McDonalds Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9500 words

McDonalds Business Strategy - Essay Example By 1968, the chain comprised 1,000 units, which rose to 5,000 units by 1978. By 2001, the company operated around 30,000 units worldwide. Whilst keeping menus limited, McDonald's diversified its range from its original hamburgers and cheeseburgers. In 1964, the company launched its Filet-o-Fish sandwich, followed by signature burger the Big Mac in 1968, Happy Meals in 1979 and Chicken McNuggets in 1983. (Keynote, 2003; Leitch; 2004) While the majority of sales remain concentrated on burgers and fries, drinks and desserts are important and the brand periodically experiments with other menu additions, such as salads and local specialities. McDonald’s currently gearing up for the introduction of a new salad range in 2006. The late-1990s saw McDonald's shift its focus, as burger fast food, especially in the US, seemed dangerously crowded and mature. Consequently, McDonald’s focused on diversification, introducing new menu items and aiming to attract a more adult demographic, while retaining its core consumer base of children. 2000 saw the introduction of salads, low-fat desserts and a wider choice of chicken and fish burgers. The company also began to relax the McDonald's formula, introducing more regional menu variations and experimenting with new formats, such as cafà ©s and kiosks. This strategy of diversification also resulted in a number of acquisitions during the review period, seeing a shift away from its traditional single-brand focus. In 1998, McDonald’s purchased London-based coffee chain Aroma and in 1999 and 2000 McDonald’s purchased US chains Donatos Pizzeria with an emphasis on â€Å"home-cooked meal† style fast food. ... The company also began to relax the McDonald's formula, introducing more regional menu variations and experimenting with new formats, such as cafs and kiosks. This strategy of diversification also resulted in a number of acquisitions during the review period, seeing a shift away from its traditional single-brand focus. In 1998, McDonald's purchased London-based coffee chain Aroma and in 1999 and 2000 McDonald's purchased US chains Donatos Pizzeria (Ohio based), Mexican self-service cafeteria brand Chipotle (Denver based) and Boston Market with an emphasis on "home-cooked meal" style fast food. Beyond acquisitions, McDonald's also made a series of strategic investments. In February 2001, McDonald's acquired a minority interest (33%) in the British sandwich chain Pret a Manger. In 2002, McDonald's formed a joint venture with Fazoli's, a fast casual Italian restaurant concept based in Lexington, Kentucky, to develop 20-30 Fazoli's restaurants in the US. (Leitch; 2004) This also gave McDonald's the option to purchase the entire company at a later date. The company also opened its first multibranded unit, offering Boston Market, Donatos and McDonald's. However, these acquisitions did not prove wholly successful. In 2002, the company experienced a difficult year, culminating in its first ever quarterly loss. This poor performance was partly due to weak economies in Latin America and APMEA (Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa) and to increasing competition in mature US and Western European fast food. However, the company also felt that its strategy of brand diversification was d iluting its focus on core brand McDonald's. In 2002, Aroma was sold to Caff Nero and in 2003

True Leaders Essay Example for Free

True Leaders Essay If there ever were a great leader in the history of business and management, it would be William Edwards Deming. Deming was a visionary whose concepts of effective business leadership were decades ahead of his time. It was Deming who greatly improved industrial production in the United States during World War Two and later, ironically, in Japan where his genius was given the widespread recognition it deserved. Deming coined the term â€Å"Profound Knowledge Management† which referred to the notion that successful management is based on individuals and to be successful, individuals must always be open to change and never act in a manner that would be deemed inflexible. From this, a manager can act in a leadership role similar to Deming’s leadership module. There is, however, a significant difference between leadership and its cousins supervision and management. Supervision generally refers to the oversight of employees. Management generally refers to the oversight of company and business policy. Leadership refers to the notion that the individuals that comprise the personnel of a given company have faith and confidence in the person who is making the supervisory and managerial directives. Personnel will look up to a manager who exemplifies leadership qualities. Quality leadership will always inspire and never threaten or sanction as is the case in many supervisory or managerial styles. Are true leaders rare? Yes. The reason for this is that leadership involves a great deal of innovation (as was the case with Deming) whereas supervision/management simply requires carrying out directives. Not everyone can lead, but those who can are never forgotten.

Physics of Cycling :: physics sport sports cycle bicycle

Almost the entire spot of cycling is based on physics. Some aspects are obvious, like torque and other basic forces, although others do not come to mind as easily. Things like aerodynamics are playing an increasingly larger role in the sport, along with other things like damped harmonic motion (think mountain bike suspension), and efficiency. A lot of the detailed things would be beyond this paper, but the basics, which are the most import parts, will be talked about. Torque is what makes the wheels on the bike go round. Great research has been but into the sport in order to figure out how to increase the torque applied by the rider to the rear wheel, wile decreasing the torque required to make the wheel turn. Torque is produced the rider using a device called a crank. The torque in the series of parts that drive the bicycle forward (called the drive train) is dependant on the size of the chain ring (the large gears mounted on the crank) being used, and the size of the rear cog being used. When the chain is on the smaller chain ring, the force through the chain must be greater because the chain ring is closer to the axis of rotation and must apply a larger force to equal the torque produced by the pedals. Likewise, if a larger cog is used in back on the wheel, an larger torque is exerted on the wheel, and so produces a larger forward force at the tire. These higer-torque gears are good for climbing, where large forward forces are need at low speeds, but for flats and downhills, different gearing is needed, because the lower gearing does not provide much forward rotation (the rear wheel will not rotate as much for a single stroke of the pedal). Detail of the drive train on a bicycle. The smaller the gear on the crank combined with a large gear on the wheel will produce large amounts of torque and large forward forces. Work and Power Although torque does have a lot to do with the bike and how it works, professionals and people in the know don't usually refer to torque the rider applies to the wheels. Usually, they'll talk about power. This makes much more sense, because cycling, in general, is a sport that requires you exert yourself for a relatively long amount of time, instead of just trying to exert the largest force you can (this isn't weight lifting).

Edge of the Water

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Green mountain Essay

Green Mountain Coffee Roaster and Keurig have teamed up together to provide consumers the freshly roasted coffee of Starbucks in an easy to use one pack Keurig coffee. The company Green Mountain Coffee Roaster started in Vermont and currently employees about 5,800 people. After the acquiring of Keurig Green Mountain the company has reported the working of three major operating systems known as the specialty coffee business, the Keurig coffee business, and the Canadian coffee business, these forms of business have helped evolve the firm into the super coffee giant it is today. The forms of business that Green Mountain has incorporated allows for brewing at home and away from home and involves not just coffee but other forms of beverages including hot chocolate. With the current fiscal year ending Green Mountain has reported sales of $3,859. 2 million dollars. This report shows the increase in earnings just within the business segment, showing a profit of 46 percent compared to the previous years earnings. SWOT ANALYSIS Green Mountain Strengths: Strong company imagine with a loyal customer base. Flexibility with Keurig coffee single servings and units being sold. An Established name brand. Strategic partnerships with other coffee brands and beverages to provide an array of options. Weakness Only one source of manufacturer located in China. High level of dependence on certain retailers in order to provide certain beverages to their consumers. Opportunities Ability to partner with new vendors in order to increase profitability. With Keurig units being sold new types of beverages open the doors to future Keurig single servings to be sold. Threats: Higher competition of coffee shops such as Dunkin Donuts who also offer a take home coffee blend. High competition with other coffee makers including instantaneous coffee. High cost of Keurig Unit and single serving cups. Impact of the economy on Keurig considered a luxury compared to more affordable options. ANALYSIS VIA PORTER’S FIVE FORCES MODEL Taking a look at the business model that Green Mountain offers, their main consumer base that have bought Keurig units allow them to use the K-cups single servings for different kinds of coffee blends. The Company also has the advantage that more than half of the adults in the U. S and Canada drink coffee; however the dependency on specialty coffee and the cost of Keurig could post a problem depending on the recovery of the economy and the cost of the K-cups. Lastly the risk of new completion such as current coffee retailers and instant coffee can pose a problem in regards to price compared to Keurig; however Green Mountain does provide an online website which allows consumers to purchase products such as K-cups and Keurig Units at a discounted price. Because of this online availability Green Mountain holds some grounds for its livelihood in the world of coffee. STRATEGY USED The Strategy that Green Mountain is using and the methods of their company that they stand by today is to offer an environment friendly way of making and distributing quality coffee. Green Mountain has lived on the notion that you don’t have to go to a coffee store to get quality coffee. By allowing consumers to pick and choose their favorite blends of coffee, Green Mountain has allowed the ability of quality coffee to be brewed in the luxury of your own home. By incorporating the use of the internet, Green Mountain has eliminated the need of a store front by allowing consumers to purchase their products directly on-line. However Green Mountain has also partnered with outside vendors allowing their products to be sold indirectly, once again allowing the consumer an array of options to choose from. The major issues and challenges that face this organization is the manufacturing being solely based and manufactured in China. If the manufacturer one day decides to up the cost of the work being performed Green Mountain would take a significant loss or be forced to find manufacturing partners elsewhere. Another huge issue is the dependency on specialty coffee and price. If the economy once gain falls as it recently did, Green Mountain Keurig would be considered more of a luxury when so many different affordable alternatives exist. If I was in the position of the company looking to gain the competitive advantage I would start offering the Keurig Unit for free or at least at a lower price, instead of charging consumers close to a hundred dollars and up making it hard to make that decision, especially for the average family on a fixed budget. Secondly when taking into consideration how to retain existing customers and bring in new customers, discounting the Keurig unit will result in consumers automatically buying the K-cups at the store or online since they already have the unit. At the end of the day you want to have a sticky but yet affordable product, one that will be hard to leave once you have experienced it. OPINION I liked the case study it allowed me to examine what a company goes through and what great things separate companies from one another. It also helped me create a solution for improving the profitability of a company. In the end, this case study really made you think of all the options available to the company and the best route they should take in order to ensure their livelihood in the business world.

