Igor Stravinsky Essay

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was born on June 17th, 1882 in Oranienbaum, Russia. He was one of four to his polish parents, Anna nà ©e Kholodovsky and Fyodor Stravinsky. Igor Stravinsky’s first exposer to music was from his father, who was a bass singer at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. His father helped him learn the love of music. His first musical education began at the age of nine with piano lessons, studying music theory, and attempting composition. By fifteen, he had mastered Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto in G Minor and finished a piano reduction of a string quartet by Glazunov. That same year, Stravinsky rebelled against the Russian Orthodox Church and abandoned it. Even though he excelled in music, his parents still wanted him to become a lawyer. In 1901, Stravinsky enrolls at the University of Saint Petersburg; however he never attends many of his classes during the four years of school. When it came time to take final examinations in 1905, the school w as closed for two months because of Bloody Sunday. He then later received a half course diploma in April 1906. In 1902, Stravinsky began receiving private lessons from Nikolai Rimsky- Korsakov, the leading Russian composer at that time. That very same year Stravinsky’s father dies from cancer. In 1905 Igor Stravinsky proposes to his first cousin Catherin Nossenko. Even though the Orthodox Church opposes marriage of first cousins, they got married on January 23rd, 1906. The same of his marriage, Stravinsky’s creates first important composition Symphony in E Flat. The following year they have their first child Theodore and then the next year they have their second child Ludmila. The same year as Ludmila’s birth, Rimsky, Stravinsky’s father like figure, dies. In 1909, Stravinsky’s compositions, Scherzo fatastique and Feu d’artifice (Fireworks) where performed at a concert in St. Petersburg. In that very audience Serge Diaghilev, founder of the Ballets Russes, was extremely impressed. He was so impressed that he chooses Stravinsky to carry out orchestrations and to compose a full length ballet, The Firebird. In 1910 Stravinsky travels Paris for the premier of The Firebird. At this performance he meets Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and many other important musicians. Towards the end of the ballet season, his family moves to Switzerland with him and, Catherine expecting her third child. In Lausanne, Switzerland in September 1910, Sviatoslav Soulima their third son was born. In 1911, Stravinsky completes another successful ballet, Petrushka. Three years later, Stravinsky composes the two part ballet Le Sacre du Primtemps (The Rite of Spring). This ballet marked the coming of modernism in music and was met with astonishment and hostility. The riot that followed was the most notorious event in music history. Right after the performance, he developed typhoid fever, which took six weeks to recover from. Around the same time, Catherina and Ludmila were found to have tuberculosis. A year later Ludmila did and after giving birth to their fourth child Maria Milena, Catherina also died. Three months after that his mother died also. After all these deaths in his life, Stravinsky also diagnosed with tuberculosis. He spent five months recovering with his newest daughter Milena; she took six years to recover. Stravinsky met Vera de Bosset in Paris in February 1921, his new wife to be. At the time when they first met Vera was still married to the painter and stage designer Serge Sudeikin. They began an affair which led Vera to leave her husband. During his last years in Paris, Stravinsky made professional connections with people in the U.S.

Maneging coral reefs

Coral reefs are unique ecosystems of plants, animals, and their associated geological framework. The ocean equivalent of rainforests, they are home to 25% of all marine species, yet it is estimated that many of the world's reefs will be destroyed or significantly damaged in the next 20 years because of the human and the physical damage put on to them. They grow in tropical seas in the photic zone, where there is mild wave action, not so strong to tear the reef apart yet strong enough to stir the water and deliver sufficient food and oxygen. Coral reefs also need nutrient-poor, clear, warm, shallow water to grow. Human Threats to the Coral reefs Tourist There are a number of different human threats applied to the coral reefs, most of it which is caused by tourists. These activities are; * Snorkelling- Inexperienced snorkellers can trample corals with their flippers. The can also damage the corals by getting to close and resting on the reefs. * Boat trips- Cruses taking visitors out to the reefs are often careless when the drop their anchor. The anchor will crush the delicate corals with their weight. The water movements made by the boats travelling too fast will damage the corals the force applied to the corals underwater. When the boats get to close to the reefs, the hull tends to scrape past the corals, damaging them. * Boat hire- Tourist don't tend to know the local water, so when they hire a boat, they usually run it aground on a reef. * Souvenirs- When tourists go snorkelling or scuba diving by the corals, they tend to pick corals for them to take home. Fishing It's NOT always tourist how cause all the damage, but it's also the fishermen. Their ways of catching fish is always a harm to corals. Their ways of fishing are; * Dynamite fishing- Some fishers in poor countries, who fish by the coral reefs, often drop dynamites or other explosive into the reefs. When it explodes, it drives the fishes out of the corals and stuns or kills them. This makes it easier to collect the fishes. The explosion can blow corals apart and can send shock waves to the coral which are further away. This is a danger to the fishes and corals. Small organisms, especially coral polyps, are killed by the cyanide in this process. It also provides a new set of dangers to the fishermen. * Metal Nets- When fishers use large mesh net to fish the corals reefs with, the corals get usually get stuck, and then get ripped off, when the boats drag the net behind them. Physical threats to the coral reefs There are also a number of physical threats applied top the coral reefs. They are; * Sea level- Global warming causes the temperature to rise by 1 or2 centigrade per century. It may not seem much, but it affects the sea because the sea level rises by 15-95 cm. A rise in temperature causes the icebergs to melt. The melted sea water is added to the sea, and makes the sea level rise. The means that the sea becomes deeper. If the sea becomes deeper, the corals will start to lack in sunlight. Corals need warm and shallow water. * Soil Erosion- When soil erodes, the soil usually ends up in a river, and then gets carried down to the sea. The soil can then be deposited on the corals. If this happens, the corals would be covered in sand, and they won't be able to intake any sunlight. It is usually caused by poor use of land. * Climate change- Changes to the weather patterns can cause problems for the coral reefs. Hurricanes are now striking more and more frequently, and the have becomes stronger. This is all to blame on the global warming. Hurricanes can have a devastating impact on the coral reefs because of its increased wave energy. Sediments generated during storms can bury the coral communities. Ways to prevent human damages to coral reefs Tourist There might be a lot of human threats to the coral reefs which can damage them, but there are also a number of ways to prevent the damages which are caused to them. These ways are; * Snorkelling- Inexperienced snorkellers should need to take an experienced snorkeller with them. Like they do driving licences, they should do snorkelling licences. * Boat trips- When cruses take people to see the reefs, they can drop the anchors somewhere by the reefs, where there are no fishes or corals. The movements made by fast boats can be prevented by putting a speed limit by the coral reefs. * Boat hire- When tourists hire a boat, the hiring agency should give them a driver who knows the local water, to steer the boat around the coral reefs. * Souvenirs- Instead of tourist picking corals from the reefs, the government should pick dead corals, and sell the in gift shops. Fishing There are also ways to prevent damage cause by fishing, if we prevent fishing by the corals, the fishmongers will become bankrupt, and there would be much more poverty. But if we don't prevent fishing by the reefs, in the years to come, the rare types of fishes will be extinct. The ways fishing can be prevented are; * Dynamite fishing- Dynamite fishing can be prevented is banned. If people still continue, there should be a watchman for the each reef, patrolling the reefs for any dynamite fishers. * Metal Nets- Instead of using large mesh nets, the fishers should use nets made out of roots and vines because corals won't break and if the nets get stuck, the fishes can always eat them. Ways to prevent physical damage to the coral reefs The physical threats applied to the coral reefs are mostly caused by global warming. Most of it can be prevented if less CO2 is used, but there are many other ways to prevent these. They are; * Sea level- It is hard to prevent the sea level from rising, is still possible. This can be done if the amount of carbon dioxide produce is less than before. We can shorten the amount by using less energy, stop the usage of non-renewable fuels and use our cars less and less. * Soil erosion- Soil erosion can be prevented by planting more trees on the land. This will keep the soil together and prevent the soil from washing away when it rains heavily. * Climate change- Hurricanes and other powerful storm are nearly impossible to prevent. It wouldn't be normal if they don't strike, but reducing the amount of CO2 would help to reduce the speed of the storms. If the damage continues at the same rate as it is now, in the next few centuries to come, the coral reefs and their inhabitants would be extinct. In my opinion, the tourist industry is causing most of the damage. The coral reefs should be all made into a nature park, where tourist would have a guide to take them around the corals and tell them about the dangers of them being extinct. Fishing by the coral reefs should be banned by the government. If all these improvements are made, the fragile ecosystem would be around for the next generation of people to see them.

