General Mill Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

General Mill - Essay Example Besides that, the company has its joint ventures manufacturing and marketing products in over 130 countries in addition to republics globally. Its operations are categorized into three- Foodservice and baking, International- excludes their partnership with Japan and Cereal Partners Worldwide, CPW and U.S Retail- consisting of seven divisions of the branded retail products; its joint venture with CPW sees them selling ready-to-eat cereals. Overview Recently, the Company made an acquirement of a natural snacks food corporation known as Food Should Taste Good that is located within Needham Heights. Happening within the same year, 2012, "the Company acquired a 50% interest and a 51% interest in Yoplait Marques S.A.S and Yoplait S.A.S. respectively, and later on, during August, it obtained Yoki Alimentos SA" (Reuters, n.d). Following its mission ‘Nourishing Lives’, the Company has its healthy snacks brands such as Nature Valley bars and Yoplait dairy products still having a l arge consumer base worldwide. Most notable is its Gold Medal flour that, till today, has remained the number one selling flour in the United States. The Company also participates in philanthropic efforts through its General Mills Foundation, where "more than half a million dollars has been awarded to nonprofit organizations supporting local communities since 1954" (General Mills -foundation, n.d). Furthermore, it has remained consistent in paying dividends to its investors. Coming after the Kellog Company, General Mills is the number two cereals maker in America, in terms of size. General Mills employs an estimated 35,000 employees across its network in Asia Pacific, Europe, Canada, Latin America and South Africa, its manufacturing companies are situated in beyond 30 countries. Products The Company can be said to have had great success because of its consumer-relating brands on all its products. Other than the Gold Medal flour, its breakfast products fetch a considerable consumer ba se and they include "Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Chex, Wheaties and Trix" (General mills- cereals n.d). The lineup continues on with baking mixes under the name Betty Crocker, frozen bread called Pilsbury and yoghurt called Yoplait and Colombo, the Company also makes vegetables that are frozen and preserved named Green Giant, Progresso soups and Mexican seasonings. General Mills has a natural as well as organic products venture named Small Planet Foods that is responsible for marketing Cascadian Farm vegetables plus Muir Glen soups. In addition, it has a joint venture with 8th venture for marketing and selling soy-based products; where that company has a 50-50 partnership with Dupont. Operations Owing to the fact that General Mills’ has a diverse product range where each may have similar or different specifications, the company took up professional IT services from a Management Information Systems company to design a feature in their product specifications system. This feature wo uld make it possible to conduct mass changes and undo designs of the products. The designing entailed rigorous testing with employees from its U.S and abroad operations also participating. This helped the Company to save time and minimize errors and subsequently, maintain consistent levels of quality in their products, their packaging and delivery to various parts of the world; while at the same time adhering to strict regulations. The system has the added advantage of allowing the Company to make more than 10,000 modifications

Product and Service Marketing Analysis Essay Example for Free

Product and Service Marketing Analysis Essay Product and service marketing are highly related. Take the success of a company like Apple, for example. The technology giant operates nearly 400 retail stores, employs more than 42,000 people and hosts more than a million visitors each day. In 2012, Apple’s retail operations generated nearly $19 billion. Furthermore, it’s estimated that Apple’s Fifth Avenue store generates more than $35,000 per square foot, making it the highest grossing retailer in New York – ever. Those statistics reinforce the company’s product and service strategies of those of a highly successful company. Apple continues to hold a number one spot on a list of the world’s most admirable companies. However, the success of Apple hasn’t always been so great. It wasn’t until the company combined good products with good services, that profits increased exponentially. Slide 12-12: Service Differentiation Apple actually had a point in business in which it struggled. That was in the 1990s when the company was selling products through larger retailers such as CompUSA and Sears. It was then, that Apple computers were shoved to the side, out of the main view of customers, as just another computer brand available on store shelves. Apple employees didn’t pay enough attention to the installation of the product in the big box stores in which it was being sold, so there wasn’t a true selling point for buyers. Also, the product delivery took a major hit. In fact, the brand became so weakened when retailers did not market the products properly, that the inventory wasn’t fully stocked. While Apple products plummeted in sales, the Gateway company was offering direct sales to consumers in its own stores, and Apple had to reinvent its business model, and quickly learn how to operate in a different manner. Less than two years after Apple launched its retail stores, Gateway shut down all of its shops and laid off 2,500 workers. Only three years later, CompUSA closed its chain of 23-year-old stores as well. Apple went against much of the advice it had received, and clearly the company was doing something right. Apple created retail stores that offer more than just a product. The stores offer a shopping experience that consumers often give raving reviews on. That includes ordering ease, smooth delivery, clear installation, the right customer training and consulting, and simplified maintenance and repair. Slide 12-11: Product Differentiation Apple Stores are now the highest performing stores in retail history. This isn’t due to just good in-store and online service. The products typically set the bar among all other technology products offered in the industry. Many Apple products come with customizable features based on a customers wants and needs. That includes hard drive and disk space, all the way down to the detail of an optional custom engraving on a product. In addition to the features, Apple products are known to hold superior performance quality. Sure, the products aren’t cheap, but typically when a customer buys an Apple product, they know that product will pay for itself over time. Slide 13-5: Categories of Service Mix When you’re dealing with a product that Apple designs and sells, it’s typically a highly technological device. That tangible good brings on accompanying services. The more advanced the product, the greater the need for those high-quality supporting services. When a customer goes into an Apple store looking for a new computer or an iPad, there’s a chance they don’t know how to maximize its use to its full capability. Apple found a way to assist costumers, so they can learn about the devices they’re purchasing for free. Employees at each Apple retail shop hold free workshops for consumers to teach the basics. In addition to workshops, customers can sign up for one-on-one training sessions to dig even deeper into their product’s capabilities. Slide 13-6: Service Distinctions These services offered by Apple require the client’s presence; therefore employees need to be considerate of the consumer’s needs. That is why Apple is known for hiring â€Å"customer-obsessed, empathetic employees.† Apple cofounder Steve Jobs offered a unique insight about how consumers interact with technology. Jobs said often the problem was that consumers are limited to thinking in terms of only what they know, instead of what is possible. Jobs once said that one of the keys to Apple is that the company builds products that turn the employees on. That is certainly to the benefit of the customers, that it â€Å"often means products are exactly what they want because Apple employees are so deeply entrenched in and committed to the customer’s experience.† Slide 13-8: Distinctive Characteristics of Service While many consumers know the physical products Apple offers are those of high quality, the company has made it a point to â€Å"manage the evidence,† and â€Å"tangibilize the intangible.† In doing so, Apple had to create stores that have a clean layout, in which traffic flows steadily, have employees that are busy, but they can still manage the workload, have equipment that is state of the art, have a symbol that suggests quality in both product and service, and finally, has a reasonable price for service. We already know that Apple services are offered for free, the company’s logo is iconic, and that the equipment is top notch. So, Apple’s stores had the main focus of a clean layout and employees readily available, yet still busy. When a customer walks into an Apple store, the aesthetics are clean and well thought out. Each product is on display for testing use, and the floors, walls, and counter spaces are clean and tidy. In addition to that, carefully recruited and trained sales associates are encouraged to take customers on a â€Å"ride.† They give each willing customer a short, informative tour of the space to be able to have a conversation and connect with each and every visitor. Then, of course, there’s the offering of support for each customer, which is just another delight to those who shop at Apple. The end result of Apple’s mix of product and service marketing combined is certainly one of success. Apple has the highest retail sales per square foot than any other U.S. retailer. The stores average more than $6,000 per square foot, which is more than twice the former gold standard Tiffany Company. That success did not come with quality products alone, but quality product marketing coupled with quality service marketing. The company’s marketing strategy is unique, but the company figured out how to attract and retain customers, generate an extremely large amount of word-of-mouth and brand appeal to give it a huge competitive advantage. Works Cited Chazin, S. (2013). The Retail Secrets of Apple. Retrieved from http://www.marketingapple.com/marketing_apple/2013/01/the-retail-secrets-of- apple.html on 07/23/2013. DuBois, S. (2011). World’s Most Admired Companies. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2011/snapshots/670.html on 07/23/2013. Kotler, P; Keller, L (2011). Marketing Management (14th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Moorman, C. (2012). Why Apple is a Great Marketer. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2012/07/10/why-apple-is-a-great-marketer/ on 07/23/2013.

