Care of People with Dementia on Hospital wards ( acute settings) Essay

Care of People with Dementia on Hospital wards ( acute settings) - Essay Example It is yet unclear whether, despite abundant literature on the management of dementia in acute care settings, the training and practice of staff meets the demands of the ageing population. Currently, most of the practice is based on biomedical model (McCloskey, 2004). Due to rise in the elderly population and simultaneous increase in the number of patients suffering from dementia, research and practice of dementia patients in acute care settings is a necessity in order to meet the needs of the patients and their families affected by dementia. The purpose of this essay is to identify current practices in the nursing care of patients with dementia in acute care settings, discuss best practice guidelines pertaining to care of this population, analyse factors influencing the care of dementia patients in acute care settings and evaluate various options pertaining to alternative modes of management. The economic, social and health status of the fast-growing elderly population poses a great challenge to all sectors. The WHO (2006) has projected that the elderly population of the world will cross the one billion mark by the year 2020 and by that time, over 700 million old people will be living in developing countries. It is unfortunate to say that little attention is paid to the enormous needs of the elderly population because the National Health Services are still preoccupied with tackling of the communicable diseases, maternal and child care and thus have no time, money and place for geriatric problems like dementia. According to the Advisory Panel on Alzheimers Disease (1996, p6), health professionals ignore patients with dementia because of "sense of impotence" pertaining to the treatment of their health problems and perception of increased cost of treatment. However, Cherry and Reid (200, p3) opined that nursing staff are aware of the fact that they are unable to deliver app ropriate care to the elderly patient and thus meet their needs specifically. One

Recreation and Sports Essay Example for Free

Recreation and Sports Essay While it may be true that the Mason City government ought to devote more money to riverside recreational facilities, this authors argument does not make a cogent case for increased resources based on river use. It is easy to understand why city residents would want a cleaner river, but this argument is rife with holes and assumptions, and thus, not strong enough to lead to increased funding. Citing surveys of city residents, the author reports city residents love of water sports. It is not clear, however, the scope and validity of that survey. For example, the survey could have asked residents if they prefer using the river for water sports or would like to see a hydroelectric dam built, which may have swayed residents toward river sports. The sample may not have been representative of city residents, asking only those residents who live upon the river. The survey may have been 10 pages long, with 2 questions dedicated to river sports. We just do not know. Unless the survey is fully representative, valid, and reliable, it can not be used to effectively back the authors argument. Additionally, the author implies that residents do not use the river for swimming, boating, and fishing, despite their professed interest, because the water is polluted and smelly. While a polluted, smelly river would likely cut down on river sports, a concrete connection between the residents lack of river use and the rivers current state is not effectively made. Though there have been complaints, we do not know if there have been numerous complaints from a wide range of people, or perhaps from one or two individuals who made numerous complaints. To strengthen his/her argument, the author would benefit from implementing a normed survey asking a wide range of residents why they do not currently use the river. Building upon the implication that residents do not use the river due to the quality of the rivers water and the smell, the author suggests that a river clean up will result in increased river usage. If the rivers water quality and smell result from problems which can be cleaned, this may be true. For example, if the decreased water quality and aroma is caused by pollution by factories along the river, this conceivably could be remedied. But if the quality and aroma results from the natural mineral deposits in the water or surrounding rock, this may not be true. There are some bodies of water which emit a strong smell of sulphur due to the geography of the area. This is not something likely to be afffected by a clean-up. Consequently, a river clean up may have no impact upon river usage. Regardless of whether the rivers quality is able to be improved or not, the author does not effectively show a connection between water quality and river usage. A clean, beautiful, safe river often adds to a citys property values, leads to increased tourism and revenue from those who come to take advantage of the river, and a better overall quality of life for residents. For these reasons, city government may decide to invest in improving riverside recreational facilities. However, this authors argument is not likely significantly persuade the city goverment to allocate increased funding. Reader Commentary for Essay Response — Score 6 This insightful response identifies important assumptions and thoroughly examines their implications. The proposal to spend more on riverside recreational facilities rests on three questionable assumptions, namely: †¢THAT THE SURVEY PROVIDES A RELIABLE BASIS FOR BUDGET PLANNING †¢THAT THE RIVER’S POLLUTION AND ODOR ARE THE ONLY REASONS FOR ITS LIMITED RECREATIONAL USE. †¢THAT EFFORTS TO CLEAN THE WATER AND REMOVE THE ODOR WILL BE SUCCESSFUL By showing that each assumption is highly suspect, this essay demonstrates the weakness of the entire argument. For example, paragraph 2 points out that the survey might not have used a representative sample, might have offered limited choices, and might have contained very few questions on water sports. Paragraph 3 examines the tenuous connection between complaints and limited use of the river for recreation. Complaints about water quality and odor may be coming from only a few people and, even if such complaints are numerous, other completely different factors may be much more significant in reducing river usage. Finally, paragraph 4 explains that certain geologic features may prevent effective river clean-up. Details such as these provide compelling support. In addition, careful organization ensures that each new point builds upon the previous ones. For example, note the clear transitions at the beginning of paragraphs 3 and 4, as well as the logical sequence of sentences within paragraphs (specifically paragraph 4). Although this essay does contain minor errors, it still conveys ideas fluently. Note the effective word choices (e. g. , rife with . . . assumptions and may have swayed residents). In addition, sentences are not merely varied; they also display skillful embedding of subordinate elements. For example, note the sustained parallelism in the first sentence of the concluding paragraph. Since this response offers cogent examination of the argument and conveys meaning skillfully, it earns a score of 6. Essay Response — Score 5 The author of this proposal to increase the budget for Mason City riverside recreational facilities offers aninteresting argument but to move forward on the proposal would definitely   require more information and thought. While the correlations stated are logical and probable, there may be hidden factors that prevent the City from diverting resources to this project. For example, consider the survey rankings among Mason City residents. The thought is that such high regard for water sports will translate into usage. But, survey responses can hardly be used as indicators of actual behavior. Many surveys conducted after the winter holidays reveal people who list exercise and weight loss as a top priority. Yet every profession does not equal a new gym membership. Even the wording of the survey results remain ambiguous and vague. While water sports may be among the residents favorite activities, this allows for many other favorites. What remains unknown is the priorities of the general public. Do they favor these water sports above a softball field or soccer field? Are they willing to sacrifice the municipal golf course for better riverside facilities? Indeed the survey hardly provides enough information to discern future use of improved facilities. Closely linked to the surveys is the bold assumption that a cleaner river will result in increased usage. While it is not illogical to expect some increase, at what level will people begin to use the river? The answer to this question requires a survey to find out the reasons our residents use or do not use the river. Is river water quality the primary limiting factor to usage or the lack of docks and piers? Are people more interested in water sports than the recreational activities that they are already engaged in? These questions will help the city government forecast how much river usage will increase and to assign a proportional increase to the budget. Likewise, the author is optimistic regarding the state promise to clean the river. We need to hear the source of the voices and consider any ulterior motives. Is this a campaign year and the plans a campaign promise from the state representative? What is the timeline for the clean-up effort? Will the state fully fund this project? We can imagine the misuse of funds in renovating the riverside facilities only to watch the new buildings fall into dilapidation while the state drags the river clean-up. Last, the author does not consider where these additional funds will be diverted from. The current budget situation must be assessed to determine if this increase can be afforded. In a sense, the City may not be willing to draw money away from other key projects from road improvements to schools and education. The author naively assumes that the money can simply appear without forethought on where it will come from. Examining all the various angles and factors involved with improving riverside recreational facilities, the argument does not justify increasing the budget. While the proposal does highlight a possibility, more information is required to warrant any action. Reader Commentary for Essay Response — Score 5 Each paragraph in the body of this perceptive essay identifies and examines an unstated assumption that is crucial to the argument. The major assumptions discussed are: †¢THAT A SURVEY CAN ACCURATELY PREDICT BEHAVIOR †¢THAT CLEANING THE RIVER WILL, IN ITSELF, INCREASE RECREATIONAL USAGE †¢THAT STATE PLANS TO CLEAN THE RIVER WILL ACTUALLY BE REALIZED †¢THAT MASON CITY CAN AFFORD TO SPEND MORE ON RIVERSIDE RECREATIONAL FACILITIES. Support within each paragraph is both thoughtful and thorough. For example, paragraph 2 points out vagueness in the wording of the survey: Even if water sports rank among the favorite recreational activities of Mason City residents, other sports may still be much more popular. Thus, if the first assumption proves unwarranted, the argument to fund riverside facilities — rather than soccer fields or golf courses — becomes much weaker. Paragraph 4 considers several reasons why river clean-up plans may not be successful (the plans may be nothing more than campaign promises or funding may not be adequate). Thus, the weakness of the third assumption undermines the argument that river recreation will increase and riverside improvements will be needed at all. Instead of dismissing each assumption in isolation, this response places them in a logical order and considers their connections. Note the appropriate transitions between and within paragraphs, clarifying the links among the assumptions (e. g. , Closely linked to the surveys †¦ or The answer to this question requires ). Along with strong development, this response also displays facility with language. Minor errors in punctuation are present, but word choices are apt and sentences suitably varied in pattern and length. The response uses a number of rhetorical questions, but the implied answers are always clear enough to support the points being made. Thus, the response satisfies all requirements for a score of 5, but its development is not thorough or compelling enough for a 6. Essay Response — Score 4 The problem with the arguement is the assumption that if the Mason River were cleaned up, that people would use it for water sports and recreation. This is not necessarily true, as people may rank water sports among their favorite recreational activities, but that does not mean that those same people have the financial ability, time or equipment to pursue those interests. However, even if the writer of the arguement is correct in assuming that the Mason River will be used more by the citys residents, the arguement does not say why the recreational facilities need more money. If recreational facilities already exist along the Mason River, why should the city allot more money to fund them? If the recreational facilities already in existence will be used more in the coming years, then they will be making more money for themselves, eliminating the need for the city government to devote more money to them. According to the arguement, the reason people are not using the Mason River for water sports is because of the smell and the quality of water, not because the recreational facilities are unacceptable. If the city government alloted more money to the recreational facilities, then the budget is being cut from some other important city project. Also, if the assumptions proved unwarranted, and more people did not use the river for recreation, then much money has been wasted, not only the money for the recreational facilities, but also the money that was used to clean up the river to attract more people in the first place. Reader Commentary for Essay Response — Score 4 This competent response identifies two unstated assumptions: †¢THAT CLEANING UP THE MASON RIVER WILL LEAD TO INCREASED RECREATIONAL USE †¢THAT EXISTING FACILITIES ALONG THE RIVER NEED MORE FUNDING Paragraph 1 offers reasons why the first assumption is questionable (e. g. , residents may not have the necessary time or money for water sports). Similarly, paragraphs 2 and 3 explain that riverside recreational facilities may already be adequate and may, in fact, produce additional income if usage increases. Thus, the response is adequately developed and satisfactorily organized to show how the argument depends on questionable assumptions. However, this essay does not rise to a score of 5 because it fails to consider several other unstated assumptions (e. g. , that the survey is reliable or that the efforts to clean the river will be successful). Furthermore, the final paragraph makes some extraneous, unsupported assertions of its own. Mason City may actually have a budget surplus so that cuts to other projects will not be necessary, and cleaning the river may provide other real benefits even if it is not used more for water sports. This response is generally free of errors in grammar and usage and displays sufficient control of language to support a score of 4. Essay Response — Score 3 Surveys are created to speak for the people; however, surveys do not always speak for the whole community. A survey completed by Mason City residents concluded that the residents enjoy water sports as a form of recreation. If that is so evident, why has the river not been used? The blame can not be soley be placed on the city park department. The city park department can only do as much as they observe. The real issue is not the residents use of the river, but their desire for a more pleasant smell and a more pleasant sight. If the city government cleans the river, it might take years for the smell to go away. If the budget is changed to accomodate the clean up of the Mason River, other problems will arise. The residents will then begin to complain about other issues in their city that will be ignored because of the great emphasis being placed on Mason River. If more money is taken out of the budget to clean the river an assumption can be made. This assumption is that the budget for another part of cit maintenance or building will be tapped into to. In addition, to the budget being used to clean up Mason River, it will also be allocated in increasing riverside recreational facilites. The government is trying to appease its residents, and one can warrant that the role of the government is to please the people. There are many assumptions being made; however, the government can not make the assumption that people want the river to be cleaned so that they can use it for recreational water activities. The government has to realize the long term effects that their decision will have on the monetary value of their budget. Reader Commentary for Essay Response — Score 3 Even though much of this essay is tangential, it offers some relevant examination of the argument’s assumptions. The early sentences mention a questionable assumption (that the survey results are reliable) but do not explain how the survey might have been flawed. Then the response drifts to irrelevant matters — a defense of the city park department, a prediction of budget problems and the problem of pleasing city residents. Some statements even introduce unwarranted assumptions that are not part of the original argument (e. g. ,The residents will then begin to complain about other issues and This assumption is that the budget for another part of city maintenance or building will be tapped into). Near the end, the response does correctly note that city government should not assume that residents want to use the river for recreation. Hence, the proposal to increase funding for riverside recreational facilities may not be justified. In summary, the language in this response is reasonably clear, but its examination of unstated assumptions remains limited and therefore earns a score of 3. Essay Response — Score 2. This statement looks like logical, but there are some wrong sentences in it which is not logical. First, this statement mentions raking water sports as their favorite recreational activities at the first sentence. However, it seems to have a ralation between the first sentence and the setence which mentions that increase the quality of the rivers water and the rivers smell. This is a wrong cause and result to solve the problem. Second, as a reponse to the complaints from residents, the state plan to clean up the river. As a result, the state expects that water sports will increase. When you look at two sentences, the result is not appropriate for the cause. Third, the last statement is the conclusion. However, even though residents rank water sports, the city government might devote the budget to another issue. This statement is also a wrong cause and result. In summary, the statement is not logical because there are some errors in it. The supporting setences are not strong enough to support this issue. Reader Commentary for Essay Response — Score 2 Although this essay appears to be carefully organized, it does not follow the directions for the assigned task. In his/her vague references to causal fallacies, the writer attempts logical analysis but never refers to any unstated assumptions. Furthermore, several errors in grammar and sentence structure interfere with meaning (e. g. , This statement looks like logical, but there are some wrong sentences in it which is not logical). Because this response does not follow the directions for the assigned task and contains errors in sentence structure and logical development, it earns a score of 2. Essay Response — Score 1 The statement assumes that everyone in Mason City enjoys some sort of recreational activity, which may not be necessarily true. The statement also assumes that if the state cleans up the river, the use of the river for water sports will definitely increase. Reader Commentary for Essay Response — Score 1 The brevity of this two-sentence response makes it fundamentally deficient. Sentence 1 states an assumption that is actually not present in the argument, and sentence 2 correctly states an assumption but provides no discussion of its implications. Although the response may begin to address the assigned task, it offers no development. As such, it is clearly extremely brief providing little evidence of an organized response and should earn a score of 1.

