Implementation of Death Penalty in the Philippines

The Philippines is a religion-based country. Filipinos are broad-minded most especially in distinguishing what is right and what is wrong. Their philosophy is centrally base in â€Å"The Bible† with accordance to their religion. But, the government is greatly alarmed because of the continuous rise of the crime rate in the country. This issue became a reason for reinstating Death Penalty as a law in the Justice system of the Philippines. According to one of the sites made by Pearson, the world's largest integrated education, Death Penalty is the infliction of death upon a person by udicial process as a punishment for an offence.Nearly 60 countries are still implementing Death Penalty. Some of these are China, United States, North and South Korea and China. On the other hand, 137 countries, including Philippines, have outlawed Death Penalty. The Philippine Government had made a lot of hearings to discuss whether Death Penalty should be reinstated or not. Theoretical politicians wanted to revive Death Penalty in the Philippine Justice system for they think it would decrease the number of crimes in the country.Philosophical politicians and the Church firmly do not want to return Death Penalty as a law here in the country. Death Penalty as a law in the Philippine Justice System for we a religion oriented and â€Å"The Bible† told us that killing other people is immoral. A death penalty is the sentence of execution for murder and some other capital crimes (serious crimes, especially murder, which are punishable by death). The death penalty, or capital punishment, may be prescribed by Congress or any state legislature for murder and other capital crimes.The Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty is not a per se violation of the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Furthermore, the Sixth Amendment does not require a Jury trial in capital crime cases. On 15 April 2006, the sentences of 1 ,230 death row inmates were commuted to li fe imprisonment, in what Amnesty International believes to be the â€Å"largest ever commutation of death sentences† Capital punishment was again suspended via Republic Act No. 9346, which was signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on 24 June 2006.The bill followed a vote held in Congress earlier that month which overwhelmingly supported the abolition of the practice. The penalties of imprisonment and reclusion perpetua (indeterminate sentence, 30-year minimum) replaced the death penalty. Critics of Arroyo's initiative called it a political move meant to placate the Roman Catholic Church, some sectors of which were increasingly vocal in their opposition to her rule. Implementation of Death Penalty in the Philippines By Jokolateee

Macro Environment External Forces that Affect Bakery Industry Essay

Executive summary Paris Baguette is a French inspired Korean bakery, which started in 1945, and it started off as a small bakery. Paris Baguette is now a highly competitive bakery that has 32 stores worldwide and 4 stores in Singapore. This report is to advice Paris Baguette on matters that are associated with effective marketing for its product, place, promotion and price. This report will talk about things like, what Marco-environment that will affect the bakery  industry as well as what microenvironment that will affect our organization. This report will also be explain what product positioning and perceptual mapping is and with the aid of perceptual mapping it will illustrate the product positioning of Paris Baguette against their competitors. The recommendation for the report is to advertise Paris Baguette on television or the newspaper to increase brand awareness. In addition, to open more branches in Singapore, as four stores is nothing compared to their competitors like Bread Talk. Background Paris Baguette has started in 1945, called as ‘Sang-mi-dang’ in Woongjin, Korea. They had moved Sang-mi-dang to Seoul in 1948. The president of the company, Chang Sung Hur had changed the name of the company as ‘Sam Lip General Food Company in 1968 and entered the franchise market as a general food company. In 1997, they have decided to have product brand called ‘Shany Cake’ hence, the Sam lip and Shany cake shown great impact in the bread industry. In order to strengthen their business, they realized they need bakery brand so they established Paris Croissant in 1986 and they called it as ‘Paris Baguette’, which is a luxury French bakery brand. They have made first store at Gwanghwamun(Korea), one of the place that a lot of people in Korea. They had good success, kept expanding the stores, and had 100 stores in Korea in 1992. They did 1st place in bakery industry in 1997, and they maintained the 1st place all the way. In 2004, they decided to expand the stores overseas and opened first store in Shanghai. As a result, they have around 3,200 stores in Korea alone. Macro Environment external forces that affect bakery industry 2.1Demographic environment The term ‘demography’ refers to the study of human population on the basis of gender, age, race, income level, density, education, family size, occupation, etc. According to the data reports that released by Singapore government, the population of female residents is nearly equal to males. The main target customers of bakery industry are consider as females because they are most likely to have a sweet tooth. It means that there is still some room for improvement to attract potential customers, such as males.  Besides, an aging population and declining birth rate also has impact on bakery industry. The range in age from 5 to 35 is considered as main target customers in bakery industry. With the increase of elderly and decrease of children, consumers of bakery industry will be gradually decrease. In order to attract more potential customers, bakery companies may launch new products that suitable for males and elders, such as salty bread with meat or soft bread, which can be easily chew. 2.2Political Environment As a country, which has been crown the most business-friendly economy all over the world for the previous 7 years, no one will doubt that Singapore government encourage the development of company. Policy support helps with company operation, such as decrease the business income tax- it will increase the profit of company. Singapore government increase the wages tax in order to help poor people, thus, more customers will be able to afford bread. In addition, policies of childbirth encouragement and immigration also help to increase the numbers of consumers. Children are attract by lovely look and sweet taste of desserts, Europeans and Americans prefer bread instead of rice, and they should be regulars of bakeries. However, these policies also benefit other companies in bakery industry, and it will result in increasing of competitions. In order to hold the market share, the company may reduce the price of bread or launch more variety of bread. 2.3Economic Environment Economic factors are consists of inflations, taxation, interest rate, currency exchanges rate, depression, etc. Those factors will influence the purchasing power and spending patterns of customers. If the interest rate increased, people would like to save their money in bank instead of spending them. That will result in decrease of buying power, thus, the profit of company will reduced also. Inflation also causes decrease of buying power. Inflation puts a lot of pressure on people, and they will decrease daily expenses, it may influence the bakery industry. Micro Environment forces that affect Paris Baguette 2.4Competitors In Singapore, Break Talk considered as a competitor of Paris Baguette because both of these two brands are consists of bakery and cafà ©. In comparison, Bread Talk is more famous and familiar than Paris Baguette because it is the local brand and it is plenty of branches. There are only four outlets of Paris Baguette, but more than 25 branches of Bread Talk in Singapore. The advantages of Paris Baguette are ‘delicacy’ and variety of products. Delicate appearances of decorate and products attract many customers. The advantages of Bread Talk are it’s lower price and promotions. To compare these two brands, Paris Baguette is more suitable for yuppies, but Bread Talk is suitable for ordinary family. 2.5Customers The customers positioning of Paris Baguette: children, couples and 15 to 35-year-old females. Products of Paris Baguette are more expensive than other general bakery brands, thus, consumers of Paris Baguette should be well pay. Customers prefer cafà © of Paris Baguette, so they frequented braches in the afternoon, especially during the weekends. Macro environment forces that affect Paris Baguette Two of the Macro environment, which have affect Paris Baguette are the Economic environment and social-cultural environment. The economic environment affected the Paris Baguette franchises, which the production costs increased due to the price of the oil and the grain increased. All the franchises have to pay more in order to purchase the ingredients. Besides, Paris Baguette in the American and China markets have faced some uncertain economic failure. This has cause quite a big impact to Paris Baguette. â€Å"A weak currency is the sign of a weak economy, and a weak economy leads to a weak nation.† (Perot, N.D). In addition, the social-cultural environment, which affect Paris Baguette have to know the different cultural food taste of the chosen country, which mean they have to find out what type of products can increase the interest and Paris Baguette have to cooperate with it by creating the product the people like. Besides, for the aging people and woman will give more attention to their own health and they prefer more on organic food. In order to aim a bigger market, Paris Baguette has to produce more organic and healthy products due to the healthy diet flow. Product Positioning. Product positioning is one of marketing techniques that promote products in the best way to target audiences. The most important thing is to buy the product. It is quite similar with market segmentation as the product positioning is made of creating the message and involves the symbol and manipulation, which conclude display and packaging. In Paris baguette, they used 5methods for the product positioning. They are ‘threat of new entrants (too much capital is not required for joining the bakery franchise market)’, ‘bargaining power of suppliers (the raw material is important for them in bakery industry and the materials like rice and flour)’, ‘threat of substitute products (many other substitute products are exist such as flour based food, instant food, etc. For example, Starbucks is one of cafà © that makes high profit with substitute products)’, ‘bargaining power of customers (They don’t have difficulty to switch purchasing outlets because of standardized bakery products)’ and ‘competitive rivalry within an industry (there is intense competition in the market among other brands because of saturation. There does not have many firms within industry but big brands like Tour les Jour exist. There also have high exit barriers and hard to differentiate the strategic for each firm.)’. Perceptual mapping From the picture above, we can see that Paris Baguettes (PB) and Baker & Cook (B&C) has the high price and high quality compared to Sunshine Bakery (SB). It is because PB and B&C uses very good quality and high cost for the ingredients compared to SB. B&C is selling products slightly higher than PB is because of the company’s regulation. Paris Baguette use the product positioning strategy, which is ‘positioning by price/quality’. This is because they want to make sure their customer satisfy with their products and can consume their product is in high quality in other words mean the taste of the bread, the freshness and the crispiness of the bread. However, in order to produce a high quality product, they have to use high quality raw materials to produce their products such as the flour, butter, grain and other, which mean their products are in high quality and the price is slightly higher. â€Å"The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.† (Kroc, 1984) Marketing research The primary marketing research technique that I would recommend Paris Baguette to use for collecting information related to customer satisfaction is the survey method. The survey method is by far the most popular of all the research method. Survey method is a list of questions that ask individuals about their preferences, attitudes towards our product and buying behaviours. We would need to create the questionnaire that will record the data. Example of the survey question will be: What is the first thing that comes into your mind when you think of Paris baguette? Do you enjoy our selection of bread? Which one of our product do you like best? How can we improve on our product? Are our prices reasonable? Are our staffs friendly? Is our branch location convenient for you? What new product would you like to try? What is your age group? Others- These questions will help Paris Baguette improve on their product and find out what their customers thinks about the organization and what new products they would like to see from Paris baguette. One finding that I have found from the marketing research is that our shops location is inconvenient for people that are rushing. In addition, we open only at 10a.m, which is after the morning peak hour. Paris Baguette can make our stores more convenient for the working class by putting them near the MRT stations and opening our stores before the morning peak hour. By opening our stores during peak hour we can attract people who have not ate their breakfast as they are rushing for work, and by putting our stores near an MRT. It would make it much more convenient for people to come to our stores to buy our product especially those who are rushing. Marketing Mix Strategies of Paris Baguette Marketing mix consists on the 4Ps, which are product, price, promotion and place. We are going to analyse the marketing mix the Paris Baguette bakery. In first place, we can see that the Paris Baguette is a bakery with a high variety of products. The Paris Baguette supplies fresh bakery products in over 3000 locations worldwide. Their products are different for each country depending on the culture and the people of each country. They do not have the same products In United States and In Singapore, for example. This is because people from different countries have different preferences of taste. However, there are some common products in all their branches. For example, the most common products are the types of bread, the pastries and pie, the cakes, desserts and sandwiches and beverages. They also sell other type of products like cups of tea. Talking about the price, the price in the Paris Baguette is equal to the quality of the product and the cost of purchase. The Paris Baguette keeps affordable prices in order to be accessible for more people to attract more customers. Of course they have to analyse the competitors prices and offers before adjust the final price of their products. Also determining the demand of each product and the estimating costs. If a product has a high demand, the cost would increase. For example, a piece of cake would cost around $3.95. Talking about the promotion, the Paris Baguette is a bakery with lots of promotions. They use two different ways of promotion to attract people. The first way is to do advertisements about their products with nice pictures and an apparently family friendly place. The second way is doing sales promotion. For example, buy one dessert and get the second one free, or doing breakfast offers like a cup of coffee and a sandwich for $3.50. They use this two ways for promotion. Finally, the place. The Paris Baguette focuses always in getting branches in the centre of the cities. They are not interested in getting branches in small towns or places with not too much people. This is because they want a high average of people per day and this can achieved just in the centre of the cities and specific places. For example, in Singapore they have a big branch in Orchard, which is the main road in Singapore. Marketing Mix In my opinion, there are a few points that Paris Baguette could implement in  the future. This can be focus on the promotion events. In my opinion, the Paris Baguette could implement quite a lot their customers by doing some cake and bread events. Paris Baguette can attract more customers, while promoting their products. This could be done by doing some events each year rent a place in a shopping mall and set up a stage in a large crowd places . Meanwhile, while promoting their products, Paris Baguette can give out their new products with free of charge . This would be an improvement for their fame. This because as long as it is free, when people try their bakery products and it taste good, people will buy the products. These events will attract people from everywhere, which mean Paris Baguette will have more customers buying their products and it will increase their profit. â€Å"Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them.† (Edwards, 1993) Recommendation In Singapore, Bread Talk’s fame surpasses Paris Baguette. Thus, Paris Baguette may advertise on TV or newspaper in order to increases brand awareness. Besides, they also need to expand more branches all around Singapore in every single shopping malls to increase competitive. This is because are only four branches of Paris Baguette, which is far less than numbers of branches of Bread Talk and other bakery companies. Conclusion ‘Sang mi dang’ was a small bakery which began in 1945. After some improvement, Paris Baguette have been start up and their business expand with a rapid speed. Paris Baguette is a mature domestic franchise bakery with a high percentage of share terms and their shops have already franchised to worldwide. Paris Baguette have maintained their high position for a period. This is because they have did their Micro and Macro environmental factors, which will affect their business, and they try to overcome it. Besides, Paris Baguette also did investigation of its competitors, in order to know more about its competitors. After the investigation have done, they try to compare it to their own companies by using a perceptual mapping concept, which can help them to know their own range with its competitors. Moreover, to know how to gain more customers, Paris baguette choose a survey method by asking the random passers and to  know more about, which bakery products do they prefer or like. In addition, Paris baguette known as a bakery which more on product and price, which mean they sell high quality products. Therefore, they will choose a high quality of raw ingredients to produce their products and set up a higher price but reasonable. Nevertheless, Paris Baguette also choose more crowded area to set up their shop to let more people notice their shop and buy their products. Besides, in order to attract customer, Paris Baguette also did some promotions for theirs products such as the special of the day for the products. References Barney, J.B (1995). â€Å"Looking inside for competitive advantage,† Academy of Management Executive, 9(4), 49-61 Cafehopping. (2012-2014). Paris Baguette. Available: http://cafehopping.sg/review-post/paris-baguette-cafe-singapore/. Last accessed 3rd April 2014. Demographics of Singapore. [ONLINE] Available from: [Accessed 20 March 2014] Henry, A (2008), Understanding Strategic Management (1st ed.), Oxford : OUP. Jaeseok Jeong, et. al. (2013). Sucess Factor of Paris Baguette’s Bakery Frachise Business : Industry Competition and Core Competence Analysis. ASIA MARKETING JOURNAL. 15 (2), p1-27. James Manktelow. (1996-2014). The Marketing Mix and 4 Ps. Available: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_94.htm. Last accessed 3rd April 2014. Political Environment. [ONLINE] Available from: [Accessed 27 March 2014] Ray Kroc. (1902-1984). Ray Kroc quotes. Available: last accessed 1st April 2014. Ross Peros, (N.D).Quotes. Available: Last accessed 1st April 2014. S. Jaychandran (2006). Marketing Management: text and cases. New Delhi: Anurag Jain. Singapore is most business-friendly for 7th year straight By Malminderjit Singh The Business Times | Fri, Oct 26, 2012 [ONLINE] Available from: [Accessed 21 March 2014] W. Edwards. (1900-1993). W. Edwards Deming quotes. Available: http://thinkexist.com/quotation/profit_in_business_comes_from_repeat_customers/226671.html. Last accessed 3rd April 2014. What is a macro environment? [ONLINE] Available from: [Accessed 20 March 2014]

