International Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

International Business - Assignment Example The most significant aspects of the factors include the internet, air travel and other forms of transport and communication. In the particular case, air travel is very significant in the process of globalization. Since globalization and air travel are directly proportional, an increase in the activities of globalization tends to increase the establishment of global airline networks (Brueckner, 2011, p. 33). The formation of the networks gives rise to the airline alliances that are in existence today. An airline alliance relates to the agreement that airlines put forward with the aim of cooperating to a level that is in the accord. The formation of the coalition may be in various fields. For instance, there are airline alliances that tend to concentrate on cargos while others specialize in offering service to international passengers. In other cases, associations tend to form in order to enable the transfer of international packages, as well as the transfer of travelers. The establishment of the global networks is dependent on the strategic plus the environmental factors (Brueckner J. K., 2013, p. 17). The strategic factors are most crucial since they act as the indicators of relevance to the establishment of an airline. The instance thus creates the need to focus on the factors that constitute the strategic and environmental factors. To enable a concise development of ideas, the model of the Three Ring Circus will be very useful. The framework provides insight into the past, the present as well as the future traits that constitute the strategic factors that are significant to an airline network. Before the analysis using the model, the considerations of the routes that make up the regional, as well as the international networks, are important (Antonio, 2014, p. 668). An airline has a strategic advantage over other airlines in other countries depending on the natural placement of the state. If a country tends to be at a central position in relation to

Drugs and Their Effect on Society Essay Example for Free

Drugs and Their Effect on Society Essay Drugs have been a long standing issue in this country from sniff and cocaine as one of the main ingredients in Coca-Cola and opium dens in much of the west coast till in recent years of prescription drugs being sold illegally. It wasn’t till the early 1900’s has drugs been addressed as habit forming and legislation being implemented to curtail addition and violence that can go hand-and-hand with the drug trade culture. The history of drugs in this country can go as far back as the Native Americans sharing the peace pipe with the Pilgrims. Drugs have taken many different forms within American society from what may have originally been used in the form of something as innocent as a soft drink (the original ingredients in Cocoa-Cola) and in forms of ailing some sort of deficiency that originally was prescribed by doctors can eventually be abused. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s Chinese’s immigrants brought over opium and created opium dens in much part of the west coast where the drug itself left the user in a euphoric and mind and mood altering state. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s with the hippie cultural, much part of the society was introduced to drugs like psychedelics which would be considered LSD and other drugs with heavy usage like mushrooms, marijuana and hashish and in other forms of society like the inner cities heroin pelage the communities with how highly addictive and deadly the drug came to be with heavy use. In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s cocaine became the prominent drug in club the atmospheres of disco techs and later became in the form of crack cocaine that pelage major cities around the U. S. with addiction and violence over the drug trade. In the early 1990’s till recent years many perception drugs and meth have been highly addictive and have been a part of the illegal drug trade. The DEA was established in 1973 that was assisted by President Richard Nixon in its creation as a form of a task force with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States of all the drugs deemed illegally additive or dangerous. â€Å"Controlled substances are generally grouped according to both pharmacological and legal criteria into the following seven categories: stimulants, depressants, cannabis, narcotics, hallucinogens, anabolic steroids and inhalants. (Schmalleger, 2012, p. 341) By federal law these categories are deemed illegal from use or distribution; stimulants: cocaine and amphetamines; cannabis: cannabis plants, hashish, hashish oil and marijuana; narcotics: codeine, Dilaudid, heroin, methadone, morphine and opium; hallucinogens: belladonna, LSD, Ectstasy (MDMA), mescaline, MDA and PCP; anabolic steroids: nandrolene, oxandrolene, oxmetholone and stanozolol; inhalants: acetate, amyl nitrite, butyl nitrite, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, Freon, nitrous oxide and toluene. Trafficking is a form of distribution of illegal drugs through the means of either smuggling which is the illegal shipment of controlled substances across state and national boundaries in many different methods like shipment overland, direct shipments to U. S. ports concealed in containers or packed with legitimate products, flights onto United States commercial airplanes or private aircrafts and airdrops to vessels waiting offshore to smuggle drugs into the U. S. boarders. The DEA follows different routes used by traffickers and one of the methods to track the occurrences is the Heroin Signature Program (HSP) is a Drug Enforcement Administration program that employs special chemical analyses to identify and measure chemical constituents of sample of seized heroin. Border patrols have protected the boarders to ensure that traffickers are disparaged from attempting to smuggle in their products. The supply and demand has kept smugglers in business because as long as there is a need for their product by the users and suppliers; distributors of the drugs will find new and advanced methods of smuggling in drugs. Government agencies have enacted different policies to somehow impact drug abuse like the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 which required manufactures to list their ingredients and specifically targeted mood-altering chemicals. The Harrison Act was passed in 1914 which was the first federal anti-drug legislation that required anyone dealing in cocaine, heroin and morphine and other drugs to register with the federal government and pay a tax of $1 per year with the authorized the registration of only those in the medical profession and outlawing the street use and street distribution of these drugs. In 1956 the Narcotic Control Act increased penalties for drug traffickers and made the sale of heroin to anyone under the age of 18 a capital offense. In 1970 the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act established five schedules that classified psycho-activity and potential for abuse. In 1988 the Anti-Drug Abuse Act proclaimed the goal for a â€Å"drug-free America by 1995 by increased penalties for drug users and made weapon purchases by drug dealers much more difficult. The goal of drug control acts are to battle illegal drugs from use and distribution by anti-drug legislation and strict enforcement, interdiction, crop control, asset forfeiture and antidrug education and drug treatment. Conclusion Early legislation against drug abuse focused on eradicating the wide spread problem of drugs in numerous of ways like requiring companies to list their ingredients on their products if it may alter the users mood or brain chemistry, taxation on drug companies, making harsher drugs illegal for sale or distribution and harsher sentencing for those whom distribute illegal drugs. Since numerous types of legislation; the focus has been much in fact on punishment and less on rehabilitation which has caused a financial strain on society and has given a stigma upon those involved in the drug trade or an abuser of these substances.

Analysis of Passage in Shelleys Frankenstein :: Mary Shelley

Letters Frankenstein This passage is out of letter three, paragraph three. I chose this paragraph because it sounded interesting and it plays a very important part of this novel. Mary Shelley wrote this novel during the Industrial Revolution. The characters in this passage approached the North Pole, challenging the Northern Sea in July. The Northern Sea is deadliest sea in the world. The navigation in the sea is only possible for three months of summer. The other nine months your life will be at risk and you may not even survive. Even the Native Eskimos don't travel during the nine months period of deadly winter. They camp near the Big Land to avoid traveling to the Northern Sea. Now a day, it is a very dangerous and risky adventure to take a ship to the Northern Sea. We are so much advanced in technology but still no one would want to risk their lives. The captain and his crew were traveling during the navigation season but they were facing fog and icebergs on their way. They were stuck in ice and mist for a whole day. Finally, around two o?clock the fog and mist was gone and they could only see the endless ice surrounding them. Some of the captain?s crew began to regret their situation and even the captain had some anxious thoughts. They realized that it could be a dead end. They were uncertain where to go and of their situation. Suddenly, they noticed something was passing by them in a distance of a half a mile. ?We perceived a low carriage, fixed on a sledge and drawn by dogs, pass on towards the north.? It was very strange to see another human/carriage on ice. It was a shock to the crew to see a single man on sled drag by dogs through Northern Sea. Comparing to a well equipped ship, the sled looked like a deadly ride. As mentioned earlier you could only see the endless ice surrounding them and they couldn?t believe that a single man would travel far from the Big Land. However, the man on a sled was a gigantic stature and most likely he was a strong and a brave man. The crew watched through telescopes, as how the sled rapidly passed by them.