The Trophy Husband :: essays research papers fc

The Trophy Husband Editha meets her fiancà © under rather boring and lackluster circumstances. She is seeking her knight in shining armor. She wants to experience the high of being in love. Upon meeting there was no magic or electricity in the air. Her fiancà ©, George Gearson was simply a male friend and in a moment that she could not take back, she had accepted his proposal of marriage. This woman, not satisfied with this relationship chooses to change it. Editha sets into motion a plan of action. This story by W.D. Howells illustrates the brainwashing techniques of an idealistic woman in her quest for the â€Å"trophy husband†. Throughout history men have lived and died for their religious beliefs. Wars have been and won and battles have been lost in the name of higher deities. Both men and women have taken up the sword in the name of a higher power. Specifically, in our country, the first English settlers sought to convert the heathen Indians and many Indians died in the process. From the Crusades to the recent tragedy in New York, strong and charismatic leaders have taken men and filled them with religious fervor. Editha attempts to convince George that recent events, a war has been declared, are part of God’s master plan. Editha assumes the role of the charismatic religious leader in her attempt to sway George. George has an antiwar mentality and Editha seeks to change this by bringing into question his loyalty to God. Editha continues to use her powers of persuasion. Editha tries to approach his manhood. She knows that a man will fight for what he believes in and if he will not fight for God then she is going to convince him to fight by appealing to his sense of patriotism. She tells George that the war has united the country. This war was being fought to free others from oppression just as this country once suffered from oppression at the hands of a faraway nation. She states that if a man loves his country then there is only one thing to do. It was his duty to fight for his country. Editha threatens George by bringing the status of their engagement into question. Before their discussion, Editha is very passionate towards George and she speaks to him in deep, throaty, sexy voice, â€Å"and uttered from deep in her throat, â€Å"How glorious!†Ã¢â‚¬Å" (258). George’s charm with Editha comes from her not being able to predict what he is thinking, but she is getting bored with his expected antiwar sentimentality.

Conclusion Life of Pi Essay

Well this is it, we’re done, and WOW what an ending. I can’t exactly say i was expecting that but does it ever make you think! Sure many would have loved a conclusive conclusion, but personally I enjoy the abstract ending. In the end Martel allows you to choose not only how the novel ends, but also what has happened the entire plot. Through this Martel attempts to depict how a story in one’s eyes may be completely different from another, depending on the person. How one interprets a story is solely up to the individual and as a result the ending puts the entire story up for debate. Personally I feel that the story including the animals is â€Å"what really happened† simply because that is what i choose to believe. The concept of choosing, or in Martel’s words rather â€Å"leaping†towards decisions is one in which Martel forces the reader to endure in the end of the story. Rather than just cruising through the book (life) Martel forces the reader to make a decision, whatever that decision may be. Besides the ending blowing my mind, throughout the book i greatly appreciated Martel’s writing skills. The insertion of extremely descriptive imagery allows the reader to greatly empathize Pi’s story, resulting in a dire want to continue reading. Overall I greatly enjoyed the novel and would greatly recommend it. P.S I would expand on what has happened in the recent chapters but do not want to ruin the book for anyone who has not read it yet.

Authentic Leadership

Article Summary: Authentic leadership for 21st century project delivery from the International Journal of Project Management APA citation: Lloyd-Walker, Beverley1 beverley. [email  protected] edu. au Walker, Derek(2). International Journal of Project Management; May2011, Vol. 29 Issue 4, p383-395. Retrieved from EBSCOhost, summarized by Rachell Bishop. Summary: The project managers of the 21st century will need to adopt new leadership models to sustain continuous improvement. There are three primary points that the article & study present.CMM (Capability maturity model), Authentic leadership and Alliance project management are at the forefront of the study. The importance of soft skills such as emotional intelligence, relationship building, trust and commitment are emphasized rather than the hard core technical skills held by project managers in general. The necessity to transition from transactional and transformational leadership styles to authentic leadership style is presented in detail. The authors noted the differences in leadership approaches and skill sets that will be necessary for project managers to be successful and remain relevant in the future. . Leadership styles: Transactional, Transformational and Authentic 2. CMM (Capability maturity model): Integration of transactional and transformational leadership styles resulting in authentic leadership paradigm 3. Alliancing: Demonstrated team building and cooperation among project management professionals to achieve optimal project delivery for all not just key stakeholders 4. Authentic leadership soft skills – overall emotional intelligence as demonstrated through ethical and moral actions, integrity and clarity in words and behavior, honesty, fairness and relational development 5.Generational shift: Baby Boomer, Gen X and Gen Y valuation of leadership skill sets must be addressed 6. Project managers and leaders: project-based versus project-oriented 7. Implementation: Communication and engage ment of all stakeholders is key The pilot study and preliminary research results concluded that there are major changes necessary for project management to evolve and remain relevant in the 21st century workplace. Authentic leadership, a CMM plan and soft skills are particularly relevant for the continuous improvement of the project management field.