Evaluating the Growth and Competitive Strategy of Coca Cola

Evaluating the Growth and Competitive Strategy of Coca Cola INTRODUCTION: The Coca-Cola Company is the worlds largest beverage company, largest manufacturer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups in the world and in one of the largest corporations in the United States. The Company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton at Atlanta USA, in 1886. They used to make Coca-Cola syrup by melted sugar, water, and some other ingredients (especially coca leaf and the kola nut). Frank M. Robinson, Pembertons bookkeepers, was the person who suggested the name Coca-Cola. The company has 92,400 employees in 200+ countries. It refreshes the consumers nearly 1.6 billion per day. The companys portfolio includes 13 billion dollar brands. The Coca-Cola Company is a nonalcoholic beverage brands which is the worlds largest manufacturer, distributor. It is worlds most valuable brands where the company got license for more than 500 nonalcoholic beverage brands mostly sparkling beverages and a mixture of still beverages such as water, juices, teas and coffees, energy and sports drinks. Basically, the company produces beverage concentrates and syrups which are sold to authorized bottling and canning operations (which are called Bottlers) where they manufacture the concentrates and syrups to produce finished beverage products (The Coca-cola, 2009). It has worlds largest distribution networks through bottling partners, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. FINANCIAL POSITION: Revenue US$ 31.0 Billion (FY 2009) Operating income US$ 8.23 Billion (FY 2009) Net Income US$ 5.82 Billion (FY 2009) Total Assets US$ 48.7 Billion (FY2009) Total Equity US$ 24.8 Billion (FY2009) One year Growth: 3.0% Income Growth: 17.5% Employee Growth 0.4% Coca-Cola, a $62 Bn Brand (The Coca-Cola, Annual Report, 2009) COMPETITIORS: PepsiCo Nestle S.A. Dr Pepper Snapple Group Cadbury Schweppes plc Group Danone Kraft Foods Inc. THE COCA-COLA COMPANYS GROWTH: 1886-1892: The Coca-Cola Company was acquired the complete ownership of its business by Asa Candler for $2300 in 1891. In 1898 the company entered the market of Canada and Mexico. 1893-1904: An invention into a business, introduced promotion, advertisement, building plants in Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles, establishing first bottling franchises. 1905-1918: Cuba and Panama became the first two countries outside the U.S. to bottle the Coca-Cola. The company started delivering a unique bottle to ensure people are getting real Coca-Cola with free of cocaine, and introduced new shape of coke bottle. 1919-1940: The Company was sold for $25 million to Atlanta banker Ernest Woodruff and a group of investors in 1919. The Company established a manufacturing operation in France in 1923. The company became the public limited at $40 per share. It delivered 53 countries worldwide. 1940-1959: Expanding in 120 countries, promoting the word COKE, setting up new Coca-Cola plants in North America and Europe. 1960-1981: Expanding with new flavors, Fanta, Sprite, TAB, Fresca, acquiring the Minute Maid Company, promoting exciting and dynamic advertisement. In 1960, metal cans were introduced first time which are now available in the market. 1982-1989: 165 countries enjoyed Coca-Cola, introducing Diet coke, Cherry Coke. 1990-1999: 200 Countries enjoyed Coca-Cola, associated with Sports including the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup. 2000-Now: More than 200 countries enjoy Coke, delivering global marketing platform. Ingredients and Packaging The Coca-Colas Manufacturing and Distribution Process: Ingredients and Bulk Packaging Concentrate Plants Transport Production and Sales Facilities Third-Party Transport by Rail/Road SalesMarketing Equipment Consumers Customers e.g.Tesco, Asda (Coca-cola Enterprise, 2009, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report) THE COCA-COLA BUSINESS SYSTEM: The Coca-Cola Company and/or subsidiaries only produce syrup concentrate which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold a Coca-Cola franchise. The Coca-Cola bottlers, who hold territorially exclusive contracts with the company, produce finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers then sell, distribute and merchandise the resulting Coca-Cola product to retail stores, vending machines, restaurants and food service distributors. The Coca-Cola Enterprise (CCE) is the largest bottler of Coca-Cola beverage who manufactures and distributes the most popular beverage brands in the world. The CCE is one of more than 300 bottling companies CCE delivered approximately 41 billion bottles and cans in 2009. It represents approximately 16 % of total Coca-Cola product volumes. It creates revenues of $21.6 billion, with free cash flow of $872 million (Coca-Cola Enterprise, 2009). In North America, it operates 46 U.S States and all 10provinces of Canada, composed of five business units. It has 59 production facilities and 314 principal distribution facilities. It also has 59000 employees in US Canada. In Europe, it has 16 beverage production facilities and 35 principal distributors facilities with approximately 11000 employees. (www.answer.com) THE COCA-COLAS USE OF STRATEGIC CHOICES: Strategic choices are concerned with decisions about an organizations future and the way in which it has to respond to the myriad of pressures and influences as a result of its immediate and macro environment. To this end there are three basic choices to be made as shown below. Strategic choices Strategic choices Methods for pursuing strategies The choices about how strategies are to be pursued Strategy directions The choices of products and markets available to an organization Bases of competitive Strategy The choices as how to an organization positions itself in relation to competitors Bases of competitive Strategy directions Methods for pursuing Strategy strategies Whittington (2008, p. 217) Bases of competitive strategy: This area has to do with how Coca-Cola has positioned itself in relation to its competitors. The Coca-Cola Company competes in the non-alcoholic beverages segment of the commercial beverages industry. The non-alcoholic beverages segment of the commercial beverages industry is highly competitive, consisting of numerous firms. These include firms that, like Coca-Cola, compete in multiple geographic areas, as well as firms that are primarily regional or local in operation. Competitive products include numerous non-alcoholic sparkling beverages; various water products, including packaged, flavored and enhanced waters; juices and nectars; fruit drinks and dilatable (including syrups and powdered drinks); coffees and teas; energy and sports and other performance-enhancing drinks; dairy-based drinks; functional beverages; and various other non-alcoholic beverages. These competitive beverages are sold to consumers in both ready-to-drink and other than ready-to-drink form. In many of the coun tries in which Coca-Cola does business, including the United States, PepsiCo. Inc. is one of its primary competitors. Other significant competitors include, Nestlà ©, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc., Group DANONE, Kraft Foods Inc, and Unilever etc. In certain markets, its competition includes beer companies. Coca-Cola also competes against numerous regional and local firms and, in some markets, against retailers that have developed their own store or private label beverage brands. The strategy clock: competitive strategy option: High Differentiation 2 4 Hybrid Focused differentiation 5 3 Perceived Product/ Service 2 Low price 6 No frills 7 1 Strategies destined for ultimate failure 8 Low High Low Price Whittington (2008, pp. 225) The strategy clock above represents different positions in a market, where customers or potential customers have different requirement in terms of value for money. Coca-Cola has therefore taken the strategy option of hybrid, in which case it maintains its price but tries to differentiate itself from competitors. The Company has had a mix of pricing, advertising, sales promotion programs, product innovation, increased efficiency in production techniques, the introduction of new packaging, new vending and dispensing equipment, and brand and trademark development and protection. In this regard Coca-Cola has increased its annual marketing budget substantially, launched many new products, and developed a model to help its retail customers maximize their sales while it continue to plan for the future. The risk of this choice is that one could lose market share due to its low prices but then it can be tackled through economies of scale where the company produces in large quantities to cover cost and tries to penetrate different geographies as is the case of Coca-Cola. This choice has actually proved beneficial to Coca-Cola even though its market share has not grown tremendously as one would think over the last ten years but it definitely has a much higher market share than its competitors, especially Pepsi Co. This has been possible for Coca-Cola due to its recognized brand name and strong presence in so many geographies including Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America and the Pacific spanning across 200 countries. Strategy Direction: This has to do with the scope of a company in terms of its products. Over the last few years Coca-Cola has introduced a lot of products to its portfolio, including the recent Coca-Cola zero, which sold more than 600 million cases globally. Today Coca-Cola does not only deal in non-alcoholic soft drinks, but it also makes a lot of juices and juice drinks, still and carbonated products. As a matter of fact Coca-Cola has more than 3,300 products in more than 200 countries. In general one can rightly say that Coca-Cola has gone into diversification since it has not only shifted from soft drink to juices and even energy drinks but has also ventured and penetrated larger market over the years. Diversification is simply a strategy that takes the organization away from both its existing market and its existing products. We have therefore used the Ansoff matrix below to identify the strategy direction which Coca-Cola is taking Box D, which is diversification. The Ansoff matrix provides a simp lified way of generating four basic alternative directions for strategic development. Strategic directions (ansoff matrix) Products Existing New A B Market penetration Product development Consolidation C D Market development Diversification Existing Markets New Whittington, (2008, p.258) Diversification happened to be a good strategic option for Coca-Cola as it helped the Company to break new grounds in business. For instance a new product like the Coca-Cola zero did so well in terms of sales. This therefore impacted positively on the companys market share. Again shifting from soft drinks to energy and sports drinks also gave Coca-Cola an opportunity of a larger market share. However diversification can be capital intensive as not all organizations will be able to cope with the finances involved since a lot of finances will be needed to go into research and development for the new product. For instance Pepsi-cola once came up with a new product called Meca cola but it wasnt successful and the product was withdrawn later on. Surely there will be a lot of laboratory works and feasibility studies to go with a new product and this will equally require skilled people getting involved and consequently hiring more employees so if the organization does not have enough finances it may not be able to cope. Again the organization which decides to diversify will put in place an adequate amount of public awareness in terms of advertisements and trainings. This may involve using news papers, television, internet etc. All these can be very enormous for an organization so suffice it to say that diversification requires careful planning. Methods for pursuing strategies: Most of Coca-Cola products are manufactured and sold by its bottling partners. The Company typically sells concentrates and syrups to its bottling partners, who convert them into finished packaged products which they sell to distributors and other customers. Separate contracts (Bottlers Agreements) exist between the Company and each of its bottling partners regarding the manufacture and sale of Company products. Subject to specified terms and conditions and certain variations, the Bottlers Agreements generally authorize the bottlers to prepare specified Company Trademark Beverages, to package the same in authorized containers, and to distribute and sell the same in (but, subject to applicable local law, generally only in) an identified territory. The bottler is obligated to purchase its entire requirement of concentrates or syrups for the designated Company Trademark Beverages from the Company or Company-authorized suppliers. Coca-Cola agrees to refrain from selling or distributing, or from authorizing third parties to sell or distribute, the designated Company Trademark Beverages throughout the identified territory in the particular authorized containers. The Coca-Cola Company has created and achieved a strategic lock-in such that it has achieved dominance in the industry. For instance many people will think of Coke once they think of using or taking a soft drink. Strategic Implementation: International strategic management is divided by Strategies monitoring, goal setting, strategies formulation, strategic implementation. Mostly, companies is going to face challenges when they implement their strategies. There are following challenges such as; Resistance to change and inertia Insufficient attention to context Wrong choice of style for managing the change Education, participation, intervention, direction, coercion Insufficient understanding of power and political processes Lack of clarity