Pestel Analysis of Coca Cola

Discuss the PESTEL changes of an organization over the last decade. PESTEL Analysis for Coke Coca-Cola, the largest manufacturer, distributor and marketer of beverage concentrates and syrups in the world. Coca-Cola is recognized as the world’s most valuable brand. They market four of the world’s top five non-alcoholic sparkling brands, including diet and light beverages, mineral water, enhanced waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and energy and sport drinks. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the company’s beverages at a rate of approximately 1. billion servings each day. The Company generates revenues, income and cash flows by selling beverage concentrates and syrups as well as finished beverages. [pic] Even Coca Cola, the worlds’ largest beverage company has to consider about their macro environment and its opportunities and threats. They too have to analyze their Politic al, Economical, Social Environment and Legal Factors in order to catch up with the fast changing world. Political Analysis Non-alcoholic beverages fall within the food category under the FDA. The government plays a role within the operation of manufacturing these products in terms of regulations. There are potential fines set by the government on companies if they do not meet a standard of laws. The following are some of the factors that could cause Coca-Cola Company’s actual results to differ materially from the expected results describes in their underlying company’s forward statement:- Changes in laws and regulations, including changes in accounting standards, taxation requirements, (including tax rate changes, new tax laws and revised ax law interpretations) and environmental laws in domestic or foreign jurisdictions. Changes in the non-alcoholic business environment. These include, without limitation, competitive product and pricing pressures and their ability to gain or maintain share of sales in the global market as a result of action by competitors. Political conditions, especially in international markets, including civil unrest, government changes and restriction on the ability to transfer capital across borders. Their ability to penetrate developing and emerging markets, which also depends on economic and political conditions, and how well they are able to acquire or form strategic business alliances with local bottlers and make necessary infrastructure enhancements to production facilities, distribution networks, sales equipment and technology. A threat that the Coca-Cola Company had to face recently due to the changes in the political factors was the War against Iraq made USA and UK very unpopular in Middle East as well as in other Muslim countries. Because Coca-Cola is known as the very American company, this had a huge effect on the sales of its products. Economical Analysis Last year the US economy was strong and nearly every part of it was growing and doing well. However, things changed. Most economists loosely define a recession as two consecutive quarters of contraction, or negative GDP growth. In 2008, we are witnessing a global economic crisis which was suggested by several important indicators of economic downtown worldwide. These included high oil prices, which led to both high food prices (due to a dependence of food production on petroleum, as well as using food crop products such as ethanol as an alternative to petroleum) and global inflation; a substantial credit crisis leading to the bankruptcy of large and well established investment banks as well as commercial banks in various nations around the world; increased unemployment; and the possibility of a global recession. As the inflation rate grows higher and higher, consumer buying power will represent a key threat in the industry. The rivalry between Pepsi and Coke has produce a very slow moving industry in which management must continuously respond to the changing attitudes and demands of their consumers or face losing market share to the competition. In addition, consumers can easily switch to the other beverages with little cost or consequence. Social Analysis Many people nowadays are practicing healthier lifestyles. This has affected the non-alcoholic beverage industry in that many are switching to bottled water and diet colas instead of beer and other alcoholic beverages. The need for bottled water and other more convenient and healthy products are in important in the average day-to-day life. Possible substitutes that continuously put pressure on Coke include tea, coffee, juices, milk and hot chocolate. Consumers from the ages of 37 to 55 are also increasingly concerned with nutrition. There is a large population of the age range known as the baby boomers. Since many are reaching an older age in life they are becoming more concerned with increasing their longevity. This will continue to affect the non-alcoholic beverage industry by increasing the demand overall and in the healthier beverages. Increasing awareness among consumers, public health professionals and government agencies of the potential health problems associated with obesity and inactive lifestyles represents a significant challenge to the Coca-Cola industry. The company has recognized that obesity is a complex public health problem. Their commitment to consumers begins with the company’s broad product line, which includes a wide selection of diet and light beverages, uices and juice drinks, sports drinks and water products. Coke has hot lot of sugar by which continuous drinking of Coca-Cola may cause health problems. Being addicted to Coca-Cola also is a health problem because drinking of it has an effect on your body after few years. Technological Analysis The effectiveness of company’s advertising, marketing and promotional programs. The e new technology of internet and tv which use specific effects for advertising through media. They make some products look attractive. This helps in selling of the products. This advertising makes the product attractive and is being used in media to sell their products. As the technology is getting advanced there has been introduction of new machineries all the time. Due to introduction of this machineries the production of the Coca-Cola company has increased tremendously then it was few years ago. A latest technical achievements made by the Coca-Cola Company was the new environmentally friendly version of the iconic â€Å"Coca-Cola† Contour bottle which has won number of awards for its light weight. Environmental Analysis The Coca-Cola system’s environmental commitments are focused on the areas in which they have the most significant opportunities to make a difference – water stewardship, sustainable packaging and energy management and climate protection. In 2007, the company used approximately 300 billion liters of water in their plants to produce beverages. To meet their water needs while helping to conserve watersheds and improve community water access; water stewardship leads the list of the companies’ sustainability efforts. In 2007, Coca-Cola announced their aspirational goal to return to communities and nature, an amount of water equal to what is used in the company’s beverages and their production. Coca-Cola calls this water neutrality. Coca-Cola vision is to advance a packaging framework in which their packaging is no longer seen as waste, but instead as a valuable resource for future use. To realize this zero waste vision, they have been guided by a commitment to continuous improvement. They continues to make strides by advancing packaging initiatives focus on reduce, recover and reuse. They invested in designing and producing sustainable fashion apparel made from recycled PET bottles too. Legal Changes Analysis Marketing decisions are strongly affected by developments in the political and legal environment. This environment is composed of laws, government agencies and pressure groups that influence and limit various organizations and individuals. Sometimes these laws also create new opportunities for business. Here are some legal affairs that Coca-Cola had to face recently: The European Commission has alerted EU member countries to ban Coca-Cola drinks because of recent poisoning of 100 children in Belgium and cause seems to be the wrong carbon dioxide which was used in the soft drinks. In 2003, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) a non-governmental organization, said Coca-Cola contained toxins including lindane, DDT, malathion and chlorpyifos – pesticides that can contribute to cancer and a breakdown of the immune system.

Blue collar jobs Essay

Are blue collar jobs less appreciated? Mike rose, thinks there are no fair share of recognition among people in the working class society. Rose was stressing his point to say that, in as much as the white collar job (workers) are perceived in the society as higher educated people it brings conflict among us. Also making the minimal jobs look less valuable and cripple our ability to talk across cultural divides. Blue collar jobs are far more effective; without these kind of jobs, it will be pretty difficult to communication and relate with different culture or society of people.it creates hope for those who had little or no opportunity to have sound education. What makes us is the ability to fit into the society of different class such as upper class, middle class and lower class. If everyone are destined to be a lawyer, doctor, politician, banker, etc. it will cause inflation in the society, leading to lack of diversity in division of labor and mediocrity in the society. Looking at i t, we all are equal and none is indispensable of another. We all need each other to survive be it blue collar jobs or white collar jobs. Making blue collar jobs no less good than white collar jobs. As rose notes, ‘’Broad knowledge and intuition about the ways and the rhythms of the restaurant business. Waiting on seven to nine tables, each with two to six customers, Rosie devised memory strategies so that she could remember who ordered what. And because she knew the average time it took to prepare different dishes, she could monitor an order that was taking too long at the service station’’ (244). She was smart and knew how to deal with her workers and also customer knowing in mind she a family woman who got attention from male customer and tips on how to deal with their needs. According to rose, ’’Joe learned the most efficient way to use his body by acquiring a set of routines that were quick and preserved energy. Otherwise he would never have survived on the line’’ (248). His uncle learned and taught himself how to be efficient with time and also maxima the best out of the material and still come out with a great result of production. This can’t be learnt at school rather it requires  first hand approach with the knowledge of know-how, and create a skill and set of work to come out supper productive. In all, it’s convincing that hand work creates skill set. It opens the mind to explore and be adventures. Risk takers gain result, because once you fail, you learn from your mistake and correct yourself on how to go about it next time. It creates healthy environment for communication through service offered to customers e.g. hairstylist, plumber, Welder, driver, body guard, beauty salon, maid. Etc. Also mutual understanding is gained through hand gesture, sign, picture and even spending adequate time to clarify a point or idea.

Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles Essays - Eagles, Bald Eagle

Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles Eagle is the common name for a number of diurnal birds of prey, some of which are the largest members of their family which also includes kites, hawks, buzzards, and certain vultures. The name eagle is somewhat loosely applied, as several of the groups are not particularly closely related to one another, and some birds called hawks are larger than some called eagles. The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus Leucocephalus) and the Golden Eagle (Aquila Chrysaetos) are two eagles that have several of the same characteristics and have several different ones as well. The Bald Eagle is the only eagle species living strictly in North America, and has a presence in every state in the US except Hawaii. Young (immature) Bald Eagles are light gray when hatched, and turn dark brown before leaving the nest at about 12 weeks of age. During their third and fourth years, Bald Eagles have a mottled brown and white color under their wings and on their head, tail and breast. The distinctive white head and tail feathers do not appear until they are 4 to 5 years old. Bald Eagles range from about 29-42 inches long, and can weigh between 7-16 pounds, and have a wingspan of 6 to 8 feet. This makes them one of the largest birds in North America. Bald Eagles residing in the northern US are larger than those that reside in the south. They have a life span of up to 30-40 years in the wild and longer in captivity. Bald Eagles are monogamous and remain faithful to their mate until death. Females lay one to three eggs annually, and the incubation period is approxim! ately 35 days. Only about 50% of Eagles hatched survive the first year. Strong endangered species and environmental protection laws, as well as active private, state and federal conservation efforts have brought back the USA's Bald Eagle population from the edge of extinction. There are now about 4500 nesting pairs and 20,000 total birds in the lower 48 states, and there are over 35,000 Bald Eagles in Alaska. America's Bald Eagles are back in strong numbers today, but they are still a "threatened" species in the lower 48 states. Breeding season last from November to April. Bald eagles mate for life and use the same nest each year. They build a huge nest (aerie) of sticks and twigs in a tree, or on rocky cliffs and average in size of 2 feet deep and 5 feet across. The nest takes weeks to construct and is increased yearly. Eventually some nests reach sizes of more than 10 feet wide and can weigh several tons. Bald Eagles feed primarily on fish, but also eat small animals (ducks,! coots, muskrats, turtles, rabbits, snakes, etc.) and occasional carrion (dead animals). Eagles swoop down to seize fish in their talons and carry it off, but can only lift about half of their weight. Bald Eagles can even swim to shore with a heavy fish using their strong wings as paddles. However, it is also possible that they can drown if the fish weighs too much. The Golden Eagle is a large brown and golden colored eagle that can be found in a variety of habitats in the western North America region including mountainous areas, canyons, shrub-land and grasslands. The Golden Eagle can also be found in Europe, Asia and northern Africa. The breeding range in North America includes north central Mexico, the western United States as far east as the Dakotas, Kansas and Texas, also Alaska, and across northern Canada. This bird of prey can weigh up to 15 pounds and can have a wingspan of 6 to 8 feet and a length of 30-40 inches. Females are often more noticeably larger than males as is true with most birds of prey. Young (immature) Eagles have a patch of white on the tail, and the adult tail is gray and brown. The Golden Eagle also builds large their nest out of sticks and twigs in a tree or on a cliff. The female lays 1-4 eggs (usually 2) and often does most of the incubation. The males provide most of the food while the females feed and tend! the

American History Progression by 1865 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American History Progression by 1865 - Essay Example American Independence followed this in 1776. Before the reconstruction era, the Americans focused on Slave trade and thus set up certain trade patterns. However, the reconstruction era ended the slavery. The reconstruction era led to reunion of the state that had broken up from the union (Oslon 72-76). The election of Thomas Jefferson is often viewed as the start of a revolution which lasted from 1775-1783. It after this that order was established in America. His administration focused in establishing union in America for progressive growth. After the war, the American founders focused on enhancing growth. In 1789, George Washington affected the bill of rights and a stable national government was established. During Washington reign, the Bank of Unite States was established and it shaped the American Financial system. Moreover, a tax system and federalist party were established (Oslon, 165-169, 211-206). Another important happening in the history of America is the civil war in 1861. This war was important since it followed the Confederation of States of

Information Management and Knowledge Management Essay

Information Management and Knowledge Management - Essay Example According to the discussion in order to evaluate the importance of information flow and knowledge management both the concepts should be properly understood and analysed. According to Duan, Nie and Coakes, knowledge management concept is a further modelling of the information management which focuses on developing the database system of a firm whereas information management processes are used to ensure that the right person is having the right information. On the other hand, BegonaLloria stated that use of knowledge and information management practices are used in a correlated manner. It has been observed in case of Danone who use their customised Networking Attitude for sharing of information among their employee base and also measure the accuracy of the information.  This paper declares that  in the 21st century, the operational process of Danone experienced many changes that were focused on enhancing diversity and also improve their knowledge management process. The introducti on of Riboud as the CEO of Danone was such a step which enabled the company to maintain communication with the local markets and gather relevant information regarding the market conditions. Riboud’s belief was that having a proper information network through the operational channels will help the organisation in designing an accurate business measures. The company introduced the Growth Program in the year 2003 which would allow them to align their knowledge management activities with the growth of the organisation.  

Essay on International business finance report

On International business finance report - Essay Example REPORT TO IBF Respected Directors, IBF London (U.K) Introduction IBF Supplies Plc is a London based large manufacturer and distributor of office supplies. A recent forecast shows decline has been shown in the demand for office supplies in the UK. At the same time it is anticipates a strong demand for office supplies in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa over the next several years. Hence, executives of IBF have started exploring the overseas markets and are planning to establish foreign subsidiaries in new markets. Before entering the market certain aspects are to be considered. These aspects include: Financial and non-financial factors The potential risks and possible external strategies to manage such risks. Other strategies available other than establishing a foreign subsidiary Financial and non-financial factors First of all it is to be made sure that whether the selected countries are going to produce the desired results or not. It is a good thing that IBF has anticipated a strong demand in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa for the type of goods it manufactures but again a detailed research needs to be done before taking any final decision. Developing a foreign subsidiary means establishing company’s branch outside the country to run as a separate entity than IBF the parent company itself.  There are a lot of things that need to be considered like the political stability of these selected countries, their legal systems, the fiscal policies, the monetary policies, availability of labor that is skilled, logistics infrastructure etc (Terpstra and Sarathy 2001). It is a good thing that IBF has a proactive approach but still there are a lot of things that are of utmost importance before any final decision can be taken. The financial situation of the company happens to be one very important factor to be considered before IBF can take any decision. The tax bracket is to be kept in mind before actually deciding to expand the business to a new area. The net wor th and the objectives of the company happen to be of critical importance. The level of risk that the company can afford to take is also a point of significant importance. While considering the financial factors, IBF needs to take a decision regarding choosing one of the two financing techniques or may be both the techniques. These two financing techniques are debt and equity financing. If IBF chooses debt financing to raise funds it means that the company will borrow money from another source like bank. IBF will have to return the loan with interest and it can be short term or long term. The other way is that of equity financing. In this way IBF can raise finance by selling off its business part to some other party like the investors or the venture capitalists. The company need to decide whether it is going to be generating funds locally or by the parent company. A detailed PESTEL Analysis is required that includes things like political factors etc. The forecasting regarding the exc hange rates and the taxation agreement needs to be done before taking any final decision. It is to be kept in mind that these foreign subsidiaries are going to be exposed to volatility of exchange rates. IBF will need to evaluate its risk associated with exchange of foreign currency through monitoring

Do high levels of trust between workers and management lead to better Essay

Do high levels of trust between workers and management lead to better performance Discuss with reference to key academic studies in this area - Essay Example The two methods chosen are high road and low road methods. The high road method implements strategies through innovative management techniques to enhance internal productivity of employees while the low road gives importance to downsizing and contracting out. These methods have been formulated in the wake of privatisation which gives less emphasis to widely accepted public values like responsiveness to changing requirements of citizens and the need to maintain high standard of productivity among workforce. Privatization has led to poor productivity and performance and the local government aim to contract back to mitigate the bids of companies that exhibit dissatisfied results. The contacting back of privatized companies to the public sector has shown improvement and better performance because these companies were handled with innovative methods of labor management cooperation. In addition to the new management method, better performance of employees was availed by the public sector a t comparatively low cost. Thus, the adoption of the high road strategy has resulted in better cooperation and performance because the workers were given the opportunity to work under lesser risk and greater social rewards. Internal management reform is of significance where the trust of the employees can be won to increase their performance. The adoption of high road strategy results in the production of better quality products and better service which is essential for any organisation to stay ahead in a competitive marketplace. The trust of employees can be enhanced by providing the required training which will transform them into a highly committed workforce. Better performance of the organisation will lead to higher wages for workers, cooperative worker-employer relations and an innovative and productive working environment. The high road method attract high quality workers due to better wages and good

Counselor Interveiw Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Counselor Interveiw - Essay Example The profession of talk show host in some way was related to his next profession because he thought about working on a crisis hotline. He thought that might be an interesting career. This is where he first recognized his passion for counseling and decided to make a career out of it. Jim mentioned that he had worked at many agencies and learned to totally appreciation Family and Community Services (F&C). He mentioned that if this was an individuals first job, they may not appreciate how good a job this one is; he did because he had so many jobs he did not like. In some of the agencies he worked at he was under a lot of stress because he was always trying to make quotas as part of the job. He likes F&C because it has such a relaxed atmosphere that he loves coming to work. At this agency they do not have to worry about quotas because they are a non-profit agency and rely more on grants than the number of patients that come through the door. He feels he is able to really focus on the clients now which is what he has always wanted to do. Jim gave me a small description of the various parts of his job. He does eerythign from paper work to working in the court system. He seemed proud of the fact that he is on a first name basis with the judges in Kent, OH. The F&C is responsible for a variety of programs. In addition to his other duties, Jim runs a 26 week Domestic Violence program for individuals who have committed domestic violence and have been sent through the court system. He also conducts a weekend Alcoholics Anonymous class for DUI offenders. His counseling duties take him into individual sessions with men and women who experience PTSD due to sexual assault. Jims agency also runs a homeless center for veterans and three community centers. In addition to Jim, the agency has three other counselors. There are group, couple, family and individual counseling for children, adolescents