Free Essays on India

India has several mighty rivers. One is the ancient Ganges River or Ganga. India is one of the largest lands. The Ganges begins at almost 1,312 ft. high in the Himalayas. It flows from a glacier at a place called Gangotri. It flows from there to and across the northern plains, through the villages, towns and cities. After it flows for about 1,559 miles, the river finally reaches the coast and drains into the Indian Ocean. Many of the people who live in India are Hindus. They follow a religion known to us as Hinduism. There are seven great rivers in India that the Hindus believe are holy. The holiest river of them all is the Ganges. Every human, animal and plants on earth needs water as a vital source to live. Many people in India believe that a mighty river that brings so much life wherever it is flowing is a symbol of the power of God, who above all gives life to all things. The first great civilization in India grew up around the Indus River roughly about five thousand years ago. Fifteen hundred years later, people called Aryans started coming to live there. Aryans is a race of people who lived in India during the ancient times. Over the next thousand years, each and every group beliefs started to mix together to form the Hindu religion. Brahman is the supreme spirit that most Hindus believe in, and Brahman is neither male nor female. Most of the Hindus also believe that Brahman creates everything and that Brahman is in everything. The spirit inside a person is his or her own soul. Hindus believe that eventually when a person dies, the soul moves on and takes on a new life as a different person or maybe even as animal or plant. Being born again is called reincarnation and through reincarnation, a soul lives many different lives. Since the Hindus believe that they can be reborn as an animal, they treat all kinds of animals kindly. And many of the Hindus don’t eat meat either, because of that. The great god Shiva, who helpe... Free Essays on India Free Essays on India India has several mighty rivers. One is the ancient Ganges River or Ganga. India is one of the largest lands. The Ganges begins at almost 1,312 ft. high in the Himalayas. It flows from a glacier at a place called Gangotri. It flows from there to and across the northern plains, through the villages, towns and cities. After it flows for about 1,559 miles, the river finally reaches the coast and drains into the Indian Ocean. Many of the people who live in India are Hindus. They follow a religion known to us as Hinduism. There are seven great rivers in India that the Hindus believe are holy. The holiest river of them all is the Ganges. Every human, animal and plants on earth needs water as a vital source to live. Many people in India believe that a mighty river that brings so much life wherever it is flowing is a symbol of the power of God, who above all gives life to all things. The first great civilization in India grew up around the Indus River roughly about five thousand years ago. Fifteen hundred years later, people called Aryans started coming to live there. Aryans is a race of people who lived in India during the ancient times. Over the next thousand years, each and every group beliefs started to mix together to form the Hindu religion. Brahman is the supreme spirit that most Hindus believe in, and Brahman is neither male nor female. Most of the Hindus also believe that Brahman creates everything and that Brahman is in everything. The spirit inside a person is his or her own soul. Hindus believe that eventually when a person dies, the soul moves on and takes on a new life as a different person or maybe even as animal or plant. Being born again is called reincarnation and through reincarnation, a soul lives many different lives. Since the Hindus believe that they can be reborn as an animal, they treat all kinds of animals kindly. And many of the Hindus don’t eat meat either, because of that. The great god Shiva, who helpe... Free Essays on India India: An Unknown Culture â€Å"Frankly my dear I don’t give a dam.† Many people have this attitude towards learning about other cultures. Actually it is very important to be knowledgeable of other cultures. Some day you could have a job that requires you to travel to another country or meet with a person of another culture. You wouldn’t want to offend them by not knowing their ways of life. Also, the United States has become so diverse that soon it will be an everyday thing to walk down the street and see a person of another culture. Recently my cousin, Molly married a man from India named Surajh. My knowledge of the Indian culture is nil, therefore this is a good opportunity for me to study his customs and traditions. India is such a large and varied country that there is no one way of life practiced by everyone. Food, clothing, religious beliefs and social structure differs from place to place. Nevertheless, there are some features of Indian life that are common among most people throughout the country. Family ties are important. Many families continue to live as traditional extended families. In a typical extended family, three generations live in one household. Upon marriage, a women leaves her parents’ home and shares a home with her husband and his relatives, including his brothers and their wives, his parents and his unmarried sisters. However, the number of households consisting of only parents and their children is increasing. The parents usually arrange marriages, though the son or daughter has the opportunity to reject the arrangement. Many people feel that marriage is more of an alliance between families than a relationship between two people. The bride’s family usually gives a gift of money or a gift of significance to the groom’s family. Today it is illegal for the families to give this gift but they do it anyways. Indians generally expect a young married couple to have a child with i...

Tools for Running Tree and Lumber Calculations

Tools for Running Tree and Lumber Calculations Jeff Brokaw is webmaster and creator of The Timber Buyers Network (TBN) which is a growing resource for people interested in forestry in the North Central States. His site hosts a fledgling forum and increasingly provides much needed information for forest owners and loggers in Michigan and surrounding states. Jeff has worked in the Wood biz for 22 years. His primary occupation is head sawyer for a large north central Michigan mill. Jeff is also an accomplished artist and has sketches on display from as far away as the United Kingdom. His interest in art is what led him into designing websites, and in a natural progression (for him), led to the creation of TBN . In his designing and messing with forestry things, Jeff, with forester Ron Wenrich, have designed several quick calculators to help you with simple estimates. You might never need your cruiser stick or volume tables again. Ill let Jeff describe each calculator: Tree Volume Calculator was designed to help answer the general question How much lumber is in my tree? This will give the landowner a close answer. Variables that we cant add, such as individual tree form, will always be a factor in determining volume. (Outputs in Doyle, Scribner and International scales)Use this calculator Board Footage Calculator is a handy little tool, not only in helping the landowner determine board footage needed for a project, but also a tool for the lumber producer to get a quick measurement on lumber sawn.Use this calculator Log Volumes Calculator is used to help a landowner measure the volume of a saw log just the way its done upon arrival at the mill. A specialized scale stick is not necessary, just a tape measure or ruler, and this handy calculator. (Outputs in Doyle, Scribner and International scale.)Use this calculator Tree Spacing Calculator is a great tool for determining seedlings needed per acre at a specified spacing, or estimating numbers of trees in a plantation setting.Use this calculator Hardwood Pulp Calculator will calculate the volume for non-saw log trees or Pulpwood. The calculator can return its output in cords, cubic feet, tons, cubic meters and metric tons.Use this calculator Lumber and Log Weight Calculator is a very, very, general estimator of weight by species per cord and B.F. It includes an explanation why weights can vary by many percentage points on similar volumes. Limited use for very rough estimates.Use this calculator Jeff is also the webmaster for several other forestry related sites. Those sites include The Michigan Association of Timbermen www.timbermen.org , The Michigan Forest Resource Alliance www.mfra.org and the Michigan Branch of the Sustainable Forest Initiative Programs website. www.michiganforest.com

Founding of Connecticut Colony

Founding of Connecticut Colony The founding of the Connecticut colony began in 1636 when the Dutch established the first trading post on the Connecticut River valley in what is now the town of Hartford. The move into the valley was part of a general movement out of the Massachusetts colony. By the 1630s, the population in and around Boston had grown so dense that settlers began to spread out throughout southern New England, concentrating their settlements along navigable river valleys such as those in Connecticut. Founding Fathers The man credited as the founder of Connecticut was Thomas Hooker, an English yeoman and clergyman born in 1586, at Marfield in Leicester, England. He was educated at Cambridge, where he received a Bachelors in 1608 and a Masters in 1611. He was one of the most learned and powerful preachers of both old and New England and was the minister of Esher, Surrey, between 1620–1625. He was the lecturer at St. Marys Church at Chelmsford in Essex from 1625–1629. Hooker was also a nonconformist Puritan, who was targeted for suppression by the English government under Charles I and was forced to retire from Chelmsford in 1629. He fled to Holland, where other exiles had sought refuge. The First Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop, wrote to Hooker as early as 1628 or 1629, asking him to come to Massachusetts. In 1633, Hooker sailed for North America. By October, he was made pastor at Newtown (now Cambridge) on the Charles River in the Massachusetts colony. By May of 1634, Hooker and his congregation at Newtown petitioned to leave for Connecticut. In May 1636, they were allowed to go, and they were provided a commission by the General Court of Massachusetts. Hooker, his wife, and his congregation left Boston and drove 160 cattle southward, founding the river towns of Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield. By 1637, there were almost 800 people in the new colony of Connecticut. New Governance in Connecticut The new Connecticut colonists used Massachusetts civil and ecclesiastical law to set up their initial government. Most people who came to the American colonies came as indentured servants or commons. According to English law, it was only after a man had paid or worked off his contract that he could apply to become a member of the church and own lands. Freemen were men who had all the civil and political rights under a free government, including the right to vote. In Connecticut, whether a man was indentured or not, if he entered the colony as a free person, he had to wait over a one- to two-year probationary period, during which he was closely observed to make sure he was an upright Puritan. If he passed the test, he could be accepted as a freeman. If not, he could be forced to leave the colony. Such a man could be an admitted inhabitant but was only able to vote after the General Court accepted him to freemanship. Only 229 men were admitted as freemen in Connecticut between 1639 and 1662. Towns in Connecticut By 1669, there were 21 towns on the Connecticut River. The four main communities were Hartford (established 1651), Windsor, Wethersfield, and Farmington. Together they had a total population of 2,163, including 541 adult males. Only 343 were freemen. That year, the New Haven colony was brought under the Connecticut colonys governance. Other early towns included Lyme, Saybrook, Haddam, Middletown, Killingworth, New London, Stonington, Norwich, Stratford, Fairfield, and Norwalk. Significant Events From 1636 to 1637, the Pequot War was fought between the settlers in Connecticut and the Pequot Indians. By the end of the war, the Pequot Indians were decimated.The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were created in 1639. Many believe that this written Constitution would become the basis for the later United States Constitution.The Colony Charter was accepted in 1662.King Philips (the Wampanoag leader Metacomet) War, in 1675, was the result of increasing tensions between Native Americans and Europeans in southern New England.The Connecticut colony signed the Declaration of Independence in October 1776.

