Coffee and Starbucks Executives Essay

Starbucks developed continuously and rapidly after Howard Schultz bought it. It was entered in â€Å"Fortune 500 companies† in March 2003. Because of the saturation of the market, Starbucks can not only relied on the American market, but also had to venture abroad and paid close attention to the growth of subsidiaries. During the expansion, Starbucks stuck to its basic principles and innovated constantly to cater to the taste of the native. Although Starbucks was operated successfully, it also experienced losses in many countries and faced many challenges and risk. It is essential for MNCs to choose the right mode of entry in any markets and make structural changes to motivate strategic changes, even mature MNCs, which can transfer some risk. Starbucks decided to use three strategies to enter into the international markets-licensing, wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures. Every strategy has its advantages and disadvantages, so managers of Starbucks need to consider carefully before entering other countries. Starbucks makes the different ways to enter in the markets according to the different situations of countries. For instance, Canada is close to America so the cultures and the habit of drinking coffee are close too. Starbucks chooses wholly owned subsidiary type to enter Canadian market. Some Asian countries such as Japan and Hong Kong, China, Starbucks selects joint ventures to get in these countries because their taste of coffee is different from American’s. Moreover, the strategic adjustment of Starbucks was to cover over an area in new stores. That can not only assist to disperse consumers and reduce their waiting time, but also decrease the costs and increase revenues. It also innovated some new products and cooperated with local companies. Culture, government, environment and the condition of Starbucks, all these can affect the choice of strategy. In short, before choosing strategy, managers of Starbucks ought to analyze the SWOT of Starbucks, the key environmental factors and how will this strategy influence the development of the company. Starbucks went international because it wanted to seek new international markets and opportunities of growth. Starbucks did many good management and analysis of risk before entering into different markets. It further researched the prospect of the products in other countries’ markets. Then it tried to sell in the local fashionable shops and was operated by expert managers from Seattle. Starbucks persisted in keeping their No Smoking principle and broad floor area, which attracted many Japanese women. That is a successful alliance that through using its own resources and cooperating with Sazaby, it understood the Japanese habits of drinking coffee drinks and introduced new products. Starbucks realized that young people in Asian countries were interested in the western way of life so it seized that mentality and attracted them successfully. Starbucks adjusted constantly to adapt the cultures of the host countries. For example, it offered meat buns and curry puffs to Asian countries because Asians like eating some food when drinking coffee. It is popular that the best coffee around the world is in Europe. However, Starbucks executives thought that coffees in Europe now is not as great as in the late 1990s so stores were opened quickly and bravely in Europe. The romantic atmosphere, No Smoking environment and self-help service mode of operation were the main reasons that attracted the young. Also, Starbucks provided an independent region for Middle East ladies because of its distinct culture. From the above examples, it seems that Starbucks considered completely. It did internal analysis to use its key success factors to help the company make full use of the opportunities abroad. It also analyzed the culture and environmental risk of the local markets. Starbucks faced many challenges and risk in the international operation. Firstly, the unstable political environment of the Middle East is one of the problems for Starbucks. The close relationship between America and Israel made Arab students boycott American services and goods. This is the political risk to Starbucks. Secondly, Starbucks faced crisis from non-governmental organizations. They asked Starbucks to afford the authentication of coffee beans to insure the production of coffee beans was proceeded under a certain social and financial condition. This is the environmental risk. Thirdly, Starbucks has country risk that the economic recession in some countries made the sales and revenues dropped sharply. Fourthly, Starbucks faced drastic industrial competition, high costs of developing business and resistance from customers who objected to globalization, especially in Europe. This is the strategic risk. Fifthly, complex joint ventures and application license agreement, lack of well-trained employees and appropriate store address, all of these made Starbucks hard to gain more profit and control the costs of international operation. This is the operational risk. Starbucks try to reduce the risk in many methods. First and foremost, Starbucks decided to offer new products to control the costs of international operation. Then, it announced to slow down the pace of expansion and close the defective stores. Also, Starbucks should reconsider the entry strategy and keep a watchful eye on price. The most important is to be careful to the international environment because there are many factors can affect the Starbucks’ decision-making. Starbucks recombined its structure and changed its strategy with its internationalization.

Cola explosion Essay

Cola Explosion When the Mentos come into contact with the Diet Coke, a reaction causes the rapid formation of foam. it is concluded that the potassium benzoate, aspartame, and C02 gas contained in the Diet Coke, in combination with the gelatin and gum arabic ingredients of the Mentos, all contribute to the formation of the foam. The structure of the Mentos is the most significant cause of the eruption due to nucleation. MythBusters reported that when fruit-flavored Mentos with a smooth waxy coating were tested in carbonated drink there was hardly a reaction, whereas int-flavored Mentos (with no such coating) added to carbonated drink formed an energetic eruption, affirming the nucleation-site theory. The surface of the mint Mentos is covered with many small holes that increase the surface area available for reaction (and thus the quantity of reagents exposed to each other at any given time), thereby allowing C02 bubbles to form with the rapidity and quantity necessary for the â€Å"Jet†- or â€Å"geyser†-like nature of the effusion. Each Mentos candy has thousands of mall pores on its surface which disrupt the polar attractions between water molecules, creating thousands of ideal nucleation sites for the gas molecules to congregate. In non-science speak, this porous surface creates a lot of bubble growth sites, allowing the carbon dioxide bubbles to rapidly form on the surface of the Mentos. (If you use a smooth surfaced Mentos candy, you won’t get nearly same the reaction. ) The buoyancy of the bubbles and their growth will eventually cause the bubbles to leave the nucleation site and rise to the surface of the soda. Bubbles will continue to form on the porous surface and the process will repeat, creating a nice, foamy geyser. In addition to that, the gum arabic and gelatin ingredients of the Mentos, combined with the potassium benzoate, sugar or (potentially) aspartame in diet sodas, also help in this process. In these cases, the ingredients end up lowering the surface tension of the liquid, allowing for even more rapid bubble growth on the porous surface of the Mentos†higher surface tension would make it a more difficult environment for bubbles to form. Compounds like gum arabic that lower surface tension are called â€Å"surfactants†). Diet sodas produce a bigger reaction than non-diet sodas because aspartame lowers the surface tension of the liquid much more than sugar or corn syrup will. You can also increase the effect by adding more surfactants to the soda when you add the Mentos, like adding a mixture of dishwasher soap and water. Bubble theory: How bubbles form in liquids In most liquids, there is some dissolved gas. In high surface tension liquids, like water, it is tough for bubbles to orm, because water molecules like to be next to other water molecules (capillary forces). To overcome this, a nucleation site is generally needed. Gas molecules congregate next to nucleation sites, which break up the network of water molecules. When enough are gathered, they form a bubble. Due to capillary forces, the bubble will initially stay at its nucleation site. But usually, the buoyancy of the bubble will eventually cause it to rise, as more and more gas molecules collect in the bubble. More fun bubble facts†¦ When a soda is bottled, it is bottled under a relatively high pressure of C02 that is opened without shaking high pressure C02 above the liquid escapes, making the familiar hiss. The C02 in the liquid slowly escapes until equilibrium is achieved. When the unopened can is shaken, some of the gaseous C02 gets mixed into the liquid, forming a supersaturated solution. The mixed in gas also provide growth sites for the dissolved C02. The growth sites allow the C02 to escape much more rapidly– hence the â€Å"explosive† evolution of C02 gas.

Employability and Professional Development Assignment

Employability and Professional Development - Assignment Example These positive figures for the law graduates in terms of recruitment paint a favourable picture for the current law graduates. The same applies in relation to the salary figures as well. When compared with other graduates, law graduates tend to get better salary package. That is, university leavers â€Å"who manage to secure a graduate job in 2014 can expect an average starting salary just short of the  £30,000 mark†, however, when it comes to law graduates, â€Å"who secure a position with a law firm can expect much more – with average starting salaries in 2014 of  £39,000.† (Employment 4 Students 2014). When one analysis a job market from the perspective of prospective employees or graduates, recruitment and salary numbers are the two key factors which will be focused. On those lines, with the recruitment numbers and the salary range in the legal profession showing encouraging signs, it augurs well for the current as well as future law graduates. It is paramount on the part of the law graduates to equip themselves with optimal employability skills and capabilities, so they aptly fill the job vacancies. When the law graduates are imbibed with certain skills from their early years and importantly develop certain skills through their academics, it will aid them to find their dream job in a prestigious law firm. On those lines, I have developed or am â€Å"imbibed† with certain skills which I think will be quite apt for the law firms. Importantly, if those skills and capabilities are critically evaluated and assessed based on the CareerEDGE model of Dacre Pool & Sewell (2007), it will provide key perspectives. CareerEDGE, developed by Lorraine Dacre Pool and Peter Sewell at the University of Central Lancashire, is a practical model that is used to analyze graduate employability. Under this model, graduates need to analyze themselves on the basis of five critical elements. When it comes to the two elements of Career Develo pment Learning and

