Employment Business Law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Employment Business Law - Coursework Example Firstly, eliminating redundancy amongst individuals and departments increases the overall productivity per employee (Lewis, 2014). As a result, employees’ full potential is fully exploited in order increase output. To achieve this, maximum supervision is fundamental. Secondly, employers should encourage sharing of work amongst employees to finish tasks in a timely manner. Thirdly, automating departments and outsourcing minor tasks would reduce the available work and save money that would be paid as overtime to employees (Lewis, 2014). Several measures can be adopted to structure the above arrangements. Firstly, appointment of supervisors helps in ensuring that employees work to their optimal level. Secondly, sharing work amongst employees is achievable through exchange programs amongst the workers and training the employees on different fields. Office automation involves the increased use of machines to simplify work. As a result, more machines should be purchased. It is important that all employees be covered under the 401(k) plan. The plan is a profit-sharing plan through which employees contribute a certain amount of their wages to individual accounts. In addition, it acts as a retirement benefit plan. As a result, all employees should be enrolled as long as they serve the business. The plan is dependent on performance and age difference. For instance, aged employees should be encouraged to be part of the plan since their service period to the business is relatively less. In addition, young employees should be incorporated in the plan since they ought to serve their employers for long a time. The situation leads to accrual of more individual benefits in the

Break-Even Point of Industry Essay Example for Free

Break-Even Point of Industry Essay 1. Airbus’ Interests Objectives First of all, the large and cost-efficient A3XX would be popular with significant growth in the air transportation industry. Worldwide passenger traffic would almost triple in volume by 2019, with fuel price rising in the future. Creating large and cost-efficient aircrafts, rather than increasing frequencies and building new routes, would be the long-term solutions to the problem of growing demand. Therefore, this project will be strategically significant. Secondly, Airbus wants to gain market shares in the VLA market and break up the monopoly of the 747, but it didn’t have a product to compete with Boeing’s 747. Compared to the 747, the A3XX provides more advantageous features which would attract passengers especially on the longer routes, such as more space per seat, four-engine plane, etc. The combination of increased capacity and reduced costs would provide superior economics. Airbus felt confident that capacity increases would eventually prevail. As we stated above, Airbus’s objectives are to break up the monopoly of the 747, to increase its market share in the VLA market, to gain enormous financial success and to be an industry leader. 2. Break-Even Point Market Demand Production will be able to reach full capacity from 2008, with order and delivery assumed on a stable level. During this period, the capital expenditure will be offset by depreciation in calculation of free cash flow, and RD will be included in the operating margin. The company, as assumed, will produce and deliver 22 aircrafts for the airlines which have ordered, with 6 in 2006 and 16 in 2007. Since $700 million would have already been spent before the decision, this amount of investment should be treated as sunk cost, therefore irrelevant to the NPV analysis. To break even, with assumed operating margin of 18%, Airbus should produce and sell about 40 VLAs every year since 2008, or 495 in total before 2019. Taking the estimated margin from Lehman Brothers and CS First Boston into consideration, total orders needed for break-even can range from 306 to 509 in 20 years. From the view of Airbus, the market demand for VLA, 1550 in years, is large enough to take this project. And it is pretty safe to launch the development since, even with lowest estimated margin, 38% of total market share will guarantee a break-even. However, Boeing gives a totally different perspective and a much lower forecast on potential market demand. Under this estimation, A3XX development will have little chance to make a profit. Airbus should take at least half a market on VLA to make that project fruitful. 3. Boeing’s Response Based on the analysis before, the VLA market is so promising that Airbus is very likely to launch the A3XX. Facing with this threat, the most important move for Boeing is to prevent Airbus from dominating the VLA market. Therefore, Boeing can cut the price of existing 747 product lines and produce 747 stretch as response to Airbus. Producing 747 stretch which may contain 550+ passengers wont be too costly for Boeing since is a modification over the current model, and that can powerfully compete with A3XX in the VLA market. Before the stretch version is market available, Boeing can offer a price cutting of the existing 747 which can not only divert sales away from A3XX, but also make A3XX project less attractive. Other alternatives might not fit. Firstly, fighting the A3XX on legal grounds (improper subsidies) will probably induce the revenge complain from Airbus, making Boeing itself to pay a large penalty. Secondly, to develop its own super jumbo jet is costly and maybe not profitable. What’s worse, in 1997 Boeing faced the first loss in more than 50 years, it’s better for Boeing to have a prudent stable strategy than an aggressive investing. 4. The Threshold To Launch We think Airbus should commit to build A3XX. The Annual Sales and Orders as of 1999 show that Airbus currently faces a disadvantage in competition with Boeing on almost every size of passenger aircraft. Worse is that, while Boeing pockets the market for VLA, Airbus even has no product to compete. Breaking the monopoly on this market becomes critical for Airbus, which is aiming to lead the industry. Strategic significance of A3XX makes this project worth an effort. Compared with the situation when Boeing launched its 747 development with 25 initial orders, the current 22 orders, with other 34 probable, is not a negative sign to commit the project. However, there would also be great risk in the new aircraft development. The possible poor market demand will make the project unprofitable. More important is that new A3XX should be sold quickly in early years to exploit learning curve effect on manufactory and seize market before Boeing reacts.

To Save or Not To Save - That Is the Question Essay example -- Conserv

When you look at a bald eagle, you see how powerful and majestic this bird is, which is how many people feel about the United States; that’s why the bald eagle is our national emblem on our Great Seal. It would be a dishonor to our Nation to have such a worldwide-recognized symbol of The United States extinct, but in fact that’s exactly what almost happened. To help the bald eagle regain it’s numbers, on December 28, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon signed The Endangered Species Act. â€Å"The law established procedures for conserving plants and animals in danger of extinction and those that are threatened, or likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future (Cooper, â€Å"Endangered Species Act† 855). Since its establishment, the Endangered Species Act has been a topic of debate on whether the way the act is set up now has been worth the securing of land, including land that is privately owned, the time to research and the money that has been spent . Once species are listed as either threatened or endangered of becoming extinct the first move is to figure out what can be done to help them. What kind of habitat does it need to thrive? Is it isolated to only a few regions of the country or widely located? Could it be introduced into new regions, whether rural or urban, and still have a chance of survival? The lands that are being protected range from mountains to national parks to any neighborhood across the country, so that the smallest plant to the largest wild animal has an environment where they can continue to thrive. Some species have been reintroduced and their populations have recovered enough to bring them out of the endangered status and off of the Endangered Species Act listing. Wolfs and grizzly bears are two out of the nu... ...ecies Act have their valid points. The two sides need to work together discuss which animals are vital to the balance of the eco-system and which plants could help create medicine that fight illnesses like cancer. The laws need to reflect not only the time and money involved in saving the world’s species of plants and animals but also protect the livelihood of the populations of people who are involved in such areas. The balance between the two is possible as long as both sides work with each other not against each other. Works Cited Arrandale, Tom. "Disappearing Species." CQ Researcher 17.42 (2007): 985-1008. CQ Researcher. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. Cooper, Mary H. "Endangered Species Act." CQ Researcher 9.37 (1999): 849-64. CQ Researcher. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. ---. "Endangered Species Act." CQ Researcher 15.21 (2005): 493-516. CQ Researcher. Web. 24 Mar. 2012.

Othello First Impression Essay Essay

Our first impression of Othello comes from a conversation between Iago, Roderigo, and Brabantio. Our second impression of him comes from Othello himself. The first two impressions conflict greatly, the second being more accurate than the first. Despite the way Othello is described in the first scene, he shows himself to be quite different in the second. Our first impression of Othello comes from a conversation between Iago, Roderigo, and Brabantio. Iago speaks of Othello with contempt. From the very first scene, he seems to be a hated character. Without even mentioning Othello’s name, the three men paint a picture of him as a scheming criminal who has stolen and raped Brabantio’s daughter. In calling Othello names like â€Å"an old black ram† (1.1.97), â€Å"the devil† (1.1.100), and â€Å"a Barbary horse† (1.1.125), Iago depicts Othello as evil and dirty. Brabantio announces that he would rather that Desdemona was with Roderigo than the Moor, when he says, â€Å"O, would you had had her!† (1.1.198). From this first scene, the audience gets a very negative impression of Othello–one that differs greatly from the second impression. In the second scene, when we actually meet Othello, we see that he is not at all like how he was portrayed in the first scene. He is an honorable and honest man. When Iago tries to warn him of Brabantio’s anger, he refuses to go into hiding, saying, â€Å"Let him do his spite. My services which I have done†¦ shall out-tongue his complaints†¦ I must be found. My parts, my title, and my perfect soul shall manifest me rightly† (1.2.20-37). Othello is confident in his actions and refuses to run away like a coward, having done nothing wrong. Then, when Othello’s men meet up with Brabantio’s men, Othello’s wise words prevent a bloody conflict. He says â€Å"you shall more command with years than with your weapons†¦Hold your hands†¦Were it my cue to fight, I should have known it without a prompter† (1.2.78-104). Obviously, from Othello’s smart words and logical actions, he is not the man that Iago, Roderigo and Brabantio m ade him seem to be. In conclusion, our first impression of Othello is inaccurate and inconsistent  with our second impression, which actually comes from Othello himself. The first time we meet Othello, we learn that the description of him, in the first scene, was biased, racist, and incorrect. All in all, our second impression of Othello is much more true to his actual character.

