Meeting the Challenge of Sexual Harassment

Meeting the Challenge of Sexual Harassment At an office of Goldman, Sachs and Company in Boston, some male employees allegedly pasted photos of bare-breasted women on company newsletters, next to biographies of new female employees (suggesting that the photos were pictures of the new staff members). Copies of the newsletters were circulated around the office. Sexist literature such as â€Å"The Smart Man’s Creed or Why Beer Is Better Than Women† (â€Å"After you’ve had a beer, the bottle is still worth a dime†) was allegedly also distributed. Kristine Utley, a former Goldman sales associate, has made these allegations in a suit charging that the environment at Goldman, Sachs constitutes sexual harassment. Fired for refusing a transfer to a New York office, she is suing to gain reinstatement and damages and to eliminate the harassment. Joanne Barbetta has filed a similar suit seeking damages for harassment caused by an environment that she asserted â€Å"was poisoning my system. † Ms. Barbetta reports that during her tenure as a clerk at Chemlawn, male employees circulated pornographic magazines and pinup posters. She viewed a slide presentation that included suggestive pictures (e. g. , a nude woman) put there, according to management, â€Å"to keep the guys awake. † After these experiences and continual breast-grabbing by a male employee, Ms. Barbetta quit. Marie Regab, formerly an 18-year employee of Air France, has filed similar charges concerning the Washington office where she worked as a salesperson. She alleges that several characteristics of the office environment combined to create harassment, including propositions by one of her bosses, circulation of Playboy and Penthouse magazines in the office, and open discussion of sexual activity by male employees. â€Å"It was sickening and an insult to women in the office,† she claims. Ms. Regab was fired; she is suing to gain reinstatement, for $1. 5 million in damages, and to eliminate the harassment in the office. These three situations are examples of a growing number of suits being filed by women who charge that a sexist environment in the workplace constitutes sexual harassment and that their employers are therefore liable. Plaintiff actions in this area have been fueled by the Supreme Court’s ruling that sexist behavior that creates an â€Å"intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment† is sexual harassment and violates Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The Court’s ruling has spurred an increasing number of companies to act to revent sexual harassment in the workplace and to deal with if effectively when the problem occurs. Other factors have also triggered company action. Employers are realizing that the costs of harassment can be high in terms of lowered productivity, absenteeism, and turnover. One study of female employees in the federal government concluded that the government loses about $200 million each year to the effects od sexual harassment. Costs can also be high if an employee sues. Even if the plaintiff opts for an out- of-court settlement, the costs of these settlements are often in six figures, and it’s the company that pays. Companies are also realizing that sexual harassment is a very real issue in today’s workplace; from 20 to over 50 percent of working women have experienced sexual harassment (and so have at least 15 percent of male employees). Thus, companies are tackling the issue; the more effective strategies developed so far contain four primary features: Training programs the educate employees concerning the meaning of sexual harassment and the behaviors that constitute a hostile and harassment workplace: Training is especially important simply because men and women often differ in their perception of what constitutes harassment. Most training is in the form of seminars and workshops, often with films and videos. Philip Morris USA conducts a mandatory training program for its field managers that include viewing a video called â€Å"Shades of Gray†. General Motors conducts an awareness seminar for employees and offers this benchmark for judging the appropriateness of office conduct: â€Å"would you be embarrassed to see your remarks or behavior in the newspaper or described to your own family? † Du Pont has developed one of the most comprehensive antiharassment programs in business (begun in 1981). Recently, the corporation added a $500,000 course on personal safety, rape, and harassment prevention primarily for its female employees (many of whom are moving into traditionally male jobs at Du Pont such as agricultural products sales). The course offers no-nonsense advice on how to handle a harasser. For example, if a male customer fondles a women’s knee, Du Pont advises that she â€Å"firmly remove his hand . . . and then say, ‘Let’s pretend this didn’t happen. â€Å"If she receives a verbal proposition, Du Pont advises that she say, â€Å"No, I wouldn’t want our business relationship to be jeopardized in any way. About 1,600 employees have completed the course. Like General Motors, Du Pont offers its employees a guideline for evaluating their behavior. Said a Du Pont spokesman, â€Å"We tell people, it’s harassment when something starts bothering somebody. † Some other companies provide advice concerning how to handle harassmen t. One popular piece of advice: Document the incident as soon as possible by describing on paper what happened in full detail and talking to someone informally about the incident. A relatively mild case of harassment can be handled by taking to the harasser, explaining what he or she did , how it made you feel, and telling the harasser to stop. In a more serious situation, communicating these points via a certified letter sent to the harasser, with the victim keeping a copy, is often recommended (and reportedly proves to be quite effective). An internal complaint procedure: Ideally, the procedure provides for fast action and confidentiality and ensures that the employee can report the problem to a manager who is not involved in the harassment. Some companies encourage employees to report a problem to their immediate supervisor but also designate an individual (often a woman) in the HR department as someone employees can speak with in cases where the immediate supervisor is involved in the problem. To ensure speedy action, some companies require that an investigation begin within 24 hours after the harassment complaint has been reported. Ideally, the procedure also stipulates how investigations will be conducted. Speedy, corrective action that solves the problem: If the investigation supports the employee’s claims, corrective action is quickly taken. Such action can range from simply talking to the harasser to discharge, depending on the severity of the offense. One federal agency requires offending employees to publicly apologize to the individuals they’ve harassed. Staffing changes also sometimes occur. Our New York bank faced a problem of a highly talented male executive who generated much profit for the bank-and also several costly EEOC complaints from his secretaries. The bank solved the problem by assigning the executive an all-male secretarial staff. Corrective action is particularly important because it communicates to both victims and potential offenders that harassment will not be tolerated. A written and communicated antiharassment policy. The written policy is documented and distributed to all employees. The policy contains a definition of harassment, the company’s position prohibition harassment, the grievance procedure, and penalties. While a growing number of companies are implementing antiharassment policies, the courts have yet to establish consistent record concerning the issue of â€Å"hostile environment† as illegal harassment. For example, a federal district court in Michigan dismissed a claim by Vivienne Rabidue that sexual posters and obscene language in her office at Osceola Refining Co. constituted illegal sexual harassment. However, Joanne Barbetta has won the first round of her court battle with Chemlawn. The judge hearing her complaint rejected Chemlawn’s motion to dismiss the suit; he has ordered Ms. Barbetta’s case to trial. Chemlawn is expected to present a vigorous defense, asserting that the men involved in the newsletter incident have been disciplined and that the situations Ms. Barbetta cites fall far short of creating a hostile, harassing environment because they occurred â€Å"over the course of two years. † Questions Assumes that you are an HR executive for a company that manufactures and sells agricultural products (for example, fertilizers and grain feeds). The company’s workforce of 1,200 employees is 70 percent male and 30 percent female. Drawing from this case and the chapter content, develop an antiharassment policy and program. What are the major challenges you see in implementing the program? Many experts assert that reported cases of sexual harassment represent only a small percentage of the total number of incidents that actually occur in the workplace. If their assertion is true, why do so many cases go unreported? How would your HRM policy on harassment address this situation? As research indicates, people differ widely in their perceptions of sexual harassment. What is a harmless remark to one individual can be an annoying, even infuriating insult to another. In your view, what separates harmless conduct from harassing behavior? In the same vein, when does a sexist environment become a hostile, harassing one?

Nutrition for Children Essay

If a parent or carer says that their child cannot eat a particular food it is important that the practitioners take note of this and make sure they respect the parent or carer’s instructions. Quite often there will be a noticeboard with the details of what children can and can’t eat, and it is usually kept in the kitchen. There could be numerous reasons as to why the child is not allowed to eat a particular food, so any wishes should be followed regardless of the reason. For example, it may be against the family’s religion or culture to eat particular foods; some religions believe that certain animals are sacred so eating the animal would be extremely offensive. This is important to respect because if a practitioner tries to feed a Jewish child pork, for example, when the parents find out they will be extremely offended that the practitioner went against their religion, as that is what they believe in. It may also be a personal choice; the parent or carer might just prefer their child not to eat particular foods. For example, in my setting one boy is not allowed to have sweets or chocolate because the parents have decided they don’t want their child to have a sweet tooth. Therefore the parents have been respected in their decision, because again they may get offended if the practitioners decide not to listen to them. Another, very important, reason a child will not be able to eat something is if they are allergic or have an intolerance to it. Therefore, if a child with an allergy or intolerance eats something containing the particular food it would mean the food will cause harm to their body, and sometimes very severely. For example, another boy at my setting is severely allergic to nuts; he must not come into any kind of contact with any kind of nut, because it will cause his throat to swell up and stop him from breathing. As a result of this any food that is provided for their snack must be approved by his mother, and if there is anything new the practitioners do not risk giving it to him, as they are not absolutely certain if it is completely nut free.