Compare and contrast plato and decsartes Essay

Descartes and Plato are two of the most influential thinkers within philosophy. The allegory of the cave and systematic doubt are also two of the most famous concepts within philosophy. Plato at the time of writing the cave allegory was trying to resist the growing influence of the Sophist philosophers who prioritised semantics and rhetoric over truth. 1 Descartes by introducing radical scepticism to philosophy was challenging traditional scholastic philosophy which had dominated the philosophy for many centuries. While both pieces of writing are separated by different ages of time and space, they share many  similarities as well as fundamental differences. This essay will attempt to compare and contrast these two bodies of work by firstly explaining what is Descartes’ systematic doubt and Plato’s Allegory of the cave before finally examining the similarities and differences between them in the final paragraph of analysis. Descartes in his first meditation introduces the concept of Radical doubt which similarly places suspicion on the senses and the appearance of things. This involves stripping away all one’s beliefs and preconceived notions in order to find the foundational bedrock of  knowledge in which all sciences could then grow2. Descartes begins his first meditation by casting doubt on all his beliefs, if a belief can be even slightly doubted it must be discarded. He wants to ‘reject as absolutely false anything in which I could imagine the least amount of doubt3’ this is called radical scepticism where all beliefs must be challenged. Through this experiment Descartes conceded that the physical senses are not to be trusted as they have deceived him before, this is known as sensory deception and this revelation forces him to  doubt any beliefs about the external world and knowledge that is gathered by the five senses. His examination also reveals that dreams states can be difficult to distinguish between waking life, this has happened before where he thought he was in bed but wasn’t. Henceforth one cannot truly know if they are awake observing reality or asleep enjoying a dream, this is known as the dream hypothesis. Descartes also uncovers the evil demon hypothesis whereby all external reality observed may be just an illusion that is perpetrated by an evil demon  seeking to deceive him, also there is the problem that all previous memories about oneself could simply just be imagination and not grounded in any reality. The system of radical doubt leads Descartes into murky territory where he cannot believe in the existence of anything at 1 JULIAS, ANNAS: INTRODUCTION TO PLATO’S REPUBLIC(NEW YORK, 1998)P. 252 2 JOHN, COTTINGHAM, DESCARTES: THE PHILOSOPHY OF MIND(LONDON, 1997) P. 21 3 JOHN CORRINGHAM, DESCARTES: MEDITATIONS ON FIRST PHILOSOPHY (NEW YORK, 2013) P. 33 all. This thankfully is changed when he discovers the cogito’ I think therefore I am’, his  starting point which saves him from uncertainty, allowing him to prove that he exists. In Plato’s allegory of the cave, there are prisoners who are locked up within the depths of a cave. All day long, they are situated in front of a wall and behind them is a fire which reflects shadows on the wall. Unbeknownst to the prisoners, there are puppeteers who use the firelight to reflect shadows of their puppets upon the wall while making noises ‘the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows’4. The prisoners are unaware of this illusion and mistakenly believe these shadows are real images. One day, a prisoner is released from his chains and allowed to walk freely about the cave. Although it is confusing for him to see the puppets and fire, he is forced to accept this clearer version of reality and eventually ascents through the cave, spending a day and night under the sun and the stars. As he becomes familiar with the world above, he realises the sun is the giver of light, how it casts shadows and how his prior life in the cave was an entire illusion. This newfound enlightenment Plato remarks will prevent him from ever returning to the life in cave, nor will his old inmates  believe him if he tried to free him, instead ‘they would put him to death5’ This intellectual awakening will cause the inmate to grasp the idea of good, the eternal form which will urge him to act ‘rationally in public or private life6’. Ultimately Plato suggests the inmate should return to his old friends and seek to help them. The cave analogy is concerned with the human condition and its’ lack of enlightenment7, for Plato the prisoners represent ordinary citizens who hold false beliefs (shadows), reality is dictated to them by their senses (appearance of things) allowing them to be easily manipulated8. Ignorance is then symbolised by darkness and the intellect and reason is symbolised by the light. The journey of the inmate from darkness to light is a metaphor for education which allows one to progress from the ignorance in the depths of the cave to the intellectual plains of the enlightened one in the outside world. The outer world symbolises true knowledge, the realisation of eternal forms while the cave again illustrates the world of appearance and false beliefs, Woozley writes ‘most men without knowing it live in this shadow world’9 4 PLATO. ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE. P. 74 5 IBID. P. 75 6 IBID. P. 75. 7 ANTHONY, WOOZLEY: PLATO’S REPUBLIC: A PHILOSOPHICAL COMMENTARY(LONDON, 1989)P206 8 JULIAS, ANNAS: INTRODUCTION TO PLATO’S REPUBLIC(NEW YORK, 1998)P254 The cave analogy and Descartes systematic doubt have much in common. Both are concerned with the illusory nature of the senses and external reality, for Plato people place too much emphasis on the senses, on the appearance of things as illustrated in by the shadows on the wall, this leads them to hold false beliefs and to be easily misled, only by entering the realm of thought can people free themselves by gaining knowledge and becoming enlightened. Descartes through the systematic doubt also maintains that external reality cannot be truly known; the sensory deception and evil demon hypothesis cast doubt on the authenticity of the outside world. Indeed the evil demon hypothesis is an almost identical scenario to that of the prisoners whose sensory perception is distorted by the shadow wielding puppeteers. Only through the mind or intellect can an individual overcome the illusory nature of the senses, it allows the prisoner to access the outside world to gain enlightenment and help his fellow inmates while for Descartes the mind by way of the cogito is the one thing  that cannot be doubted which through it allows him prove the existence of the outside world in his later meditations. The cave is an analogy which illustrates how people can possess false consciousness and how through reason and knowledge one can overcome this while systematic doubt is an instruction on how to discard false beliefs, the ascent through the cave into the intellectual world is the finishing point for Plato while the cogito for Descartes is a starting point for further investigation. The two authors also differ on the type of philosophy employed in their argument. Plato insists that after the ascent , the prisoner will experience the idea of the good ‘ the lord of light in the visible world, and the immediate source of reason and truth in the intellectual’10 the good then is the highest point of knowledge and represents Plato’s philosophy of perfect types or forms known as idealism, Descartes through highlighting the sensory, dream and demon hypothesis illustrates how the external world cannot be relied upon as a basis for true knowledge, but the cogito is a starting point, the attempt to find secure beliefs that allow a foundation for further knowledge to be rested upon  is known as Foundationalism which is credited to Descartes. In conclusion, both Descartes and Plato in their attempts to challenge the prevailing doctrine of their respective times introduced two of the most influential concepts in the world of Philosophy. Descartes through his examination of systematic doubt uncovers the limitations of the physical senses in acquiring knowledge and introduces further challenges to understanding external reality with the dream, memory and evil demon hypothesis. Only 9 ANTHONY, WOOZLEY: PLATO’S REPUBLIC: A PHILOSOPHICAL COMMENTARY(LONDON, 1989)P. 223 10 PLATO. ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE. P. 77  through the mind alone can one grasp the nature of reality starting with the cogito. Likewise Plato is concerned with the appearance of things, how the senses can deceive us and humanity like the inmates in the cave can live in a state of ignorance or darkness if they don’t use the power of the mind to acquire knowledge and reason. Only through using the intellect can humanity gather true knowledge and escape the darkness in the cave. For both the intellect is the only means for gathering true knowledge, the senses are illusory. Descartes systematic doubt and cogito provide the foundational starting point for the sciences while the  cave allegory offers advocates a way of life for humanity to feign the world of ignorance and seek true knowledge so that those who acquire it will return to the cave and help their fellow man. Works Cited: Annas, Julias. An Introduction to Plato’s’ Republic. New York: Oxford University Press Cottingham, John. Descartes: Meditations on First Philosophy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013 Cottingham, John. Ed. Ray Monk. Descartes’ Philosophy of Mind. London: Phoenix Publishers, 1997 Plato. The Allegory of the cave. Week 5 Handout Woozley, Anthony. Plato’s Republic: A philosophical commentary. London: MacMillan Publishers, 1989.

Steve Jobs' Personality & Attitudes Drove His Success Case Study

Steve Jobs' Personality & Attitudes Drove His Success - Case Study Example In order to take a company to the next level, one ought to have creativity in order to keep the company running. In his imagination and creativity, Jobs was visionary that one day his products and services will change the world. Steve Jobs is characterized as being charismatic in his way of leadership. According to Scholars research, describes as how a leader relates with his followers. Being a charismatic person is one who is led by aspirations and communication skills that the leader possesses. In his discussion, Scholars illustrated that for one to be a successful leader; charismatic should be one of the key qualities that one should see. Basing this on Steve Jobs way of leadership, he managed to give numerous speeches thus attracting attention of its audience and still to date is still famous for what he made a number of years that has passed. As a leader, Steve was able to catch attention of his audiences and furthermore his employees with is ability of being able to evangelize. From this point of view, it is clear that he was charismatic in the way he presented himself to his audience as Scholars puts. To add on his way of speech, Steve was able to use metaphors while presenting his speech. In addition, he would bring out his speech is form of storytelling getting the attention of its audience.... It is clear that because of his understanding of technology and his aspirations that made him sail though the challenges that may have come his way. Personal leadership Jobs’ charismatic character appeared as personalized. This according to researchers means that he served his interests and restrained himself from the use of power as a leader. Steve Jobs not only employs storytelling as a way of motivating his followers as a leader but also use force where necessary. According to the case, others refer to Jobs as a man who is dishonest and manipulate his audience (Jose 78). In one of the instances, he stated that his Jobs not to play easy on people but he is to ensure that the make them better. In his demands, he stated that his duty is to bring together things from different parts of his organization and ensure all paths are clear thus fetching enough resources for his main projects. From this point of view, Jobs expects people to follow him and commit themselves to him with total obedience to him since his main objective is Apple. The main aim that individuals want to ascend to power is mainly for social and personalized power motives. Jobs was out of this context. The reason being that he was not in quest for power is that he was not interested in money, status, and luxury. Many people have end up losing direction by following what other people are doing, this was the exact opposite of Jobs’ case. Personality traits Trustworthiness of Jobs was quite low as seen when he talked the secrets he felt in while facing the challenges outside his organization. This reflected how he was able to control the flow of information within the organization. It

Gillette case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Gillette - Case Study Example Although Gillette was familiar with and held the patent of the coated stainless steel blades, Gillette was so slow in introducing the same due to its large market share for the uncoated blades at the time. The company was already generating massive revenues from its global market through its existing blades and therefore it Gillette did not foresee the long-term competition for the growing market taken to the coated stainless steel blades as the improved product. The implications for firms faced with making long-term investments in manufacturing and supply chain resources would be to first patent or at least by the licence for the product or services. The second option would be to invest heavily in products and services that would have the long-term appeal to the customers through constant product differentiation and modification (Ingrassia 170). It is not enough for Gillette to simply design a razor that gives the â€Å"best shave possible†. This is because come consumers may have certain preferences and evaluation criteria that may not correspond to Gillette’s specifications. When designing a razor, consumer interests come first and therefore the price tag should play a key role in design besides the quality of the razor. On the other hand, manufacturing help Gillette maintain its market share and profitability through continuous product innovation that ensures Gillette’s razors are at par with the latest design technologies like the production of disposable or double edged razors. During the development stages, it is essential to integrate the services of the operations and supply chains personnel. This is because in addition to connecting production manufacturing department to the consumers, they also convey invaluable information to the production department as regards consumer preferences due to th eir close association with the customers (Ingrassia

Managing conflicts assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managing conflicts assessment - Essay Example When conflict occurs finding a resolution is imperative because conflict can disrupt the work environment of an organization. Five recognized techniques that line managers can utilize to resolve conflict are accommodation, collaboration, compromise, avoidance, and authoritative command. Accommodation involves playing down the differences and finding areas of agreement among the parties. Collaboration allows the parties to recognize that something is wrong and the problem needs immediate attention. The underlying problem is the root of the conflict. A compromise is a good method to find a resolution because each party gives up something of value to the other in order to end the conflict. Avoidance pretends that the problem does not exist. The assumption is that the problem will play itself down through time. Authoritative command uses formal authority to end the conflict. As a manager I would create harmony at work and engender a positive atmosphere by focusing on building a strong corporate culture. The corporate culture of the company should bring the employees closer to each other. A second technique that I would use to build a better workplace is by empowering my employees. Employees that feel they are valued by their supervisors are more likely to achieve job satisfaction. A third technique I would use to create harmony is

