace a new name because she felt she was â€Å"living a lie:† â€Å"[I was] living in a world that defied reality as most black people, or most white people, understood it – in other words, feeling that there was something that I could do, and then realizing that nobody was expecting me to do anything because I was colored and I was also female, which was not very easy to deal with†(qttd. in Wainwright). She did this to show that she was no longer Paulette Williams who society believed was a black woman who wasn’t suppose to amount to anything, and didn’t want other women to believe that black women being successful should be deemed unusual. In her essay, â€Å"is not gd to be born a girl†, she wants all women to understand that †we pay for being born girls/ but we owe no one anything / not our labia, not our clitoris, not our lives. we are born girls & live to be women who live our own lives/ to live our lives/ to have/ our lives/ to live†(Rothenberg 132). Her theme in this essay, that women will gain a self satisfaction only when they are able specify their own dreams without allowing society to hinder their destiny from becoming reality, is the same philosophy that is within for colored girls, and seems to be what Ntozake Shange followed in her own life. The significance of Shange’s title for this choreopoem should not be overlooked. The title’s rich meanings gives readers an insight on what the author’s views are, and also allows the reader to imagine their own possible meanings. Shange uses the word â€Å"Colored† which calls attention to when it was once used as a derogatory term used by white oppressors. Although â€Å"Colored† was used as a derogatory term, it was also used within the black culture to bring them together. For colored girls, was used in the title to specifically target young â€Å"colored girls. † In the beginning of the journey of the seven women they all sing, Mama’s little baby likes shortnin, shortnin, Mama’s little baby likes shortnin bread Mama’s little baby likes shortnin, shortnin, Mama’s little baby likes shortnin bread (Shange 20). From this childhood song to lady in yellow talking about her â€Å"graduation nite† where she â€Å"was the only virgin in the crowd†(Shange 21), Shange used these poems to show her readers the journey from girlhood to womanhood. She wanted the dangers that black woman struggle to overcome, information that most parents will withhold, to be heard by these young girls: The reason that For Colored Girls is entitled For Colored Girls is that’s who it was for†¦I want a twelve year-old girl to reach out for and get information that isn’t just contraceptive information but emotional information†¦if there is an audience for whom I write, it’s the little girls who are coming of age. I want them to know that they are not alone and that we adult women thought and continue to think about them (Hamilton 79-80). Even though Shange’s work is intended for children it is still considered inspirational for both women and girls. In addition to the word â€Å"colored† within the title, the image of the â€Å"rainbow† also holds important meanings. The rainbow symbolizes the emotional aspect, which Shange discusses. All these women go through emotional pains caused by either men or themselves, but at the end of their storm or distress they all eventually make it to the end of the rainbow that is â€Å"enuf† for them to go on without committing suicide. The rainbow has a human form, and comes alive through the seven women that give a voice to all women. Even though there are statements from different women, Shange writes in such a way where you read each statement as a whole entity putting this rainbow of women together. The rainbow also refers to how unique each â€Å"colored girl† is, each having their own attributes that allow them to amount to something in society no matter what is believed by others.

Hucks letter to Miss Watson essays

Hucks letter to Miss Watson essays At this point in the novel Huck finds himself with the biggest inner conflict he had has to deal with in his whole life. He has two life altering choices; one is to send the letter he had wrote to Miss Watson telling the location of Jim, or tearing it up and concealing the location of them and preserving their newly found friendship theyve established. Huck chooses to disregard societys principles and goes with what feels right, and that is fighting for Jims freedom. One of the reasons he does this is because Jim has been his only true companion throughout his adventure and they have developed a special bond. This can be seen in Chapter fifteen when Jim and Huck are separated in the fog. After a while, Huck finds Jim and he asks, Where have you been? Instead of telling him the truth, he tries to play a trick on Jim by telling him he was sleeping and it was all a dream (84). When Jim realizes that there is branches and leaves on the raft he gets very mad at Huck for not telling him the truth and says this Trick is trash; and trash is what people are that put dirt on the head of theyre friends and makes them ashamed(84). This makes Huck feel bad about the joke he played on him and promises that he will never do it again. Also, in Chapter sixteen, Huck once again chooses his friend over what society thinks is right to do. He had secretly planed to give Jim up but as he leaves the raft Jim tells him that he is his only friend and the only one to keep a promise to him (87). He later encounters two men who want to check his raft for runaway slaves. He lies to them by saying that his family has small pox and no one is willing to help him. The two men give him money and tell him to go farther downstream for help. At this point in the novel the reader knows that Huck is compassionate and is soft hearted. Huck says he would of felt bad if he had given Jim up and he also would of felt bad...

