Friday, September 6, 2019
The Virgin Group Essay Example for Free
The Virgin Group Essay Introduction The Virgin Company            Founded by Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin group began as a travel company that hosts travel operations from the European regions towards other areas of the world. Aside form the travel operations; the company also caters to package transfer duties that are shipped from UK towards the American and Australian continents. The company has also established a fine relationship towards its sister companies the Virgin Express and the Virgin Blue.            Later on, the market of the Virgin Group of Companies began to expand. The traditional service that the company offers its clients have greatly taken a leap forward as the management of the company took a chance in venturing in other areas of business industry, which they though would further cater to other essential needs of their company’s clients.             As a result, the establishment of two major rail franchises that sells more than just the usual travel tour packages offered by the Virgin Company. Aside from the focus of the company on travel operations, the franchise establishments also sell entertainment materials such as magazines and music videos and DVD gadgets. There also came the establishment of the Virgin Mega stores that serve as the major mall-like establishments of the company that mostly offer materials in connection with entertainment.            Aside from the many operations that the Virgin Group of Companies caters to, there are also other services that they still offer the public. The said services include balloon flights, beverages, bridal stores, cosmetics, financial services, health clubs, Internet services, mobile phone services, publishing, and a record label. (2007)            As closely observed, the entire concern of the company is to provide recreation, entertainment and leisure to its clients. Hence, it could be noticed that most of its market comes from the upper level of the global economy. This directly refers to the fact that most of the clients that are able to appreciate and consume their products and accept their services are those who have the capability to pay for the amount of their business transactions.            Being in the industry that holds much the competition as it is directly connected to entertainment and travel systems which is now the most in demand services in the society, how are the Virgin group of Companies able to cope up with the competition that is present in the business society? How are they able to refine their strategies of market approach considering that they are considered as a multinational company that has to deal with multicultural society of workers? Aside from this, as the company grows even larger and ventures to different areas of business, how are they able to keep a strong stand in the competitive pace of the global business culture? These questions and more shall be answered on the chapter discussions that follow. CHAPTER 2 The Competitive Strategies of the Virgin Group            In business, there is always competition. According to Milton Snoeyenbos, â€Å"Competition is the essence of putting up a business and making things happen for a certain company†(1992). This is indeed true. As obviously seen today, different types of competition that naturally determines their status in the global business arena govern the global industry of business. Furthermore, Snoeyenbos adds that:                       â€Å"the ability of a business entity to keep up with the competition that it is supposed to have engagement with measures its capability of keeping up  with the fast paced development of global trade and industries†(1992)            Certainly, multinational companies, such as the Virgin Group, directly experience such competitive environment of operating in the global market. There are many companies that naturally would want to have the same ‘fair share’ of market especially when it comes to travel operations and entertainment.  It is indeed true that to be able to survive in such a competitive world of business, a company, or a business organization should have a stiff and strong strategy in operating its branches and allies in creating an amiably ample market that would naturally accept the services and the products that they would offer.            In a typical business operation setting, competition is often referred t as a challenge on the capability of the company to be noticed by the market. This capability is often measured by the profit that the company is able to incur annually. Through recent reports of the world trade organizations, it could be seen that the Virgin Group of companies has fared well in terms of the profit share that they get from the global economy. This means that they are able to attract an ample population of people who appreciates and takes advantage of the services and the products that they offer in the market.            To be able to understand the entire strategy system that that Virgin Group of Companies uses to be able to survive in the business industry, the said strategies are subdivided into four major parts. Each discussed in their own focus of concern for the companies’ success.            The Strategies: Human Resources Control and Motivation      This the branch of the strategy that creates a fine working environment that the employees of the Virgin Group could be able to find satisfaction in their job, hence, they are highly capable of performing well for their company.      The other branches of the company, which this specific strategy affects, are the research and development department. As mentioned earlier, the Virgin Group continues in aiming to expand their areas of concern in the business industry. Therefore, through human resources control and motivation strategies, the company is able to empower its employees to work hard and perform well regardless of what culture or nationality they may have come from. Marketing Strategies      According to the Virgin Group themselves, they have an aim whereas they are able to provide the identity of their clients in the best possible way every time they take advantage of the services and the products offered by the company. Hence, to be able to do so, they say that there are three major purposes of the marketing approach of the company. As it could be quoted, they say:    * We genuinely believe in making a difference for consumers.    * We deliver quality service by empowering our people.    * We love getting feedback – it helps us to continually improve each        customers experience through innovation. (Source: http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/aboutUs/html/about_us_06.htm. 2007)      Having these guidelines of purpose, they also have questions that help them decide on how to create the best possible marketing strategy that could support the product that they are supposed to launch to the public. The said questions too are quoted as follows:    * Is this an opportunity for restructuring a market and creating            competitive advantage?    * What is the competition doing?    * Is the customer confused or badly served?    * Is this an opportunity for building the Virgin brand?    * Can we add value?    * Will it interact with our other businesses?    * Is there an appropriate trade-off between risk and reward? (Source: http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/aboutUs/html/about_us_06.htm. 2007) Furthermore, when the marketing strategy is already strongly proposed and decided upon by the marketing agents of the company, the final decisions are then based upon some outlined reasons of pursuing the products and the brands that have been decided upon and finally releasing them for public consumption. The said considerations are as follows:     * The power of the Virgin name    * Richard Bransons personal reputation    * Our unrivalled network of friends, contacts and partners    * The Virgin management style, and    * The way talent is empowered to flourish within the group (Source: http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/aboutUs/html/about_us_06.htm. 2007) As obviously seen, the main concern of the company, even in marketing purposes is to create for their clients an assurance of being well serviced and well cared for. This factor of concern on the part of the Virgin Groups’ management team gives them an edge from their competitors in the business industry. Management Strategies      This involves the ability of the company to balance its focus on the operational activities of the business organization from its personal identity as a provider for both its employees and its clients as the stakeholders of the organization.       Through the systematic approach that is used by the Virgin Groups towards its activities, the company is then able to come along with the changes and developments of the business world while directly attending to the needs of their stakeholders. Social Connection Strategies      The acceptance of the society towards the identity that the company puts up for itself is an essential factor that contributes to the attempt of the company to remain strongly appreciated by the people that it aims to serve. This means that the ability of the company to continuously perform its social duties avails it of the capability to remain strongly competitive within the business arena.            These four major strategies have long been the assurance that the Virgin Group of Companies have used in their operations in their field of business concern. In this regard, it would be also helpful to know the strategic capabilities of the company. Naturally, it could be noticed that the Virgin Group has been constantly utilizing the Forward integration system of development. As a result, the resources of the company are then assured and the competence as well as the dynamic capabilities of the company is strengthened through the alliance-system.            What does the forward integration system mean? It could be noticed that through the study that has been presented in this paper so far, the Virgin Group of companies intended to expand through the creation of alliances with other investors n other companies. The establishment of a fine relationship with the owners and the investors as well as the board members of the companies that they have allied with, they are able to expand their operation. As clearly state earlier, the company grew from a travel service provider towards a multinational company that offers a variety of products that include both leisure and entertainment to the public.            Yes, the success system of the company depended so much on its capability to create alliances with other companies that trusted its reputation and its owner’s name in the business industry. Now, as a company, the Virgin Group directly plans to dominate the entire entertainment and leisure industry in the global business scene. Certainly, if the competitive systems as well as the strategic capability of the company continue to improve and develop through time, it would not be impossible for this group of companies to completely dominate the world’s most competitive business arena. CHAPTER 3 The Company and Its Stakeholders            As discussed in earlier chapters, there are mainly three stakeholders of the Virgin group of Companies, which in many areas affect the major activities that the company performs in their daily global operations. The stakeholders include the company management and its employees, the clients that are being served by the company, and the society that it serves its responsibility to.            In accordance with the stakeholder mapping system, the said subdivision of stakeholders could still be narrowed down to five major types depending on whether they oppose or support the company involved in the society. With the existence of the stakeholders, the control of the company operations is a factor that remains to be an essential matter of concern for the company management themselves. As obviously seen, each stakeholder have his or her own demand from the company activities. The management and the employees as for example, demands profit and income entities, while the consumers demand service and quality products from the company. The society in turn requires that the company give them what they are due; this could include the tax responsibilities of the company towards the local government of the communities, which they are a part of. Hence, if they are able to attend to the said social responsibility then they are able to help the community, which they are operating in, and in return, they gain full support from the society, which could in the future generate amiable profits for their company as they are transformed to becoming supporters of the business.            The Virgin Group of Companies sees to it that they are able to meet the needs of all the stakeholders involve in their business operations as they are mentioned above. The constancy of the concern of the Virgin Group of companies towards their employees, their clients and the society, which they serve, [which may also include the culturally diverse nature of their organization] is certainly the reason why they have been operating as long as they have been and is currently continuously growing through the developments of global business trends. Alternative Strategies for Growth and Expansion (examined through SWOT analysis)            Although the outlined evidences of the sturdiness of the Virgin Group of Companies’ status in the business industry, it could not be denied that there could be some instances that some of their traditional strategies may not be that capable of meeting the challenges of the new area of endeavor of the company. As for example, the company’s management team is sure to have their own plans of opening establishments in several other parts of the globe to be able to directly expand the market that is influenced by the said multinational group of companies. In Asia as for example, there are several points of consideration that the company organizers should attend to before they could actually perform business operations in Asian countries. Hence, the following list of alternative strategies could be integrated in the existing business approach of the Virgin Group of Companies: Cultural Knowledge of the Country being targeted      This involves the capability of the company to have a research on what products and services that the company already offers cold suit the needs of the people in a certain country without offending their traditional culture. It could not be denied that there are still countries [especially in Asia] that are directly influenced by their cultural heritage. As a result, the companies, which are planning to establish branches in such areas, are advised to take full concern of the cultural background of the country to be able to fit in the society. This would naturally address the social responsibility of the company. Legalities and Registration in the Local Governments      Most of the suggested alternatives concern the social responsibilities of the company. This is simply because of the fact that the ability of the company to expand depends on the acceptance of the society that it aims to serve.      