Love , Statement purpose Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Love , Statement purpose - Essay Example The presentation was so welcomed and acclaimed by the teachers that I felt the passion and energy grow in me. This propelled me to work harder when I went to high school. Indeed, my results in high school were a reflection of my passion in the field of electronics. The exemplary performance in this field did not come by hard work alone but was accompanied by discipline, focus, and mentorship from various teachers. I must say that most of the personal development I have today is because of the modeling I have experienced during my undergraduate degree. The electrical engineering course was one of the toughest tasks I have ever undergone in my entire life. It involved solving complex problems and performing rigorous researches in various units within the course. However, I did not relent in growing both personally and professionally. Personal development began with my enactment to the head of student council in 2006. The student leadership enhanced my leadership skills. However, personal development went beyond to encompass intercultural activities for which I received acknowledgment from UAE embassy. All the challenges and opportunities I have experienced have taught me to optimize my mental resources to think logically about difficult and complex problems. In the process, I have gained profound problem solving techniques, which I plan to use in the field of business logistics or financial engineering. I do understand that a lot of investment goes towards developing a globally recognized intellectual in any field. I count this stage in my life as a transition from a modeling to a refining stage where I will refine and tune my abilities towards one specific career. Therefore, I plan to utilize all the available opportunities towards achieving my goals. As I have grown more mature, learned, intelligent, and focused, I believe that I am the best candidate for consideration for any

Integration of Financial and Operational Management Essay

Integration of Financial and Operational Management - Essay Example Dell has committed itself to operate in a way that would not only achieve excellence in operations but also benefit the company financially and would result in satisfied customers. Because of its commitment to constant improvement the company installed the direct selling method where JIT system and lean production were adopted which improved company’s efficiency and effectiveness in many areas. On the other hand the company used the rapidly growing IT technology well by working on customer focused ordering system which enable them to design their own product, which resulted in much satisfied customers and zero inventory level. Zero inventory level was further implemented by changes in the supply chain and integration of the entire company’s operations into the supply chain. Through redesigning of systems and process, Dell is able to become the most efficient PC manufacturers in the world. However, it should be noted that although Dell has installed a system which serves as a benchmark for many manufacturing companies, Dell still needs to focus on few areas which if not attended can turn out to be bigger operational issues in the future. Introduction: Dell is one of the largest American multinational company which deals in selling and supporting computers and related products and services. The company is involved in selling, manufacturing and distribution of high technological products like PCs, servers, data storage devices, printers, cameras, HDTVs soft wares etc. Dell is the third largest IT Company of the world and faces close competition from its competitors HP (Hewlett Packard), Acer, Apple, and Lenovo etc. Managerial Challenges: Dell has been in business for over 28 years. Since its inception, Dell has faced many operational and financial difficulties and has adopted numerous strategies to overcome its challenges and restore its profitability. Dell’s operational strategy since its early days had been to use interchangeable parts to pr oduce goods of mass-production at lowest possible prices. However, due to rapid increase in the demand of technology, globalization, new and evolving market trends and technological demands the company faced operational challenges in many fields. Excessive and Obsolete Inventory: Dell had faced numerous problems in the early stages; the company in its early stages expanded into traditional retail channels which it stopped later on due to heavy obsolete inventory and thin margins in the business. Later on in 1990 the company faced another operational issue of excess component inventory and abandonment of production line. This caused heavy losses to the company despite of doubling sales during the period. The major problem that Dell faced at that time was the excessive inventory along with the prevailing recession made it report a huge loss of $36 millions in 1994. (Ireland, Hoskisson & Hitt. 2012) Dell struggled with great difficulties in inventory management area as it used the trad itional manufacturing ordering system by ordering components in advance on the forecast basis and if the forecast went wrong the company had major write-downs. (Ireland, Hoskisson & Hitt. 2012) Changing Customer’s Demands: The technological business is a rapidly changing business where the introduction of a new technology can cause heavy losses. Dell’s main concern was about the inventory in hand that became obsolete due

The richest arabic person in the world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The richest arabic person in the world - Essay Example But his role is not limited solely as the only leader of the Al-Kharafi Group. He has served on the board of directors of the National Bank of Kuwait, been the chairman of the Egypt Kuwait Holding Company, the managing director of the Aluminium Industries Companyas well as the chairman of the Kuwait Food Company. He has distinguished himself in each of these roles and has been presented with many awards, accolades, and honorary degrees for his abhorrence for corruption and his business acumen, both in Kuwait and in other countries. His brother Jassam Mohammad Al- Kharafi, is a prominent politician in Kuwait, being the former member of the Kuwait National Assembly and former Minister of Finance. His sister Faiza was the first woman president of Kuwait University from 1993 to 2002. Al- Kharafi's three sons, Marzouk, Badr and Faisal have now proven their mettle in various roles in the group of companies. Most of this fabulous wealth was inherited, but Al-Kharafi has done a lot to increase manifold the wealth that was left to him by his parent. M.A. Kharafi & Sons started off as the National Company for Mechanical and Electrical works in1976.

My concept of leadership and how community service eperiences have Essay

My concept of leadership and how community service eperiences have impacted my life - Essay Example My first leadership experience took place when I was a child. I was the oldest of four children and as the first child I had to take care of my siblings, make sure that they went to school, prepared their homework and of course resolved their conflicts. At the same time, I had to make them respect and trust me. So, I discovered and did instinctively everything that a leader does i.e. being responsible for the group (my siblings), motivate them (to go to school and prepare their homework), influence and control them. Later on, following a strong internal lead I became a member of the National Charity League. Now, I am a Vice President of the League and in general I have accomplished 200 hours of community service. The mission of National Charity League is  to foster mother-daughter relationships in a philanthropic organization committed to community service, leadership development and cultural experiences.(http://www.nationalcharityleague.org/). The National Charity League is based mostly on volunteers i.e. people join without expecting any financial returns, they just do it because they feel they want to offer their services to other people. This makes the work of the leader easy and difficult at the same time. It is easy because people share the vision of the leader and have common goals but on the other hand it is difficult because they are not employees so it is difficult to coordinate and â€Å"oblige† them to act professionally. So,in this case the leader has to adapt his/her leadership style accordingly. This means that the leader in this case cannot be authoritative or coercive since the human factor comes first. S/he cannot be democratic since this is a style that a leader can implement when s/he is not sure about the direction that needs to be taken. The style of leadership that is most suitable for community service is the affiliative. Here, the leader focuses on strong emotional relations and then he

The development of paragraphs in passing information Article

The development of paragraphs in passing information - Article Example Additional sentences that build a paragraph often reflect the key ideas thus advancing the theme. Lacone (2003) indicates that coherence is a crucial characteristic, which entail the correlation between the sentences within the paragraphs and the theme sentence. This enhances the aptitude of a reader to understand the ideologies presented. Coherence can also denote connectedness between the various facts and themes within sentences. Lacone (2003) indicates that unity is a crucial aspect, which means that the ideas presented within the paper should be related. Indeed, presenting unrelated facts often affects the readability of the paragraph. Furthermore, it limits the flow of concepts. It is thus imperative for a writer to develop adequate facts with the intention of attaining unity. Accuracy is an imperative paragraph quality. It is essential for a paragraph to focus on the exact words or aspects. This indicates that the piece will center on the desires the readers. Furthermore, it will shun unnecessary concepts that make the writing long and boring. Accuracy arises from research or adequate representation of facts (Lacone, 2003). The proportion of sentences housed in a paragraph is equally crucial. It is important to acknowledge that an effective paragraph ought to house close to six sentences.

Quiz and Final Exam Study Guide Essay Example for Free

Quiz and Final Exam Study Guide Essay The quizzes and final exam are open book, open notes. The maximum time you can spend on a quiz is 45 minutes. On the final you will have 3 hours and 30 minutes. If you have not clicked the â€Å"Submit For Grade† button by the end of the allotted time, you will be automatically exited from the exam. In the final exam environment, the Windows clipboard is disabled, so you will not be able to copy exam questions or answers to or from other applications. 2. You should click the â€Å"Save Answers† button in the exam frequently. This helps prevent connection timeouts that might occur with certain Internet Service Providers, and also minimizes lost answers in the event of connection problems. If your Internet connection does break, when you reconnect, you will normally be able to get back into your final exam without any trouble. Remember, though, that the exam timer continues to run while students are disconnected, so students should try to re-login as quickly as possible. If you lose your Internet connection during a quiz or the final exam, logon again and try to access it. If you are unable to enter it again, first contact the Help Desk and then your instructor. * You will always be able to see the time remaining in the quiz or final exam at the top right of the page. 5. There are multiple pages on the final exam. * Make sure you click the Save Answers button before advancing to the next page (we also suggest clicking on â€Å"Save Answers† while you are working). Complete all of the pages before submitting your Final Exam for instructor review. * Do NOT use your browsers Back and Forward buttons during the final exam. * Please use the provided links for navigation. Submitting your quiz or final exam * When you are finished with a quiz or the final exam, click on the Submit for Grade button. * Please note: Once you click the Submit for Grade button, you will NOT be able to edit or change any of your answers. 7. Quiz and Exam Questions * On each quiz, there are 10 multiple-choice questions each worth 5 points and one essay question worth 10 points for a total of 30 points. On the final exam, there are 30 randomly selected multiple-choice questions each worth 5 points and 5 essay questions worth 30 points for a total of 300 points (150 multiple choice points, 150 essay points). * The final exam covers all course TCOs and Weeks 1-7. * The quizzes only cover the TCO’s for that week. * The final exam contains 3 pages, which can be completed in any order. You may go back and forth between the pages. * The quiz and final exam questions are pooled. This means that not everyone will have the same questions. Even if you do have some of the same que stions, they may not be in the same order. These questions are distributed amongst the TCOs. * On the essay questions, your answers should be succinct, fully address each part of the question, and demonstrate your knowledge and understanding in a concise but complete answer. Most essay questions require answers that are a couple of paragraphs (not a couple of sentences) that directly speak to each part of the question. Some students opt to work on the essay questions first, due to their higher point value and length of time needed to adequately address each question, but this is entirely your choice. * Remember to always use proper citation when quoting other sources. This means that ANY borrowed material (even a short phrase) should be placed in quotation marks with the source (URL, author/date/page #) immediately following the end of the passage (the end quote). Changing a few words in a passage does NOT constitute putting it in your own words and proper citation is still required. Borrowed material should NOT dominate a student’s work, but should only be used sparingly to support your own thoughts, ideas, and examples. Heavy usage of borrowed material (even if properly cited) can jeopardize the points for that question. Uncited material can jeopardize a passing grade on the exam. As a part of our commitment to academic integrity, your work may be submitted to turnitin. com, an online plagiarism checking service. So please be VERY mindful of proper citation. 8. Some of the key study areas are below. While these are key areas, remember that the exam is comprehensive for all of the assigned course content and this study guide may not be all inclusive. The same goes for the quizzes: there may be material on the quiz that was part of the material for that week, but is not specifically listed here in the study guide.