Qualities that make an ideal friend Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Qualities that make an ideal friend - Essay Example He would go the extra mile to make sure that we remain contented and satisfied with things that are happening with us. An ideal friend would take our family as theirs and thus would easily come in and go out of our house as and when needed. This ideal friend would not mind asking us what we have on our mind and secretly solve our problems. This ideal friend would give us company whenever we need it the most. This would mean that he would give his shoulder whenever we are down and hug us when we get heart-broken. This ideal friend would also help us financially when we go through a credit crunch. He would interact with our problems in such a way that problems will start getting solved in a quick manner. (Author Unknown, 2008) His linkage with our lives is immensely significant since the ideal friend is ideal for the very same reason. This ideal friend will capture our hearts with his humor and wit and would not less us get bored whenever we need good company and a lift from our social and professional problems. An ideal friend keeps people happy with him and does not indulge in useless gossip. He concerns his own self with the betterment of his own personality as well as of his friends. He concentrates on the aspect of ‘giving’ more than anything else. He is humble and remains very polite at the best of times. He does not give into pressure which is exerted upon his personality every now and so often. Indeed an ideal friend is ideal in all facets of life. In the end, an ideal friend possesses so many qualities that it seems pretty hard to list down all of them. Most of these qualities do not exist in one such person to which we can remark as being the most ideal one possible. Hence there is enough reason that there is no ideal friend in this world for us. We forget that we also have to become an ideal friend for an individual so that he could become as such. But then again

Strategies that HSBC Adopted to Suit the Changing Business Environment Essay - 1

Strategies that HSBC Adopted to Suit the Changing Business Environment - Essay Example The banking sector globally has been undergoing turmoil globally and risk management becomes a critical issue. Banks are financial institutions and risk management is critical to their survival. They have to manage this through pooling of risks and selling their services as risk specialists. The financial performance of the bank depends upon the efficiency with which they manage risks. HSBC is one of the leading banks that have been able to sustain the financial recession and still maintain profits. They change their strategy as the situation demanded and limited the extension of credits to new clients. HSBC realized that the purchasing power of people had reduced and the immediate step that they took was to curb issuing new credit card (Poulter, 2009). This helped them build their financial standing and it also demonstrates that HSBC plays it safe and believes in old-fashioned banking virtues (Duncan, 2009). However, it would be of immense value to the financial sector and particularly to the banks in the emerging economies to investigate the strategies that HSBC adopted to suit the changing business environment. This requires evaluating its risk management strategy. Hence, with the aim to investigate how banks manage risks in the interest of all the stakeholders, the objective of the study would be: The research strategy depends upon the purpose of the research, the size of the sample, the time and the budget in hand. Since this is an exploratory study meant to benefit the banking sector, in particular, a qualitative study has been envisaged. An in-depth analysis of the situation and the strategy is possible through the qualitative approach. As per the research onion, the research strategy could vary from an experiment to a survey to a case study.

Social Value in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social Value in Business - Essay Example This paper outlines that the inferior methods and materials used for such huge promotion of goods turned the earth to a miserable planet, whereby leading the corporate sector to a disastrous future of unsettlement of business and accumulating loss of venture capital. In such a scenario, the concept of Social Value has to take the rein of the ethical chariot of global business. From this paper it is clear that companies now promote their classic style of involvement in socially oriented activities for their sustainability. Business giants across the globe now have identified that the core purpose of their work is not yet limited to making profit but also marginally focusing on the development of the human community. The new logical approach to business has paved the way for the introduction of many new schools of business thought; most basically, the two principles like corporate social responsibility (CSR) and creating social value (CSV) have been framed for the better approach of corporate entrepreneurs towards the society. While the CSR is a mandatory part of large organization under the guidelines of the government; Social Value creation is their intellectual investment in the long term profitability and sustainable growth of business. Under this new ethical mechanism, corporate structures have identified that creative approach to the promotion of a hea lthy social environment rewards them in the long-run with more popularity of the products and extended faith of stakeholders in every organization. Large companies like Coca-Cola and Dove Chemicals have already cut down their annual water consumption. Motor vehicle giants are on the run for fuel efficiency and lower levels of carbon emission. Johnson and Johnson has promoted improved healthcare policies and healthy time shift allocation to its employees for the assurance of a better and delivering workforce by minimizing the cost of hospital bills and post treatment.

Emily Dickinson's In A Library Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Emily Dickinson's In A Library - Essay Example Amherst Academy as a young girl where she learned the subjects of her time which included everything from classical literature and geology to religion and biology. She went on to study at Mary Lyons Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, but left less than a year later. She never traveled far from her home at Amherst, and was never married. Despite not being given much to cultivating human society, she certainly valued her friends, Susan Gilbert being one of her constant friends, who later became her sister-in-law. She maintained long correspondences with valued friends such as Thomas Wentworth Higginson who was possibly also her sole critic, and maybe even one of her romantic attachments. She wrote prolifically till her death in 1886. She died at the age of 56 of Brights disease, and was buried in white at Amherst, in keeping with her rigorously white attire through most of her later life. One of the strongest aspects of Dickinsons poetry is its capacity for layered meanings, and â€Å"In a Library† is no exception. For Dickinson, a written word was open to many interpretations, and the reader was very much a part of the poetic process: â€Å"A word is dead, when it is said /Some say - /I say it just begins to live/ That day†(L 374; P 1212). She accepted that her words could, and often did take different and often unintended meanings in a readers mind. On the surface, â€Å"In a Library† is a poem about delving into the past with a book, to take pleasure in a flight of fancy by witnessing history as recorded on its pages, by taking part in myth, by understanding the perspectives and opinions that informed scholastic work during a time long gone past. On another level, the poem can also be seen as an association with a dear old fatherly acquaintance, here personified in a book. The experience of reading a really old book, its aged textures and its nostalgic fragrance is almost like meeting up with an elderly, knowledgeable father figure, and Dickinson plays on this dual

Creation Myth of Radio and Its Nuance to the Story Essay

Creation Myth of Radio and Its Nuance to the Story - Essay Example It has laid a strong ground of communication as people can communicate effectively regardless of geographical barriers. Thirdly, consolidation has brought severe effects for radio industry along with its employees. Although many support this myth based on the lost jobs over past years, there are many opportunities for personal development as station facilities offer more modernized and improved facilitates. Still, as technology continues to advance at a high rate there are better training, which in turn, improves financial status for employees with better wages. Fourthly, there is a myth created on clear channels producing homogenized play lists. This implies that, radio channels do not regulate what listeners should listen to or not. However, it is obvious that clear channels carry out intensive research each year in establishing what listeners wants. They do this to ensure they reach their target audience as radio targets most people than other media of communication such as TV. Wi th radio, one needs to be close to the radio to listen but TV requires one to be near to both watch and listen. Still, there is hearsay that clear radio channels are centrally controlled. However, this may be a myth because clear radio channels operate on a high decentralized business model where few employees are situated within â€Å"San Antonio Corporate Headquarters†. In this case, it stands out that this group can run a clear radio channel and make all decisions. Fifthly, there is a creation fable that amateur radio should set a forward communication post in disaster areas. In this case, the idea of having group of volunteers in disaster areas, untrained to communication skills makes the responders nervous. There are few facts why Amateur radio... This essay approves that due to the popularity of radio, government and business should in conflict with radio amateurs. This myth emerged from early pioneers who had conflicts with Amateurs’ messages and some posed false orders to the navy vessels. Although to some extent this may be true, one may challenge this myth by arguing that Amateur radio are paramount in communicating messages effectively. this paper has discussed eight myths about radio. In brief, these myths include, radio industry being too consolidated and most competitive media industry and radio media bringing a dying media industry back to life by promoting profane talks and music. Others include, consolidation augmenting severe effects for radio industry along with its employees and clear channels producing homogenized play lists and amateur radio being initiated to bring forward communication post in disaster areas. There are those that believe that radio saves lives during emergency cases through communicating about accident cases. Lastly, there is a creation myth about the need of government and business conflicting with radio amateurs. From the mentioned myths, one can outline that there are many misconceptions about radio. However, it stands out that, radio is a powerful tool, which has brought a vast effect in the 21st century. With no doubt, it has brought effective communication by breaking geographical barriers of distance. With this regard, this paper has discussed various myths about radio and later added a greater nuance to the story.

The impact of graphic design on new media(Graphic Design) Dissertation

The impact of graphic design on new media(Graphic Design) - Dissertation Example The Internet, of course, has played a large part in this. Graphic design is intimately connected with new media – Engholm (2002) states that new media would not have risen to prominence as quickly as it did without graphic design. Therefore, the two concepts are interconnected. Because they are, it is important to discovery how one influences the other. In particular, this study seeks to find out how graphic design influences the consumers of new media. Especially important is the effect upon young people, because they are intimately connected. Young people have virtually always had new media in their lives, and, indeed, they tend to use new media to a profound level. New media is ubiquitous in their lives. To this end, the study focuses upon individuals who are purveyors of new media, yet, by and large, are not experts on graphic arts. They simply â€Å"like what they like.† Graphic arts might be a turnoff if not done correctly. Alternatively, it might be a draw for ot hers, if it is done right. What the study has found is that, with regards to websites, graphic arts are important, but content is more important. With advertisements, it seems to be the opposite of this. Aims and Objective The aim of this project is to show how graphic design and the new media interact. Another aim is to show how young people are influenced by graphic design in their websites and online advertisements. The objective is to tie new media, graphic design and their effects on young people to show graphic designers, advertisers and other purveyors of new media how they can reach the young audience with graphics. New media uses graphic design in a variety of ways. Advertisements, online video games and websites are all ways that graphic design and new media intersect. This study will focus on different ways that graphic design and the Internet intersect, and how graphic design is used on the Internet. This study will examine different online advertisements, web sites and online video game sites to determine how graphic design is used. This study will also examine how young people react to the graphics, and what can be done to make the graphics better.  Abstract The first chapter will give an overview of graphic arts and new media. The second chapter will go more into depth in these concepts. The third chapter will feature the results of the interviews and surveys done on the participants to this study. The fourth chapter will synthesize the findings and provide a road map for what should come next in the area of graphic design, as it relates to new media. The fifth chapter will conclude the paper.  Chapter 1 In this chapter, a road map for the dissertation will be offered. The first part of this chapter will concentrate on the overview of the graphic design and new media, providing a brief history and definition of the two concepts. The second part will give a brief overview of the literature survey. The third part will explain the research de sign, including the limitations of the particular design, as well as a brief overview