The legalities and registration to local governments involves the tax-responsibilities of the company. Their knowledge of the business legalities and policies that their target countries imply should help them create a fine working environment with their new society and would might as well create for them a credible reputation.            The author of this paper using the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis has directly analyzed these two major suggestions as alternatives. Through the said analysis, it has been noticed that the competitiveness of the Virgin Group amidst the wide expansion plans that it might have in the future would be well guarded. As mentioned earlier, the suggestions are more focused on the social responsibility of the company. This is highly suggested by the author, as this is believed by the author as the key towards a multinational, multicultural company’s success in the business industry. The SWOT Analysis Discussion Strengths- the suggested alternative, as clearly observed is a focus on the cultural knowledge of the company with regards the communities that they ought to influence, or in some other terms, target as a market source. Being culturally and legally knowledgeable of the social systems of the new community gives them an edge from other companies who have lesser care on the way they are able to meet their responsibilities to the society and put much priority on the profit goals of the company. Weaknesses- since the suggestions involve research and development strategies on the part of the company management, the issue on the funding systems may become a reason for the weakness of the suggested approach. However, through systematic arrangement, the said alternative could be proven efficient. Opportunities- The alternatives open the expansion opportunities for the Virgin Group. The said expansion operations being mainly targeted upon the Asian countries which are known to have high cultural attachment to their origins. Being able to apply the alternatives would naturally help the entire company to win the heart of Asians. Threats- the threats to the approach that has been suggested in here could be regarding the fact that other researches of the company regarding the cultural shift of the market that they intend to target may become available to others and may in some ways be used against their plans. Hence, there is a need for a certain measure of security that should be applied upon the researches of the company. CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION            It has been most certainly clear that through this study, the strengths of the Virgin Group of Companies have been outlined for better understanding. The well known reputation of the said group of companies in their ability to survive competition amidst the expansion operations that they have incurred through company alliances have been determined as the key factor of success for the Virgin group.            The systematic strategy that the whole organization applies in its daily operations has directly implied the strong foundation of the companies’ existence in the society. Their constant attendance on the responsibilities that they have towards their stakeholders has naturally created for them a fine environment of work and operations.            Certainly, the expertise that the management team of the Virgin group has on global expansion has ensured them of continuous success in providing the best service and the quality products to their clients. In return, the said managerial strategies also create for them an assurance of growing profit in the years yet to come. BIBLIOGRAPHY  Internet Sources: Changing Minds Organization. (2007). Stakeholder mapping . http://changingminds.org/disciplines/change_management/stakeholder_change/stakeholder_mapping.htm. (January 29, 2007). Harvard Business School. (2007). Creating Corporate Advantage: Strategy in the Multibusiness Firm. http://www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/cca/. (January 29, 2007). Marketing Teacher. (2006). SWOT Analysis: Lesson: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). http://marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_swot.htm. (January 29, 2007). Environmental Leader. (2007). Virgin Group, NTR Form Virgin Bioverda. http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/01/17/virgin-group-ntr-form-virgin-bioverda/. (January 29, 2007). Virgin Group. (2007). The Virgin Group. http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/aboutUs/html/about_us_06.htm. (January 29, 2007). Market Watch. (2007). Virgin America, Echostar sign entertainment deal. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/virgin-america-echostar-sign-entertainment/story.aspx?guid=%7BEB53ED7F-B9AA-4E82-8AE0-704BC8691582%7D. (January 29, 2007). Virgin America gets more time to appeal. (2007). http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=FTDate=20070111ID=6333605. (January 29, 2007). Clare Cheung and Linus Chua. (2007). Branson Bets His Virgin Brand, Entertainment Will Win in Macau. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085sid=aWFnDVIC4lwcrefer=europe. (January 29, 2007). Book Sources: Snoeyenbos, Milton. (1992). Business Ethics. Prometheus Books. Revised Edition.                        (20-26) Riddle, John. (2001). Business Management: How to organize market and finance your way to business success. Adams Media Corporation Publications.                        (45-52)
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Weaknesses Of The Ecological Footprint Environmental Sciences Essay
Weaknesses Of The Ecological Footprint Environmental Sciences Essay flourishing at a yearly rate of 4. Contribution of the industry in the economy has become a global trend. However, as the tourist industry flourishes, those activities have also resulted into environmental impact issues, such as traffic congestion, over- exploitation of natural resources, and issues created by inappropriate tourist behaviors. Apart from the effects on human, natural, and culture heritages, these create a lot of pollution (Wu, 2003). With the constant rise of environmental protection philosophies, green consumption is slowly from being a mere concept into real action. The hotel and restaurant industries, above all, are closely related to environmental protection (Kuo, 2000). It is truly said that the continued growth of development is having an extensive and different ecological impacts. The urban that are being expanded are including the agricultural land and established the ecosystems, reducing the local bio-productivity and biodiversity while there has been an incr ease in the level of demand for resources and other ecological services by the rising populations. Ecological Footprint has been co-originated by Professor William Rees and Dr. Mathis Waskernagel. The Ecological Footprint is embedded in the reality that all renewable resources arrive from the earth. It accounts for the flows of energy and converts these into the matching land/water area necessary for nature to support these flows. The Ecological Footprint is defined as the area of productive land and water ecosystems required to produce the resources that the population consumes and assimilate the wastes that the population produces, wherever on Earth the land and water is located. It compares actual throughput of renewable resources in relation to what is yearly renewed. Ecological Footprint looks at the total quantity of global hectares that are necessary to hold a particular population. The