Lack of stakeholder support Insufficient resources or capabilities Say in example coca cola Company decided to launch a new product in the market. So they consider with how do they decide what new product to sell? And who to sell them to? After that company has to do market research through the hypothesis test. They can do research two methods. Such as primary data and secondary data methods. According to coca cola company products they can do the following research such as; Desk research which is identify their gap in the market in particular product Detailed research which is using small groups like qualitative research such as survey. Quantitative research which is a large scale surveys to collect information. This method can identify which type of product and what design of product Trial test market which is a sample that mean company launch their product in the market after finishing and if consumers like the product they can increase their production and tracking success of product and in the other hand if consumers dont like the product they can stop their new product activities. People: People are a most valuable asset and greatest liability in any organization. If people dont perform well with productivity standards, provide good service business that will affect the organization business is doomed. Mostly organization select the people who can do get more jobs done, developed implement support program to the people and sell their goods and services. Employees are the best source of competitive advantage because cant copy by the customers. In case coca cola companys employees are sacrificing their competences within organization. They treated employees as good as well. They have to maintain their organizational structure to motivate their employees. As a reason that can do their work well done company needs to implementing compensation, performance management, training, reward and retention programs. Finally they may able to stave off competitors. They wanted caliber people for this century. They would use facts and the knowledge in order to add value to the organization. In any stage everyone should have the same information in order quickly put it to effective and profitable use. They believed having right people in right place can create competitive advantage. People participate all levels of product delivery from production workers to salespeople and corporate managers in Coca-Cola Company. Rebuilding the coke bubble is important issues of people within the coca cola company. Coca cola company is unable to control their people internally because poor handling of public relations. In globalization Coca-Cola Company will increase social pressure say as community friendly. Coca cola Companys future profitability depends on societal marketing with on ethics and corporate social responsibility. Cola Company has challenge with profitability and responsibility into stakeholders such as consumers, customers, employees, communities, governments and environment. Culture is effect on Cola Company with their managers and workers. If they dont have warm and genial culture they will face among staff and managers likely say staffs will not be motivated to work say in example staff may have to lose their rest days. This cause will effect with staff will be tired from their day to day working and also not have time to enjoy with their family. I think Coca Cola Company has warm culture because success of their company mainly depends on their employees. They sacrificed their skills and ability on their particular task. Company has friendly environment and they motivated themselves. Resources: Appropriate resources are time, money, talent and tools. Water is a main source of coca cola companys products. It is a limited resource. Which is availability, quality and sustainability nature resource? In addition principal raw materials are nutritive and non- nutritive sweeteners. Nutritive sweeteners are High Fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and Sucrose. Which is form of sugar? Which are available from numerous domestic sources? Those are fluctuation of market price. Coca Cola Company has no experience in difficulty in nutritive sweetener. Coca cola bottlers sales and services (CCBSS) is limited liability Company owned by coca cola bottlers. Non-nutritive sweeteners are aspartame, acesulfame, potassium, saccharin, cyclamate, sucrose. These raw materials are ready to available from numerous sources. Aspartame is a important non-nutritive sweetener. This is used alone or mixed with other sweeteners. According to coca cola company has above production factors such as people, system, raw materials, capital and brands etc. focus on the last ten years coca cola company has changed within the production factors to improve their business efficiency and competitive with other companies. Mostly start of their production people is most part of their business. Increase the cost of production is going to affect to decrease the marginal revenue and increase the marginal cost. Coca cola has Increasing completion which that they can develop their business in globally. In the economics most part is production factors which are limited resources and scarcity. With the limited resource Coca Cola Company has many choices. They consider with opportunity cost. I suggest that Coca Cola Company is using more with their production through water. Water is unlimited resources. So they cant use without control. Because geographical condition is going to affect in the environment, that is also affected to people. Finance: Coca Cola Company is doing their business with not only their money but also they have debt. Due to coca cola is a global presence and strong capital position now. They can increase their funds through low effective cost. In order to they could achieve mix of short term and long term debt and mix of fixed rate and variable rate debt. As a result is lower overall cost of borrowing. Basically funds are vital in order invest in new asset including people, machinery. The structure change would require more funds in order to move closer to the customer. It considered how the company has been raised the fund both internally (retain profits) and externally (capital markets sources: long term loans, share issues) over ten years. Lower interest rate is increase to consumer demand in economy. In this situation Coca Cola Company will increase their debt as result of low borrowing rates. It can use of debt on innovation of new products. In the point of view Coca Cola Company has spent less cost and also sell low price to the people. Due to this low price people get feel cheaper products in coca cola. Most of the non alcoholic beverage industry particularly coca cola company has high sales due to they have got major role in success and growing market in non-alcoholic beverage industry The non-alcoholic beverage industry has high sales in countries outside the U.S. According to the Standard and Poors Industry surveys, For major soft drink companies, 32 there has been economic improvement in many major international markets, such as Japan, Brazil, and Germany. These markets will continue to play a major role in the success and stable growth for a majority of the non-alcoholic beverage industry. This analysis basically examines the local, national and world economy impact which includes issues of recession and inflation rates. Since the September 11 attack the world has been facing a rapid change with increase instability further more give to the period of recession there has been a cut in the interest rate by ten times due to which the companys can increase the use of debt as result of low borrowing rates. Cola company contracts with larger number of bottling partners in the world to increase their distribution of beverages. The Company has threatened of stability due to the dependent relationship that impact with bottling partners. GROWTH ACROSS ALL CATEGORIES: 2008-2020 Percentage of NARTD Industry Incremental Growth: Vol. Value Sparkling 17% 24% Juice Juice Drink 13% 19% RTD Tea / Coffee 18% 13% ENERGY 4% 12% Packaged Water 25% 10% Sports 5% 9% (The Coca-Cola, Annual Report, 2009) Winning with Coca-Cola TM + Core and New in Developed and Emerging Markets: COCA-COLA TM CORE AND NEW MEXICO 3% 12% TURKEY 5% 24% RUSSIA 7% 13% BRAZIL 8% 18% S AFRICA 4% 6% CHINA 11% 20% Volume CAGR 2005 2008 Coca-Cola TM Growth Potential Is Just Beginning To Be Unlocked: (2008 PER CAPITA) Delivering Through Unique Global System Capabilities: Consumer Consumer Marketing Shopper Coca-Cola Growth Franchise Leadership System Customer Commercial Leadership CONSUMER MARKETING: 1.6 Bn serving per day 1 MM per minute 206 Countries CUSTOMER LEADERSHIP: 20 MM customer per week 7 MM Coolers FRANCHISE LEADERSHIP: $64 Bn supply chain 900 + mfg operations 8500 sales centers and warehouses 500,000 vehicles KEY SUCCESS FACTORS: The Coca-Cola Company is one of the largest, most successful and most widely recognized corporations in existence. Coca-Cola is a dominating force in the beverage industry and sets a very high standard of competition. Research shows that its trademark is recognized by over 94% of the worlds population. There are many factors contributing to Coca-Colas success. It is believed that their key success factors are Marketing, Innovation, and Globalization. MARKETING: Coca- Cola is seen as one of the winning business model. They were among the pioneers of advertising techniques and styles used to capture the markets. Through its intense marketing campaigns, Coke has developed an image that is reflected in what we think of when we buy Coke and what we associate with drinking Coke. This image has been subconsciously installed in our brain by the advertising campaigns that show Coca-Cola associated with good times. Marketing Strategy of Coca-Cola: Speed up carbonated soft-drink growth, led by Coca-Cola. Selectively expand the family of beverage brands to oblige gainful growth. Develop system productivity and capability together with bottling partners. Provide customers with inspiration and consistency to generate growth across all channels. Direct investments to highest potential areas across markets. Drive efficiency and cost-effectiveness everywhere. Incorporated promotional activities. (Www. Scribd.com) INNOVATION: Coca-Cola has been able to continue to exist and develop in an ever-changing market because of its ability to steadily innovate and deliver new products. Coca-Cola began to a strategy referred to as play to win innovation. The company started operating in a decentralized environment that was unfeasible in few years ago. Now Coca-Cola offers nearly 500 different products in and is still dominating the beverage industry. This is made possible by the companys ability to innovate and adapt to changing markets. Innovation brings markets faster. To satisfy the needs of older consumers, the Company made sophisticated Soda for social occasion. The Coca-Cola Company develops innovative premium brands, such as; Burn Soft Drinks- now in 85 countries. New Burn Intense Soft Drinks- Now in 7 countries. Illy Coffee- Now in 18 countries. The Company is also acquiring and expanding premium brands, such as; Making Glaceau vitamin water will be next global brand. Investing in premium platforms, such as; Innocent, Juice Smoothies, Lunch pack Smoothies, 100% NFC Orange Juice. Now they are in 11 countries in Europe. GLOBALIZATION: Todays big business takes place on a global scale, and Coca-Cola is no exception. Technology is continually changing business, and these constant changes have been making it more feasible and profitable for business to expand their operations globally in order to serve all different types of diverse markets around the world. Coca-Cola is taking advantages of the large revenue opportunities made possible by participating in global market and now offers products in 200+ countries around the world. $ 20 TRILLION GDP GROWTH BY 2020: Global Real GDP ($T) $70 $50 2020 2008 INCRIMENTAL GLOBAL GDP GROWTH RATE: COUNTRY / REGION PERCENTAGE Rest of the World 21% China, India, Latin America 39% USA 21% Japan 3% Europe 16% THE COCA-COLAS CONFIDENCE IN THE BEVERAGE INDUSTRY LONG TERM OPPORTUNITIES: 5% CAGR 145 Bn Cases 4% CAGR $1,100 Bn 55 Bn Cases Incremental Growth $500 Bn Incremental Growth 90 Bn Cases $600 Bn 2008 2020 2008 2020 Industry Value Industry Volume TRACK RECORD OF PROFITABLE GROWTH: GROWTH SINCE 1977 22X 16X 13XXX 6X 9X 4XX Operating Income Net Revenue Operating Income Operating Income Net Revenue Net Revenue Total World Rest of World UNITED STATES HEALTHY SYSTEM INVESTING TO GROW: Higher Margin Reinvesting -Long term Improving Profitability Capital Expenditures Return on Invested Capital EBIT / Revenue 14.9% 14.6% 11.2% 13.8% $4 Bn $6 Bn 2005 2008 2005 2008 2005 20088 Comparison of Five Year Cumulative Among The Coca-Cola Company, The Peer Group Index and The SP 500 Index: Total Return Stock Price Plus Reinvested Dividends: KO Peer Group SP 31/12/04 $100 $100 $100 31/12/05 $99 $111 $105 31/12/06 $122 $132 $121 31/12/07 $160 $158 $128 31/12/08 $121 $120 $81 31/12/09 $158 $146 $102 The total return assumes that dividends were reinvested quarterly and is based on a $100 investment on December 31, 2004. PERFORMANCE AT-A-GLANCE: 2007 2008 2009 Unit Case Volume (in billions) 22.7 23.7 24.4 2007 2008 2009 Net Operating Revenues (in millions) $28,857 $31,944 $30,990 2007 2008 2009 Operating Income (in millions) $7,252 $8,446 $8,231 2007 2008 2009 Operating Cash Flow (in millions) $7,150 $7,571 $8,186 2006 2007 2008 2009 Total Assets (in millions) $29,963 $43,269 $40,519 $48,671 Long -Term Debt (in millions) $1,314 $3,277 $2,781 $5,059 The Comparison with PepsiCo: PepsiCo is the main competitors and threats to the Coca-Cola. (Year Ended December 31, 2009) (In Millions except per share data, and no.) DESCRIPTIONS The Coca-Cola The PepsiCo Total Assets

