Can Different Temperature Effect the Cell Membrane

Table of Contents Abstract Introduction Aim Hypothesis Material Method Results Discussion Conclusion? Abstract The aim of this experiment was to see whether different temperatures will affect the cell membrane, thus would then releases the purple pigments out of the vacuole which causes the leakage of the purplish liquid.? Background Information The outermost layer is the cell wall, which is present only in plant cells and is made up of a carbohydrate called cellulose and also has other protein substances embedded within it.The cell wall is a rigid layer and gives structural stability to the cell and also limits the permeability of large substances into and out of the cell. Within the cell wall, surrounding the cytoplasm is the cell membrane which is a semi-permeable membrane consisting of a phospholipid bilayer. The bilayer consists of phospholipids which arrange themselves so that the hydrophobic (‘water hating’) tails are shielded from the surrounding water. The heads of the molecules are hydrophilic (‘water loving’) and face the water.Overall, the cell membrane acts to selectively allow substances to move into and out of the cell and maintains the cell potential. Proteins within the membrane act as molecular signals allowing the cells to communicate with each other and other substances outside the cell. About 70% of the cell membrane is actually protein. The cytoplasm of the cell has a number of organelles, although there is one in particular that the vacuole. Vacuoles act to store food for the plant and also assist in structural stability of the plant along with the cell wall.The vacuoles in plant cells are normally larger than those found in animal cells and contain a fluid called, cell sap. This fluid is rich in nutrients and other substances and is surrounded by a membrane called the tonoplast, separating it from the cytoplasm. The tonoplast is similar in composition to the cell membrane. Biological pigments, also known as pigm ents or biochromes are substances produced by living organisms that have a colour resulting from the selective colour absorption. The pigments in beetroot are betalain pigments; they are located in the vacuole of the cell.They are named after the Beet family of plants, but are also found in fungi. In the petals they are thought to attract pollinating insects and may be present in seeds/fruits to encourage birds to eat them and so spreading around the seeds. When a beetroot in heated, it tampers with the cell membranes. A membrane is made of a phospholipid bilayer. These are formed because the phospholipids that make it up have a hydrophilic (‘water loving’) head and a hydrophobic (‘water hating’) tail. The tails pack together, exposing only the heads to the water.This is the phospholipid bilayer. The beetroot pigment is used commercially as food dye. It changes colour when heated so can only be used in ice-cream, sweets and other confectionary, but it is bo th cheap and has no known allergic side-effects. Aim To investigate whether different temperatures can damage and denature the plasma cell surface membrane of beetroot cells. This would then release the beetroot pigments out of the vacuole which causes the leakage of the purplish liquid. Hypothesis Beetroot in hotter water will release its pigments more than beetroot in cooler water.The hotter water should break more vacuoles containing the pigments which will make the water appear to be more purple. Meanwhile the colder water will still have pigments throughout the water, and therefore will be scarcer. Materials -x6 Test Tube -x1 Chopping Board -x1 Serrated Knife -x1 Corer -x6 Skewers -x2 Beetroot -x3 Test Tube Rack -x1 Wooden Test Tube Holders -x1 Bunsen Burner -x1 Match Box -x1 Cork Mat Method 1. Use the corer to get equal cylindrical pieces of beetroot 2. Cut pieces to same size if they are unequal 3. Skewer the beetroot through the middle . Rinse the skewers of beetroot 5. Fill the test tubes to half way with water 6. Place beetroot skewers into test tube and test tubes into test tube holder. Cold 1. Put in fridge and freezer 2. Remove after chosen time, and record your observations. Hot 1. Put over a hot flame and a purple flame 2. Remove after chosen time, and record your observations Results TemperatureColour of WaterColour of Beetroot Room Temperature: 23Â °C Rich and Dense PurpleDeep Red Not visible through water Fridge: 10Â °C Partially reddish purpleHot Pink Freezer:-9Â °CVery light pink barely any change in the colourVery deep red Blue Flame: 100Â °C A deep, rich redNormal purple colour Discussion Beetroot in hotter water will release its pigments more than beetroot in cooler water. The hotter water should break more vacuoles containing the pigments which will make the water appear to be more purple. Meanwhile the colder water will still have pigments throughout the water, and therefore will be scarcer. The hypothesis was supported by the resu lts as the beetroot in the hotter water did release more pigments than the beetroot in the colder water.Some problems that came to attention were the exact sizes of the beetroot pieces could not be made the exact same size. Even though cutting them side by side of each other did make them look similar, the sizes were off still. The experiment as brought sight to what can happen when a fruit or vegetable or flower is heated in water will do. The water colouring process will accelerate more than twice as fast and that could provide big opportunities in some companies. A flaw in the experimental design was that attention wasn’t given to the material of test tubes that were used.A glass test tube was used for the beetroot that was frozen in the freezer; while in fact a plastic test tube should have been used because the glass test tube could not flex to the expansion of the water in the test tube and so resulting it to crack. Conclusion In conclusion, the hypothesis was supported as the beetroot’s pigments were release more in the hot water more than the cold water did. The hotter water made the beetroot cell vacuoles to burst, releasing the pigments, thus colouring the water.