Photo Aging of Skin

Photo Aging of Skin Photo aging is the effect of chronic ultraviolet exposure on the skin, and the term was first used by Kligman, back in 1986(1). Incidence of Photo aging is increasing in year by year. Photo aging is premature aging of skin, which is a very complex process which causes progressive functional and aesthetic changes in the skin. Photo aging is mainly due to Ultraviolet (UV) radiation that is UVa and UVb radiation and can also be due to genetic factors. Apart from UVa and UVb other rays like infrared and visible rays are also responsible for Photo aging (2). Photo aging is entirely different from chronological aging. Chronological aging, which is a natural phenomenon and cannot t be reversed or prevented like Photo aging and they differ clinically and histologically from Photo aging. Photo aging is characterized by wrinkling of skin, loss of skin tone, loss of resilience due to loss of skin strength and skin elasticity. Photo aging appears mostly in areas which are exposed to sunlight like face, neck and back of the hands and is clinical presentation is with deep coarse wrinkles mostly around the eyes, then the mouth and on the forehead, next feature is uneven skin color and dryness, various spots which are pigmented like age spot, liver spots that are mottled pigmentations and freckles can also be seen, skin tone will be lost and will be leathery, spider vein can be seen on the nose, cheek and neck (4). The mechanism behind Photo aging relating to UV rays is by producing an in balance between TGF ÃŽ ²2 and AP1 damage, TGF ÃŽ ²2 is an activator protein, which promotes collagen production and AP1 is a transcription factor which inhibits collagen production by increasing production of Metalloproteinase which break down collagen and there is another enzyme TIMP which inhibit MMP. In normal skin TIMP and MMP are in balance (5) (6). Whenever we are over exposed to UV rays there is an increased activity of AP1, which in turn increases MMP causes an imbalance between MMP and TIMP. Apart from increase increased activity of AP1 there is also decreased expression of TGF ÃŽ ²2. This imbalance leads increased proteolytic activity leading to damage to collagen which will be corrected if not further exposed to UV rays, but if the skin is further exposed to UV rays damage to collagen will remain as such and skin will be formed abnormal in the form of wrinkles (6).decreased expression of TGF ÃŽ ²2 c auses decreases production of collagen . This damaged collagen and lack of new normal collagen formation altogether will lead to decrease in quantity of collagen forming leathery skin (fig.) MMPs is induced by UV rays that induces by both UVa and UVb. UVa and UVb act by different mechanisms. UVa act by indirectly activating ROS, which intern produces other effects like lipid peroxidation, transcription factor activation, formation of DNA strand breaks, unlike UVa, UVb induce MMP by directly producing DNA damage and by ROS(7). Whether it’s UVa or UVb, ROS generation is the important factor in Photo aging. SUN AP1 ROS Generation TGF ÃŽ ²2 MMP procollagen production Collagen break down Imperfect repair Invisible solar scar Repeated UV injury Visible solar scar (Wrinkling of photo aging Mitochondrial cells main function is to produce energy for the cell ,which is generated by a process called oxidative phosphorylation ,which is commonly known as electron transport chain .this oxidative phosphorylation usually have some error ,resulting in production of ROS which produces oxidative reaction. When human skin is exposed to uv rays ,it produces ROS .this ROS will cause damage to mitochondrial DNA which in turn leads to reduce of capacity for oxidative phosphorylation which accelerates production of ROS which again will cause mitochondrial DNA damage and the cycle is repeated resulting in conditions like photo aging (oxidative damage to mite dna) UVa ROS Mutations of mitochondrial DNA Acceleration Reduced OXPHOS capacity With the understanding of mechanism of photo aging, many strategies has been put forward for the prevention and treatment of photo aging .photo aging can either be prevented by using substances which the action of uv rays on skin or by giving treatment to reverse photoaging.it is well known that dark people develop less photo aging compared to white skin people which is thought to be due presence of increases melanin. So artificial tanning of skin by using thymine dinucleotide is a way to protect from photo aging (telomere mediated effects).another highly used way of protecting skin against uv rays is by using organic and inorganic uv filters as sunscreen creams however there is a controversy regarding effectiveness of this sunscreen formulations.( Coenzyme Q10, a cutaneous antioxidant and energizer. As per above explained mechanism of photo aging it’s clear that giving an antioxidant will have high amount of benefit and many studies are done with antioxidants. All these strategies are for prevention of photo aging. There are also studies with vitamin a, all Trans’ retinoic acid for repair of already existing damages to the skin. (. (New and emerging treatment for photo aging) It’s a known fact that Skin photo aging is caused by the solar rays induced oxidative stress. Apart from the mechanism of imbalanced mmp and action on mitochondrial DNA there are other mechanisms involved in skin photo aging .In a in vivo study it was shown that when skin get exposed to ultraviolet rays cholesterol undergo O2 oxygenation reaction with the help of free radicals and or O2 to form a peroxidation product cholesterol 5 ÃŽ ±hydro peroxide which form cholesterol aldehyde .cholesterol aldehyde modify proteins to form various pathological conditions including photo aging(formation of cholesterol).in another study it was reported that apart from cholesterol another target of 02 oxygenation reaction is unsaturated fatty acids like oleic acid and linoleic acid (age related ).this animal studies proved that 02 produced from type ii photosensitized reaction is involved in the injury of skin exposed to chronic UVa by oxidative stress. From above its clear that free radical and or O2 is involved in the process of photo aging, so using an O2 quenching substance like carotenoids will help in prevention of photo aging (singlet oxygen quenching). The normal skin itself has antioxidant protective effects .this antioxidant protective effect are produced by endogenous enzymatic antioxidants like GSH peroxidase ,SOD and catalase as well as non-enzymatic antioxidants like vitamin E ,vitamin C ,GSH, Uric acid and ubiquinol.when most there is an attack of ROS ,the skin will itself form an antioxidant defense complex the most important one among them is manganese superoxide dismutase (mnSOD) which a mitochondrial enzyme (antioxidant defense mechanism.)whereas when the skin is exposed to uvrays repeatedly this endogenous enzymes has less as evidenced by the less concentration of antioxidant enzyme in photo aged skin ,especially in the epidermis and stratum cornuem. Which makes it mandatory to use an external source of antioxidant when skin is exposed repeatedly to UV rays. (pandet et al) On over all its known that main pathology involved in process of photo aging is oxidative reactions .with the understanding of that many studies have been done with different exogenous antioxidants since 30 years .different has been tried by different researchers .elmore et al studied with topical vitamin C cream .which has shown improvement.boelsma et al in 2001 reported vitamin E compliment the photo protective effect. Ribaya-Mercadoet al.in a study established that lycopene protect against UV induced photo aging in humans. Stahl and Krutmann, 2006 reported in a study that carotenoids gives basal protection against UV induced photo aging. Effect of carotenoids particularly beta carotene was studied by cho et al in 2010 and proved that dietary beta carotene has effect on photo aging. There are several studies done on photo aging with topical tretinoin and most of them has shown positive results one among them is study done by voorches in 1990 where he proved that topical tretinoin r educe the effects of photo aging. Hoppe et al studied with topical coenzyme q10 ,it has shown positive effect in preventing photoaging.richard et al done in vivo study with zinc treated fibroblast ,which showed a positive result in uvr resistance .in 2002 a study was done with resveratrol by afaq and mukhtar ,which showed effective prevention of induced increase in skin thickness .another antioxidant used in study was green tea ,green tea proved to reduce uv induced oxidative stress in a study done by katiyal et al.lu et al done a study with caffeine ,caffeine showed increase in p53 ,slowed cell cycling . Singh and Agarwal, 2002 reported that silymarin prevent photo carcinogenesis. Cocoa was proved to have photo protective effect against uv induced erythema in a study done by Heinrich et al., Ultraviolet rays UV rays are electromagnetic rays which are naturally emitted from the sun along with other electromagnetic lights like visible and infrared rays. Electromagnetic spectrum of UV rays extends between x-rays and visible lights that is 40 to 400 nm. UV rays are classified into three types depending on its wavelength as UVc (220-290 nm), UVb (290-320) and UVa (320-400 nm). UVa having longer wavelength and the least energy and UVc have short wavelength and high energy, having high energy means its most hazardous but fortunately it doesn’t cross ozone layer where as UVa and UVb cross ozone layer in small quantity. UVa is the one responsible for production of tanning with the help melanin pigments when exposed to the sun, which is actually a defense mechanism to protect human skin from further exposure to UV rays (2), it’s also used in vitamin D synthesis, having said so over exposure of UV rays may cause erythema , toughening of skin and inflammatory reaction to eyes and over exposure for a long term leads to cataract formation ,immunosuppression , Photo aging of skin and skin cancers(3). Artificial UVA lights are widely used in health science for phototherapy in case of certain skin conditions like psoriasis for sterilization and disinfection and tanning booths (4)(2) (5). Among skin cancers, non-melanoma skin cancers like basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are more common, but rarely fatal. Melanoma and non-melanoma combined leads to 66,000 deaths per year. Another hazard of long term of UV ray exposure on the skin is premature skin aging, photo dermatomes and Actinic keratosis which are due to degenerative changes in cells of the skin, fibrous tissue and blood vessels (6). Mixed carotenoids Mixed carotenoids are a combination of different types of carotenoids, in a particular combination. Carotenoids are plant pigment which are having 40 carbon atoms in a molecule (1). Carotenoids are mainly of two type’s one containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen containing and other with carbon and hydrogen, which are named xanthophylls and carotenes respectively (2). Carotenoids are plant pigments which are synthesized by plants in higher amount and partly by algae and bacteria(2). Carotenoid is abundant in animals also, which they acquire by eating plants. Carotenoids are of different types around 700 carotenoids have been identified, most commonly available (3). Carotenoids like lycopene, beta-Cryptoxanthin, beta carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin. Alpha carotene, echinenone. Capsanthin, astaxanthin, canthaxanthin and all are commonly available fruits and vegetables like tomato, mango, carrot, citrus lime, green leafy vegetables, mushrooms and all, some of the carotenoids are well absorbed and are present in plasma (4) (5) . Carotenoids were considered to be just as provitamin A, and importance of carotenoids in that case is itself considered to be the nontoxic reserve of vitamin- A (6)(4) .Recently its discovered that carotenoids are not just provitamin A it has other actions as well, from that point on immense research has been going on with carotenoids in almost all the system and all over the world (7). Carotenoid is normally present in tissue and blood of humans. Adipose tissue is the most abundant one in carotenoids followed by liver and muscle, apart from this tissue carotenoids are also present in other tissues like corpus lithium, adrenal gland, macula lutea (8). Among carotenoids lutein, Cryptoxanthin, lycopene, alpha carotene, beta carotene are the ones which are commonly available in serum and other tissues like adrenal gland (4)(3). Human skin contains carotenoids like ÃŽ ±-, ÃŽ ³-, ÃŽ ²-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin (9) Carotenoids are proved to be useful in many diseases and its many research is in process also, one of the most important research work related to carotenoids is its useful in cancer, especially in skin cancer, it’s been found that carotenoids acts in case of cancer by several mechanisms, one is that it protect against nuclear damage and sister chromatid exchange and another is that it when fibroblast are exposed to x rays, UV rays or to any chemicals like Cholanthrene it undergo transformation leading to cancer, carotenoids inhibit this transformation (4). In UV induced skin tumor it proved that carotenoid helped in delaying skin tumors induced by UV rays, over all carotenoids seems to inhibit development of cancer in the initial stage itself (10) (4). Another field or research with carotenoids is in ageing related, immune system, fertility, ischemic heart disease, and diabetes mellitus. Carotenoids act by several mechanisms, but the entire mechanism of action is not yet proved in different part of the system, it has different action which is still on research, some of the mechanisms related to cancer has been discussed already. However, one of the well-known action of carotenoids is by an antioxidant mechanism, that is it act against oxidative stress(11). Oxidative stress is a result of reactive oxygen species (ROS) reaction or a free radical reaction (12). Reactive oxygen species are produced as an unfortunate byproduct of redox reaction which are a part of oxidative phosphorylation to produce ATP in mitochondria rays are produced by other redox reaction also, some of the examples of ROS are superoxide anions, hydrogen peroxide or hydroxyl radicals. This reactive oxygen species accumulation will lead to serious problems, which are inhibited by killing this race either by enzymatic mechanism or non-enzymatic mechanism. Enzymatic mechanism is by the help of enzymes a nd non-enzymatic approach is by the use of antioxidants like ascorbate and glutathione, tocopherol, flavonoids, alkaloids and carotenoids. So normally in human body oxidants are antioxidants are maintained in a balanced state, any break in that balance leads to trouble. But unfortunately the balance is disturbed in day to day life and so there is always a oxidative damage in the process (13) (14) (15). Oxidative stress leads to many problems. Harman in 1956 itself has proposed that ageing is related to oxidative stress. According to him, rose will produce some irreversible deleterious changes to molecules, which was later on approved by many other researchers of past and present, a more elaborate finding was done by Halliwell B. He observed that the rays produced in mitochondria primary target is mitochondrial DNA itself, which leads to further production of Ross and this cycle is repeated leading to ageing. This case is similar when it comes to ageing of skin too, when skin is exposed to UV irradiation and oxidative stress is produced leading to ageing and as explained by Biesalski et al that oxidative stress can be prevented by antioxidants like carotenoids (17) (18). Another of the mechanism involved in photo aging o2 oxygenation of unsaturated lipids in the skin and cholesterol in the skin. This peroxidized cholesterol accumulation partly leads to activation of MMP9 (formation of cholesterol. (Age related when we use carotenoids it inhibit o2 oxygenation of unsaturated lipids and it also inhibit o2 oxygenation of cholesterol which in turn partly suppresses MMP 9 action. (Peroxide cholesterol induced)+participation of singlet oxygen. . Advantage of taking carotenoids is that it accumulates in human skin which is commonly known as carotenoderma.carotenoids deposit more in palm of the hand and forehead. And the level of carotenoids present skin is proportional to the amount of carotenoids present in serum and its fortunate human absorb wide variety of carotenoids. (Carotenoderma a review).one of the reason for abundance of carotenoids in skin is that stratum cornea has a lipid layer which has more affinity to carotenoids. leading more amount of carotenoids in the stratum corneum . Carotenoids protect sperm from the rose by its antioxidant property there by maintaining fertility. Carotenoids also has action female fertility by helping the formation of corpus luteum and many other aspects of reproduction as well, though a specific action of it is not known. Carotenoids have other actions like reducing risk of age related macular degeneration(20), they also reduce risk of age related cataracts (21), carotenoids reduce risk of hypertension and ischemic heart disease by lowering Tri acyl glycerol and increasing HDL (22). Apart from this proved effects and mechanisms there are suggestions of many more of effects and mechanisms for carotenoids where immense researches are going on. An intervention study demonstrated that dietary carotene Protects the human skin from the UV light-induced erythema. (38) Stahl et al.(39) found that combination of a relatively low dose of total carotenoids (25 mg/day) and vitamin E (RRR-ÃŽ ±-tocopherol; 335 mg/day) significantly diminished the erythema on dorsal skin induced by illumination with UV light after 8 weeks. They also revealed that the intensity of erythema 24 h after the irradiation of UV light was diminished in a group receiving mixed carotenoids containing ÃŽ ²-carotene, lutein and lycopene (8 mg each/day) for 12 weeks.(40) In a separate study, intake of tomato paste rich in lycopene (40 g/day) was also shown to be effective in the prevention of erythema formation induced by UV light after 10 weeks.(41) These studies strongly suggest that dietary carotenoids accumulate preferentially in the skin and prevent it from UV-induced photooxidative damage by acting as antioxidants