Medium Is the Message- Self Assessment

Self Assessment #1 I truly enjoyed this essay. It made me think. The topic puzzled me to the point where I had to figure out what in the world medium meant. I read the box over and over again. I started to underline words that kept showing up over and over again. I tried to understand what MuLuhan is talking about gives me a headache. Once I thought I had it figured out I was shot down and this happened many times. I researched, I thought about it extensively in class and out side of class. I used reasonable logic to find my meaning of medium. This time by golly I think I got it. For the first paragraph I followed directions. I explained exigence. I explained why medium is important for discussion. I related it to how I came to my definition. I also, explained why it needs defining. I feel I did an extremely good job on this part because I under stood. I re-read my work over and over again. Played with what I wanted to say and did the best job I could do to put my message on the page. I feel I did a really good job on this paragraph and am satisfied. My second paragraph was denotation or the dictionary definition and connotation, other’s opinions. I followed direction. I used the Oxford English Dictionary as you requested. One thing that might hurt me here is that I got lazy and did not want to write out the whole thing every time I made a reference to it so I made an abbreviation. OoOoo†¦. Big deal. If you take points away for that, that’s dumb because I know you don’t want to read the Oxford English Dictionary over and over again. I made a reference to, two different definitions. One’s I felt were good. As I read what you gave us in class and developed my choice based on what I felt medium meant and these would be the best for my argument as they were polar opposites. I could have done more internet research or other definition research but I felt I didn’t need it because I felt I got a well developed censes for my connotation. My connotation, I felt it would be smart to do a mix of people, ranging by education, age, and gender. This is how I came to ask my brother, my mom and an old professor of mine. My third paragraph is my prize, my winning grade paragraph. I know I got my definition right this time. I feel it in my gut. I was in the â€Å"zone†, you even told me. I feel I really understand meaning. My sentence, to make it work is beautiful. So beautiful it only took me two sentences to explain myself. To be honest I never cut anything I wanted to say out and I never even went onto two pages because I felt I knew what I was talking about. I feel accomplished and I want to share my writing with other people. The pressure put on by you helped with that. You said it is hard to impress you so I worked hard to at least come close or try to. My essay is work at least a B. AT LEAST! I worked my butt off on this essay. So help me if I get lower than a B I am going to flip out. No I will go crazy. My work here is above average as I completely understood the assignment and gave through analysis. This is some one my best work. I studied the context and I read the book. Off the record, meaning you can not say this information to them. We know I was my group leader and those boys would be no where with out me. I carried them; no I rocked their socks off. Robert was still in this parallel universe land and who knows what they Asian gang bangers were thinking. So that means I had to think twice as much to come up with something reasonable than other people in other groups because I had no real input from my class mates. To be honest I feel this paper is an A-/B+. I spent too much time on this assignment to be just average. The only reason I said, at least, least being the lowest a B is because I did not want to sound cocky. Ali Smith 24 April 2009 English 105. 28 Jeff Cravello The Logical Definition of Medium Logic implies that an intellectual human being must use their brain to break down a complicated situation in order to simplify it into easier terms through proper analysis and extensive research. The more a person uses logic; the more intellectual and professional sounding a person becomes. People in the elite work force praise intellectual superiority because this means you are educated. The more logical and educated a person is, the higher their salary will be. This is some of the reasoning behind as to why people attend college. It is to practice their logistical skills to make the right decisions in life and develop a career based on logistical analysis. Based on this, the exigence related to the word medium is that medium a very complex word that needs simplifying. The only way to come to a reasonable definition of the word medium is through logistical thought. The Oxford English Dictionary definition and every context that contains the word as a tangible object, are too extensively different that the possibilities to find one universal meaning for the word leads to many different possibilities. The only way to find a reasonable definition for medium is to think logically. The Oxford English Dictionary (O. E. D. ) defines medium as, the plural form of media as being â€Å"A middle quality, degree, or condition†¦ something intermediate. † For the context of how Marshall McLuhan’s book, The Medium is the Message, uses the word medium; this definition does not work because it makes no sense. Even defining media does not helps, which by the O. E. D. is defined as, â€Å"newspapers, radio, television, etc. , collectively, as vehicles of mass communication. † Figuring, some words have multiple definitions. Another O. E. D. definition defines medium as being, â€Å"pervading or enveloping substance; the substance or element in which an organism lives, one’s environment. † This makes no sense because how can one word be defined as a tangible object, an environment, the middle between two things and the plural of media if there is nothing in these definitions that connect? Sometimes sources for information can be misleading. On an internet site, www. dictionary. com, medium is defined as fifteen different things. One of those definitions is, â€Å"something intermediate in nature or degree. † This site was no help because all its definitions were the same definition of medium being the middle. So if a dictionary is no help then maybe a person might know what this word means? A Cal Poly Pomona economics professor said that, â€Å"A medium is the average. † An eighth grade boy said it was, â€Å"The middle. † A mid-aged business woman said that, â€Å"medium is the stuff that is in between. † The definitions from each person connect but each person only gave a one sided answer. Given the context, medium is something tangible so the definition for this word is more complex than just being the middle between two things or just an environment alone. The definition for a medium is a propagated material object used to cause a connection to occur and create a surrounding environment that can perceive our signals, waves, and forces between one and another. One way to prove if a definition works, take the word defining and apply it in a sentence. Yesterday, my whole mode changed within seconds when I received word through a medium that I had won tickets to meet my favorite band. Going off this model, when I received the news I heard it through a martial object, my cell phone. A connection was made; therefore my environment, my mood; had changed as I perceived the information from another person to myself. The medium is the message. Works Cited – McLuhan. Marshall. The Medium is the Message. – The Oxford English Dictionary – Debi Smith (50 year-old mother) – J. R. Smith (13 year-old brother) – Professor Amrik Dua of the economics department – www. dictionary. reference. com- http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/medium

Homonyms quiz - Emphasis

Homonyms quiz Homonyms quiz Homonyms are words that are pronounced or spelt in the same way but have different meanings – there and their, for example. This ten-question quiz will test you on some of the most commonly confused homonyms. How well do you know your allusions from your illusions and your pails from your pales? After youve answered the questions and been given your score, an explanation of each pair of homonyms will appear. Good luck! He gives the ____ of knowing exactly what needs doing, but I wonder if he really does. allusionillusionCould you ____ with me for ten minutes? I’m just running a little late. bearbareIs everyone here? Do we have a full ____? complementcomplimentI’d appreciate it if you could be ____ about this; we’re keeping it quiet until the details are finalised. discreetdiscreteOur guest speaker this week is the ____ Dr Greggs. eminentimminentThe project is now in ____ fourth week, so I thought it would be a good idea to have a catch up. it'sitsWe felt his comments were beyond the ____ and hope he plans to issue an apology. palepailOur ____ concern is that the project may not be completed before the June deadline. principleprincipalWe’ll give you free ____ regarding design and pictures. reignreinCan we arrange to have some branded ____ made? stationarystationery How did you do? Let us know by popping a comment in the box below.

A Critique on Hobo by Robert Bloch Essay Example

A Critique on Hobo by Robert Bloch Essay Example A Critique on Hobo by Robert Bloch Paper A Critique on Hobo by Robert Bloch Paper The story opens with a man called Hannigan on the lam again, leaving a town he calls Knifeville for reasons which are later revealed. From the offset we realize that this man is a Hobo, as suggested in the title, traveling from town to town to find refuge and avoid the so-called Knifevilles. As soon as he hops into an empty, the smell and the lighting reflect the mood and ambience of the boxcar. The word musty resonates in ones mind as being a smell closely related to death, although not relating to smell but to darkness, also touching on the idea of death. He feels the perspiration trickle down his body, as if already frightened. Thats what Sneaky Pete did to a man. At this point we think that Sneaky Pete is a person and is what is making Hannigan perspire; we become wary of the boxcar and Hannigans surroundings. As the train picks up speed and moves on we see the lights as a solid neon chain. Again Sneaky Pete is mentioned but by now we realize that it is most probably alcohol as he mentions it several more times in the story and every time it is more and more closely related to alcohol rather than a person. Hannigan shrugs, trying to convince himself that he drank to celebrate his leaving town. The shrug unexpectedly becomes a twitch and the twitch became a shiver. He then admits to himself, he drunk because he was scared, he had to get out of Knifeville. He turns his gaze away from the light outside and focuses his vision in the dimness of the empty boxcar. The difference between the light and the dark in this story is very significant; the light represents the known and the darkness the unknown. The word empty becomes ironic as shown in the next few lines. The lines become short and quick reflecting the mood, beating like Hannigans heart: Then he froze. The boxcar wasnt empty. He sees another man against the opposite side of the boxcar. Here Robert Bloch uses the definite article the, rather than the indefinite a. This makes the reader wonder why it is the man rather than a man as Hannigan is not even acquainted with him yet. As the story continues, Hannigan keeps asking the man questions and he keeps seeing nods as flashes of light pass by. This is quite a coincidence that each time Hannigan asks him a question a flash of light shows his nod. Hannigan is only aware of the mans whereabouts by his hoarse breathing. Toward the end Hannigan quite rightly asks you a dummy or something? and leans closer forward to see the man. The man topples forward and Hannigan is shocked to see him dead and says to himself that he heard the breathing, and hen he hears the breathing from behind until he feels it on his neck.