Management Skills Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Management Skills - Personal Statement Example Promotion. Promotional activities include advertising, direct marketing or personal selling, sales promotion, public relations. Based on my personal strengths as well as interests, I am planning to take up a role of junior manager, advertising. Advertising is a mean through which the goods and services produced by an organization are promoted to the target market of the organization. (Petley, 2003). As such advertisement therefore, encompass many activities which combine together to form an effective promotional message therefore, considering its strategic nature and my personal strengths and ambitions, I would aim at becoming the junior manager-advertising in an organization of high repute. Based on the research conducted, following job description is outlined for a Junior Manager- Advertising: (job-descriptions.org, 2008) I am attracted to this job because I am currently pursuing a degree in business education besides I consider myself as an easy going person who can easily communicate with others. I consider myself as a person who likes to meet people and exchange ideas and have the ability to understand the perceptions held by different people in different contexts. Further, this job is also attractive to me because I am creative and have developed an aesthetic sense of appreciating different ideas and works of art. My immedi My immediate concern therefore would be to learn the tricks of the trade under the guidance of those who have already achieved a certain stature in the field. This job therefore will provide me an opportunity to do what I love to do most as I shall be engaged not only with the creative work but also grow myself as a successful manager and a leader over the period of time. Apart from this, I also visualize myself grow to a position where I may develop myself as one of the most creative and successful advertising guru of all

Disability and Able-bodied People Essay Example for Free

Disability and Able-bodied People Essay What is a normal person? Is it a man playing basketball with his friends in a park? Is it a woman riding horses through a grassy field? Or is it the double amputee that wears expensive sunglasses on a summer day? These images have all been depicted in the media, but the latter is not shown as frequently. If the media features disabled persons more often and in a better light, it will become the norm, therefore evoking unity among all Americans. As a society, we do not truly embrace people who are different than us. We are only tolerant of them because we are required to be. Television, print, and commercial advertisements are the only representation that the majority of Americans receive of the world around them. To combat prejudice and division between disabled and able-bodied people, there has to be an unbiased, well-rounded view of each in the media. Imagine if you lived in a world where you only saw ads with people who suffered from degenerative diseases, paraplegia, genetic disorders, etc. Would you begin to question whether you were normal or not? During the spring of my senior year in high school, I shadowed an occupational therapist who worked with autistic children. There were great lessons to be learned this semester, many of which I discovered from observing the children themselves. I began to sympathize with them and put myself into their shoes. I realized that I was in no better shape than they were, and we were not actually that different. In my free time, I would search tirelessly for ads which brought autism and disability into the forefront in a way that showed that they live their lives just as I did. Very seldomly would I come across one, and when I did, it was not from a major retailer. Disability rights organizations do a great job of raising awareness as advocates for the disabled, but I challenge the rest of the media to do the same. By making the lives of the disabled more visible in the media, everyday Americans will have the ability to see the handicapped in the same way I saw them during my internship. The able-bodied will see an array of people different from them just by putting those suffering from various disabilities on television. As a result, bringing able-bodied and disabled persons one step closer together. Additionally, the manner in which the disabled are depicted in the media is equally important. Becoming acclimated to seeing handicapped people in roles that we normally do not encounter will further show that we can all live together in unison. Switching the disabled person from door greeter to cashier in Walmart commercials is one example of this. Seeing a disabled person compete in the International Olympic games and not just a participant in the Special Olympics is also another example. Instead of diminishing the abilities of the handicapped, we can portray them in areas where they are apart of and grow with society. Are disabled and able-bodied people gelled together living in harmony or merely separate groups put together by force? Based on my experience, it is the latter, but it does not have to be. The media has played a major role in the way individuals are viewed throughout history. Once we change our outlook and perceptions on others, we change the way we live our daily lives. At that point we will begin to question who defines what is â€Å"normal† and what is not.

