The Odessey Essay Example For Students

The Odessey Essay The Odessey is a tale that has changed literature and storytelling. In this tale Odysseus is a Soldier from the battle of Troy trying to get home to his island of Ithaca, where he is king. His wife and son must wait ten years while he is trying to make his way home. In Odysseus’s absence wooer’s, or better known as suitors, learn of his absence and travel to Ithaca to win his wife’s hand in marriage. These men come every day feasting on Odysseus’s food and wine, and give his servant’s orders. His son Telemachus, does his best to keep the suitors from ruining his fathers house but he is only a boy, and doesn’t receive the respect of an adult. Telemachus then has a visit from the god Athena, whom Odysseus is friends with, who advises him to travel to find out about his father. In his travels he hears that Odysseus may still be alive. Meanwhile Odysseus goes through a series of adventures and hardships that prove his wisdom. It is interesting in contrast of the Iliad, even though Achilles was much stronger and a better warrior, Odysseus was portrayed as a greater hero due to his wisdom. He uses this wisdom to escape from the Cyclops. On the Cyclops’s island Odysseus and his men are trapped and eaten as food by a giant with only one eye. Odysseus commands his men to take an olive tree and carve a large stake from it. Then Odysseus gives the Cyclops all of their wine in order to get him drunk. After the Cyclops falls asleep they stab the steak into his one large eye, thus blinding him. Now with the Cyclops blind Odysseus and his men cling to the bottom of sheep to avoid the Cyclops and escape. Even though the cyclops checks everything leaving his cave he doesn’t find the men holding to the bottom of the sheep. We will write a custom essay on The Odessey specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now This tale coincides with the times in Greece. This was a time that art and Philosophy were extremely important and respected by the people. Odysseus was a new type of hero that didn’t win by overpowering his opponents, but by using his mind to outwit them. Manners also seemed to play an important role to Odysseus, as he was learned to be polite and generous to strangers and in the end punished those who weren’t. Odysseus, like most of his fellow soldiers, is a rather arrogant greedy person at the beginning of the poem, and brings much sorrow on himself by his actions. Yet the gods are no better than he is and their punishment of Odysseus and his crew has more to do with the impulses of the Olympians than the sins of the mortals. Athena herself would not help Odysseus while he was sailing, for she did not want to go against her brother, Poseidon’s wishes. Poseidon was upset that he had blinded the Cyclops since that was his son. As the god of the sea he made it as hard as possible for Odysseus to make it home. Poseidon, however, disregards the fact that his son was using Odysseus and his men as food, and would naturally do anything to escape. Book Reports

Climate Change Essays - Climate History, Climate Change, Free Essays

Climate Change Essays - Climate History, Climate Change, Free Essays Climate Change Crystal Lang HUM/115 September 21, 2015 AR Fiano Climate Change Over the past few decades there has been serious concerns with the climate changes that have been happening to the planet. Natural climate changes occurs because a balance between energy from the sun is entering and leaving the planets system. When the incoming energy from the sun is absorbed by the Earth system the Earth will naturally get warm. When the sun's energy is reflected back into space by clouds or other natural occurrences, the Earth will not absorb energy and will start to cool. Because the energy is released back into space. Other than natural changes to the climate we have the usual suspects and that is the ever growing human population on the planet. Most of the climate changes today are blamed on global warming caused by the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gasses are caused from carbon dioxide being put into the air causing the reflection of the suns energy and can cause cooling of the planet. The opposite is occurring now because the greenhouse gasses are holding in the suns energy causing the planet to warm up. The vast growth of the human population and our use of bio-fuels, is emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide in to the atmosphere causing the greenhouse gasses to have a negative effect on the earth's natural climate changes. (McCarthy) These two articles did not change my opinion on the climate changes because for years we have learned about global warming and the causes of climate changes. I did know that there was natural causes and human error involved with todays climate changes. I think all of the articles that I read will all have the same or similar stories as to the two I read today. The only argument out there is if our global warming our fault this time or are we in the climate cycle where the planet warms up, glaciers melt and we start moving into the water world of the days of Noah. References McCarthy, Gina. "United States Environemental Protection Agency." Causes of Climate Change (2014). 2015. Melillo, Jerry M. Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment. U.S. Global Change Research Program. 2014.

Marketing Professional Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Professional Practice - Essay Example Moreover, Robinson notes that the ‘background information on volunteers is necessary in order to evaluate their appropriateness for a sports club’ (Robinson 2010, p.95). These issues have to be taken into consideration by HR managers in sports clubs when having to evaluate the suitability and the potentials of volunteers in regard to a particular role. In general, one of the issues that are of critical importance in regard to volunteer turnover is the budget involved. In the case under examination, even if volunteers are not compensated at the same level as ordinary employees, still the costs related to their daily involvement in the club’s activities are high, taking into consideration the club’s daily profits. Reference is made specifically to the funds required for the volunteer’s daily salary but also the funds necessary for the volunteers’ daily food and transportation from home to the club and vice versa. This cost is covered entirely by the club. Therefore, the first issue that needs to be taken into consideration when planning the exit of certain volunteers is the ability of the club to keep a particular number of volunteers. According to its current performance, the club is able to keep just the 60% of its volunteers. The interview planned for evaluating the current value of volunteers, in regard to their contribution in the club’s daily performance, should address the following issues: a) the age and demographics of volunteers; only volunteers that are required for the development of the club’s critical operations should remain in the organization; for example, younger volunteers would be more necessary compared to older volunteers, especially if the tasks involved are quite demanding in terms of physical capabilities; b) the experience of volunteers in similar tasks is important for deciding the continuation of their cooperation with the organization; for example, volunteers that have worked in s ports club should be preferred by other volunteers that do not have such experience; c) the potential acceptance of a lower salary would be also an issue that should be addressed in the interviews; volunteers that could accept a reduction of salary, even low, i.e. about 10%, would be preferred, since in this way the organization’s daily costs would be significantly decreased; of course, the other issues, addressed through the interview, should be also taken into consideration for deciding the firing of a volunteer; d) the last issue that should be necessarily addressed in the interviews would be the time constraints of volunteers, meaning especially the social life and the other activities of each volunteer; for example, volunteers that do not have a second job would be preferred compared to volunteers that have to plan their time daily for responding to the needs of two jobs. 2. Given the financial difficulty faced by many non-profit organizations today discuss the opportuni ty of using social media. How can non-profit organisations use Facebook and other social media? Social media can be used for improving the communication between organizations and their customers. In non-profit organizations, the social media can play a similar role, helping to increase trust between the organizations