Surname Herrera Meaning and Origin

Surname Herrera Meaning and Origin Derived from the Spanish herrerà ­a, meaning place where ironwork is made, the Herrera surname means worker in iron, a blacksmith. According to the Instituto Genealà ³gico e Histà ³rico Latino-Americano, this Castellan surname originated in the Villa of Pedraza, in the province of Segovia, in Castile and Leon, Spain. Herrera is the 33rd most common Hispanic surname. Surname origin: ï » ¿Spanish Herrera may also be seen spelled as Herrero or Herera. Famous People With the Surname Herrera Odubel Herrera - Venezuelan professional baseball player/Caroline Herrera - Venezuelan fashion designer; married to Reinaldo Herrera.Paloma Herrera - Famous Argentine ballerina. Genealogy Resources for the Surname Herrera Genealogy.com is a popular genealogy forum for the Herrera surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Herrera query. Find records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Herrera surname and its variations at FamilySearch.org. RootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Herrera surname. CousinConnect.com allows you to read or post genealogy queries for the surname Herrera, and sign up for free notification when new Herrera queries are added. DistantCousin.com gives you access to free databases and genealogy links for the last name Herrera. References Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005. Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

buy custom English Education essay

buy custom English Education essay English education that I am receiving now will be of great help to me when I am employed. During our English Lessons, the lecturers teach writing which is a very important part in the business world. There are different forms of writing. Minutes writing is part of what we learn in the English lessons. To be able to write the correct minutes of a meeting one should know the format to be used and how a minute looks like. Without my English Education, I will not be able to write a minute even if it is my duty as a secretary. Letter writing is also an important task in any business. Letters are written daily to different people in the business community. Letters have to be written following the correct format. The different formats and types of letters are taught in school. The letter that is written should have good grammar and be in the correct tenses. If the letter written to a certain person is in the wrong tense, the recipient might misunderstand the wrong tense then the information you are trying to pass. Courtesy is a very important quality that every employee must have. It does not apply to the spoken English only. It is also important when communicatng with someone through a letter. One should observe courtesy when writing letters. The uses of words such as thank you, in regards are very important in convincing the other person. Such language helps in as it portrays a good image to a person who has not seen you but has only read your letter. The grammar that we are taught in school is very useful in the business world. With good grammar, one is able to pass the message that is required correctly without causing any misunderstandings. In English lessons, we are taught how to write agendas. These are useful in the business world, as there are many meetings that take place. There are many areas in the world of business where communication is through memos and notices. Without these skills in writing of agendas, memos, and notices, it will be very difficult to communicate with the rest of my colleagues and superiors. As an employee, I should be able to write minutes properly, write agendas and memos. Writing E- mails is advancement in technology. Many businesses have opted to using Emails to communicate with the other businesses or even with their employees. One should be able to write an Email correctly using goood grammar and following the correct format. If an Email is badly written, it has cost the business a lot of money. A badly written email to a supplier can cost the business a lot of money as the supplier may decide to cancel a contract due to a small mistake. Writing forms part of the English Education that I am receiving. As employees, the presentations we make, in form of writing, can cost either the company or business in a positive or negative way. A well-written letter, Email, or memo passes the required information to the recipient making the work easier. If, for example, a manager wants to tell the accountant to make a deposit of a certain amount to a certain business but instead tell him not to deposit the money, the company will lose a lot of money in such an event. However, a well-written form of communication will pass the correct information to the recipient hence the business or company is able to operate smoothly. Grammar will help in ensuring that any written material has correct spelling, correct tenses and this will ensure that information in the business is efficient. Buy custom English Education essay

Definitions and Discussions of Redundancy in Language

Definitions and Discussions of Redundancy in Language The term redundancy has more than one meaning. (1) In grammar, redundancy  generally refers to any feature of a language that is not needed in order to identify a linguistic unit. (Features that are not redundant are said to be distinctive.) Adjective: redundant. (2) In generative grammar, redundancy refers to any language feature that can be predicted on the basis of other language features. (3) In common usage, redundancy refers to the repetition of the same idea or item of information within a phrase, clause, or sentence: a pleonasm or tautology. See Examples and Observations below. Also see: 200 Common RedundanciesExercise in Eliminating Deadwood From Our WritingInformation ContentPadding (Composition)Practice in Cutting the ClutterRAS SyndromeRevision Tip: Eliminate the Blah, Blah, Blah Etymology:  From the Latin, overflowing Examples and Observations A sentence of Englishor of any other languagealways has more information than you need to decipher it. This redundancy is easy to see. J-st tr- t- rd th-s s-nt-nc-. The previous sentence was extremely garbled; all the vowel in the message were removed. However, it was still easy to decipher it and extract its meaning. The meaning of a message can remain unchanged even though parts of it are removed. This is the essence of redundancy.(Charles Seife, Decoding the Universe. Penguin, 2007)Thanks to the redundancy of language, yxx cxn xndxrstxnd whxt x xm wrxtxng xvxn xf x rxplxcx xll thx vxwxls wxth xn x (t gts lttl hrdr f y dnt vn kn whr th vwls r). In the comprehension of speech, the redundancy conferred by phonological rules can compensate for some of the ambiguity in the sound wave. For example, a listener can know that thisrip must be this rip and not the srip because the English consonant cluster sr is illegal.(Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language. Wi lliam Morrow, 1994) Redundancy can be something as simple as the u that tends to follow a q in English (inherited from Latin), my saying PIN number, or my reciting my phone number twice when leaving you voicemail; or it may be something more complex, such as the harmonious recurrences sewn into a poem. Generally, you need to pick up about three words in ten to get an inkling of what a conversation is about; it is the lack of redundancy in mathematics and its teaching that explains why so much maths bewilders so many people. Redundancy can be rhetorical, but it can also be a practical way of shielding meaning from confusiona safeguard, a reassuring and stabilizing kind of predictability.(Henry Hitchings, The Language Wars. John Murray, 2011)Highly predictable phonetic elements, grammatical markers that all must agree within a sentence, and predictable word-order constraints can help one anticipate what is coming. These are all direct contributors to redundancy.(Terrence Deacon, The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain. Norton, 1997) Redundancy: Definition #3 Legal writing is legendarily redundant, with time-honored phrases such as these: . . . To avoid needless repetition, apply this rule: if one word swallows the meaning of other words, use that word alone.(Bryan Garner, Legal Writing in Plain English. Univ. of Chicago, 2001)I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America thats the America millions of Americans believe in. Thats the America I love.(Governor Mitt Romney, quoted by Martha Gill in Eight Phrases From the Election Well Probably Never Hear Again. New Statesman, November 7, 2012)Planning your funeral service in advance can offer emotional and financial security for you and your family.(Erlewein Mortuary, Greenfield, Indiana)alienate, transfer, and convey (transfer suffices)due and payable (due suffices)give, devise, and bequeath (give suffices)indemnify and hold harmless (indemnify suffices)last will and testament (will suffices) The Lighter Side of Redundancies First and foremost, I hope and trust that each and every one of you shares my basic and fundamental belief that needlessly repetitive and redundant word pairs are not only troublesome and bothersome but also vexing and irritating. We should, of course, be thankful and grateful, not worried and concerned, when a thoughtful and considerate teacher or editor makes a truly sincere effort to completely eliminate any unnecessary and superfluous words from our written compositions. Put another way, redundancies clog our writing and bore our readers. So lets cut em out. Pronunciation: ri-DUN-dent-see

Interaction Framework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interaction Framework - Essay Example Therefore, the main parts of the Evaluation Action Cycle include perception of the world, interpretation in accordance with expectations, and assessment of goals and intentions. Device assessment means one can select a computing device such as a cell-phone to achieve numerous functions. A cell-phone’s main function is to enhance communication between two users in different geographical zones (Shawn, 2012). Consequently, there’s an urgent need of mapping through geospatial techniques that analyses methods of representing how data moves from one point to another. Additionally, evaluation of geographic datasets will assist in application and other Mobile Geospatial Computing that enables users to perform basic applications and operations (Shawn, 2012). Therefore, when mapping from intention to physical movement on the device, cell-phones remain helpful in geographic zones especially when used by the novice. Used by the novice is often complicated because of inability to understand between system state and their interpretation of that state in the dissemination of data to assist in communication (Shawn, 2012). On the same note, failure to adhere to network and surface analysis means the novice cannot distinguish mapping operations and superseding receptions. Gulf of Execution is vital in interface design because it assists in the representation of diverse perceptions and interpretations of data flow. Therefore, permission of allowable actions and intentions implies that the use of systems at the workplace must follow a particular procedure and channel that eases communication (Federici & Scherer, 2012). Similarly, provision of system or other artefact will broaden the representation that is important in bridging the human-computer interaction. User interface display is equally integral in the steps that include interface, perception, interpretation, and evaluation when

Describe fertilization, with reference to how the sperm enters the Assignment

Describe fertilization, with reference to how the sperm enters the oocyte. Explain the key changes that occur in the female during each of the three trimesters of pregnancy - Assignment Example Fertilization occurs during the union of the male sperm and the secondary oocyte producing a zygote. A zygote is the fertilized egg that develops into a fetus. The secondary oocyte has the female chromosome X whereas the sperm has both female (X) chromosome and Male (Y) chromosome. Oocytes must be supplied with various molecules needed for the growth of the embryo. A female undergoes various changes during pregnancy. These are known as trimesters consisting of three stages over the 9 month or 40 week pregnancy period. The fetus undergoes different changes in each of the three stages until it fully develops. The first trimester is the period up to 13 weeks of the pregnancy. It is the most crucial stage of the pregnancy. The female body undergoes many changes. The body structure and organs of the fetus begin to develop. This includes the eyes, mouth, ears, throat and skin. The fetus is surrounded by the amniotic sac. The placenta is developed and transfers nutrients from the mother to the baby and waste from the baby to the mother. The body of the pregnant mother undergoes changes signified by certain symptoms. These symptoms include nausea also know as morning sickness, fatigue, frequent urination and softness of breasts. Spotting or normal bleeding is common as the fetus is implanted firmly in the uterus. The experiences at this stage vary wit h different women. Some women are very tired during this stage whereas others are full of energy. It is at this stage that miscarriages, birth defects or ectopic pregnancies can occur (Tortora & Derrickson, 2009). The second trimester is from 14 to 26 weeks. This is a pleasurable time of the pregnancy. All the symptoms experienced in the first trimester are gone. There is no morning sickness and fatigue. Most pregnant mothers start planning for the birth of their baby at this stage. They sleep better and have more energy. Different symptoms develop; back pain and abdominal pain due to the increase in weight of the fetus.