Nestle International Business Strategy Essay

Company Introduction: Nestle is one of the world’s largest and most known companies. It is a Swiss company with its headquarters located in Vevey, Switzerland. The company was inaugurated in 1866 (Nestle 2012) and since its inception has grown through leaps and bounds to become the world’s largest food and nutrition company (Cnn money 2011). The company is also a major stakeholder in the cosmetic company, L’Oreal. For a company to start from a small domestic town and then expand internationally, the strategic vision of the company plays a central and key role. The subsequent chapters shall discuss the company’s internal goals and strategy and how that strategy paves way for Nestle to build its competitive advantage in all the markets it operates in. Vision and Values: The vision of Nestle reflects ideas of fairness, honesty and long-term thinking. These ideas are reflected in the company’s corporate business principles that have shaped the company culture and strategy for the past nearly 140 years. The core values that the company has are its people, the quality of its people and brand, the company’s brand portfolio, their consumers, their customers and the company’s sustainable performance.  (Nestle, 2012) Company Objectives: The main objective of Nestle can be appropriately summed up by the phrase ‘Creating Shared Value’ (Nestle, 2012) This principle at Nestle can be described as having a conviction to build long term and beneficial relationships with their stakeholders, comply with all legal requirements and ensure all activities that the business undertakes are sustainable and result in value creation for both the company and the society at large. A strategy that the company has developed to mark their achievements is that they would like to become the benchmark of (Nestle, 2012) 1. Nutrition, Health and Wellness 2. Sustainable Financial Performance 3. Trust by all stakeholders. In order to achieve these benchmarks Nestle underwent heavy expenditure in Research and Development and relies greatly on new research and innovation, both in terms of food production and processes.Strategic Analysis: The Pestel analysis is a tool made for analyzing the Political scenario, the Environmental scenario, Socio political scenario, technological scenario and legal scenario of a the macro environment of a business. This is a management method that examines the effect that events or influences from outside may have on the performance of a company or organization (CambridgeDictionary 2012). Pestel analysis is usually conducted keeping in mind the situation of a particular region. For the sake of this marketing plan, the pestel analysis of Nestle will be conducted keeping in mind the market of Great Britain. PESTEL Analysis Political: England is a member of the European Union as well as being a senior member of the United Nations. Because the country is part of two big political blocks, it allows it the freedom to trade efficiently both domestically and internationally. Despite having both a monarchy and a parliamentary form of government, the governmental system is well balanced and the common law is practiced. Nestle being a Swedish country; also  belonging to the European Union has a great relationship with the government of Great Britain (EuropeanUnion 2012). Economic: UK is the third largest economy in Europe after Germany and France however Economists within the UK market predict a mild slip back into recession for the country in the year 2012 (bbc.co.uk 2012). Due to the economy presently being in a low growth stage it is very essential for Nestle to understand the market and come up with products and processes where it could continue to offer the same high standard of products that it offers a nd yet try and minimalise costs. United Kingdom was also hit by the recession of the year 2007 and there was a fair amount of job loss. Keeping this in mind If Nestle were to set up more production plans and hired local population, it would contribute to value creation. Social: Around 66.2% of the Population of UK lies between the age brackets of 15-64 years. This means that there is a large labor force available however a majority of population is also aging. For Nestle this could be an opportunity if it decides to introduce a line of products that are compatible with its competitor’s products such as high fiber cereal offered by Kellogg’s or protein bars. With a large young population, nestle can introduce new flavors of its chocolate line with added health benefits as well (Hill, T. & R. Westbrook, 1997). Technological: The UK is a technologically advanced country with heavy focus on research and development and computed aided simulations and designs This is a positive point for Nestle as Research a nd Development is a key competitive advantage for the company. Without heavy expense incurred in this department, the company would not have been able to reach the global number one position that it has acquired today. With a technologically friendly environment in UK, Nestle has the options of introducing new technology and conducting better research without the fear or incurring too high costs or the consumers finding it difficult to adapt (bbc.co.uk 2012). Environmental: The government of the United Kingdom pays stress on companies doing their operations on environmental friendly principles. Because Nestle is a company that is within the food and nutrition industry therefore the environmental compliance is extremely essential for it to cater to. These include the correct and green processes through which the company manufactures (Environment protection act, 1990), as well as ensuring that all the edible products meet the health standards as set by the government of the United  Kingdom. Legal: With regards to the legal situation of United Kingdom the company needs to pay attention to various kinds of laws that are prevalent. These include health and safety laws, consumer laws, and employee laws as well discrimination laws. For operations within the united Kingdom it is essential for companies to not only align their processes with the legal standing of the government but also their management style and organizational culture to ensure that all employees are treated equally and fairly, there are no reported cases of harassment of any kind and that the products have a health and safety assurance otherwise the company is liable to be sued. SWOT Analysis: The swot Analysis is part of a strategic planning process for small and medium sized organizations mostly (Houben, 1999). The analysis measures the company on two fronts; internal and external. In the internal area the strengths of the business and the weaknesses it posses in its own operations are analyzed while in the external analysis, the opportunities and threats faced by the business in its macro environment are analyzed. Strengths: One of the biggest strengths of Nestle is the brand image that it has. Its brands such as Kitkat, Nescafe, Nesquick are almost synonymous with the brand name. The company also has the heavy financial muscle to invest in its research and development which can further enhance its product line as well as invest in marketing. It also has a very strong global presence both in terms of production capacities as well as market share. Weaknesses: One weakness of the company is that it has had to recall many of its products due to bad quality and that has greatly hampered its brand image. For a company as big as Nestle the customers do not expect such a dangerous mistake to be made especially since it operates in the food industry. The company also is the target of being boycotted because of media pressures and environmentalists for engaging in non-green practices and usage of child labor (ILRF, 2005). Opportunities: The fact that Nestle has gone from being merely a food brand to being nutrition and well being brand is a good opportunity for the company as it opens many new areas for product line extension. Entering into emerging markets and establishing manufacturing plants also helps the company in reducing its costs. Threats: The food  industry is probably one of the most saturated industries in the world. Keeping this in mind Nestle faces the very strong threat of competition. This competition can emerge both from international brands as well as local brands of the market in which Nestle enters and tries to operate. The rising prices of raw materials, fuel as well as the political instability in many third world countries where nestle has set up their production plants also threatens to cause unreliability in the supply line (Lin, 2007). Porters 5 forces: Michael Porter (1979) gave a framework by virtue of which the competitive advantage of companies can be assessed in the market in which they operate in. The framework includes an analysis of five concurrent forces that affect a business’ ability to compete (Michael Porter 1979). Keeping in mind the global market in which Nestle operates in, the Porters five forces analysis will be carried out keeping a general view of the entire world as the potential market for Nestle. Threat of New Entrants: Nestle despite being in a food and nutrition industry faces the serious threat of new entrants in the market. Weather this threat is domestic or from international firms, it exists because it is an industry where the barriers to entry are very low. If we discuss Nestle in India for example there are low barriers to entry and many small domestic players can enter the market and challenge the market of nestle through their pricing or product offering which is tailored to the local culture and tastes. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers of Nestle is very low especially in regions where the countries are economically backwards such as Pakistan or Bangladesh. That is because Nestle being such a giant in the market has the ability to bring lots of new business to the suppliers and therefore the suppliers have to produce the raw materials according to the outlines set by the company or they can be replaced. Bargaining Power of consumers: The bargaining power of the customers of Nestle is high. That is because it is a brand which greatly relies on consumer appreciation for the product. If a product is launched in any part of the world where the consumers do not like the taste, they will refuse to buy it. Similarly in third world countries the consumer base is very price sensitive. This raises their bargaining power if Nestle wants to penetrate, then it will have to reduce its prices  to their affordability level. Threat of Substitutes: Threat of substitutes for Nestle is also very high. In all areas of its operations there are multiple other firms that are offering either similar products or substitute products. For this purpose Nestle has to ensure that it offers a product experience that cannot be imitated and is demanded by its consumers. Industry Rivalry: Industry rivalry for Nestle is very high in no matter what part of the world it operates in. In United Kingdom it faces threat of competition from brands like Kellogs, in India it faces competition from local brands and brands such as Knorr which are starting to venture into the food industry. Porter’s diamond and competitive advantage: Michael Porter presented his theory about the competitive advantage of Nations through the use of this self designed diamond model. According to his theory, nations can create a sustainable competitive advantage for themselves if they use the following four factors efficiently. It is called a diamond model because the effect of one variable causes a change in the other variable. According to Porter, a country can create competitive advantage for itself rather than merely relying on natural endowments. Keeping Nestle in mind, Switzerland has created a global recognition for itself based on this huge multinational giant’s image (Economics-papers 2012). Factor conditions talk about the country creating its own factors of production. Japan for instance does not have any local metal or steel however it has become synonymous with the manufacturing of metal cars. Similarly, factor conditions include building up on a country’s skilled resources and putting them to best use such as Nestle has done by acquiring raw materials from other parts of the world and treating them through innovative processes to suit its own needs (Nestle, 2012). Demand conditions mean that when the demand of a certain product is high locally, the company can focus on it and build that as its competitive advantage. The demand for healthy food was very high In Switzerland and taking that demand Nestle build its company and has now succeeded in creating such a global  giant. Because Nestles related and supporting industries are also thriving and are competition with each other, this gives Nestle the opportunity to build on its cost advantage and focus on its innovation so that it can continue its differentiation strategy in the market. The local conditions affect the firm strategy and culture. Within Switzerland there was high focus on doing things after thorough research and therefore the same Ideas were inherent since the inception of Nestle. (NestleCompanyStrategy, 2012). Nestle operates in a multitude of different markets. Keeping each market in mind it develops different strategies. The Ansoff matrix shows four different kinds of strategies that companies can follow in order to achieve their goals. The first is the market penetration. In this strategy companies lower their prices so that they can enter into the market more quickly. In the case of Pakistan it was seen that when Nestle entered Pakistan, they introduced their existing product Milo at very affordable rates, even in smaller sub sizes so that the market can readily accept the product. In Market development strategy, the company takes an existing product into a  new market. This can be seen as when Nestle took Kitkat to foreign markets or when it launched Nescafe coffee in China. Product development is when a company remains in the same market it is presently operating but starts to expand its product line. Nestle was seen using product development when it remained in the European market but started venturing into health and nutritional products and expanding its product line. Nestle also has a diversified portfolio as it invested in the cosmetic company L’Oreal and is also the stakeholder in a number of pharmaceutical companies worldwide (Bonn, I. 2001). Boston Matrix: (Mayareynoldswriter 2008). Nestle is a house of brands. It consists of over a hundred different products and each product is at a different stage in the market depending upon the region in which it is being sold. Generally the product lines of nestle can be divided into big sub categories such as baby foods, which includes Cerelac and Nestum. Cereals and Bottled water, chocolate items, Dairy products, drinks, ice cream etc. Each product from each of these different categories is places on a different point in the BCG matrix. For the sake of simplicity of the project we will only discuss a few of the known and flagship products of Nestle (Boston Consulting Group, 2011). The cash cows of Nestle are very easily most of its chocolate brands and baby food items. Cerelac is a universal cash cow as well as Kit Kat that has a very strong brand presence worldwide (Reuters, 2012). Nido is fast growing nutritional milk that is gaining popularly in the Asian region and in the year 2010 (New York Times, 2012), a new Kit Ka t manufacturing plant was set up in United Kingdom that was to produce over 1 billion bars of the chocolate each year. The Stars are those products which have potential in the market and Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s lines of frozen product are quick to capture a declining cooking market within the United States. Nestle with its brand Stouffer, is turning its attention to frozen pizza in an effort to capture more of the market share (Bryson, 2011). Dogs are those product lines which do not bring in too much of revenue and are difficult to turn around. These products are those that should be discarded or sold off so that they do not squeeze the company profits. For Nestle, many attribute its investments in the pharmaceutical  business to be a dog and that the company should pull out and focus more on its nutritional products. Question marks are those products whose future is somewhat uncertain. They can be turned out into positive cash cows or could reduce to the dog stature for the company. With regards to the Indian market, the breakfast cereals of nestle are question marks. Keeping in mind the culture of India, the breakfast is a wholesome meal and the culture of cereals is very low (New York Times, 2012). The particular products in the Indian markets are still struggling to figure out their future. Value Chain Analysis: A value chain analysis is a specific set of activities that are linked together and through their use the firm can produce a competitive advantage for itself. This value chain analysis was also developed by Michael Porter and can be summed up by the following representation (Porter, 1985): If we conduct the value chain analysis for Nestle we can see that it has a very good supply chain and integration of all operational business units otherwise it would be very difficult for the company to achieve global dominance. The inbound logistics include warehousing and inventory control. In Nestle it is a computerized and automated system of inventory control that is different for each country. This is why the supply of Nestle products is hardly ever scarce in the market. The operations of nestle are very successful as they transform a lot of raw material into very nutritional products and create value for their customers. Outbound logistics is the process by which finished goods are transferred to the sellers. For this purpose Nestle has started to set up distribution channels in each country where its production plant is set up so ensure timely delivery. Marketing and Sales of nestle help in creating the brand that Nestle has evolved into today. The service area is that which responds to concerns and after sale service and Nestle tries its best to provide good customer service to any customers that may be dissatisfied by the product (Bonn, I. 2001). Recommendation: Nestle has a very established setup of both its operations and marketing.  What the company should however invest in is building its public image as a corporately responsible company as well. As it has already been pointed out above Nestle is one of the world’s most boycotted companies because of a certain perception that it commits corporate crimes when coming to environmental practices. The company needs to make sure that that particular image is altered. Also, the products of Nestle which are not doing so well in certain markets should be pulled out rather than constantly spending more on them to turn their value around. Some products are difficult to sail because of the culture of the market that Nestle operates in and therefore should be avoided to ensure sunk costs do not occur. Evaluation & Conclusion: In conclusion it is safe to say that Nestle has a lot of positive attributes backing its larger than life product portfolio and therefore the company has managed to sustain its position in the list of the fortune five hundred companies. The company through the use of efficient management procedures, innovation, capital infusion and research and development continues to expand its portfolio and also serves as an example of not just a an exceptional food and nutrition providing company but also a real multinational corporation. There are many lawsuits against the company and it is also generally considered to be one of the world’s most boycotted companies and despite all off that the revenues of the company have hardly slumped since its inception. That is a testament to their value chain creation and streamlined processes that ensure that nestle becomes a part of the livelihood of the people of the 130 countries it serves. List of References: 1. bbc.co.uk (2012) the world of technology. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology/ [Accessed: 5th august 2012]. 2. Belch, G & Belch, M. 2003. Advertising and Promotion; an Integrated Marketing Perspective, 6th edition, Mc-H Companies. 3. Bonn, I. (2001), â€Å"Developing Strategic Thinking as a Core Competency†, Management Decision, 39(1), 63 – 76. 4. Boston Consulting Group. (2011), About BCG. [Online]. Available at < http://www.bcg.com/about_bcg/history/history_1968.aspx>. [Accessed 6th August, 2012]. 5. Bryson York. 2011. Nestle: Aisles to go with products. Available: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-03-10/business/ct-biz-0311-frozen-food-sidebar-20110310_1_pizza-nestle-usa-chairman-cooking. [Accessed 6th Aug 2012]. 6. CnnMoney.2011. Global500. Available:http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2011/snapshots/6126.html. [Accessed 6th August 2012]. 7. Dictionary.Cambridge (2012) PESTLE analysis. [online] Available at: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionar0y/business-english/pestle-analysis?q=pestle+analysis [Accessed: 6th august 2012]. 8. Economics-papers (2012) The Study and Review on Michael Porter’s the Competitive Adv. [Online] Available at: http://www.economics-papers.com/the-study-and-review-on-michael-e-porters-the-competitive-advantage-of-nations.html [Accessed: 7th august 2012]. 9. Europa.eu (2012) Policies and activities of the European Union. [online] Available at: http://europa.eu/policies-activities/index_en.htm [Accessed: 6th august 2012]. 10. Hill, T. & R. Westbrook (1997). â€Å"SWOT Analysis: It’s Time for a Product Recall†. Long Range Planning 30 (1). 11. Houben, G, 1999. A knowledge-based SWOT-analysis system as an instrument for strategic planning in small and medium sized enterprises. Journal of Applied Economics, [Online]. 26, 125-135. Available at:http://www.cuaed.unam.mx/puel_cursos/cursos/d_gcfe_m_dos/modulo/modulo_2/m2-10.pdf [Accessed 04 August 2012]. 12. International Labor Rights Forum. 2005. The 14 Worst Corporate Evildoers. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.laborrights.org/creating-a-sweatfree-world/ethical-consumerism/news/11434. [Accessed 04 August 12]. 13. John Katsaros & Peter Christy 2005. Getting It Right the First Time: How Innovative Companies Anticipate Demand. Westport, CT: Praeger 14. Legislation.gov.uk. 2011. Environmental Protection Act 1990. [ONLINE] Available at:< http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/43/contents.> [Accessed 04 August 12]. 15. Lin, J.N, 2007. SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAINS IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY. Masters. Michigan: University of Michigan. 16. Mayareynoldswriter (2008) Applying the Boston Matrix to Publishing. [online] Available at: http://mayareynoldswriter.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/applying-boston-matrix-to-publishing.html [Accessed: 6th august 2012]. 17. Michael, Kathleen, Goold, Sommers Luchs, 1996. Managing the Multibusiness Company: Strategic Issues for Diversified Group. 1st ed. London: Routledge. 18. Michael, Porter, 2008. The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy. Harvard Business Review, 15 January 2011. 19. Nestle.com.2012. History. 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The Glaze Storms of 1998

