Election a benchmark election

The united States survived this conflict under Abraham Lincoln, the Republican from Illinois. After the war ended, Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party were viewed as heroes. They had ended slavery in the United States and won the war. Most importantly they were able to keep a nation, divided by a monumental issue such as slavery seen as creating Irreconcilable differences, together. As a result of the viewed successes of the Republicans during this era, they were able to dominate the White House, even though Lincoln Vice President, Andrew Johnson, as a Democrat.Johnson would only serve one term in office after Lincoln assassination, due to the poor policies he would enact as president. The following US Presidents would be Ulysses S. Grant, a Republican war hero, and three more Republicans, Hayes, Garfield and Arthur, before another Democrat would become president. The most successful president of the era was Abraham Lincoln who Is widely considered the greatest president in US h istory for his accomplishments during the Civil War. On the other hand Andrew Johnson is considered one of the worst, and is one of only two presidents to be impeached.Lincoln achievements, coupled with the distrust of southern Democrats after the Civil War, paved the way for Republicans to control the White House for the latter half of the 19th century. SYSTEM OF 1896 (1897-1933) The System of 1 896, also known as the Progressive Era, was another span of time that was dominated by the Republican Party, for all except an eight-year gap where a Democrat held the White House. The trend started under President McKinley as he expanded America's borders with the Spanish American War, trade in China, and acquisitions of the Philippines and Hawaii, before he was assassinated.Teddy Roosevelt, who followed McKinley, made many reforms that Improved the food (meat packing factories in particular), built the Panama Canal, and built up American naval strength, both of which fostered the theme of American Imperialism set by McKinley. William Howard Taft continued the Progressive Era by reforming the American workplace at the time. Taft instituted the concept of an eight-hour workday as well as continuing to break up monopolies and trusts, such as American Standard Oil, more than Teddy Roosevelt had in his time as president . After the end of Tuft's first term,Roosevelt felt he hadn't done enough as president and ran against him under the Bull-Moose party. This led to Taft and Roosevelt splitting Republican votes and a moderate Democrat, Woodrow Wilson, winning the election. From 1892 to 1928 the Republicans were winning at or above 50% in all regions besides the south, a region Democrats considered their base at the time, the sole exception being in 1912 when Teddy Roosevelt ran against William Howard Taft under the Bull-Moose Party. This resulted in Taft and Teddy Roosevelt splitting the Republican vote .This demonstrates how strong the Republicans were during the System o f 1896 wrought the nation. Wilson would lead the nation through World War I and with it create a prosperous nation. But by the end of his presidency it was his failed ideas that would stick with him and the Democratic Party leading to Republicans controlling the White House for the next twelve years. Willow's successes included creating the Federal Reserve, Federal Trade Commission and Clayton Antitrust Act. In addition he was president when the 19th amendment, woman's right to vote, was ratified.However, what he'll always be remembered for was the idea of the League of Nations which would help dead to his party's losses in the next election. The next twelve years of Republican presidents were generally indistinct, remembered primarily for Herbert Hover's inability to deal with the Great Depression, leading to the election of Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt as president. THE NEW DEAL AND THE GREAT SOCIETY (1933-1969) The Great Depression changed the way government operated in the United States. Under FED and the New Deal the US Government grew to the largest it has ever been .Figure 1 Instead of the government being there to protect the people in times of crisis when Americans needed help, the New Deal dramatically changed the scope of government. The government changed from reactionary to precautionary, resulting in a larger, more involved federal government. FED and the New Deal helped guide the nation out of the Great Depression and through World War II, but not without changing the federal government forever. The effects of this change are still seen today with welfare, Social Security, and the Tennessee Valley Authority among other government programs created by the New Deal.After FED came Truman and the Marshall Plan continuing the trend of the United States becoming a global power by offering aid to Europe to rebuild from the aftermath of World War II and the threat of Communism. Truman also presided over the creation of the United Nations, establish ment of Israel as a country, the Berlin the mold of Fad's ideologies. After 20 years of Democratic presidents, moderate Republican and war hero Dwight D. Eisenhower won the presidency. Eke oversaw the building of the interstate highway system, as well as the beginnings of the Space Race, and the Civil Rights Era.These accomplishments were good, but did not signal a full shift from the important issues odd FED and Trauma's presidencies. Following Eisenhower presidency civil rights became a focus of national politics and focal points of both KEF and Lab's presidencies. Lyndon B. Johnson would represent the end of the Democratic hold on the presidency. Despite his role in the civil rights movement, ending all forms of segregation, and â€Å"The Great Society', he will be remembered for beginning involvement in the Vietnam War. American involvement in Vietnam would be critical in leading Richard Nixon and the Republicans to taking the presidency.REAGAN REVOLUTION (1981- ) Ronald Reagan is one of the most popularizing presidents in our nation's history and was the father of the last era of presidencies in the United States. Ronald Reagan defeated sitting president Jimmy Carter in the 1980 election. Carter will be remembered for the oil crisis and gas shortage, the recession, the Iran hostage crisis, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. This propelled the American people to elect Ronald Reagan, and not by a small margin. In 1980 Ronald Reagan won 489 electoral votes and 50. 8% of the popular vote to Carter's 49 votes and 41%. In 1984 Reagan would win 525 votes and 58. Of the vote to Walter Module's 13 votes and 40. 6% . It was unprecedented to see a Republican to do so well nationally, as the South had been a Democratic lock. In the lead up to the 1980 election the South had been moving towards the Republican stronghold it has become. In the 1950 midterms, Republicans had won Just two seats in the House from the South. In 1980 Republicans won around 40% of seats . As president, Reagan would oversee economic growth through lowering taxes and using supply side economics, the pushing back of the Soviets and thawing of the Cold War, and progress of his goal to hiring the federal government (see figure 1).Reggae's view of conservatism has been evident from then until now. George H. W. Bush, Reggae's Vice President, would continue following Reggae's beliefs while president. In 1982 approximately 35% of the nation identified themselves as Republicans, by 1994 it had increased to 43%5. George Bush as president oversaw the fall of both the Soviet Union and Berlin Wall, led a successful Persian Gulf War, and would institute the Americans with Disabilities Act. President Bush would lose reelection when he raised taxes, against his promise of â€Å"read my lips: no new taxes† .This provided the opportunity for a moderate Democrat from Arkansas, Bill Clinton, to win the 1992 Presidential election. Clinton continued to strengthen the economy, but in a different way than Reagan. Clinton balanced the federal budget by raising taxes and reforming the welfare systems put in place by FED in the New Deal. In line with Reggae's policies he ensured that there was free trade between North American countries with NONFAT. Following Clinton, George W. Bush was elected President based on many of his that would dictate his presidency (Afghanistan and Iraq).In addition to the wars, the ND of Bush's presidency saw the beginning of another major recession, leading to the election off liberal democrat, Barack Obama. Has the Reagan Revolution ended? We may not know for another 5-10 years. Despite Obama, a liberal Democrat, being elected president, many of Reggae's ideas are still championed by Tea Party Republicans. This faction of the Republican Party seeks a smaller federal government, smaller federal budget, and more rights being returned to the states, as opposed to being federal issues.WHAT HAS CAUSED THIS PATTERN TO EXIST The past 150 y ears can be divided into four distinct eras. The first two marked by Republican presidencies, the third, and longest of the periods, a Democratic era, and finally a return to Republican control of the presidency with the Reagan Revolution. When looking at each era, a few things are evident; one or two great presidents define every one of these time periods, those presidents' party is the dominant party of the era, one bad presidency or event can end the era, and that in between each era there is some form of realignment.It is these conditions meshed together that create a pattern of presidential dynasties to exist in America. The top 10 presidents in history are (in order) FED, Teddy Roosevelt, Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Wilson, Truman and Eisenhower. Outside of the founding fathers each of these presidents were part of one of these eras, either as the one whose ideologies defined the era or as the moderate of the other party who followed these ideologies, but with their party's themes.The only president whose policies defined an era not on this list was Reagan. According to a 2012 Gallup Poll 19% of Americans, the most common answer, thought Ronald Reagan is the Greatest in US history. Callus's top 10 consists of Reagan, Lincoln, Clinton, Kennedy, Washington, FED, Obama, Teddy Roosevelt, Truman, and George W. Bush. When broken down by party the results are similar. Figure 2 A great president defines an era, but how does the era end? These presidential dynasties end via a realignment of political issues in the United States.This can be caused by a single event in history, for example The Great Depression, or a bad president who brings forth a need for change, such as Herbert Hoover or, potentially, George W Bush, who impact is not yet known. The era of Lincoln ended when a trio of Republican presidents (Hayes, Garfield and Arthur) did nothing to move the country forward. The System of 1896 ended ender Hoover when the US entered the Great Depression allowing FED to win the presidency for the Democrats. The era of the New Deal and the Great Society ended when LB] entered the Vietnam War.Finally the Reagan Revolution may have ended after the George W. Bush saddled the country with two wars and an economic crisis. While not all these presidents are historically bad, Lyndon B Johnson is historically remembered as an above average president due to the policies enacted during the Great Society, the majority of these presidents are remember for the harm they caused to America rather than any good they may have provided. For example George W. Bush led us through the worst terrorist attack in American history, 9/1 1, but his failures outweighed his successes and have cost the Republican Party in Republican dominance.A different issue has defined each era, so what causes the changes in issues? Realignment is a dramatic change in an era of politics. This includes a change in the dominating issues, dominant party and even change s to the party bases. The signs of realignment include a flurry of political activity not normal to U. S. Politics (I. E. Progressive Era, New Deal, Great Society, Ergonomics), a single party controlling the House, Senate, and White House, and the emergence of a third party. â€Å"To bring about a realignment, the new issue must be one that cuts across the existing line of party cleavage. -James Conduits . Each of these eras had a cross cutting issue that divided the country, and therefore needed someone to unify them. Lincoln had to deal with slavery, both the System of 1896 and the New Deal had to deal with economic hardship. The Great Society had to face the issue of race in America once again. Each of these issues divided the existing parties forcing individuals to realign based on new party beliefs. The issue can't be a small issue, such as a setting a national driving age, it must be popularizing that everyone must pick a side, like the issue of slavery during the Civil War.R ealignment causes old cleavage issues to fade away. This can be seen today because the New Deal is no longer a dividing issue among people, while in the sass's and sass's it divided Republicans and Democrats across the country. A third party arises when both major parties in power straddle the issue. The third party forces one of the two major parties to adopt the issue and if not the third party rises power (e. G. Republicans and slavery during the sass's). The New Deal era is the best example of a realigning election. Franklin Roosevelt won 472 electoral votes and 57. 4% of the vote .In addition to the presidential election, the Democrats made big strides in Congressional elections. Democrats gained 90 seats in the House and nine in the Senate , signaling a major shift in issues for the At-enact people. WILL WE ENTER A NEW PRESIDENTIAL ERA OR HAVE WE REACHED THE END? Barack Obama is not a disciple of the Reagan Revolution, if anything he is a disciple of the New Deal. Does this me an the Reagan Revolution is over? Is Obama the beginning of a new era, dominated by Democrats? Or have we reached the point where the patterns are over and there will no longer be a dominant party in America?If you look solely at history it points towards the emergence of â€Å"The Obama Era† of the American presidency. Obama was president when the United States exited the recession, much like FED and McKinley. When he was first elected in 2008 it was the highest percentage of voter turnout since 1968, signaling the potential of it being a realignment election . The beginning of Beam's first turn was filled with active legislating, including the passing of the Affordable Care Act. All of these events fit into James Squint's Theory of Partisan Realignment. What about today's current political conditions?Yes, many of the conditions that existed during Beam's first term are similar to the pattern of other presidential eras, faction of the conservative right. The Tea Party fits i n line with the small government beliefs of the Reagan Revolution and not Beam's belief in a large, active federal government. If the Tea Party does rise to power its ideologies would be a shift from Beam's. In addition to the third party not aligning with Beam's views, their influence has been steadily decreasing over time. Secondly, there is no outbreak of political activity.The opposite is true as both the House and Senate find themselves gridlocked, unable to pass any legislation. Figure 3 The most recent Congress has been the least productive of the past 32 congresses . This is in part due to straight line partisan voting by members of Congress when both the House and Senate are almost evenly split in membership as is. During the previous presidential eras either members of Congress were able to work with each other to pass legislation or one party dominated the government so it was possible force any legislation through Congress.These conditions no longer exist as the United S tates Government becomes more and more popularized. Where does all of these leave the future America? It is always safe to look back because history does have a tendency to repeat itself, but with the current conditions it isn't likely that Democrats will hold the White House for a long time. Since Gallup began monitoring presidential approval ratings, starting with Harry Truman, the two presidents who have defined their respective eras, Reagan and Johnson, have both had average approval ratings above 50%, 52. 8% and 55. 1% respectively. Beam's current average its below 50% at 48% .A president with an approval rating less than 50% isn't going to set the tone for future presidents if less than half the nation approves of him. Another strike against an â€Å"Obama Era† is following the 2008 election there was potential for realignment, but it never actually happened. Movements such as Occupy Wall Street faded away while the Tea Party's voice only got stronger. The Democrats had a chance to grab hold of the government but didn't take it. In the following 2010 midterm elections the Republicans picked up a net of 63 seats to gain back control of the House and a net of six seats in the Senate.This isn't to say that it is impossible for President Obama can't be the start of a new era of Democratic presidents but given recent history it is unlikely. CONCLUSION As President of the United States one has the potential to shape the nation. The electorate rewards these presidents (Lincoln, both Roosevelt, LB], and Reagan) by electing presidents who emulate those same positive ideologies. This led to the creation of eras of dominance by a single party. These eras produced some of most prosperous times in American history. However, the time of single party dominance has ended.The government has become more popularized, which has led to partisan gridlock. The people have been losing faith in the government to actually get anything done, which seems to be a result of ne w popularization, illustrated by the â€Å"Do- nothing Congress†. As a result the electorate changes its views and votes for the other party hoping they will actually be able to break the gridlock in government. This is not to say there will never be another great president like Lincoln or Roosevelt again, but the time of presidential eras is reaching its end, unless the federal government becomes less popularized.