Footprints of individual nations vary considerably.The Ecological Footprint is a resource accounting tool that measures the human demand on the Earth. By calculating a persons Ecological Footprint, it shows whether he is living within the ecological budget or whether he is overwhelming n atures resources faster than the planet can renew them. We can choose to live on a depleted planet or we can choose to live on a rich, biologically diverse, more stable planet proposes Dr. Mathis Wackernagel, co-creator of the Ecological Footprint. Strengths of the Ecological Footprint: It has an immediate intuitive appeal It is being used worldwide in a variety of settings. It addresses national, municipal, regional and individual footprint. It is used as a policy tool It is used as an indicator Weaknesses of the Ecological Footprint: It is not a precise measure of ecological sustainability It underestimates the impact of individual actions on the biosphere It provides limited information about most of the non-renewable resources. It allows only universal types of bioproductive areas to be recognized (forests, cropland) It does not account for all human impacts on the environment. Opportunities of the Ecological Footprint: Efforts are being done so as to standardize the Footprint. It will increase the usefulness of this sustainability indicator. It will be used for different projects. Critically assess Ecological Footprint with other existing environmental tools: The Ecological Footprint is based on the concepts of capacity and the precautionary principle which though out without their critics (Kooten and Bulte, 2000), are commonly accepted in the field of ecological impact assessment (Rees, 1996). Its methodology is grounded in the physical measures of the ecological limits and the environmental impacts of the human activity and it provides a theoretical foundation for the evaluation and comparison. Essential in the metric is an interpretation of the goal of the ecological sustainability that is to live within the bio-productive capacity of the earth. The tool that is being used is clearly focused on the ecological sustainability and with its creator acknowledging there is an additional need for the social assessment frameworks (Wackernagel and Yount, 2000). Thus, the Ecological Footprint is not proposed as a complete measure of sustainability. Rather, it is presented as a tool captures the main global ecological concerns within its metric w hich reflect a crucial precondition for the sustainability- living within the ecological limits of the earth (Wackernagel and Rees, 1996). The inventors of the Ecological Footprint have put more emphasis on various potential uses for the tool. Since this tool has been developed, the use of the tool has spread quickly into a different range of applications. Its use now has been expanded from global and national accounts, such as the WWFs Living Planet Reports (WWF, 2006) to the regional, city and local area scales. With respect to urban planning and development, Wackernagel and Yount (2000, p. 34) define the Ecological Footprint as a powerful tool for comparing the ecological demand of design options such as housing densities, transportation systems or infrastructure development. They say that: urban design has a significant impact on peoples consuming behavior. It influences not only how they shop, but also how they move around, what kind of houses they live in and what kind of urban infrastructure services they acquire. In another study, according to Muniz and Galindo (2005), they use the footprint analysis of travel-to-work behavior in Barcelona so as to conclude that urban form has a clear effect on the travel behavior which is greater that the socio-economic factors for example the average family income, and however that compact city policies that include the public transport and a mix of populations and activities resulting in a lower transport Ecological Footprints. With growing concerns on the environment, there are several international agencies which are using environmental data/information and indicators to evaluate current conditions and trends to provide information on the state of the environment. There are other environmental tools that exist. EIA- Environmental Impact Assessment: It is a process with a set of procedures. It is an assessment which helps decision-makers. It is a project that causes minimal degradation of environmental resources. It is a planning tool that is viewed as an integral component of sound decision-making. It also helps to identify, evaluate and mitigate the impacts caused by developments. Sustainability Assessment Tools for Residential Estates In order to decrease the ecological impact of urban development, it is important to make changes to the urban form and to the urban development practices. This process of change needs tools that can understand the ecological sustainability in the context of urban development that is it must be able to achieve the aims and targets, facilitate change in the practice and measure the progress that is being done gradually. EF- Ecological Footprint: It accounts for the use of the planets renewable resources. Its application includes analysis of policy, benchmarking performance, education and awareness raising and scenario development. As a policy tool, the ecological footprint is still in its infancy. Businesses are vital associates in delivering both the social and environmental scope of sustainable development. As organizations, they both meet the demand for goods and services essential to improve quality of life and, in the process, impact on the environment either directly or indirectly through their use of natural resources and their creation of wastes. One issue for businesses wishing to benefit from better environmental and social performance is the lack of consistent and credible methodologies to compute monitor and communicate evolution. latest years have seen a rise in companies using environmental management systems but few of these take life cycle approach and report for flow of material and energy. An amount of approaches are obtainable to businesses wishing to evaluate the environmental impact of their products or services. The matter of how much utilization is sustainable is also one that require to be addresses. Ecological footprint Analysis exclusively approaches the problem of sustainability by reference to the overall carrying capacity of the world at the same time , it also link to the individual behavior to organizational, regional and global. There are many tools which measure environmental progress and consumption of resources, such as the ISO 14000, the Environmental policies and measures (EPM), the Environmental Protection Act (EPA), the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), I-O, SPI, the LCIA, and the Environmental Management System (EMS). Critically assess EF with other existing environmental tools Ecological footprint is an approximate of the amount of space on the earth that a person uses in order to survive using obtainable technology. This space includes biologically productive land and water area that produces the resources devoted by that person such as food, water, energy, clothing, and building materials. It also comprises the quantity of land and water necessary to incorporate the waste generated by that person. In line with the management consultancy mantra that to manage something effectively you need to be able to measure it, the metrics of sustainability have become progressively important in the policy world, as governments, NGOs and others attempt to identify whether their strategies