Fool Chapter 17

ACT III Jesters do oft prove prophets. – King Lear, Act V, Scene 3, Regan SEVENTEEN REIGNING FOOLS, HAILING NUTTERS â€Å"Blow, wind, crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!† thundered Lear. The old man had perched himself on the top of a hill outside Gloucester and was shouting into the wind like a bloody lunatic, even as lightning raked the sky with white-hot claws and thunder shook me to my ribs. â€Å"Come in from there, you bloody decrepit old looney!† said I, huddled under a holly bush nearby; drenched and cold and at the end of my patience with the old man. â€Å"Come back to Gloucester and ask shelter from your daughters.† â€Å"Oh, ye heartless gods! Send your oak-cleaving thunderbolts down on me! Burn me with your sulfurous and life-ending fires! Singe my white head and reduce me to a pillar of ash! Strike me dead! Let your wrath take fiery form and smite me! Take me, spare no violence! I do not blame thee, thou art not my daughters! I've given you nothing and expect no quarter! Do your horrible pleasure direct, To a poor, infirm, despised old man! Crack the sky! Strike me dead!† The old man paused as a thunderbolt split a tree on the heath with blinding fire and a noise that would send statues to shitting themselves. I ran out from under my bush to the king's side. â€Å"Come in, nuncle. Take some shelter under a shrub, if only to take the sting out of the rain.† â€Å"I need no shelter. Let nature take her naked revenge.† â€Å"Fine, then,† said I. â€Å"Then you won't be needing this.† I took the old man's heavy fur cape, tossed him my sodden woolen cloak, and retreated to my shrubbery and the relative shelter of the heavy animal skin. â€Å"Hey?† said Lear, bewildered. â€Å"Go on,† said I. â€Å"Crack the sky, fry your old head, mash your balls, et cetera, et cetera. I'll prompt you if you lose your place.† And off he went again: â€Å"Mighty Thor, send your thunderbolts to cease this weary heart! Neptune's waves, beat these limbs from their joints! Hecate's claws, tear my liver and sup upon my soul! Baal, blast my bowels from their unhealthy home! Jupiter, strew the land with my shredded muscle!† The old man stopped his tirade for a moment and the madness went out of his eyes. He looked to me. â€Å"It's really fucking cold out here.† â€Å"Like being struck by a bolt of the bloody obvious on the road to Damascus, innit, nuncle?† I held open the great fur cloak and nodded for the old man to join me in it under my shrubbery. He crept down the hill, careful not to slip in the rivulets of mud and water that cascaded by, and ducked under the cover with me.† The old man shuddered and put his skeletal arm around my shoulders. â€Å"Rather closer than we're accustomed to, eh, boy?† â€Å"Aye, nuncle, did I ever tell you that you are a very attractive man?† said Jones, poking his puppety head out of the cloak. And the old man began to laugh, and he laughed until his shoulders shook and the laughter broke into a jarring cough, and that continued until I thought he might expectorate vital organs. I caught some freezing rain in my cupped hand and held it for him to sip. â€Å"Don't make me laugh, boy. I'm mad with grief and rage and I've no stomach for jests. You should stand clear, lest a thunderbolt scorch you when the gods heed my challenge.† â€Å"Nuncle, begging pardon, but, you arrogant old tosser! The gods aren't going to strike you down with a thunderbolt simply because you asked them. Why would they accommodate you with a thunderbolt? More likely a carbuncle, festered and gone fatal, or perhaps a thankless child or two, being how the gods love their irony.† â€Å"The cheek!† said Lear. â€Å"Oh yes, cheeky gods they are,† said I. â€Å"And you named off a bushel of them, too. Now if you are struck down we won't even know who to blame unless lightning brands a signature in your old hide. You should have dared one, then waited an hour perhaps before calling fire down from the whole lot at a go.† The king wiped rain out of his eyes. â€Å"I've set a thousand monks and nuns to pray for my forgiveness and the pagans slaughter goats by the herd for my salvation, but I fear it is not enough. Not once did I act in the interest of my people, not once did I act in the interest of my wives or my daughters' mothers – I have served myself as god and I find I am little forgiving. Be kind, Pocket, lest you one day face the darkness as I do. Or, in absence of kindness, be drunk.† â€Å"But, nuncle,† said I. â€Å"I do not need to be cautious for the day when I become frail. I am frail now. And on the bright side, there may be no God at all, and the evil deeds you've done will be their own reward.† â€Å"Perhaps I don't even rate a righteous slaughtering,† sobbed Lear. â€Å"The gods have sent these daughters to suck out my life blood. It is punishment for how I treated my own father. Do you know how I became king?† â€Å"Pulled a sword out of a stone and slayed a dragon with it, didn't you?† â€Å"No, that never happened.† â€Å"Sodding convent education. Buggered if I know then, nuncle. How did Lear become king?† â€Å"My own father, I murdered him. I do not deserve a noble death.† I was speechless. I had been in service of the king over a decade and never had I heard of this. The story went that old King Bladud had handed the kingdom over to Lear and went to Athens, where he learned to be a necromancer, then returned to Britain and died from the plague in service of the goddess Minerva at the temple at Bath. But before I could gather my wits for a reply, lightning cracked the sky, illuminating a hulking creature that was making its way across the hillside toward us. â€Å"What's that?† I asked. â€Å"A demon,† said the old man. â€Å"The gods have sent a monster to take their revenge on me.† The thing was covered in slime, and walking as if it had just been constructed from the very earth over which it slogged. I felt for the daggers at the small of my back and pulled one from its sheath. There'd be no knife throwing in this downpour – I wasn't even sure I could hold the blade steady for a thrust. â€Å"Your sword, Lear,† said I. â€Å"Draw and defend.† I stood and stepped out of the shelter of the shrubbery. I spun Jones so his stick end was at the ready, and drew a flourish in the air with my dagger. â€Å"Come hither, demon! Pocket's got a coach ride back to the underworld for thee.† I crouched, thinking to leap aside as the thing lunged. Although it described the shape of a man, I could see long slimy tendrils dragging from it, and mud oozing off of it. Once it stumbled I'd leap on its back and see if I could cause it to fall and slide down the hillside, away from the old king. â€Å"No, let it take me,† said Lear. Suddenly the old man shrugged off his fur cloak and charged at the monster, his arms wide, as if offering his very heart to the beast. â€Å"Slay me, ye merciless god – rend this black heart from Britain's chest!† I could not stop him and the old man fell into the beast's arms. But to my surprise, there was no tearing of limbs or bashing of brains. The thing caught the old man and lowered him gently to the ground. I lowered my blade and inched forward. â€Å"Leave him, beast.† The thing was kneeling over Lear, whose eyes were rolled back in his head even as he twitched as if in a fit. The beast looked at me and I saw streaks of pink through the mud, the whites of its eyes. â€Å"Help me,† it said. â€Å"Help me get him to shelter.† I stepped forth and wiped the mud away from the thing's face. It was a man, covered with mud so thick it even ran out of his mouth and coated his teeth, but a man just the same, vines or rags, I couldn't tell which, trailed off his arms. â€Å"Help poor Tom bring him out of the cold,† said he. I sheathed my dagger, retrieved the old man's cape, and helped the muddy, naked bloke carry King Lear into the wood. It was a tiny cabin, barely enough room to stand in, but the fire was warm and the old woman stirred a pot that smelled of boiling meat and onions, like breath of the Muses it was, on this dank night. Lear stirred, now hours since we brought him in from the rain. The king reclined on a pallet of straw and skins. His fur cloak still steamed by the fire. â€Å"Am I dead?† asked the old man. â€Å"Nay, nuncle, but ye were close enough to lick death's salty taint,† said I. â€Å"Back, foul fiend!† said the naked fellow, waving at the very air before his eyes. I had helped him wash away much of the mud, so now he was merely filthy and mad, but no longer misshapen. â€Å"Oh, poor Tom is cold! So cold.† â€Å"Aye, we can tell that,† said I. â€Å"Unless you're just a crashingly large bloke what was born with a willie the size of a raisin.† â€Å"The fiend makes Tom eat the swimming frog, the tadpole, lizards, and ditch-water – I eat cow dung for salads and swallow rats and bits of dead dogs. I drink pond scum, and in every village I am beaten and thrown into stocks. Away, fiend! Leave poor, cold Tom alone!† â€Å"Blimey,† said I. â€Å"The loonies are in full bloom tonight.† â€Å"I offered him some stewed mutton,† said the old woman by the fire, without turning, â€Å"but no, he had to have his frogs and cow pies. Right fussy eater for a naked nutter.† â€Å"Pocket,† said Lear, clawing at my arm. â€Å"Who is that large, naked chap?† â€Å"He calls himself Tom, nuncle. Says he's pursued by the devil.† â€Å"He must have daughters. See here, Tom, did you give all to your daughters? Is that what drove you mad and poor even until you are naked?† Tom crawled across the floor until he was at Lear's side. â€Å"I was a vain and selfish servant,† said the nutter. â€Å"I slept with my mistress every night and woke thinking of putting it to her again in the morning. I drank and caroused and made merry, even while my half brother fought a crusade for a Church for which he held no faith. I took all without thought for those who had nothing. Now I have nothing – not a stitch, not a crumb, not a coin, and the devil dogs me to the ends of the earth for my selfishness.† â€Å"You see,† said Lear, â€Å"only a man's cruel daughters could drive him to such a state.† â€Å"He didn't say that, you daft geezer. He said he was a selfish libertine and the devil took his kit.† The old woman turned now. â€Å"Aye, the fool's right. The younger nutter has no daughters, 'tis his own unkindness that curses him.† She crossed the cabin with two steaming bowls of stew and set them before us on the floor. â€Å"And it's your own evil hounds you, Lear, not your daughters.† The old woman, I'd seen her before. She was one of the crones from the Great Birnam Wood. Different togs and somewhat less green, but this was surely Rosemary, the cat-toed witch. Lear slid to the floor and grabbed poor Tom's hand. â€Å"I have been selfish. I have thought nothing of the weight of my deeds. My own father I imprisoned in the temple at Bath because he was a leper, and later had him killed. My own brother I did murder when I suspected him of bedding my queen. No trial, not even the honor of a challenge. I had him murdered in his sleep without proof. And my queen is dead, too, for my jealousy. My kingdom is the fruit of treachery, and treachery have I reaped. I do not deserve to even wear clothes on my back. You are true, Tom, that you have nothing. I, too, shall have nothing, as is my just reward!† The old man began to tear off his clothes, ripping at the collar of his shirt, tearing more of his parchment-like skin than the linen. I stayed his hand, held his wrists and tried to catch his eye with my own, to pull him back from madness. â€Å"Oh, I have wronged my sweet Cordelia!† the old man wailed. â€Å"The only one who loved me and I have wronged her! My one true daughter! Gods, tear these clothes from my back, tear the meat from my bones!† Then I felt claws clamp on my own wrists and I was pulled away from Lear as if I had been drawn by heavy iron shackles. â€Å"Let him suffer,† hissed the witch in my ear. â€Å"But I have made this pain,† said I. â€Å"Lear's pain is of his own making, fool,† she said. With that I felt the room spinning and I heard the voice of the girl ghost telling me to sleep. â€Å"Sleep, sweet Pocket.† â€Å"Who's the muddy naked bloke snogging the king's noggin?† asked Kent. I awoke to see the old knight standing in the doorway with the Earl of Gloucester. The storm still raged outside, but by firelight I could see the naked nutter Tom O'Bedlam had wrapped himself around Lear and was kissing the king's bald head as if blessing a newborn babe. â€Å"Oh majesty,† said Gloucester, â€Å"can't you find better company than this? Who is this rough beast?† â€Å"He is a philosopher,† said Lear. â€Å"I will talk with him.† â€Å"Poor Tom O'Bedlam, is he,† said Tom. â€Å"Eater of tadpoles, cursed and damned by demons.† Kent looked to me and I shrugged. â€Å"Both mad as cat herds,† said I. I looked around for the old woman as a witness, but she was gone. â€Å"Well, snap to, majesty, I bring news from France,† said Kent. â€Å"Hollandaise sauce, excellent on eggs?† I inquired. â€Å"No,† said Kent. â€Å"More urgent.† â€Å"Wine and cheese complement one another nicely?† I further queried. â€Å"No, you rasp-tongued rascal, France has landed an army at Dover, and there's rumor they've forces hidden in other cities around the British coast, ready to strike.† â€Å"Oh, well, that does trump the wine and cheese news, then, doesn't it?† Gloucester was trying to pry Tom off King Lear, but having a hard time doing so while keeping mud off his cloak. â€Å"I've sent word to the French camp at Dover that Lear is here,† said Gloucester. â€Å"I've made the case to the king's daughters to let me bring him in from the storm, but they will not relent. Even in my own home my power has been usurped by the Duke of Cornwall. Regan and Cornwall have taken command of Lear's knights, and with them, my castle.† â€Å"We come to bring you to a hovel at the city wall,† said Kent. â€Å"When the storm breaks, Gloucester will send a cart to take Lear to the French camp at Dover.† â€Å"No,† said Lear. â€Å"Let me talk to my philosopher friend in private.† He pawed at mad Tom. â€Å"He knows much of how life should be lived. Tell me, friend, why is there thunder?† Kent turned to Gloucester and shrugged. â€Å"He's not in his right mind.† â€Å"Who can blame him?† said Gloucester. â€Å"After what his daughters have done – his very flesh rising up against him. I had a beloved son who conspired to murder me, and just the thought of that nearly drove me mad.† â€Å"Do you nobles have any reaction to hardship besides going bloody barking and running off to eat dirt?† said I. â€Å"Hitch up your bollocks and get on with it, would you? Caius, what of Drool?† â€Å"I left him hidden in the laundry, but Edmund will find him when his mind turns full to the task. Right now he is distracted by trying to avoid the sisters and conspiring with Cornwall.† â€Å"My son, Edmund, he is still true,† said Gloucester. â€Å"Yes, right, milord,† said I. â€Å"And mind you don't trip on the honeysuckle sprouting from his bum when you next see him. Do you have means to get me into the castle without Edmund knowing I'm there?† â€Å"I suppose. But I take no commands from you, fool. You are but a slave, and an impudent one at that.† â€Å"You're still angry over my jesting about your dead wife, aren't you?† â€Å"Do the fool's will!† boomed Lear. â€Å"His word is as mine.† A slight breeze then would have knocked me off my feet, so shocked was I. Oh, there was still madness glowing in the old man's eyes, but so was the fire of his authority. A feeble, babbling wretch one moment, the next a dragon deep inside the old man barked fire. â€Å"Yes, your majesty,† said Gloucester. â€Å"He's a good lad,† said Kent, by way of easing the bite of Lear's command. â€Å"Nuncle, bring your naked madman and let us go with Gloucester, to this hovel by the city wall. I'll retrieve my nitwit apprentice from the castle and off we'll be to meet up with the bloody frog King Jeff at Dover.† Kent rubbed my shoulder. â€Å"A sword in support then?† â€Å"No, thank you,† said I. â€Å"You stay with the old man, get him to Dover.† I pulled Kent over by the fire and bade him bend down so I could whisper in his ear. â€Å"Did you know that Lear murdered his brother?† The old knight's eyes went wide, then narrowed as if he were in pain. â€Å"He gave the order.† â€Å"Oh, Kent. Thou loyal old fool.†

Strategic Management Degree Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic Management Degree - Case Study Example The Company has started manufacturing some of the products such as dairy and baking items. The products available at Wal-Mart are a symbol of quality and variety. Price: "There is a very sensitive relationship between price and the placement of a product. Cheap is easy to sell, or so says history, but expensive can be easy to sell too" (Barac, 2005). Lower prices and discount offerings are the cutting edge benefits of the company. "The giant retailer's low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart's relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. (Fishman, 2003) Placement: The presence of the Wal-Mart stores at every important place in the country is the evidence of the effective placement of the stores. Wal-Mart is getting by having a dense network of stores is to facilitate the logistics of deliveries. People: Wal-Mart is famous for its effective recruiting and training of the staff. Although the company remains in news for its controversial policies sex discrimination and labour law violations but the customers are catered with efficient services and best knowledge provision by the staff. The depth of Wal-Mart's management team allows the managers to tap into tremendous internal talent. Physical evidence: Physical evidence is an essential ingredient of the service mix, consumers will make perceptions based on their sight of the service provision which will have an impact on the organisations perceptual plan of the service. The environment at the Wal-Mart stores are clean and user friendly which adds to the uniqueness and competitive advantage of Wal-Mart. Word count: 418 References Barac, R., The Marketing Mix: The 4P's, The Basics, 16 December 2005, retrieved as on June 13, 2006 from http://www.marketingroots.net/p=4 Fishman, C., (2003). Wal-Mart you don't know, Issue 77, December 2003, Page 68Q2: Compare and contrast promotional mixes or communications strategies of two companies. How can a change of positioning affect the effectiveness of the companies' strategies. Promotion is aimed at informing customers about the presence of the goods or services in the market and persuading them to buy these products and services. For a promotional campaign to be effective it is important for the company to use most effective combination of the communication channel to reach the consumers. The best blend of these channel is Advertising, Personal selling, Publicity and sales promotion. Another trend, which is gaining importance, is the societal marketing concept. In this age of environmental deterioration, declining resources, increasing population and increasing economic and social issues, the awareness in the people is also increasing. Most of the companies are now aiming towards satisfying the customers and improving the society's well being. The two