How resilience works Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How resilience works - Essay Example From depicting a quality of stability in physics, to psychology where resilience has come to be defined as the capacity of people to cope with and stress and catastrophe, this term is now a major trend in the corporate world. Or so says Diane L Coutu in her article titled, How Resilience Works, where she etches the nuances of the use of the term. This paper is essentially a critique of the article. Where the issue of family strength and crises are concerned, the author has demonstrated that resilience does not necessarily come from the genes and it is more commonly found among children from troubled homes - they seem strong from inside. Resilience itself comes up in diverse ways like humour, an ability to laugh at oneself, etc. The author has been fascinated by the issue of resilience in one's daily life - and it shows in her case studies and examples she has cited. Even the references of people she has used for professional takes on the subject, demonstrates people who are from various backgrounds, yet by and large, a resilient lot who have gotten where they have through a strong dose of determination. But is that all there is to resilience Apparently not, if the author is to be believed - she talks of resilience from the psychological point of view, where to start identifying the basic features of this trait, she finds that a sense of humor, sometimes bordering on the black, is not a surprising quality

Justification Report Part 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Justification Report Part 1 - Essay Example Styrene and Benzene are linked to diseases such as leukemia and Parkinson’s disease. This is because the two elements cause mutations to the peripheral and central nervous systems. Since it can’t be recycled, it is often left to spoil the aesthetic value of the environment. It is non-biodegradable thus has lasting effects on the environment. It has therefore become the major form of litter in my working area. It also impacts negatively on the life of both domestic and wild animals that are found in the area. Styrofoam has been linked with choking and issues of starvation among animals in several studies (GEC Student Union, 2013). The Alternative A will be working with the vendors that use the Styrofoam to ensure that its impacts are reduced. This is through the vendors advocating for the reuse of the Styrofoam containers among the customers. Reuse of the containers will ensue that the Styrofoam disposed on the environment thus reducing its impacts. The vendors can also put in place appropriate waste collection bins for the customers. The use of bins can be segregated in terms of the recyclable and the non- recyclable to ensure ease in waste management. This will make it easy for the relevant authority to identify the Styrofoam products for recycling purposes. The vendors also can be capacity built to ensure that they reduce the use of the Styrofoam products. This will ensure the use of environmental friendly products as Styrofoam products replacement (Gardner and Stern, 2002). The Alternative B will entail the involvement of the municipal government in containing the negative impacts of Styrofoam. The municipal government can develop policies that promote the reduction of use of the Styrofoam products. The policies can also be put into place to ensure that the reuse of the products is promoted. The council government can develop policies that see to it that there are recycling bins. The bins

Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis - Essay Example The primary difference between fiction and nonfiction is the genesis of the story. For nonfiction, the author creates a story that has its entire framework already exists. That is, the events of the story and the characters correspond to real events and individuals. The author may creatively fill in details, such as various minor events and minor aspects of character, but this does not make the work fiction. A writer of nonfiction is allowed to alter minor details in order to create a piece that is interesting to read. The majority of life is boring and to make a work of nonfiction interesting and purposeful minor alterations are often needed. In contrast, authors of fiction create a story that does not have an existing framework. The author must create events and characters entirely from his own mind. These events and characters might contain characteristics and details that originate in various situations and people in the author’s life, but this does not make the work nonfi ction. Fiction is the creation of a piece from the elements of the author’s mind. In short, nonfiction is altering true events and characters to create a purposeful piece of writing, and fiction is creating events and characters by rearranging parts of the author’s knowledge to create a purposeful piece of writing. Part II The narrator of â€Å"No Name Woman† by Maxine Hong Kingston is a woman who is lacking an identity. She is the daughter of a Chinese immigrant family, and as such, she has no identity in America. In order to create some semblance of a life, she focuses on understanding herself by understanding her cultural history. From this history, she selects her aunt who committed suicide due to pregnancy borne of adultery. This aunt was a ghost, a woman erased from the family’s past. In her aunt, the narrator finds a kindred soul, a woman with no identity. By creating an imagined life for this aunt, the narrator creates a life for herself. Each par t of the aunt’s life has a corollary in the character of the narrator. The narrator considers her aunt’s unknown lover as a means of understanding her own beliefs about love and belonging. The aunt’s lover is someone in the village, but she never reveals him, and he never reveals himself. When thinking about her aunt’s lover, the narrator considers what it means to be attractive in American culture. She wonders how she will attract Chinese boys without attracting everyone else. She is even unsure of whom she wishes to attract. She finds the pain she feels in trying to find someone to love in her new culture reflected in her aunt’s life. The village punishes the aunt for attempting to have a private life, and the narrator feels punished for having a private life as well. The aunt’s role as an outcast in her community mirrors the narrator’s view of herself as an outcast in American society. The narrator understands that her aunt was an outcast because the aunt was living with her parents when she should have been living with her husband’s parents. From this realization, the narrator reasons that the family would have forced the aunt to eat alone and separate from the family. This separation is what the narrator feels in America. She both takes part in the culture and is separated from it. Lastly, the aunt’s story creates a fear within the narrator that endures for twenty years. Because of the shame she has brought upon the family, the aunt is cast from the family home the night her baby is born. That

Evidence of Wage Discrimination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evidence of Wage Discrimination - Essay Example Classical economists, such as Lewis 1954, widened the aspect of wage to state that, wage determines the overall level of employment. 2. What will happen to the differential between wages of men and women of equal qualifications if multinational companies keep moving to South Korea and the process of "gender arbitrage" described in the article continues? Why? Sexism affects productivity adversely. Economists have established that gender arbitrage in fields of economic advancement reduces the pace of development. South Korea is very advanced technologically, however, its economy is not level with Japan’s economy. An insight into OECD policies reveals that Japan and South Korea possess equal factors of production and economic growth capacities. Even so, South Korea still lags behind. According to Solidarity (2012), records indicate that a woman in South Korea earns 27% less than what a man in the same position would earn. Women make up less than 1 % of the managerial positions. This a very small percentage compared with the fact that, women in the UK and America account for 10% of executive positions. Modern economics recognizes the potential women possess and, the implications of wage discrimination. South Korea’s economic stagnation according to IMF statistics is evidence enough that human capital goes to waste. Wage discrimination in South Korea is deeply rooted in the cultural beliefs and practices. In the Korean culture, the woman’s role focuses on running domestic chores. Globalization has led the belief that relegation of women is an outdated practice. It is important to note that, outdated cultural practices form the basis for lack of economic growth. Statistics indicate that only 60% of female graduates from South Korea between the ages of 24-65 years have employment. Therefore, the labor market in South Korea has a surplus. Firms hire men even though some women might have better qualifications than the men they hire.  