and policies are indeed beginning to have an impact. This metric turn has encouraged support for existing measurement techniques such as environmental audits, environmental impact assessments, strategic environmental assessments and state of the environment reporting, while unchecking a range of new techniques for measuring environmental impacts. These approaches range from sustainability evaluation to more fundamental ideas such as Ecological Footprints. Both new and older techniques for measuring sustainability push for policy saliency, each with its own intellectual justifications, supporters and critics, and in most cases, people whose income or professional standing in some part derive from their adoption and, equally important, local adaptation. The key players in the new metrics industry include those in consultancies of various kinds, universities, NGOs and government departments. We do not mean to assign base motives to any of those involved, since most are strongly committed to developing approaches that help shift behavior patterns in ways intended to bring about environmental improvements. We do, however, want to argue that there is more at stake here than who measures sustainability best; underlying the competition for how to measure sustainability is an ethical debate about what it is that needs to be measured, why and how. In terms of environmental problems, for instance, there is always basic political and scienti ¬Ã‚ c biases in choosing which problem merits most research money attention in different contexts. For instance there are other measuring tools which are used like: Environmental Policies and Management (EPM) This is used by government or other authorities to implement their environmental policies. That is, it focuses on problems arising from human impact on the environment which retroacts onto human society by having a negative impact on human values such as good health or the clean and green environment. Environmental Impacts Assessment (EIA) An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an assessment of the probable positive or negative impact that a planned project may have on the environment, jointly consisting of the environmental, social and economic aspects. The reason of the evaluation is to make sure that decision makers consider the resulting environmental impacts when deciding whether to proceed with a project. EIA is one type of tools, which may assist the sustainable development of a country. According to (Fitzpatrick,2003 and Sinchair,2009), they said that the EIA is focused on the implementation of preventive means and due to the fact that the aim of the EIA is the identification of possible risks and effects as early as possible. The EIA gives an opportunity to take into consideration the potential effects of the designed activity and thus it consider the other alternatives in the project implementation form various perspectives. Hence, this is done by identifying the potential environmental, social and health aspects of the planned activity (Glasson et al., 2005). Advantages of EIA Disadvantages of EIA Simple to use It is difficult to change and it is open to poor judgment by decision-makers It is flexible It is complex and ambiguous Allows for good judgment It is slow and costly It can improve It can lose flexibility Environmental assessment is a systematic procedure that is designed to identify, examine and assess the environmental effects of a particular product or an activity. The aim of this procedure is to spot any foreseeable unpleasant impacts throughout the life cycle of a product. Environmental Assessment allows an effective combination of environmental considerations and public concerns into the decision making. The environmental assessment tools are divided into four sections namely: Life Cycle Assessment Environmental Risk Assessment Life Cycle Cost Eco-efficiency Environmental Protection Act (EPA) This act is to provide for the safety and supervision of the environmental assets of Mauritius so that their ability to sustain the society and its development remains unchanged and to raise agreement between quality of life, environmental defense and sustainable development for the present and future generations; more exclusively to offer for the legal framework and the tool to defend the natural environment, to plan for environmental management and to direct the inter-relations of environmental issues, and to guarantee the proper implementation of governmental policies and application provisions necessary for the security of human health and the environment of Mauritius. The model consist of six parts: Food, energy, textile, paper, waste, and construction land. Various resource or energy consumption items are converted into biologically productive land areas. There are six basic types of biologically productive land: Cropland, grazing land, forestland, construction land, fossil energy resource land, and water (marine) area. The ratio between the consumption of a certain type of goods and the yield per unit of such goods on a certain type of land is the biologically productive land area required for that type of land. Multiply the figure by the corresponding equivalent factor, and we have the required area for this type of land under local or international standards. Wherein: EFi: represents the ecological footprint of a certain category, normally expressed in units of global hectares (ghm2). Qi: represents the total consumption of a certain type of goods, normally expressed in units of kilograms (kg) or tons (t). Pi: represents the world average yield of this type of goods, normally expressed in units of kilograms/hectare (kg/hm2). Ei: is the equivalent factor for the type of the land which produces this type of goods. And, the value of the coefficient varies with land type.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
The Role of the Cartels, the United States and the Mexican Federal Gove
The â€Å"Drug War†along the border of Mexico and the United States is one of the longest coordinated engagements of law enforcement (who have accepted the aid of the Mexican military) in both countries’ history (Winslow, 2015). The history of this unofficial war is extraordinarily complicated; rife with both political and criminal players, violence, corruption, bad policy, and controversy. Its importance to America and Mexico cannot be underestimated, especially in its role in legislation, law enforcement techniques, and public opinion. The sheer size and scope of the war surpasses general understandings of battlefields and skirmishes; but it is obvious where the most â€Å"warfare†is occurringâ€â€the border (Pacheco, 2009). To explore all of these concepts would take substantial time; so in favor of brevity and efficiency this paper will attempt to provide the reader with a general overview of the current situation, and then go into depth about several subjects: the history, the key participants, the drugs at issue, the range of the war across Mexico (at current date), political controversies accompanying, and proposed solutions by experts. To put current day events into context, one should first glance at the history behind the Drug War. Payan contended in his article The Drug War and the U.S.-Mexico Border: The State of Affairs that the roots of the drug war stem from the resentment policymakers had towards the counterculture revolution of the late 60’s. Mind-altering drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin were in great demand, and many small gangs in Mexico had taken advantage of the opportunity. Nixon saw the rising clamor from conservatives against the trafficking and use of these substances; so he instituted the DEA, coin... ...3/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=fc2f2fad-9bc3-4172-b521-6917fa15c2e7%40sessionmgr13&vid=4&hid=7 Payan, T. (2006). The Drug War and the U.S.-Mexico Border: The State of Affairs. South Atlantic Quarterly, 105(4), 863-880. doi:10.1215/00382876-2006-006. Web. 4 Oct. 2015. http://libproxy.wcjc.cc.tx.us:2253/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1e7fd309-7c13-410d-92f4-45d5d11968f1%40sessionmgr11&vid=16&hid=12 Vance, L. M. (2011). The Other Unconstitutional War. New American, 27(21), 20-24. Web. 4 Oct. 2015. http://libproxy.wcjc.cc.tx.us:2253/ehost/detail?sid=e07d566c-eb43-4b0b-bb3c-df8a4aedcd7a%40sessionmgr111&vid=3&hid=123&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=67789567 Winslow, Don. America's war on drugs is empowering Mexico's drug cartels CNN. June 28, 2015, Web. 4 Oct. 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/28/opinions/winslow-drug-war-folly/
