General Electric Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

General Electric Report - Essay Example The General Electric Company also obtained the fourteenth rank of among most profitable companies globally. The General Electric Company is an American transnational conglomerate business integrated in Schenectady. The company is located in New York but has its headquarters in Fairfield, Connecticut situated in the United States. General Electric Company operates in four main areas of production and service to their customers. The areas include Technology Infrastructure, Industrial and Consumer, Capital Finance and Energy. General Electric has endeavoured into the world market hence achieving global acknowledgment for its exclusive goods and services. Â  In the year 2009, Forbes magazine graded GE as the world's biggest company. Â  Hurbert in 2007 noted that General Electric's brand is the globe's most identified brand. Â  This kind of detection has given it an aggressive advantage over other organizations due to its capacity to be a focus for more customers. The technology infras tructure incorporates the company’s business group consisting of the General Electric Company’s constituents such as transportation, healthcare and the General Electric aviation. The formulation of this unit resulted from the staggering losses experienced by the company in the year 2008. The General Electric capital finance entails the major financial services of the company that are grouped into five elements. The financial services include the General Electric money, capital aviation services, energy financial services and the capital real estate. The General Electric Capital offers commercial lending and leasing services within the company. The sectors gaining from the capital are the aviation, entertainment, communications, healthcare, consumers and media. The General Electric Energy concerns with the creation of the energy necessary for the running of the company’s activities as well as making profits from the consumers. The energy of the company is based i n Georgia and Atlanta in the United States of America. The company’s energy is categorised into Power and Water, oil and gas and the energy management. The industrial and consumer refers to the company’s businesses and their solutions to the company and the consumers. The unit targeted efficiency in customers’ services through increasing their productivity. The critical tool used by the company in this case is the employment of superb information management and the automation of the specific solutions at every instance of their application. The basic categories of the industrial solutions of the General Electric are the appliances, intelligent platforms and lighting. Statement of Financial position ASSETS 2011 2010 Cash and equivalents $ 84,501 $ 78,943 Investment securities 47,374 43,938 Current receivables 19,531 18,621 Inventories (Note 5) 13,792 11,526 Financing receivables—net 280,378 303,012 Other GECS receivables 7,561 7,571 Property, plant and equ ipment—net (Note 7) 65,739 66,212 Investment in GECS Goodwill (Note 8) 72,625 64,388 Other intangible assets—net (Note 8) 12,068 9,971 All other assets (Note 9) 111,707 94,299 Assets of businesses held for sale (Note 2) 711 36,887 Assets of discontinued operations (Note 2) 1,255 12,425 Total assets (a) $717,242 $747,793 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY 2011 2010 Short-term borrowings (Note 10) $137,611 $137,611 Accounts payable, principally trade accounts 16,400 14,656 Accounts payable,

Comparison of Indirect Cost Multipliers for Vehicle Manufacturing Essay Example for Free