Organic Food Speech Essay

I have a question for you at the beginning of this speech. Who just eat organic food everyday? Obviously! According my research, which I gave the question to my friends. Most of them know about organic food, but only few of them just eat organic food which including the vegetable, meat and eggs and other people don’t take it seriously and eat fast food always. What is organic food? The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that animals raised on an organic operation must be fed organic feed and given access to the outdoors. They are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic crops are raised without using most conventional pesticides and using no petroleum-based or sewage-sludge-based fertilizers. Do ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ mean the same thing? And four main reasons to choice organic food! No, â€Å"natural† and â€Å"organic† are not same. You may see â€Å"natural†, â€Å"all natural,† â€Å"free-range† or â€Å"hormone-free† on food labels. These descriptions must be truthful, but don’t mean they are â€Å"organic.† Only foods that are grown and processed according to USDA organic standards can be labeled organic. According to USDA: Organic food such as fruits, vegetables and meat can make people become healthier and organic farming can protect the environ ment. Choice organic vegetable! The picture for strawberry: On the right is non-organic and left is organic. For the picture down: one the right is non-organic and the left is organic. Normally, non-organic fruit or vegetable will grow faster and taste not as good as organic food. For the last picture: the right side is organic egg and left side is non-organic. The reason why the color is different is because organic chicken also eats organic feed. Choice organic meat! We also need to choice organic meet. From the picture we see. Organic Meat Comes from Animals Treated Ethically and Humanely. The organic farming looks cleaner and animal form there lives healthier. Here are some of the reasons why you should buy organic animal products. 1. Organic meat comes from animals that were given a pesticide-free diet. 2. These animals may have had some limited access to pasture. 3. They were not loaded with antibiotics, steroids and other poisons. 4. Organic meat has not been irradiated. Therefore, organic meat is not loaded with toxins–that are subsequently passed on to you when you eat them–like conventional meat is. Health and money which one you prefer: Non-organic food can cause lots of disease. Even the organic food is expensive; there is nothing important than our lives and our family’s health. According to the research from Organic Liaison: Because factory-fed cattle eat the ground-up remains of their SAME SPECIES, this can cause mad cow disease, destroying a human’s central nervous system and brain. Also the animal, which grows up in dirty environment, can cause many parasitic disease and diarrhea. Studies also show that grass-fed beef contains more nutritional value, including higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Here is another new research from Maryland University: Non-organic Chicken has one kind bacterium, which is resistant to modern medicine. This kind of bacteria that can cause serious and unpleasant disease that becomes a lot harder to cure. Conclusion: We know that eating organic fruits, vegetables, and other produce is the way to go. It’s healthier, it tastes better, and it doesn’t have any nasty toxins or chemicals. Healthy and happy life cannot live without organic food. Now let us choice organic food!