Employee retention methods in fast food

Employee retention methods in fast food This paper discusses employee retention methods that are used in the fast food industry, where the majority of employees are under 21 and in full time education. There are several large players that compete for these potential employees, this paper focuses on McDonalds. This paper concludes that McDonalds retention strategies are successful in some of their branches, although this level of retention is not uniform across the whole organisation. Therefore their strategies require closer monitoring, to successfully implement them. 2.0 Introduction The human resource is increasingly viewed as being the most important resource in contributing to an organisations overall success in achieving corporate goals. Therefore human resource management is a vital component of the strategic decision making. Managing human resources comprises a range of issues such as recruitment and retention, employee development, reward schemes and promoting good relations. The first process is recruitment, to employ suitably qualified employees to contribute to the achievement of the corporate goals, in an efficient and cost-effective manner. The important factor after recruitment is ensuring the right employees are trained and retained. This has both external and internal forces which can affect the retention rate of an organisation. There is a direct link between corporate strategy and people management, and the policy of strategic recruitment and retention. The fast food industry has historically been viewed as low-skilled and low paid work leading to a high rate of employee turnover. The fast food giant Mc Donalds has improved their pay and career prospects, this policy is aimed at both recruitment and retention of employees. The changing UK labour market has seen a higher educated workforce with individuals concerns of career development. Fast food organisations have had to adapt their HR strategies in order to compete in new global and national contexts effectively. This paper will investigate the features of recruitment and retention strategies by McDonalds; as a response to the new challenges. Globalisation has led to the rapid expansion of multinational fast food companies, for example McDonalds and KFC have entered the UK market. The integrated and interdependent global marketplace has led to fierce competition between fast food firms. Therefore multinational fast food companies should balance the various interests, needs, preferences and external conditions when implementing their HR strategies. Identifying these relevant factors is an important element of assessing the effectiveness of retention strategies. McDonalds has expanded rapidly into new markets, these have challenged the organisations HR strategies. Each new country brings cultural and employment legislation differences from the home country. All these issues must be addressed before the expansion takes place. The organisation trades on standardisation of their products. Whichever restaurant anywhere in the world that a customer visits the product and the service will be uniform. This has been referred to as McDonaldlisation; therefore all employees are trained to give the expected service no matter what the location. This training is a vital component of McDonalds global HR Strategy. This is used as a tool for employee retention; although other methods such as reward and recognition are used. This paper will discuss all the relevant issues surrounding the topic of employee retention in the fast food industry, focusing on McDonalds. 2.1 Aims and objectives This research aims to examine and evaluate McDonalds employee retention policies such as employee development programs and reward schemes. It will discuss how the organisation has responded to the challenges. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The first objective of this work is to identify and explore the main challenges faced by retention strategies for employees in general, and focus on the fast food industry. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The second objective of this work is to examine specific retention strategies exploited by a fast food company This will examined how they compete for staff within the UK labour market with other fast food companies. The principal outcomes of this research will be an assessment of the effectiveness of McDonalds employee retention schemes from the perspectives of those directly involved in the implementation of these schemes. Additional outcomes of the research include a detailed overview of general trends within the industry in relation to employee retention and development and a comparative analysis of McDonalds policies in relation. 3.0 Methodology This chapter discusses the research methods used for the project and the rationale for their choice. It discusses methods that were not used, with justification of why they were not included. Included is a critique of methods selected, and with hindsight identifies any changes that would have enhanced the research. This paper critically evaluates the retention methods used by McDonalds in their restaurants. McDonalds was selected as being the industry leader in its strategies for both marketing and the attracting and retaining of staff. A case study approach was chosen to link the theory with research; this can generate rich amounts of data relevant to particular organisational contexts. From the case study questions were generated to be used in further primary research (Yin, R 1994). Selection of the topic was stimulated and formed out of increased publicity on the practices of HR that McDonalds utilise. The nature of the research was discussed with colleagues and fellow students this not only added practical ideas and suggestions, it opened new avenues of thought. This was the discussed with lecturers sounding out ideas, gauging opinions and clarifying the question. Focusing in on the question was obtained by employing relevance trees, narrowing the research area. This gave direction to the research, although with reviewing the literature this changed several times (Buzan, J. 1995). Next, a research proposal was compiled, with the benefit of organising ideas and setting a time-scale for research. Theoretically, the proposal would highlight any difficulties with the research question and access to data. Creating a time-scale would focus on targets and meet deadlines in the completion of the paper. The literature review, discussing theories and ideas that exist on the topic formed the foundation of the paper. The findings from the research are then tested on theories for validity (Saunders, M. et al 1997). The literature review was challenging, there is very little academic research on the topic area. Most of the literature focuses on operational issues, although a few focused on HR policies. There are a lot of articles in the Newspapers on the organisation; these were rejected due to the biased content, they appeared to sensationalised articles. Journal articles discussed the organisation in terms of its strategy and policies in HR practices. These journals articles, together with well documented theory were not only the back bone of the Literature review it constructed a theoretical framework. Tertiary data sources, such as library catalogues and indexes were used to scan for secondary data. This produced journals and newspaper articles, and Internet addresses. With the amount of literature, it took time to sort out relevant material to the research. Narrowing down the search Bells (1993) six points parameters was applied. Applying key words that were identified in the first search produced relevant and up-to-date material (Bell, J.1993). A limitation on the literature search was the amount of time to read all articles and books on the subject. Whilst reviewing the literature references to other publications were followed and reviewed. Bells checklist on identifying the relevance of literature found was a practical method to reduce the amount of reading (Bell, J. 1993). Ethical considerations in research fall into three categories, during design, collection, and reporting of the data. These areas were carefully considered at all stages of the research. The person privacy must not be evaded during interviewing Oppenheim (1996) referred to this stating respecting the respondents right to privacy, as the right to refuse to answer certain or all questions (Oppenheim, A.1996:84). By participating in the research, no harm should fall on the participant. It was decided not to interview employees, through the logistics of the method. Employees would have to give their time, plus a venue was required of site to maintain privacy (Saunders, M. et al 1997). Consent must be obtained from both the organisation and individuals before commencement of research. The data sought throughout the research should remain within the scope of the project (Saunders et al 1997). Questionnaires were selected to obtain the overall picture of recruitment, and retention from employees. The results will be compared to the literature review, which will validate the theory and the case study, to form an overall picture retention policy and practices. Before the questionnaires were distributed a letter was delivered given to all employees explaining the purpose of the research, and how the information was to be used. The letter contained a contact number for the researcher, and gave a guarantee of anonymity of the information. An advantage of communicating to respondents before the questionnaire was that it increased the response rate, and addressed ethical concerns (Saunders et al 1997). Fellow students were used to pilot the questionnaires; to test the information gained from the questions and the time take to complete it. From this, adjustments were made on the wording, removing technical jargon (Bell 1993). From the closeness of the relationship between researcher and the respondent, a problem arose that individuals could be recognised from their handwriting. This was addressed by using a tick box format, with no coding to recognise individual responses, maintaining anonymity of the respondent (Saunders et al 1997). A benefit from using this format was the data collected was quantitative. Closed questions maintained the anonymity of the participants, but had the disadvantage of limiting the data that could be collected (Cresswell 1994). Other methods of data collection were considered and rejected. Focus groups would have offered free flowing information. This could have been facilitated with discussion led by the researcher. The idea was rejected due to the limited contacts within the organisations. This would also be unethical to place pressure on their goodwill. The methods that were used to collect data followed in a logical order. Each method validated the findings from another method, triangulating the results therefore reducing bias. 4.0 Literature Review This section of the paper discusses the relevant theory on the topic. Starting with HR and focusing in on retention and the strategies employed to increase the organisations level. 4.1 Human Resource Management The concept of human resource management has emerged from the 1980s into a core consideration of corporate strategy in the 1990s, (Legge, L 1995). There is no single definition of HRM in the literature yet the emphasis has to a large extent been on the strategic role of human resource management in organisations. Some research has identified HRM with strategic aspects of best-fit or aligning people to the needs of the organisation as expressed in corporate strategy and others have examined HRM as a means of gaining enhanced organisational performance, (Golding, N (2004) cited in Beardwell, I. et al 2004). However the contribution that human resource may make to an organisations performance and effectiveness has been linked closely to the changes in different business environments including macro and micro contexts. Recognition of the importance of HR has increased in recent years; this is a result of competition from overseas economies. In countries for example Japan, Germany and Sweden investment in employee development is higher that the UK. This has led to some organisations reviewing their policies on training introducing continuous investment in their employees Although when multinational organisations have entered the UK, they have introduced their global HR policies (Beardwell, I. et al 2004). For HR to succeed it must take on a proactive role within the organisation. Strategic HR creates value by providing opportunities for organic learning, development of intellectual capital and enhances core competencies. This value is crucial to the organisations future success (Treen, D. 2000). Employers are increasing extorting the best possible performance from employees. Best practice will increase the skills of the current workforce, and with recruiting it will reinforce the culture of a highly skilled work force (Mullins, L. 2005). Strategic HRM has gained both credibility and popularity over the past decade, specifically with respect to its impact on organisational performance (Paauwe, J Boselie P. 2003). 4.2 Human Resource Strategy To fully exploit the wealth of knowledge contained within an organisation, it must be realised that it is in human resource management that the most significant advances will be made. As a result, the human resource department must be made a central figure in an organisations strategy to establish a knowledge basis for its operations (Mullins, L. 2005). There are fundamental differences in the approach to HR. Storey (1987) discussed these as hard and `soft versions of HRM. The hard version places little emphasis on workers concerns and, therefore, within its concept, any judgments of the effectiveness of HRM would be based on business performance criteria only. In contrast, soft HRM, while also having business performance as its primary concern, would be more likely to advocate a parallel concern for workers outcomes (Storey cited in Guest, D. 1999). These models of HR theory, will justify why there has been an increase in this management practice. Walton (1985) defined HR as mutual goals, mutual influence, mutual respect, mutual rewards, and mutual responsibility Walton further added that the psychological contract under this unitarist, high commitment model is one of mutuality, but it is a mutuality strictly bounded by the need to operate within an essentially unitary framework (Walton cited in Beardwell, l. et al 2004) The image of training and development has changed and can be used a key driver for delivering shareholder value (Rogers 2004:25). This increase in training priority has been supported by a rise in Human Resource Management. This practice emphasises that increased growth can only be maintained in the long run; by equipping the work force with the skills they need to complete their tasks (Mullins, L. 2005). 