Human Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Human Engineering - Essay Example Such act is against the morals and ethics. Individuals who possess anomalies that are heritable are benefitted from such kind of genetic testing followed by selection of the baby. If the anomaly persists then the parents tend to terminate the pregnancy and opt for the better genetic make-up of the individual. In this genetic epoch where human engineering is being utilized for the betterment of the human race and to safeguard the future of the individuals. As eugenics is directed for the enhancement of the genetic composition of the population couples testing their fetuses for Down syndrome and abort fetus practice eugenics to certain extent as it is a step towards prevention of the hassles as well as elimination of the defective genetic makeup from the gene pool as well as it prevents social discrimination. Genetic testing aids in testing genetic anomalies encompassing Huntingtons, Cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, Thalassemia, congenital malformations, deformations, chromosomal anomalies and also pre diabetics to a greater extent if it runs in the family. Although genetic test and screening does not provide any cure to the condition but affirms the carrier of the genetic anomalies leaving the decision on the parents to go or not to go for the child ("This House Would Allow Parents to Genetically Screen Foetuses For Heritable

Turning Fear Into and Everyday Relevance Term Paper

Turning Fear Into and Everyday Relevance - Term Paper Example Even more revealing were the results found by the 2000 Decorte, Verschaffel and Green study which stated, â€Å"when middle school students were prompted to ask their parents about their use of the Pythagorean Theorem, an overwhelming 78% answered that they could not recall ever using the Pythagorean Theorem in their day to day lives† (Decorte, Verschaffel and Green). In response, many modern day teachers have begun to explore new ways to teach the Pythagorean Theorem in an attempt to help students see the relevance it can have in their everyday lives. For many students, the words â€Å"Pythagorean Theorem† can sound incredibly daunting and intimidating. It is the teacher's job to show them how the process of this theorem are performed in various daily situations, and that they have probably already experienced it without realizing it. By introducing students to real-life examples, teachers can help take the fear out of the equation. â€Å"Some mathematicians and teachers have attempted to produce textbooks that use a bare minimum of sentential representation and argument† (Lindsay). These books often proved useless without further explanation from the teacher. They proved that students needed real-life examples of how the Pythagorean Theorem worked in order to understand the process. The diagrams in these textbooks are often referred to as â€Å"diagrammatic demonstrations†. â€Å"A diagram that illustrates a mathematical relation by showing in essence that it is an accurate reflection of the behavior of obje cts in space and provides an understanding because it grounds the abstraction in our customary experience† (Lindsay). The problem with these diagrams was that they often reflected shaped that were unrealistic and never seen in real life. One approach that many teachers are currently pursuing is to use pictures of real buildings, baseball fields, and other such relevant structures.

The Life Of Sachin Tendulkar Essay

The Life Of Sachin Tendulkar Essay As said by the legend Amitabh Bachchan himself Sachin (Tendulkar) is the heartbeat of our nation. The country breathes every time he goes out to play and when he is out, the country stops breathing. Demi God, The Master Blaster, Bombay Bomber, the little master, Sach, slashin sachin, 4+6=10ulkar, 10ulkar, God of Cricket and so on and so forth . This is the presence of Sachin Tendulkar in the World Cricket. One sports personality who still remains uncorrupted and unassuming as ever. Champion in the Making Early life and beyond Sachin Tendulkar comes from a humble and cultured background of a middle-class family. His father, Prof. Ramesh Tendulkar was a poet and a professor of Marathi Literature. Prof Ramesh eldest son Nitin also became a literary and poet and was recognized by the state government for his first book. But it was not Nitin Tendular who needed constant vigilance; it was the familys youngest, the trouble maker MASTER SACHIN was. When young he played in the playground day and night without wanting to come back home for his afternoon meals and nap. Sometimes his grandmother or mother would have to tie up one of his legs to a wooden chair so that he does not go out playing yet again and then go back to their knittings. Sachin attended Sharadashram Vidyamandir (High School) and began his cricketing career under the guidance of his mentor and coach, Ramakant Achrekar. Sachin used to practice for hours in the nets. When he got tired his mentor would put a One Ruppee coin on the stumps, and the bowler who would be able to dismiss Sachin would get the coin. If on the other hand Sachin would pass the whole session without getting dismissed, the coach would give him the coin. Sachin today considers his 13 coins he had won, some of his most prized possessions. Humility and Credibility has always been in Sachins innate nature and his strongest of allies from his days of nobody to a super celebrity. In his early years also, as told by his elder brother, he has not once seen sachin behave in an insensitive or arrogant manner. Respect and Responsibility: A quality which is not replaceable is his respect for his elders. Before embarking on his tour he never forgets to take the blessings of his elders in the family. And also he never forgets to buy each of his family members something when he returns from the tour. There is another endearing quality that Sachin has, which is he never gets angry. He has no known enemy in the media circuit neither does he have any favorites. To those who have offended and criticized him by their writings, he has only one philosophy: Pressmen too are entitled to having their bad days. Sachin allows nothing to affect him. In the early years of his career, he understood his responsibility towards Environment and social responsibility. He had never endorsed any alcohol brand, cigarettes and pan masala, when other of his counter parts were endorsing the same. The Person: At the age when others play gully cricket,, Sachin was already shoulder to shoulder with names like Kapil Dev and Mohammed Azharuddin. There is unanimity that achievement and fame has not changed Sachin a bit even though he had started earning exceeding well very early in his career. And today also, apart from his passion for Luxury Cars and Fast Driving his interest still remains of a middle class person Family, Music, good food and Friends. Even though Sachin is a private person but he is not a hermit. He is frivolous and fun-loving when and where he wants to be. One more aspect is that sachin is very kind-hearted which is imprinted in him even today because of his upbringing and values given by his parents. His parents had always given their children liberty to do what they want and they made sure that this trust was never breached. Even when the decision of changing Sachins School came, sachins father spoke to him to know his feelings even at that young age. Sachin: The Patriot As noticed by photographer Pradeep Mandhani retells that when Sachin had landed in Johannesburg in 1992-1993 for a tour to South Africa, the team had to visit the Tolstoy Farm, Mahatma Gandhis first Satyagrah Movement, founded in 1910. The Indian player showed little interested as they wanted to rest first, but that did not stop the young inquisitive Sachin to stop his questions from the guide about our Father of the Nation. Still a teenager and hungry for information about Mahatma Gandhi showed his pride for the Nation. On his tour to Pakistan in the year 1997, Joseph Hoover, a journalist, suggested sachin about doing something for the underprivileged of the society. He immediately agreed and asked him his plans, and he had no plans as it was a casual remark. But within minutes he arranged for bats to be sent to Bangalore which the players would sign and later they will be auctioned. Man of his word: Sachin became the first overseas player to be a part of Yorkshire. He had assured his presence for the benefit. The coordinators were scared that it would be a huge blow if he will not turn up. But when called, he unworriedly told him that when he gives his word, he honors it. Sachin kept his word. Sachins standing and reputation is such that when he was wrongly accused of ball tampering the whole Nation rose protest the allegation. The sentiments of the masses were told by former BCCI president NKP Salve when he said that Sachin cannot cheat. He is to cricket what Gandhi Ji was to politics. It was clear discrimination in his opinion. The ICC (International Cricket Council) was enforced to explain that Sachins only mistake was to remove the grass of the ball without informing the umpire, which is not ball tampering. Even after being born and brought uo in a Marathi family, Sachin has never protested or shown any prejudice against North Indians like the Shiv Sena (political party in Maharashtra) who have unleashed an anti-north Indian campaign. Bal Thackeray ( party president) lasted his anger at Sachin, when he had quoted that Mumbai is a part of India and that how he sees it. He also said that he is a Maharashtraian and am extremely proud of that, but first he is an Indian. These remarks by Sachin were of a true Indian who does not belong to one particular state but a country first. A true Patriot à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Inspirational: Sachin had failed in exams in Boards. At that time, it was considered shameful to fail in school, but that did not stop his love and passion for cricket. A persistent back problem flared up when Pakistan had come for a tour in India in 1999, and India lost a historic test series, despite a rough century by Sachin. Worse was to come when Sachins father, Prof. Ramesh Tendulkar passed away in the middle of 1999 Cricket World Cup. Sachin led India tour to Australia after being named the new captain, where they lost the series by the new world champions. Sachin gave up his captaincy and Sourav Ganguly took over as captain in 2000. Sachin had made 673 runs in 11 matches in the 2003 World Cup which led to India playing in final against the defending champions- Australia. While Australia reserved the trophy, sachin was awarded the Man of the Series. Sachin made his mark in the drawn series of India tour to Australia in 2003-2004 in the last test series where he made a double century. In 2004, eyebrows were raised again when Sachin injured his elbow, leaving him out of sight for almost a year, coming back only for a test series with Austalia in India. He did play his part in Indias win in the Mumbai Test but the series went to Austalia in 2004. After his tour to England in 2006, the news of his shoulder operation raised more question of his longevity in cricket.And today he is the worlds best, and the highest earning cricketer. His attitude towards life and the game is what should inspire us. Dedication: In the year 1998-1999, Australian Cricket Team was scheduled to tour India for a Test Match and Tri Series. Although the Australian team had great players like Steve Waugh, Mark Taylor, Mark Waugh and Ian Harley, there was this one guy who had made ripples in the cricket world that was Shane Warne. Even though the Indian team were good against spinners but this guy had it in him to swindle the Indians in their home ground. Preceding the test series the Australian Team was scheduled to play a warm up match with Mumbai Ranji Trophy Team in Mumbai. Sachin was also to feature in that game for Mumbai. Sachin was aware of the hazard which Shane Warne could pose and hence about one month before the Australian Team arrived in Mumbai, he had sent a SOS to Laxman Shivaramakrishnan (a former Indian Leg spinner). Sachin arranged for him to come to Mumbai so that he could practise against various leg spinners as Shivaram was a good exponent of the googly and flipper. Sachin practised along with him everyday for 5-6 hours in the heat for around 20 days before the Australian Team arrived in Mumbai. They say God helps those who help themselves and Patience is the key to Success. And so it was in case of Sachin Tendulkar. In this warm up game, sachin smashed Shane Warne and the fellow Australians and scored a glorious 204 and the rest is history. Later on he played Shane Warne with no difficulty Practise is the simplest thing which we should focus for instead we move around for other things which never guarantee success and even if it would have given success, it would be short term nature. Sachin is a person who gives a lot of attention to values and things that matters to him, be it how small they are from others perspective. Like many sports personalities, Sachin also has his own superstitions and mementos which he holds a special place in his life. As an example, Sachin was gifted with a pair of pads by his cricket hero Sunil Gavaskar when he was a school. And when he made his Test debut for India against Pakistan aged just 16-years old in 1989 wearing those very pads Lessons from his Journey: Dedication and Commitment His hard work at the nets is just an example of how dedicated Sachin Tendulkar is to the game of cricket. He has in the process not only mastered the techniques of shot making but also has invented shots which bear his signature. An aspiring speaker should also be dedicated to his art, he should spend long hours researching, preparing and rehearsing his speeches. He should become sound in his understanding of the art. Passion and Drive to Excel If he fails at batting, youll see him make up for it in the field. Either hell get some crucial wickets or take brilliant catches or make extra effort in preventing runs from being scored. If nothing of this happens, hell be there with a right piece of strategy for the captain. The bottom line is simple: He has a great passion for the game. And he pushes himself to excel each time he goes out to play. An aspiring speaker should show great passion for public speaking. He should be driven by the quest for excellence and never settle for mediocrity. Enjoying the Game As you watch Sachin Tendulkar play, youll never have a feel that he is at work. He is always at play, enjoying the game. That is perhaps the greatest secret of success. Enjoying what you do in life. Most speakers look at their given assignments with dread. This is a defeatist attitude. Instead, if the speaker can learn to enjoy his time on stage, hell come up with better performances. Hell then engage the audience with some cherished moments of inspiring integration of words and action; thought and emotion, style and substance. The Audience Factor Sachin Tendulkar will be remembered not just for the volume of runs or the number of centuries he made. Instead hell be remembered most for the way in which he played the game. How he entertained, how he mesmerized, how he took the battle to the opposition often single-handedly, how he wrote poetry with his foot movements, balance, poise and delicate touches with the bat. In short, he entertained. Aspiring speakers can learn something from him in this regard. It is not just delivering some words committed to memory that counts, but how you can entertain the crowd. That is how lively and interesting your presentation was to the audience. Planning and Pacing the Innings None of Sachins great innings happened by chance. Instead it was careful planning and precise execution of it that helped him achieve success. Life too is an innings that we play. We need to learn how to pace our innings. There are times to go slow; there are times to accelerate. There are moments to be still and there are times to cut loose. An aspiring speaker should note that great speeches have a cadence of their own. There is music and rhythm in it. There is occasional rise and fall. Sometimes the delivery of the speech sounds like a hurricane; and at other times it soothes like still soft music. Effective is the man who has learned to keep his performance within his allotted time. Raising the Level of the Game Great champions need great opposition to bring out the best in them. Sachin Tendulkar is no exception. His ability to raise the level of his game during demanding situations has often been proved. When that happens there is a different quality to his game. There is something different, something that cant be defined, and something that seems out of the ordinary in his game. Great speakers too raise their level of performance when the mood, the occasion and the content of their speech demand it of them. Like how Tendulkar makes his batting look so much easy because he hides his art in it. So also a speaker should lay hold of his art in such a way so as to make it look so easy. It is at such moments great art is witnessed and heard by the audience. Consistency and Perseverance Sachin Tendulkar has had his moments of failure. Those moments prove to us beyond doubt that he is an ordinary human being just like one of us. But what makes him different is his ability to be patient when his critics cry out for his blood. Instead of speaking he lets his bat do the talking. And his long and illustrious career has been one long string of achievements that has shut the mouths of his critics. His averages in both versions of the game are testimony to his consistency and perseverance. Speakers need to be consistent. They should earn a reputation by consistently delivering well. At the same time they should also learn to persevere when bad days come. The secret is to keep on doing what youre good at and maintain the confident belief that if you had done well in the past you can do better in future. ACHIEVEMENTS: Sachin is broadly regarded as one of the greatest batmen in the history of world cricket. He holds the world record for the most number of Man of the Match (MoM) and Man of the Series (MoS) awards in ODI matches. Sachin Tendulkar is the most inexhaustible run scorer in one-day internationals with 17,598 runs. With a current aggregate of 13447 Test runs, he exceeded Brian Laras previous record count of 11,953 runs as the highest run scorer in the test matches in 2008 in Mohali, India. Sachin regarded this as one of his biggest achievements in the 19 years of career. He also holds the record of highest number of centuries in ODI cricket (46) as well as Test (48). Sachin has scored over 1000 runs seven times in a calendar year in ODIs, and he scored 1894 runs in 1998, easily the highest record for the runs scored by any player in a single calendar year for one day internationals. Sachin became the first player ever to reach 10,000-11,000-12,000-13,000-14,000-15,000, 16,000 and 17,000 ODI runs Official Awards Arjuna Award, for achievements in Cricket in 1994. Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Indias highest sporting honor 1997/1998 Indias fourth highest civilian award- Padma Shri in 1999 Indias second highest civilian award: Padma Vibhushan in 2008 Sachin has become a mentor for the youth with his dedication, love and passion for the game and his country. He is an inspiration to every individual in India and the world.