Possible Topics for The Crucible Essay

1. Which character in the play best exemplifies courage and integrity, and in what ways? 2. The causes of the witch-craft hysterias include many things: vengeance, jealousy, greed, power (the formerly powerless accusers suddenly gained total power), sexual repression, guilt and shame and the need to confess one’s sins, the need to blame others for one’s own misfortunes †¦ pick a character who sees and recognizes all these true motives and argue that of all the play’s characters, this character demonstrates the most insight into the root causes of the hysteria and also into human nature. Consider: Proctor, Hale, Rebecca Nurse. 3. A more highly evolved thinker is someone who can, in part, transcend dichotomies (or, Dualism, a simple way of dividing the world into paired opposites, such as black-white, night-day, good-evil). Which character, of all of the characters in the play, comes closest to being able to see beyond simplistic, Dualistic thinking? Consider: Proctor, Elizabeth, Martha and Giles Corey, Reverend Hale. 4. Argue that if the vast majority of Puritans in Salem had not had a Dualistic way of viewing the world—that is, they all transcended dichotomous ways of thinking—that the witchcraft trials would never have happened. Do this by showing how central their Dualistic way of viewing the world was to the witch-hunts and trials. 5. Redemption is a common theme of a lot of religious, particularly Christian, stories and Christian-influenced cultures. Which characters in the play seek redemption, and how do they go about it? Who actually finds it? (Redemption is when someone has done something bad, and atones for, or makes up for, the bad stuff to ‘redeem’ their soul, or character, to make themselves—if not pure—at least, better than they were, to ‘balance the scales’ again). Bear in mind that confession is a huge part of the process of redemption for many Christians, but that the Puritans did not have confessionals in their churches, as is common among Catholics. Consider: Proctor, Hale, Elizabeth. 6. Who among all the characters best fits with the definition of a ‘person of tomorrow’? Twelve characteristics of ‘The Person of Tomorrow’ (according to Carl Rogers, cited in An Introduction to Theories of Personality, Fourth Edition, by B.R. Hergenhahn) 1. An openness to both inner and outer experience. 2. A rejection of hypocrisy, deceit, and double talk. In other words, a desire for authenticity. 3. A skepticism toward the kind of science and technology that has as its goal the conquest of nature or the control of people. 4. A desire for wholeness. For example, equal recognition and expression of the intellect and the emotions. 5. A wish for shared purpose in life or intimacy. 6. A tendency to embrace change and risk-taking with enthusiasm. 7. A gentle, subtle, non-moralistic, nonjudgmental caring. 8. A feeling of closeness to, and a caring for, nature. 9. Antipathy for any highly structured, inflexible, bureaucratic institution. They believe that institutions should exist for the people, not the other way around. 10. A tendency to follow the authority of their own organismic valuing process. 11. An indifference toward material comfort and rewards. 12. A desire to seek a meaning in life greater than the individual—spiritual yearning. 7. Pick a character whose choices throughout the play show how he or she morally changed, and explain how that character’s social and moral choices helped him or her to grow and change. Your Essay’s Basic Outline: I. Introduction. 1. Write your thesis here, and include this phrase: â€Å"In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible†: 2. Now write (in brief) what the three main points that support your thesis are (do not write your actual topic sentences, but just mention what those sentences will be about). Do that here: II. First Body Paragraph 1. Here, write your actual topic sentence: 2. (skip item 2 and do item 3 first and then come back to this later) Write your set-up (context) for the quotation: 3. Write the page number and the quotation you will use here: 4. Now go back and write the set-up for the quotation (item 2). Then come back to this item and write the sentence explaining why that quotation is significant, how it proves your topic sentence and thesis. Do that here: 5. Now write the sentence where you say how the quotation proved the topic sentence that supports your overall thesis. Do that here: III. Second Body Paragraph 1. Here, write your actual topic sentence: 2. (skip item 2 and do item 3 first and then come back to this later) Write your set-up (context) for the quotation: 3. Write the page number and the quotation you will use here: 4. Now go back and write the set-up for the quotation (item 2). Then come back to this item and write the sentence explaining why that quotation is significant, how it proves your topic sentence and thesis. Do that here: 5. Now write the sentence where you say how the quotation proved the topic sentence that supports your overall thesis. Do that here: IV. Third Body Paragraph 1. Here, write your actual topic sentence: 2. (skip item 2 and do item 3 first and then come back to this later) Write your set-up (context) for the quotation: 3. Write the page number and the quotation you will use here: 4. Now go back and write the set-up for the quotation (item 2). Then come back to this item and write the sentence explaining why that quotation is significant, how it proves your topic sentence and thesis. Do that here: 5. Now write the sentence where you say how the quotation proved the topic sentence that supports your overall thesis. Do that here: V. Conclusion 1. Now re-write your thesis statement from your introduction here that communicates the same idea but using different words. 2. Re-list the three examples you gave in your introduction, in the order in which you addressed them in your body paragraphs (list the example from your first body paragraph first, then the example from your second body paragraph second, and the example from your third body paragraph last). Exemplar Outline for The Crucible I. Introduction. Thesis: â€Å"In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, social inequalities led to struggles for power in the time of the Salem witch-hunts, with tragic (fatal) results.† Examples: social class, gender and age (Abby and the girls), race (Tituba), social class (Goody Osburn). II. Body Paragraph. Topic Sentence: â€Å"In Salem of the 1690’s, all children—especially girls—were essentially powerless, even more so if they were poor; these inequalities led directly to Abigail and the other girls’ ruthlessly exploiting the only opportunity they had to gain power in their society: through accusations of witchcraft.† Alternative: â€Å"Those who had been denied power in Salem—poor servant girls—got a taste of it by accusing others of witchcraft, and, power-drunk, became addicted to it: their society gave them no power at all, at first, then gave them absolute power which corrupted them absolutely.† Examples: From Miller’s description of Parris, â€Å"Until this strange crisis he, like the rest of Salem, never conceived that the children were anything but thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak† (3). The way Proctor treats Mary Warren; Proctor says to Mary Warren, â€Å"Be you foolish, Mary Warren? Be you deaf? I forbid you leave the house, did I not?† Mary Warren says, â€Å"I only come to see the great doings in the world.† Proctor says, â€Å"I’ll show you a great doin’ on your arse one of these days. Now get you home; my wife is waitin’ with your work!† (20). When Proctor goes to whip her, Mary Warren says, â€Å"I saved her [Elizabeth’s] life today!† (56). Her newfound power is shown when she says, â€Å"I am bound by law, I cannot tell it. I only hope you’ll not be so sarcastical no more. Four judges and the King’s deputy sat to dinner with us but an hour ago. I—I would have you speak civilly to me† (57)†¦. and when she says â€Å"I’ll not be ordered to bed no more, Mr. Proctor! I am eighteen and a woman, however single!† (57). The new-found power of the accusers, now at the center of attention: Proctor says, â€Å"Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God’s fingers? †¦ We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!† (73). Danforth says, â€Å"Do you know, Mr. Proctor, that the entire contention of the state in these trials is that the voice of Heaven is speaking through the children?† (82). Elizabeth says, â€Å"Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel. And folks are brought before them, and if they scr eam and howl and fall to the floor—the person’s clapped in the jail for bewitchin’ them† (50). III. Body Paragraph Topic Sentence w/ Elaboration: â€Å"Racism also played a role in forcing Tituba, an accused witch, to participate in the hysteria. As a black woman slave, she had to do what her master Reverend Parris commanded, and so in the guise of ‘confessing’ what he and other whites so clearly wanted to hear, she was also able to express her hatred of her oppressor by attributing it to the Devil, and also exercise some power over white people, things she otherwise could never have safely done.† Examples: â€Å"Tituba †¦ is also very frightened because her slave sense has warned her that, as always, trouble in this house eventually lands on her back† (8). Abigail says, â€Å"She made me do it! She made Betty do it!† (40). Abigail says, â€Å"She makes me drink blood!† (41). Tituba says, â€Å"You beg me to conjure! She beg me make charm—† (41). Parris says, â€Å"You will confess yourself or I will take you out and whip you to your death, Tituba!† (42). Putnam says, â€Å"This woman must be hanged! She must be taken and hanged!† (42). Putnam says, â€Å"Sarah Good? Did you ever see Sarah Good with him [the Devil]? Or Osburn?† (43). Hale says, â€Å"You have confessed yourself to witchcraft, and that speaks a wish to come to Heaven’s side. And we will bless you, Tituba† (43). Hale says, â€Å"You are God’s instrument put in our hands to discover the Devil’s agents among us. You are selected, Tituba, you are chosen to help us cleanse our village† (44). TITUBA. Oh, how many times he bid me kill you, Mr. Parris! †¦ He say Mr. Parris must be kill! Mr. Parris no goodly man, Mr. Parris mean man and no gentle man, and he bid me rise out of my bed and cut your throat! †¦ And then he come one stormy night to me, and he say, ‘Look! I have white people belong to me.’ And I look—and there was Goody Good †¦ Aye, sir, and Goody Osburn. (44) IV. Body Paragraph Topic Sentence w/ Elaboration: â€Å"Lastly, inequalities in social class played a huge role in the hysterias. Those who were middle class might be accused by those jealous of their rise in social stature, or because a wealthier person (like Putnam) could afford to buy the forfeited property of the ‘witch’ once s/he had hanged, but the easiest targets for false accusations of witchcraft were those who were very poor, like Goody Osburn. Salem’s poor became victims of false accusations because these victims, as social outcasts and undesirables (or, nuisances) would not be missed.† Examples: Mary Warren says, â€Å"Goody Osburn—will hang! †¦ When she come into the court I say to myself, I must not accuse this woman, for she sleep in ditches, and so very old and poor. But then—† [and describes how Goody Osburn sent her spirit out on her] (54). Mary Warren says, â€Å"So many time, Mr. Proctor, she come to this very door, beggin’ bread and a cup of cider—and mark this: whenever I turned her away empty, she mumbled† (55). V. Conclusion Restatement of thesis: â€Å"Inequalities in Salem in terms of age, gender, race, and social class made the witch-hunts possible. Those who had been denied any power in their society were suddenly able to become all-powerful through accusing others of witchcraft: often, they targeted those even less powerful than themselves.† Examples: Abby and the girls accuse Tituba, Tituba accuses a white woman of low social class (Goody Osburn), who Mary Warren (a servant girl) also accuses.

Entrepreneurship - Feasibility Report Coursework

Entrepreneurship - Feasibility Report - Coursework Example The UK fruit juice market is an organized and a well-developed market. Over the last couple of years, the sector has experienced moderate growth. It has continued to attract more players as evidenced by the growing number of brands and juice outlets in the country. More UK citizens are opting for more healthy choices available to them in the market. With such vicissitudes, fresh juice drinks are becoming more common. Juice Bar will provide the users of the terminus with a health refreshment option that will not only allow them to meet their energy requirements but also ensure that they remain fit and healthy. The target market for the Juice Bar enterprise will be made up of the younger generation, which is more conscious about their health and wellbeing. This group is concerned about the amount of sugar that they consume in the beverages and juices. By selling products and juices that are made from natural fruits and raw materials, Juice Bar will be giving the consumers value for their money. Juice Bar will create a theme of healthy living that is preferred by most consumers. To be able to achieve its intended goals, Juice Bar will need the contribution of different stakeholders. Some of the people who will be key in the success of the business include the suppliers, an interior designer, equipment supplier and an accountant. All these people will have specific roles which they in ensuring that the business is up and running. The primary research for the Juice Bar business was conducted through questionnaires that were distributed to the potential clients in the area. The participants were asked seven questions concerning the juice selling sector and their preferred refreshments. On the basis of the feedback obtained from the survey, an information on the sector was obtained. The decision to use questionnaires was influenced by the fact that it allowed for getting of first-hand information about the key aspects