Abolitionist Movement after the 1930s

Anti-slavery movement before the 1930s was humble, partly slow, not well supported. Anti-slavery movement before the 1930s was a spark that led to abolitionism in the 1930s. Due to the abolishment of the 1930s, big movements were born in America. White divisions of the country come and the whites who caused various riots when they released their slaves killed each other. Conquered Negros fought for the true status of American society in the hands of various abolitionist leaders who fully supported African Americans. On the other hand, the tension between the northern abolition movement and the slave owner continues to rise. After many years anti - slavery rhetoric was poured in the south (especially through the southern postal system) the abolishment movement eventually gained an important footing in the attack of slavery in 1835. A strong reaction was caused in Charleston, South Carolina. Anti-slavery pamphlets and pamphlets have created it, and the abolitionists are hurting the rep utation of the South and getting sympathy for the movement in the north. These behaviors by the abolitionists will only weaken the relations between the North and the North, eventually leading to tensions that have reached the culprits in the past 30 years. Roy Efenkenbin, a professor of history at the University of Detroit, in a national debate on the gradual escalation of slavery to the civil war, said that the fundamental abolition movement was largely endorsed primarily by the Northern people for the South explained. Slavery fights. . He said that when these previous slaves told their story in lectures and printmaking it was dissatisfied with the concept that the audience and readers would satisfy or treat slaves well. They said to be crowded in front of the audience and to stop them, and the unmodified story was equally effective at mobilizing the audience to slavery. Abolitionism (or abolishment movement) is an exercise to end slavery. This term can be used officially or info rmally. In Western Europe and the Americas, the abolishmentism is a historical move aimed at terminating the slave trade between Africa and India and releasing slaves. As an example of the abolition of slavery in France by Louis XIII of France in 1315, there was Spain's King Charles I called Charles V Emperor. He passed the law which would abolish colonial slavery in 1542, but the law did not go through the largest colonial state and was not enforced. In the late 17th century, the Roman Catholic Church accepted the request of Lourenà §oda Silvade Mendouà §a to formally condemn slave trade strongly approved by Pope Gregory XVI in 1839. However, the abolition campaign began in the late eighteenth century when British and American Quaker began to question the morality of slavery.

Exploiting Competitive Advantages Using Business Strategy Essay

Exploiting Competitive Advantages Using Business Strategy - Essay Example â€Å"Companies with significant market share create a problem for competitors because these competitors will have to rely on "stealing" market share away from the competition; they can't just create a business out of thin air† (Teenanalyst, 2009). A strategy that the company uses to capitalize on its low-cost strategy is aggressively targeting customers through smart marketing campaigns. The use of marketing has helped the company get the word out about the good prices the company offers. On many occasions, the company offers outstanding value through special sales of products. The best evidence that the strategies used by the managerial staff of the organization are effective is the fact that Wal-Mart is the industry leader in the retail industry. The profitability of the company is further evidence of the dominance of the company. The net margin which is a financial metric that illustrates the absolute profitability of an organization is 4% (Walmartstores, 2012). A few year s ago I worked at a company that utilized the niche generic strategy to market its products. â€Å"A business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers† (Ward, 2012). ... Most people in this hobby lose several planes each year to crashes. The best proof that the niche strategy used by the company was effective was that during the beta test trials the product received outstanding reviews from the clients. Despite the fact that the company had a good niche strategy and an excellent product WRM failed as a business venture due to the fact that the ownership team did not have sufficient operating capital to move into the commercialization stage of the product. A company that is currently using the generic strategy of differentiation is the automobile maker BMW. BMW sells cars that are different than most cars in the marketplace due to the super quality, performance, suspension, design, and luxury. The differentiation strategy has helped this company build a great reputation and brand value Evidence that the strategy the company uses is effective is the fact that BMW charges a premium price for its products.  