4.3 Human resource as a Control System There is a need for a higher value to be placed on employees. And therefore get the best performance from the employees. According to Delany (2001) successful organisations keep people issues at the fore front of their thinking and at the core of their decision making and planning. Delany adds organisations that get the people things right are the organisations likely to be around in the future (Delany (2001) cited in Mullins, L. 2005:748). Although some commentators have argued that the role of human resource explicitly views employees as another resource for managers to exploit. In the past, managements had failed to align their human resource systems with business strategy and therefore failed to exploit or utilise their human resources to the full. The force to take on HRM is therefore, based on the business case of a need to respond to an external threat from increasing competition (Guest, D 1999). This view reflects a longstanding capitalist tradition in which the worker is viewed as a commodity. The consequential exploitation may be paternalist and benevolent; but, equally, it may operate against the interests of workers. Essentially, workers are simply resources to be squeezed and disposed of as business requirements dictate. More importantly, the interests of workers and their well-being are of no significance in themselves. As John Monks (1998) stated In the wrong hands HRM becomes both a sharp weapon to prise workers apart from their union and a blunt instrument to bully workers (Monks (1998) cited in Guest, D 1999:258). There are conflicting views on the justification behind implementing HR practices; one extreme views the practice as a control mechanism. The employee is central to any strategy, and should feel a valued part of the organisation. 4.4 Human Resource Function The role of HR should not be administrative based; it should be a part of the long term strategy of the organisation. Appointed an HR manager to the board is the only way this can happen (Beardwell et al 2004).Rogers (2004) discussed the role of developing human capital strategies that HR has a real opportunity to shine. There are numerous HR departments are failing to deliver the goods (Rogers 2004:25). 4.5 Retention There are hidden costs involved when there is a high turnover of employees, but each organisation deferrers in what is the normal level of retention. It is not just a low retention rate that can cause problems to an organisation, if this is too high it can lead to a stagnant workforce. There is no overall right level, and this is dependent on a number of factors, both internal and external. Pizza Hut has a staff turnover of more than 50% per year; this figure takes into account the vast number of casual and student workers the company employs. The technology company, 3M, whose has a wide range of career opportunities for employees, retains a high proportion of its staff (Rigby, R. 2003). When there is high retention this introduces new problems for the organisation. High retention levels, rather than being a company-wide problem, will often occur in pockets within businesses. For instance, an employee or a team may have become so good at their job(s), that their boss cannot bear too lose them or even promote them, which can lead to stagnation and de-motivation of their employees (Rigby, R. 2003). If retention levels are in line with the norm for the type of organisation, then the productive employees should be encouraged to stay and the poor performers encouraged to leave. If this were measurable the then organisations would retain employees whose contribution produces a positive risk adjusted profit for the firm. These employees would have a positive influence on the firm (Sigler, K.1999). 4.6 Cost to the organisation A major factor of a high level of employee turnover that impinges on an organisation is the cost. The costs can be broken down into the costs of leaving, replacements, transition and indirect. The leaving costs are the payroll and the personnel administration of the employee leaving. The replacement costs are spent on recruitment of potential employees, the money and time spent on interviewing and any placement fees involved. Transition costs for a company include the training costs of new employees the unproductive time while the new employee is learning the skills required and any induction costs for the new employee. The indirect cost to a company is the potential loss of revenue because of decreased levels of customer service The cost of replacing workers who have left can amount to two and half times a workers annual salary. These costs are rarely specifically identified in any accounting records. Therefore turnover cost data should be used to demonstrate the success of retention strategies over time (Risher, H. and Stopper, W. 2002). Apart from the significant economic impact with an organisation losing any of its critical employees, there is also the knowledge that is lost with the employees departure. This is the knowledge that is used to meet the needs and expectations of the customers (Bassi (1997) cited in Ramlall, S. 2004:54). Organisations cannot take a passive attitude toward knowledge management, Instead they should seek to sustain the competitive advantage and develop systems to control the value of knowledge (Stewart, (1997) cited in Ramlall, S. 2004:54). The Human capital theory suggests that some labour is more productive than other labour simply because more resources have been invested into the training of that labour, in the same manner that a machine that has had more resources invested into it is apt to be more productive (Ramlall, S. 2004). Employers need to review all the costs involved with employee turnover, not all cost are financial, hidden costs include the reduction in knowledge. These are not tangible, and will not show on the companies accounts, but through a lack of skills this can reduce the long term profit. 4.7 Recruitment Key to retaining the right employees is recruiting them in the first place. This process must given consideration to their long term value to the organisation. The attraction and retention of key talent, is increasingly pivotal to organisational success. The ability to achieve competitive advantage through people depends in large part on the composition of the work force. This, is the function of who is hired, and how they are developed, these factors will lead to who is retained (Sturman, M 2003). Retention begins at recruitment time, so it is important to select for organisational and cultural fit, not merely against the technical and skills requirements of a given job. Best practice companies have known this for a long time, and ensure that the selection process allows a full assessment of candidates abilities, interests, aspirations, and values, and a deliberate review of how well these match their organisational culture (Risher, H. and Stopper, W. 2002). Organisations are under increasing pressure to recruit the right people for the right job. The economic cost of getting this wrong can be vast, with the resources that have been ploughed into the process. Numerous factors are to be considered during this process including the culture of the organisation, legal implications, attracting and employing the correct candidate and the cost in time and resources. Therefore it is paramount that the process is fair, reliable and valid (Armstrong, M. 2001). Hacker, C.A. (1996) discussed the process of recruitment and advises that employers should consider three areas when they are preparing to employee, these are the cost per hire of an employee; turnover rate; and productivity. The recruiting of an employee contains hidden costs; these include advertising and the time that is employed on screening and interviewing the prospective employee. Therefore, if the recruitment of people is not cost effective option, then high turnover of employees must be avoided. Retention of the current workforce is the most economic solution to an organisation (Hacker, C.A. 1996). The employers requirements relate to the labour process that is the supply side of the labour market. This is simply employing suitable people for the roles that are required. While this is described as the human capital, this is a sterile and limited interpretation of a variety of personal characteristics and dispositions which employees bring to the workplace (Alcorso, C. 2003). As Beardwell and Holden (1994) emphasise essential to a good HRM practice is recruitment and selection, which must consider correct fit between personnel and job in order to maximise efficiency in terms of retention and HRM strategic planning. The organisation can use the recruitment process to continue, enhance or even change the organisational culture. When a change of strategic direction is required, recruiting the right candidates is a important factor to increase the chance of success (Beardwell, I. Holden, L. 1994:225). There are various recruiting sources, but their success rates are not equal. For example, employee referrals will yield higher quality workers than do sources such as newspaper ads or employment agencies. In a survey the top three sources of successful candidates are employee referrals, college recruiting and executive search firms. All these methods should be considered for effective recruitment. Although the best recruiting sources are still dependant on the type of industry and the job skills required by the organisation (Terpstra, D. 1996). Recruitment of the right candidate is problematic, the skill of the recruiter is vital to appointing a successful candidate. Insufficient information about employees performance can result in adverse selection by Managers. This arises from where the manager does not know the information h to ask from the candidate and the candidate does not know what to provide. Therefore, productive workers cannot distinguish themselves from non productive candidates (Sigler, K. 1999). Reviewing and monitoring recruitment practices can lead to a reduction in key employees leaving. If the first stage of retention is recruitment, then best practice will lead to the correct candidate being selected. In the long term this will increase the retention levels of key employees within the organisation. 4.8 Human Resource Development The principal function of any organisation is to increase the value of the business and therefore enhance the wealth of its Owner(s). This is obtained by efficient use of the limited resources available to them (Blackwood, T 1995). Garrick (1998) discussed that HRD is inextricably linked to market economics, that knowledge is prized in so far as it can generate a market advantage(Garrick, J 1998:5). Leading to the assumption that HRD can give the organisation advantage aiding the ability to increase profit. Therefore using that theory HRD should be viewed as a vital function of all organisations, and not just there to satisfy training issues, a proactive role. Garavan et al (2000) discusses the emergence of strategic HRD practices, which are directly linked to the organisations strategies, with profit maximising paramount, HRD is a tool that should be employed to obtain and support this (Garavan et al, 2000). HR and training literatures highlights the organisational benefits to be gained from adopting a systematic approach to HRD, therefore the ongoing development of employees skills underpins the wider business objectives (Keep, E 1989). This systematic approach to training often includes models that identifying needs, planning, delivery and evaluation. Harrison developed an eight stage model to identify monitor and evaluate training. The evaluation stage is possibly the most problematic part of the training process (Reid, M.and Barrington, H. 1997). 4.9 Training Training can be defined as a planned process to change attitudes, knowledge or skills and behaviour through a range of activities to achieve effective performance. When this training is in the work situation, it develops the employee to satisfy current or future needs of the organisation (Beardwell, I et al 2004) It is generally accepted that methods of training can usually be separated into two categories: on-the-job, and, off-the-job. On-the-job training is implemented at the trainees workplace, while off-the-job training is conducted away from the trainees workplace and takes them outside of their work environment (Mullins, L. 2005). Training can be used as a change agent, to change the culture of an organisation. It is also a tool to improve organisational effectiveness, especially in fiercely competitive markets. All too often organisations that are facing financial problems will cut back the training program, where as they could be used to increase overall performance. The training budget is viewed too often as an expendable, and the first to cut or even go in crises (Rogers 2004). 4.10 Reward systems Amongst the theorist there a several key areas of management, which affects the retention of key employees, this includes motivation, job satisfaction, reward systems and the psychological contract. The first area reviewed is reward systems; these can be both intrinsic and extrinsic. Reward systems are one of the four key policies within strategic HR. the organisation can use this tool to raise commitment, competence, and congruence and it is cost effective. With individuals having more control on their reward, at a basic level this can motivate, at a higher level can introduce self esteem and self worth. These values are congruent to the organisations values and principles (Beardwell, I et al 2004). PRP is an individualised form of payment which reflects individuals performance. These increases may determine the rate of progression through an organisation (Farnham, D. 2002). The problem of attempting to keep talented members of the work force is further complicated because of bounded rationality. This leaves colleagues who cannot improve their positions within the hierarchy more likely to remain with the organisation. This is often due to inadequate information on outstanding performance, therefore it is not recognises financially. Non-productive and productive workers end up receiving the same or nearly the same compensation and package of perks because of managements inability to distinguish talented employees from the rest of the labour force in the organisation (Sigler, K. 1999:2) Incentive pay can be used for employees, setting targets and when they are met rewarding with cash bonuses. Share ownership by the employee is another type of pay incentive. It in essence makes the employee a shareholder of the organisation aligning the interests of the employee with the owners. Employee share ownership can come through restricted share plans where ownership of the share is not transferred to the employee until after a specific period of time has passed or a specific goal has been achieved. This not only provides the employee with the incentive to drive the share price higher through their work effort, but also remain with the organisation until maturity of the plan (Sigler, K. 1999:3) 4.11 Motivation There are four main categories that the theories of motivation are classified (1) Economic needs of man, money motivates, Taylorism (2) Social concept of motivation, from the Hawthorne studies (3) Self actualisation this took the findings from the Hawthorne studies further, psychological issues were studied (4) the contingency approach, large number of variables that influence a persons motivation. These theories all have factors that relate to the work place (Mullins L. 2005). Motivation is an individuals perception of their worth, role and work environment within an organisation. There are common motivational factors that employees share, although when satisfied will lead to different levels of motivation. Both Intrinsic and extrinsic rewards add to the motivation level of employees, if managed correctly. Although the perceived equitable reward varies amongst employees, those who receive less than their perceived value will feel undervalued, and not motivated. This will impinge on job satisfaction, with employees feeling dissatisfied with their award (Mullins, L. 2005). Mitchell (1982) described motivation as the psychological process that cause the arousal, direction, and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal oriented (Mitchell (1982) cited in Ramlall, S. 2004:55). Motivation defined by Robbins (1993):55) is the willingness to exe

