Values and its impact on leadership theory and practices Essay

Values and its impact on leadership theory and practices - Essay Example At the same time, values are affected by a number of internal and external factors that also affect the value creation process of organizations. Overall, it was summed that values are an integral part of leadership theories and practices. Leadership has been one of the highly talked and researched topics in the business and social environment. Throughout, the history of business management and social empowerment, leadership has played an important and crucial role in guiding and motivating people in the right direction along with accomplishing desired mutual goals and objectives. Change is often considered as inevitable and must occur in order to maintain the pace with current and future social and business changes in different environments (Hackman, Wageman, 2005). Throughout the history of mankind in terms of geographies, ethnicity and political boundaries; there have been a number of distinct differences among people in terms of values, thinking and perception. It was only after the 20th century that societies and people were learning from each other in terms of differences mainly because of the rise and advances in technologies and communication. However, in spite of all these, there has been a major clash in terms of values and perceptions when it comes to understanding each other and this has emerged as one of the most important concerns for business organsiations (House, 2004). This is where leadership has emerged as one of the most important tools in understanding people but at the same time leadership theories and practices are largely influenced and impacted by perceived values. The discussion aims to investigate the impact of values on leadership theories and practices. For this purpose, a number of leadership theories have been discussed in a critical manner in order to ascertain the overall impact and influence of perceived values. Values can be personal or perceived often affected by the internal and external environment and

A Critical Analysis on Wal-Marts Failure in Germany Essay Example for Free

A Critical Analysis on Wal-Marts Failure in Germany Essay After eight unprofitable years, Wal-Mart backed out of Germany in July 2006 and sold the entire retails outlets to Metro AG. After dominating the US market for quite a long time, Wal-Mart expanded its market to Germany in 1997. In 1997 Wal-Mart continued its strategy of globalization, and acquired two German retail chains for $1. 6 billion. After eight unprofitable years, Wal-Mart backed out of Germany in July 2006 and sold the entire retails outlets to Metro AG. The Essay examines why Wall-mart was a big failure in its international operations in Germany on a Cross-culture perspective. Inadaptability and ignorance f local culture can become a big problem in global business, even for a Corporate giant like Wal-Mart with proven success formulas. Being number one in the United States does not always guarantee for being number one elsewhere in the world. It is very important to understand the pulse of the local market and culture of the clients exactly and should make strategies accordingly and exactly that is where Wal-Mart went wrong in Germany. COMPANY PROFILE Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. s the largest retailer in the world, the worlds second-largest operates retail stores in various retailing formats in all 50 states in the United States. The Companys mass merchandising operations serve its customers primarily through the operation of three segments. The Wal-Mart Stores segment includes its discount stores, Supercenters, and Neighborhood Markets in the United States. The Sams club segment includes the warehouse membership clubs in the United States. The Companys subsidiar y, McLane Company, Inc. rovides products and distribution services to retail industry and institutional foodservice customers. Wal-Mart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,416 retail units under 53 different banners in 15 countries. With fiscal year 2010 sales of $405 billion, Wal-Mart employs more than 2. 1 million associates worldwide. Nearly 75% of its stores are in the United States (Wal-Mart International Operations, 2004), but Wal-Mart is expanding internationally. The Group is engaged in the operations of retail stores located in all 50 states of the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom, Central America, Chile, Mexico,lndia and China Wal-Marts entry and operation in Germany Wal-Marts initial entry into German market was through the acquisitions of renowned 21 store Wertkauf chain for an estimated $1. 4 billion in December 1997. 1t was followed one year later by the acquisition of In-terspars 74 hypermarkets from Spar Handels AG, the German unit of the French Intermarch © Group , for ‚ ¬560 million. Thus Wal-Mart immediately became the countrys fourth biggest operator of hypermarkets. However, with a turnover of around ‚ ¬2. 9 billion, and a stagnating market share of Just 1. 1 per cent, the US giant still was a negligible one in the German retail market. Even worse, with estimated accumulated losses of more than ‚ ¬ 1 billion, it is literally drowning in red ink although, according to Wal-Mart Germanys CEO, Kay Hafner, its non food assortment, which accounts for around 50 per cent of its revenues, is profitable.. Instead of expanding its network of stores by 50 units by early 2001 , as originally planned, the company has been forced to close two big outlets, while at the same time it was only able to fully remodel three locations into its flagship Super center format. Due to its problems the company also had to lay off around 1. 000 staff. On July 2006,Wal-Mart announced its official defeat in Germany and would sell its 85 German stores to the rival supermarket chain Metro and would ook a pre-tax loss of about $1 billion (E536million) on the failed venture. A Critical Analysis of Reasons for Wal-Marts failure in Germany: There were several factors that contributed to Germanys unsuccessful business ride. Amazing management blunders have plagued Wal-Marts German operation from the very start.. Wal-Marts major mistakes on the German market may be summarized as follows. Cultural Insensitivity was the major reason of failure Entry to German market by acquisition strategy, Failure to deliver on its legendary every-day low prices and excellent service alue proposition. ? Bad Publicity about the company due to breaking of some prevailing German law In January 1997, Wal-Mart had first entry in Europe market with the acquisition of Wertkauf hypermarkets in Germany. Later in that year, Wal-Mart also acquired Interspar, another German hypermarket chain.. While its first move the 1997 takeover of the 21 Wertkaufstores was indeed a shrewd one, given that companys excellent earnings, its competitive locations, and its very capable management. Wal- Marts 1998 follow-updeal with Spar for 74 hypermarkets was widely Judged an ill- nformed, ill-advised act, for several reasons: Spar is considered to be the weakest player on the German market due to its mostly run-down stores, very heterogeneous in size and format, with the majority of them located in less well-off inner-city residential areas. Wal-Marts cultural insensitivity led to its failure in Germany. This Study focuses only on the flaws made by the Wal-Mart in its International operations in Germany from a Cross-cultural Managements perspective. Wal-Marts failure in Germany- A Case of cultural insensitivity: Most of the Global mergers and acquisitions failed to produce any benefit for the shareholders or educed value, which was mainly due to the lack of intercultural competence. Lack of sensitivity and understanding of language barriers, local traditions, consumer behavior, merchandising, and employment practices irreversibly damaged Wal-Marts image in Germany. One of the main reasons that failed Wal-Mart in Germany is when it attempted to transport the companys unique culture and retailing concept to the new country. The top management refused to even acknowledge the differences in customer behavior and culture in Germany when compared to its US customers, and the top management failed to listen to the feedback from its employees. Not every new cross- border retailer can be a retail giant outer its home. The mistake of exporting its culture wholesale, rather than adapting to local market, leads Wal-Mart failed in Germany market. Wal-Marts ambitions to position itself profitably in European markets through Germany have been hit badly by their inability to fully understand and to adapt to the specific conditions of doing business in other countries. This exposed their obvious lack of intercultural competence and management skills. The main challenge of post-merger integration is further complicated significantly if it is in a Cross- order Merger or acquisition, with all issues frequently being compounded by a lack of language and culture bridging skills. Failure to accomplish this task satisfactorily, results in mutual distrust, de-motivation and negatively impacts the merged companies competitiveness, profits and shareholder value. This is exactly what happened to Wal-Mart Germany. Following are the main two factors that Contributed to the Wal-Marts unsuccessful efforts in Germany: 1)Specific Difference in German Consumer behavior and Culture in comparison with US consumers: and impose an American boss on its German operations. Wal-Mart stores are esigned for customers who are willing to spend lot of time shopping. But in Germany, the shopping hours are shorter: Shops close by 5 PM on weekdays, and no shopping on Sundays. This meant that customers dont have the habit of spending lots of time in a store wandering around for the things they need. Coupled with this problem, German customers do not like to be assisted by Wal-Marts friendly store assistants. Germans prefer to do their own search for bargains. Instead of understanding and adjusting to the culture of its clients, Wal-Mart tried to impose their Culture on to the Customers, which never worked out. Germans like to see the advertised discount products upfront without having to ask the store assistant. This implies that the discount products must be placed at the eye level. Instead Wal-Mart chose to use its US style merchandise display strategy where premium priced products are kept at eye level and discount products are kept at higher shelf or in the bottom racks. This irritated the German shoppers. Wal-Mart also got its store inventory wrong, Wal-Mart stocked its store with clothes, hardware, electronics and other non-food products were given much bigger floor space than ood products, as a result more than 50% of the revenue was from non-food products. But other German retailers stock more of food products. For example for Metro, food products constitute more than 75% of the revenue. Germans prefer to bag groceries themselves into reusable carriers, or at least to pay a small fee for the avoidable sin of needing a plastic bag. Germans are introvert in nature and doesnt like display of emotion in public, as they always care for their private personal space. Employees, like the reserved customers, didnt care for Wal-Marts public displays of corporate moral such as the morning heer. The German Customers even didnt liked to be accompanied by the Cheerful employees either, as they would like to make choices by themselves. These are cultural misunderstandings as well, but one could say the cultural philosophy of Wal- Mart could not survive in the context of a German culture with a Happy Planet Index significantly higher than Americas 2)lnefficient Top Management which ignored the relevance of local Culture: It was clear that the cultural insensitivity of Wal-Mart started right at the top management. To begin with, it appointed four CEOs during its first four years of peration. The first head of German operations was Rob Tiarks ,an expat from the USA who did not understand Germany or its culture. He had previously supervised around 200 Supercenters in America. Not only did he not speak any German. Due to his unwillingness to learn the language ,English was soon decreed as the official company language at the management level. He also ignores the complexities and the legal framework of the German retail market, ignoring any strategic advice presented to him by former Wertkauf executives . This has resulted in the resignation nsuccessful in integrating German Outlets with the Wal-Marts Business model and culture. Suggestions and Recommendations: Cross-border, Cross-cultural business is a challenge even for the biggest companies. Companies have to be sensitive to the local cultures and tailor their offerings to local market. To localize their offerings, Wal-Mart and other Companies that are going global companies must carry out cultural assessment of the Citizens of the Country before acquisitions. All their Corporate Business and Communication strategies should be based on this cultural assessment. This will help companies measure the ffectiveness of its localization efforts and make adequate changes in local strategy ; tactics as and when required. Considering the following steps would help Wal-Mart or any other Company while they are on lookout of Global alliance or business. 1)Political, Social, Economic and Cultural Analysis of the Country Before expanding its business operations to a new country, the Company should understand the Political, Social, Economic and cultural aspects of the Country in depth. Wal-Marts case, Germany was selected primarily because of a central European location and economic attractiveness of the Wertkauf acquisition. But a serious research would have shown that Germany had strong national values resistant to change; possibly the most deeply rooted retail traditions in Western Europe. This could have avoided either Wal-Marts selection of the Country or the strategies it has adopted in Germany. 2)Go global and think they are local After conducting an in depth research about the prevailing trends in the customers Country, the Company should be ready to modify its own identity to suit itself to the cultural differences without compromising much on its Corporate Mission. This step will also force organizations to clearly define globalization goals. Wal-Mart put the company name on many German stores before being fully established. Immediately, the run down stores left an impression on consumers who formed a negative image of the Wal-Mart name. 3)Employment of Cross-cultural Management approaches like Hampden-Turner and Trompanaars Analysis: Employement of Hofsteds Culture Dimensions or HT;T Analysis will help Companies in understanding the minute cultural differences between the countries. For example, Communitarianism over Individualism Germans degree of communitarianism is on the higher side mainly because Germans prefer participating on a team. Most Germans see business as a group of related persons working together. But, most of Americans see their company as a set of difference in Cultural dimensions between the 2 countries has resulted in inside management conflict among the employees, which also resulted in resignation of efficient German executives from Wal-Mart post integration. Understanding the cultural dimensions of a Country through proven Cross-culture models will always help a company to formulate a specific approach that will encourage team spirit and joy among the Global Team. 4)Continuous Updation of Strategies to successfully ithstand the local competition It is very important for a Global firm to continuously analyse the impact of their various strategies on the local market. Understand the shortfalls, and modify it in such a way as to cater the local market in a much better way than the competitors. It is always better to scrutinize the strategies adopted by them with a panel of Local experts, as they will be having a better picture about the local consuming behavior and culture. Perceptions do matter a lot, So a surveys to find the customers perception about the company will also help them to change their trategies accordingly. Conclusion: Even though Wall-Mart was the Biggest of the companies, while going Global understanding the culture of customers, employees of the new Country is very critical for the success. The achievement in the U. S. market cannot always guarantee that Wal-Mart will also success in anywhere else. Companies need to understand the local culture in order to capitalize on the local market. The lessons learned from Wal- Marts experience in Germany, can be applied by other retailers who are planning to go global for expanding its market.. If the worlds largest retailer had taken the time o analyze the German mindset, it could have avoided a very painful lesson when Germans rejected Wal-Marts American-style which was highly successful in home country.

