Leadership and Change Essay

It is important that managers hire individuals who have the ability to do what is required. According to the Harvard ManageMentor scenario Mary felt that Jessica possessed the skills and knowledge to promote her as a leader. By Mary managing through her team leader, it is Jessica’s responsibility to lead employees by a task to accomplish the company goal. Because Jessica is asking Mary, â€Å"Where do you see the department going? †(Harvard ManageMentor, 2006) Jessica obviously does not have a plan. If I was Mary I would not answer that question as well, but I would offer my support to help her succeed. The two effective strategies that Mary could use to motivate Jessica and the employees in the department to keep them focused on organizational goals would be transformational leadership, along- side with rewards. â€Å"The concept of transformational leadership is about harnessing the powers of both efficient management and effective leadership to enact change in the workplace. (Bradley, 2013) Since Jessica is taking on the role of team leader in the department and she does not have a plan, Mary can utilize transformational leadership to give advice, support, encouragement, and communicate the expectations that she wants to receive from Jessica and the department. I believe this is a great way to guide Jessica in creating new ways to accomplish goals. In my own experience I found it helpful when I was able to meet with my superior on a one on one basis to get a clear understanding of the company’s vision, getting a checklist of what tasks my superior wanted to accomplish, and to get that reassurance that my plans were supported. Jessica also views Mary as a mentor, and by Mary using transformational leadership Jessica can put into use the skills, strategies, and techniques demonstrated into her own role as a leader. Utilizing transformational leadership can also raise employee awareness of the rewards they can receive when goals are accomplished. (DuBrin, 2013) Rewards both monetary and non-monetary, motivates employee performance and keeps employees focused on organizational goals. Both transformational leadership and rewards contribute to building an organizational culture to support one another and share the organizations vision.

Howard Zinn Chapter 13 Analysis Essay

Zinn opens chapter with the recognition that â€Å"war and jingoism might postpone, but could not fully suppress, the class anger that came from the realities of ordinary life†. Despite the brief interlude that momentarily quelled class conflict, the issues at home had never been resolved and resurfaced with a vengeance. More and more writers were writing from a Socialist mindset: Upton Sinclair published The Jungle in 1906, as a commentary on Chicago’s meatpacking industry. In writing the book, Sinclair was influenced by writers like Jack London, a Socialist who had grown up in poverty in the Bay Area. London publish The Iron Heel in 1906, warning Americans about fascism and indicts the capitalist system† In the face of the facts that modern man lives more wretchedly than the cave-man, and that his producing power is a thousand times greater than that of the cave-man, no other conclusion is possible than that the capitalist class has mismanaged criminally and sel fishly mismanaged†. Even an exiled Henry James condemned the U.S. when he visited in 1904. The corrupt actions of the American government and business elite were on the lips of activists, writers, and artists around the world Socialism couldn’t help but spread. One of the most notable labor incidents in this era occurred at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. New York had more than 500 garment factories, mostly staffed by women, and the conditions in all were equally as deplorable. In the winter of 1909, women at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. organized a strike, they were doubtful that many more than 3,000 women would turn out with the cold weather and not all the factories participating, but more than 20,000 showed up. The recently organized Ladies Garment Workers Union was growing by the thousand every day. The strike went on through the winter, despite police, arrests, scabs and prison.† In more than three hundred shops, workers won their demands. Women now became officials in the union. However, the conditions of the factories themselves did not change all that much, and on the afternoon of March 25, 1911, a fire broke out at the TS Company on the 8th-9th floors too high for fire ladders to reach. The factory doors had also been locked to manage workers, which was against the law. In fact, TS Co. broke several safety codes, ultimately causing their female employees to be trapped and burned to death†146 Triangle workers, mostly women, were burned or crushed to death†. These were not the only tragedies† in the year 1904, 27,000 workers were killed on the job†. Millions of workers toiled in dangerous conditions to fatten bank accounts of the wealthy. Zinn keeps the starting numbers coming: â€Å"In 1914, 35,000 workers were killed in industrial accidents and 700,000 injured. The women’s movement of the time was an interesting one, with women often divided between suffragism and socialism. Many women were skeptical of the suffrage movement and spoke out on other issues. Margaret Sanger was one of the first women to speak out about birth control† No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her own body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose conscientiously whether she will or will not be a mother†. Emma Goldman believed the suffrage movement to be a waste of time, noting, â€Å"Every inch of ground has gained has been through constant fight, a ceaseless struggle for self-assertion, and not through suffrage. Her development, her freedom, her independence, must come from and through her only that, and not the ballot, will set women free†. Helen Keller also believed in this â€Å"struggle outside the ballot box† these women wanted something more immediate and direct than the vote. This is an issue with I am constantly torn. There is something so simple and almost beautiful in a people voting and deciding as a group can’t we just vote our way to utopia? However, when you think about the politics behind what even ends up on a ballot, you can start to feel powerless, and the vote meaningless; I understand why these women would want to fight for something greater. Zinn touches on demands and protests to end child labor, before moving on to the deteriorating situation for blacks across the nation, or what he calls â€Å"the low point†. Blacks were being beaten, lynched, murdered and the government sat by and did nothing. But what surprised me is that â€Å"the Socialist party did not go much out of its way to act on the race question† either. One member wrote about Debs, â€Å"he always insisted on absolute equality. But he failed to accept the view that special measures were sometimes needed to achieve this equality†. Ah, the early disc ussion of affirmative action and the thought that after century of oppression, laws would just make things equal. Blacks began to use this momentous period to organize as well, and formed the National afro-American Council, as well as the National Association for Colored Women. W.E.B. DuBois had just written The Souls of Black Folk and called black leaders together for a conference near Niagara Falls–the start of the â€Å"Niagara Movement.† These leaders called for a much more radical and revolutionary approach, attacking the moderate ideas of men like Booker T. Washington. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed after a race riot in Springfield, IL in 1910, but whites dominated the leadership. The NAACP focused mainly on legal action and education, but DuBois, one of the officers, championed the notion that â€Å"Persistent manly agitation is the way to liberty†. It’s interesting to note that this was the start of the nation’s â€Å"Progressive Period† a time when new amendments and laws were being passed all t he time. However, these laws didn’t necessarily benefit blacks, women, labor organizations, or Socialists; they were more a response to the shifting social tide what doesn’t bend, breaks, and right? As Zinn notes, â€Å"it was a reluctant reform, aimed at quieting the popular risings, not making fundamental changes†. In addition to numerous food, drug, and safety regulations, the nation witnessed the 16th Amendment graduated income tax and 17th Amendment election of Senators by popular vote. However, these reforms were less about actual social change and more a necessary response to growing social agitation in order to create â€Å"a middle-class cushion for class conflict†¦an attempt by the system to adjust to changing conditions in order to achieve more stability. Zinn quotes Harold Faulkner: ‘Through rules with impersonal sanctions, it sought continuity and predictability in a world of endless change. It assigned far greater power to government†¦and it encouraged the centralization of authority†. What happened was the emergence of â€Å"political capitalism,† in which â€Å"businessmen took firmer control of the political system because the private economy was not efficient enough to forestall protest from below. The businessmen were not opposed to the new reforms; they initiated them, pushed them, to stabilize the capitalist system in a time of uncertainty and trouble†. No longer did we have a government throwing the occasional big bone to business, but a government that was bent over a chair, pants around the ankles with big business. Zinn closes his chapter focusing on the idea that â€Å"much of the intense activity for Progressive reform was intended to head off. ’The Rising Tide of Socialism† and zooms in on one key event: the Colorado Coal Strike which began in September 1910 and culminated in the Ludlow Massacre of April 1914. 11,000 miners worked for the Colorado Fuel & Iron Corporation. When a union organizer was murdered, the workers began to strike in protest of low pay, dangerous conditions and â€Å"feudal domination.† Immediately, the miners were evicted from their shacks and forced to live in tent colonies in nearby hills. Gunmen hired by Rockefeller interests raided the colonies and were eventually joined by the National Guard. The strikers held out through the winter of 1913-1914 and it became clear that only drastic measures would break the strike. So, on April 20th a machine gun attack was opened on the tents, and the strikers fired back. The Guards set fire to the tents, burning some people to death. Eventually federal troops were brought in to restore order, but only after 26 men, women, and children had lost their lives. It was clear once again that unrest at home would not stop, so the government, once again, looked outside its borders for a distraction.

Big Fish

The Big Fish is based on a genre, Southern Gothic, where freak nature comes in a role in story telling. The Big Fish have three most common elements in Southern Gothic. Those elements are imprisonment, freakiness, and supernatural. The father would tell a story to his son about his life. However, his son thinks his father is full of lies. It brings the conflict between reality and fiction. In Southern Gothic, it doesn't matter because it combined reality and fiction into one story. Although, it is hard to see the reality behind it because in the movie, the father make up a lot of stuff even though it is almost true. Imprisonment is found in The Big Fish, because the father is imprisoned in his room and in the hospital. Also, the villiage kept all of its people until Ed left the villiage. Those people could've been there for years because they love their home so much. The giant was in his cave because he was shunned and feared by the people until Ed befriended the giant. Imprisonment is found in Southern Gothic, and is in found in the story as well. Supernatural is everywhere in The Big Fish, because there was a woman who turned into a fish during the movie. The twins were conjurned but at the end they were serparated. Also, the giant was a huge person who was isolated for a long time. The circus was filled with strange people. Even the headmaster is a wolf at night, and The Eye shows a person's future death. Also, the way the son was born was very There was a lot of supernatural involved with the movie. Freakiness is all around in the movie, because the villiagepeople had no shoes nor socks on. They walked around barefoot. Even the father was telling a story with his wild imaginations. He even made his death the way he saw in The Eye. He accepted his death from the beginning he saw his death. The father never once freaked out but rather looking foward to the day he dies. Everyone was there at his funeral. By everyone he knows in his life showed up for his funeral.