Slavery During, In, and After the Civil War Essay -- Slavery Essays

Slavery During, In, and After the Civil War The Civil War was doubly tragic because it was completely unnecessary. Slavery had been ended in other nations with the stroke of a pen, and yet in the mighty United States the country was willing to go to war over the issue of whether slavery should remain. The southerners felt that it was their constitutional right to own slaves and did not see a time when they should be required to give up that right. However, upon the election of Lincoln as President, the southerners felt threatened, and felt their slave holding rights were being threatened, and in an effort to protect these rights they chose to secede from the union. Why would any one person want to own another human being with the same intestines, some of the same feelings yet a different color for their own good . This was quite crazy if you ask me , I feel that the southerners should have felt threatened and that if what they were doing were so right why feel so threatened about doing it.The northerners and Lincoln saw the importance of maintaining a united country, set out to bring back the seceded states. Thus the Civil War began. During the civil war many Americans were either killed or wounded, this number was only surpassed by World War II. While the civil war originally began as a quest to bring the southern states back to the union. However, the goal of the war did soon change to that of abolition. While the war may have seemed necessary to ...

Australia Essay -- essays research papers

The name of Australia comes from the Latin word Australis, which means southern. Since it lies entirely in the southern hemisphere, Australia is most commonly referred to as â€Å"down under†. Australia, being a country, is also a continent. In land area it’s the sixth largest for a country and the smallest continent.Australia is a very dry, thinly populated country. Very few coastal areas receive enough rainfall to support a large population. The largest group of Australian people live in two large cities, Sydney and Melbourne. The vast interior is mainly desert or grassland and there are very few settlements. As a whole, the country has a density of six people per square mile.The down under is famous for vast wide-open spaces, bright sunshine, bikini-clad beauties, enormous numbers of sheep and cattle, and unusual wildlife. Kangaroos, Koalas, platypuses, and wombats are a few of the erotic animals that live here.Australia was originally settled by Great Britain as a prison colony in the late 1700’s, so now most Australian people are of British ancestry. The immigrants brought all the customs too, such as driving on the left side of the road and their favorite warm drink, tea. They also speak English as the official language with their own Australian terms.CLIMATEThe northern third of the Australian continent lies in the tropics and is warm or hot year round. The rest of the country lies south of the tropics and has warm summers and mild cool winters. The rainfall is seasonal in Australia.In the wet season, heavy downpours and violent storms cause floods. But the droughts that plague the nation are far more serious than any flood. Just about every section of Australia has a drought in the dry season. These droughts cause severe water shortages and cause the need for dramatic conservation laws as well as droughts there is also brush fires.Rivers in Australia are one of its most vital resources. They supply the cities and towns with the much-needed water. They also supply the farms with irrigation water. Though the rivers are dry most of the year, dams and reservoirs keep water during the dry season.Australia can basically be split into 3 parts-the eastern highlands, central lowlands, and the western plateau.The highlands consist mainly of high plateaus and broken-in places by hills, low mountain ridges, and gorges. Grasses or forest cover most of the plate... ... all of their traditions but were excluded from society until 1967 when the Australian Constitution was changed so Aborigines got to vote and to have service benefits.GREAT BARRIER REEFAlong the northwest coast of Australia lies the Great Barrier Reef, the largest group of reefs in the world. This chain consists of about 2,500 reefs. In all, the reefs are also many small islands that extend for about 1,200 miles. It lies around 10 to 100 miles from the Australian coasts.Coral reefs are limestone formations that lie under the sea or just above the surface. The Great Barrier Reef is made up of a coral of dead hardened animals call polyps, which are attached to the reef. The diameter of the polyps is about 1 to 12 inches. The polyps are extremely colorful, just as all the sea animals that live there.The Great Barrier Reef supports about 400 species of polyps, about 1,500 species of fish and several kinds of birds. Giant clams, sea turtles, and crabs also live in the reef. The warm waters around the reef and the sheer beauty attract swimmers, skin divers and tourists from all over the world.Australia is truly a magnificently beautiful place with many different climates and cultures.

Dead Poets Society - The Message of the Dead Poets Essay -- Movie Film

Dead Poets Society - The Message of the Dead Poets    Teachers are wonderful heroes. In the movie, Dead Poets Society the teacher/hero is John Keating, played magnificently by Robin Williams. The film takes place at a small preparatory boys' school (Welton Academy) in the late 1950's. The story follows the lives of a group of students and the way that Mr. Keating's teachings influence them. He encourages the boys to become freethinkers and to live life for the moment. The message hallowed by Keating is one of mortality--do not waste your life, for you will get no other, and when you are "food for worms" will the world have been a better place because you were in it? This message is prevalent throughout the film. Keating brings to the abnormally strict classroom something that the timid boys have never seen, enthusiasm. On the first day of class, he tells his students to rip the boring and scientific-type preface from their books. The act in itself is one of defiance and is but one action that draws the boys to Keating. The friendly good nature of Keating leads ...

A Day without Math

The teens of 2012 thought that the world might end was their biggest issue. As a teen of the twenty second century, I know how ridiculous their thoughts were. Of course, the world would not end., and it didn’t. However, the people of 1818 had a better reason to panic. You see, ever since that fateful year, the people of planet earth have lived without a subject known as math. Although there are several theories explaining the loss of math, I have been taught by my parents that the loss of math was because of a miscalculation.In January of 1899 while the American government was experimenting with ammunition, there was a catastrophe. A bomb was misfired and penetrated the troposphere. The weeks following the incident, several reports of severe migraines were filed. When the town of Seattle, Washington reported a dramatic change in math scores, the world began to realize the possible effects of the explosion. By the time the best scientists and doctors were told that recent serio us migraines might cause loss of math skills, they, too, had been effected.However, a few of the scientists who hadn’t been effected yet tested the air. They found a mysterious gas atom attached to the oxygen atom. They predicted that if they lost their math abilities too, then the epidemic was caused by the particle in the air. Sure enough, a few weeks later they, too, didn’t understand the concept of math and simple numbers. This is the story my family believes because this is what has been orally passed down to each generation.Another story I have been told is about my great-great-great-great grandmother, Eleanor, and her husband, Alexander soon before and after the disappearance of math. They were newly-weds, both in their early twenties when they woke up one January morning to a neighbor knocking on their door. â€Å"Breaking news, there is toxin in the air from the ammunition explosion this past winter that has been rumored to erase people’s knowledge of math. I would suggest staying in your house as long as possible, so you don’t inhale any bad air.†I’m so frightened. What will happen if numbers cease to exist? Our posterity is doomed!† exclaimed Mr. Fredrick. They did as they were told. They did their best, but eventually they succumbed to the migraines. It was very unfortunate because they thought it was a new chapter in their  life, but it turned out to be the end of a chapter that had just begun.In the following weeks and months, Eleanor, Alexander, and their community had to adapt to the major changes in their lives. The subject math was eventually dropped from schools’ curriculum. They had to learn how to live without money and reverted to the barter system. For directions, they started to use landmarks instead of using math to calculate the distance between two places.More people became farmers, so they could have fresh vegetables and meat that they could no longer buy at a local store. App liances that kept food cool or made food hot weren’t able to operate. Towns across America started to look like the towns in the medieval times. There were huge adjustments, but eventually people became used to living without math. The people of the twenty second century live similar lifestyles and don’t even think twice about living without math.I reside in the Bahamas on a banana plantation. We have some chickens, dogs, cows, goats, mules, and horses. I always wake up long before the sun appears on the horizon. I change and get ready for the day. Then, I head to the barn to do my chores involving the animals. When my chores are completed, I grab the basket of fresh eggs. After I return, I sit down to eat breakfast. As usual my meal was eggs, bacon, cheese, and milk. They are all products produced on my family’s farm. Once excused from breakfast, I hop on my bike and ride to school. I pass seven land marks before arriving at school. I know whether I arrive to s chool on time because the school bell rings every time the sun lines up with something on campus, like the soccer field or gymnasium.My first class is geography. We learn about places we can never visit. We can’t communicate with people outside of our town, so all the information we are taught has been passed down from the time when people could communicate internationally. I hope it’s correct because geography is my favorite subject. As the day progresses, I go to six more classes : english, survival class, agriculture class, p.e., animal care and safety, and socializing class. We have lunch after p.e. School lunch is different everyday, but it’s always something grown on a local farm. I don’t think school is terrible. From what I have been told, school was a lot harder when math existed.After school, I do my second round of chores. I never have homework because the teachers at school know that if students thrive and return the next day, they have applie d what they have been taught. Following my chores, I usually ride my bike down to the library once a week to grab a new book to read. Then I typically head over to a friend’s house to hang out. We usually do chores and talk. When I return home, I’m exhausted and get ready for bed. Before I finally get some rest, I pack my school bag for another successful day.As far as the mysterious particle that is still believed to be lingering in the air that erased human’s ability to perform complicated math problems, I don’t think it will ever vanish magically. If it did, I think society is so used to life without math that people wouldn’t even consider trying to re-learn math. It would be like trying to learn a new language, but no person would know the rules or simple concepts of it. It would have to evolve over centuries as it did before.