The Golden Triangle

The Golden Triangle The Golden Triangle is an area covering 367,000 square miles in Southeast Asia where a significant portion of the world’s opium has been produced since the beginning of the twentieth century. This area is centered around the meeting point of the borders that separate Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand. The Golden Triangle’s mountainous terrain and distance from major urban centers make it an ideal location for illicit poppy cultivation and transnational opium smuggling.   Until the end of the 20th century, the Golden Triangle was the world’s largest producer of opium and heroin, with Myanmar being the single highest-producing country. Since 1991, the Golden Triangle’s opium production has been outpaced by the Golden Crescent, which refers to an area that traverses the mountainous regions of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran.   A Brief History of Opium in Southeast Asia Although opium poppies appear to be native to Southeast Asia, the practice of using opium recreationally was introduced to China and Southeast Asia by Dutch traders in the early 18th century. European traders also introduced the practice of smoking opium and tobacco using pipes.   Soon after the introduction of recreational opium consumption to Asia, Britain replaced the Netherlands as China’s primary European trade partner. According to historians, China became the primary target of British opium traders for financial reasons. In the 18th century, there was high demand in Britain for Chinese and other Asian goods, but there was little demand for British goods in China. This imbalance forced British merchants to pay for Chinese goods in hard currency rather than British goods. In order to make up for this loss of cash, British merchants introduced opium to China with the hope that high rates of opium addiction would generate large amounts of cash for them. In response to this strategy, Chinese rulers outlawed opium for non-medicinal use, and in 1799, Emperor Kia King banned opium and poppy cultivation completely. Nonetheless, British smugglers continued to bring opium into China and the surrounding areas. Following the British victories against China in the Opium Wars in 1842 and 1860, China was forced to legalize opium. This foothold allowed British traders to expand the opium trade to Lower Burma when British forces began to arrive there in 1852. In 1878, after knowledge of the negative effects of opium consumption had thoroughly circulated throughout the British Empire, British Parliament passed the Opium Act, prohibiting all British subjects, including those in Lower Burma, from consuming or producing opium. Nonetheless, illegal opium trade and consumption continued to take place. The Birth of the Golden Triangle In 1886, the British Empire expanded to include Upper Burma, where the modern Kachin and Shan states of Myanmar are located. Nestled in rugged highlands, the populations that inhabited Upper Burma lived relatively beyond the control of British authorities. Despite British efforts to retain a monopoly on the opium trade and regulate its consumption, opium production and smuggling took root in these rugged highlands and fueled much of the region’s economic activity.   In Lower Burma, on the other hand, British efforts to secure a monopoly on opium production succeeded by the 1940s. Similarly, France retained similar control over opium production in the lowland regions of its colonies in Laos and Vietnam. Nonetheless, the mountainous regions surrounding the convergence point of the Burma, Thailand, and Laos borders continued to play a major role in the global opium economy. The Role of the United States Following Burma’s independence in 1948, several ethnic separatist and political militia groups emerged and became embroiled in conflict with the newly formed central government. At the same time, the United States actively sought to forge local alliances in Asia in its effort to contain the spread of communism. In exchange for access and protection during anti-communist operations along China’s southern border, the United States supplied arms, ammunition and air transport for the sale and production of opium to insurgent groups in Burma and ethnic minority groups in Thailand and Laos. This led to a surge in the availability of heroin from the Golden Triangle in the United States and established opium as a major source of funding for separatist groups in the region. During the American war in Vietnam, the CIA trained and armed a militia of ethnic Hmong people in northern Laos to wage an unofficial war against northern Vietnamese and Lao communists. Initially, this war disrupted the economy of the Hmong community, which was dominated by opium cash-cropping. However, this economy was soon stabilized by the CIA-backed militia under Hmong general Vang Pao, who was given access to his own aircraft and permission to continue opium smuggling by his American case handlers, preserving the Hmongs’ access to heroin markets in southern Vietnam and elsewhere. Opium trade continues to be a major feature of Hmong communities in the Golden Triangle as well as in the United States. Khun Sa: King of the Golden Triangle By the 1960s, several rebel groups based in northern Burma, Thailand, and Laos supported their operations through the illegal opium trade, including a faction of the Kuomintang (KMT), which had been expelled from China by the Communist Party. The KMT funded its operations by expanding the opium trade in the region.   Khun Sa, born in Chan Chi-fu in 1934 to a Chinese father and Shan mother, was an uneducated  youth in the Burmese countryside who formed his own gang in the Shan State and sought to break into the opium business. He partnered with the Burmese government, which armed Chan and his gang, essentially outsourcing them to fight the KMT and Shan nationalist militias in the region. In exchange for fighting as the Burmese government’s proxy in the Golden Triangle, Chan was permitted to continue trading opium. However, over time, Chan grew friendlier with Shan separatists, which aggravated the Burmese government, and in 1969, he was imprisoned. Upon his release five years later, he adopted the Shan name Khun Sa and devoted himself, at least nominally, to the cause of Shan separatism. His Shan nationalism and success in drug production garnered the support of many Shan, and by the 1980s, Khun Sa had amassed an army of over 20,000 soldiers, which he dubbed the Mok Tai Army, and established a semi-autonomous fiefdom in the hills of the Golden Triangle near the town of Baan Hin Taek. It is estimated that at this point, Khun Sa controlled over half of the opium in the Golden Triangle, which in turn constituted half of the world’s opium and 45% of the opium that came to the United States. Khun Sa was described by historian Alfred McCoy as â€Å"the only Shan warlord who ran a truly professional smuggling organization capable of transporting large quantities of opium.† Khun Sa was also notorious for his affinity for media attention, and he frequently played host to foreign journalists in his semi-autonomous narco-state. In a 1977 interview 1977 with the now-defunct Bangkok World, he called himself the â€Å"King of the Golden Triangle.† Until the 1990s, Khun Sa and his army ran an international opium operation with impunity. However, in 1994, his empire collapsed due to attacks from the rival United Wa State Army and from the Myanmar Armed Forces. Furthermore, a faction of the Mok Tai Army abandoned Khun Sa and formed the Shan State National Army, declaring that Khun Sa’s Shan nationalism was merely a front for his opium business. To avoid punishment by the government upon his impending capture, Khun Sa surrendered on the condition that he be protected from extradition to the US, which had a $2 million bounty on his head. It is reported that Khun Sa also received a concession from the Burmese government to operate a ruby mine and a transport company, which allowed him to live out the rest of his life in luxury in Burmas main city, Yangon. He died in 2007 at the age of 74. Khun Sa’s Legacy: Narco-development Myanmar expert Bertil Lintner claims that Khun Sa was, in reality, an illiterate frontman for an organization dominated by ethnic Chinese from Yunnan Province and that this organization still operates in the Golden Triangle today. Opium production in the Golden Triangle continues to fund the military operations of several other separatist groups. The largest of these groups is the United Wa State Army (UWSA), a force of over 20,000 troops nestled in the semi-autonomous Wa Special Region. The UWSA is reported to be the largest drug-producing organization in Southeast Asia. The UWSA, along with the  Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in neighboring Kokang Special Region, have also expanded their drug enterprises to the production of methamphetamine known in the region as yaa baa, which is easier and cheaper to manufacture than heroin.   Like Khun Sa, the leaders of these narco-militias can be seen as both business entrepreneurs, community developers, as well as agents of the Myanmar government. Nearly everyone in the Wa and Kokang regions is involved in the drug trade in some capacity, which supports the argument that drugs are an essential component of the development of these regions, offering an alternative to poverty.   Criminologist Ko-Lin Chin writes that the reason why a political solution to drug production in the Golden Triangle has been so elusive is because â€Å"the difference between a state-builder and drug kingpin, between benevolence and greed, and between public funds and personal wealth† have become difficult to delineate. In a context in which conventional agriculture and local business is stunted by conflict and in which competition between the United States and China deter long-term successful development interventions, drug production and smuggling have become these communities’ path toward development. Throughout the Wa and Kokang special regions, drug profits have been funneled into road construction, hotels, and casino towns, giving rise to what Bertil Lintner calls â€Å"narco-development.† Towns such as Mong La attract over 500,000 Chinese vice tourists every year, who come to this mountainous region of the Shan State to gamble, eat endangered animal speci es and partake in the seedy nightlife.    Statelessness in the Golden Triangle Since 1984, conflict in Myanmar’s ethnic minority states has driven approximately 150,000 Burmese refugees across the border into Thailand, where they have been living in nine UN-recognized refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border. These refugees have no legal right to employment in Thailand, and according to Thai law, undocumented Burmese found outside of the camps are subject to arrest and deportation. The provision of temporary shelter in the camps by the Thai Government has remained unchanged over the years, and limited access to higher education, livelihoods and other opportunities for refugees has raised alarm within the UN High Commission for Refugees that many refugees will resort to negative coping mechanisms for survival. Hundreds of thousands of members of Thailand’s indigenous â€Å"hill tribes† constitute another major stateless population in the Golden Triangle. Their statelessness renders them ineligible for state services, including formal education and the right to work legally, leading to a situation in which the average hill tribe member makes less than $1 per day. This poverty leaves hill tribe people vulnerable to exploitation by human traffickers, who recruit poor women and children by promising them jobs in northern Thai cities such as Chiang Mai. Today, one in three sex workers in Chiang Mai comes from a hill tribe family. Girls as young as eight years old are confined to brothels where they may be forced to service up to 20 men per day, putting them at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Older girls are often sold overseas, where they are stripped of their documentation and left powerless to escape. Although the government of Thailand has enacted progressive laws to combat human trafficking, the lack of citizenship of these hill tribes leaves this population at disproportionately elevated risk of exploitation. Human rights groups such as The Thailand Project assert that education for the hill tribes is the key to solving the human trafficking issue in the Golden Triangle.

Real Estate Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Real Estate Investment - Essay Example Once the situation changes the other way (as it always does), the higher rates of interest in Italy will become predominant & the boom in real estate may receive a setback. There are also several instances wherein the seller turns out to be a fraud, who goes absconding after having got the reservation money. The situation is particularly precarious in the case of costly deals where 20-30% amounts to a large amount of money. Therefore, proper verification of the credentials of the other party is a must in order to thwart such occurrences. It is absolutely true to say that a dollar invested today would have an enhanced worth say three years down the line. But, this case is true provided other factors remain fairly constant. For example, if the political situation or the law & order scenario of an area is not alright or gets worse at any time between these years, then concerns among the buyers or financiers would ultimately work towards the education in the value of the property. In worse cases, the property may become useless such as I the instance of war or ethnic strife. As Italy has been a fairly peaceful nation, this fear is not supposed to dampen the spirits of investors. But nevertheless, one must always take this aspect into consideration at the time of investment planning.The interest rates in Italy hover in the range of around 2%, which is a bit more than that in the US. Therefore, it is advised that anyone desirous of seeking a mortgage especially for costlier properties, conduct an efficient forecast abut h is/her repayment options in order to avoid problems in the future. In spite of the boom in real estate in Italy, homeowners generally buy their property as something to live in rather than regard it as a form of investment. Therefore, when the need arises for selling that property especially after long periods of stay, the property value is set to fetch much lesser than the prevailing market due to any factors such as the age of the property, the amount of wear & tear, the forecast of the repairing costs that need to be undertaken by the buyer in advance etc. Another major disadvantage of investing in homes in Italy is that the majority of the mortgages are based on variable rates and as such, these interest rates keep changing fro area to area or company to company in particular. Therefore, the buyer may end up paying more while seeking a mortgage loan fro one company while there could be others offering it at reduced rates. Thus, this calls for a sense of responsibility on the part of the buyer to have an idea of the interest rates charged by the different mortgage companies. There is also an increasing trend towards direct purchasing through the phone or Internet. There have been instances in the past wherein investors have been duped by phony agents who pose as the real owners of a property or act as mediators. The reason has been attributed to the fault on the part of the investor to verify the authenticity of the property or it sellers. In most cases, the investor does not even inspect the site that is proposed to be purchased. The only solution is to verify the property & its seller either by himself or through trusted representatives, usually one's lawyers.In the case of a seller or in case the

A rhetorical analysis of the New York Times Essay

A rhetorical analysis of the New York Times - Essay Example This can be analysed to mean that although there are plans in minds of many people, there lacks mechanisms or ways of executing them. According to Nathan, it is only through autonomy, that this can be realised. The second comment is from, Rebecca. She is also pleased with Cain’s article. Rebecca is also worried that in her school, there has been efforts to restructure several buildings, but unfortunately, she only hears of open plan, which according to her, makes her very nervous (Cain, Para. 4). The way she puts across her statements, it is evident that ethos is strong in her case. She even argues that after reading the article, she forwarded it to her head of school and the committee dealing with the restructuring plan. This indicates that she found some ethical appeals, and in this case, from a reliable source and expert testimony, bout how collaboration lacks creativity. Maria, the third commenter, on the other hand, argues that group work inhibit her creativity. She further argues that when she is alone she is free to focus task at hand (Cain, Para. 5). Her arguments can be argued to be in logos because she gives accounts of her own experience. She points out that dealing with groups; she cannot be able to make firm decisions since she has to be rational with the observations of other persons in the group. Cain poses a rhetoric argument that pulls various mixed reactions from readers. Much of this is seen when every commenter tries to justify the issue of lack of creativity and implantation phase of collaborations. Comments or the top three comments use different techniques to catch the attention of the readers that follows them. For example, Maria goes on to point out how disappointed she was because even if there were plans in her school to restructure some buildings, they are only mere talks, which she terms as â€Å"open plans†, but without implementation or