Revolutions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Revolutions - Assignment Example The American Revolution was a war of independence between the thirteen British colonies in America and Great Britain that was fought from 1775 to 1783 (Ferling, 2001). The Americans were fighting for their freedom as they sought to exist as a nation without the control of the British colonial masters. The French Revolution that started in 1789 and ended in 1799 was more like an internal strife that existed between the people of France and the tyrannical monarch, King Louis XVI, who was ruling France at that time (Feher, 1990). The French revolution was basically a period of transformation of the political system as it ushered in the change of leadership from an autocratic style to a more democratic style of leadership. The Latin American Revolution that started in 1807 and ended in 1824 was a rebellious war that involved the natives of Mexico, Central and South America and their Spanish and Portuguese colonial masters (Gilbert, 1990). The Latin Americans fought against the heavy taxa tion burdens and strict economic policies that were imposed on them by their colonial masters. George Washington was the founder of the Continental Army and he was the one that influenced the American Revolution (Ferling, 2001). General Washington played a great role in ensuring that the Americans were victorious in their revolution against the British. However, there are different people that influenced the French Revolution and some of them are Maximilien Robespierre, Georges Jacques Danton and Jean-Paul Marat (Feher, 1990). Maximilien Robespierre was a French lawyer and political activist, Jean-Paul Marat was one of the most radical political leaders during the French revolution that promoted violence against supporters of King Louis XVI, while Georges Jacques Danton gave powerful speeches that inspired the people to take part in the French Revolution (Feher, 1990). One person that influenced the Latin American

AStronomy Discoveries Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

AStronomy Discoveries - Research Paper Example Scientists like Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking have hypothesized that it would be improbable for life  not  to exist somewhere other than the earth relying on the vast size and consistent physical laws of the observable Universe (Steiger and White, 3-4). The existence of life on the earth is based mainly on the biochemical reactions and bonds of 6 elements, namely, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous and sulphur. The distance of earth from its star and its atmospheric conditions, and most importantly, the presence of water make the ‘blue-planet’ inhabitable (Sol Company, Inc). Presence of a liquid, though not water, is basal for life to sustain wherever on the universe, that’s what our scientists have figured out. Complex chemical reactions that form the foundation of life require some liquid to take place. But, liquid state is one of the rarest on the universe, because, holding a liquid in space is improbable in vacuum. In our convictions, these c onditions are necessary for life to exist anywhere. Man couldn’t find any other celestial body with such conditions till date. So, the quest still remains. Extraterrestrial life was there in man’s imagination from long back, and this was mentioned in many mythologies and books of ancient civilizations. But, it was only in the recent past when man got some believable clues regarding this. The most convincing tip about alien life was the fossil evidence of bacterial life within some meteorites collected from Antarctica, Siberia, Alaska etc. There were claims about having seen a UFO from different parts of the world. Some paranormal radio signals also cemented man’s doubts on extraterrestrial life. According to Corfield, mars has long been suspected for the presence of life, from 17th century onwards, when Christian Huygens discovered a strange feature known as Syrtis Major on its surface (186-188). But no one could put forward confirmable evidence in this regard. Such clues and hypothesis have rocketed up man’s eagerness to continue the quest for extraterrestrial life. Space organizations in various countries are doing extensive research on astrobiology. Probe teams are sent to many planets and their satellites for investigation and collecting materials. Amounts spent by governments on this subject are vast and often criticized largely for the inaccuracy of the outcomes. In my opinion, allotting huge amounts in this regard is not a wise thing to do, because chances for existence of an alien civilization which our race can set up communication with are unconvincingly rare. But, ceasing these long driven projects is also not a wise thing, because, a wondrous discovery of a species on some other planet may bring about a huge boost to our innovative researches. May be, some micro-organisms hopefully discovered outside the earth will be of utility in making antibiotics for many diseases which we have not yet been able to eradicate. They ma y generate some hybrid compounds which can give us chemicals which may be usable in agriculture or industry. Such discoveries may lead to some solutions to our problems regarding global warming and climate change. But, it will be good for us to think about a situation when a more intelligent and developed civilization than ours coming into contact with our planet; its

Globalization and Urbanization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Globalization and Urbanization - Essay Example During that time, there was no development, and cities were merely those locations or islands where the ships would dock. There was a predominant presence of rural areas, where cities stood out as islands, causing more of a nuisance according to the rural folk than any benefits. There were many reasons why urbanization was not a trend. The industrial revolution had not arrived, and there was much distraction about wars and key discoveries that had not taken place. The pace of life was slower, and the world had not begun its race for global domination. The populations were less and the resources were plenty. The competition was less fierce, and time was on the people’s side. The population ratio at that time was very different from the one today. One study suggests that out of every 100 people, only three people used to live in cities. With the passage of time, this proportion has changed, with almost half of the current population living in cities. In other words, urban univer ses increased. Till the end of 1800, the number of residents living in large urban cities was only 29 million. However, by the year 2000, the urban population numbers increased to 2.8 billion. (Short 23). The most prominent and important development was the creation of large metropolises. In the year 1800, only four metropolises had populations of more than 1 million; the situation was much different by the end of year 2000. The second trend in urbanization represented a shift of populations from minor cities to major cities of the world. a graphic representation would show a flat pattern by 2000, with the line getting steeper after 2000. The impact of this shift is very significant. It causes major alteration in the spatial form of the social organization of space and society. The development of such areas goes fast with the somewhat mercurial changes in the economic system, depending upon agricultural enhancements to economies that move around the construction and service sector. The development of cities is directly linked to the social shift from short scale to the large one, from closely knit urgent social links to more spread unknown themes, and to the growth of unique and antipathetic social classes (Weber, 26). Cities point on both the growth and avatar of social shift. They usually counted as the concept uses of socio-economic shift. There is a challenging link between the social perspective and the city as the city holds a complex base of social shift as well as also considers as an important ingredient of social theorizing. The article focuses on both elements: the most aspirational chore demanding a broad linked of approaches. Two liberal spans are under looked. First, the article focuses on the incline of the present city and its linkage with modernism, capitalist economy and post modernity, questioning the macro-scale relations between deep urban changes and broad social changes. The other goal is to present a wide ranging judgment of the basic t heoretic estimates recently implemented to understand the city. In start, it discusses about the old exercising influence theoretical models in their past context (Graham & Marvin 12). After wards, it discovers the link between present-day urban sociospatial procedures and updated theoretical models in order to understand the complex links between place, space and social conjecturing with the challenging aim of judging urbanizing theory and the city. The authoritarian city can be seen in different perspectives of thicknesses. Authority is strongest when daily routines are covered with the exercise of

AStronomy Discoveries Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

AStronomy Discoveries - Research Paper Example Scientists like Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking have hypothesized that it would be improbable for life  not  to exist somewhere other than the earth relying on the vast size and consistent physical laws of the observable Universe (Steiger and White, 3-4). The existence of life on the earth is based mainly on the biochemical reactions and bonds of 6 elements, namely, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous and sulphur. The distance of earth from its star and its atmospheric conditions, and most importantly, the presence of water make the ‘blue-planet’ inhabitable (Sol Company, Inc). Presence of a liquid, though not water, is basal for life to sustain wherever on the universe, that’s what our scientists have figured out. Complex chemical reactions that form the foundation of life require some liquid to take place. But, liquid state is one of the rarest on the universe, because, holding a liquid in space is improbable in vacuum. In our convictions, these c onditions are necessary for life to exist anywhere. Man couldn’t find any other celestial body with such conditions till date. So, the quest still remains. Extraterrestrial life was there in man’s imagination from long back, and this was mentioned in many mythologies and books of ancient civilizations. But, it was only in the recent past when man got some believable clues regarding this. The most convincing tip about alien life was the fossil evidence of bacterial life within some meteorites collected from Antarctica, Siberia, Alaska etc. There were claims about having seen a UFO from different parts of the world. Some paranormal radio signals also cemented man’s doubts on extraterrestrial life. According to Corfield, mars has long been suspected for the presence of life, from 17th century onwards, when Christian Huygens discovered a strange feature known as Syrtis Major on its surface (186-188). But no one could put forward confirmable evidence in this regard. Such clues and hypothesis have rocketed up man’s eagerness to continue the quest for extraterrestrial life. Space organizations in various countries are doing extensive research on astrobiology. Probe teams are sent to many planets and their satellites for investigation and collecting materials. Amounts spent by governments on this subject are vast and often criticized largely for the inaccuracy of the outcomes. In my opinion, allotting huge amounts in this regard is not a wise thing to do, because chances for existence of an alien civilization which our race can set up communication with are unconvincingly rare. But, ceasing these long driven projects is also not a wise thing, because, a wondrous discovery of a species on some other planet may bring about a huge boost to our innovative researches. May be, some micro-organisms hopefully discovered outside the earth will be of utility in making antibiotics for many diseases which we have not yet been able to eradicate. They ma y generate some hybrid compounds which can give us chemicals which may be usable in agriculture or industry. Such discoveries may lead to some solutions to our problems regarding global warming and climate change. But, it will be good for us to think about a situation when a more intelligent and developed civilization than ours coming into contact with our planet; its

What are the strengths and weaknesses of seeing organizations as Essay

What are the strengths and weaknesses of seeing organizations as purely rational configurations - Essay Example In simple terms, a rational society system entails specificity of objective and formalization. Objective plan provides guiding principle for particular tasks to be accomplished along with a regulated allocation of resources whereas formalization endeavored to standardize managerial behavior. The aim of rationalization is the end former bureaucratic way of running organizations. The anatomy of the bureaucratic regime was characterized by well-structure line of command, specific job regulations, division of labor, impersonality, etc. (Bennis, 2001). These are the specific areas that rationalization confronts, and all through the approach has been facilitated by innumerable strengths in rationally configured organizations. However, there has not been anything as absolute or â€Å"pure† rationalization, for even Taylor- the founder of rationalization did not declare any purely or absolutely rational society (Mackenzie-Gonzalez, n.d). Rationalization has also drawn some prevalent weaknesses. In this essay, I seek to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of organizations perceived to rationally configured together with journey of rationalization. In this regard, the areas to be considered include rational human replacement with technology, perception of rational managem ent and linear system, rational predictability, and the rational calculability. In order to have a coherent understanding of the discussions of the weaknesses and strengths of perceiving an organization as purely rational, it is paramount to describe the journey the rationalization process. The organization in the past was characterized by bureaucracy and as it is well illustrated by Weber’s typology of an organization. In particular, Max Weber was apprehensive with what he regarded as the most rational structure of the organization, the bureaucracy, and the influence embedded in it. He then noted that bureaucracies, preceding the industrialization,

Therapies Approaches Essay Example for Free

Therapies Approaches Essay What are the major strengths and weaknesses of the following approaches to therapy? (A) Psychoanalysis: The main goal of psychoanalysis is to resolve internal conflicts that lead to emotional suffering. Traditional psychoanalysis called for three to five therapy sessions a week, however, treatment may still go on for years for the sake of increasing the application and the accuracy of the analysis of the behavioral development of the clients attended with through the said therapy. Today through the application of the new approaches of psychology, the said therapy has already been briefed to be able to give ample and accurate solutions to issues that clients are supposed to take into consideration. This therapy is then noted for its capability to analyze the different factors that contribute to the situations that clients are primarily involved with. However, with the lengthened way of applying the process, finding solutions becomes less applicative in this manner of psychological approach. (B) Person-centered therapy: Individual-focused, this is the characteristic of this particular approach. Since it is individual, the subject becomes more concise and much easier to identify. Having to deal with the issue through the singularity of the subject actually notes the possibility of being more specific with the solutions that are formulated along the application of the therapy. However, being individually centered makes the approach less broad. (C) Behavior therapy: Behavior centered therapy incites the importance of approaching the problem through knowing who and how the person or the client is dealing with the situations that he is facing in life. Through this therapy, the examination of the situation shall be based on the ideal character of the person being dealt with. This makes the process of understanding the problem more accurate and more efficient. (D) Cognitive therapy: This therapy actually notes the process of using the attitudes and reactions of the clients to be able to create the most possible solution available for the problem to be answered. Considerably, cognitive therapy is actually an approach that estimates the specific manner by which people react to the different issues that they deal with everyday. Although effective in many ways, it is indeed noticeable how this particular therapy is subjected to some issues since people change every now and then. (E) Drug therapy: Medication may not be as effective as expected all the time. At some point, this process may even result to a more complicated problem that could be due to overdose. Although helpful, too many limitations should be considered in pursuing this particular approach in psychological therapy. References: Samuel E. Wood, Ellen Green Wood, and Denise Boyd. (2007). Mastering the World of Psychology (3rd Edition) (MyPsychLab Series). Allyn Bacon; 3 edition.