Comparison of Indirect Cost Multipliers for Vehicle Manufacturing Essay Disclaimer This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor The University of Chicago, nor any of their employees or officers, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of document authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof, Argonne National Laboratory, or The University of Chicago. COMPARISON OF INDIRECT COST MULTIPLIERS FOR VEHICLE MANUFACTURING INTRODUCTION In the process of manufacturing and selling vehicles, a manufacturer incurs certain costs. Among these costs are those incurred directly as a part of manufacturing operations and those incurred indirectly in the processes of manufacturing and selling. The indirect costs may be productionrelated, such as RD and engineering; business-related, such as corporate staff salaries and pensions; or retail-sales-related, such as dealer support and marketing. These indirect costs are recovered by allocating them to each vehicle. Under a stable, high-volume production process, the allocation of these indirect costs can be approximated as multipliers (or factors) applied to the direct cost of manufacturing. A manufacturer usually allocates indirect costs to finished vehicles according to a corporation-specific pricing strategy. Because the volumes of sales and production vary widely by model within a corporation, the internal corporate percent allocation of various accounting categories (such as profit or corporate overhead) can vary widely among individual models. Approaches also vary across corporations. For our purposes, an average value is constructed, by means of a generic representative method, for vehicle models produced at high volume. To accomplish this, staff at Argonne National Laboratory’s (ANL’s) Center for Transportation Research analyzed the conventional vehicle cost structure and developed indirect cost multipliers for passenger vehicles. This memorandum summarizes the results of an effort to compare and put on a common basis the cost multipliers used in ANL’s electric and hybrid electric vehicle cost estimation procedures with those resulting from two other methodologies. One of the two compared methodologies is derived from a 1996 presentation by Dr. Chris Borroni-Bird of Chrysler Corporation, the other is by Energy and Environmental Analysis, Inc. (EEA), as described in a 1995 report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), Congress of the United States. The cost multipliers are used for scaling the component costs to retail prices. ANL METHODOLOGY The ANL methodology described here is based on an analysis concerned with electric vehicle production and operating costs (Cuenca et al. 2000; Vyas et al. 1998). The analysis evaluated the cost structure for conventional vehicle manufacturing and retailing and assigned shares of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) to various cost contributors. Multipliers developed from the ANL methodology are applied to the manufacturing cost of an individual component in order to scale the component cost to the retail price. Several cost contributors are included in the methodology, as summarized in Table 1. Some of the vehicle components for electric and hybrid electric vehicles would be procured from outside suppliers. This assumption is applied to electric drive components, excluding the battery; the vehicle manufacturer would produce the rest. Thus, two cost multipliers, one for the components manufactured internally and the other for outsourced components, are necessary to estimate the price of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. Outside suppliers would incur some of the costs normally borne by the vehicle manufacturer. In the ANL methodology, we assume that the costs of â€Å"Warranty,† â€Å"RD/Engineering,† and â€Å"Depreciation and Amortization† are borne by the Page 1 suppliers of outsourced components. The outside suppliers would include these costs in their prices. The following two cost multipliers are computed by using â€Å"Cost of Manufacture† as the base: Cost multiplier for components manufactured internally = 100/50 = 2. 00. Cost multiplier for outsourced components = 100/(50 + 6. 5 + 5. 5 + 5) = 1. 50. Table 1 Contributors to Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price in ANL Methodology Cost Category Cost Contributor Relative to Share of Cost of Vehicle MSRP Manufacturing (%) Vehicle Manufacturing Cost of Manufacture 1. 00 50. 0 Production Overhead Warranty 0. 10 5. 0 RD/Engineering 0. 13 6. 5 Depreciation and Amortization 0. 11 5. 5 Corporate Overhead Corporate Overhead, Retirement and 0. 14 7. 0 Health Selling Distribution, Marketing, Dealer 0. 47 23. 5 Support, and Dealer Discount Sum of Costs 1. 95 97. 5 Profit Profit 0. 05 2. 5 Total Contribution to 2. 00 100. 0 MSRP METHODOLOGY DERIVED FROM BORRONI-BIRD PRESENTATION In his presentation, entitled â€Å"Automotive Fuel Cell Requirements,† at the 1996 Automotive Technology Development Customers’ Coordination Meeting, Borroni-Bird included charts on the â€Å"Typical American Automobile: Price/Cost Breakdown. † The charts provided a graphical breakdown of vehicle price, showing cost contributors and profit. We used the charts to arrive at percentage shares of vehicle price by various contributors. Table 2 shows the resulting allocation. Page 2 Table 2 Price/Cost Breakdown Based on Borroni-Bird Presentation Cost Category Cost Contributor a Vehicle Manufacturing Fixed Cost Selling Sum of Costs Profit MSRP a Material Cost Assembly Labor and Other Manufacturing a Costs Transportation/Warranty Amortization and Depreciation, Engineering RD, Pension and Health Care, Advertising, and Overhead Price Discounts Dealer Markup Automobile Profit. Relative to Cost of Vehicle Manufacturing 0. 87 0. 13 0. 09 0. 44 Share of MSRP (%) 42. 5 6. 5 4. 5 21. 5 0. 10 0. 36 1. 99 0. 06 2. 05 5. 0 17. 5 97. 5 2. 5 100. 0 These two contributors are scaled to sum to 1 in the third column, as in Table 1. In his presentation, Borroni-Bird did not evaluate the treatment of in-house or outsourced components. His methodology does not lend itself to easy computation of cost multipliers comparable with those in the ANL methodology, unless we make a few assumptions. We have assumed that â€Å"Material Cost,† taken together with â€Å"Assembly Labor and Other Manufacturing Costs,† would form the â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing† base for the in-house components. The costs of â€Å"Transportation/Warranty,† â€Å"Amortization and Depreciation,† and â€Å"Engineering RD† would be borne by the suppliers of outsourced components. However, â€Å"Amortization and Depreciation† and â€Å"Engineering RD† costs were merged with â€Å"Pension and Health Care,† â€Å"Advertising,† and â€Å"Overhead† costs by Borroni-Bird. We assumed that half of the costs under this category would be borne by the suppliers of outsourced components. Our assumptions led to the following cost multipliers: Cost multiplier for components manufactured internally = 100/(42. 5 + 6. 5) = 2. 05. Cost multiplier for outsourced components = 100/(42. 5 + 6. 5 + 4. 5 + 10. 75) = 1. 56. These cost multipliers are very similar to those computed with the ANL methodology. Comparison of ANL and Borroni-Bird Methodologies The information from Tables 1 and 2 is shown in terms of cost categories in Table 3. Both methodologies use vehicle manufacturing cost as the base and add other costs to it. The share of MSRP attributable to â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing† is 50% in the ANL methodology, compared with 49% in the Borroni-Bird Methodology. Borroni-Bird combined several cost contributors under â€Å"Fixed Cost. † These contributors include (see Table 2) â€Å"Amortization and Depreciation,† â€Å"Engineering RD,† â€Å"Pension and Health Care,† â€Å"Advertising,† and â€Å"Overhead. † Except for the inclusion of â€Å"Advertising,† â€Å"Production Overhead† and â€Å"Corporate Overhead† in the ANL methodology can be combined to form an equivalent category. ANL’s total of 24% by production Page 3 and corporate overheads is slightly lower than the total of 26% by Borroni-Bird. The ANL category of â€Å"Selling,† which includes â€Å"Distribution,† â€Å"Marketing,† â€Å"Dealer Support,† and â€Å"Dealer Discount,† is broader than that of â€Å"Price Discounts† and â€Å"Dealer Markup† specified by BorroniBird, and this category’s contribution is understandably slightly higher in the ANL methodology. The share of MSRP by â€Å"Profit† is the same in both methodologies. The absolute differences, computed as ANL value minus Borroni-Bird value, are 1% for â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing,† –2% for â€Å"Fixed Cost,† and 1% for â€Å"Selling† cost. Table 3 Comparison of Vehicle Price/Cost Allocation by ANL and Borroni-Bird Methodologies ANL Methodology Cost Contributor or Category Vehicle Manufacturing Production Overhead Corporate Overhead Selling Sum of Costs Profit MSRP EEA METHODOLOGY The methodology of Energy and Environmental Analysis is summarized in the OTA report OTAETI-638, entitled Advanced Automotive Technology: Visions of a Super-Efficient Family Car, published in September 1995. The values of some cost contributors are not listed in the report. Moreover, depreciation, amortization, and tooling expenses are assumed to be case-specific and therefore must be computed for each case. In order to make the EEA and ANL methodologies comparable, some assumptions were necessary. These assumptions are described in the summary below. The EEA cost equations can be simplified as follows: Cost of Manufacture = Division Cost ? [1 + Division Overhead] Manufacturer Cost = [Cost of Manufacture + Assembly Labor + Assembly Overhead] ? [1 + Manufacturing Overhead + Manufacturing Profit] + Engineering Expense + Tooling Expense + Facilities Expense Retail Price Equivalent = Manufacturer Cost ? [1 + Dealer Margin] Borroni-Bird Methodology Share of Cost Contributor or Category Share of MSRP (%) MSRP (%) 50. 0 Vehicle Manufacturing 49. 0 17. 0 Fixed Cost 26. 0 7. 0 23. 5 Selling 22. 5 97. 5 Sum of Costs 97. 5 2. 5 Automobile Profit 2. 5 100. 0 MSRP 100. 0 Page 4 The report lists the following values for overhead, profit, and dealer margin: Division Overhead = Supplier Overhead = 0. 20 (We assume that division and supplier overheads are equal; only the supplier overhead is given in the report. ) Manufacturing Overhead = 0. 25 Manufacturing Profit = 0. 20 Dealer Margin = 0. 25 Because the documentation in the OTA report does not provide values for â€Å"Assembly Labor,† â€Å"Assembly Overhead,† â€Å"Engineering Expense,† â€Å"Tooling Expense,† and â€Å"Facilities Expense,† cost multipliers cannot be computed directly from these data. The â€Å"Assembly Labor† and â€Å"Assembly Overhead† share of MSRP is 6. 5% in Borroni-Bird’s presentation. The engineering, tooling, and facilities expenses can be taken as the sum of â€Å"RD/Engineering† and â€Å"Depreciation and Amortization† from the ANL methodology, at 12% of the MSRP. In deriving the division cost and price relationship below, we use the term Retail Price Equivalent (RPE) from the OTA report instead of MSRP. The RPE can be computed as follows: RPE = = = {[Division Cost ? 1. 2 + 0. 065 RPE] ? 1. 45 + 0. 12 RPE} ? 1. 25 Division Cost ? 2. 175 + 0. 268 RPE Division Cost ? 2. 175/(1 – 0. 268) = Division Cost ? 2. 97 Putting ANL and EEA Methodologies on a Common Basis As it was described in the OTA report, the EEA methodology did not provide enough data to compute the cost multipliers. We assumed some cost shares to be the same between the EEA, Borroni-Bird, and ANL methodologies while developing the above relationship between Division Cost and RPE. The EEA methodology is based on the material and labor costs of a division of the vehicle manufacturer, with other costs added on. The ANL methodology evaluates an assembled vehicle, using the vehicle manufacturing cost as the base cost. The ANL methodology also assigns additional costs to the outsourced components, whereas the treatment of such components is not clear in the EEA methodology. We have attempted to develop a common basis for the ANL and EEA methodologies by assigning shares of the final vehicle price, RPE in the EEA methodology, to individual cost categories similar to those listed in Table 1. Table 4 presents such a summary for the EEA methodology. Three cost contributors, â€Å"Division Cost,† â€Å"Division Overhead,† and â€Å"Assembly Labor and Overhead,† are combined under the â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing† category. Two cost contributors, â€Å"Manufacturing Overhead† and â€Å"Engineering, Tooling, and Facilities Expenses,† combine to form the â€Å"Overhead† category. The â€Å"Dealer Margin† in the EEA methodology represents a factor applied to all manufacturer costs and profit. We assumed that this factor represents all costs of selling the vehicle. Although the profit is computed at the manufacturing level by EEA, we moved the profit to the bottom of the table to be consistent with prior tables. The cost allocation in Table 4 allows us to compute the in-house components cost multiplier as follows: Cost multiplier for in-house components = 100/(33. 7 + 6. 7 + 6. 5) = 2. 14 Page 5 To compute the cost multiplier for an outsourced component, one more assumption is necessary. In the ANL methodology, we assumed that the supplier will bear the costs of â€Å"Warranty,† â€Å"RD Engineering,† and â€Å"Depreciation and Amortization. † However, the EEA methodology does not identify the warranty cost separately. We assumed it to be half of â€Å"Manufacturing Overhead† at 5. 05%. This, with the earlier assumption related to â€Å"Engineering, Tooling, and Facilities Expenses,† led to the following computation: Cost multiplier for outsourced components = 100/(33. 7 + 6. 7 + 6. 5 + 5. 05 + 12) = 1. 56. These multipliers, adapted from our extension of theE EA information on vehicle costs, are very close to those derived from the ANL and Borroni-Bird methodologies. Table 4 Contributors to Retail Price Equivalent in EEA Methodology Cost Category Cost Contributor a Vehicle Manufacturing Overhead Selling Sum of Costs Profit Manufacturing Profit Total Contribution to RPE a Division Cost a Division Overhead Assembly Labor and a Overhead Manufacturing Overhead Engineering, Tooling, and Facilities Expenses Dealer Margin Relative to Cost of Vehicle Manufacturing 0. 72 0. 14 0. 14 0. 22 0. 26 0. 49 1. 97 0. 17 2. 14 Share of RPE (%) 33. 7 6. 7 6. 5 10. 1 12. 0 22. 9 91. 9 8. 1 100. 0 These three cost contributors are scaled to sum to 1 in the third column, as in Table 1. Comparison of ANL and EEA Methodologies The information from Tables 1 and 4 is presented in terms of cost categories in Table 5 for easy comparison. The â€Å"Vehicle Manufacturing† cost share is 46. 9% in the EEA methodology, compared with 50% in the ANL methodology. EEA’s RPE share of 22. 1% by overhead is lower than the ANL value of 24%. The cost of selling is 22. 9% in the EEA methodology, which is close to the ANL value of 23. 5%. The largest difference is in the RPE share by profit, which is 8. 1% in the EEA methodology, more than three times the ANL value of 2. 5%. According to Economic Indicators: The Motor Vehicle’s Role in the U. S. Economy (American Automobile Manufacturers Association 1998), the average net income before taxes for the three domestic manufacturers was 3. 9% during 1994-1997. Aside from vehicle sales, this value (3. 9%) includes income from spare parts sales and vehicle financing. Thus, the profit share appears very high in the EEA methodology. The absolute differences – computed as ANL value minus EEA value – are 3. 1% for component/material cost, 1. 9% for overhead, 0. 6% for selling, and –5. 6% for profit. Page 6 Table 5 Comparison of Price Allocation by ANL and EEA Methodologies ANL Methodology Cost Contributor or Category Vehicle Manufacturing Production Overhead Corporate Overhead Selling Sum of Costs Profit MSRP SUMMARY An attempt to put three methodologies for automobile cost allocation on a common basis is presented in this technical memorandum. This comparison was carried out to verify the reasonableness of the cost multipliers used in ANL’s cost models for electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. When put into a common format, by means of certain assumptions, the three approaches yielded the cost multipliers provided in Table 6. Table 6 Summary of Cost Multipliers Computed on a Common Basis Multiplier for In-House Components Outsourced Components ACKNOWLEDGMENT Funding for the analysis presented here was provided by the Planning and Assessment function of the Office of Transportation Technologies of the U. S. Department of Energy, managed by Dr. Philip Patterson. This technical memorandum is produced under U. S. Government contract No. W-31-109-Eng-38. REFERENCES American Automobile Manufacturers Association, 1998, Economic Indicators: The Motor Vehicle’s Role in the U. S. Economy, Detroit, Mich. Borroni-Bird, C. , 1996, â€Å"Automotive Fuel Cell Requirements,† Proceedings of the 1996 Automotive Technology Development Customers’ Coordination Meeting, U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Transportation Technologies, Washington, D. C. ANL 2. 00 1. 50 Borroni-Bird 2. 05 1. 56 EEA 2. 14 1. 56 EEA Methodology Share of Cost Contributor or Category MSRP (%) 50. 0 Vehicle Manufacturing 17. 0 Overhead 7. 0 23. 5 Selling 97. 5 Sum of Costs 2. 5 Profit 100. 0 RPE Share of RPE (%) 46. 9 22. 1 22. 9 91. 9 8. 1 100. 0 Page 7 Cuenca, R. M. , L. L. Gaines, and A. D. Vyas, 2000, Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Production and Operating Costs, Argonne National Laboratory Report ANL/ESD-41, Argonne, Ill. (to be published). Vyas, A. , R. Cuenca, and L. Gaines, 1998, â€Å"An Assessment of Electric Vehicle Life Cycle Costs to Consumers,† Proceedings of the 1998 Total Life Cycle Conference, SAE International Report P339, Warrendale, Penn. , pp. 161-172.