Hospitality and Tourism Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hospitality and Tourism Industry - Essay Example (Smith, 2003, p. 17) The term 'sustainable tourism' usually denotes the application of the more general concept of sustainable development to tourism as a specific economic sector. The ethical responsibilities towards code of practice enable the industry to acquire a critical role in protecting the vital needs of not only mainstream population but also the minorities that exist without political backup and economic support. Whether it is political extravaganza targeting masses or be it minorities, the role of legislation and codes should be based on the recognition of human rights and custom values. Hall & Richards (2000) while providing example of sustainable environment highlights the hospitality sector in which there are particular procedures of the installation of state-of-the-art energy-saving technology and waste-management which are followed by most of the hotels. In this context it is better for a hotel to survive thereby adopting 'sustainability'. For example a hotel can almost immediately have an impact on costs and may increase revenue if the organisation advertises its 'green credentials' and so attracts more eco-conscious clients. (Hall & Richards, 2000, p. 64) However, this may well lead to an increase in the level of aggregate demand and consequently an overall rise in total energy use and waste generation. Furthermore, the larger number of visitors puts unintended and increased pressure on the local infrastructure, services and environment, the effect of which is uncertain, especially with regard to the additional financial burden which is likely to fall not onl y on the public sector but the private (business) and personal sectors (perhaps receiving no direct benefit from tourism), because of the increased costs of mitigating the adverse effects of tourism, particularly dealing with waste. Besides characteristics, what matters within the context of tourism, are the characteristics of the natural, cultural and built environments of destinations that attract tourists towards them. All environments are different and have their own unique features, and what makes a particular type of environment attractive for tourism is a function of value judgements and fashions that exist in society. (Holden, 2003, p. 24) Code of Practice from Managerial Aspect The major constraints in today's tourism industry are those approaches, which are adopted by the managers, thereby influencing the hospitality of the product and labour markets, organisational status and structure, including size of workplace, and culture are chief among the factors thought to place constraints on managers. Managers, as much as workers and

Programming III ( Advanced ) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Programming III ( Advanced ) - Assignment Example ation and deserialization is independent of the platform used, that is, data serialized on one machine is able to be deserialized on a completely different machine with a different platform (DAnjou, 2005). Serialization in java has been used mainly to facilitate communication between different machines, for persistence, deep copying, caching and cross java virtual machine synchronization. The use of serialization is advantageous since it allows for refactoring , it is customizable and easy to use, allows encryption, compression and authentication thus facilitating secure computing and lastly, the mechanism allows interchange of libraries between java and other programing languages such as C++ among other advantages. Despite the above stated functions and advantages of serialization in java, there are too many disadvantages associated with serialization. Serialization offers significant overhead thus it cannot be used with large objects. Also, the serialization facilitates increased memory requirements for a system. The use of data serialization also leads to breakage of identity of an objects, and invasion of the programming model. To address this disadvantages and limitations of serialization, an input/output process mechanism has been introduce. This mechanism is referred to as Externalization. Not only is Externalization used to eliminate the limitations of serializations, but also in some cases, it is exclusively required. Externalization refers to the process in which externalizable interface is implemented to facilitates persistence and restoring of the object. Basically, the externizable interface works by extending the serializable interface. Moreover, the externizable interface facilitates definition of custom rules and also, definition of customizable serialization mechanism. Thus, it can be easily said that externalization is an extension of serialization. The process of using Externalization is similar to the implementation process of

Cis week 5 classwork class discussions Assignment

Cis week 5 classwork class discussions - Assignment Example The company should also educate their employees on the risks involved if they give their passwords to strangers or any other person. Data is most vulnerable at the points where the computers of the company are connected to the outside world like the internet. It is important that the IT managers to implement necessary defenses at these points (Murphy & Zwieback D, 2011). Qualitative risk analysis is risk-level, easy and quick to execute, does not require any special tool or software and it is subjective in evaluating the probability and the impact of the risk. On the other hand quantitative risk analysis is project-level, consumes time, specialized tool may be required and it gives probabilistic estimates of time and cost. Business impact analysis being the determination of the impact an incidence can have, all the parties involved will be affected by one way or the other. People have to be compensated to their normal life they had from the incidence, and proper systems have to be in place to oversee that the incidence is totally mitigated. Data should be kept proper as this will amount on the total costs incurred in the analysis and properties should be rebuild again and the owners given their

Programming III ( Advanced ) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Programming III ( Advanced ) - Assignment Example ation and deserialization is independent of the platform used, that is, data serialized on one machine is able to be deserialized on a completely different machine with a different platform (DAnjou, 2005). Serialization in java has been used mainly to facilitate communication between different machines, for persistence, deep copying, caching and cross java virtual machine synchronization. The use of serialization is advantageous since it allows for refactoring , it is customizable and easy to use, allows encryption, compression and authentication thus facilitating secure computing and lastly, the mechanism allows interchange of libraries between java and other programing languages such as C++ among other advantages. Despite the above stated functions and advantages of serialization in java, there are too many disadvantages associated with serialization. Serialization offers significant overhead thus it cannot be used with large objects. Also, the serialization facilitates increased memory requirements for a system. The use of data serialization also leads to breakage of identity of an objects, and invasion of the programming model. To address this disadvantages and limitations of serialization, an input/output process mechanism has been introduce. This mechanism is referred to as Externalization. Not only is Externalization used to eliminate the limitations of serializations, but also in some cases, it is exclusively required. Externalization refers to the process in which externalizable interface is implemented to facilitates persistence and restoring of the object. Basically, the externizable interface works by extending the serializable interface. Moreover, the externizable interface facilitates definition of custom rules and also, definition of customizable serialization mechanism. Thus, it can be easily said that externalization is an extension of serialization. The process of using Externalization is similar to the implementation process of

Review of Evaluation of Jamaica's Path Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Review of Evaluation of Jamaica's Path - Essay Example The program is concerned with provision of cash transfers to health centers and academic institutions. The program has grown to other parts of the world. In the article the growth of CCT is referred to as the CCT wave. This program has been proved to be very efficient in the education and the health sectors in many countries in the world. The program is also affected by some factors like the household and the quality of the services provision. Furthermore, the program is implemented differently in different parts of the world. In addition, the other variables are the amount of benefits accrued and the input amount also varies. In Jamaica the program analyzed is called the PATH- program of advancement through health and education. PATH as an organization has two major components. It gives assistance to the children below 17 years in education and health sectors. The organization is committed as it visits health centers after two weeks during the first year and two times in the second and consecutive years. It offers social grants to pregnant women, the poor mothers, the disabled women and the destitute adults below 65 years. The care and the grants are non-conditional in all the regular clinics. To fully understand the program, figure 1 gives the facts in a table manner. There are some differences between short term and the long term outcomes of this program. In the model, the short-term outcomes are felt after the beneficiaries enroll. In the model, the long term outcomes is shown by dotted lines and it takes some more time to cause an effect that can increase human capital for the poor. There are several conditions that are put out for one to be eligible to participate in this program. First, a firm has to apply to the labor and the Social Security Ministry parish offices. Also it has to provide a detailed socio-economic and a demographic information which will allow MLSS to be in a position to calculate an applicable household score. The score is later used i n finding the eligibility of the program. The evaluation program was based on the site visit which was conducted in two distinct rounds. In each of the rounds that were conducted, there was a random visit to the chosen parishes in whole country. There was focus on groups which had some beneficiaries and an interview with the MLSS representatives either from health centers, schools and post offices. Eligibility information was given out by the interviewees and the participants of the focus group. The two parties also provided adequate information about the health, education requirements and the adequate benefits. The success of PATH was fostered by MLSS operations. The stakeholders had a feeling that the program’s missions had been adequately accomplished. Despite the success in the program, there are some weaknesses that should be improved. First, the beneficiaries have to receive their dues on time. This will reduce the hardships that the beneficiaries face. Delays can lead to many problems as the shareholders in PATH do not have any spare resources which can lead to difficulties in finance management. Secondly, the stakeholders have to be provided by accurate information about participation of the healthcare and schools. The suspension of the PATH benefits should be disputed. Furthermore, MLSS should make a quick pay after an error has been realized. This will lead to a satisfaction of the both parties. During the analysis, PATH was created to increase Jamaica’

National Westminster Bank Essay Example for Free

National Westminster Bank Essay Q1. Analyse the customer contact process during the account opening procedure. What aspects of the branchs operation impact on each stage? From analysing the branchs operation it is clear to see which parts of the banks operation impacts each stage of the account opening procedure. Firstly the customer arrives into the bank, usually customers go to the cashiers section, they are then referred over to the enquiries counter, where they are greeted by enquiry personnel who find out which of the banks service the customer requires. If the customer wishes to open a new account, a member of the records staff comes to administer the account opening procedure. It is the records staff who deals mostly with new customers. The records staff must to have a good basic knowledge of all the banks operations to be able to advise the new customer which account is best suited for them. They must find out if the customer wishes to invest money or if they wish to avail of the banks credit facilities. The records staff would not have an in depth knowledge of the investments available to new customers so more often than not a member of the investment section is called over to advise the new customer. Read more:Â  Bankers Draft Natwest For credit facilities, the new customer is referred to the lending section for processing, as this operation is outside the record section staff jurisdiction. Once they account type has been established, the formalities begin (processing of customer details). Records staff go through forms to ensure that all key information has been gathered. This is probably the longest part of the account opening procedure with the customer as a lot of details need to be processed. Once all the details have been gathered by the records staff, the direct customer contact finishes. Customer details are then passed onto the administrative section and the machine room to finalise the opening of a new account and the paper printing (cheque books, log books, ATM cards etc.) How the different operations interact upon the Records section: Q2. How would you improve the process? Once the bank identified their problems the set out an improvement plan. They key areas identified for improvement were identified: Signage Inexperienced Staff Limited staff for rush hours Uneven flow of walk-in customers at peak times From a recent survey customers identified the following problems: Account opening forms were not properly explained Banks standard account pack was not sent out to customers Some customers waited more than the standard 9 days to receive cheque book and bank card Customer personal details were recorded incorrectly Staff seemed uninterested in the customers needs Customers wouldnt recommend the bank to others All of the above points were taken into account in the banks improvement plan. Firstly the signage issue was tackled. This issue was clearly a problem when we visited the bank, see fig.1 It was evident from this, that the enquiries desk wasnt clearly noticeable or signposted. To eliminate the problem of new customers queuing at the cashiers desk (adding to queue delays in the bank) new signage was positioned around the bank clearly highlighting where the new customers were to go. While it was unfeasible to move staff permanently from section to section, records staff who are generally young and junior members of staff could be temporarily move around each of the banks operations. This would add to their training knowledge and enable them to give more specialised advice to customers. By doing this staff will get to know each others jobs, they will become more confident in their work, giving the sense of importance to the banks operation. This increases staff motivation which reduces boredom as boredom leads to mistakes. To assess the overall performance of staffs training and progress, the bank could introduce mystery shoppers, a member of staff from another of the banks branches comes to open an account, goes through the whole procedure and at the end evaluates the staffs performance, identifies areas for improvement etc. As it was, the cashiers would go for their lunch, and it was the job of the records section to cover the cashier positions during lunch. This however was the busiest period for new customers wishing to open accounts. During the lunchtime rush customers could feel they were been rushed, inevitably resulting in mistakes occurring. To deal with this issue, lunch time for the bank staff could be divided up more evenly. Only a set amount of cashiers go for lunch at any one time, these cashiers do not take their lunch until the first group comes back, this way there is always somebody covering the records section to deal with new potential customers if they arrive during the lunch time period. To ensure the records section were not over burdened by new customers during the lunch time period, a system of appointment only during the lunch time rush was set up. This way the records section could easily deal with walk-in customers in the mornings and afternoons, and during lunch time they knew how many customers to expect and spend the required time needed with each customer opening an account. This way the customer feels more at ease and the records section staff do not feel under pressure and rushed, reducing the amount of mistakes made. Customers felt that the account opening forms were not properly explained to them. This issue was tackled by more staff training and the mystery shopper also helped by giving feedback. This helps the junior staff in training to interpret the forms better and be much more capable of explaining the forms to customers. In terms of the banks standard account pack not been sent out to customers, the bank set up a system of having all the leaflets on hand so the member of staff dealing with the new customer could make up a package there and then to suit the customers needs. It was identified that some customers waited more than the standard 9 days to receive their cheque books or ATM cards. This waiting period was improved by a more clear line of communication set up between the records staff, administration staff and the machine room. This was also helped as now there were fewer mistakes and the records staff had more time to process the forms during the day as the by appointment only and not having to cover the cashier positions fully during lunch had clearly freed up some extra time for them. To deal with the problem of customers personal details not been recorded properly, the customer was asked to fill in a form which clearly legible showing how to spell their name address etc. Once all the forms had been filled out, it was advised that the supervisor provided an extra check on the forms before they were sent for processing. To assist with the implementation of this system a sort of a Kanban system could be set up, In-Kanban, Out-Kanban this way everything was fully completed before it was sent for processing, and there would be no mix ups, on what was processed and what has to be processed. Also as part of this kanban system to finalise the last step, approval by the manager must be signed on the form. The problem of the customers feeling rushed was solved when the records section were released from other duties such as fully covering the cashiers during lunch. If all of the above points are implemented successfully, the bank will be back on track to a successful and complimentary word of mouth.