Persident Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) :: Biography Biographies

Biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Roosevelt was born at his family’s estate at Hyde Park, in Dutchess County, New York on January 30,1882. He was the only child of James Roosevelt and Sara Delano Roosevelt. James Roosevelt was a moderately successful businessman, with a variety of investments and a special interest in coal. He was also a conservative Democrat who was interested in politics. His home overlooking the Hudson River was comfortable without being ostentatious, and the family occupied a prominent position among the social elite of the area. Sara Delano, 26 years younger than her previously widowed husband, brought to the marriage a fortune considerably larger than that of James Roosevelt. The Delano family had prospered trading with China, and Sara herself had spent some time with her parents in Hong Kong. So, Franklin was born into a pleasant and sociable home, with loving wealthy parents. Roosevelt’s parents sent him off to school in 1896. They selected Groton School in Massachusetts, which had a reputation as one of the finest of the exclusive private schools that prepared boys for the Ivy League colleges. Young Roosevelt was a good student, popular with his fellow students as well as with his teachers. Roosevelt moved to New York City, where he entered the Columbia University Law School in 1904. Although he attended classes until 1907, he failed to stay on for his law degree after passing the state examinations allowing him to practice law. For the next three years he was a clerk in a prominent law firm in New York City, but the evidence is clear that he had little interest in law and little enthusiasm to be a lawyer. Well before he finished his work at Columbia, young Franklin Roosevelt had married his distant cousin Anna Eleanor Roosevelt. They had been in love for some time and were determined to marry in spite of the opposition of Franklin’s mother. The bride’s uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt, was present at the ceremony in New York City on March 17, 1905. Five of their six children grew to maturity: Anna, James, Elliott, Franklin, Jr., and John. The chief problem faced by the young couple during the early years of their marriage was Sara Roosevelt’s possessive attitude toward her son. Eleanor’s forbearance mitigated this situation, but the problem remained for many years. Roosevelt entered politics in 1910, when he became a candidate for the New York State Senate in a district composed of three upstate farming counties.

Baby Boom as a defining moment in Canadian History

The Baby Boom was a massive increase of Canada's population from 1946 to 1965. The Baby Boom was considered a defining moment in Canadian history for economical, educational, and environmental factors. Economically speaking, Canada had an Increase In employment and the economy started to improve financially. Jobs were set up, and new projects were financed. (Pain, peg. 217). Consumer demand also rose, as lots of new people were born. In search for a better quality of life, many Canadians would demand massive, stylish engages to cult the large kitchens of suburban bungalows.High performance, and ease In use and cleaning were other popular attributes, and all these factors led manufacturers to offer a variety of models that would be purchased by consumers to enhance both lifestyle and social status. (The Collection, 2014). Canada Improved economically due to the baby boom since consumerism exploded. Demands of services and products rose massively. Educationally Speaking, children had b etter opportunities with school since the overspent funded in creating more schools due to high demand.There became a high demand for schools, first starting with elementary, and as the children aged high schools and universities were built up. (Elena, 2008). An average student only spent six years attending school due to farming duties and only one in ten students graduated from High School. (Elena, 2008). Since the baby boom occurred, students had an opportunity to finish school up until their post secondary education. Environmentally speaking, families moved to suburbs to start fresh with a family. During the sass, 1. Million housing units were set up in suburbia. (Annie, ND). Highways were built for transportation and so it would be convenient for people to get to places. (Annie, ND). Environment was a factor during the Baby Boom, since it reflected the arbitration of suburbs in the sass. Common reasons why suburbs became quite popular include: a large variety of land, and to es cape crime. The Baby Boom affected Canada in a positive way as it was a defining moment In history for economical, educational, and environmental purposes.

Bernadine Healy

There is a sea of difference in being a leader and manager of an organization. Each one of the two persona can fit in a type of organization. But in the case of the Red Cross in the US,public interest, administrative responsibility and some of the recent ethical obligations confronting public administrators in their day to day decision making. Also examine the recent trend in privatizing government functions and appeared to have not fit at all occupying the presidency.She was a victim of the position not for becoming a tough, passionate, too-driven leader, but for not coming a manager of the international Red Cross that is largely resistant to change. It has been said that managers â€Å"do things right† while leaders, on the other hand, â€Å"do the right things†. Managers are concerned primarily with managing things. Leaders, on the other hand, are show concern for leading people.Dr. Healy’s short stint in the Red Cross showed that she was more than a leader th an a manager of the gargantuan relief service organization, whose organizational grandeur, financial resources and manpower are greater than the Philippine military establishment. In fact, she was described as â€Å"a tough professional who ruffled feathers but made things happen† and â€Å"a change agent for a culture resistant to change†.But amidst controversies generated from her tough program thrusts, changes and innovations and her strong leadership in the international Red Cross, she had to cave in to pressures even as the powerful board of governors had decided to fire her out. It came to pass that the Red Cross Red is after all a conservative, non transparent organizations with heavy decentralization down in its hierarchy, with people and chapters enmeshed in turf wars and to some extent rocked with financial anomalies and a blood business that has to be rectified. It was described to have a militaristic management and a politburo-like board of governors.Dr. He aly, who came in too passionate like a savior knight in shining armor, failed these to understand. Moreover, empathy as a vital organizational trait of a leader – as espoused by US Army logistics officer William Pagonis- was evidently lacking in the upmanship and leadership of Dr. Healy. In her rush to institute dramatic changes in the international Red Cross in the wake of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing she failed to factor in the use of empathy in drawing out support of Red Cross organizations under her leadership. As she was already hounded by criticisms right even in Red Cross board of governors, unlike Pagonis, Dr.Healy failed to build up team work and design a communication structure that could complement the Red Cross chain of command, the reason why her good intents and passions were misunderstood. She failed to approach Red Cross by managing than by leading, and to pursue a long-haul of transformation process. It worth to ponder that change requires time and pro cesses. In John Kotter’s Transformation Process in his book â€Å"Change or Die†, it takes many processes to transform men and in effect the organization, and many things have to be recognized and to make and unmake. On various areas where Dr.Healy was brought down particularly in her evident over zeal to make Red Cross perform and take novel pursuits with least shoring up of empathy to the men and women across and down the line of the organization, Kotter’s organizational processes are given much rationale*. Changing the behavior of people is the most important challenge for organizations trying to compete in a turbulent world, says John Kotter, a Harvard Business School professor who has studied dozens of organizations in the midst of upheaval: â€Å"The central issue is never strategy, structure, culture, or systems.The core of the matter is always about changing the behavior of people. Those people may be called upon to respond to profound upheavals in mark etplace dynamics — the rise of a new global competitor, say, or a shift from a regulated to a deregulated environment — or to a corporate reorganization, merger, or entry into a new business. And as individuals, we may want to change our own styles of work — how we mentor subordinates, for example, or how we react to criticism. Yet more often than not, we can’t. † In relevance to ours, the Philippine Army has to â€Å"Change or Die† if wanted to survive in the high-technological, constantly changing times.There have been more critiques leveled to the Philippine military in its organizational mission, efficacy and those relating organizational stresses and dysfunctions. The current thrusts and posturing of the country’s military for transformation have still a long way to go in so far as hurdling and taking tasks along the generalist processes spelled out. And let it be said now that changing the behavior of men and officers towards a m ission an ever-changing times is a daunting task of the Philippine Army.