Bad effects of fast food Essay Example for Free

Bad effects of fast food Essay Did you know as of January, of this year, there is about 50 million people daily that eat fast food in America. That around 1/6th of the population. The average meal for a family of four at McDonalds can cost around $27.89, with a homemade meal for four costing $13.78, or $9.26 for a vegetarian meal. People argue that it just cheaper than cooking a meal but in reality it is a lot more. Even if you just order off the $1 menu you still have to think of the other expenses like gas. Another factor is health. On average someone eat fast food a least 2 times a week so compare to someone who doesn’t eat that much can gain up to 10 more pound. If you don’t exercise daily you can become out of shape fast. People who have family members with some diseases like Diabetes and high blood pressure should not eat as much fast food as they do because just eating it 2 times a week can double the incidence of insulin resistance, a risk factor for Diabetes. There is also lots of sodium in fast food and that alone can give you high blood pressure. People who eat fast-food 4 or more times a week, up their risk of dying from heart disease by 80%. Fast foods create a much higher risk of heart disease because of the high level of saturated or transfats found in much of the food. Those fats can clog the arteries and cause high cholesterol levels. A well-balanced food contains all essential elements which are necessary for human development. Whereas fast food does not have all these elements, this type of food contains some elements in high quantity while others are absent. So just by eating out because it cheaper at the moment or quicker in the long run you are actually paying more because of medical bills it’s just a game of cause and effect.

Coffee Shop Business Plan

Coffee Shop Business Plan Java Culture coffee bar is determined to become a daily necessity for local coffee addicts, a place to dream of as you try to escape the daily stresses of life and  just a  comfortable place to meet your friends or to read a book, all in one. With the growing demand for high-quality gourmet coffee and great service, Java Culture will capitalize on its proximity to the University of Oregon campus to build a core group of repeat customers. The company will operate a 2,300 square foot coffee bar within a walking distance from the University of Oregon campus. The owners have secured this location through a three-year lease with an option for extending. The have also provided $140,000 of the required $170,000 start-up funds. The remaining capital will be obtained through  Bank of America commercial loans. The company is expected to grow sales revenue from $584,000 in FY2001 to $706,000 in year three. As Java Culture will strive to maintain a 65% gross profit margin and reasonable operating expenses,  it will see  net profits grow from $100,000 to$125,000 during the same period. 1.1 Objectives: Java Cultures objectives for the first year of  operations are: Become selected as the Best New Coffee Bar in the area by the local restaurant guide. Turn in profits from the first month of operations. Maintain a 65% gross margin. 1.2 Keys to Success: The keys to success will be: Store design that will be both visually attractive to customers, and designed for fast and efficient operations. Employee training to insure the best coffee preparation techniques. Marketing strategies aimed to build a solid base of loyal customers, as well as maximizing the sales of high margin products, such as espresso drinks. 1.3 Mission Java Culture will make its best effort to create a unique place where customers can socialize with each other in a comfortable and relaxing environment while enjoying the best brewed coffee  or espresso and pastries in town. We will be in the business of helping our customers to relieve their daily stresses by providing piece of mind through great ambience, convenient location, friendly customer service, and products of consistently high quality. Java Culture will invest its profits to increase the employee satisfaction while providing stable return to its shareholders. 2.0 Company Summary: Java Culture, an Oregon limited liability company, sells coffee, other beverages and snacks in its 2,300 square feet premium coffee bar located near the University of Oregon campus.   Java Cultures major investors are Arthur Garfield and James Polk who cumulatively own over 70% of the company. The start-up loss of the company is assumed in the amount of $27,680. 2.1 Company Ownership: Java Culture is registered as a Limited Liability Corporation in the state of Oregon. Arthur Garfield owns 51% of the company. His cousin, James Polk, as well as Megan Flannigan and Todd Barkley hold minority stakes in Java Culture, LLC. 2.2 Company Locations and Facilities: Java Culture coffee bar will be located on the ground floor of the commercial building at the corner of West 13th Avenue and Patterson Street in Eugene, OR. The company has secured a one-year lease of the vacant 2,500 square feet premises previously occupied by a hair salon. The lease contract has an option of renewal for three years at a fixed rate that Java Culture will execute depending on the financial strength of its business. The floor plan will include a 200 square feet back office and a 2,300 square feet coffee bar, which will include a seating area with 15 tables, a kitchen, storage area and two bathrooms. The space in the coffee bar will be approximately distributed the following way1,260 square feet (i.e., 55% of the total) for the seating area, 600 square feet (26%) for the production area, and the remaining 440 square feet (19%) for the customer service area. This property is located in a commercial area within a walking distance from the University of Oregon campus on the corner of a major thoroughfare connecting affluent South Eugene neighborhood with the busy downtown commercial area. The commercially zoned premises have the necessary water and electricity hookups and will require only minor remodeling to accommodate the espresso bar,  kitchen and storage area. The coffee bars open and clean interior design with modern wooden decor will convey the quality of the served beverages and snacks, and will be in-line with the establishments positioning as an eclectic place where people can relax and enjoy their cup of coffee. The clear window displays, through which passerby will be able to see customers enjoying their beverages, and outside electric signs will be aimed to grab the attention of the customer traffic. 3.0 Products: Java Culture will offer its customers the best tasting coffee beverages in the area. This will be achieved by using high-quality ingredients and strictly following preparation guidelines. The store layout, menu listings and marketing activities will be focused on maximizing the sales of higher margin espresso drinks. Along with the espresso drinks, brewed coffee and teas, as well as some refreshment beverages, will be sold in the coffee bar. Java Culture will also offer its clients pastries, small salads and sandwiches. For the gourmet clientele that prefers to prepare its coffee at home, Java Culture will also be selling coffee beans. The menu offerings will be supplemented by free books and magazines that customers can read inside the coffee bar. 3.1 Product Description: The menu of the Java Culture coffee bar will be built around espresso-based coffee drinks such as lattes, mochas, cappuccinos, etc. Each of the espresso-based drinks will be offered with whole, skimmed, or soy milk. Each of these coffee beverages is based on a shot of espresso, which is prepared in the espresso machine by forcing heated water through ground coffee at high pressure. Such espresso shots are combined with steamed milk and/or other additives like cocoa, caramel, etc., to prepare the espresso-based beverages. Proper preparation techniques are of paramount importance for such drinks. A minor deviation from the amount of coffee in the shot, the size of the coffee particles, the temperature of milk, etc., can negatively affect the quality of the prepared drink. 3.2 Sales Literature: Two thousand flyers will be distributed in the adjacent neighborhood, on the University campus, at the malls and in the selected office buildings within two weeks prior to the opening of Java Culture. Subsequently, free postcards with Java Culture endorsement will be printed to increase the company visibility among the patrons. 4.0 Market Analysis Summary: U.S. coffee consumption has shown steady growth, with gourmet coffee having the strongest growth. Coffee drinkers in the Pacific Northwest are among the most demanding ones. They favor well-brewed gourmet coffee drinks and demand great service. Eugene, OR, with its liberal and outgoing populace and long rainy winter, has traditionally been a great place for coffee establishments. Java Culture will strive to build a loyal customer base by offering a great tasting coffee in a   relaxing environment of its coffee bar located close to the bustling University of Oregon campus. 4.1 Market Segmentation: Java Culture will focus its marketing activities on reaching the University students and faculty, people working in offices located close to the coffee bar and on sophisticated teenagers. Our market research shows that these are the customer groups that are most likely to buy gourmet coffee products. Since gourmet coffee consumption is universal across different income categories and mostly depends on the level of higher education, proximity to the University of Oregon campus will provide access to the targeted customer audience. The chart and table below outline the total market potential (in number of customers) of gourmet coffee drinkers in Eugene, OR. Java Culture will cater to people who want to get their daily cup of great-tasting coffee in a relaxing atmosphere. Such customers vary in age, although our location close to the University campus means that most of our clientele will be college students and faculty. Our market research shows that these  are discerning customers that gravitate towards better tasting coffee. Furthermore, a lot of college students consider coffee bars to be a convenient studying or meeting location, where they can read or meet with peers without the necessity to pay cover charges. For us, this will provide a unique possibility for building a loyal client base. 4.2.1 Market Needs: General trend toward quality among U.S. consumers definitely plays an important role in the recent growth in gourmet coffee. Additionally, such factors as desire for small indulgencies, for something more exotic and unique, provide a good selling opportunity for coffee bars. 4.3 I Industry Analysis: Coffee consumption has shown a steady 2.5% growth rate in the United States over the last decade. In 1994, total sales of coffee were approximately $7.5 billion with gourmet coffee representing 33% (or $2.5 billion) of that. The retail coffee industry is flourishing in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The local climate, with a long rainy season, is very conducive for the consumption of hot non-alcoholic beverages. At the same time, hot dry summers drive people into cafes to order iced drinks. Further, coffee has really become a part of the lifestyle in the Pacific Northwest. Its discerning coffee drinkers are in favor of well-prepared, strong coffee-based beverages, which they can consume in a  relaxing environment. 4. 4 Competition and Buying pattern: Competition: According to the 1997 Oregon Food service Statistics (NAICS 72), Eugene had 45 established snack non-alcoholic beverage bars (NAICS 722213) with total sales of $14.2 million. Among other establishments that offer coffee drinks to their customers are most of Eugenes limited- and full-service restaurants. Java Cultures direct competitors will be other coffee bars located near the University of Oregon campus. These include Starbucks, Cafe Roma, The UO Bookstore, and other Food service establishments that offer coffee. Starbucks will definitely be one of the major competitors because of its strong financial position and established marketing and operational practices. However, despite of Starbucks entrenched market position, many customers favor smaller, independent establishments that offer cozy atmosphere and good coffee at affordable prices. Cafe Roma is a good example of such competition. We estimate that Starbucks holds approximately 35% market share in that neighborhood, Cafe Roma appeals to 25% of customers, The UO Bookstore caters to another 10%, with the remaining market share split among other establishments. Java Culture will position itself as a unique coffee bar that not only offers the best tasting coffee and pastries but also provides home-like, cozy and comfortable environment, which established corporate establishments lack. We will cater to customers bodies and minds, which will help us grow our market share in this competitive market. Buying Patterns: The major reason for the customers to return to a specific coffee bar is a great tasting coffee, quick service and pleasant atmosphere. Although, as stated before, coffee consumption is uniform across different income segments, Java Culture will price its product offerings competitively. We strongly believe that selling coffee with a great service in a nice setting will help us build a strong base of loyal clientele. 5.0 Strategy and Implementation Summary: Java Cultures marketing strategy will be focused at getting new customers, retaining the existing customers, getting customers to spend more and come back more often. Establishing a loyal customer base is of a paramount importance since such customer core will not only generate most of the sales but also will provide favorable referrals. 5.1 Competitive Edge: Java Culture will position itself as unique coffee bar where its patrons can not only enjoy a cup of perfectly brewed coffee but also spend their time in an ambient environment. Comfortable sofas and chairs, dimmed light and quiet relaxing music will help the customers to relax from the daily stresses and will differentiate Java Culture from incumbent competitors. 5.2 Sales Strategy: Java Culture baristas will handle the sales transactions. To speed up the customer service, at least two employees will be servicing clientswhile one employee will be preparing the customers order, the other one will be taking care of the sales transaction. All sales data logged on the computerized point-of-sale terminal will be later analyzed for marketing purposes. In order to build up its client base, Java Culture will use banners and fliers, utilize customer referrals and cross-promotions with other businesses in the community. At the same time, customer retention programs will be used to make sure the customers are coming back and spending more at the coffee bar. 5.3 Sales Forecast: Food costs are assumed at 25% for coffee beverages and 50% for retail beans and pastries. Proximity to the University campus will dictate certain sales seasonality with revenues slightly decreasing during the school vacation periods. The chart and table below outline our projected sales forecast for the next three years. 6.0 Management Summary: Java Culture is majority-owned by Arthur Garfield and James Polk. Mr. Garfield holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from the University of ZYX. Hes worked for several years as an independent business consultant. Previously, he owned the ABC Travel Agency, which he profitably sold four years ago. Mr. Garfield has extensive business contacts in Oregon that he will leverage to help his new venture succeed. Mr. Polk has a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from the XYZ State University. For the last five years he has worked as a manager of DEF Ristorante, a successful Italian restaurant in Portland, OR. Under Mr. Polks management, the restaurant has consistently increased sales while maintaining a lower than average level of operating expenses. However, because of the investors other commitments they will not be involved into the daily management decisions at Java Culture. A professional manager ($35,000/yr) will be hired who will oversee all the coffee bar operations. Two full-time baristas ($25,000/yr each) will be in charge of coffee preparation. Four more part-time employees will be hired to fulfill the staffing needs. In the second and third year of operation one more part-time employee will be hired to handle the increased sales volume. 6.1 Management Team: A full-time manager will be hired to oversee the daily operations at Java Culture. The candidate (whos name is withheld due to his current employment commitment) has had three years of managerial experience in the definitely industry in Oregon. This persons responsibilities will include managing the staff, ordering inventory, dealing with suppliers, developing a marketing strategy and perform other daily managerial duties. We believe that our candidate has the right experience for this role. A profit-sharing arrangement for the manager may be considered based on the first year operational results. 6.2 Management Team Gaps: Despite the owners and managers experience in the definitely industry, the company will retain the consulting services of ABC Espresso Services, the consultants who have helped to develop the business idea for Java Culture. This company has over twenty years of experience in the retail coffee industry and has successfully opened dozens of coffee bars across the U.S. Consultants will be primarily used for market research, customer satisfaction surveys and to provide additional input into the evaluation of the new business opportunities. 7.0 Financial Plan: Java Culture will capitalize on the strong demand for high-quality gourmet coffee. The owners have provided the company with sufficient start-up capital. With successful management aimed at establishing and growing a loyal customer base, the company will see its net worth doubling in two years. Java Culture will maintain a healthy 65% gross margin, which combined with reasonable operating expenses, will provide enough cash to finance further growth.