Under What Circumstances May a Person Be Criminally Liable for a Failure to Act?

General principleThere is no general liability for failure to act under the common law of England and Wales. A crime can be committed by omission, but there can be no omission in law in the absence of a duty to act. The general basis for imposing liability in criminal law is that the defendant must be proved to have committed a guilty act whilst having had a guilty state of mind. The physical elements are collectively called the actus reus and the accompanied mental state is called the mens rea.Liability for omissionsThe general rule is that there can be no liability for failing to act, unless at the time of the failure to act the defendant was under a legal duty to take positive action. ‘’Unless a statute specifically so provides, or †¦.the common law impose a duty upon a person to act in a particular way towards another†¦ a mere omission to act cannot lead to criminal liability’’.(R Vs Miller[1983]1 All ER 978.) A positive duty to act exists in the following circumstances:(a)Duty arising from statute Liability for failing to act will be imposed where the defendant can be shown to have been under a statutory duty to take positive action. A leading example of such a case is provided by the children and Young Persons Act 1933, which creates the offence of wilfully neglecting a child. Hence by simply failing to provide food for the child or failing to obtain appropriate medical care a parent could be held criminally liable for any harm that results. (Greener Vs DPP[1996] The Times, Feb. 15,1996).(b)Duty arising from a ContractWhere a person is under a positive duty to act because of his obligations under a contract, his failure to perform the contractual duty in question can form the basis of criminal liability. (R Vs Pittwood [1902] 19 TLR 37).

Are cloud storage solutions irrelevant for a large organisation of Essay

Are cloud storage solutions irrelevant for a large organisation of 1,500 staff - Essay Example Among these technology products and services, Information Technology (IT) forms a key part, with organisations, irrespective of the sector they are operating, have been incorporating IT in a strong manner, by having a separate IT infrastructure inside the organisation. Although, in-house IT infrastructure is the norm in many large organisations, due to advent of advancing technology services like Cloud Computing and their resultant benefits, virtual IT infrastructure are being considered and also favoured. That is, to complement the in-house infrastructure and even also to maximally replace it, Cloud Computing is being utilized. As this service appears to be a cost-effective, secure, quality enriched, operational effective, etc., it is being used by varied organisations from large ones to the small ones. Thus, the discussion will be on how these Cloud computing solutions can be relevant to a large organisation of 1500 staffs. Cloud computing is the term given to the web-based virtual computer structure, which can host data, softwares as well as other applications, with the organisational employees accessing and utilizing it without the need for the organisation to have an in-house IT structure. â€Å"Cloud computing encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time over the Internet, extends ITs existing capabilities by increasing capacity or by adding capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software.† (Knorr and Gruman 2010).The Cloud architecture that is needed for delivering Cloud Computing to an organisation consist of various hardwares as well as softwares, and these cloud components are categorized as front end and back end. The front end will be set up in the organisation, and includes employees’ computer, servers and the other applications that run in the computer particularly web browser.