The Public Diaries :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Public Diaries Your secret loves and hates. Your tearful confessions. Your emotional epiphanies. A diary can be many things, but almost never is it something that's meant to be read by the entire world. Yet, with the availability of cheap, easy access space on the World Wide Web, a growing minority of internet users is laying its lives and loves out for anyone with a web browser to see. Such a paradox might seem like an unlikely basis for a new trend in web browsing, but in the last few years, the Internet has seen a veritable explosion of these "public" diarists. An online diary is simply a website on which the owner posts semiregular narrative about his or her life and thoughts. Just like a paper diary, it can be as fancy or as plain as you like — with JavaScript substituting for quill pens and shabby ten-cent notebooks replaced by geocities.com. Online diary-keeping has experienced huge growth over the past few years, going from only fifty or so journal websites in 1995 to over nine hundred today – and those are just the ones that signal their desire to be known by joining journal webrings or advertising on search engines. Together with diaries that remain "anonymous," and those kept in a language other than English, there might be thousands altogether. What's more, a large and thriving Internet community has sprung up around this community of diarists. You can read interviews with well-known diarists and news about online diaries , join a mailing list dedicated to the discussion of online journal-keeping , register your diary , or join any number of webrings devoted to categories as broad as new diarists (Chapter Two) and as specific as smokers (Smoke Rings). Indeed, the online journal-keeping community is something of a cross-section of society in general, represented by all age groups (though mostly GenXers), both genders, and all personality types. "There is nothing typical about a †¦ diarist," says Zach Garland of Zach’sMind. "The only similarity is they all love to express themselves online†¦ If these people were to meet in real life under completely random circumstances, it is doubtful even a third of them would give the other the time of day." But why would anyone want to keep his or her private diary on the Internet? The answers are as diverse as the diarists themselves. A survey of about fifty diarists conducted by The Mining Company, a company devoted to gathering statistics and information about all aspects of the Web, reveals that fully 50 percent are online because they want to "hone their writing skills.

Police Officer Sophmore Project Essay

Introduction The name of my job is police officers. Police Officer are assigned to an area to enforce laws, regulate traffic, control crowds, prevent crime , and arrest violators. They fall under the Protective Service cluster. I have chosen this career because I always wanted to know more about it. I expect to learn how many hours they work a day and how many years of college do you need to become a police. What they Do My job will provide public safety by maintaining order by responding to emergencies call, protecting people and property and promoting a good community relations. My duty will be to monitor, note, report, and investigate suspicious person and situation. My responsibilities are to identify, persue, and arrest suspects and perpetrators of criminal act. Education and Common College Majors To become a police officer you at least need a associate degree or go train in a vocational school. Your majors in college will have to be Criminal Justice/Police Science. It focuses on the duties of police officers and public security officers on how they control crime, and on investigation activities. Wages and Outlook Its Average annual wage in California was $78,700 with most people making between $51,550 and $110,550. In 2008 this occupation employed about 72,200 people in California. Its prediction in 2018 that there will be 77,400 employed. Things they Need to Know You will have to knowledge its equipment , policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of the people. Also: Law and Government Psychology Customer and Personal Service Similar Occupation A similar occupation is a sheriff. They patrol specific areas to detect law violators and make arrest. Patrol and guard courthouses, grand jury rooms, or are assigned to an area to provide security, enforce laws, and to maintain order. In Addition I found out that there are going to have 520 openings for people who want to be a Police Officer and 1,870 of replacement so in total their will be 2,390 opening spots. I will tell them that this job is really good and that people who work in this occupation generally prize achievements. Conclusion I learn that there are 72,200 police officers working in California and by the year 2018 their will be 77,400 police officers. Yes I do think this is a good career for me because I will be getting good money and I will like what I’m doing. I will like to know their benefits just in case anything happens.

Teaching Care Plan for Nursing

Teaching Care Plan for Nursing Identify if article has a review of literature. Yes, This article definitely has a review of literature, it is a compilation from a lot of information the author studied and applied to the specific topic she was addressing. Determine the purpose of the article. The purpose of the article is to make medical professionals aware of the signs and symptoms of depression in older adults. It was to establish a less biased approach to evaluating the mood of each client rather than always assuming that it is normal and expected for an older adult to be sad or withdrawn.It was to identify and acknowledge the screening and treatment tools available to healthcare professionals to promote their use in daily clinical settings. Identify population used in study. The populations used in the study were men and female ages 65 and older Identify method used in study. Methods used in the studies were mainly collecting data and utilizing the research to answer the question. Also randomized clinical trials. Determine the findings of study. The study found that older adults have multiple benefits from being treated for their depression rather than summing it up to old age. You can read also Coronary Artery Disease Nursing Care PlanDepression in older adults was associated with cardiovascular disease due to its association with decreased physical activity. It also showed correlation with depression and unhealthy diet, which also leads to, increased prevalence of diabetes and other obesity co-morbidities. The study seemed to solidify the benefits of treating the older adults; it showed that the patients that were treated for their depression found higher rates of medication compliance, less depression specific caregiver burden. Describe the information in your article can be implemented into your nursing practice.The information in the article really seemed can be applied to all areas of our nursing practice. We can implement many of the tools mentioned in the article. Also, it gave a lot of important information on how to identify depression that can be used in all age groups. I think that the identification of the comorbidities of depression really mak es the evaluation of moods much more practical and essential in our physical assessment. I think it also helped to open up my mind to the challenges older adults face. Provide your rationale for using the information in nursing practice?The information is essential in nursing practice because having a patient that is sad or withdrawn will likely cause them to be less of advocates for themselves when it comes to their healthcare, they may not bother reporting symptoms or stop taking medication because they do not want to go to the store. It can actually cause a complete loss of the patient in the health care system. It is very critical information. How would the use of this information improve patient care (outcomes)? Utilizing this information in nursing practice would greatly improve patient care because it would really improve the nurse’s holistic approach to patient care.Nurses strive to provide very patient centered care but being so busy and having preconceived judgments of certain age groups does hinder our holistic nursing approach. Many times we are too busy and will just treat the problem or what we are there to treat and just ignore the sad or depressed look on the patients face when we should be understanding that if the patient is depressed, we may fix them up and send them home only to have them come back due to non compliance or lack of concern for themselves.