Emotional response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Emotional response - Assignment Example Priceline enables the customer to choose from 165,000 hotels in addition to being able to carry out all the booking transactions online. Additionally, the website enables the customer to accomplish several other activities such as check the status of any bookings as well as receive alerts in case of won bids. Moreover, the customers can also give feedback on different services. The website appeals to the customers who may be willing to make last minute flight bookings or even compare prices in different hotels worldwide. Priceline’s website plot is appealing since all the services are organized in columns, which makes it easy for customers to access and scrutinize. On opening each column, it becomes even easier for the customer to analyze the services offered by Priceline in different regions of the world. The website contains navigation tools that enable the customer to access further details on each specific service. Additionally, sections such as vacation packages display images that add to the strength of the

MIS in business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MIS in business - Essay Example MIS is part of the IT spectrum which deals with people, information, technology and business. MIS can be a key aspect in the decision making and the task analysis of the company which is dealing with technology and business. Now let's move our discussion to Information Systems and types of Information System. An Information System can be defined as a collection of hardware, software, people and data and which are integrated to generate information which caters the need of various organizations and which support various day-to-day activities. Information can be classified as two sections: internal information systems and external information systems. Internal information systems as the name imply deals with information pertaining to the details of the company. It talks about how the internal data of the company regarding various activities can be managed and manipulated. And further it talks about how it affects the state of the business details of the economy of the company. The major point is that the external information systems talks about the concept of Business to Business Solutions (B2B) An external system can work well if it follows work flow steps for a process to operate at B2B level. A company should receive and validate the request message which is destined for an external IS to fetch business data. It should select as particular IS and based on it should run orders, manage interactions with external IS. Thus this way company stands at better position to handle the information and as such can place itself in a better strategic position in the market. Thus Internal & External Information Systems are very essential for the up gradation of the information level of a department in a business organization. Now that we know about Information Systems, Lets move ahead by discussion managing information through information management. Information management can be defined as handling or managing of the information which has been gathered from various sources in order to optimize the accessibility of the information which is used by the various departments of the organization. One of the major advantages of using Information system for management as tool is that it is very effective and efficient and thus these factors propel the growth of the company in a positive manner. One major limitation of information management is that the amount of information present and usage of tools and techniques to manage information has lead to the problem of information overflow and thus it makes us understand that we need to adopt effective strategies in order to overcome the limitation. In general whenever we talk about the information systems and its types, we come across five different types of IS. They are: Office Automation System: Office Automation System or OAS helps the people working in the office workspace to process personal and organizational data, create documents and perform calculations in an effective manner. They are useful because they increase the productivity of the whole system. The subparts of OAS are communication systems and groupware systems. Example for OAS could be a word processing software, spreadsheets etc. Departmental Systems: As the name implies Departmental Systems deals with individual departments present in an organization. These could be Manufacturing and production systems, Sales and