Project Life Cycle Sustainability Indicators

Project Life Cycle Sustainability Indicators INTRODUCTION A typical meaning of sustainability is hard to build, which represents a test when endeavouring to achieve agreement on the most ideal route in which it might be accomplished, (Mog, 2004). Various stakeholders have begun to adopt the technique of sustainable building, (Zhang, 2014). Developing consideration and interest over the social and environmental impact of business and how the social and environmental (surroundings, habitat, climate) issues affect business has led some companies to strongly report and take care of their sustainability footprint, (Adams and Frost 2008). The building sector has dependably been viewed as an extremely noteworthy front line for advancing sustainable development by more feasible practices in the procurement, planning, design, construction and office administration stages, (Zhang, 2014). Different advances are accessible for implementation in creating sustainable projects over distinctive phases of the projects, including planning, designing and maintenance, (Zhang, 2014), perception of sustainable implementation of projects is essential because of the effect it has on surroundings and environs and also concerns various parties (Bueno et al., 2013; Jeon and Amekudzi, 2005; Litman, 2007). Several indicators have been developed to be able to identify project sustainability at various levels of the project life cycle. SUSTAINABILITY The triple bottom line has been made reference to in several research works, this is often referred to as the 3P’s (people, planet and profit) or sometimes as 3BL, the triple bottom line is referred to as the foundation of sustainability and it emerged in the mid 90’s. Sustainability has been defined in so many ways by so many authors in their research work, but there is still a similarity in the definition, sustainability is about preserving natural resources, the environment for future generations while utilising it, the concurrent development of social, technological, environment and ecology are general requirements for sustainability, (Pons and Aquado, 2012; Terio and Kahkonan, 2011; Abeysundara and Babel, 2010). Kleindoorfer et al., 2005 defines sustainability as the . Since the ideology of sustainable development was introduced in 1987 by Bruntland, a lot of gradual events have taken place to boost the attention on environment and sustainability program, (Zainul A bidin, 2008). Abidin, (2010) mentioned awareness and knowledge as factors that boost sustainable movement, interest, demand and implementation comes after (Du Plessis, 2007). Civil engineering projects has a large percentage of contribution to the environmental sustainability, in construction organisations, sustainable development has been an important issue, (Holton et al., 2010), in an annual report in UK, 42 construction companies were reviewed to have little information on sustainability, (Myers, 2005). Considerable changes related to materials, management, skills, technique and innovations needed in the construction organisation are as a result of sustainable issues, (Glass et al., 2008). The issue of sustainability and how it affects the projects progress has been a rising issue among management teams, in order to address the need towards sustainable development, sustainable evaluation frameworks have been executed by the development industry (Clevenger et al., 2013), several frameworks for assessing infrastructural sustainability of projects has been developed, (Lim, 2009; Clevenger et al., 2013), these sustainable assessment are created either by non-governmental, government or by joint work with academic bodies, some of these assessment schemes are available in state system and also some are available at national level, (Hezri, 2004). Companies that comply with the sustainability regulation are likely to experience loss of income, (Tan, Shen and Yao, 2011), sustainable buildings are expected to have less impact on the environment, although the efficacy of the delivering process would be affected by complications in delivering sustainable building projects, (Horman et al., 2006; Salkin et al., 2012). Several sustainability factors for assessing sustainability have been developed; Lim (2009), suggested some sustainability factors and the impact its implementation has on road infrastructure projects, also sustainable factors for assessing built infrastructural projects were suggested by Ugwu and Haupt, (2007) in their research work; these built infrastructure categorised under project management, economy, resource utilisation and the environment. Several means of monitoring sustainability in projects have been developed, sustainability indicators have been developed by various authors to monitor sustainability at various levels in a project, Dasgupta and Tam in 2005 developed a sustainability indicator (Technical sustainibilty index) based on existing research, also (Ugwu et al., 2006) in their research work proposed a sustainability indicator called the Sustainability appraisal in infrastructural projects. CIVIL ENGINEERING PROJECTS Various civil engineering projects impacts on the environment, Zhang, Wu and Shen, 2014 reported that construction projects expend a large amount of energy, resources, land and water, this leads to consumption of resources and energy. To achieve a sustainable development in construction projects, it is necessary to have a sustainable performance across the project’s life cycle, (Shen et al., 2007), due to the evolving interest in the preservation of nature, construction projects are faced with the challenge of producing a sustainable project, for a construction project to be termed sustainable it must consist of social, economical and environmental factors (Abidin, 2008). In implementing sustainable projects, previous research work has indicated that although it can be time consuming, the cost of its implementation is not as expensive as it seems. Cost, time and quality has been generally described as an essential factor in measuring the performance of construction projects, ( Chen and Chen, 2004), for construction projects to be completed on time is a requirement, although previous research prove that construction projects are hardly completed on time, (Hussin, Rahman and Memon, 2013), Amu and Adesanya, 2011 reported that with a total of 3,407 projects in Nigeria, 1812 were abandoned, 1517 were delayed while only 24 projects were completed on time, also in Vietnam, it was recognised by their government that the completion of projects on time especially government funded projects was a hassle, (Le-Hoai, Lee, and Lee, 2008). Towhid and Amiruddin, (2012) identified that the cause of the delay in project delivering is inadequate planning, delay in design approval, disagreement with design report. FEASIBILITY Notwithstanding, advancing the sustainability in any business area has gotten to be progressively vital and at the operational level inside organizations. In accordance with this advancement, there is a developing worry that social and financial issues have been exceeding natural issues in the current practice of directing project feasibility study, (Jorgensen, 2008). Shen et al., (2010) described feasibility study as a priority before commencing project design and construction, also mentioned in their research work is that the progress of a project is directly affected by the efficiency of the feasibility study. PLANNING Planning is very essential in projects, for a project to be executed successfully it has to be planned properly, (Nowak and Nowak, 2013), linked the success of project to the righ plan at the beginning of the project, also Litman and Burwell, 2006 reported in their work that the need for organised planning in different sectors is brought about by the emphasis on sustainability with respect to human activities. Every project is different and because of this it is difficult to estimate the duration of the planning process, (Schute, 2005). There are various factors that affect the planning of projects, some of these factors are financial, environmental and internal issues that have to do with the project teams such as misinterpretation and lack of understanding, lack of cooperation among team members, in Sozuer and Spang (2014) research work, planning process (duration and cost) is not only affected by financial issues but also government law on sustainable environment (protecting the h abitat), so many other factors were indicated also to affect the planning process DESIGN Due to lack of integrated structured procedure for sustainable assessment, designers use their previous background in designing projects to make judgements on new project design, (Ugwu et al., 2006). Sustainability issues due to different factors that arise during various projects can be addressed at the design stage. Negative and positive aspects in design are identified at an early stage through the use of sustainable appraisal, this early detection makes it easy for problems to be addressed and also to further modify and improve the project design, (Kumar, Rouquette and Lerner, 2012), Mulder (2006) described sustainability with regards to design in his research work as an attribute a design ought to meet rather than a extra precedent. Issues surrounding sustainability should in this manner be considered by engineers amid all design phases of a project through generally incorporated supplements to the ordinary methodology IMPLEMENTATION/BUILDING Few researches recommended that while implementing construction projects, sustainable principles should be embraced, as this can contribute to profit making, (Turk, 2009), however cost appears to be an issue when implementing sustainable civil projects, Zhang, Wu and Shen, 2014 identified cost as the most important factor which affects project teams when they make decision, cost was also identified in their research work to be increased during sustainable (green) construction implementation, Ofori and Kien, 2004 reported in their research also that in implementing sustainable constructions, cost was seen as a limitation. Numerous designers are not eager to push the limit particularly when it implies they need to move the ordinary method for development and wander into another domain of engineering which may bring about more forthright expenses, (Abidin, 2008). The term ‘green’ has been used generally to describe sustainability and protection of the environment either by using recycling materials and / or environmental materials in our daily activities. Green has been introduced in the construction industry as a means to reduce the harm imposed on the environment, in the implementation of this ‘green’ construction, four areas of concentration were listed; the proper utilisation of energy and natural resources, the use of environmental friendly equipments, recycling and environmental awareness, (Zhang, Wu and Shen, 2014), Shi et al., 2013 describes green construction as the use of technology and scientific management to ensure safety and proper utilization of natural resources in engineering construction and also to reduce the adverse effect the construction process would have on the environment. In implementing green construction, three factors were identified to limit the effectiveness of these; cost increase, added time and a finite amount of green resources, Shi et al., 2013.