Training practices used in the Shell Corporation

Training practices used in the Shell Corporation Populations are growing and economies are developing. The global demand for energy will continue to increase. And finding responsible ways to meet that demand will be the defining challenge of the 21st century. As result, more workers needed in the Shell company which it fulfills demand in the market. So, many ways was taken by Shell to retain more workers in company, also retrain them to be productive worker in the company. In Shell, they providing the training they need to fully optimize their skills and potential. Thats why they offer a huge range of training and development activities. Trainee can choose one or more training which provided by Shell of the following: On-the-job learning you can expect to move both sideways and upwards through the business, building on your skills as you go Training for recognized professional qualifications either through external organizations or Shells own extensive training services and facilities Personal development programmed Direction and support from buddy schemes, mentoring and regular appraisals with line managers. In addition to these initiatives, Shell also has tailored training for all of their new starters, including inductions and Shell Life. Shell Life is a highly experiential and interactive course for graduates designed to develop your leadership potential.   The course helps participants reflect on their personal direction and the leadership, interpersonal effectiveness and business awareness qualities theyll need if theyre going to have a successful career with Shell. Shell Aviation offers a number of different courses addressing subjects of importance to the Aviation Industry. These include: The Aviation Competence Education (ACE major) The Aviation Competence Education (ACE) provides personnel working in the Aviation Fuelling business with a basic knowledge of all facets of Aircraft fuelling. The course incorporates a structured series of modules with clear concise training material, informative video presentations, training needs analysis and documentation, programme development, plus refresher courses and assessments. Practical exercises and assessments ensure that the knowledge is absorbed and operator skills are proven in practice. It is also offered either as a traditional taught course delivered by Shell Aviation consultants, or alternatively in a series of self-learning computer modules. Train the Trainer This three-day course provides the user with the ability to deliver for example, the ACE training in-house. The course syllabus includes communication techniques, the skills training process, recall retention and assessment skills. The Operations Training Course This focuses more deeply on the specifics of fuelling operations, and is delivered as a combination of classroom and on-site teaching at one of Shells worldwide facilities. Courses are conducted mainly in English as standard, but are also available in other languages. The Famous Fuel Tech Course Offers deeper insight in advanced Quality Control, product knowledge and covers more technical issues concerning various aviation products and their use. The Supervising for Safety Course Targets Aviation Operations Supervisors, and helps them understand their role in managing safety in the aviation workplace. Others Shell Aviation also offers competency assessment tools to customers; WINGS, a general competency program, and CAF, an HSE competency program. Both of these assist management in profiling employees, deciding which competence levels they have reached, and identifying gaps in their knowledge. Courses are also custom designed based on specific customer needs and can cover all aspects of the supply chain, from the refinery to the wing-tip. As innovative training methods are developed, improvements and revisions are made to the programmed and new materials produced. These are incorporated into the refresher programmed together with updates to include developments in operating procedures and standards as they occur. This ensures that operators are always trained to the current standards. Training systems are available in multiple languages, using multi-lingual presenters and assessors. Training may be delivered by Shell Aviation or self-delivered by Aviation fuelling companies to their own staff. Whether Shell Aviation courses are delivered at the trainees workplace, or at Shell training centers, the benefits are always quickly secured. Training may be delivered by Shell Aviation or self-delivered by Aviation fuelling companies to their own staff. Whether Shell Aviation courses are delivered at the trainees workplace, or at Shell training centre, the benefits are always quickly secured. Furthermore, Shell also continues to complement the governments efforts to develop and enhance Malaysian human capital through its scholarship programmed. As the business community can play an integral role in realizing this manpower requirement, Shell contribute to sustainable development in the country by enhancing our nations intellectual asset pool through scholarship .The students to continue to work hard and be motivated to succeed not only in their studies but in their future careers. Funding from the Shell Scholarship Fund (SSF) set up by Shell Malaysia provides scholarships and incentive awards to deserving Malaysians to pursue studies in approved institutions either locally or abroad. Shell Malaysia invests RM11 million country-wide in various educational assistance or capacity building programmed annually. Out of the amount, RM3.4 million is allocated for Sarawak. Some 235 students from Sarawak were selected to receive scholarships and bursaries from Shell this year. Shell would continue to partner the state government as well as other stakeholders in their long-standing educational, youth development and other community-oriented programmed which are designed with the underlying objective of progressing capacity building, knowledge enhancement, skill development and promoting health and safety and environmental concern. Shell also works closely with universities in Malaysia to regularly share information on the oil and gas industry and employment opportunities within Shell Malaysia as well as collaborate on research programmed. These include a study on dolphins conducted with UNIMAS and Sarawak Forestry Corporation as well as the Campus Ambassador programmed with Curtin University, Miri. The long running Shell Scholarship programmed has benefited many bright young boys and girls from Sarawak and Sabah and a number of them have become leaders in their chosen fields within and outside Shell.   Training was provided in many courses at Shell which provides students with a work-and-learn experience that compliments their classroom curriculum. This opportunity will enable them to learn how to apply theory to practice, explore career options and gain knowledge of the working world. Commercial opportunities: Commercial Upstream and Midstream Contracting and Procurement Finance Human Resources IT/Information Management Sales and Marketing Supply Chain and Distribution Trading Technical opportunities Asset Maintenance Engineering Discipline Engineering Geology/Geophysics Petrophysics Process Engineering Product Process Research Production Engineering Production Technology Reservoir Engineering Well Engineering HSSE There are many examples, in developing and transition countries and industrialized ones, of the private sector directly sponsoring road safety initiatives. Four main areas of sponsorship have been identified: (i) road safety education and knowledge transfer; (ii) publicity and awareness campaigns; (iii) enforcement; and ( iv) driver training. Whilst these four groups are the main areas of business involvement in sponsorship, it should be noted that this is not an exclusive list. There are examples of companies sponsoring road signs, or reflective markings to enhance the visibility of vulnerable road users and heavy goods vehicles in Central and Eastern Europe. The initiatives invested in to date, however, do not generally include hard engineering measures. Corporate sponsorship of the four main areas of involvement is discussed below: For example, Petroleum companies have been identified as being a major contributor to child road safety education through a number of initiatives. These include resource material that teaches children about road safety, yet also ties in with the school curriculum and through direct investment in road safety education. For instance, BP developed a teaching resource pack in the UK, Living with Traffic, which was produced to help with primary school road safety education. Indeed, BPs own road safety team has been touring schools in the UK for some 30 years teaching road safety to primary school children. Indeed, Shell, for their part, have funded road safety education for primary school children in Germany and established the Deutsche Shell Youth Centre in 1950. Initially, participation involved development of fixed site traffic schools. Shell constructed the traffic schools and provided equipment including, eventually, miniature cars. In addition, mobile traffic schools were often provided in the form of equipment that could be taken to, and used in, individual schools. Deutsche Shell Youth Centre provides the equipment, and the State Government or town/rural districts fund the set up and operation costs. It is important that publicity campaigns target according to areas of specific concern. For example, Shell Canada has provided training to their drivers addressing collisions with wildlife. This area of road safety was highlighted through monitoring accidents and identifying that a number of animal strikes were being recorded. To highlight the problem, Shell has worked with other petroleum companies and has helped develop workshops within the petroleum industry to identify ways and means to reduce animal strikes. One third of Canadian traffic accidents are attributed to animal strikes, and it is hoped that a reduction will lead to lower costs, improved profitability and reliability of equipment. As well as car and truck driver training, cycle and motorcycle rider training is currently being sponsored in various locations. Shell Malaysia has been involved with the Emergency Motorcycle Unit (EMU) of the Malaysia Red Crescent Society. Volunteers in the EMU attend crashes and are able to get through traffic jams on a motorcycle where it would be impossible for a car or ambulance. In 1997, Shell assisted in training EMU volunteers in defensive riding, through its Road Safety Academy. The Road Safety Academy itself was built in 1991 to conduct safe and defensive driving courses for the companys own staff and contractors. 3M have been involved in Romania in highlighting the presence of vulnerable road users, such as cyclists, through the provision of retro-reflective safety devices and markings. Shells Introductory Trial of Overdriveà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ System Proves Safety and Efficiency for Running Casing on Floating Rig had objective to; Conduct a safe introductory trial on a floating rig of the OverDrive system with its TorkDriveà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ 750 HD (heavy-duty) casing running and drilling tool, Prove the ability of the OverDrive system to serve as the primary method for running casing on floating rigs in the future, Achieve no-incident health, safety, and environmental performance, Avoid cross-threading of connections, Minimize the time required for the rigs drillers and tool pushers to become proficient in the use of the OverDrive system. As a result, Shells first OverDrive system run (also the first OverDrive system run for any operator on a floating rig/semisubmersible) was successful, with no reportable incidents, No connections were cross-threaded, the operators drillers and tool pushers were running up to 16 joints per hour by the third hour of operation. The value to client are no reportable safety or environmental incidents occurred, use of the OverDrive system reduced operational risks and costs by eliminating manually operated, moving equipment from the rig floor, the need for a stabber was removed, and the number of rig floor personnel was minimized, training of Shells drillers and tool pushers by Weatherford personnel minimized non productive time and expedited operations. The success of this trial provided the operator with a proven means of avoiding the dangers of manual equipment manipulation on a floating rig. This success also reassured Shell that, with proper planning and discussion, new technology can be introduced safely and effectively without compromising the well.The Shell Training Center offers training in several areas including drilling and well operations, instrumentation and product operations. Classroom at the Shell Training Center designed to simulate operations on the rig. For example, PS3054 SUBSEA PRODUCTION OPERATOR TRAINING-PHASE I, this workshop is an introduction into the operation of subsea and subsea-related topside equipment. Issues addressed include an overall system presentation, equipment overviews, and flow assurance concerns, operating guidelines discussions, surveillance requirements, control system operation, ROV capabilities and the unloading of subsea wells. Shells standardized subsea system will be addressed significantly. Training videos, computer assisted training, control system simulator training, in addition to presentations by various Shell personnel and equipment manufacturers will be a portion of the training tools utilized during the workshop. The workshop is recommended for production operators or individuals that are involved in the operation of subsea systems. SKILL PERFORMANCE BASED PAY, upon completion of this course, successful participants will obtain the necessary foundation to self assess and certify at their field location the Level II subsea operations Skill Certification Manual. An introduction of Level III topics concerning site specific operating guidelines and simulator training will also be addressed. Objective of this workshop are: Provide platform personnel with an understanding of the overall subsea system, Furnish operating personnel with a working understanding of operating guidelines and control sequences and Provide personnel with flow assurance knowledge as it relates to an operating environment. Outline of this workshop are; I. SUBSEA SYSTEM OVERVIEW II. EQUIPMENT OVERVIEW III. FLOW ASSURANCE IV. SURVEILLANCE V. CHEMICAL SYSTEM VI. EROSION, CORROSION, SAND DETECTION VII. OPERATING GUIDELINES VIII. MCS SIMULATOR TRAINING IX. FLOWLINE PIGGING X. ROV OVERVIEW XI. UNLOADING SUBSEA WELLS Awarded MSC status in 2010, Shell  Business Service Center Kuala Lumpur was incorporated in January 2000, and is one of six global shared service centres of Royal Dutch Shell plc that provide a wide range of finance, accounting, human resource, customer service, contracts procurement and information technology services to Shell operating companies globally.   