Ice storms, also referred to as glaze storms, cause considerable damage every year to trees in urban and natural areas. They vary considerably in their severity and frequency. Ice storms are result of the ice formation process, which is influenced by general weather patterns. Ice accumulates when super cooled rain freezes on contact with surfaces, such as tree branches, that are at or below the freezing point (0'C). This generally occurs when a winter warm front passes through an area after the ground-level temperature reaches or falls below freezing. Rain falls through layers of cooler air without freezing, becoming super cooled. Periodically, other climatic events, including stationary, occluded, and cold fronts, also result in ice storms. The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the1998 ice storm. This paper features three main section: An introduction, the main body (damage to woodland), and finally, a conclusion. In the main body of this paper, the effect of fire and pest/disease is discussed in detail. In the conclusion, comparison is made between fire and pests/disease versus ice storm. By the end of this paper, one should gain a better understanding of the severity of the 1998 ice storm as well as other damaging agents that affect the woodland in eastern North America Ice storms are often winter's worst hazard. More slippery than snow, freezing rain or glaze is tough and tenacious, clinging to every object it touches. A little can be dangerous, a lot can be catastrophic. Ice storm in Northeastern America has been common but the 1998 ice storm was exceptional. Ice storms are a major hazard in all parts of Canada except the North, but are especially common from Ontario to Newfoundland. The severity of ice storms depends largely on the accumulation of ice, the duration of the event, and the location and extent of the area affected. Based on these criteria, Ice Storm'98 was the worst ever to hit Canada in recent memory. From January 5-10, 1998 the total water equivalent of precipitation, comprising mostly freezing rain and ice pellets and a bit of snow, exceeded 85 mm in Ottawa, 73 mm in Kingston, 108 in Cornwall and 100 mm in Montreal (Environmental Canada, Jan 12/1998). Previous major ice storms in the region, notably December 1986 in Ottawa and February 1961 in Montreal, deposited between 30 and 40 mm of ice – about half the thickness from the 1998 storm event! (Environmental Canada, Jan 12/1998). The extent of the area affected by the ice was enormous. Freezing precipitation is often described as â€Å"a line of† or â€Å"spotty occurrences of†. At the peak of the storm, the area of freezing precipitation extended from Muskoka and Kitchener in Ontario through eastern Ontario, western Quebec and the Eastern Townships to the Fundy coasts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. What made the ice storm so unusual, though, was that it went on for so long. On average, Ottawa and Montreal receive freezing precipitation on 12 to 17 days a year. Each episode generally lasts for only a few hours at a time, for an annual average total between 45 to 65 hours. During Ice Storm'98, it did not rain continuously, however, the number of hours of freezing rain and drizzle was in excess of 80 – again nearly double the normal annual total. One of the most appealing features of Eastern Ontario is the extensive forest cover. This is made up of woodlands of varying structure. These woodlands, as well as natural fencerows, windbreaks, and plantations of pine and poplar, dominate the landscape. Icing impacts may best be understood by treating spatially larger scales, starting with individual trees, proceeding to stands, and finally to forest landscapes. Ice damage to trees can range from mere breakage of a few twigs, to bending stems to the ground, to moderate crown loss, to outright breakage of the trunk. In the 1998 Northeastern ice storm, icing lasted long enough that many trees which were bent over had their crowns glued to the snow surface by the ice in many instances for as long as 3 weeks. Some of those trees actually erect posture after release from the snow, while many others remain bent over after 2 years. The severity of damage is generally believed to be closely related to the severity of winds following the heaviest ice accumulations. Damage varies across a range of severity and subtlety: minor branch breakage; major branch loss; bending over of crowns; root damages; breakage of trunks and in some hardwoods, trunks can be split. Depending on the stand composition, the amount of ice accumulation, and the stand history, damage to stands can range from light and patchy to the total breakage of all mature stems. Complete flattening of stands occurred locally in the Northeaster 1998 storm. In response to more moderate damage, effects on stands could include: shifts in over story composition in favor of the most resistant trees; loss of stand growth until leaf area is restored; and loss of value of the growth due to staining or damage to stem form. The term landscape refers to a ‘group† or a ‘family† of trees. I use the term vaguely because the size and composition of landscapes differ from region to region. The degree of damage is typically highly skewed by area. For example, in the January 1998 Northeaster storm, 1,800,000 ha of damage in Quebec was assessed by the Ministry of Natural Resource: very severe 4.2%, severe 32.0%, moderate 29.9%, and slight/trace 33.9% (The Science of the Total Environment, Volume: 262, Issue: 3, November 15, 2000, pp. 231-242 ). The effects on entire forest landscapes are highly patchy and variable. They also depend significantly on how landowners respond to the damage. Disturbance caused by diseases, by themselves or in conjunction with disturbance by insects, abiotic factors such as drought, fire and wind, and, increasingly, human activities, has played a critical role in the dynamics of many forest ecosystems in North America. In the predominantly coniferous forests in western North America there are considerable areas undisturbed directly by human activities. In these areas, diseases kill trees or predispose them to other agents of disturbance, resulting in gradual change in stand composition and structure. In areas disturbed by forest management practices of harvesting or exclusion of fire, increased disease incidence and severity has increased the damage caused by disease, and consequently, the rate of change. In the absence of introduced diseases in the predominantly deciduous forests of the Appalachian region of eastern North America, forests are relatively healthy. Here, forests are disturbed significantly by disease only after they are disturbed or stressed by other agents, predominantly defoliating insects and drought. In the eastern montane coniferous forest, chronic wind damage is a major predisposing factor to disease. Past harvesting practices, introduced diseases and insects, and fire exclusion have in some instances resulted in large areas of similar species and relatively similar ages that exacerbate the magnitude and severity of disturbance by disease. Fire is predominantly a natural phenomenon that burns the forest vegetation, polluting the ozone and wiping out the biodiversity. One major distinction between ice storm and forest fire is the way disaster are caused. The majority of forest fire could arguably be a result of human action and ice storm as an ‘act of god,† an act that is out of human control. Foresters usually distinguish three types of forest fires: ground fires, which burn the humus layer of the forest floor but do not burn appreciably above the surface; surface fires, which burn forest undergrowth and surface litter; and crown fires, which advance through the tops of trees or shrubs. It is not uncommon for two or three types of fires to occur simultaneously. Forest management has been able to reduce the occurrence of this event but many forest fires are out of arm†s length. Humans cause the majority of forest fires. Campers that do not put out their bond fire or campers littering lit cigarette bud are responsible for such an action. Natural occurrence such as lightning could spark a forest fire but the probability is small compared to human action. The convention way of putting out or reducing the spread of forest fire has been airliners. These airliners are filled with gallons and galloons of water. With limited capacity, these airliners fly above the flame and deposit galloons of water. For the purpose of this paper, deforestation simply means the lost of trees where the lost of trees exceeds the level of sustainable development. One of the major effects of forest fire is the burning of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. This eventually creates a greenhouse affect and global warming. The effect damages our ecosystem as well as reduces one of Canada†s precious natural resource. Many projects, both from government funding and corporate sponsors, have done a good job increasing the awareness and risk related to deforestation. Pests directly affect the quantity and quality of forest nursery seedlings and can indirectly cause losses by disrupting reforestation plans or reducing survival of out planted stock. The movement of infested stock can disseminate pests to new areas. Since control of nursery pests may be based on pesticide usage, pest outbreaks may lead to environmental contamination. Woodland damage caused by livestock is a well-documented, yet persistent, forest health problem. Soil compaction, root disturbance and trunk/root collar damage caused by livestock reduce the vigor of trees. This paves the way for armillaria root rot, borers and other opportunistic organisms. Livestock also destroy the forest under story (reproduction), which hastens soil erosion and limits the future productivity of the site. The resulting forest decline reduces the quality, value and longevity of current and future trees on the site. Eliminating livestock from woodlands is the first step toward a healthier, more productive forest. As mentioned earlier in this paper, ice storm is a natural phenomenon caused by nature whereas forest fire are a result of human actions and preventable. One of the major differences between fire and ice storm is the rate of damage. Forest fire has a direct impact on the woodlands by changing the diversity of the landscape. Forest fire wipes out an entire landscape of trees causing a release of carbon dioxide. This ‘in lieu† effect results in global warming as well as greenhouse effect. The release of carbon dioxide has a long-term effect to our ecosystem. Carbon dioxide is trapped in our ozone layer making airways less preamble. This trapping effect eventually radiates heat causing global warming. The long-term effect is hazardous and changes our biodiversity. Ice storm has very little affect to our ozone layer. Damage to woodlands as a result of ice storm is concentrated within that area. Ice storm does not spread like fire does so areas that have been hit by an ice sto rm affect woodlands Pests and disease slowly eroded the quantity as well as quality of woodland. Infected woodland slows the development of growth by eroding the soil limiting the production of trees. Pest control and good forest management could improve the quality and well as productivity in these areas. Pests and diseases cause a slow change in biodiversity. As the woodland become infested, animals feeding from leafs and branch find it less desirable, eventually leaving the area in search of more suitable woodland. Similarly, forest fire, pests and disease spread but at a much slower rate. These agents infect the trees, eventually penetrating the roots and moving on to the next host. As mentioned previous, ice storm does not spread, rather the effect stays within the area. To conclude, fire and pests/disease are similar in the way these agents spread and infect their host. The preceding sentence can be best thought of as a virus infected it†s host as an analogy. Fire spreads at a much faster rate than pests/disease and the impact are instant. Both of these agents have long-term effect, which does not work in our favor. Ice storm affects the area it hits and will not spread. Furthermore, ice storms are predictable whereas fire is not since the cause of fire is human mistake and is hard to predict. Ice storms are not preventable but human actions can be prevented. The potential of damage from fire is far more severe than that of ice storm. We must increase the awareness to ensure that our woodland remains healthy and protect our ecosystem.