Sensation and Perception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sensation and Perception - Essay Example Take note of the subjects’ responses. After conducting your experiment, answer the following questions: In the process of having three people observe a room, it was interesting to note how the type of person observing was impacted what was observed. The first individual was hampered by a limited amount of color blindness. This person could see some colors, but not others. Blue was the control color. When asked about the other objects in the room, he had a relatively detailed list that was not impacted by color. A female observer listed out the objects in the room that were a bright pink that stood in strong contrast to the blue of the walls and other objects in the room. The most interesting observer was a man who is a police officer. He was able to list the objects in great detail regardless of color. His observation of the room was very complete with details such as â€Å" a white planter hung from a tarnished brass hook with pink and yellow flowers†. The observations seem to be impacted by the nature of those participating. The man who had the difficulty of some color-blind issues is a very practical individual who is about function over form. In this process, the function of the items he listed were in order of importance to the function of the room. He listed only one decorative item - undoubtedly because it was a very large item - and remembered the pieces that were useful within the space. The woman listed few of the practical items, but took notice of the most colorful of the decorative items. She is involved in an aspect of interior design and seemed more affected by color than by importance of function. Of course, the police officer was generally observant, putting no stronger emphasis on the function or the form, but rather the details that completed the entirety of the room. In conducting this

Exam paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exam paper - Essay Example In this regard, the 30,000 residents of the suburb will form part of the clientele base, and more during the summer when most students of UD will not be in session. Indeed, Mike has evidence that sales are higher during the summer. For this reason, the resident of this suburb should also be part of the initial marketing strategy. In addition, the franchise should develop future marketing plans with an intention of ensuring that they created customer loyalty with the Delawareans living in this suburb. In effect, Mike will have customers in his Scoop Shop all year round. The area where the franchise plans to locate its operations is undergoing developments and changes. In this case, the franchise will have a few competitors at the introductory stage. However, Mike’s shop will offer more products than those offered by these competitors, which makes his products differentiated. In this case, a marketing strategy that the franchise will design at first must aim at publicizing these differentiated products and creating an impression that customers will experience more value for their money. In addition, the strategy must sustain value to ensure that the franchise had a long-term sustainability advantage due to expected future direct and indirect competition. In effect, the marketing strategy should aim at creating a customer base that was loyal and making it challenging for new competitors to venture into the same market. The franchise has set its grand opening for the months of February, March, and April. During the month of April, Ben & Jerry will hold the Free Cone Day, which is the only promotion it has mandated. During the designing of the marketing strategy, Mike should take advantage of this day and ensure that the grand opening culminated with this day. All along, the franchise should project itself as an organization that operated in an environmental and socially conscious approach, which goes hand-in-hand with the hippy image of Ben & Jerry. The fran chise has a potential to grow due to the opportunity it offers in terms of catering services. Although this is not in Mike’s immediate plans, it would be important for Mike to launch the catering services during the promotion period so that he can start acquiring a customer base for this service. In this regard, Mike will establish the service in the initial launch, which will be cheaper than launching it later. Qn. 2 Statement of the Franchise’s Objectives Mike’s franchise is getting into a mix of existing and new market. Consequently, his objective in the first six months of business should aim at maximizing the market share for his franchise, which he will have to capture from the existing direct and indirect competitors. In line with this, it is evident that the franchise’s target population is aware of the products that Mike intends to introduce to the existing market. In this regard, 70% of a random sample of adults in the US between the age of 18 a nd 64 years old was aware of the ice cream sold by Ben & Jerry. On the other hand, Mike’s other objective in the first six months should not be a revenue-oriented one since he is bringing differentiated products into the market. In this case, he has hot beverages, which most of his potential customers are not aware that a Scoop Shop sells. Hence, the franchise sh

Education Development System in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Education Development System in the USA - Essay Example According to a study of NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress), the students of suburban and rural areas of Northeastern and Midwestern districts of the USA possess equivalent knowledge in TIMSS (Third International Math and Science Studies) at par with the students of highest scoring districts in the USA (Flanagan and Grissmer, 2002). However, certain urban areas of the USA perform similarly as third world countries (Harris & Chrispeels, 2006). The USA is known as the most diverse nation internationally as it has variety of contributions, procedures and yields regarding educational issues. Another major feature of the USA’s educational system is the inclination to embrace variety of change attempts for development of education (Flanagan and Grissmer, 2002). a) Early History There is difference in the education system of America with other countries in the sense that in America the education is the primary duty of state and that of individual schools. The formal ed ucational system in the USA was established in 19th century. At that time, an American leader named Jefferson had recommended for establishing the public school system. In the 18th century, the private school system became standard form of education. The education system was primarily religious. According to Jefferson, the education ought to be directed by the government and must be free from religious preconception. He thought that the education should be available to each person without concerning the class in the society. Besides Jefferson there are other leaders who provided an undertaking for government educational system were Benjamin Rush, George Washington, Robert Coram and Noah... According tp the report several countries had conducted studies for evaluating the impact of adaptation of SFA in the schools. In countries such as Canada and England minor alteration has been made to adapt the SFA program in schools in contrast to Mexico, Israel and Australia where major alterations has been made to adapt the SFA program. With respect to schooling there are two diverse perceptions: one is ‘anthropologists’ and the other one is ‘institutionalists’. The anthropologist focuses on state dissimilarity and variation from region to region. On the other hand, the institutionalists argued on the dissimilarity view of anthropologists and said that many schools all over the world are becoming alike with time. Every school is slowly taking the same educational structure. The world culture theorists are greatly aware about the changes that happened in the educational institutions, regional schools and local classrooms. The innovation in the educational system cannot be overlooked. This paper comes to the conclusion that the anthropologists must realize that the culture theory has great significance for education. The researchers must not mislead others and themselves by ignoring the real picture as well as the reformers also should be careful about the new educational system. The reformers must not ignore the international education structure. The researchers who are ignorant of the international models underneath the prevailing diverseness in local perspective are merely playing with the outside of educational reform.

Occupational safety and health - OSHA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Occupational safety and health - OSHA - Essay Example The next step involves an inspection of the damage at the assembly area and document findings and analysis of the outcomes. The most critical information to have right away would be the causal factors that triggered the occurrence of the accident at the assembly area such as the status of the equipment in use at the time of the incident (Burke et al., 2011). I would tell the engineers and the supervisors to compile documented evidence regarding the standards, design technology, and codes of the equipment that caused the incident and the suitability of such equipment for their intended purpose as at the time of the incident. Moreover, I would request them to provide an analysis of the causes and outcomes of the accident in relation to composition, human activities, external factors, equipment and functions that impacted the incident. As the OH&S professional, I would meet with the facility manager immediately and inform him or her about the incident, the number of hourly employees who have sustained injuries as well as their health condition, the nature of injuries sustained, and the medication offered. In addition, I would convey the causal factors about the information provided by the affected hourly employees concerning the cause of the incident. The facility manager would also be informed of the need for Participatory Ergonomic Inter vention (PEI) teams and initiatives to enhance safety related behaviors and outcomes as well as compensating the affected hourly employees (Burke et al., 2011). It would be recommended that I meet with the hourly employees and inform the affected employees about the findings attained following an investigation of the incident. In addition, education and training on OH&S along with the components of safety management would be discussed. I would also use the analysis of the incident to intensify safety related behaviors of

Tools of Organizational Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Tools of Organizational Change - Essay Example A leader could further ensure that there is effective communication and engagement within the organization when implementing an organizational change. In order to achieve this, the leader could ensure that workers are not only aware of required changes that are happening but also understand them. A leader could further seek to engage workers in the formulation and implementation of an organizational change as this creates a positive attitude among workers (Lewis, 2011). The third component that a leader could use involves internalization of the change. This refers to the actual implementation of the change. Depending on the nature of the change, a leader could choose the appropriate channel for internalization of the change by the workers. These channels include seminars and departmental meetings. During internalization, workers review the proposed change and analyze how better it is than the old practices. This helps workers to realize the benefits of the change and propel them to work within the set rules of the proposed change (Lewis,

Censorship on the Community Essay Example for Free

Censorship on the Community Essay The Effect of Censorship on the Community and People in the Novel â€Å" Fahrenheit 451† The Novel Fahrenheit 451 exploited censorship and all the negative thing that can occur when a society is censored. There were many examples in this novel. In the Novel Guy Montag finds out that censorship is a big part of his community and realizes that has a negative effect and need to be abolished before it changes humans for good. â€Å"If you hide your ignorance, no one will hit you and youll never learn. †(Ray Bradbury). This quote is stating that since books are censored and people in Montag’s area cannot read, they will not gain intelligence. They are hiding their ignorance by refusing to read books. Books hold information and many things that can open someone’s eyes to the world to understand it. In this novel there are no books aloud, and if a citizen has a book or books, the books are burned to ashes inside the home. The community lives in fear of firefighters. Montag is a firefighter who loves burning books, at first, but then runs into a stranger who changes his perspective. As Ray Bradbury said â€Å"we were putting one foot in front of the other†(Ray Bradbury). That is exactly what the Clarisse was doing when she ran into Montag. Clarisse doesn’t believe in all the censorship and act different from the rest of the future community. She doesn’t believe in the books, the schools, and the television programs being censored. The television programs keep people away from the books and the schools teach students that books are bad and not needed. The schools also censored what the kids were able to do and the activities they participated in. Society lives in fear in the novel Fahrenheit 451. Towards the middle of the novel, the fire fighter, Montag realizes that censorship is wrong and starts collecting books on his own. He soon starts going against society and all the censorship. He starts reading the books and tries to get his wife to read them as well. Soon the fire fighters turn on him and make him burn don’t his own house. This shows the censorship causes distrust, fear, injustice, and the breaking of bonds on a society. After he burns his own house, he ends up killing his boss because of how he acts and Montag realizes that his boss might actually want t die. The censorship has killed society. It causes violence, ignorance, wars, and people who live in fear or cowardly. Many civilians are violent and commit suicide also no one seems to care because it has become normal. No one seems to care about others and society is in a cave. In Conclusion censorship has a terrible effect on the community in Fahrenheit 451. All the extra problems and violence is unneeded. It is all caused by the deep cave that censorship brought the place into. The only way the help is by reading the books so the spread of knowledge can occur. The community is always on the brink of war with jets flying around and bomb shelters everywhere. The effect of censorship doesn’t lead to anything good, and is always going to end up with a bad ending. The Novel Fahrenheit 451 shows a perfect example of what censorship does to a society. The school becomes a violent place and the people that are supposed to help people stop caring. Plus all the serious things are taken for nothing as it becomes a casual normal thing for people to harm themselves or commit suicide. Censorship is terrible and shouldn’t be able to happen anywhere. Everyone should be able to have their own views and opinions on a wide variety of topics. The more people express their ideas the more the world will grow and knowledge will spread. People will become wise, more intelligent, and more willing to learn what other people have to share. This Novel is the perfect example of censorship is a terrible thing. Work Cited Bradbury, Ray D. Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury | Books. Harper Collins, 2001. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. . Bradbury On Fahernheit 451. Interview by Haper Collins. RayBradbury. Haper Collins, 2001. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. . Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451 Quotes. By Ray Bradbury. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. .