Management - Psychological Contract Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management - Psychological Contract - Essay Example Most employers try to retain employees is through making promises. However, most of the promises made may not be achievable. This process through which organizations makes promises is termed as psychological contract (O'neill, Krivokapic-Skoko & Dowell, 2010). The case provided is a clear example of the psychological contract. Failing to meet the promises lead to a phenomenon that is called psychological contract breach. Psychological contract breach is a significant problem mainly because it fosters a belief within employees that the organization does not support them. It is a main obstacle facing the employees in most of the organization today (Chen, Tsui & Zhong, 2008). Psychological contracts are those perceptions that employees have on employer related to the training, promotion, or any other promise not explicitly recognized in formal contract. These forms of psychological contract are normally used by most of the employers to entice the employees into accepting the job being o ffered by the employer. Principally, under normal situation, the employer-employee relationship is expected that the employer offer compensation to the employee for the performance of the job duties. Chen, Tsui & Zhong (2008) describes the psychological contracts as mental templates that sum up the perceived promises that employees believe that the organization has made to them in exchange for their efforts on behalf of the organization. As mentioned above, psychological contracts are beneficial and useful to both the employer and employee. For the employer, psychological contract constitute the best way in which an organization can advertise for the job vacancies. Psychological contracts are used to attract the attention of the applicant and make them loyal to the company. For the side of employee, psychological contract becomes beneficial only if they are fulfilled (Tyagi & Agrawal, 2010). Psychological contract breach is a term used to describe the inability of the employer to fu lfill the psychological contracts or the promises that he or she made during the recruitment period. The case study is a typical example of psychological contract breach. This is because the employer did not fulfill what he had promised the recruited. Just as the case depicts, psychological contract breach results in reduced performance, negative attitudes and more importantly, withdrawal behaviors. The problems associated with the psychological contract breach pose particular concern for organizations (Bordia, Restubog & Tang, 2008). Fundamentally, most organization tries their best to fulfill their psychological contracts but a number of factors limit them from meeting this objective. These factors include downsizing, outsourcing and rapid change. Consequently, avoiding psychological contract breach is a difficult task for the current organizations. The case presented in the case study implies that employees had higher expectation form the company. However, as they starts working in the company, they realized that they are not getting what they expected. They found out that the kind of jobs or duties they are given are below their standards. They end up becoming psychologically tortured. They also loss confidence in the organization. As they plan to leave their job, they feel that they may not get another job. This means that these employees need to be advised on what they should

A proposed exploritory study on the physiological effects of kangaroo Essay

A proposed exploritory study on the physiological effects of kangaroo care (skin-to-skin) on the neonate - Essay Example Compared with conventional care, KMC was found to reduce severe illness, infection, breastfeeding problems, and maternal dissatisfaction with method of care and improve some outcomes of mother-baby bonding. There was no difference in infant mortality. However, serious concerns about the methodological quality of the included trials weaken credibility in these findings. More research is needed. The focus of the kangaroo mother care initiative was to introduce KMC in all health care facilities in South Africa, starting with hospitals that provide newborn care, followed by home-based KMC in the community. KMC, the method of choice for hospitals caring for stable immature infants is an alternative to conventional incubator and bassinet care. The infant is positioned skin-to-skin between the mothers breasts and secured firmly. KMC programmes also include the promotion of breastfeeding and the ambulatory support of mothers after discharge. The advantages and practice of KMC, even for unstable low birth-weight infants and healthy newborns, have been well documented and described in the literature. In the proposed study, mothers in a KMC group practicing 24-hour-a-day skin-to-skin contact will be compared with mothers in a traditional care group (TC). Furthermore, infants in the TC group will be kept in incubators at the minimal care unit until they met standard discharge criteria. The approach is qualitative research with the focus on the physiological factors of the infant. The research would be carried forward by doing sampling of the available population and then recording the outcome. The outcome would be assessed after obtaining the data of the research done. The hospitals would be contacted and would be explained the significance and the objective of the study. After obtaining consent from hospital to conduct this study in

Management - Psychological Contract Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management - Psychological Contract - Essay Example Most employers try to retain employees is through making promises. However, most of the promises made may not be achievable. This process through which organizations makes promises is termed as psychological contract (O'neill, Krivokapic-Skoko & Dowell, 2010). The case provided is a clear example of the psychological contract. Failing to meet the promises lead to a phenomenon that is called psychological contract breach. Psychological contract breach is a significant problem mainly because it fosters a belief within employees that the organization does not support them. It is a main obstacle facing the employees in most of the organization today (Chen, Tsui & Zhong, 2008). Psychological contracts are those perceptions that employees have on employer related to the training, promotion, or any other promise not explicitly recognized in formal contract. These forms of psychological contract are normally used by most of the employers to entice the employees into accepting the job being o ffered by the employer. Principally, under normal situation, the employer-employee relationship is expected that the employer offer compensation to the employee for the performance of the job duties. Chen, Tsui & Zhong (2008) describes the psychological contracts as mental templates that sum up the perceived promises that employees believe that the organization has made to them in exchange for their efforts on behalf of the organization. As mentioned above, psychological contracts are beneficial and useful to both the employer and employee. For the employer, psychological contract constitute the best way in which an organization can advertise for the job vacancies. Psychological contracts are used to attract the attention of the applicant and make them loyal to the company. For the side of employee, psychological contract becomes beneficial only if they are fulfilled (Tyagi & Agrawal, 2010). Psychological contract breach is a term used to describe the inability of the employer to fu lfill the psychological contracts or the promises that he or she made during the recruitment period. The case study is a typical example of psychological contract breach. This is because the employer did not fulfill what he had promised the recruited. Just as the case depicts, psychological contract breach results in reduced performance, negative attitudes and more importantly, withdrawal behaviors. The problems associated with the psychological contract breach pose particular concern for organizations (Bordia, Restubog & Tang, 2008). Fundamentally, most organization tries their best to fulfill their psychological contracts but a number of factors limit them from meeting this objective. These factors include downsizing, outsourcing and rapid change. Consequently, avoiding psychological contract breach is a difficult task for the current organizations. The case presented in the case study implies that employees had higher expectation form the company. However, as they starts working in the company, they realized that they are not getting what they expected. They found out that the kind of jobs or duties they are given are below their standards. They end up becoming psychologically tortured. They also loss confidence in the organization. As they plan to leave their job, they feel that they may not get another job. This means that these employees need to be advised on what they should

Later tell u Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Later tell u - Lab Report Example l perspective, television programme makers desire to cater to more audiences of different age groups to increase their popularity that in turn increases competitive challenges within the sector (Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited, 2014). To comprehend this phenomenon from a critical perspective, the entire study has been based on the television programme rating and its popularity among different age groups. Contextually, to identify the popularity of television channels among different age groups of the UK, BBC1 channel has been selected as the media outlet. Both industrial as well as general perspectives have been considered when evaluating BBC’s performance within the UK market in the recent phenomenon. From the varied channels of the UK, BBC 1 is one of the renowned television channels. In the first phase of its development, BBC was known for its news broadcast. Presently, BBC is an established network, which has multiple channels for different age groups. Moreover, BBC always provides quality news to its viewers. Since, 1997 BBC has appeared in news broadcast field and until now, has created milestones for its rival channels. BBC is the first news broadcaster, which presents news about the overall the world. The digitalized platform has enriched BBC’s journey, enhancing and diversifying its contents to a substantial extent. In the 2013, BBC also announced its High Definition (HD) simulcast, which has helped to enhanced its viewer ship more than previous times (Media Tel, 2014). In the present scenario, the popularity of television channels is judged under different scales. Under Television Rating Points (TRP), television association has measured satellite channel reach. In this regard, to identify the actual rate of popularity of BBC 1 among different age groups, a survey report has been used to avail proper results. Media Tel is the source from where all data regarding BBC has been gathered. Based on the September 2014 data of MediaTel, BBC