Romeo And Juliet by William Shakespeare :: Papers

Romeo And Juliet by William Shakespeare This scene is a turning point in the play, showing how Romeo is drawn into the violence that haunts Verona. He enters full of the optimistic joys of love; at the end, he flees into banishment, leaving behind him the bodies of Tybalt and Mercutio. At the beginning of the scene as Mercutio and Benvolio enter; Shakespeare is quick to build up the threat of danger. Straight away, Benvolio is making an excuse for why he Mercutio should withdraw, "I pray thee, good Mercutio, let's retire". Benvolio is simply trying to keep the peace, as he knows Mercutio has a short temper. He is obviously very worried about the threat of danger, as shown by his language, "I pray thee". The Montague's seemed worried, upon the arrival of the Capulet's, fearing that they may be irritated that they sneaked into the Capulet's party, but it seems that is not the reason for the apprehensiveness. Mercutio stirs trouble with Tybalt, but Tybalt doesn't really want to hurt Mercutio, as he knows he ´ s only teasing around, and Mercutio isn't a Montague, but Tybalt however wants a word with Mercutio ´ s good friend, Romeo. Tybalt settles the quarrel with Mercutio when Romeo turns up on the scene. Tybalt accuses Romeo of being a villain, Romeo tries to reason with Tybalt, and even goes as far as saying 'And so good Capulet, which name I tender as dearly as my own, be satisfied ´. Mercutio cannot believe this; he calls it a vile submission, and so shows a little more hatred towards Tybalt. Mercutio is portrayed as a very playful character, For example in Zeffirelli's version of the play Mercutio is washing in the fountain, Mercutio is shown to be having a good time and knows that he does not have to leave, therefore why should he. He has a good reason to stay where he is, although Benvolio is desperate to prevent trouble and tries to get Mercutio to leave. Benvolio has intervened previously when Mercutio has been in trouble, but Benvolio is kept on the

Meghans rough draft Essay -- Essays Papers

Meghan's rough draft For the past fifty years or so, Americans have had the great fortune of living safely in a relatively peaceful world. That perspective changed the moment a commercial airplane slammed into the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11th. Terrorists killed over 6,000 American citizens within a few hours. Suddenly, life as America knew it changed. Many stood in disbelief when they saw the joyous reactions of people cheering on the streets of Palestine. Our nation came to realize that we were truly hated, and that terrorist regimes rejoiced in our pain. The leader of one such a regime, Osama bin Laden, became America's clearly defined worst enemy. A war has begun between bin Laden and his terrorist followers, and all people who believe in freedom. Osama Bin Laden and the terrorists were unjustified in attacking America, and cannot rationally legitimize their actions. Evidence of this, as well as a better understanding of their reasoning, can be found through examination of Presi dent Bush's speech to the nation given on September 20th, and through examining additional information on Osama and his terrorist followers. It was the heavy influence of Islamic extremism at an early age, as well as his personal experiences fighting jihad, or holy war, that prompted Osama bin Laden to become a terrorist. During his speech, President Bush identified a terrorist regime named Al Qaeda as being responsible for the attacks, and said "a person named Osama bin Laden " (Bush, par. 16) was the leader of the group. Osama bin Laden was born in 1957 as one of fifty-some children sired by his father Mohammed Awad bin Laden. Due to his father's royal connections and construction business, his family had quite a bit of m... .... 2001. <http://www.msnbc.com/news/639057.asp> Zakaria, Fareed. "Islam and the West." Online posting. 12 Oct. 2001. Newsweek Live Talk. 15 Oct. 2001. <http://www.msnbc.com/m/nw/talk/talk.asp?lt=101201_islam> Miller, John. "Greetings, America. My Name Is Osama Bin Laden" Esquire. 1 Feb. 1999. Frontline. 2001. 15 Oct. 2001. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/miller.html> Doe, John. "A Biography of Osama bin Laden." Frontline. 15 Oct. 2001. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/bio.html> Doe, John. "Osama Bin Laden vs. the U.S.: Edicts and Statements." Frontline. 15 Oct. <2001. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/edicts.html> Bush, George. "President Bush's Speech to the Nation September 20, 2001." 20 Sept. <2001. http://www.u.arizona.edu/~wendres/docs/bush_sept20.html>

Conflict Between Andrew Jackson And The Cherokee :: American History

To own land, that is the privilege of whom? To Andrew Jackson the Cherokees current homesteads where on his country’s land. For whatever reason at that time some people living in America weren’t treated as good as there white counterparts. Meanwhile the Cherokees principal chief John Ross felt like that land belonged to his people. If you want to get technical he was speaking on the behalf of a tribe that made up a mere one-eighth of his ancestry. Not exactly a full blooded leader. He also was one of the main reason the â€Å"trail of tears† was as hostile and brutal as it was on his people. Its ironic, even as hard as Jackson pushed and deceived the Cherokee, the Cherokee people in turn pushed back, but past the point of being rational. Some of these individual efforts worsened the outcome for the whole tribe. Jackson’s manipulative ways of handling this situation in office and out of office forced the Cherokee to make hard decisions, and I feel like these decision makers for the Cherokee failed miserably. The reason behind the lack of attack on Jackson is quite obvious, politicians have been acting like politicians well since the very beginning. As selfish and egocentric as his view was, he knew what the was going to do, and being president of this powerful nation not much any one nation could do to stop him let alone the nation of a tribe. To any logically thinking person the senate wasn’t a roadblock to Jackson it was a mere bump in the road. Even the Cherokee tribe knew what power he possessed. That is why the smart two thousand Cherokee, â€Å"resigned themselves to the inevitable, asked their belongings, and headed west† (AJ vs. the CN). The rest ignorantly stuck behind because they had faith in the false hope that John Ross would be their savior. This being the basis for the remainder of my discussion of the Cherokee tribe, the faulty leadership. The leaders’ inability to act for the overall well being of their tribe cost the Cherokee supplies, land, and most importantly lives. In a huge sense, it was John Ross being jokingly overambitious during his negotiations with the President that caused a lot of their pain and suffering. He also was the main voice behind trying to resist the government even after the two years was over, not to mention the whole two years they had to leave.