Business Process in The Wedding Planning

Business Process in The Wedding Planning Introduction: The report focuses on the business process associated with the wedding planning which ultimately proves to be very helpful in establishing the business in this field. Wedding planning is considered as the emerging business area due to the busy lifestyles of people; people themselves have limited time due to their vocations and thus require an institution which can manage all the activities associated with the wedding event. The report thoroughly identifies the information regarding the wedding planning and its functions, business description of the wedding planning, requirements of customers regarding wedding event, scope of business, targeted customers, market analysis, porters 5 forces model, marketing strategies, and financial feasibility associated with the business of wedding event. The report proves to be very helpful in identifying and implementing the strategies for the commencement of wedding planning business. Wedding Planning: Wedding planning may be regarded as formulating plans associated with the wedding for their effective implementation in the event so as to ensure its success. The business pertaining to the wedding planning includes: Conducting the interview of the couple and their family in order to recognize their requirements regarding wedding event. Preparation of budget for the wedding related expenses. Formulating the elaborated checklist near about one year before the event. Preparation of the guest list. Recognizing various venues for the event like hotels, marriage gardens, wedding manor etc. Planning associated with the decoration as per the customers requirement. Recognizing and recruiting various wedding service providers and professionals like photographers, videographers, caterers, florists, decorators, beauticians, musicians, bakers etc. Preparing and executing various contracts with all the parties. Management of various services and deliveries on the day of wedding event. Preparation of a alternative back up plan in case of any emergency or disaster. Managing the schedule of wedding with the help of software. Preparation of legal translations and documentations for the destinations of the event. Planning associated with the gift distribution to the guests. Providing various honeymoon packages to the couple (Lets Get Planning !). Business Description: Wedding Planning business in the recent time is considered as the most innovative and growing business in the world. In todays scenario, due to busy nature of engaged people no one is able to plan marriage in systematic manner. For overcoming this problem the business of wedding planner came into light. The United Arab Emirates is the place where people are rushed for marriage purpose and for these emirates has become a world class destination for tourists (UAE Customs and Traditions). Requirements: The United Arab Emirates is the best place for tourism. This country is a corporate hub in the world. As a tradition in the UAE, the beginning of wedding starts with the setting of wedding date. This event requires lots of preparations and planning and for this purpose Wedding Planning business facilitates means to the groom and bride to make their marriage memorable (UAE Customs and Traditions). Scope of Business: The wedding planning business has enormous scope in the todays existing world similarly it also plays significant role in the UAE economy. The scopes of wedding planning business in the UAE are as follows: One of the advantages of having wedding planner is, it facilitates everything that we want for wedding. It organizes and plan wedding in accordance to clients desire. It facilitates best deal with money because they are experienced in the searching of best wedding deals and also easily deal with vendors. Although wedding planners are also able to handle emergencies in the wedding. The main advantage of having wedding planner is it saves lot of time. They are responsible for each planning such as contacting vendors, budget, selection of wedding items etc (Wedding Planning Scope Statement ; Benefits of having a Wedding Planner). Target Consumers: The target customers of wedding planner are people who are living in United Arab Emirates. Wedding planning business is aimed for facilitating services to the consumers by offering various facilities at optimum cost and time. The targeted group of customers is between the age group of 18 to 40 years. Market Analysis: A thorough market analysis and research is required for the establishment of wedding planning business, market research will helpful in the systematic identification of customers need and requirement associated with the wedding event compliance with the latest market trends. Market analysis helps the business in following ways: Identification of tastes and preferences of customers regarding the wedding event so as to provide customized services. It helps in deliverance of augmented services as per the latest market trends. It helps in gathering the information associated with the competitors in the same business field and which ultimately assist in having competitive advantage over others. It helps in formulation of various marketing strategies associated with the business like pricing, promotion, location, enhancement of services etc. It helps in expanding the market intermediaries of the business. It helps in target market, market positioning and market segmentation of the business. 5 Forces Model: Porters five forces are applied to business strategy and then analyzed the needs of indusial sectors. These forces are competitive factors and comprises of suppliers, substitute products, rivalry within an industry, customers or buyers, and new entrants. These forces have significant effects on the wedding business. The model of five forces is shown below: http://www.smartkpis.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/5-Forces-Model1.png Source: http://www.smartkpis.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/5-Forces-Model1.png Industry Competitors: Rivalries strategies in the market have significant impact. They use means such as advertising, more attractive customer service, prices competition, introduction of new products etc. before establishing wedding business there is need to analyze industry competitors. Pressure from Substitute Products: Substitute products are the results of industry competition and involve identification of other products that can perform same function. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Suppliers have a significant influence over an industry because they influence the product quality and prices also. Bargaining Power of Buyers: The bargaining power of buyers forces for prices down with the demand of high quality services and products and that resulted as loss of business. There is need to set prices of services by keeping in mind about the price strategy according to the buyers bargaining power. Potential Entrants: The existing entrepreneurs are responsible for the new entrants and it depends on the barriers to entry. If the existing businesses are not satisfying their consumers need and with this they are not updating according to the market needs then there is possibility of entering new entrants (Porters 5-Forces Model). Marketing Strategies: Marketing strategy ensure the marketing activities remain associated with the business goal and maximizing the returns through the marketing efforts. http://www.easy-marketing-strategies.com/images/Mktg-Strategy-Process.jpg Source: (The Marketing Strategy Process) The marketing strategy of wedding associated with the understanding of customers needs and on the basis of these needs market and competitors analysis are performed. Marketing strategies in wedding planning business comprises of several strategies such as bridal segmentation, competitor research strategies, market research for bridal wedding, development of new business, planning for wedding media, strategies for networking etc (Wedding Marketing Unveiled; The Marketing Strategy Process). Financial Feasibility: The financial plan for a business comprises of estimated sales forecasting in order to evaluate estimated pricing, sales and menu etc. This financial plan gives ray for establishing business by arranging all expenses within budget. Financial plan for a business comprises of following heads: Summarize the financial needs. Forecasting sales through the analysis of market. Specify profit margin. Plan for income statement. Balance sheet Forecasting for flow of cash. Planning for capital spending (Weinberg). Conclusion: Wedding planning business is the emerging field, due to the time constraints. In todays era people are too busy in their vocations and business and thus could not get time to plan and execute the wedding event. This leads to creation of wedding planning business. Wedding planning includes the identifying and formulating the strategies associated with the event as per the requirement of the customers. It covers arrangements of all the activities along with the market and financial aspect. Wedding planners are very helpful in making the event successful and memorable.

Concepts of Monopoly and Competition

Concepts of Monopoly and Competition Monopolistic competition is a particular market structure which means there are a large number of small firms and companies whose products and services are slightly differentiated with other competitors. (Stephen, I Stuart, W. 2007: 147) Such as food market, apparel market, light industry product market. The characteristics of monopolistic competition can divided into several parts. As Hunter (1969:19) said, to begin with, product differentiation includes both internal and external differences. Internal differences contain quality, capability and so on. External differences contain packing, advertising and so on. Moreover, the consumption of firms and industries are more. In addition, it is more easily for companies to enter the market due to no requirement for too much investment and no need for high technology. Furthermore, manufactures have a slight impact on prices which causes high influence in short run and low influence in long run. Last of all, they face the downward sloping section of its curve which means the elasticity is less than perfect competitive market and more than pure monopolistic market. Monopolistic competition is also called imperfect competition that combines the characteristics both of perfect competition and monopoly. In perfect competition, goods and services are identical so that firms can entry freely. In contrast, pure monopoly just has a single seller because their goods are unique and firms who have monopolistic power are as a price maker. Unlike these two structures, monopolistic competition has its own features between them. Long run defined that in a long period of time, whole scale of production can be varied. Normal profit is the minimum amount required to keep a firm in its current line of production. Monopolistic competition in the long run allows firms enter and exit until they are making exactly zero economic profit. From the diagram, it is easily to see the existence of supernormal profit gives much more freedom to the industry who wants to enter, and then the competition makes firms earn normal profit in the long run. To analyze the figures, firstly, consumers need to pay higher price than that paid in perfect competition because of the average cost curve is above the minimum point. (Stephen, I Stuart, W. 2007: 149)Secondly, price exceeds marginal cost which leads to more profit for the monopolistically competitive firm. Thirdly, there is excess capacity in the monopolistic competition in the long run. E which shows that the average cost curve is tangential to the demand curve is a balanced poin t. F shows the average cost at the minimum level. This situation causes the demand and marginal revenue curves move to the left. (Stephen, I Stuart, W. 2007: 149)While at the same time, the market system reaches the equilibrium which illustrates that no encouragement for new firms to entry and no encouragement for former companies exit. What is most important is to analyze the process of the monopolistic competition in the long run. There is an explanation illustrates that the super profits induce other firms to enter, because of barriers is small, other manufactures can through the imitation and innovation to start making a profit market faces decline in demand. As a result, the curve happen a movement in order to become more elastic and flexible. (Huge, G. Ray, R. 2004:187) Assume there is no changeable for cost curve and move the demand curve to the balanced point which is tangential to the average cost, until the prices equals to costs, resulting in profits for the long run equilibrium state of zero. There are many possible reasons for why monopolistic competitive market structure can only make normal profit. For example, first and foremost, the main reason for that is the supply increases, but at the same time the demand of products or services are stay in the same level, so there are surplus for industries. In order to sell products, supplier will decrease the price which may gives them chances to attract consumers and put losses to a minimum. When the prices fall as same as the cost, firms can just get the normal profit. (Shepherd, W. G. Shepherd, J. M. 2004:43)In addition, more and more firms enter the market system, because it is easy and no barriers so that firms are just do like other former firms, as time goes by, no innovation causes consumers do not have any more demand for goods which also lead the decreased price. Furthermore, in the long run, on the one hand, firms can not easily to cancel the large amount of investment. On the other hand, firms need to change all f actors of production to get more capacity which is very difficult. Last but not at least, although the products of monopolistic competition are different from each other but they still can be instead of other products. If other firms which can produce better quality goods appear, people will more likely to buy. In this situation, old firms need to change their price into low degree so that they can make sure their losses are in a minimum point. Hunter (1969:161) emphasizes that a company just make normal profit can continue its business. The key points to keep balance are demand curve is tangential to average cost, Po=AC and MR=MC. For instance, real estate market now is belonging to monopolistic competitive market. There are many kinds of real estate market which are different but still have some similarities. In these markets which have smaller differences between each other, there will be more competitions. Most of the real estate sellers try to get power to close to monopoly which can reduce more competitions. Change the quality of goods and rise up the promotion are two methods that always seen in society. But just in a short run, they can get abnormal profit unless they become pure monopoly. To conclude, monopolistic competition is a special market structure which related to its features and characteristics. The profit they can make in long run is only the normal profit which depends on the reasons above. It is a nature process and phenomenon. References: Hunter, A. (1969). Monopoly and competition. Penguin, Harmondsworth. Huge, G. Ray, R. ( 2004). Microeconomics. Harlow: Prentice Hall/ Financial Times. Stephen, I. Stuart, W. (2007). Economics. Great Britain, Ashford Colour Press, Hampshire. Shepherd, W. G. Shepherd, J. M. (2004). The economics of industrial organization. Long Grove, Ill.: Waveland Press.