Nike Cost of Capital Essay Example for Free

Nike Cost of Capital Essay Kimi Ford a portfolio manager at NorthPoint Group which is a mutual-fund management firm, is considering to buy some shares from Nike, inc even if it’s share price had declined from the beginning of the year, for the Northpoint Large-cap fund she managed which invested mostly in Fortune 500 companies and it was doing well despite the decline in the stock market over the last 18 months. Kimi therefore surveyed the results of Nike’s fiscal-year 2001which had been revealed a week earlier. Issues that caused a decline in market sales as revealed by the management of Nike 1. Revenues since 1997 had stopped growing but remained around $9. 0 billion. 2. The net income had fallen from $800m to $580m a decline of $220 million. 3. Nike’s market share in the U. S. athletic shoe industry had fallen from 48 percent in 1997 to 42 percent in 2000 (6% decline) 4. The issue of Supply-chain and strong dollar exchange rate also affected the revenue negatively. Nike’s Strategic plan to address the above issues 1. Increase revenues by developing more athletic-shoe products in the mid-priced range. 2. Push its apparel line which had performed tremendously well. 3. Exert more expense control on the cost side. 4. Nike’s executives expressed their interest to continue with the long-term revenue growth target of 8 to 10 percent and earnings-growth targets of above 15 percent. Although the management presented its plan to improve on its performance, there were mixed reactions from the third party analysts. Kimi Ford was also not satisfied with the Nike’s analysis therefore she decided that it was necessary to develop her own discounted-cash-flow forecast. She found that Nike was overvalued at the discounted rate of 12% at its current share price of $42. 09. She also did a quick sensitivity analysis which revealed that Nike was undervalued at discounted rates below 11. 17%. In order for Kimi to make a proper investment decision for her Fund, she asked Joanna Cohen to calculate the cost of capital. However there were some problems. Cohen’s calculation of cost of capital. She used single cost of capital for the apparel and footwear lines assuming that they are sold through the same marketing and distribution channels and are often marketed in other collections of similar designs. WACC (Weighted Average Cost of Capital) WACC is calculated using weighted averages of debt (Kd) and equity (We) Cohen used Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) to calculate WACC 0f 8. 4 % however, she used the book values yet weights should be based on the market value. Her result of $3,494. 5 for the Equity was wrong. The formula for calculating the Market value of equity is E = stock Price x Number of shares outstanding .