The KL centre was  the first milestone towards the Groups vision to enable the delivery of common business operations and services for Shell, at world-class operational excellence. The Shell Business Service Centre Kuala Lumpur (SBSC-KL) is one of six global business service centres providing finance, accounting, human resource, customer service, contracts and procurement services, and information technology to Shell operating companies globally. These centres enable the delivery of common business operations and services for Shell, at world-class operational excellence. Five services currently operate out of SBSC Kuala Lumpur. Finance Operations Finance Operations provides finance, accounting and business services to Shell operating companies across the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions.   The finance processes include: Revenue: Master Data Maintenance, Processing Invoice and Billing Adjustments, Cash Application and Allocation, Monitoring of Debts, Account Reconciliation and Reporting, Intra-Group Transaction Processing Expenditure: Processing Invoices and Expense Claims, Payment Run Processing Record to Report   Ã‚  Ã‚   o Financial Reporting: Group and Local Reporting, Business Planning and Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚   o Financial Accounting: Bank Reconciliation, End of Day (Cash Forecasting), Fixed Assets   Ã‚  Ã‚   o Hydrocarbon Management: Stock Recording, Reconciliation Valuation, Accounts Payable, Contracts Pricing, Customs Excise, Chemical Stock Accounting Management Information: Management Internal Reporting, Variance Analysis, Decision Support, Budgeting Planning Governance, Risk Assurance (Controls Framework): Controls Migration, Controls Assurance, Governance Compliance, Design Deploy HR Services HR Services delivers a full range of HR services to Shell employees across Asia Pacific and the Middle East: First point of contact for HR support and advice Enabling effective Self Service Capabilities Managing HR Data and Information Provision of HR Infrastructure Payroll Management   Processing of HR Transactions Downstream Customer Service Centre The Downstream Business to Business (B2B) Customer Service Centre (CSC) is a single touch point contact centre covering customer service order to cash activities for B2B, Retail and Lubricants business across Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong. Contracting Procurement Contracts and Procurement (CP) helps ensure standardization in the efficient management of monetary resources. CP supports Shell operations and capital projects by guaranteeing timely delivery of goods and services, to the right specification. Information Technology Kuala Lumpur is the global hub for some of Shells Information Technology (IT) activities. Its service portfolio includes IT infrastructure services such as Desktop, Applications Hosting, Helpdesk and Telecommunications. Collectively, these services involve the support of more than 1,500 servers and 115,000 desktops across the group worldwide. It also provides business applications support and applications development, both predominantly SAP-based. IT operates on a truly global basis, and provides an opportunity to showcase Malaysian IT talents to the world. Shell Malaysia today awarded seven scholarships to the value of RM251, 000 to enable outstanding Sarawak-born students with disability to realize their full potential and pursue pre-university or first-degree studies at approved institutions locally. Datuk Tuan Haji Fadillah Yusuf, Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, presented the scholarships to the recipients, in the special award ceremony held at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur this morning.This special category of education assistance was introduced this year to mark Shells 100th year of operations in Miri. Similar scholarships will be offered to students originating from Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia from 2011. In making the announcement, Anuar Taib, Shell Malaysia Chairman, said that the Company was proud to contribute to sustainable development in Malaysia through the enhancement of its intellectual asset pool. Education is often seen as the great leveller. With the introduction of these special scholarships, we wan t to offer a more inclusive education assistance programmed, where the mental capability of our applicants becomes the only criteria for selection.   With the inclusion of this category of scholarships, we hope that no talent with physical disabilities misses out on the opportunity of a good education on account of financial inabilities, Anuar says. Shell recognizes the importance of high quality education in fuelling the countrys growth and prosperity, and applauds the Governments focus on improving educational outcomes to build a competitive workforce and high income, Anuar adds. Shell Malaysia has been awarding scholarships and bursaries for over 40 years as part of a long-standing commitment in support of the governments effort to develop human capital.  In 2010, Shell presented scholarships and awards to the value of RM14.5million to students in Malaysia to pursue further studies at local and foreign universities. The partnership programmed that held on March 2009, was organized by Shell Malaysia Gas Power and the School of Engineering and Information Technology of UMS, in collaboration with Department of Environment (DOE) and Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). Over the last three years, over 250 students from UMS as well as UNIMAS have successfully completed this capacity building programmed, which highlights Shells best practices in HSE and showcases how they are applied in the workplace using real-world examples.  The programmed is designed to benefit student engineers as they enter the workforce, to help them appreciate the importance of good HSE practices, and recognize their roles and responsibilities in ensuring their implementation. In 2008, in order to help develop the undergraduates capabilities in Deepwater, Shell has been and will continue to sponsor a Deepwater Platform Model competition in collaboration with the Faculty of Civil Engineering.   Shell and UTM are also currently looking into the possibility of setting up of a Deepwater laboratory.   Deepwater is a challenging environment and Shell has developed the ability and the necessary technologies to conquer its complexity and provide access to the oil and gas that lies deeper, in dispersed reservoirs. Shell has set up a Deepwater Engineering Office in Kuala Lumpur to manage the Companys deepwater projects in the region and is able to easily draw on its experts to assist in the capacity building of the UTM. Training Development initiatives at Shell can drive your career progression based on: Professional Development Onboarding Early Career Development Learning Programmes Finance in Projects Formal Learning Informal Learning Online Learning The firmly believe Finance can support Shell in building on its position and reputation as a leading global energy company. But realizing their potential as a firm means continuing to attract, develop and retain great people in Finance. At Shell, there are committed to your ongoing professional development. Their in-house team, Shell Finance Learning, provides a comprehensive Onboarding programme, a broad range of formal and informal learning, networking events and workshops globally. They are also offer e-learning and a number of initiatives with a clear Diversity Inclusiveness focus. In addition, Shell runs a Leadership Development Framework. These development courses are designed to help people with high potential to develop the specialist skills and experience theyll need to establish themselves as senior members of the organization. This whole learning programmers is supported by a tailored Finance Competence Framework that helps applicant identify the requirements of his job, match them with his own competences and locate gaps for Training Development. Onboarding means the firm want to ensure that you feel at home with us straight away So whenever you join firm in Finance, youll undertake a comprehensive half day Onboarding programme entitled Welcome to Shell. Early Career Development means if you join firm at the early stages of your finance career, youll be able to take advantage of firm Develop Early Career Development programme. Key features of this programme include assignment rotations, development discussions and mentoring or coaching. In other hand, Shell also developing talented young Malaysians. For Shobana Gnanam, 18, who grew up in a modest home in Selangor, studying abroad always seems like a distant dream. Undeterred, she worked hard and scored straight As in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia public examination. Her efforts have been rewarded she is now pursuing A levels on a Shell scholarship, in preparation for further studies in Britain in 2010. The Shell Malaysia Scholarship Awards are presented annually to students in Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia. We invested over RM11 million (US$3.1 million) in these awards in 2008, benefiting some 530 students. Apart from the scholarship awards, Shell supports such capacity building programmes like the joint development of a Deepwater laboratory in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, an industrial welding course aimed at addressing a national shortage in this area, a personal computer assembly and maintenance course, and Practical Environmental, Safety and Industria l Guidance for Engineers (PRESTIGE) for engineering undergraduates. With the full support of Shell, employees and contractors have been helping in many ways: like build homes for the less fortunate, run blood donation drives, take special needs children to self-development camps, trek to marginalised communities in the interior to offer clothing, medicines or household essentials and join communities in keeping beaches clean. Upstream employees took the spirit of the programme further by establishing the Shell Employees Voluntary Fund (SEVF), to respond to crises and emergencies. Staffs who sign up have deductions made from their monthly salaries and the funds collected are distributed to community projects selected by a committee. In 2008, SEVF provided financial relief of RM59, 000 (US$16,000) to fire victims, cancer patients, and other groups in need, with the company matching many of these donations. In 2008, Shell was named Malaysias most popular graduate employer of the year in the inaugural Malaysias 100 Leading Graduate Employers and doctor jobs Students Choice Awards held by GTI Specialist Publishers.Shell was also the most popular graduate employer in the Engineering sector. The award is the result of surveys conducted by the GTI Group in the UK, Ireland and Australia, involving some 15,000 final year university students. Says Vimi Venugopal, Shell Recruitment Marketing Manager for Asia Pacific: Winning the most popular graduate employer award is affirmation that Shell Malaysia is on the right track towards attracting the cream of the crop when it comes to engaging graduates. Noting that the Shell Campus Ambassador (CA) programme had contributed to this success, she added: By liaising with students, careers advisers and academics, CA volunteers help to bring the Shell experience to life and play a vital role in enhancing Shell reputation among one of our key audiences. In the 2008, with the theme Small changes, big difference. With its emphasis on personal action, staff and contractors were encouraged to take steps and make pledges to change at least one aspect in their work that will help improve health and safety. Shell Malaysia Chairman Dato Saw Choo Boon took the lead when he pledged to intervene on any non-complying behaviours he comes across, while also inviting staff to stop him should they spot him committing a non-compliant act. To help monitor safety performance, a standard safety measure had been used- Total Recordable Case Frequency (TRCF). This reflects the number of injuries of contractors and staff requiring medical treatment or time off work, for every million hours worked. The injury rate has come down over time, improving approximately 23% since 20042. This reflects our efforts to build a safety culture where all employees and contractors must aim for Goal Zero operating with zero fatalities and significant incidents. Lost Time Injury frequency (LTIF) is an indicator of the number of injuries with time off work for every million hours worked by employees and contractors. Employees performance has been improving since 2005, successfully halving the number of cases per million work hours in 2006. Shell Company is a firm believer of enabling employee training that enhances performance. Their managements task is to ensure that their workforce is equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are necessary for optimal performance. Employee training forms an integral part of the corporate and human resources strategy and is available to all employees.