Dracula Essay -- essays research papers

Violence and Power Within Dracula's Grasp Throughout many types of literature, violence exists to enhance the readers interest in order to add a sense of excitement or conflict to a novel. This statement withholds much truthfulness due to the fact that without violence in a piece of literature such as Dracula by Bram Stoker, the plot would not have the same impact if it was lacking violence. Dracula's power and evilness led to the violent happenings which began with the conflict of Jonathan's inner struggle, as compared to the conflict which blossomed later on with good versus evil. One case of violence that had occurred, not just for its own sake, happened in chapter seven, where it stated in the log of the "Demeter", "On 14 July was somewhat anxious about crew. Men all steady fellows, who sailed with me before. Mate could not make out what was wrong; they only told him there was something, and crossed themselves. Mate lost temper with one of them that day and struck him. Expected fierce quarrel, but all was quiet"(pg.87). Therefore, this type of violence rarely ever occurred before; thus, this action was foreshadowing evil. Eventually, this evil took place when poor old Mr. Swales was found dead with his neck broken. Mina Murry wrote in her journal about the incident, "...poor old Mr. Swales was found dead this morning on our seat, his neck being broken. He had evidently, as the doctor sa...

Strength of African-Americans Essay examples -- American History, Raci

Langston Hughes wrote during a very critical time in American History, the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes wrote many poems, but most of his most captivating works centered around women and power that they hold. They also targeted light and darkness and strength. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son, both explain the importance of the woman, light and darkness and strength in the African-American community. They both go about it in different ways. Women are equated with water and the greatness that it possesses. In both poems Hughes displays African-American’s view of women and how they the key to maintaining a family. R. Baxter Miller states â€Å"her symbolic yet invisible presence pervades the fertility of the earth, the waters and the rebirth of the morning.† (35) Women are like rivers, they continue to flow, even when they cannot be seen. In Mother to Son the speaker reminisces on what his mother told him, which shows how powerful a woman really is. Water is also a very powerful source and contributes to everything. Just like water women contribute to life and the upbringing of children. The Negro Speaks of Rivers states â€Å"My soul has grown deep like the rivers† ( Norton Line 4, 2027.) In that one line Hughes demonstrates the likeness between women and water. Females contribute to the strengthening of one’s soul. Water is used as simile to compare the depth of the water, to the human soul. Fertility comes from water and women. Just like the Euphrates River in ancient Mesopotamia, women are the reason for fertility. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son both refer to back to Adam and Eve in different ways. Mother to Son does not have a direct reference to Adam and Eve, but it hints at the beginning, â€Å"Bare† (Norton L... ... giving in to the devil, which is unacceptable. In The Negro Speaks of Rivers strength is carried on from land to land and generation to generation. The ancestors traveled from Africa and kept their strength, which carried on to future generations. Their strength allowed them to deepen their connection with each other and their surroundings. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son, explained the importance of the woman, light and darkness and strength in the African-American community. Hughes made a very clear and concise statement in focusing on women and the power they hold, light and darkness, and strength. Did his poems properly display the feelings of African-American’s in that time period? It is apparent that Hughes felt a sense of pride in his culture and what they had to endure. After all â€Å"Life ain’t been no crystal stair!†(Norton, Line 2, 2028) Strength of African-Americans Essay examples -- American History, Raci Langston Hughes wrote during a very critical time in American History, the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes wrote many poems, but most of his most captivating works centered around women and power that they hold. They also targeted light and darkness and strength. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son, both explain the importance of the woman, light and darkness and strength in the African-American community. They both go about it in different ways. Women are equated with water and the greatness that it possesses. In both poems Hughes displays African-American’s view of women and how they the key to maintaining a family. R. Baxter Miller states â€Å"her symbolic yet invisible presence pervades the fertility of the earth, the waters and the rebirth of the morning.† (35) Women are like rivers, they continue to flow, even when they cannot be seen. In Mother to Son the speaker reminisces on what his mother told him, which shows how powerful a woman really is. Water is also a very powerful source and contributes to everything. Just like water women contribute to life and the upbringing of children. The Negro Speaks of Rivers states â€Å"My soul has grown deep like the rivers† ( Norton Line 4, 2027.) In that one line Hughes demonstrates the likeness between women and water. Females contribute to the strengthening of one’s soul. Water is used as simile to compare the depth of the water, to the human soul. Fertility comes from water and women. Just like the Euphrates River in ancient Mesopotamia, women are the reason for fertility. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son both refer to back to Adam and Eve in different ways. Mother to Son does not have a direct reference to Adam and Eve, but it hints at the beginning, â€Å"Bare† (Norton L... ... giving in to the devil, which is unacceptable. In The Negro Speaks of Rivers strength is carried on from land to land and generation to generation. The ancestors traveled from Africa and kept their strength, which carried on to future generations. Their strength allowed them to deepen their connection with each other and their surroundings. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son, explained the importance of the woman, light and darkness and strength in the African-American community. Hughes made a very clear and concise statement in focusing on women and the power they hold, light and darkness, and strength. Did his poems properly display the feelings of African-American’s in that time period? It is apparent that Hughes felt a sense of pride in his culture and what they had to endure. After all â€Å"Life ain’t been no crystal stair!†(Norton, Line 2, 2028)

Greek Philosopher Plato

Plato is one of the popular and widely read philosophers in the world. His thoughts have greatly influenced the western political mindset and discourse. Born in Athens around 427 BCE Plato accomplished a lot by writing a different treatise that shaped the world's political thoughts before his death around 347 BCE. He was a student to a great philosopher, Socrates and a teacher to a famous philosopher scholar Aristotle, who also taught Alexander the great. He was greatly influenced by his teacher, Socrates who always remains the profound character in his works. In other words, his thoughts are greatly influenced by Socrates while on the other hand, he also influences Aristotle. His thoughts are significant historically and intellectually in the western political and social infrastructure.One of the popular works of Plato is the Republic. It is popularly known as the Socratic dialogue, which Plato sought to address the issues of justice. Plato was more infuriated with the way Socrates was treated before the authority. On the same pedestal, Plato is concerned about justice and the city-state. His main investigation is whether the just man is happier than the unjust in Athens. In his argument, Plato proposes a state of the philosopher kings. He asks the society to promote education among young boys and girls so that leading them becomes easier. In other words, Plato only trusts educated leaders. He is very uncomfortable with uneducated leaders since they would not be in a position to handle the intricacies of leadership. He identifies different sets of â€Å"constitutions that promote injustice in the society, which include democracy, oligarchy, timocracy, and tyranny.† Among the four, Socrates through Plato argues that tyranny is the worst regime. Tyrants are harsher and know no language of diplomacy, but rely on wrath to instill fear in order to rule. His classical thoughts until influences political decisions in the contemporary society, not only in the west but in other parts of the world as well.From the Republic, readers are exposed to some of the social injustices fuelled by poor leadership. Plato makes it apparent that justice has been frequently used as an instrument to lure people to follow certain leaders while on the other hand, they are duped and manipulated. He relates justice as it is communicated to the person led to a bull that is well fed, not for its welfare, but for the benefit of the owner. It is blinded to believe that the good care is meant to take care of its welfare. However, the truth of the matter is that the owner gives it good feeding in readiness for slaughter. The owner wants it to be fat so that it can produce a greater amount of meat. From this standpoint, it means that the feeding is nothing meant to benefit the bull, but for the grander interest of the owner who intends to slaughter it. The same way, when people believe in justice as pronounced by their leaders, they sell themselves cheap for manipulation and tyranny. Plato is against justice that accused and executed Socrates falsely. Through his thoughts, the world has been on the lookout to shun bad leadership and dictators of history. Therefore, his arguments have been promoted in different spheres of life to promote virtue and ethics among the people living together.