Personal Leadership Development Plan Education Essay

Personal Leadership Development Plan Education Essay The scientific analysis of leadership began by focusing on leaders themselves. The trait theory of leadership, as it is often called, was originally grounded in the assumption that some people are simply natural leaders by virtue of the fact that they have been endowed with certain characteristics not possessed by others. Since traits appeared to have little analytical or predictive value, leadership researches shifted their emphasis in the late 1940s and early 1950s from leader traits to leader behaviors as the basic unit of analysis. The investigation of leader traits has been more productive because researchers have constructed more appropriate theories, used better measures of traits, included more relevant traits, and used longitudinal data. Consequently a variety of personal attributes, such as energy level and emotional maturity have now been linked to effective leadership (e.g. Bass, 1990). Further, traits associated with socialized or learned motivational patterns, such as t he need for power and the need for achievement, have been empirically connected with effective managers. In addition, different types of skills, that is, interpersonal skills, technical skills, and cognitive skills appear to be relevant to managerial success. The cumulative traits in an individual make him/her decide the best for his future and lead for him the path of glory. The same goes for me as well as there lies some unrigged traits in me that drives me towards the development of a specific leadership plan for me, according to my inherited features. The trait of making people come to a common conclusion inherits in me, which gives me an insight as to being a strong leader. Though this trait is not dominant in me yet, but with the growth of my mind and body, I would want to work on this trait of mine to utilize the positives. Also, the art of misleading people at times, in order to get the work out, is not visibly seen in me. Therefore, the specific nuances that are required to become a complete leader is missing in my overall personality. The positives would be taken by me in all its valid respects, and the negatives would be scrolled out viciously. LEADERSHIP STYLES The path-goal model identified four distinct types of leader behaviors: 1. Supportive leadership Leaders with this style show concern for the well being and personal needs of subordinates. 2. Directive leadership Leaders with this style provide specific guidance for subordinates by setting standards of performance, scheduling and coordinating work efforts, and asking subordinates to follow rules and regulations. 3. Achievement-oriented leadership This style of leadership involves setting challenging goals, seeking improvements in performance, emphasizing excellence in performance, and showing confidence that subordinates will achieve high levels of performance. 4. Participative leadership Leaders with this style solicit suggestions and advice from subordinates and take this information into account when making decisions. The most prominent leadership style in me is of Participative. This is because the instinct of participation has always been dominant in me, which has further encouraged me to take various decisions. The art of listening to others patiently and finalizing my own opinions yet has been firmly rooted within me. Contrary to this, stands the authoritative style of leadership. This style lies on the harsher side of an individual, and therefore, an individual like me is refrained from such a style. Moreover, if there lies any possibility of me getting prone to this leadership style, I shall make sure that I utilize it to the best of my ability, without making it a bane for anyone. LEADERSHIP SKILLS Developing leadership skills is a continuous process which needs to be sharpened throughout a persons career. In order to develop my leadership skills, I will first need to take stock of my existing leadership skills, strengths and weaknesses. While doing this, what would be required of me is the consideration of the difference between leadership and management. Though the leadership skills incorporate the elements of charisma, dependability, flexibility, judgment, integrity, courage, individual consideration etc, I would like to inculcate some of the dominant skills while framing my personality plan. These skills would include the element of intellectual stimulation, charisma and individual consideration. Charisma to be quoted in a single sentence, can be defined as ones ability to entrust respect, trust and faith, which according to me, is the most required. Another pertinent leadership skill that I would like to imbibe is intellectual stimulation. It is the ability to make others working in the organization make use of facts and logic so as to extract new ways of solving problems. These elements shall make my plan of personality a worth while option. TEAM BUILDING Another trait of leadership is team building, which can prove to be a success or a failure of a leader. Team building is a catch all term for a whole list of techniques aimed at improving the internal functioning of work groups (Kreitner et al., 2002). Whether conducted by company trainers or outside consultants, team building workshops strive for greater cooperation, better communication, and less dysfunctional conflict. Experiential learning techniques such as interpersonal trust exercises, conflict-handling role play sessions, and interactive games are common. Rote memorization and lectures/discussions are discouraged by team-building experts who prefer this sort of active versus passive learning. Greater emphasis is placed on how work groups get the job done than on the job itself. Team building generally is carried out in the name of organization development (OD). The extensive use of team building appears to be justified. The element of team building is something which I personally appreciate in any individual and therefore, talking about me, the imbibing of this very power would be addressed by me further. In order to be strong leaders and in order to develop a personal leadership plan, my emphasis would be on building and leading groups. This way a sense of team would be visible in my skills, in turn making me a perfect leader. COMMUNICATION The issue of communication is vital for the successful functioning of any organization. All organizations normally establish formal mechanisms and processes of vertical and lateral lines or channels of communication to provide the means by which information, facts, ideas, proposals, emotions, feelings, opinions and problems can be exchanged. According to Kelly, the term Communication may be defined as the field of knowledge which deals with the systematic application of symbols to acquire common information regarding an object or event. Communication and information feed the quality of all human relations in organizations. Good communications underlie good relations and exchange the general quality of working life, motivation and morale. Bad and inadequate communications lead to frustration, and enhance feelings of alienation and lack of identity and unity. Choosing the right kind of communication is crucial in forming a leadership plan and it depends a lot on the culture of a region. My communication style depends partly on whether the addressees make a high or low contribution in the communication process. My communication style is more participative as I belong to a culture in which there is more of a democratic style of functioning. The style of communication also depends on whether a culture is individualistic or collective. Since there are some traits of collective culture, therefore, my emphasis is more on the group achievement, rather than on the individual achievement. The leadership skills primarily incorporate the element of communication, which in turn exhibit the vital ingredients that are necessary to be referred while communicating with an individual. I would certainly like to acquire some of the pertinent communication skills that would make me a jack in the field of leadership. These skills would incorporate the tinge of activeness and vigor to impress the one standing on the other side. Another important communication skill that I would like to imbibe is the ability to convince the other. This would make several doors open for me while planning my steps in the development of the leadership plan. II. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES My utmost and peripheral strength is my ability to work hard. Hard-work and perseverance are considered the most vital elements for gaining an upper hand on the other individual. While developing the leadership development plan, the foremost thing that I shall adhere to is gathering my strengths together and making the best possible use of it in my career. My ability to lead shall make me more eligible for succumbing to the development of my leadership development plan. The only way to lead in life is therefore, to accumulate all the hidden strengths and wave off all the imbibed weaknesses, which spoils the entire plan in a go. Being a bit of short tempered, I tend to lose my patience at times. This can prove to be a very negative trait of mine while developing my leadership plan. Therefore, in order to become a successful leader, I would have to eradicate this flaw or weakness of mine and work on the further inevitability of the same. This shall make the whole process of developing a plan reach the set targets. Patience is said to be the key of success, therefore, this trait would be duly inculcated by me in its set limits. III. PERSONAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT CONTENT THEORIES OF MOTIVATION The earliest content theory of scientific management was pioneered by Frederick W. Taylor, Frank Gilbreth and Henry L. Gantt. The scientific management theory of motivation considered money to be the only incentive. Subsequent theories began to consider factors such as working conditions and work security to be incentives. Still later, the possibility of satisfying higher level needs or motives also came to be considered as incentives. Examples of such needs are: the needs for esteem and self- actualization, identified by Maslow; responsibility, recognition, achievement and advancement as proposed by Herzberg; and growth and personal development as identified by Alderfer. The most popular extension and refinement of Maslows theory of needs is the one proposed by Alderfer (1972). While Maslows model was not developed specifically for work organizations, Alderfers theory attempted to establish a conceptualization of human needs that are relevant to organizational settings. In extending Maslows theory Alderfer argued that the need categories could be grouped into three more general classes: Existence, Relatedness and Growth. Under the content theories of motivation, Maslows hierarchy of needs goes best with my actual self. The five step needs are essential for any individual to survive. In order to form a leadership development plan, the scope of motivation must be wide and diverse. To begin with, the physiological and safety needs are the foundation that makes me stand stiff towards the commencement of leadership plan. Furthermore, the love, esteem and self actualization needs stand erect in strengthening my base and applying such a theory in my practical life to grow higher. Also, Alderfers ERG theory of motivation plays a great role in growing higher and leading high. This will help in developing a synchronized plan of leadership for me. PROCESS THEORIES OF MOTIVATION There are three process theories of motivation namely Equity Theory, Vrooms Expectancy Theory and The Porter-Lawler Model. First proposed by Stacey Adams, the equity theory is completely based on the basic ground that people aspire to get treated fairly. The theory propounds that equity is nothing better than a belief that states that we are being treated equally as compared to the others. It also defines that inequity is just a belief that we are being treated unfairly in comparison to others. Adams describes the equity comparison process in terms of input/outcome ratios. Inputs are an individuals contributions to the organization, such as education, experience, effort and loyalty. Outcomes are what he or she receives in return, such as pay, recognition, social relationships and intrinsic rewards. Speaking about the Vrooms Expectancy Theory, Vroom (1964) presented the first systematic formulation of expectancy theory developed specifically for work situations. According to Vroom (1964) employees rationally evaluate various work behaviors. Put another way, employees will decide to apply effort to those tasks that they find attractive and that they believe they can perform. The attractiveness of a particular task depends upon the extent to which the employee believes that its accomplishment will lead to valued outcomes. Porter and Lawler extended the highly known Vrooms (1964) expectancy model. They agreed with Vroom that employee effort is jointly determined by the valence that employees place on certain outcomes and the degree to which people and their efforts will lead to the attainment of these rewards. However, Porter and Lawler emphasize that effort may not necessarily result in performance. Furthermore, they contend that the relationship between valencies and expectancies, on the one hand, and effort or motivation, on the other, is more complicated than Vrooms model suggests. When it comes on which process theory suits me, I think the Porter- Lawler method suits me the best. It webs my efforts, performance, rewards and satisfaction in a systematic queue that enhances my work motivation and makes me a more worthwhile individual. It is generally said that a happy worker is a productive worker and I personally desire to inherit the same within me. The how of motivation is explained under the process theory of motivation. The deep down cognitive antecedents are subdued in my personality, making my ladder of career taller and taller. My desire to perform in every field and extract wonderful results boosts me to apply certain elements of process theories of motivation in my very self. 5 FACTOR PERSONALITY QUESTIONNAIRE The five factors that I espouse to inhibit within me in its complete respect are the elements of neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness and agreeableness. The quality of extraversion is deep seated in my personality but as and when I am progressing towards the overall grooming, I am quite inquisitive to form such a leadership development plan that brings out my inner talent and positive qualities. I would certainly go by the factors of agreeableness and conscientiousness too. This would in turn strengthen my plan in totality. LEADERSHIP THEORIES AND CONCEPTS There are many different leadership theories that have been developed. The first one is Leader Traits. The scientific analysis of leadership began by focusing on leaders themselves. The trait theory of leadership, as it is often called, was originally grounded in the assumption that some people are simply natural leaders by virtue of the fact that they have been endowed with certain characteristics not possessed by others. Since traits appeared to have little analytical or predictive value, leadership researches shifted their emphasis in the late 1940s and early 1950s from leader traits to leader behaviors as the basic unit of analysis. The investigation of leader traits has been more productive because researchers have constructed more appropriate theories, used better measures of traits, included more relevant traits, and used longitudinal data. Consequently a variety of personal attributes, such as energy level and emotional maturity have now been linked to effective leadership (e .g. Bass, 1990). Further, traits associated with socialized or learned motivational patterns, such as the need for power and the need for achievement, have been empirically connected with effective managers. In addition, different types of skills, that is, interpersonal skills, technical skills, and cognitive skills appear to be relevant to managerial success. The apparent failure of trait approaches to the study of leadership, by the end of the 1940s, led researchers to adopt a new focus for their work during the 1950s. Instead of personal attributes, investigators began to concentrate on leader behaviors as explanatory variables. This approach compares the behaviors of effective leaders with those of ineffective ones. Two major research projects investigating leader behaviors were initiated at about the same time. One was a research effort conducted at Ohio State University. The other was a program undertaken at the University of Michigan by Likert and his colleagues. Leadership theories though are self explanatory and inviting to plan a better development plan of leadership, yet my development plan focuses on the trait theory of leadership. This gives an insight to the different traits that are present in every individual differently, irrespective of its form and format. The leadership traits that I found to be the most tempting are leadership motivation, which implies having a desire to lead but not being hungry for power at the same time. The drive, honesty and integrity are other related traits in the trait theory of leadership, but out of all these traits, the best suited for me is the drive and cognitive ability. It insinuates me to lead in a better way, no matter how hard a circumstance I am being put in. Drive is a force that incorporates energy, initiative, achievement, ambition and tenacity and I feel all these traits are present in me, somewhere or the other, but are not yet prominent. But I shall nourish these traits within me, without any hustle and bustle. IV. CONCLUSION Hence my leadership development plan would be such that it makes me an overall groomed individual, inhibiting the leading traits of empathy, patient listener, leadership motivation, agreeableness and conscientiousness. Also, since I inherit features like extraversion, cognitive antecedents and strong determination, I would aspire to go smooth on the path of success, by droving along the aforementioned inhabitants. Group achievement is another aspect that I would be dealing with in order to form a strong place for myself in the dynamic world of leadership. My plan of leadership development would therefore be inclusive of all the positive traits and skills quoted by me above and would exclude most of the unwanted features.