Quotes from James K. Polk

Quotes from James K. Polk Read the words of James K. Polk, the eleventh President of the United States.   No President who performs his duties faithfully and conscientiously can have any leisure. Foreign powers do not seem to appreciate the true character of our government. There is more selfishness and less principle among members of Congress...than I had any conception of, before I became President of the U.S. In executing this power by levying a tariff of duties for the support of Government, the raising of revenue should be the object and protection the incident. To reverse this principle and make protection the object and revenue the incident would be to inflict manifest injustice upon all other than the protected interests. Well may the boldest fear and the wisest tremble when incurring responsibilities on which may depend our countrys peace and prosperity, and in some degree the hopes and happiness of the whole human family. I cannot, whilst President of the United States, descend to enter into a newspaper controversy. I prefer to supervise the whole operations of Government myself rather than entrust the public business to subordinates and this makes my duties very great. Well may the boldest fear and the wisest tremble when incurring responsibilities on which may depend our countrys peace and prosperity, and in some degree the hopes and happiness of the whole human family. Although in our country the Chief Magistrate must almost of necessity be chosen by a party and stand pledged to its principles and measures, yet in his official action he should not be the President of a party only, but of the whole people of the United States. The world has nothing to fear from military ambition in our Government. While the Chief Magistrate and the popular branch of Congress are elected for short terms by the suffrages of those millions who must in their own persons bear all the burdens and miseries of war, our Government can not be otherwise than pacific.

Collapse Hotel and Hyatt Regency Hotel Essays

Collapse Hotel and Hyatt Regency Hotel Essays Collapse: Hotel and Hyatt Regency Hotel Essays In 1976, Crown Center Redevelopment Corporation initiated a project for designing and building a Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City Missouri, Gillum-Colaco was selected as the consulting structural engineer for the project. This tragedy resulted from the conflictual and controversial communication between the Havens Steel Company and G.C.E International Inc. The fact that these two professional engineering companies obviously were not able to communicate each other in professional boundaries and haven’t acted in a responsible way and understood the importance of the job they were doing this project resulted in a disaster. A set of structural drawings and specifications for the project were prepared in late 1977. On July 17, 1981, the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, held a videotaped tea-dance party in their atrium lobby. With many party-goers standing and dancing on the suspended walkways, connections supporting the ceiling rods that held up the second- and four th-floor walkways across the atrium failed, and both walkways collapsed onto the crowded first-floor atrium below. The Kansas City Hyatt Regency walkways collapse left 114 dead and in excess of 200 injured.G.C.E. was responsible for preparing structural engineering drawings for the Hyatt project: three walkways spanning the atrium area of the hotel. Wide flange beams with 16-inch depths (W16x26) were used along either side of the walkway and hung from a box beam (made from two MC8x8.5 rectangular

Profile of Ernst Stromer the Famous Paleontologist

Profile of Ernst Stromer the Famous Paleontologist Born into an aristocratic German family on 1870, Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach achieved fame shortly before World War I, when he participated in a fossil-hunting expedition to Egypt. His Famous Discovery In the course of a few weeks, from January to February of 1911, Stromer identified and unearthed a series of large bones buried deep in the Egyptian desert, which challenged his paleontological skills (as he wrote in his journal, I don’t know how to conserve such massive species.) After carting the bones back to Germany, he stunned the world by announcing the discovery of a new genus of    sauropod, Aegyptosaurus, and two huge theropods, Carcharodontosaurus and the bigger than a T Rex,  Spinosaurus. Unfortunately, subsequent world events were not kind to Ernst Stromer. All of his hard-won fossils were destroyed during a raid by the Royal Air Force on Munich in 1944, during World War II, and two of his three sons died while serving in the German army. There is a bit of a happy ending, though: his third son, presumed dead, had actually been held a prisoner in the Soviet Union, and he was repatriated to Germany in 1950, two years before his father’s death. Stromer died in 1952.