Why Vegans Dont Wear Silk

Why Vegans Dont Wear Silk Its clear to most people why vegans dont eat meat or wear fur, but why vegans dont wear silk is less obvious. Silk fabric is made from the silk that is spun by silkworms when they form the cocoons for their pupal stage, before becoming a moth. Harvesting of this silk directly harms these creatures so, because vegans do not use products that exploit animals, vegans do not use silk. Although there are multiple ways to harvest and mass-produce silkworms for their secretions, they all involve the ownership and exploitation of these small insects, oftentimes killing them in the process of harvesting their silk. Since all insects are considered sentient - or at least possessed of a nervous and therefore capable of feeling (if not experiencing) pain - vegans value their animal right to a life free of suffering. How Is Silk Made? Mass-produced silk is made from domesticated silkworms,  Bombyx mori, raised on farms. The silkworms, who are in the caterpillar stage of the silk moth, are fed mulberry leaves until they are ready to spin cocoons and enter their pupal stage. The silk is secreted as a liquid from two glands in the caterpillars head. While they are still in their pupal stage, the cocoons are placed in boiling water, which kills the silkworms and begins the process of unraveling the cocoons to produce silk thread. If allowed to develop and live, the silkworms would turn into moths and chew their way out of the cocoons to escape. The chewed silk strands would be much shorter and less valuable than the whole cocoons. Approximately 15 silkworms are killed to make a gram of silk thread, and 10,000 are killed to make a silk sari. Silk thread can also be produced by killing silkworms while they are in their caterpillar stage, just before they spin their cocoons, and extracting the two silk glands. The glands can then be stretched into silk threads known as silkworm gut, which is used mainly to make fly fishing lures. Non-Violent Production Silk can also be made without killing the caterpillars. Eri silk or peace silk is made from the cocoons of Samia ricini, a type of silkworm who spins a cocoon with a tiny opening in the end. After metamorphosizing into moths, they crawl out of the opening. This type of silk cannot be reeled in the same way that Bombyx mori silk is reeled. Instead, it is carded and spun like wool. Eri silk represents a very small portion of the silk market. Another type of silk is Ahimsa silk, which is made from the cocoons of Bombyx mori moths after the moths chew their way out of their cocoons. Because of the chewed-through strands, less of the silk is usable for textile production and Ahimsa silk costs more than conventional silk. Ahimsa is the Hindu word for non-violence. Ahimsa silk, though popular with Jains, also represents a very small portion of the silk market. Why Don't Vegans Wear Silk? Vegans try to avoid harming and exploiting animals, which means that vegans do not use animal products, including meat, dairy, eggs, fur, leather, wool or silk. Dropping silkworms into boiling water kills the worms and probably causes them to suffer - depending on whether or not they actually can experience suffering, scientifically. Even Eri silk or Ahimsa silk are problematic because they involve the domestication, breeding, and exploitation of animals. Adult Bombyx mori silkmoths cannot fly because their bodies are too big compared to their wings, and adult males cannot eat because they have underdeveloped mouthparts. Similar to cows who have been bred for maximum meat or milk production, silkworms have been bred to maximize silk production, with no regard for the well-being of the animals. To vegans, the only possible ethical way to produce silk would be to collect cocoons from wild insects after the adult insects emerge from them and dont need them any longer. Another ethical way to wear silk would be to wear only second-hand silk, freegan silk, or old pieces of clothing that were purchased before one went vegan. Are Insects Sentient? While experts disagree over how much an insect can suffer or feel pain, most at least leave the door open on the question and believe it is possible that insects feel something that we would call pain. However, an insects nervous system is different from a mammals despite also transmitting signals from stimuli that cause a response in the creature. While some conclude that insects do not feel pain, at least not in the same emotional way that humans experience pain, they still believe that all creatures are deserving of humane treatment. Even if insects do not feel pain when dropped into boiling water, a death free of pain is still a death.

Eurasian Badger Facts

Eurasian Badger Facts The Eurasian badger or European badger (Meles meles) is a social, omnivorous mammal that resides in woodlands, pastures, suburbs, and urban parks throughout most of Europe and Asia. In Europe, the badgers are also known by several common names including brock, pate, grey, and bawson. Fast Facts: Eurasian Badger Scientific Name: Meles melesCommon Name(s): Eurasian badger, European badger, Asian badger. In Europe: brock, pate, grey, and bawsonBasic Animal Group: Mammal  Ã‚  Size: 22–35 inches longWeight: Females weigh between 14.5–30 pounds, males are 20–36 poundsLifespan: 6 yearsDiet:  OmnivoreHabitat: Europe and AsiaPopulation: Worldwide unknown; range size variesConservation Status: Least Concern; considered Endangered in Albania Description Eurasian badgers are powerfully built mammals that have a short, fat body and short, sturdy legs well suited for digging. The bottoms of their feet are naked and they have strong claws that are elongated with a sharp end honed for excavation. They have small eyes, small ears, and a long head. Their skulls are heavy and elongated and they have oval braincases. Their fur is grayish and they have black faces with white stripes on the top and sides of their face and neck. Badgers range in body length from about 22–35 inches, with a tail extending another 4.5 to 20 inches. Females weigh between 14.5–30 pounds, while males weigh from 20–36 pounds. DamianKuzdak/Getty Images Species Once thought to be a single species, some researchers split them into subspecies which are similar in appearance and behavior but have different ranges. Common badger (Meles meles meles)Cretan badger (Meles meles arcalus)Trans Caucasian badger (Meles meles canascens)Kizlyar badger (Meles meles heptneri)Iberian badger (Meles meles marianensis)Norwegian badger (Meles meles milleri)Rhodes badger (Meles meles rhodius)Fergana badger (Meles meles severzovi) Habitat European badgers are found throughout the British Isles, Europe, and Scandinavia. Their range extends westward to the Volga River. West of the Volga River, Asian badgers are common. They are most often studied as a group and referred to in the scholarly press simply as Eurasian badgers. Eurasian badgers prefer deciduous woods with clearings or open pastureland with small patches of wood. They are also found in a wide variety of temperate ecosystems, mixed and coniferous woodlands, scrub, suburban areas, and urban parks. Subspecies are found in mountains, plains, and even semi-deserts. Territory ranges vary depending on food availability and so reliable population estimates are not currently available. Diet Eurasian badgers are omnivores. They are opportunistic foragers that consume fruit, nuts, bulbs, tubers, acorns and cereal crops, as well as invertebrates such as earthworms, insects, snails, and slugs. They also eat small mammals such as rats, voles, shrews, moles, mice, and rabbits. When available, they will also feed on small reptiles and amphibians such as frogs, snakes, newts, and lizards. The badgers forage alone even when involved in a social group: Eurasian badgers live in territorial, mixed-sex social colonies each sharing a communal burrow. The animals are nocturnal and spend much of the daylight hours hidden away in their setts. Behavior Eurasian badgers are social animals that live in colonies of six to 20 individuals made up of multiple males, breeding and non-breeding females, and cubs. The groups create and reside in a network of underground tunnels known as a sett or den. Some setts are large enough to house more than a dozen badgers and can have tunnels that are as much as 1,000 feet long with numerous openings to the surface. Badgers excavate their setts in well-drained soils that are easy to dig in. The tunnels are 2–6 feet beneath the surface of the ground and the badgers often construct large chambers where they sleep or care for their young. When digging tunnels, badgers create large mounds outside the entryway. By placing entrances on slopes, the badgers can push the debris down the hill and away from the opening. They do the same when cleaning out their sett, pushing bedding material and other waste out and away from the opening. Groups of badgers are known as colonies and each colony may construct and use several different setts throughout their territory. The setts they use depend on the distribution of food resources within their territory as well as whether or not it is breeding season and young are to be raised in the sett. Setts or sections of setts not used by badgers are sometimes occupied by other animals such as foxes or rabbits. Like bears, badgers experience winter sleep during which time they become less active but their body temperature does not drop as it does in full hibernation. In late summer, badgers begin to gain the weight they will need to power themselves through their winter sleep period. Reproduction Eurasian badgers are polygynous, meaning males mate with multiple females but females only mate with one male. Within social groups, however, only the dominant male and female mate. Dominant females are known to kill cubs from non-dominant females in the social group. Badgers can mate year round, but most commonly in late winter through early spring and late summer through early fall. At times, males expand their territories to cross-breed with extra-group females. Gestation lasts between 9 and 21 months and litters produce 1–6 cubs at a time; females are fertile during pregnancy so multiple paternity births are common. Cubs first emerge from their dens after eight to 10 weeks and are weaned by the age of 2.5 months. They are sexually mature at about a year old, and their lifespans are typically six years, although the oldest known wild badger lived to 14. TonyBaggett/Getty Images Threats European badgers do not have many predators or natural enemies. In some parts of their range, wolves, dogs, and lynxes pose a threat. In some areas, Eurasian badgers live side-by-side other predators such as foxes without conflict. The IUCN Red List comments that since Eurasian badgers occur in many protected areas and there are high densities found in anthropogenic habitats in large parts of its range, the Eurasian badger is highly unlikely to be declining at nearly the rate required to qualify for listing even as Near Threatened. They are targeted for hunting for food or persecuted as a pest, and in some urban and suburban areas, the population has decreased. Although estimates are unreliable, researchers believe the overall population has been increasing throughout their range since the 1980s. During the mid-1990s, the Badgers were classed Lower Risk/least concern (LR/LC) because of elevated occurrence of rabies and tuberculosis, although those diseases have since decreased substantially. Sources Carpenter, Petra J., et al. Mating System of the Eurasian Badger. Molecular Ecology 14.1 (2005): 273-84. Print.,Meles Meles, in a High Density Populationda Silva, Jack, David W. MacDonald, and Peter G. H. Evans. Net Costs of Group Living in a Solitary Forager, the Eurasian Badger (Meles meles). Behavioral Ecology 5.2 (1994): 151-58. Print.Frantz, A. C., et al. Reliable Microsatellite Genotyping of the Eurasian Badger (Meles Meles) Using Faecal DNA. Molecular Ecology 12.6 (2003): 1649-61. Print.Frantz, Alain C., et al. Estimating Population Size by Genotyping Remotely Plucked Hair: The Eurasian Badger. Journal of Applied Ecology 41.5 (2004): 985-95. Print.Kranz, A., A.V. Abramov, J. Herrero, and T. Maran. Meles meles. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.T29673A45203002, 2016.  Wang, A. Eurasian badgers (Meles meles). Animal Diversity, 2011.