Looking for Alibrandi

Looking for Alibrandi is a novel written by Melina Marchetta. It is about a young female named Josephine Alibrandi. This book is about Josephine’s journey in search of her identity, and her relationships around her. It shows how her views are depicted and how her views change throughout the course of the novel. This novel portrays the use and abuse of power and its effects on individuals in society. These powers include the powers of freedom, education, legal, psychological, cultural, pressure, parental, empowerment, personal choice and relationships.All these powers make a huge impact throughout the course of the novel, whether they or negative or positive powers. The power of freedom, with the theme of destiny is a power present throughout the whole novel. This power plays positively through the novel. Josie believes that a person can chose their destiny and create their own path of life. She believes that no matter who you are, you can prevail over anything that is holding you back and that you can defy the stars and create your own destiny.In the novel Josie mentions â€Å"†¦ we’re masters of our own destiny† which highlights the power of freedom, and having a choice in where your life is heading. On the other hand, the power of freedom ties in with the power of culture. The power of culture plays a negative path of the story in Looking for Alibrandi. The power of culture intertwines with the themes of racism and multiculturalism. Josie’s culture, being of Italian descent, holds her back in the course of the novel. As Josephine is an ‘ethnic girl’, it holds her back from being the person she wants to be, and the things she wants to achieve.Her culture is a wall seperating her from who she is right now, and she wants to be. As an ethnic, she is looked down in society, and it makes her life more difficult. In the novel, Josie states â€Å"†¦ no matter how smart I am or how much I achieve, I am always going t o be a little ethnic from Glebe, as far as these people are concerned. † This statement clarifies her struggle of being an ethnic in the Australian society. The power of education is a power used positively in the book. With the power of education and Josie’s intelligence, she earns a scholarship at a ich, high class school. This power is used positively as Josie’s family is of the working class society, and they are unable to afford fees at St Martha’s but with the help of her scholarship, allows her to enter the school. Whilst attending this school Josie gets a taste of real life experiences within a complicated society. Josie then receives a broader perspective on the views of how she see’s other people, and how they depict her. The psychological powers in the book are abused both negatively and positively.First of all, psychological powers are used negatively when Nonno Francesco forces Nonna Katia to stay with him because of Katia’s secr et with Marcus Sanford. Francesco uses these occurrences to his advantage and blackmails Katia to stay with him, so that he is not looked down upon in shame by his family if Katia were to leave him. In contrast, the use of psychological powers is also used in a positive aspect. Josie’s search for her identity uses psychological power. As Josie learns more about herself and her family, she finds out many things that help her to become the person she was longing to be and to uncover her true identity.Josie’s positive use of psychological powers in using it to find her true self, has helped her understand the concepts of life and broaden he horizons towards her views on life altogether. Whilst finding her identity, Josie quotes â€Å"I’ll run one day. Run for my life. To be free and think for myself. Not as an Australian and not as a not as an Italian and not as in between. I’ll run to be emancipated. † This statement show’s how Josie views her self, and that she just wants to be her own person and uncover her true identity. Parental power is used in the negatively in this novel.It shows how people in society pressure their children, and do not let them choose to be the person they want to be. An example of this is John Barton. He receives a lack of freedom, not only this, but great amounts of pressure are laid upon him to follow the family footsteps. Even though he had everything anyone ever needed, it’s not what John wanted. When expressing himself to Josie, John states â€Å"I’ve always had to be the best because it’s expected of me. † With this quote, you could feel the pressure laid upon John, to be who his parents want him to be. This leads to the path of personal choice.Personal choice is connected to parental power, empowerment and relationships. The power of personal choice is used negatively; an example of this negative use is John Barton’s choice to commit suicide. With all the weight put upon John, and the pressure he received from his family, he was confused and did not know what to do. With his weak relationship with his family, and having too much power, he felt he had no other choice to rid of all these pressures, but to revert to suicide. John believed that suicide would solve all his problems and he would be set free of everything laid upon him, and that he would receive complete ‘emancipation’.A positive power did arise from John’s personal choice of suicide. This was the power of empowerment. John’s death impacted the other characters positively. John’s death empowered the other characters; it made the other characters, like Josie and Ivy think thoroughly about where they were in life, and where there lives were heading. It provided determination for the characters to pursue themselves to be who they want to be. It had motivated the characters to be strong, to talk and interact with each other and express what th ey each felt.This incident made everyone bond, and everyone’s relationships strengthened through the experience. End here, and add conclusion if not enough time The power of relationships is the strongest power in the novel. It is one of the only powers present throughout the entire novel. There are many relationships in the novel, one being with the women of the Alibrandi family. All three, Josie, Christina and Katia share a love hate relationship with each other. Since Josie and her mother Christina live together and Christina is a single parent, they support each other and talk like best friends.On the other hand, with Katia, she is very distant with Christina because of the secret behind Christina’s true identity. At the start of the book, Katia & Josie practically hate each other, but as the story progresses, they bond and grow a stronger relationship. With this relationship, Josie uncovers the truth of why Francesco could never act as a ‘real father’ to Christina and why Francesco had so much hatred and kicked her out at sixteen. Towards the end of the book, the three find out how common alike they are with each other, they gain a mutual bond and there relationship grows stronger as they grow fonder of each other.The relationship between Nonna Katia, Nonno Francesco & Marcus Sanford has a huge impact on how things turned out for Christina and Josie, and the relationship they share with Katia. Katia and Francesco had a very one sided relationship. When Francesco goes off to work, Nonna meets a Marcus whilst she has an emotional breakdown. Marcus comforts her, and this starts their relationship. Their relationship would grow, and they would grow fonder and fonder of each other as time passes.When Katia was with Marcus she states she felt passion, and this was the only time she ever felt ‘love’ which was never shown to her by Francesco. With this passionate relationship, it led to Katia and Marcus making love, and the refore having Christina. Marcus gave Katia what Francesco could not give her, love, passion and a child. Josie and Michael Andretti started off with a weak relationship; it grew stronger & stronger as they got to know each other. At first they did not want anything to do with each other, but as time went on their view’s changed.Michael then turned into a father figure and finally acted as a father towards Josie. Michael helps Josie get through a lot of her problems, like a possible court case, having heart to heart talks to express feelings & just being there for her. Josie and Jacob their relationship changed each other’s points of views, made each others perspectives broaden. It made each other’s outlook change towards the way they see their lives & futures. They teach other that social class doesn’t mean everything and that they an choose their own destiny, and defy whatever barriers hold them back. Looking for Alibrandi Tuesday, October 30, 2012 Looking for Alibrandi By: Melina Marchette Looking for Alibrandi is the story of Josie Alibrandi’s experiences at school, and her relationships with friends and family during her last year at St Martha’s girls’ school. This is the year her father comes back into her life, the year she falls in love and discovers the secrets of her family’s past. Josie tells us the story of her struggles with her Italian-Australian identity and the highs and lows of teenage life.It’s the story of a young girl who feels she doesn’t belong. She learns to cope with these feelings of insecurity and learns that everyone has similar feelings at different times. 1. Josie must learn to deal with a whole range of issues. How and why does Josie change? In Melina Marchetta’s novel, Looking for Alibrandi, Josie confronts and resolves a number of problems she has in her life. Josie’s attitudes towards her family and friends alter as she learns more about them and tries to understand them.Ultimately, Josie is not the same girl at the end of the novel as she was at the beginning. 2. Josie has conflicting feelings towards Jacob. Explain. Josie has conflicting feelings towards Jacob. â€Å"I don’t know if he’s my type†. Josie is still initially stuck on John. It is not until after his death that she realises her real feelings for Jacob. 3. Josie’s transformation from school girl to young adult is the result of major events in her personal and school life.Indeed, without these influences, Josie heightened understanding of herself and others would never have occurred. In reflecting on these experiences and understanding, how do these transformations impact her life? (This question is fit for conclusion – 2 sentences) Josie’s transformation from schoolgirl to young adult is the result of a number of major events in her personal and school life. Indeed, without these influences , Josie’s heightened understanding of herself and others would never have occurred.In reflecting on these experiences and understanding their impact on her life, Josie’s transformation is complete. 4. Josie says, â€Å"I’m not going to be trapped like them. † Does Josie seem trapped or cursed? 5. Look for examples of tradition in the family and school. In the novel, Looking for Alibrandi, Melinda Marchetta explores how Josie is initially embarrassed about being Italian but throughout the text she becomes proud of her Italian heritage.She finds Tomato Day suffocating labelling it â€Å"Nation Wog day† as she wonders, â€Å"How many other poor unfortunates our age were doing the same? † She also says, â€Å"This might be where I come from, but do I really belong here? † This however changes through hearing Katia’s story and realising the importance of her heritage. 6. Why does Josie react strongly to other characters referring to her ethnicity or using the word â€Å"wog†, even though she uses the word and is sometimes critical of her Italian heritage? 7.How does Michael Andretti appear to be adapting to his role as a father? Josie initially resents her father but comes to love and respect Michael and accept him in her life. â€Å"Stop being polite, you’re making me puke. Be angry or rude – but don’t you pretend I’m not here†. Josie rejects Michael at first, but then starts to warm to him. â€Å"I’ll ring my father – he’s a barrister†. 8. What impressions of Josie’s family do you form? What reasons does she have for wanting to â€Å"burst out of family life? † Do you sympathize with her feelings? Looking for Alibrandi Looking for Alibrandi is a novel written by Melina Marchetta. It is about a young female named Josephine Alibrandi. This book is about Josephine’s journey in search of her identity, and her relationships around her. It shows how her views are depicted and how her views change throughout the course of the novel. This novel portrays the use and abuse of power and its effects on individuals in society. These powers include the powers of freedom, education, legal, psychological, cultural, pressure, parental, empowerment, personal choice and relationships.All these powers make a huge impact throughout the course of the novel, whether they or negative or positive powers. The power of freedom, with the theme of destiny is a power present throughout the whole novel. This power plays positively through the novel. Josie believes that a person can chose their destiny and create their own path of life. She believes that no matter who you are, you can prevail over anything that is holding you back and that you can defy the stars and create your own destiny.In the novel Josie mentions â€Å"†¦ we’re masters of our own destiny† which highlights the power of freedom, and having a choice in where your life is heading. On the other hand, the power of freedom ties in with the power of culture. The power of culture plays a negative path of the story in Looking for Alibrandi. The power of culture intertwines with the themes of racism and multiculturalism. Josie’s culture, being of Italian descent, holds her back in the course of the novel. As Josephine is an ‘ethnic girl’, it holds her back from being the person she wants to be, and the things she wants to achieve.Her culture is a wall seperating her from who she is right now, and she wants to be. As an ethnic, she is looked down in society, and it makes her life more difficult. In the novel, Josie states â€Å"†¦ no matter how smart I am or how much I achieve, I am always going t o be a little ethnic from Glebe, as far as these people are concerned. † This statement clarifies her struggle of being an ethnic in the Australian society. The power of education is a power used positively in the book. With the power of education and Josie’s intelligence, she earns a scholarship at a ich, high class school. This power is used positively as Josie’s family is of the working class society, and they are unable to afford fees at St Martha’s but with the help of her scholarship, allows her to enter the school. Whilst attending this school Josie gets a taste of real life experiences within a complicated society. Josie then receives a broader perspective on the views of how she see’s other people, and how they depict her. The psychological powers in the book are abused both negatively and positively.First of all, psychological powers are used negatively when Nonno Francesco forces Nonna Katia to stay with him because of Katia’s secr et with Marcus Sanford. Francesco uses these occurrences to his advantage and blackmails Katia to stay with him, so that he is not looked down upon in shame by his family if Katia were to leave him. In contrast, the use of psychological powers is also used in a positive aspect. Josie’s search for her identity uses psychological power. As Josie learns more about herself and her family, she finds out many things that help her to become the person she was longing to be and to uncover her true identity.Josie’s positive use of psychological powers in using it to find her true self, has helped her understand the concepts of life and broaden he horizons towards her views on life altogether. Whilst finding her identity, Josie quotes â€Å"I’ll run one day. Run for my life. To be free and think for myself. Not as an Australian and not as a not as an Italian and not as in between. I’ll run to be emancipated. † This statement show’s how Josie views her self, and that she just wants to be her own person and uncover her true identity. Parental power is used in the negatively in this novel.It shows how people in society pressure their children, and do not let them choose to be the person they want to be. An example of this is John Barton. He receives a lack of freedom, not only this, but great amounts of pressure are laid upon him to follow the family footsteps. Even though he had everything anyone ever needed, it’s not what John wanted. When expressing himself to Josie, John states â€Å"I’ve always had to be the best because it’s expected of me. † With this quote, you could feel the pressure laid upon John, to be who his parents want him to be. This leads to the path of personal choice.Personal choice is connected to parental power, empowerment and relationships. The power of personal choice is used negatively; an example of this negative use is John Barton’s choice to commit suicide. With all the weight put upon John, and the pressure he received from his family, he was confused and did not know what to do. With his weak relationship with his family, and having too much power, he felt he had no other choice to rid of all these pressures, but to revert to suicide. John believed that suicide would solve all his problems and he would be set free of everything laid upon him, and that he would receive complete ‘emancipation’.A positive power did arise from John’s personal choice of suicide. This was the power of empowerment. John’s death impacted the other characters positively. John’s death empowered the other characters; it made the other characters, like Josie and Ivy think thoroughly about where they were in life, and where there lives were heading. It provided determination for the characters to pursue themselves to be who they want to be. It had motivated the characters to be strong, to talk and interact with each other and express what th ey each felt.This incident made everyone bond, and everyone’s relationships strengthened through the experience. End here, and add conclusion if not enough time The power of relationships is the strongest power in the novel. It is one of the only powers present throughout the entire novel. There are many relationships in the novel, one being with the women of the Alibrandi family. All three, Josie, Christina and Katia share a love hate relationship with each other. Since Josie and her mother Christina live together and Christina is a single parent, they support each other and talk like best friends.On the other hand, with Katia, she is very distant with Christina because of the secret behind Christina’s true identity. At the start of the book, Katia & Josie practically hate each other, but as the story progresses, they bond and grow a stronger relationship. With this relationship, Josie uncovers the truth of why Francesco could never act as a ‘real father’ to Christina and why Francesco had so much hatred and kicked her out at sixteen. Towards the end of the book, the three find out how common alike they are with each other, they gain a mutual bond and there relationship grows stronger as they grow fonder of each other.The relationship between Nonna Katia, Nonno Francesco & Marcus Sanford has a huge impact on how things turned out for Christina and Josie, and the relationship they share with Katia. Katia and Francesco had a very one sided relationship. When Francesco goes off to work, Nonna meets a Marcus whilst she has an emotional breakdown. Marcus comforts her, and this starts their relationship. Their relationship would grow, and they would grow fonder and fonder of each other as time passes.When Katia was with Marcus she states she felt passion, and this was the only time she ever felt ‘love’ which was never shown to her by Francesco. With this passionate relationship, it led to Katia and Marcus making love, and the refore having Christina. Marcus gave Katia what Francesco could not give her, love, passion and a child. Josie and Michael Andretti started off with a weak relationship; it grew stronger & stronger as they got to know each other. At first they did not want anything to do with each other, but as time went on their view’s changed.Michael then turned into a father figure and finally acted as a father towards Josie. Michael helps Josie get through a lot of her problems, like a possible court case, having heart to heart talks to express feelings & just being there for her. Josie and Jacob their relationship changed each other’s points of views, made each others perspectives broaden. It made each other’s outlook change towards the way they see their lives & futures. They teach other that social class doesn’t mean everything and that they an choose their own destiny, and defy whatever barriers hold them back.