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Isolation in Faulkners Light in August Essay -- Light August Essays
 Isolation in Light In August  In William Faulkner’s Light In August, most characters seem isolated from each other and from society. It is often argued that Lena Grove is an exception to this, but I have found that I cannot agree with this view. Consequently, this essay will show that Lena is lonely too, and that the message in Faulkner’s work on the issue of human contact is that everyone is essentially alone, either by voluntary recession from company or by involuntary exclusion, and the only escape from this loneliness is to have a proper family to comfort you. As a child, Lena was involuntarily isolated from a society she wanted to be a part of. We are told that â€Å"six or eight times a year she went to town on Saturday†(p. 5), which obviously was not enough for her. â€Å"It was because she believed that the people who saw her and whom she passed on foot would believe that she lived in town too†(p. 5). Lena had a need to be a part of society and join the ranks of ordinary people in an ordinary town, which presumably includes marrying and starting a family. Living with McKinley in a far off mill hamlet continued to keep Lena isolated, and this condition was further aggravated by the fact that she was kept busy with housework much of the time. Admittedly, housekeeping for a large family is one kind of community, but it is not the kind that Lena wants. She would rather have a family of her own than care for someone else’s, and so she seeks love in the form of Lucas Burch. Unfortunately, Burch does not want to start a family. He only uses Lena for his own pleasure, and as soon as she tells him about the pregnancy, he leaves town (p. 16-17). Lena takes off on a quest to reunite herself with her would-be hu... ...g the society she loves. When she no longer has any hope of putting her family together the way she reckons it should be, she can no longer face society because she will never fit in. Even if she married Bunch, he would still not be her child’s father, which would make their family an anomaly. Lena has turned into a voluntary outcast, dragging Byron Bunch around to help her run her daily life but never letting him get intimate, never really making him a part of her life. After being forced into isolation from society for most of her life, Lena has now chosen to remain isolated. She is just as alone as any other character in Light in August. The conclusion I inevitably reach is that Faulkner wanted to portray family as the ultimate unit of society. Without a family, you cannot fit into society, and if you do not fit into society, you are essentially alone. Â
Monday, September 2, 2019
The Ex Basketball Player by John Updike Essay examples -- English Lite
The Ex Basketball Player by John Updike A Loss of Motivation In English Seven we read a poem called the "Ex Basketball Player" by John Updike. The main character's name was Flick Webb. The poem explains how Flick lost motivation. In high school Flick was an excellent basketball player, if not, the best. After high school Flick didn't continue his basketball skills, and he never had tried as hard on his academics as he did on basketball. Flick now works at Berth's Garage and has a dead end life. I think that Flick gave up because he didn't want to work at something that didn't come easily, such as academics. I enjoyed this poem because it makes you think, I will now tell of a time when I lost motivation. In fourth grade I took gymnastics. I really like it, and had a lot of fun. The problem was that after a while my teacher didn't seem to teach us many new tricks. On top of that, they were ready to move to a new building. This building had a low ceiling, so I couldn't do the uneven bars. The uneven bars happened to be my favorite event, so I decided to quit. ..
Sunday, September 1, 2019
China’s IT Industry in 1997
A series of strange symptoms of poisoning appeared on a girl Zhu Lin unexpectedly: hair lost, muscles on the face paralyzed, limbs weakened, and words slurred. No one can tell what is the cause. Life is in danger! One of her classmates emailed for help on Internet. Fortunately, the first reply arrived in less than three hours. Afterwards, over 1,500 emails reached her. Most of the replies analysed that Zhu Lin had been thallium poisoned. It is the Internet that has saved her young life! In 1994, there were merely a few universities and institutions on Internet. Now there are over 620 thousand end users in China. The number increased four-fold in 1997 compared with the year before, still booming on an exponential curve, and is sure to go through the limit of one million. Information Technology (IT) industry has become one of the industries developing most quickly in China. Sum (billion) Increase (compared to 1996) Anticipation in 1998 Gross output value RMB 380 25%(3.6 times 1992) RMB 460 Total sales profits RMB 250 15% RMB 300 The Tel exchange capacity of China National Public Tel Net has become the second largest one in the world. Last year, the sales volume of PC broke through three million, which indicated that it had increased by sixty percent than 1996. All the above data depict an exciting success for China  a developing country. She is laboring at curtailing the gap between developed countries and herself. As the modern information technology (IT) develops rapidly with the increase of social demand, the core status of IT in the development of modern business has become more and more stable. IT can provide the information a business needs for efficient operations, effective management and competitive advantage. If information systems do not properly support the strategic objective, they can seriously damage its prospect for survival and success. For a company, out-of-date information of demand leads to an excess or insufficient output; inpromptly-attained information results in the loss of capital for the timeliness of currency, and then emerged an inefficient assignment of the resource of the whole society. At present, this kind of waste engendered by the undeveloped IT industry widely exists in all walks of life in China. It is urgent to prompt the informationalization grade of the nation. The world economy has been turning from industrial economy to information economy. P.R.C. Chairman Jiang Zeming once said, IT is the accelerator and amplifier of the national economy. Therefore, a country's information industry embodies its power. Developing IT industry becomes a world trend , and a strategic task in many countries. The informationalization degree of the developed country has reached