The History of Vending Machines

The History of Vending Machines Vending or automatic retailing, as the process of selling merchandise via automated machine is increasingly known, has a long history. The first recorded example of the vending machine comes from the Greek mathematician Hero of Alexandria, who  invented a device that dispensed  holy water inside Egyptian temples.   Other early examples include small machines made of brass that dispensed tobacco, were found in  some taverns in England around  1615.  In 1822, an English  publisher and bookshop owner named  Richard Carlile built a newspaper dispensing machine  that allowed patrons to purchase banned works. And it was in  1867 that the first fully automatic vending machine, which  dispensed  stamps, appeared.   Coin-Operated Vending Machines During the early 1880s, the first commercial coin-operated vending machines were introduced in London, England. Invented in 1883 by  Percival Everitt, the machines were found at railway stations and  post offices, as they were a convenient way to purchase  envelopes,  postcards, and  notepaper. And in 1887, the first vending machine servicer, the  Sweetmeat Automatic Delivery Company, was founded.   In 1888, the Thomas Adams Gum Company introduced the very first vending machines to the United States. The machines were installed on the elevated subway platforms in New York City and sold Tutti-Fruiti gum. In 1897, the Pulver Manufacturing Company added animated figures to its gum machines as an added attraction. The round, candy-coated gumball, and gumball vending machines were introduced in 1907. Coin-Operated Restaurants Soon, vending machines were available that offered almost everything, including cigars, postcards, and stamps. In Philadelphia, a completely coin-operated automat restaurant called Horn Hardart was opened in 1902 and stayed opened until 1962. Such fast-food restaurants, called automats, only took nickels and were popular among struggling  songwriters and  actors, as well as celebrities of that era.   Beverage Vending Machines Machines that dispensed drinks go as far back as 1890. The very first beverage vending machine was located in Paris, France and allowed people to buy beer wine and liquor. In the early 1920s, the first automatic vending machines started dispensing  sodas  into cups. Today, beverages are among the most popular items sold through vending machines.   Cigarettes in Vending Machines In 1926, an American inventor named William Rowe invented the cigarette vending machine. Over time, however, they became increasingly less common in the United States due to concerns over underage buyers. In other countries, vendors have addressed the issue by requiring that some sort of age verification, such as a drivers license, bank card or ID be inserted before a purchase can be made. Cigarette dispensing machines are still common in  Germany, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Japan.   Specialty Vending Machines Food, beverages, and cigarettes are the most common items sold in vending machines, but the list of specialty items sold by this form of automation is almost endless, as a quick survey of any airport or bus terminal will tell you. The vending machine industry took a big jump around 2006 when credit card scanners started to become common on vending machines. Within ten years, almost every new vending machine was equipped to accept credit cards. This opened the door to the sale of many high-priced items through vending machines. Here are just some of the specialty products that have been offered via vending machine:   Fishing baitOn-line internet timeLottery ticketsBooksElectronics, including I-pads,  cell phones, digital cameras, and computers.  Hot foods, such as french fries and pizzaLife insuranceCondoms and other contraceptivesOver-the-counter drugsMarijuanaAutomobiles Yes, you read that last item correctly.  In late 2016, Autobahn Motors in Singapore opened a luxury car vending machine that offered Ferrari  and  Lamborghini  cars. Buyers clearly need hefty limits on their credit cards.   Japan, Land of the Vending Machines Japan has gained a reputation for having some of the most innovative use of vending machines, offering machines that offer products including fresh fruits and vegetables, sake, hot foods, batteries, flowers, clothing and, of course, sushi. In fact, Japan has the highest per capita rate of vending machines in the world.   The Future of Vending Machines A coming trend is the advent of smart vending machines that offer things like cashless payment; face, eye, or fingerprint recognition,  and social media connectivity. It is likely that the vending machines of the future will recognize your identity and tailor their offerings to your interests and tastes. A beverage vending machine, for example, may well recognize what you have purchased at other vending machines all around the world and ask you if you want your usual skim latte with a double shot of vanilla.   Market research projects that by 2020, 20% of all vending machines will be smart machines, with at least 3.6 million units knowing who you are and what youd like.

Short articles about sex, gender and society Essay - 1

Short articles about sex, gender and society - Essay Example Her decision to be a boy was met with chastisement, as are transgender people (etc.), because they defy the norm of two genders, male and female. In the article about being fat and then losing the weight, she experienced a radically different social sentiment about her. She was labeled as fat, which has stereotypical implications in which society sees the fat individual as, perhaps, stupid and socially irrelevant. When she became thin, people began to praise her, believe in her health-consciousness, and talk about being fat in a negative connotation as though she had evolved and was now smart enough to avoid gaining excessive weight again. None saw the real person, just a label of fat that carried negative social opinion, not allowing society to see the authentic nature of her personality and character. She suddenly found social belonging after losing weight, which again speaks toward society’s prejudices that attempt to define how a person should be categorized within a broader societal context. While in â€Å"Fifty Shades of Gay†, the speaker states that she fits in a gray area, being attracted to both men and women, how society views her is complicated. She had to learn to reject some of this social sentiment to become familiarized with her true self, one that does not fit the stereotypical norms of gender and sexuality. She learned who she truly is: An individual that defies such norms and has learned to find peace and comfort with her own decision-making that is relevant for her own needs and desires. I think that someone knows who they are when they are willing to be somewhat non-conformist to society’s expectations. By getting in touch with what mechanisms drive their sexuality (as one example), they can be confident and satisfied even though the world does not recognize their social significance. The individual discussing her weight loss had a

Marketing Communitations Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing Communitations Paper - Essay Example In essence, marketing communication is among the most basic aspects in enterprise interactions, yet the most challenging to state. Technically, it may imply anything, which the marketing sector generates to meet prospects and clients, regardless of if the mode used is the sales brochure, press release, or advertisement (Luxenberg 27). Marketing interactions is largely concentrated on developing items, as desired, to assist develop brand awareness, create hints, raise Web site traffic, pulled shoppers, and attain other goals associated to improving products and services. To finish their multiple projects as well as campaigns, marketing communications coordinators usually work with representatives, freelancers, and design organizations to alongside their in-house employees. For centuries, Sushi in Japan has turned to be significantly common in Western world (Karimi). Currently, Sushi targets everyone young to old as it offers both a bar and restaurant services of separate but adjacent buildings. Regardless of usual reaction of disgust at the likelihood of consuming uncooked fish, Sushi is just a meek and pleasant meal, which may just be liked by its target audience that include children, adults vegetarians, as well as the exceedingly squeamish. Sushi is a remarkably heal dish mainly fish, rice, and vegetables since it has to often be made with fresh ingredients. This is not just for consumer’s safety but also to enhance its flavor that is improved using ginger, soya sauce, and wasabi. For the Sushi encounters, it may be linked to the NBC Bay Area City where at Silicon Valley’s worldwide accessibility and impressive slams at AT&T park just offers the best (Karimi). The Bay Area City is greater than a region – it is the way people participate and where brand belongs. Just like Sushi meal, NBC Bay Area links locals with individuals, events, and places that concern them. The city boost of its events that attract people from across the world, ther efore, collaborating with healthy fast-serve sushi provides them with essential events, content, and characteristics making the joint a center of conversation. Such a marketing strategy of associating with other renowned companies ensures steadiness and proven growth throughout (Clow& Baack 6). Sushi has made the lead in mainstream dining, currently accessible in multiple of buffets alongside grocery stores. The major designated market areas (DMAs) for the clients, therefore, are at major joints in town like NBC Bay Area City. by making the major towns DMAs, they will get support since the NBC Bay Area provisions generate creative prospects for their brand. The town involves their worth regional audience with schedules such as â€Å"Class action,† evaluating public learning matters, or â€Å"Press† at this DMA, technology show and association blog attract even the hardcore individuals. These selected DMAs for Sushi also takes advantage of the 2011 Giants strategies, th at opens even more opportunities since such events are attended regularly and in different places. Once the brand has been identified, people will just be placing orders and Sushi restaurant will grow steadily (Clow& Baack 7). On the other hand, United States census forecast indicates modern trends of growth nationwide. The nation is modifying, which also leads to changes in people’