Defense Mechanisms and Behavior Modification (CASE) module 4 Essay

Defense Mechanisms and Behavior Modification (CASE) module 4 - Essay Example The goal of this behavior objective is to ensure that health care professionals within the Boston correctional facilities are vigilant in handling stressful events occurring within the facilities that host more than 50,000 offenders. 2. To present scientific methods of handling stress within the job environment of 50 health care professionals working in five Boston correctional facilities to 90%, handle stressors presented by the 50,000 inmates within the area. Using Skinner’s ideas, the above objectives can be applied to different entities in different situations. In this case, given that the entities comprised in a correctional facility can be categorized as staff and prisoners, the application of Skinner’s ideas is dependent on the circumstances. The stressors and activities within a correctional facility are categorized into two, criminal and responsible. To the health care professionals, Skinner ideas can be applied to the professionals when dealing with violent criminals or when faced by a potential threat. After an attack, a health professional is likely to call for help after suffering possible injuries. The result of this offense is to increase punishment for the offender and possible resignation by the health care professional. However, applying Skinner’s ideas, health professionals can be educated on how to encourage offenders to act responsibly as their behavior changes would affect their evaluation. In thi s case, offenders would restrain from attacking health professionals and one another with expectations of early releases (Freedman, 2012). Assessing this situation from an offender’s perspective, the education passed from the health care professional motivates good behavior to the criminal hoping to benefit within a certain timeframe (Bennett, 2012). The reinforcement that comes from accomplishing the two smart objectives is cultivation of motivation to educate more health care professional

Chemistry of Alkenes Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chemistry of Alkenes - Lab Report Example Although there is the presence of the =C-H stretch, that shows presence of pentene as well. However, the wavenumbers corresponding to C-F, C-O, C-N and even aromatic =C-H stretch indicates that there is contamination. The Belstein test is a test for alkyl halides. The green flame is indicative of the presence of chlorine in the liquid, thus implying unreacted 3-chloro-3-methylpentane. The bromine test and potassium permanganate test are qualitative tests for alkenes. The color of the solution changed from brown to colorless, indicating the presence of an alkene in the product (bbc.co.uk, n.d.). The brown precipitate appearing in the solution after the permanganate test also indicates the presence of an alkene functional group (chemguide.co.uk, 2010). 4. Three unique alkene products are possible for the dehydrogenation reaction of 3-chloro-3-methylpentane. Two of the alkenes are related as E and Z isomers. Draw a Newman projection of the reactive conformation that produces the E isomer and a Newman projection that produces the Z isomer assuming an E2 mechanism for

Compare and Contrast Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 7

Compare and Contrast Research Methods - Essay Example Through observation, the researcher is able to identify particular aspects of the research (Poynter, 2010). Also, through observation, researchers learn more information about research aspects, thus being able to determine attitudes and behaviors. Both observation and in-depth interview methods are important because they will increase the objectivity of the study (Poynter, 2010). Informal and in-depth methods are largely qualitative. Researchers use in-depth interviews in collecting data, because it is a highly interactive, multivariate and objective method of conducting study, which makes it different from observation method (Wilson, 2010). Using interview, the interviewer seeks more explanation from the interviewees as opposed to observation, where the researcher simply looks at the objects of study (Wilson, 2010). Under this methodology of in-depth interview, the participants will be drawn from four departments within the research population (Wilson, 2010). Since there will be many prospective participants from each department, out of the available participants, the researcher will select a given sample for the study. This is similar to observation because in the latter, the researcher can chose from the available research items to carry out the study (Wilson, 2010). In addition, the selection of participants in informal and in-depth interview is done usi ng random sampling, which is representative and non-discriminative, a situation which makes the methods resemble observation. Under informal and in-depth interviews, the different categories under which the participants will be divided would be based on the management levels, where as in observation, the researcher carries the study alone (Wilson, 2010). Interviews will also increase the participation between the researcher and respondents. Indeed, using interview will increase the interaction and the researcher would get more relevant information about the topic, a situation that

Holidays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Holidays - Essay Example ay a vital role date in observing holidays such as â€Å"Yom Kippur†, which is the Jewish Day of Atonement, Ramadan, which is the holy month that Muslims fast and pray, and Easter, which is the period where the Christians celebrate the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Gordon et.al 23). Although these holidays are both religious, they have different purposes and are celebrated on different times. For instance, when we look at the Ramadan and Easter holidays, they fall on different time. The second thing is that Ramadan holiday is marked after forty days of prayers and fasting by the Muslims. On the other hand, Easter holiday is marked by performing the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not all holidays are associated with religion, some holidays are meant for thanksgiving, others are national holidays that are intended for countries to celebrate their foundation, independence, Veterans Day and other relevant appreciation. All people generally celebrate these holidays, but the effects they have on these people are different. When people tour new places or countries, they tend to bring their holiday celebration with them. They share their holidays with the people that they met and at the same time adopt other customs. The Irish, the Americans and the Italians also observe Holydays such as the Columbus Day. The New Year celebration is usually marked every first of January, but this is not the case the Jewish as their celebration is Rosh Hashanah that falls in September. It is the same situation in China, Korea and Vietnam that have their New Year holidays in February (Gordon et.al 34). Though many people travel everywhere during holidays, they get to learn new cultures from the people they meet, hence there is behavioral

Ethics as it pertains to Information Technology Essay

Ethics as it pertains to Information Technology - Essay Example The advantages outweigh the disadvantages; that is probably why individuals choose to overlook the problems associated with information technology (Henderson, 2005). This paper will examine one ethical issue that faces the information technology field, and if the problem can be rectified. All fields, in the world today, are faced with challenges that come with their territory. These problems arise as a result of negligence, or malpractice among members of the fields involved. Security among many computer-based information systems is questionable, but many individuals consider the field as the future of the modern world. The world cannot find a way to operate in modern time without these systems. If there is a failure in the controlling systems, the world might come to a standstill. However, the recent cases of insecurity that arise from information systems have had many folks question their role in the field of engineering (Henderson, 2005). People of certain ages, sex, race, or religion are being targeted, and it is causing unrest among individuals. The internet creates an avenue for various activities to take place. People responsible for monitoring the activities on the internet do not have control over what transpires over the internet. It is through this channel that many individuals take the time to find out about other individuals. Privacy contracts are being broken through professional hackers, and the information sold to the highest bidder. Online predators are among the most dangerous individuals of the technological era. They use this advancement in technology to ensure they find out about people they are targeting. The world has to face the fact that; everything is technological (Henderson, 2005). Everything is saved or computerised to save on time and manpower. The problem with this is the use of such information to satisfy the needs of predators. Predators come in many forms. Individuals are preying

Obstacles Facing Women Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Obstacles Facing Women - Coursework Example Women are their worst enemies and lack financial aid to empower themselves. The novel talks of children living with their parents. The mother in law is a reckoning force in persecuting her fellow women in the house. This reveals many similarities that the women in Asia face with monetary institutions. The women complain of the tough conditions that are put in place to get a loan in Asia (Bhagwati, 2004). There are also good fortunes that befell women in Asia, hard work focus and dedications, make the women be successive. The young boy that survives in the city and become successful falls in love with a young woman who strongly works her way through to became successive. There is corruption, cartels lack of funds and unemployment that face women in Asia. This is told through the young man’s interaction with women in the streets. The wrong influence of globalization and the acquiring of negative is the main catalyst in the hurdles facing women. However, through perseverance there is

Entrepreneurship in Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Entrepreneurship in Action - Essay Example Needless to say, entrepreneurship is a state of mind (Bird, 1988, p. 444). As feelings and perspectives develop in the â€Å"early age, school education can greatly contribute to fostering entrepreneurial mindsets, starting from primary school to the University level† (Boyd & Vozikis, 1994, p. 65). For this reasons authorities and educational institutions have taken the responsibility of ensuring that students learn about entrepreneurship in schools. Such education incorporates individuality and personal trait views. In addition, this entrepreneurial education combines skills, knowledge, perspectives and personal attributes in order to perform definite expert assignments. In reference to Kent (1990, p. 10), entrepreneurship education refers to training on the skills, attributes and competences required in entrepreneurship. This is a training process where students and learners commence by been keen and attentive. This assists the learners to apprehend different aspects of entr epreneurship. According to the BS2962 Entrepreneurship in Action module, the students finally set up their own enterprises after attaining knowledge on the required competences and skills needed for running and operating a business. In reference to the module, the aims of entrepreneurship education varies, though they all focus on enhancing entrepreneurial mindset, triggering entrepreneurial behavior, developing skills and competences required for entrepreneurship and preparing the student for his or her entrepreneurial endeavors. Nonetheless, one of the common objectives of the entrepreneurial education is to accelerate entrepreneurship in its numerous forms (Fayolle, 2010, p. 245). In this regard, comparison of the orientation of diverse constructs, objectives and focus on entrepreneurship education shows two major points that need emphasis: the learning results would be different if the whole training centered on cognitive training and it is imperative to broaden the viewpoints a bout the learning environment. Entrepreneurial education has numerous objectives and goals. Learning on entrepreneurship centers on the sagacity and prudence of an entrepreneur in coming up with original creative business ideas and formulating viable business plans. A training that focuses on the learning for entrepreneurship emphasizes on the capabilities and skills required. Training aimed at training through entrepreneurial didactics centers on increasing capabilities and aptitudes required to generate comprehension of facts and investments (Erickson, 2003, p. 108) In reference to Gatewood (2009, p. 206), it is not known whether people are born entrepreneurs or not. For this reason, there have been arguments and discussions on whether the skills and competences of entrepreneurs can be taught. Debatably, at least some personal characteristics, competences and skills can be nurtured and trained in the entrepreneurs’ interplay with the environment, including the interplay wit h the educational system (Borch & Vizikis, 1994, p. 446). In my assumption, entrepreneurial behavior can be learnt and that, as such, it should be taught. Entrepreneurship education, however, requires thorough reflection on the connection between action and theory and between learning and doing (Kent, 1990, p. 204). This is primarily because of the multifaceted nature of entrepreneurial phenomenon, which makes it difficult to encompass and thus to teach and learn. In