Heart of Darkness :: essays research papers

The Horror of Man Joseph Conrad’s â€Å"Heart of Darkness† is a tale of two men who work for an ivory company in the heart of Africa. The two men, Marlow and Kurtz, come to see the horror that hides behind the trappings of civilization and every day life, the true darkness within all mankind. Characterization, symbolism, and tone are important in Joseph Conrad’s construction of the main idea behind the â€Å"Heart of Darkness†. The author uses those things and more to build up the main Idea behind the story and make it evident to the reader.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both Marlow and Kurtz can be seen as the main character in the story and for the story to be effective as a whole both have to exist. The author develops the character of these two men simultaneously even though Marlow does not come in contact with Kurtz until towards the very end of the story. The author builds up the characteristics of Marlow and Kurtz throughout the story so the reader knows that these men are like most people in their thinking, the reader then can see that Marlow and Kurtz are normal respectable people. The story is seen through Marlow, but the focus throughought the story is upon Kurtz almost from the moment Marlow reaches the first station in Africa. Kurtz character really begins to take shape about the time Marlow reaches the central station, he becomes known as an â€Å"exceptional man, of the greatest importance†. The reader sees the ambition that drives the man through the words of others. Even after Kurtz’s death, when Marlow tells Kurtz’s fiancà © of his death he lies to her about him because the truth â€Å"would have been to dark- to dark altogether†(224). The reader can see that Marlow still thought highly of the man and his character though, Marlow just knew what lurked beneath the surface of this man. The reader see’s that see the Marlow himself as being a respected man â€Å"the worst that could be said of him was that he did not represent his class†¦Marlow was not the typical seaman†(165). Wherever Marlow went he heard of Kurtz and Marlow was excited to meet the man, it almost became his goal. This can be seen when Marlow has gotten the steamboat close to the camp that Kurtz was at and the natives attacked, the manager comments â€Å"And by the way, I suppose Mr.