Gender and visual culture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Gender and visual culture - Assignment Example Additionally from the study, girls showed a preference for brighter colors as opposed to boys (77-85). This proves that gender is linked to the color. Purple has certainly seen some significant gender-specific changes in the past few years. The color purple is considered to be feminine because it is too dependent on personal experiences to be universally translated to specific feelings. It is imperative to note that one’s surroundings and especially cultural perceptions (gender appropriate behaviors) play a part in dictating the color appropriateness for gender which in return will influence a person’s decision (Ross, 2010). For instance, the girl child has always played with the brightly color toys it is learned that the girl child is to brightly colored colors while as a boy child is to dull ones. Purple was a common color in the middle ages. It did appear in the fashion and religious art. As written by Ross (2010) the purple color was associated with the girl child f rom year’s back (p. 392). In conclusion, the reason as to why girls prefer the color purple and use them in their drawings is because of the behavioral culture instilled in them. In addition, it is noted that most girls like or rather prefer the soft color as it is appealing to their

3M case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

3M case study - Essay Example The firm depends heavily on smaller market research firms for conducting market research for them. Pricing of their product were also not adequate to compete in the international market. The strategies like â€Å"Lead User† was not successful Most of the new products developed consumed too much time and because of the heavy pricing they failed in the market. The 3M management failed to identify experts at the right time to cater the needs of current trends in the international market. Their efforts to modernize the traditional managers were not succeeded enough. The mixing of diverse knowledge and talent to develop a new project: Since most of the employees working in the 3M company were coming from different parts of the world with different skill sets, the careful blending of such talents were a challenging one Innovation tactics: The 3M firm believed that individual love for discovery would drive innovation. The company allowed all staffs to spend 15% of their time to explore new ideas. This tactics also didn’t work for them The managers needed vigorous training to understand the need of scientific management techniques and modern technologies to lead a business successfully. It is always better to adopt â€Å"Follow User† strategy rather than a Lead User strategy for effective marketing of the products. The pricing of the 3M products must be revised in accordance with the international standards to compete in the market. The R&D should be expanded and it should devote its entire time in developing new ideas and product based on the market feedback. Market research must be conducted by 3M employees only. It is not advisable to depend, secondary sources for market research as marketing is one of the core elements in every

Forecasting Inventory Needs For Home Depot Stores Nationwide Commerce Essay

Forecasting Inventory Needs For Home Depot Stores Nationwide Commerce Essay Forecasting is one of the most important aspects of any business that wants to maintain its competitive advantage. The Home Depot uses the gross national product (GNP) to forecast its demand for inventory. Due to the current state of the housing market, The Home Depot is finding it difficult to properly forecast inventory stocks resulting in a surplus of unsold goods and missed sales opportunities due to lack of other merchandise This paper will briefly describe some of the different techniques and methods used to forecast. There will be two courses of actions (COAs) developed. One will be recommended over the other and an implementation plan will be presented. Forecasting Inventory Needs for Home Depot Stores Nationwide Introduction The Home Depot is a multi-international organization with brick-and-mortar stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and China. The current state of the United States economy has been detrimental to many organizations. The Home Depot bases its inventory needs on the housing market. Recently the housing market has been fluctuating in an unpredictable manner. This becomes a concern for organizations that base their inventory needs on it. Improper inventory stocks can be a detriment whether it is overstocked or under stock. If inventory is under stocked organizations may lose potential business to competitors due to an inability to keep up with demand. Overstock causes an issue with costs associated with storage of unsold merchandise and can tie up much needed capital. Problem Statement Due to the current state of the housing market, The Home Depot is finding it difficult to properly forecast inventory stocks resulting in a surplus of unsold goods and missed sales opportunities due to lack of other merchandise. NOTE: BACKGROUND CONTENT SHOULD BE THE LITERATURE REVIEW. LIT REVIEW CONTENT SHOULD BE THE BACKGROUND. IM NOT SEEING MANY OF THE MANAGEMENT TOPICS INTEGRATED INTO EITHER SECTION. YOU MENTIONED SEVERAL OF THE TOPICS JUST AS YOU STARTED THE LIT REVIEW, BUT YOU ONLY MENTIONED THEM THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH. YOU HAVE TO WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT THEM THAT WOULD BRING VALUE TO THE SUBJECT OF YOU PAPER. Background A forecast is a statement about the future. Many businesses use forecasting in an effort to squeeze every last drop of profit out of a situation. The Home Depot, for example, bases sales forecast on mortgage