a considerable level. In 1993, US declared â€Å"National Information Infrastructure†(NII). It is expected that by 2000 information super-highway will have connected all the schools, hospitals, libraries. Although there are over 620 thousand end users in China, but compared with the 1.2 billion population, the popularization of Internet in China is much lower than that in US. The rate between cash flow and currency gross is an important index of informationization degree of a country. The lower the proportion, the higher the informationization degree. In American, the proportion is eight percent. But in China, it has reached twenty-five percent. Eighty percent of world information resource is possessed by developed countries which have only fifteen percent of world population. Meanwhile, with eight-five percent of world population, the developing countries occupy only twenty percent of information in the world. In the developed countries such as U.S.A., it is prevalent to operate the enterprise with information flow. Intranet is being considered an effective way of dealing with information. But in many Chinese enterprises, manpower is required to transmit messages. A lot of waste and troubles follow: a considerable loss of time, insufficient or less accurate information and etc. The low degree of informationalization results from the insubstantial basis of China. In China, economic basis is weak, financial capacity is limited, and IT is far behind the developed countries. Because of the great population, there is great divergence among various areas in China. Every country desires to develop IT industry. Especially, developing countries need information innovation to promote the development of economy. But, because of the weakness of economic basis and insufficiency of financial capacity, developing countries often feel its ability is not equal to its ambition. What should be done? We have several ideas as the following: There*s an old Chinese saying â€Å"know your rival and yourself clearly, you*ll triumph every time!†So let us take a look at the pioneer of IT–US first. For about 50 years, the Americans have laid a solid foundation in the field of electronics, computer and communication. The existing network has become an embryo of information superhighways. Both had prompted President Clinton to put forward NII. In contrary to US, China now calls for the infrastructure of information products. The developing country needs the step-by-step measure. As a result, the principle of China National Information Infrastructure was born. This comprehensive and step-by-step image of Information superhighway make it possible that China will be quickly informationalized. The most beautiful picture can be drawn on pure white paper  â€Å"Skip†on technology Science is the common wealth of human being, the developing countries don*t have to build up from nothing. We can step into the first class directly by taking the existing technology. Take Japan for example. After World War ` , she stands up from ruins and almost in no time, it becomes a shining star. Which way did she take? The best in the world. China now has a good chance to learn the lessons of pioneers, she can do the simplest, the most expedient and the most flexible. For instance, China has just started to set up her own network construction. she can take the opportunity to establish the first-class frame and utilize the most advanced hardware and software. As we can see, â€Å"skip†on technology is suitable for the developing countries, A high-rise building is built from the ground An essential characteristic of IT industry is high investment and high production of additional value. However, since financial capacity is far too limited, high investment requires developing countries to select a right way leading to success. Through the course of the development of IT, we can find that, in general, IT is in the stage of growing and application from the 1980s to a long time in the future. Although Japan had great achievement on IT, from 1980s it began to develop some high-tech instead of promoting deeper application, trying to obtain monopoly profit. However, Japan ran counter to the situation of today's IT and lost its market. The failure of Japan alarms the developing countries: application should be the foundation of the strategy of IT development in developing countries. To promote the innovation, manufacture and application of basic information products, reasonable economic scale should be considered. And it is essential to develop a series of products such as PC, network servers, parallel processing computer system and etc. Cooperation by national and local government –Both central and local initiative should be brought into full play. Now China is building its national information infrastructure through â€Å"Golden Project†(1) and has completed many consequential informationization constructions such as Golden Bridge(2), Golden Card(3), Golden Customs(4), Golden Tax(5) and etc. In the meantime, local informationization projects have quickened their pace. Shanghai information harbor has consummated five information works including information exchange net, science and technology net, community net and etc. Inland provinces and districts such as Henan Province augmented 120 thousand telephone users. The IT industry has been regarded as a pillar industry in more than 20 provinces in China. Competition should be introduced in IT industry to cut down the price . The construction of long-distance trunk line is up to the central government, while local governments manage the branches. Not only big state enterprises but also small town factories should be encouraged to participate in the booming IT industry. To be scientific and strict, there must be a series of laws and regulations. Shanghai Information Harbor grows with laws which the new-born information industries are longing for â€Å"Regulations governing advertisement on the network†, â€Å"Regulations governing EDI†and â€Å"Regulations governing Internet caf*†were formulated. Effective working mode will protect the proper development of the IT industry. Unless troublesome Bill Gates turns into well-behavior or his corporation couldn*t stand firmly on the land of China. If China acts on these ideas, it*s sure to have a splendid future. The business and even the whole society will take on a new look. The telephone lines will reach each home, while the fiber optics will enter the buildings in most cities and towns. Since â€Å"Golden Project†have established the network of all kinds such as business, education, medical care and economy, most things can be done through virtual banks, virtual enterprises, virtual library and so on, even if people stay at home all the time. The advantages the business takes will be conspicuous. The administrative structure will be simplified, the staff will be reduced, the risks of cash will be diminished by EDI, an inexhaustible database will be shared by everyone and will be a strong support of decision-making. The relationships between enterprise and clientele will be as close as fish to water. IT will take the place of some jobs and at the same time, create much more occupations, which brings about that the information industry becomes the biggest industry of the country. A country can benefit a lot from its success in IT industry. Even though the developing countries lack the most advanced technology and sufficient financial support, they can also achieve the goal by attaching importance to the building of IT industry and taking on an appropriate strategy  a step-by-step Omnibus Bill and a skipping tactic of technology.