A Brief History of Falun Gong essays

A Brief History of Falun Gong essays The Chinese practice of Falun Gong has a relatively short but already important history. Its specific history is a mere ten years old, however the ideas and practices it is based on have a history that stretch throughout the entire history of the Chinese civilization. The practice of different forms of qigong, the cultivation of qi or the energy that flows throughout the human body and the universe, has been a staple in many different practices of Chinese culture including being the basis for traditional Chinese medicine. In its ten-year history, Falun Gong has garnered millions of practitioners and followers and much attention from many others including the Chinese government, although this attention has been mostly negative. Falun Gong is a form of qigong, an age-old Chinese tradition of meditation and exercise. (Beliefnet 1) Falun Gong is essentially a practice of five sets of movements, including both physical exercise and meditation, believed to heighten the physical, spiritual and moral health of its practitioners. (Beliefnet 1) The exercises of Falun Gong are an effort to rotate the falun, or the spinning body of energy thought to be located in the lower abdomen. (Beliefnet 1) The belief is that the performance of these exercises will stimulate the energy in the falun and in the body in general. It is also believed that this practice absorbs energy from the universe and will release negative elements from the body, which can remedy irregular conditions within the body such as pain, disease and the like. (Beliefnet 1) The Falun Gong practice/movement was founded by Li Hongzhi. In the 1980s, there was a resurgence of interest in qigong in China, with many different sects or forms being developed by numerous masters. (Madsen 244) Until 1992, Li Hongzhi and Falun Gong were members of the Qigong Research Association of China, which grew out of the boom in interest in qigong. (Beliefnet 1) Li Hongzhi withdrew himself and...

DECLARATION OF FITNESS TO SIT EXAMINATION Essays - Investment

DECLARATION OF FITNESS TO SIT EXAMINATION Essays - Investment PLEASE DETACH AND HAND IN THIS PAGE SEPARATELY DECLARATION OF FITNESS TO SIT EXAMINATION Students must complete the information below. Please refer to the front of your examination paper for further information. School (please tick one)Business SchoolLaw School ProgrammeBSc Business Management ExaminationPortfolio Management Date01/05/2015 NameQadeer Niazi I am not aware of any medical or other extenuating circumstances that would impair my performance in this examinationSignature Q.Niazi .. This sheet will be collected by an invigilator during the examination. Please do not leave your desk until it has been collected Table of Contents Q2.3 Q.34 3b. M&S October Long Call4 M&S October Long Put4 References5 THIS IS MONEY5 CRINAGE, S.5 FINANCIAL TIMES5 WEALTHADVISER.CO5 Q2. As the elections are getting close, in the preliminary voting period, it can be said that most of the ambiguity will cause an affect in the foreign exchange market and of course the Sterling, as the clock ticks the value is said to be the most subtle tool for quantifying investors sentiment. Speaking of the reactions of bond markets and equity, it could be said that its unresponsive. Guy Ellison, head of UK equity research at Investec Wealth & Investment, says: Clearly the outcome of the election is uncertain, and markets dont like uncertainty. The bond investors value certainty, but there are high chances for them being disappointed due to the results. There will be improbability about the configuration of the potential referendums and the government, which may tend to cause an increase in the term premium causing a result of rise in the gilt yields. The elections could also cause instability in the interest rates. If for instance the interest rate tends to rise, the prices of bond would subsequently fall causing a simultaneous effect on the GDP, which would lead to a fall in all equity prices. In addition to that, it is expected that there may be a result of fall in new investments due to the instability which could bring pauses in investment plans and cause companies to delay financial investment strategies. Investors will tend to pull back and show lack of interest causing and effect to the stock prices that simultaneously cause uncertainty in the stock market. The Equity market is determined on global developments similar to the bonds, exclusively as a few three quarter of the FTSE 1100 earnings and revenues are spawned from overseas In order to confront such scenarios or at least play safe, a few strategies need to be revised by the investment team/investment managers. The investment managers should broaden the investment in bond markets as is it can be considered as a good option, the managers are recommended to diversify the investment of customers as much as possible. The managers should invest in markets or sectors with a correlation between -1 up to about 0, which shall minimise the risk of making a loss. Q.3 Explain the difference to an investor between holding a long European Call and holding a short European Put position on a companys shares. In a long European call one get the options to purchase shares at the fixed strike on a certain date, however, in the short put option the investor is obliged to buy the share at the fixed rate in the future. The short put is relatively a better option as it gives a higher premium compared to the long call holding. 3b. M&S October Long Call Values Strike price 440equilibrium 430 share 10 If the investor buys M&S long call option, the likely chances of making a loss would be of 0.10 per share which is the premium free of purchasing the long call. M&S October Long Put Value 425.7 strike price Share 10 Equilibrium For the M&S long put share options the investor will be expecting the price of the underlying security will go considerably below the strike price before the expiry date. References THIS IS MONEY Should investors worry about the election outcome? In-text: (This is Money, 2015) Bibliography: This is Money, (2015). Should investors worry about the election outcome?. [online] Available at: thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/article-3057669/Should-investors-worry-election-outcome.html [Accessed 30 April 2015]. CRINAGE, S. Investment, uncertainty and the 2015 UK General Election [for use with your clients] In-text: (Crinage, 2015) Bibliography: Crinage, S. (2015). Investment, uncertainty and the 2015 UK General Election [for use with your clients]. [online] Commentary & analysis. Available at: http://insights.jpmorgan.co.uk/adviser/commentary-and-analysis/investment-uncertainty-and-the-2015-uk-general-election/ [Accessed 30 April 2015]. FINANCIAL TIMES UK election risk hovers on horizon for markets - FT.com In-text: (Financial Times, 2015) Bibliography: Financial Times, (2015).

Black& Decker-eastern Hemisphere and the ADP initiative, Essay

Black& Decker-eastern Hemisphere and the ADP initiative, - Essay Example He wanted to change the culture and build a company which could be flexible enough to adopt to different values and management practices applied throughout different other parts of the world also. Through ADP, Lancaster wanted to actually improve the employee development as he wanted employees in Eastern Hemisphere to be more trained and become more equipped to face the new challenges in terms of stiff competition being faced by the company. He wanted that ADP should contribute towards making employees more responsible and integrated with each other while at the same time become more participatory in nature. Apart from this, by implementing ADP, Lancaster was willing to change the culture of the organization and infuse in employees a new sense of understanding about how things are working at the international level. It was also intended to decrease the reliance of employees on management and make them more responsible for their development and training needs of the future. Probably the most important concern was that of the cultural conflict between the Asian employees and that of the other employees of the organization. Most of Asian managers actually raised their concerns regarding this system because of the lack of willingness of the employees to be actually more open for their bosses. Their lack of being critical of their bosses therefore may lead them not to provide the kind of feedback required to properly evaluate all employees through 360 degree appraisal. In order to properly implement the system, it is important to implement a hybrid system which takes into account the cultural aspects of organization also. Culture is something which changes slowly therefore it may be difficult for Lancaster to implement the required changes immediately as it may attract resistance from all levels. It is however, also important to further refine the hybrid system to truly reflect upon the cultural side of doing business in Asia. It seems that

Product Liability Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Product Liability - Research Paper Example Since the retailers utilize raw ingredients yet they know that they are poorly regulated they should be held liable for injuries caused by use of the products. Retailers should do research before importing to ensure they only get raw materials that are well regulated (Feinman, 2006). Such a policy has negative effects to U.S businesses. The businesses experience huge losses especially if a case is filed against them, and they are supposed to compensate the affected individuals. The businesses do not receive any compensation, but are required to pay compensations thus experience huge losses. Their name is also tarnished by the defective products that circulate in the market (Feinman, 2006). The U.S retailers and Manufacturers should ensure that they carry out research about the products they are about to import. They should ensure that they are well regulated to avoid making defective products. If they are not able to carry out research on the best raw materials to import, they should give warning to consumers that the ingredients are poorly regulated. With this strategy, the businesses would face the challenge of lack of consumers for they would fear using the products with poorly regulated ingredients (Feinman,

Computer Physical Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Computer Physical Security - Essay Example Biometric characteristics are exclusively individual; therefore making such characteristics a basis of user identification provides high reliability of protection. So we may define a biometric system as 'a pattern recognition system which recognizes a user by determining the authenticity of a specific physiological or behavioral characteristic possessed by the user'2. The tests made by the International Computer Security Association (ICSA) have allowed to issue certificates to rather limited number of systems of biometric identification. It is necessary to notice that six products certificated by the ICSA have been selected as a result of the careful analysis from a plenty of models. In the manual 'Biometric Industry Product Guide' issued by the ICSA, there is a description of 170 systems, allowing to make identification of users on basis of their unique physical parameters. Many independent users, including representatives of the ICSA, appreciate certified systems at their true value. The majority of biometric systems operate in the following way: the digital mark of a fingerprint, an iris or a voice is stored in the system database. A person, who is going to get access to a computer network, enters his/her own personal biometric information into the system by means of a microphone, a scanner of finger-prints or other devices. The received data are compared with the sample, which is kept in the database. Let us consider the mostly used biometric systems of computes access control.FINGERPRINT RECOGNITION Recently the dactyloscopy has attracted the attention as a biometric parameter, which quite possibly will become the most popular in the future. Already now the application of this technology has received wide circulation in Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) used by police throughout all territory of the USA and more than in other 30 countries of the world. In the USA devices of access control based on fingerprint identification are established in military institution, including the Pentagon. Among the advantages of fingerprint scanners are simplicity, usability and reliability. Though the percent of erroneous negative identification is about 3 %, a mistake of positive access is less than one to one million. All process of identification lasts no more than several seconds and does not demand any efforts from those, who use the given system of access. Nowadays such systems are made in the size of less than a pack of cards. The certain disadvantage constraining the de velopment of the given method is the bias of a part of people, which do not wish to make the information on their fingerprints available. Thus the counterargument of developers of such equipment is the assurance that the information about papillate pattern of a finger is not stored. What is stored is only short identification code constructed on the basis of prominent features of your finger-print.HAND GEOMETRY RECOGNITION The method of identification of users by hand geometry by it's the technological structure and the level of reliability is quite comparable to the method of ident

I have chosen to look at the Death Penalty in America. Each state in Research Paper