Psychological disorders and treament Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Psychological disorders and treament - Essay Example With this, the schizophrenic patient will be expected to display two or more of the characteristics: Delusions Hallucinations Disorganized speech Grossly disorganized behavior Negative symptoms 3. The duration of the experience for diagnosis is generally: 1 month of characteristic symptoms With 6 months of social/occupational dysfunction 4. The exclusion criteria are: Schizoaffective mood disorders Direct consequence of substance use or general medical condition Pervasive developmental disorders These diagnostic guidelines published in "Schizophrenia" by Steven R. Hirsch & Daniel Roy Weinberger (2003, Pages 10-11) can help in determining whether or not a patient has the symptoms of Schizophrenia, but they do not point to a clear cause for the disease. Research in Schizophrenia has developed around the Dopamine hypothesis, due to the effectiveness of Dopamine receptor blocking medications in the treatment of the disease historically. These are classified into typical anti-psychotics ( Thorazine, Haldol) and atypical anti-psychotics (Aripiprazole/Abilify, Olanzapine/Zyprexa, Seroquel/Quetiapine, etc.). Atypical anti-psychotics may be more effective and have a significantly reduced occurrence of side effects like Tardive Dyskinesia, but may still lead to substantial weight gain in patients. There is some controversy over the ethicality of the medications as administrated, but findings of effectiveness in typical anti-psychotic medications in the treatment of Schizophrenia led to the belief that Dopamine receptor blocking medications did assist in the alleviation of symptoms in patients and general improvement. (Lieberman, 2005) From this the latest atypical anti-psychotics seek to build upon Dopamine receptor blocking to extend to other neuro-chemical receptors in the brain, such as 5-HT2, Glutamate, or Serotonin. A receptor blocking medication of an atypical anti-psychotic may be prescribed to be taken at night, and a Serotonin receptor blocking agent like Prozac or Zoloft taken in the morning. This may be considered the most viable treatment for chronic patients suffering schizophrenic symptoms. Nevertheless, not all researchers are convinced that the Dopamine hypothesis illustrates the cause of schizophrenia, and there is a historical debate between the psychogenic origin of the disease, as advocated by Jung and others, and the genetic or neuro-chemical hypotheses. Some have suggested, like Bateson, that a â€Å"double bind† situation in the family or society could be the cause of the disease as an outgrowth of neurosis. (Guillaume, 2011) The social defeat hypothesis analyzes the prevalence of Schizophrenia among the poor, suggesting that there may be socio-economic issues relating to stress, diet, and learned patterns of defeat that cause Schizophrenia. (Selten & Cantor-Graae, 2005) However, it is also generally supposed that the schizophrenic patients have a genetic propensity to the disease that is heightened when stress, traumat ic events, abuse, or social problems overwhelm the individual and lead to an onset of the disease. The orthomolecular approach has targeted vitamin therapies as a â€Å"cure† to Schizophrenia popularly, but these are largely not replicable in scientific clinical studies. Vitamins

Factory Gate pricing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Factory Gate pricing - Essay Example either directly to the stores or to his retail ware houses. The retail got the finished goods at reduced prices than before. Prior to the implementation of the FGP the supplier used to incur the transportation costs and the retailers the inventory costs at the warehouses. The factory gate pricing give the option to reduce the investment cost on maintaining the inventory for the distribution centre at times as the retailer will have he option to transport the goods directly to the shops. The retailer has the option of making the entire supply chain operations under one roof. FGP brings the control of primary transportation from the factory to distribution centers and inventory into one hand which likely leads to generate cost savings operations. In addition FGP offers two other sources for savings. Firstly, retailers generally have a vast product range for which they can make the transportation-inventory trade-off at one point of time. The orders from different suppliers that are located close to each other may be synchronized in time, such that they can be combined in the same vehicle route. Secondly, under FGP, primary and secondary distribution can be integrated and can be handled by one single entity. The supply chain initiative can be improved by optimizing the usage of space by the retailer by using the same vehicle to deliver the goods to the shop and to the distribution centre on one single trip.Significance of factory gate pricing The significance of FGP is that it removes traditional geographic transport boundaries where an assigned logistics provider controls all vehicle movement within a particular region for a... The significance of FGP is that it removes traditional geographic transport boundaries where an assigned logistics provider controls all vehicle movement within a particular region for a retailer. Better vehicle utilization as suppliers shares vehicles in order to reduce costs by sharing the space with the vehicles. Removal of uneconomical vehicle movements through combining additional products from different sources to ensure every lorry is full when it sets out on its delivery route. Benefits of implementing factory gate pricing. The benefits of factory gate pricing are Effective Transportation as the retailer is involved with the supplier and the time for transportation reduces to a considerable extent. Effective transportation may lead to Improved Availability of the goods in the stores and sustainable stock can be maintained in the shops. The decrease in transport costs leads to reduced prices on the finished goods. Environmentally it will be a positive aspect as the vehicles wi ll fully carry the goods of different supplier thus reducing the repeat trips to the same route thus reducing the vehicular traffic which results in reduced air pollution. Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment â€Å"CPFR is the sharing of forecasts and related business information among business partners in the supply chain to enable automatic product replenishment†. CPFR is designed to link the supply and demand processes allowing for a more consumer driven supply chain. CPFR aims to seamlessly link the industry from manufacturer to consumer.

To what extent is the employment relationship becoming more Essay

To what extent is the employment relationship becoming more individualistic - Essay Example The collective bargaining is a process in which the terms of the reference for employment would be negotiated jointly on behalf of the group of employees at the time of recruitment (Labor Law Group, 1984)). The trade unions generally represent the employees in defining the terms of reference like wages, working hours, living conditions etc. After the negotiations, a contract will be made which is legally binding on trade unions and employers. The collective bargaining is also viewed as a human right that is to be protected legally as envisaged by the Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The right to bargain collectively through freedom of association was also recognized under Item 2(a) of the International Labor Organizations Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. The collective bargaining was one of the most effective methods of employment in the earlier days which witnessed challenges due to the era of globalization and liberalization. The growth of individual thought and freedom has led to fall of trade unions and individuals started preferring direct contact with the employers. At the same time, the employers too started feeling the inconvenience of trade unions by over interference in company administration and hence they also preferred individual contracts. They give higher emphasis to the human resource development for improving the employee performance. At employee level also, the preference to bargain directly with employers has increased in the recent years due to changes brought by the globalization. Though the concepts of collectivism and individualism is well accepted under working style of organizations, there has been a growing feeling that individualism is increasing among employees day by day. Hence, it is appropriate time to study and analyze the extent to which the employment relationship is becoming

Organic compound boiling points Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organic compound boiling points - Essay Example In order to figure out the order of organic compound boiling point, it is important to understand their trends. The important thing to make into consideration is that the boiling point is usually indicative of the force strength bonding its molecules together. When many molecules stick together, they will consequently need more energy to break the bonds and release the molecules as gases. Three important trends are considered including branching, which decreases the compound’s boiling point, and the number of carbons as boiling points increases with the increase in carbon atoms. Additionally, the relative strength of intermolecular forces is important (Hill & John, 2011: p32). The strength of the bonds in descending order is; Ionic> Hydrogen bonding> dipole- dipole> Van der Waals forces of dispersion. The influence of these attractive forces is dependent on the present, functional groups. The first trend is the strength, relative for all four compounds, of the intermolecular f orces. Molecules that are held together by dipole- dipole interactions, formed by the polarization of C-O bonds have a lower intermolecular energy when compared to compounds with hydroxyl groups, which are, in turn, capable of forming hydrogen bonds (Macomber, 2009: p11). Organic alcohols have significantly higher boiling points than other organic compounds because of this property, as can be derived. Molecules that have relatively the same molecular weights have their boiling points determined by the present, functional group. 3-Methyl-2-Butanone has a dipole-dipole intermolecular interaction model, and so it has a significantly low boiling point as compared to the other organic alcohols with hydrogen intermolecular bonding (Macomber, 2009: p12). The positive end of one molecule is attracted and bonded to a negative region of another molecule. For molecules with a similar functional group, such as the organic compounds under investigation, the boiling points increase with a rise in molecular weight. The key force that connects molecular size and intermolecular strength is the Van der Waals forces of dispersion that are proportional to the molecules’ surface area (Mehta & Manju, 2009: p29). Therefore, as the length of the chain increases, the surface area of the molecules also increases. Consequently, this results in an increased capability of the molecules in the compound to be attracted to each other. As the length of the chain increases, regions where they line up with each other increase. Each interaction may not be worth a lot, but added up over the entire chain length, the Van der Waals forces of dispersion have the ability to exert tremendous effects (Mehta & Manju, 2009: p29). 1-Hexanol has the highest molecular weight, coming in at 102.67 g/mol1, thus provides more surface area for intermolecular interaction. With the increased energy required to separate the molecules, the boiling point is high. Both 1-Pentanol and 3-Methyl-1-butanol have a mo lecular weight of 88.15 g/mol1, which is still higher than 3-methyl-2-butanone, which has a molecular weight of 86.13 g/ mol. Molecular symmetry is yet another by-product of Van der Waals forces of dispersion’s dependence on surface area. The straighter the compound’s molecules are, the better they line up, as well as bond. The spherical the molecules become, due to branching, the lower the surface area left for intermolecula

Does High Perception of School Environment Correlate with Teacher Essay

Does High Perception of School Environment Correlate with Teacher Performance - Essay Example coming in, many educators have approached this researcher on concerns pertaining to administration support, discipline, and overall knowledge to serve their students. Some expressed concerns of not being equipped or trained properly to perform their job expectations. As the â€Å"new person† to the school, I have faced with some of the same issues. In this study, the researcher will use stratified random sampling to find his data. Stratified random sampling involves looking at distinct subgroups while obtaining data (CustomInsight, n.d.). For the research question, â€Å"Does High Perception of School Environment Correlate with Teacher Performance,† this researcher will be looking at two groups: regular education teachers and special education teachers. Atha Elementary has 9 special education teachers and 34 regular education teachers. The objective is to get a clear view on how educators perceive their environment. Therefore, a likert-scale must be utilized (Super Survey, 2007). This research after attitudinal information: describes how a person thinks or feels about something. Educators will be able to rate their feelings on a scale of 1 to 5 as shown below. In order to select the appropriate method of data recording one must first understand variables. Variables are used in the study of statistics. A variable is a characteristic that can take more than one set of values that numerical measures can be assigned to: height, age, income, country, grades, and housing type (Statistics Canada, 2011). Quantitatively, this writer will give a survey to collect initial perception of the school before professional developments are provided or major concerns are addressed. Surveys will be given to two mixed groups of elementary school educators (both groups will contain an equal amount of special and regular education teachers). Group A labeled (control group) will not be provided with options on professional development, will only meet with assistant principals at their