Dissociative identity disorder :: essays research papers

The growing recognition of psychiatric conditions resulting from traumatic influences is a significant mental health issue of the 1990s. Until recently considered rare and mysterious psychiatric curiosities, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (until very recently known as Multiple Personality Disorder - MPD) and other Dissociative Disorders (DD) are now understood to be fairly common effects of severe trauma in early childhood, most typically extreme, repeated physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse. In 1994, with the publication of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV, Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) was changed to Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), reflecting changes in professional understanding of the disorder, which resulted largely from increased empirical research of trauma-based dissociative disorders. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), widely accepted as a major mental illness affecting 9-10% of the general population, is closely related to Dissociative Identity Disorder (MPD) and other Dissociative Disorders (DD). In fact, as many as 80-100% of people diagnosed with DID (MPD) also have a secondary diagnosis of PTSD. The personal and societal cost of trauma disorders [including DID (MPD), DD, and PTSD] is extremely high. For example, recent research suggests the risk of suicide attempts among people with trauma disorders may be even higher than among people who have major depression. In addition, there is evidence that people with trauma disorders have higher rates of alcoholism, chronic medical illnesses, and abusiveness in succeeding generations. What Is Dissociation? Dissociation is a mental process which produces a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity. During the period of time when a person is dissociating, certain information is not associated with other information as it normally would be. For example, during a traumatic experience, a person may dissociate the memory of the place and circumstances of the trauma from his ongoing memory, resulting in a temporary mental escape from the fear and pain of the trauma and, in some cases, a memory gap surrounding the experience. Because this process can produce changes in memory, people who frequently dissociate often find their senses of personal history and identity are affected. Most clinicians believe that dissociation exists on a continuum of severity. This continuum reflects a wide range of experiences and/or symptoms. At one end are mild dissociative experiences common to most people, such as daydreaming, highway hypnosis, or "getting lost" in a book or movie, all of which involve "losing touch" with conscious awareness of one's immediate surroundings. Dissociative identity disorder :: essays research papers The growing recognition of psychiatric conditions resulting from traumatic influences is a significant mental health issue of the 1990s. Until recently considered rare and mysterious psychiatric curiosities, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (until very recently known as Multiple Personality Disorder - MPD) and other Dissociative Disorders (DD) are now understood to be fairly common effects of severe trauma in early childhood, most typically extreme, repeated physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse. In 1994, with the publication of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV, Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) was changed to Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), reflecting changes in professional understanding of the disorder, which resulted largely from increased empirical research of trauma-based dissociative disorders. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), widely accepted as a major mental illness affecting 9-10% of the general population, is closely related to Dissociative Identity Disorder (MPD) and other Dissociative Disorders (DD). In fact, as many as 80-100% of people diagnosed with DID (MPD) also have a secondary diagnosis of PTSD. The personal and societal cost of trauma disorders [including DID (MPD), DD, and PTSD] is extremely high. For example, recent research suggests the risk of suicide attempts among people with trauma disorders may be even higher than among people who have major depression. In addition, there is evidence that people with trauma disorders have higher rates of alcoholism, chronic medical illnesses, and abusiveness in succeeding generations. What Is Dissociation? Dissociation is a mental process which produces a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity. During the period of time when a person is dissociating, certain information is not associated with other information as it normally would be. For example, during a traumatic experience, a person may dissociate the memory of the place and circumstances of the trauma from his ongoing memory, resulting in a temporary mental escape from the fear and pain of the trauma and, in some cases, a memory gap surrounding the experience. Because this process can produce changes in memory, people who frequently dissociate often find their senses of personal history and identity are affected. Most clinicians believe that dissociation exists on a continuum of severity. This continuum reflects a wide range of experiences and/or symptoms. At one end are mild dissociative experiences common to most people, such as daydreaming, highway hypnosis, or "getting lost" in a book or movie, all of which involve "losing touch" with conscious awareness of one's immediate surroundings.