Lateral Structures in Business Organizations and Which Traits They Research Paper

Lateral Structures in Business Organizations and Which Traits They Encourage - Research Paper Example The main purpose of the research is to present that organizations have increasingly begun to prefer the utilization of lateral relationships as legitimate avenues of information as a new generation of organizational forms has emerged. In this piece, what will be explained are a number of different lateral structural arrangements which are in use in organizations today, including but not limited to the following: role differentiation and role ‘incongruency’; the concept of coherence; and functionality. Role differentiation is important in lateral business structures. According to Tjosvold, â€Å"It is a myth that all team members must be cross-trained†. In contrast, rather, it tends to be the case that—in lateral organizational business structures—the employees find that their own roles are created specifically so that they can work independently. However, this is not at the risk of teams working hierarchically, but side-by-side. The way that role dif ferentiation differs in lateral business organizations versus hierarchical business organizations is that, in lateral ones, roles are distinctly defined. In hierarchical organizations, roles can be blurred, employees multi-task, and departments are formed which work on top of each other—the most powerful being at the top, with the least economically powerful at the bottom although their production is high. Obviously, one of the important issues that lateral business structures bring to the forefront is that there is incongruency in these structures. According to Robinson-Crowley, â€Å"A current trend in management research and practice is to design organizations to be congruent with the demands of the†¦information-processing capacity: investing in information systems and creating boundary-spanning roles† (pp. 84). Of course, this tome about boundary-spanning roles was written 14 years ago. Now, into the second decade of the 21st century in the United States, we a re definitely at the point where different styles of management have come into the fray. Good management will ultimately be able to deal with these hierarchical changes that are different from what we were used to almost a decade-and-a-half ago. According to Poole, â€Å"Top managers are highly visible and provide a vision for the future that employees can share†. Role differentiation and role incongruency are two issues, obviously, that comes from having a laterally-structured business organization. Role differentiation in laterally-organized businesses makes it easier for people to connect and not to feel as much like outsiders. Despite what many might think, role differentiation is well-known across hundreds of nations all over the world. Role differentiation has been around for several centuries and has a very important meaning in the lives of many. It would be safe to assume that role differentiation is going to be around for a long time and have an enormous impact on th e lives of many people. Role differentiation has a large role in American culture. Many people can often be seen taking part in activities associated with role differentiation. This is partly because people of most ages can be involved and families are brought together by this. Generally, a person who displays their dislike for role differentiation may be considered an outcast. This is why role differentiation is somewhat controversial to be considered as part of the lateral structure within a business organization. It is not common practice to associate economical factors with role differentiation. Generally, role differentiation would be thought to have no effect on our economic situation, but there are in fact some effects. Primarily, however, it would be safe to say that role differentiation plays an important role in the American economy and shouldn't be taken for granted. After having completed much research, it has been possible to conclude that

Management of hypoglycemia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Management of hypoglycemia - Essay Example Diabetes is increasingly common throughout the world.Its prevalence is well over 5% in many developed countries and is rising in the United Kingdom.While talking about its prevalence,it is to be remembered that diabetes is caused by our genes and our personal environment, which is created by our lifestyles. For people with diabetes, whether type 1 or type 2, the disorder can have a profound influence on all aspects of life and can affect most organs of the body. There is no cure for diabetes, and once occurs, it is present for life. The increasing appreciation throughout the healthcare industry for clinical decisions to be driven by sound scientific evidence represents an opportunity for the patients, practitioners, and healthcare planners alike in that it shapes the delivery of care on the basis of evidence of effectiveness. The past two decades have seen considerable progress in producing evidence to support treatments aimed at reducing the risk of diabetes and its complications. T his indicates a shift of focus from treatment of effects to treatment of cause, where prophylactic interventions are more important than just therapeutic measures. This means caregiving now does not await the disease to happen; rather, the care tends to identify population or individual who would develop diabetes in a later life (Foster, 1998, p 2069-2070).Definitions: Diabetes mellitus occurs either because of lack of insulin or because of the presence of factors that oppose the action of insulin. Therefore, it can be defined as a chronic disease caused by inherited and/or acquired deficiency in production of insulin by the pancreas or by the ineffectiveness of the insulin that is produced. The result of insufficient action of insulin is an increase in blood glucose concentration or hyperglycaemia. This increased glucose would damage many of the body systems, most significantly blood vessels and nerves. Data from genetic, epidemiological, and aetiologic studies have led to the impr ovement of the understanding of the aetiology and pathogenesis of diabetes. From my experience in the clinical placement, I have come across patients during clinical practice with varied presentations. Whatever may be the mode of diagnosis, persistently elevated plasma glucose in the fasting state would lead to the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus even if the patient is asymptomatic. In the ward while working with the patients of diabetes, frequent monitoring of plasma glucose and adjusting the diet or medication is a normal routine nursing activity. I have see a venous plasma glucose concentration of 140 mg/dL in at least two separate occasions or plasma glucose concentration of 200 mg/dL 2 hours following ingestion of 75 g of glucose would constitute a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus(Foster, 1998, p 2080). Insulin: Diabetes is treated with insulin in the inpatients with or without oral hypoglycaemic agents. Since the disease at least partly results from insulin deficit, insulin is required for many patients with diabetes mellitus type 2. If no oral agents are used for treatment, all diet-responsive type 2 diabetics must be treated with insulin. My observation suggests that it is fairly easy to control the symptoms of diabetes with insulin, and as a nurse working in the ward, I know it is difficult to maintain a normal blood sugar throughout the day even with the use of multiple injections. It is also to be mentioned that the patient treated with insulin by injection cannot reproduce the physiologic changes in a normal patient in response to a diet load. Thus, if enough insulin is given to keep the postprandial glucose normal, too much insulin will be present during the postabsorptive phase, and hypoglycaemia will result. As a result, insulin therapy is guided mainly by adjustments

Supporting Statement for a Secondary School Teacher of ICT Role Essay

Supporting Statement for a Secondary School Teacher of ICT Role - Essay Example Over the years, I have been able to identify many settings other than the regular class room, such as the laboratory, the cafeteria, or even a sporting event. As a teacher, it is my firm belief that my duty is not limited to a few hours of teaching. Rather, I also have an obligation of teaching my students to think out of the box and extend their thinking beyond the surroundings of the course. Therefore, my aim is to create such learning experiences for the students that allow them to recognize the innovative outcomes, understand the concepts, and identify places where these ideas connect in real life. My experience with teaching indicates that an idea is better understood if related with real life. I take teaching very seriously and believe it to be one of my greatest skills. As far as the teacher’s evaluation is concerned, my score had always been higher than the average score of other departments in almost all categories. The categories included the likes of encouraging tea mwork, zest in teaching methods, and whether or not the students would suggest me to other students. The evaluation also recorded students enjoying my teaching and indicated their interest in taking another course with me in future. As a teacher, I believe in collaborative learning and always aim to foster teamwork in the class room. Although my students will work as an independent unit, but in-spite of forming a group, they will also learn to work as a team where not only they are an independent unit but also recognize ‘one’ same goal. Considering the fast pace of the ICT environment, I understand that a teacher must learn to make the most of this subject and must continuously match the pace with the remarkable changes of the setting. As an ICT teacher, I would be aiming to help the students make use of this subject to enhance their capabilities in various areas of the subjects. Therefore, my diploma in this field will work as an important tool in helping me educating and training the students. As for the professional practice in ICT, I hope to make the most of this diploma as well. When it comes to leadership and management of the curriculum, I can easily instill the expectation of setting high standards for all. I always promote good attendance and have, in the past, achieved a 3 percent increase in attendance over my years of service. In order to develop such a culture, I always support the habit of ‘fun learning’ so that they learn to identify the worth of education and consequently maintain good attendance. In the past I have used tools like videos, competitions, and presentations that encouraged the importance of time management and how they can enjoy their work with effective prioritization. Newsletters and assemblies were also used which gave way to achievement oriented behavior in the students. Therefore, my aim is pretty simple, rather than presenting creative education as an alternative to literacy, I strive to maintain a teaching style that is a balance of both. I have also gained a substantial amount of familiarity with data base management system in the past. Being the primary instructor, I have thus gained enough sound knowledge of working with others. With the art of analyzing and applying various software development methodologies at hand, my delivery method in teaching inculcates the same style. I understand that one class can never be like the previous one. Where a new class changes with a new

Leadership styles and their impact on the effective development of Dissertation

Leadership styles and their impact on the effective development of faculty members at the College(sechool) of Education at Ha'il - Dissertation Example The Impact 29 1.3. A Brief Look at Ha’il University and College XYZ 31 1.4. Some Gaps 33 Summary 34 Chapter 2 Methodology of Research 35 2.0. Introduction 35 2.1. Qualitative and Quantitative Methodology 36 2.2. Collection of Data 39 2.2.1. Qualitative Survey 39 2.2.2. Interview 40 2.2.3. Sampling Size 43 2.3. Validity and Reliability 44 2.4. Data analysis 47 2.5. Ethical considerations 48 Chapter 3 Results 49 3.0. Introduction 49 3.1. Questionnaire Results 50 3.3. The Interview 59 Summary 61 Chapter 4 Discussion 62 4.0. Introduction 63 4.1. The Research Questions and Departments XYZ of College XYZ at Ha’il University 63 4.2. Leadership Styles in the Academe: A Fertile Ground 65 4.3. Development of Faculty Members: More than Just Encouragement 67 4.4. The Relationship: Leadership Styles and Development of Faculty Members 69 4.5. The Impact and Effect of Leadership Styles to Faculty Development 73 4.4.1. Departments XYZ of College XYZ at Ha’il University 74 Summar y 75 Chapter 5 Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations 77 5.1. Summary 78 5.2. Conclusion 79 5.3. Recommendations 81 References 84 Appendices 101 List of Figures, Tables, and Charts Figure 1 p. 5 Figure 2 p.9 Figure 3 p. 11 Figure 4 p. 15 Table 1 p. 16 Chart 1 p. 36 Chart 2 p. 37 Chart 3 p. 38 Chart 4 p. 38 Chart 5 p. 39 Chart 6 p. 40 Chart 7 p. 40 Chart 8 p. 41 Chart 9 p. 42 Abstract Education is one of the most value–laden institutions in modern society but like other organisations, it faces the challenge of keeping its identity and embracing the ethos of corporatism. In this regard, as universities and colleges embrace the current duality of its nature, understanding leadership styles in the Academe vis-a-vis development of faculty members has become pivotal as higher educational institutions meet the demands of the 21st century. As such, this study will look into how leadership styles impact and influences the development of faculty members. This study is significant as there are limited studies pertinent to leadership styles and faculty development in developing countries. As such, this research will help in augmenting the literature tackling the said issue. This research will be addressing the primary question â€Å"What is the effect and impact of leadership in the development of faculty members?† In order to clarify further this issue, the following sub-questions will also be answered by the study. These are (1) What leadership styles are deemed most effective for faculty members? (2) What is the relationship, if any, between leadership styles and development of faculty members? (3) What kinds of leadership styles are used by three department heads at the College of XYZ at Ha'il University? In order to address the questions, a qualitative case study had been adopted. Some of the results of the study are: (1) Combination of leadership styles is used by leaders in the Academe in general and in Departments of X, Y, and Z in particular. (2) Leadership styles provide the arena or environment where creativity may flourish or scholarly pursuit may stagnate. (3) Leadership styles serve as a ‘push and pull factor’ in the development of faculty members. Finally, it has been observed that leadership styles are the necessary condition for authentic faculty development. Introduction Background of the Study Education provides the path in which the freedom from mental slavery is attained. To this end, higher education is one of the institutions recognize to be most-value laden in modern society (Scott 2004).