White Paper Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

White Paper - Case Study Example Frequent downtime of the Organization’s network turned out to be a serious business problem for MMPS. Considering the potential problems associated with the existing network of MMPS, a new technology that addresses the above discussed issues has to be incorporated in the Organization. Virtual Private Network technology (VPN) claims to be the most appropriate technology for MMPA to bridge the gaps left by the current environment. VPN is a fast, reliable, secure technology developed to cater the needs of the growing Organizations which have multiple offices or customer locations across the globe. A remote user who needs to access Organizations’ network is also benefited by this technology. 1. Economic Efficiency – VPN replaces expensive leased or frame relay lines and it enables to connect remote users to their corporate networks with reduced overall operational cost. In the case of a managed VPN service the savings can be even greater 3. Scalability - Organizations using a VPN can support expansion of network capacity and reach of the network by simply opening more accounts with their ISP (Internet service provider) without adding significant physical infrastructure Security risk -Inadequate protection of data at the point just before entering the VPN, or once after leaving the VPN because of improper assessment of risk arising out of VPN. Poor user credentials for authentication will cause cracking of credentials. Spread of viruses, worms, and Trojans from remote computers to the internal network is also a risk/ Third-party risk – Poor Choice of an third party service provider which follows poor management of processes. Poor relationship management with the third party may lead to abuse of data passing through VPN n.a (n.d). IS Auditing Guideline: G25 Review of Virtual Private Networks. Retrieved From

Thematic critical analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Thematic critical analysis - Essay Example The novel takes place in a seventeenth century Puritan community, when it is discovered that Hester has been unfaithful to her long gone husband. As punishment she is forced to wear the letter "A" on her forever. Wearing the letter "A", symbolizing for adultery, was the real punishment in the Puritan community; however even in history there is never any mention of the letter being of red color. The main focus of the story is how Hester is forced to wear the scarlet colored letter on her all the time. Hawthorn specifically made sure that the letter was of the color red. He chose the color red purposely, his inspiration with British History had a hand in this as well. "In Northumberland's lament appears a reference to the day of judgment as an occasion when a person's sins are exposed and judged-the record described as a type of list, or bead-rolUXmt 116)^ and as a "black booke" to be "vnclaspt" at that time (118). This reference to a book of judgment and damnation presents nothing less than a source for the imagistic link in The Scarlet Letter between the embroidered letter worn by Hester-as well as the transgression which brought her such punishment-and the book of the "Black Man," in which the letters of the sinner's name would be inscribed in the scarlet hue of their own blood (Canadas 45). It is explained here by Canadas that the color red was chosen due to its association with blood and the severity of the crime. In the "Black Man" the names of the sinners will be written in their own blood. Sinners have committed unforgivable offenses for which it must be shown to the world, through their own blood, that harshness of their offence. In this same manner Hawthorn shows that Hester must wear the letter in the color red. It is a symbol of her offence against her marriage, her husband and most of all the pureness and innocence of the community. Which brings us to the next point, the social standards of this community are very narrow. This shows the influence of the environment in which Hester resided. If adultery had been committed in the twenty-first century, no one could have even though about physically punishing Hester. It still would have been looked down upon, but it would be her private life. Lets take a closer look at time frame and setting of this novel. It is mid-seventeenth century, Boston, Massachusetts. When Hawthorn this novel it was 1840 in Salem, his story takes place only two hundred years prior to the actual time. Let us also keep in mind that Hawthorn himself was from the Puritan descendants and therefore his literary flair was limited. "According to Nathaniel Hawthorne's biographer, Henry James, Jr. Hawthorne's heritage as a descendant of the "clearest Puritan strain" served to restrict his literary talent to the exploration of one theme: the "consciousness of sin""(Taylor 135). The main focus of the Pur itans was the sin and how to erase it. Obviously this kind of breeding led to Hawthorne only being able to write about this subject. The conscious sin refers to the sin that is committed even after obtaining the knowledge that this behavior is forbidden and will be condemned. However even after having this knowledge and understanding the consequences when one still commits a sin, it is referred to as

Quote expansions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Quote expansions - Essay Example The streams of traditional progressive, radical queer and trans politics developed over time and in the context of a rapidly changing political, economic, and social landscape. There are two main features of the second half of the twentieth century that shaped the context in which the queer and trans movement developed which includes the active resistance and challenge by radical movement to state violence, and subsequent systematic counterattack, and the immense disorder and transformation of the global economy. Queer, trans, and gender nonconforming people are funneled into the criminal system for many reasons but primarily due to systemic oppression because trans, queer, and gender-variant people experience widespread discrimination, harassment and violence. This interprets into higher risks of imprisonment. Administrating gender can relate the above concept to three precise areas of jurisprudence where the presidential term of gender customs causes trains people the most difficulty. They consist of classification, sex separation, and access to health care. This concept illustrates how anti-discrimination and hate crime laws, are not succeeding to target the most pressing legal problems of the community. Furthermore, it conceptualizes how the governmental focus on areas like poverty law, immigration law, and disability law are the right objects of law reform intercessions. After the 9/11 attacks, the attitude toward gay and lesbian rights changed a bit, as Duggan (44) suggests. This reading relates to Spade’s reading in that it states how neoliberal politicians and state employers started accepting the diversity at the least level. There have been gestures of inclusion from the government, such as from Bush’s administration in the past, which aimed at including the sexual minorities into employment and other areas of life. No matter they are a

Hong Kongs Economy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hong Kongs Economy - Research Paper Example In 2006 alone, Hong Kong with its population of 6.857 million enjoyed the recognition of being the world's freest (1st of 155) economy (Heritage 2007: 205) for the thirteenth straight year, the 11th (of 125 countries) most competitive nation on earth (World Economic Forum 2006: xvii), the 6th richest economy in the world in terms of per capita GDP at current market prices (HKSAR 2007: 14), and the world's 2nd most competitive economy after the U.S. (IMD 2006: 7). Before going into a discussion of Hong Kong's economic statistics in the last ten years, it would be appropriate to summarize the main events that took place during the period which had noticeable effects on its economic performance. Shortly after the handover in July 1997, Hong Kong was caught in the middle of the Asian financial crisis that lasted until late 1998. As its economy rebounded, it was then hit by the global economic downturn in 2000-2001. By 2002, Hong Kong's economy was recovering with the rest of the world when it was hit by a health scare: fatal cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) turned away tourists and led many skilled workers to leave. From 2004-2005, political problems related to pro-democracy strikes by locals created instability that led to the resignation of its Chief Executive, Tung Chee Hwa, who was into his second term of office. These events explain some of the movements in Hong Kong's economic indicators during the ten-year period. Nature of Hong Kong's Economy Hong Kong's economic performance in the last ten years can be better understood by reviewing briefly how its economy functions. Hong Kong was "developed" by its former British colonizers in the mid-19th century as a free port and evolved into the world's freest economy by the time of its handover in 1997. Its economy enjoys a liberal investment regime without trade barriers, no discrimination against overseas investors, free capital movement, an established rule of law, transparent regulations, low tax rates, a government that does not interfere with the private sector, allowing businessmen to do anything to make money within the law. Supported by world-class infrastructure (airport, seaports, road transport, energy, communications, housing, etc.) and highly-skilled labor from all over the world, Hong Kong is home to the regional offices of thousands of multinational corporations. Its main natural resources are its people, government policies, an ideal seaport, and location close to China. Hong Kong transformed its economy from one that was manufacturing-based and export-led after the communist takeover of China in 1949 into one that is now dominated by services - trading, legal and financial services, tourism, property ownership and development, and re-export of goods manufactured in China. Latest figures (in 2006) show that services accounted for over 90% of Hong Kong's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of HK$ 1.47 trillion, and that this is even exceeded by the value of its goods (mostly re-exports from China) amounting to HK$ 5.07 trillion (HKSAR 2007: 20-24; Heritage 2007: 205-206). With the exchange rate at a rel atively stable level of HK$ 7.768 per U.S. Dollar (US$) in 2006, these figures translate into US$ 189.2 billion of GDP, a per capita income of US$ 27,598 and total annual trade of US$ 652.7 billion. Economic Indicators The following key economic indicato

Quote expansions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Quote expansions - Essay Example The streams of traditional progressive, radical queer and trans politics developed over time and in the context of a rapidly changing political, economic, and social landscape. There are two main features of the second half of the twentieth century that shaped the context in which the queer and trans movement developed which includes the active resistance and challenge by radical movement to state violence, and subsequent systematic counterattack, and the immense disorder and transformation of the global economy. Queer, trans, and gender nonconforming people are funneled into the criminal system for many reasons but primarily due to systemic oppression because trans, queer, and gender-variant people experience widespread discrimination, harassment and violence. This interprets into higher risks of imprisonment. Administrating gender can relate the above concept to three precise areas of jurisprudence where the presidential term of gender customs causes trains people the most difficulty. They consist of classification, sex separation, and access to health care. This concept illustrates how anti-discrimination and hate crime laws, are not succeeding to target the most pressing legal problems of the community. Furthermore, it conceptualizes how the governmental focus on areas like poverty law, immigration law, and disability law are the right objects of law reform intercessions. After the 9/11 attacks, the attitude toward gay and lesbian rights changed a bit, as Duggan (44) suggests. This reading relates to Spade’s reading in that it states how neoliberal politicians and state employers started accepting the diversity at the least level. There have been gestures of inclusion from the government, such as from Bush’s administration in the past, which aimed at including the sexual minorities into employment and other areas of life. No matter they are a