P&G vs Unilever Executive Summary

Unilever and P&G – Comparative Analysis Executive Summary The Consumer Products Industry is the biggest industry in the world at the moment, with total revenues amounting to about 50% of all goods sold. It is comparable to the GDP of the 4th biggest economy in the world, and entails most of the products we use in our every day lives. There are 3 key factors that drive the industry today: developing markets, the emerging middle-class of developing countries and the millions of baby boomers in developed markets.The industry faces many challenges nonetheless, such as an increase in prices of raw materials, crude oil, crops and commodities – especially oil prices; the constant broadening of the industry caused by globalization; and an increasing tendency for consumers to shop at mass-discount shops rather than the well-established companies within the Industry. The main players in this industry are Unilever, P&G, Nestle, Johnson &Johnson, PepsiCo, Mars and Henkel. This repo rt focuses on the comparative analysis of Unilever and P&G. Some of P&G’s most famous brands are Braun, Gillette, Oral-B and Pantene.These and the top 50% of most well known brands account for 90% of P&G sales and more than 90% of its profits. Furthermore, 25 of these 50 brands go as far as generating more than $1 billion each in annual sales. Overall, the company markets its brands in over 180 countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and the Asian region. Despite the recent crisis, P&G continued to experience growth due to a strategy of â€Å"investments in innovation, portfolio expansion, marketing support and consumer value†. The company is also investing $2 billion in R&D annually.As for Unilever, the company owns more than 400 brands, and 2 million people use Unilever an product on any given day. Unilever is based in 100 countries and sells products into more than 150. The long-term goals are continuous improvement and developing a sustainable business, and the company has over 6000 people working in R&D across the globe for a total of $1,3 billion worth of R&D investments in 2011. In terms of financial comparative analysis, market Ratios for both companies show that Unilever and P&G are attractive investments for investors.P&G has a higher EPS on average and is a more preferable investment currently for investors looking for high returns. The market ratios also show that Unilever has been improving its earnings and has a higher earning potential in the future as its EPS, P/E and payout ratio have been improving over time. P&G on the other hand currently has a higher yield as shown by the Dividend Yield ratio but its performance seems to be declining gradually as evident by the worsening Market Ratios.The Liquidity ratios of both companies clearly point out to the fact that the companies are not in a position to meet their immediate liabilities. However, this is not a matter of concern as both companies are la rge, stable and established businesses. The liquidity ratios show an adverse situation for the companies even though they are healthy otherwise. This is because the industry is such that the companies must have high current liabilities over extended periods of time and low assets due to very fast inventory turnover rate.The consumer goods industry requires that a company’s inventory turns be fast and the accounts payable be large over long periods of time to have a high level of efficiency and consequently profitability. It also assures both corporations a competitive edge and for this reason liquidity ratios must remain low which may seem unhealthy but in reality is helpful in this particular industry. From 2007 to 2011 Unilever consistently had higher growth rates in revenue, operating and net profit. During this time span P&G profit growth rates even were negative.This indicates that P&G is from an absolute point of view still bigger and more profitable, but Unilever is ca tching up. A closer look at the profitability ratios shows that both companies are doing very well with gross ratios of 43,80% (Unilever) and 50,56% (P&G). These ratios are above the 40% industry average and especially P&G is very profitable. This first indication is consistent with the further analysis of profitability ratios such as the net profit margin, which is still is 5% higher for P&G than Unilever.So far P&G has managed the increasing pressure on margins due to increasing raw material prices more successful than Unilever, but has to adjust its cost-structure to stop the ongoing negative trend of the last five years. Regarding efficiency ratios like return on capital ratios the previous dominance of P&G’s financial performance cannot be confirmed. Instead, Unilever outperforms P&G in all efficiency ratios, like the return on invested capital (16,89% vs. 10,42%), the return on assets (11,26% vs. 8,99%) or the return on capital employed (16,66% vs. 14,06%) for the time span between 2007 to 2011.This indicates Unilever outstanding capabilities to allocate its resources to the most profitable investments and to use the assets as efficient as possible. In terms of the debt situation for P&G and Unilever, analysis has shown that Unilever’s business is higher leveraged (D-E ratio 2,13) than P&G’s (1,09). This and the higher efficiency also explain why Unilever’s return on equity is much higher (36,06%) than P&G’s (18,78%). As a result of its high profitability and low debt-to-equity ratio, P&G’s TIE ratio is also much higher than Unilever’s (11,95 vs. ,61). The analysis has shown that P&G is a more conservative financed and highly profitable business whereas Unilever is more aggressive in terms of growth. Unilever already is highly efficient and has grown much faster than P&G over the last five years. If this trend is not reversed P&G will face increasing competition from Unilever in the close future. Weâ€℠¢ve calculated the average over five years for each company’s activity ratios and compared them as such because these ratios seemed to be relatively stable over time.They also appear to be in line with the companies’ strategies and policies, starting with the Asset Turnover being proportional to the return on equity: Unilever has a turnover almost double that of P&G. As we’ve mentioned earlier, fast inventory turnover is a characteristic of the industry, but Unilever seems to be doing better than P&G in these terms as well. We believe that Unilever’s focus on food products gives it a higher Inventory Turnover (9,09) compared to P&G’s household products focus (5,41).This gives Unilever a lower average age of inventory. Unilever also has a higher Day Purchases Outstanding Ratio, meaning they stretch suppliers much more by taking 88,40 days to pays them, compared to P&G’s 65,48 days. Strictly speaking, we would expect P&G to display a higher ba rgaining power to do its much higher Revenue, but this ratio shows a different story. Reasons for this could be due to geography, both in terms of differences in local management and in local regulations, and to the diversity of suppliers induced by the focus on 50 or 300 brands.In terms of the Day Sales Outstanding Ratio, it is P&G that seems to have the better policy this time. They convert Accounts Receivable to Cash in about 28 days versus 35 days for Unilever. Again, although smaller, this difference is important because it can reflect a difference in policies or diversity of suppliers. These two factors combined, low DSO and high DPO Ratios, lead to a negative Net Working Capital such as we had seen in our Walmart analysis. Compared to Assets, P&G has a negative NWC of -27% and Unilever of -20%.In conclusion, both companies show very strong financial health given the crisis, especially compared to the rest of the market. They are defensive values which show that their policies are working to resist the crisis. In absolute terms P&G is doing better as a company because it is a bigger, stronger, established firm. In relative terms the ratios paint another picture though: Unilever has been catching up to P&G in recent years, and their growth and financial management seems to be stronger than that of P&G.