Mexican-American War (i would prefer either domestic or personal level Essay

Mexican-American War (i would prefer either domestic or personal level of analysis ) - Essay Example As such, the move undermined the Mexican population. The master plan focused on the region occupied by the freehold and yeoman farmers. The eventual impact ignited a political hiccup associated to slavery and inhuman practices. Although other levels of analysis can be applied, I believe that the Mexican American war is best explained through a domestic level of analysis. In the year 1898, a conflict between Spain and the United States of America ignited an armed battle between the two countries. Americans managed to gain access into the Latin America, as well as the Western Pacific, by the end of the war. The events resulted in a great territorial expansion from the American authority. The military involvement in the war signified a historical event. As such, America’s image portrayed a self-centered institution operating on self-interest. Additionally, the events attracted the world’s attention as the media documented the details of the entire war. America advanced about 525,000 square miles into the Mexican territory. The incident led to the signing of a treaty agreement that marked the end of the war. The treaty signing redefined American from a national state to a transcontinental state. As such, both parties engaged in diplomatic settlement scheme to end the war. Other documentation of the treaty revealed the onset of colonialism. The colonialism feature paved way for a commercial assumption and resource expropriation (Lynn, 2013). The impact of colonialism in Mexico resulted in obdurate legal disputes over the vast land. These occasions prompted the advent of different theories to explain the superiority of the involved states. Significant changes defined other perceptions of the colonialism. The onset of communication advancement, development of the transport industry resulted in national pride. The Mexicans believed that the American move served a divine ordination in the vast Mexico territory. The Mexican-American war served as an indicator

SABMIller's Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

SABMIller's - Case Study Example Some of these tools are explained in detail in the appendix given below. In view of the above assertion, it is significant to carry out a SWOT analysis of the above mentioned brewery in an attempt to establish if there is any correlation between its strategic position with its business strategy. â€Å"A SWOT analysis is a useful instrument for helping managers to identify internal strengths and weaknesses of a business and external opportunities and threats facing it,† (Strydom J. p 31). Basically, SWOT stands for strengths (S), weaknesses (W) while on the other hand the external environmental factors are regarded as either opportunities (O) or threats (T). This analysis is very important to managers as it allows them to focus on key strategic issues based on the notion that an effective strategy fully utilises the strengths and opportunities of a business and strives to minimise the weaknesses and threats. One main strength of SAB is that it is a force to reckon with in the market of alcohol brewing. Its ability to merge with other brewers is a big advantage since it would only need to specialise on nurturing premium segments rather than launching a new brand altogether. Local people often prefer to have a product which they can happily identify with hence there would be need to streamline the production to meet such needs. A close analysis of the case study shows that this is one of the major strengths of SAB since it is able to merge with established breweries. Weaknesses include the fact that it mainly relied on soft currencies for its profit in different breweries across the globe. A loss of confidence in emerging markets would badly damage its reputation. In some instance as highlighted in the case, devaluation of the local currency in developing economies may have negative impacts such as the reduction of profitability. It can also be noted that there have been a shift in the behaviour of customers in the market where the emergence of wine as another

Consumer Behaviour Market Analysis Report Essay

Consumer Behaviour Market Analysis Report - Essay Example Fast food products not prepared based on cultural norms cannot receive attention in the market. The paper also analyses the influence of stiff competition in the behavior of customers towards McDonald’s products. In the current food industry, multiplicity of competitors determines how consumers purchase McDonald’s products. Further, the paper discusses the health influences that affect the consumption fast food products in the global market. Fast foods rich in high sugar content and calories have been blamed for increased cases of diabetes and obesity. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3 1.1 Cultural influences†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...3 1.2 Social influences†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..4 1.3 Personal and economic influences†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 1.4 Health Influences†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..5 1.5 Group Behavior†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.6 1.6 Competition†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...7 1.7 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦......9 1.0 Introduction McDonalds is a fast food company with branches in all continents. Several restaurants operate under McDonald’s chain of restaurants. McDonald’s major target consumers include children, adults and teenagers in all their markets. Major markets for McDonald include the United States, Europe, India, and Sou th America. In the fast food industry, competition continues to affects several companies. Macdonald continues to improve their business strategies so that they can attract millions of customers into their business. Consumers continue to face new trends because competitors continue to be innovative in providing healthy food choices for customers. This report analyses consumerism at McDonalds. The report determines factors that motivate consumers to purchase fast food products from McDonalds. In addition, the Report analyses factors that may affect consumer’s ability to purchase fast food products from MacDonald. McDonald’s products include burgers, chicken, fish, deserts, and pork. These foods are classified as fast food products. McDonald’s prepares these foods because of their demand in the market. The society continues to demand ready-made food they can consume without preparing their own in the kitchen. McDonald’s also offers breakfast foods such as M cMuffins, breakfast sandwiches, fried egg, bacon and many more. Beverages are also offered in different varieties 1.1 Cultural influences According to Ramanuj (2010), external influences on consumer behavior involve cultural influences. McDonald’ provides fast food choices to consumers in various cultural backgrounds. In India, consumer buying behavior has been affected by the culture of customers. McDonalds provides beef and mutton burgers in India. However, according to Indian culture, consumers do not like food items made of beef and mutton from

Scavenger Hunt Essay Example for Free

Scavenger Hunt Essay 1. What is the instructor’s name (spelling counts)? Where did the instructor go to college? The instructor’s name is Jane Smith. 2. What is the instructor’s email address to be used for questions and submission of projects? 3. What day(s) of each week are Chapter homework assignments always due? Chapter homework assignments are always due on Thursdays and Sundays. Furthermore, discussions are due every Tuesday. 4. What is the time deadline (hour:minutes, AM or PM) for the Portal assignments to be submitted? Homework is due at 10 PM. 5. On Canvas, under Navigating the Portal, what are the two Cautions that are listed? The portal times out after 2 hours so students need to save their homework as they go along to ensure their progress isn’t lost. Students shouldn’t use their mouse ball to scroll down the page because it may lead them to the last answer of a different section. 6. What are the days, dates, times and room numbers of all of the tests held on campus? The second exam is on Wednesday February 20th in room N201. It will be from 5:30-7:30 pm. The final exam is on Monday March 18th in room R110. It will be from 5:30-7:30 pm. 7. What are the three projects and when are they due (day, date, and time)? The first is the Data Analysis project which is due on January 26th, 2013 at 10 PM. The second project is the Correlation and Regression project due on February 16th, 2013 at 10 PM. 8. How should the projects be submitted? Be specific about the requirements. The projects should be submitted by email to [emailprotected] In the subject line, students must include their name and the title of the project. None of the projects can be  submitted through canvas. 9. What is the last day (date) to withdraw from this course with a W printed on your transcript? Please tell both the date for in-person withdrawal and the date for online withdrawal. The last day to withdraw from this course with a â€Å"W† on your transcript is February 15th, 2013 in person and February 17th, 2013 online. 10. What do you do if you can’t take a test on campus? Be very specific about the process, the possibilities for proctors, and when the test must be taken. Students who are unable to take a test on campus need to alert the instructor at least 10 days before the test, and must have a proctor and suitable location. Proctors may be part of the Bellevue College staff, clergy, etc. Under no circumstances can a proctor be a family member. Without 10 days notice, students are expected to be on campus on the day of the test. Proctored exams must be administered the day of, or before, the test is given. 11. Two quizzes will be given. What is the due date and time for each quiz and which chapters are being tested for each? From the time that you open the quiz, how many minutes to do you have to submit the quiz? The first quiz is on February 17th and covers chapters 1-13. The second is on March 17th and covers chapters 1-19. We are given 60 minutes to complete each quiz. 12. Locate the calculator instructions on Canvas for computing a normal distribution and compute the following: normalcdf(129, 148, 132, 12), rounding appropriately to 4 decimal places. The answer is 0.5075. 13. Examine the Chapter 14 Homework on the Portal. List the 4 steps involved in doing a hypothesis test? 1. State the alternative and null hypothesis. 2. State the type of test administered, such as a z-test or t-test. Then, give the value of the test statistic (T=____ or Z= ____) 3. State the P value and alpha level. 4. Use two sentences for the conclusion. In the first sentence, state whether or not you reject the null hypothesis. In the second sentence, state what the test measured. 14. What is the phone number for the Stats Portal Help Line? The phone number is 1-800-936-6899 15. Canvas contains study questions for each chapter. Locate the study questions for chapter 4 – what is the answer to #1? The answer is: r=.9314 16. How many submissions are allowed for Exercises? How many submissions are allowed for Post Tests? Two submissions are allowed for exercises and only one submission is allowed for post-tests. 17. How many points will you receive on the Scavenger Hunt if get all questions correct. How many points will be deducted for each question missed?If all questions are correct, you receive 50 points. You lose 10 points for each incorrect answer. 18. Canvas contains practice exams and answers. What is the answer to question 6 on the Chapters 1, 2 and 3 practice exam? The answer is: Mean=120; Standard Deviation=8 19. On Canvas, Navigating Stats Portal gives you helpful information about the Portal site. What should you do if you are taking longer than 2 hours to complete an exercise? You should save your answers periodically so that they do not get erased. 20. If you find that you are struggling to understand the material in this course, name four resources that BC or the instructor offers to help you be successful in the course. Four resources available are the math lab, Stats Tutors, Applets, Crunch It, and Statistical Videos.