Legal Considerations in the Business Environment Essay

While there are many legal factors to consider as XYZ Construction (XYZ) transforms from a private to a publicly owned company and expands operations globally, this paper will focus on the employment and labor laws, along with legal considerations that influence company operations. It is important to keep in mind that XYZ uses a mix of manning methodologies throughout the company; a full time staff as the core of the company, while maximizing the use of contracted labor in the execution of projects. Employment Law Employment law is a broad category of law that encompasses all areas regarding employee/employer relationships except for the negotiation process and collective bargaining, which is covered by the narrower focused category of labor law. Employment laws consist of thousands of federal and state statutes, regulations, and judicial decisions that are designed to govern the rights and duties of employers and workers. The US Department of Labor (USDOL) reports that there are 180 federal laws alone managed by 28 different agencies within the department. (United States Department of Labor [USDOL], 2014) Employment laws are focused on providing a safe and fair work place for employees and employers, alike, and have their origins in the constitution. They were founded based on public outcry against oppressive practices during the industrial revolution. The first laws founded in the 1920s were focused on fair wages, compensation for injuries, a standard work week, and on eliminating child labor. In the 1960s and 70s, statutes focused on anti-discrimination and unsafe work environments. Current issues involve employee health care, equal pay for men and women and the current debate on raising the federal minimum wage. There were also several issues addressed by the US Supreme Court of great importance to employment law including workplace discrimination and retaliation (Brill et al, 2013). The predominance of employment law disputes fall into two categories: wage and hour violations and discrimination in the workplace. Federal law provides for baseline rules regarding wage and hour standards, to include a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and 40 hours as the standard work week. Many states have passed laws that establish a higher minimum wage, which is within their constitutional right. In these situations, XYZ is compelled to pay the higher minimum wage of that state. There is an emerging effort across the United States to raise the federal minimum wage to $9.50 per hour. In some  cases, this will place the federal wage higher than some states, meaning XYZ would have to pay the federal wage as it would trump the state legislation. It is prudent for XYZ to negotiate appropriate compensation on multiyear contracts as this new legislation works through the process. The standard work week, on the other hand, is prevalent across the United States and any worker that exceeds this threshold is entitled to overtime pay compensation. These rules exist to control the work environment for employees and mandates that time and a half be paid on every hour exceeding 40 within a given work week. The law also stipulates that XYZ will maintain basic payroll records and post notices to the workers regarding changes in the work environment. As XYZ experiences delays within projects, the pressure to push the work crews to make up these delays grows. While working overtime to meet customer requirements and project timelines are acceptable, supervisors must ensure adherence to the various employment laws; not doing so could lead to unfair labor practice disputes and costly legal battles (Brill et al, 2013). Another area that is a basis of employment law disputes is discrimination in the workplace. Prohibiting discrimination based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, age, or disability was established with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and refined with subsequent legislation throughout the years. The Supreme Court handed down two significant decisions in 2013 that clarify evidentiary standards for discrimination claims, both are viewed as beneficial to the employer. First, the courts ruled that retaliation with discrimination as a motivating factor was not sufficient. The plaintiff must prove that discrimination was the basis for the retaliation, making the burden of proof much greater (Brill et al, 2013). Second, the courts clarified the definition of a supervisor under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. They ruled that the title of â€Å"supervisor† is limited to those who have authority to take a tangible employment action, meaning â€Å"a significant change in employment status, such as hiring, firing, failing to promote, reassignment with significantly different responsibilities, or a decision causing a significant change in benefits.† (Brill et al, 2013, p.4). Having the authority to direct daily work was not sufficient to link the supervisor to the company in regard to damages or actions tied to a law suit or dispute. However, the company is still liable for discriminatory actions of non-supervisory employees,  especially if it was notified and failed to take action to stop the behavior. This is significant considering that the majority of XYZ’s work force is contracted labor. As such it is imperative that XYZ maintain viable and proactive policies focused on preventing workplace discrimination and include a review of these policies prior to initiating any employment agreement. Labor Law Conducting business in a union environment provides for another layer of complexity to company operations. XYZ’s leadership must be aware of and understand the basics of labor law and the collective agreements negotiated with the unions representing the workforce. Failure to operate within the parameters of the agreement will result in an unfair labor practice dispute, which affects the profit margins of the shareholders. Labor law, also governed by federal law, state law and judicial decisions, provides statutes that mediate the relationship between workers, employers, unions, and the government with the goal of equalizing the bargaining power between employers and employee (Legal Information Institute [LII], 2014). Collective labor laws focus on the rights of employees to unionize, collectively bargain, arbitrate, and strike, while individual labor law focuses on employment contracts between employers and employees (Caraway, 2009). Collective bargaining consists of negotiations between an employer and a group of employees, typically represented by a union, to determine the conditions of employment and results in a collective agreement. The main body of law governing collective bargaining is the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which was passed in 1935 (â€Å"Executive Concepts†, 2011). It explicitly grants employees the right to collectively bargain and join trade unions. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is the entity that hears disputes between employers and employees that falls under the purview of the NLRA. The General Council, established by the NLRA, independently investigates and prosecutes cases against violators of the act before the NLRB (LII, 2014). Another aspect of labor law is the act of arbitration, a method of dispute resolution, which is commonly used as an alternative to litigation. A third party arbiter is designated and has binding decision authority for the dispute. While the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) is not applicable to employment contracts, the Uniform Arbitration Act of 1956 was  adopted by 49 states making arbitration enforceable under state and federal law (LII, 2014). There were two key decisions rendered by the Supreme Court that impact labor law, specifically arbitration clauses and class action waivers in contracts (Brill et al, 2013). The Court held that the FAA directive to arbitrate and the arbitration clauses written into employment contracts take precedence over federal requirements to prosecute disputes through the courts. Additionally, this decision strengthens the ability to enforce class waivers written into contracts. While this appears detrimental to employers, the Court balanced this decision with language further defining the rules surrounding class waivers. The court ruled that a class dispute (one brought by more than one plaintiff) can be settled if the primary plaintiff reaches settlement (Brill et al, 2013). In essence, if an XYZ employee files a dispute that is then applied to a class of employees, but a settlement is reached with the initial plaintiff, then the class action is terminated. Effectively, the Supreme Court ruling strengthens the company’s position in regard to employment contracts and protects the company from overzealous claims. As such, arbitration agreements written into XYZ employment contracts should be carefully worded in order to take full advantage of the Court’s decision. Laws specific to the construction industry Several Department of Labor agencies administer programs that are specifically related to the construction industry. Specifically, the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA), the Wage and Hour Division, and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance all have specified areas of emphasis that regulate XYZ’s primary line of business. OSHA administers all the occupational safety and health standards for the industry. Given the risk to employees across XYZ’s work sites, OSHA regulations are critical to maintain and pose a significant element of cost to the company. While it is prudent to conduct cost-benefit analysis on enacting safety and health policies, sacrificing employee welfare for the bottom line is a dangerous endeavor and can result in unfair labor practices or criminal charges in the extreme. As XYZ competes and wins government construction contracts, there are several statutes that dictate certain conditions for doing business with the federal government that are administered by the USDOL Wage and Hour  Division and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance. The Davis-Bacon Act requires that companies pay the prevailing wages and benefits of the region. Wage rates and other labor standards for employees are set by the McNamara-O-Hara Service Contract Act. The Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act requires materials and supply contractors to pay minimum wages and meet other labor standards. Executive Order 11246 requires equal employment opportunity by all construction contractor firms. Lastly, the Copeland Act’s anti-kickback section precludes any persuasion of an employee to sacrifice any part of their required compensation (USDOL, 2014). These dictated standards all affect the cost of projects and, if not accounted for in the bid and estimation process, will detrimentally impact the profit margins of the company as federal construction contracts are executed. Legal Considerations As XYZ begins the global expansion, it is important to realize that US labor laws are not binding in other countries in regard to foreign workers; the host country laws are in play (â€Å"Executive Concepts†, 2011, p.938). However, Congress expressly extended three US labor laws to expatriates working abroad for US firms. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and Title VII all extend extraterritorially (Nie, 2012). While XYZ’s staff is well versed in US employment and labor law, foreign labor law is country dependent and it is prudent to conduct targeted research on the specific country’s legal environment considered for expansion. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has drafted 182 conventions and 190 recommendations in their effort to standardize labor practices globally. Enforcement of these efforts is a country responsibility, and as such, there are still large gaps in adoption and application of the various standards (â€Å"Executive Concepts†, 2011). While it is enticing to reduce expenses by sacrificing some of the more costly US labor law practices while abroad, this practice could damage the company’s sterling reputation negatively affecting all future business ventures. As countries in Asia make the transition to democratic states, the door has been opened for improvements in collective and individual labor law, resulting in the creation of unions and the strengthening of workers’ rights. However, unions in developing counties depend upon government  support and, as such, are politically focused keeping the gap between internationally acceptable collective labor practices and reality relatively large (Caraway, 2009). Across Asia, individual labor rights are in a better position. There is a direct correlation between the wealth of a country and the enforced rights of its workers (Caraway, 2009). The most notable impact of this situation is the prevailing wage in each country and the impact on XYZ’s financial position on projects. Using the field support offices at the forward locations to gather this information is crucial to accurate project estimation and contract bidding. As the company transitions from privately owned to publicly held, there are considerations to keep in mind. First, corporate governance will adjust to account for a larger base of stockholders. There is risk that the focus of the company will also shift to a more stockholder centric view, discounting the requirements of the stakeholders (the employees) (Ecchia et al, 2012). This has the potential to lead to the creation of unfair labor practices as priority shifts from maintaining collective agreements to maintaining larger profit margins for the stockholders. Second, shareholders with large equities could pressure the company to offload portions of the workforce or reduce the employee’s benefits in order to improve profitability (Ecchia et al, 2012). As the union leadership monitors corporate business practices, this could lead to a revolt in the workforce and create an environment ripe for a strike thereby shutting down operations until resolved. Any financial gains made by the reduction would be lost to stagnated operations, and as such should be managed carefully. Conclusion Conducting business in the 21st Century is comparable to traversing the proverbial minefield. Legal missteps can cause insurmountable fines and legal fees as a company struggles to maintain good business practices. Understanding employment and labor law is paramount to maintaining a strong and viable company through transformation and expansion that produces profits for its shareholders. References Banks, K. (2011). Trade, Labor and International Governance: An Inquiry into the Potential Effectiveness of the New International Labor Law. Berkeley Journal Of Employment & Labor Law, 32(1), 45-142. Business Source Complete, Accession Number: 67233021 Barnum, Darold T. (1971) From Private to Public Relations in Urban Transit. Industrial & Labor Relations Review. 25(1), 95-115. Business Source Complete, Accession Number: 4459252. Brill, Edward A., Fant, Laura M., and Baddish, Noa M. (2013) U.S. Supreme Court Wrap-Up: Hot Topics in Labor and Employment Law. Employee Relations Law Journal. 39(3), 3-8. Business Source Complete, Accession Numbe:r 91640070 Caraway, Tara L. (2009). Labor Rights in East Asia: Progress or Regress?. Journal of East Asian Studies, 9(2), 153-186. ProQuest Research Library, Accession Number: 43381256 Ecchia, Giulio, Gelter, Martin, and Pasotti, Piero. (2012) Corporate Governance, Corporate and Employment Law, and the Costs of Expropriation. Review of Law & Economics. 8(2), 457-486. DOI: 10.1515/1555-5879.1357 Katten, Betsy. (2013) U.S. Supreme Court to Address Labor and Employment Matters in 2013-2014 Term. Employee Relations Law Journal. 39(3), 48-51. Business Source Complete, Accession Number: 91640075 Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved from: http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/employment Nie, Carrie. (2012). Extraterritorial Application of U.S. Employment Laws: Clearing the Murky Conflicting Foreign Laws Defense. International Lawyer, 46(4), 1027-1043, OmniFile, Accession Number: 90233860 Northcentral University (2011). SKS 7000-Executive Concepts in Business Strategy. Custom edition. Retrieved from: http://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/ United States Department of Labor. (2014) Retrieved from: http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/lawsprog.htm

An essay considering whether Romeo and Juliet Essay

‘Romeo and Juliet’ was a play written by William Shakespeare in 1595. William Shakespeare died on St. George’s day, 23rd April, 1616, making ‘Romeo and Juliet’ one of his earlier plays; written in what is now described as his second period, from his joining the Lord Chamberlain’s men in 1594 to the opening of the Globe Theatre in 1599. The diversity of Shakespeare’s work included comedies, histories and tragedies as well as poetry. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ comes under the category of a tragedy, tragedy meaning an event in which something dreadful occurs, or in a theatrical sense a serious play with a tragic theme, often involving a heroic struggle and the downfall of the main character. This definition of tragedy relates to ‘Romeo and Juliet’ because it is a play in which both the principal characters die in preventable circumstances at the close of the play. The downfall of Romeo and Juliet occurs by the fact that both characters start as young, beautiful descendents of powerful families and find themselves fleeing the city of Verona in fear of their lives and their relationship – both banished by the authorities or their own households. However, an alternative view could be developed by looking at the perception of the word tragedy when the play was written; in the late 16th century. People of the time were of the view that if something tragic were to happen it must happen to a person of innocence, otherwise it is not technically tragic. Romeo is not an innocent person because he takes the life of another person on more that one occasion, with the murders of Tybalt and Paris. Even though there is the argument that these crimes were a consequence of his obsessive and at times over-enthusiastic love for Juliet, they are still actions that take away his virtuousness. Juliet damages her purity by treating the wishes and guidance of her parents with contempt and disregarding the arranged marriage to Paris. These egocentric actions help develop another, more imperfect impression of the two protagonists which provides an argument against ‘Romeo and Juliet’ being a tragic play. In further illustration, tragic storylines generally end in unhappy circumstances, which on the one hand ‘Romeo and Juliet’ does with the many deaths, â€Å"for never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo.† Whilst on the other hand it could be argued that a more exultant conclusion occurs by the fact that the long-standing feud between the Montagues and the Capulets is finally resolved through their deaths. Basis for this statement is provided in the final scene by Capulet, â€Å"O brother Montague, give me thy hand, this is my daughter’s jointure, for no more can I demand.† In Shakespearean times ‘Romeo and Juliet’ would have been compared to such tragic plays as ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Macbeth’ which were tragedies to the exact definition because they entailed stories of monarchs with flawed characters diminishing from the highest place in society to death over the course of the play. These stories fulfilled the public criteria for a tragic tale; a concept initially introduced by Aristotle, a Greek philosopher who lived from 384 to 382 BC. He produced directives for the perfect tragedy, concepts which heavily influenced academics and writers throughout Europe. He dictated that, â€Å"the tragic heroes of any play must be people of royal or other high-born backgrounds.† Therefore, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ can be argued against being a tragedy because the two central characters are not royalty or part of any particular hierarchy. Many contend that being young and beautiful puts them in a social position to surpass most to begin with, although this does not fit unerringly into Aristotle’s theory. Aristotle exactly specifies the protagonists must be of â€Å"royal or other high-born backgrounds,† explicitly kings or generals, which Romeo and Juliet are not. The aforementioned statement can be supported by the following quotation from act three, scene one, in which Romeo’s killing of Tybalt is analysed, with the prince announcing, â€Å"Immediately we do exile him hence.† The fact that he has been exiled prior to his death illustrates further the fact that he is at a low point in society. Additionally, Aristotle also expresses his belief that these high born protagonists should have fatal flaws which lead to their downfall. Romeo’s fatal flaw is his impetuous and spontaneous nature which causes him to act before thoroughly thinking about what he is doing and considering the consequences of his actions. An example of his rashness comes when Balthasar tells Romeo that Juliet is dead, not knowing it is a faked death, â€Å"hire post-horses, I will hence to-night.† Here he is saying he will return to Verona, which he has been banished from, without waiting for news from Friar Lawrence; an action, as the audience soon finds out, that causes his death. His hot-headed rashness develops into the fuel for his uncontrollable obsession for his love, Juliet; who herself is fatally flawed by her notorious and narcissistic disobedience which causes her to defy the instructions and beliefs of her family. Juliet becomes so caught up in the irrepressible ardour of her relationship with Romeo that she fails to see the outrage and hatred she is rousing from an already hostile feud between two households. An example of her defiance comes when her mother tells her of her arranged marriage to Paris, â€Å"He shall not make me there a joyful bride.† Here she refuses to marry Paris, which infuriates her parents, causing them to reject their daughter; and inevitably her character’s downfall as she is now shamed. These self-centred actions defiantly caused their demise leading to their death because if they both were to act with less haste when fuelling their love for each other then some of the consequences that occurred may have been p revented. Therefore, it is possible to maintain that Romeo and Juliet both suffered dramatic downfalls due to their own actions. On the contrary to this it could also be argued that as both their families recognised their lives by erecting statues of them, â€Å"for I will raise her statue in pure gold,† their characters therefore living on in a manner of speaking, meaning that their characters were not entirely degraded by their actions, thus rendering their characters not downfallen. Moreover, another notion primarily introduced by Aristotle was centred around the audience’s perception of a tragedy, and how this could be used to define a tragic play. He said that the audience should feel pity and terror, pity for the hero and terror at the importance of the gods. This relates to ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in the sense that the heroic characters are Romeo and Juliet themselves, whom the audience does feel a certain amount of pity for because of the unfortunate and seemingly preventable misfortunes that happen to them throughout the course of the play. Juliet is pitied for the fact that she is disowned by her family, â€Å"do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee.†