UK Market Entry Strategy for a Mobile Phone Operator

UK Market Entry Strategy for a Mobile Phone Operator The introduction of mobile telephone service in the United Kingdom was launched in 1985 (BBC News, 2005), however the beginnings of this technology can be traced to its use by the Swedish police in 1946 when they tested a radiophone (Free-Definition, 2005). In terms of modern technology, Bell Labs, a division of ATT, pioneered cellular technology in 1947 and exited the market in 1984 as the company believed the market would not develop to the point of being viable (Wharton School of Business, 2000). Interestingly, ATT ten years later would pay McCaw Cellular Communications $12.6 billion to acquire a cellular phone operator (USD) (Wharton School of Business, 2000). The words ‘mobile phone’ represents a term that encompasses cellular, satellite as well as any type of phone that provides mobility on a wide range scale (Free-Definition, 2005). It must be remembered that today’s cellular technology is based upon radio wave transmission that successively was pioneered by (epanorama, 2005): James Clark Maxwell in 1864 with his electromagnetic radiation theory called ‘Maxwell Equations’. Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 when he invented the telephone. Heinrich Hertz in 1887 with his discovery of ‘hertzian waves’ that are today called ‘radio waves’. Guglielmo Marconi in 1896 who conducted the first radio transmission. Radio frequencies predominated the mobile telephone industry through the 1960’s until the unavailability of these frequencies resulted in the development of cell-based networks to solve the frequency congestion problem in the 1970’s. And while the first modern mobile telephone call is created to Motorola on 3/04/1973 when Martin Cooper placed the first call on the streets of New York to Bell Labs. The first cellular phone network was actually developed in 1981 by ‘Nordisk Mobil Telefon’ (NMT) which was based on analog technology (Free-Definition, 2005). The preceding is acknowledged as the beginning of the cellular telephone industry and the subsequent boom that exceeded all expectations. The cellular industry in the United Kingdom is currently dominated by the following four major companies (BBC News, 2005): Vodafone Orange T-Mobile, and 02 In the face of the preceding, British consumers have been lodging complaints about overcharging, coverage areas and dropped calls which has prompted easyGroup’s Stelios Haji-Ioannou, (easyMobile, 2005), Fresh and Virgin Atlantic’s Sir Richard Branson, among others to announce that they are entering the fray to better serve consumers. This new round of developments in Britain’s cellular industry is an outgrowth of inquiries by the United Kingdom’s Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) that announced that British cellular phone companies four largest operators were overcharging callers by as much as 15% (McDonough, 2003). The preceding has opened the door for new and smaller companies to respond to consumer complaints and the corresponding marketing platform to gain a foothold through new services. The growth of cellular telephone communications in terms of technology, services, companies, handsets and market penetration has increased in the short period of 20 years to the point where 85% of all United Kingdom households have mobile phones (Mobile Operators Association, 2005) which translates into 9 out of every 10 British consumers using a mobile telephone (BBC News, 2005). The convenience offered by cellular services has seen consumers increase their utilization rates to the point where the total number of minutes consumers made on cellular calls almost doubled during the period 2000 to 2004, from 34 million minutes to 62 billion minutes (Mobile Operators Association, 2005). The most important development is that in 2004 the revenues of mobile voice and data companies at  £12.3 billion exceeded fixed-line revenues for the first time in U.K. history (Mobile Operators Association, 2005). The preceding information is important in understanding the far reaching impact, importan ce and inculcation of the mobile telephone in today’s lifestyles, both in personal as well as business use. However, this unprecedented growth is not without its problems. Sir Richard Branson the charismatic owner and founder of the Virgin Group has stated that the mobile phone industry in the United Kingdom is â€Å"†¦rip-off Britain at work again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Pearse, 1999) and that â€Å"†¦ hardly anyone is getting a good deal†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Pearse, 1999). His statements have been supported by such events as: 2001 â€Å"Regulators launch unannounced inspections in price-fixing investigation† (Broersma, 2001) 2001 â€Å"Mobile phone companies slammed for targeting children† (Wearden, 2001) As well as customer service, insurance costs, coverage, dropped calls, highly monthly rates, high per minute rates, roaming charges, 12 month contracts and billing practices. The free for all at the top of the cellular food chain has created customer dissatisfaction with the ‘big four’ and they are seeking alternative solutions to what was once a novelty. And therein lies one of the biggest shifts in consumer viewpoints, and thus the industry as a whole. Once reserved for business individuals and upper income demographics, the cellular phone is no longer looked upon as a luxury or business item. Consumers see it as a necessity. Cellular telephone market penetration in the United Kingdom has reached the point where cellular phone ownership exceeds 100% of the country’s total population (cellular news, 2004). The industry’s biggest complaint is high per minute and monthly service charge rates. The per rate calling cost tariffs for ‘anytime minutes, mont hly call allotment and pay as you go plans’ differ widely, thus the plan programs tend to be misleading and costly. Table 1 – Monthly Calling rates in the United Kingdom * (Vodafone, 2005) ** (Orange, 2005) *** (One2One, 2005) **** (BT,2005) The above Table indicates the variance between companies for the same basic monthly plans and how longer term contracts result in lower monthly cost per call. The complexity arises when one attempts to calculate the calling time per minute within these plans and the variables attached. As a point of reference the following is a comparison of rate plans on a pay as you go basis: Table 2 – Pay As You Go in the United Kingdom * (Vodafone, 2005) ** (Orange, 2005) *** (One2One, 2005) **** (easymobile, 2005) The advantage of the ‘pay-as-you-go’ plans is that there is the lack of a contractual commitment for a monthly charge, thus depending upon which company you select the rates are slightly more per call. EasyMobile’s promise to slash rates seems to offer British consumers with a viable choice to the a 15p across the board rate that is the calling rate for the monthly plans. While the Virgin Mobile web site for the United Kingdom is not finished, information was obtained that indicates that the proposed ‘pay-as-you-go’ rates should wind up being 15p for the first 5 minutes of calls on a daily basis, and then rolling down to 5p thereafter for all calls made to standard United Kingdom locations as well as other Virgin phones. Calling other mobile networks will cost 35p (Wikipedia, 2005). In the instance of both the monthly plans and the Pay-As-You-Go plans, customers are required to purchase their phone at a cost ranging from  £50 on up. There are also the free phone offers that carry contract minimums of varied prices. The British mobile phone market is highly competitive as well as being a mature market. According to Porter’s (1998) generic strategies, firms fall into two broad categories: firms that utilize an advantage in cost, and firms that use differentiation as a means to establish a difference between themselves and their competitors. The mature and established nature of the British mobile phone market sees companies such as easyMobile, Virgin Mobile and Fresh committed to stealing market share from the big four, Vodafone, Orange, One2One and BT through the utilization of slashing costs to achieve gains in market share. The four major UK mobile phone companies also offer a broad array of services and phone types along with the varied plans to go with them. These services, such as video calling, Internet access, text messaging, along with phones that provide camera and streaming capabilities plus a host of features are designed to reap higher profit margins. The determining factor is price and the big four companies while cognizant of this aspect (price) are focusing on promoting the service and phone features as their major marketing push, along with the advantages of inter-service calling (same network). These services appeal to young adults, professionals and companies where the monthly costs or image fit their lifestyles. But, there are segments of the market where the costs of mobile phones has become a budgetary concern along with those whose credit does not qualify for monthly rates. These groups represent a sizeable share of the market and this is where the low cost providers are seeking to wrest market share away as well as take advantage of the tremendous growth potential in this segment of the market. Prepaid Market Segment The UK cellular phone market, much like those in other countries, has penetration limits in garnering consumers as there are segments of the population whose credit ratings did not and do not qualify them for the service contracts. This reality was recognized by cellular providers and the prepaid segment has been the number one driving force in the growth of the United Kingdom cellular market over the past 5 years. In 1998 Vodafone gained 300,000 new subscribers of which 127,000 joined using the Pay-As-You-Talk plan, or 42% (silicon, 2003). Similarly, Cellnet garnered 80,000 new customers for its Easylife pre-pay plan (silicon, 2003). And while the pay-as-you-go customer represents the least profitable base for cellular phone companies, their numbers and the marketing opportunities they represent in service trade up as well as increased usage makes them important as a group. The four major UK mobile phone providers have recently indicated their willingness to forgo utilizing low price leaders such as pay-as-you-go plans to attract new subscribers. The maturing of the cellular phone market has caused companies to look at profitability and to switch marketing emphasis on profitability per subscriber (BBC News, 2001). This was prompted by a study that showed a high percentage of pay-as-you-go customers were not regularly using their phones. The companies indicated that the marketing and sign up costs for this customer category was consuming a high budgetary percentage, thus the reason for the decreased emphasis (BBC News, 2001). The average prepaid customer brings in just one fourth of the revenue the monthly subscribers generate ((BBC News, 2001) thus the shift from attracting more prepaid customers to retention and upgrade as these customers are already a part of the marketing data base and the cost to increase revenues from this classification is far les s. The following will offer and analysis of the prepaid cellular segment: Age An Accenture survey conducted in 2002 found that fully 73% of children from 10 to 17 used mobile phones. It is interesting to note that the majority of these respondents believed that ‘gaming’ represented a major phone function with 91% describing the games as either poor or just average. Thus, age does represent a significant aspect as these children grow into teenagers and young adults. Cultivation of this market is deemed as being able to yield more benefits in terms of future subscribers familiar with cellular use and thus higher revenues per subscriber than the general prepaid profile. Other Not all prepaid customers are either young or in the upper age brackets. There are a number of valid potential future revenue generating customers within this segment who are either on current prepaid plans as well as those who have not yet taken on a mobile phone. In many instances a change of circumstances would represent a different usage pattern (analysis.com, 2002), : Budget Consumer This classification can take in many differing profiles. From those consumers who either see the mobile phone as a convenience, rather than as a daily phone tool, as well as consumers who just do not utilize the phone for personal or other calls. The budget conscious look to actively limit or manage their mobile phone usage to keep the cost of ownership in a defined pre-set budget range. Fixed Income Individuals on disability, unemployment or in retirement represent subscribers on limited incomes. In some instances, such as retired or some fixed income, the circumstances will not change. However, eliminating potential subscribers on the basis of theoretical potentials in such a highly competitive market could overlook the radiation power these people represent in terms of word of mouth possibilities. Low Income Individuals occupying the lower demographic profiles do not have the income to spend on either a mobile phone or excessive usage. The limitations of income keep this group in the low revenue classification. Changes in circumstances, the economy or other reasons could affect income and thus a change in usage patterns. Bargain Shoppers The demographics of this group spans basically all income classifications in varied percentages. They represent bargain shoppers who look for the best rates and their usage patterns can varying widely Limited Use The groups within this category can range from the average UK citizen in any demographic profile to individuals with multiple residences, or people who regularly travel between the United Kingdom and another country. The preceding summary illustrates that although the prepaid market has been classified by the major four mobile companies as a low revenue generator, there are significant revenue potentials within this group that can not be qualified, yet are there. Chapter 4 – Market Entry Strategies The preceding analysis of the British mobile phone market, along with a review of the four major companies within that field has uncovered the reasons as well as rationales for the existence of the huge pre-paid market within their subscriber base. And while the opportunities for further penetration of the market are limited, the opportunities within the mobile industry sector are definitely there. In addition to the continued entry into the market of teenagers coming of age, the existing cellular and non-cellular prepaid market offers definitive growth and profit opportunities for a firm that grasps the subtle nuances in the market and crafts approaches, pricing plans and marketing efforts to reap the rewards. In order to equate entry into this market, an examination of the management and related methodologies will precede the marketing campaign strategies. 2.1 Management and Strategic Methodologies Porter’s (1998) generic strategies indicates that firms fall into two categories, the ones that have an advantage in cost and the ones that use the principle of differentiation. Adherence to this understanding means that a firm will thereby recognize its strength and thus concentrate efforts to maximizing this effect. The opportunities in the prepaid cellular market’s lies in ‘cost leadership’ as the driving marketing foundation. David (2004) concurs with Porter’s (1998) assessment in advising companies to â€Å"’Establish Company Direction’ David (2004) indicates that this be accomplished through the development of a company vision, the setting of objectives to be achieved and attained. In addition he mentions crafting a strategy that seeks the opportunities inherent within a market and then devising consumer driven rationales to formulate a strategy to achieve these goals. Arnold’s (2003) â€Å"modes of Market Entry’ delves further into the theories raised by Porter (1998) and David (2004) and states that â€Å"The central managerial trade-off between the alternative modes of market entry†¦Ã¢â‚¬  winds up being â€Å"†¦risk and control†. He goes on to add that when one minimizes risk that company is seeking a â€Å"†¦ low intensity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  David (2004) mode of entry. This means that the company will select the safer courses of action which also do not require the depth of commitment by management to map out the detailed corresponding course of action to maximum success. The deeper a company delves into the nuances of the market and competitive approaches, the more skills on the part of the company are required to be worked into the system to handle these demands. These are the places or segments that the major firms are either ignoring, divesting themselves of or have deemed unprofitable. In reality these are the segments of the market that require more attention to detail and closer monitoring to exact opportunities as they present themselves, or via cultivation whereby the consumer is reached with compelling reasons to increase their expenditure. As illustrated by the varied classifications of prepaid subscribers as well as non-subscribers the opportunities exist to wrest profits in the exercise of Wal-Mart like efficient operations and economy of scale modes. Wal-Mart’s retailing example paved the way for a low cost market position to be the road to high market share and thus the resulting economies of scale. By minimizing costs a firm can generate profits from a low margin via operations and systems that cater to and serve consumer needs. The preceding is at the core of David’s (2004) market entry concepts. A firm must equate the degree of risk, and competence it brings to a particular market opportunity in recognition of the capabilities and resourc es of competitive firms, and thus craft a strategy that takes advantage of nuances as well as quarks within the market that have either been missed or deemed unprofitable. Johnson et al (2001) indicates that putting the firm’s strategy into action requires a company to organize itself for success. Exactly the points made by David’s (2004) market entry topics. Every industry leader has devised systems, administrative functions and overall operations to be sensitive to all developments, consumer trends, market opportunities and unexploited areas to dominate their industry group. Microsoft, Mercedes Benz, Wal-Mart, Dyson and others have done this, paid attention to the smallest of details and then exploited them in the marketplace. Marketing Campaign Strategies Given the cellular phone penetration rate in the United Kingdom, whereby 9 out of 10 people use the services of a mobile phone (BBC News, 2005), a wholesale attack on the market taking on established as well as known companies represents a frontal attack on fortified ground. A glorious charge, but prone to the cost of either failure or dismal results. Well-entrenched competitors also have ground to defend within their fiefdoms and attrition can occur by seeking out the disenfranchised as well as defectors and cast offs. The major four mobile companies have indicated their focus on profitable subscriber segments thus devoting fewer resources to the attraction of prepaid subscribers. This opens the door to cultivate new market entrants from the teenage classification as they mature each year, as well as the: Budget Consumer Fixed Income Low Income Bargain Shoppers Limited Use, segments which represent low profit generation groups, but in meaningful enough numbers whereby economies of scale can be employed. This so called ‘discount’ side of the market is not without its difficulties in that lower margin generating subscribers still expect first class service. And this all has to be accomplished using rates that compete with and beat those of easyMobile, Virgin Mobile and other firms concentrating on the prepaid market segment as a means to either growth or opportunity. Market Entry Strategies With the internal administrative functions and systems in place, or planned the company can execute is strategies for market entry. The following maps out the steps in sequencing of accomplishment of the foregoing: Planning Internal Implementation External Linkages Marketing Strategies Service The applications and areas of concentration with respect to the preceding, are as follows: Planning Arnold (2003) , Johnson et al (2001) and David (2004) all illustrated the importance of focusing on the goals and objectives and then planning out the steps leading to market entry. This entails management examining, questioning and devising systems and functions that will be needed to respond to the demands of the business being taken on. In the case of the entry into the British mobile market the state of market maturity and saturation along with established operators in a cost competitive market, the only viable market segments open are the marginal profit base profiles. The major mobile companies did not plan for or implement their operations to handle this type of business from the onset, thus their operational models are not profitable at that end. The utilization as well as concentration on subscriber profitability through new and added services as well as more features in handsets represents their commitment to trade up marketing for growth in a saturated market. As a result the lower profitability subscribers are offered basic services at a higher rate. Through planning to wrest profits from this group via a Wal-Mart type of approach from the onset, builds an organization to fit the marketing realities. Internal Implementation Once the planning concerning systems and functions has been completed and tested it needs to be implemented internally as a working environment. Incentives based upon identifying and lowering internal operational costs while maintaining high service levels are management tools to solicit the cooperation and commitment of managers and employees. External Linkages Outside services and equipment needs such as network costs need to be put in place. The most important aspect of this segment are utilization contracts where when certain numbers are achieved, costs are reduced. This provides built in profit incentives that management as well as the organization must set as goals, thus driving growth. Marketing Strategies Low cost market leader! Porter’s (1998) generic strategies identified this as a prime component along with differentiation. This is the opportunity that exists in the prepaid segment of the UK market which stands in excess of 50% of all subscribers. This market segment has driven subscription rates over the past five years and will continue to do so as consumers modify their cellular phone costs as well as enter the market from non-user categories such as teenagers. While the profitability quotient is lower there are rewards that exist after establishment of quality service at these rates. Much of what consumer seek entails the level of quality received per monetary outlay. As the retail price of computer hardware spiraled downward, Dell managed to garner huge market share through cost cutting direct delivery systems that enabled them to reduce stocking and return costs as well as implement higher levels of just in time delivery to reduce internal operating costs. This low pri ce quality service and product approach became the operative model for an industry faced with saturation, lower retail costs and internal margins. The comparative costs in the prepaid market indicate that the average industry rate hovers in the 15p range. Table 2 – Pay As You Go in the United Kingdom Company Rate Phone Answer Minimum Charge Landlines Other Networks Vodafone* 10p 10p 30p 35p to 40p Orange** 10p 5p 20p 40p One2One*** Offers Flat Rate Based on Calling Card Up to  £10