Fine Art, Photography And Influence In Dadaism

Fine Art, Photography And Influence In Dadaism Photography has played a controversial but an important role in the arts for the last 150 years. The question is still debated whether photography is an art or a form of documentation seen by the eye instead of the mind. Since its beginnings, photography, as an art form has been questioned the view is that photography is not an art, but a form of mechanical reproduction, it was slandered as being more technological than creative. Dadaists, in contrast, embraced photography, enjoying its modern means of creation. Their experiments with the medium include use of double exposures, radical perspective, and unconventional subjects. Dadaists also experimented with photograms, camera-less photographic prints that record the placement of objects on photosensitive paper that has been exposed to light; these are among some of the earliest abstract photographs. The Dadaists were the first artists to abandon conventional materials and techniques.Raoul Haussmann, John Heartfield, and Hannah Hoch invented photo-montage a collage of separate photographs that is re-photographed so that the final image is converted back into a seamless photographic print. The original aim of the Movement was far removed from the world of art, and was primarily political in nature. To its supporters Dada was not art, it was anti art, and for everything art stood for dada was to represent the opposite they wanted to affect all aspects of Western civilization, to take part in the revolutionary changes which were the inevitable result of the chaos of the First World War They were not interested in painting pictures which the public would admire in an detached manner, they wanted to provoke the public into reacting to their activities. To the Dadaists, a violently negative reaction was better than a passive acceptance. The artwork consisted of photomontages paintings, advertisements, collages, poetry, essays, leaflets and combinations of multiple art forms. Dada influenced almost every artistic principle of our time. Protests in the US during the 1960s copied those of the Dadaists during and after the World Wars. Dada artists developed new techniques of collage and montage and pioneered the use of materials such as newspaper clippings and postcards in their works. A weaving together of photographs and paper to create a new artistic image The main representatives of Dadaism were Hans Arp, Marcel Duchamp, Hugo ball, Francis Picabia, Max Ernst, Raoul Haussmann, Man Ray, John Heartfield Marcel Janco, Kurt Schwitters, Hannah Hoch, Sophie Taeuber Arp. Max Ernst born in Germany, 1891-1976 enrolled at Bonn University in 1909 and studied philosophy, art history, literature, psychology and psychiatry. In 1914 he met Hans Arp a founder member of Dada in Cologne. The two soon became friends and their friendship lasted for fifty years. With the outburst of the First World War Ernst was conscripted to the army,, He fought in France and Poland, in his autobiography he referred to his time in the army On the first of August 1914 Max Ernst died. He was resurrected on the eleventh of November 1918which suggests to me, that a part of himself died when he enlisted in the war, which started on Aug 1st and that the day the war ended 11th Nov he felt hed come alive again .His artwork reflected his experiences in battle using military photographs as source material for photomontages and considering he studied psychology and art history in University , violence and brutality were probably no reflection of the man he was. Pasting together images of planes or bombs with humans, Collage is the exploitation of the chance meeting of two distant realities on an unfamiliar plane -Max Ernst, 1919 The Punching Ball or the Immortality of Buonarroti 1920 Self Portrait Photomontage, gouache, and ink on photograph Painting is not for me either decorative amusement, or the plastic invention of felt reality; it must be every time: invention, discovery, revelation. Max Ernst. Man Ray born Emmanuel Radnitzky1890-1976 an American photographer and painter raised in New York Beginning as a commercial artist in New York, he taught himself photography to reproduce his paintings and mixed media. Man Ray, was the Dadaist most committed to photography, he abandoned painting altogether, and dedicated his art making after 1918 to film and photography. He had his first solo show of paintings and drawings in 1915. His first Dada-style work, an assemblage he called Self-Portrait, was shown in 1916. After meeting Marcel Duchamp, he founded the American branch of the Dada movement. The New York Dadaists tended to be more optimistic than their European counterparts. Dadaist ideas were not really accepted by New Yorkers and Man Ray left America to live and work in Paris in 1921, he set up a photography studio and began making photograms, which he called Rayographs. These Rayographs summarise the essence of Dadaism and Surrealism. His experiments with photography included rediscovering how to make camera less pictures. He made them by placing objects directly on light-sensitive paper, which he exposed to light and developed them In Paris he created one of his best known Dadaist artworks: Indestructible Object (1923), a metronome with a photo of an eye attached to its clicking arm. artists such as James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, and Jean Cocteau posed for Man Rays camera. When Dada dispelled, Ray was already an active Surrealist Man Rays negative portrait of Jacqueline Goddard (1930) initialled by the photographer in pencil, is one of the photographers many images of women. Printed from an auto chrome, as opposed to a conventional negative, the auto chrome, used in place of a negative during the printing process, yielded a photograph with reversed tones and a diffuse luminosity. Man Ray rotated the picture to 90 degrees, so that Goddard who had been lying down during the sitting, appears in the finished print to float in space with her hair streaming dramatically behind her John Heartfield born Helmut Herzfeld 1891 1968 was a German photomontagist, draughtsman, typographer and stage designer John Heartfield and his siblings were abandoned by their parents his mother, a political activist, and his father, a socialist writer had to flee Germany to avoid persecution for their political beliefs. The children were raised by relatives and in institutions From 1907 to 1911 John Heartfield studied art at the KÃ ¶nigliche Kunstgewerbeschule in Munich , specializing in poster design. In the summer of 1916, Germany had been using an offensive nationalistic slogan: Gott Strafe England or May God Punish England. This angered Helmut who protested by changing his name to John Heartfield. John Heartfield played a major role in the Dada Movement, he learned techniques and styles from many other artists who expressed their political ideas through art. His experiences in World War I led him to conclude that the only worthy art, was that which took account of social realities. He witnessed a country of hungry, desolate people in the midst of chaos during the Second World War, and through his art, protested their suffering. He took a sarcastic approach, condemning the anti-semite and the wealthy industrialists who supported the German army Most of his career was spent declaring his opposition to Hitler and the Nazi Regime and he used his art to protest the violent, greedy governmental control of the Nazi party. His politically charged photomontages were banned in his home country during the Nazi regime In 1939 the Arcade Gallery in London showed one of Heartfields most famous exhibitions, One Mans War against Hitler . This piece is Hearfields interpretation of the Nazi military slogan. Blood dripping from the swastika infers that the military (weapons and soldiers) was all Germany needed for victory. Bismarck had stated that the German people would be reformed through a combination of blood and iron. Heartfields 1934 photomontage shows how this was to be interpreted in reality In my opinion Dada was a radical art form that challenged Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. Dadaists were the first to use photography to create photomontage images which made visible to the world the violence, hypocrisies and chaos of the war and revolution. They used their art and photography as a weapon to express their political dissatisfaction. They weaved together in their photomontages and collages, their thoughts and experiences and associations with the environment and culture they witnessed during their lifetime. Dada seem to me to have been a group of people who stood up an fought back against dictatorship and oppression. While the thunder of guns rolled in the distance, we sang, painted, glued and composed for all our worth. We are seeking an art that would heal mankind from the madness of the age. Jean Arp The photomontage images were created by taking multiple negatives of photos and stacking them together to create a new photo or picture. It is two dimensional with, no perspective or unified point of view. Modern technology today gives us Photoshop and other creative software to create photomontage images, layering and merging photographs together to create new images.

Hybridizing the Destruction of Nature and Pauline Melville’s Erzulie Es

â€Å"Erzulie†, a short story written by Pauline Melville, illustrates an important theme in Caribbean literature. The story is an example of literature that uses a strong theme of nature in the text and displays environmental symbolism throughout. The main theme in Caribbean literature is seen as the struggles of indigenous people and the consequences they face after the islands were colonized, however other themes such as post-colonial environmental harm can be seen in stories such as â€Å"Erzulie†. You can see a similarity between the natives and the island itself. The native’s suffer from social wrongs and suppression and the land of the Guyana country is also suppressed in a sense and destroyed as a consequence of colonialism. Melville’s use of nature and environmental symbolism can be seen prominently when reading the short story with ecocriticism awareness. While most symbolism and themes aren’t at the surface level of a story, some theme s can be even more hidden within the text. In this essay I will further illustrate how the goal of Melville’s work changes when you read it with an ecocritical mind. Reader’s can now realize the importance of Guyana, not only because of its relationship with the author, but also because of its environmental damage that was caused by colonialism. You can also see that the character Erzulie was not only used as the protagonist to create a frightening female murderess, but she is a representation of the land of Guyana. Lastly, Melville’s language is enlightening in the evolving theme of nature that is seen from beginning to end. Guyana is the former British Colony on the South American Coast that received its independence in 1966 from the United Kingdom [4]. It’s one of the only Caribbean countri... ...ndation, 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. 5. Heise, Ursula K. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Ecocriticism." PMLA (2006): 503-516. 6. Kahn, Aliyah. "Nations of Eden: Race and Ecology in the Post-Pastoral Caribbean." Research Projects. Aliyah Kahn, 2013. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. 7. McLeod, John. "Cultural Models of Creolization." The Routledge Companion to Postcolonial Studies. London: Routledge, 2007. 102-03. Print. 8. Melville, Pauline. â€Å"Erzulie†, in The Migration of Ghosts, pp. 140–41. 9. Pyne-Timothy, Helen. "Reading the Signs in Pauline Melville's" Erzulie"." Journal of Haitian Studies (2001): 136-147. 10. Ramraj, Robert. "The Omai Disaster in Guyana." Gamma Theta Upsilon. Gamma Theta Uppsilon, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. 11. Renk, Kathleen Williams. "â€Å"Magic that Battles Death†: Pauline Melville's Marvellous Realism." The Journal of Commonwealth Literature 44.1 (2009): 101-115.