Truth Or Fiction: The J.f.k. Assassination Essay -- essays research pa

Truth or Fiction: The J.F.K. Assassination In a world with so many problems--- crime, drugs, murder, poverty--- Americans should be able to trust in the government for help. However, it is not safe to do so. Thus is the outcome of the Kennedy assassination. While the government was so busy trying to convince the public that Lee Harvey Oswald brutally murdered John F. Kennedy, they missed one important thing. The truth. The facts. Insufficient medical and hospital procedures, suspicious incidents during the Dallas motorcade, the impossible Magic Bullet theory, and countless other happenings--- these are not just things the American public dreamed up in their heads. They had to begin finding the real truth on their own, for the government had betrayed the American people. Some of the most significant facts that hint the assassination was a conspiracy by the government come from the hospitals where Kennedy was examined immediately after the assassination. Dr. Charles Crenshaw, MD, who was in the emergency room at Parkland Hospital before and during the Presidents death, claims that the wound in Kennedys neck was much to small to be an exit wound, and was clearly an entry wound. However, pictures taken at Bethsada Hospital reveal a much larger neck wound than had been seen at Parkland. Apparently someone had mangled the wound to make it appear as an exit wound. But who, and why? Was it to support the Lone Gunman theory? If it was, it failed to do so. Another startling piece o...

Impact of Organizational Culture in Decision Making Essay

In any organization, decision making has traditionally been put in the hands of the management or superiors. An organization’s hierarchy emerges when an organization experiences problems in coordinating and motivating employees. As an organization grows, employees increase in number and begin to specialize, performing widely different kinds of tasks; the level of differentiation increases; and coordinating employees’ activities becomes more difficult (Jones, 2004). As globalization and information technology has changed every sector of the world, business organizations have attuned to demand their leaders to make decisions quickly, without needless ado, and move on to other pressing matters. This creates the temptation to make the decision unilaterally, for the sake of speed and efficiency, and be done with it. On the other hand, it is becoming increasingly clear that healthy organizations characteristically find strength in opening up participation in decision making and empowering relevant people at all levels of the organization to contribute to the quality of the decisions made. There are two reasons for making decision making in organizations more dynamic. First, empowering people to participate in important decisions is highly motivating to them and second, broad participation infuses the decision making process with the full spectrum of knowledge and good ideas that people throughout the organization have to contribute. On the other hand, the concept of organizational culture is at the core of understanding organizational behavior such as decision making. Organizational culture involves the norms that develop in a work group, the dominant values advocated by the organization, the philosophy that guides the organization’s policies concerning employees and client groups, and the feeling that is evident in the ways in which people interact with one another. Thus, it clearly deals with basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of the organization. Taken together, these define the organization itself in crucial ways: why it exists, how it has survived, what it is about. As an organization’s culture influences decisions made by its members it also influences its members’ acceptance or rejection of decisions made by its leaders. So when an organization changes its strategy, the primary interest involves assessment of the compatibility of a decision option with the organization’s culture–where an option is defined as a possible course of action in the case of a member who is making a decision, or a proposed course of action in the case of a decision that has been made by leaders (Beach, 1996, p. 118). For example, CEOs in different industries vary considerably from one another in terms of their background characteristics and experience, an observation that has intrigued the business and academic press. For example, a widely scrutinized and publicized CEO selection decision was Apple Computer’s decision in 1985 to replace founder Steven Jobs with John Sculley, an industry outsider with virtually no experience in the technology-driven personal computer industry. The arguments in this controversial decision centered around the relative suitability of these individuals given the changing nature of the personal computer industry. As a result of changing industry conditions in which marketing and advertising were viewed as increasingly important strategic levers, Sculley’s marketing background and experience at Pepsi’s beverage operations were expected to make him a better â€Å"fit† as CEO than the technologically oriented Steve Jobs (Datta, Guthrie & Rajagopalan, 2002). In this regard, the impact of organization culture in decision making is seen to be very vital. Organizational culture is a powerful environment that reflects past experiences, summarizes them, and distills them into simplifications that help to explain the enormously complex world of the organization. Efforts to reduce this complexity through simplification processes such as imposing decision-making models on it are not likely to be very workable. In this view, therefore, the culture of the organization represents significant thinking prior to action and is implicit in the decision making behavior of the organization’s leaders. So when two organizations merge, there will be an impact in it uniting the culture as to who will make the decision and the issue of empowerment and participation. Empowerment and participation would be viewed by some leaders as losing power by giving it away to others. However, modern empowering leaders understand that one gains power by sharing it with others because in collaborative effort the power available to the group multiplies. To make this effective, this effort should be accompanied by the support of ongoing technical training and consultation to help all participants to master the group process skills that are essential to making empowerment succeed. They must also be accompanied by the development of concrete and publicly known processes through which one participates in the collaborative process.

Free Essays on Short Essay - Favorite Music

As I sit in my room, I feel as though I could sit and watch the green apple records label spin forever. I’m utterly transfixed by a twelve inch piece of black vinyl spinning at 33 and one third revolutions per minute. The rhythm section hijacks time and space. Duos like McCartney and Starr, Wright and Morello, Jones and Bonham make clocks obsolete. Time is measured by their signature, their every whim. Sitting here, my ears being assaulted, I can’t help but think that whatever I put in this paper is unfair. Unfair not only to me, but to the many artists that I enjoy. Deciding upon only a few favorite artists is a no win situation, it’s tantamount to naming your favorite child. The included artists can’t in good conscience be labeled as my top favorites, they are merely random examples of my eclectic musical tastes. The Beatles. If music were a monetary system, The Beatles would be the gold standard. It’s a distinctive feeling, the weight of gold. Nothing else can compare to it. Everywhere in the world, gold is known and revered. And so it is with the Beatles. The Beatles changed Rock and Roll. They became the gold standard in Rock. Ushering in a whole new era, in which groups wrote and performed their own original music. One of the most amazing things about the Beatles is solidity of their body of work. They’re one of few bands that were simultaneously the most popular, while being the best at what they did. The Beatles are great anytime music, because of the range of emotions in their music. From upbeat straight-up rock, to melancholy ballads, they had it all. The Beatles are one of those select groups that can literally change your life. Their music can shake you to your foundations before building you back up, even stronger than before. The Dave Brubeck Quartet. Jazz has been a recent addition to my musical vocabulary. For years, my buddies and I were content with rock/pop. I was stuck in a mus... Free Essays on Short Essay - Favorite Music Free Essays on Short Essay - Favorite Music As I sit in my room, I feel as though I could sit and watch the green apple records label spin forever. I’m utterly transfixed by a twelve inch piece of black vinyl spinning at 33 and one third revolutions per minute. The rhythm section hijacks time and space. Duos like McCartney and Starr, Wright and Morello, Jones and Bonham make clocks obsolete. Time is measured by their signature, their every whim. Sitting here, my ears being assaulted, I can’t help but think that whatever I put in this paper is unfair. Unfair not only to me, but to the many artists that I enjoy. Deciding upon only a few favorite artists is a no win situation, it’s tantamount to naming your favorite child. The included artists can’t in good conscience be labeled as my top favorites, they are merely random examples of my eclectic musical tastes. The Beatles. If music were a monetary system, The Beatles would be the gold standard. It’s a distinctive feeling, the weight of gold. Nothing else can compare to it. Everywhere in the world, gold is known and revered. And so it is with the Beatles. The Beatles changed Rock and Roll. They became the gold standard in Rock. Ushering in a whole new era, in which groups wrote and performed their own original music. One of the most amazing things about the Beatles is solidity of their body of work. They’re one of few bands that were simultaneously the most popular, while being the best at what they did. The Beatles are great anytime music, because of the range of emotions in their music. From upbeat straight-up rock, to melancholy ballads, they had it all. The Beatles are one of those select groups that can literally change your life. Their music can shake you to your foundations before building you back up, even stronger than before. The Dave Brubeck Quartet. Jazz has been a recent addition to my musical vocabulary. For years, my buddies and I were content with rock/pop. I was stuck in a mus...