Motorcycle training Essay Example for Free

Motorcycle training Essay This training was developed by police officers for police officers. The information provided is meant to enhance officer knowledge and safety in the realm of motorcycle laws through enforcement and public education of those motor vehicle/motorcycle laws, and give officers the information to help reduce the number of motorcyclist killed or injured in traffic crashes. The International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) would like to thank the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for their help in making this training possible. Particular thanks go to Earl Hardy and William Cosby of NHTSA for their on-going guidance. We also must extend our thanks to the following individuals who participated in the curriculum development. Their knowledge and experience helped to define the content of the materials for the lesson modules and critical information was covered for law enforcement. The individuals who helped make this training a reality include the following: Mr. Richard Davis, Arkansas State Police; Lt. Jim Halvorsen, New York State Police; Lt. Michael Turcott, Washington State Police; and Mr. John Young, Texas Department of Public Safety. Special thanks to Inspector Patrick McManamon, Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles and Mr. Albert Liebno, Maryland Police Correctional Training Commissions for their feedback on improving the presentations. The information contained in this program by no means reflects the opinions of all the individuals listed. June F. Kelly, Project Manager, IADLEST. Assistant Director, Vermont Police Academy TITLE: Motorcycle Safety and Enforcement Training for LE (Law Enforcement) Lesson Purpose: To understand why the enforcement of motorcycle laws, support of national motorcycle safety enforcement efforts and best practices are critical to reduce motorcycle fatalities and injuries. Date Prepared: May 1, 2009 PURPOSE STATEMENT This training manual developed by IADLEST is intended to assist law enforcement in the enforcement of motorcycle laws. Its purpose is to share existing motorcycle laws knowledge, discuss motorcycle safety issues, the scope of problems involving enforcement of motorcycle laws, and present best practices in the realm of enforcement of motorcycle laws, sharing of safety practices for law enforcement, the motorcyclist and the public, prevention of motorcycle accidents and fill an existing gap in law enforcement training. The goal of this training is to have all police officers trained through their Police Academies or POST1 Programs. We propose to act on the knowledge gained in this course to promote â€Å"enforcement of motorcycle laws† and reduce the problem of unlicensed motorcyclists, motorcycle DUI, non- compliant helmets, and speed related crashes. P. O. S. T. is the acronym for Police Officer Standards and Training TITLE: Training for the Enforcement of Motorcycle Laws Opening Statement This training will look at situations unique to the enforcement of motorcycle laws such as the following: Why so many motorcycles injuries and fatalities and what can law enforcement do through public education and enforcement? Motorcycle Types and Characteristics Safety Laws Related to Equipment and Operation Motorcycle licensing and speeding issues Officer and Motorcyclist Safety Consider â€Å"distracted driver† issues and how critical it is to operating a motorcycle. Driver talking to passenger Cell phone use (yes, in a car and even on a motorcycle) Talking to another motorcyclist, riding two or three abreast Strategies for traffic stops Strategies to avoid pursuit situations Crash Investigation Detection of impaired motorcyclists Detection of non-compliant helmets Latest on enforcement public relations campaigns Specific course objectives. 1. Why this course? Explain national statistics bulleted on slide. 2. Review motorcycle laws related to critical areas. Equipment Licensing requirements Alcohol-related/impaired behavior of motorcyclists Speed Enforcement Helmets FMVSS 218 and what are the pending revisions 3. Officer Safety concerns Explain and share strategies for stopping motorcycles and Strategies to avoid pursuits. 4. Motorcycle Crash Investigation awareness First Responder Safety and Motorcyclist First Aid Pointers What are some motorcycle crash investigation pointers to consider for crash investigators? Does your state have standardized data gathering and reporting for motorcycle crashes? 5. Encourage motorcycle safety and education. National Statistics 2 Injuries Fatalities According to US DOT, Motorcycle fatalities have more than doubled since 1998, increasing 130 percent over a ten year period. Registration trends Motorcycles account for 3 percent of all registered vehicles; however motorcycle fatalities represent 13 percent of traffic fatalities in the United States. Unlicensed motorcycle drivers1 out 4 motorcycle riders (25%) involved in fatal crashes in 2008 were not properly licensed. DUI is a factor in fatalities Alcohol is a significant factor in far too many motorcycle fatal crashes. In 2008, 29 percent of all fatally injured motorcycle operators had BAC levels of . 08 or higher, and 43 percent of those killed in single-vehicle crashes were over . 08 BAC, and that number jumps to 64 percent on weekend nights. Helmet Use Nationally Helmet Laws from State to State   20 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico require helmet use by all;   Other States have â€Å"partial helmet† laws based on age or no laws requiring helmet use. Enforcement Issues   There is limited training on enforcement of motorcycle laws because most police academies across the country do not have courses on the topic or only provide brief coverage on motorcycle laws in their basic motor vehicle law classes.   Training on motorcycle law enforcement is often specialized and appeals to those that ride. Most law enforcement officers do not ride motorcycles so they do not know what to look for regarding motorcycle equipment, helmets and the laws. Motorcycle Risks Motorcyclists Are at Risk from Other Drivers. Drivers of passenger vehicles and all types of vehicles need to be alert of motorcycles. Motorcycles are small and may be difficult for drivers of other vehicles to see.   Motorcycles have a much smaller profile than other vehicles.   Due to the smaller profile it can be difficult to judge the speed and distance of an approaching motorcycle.   After a crash, the drivers of other vehicles involved often say they never saw the motorcyclist and were unable to respond in time.   In the event of a crash, a motorcyclist is much more vulnerable and in much greater danger physically than other vehicle occupants. In fact, â€Å"Per vehicle mile traveled in 2007, motorcyclists are about 37 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a traffic crash and 9 times more likely to be injured. † National Statistics Motorcyclist Deaths are Rising.   In 2008, motorcycle rider fatalities increased for the tenth straight year.   During 2008, 5,290 motorcyclists lost their lives in fatal highway crashes, an increase of 2 percent over the 5,174 motorcyclists killed in 2007.   Motorcycle riders were involved in more than one out of nine of all U. S. roadway fatalities. 47 percent of all fatalities in motorcycle crashes in 2008 involved another vehicle in addition to the motorcycle in the crash.   77 percent of all two-vehicle crashes involving a motorcycle were struck in the front with only 7 percent struck in the rear.   In 41 percent of the crashes involving a motorcycle and another type of vehicle, the other vehicle was turning left when the motorcycle was going straight, passing, or overtaking the vehicle.   In 2008, 35 percent of all motorcycle riders involved in fatal crashes were speeding. Law Enforcement. Law enforcement has a special contribution to make in the prevention of motorcycle crashes. Some of these contributions are simple and some are very difficult: dirt bikes in traffic are an obvious hazard; unlicensed motorcyclists are difficult to detect, and according to the Hurt study impaired motorcycle riders are far more difficult to detect than impaired automobile drivers. The increases involvement of the unlicensed rider in all crashes, and the impaired rider in fatal crashes, demands enforcement action, but legal requirements of due cause for a traffic stop may limit this action. These edited comments are a part of the Hurt Study released in 1981, which tried to research motorcycle crash cause factors and identify countermeasures to use in the idea of providing the basis of due cause for preliminary enforcement action and screening of traffic for unlicensed riders. One fundamental rider communication measure suggested in the study was enforcement action by ticketing for a for a traffic violation. The data of this research shows that driver improvement is vital to those motorcycle riders who have had traffic violations or crashes, and experience has shown that a special motorcycle traffic school is an effective alternative to the payment of a fine for a citation. Advantage should be made of this contact opportunity to require a special motorcycle traffic school for motorcycle riders with traffic citations so that critical information can be given to these likely crash candidates. The Hurt study was cited in many references about motorcycle crash cause studies and countermeasures over the years. This study is now 30 years old. A new study is currently under commission through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation to the Oklahoma Transportation Center for the â€Å"new Motorcycle Crash Causation Study†. The hope is that this study will shed new light on the causes of crashes and update the old data. HURT STUDY – Highlights Key Points Learned 75% M/C crashes involve another vehicle 2/3 of those crashes other vehicle failed to yield right of way to M/C Failure of motorist to recognize M/C is predominate cause of crash Crash configuration—M/C traveling straight other vehicle turning maneuver Riders 16 and 24 of age are over-represented in these crashes (96% male) 92% of the riders we self taught without any â€Å"formal† training 50% of fatal M/C riders had alcohol usage Motorcyclist had significant collision avoidance problems, i. e. , over/under braking, poor ability to counter steer and swerve, etc. Typically less than 2 seconds for motorcyclist to react Motorcycles equipped with fairings and windshields low crash involvement – maybe related to conspicuity (more frontal surface) High number of M/C riders had no M/C license , no license of any type or were suspended/revoked