How has management theory advanced over the past hundred years

How has management theory advanced over the past hundred years Are the structures and ideas of management theorists of the past still analogous to the work done by modern managers of today? Management theorists of the past have labeled three clear categories to help define the job description of a manager. These are management functions, roles and skills, which were identified as being highly influential to the success of the manager, defined as someone whose primary responsibility is to carry out the management process. This essay looks at the work of three management theorists, Henri Fayol, Robert Katz and Henry Mintzberg and how their work compares to todays modern day managers. Henri Fayol, a French industrialist, believed that management could be taught and was therefore always looking on improving the quality of management. In 1916 he wrote the book administration industrielle et gà ©nà ©rale which presented his views on the proper management of organisations and the people within them. This is known as administrative management, which is a style of management that focuses on managing the total organisation. Fayol believed that there were five management functions in which a manager must employ on his business to achieve success. These five functions were planning, organising, commanding, co-ordination and controlling. This is the functional view of management as it is on a day-to-day level. It describes the functions that a manager must carry out on a daily basis, which Fayol realised when working as a successful managing director of a mining company. He saw there was a need for managers to be trained due to the increasing complexity and growth of orga nisations over the world. The Planning function looks at the managers ability to look ahead, taking into account the operating environment, forecasting what is possible and provide direction for the firms employees. Secondly the organising function is a key management function that is defined as the process of assigning tasks, allocating resources and arranging activities to implement plans. Managers have to group and deploy resources, either human resources such as employees or equipment resources such as machines, in the best possible way to achieve the goals of the organisation. Thirdly Fayol identified was for a manager to command, which is to lead, select and evaluate to get the best work towards the plan. Managers are required to do these tasks as it helps them to achieve the task that they had planned. The fourth function Henri Fayol identified was coordination, which is to fit diverse efforts together and ensure information is shared and problems are solved. Finally, Fayol i dentified the fifth aspect of management functions as controlling, which is the process of measuring performance and taking action to ensure desired results. The manager has to ensure that the functions of planning, leading and organising take place in such a way hat they are controlled through timely, accurate and valid feedback based on a transparent measurement strategy. Fayols management functions are focused on the key relationships between a businesses personnel and its management. Harvard Scholar Robert Katz classified three essential skills for managers of a firm, technical skills, human skills and conceptual skills. Technical skills is the ability to use a special proficiency or expertise in you work, for example skills learnt through a formal education such as University or TAFE and then further development through on the job training. These skills are very important in low-level management where the manager is still hands on in the business. Human Skills is the ability to work well in cooperation with other people, this is highly important at all levels of management as it shows a spirit of trust, enthusiasm and involvement in interpersonal relationships. An important concept of human skills is emotional intelligence, which is the ability to manage ourselves and our relationships effectively which Katz identified as influential to a firms success due to the high interpersonal nature of business. Finally, there are Conceptual skills, which is the ability t o think analytically and solve complex problems. Katz identified this skill as part of the three essential skills of managers as all good managers have the ability to view situations broadly and to solve problems to the benefit of everyone else. Managers with conceptual skills have the ability to break down problems into smaller parts, which is important for top level managers but is relatively unimportant for low lever managers. Katzs three essential skills of management are a requirement for business that want to be success in modern day society. Management theorist Henry Mintzberg in his book the nature of managerial work (Mintzberg, H 1973, The nature of management, New York) written in 1973 offers an observation of corporate chief executives. He says there was no break in the pace of activity during office hours. The mailà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ telephone callsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and meetingsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ accounted for almost every minute from the moment these executives entered their offices in the morning until they departed in the evenings (Mintzberg, H 1973, The nature of management, New York). In todays modern era of technology this would add email to the list of preoccupations a manager deals with on a daily basis. Mintzberg had realised the importance of how a manager uses his controlling powers and he recognised three important managerial roles in which a manager must successfully perform in order for the manager to be able to run the business at its most efficient level. The three roles in which Mintzberg recognized were int erpersonal, informational and decisional roles which can be further split into ten more specific roles. Interpersonal roles are how a manager interacts with other people, both within the business like employees and external to the firm like customers. Interpersonal roles for managers can be further separated into whether the manager is a figurehead, leader or liason in the firm. Informational roles are how a manager exchanges and processes information which the managers role is then to either monitor, disseminator and spokesperson for the firm. Finally, decisional roles which is how a manager uses information in decision making and the managers role is then to be an entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator or negotiator depending on the scenarios at hand for the manager. The roles of management are all interconnected and all managers must be prepared to perform the in order to see the best from their business. These management theorists however wrote their management functions, roles and skills in the 20th century, so are they still relevant in our 21st century business environment? An internal endeavor made by Google, the worlds largest search engine, looked at what the eight most important traits for a manager to have to be successful. The use of the article 8 traits of stellar managers, defined by googlers, written by Judith Aquino helps to link the management theories of Henri Fayol, Robert Katz and Henry Mintzberg to modern day managers of the 21st century. The article, written on the 15 of March 2011, brings a modern day link to the management theorists of the 20th century. The importance of managers having technical skills in the workplace is seen by its inclusion in the 8 traits of stellar management. It is important for managers to have these skills as they then have the ability to understand the different challenges and help their employees solve the problems that they are facing. This important trait for managers is linked to Robert Katzs management skills. Katz believed that one of his three essential skills for managers were that they had technical skills. This is seen as an important trait for managers of the 21st century as employees want to be managed by someone who knows what they are doing and is able to give them advice on how to solve the various problems that they are likely to face in the day to day life of the business. With the survey showing that Katzs technical skills are still an important trait which is admired in the business workplace makes me wonder whether the three management theorists, Robert Katz, Henri Fayol and Henry Mintz bergs work is still relevant in a 21st century business context. Former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch said good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it in competition. Google employees have recognised the importance of the business and its manager having a clearly outlined vision and a strategy for the employees. The manager is required to lead the employees by keeping all staff involved and working towards the teams common goals and business vision. When looking at the management theorists of the 20th century we can see that they all have their opinions on a businesses vision and strategy. Henry Mintzbergs leadership principle is related to the ways in which the firm looks to achieve its vision. Without a manager who is willing to lead his employees they will lack direction in their work, increasing the chance of mistakes being made by misled employees or the firm moving away from its corporate vision. Henri Fayols planning function is also related more to the firms busi ness strategy than the vision as it looks at how the business will enter its business strategy into the business environment to help reach its vision. These two theories are still relevant in todays business environment as shown by their relevance to a managers ability to have a clear vision and strategy. Career development is an important aspect of a managers roles when running the business as employees want to feel like their efforts are being noticed and that their hard work is furthering their careers. A good manager is a man who isnt worried about his own career but rather the careers of those who work for him. Managers should make it known to their employees that they are a valued member of the business and that the work the employees do for the firm will pay of with promotions and pay rises in the future. Helping employees is linked to the management theories of Mintzberg and Fayol as it is both a role and a function that the manager must undertake in order to successfully manager their employees. The fifth most important trait recognised by Google employees was the ability for their managers tot be good communicators and willing to listen to ideas from all employees. It is important for managers to listen to others as well as sharing their opinion as then the opinions and concerns of your employees are heard and can be looked at more closely by the manager. Henri Fayols commanding function shows the importance of being a good communicator and listener for managers as the function requires them to lead, select and evaluate the workers to get the best out of them. This function recognises the importance of employees ideas in the success of the business and the manager therefore needs to evaluate proposed ideas to get the best from the team. American businessman Lee Iacocca said on communication you can have brilliant ideas, but if you cant get them across, your ideas wont get you anywhere (Croce and Lyon 2004, p.69). Henry Mintzbergs interpersonal roles are the managers respons ibility when dealing with employees and their ideas. Robert Katz provides two management skills on the communication with employees and their ideas. Google recognising the importance of communication in the organisation as one of the three essential skills a manager must have to be successful shows Katzs theory of interpersonal skills. Katz also provides a more precise skill in which managers should have, this being communication skills, defined as the ability both to convey ideas and information to others effectively and to be receptive to ideas and information from others. This skill that Katz states as being important to managerial success is what Google employees hold in high regard from their managers as shown by its inclusion in the 8 traits of a stellar manager. Henry Mintzbergs informational roles, which is the processing of information, is recognised in Googles survey where they admire managers who are productive and results orientated. Mintzbergs informational role accepts the need for managers to focus on helping the team achieve its goals by prioritizing work and removing obstacles. Robert Katzs decision-making skills, defined as the ability to recognise and define problems and opportunities correctly then to select an appropriate course of action to solve problems and capatilise on opportunities, shows that his theory looks at how the business can be more productive and achieve their results through eliminating any problems and taking advantage of any opportunities the firm may encounter. Employees feeling that they belong as an important part of the business success is one of the key tasks a manager must undertake when running the firm. Ensuring that new employees feel welcome and get to know your employees. Robert Katzs interpersonal skills are linked to this trait recognised by Google employees as it involves the relationships between employees and managers, both working and outside of work relationships, to make the employee feel a part of the team. Henri Fayols Controlling function is also interrelated with taking interest in your team members success and well-being as managers need to make sure everything happens according to plan, with corrective action in place. Fayol however has a more minor point in the controlling function, which is feedback, and this shows the employees that their input is important and taken into consideration when they offer ideas to the managers of the firm. At number two, Google employees decided that a managers ability to empower your employees and to not micromanage was a trait that they respected in their managers. Giving employees the space to tackle problems on their own but still be there for advice is something that employees admired as it provides them with a feeling of responsibility and importance in the firm. Katzs time management skills is important when not micro-managing as the ability for the manager to delegate work to his staff and then empower them to complete these on their own. Mintzbergs decisional role is also important for managers as it involves how they allocate their resources (employees) to job certain jobs that are required. Finally Fayols Organising function is important as the manager is required to provide and mobalise resources, which can be human resources such as employees, to implement the plan. The most important trait in stellar managers defined by a survey done by Google says that being a good coach is what they admire most in a manager. A manager who can provide specific feedback through regular one-on-one meetings with employees, as well as offering solutions that are tailored to each employees strengths. John Wooden said, make sure that team members know they are working with you, not for you. Relationships are the best way for employees to feel as though they are on an equal level to manager, which is therefore why Henry Mintzbergs interpersonal roles theory is highly important to becoming a successful manager. Robert Katzs interpersonal skills are also applicable to being a good coach, as they are required to communicate with, understand and motivate both individuals and groups. These two management theories along with communication skills are the most influential management theories in being a good coach to their employees. The work of management theorists of the past is still admired and applicable to modern managers in the 21st century. Googles survey shows a list of the most important traits seen in a manager in the 21st century, and I have shown that there are many links that can be drawn between the work of management theorists Robert Katz, Henry Mintzberg and Henri Fayol and modern day managers of the 21st century.