Nike Legal

Nike has experienced many political and legal issues throughout its lifetime. From claims the company has used and continues to use sweatshops, to ties with terrorism, Nike has had a lot to overcome. These issues Nike has faced has shaped their current marketing strategies and led them to become one of the most recognizable brands in the world. The largest political issue Nike has faced was with regards to the sweatshop and child labor scandal.Nike began manufacturing in South Korea and Taiwan in the early 1970s (Carty, 2002). They claimed that the lower production cost from cheaper labor was an irresistible draw. When the economies in those countries began to grow, Nike’s labor cost increased substantially, forcing them to look in other geographical areas to maintain their low cost of production. Nike moved manufacturing into Indonesia, China, and Vietnam (Carty, 2002). In the 1990s, claims of Nike’s inhuman treatment of workers surfaced.Nike was faced with allegations of breaking numerous labor laws, including the forcing of child labor, long hours without overtime, unsafe working conditions, and low wages. Many children worked for over sixteen hours a day for less than one dollar a day (Thottam, 2005). Nike’s initial response to the criticism came from director Todd Mckean, who stated that Nike did not own the companies who broke these labor laws (Thottam, 2005). Mckean was restating the fact that Nike contracted its manufacturing out to several companies, and did not directly oversee the process.Nike responded to these allegations by creating their first Code of Conduct called SHAPE. Shape stands for safety, health, attitude, people, and environment (Bushra, 2012). The code was created with intentions of adhering to standards such as fire safety, minimum wage requirements, and overtime limits, costing Nike approximately ten million dollars a year. Nike is also working with agencies such as the Fair Labor Association, which randomly insp ects any manufacturing company that produces Nike products(Bushra, 2012).Nike ranks the manufacturing plants on a scale of one through one hundred, according to various safety and working condition criteria. If the plant does not score a passing grade, Nike will end contracts with that plant, encouraging all the manufacturing plants that they work with to improve their working conditions (Bushra, 2012). Nike has had to face new laws that affect how they run their marketing campaigns. In the United Kingdom, Nike paid Wayne Rooney to advertise different products through his twitter account. Rooney weeted â€Å"My resolution – to start the year as a champion, and finish it as a champion †¦ #makeitcount gonike. me/makeitcount. † (Furness, 2012). Rooney’s tweet was required to be taken down from twitter by the Advertising Standards Counsel because the tweet did not meet the advertising requirements in the United Kingdom. According to the Advertising Standards Co unsel, the tweet had to identify that the tweet was associated with Nike communications by including a hashtag (Furness, 2012). Nike has also had political forces affect their public image.An Al-Qaeda terrorist group has adapted the slogan just do it to encourage violence. The new terrorism slogan has been name the Nike Order (Dunn, 2010) by British officials, which affects the public view of Nike. Nike has yet to respond to this new trend. Furness, Hannah. Wayne Rooney Remprimanded for Advertising Nike on Twiiter. 20 Jun. 2012. 2 Feb. 2013 . Dunn, Tom Newton. Terrorists Steal Nike Slogan. 4 Nov. 010. 1 Feb. 2013 . Thottam, Jyoti (7 October 2005). â€Å"A New Push Against Sweatshops†. TIME. Retrieved 26 March 2011 3 Carty, Victoria (2002). â€Å"Technology and the Counter-hegemonic Movements: the Case of Nike Corruption†. Social Movement Studies   Bushra, Tobah. How Nike Turned Disclosure into an Opportunity. 23 Jan, 2012. 1 Feb, 2013