Langston Hughes’ “Mother To Son” Essay

An Explication of Langston Hughes’ â€Å"Mother to Son† Langston Hughes once stated in his own words that his whole purpose for writing was, â€Å"to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America.† In the poem â€Å"Mother to Son†, he denotes his belief on racism in America. In â€Å"Mother to Son†, a mother is giving advice to her son about life from her perspective and experiences. She wants her son to keep striving on what he believes and to have a more prosperous life than what she had. Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1902. He lived with his grandmother for most of her life but often stayed with his mother in Cleveland, Ohio. He grew up in poverty and was exposed to racism in his youth. However, he believed that things would change and his culture must press on. By 1929, he was a well know poet during the Harlem Renaissance, the growth of African-American art and literature in Harlem, New York. He promoted the African-American culture and supported the Civil Rights Movement. Hughes used poetry to express himself and has written over sixty poems. One of them being â€Å"Mother to Son†, which expresses how the blacks must stand tall and believe in a better future. Starting with the title, â€Å"Mother to Son†, allows the reader to trust that the poem is going to be about a mother and a son. Just by reading the title, the reader may wonder what type of poem this is going to be. It shows a sense of leadership because a son sees his mother as an authoritative figure, someone who he can trust, someone who he has a bond with. Mothers are usually a figure who nurtures and molds their children into the right path. This gives the reader a hint that the poem is a poem were, the mother, in some way or another is molding or guiding the son into the right path. In the very first line, â€Å"Well, son, I’ll tell you:† gives the reader a good idea in which direction the poem is taking. At this point, the reader can trust that the mother is going to give some kind of advice as mothers frequently do. As the reader moves on to the second line, â€Å"Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair,† Langston creates imagery for the reader by using a crystal stair as a metaphor to symbolize the mother’s life in contrast to the crystal stair. Crystal has connotations of beauty and visual smoothness.  It is also a valuable piece of stone that only the wealthy could purchase in high volume such as that of a crystal stair. The crystal stair is very important to the body of the poem. Without this metaphor, the poem probably would not have the same effect on how the reader interprets it. Moving on to the third sentence, â€Å"Its had tacks in it, and splinters, and boards torn up, and places with no carpet on the floor-Bare.† The tacks and splinters could represent pain or scars left from the mother’s past. The boards that were torn up could represent imperfection; a struggle or permanent loses and voids in her life. â€Å"No carpet on the floor-Bare† could mean that the mother has nothing left to show for her life. Her life as a youth could have been stripped from her through slavery. So she wants her son to make something of himself despite the criticism and racism he is challenged with. The poem doesn’t state specifically to the reader where the setting takes place but there are two hints Hughes gives that leads the reader into the assumption that the South is a primary focus. First, the poem was written in 1922, which was a time of the Harlem Renaissance. Second, the mother is speaking the words of the poem in a Negro dialect, which forces the reader to assume she’s black. With these two facts, the reader can reasonably come to the conclusion that the mother has probably dealt with the racism and prejudges from the white culture. The 1920’s were a time of struggle for many blacks and Negro rights since slavery was abolished in 1865 by the 13th Amendment. By reading the history of the poet, Langston Hughes, the reader has a general idea that his own mother could have been a slave or had grown up during the time that slavery was being abolished and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments came into effect. This was also during a time when Congress had passed several laws to protect Negroes’ civil rights. In contrast, many whites disregarded the newly won rights of Negroes. (World Book Encyclopedia. Civil Rights. Field Enterprises Educational Corporation. Chicago. 1977. P.468) Like many other Lyrics, â€Å"Mother to Son†, is expressing the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker and is written in first person point of view. In the very first line, â€Å"Well, son, I’ll tell you†, Hughes demonstrates to the reader that this is going to be a first person point of view. Readers can see that the  mother is the central character in this poem because the reader is focused on her next word as she describes her view of life. The mother speaks her thoughts and feelings for the entirety of the poem but the boy doesn’t speak at all. This is called a dramatic monologue. Langston’s attitude toward life in â€Å"Mother to Son† is slightly unpleasant but solemn and trustworthy. The reader gains a sense of sympathy for the mother as she tells her son about her misfortunes from the past. In â€Å"Mother to Son†, a mother is urging her son to keep striving with assurance to have a more prosperous life than she had. Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1902. He was a well-known poet during the Harlem Renaissance. He believed strongly in his culture and he had faith that things would change for the better. The title itself gives the reader a sense of insight on what the poem is going to be about as it clearly uses â€Å"Mother†, an authoritative figure in which a son would trust and look up to for guidance. On the other hand, a mother’s own instinct is to her child into the right path. Langston clearly demonstrates this in this piece of poetry. Langston also uses imagery for the reader by using the crystal stair as a metaphor. The setting is not specifically stated but Langston has granted a couple of clues for which the reader can rely. The date the poem was written and the word choices he uses lets the reader know that the setting is probably in the South. Langston’s background gives the reader the idea that he may have reflected on his mother’s past and the events that follows slavery abolishment in 1865 when he began writing, â€Å"Mother to Son.† This poem was written as a Lyric. Like many other lyrics, it was written in first person point of view and the poet used a dramatic monologue when the mother speaks of her thoughts and feelings, whereas, the boy doesn’t speak at all. Although, Langston shows a slightly unpleasant attitude in his tone, he is solemn and trustworthy. The reader gains a sense of sympathy for the character of the mother