The Environmental Management System of Starbucks Coffee

Background of the companyâ€Å" Starbucks Coffee is the figure one purveyor of java in the universe. Starbucks Coffee is an American planetary java company and cafe concatenation based in Seattle, Washington. Furthermore, Starbucks Company is the largest cafe company in the universe in front of Costa Coffee, with 20,737 shops worldwide. Howard Schultz, the Chairman and CEO of Starbucks â€Å" . With what stated supra, Howard is really seeking to do Starbucks a 2nd place in our day-to-day lives. That is why, they are seeking to convey ‘family’ into the image whereby people of all ages can come to Starbucks and bask themselves. Starbucks started their first shop in 1971 opened in Seattle, Washington. Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker got the thought from Alfred Peet of opening Starbucks java shop. Starbucks is now presenting a healthier option of nutrient and drinks for kids. Therefore, working parents can now bask their cup of java while making their work witho ut worrying about what nutrient and imbibe their kids can devour. Furthermore, with a household construct it excessively can construct a closer relationship between households.Introduction to the services / merchandises of the companyStarbucks is really peculiar about run intoing all their customers’ demands. The environment of their mercantile establishment is good equipped from friendly staff, a comfortable topographic point to loosen up to bask a good cup of java with your loved 1s and non to advert good Wi-Fi. Thus, working parents can come to Starbucks and make their work without experiencing stressed out. All in all, Starbucks is the perfect topographic point for households to dine in. In add-on, Starbucks serve both hot and cold drinks, whole-bean java, micro-ground instant java, full-leaf teas and besides bites. Most Starbucks shops besides sell pre-packaged nutrient points, hot and cold sandwiches, and points such as mugs and tumblers. Since 1987, Starbucks had opene d an norm of two new shops every twenty-four hours and had been profitable as local company in early 1980s. In add-on the shop ab initio sold merely coffee beans and java devising equipment instead than the drinks they had become celebrated presents. Starbucks is besides celebrated for holding good services and serve good quality of java. Furthermore, Starbucks besides introduced the new drive-thru construct shops with consistence in sort so that clients have the option to bask their favourite java on the spell, or at the shop should they prefer to stretch their legs and relax.Designation of the possible environmental impacts that possibly caused by the services / merchandises of the company. ( 10marks )Overall, Starbucks Coffee is recognized by many environmental associations for their eternal part as a â€Å"Green† company. Throughout the procedure of turning, processing and transporting the java beans, Starbucks Coffee has been in support of environmentally-sound java turn ing patterns and to guarantee the sustainability of its merchandise supply. Starbucks Coffee strives to cut down their environmental impact through some enterprises aiming issues like recycle, reuse, waste decrease every bit good as instruction spouses and consumers. However, there are some negative environmental impacts that are caused by the services and merchandises of Starbucks Coffee. Firstly, based on the Starbucks 2007 CSR Annual Report, each Starbucks Coffee shop uses 6.78kW/h of electricity, 0.058 thermos of natural gas, and 25 gallons of H2O, on norm, per square pes per month ( Saed, 2009 ) . The most serious environmental impact is H2O wastage. Recently, Starbucks Coffee is criticized by environmental experts for blowing 23.4 million litres of H2O per twenty-four hours caused by running lights-outs at its about 10,000 mercantile establishments worldwide ( Saed, 2009 ) . The wastage of H2O is a menace to the environment and wildlife as the pat H2O is sourced from rivers and belowground H2O. Since javas are brewed and served to clients in packaging like paper cups, doubtless another inevitable wastage of Starbucks Coffee is its java cups. It is estimated that the company produces more than 2 billion paper cups per twelvemonth ( Mother Nature Network Holding Company, 2010 ) . Since Starbucks Coffee uses disposable paper cups made of 10 % recycled paper fibre and 90 % new paper, tremendous measure of natural resources like trees, H2O and energy are required for the processing of the paper cups. In add-on to that, the company’s paper cups are laminated with fictile rosin liner, therefore are unable to be recycled. After devouring their javas, the paper cups are extremely likely to stop up in a landfill in which decomposing of the paper cups occurs. This will ensue in the release of methane gas, which is a nursery gas with 23 times the heat-trapping power of C dioxide ( Saed, 2009 ) . Emission of this nursery gas causes nursery consequence which will take to planetary heating. Although Starbucks Coffee is promoting clients to convey in their ain reclaimable cups and bask a 10 % price reduction by making so, more inaugural is needed to actuate clients to be more environmental-friendly.The company’s environmental direction system.There are five environmental direction system that have been implement by Starbuck Company are constructing greener shops, recycling & A ; cut downing waste, Starbucks recycling substructure, cut downing waste with reclaimable Cups and H2O preservation. First Starbuck construct greener shops. Starbuck is a shop that holding LEED ® Certified Stores. They have created environmental consciousness on a planetary graduated table since from the design phase right through to building and operations. Besides that, Starbuck besides pay attending in energy preservation & A ; renewable energy, they have pay attending and committed to cut downing the measure of utilizing energy and besides back uping new, renewable solutions and prefer to utilize the energy in the green manner. Second, recycling and cut downing waste. Starbuck company said that they have 39 % of their retail shops in USA AND Canada were able to offer forepart of shop recycling and 71 % of java were able to recycle and be a fertiliser. Starbuck besides working with Paper Recovery Alliance to increase credence of their stuffs while customize their recycling plan to suit changing regional demands every bit much as possible. Besides that, in 2013 Starbuck have 80 % ( more than 3,200 ) of their shops in USA and Canada have recycled composition board boxes and other back-of-store points. Starbuck Company besides encourage their clients to happen out if their packaging is reclaimable in their vicinities at Earth 911. Third, Starbuck recycling substructure. Starbuck Company proves that the cups that they are utilizing can be accepted as a valuable natural stuff in a assortment of recycling systems. Starbuck besides working and coaction as a member of the Foodservice Packaging Institute’s Paper Recovery Alliance and the Plastics Recovery Group to happen and convey up solutions to scale and turn to common challenges. Fourth, cut downing waste with reclaimable cups. Reclaimable cups are an of import constituent for Starbuck Company in the waste decrease scheme. Since 1985 Starbuck rewarded client with 5 % price reductions that bring their personal tumblers and 5 % of the drinks made in their shops in tumblers and brought in by their clients. I felt that this is the effectual manner to promote people to affect in recycling. Last, H2O preservation. In 2008, Starbuck Company has set a end to cut down H2O ingestion by 25 % in 2015. Since so, they have identified a figure of chances to utilize this cherished resource more sagely and spent the last few old ages proving and formalizing these solutions. They have cut H2O ingestion by 21.1 % through several steps, including the usage of efficient fixtures and equipment that actively monitors ingestion to place spikes in H2O use and taking action and upgrading the H2O filtration systems in their shops to take attention and protect about the cleanness of river and watercourse. Starbuck Company have besides dominate H2O extends to H2O ingestion, protection and functioning clean H2O in coffee-growing communities. Through C.A.F.E. Practices and the resources, Agronomists of Starbuck Company have provide java husbandmans at their six farmer support centres around the universe, Starbuck Company assist increase their output and quality, while still cut downing the H2O use for java processing and guaranting workers have entree clean imbibing H2O to supply clients a good and clean java. What are Starbuck making now are pull offing H2O that can be seen â€Å"going down the drain† provides one set of challenges, but much of their H2O footmark happens behind the scenes. Leaks can develop below floors, outside in sprinkler systems, even in lavatories. To battle these unseeable enemy, Starbucks Energy and Resource Conservation squad uses advanced analytics to place shops that are utilizing inordinate sums of H2O. Facilities experts will see the shops that are utilizing inordinate sums of H2O to name and rectify aberrant. This pattern has alleviation in inordinate H2O usage.The company objectives whether it complies with SMART attack in EMS.The Starbucks Company has complied with SMART attack in EMS. The company has specific mark to turn to, mensurable mark with demoing per centum, accomplishable mark, realistic with demoing how they achieve the mark, and time-bound. The Starbucks Company is seeking the ways to cut down environmental footmark, tackle clime alteration and stimulate others to make the same. The company have specific mark to accomplish their aims such as cut downing and recycling waste, energy preservation, H2O preservation, and edifice greener shops. For the specific mark of cut downing and recycling waste, the Starbucks Company has a mensurable program that to hold recycling available in all of their shops and serve 5 % of drinks in reclaimable cups by 2015. The mark is accomplishable and realistic because the Starbucks Company offered a 10-cent price reduction for client in order to promote clients to utilize reclaimable tumblers or mugs for their drink in the US and Canada. Furthermore, the clients who drink hot drink in shop are served with ceramic mugs. Besides, composition board boxes, milk jugs, sirup bottles, and java evidences which can be found behind the counter are sent to recycling services but recycling success depends on the obtainability of commercial recycling services where the shop is located. Another specific mark is energy preservation, time-bound is twelvemonth 2015, the Starbucks Company has mensurable mark that commit to cut down 25 % of energy ingestion and to cover 100 % electricity ingestion with renewable energy. The mark is accomplishable and realistic because the company has made significant advancement in developing and understanding new attacks to cut down energy ingestion in the last few old ages and go on to happen extra renewable solutions. Furthermore, the specific mark of H2O preservation, the Starbucks Company commit to cut down 25 % H2O use in all their shops by 2015. The mark is accomplishable and realistic because the company has changed uninterrupted watercourses of H2O to manual spigots, and clean liquidizer jugs utilizing a blast of higher force per unit area H2O alternatively of unfastened pat. Besides, the company besides plans to put in efficient H2O fixtures, such as lavatories, spray caputs used to rinse dishes, and low-flow spigots in new shops.Alternate ways to better environmental public presentation of the company beside the attack stated in company policy.Recycling and cut downing waste About the cup being used, there are many ways to cut down the cup waste through encourage client to utilize ceramic mug. Offer price reduction for utilizing ceramic mug and their ain cup alternatively of merely their Starbuck trade name cup. When staff giving order, may inquire client for utilizing ceramic mug if they are holding their java in the store. Use ceramic mug besides for clients when petition for H2O, cut down the usage of paper and fictile cup possible. In add-on, client environmental consciousness is of import excessively, non supply paper tissue in self-counter which client usage extravagancy, is merely provided one to two tissue for them when buying one drink. Energy preservation Energy play an of import function in a java store, from roasting java to the whole store, it use energy. However to cut down the usage of energy is trouble, even the LED lighting was installed, but it merely cut down non much per centum. There is a manner to cut down one of the usage of energy which is HVAC system: warming, airing, chilling. It could see landscaping the outdoor environment, put some comfy furniture at outdoor, have a screen and more works to do it a cool topographic point and good airing. If client prefer have drink at outside instead than indoor, therefore it could salvage more installations provided. Water preservation Water is everything for the Starbuck’s concern, from the doing drinks until the cleaning occupation, all about the H2O. A little wisdom of life for cleansing, we can utilize the H2O in a utile manner which use more than one. For illustration, utilize the H2O to blush lavatory after wash the veggies and fruits, and after wipe up the indoor would utilize the H2O to blush the outdoor. Furthermore, there are many save H2O technique offer in the market. In the market, there is a save H2O lavatory which merely flush 1.5 litre H2O one time alternatively of normal 3 litre H2O, it save 50 % of H2O in normal lavatory usage. In order to salvage H2O, centripetal spigot would besides see to utilize for client and staff, it will come out right sum H2O for wash manus. Undertaking clime alteration Presently Starbucks’s coffee-growing communities in Sumatra, Indonesia, and Chiapas, Mexico, nevertheless there are many Starbucks shop in different states. In other agencies, there is a high cost for transportation the java bean to each state which merely from certain coffee-growing communities, it besides consume a batch of fuel. Fuel is cherished naturals mineral, one twenty-four hours there will be exhausted. There is a manner to cut down the usage of fuel which is develop more coffee-growing communities in different states so that java bean can acquire in local and non reassign from other topographic point, it besides benefit to cut down cost of the drink. MentionsMother Nature Network Holding Company ( 2010 ) . Starbucks and the Environment. Retrieved on November 22, 2014 from: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.mnn.com/money/sustainable-business-practices/stories/starbucks-and-the-environmentSaed, T. ( 2009 ) . The Impact of One Cup of Starbucks Coffee. Retrieved on November 22, 2014 from: hypertext transfer protocol: //globalcitizens.pbworks.com/w/page/9036435/The % 20Impact % 20of % 20One % 20Cup % 20of % 20Starbucks % 20CoffeeTaylor, B. Kelly, J. ( 2013 ) Global Responsibility Report Goals & A ; Progress 2013. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.starbucks.com/responsibility/global-report.Starbucks Corporation. ( 2014 ) .Environmental Stewardship. Retrieved fromhypertext transfer protocol: //www.starbucks.com.my/responsibility/environment.