The Criticisms of Kohlbergs Moral Development Stages Essay -- Moral D

The Criticisms of Kohlberg's Moral Development Stages Part One:The criticisms of Kohlberg's moral development stages seem to center around three major points, his research methods, the "regression" of stage four, and finally his goals.The first criticism that I would like to address is that of his research methods. Kohlberg is often criticized for not only his subject selection, but also the methods by which he tries to extricate data from those subjects. His initial study consisted of school boys from a private institution in Chicago. The problem with this is fairly obvious, that this does not represent a significant portion of the population to allow for generalized conclusions. In other words, how can we test some boys from Chicago and ascertain that this is how all people develop worldwide?I believe that the answer to this criticism comes from the theory that it relates to. Kohlberg's moral development schema is highly dependent upon the idea that there are fundamental truths that cannot be dismissed. These ideas are "in the ether", wound into the very fabric that constructs human nature. Granted, his descriptions of the various stages also seem very dependent upon the surroundings and social institutions that an individual would be subjected to. Yet these institutions would be have to be built upon people, all of whom would share these ideological truths. It seems fairly obvious that all people have undeniable needs, survival and some group membership. Kohlberg's stages are merely methods by which one could fulfill these needs. For instance, Spartan societies were adamant about maintaining the purity and strength of the civilization. Citizens saw no wrong in exposing a sick or lame baby to the elements so that it might die. Surely an act of cruelty today, but in that society, a necessary evil The prosperity and wealth of the whole was of greater importance than that of the individual.In addition to these justifications, additional research substantiated Kohlberg's claims. Different subjects were tested, from all ages and regions, and the same conclusions were drawn from the data. Assuming that these conclusions are correct, and the data leads to the same interpretation, is there any other possibility? This argument seems most impressive, especially considering the differences between people that are evident in everyday life. Similarities ... ...o a small compromise to fit their needs. In conclusion, it seems that there is definitely a way to combine the Kohlberg justice theme and the Gilligan caring theme of moral development. Mr. Kohlberg provides a method to police a society that does not include 100 percent utopian citizens. Ms. Gilligan gives us the ability to relate to each and every person, as a person. She indicates ways that we can identify with their perspectives, understand their needs, and compromise. Although the real world seems infinitely more complex than either of these models, they bear a frightening resemblance to real societies and real people. Maybe someday, a perfect model will be constructed, judged by a perfect path of moral development. Until then, I hope that I have found a good combination of these two ideas. One last side note: I think I could spend weeks typing a paper on this subject. There are thousands of facets of each system that could fit into the other's potential flaws. However, I think I've been long-winded enough as it is. I have tried to make my points as succinct and reasonable as possible, but without sacrificing exactly what I wanted to say. Thank you for your patience.

Fictional Newspaper Article about Medevial Tournaments -- essays resea

The Medieval Joust This morning I witnessed a tournament held in town. As I was watching I realized that I wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t exactly certain about all the rules. This is why I decided to write this article about the history, rules, and guidelines of this riveting sport. The words "tournament" and "joust" are frequently used interchangeably. Strictly speaking "joust" describes single combat between two horsemen. "Tournament" refers to mounted combat between parties of knights, but also is used to refer to the whole proceeding. The first written tournament guidelines are credited to a Frenchman named Geoffroi de Purelli in 1066. I would have interviewed this man but he was unfortunately killed, ironically in one of these very tournaments for which he made rules. Jousting is a way of gaining respect. It is what is done when there is no war to fight. Jousting is essentially a way of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“playingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? war. Tournaments were, at first, merely battles arranged on some pretext at an appropriate appointment between parties of knights. From these bloody conflicts there developed the tourn... Fictional Newspaper Article about Medevial Tournaments -- essays resea The Medieval Joust This morning I witnessed a tournament held in town. As I was watching I realized that I wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t exactly certain about all the rules. This is why I decided to write this article about the history, rules, and guidelines of this riveting sport. The words "tournament" and "joust" are frequently used interchangeably. Strictly speaking "joust" describes single combat between two horsemen. "Tournament" refers to mounted combat between parties of knights, but also is used to refer to the whole proceeding. The first written tournament guidelines are credited to a Frenchman named Geoffroi de Purelli in 1066. I would have interviewed this man but he was unfortunately killed, ironically in one of these very tournaments for which he made rules. Jousting is a way of gaining respect. It is what is done when there is no war to fight. Jousting is essentially a way of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“playingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? war. Tournaments were, at first, merely battles arranged on some pretext at an appropriate appointment between parties of knights. From these bloody conflicts there developed the tourn...