Nokias Marketing Plan

Nokias Marketing Plan Market environment analysis The global market for telecommunication equipment is mature as well as that of the United Kingdom. This has resulted from an increment in the number of companies which have ventured into the industry. One factor that have contributed to the rapid growth in the UK telecommunication equipment industry relate to the emergence of smartphone technology.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Nokia’s Marketing Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, it is projected that the growth of the industry will increase to reach a peak of 9365.3 million pounds by 2012 (MBD, 2008, par.3). The following is a comprehensive analysis of UK telecommunication equipment market environment through three key analysis tools: PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces and SWOT analysis. PESTEL Analysis Political Nokia Company has been in operation within UK market since 1984. As a result, the firm derives subst antial revenue from this market. The company’s success in UK market depends on the prevailing political environment. UK has been politically stable for a considerable time due to the incorporation of a good governance system. Such a politically stable environment has enabled Nokia to increase its sales revenue in UK market. For example in 2009, the company’s sales revenue from UK market averaged 7,500 million Euros (Arthur, 2010, p.1). In addition, Nokia is affected by the policies imposed by the UK authorities on telecommunication equipment industry. In 2000, the government started to accept bids from firms that operate a license to merchandise next-generation mobile phones (Bichta, 2001, pp.48-50). The huge sums required for the licensing has been a major barrier for other companies wanting to operate in the UK market. Economic environment The UK has a very strong economy that has continued to grow over the years. The UK government is also committed at implementing v arious economic drivers with an aim of stimulating the British economy. Some of these measures involve reformulation of monetary policies, taxation policies, as well as interest rate policies. Such measures can positively affect firms in various economic sectors. UK economic growth has led to the increment in consumers’ purchasing power contributing to the revenue increase for Nokia (Cuthbertson Nitzche, 2005, p.7). Although the company sales have been declining, much of the revenue is derived as a result of the economic stability in the region. Socio-cultural According to Daniel, Baron, a renowned strategic management specialist, businesses in different economic sectors are affected by changes in the social environment. The effect may either be positive or negative (Baron, 2005, p.207). United Kingdom is one of the most populous countries in the world. According to Butler (2010), the number of mobile connections was twice that of landline connections. At present, more than 50 million mobile phones are registered in UK making the product the most successful ever.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Currently, consumer preference for using mobile devices has never been so high due to convenience and reliability (Ofcom, 2011, p.250). These devices have found application in many context thus making them part of daily activities. However, mobile phones have triggered a rise in criminal activities compelling the firms associated to implement methods that prevent the use of stolen phones. Technological In the telecommunication equipment market, technology is perhaps the most significant factor that firms like Nokia must take into consideration. The company must keep up with all new technological advances such as camera or motion capture phones. This is the only way the company can capture the biggest share of the market and position better in the competition. The development of 3G systems is a big success for Nokia as it enhances the delivery of a wide range of services for the mobile devices. Environmental All UK based manufacturers are required to show commitment to environmental sustainability. Nokia is expected to dispose waste in ways that does not pollute the environment and ensure high standard of safety and hygiene. However, Nokia has managed to be environmentally friendly and has done nothing to raise environmental concern (Nokia, n.d, 1). This is among the reasons that the company has popular brands of mobile phones. Legal The UK government is committed at implementing an effective lethal system. In regard to communication, the government has been enacting laws and implementing legal reforms since 1949s. Some of the legal reforms undertaken relate to economic matters such as trade, corporate governance and taxation. Nokia Company has significantly benefited from the UK legal system due to the earlier establishm ent. New entrants are usually faced by extra requirements from the government and thus discouraging many of them to the advantage of Nokia. Five Forces analysis According to renowned marketing specialists Robert Lussier and David, Kimball (2011, par. 1), different industries are characterized by varying intensity of competition. The competiveness of Nokia is illustrated below using Porters five forces analysis. Rivalry The UK telecommunication industry is characterized by key players such as Vodafone, Siemens, Samsung, Apple, Motorola as well as other new firms from China and other growing economies. The rivalry among these competitors is intense as every firm aims to control a substantial share of the market.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Nokia’s Marketing Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The differentiation in terms of product features for Nokia is getting diminished; yet players are constantly diff erentiating their products in terms of services offered and applications. In addition, exit barriers are low for firms holding smaller parts of the value chain against those occupying most of the chain. For Nokia, the UK market share is substantial, about 29% and can be considered to be a key player (BBC News, 2011, par.2). Threat of new entrants The license fee required to enter the UK market is a key barrier to the entry of foreign companies. This is accompanied by the fact that the consumption behavior for mobile phones is changing in all market of the world (De Mooij, 2010, p.71). In this regard, most firms would prefer to invest in other markets that have low entry costs and promising future. Indeed, Nokia and Apple have absolute cost advantage with operating margins above 30% while that of other smartphone manufacturers is below 15% (Nokia Inc, 2010, p.32). In addition, the high cost of establishing a production facility for mobile phones bars local business from entering the market. However, the economic stability and speculated growth might attract new firms into the market in future. New firms in an industry lead to an increment in the intensity of competition (Varga, 2010, p. 5). Supplier power For Nokia, there are many software providers as well as hardware manufacturers. The company has as many options as it wishes to use in sourcing supplies. Many foreign suppliers are looking for places to market their products while others are seeking partnerships in order to sustain their businesses. At the same time, there are many UK suppliers who market their products outside the region and would consider working with Nokia as an opportunity. In this respect, the bargaining power of the suppliers is very low. Buyer power The bargaining power of the buyers is determined by the switching costs. The fact that UK telecommunication equipment market has high competition indicates that customers can get products from many different manufacturers. Also, UK consumers have all the required information about the intense competition and will select the best firms to buy products from. The demand for telecommunication equipment is highly sensitive to economy and buyers can delay buying Nokias new models. Therefore, the bargaining power of UK customers is very high and Nokia would be required to focus on customer satisfaction initiatives. Substitutes The power of alternative products was low initially but has kept on rising as new technological advances emerge. Mobile phones were initially used for communication purposes but the growth of technology has enabled multiple applications. Therefore, products like personal computers, PDAs and notebooks have emerged to be strong substitutes of smart phones. But the novel purpose of communication limits this threat of alternative products.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More SWOT analysis Strengths To survive in the long term, it is critical for a firm to develop its competitive advantage (Harrison John, 2009, p.61). One of the ways through which a firm can achieve this is by enhancing its strengths. Nokia brand has a strong presence in the UK market such that 80% of active mobile phone users have owned a Nokia phone at least once. This is reflected in the 29% market share that the company had in 2011(BBC News, 2011, par.2). The company also has a solid and active research and development team across the world which can be focused on the UK market to bring results. In addition, the company has been a technology leader for a long time indicating its potential to innovate. More important, Nokia is a market leader in terms of mobile phone units sold across UK. This indicates that the consumers are aware of the quality associated with the products. Weaknesses The major weakness for Nokia is the continued decline in sales and market share especially in the segment of smartphones. The company has historically dominated the UK market but has been outdone by Google and Apple in the smart phone segment. Statistics indicate that Android holds a share of 47% of smartphones in UK while the Symbian (Nokia) has only 7.2% left after losing 19% in year 2010 (JiWire Mobile, 2011, p.7). The major reason could be the late entry of the company into this market segment which gave room for the competitors to establish. More so, Nokia is not very good in software development and this has led to increasing dissatisfactions levels with their smartphones. Opportunities As noted earlier, the UK economy is expected to grow and thus increasing the buying power of the consumers (National Audit office. 2009, p.8). Nokia can use the partnering opportunities arising from foreign suppliers to enhance its software and win the confidence of the consumer in UK. In addition, there are new technologies that can enable the company to differentiate the products accordin g to benefit sought by the consumers. The strong financial position and RD team is a good strength to exploit the emerging opportunities. Furthermore, the stern regulations posed by UK government on communication companies are an opportunity for the company to penetrate the UK new market segments ahead of the competitors. Threats Increasing competition posed by key market players on certain segments is a major threat for Nokia (Wallace, 2001, p.859). In fact, the company has lost a significant share to just few competitors indicating that more firms might push the company out of the UK market arena. This threat is intensified by the fact that the competitors have shown to be more technologically savvy than Nokia. This might compel the company to invest in much research and development at the cost of declining sales. Nonetheless, new firms from china might enter the UK market with their cheap products. Though these products might lack the quality expected by UK consumers, the technol ogy integration and cheap prices are big attractions. References Arthur, C. 2010. Nokia’s revenue and profit trends point to its key problem: commoditization. The Guardian. Available at guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/sep/10/nokia-profits-falling-explanation#_ [7th December 2011]. Baron, D., 2005. Business and its environment. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. Vol. 13, issue 1, pp. 205-208. New York: Prentice Hall. Bichta, C. 2001. The UK telecommunications industry. Available at bath.ac.uk/management/cri/pubpdf/Industry_Briefs/Telecomms_Constantina_Bichta.pdf [7th December 2011]. Butler, J. 2010. Forensic analysis of mobile phones. White paper. Available at geodeforensics.com/Images/White%20paper.pdf [7th December 2011]. Cuthbertson, K. Nitzche, D. 2005. Quantitative Financial Economics: Stocks, Bonds and Foreign Exchange. New York, NY: John Wiley Sons. De Mooij, M. 2010. Consumer Behavior and Culture: Consequences for Global Marketing and Advertising.Thousand s Oak, CA: SAGE. Harrison, J. S. John, C. H. 2009. Foundations in Strategic Management. Florence, KY: Cengage Learning. Hedley, S. 2006. The law of electronic commerce and the Internet in the UK and Ireland. Florence, KY: Routledge. JiWire Mobile. 2011. JiWire Mobile audience insights report. Available at jiwire.com/downloads/pdf/JiWire_MobileAudienceInsightsReport_Q22011.pdf [7 December 2011]. Lussier, R., Kimball, D., 2011. Five competitive forces in sport business environments. Available at humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/five-competitive-forces-in-sport-business-environments [7 December 2011]. Market Business Development (MBD). 2008. Press release: UK telecommunication equipment market development report. Available at mbdltd.co.uk/Press-Release/Telecommunications-Equipment.htm [7th December 2011]. National Audit office. 2009. UK Trade and Investment: Trade Support. London, UK: The Stationery Office. Nokia Inc. 2010. Nokia 2010. Available at nokia.com/NOKIA_COM_1/About_Nok ia/Sidebars_new_concept/Annual_Accounts_2010/Nokia_in_2010.pdf [7 December 2011]. Nokia Inc. n.d. Nokia environment North America. Available at oecd.org/dataoecd/46/50/41503368.pdf [7 December 2011]. Ofcom. Communications market report: UK. Available at http://medienorge.uib.no/files/Eksterne_pub/Ofcom2011.pdf [7 December 2011]. Reynard, M., Ritchie, W., Fornaciari, C., 2008. Secondhand goods, firsthand knowledge: An organizational structure exercise. Journal of Business Case Studies. Vol. 4, issue 7. Florida: Florida Gulf Coast University. Varga, M., 2010. Analyzing the Australian fashion industry according to Porter’s five forces. New York, NY: GRIN Verlag. Wallace, P. D. 2001. Ency. Of Ecommerce. New Delhi, India: Sarup Sons.