Managing Strategy: Case Study of Thornton plc Essay

1.0 Thornton Plc an OverviewOccupying 8 portion mart sh ar of the UK box hot chocolate sustenance mart in the category 2002 the family Thornton had witnessed a decline in its profits as yet from the yr 1998. The turnover of the teleph geniusr and the run profits of the comp most(prenominal) for the course of instructions 1994 to 2003 ar presented belowThe connection was largely depending on its in residence manuf puzzle come to the foreuring facility and in analogous manner espouse the merchandise system of distributing the harvestings done with(predicate) its aver sell units established end-to-end the country. To some bound the smart go by a similar adopted the franchising route a standardized. though the lodge was rich in its indwelling resources and well(p) in the modern harvest developments, the manufacturing and merchandise dodge adopted by the fraternity posed difficulties in following the seasonal hightail iter worker accepts which constituted a study(ip) per centum of the gross revenue of the lodge. This get around of the paper analyses the bearing of the inseparable resources of the political loty.1.1 Internal ResourcesThe success of twain rail line depends on the readiness of its infixed resources which greatly facilitates applying the produce achieved by the firm. It is as important for the social club not solitary(prenominal) to achieve reasonable growth in the profits and sales events but as well to sustain the growth established by it. The native resources of the beau monde come in handy to help the comp twain to preserve the moot aim of growth macrocosm achieved by the caller. The knowlight-emitting diodegeable resources of the company Thornton Plc underside be detailed as belowA Complete carry away to be ChainThe strategy of the company in having in house manufacturing facility coupled with its bear sell outlets correspond a complete hold dear chain which is a decided inner resource the company possessed. Even though the company resorted to external sources for non- supportping mall yields and the basic still chocolate, the company covered the incumbrance manufacturing exertion and the recipes. This enabled the company to visualize the persona of the ingredients to the chocolates and keep open its exclusivity in the grocery store.Assets and Competencies of the association The distinct usefulness the company was carrying was its capability to manufacture its requirements with its make facilities. This had enabled the company to corroborate the gleam of its chocolates which became a distinguishing feature for Thorntons merchandises. This represents the internal resources of the company in the inning of its physical assets.The unlikewise physical assets that helped the company in maintain its market military position is the contrive got along of the companys birth retail shops pervade throughout the country. A graphical design of the total hail of retail outlets possess and franchised by the company is produced below impalpable AssetsThe good entrust earned by the company by maintaining the theatrical role of its reapings and the lumber of its operate to the clients account for the intangible asset the company holding as an important internal resource of the company. growth distinctionan different(prenominal) feature that distinguished the chocolates of Thornton is the finishing. While competitors the likes of Cadburys yields are moulded, Thornton used a oversewn appearance to the results by enrobing them in chocolates. In this way Thornton could make a attach ingathering differentiation that burn be counted as a valuable internal resource that the company could use for modify its instigator image.Quality of Service to the CustomersBy having most of its sales done by its cause shops, the company was able to put up a field proceeds to the customers. by means of serv ices like writing individualized messages on chocolates by icing on the top on important occasions, providing specialize gift wrappers etc the company could get to the 5th place by customers choice in the high-street vendors. crossway InnovationsDeveloping unused products was a passion for Thornton. This is evident from the fact that in the social class the company could add 27 freshly-made countlines and 132 fresh and updated products in the social class 1998.Unique and Core Assets and CompetenciesThe Unique assets of the company atomic number 50 be found in its in house manufacturing facilities that contributed largely for the theatrical role of the products. How ever with the available manufacturing facility the company was unable to meet the wind seasonal necessary which represented the threshold jump with respect to this unique asset. withal the core competency represented the companys ability to innovate as much(prenominal) number of new-sprung(prenominal) pr oducts to cater to the market. yet the threshold limit for this competency was the hardship of the company to concentrate on the retail and the poor locations of the shops that could not give the consecutive payoff of this core competency of new product innovation.1.2 Strengths and Weaknesses of Thornton Plc While commenting on the internal resources of any firm it is customary to do an analysis of the firms proportional forcefulnesss and weaknesses. An analysis of the specializations and weaknesses of Thornton is detailed belowStrengthsIn house manufacturing facility The availability of in house manufacturing facility enabled Thornton to ensure the shade of ingredient and at that placeby ensure the quality of its products. It was to a fault affirmable to maintain the freshness f the products.Own retail outlets The giving medication of the companys aver retails shops gave the efficiency of encounter a higher train of customer service and also an trenchant distributio n of the products among own retail units. skill to innovate new products The distinct capability of the company to involve itself in sophisticated products with new recipes had toped in change magnitude its sales at some point of time. some(prenominal) attempts by the company to promote the sales on this strength had turn out successful. strengthened brand image The quality of the Thorntons products coupled with its freshness had stimulated a set of loyal customers to the company and firmnessed in the inception of a rattling strong brand image for the companySound adept knowledge in terms of recipes This strength has helped the company to plunge in to the installation of many new products that finally turn up successful in the market.Added marketing strength through franchisee injects In addition to the own retail units, the company also adopted the policy of giving franchise rights to to a greater extent retailers which prove a distinct strength for the company in ter ms of marketing of its products.Unique product differentiation The Company had clearly excelled itself in the plane section of in eccentric chocolates which has prove to be the companys core strength.Strong market nominal head in the boxed chocolate segment Having specialised in the boxed chocolate segment the company do its charge felt in the segment.WeaknessesHeavy seasonal worker Demand More than 50 pct of the sales of the company resulted from the sales during Christmas, easter, Valentines Day and Easter Sunday. This led to crush on sales at shorter periods and at propagation poor sales if there were disturbances in the seasonal sales due(p) to some reason.Dependence on one key product profligate habituation on a single product like boxed chocolates had always proved a cause for the failure in sales. Similarly the company depended on the sale of innovative Easter Eggs for the year 2000 that proved an expensive lesson in that more than than 300,000 chocolate eggs wer e left in stock un exchange, making the company to rat at half the worth.Low quality products and service from franchisee and associated companies Many a times the associate companies with whom the company had selling exhibitions sold products of lower quality. The franchisees, their core product not organism chocolates could not provide a quality service to the customersPoor mechanization capabilities leading to higher labour vividness The finishing of the products with chocolate enrobing made the automation impossible and also due to seasonal sales the company had to employ supernumerary labourers for manufacture as well as for sales during season times which proved expensive.Frequent changes in the marketing strategies delinquent to some reason or opposite the company faced failures successively which made the company change in the marketing strategies. Also changes in the Chief Executives also brought new strategies into practice.Being impulsive get unpredictable dema nd The chocolate being an impulsive purchase made the demand for the products unpredictable leading to manufacture of the products without a plan approach.Weather conditions affecting seasonal demands Since the sales of the company were heavily seasonal, any weather conditions that affect the festivals also change the sales of the company. This was evidenced in the Christmas for the year 1998, when the sales went down by 3.8 percentage for the homogeneous period last year due to extended summer that bear on the buying of customers.Shorter shelf life of the products un matchled of the major weaknesses of the company was the short shelf life of the products. As against the use of the veg fat as the base by the competitors which gave them longer shelf life, Thornton used cocoa base to keep the authentic quality of the products which made the shelf life shorter for the products. reaping lines demanding own manufacture Several products of the company were fit to be manufactured by the companies own manufacturing facilities sole(prenominal). On a inquiry the management of Thornton identified that at to the lowest degree 70 percent of their products ingest their own manufacturing facility.Higher manufacturing personifys Since most of the products are being manufactured by its own facilities the company could not put up a closer control in the manufacturing salutes. besides the employment of additional workers on peak seasons also change magnitudes the manufacturing terms.1.3 Product mart investigateThe Companys core product range included the boxed chocolates, where it has to meet the competition from major players like Cadburys and Nestle. The company had to compete with high street specializer retailers such as Body spy in 5-10 value range. The percentage of market apportion of different companies in the boxed chocolate market is graphically represented belowIt whitethorn be notable that Thornton was able to retain the market function o f 8 percent from the year 1999 to 2002 uncompounded by the product quality against the ludicrous competition of not only other chocolate retailers but also form others selling postal gifts of wine and flowers.The inlet of 27 new products in countlines in the year 1997 and 132 varieties in the year 1998 witnessed an amplification in sales of up to 133 meg for 1998 and also brought new male, children and teenage customers get down the average age of the customers. The company planned to increase the new products and re-launch of old products up to 92 percent for Valentines Day, 100 percent for Mothers day and 91 percent for Easter Sunday for the year 2000. New product development with a focus on day-to-day sales rather than for meeting the seasonal demand was taken up to reduce the excessive dependence on the seasonal sales.1.4 Internal Resources and the Firms private-enterprise(a) AdvantageThe agonistic position of a firm is determined by its product superiority and the rela tive market position. These pictures are enhance by the internal resources and capabilities possessed by the company that adds the competitory edge of the organization In the fibre of Thornton, the company was clearly placed in more competitive position as compared to other players in the market. The develop quality of its products that could be achieved as a result of its own manufacturing facilities is a distinct competitive edge the company possessed. Similarly the prescribed effects of other internal resources like the establishment of its own retail outlets and the product innovation capabilities had contributed much to the improvement in the marketing ability of the company.Question 2 commercialiseing Strategy of Thornton PlcThe marketing strategy of Thornton tail end be analysed on the hind end of the available marketing strategy lays.2.1 doormans Generic Strategies As perceived by Michael ostiarius in his countersign Competitive Strategy Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors the competition in any phone line can be reduced to three broad strategies. These strategies are known as Porters Generic Strategies and areCost leadershipProduct Differentiation andMarket classThe competitive strategy of Thornton can be identified with Product differentiation and market segmentation but not with the hail leadership as the company was never able to have a prosperous cost position because of its high backpacking costs and heavy seasonal demand for the products.2.2 archers ClockAs compared to the Porters Generic Strategies decrease Bowman had developed competitive advantages in relation to cost advantage or differentiation advantage. Bowman identified octette core strategies in any business based on the firms competitive advantages. They areLow legal injury/Low added Value signifying segment event strategyLow price being adopted by a cost leader as a result of price wars and low margin on the productsHybrid Option Represents low c ost base and reinvestment in low price and product differentiation.Product Differentiation This weft is being exercised with a price gift and without a price premium.Focused Differentiation Involving perceived added value to a particular segment that needs a premium. change magnitude Price/Standard higher margins if competitors do not value follow/ hazard of losing market share. Marketing Teacher change magnitude Price/Low Values This picking can be exercised only in a monopoly situationLow Value/Standard Price This strategy will result in a button of market share.Out of these eight strategic options developed by Bowman, Thornton had been following the Product differentiation Strategy originally and posterior on shifted to focused differentiation to capitalise on their product strength. In the case of Boxed chocolates the firm had adopted the product differentiation with a price premium.2.3 Ansoffs Matrix Developed by Igor Ansoff, this model uses two basic components of marke ting to wit Products and markets to identify four generic growth strategies namely Market Penetration, Market nurture, Product Development and variegation. Ansoffs Matrix is a framework for identifying the corporate growth opportunities (Tutor2u) Market Penetration involves more of the same product to the same customersMarket Development uses new customers for existing productsProduct Development uses new products for existing customers andDiversification involves new products and new customers.Ansoffs Matrix Example of Thornton The instance of Thornton matching the Ansoffs Matrix can be explained as belowMarket Penetration Increase in the share of chocolate business at the get down of Sainsbury and Asda.Market Development Movement into more distribution channels like conjugation venture shops with Birthdays Group a calciferol strong chain of greetings cards and novelties outlets sole(prenominal) supply arrangement with Tesco expansion in to France, Belgium and USAProduct De velopment Thornton try to do product development increasing the rate and scope of new product innovation, repackaging and re-launching of old products that added 27 products in the year 1997 and close to 132 products in the year 1998.Diversification Thornton developed new product ranges like desserts, ice cream, sponge puddings, cakes and cheesecake.2.4 Five compresss personate Thorntons position with respect to the constancy can be analysed on the fanny of Michael Porters Five Force analysis. Porter provided a framework that models an exertion as being influenced by tail fin forces. The strategic business manager seek to develop an edge over rival firms can use this model to better understand the persistence context in which the firm operates.(QuickMBA)Barriers to Entry Though technologically there is no barrier for the new entrants to the market, the accesses to the distribution channels pose a great barrier to entry. Establishment of a new brand also would take considerab le time and money in the form of advertising and promotional expenses. This acts as a barrier to the new entrant to the sedulousness. The strength of this force is negligible.Threat of musical accompanimentThere are a number of reliever products available for the products of Thornton. The new products from the competitors like Nestle and Cadburys as well as products from other brands and own label manufactures very much pose a problem of supplant products available in the market. Switching to diversify products for the customers is inexpensive and unprovoked as all brand is available in locoweed in the various outlets like gasoline bunks, novelty stores, greetings cards stores, super markets and specialized shops. The strength of this force is to be reckoned with. emptor PowerThe ultimate consumer being the buyer the force exerted by them on the industry is sizeable. any small change in the quality of the products or in the aim of service will make the buyers shimmy the ir loyalty to other brands. Moreover, being an proneness purchase the availability of a number of substitutes and the inexpensive way to switch to other brands make the buyer power act as a strong force.provider PowerThe seasonable delivery of the product depends on the availability of the base materials in the right quality and right time. Though it is not difficult to establish new sources of supply it may take some time to establish the required level of quality and reliance on the timely deliveries. But the supplier cannot threaten to increase the price at his convenience as there a number of suppliers are available in the market. Hence it can be said that this force is only mildly acting on the industry.Competitive RivalryAs such the industry is highly competitive with four major players occupying 72 percent of the market share. Any small downward trend in the market share of Thornton will be taken advantage of by the major players acting in the industry. Moreover yet the f orce of barriers to entrants and suppliers power to some extent other forces are acting very strongly on the industry. Hence it can be said that the competitive rivalry is very high for Thornton Plc.Question 3 Relationship between Thornton and mark & SpencerThe case study of label & Spencer also indicates the different strategies adopted by the firm to sustain its growth attained over a period. The basic weaknesses in the company that led to the downward trend of the company wereExcessive dependence on the suppliers within UK which increase the cost of the products for the company and affected the favorablenessExpansion of business within europium and in the USA that finally proved unworthy or not reparable due to various reasonsExpansion and redevelopment of own retail units in the UK which increase the capital cost of the firmDevelopment of new product lines like food when there was so much to be done in the existing dress business.Thus the learns of both Thornton Plc and mark & Spencer can be identified as more or less same with the only difference is that Thornton depended heavily on the seasonal business.Marks & Spencer followed a Hybrid strategy under Bowmans clock.With the experience of both the firms in the same thrill it is quite possible that the business of the both the firms can be combined to take advantage of the advantage of the combiner synergy. However eyepatch combing the businesses by selling the chocolates through Marks & Spence r the following points need to be taken into account.3.1 Overlap of intercommunicateThough Thornton had a long stand up supply arrangement with Marks & Spencer with a renewal of such supply arrangement may pose the problem of the imbrication of the network of the customers of both the stores, especially in locations where both Thornton and Marks & Spencer have their retail outlets.Being a commercial customer it is quite possible that the products leaveed by Marks & Spencer may differ by sort and rec ipe from those provided through Thorntons own outlets. It may not be possible for the customers to be sure as to whether the products were really made by Thornton. The authenticity of the products may not be fully realised in the perspective of the customers. This is one aspect that needs considerateness when a stopping point to renew the contacts with Marks & Spencer is to be ever thought of by Thornton. some other unveil that Thornton needs to consider is the quality of service to the customers. Marks & Spencer having it thrust on its core products of clothing, food and beauty products it may be difficult for the company to attach the same importance that Thornton gives its products. The personalized approach that is being attributed to every customer at the Thornton store may not be expect out of Marks & Spencer.The availability of substitute products by the side of the products of Thornton may also pose a problem for an in effect(p) increase in the sales of Thorntons produc ts. The product promotions and advertising for the competitors products will have its own impact on the sales of the Thorntons products unless an exclusive arrangement with Marks & Spencer is entered only to deal with Thorntons products.The ostentation and product promotion of Thornton by Marks & Spencer is another area that needs to be addressed. The floor space and the variant of visibleness to the products Marks & Spencer may offer to Thorntons products will greatly depend upon the pecuniary gain that M&S get out of the deal with Thornton. Hence a careful discussion and finalization of the squinch is a pre requisite for Thornton to expect the kind of treatment for its products by M&S as the company expects to have. Thornton should look into the cost aspects and the projected sales through the outlets of M&S and decide on the financial working arrangement with M&S.3.2 Possibilities of another(prenominal) Working ArrangementsThornton may look into the chess opening of ente ring into other arrangements like contract a small shop floor area with M&S in the location where they dont have their own retail units. Thornton may load its own staff to look later the sales and thereby can ensure the quality of service to its customer. The company may enter into a profit overlap arrangement with M&S to create interest on the part of the last mentioned to offer its shop area to Thornton.In this way both companies can retain their identities and at the same time work for the mutual profitability. This would eventually result in the increase in the sales of Thornton. This shop within shop arrangement may be effective in peremptory the cost of expansion for Thornton to expand in locations where M&S have its own stores. Moreover this sort of alliance is easy to work out and less tangled in terms of fixing the take in to M&S. There will be no commitment on the part of M&S to assure any minimum sales also.3.3 MergerAnother distinct possibility that can be worke d out to the benefit of both the companies is a jointure of both the companies for an agree consideration to be paid to the shareholders of Thornton. This was what was tried by the company in the year 2003 to offer its management buyout arrangement.However, since the price for the control of the company was higher, at 180p per share there were no potential bidders for meeting the required price and the talk of a bid for Thornton disappeared in early 2004. Unlike this a practicable merger proposal between both Thornton and Marks & Spencer can be worked out on reasonable terms that are beneficial for both the companies. This way the synergies of the merger of both the companies can be enhanced to take advantage of the combined forces of sale.Similarly there will be the distinct advantage of the customers of both the companies being attracted to the products of Thornton which may result in the improvement in the sales of the products of Thornton. Another distinct advantage may result in the form less cost of expansion for the integrated company as the existing retail shops of Thornton can function as the retail units of the new merged entity or in the name o Marks & Spencer if it agreed to retain the name of M&S if it is agreed as a part of the merger arrangement. These shops can also market the products of M&S also depending on the availability of space in the at a time Thronton.References1.Marketing Teacher The Strategy Clock Bowmans Competitive Strategy Optionshttp//marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_bowman.htmTutor2u bank line Strategy Ansoffs Matrixhttp//www.tutor2u.net/business/presentations/strategy/ansoff/default.htmlQuickMBA Strategic Management Porters Five Force,A work For Industry Analysis http//www.quickmba.com/strategy/porter.shtml