refinancing rates. Usually the smaller rates are at any given time in history will equate to higher sales. There are many different uses of forecast. Forecast can be used for accounting, finance, human resources, marketing, management information systems, operations, and product or service design to name a few. While forecasts are instrumental to an organizations financial future they are rarely perfect due to the randomness of the variables involved. The accuracy of forecasts themselves decrease as the time horizon of forecast increases. For example, the Home Depot can forecast sales for this year more accurately than they can for next year. There are many different elements of the forecast that would be considered good. In order for a forecast to be considered good the forecast would have to be timely, reliable, accurate, meaningful, and easy to use. According to Stevenson, there are two main uses for forecasts. The first is to assist managers with planning the system and the second is to assist them plan the use of the system (Stevenson, 2001). What is meant by planning the system is just that. It is a means to plan the system that involves long-range plans such as what products or services to offer as well as what equipment to buy and where to build facilities and things of that nature. According to Stevenson, planning the use of the system generally refers to the short-range and intermediate range which typically involves things such as planning the budget, scheduling, short-term goals, the needs of the investor, inventory, etc. Forecasting for business goes far beyond just forecasting the demand of products and services. It also includes being able to predict profits, revenue, availability of raw materials and many other variables. The Home Depot, being a home improvements store, must also be able to predict things such as th e housing market. There are certain features that are common to all of the different forecasting techniques. One of the main commonalities of forecasting is that no one has a crystal ball, and no one can see into the future; therefore forecasts are far from perfect. No one can predict precisely how often a large number of related factors will impinge upon the variable in question, this, and the presence of randomness, preclude a perfect forecast (Stevenson, 2001). Another commonality to all forecasting techniques is that forecast accuracy will become less accurate as time moves on, an example of this is given above, due to the fact that forecasting errors for group items will have a canceling effect upon themselves. For example, the Home Depot can forecast the sales goals of a particular department better than the sales goal of an individual product. According to Stevenson (2001) six basic steps are involved in the forecasting process shown in Table 1. Note: I would put these steps in a Table. Label it Table 1. Paraphrase the content. Step One Determine the purpose of forecast (Stevenson, 2001). One must know the reason behind forecasting in the first place. If a person is forecasting how many individuals will show up to a bake sale as opposed to how many pallets of shingles need to be urgent in order to facilitate demand at any given time, knowing the purpose will justify the level of accuracy that is necessary. Step Two Establish a time horizon (Stevenson, 2001). One must have a time horizon in their forecast, one must also realize that the accuracy of the forecast will diminish as the time horizon increases. Step Three Choose a forecasting technique (Stevenson, 2001). Once again there are numerous amounts of forecasting techniques that are being used today. It is extremely important for the forecaster to choose one that will best suit the needs of the forecast. Step Four Gather and analyze relevant data (Stevenson, 2001). Before beginning any daunting task one must gather all relevant information that one needs in order to put it all together and make sense of it. In this stage the forecaster must also identify any assumptions that are made while preparing using forecast. Step Five Prepare the forecast (Stevenson, 2001). In this step one would use whichever technique that was decided in order to prepare the forecast for monitoring. Step Six Monitor the forecast (Stevenson, 2001). The forecast is similar to that of any automated program and therefore will need to be monitored. The reason that the forecast needs to be monitored is because it is not performing in the way that it should be, the forecaster needs to go back re-examine the data and make any relevant changes in order to keep the forecast on the straight and narrow path. If the forecast is not performing in a satisfactory manner certain assumptions couldve been overlooked or completely wrong. In either case the forecaster must then prepare a revised forecast Literature Review Inventory management is one of the key issues faced by managers that deal with seasonal products. It is important to understand how product forecasting has been previously used. As technology advances and globalization continues to be on the rise, keeping up with supply and demand becomes a challenge. Businesses need to learn how to create a supply chain advantage. In this section demand forecasting, demand learning, and product lifecycle forecasting methods will be discussed. Six rules for effective forecasting will also be included. Demand Forecast According to Huang, Chang, and Chou (2006), the first step in finding precise demand forecast is to collect and organize complete and applicable historical demand data for any given product. Demand of this nature can be issued daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly depending on the time within the planning window. The process of modeling demand and determining demand forecasts is as follows: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦demand data, demand analysis, demand forecast model, perimeter estimation, demand simulation, demand forecast, and expected demand (Huang et al, 2006). There are two aspects of forecasting that are vital. The first is the expected level of demand, the second is the degree of accuracy that can be assigned to a forecast. Demand Learning Demand learning is one of the inventory models that has received considerable attention in the literature. Herbert Scarf is one of the first authors to incorporate demand learning in an inventory modeling context. In his literature, Bayes Solution of the Statistical Inventory Problem, he developed an interesting inventory model that uses observed demand information and a current stock level together in the decision process. It is his assumption that demand is generated from an exponential class of distributions, and a collaboration of prior distributions are used for the unknown parameters (Scarf, 1958). For seasonal demand forecasting a Quick Response policy was adopted by many manufacturers. This procedure was developed in an effort to reduce a manufacturers production time to respond to orders in a timelier manner so that forecast can be improved by collecting more information about the future demand. Suri (2004) studied the Quick Response policy extensively. According to his lite rature, there are four core concepts of quick response manufacturing: The Power of Time, Organizational Structure, Understanding and Exploiting System Dynamics, and Enterprise-wide Unified Strategy. Product Lifecycle Forecasting Method Burruss (2002) describes the product lifecycle forecasting method. He used this method to propose a way to more accurately forecast products with high uncertainty and a short lifecycle. According to Burruss, a short lifecycle ranges anywhere from 9 months to 18 months. According to the literature, products forecasted using this method, should have well defined lifecycle phases from introduction to maturity and then to end-of-life, a high demand spike during the introduction phase, which is then followed by a gradual downward leveling off during maturity, and a steep end-of-life drop-off that is usually caused by planned product rollovers (Burruss, 2002). Six Rules for Effective Forecasting Paul Saffo describes the difference between prediction and forecasting. He says that prediction deals with future certainty while forecasting looks at how events in the present are influential to the possible changes in direction (Saffo, 2007). In his literature he describes six simple rules for effective forecasting that managers should observe as they develop forecasting policies (Saffo, 2007). The first rule is to define a cone of uncertainty. According to the literature, the cone of uncertainty is used to help managers exercise strategic judgment. The most important part of the cone of uncertainty is defining its breadth, which is a measure of overall uncertainty (Saffo, 2007). The second rule is to look for the S-curve. Saffo explains that change does not usually follow a straight line. It is important to see and identify an S-curve pattern once it begins (Saffo, 2007). Rule three is to embrace the things that do not fit. A successful forecaster will be able to look to the left of an S-curve inflection point and notice indicators of what is to come. However, sometimes there are items to the left of the S-curve inflection point that simply do not fit. It is the job of the forecaster to recognize those items and adjust the forecast appropriately. The fourth rule is to hold strong opinions weakly. Here, Saffo is saying that one of the largest mistakes a forecaster will make is to rely on one piece of information, which at the time seems extremely strong due to the fact that it reinforces the conclusion that the forecaster had previously. According to the literature, more weak information, bits and pieces, put together is more trustworthy than a single source of strong information. Rule five says look back twice as far as you look forward. This rule is a continuation of rules two and three. One must know ones history before they can effectively expect future outcomes. One of the hardest parts of looking in history is to know when it does not fit. Rule six, the last rule, is to know when not to make a forecast. There are certain times when forecasting is easy and sometimes when it is just not possible. Saffo uses the dot com bubble of the 1990s as an example of this rule. Forecasters suggested that at the time that old rules did not apply when in fact they were extremely prevalent and the old economic imperatives bursts the dot com bubble (Saffo, 2007). Discussion As stated above there are many different types of forecasting methods that may be used. Moon and Mentzer (2004) describe a time series technique as only looking at patterns of the history of actual sales. The time series technique will look and determine whether the patterns that are prevalent at the time can be projected into the future. This will be the basis of the forecast. All time series techniques examine one or more of four time series patterns, which include level, trend, seasonality, and noise (Moon Mentzer, 2004). Research by Moon and Mentzer (2004) suggest that the level is a horizontal sales history, or what the sales pattern would be if there were no trend, seasonality, or noise. Most forecasters use the level as the starting point for the time series and look at the other patterns later. In Figure 1 that follows, the data follows a horizontal pattern around mean. Figure 1. Title (Note: All tables and figures must carry a number and a title. This does not mean anything because you gave no legend. What is the X axis? What is the Y axis? What do the numbers represent. ) The way the line moves up and down as sales increase