Organizational Behavior Trends Essay Example for Free

Organizational Behavior Trends Essay Organizational Behavior is the study of what people think, feel, and do in and around organizations. Organizational Culture is the basic pattern of common assumptions, values, and beliefs leading the way employees within an organization think about and act on problems and opportunities. Organizational Trends are patterns of change over time in some variable of interest. In this paper we will evaluate two trends in organizational behavior. The influence of ethics on decision-making and the impact of technology on work-related stress will be examined. Organizational Behavior Trends There are several trends in Organizational Behavior. One trend is globalization, which requires corporate decision makers to be more sensitive to cultural differences as they venture towards a wider variety of employees and clients. Another trend in organizations is the increasingly diverse workforce. Diversity potentially improves decision-making, team performance, and customer service, but it also presents new challenges for the company. The values and ethics of the employees, enable organizations to apply certain principles in a global environment, and are under pressure to abide by the ethical values and higher standards of corporate social responsibility. Ethics on Decision-making Ethics on decision-making is difficult, it is critical for leaders to develop a code of ethics and establish disciplinary actions and procedures for ethical violators. Most importantly, leaders should also develop a process in which employees are rewarded and publicly recognized for having positive ethical behaviors. It is also important to have employee involvement when trying to identify ethical issues. When it comes to the ethics of decision making, the criteria individuals use to define problems and the values that underlie these criteria must be considered. Moral conduct is involved in choosing problems, deciding who should be involved, estimating the impacts of alternatives, and selecting an alternative for implementation. Moral conduct does not arise from after-the-fact embarrassment. (Schermerhorn, Hunt and Osborn, 2005). Overall, ethical decision making, is learning about ethical dilemmas in business and examining the process for identifying common influences in the decision-making process. Once the trends are found, leaders and subordinates must demonstrate and understand how to make an ethical decision in which all possible solutions are attempted equally and without any judgment. Impact of Technology on Work-Related Stress Work-related stress can be defined as a pattern of emotional, cognitive, behavioral and physiological reactions to adverse and noxious aspects of work content, work organization and work environment. It is a state characterized by high levels of arousal and distress and often by feelings of not coping. (www. eiro. eurofound) Work-related stress is a serious issue at many companies. People should be aware of their stress levels and communicate stressful situations to their employer before stress develops into a problem. For this to happen, employers need to ensure that the organizational culture is one in which employees can openly and comfortably talk about work-related stress without any repercussion. There are many components that make up stress. With the world of technology racing news and information around the world as quick as we can blink, many more organizations are becoming sophisticated in applying information technologies. Nobel Laureate and decision scientist Herbert Simon is convinced that computers will someday be more intelligent than humans. Schermerhorn, Hunt and Osborn, 2005) How does that make you feel knowing that one-day a computer could replace your job? There are always two sides to any debate; the one on stress is no exception. Is being stressed a sign of weakness within your job indicating that you can no longer handle it or is being stressed a sign of an effective working behavior of getting the job done? There are many employers that want to support their staff to the hig hest level that can be offered but resources and effective training is sometimes limited. As a result, many employees are stressed. The use of technology is needed in all businesses and with this advanced technology some organizations rely heavily it. I know that with the computer system we have at our organization it makes it much easier and less stressful for us. Maybe someone who is not proficient with computers would become stressful to the new system, but for the most part I think technology has a positive impact on work-related stress. Conclusion In conclusion, the influence of ethics on decision-making and the impact of technologies on work-related stress are only two components of many in organizational behavior. With so many changes to how one must work and the many difficult decisions that have to be made according to your organizations ethics only. I personally think that as companies evolve, the employees must chose to either evolve with it or take another course of action to make life stress-free.

Indian Independence And Partition History Essay

Indian Independence And Partition History Essay It began with the idea of Mahatma Gandhi to free India from the control of the British, in 1930, Mahatma Gandhi proposed a non-violence march to protest the British Salt Tax. To understand why the British salt tax was so oppressive to the Indian people, it helps to know a bit about the subcontinents climate and culture. Indias hot weather promotes  sweating, which drains the human body of its salt supply. Since Indians dont eat much meat a natural source of salt they relied on supplementary salt to maintain a healthy amount in the body. Taxing the mineral that Indian people relied on for survival was just one way that the British government kept Indians under its thumb. As salt is necessary in everyones daily diet, everyone in India was affected and upon realizing the scheme of the British, the salt march was set in motion. Before embarking on a 240 miles march from Sabarmati to Dandi to protest the salt tax, Gandhi sent a letter to the Lord Irwin, the viceroy of India, forewarning their plans of civil disobedience: If my letter makes no appeal to your heart, on the eleventh day of this month I shall proceed with such co-workers of the Ashram as I can take, to disregard the provisions of the Salt Laws.   I regard this tax to be the most iniquitous of all from the poor mans standpoint.   As the Independence movement is essentially for the poorest in the land, the beginning will be made with this evil. (Gandhi) Acknowledged of this action, the viceroy could have arrested him easily but by doing so could spark an intense backlash so he only replied: [Gandhi was] contemplating a course of action which is clearly bound to involve violation of the law and danger to the public peace. As promised, on March 12, 1930, Gandhi and 78 male satyagrahis (activists of truth and resolution) started marching toward the Arabian Sea. It has been told that along his way, the roads were watered, and fresh flowers and green leaves strewn on the path; and as the satyagrahis walked, they did so to the tune of one of Gandhis favorite bhajans,  Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram, sung by the great Hindustani vocalist, Pandit Paluskar.  Each village he passed by, he convinced government officials to resign in protest and to encourage people to pledge nonviolence, therefore, more and more men joined the march. On April 5, 1930, after a 24 day-long journey, Gandhi and his followers reached the coast, he collected a chunk of salt and immediately broke the law. No sooner had Gandhi violated the law than everyone started following him, picking up salt off the coast. A month after Gandhi completed his march he was arrested for breaking the law and soon after Indias prisons were full with 60.00 0 others practicing this simple act of civil disobedience. (Hatt, (2002).  p. 33) Women Again, though women were full and active members of Gandhis community, and many were to be closely associated with him over a lengthy period of time, as he went so far to say that the women have come to look upon me as one of themselves., no women were present among the 78 people chosen to accompany him on the march. An explanation for this was that Gandhi felt women wouldnt provoke law enforcers like their male counterparts, making the officers react violently to non-violence. As salt is an important household  necessity, Gandhi strongly favoured the emancipation of women. He especially recruited women to participate in the salt tax campaigns and the boycott of foreign products.( Norvell, 1997.) Sarma (1994) had concluded that by enlisting women in his campaigns, including the salt tax campaign, anti-untouchability campaign and the peasant movement, Gandhi had gave many women a new self-confidence and dignity in the mainstream of Indian public life. Folk Hero Gandhi was portrayed as a messiah (the long-awaited savior of an entire people), a way of incorporating radical forces within the peasantry into the nonviolent resistance movement. It was told that in thousand of villages, plays were performed presenting Gandhi as the rebirth of earlier Indian nationalist leaders, or even as a demigod. The plays built support among illiterate peasants steeped in traditional Hindu culture. Similar messianic imagery appeared in popular songs and poems, and in Congress-sponsored religious pageants and celebrations.  In this way, not only a folk hero image of Gandhi was made, but also, the Congress was seen as his sacred instrument. .( Murali, (1985) Negotiations The government, represented by  Lord Edward Irwin, decided to negotiate with Gandhi. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact  was signed in March 1931. The agreement between Gandhi and Irwin was signed on March 5, 1931. Following are the salient points of this agreement: The Congress would discontinue the Civil Disobedience Movement. The Congress would participate in the Round Table Conference. The Government would withdraw all ordinances issued to curb the Congress. The Government would withdraw all prosecutions relating to offenses not involving violence. The Government would release all persons undergoing sentences of imprisonment for their activities in the civil disobedience movement. The pact shows that the British Government was anxious to bring the Congress to the conference table. The British Government agreed to free all political prisoners, in return for the discontinuation  of the civil disobedience movement. Also as a result of the pact, Gandhi was invited to attend the Round Table Conference in London as the sole representative of the Indian National Congress. Gandhi was sent by the Congress as its sole representative, but the negotiations proved to be disappointing, for the most part that various other Indian communities had been encouraged by the British to send a representative and make the claim that they were not prepared to live in an India under the domination of the Congress. Furthermore, it focused on the Indian princes and Indian minorities rather than on a transfer of power.  Ã‚  Yet never before had the British consented to negotiate directly with the Congress, and Gandhi met Irwin as his equal. In this respect, the man who most loathed Ga ndhi, Winston Churchill, understood the level of Gandhis achievement when he stated it alarming and also nauseating to see Mr. Gandhi, a seditious Middle Temple lawyer, now posing as a fakir of a type well known in the East, striding half-naked up the steps of the viceregal palace, while he is still organizing and conducting a defiant campaign of civil disobedience, to parley on equal terms with the representative of the King-Emperor.  The result was unexpected as Gandhi was again arrested, and the government tried and failed to negate his influence by completely isolating him from his followers. (Herman (20080.  pp. 375-377) World War II and Quit India. When World War II broke out in 1939, Britain turned to its colonies, including  India, for soldiers.   His attitude during the war years was difficult to define; he felt very concerned about the rise of fascism around the world, but he also had become a committed pacifist)  For one thing, he would never compromise over pacifism. War, for whatever cause, was in his view a bad thing. Though evil must be resisted, it could never be fought effectively by violence, for violence was the root of all evil. Resistance to Germany and Japan must therefore be by the same means of non-violence which he had himself used in India against the British. No doubt, he remembered the lessons of the Boer War and World War I loyalty to the colonial government during war did not result in better treatment afterwards. The crisis in the war-time relations between Mr Gandhi and the British Government came during the Cripps mission in the spring of 1942. Sir Stafford Cripps took with him proposals for establishing in India immediately after the war Dominion status of full self-government, with the right to declare independence, the minimum provision being made to render the scheme acceptable to Moslems. In March of 1942, British cabinet minister Sir Stafford Cripps offered the Indians a form of autonomy within the British Empire in exchange for military support. The Cripps offer included a plan to separate the Hindu and Muslim sections of India, which Gandhi found unacceptable. The Indian independence movement rejected the plan. That summer, Gandhi issued a call for Britain to Quit India immediately. The crucial issue was immediate independence, on which Congress insisted. This was Gandhis and the Congress Partys most ultimate upheaval aimed at securing the British exit from India. (Gandhi,1990, p.309.) The manner in which British control was to be withdrawn and a provisional Government substituted was set out along with a threat of mass civil disobedience, under Gandhis direction. This made Quit India  the most forceful movement in the history of the struggle, with mass arrests and violence on an unprecedented scale. The colonial government reacted by arresting all of the Congress leadership, including Gandhi and his wife Kasturba. As anti-colonial protests grew, the Raj government arrested and jailed hundreds of thousands of Indians. Tragically, his wife Kasturba died in February 1944 after 18 months in prison. Gandhi became seriously ill with malaria, so the British released him from prison upon realizing that the political repercussions would have been intensive, if he had also died while imprisoned and enrage the entire nation beyond control. Indian Independence and Partition In 1944, Britain pledged to grant independence to India once the war was over. Gandhi called for the Congress to reject the proposal once more, since it proposed a division of India among Hindu, Muslim, and  Sikh  states. As a rule, Gandhi was opposed to the concept of  partition  as it contradicted his vision of religious unity. (Reprinted in  The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas, Louis Fischer, ed., 2002 (reprint edition) pp. 106-108.) When sectarian violence rocked Indias cities in 1946, leaving more than 5,000 dead, Congress members convinced Gandhi that the only options were partition or civil war. He reluctantly agreed, and then went on a hunger strike that single-handedly stopped the violence in Delhi and Calcutta. On August 14, 1947, the  Indian Independence Act  was invoked. In border areas some 10-12 million people moved from one side to another and upwards of a half million were killed in communal riots pitting Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs.  According to to prominent Norwegian historian,  Jens Arup Seip there perhaps could have been much more bloodshed during the partition if there hadnt been for his teachings, the efforts of his followers, and his own presence.