Employment of Special Forces in Conventional Operations

Employment of Special Forces in Conventional Operations INTRODUCTION General 1. The history of warfare is replete with instances of a band of elite troops taking on a numerically superior force and using surprise to achieve relative superiority to emerge victorious. In a world where the nature of threat is becoming increasingly complex encompasses the entire spectrum of warfare, Special Forces hold their own importance. These highly trained motivated troops with sophisticated weapons equipment are capable of operating in all types of terrain weather conditions to seek a favourable response to sensitive situations. 2. In an era of modern warfare where all dimensions of force, time, space even virtual space or cyberspace are likely to be exploited to gain moral or physical ascendancy over the adversary, the role of the Special Forces becomes very important. It is therefore incumbent on any nation to have these forces fully geared up to confidently take up the challenges of the modern battlefield environment with a sound backing of tried tested doctrines employment concepts. Hypothesis 3. Given the changing face of warfare the aspirations of our nation to be a global player, there is a requirement of carrying out organisational doctrinal changes to our Special Forces for undertaking conventional operations in the future. Statement of the Problem 4. It seems quite obvious that there indeed is a need for having a re-look at the way the Special Forces are employed in present context of operations. Therefore, the problem can be stated as What are the organisational doctrinal changes required for effective employment of the Special Forces in conventional operations in the future? Justification of the Study 5. Recent wars such as those in Kosovo or Iraq have amply proved that no single instrument of war wins a campaign or successfully executes a mission. As conflicts become more complex and diverse, those involved with planning and executing campaigns and missions have greater challenges at hand[i]. 6. The Special Forces, by virtue of their superior combat training specialised weapons equipment, are a force multiplier unit available not only to a tactical commander to gain an upper hand vis-a-vis the adversary in a tactical battle, but also to a strategic force commander due to their ability to strike at the decisive points of the enemy. Special Forces are also a very effective force available to the commander in sub conventional operations where the very nature of the latter is based on small team concept. 7. On a larger canvas, as part of our growing influence in world matters our expanding interests in the Asian region, it may be necessary in future to station own Special Forces in some of the nations for safeguarding of our foreign assets as well as to improve our capability to react to an Out of Area contingency. 8. It is therefore mandatory to study as to what are the fundamental changes, if any, which are required so that our Special Forces are able to effectively execute the multifarious tasks expected out them in the future battlefield. Scope 9. The scope of the study encompasses a brief overview of the organization structure of the special operations forces of a few major developing developed countries followed by an assessment of the present organisation concept of employing our special forces. The study will thereafter analyse the likely future world order the spectrum of conflicts in the future analyse the changes in present organisation concept of employment to meet challenges of conventional operations in the future. 10. The study does not deliberate upon the specific operations of the Special Forces. However, an operation or part thereof may be included in a chapter to bring out certain lessons having a bearing on the topic. 11. The study will be carried out in the following manner:- (a) Chapter I : Overview of the Special Forces of various nations. (b) Chapter II : Present organisation concept of employment of Indias Special Forces. (c) Chapter III : Future world order spectrum of conflict. (c) Chapter IV : Changes in present organisation concept of employment to meet challenges of conventional operations in the future. (d) Conclusion. i Air Power Special Operations: AIR POWER Journal Vol. 2 No. 2 SUMMER 2005 (Apr-Jun) 102 pp 91-93 . CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE SP ECIAL FORCES OF VARIOUS NATIONS Intro duction 1. The evolution of the SF has been a continuous process the world over since the times of the Vikings the Mongols. Every age has produced a special soldier, be it the Greek Hoplite, the English Archer, Chhatrapati Shivaji of India, the Green Beret of the USA the Paratrooper Regiment of India. 2. The process of evolution of the SF gathered pace during after the World War II. Today, almost all nations with a standing army have the Special Operations Forces on their strength. In order to derive lessons about the role employment of the Indian Special Forces, it is therefore pertinent to study the organisational employment models of some of the modern Special forces of various nations of the world. SEC – 1: SPECIAL AIR SERVICE ( SAS) OF UK 3. In the post war western world, the UK has been the leading nation in evolving SF organisations, specialised equipment, training employment doctrines. 4. Organisation . The SAS was raised in the 1950s has evolved into a balanced, well trained force headed by the Director, Special Forces Group. The Director reports directly to Whitehall the Chief of Defence Staff. Under him, he has the following forces[ii]:- (a) 21st, 22nd 23rd SAS Regiments. (b) Special Boat Section (SBS). (c) 14th Intelligence Group. Note . Of these, the 22nd SAS is the only active regiment while the other two are Territorial Army SAS units. 5. The Royal Air Force (RAF) has a dedicated squadron which includes fixed rotary wing aircrafts for the operations in support of the SAS. 6. The primary mission of the SAS has been to undertake unconventional military operations in a conventional war. The SAS has performed this mission in various conflicts like the Falklands War the Gulf War with remarkable degree of success. Another task which the SAS was assigned in the near past was that of incident response operations dealing with intervention in hijack hostage situations. The SAS earned a niche for themselves by providing quality training advisory teams to a large number of Middle Eastern African nations. 7. Over the years, the SAS has developed into a highly professional force with clearly defined missions well equipped, highly trained motivated personnel to execute them. SEC 2: SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES (SOF) OF THE USA 6. The USA has the most elaborate well organised SF establishment in the world. It is also one of the largest with an overall strength of over 45,000 personnel a budget of over $ 4 bn. 7. The US adopts a systems approach to respond to problems which shows their bureaucracy in a good light demonstrates the clarity of thought determination of their leadership. 8. The US SOF has a dual role in todays context. They are seen as the nations penetration strike force as well as warrior diplomats capable of influencing, advising, training conducting operations with foreign forces, officials population. 9. The Posture Statement mandates the SOF to be able to undertake the following types of missions:- (a) Counter Proliferation. (b) Counter Terrorism. (c) Foreign International Defence. (d) Special Reconnaissance. (e) Direct Action. (f) Psychological Operations. (g) Civil Affairs. (h) Unconventional Warfare. (j) Information Operations. 10. As can be seen, the SOF of the US has been created to undertake a plethora of operations. More importantly, they have also been tasked to carry out operations like Civil Affairs, Psychological Operations Information Operations which have assumed tremendous importance in todays conflicts. Organisation 11. The SOF has an elaborate joint services organisational structure headed by a four star General who reports directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff the National Command Authority. The detailed organisation of the SOF is as shown at Appendix A[iii]. 12. Each of the unified theatre commands has a separate Special Operations Command (SOC) to meet their special requirements. The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a joint headquarters that deals with organisational training aspects is designed to study special operations requirements techniques, ensure interoperability equipment standardisation, plan conduct joint special operations exercises training. SEC- 3 : SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES OF CHINA 11. The SOF of China is modelled upon the Russian SOF pattern. Chinese forces, although adept at guerrilla warfare special missions, did not have a dedicated Special Forces component until the early 1990s when China underwent a doctrinal change from peoples war towards fighting a local war under high-tech conditions[iv]. 12. All the seven mil regions in China have a dedicated SOF component capable of deploying upto a regiment sized force. As its strategic reserve, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) also has the 51st Airborne Division equipped with the BMD3 Paratrooper vehicles. The division has the capability to conduct airborne operations in a radius of upto 900 kms is likely to be employed for sabotage missions, disruption of command control structures etc. 13. PLA Airborne Corps plays a critical role in special operations scenario. It forms part of the PLAs strategic reserve rapid reaction forces. Airborne operations in the context of China include paratroops operations, air transport operations, heliborne operations special operations. The division inventory of the AB Corps is similar to that of an infantry division except for the heavy weaponry like tanks, heavy artillery anti-aircraft weapons. 14. The PLA Navy (PLAN) also has several elite units specialised in underwater special operations is known as the Amphibious Reconnaissance Groups. These are similar to the SBS of UK or the SEALs of the USA. 15. The SOFs Taiwan-focused training over the years has made them highly proficient at locating and destroying transportation nodes, logistics depots, and conducting reconnaissance missions. With the growing threat of terrorism on its Western borders, the SOF has also been strengthened in the fields of counter-terrorism, unconventional combat, as well as direct attack missions. 16. Although a conflict with China over disputed territory is by no means imminent, it would be wise for Indian policy makers and defence analysts to take note of the SOFs relatively newly acquired strengths, especially its ability to locate and destroy transportation nodes and logistics depots. In the event of hostilities, a PLA first strike would likely involve air strikes followed by a ground incursion and in order for this to occur, the SOF would need to create ground conditions that would be conducive to such operations. India should remain vigilant along its disputed border with China and should maximise any opportunity that it has to observe Taiwan-focused PLA training[v]. 17. Major indicators of the role importance of the SOF suggest the following:- (a) The evolution development of the SOF in China display both traditional modern principles of special operations. (b) The Chinese have emphasised on specialised warfare techniques since the 1990s after a deep study analysis of Gulf War the ongoing War on Terror. (c) The role of the SF in anti-terror operations is the new element that has been added to the overall strategy in the recent time. (d) Improvement in specific areas like sea-borne operations, EW IW suggest that these could be extensively employed in future regional conflicts with India etc. (e) Efforts to improve AB operational capabilities indicate its ambitions to gain strategic advantage in the Himalayan Region. SEC- 4: SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES OF PAKISTAN 18. The SOF of Pakistan is known as the Special Services Group (SSG). The first unit was formed in the late fifties with an initial strength of 12 companies including a SCUBA company. Post the debacle of 1965 Indo- Pak war, the SSG was reorganised expanded. Two new battalions a HQ were raised. In 1970, the SSG formed an independent combat diver unit by re-designating the old SCUBA Company. An additional company, the ZARAR Company was raised in 1980 as a CT force with the assistance of the British SAS[vi]. 19. The current strength of the SSG is estimated to be upto four battalions of 700 personnel each. The Commander SSG, of the rank of a Brigadier oversees the operations of the SSG. The Group has dedicated air assets earmarked for its employment. Of the four battalions, one battalion is under training at any given time, two are under operational deployment one is deployed for security of vital strategic assets. 20. The missions of the SSG include the following:- (a) Unconventional Warfare. (b) Long-range reconnaissance intelligence gathering. (c) Riverine operations. (d) CT. (e) Tactical Assaults. (f) Target designations for air force artillery. (g) Protection of vulnerable points. 21. The SSG is a battle- hardened force has grown in strength experience since the debacle of 1965. It has gained some really worthy experience during its recent employment in the operations against the Taliban al-Qaeda in NWFP Swat valley. ii Brigadier Deepak Sinha: Beyond the Bayonet Indian Special Operations Forces in the 21st Century. Gyan Publishing House, New Delhi. iii Ibid pp 60-67. iv Ibid pp 115-116. v Lieutenant General Vijay Oberoi, PVSM, AVSM, VSM: Approach Paper for Seminar on Doctrine, Structure Employment of Special Forces Across the Spectrum of Conflict in Indian Context (Centre of Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi, Sep 2005). vi Ibid pp 97-101, pg 104. CHAPTER II PRESENT ORGANISATION CONCEPT OF EMPLOYMENT OF INDIAS SPECIAL FORCES. Introduction 1. The employment of specialised guerrilla forces in Indian context dates back to the ancient ages. However, in the recent history it can be traced to the rule of the Maratha warrior, Chhatrapati Shivaji. Shivaji employed his small forces to infiltrate into enemies defences thereby turning them causing panic large scale casualties. 2. The modern SOF in India was raised consequent to the directions of Sir Winston Churchill which led to the raising of the 50 Independent Parachute Brigade in 1941. This brigade was employed in the Battle of Shangsak in an airborne operation in the WW II in the Burma Theatre. The 50 Independent Parachute Brigade is the oldest formation in the world to have continuously remained in airborne role. 3. Today, the Indian SOF comprises of the Parachute the Parachute Special Forces Battalions, the National Security Guards (NSG), the Marine Commandos (MARCOS) the Special Frontier Force (SFF). The organisation employment of these forces is discussed in the following chapters. Concept of Emp loyment of Special Forces 4. In war, Special Forces are an invaluable adjunct to conventional forces. Selectively employed, they have a force multiplier effect. In situations short of declared war, they are capable of sophisticated, specialized and measured response in complex politico-military situations where the application of conventional military forces is inappropriate because it could trigger an escalating response. 