Agricultural :: essays research papers

AGRICULTURE THE WORLD LEADER IN AGRICULTURE IS THE U.S. Since the agricultural transformation began in the United States, the United States only seemed to improve agriculturally. The Western Hemisphere was the first to progress towards this transformation, displaying the United States as a leader in agriculture. As stated by Dan Hillel in The Agricultural Transformation, â€Å"The Agricultural Transformation is very likely the most momentous turn in the progress of humankind†¦The ability to raise crops and livestock, while resulting in a greater and more secure supply of food, definitely required attachment to controllable sections of land, and hence brought about the growth of permanent settlements and of larger coordinated communities.† Thus, this transformation ensured a supply of food and ended the need to roam about for food. This development was an important change in the structure of society, also a step in building a prestigious reputation as being a leader in agriculture. It gave United States a sense of organization and strength which indeed helped in its development. â€Å"Simply put, agriculture means raising things on purpose, and the American Indians were the first farmers in the Western Hemisphere,† said by R. Douglas Hurt in the article Mesoamerican Origins. The American Indians (Mesoamericans) agriculture became more complex. They learned how to grow crops such as tomatoes, beans, and a wide variety of plants. They also learned other techniques such as clearing land and also irrigation. Because of their success, other Mesoamericans began to settle and also adopted their fellow Mesoamerican farming techniques. Agriculture became more and more popular and important that the white settlers also began to farm. Over time, as farming became more popular, the United States thrived on agriculture. It became an important issue especially to Thomas Jefferson. He was a key person in leading the agricultural development of the United States. Thomas Jefferson believed in agrarianism and thought highly of farmers. An agriculture leader should understand why agriculture is important and how to improve and also maintain a good status agriculturally. And Thomas Jefferson held all these qualities. He did what was best for the farmers as well as others in the United States. And by him being a great leader agriculturally, many others in the government kept his ideas in mind. That is what made this country strong, we develop from our past and in effect our country has grown stronger. For example, In 1970- a farmer could provide enough for 2 people In 1935- a farmer could provide enough for 10 people In 1992- a farmer could provide enough for 127 people In 1998- a farmer could provide enough for over 130 people This shows a growth in efficiency. Agricultural :: essays research papers AGRICULTURE THE WORLD LEADER IN AGRICULTURE IS THE U.S. Since the agricultural transformation began in the United States, the United States only seemed to improve agriculturally. The Western Hemisphere was the first to progress towards this transformation, displaying the United States as a leader in agriculture. As stated by Dan Hillel in The Agricultural Transformation, â€Å"The Agricultural Transformation is very likely the most momentous turn in the progress of humankind†¦The ability to raise crops and livestock, while resulting in a greater and more secure supply of food, definitely required attachment to controllable sections of land, and hence brought about the growth of permanent settlements and of larger coordinated communities.† Thus, this transformation ensured a supply of food and ended the need to roam about for food. This development was an important change in the structure of society, also a step in building a prestigious reputation as being a leader in agriculture. It gave United States a sense of organization and strength which indeed helped in its development. â€Å"Simply put, agriculture means raising things on purpose, and the American Indians were the first farmers in the Western Hemisphere,† said by R. Douglas Hurt in the article Mesoamerican Origins. The American Indians (Mesoamericans) agriculture became more complex. They learned how to grow crops such as tomatoes, beans, and a wide variety of plants. They also learned other techniques such as clearing land and also irrigation. Because of their success, other Mesoamericans began to settle and also adopted their fellow Mesoamerican farming techniques. Agriculture became more and more popular and important that the white settlers also began to farm. Over time, as farming became more popular, the United States thrived on agriculture. It became an important issue especially to Thomas Jefferson. He was a key person in leading the agricultural development of the United States. Thomas Jefferson believed in agrarianism and thought highly of farmers. An agriculture leader should understand why agriculture is important and how to improve and also maintain a good status agriculturally. And Thomas Jefferson held all these qualities. He did what was best for the farmers as well as others in the United States. And by him being a great leader agriculturally, many others in the government kept his ideas in mind. That is what made this country strong, we develop from our past and in effect our country has grown stronger. For example, In 1970- a farmer could provide enough for 2 people In 1935- a farmer could provide enough for 10 people In 1992- a farmer could provide enough for 127 people In 1998- a farmer could provide enough for over 130 people This shows a growth in efficiency.