News reading Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

News reading - Essay Example Consequently, the Chinese and other critics had to demand the Malaysian government for reasonable explanations. The article mentions that after China asked Malaysia to explain their findings, the Prime Minister was not able to give a quick reply. This only shows that the earlier announcement has not been thought of well. I think Malaysia should have expected that people will definitely ask why they are searching a certain place especially so that the plane would unlikely course through the remote area of the ocean. Malaysia clearly did not perform well in this circumstance and therefore needs to work harder on the issue. On the other hand, the effort of Australia to extend help is commendable. Although Australia is not directly involved in the event, her performance of her moral duties as a nation near the location means a lot. Other countries also joined forces for the fast resolution of the tragedy. It is interesting to note that in its closing, the article says that the search can take years because of the characteristics of the ocean but is quick to mention the fast recovery of Air France which faced a similar fate in

Fast food restaurant Essay Example for Free

Fast food restaurant Essay Description of Great Burger GB is the fourth largest fast food chain worldwide, measured by the number of stores in operation. As most of its competitors do, GB offers food and combos for the three largest meal occasions: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Even though GB owns some of its stores, it operates under the franchising business model with 85 percent of its stores owned by franchisees (individuals own and manage stores, pay franchise fee to GB, but major business decisions (e.g. , menu, look of store) controlled by GB). McKinsey study As part of its growth strategy GB has analyzed some potential acquisition targets including Heavenly Donuts (HD), a growing doughnut producer with both a U. S. and international store presence. HD operates under the franchising business model too, though a little bit differently than GB. While GB franchises restaurants, HD franchises areas or regions in which the franchisee is required to open a certain number of stores. GBs CEO has hired McKinsey to advise him on whether they should acquire HD or not. 1. What areas would you want to explore to determine whether GB should acquire HD? The team started thinking about potential synergies that could be achieved by acquiring HD. Here are some key facts on GB and HD. Exhibit 1 |Stores |GB |HD | |[pic]Total |5,000 |1,020 | |[pic][pic]North America |3,500 |1000 | |[pic][pic]Europe |1,000 |20 | |[pic][pic]Asia |400 |0 | |[pic][pic]Other |100 |0 | |[pic]Annual growth in stores |10% |15% |. |Financials |GB |HD | |[pic]Total store sales |$5,500m |$700m | |[pic]Parent company revenue |$1,900m |$200m | |[pic]Key expenses (% sales) | | | |[pic][pic]Cost of sales |51% |40% | |[pic][pic]Restaurant operating costs |24% |26% | |[pic][pic]Restaurant property equipment costs |4. 6% |8. 5% | |[pic][pic]Corporate general administrative costs |8% |15% | |[pic]Profit as % of sales |6. 3% |4. 9% | |[pic]Sales/stores |$1. 1m |$0. 7m | |[pic]Industry average |$0. 9m |$0. 8m | [pic] 2. What potential synergies can you think of between GB and HD? 3. The team thinks that with synergies, it should be possible to double HD’s U. S. market share in the next 5 years, and that GB’s access to capital will allow it to expand the number of HD stores by 2. 5 times. What sales per store will HD require in 5 years in order for GB to achieve these goals? Does this seem reasonable? Use any data from Exhibit 1 you need, additionally, make the following assumptions: †¢ Doughnut consumption/capita in the U. S. is $10/year today, and is projected to grow to $20/year in 5 years. †¢ For ease of calculation, assume U. S. population is 300m. 4. One of the synergies that the team thinks might have a big potential is the idea of increasing the businesses overall profitability by selling doughnuts in GB stores. How would you assess the profitability impact of this synergy? 5. What would be the incremental profit per store if we think we are going to sell 50,000 doughnuts per store at a price of $2 per doughnut at a 60 percent margin with a cannibalization rate of 10 percent of GBs sales? Exhibit 2 |Sales and profitability per store | | |Units of GB sold per store |300 thousand | |Sales price per unit |$3 per unit | |Margin |50 percent | | | |Units of HD sold in GB stores |50 thousand | |Sales price per unit |$2 per unit | |Margin |60 percent | |Cannibalization rate of HD products to GB products |10 percent | 6. You run into the CEO of GB in the hall. He asks you to summarize McKinsey’s perspective so far on whether GB should acquire HD. Pretend the interviewer is the CEO–what would you say?

Investigating Osmosis :: Papers

Investigating Osmosis Aim To find out how osmosis affects the mass of a chip through different sugar solutions. Apparatus Petri dishes (6) Chips Ruler Thermometer 30 cm3 Solutions (6) DI, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1M Measuring Cylinder Knife Weighing scales Definition Osmosis is the movement of water molecules from a high concentration of water molecules to a lower concentration of water molecules through a semi-permeable membrane. Prelims Before doing this practical, I did a preliminary experiment. This was to help with my prediction and also to improve my main practical. This experiment was quick. It was just the same as the actual practical but it helped me to change certain things. I recorded 3 different changes in mass of the chips in each of the solutions at different times. DI 0.2 m 0.4 m 0.6 m 0.8 m 1m 4cm 4cm 4cm 4cm 4cm 4cm 1 hour 4cm 4cm 4cm 4cm 4cm 4cm 1 1/2 hours 4.1cm 4cm 4cm 3.8cm 3.8cm 3.6cm 2 hours 4 cm 3.9cm 3.5cm 3.6cm 3.4cm 3.2cm I’ve now decided to weigh the chips at the start and finish. This is to get more accurate readings. It will be easier to spot any anomalous results if one chip is compared to two others. I have decided to leave the chips in the solution for a longer period of time (overnight) I found that the longer I left the chips in the solution the more the mass changed. I did this to get more accurate results. Variables The only thing verifying in this experiment is going to be the concentration of the sugar in each of the solutions in the 6 different

The Unhealthy Diet of College Students Essay -- Expository Research Es

The Unhealthy Diet of College Students People eat food every day without thinking twice about it, because it is a necessity for us to live. How often do you think about what is in the foods that you eat? How many calories does it have? Are there any vitamins and minerals in it? Is it high in fat? For most of us and especially college students who live a busy life on the go, the answer to that question is probably no. Since becoming a recent graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania Academy of Culinary Arts, I have been more interested in food and what people are eating. Also since more young Americans are becoming obese I want to find out what they are eating and where. Going to college and seeing how students have poor eating habits I want to find out why they are eating this way. Is it because they are away from home for the first time? Or is it because that is the only food that is available for them? I also want to find out if students would eat healthier if it was provided for them? My hypothesis is that students eat unhealthy because it is more convenient for them. There is usually no time to cook a homemade meal and most college students are always in a hurry so it is easier to pick up takeout. Also most college students don’t know how to cook. I also believe that most college students don’t care if the food is unhealthy for them, as long as it tastes good. Hopefully, in the following pages I will uncover the wide world of college eating. The research methods that I used for this paper were surveys, interviews and observations. I performed a survey on ten college students in which I asked various yes and no questions and ones with various multiple-choice answers. Do you have a meal ... ...omething to go. I found out that college student’s want foods that are quick, taste good, and cheap. The limitation to my research was that I only passed out ten surveys all at the cafeteria. Perhaps if I did more or passed them out at a different location I might have gotten different results. I also only interviewed two people, and a larger sample might have changed my results. Also only observing my roommates shopping might have limited me to what I always eat, other college students might buy healthier foods when they shop. Take a minute now and think about what you eat in an average day and see if you fall into the categories of eating unhealthy with the majority of college students. Next time you buy something to eat take a second and look what’s in it and think to yourself. Should I be eating this? Or is there something healthier that I could be eating?