Management Action Plan
M is an innovative global company with significant goals set for the future. MM has set aggressive sales growth goals over the next five years. These goals are to include: Sales Growth Portfolio of Goods – understanding customer needs globally New Customers New Products Increased Environmental Sustainability Reduce Air Emissions Reduce Waste Improve Energy Efficiency Develop Water Conservation Plans Fill 4,500 new positions over the next three years to compensate for organizational goals MM has set organizational goals without the consideration of its workforce plan. M has not assessed the talent pool availability in all of its new global locations. It also has not fully grasped the correct way to fill these new positions With individuals that are well versed in the cultural differences in each new area. Aligning MM Business Goals with HER MM has a large deficit of workforce planning in all of its plans both locally and globally. Each individual business plan has not been alig ned with the talent pools that are available in each area that MM currently operates in. â€Å"Workforce planning involves analyzing the workforce implications of a business plan and developing solutions to address them†(SHRUB, 2013).To o this MM project managers and HER managers must answer the following questions: 1 What are the strategic goals of each new plan? 2. What are the competencies needed for each position? 3. What is the talent and conduct of our current employees? 4. What is the labor market availability in each area Of operations? 5. What is our gap between current capabilities and the needs? These questions allow both the project managers and HER managers to fully understand both the project and the personnel needs for these projects. HER managers can develop proper job descriptions and utilize proper recruitment channels.Depending on the location of workforce needs, HER managers will utilize several different methods of recruitment streams. These streams incl ude but are not limited to: Internet Mass Media College Relations Referral Programs Direct Talent Scouting Special Events Next, MM must conduct a cost savings metric to analyze the benefit of having localized HER managers verses centralized or outsourced HER operations. â€Å"The cost savings metric will report recruiter fee savings realized verses the manpower costs to provide HER services in-house.This can be cumulative for the year verses previous year or previous method, or can be reported as a prepare cost per time comparison metric†(Miller-Merrill, 2012). The need for localized HER managers is imperative. Localized HER managers are able to understand cultural differences in the global locations. HER managers will be able to tweak m's international vision and mission to cater to each individual location. â€Å"HER does not own change but rather facilitates it. By championing change, HER can increase buy-in, solidify support for change across departments and thereby inc rease the success rate of such initiatives†(SHRUB, 2013).HER managers that are able to develop a strong vision and mission in ACH location will form a strong workforce base to meet the goals of the project managers. MM will then move to examine a thorough SOOT analysis for each of its locations. â€Å"SOOT is an acronym used to describe the particular Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that are strategic factors for a specific company' (Olsen, 2010). The SOOT analysis will inform MM professionals of the best method to separate it from its competitors.The SOOT analysis Will also enable MM professionals to recognize where they are already excelling over their competitors locally and globally. The SOOT analysis will also examine gaps in proper personnel that fully understand the economic, political, and regulatory needs at MM. MM must evaluate how its HER managers measure up to its key performance indicators. MM utilizes various key performance indicators to meas ure its achievement of its organizational goals. MM is a large conglomerate and it is difficult to narrow down the numbers to visualize how the company is doing as a whole.Its vast size poses difficulties at all levels of management. MM has narrowed down its key performance indicators to a select few that are able to measure all areas Of business across the board and globally. Return on Investment â€Å"Using quantifiable metrics improves the credibility of the HER as a profession, and allows upper management to identify specific measurable ways that HER services benefit the organization†(Benjamin, 2014). HER managers are able to quantify information about specific programs that are started and maintained by the department.If HER managers develop a new health and safety program, HER managers can quantify its effectiveness by associating the reduced costs in work related injuries. MM will need to develop an advanced training and orientation program for new hires. This ill dec rease turnover and increase return on investment. This will be done by assessing the costs saved by reduction of turnover, new recruiting, and training. This program will also increase ROI by acquiring proper personnel and reduce: Planning mistakes that can lead to larger initial investments.Acquiring and training proper workforce personnel to understand local needs and customs quickly. Identify the needs of the local economy to offer proper products in different global areas. Selling the Portfolio MM strives to not only grow new sales but also selling its portfolio of goods. Sales techniques vary greatly globally. Despite the fact a growing number of firms now derive a large percentage of their revenues from global operations, our understanding of the means through which cross-cultural sales relationships are best managed is limited†(Hansen, Tanana, Willowier, & Gulags, 2011).Localized HER managers are able to better understand the culture of the workforce. This information is able to be collected through employee surveys. The insight gained from the surveys will allow HER managers to assess how employees feel about their work-life balance. Proper examination by the HER managers in employee absenteeism, employee distraction, and employee motivation will also enable them to create a proper reward and recognition program. By gathering all this data locally and creating programs that reward the workforce appropriately will build a strong talent pool that believes in the vision and mission Of MM. Empowering ethical growth and inspiring integrity through collaboration, education, and stewardship of m's greatest assets – our people and our reputation†(MM, 2014). Environmental Footprint â€Å"m's environmental sustainability efforts thrive today inside this, large, global manufacturing giant because sustainability defines the way MM wants to do equines†(Jackson, Ones, Dilbert, 2012). HER managers are imperative in developing a strong wor kforce that strives for sustainability.
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