Behavioral Aspects of Project Management Essay -- Operations Project M

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The behavioral aspects of project management consist of many different areas that a project manager must master. The organizational culture is one area that can take time to master for many project managers. The culture of an organization can be the success or the failure of a project. Management must share common beliefs and values and be willing to stand by them at the most critical times.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The personality of the project leader is critical to the project. The project leaders leadership will dictate if the project will be successful. The team has to believe in the manager and for this to happen the manager has to follow though with what they say they will do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To build and manage a successful project team the project manager must be skilled in many areas. The project manager has to be able to select team members that will fit in with the team, manage meetings skillfully, establish a team identity and vision, establish ways of rewarding the team as well as individuals, manage conflicts within and outside the team, and be able to rejuvenate the team over long projects. Organization Cultures Influence Organizational culture research has identified ten primary characteristics that lead to successful or unsuccessful teams within an organization. These characteristics will in turn affect the selection, sponsorship, prioritization, and ultimate success of all projects in an organization (Gray, Larson, 2011). 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Member Identity – is the employee’s ability to identify with the organization. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Team Emphasis – the activities of the organization in which the team or individuals are emphasized. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Management focus – the decisions management makes that affect the employee’s. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unit integration – are teams within in an organization expected work independently or as a team. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Control – the oversight and control over an employee’s behavior. These types of rules and policies of the organization to oversee employees will dictate to the employee what is acceptable and what is discouraged. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Risk tolerance – this allows or sets limits on an employee and teams to have a certain amount of innovation and risk seeking. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reward criteria – the organizational culture to allow or disallow promotions and salary increases based on merit rather than nonperformance factors. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Conflict tolerance – the limits at which em... ...ansferred to the actual project or the significance will lessen and not be effective (Gray/Larson, 2011). Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The project manager has to be skilled in many areas of an organization and usually has to work under less than ideal situations. The areas noted earlier are important but probably the most important area is the behavior of the project manager. The behavior of the manager is critical for the success of any project. If the manager has a bad attitude then the team will be lacking in enthusiasm and the project will likely be over budget and not on schedule. Leading by example is hard, especially when stress of the project is mounting. Corporate leaders influence the managers who influence the employees the same goes for project managers leading teams. The project manager must have discipline and be constantly aware of how personal actions are perceived by others (Gray/Larson, 2011). Work Cited Gray, C.F., Larson, E.W. Operations Project Management: The Managerial Process, 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. 2011. Web 16 May 2015. http://www.engr.sjsu.edu/fayad/current.courses/cmpe203-fall2014/docs/ERM/Project%20Management%205th%20Edition.pdf Behavioral Aspects of Project Management Essay -- Operations Project M   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The behavioral aspects of project management consist of many different areas that a project manager must master. The organizational culture is one area that can take time to master for many project managers. The culture of an organization can be the success or the failure of a project. Management must share common beliefs and values and be willing to stand by them at the most critical times.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The personality of the project leader is critical to the project. The project leaders leadership will dictate if the project will be successful. The team has to believe in the manager and for this to happen the manager has to follow though with what they say they will do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To build and manage a successful project team the project manager must be skilled in many areas. The project manager has to be able to select team members that will fit in with the team, manage meetings skillfully, establish a team identity and vision, establish ways of rewarding the team as well as individuals, manage conflicts within and outside the team, and be able to rejuvenate the team over long projects. Organization Cultures Influence Organizational culture research has identified ten primary characteristics that lead to successful or unsuccessful teams within an organization. These characteristics will in turn affect the selection, sponsorship, prioritization, and ultimate success of all projects in an organization (Gray, Larson, 2011). 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Member Identity – is the employee’s ability to identify with the organization. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Team Emphasis – the activities of the organization in which the team or individuals are emphasized. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Management focus – the decisions management makes that affect the employee’s. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unit integration – are teams within in an organization expected work independently or as a team. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Control – the oversight and control over an employee’s behavior. These types of rules and policies of the organization to oversee employees will dictate to the employee what is acceptable and what is discouraged. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Risk tolerance – this allows or sets limits on an employee and teams to have a certain amount of innovation and risk seeking. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reward criteria – the organizational culture to allow or disallow promotions and salary increases based on merit rather than nonperformance factors. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Conflict tolerance – the limits at which em... ...ansferred to the actual project or the significance will lessen and not be effective (Gray/Larson, 2011). Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The project manager has to be skilled in many areas of an organization and usually has to work under less than ideal situations. The areas noted earlier are important but probably the most important area is the behavior of the project manager. The behavior of the manager is critical for the success of any project. If the manager has a bad attitude then the team will be lacking in enthusiasm and the project will likely be over budget and not on schedule. Leading by example is hard, especially when stress of the project is mounting. Corporate leaders influence the managers who influence the employees the same goes for project managers leading teams. The project manager must have discipline and be constantly aware of how personal actions are perceived by others (Gray/Larson, 2011). Work Cited Gray, C.F., Larson, E.W. Operations Project Management: The Managerial Process, 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. 2011. Web 16 May 2015. http://www.engr.sjsu.edu/fayad/current.courses/cmpe203-fall2014/docs/ERM/Project%20Management%205th%20Edition.pdf

A Modern Day Sleeping Beauty

Once upon a time there lived a young couple who had found true love and were bound together by fate. His name was Brian and hers was Melody. They lived it the beautiful city of Anchorage, Alaska. Brian was a C-17 Pilot stationed at Elmendorf AFB and Melody a 1st grade teacher at local school. Melody was a beautiful sight; her body was athletic, her hair fell over her shoulders and was highlighted to the most beautiful blonde, her skin was flawless and her eyes were blue but not an ordinary blue; like a tropical ocean and they sparkled like the water when the sun hit it. Brian wasn’t so bad himself. He was what all girls dreamed prince charming to be. He was tall and worked out often; his muscles could be seen through his shirt, his hair was dark, his skin tan, and one could get lost in his piercing green eyes. Brian and Melody spent every chance they had together outside of their busy schedules. They went on evening walks together and early morning jogs. They sat on their front porch and watched the sun rise and set in the beautiful snow covered Mountains of Anchorage. Most weekends the couple would make time for dinner and a movie. Brian and Melody were made for each other. Even a stranger could clearly see the love they had for each other would never die. (Sight & Touch) It was a cold brisk night in late December; the weather had changed in a matter of hours. The wind rose with a backing wind, it brought a clouded sky and a heavy snowstorm with it. A pallor of winter evening seemed to have closed upon the city, cloaking it in a blanket of snow. Brian and Melody were returning home after eating dinner at the Olive Garden and watching the movie â€Å"The Black Swan†. They had enjoyed their night out at dinner and a movie. The aroma of garlic wafted through the air from the white styrofoam box filled with Sicilian Scampi and the delightful flavor of light buttery popcorn remained in their mouths as if they were still indulging on it. The weather brought the worst driving conditions; (Sight) everything around them seemed to disappear in a thick white haze through which large snowflakes of snow were flying; the sky merged with the earth. (Hear) The wind blew with freezing blasts and such force it howled around the car as it faded out the music playing over the radio. The vehicle swayed while Brian fought to regain the road that was now a snowdrift burying the yellow and white painted lines. The challenging road conditions were inviting collision as other cars overtook the wrong side of the road and had a complete disregard for speed limits. Brian deeply concentrated and felt comfortable driving his 4 wheel drive Rubicon in these conditions. Breaking his concentration; Melody frantically shouted, â€Å"Brian, that truck, he is in our lane†! Brian didn't have time to react, â€Å"Crash†. The airbags deployed while the jeep flipped end over end and slid on the white blanket of snow that was once the road. The jeep came to a stop landing on its roof, the windows were busted out and the headlights shinned directly at the truck that had hit them. The Ford F-150 sat upright sideways in the road. It took a moment for Brian to come to reality with what had just happened. He glanced over at his wife who still sat there restrained, unconscious and bleeding severely from her head. He could hear the sirens of an Ambulance and Fire Truck off in the distance. Before he knew it he and Melody were being rushed to the hospital in an Ambulance. Brian lay there in the back of an Ambulance suffering only minor injuries. Melody lay across from him. Time seemed to stand still while he watched the Paramedics try to revive his wife. He shouted at the Paramedics, â€Å"do something, do something! † â€Å"Please do something; please don’t let my wife die! † They arrived at the hospital in what seemed to take hours to Brian. The Paramedics were able to get Melody’s heart beating but she was still unconscious. Brian paced back and forth up and down the hospital halls as his wife underwent surgery. The Dr. finally came out and said, â€Å"I have good news and bad, your wife seems to be stable but she is in a coma that could be indefinite. † â€Å"Indefinite†, Brian shouted! The Dr. attempted to calm Brian and Explained, â€Å"I can't promise that she won't wake up but it may take a miracle. She could wake up tomorrow, she could wake up in a month or she could be a Modern day Sleeping Beauty†. The following months felt like years to Brian. Melody lay there in a deep sleep and Brian remained by her side. Brian would speak to her softly while clasping her hand or pinching er fingers; He would tell her he loved her and beg her to wake up. He played songs the couple had danced to from their wedding and read to her from her favorite books. Often Brian would run his hands through Melody’s long blonde hair admiring her beauty dreaming of a future they had planned. The Dr. ’s showed little hope that Melody would ever wake up but Brian never gave up believing. Six long Months had passed and summer had come. Brian was at his last wit and desperate. One late night Brian said a prayer for his wife as he did every night before. Then he leaned over her bedside and pleaded, â€Å"Melody if you can hear me, please just give me a kiss. † What happened next was beyond Brian’s wildest dreams. To his shock Melody responded; slowly she turned her head towards his, puckered up her lips and gave him the smallest kiss. At that moment fate was sealed tightly, bound by one simple kiss and they lived happily ever after. â€Å"You can’t stop fate; â€Å"Whatever will be, will be†. Life presents unavoidable risks. You can’t stop the fate of True Love; it is also unavoidable. True Love is worth believing in and True Love never dies.