Morality Play Essay

In life people strive consistently to choose between what is right and wrong. Most never take time to critically evaluate what factors drive their moral compass. Most have never taken the time to understand the conflicts that arise within their moral decisions. Analysis of the philosophical quiz â€Å"Are you a moral realist? † results gave me the opportunity to scrutinize my own moral compass. To follow I will discuss my opinion on the results of the quiz and the impact it had on my foundation of morality. I agree completely with the analysis. Upon completion of the quiz I learned that I was a moral objectivist and a moral relativist. Questions number two and eight provided me with the most glaring obvious evidence of my moral inconsistency. I felt very strongly that what is right or wrong depends on individual viewpoints and society supports this statement. When the Supreme Court is hearing case a group of justices vote on what is right. They don’t always the same opinion but the perception of what is being told is what makes a law and dictates what is right. Question number eight is in direct conflict because in no uncertain terms I believe it is wrong no matter whom you are, where you are, to torture innocent babies just for fun. My strong feelings in that regards completely nullifies right and wrong being based on individual viewpoints. The quiz result stating my position is inconsistent is correct. I was surprised by the results of the quiz; it opened my eyes to the truth of my ethical principles. I understand now that morality is something that I have failed to evaluate. The truth that I have discovered of my morality is that it is in conflict. This conflict exists because I have been guided by outside factors in my views of what is ethical. For example, politics tells me that freedom of religion is a right protected in the constitution so in my mind it became wrong to challenge someone’s religious views no matter what their views made them do. Being that I rationalized it is not justifiable to challenge someone religious views then a woman put to death in another country in the name of religion is not wrong due to the religions moral authority. I can say I have indeed fell victim to the distinguishing between descriptive ethics and normative ethics. Individuals have a diverse array of moral beliefs, which vary from person to person and culture to culture. To say this is to simply describe what is the case (Chaffe pg. 225). I have come to realize a person being killed in the name of religion is something that happens but it doesn’t mean that it is something that should happen. One could say my moral compass pointed north on some occasions and south on others. I see clearly that in every circumstance when a question was asked I thought how it applied to me. In truth my ethical judgment comes from a selfish place. In each scenario my determination was made by looking at what is appropriate for me and secondly society as a whole. I think the inconsistency in my morally can be attributed to two facts. The first is what is good for me always comes first and that I am torn between allowing descriptive and normative ethics govern my decisions. With morality there is what is and what should be, and with my own personal morality the same applies. My personal conflicts ethically stem from failure to consciously asses my moral compass. Morality is much more than someone’s beliefs governing their actions, it’s about an acceptance of what is right and wrong universally no matter a person’s culture, religion, or background. By assessment of my moral compass I have uncovered that I must take a closer look at what should be and stop being guided by what is. Bibliography Chaffee, J. (2011). The philosopher’s way: thinking critically about profound ideas (4th ed. ). Boston, MA: Prentice Hall.

Kuwaits Foreign Policy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Kuwaits Foreign Policy - Research Paper Example According to Robert Rothstein, Kuwait’s domestic resources are unable to provide necessary security to the people of Kuwait.3 Kuwait was interested in maximizing their independence and freedom.4 For that, it would be impossible for Kuwait to survive as a neutral country. It should be noted that America and its allies saved Kuwait from the invasion of Saddam recently. Kuwait’s foreign policy has been developed on different perspectives. Oil, Islamic Fundamentalism, Arab Nationalism, Protection from its neighbors such as Iraq and Iran are some of the basic tenants that shape Kuwait’s foreign policy. This paper briefly analyses these four basic tenants that shape Kuwait’s foreign policy It is estimated that Kuwait possesses around 8.6–9.7% of the world’s oil reserves at present.5 Oil revenues account for more than 75% of the governmental income in Kuwait. Moreover, oil constitutes almost 90% of Kuwait’s export earnings. From the above statistics, it is evident that oil revenues play a major role in the development of Kuwait. As in the case of many other Middle Eastern countries, oil has the ability to shape the politics in Kuwait. It should be noted that majority of the foreign countries, irrespective of developed or developing, are facing severe energy crisis at present. At the same time, Kuwait has abundant oil resources. Naturally, the eyes of the foreigners would definitely focus more on Kuwait even though Kuwait is only a small country. The political, social and economic developments in Kuwait will be watched curiously by the foreigners. It would be easy for the western countries to interfere in Kuwaiti politics since Kuwait is facing many threats from its neighboring countries such as Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Westerners are providing protection to Kuwaitis while taking oil as the fees or payment for that protection. In short,

The Articles of Confedration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Articles of Confedration - Essay Example The Articles of Confederation served as the actual system of government which was used by the Congress till the time it became de jure by final sanction in the year 1781. It was then that the Congress became the Congress of the Confederation at that time. The Articles of Confederation basically prescribed the rules that went in the different operations of the US Confederation. What these Articles of Confederation did were to plan different issues like the aspects of discussing war and ordering the army to go ahead with the attack processes, negotiating different matters pertaining to diplomatic agreements and the like as well as resolving the problems that came in the way of the western territories and this indeed was a huge issue if seen in the proper contexts. Also what the Articles of Confederation did was to undertake proper measures which could understand the borrowing aspects related with the inside and outside of US that were taking place. There were some criticisms as well which came in the way of the Articles of Confederation. One such was that the critics raised different viewpoints in the wake of the creation of a mighty central state as it was thought of to be lacking a taxing authority and related basis. Thus the role of the federal government in such a situation is to ask for more and more funds from the different states. Then there was another ambiguity in the form of a concern that the one-state, one-vote aspect was somewhat mind-boggling to state the least and it created problems for the Articles of Confederation’s basis by all measures and means. There needed to be a change within the relevant basis so that the Articles of Confederation could be thought of as being pretty easier and less ambiguous than anything else. The larger states were requested to offer more than what the smaller states had to give at the end of the

Portfolio 02243 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Portfolio 02243 - Essay Example Thus, our family have to learn English for meeting the global requirement. However, being the native peoples we were facing the challenges of speaking English correctly. In terms of learning English or other foreign languages like German and Spanish my Mandarin pronunciation got inaccurate and my parents helped me a lot to rectify the languages (Grainger, 2014). My education emphasised on the first language Mandarin which is my native language. I have faced multilingual issues in the Jiangsu are different languages are used by the local peoples. I observed that the maximum peoples of my school are using Mandarin languages, some of them using English, German and Spanish to communicate with the others. From the age of 12, I selected German as my second foreign language. However, I faced intense complexity in learning the foreign language in classrooms. Major I faced problem was the accent of German language. Very less number of peoples was using the language thus I did not have the scope of learning the methods of oral communication. Teachers were just teaching us the methods like paraphrase of Chinese and German, and some basic grammars. I have started to communicate with European classmates to improve my accent of English and German. Discussion helped me to gain insight on various critical incidences and cross cultural traits. The discussion of CT 5 provided me with the details of Mr J and Mr S. From the discussion it is observed that Mr J is working in a foreign country which unfamiliar to him as per the culture and languages. Mr J took the help of the Mr S to understand the culture of the new country. However, it is also observed that the culture of Mr S is empowering the hangouts and spending time with friends and acquaintance. They can interact with the immigrant or the foreign country members very easily and they are very helpful (Beausaert, Segers and Gijselaers, 2011). Culture of the country

Zapatista Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Zapatista - Essay Example Similar to that revolution, the Zapatista movement of today (which started in 1994 until the present time) is a hodgepodge or mishmash of several ideologies, a heterogeneous mixture of socialism, libertarianism, anarchism and communism. Its overarching policy goal is to use the power of the word to achieve its aims which are social equity like equal distribution of wealth and protection for the downtrodden poor such as farmer peasants and the working class. In the words of Subcomandante Marcos himself, their revolutionary movement has generally abstained from the use of firepower and instead opted for democratic space by the use of the power of the media, hence the title of this wonderful book. Their advocacy is to be heard, especially in behalf of the very poor indigenous people of Chiapas, the southernmost state in Mexico. Their original purpose is to bring attention to the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Interestingly, Subcomandante Marcos is not of Mayan ancestry but this has not prevented him from siding with the poor of Chiapas. The Zapatista Movement is called a â€Å"post-modern† revolution that uses words for weapons, including the power of the Internet. Although little is known about the personal background of Subcomandante Marcos, it is generally believed that he is an intellectual of some sort based on his ideological beliefs. He himself had come under severe criticism lately for becoming elitist, contrary to what he had fought against, by becoming a celebrity figure who gladly signs autographs and poses readily for a photo op. The eloquence of Marcos allowed him to bring disparate groups together to fight a common cause – capitalism and neo-liberalism. In particular, the Zapatismo is thought to be a protest against the dangers of unbridled exploitative capitalism that is now advocated through free trade agreements and continuing globalization. Marcos views it