Explain why the NEP was unpopular with many Communists

Many Communists were devoted to fulfilling Mar's Communist Manifesto and were upset by the NAP going against it. These were mainly the far leftists who openly protested against it as the farer right members saw that keeping the NAP for a longer time would help the revolution by being a â€Å"half way house† between Communism and Capitalism. Many Communists found it difficult to speak out against Lenin as he was almost God like amongst them and he saw the NAP as a short term solution.Not only did the private ownership of business just upset Communists because it went against their ideology, it also meant that people who profited from their private businesses would be earning more than others which would lead to class divisions in society. The Communists wanted to break down all class barriers so that everyone would be equal. Not only this, class divisions could lead to political divisions, jeopardizing the Communist rule. Political divisions can't happen in a Communist state.It just can't happen. The class divisions will be even more pronounced as unemployment is very high meaning living standards are dropping for some. Firstly, there shouldn't be any unemployment in a Communist state because everyone is meant to have a place in society that is equal to everyone else. Secondly, dropping living standards turned people against the Communists. You're not going to support a government when you're worse off under them than you were before.Many Communists blame the NAP for the peasants' resentment of the overspent; although it probably was more to do with the fact the Communists were forcing a revolution to happen in a country that wasn't ready. Privately owned businesses in many cases were doing better than state owned ones which reflected badly on the government. They were doing better because they would benefit personally from their own hard work and so had more motivation to work well whereas workers in the State businesses didn't have that incentive.Also, state owned businesses were struggling to each full productivity because of outdated machinery which resulted in high production costs of consumer goods and so prices were high. This was terrible for the economy and led to peasants withholding food or purposely growing less as it profited them more as they could sell it for more. This angered Communists as they were trying to increase grain production for their industrialization plans. The NAP was not producing the capital the state required to industrialist.Even though they owned all the heavy production nines, they were losing out on the money made by the privately owned businesses plus the money from the peasants agriculture (which is going to pay for the industrialization of the LESSER) is going down thanks to them growing less or withholding more food! The NAP simply didn't meet the needs of the USSR and the Communists said the USSR needed industrialist's. So even though the NAP encouraged initiative amongst peasants and they l oved being able to sell their grain on open markets, the Communists didn't see this as enough of a gain and so opposed the NAP.

The Corporate Rundown Tesla Motors

Tests gains competitive advantage over auto industry competitors because of their direct-to- nonuser sales, stores and service centers, innovative consumer financing options, and technological innovations. Tests faces multiple risks in its ongoing operations and strategic plans for future growth. Teasel's 201 2 annual report cites 63 risks related to Teasel's business and industry and an additional 6 risks related to the ownership of their common stock. In an attempt to identify gaps and propose recommendations for future implementation an analysis of the principal forces of supply and demand on the industry / company is required.Tests Motors-?objective and Strategy Chant Nell Tests Motors eschews the traditional auto industry â€Å"dealership† model and bypasses dealers and reaches customers directly through company-owned showrooms and online retail channels Value-added services are included, such as supercharger stations being installed in major markets throughout the US. St rategy Tests aims to become a mass producer of electric vehicles. In 2008, it launched the Tests Roadster model-?a paradigm shift/keystone in the EVE market. Tests has positioned itself as a key competitor in the EVE market.Market Positioning Tests covers key EVE market segments and dominates the EVE segment Of the argue automotive industry. The 201 2 Model S targeted at the middle- and upper-middle-class customer. The 2014 Model X to take advantage of the booming SUB crossover segment. The 201 6 Gene Ill is positioned to compete with mass market Eves. Alliances To facilitate growth, Tests has cultivated X types of partnerships, including supplier alliances, R&D alliances, and MEMO alliances with other automobile manufacturers. Additional revenue is generated from the sale of electric power train components and development services.Tests Motors-?Financial Performance and Future Guidance Tests Motors held its initial public offering (PIP) on January 29th of 2010. According to a break even analysis the firm became cash flow positive for the first time in its history in Q of PAYOFF. Tests has unique business structure. Its competitors in its industry are highly mature as opposed to Teasel's newly developed business model, thus finding comparable companies can be difficult. Given Teasel's uniqueness, two comparable analyses were required. One comparable analysis captures Teasel's industry competitors and one comparable analysis will capture Teasel's high growth rate.For the industry memorable analysis, seven companies are utilized to derive the industry average EVE/Revenue and EVE/Gross Profit levels. Using a weighted EVE/Revenue and EVE/Gross Profit for both set at 50%, the top line and the gross profit of the industry will sustain Teasel's future target levels. When screening for comparable for the growth rates in order to calculate the companies that have relative high revenue growth rate for 201 3 and 2014 a weighted EVE/ Revenue of 70% and EVE/Gross Profit of 30% is the best achievable outcome and is the most important measurement to consider for the high growth company.Existing Tests Market Dynamics- Lifestyle / Supply Chain Management: Tests created its life cycle and supply train strategy with the full understanding it wouldn't be the only producer of all-electric vehicles for long. Teasel's value proposition or â€Å"uniqueness† had to come from a commitment to being â€Å"at least two generations ahead† of its rivals. But how could it achieve that goal, when its battery packs came from a company in Taiwan that had previously manufactured only barbeques?Teasel's own engineers would have to spend months in Asia working out the design and engineering kinks. And the extra costs wound up wiping out the savings from cheap labor. To combat this Tests employed the following policies. It brought the power train manufacturing back in-house. Final assembly was relocated to California from the United Kingdom. Contract manufacturi ng was limited to the non-power elements of the vehicle. Its supplier base, more than 85 percent of which consisted of vendors producing a single part, was slashed.The company is now producing the Model S, a sedan with a base price of $57,000 greatly widening market of potential buyers. Through several iterations of its Roadster; each representing an improvement in quality and a reduction in production costs, as well as the initial production year for the Model S, Tests has pushed forward with its strategy although some issues do present themselves such as the recently announcement on Fox Business that â€Å"Tests provided some disappointing news in its recent third-quarter earnings report.The maker of electric cars lowered expectations for 2014 deliveries and delayed the launch of its Model X, a high-end electric crossover, until next fall. † This could point to some supply and demand issue and warrants further investigation. Controls: Teasel's strategy centers around mainta ining high quality controls as they transition to a higher level of in-house manufacturing process; and that the information technology systems that we are currently expanding and improving upon will be effective to manage a higher volume production.Operations: Tests sells its cars to customers through its stores which it fully owns and operates. Tests stores and galleries â€Å"are highly visible, premium outlets in major metropolitan markets some of which combine retail sales and service†. Teasel's stores change the entire car buying experience and take way the incentive of both the buyer and seller to compete on price. Furthermore, Teasel's stores allow the firm to achieve operating efficiencies as well as capture sales and services revenues that typical automobile manufacturers do not.Technology: Earlier this year Teasel's CEO, Leon Musk, announced to the world to permit competitors to, â€Å"in good faith,† make use of the automaker's patent portfolio for free. Th e goal, he wrote on Teasel's weapon, was to lure automakers into entering the electric vehicle (â€Å"EVE†) market. This patent policy shift was put forth in an effort to quicken the argental growth of Eves in the automotive market currently dominated by internal combustion engine vehicles. Additionally, Tests announced has an agreement with Panasonic to build a new, United States based battery plant.According to Deanne De Freesias of IV News, â€Å"Dubbed the Cofactors, the facility will be able to produce batteries for as many as 500,000 Eves per year by the year 2020. The scale of the production is projected to be so large, in fact, that by 2020 the Cofactors alone would produce as much battery capacity as the entire world produced in 2013. † Freesias goes on the say, â€Å"To be ere, the impact of the Cofactors will positively affect electric auto sales. The Cofactors scale and capacity may be felt across the technology and energy sectors as well. Financial: Tests announced a new financing option for customers that aim to bring down the monthly cost of owning a Model S. The finance option allows customers to enter into a 5. 5 year loan for around $500-$600 per month. Essentially, the customer does not have to put down any money up front because all Tests customers receive a federal tax credit. The federal tax credit is an incentive from the government for consumers to arches electric vehicles. The finance option combines the best features of a lease and a loan and makes the car affordable to more consumers. Lattice: Teasel's direct-to-consumer car sales are a strong strategic position and advantage they hold over typical automobile manufacturers in North America. Most automobile manufacturers are required by state law to sell their vehicles their franchised car dealerships. Tests is able to sell their cars directly to consumers because it has no franchised dealers Automotive Industry Business Cycle According to Douche, â€Å"Many factors af fect the performance of an industry and s each industry makes up a portion of real GAP, they in turn can impact the cycle of the economy.The automotive industry is clearly impacted by macroeconomic policy and auto production and sales rates in relation to interest rates, real GAP, inflation and unemployment make this evident.. † Tests has the deliberate yet novel approach of phasing in their product offerings gradually starting with the very high end / high performance model and then through its entrants in the performance sedan and crossover SUB markets, concluding with an what is typically an auto companies first offering, its mass market vehicle.Tests reversed the roll so they could generate a lot of hype in the media on a very limited production run. The most interesting thing about Tests is the role of marketing in selling electric cars that cost $100,000 or more. Many business leaders have attempted to change the automotive industry over the last couple generations and n one have succeeded. The process Of buying a car is essentially the same as it was generations ago. And the process has remained unpopular for decades.Tests is creatively using marketing to upend the auto industry business model: There are no Tests dealers There are no commissioned sales people Tests cars are marketed and not aggressively sold Tests transactions are conducted online The price is the price: no negotiation There is no inventory: the Tests Model S is built to order You can't test drive a Tests unless you put down a $5,000 deposit In many parts of the country, you can't see or drive the car before you buy even if you place a deposit.You have to wait in line for months or years to get a car And the marketing challenges are incredibly difficult: They are building a new luxury brand from scratch They are evangelize a new type of vehicle: an electric car They are selling a 60,000 – $100,000+ car that can't go on a road trip They must sell an entirely new model of buyi ng and owning a car While Tests is starting with expensive vehicles, they clearly have mainstream ambitions. They are investing to build a big car company. How hard is it to build and sell cars in the USA?Look at it this way: Tests is the second oldest publicly traded auto company in the united States behind Ford. GM went bankrupt and went public four months after Tests. Chrysler remains private following its own reorganization. While Tests has a long way to go to be profitable, producing cars in volume, and vying towards the mainstream, their first home-built product -? the Model S -? is a SUCCeSS. They have 10,000 – 20,000 orders and have swept the auto industry awards, winning the most recent round of Motor Trend, Automobile, and Yahoo Autos awards for car of the year.Tests is the first startup car company, and the Model S is the first electric car, to win these awards. Risk Management Recommendations and Strategies- Based on the research conducted a few of the lessons lea rned would be prudent for Tests to internalize and incorporate going forward. Make sure that supply-chain, corporate and product strategies are tightly aligned. Teasel's us apply-chain managers should work closely with the engineers to jointly evaluate costs, working with only a targeted few trusted suppliers.Complete and in-depth evaluation of the multiple external drivers, including global economic trends, customer preferences, proximity to markets, labor costs, supplier quality, regulatory requirements, environmental sustainability, community responsibility and geopolitical shifts. Don't offshore manufacturing until your product has matured and stabilized. With the opening of the Gaga factory this issue is well on its way to being solved but it bears remembering.While there is no history of or mention of derivatives for Tests in either Its annual report or the media it is considered as a perfect hedge according to Seeking Alpha or Tests can capitalize on this to counter the first three risks related to the ownership Of our common stock identified in the 2012 annual report. 1. Concentration of ownership among our existing executive officers, directors and their affiliates may prevent new investors from influencing significant corporate decisions. 2.The trading price of our common stock is likely to continue to be volatile. 3. A majority of our total outstanding shares are held by insiders and may be sold in the near future. The large number of shares eligible for public sale or subject to rights requiring us to register them for public sale could depress the market price of our common stock. Hedging will enable a more diversified ownership, reduce the volatility in stock pricing and if staggered effectively reduce the impact of insiders selling large allotments of shares.Conclusion Tests developed a specific strategy for life cycle and supply train management with the goal of being â€Å"at least two generations ahead† of its rivals. As a intros strat egy to improve on supply and demand management Tests will transition to increased levels of â€Å"in-house† manufacturing processes. In an integrated approach linking operations and political strategies Tests sells its cars to customers through its stores which it fully owns and operates bypassing state regulated dealerships entirely.Its technology strategy is a patent policy shift, put forth in an effort to quicken the percentage growth of electronic vehicles in the automotive market currently dominated by internal combustion engine vehicles. For a financial strategy Tests created a new enhancing option for customers that aim to bring down the monthly cost of owning a Model S. Tests has identified 69 different risks in its 2012 annual report and has formulated risk mitigation strategies for each.