Public Health Challenge Essay

Possibly the most imperative public health challenge for the United States today is the obesity epidemic the population has. This obesity epidemic, is linked to an array of costly and debilitating health consequences. The widespread challenge of obesity and the health problems and concerns that go with that is an American public health problem. FDA’s approval of two new medications that can help to decrease some of the obesity , decrease some of the chronic diseases associated with obesity, and decrease the costs associated with obesity. This essay will be addressing these pertinent problems and will prove that the new FDA drugs approved for weight loss will help American’s with weight loss that will decrease obesity, decrease chronic illnesses that are associated with obesity and decrease health care costs. Prevention of obesity along with investing in research is necessary for us to see a change in the obesity epidemic (Hammond, 2012). Research suggests that decreasing obesity will decrease the costs of health care, decrease chronic illnesses associated with obesity. Total obesity costs would be much more reduced, along with the cost for other conditions caused by excess weight in our population (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). Research suggests that the newest FDA approved diet pills will benefit Americans by decreasing obesity, decreasing chronic diseases associated with obesity and decreasing health care costs. Research shows that newest FDA approved diet pills Qysimia, and Blviq (lorcaserin), are helping to decrease obesity in the American population that were taking these medications. The new diet drugs approved by FDA will benefit Americans by decreasing obesity rates in the American population. With two-thirds of all our population being obese or overweight or and the related cost of health costs, FDA was under pressure to approve any weight loss treatments (Berkrot & Yukhananov, 2012). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permitted long-term weight loss obesity drugs for the first time in 13 years, these drugs are suppose to help unhealthy overweight and obese Americans with weight control that have been unsuccessful (FDA, 2012). These two new drugs, Belviq (lorcaserin) and Qsymia will be a tool to help Americans get and stay at a healthy weight (FDA, 2012). Belviq (lorcaserin) is one of the two new drugs that have been approved by the FDA. Resesearch currently showing promise and benefit from this medication. Belviq (lorcaserin) which drug’s efficacy submitted by FDA and Arena pharmaceuticals show a weight loss of five percent of their starting weight, averaging twelve pounds (Park, 2012a). Belviq (lorcaserin) works activating the brain receptors for serotonin which help to control appetite. Arena researchers explain that their drug is designed to seek out these appetite serotonin receptors and saturate them so that appetite is controlled. FDA and Arena pharmaceuticals show a weight loss of five percent of their starting weight, averaging twelve pounds. The best results have been shown in people that are on a healthy diet and an exercise program (Park, 2012a). FDA has approved this medications for obese patients with a BMI of 30 or above, or if a BMI of 27 and high cholesterol, hypertension or Type 2 diabetes. Side effects associated with this medication are fatigue, dizziness, dry mouth, constipation, headache and nausea; side effects for diabetic patients are fatigue, low blood sugar, headache, back pain and cough. The standard labeling for Belviq suggests that the drug be terminated in patients who fail to drop 5 percent of their body weight after 12 weeks of therapy, because they will probably not start achieving weight loss. When Belviq is given 10 milligrams twice a day, Belviq does not appear to activate the serotonin 2B receptor, which is what caused the withdrawal of fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine drugs because of cardiac issues. (Yao, 2012). The weight loss proven in research from this drug proves that Bekviq (lorcaserin) that will helped decrease the obesity in the American population that are prescribed this medication. A second new drug Qsymia, made by Vivus, is has been approved by FDA closely behind Belviq. Qsymia which drug’s efficacy in trials show a weight loss of 8.4 -10.6 percent of their starting weight. (2012b). This drug is a combination drug, topiramate, and phenertermine. Phentermine is an appetite suppressant stimulant, and topiramate is an anti-seizure medication that makes gives people the feeling of being fuller after eating. Research suggests that it works by targeting brain receptors that trigger eating too much. With clinical trials, obese patients that took Qsymia for a full year lost on average 8.4 % to 10.6% of their weight, the weight loss increased with higher doses. The FDA’s approval of Qsymia, after such a long diet-drug drought and despite the potential safety problems that plague weight-loss pills, marks a willingness to make new solutions available. FDA approved this drug for obese people with a BMI of thirty or greater or twenty-seven or more with another co-morbidity disease. Risks or side effects include increased heart rate, birth defects for pregnant women, and metabolic acidosis. With the American population increasing in obesity by over a third of the adults and effective weight loss treatments are few and rare. FDA approving these new weight loss pills shows us that new solutions are available (Park, 2012b). The weight loss associated with this drug is greater than that of Belviq but the potential complications and risk may be greater. FDA approving these two new drugs Qysmia and Belviq after a 13 year gap in FDA diet drug approval is promising to Americans, both drugs shows a substantial weight loss in obese patients with BMI of 27 or greater. This weight loss will be effective in decreasing obesity in the American population. These drugs are supposed to help unhealthy overweight and obese Americans with weight control that has been unsuccessful (Yao, 2012). Belviq (lorcase-rin) is a 10 mg tablet taken twice a day that works by sending signals to the brain that controls hunger. Weight loss from Belviq in studies averaged 3-3.7 percent. Qsymia is taken once a day, with patients starting at the lowest dose (3.75 mg phentermine/23 mg topira-mate extended-release), then increas-ing to the recommended dose (7.5mg/46 mg). The maximum dose increased to the highest dose (15 mg/92 mg). Weight loss from Qsymia in studys averaged 6.7-8.9 percent. Orlistat is the last FDA approved drug on the market currently. Prescriptions approved by FDA in the past have a history being removed because of detrimental side effects (FDA, 2012). A new solution for weight loss is necessary to help decrease the obesity epidemic in the United States and the FDA’s approval of Qsymia and Belviq, is the a start to answering how Americans can make weight loss being accessible (Park, 2012a). The two new diet drugs, Qysmia and Belviq approved by FDA will benefit Americans by decreasing chronic diseases associated with obesity in the American population. Conditions associated to obesity include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death. (CDC, 2012). Decreasing obesity will decrease the amount and or severity of these chronic. Obesity is defined as an adult with a BMI (Body Mass Index) greater than 30 and overweight is defined as BMI of 25- to 29.9 or greater. In 2009-2010 37.5% of the American population was obese according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Ogden, Carroll, Kit & Flegal, 2012). BMI is not a diagnostic tool. For example, if a person has a high BMI, a health care provider would need to perform further assessments to determine if the excess weight is a health risk. These assessments might include evaluations of diet, physical activity, family history, blo od tests and other appropriate health screenings (CDC, 2011). With over one third of Americans being overweight it increases the chronic illnesses of over one third of our population. Almost 41 million women and more than 37 million men aged 20 and over were obese in 2009–2010. Obesity leads to higher health risks and chronic diseases including type two diabetes, hypertension, and increased lipids to name a few. Adults aged 60 and over were more likely to be obese than younger adults. The Healthy People 2010 goals of 15% obesity among adults and 5% obesity among children were not met (Ogden, Carroll, Kit & Flegal, 2012). Decreasing obesity rates will decrease our chronic illnesses associated with obesity. . An effective obesity prevention strategy will be to include education and change policies to incorporate healthy changes to decrease obesity. According to an analysis in the American Journal of Public Health, as little as a 5 percent reduction in the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension would save almost $25 billion annually in med ium-term health care costs (Hammond, 2012). Sixty percent of the Americans obese or overweight population reported one or more chronic illnesses that were associated with obesity, in 2006, compared to 33 percent of normal-weight adults. Cardiovascular disease is one of the major risks associated with obesity. The excess fat associated with obesity raises cholesterol and blood pressure. Decreasing the excess fat will decrease cardiovascular disease. Cancer over the last decades has been linked to obesity, decreasing obesity will decrease some of the cancer risks. Type II diabetes is the one chronic disease mainly associated to obesity, and studies suggest that a weight gain of 11 pounds or more in adult aged patients is associated with 27 percent of type 2 diabetes (Combs, 2011). Decreasing weight of 11 pounds which is a possibility for patients on these diet drugs will decrease these chronic illnesses. The new approved diet pills help decrease chronic diseases associated with obesity as evidenced by decreased chronic illnesses being present in lower weighted Americans The new diet drugs approved by FDA will benefit Americans by decreasing health care cost associated with obesity in the American population. This obesity epidemic is associated with increased health care costs and will continue to increase over the next years. Prevention of obesity along with investing in research is necessary for us to see a change in the obesity epidemic (Hammond, 2012). Obesity cost health care large amounts of money and is a health concern (Berkrot & Yukhananov, 2012). The abstract â€Å"Annual medical spending attributable to obesity† connects the unquestionable connection between growing rates of obesity and escalating medical spending. The liability of obesity has escalated to almost ten percent of all medical spending and could amount to $ 147 billion in 2008 these are the overall estimates that the authors found (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). As a result, the article will be useful to support the points that decreasing obesity will decre ase health care costs. Obesity rates have continued to escalate despite all aspects of government’s efforts including state, national and local. This is a concern to the American public and also to the health care industry. The medical charges increased by 37 percent from 1998 to estimated 2006 numbers. The rising number of Americans with obesity is influencing the increases in total medical costs. Amplified costs is evidenced by prescription drug benefits from Medicare, that show Medicare overweight recipients spend $600 per year more than non obese Medicare recipients. The authors estimate that the occurrence of obesity being on the rise is to blame for the greater than before health care costs from 1998 to 2006 (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). These numbers show again that reduction in obesity rates will decrease all medical costs including the $600 Medicare costs. Methods and Study data points are used for research in this article. This article goes over the methods used in the research. The methods used are a four part equation regression approach to predict the total medical spending. This is part of the modifications to allow stratifications to be more detailed , by separate spending from inpatient to outpatient settings, prescription costs of drugs, each service then was able to conclude and predict total spending (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). The methods include accounting for Body Mass Index (BMI), BMI greater than 30 was used. Regressions for characteristics included control of ethnicity/race, age, income, smoking status, marital status, and insurance variables. Running separate models for each payer. Each type of service calculated from total predicted spending for obese patient had they be calculated to normal weight using bootstrap method. Also using obesity prevalence increase by computing the difference in these from 2006 back to 1998, shows hypothetical obesity costs and attributable to 2006 (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). All this shows us that decreasing obesisty will decrease the cost of health care. Results of the first exhibit show obese persons had medical increase spending that was 42 percent larger ($1429/per person) then non obese persons. Results of the second exhibit that show costs estimates by payer show Medicaid increase of forty-seven percent, private insurance increased by fifty-eight percent and Medicare costs increased by 36 percent. Exhibit three type of service shows prescription drug increase from sixty percent to eighty-one percent, Inpatient increase from 4 percent to ninety percent and outpatient increase from fourteen percent to forty percent. Exhibit four shows medical spending attributable to cumulative obesity shows increases on all spending , this show that if obesity would have remained the same prevalence from 1998 we would have shown 47 billion spent in 2006 instead of 86 billion. These results imply that the eighty-nine percent of the spending was accounted by the obesity numbers rising (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). This is a significant amount of money in all the exhibits. The authors provide evidence and statistics that support the argument that obesity increases the cost of health care and that reduction in obesity will in turn decrease the cost of health care. The article provides results and also explains the new evidence of the important role of prescription drug spending, in increasing the costs of obesity. The main message of this article obesity will continue to inflict major expenses on the health system for the upcoming years, without a solid and persistent decline in obesity prevalence. Although pharmaceutical, medical, and surgical interventions to treat obesity are available, these treatments remain rare.. Pharmaceutical is one of the three types of interventions we use to treat obesity. Pharmaceutical treatments are remaining rare in treating obesity. If not for obesity, total obesity costs would be much more reduced, along with the cost for other conditions caused by excess weight in our population (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). This article discusses it limitations. A limitation of this source is that, though the page has credibility the authors do cite the limitations of this analysis being that the dependence of height and weight being reported is done by individuals. And the regressions of sample from 1998 is only half that of 2006 sample. This approach does not allow for precise diseases or behaviors connected with obese individuals (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009) Workers all over the world are experiencing cost increases to health care because of obesity. Employers estimated costs of health care decrease with decrease in weight (CDC, 2011). Total obesity costs would be much more reduced, along with the cost all chronic diseases and conditions caused by excess weight in our population (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). The newest FDA approved diet pills benefit us by decreasing obesity for the American population that takes this medication. American obesity has been evidenced by studies that show a measurable weight loss. The new approved diet pills Qysimia and Belviq will decrease chronic diseases associated with obesity as evidenced by decreased chronic illnesses being present in lower weighted Americans (even a few pounds changes many chronic illnesses assosciated with obesity. Decreasing obesity will decrease health care costs as evidenced by costs decreasing by $1429 per person less on non obese patients (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). Research data given in above essay suggests that the newest FDA approved diet pills will benefit Americans by decreasing obesity, decreasing chronic diseases associated with obesity and decreasing health care costs. The thesis has been proven to be correct, with the above information. Research showed that the newest FDA approved diet pills does benefit Americans by decreasing obesity, decreasing chronic diseases associated with obesity and decreasing health care costs. References Berkrot, B., & Yukhananov, H. (2012). Fda oks first obesity drug in 13 years. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/27/us-arena-obesity-idUSBRE85Q1AA20120627 CDC. (2011, October 06). Cdc. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/leanworks/costcalculator/index.html CDC. (2012, August 13). Cdc. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html Combs, S. (2011). Retrieved from website: http://www.window.state.tx.us/specialrpt/obesitycost/pdf/GainingCostsLosingTime.pdf FDA. (2012). Retrieved from website: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/UCM312391.pdf Finkelstein, E., Trogdon, J., Cohen, J., & Dietz, W. (2009). Annual medical spending attributable to obesity: Payer-and service-specific estimates. Retrieved from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/28/5/w822.full.pdf html Hammond, R. A. (2012). Obesity, prevention, and healthcare costs. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2012/05/04-health-care-hammond Ogden, C. L., Carroll , M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2012). Retrieved from National Center for Health Statistics for Health S website: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db82.pdf Park, A. (2012, June 28).