Analysis of Starbucks

Analysis of Starbucks Free Online Research Papers Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spices started out in 1971 as a local coffee bean roaster and retailer in Seattle, Washington by three partners, two of which were teachers and the other a writer. These three men were inspired by a mutual friend to open their first store. In 1983, Howard Schultz joined the company and saw the potential of this small coffee bean retailer. Many times he went to the owners with his visions and dreams for their company and how it could grow and many times he was met with rejection. The owners felt that there was not a need for a beverage business as â€Å"coffee was something to be prepared in the home.† Time and time again Howard approached them with his visions and then quit in 1985 to open his own coffeehouse. Opportunity knocked in 1987, and with help from investors he bought Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spices and changed the name to Starbucks. For the next twenty one years, Starbucks grew to become the largest coffeehouse company in the world with over 16,226 stores worldwide including 11,434 stores located in the United States. Even though the company recently closed 600 of its under-performing company-owned stores they still have plans to open 200 more stores in 2009. Starbuck’s headquarters is stationed in Seattle, Washington. MISSION STATEMENT2 Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow. The following six guiding principles will help us measure the appropriateness of our decisions: Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity. Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business. Apply the highest standards of excellence to the purchasing, roasting and fresh delivery of our coffee. Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time. Contribute positively to our communities and our environment. Recognize that profitability is essential to our future success. Environmental mission statement We fulfill this mission by a commitment to: Understanding of environmental issues and sharing information with our partners. Developing innovative and flexible solutions to bring about change. Striving to buy, sell and use environmentally friendly products. Recognizing that fiscal responsibility is essential to our environmental future. Instilling environmental responsibility as a corporate value. Measuring and monitoring our progress for each project. Encouraging all partners to share in our mission. PRODUCTS 1) Coffee Offers more than 30 blends and single-origin coffees 2) Handcrafted Beverages Fresh-brewed coffee, hot and iced espresso beverages, coffee and non-coffee blended beverages, and Tazo teas. 3) Merchandise Assorted home espresso machines, coffee brewers and grinders, a line of premium chocolate, coffee mugs and coffee accessories, and a variety of gift items. 4) Fresh Food Baked pastries, sandwiches and salads. 5) Starbucks Entertainment A selection of the best in music, books and film. 6) Global Consumer Products Bottled Starbucks Frappuccino beverages, chilled cup coffee, espresso drinks, Tazo teas and super premium ice creams. 7) Starbucks Card Reloadable stored-value cards. 8) Brand Portfolio Starbucks Entertainment, Tazo Tea, and Ethos Water. COMPETITORS3 1) DUNKIN 2) MCDONALDS 3) NESTLE 4) YUM BRANDS 5) DARDEN RESTAURANTS Starbucks is ranked #4 by sales in the restaurant sector. McDonalds is #1, but then McDonalds has a more extensive menu. Trailing behind is Yum Brands (YumYum Donuts) as #2 and Darden Restaurant in #3 spot. Another competitor of Starbucks is Nestle, who offers their own brand of premium coffee, hot chocolate and ice cream. Starbucks believes in order to increase their sales and draw in more customers they need to make some changes as competition is fierce, especially in this economy. They feel that by closing under-producing stores, redesign the space behind the counters, using automatic espresso machines to speed up production time and transform the â€Å"Customer Experience† they can achieve this goal, among many changes. Another way they are trying to attract customers is they want the customers to feel like Starbucks is their â€Å"third home† and even provides free Wi-Fi to its customers. They want customers to experience Starbucks, not just come in and buy coffee. This is going to be quite a challenge for Starbucks as the economy is unstable, the presidential election is right around the corner, people are losing their homes and their jobs. The consumers are also tightening their spending. While I research and learn about Starbucks and what the big deal is with this high priced coffee company, I found myself really admiring Howard Schultz and how he has guided and mentored this company. And, after researching and learning how and why people spend, I realized that I buy Starbucks out of habit, not loyalty. Until today I could not explain why I only buy Starbucks whole bean coffee, 4 bags at a time. The coffee is good but does it warrant paying $11 per bag? Then I realized that I buy out of habit. The outcome of this session long project will be interesting to me to see if, after this is all done, will I still buy Starbucks out of habit or will I become another loyal customer? PRIMARY ATTRIBUTES 1.) Quality3- Starbucks prides itself on the quality of its products. Whether it’s their fresh roasted coffee or their premium salads and sandwiches the company stands by its commitment to quality ingredients and affordable prices. It only purchases coffees that have been grown and processed by suppliers that meet strict environmental, social, economic and quality standards. 2.) Convenience4- Starbucks stores can be found in urban and suburban areas, as well as many rural communities worldwide. An expanded number of Drive-Thru and Off-Highway stores also provide a convenient alternative for customers. Consumers can also find Starbucks kiosks in many of their favorite places such as Barnes Noble bookstores, Hyatt Hotels and United Airlines facilities. Starbucks also strives to provide several different amenities for their consumers that aren’t found at other coffee breweries. These amenities include free electricity for consumers and many provide free wireless internet access. POSITIONING MAP High (Convenience) | Coffees Fresh Food Handcrafted Beverages |Merchandise __________High (Quality)______________________________Low (Quality)_____________ | | ______________________________Low (Convenience)_________________________ PRIMARY TARGET MARKETS 1.) Yuppies- Professional, middle to upper class, working individuals. Most often in families without children. 2.) College Students- Young Adult to Middle Aged students who attend colleges and universities. Most often in need of extra energy and caffeine. 3.) Upper Class- Individuals whose income exceeds $80,000 a year. Can include families with or without children. 4.) Middle Class- Individuals whose yearly income falls between $25,000-80,000 a year. Can include families with or without children. 5.) Young Adults- Individuals between 16 and 25 years of age. Can include families with or without children. Product Categories 1.) Premium Coffees- Freshly ground and roasted coffees in more than 30 blends and flavor combinations 2.) Handcrafted Beverages- Includes hot and iced espresso beverages, coffee and non-coffee blended beverages and Tazo teas. 3.) Merchandise- Includes home espresso machines, coffee brewers and grinders, premium chocolates, coffee mugs and accessories and various gift items. 4.) Fresh Food- Includes premium salads, sandwiches and pastry assortments. 5.) Entertainment- Includes movies, books and films sold in Starbuck stores. Product-Market Grid Coffees Handcrafted Bev. Merchandise Fresh Food Entertainment Yuppies 3 1 2 College Students 2 1 3 Upper Class 1 2 3 Middle Class 1 2 3 Young Adults 1 2 3 _____________________________________________________________________________________ Strategy The Starbucks Company seems to hold fast to their Product Development strategies. Although Starbucks is interested in expanding their target market, it feels that more focus should be placed on expanding on products currently offered. Starbucks5 often tests new products as part of its ongoing innovation and transformation. For example, Starbucks starts testing by selling an 8 oz short brewed coffee for $1 and giving free refills on all brewed coffee. The company will continue to test new products and ideas to be offered to Starbucks consumers. Competitive Advantage By providing its consumers with a combination of extreme convenience and quality products Starbucks definitely holds a competitive advantage over other coffee-retailers. By combining attributes that consumers find attractive, Starbucks can create brand loyalty and keep consumers from choosing other coffee retailers for their coffee needs. Distribution Starbucks is continually expanding their distribution outlets. In 2004, they had 20,000 outlets that sold their specialty products, including Wal-Mart, Target, a variety of other grocery stores and pharmacies. In 2005, the number of stores involved in the Starbucks’ distribution channel increased to 31,000, exhibiting almost a 50% improvement and drastically expanding their ability to reach customers (Knol.com). Logistics Most of the distribution of Starbucks products in the U.S. is conducted by a trucking system. The company houses several distribution centers throughout the nation and moves a majority of their products by land. They do, however, have several roasting plants outside the U.S. and must rely on other modes of transportation such as airplanes and freighters. The