Analysis for Expansion of Starbucks

Analysis for Expansion of Starbucks Introduction: The history of Starbucks starts in Seattle in 1971.Three friends Jerry, Zev Siegal, and Gordon Bowker who all had a passion for fresh coffee, opened a small shop and began selling fresh roasted , gourmet coffee beans and the brewing and roasting accessories .The company did well, but things began to change in 80s. First Zev Seigal sold out in 1980.Yet at that time, Starbucks was largest roaster in Washington with six retail outlets. In 1981 a plastics salesmen noticed the, number of drip-brewing thermoses that Starbucks was buying from Hammerplast, the manufacturer that he represented. A brief history of Starbucks: Starbucks has always been the place to find the worlds best coffees. But in 1971, you would have had to travel all the way to out first-and at that time, only store in Seattles first Pike Place Market. 1970s : The first Starbucks opens. The name comes from Herman Melvilles Moby Dick, a classic American novel about the 19th century whaling industry. The seafaring name seems to be appropriate for a store that imports the worlds finest coffees to the cold, thirsty people of Seattle . 1980s: Howard Schultz joins Starbucks in 1982. While on a business trip in Italy, he visits Milans famous espresso bars. Impressed with their popularity and culture, he sees their potential in Seattle. Hes right after trying lattes and mochas, Seattle becomes coffee-crazy 1990s: The demand for great coffee allows Starbucks to expand beyond Seattle, first to the United States, then further a field. After becoming one of the first companies to offer stock options to its part-time employees, Starbucks becomes a publicly traded company. 2000s: The Starbucks phenomena continues. At the time of writing Starbucks has more than 15,000 locations across the globe. In addition to our excellent coffees and espresso drinks, people now enjoy Tazo tea and Frappuccino and ice blended beverages. Howard Schultz: In 1982 Baldwin hired Schultz as a new head of marketing and shortly thereafter sent him to Milan to attend an international housewares show in Italy. Schultz went to Verona and had his first cafe latte. But he observed something more important than the coffee. The cafe patrons were chatting and otherwise enjoying themselves while sipping their coffees in the elegant surroundings. It was an aha moment as inspiration struck. A great idea : Schultz describes that moment as epiphany, why not create community gathering places like the great coffee house of Italy in the united States? Could the old world meet the new world? If it succeeded , it would be marketing genius. By 1983 the marketing manager had a vision of recreating the magic of romance behind the Italian coffee bar and wanted to test out the concept of selling the espresso by the cup. II Giornale and Starbucks go their separate ways : When Starbucks coffee is opened its sixth store in downtown Seattle, the coffee was a hit , it was an immediate success. Schults, however branched out on his own and opened a coffee house named Italys largest newspaper , The Daily or II Giornale., Two months later , the new store was serving more than 700 customers a day , and it was selling 300 percent more than the Starbucks locations. Sell out : This is my company now. In 1987 the owners of Starbucks coffee company decided to sell their coffee business , along with the name, to a group of local investors for $3.7 million. Schultz raised the money by convincing investors of his vision that they could 125 outlets in the next five years. He also changed the II Giornale bare- breasted mermaid logo into a more socially acceptable figure. The company name changed from II Giornale to Starbucks, and finally he converted the six existing Starbucks, roasting shops into elegant , comfortable coffee houses. The era of growth : Starbucks coffee history was just beginning to take shape. Starting from a base of 17 store in 1987, the company expanded rapidly to other cities: Vancouver, Portland and Chicago. By 1991 Starbucks has also expanded into the mail-order catalogue business and licensed airport stores and further into the state of California. In1992 the company went public, and after the intial offering of public Starbucks continued to grow at a phenomenal pace that no one had ever seen in the coffee world before. By 1997 the number of Starbucks coffee stores grew tenfold, with location in United States, Japan, Singapore. Other business extension : Not satisfied enough with just a store house coffee, Starbucks expanded several other products and brand extensions. Offering Starbucks coffee on United Airlines flights Selling premium teas through Starbucks own Tazo company. Using the internet to offer the people the option to purchase Starbucks coffee online. Distributing whole bean and ground coffee to supermarkets. Producing premium coffee ice cream wit Dreyers. Selling CDs in Starbucks retail stores. The Starbucks shows how the once small regional roaster, selling coffee beans, became an international corporation with with more than 9000 locations in 34 countries serving 20 million customers or more a week. In fiscal 2004 , Starbucks reached a record 1,344 stores worldwide. 2. Objectives And vision: Commitment to safety and customer service. Low unit cost. Strong branding. Strong corporate culture. To increase the loyalty with the average customer visiting the company at least twice a week . By the year 2011 the consumer under thirty years of age should account for 35% of total sales. Increase in the target market without detracting from older consumers. To become the preferred coffee house established for the age group of the under thirties. To increase the net profit margin to 12.5 %. To increase the profit level by 15% per annum over the next ten years. Mission Statement: Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow 3. Features Of Starbucks : Instant Coffee: This is not instant coffee as you know it .this is a rich , flavourful Starbucks coffee in an instant . Starbucks had found a way to offer a truly great cup of coffee that u can prepare by just adding water. Other instant coffees taste flat and lifeless. Its made with the highest quality, ethically sourced 100% Arabica beans. The magic is in a proprietary, all natural process that we spent years perfecting. We micro grind the coffee in a way that preserves all of their essential oils and flavour. No other company takes this step, and it makes all the difference. Sales And Expansion: Starbucks always choose beautiful location and atmospehere where people can enjoy their coffee. It opened its first locations outside Seattle waterfront station in Vancouver, British Colombia and Chicago, Illinois, that same year. At the time of its initial public offering on the stock market in 1992, Starbucks has grown to 165 outlets. International Expansion: Starbucks is serving for all the coffee lovers in many countries in the world. Currently Starbucks is present in more than 55 countries across the globe. Fair Trade: In 2000, the company introduced a line of fair trade products of the approximately 136,000 metric tons (300 million pounds) of coffee Starbucks purchased in 2006, about 6 percent was certified as fair trade. 4. Marketing Strategy Of Starbucks: Starbuckss marketing strategy involves positioning the local Starbucks outlet as a third place(besides home and work) to spent time, and the stores are designed to make this easy and comfortable. The cafe section of the store is often outfitted with comfortable stuffed chair. There are ample electrical outlets providing free electricity patrons using or charging their portable music devices or laptop computers. Most stores in U.S and some other markets also have wireless internet access (although this access is not free, as it is in some independent coffee shops). The company is noted for its non-smoking policy at all it outlets, despite its prediction that this would never succeed in markets such as Germany, where there are otherwise few restrictions on smoking. Outlets in Vienna and Mexico city, which have smoking rooms separated by double doors from coffee shop itself, are the closest company has come to making an exception. According to the company, the smoking ban is to ensure that the coffee aroma is not adulterated. The company also asks its employees to refrain from wearing strong perfumes for similar reasons. Starbucks generally does not prohibit smoking in outside seating areas. Starbucks generally does not offer promotional prices on its products. It has a reputation for having pricey drinks, though as of early 2006 Dunkin doughnuts charged even more for a large cup of coffee ($1.95 vs. $1.80 at Starbucks). In late 2006, Starbucks announced that it would raise prices by $0.05 USD, at the beginning of new fiscal year, October 2, 2006. 5. SWOT Analysis: Strengths Revenue targets: Starbucks corporation is a very profitable organisation, earning in excess of $600 million in 2004. The company generated revenue of more than $5000 million in the same year. Brand Awareness: It is a global coffee brand built upon a reputation for fine products and services. It has more than 10000 cafes in almost 55 countries. Leading company: Starbucks was one of the top Fortune Top 100 companies to work for in 2005. The company is respected employer that values its work force. Strong Ethics and Mission: The company has strong ethical values and mission statements as follows, Starbucks is committed to a role of environmental leadership in all facets of our business Locations: Starbucks coffee shops locations are at convenient places like library, shopping malls and etc. Weakness Pricing: Pricing of Starbucks are higher as compared to the competitors. Business spreading: The organisation has a strong presence in the United States of America with more than three quarters of their cafes located in the home market. It is often argued that they need to look for a portfolio of countries, in order to spread business risk. Lack of internal focus: Starbucks lacks in internal focus as its focuses too much on its expansion. Control on stores: Starbucks have less control on stores outside the U.S, and also ever increasing number of competitors in the market. Dependant on retail market: The organisation is dependant on a main competitive advantage, the retail of coffee. This could make them slow to diversify into other sectors should need the arise. Opportunities Added opportunity: Starbucks are very good at taking advantage of opportunities. In 2004 the company created a CD-burning service in their Santa Monica (California USA) cafe with Hewlett Packard, where customers create a own music CD. Fair Trade Products: New products and services that can be retailed in their cafes, such as fair trade products. Market penetration: Entry into Asian market like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and also this market penetration is done even in several International countries. Global Expansion: The Company has the opportunity to expand its global operations. New markets for coffee such as India and the Pacific Rim nations beginning to emerge. Co-Branding: Co-branding with other manufacturers of food and drink, and brand franchising to manufacturers of other goods and services both have potential. Threats Coffee cost: Starbucks are exposed to rises in the cost of coffee and dairy products. Customers Choice: Who knows if the market for will grow and stay in favour with customers, or weather another type of beverage or leisure activity replace coffee in future? Copy cat brands: Since its conception in Pike Place market, Seattle in 1971, Starbucks success has lead to market entry of many competitors and copy cat brands that pose to potential threats. Coffee pricing: Starbucks have variation in coffee prices in developing countries Security: Security risk at crowded places can also be one of the major threat. 8. Porters Five Forces The food or beverage industry is one of the growing industries today. A company need to analyse both macro and micro-environmental factors. Porters five forces ,model helps the companies to have an edge over rival companies and help to better understand the current market. Porters five forces are the internal factors that have a direct impact on the current market and helps to affectively compete in the market place. The threat of intensity of industry rivalry The threat of the entry of new competitors The threat of substitute products or services The bargaining power of Suppliers. The bargaining power of customers (buyers) The threat of intensity of industrial rivalry: Small speciality coffee shop chains and independent coffee shops Costa, Nero in Europe; Caribou coffee, Van Houtte, Peets Coffee and Tea company in Canada and USA. McDonalds McCoffee Dunkin Donuts Nestle? The threat of new competitors: Starbucks has a very strong brand name which is built over a period of time. Any new competitor into coffee business need to invest lot of money for advertising and marketing to get set in the market. Economies of scale high economies of scale are required to compete with the already established companies. Distribution channels the top retailers have established powerful global distribution channels. Well known brand names and difficult distribution. The threat of substitute products or services: Choosing less expensive alternatives than the luxury coffee that Starbucks offers. Other substitutes of the coffee are the caffeinated soft drinks. The bargaining power of suppliers: Fair Trade. It ensures that the coffee farmers would be paid fairly for their crops Increasing number of speciality coffee buyers. Supply and price can be affected by multiple factors in producing countries, including weather, political and economic conditions. The company buys coffee using fixed-price and price to be fixed purchase commitments, depending on the market conditions, to secure and adequate supply of quality green coffee. Expansion: The Starbukcs will have power on its suppliers by how much the Starbucks expansion is done The bargaining power of buyers: Buyers play a significant role in the Porters forces and this scenario has a great advantage. Buyers are the individual consumers who do not buy large quantites and do not have any influence over the price. Presence of substitutes. No switching costs. High risk of backward integration. 