Conceptualizing in Business Essay

A solid strategic analysis is beneficial to shareholders, employees, customers, and decisions makers within a company. The core of an effective strategic plan contains a well-thought and informative mission statement. Using the brand of Mexican Food Express as a benchmark, a mission statement has been developed to differentiate the company’s products from the competition. In addition, the vision statement as plays an important role in communicating the ultimate goal of the company’s strategic decisions. A driving force behind the mission and vision is the company’s values and ethical principles, which often dictate the choices made during strategic planning. When it is fully implemented, the strategic plan will allow Mexican Food Express to gain a strategic advantage over its established competitors. Mission Statement By delivering uniquely flavored Mexican style food at budget prices, Mexican Food Express seeks to establish an international presence over the next 5 years. The current international fast food markets in Asia, South America, and Africa are dominated by American style fast food with leaves considerable opportunity for competing styles of cuisine. Mexican Food Express will use an aggressive marketing plan and develop a supply chain network that will enable rapid growth in overseas markets. Newly established restaurants will be able to supply local communities with quality meals at competitive prices while simultaneously creating value for shareholders. Vision Statement Mexican Food Express will grow into the largest fast food provider of Mexican style cuisine in emerging markets. The brand will have an established presence in Asia, South America, and Africa with restaurant locations being found within the top 25 major cities on these continents. By saturating the world’s most populous metropolitan cities, Mexican Food Express will be the most recognizable Mexican food brand in the world. Guiding Principles, Values, and Culture Mexican Food Express has several important ethical principles that influence major decisions in the strategic planning process. First, the company is concern about making quality food available to the lowest income groups. Therefor, it is important to keep a wide selection of low cost food products available on the menu. This becomes an especially important consideration as we expand in markets that experience high levels of poverty. Second, the company is committed to delivering exceptional customer service to its patrons. Customer loyalty is a driving factor towards the long-term success of the brand. Failing to deliver exceptional customer service could seriously hinder the ability to grow into new markets. In order for employees to express Mexican Food Express’s guiding principles, it is essential to create a corporate culture that that reflects these principles. Providing ample opportunity for advancement within management hierarchy and the ability to participate in supplemental training will keep employee motivation high. As a result, employees will be eager to follow the ethical values set forth in the strategic plan. It is likely that the company will need to make slight modifications to organization culture to meet the preferences of various world cultures. Impact on Strategic Direction The mission, vision, and values of Mexican Food Express serve as the foundation for strategic decision making while the company gears up for expansion. When an unexpected variable causes a change in direction, the company will continue to use its mission as a guide for future choices. The primary mission is always to maximize shareholder profits, but the values determine the approach thee company will take to achieve this goal. Overall, this will help the company build a corporate culture in these new markets that gains the respect of the locals. If the company is considered to be helping the local community, the chances of creating an effective strategic plan are highly unlikely. Addressing Customer Needs Expanding into emerging markets presents a unique challenge to address  customer’s needs. Every country exhibits its own unique culture and it is essential to pander to the preferences of each individual culture. A system that works in the United States is not likely to see the same level of success in Bangladesh, unless serious modifications are made to the business model. To overcome this challenge, the company will conduct independent research and use paid consultants to determine how to tailor the brand’s image for success in vastly different cultures. As time progresses, the company will be able to assess strengths and weaknesses by testing different models in each regional area. Gaining insightful knowledge about each country’s cultural preferences will allow the company to attain a competitive advantage. References Pearce, J. A. II, & Robinson, R. B. (2009). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control(11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Thompson, A. A., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland, A. J. (2006). Strategy: Winning in the marketplace: Core concepts, analytical tools, cases (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Nobody Is Perfect Essay

A man and his girlfriend got married in a large celebration. All of their friends and family came to see the lovely ceremony. The bride was gorgeous in her white wedding gown and the groom was very dashing in his black suit. Everyone could tell that the love they had for each other was true. A few months later, the wife comes to the husband with a proposal: â€Å"I read in a magazine, a while ago, about â€Å"How can we strengthen our marriage† she offered. Each of us will write a list of the things that we find a bit annoying with the other person. Then, we can talk about how we can fix them together and make our lives happier together.† The husband agreed, so each of them went to a separate room in the house and thought of the things that annoyed them about the other. They thought about this question for the rest of the day and wrote down what they came up with. The next morning, at the breakfast table, they decided that they would go over their lists. â€Å"I’ll start,† offered the wife. She took out her list. It had many items on it enough to fill 3 pages, in fact. As she started reading the list of the little annoyances, she noticed that tears were starting to appear in her husband’s eyes. â€Å"What’s wrong?†She asked. â€Å"Nothing† the husband replied, â€Å"keep reading your lists.† The wife continued to read until she had read all three pages to her husband. She neatly placed her list on the table and folded her hands over top of it. â€Å"Now, you read your list and then we’ll talk about the things on both of our lists.† She said happily. Quietly the husband stated, â€Å"I don’t have anything on my list. I think that you are perfect the way that you are. I don’t want you to change anything for me. You are lovely and wonderful and I wouldn’t want to try and change anything about you.† The wife, touched by his honesty and the depth of his love for her and his acceptance of her, turned her head and wept. LEARNING 1 In life, there are enough times when we are disappointed, depressed and annoyed. We don’t really have to go looking for them. We have a wonderful world that is full of beauty, light and promise. Why waste time in this world looking for the bad, disappointing or annoying when we can look around us, and see the amazing things before us?