Describe the management styles and cultures present within the business Essay

The four management styles. Autocratic management this is where they the manager will issue instructions and give the staff orders, this gives the staff little chance to give their own opinion and ask the manager questions or even discuss things with him or her. The manager doesn’t know his staff very well and wont make many attempts to get to know them. Because of this the staff don’t see them selves as team members. Democratic management this is where that he or she is the leader of the team but they are also a team member and has to do the same work as everyone else. The team members liked to be involved in group discussions and decision making. The team leader will encourage his team to participate and help each team member to reach his or her potential goal. Consultative management’s where the manger often appears to be more democratic than he is or she really is. The manger will inform the staff what is going on and what will happen that day. He will encourage his or her staff to express their opinions but in the end he will still choose the way he wants things done around the business. Laissez faire is where the manager doesn’t really care about his staff; the manager will have a non-care less attitude. The manager will not act his or she ‘s responsibility and just leave the staff to make the decisions and to sort out their own work. A manager or team leaders will not just have one management style they normally will adapt their style to the situation which they are in, but they will go back to their normal style of management. The management style that is used in an organisation can depend on type of structure, objectives and culture that the business has. Most of the time there is an autocratic style of management in a tall structure. But sometimes in a tall structure the style of management will tend to change because there are a lot of managers and this means that there are more decisions to make. This is because it comes down the chain of command. In a flat structure there is more teamwork so the type of management style that is used is democratic. Management styles used at Tesco There are at least four types of management structures used at Tesco. The head office will set the objectives and targets for the stores and they dont have much say in it so head office will bean autocratic style of management. Terry Leahy is the managing director and is very lenient. He will visit the stores and talk to all the staff. His style of management is Democratic as he recognises that he is the leader but likes to be involved with the rest of the staff as he is interested with the team and like’s to see how the staff are doing. Andy thought this was unusual as the other managing directors in the past were very autocratic and often the visits were treated as Royal visits. The recruitment of staff is a mixture of both democratic and autocratic. Head office autocratically set how much can be spent on the staff and also the hours of pay, but they allow each stores personnel manager and store manager how they would like to spend it. This can be full-time and part-time staff. Because they tell the people applying for the job what they want from a worker and they also don’t know the people. The RAT system is a democratic style of management this is because they work together so they can solve problems that occur in the business. When a problem occurs employees of the company are asked if they would like to join the RAT team to try and solve the problem. If they do join they will meet regularly and discuss ways in which they can solve the problem. It can be any rank of staff that joins the RAT team, as they are all equal members. Andy told us that as food-training manager is responsible for his area of the shop he could choose how he manages his staff and his area. He says that he likes to have a democratic management style because he likes to be treated as a team member not just a manger, he likes to think he listens to the staff and allows them to offer their opinion. Andy told us that he uses list management. He explained this and it is used for staff who are fairly new and need help, they will receive a short but detailed list of jobs that they have to complete, and then they come back for another list. Where as other more experienced staff have a less detailed list and maybe able to work on their own and use their initiative. Culture Culture is the set of values, beliefs and attitude of both the employees and management, which will help with the decision making. All organisations have a culture. A business culture will determine how the business is run. There are 12 types of business culture. Customer driven culture is where the business is dedicated at all levels to satisfy their customers. They will try and improve all aspects of the production service down to the last detail to help the customers. This type of culture is at Tesco. Tesco number one objective is the customers and try to satisfy them with their every need. They will try giving the customers the best product’s possible. Technological culture, this will emphasise and focus on the development of technological excellence. All the ideas from any member of the business will be positively encouraged. This type of culture is at Tesco because they will try and have all the new technology available to them, for example they have all the new tills, price guns tannoys and internet shopping. Person culture is where the managers and staff will support each other’s progress threw the business and their development. This type of management is at Tesac’s because they have team five and take ten, they like to know how the staff are improving with their skills and if they are learning any new skills so they become multi- skilled. Tesco also like to know if their staff are feeling O.K and that their general life style is OK Role culture, This is where someone will

Real everyday talk Essays

Real everyday talk Essays Real everyday talk Essay Real everyday talk Essay Essay Topic: Talk This extract of Bridget Joness Diary by Helen Fielding takes place at a party, which in the story, Bridget had been informed was a Tarts and Vicars party. This shows that the conversation is very much public as there are a number of other people around, including the 3 people in the conversation, Bridget, her Aunt Una and Uncle Geoff. The relationship between the speakers is familial yet distant. The language used is very much formal language, despite the informal setting, portraying the upper-middle class the characters are from.This style of language, in this situation particularly, can also show unease, as Bridget has been ridiculed and it is Unas fault. This mirrors everyday talk very well, as people often use a more formal tone when faced with a difficult situation such as this. Una has the most turns in the extract, and also appears to have the power, as she sets the agenda at the beginning of the extract with the line Bridget! Super to see you. This shows immediately that they have a reasonably close relationship as she addresses Bridget by her first name.The fact that she is hosting the party also gives her power from the beginning. Bridget has only three turns in the extract, showing her embarrassment by speaking only when necessary such as when she is asked a question. Where is he? He had to work. This approach of a number of interrogatives re-enforces Unas character and also means she is setting the agenda of the conversation. The declarative used by Bridget, also has some connotations around it. The force of the utterance is that her boyfriend is at work, where as the sense is that he was not present at the party.The mode of address when Una says Geoffrey again adds to the social element of the extract, showing the class background, and Fielding is mimicking this class and the pragmatics around it through the language, particularly at the beginning of the extract where Una says Have a Pimms, as this is often seen as a very upper class drink. Una orders Geoff about, and this is typical of everyday speech, as men are often shown as being incapable of organising anything! The last question- answer pair How are we going to marry you off at this rate? At this rate Im going to end up as a call girl, is effectively an incomplete adjacency pair as Bridget mutters her dialogue under her breath and does not directly address her uncle. The style of the language in the extract is very much colloquial and light hearted, while still using Standard English Didnt you telephone Bridget? . The line Super to see you is jovial, portraying characteristics yet the connotations around the word super are still of a very upper class sociolect.Geoffrey also uses a number of rhetorical questions, such as Thats not a very good excuse, is it? and How are we going to get you married off at this rate? The latter of these two examples is intended as a rhetorical question, yet Bridget answers, albeit to herself. Bridget is quite blunt in this extract, adding to her emotions and character to show her awkwardness. The use of the fillers you see and oh dear by Una when explaining the situation to Bridget emphasise again her squirming nature.

animal Inteligence essays

animal Inteligence essays The debate about the intelligence of animals has been one of the most frequently talked about subjects in the study of animal behavior. Are animals intelligent, or are the just doing what their instincts tell them to do. But if an animal only reacts on instinct, how have some animals been able to survive even though their environment has changed. How could these animals survive they are not able to learn from and recognize the changes to their environment. Too me the idea that animals are just mindless robots just doing what their instincts tell them to do is preposterous. Animals have a long history of learning, communication, and other signs of intelligent behavior. Scientist trying to understand their behavior has studied animals around the world. Some scientists have been studying conditioning animals to do certain action and remember long string of characters. Pavlov a behavioral physiologist discovered that when he rang a bell just before feeding his dogs began to salivate and expect food. While most people think of this as just a simple reflex it shows that the animal has linked the two actions. The Skinner box showed the learning capability small animals. It used operant conditioning to teach mice to remember patterns to switches. If a creature can remember and figure out how to activate a switch it clearly shows a capacity for higher thought. If animals only act on instinct what does it due when it encounters an event that it has never come across before. The whole idea of adaptation would not exist. When the first gazelles appeared on earth did they right from the start that know that moving in herds would be their safest option. Highly on likely, it probably took a few gazelles being eaten before the learned that. While I will admit that there is a possibility of this knowledge occurring naturally I still doubt it very much. Did ants suddenly organize the complex socia ...

The Débarrasser (to Clear) French Verb Conjugations

The Dà ©barrasser (to Clear) French Verb Conjugations In French, the verb  dà ©barrasser  means to clear or to rid (someone or something) of. When you want to say the past tense of got rid of or the present tense of clearing, then a verb conjugation is required. A quick French lesson will explain exactly how thats done. Conjugating the French Verb  Dà ©barrasser Dà ©barrasser  is a  regular -ER verb  and it follows the most common verb conjugation pattern found in the French language. The infinitive endings added to the verb stem  dà ©barrass-  are the same you will use for words like  dà ©barquer  (to land), attraper  (to catch), and many others. That makes learning each just a little easier. To transform  dà ©barrasser  to the present, future, or imperfect past tense, find the appropriate subject pronoun in the table. This will guide you to the appropriate verb to use in your sentence. For instance, I clear is je dà ©barrasse and we will clear is nous dà ©barrasserons. This is all quite simple when you take the time to study the conjugations. The endings are not difficult, but the length of this word may be the most challenging part of the lesson. Subject Present Future Imperfect je dbarrasse dbarrasserai dbarrassais tu dbarrasses dbarrasseras dbarrassais il dbarrasse dbarrassera dbarrassait nous dbarrassons dbarrasserons dbarrassions vous dbarrassez dbarrasserez dbarrassiez ils dbarrassent dbarrasseront dbarrassaient The Present Participle of Dà ©barrasser The  present participle  of dà ©barrasser  is formed by adding -ant  to the verb stem. This creates the verb  dà ©barrassant, which can also act as an adjective, gerund, or even a noun in some circumstances. A Past Tense Form of  Dà ©barrasser The imperfect past tense is not your only option for expressing I got rid of in French. You can also use the  passà © composà ©. To do so, you must conjugate the  auxiliary verb  avoir  according to the subject pronoun used, then add the  past participle  dà ©barrassà ©. For example, I got rid of is jai dà ©barrassà © and we got rid of is nous avons dà ©barrassà ©. Remember that this can also work for a translation of have cleared. More Simple Dà ©barrasser Conjugations to Know There may also be times when you will need one of the following forms of  dà ©barrasser. The subjunctive verb mood is used when the action is uncertain did you really clear it? for example. Similarly, the conditional verb mood implies that the action will only happen if something else does.   Primarily found in literature and formal writing, you may not need to use the passà © simple nor the imperfect subjunctive. However, you should be able to recognize and associate these with  dà ©barrasser Subject Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je dbarrasse dbarrasserais dbarrassai dbarrassasse tu dbarrasses dbarrasserais dbarrassas dbarrassasses il dbarrasse dbarrasserait dbarrassa dbarrasst nous dbarrassions dbarrasserions dbarrassmes dbarrassassions vous dbarrassiez dbarrasseriez dbarrasstes dbarrassassiez ils dbarrassent dbarrasseraient dbarrassrent dbarrassassent The imperative verb form is often used in exclamations and short, direct commands or requests. When using this one, skip the subject pronoun: simplify tu dà ©barrasse to  dà ©barrasse. Imperative (tu) dbarrasse (nous) dbarrassons (vous) dbarrassez