5. In order to fulfill the role and execute missions – Special Forces should have the capacity to operate in all kinds of terrain in the areas of interest and exploit adverse weather to own advantage. They should be capable of using the medium of land, sea and air for carrying out deep penetration to accomplish the assigned mission, which implies that their organization needs to be an integrated unit to maximize effectiveness. 6. The organization of Special Forces is designed to be cellular with the smallest functional group being a buddy pair. Based on past experiences, it was realized that there was a requirement of distributing danger, provide greater internal resources for psychological and physical backup and a need of varied combat skills namely – demolition, navigation, communication, medical, weapon proficiency and language within the group, have necessitated enlargement of the smallest functional group from a buddy pair to a combat patrol of a four- five men assault squad. Four such squads would be ideal to make a troop for carrying out overt and limited covert military special operations in war and situations short of declared war, either independently or in conjunction on with other special forces of similar nature, in own areas of interest to achieve military and or political objectives in support of military and / or national aims. SEC – 1: THE PARACHUTE BATTALIONS Organisation Employment 7. The Parachute Battalions are the oldest of the SOF in our country. These were formed either by converting the standard infantry battalions into Parachute Battalions or by the integration of the Indian Parachute Battalions post independence. Presently we have five Parachute Battalions of which, three battalions form part of the 50(Independent) Parachute Brigade. These are considered to be the only rapid reaction forces available with the country. 8. The 50(Independent) Parachute Brigade is a brigade group comprising of elements of all arms services[vii]. The Parachute Battalions are organised on lines similar to the regular infantry units. However, they are different from them in terms of their equipment profile. Another significant aspect is their manpower which is purely on the basis of volunteers who are selected after a very tough challenging probation for a period of three months. 9. The Parachute Battalions are organised trained for offensive operations behind enemy lines Out Of Area Contingencies. The Parachute Brigade over the years has been kept as an Army HQ Reserve or employed piecemeal in certain operations. 10. The Parachute Battalions have been employed with a fair degree of success in conventional operations in the past. The Para Brigade was successfully employed against the Portuguese in Goa, as a coy sized task force at Bara Hoti against the Chinese in early 1961 in the Kutch operations in 1965. The most successful operation of the Paras still remains the para drop of a battalion sized force at Tangail. This operation is arguably the one which tilted the balance in Indias favour. As regards failed operations, the most glaring example is that of the failed paradrop at the Jaffna University during Op PAWAN. However, the failure of this operation may not be attributable as much to the Paras as it would be to faulty planning coordination at higher levels. 11. Over the last decade a half, the Parachute Battalions have been employed in Counter Insurgency (CI) operations. Their employment in these operations has been quite successful with almost all battalions having been awarded the Chief of Army Staff Citation. 12. The Parachute Battalions have been employed as a rapid reaction force as a crack force to act upon hard intelligence to destroy terrorist hideouts. They have also been employed in covert role for surveillance pseudo operations. 13. In the recent past, perceptions among certain sections of the defence establishment have led to the crystallisation of the belief that large scale airborne operations are not feasible in the modern context. This has seriously affected the tactical strategic airlift capability. 14. In CI operations, the Parachute Battalions have been employed as regular infantry battalions- although as a tougher version of the latter. Couple this with the high expectations quick results desired from them, we see that the pressure to perform on these battalions is enormous. The fact that despite the above these units have performed exceedingly well is a tribute to their exemplary leadership high standard of training. SEC – 2: MARINE COMMANDOS (MARCOS) History Organisation 15. The evolution of the present day MARCOS dates back to 1986, when the National Security Guards (NSG) was being formed. In response to the requirement of an equivalent force for safeguarding our shore – based off-shore assets, the Indian Marine Special Force was formed in Feb 1987. This force was modelled on the lines of the US Navy SEALS the Royal Navys Special Boat Section. The name was changed from Indian Marine Special Force to the present day Marine Commandos (MARCOS) in 1991[viii]. 16. The present strength of the MARCOS is estimated to be about 2000 personnel[ix]. It is divided into three groups, one each at Mumbai, Kochi Vishakhapatnam. 17. The MARCOS undergo a very rigorous training of two years which includes the Combat Divers Course, the Armys Ghatak Course parachute jumps. Thereafter the personnel are sent to operational groups for on the job training for a year. This includes counter terrorist (CT) operations, storming of oil rigs hostage rescue operations. Employment 18. The CT operations of the MARCOS are executed by the Quick Reaction Sections (QRS) which are upto a platoon size. MARCOS can also be tasked for beach reconnaissance, under water demolitions other operations in support of the amphibious landings. 19. The MARCOS are presently also employed in teams in the JK, where they are primarily deployed along the Dal, Wullar Nageen lakes. Their deployment has led to an effective domination of these water bodies. In the very recent past, the MARCOS were employed during the terrorist attacks in Mumbai on 26 November 2008, wherein the MARCOS teams were heli-landed atop the Hotel Oberoi to eliminate the terrorists. 20. The recent employment of the MARCOS in neutralising the terrorists in Mumbai brought to fore once again the need to have an institutionalised framework for employing the Army Naval SOF in a coordinated manner. There is also a requirement of standardisation of equipment weapons if there has to be any joint operations in any future conflict. There is also a need for enhanced joint training of the army SF the MARCOS as they will surely be employed jointly in any future operation. SEC- 3: NATIONAL SECURITY GUARDS ( NSG) 21. The National Security Guards (NSG) was formed in 1986 under the National Security Guards Act ( Act 47 of 1986) has fast emerged as the elite anti-terror establishment not only in India but in the entire Asian region. The NSG is under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is mandated to carry out CT, anti-kidnapping, anti-sabotage, anti-hijacking hostage rescue missions[x]. 22. The NSG has approx 7500 which are further sub-divided as under:- (a) The Assault Groups, i.e, 51st 52nd Special Action Groups (SAG). (b) The Support Group. (c) Two Bomb Disposal Units. (d) A Dog Unit. (e) A Communications Group (f) A Transport Group. 23. The other element of the NSG is the Special Ranger Group (SRG) whose task is to isolate the target area where the SAG is to operate. However, these are now responsible for providing close security cover to VVIPs politicians. 24. The Support Group is manned by a mix of army para-military forces personnel includes the NSG Training Centre at Manesar near Gurgaon the Force Headquarters headed by a three star police officer of the IPS Cadre. The operational training aspects are handled by the army while the para-military forces look after the logistics budgeting. 25. The NSG has to its credit a string of successful operations is rightly known as the premier specialist CT organisation in India. The NSG successfully executed Op BLACK THUNDER in the precincts of the Golden Temple in 1984 wherein it was able to neutralise the hardcore militants with minimal collateral damage. The other notable operations include the neutralisation of the killers of Rajiv Gandhi at the Bangalore Airport the intervention at the Akshardham Temple in Gujarat. However, the most recent successful operation of the NSG remains the intervention neutralisation of terrorists at the Hotel Oberoi during the terrorist strikes at Mumbai on 26 November 2008. The NSG on the other hand, received a lot of unwarranted flak for its delayed employment during the IC-814 hijack crisis. As the picture of the exact turn of events is now clearing up, one can confidently say that the NSG should have been the last to be blamed in the matter. 26. However, the NSG is plagued with a number of problems of late. The most serious one is that of the Command Control structure. Although the most important aspects of operational role training are handled by the army, the head of the NSG is still an IPS officer. It is important that the command of such a premier CT organisation be vested with someone with a practical on the job experience of CT operations which naturally is with an army officer. The issue has been raised at the highest possible levels time again, most recently after the Mumbai attacks, but to no avail. It is important for the powers that be to stop the lobbyist attitudes which may eventually jeopardise national security. 27. Another major problem that has been created is due to the diversion of the Special Ranger Group (SRG) for VVIP protection tasks. The original task for which the SRG was raised – to isolate the target area for subsequent operations by SAG – has thus suffered a void. 28. Until before the Mumbai attacks, the SAGs were based in New Delhi operated from there. Post the incident, it was realised that there existed a need for the NSG to have operational bases in major metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata Hyderabad for rapid response to a terror strike. Accordingly, additional NSG units have been proposed to be raised for these cities. As to where the manpower for these units is likely to come from, especially when the NSG in its present form itself is plagued with a shortage of manpower, is matter of serious concern. SEC-4: SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE 29. The Special Frontier Force (SFF) was established in 1962 after the debacle in the war with China. The force has six battalions each with six companies. It also has a training establishment known as the Establishment 22 a Parachute Training School. The force comprises of personnel recruited from the border hill tribes Tibetan refugees. The force is officered by Indian Army officers on deputation. The task of the force is to conduct reconnaissance, carry out raids on vital installations direct air artillery strikes in case of hostilities with China[xi]. 30. In addition to the battalions, the force also has a unit known as the Special Group which is manned fully by personnel on deputation from the army[xii]. This group is organised equipped to carry out CT operations. The exact nature of tasks to be performed their likely employment is not very clearly spelt out. This group provided the core on which the first NSG unit was raised. 31. The SFF saw major combat in the 1971 War for the first time when it was employed in the Chittagong Hill Tracts for carrying out cross- border attacks which preceded the war. It also fought some spectacular actions against the 2nd Commando Battalion SSG of Pakistan during the war. 32. Despite the raison de etre, the SFF today is faced with the serious problem of their relevance. The normalisation of Sino-Indian ties the rapid modernisation of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has diminished the possibility of a liberated Tibet. The fact has been accepted even by the Dalai Lama, who now talks of an Autonomous Tibet instead of Free Tibet. All this has led to a drastic reduction in the number of expatriate Tibetans with knowledge of local language, terrain culture. 33. Over a period of time the force has lost its motivated dedicated Khampa fighters have been replaced with second generation Tibetans who have been born brought up in India are consequently unaware of the terrain, local customs traditions of native Tibet – an aspect of prime importance for employment of the force. The army itself has been facing serious manpower problems especially in the officer cadre sending its officers on deputation to these units means taxing the already critical officer- state in the regular regiments/ battalions 34. Another important drawback in the force structure of the SFF is the Special Group. This Group was initially raised as an anti-hijack building intervention force. Subsequent to the raising of the NSG – for which the Group provided the core element – their employment role has been in a limbo. If it was intended to be employed for covert operations, it has not been done for lack of political will despite opportunities for the same having existed for so many years, especially against terror groups operating out of Pakistan. vii Brigadier Deepak Sinha: Beyond the Bayonet Indian Special Operations Forces in the 21st Century. Gyan Publishing House, New Delhi pp 138-139. viiiIbid pp 164-165. ix Ibid pp 167- 171. x Ibid pp 177- 181. xi Ibid pp 177- 181. CHAPTER III FUTURE WOR LD ORDER SPECTRUM OF CONFLICT 1. In order to fully understand the changing dynamics of the world order the creation of new alliances partnerships, especially in the military realm, it is important for us to set for ourselves a realistic period we are looking at. What should such a period be? Five yrs from now? Or should we look at a timeline of 2020? 2. Given the continued progress of our nation in the Asian region as well as its emergence in the global affairs as a vital player in worlds politico-strategic dynamics, it is saner to look at a period of 2020. This is so because it is not only important for a nation to continue on its path of progress, but it is equally important to keep consolidating the gains as the years go by. Therefore, we can safely assume that by 2020, India would definitely be a long way up on the road to being the second most dominant player in the regional matters after of course, China which aims to be the regional superpower in the corresponding period. 3. What then is the strategic operational role of the army in 2020? What are the challenges it will have to face what are we required to attain to complement supplement the ambitions of our nation in this period? These other such questions are briefly discussed in the succeeding paragraphs. SEC 1: WORLD GEO – STRAT EGIC ENVIRONMENT IN 2020 4. The collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York on 11 Sep 2001 were two events which redefined the directions of world politics. While the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a creation of a unipolar world ( which is a reality as on date, despite the emergence of the European Union the rapid economic growth of China), the 9/11 terror attacks brought the War on Terror to the doorstep of the Indian sub-continent. 5. Extrapolation of the current geo-political geo-strategic environment to 2020 will, in all probabilities, give us the following picture[xiii]:- (a) While the US will continue to be the sole