Management Innovation and New Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management Innovation and New Technology - Essay Example However, modern theories are moving away from this inventor mythology to more holistic approaches that are often based on complete processes and this has led to successful commercialization of new products and processes. An individual can confidently state that product innovation is a complex process rather than a one-day event. This means that there is a lot that is involved in product innovation. A number of insights are evident in the product innovation complexity. To begin with innovation starts and ends with invention (Wield & Rhode, 82). Invention refers to the discovery of new and intelligent ideas and artefacts. Despite the fact, that creating new idea is the baseline of innovation, it is noteworthy that the idea must be sorted out as to whether it is workable and or applicable into the societal context. In other words, innovation takes into consideration adapting the newly found ideas into practical productive application in particular work processes or product markets of a particular firm. The applications should not only be to specific firms but also to the entire economy and into the society. This proposition can be justified by the fact that despite Spencer Silvers discovering the Post-it brand adhesive before 1970 this noble invention was only commercialised in 1978 after the company (3M) had ignored for that long owing to lack of practical applicability (Ketteringham & Nayak 427). Silver’s moment of discovering the Post-it brand adhesive began in 3M’s Central Research Laboratories under program dubbed â€Å"Polymers for Adhesives† in 1964. It is unfortunate that despite the fact that silver came up with unique form of adhesive his new idea could not be taken seriously by the management because Silver could not find a problem to apply this great idea. It was until Arthur Fry a 3M chemist, a choir director and an amateur mechanic found a problem to Silver’s idea when he came up with the paper to paper application of the adhesive. According to Wield & Rhode (84), the complexity of product innovation can be understood by withdrawing the assumption that innovation takes a â€Å"linear flow†. It is noteworthy that successful innovation has no straight line considering that it does not spring from scientific invention all the way to develop a competitive edge. The nature of the link between a scientific invention and the technological development is in itself very complex and because of this reason, the link has often been confusing. Individuals need to understand that scientific invention benefits a lot from technological development in a number of ways that include but not limited to transfer of knowledge, network of profession, skills and instruments. In the case of 3M, it is evident that the company boasts of a poll of skilled scientists that range from chemists and engineers who worked tirelessly in 3M’s Central Research Laboratories to come up with new inventions. The idea that led i nto development of one of the best selling product of 3M named Post-it Note Pad resulted from a series of technological developments that took approximately 10 years (Ketteringham & Nayak 425). Successful product innovation is also a matter of interaction between a number of factors within and outside the organization (Wield & Rhode, 84). Studies indicate that those factors that key determinant to the commercial success of a product are found outside the areas which are commonly associated with the with the

ELITES AND DEVELOPMENT IN CIS COUNTRIES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

ELITES AND DEVELOPMENT IN CIS COUNTRIES - Essay Example In fact the changes perceived in the structure of the various political elite groups in this region which was stimulated by the changes brought in by democracy, did not essentially lead to the renewal of the political elite, primarily in the nature and manner of their conscription and commissioning. The fragile nature of the democratic institutions were revealed when the actors in the new political order that came into power during the first democratic elections, instead of aiming at creating a better socio-economic future for their respective countries, used the new positions for amassing personal wealth and strengthening their personal power. The result of the plans adopted for orienting all governmental organizations towards a system of Presidential domination that would democratically control the executive, legislative and judiciary, failed. In its place, there was the rapid emergence of a group of hybrid political elites, where the authoritarian power was well in vogue, albeit b ehind the facade of democratic institutions. ... Other international and regional bodies that provide corruption survey figures based on perceptions and experience in this sub-region, present a very analogous picture that portrays a ‘systemic’ form of corruption, having disastrous effects on the lives of the common citizens of these states. A study of these reports make it very clear that the political elites of these regions are creating a hindrance in the developmental strategy of these regions, and in order to initiate growth and development in the CIS countries one must make a thorough study of the elites that run these countries. One must take heed of their perception of national development and personal power, and also comprehend how the elites analyze the role of various international development bodies like ‘The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development’ (EBRD). The research project primarily aims to study these issues in order to identify in which CIS countries the political elites are deter mined to act in a manner that has positive economic and social implications, and thereby aiming to create a favourable climate for investments. Objectives The target of this research paper is to propose various recommendations that are based on strong and logical evidences, for the increase in the EBRD’s investments within the CIS countries. Since this international developmental body is supporting a research project and providing ?5 million for investigating the role of political elites in the development of CIS countries, it necessary for the researcher to study in detail the various notions and ideals practiced by the ruling political elites that are mainly responsible

Critical evaluation of a published paper Assignment

Critical evaluation of a published paper - Assignment Example Generally the primary aim of the research was to compare the potential impact of bundles of both collaborative and calculative human resource management. The analysis of the impact of the intermediary practices was more of a secondary interest (Gooderham, Parry and Ringdal, 2008, p. 2042). This paper critically evaluates the research design, strategies and methods used in the research article as well as their potential drawbacks to the research. Research design and approach Generally the authors have used a quantitative research method for their empirical study regarding the relationship between human resource management practices and firm performance. The research design used is primarily based on cross sectional data derived from a recent Cranet survey of human resource management in 16 European countries. The authors collected their data through survey questionnaire which were appropriately translated and mailed to the respective human resource managers of the selected sample nati onal firms in all the countries The resulted suggested that 5/6 of the calculative practices as well as two thirds of the intermediary practices had a significant impact on the performance. On the other hand, the analysis of the data further revealed that none of the collaborative practices had any impact on human resource management performance. ... On the hand, the independent variables used in the research were the various HRM practices that were obtained from a comprehensive literature review by the researchers. These variables were analyzed using SPSS and the results obtained were then used to support the hypothesis of the researchers. Benefits of the research design and approach There are a number of benefits of the research design that the authors used. For example, while the method use in data collection was too simple it provided the needed information to the researchers. One of the strengths of the research design used is that the literature review has offered a proper basis for the research as it clearly brings out principles and schools of thought that concern the research. For instance the review addresses some of the issues attributed to management system that aims to give the human resource new knowledge, information, motivation that results to a better workforce and commitment (Wright and Snell, 1998, p.764). To v alidate their findings, the authors have also used a comprehensive literature review in their study. A well outlined and detailed literature review with a detailed introduction to the research was a very good approach towards undertake of this research. The difference between calculative and intermediary HRM bundles and also collaborative HRM bundles has been well outlined. On the other hand, the method of analysis employed by the researchers included the use control variables that effectively provided a broad macrocontext of operation for the sample firms. Consequently this enabled the researchers to control the differences such as institutional settings and the variation in the economic conditions

Enlisting Open-Source Applications by U.S Department of Defense Case Study

Enlisting Open-Source Applications by U.S Department of Defense - Case Study Example Open-source software application is a recent technology which allows users of the web-based software to use, make modification to the source code, and distribute it. This paper looks at a case study of the implementation of this technology by the US Department of Defence.It assesses the security issues in the use of open-source software, as well as its pros and cons. The paper also evaluates the cultural changes required at DoD for the successive implementation of the system. The main security issues in the use of open-source software are those of ensuring confidentiality, availability and integrity of the information. Its use helps to reduce cost in addition to guaranteeing the user right to make modification to the software. Its implementation requires cultural change at the organization. Enlisting Open-Source Application by US Defence Department The US Department of Defence has contemplated to harness the benefits of open-source software. Open-source software is defined by Galliva n (2001, p. 281) as software which human-source readable source code is available for study, use, re-use, modification and redistribution by the users of the software. Having agreed that open-source software is similar to commercial software in almost all dimensions, DoD argues that it should be given an equal consideration when making a technology purchase decision. Open source software has a number of benefits that include a wide peer-review that can help to eliminate defects, exclusive modification rights that ensure speedy changes when needed and reduction in the cost. Open-source software allows for rapid prototyping. Despite its benefits, Department of Defence needs to be assured of the security of its information given the nature of the sensitive information the department handles. Security Issues To guarantee the Department of Defence the security of its data, several agencies have proposed measures to address this. The Defence Information System Agency (DISA) has issued ver sion two of software Forge to enable sharing of information and collaborative development of the software which is one way of ensuring security since the software developed will be tested to prevent any failure. This ensures stability of the software. Collaborative development helps to identify any problem that may occur and may have been foreseen by a single developer. They have also given a trial period to ensure that any problems with the software may be identified early before it is implemented for use by DoD. This is important since any failure of software after implementation could result in a disaster in case of data loss or unauthorised access. DISA has also introduced a closed computing-based version of Forge for classified environment, as seen in the case study. This is a measure to deal with security issue since some DoD information is usually classified and access to such information must be limited. Enlisting Open-Source Application Another security measure by DISA is i ts plan to add certificate services to Forge.mil to control access to information. Open-software Institute OSSI is also involved in licensing of where it has issued to different licences for government agencies and a free licence for learning institutions. From the case study, we learn that OSSI has copyrighted the software developed which is a move to protect the property rights of the team that developed the software. To increase security, I propose that Department of Defence uses both paid and volunteer reviewers to help identify any security flaws with the software, as proposed by Hoepman & Jacobs (2007, p. 81). This is important since paid reviewers may be able to unearth security flaws of the system rather than relying only on users. Advantages and Disadvantages of Open-Source Software Advantages The advantages of open-source software to a large organization presuppose that everyone has a right to change the source code