or decrease or curve or remain a straight line is what is considered the trend. Most businesses will prefer a trend that is always increasing; however, this is usually not the case. The trend is essentially the bread-and-butter of any forecast. It allows forecasters to be able to determine what is working and what is not, and present this information to management in an effort to mitigate future loss. In Figure 2 that follows, the data is progressively increasing which shows a trend. Note: So trends are based on data? You never really said that. Here you have to introduce Figure 2 and title it. You cannot just stick a graphic in and say nothing about it. Figure 2. Title (Note: You need to include a legend.) Seasonality is described by Moon and Mentzer (2004) as a repeating pattern of sales increases and decreases that occurs within a one-year period or less. For example, the Home Depot experiences high sales every fall for snow blowers, high sales of lawnmowers during the spring, and high sales every summer for air-conditioners. The pattern of these high sales during those periods within the year typically repeat themselves every year and therefore, the seasonality line can be seen as a regular pattern. Figure 3 that follows represents a seasonal pattern. The data exhibits a regularly repeating pattern. (Note: Same comment. You need to title and provide a legend.) Figure 3. Title Noise is the unexplained phenomena that occurs in forecasts. These phenomena usually seem unexplainable until a regression analysis or similar has been conducted. For example if the Home Depot were to have high sales of lawnmowers in the winter months, that would be considered noise. The high sales of lawnmowers can be explained possibly by global warming (unusually warm weather in the winter months), a fire sale of lawnmowers during these months, or some other explanation. The fact is that high sales of that product are unusual and have not happened consistently in the past years and therefore is considered noise. The Figure 4 shows how noise would appear on a chart. There is an inconsistency in the pattern. Figure 4. Title Insert Legend Management Concepts There are many different techniques and approaches when it comes to management. However while dealing with a forecast, managers are faced with more decision-making attributes. In order for any organization to be successful it all starts with being able to properly manage not only personnel, but also the other aspects of the business. In the military, soldiers are taught to lead by example. They are taught very early on to Be, Know, Do. Be the individual that you want your soldiers to be, know all of the required information before presenting it to a subordinate, and do what is morally and ethically right at all times regardless of the situation in which one might find themselves (Hesselbein Shinseki, 2004). You need a citation for this information. Not sure the military example is relevant. Li (2007) describes supply change management as a set of synchronized decisions and activities utilized to efficiently integrate suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, transporters, retailers, and customers so that the right product or service is distributed in the right quantities, to the right locations, and at the right time, in order to minimize system wide costs while satisfying customer service level requirements. The Home Depot is an industry that ranks inventory in the top five business costs. Oversupply and undersupply of inventory at any given moment could have an extremely detrimental impact on the corporation. Establishing the right amount of product through effective forecasting will ensure that the Home Depot has the products customers need when they want them. This will also mitigate the overstock costs for storage of unsold goods. Economic Environment The current economic environment in the United States is bleak to say the least. As of the writing of this paper there is a high unemployment rate of 7.9% and a slow growth of the United States economy. Growth in the previous year has been at an extremely slow pace. Home sales directly impact inventory needs of the Home Depot. Total sales of homes in the United States have declined 1.7 percent since August of 2012 (realestateabc.com, 2012). Figure 5 shows . . . Figure 5. Title What year? You need to state the year. If home sales continue to decline it could mean that mortgage rates will increase. Increase in mortgage rates would mean that home improvement stores such as the Home Depot would take the brunt of the impact in the hike of the rate. Improvement in the economic environment is crucial for retailers like Home Depot (Steverman, 2009).. The housing bust in the United States hit the Home Depot hard. Due to the state of the economy, the Home Depot had reduced the square footage growth plans in an effort to improve free cash flow and provide strong returns for the company. (Home Depot, 2012). In 2009, the company was forced to exit its EXPO, THD Design Center., Yardbirds, and HD Bath businesses in an effort to focus solely on the brick-and-mortar stores (Home Depot, 2012). According to the five-year summary of financial and operating results of the Home Depot, the company is slowly regaining its previous financial success. Its total net sales are still lower in 2011 than they were in 2007. However, the trend indicates that the company is poised to regain its momentum and bring sales back to what they were previously. Table 1 is a five-year summary of The Home Depots financial and operating results. Table 1. Title Quantitative Tools and Techniques There are many different tools and techniques that are commonly used to support business decision-making. Arguably, decision trees are one of the best tools to assist managers in choosing between several