“Finding Nemo” Introduction to Film Essay

‘Finding Nemo’ (2003) was written and directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich. This is a computer animated movie that takes you into the breathtaking underwater world of Australia’s: Great Barrier Reef. That is an amazing story between a bond for a parent and child. In the movie the father fish Marlin a clown fish voiced by Albert Brooks loses his wife Coral and 499 of their 500 children to a hungry barracuda fish. Marlin then becomes an over protected father to his one short fin remaining son also a clown fish Nemo that is voiced by Alexander Gould. However, Nemo gets annoyed by his father’s over protected ways and rebels and swims past the drop-off of the coral reef to touch a boat. Although Nemo touches the boat Nemo gets swept up by a scuba diver dentist from Sydney Australia on his way back to his father Marlin. In this animated movie the directors then goes to tell an amazing story of adventure, determination and the love of a father while Marlin takes on the big bad sea to find his son all while his son takes on an adventure of his own to find his father. There is no wonder why this was an Oscar winning movie and even ten years later this is still amazing families everywhere. As a mother of a five year old ‘Finding Nemo’ came out before my son was born but that has not stopped my son from watching it over and over again. This is one classic movie that Pixar decided to re –release this movie in 3D in 2012 nine years after it was released originally. In Marlin’s adventures to find Nemo he encounters Dory voiced by Ellen DeGeneres which is a regal blue tang fish that suffers from short term memory loss. Marlin and Dory then grow a great friendship as they battle all the unknowns of the barring sea. They friend both scary and nice creatures such as: sharks, whales, jelly fish, sea turtles, pelicans and much more all in their pursuit to find Nemo. All the while Nemo finds himself in a dentist office fish tank. Nemo just as egger to get back to his dad Marlin, Nemo befriends the other fish in the tank to help him try to escape. They come up with different ideas both good and bad to help Nemo try to get to his dad. After both Marlin and Nemo go through all the trials and tribulations of trying to find one another the movie then ends by Nemo’s last attempt to play dead to be taken out of the fish bowl to be flushed down the toilet which enters a pipe that lands him in the ocean once and for all and where he gets reunited with his dad and new friend Dory. At the end of the movie it shows Nemo’s dad Marlin and Dory dropping Nemo back off to school to go out and learn yet this time both Marlin and Nemo are much more relaxed and ok with Nemo starting school. Where the director then shows that the dad is finally letting Nemo be a kid and give him some independents. He shows that Nemo is finally understands his dad’s worries from the beginning. This movie is a one of a kind and will always be part of my family as well as others. This is the one movie my son always wants to watch when he is sick and makes him feel better and he loves every moment of it. Pixar has stated that all ch aracters are signed up to star in Finding Nemo 2 and will be released in 2016. ‘Finding Nemo’s ‘â€Å"director /writer Andrew Stanton’s riveting story, filled with good humor, wrenching emotions, charming characters and a gently place message about the bond between parents and children.† (Salt Lake Tribune). I think the director nailed this one on the nose. This movie to parents is a tear jerker and to a child they see how much parents will go thought to save them from anything good and bad. This movie is such like a cartoon for kids but at the same time this is a computer animated movie that both kids and adults love this movie. The director put just enough adult humor in the movie that kids loves it just as much as the adult. ‘Finding Nemo’ to me as well as many other is such an epic movie to see and feel what each characters feels at that moment. The music and pictures flows with the movie and is just brilliant. The colors of the movie are vibrant and show the breath taking version of the ocean. The characters that are in the movie where once scary such as sharks but the vision of the director shows there is a good and a bad side to these once vicious creatures. As one cite explains ‘Finding Nemo’ is perfect it â€Å"will forever be a Disney-Pixar favorite. It’s hard to resist its brilliant storytelling, clever dialogue and unique characters.† (Veneziani). In conclusion, most people think that â€Å"Animated films are often dismissed as children’s entertainment† (Goodkootz & Jacobs). This film once consider great for all ages. ‘Finding Nemo’ once was and still is ten years later a figment in many homes as well as children location such as hospitals, dentist offices and schools. This is a great film for kids to learn the great meaning of parents. People have come up with great line such as Abraham Lincoln with saying â€Å"this too shall pass.† However, Dory in the movie said it better with â€Å"just keep swimming.† References Johnson, C. (2010, July 26). We Love Pixar: What I Learned From ‘Finding Nemo’. Breitbart. Retrieved from http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2010/07/26/We-Love-Pixar–What-I-Learned-From-Finding-Nemo Means, S. P. (2012, September 12). Movie Review: â€Å"Finding Nemo’ still a great fish story. Salt Lake Tribune [Salt Lake], p. 1. Veneziani, L. (2012, September 14). ‘Finding Nemo 3D’ Review: Pixar Gem Still Astounds With or Without Glasses. Breitbart. Retrieved from http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2012/09/13/Finding-Nemo-3D-Review-Pixar-s-Classic-Still-Looks-Amazing Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From Watching to Seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Monster Verses Monster

Today, people still recognize the ghastly, atrocious Frankenstein as a monster, but according to Deems Taylor’s Monster, Richard Wagner is the monstrous beast. Monsters are expected to be frightening like Frankenstein, but some monsters are real humans like Richard Wagner. Oddly, when comparing Frankenstein and Wagner–they certainly share some of the same grim features. Frankenstein and Wagners’ faces manifest a gloomy expression of black death. Their spirit for life lacks warmth in their eyes. Frankenstein’s eyes are hollow and dreary covered with drooping, eyelids, and underneath his eyes are massive sandbags. Similarly, Wagner’s vengeful gaze leers inertly like a frozen statue. Taylor says, â€Å"[he has] a genius for making enemies† (695). The pasty bags (sagging above his cheekbones) are blown up like air pockets. Moreover, they share similar shriveled lips. Frankenstein’s colorless lips are dimly distorted like the mouth of a ruined, porcelain doll. While Wagner’s, sickly, pale lips evoke a spine-chilling eeriness causing most people to shutter; it’s the kind that makes the skin crawl with goose bumps. Undoubtedly, their cold expressions are lifeless, and wicked; however, the size and shape of their heads are equally dreadful. Their large, peculiar, heads resemble a heavy mass wobbling like a bobble head. Their foreheads dominate their gigantic skulls. Frankenstein’s forehead is like a stretched-canvas awning for protection over his eyes. It protrudes along his brow like a piece of metal rod lodged underneath his skin. Likewise, Wagner’s receding hairline emphasizes the size of his enormous skull. According to Taylor, he states, â€Å"[his] head is too big for his body† (693). Furthermore, the structure of their chins is abnormally malformed. Frankenstein’s square chin bulks like a block of wood wedged into his bottom jaw. Its size is the dimension of a small building. On the other hand, Wagner’s narrow, pointy chin extends like an arrow heading for its target. Indeed, the likeness of Frankenstein and Wagners’ massive skulls are laughably creepy. Nonetheless, the magnitude of resemblance is uncanny. All the same, the fearsome expressions on a face or the bizarre proportions of a body can depict a vision of a monster. Frankenstein is a character, created, monster, but Wagner is a real person; a monster in the eyes of Taylor. As attested by Taylor, â€Å"the name of [his] monster [is] Richard Wagner† (695).

What It Is Called Legitimate Knowledge for Clones

What it is called legitimate knowledge for clones. An educational institution is a form of institution that is used to educate people. Educational institutions are essential for society to produce knowledge people (workers). Schools are designed to produce limitless knowledge in every aspect of life. However, the â€Å"men† behind schools tend to be selective in producing knowledge and constructing ideas. This paper intends to give an explanation of how schools can be hazardous by using concepts of Stuart Hall in his book, Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, and Michael W.Apple and Nancy R. King in the article of â€Å"What Do Schools Teach†. These concepts applied to the hailsham case in the novel of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro to indicate that an educational institution like hailsham can be harmful due to the controlling and manipulating information for other purpose so that it generates what it is called legitimate knowledge for t he clones. Hailsham is the sole source in constructing inhumane ideas to the students that reflect their destiny as donors and perceived a short life.In the novel of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, students are taught that they are destined to be donors, and after the fourth donation their short life is granted. According to Stuart Hall in Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, he brings up a topic about discourse, power and knowledge, which created by Michel Foucault. Hall believes that in Foucault’s theory of discourse can be define as â€Å"’how human beings understand themselves in our culture’ and how our knowledge about ‘the social, the embodied individual and share meanings† (Hall 43).In other words, hall stated Foucault’s idea about discourse as how people discuss or understand the idea of things in certain society. Hall also stated Foucault’s idea about only certain social institutions, such as s chool, have the power to construct meaning, create truth or knowledge about things among society. That is to say that school is one of the sources that plays an important role in shaping students understanding of something.Therefore, being the sole sources that creates ideas on people’s mind, telling them to be donors and have a short live is not a pleasant idea to be embedded in people’s minds. Beside the concept above, Educational institutions can be harmful due to the knowledge control. According to Michael W. Apple and Nancy R. King, â€Å"the study of educational knowledge is a study in ideology, the investigation of what is considered legitimate knowledge (be it knowledge of the logical type of â€Å"that,† â€Å"how† or â€Å"to†) by specific social groups and classes, in specific institutions, at specific historical moments.It is, further, a critically oriented form of investigation, in that it chooses to focus on how this knowledge, as di stributed in schools, may contribute to a cognitive and dispositional development that strengthens or reinforces existing (and often problematic) institutional arrangements in society† (Apple and King 342). To simplify, the available knowledge and the hidden knowledge are being selected to be presented to students as proper knowledge, base on the ideology at a certain society at a time.Thus, educational institution can be defective due to the knowledge validity. According to the paragraph above, institutions control what can and cannot be presented. This theory can also be applied in the novel of never let me go. According to the book Miss Emily said that â€Å"We had run hailsham for many years, we had a sense of what could work, hat was best for the students in the long run, beyond hailsham. Lucy Wainright was idealistic, nothing wrong with that. But she had no graspof practicalities.You see, we were able to give you something, something which even now no one will ever take from you, and we were able to do that principally by sheltering you. Hailsham would not have been hailsham if we hadn’t. Very well, sometimes that meant we kept things from you, lied to you. Yes in many ways we fooled you (Ishiguro 268). In other words, hailsham and its people is trying to hide the latent facts in order to protect children and for the continuity of the school itself. Therefore, institutions can be harmful in terms of controlling knowledge and information.Another concept is that the basic function of schools or educational institutions is that schools should prepare students in terms of life skills to be able to do well in life. According to Michael W. Apple and Nancy R. King, â€Å"schools seem by and large, to do what they are supposed to do, at least in terms of roughly providing dispositions and propensities â€Å"functional† in later life in a complex and stratified social and economic order† (Apple and King 341). To clarify, Apple and king believe that schools have their own function to prepare students in the real life.The last concept above is inversely reflected with the case of Never Let Me Go novel. In the novel, Kathy H as the narrator show the readers that in hailsham student do not get sufficient knowledge about life. Most of the time in hailsham, they only do painting and philosophies. Guardians or teachers do not teach them life skills. In the novel, Kathy H, as the narrator told us that â€Å"looking back now, I can see we were pretty confused about this whole area about sex, that’s hardly surprising, I suppose, given we were barely sixteen.But what added to the confusion-I can see it more clearly now-was the fact that the guardians were themselves confused† (Ishiguro 95). This is the evidence that students do not get educated about sex sufficiently. Another example is when Kathy H said that â€Å"there was incidentally , Something I noticed about this veteran couples at the cottages-somethi ng Ruth, for all her close study of them, failed to spot-and this was how so many of their mannerisms were copied from the television† (Ishiguro 120).In other words, Kathy observes that their seniors are copying certain behaviors that are depicted from the movies in order to reflecting a normal person in life. This case shows that students are lack of understanding of the world until they have moved from hailsham. Educational institutions such as hailsham can be hazardous due to the production of knowledge that is designed to keep students from knowing the truth. Boarding schools such as hailsham can prevent students from growing properly. Their lack of understanding of the world produces insecurity and anxiety to face the actual life.Moreover, they are designed not to be rebellious instead, they are steered to be obedient and hopeless due to the lack of life skills and they are told in the first place that they are destined to be donors with short life. Works Cited Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never Let Me Go : New York : Vintage Canada, 2005. Hall, Stuart. Representation: Cultural Representation and Signifying Practices. London: SAGE, 2003. Apple, Michael W. , King, Nancy R.. †What do Schools Teach? †. Curriculum Inquiry 6:4. 1977:341-358.