Smoking in the UK - economic analysis of its costs Essay Example for Free

Smoking in the UK economic analysis of its costs Essay United Kingdom was the original state of smoking prevalence and smoking has caused widespread death of the first countries. According to ASH1 (2011) there are about 10 million adults who smoke cigarettes in Great Britain which is about a sixth of the total UK population. Throughout the United Kingdom, there was about one-third per cent of all the middle ages deaths caused by smoking. Therefore, United Kingdom is one of the most importance states of tobacco control. Government control on cigarette consumption through different instruments such as advertising-all advertising and promotion of tobacco are banned in the UK; taxation-taxation is probably the most effective means of reducing tobacco consumption. Raising tobacco prices through taxation can result in significant benefits to the economy. For instance, a 5% price increase would result in 190,000 fewer smokers and increase government revenue by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½520 million per year in the first five years. As can be seen in figure 1, the numbers show that between 1991 and 2001 the retail price of cigarettes increased by about 80% in real terms. This is explained to a large extent by tax increases; over the same period the proportion of tax in the retail price rose from 73% to 80%. 1.2 Definition 1.2.1 External benefit External benefit is the benefit to the third party who is not involved into the activity which causes the cost (Anderton, 2008:96) 1.2.2 External cost External cost is the cost to the third party who is not involved into the activity which causes the cost (Anderton, 2008:96) 1.3 Theory This topic exist the relationship between demand and price which is if price increases, the quantity demanded becomes lower. Furthermore, taxation is a factor of the increase and decrease of demand and supply. Besides, advertising also is an important factor to influence the demand of cigarette. 1.4 Aims This article will tell you the positive and negative externalities of cigarette smoking. Moreover, it offers how effective the government had been done for reducing consumption of cigarette and also the other opinions of government instruments which can control the consumption of tobacco are included. 2. Finding 2.1 External benefit of smoking Nowadays, there is a great deal of data show that cigarette is not good for our human. However, smoking cigarette still has its advantage. According to an article published in 1995 in Neuroscience Biobehavioral Reviews, the smoking rates of schizophrenics have much higher than people with other mental illnesses. Therefore, smoking cigarette can alleviate symptoms of mental illnesses such as anxiety and schizophrenia. 2.2 External cost of smoking 2.21 Secondhand smoking In a research, passive smoking cause about 600,000 deaths per year all over the world. (ASH 1,2011)Thus, secondhand smoking is a big problem in UK. It is not only passive smoker easier than the smoker to get decease; it is also influence the later generations. According to an article Smoking in Public place (2003) shows that the link between passive smoking and both lung cancer and coronary heart disease, increasing the risk for each by around 25%. Secondhand smoking also does harm to babies and children which with an increased risk of respiratory infections, increased severity of asthma symptoms, more frequent occurrence of chronic coughs, phlegm and wheezing, and increased risk of cot death and glue ear.(ASH1, 2011) 2.3 The policy of UK Government ?2.31 The ban of advertising Advertisement has high influence in propagating. Thus, prohibiting the advertising of cigarette is a useful way to control the consumption of tobacco. The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act which was enacted in 2003, prohibited virtually all forms of tobacco advertising and promotion, including print media and billboards, and sponsorship of sport was finally forbidden by July 2005. Moreover, as the ASH (2011) said that the UK Government estimated that banning cigarette advertising would lead to the decrease of consumption of around 3%. 2.32 The prohibiting in public place Smoking in public places and workplaces is now banned by law in UK. Except some places which include guest bedrooms in hotels and certain rooms in care homes, hospices and prisons. (ASH, 2011)Other public place and work place must no smoking such as restaurant. One typical example is Pizza Hut restaurants where smoking has no longer been permitted in all the 350 restaurants since early this year (Smoking in public place, 2003) 3. Discussions 3.1 Taxation Raising tobacco prices through increase taxation is a useful means. Smoking always bad for our health and a lot of young people also smoke. Controlling consumption of tobacco by taxation is probably the most effective (and certainly the most cost-effective) means. As we can see in Table2, the tax of cigarette was always increasing from 1990 to 2011.So when the price of tobacco increase, the demand of cigarette follows decrease. According to ASH 3the Treasury earned à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10.5 billion in revenue from tobacco duties for the financial year 2009-2010 (including VAT) Thus, government can control the consumption of cigarette reducing so that decreases the death of people who died because of smoking. From a data The UK tax paid tobacco market is worth around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½14 billion. The market is dominated by cigarettes, which represent 93.3% of the total duty paid market(ASH,2011), we can imagine how great extent the government increases the duty of cigarette. The taxation is about 76% of the price of a packet of cigarettes. The price of cigarettes has a major effect on cigarette consumption. Higher tobacco taxes reduce smoking and smoking related sickness people, so the number of smoker will cut down. Some people who have no high income will stop smoking, or never start because of the high cost. 3.2Advertising Advertisement is a very useful way to propagate. Thus, the government in UK is aware enough of this fact and declares martial law of advertising. AS the ASH said that the Government estimated that the ban on tobacco advertising in the UK would lead to a drop in consumption of around 3%, saving approximately 3000 lives in the long term.(ASH,2010)Most conspicuous forms of tobacco advertising and promotion in the UK were banned and all the package of cigarette must be normal not magnificent. All forms of tobacco advertising and promotion are banned in the UK with the exception of limited advertising at the point of sale. This will end when a ban on the display of tobacco products in large shops enters into force from 6 April 2012. Small shops will have until April 2015 to comply with the law.(ASH3, 2011)Moreover, the UK government introduced picture warnings on cigarette packs in October 2008. The picture of package will make smoker feel nausea because the picture is about what result after people smoking such as yellow tooth or black lung. This is also the efficacious means to reduce the consumption of tobacco and the number of smokers. 4. Conclusion 4.1 Summary All in all, smoking has more disadvantages than advantages even only harm and no good. As we all know, teenager smoking is also a problem which must be solved. It is easy to get disease and smokers often live in a short life. So governments try various devices to restrain the consumption of cigarette to resolve these problems. 4.2 Recommendation In order to efficaciously control the consumption of cigarette, government can set up more festival about banning smoking and propagate some preferential policy. For example, when people agree to give up smoking, the person will get corresponding subsidize. 5. Reference Anderton.A(2008) Economics(5th Edition) Harlow Person Education ASH1(2011)[online]Smoking statistics Available at http://www.ash.org.uk/information/facts-and-stats/fact-sheets [Accessed at 16/12/2011] ASH2 (2011)[online]Tobacco regulation Available at http://www.ash.org.uk/information/facts-and-stats/fact-sheets [Accessed at 16/12/2011] ASH3 (2011)[online]Tobacco economics Available at http://www.ash.org.uk/information/facts-and-stats/fact-sheets [Accessed at 16/12/2011] Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. [online]Volume 29, Issue 6. 2005; 1021-1034 Available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763405000874[Accessed at 7/12/2011] Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (2003) Smoking in public place Available at http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/pn206.pdf

A Sound Of Thunder Essay

A Sound Of Thunder Essay Everything in life has a certain cause and effect whether it is good or bad there is always going to be a reaction to anything one does. This can be used to describe the Butterfly effect, which is a somewhat accepted theory. Ray Bradburys sharp imagination and knowledge helped to develop his story and portray his message that anything, big or small can and will have consequences in the end even if it is millions of years later. Ray Bradburys demeanor and philosophy had a lot to do with how he wrote his stories. When asked if patience was the reason he preferred short stories to novels he replied, Turn a liability into an asset. My attention is not there. So, I write what I can write: short stories (Weller). Most of Ray Bradburys work was in fact short stories. He preferred them over novels due to his lack of attention. When asked if his sense of optimism was important to his career he replied, I dont believe in optimism. I believe in optimal behavior. Thats a different thing. If you behave every day of your life to the top of your genetics, what can you do? Test it. Find out. You dont know-you havent done it yet. You must live life at the top of your voice! At the top of your lungs shout and listen to the echoes (Weller). Bradburys outlook on life certainly affected his way of writing, he was very positive and believed in achieving ones own dreams and goals. His intelligence is much reflected in his writing . Mr. Bradbury himselfà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦saw the strange and miraculous everywhere, and mastered the art of spinning them into enduring yarns (Machiko). Bradburys attitude and personality had a major effect on his style of writing. Science fiction being his forte his persona and his literature went hand in hand. Bradburys self-education and positive, inspiring outlook played a huge role in the way his writing was perceived. The known Butterfly effect plays a big role in this short story. It is evident that The term The Butterfly Effect is often connected to Bradburys story (Faye). The butterfly effect is a theory that supports the idea that one small change in time could alter reality forever. The role that the butterfly effect plays in the story portrays the main theme. Its an interesting coincidence that Bradbury chose a butterfly to symbolize the chaotic effect multiplied over time (Taylor). Although the butterfly effect was not discussed in the story, it is obvious this is what Bradbury is referring to due to the series of events. This is true because in the story a trivial event such as crushing a butterfly could change the sequence of events in the future, which is the essence of the butterfly effect. His illustration of a ripple effect on the timeline caused by a seemingly unrelated events over a long period of time Is not only demonstrated by the climax of the story but it is also explained in t he context of the story (Taylor). The ripple effect and the butterfly effect are essentially the same theory, the ripple effect having more to do with the consequences. Both of these theories mirror the central theme in the story. Both the butterfly and ripple effect set up the big idea or message behind the story. Time travel also plays a substantial role in A Sound of Thunder. Bradburys tale serves not only to entertain but also to speculate on the dangers of time travel (Taylor). In the short story the crushing of the butterfly happens when a hunter goes back in the distant past to kill a tyrannosaurus. This shows that said time travel can be dangerous if it has the potential to alter and affect reality later down the road. The encounter with the tyrannosaurus forms the heart of the story with Bradburys eloquent prose transporting the reader along with the hunting expedition sixty-million years into the past (Taylor). The hunting trip sets up the rising action in the story which leads to the climatic event later on. Time travel obviously created a clear and present danger in the context of the story. In the intervening 60 years, physicists have reconsidered our understanding of time and the plausibility of Bradburys classic tale (Faye). Although Bradbury does talk about time travel and it is relevant in the context of the story, it is a fictional aspect of the story. I think Bradbury was focused more on the message and theme he was trying to get across rather than the fictional or non-fictional aspects of it. Needless to say Bradburys take on time travel did incite many questions from many people. Bradburys story is based on a very relevant and knowledgeable topic. Faye states that The story is interesting because of the whole concept of changing history, and that tiny change in the past could have enormous repercussions in the future (Faye). Many positive outlooks have been inferred from this story. One message that this story could possibly send is that everything that is done will have some kind of outcome or consequence. Faye observes that In Bradburys story tweaking reality 65 million years ago would either have no effect, or the ripples would have grown so large that all civilization would be different, or perhaps humanity wouldnt have evolved at all (Faye). This portrays the big idea of the future being altered due to one small event or change in time. The belief is that anything that is done will either produce a positive or negative outcome. An inference that can be drawn from the story is stated by Faye in saying that The questions Bradbury raised about time remain u nsolved. And so a sound of thunder remains provocative and influential, and its impact will send ripples through time for decades to come (Faye). This story definitely requires a higher level of thinking to thoroughly comprehend due to the very complex ideas and theories that are involved within it. The story is a complicated piece of literature that can and has produce many different responses on the topic discussed. A Sound of Thunder showcased Ray Bradburys un-paralleled knowledge on time and the butterfly effect. Ray Bradbury was a self-educated, positive man. He never went to college or had any higher education but instead educated himself by visiting the library multiple times a week for over 10 years, through this; he developed a very keen understanding and skill for writing science fiction. His philosophy and message he portrayed in his writing and through the kind of person he was is that of an inspiring and intelligent one. Bradbury cared about the industry and line of work he was in and worried about the future of it. All of Bradburys writings all carry a message that requires an open mind and a positive outlook to fully understand and appreciate. A sound of thunder is a well thought out short story that addresses an event that humans engage in everyday, which is just action. The message that the whole story tries to accomplish is to think about an action before it is done, because no matter how small one might think that action is, the consequences could be enormous and have either po sitive or negative effects later on. Bradbury does a magnificent job of portraying this style of thought and outlook which is why he had a huge response to this short story by many different types of people and why he is a literary giant and a personal favorite to many who prefer reading intriguing, complex short stories.