I have chosen to look at the Death Penalty in America. Each state in the US has a different view on what is and what is not a ca - Research Paper Example The execution of those who have committed capital offenses varies from country to country depending on the laws in place and in America it varies from state to state. Some states like Wisconsin, Michigan, New Jersey, Hawaii and the District of Columbia have already abolished the use of death penalty while states like California, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, and Texas among others still enact the practice (Galliher et al. 6). According to (Berkowitz, 66), capital punishment has been in use for many years, since the time of King Hammurabi, as well as during the Roman Empire. However, it has spurred a lot of controversies along political, judicial and moral lines. The proponents of the death penalty argue that it deters crime especially homicide but researchers have over the years established that even though the punishment continues to be imposed, the states that have long abolished the practice have lower rates of murder than those that continue to use it (Morrison, 201 1). This begs the question whether death penalty really deters crime. Criminologists argue that death penalty is necessary as it’s a preventive social measure however, religious leaders belief in sanctity of life thus making intentional killing immoral. On the other hand, the offenders are given a chance to defend themselves and appeal before being sentenced to death though this does not prevent innocent people from being convicted. The constitution of many states also seems to offer too much protection to the accused person which then raises the question whether this contributes to further crime. The paper will discuss the various states that support death penalty and those that do not as well as the pros and cons on the death penalty and why it should not be adopted by every state. History of Death Penalty Death penalty is not a new phenomenon as it was in existence as early a 10th century A.D in Britain where criminals were punished by hanging (Herrmann, 4). Later, they we re punished by burning and beheading among other cruel means. The first person to be executed in USA was Captain George Kendall for being a spy for Spain in 1608. Nowadays, more means of execution which are more humane have been put in place such as use of lethal injection, electric chair, and gas chamber. Under the 8th amendment on the constitution, death penalty is prohibited as it is cruel and unusual but some states still enforce it. The offenders in early times did not have many protections as they do now. A death row inmate can have his/her sentence reduced to life imprisonment if s/he can prove that the sentence was racially discriminatory (Death Penalty Information Center). The convicts are also provided with defense attorneys, investigators and experts and the jury and the judge have to be qualified. They are also entitled to make appeals which are paid for using tax payers’ money. Besides, some states protect the women and the mentally retarded as well as the juveni les against such punishment. In the past, a convict was executed without delay unlike nowadays where the process is too lengthy and those convicted are rarely executed as they die of natural causes before execution; the time between conviction and execution is 25yrs hence convicts have ample time to appeal (DPIC). In the past offenders were executed for committing crimes such as; murder, treason, and drug trafficking. Many states nowadays execute the offenders for committing first degree murder although some states are calling for

Managing Workplace Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managing Workplace Diversity - Essay Example Also there is apprehension about the fact organisations will be confronting with the problems of utilising the human potential completely from them. This calls for the need for managing the diverse workplace. It is believed that organisations not able to manage diversity are unable to utilise the full potential of their workforce. Moreover this makes their survival difficult and creates an extremely complex business condition under which the company is not able to grow at its full potential (Wentling, n.d.). Numerous researches have been going on around the world to study the trend and status of the diversity initiatives taking place in workplaces. The project presents the major findings from the researches. This includes the various barriers in working within diversity and also includes the reasons for the implementation of the diverse strategies or the effective initiatives. The main purpose of the project is to bring forth the impact of cultural diversity in organisations. In this regard, it presents secondary data on cultural diversity. Cultural diversity may give rise to mis-communications and eventually lower the effectiveness of the groups in the organisation. Examining the selective factors like cultural diversity from among a wide diversity climate is the prime concern of the project. The project presents the trends in such diversities and how the subject has evoked special interest among human resource professionals in organisations. In this regards, the present challenges and benefits that organisations enjoy are presented. Special emphasis has been provided to the management of workplace diversity and the way in which they can be implemented in organisations. Workplace diversity has been especially emphasised with regards to the hospitals in UK. Finally the project ends with the presentation of the recommendations of the management and implementation of a diverse workplace culture. Conceptual Framework of the subject Workplace Diversity Extensive re search has been conducted by experts across the world which has brought out the meaning and definition of diversity. Diversity includes everybody and this is the reason why it must be given value. Different employees bring along with them the differences to the place of work, which includes the group identity differences as well. Organisations have tried using this diversity for accomplishing both individual and organisation goals. However, there are instances where organisations have demonstrated biasness towards particular groups. There have been efforts for removing such biasness (Wentling, n.d.). Diversity in the workplace refers to the various differences arising among people in organisations. Diversity may include race, gender, age, personality, ethnic group, cognitive style, tenure, education, organisational function, background etc. Out of the above aspects of diversity the project aims to emphasise on the cultural and ethnic diversity in organisations. The cultural or ethni c heritage carried by an individual determines the extent to which he or she identifies himself or herself with the group he works with.

Jazz concert review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Jazz concert review - Essay Example A highlight of the piece was the mini-duet between the bass and drums. They also made creative use of the trombones, saxophones, and trumpets with each instrument playing over the other but still somehow playing as one. It was very exciting to see a fellow student share such creativity. When the song â€Å"you are making me crazy† was performed by focal jazz II, the audience hooked because they entered the stage in a frenzied style. Their song started with a paced which was supported by percussion base and the piano. Then, the trumpets and trombones chirped, mimicking the sounds of animals. Throughout the entire piece, the listener almost feels as if they are in an actual caravan, seeing the landscape around them and feeling the rhythm of the travel. Continuing with the theme of transformations, â€Å"Caravan† was followed by its rearrangement â€Å"unknown, I missed it.† Although it kept the percussion of â€Å"Caravan,† the rhythm was peppier than its pr edecessor. The vocal jazz I and II would tease the audience in concert by quickly changing the tempo and rhythm, and repeatedly speeding up and then slowing to a standstill only to pick up the pace again. The concert was great, but that should be expected from the Festival Jazz Ensemble. On November 16, 2011, the voice area recital at Colorado State University, featured art songs as well as opera songs presented by scholars from the studios of Dr. Blake, the professor in charge Gregory Brookes, Dr. Todd Queen in addition to Susan Hochmiller.

I have chosen to look at the Death Penalty in America. Each state in Research Paper

I have chosen to look at the Death Penalty in America. Each state in the US has a different view on what is and what is not a ca - Research Paper Example The execution of those who have committed capital offenses varies from country to country depending on the laws in place and in America it varies from state to state. Some states like Wisconsin, Michigan, New Jersey, Hawaii and the District of Columbia have already abolished the use of death penalty while states like California, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, and Texas among others still enact the practice (Galliher et al. 6). According to (Berkowitz, 66), capital punishment has been in use for many years, since the time of King Hammurabi, as well as during the Roman Empire. However, it has spurred a lot of controversies along political, judicial and moral lines. The proponents of the death penalty argue that it deters crime especially homicide but researchers have over the years established that even though the punishment continues to be imposed, the states that have long abolished the practice have lower rates of murder than those that continue to use it (Morrison, 201 1). This begs the question whether death penalty really deters crime. Criminologists argue that death penalty is necessary as it’s a preventive social measure however, religious leaders belief in sanctity of life thus making intentional killing immoral. On the other hand, the offenders are given a chance to defend themselves and appeal before being sentenced to death though this does not prevent innocent people from being convicted. The constitution of many states also seems to offer too much protection to the accused person which then raises the question whether this contributes to further crime. The paper will discuss the various states that support death penalty and those that do not as well as the pros and cons on the death penalty and why it should not be adopted by every state. History of Death Penalty Death penalty is not a new phenomenon as it was in existence as early a 10th century A.D in Britain where criminals were punished by hanging (Herrmann, 4). Later, they we re punished by burning and beheading among other cruel means. The first person to be executed in USA was Captain George Kendall for being a spy for Spain in 1608. Nowadays, more means of execution which are more humane have been put in place such as use of lethal injection, electric chair, and gas chamber. Under the 8th amendment on the constitution, death penalty is prohibited as it is cruel and unusual but some states still enforce it. The offenders in early times did not have many protections as they do now. A death row inmate can have his/her sentence reduced to life imprisonment if s/he can prove that the sentence was racially discriminatory (Death Penalty Information Center). The convicts are also provided with defense attorneys, investigators and experts and the jury and the judge have to be qualified. They are also entitled to make appeals which are paid for using tax payers’ money. Besides, some states protect the women and the mentally retarded as well as the juveni les against such punishment. In the past, a convict was executed without delay unlike nowadays where the process is too lengthy and those convicted are rarely executed as they die of natural causes before execution; the time between conviction and execution is 25yrs hence convicts have ample time to appeal (DPIC). In the past offenders were executed for committing crimes such as; murder, treason, and drug trafficking. Many states nowadays execute the offenders for committing first degree murder although some states are calling for

Jazz concert review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Jazz concert review - Essay Example A highlight of the piece was the mini-duet between the bass and drums. They also made creative use of the trombones, saxophones, and trumpets with each instrument playing over the other but still somehow playing as one. It was very exciting to see a fellow student share such creativity. When the song â€Å"you are making me crazy† was performed by focal jazz II, the audience hooked because they entered the stage in a frenzied style. Their song started with a paced which was supported by percussion base and the piano. Then, the trumpets and trombones chirped, mimicking the sounds of animals. Throughout the entire piece, the listener almost feels as if they are in an actual caravan, seeing the landscape around them and feeling the rhythm of the travel. Continuing with the theme of transformations, â€Å"Caravan† was followed by its rearrangement â€Å"unknown, I missed it.† Although it kept the percussion of â€Å"Caravan,† the rhythm was peppier than its pr edecessor. The vocal jazz I and II would tease the audience in concert by quickly changing the tempo and rhythm, and repeatedly speeding up and then slowing to a standstill only to pick up the pace again. The concert was great, but that should be expected from the Festival Jazz Ensemble. On November 16, 2011, the voice area recital at Colorado State University, featured art songs as well as opera songs presented by scholars from the studios of Dr. Blake, the professor in charge Gregory Brookes, Dr. Todd Queen in addition to Susan Hochmiller.