Critically assess, compare and contrast the RANDOM NETWORK and the Essay

Critically assess, compare and contrast the RANDOM NETWORK and the SCALE-FREE network proposed by Barabasi and Albert. With the - Essay Example An examination of the vulnerability of scale-free networks is also discussed in this paper, and the effect of power law distribution on the network topology is analyzed. The removal of nodes in these network models and the effects of such removal are discussed. The contrast between Scale-free networks and random networks in the area of resisting failures is analyzed, as it has been suggested that the strongly connected nodes are responsible for the failure of scale-free networks. This paper also includes some theoretical syntheses, the proposal of new and exploratory conceptual models, theoretically grounded discussions of methodology, the analysis of historical developments with clear implications for current and future theory, theoretically relevant discussions of timely and important network issues, and comprehensive literature reviews with strong theoretical implications. INTRODUCTION In recent history, evolving networks have been seen as a relevant and very popular area of resea rch among physicists. Reka Albert and Albert-Laszlo Barabasi introduced a concept of evolving networks that is based on preferential attachment, in order to understand the areas from which the ubiquity of scale-free distributions in real networks originates. Reka Albert and Albert-Laszlo Barabasi studied a highly connected network model which was later called the scale-free network. â€Å"Networks have become a general tool for describing the structure of interaction or dependencies in such disparate systems as cell metabolism, the internet, and society.† (Barabasi A-L, Albert R 2002) With scale free networks, even in very large networks, nodes can be selected arbitrarily and connected through other nodes which serve as the intermediary nodes. â€Å"There are features that the scale-free network contains that are lacking in the random network. In a scale free network, a small number of nodes contribute heavily to connectivity. These nodes are called hubs. In a random network , each node contributes approximately the same to the overall connectivity of the network.†(Barabasi, Albert-Laszlo 2002) In a scale-free network, the network is self-similar, in that different parts of the network are statistically similar throughout the entire network. This self similarity is a major feature of fractals. â€Å"The term "scale-free" was first coined by physicist Albert-Laszlo Barabasi and his colleagues at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. In 1998, they mapped the connectedness of the World Wide Web and found, to their surprise, that the web did not have an even distribution of connectivity (so-called "random connectivity"). Instead, a very few network nodes (also referred to as hubs) were far more connected than other nodes. In general, they found that the probability P (k) that a node in the network connects with k other nodes was, in a given network, proportional to k. They named this kind of network connectivity "scale-free". They also argued that there is a simple explanation for this behavior. Many networks expand through the addition of nodes to an existing network, and those nodes attach preferentially to nodes already well-connected. When this is the case, a scale-free network naturally arises.† (Watts, D.W 2003) Although a scale-free netw

How Roche Diagnostics Develops Global Managers Research Paper

How Roche Diagnostics Develops Global Managers - Research Paper Example Roche develops global managers through global rotation program called Perspectives program. Employees with MBAs or PhD degree can participate in this international career program that consists of four assignments each lasting six months. Each assignment is taken in a different country, or laboratory and 95 percent of all participants have completed the program successfully. How Roche diagnostics develops global managers Who is responsible for developing global leaders The organization has the responsibility of developing global leaders. The management and the human resource department should initiate strategies and career development programs in order to develop global leaders (Smilansky, 2006). The global marketplace requires employees with multiple skills like communication capability and ability to understand the global business culture. Global organizations operate in multiple locations and usually provide goods and services that are suitable for the particular national market an d which consider the culture of the country (Smilansky, 2006). The parent country and host country should cooperate by allowing work permit for global managers in order to create a pool of talented global leaders. Global organizations require marketing strategies that consider flexibility due to the differences in market needs and culture of the people. Additionally, business schools have a role to play in highlighting the global economy and cultures of different locations in the world. Advanced business degrees should focus on real business experiences of multiple international business locations (Smilansky, 2006). Ramifications of not having global leaders In my profession field, there are various ramifications of not having global leaders in the marketing field. Global leaders influence the marketing and global brand management strategies selected by the organization due to cultural issues in different locations. There will be limited opportunities for professional growth and car eer advancement and organizations will experience high labor turnover and inability to attract and retain multi-skilled employees (Smilansky, 2006). Without global leaders, the language selected in advertisements and promotional materials will not fit the culture of the location since some countries like Japanese prefer a high-context language and direct messages, unlike low-context cultures (Smilansky, 2006). Without global leaders, an organization will not understand the values and attitudes of consumers in a particular location. The organization will also fail in new product design and packaging since aesthetics such as taste, smell and size influence the attitudes of the consumers towards a product depending on their culture (McCall & Hollenbeck, 2002). Such organizations will lose market share and ultimately decline the productivity of the product in particular locations. Without the global leaders, the organization will not understand the unique needs and preferences of consum ers and the needs of the workforce thus leading to decline in market share (McCall & Hollenbeck, 2002). US public policy changes that can encourage companies to develop global leaders Roche’s Perspectives program invests many resources in the development of global leaders, but there are public policy changes which can be made in the U.S to encourage compani

Addiction From Historical Perspective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Addiction From Historical Perspective - Essay Example The story of drug addiction actually begins with the opium wars in China and the fight between the Chinese and the English. The English actually brought opium to China as a way to trade something to them that China did not have and to have an alternative to using silver. In 1839, opium had been outlawed by the government of China to only be used for medicine. However, the British were able to purchase cheap opium and bring it into the country through the British East India Company (Allingham, 2006). Suddenly opium was available everywhere and although it started out as something that only the rich could afford, it quickly spread to about 90% of males under the age of 40 in the coastal regions of China. This had a direct impact on business, civil service and the standard of living; they all were falling apart (Allingham, 2006). Lin Ze-xu (1785-1850), the then appointed anti-opium commissioner estimated that about four million people were addicted to opium; however, a British physician working in the area stated that the addiction was more likely to be 12 million (Allingham, 2006). By 1837, opium was a larger import than any other traded commodity. Wars broke out over the sale and use of opium because of the trade laws that were enacted upon the British. By 1773, opium was traded globally but the British Governor-General of Bengal created a monopoly on the sale of opium and continued to sell Indian opium to China regardless of the rules that China had established for trade. By 1797, opium was eliminated in Bengal, but by the late 19th century, Bengal’s opium was being grown, processed and exported in Bengal (McCoy, n.d.). Alcohol Addiction Begins to be Seen More Often Although alcoholism goes back to biblical days, it has always depended on social trends. Usually, alcohol was a part of every ceremony and every culture. Alcohol was used during the colonial period and was used both as a beverage and as a medicine. The early colonists allowed drunkenness as l ong as it did not interfere with an individual’s ability to work and make a living (Anonymous, 2009). By the mid to late 19th Century, people stopped trying to control the individual’s behavior to trying to control the consumption of alcohol. As social problems like crime and poverty began to take its toll on the society at large, the social reform movement began to attempt to stop the sale of alcohol. Most people will remember that the Temperance Movement was set to eliminate all of alcohol but of course this did not work because people continued to make their own alcohol. By 1930s, American â€Å"alcohol science† was recreated and in this decade Alcoholics Anonymous had also begun (â€Å"History†, 2009). The Use of Patent Medicine The use of patent medicines during the 18th and early 19th Century was a precursor to drug regulations. These first medicines had substances like cocaine or heroin in them and the consumers who bought them did not know that th ese drugs could harm them. Patent medicines were sold as elixirs and tonics that could cure many illnesses whether the consumer was an adult, a child or an infant (Drug Addiction, 2010). Many of these medicines were said to cure tuberculosis and arthritis and many people began to take these remedies which lead to addiction. At that time addiction was unknown and there were no restrictions on their use. Many people ended up losing their lives or having them destroyed because of their use of these remedies. Many early doctors saw that these remedies were actually not helping the ailment and that they were creating addictions instead. However, the patent medicine makers protested any laws that were put in place to stop them from selling the medicines. Eventually, these drugs were stopped once journalists began to talk about

International service Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International service - Assignment Example etation, it is the hope of this particular student that the reader will gain a more informed understanding and appreciation for the way in which credit rating works and whether or not it is a useful and appreciable tool that should be considered as vital for the continued economic development of the world or whether or not it should be dismissed based upon its inherent shortcomings. Firstly, in seeking to analyze the benefits of credit rating system, it should be noted that this particular system provides the individual with an incentive to pay their bills, and conduct their financial matters in a responsible manner; as a means of receiving the reward of gaining a higher credit score and having potential access to more readily available credit in the future. Furthermore, another tacit benefit that credit rating provides has to do with the level of discernment that it to financial institutions with regard to whether or not a particular loan or investment would be risky and should therefore be shunned. However, beyond the strengths and potential benefits that the credit rating system can provide, it is also inherently prone to key weaknesses and shortcomings. For instance, at the point in time in which an individual loses employment or is unable to pay their bills, due to a medical emergency or some other unexpected events, the credit rating of the individual immediately plummets. Naturally, at the point in time in which the individual is most in need of immediate credit, the access to such credit is almost all but nonexistent. Furthermore, if an individual finds themselves with extremely low credit, the interest rates that they must pay will be convinced currently high; denoting the high level of risk that the borrower engenders to the financial institution question (Mattarocci 18). As can relatively be noted, the extraordinarily high interest rates that individuals with low credit scores must pay create something of a reciprocal process through which the ability