Perceptions of Diversity in the Workforce

Perceptions of Diversity in the Workforce Introduction/Research Objectives: Diversity Management: Diversity Management has been defined as accepting that the workforce consists of diverse individuals. Diversity could be on the basis of work-style, age, background, sex, race, disability, personality (Kandola Fullerton, 1998). A productive environment could be created by embracing these differences where everyone is contributing at their highest potential and feel appreciated while they achieve company goals and objectives (Kandola Fullerton, 1998). Company Profile: The organisation for primary data collection is from the Pharmaceutical sector having 40% stake in the market and an annual turnover of  £21 Million (Fig.1.1). With over 160 types of medicine production, this company is Britains 3rd largest Medicine Producer. 300 employees work between 3 sites of manufacturing, packaging and the corporate office. About 150 employees, most of whom are either African or White work at the main manufacturing site; at the second packaging site there are about 130 employees of mixed origins contribute while at the corporate office, out of 30 people, most are women, of Indian origin except one and also most employees are below the age of 40 (Fig.1.2). The company vision is to maximize inclusion to drive greater business results and sustainable competitive advantage (BL, 2004). This would be achieved by fostering a culture that embraces differences and drives innovation thereby, achieving a skilled, high-performance workforce that reflects the global marke t place. Research Aims and Objectives: The main purpose of this dissertation is to research peoples perception of diversity and the effects it has on the workforce of a company. This will be investigated with the help of a questionnaire, interview and a tracking log conducted among the employees of the company from all designations. It would be imperative to research the positives of having a diverse workforce and how they contribute in achieving the company objectives, differently. The trials and tribulations faced by them owing to their diversity will be looked into and methods to tackle them will be discussed. Open questions in the survey would include: Share an experience where the organisation supported your religious needs? Through this research, old theories of diversity will be revised, extended and applied to creating new knowledge which would have theoretical and/or practical application. It will not only simplify and add meaning to existing definitions but also create new understandings of diversity. Considering the industry sector at the time of recession, many people have lost their jobs, mainly those who are not British nationals. Hence, the question is: how will an organization create profits if all the diverse individuals who contribute to the company objectives have been dismissed. Therefore, in this project, the question addressed is: What are peoples perspectives of Diversity and how does it affect an organisation. Literature Review: Diversity – definitions: This section covers some of the theory and research on Workplace Diversity which is of particular relevance to this research. It is important to define diversity for the purpose of this project. CEO of Proctor Gamble, Alan Laffey said that A diverse organisation will out-think, out-innovate and out-perform a homogenous organisation every single time (PG, 2009; Skinner, 2001). Diversity can be defined as a mixture of people with different group identities within the same social system (Fleury, 1999). There are many definitions to diversity, in essence it includes culture, race, geographic origin, ethnicity, gender, nationality, functional or educational background, physical and cognitive capability, language, lifestyles, values and beliefs, sexual orientation, physical abilities, social class, age, socio-economic status, and religion (Dessler, 1998; Ferdman, 1995). The National Council for Voluntary Organisations defines Diversity as the integration of age, gender, sexual orientation, religious preferences, disability and ethnicity without biases into society (NCVO, 2007). According to CIPD, diversity has multiple levels like that of Social Category Diversity that includes demographic variances like age, gender, ethics and race; Informational Diversity which embraces organisational variances like that of education, experience in the field and utility and lastly, Value Diversity encompasses psychological differences like that of attitudes, behaviour and personality (Worman – CIPD, 2005). According to Anderson and Metcalfe, completely diverse people working together may lead to conflicts owing to diversity in their ideologies, experience, personalities, culture and attitude among other variables. Organisations that promote creativity need to find a way to satisfy such differences and lay out ground rules to ensure successful team working. Thereby, it assures competitive edge owing to the creativity and innovation brought by diverse perspectives in products, service pattern and methods of working. The downside is that organisations need to ensure that this does not let employees lose their individuality in the race to fit in (Anderson Metcalfe, 2003). Diversity is often associated with ethnicity as in case of American Indian/ Alaska Native MBA students showed 89% in a survey. Least association was seen in case of Asian-Indian MBA students which showed 67%. Gender was seen to be the second most common associate among all survey groups. It showed strongest association of 78% among American Indian/ Alaska Native MBA students and least association of 43% by Asian-Indian undergraduates (Fig 2.1, 2.2). Among all survey groups, Latino/Hispanic undergraduates associated diversity with language skills while Asian-Indian undergraduates relate diversity with religion and American Indian/Alaska Native undergraduates connected diversity with age (Black Collegian, 2006). History of Diversity and Legislation: Legislation: The concept of diversity came into power in 1990s (Gatrell and Swan, 2008). In the 70s, 80s and early 90s the need for diversity in the workplaces in UK grew because of the diminishing talent sources as well as to curb the discriminatory HR practices that were carried out against colour and gender. The first piece of legislation to be passed to support diversity was the Equal Pay Act 1970 legislates against discrimination between men and women in relation to their terms and conditions of employment followed by Sex Discrimination Act 1974 which made it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of gender. After these came the following pieces of legislation: Race Relations Act 1976 – protection against discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic or national origins. Disability Discrimination Act 1995 – protection against discrimination for disabled people. Employment Equality (Religion and Belief) Regulations 2003 made it unlawful to discriminate against workers on the grounds of religion or belief. Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 – made it unlawful for employers to discriminate against or harass a person on the grounds of sexual orientation. Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 – made it unlawful to discriminate against individuals on the grounds of age. Equality Act 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006. (Daniels, 2008) Diversity training and interpersonal learning was introduced to help diverse workforces bridge the gaps between their education and cultures. Policy: The fundamental essence of diversity is based on its policies. To understand this, it is essential to know what a policy is. Organizational policies are a bunch of fundamental codes and relevant directives, devised and imposed by the presiding body of an organization, to express and limit its conduct while aiming for long-term objectives (Business Dictionary, 2009). An organisations goals, strategies and practices can be affected by a recognized set of broad, open directives, devised after an investigation of all internal and external aspects. Corporate policy is devised by the organisations executive board to lay down the organisations objectives to known and predictable state of affairs and circumstances. It also determines the creation and execution of strategy, and directs and limits the strategy, verdict, and deeds of the organisations employees in accomplishment of its aims (Business Dictionary, 2009). A policy is meant to balance individual and personal rights while safe-guarding the nation. Due to the ethnic and diverse mix in USA and Europe, the new diverse workforce required equal opportunities and diversity issues to be sorted out at the fore front ((Kandola and Fullerton, 1994; Cox, 1992). Hence, these countries have created policies and laws that protect diversity and promote equality (Dass and Parker, 1999; Kirton and Greene, 2000; Lawrence, 2000; Woodhams and Danieli, 2000). It was created to eliminate discrimination faced by black and ethnic minorities (Healy Oikelome, 2007). In the 1990s, the NI office initiated the Policy Appraisal and Fair Treatment guidelines (PAFT) which span across areas of religion and political beliefs, ethnicity, sex and race, disability, sexual orientation, age, marital status and those amid dependants. After its establishment, all new policies needed to satisfy the above mentioned nine equality sets (Bagilhole, 2007). Diversity Policies in SMEs v/s Large Corporations: According to Carrell, a policy that focuses on eradicating discrimination and bringing about fairness would help focus on overlooking differences and integration. However, he observed through a study that 70% of his respondents were from small companies while 30% were from companies employing 500 or more employees (Fig 3.1). 46% of this total had policies professing employee diversity in place of which 42% said that their policies were executed only in the last 5 years. 53% of the respondents in all said they do not have a written policy in place to enforce diversity and among them, only 7% opined of having discussed such an issue in their company (Fig 3.2, 3.21) (Carrell, 2006). Some SMEs opine that they are simply too small to employ a diverse range of individuals while others find it convenient to hire within the family. In such enterprises, diversity management can create a platform for new products and diverse clientele and networks which is overlooked in their short-sighted vision (European Community Programme, 2007). While SMEs harangue the increase in competition, they fail to see how innovation with the help of diversity can provide them with sustained competitive advantage. Other identifies benefits are reduced absenteeism, turnover, time wasted or lost, higher client loyalty and brand value and also, access to wider markets. Some SMEs that implement diversity policies feel that it not only increases an employees sense of belonging to the company but also their commitment and dedication to the job. The informal learning obtained from knowledge and skills gathered by working with diverse teams can also be of great competitive advantage (European Com munity Programme, 2007). Determining whether an organisation is diversity friendly is simple. Typically, large organisations have an entire page devoted to diversity and workforce friendly policies which are also available in print on request. A study revealed that 76% of senior global executives opine that their companies have 1 or no minorities (Fig 4). In some cases, in an effort to increase diversity levels, minorities are placed in positions that would add no value to their career graph. Hence, they choose to not be part of the organisation (Diversity Jobs, 2009). Looking at any large company like Coca Cola, General Motors and Nike among others, their common factor is their recognition of diversity being their key to direct and spanning sales. In order to have a diverse external environment, it would help to have a diverse internal environment as well in terms of contacts, approaches and skills (Eaddy, 2003). Contrary to the notion of diversity practices in Multinationals, the challenges faced by them were discussed among 50 academics, senior executives and HR professionals from multinational corporations at the Global Workforce Roundtable Summit at London in 2006. Some of the challenges faced are the dismissal of diversity policies as an American notion, the extent to which these practices need to be developed in order to be trickled down the ladder and implemented, getting people down the ladder to embrace the concept of diversity policies and take initiatives in its implementation (Global Workforce Roundtable Summit, 2006). Research Evidence Perspectives on Diversity: The Jewson and Mason Model (1986) is states that there are two perspectives on equality and diversity: I. The equality of opportunity or liberal approach introduces fair procedures to offer access to institutions, services, social positions and resources. II. The equality of outcome or radical approach refers to affirmative action for historically discriminated and disadvantaged groups (Gatrell Swan, 2008). The liberal approach to equal opportunities is described by a belief of an individual or their imagined capabilities and merits rather than structural sources of inequality. This approach believes that these barriers can be removed such that individuals find a way to make the best of themselves (Jewson Mason 1986: 314; Gatrell Swan, 2008). The main objective of this approach is to make sure people are treated equally at the work place (Jewson Mason 1986: 315). Emphasis is on an individualistic view of fairness and equality rather than a group based approach that encompasses equal and free competition among people (Kirton Greene, 2004). In the radical view, ability, skills, talent and merit are socially constructed norms by powerful dominant groups and that inequality is produced as a result of these social practices (Jewson Mason 1986: 315). Hence, individual merit is not a neutral term but a criterion to filter out diverse candidates from jobs and opportunities based on a socia lly valued judgment (Gatrell Swan, 2008). Thus the radical approach looks at equality as a form of social justice centring on checking the outcome of procedures and its effects of different groups and equalising the outcome rather than the opportunity (Richards 2001: 16; Gatrell Swan, 2008). The Business Case is another model for managing diversity and is related to bettering economic productivity and service delivery and depoliticising models of social relations (Blackmore, 2006; Gatrell Swan, 2008). It harnesses differences so that a productive environment may be created that not only benefits the individual but also the organisation (Kandola Fullerton 1994:8). A diverse workforce brings material benefits to an organisation such as increased profit, creativity and representative customer care (Gatrell Swan, 2008). It is seen as an investment rather than a cost and rejects the notion of justice for an instrumental, utilitarian model (Kirton Greene, 2004). The Social Justice Model favours a structural explanation of inequalities based upon the concept of social justice (Kirton Greene, 2000:5). This mode of diversity management can give rise to increased quality of outcomes for individuals as well as groups as it highlights heterogeneity of difference within social groups while taking into account that difference is not a individual possession but socially constructed within social relations (Kirton Greene, 2000; Ferreday, 2003). This model acknowledges that some differences matter more than others as shown in the research conducted by Ahmed et al. (2006), Hunter Swan (2007) among others demonstrates that race gender have a significant consequence on the admission to paid work, working conditions and experiences and possibility