James Doolittle in Aviation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

James Doolittle in Aviation - Essay Example This was not only saving on the cost of fuel for landing and taking off but also saves a lot of time. His acceleration tests indicated that pilots are people who are highly skilled, have endurance in their work and whatever situation they are in when airborne as well as being marked with courage. Aviation is not a very smooth and easy career but with enough education and the characteristics mentioned above, Doolittle showed that all was possible in aviation. He helped create the Air Force Association in 1947 which as meant to assist the military pilots with their aviation issues only they could understand. His most notable achievement according to Krebs, (1993) is the development of instrument flying which involved pilots being trained on using different instruments to navigate and even take control of the aircraft during weather conditions such as clouds, fog, and precipitation among others which were previously hard to maneuver. What his contributions did is make aviation a more lo vable and less feared career. It also made the pilots already in the field become proud of their achievements and especially when the association was formed where they got to share. The development of the instrument flying enabled the pilots to prevent blind flying which was brought about by confusion in motion senses during flying. His courage also gave the other pilots and pilots aspirants have the courage to try out their own â€Å"tricks† that would ensue in later aviation developments and discoveries.

Management Planning Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management Planning Paper - Essay Example Management Techniques Business Ethics form an important part of the culture of the businesses. They are very important when it comes to the normal functioning of businesses in this world. The company had made almost 65 acquisitions or mergers in only 6 years. Integrating is a lengthy process, time consuming and a very challenging exercise as there may be people who may resist these changes and create problems. The second aspect is to integrate financially by the use of the generally accepted accounting principles. It is believed generally that because of these practices of integration WorldCom was successfully able to hide its practices. The unethical issues in the company arose when the company started to face problems from the decreasing demand of telecommunications. It is then believed that the senior executives of the company were involved in fraudulent activities. (Kiron et al 2004; Worldcom Website 2010; Securities and Exchange Commission 2003) The company is designed to follow the accounting standards through which they can make accounts and these accounts are then analyzed by the managers and head of the organizations. Managers are given the sole authority to check over the employees when they face any difficulties in the culture of WorldCom. The problems faced by the workers are solved keeping in mind the view about corporate social responsibility. The firm follows strict corporate social responsibility measures which should be followed by the employees. Issues faced by WorldCom WorldCom faced a series of blows when they were targeted by the media and it was found that the company was involved in fraudulent activities. There were three major problems with the corporate culture and their style of working. The first one was the way they grew through aggressive acquisition of companies, second was the strategy of senior executive loans and the third and foremost was the way in which they did business which was against the code of corporate governance and had exposed them to threats related to fair and arm’s lengths transactions (Kiron et al 2004; Securities and Exchange Commission 2003) The acquisitions and mergers have been mentioned above where it can be clearly seen that WorldCom made a large number of acquisitions in a short time and this created for the company as a whole. It is analyzed that the senior executives of WorldCom such as the CEO Ebbers were personally devoted to financial success and because of this they started doing unethical activities at the company. It was because of the negative role of the senior executives that unethical practices flourished at WorldCom as they created such an organization culture which did not question anyone in the firm. Hence it can be said that fraudulent activities even at the lower designations was taking place at a higher rate. Hence it can be clearly identified here that inefficiency of the leader at WorldCom caused more of these ethical issues to arise (Kotter & Heskett 1992 ). The Company did not properly follow the accounting standards, while preparing the accounts to show that the profits were increasing but in fact they were not. This had led to increase profits by charging the expenses to decades instead of a few years, recognizing revenue in the same year and prove that the company had huge

Business Proposal - Gym Cafeteria Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Proposal - Gym Cafeteria - Essay Example Although this business proposal has higher potential for growth, the marketer needs to face a sequence of challenges whiling going on with this project. Firstly, the marketer has to identify target groups. For this purpose; referring to Cant et al (2006), one must conduct an extensive market research to get a detailed view of the people’s health perception (pp.158-159). Traditionally, young males are the only group who visit GYM centres. However, this situation has been changing for the past two decades and it is observed that all categories of people including women and children are visiting GYMs to keep themselves stronger (Healthkicker, 2010). According to Hanc (2010), the practice of aged people visiting GYM centres is on the rise. Hence, the marketer must focus on all types of people without gender and/or age based disparities. Zikumund & Babin (2007) indicate that the market research process is helpful in accurately identifying main target market and its special characte ristics (p.20). Under this business, it is necessary to consider tastes and preferences of individual customers since health concerns may be different from person to person. In the opinion of Stephenson & Thurman (2007), the market research strategy would benefit the venture developer to create customer profiles and thereby customise service offerings (p.13). Mohr et al (2009) suggest that traditional questionnaires, online surveys and automated call surveys can be deployed to conduct the market research programme (pp.190-191). ... According to Hanc (2010), the practice of aged people visiting GYM centres is on the rise. Hence, the marketer must focus on all types of people without gender and/or age based disparities. Zikumund & Babin (2007) indicate that the market research process is helpful in accurately identifying main target market and its special characteristics (p.20). Under this business, it is necessary to consider tastes and preferences of individual customers since health concerns may be different from person to person. In the opinion of Stephenson & Thurman (2007), the market research strategy would benefit the venture developer to create customer profiles and thereby customise service offerings (p.13). Mohr et al (2009) suggest that traditional questionnaires, online surveys and automated call surveys can be deployed to conduct the market research programme (pp.190-191). The marketer must also consider historical statistical data to assess changing trends in GYM business. Referring to Chaturvedi & Chaturvedi (2009), after identifying the main target market, it is strongly recommendable for the marketer to develop proper and effective communication channels to interact with his clients (p.37). According to Guffey and Almonte (2010); in the modern business environment, online communication channels including company websites and emails and telephone communications are strongly suggestible (p.34). As per the idea put forward by Miletsky (2009); to promote the business venture, the marketer may use infinite scope of internet, especially social networking sites such as facebook and twitter (p.54). It is advisable to create GYM demonstration videos and

The merger between two health care systems Research Paper

The merger between two health care systems - Research Paper Example management overlooked potential distrust from local care providers, it also did not focus on the overall inefficiencies as well as the market forces that come about during a merger. Furthermore, the new entity did not have cost-saving skills needed to keep the company a float after the merger; they combined this with poor cultural knowledge and team leadership needed to deal with losers and winners in the arrangement. Pennsylvania witnessed what could potentially be their largest health system yet in the 7th month of 1997 through the creation of Penn State Geisinger Health System. At first, the new unit now had 1342 beds, 1000 physicians, 77 outpatient clinics, 3 hospitals, 1 drug treatment facility as well as patients from about 40 counties in central Pennsylvania (Sidorov, 2003). During the formation process, the two former organizations needed to decide upon executive leadership, so they came up with a methodology for creation of a new board. They took a 50-50 split between board members from both health systems; however, Geisinger got the upper hand in this regard because its representative was the chairperson. He had the power to break ties during votes and he contributed towards a higher ratio of members from his own company; this implies that executive decisions were now skewed towards the chairperson’s former organization. Not all the aspects of the two companies were dissolved as Pen State Hershey would be retaining control of the college of Medicine that was under Hershey Medical Center. Several changes took place throughout the organization; for instance, the Health Plan under Geisinger now became a joint plan whose name accommodated the new change. This had the advantage of increasing the customer base to about a million for the HMO and expanded the geographic regions from which consumers came. The merged unit still maintained the regional demarcations that had been used by Geisinger, and only added Penn state HMC as a forth region which would

Literature review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words - 1

Literature review - Essay Example Health Organization (WHO), 2007, p.1, defines falls as â€Å"inadvertently coming to rest on the ground, floor or other lower level, excluding intentional change in position to rest in furniture, walls or other objects†. As age increases so does the incidence of falls. Consequently it is the older people that face the brunt of the problem of falls, which is demonstrated by the incidence of falls being between 28 to 35% in people between 65 and 70 years and between 32 to 42% in people over the age of 70 years (The World Health Organization, 2007). Falls among the older population and the consequent injuries suffered are a major public health problem. The reason for this is that besides the enhanced frequency of falls in the elderly, such falls result in mild to severe injuries to the tune of 20 to 30%. This leads to more than 50% injury related hospitalization among the elderly and 10-15% emergency of all emergency department visits (The World Health Organization, 2007). In comparison to hospital stays for other injuries among the elderly, hospital stays due to injuries from falls are much longer. In the United Kingdom hospital admission rates owing to falls to individuals over the age of sixty is between 1.6 to 3.0 per 10,000 of the population and the emergency department visits as a result of falls in the elderly is between 5.5 to 8.9 per 10,000 of the population (The World Health Organization, 2007). In addition, to high hospitalization rates, falls in the elderly carry the higher risk of mortality, with falls being responsible for about 40% of all deaths from injuries to the elderly (The World Health Organization, 2007). Post-hospitalization complications can also arise in the form of post-fall syndrome that include the elements of dependence, loss of autonomy, immobilization and depression. This reduces the ability to perform daily activities, making them dependent on caregivers from the family. In the United Kingdom, the average earnings per annum lost on