majority of the Company’s direct distribution accounts are through national broad line distribution networks with SYSCO Corporation and U.S. Foodservice TM. Starbucks foodservice sales, customer service and support resources are aligned with those of SYSCO Corporation and U.S. Foodservice. Starbucks and Seattle’s Best Coffee are the only super premium national-brand coffees actively promoted by SYSCO Corporation (US Securities and Exchange Commission). Products other than whole bean coffees and coffee beverages sold in Starbucks retail stores are obtained through a number of different channels. Beverage ingr edients, other than coffee and milk, including leaf teas and the Company’s selection of ready-to-drink beverages, are purchased from several specialty manufacturers, usually under long-term supply contracts. Food products, such as fresh pastries, breakfast sandwiches and lunch items are generally purchased from both regional and local sources. Coffee-making equipment, such as drip and coffee press coffeemakers, espresso machines and coffee grinders are generally purchased directly from their manufacturers. Coffee-related accessories, including items bearing the Company’s logos and trademarks are produced and distributed through contracts with a number of different suppliers. Starbucks also has special agreements with Kraft foods for distribution in local grocery stores and warehouse club stores throughout the U.S. in which Kraft manages all distribution of products for those locations. Physical Facilities The Starbucks website does state that they own several distribution centers throughout the U.S. and that they have even built international distribution centers. I was unable, however, to find any information regarding physical size or interior/exterior attributes. There was also no specific information regarding the locations of these distribution centers. I was able to check some state websites and locate distribution centers in California, Oregon and Nevada. But again no other details were released. Distribution Advantage Although there was no specific information regarding the number of distribution centers for the company Starbucks it still seems that the company does have the competitive advantage in regards to distribution of their products. Most of these advantages come from their partnerships with other companies and organizations such as Kraft foods, Barnes Noble, and SYSCO. These companies either take over the distribution of products or help with distribution for the company. This allows Starbucks to produce more product and results in more competitive prices for their consumers. The company is constantly expanding their distribution outlets as well. This allows consumers to find all their favorite Starbucks products at many convenient outlets (starbucks.com). If Starbucks continues to increase their product variety, distribution outlets and distribution channels, soon they will not just have the competitive advantage, they will become an unstoppable force in the coffee industry. Promotional Mix Starbucks generally does not use conventional advertising methods because the company as found that there is too much competition for consumers attention in TV, radio and print media. In fact the company did not begin to use conventional advertising methods such as TV advertising until 2007. The company tends to rely more on increased distribution and brand recognition as well as its charitable contributions. The company, as mentioned before, is continually increasing their distribution outlets in order to continually improve their brand recognition and maximize accessibility of their products. By placing more products in places continually visited by consumers they are able to make their coffees more widely known to consumers then their competitors’ brands. Another source of unconventional advertising is their use of charitable work to advertise their brand image. Starbucks usually picks one or two charity events in the community it serves to promote the company. The company feels that this will also inspire people inside and outside the company and reinforce the company’s value and image (Lorenzini, 1993). The company’s principals state that â€Å"every store is part of a community and we take our responsibility to be good neighbors seriously,† (starbucks.com). It was in 2007 that the head of marketing at Starbucks, Anne Saunders, left the company for other opportunities. This allowed the company to head in another direction and explore new avenues in marketing and advertising of products. Today you are finally able to see commercials advertising the Starbucks brand and its products to consumers. Marketing Mix Until its introduction into television advertising, Starbucks had little means of advertising individual products. In fact, you actually did not know what products the company produced until you saw them in stores or at local kiosks. Even with it’s induction into the television world, Starbucks remains anything but conventional. Starbucks does run a few standard promotional TV campaigns. Campaigns in which the goal is obvious, promotes the product and makes the consumer feel they must buy it. These products include specific lattes or their new double shot canned espressos. If you have been watching this holiday season, however, you will notice that the ads promote something different, they promote something simpler: passing the cheer. They are promoting the season and the celebration of the holidays, there is no plug for a specific product or hint of a sales pitch. Way to go Starbucks! Promotional Advantage The companies’ lack of conventional advertising methods did put them at a competitive disadvantage for several years. In fact the company held no advantage in marketing at all. They relied on everything but advertising to sell their products and unfortunately in this day and age it is almost impossible to survive without more advanced marketing strategies. Competitors such as McDonalds and Dunkin Doughnuts have had an advantage in regards to promotion for several years. The companies new found advertising methods do have the potential to give them the competitive advantage in promotion. If they continue to explore different avenues of advertising they will increase their brand recognition with consumers and eventually increase brand loyalty. Pricing Strategies It was extremely difficult to find any information regarding the pricing strategies of Starbucks. General information found on the internet stated that Starbucks â€Å"prices its products competitively with prevailing high-end coffee prices. Starbucks represents an attractive combination of affordable prices, high quality and convenience,† (Song-Ming Kim, 2002). The only information I was able to find that was not a generic response to pricing was in regards to their drink size. They referred to it as Goldilocks pricing, as in the story of the three bears and finding something that was not too big or too small but finding something that is just right. â€Å"That’s why Starbucks offers their drinks in three sizes. The psychology is based on avoidance of extremes. If I offer two sizes, regular and large, most people will go for the regular. If I then add a third size, extra large, people will be drawn to the one in the middle. Even if no one ever buys a single extra large (and the extra large size in Starbucks is a pint of coffee !) just having it offered will persuade many customers to upgrade. A quick calculation shows the power of this approach. Suppose that selling regular size makes a net profit of 5% of sales after fixed costs i.e. it is just keeping the lights on. Persuading just one person in 4 to take the next size up doubles this,† (Drysburgh). Pricing Advantage It is becoming evident that Starbucks no longer has any pricing advantage in the coffee market it if it ever had one to begin with. Recent emerging competitors such as McDonalds and Dunkin Doughnuts are now becoming known for their good, inexpensive coffees. Starbucks has taken steps to become a stronger competitor in regards to pricing. They are currently researching a campaign that would include offering a cup of coffee for just $1, a cup that would include free refills. This definitely is something that no other competitor is offering at the moment. This strategy will definitely bring in more consumers but may hurt the sales of other products that produce more revenue for the store. This new pricing strategy is still in the experimental stage. References Drysburgh, Alastair. Profits Leak Detective: How Are Starbucks Taking Over the World?. Retrieved on January 2nd, 2009 from profitsleakdetective.com/articles/how-are-starbucks-taking-over-the-world.html. Kim, Seong- Min. 2002. Business Policy and Strategy: Starbucks. Retrieved on January 2nd, 2009 from http://www2.hawaii.edu/~seongmin/Starbucks.pdf. Knol.com. Retrieved on December 26, 2007 from http://knol.google.com/k/-/analysis-of-starbucks/ow5jbvr76bz9/8#. Lorenzini, B. 1993. Grounds for Success. Restaurants and Institutions 103(23).160. UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION. 2007. TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934. Retrieved on December 27, 2007 from media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/99/99518/200710K.pdf. Research Papers on Analysis of StarbucksOpen Architechture a white paperAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductThe Project Managment Office SystemRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andDefinition of Export QuotasGenetic EngineeringPETSTEL analysis of IndiaBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfTwilight of the UAW