Describe the world you come from

For the majority of my life, I have lived in India. I moved to the US in 8th grade. I still remember the last few days in India, reminiscing all the good times I had with my friends and family. Those days when I used to go to the school soccer field in the warm evening with my friend to play. Those nights when the electricity would go out and my family would sit down in one room and eat dinner with my Grandpa telling stories of his old days in the Indian army. All the times when we celebrated the wide variety of festivals.There was this bitter feeling inside me, knowing that I will have to leave all this behind and start a completely new life. I had to make new friends; I had to live in a new environment. It felt like a great challenge at that time. But my family knew they had to move away from the flawed school system in India, where the rich would get the best education and the poor would get the inadequate. They knew I had a better chance of being successful in life, if we moved t o the US.From among my family and friends, I felt like the lucky one because I was getting this opportunity to better my life. Now in the US, I see my parents work hard everyday to make money and be able to fulfill my needs. They try to get me the optimal things for my sports and education. Often times I would see my mom come home from long day of work, tired and worn out, complaining of back pains and headaches. At those times I would think to myself that, my parents didn’t have to move to the US.They were better off in India, where we had servants taking care of the stuff at home and my parents with their comfortable jobs. But they moved to the US for me and I believe that it is my job to get a good education and become successful in life so that they can feel like they made the right decision by moving to US. Since the day I realized how hard my parents are working to help me succeed, it has become my goal to repay and thank them for everything they have done for me. I cou ld not be anymore happier than the day I have achieved my goals and made my parents proud.

Theological Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Theological Anthropology - Essay Example We shall thus consider that which is common to all faiths in terms of morality and then proceed to take this a step farther and liberating it from the traditional perspectives to encompass a broader view of humankind. In seeking to understand the morality of any given actions, it is helpful to use some sort of compass in which to judge any action as purely moral or not. In order to not bias the discussion to any one faith, we will apply a method that virtually anyone will be able to accept yet does not invoke the singular nature of any one faith. The most general and acceptable rule of this nature that has ever been attempted is to be found in Kant's categorical imperative. The categorical imperative would denote a requirement that is absolute and unconditional and whose authority must exert itself in all circumstances. According to Kant, we can distill the categorical imperative into three basic precepts: 1) Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law; 2) Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end and never merely as a means; and 3) Every ra tional being must so act as if he were through his maxim always a legislating member in the universal kingdom of ends. That is to say, any moral law that can be considered as a categorical imperative is one in which you can will it for everyone and is not limited to any person or group of people; what applies to the prince must also apply to the peasant and vice-versa. Next, we must focus on deontological ethics by necessity since to do otherwise would allow actions for expediency and outcome rather than the morality of the actions themselves. Each and every other person must be treated as an end and not a tool. in other words, there can be no inhuman use of human beings as tools to accomplish a goal. They themselves are the goal since the morality of an action cannot be separated from its application to every human being and in no way can this be interpreted as using one human being fore the benefit of the other. Lastly, this law must be considered as one in which all human beings, barring none, act as equals in enacting this law as a means of harmonizing the moral kingdom, thus bringing about a state of perfect moral equality among all humankind. Critics of this approach tend to follow the consequentialist schools of thought, in which the ultimate goal is looked at and not necessarily the means to achieve it. This approach to morality is faulty in large part because it ignores a critical aspect that Kant himself did not make much use of, but which has increasingly important as we see people trying to follow a moral code and failing miserably. The categorical imperative seems admirable in theory, but unworkable in practice, so thus people often ignore the internal aspects of the requirements in favor of practical success. The missing element in consequentialist theories and the element that makes many people view the categorical imperative as unworkable in practice is, in fact the focus on the external world rather than recognizing

Plan for Low-Cost Automated Inventory System Assignment

Plan for Low-Cost Automated Inventory System - Assignment Example It includes 3 more sub systems. Manually, it is very difficult to keep such information accurate and updated in the stock registers and the business financially may become in loss when incorrect information of their item has been entered in these registers. So, it is very necessary to make their inventory and accounting system computerized. For that purpose you create a database for your small business â€Å"Cloth-Shop†, which provide you such environment from which you can handle the process of inventory and accounting at the same time by investing nominal cost on it. Ms-Access, a database system is basically just a computerized record keeping system used to create such programs where transactions are needed because it keeps the data in the form of tables on which a user can perform variety of operations easily and quickly. Such as: Create 3 tables, one for customer information, second for item information, and third for stock availability. Required fields for Table # 1 are Customer-id, Customer-name, Item-no, Date-Purchase, Item-Price, etc. For Table # 2 are Item-no, Size, color, Quantity, date-received, company-no. etc. For Table # 3 are Item- no., Item-sold, Item available

Paper 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Paper 2 - Essay Example He argues that good performance profiles should define success and thus meeting the minimum requirements (Uttaro, Paras 2-3). Management position also requires a good performance profile, which removes non-fact based opinions. It is wise to avoid personal bias by using performance profiles to be aware of characters that have been proven by scientists to make employees satisfied. The other thing is by staying current. Good performance profiles are made by using recent performance of your employees. Taking note of current performance of employees is a good tool when developing performance profiles. The other important aspect is developing performance profile that maximizes odds. Making use of performance profiles enables one easily to hire people who will be productive and stay longer in your firm (Uttaro, Paras. 4- 6). After school, accountancy will be the career of choice. The job requires knowledge in preparing financial statements. It also requires a commitment, speed, and accuracy, and you need to have computer skills especially in Microsoft Excel. The best performance profile for the accounting job that will lead to effective performance can be seen below. First is to prepare a comprehensive plan to achieve accounting objectives with a distinct period that you want to accomplish. Secondly, one should conduct a comprehensive operational review. Work with other financial accountants and assess all aspects of the company’s operating performance. Develop a plan of action to deal with each of the issues. The other thing is to address operational issues. If the company is under- performing, you need have a group of people to execute the task and solve pertinent issues. Another thing is to evaluate the financial strength of the company. You need to review all the historical financial data, bu dgets, and forecasts. Evaluate critical areas of concern and determine new ways to improve performance (Uttaro, Para 8). Considering the

The Violence Of Voice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

The Violence Of Voice - Essay Example To this day, the only thing that Marine Lance Corporal Eddie Dee Franco can remember about the man who drove past him on the morning of October 23, 1983, was like "he looked directly at me [and] smiled ...". A few seconds later, at 6:22 am, the smiling driver rammed his bright yellow, explosive truck into the Marines' headquarters in Beirut. The subsequent explosion was later identified as the most powerful non-nuclear explosion since the Second World War. 241 Americans were killed, crushed, as the whole structure collapsed to the top of sleeping Marines. They were killed by an enemy that could not be stopped. Not because he had any technological or traditional advantages over his opposition, but because he was completely committed to his destruction. He was a suicide bomber. But who was the suicide bomber? What does he/she represent, and what would force him to kill himself and so many other people? Hezbollah quickly claimed the credit for the attack, and subsequent investigations l ed the US authorities to believe that this was true. Hezbollah, considered a terrorist organization by the US State Department, is a Muslim Shiite group that often resorts to violence to advance its political goals. Founded in 1983, the organization grew out of a population enraged by Israel's invasion of its country. The Marine Corps was moved to Lebanon as part of the multinational peacekeeping force by President Regan in 1983. The goal of the peacekeepers was to help stop a huge amount of violence along the border between Lebanon and Israel.... Terrorism, as defined by Title 22 of the US Code, Section 2656f (d), is an act of "premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience." This definition clearly fits things such as the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 and a separate 1983 suicide attack in Beirut, which targeted the US embassy. In these cases, the victims of the attacks were civilians ("noncombatants"). Because of this, the above definition does NOT fit for the Beirut bombing that is discussed in this paper, which was an unconventional attack on United States military forces, specifically the Marine Corps. Beirut 1983 To this day, the only thing Marine Lance Corporal Eddie DiFranco can recall about the man who drove a truck past him on the morning of October 23, 1983 was how "he looked right at me [and] smiled". Seconds later, at 6:22am, the smiling driver rammed his bright yellow, explosive laden vehicle into the Marine Headquarters at Beirut. The blast that followed was later determined to have been the single most powerful non-nuclear explosion since WWII. 241 Americans were killed, crushed as the entire structure collapsed on top of the still sleeping Marines. (U.S. Marines, 2005, n.p.) They were killed by an enemy who was impossible to stop. Not because he had any technological or traditional advantages over his opposition, but because he was completely committed to bringing about his own annihilation. He was a suicide bomber. But who was the suicide bomber What did he / does he represent, and what would push him to kill himself and so many other

Discuss posthumanism and the fears concerning it that are addressed in Essay

Discuss posthumanism and the fears concerning it that are addressed in pop culture - Essay Example The world of pop culture has had a particular influence on art from the early 1960s on, through Pop Art. John Storey in his book "Cultural Theory and Popular Culture" defines popular culture as a culture that is related to masses and can be defined as an "authentic" culture of the people. It is commonly seen as a commercial culture that is mass produced for mass consumption Items of popular culture most typically appeal to a broad spectrum of the public. So a culture that is related to masses consequently represents the common ideas, practices, theories, customs, traditions and values of the people in all aspects of life, or in other words, it represents all that is truly human. As compared to the theories of Pop culture, Post humanism, as the name of a discourse, suggests an episteme which comes "after" humanism ("post-humanism") or even after the human itself ("post-human-ism").