In The Heart of Darkness Essay Example for Free

In The Heart of Darkness Essay In The Heart of Darkness, Marlow learns firsthand the consequences, cruelty, commerce, and corruption of color consciousness in European colonialism. The mercantilism and capitalism which were gaining currency in Europe officially spread throughout the world by the colonialism. This focus on wealth acquisition drives the Europeans to loot African territories of the precious ivory, ignites the vicious cycle of violence and cruelty, dehumanizes the Natives of Africa, and takes modern racism to a whole new level under the pretext of civilizing and pacifying the African peoples. Marlow, who is the protagonist in this book along with Kurtz, bears testimony of his voyage to Africa that: â€Å"I have seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire† (Conrad 34). These explanation sums up what Marlow encounters in Africa and gives a hint as to crimes of colonialism which existed in the name of trade and conquest. The Heart of Darkness explores the darkest motivations of colonialism and highlights its pillaging agenda by commercialization of a culture, the denuding and exploitation of great wealth. In the Scramble for Africa, European countries unanimously agreed on sacking and claiming portions of it. The agreement legitimized the groups of pirates posed as traders to exchange with and enslave the native peoples in a second round of Neo-Slavery. The significance of the title, Heart of Darkness, flows in tandem with the love of money which is the root of all evil. This imperialist greed is what exposes â€Å"the criminality of inefficiency and pure selfishness when tackling the civilizing work of Africa† (Hawkins 286). The heart is wholly given over to the selfish pursuit of wealth and encumbers the masses by enslavement and deception. Kurtz is the embodiment of European colonialism â€Å"for mostly his expeditions had been for ivory† (Conrad 92). The price of ivory is invaluable. As testament to the presence of the extraction of Ivory in colonial times, we have the Ivory Coast. The natives would hunt the elephant for the ivory and then would trade it for shells, strings, rum etc with the European ‘explorers.’ Just as Kurtz’ life revolves around the hunt and gain for ivory (wealth), the central purpose of the Scramble for Africa which instigated the European colonialism is commerce, which was only exploitation of an ignorant people. Kurtz is introduced to Marlow as a man â€Å"grubbing for ivory† (Conrad 72). Marlow/Conrad uses a skilful literary technique in dehumanizing the Europeans for only animals grub for food. Ivory becomes not only the food which feeds their insatiable desires for self-aggrandizement, but also holds an enshrined position as a god, to whom their veneration ascends. As a newcomer on the expedition, Marlow heard â€Å"the word ivory rang in the air, was whispered and sighed. You would think they were praying to it. A taint of imbecile rapacity blew through it all† (Conrad 44). These men sell their souls for a natural resource in the name of commercialization and prosperity. Under the aegis of a company, plans were made to undermine the rights of the people and to acquire more territory. Marlow frequently alludes to â€Å"the Company† for whom he works. It is the East Indian Company which established trading posts and for whom Marlow, Kurtz, and several other British men render service. Conrad states that â€Å"the Company had the right to every bit of information about its territories† (Conrad175). Here is a bold statement which demonstrates the company authorizing decrees, setting up surveillance, annexing territory, and claiming rights to ownership and governance. The embryonic signs are already being made manifest that Neo-colonialism is going to rear its head to prominence. As if to emphasize the financial nature of their purpose and intercourse with the people, Conrad underlines that the team of the Company were like those of El Dorado, â€Å"hunters for gold or pursuers of fame† (Conrad 17). Conrad makes a pertinent connection with the conquistadores and Spanish explorers of the ‘New World’ who searched and hunted for gold due to the mythological tale of hidden treasures in the jungles. The motives and the techniques have not changed. The goal of the men to Africa is specifically to conduct trade although there is full-blown cartography going on along the book similar to the early Spanish explorers. Describing the manager of one of the Company’s stations, Marlow describes him as one whose â€Å"eyes glittered like mica discs† (Conrad 45). This comparison of his eyes to mica tells of his mercenary vision and objective. Mica is a silvery precious stone which gleams like diamond-like crystals which a hexagonal shape. It was considered a jewel since it was rarefied in Europe thus highly costly. The cruelty of European colonialism is plain to the sight in Heart of Darkness, and is a by-product of a darkened heart. The presence of rifles, guns, and bayonets of the Europeans versus the spears, bows, arrows, and clubs of the Native makes this novel very bloody, dehumanizing, violent, and brutal. The paragon of cruelty is of course, Kurtz who embodies the Machiavellian ethic of colonizers who do whatever is necessary to achieve their own ends. As Marlow enters Kurtz’ dwelling, Marlow is greeted by the heads which stand on stakes and adorn his home like medals (Conrad 94). What barbarous man would have dead cadavers of beheaded victims constantly surrounding him! The reeking of death in Heart of Darkness is â€Å"the scent of the lies’ taint as it emanates from the symbolic corpses and metaphoric decay that litters the course of the story† (Steward 319). Moral decay and decadence are what corrupts Kurtz and which becomes materialized in the cadavers around which he surrounds himself. Whatever the colonizers could not obtain by deception, they take by force. Cruelty comes naturally to Kurtz to the point that it overtakes him. Even Kurtz threatens to kill Marlow on one occasion in demand for some of the latter’s ivory. Often intertribal war would erupt because of hunting conflict and robberies-it was a bloody, cruel affair. Marlow depicts the hunting as â€Å"just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale† (Conrad 69). In one instance Marlow witness to the merciless beating of an African by one of the European traders as punishment (Conrad 23). Cruelty is a tactic employed to subject and to intimidate people. A startling case of this is the beating of the African which Marlow records earlier in the book. The castigation occurs in front of several of his own people who stand around doing nothing to help the beaten victim. Marlow sees the strong Africans around him and knows that they can overpower the white men, however, the mind is already enslaved and terrorized therefore the Europeans have free rein over Africa. Whipping is a punitive method which recalls the times of slavery where slaves had to be lashed as incentive to toil harder or as an example of warning to others. Sometimes cruelty is the means and sometimes it is the end. Violence breeds violence. As the Europeans continue to assume rights and invade territory, the people of Africa rise up in rebellion. A few men of their team are killed by the African artillery. Marlow attests to the ammunition where he observes â€Å"a heavy rifle, and a light revolver carbine – the thunderbolts of that pitiable Jupiter† (Conrad 98). Moreover, Africans negotiated the ivory trade provided that they could acquire the high caliber weapons of the Europeans so that in their local wars, they could have a greater advantage. The proliferation of arms serves the Europeans’ purpose to divide and rule so that cruelty against the Africans advances the ruin of the Africans when they kill one another. The consequences of colonialism are too many to be enumerated; however the primary ones are dehumanization, exploitation, poverty, and the death of a culture. The European colonizers place a negative construction on Africans which Marlow himself has done. Although he only narrates the story based on his Eurocentric perspective, it is still colored with bias, prejudice, dehumanization, and condescension toward the Africans. Viewing a people as inferior justifies their slaughtering and the plundering of their goods. Marlow says that he sees â€Å"twenty cannibals splashing around and pushing† (Conrad 61) in a river. This epithet ‘cannibal’ represents the less than flattering aspect of the African upon which the European fixates thus debasing them and their culture as subhuman. Cannibalism existed in some areas of Africa; however, for all the time that Marlow remains in Africa he is not eaten. Calling Africans cannibals was a normal act however which was in vogue among the Europeans. The Africans are never considered human in the novel. They are named â€Å"black figures† (Conrad 48), â€Å"savages† (Conrad 98), barbarian â€Å"naked human beings† (Conrad 97), â€Å"nigger† (Conrad 23), â€Å"shadows† (Conrad 100). Matched up against animals, Marlow compares their sounds to â€Å"a violent babble of uncouth sounds† (Conrad 38). No African speaks intelligibly in the novel seeing that their foreign tongue has a cacophonous, guttural, and animalistic note. As a result the power of discourse solely belongs the white man. â€Å"Edward Said suggests that colonial power and discourse is possessed entirely by the colonizer† (JanMohamed 59). The dehumanization of the African serves to yoke them with The White Man’s Burden masterfully expounded by Rudyard Kipling. â€Å"Marlow feels that colonialism can be redeemed by embracing an idea unselfishly. That idea can be compared to Rudyard Kipling’s The White Man’s Burden† (Farn 16). Broaching more in depth the theme of European colonialism, Marlow comments that â€Å"all Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz†¦the International Society for the Suppression of the Savage† (Conrad 83). Here he admits Kurtz’ collusion with Britain and other members of Europe in oppressing African peoples. The beating of the Africans like little children or animals also contributes to the debasement of this people from whose lands they were benefitting. A savage is semi-human if he is at all, and since to the colonizers he has nothing to say, nor are they interested in deciphering his tongue, they take greater liberty at enchaining him in a web of incomprehensible deceit. Dehumanization is crucial in the process of colonialism for enslavement of the mind comes first and then the enslavement of the body and person. The colonized individuals will must be broken, set at nought value and then the colonial is at liberty to dominate, exploit and commodify the human being. â€Å"The colonial legacy in Africanist ethnography can never be negated, but must be acknowledged under the sign of its erasure† (Apter 577). Commodification converts the sacred into the profane (Marx 1848). The English explorers were the colonists of their day and once they constructed the Africans as inferior, or below their culture, dehumanization becomes easy and an almost natural step. The bitterest servitude was imposed and cruel aggressions executed and perpetrated against the Africans. Brutality, demonization and savagery are justified for the indigenous peoples are not fully human; consequently the Indians are wholly in their power through gratuitous cruelty and carnage. European colonizers profited from servility and subjugation. Through force, coercion and duress the European colonizers manipulate for ivory or exact ivory, while treating the natives like excrement. The role of color in European colonialism is easy to fathom in The Heart of Darkness. The depth of the color of darkness has several connotations which Marlow picks up along the way. First of all, the association of black has both positive and negative meanings. Blackness exemplifies richness, depth, and unity; on the other hand, black also is equated with evil, corruption, colonialism, and the devil. By the book’s name, one can see that there is a colored system which Marlow has to see for himself to believe. Views about the human nature and the human heart are also studied as one sees its enormous capacity to perform beastly, monstrous acts and these are the traits which color and taint his heart. Heart of Darkness conveys the â€Å"timeless myth about the exploration of the human soul and the metaphysical power of evil† (Raskin 113).Colonialism is all about color and thrives on, the color line, the division of the races. The European whites are distinguished about the African blacks; the color on the maps is a legendary key indicating the colonized areas of Africa. Marlow realizes that Kurtz’ heart is black as hell toward the end of the novel. The ignorance and primitiveness of the Africans are contrasted with men who lived in the light of civilization. Hence, the reader gains a broad and deep insight in understanding the color codes as Marlow himself comes to grasp, as he represents the vicarious witness through whose eyes, the reader observes the process of colonization in Africa. In sum, Conrad effectively critiques colonialism and places before the reader the darkened heart: the commerce, cruelty, corruption, and color consciousness in European colonialism in Heart of Darkness. These elements plunge both the colonist and the colonizer in an abyss of ruin where both become dehumanized, financially or morally bankrupt, and violent. The period of Neo-colonialism in Africa accomplishes great havoc in the name of progress, commercialization, and prosperity.