Human Resource Management Concepts based on Case Study

Human Resource Management Concepts based on - Case Study Example This is generally known as person specification (Preston, 2011). It includes the minimum requirements with respect to skills, qualifications, attributes and personality traits deemed suitable for the job. Any non conformity to this description or any deviation in the actual requirements may lead to mismatch in the aspirations of the applicants and finally leads to increased turnover. The second step of selection and recruitment process is the interview and test (Preston, 2011). These are basically used to determine the qualititative and quantitative aptitude of the applicants and understanding the fitness of the applicant in the organizational culture. This policy is quite important as it tests the fitness of the candidate in the workplace and ultimately leads to reduced turnover when the candidate is a perfect fit. This also gives candidates a chance to understand the job requirements and helps them evaluate the suitability of the job for themselves (Rees and Smith, 2014). Thus such a recruitment policy where both employers and prospective employees understand the each other leads to reduction in turnover rates. Thus staff turnover is highly affected by the type of recruitment and selection methods that a company uses. The recruitment and selection policies of the organizations should be so designed so as to ensure the matching of the aspiration of the employees at the same time must be profitable for the employer too. There are several advantages of recruiting new employees through the job experience day. The first advantage being that this approach helps new applicants understand the job requirements better through hands on experience of the job. In a traditional interview or test type format where the candidates can only imagine the type of job they are applying based solely on the job description provided (Preston, 2011), in the

Questiona and Answer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Questiona and Answer - Essay Example Illustrators also often resort to research in the early stages of the illustrative process. They usually do background research of the elements involved in the story and deeply understand them in order to better tell the story in picture. The next procedure would be the storyboards, design and layout, where the illustrator arranges the sequence and the blending of the text and the illustrations in order to have the most potent story-telling effect and to highlight and emphasize certain parts where highlighting is needed. Ansty & Bull (2000) noted that the illustrative process is rather full of interaction from many people along the way, and not only isolated to the illustrator. He consults among many individuals and are also critiqued and constructively evaluated by others before the final output is done. This step is essential especially with the involvement of an editor wherein he knows what might be good or what might be detrimental in the ultimate goal of the story, which is to sell. Going back to the illustrator, it is important to consider how he views and is aware of his target audience for the illustrations. He must be sensitive to the orientation of the readers and on how he portrays them or how he expresses it to them in a manner appropriate. 1. The illustrative process is likened to the writing process because of the way it does not follow strict guidelines and sequences of stages in order to make the desired outcome, but they nonetheless adhere to the same overall process. Writing is the ability to articulate to share and influence the thoughts with others (The Writing Process, 2007), in like manner, illustrating is not so far off in that concept. 2. In writing a story board, first, one needs to consider the message that is the overall concept in the story. In this case, in the story of Cinderalla, it’s about

Summery 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summery 2 - Essay Example The intricate nature by which most people try to protect their privacy from the outside world may be astonishing, but it is not something that is new. This paper will examine the issues presented by the article, and find out how people can use this information to their benefit. The article cites that the end of this generation might mark a period of transition. This transition is one that requires information in order to survive, and for people to immediately recognize the need to have some privacy. People favor privacy, and there is now a way in which technology can assist one in attaining this freedom. The internet can provide the safety net that most people wish for when it comes to their private lives. However, people are not using these avenues to protect their lives. There is the presence of data encryption software that may allow people to live their lives as they see fit, and it is only through asking that one may be able to look into someone else’s life. However, as the article goes on to suggest, individuals are now trying to get the best out of the technological advancement period by exchanging information in order to get information. The lives of any individual who is worth news can be easily accessed, and their lives made public. This is what the change in times is also bringing forth. People are now exchanging their ideals for a less subtle way of life, which implies that prying has become a way of life for most people. This has become a way of life for the American people. Everybody is now linked through the mere touch of a button as this is quickly becoming a wired world. In conclusion, privacy is an important aspect of any society. Privacy was not something that people were familiar with, and that the evolution of time has brought some kind of peace to some people. Now, one can only see what another chooses to show the public. However, it is high time people stop lowering their standards to some of the crucial

CRITICAL APPROACHES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CRITICAL APPROACHES - Essay Example een from the scene that emphasizes on Emily’s status in being involved in teaching china painting which is considered to be done by the middle class and upper class people. With time we see Emily’s financial status deteriorate making her lose her respect with the high and mighty in her class. This led to an illusion by people of her class in the society because of the belief that everyone can make a success of themselves but their social status still remain no matter what happens. This is also seen from the fact that Emily still stayed at her parents’ home to maintain her class and feel as part of the class she was born in even though all was not well even though she was not getting any younger. When we analyze her relationship with Homer she accepted to go out dine and wine with him but refused to commit herself to him because of his low class status. She only became friends with Homer to make herself seem well behaved and not

What makes a good leader using Advocate leadership style Research Paper

What makes a good leader using Advocate leadership style - Research Paper Example This paper is going to be concerned with advocacy style which is the strongest from of leadership. Advocates are committed to accomplish whatever mission they have set out using all the available means. They take responsibility for failure and share success and would suffer for the sake of the group. The paper is going to argue that a leader using advocacy leadership style which is the norm in the social work can become a good leader by being assertive, dedicated, humble, flexible and able to use different strategies to get results. In addition he must possess skills such as capacity to inspire, communication skills, leading by example, self-awareness, able to manage conflict among others. Introduction Every successful organization has a successful leader behind it. The problem is that there has not been an agreement among theorists as to what constitutes successful leadership. The trait theorists would argue that it is the innate qualities of leaders that make them successful; the b ehaviorists would argue that it is the behavioral characteristics that make a leader to be effective while still others believe that effective leaders possess certain skills. For ages, we have heard many individuals from different organizations being named as great leaders; for example, Bill Gates and Nelson Mandela. What is leadership and what makes these leaders effective? This is what this paper will try to answer using the advocate leadership style. Effective Leadership Leadership is defined by Stanfield (2009 p. 5) as â€Å"directing behavior of others towards accomplishment of some common objective†. In other words, it is the ability to influence others towards an accomplishment of some set goal. Leadership is often used interchangeably with management or administration but the two concepts mean two different things. While leadership involves influencing people, management involves planning, organizing and controlling. A good manager needs to be a good leader but a good leader does not necessarily have to be a manager. Some people become leaders due to their power to influence or charisma and not because they have management skills. However, good management skills can help in becoming an effective leader. Organizations require good leaders in order to function effectively and beat competition. There are many types of leadership in organizations such as the idealists, diplomats, mentors, achievers, innovators, enthusiasts, and advocates (Northouse, 2010). All of them have different styles of leading but the focus will be on the advocates. The advocate type of leaders according to Kirst-Ashman and Hull (2012, p. 207) are highly committed to the goals of the organization and are most of the times skilled administrators. These are the strongest leaders in any organization as they handle a great deal of responsibility without being too dominating. Moreover, they take their responsibility very seriously and would go to great heights to ensure organizati onal goals or the group missions are achieved (Stanfield, 2009). They are thus willing to suffer for the sake of the team provided they get to where they are heading to. They also do not avoid conflicts and take tasks head on. They are willing to take responsibility for any failures or mistakes but when it comes to achievements, they are shared among all members. Kirst-Ashman and Hull (2012) also consider such leaders as straight-forward and have great concern for the well being of all members in the organization. All these attribute make advocates great leaders and their style is most needed especially in social work where great deal of advocacy is required. So what makes a

Case Analysis on Jobs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case Analysis on Jobs - Essay Example A systematic body of knowledge on the design of jobs is a result of the Industrial revolution and the rise of large-scale economic enterprises. Job in simple can be defined as 'a grouping of tasks, responsibilities and duties'. Companies rely of job analysis to enrich the job experience, so that the worker is in a position to give his/ her optimum to the company. Jobs are classified based on the types of requisite qualifications, expertise and experience and accordingly people are selected for each job. The process of reclassifying, enlargement, specification of jobs is an evolutionary process within an organisation and continues with newer inputs to the industry and job profile. Job analysis therefore provides details of the tasks and activities to be carried out on a particular job together with required human skills and motivations to the human resource. Adequate working ambience and other motivators then act towards maximizing the productivity and satisfaction. Job design and wor k organization function towards complementing each other's roles. Employees are placed in different positions in the hierarchy depending upon the levels of responsibility entrusted to them. The working is regularly evaluated by the seniors and accordingly there are higher responsibilities for deserving ones. The process of job evaluation is a prerequisite to effective recr... Step-2: Determining the process of job analysis. A suitable technique of job analysis is defined for carrying out the task. For this adequate support is required from different quarters like the HR professionals, managers, executives etc. This process is a time consuming process and requires patience and an eye for observation. Preparations are made for a thorough analysis of the job with the help of questionnaires, interviews, observation and the reports about the job gathered over time. Step-3: Data collection: Data is collected with the help of questionnaires, surveys, observations and other reliable reports. Step-4: Data Compilation: The data collected in step-3 happens to be in raw form and requires grouping in different segments, tabulation etc. so that conclusions can be drawn out with comparisons and analysis. Step-5: Verifying job description and job satisfaction. This process is required to take care of any loose ends that could have been left during the data collection process. Under this process the documents are sent to the participants for reviews for ascertaining the accuracy. Step-6: After the participants review the document and give a seal of approval the jobs are provided specifications with the approval of middle level supervisors and senior management. Step-7: Maintaining the Job specifications for future reference: The jobs thus specified and described are to be documented and maintained for references in future so that whenever a need is felt to undertake such an exercise again, these documents are available for