Two Kinds of Homage

Two Kinds of Homage Two Kinds of Homage Two Kinds of Homage By Maeve Maddox Way back in elementary school when we learned about feudalism, we were told that the medieval vassal paid homage to his lord. My teachers pronounced the word homage: [hom-ij]. Note: Some English speakers don’t pronounce the h in this homage. When I became interested in movie criticism, I came across the word homage in connection with the practice of incorporating a name or a scene or a bit of dialogue from an old movie within a new production. When I read the word in my head, I pronounced it [hom-ij]. The first time I heard the pronunciation [oh-mazh] in an interview with someone from the film industry, I thought I was hearing a new word. I soon realized that when movie people talk about homage, they give it a French pronunciation. That’s when I realized that homage is a kind of heteronym. heteronym: A word having the same spelling as another, but a different sound and meaning. Both versions have to do with showing respect for someone or something, but the latter is used in the context of art. In general use, homage now means â€Å"acknowledgement of superiority in respect of rank, worth, beauty, or some other quality.† It’s usually used in the expression â€Å"to pay homage to.† The other kind of homage is â€Å"a work of art or entertainment which incorporates elements of style or content characteristic of another work, artist, or genre, as a means of paying affectionate tribute.† It can also refer to an example of such a tribute within a work. I noticed one in an episode of the television police drama Castle. The episode was presented as a frame story. The â€Å"frame† was the present day investigation. The story within the frame followed the usual Castle characters in a plot set in the 1930s. The homage [oh-mazh] reenacted a scene from the James Cagney movie Public Enemy (1931). See if you can tell which kind of homage is meant in the following examples from the Oxford English Dictionary: He must do homage to Philip for his lands in Normandy and Anjou, accept Philip as his overlord. Before leaving the mountains Picasso embarked on a major homage to El Greco. There is no country in which so absolute a homage is paid to wealth. That vice pays homage to virtue is notorious; we call this hypocrisy. Her first volume, however, was not the battle cry of a new poetry; it was a homage to Keats. This character is named after Humphrey Bogarts Fred Dobbs in the 1948 film, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, but its an homage that doesnt appear to make much sense. Proust pens homages to such modern inventions as the railroad, the telephone, the airplane. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Beautiful and Ugly Words15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their SynonymsFew vs. Several

Art and Humanities Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Art and Humanities Project - Research Paper Example I do remember that these songs always made me feel happy, hipper-active and jovial. They gave me an outlet for feelings that I could not always comprehend or find words for. These songs made childhood experience an erasable experience. They made childhood seem to be filled with fun and activities, plays, dances and smiles. They simply made me view the world and all round me as welcoming and full of joy. Oh! How I miss the childhood day. What music do you associate with adolescence? Was this music a way to fit in or rebel? The adolescents are people caught up in the mix of transition between childhood and adulthood. During this period, they tend to copy a lot from the media, want to be heard, and have their decisions respected by their elder. Music plays a great deal in influencing the way they think and acts (Kerchner & Abril, 2009). The music that I associate with them would be those that make them feel that they have a place in society. This music includes Love ballads and blues, H ip pop, Rap, fork songs and Rock (Anonymous, 2009). It is only in rare occasions that one can associate them with Spiritual or religious songs. At this stage of life, most of them want to be associated with a carefree lifestyle. As an adolescent, I used to listen to Rap music, Hip-pop and Rock and roll. I was at locker heads with my parents in most instances because of this music. They yield in me the rebellious spirit because of their precise nature. Most of this music is full or provocative, derogatory and foul language. Most of them are performed with artists who abuse drugs, making them live carefree lifestyle. At this stage in life, I thought that, that was... Art and Humanities Project Music has lived up to be known as a universal language that expresses that which one cannot afford to remain silent about or put into words. Music has made its position as an extremely significant part of our lives because everyone tends to identify with it. In this paper, I have explained the roles of music in different stages and aspects of our lives. Music psychology is the science that investigates the interaction and relationship between music and the human mind. It uses psychological methods and theory to try to understand and interpret how the brain responds to music. The effect of music on people’s attitude, mind and emotion, is always eminent in their behaviors (Davis, 2010). People do connect to music because it directly relates to all sorts of human feelings and emotions. That is, whether a person feels confused or frustrated, sad and lonely, happy and jovial, or even spiritual, music that rightly suits the mood is always there. The effects of having deep connection to music are always positive not negative. With the help of the following questions, I am going to illustrate the association of music with different stages of life and emotions. I’d like to point out that music forms an integral part of our lives. It is one of the things that give most people an easy going with the world’s constraints. It affects people of all creeds, color and ages different, while evoking all sorts of feelings and emotions, which lead to the formation of deep connection with it in all phases of our lives.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AND CONCEPT Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AND CONCEPT - Case Study Example The company has a number of options for solving its problem including resourcing the bottles from a different supplier, or inviting Deerfield to set up a small plant nearby, most of which do not meet the selection criteria set. On this regard, the most feasible option is establishing its own moulding machinery and to hire the appropriate expertise, to integrate bottle production with their filling line because it would yield higher returns on investment in the long-term. Defining the problem or issue Crowning Glory Limited, a private company that has grown in leaps and bounds over the past 20 becoming a major supplier of hair-care products to the dressing table has recently contemplated the supply of products to the retail market. Therefore, the company has struck a partnership deal to supply their Crowning Glory Shampoo to a retailer, which involves shipping large quantities of their product to the retailer’s regional distribution centres. To expand their production and sales , the company will need large quantities of blow-moulded bottles, which its current supplier Deerfield, whose plant is located 200 kilometres away, would be willing to supply. However, Crowning Glory Limited will incur higher packaging costs in shipping large volumes of fresh air, which is a large proportion of the cost of producing small bottles of shampoo. In this regard, for the company to diversify its product base cost effectively, it needs to get the blow-moulded bottles at a lower and feasible cost. Analysis of the case data with focus on causes and effects A rapidly growing company like Crowning Glory Limited has to think about expanding its customer base and diversifying its product market in the most efficient way, to achieve optimum benefits while limiting costs because as global markets expand, so does competition. This makes supply chain management, which is the management of information and material flows both in and between facilities (Douglas and Griffin, 1996), an i ssue of concern to companies today (Wisner, Tan, and Leong, 2012). This company has achieved massive recognition due to its high-end product that has become popular with users leading to a serious need to expand its distribution, to meet the rising demand for its product, and to take market leadership. The company is anticipating to launch Crowning Glory brand through retail trade, in addition to contracting other major retailers for own brand products; this will call for the establishment of a supply chain that will be both responsive and cost effective. The company needs to ensure that their product reaches a wider market on time and cost effectively, to take advantage of short lead times over its competitors in the industry. In this regard, the company needs to rethink its supply chain strategy, which involves restructuring its distribution lines to get rid of unnecessary steps that could potentially lead to disruptions in the supply chain (Sodhi, and Tang, 2012). It is no longer feasible for the company to acquire moulded-bottles from its current supplier due to cost implications, and possible delays in packaging, which could stall the supply chain. Current Supply Chain and Product range Characteristics Future Supply Chain and Product range Characteristics A fully flexible product focus production with an emphasis on a specific line as opposed to different lines of product An agile cycle Inventory strategy, enough to satisfy demand for the product A continuous replenishment location strategy, with facilities in fewer

Make an argument for what you believe the THEME of this short story is Essay

Make an argument for what you believe the THEME of this short story is - Essay Example In my opinion, the main theme in this short story would be the perception that Indians hold about their fellow Indian Americans, which revolves around the issue of class and acceptance, and how most of them would choose to interact with individuals who hold opposing views from what is expected by society (Johansen 347). What this means is that; Indian Americans will only accept their own if they have been accepted by the white man’s social order. It is through this story that one can see how the Indians learn to see themselves or the changes they wish to see, even if they seem impossible to attain. Countless individuals believe that the Indian Americans themselves have already labeled themselves depending on how society demands (Johansen 352). This is seen through the short story that talks about an Indian American basketball team that is going to face off against another Indian team, but has to overcome challenges in order to play. Before the start of the game, arguments and discussions ensue over the authenticity of one group of the Indian players. In order to play, it was required that the players had to have BIA enrollment cards, or have at least one-quarter of Indian blood (Forbes 225). In my opinion, it may be difficult to prove how authentic one’s race may be, especially to a group that is of the same race, who consider themselves superior due to various factors. The irony that arises in this situation is seen in the manner in which these different groups of individuals seem to accept the fact that being labeled is fine, and that it seems to divide them but they do not pay attention to it. It is funny to think of one group of individuals, all minorities, being prejudiced against each other because they do not have their names or enrollment numbers in a government database. This labeling proves that even as the white society left the Indian communities, and all other races alone, fighting and racism would still continue. The only difference

How Does The Civil Rights Act of 1991 Changes the Workplace Research Paper

How Does The Civil Rights Act of 1991 Changes the Workplace - Research Paper Example As noted by the US Congress, other than the unlawful harassments and intentional discriminations as reasons, there was a need to strengthen civil rights laws because the decision of the Supreme Court in Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Antonio, 490 U.S. 642 (1989) weakened the scope and effectiveness of Federal civil rights protection (US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). To address other challenges in civil rights law, the Civil Rights Act codified the concepts of â€Å"business necessity† and â€Å"job-related† acts that can amount to discrimination (Section 3, Civil Rights Act of 1991). Further, the law confirmed the statutory authority as well as providing guidelines on the adjudication of suits under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Further, as a response to the Supreme Court decisions that emaciated the civil rights laws, the Civil Rights Act of 1991 expanded the scope of civil rights laws. Almost twenty years after the Civil Rights Act of 1991, it becomes possible to assess how the legislation contributed to the realization of non-discrimination in the workplaces. In this section, we assess employment figures for possible traces of discriminations in the workplace and interpret possible improvements in the workplaces as the achievements of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 even as we are aware that the legislation related to civil rights are not limited to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1991. Table 1 on the earlier page shows that whites in management, professional, and related occupations compose about 33.6% of these occupations. In contrast, Table 2 shows that the whites who are no Hispanics in the US population are roughly 65.1% as of 2010. The data indicate that discriminations based on race are no longer as strong during the time of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Combining and using source material Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Combining and using source material - Essay Example e Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2003), and Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2004) define research as a learning of an object in order to get new data. Howard and Sharp (1983), in his â€Å"Doing Your Research Project†, and Wisker (2008), in his â€Å"The Postgraduate Research Handbook†, have a similar view but add that there must be methodological processes which can gain benefit for research. These fairly general definitions are further expanded by Nunan (1994), â€Å"Research Methods in Language Learning†, who argues that research must include three elements or components such as 1. a question, problem or hypothesis, 2. data, 3. analysis and interpretation of data. For Wisker what is key is that research has an effect on the world, which is in research results, and finds the realization in our behavior in society. Dawson(2002), however, gives a less general definition and focusses specifically on the purposeful examining of the cond uct of other people with the aim of better understanding them or adding new information to knowledge. For the purposes of this essay, the word â€Å"research† will be used to mean specific studying of an object with a particular aim and special

Analysis of Nicene Creed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis of Nicene Creed - Essay Example The essay "Analysis of Nicene Creed" discusses the most widely accepted doctrine because of the use of its belief statements in Christian faith and liturgy. The Nicene Creed is majorly about the Trinity. It also highlights the historical realities as concerns the life and times of Jesus Christ. Its ideas are derived and found in scriptures and manifested in the New Testament. Others have remarked that â€Å"The Nicene Creed, and that which is commonly called the Apostle's Creed, ought thoroughly to be received and believed: for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture." There are twelve articles included in the Nicene Creed, which defines the most important doctrines of our faith. 1. We believe in one God. This shows that as Christians, Jews or Muslims there is an overrunning belief that a Super Natural power God exists. The creed highlights an act of unity through belief. It is both my confession as well as our confession. 2. God the Father. God almighty is called â€Å"Father† in the scriptures by Jesus. This shows loving and omnipresence within His creation. God the Father also comes as the first person in the Holy Trinity – God Head. â€Å"Father† is the origin and spring of life in the Holy Trinity for He is the source of all things. God the Father is also referred to as â€Å"God unbegotten† in early Christian thought. 3. The maker of heaven and earth, of all that, is seen and unseen. This implies the feeling that God created all visible and invisible elements in the universe.