7. Marketing Mix Strategy The Starbucks brand, marketing mix is kept value with very good upshot. The steadiness of the product goes well with its price for very good products, the place are known as beign very comforting for customers apart from if the free way is next door. The atmosphere is so peaceful for customers. The product, price, place, promotion show evenness in the reputation of being a clean and upmarket coffee shop. Price: The amount of money a buyer must give to the seller for a specific quantity of the product is the price of that product and usually consumers use this as an indicator of quality (Dalrymple parsons, 1986). Price and quality determines the value of the product. When launched, Starbucks was expensive and was positioned in accordance with that. They always tried to deliver the high value promised to the consumers. They bought the quality beans, gave effective and efficient training staffs, and moreover, made an atmosphere to enjoy coffee, meet fellow people and take a break from the busy life. These all justify and their pricing and show how price supported their positioning. Product: Starbucks tried to positioned themselves as a premium product in the coffee industry by creating a high standard, introducing innovative products and providing excellent service. Schultz knew how perishable the coffee was and they take care on coffee control, and hence carefully they monitored each step of coffee production. Usage of non-fat milk and introduction of Frappuccuino made a significant presence in the balance sheet of Starbucks. Moreover, they provided seasonal offerings such as strawberry and cream Frappuccuino in summer and ginger bread latte in Christmas, were introduced. Gradually food items such as cookies, pastries, salads, sandwiches made they way into the stores. Place: Distribution channels link the organisations product or service to its consumers; and in a producer consumer channel, as in the case of Starbucks maintaining personal relationship with the customers in significant (Brassington pettitt 2000). As demand grew, these store clusters made them able to manage the increase traffic and to keep their competitive position. In the same way they took care about the service provided in the stores. Howard Schultz aimed to unlock the romance and mystery of coffee in coffee bars, and he knew how important the role of baristas in achieving that. Baristas experience in engage the customers was the heart of Starbucks experience. Thus they differentiated in the market by constantly providing higher quality service. Promotion: All marketing activities that attempt to stimulate buyer action or sales of a product can be considered as a promotion (Shrimp, 1977). Starbucks used to organise a big community event prior to the opening of its stores. Artworks are designed to boast the each citys personality and it was used on commuter and T-shirts. They also recruit local ambassadors from new partners and to customers to promote their brand. They dint use advertising but they used those funds for acquiring key locations. Starbucks tried to establish a national dominance before other speciality coffee bars into the picture. 8. PESTLE Analysis: PESTLE analysis stands for Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental analysis. PESTLE analysis provide macro-environmental factors that a company has to tale into consideration. It is useful as strategic tool for understanding maket growth or decline, business position and direction for operations. Legal and Political factor: The factors that include the stability of country in which Starbucks purchases its coffee and other raw goods. Coffee is grown in some pretty dicey areas. Also they proclaim to be environmental friendly, so they have to cosider how to protect the brand aspect in everything they do form increasing the shade of share grown and organic coffee, for providing a living wage that makes it to individual farmers, to have production techniques with low pollution rates. Right now, Starbucks has two action suits pending since 2001. The law suits entitled Carr Vs Starbucks and shields Vs Starbucks are challenging the status of Starbucks California store managers and assistant managers as exempt employees under California wage and hour laws. Starbucks also only imports all their coffee beans, so possibly threats could include a change in import laws. The change in the status as far as imports could greatly affect numerous areas of production for the company. For example if it cost more to import or the process is made more difficult the result could ultimately change in price, which would affect the level of consumption for Starbucks coffee. Economic factors: Economic factors are an important aspects that concerns the nature and direction of the economy in which the firm operates. Since the relative affluence of various market segments will affect the consumption patterns, companies must take this into consideration when planning its strategy. The companys net revenue increased from $1.3 billion fiscal 1998 to $ 1.7 billion in fiscal 1999 due primarily to the companys store expansion program and comparable store sale increases. As a part of its expansion strategy of clustering store in existing markets, Starbucks has experienced a certain level of cannibalization has been justified by incremental sales and return on new store investments. This cannibalization, as well as increased competition and other factors, may continue to put downwards pressure on the companys comparable store sales growth in future periods (www.Starbucks.com). Social Factors As a result from the economic factors Starbucks closely following their objectives, the company has installed a list of principles that further outline the companys willingness to make sure that its affect on the environment is as positive as possible. These principle are stated as: Understanding of environmental issues and sharing information with our partners. Developing innovative and flexible solutions to bring about change. Instilling environmental responsibility as a corporate value. Measuring and monitoring each our progress for each project. Encouraging all partners to share in our mission. Recognizing that fiscal responsibility is essential to our environmental future. The importance of these guidelines is further illustrated by the companys mission to show leadership towards environmental issues. Starbucks does not just rest on its laurels, it demonstrates through participating and organising activities such as neighbourhood clean-ups. Further examples of the companys action towards friendliness include the recycling and reusing of resources in order to enhance the lives of the people around the world (www.Starbucks.com). This illustrates the integrity of the company as they can sometimes sacrifice the opportunities if they dont follow the company stands for. In addition to the waste reduction, Starbucks also aims to reduce energy usage and once again demonstrates this by doing energy audits and then using the result to change store design or procedures so that they save as much as energy possible. Technological factor: Starbucks has developed a web-site that allows its customers to buy speciality items and coffee directly through internet. Consumers can also research products, look up current financial info, current Starbucks store location and also see answers to some of the sites most frequently asked questions. Coffee in Starbucks is made with 4 special but simple fundamental steps, firstly, use the right proportion of the coffee to water. Second the brewing process is short: third, use flesh, cold water heated to just off the boil; fourth, use fleshy ground coffee. Customers besides having coffee and flesh food in the shop. Starbucks also provides to go service and bottled which have different tastes like hazel nut, mocha, vanilla, caramel, etc. All those beverages are flesh food are handcrafted and may be customized. Environmental Factors: Starbucks has a wide range of business activity. These activities help company to use numerous channels of product distribution. With the company operating in many locations worldwide environmental factor plays a major role in marketing decisions. Each distribution channel affected differently and the companys flexibility in the marketing plan allows the company to adjust their strategies to meet the needs of the environmental factors. Starbucks provides a work environment treating others with respect and dignity. The company embraces diversity as an essential component in the way Starbucks does business. Starbucks believe that the company should enthusiastically satisfied customers all the time and contribute positive to our communities and our environmental and recognise that profitability is essential to our future success (Starbucks.com, 2008). Starbucks owns and operates its own facilities, warehouses and retail stores giving the company control of product design, shipping and receiving. The companys strategy is to sell premium products and pricing the products as high as the market will allow. Starbucks brand awareness is very important and by introducing new products developing new distribution channels. Starbucks is one of the leading company in sales of coffee and coffee products in the domestic and global markets. The companys management policies have allowed Starbucks to grow and prosper as an organisation. 9. Ansoff Matrix Ansoff matrix allows companies to explore ways to grow business with existing products or services and new products in existing and/or new markets. This helps companies decide what action should be taken. Ansoff matrix has four combinations: Market Penetration Product development Market development Diversification Market penetration: Market penetration is done when a company penetrates a market with the current products. It is important to know that the market penetration strategy begins with the existing consumers of the organisation. Market development: This occurs when the market you are analysing make some sort of change or advancement. Using the Starbucks example, market development has occurred over the past couple of years as customers are becoming more health conscious. Preferences are moving toward different types of teas/drinks and customers are demanding more healthy alternatives. These factors have aided to market development, with different franchise popping up, such as Argos tea, which become direct competitor to Starbucks. Product Development: In response to the market development mentioned above, Starbucks is introducing new product developments in order to compete with companies aiming to offer customers more health conscience drink options. Enter the new product, Skinny lattes and low fat/calorie syrups at Starbucks. Diversification: Due to the saturation of U.S. coffee market, and the decreasing of their gross profit margin, Starbucks has started to move from having a concentrated business strategy to a diversification strategy. Starbucks has realised that once a market matures that it is too risky to b concentrated, and we agree that they should keep diversifying their business product lines in an effort to stay profitable, and competitive. They should diversify into products such as candy, bagels, and other food related products. Conclusion Starbucks has been increasing its debt every year, and at a pace that is faster than their assets are growing. This is why we chose the firm to slow down its expansion and its focus more on marketing their products. In such a saturated market as the one that they are in Starbucks needs to focus on increasing consumer awareness and to decrease debt as much as possible. In closing we believe that Starbucks can become even more profitable if they slow down their expansion and concentrate on the stores that they already have open. Starbucks, its brand and products are at the maturity stage of product life cycle(PLC). Change in a more and more competitive market is essential The Perfect Blend will give Starbucks a new, unique and future oriented brand image. (www.docstoc.com) 9. Starbucks Future: Name president for European operations Mark McKeon will be responsible for strategic entry and growth into Europe. Plans to open at least 400 stores during 2000. Enhancing information systems Starbucks submitted plans to build or renovate at least 10 stores around the world. These store are designed or redesigned around green building principles. This puts Starbucks in line to meet its mandate to have all new stores be LEED certificate by the end of the year. The company began converting all lights in its stores to LED technology in 2010. Starbucks estimates that 1,000 stores have undergone the lighting retrofit. The company expects this change significantly reduce its energy consumption. Starbucks bought enough renewable energy certificates to have 25% of its electricity generated by clean energy sources. The company has a goal having a 50% of electricity produced by renewable energy in 2010. 10. Recommendations Revamp the employee reward system Large percentage of staff are under the age of twenty. Benefits package focuses on medical, dental, and vision care, as well as employee stock options. Outside of hourly wage, and semiannual raises, there are few monetary rewards. Tighten focus on creating the Third Place environment. Site has a very high employee turnover rate Manager Promoted to a another site in hopes of improving their poor performance Site has very poor handicapped accessibility Conditions of restroom in each of our visits was poor and no baby changing area. Focus Profitability Measures On More Than Just Staffing Store is underperforming some high margin product segments Too high focus on minimizing direct labour as a key to achieve profitability Focus on high-margin items and profitable add-on sales By increasing pastry sales by 33%, store would realise a $16K increase in contribution.