Animal Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Animal Behavior - Essay Example mental attack.† The tentative conclusion and the statement that the authors’ ideas are likely to change with time, does not actually make the suggestion convincing. The authors, however, present a wide spectrum of thoughts on the issue and describe several experiments that relate to the concept. The manner in which the arguments are presented need to be considered and their objectivity assessed, to make the overall argument worth consideration. The authors seem to have made several sweeping assumptions in order to narrow down the scope of the discussion. Thus they have been able to offer the reader a wide spectrum of ideas to ponder upon. An example would be the statement that most neuroscientists do not attempt to study consciousness either because it is a philosophical problem or because such study is premature. Discarding the philosophical aspects of the issue, the article goes on to argue that such study is not premature. No valid reasons are given for discarding the philosophical aspects, even as there is no dispute about the need to study the issue scientifically in the present time. I don’t think the issue can be approached purely from a scientific perspective without considering the philosophical aspects. The article dwells on several features and forms of consciousness and introduces the concept of â€Å"neuronal correlates of consciousness† or NCC. The force of the argument is substantially reduced by asserting that the assumptions are â€Å"tentative† and that â€Å"personal decisions† were taken to set aside several topics without further discussion. Further it goes on to state that a precise definition of consciousness was premature and that it was â€Å"not profitable† to make certain arguments. Such statements in a scientific, or at the very least an objective discussion, dilute its validity. However, visual consciousness, its uses, nature, characteristics and biological explanations etc, discussed in the works by others in the field are used,

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 12

Case study - Essay Example One thing which is common among them is that they all love their jobs, even if they are apparently difficult to others. All the job profiles mentioned in the examples are apparently tough and hectic, which provides challenging situations and huge work load. They also demands extensive attention and time devotion to an employee’s work life. In general, most of the employees would face exhaustion and burn out while working in this schedule (Burke & MacDermid, 1999), but these individuals mentioned in the examples, are driven by challenge and they are motivated by high target fulfilment. All of them work in respectable and well renowned companies and in reputable positions. Although, they have very little time for personal life, and their work-life balance is reduced to a minimum, they enjoy their work life more than their personal life. These individuals are all self-motivated; they are driven by tough challenges and high achievement of success. According to Douglas, and Morris (2006), most workaholic people work for personal desire, they are rarely driven by the future outcome, rather what push es them is the need to complete their task and reach their goal. They all push themselves out of their comfort zone, to achieve what most of the people cannot. Some of the jobs allow the employees to travel all around the world, which is preferred by a workaholic employee, but is seen as a hectic scheduled job by an average one. According to Koà §oglu, Gà ¼rkan, and Aktas (2014) challenging workload is one of the factors of job satisfaction. Workload can be overwhelming to employees if it exceeds the employees’ working ability. Eventually, it causes job dissatisfaction and psychological withdrawal from the job. On the other hand, too little work load can cause job dissatisfaction too, because the employee eventually feels frustrated and their morale goes down (Koà §oglu,

Analysis of the Rivalry between Video Games(Playstation, Wii and Xbox) Essay

Analysis of the Rivalry between Video Games(Playstation, Wii and Xbox) - Essay Example Previously, Sega was a prominent player in the industry, however, in current times, the three leaders in the industry; namely, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft, have always been neck-to-neck against each other. Throughout the course of time, Atari began the industry with its 4-bit games and then, Nintendo’s rivalry with Sega spanned throughout the 1980’s and until the middle of 1990’s. Then, Sony launched its Playstation and it took the industry by surprise. Since then Sega stopped its game race while Microsoft entered the market with its Xbox 360. The inclination of the video game companies in the last century circled around the basic factors of competition such as the edge over technology, better diversity of gaming experience and a connection with consumers’ imagination. However, since the last decade, companies have switched their focus to a changing scenario and diverse consumer preferences. Focus has been on wireless and network-enabling features, along with better graphics. The companies claim their products’ value-proposition to be a complete entertainment package and not just a gaming console.The video game industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. With early analogue game inventions in the mid 1900s, the video gaming industry has picked up on pace by the end of 1990s. Since then, the industry has never looked back. Various multinational companies and massive customer bases have developed this business into a multi-billion dollar industry. Buyers are literate and in all ages - predominantly preteens, teens and young adults. The game player’s age has increased to 33 and 25% of buyers are over age 50 (Izushi and Aoyama, 2006). Game console is the largest segment in the industry, but online, mobile, PC software and broadband are some of the fastest growing segments. In the past decade, the video gaming industry has been growing sharply and is expected continue to grow in the future. The growth ra te of global video games has been very healthy especially since 2000; the market size increased from 24,352 million in 2000 to 51,292 million in 2010 (Competition in the Video Game Console Industry: Nintendo, Sony, And Microsoft Battle For Supremacy, 2009).   The industry comprises of numerous game developers, however, the top companies are only a handful, while others are niche players. According to a research mentioned in the article ‘Competition in the Video Game Console Industry: Nintendo, Sony, And Microsoft Battle For Supremacy’, there are only 3 major players; Sony, Xbox and Nintendo. Broadly speaking, research found 6 leading video game consoles appeal to generate large-volume sales of new units in 2007: namely, Microsoft’s Xbox 360; Sony PlayStation 3 and hand-held PSP; and Nintendo’s Wii, Game Boy Advance, and DS/DS Lite. The major markets for these companies for business is the US and Asia market. The report discusses the business rivalry pers istent in the video game industry worldwide. Through the course of this report, the reader can find brief cases of each major game developer and the nature of rivalries

Ap Biology Notes Cellular Communication Essay Example for Free

Ap Biology Notes Cellular Communication Essay Cell-to-cell communication is essential in multicellular organisms. They must communicate to coordinate activities such as growth and development, and reproduction. In addition unicellular organisms communicate with each other. Signals may use light, or touch but we will focus on chemical signals. 1. External signals are converted to responses within the cell a. Evolution of cell signaling i. In yeast a cells and ÃŽ ±cells both secrete chemicals, which can only be received by the alternate type yeast. This signals the two cells to join via fusion 1. The process by which the signal on the surface of the cell is converted to a series of steps by the cell in response is called a signal transduction pathway ii. Signal transduction pathways are very similar in yeast and in complex multicellular organisms 2. This leads scientists to believe that this pathway evolved first in ancient prokaryotes b. Local and long distance signaling iii. Local signaling 3. Adjacent cells of plants and animals may communicate through cell junctions a. Signaling substances dissolved in the cytoplasm travel between cells i. Plants = plasmodesmata ii. Animals = gap junctions 4. Animal cells may use the following b. Cell-to-cell recognition iii. Direct contact between membrane-bound cell-surface molecules iv. Important in embryonic development and immune response c. Paracrine signaling v. Uses local regulators which are released and travel only a short distance to nearby cells vi. Ex. Growth factors target nearby cells to grow and divide d. Synaptic signaling vii. Electrical signal along a nerve cell triggers a chemical release across a synapse to trigger response in target cell viii. Ex. Nerve cells iv. Long- distance signaling 5. Both plants and animals use hormones e. Animals (endocrine signaling) cells release hormones which travel in the circulatory system to target cells f. Plants hormones travel in vessels or by diffusion through the air as gas g. Hormones vary in size and shape 6. Nervous system signals can also be long distance c. The three stages of cell signaling: A preview v. Reception: when the target cell detects a signaling molecule. The signaling molecule binds to a receptor protein on the target cell’s surface vi. Transduction: After binding the receptor protein is changed in some way, this converts the signal to a form that will bring about a specific cellular response 7. May occur in a single step or a series of changes vii. Response: The transduced signal triggers a specific cellular response. 8. Catalysis of an enzyme, rearrangement of the cytoskeleton, activation of a specific gene 2. Reception: A signaling molecule binds to a receptor protein, causing it to change shape d. To ensure signals are sent to the correct cell signaling molecules act as a ligand. viii. Ligand- molecule that specifically binds to another (usually larger) molecule ix. The receptor protein then usually changes shape x. May be located on the membrane or inside the cell e. Receptors in the plasma membrane xi. Water-soluble signaling molecule binds to receptor on the membrane causing it to change shape or aggregate. f. Intracellular Receptors xii. Found in cytoplasm or nucleus of target cells 9. Signaling molecule must be hydrophobic enough or small enough to pass through the plasma membrane h. Steroid hormones, thyroid hormones, nitric oxide | Examples| Pathway| Other| G-Protein Coupled Receptors| Yeast mating factors, epinephrine, hormones, neurotransmitters| 1. signaling molecule binds to the g-protein receptor 2. receptor changes shape and the cytoplasmic side binds to the inactive G protein 3. GTP then displaces to form GDP and activates the protein 4. Activated G protein diffuses along the membrane to an enzyme altering the enzyme to trigger the next step| Bacteria such as whooping cough, botulism and cholera disrupt this pathway| Receptor Tyrosine Kinases| Enzymes that catalyze the transfer of phosphate groups| 1. binding of two signaling molecules to two tyrosine chains causes the two to associate with each other forming a dimer 2. dimerization activates the tyrosine kinase region to add a phosphate from and ATP to each tyrosine in the polypeptide 3. each tail can now bind to and activate a different specific relay protein within the cell| One receptor may activate ten+ pathways. Absence can result in cancer| Ion Channel Receptors| Nervous system| 1. signaling molecule binds to the ion channel in the membrane 2. protein changes shape creating a channel through the membrane 3. specific ions can now flow through the membrane which may cause a change in the cell or trigger another pathway| Some ion gated channels are controlled by change in voltage rather than binding of a ligand| g. Intracellular Receptors xiii. Ex. Testosterone 10. Hormone passes through the plasma membrane 11. Testosterone binds to a receptor protein in the cytoplasm activating it 12. The hormone-receptor complex enters the nucleus and binds to a specific gene 13. The bound protein acts as a transcription factor, stimulating the transcription of the gene into mRNA 14. The mRNA is translated into a specific protein 3. Transduction: cascades of molecular interactions relay signals from receptor to target molecules in the cell h. Protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation xiv. Proteins can be activated by the addition of a phosphate group (often broken off of ATP or GTP) 15. Phosphates are transferred from ATP to a protein by a general group of enzymes known as protein kinases i. Phosphorylation often causes the protein to change shape j. This happens because the added phosphate group interacts with polar or charged amino acids within the protein xv. Protein phosphatases are enzymes that remove phosphate groups from a protein 16. Mechanism for turning off signal transduction 17. These also allow for turning off and reusing pathways i. Small molecules and ions as second messengers xvi. Molecules other than proteins act as second messengers 18. Small and water soluble such as ions k. This allows them to rapidly spread throughout the cell via diffusion 19. Second messenger refers to anything after the first messenger which is the extracellular signaling molecule that binds to the membrane 20. Most common second messengers are cyclic AMP and Ca+2 xvii. Cyclic AMP as a second messenger in response to the hormone epinephrine 21. Epinephrine binds to receptor molecule protein activates adenylyl cyclase which can catalyze the synthesis of many molecules of cAMP l. Adenylyl cyclase catalyzes the conversion of ATP into cAMP ix. cAMP usually activates a serine/threonine kinase known as protein kinase A which phosphorylates many other proteins m. cAMP is converted back to AMP by phosphodiesterase xviii. Calcium ions and inositol tripohosphate 22. Increasing calcium concentration causes responses such as muscle contraction, secretion of substances, and cell division in animals, and greening in response to light in plants 23. Calcium is usually in high concentrations outside of the cell and in the ER but in low concentrations in the cytosol 24. Pathway n. Signaling molecule binds to receptor   o. Phospholipid pinches off membrane IP3 is released as second messenger p. IP3 binds to receptor on ER causing protein channel to open q. Ca+2 is released into cytosol 4. Response: Cell signaling leads to regulation of transcription or cytoplasmic activities j. Nuclear and cytoplasmic responses xix. Pathways lead to the regulation of one or more cellular activities 25. Regulate protein synthesis r. Turning specific genes on or off (calls for the synthesis of mRNA from DNA) 26. Regulate protein activity s. Cause a shape change to turn a protein on or off 27. Regulate overall shape change of cell 28. Release of mating factors 29. Cell division k. Fine-tuning of the response xx. Signal amplification 30. Enzyme cascades amplify effects by increasing the product at each step t. Enzymes stay active long enough to work on multiple products before becoming inactive xxi. The specificity of cell signaling and coordination of the response 31. Different types of cells are programmed to respond to only certain types of signals u. Some cells will respond to the same signals but in different ways v. This is because different cells have different collections of proteins xxii. Signaling efficiency: scaffolding proteins and signaling complexes 32. Scaffolding proteins increase the efficiency of the response w. A large protein with multiple protein kinases attached x. Decreases the time of the response because diffusion between proteins is not needed 33. Pathways are not linear, in fact the same protein may act in multiple pathways 34. Relay proteins serve as branch points where the signal may go in one of two directions xxiii. Termination of the signal 35. Each step in the pathway lasts only a short time, this makes the proteins ready for a new signal 36. When the signaling molecule leaves leave the receptor it reverts to its inactive form and the relay molecules follow