of discrimination (Gatrell Swan, 2008). Cultural Diversity Model addresses how diversity can be used as a tool to achieve competitive advantage in an organisation. This model was viewed from the social responsibility goals of an organisation which is a fraction of the constitution of diversity management. According to Cox Blake (1991), focussing on seven areas of effective diversity management can lead to a companys sustained competitive advantage like education programs, cultural variances, prejudice free human resource management schemes, diversity mindset, heterogeneity in race/ religion/ ethnicity, organisational culture and higher vocation resource acquirement for women i.e. extinction of glass ceiling (Parhizgar, 2002). Glass ceiling is an organisational prejudice or a bias in attitude that prevents women and minority groups from progressing to higher leadership designations in an organisation (Princeton, 2009). Researchers contradict this theory as they dont find the connection between diversity and organisational competitive advantage. In Coxs view, in the 1970s monumental organisations were leading USA that did not give importance to diversity or the essential HR function. Instead of being given a fair chance, minority groups were expected to acculturate themselves to the norms set by majority groups i.e. in this case, white men. Pluralistic organisations that came into power in the 1960s, implement diversity management in ways of recruiting minorities, monitoring for fairness and providing diversity training and programs. A key difference between a pluralistic organisation and a multicultural organisation is minorities group are not only employed and value but also identified as key contributors and formally as well as informally completely integrated into the organisation. Cox and Blake also created a model in 2001 that claimed 5 cyclical steps to a successful multicultural organisation. The five steps are leadership, research and dimension, academic backing, coalition of management syst ems and follow up action steps (Stahl Bjà ¶rkman, 2006). The effect of diversity on performance in an organisation is still unclear. Its effect maybe positive or negative in some situations and also sometimes there may be no effect at all (Barrett-Power Shaw, 1998). Research based on race has shown that diversity in teams can yield benefits as well as costs (Campion, Medsker and Higgs, 1993; Guzzo Dickson, 1996; Jackson, 1991; Magjuka Baldwin, 1991). A team can be defined as a distinguishable set of two or more individuals who interact independently and adaptively to achieve specified, shared and valued objectives (Salas, 1986). Organisations depend upon teamwork to improve quality, experience of work, product and customer service for their members (Guzzo, 1995). Teams are believed to be vital tools for solving problems and making decisions in a highly complex, international environment (Tjosvold, 1995). Magjuka Baldwin (1991) found that within a group, diversity showed positive effect on job performance in a sample of 72 manufacturin g teams. Some studies have shown that diverse groups (based on race) are more creative and make better decisions than homogenous groups (McGrath, 1984; McLeod and Lobel, 1992) but they can also be less cohesive, less satisfied, have less conformity and more prone to turnover (Jackson, Brett, Sessa, Copper, Julin and Peyronnin, 1991). 3 Level Impact of Diversity: Individual Level: Diversity creates an impact on three levels: individual, group and organisation (Nkomo, 1998). At an individual level, key variable in understanding diversity are culture distance, perceived similarity, a sense of control as well as culture shock (Triandis, 1997). According to previous research by Berry (1984), an individual goes through an acculturation process which is; assimilation, separation, deculturation and integration. With assimilation, the culture that is dominant in the group becomes the standard and individuals try to live up to the standard. With separation, majority cultures and minority cultures do not merge as individuals from the minority cultures distance themselves from majority cultures. In deculturation, the individuals of minority cultures lack strong ties with the group as they neither have ties with their own minority culture nor with the standard majority culture. Integration refers to the state where individuals change to a certain extent to accommodate the common norms and standards (Berry, 1984). If an individual from a minority culture is unable to adapt, the group is considered to be at fault instead of the majority culture (Nkomo, 1991). The Alteration Model suggests that minority individuals need not be forced to practice a particular, standard culture or adapt to their own minority culture. They can become competent in multiple cultures and use what is required of it in a context. This may also be known as code-switching where an individual uses a language that best suits a context (LaFromboise, Coleman and Gerton, 1993). Group Level Diversity: At a group level, diversity can give rise to emotional conflict or task related conflict within a group. Task related conflict will increase group performance while emotional conflict will hinder performance (Kottke Agars, 2004). In a group research on diversity, it was found that readily observable factors (surface level) are important for group development but deeply held values and beliefs (deep level) are decisive in group processes that yield group outcomes (Stockdale Crosby, 2004). Group composition has been investigated as surface and deep-level diversity (Harrison, Price and Bell; 1998). Surface-level diversity maybe defined as differences in age, sex, race, ethnicity and other biological characteristics while deep-level diversity maybe defined as differences in behaviour, attitudes, morals, values and beliefs that require interaction to be understood. Organisational Level Diversity: Many consultants and academics argue that organisational level diversity is essential to serve the 21st century consumer (Gardenschwartz and Rowe, 1993; Morrison, 1992; Thomas, 1990; Wilson, 1997). Diversity makes an organisation more effective by bringing a lot of creative perspectives to the table. This has served as a base for many claims that suggest that diversity is a resource and strength for an organisation (Adler, 2003; Dobbs, 1998; Thomas, 1990). OReilley et al. (1997) conducted a research in an organisation that gave primary importance to employee diversity. They found that within the organisations groups, diversity created positive performance-related results. Studies show a negative as well as positive effect in organisations as ethnic groups or minorities perceive themselves less likely to advance in an organisation than majorities. Ethnic groups when exposed to majority groups are more susceptive to emotional conflict (Kizilos et al.; 1996). This creates a branching in the hypotheses as the attraction and social categorization theories suggest that diversity will cause a negative effect on organisation performance while only information and decision making theory suggests that diversity promotes organisational performance (Jarry Pitts, 2005). Information and decision making theory is based on educational and functional diversity and not ethnic diversity. Hence, it forms a weak basis against two prominent theories (Jarry Pitts, 2005). Diversity Management According to CIPD, managing diversity stands for valuing people for who they are; whether they are customers, clients, or even employees, they are all fundamentally diverse. Diversity management is not about identifying a single constant individual difference but about recognizing different individual changes and their ability to create a large scale impact and create dynamic changes (Mullholland, Ozbilgin and Worman; 2006). Managing diversity is meant to bring people from different areas and thought processes together to ensure self development as well as production of superior quality results. It is meant to nurture creativity and innovation by caressing diversity while creating an atmosphere of creative genius and healthy competition (Leader; 2009). The University of Vienna describes diversity management as a strategy or a business plan to perceive, promote, acknowledge implement and preserve essential competencies within an organisation (University of Vienna, 2007). Diversity man agement stresses the necessity of indentifying cultural variances Between sets of employees, and making rational grants for such differences in policies within the organisation (Thomas, 1990). There can be a few negative consequences of diversity management like that of the trainers values expressed in a training program. The trainers values are just ones point of view and not the universal truth and yet it is forced upon unsuspecting trainees during a program. Some trainers may have ulterior motives or discreet agendas and usually training occurs too late. Diversity training is often looked upon as a band aid, a quick fix if you will a shortcut to a difficult situation. However, quick fixes are prone to disintegrating fast. A psychological disadvantage is the creation of an image that the trainees have some issues in dealing with diversity. Also, the definitions of diversity are often too narrow and under-expressed with the focus on diplomacy rather than honest opinions. Trainers chosen are also often based on which minority group they represent rather than how well they train (Public Personnel Management, 2002). A study among companies that provide diversity training revealed 33% who said that their efforts were quite or extremely successful. 30% said their efforts were quite successful while 3% opined extreme success. 50% of the firms opined neutral or varied results while 13% said their results were quite unsuccessful and 5% opined extreme failure (Fig 5) (Public Personnel Management, 2002). On understanding the effects of diversity, it is useful to know how diversity can be managed. Every individual is different from another in matters of age, education, gender, values, physical ability, mental capacity, personality, experiences, culture and the way each approaches work (Jamieson and OMara 1991: 3-4). Diversity advantage can be obtained by realizing, acknowledging and valuing these differences and creating an environment that appreciates these attributes by being flexible enough to meet needs and preferences – to create a motivating and rewarding environment (Jamieson and OMara 1991: 3-4). Managing diversity is not only about handling issues on discrimination but also making sure that everyone is contributing to their maximum potential to achieve the organisation objectives (Argott, 2008). Diversity management does not mean only increasing opportunities for women and minorities. It means increasing competitive advantage by taking those diverse variances and cre ating a comprehensive atmosphere where each can contribute and make a difference (Larson, 2004). This concept covers everyone including the white and middle class males while focussing on movement and culture within the organisation and meeting business objectives (Argott, 2008). Diversity Management differs from Equal Opportunities in its lack of reliance upon positive action or affirmative action (Kaler, 2001). Diversity training is training to increase the contributors knowledge, skills and awareness of different cultures. This would prevent civil rights violations, promote team work and also provide opportunities to different minority groups (Kalev, Dobbin and Kelley, 2006). It is an effective way to broaden diversity in an organisation and also, increase an individuals ability to cope with it (Vaughn, 2007). Present Day Diversity Management Hudson carried out a national survey as a result of witnessing a friend who was denied a job, promotion or increased salary as a result of their ethnicity. The survey conducted in USA in 2005 throws light on startling figures of 31% among African-American employees and drops to 18% among white workers (Fig 6.1)(Hudson, 2005). One out four (23%) employees opined that they know someone who has been treated differently on the basis of their gender. African-American women are more likely to make this claim than others. 23% of workers polled that they do not work for employers who actively promote diversity and 13% are unsure whether their companies have a formal diversity program. 64% of them work for diversity promoting firms (Fig 6.2), 20% of employees know someone who has been treated differently based on their gender and 18% know someone whose been discriminated against based on their ethnic or racial variances (Fig 6.3). These statistics increase to 32 and 29% respectively with work ers in non-diversity promoting companies. Employees working for large or multinational corporations are said to report a statistic of 76% for supporting diversity and its programs (Hudson, 2005). Since this report, two approaches to managing diversity have been founded. One is that which defines diversity in relation to equal opportunities and affirmative action only (Carrell, Mann Sigler, 2006). Affirmative Action can be explained as taking measures towards the depiction of women and minority groups in terms of employment, edification and commerce in which they have been ostracized throughout history. This method includes preferential assortment i.e. selection on the basis of race, colour, ethnicity among other. Hence, it is a subject of great controversy (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, 2009). The other point of view argues the broader concept is inclusive of differences of the people i.e. considering that team members consist of different ages, genders, races, ethnicities and demographic categories to the likes of sexual orientation, religion among others (Carrell, Mann Sigler, 2006). Hudsons survey called for the implementation of the narrow point of view. Howeve r, more recent studies have shown that affirmative action does little to sort out the causative agents of inequality, bias and injustice and does not contribute to the enhancement of opportunities open to men and women in the workplace (Thomas, 1990). Xerox is among the top employers who enforce diversity. They are ranked among the Top 50 Corporations for Supplier Diversity, Top 50 Companies for Diversity and Corporate 100. They focus on four key areas to enhance diversity management like that of communiquà ©, CEO dedication, staff demographics and purveyor diversity. Xerox has been found to give more opportunities to Hispanics in the USA and also been named the national #1 in womens employment opportunities. At Xerox, a Supplier Diversity Program is mandatory for all employees especially those of middle management. The power of this program lies in the recognition of the strength in adversity right from the entry level to the top management (Poder 360, 2009). Xerox employees being diverse; act as campaigners in recommending and negotiating with diverse clientele. Xerox partnerships with diverse suppliers to finance and contribute to their business while profiting from it (Xerox, 2009). They call this their pioneering practice t hat brings them results (CSR, 2005). AstraZeneca (AZ) is one of the leading pharmaceutical companies who employ over 65000 people worldwide. Formed by the merger of Astra AB of Sweden and Zeneca Group PLC of UK, AZ brought together the merger of likeminded vision and diversity in race, religion, age, gender, ethnicity and skills (AstraZeneca, 2009). Here, diversity is looked upon in the broader sense and utilized to create high performance teams with the help of sharing ideas and discussing strategies across the board. At the heart of their vision, is the creation of true cultural diversity. Hence, they create small programs and global initiatives to embed diversity (AstraZeneca, 2009). Here, diversity is focussed on three a