HOW ARE FASHION AND APPEARANCE CENTRAL TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIAL Essay

HOW ARE FASHION AND APPEARANCE CENTRAL TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIAL IDENTITIES DISCUSS, WITH REFERENCE TO SPECIFIC EXAMPLES - Essay Example In understanding beauty and the sacrifices that are made for representing what is beautiful, it can be seen that most cultures have supported alterations of the body in order to attain the essence of beauty as it is defined within the social construct, creating identity and status through those sacrifices. The value of beauty is so high that great pain has been endured in order to attain that representation The concept of beauty would seem a simple concept to define, however beauty is sociologically relevant to the culture that defines it and has an evolving meaning that changes through time. At the center of modern Western society is the beauty salon. According to Black (2004), â€Å"The beauty salon stands at the intersection of a number of techniques of the body, which in turn relate to gender, the body, sexuality, class, commodification, leisure practices, consumption, and so on† (p. 7). Current Western society also supports the use of painful surgical remedies to alter th e physical form and create a more beautified appearance. However, pain has been collateral to many of the ways in which beauty has been chased throughout the centuries. While contemporary society may frown upon some of the methods that have been used throughout history, the current trends are actually a continuation of culturally accepted concepts of the discomfort and pain that can be experienced in the pursuit of what is physically beautiful. The Beauty Salon in Western Society The core of the creation of beautiful through physical change within contemporary Western society is the beauty salon, a place where the hair, skin, and nails are attended to in order to project a more beautiful exterior presence. The salon is a social center, as much as it is a utilitarian entity. According to Black (2004), as she quotes Yvette, an owner of a salon, â€Å"Ordinary people come through here The desire of these ‘ordinary people’ is for pleasure and escapism† (p. 2). While what is done there occurs in order to emerge into society with the intention of the results having an impact on the way in which one is viewed, what happens within the salon is as much a part of the identity as the effect of the result. A relationship is developed between the staff and the client, a connection that is made in order to form a social contract where the professional expertise of the staff member becomes the center of the development of an intimacy with the client, the commodified relationship as emotional as it is purposeful. Often the relationship that one has to their beauty professional is as much emotionally therapeutic as it is physically therapeutic (Black 2004, p. 7). What occurs within the salon is often uncomfortable, if not painful, that level of suffering helping to form the bond between the beauty professional and the client. What is experienced and sacrificed in order to attain the result helps to create the intimacy through which the social contract is es tablished. Furthermore, there is a sexuality that is established within the confines of the experience. The salon professional often must inflict pain in a very intimate way in order to achieve the goals of the session. The pain is endured, the recipient developing a dependency on the one inflicting pain as the release of that sensation is within the control of the professional. This pain can become a deep resource of connectivity between the one inflicti

Global Transportation Providers APL; OHL; COSCO Essay

Global Transportation Providers APL; OHL; COSCO - Essay Example OHL OHL is one of the largest third party logistic services providers in the world. It provides supply chain management services to top organizations of the world. Its services include transportation, custom brokerage, warehousing etc. Its tracking system is one of the most sophisticated in the world. Its shipment tracking system is based on GPS and EDI shipment tracking system and offer real time tracking system. OHL also does not provide facility to track the shipments online from any web browser whereas APL provides such facility. COSCO COSCO is relatively young company with over 25 years of experience in the industry. It uses an innovative and new technology to track its shipments. It serves mostly Asian markets including Japan, rest of Asia, North America and Europe. It manages IRIS-2 system which helps to manage its shipment tracking. It is considered as one of the most sophisticated systems in the industry. Advantages & Disadvantages One of the most important advantages of shipment tracking system for any transportation firm is the fact that it provides the company necessary flexibility as well as depth and breadth to mange cargos on large scales. Though most of the systems used by modern shipping companies are technology based therefore they enjoy the necessary advantages due to their technological superiority. As for as the system of APL is concerned, it is considered as one of the highly sophisticated and state of art system. In its essence, this is wireless system based on RFID. APL attaches RFID tags to most of its shipments to track their shipments. (Cox, 2006). However, the real draw back of this system is the fact the tags need to past certain posts in order to located therefore if a new container replaces another one the it may take a bit longer for the system to accurately give the real time location of the shipments based on their time. It is also important to understand that APL is also using WAVES which is based on a very complex technology which provides a much greater advantage over its competitors because it is not used by any other transportation firms in the world. This propriety use of a very complex and sophisticated system provide necessary competitive advantage. The shipment tracking system of OHL is a bit old and is considered as less sophisticated than APL. Based on GPS and EDI, this system is bit slower especially in terms of downloading the data from the real time location to the servers of the firm therefore accurate tracking takes slightly higher than other systems such as with APL. COSCO's system is supported by Sybase Inc. Sybase is one of the highly regarded company in terms of producing robust and sophisticated systems. COSCO adapted "Sybase's Adaptive Server Enterprise, Replication Server, Open Client and jConnect in its IRIS-2 System for data collection, storage, conversion, processing and analysis" (Connolly, 2008). The system employed by COSCON is much more sophisticated than the systems at APL and OHL. It not only provides a much more comprehensive tracking of the shipments but also enable COSCON to analyze the data on real time basis. However, it is also importan

Learning Styles and Lifelong Learning Process Research Paper

Learning Styles and Lifelong Learning Process - Research Paper Example Guild and Garger (1998) implied on their studies that by completely understanding an individual’s style of learning would allow educators to construct adequate teaching methods that would promote higher learning. For the last fifty years, many researchers have understood the concepts of learning styles. Sims and Sims (1995) have specified that students will be able to develop higher levels of learning through these concepts of learning styles and how these styles influence educators to construct sufficient teaching methods. Studies of Dunn and Dunn (1992) presented that individuals respond to learning in a more positive manner through the utilization of adequate teaching methods that suit them. With the case study, students have manifested greater learning when they were taught using their preferred teaching methods because they were able to absorb the concepts of the subject matter easily. These students have shown improved scores when it comes to tests and exams. It is said that if an educator makes use of the students preferred teaching methods, the students tend to be more attentive. This just shows that if educators would be able to grasp solely their students’ preferred learning styles, these educators would be able to promote enthusiasm among their students to learn more. Through effective teaching methods, the study stated that the students reflected more aggressive behavior toward learning, which means that these students are more willing to learn if they will be able to understand their educators’ method of teaching. In short, learning styles and teaching methods have a deeper association. As stated earlier, I took some tests that would determine my preferred learning style as a student. Before I present the results that I got, let me first introduce to you what learning styles are all about. Ross, Maureen, and Schultz (2001) stated on their studies that learning is often times a process of remembering concepts and putting these concepts into actions after  further studies. They further added that learning is a two-way process, gathering information and then utilizing the information.  

Diplomatic Immunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Diplomatic Immunity - Essay Example Yet because of ambiguities in the interpretation of the said international agreement, abuses of diplomatic immunities have become inevitable. These abuses of power and privilege range from petty crimes like traffic violations and debt to more serious crimes of conspiracy, rape, and murder. Because of this, efforts to clarify the extent and provisions of Diplomatic Immunity should take place. This paper will then attempt to provide suggestions on how to resolve and prevent abuses of diplomatic immunities. Diplomatic immunity, as agreed upon by the standards of international law, is a form of legal exemption extended to a country's diplomats. This entitles the diplomats and their immediate families to be exempted from the laws and local courts of the host country. Some of the general provisions of diplomatic immunity guarantee that the diplomats and their immediate families: "may not be arrested or detained, may not have their residences entered or searched, may not be subpoenaed as witnesses, and may not be prosecuted." (eDiplomat, 2006) The 1958 Yearbook of International Law Commission, as cited in Vrk (2003), mentions three theories about the legal bases of diplomatic immunity. ... ntatives of a sending state, the diplomats should also be given the same independence as a receiving state would have negotiated with the sending state itself. These two theories, of course, have long been deduced to legal fictions with all the faulty assumptions. The accepted theory behind diplomatic immunity now lies in the "theory of functional necessity." This theory is based on the need of diplomatic missions and diplomats to efficiently perform their duties and responsibilities according to what their country requires from them, without apprehensions of being criminally charged by the receiving state. For instance, diplomats are able to initiate unfounded penal proceedings without hindrances from the receiving state because of diplomatic immunity. According to eDiplomat (2006), "Diplomatic immunity is not meant to benefit individuals personally; it is meant to ensure that foreign officials can do their jobs. Under the concept of reciprocity, diplomats assigned to any country in the world benefit equally from diplomatic immunity." This assumption that diplomatic immunity would be reciprocally observed between sovereign states justifies the seemingly biased scales of justice. The rationale why countries agree to be dependent on a foreign country's decision before prosecuting a diplomat in their own territory is based on the fact that these countries are both receiving and sending diplomats. This means that they also have their own diplomats' immunity at stake in different countries across the globe. It is clearly stated in the preamble of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that "the purpose of such privileges and immunities is not to benefit individuals but to ensure the efficient performance of the functions of diplomatic missions as representing