Ethan Frome Essay

Would you take a risk that would change the rest of your life for temporary feelings? If one took the risk and chose to, the effects of it could be everlasting. In the novel Ethan Frome written by Edith Wharton and the poem â€Å"When we two parted† by Lord Bryon the main characters are faced with the consequences of acting on their wrongful feelings. Sometimes people are faced with the issue of trying to hide the love they truly feel in order to keep the peace that is needed. In the novel Ethan Frome written by Edith Wharton, the main character Ethan is faced with the huge issue of catching feelings for another woman, other than his wife. This causes a huge conflict not only within himself, but also with the other people that are involved as well. It gets to the point where both Ethan and Mattie don’t think they could ever be happy if they were not together forever. Ethan once said â€Å"What’s the good of either of us going anywhere without the other one now. † They know it’s not likely for them to be, so Ethan comes up with the plan to commit suicide. If Ethan had to think of such a dark idea he most definitely has to be depressed. Being in love should never bring along thoughts and ideas like those. If Ethan did not have such feelings for Mattie none of this could have happened. He just had to have Mattie though and get rid of his wife because he could not stand it anymore. Society won’t let these two be together because Ethan is a married man. Ethan should know better than to start liking his wife’s cousin. You could call Ethan selfish, one could also argue that you can’t control who you fall for. Symbolism is a plays a big role in the story. One symbol is the last sled ride. Normally a person can control the sleigh, but in the case Ethan just lost all control and didn’t even try to take control of the situation. Just like the love triangle with him, Zeena and Mattie. It shows that he couldn’t escape the issue. He lets society and other burdens make decisions for him. unfortunately in the case because of feelings there was a life lost due to the fact of the secret affair that should never have went on. The poem â€Å"When we two parted,† by Lord Byron, portrays ones feelings when they are filled with such emotions of love and confusion. The person in the poem is dealing with the reality of having a relationship that is very toxic. In line 25 they say, â€Å"In secret we met, in silence I grieve. † From this line the reader can really feel the strong emotions that are spoken with these words. Even though he got the satisfaction of seeing the person for a small amount of time they still have to deal with the feelings after. It’s even harder because now the person can’t even talk about it because no one is supposed to know. Now they have to keep it bottled up inside for a long time, which is never good. A specific literary element that ties in very well with this poem is mood. The author made the overall mood to come across as very depressing and dark. In line three they use the words like â€Å"half broken-hearted,† and in line thirteen â€Å"broken. † By using these words it really sets the mood for the whole poem. In the poem there is more harm showing then actual good and love because of this relationship. This person is not getting what they need in a healthy relationship. When one knows from the start they are not suppose to have feelings for a particular person it leads to nothing but heartbreak. In the novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton and the poem â€Å"When We Two Parted,† by Lord Bryon these characters chose their own fate due to their feelings. The authors of these two works of literature felt so strong about this idea because they know how many people could relate to this very personal issue.

How Computers Effect Our Daily Lives Essay

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Communication Communication is defined as a process. We determine and convey it meaning in an attempt to create shared understanding. This process requires a vast repertory of skills in listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, and evaluating. Use of these processes is developmental and transfers to all areas of life as home, school, community, work, and beyond. Union and support occur owing to communication. 1.2 The Importance of Communication Communication is easily overlooked, but it is necessary to carry out the thoughts and visions of an organization to the people .The importance of speech and words whether through a paper or a voice is a communication medium to convey directions. Without communication, there is no way to express thoughts, ideas and feelings. There are many ways to provide communication from the organization to the people of your community. Whether through a phone, fax, email, letter, website, you are able to communicate your organization to the world. Things can be expressed, ideas can be shared, and thoughts can be joined. The ability and the importance of communication become much more crucial when you are on a purpose or need to perform aim. The ability to effectively communicate is very important when it is usually underestimated and overlooked. Men and women have different communication forms in many places such as at home, at work and in social life. 2. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN AT HOME Women always are under the responsibility at home. They incline chores in the family. Men only are to have a say on important issues. When they decide about the subject, women usually express their opinions. Men decide to determine with their attitudes. A writer says in her article â€Å" The relation between the sexes occurs around a single concept: superiority of man; women are a lower position in value, reputation and power issues.† ( FiÅŸek 5 ) In fact, we can divide into two section at this point as the behaviors of men and the behaviors of women. 2.1 The Behaviors of Men As we said above, when men decide about one subject, they see themselves superior than women. The study was done about it in the U.S.A by Sandra Lipsitz Bem. According to him, â€Å" Men are characters putting themselves out, independent, determined and risk-taking.† Characteristic of men’s sexual role are more pronounced than women in our society. It is an obvious situation that men are always at the front and on stage. If we think these on men, results aren’t surprising. This is an expected finding in a culture where male dominance. 2.2 The Behaviors of Women Women have great responsibilities in the home. Care of children, chores, attitude toward her husband are very important for them. If a woman is a female employee, it is also important. Women become more sensitive and soft communicating with men. They try to talk about the events. This situation is relevant training of girls and boys. â€Å" The researches which done in our society on educational and development differences between the sexes shows that men were aggressive and competitive. They are trained in establishing power and domination. It shows that women are raised for interpersonal relationship.† ( FiÅŸek 8 ) Women create feelings of closeness by conversing with their friends. But men don’t use this way in communication, so they can’t figure out why their women are continually talk, talk, talking. Eventually, many men just tune their women out. The ubiquitous image of the housewife at the breakfast table talking to her husband who has his head buried in the newspaper comes to mind. Tannen observed that, â€Å" For males, conversation is the way you negotiate your status in the group and keep people from pushing you around; you use talk to preserve your independence for boys, activities, doing things together, are central. Just sitting and talking is not an essential part of friendship. They’re friends with the boys they do things with.†As a result, women should inhibit men’s repression to gain themselves strenght. They should exhibit required behaviors to be of equal status. In next section, we will deal with communication between men and women at work. 3.COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN AT WORK Communication is very important for gender in the business life. Problems may arise between sexes at various time.Men and women use strategies in with each other that the opposite sex may view negatively. Often, misunderstandings can be avoided when co-workers look beyond personalities and consider the different ways men and women communicate.Women are more verbally skilled than men. Men’s goals in using tend to be about getting things done whereas women’s tend to be about making connections to other people. Men talk to more things and fact whereas women walk more about people relationship and feeling. Journalist Katja Ridderbusch says in an article: â€Å" The problem between men and woman in the workplace is not the fact that they play by a different set of rules†, Connie Glaser points out(she is America’s guru of gender talk). â€Å"The problem is that they don’t know these rules.† She considers herself a translator, a mediator between the male and the female culture. A supporter of women in the business world. But she is not a feminist, nor does she hate men, quite the opposite. With her husband Tom, who serves as the president to the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta, she has two sons, 22 and 24 years old. In a household of three men, she says, â€Å"you quickly learn to become very thick skinned.† As in all field, there are also several problems at work. The sexes should do whatever is necessary to solve them. We can see more detailed this issue with two sub-title as success of men and the value given women in business life by society. 3.1 The Success of Man Business life has become a universe to men until recent years. According to them, it is built on male values and behaviors. Even writer Leyla Navaro talks about that an attitude emerged under the name of ‘professional behavior’ in her book. Furthermore, it is an enviable behavior’s definition. of authority. Men criticise business interest to pass in human relationship. It includes comportments as supress feeling, impersonality, decide quickly, compete use of authority. Business conducts have been to expected of women because men think in this way.Research results that measure the relationship between high intelligence and success indicates that a high propotion of men. Men don’t want to query their achievements in competition with women. There are also times they are unlucky. † Male job applicants have to prove that they possess the necessary skills, whereas women are just assumed to possess them. In today’s increasingly service-based economy, this may not be good news for men†. (â€Å" Do men and women the same language†) As shown in this article, although women are more comfortable communicating, unfortunately men don’t have this feature. 3.2 The Value Given Women in Business Life by Society Although men and women work under the same conditions, the society doesn’t value women enough. A study which done on the success resulted different in women. Two thirds of those continue their lives as housewife. The others work in small position at workplace. According to Alice Rose: â€Å" The society expect achievements appropriate to their abilities of men. Whereas women do business under the talent and skills. We don’t wink at this situation and we will support them at the same time.† A successful women wants to move away both men and other women. Due to competition and jealously, women want to leave alone her. According to them, this is the most effective way of punishing a woman. Women are continious communication in society. Pushing out events affects profoundly them. Internal concerns such as unloved, exclusion lead to failure for women in business life and reduce their potential powers. They strive to show loyalty and retation to workplace. They show de pendent and helpless behaviors in the face of authority figures. This situation exposes that how much value given to women in society. If women defend their rights, they can gain their freedom at work.In last section,we will look at communication between men and women in social life.

Good People… Are Good Because They’re Come to Wisdom Through Failure

According to the critical lens by William Saroyan, â€Å"Good people†¦ are good because they’re come to wisdom through failure. † In other words that a person can learn from mistakes and become a better person. Two literary works that agree with this statement are The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. The novel by William Golding, The Lord of the Flies reveals with a person can learn from mistakes and become a better person. The setting took place on an uninhabited island. Ralph was characterized as the oldest of the boys, handsome, and confident. Piggy can be characterized as the logic on the island. Jack Merridew an aggressive boy who became the leader of the tribe after Ralph’s failure. Piggy trying to preach the rules to everyone and Roger rolls a boulder at him and kills him. Ralph witnessed Piggy’s death and ran away. From this point on Ralph discovered through Piggy’s death, that it was useless trying to reason with Jack’s tribe. Ralph ran and hides from them. As a result, Ralph learned through Piggy’s mistakes and stayed alive. William Saroyan implies that a person can learn from mistakes and become a better person. One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey reveals with the statement. We can learn from mistakes and become a better person. The story takes place in a mental institution in the Pacific Northwest. The narrator of the novel is chief Bromden, also known as chief Broom; a half staff assumes is deaf and dumb. Randall Patrick McMurphy is a new patient who came from a work farm. He suggested a party, but got cought by the Big Nurse. He received a lobotomy. Chief learned from McMurphy. At the end, he escaped the hospital and returning to society to battle the combine. In both novels The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey reveal the statement that we can learn from mistakes and become a better person. Both main characters learn from other mistakes and become a better person.