Food and Industry Essay Example for Free

Food and Industry Essay Political This can have two extreme effects on threat of new entrants. If the government brings out higher restaurant license cost and increased taxes and/or implements strict health and safety regulations along with more documentation procedures, this will increase the barriers to entry. However, if the government does the opposite by decreasing license cost and taxes or has a lenient approach to health and safety procedures, the threat of new entrants will be high. Economic. Due to the rising income disparity and the adverse economic conditions, the number of unemployed is increasing due to which the labor cost will decrease, and the up-class restaurants will be more in demand as the rich are getting richer. Thus, the threat of entrants is high because of increased profit margins in such ventures. In case of improvement in the economy, more people could afford to go out to restaurants which give more opportunities for new restaurants to come up. Social. The current social trend is in favor of eating out especially at expensive restaurants, thereby, increasing their demand and also owning such eat-outs is now very socially appealing thus, increasing the threat of new entrants. Technological The rise in innovative technology has made management of restaurants very easy and the new sophisticated software now enable restaurants to run with less number of employees, thereby, reducing the labor cost. Thus, this factor increases the threat of new entrants. |B |Bargaining Power of Buyers |Yes |~ |No | | | |(+) | |(–) | | |Are there a large number of buyers relative to the number of firms in the business? |[pic] | | | | |Do you have a large number of customers, each with relatively small purchases? |[pic] | | | | |Does the customer face any significant costs in switching suppliers? | | |[pic] | | |Does the buyer need a lot of important information? | | |[pic] | | |Is the buyer aware of the need for additional information? | | |[pic] | | |Is there anything that prevents your customer from taking your function in-house? |[pic] | | | | |Your customers are not highly sensitive to price. |[pic] | | | | |Your product is unique to some degree or has accepted branding. |[pic] | | | | |Your customers’ businesses are profitable. | |[pic] | | | |You provide incentives to the decision makers. | | |[pic] | Interpretation The bargaining power of buyer is low in the industry firstly because their product is a commodity item and consumers have no choice but to continue consumption, as it is also a form of entertainment in our country. This makes the industry more attractive and profitable and the PEST forces such as increasing population is an appealing opportunity, however, the economic situation of the country brings along adverse effects on the industry. Nandos should therefore, bank on the rising income disparity. PEST forces that affect Bargaining Power of Buyers Political This political factor has no direct affect on the bargaining power of buyers. Economic The increasing population reduces the power of buyers. Even though the adverse economic situation of Pakistan is reducing the consumer base, it is still not making much impact on the bargaining power of buyers. Social The trend is moving towards eating at restaurants, which is increasing the base of consumers, thus, reducing their bargaining power. Technological The advancement in technology makes it possible for the buyer to gather all the information quickly and make informed decisions. Thus, this is increasing the bargaining power of buyers. |C |Threat of Substitutes |Yes |~ |No | | | |(+) | |(–) | | |Substitutes have performance limitations that do not completely offset their lowest price. Or, |[pic] | | | | |their performance is not justified by their higher price. | | | | | |The customer will incur costs in switching to a substitute. | | |[pic] | | |Your customer has no real substitute. |[pic] | | | | |Your customer is not likely to substitute. | |[pic] | | Interpretation The threat of substitutes is medium to low, as this industry does not have any real substitutes, because restaurants offer unique experiences along with their basic product i. e. food items. In Pakistan, eating out is a form of entertainment and people generally like going to specific restaurants and cafes because of their splendid experience in the past including ambience and food. Nandos should therefore concentrate their efforts on upgrading their restaurant ambience and the taste offered by them. PEST forces that affect Threat of Substitutes There aren’t many substitutes of the restaurant industry. However, decrease in the purchasing power of the people could lessen their visits to the restaurants thereby increasing the threat of substitutes. If better substitutes are provided to people such as more variety in the ready-to-cook foods could increase the threat of substitutes. |D |Bargaining Power of Suppliers |Yes |~ |No | | | |(+) | |(–) | | |My inputs (materials, labor, supplies, services, etc. ) are standard rather than unique or | | |[pic] | | |differentiated | | | | | |I can switch between suppliers quickly and cheaply. | | |[pic] | | |My suppliers would find it difficult to enter my business or my customers would find it difficult | | |[pic] | | |to perform my function in-house. | | | | | |I can substitute inputs readily. | | |[pic] | | |I have many potential suppliers. | | |[pic] | | |My business is important to my suppliers. |[pic] | | | | |My cost of purchases has no significant influence on my overall costs. | | |[pic] | Interpretation Bargaining power of suppliers is high because the inputs are not easily substituted, keeping in mind only those companies in the industries that are rather cautious about their inputs as poor quality inputs can cause them a hefty amount of business. Also, the inputs are usually of a perishable nature, thus, stock-ups are not possible, that is why reliability of suppliers is very important. Therefore, these companies usually have one or two major supplier of main inputs, who can provide good quality inputs in a timely manner. This is an unattractive aspect of this industry, that’s why; Nandos should integrate backward by probably farming their chicken, in order to eliminate this power of suppliers. PEST forces that affect Bargaining Power of Suppliers Political. If the government grants subsidies to other chicken suppliers so that they are able to produce at the same level and with same quality as KnN, then the supplier power will reduce. If the government establishes quality standards for using hygienic meat products, the supplier power would go very high since there is only one major chicken supplier. Economic The current economic situation of the country will reduce large scale companies such as KnN; thus, the supplier power will increase. Also our poultry industry is â€Å"going down†. This will further increase the power of suppliers. Social. This factor will not affect the input of food industry. Technological Technology has made it possible to manage the poultry industry, thus enabling more suppliers to come in. therefore, the power of suppliers will reduce. |E |Determinants of Rivalry among existing competition |Yes |~ |No | | | |(+) | |(–) | | |The industry is growing rapidly. |[pic] | | | | |The industry is not cyclical with intermittent overcapacity. | | |[pic] | | |The fixed costs of the business are a relatively low portion of total costs. | | |[pic] | | |There are significant product differences and brand identities between the competitors. |[pic] | | | | |The competitors are diversified rather than specialized. |[pic] | | | | |It would not be hard to get out of this business because there are no specialized skills and |[pic] | | | | |facilities or long-term contract commitments, etc. | | | | | |My customers would incur significant costs in switching to a competitor. | | |[pic] | | |My product is complex and requires a detailed understanding on the part of my customer. | | |[pic] | | |My competitors are all of approximately the same size as I am. | | |[pic] | Interpretation. The rivalry amongst the existing firms is moderate to high as each tries to outdo the other by offering cost-effective deals to the consumers especially during Ramadan. With the increasing rate with which these eat-outs are opening, the market share for each of them is deteriorating. Thus, each is rigorously competing against the rest. In such situation, it is usually the restaurants with small operations such as Nandos that suffer. Nandos should therefore, try to combat this issue by increasing their operation via market penetration or market development. PEST forces that affect Rivalry among existing competition. Political If the government grants subsidies to local competitors to match the international chains, the rivalry will increase. Economic The fake economic growth has increased the availability of funds; therefore the competitors can match international chains now. Thus, the rivalry will increase. Social This factor will not affect the input of the Restaurant Industry. Technological Technology has made it possible for competitors to affectively reduce cost, thereby, enabling to match each other and copy the others competitive advantage. This will increase the rivalry between competitors. | |Overall Industry Rating |Favorable |Moderate |Un-favorable |Implications | | |Threat of new entrants |3 |2 |7 | | | | | | | |Threat of new entrants is high | | | | | | |Unfavorable | | |Bargaining power of buyers |5 |1 |4 | | | | | | | |Bargaining power of buyers is Low | | | | | | |Favorable | | |Threat of substitutes |2 |1 |1 | | | | | | | |Threat of substitutes is Medium to Low | | | | | | |Somewhat Favorable | | |Bargaining power of suppliers |1 |0 |6 | | | | | | | |Bargaining power of suppliers is high | | | | | | |Unfavorable | | |Intensity of rivalry among competitors |4 |0 |5 | | | | |. | | |Intensity or rivalry is Moderately High | | | | | | |Unfavorable | | |Total |15 |4 |23 |Reasonably Unattractive | Interpretation Overall, it is an unfavorable industry as the major cities of Pakistan are swamped with many restaurants and cafes. Nevertheless, the industry position can be exploited to ones advantage, if strategically smart decisions are taken. For Nandos, the recommendations include: †¢ Constantly innovate and bring in more competitive advantage that are unmatchable, in order to reduce the threat of new entrants. †¢ Backward integration to reduce the power of suppliers. †¢ More effective differentiation to reduce the rivalry between Nandos and competitors. 1 Overall Macro-Environmental Pest Factors Political Factors: The political factors that mainly affect Nandos concern how the government relates to health issues concerning food items being served or brings out new regulations regarding the restaurant business. For Instance: when Bird Flu occurred in Pakistan, if the government would have asked for ban on chicken items or some strict regulations on the chicken items being served, then it would have highly affected Nandos as well. Government regulations regarding franchises or international chain of restaurants would affect Nandos in relations to itself or in dealing with its competitors. Economic Factors: Pakistan is a developing country and the majority of the population has low purchasing power. Nandos caters to that niche of the Pakistani society that has a relatively higher purchasing power than the majority of the nation. Any economic instability or economic recession would decrease the power of a lot of consumers, decreasing the niche segment that Nandos caters to. Thus economic power does affect Nandos as people tend to spend less on eating out at relatively expensive places when they have a tighter budget. If the economy develops and more people have the purchasing power, then more people would be able to visit restaurants like Nandos. Social Factors: The trend of eating out has been carrying on in Pakistan since a very longtime. Pakistani people have always loved eating out. It is even the main source of entertainment in Pakistan. Earlier on families would go and eat out, but since the past few years, this trend increased even further in teenagers, young adults and with corporate people. Nowadays, if we visit any restaurant such as Nandos, we get to see a diverse crowd that includes teenagers, families, couples and even corporate businessmen. Thus eating out is becoming an increasingly important social trend which works positively for places like Nandos. Technological Factors: The restaurant business works well where the management handles the service well. To be quicker and more efficient in processing and then serving the orders, restaurants need to have better technology. To keep records of day-to-business, better technology is essentially important. Cooking also requires better equipments to work faster and better. Nandos has the essential equipment to make all of its flame-grilled items which even works towards providing healthier items by not making deep-fried products. 