courses of actions. Decision trees take information directly from the managers and allows them to see the outcomes of different courses they might take. According to Mind Tools, there are five steps to creating a decision tree, as shown in Table 2. The first step is to draw a decision tree. This will be the outline to which the manager would fill in the information related to each course of action. Second step will be to evaluate the decision tree. In this step the manager would decide which options have the greatest worth (Mind Tools, n.d.). The third step would be to calculate the values in the tree. Mind Tools suggest to start on the right-hand side of the tree and work backwards to the left. The fourth step is to calculate the value of uncertain outcome nodes. When calculating th e value of uncertain outcomes, one would do this by multiplying the value of the outcomes by their profitability. The total for that node of the tree is the total of these values (Mind Tools, n.d.). The fifth step of creating a decision tree is calculating the value of the decision nodes. In this step managers will have to write down the cost of each option and then subtract the cost from outcome that would give managers a value that represents the benefit of that particular decision. Figure 6 is an example of a decision tree that was retrieved from the Mind Tools website. (Note: It should be Figure 6, not Figure 4) Figure 6. Marketing Concepts As a home improvement warehouse store, the Home Depots customer base are the average do-it-yourselfers, do it for me, and professionals. The Home Depots competition not only includes big-name stores like Lowes but the local hardware stores. The Home Depot uses multiple social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. On these sites they reach out to customers through videos depicting how easy it is to do-it-yourself with the right tools and support from the store. They bring customers into the store by hosting how-to seminars. They do these things in an effort to increase brand loyalty, interaction with customers, and customers comfort level when doing projects on their own. In this day and age there are many outlets that companies can utilize an effort to reach maximum customer base. Chantal Tode (2012) wrote an article on how Home Depot decided to do an iPad app in an effort to integrate a customer experience that would get them more involved in home decor. Home Depot launched the Home Depot Style Guide Spring 2012 app around mid-March (Tode, 2012). This iPad application for the Home Depot has proven to be a huge success. The Home Depot will attempt to optimize Home Depot.com in an effort to provide iPad users with the best experience. Matt Jones, general manager of mobile for HomeDepot.com, Atlanta, Georgia said it has outperformed our expectations in terms of downloads, page views per visit and time spent in the app (Tode, 2012). Global View of Business Marketing. Success in international markets depends on a number of different things. When thinking about marketing for an international organization one must consider the wants and needs of that particular market. What works in Houston may not be the same in China. The Home Depot entered Chinas market in 2006. Unfortunately, the company did not do due diligence and study what the market demanded in that country. The Home Depot attempted to market in China the same way as it did in the United States. As a result the Home Depot will close the last of the seven stores in that country. Further research shows that the market in China is more of a do it for me culture (Burkitt, 2012), in part due to cheap labor and the fact that most individuals live in apartments. This means they have less need for items such as lumber and gardening tools. The closing of the stores will cost the Home Depot approximately $160 million after-tax in the third quarter 2012 (Burkitt, 2012). The Home Depot has a YouTube channel dedicated to Spanish speaking customers. This is a strategic marketing plan that should assist the Home Depot with its Spanish-speaking customers and improve its brand with. Management. Same comment as above. International management is one of the key things that brings success when working in a global economy. It is important to understand the culture of the country in which the business will operate. The Home Depot has stores in Canada, Mexico, . Canadian business is improving performance in the fourth quarter (Home Depot, 2012). Mexican business has 33 consecutive quarters of positive comp growth (Home Depot, 2012). Economic and Business Operations. Same comment as above about format. As previously discussed, the Home Depots economic and business operations are going quite well in the international market with the exception of China. The international businesses are operated similarly to those based in the United States. Nextels for the Home Depot outside of the United States were $8 billion for fiscal year 2011 (Home Depot, 2012). Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Foundations of Human Enterprise The Home Depot is very involved in community outreach programs. They have an organization known as The Home Depot Foundation with a mission to ensure that every veteran has a place to call home (Home Depot Foundation, 2012). In 2011 this organization completed more than 1000 projects with more than 400 of them focused specifically on veterans. They worked on projects such as painting local schools, community gardens, and refurbishing needy familys homes while working with local nonprofit organizations. The Home Depot also helps when disaster relief is needed. They assist local governments and organizations by providing supplies and resources needed to clean up and rebuild neighborhoods. The organization also contributes $500,000 to the American Red Cross annual disaster giving program (Home Depot Foundation, 2012). Business and Economic Principles Organizations such as the Home Depot need to understand that basic business and economic principles are of the utmost importance. This paper has discussed many different business and economic principles to include demand, economies of scale, opportunity costs and exit strategies. Critical Thinking The Home Depot solves problems and makes decisions more quickly due to the development of common vocabulary that is used throughout the organization. It utilizes a cross functional relationship approach by mixing the different strengths of the creative, teamwork, and rational approach to problem solving. The Home Depot also empowers its employees to think critically by taking courses offered through the employee website to enhance current skills and learn new ones. They also provide web-based seminars to help their employees learn how to resolve problems efficiently and effectively when they occur. Elements of the Environment That Influence Management Activities This paper has already presented many of the elements that affect management. Elements such as economic conditions, competition, and international environment have been discussed. Other elements that affect management, especially in a home improvement environment, would be things such as weather and social environment. The weather plays a large role due because it directly impacts customer flow to the store. During seasons that involve multiple days of inclement weather, management must make the decision as to what hours the store will be open, what conditions would cause the store to close early, and what items should be brought to the front of the store in an effort to catch the eye of customers. The Home Depot is already answering the question to social environment. When society changes so should business, and the Home Depot has done just that. One can find the Home Depot on many social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Courses of Action (COA) The Home Depot currently uses microeconomic data and economic theory to forecast the levels of demand for its products through the Gross National Product (GNP). The problem is that its demand is closely based on the housing market. As of late the housing market has been unpredictable and therefore the Home Depot should utilize a different forecasting technique. Below are two different COAs to take in consideration. Course of Action One The first course of action would be to implement the Delphi method to forcast inventory needs. This method is a combination of qualitative and quantitative processes that are derived from qualified experts opinions and are used to develop possible theories for the future. There are five steps in the Delphi method (Chong, Adnan, Zin, 2012). The first of his two identify the problem. Administrators will design questionnaires and evaluate total costs before starting the actual procedures. Upon completion of this step the expert selection will begin. Step two is actually selecting the experts. The actual size of the project that needs to be completed will be the determining factor as to how many experts will sit on the panel. The size of the panel actually depends on the budget allotted (Chong et al., 2012). The next step is to administer the questionnaire to the experts. In this step the members of the panel will draw conclusions from their own personal experiences and any other sort o f data or research that is available to them at the time (Chong et al., 2012). The fourth step is actually broken down into different parts. The first part will be to evaluate the responses that were generated from the original questionnaire. The responses that are evaluated from the first questionnaire are used by the director to develop more in-depth questions to be used in the second questionnaire. The second part of the fourth step is to redistribute the questionnaire with more focused questions in an organized list of the responses to these questions on the first questionnaire (Chong et al., 2012). The fifth step is to interpret the results. This final step will continue until all the experts said on the panel comes to a consensus (Chong et al., 2012). The reason this process works relatively well is because the experts are not together. This allows administrators to get a true consensus without prejudice or bias. Figure 7 shows how the Delphi method is used. Figure 7. Delphi Method. Course of Action Two The second course of action would be to implement the Holt-Winters Method for Seasonality Technique. This method utilizes the seasonality factor in order to account for seasonality associated with a product (Gelper, Fried, Croux, 2008). For example, the Home Depot sells many lawnmowers in the springtime and many air-conditioners when the temperature rises in the summer. This particular method needs to estimate three components of a forecasting equation (Gelper et al., 2008). The first component is the current level of sales. This component is achieved by removing noise and all seasonal aspects of the level. The second component is to use the current trend. This is the difference between the levels that are expected to happen between any two given seasons. The third is to add the seasonality. For example, if the Home Depot wanted to forecast sales for August and it is June, the following equalization could be utilized: [level (100) +2*trend (10)]*seasonal (1.4) = 128 units The Holt Winters method estimated that the current level is 100, the trend is five, and August has the seasonal index of 1.4. Figure 8 shows an example of the Holt Winters exponential smoothing. Figure 8. Holt Winters Exponential Smoothing. (Note: I see you have a legend on this one. Good) Recommendation Given the choices between the Delphi method and t