Corporate finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Corporate finance - Essay Example For banks, on the other hand, it was a bitter-sweet experience. Before the euro, they easily handled 15 different west European currencies and interest rates, and made good money out f trading cash, securities and derivatives for customers and for their own book. On January 1st 1999, when 11 currencies were irrevocably fixed against each other (the 12th, the Greek drachma, joined the euro two years later), ten out f 15 currencies vanished from traders' screens. Many European banks lost a chunk f their income. The consolation was that, at a stroke, wholesale financial markets in Europe became much more integrated and more interesting for non-European investors. This caused much rebalancing f investment portfolios, because shares, bonds, loans and derivatives could be bought across the euro zone without additional currency or interest-rate risk. On the wholesale side, the integration f European financial markets has been a resounding success. But on the retail side--bank accounts, payments, mortgages, insurance policies and personal investments--the process has hardly begun. One strong sign that there is little convergence is the scarcity f cross-border banking mergers. So far there has been only one significant one, the purchase f Abbey National, Britain's sixth-biggest bank, by Banco Santander Central Hispano f Spain. One medium-sized French bank, Crdit Commercial de France, was bought by Britain's HSBC in 2000, and in the same year Germany's HypoVereinsbank bought Bank Austria. In Italy, another Spanish bank, BBVA, looks likely to succeed in its bid for Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, and ABN Amro f the Netherlands has been battling to take over Banca Antonveneta. Apart from some cross-border bank consolidation in the Benelux and Scandinavian countries, that is as far as integration in western Europe has got. In central and eastern Europe, it is a different story. Since the early 1990s, large swathes f the banking sector there have been privatised and ended up in foreign hands. That has brought immediate benefits in terms f safety and soundness, fresh capital, innovation and integrity, although some economists are alarmed by the long-term implications. Why the east-west split Ask the head f a big west European bank why he has not bought up a rival in, say, France, Germany or Italy, and he will give two reasons. First, political and legal barriers to entry act as a disincentive. About half f the French banking system is still in public hands, and a foreigner would find it politically tricky to buy one f the three biggest banks, Crdit Agricole Lyonnais, Socit Gnrale or BNP Paribas. In Germany, an even higher proportion f banks are in public or mutual hands, which means they are simply not for sale. There is a handful f private banks, but their share f the banking market is too small to give a foreign buyer critical mass. In Italy, several f the big banks are theoretically open to takeover, but real or perceived political barriers have discouraged foreign bids until recently. The second reason for not buying is that, in contrast to domestic mergers, the expected cost savings and economies f scale are rather modest. Domestic mergers benefit from the closure f branches and cuts in the number f employees and other fixed costs. Cross-border mergers are likely to bring only a few savings from the eventual integration f IT systems, back offices and perhaps the

An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of realist, neoliberal and Essay

An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of realist, neoliberal and social constructivist approach on European integration and European security - Essay Example Firstly, the end of the Cold War would increase relative gains concerns among the European states, creating barriers to cooperation. Secondly, institutions could not overcome this barrier to cooperation. (Smith, 2000, p.40). In Mearsheimer's view international institutions were 'merely an intervening variable in the process' by which the balance of power mechanism leads to war (Mearsheimer, 1995a, p.13). Neorealist Joseph Grieco (1995) argued that the successful negotiation of the Treaty on European Union (TEU, 1992) and Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) rebuked the neorealist theory that states hold international institutions in low esteem (Rosamond, 2000, p.133). Further, a more likely explanation of the EU's longevity was the post-Second World War balances of power politics (Rosamond, 2000, p.134). Grieco stated that throughout the last 20 years: Grieco's alternative hypothesis offered a potent explanation for the intensification of European integration in the 1980s/1990s. For Grieco EMU negotiations were an interstate bargain without initial supranational sponsorship. This questions how and why states came to choose the mode of EMU development in the TEU (Rosamond, 2000, p.134). "if states share a common interest and undertake negotiations on rules constituting a collaborative arrangement, then the weaker but still influential partners will seek to ensure that the rules so constructed will provide sufficient opportunities for them to voice their concerns and interests and thereby prevent or at least ameliorate their domination by stronger parties". (Grieco, 1995, p.35) The key question for Grieco was "why did the EC countries undertake such an ambitious risky, programme of institutional innovation as is envisioned by the Maastricht Treaty, and especially its elements on EMU" (Grieco, 1995, p.23) More specifically, Grieco argued that neorealism faced "an acute need" to explain why "key middle-rank" EU members, particularly France and Italy, decided to "join with a potentially hegemonic partner in an economic balancing coalition" (Grieco, 1996, p.304). Grieco proffered a revised neorealist argument about secondary states and the interests that might lead them to cooperate with stronger partners through international institutions (1995, p.24). There were economic and policy influence benefits for doing so (Grieco, 1996, p.287). The 'voice opportunities' associated with participation in institutions offered states a means both to encourage the 'compliance of stronger partners' and to address any unequal distributions of gains which may arise in the course of cooperation (Grieco, 1996, p.288). Grieco believed that 'neorealism should be amended to ascribe significance to institutions' because the 'voice opportun

Support or against individual's rights to affordable health care Essay

Support or against individual's rights to affordable health care - Essay Example Under the study of ethics in philosophy, utilitarianism evaluates the concept of right and wrong in reference to pleasure (Sandel, 15, 2007). According to this theory, actions that enhance pleasure in human life are right. Therefore, this principle implicates that correctness relies purely on pleasurable acts. This theory advocates for pleasurable acts within society. Happiness in society reflects directly as correctness (Sandel, 17, 2007). This theory also asserts that error associates to the deeds that reverse happiness. Wrong therefore constitutes that acts that deprive humans of happiness. According to this theory, happiness has an ultimate objective of pleasure (Sandel, 15, 2007). It amounts to utmost satisfaction of the general society. Therefore, pain is entirely absent in this atmosphere. Such a society exemplifies the concept of right amongst the people. This is because right attaches proportionally to happiness. Societies upholding unhappiness exemplify a pronounced level o f wrong. Utilitarianism is a morality theory that manifests intense emphasis on mental pleasures (Sandel, 18, 2007). According to this theory, psychological or mental pleasures have more permanence than bodily pleasures. In most circumstances, the mental pleasures induce happiness and satisfaction to the body. Each individual should have access to affordable healthcare. ... In the utilitarianism principle, pleasure ought to prevail from an individual’s level to the societal level. This is an indication that humans within society ought to uphold pleasure for themselves as well as for others. Therefore, they ought to manifest utmost consideration of the interests of others (Sandel, 18, 2007). Policy implementers should therefore consider the interests of every member of society. Upon provision of affordable healthcare to every member of society, utmost pleasure would be attained. This would definitely uphold a sense of right in the society’s morality. Current trends in public medical services exemplify a sense of wrong in society. This is due to the deprived pleasure amongst the incapacitated individuals. Due to their dismal income levels, they do not access ideal healthcare. This is an evident feature of wrong in the morality of society. Individuals have been deprived of pleasure, happiness and satisfaction. Therefore, it is a rightful mora lity to provide access to affordable health care to every person in society. Libertarianism Libertarianism is an additional theory in philosophical ethics and morality. It has a different perspective from the Utilitarianism theory. Scholars under this theory criticize the role of government regulations in the economy (Sandel, 49, 2007). They advocate for free markets within society. This amounts to a society exercising utmost liberty. Individuals have the capacity to suit their needs with their assets. Therefore, possession of any holding would grant an individual to pursue his or her personal objective. Despite of the freedom, individuals ought to observe protection of other people’s rights (Sandel, 49, 2007). This implicates that the society ought to uphold

Class 6310 week 5 posts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Class 6310 week 5 posts - Assignment Example It is that kind of courage that most people lack and especially being the first time (Bradshaw and Lowenstein, 2011). I do not understand whether the two scenarios you have described were challenging or unsatisfactory please clarify and answer according to the guideline questions. I cannot understand why you gave Wanna high marks on evaluation if her teaching as you explained was not that good. Is that not being of double standards, untruthful, unjust and even unfair, in short being unethical? (Billings & Halstead, 2012) You must have been really frustrated and tired from overworking and having an uncooperative tutor who is favoring others. Since the tutor was unethical in not being fair by having favoritism which did more harm than good, why didn’t you take immediate action as a group and report the matter immediately to the supervisor even if it was anonymously if you were afraid of repercussions? (Boyer,