2 Key Driving Forces Affecting the Industry †¢ The Internet and new E-Commerce opportunities The Internet can revolutionize the entire restaurant industry by including the aspects of ordering food online. In this way consumers could be provided with more convenience and be more informed about the menus. †¢ Increasing globalization of the industry Global chains of restaurants such as fast food joints like KFC and Mc Donald’s have existed since a very long time now. The aspect of a global chain leaves a positive impression on the minds of the people since they tend to believe that the product is of quality and hygiene. More and more restaurants are following this trend and opening up their chains in Pakistan. This does affect the restaurant industry on a whole. Nandos is also globally widespread but it hasn’t penetrated much in Pakistan as yet. †¢ Product Innovation Those restaurants that have had a unique menu or recipe have been able create a strong place in the industry. People have always wanted variety in Pakistan. Any new element or uniqueness in a restaurant’s menu could give it a competitive edge in the market. Nandos has banked on this opportunity by introducing an entirely new concept adopted from South Africa. †¢ Technological Change Advances in technology can dramatically transform the restaurant industry. Technological developments can competitively produce significant changes in the distribution channel and logistics and reduce the costs in the value chain. †¢ Entry or Exit of major firms Exit of major firms in the restaurant industry can lead to changes in market shares of all the companies that compete with such firms. Entry is relatively easy and keeps on leading to increased competition in this industry. †¢ Changes in cost and efficiency Decrease in cost can lead to significant changes in the profit margin of the business. However increasing costs can prove to be detrimental to the businesses in the industry. †¢ Regulatory influences and government policy changes Regulatory influences or policy changes such as increased quality and hygiene standards can drive up costs of firms but would lead to better and safer food items. †¢ Changing societal concerns, attitudes and lifestyles Emerging social issues and changing attitudes and lifestyles can be powerful driving forces of industry change. The trend of eating out has been increasing consistently in Pakistan giving more opportunities for new companies to come with more and more variety for the public. 3 External Factor Evaluation (EFE) |Key External Factors |Weight |Rating |Weighted Score | | | | | | |Opportunities | | | | |Market Potential growing market for fast casual |0. 17 |2 |0. 34 | |Peoples need for variety in the food and entertainmnt sector |0. 10 |3 |0. 3 | |Rising Demand for Home delivery and Takeout |0. 08 |3 |0. 24 | |E-commerce |0. 02 |1 |0. 02 | |Peoples preference for red meat |0. 06 |1 |0. 06 | |Peoples attraction towards promotional offers |0. 08 |2 |0. 16 | |Increasing trends for business/corporate lunches and dinners |0. 05 |3 |0. 15 | | | | | | |Threats | | | | |Economic Problems in the country |0. 09 |2 |0. 18 | |Bird Flu Threat |0. 03 |3 |0. 09 | |Political Problems in the country |0. 02 |2 |0. 04 | |Growing market for cafes in Pakistan |0. 06 |2 |0. 12 | |Availability of nandos table sauces in the market |0. 03 |2 |0. 06 | |Only one chicken supplier (KnNs) |0. 08 |2 |0. 16 | |Huge variety of Restaurants, fastfood places |0. 12 |2 |0. 24 | |Changing tastes of people |0. 01 |2 |0. 02 | | | | | | |Total |1. 00 | |2. 18 | Analysis: Nandos, Pakistan’s total weighted score is rather disappointing considering their global background. Currently their total weighted score of 2. 18 is about 20% less than the industry average of 2. 5. They are not exploiting the opportunities in the food industry to their advantage neither are they combating the threats well. The most major opportunity staring them in the face is the rising market potential which has the highest weighted score of 0. 34, as the trend in Pakistan is moving towards fast-casuals. To handle this opportunity they must open up new outlets to cater to the untapped vicinities. Another opportunity that has a high score of 0. 3 is the peoples need for variety. The strategy for such an opportunity would be to add varieties like fancy beverages (e. g. cocktails and mocktails), sea-food and meat in their menu (available at Nandos outlets in other countries of the world). Of the threats, that needs their immediate attention is the rate with which new restaurants that â€Å"Pop-up†. To counter this Nandos must concentrate on increasing its efforts on rightly implementing their Focused Differentiation Strategy. They should further enhance their brand image to capture more loyal customers. Another threat which has a relatively high weighted score is the economic problems of Pakistan; the way this can be overcome is by establishing subsidiaries under another name. The third biggest threat with a weighted score of 0. 16 is that they have only one reliable supplier; they can definitely counter this via backward integration that would include farming their own chicken. Company and Competitor Analysis 1 Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM) |Key Success factors | |NANDO’S |BBQ Tonite |Roasters |GunSmoke | | |Weight |Rating |Weighted Score | | | | | | |Strengths | | | | |Product their Peri-Peri recipe |0. 20 |4 |0. 8 | |Strong brand personality |0. 07 |3 |0. 21 | |Ambience at the restaurant |0. 05 |3 |0. 15 | |Customer Loyalty |0. 02 |3 |0. 06 | |Marketing efforts towards the consumer base |0. 05 |3 |0. 15 | |Strong Supplier/Distribution system |0. 10 |4 |0. 4 | |Products have essential ingredients for a health life |0. 01 |2 |0. 02 | |Strong Background from Africa present till today |0. 01 |3 |0. 03 | |Selling Experience |0. 04 |4 |0. 16 | |Strong food concept |0. 02 |3 |0. 06 | |Strong Globalize Strategy adaptive to culture |0. 06 |4 |0. 24 | |Creative and unique Menu |0. 02 |4 |0. 08 | | | | | | |Weaknesses | | | | |Low Marketing Budget |0. 08 |2 |0. 16 | |Stagnant Growth Not penetrated |0. 15 |2 |0. 3 | |Communication system within dept- not strong |0. 04 |2 |0. 08 | |Weak Technological system in the Administration Department |0. 04 |1 |0. 04 | |No Beverage Variety |0. 04 |2 |0. 08 | |Total |1. 00 | |3. 02 | Analysis: The total weighted score of 3. 02 is 20. 8% more than the average industry weighted score. The reason for such a phenomenal score is their PERI PERI recipe which is their main strength with the highest weight. Basting, marinating and table sauces are usually the most important ingredients and they are definitely quiet effectively banking on this strength. Their delicious basting and marinating sauces still remain a mystery to the rest of the world. Along with this, they are handling all their strengths really well with the exception of their healthy ingredients, which they are handling in an average way, although, it has a low weight considering the psyche of Pakistanis, they can definitely improve their score by communicating the nutritional values of their ingredients. On the other hand, they are very poorly countering their weakness. Their main weakness is their stagnant growth with the highest weight and with only a sore of 2. There is no evidence, that they are willing to do anything about it as their outlets are still missing in the major cities of Pakistan, like Islamabad. They should definitely improve their growth rate and try to improve their marketing budget. This will definitely enhance their total weighted score. The strategies to improve the growth rate would include market development and product development via establishing more outlets and increasing the variety in their menu, respectively. Strategic Analysis and Recommendations 1 Generic Strategy [pic] Although, Nandos Pakistan claims to be following a Focused Differentiation Strategy, they haven’t really implemented it that well. Nandos Pakistan caters to that Niche market which requires a different taste and value and is prepared to pay the price for it. Their focus is entirely on the Upper Middle and Upper-Upper class. The strategies implemented by Nandos have not exactly catered specifically to this focused differentiation strategy. The company needs to make effort in targeting and communicating their real value to its specific set of consumers. Another contradiction in this strategy is that there is no outlet in Islamabad, Pakistan, where mostly the rich and the influential reside. Now is the time to really bank on the rising income disparity in the economy via increasing their prices. This will also attract more customers from upper-middle/high class, as it is quiet socially appealing for them to dine at expensive places. Nevertheless, Nandos offers only chicken items; this is in line with their current strategy. They should really check their strategic approach or correct their focus. Nandos should stick to its focused differentiation strategy. The following strategies have recommended for improving their strategic position: †¢ Increase their prices to capture a larger share of their current target market. †¢ Open up outlet in the major cities of Pakistan like Islamabad and Faisalabad. †¢ Effectively communicate their niche marketing strategy to their target audience to further emphasize what their brand actually stands for. †¢ Add value by offering an outstanding service which is unforgettable and unmatchable. ‘Nando’s is devoted to providing its customers appetite for life, who love to laugh and live to eat. At Nandos we believe in our flame-grilled Peri-Peri Chicken, we believe its the best in the world. We aim to be the most successful grilled food restaurant in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve and to do so, Nando’s will meet its customer expectations through highest quality food prepared with leading technology and by hiring and retaining personnel with exceptional capabilities. We believe in offering quality and value to our customers and grow in such a way that creates profitability and value for shareholders and structure the society in such a way so as to improve the quality of life of the whole community. Our distinctive competence is our open style of informal restaurants, through the wonderful saying Mi Casa so casa My home is your home. ’ ‘Our vision is to be the first choice in grilled food restaurant business around the globe. ’ HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW Customer Home Delivery Dine-in Take-Away Kitchen Restaurant/Retail Outlet Store Warehouse in Pakistan Fries from McKainz Ketchup from Knorr Chicken from KnN’s Peri-Peri Sauces from South Africa.