Honeywell International Success Essay Example for Free

Honeywell International Success Essay This paper introduces the reader to Honeywell International Inc. Honeywell is a world leader in the application of lean manufacturing and its Six Sigma Plus processes. With the use of carefully monitored cost standards, net present value in investment decisions, and the transparency of the company’s financial statements are all methods that Honeywell has successfully implemented and utilized to reach and maintain their status as a world-wide competitor. The company has continued its growth, despite the market downturn that began in 2007, and continues to prove its resilience and pioneering spirit by continually improving their product lines, globally expanding their market, and, monitoring and maintaining financial stability. Its forward thinking and willingness to take risk will provide Honeywell the capacity to maintain its role as a major competitor and contributor to the growth and recovery of our economy. Table of Contents Page Abstract2 Company Overview4 Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing8 The Use of Standard Costs11 The Use of Net Present Value14 Summary15 References18 Honeywell International Inc. is an American based advanced-technology company that manufactures aerospace and automotive products; residential, commercial, and industrial control systems; specialty chemicals and plastics; and engineered materials. Its assent into history can be traced back to 1885, spanning 125 years of history. Honeywell International is a $38 billion diversified technology and manufacturing leader, with 132,000 employees in over 100 countries and it a Fortune 75 Company. It is a diverse and global-wide organization and is a leading supplier of avionics and electronics, consumable hardware, engine controls, environmental controls, landing systems, power systems, propulsion engines, aerospace services and space products, and systems for the aerospace industry, as well as Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) of commercial, regional, business and military aircraft and spacecraft. Today, its main competitors in the aerospace defense product and service industry are BorgWarner Inc. , Johnson Controls Inc. and United Technologies Corp. State-of-the-art technology, world known brands and global solutions have placed Honeywell in the unique position as one of the premier worldwide suppliers in the aerospace industry, offering solutions of systems, products and services to the largest aerospace and airline companies in the industry. Throughout their 125 years in business, Honeywell has helped revolutionize the aerospace industry with its dedication to research and development and its enthusiasm to advance technology in their various markets. Honeywells reliable and efficient aerospace services and support programs deliver the right level of engineering expertise, maintenance services and asset availability solutions to simplify operations while keeping systems and equipment at peak operational performance. It has proven to be successful in its quest for growth and global expansion from the time of inception. Their quest to acquire and expand began in 1927; the original company, Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company, and Honeywell Heating Specialty Co. merged to form the Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co. From the merger, the name Honeywell was adopted and has remained the same since. In the course of its acquisitions, Honeywell purchased other businesses whose focus was in the controls area; among those acquisitions, was Brown Instrument Co. who was a wide-reaching leader in the field of industrial controls and indicators. This acquisition further increased their already successful market to a wider range of customers, as Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co. had already established an overseas trading agreement with Japanese distributors such as Yamatake Trading Company. It was no surprise that, in 1934, Honeywell pursued and eventually acquired Time-O-Stat Controls Corporation. With the acquisition of Time-O-Stat, Honeywell further expanded its global presence, establishing offices in Toronto, Canada and The Netherlands; a few years later, they had offices in London and Stockholm. By 1941, Honeywell had expanded into markets in Chile, Panama, Trinidad, New Zealand, Argentina, and South Africa. By 1972, it operated 25 wholly-owned subsidiaries, 142 branch offices, and joint ventures in five countries outside the U. S. True to its reputation as a risk taker, Honeywell ventured into the computer industry. This venture was brief and by 1991 Honeywell was on longer in the computer business. Even though the venture was short lived, it proved to be of great value; Honeywell used the knowledge gained from their digital computer experience and applied it to the traditional field of automation control, integrating sensors, and activators. In 1986, Honeywell purchased Sperry Aerospace, and markedly enhanced its position in the aerospace industry. Edson Spencer, Honeywell chairman and chief executive officer, said the purchase was among the most important his company had made, It is an outstanding opportunity for Honeywell that positions us for the long term in a market that is expected to have significant growth for the next 10 years commercial and military aviation (Arnold, 2012). This purchase made Honeywell the worlds leading integrator of avionics systems, incorporation flight controls, space vehicles, and the first FAA-certified wind shear warning system. It continued to expand, and by 1993, the company continued its world-wide expansion by opening affiliates in Abu Dhabi, China, Oman, Romania, and the Ukraine. In a span of 26 years, Honeywell had operations in 95 countries through 83 wholly-owned subsidiaries and 13 joint ventures. One of the most noted and discussed mergers occurred in 1999 when AlliedSignal, a diverse manufacturer, bought Honeywell for $13. 8 billion in stock. AlliedSignal kept the Honeywell name, merging offices, and closed its Morristown, New Jersey headquarters. The merger resulted in a major restructuring for Honeywell which added to its product line and services. The deal created a company with $25 billion in annual sales and a market capitalization in excess of $45 billion. The merger gave the combined company the marketing edge, providing their airline customers to take advantage of new technology that would boost cost savings for both parties. In an unexpected turn, the early part of 2001 brought difficulties for Honeywell when the European Commission rejected the purchase of Honeywell by General Electric (GE). In October 2001, Honeywell and GE, the largest corporation in the world and the number one producer of jet engines, announced the intent to embark on one of the largest industrial mergers in history. The plan was for GE to acquire Honeywell, the largest worldwide supplier of non-engine aerospace equipment. During negotiations it was anticipated that there would be no antitrust problem; as GE and Honeywell were not competitors and not part of the same supply chain. The merger was intended to bring together complementary products that were component parts of large jet aircraft. The deal would have been the largest industrial merger in history. Instead, it became recognized as the first, and so far only, merger between US companies to be derailed solely by the European anti-trust authorities, while being cleared by the US Department of Justice (DoJ). On July 3, 2001, in an unprecedented act, the EU officially rejected the planned $42 billion acquisition of Honeywell International Inc. , by GE. The merger was denied by the EU after concluding that the merger would create or strengthen dominant positions on several markets and that the remedies proposed by G.E. were insufficient to resolve the competition concerns resulting from the proposed acquisition of Honeywell. The merger between G. E. and Honeywell, as it was notified, would have severely reduced competition in the aerospace industry and resulted ultimately in higher prices for customers, particularly airlines† (Pellegrini, 2001). Despite the fact that the GE buyout failure was a stumbling block, Honeywell used the experience to strengthen its core businesses by continuing to develop and introduce new products. The company started an aggressive acquisition strategy with the goal to increase revenues and decrease cost in a strategy that, â€Å"†¦divested small, underperforming operations, reduced the number of suppliers, and streamlined operations in small ways elsewhere† Honeywell History, n. a. ) The results paid off for Honeywell, as they continued to win a large percentage of their contract bids, sales were ahead of budget, and the rate of turnover in managers did not significantly increase from the same period in the prior year, and customer satisfaction was up. Honeywell faced some challenges after the GE debacle, however, by making changes it displayed that tenacity, hard work and a willingness to take risk, can result in huge payoffs. Honeywell continued to streamline and improve their lean manufacturing processes, i. e. Six Sigma Plus, implement and ensure compliance of the company code of conduct and maintain its dominance as a government contractor. Honeywell began its Six Sigma process and concept of self-managed teams in 1995 to â€Å"drive data-based decision making, ensure quality levels, and improve customer satisfaction† (Crager, 2007). Through training, leadership, and senior management support, Honeywell successfully developed their Six Sigma program. In late 2001 Honeywell combined the concepts of lean manufacturing and Six Sigma in a program called Six Sigma Plus to create a more robust program. The program was designed to align improvement objectives directly with business needs by integrating top talent and generating bottom-line results. Six Sigma Plus is an overall strategy to accelerate improvements in all processes, products and services, and reduce the punitive cost of poor quality through elimination of waste and reduction of defects and variations. One of the ultimate aims documented in the Six Sigma Plus strategy is providing maximum value to customers by applying a logical and structured approach to all business processes. One of the pluses of Six Sigma is that it empowered employees, allowing them to make decisions that impacted how their unit or line was performing. This provided Honeywell an excellent tool that is a highly respected measure of excellence. (M. Calderon, personal communication, May 1, 2012) Honeywell took the basic concept of Six Sigma and created its own version which is known as Six Sigma Plus. It is currently used across all businesses and brands to drive growth and productivity. â€Å"The standard operates by providing a measurement of how effective the organization is in eliminating defects and variations from processes. To meet its requirements, a process must operate at 3. 4 defects or less per million opportunities. This equates to 99. 9997% error free† (Six Sigma Plus, n. d. ). Conscious application of the Six Sigma methodology to all business processes delivers greater value to its customers and makes Honeywell a more desirable business partner. The implementation of lean manufacturing processes has enabled Honeywell to maintain tight controls in all aspects of the managerial accounting processes. With the use of managerial accounting, Honeywell has ensured that their productions and service is well planned and controlled. With the budget cuts facing government, private sector job loss, and tightened markets, it is impressive that Honeywell has continued to maintain its sales growth in the United States. The diversity of Honeywell’s world-wide enterprise, exemplifies the importance of a creative corporate marketing approach. Honeywell consists of unique business units, with each, offering a variety of products and services. Strategies and implementation of those strategies must be developed and executed at the corporate, business unit, and product levels. Overall, strategy and long-term planning are guided by the company’s vision and stated mission. At the business level, planning begins with an examination of the current situation, including technological changes and competitive effects. By using this type of analysis, Honeywell is better equipped to address and identify threats and new business opportunities. Decisions to pursue new opportunities are followed by establishing a set of objectives, often stated in terms of market share, sales volume, or profitability. Subsequently, business and marketing strategies are developed to achieve those objectives. Effective execution of strategy in implementation must then occur for objectives to be realized. Effective financial statement analysis will be a primary indicator that indicates the progress and demonstrates whether company goals are being met. Honeywell has been a leader in their industry in planning and control and have used financial analysis in depth to evaluate and control their growth and profitability. It continues to be effective in identifying opportunities to improve the organization’s efficiency and in developing strategic plans to realize those opportunities. By using a diversity of analytical tools Honeywell is better prepared in making operating decisions, such as how and where products are to be manufactured and serviced, whether insourcing or outsourcing is more equitable, and whether to expand and the area to expand to. Timely and accurate financial statement preparation is critical to the success or failure of a business. The financial officer, owner, partner or members management team of a business must review the