Answer for Abb Case: Strategic Rise, Decline, and Renewal

Case of ABB: Strategic Rise, Decline, and Renewal Carina Gruber([email  protected] hb. se) Yin Wang([email  protected] hb. se) Silvia Abendano Delgado([email  protected] hb. se ) Introduction In this paper, we research the five solutions to the case of ABB: strategic rise, decline, and renewal. We conduct our solutions by analysis of the kinds of CEOs’ strategies and structures from 1988 to 2008.We completed our solutions by identifying the ideas and factors, which cued key areas to go awry and affect the performance of the business; discussing the key strategic initiatives implemented by the various CEOs appointed; analysis of the pros and cons of matrix structures and compare and contrast with the structures; assessing ABB’s current corporate culture; commenting on some strategic options. Our solutions were based on the book called International Management Managing Across Border and Cultures. 1. Identify Percy Barnevik? ideals and discuss the factors which cause d key areas to go awry and effect the performance of the business. Percy Barnevik? s management had a goal, the goal was to build a company that could lead business in each of the major areas of the world, for this he was focused on the next seven points: * The development of a group-wide umbrella culture: ABB established a common set of values, policies and operational guidelines. * The development of core technologies and core competencies: being a technology leader and market share leader. The development and use of multinational teams: Barnevik believed, that the use of such teams throughout the company gave a deeper insight into global and local business problems. * Application to the development of effective global managers: competence was the key to selection, he believed that global managers were made, not born. * Bulding a multi-domestic or federal organisation along a global-locan continuum: some companies would be super local, and some would be super global. * The develop ment of effective communication, nderstanding and patience. * The development of a customer focus programme: main focus was to permanently change the company? s value system and orient every employee towards the customer. Some of the factors, which caused key areas to go awry was in the period of expansion because this could lead to problems in the matrix structure, for two factors: * The world was becoming more regionalised, and was formed the â€Å"Triad economies†, therefore ABB needed to have strong representation in each of these three regions, and needed structural systems. The matrix structures of such size and reach can cause control communication problems. The dual reporting (nature of matrix structures) has always created friction between executives, there was always a conflict of interest between them. * For this Barnevik carried out a major restructuring in 1993. According to the consolidated financial performance, we can observe the large increase from 1993 to 19 94, mainly in the net profit from $0. 07 bn to $0. 76 bn, and the EBIT/ revenues ratio from 4. 8% to 8. 8%. 2.Key strategic initiatives implemented by the various CEOs appointed after Barnevik? s tenure to take the company out of the â€Å"crumbling mess†. Barnevik relinquished to became Chairman in 1997, after Barnevik? s tenure the following were: Goran Lindahl (1997-2000), Jorgen Centerman (2001-2002), Jurgen Dormann (2002-2004), Fred Kindle (2004-2008), and Joseph Hogan (2008 to present). Goran Lindahl as CEO carried out two big restructuring: Firstly he planned to move thousands of manufacturing jobs from Europe and USA to Asia.The another major restructuring was carried out in which the geographic regional reporting structure was reduced in favour of a realignment of business activities on global lines. Finally Lindahl? s strategic originated important financial problems. Jorgen Centerman as CEO was manly concerned with a major restructuring, new aquisitions and issues relating to reducing cost and repairing the balance sheet. Whit Centerman, the company was near to the bankruptcy. Jurgen Dorman as CEO began a strategy that gradually returned the focus of ABB to its two core strenghts of power and automation Technologies.Its goals were to increase the competitiveness of ABB? s core business, reduce overhead cost and streamline operations. Fred Kindle as CEO would be able to focus on competing on an even keel with Siemens, GE and Alstom in the daily battle for new business. He slimmed down Sulzer further to concentrate on four disparate core divisions. Joseph Hogan as CEO will lead to accelerated growth for ABB in Asian markets. In our opinion, after Barnevik, the best CEO is Fred Kindle, because in spite of his experience was limited at the begining, under Kindle ABB? financial situation improved considerably from four years of losses, the company achieved a double-figure EBIT/sales margin which it never previously achieved and net cash from opera tions was higher than any other time in its history. 3. Percy Barnevik laid great store in the use of a matrix structure. Discuss the pros and cons of matrix structures and compare and contrast with those of so-called product/market structures and divisional structures. What particular structure has ABB now developed and why did it take five major restructurings from October 1997 to January 2006?The Pros Of Matrix Structures The matrix structure is a hybrid organization of overlapping responsibilities. The structure is developed to combine geography support for both global integration and local responsiveness; also it can be used to take advantage of personnel skills and experience shared across both functional and divisional structures. In the matrix structure, the lines of responsibility are drawn both vertically and horizontally as illustrated in Exhibit 1. ( Deresky’s text,2011) Exhibit 1 Matrix Geographic Structure The Cons Of Matrix StructuresThis method of management a nd organization maximizes the focus of skills and experience in the company also brings confusion, communication problems and conflict over having more than one boss to whom to report and stress over prioritizing time among overlapping and conflicting responsibilities. Employees maybe run into communication problems leading to conflict over reporting to different superiors because of the superposing responsibilities. Meanwhile, the employees may emphasize the prioritizing time due to the conflicting responsibilities.So this kind of method may result in political struggle and loss of market occupancy. The Matrix Structure And Product/Market Divisional Structures Exhibit 2 Global Product (divisional) Structure Relatively, Global product (divisional) structure is a selective structure based on product lines. The company with this structure use diversifying technology to supply different product lines and services. With this kind of distribution, single product lines will be displayed b y separate divisions. A single general manager who have the responsibility for their own production and sales functions.Every division is called â€Å"â€Å"a Strategic Business Unit† (SBU) with its own functional departments and accounting systems. The advantages of the Global product (divisional) structure refer to concentration and innovation of the company. This structure allows for more responsiveness to new opportunities, as well as facilitating diversification and rapid growth. But now and then, it not only spends scale economies and functional specializations to support diversification and growth, but also make many difficulties in coordination of the broad distributed operations.MNCs are a solution to the difficulties which uses the global geographic (area) structure. ABBs Current Structure and the Major Restructurings We consider that the current structure has now ABB developed is Division expansion with a Global Customer Group (GCG) focus. Exhibit 3 Structure Deve lopments This structure is under Kindle and there are five divisions in it: * Power Products * Power Systems * Automation Products * Process Automation * Robotics * There are also several subdivisions under each division. We deem there are different kinds of aims and destinations according to different CEOs.Barnevik considered that expansion could cause problems for the matrix structure. He regarded the matrix structure as something designed to achieve economic party with the United Stated of America due to more and more European countries become regionalized. It is necessary to run a entity in those areas, such as USA, NAFTA, and Asian, to support the operational issues. Meanwhile, this kind of structure would result in confusion, communication problems and conflict over having more than one boss to whom to report and stress over prioritizing time among overlapping and conflicting responsibilities.In a word, a number of major restructurings were taken to achieve the current structu re: From Barnevik’s Matrix Structure to Lindahl’s Global Products Group (GPG) divisions, to Centerman’s GCG divisions, to Dormann’s Global Power and Automation with GCG divisions, to Kindle’s Division Expansion with GCG structure. 4. Assess ABB’s current corporate culture. Do you think that it has changed since Percy Barnevik’s time? Corporate culture is the population of common values, norms and attitudes which coins decisions, actions and the behavior of the members of an organization.It is also closely connected to the management style of the people in charge of leading positions. Due to the fact that there were a lot of changes concerning the CEO of the company, it can be said, that it also had a considerable impact on ABB’s corporate culture. Having a look only at the past 24 years, there were six different CEOs leading ABB. There were also a variety of changes within the company structure, which changed the corporate cult ure to a certain extend.At first, ABB had a quite complex matrix structure, which the different CEOs tried to simplify over time to make communication within the single business areas and business units easier. At first there was a so-called outline matrix structure with geographic regions on the one dimension, and the single business segments on the other one. Percy Barnevik made use of that decentralized matrix structure. Due to some major changes in expanding the company ABB, Barnevik realized that such expansion could create problems in the matrix structure, such as control and communication problems due to its size and the world becoming more regionalized.It was restructured along the two dimensions of the matrix organization: three geographic regions and three geographic regional heads. Under the leadership of Goran Lindahl as CEO, ABB had six business segments comprising Power Transmission, Power Distribution, Automation, Products/Contracting, Oil/Gas/Petrochemicals and Finan cial Services. The matrix structure was essentially run down when the regional dimension was discontinued. Dormann introducted Global Power and Automation divisions divided into Power Technologies, Automation Technologies and Non-Core Activities focusing on GCG (global customer group).Kindle improved that model further and implemented a division expansion. Finally, the actions each CEO take, also play an important role when it comes to corporate culture. As the management style of each chief executive officer differed from the previous one, the perception of the company’s environment also changes. Concluding it can be said, that there were some significant changes within the company, which could not happen without coining the company in a certain matter to a certain extend, as well as changing the corporate identity over time. . ABB’s current growth strategy is to seek small â€Å"bolt-on† acquisitions to existing product areas rather than via major acquisitions that could take the company into new areas (e. g. aerospace). Comment on these strategic options. According to the case study about ABB (Asea Brown Boveri), the company is lead by its current CEO Joseph Hogan at the moment. His current strategy consists of so-called â€Å"bolt-on† acquisitions, which means that they are looking for expansions for their existing product areas.Joseph Hogan is a member of GE’s Senior Executive Council and formerly CEO of GE. He commenced his appointment as CEO of ABB on 1st September 2008. As already mentioned in the case study, Joseph Hogan was able to develop a record of securing growth through these bolt-on acquisitions. Having a look at the past of ABB and its development until now, it can be said, that there was a huge variety of restructuring measures to keep the company profitable – including changes of the matrix-structure and number of layers.Also the CEOs changed quite often and it was hard for ABB and its managers to ke ep the different departments connected to, and in permanent interchange with each other. Moving through ABB’s company history, it can be determined, that its variety of Business Areas (BAs) was reduced significantly. Nowadays, according to the sound strategic direction developed by Centerman, Dormann and Kindle, it puts its major focus on developing the company globally in power, automating technologies including robotics and focusing on customers.As the past showed, it was a good idea to expand the variety of major acquisitions, but unfortunately that success didn’t last long and the company had to fight against new problems. Markets can change quickly and Joseph Hogan has to ensure that ABB has the flexibility to respond quickly to that. Due to his leadership, the company experienced revenue declines in all divisions except Process Automation. Even though, the first quarter of 2008 is being considered as one of the strongest ever quarters recorded by ABB.Of course, o n the one hand, the idea of acquiring major parts (e. g. aerospace) would make it possible for ABB to enter completely new areas. On the other hand though, Joseph Hogan should try to stabilize the company’s current position on the market. This idea is not totally excluded and – maybe – is likely to be realized in a couple of years. If ABB will be successful with major acquisitions, largely depends on its leadership. With Joseph Hogan as CEO at the moment, the company is likely to look towards a promising future.