BMW Essay -- essays research papers

BMW Strengths   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  BMW is a well-known company with a high status branding that has a very high recognition factor. The company has been strengths in both research and development and design as well as in marketing. For example when it comes to marketing it was a BMW advertisement that was the first e-advertisement that made it to Campaigns 'Pick of the Week' (Doman). However, in a long-term purchase such as these, there is a need for more substance than just marketing, otherwise the life of the company would be relatively short due to the nature of the purchase. It is in these longer-term systems and strategies that we can see many of the strengths of BMW, we can consider these by starting with the market position of the company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  BMW as well as Mercedes' and a few other companies have managed too successfully attain a market position where they have a focus on a narrow range of exclusive cars. These can be seen as aimed at the market place that is not also sensitive to price, and as such we must argue that the market positioning may be seen as a strength as there will not be such a reaction if the economic conditions change. The customers that are in the target group are happy to pay a premium price for what they perceive as a premium product (Thompson).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This may not be so true of the subsidiary companies that have had different problems, such as the ill-fated Rover group. However, the core product has remained strong (Thompson). This may be seen as diversification, and some of the diversification may also be seen as a strength, for example the purchase of Rolls Royce where there is a similar strategy, however the range and target market are even more focussed and exclusive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The strategy of BMW is designed to be defensive against other car manufactures, and as we will see when it comes to the section on threats this is a defensive strategy that BMW have adopted after learning the need for defensive as well as aggressive marketing and strategies. These strategies can be seen as follows;  Customers may choose any color that the wish from the entire range, this is only matched by Rolls Royce and Aston Martin, other companies offer a choice of color but only wi... ....   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The position of BMW is relatively strong; they have made mistakes, but appear to be learning form them. Their relatively small size can be seen as justified in such a competitive market by their own market position. Therefore as long as the company retains it focus and is not tempted into too great a level of diversification then it should have a bright future. Work Cited European Car, (no author cited), (2001, May), Hydrogen-powered BMW 750hL, European Car, v32 i5 p14 The Economist (UK), (no author cited), (2000, April 1), Milberg's mission. (Strategy of BMW, The Economist (UK), p70 (2) Lorenz Andrew, (2000, Dec 20), Rover and out. (BMW's sale of Rover, automobiles) Autocar, v226 i12 p62 (4) Mintzberg H Quinn J B, Ghoshal S (1998), The Strategy Process, London. Prentice Hall. Thompson J (1998) Strategic Management; Awareness and Change, London, Thomson Business Press Wells Melanie, (2001, April 16), Giving an Old Brand New Mystique. Forbes, p198s02 Foundry Management & Technology, (no author cited), (2000, July), BMW, Ford Motor Sign Definitive Agreement for Land Rover, Foundry Management & Technology, v128 i7 p8

Down Syndrome: An Informative Essay -- Birth Defect Health

Down Syndrome: An Informative Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Down Syndrome is the name for babies born with a disorder related to their chromosomes. It is caused when meiosis occurs and an error occurs in the cells development. The reason for this defect is often because the parent is over 40 or for some other reason their meiosis is not "Up to par."   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The actual defect is an extra chromosome is developed during cell development. The abnormal development results in 47 chromosomes rather than the usual 46 (23 from each parent). This extra gene causes problems in the child's physical and mental development. There are an estimated 5000 babies with Down Syndrome born in America every single year. While the chances of having a Down Syndrome baby are slim, (1 in 1000) it is still an issue that...

Legal Provisions Concerned with Business Units :: Business Management Companies Essays

Legal Provisions Concerned with Business Units Our client is in the process of forming a company. She wishes to avoid personal liability upon any contracts she may enter into on behalf of the proposed company. Our job is to design a report to explain the legal provisions concerned with the formation, management and dissolution of business units. The report will identify the relevant legal principles, which can influence the choice of business unit. Explain the differences in the regulatory approach adopted for partnerships and registered companies and describe the procedures for the dissolution of business units. At the end of the report we will advise our client what type of company would be best suited to her needs. There will also be a presentation to go with the report highlighting the main points. 2.TYPES OF COMPANY There are many different types of business unit. Each is formed by a group of people with a common aim. Britain has what is known as a mixed economy where goods and services are supplied by both private and public sector organisations, as shown in the following diagram: Private Enterprise Sole Trader Partnerships Limited Companies Co-operatives Private Public Retail Producer Public Enterprise Public corporations Government Departments Local Authorities The private sector/enterprise is the term used to describe all businesses which are owned by individuals or groups of individuals and run essentially for profit. About half of all trading in Britain is controlled by private sector organisations. The other half known as the public sector/enterprise are businesses which are owned and controlled by the government or Local Authorities and run for the benefit of the country. The sector this report is concerned with is the Private Sector. 2.1 SOLE TRADER This is the oldest, simplest and therefore most common form of business unit. A sole trader is one who conducts their business by themselves either using their own name or a business name. This is somebody who is self-employed and who usually starts a business with capital from their savings or by borrowing from friends or a bank. Capital is the money which every business needs to enable it to set up and operate, for example to buy premises, equipment, stock and pay wages. The main advantage is that you can be flexible. You don’t need to discuss with others (e.g. partners and directors) how you are going to run the business. You also have less paperwork. A sole trader is not necessarily a one-person business and may have many employees or branches. However, the business is owned by one person and it is they who receive the profits. ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES - Business affairs can be kept private except for completing tax

Problems of the Society Essay

Many problems of modern society cannot be solved by laws and the legal system because moral behaviour cannot be legislated. The topic very well states that many of the problems faced by the modern world cannot be solved by laws and legal system for the reason that the moral behaviour responsible for these problems cannot be legalised. To start with the very usage of words like ‘sorry’ , ‘please’ , ‘thanks’ cannot be forced by the law eventhough these words have a very high impact on the people in their day to day to activities. It is just the moral responsibility or a reflection of the moral behaviour of a person in doing so. Law can only confine or restrict a individuals physical presence but not his thoughts and perceptions. The very fact that people have a lot of rights in a democratic country restricts the law and puts it into a backseat in controlling the moral behaviour of the people. It is for the people to act justly. A number of Prohibition experiments conducted by the Government to control the consumption of alcohol failed miserably. People never gave up and found new ways of acquiring alcohol inspite of many restrictions from the govt. It is the people who have to understand the ill-effects of alcohol on the society and act accordingly. We have also witnessed a number of cases where people suffering with AIDS are ostracized by the community. Legal system can only help support these people physically/financially but not morally. It is the people who have to understand and act accordingly. One important problem faced by most of the countries is that of Pollution. There are many laws enacted by the Govt. to control pollution. No doubt that these laws are helpful in controlling pollution till a extent but the real control and effect of these laws is put to question. There are factories who would prefer to do away with the rules and regulation by paying up fine/penalty for not adhering to the norms instead of regulating their methods of production because they find it more convenient financially doing so. Air pollution can also be controlled by growing sense of awareness within the people using automobiles say the usage of multi-modal transport whenver possible instead of their personal cars and/or maintaining a sound condition of the engine of the vehicle. Instead law cannot make it mandatory for people to travel only by multi-modal transport system.