Summary of Pinocchio by Carlos Collodi :: essays research papers

Pinocchio by Carlos Collodi was written in 1883. The story is about a wooden marionette named Pinocchio. He spends his whole childhood wanting to become a real boy, but is misguided by troublesome schoolboys and two con artists. Through Pinocchio’s adventures, he understands how he was defiant and naà ¯ve. At the end of the story his compassion and gratefulness overcame his misguided decisions. Even though Pinocchio could distinguish right from wrong, he decided to disobey. Pinocchio chooses not to listen to Gepetto, and is faced with consequences that affected him later in the story including the times that he skips school. Pinocchio visits the marionette play, risking his life of becoming firewood and missed months of school during his trip to Playland with Lamp-wick. Pinocchio was to go back home to his fairy, the night that he ran away to Playland, but did not return. A couple months of slothful behavior ended with Pinocchio and Lampwick turned into donkeys and sold. Pinocchio does not have a very open mind and because of that he becomes trapped by con-artists. His weakness is his naà ¯ve attitude toward others. When Pinocchio is lost in the woods, he is approached by a supposedly lame fox and blind cat. They are told of Pinocchio having coins in his pocket. The fox and cat, knowing of Pinocchio’s coins pretend to be blind and lame. They ask Pinocchio to come with them to an inn, and buy them dinner. When Pinocchio wakes up, he is told by the manager that the fox and cat have gone. Pinocchio goes back into the woods and is attacked by assassins, whom are actually the fox and cat. His naivety nearly costs him his life, as he hangs on the branch of a tree. Later in the story, Pinocchio finds himself with Lamp-wick waiting for the coach to take Lamp-wick to Playland.

Franklin Essay -- essays research papers

Can some man arrive at moral perfection in this life, or is it impossible? Benjamin Franklin was an extremely brilliant and talented individual. He constantly sought ways to improve himself. After he read â€Å"The Spectator† he put in a very dedicated effort to imitate their style of writing because he loved how precise the authors wrote out their thoughts. Franklin was also a relatively religious man or at least believed enough to try to be a morally righteous man so that he would avoid his way into hell. Through these beliefs and virtues Franklin created a plan to achieve moral perfection. Although finding the task somewhat more difficult than he first imagined he stayed with his convictions and deduced thirteen virtues to improve upon and follow. These virtues were: order, silence, temperance, resolution, frugality, industry, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity and humility. Now how did he come up with the virtues and what did the virtues consist of? After concocting this ingenious plan towards moral perfection did Franklin ever see it through and reach moral perfection? Benjamin Franklin was raised as a Presbyterian by his parents. Although not completely religious some of the teachings stayed on with him. â€Å"I never was without some religious principles; I never doubted, for instance, the existence of the deity, that he made the world, and govern’d it by his providence; that the most acceptable service of God was the doing good to man; that our souls are immortal; and that all crime will be punished and Virtue reworded either here or hereafter; these I esteem’d the essentials of every religion, and being to be found in all the religions we had in out country I respected them all† (BF, p65). Franklin later also goes on to say that he did not go to sermons on Sunday that often because that day was his day to study and relax, but when he did go he noticed that all sermons that he was listening to were rather â€Å"dry† as he put it and seemed to focus more on being a good citizen and not a person instead. These two instances in from Franklin show were he was coming from when he decided to create his list of virtues that would lead him to moral perfection. Now that he was focused on his goal he need do dome research on the topic. â€Å"In the various enumerations of the moral virtues I had met with in my reading,... ... he just fell short of his goal. Yet this did not discourage Franklin for he was made a better and happier man than he would have been. Franklin also realized that it was good not to be perfect because friends would hate and envy him; so it is better to keep a few faults in order to save face. All is well that ends well. This statement best describes Franklin’s endeavor into morality. Even though he was not able to accomplish what he set out to do, he still managed to come out a better man because of it, and he learned a few things along the way. Sometimes reaching the end of something is not important, but the journey you took to get there is what really matters. I’ll finish with a quote from Franklin’s autobiography. â€Å"It is †¦. Necessary for every person who desires to be a wise man, to take particular notice of his own actions, and of his own thoughts and intentions which are the original of his actions; with great care and circumspection; otherwise he can never arrive to that degree of perfection which constitutes the amiable character he aspires after.† [BF, p227(Source P, 8: 128)]. Qoutes from "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin"

Humorous Best Man Speech for Two Best Men -- Wedding Toasts Roasts Spe

Humorous Best Man Speech Written for Two Best Men Best man 1: Good evening everyone. I must warn you we are both pretty nervous about doing this speech. We have spent many a night awake, trying plan it to no avail. We were both so nervous about doing this speech we asked the groom for some advice on how to prepare for talking to a large audience. Best man 2: So he did. He told us to imagine that you are all naked, so if you don't mind, we are going to give it a go. (Stares, winks at people) Best man 1: Ladies and gentlemen, may I thank you for attending this wonderful occasion. You can all agree that today has been a great success, so far, they look absolutely stunning. So if you could raise your glasses. To the bride and groom. Best man 2 :Also, thanks must go to the beautiful bridesmaids, who did a fabulous job today getting the bride ready and making sure she didn't back out. So if you could please raise your glasses again. To the bridesmaids. In preparing for today the groom has given us a list of things we have to do, so if you don't mind, for our sake and for yours, we would just quickly like to run through it, sorry. (Get pens and list out of pockets) Make sure that the groom is dressed appropriately. Best man 2: No better than usual, check. (Pretends to check list) Best man 1: Ensure that the groom has been to the bathroom Best man 2: I made sure he went in there, but the rest is up to him! Best man 1: See that angry ex-girlfriends are kept at bay Best man 2: Errrmmm. I can't find any, most of them seem rather relieved. Best man 1: Bring a bag with the following items for emergencies. Best man 2: aspirin, antacid, deodorant, toothpaste, Viagra. Oh, sorry the groom wasn?t going to ment... ...g unless its shared by two. Congratulations to the bride and groom. Best man I : To end we would just like to read a few verses from this poem that is very close to our hearts. It is called ?The Power of Love? which was written by William Shakespeare. Best man 2: Wasn't it also covered by Huey Lewis and the News in 1985 for the film Back to the Future Best man 1: Yeah O.K. quiet. (sing) The power of love is a curious thing Make a one man weep, make another man sing. Change a hawk to a little white dove More than a feeling, that's the power of love. Best man 2: It's O.K. mate Pats him on the shoulder) Let me: You don't need money, don't take fame Don't need no credit card to ride this train. It?s strong and it's sudden and it's cruel sometimes but it might just save your life. Thats the power of love, that?s the power of love!! Thank you.