The merger between two health care systems Research Paper

The merger between two health care systems - Research Paper Example management overlooked potential distrust from local care providers, it also did not focus on the overall inefficiencies as well as the market forces that come about during a merger. Furthermore, the new entity did not have cost-saving skills needed to keep the company a float after the merger; they combined this with poor cultural knowledge and team leadership needed to deal with losers and winners in the arrangement. Pennsylvania witnessed what could potentially be their largest health system yet in the 7th month of 1997 through the creation of Penn State Geisinger Health System. At first, the new unit now had 1342 beds, 1000 physicians, 77 outpatient clinics, 3 hospitals, 1 drug treatment facility as well as patients from about 40 counties in central Pennsylvania (Sidorov, 2003). During the formation process, the two former organizations needed to decide upon executive leadership, so they came up with a methodology for creation of a new board. They took a 50-50 split between board members from both health systems; however, Geisinger got the upper hand in this regard because its representative was the chairperson. He had the power to break ties during votes and he contributed towards a higher ratio of members from his own company; this implies that executive decisions were now skewed towards the chairperson’s former organization. Not all the aspects of the two companies were dissolved as Pen State Hershey would be retaining control of the college of Medicine that was under Hershey Medical Center. Several changes took place throughout the organization; for instance, the Health Plan under Geisinger now became a joint plan whose name accommodated the new change. This had the advantage of increasing the customer base to about a million for the HMO and expanded the geographic regions from which consumers came. The merged unit still maintained the regional demarcations that had been used by Geisinger, and only added Penn state HMC as a forth region which would

Pharmacology (Drug Profile Midazolam) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Pharmacology (Drug Profile Midazolam) - Essay Example b) Oral administration is also done for short term treatment. This is done mainly for the insomnia patients. c) Midazolam is also indicted for the management of schizopernia. 3. Midazolam is found to interact with many drugs. The drug interaction is found to either increase the activity or decrease the activity of Midazoalm. The drug interaction occurs mainly with the antipsychotic medications, barbiturates, antibiotics and antifungal, cimetidine, Diltiazem, Narcotics, Seizure and Sleep medications, alcohol and antidepressant medicines such as Antipsychotic drugs include: Aripipraxole , asenapine, chlorpromazine, clozapine, fluphenazine, haloperidol, Iloperidone, loxapine, lurasidone, molindone, olanzapine, paliperidone and perphenazine and pimozide. Barbutarates include: Amobarbital, Butalbital, Pentobarbital and Secobarbital. Antibiotics such as Clarithomycin, Erythromycin, Isoniazid, Itraconazole , ketoconazole and Telithromycin. Narcotics such as morphine and oxycodone are used i n combination with Midazolam. (drugs.emedtv.com) The pharmacokinetic drug interactions are found to occur based on the enzymes involved in the metabolism. The drug interaction with the CNS depressants such as alcohols, opioids and barbiturates are found to have lethal, clinical and forensic consequences with midazolam. Many studies have found that this interaction results in death. (Mozayani and Raymon 2004). Similarly when analgesics are used along with the midazolam, they are found to have greater sedative effects. The gastrointestinal agents when combined with midazolam are found to increase the rate of absorption of the drug. Cimetidine when used along with Midazolam is found to increase the retention time of Midazolam in the body. Similarly the antifungal agents are also found to inhibit the movement of Midazolam from the body. 4. a) The mechanism of interaction of Midozolam is understood well. The main target of Midazolam is the GABAa receptor. This is an ionotropic receptor w ith gamma amino butyric acid as the endogenous ligand. When GABAa receptor is activated then it transmits Chloride ions through their pores and polarizes the neurons. This polarization results in the inhibition of the neurotransmission. The benzodiazepines binds to the receptor found between the alpha and gamma receptor subunits. The five subunits of GABA receptor are sensitive to benzodiazepine. When benzodiazepine binds to the alpha and the gamma subunits of the GABA receptor, and brings the receptor into its control. The binding brings out a change in the conformation of the GABA – alpha and makes them to open the chloride ion channel and this polarizes the membrane. This process inhibits the signal transduction pathway by arresting the GABA molecules and creating sedatory and anxiolytic effects to the human. (Sigel 2002). b. Midozolam is the substrate for the receptor GABA only. This is very specific in nature. It binds to the GABA receptors that are having only alpha and gamma subunits. The binding of benzodiazepine modifies the GABAs response by the receptor. As these receptors are found in the cerebral cortex region, limbic system, cerebellar cortex and spinal cord, its effect can be felt in many parts of the body. The two compartmental model enables the specificity of the molecule and increases the sensitivity. (Stoelting and Miller 2007) c.

Current Issues in United States History Essay Example for Free

Current Issues in United States History Essay The article, Mentoring Experiences of Women in Graduate Education: Factors that Matter, focuses on women’s relational approaches which are affected by their gender socialization. The said article studies the various subjective experiences a woman encounters when teaching, counseling and mentoring. It also explores the different aspects that contribute to these experiences exclusive to women in graduate school, the costs and benefits of these relationships for women, and the women’s role models in the familial and professional areas. The article takes on a feminist approach as it differentiates the traditional male to male mentoring relationships from that of the women’s. It asserts that in the male to male relationships, there is an acceptance of patriarchal and hierarchal organization. On the contrary, the women employ a more relational approach, which gives value to the emotional factor involved in the female relationships. But presently, the prevailing standard employed by mentoring environments is that of a traditional patriarchal environment. It can therefore be said that women in mentoring fields are currently in struggle with the prevailing norms. The article undertook a study which aimed to investigate factors that affect women’s mentoring gender socialization. The study yielded seven key topics which suggest that female undergraduate students and their faculty members share same views about their respective mentoring experiences as well as views in the mentoring field. They all commonly voiced their desire for an empowering relationship. This, according to the surveyed collegiate students and teachers, is illustrated by the kind assistance, â€Å"CURRENT ISSUES IN UNITED STATES HISTORY† PAGE #2 inspiration, faith, pride, cooperative hand, and personal growth they gain from these student-teacher relationships. Also, the study explores the sense of obligation that both sides feel for each other, the overall mentor’s investment in the student-teacher relationship (personal/emotional, professional development, time/availability, and financial investment), the factors that affect the growth of their relationship towards each other, and their capacity to balance of their own personal and professional life, experiences in the male mentoring domain, and peer mentoring. The study’s results depict the multi-dimensionality of the women mentors’ needs in order to be successful in their personal and professional mentoring careers. The study also showed that these needs did not alter when compared with the past researches on the same subject. Also, this study suggests that women, in general, have corresponding views (and at the same time) distinct desires to their mentoring relationships in contrast to the more traditional, patriarchal setting typified by the male to male mentoring conditions. Generally speaking, the study only focused on the mentoring experiences’ good points. Unfortunately, it did not include the hardships that women encounter with regards to their being women. It did not tackle the prejudice that women are subjected to in the patriarchal education system. If only the study explored that particular downside, the study would be so much useful and practical. But all in all, the study would indeed be important for reflection on our current educational system with regards to the women in a male dominated field. REFERENCE Rayle A. D. , Bordes V. , Zapata A. , Arrendondo P. , Rutter M. , Howard C. (2006, May). Mentoring Experiences of Women in Graduate Education: Factors that Matter. Current Issues in Education [On-line], 9(6). http://cie. ed. asu. edu/volume9/number6/