Business Practices

Business practices came under fire when America's seventh largest firm Enron collapsed due to unethical accounting strategies. This case triggered a series of unwelcome events where one after the other, large organizations in the US collapsed or run for bankruptcy cover with one case even implicated the infamous Martha Stewart for insider trading. The various deceitful activities of some larger companies resulted in widespread public mistrust of business practices and values. Companies as big as Adelphia, ENRON, Global Crossing, Kmart, Qwest communications, WorldCom and Xerox are all under thorough investigation by one of the few reliable authorities, Securities and Exchange Commission (Royal Bank of Scotland). All the aforementioned names were business of international repute that were charged with the unethical act of projecting inflated profits to trick stakeholders and earn higher profits and generate greater revenue from expensive stocks (Royal Bank of Scotland). WorldCom ran for insolvency in July 2002, making it one of the biggest bankruptcies of all times (Royal Bank of Scotland). Both World Com and ENRON hugely overstated their profits and hence committed the major crime of misleading stockholders. â€Å"World Com Inc. , the US No. 2 long distance Company fraudulently overstated profits by nearly 7 billion dollars in last few years. Analysts, brokers and accountants moved like herds to promote their stock† (Royal Bank of Scotland). Enron was another major setback to the industry and economy when its unethical accounting practices resulted in a huge financial crunch. The accounts of the company showed that Enron's revenues in 2000 were over $100 billion. Enron was growing rapidly as it was selected by Fortune magazine as one of those companies whose stocks were most likely to last the entire first decade of the 21st century. Enron was performing well in all its three business namely energy, wholesale and global services. Enron's bankruptcy then took the world by complete surprise, as this was not only the biggest collapse in the United States in recent years, it was also the fastest. Before filing for bankruptcy in December last year, Enron was the seventh largest company of the United States as it turned its businesses into monopolies by dominating all areas of its various operations. But a company that looked so powerful only a year ago collapsed dramatically when one of its accountants began raising questions about those shady transactions which had managed to conceal the company's negative debt position from its accounting books. But slowly and gradually Enron's problems began unrolling in front of the public and it became clear that all the profits shown by the company were simply an illusion. ENRON as well as World Com both had managed to make these blunders with the Arthur Anderson, that was reportedly, â€Å"one of the top five accountancy firms in the world† that doctored accounting books of ENRON â€Å"and later shredded vital documents at several of their office locations including London† (Royal Bank of Scotland). Ethical crisis in business is definitely a hot issue these days. With no respite in sight and probably no long term solution available, public has become wary of American corporate world. It appears that every other day, a large organization makes headlines for fraudulent actions. What is even more ironic is that these unethical practices have mostly involved large accounting firms: organizations that are created with the sole purpose of providing honest third-part services. The major accountancy organizations that have been found involved in ethical crisis included Arthur Andersen, KPMG, Price Waterhouse Coopers and others (Royal Bank of Scotland). In addition to these â€Å"in May 2002, Myrill Lynch was fined $100 million for over rating various stocks of blue chip companies and apologized for doing so in N. Y district court† (Royal Bank of Scotland). Furthermore, â€Å"many of the analysts of investment/Merchant Banks hype stock prices and profit forecasts of companies with whom they do business with† (Royal Bank of Scotland). Apart from accounting errors, there are other illegal and unethical practices that companies have been consistently resorted to. Unethical activities like â€Å"dumping polluted chemical wastes into rivers, insider trading on Wall Street, overcharging the government for Medicaid services, and institutions like Stanford University inappropriately using taxpayer money to buy a yacht or to enlarge their President's bed in his home as morally wrong† (Ronald: 505) are the bane of business today. Nonetheless, such unethical practices are undertaken every other day with little or no regard for the well being of people. Sense of social responsibility is thus missing from our mighty corporate world today. Two important cases in this regard are as follows: Allegheny Bottling is one of the Pepsi-Cola Bottling franchises, which came under severe criticism when it was found guilty of price-fixing. It is a common practice which is nonetheless unethical (Ronald: 505). The case went to federal courts where it was decided that since ever senior executive knew of the price fixing practice and did not report it, they were all partners in crime. The court then ordered three years in prison for the entire senior management, some of whom were not directly involved but knew of the plan and chose to remain silent. The firm was also fined 1 million dollars as fine but the problem with the sentence was that a firm cannot be imprisoned under the Constitutional Law and thus what the federal court ordered was not applicable in practice. (Ronald: 505). Another such case that underscores the need for better practices and more ethically sound business code concerned Harris Corporations. This firm had incurred huge losses, amounting to more than $500,000 when they were heavily fined for their fraudulent practices. But instead of pleading not guilty or contesting, the firm quickly and calmly â€Å"pleaded no contest to charges that it participated in a kickback scheme involving a defense department loan to the Philippines† (Ronald: 506). This was an irresponsible strategy to cover up unethical practices of the firm and the CEO explained it later in these terms: â€Å"The firm and its employees were not guilty of criminal conduct; top managers pleaded no contest because the costs associated with litigation would have been greater than the fines, and litigation would have diverted management attention from firm operations† (Ronald: 507). Both the aforementioned cases reflect the loopholes and the weakening moral and ethical values in the corporate world. Nonetheless, the former case pertaining to the unethical practices of the Pepsi-cola franchise reveals that there are various firms that though realizing, knowingly commit crimes and conform to illegal and unethical practices. However, in the latter case, the management as well as the executives performed an unethical act, which they were ignorant of due to vague laws. Consequently, the above discussion reveals that one of the major motivations behind performing illegal acts is the reward that is offered by the executives or the employers themselves to induce unethical behavior for personal gains in terms of huge profits by illegal means. It has been observed that executives who offer bribes to other parties involved in business dealings are rewarded for transgressing code of ethics and many a times righteous individuals are scared to let the cat out of the bag, fearing the dire consequences that might place their jobs in danger. Therefore, another apparent reason of unethical behavior in the workplaces that promotes illegal practices is the fact that employees at all levels are either directly or indirectly rewarded for unethical acts or harshly abandoned by the materialistic world for going against the norm of practicing evils. Another reason as explained by Jansen and Von Glinow through their exhaustive study is that encouraging â€Å"counternorms† in an organization is also a form of promoting unethical standards in a company in order to save the firm's name or to avoid charges. These experts believe that â€Å"within organizations, it is often considered not only acceptable but desirable, to be much more secretive and deceitful. The practice of stonewalling, willingly hiding relevant information is quite common. One reason for this is that organizations may actually punish those who are too open and honest† (Ronald: 505). There are innumerable examples and real-life situations wherein employees were offered special incentives and bonuses as well as other monetary benefits for deliberately not disclosing the actual picture thereby hiding the true story. B. F. Goodrich is one of the employers utilizing such filthy strategies to gain acceptance and to enhance the international reputation. He offered great monetary gains to all his employees who provided him with and generated pseudo figures, with the help of which, he managed to receive a certificate for high â€Å"quality aircraft brakes† (Ronald: 509). In addition to the above, Metropolitan Edison also bribed their employees and compelled them to keep all the necessary and relevant details pertaining to the Three Mile Island endoplasmic mishap from the governmental agencies and other investigation firms (Ronald: 511). Thus the cases mentioned above lucidly prove the experts view that organizations advocate â€Å"counternorms of secrecy and deceitfulness. Because these practices are commonly rewarded and accepted suggests that organizations may be operating within a world that dictates its own set of accepted rules. This reasoning suggests a second answer to the question of why organizations knowingly act unethically namely, because managerial values exist that undermine integrity† (Ronald: 512). We all know by now that ethical problems exist in firms and when it is not in the form of major unethical practices like accounting fraud, monopolistic strategies or price-fixing issues, they can exist in the form of small white lies. While they may not be intended to harm anyone, but they certainly mislead the public thus creating a huge gap between actual reality and projected reality. And what is really disturbing is the fact that while some unethical practiced are condemned by law, there are others for which no legal respite is available. False advertising is one such issue. False advertising is certainly an ethical issue, which cannot be controlled through legal action. This is because while there are certain trade laws, which prohibit misrepresentation, advertising firms and their clients can always invoke First Amendment in order to retain their right of freedom of speech. But it is the ethical duty of the companies to present their commodities in the positive light without completely altering the reality. There are different ways in which advertising can deceive the viewers and potential customers. The one important method often used by most advertisers is the misrepresentation method where products are made to appear better than they really are. While we cannot do anything about instilling a sense of ethical responsibility in these people, it is still important for the customers and viewers to ignore useless and senseless advertisement. The Editor of The World & I (1996) writes, â€Å"The Supreme Court has held that advertising, at least much of it, is protected by the First Amendment's freedom of speech provisions. Thus, advertising is an important and protected form of speech, similar to journalism or statements of political opinion. So, rather than reject advertising outright, we need to learn how to discern the acceptable and useful from the unacceptable and worthless. Besides, everyone actually does accept and use advertising–namely that which promotes products or services or causes that one favors. † For this reason, while we may not always be able to control unethical problems concerning the business world, we must realize that it is the responsibility of companies to ensure that ethical violations are avoided at all costs. Firm must introduce the codes of ethics and make them suitable according to the nature of the job. These rules and regulations must envelope â€Å"relations with government organizations, relations with customers and suppliers and employee conflicts of interest, honesty, etc. † (Creating an ethical organization). It is also recommended that the organizations â€Å"provide general principles and detailed guidelines, including policies related to violations† and must make sure not to â€Å"overload people with unnecessary information† for that might result in the loss of interest and extreme agitation of the entire notion. Moreover, executives as well as managers are advised to enforce the code with proper training and effective communication.