How Does The Civil Rights Act of 1991 Changes the Workplace Research Paper

How Does The Civil Rights Act of 1991 Changes the Workplace - Research Paper Example As noted by the US Congress, other than the unlawful harassments and intentional discriminations as reasons, there was a need to strengthen civil rights laws because the decision of the Supreme Court in Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Antonio, 490 U.S. 642 (1989) weakened the scope and effectiveness of Federal civil rights protection (US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). To address other challenges in civil rights law, the Civil Rights Act codified the concepts of â€Å"business necessity† and â€Å"job-related† acts that can amount to discrimination (Section 3, Civil Rights Act of 1991). Further, the law confirmed the statutory authority as well as providing guidelines on the adjudication of suits under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Further, as a response to the Supreme Court decisions that emaciated the civil rights laws, the Civil Rights Act of 1991 expanded the scope of civil rights laws. Almost twenty years after the Civil Rights Act of 1991, it becomes possible to assess how the legislation contributed to the realization of non-discrimination in the workplaces. In this section, we assess employment figures for possible traces of discriminations in the workplace and interpret possible improvements in the workplaces as the achievements of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 even as we are aware that the legislation related to civil rights are not limited to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1991. Table 1 on the earlier page shows that whites in management, professional, and related occupations compose about 33.6% of these occupations. In contrast, Table 2 shows that the whites who are no Hispanics in the US population are roughly 65.1% as of 2010. The data indicate that discriminations based on race are no longer as strong during the time of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Analysis of Nicene Creed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis of Nicene Creed - Essay Example The essay "Analysis of Nicene Creed" discusses the most widely accepted doctrine because of the use of its belief statements in Christian faith and liturgy. The Nicene Creed is majorly about the Trinity. It also highlights the historical realities as concerns the life and times of Jesus Christ. Its ideas are derived and found in scriptures and manifested in the New Testament. Others have remarked that â€Å"The Nicene Creed, and that which is commonly called the Apostle's Creed, ought thoroughly to be received and believed: for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture." There are twelve articles included in the Nicene Creed, which defines the most important doctrines of our faith. 1. We believe in one God. This shows that as Christians, Jews or Muslims there is an overrunning belief that a Super Natural power God exists. The creed highlights an act of unity through belief. It is both my confession as well as our confession. 2. God the Father. God almighty is called â€Å"Father† in the scriptures by Jesus. This shows loving and omnipresence within His creation. God the Father also comes as the first person in the Holy Trinity – God Head. â€Å"Father† is the origin and spring of life in the Holy Trinity for He is the source of all things. God the Father is also referred to as â€Å"God unbegotten† in early Christian thought. 3. The maker of heaven and earth, of all that, is seen and unseen. This implies the feeling that God created all visible and invisible elements in the universe.

British Wildlife Essay Example for Free

British Wildlife Essay Outline of species along with related anatomy, handling considerations and rehabilitation, release requirements Skeletal system Although the deer’s skeletal system is very similar to a dog or cat’s in terms of its basic structure, although there are some adaptations that they require in order to survive the wild. Deer have long necks which enable them to crane it so they can feed off low lying grass and other vegetation. Stefoff, R. (2007) Deer are prey animals and so they require adaptations that enable them to run fast and this is why they are ‘ugulates’, (hoofed mammals). Ungulates walk on their ‘ungulis’ which is a tough outer plate of a hoof or toenail. When ungulates walk, their feet or digits do not come into contact with the ground but their hooves. Stefoff, R. (2007). This clever evolutionary asset is essential for speed. This is down to the biomechanics of how bodies move- the smaller the area that touches the ground with each stride, the greater the stride is which results in faster movement. Stefoff, R. (2007) Hooves are an extremely strong version of human fingernails strong enough not to break when under immense pressure i.e. when the deer is running. Stefoff, R. (2007).The strength of the hooves comes from the keratin which exists in thick sheets and keratin fibres which run in all directions Stefoff, R. (2007) Deer have a total of four toes on each foot. The middle two toes touch the ground and the outer two are elevated at the back, just above the hoof and are called dewclaws Stefoff, R. (2007). Metapodials in deer are elongated and form the lower part of the deer’s legs. In a deer, the femur and the humerus are short and thick in order to be able to anchor the large mass of muscle needed to propel them forward when running at high speed. Stefoff, R. (2007) Scent glands Seven glands are located on the body of a deer, scattered from head to toe to assist with communication amongst the herd and is how deer differentiate between one another (interspecies communication) Nickens, E. (2009). Deer scent is made up of scent glands and their urine. Stefoff, R. (2007) Deer use a technique called ‘flehmen’; this is the act of curling back their upper lip and sucking in air. This is used to detect scents from other deer. Stefoff, R. (2007) Antler growth Antler growth is an interesting area of study which provokes questioning as to why antler growth is delayed until the start of puberty and secondly, mammalian organ regeneration. Antler growth only occurs in male deer and is delayed until the start of puberty at 5 – 7 months old. No other mammal can regenerate an organ. The antlers of a 200-kg adult red deer may weigh as much 30 kg but take only 3 months to grow. Antlers are formed from pedicles; permanent bony horns on the frontal bone of the skull. Periosteal cells (Antlerogenic Periosteum) are collected in the distal parts of the cristae externae of the frontal bones. These are activated by rising androgen levels in the blood. Testosterone binds to specific sites on the AP which leads to trabecular bone being formed beneath the periosteum and a pedicle develops. There are four ossification stages in the formation of antlers in deer starting with ‘Intramembranous ossification’; this is the proliferation of antlerogenic cells and differentiation into osteoblasts. Osteoblasts form trabecular in the cellular periosteum. This then leads to ‘transitional ossification’, this initiates when pedicle reaches 5-10mm in height. Osseocartilaginous tissue is formed by the antlerogenic cells at the apical surface, which have undergone a change in differentiation pathway to form chondrocytes. The third stage is ‘pedicle endochondral ossification’ when chrondrogenesis takes place in the pedicle alone. The final ossification stage is ‘antler endochondral ossification’- antlerogenic cells maintain their chrondrogenic differentiation pathway until the very first antler has fully formed. Shiny velvet skin covering the distal end of the pedicle coincidences with antler formation. Un-branched antlers described as ‘spikers’ elongate as a result of an endochondral process in the distal tip. (Deer antlers: a zoological curiosity or the key to understanding organ regeneration in mammals?) The first antler continues growing until the autumn rutting season where testosterone levels are increased once again. Cessation in longitudinal growth causes this endocrine change. Antler bone becomes fully mineralized and the overlying velvet sheds to reveal bare bone. A single unbranched antler is left attached to the pedicle until it is cast the following spring Deer antlers: a zoological curiosity or the key to understanding organ regeneration in mammals? Handling considerations The safest method of restraining/handling deer is to try to pull head to its flank, cover their head, hold the leg at the front and push the deer down onto the ground. This technique requires mastering so a well-trained person should only be allowed to do this. Deer bones are fragile so need to be cautious. Release requirements When it comes to releasing deer, a few things need to be kept in mind when choosing a location to release them. Deer need as much woodland cover as possible, especially with a male deer as they are very much territorial creatures. It is preferred to release a deer exactly where it was found. If this is not possible i.e. the deer was found in the middle of a road then it must be released no more than 1km from where it was found. Veterinary diagnosis and treatment Outline of condition, clinical signs and recommended treatment Roundworm is a condition commonly seen in deer. These are internal parasites that are found in the intestines and soak up nutrients from the animal’s diet which results in the sufferer becoming malnourished and weak because they are not getting the nutrients they require. The clinical signs of a deer with worms are very hard to detect because they are prey animals and must not show signs of weakness otherwise it would make them a target for predators. Often they won’t show any signs until they are close to death. Should they show signs they would be lethargic, losing weight, scowering (lowering their head) and producing fluid faecal matter. Deer get stressed very easily and it would be unethical to try and capture them for treatment as it would be putting the person capturing the deer at risk as well as the deer as their skeletal systems are very fragile and is liable to shatter. Deer antlers are extremely dangerous because they are strong as well as being full of bacteria; deer use their antlers to fight and they also urinate on their antlers so it could infect a human quite severely. Treatment To treat worms in deer, Ivermectin â€Å"spot on† is used and is placed on the back of the deer’s neck. It is applied at 2 week intervals and, once cleared it can then be applied monthly to prevent it recurring. Nursing requirements What are the nursing needs of this patient and condition etc Deer, ideally should be nursed in a barn or large enclosure and not kept in a veterinary practice. This is purely because they are dangerous animals and are likely to lash out or charge at humans when they feel provoked. Isolating the deer is ideal to prevent the worms passing onto other animals nearby and to avoid having to treat the others. Deer should not be isolated for too long as they can get stressed and this would not be an ethical thing to do. Discussion of legal and ethical considerations What legislation and ethical considerations are relevant Wildlife and countryside act 1981 Wildlife and natural environment (Scotland) Act 2011 References http://www.nyantler-outdoors.com/deer-anatomy.html