Strategic Planning In The Airline Industry Management Essay

Strategic Planning In The Airline Industry Management Essay Today we can see that low cost airlines have become a trend around the globe. Numerous airlines applied such strategy, some succeeded and some not. One of the main benefits that low cost airlines have over superior airlines is that there cost will not be to a point where they can create a yield at low fares in larger markets. One of the pioneers in Europe of such strategy of low cost and no-frill airline was Irish company Ryanair 1985 was the birth year of Ryanair, it employed only 57 and with one 15 seater turboprop plane they use to have flights from South of East Ireland to London-Gatwick airport they carried about 5000 passengers on one route (Harrison, 2002). In 1986, inspired from the story of David and Goliath the company go after the big guys for a slice of the action and end up smashing the Air Lingus or British Airways high fare cartel on the Dublin-London route. Employees of Ryanair increase from 57 to 120 employees, and as they use to carry 5000 it increased to 82 000 passengers on two routes. Within next two years company hired 350 staff and there average maximum passengers increase up to 600 000 people, next two years in 1991 it reached 700 000 passengers. Strategic Position The Macro-environment (PESTEL) PESTEL analyses stand for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal. These are factors that affect the business in present and in the future. Political Rise of route charge by the government Upsurge in trade union density New law was passed by government the law for carbon emission Due to terrorism attacks on airlines UK government put additional security measures Nationalized carriers supported by French government Dispute in Business deal from Airports and Airlines regulators bodies with Remain lead to of Ryanair being the legal eye of the government. Government supports their own lost cost carriers because of nationality. Rise in tourism Economical Rise growth rate in GDP (Bank 2006) petroleum products and fuels ceiling high price Unemployment rate slash down to 8.7% (NA, unemployment in Europe 2006) Devaluation of US dollar 1.7% inflation rate of European Unions (NA Euro Area Annual Inflation Down 2006) Uncertainty of fuel and energy costs Social Rise in older market Corporate traveling growing Fear of air traveling due to terrorist attack (09.11) Increase in traveling life style (more and more people traveling now, its becoming common thing) As the economy was increasing before credit crunch there was increase of interest to fly for a vacation which helped to Airline Industry Company may fly more frequently if it costs them less Comprehensive range of demographics of views can be attracted by low cost airlines Technological Technological development (High fuel efficiency, less noise pollution and lessening of carbon emission by the supplier Boing Rise of Internet rivalry Web sales/ services (online check in) Low fuel consumption transport (airlines, cars, buses e.g.) Environmental Global worming Noise level controls Green House-carbon emissions Legal Charges of false advertisement (such in case of Ryanair related to secondary airports) Favoring of company to state owned company Safety of passengers and cabin crew Increase of airport administering charges 2.2 The industry environment (PORTER) Porters five forces consist of threat of entry, suppliers power, buyers power, substitutes and rivalry. Threat of entry A ruling was passed in Europe which removed barriers for different competitors to enter European airline business. New competitor or newly established competitor established airlines on established airways lose money in different routes at start, therefore high capital required. Also high capitals required in order to purchase or rent aircrafts, and cover all other costs. European countries has many landing slots which were reserved or used by national carries, so due to scarcity of landing slots it act as barrier for entry for new and competitors Airways which in turn helped existing players to play for a long time in aviation Industry Limited slot accessibility makes it challenging to find appropriate airports Moderate threat of Entry for Ryanair Suppliers power Switching cost is high, If Ryanair wants to switch from one supplier to another they have retrain there pilots and mechanics There are two main aircraft suppliers Airbus and Boing. However there has been increase in aircraft parts suppliers which lead to fierce competition between Airbus and Boing. In last decade there was rise and fall in oil price which has direct relation to fuel. There are two types of Airports called as primary and secondary Airports. Primary have greater power because high demand for such airport. Power of Airports increases as Air traffic increases. Whereas secondary airports have low power, because they depend on airlines. Low-Medium power of suppliers for Ryanair Buyers power Millions of people in Europe who are willing to travel by air. Power of travel agents have fallen due improvement in technology and now customers can purchase or oven check in online. Also some airlines such as Ryanair provide not only flight tickets but also various services such as hotels, car rentals, and travel insurance. In low cost airline customers very price sensitive For customer switching from one airline to another is simple and no costly Strong power of buyers for Ryanair Substitutes There are ways of traveling such as train ways, buses, boat and cars. However they are not fast as airplays and can be used for long destinations Very Low threat of Substitutes for Ryanair Rivalry Some competitors thinking of adding new feature to their services such as comfort and extra services for their premium customers or business class. Better destination routes for example usage of primary airports. (however this all costs extra) Because of economic recession especially in United States rivalry in European increased. Various Merges and Acquisitions (Air France-KLM) Some airlines using discounts and special promotion to attract customers and create brand loyalty. Cost advantages can be easily copied, hard to have competitive advantage As we know Ryanair and Easy jet hold most of market which around 80% for low fares however these two companies never faced face to face they usually flight to deferent routes, but if they go to same rotes have rivalry could be seen (price war) because there services do not differ at all. Medium High threat of Rivalry 2.3 SWOT analyses Following graph illustrates Ryanairs strength and weakness and industry opportunities and threats. Resources and Capabilities Resources and capabilities assist the company for achieving competitive advantage. Although the market and environment create outside limitations and forces, a firms reaction over resource distribution and capability development become a foundation of competitive advantage. Resources can be tangible and intangible assets that firm may implement into its strategies. Capability is how firm uses its resources in order to have competitive advantage. For Airline Industry (especially Ryanair) it can be: cheapest prices Simples processes (no frills) Concentrating on specific market segment Ground-breaking approaches on price cutting Speedy turnaround time Coming back to Ryanair, there resources are: Human Resource- the company employees 2700 people Intellectual Capital skills, abilities, skills, talents and knowledge Financial Resources -Ryan Family, shareholders, investors and creditors Physical Resources aircraft fleet, headquarter, secondary airports Following graph shows Ryanair Resources Following Graph presents Ryanair Capabilities Sustainable Competitive Advantage Even today Ryanair is market leave for low cost airline in Europe. They manage to have lowest price even though the existence of other low cost airlines in Europe. Its ability to drive down costs to keep low fares while it stands lucrative gives them competitive advantage over there competitors. As stated Michael OLeary Any fool can sell low airfares and lose money. The difficult bit is to sell the lowest airfares and make profits Aircraft commonality: Ryanair use Boeing 737 aircraft most common aircraft used in the market, due such reason they can easily cut on costs in getting replacements and maintenance services for this aircrafts. Third party introduction: Ryanair contracts out its ticketing, baggage handling, aircraft handing and other services to other companies who specifically specialize on such areas. In such was they can gain competitive advantages, also by making multi-year contracts with those third parties in order no expose to rise of prices. Cost of Marketing: Ryanair amended its rate, commissions to travel agents in order to reduce marking costs. They also use radio, television, newspaper and their own website to advertise themselves (Ryanair website is top five recognized name in Google) Route Policy and Airport handing costs: each airline have to pay airport handling fees such as: passenger loading fees, aircraft parking fees, noise surcharges and landing fees. In order to save on these costs Ryanair uses secondary airports where these costs are much lower and easier negotiable. For example Ryanair uses Frankfurt Hahn, 123 kilometers from Frankfurt, Torp, 100 kilometers from Oslo and Charleroi, 60 kilometers from Brussels. Productivity and employee cost: Ryanair uses performance related pay structure as most companies do now. This strategy may benefit both company and employees. In this structure employees can earn additional pay or remuneration base on their performance. So better they work more they paid. Ryanairs Cost efficiency strategies Cost reduction Strategy In order to have competitive advantage Ryanair uses cost-reduction strategy this consists of five major areas (in Aviation industry): Route policies Fleet commonality Contracting out services Airport charges Route policies Manageable staff costs productivity and managed marking costs Economies of scare: Ryanair achieved economics of scare from start until end of its function process same as any other low cost airline there market aiming to achieve. The have reduced the half point in time of airlifts in airports and they have resourcefully used their staff. They also have great deals from Boing during bulk purchases. Supply costs Ryanair uses secondary airports in order to avoid high prices and air traffic, which reduces costs and time, crucial aspects of low cost airlines. Benchmarking Texas based functioning South West Airlines is benchmarking of Ryanair Core competencies In addition to low price flight Ryanair also offers different subsidiary services and employments in various activities associated with its middle air customers service. They offer travel insurance, accommodations, car rentals all necessary things that required for a trip. Ryanair believes that thanks to internet this services become easier to be sold online and this lead to increase of sale, which lead to dropping costs per unit basis. By avoiding primary airports they manage to keep their costs very low so as there prices. So as non -flight instinctive services, in-flight public sale of beverages, food and suppliers and internet-related services. The strategic situation Positioning Ryanair cost leader in European market for low cost airlines, they have numbers of rankings such as: No.1 for passenger traffic- over 23m for 2004 overtaking Easyjet. No.1 for passenger growth- 50% + this year No.1 for European routes (149) and bases (11) No.1 for customer service delivery- punctuality, flight completion and fewest lost baggage Ryanair strategy Ryanairs set up its aim as being leader in the low-fares market in Europe. Their aim to offer cheapest fair and increase passenger traffic, by having large amount of customers at lower price profit may rise even though price be so cheap. Their aim to offer low fares that generate increased passenger traffic. A nonstop focus on cost control and functional efficiencies is a dynamic amount of the Ryanair way of doing things. Followings are key strategy elements of Ryanair: choice of roots, low operating costs, low fares, frequent point to point flights on short haul routes, personal expenses, customer service costs, aircraft equipment costs, airport access fees, focused criteria for growth and maximizing of website. Porters Generic Strategy Porters generic strategy is one the tools that can be used to find out position of the company in the marketplace. By using this tool we may find out position of Ryanair in the marketplace thats its operating. A company positions itself by leveraging its strengths. Aim of each organisation to be recognized in the business area (except charity organizations and no profitable organizations), with such aim, these organizations try to identify there position in the marketplace by using Porters generic strategies that enhances their competitiveness. Business may choice one of the five different generic strategies: cost leadership, differentiation, focused cost leadership and integrated cost leadership/differentiation. Each of these generic strategies assists particular company to locate and use competitive advantage within specific competitive score.By applying these strengths, three generic strategies are resulted: cost leadership, differentiation and focus. Cost leadership, differentiat ion strategy and focused differentiation strategy can be used by a company. Cost Leadership Strategy business categorizing and handling its value-adding activities in order to have lowest cost of the product in the market that its operating. Cost gain might be because of product quality, design or the services that comes with it. Differentiation Strategy is about that sellers product is superior to other competitors products in that specific market. This might be because product may have uniqueness that other products that offer by other competitors do not have or the service that that company provides with specific product, for such differentiation company may charge its customers premium price for that differentiated product. But there is a risk in this strategy; the risk is that differentiated product may be easily imitated by other competitors or customers tastes may change. Focus-Differentiation Strategy aim of this strategy is to target specific segment of the market for a product, and do not target many markets or entire market. The best to use this strategy is to dosing and exploit product specifically for particular segment in the market. However there is risk of imitation and changes in the targeted segment. Ryanair strategy was combination of all three strategies. At start company focused on a narrow customer segment (Irish and UK citizens who didnt wanted to fly by brank airlines). Also they offered the lowest cost of fare in airline industry in Europe. Last but not lease they were first who started low fare no frills airline in Europe before competitors imitated there differentiation. Aim of Ryanair is to provide low fares and no frills service in order to stimulate demand. Initially they did not planned to have lowest price, but as they expended to Europe they had to focus on critical success factors to survive and succeed in such greater market from their started segment. Today Ryanair considered as cost leader, they have large passenger volume at the same time they have lowest fares in their own market. Originally when Ryanair was born in 1985, they delivered listed passenger airline services among Ireland and the UK; however it has reformed itself and moved from a full service conventional airline to the first European low fares, no frills carrier. Before they shifted towards such strategy in late 90th Ryanair faced some trouble and had to dispose of five chief executives, recoding losses of IRÂ £20 Million even though passenger volume increased. In order to survive Ryanair needed some innovative strategy therefore new team was created, headed by Michael OLeary. This new team especially Michael OLeary decided to redesign the company and soon they become first low fare no frills airline in Europe, following step of successful American Southwest Airlines. By using Porters generic strategy it was hard to define which strategy Ryanair using, it located itself somewhere between cost leader and a focuses as they had lowest cost and focused product and segment, but it can be said that it is more focused strategy. As it was stated before each strategy has its own risks, and this strategy which is used by Ryanair may have risk: being that the niche can get saturated and competitors assault the segment that they operating currently. When Ryanair become first low fare no frill airline in Europe it did not had any competitors, so they were easily and without fear experimenting with their strategies, trying and mixing focus and cost leadership and deciding which one of them they want most. However being the only one in the market did not lasted much, soon new and first competitors entered Ryanairs segment. Which met that Ryanair urgently needed to define their strategy. So Michael OLeary decided to stay with cost leadership strategy (in which th ey succeeded in 1997, Ryanair was floated on the Dublin Stock Exchange and on NASDAQ) Strategic choice Long Term Vision Ryanair have one the highest amount of routes in low fare European airline market and outperform every other carrier on that sector even in not low fare sector. They also seek to endorse a high level of progression. Ryanairs strategy have been assisting them to become cost leader in the low fare market, but how long this strategy will help them to have competitive advantage, what will have in the future? Will this strategy work and can they have competitive advantage? From USA market of low fare airlines it was seen that there can be only one or two major players (southwest Airlines have approximately 50% of market share) in specific area, same as in Europe two majors Ryanair and easy Jet (Ryanair and Easy Jet have 88% of market share, and 12% other minor players). But there is no guarantee for being always market leader, one day Easy Jet may easily takeover Ryanair market position and be cost leader in there market they operating currently. However there is big gap between low-cost airline within air industry in European and USA. In European air industry, a low-cost airline represents only 7% of total air industry, far less than 25% of their American counterparts. So there is large potential for future growth within European for Low-fare airlines in air industry. Growth of Low-Fare industry within Europe It is been predicted that within five and ten years low fare7% low fare airline industry representation will grow up to 14%, which is about 1.4% per year (which is low number). Fast pace at which the industry has been developing, assisted Ryanair to be triumph. However now the market they have been operating will no longer be growing so fast in upcoming future. Therefore it is necessary for Aryan to develop in order to tolerate their performance. There are some options there are available: Ryanair should increase the frequency of Existing Routes At the moment Ryanair losing customers who demand for more flexible schedule, they losing because they have only 3.88 flights per day, which is considered very low number compare to traditional carries and Easy Jet. Therefore they must increase the frequency of Existing routes, in order to regain lost customers, and steal customers from Easy jet and traditional carriers. Open new routes in Europe. At the moment Ryanair operating in many routes, it might be good strategy to increase number of routes and therefore frequency. They may open new routes that they are not operating yet. It may be that routes where the rivalry is a more costly traditional carrier, therefore by offering cheaper price (with no frills) they may easily attract new customers Improve mainland functioning areas By looking other destination that they (Ryanair) does not operating they should not forget about rotes that they already operating. Although they already operating in most countries of Europe there is still demand for some flights. Expand into North Africa Interests of tourists and business have been rising towards North Africa. At the moment SN airlines are major airline that provides with flights to North Africa from Brussels, however it is not low-cost airline or traditional carrier. Therefore Ryanair may easily enter and offer low cost flight to North Africa and may easily gain market share. Expand into Eastern Europe This area of European becoming more popular by tourists and business travel, and still growing popularity. However there are only low numbers of low-fare airlines that provide flight to there, Airlines such as Sky Europe. However there are a lot of routes that are not reveled yet and have large potential. And it is good strategy for Ryanair to enter those markets first and be market leader. Gaining Market Share from Charter Flights Ryanair may try to gain market share from charter flights, because charter market represents 25% of overall European air traffic, which is very high percentage. Todays modern world educated most European citizens with internet and online usage, this comes perfectly for Ryanair (top five website in Google) to use their website as resource. More and more people using internet to purchase online therefore travel agents becoming no longer popular. Currently Ryanair offers some packing holidays, but by increasing those package holidays they may gain some market share form charter flights. Ryanair website They also may continue promoting there website in order to pursued customer to by online, making them save on cost of call centers and no agents strategy. More cost cuts As we know Ryanair is cost leader in low fare market in airline Industry in European, However there is always gap to cut more cost, therefore they could try to find where else to cut cost and not lose value and attitudes of customers towards them. Strategic Decisions and Recommended strategy: Ryanair should increase the frequency of Existing Routes They may add three more extra plains to the existing plains and routes that they already have form London Stansted. Currently London Stansted airport already operating at its capacity therefore only three plains can be added there. They also need to add four more plains from London Luton which they already have such route. London Luton airport provides positive substitute for those companies that seek to expand their London base It would be good if they add ten more extra plains to Dublin Airport. At the moment Ryanair having some problems with local airport authorities (Aer Rianta) which already under discussion of dealing with this problems and improving there relationship. Therefore this expansion at this base is planned. At last add extra 8 planes to the Spanish and Italian routes currently already operated in those markets, also few more planes to trend holiday destinations, this will allow them to rise there market share by taking from charter companies there market share. Open New Routes in Europe Even though Ryanair has already entered most countries if not all in Europe it is very difficult for them to find new market and more risky going outside European countries. As Ryanair stated they plan to add extra 25 new rotes within 10 years. Improve mainland functioning areas Within in last decade Ryanair went through rapid expansion, and got functioning bases around all Europe: Milan (Bergamo), Barcelona (Girona), Frankfurt (Hahn) and other popular business and tourism detestations, those areas also have popularity for future growth. Additional 25 plains can be added to these new areas in order to strengthen their position in this already operating area for over the coming years. Enter into North Africa Market Two routes will be set up in North America; each route will have four flights per day, so in total eight flights to North Africa per day. The frequency of flight to North America over the years will grow. New language may be added to the website of Ryanair in order to facilitate new customers. Expand into Eastern Europe This market can be served by three bases. Each of these bases will have 7 destinations which lead to total of 21 routes. Same as North African flights frequencies will rise over the years. But will lower margin compare to North Africa. New language may be added to the website of Ryanair in order to facilitate new customers. Unallocated Aircraft Ryanair order 15 extra plains which will be deliver in 2010-2013 basically these coming years however they are unallocated yet. These planes may be allocated to new rotes or to existing rotes depending on the analyses that will be done by Ryanair. Maybe they enter new market. This plains maybe easily used for the strategies mentation before at point 1-5. References: www.ryanair.com Ryanair official website Ryanair Case study Research done by Solvay Business School on Ryanair Plc. http://solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdf http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/ryanair/ http://www.grin.com/e-book/55005/marketing-plan-for-ryanair