Fast Food Whos to Blame On-Demand Essay

You will have 45 minutes to plan and write an essay on the topic assigned below. Before you begin writing, read the passage carefully and plan what you will say. Your essay should be as well-organized and carefully written as you can make it. As Americans add pounds, critics are increasingly blaming the fast-food industry. Teenagers have filed lawsuits blaming McDonalds for their health problems, and a public health group in California has asked the governor to declare childhood obesity a state of emergency. But parentsnot the fast food companies, not the governmentare in the best position to fight the epidemic of overweight children. Parents are responsible for teaching healthy eating and exercise habits. Parents are to blame if they let their kids eat unhealthy foods and sit in front of the television or computer for hours at a time. We have laws against parents leaving a loaded weapon where children can find and use it to hurt themselves or others. Its time to get parents to take the same responsibility to protect their children from unhealthy foods and lack of exercise. Adapted from Daniel WeintraubsThe Battle Against Fast Food Begins in the HomeThe Sacramento Bee, December 17, 2002 Explain Weintraubs argument and discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with his analysis. Support your position, providing reasons and examples from your own experience, observations, or reading. The sample student essays that follow reflect the EPT Scoring Guides criteria. Sample student essay with a score of 6 Daniel Weintraub, in The Battle Against Fast Food Begins in the Home, states that parents are responsible for the increasing epidemic of child obesity. Parents need to be responsible enough to teach their children healthy eating exercise habits. In our world today, children sit around play video games all day, if they are allowed to. Weintraub argues that parents need to step up to the plate and get children involved in some type of exercise. I agree that parents need to take more responsibility for child obesity, but schools, fast food companies the government also need to take that same initiative. Parents have a lot of influence on their children from the day that child is born. Children learn how to talk from their parents, how to respect their elders and they should learn healthy eating exercising habits from their parents. There are many steps to take in showing a child what is healthy unhealthy. A parent could make sure that a child receives a serving of fruits or vegetables at lunch  dinner, eliminate soda from the house and even eliminate all junk food from the house. From a young age, my parents taught me to have an apple for a snack instead of a cookie that I should be getting 5 servings of fruits or vegetables a day. This lesson has influenced me even until today when my friends I will go and eat a salad at lunch instead of pizza or chips. I have also eliminated all soda from my diet. Parents need to show their children that exercise is not a bad thing. At a young age, parents need to show children that there are other things to do, like playing tag or playing at the park, than just watching t.v. Parents could introduce their children to different sports until the child finds one that he or she is interested in. My parents entered me in dance class were lucky in finding that that was what I enjoyed. I have been dancing since I was three years old I also played soccer for 8 years. It isnt very difficult to turn off a t.v. and send your children outside to play. Parents are not solely responsible for child obesity schools, fast food companies the government also need to take action against child obesity. Schools today do not provide a great selection of healthy food. My student body is luck that we have an off-campus lunch but even then it is difficult to find healthy food. Fast food companies definitely need some blame. With advertising that appeals to children, it is no wonder that America is fat. Through whining for that toy that a child can get with a kids meal, the parent is pressured to go to a fast food place. Daniel Weintraub argues that parents are responsible for child obesity. I agree with Weintraub but schools fast food companies also need to help in the fight against child obesity . Commentary This essay illustrates the EPT Scoring Guides criteria for a score of 6. The superior response indicates that the writer is very well-prepared to handle college-level reading and writing. The writer clearly explains Weintraubs argument regarding childhood obesity in the first paragraph and takes a thoughtful position, contending that Weintraub is right to a degree but that schools, fast food companies the government also need to take that same initiative. The writer skillfully restates Weintraubs argument in the first paragraph and makes a further connection in the second paragraph by saying, they should learn healthy eating exercising habits from their parents. However, the emphasized should suggests that the writer questions whether this always happens. The conclusion again refers back to Weintraub. The essay demonstrates quality  and clarity of thought with its careful analysis of both the strengths and weaknesses of Weintraubs somewhat overstated position. The essay reflects an effective use of topic statements and strong personal examples to both support Weintraubs argument that parents are responsible for childhood obesity with respect to eating and exercise habits and make the case that others are responsible as well. Sentence structure is varied and word choice is precise. The essay has few errors. Sample student essay with a score of 5 America is now known as the fattest country in America. Many of our countrys people blame the fast food industry for over-advertising, selling unhealthy food, and selling oversized portions. However, others feel that Americas obeisity is a matter of personal responsibility. In his article The battle against fast food begins in the home, Daniel Weintraub explains that parents need to take responsibility for the eating habits of their kids, and I agree with his opinion in this matter. As Americans, we are given the freedom of choice, however, before we become adults, it is our parents that have to teach us how to make the right decisions. This is Weintraubs point. If parents are not willing to teach their kids the dangers of eating too much fast food and not getting enough exercise, then those kids have no way to make the right choices. Kids learn best at an early a ge, therefore, teaching them good habits will allow them to make the correct decisions later. I agree with Weintraubs opinion that parents are responsible. Obviously, fast food companies are going to market towards kids they are more impressionable. Because of this, if parents would start teaching kids early on, they could use that impressionable quality to their advantage. The benefits of education are apparent in almost everything we do. For example, a better educated person can solve problems quickly and easily. The same goes for someone educated in terms of health habits. They can make the best choices because they have been taught to do so. Fast food companies provide a service. It is up to us, or our parents if we are not yet of age, to decide how much of that service we should use. In conclusion, Daniel Weintraub is correct in his assesment of one of the causes of Americas obeisity. The truth is that no child can grow up to be an intelligent human being without a proper education, wether it be in mathematics or eating habits. Fast food companies are always going to compete for customers and try to make money, but they cannot control our  decisions. The only people that can make choices for us our ourselves, and we canno t make the right choices without proper education from our parents. We cannot blame others for our own problems. Only when parents and the population of American in general are educated and choose to live healthy lifestyles will the countrys obeisity cease. Commentary This essay illustrates the EPT Scoring Guides criteria for a score of 5. The clear competence of the essay indicates that this writer is quite ready to handle college-level reading and writing. The writer addresses the topic of childhood obesity clearly, summarizing and then agreeing with Weintraubs position. Further references to Weintraub in the body and conclusion maintain a clear focus on the argument. The essay presents a well-reasoned response, indicating that various factors contribute to childhood obesity but finally siding with Weintraub in placing the responsibility on parents We cannot make the right choices without proper education from our parents. The essay shows some depth of thought in making the case that adults are responsible for making their own sound choices while parents are responsible for the choices their children make. However, the writer simply dismisses the responsibility of the fast-food industry without analysis. The essay is fairly clearly organized around the ideas that parents are responsible for their childrens choices and that the best way to counter fast-food advertising is through education however, some repetition and a lack of strong examples weaken the writers argument. The sentences are varied and word choices are generally precise and effective. The essay has only a few minor errors failure to use a semicolon with however, misspelling of obesity, and the distracting repetition of America in the first line. Sample student essay with a score of 4 Obesity Can Be Stopped Within the Home The article titled, The battle against fast food begins in the home, is the authors Daniel Weintraub, point of view on the rising obesity problem in America. Mr. Weintraub wrote this particular piece with one intention to educate the readers with his own views. Mr. Weintraub doesnt blame the Government, or advertising for Americans weight problem. But, instead he feels that parents are the sole component. He not only blames parents for their childrens poor eating habits, but also for they lack of exercise, and physical activity. I strongly agree with Mr. Weintraub because of the dynamics and regimne of parents lives today and parents wanting to blame  everyone and thing but themselves. I strongly agree with Mr. Weintraub because of the dynamics and regimne of parents lives today. Mr. Weintraub makes the point in his article that, Fast Food is fast., and It can also seem cheap. (Weintraub) This is just what parents who work all day want. They want to feed their children, not cook but feed, and relax after a hard days work. They may not mean to, but they are already to blame for their childs eating habits. However, taking the easy route, they have already put their children at risk. The dynamics of their daily regimne naturally allow them to feed their child junk. Not only do I believe that Mr. Weintraub is correct because of the dynamics and regimne of parents lives today, but I also strongly Agree with Mr. Weintraub because of parents wanting to blame everyone and thing but themselves. First off, in an article written by Shannon Brownlee titled, Its Portion distortion that makes America fat, a mother who was suing McDonalds stated, 1 always believed McDonalds food was healthy for my son. (Brownlee) This statement shows a parent who is willing to blame a company, whose sole purpose is making money, for her childs obesity. All the while parents eat, themselves, the exact same food as their child. They dont hold any responsibility that maybe their child will mimic these same habits. In the Letters to the Editor section a woman, Patricia Gonzalez, poses a good question Why arent they (parents) home cooking them (children) healthy food (Letters to Editor) Instead of parents complaining about how companies made their kids fat, or how advertising hooked their kids, why dont they eliminate these factors and cook their children a meal they know is healthy I strongly agree with Mr. Weintraub because of the dynamics and regimne of parents lives today and parents wanting to bl ame everyone and thing but themselves. Mr. Weintraub expressed the right point. As Americans, we need to take responsibility ourselves and not just blame other people. Parents could eliminate obesity before it became a problem in their childs life. That is why I strongly agree with Mr. Weintraub. Commentary This essay illustrates the EPT Scoring Guides criteria for a score of 4. This adequate response to the topic suggests that the writer should be able to handle college-level reading and writing. The writer clearly addresses Weintraubs argument that parents are responsible for the epidemic of childhood obesity but fails to explain why the fast-food companies, whose sole purpose is making money, do not share responsibility.  The writer generally understands the passage and develops a sensible, if somewhat simplistic, response why dont they . . . cook their children a meal they know is healthy The essay has a clear organization around the issues of parents lack of timedynamics and regimne of parents livesand parents desire to shift blame to others. However, wel l-chosen examples would strengthen the support for this argument. The essay demonstrates adequate use of syntax and language however, word choice is sometimes imprecise. For example, The article . . . is the point of view . . . and hold any responsibility. Dynamics and regimne are used both imprecisely and repetitively. The writer has general control of grammar and usage however, errors in punctuation and capitalization are frequent and distracting. Sample student essay with a score of 3 Who is to blame the parents, fast food companies, the government or yourself People now a days are so quick to sue fast food companies for making them fat but its all about self control. One should know his or her own body and watch what they eat. Fast food places are on almost every corner but doesnt mean their making you eat there. In New York a teenager is sueing McDonalds for making her fat. He weighs in at 400 pounds. His mother says I always believed McDonalds food was healthy for my son. How is this possible Two patty cheeseburgers, deep fried potatoes, and a large cup of soda is clearly not healthy. This kid probably ate at McDonalds majority of the time but I doubt he ate there everyday for every meal so how is McDonalds fully to blaim. Whatever happen to exercising, if this teenager was getting the required exercise there is no way he could way in at 400 pounds. Dont get me wrong Im not just on the fast food companies side. Yes McDonalds super-sizing most of their meals is a little extreme. Having good deals like dollar nugget Tuesdays is also a big temptation. Fast food companies could cut down on the location of there restuarants. Being that its so convinent that its close to your house, cheap and fast is another way that makes Americans so addicted. In conclusion, Both Americans and Fast Food Companies can change for the better. Americans start taking some responsibility for what you put into your own body. Fast Food Companies think of how many lives are at risk because of what your feeding them and cut back on expanding your franchises. Commentary This essay illustrates the EPT Scoring Guides criteria for a score of 3. Although the essay indicates a developing competence on the part of the writer, it is flawed in  significant ways that suggest the writer needs additional practice before being able to succeed in college-level reading and writing. The writer does not arrive at a thesis until the conclusion, which states, In conclusion, Both Americans and Fast Food Companies can change for the better. Even if this thesis had been presented in the introduction, however, it would need to be made more specific. The writer does not summarize or explain Weintraubs argument and fails to respond to the argument that parents are primarily responsible for their childrens eating and exercise habits. The writer does not use Weintraubs argument about the role of parents to develop the response as a result, the essay is not focused on Weintraubs argument but instead focuses entirely on the responsibility of the individual and the fast-food industry. The essay demonstrates simplistic thinking. It ignores the socioeconomic and developmental issues that can impede children and parents from making wise decisions about what they eat. It also ignores the imperative for businesses to make money when it suggests that McDonalds could cut down on the location of there restaurants. A skeletal organization is present, with the two body paragraphs each addressing a single idea that is summarized in the conclusion. The paragraphs are underdeveloped they need additional specifics and analysis. In addition, the role of parental responsibility needs to be explored. The paragraphs need effective topic sentences relating back to a controlling idea or thesis. The writers language is highly informal, relying on a series of rhetorical questions and colloquial comments (Who is to blame . . . How is this possible Whatever happen to exercising Dont get me wrong.) in place of analysis. The writer uses vague or incorrect pronoun reference (one should know . . . and watch what they eat but doesnt mean their making you eat there), and sentence structure is weak (Being that its so convinent . . . is another way that makes Americans so addicted.). The main errors, however, are in the mechanics, with numerous errors in punctuation, spelling, and capitalization. Sample student essay with a score of 2 Bigger isnt always better Last year a Bronx teenager who weighted in at a wooping 400 pounds sat in a confrence room while their mother tryed to file a suit againt McDonalds for make her kid fat. When ask why she replyed I always believed McDonalds food was healthy for my son. More and more americans are trying to blame fast food for the reason they are fat, but is it what they eat or how  much. Shannon Brownlee asked this question and this is what she found. Portion sizes has been creeping up ward science 1972. That when McDolands introduced its large size fries. (which now was smaller than a medium today.) And now they make more money then ever, they do it by consumer manipulation. Example 7-Eleven can sell the 64-ounce Double Gulp for only 37 cents more the 16-ounce 89 cent regular Gulp. Youd feel ripped off if you bought the s maller size. And thats just the way I feel when I go to fast food why not get the bigger size your pay just as much as a regular. After reading Shannon Brownlees article I understand and agree that people arnt getting fat from the food but from how much they eat. So maybe all those moms should stop getting mad that their kid are getting fat and be mad at their kid for eating so much and throwing away money on food that 70 of the time they dont finish Commentary This essay illustrates the EPT Scoring Guides criteria for a score of 2. The serious flaws here indicate that this writer will need considerable additional practice before being able to succeed in college-level reading and writing. The writer does not summarize or respond to Weintraubs argument, instead lifting portions from another article by Shannon Brownlee about fast food. The writer does not use the passage at all. Sample student essay with a score of 1 Many people blame the fast food industry for making them obese. But its not their fault it is the fault of the parents. It is theirs for not teaching the person how to eat right. It is the parents responsibility to teach their children o eat right and to excise at lest once a day. Americans have taken the blame of obesity and put it one that fast food industry. Many parents have filled lawsuits against McDonalds for their health problems. Commentary This essay illustrates the EPT Scoring Guides criteria for a score of 1. The fundamental deficiencies of this essay clearly indicate that the writer needs much additional practice to be ready to succeed at college-level reading and writing. The essays lengthsix sentencesis insufficient to respond to the question. The writer misunderstands the passage and fails to refer to it. The essay is repetitive. The first and fifth sentences repeat each other, as do the second, third, and fourth sentences. The writer culls the idea of parental responsibility from the passage but offers no support, reasons, or examples as the prompt instructs. The essay appears to be incomplete. It ends with a (misstated) statement of fact from the passage  that either belongs in the summary portion of the essay or should be omitted in lieu of the writers own opinions and supportthe better option. The writer lacks basic control of syntax and vocabulary. The writer has serious and persistent errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics that severely interfere with meaning. Pronoun confusion (It is theirs . . . ), preposition misuse (blame of obesity), and punctuation errors are profound.