Marlow and Human Limitations Essay -- Africa Philosophy Essays

Marlow and Human Limitations In Heart of Darkness Marlow takes us on a journey into the heart of darkest Africa, at a time when explorers and treasure seekers were venturing up the Congo River in search of the riches of ivory. What separates Marlow’s tale from a mere adventure story, however, are the uncomfortable truths about civilization and humanity that Marlow uncovers during his voyage. One of the inescapable truths he runs up against concerns the basic limitations of the human species. While humans may become so utterly confident in our civilization’s prowess, and sometimes even believe we can act like gods, the truth is that we are still human and are bound by the basic human limitations that are inherent to our world and species. Although in a rush of confidence we humans may believe ourselves to be immortal, omnipotent, and omniscient, Marlow realizes the reality is that humans are limited by death, have weaknesses, and sometimes must contend with knowing less than the absolute truth. It is Marlow’s contending with human limitation and weakness that provides a major focus for Heart of Darkness. In the following passage, Marlow states his attitude towards the human limitations implied by the act of lying. In order to reach an understanding of the significance of lies to Marlow it is important to note how he finds in lies â€Å"a taint of death†: â€Å"You know I hate, detest, and can’t bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appals me. There is a taint of death, a flavour of mortality in lies,—which is exactly what I hate and detest in the world—what I want to forget†[1] This quote shows how the inevitability of never knowing the absolute t... ...art of his own self-knowledge. But he deliberately lies, submerging himself in the detested taint of death and mortality, for the greater protection of civilization and humanity from the subversiveness of naked truth. Marlow comes to the realization that he must live and sometimes bathe in the appalling waters of human limitations in order not to disrupt the whole human world. [1] Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, London, Penguin, 1995, 49-50. [2] Conrad, 101. [3] Conrad, 92. [4] Conrad, 16. [5] Conrad, 20. [6] Conrad, 60. [7] Conrad, 58. [8] Conrad, 62. [9] Conrad, 106. [10] Conrad, 62-63. [11] Conrad, 60. [12] Conrad, 63. [13] Conrad, 28. [14] Conrad, 20. [15] Conrad, 20. [16] Conrad, 28. [17] Conrad, 28. [18] Conrad, 115. [19] Conrad, 115. [20] Conrad, 80. [21] Conrad, 114. [22] Conrad, 104.

Shakespeares Macbeth - Macbeths Guilt :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Macbeth's Guilt      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Characters in the Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth scarcely feel guilt - with two exceptions: Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In this essay let's consider their guilt-problem.    In his book, On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy, H. S. Wilson comments regarding the guilt of the protagonist:    It is a subtler thing which constitutes the chief fascination that the play exercises upon us - this fear Macbeth feels, a fear not fully defined, for him or for us, a terrible anxiety that is a sense of guilt without becoming (recognizably, at least) a sense of sin. It is not a sense of sin because he refuses to recognize such a category; and, in his stubbornness, his savage defiance, it drives him on to more and more terrible acts. (74)    Blanche Coles states in Shakespeare's Four Giants that, regarding guilt in the play:    Briefly stated, and with elaborations to follow, Macbeth is the story of a kindly, upright man who was incited and goaded, by the woman he deeply loved, into committing a murder and then, because of his sensitive nature, was unable to bear the heavy burden of guilt that descended upon him as a result of that murder. (37)    In "Memoranda: Remarks on the Character of Lady Macbeth," Sarah Siddons mentions the guilt and ambition of Lady Macbeth and their effect:    [Re "I have given suck" (1.7.54ff.)] Even here, horrific as she is, she shews herself made by ambition, but not by nature, a perfectly savage creature. The very use of such a tender allusion in the midst of her dreadful language, persuades one unequivocally that she has really felt the maternal yearnings of a mother towards her babe, and that she considered this action the most enormous that ever required the strength of human nerves for its perpetration. Her language to Macbeth is the most potently eloquent that guilt could use.   (56)    Clark and Wright in their Introduction to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare explain how guilt impacts Lady Macbeth:    Lady Macbeth is of a finer and more delicate nature. Having fixed her eye upon the end - the attainment for her husband of Duncan's crown - she accepts the inevitable means; she nerves herself for the terrible night's work by artificial stimulants; yet she cannot strike the sleeping king who resembles her father. Having sustained her weaker husband, her own strength gives way; and in sleep, when her will cannot control her thoughts, she is piteously afflicted by the memory of one stain of blood upon her little hand.

Scm 3301

SCM 3301 Spring 2013 Exam 1 Study Review The exam will cover chapters 1-4 from the textbook. Format: 34 multiple choice questions of approximately equal weightage from each of the four chapters. Resources to study: * Lecture Notes ( If you have missed a class, please obtain the notes from a classmate) * The textbook * Closely read the sections covered in the lectures * Closely read the material related to the main ideas listed below Main Ideas: Chapter One: Describe a supply chain and define supply chain management. * Describe the objectives and elements of supply chain management. * Describe a brief history and some of the trends of supply chain management. * Understand the range of supply chain management activities common to both services and manufacturing * BUY – Supply * MAKE – Operations * SHIP – Logistics * Coordination – Integration * Understand the current trends in Supply Chain Management Chapter Two: Understand the role of supply management and its strategic impact on an organization’s competitive advantage * Understand the profit leverage of effective purchasing * Have a basic knowledge of the manual purchasing process, e-procurement, small value procurement * Understand strategic nature of the â€Å"make or buy† decision * Understand sourcing decisions and the factors impacting supplier selection * Describe the various considerations in assessing the Total Cost of Ownership * Understand how a supplier portfolio is managed Describe the opportunities and challenges of global sourcing Chapter Three: * Explain the importance of supplier partnerships * Understand the key factors for developing successful partnerships * Understand the principles behind the Weighted Criteria Evaluation System * Understand the purpose and creation of a supplier certification program * Explain the importance of a supplier recognition program * Understand the capabilities of Supplier Relationship Management Chapter Four: Define and a ppreciate the trends in ethical and sustainable sourcing * Define and describe the terms: fair trade products green purchasing social sustainability * Describe how ethical and sustainable sourcing strategies are developed and implemented * Understand how Supply Base Rationalization can help improve a company’s ethical and sustainable sourcing * Understand ways that supplier partnerships can help a company’s ethical and sustainable goals * Understand the use of environmental supplier certification and recognition programs