Comprehensive Strategic Plan for Google Essay

This paper will discuss a comprehensive strategic plan for google. First, an analysis of Google’s competitors: Microsoft, yahoo and Amazon analyzed. A critical analysis of Google’s operational and business strategy follows that. Then Google’s approach to corporate strategies that include vertical integration, diversification and Google’s global reach. The comprehensive strategic plan (CSP) is extrapolated from the critical evaluation of business and corporate strategy and based on the degree in which strategy is aligned to support Google’s espoused values and support its mission. The CSP includes strategic recommendation and measures in three areas: change to either corporate or business strategy, leverage resources that can drive sustained competitive advantage and align organization structure and management to enable resources and capabilities that will drive sustained competitive advantage. Google’s competitive environment With the advent of the internet, competition within the industry of searching the web has intensified. The completion for google has always been other search engines like Bing, metacrawler and yahoo. In today’s world competition for google is not merely other search engines, but it has reached to advertisement, product and services. For instance google are trying their hand in cloud computing. Google offers a wide range of services, so it only practical that google has its fair share of competitors. Google considers a wide range of services on the internet to be its competitor (Goodstein, Nolan & Pfeiffer, 2006). Google competition comes from those businesses that seek to offer the public with information and provide them with advertisement. These competitions include traditional search engines; yahoo and Bing. Just like google, E-commerce sites and vertical search engines: kayak, amazon. com and eBay, that offer product and services to consumers. Therefore, users go directly to these sites instead of going through google. Sites like facebook and twitter offer competition because users are now relying on these services for referrals instead of using traditional search engines. Google also has competition for the ad dollar from the traditional form of advertising: TV, radio, Newspapers, magazines and billboards. In addition, with the development of apps, users are now accessing e-commerce directly from these apps, instead of search engines. Google also offers product and services that comprise of Gmail, YouTube and google docs that competes with new and established companies that offer information, communication and entertainment services. Therefore, google competes with most of the internet (Dess & Miller, 2007). Google receives competition from its rivals on the internet for the market share and financial performance. Google has introduced google chrome, which is cloud-computing software that allows its users to upload and download documents on the internet. However, the large market share is held by Microsoft’s office. Moreover, google has competition in the mobile industry from its android operating system. (Gru? nig & Ku? hn, 2005). To compete with Apple’s iPhone and to increase market share of ads displayed on smart phones, Google launched their android operating system. Although google receives stiff competition from its rivals, it still holds a high market share because of its brand positioning (Casson, 2004). Hence, Google holds such a great market share; advertisers would not receive nearly the same amount of ad exposure using a different search engine. Google has continued to make a net profit even as its rivals net plummeted; probably the most important aspect of a company’s financial performance to a potential investor is the earnings per share ratio. It is widely acknowledged that Google puts great stock in being able to show investors that their money is safe. This company’s earnings per share ratio had grown impressively in the four year period from 2007 to 2010, with only a slight decline when the recession hit the hardest. This shows that Google is a true powerhouse, especially when compared to their top competitors, Yahoo and Microsoft. With Google increasing their percentage of searches, in comparison to all other search entities, it is easy to see that Yahoo and Microsoft are losing the battle against this Internet behemoth. In the period from 2008 to 2010, Microsoft maintained a constant net profit margin (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2009). This would indicate that Microsoft is outperforming Google, but these impressive numbers do not tell the story for the segment of Microsoft that is competing against Google. The operating profit margins during this period for Microsoft’s online services business unit are embarrassing at best, with negative margins in 2009 and 2010. This indicates that Microsoft is hemorrhaging money at an increasing rate while it tries to compete with Google. Similarly, Yahoo shows declining net profit margins for every year from 2007 to 2010, with margins for 2009 and 2010 dropping below 0. 1. (see appendix). Overall, while its top competitors are losing money and market share, Google continues to grow and provide investors with profits. Several factors are what make customers prefer google to its competitor. The search industry giant’s success is a cause of many key resource strengths and competitive capabilities. Google gains the trust of users through reliable, accurate searches and a clear distinction of upfront ads in searches. Their online business conducted with minimal physical locations and a low fixed cost. Instead of looking at these locations as burdens, they maximize the creativity and high-spirit of their work environment. The reason that makes google stay ahead of the curve is its ability to provide main resources to the users. Google would not be highly valued without the high content that it provides to its users. (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2009).. Google’s Operational and Business Strategy The relevant searches that google provides, and the large amount of available information, is what makes google attractive to its users. Amazon a company that deals in downloading books, music and videos, offers google competition in the provision of content. The technology for providing relevant searches to end users, thus competition has become stiff. Therefore, google has to develop new ways to remain ahead of its competitors. So google has gone to develop its technological expertise as its key resource. (Centindamar, 2013). Currently as the leader in the industry, Google is attracting the best and the brightest. However, technology is a rapidly developing field that is continuously changing and improving. For Google to maintain the high standard of performance expected by users, they must attract and retain top technological experts. The search industry is changing to encompass not only searching technology any longer. Users’ preferences are constantly growing. A service provider provides mobile phone search and business technology software. There has also been a shift in how search engine users are using the product. This is mainly due to the emerging new capabilities of the Internet. For example, ever since Google acquired Keyhole, a digital mapping company in 2004, they are able to show users satellite and street view images of any location in the world using Google Maps. Google has added over 40 different tools and services aimed at providing the user the best experience possible (Hitt, 2002). Google is also able to customize which advertisements appear next to the users’ search results by tracking their history. While some may like this idea, the lack of user privacy has raised ethical concerns. In the next three to five years, the industry will most likely continue to change and evolve even further, adding more tools and features to further cater to the needs of the typical user, the mobile on-the-go traveler and the business person alike. The search industry giant’s success is a cause of many key resource strengths and competitive capabilities. Google gains the trust of users through reliable, accurate searches and a clear distinction of upfront ads in searches. Their online business conducted with minimal physical locations and a low fixed cost. Instead of looking at these locations as burdens, they maximize the creativity and high-spirit of their work environment (Volberda, 2011). Employees are hired selectively amongst some of the greatest minds in technology and related fields, and are given the tools, freedom, and encouragement to be innovative and fulfilled by their job. Several iconic features of Google remain unparalleled, including their extensive Google Earth and Google Maps capabilities, YouTube video streaming, and Google Search Appliances that allow other companies to feature Google search bars within their own sites (Hitt, 2002). Google has continued to have an edge over its competitors because of its goals and values. Google’s number one priority is to offer value to their users. Enshrined in their ten values, that makes up Google’s corporate philosophy. At the top of the list is, â€Å"Focus on the user and all else will follow. † Google has developed a certain trust factor with its users over the years that many companies strive to become. Google has always made decisions with their users in mind, and has not ever chosen to make a change in order to increase shareholder value if it did not also improve the user experience (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2009). By resisting the desire to make a quick profit that many other companies give in to, Google has made a lasting impression. That is evidenced by the growth in their percent of searches from July 2006 to June 2009. While Google led the pack back in 2006 with 43. 7% of searches, Yahoo was not far behind with 28. 8% of searches. In the following three years, however, Google has been able to increase their percentage of searches to 65% and increase the gap between itself and Yahoo! from 14. 9% to 45. 4%. Google’s Corporate Strategy Corporate strategy refers to the overarching strategy of the diversified firm (Colley, Doyle & Hardie, 2008). Such corporate strategy delves â€Å"in which businesses should we compete? † moreover, how one business add to the competitive benefit of another portfolio firm, as well as the competitive gain of google as a whole. Google has relied on vertical integration to stay ahead of its competitors by diversifying their products and services (Casson, 2004). In September 2008 before google chrome was launched, companies like Microsoft wanted to prevent Google from collecting user specific information. They allowed users of Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox to block their viewing history and Internet address so that Google could not collect this information. When Google Chrome was released, it gave Google a way around this Internet â€Å"firewall†. Google understood that as the Internet shifts toward cloud computing there would be a need to have a browser that is able to support multiple programs at once. Getting users used to Google Chrome now before the switch to cloud computing begins, gives Google an upper hand when that switch occurs. This Google’s diversification development represents some kind vertical integration, though, google was known for being just a search engine (Chopra, & Meindl, 2007). Google has diversified to same-day delivery by the provision of a courier services for it users. As online users are embracing e-commerce, online retailing is skyrocketing. Therefore, same-day delivery is going to be a commonplace thing in the future. Google has gone to exploit this opportunity, thus edging its competitors. Google same day delivery has already rolled out in the United States. Therefore, Google’s diversification strategy is going to make it the top e-commerce technological tool. Google is soon to own the browsing and buying and finally the delivery to homes. Therefore, the so-called google shopping express provides diversification on technology and data. Already google is ahead of its e-commerce rivals with its easy to use user interface (Volberda, 2011). From Google’s mission statement, it exemplifies this idea of being a global brand. Its mission statement is to organize the world information to be globally accessible to users. Google is not only available to English speaking countries, but available in other languages of the world Casson, 2004). Furthermore, google has developed an app specific language, therefore being global. Again, google has taken up over fifty companies to export itself globally. The co-founders have expanded into foreign markets to satisfy the internet experience globally. Comprehensive Strategic Plan Google’s weaknesses, while fewer in number than their strengths, could have serious implications on the future of their business. The low revenue earned from YouTube represents a lost opportunity for such a large online presence. Their grasp on the comprehensive social networking market is far behind those of their competitors. Although, they remain an industry leader, their international reach in emerging markets such as China leave much lacking (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2009). The organization and management system should align resources and address several strategic issues to remain competitive in the coming years. Recommendation is that the management system must encourage innovation in their strong labor force and expand research and development to its fullest achievable potential. Placing more emphasis on Chrome through advertising would increase market share in web browsers, allowing for access to more information. This goes hand-in-hand with the goal of strengthening users’ reliance upon Google accounts, comparable to those existing with comprehensive Yahoo accounts (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2009). It is also crucial to pay attention to the path and future of mobile advertising, likely to progress through rich media ads that can synchronize with existing smart phone features and apps. Furthermore, it would be wise for Google to condense their wide selection of Android phones, keeping enough variety to suit consumer desires, but streamlining their product line to a more lean production (Dess, 2012). When there is potential to be profitable, Google should also expand its efforts to developing countries that are passing computers by and accessing the Internet through mobile phones. This would portray Google as a reliable product and service in these countries and build a strong brand recognition early on. To increase revenue from YouTube, they can consider charging corporations for having accounts solely for business purposes (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2009). Google’s strongest ability lies in their existing features, though they must fine-tune the quality of their weaker applications like Google+ and Google Docs that have trouble comparing to industry competitors. Further developing features to compete with the capabilities of Microsoft Office can gain a major advantage, by promoting users to share documents, by Google Docs. Overall, Google must capitalize on its existing features, refine them, and continue to use research and development along with innovative technology to maintain their position as the leader in the search engine industry (Fox, 2012). Conclusion Because of the rapid growth in industries revolving around technology and the Internet in particular, many opportunities present themselves to Google currently and in the near future. Internet and mobile advertising growth lead the way for the increasing importance of Search Engine Optimization for marketers. Using data collected from searches and Chrome, more data on users becomes more readily available. Possibly the most important up-and-coming necessity for innovative companies such as Google is the availability for users to have all of their information in one account through cloud computing (Casson, 2004)..