Dairy: Milk and Clover Essay

Clover S. A. (Proprietary) Limited (â€Å"Clover†) is the biggest dairy processor in South Africa with a turnover of R 4. 3 billion and staff in excess of 6 000. Clover collects approximately 30% of South Africa’s milk supply and processes it into well known branded dairy and related products which is then distributed nationally and even exported into certain African countries. In this document, Clover’s external opportunities and threats, and its internal strengths and weaknesses will be evaluated in order to complete the relevant matrices, whereafter the Grand Strategy Matrix will be used to devise appropriate strategies to deal with the key opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses Mission and Vision Statements: Clover’s mission (which answers the question â€Å"What is Clover’s business?†) is as follows: â€Å"Clover is a branded foods and beverages group with a strong emphasis on value-added products. Clover’s South African dairy business is the perfect enabler to reach the Group’s widely dispersed customers and consumers. Extraordinary care is taken to develop brands which will occupy the number one or two positions in its chosen segments. It believes in the superior procurement, production, marketing, sales and distribution of these branded consumer goods (BCG) to its loyal consumers. † A review of the mission statement shows that most of the â€Å"9 C’s† (i. e. Customers, Products, Markets, Technology, Concern for survival, Growth and Profitability, Philosophy, Self Concept, Concern for Public Image and Concern for Employees) have been utilised in a short statement. It is suggested that the following of the â€Å"absent† â€Å"9 C’s† be included or elaborated upon in the mission statement Concern for employees; Philosophy. Its vision (which answers the question â€Å"What do we want to become?†) is as follows: â€Å"To be a leading and competitive company in South Africa and selected African countries, reaching every consumer on a daily basis with its most admired branded and trusted products, delivering improved and sustainable shareholder value by being a responsible corporate citizen and preferred employer. † A review of the vision statement shows stronger and more reliance by Clover on its brand than on its products. However, Clover’s vision is most certainly achievable, and in certain aspects one may argue that the vision statement might be outdated. THE EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT Introduction: Broadly, the purpose of an external assessment is to a company’s (in this case Clover’s) opportunities which could benefit it on the one hand, and on the other, threats that should be avoided. Generally, these external â€Å"forces† can be divided into the following categories: Economic forces; Social, cultural, demographic and environmental forces; Political, governmental and legal forces; Technological forces; and Competitive forces. Each of these categories will be discussed briefly, as well as the opportunities and threats will be listed under each heading. Economic Forces: The current and ongoing recession had a negative impact on the company’s interim financial results for the 6 months ending December 2008. More particularly and in the words of Clover’s Chief Executive, Mr JH Vorster, â€Å"a recent international publication on dairy matters stated that the industry faces a perfect storm of destructive economic forces and South Africa and Clover could not escape these forces†. The high unemployment numbers (which increases by the day) have an impact on disposable income, which in turn has an impact on buying behaviour, especially towards branded products (which Clover prides itself on), which as a very general rule carries a price margin. This, however, will continue to pose a problem, and as such, Clover must continue to ride the wave of brand recognition to endeavour to brace itself against the prevailing negative economic forces, which is seen as a huge threat. A further threat is the high number of farmers leaving the trade due to what they generally term â€Å"unaffordability†. Social, Cultural, Demographic and Environmental Forces: Clover believes in personal social uplift, thereby not only donating money in general, but being directly involved in the upliftment. Its flagship upliftment programme, Mama Afrika, currently supports in excess of 10 000 people. Appropriately, Clover views this project along the following lines: â€Å"Clover’s flagship CSI philosophy is underpinned by the principle of sustainability; instead of giving people handouts, it is investing in projects that empower communities and enhance their ability to become self-sufficient in the long term. â€Å"We teach the Mamas how to fish rather than give them the fish. †Ã¢â‚¬  According to Clover, it believes that: â€Å"The company is inextricably part of the community and will therefore, in terms of support and development, accept its social responsibility; Profitability and growth are pre-requisites to fulfill its social responsibility within financial means; The community, primarily has to accept responsibility for its own well-being and will only within means, be supported in this; It creates wealth through company taxes, employee taxes and levies which enable government to establish and maintain essential infrastructure like roads, education and health services; Opportunities for work and prosperity are not only created within the business, but that it, indirectly, contributes to job creation and combating poverty. † It furthermore enforces strict environmental disposal techniques in order to protect the environment. It is therefore that Clover views the Social, Cultural and Demographic Forces as an exciting opportunity. The general deterioration of the environment is naturally a concern for Clover, as some of its biggest assets (i. e. cows) rely on a safe environment. This may therefore be seen as a (general) threat. Political, Governmental and Legal Forces: General: First and foremost, Clover must ensure that the relevant agreements are in place with its retailers, service providers and suppliers. These agreements must also be regularly updated. Legislation: The following legislation will be applicable to Clover (or at least cognisance should be taken of these Acts at all times): The Companies’ Act, 69 of 1973; The Companies’ Act, 71 of 2008 (which will come into operation during 2010); The Consumer Protection Act, 68 of 2008, which provides for, inter alia, promoting a fair, accessible and sustainable marketplace for consumer products; Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2 of 2000, which provides for access to information by individuals and/or entities. Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 53 of 2003, which provides for, inter alia, increased broad-based and effective participation of black people in the economy; The Competition Act, 89 of 1998, which provides for, inter alia, the investigation, control and evaluation of certain restrictive practices (the amendments passed during 2010 holds grave consequences in for those who do not adhere to the provisions of the Act). It might well be that a company’s knowledge of particular Acts as mentioned above will be an opportunity. Similarly, a company’s ignorance will be a threat to the company. Clover is an established company, has a legal department and therefore its knowledge of the current law and legislation are adequate. Technological Forces: Clover’s relationship with its customers and clients are entirely computer based (â€Å"IT based†). It is therefore of paramount importance that all its IT be updated regularly (and adequately). Although it has an IT department, Clover does not have a manager close enough to the Executive Committee (such as legal and/or Human Resources). This is seen as a weakness. Competitive Forces: As mentioned in the general introduction in 1. 1 above, Clover collects approximately 30% of South Africa’s milk, leaving 70% which is collected by between 200 to 350 other dairies in South Africa. Of these, Parmalat (Pty) Ltd, Woodlands Dairy (Pty) Ltd, Nestle Dairy (Pty) Ltd, Milkwood (Pty) Ltd and Dairybelle (Pty) Ltd are the biggest competitors. It does however depend on the type of products (for instance, Parmalat is the biggest processor of UHT (Ultra High temperature) milk in South Africa) and geographically (for instance, Parmalat is the biggest distributor of milk in the Western Cape). However, the mentioned companies are competitors and competitors are generally a threat. Clover relies on its brand and extensive distribution network to gain the competitive advantage. Some of the smaller competitors are more than likely to fail due to the current economic recession, thereby giving Clover the opportunities in respect of possible acquisitions of growing market share. A further threat is the (sometimes) ease with which competitors may be successful in convincing farmers to change one processor to another. THE EXTERNAL FACTOR EVALUATION (â€Å"EFE†) MATRIX FOR CLOVER: Key External FactorsWeightRatingWeighted Score Opportunities 1. Recession may cause increase in market share0. 0820. 16 2. Social upliftment programme is extremely successful0. 0540. 20 3. Knowledge of applicable legislation and law0. 1030. 3 4. Possible acquisitions of competitors0. 0810. 08 5. Clover has branded products0. 1130. 33 Threats 6. Economic Recession is a great concern0. 2020. 40 7. Farmers leaving the trade0. 0820. 16 8. Agreements not updated regularly enough0. 0540. 20 9. New and amended legislation places enormous pressure on companies0. 0530. 15 10. Continual Environment Deterioration is of concern0. 0340. 12 11. IT department not close enough to management0. 0320. 06 12. Competitors are generally a threat0. 0730. 21 13. Farmers are convinced to leave Clover for its competitors0. 0720. 14 Total1. 002. 51 CONCLUSION: Clover scores an average of 2. 51 out of a possible 4. There is therefore ample room for improvement. THE INTERNAL ASSESSMENT: Introduction: Broadly, the purpose of an internal assessment is to identify and list a company’s internal strengths and weaknesses. Generally, these internal forces by Clover can be divided into the following categories: Management Forces; Marketing Forces; Finance / Accounting Forces; Production / Operations Forces; Research and Development Forces; and Management Information Systems Forces. As with the External Assessment, each of these categories will be cryptically analysed and the strengths and weaknesses will be listed under each heading. Management: Management of Clover has 5 basic activities, namely: Planning; Organising; Motivating; Staffing; and Controlling. Management may be seen as actively planning in order to take the company forward in line with its vision. However, the motivational activity may have taken a turn for the worst, as Clover closed down one of its factories, and is in the process of restructuring and retrenchment. It is therefore submitted that management motivation is, at the moment, a weakness. Apart from the above, the activities of management are attended to adequately and the employees are always encouraged to participate and voice concerns, even directly with management. Marketing: There are 7 basic functions of marketing, namely: Customer analysis; Selling products/services; Product and service planning; Pricing; Distribution; Marketing research; and Opportunity analysis. Clover is well positioned in the market and is a very strong branded company. That being said, its market share has remained stagnant for the past year or two. Clover’s marketing team is very strong, and focuses on the â€Å"new† products, rather than milk. The main product of Clover is thus difficult to market. The view at this stage, is that Clover’s prices of its products are sometimes too high, but the fact remains that Clover is marketing an extremely strong and well known brand. Finance / Accounting : Strengths: Can identify early on future shortfalls in the company and react. Had a positive net profit over last 6 year period. Operating profit was 22. 6% higher than 2007. Property, plant and equipment increased from 2007. Goodwill increased as a result of acquisition of 70% of Mayo Dairy by Clover’s joint venture Danone Clover. Weaknesses: There was a 22. 8% increase internally on operating expenses in 2008 and no mention of plans to combat same. Company suffered tax loss. Interest bearing debt increased. Cash utilisation increased by 26% from 2007. Production / Operations: Clover’s main product (milk) is extremely perishable and as such, Clover succeeds in putting milk, in whatever form, in its packaging within 48 hours after collection thereof from the farmers. This is quite impressive bearing in mind that whilst most of its milk is collected at the coast (KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Caper) most are processed in the Highveld. It is a concern that most of its factories are not close to its source, but Clover is addressing this at the moment. Its quality control is well maintained, and according to Clover, each litre of milk undergoes 55 quality checks before leaving the factory. Research and Development (â€Å"R & D†): Clover survives on â€Å"older† products, but its R & D department is always busy exploring newer and innovative products. It is however difficult to do with a product such as milk. One of its most innovative products in recent years were no fat milk and vanilla milk. Management Information Systems (â€Å"MIS†): It might be argued that Clover’s MIS is not up to scratch. It relies on data from the trade and field. There is no information officer in the company. Information is collected as and when requested and/or needed. INTERNAL FACTOR EVALUATION (â€Å"IFE†) MATRIX FOR CLOVER: Key Internal FactorsWeightRatingWeighted Score Strengths 1. Management’s Planning, organising staff and controlling is good0. 1040. 40 2. Brand is very strong and thus marketing is fairly easy and successful0. 2040. 80 3. Strong marketing team0. 0530. 15 4. Turnover increases year on year for the past 6 years0. 0930. 27 5. Production and operation very strong0. 1140. 44 Weaknesses 6. Management motivation low due to impending restructuring0. 7010. 2 7. Operating expenses rose by 22. 8%0. 0620. 12 8. High turnover but low profit margin (between 7% and 8%)0. 0510. 05 9. Factories too far away from source, thereby increasing production costs0. 0810. 08 10. Product may be seen as old and stagnant, thereby inhibiting R & D0. 0220. 04 11. MIS not adequate0. 0410. 04 Total1. 000. 002. 59 IFE CONCLUSION: Clover score of 2. 59 is above average, therefore indicating average to slightly strong internal position. There is therefore ample room for improvement, but it is not weak internally, which is positive. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. It is the first stage of planning and helps marketers to focus on key issues. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and threats are external factors. Strategies to adopt in improving Clovers mission statement Human resources Applies to all actors along the chain from producers to consumers. Producers: continuing education on breeding, feeding, animal health, the role of institutions and groups. Milk collectors and handlers: training in clean milk processes; payment systems. Milk procurement: organization logistics; environmental issues and concerns; aim is to keep cost as low as possible. Knowledge management Marketing: consumer education and awareness (e. g. school trips to dairies); educate the media so they can help promote milk campaigns; educate health professionals so they know about the benefits. Competitiveness Producing high quality milk at lowest cost; quality is linked to other elements; government can provide loans, artificial insemination, knowledge (training programs); Productivity. Private sector can provide knowledge, consultants, equipment; research and development on new products and technology; nutrition; management (keeping costs low, quality high) Value addition There is a phenomenal scope for innovations in product development, packaging and presentation. Steps should be taken to introduce value-added products like ice creams, flavored milk, dairy sweets, etc. This will lead to a greater presence and flexibility in the market place along with opportunities in the field of brand building. Addition of cultured products like yoghurt and cheese lend further strength – both in terms of utilization of resources and presence in the market place. Export potential Efforts to exploit export potential are already on. Clover should export to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Middle East. Following the new GATT treaty, opportunities will increase tremendously for the export of agri-products in general and dairy products in particular. Cooperatives Greater awareness of farmers’ needs Clover should not think that they are the only custodians or ‘voice’ of Farmers or the only ones protecting the interests of Farmers. Clover should be open enough to understand and think ‘out of the box’ and to understand and see what ways and means can help farmers stay loyal and be more productive. Competition With so many newcomers entering this industry, competition is becoming tougher day by day. But then competition has to be faced as a ground reality. It is large enough for many to carve out their niche. Problematic distribution All is not well with distribution. But then if ice creams can be sold virtually at every nook and corner, why can’t Clover sell other dairy products too? Moreover, it is only a matter of time before we see the emergence of a cold chain linking the producer to the refrigerator at the consumer’s home Perishability Pasteurization has overcome this weakness partially. UHT gives milk long life. Surely, many new processes will follow to improve milk quality and extend its shelf life. Clover needs to overhaul its R & D department.