Current Ethical Issues in Managerial Accounting Essay

No company can nowadays afford to function alone. Partnerships are increasingly getting important and the effective exchange of information can determine profit or loss. An important method to cope with the increasing complexity is called supply chain management (SCM). It is enterprise-wide planning, management and control of all logistics tasks in the value chain. I decided to choose this topic because I had the chance to work with the system in practice in the Automotive Lighting plant in Jihlava. I want to explain the origins of this technology and take a closer look at its major features. I will also try to show how this system increases business value and where its limitations are. Last but not least I show some example of practical use in small and medium companies and I will try to determine the latest trends in the industry of this technology. My chosen company is SAP which produces software in the fields of ERP, CRM and SCM. The term supply chain management was named by Keith Oliver in 1992, economists called this the creation era. In the so-called integration era, SCM got developed along with Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems with the internet-based collaborative systems. SCM is starting to get widely used in the globalization era in the late 1980s. In the 1990s companies began to outsource manufacturing and distribution. This new step created need for manufacturing and distribution networks with many supply chains. (Haag, Cummings, McCubbrey, Pinsonneault, Donovan 2006) One of the major features of the SCM Software from SAP is that it can quickly help a company to adapt in changes in supply and demand. There are newly developed tools to measure and report data and to provide a framework for good decision making in managerial accounting. One of the tools I find very attractive is the Manufacturing and Supply Planning. This feature can forecast demand and accelerate production planning and the scheduling process. What company stakeholders typically provide input? What is the role of the financial staff? The Braskem Company, with headquarters in Sao Paulo, Brazil is producing Chemicals, with 6750 employees and $27. 7 billion revenue. The SAP software for SCM managed to optimize the supply chain processes and also increased sales forecast accuracy. The result was a 90% reduction of inefficiency-related logistics costs and $3 million value enerated in the first year after implementation of the software. (SAP, 2013) Because there are many factors in a supply chain a problem in one of them could negatively influence the whole chain. If there is an unexpected event, it can have negative effects on the company. A new trend suddenly appearing in the demand can delay production and produce extra costs. One solution is to get information from more sources and paste them to the software. (Kallrath, Maindl 2006) There is software for smaller business called sap business one. This software is scaled to Enterprise Resources planning, analytics and databases for small businesses. SAP Enterprise on the other hand, provides all the complex and flexible solutions for large companies. sap business one comes with significantly lowers costs to introduce and to educate staff in a company. The total cost of ownership is significantly lower than the corresponding implementation of SAP Enterprise. (SAP, 2013) The company danisco, from Denmark and the industry of consumer products improved their supply chain efficiency across the organization. They managed to increase forecast accuracy with the SAP CRM software. On a 6-month timescale, the implementation of the software across 69 sites in 21 countries increased supply chain efficiency resulting in cost optimization and enhancing customer service. (SAP, 2013) The global brand Ferrero Group from Italia also used SAP software to enhance and reduce the cost of planning improvements. The company managed to shorten the job chains for demand and supply network planning. The benefits of these solutions are clearly stated. The need of purchasing additional hardware was eliminated, while the system performance was improved by 200%. SAP, 2013) Mibelle AG Cosmetics is a medium-sized company from Switzerland which produces consumer cosmetics. The greatest benefit was the improvement of planning and warehouse transparence and precision while new partners from Switzerland and abroad emerged. The SAP software was chosen because of the easy implementation to the existing ERP application. (SAP, 2013) The future of the global companies is depending on a well processed SCM. Companies like SAP provide outstanding software and research in this field. As I know from my experience from Automotive Lighting s. . o. in Jihlava, a plant producing the head-lights for the Volkswagen Group TM and Japanese car producers, well implemented SCM management is the key factor in the success of such a company. The industry is constantly developing and new technologies are emerging but software products like that from SAP is being produced and updated constantly. Although crisis is decreasing our business opportunities, in my opinion the constant research and development in the field of SCM is a key factor for success in our time coined by the term of hyper-competition.

Psychological theories Essay

There are several psychological theories that try to experience human behavior. They are mainly divided into six groups each with its focus (Burke, 2008). The behavioral theories look at human behavior based on the idea that it is through conditioning that behavior is acquired. Cognitive theories look at internalized states such as problem solving and motivation. Developmental theories offer thoughts on human development, growth and learning. Humanist theories look at human experiences as part of collective human needs and condition. Personality theories examine patterns of behavior, feelings and thoughts unique to a person. Social psychology theories examine social behavior and social phenomenon. All the theories look at human being and try to explain it (Burke, 2008). The theories offer as well knowledge that can sometimes help modify behavior. Growing up my experiences have led me to prove or disapprove some of these psychological theories. On reflection some theories seem to explain the behaviors that I exhibited. Developmental theory. One of the theories that explain my behavior as a teenager is the social learning theory. The theory proposed by Albert Bandura argues that one of the ways that people learn new behaviors is by observing other peoples behavior (Bandura, 1976). In my case, growing up as a new cheerleader I looked at how other girls behaved at cheerleading tournament to decipher what the proper behavior was in certain situations. By looking at how my teammates remained optimistic and cheered wildly even when our team was down, I imitated their behavior as the right thing to do. Bandura offered concepts to basic social learning. To begin with social learning depends on and begins with observational learning (Bandura, 1976). He identified three models of observational learning; a live model, a verbal instructional model and a symbolic model (Bandura, 1976). In my case, I was modeling my behavior after live models who were my teammates. Social learning also involves mental states. While extrinsic reinforcement plays a big role in learning, intrinsic reinforcement influences behavior. He found that reward received on the inside of a person like satisfaction and pride influences learning and subsequent behavior. In my case, one of the rewards was fitting in with my teammates. The cheerleading squad was very close and if one did not fit in they would be treated as an outsider. So I observed the skills of my team mates especially those who were able to rally everyone. By following in their footsteps, I was soon able to encourage my teammates even when our team was doing poorly. I was happy that soon they would not want to attend any cheering games without me around and nominated me to be head of the cheerleading squad. Looking back, I can see that my behavior was fueled by the internal reward of acceptance and admiration. Bandura also noted that though learning may take place and new information may be gotten, behavioral change may not occur (Bandura, 1976). Some factors affect the process of learning influencing the outcome. Models who inspire interest facilitate learning since learners can give them the necessary attention required for learning. In my case, I had always admired the cheering squad of our school. As a result, I fully dedicated myself to the process of learning how to be like them. Everything that the leader taught us was something I had always wanted to know and I felt lucky to have the leader mentor me. A learner’s ability to retain information gathered affects learning (Bandura, 1976). If information can not be retrieved, it can not be acted upon. One of the factors that affect retention of information is a brain’s condition. A young brain like mine was without defects was able to retain information and retrieve it. Being able to retain the information and retrieve it meant that the learning would be a continuous process (Bandura, 1976). Next in the learning process is reproduction of the observed and retained behavior. In my case I got a lot of opportunity to reproduce the desired behavior. Every time we had a tournament I would practice the behavior I was learning. With lots of practice, I was able to have the same behavior the other cheering squad members had and no one might have known who learnt from whom. Motivation plays the last part of learning (Bandura, 1976). Motivation to learn the desired behavior can be through direct reinforcement of the learner or what the learner observes others receive. In my case, seeing the admiration the cheering squad got even before I joined them motivated me to pursue joining the squad. After joining the squad, I noticed how the cheering squad members got attention and praise. I was therefore motivated to excel in my cheering skills. Personality theory One of the personality theories that can also explain my behavior is the trait personality theory. The trait theory proposes that people’s personalities are made up of diverse inclinations (Burke, 2008). The traits are stable characteristic that make people behave in a certain manner. Several traits when playing together are what make up a personality. Several psychologists have come up with proposals of personality. One of the personality categorization is the Big Five personality which presents five dimensions to the human personality that determines our behavior (Burke, 2008). One of the five dimensions is extraversion referring to an individual’s expressiveness of emotional feelings (Engler, 2008). In my case being emotionally open I was able to express what I wanted from the cheering squad and if I was unhappy I found myself voicing my disapproval. Sometimes the squad would make fun of teams playing against our team. I would always be open about my disapproval and would not participate if I felt that our behavior was closing the line. The second dimension is agreeableness referring to attributes that promote social behaviors (Engler, 2008). Some people are able to be sociable with others and fit in quickly with the cheering squad. Mingling with others would be the highlight of my day and I found that I always picked activities that leaned towards socializing. Whenever a new member joined the squad I would be curious to know about them and I was the one introducing them to the others. The third dimension is conscientiousness referring to traits of organization, impulse control and goal centered behaviors (Engler, 2008). People with these traits behave in ways that are organized. In my case I was praised for my punctuality and seriousness in our training. I found that if I was serious with my goal I had to see it through by giving it the right time and effort. Many trainees dropped out because the training required lots of dedication. For me, school work and my training could be combined by thoroughly planning all the details involved and being aware of what each needed. The fourth dimension is neuroticism referring to people who tend to exhibit anxiety, moodiness and emotional instability (Engler, 2008). Despite being in similar situations with others, these tend to show different reaction. In my case I found my time as a member of the cheering squad to be fun. Though many times things didn’t go the way I wanted them to, to brood over that would rob me of opportunities to have a good time. By being myself, I was therefore able to enjoy my cheering time and I look back at it with happiness. The last dimension is openness (Engler, 2008). People with this trait show a lot of interests, insight and imagination. These people usually have many hobbies and are involved in many activities. In my case being a member of the cheering squad was only part of the many interests I had. I was a member of about five clubs and a leader in three of them. I was happy to be a cheering squad member and enjoyed coming up with new routine moves. I became the youngest cheerleader in the history of my school and we had the most unique routines during competition thanks to my creativity and the invitation I gave to all the members to share their creations. Although the developmental and personality theories do not fully explain all my behaviors during my cheering time in school, they enlighten some of the behaviors and explain why I behaved the way I did. References Albert Bandura. (1976). Social Learning Theory. New jersey: Prentice Hall. Barbara Engler. (2008). Personality Theories. Boston: Wadsworth publishing. Peter, J. Burke(Ed. ). (2006). Contemporary Social theories. Carlifornia: Stanford Sciences.