The Changing Family Revealed in Grapes of Wrath Essay -- Grapes Wrath

The Changing Family Revealed in Grapes of Wrath  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   The emphasis on family in America is decreasing. Divorce rates, single-parent households, and children born out of wedlock are all increasing. Furthermore, instead of the network of aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and other relatives that was prevalent in early America, Americans today are more distant from their extended family. As sociologist David Elkind said in a 1996 interview with Educational Leadership, "Instead of togetherness, we have a new focus on autonomy. The individual becomes more important than the family" (4). This means that one of the basic needs of humanity, belongingness and love, is very likely going unfilled in many people.    The changing family isn't a new issue.   John Steinbeck began to explore the changes taking place in the family during the Great Depression in The Grapes of Wrath. Though the book has many layers and themes, one of the major one's is the changing family. In 1933, six years before publishing the Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck wrote a letter to George Albee saying, "[Man] also arranges himself into larger units, which I have called the phalanx" (Life in Letters, 79). He cites religion, the MOB, and various war-time armies as examples of a phalanx, but surely the family unit falls into the category of larger, interconnected groups of people. In the Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck explores the need for family and the changing family structure through the lens of a Great Depression era family, the Joads.    That the Joad family mutates due to their trials is undoubtable. What the Joads were like originally can only be imagined. By the beginning of the novel, the family has already lost its home and had to move in wi... ...ace in the World. New York: New York University Press, 1993. * Morrow, Jeff. Personal Interview. April 23, 1998. * Noble, Donald R. ed. The Steinbeck Question: New Essays in Criticism. Troy, New York, 1993. * Pipher, Mary. Reviving Ophelia. New York: Ballantine Books, 1994. * Steinbeck, John. A Life in Letters. New York: Penguin Books, 1969. * Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin Books, 1930. * Swerdlow, Amy, et al. Families in Flux. New York: The Feminist Press,1989. * Timmerman, John H. John Steinbeck's Fiction: The Aesthetics of the Road Taken. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1986. * Weiten, Wayne. Psychology: Themes and Variations, Third Edition. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1997. * Wyatt, David ed. New Essays on The Grapes of Wrath. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.