business financial statements and have a good understanding of them. Financial statements are critical to Honeywell’s ability to make solid, informed decisions. Such decisions are needed in order for Honeywell to meet one of its primary goals, which is to realize a high rate of return on their investments. The measurement and success of this initiative is arrived at by measuring it against other industry averages. This information helps Honeywell understand that current initiatives do show a market response. In view of the fact that the industry average can be general in nature the industry average should be used as a guide. A failure to use the data appropriately can mislead investors and have a disastrous affect on Honeywell’s reputation and marketability. Achieving their strategic plan will not only involve Honeywell’s internal planning and controlling, but it will also involve the support of creditors and investors. Both are key players in providing capital needs to support new initiatives and milestones; the use of financial statements in this process will no doubt be the backbone of the decision making process. It is difficult to know the health and direction of a company if financial statements are not reviewed in a timely manner. In its pursuit of investors, or the success in the results of an external audit, the financial statements are the ultimate representation of company’s financial position. In general accounting practices, Honeywell uses process costing for its furnace thermostats (home products division) and job costing for customized aerospace contracting products. When thinking in terms of standard costs and whether they would be beneficial, one factor to consider is the fact that Honeywell is a world-wide producer with operations in many countries outside of the United States (US). There are ramifications when doing business overseas as well as doing business in the US and each scenario has its own benefits and consequences that are unique to specified circumstances. Honeywell, like their competitors has migrated to low cost countries because of the labor rate differential. The move to overseas production creates additional concerns and dynamics. World-class manufacturing in today’s competitive environment demands more than a single-minded focus on eliminating defects. Since the introduction of Six Sigma and Lean tools to their operations over a decade ago, Honeywell has delivered significant results for customers in terms of the quality, delivery and value of our products and services. To achieve competitive advantage in today’s environment, Honeywell has continued to build on its Six Sigma and Lean foundation, and identify new ways to differentiate themselves. Benchmark companies such as Toyota and Nissan use Six Sigma and Lean tools. Like Honeywell, they also have a disciplined management system that standardizes work and engage employees in improving work processes. In doing this, organizations have achieved tremendous performance improvements. The Honeywell Operating System is a comprehensive, integrated approach to managing their organization. It is characterized by a consistent focus on results for the benefit of our customers, not on the use of specific tools. The objective is to simplify and standardize processes everywhere, to remove variation across operations, and to drive significant and sustainable improvements in safety, quality, delivery and cost. Employees are encouraged use tools such as Six Sigma, in achieving a common purpose: global wide use of an operating system that consistently yields excellent results for the customers and the company. Implementing standardized cost standards is not an easy task and it will take time. Honeywell maintains that standardization will evolve to fit different business environments and changing customer needs and will become an essential part of the process that will bind their company across business and geographic boundaries. Honeywell’s workforce consists of residents of the country they are in to satisfy requirements imposed by foreign nations. It is almost mandatory to have overseas operations to reduce labor and material costs; however, these operations come with high risk. Foreign workers are not always equipped with the necessary skills to perform the manufacturing duties required by a highly technical company. The expense of employing and developing such a workforce can create additional costs. In determining what the additional costs, standard costs prove beneficial because they would provide Honeywell the ability to budget costs with a great understanding and degree of confidence. A standard cost system allows a company to factor in methods that would absorb the periods in which higher costs are identified due to foreign employment development and when costs are low or minimal due to workforce stabilization. In its foreign production, Honeywell will have to set attainable standards in order maintain its performing baseline. Another factor in foreign operations is the volatile condition of the world. The United States is not always welcomed in other countries. It is not uncommon for a common protest to turn into a major world crisis. Such examples are those of the uprisings in Israel and Libya. Honeywell hosts operations in Israel, where relations between the government and the general population are volatile and unpredictable. In addition, we have seen several instances where regimes have changed power and attitudes toward the US in a matter of days. Standard costing is paramount as an aide for monitoring and managing the risk of unpredictability. It is a healthy practice that can protect Honeywell from severe monetary damage if a foreign tragedy should affect the business. The information obtained from standard costing aides Honeywell against the volatility of today’s markets and the strategy of its competitors. Honeywell is continuously improving its processes, products and management style to maintain their competitive edge. To be competitive, Honeywell will continue to use their standard cost system to help them execute planning and control of their strategic priorities. Tracking costs will also help Honeywell identify weakness and variances in their production system. Undetected problems in the areas of materials and labor can eventually raise variance to a point of hindering Honeywell from maintaining their core competencies. Consequently, today’s market provides no room for error, but every opportunity for a competitor to gain the lead. In many respects, some of the rationale that goes into using standard costs also applies to formulating the right strategy to gain a positive Net Present Value. Honeywell’s reach is global and therefore its investment opportunities are also global. Due to the unique factors involved with global markets, it is necessary for Honeywell to perform critical planning for investment decisions. Honeywell has a reputation as an organization that is willing to take risks to make money. It has done that by acquiring other business or expanding its existing facilities for future business. Such expansions are expensive and these expansions require additional staff which adds to the cost of investment. Large expenditures are a challenge to control the net present value (NPV) and require clear identification of cost and risks in order to be a success. Strategic moves, such as partnering with the national government, can leverage the way to a positive NPV. In this approach, there are tradeoff between the corporation and the government in which both interests can be mutually met. Corporation’s like Honeywell utilize these paths in order to reduce investment costs and have accurate projections for calculating and incorporating NPV baselines. Because of the ongoing activity of many investments occurring at one time, it is critical that Honeywell has complete knowledge of their NPV and ensure profitable investments are achieved. Failing to do this can result in major losses, especially when an unplanned shortfall occurs. Although the investment sounds promising, it is critical that NPV is properly measured. It is also advisable from an NPV and program management position that Honeywell phase its investment into NPV milestones which help determine if they should move forward to the next phase of the investment. This process would provide a safeguard while allowing the innovation to prove itself. While the actual rate of return (IRR) that  a given project ends up generating will often differ from its estimated IRR rate, a project with a substantially higher IRR value than other available options would still provide a much better chance of strong growth. IRRs can also be compared against prevailing rates of return in the securities market. If a firm cant find any projects with IRRs greater than the returns that can be generated in the financial markets, it may simply choose to invest its retained earnings into the market. The need for Honeywell to practice continuous NPV drills in a market with circumstances such as those faced in China by US companies, is critical. While both countries maintain a civil business partnership, there is an unspoken adversarial relationship which creates instability. China is strategically positioning itself as a global power therefore, the relationship between both countries is precarious and any misstep by Honeywell could severely damage the existing business relationship. Another potential concern for Honeywell is that China is currently the largest lender to the US. At the point that China reaches the economic capacity to sustain its prosperity internally, we have to ask ourselves if they will request repayment by the US prior to maturity dates. As we have seen in several European countries, a request of that magnitude could destabilize an already fragile US economy. In consideration of this scenario, and other contributing factors, Honeywell should be careful in investment planning, and phase its activities so that the NPV is not contingent upon results that will take a long period to realize a return. In summary, Honeywell has proven itself as a world leader of technology. This corporation is known world-wide and is a household name. Honeywell leads the way in advanced switching and sensing technology in their home division, and its aerospace division. In spite of the GE failure, it has kept its mark on the global economy through market highs and lows and has maintained its dominant position in an extremely competitive industry. As a long-time survivor and global competitor on the world stage, Honeywell continues to make its mark in history by developing innovative safety products, driving the modernization of global air traffic management, revolutionizing combat technology and their commitment to improving operational efficiencies. Honeywell continues to display their dominance with its diversity and profitable risk taking ventures. Perhaps Honeywell’s greatest strength has been the fact that it has adapted to a world that is ever changing and has embraced the challenge that other companies find daunting. With the continued vision to improve processes for safety, quality and cost, reducing waste, and using integrated strategies Honeywell continues to be a standard for their industry. They continue to be innovative and competitive and have a strong commitment to bringing profitable products that their customers need and want. Due to the diversity and competitive market that Honeywell has chosen to operate in, it is of extreme importance that the company maintains sound financial practices that will support the moral fiber and marketability of the company. As Honeywell moves into the future I believe they will continue to perfect their processes to produce the right financial statements, useful in calculating their position in the market, and providing the best advice for investment decisions. The proper use of standard costs and net present value are an example of the critical tools that ensure Honeywell continues to thrive in today’s unknown global conditions. Also critical to the success of Honeywell is the continued utilization of strong and proper ethical practices as the company is well known, world-wide competitor and a representative of the American business ethics and values. Whether it is in the Middle Eastern or the Far East, Honeywell is known and recognized; such a position makes it important for Honeywell to be transparent in its fiscal disclosures. Sound financial practices are essential to Honeywell in order for the company to continue its success and market dominance. Primary emphasis on these practices will serve to maintain Honeywells status and help them make the most profitable investment decisions for their investors and the company. As recent as April 23, 2012, Honeywell declared a â€Å"regular quarterly dividend of $0. 3725 per share on the companys outstanding common stock. The dividend is payable on June 8, 2012 to shareowners of record at the close of business on May 18, 2012† (Honeywell Declares Quarterly Dividend, 2012). If this is any indication, Honeywell will continue to be a viable global competitor and financial contributor to our financial and job market. Honeywell is an excellent example of an organization that is forward thinking and proactive. It has operated with a strong ethical code of conduct, strong financial discipline and an ever present focus on the future. This methodology and ideology will ensure their continued financial growth and market expansion. It is apparent that their cost standards, lean processes, and disciplined managerial financial management has enabled them to overcome obstacles, secure their position as a global competitor and a viable contender in today’s competitive, technology-oriented world.