Case Study On Federalism The Murray Darling Basin Politics Essay

Case Study On Federalism The Murray Darling Basin Politics Essay The long-term issues surrounding the Murray Darling Basin provide an excellent case study with which to review federalism in Australia. This paper will explore the history of the Murray Darling Basin management, the relationships it has fostered and examine why success has been achieved where other national issues have failed. Federalism in Australia To provide context for this case study it is useful to define and summarise federalism and how it has shaped modern Australia. Generally, federalism is the name given to a type of government that unites different political bodies or regions within a single national system whilst providing each its independence. In 1901 Australia created the Federal Parliament giving six states independence but also providing the Federal Government key national powers. Australian federalism can be broken down in a number of ways: The structure of the Senate. The chamber comprises of an equal number of senators from each State. Hence, Tasmania and New South Wales have the same number of Senators even though the populations vary enormously. The role of the senate is to approve legislation sought from the House of Representatives. The division of powers. The Australian Constitution of 1901 established the Commonwealth of Australia which vested legislative power in a Federal Parliament. The Constitution provides for a wide range of responsibilities for the Federal Government which are detailed in Section 51. Those powers not detailed in Section 51 are known as residual powers as they are the responsibility of the States. The term division of powers lies at the heart of federalism and describes the division of responsibilities and power between state and the Commonwealth. In reality there are huge crossovers between the two layers of Government. Competition between these two layers of Government is a formative element to the history of Australia and the federation. Individual State Constitutions. Every State has a defined local constitution and maintains its own Government managed by a Parliament. The Parliament may take any form afforded by the states constitution. Fiscal arrangements. From the very outset the Australian federation was characterised by fiscal imbalance which has worsened overtime (Griffiths and Saunders 2002). Vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI) describes when central governments collect more revenue than regional governments, with Australia having among the highest VFI of any federal nation in the world (Warren 2006 pxxi). The introduction of Special Purpose Payments (SPPs) in 1923 along with the Uniform Tax Case (1942) moved the Commonwealth to a strong centralist position, way beyond that described in the Constitution. VFI has generally brought about detrimental changes to the federation. Overtime VFI has led to a decrease in accountability and increased layers of administration. Further it has led to a dependency by smaller states for core funding creating irresponsibility and inefficiencies (Walsh 2005). The original framers of the Constitution would be pleased to see that federalism has allowed for: competition; regionalisation of policies; innovation; experimentation; choice and diversity (Twomey and Withers 2007). Federalism is at the heart of Australias resilience and vigour. However, in the years since the inception of the Australian Constitution in 1901, small but fundamental policy and legislative changes have altered the style of the federation. Overtime a federal system has developed that does not reflect current world realities or the changing dynamics of a modern society. It is often argued that the model has never adequately defined roles or responsibilities, that duplication and inefficiencies are inherent and that historic fiscal arrangements are damaging (Wilkins 2004). The Murray Darling Basin Management of the Murray Darling Basin (MDB) highlights how federalism can work over extended timescales and provides the first example of cooperative federalism in Australia. Discussions surrounding the MDB are far from new with the birth of federalism in Australia emerging in part due to disputes associated with the water catchment area. A 1902 Royal Commission notes: The Murray and its tributaries must be looked at as one. An administrative and technical response is needed for jurisdictional disputations, environmental challenges and economic opportunities within a maturing Federal system Corowa Water Conference and Interstate Royal Commission 1902 The large scale of the MDB is surprising in terms of geography, financial contribution to the economy and importance to water resource development. The MDB catchment area covers over one million square kilometres and accounts for 14% of the Australian landmass, an area larger than France and Spain combined: Source ABS 2008 The basin is of crucial importance not only to the region but to the entire nation as it accounts for around $4.8 billion or 39% of Australias total agricultural output. The importance of food production encompassed by the MDB is broken down at the highest level as follows: Agricultural Crop / Livestock Percentage of Total Australian Production Cereals 53% Oranges 95% Apples 54% Cattle 24% Sheep 45% Pigs 62% Source ABS 2008 Further the MDB is the major source of water for Adelaide and northern Spencer Gulf cities in addition to settlements along the rivers and in the watersheds that feed them (Hawke Research Unit 2008). Water irrigated from the MDB accounts for approximately 75% of all the water irrigated in Australia. As water has long played a crucial role in the formation of white Australia, there are many dates and events  through which inter-governmental management of the MDB evolved: Date Event 1855 NSW passed their Constitution Act 1855 which gave the state possession of River Murray waters from the Rivers headwater to the SA border. 1855 -1898 Political wrangles leading to conferences of the Colonies (1857 and 1863). Three separate Royal Commissions in VIC, NSW and SA. Corowa Conference on Trade beginnings of Federation and agreements on river management. Water management entwined with Federation. 1902 Corowa Community Conference sees local groups take over the debate. 1915 Establishment of the River Murray Waters Agreement. NSW and Vic agreed to limit their Constitutional powers to manage the waters of the River Murray as they saw fit, and to provide SA with a share of those resources.   The Commonwealth Government played a strong facilitation role in reaching this agreement. 1916 -1980 Collaboration between NSW, Vic, SA and the Commonwealth sees the construction of three major water storages and 16 weirs. The current value of these assets is around $2 billion. 1982 The first Murray-Darling Basin Agreement reached between four governments. 1986 Appointment of Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council 1988 Establishment of the Murray Darling Basin Commission 1993 Enactment of the Murray Darling Basin Act 1993 1995 Cap on water restrictions ratified by all members of Murray-Darling Basin Agreement 2003 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) noted a $500 million fund over five years to restore the health of the River Murray. 2006 Additional $500 million announced to support MDB regeneration. The Commonwealth flagged its intention to take a lead role in management of the MDB. 2007 Enactment of the Water Act 2007 and establishment of the Murray Darling Basin Authority. A further $10 billion investment promised by Commonwealth 2008 Agreement on Murray-Darling Basin Reform signed by all Basin States and the Commonwealth Government Changes to the Water Act 2007 transferred power to the Murray Darling Basin Authority 2010 Release of the Guide to the Proposed Murray-Darling Basin Plan. Concerns from farmers and communities lead to a 12 month delay of the final release. Within the last 20 years the basin has been under enormous stress as a result of over-allocation, prolonged drought, natural climate variability and climate change. A lack of water has played havoc with rivers, wetlands, forests and floodplains with blame resting with State governments for allowing too much water to be taken out of the system. The Long Road to Cooperative Federalism The success of the MDB management is surprising given the resource joins four States, a territory government, a federal government and hundreds of water catchment boards and local governments. The majority of serious issues in managing the system have always reached resolution and as a showcase for water resource management the MDB is highly regarded internationally. So how has the MDB become a showcase for cooperative federalism and avoided stagnation with other national issues? One important reason for the success in the MDB lies in the types of relationships fostered through communities, local governments, states and the Commonwealth. The prevailing characteristics of Australian federalism are of rivalry and coercion leading to undesirable behaviour by governments (Walsh 2005). However management of the MDB has produced major reform across all levels of government resulting in a greater good approach by stakeholders. There are few examples since 1901 where a unified approach to a national issue, not enforceable by a Commonwealth government, has been so resolutely enacted with such cross-border respect. The strong identity invested by individuals, bureaucrats and politicians alike meant the evolution of a sense of bioregionalism and identification with the Murray-Darling Basin could develop over time (Powell 1993). Further, from 1916-1980 Vic, NSW, SA and the Commonwealth worked together in a fair and equitable way on the construction of major water infrastructure.    Facing considerable challenges and significant disputes  the 1982 River Murray Waters Agreement became the forerunner of the Murray Darling Basin Initiative and is sighted as the very first example of cooperative federalism (Freebairn 2005). The success of the River Murray Waters Agreement was due to the clarity of roles and responsibilities across three levels of government. As Australia still wrestles with its model of federalism and searches for a new and meaningful style of government (Twoomey and Withers 2007) the MDB is an excellent example of where cross border activities and regional priorities have been unified through a common approach. Facilitating the move towards cooperative federalism have been the fiscal arrangements surrounding the MDB. The Commonwealth, without having Constitutional control but plenty of cash, has incentivised reform via payments on performance. For example the introduction of the National Competition Policy in 1995 allowed a series of tranche payments to motivate States in achieving key water reform goals. In 2004, the National Water Initiative was introduced to overcome property rights issues, resulting in an agreed public-private cost-sharing arrangement if environmental flows were to be increased (Freebairn 2005). Investment by the Commonwealth has been substantial and, as Freebairn notes, is considered the glue holding together MDB reforms. Where national reforms to housing, education and health languish due to arguments on horizontal fiscal equalisation the MDB has neatly sidestepped such issues. It is reasonable to suggest that the fiscal arrangements have been the keystone in all refo rms to the MDB and that the cooperative nature of arrangements have been underpinned by the direct and indirect cash injections by the Commonwealth. The substantial public investment made from 1990-1996 also incurred criticism. Throughout this period there was limited empirical evidence of real improvements to the MDB system. The feel good perception of the general public may well have been misplaced in relation to tangible on the ground achievements (Ancev and Vervoort 2007). However data does not sell newspapers or create political careers. The high level political messages issued at the time brushed over realities and allowed for continued poor policy setting. It is interesting to note that during this period all parties remained committed to flawed policies which later exacerbated problems within the MDB. The success of MDB management is also attributed to the centralist strategy encapsulated in the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement. The Agreement of 1988 can be understood in light of the effective management of what is an enormously complex and pressing issue. The Commonwealth in this context acted as the broker between State interests, operating outside of particular jurisdictional claims and difficulties. It was a clever, pragmatic and subtle role, one which the original writers of the Constitution would have imagined the Commonwealth playing more frequently. Combined with the financial contributions previously described, the Commonwealth have been able to lead from behind and manoeuvre local and regional issues within a national context. A Trickle Becomes a River The role of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in assisting reform is not to be underestimated. Whilst COAG has been underutilised by some Governments, its ability to decide on matters of national importance has been crucial in advancing management of the MDB. For example the COAG endorsed reforms for water allocations and cross boarder trading provided clear direction and set deadlines for action that no single state could command. In addition the Water Management Partnerships agreed by COAG in 2008 provided national agreement at a crucial time in the basins history, with long-term drought reducing flows to their lowest levels on record. It was a critical time for leadership and decision making and one in which COAG was able to fully exercise its role and responsibility. The swearing in of the Labour Government of 2007 bought with it a wave of cooperative federalism supported by a political alignment of all States and Commonwealth for the first time since 1969. Almost immediately progress was made on revolutionising MDB management with a cash injection of $10bn and the creation of Murray Darling Basin Authority. The Authority replaced the previous Murray Darling Commission and provided the Commonwealth with a closer link to water reform for the region. In the history of the cooperative federalism in Australia this was another milestone. By creating an independent statutory authority the basin states were clear on the roles and responsibilities of water management for the region. The suggestions at the time that the Commonwealth should take total control over the Murray-Darling Basin were constitutionally impossible and environmentally short-sighted. Federalism cant make it rain. If the Commonwealth had been running the Murray-Darling before the drought the basin would still be in dire straits (Wanna 2009). However although the Murray Darling Basin Authority operates as a statutory authority it reports directly to the Commonwealth through the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. The relationship is another step toward Commonwealth control without Constitutional reform. From Now to Where? We have seen that through cooperative federalism MDB management has enabled significant long-term investment on a national scale. The MDB case study emphasises how cross boarder agreements can succeed in supporting the needs of three levels of government and local communities. We have also seen how the financial arrangements for MDB reform have sidestepped major federation fiscal issues that engulf national issues within education and health. Finally the case study has highlighted the importance of COAG and how, when performing at its best COAG can provide leadership, facilitate long-term national change and supporting varying regional priorities. Whilst the Australian federation has moved forward and in part failed to develop (Twoomey and Withers 2007) the MDB has remained a central focus for basin states, local governments and communities alike. Ongoing wrangling over water allocations will continue and serious droughts may well occur again, however, clearly defined roles and responsibilities provide a solid foundation upon which the Murray Darling Basin Authority now operates. Through cooperative federalism, pragmatic leadership and simplified investment the future of the Murray Darling Basin is more assured than at any time in its history.