Staff Reduction Process Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Staff Reduction Process - Coursework Example The other responsibility of the correctional manager in the staff reduction process is ensuring the employees who are let go do not harbour hard feelings and are adequately compensated and the staff reduction is done in accordance with the law and in compliance with agreements and regulations stipulated in employment contracts (McConnell, 1993). Ensuring all other avenues including cost saving have been sought for and failed before undertaking a staff reduction is the other role of a correction officer in staff reduction. My reservations about staff reduction include the impact of the families and relation of the affected employees, having to let go of employees who have showed great potential, and the possibility of the employees getting new jobs. The measures to be confident as a manager in a staff reduction process include early preparation including all the facts pertaining to the reason for the reduction, the members affected, and the procedure for the selection of the members. Ensuring the reason for the termination is justifiable and easily presentable to the employee to be able to inform the employees clearly. Reviewing policies and procedures on staff reduction will also increase my confidence through providing statements to staff during the staff reduction meeting (The Ohio State University, April 17, 2014). Providing a memo to all the terminated staff on measures taken to ensure adequate compensation and writing recommendations also allows for better confidence. Adequate analysis and in-depth thinking on the employees to terminate to ensure the correct decision on the affected employees also aid in increasing confidence in dealing with a termination of

Vietnam Anti-War Movement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Vietnam Anti-War Movement - Research Paper Example It was during that period that evolution of resistance started amongst Vietnamese nationalists led by Ho Chi Minh pressing for independence. The resistance resulted to the World War 1 that took place between the years 1914 to 1918. France continued to cling to its empire but Ho embraced Marxism-Leninism and built a strong following called Vietminh. The organization prepared to assume power of their territory after the occurrence of the Second World War. The war left France very weak but partly basing its strategies on racism contempt for the Vietnamese, French officials still had a believe that they could reassert their control and power over Indochina. Vietnam Antiwar Movement was a movement against the US involvement in the Vietnam War. Opposition of the Vietnam war took place in the late 1960s and early 1970. The movement took place in form of demonstrations in the year 1964 and continued to grow in terms of strength in the later years. The U.S fell in confusion between those who preferred peace and those who advocated the continuity of involvement in the Vietnam War. The biggest numbers of the participants of the movement were mothers, students, and anti-establishment hippies. Opposition developed with the participation of the African-American civil rights, Chicano movements, women’s liberation, and organized labor sectors. Other groups that joined the movement comprised of journalists, lawyers, academics, clergy, military veterans, leaders of the Civil Rights Movement and physicians. One of the physicians who participated in the movement was Benjamin Spock. Opposition of the war was mainly conducted using peaceful and nonviolent events. However, some few events were deliberately violent and provocative. In fact, some cases called for the police to use violent tactics against all the demonstrators. By the year 1970, there was a steady increase in the majority of Americans considering involvement of the US military in Vietnam as a mistake. Decades later,

Staff Reduction Process Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Staff Reduction Process - Coursework Example The other responsibility of the correctional manager in the staff reduction process is ensuring the employees who are let go do not harbour hard feelings and are adequately compensated and the staff reduction is done in accordance with the law and in compliance with agreements and regulations stipulated in employment contracts (McConnell, 1993). Ensuring all other avenues including cost saving have been sought for and failed before undertaking a staff reduction is the other role of a correction officer in staff reduction. My reservations about staff reduction include the impact of the families and relation of the affected employees, having to let go of employees who have showed great potential, and the possibility of the employees getting new jobs. The measures to be confident as a manager in a staff reduction process include early preparation including all the facts pertaining to the reason for the reduction, the members affected, and the procedure for the selection of the members. Ensuring the reason for the termination is justifiable and easily presentable to the employee to be able to inform the employees clearly. Reviewing policies and procedures on staff reduction will also increase my confidence through providing statements to staff during the staff reduction meeting (The Ohio State University, April 17, 2014). Providing a memo to all the terminated staff on measures taken to ensure adequate compensation and writing recommendations also allows for better confidence. Adequate analysis and in-depth thinking on the employees to terminate to ensure the correct decision on the affected employees also aid in increasing confidence in dealing with a termination of

Mexican Immigrant Life and Americanization in the 1920s Essay Example for Free

Mexican Immigrant Life and Americanization in the 1920s Essay In his book, Major Problems in Mexican American History, Zaragosa Vargas describes the Mexican Immigrant experience from 1917-1928. He begins by assessing the Protestant religious experience for a Mexican in the early 1920’s, and then describes Mexican life in both Colorado in 1924 and Chicago in 1928. After defending Mexican Immigrants in 1929, he includes an outline of an Americanization program, followed by an anecdote of a Mexican immigrant in the 1920’s. Vargas uses these documents to show the evolvement of Americanization of Mexicans from a community goal to a societal demand. Vargas begins with the Mexican Immigrant experience in the early 1920’s, and describes it mostly as a community project spearheaded by the Church and called for the aid of volunteers. The children learned and studied English in school, so the programs focused mostly on courses in English for the wives and mothers of the community. These English courses consisted mostly of vocabulary for familiar and most frequently seen objects. Sunday schools resulted from this process, and in turn made way for the development of night schools, clinics, an employment bureau, and a boys and girl’s club. In Colorado in 1924, Mexicans played a respectable role in society as not only a decent part of the population, but also the labor force. Spanish-Americans took a notable part in politics, and were involved in many occupations that included mostly agriculture, mining, and steel works. The recreation was also important to Spanish-American life in Colorado; the somewhat newly developed buildings were a source of community for many. Mexicans in Chicago in 1928, Vargas argues, lived a very different lifestyle and endured different hardships than the Mexicans in the Southwest. They were a much smaller part of the community, consisting of small, well-defined neighborhoods and several smaller less defined colonies. These Mexicans lived in the poorest houses in these neighborhoods, and most buildings guaranteed poor living conditions for these families. Employment only came certain times during the year when demand for labor was high, and it was the Mexicans who suffered most when certain industries reduced labor. In the words of Anita Edgar Jones, â€Å"They are the last to arrive and the first to be laid off† (Vargas). Mexican Life in Chicago during this time period served as a temporary solution for many families as they moved from recent arrivals to a more desirable place with better opportunity as they became more established and stabilized. Some neighborhoods were poorly organized for recreation, and even lacked Spanish-speaking employees at their community or recreation centers. Communities also lacked a Spanish-speaking priest, which is evidently different from early Americanization programs implemented in the Southwest in the early 1920’s. After addressing and defending most of the problems of Mexican Immigration in 1929, Vargas moves on to an outline of a typical Americanization program in 1931, where the Mexican Immigrant experience evolved from a community project that supported and encouraged Mexican assimilation, to a list of demands and requirements for Mexican and Spanish Americans to be acceptable members of society. Vargas uses these documents to show the progression of assimilation of Spanish Americans and Mexican immigrants into American society in the 1920’s. The life of a Mexican Immigrant during this time was very taxing, and these Americanization programs were used as a tool to attempt to create a society that operated under certain ideologies and values. As a result, this created an even stronger division between cultures, and prevented assimilation of the two groups. Work Cited Vargas, Zaragoza. â€Å"The Mexican Immigrant Experience 1917-1928. † Major Problems in Mexican American History. Thomas G. Patterson. Houghton Mifflin Company 1999. 234-53.