The eNotes Blog Franz Kafkas Lost WritingsResurface

Franz Kafkas Lost WritingsResurface â€Å"In the fight between you and the world, back the world.† ~ Franz Kafka Elderly sisters, Ruth Wisler and Eva Hoffe, might want to take Kafkas warning to heart. For years, the siblings have had a secret. Their mother had been a secretary for Max Brod.   Brod had been Kafkas publisher as well as a friend.   Before his death from tuberculosis in 1924, Kafka bequeathed all of his unpublished work to Brod with the caveat that he destroy everything unread. Brod did read and publish numerous works that came into his possession, among them Amerika, The Castle, and The Trial, but he did not publish everything.   He went against Kafkas wishes and retained those unread manuscripts, even smuggling them out of Nazi pre-state Israel in 1968.   For the next three decades, Brod kept the works in a safety deposit box until his own death in 1968. In his will,   Brod named his secretary, Esther Hoffe, the administrator of his literary estate.   Hoffe was supposed to deliver the papers to an academic institution. She did not. Instead, for the next forty years, Hoffe kept the papers in safety deposit boxes in Zurich and Tel Aviv, but also retained some documents at her apartment in Israel. She also profited from some of the work, selling the original manuscript of The Trial at auction for a sum of $1.8 million dollars. Hoffes own will bequeathed the Kafka manuscripts to her two daughters, Eva and Ruth.   However, the Israeli National Library immediately sought ownership of the works, claiming that since Hoffe did not follow Brods instructions to find an academic home for the manuscripts, she violated the tenets of the will.   As the court battles ensued, many of Kafkas   papers stayed in the sisters flat, to the horror of more than a few archivists, for the papers also shared space with the siblings numerous cats. A year ago, the Tel Aviv courts ordered the collection to be opened. They have been trying to determine exactly what is in the collection before ruling on rightful ownership. The decision is expected to come soon, possibly by the end of August 2010. Whatever the outcome of ownership, scholars will have access to the treasure trove and many years of study lie ahead.

A knowledge base for Accredited Green Buildings around the world Dissertation

A knowledge base for Accredited Green Buildings around the world - Dissertation Example While BREEAM system of accreditation is more in use in UK, LEEDS system of green building accreditation is more popularly implemented in the US and other countries throughout the life cycle of a green building. 11 Chapter Two: Literature Review 11 2.1 Green Buildings 13 2.2 Concept of Green Buildings 14 2.3 Principles of Green Building 14 2.4 Rating Systems 15 2.5 BREEAM Rating System 16 2.6 BREEAM awards 17 2.7 BREEAM advantages and disadvantages 18 2.8 LEED Rating System 19 2.9 LEED certifications 20 2.10LEED’s advantages and disadvantages 22 2.11 Summary 22 Chapter Three 23 3 Methodology 23 3.1 Secondary Data 24 3.2 Primary Data 25 3.3 Quantitative Research 27 3.4 Method of Data Analysis 27 3.5 Summary 28 Chapter Four: Analysis 28 4.1 BREEAM Award Ratings 29 4.2 BREEAM Offices 29 4.3 LEED Certified Buildings 32 4.4 LEED New Construction 32 4.5 LEED for Existing Buildings 33 4.6 LEED for Core and Shell 34 4.7 LEED for Commercial Interiors 35 4.8 BREEAM vs. LEED 36 4.12 Summa ry 39 Chapter Five: Discussion 40 5.1 BREEAM Rating Systems Accreditations 40 5.3 LEED Rating System Accreditations 45 Chapter Six 46 6 Conclusion 47 References 48 Bibliography 53 APPENDICES 54 Abstract The intention of this report was to analyse the green buildings accreditations and to determine the differences between BREAM and LEED ratings for green buildings. The report specifically focused on tasks and requirements of the Green Buildings all over the world. Both primary and secondary evidence were collected, compared and correlated. The evidence gathered has been analyzed and primary findings were revealed. The intended outcome of this report was to discover the different types of accreditations that each rating system faces and to evaluate which is better. It comes out that while BREEAM is more successful and of high standard than LEED in UK, LEED has more value in other parts including US. There is also an effort to merge the best practices of all the accreditations to frame new building regulations in UK by 2019. While this effort is gaining precedence in the UK, other countries are set to follow. The results are presented using graphs, tables and figures. Evidence is divided by awards, certifications from each category under BREEAM and LEED rating systems. Chapter One: Introduction According to Yudelson (2008, p. 5) â€Å"a green building is a one use design and construction practices that significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of buildings on the environment and occupants†. Green buildings are frequently known as eco-homes or sustainable buildings. They are designed and built to energy-efficient guidelines in order to have a positive economical and environmental impact over their life cycle (SustainableBuild, 2009). Green Building’s accreditations mean that there are some certifications upon Green Buildings that must always be considered. The accreditation process ensures that their certification practices are acceptable , typically meaning that they are competent to test and certify third parties, behave ethically, and employee suitable quality assurance. To examine Green Building’s accreditation, information from two Green Buildings Rating Systems are chosen as they are the most widely used rating systems across the world Those are: BREEAM: Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, and it is based in UK LEED: Leadership in

MGT 7 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MGT 7 - Assignment Example In this case the firm strives to drive down cost for every single production components ranging from labour costs to sourcing of raw materials. To accomplish cost leadership the firm usually requires production on large scale so as to capitalize on â€Å"economies of scale†. Production in large scale means that the company will naturally appeal to a wider aspect of the given market. Cost leadership is therefore a wide scope strategy. A business practicing cost leadership gains competitive advantage through reduction of production costs, thus increasing profit margins on every sale since the company trusts that its trademark can control a premium price. Secondly a firm can reduce production costs and pass on the cost savings to consumers hoping to boost sales as well as market share. Examples of companies practicing cost leadership include Wal-Mart Stores which implements everyday low prices so as to attract consumers. This idea of reduced prices is aimed at providing products at cheaper rate than competition on a frequent basis as opposed to relying to sales. Thus Walmart achieves this due to its efficient supply chain in addition to its large scale. The second example of a firm using cost leadership is IKEA which is a Swedish leader in furniture making. This company provides cheap but classy furniture. IKEA manages to offer low prices by sourcing its materials in countries with low-wage as well as providing extremely simple service level. The third company utilising cost leadership is Southwest Airlines. The airline managed to provide the lowest achievable prices by becoming more effective than conventional airlines. Southwest Airlines thus minimizes the time their planes use while on tarmac so as to have them flying, thus keeping profits up. In addition, they provide very little in terms of extra thrills to their customers, but instead trickle down the