Strategic alliances to gain global integration

Strategic alliances to gain global integration Introduction Multinational companies (MNCs) are defined as a firms with strong tangible and intangible assets, thus the capability to expand their business worldwide, with global diffusion as an important resource for competitive advantage (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1998). In the stage of going global, most companies have to deal with the pressures of both global integration and/or local responsiveness, and some choose to form a strategic alliance with a partner to achieve global integration and/or local responsiveness more easily. Global integration and Local responsiveness Global Integration Global integration pressures are the forces that make MNCs exploit worldwide resources and integrate their activities on a global basis to realize economies of scale and achieve cost reduction. Bartlett and Ghoshal (1998) summarize that the motivation of Global Integration is the need of efficiency. More specifically, the developments of advanced technologies allow companies to expand manufacture globally and achieve economies of scale, resulting in the more standardized products. Moreover, the tastes of consumers have become homogeneous worldwide. Besides, MNCs tend to have global chess strategy, using the profit generated in one market to fund operations in another. Local Responsiveness In contrast, local responsiveness requires MNCs to make strategic decisions based on local context (Roth and Morrison, 1990). According to Bartlett and Ghoshal (1998) the drivers for local responsiveness are (i) the differences in consumer tastes in different countries; (ii) the typical characteristics of the product system in host countries; (iii) the administrative costs of coordinating manufacture on a global basis; (iv) the improvements in technologies enable companies to disperse manufacture to smaller local plants with low cost; (v) the trade and legislative barriers set by local Governments. Similarly, Hill (2001) discusses that the main pressures for local responsiveness are the differences in consumer tastes and preferences; differences in infrastructure and traditional practices; in distribution channels; and host government demands. Such pressures for local responsiveness urge multinational firms to adjust their products and services to better meet the demand of indigenous people. The Integration Responsiveness Framework The I-R framework, which is initially rationalized by Lawrence and Lorsch (1967) and later developed by Doz (1980), provides an insight into how MNCs compete internationally (Johnson and Julius, 1995). Bartlett and Ghoshal (1998), Spender and Grevesen (1999) mention the I-R framework to explain different ways MNCs respond to global integration and local responsiveness based on their strategy. As in Figure 1 below, MNCs pursuing a global strategy often emphasize on global integration and coordination. In contrast, multidomestic companies (called as multinational companies in Bartlett and Ghoshal model), with most pressures coming from customizing operation towards local context, focus on local responsiveness. International companies have an emphasis in knowledge transfer, because most of value they create is from transferring valuable resources to foreign markets. For transnational companies, facing equal pressures from both integration and responsiveness, they adopt a multifocal stra tegy aiming to achieve both cost efficiency and responsiveness. However the study of Bartlett and Ghoshal (1998) was restrained at internal organizational issues. Figure 1: How MNCs respond to Global integration, Local responsiveness and Worldwide learning based on their strategy (Bartlett and Goshal, 1998) Strategic Alliances There have been several researches on strategic alliances. Holmberg and Cummings (2009) contend that strategic alliances are becoming more and more important to every company in its strategic effort to maintain competitive advantages in the global marketplace. Strategic alliances are links between two or more companies to mutually carry out a specific project by coordinating necessary resources while still preserving their autonomy (Dussauge and Garette, 1999). Wheelen and Hunger (2000, p. 125) define a strategic alliance as a partnership between two or more companies to achieve strategically important targets that are mutually beneficial. According to Elmuti and Kathawala (2001), there are four main motivations for forming strategic alliances: (i) the growth strategies of parent companies to enter to a new market; (ii) the procurement of new technology or best quality or cheapest cost; (iii) the mitigation of financial risks; and (iv) the maintenance of competitive advantage for enterprises. Nowadays in a dynamic global environment, the role of strategic alliances is even more critical to the performance of a multinational company. Robson and Dunk (1999) have generalized the three main stages to develop an alliance including: Partner selection, Venture design and Venture management. The three key stages defined are similar to those by Hill (2001). Some typical features of strategic alliances are that their operations are subject to multiple decision making, continuous bargaining and conflicts of interests (Dussauge and Garette, 1999). Therefore it is not easy to successfully manage an alliance. Bleeke and Ernst (1993) find that among 49 alliances in their research, about 67% confront troubles within the first two years. Holmberg and Cummings (2009) give examples of failed strategic alliances, mostly due to lack of rigorousness in partner selection process. It is important to know if the way alliances can create value for the firm is appropriate to the parent firms strategy. So the first thing MNCs managers should consider from partner selection stage is to identify and verify that the way strategic alliances help to expand business is in line with the overall international operation strategy of parent firms. In this paper, the ways strategic alliances help multinational companies to achieve global integration and/or local responsiveness will be examined to assess their importance to the partner companies in relation to the partner companies strategy. Evaluating the ways strategic alliances allow multinational companies to achieve Global integration and Local responsiveness. There have been approaches to classify the ways that a strategic alliance cooperates to expand the business of parent companies. For example, Todeva and Knoke (2005) have listed 18 typical ways that strategic alliances can support multinational companies. This paper will approach the classification of Dussauge and Bernard (1999) because the systematized typology helps to provide a more comprehensive understanding on how strategic alliances allow MNCs to achieve integration and responsiveness. Alliances between non-competing companies International expansion joint ventures International expansion joint ventures (JVs) are established with a foreign partner aiming to penetrate into a new geographic market. One partner (the MNC) often seeks for market penetration, while the other (the local partner) has wide knowledge on local market thus can provide more easy market access. For example, in 1998, Yamaha Motor, the premier Japanese motorcycle manufacturer, together with Vietnam Forest Corporation, a state-owned corporation in forestry and Hong Leong Industries from Malaysia established a joint venture named Yamaha Motor Vietnam Ltd., providing motor cycles in Vietnam market (Yamaha Motor). The state-owned corporation has understanding about the market as well as necessary relations to the authority, combined with the expertise in manufacturing of Yamaha Motor, created a viable basis for the JV to thrive in Vietnam. This model is beneficial for both local government and the foreign MNC. For local government, equity sharing in JVs makes the MNCs more responsible and interested in the success of the JV. For the MNC, the local partner may provide the privilege access and political connections supporting effective market penetration. However this type of JV may result in the conflicts of benefits between the MNC and local partner. In many cases the JV is only one part of the total network of the MNC, so the MNC may have detrimental decision to the JVs performance. International expansion JV is rarely the first choice of MNCs managers since they prefer wholly owned subsidiary. However it is still common practice for MNCs when shifting business beyond borders (Dussauge and Bernard, 1999). International expansion JVs are common for MNCs facing great local responsiveness pressure (i.e. multidomestic and transnational companies), because it seeks solutions to overcome the legislative barrier and complexities of local market. In other words, it helps the MNCs to tailor their operation to fit local context. Vertical partnerships Vertical partnerships bring about cooperation opportunities for two companies at different successive stages of the production process. Normally, one partner may become a supplier or customer of the other. For example, Heinz, a global US food company is the supplier of many food products for ASDA in UK. That enables ASDA to fully deploy the resources of Heinz. However there are also shortcomings in this model. Since there is no bidding process, the opportunities to find the most cost-effective supplier are limited. As a result, the buyer tends to become dependent on the supplier. Although this model delivers mutual understanding, there are still potential conflicts of benefits (Dussauge and Bernard, 1999). Vertical partnerships relate to a strategic issue that MNC managers often deal with to increase efficiency: make or buy, or cooperate decision. MNCs choose to outsource when the cost to produce by their own is higher than the cost to outsource to a strategic partner. Consequently vertical partnerships are often exploited by MNCs facing high pressures from cost reduction (global and transnational companies). That model may help the MNC to maximize economies of scale and achieve global integration. Cross-industry agreements Cross-industry agreements are cooperation between two companies in different industries with a view to create a brand new business to diversify their operation, by taking advantage of the partners resources. For example, in 2001, Sony Corporation a Japanese electric equipment producer, and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson a provider of telecommunication equipment and services from Sweden established a 50:50 joint venture, Sony Ericsson. The JV has become a world-class mobile-phone manufacturer (Sony Ericsson). Nonetheless the drawback of cross-industry agreements is that they often post small profit margin, because most of the cases, the level of convergence of the two initial businesses is more moderate than expected. Besides, this model requires a high level of compatibility of the resources contributed by the two parties; and the new business developed must have a clear marketing strategy to become successful. Lastly, successful alliances can impose threats of new competitors if one ally obtains key skills/resources of the other (Dussauge and Bernard, 1999). Based on above characteristics, it can be inferred that cross-industry agreements support MNC to achieve global integration while looking for combining abroad complementary resources to reduce cost of the new business. It is also discussed that cross-industry agreements help to achieve local responsiveness, in case a MNC cooperates with a local company to introduce a brand new products to that specific local market. Alliances between competitors Shared-supply alliances Shared-supply alliances are the form of JV cooperation between competitors sharing similar resources to produce a certain product that is specific to each partner. Shared-supply alliances allow the partners to realize economies of scale, since they will not be able to reach an efficient scale if they produce individually. For example, BMW teamed up with Mercedes to produce a design of a front-wheel-drive-car. The new shared platform allowed BMW to expand the Mini range model more flexibly, while providing Mercedes more conventional and cost-effective measures to launch a substitution for the A- and B-class designs (Autocar, 2007). It is argued that shared-supply alliance is not the only choice for MNC managers, because the target of cost reduction can be solved by traditional method of outsourcing. Firms should only opt for shared-supply alliances once they have other strategic targets other than cost reduction. Moreover, cooperating with competitors to produce similar components may lead undifferentiated products and loosing competitive advantage. Besides, the budget for shared-supply alliances may limit other budgets for necessary activities in the MNCs thus hinder further improvements (Dussauge and Bernard, 1999). Shared-supply alliances can be suitable for MNCs suffering from cost pressure (global and transnational companies). However MNCs should consider carefully before establishing shared-supply alliances because of the potential conflicts. MNCs should consider other strategic benefits other than sole cost efficiency, e.g. exploiting the partners manufacturing experience in local countries. Consequently this model, in case prudently chosen after considering all pros and cons, may be a good choice for transnational companies who have to balance integration and responsiveness. Quasi-concentration alliances This type of alliance allows two competitors to manufacture and market a common product. The partners objective is to realize economies of scale on the product, while their autonomy is still preserved, since the risk of acquisition is avoided. Quasi-concentration alliance is most common in airline industry, e.g. the cooperation between Sud-Aviation in France and British Aircraft Corporation in the UK to form Concorde in 1962 (Heritage Concorde). The advantage of this model is that the partners will not have to compete against each other on that common product. However, Quasi-concentration model may result in the competition between the common product and partner companies products. Additionally, the model may cause the risks of leaking the core technologies to the competitors. Lastly, in case the partners decide to establish a JV to coordinate all the functions of the alliance, there is a risk of losing control over the JV and converting the parent companies in to mere shareholders (Dussauge and Bernard, 1999). Quasi-concentration alliances, with its initial objective of cost reduction, are appropriate for achieving global integration, hence global and/or multinational companies. Complementary alliances In this case the alliance allows partner companies to contribute different assets and resources to executing the cooperative project. For example a firm distributes a rivals product in domestic market. FPT, one of the largest information technology companies in Vietnam went into partnership with Dell to distribute Dells computers and other products in Vietnam market (FPT, 2008). FPT looks for Dells expertise in computer production, while Dell needs FPTs knowledge on local market and distribution network. The advantage of the model is that complementary alliances avoid direct competition between rivals. The alliance also brings about the opportunity to acquire new skills from the partner. However the potential competition between allies does not totally disappear (Dussauge and Bernard, 1999). Complementary alliances may help the partner to achieve local responsiveness because normally the local partner provides the knowledge on how to market the product in local marketplace. However in highly competitive industries, such alliances enable the MNC to focus in its core profession, rather than setting budget for establishing a local distribution network. From that perspective, complementary alliances are also good for global integration. Implications for MNCs For MNCs pursuing a global strategy, the partners in the alliance tend to be highly integrated to the network and operation of the MNCs. The partners are meant to conduct the chosen global strategy of the MNCs (Vapola et al., 2010). From the analysis above it can be inferred that global companies may deploy vertical partnership and quasi-concentration alliances. Multidomestic companies often prefer to have diversified partners, of which each of them is best suited to a particular function in a specific location. In an effort to customize their products towards local demands, multidomestic companies often differentiate their operations in each footprint countries by selecting the most compatible model and partner to form alliance in that nation. Therefore international expansion JVs and complementary alliances are most suitable models for a multidomestic partner. For transnational companies, the alliances are diversified with differentiated contributions, from sensing and exploiting opportunities from local level, to occupying certain roles in the exploitation of the value chain. Each of these partners may possess different partnership needs. So MNC should utilize different types of alliances simultaneously after considering all advantages and disadvantages (Vapola et al., 2010). In the case of international companies, the key issue is knowledge transfer with partners. The MNCs will success if they can transfer their key competencies and knowledge to foreign markets, especially tacit knowledge which is more difficult to codify and transfer than explicit knowledge. On the other hand, this may lead to a conflict with the need for confidentiality of information. Therefore based on their detailed strategy, international companies can consider any suitable type of alliance, but should be extremely prudent with cross-industry agreements and quasi-concentration alliance, since those types of alliances may lead to serious conflicts in knowledge transfer. Another content common to all types of alliances, is the control problem. Control is a critical issue especially in groups of alliances between competitors, since these groups of partner are more sensitive to conflict. In order to successfully manage an alliance, MNCs should focus on control, combining effectively all level of control from personal centralised control, bureaucratic formalised control, output control, to control by socialisation. Those measures are to assure the alliance operates in line with the MNCs original strategy. The cost of control may be high especially for transnational companies who have to deal with all kinds of alliances to achieve both integration and responsiveness. So transnational companies should be prudent in applying control policy with alliance, to avoid the risk that an increase in cost of control could erode profit. Conclusion There is a trend that MNCs are facing increasing pressures from both global integration and local responsiveness equally. No MNC pursuing pure integration or pure responsiveness strategy can become totally successful in the global arena. As a result, achieving the balance between global efficiency and local responsiveness has become an essential issue with most MNCs (Paik and Sohn, 2004), (Girod et al., 2010). Bartlett and Ghoshal (1998) assert that companies must become more globally competitive and, at the same time, more sensitive and responsive to national conditions. MNCs should flexibly choose the way to cooperate with strategic alliance on a case-by-case basis to achieve their specific target for a specific market. From the analysis above we can see that each way of cooperation in alliance has its own advantages and disadvantages. There is neither best model of strategic alliance nor idealistic coordination that leads to optimal performance for all MNCs. Each MNC, based on its own strategy, needs to consider all pros and cons of possible types of strategic alliance before making alliance decision, in order to achieve global integration and/or local responsiveness hence their business plan and strategy. In other words, companies should be clear about why they are entering the alliance and what they expect to gain from it. They also need to understand how it fits into their business plan. (Elmuti and Kathawala, 2001). BIBLIOGRAPHY Autocar (2007) BMW and Mercedes team up to think small. [online] Available at: [Accessed 25th March 2011] Bartlett, C. A. Ghoshal, S. (1998) Managing across borders the transnational solution. 2nd ed. Boston: Havard Business School Press. Bleeke, J. Ernst, D. (1993) Collaborating to compete using strategic alliances and acquisitions in the global marketplace. New York: John Wiley. Doz, Y. L. (1980) Strategic management in multinational companies. Sloan Management Review (pre-1986),21, (2) pp. 27 46. Dussauge, P. Garrette, B. (1999) Cooperative strategy Competing successfully through strategic alliances. Chichester: John Wiley. Elmuti, D., Kathawala, Y. (2001) An overview of strategic alliances. Management Decision, 39, (3) pp. 205 218. FPT (2008) FPT Distribution Dells authorized reseller in Vietnam [online] Available at: [Accessed 25th March 2011] Girod, S., Bellin, J. B. Ranjan, K. S. (2010) Operating models for a multipolar world: balancing global integration and local responsiveness. Journal of Business Strategy, 31, (6) pp. 22 27. Harzing, A. W. (2000) An empirical analysis and extension of the Bartlett and Ghoshal typology of multinational companies. Journal of International Business Studies, 31, (1) pp. 101 120. 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(2004) Striking a balance between global integration and local responsiveness: the case of Toshiba Corporation in redefining regional headquarters role. Organizational Analysis; 12, (4) pp. 347 359. Robson, M. J. Dunk, M. A. J. (1999). Developing a pan-European co-marketing alliance: the case of BP-Mobil. International Marketing Review, 16, (3) pp. 216 230. Roth, K. Morrison, A. J. (1990) An empirical analysis of the integration-responsiveness framework in global industries. Journal of International Business Studies, 21, (4) pp. 541 564. Sony Ericsson. Mission and Profile. [online] Available at: [Accessed 25th March 2011] Spender, J. C. Grevesen, W. (1999) The multinational enterprise as a loosely coupled system: the global integration local responsiveness dilemma. Managerial Finance, 25, (2) pp. 63 84. Todeva, E., Knoke, D. (2005) Strategic alliances and models of collaboration. Management Decision, 43, (1), pp. 123 148. Vapola, T. J., Paukku, M. Gabrielsson, M. (2010) Portfolio management of strategic alliances: An international business perspective. International Business Review, 19, (3) pp. 247 260. Wheelen, T. L., Hunger, J. D. (2000) Strategic management and business policy: entering 21st century global society. 7th ed. London: Prentice Hall. Yamaha Motor Japan. Asia and Oceania group companies [online] Available at: [Accessed 25th March 2011] PART 2: REFLECTION Word count: 1,431 words Description The International Business Strategy module is contained in the MSc Accounting (Financial services) course which I am attending. The module provides an insight into the strategies of multinational companies (MNC) i.e. international strategy, global strategy, multidomestic strategy and transnational strategy. Based on that basic knowledge, implications for organizational structure, control, knowledge transfer, modes of entry, strategic alliances and internationalization of SMEs are introduced. General evaluation The module has provided me knowledge that is both old and new to me. From undergraduate program in my home country I have studied about globalization, key drivers and how globalization affects international trade. However in this module I found more insights into how globalization affects the formation and development of multinational companies. The theories are really necessary and helpful to understand the real business world, and the way multinational companies are actually formed, structured, managed and developed. The knowledge on globalization and MNCs are systematized and in line with current academic and empirical understanding about international business. However, I believe the knowledge would be absorbed more quickly if more methods of studying are combined, for example group presentations or debates. Analysis I chose to write my assignment with topic 1: Evaluate the ways strategic alliances allow multinational company to achieve global integration and local responsiveness, since I realize this is the increasing trend in international cooperation. I have found a lot of academic literature on the field that I chose. There are a lot of useful information about strategies, Integration Responsiveness framework and strategic alliances. Among those academic literatures, I found the book by Hill (2001) International business Competing on the global marketplace very useful for understanding about the strategy typology of multinational companies. Although prior to Hill (2001) there have been several relevant researches on multinational companies strategy typology, the book still provides comprehensive and detailed description about the four type of strategies adopted by multinational companies, the stages to establish a strategic alliance, and the pros and cons of each strategy. I continued to read about Integration Responsiveness Framework and found the work of Roth and Morrison (1990) helpful to understand about the key concepts of I R Framework, the relationships with strategies and limitations of I R framework. The illustrations and explanation of Bartlett and Goshal (1998) are also fundamental to explain the relationships between I -R Framework and strategies. Although I did not use all the information I read for my assignments due to irrelevance, those are what I am going to bear in mind about the I R Framework in the time to come. For strategic alliances, the book by Dussauge and Garrette (1999) is very useful for the typology of strategic alliances and the advantages/disadvantages of each type of alliance. I made much reference to that book in my assignments due to the systematized typology of alliance and the in-depth analysis the book provides. Besides, the journal of Vapola et al. (2010) gives a systematic approach to analyze portfolio management of strategic alliances based on multinational companies strategy, which I find very useful and made citations in my work. Besides, I also study about other significant issues relating to multinational companies i.e. the structure of international business, control, knowledge transfer, modes of entry and the internationalization of SMEs. I did read a number of books and journals and managed to link relevant contents together. I have also made some inference to other fields of multinational companies like control and knowledge transfer, to have a more objective and broad view of the role of strategic alliances. However I think the links to control and knowledge transfer are not salient in this assignment, because of time and length constraint and especially the fear of deviating from the main topic. Conclusion Theories about I R Framework and its relation to the four strategies of multinational companies are very pragmatic and useful to understand the actual pressures faced by most multinational companies in the global marketplace. Those theories also provide a rationale of how multinational companies respond to global integration and local responsiveness, which helps me to perceive the business world in a more practical and systematic way. Theories about strategic alliances allow me to understand the most common ways that strategic alliances support the partners to achieve their strategic targets. There are 6 typical ways namely international expansion joint ventures, vertical partnerships, cross industry agreements, shared supply alliances, quasi concentration alliances and complementary alliances. I also understand the pros and cons of each type of alliances. I am now able to explain why a multinational company choose to cooperate with non-competitors or competitors, based on their strategy and nature of business. Implications for other concepts i.e. control and knowledge transfer are also inferred in the assignment, therefore a more objective view of MNC operation and its strategic alliances is provided. What has been drawn out from the assignment is that each multinational company, before deciding to cooperate in a strategic alliance, should consider all possible proposals, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each proposal to judge if the type of alliance helps them achieve global integration and/or local responsiveness in the most effective way. From my perspective, I realize some kinds of strategic alliances are extremely common between developed and developing countries e.g. international expansion joint ventures or complementary alliances. Such knowledge may be useful when I come back to Vietnam and continue my job at an investment bank facilitating international trade and investments. It will be easier for me to fully understand the nature of transactions of MNC customers. I may work out the best solution to serve financial needs for MNC customers. For example, for some important MNC customers, I may propose to apply a more flexible cut-off time for their transactions, because their transactions are, by nature, often between nations in different time zones. Moreover, I may propose to apply a more competitive pricing for transactions between multinational companies and their alliances and/or subsidiaries. The reason is that when two partners contribute resources to a certain alliance project, the transactions for material purchasing, infrastructure costs, personnel mobilization tend to be frequent and of large amount, at least in the short term, which can deliver relatively high non-interest income for the bank. Besides, the business consultant services for institutional customers could be improved when the bank understand the needs of a MNC customer coming into a new developing market and seeking for a potential partner to set up a strategic alliance. The most important learning technique I studied is how to link together different fields of knowledge, in the case of th