Edgar Allan Poes, The Cask of Amontillado as a Description of Poes Li

Edgar Allan Poe's, The Cask of Amontillado as a Description of Poe's Life The cast of Amontillado was written by Allan Poe at a time when he felt he was being unjustly attacked. Most critics believe that the cask of Amontillado was written by Poe against his critics in the Mirror. I believe the cask of Amontillado is a story of Revenge and Hatred against some friends whom be believed had wrongfully accused him. A review of Allan Poe as a person and his experiences in life is essential a clear understanding of "The Cask of Amontillado". Hence, I will apply a cultural method of interpretation. Poe was raised by his God parents after his parents died at the age of three. He was involved in Gambling and he also drank a lot. According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, "Poe was a complex person, tormented and alcoholic yet also considerate and humorous, a good friend, and an affectionate husband. Indeed, his painful life, his neurotic attraction to intense beauty, violent horror, and death, and his sense of the world of dreams contributed to his greatness as a writer"(2). This was true of Poe's literature. The Cast of Amontillado is full of suspense, shows different Kinds of wine and the complexity of Poe's personality can be shown in the Characters .Some critics have said that the cask of Amontillado can be read as an allegory of two portraits of Poe. I think The Cask of Amontillado is a Portrait of Poe and that of his critics. It is a story that is full of symbols. The Cask of Amontillado is the story of man who is desperate to obtain revenge from an insult. The nature of the insult was never revealed in the story. All we know is that Montressor methodically planned his revenge against Fortunato. As Allan Poe put it, "It mus... ...portrayed by Fotunato and Luchesi. Considering the close resemblance between the story and the issues in his life at that time, I believe Allan Poe was writing about himself. He finally got his revenge when he filed a libel suit against English and Fuller. He won the libel suit but he also lost his reputation in the process. In The Cask of Amontillado, Montressor walled Fortunato in. However, Fortunato rested in peace while Montressor will go on with a troubled conscience. Works Cited 1. Poe, Edgar Allan , "The Columbia Encyclopedia", sixth ed. 2001 2. Dedmond, Francis " The Cask of Amontillado and the war of Literati, " Modern Language Quarterly; June 54, vol 15, issue2, p137, 10p. 3. Poe Edger Allan "The Cask of Amontillado" Reading and Writing literature by Phillip Sippiora, Ed by Pearson Education Inc. Upper saddle River, New Jersey, 2002. 240-245.

Major Educational Challenges Assessment for Kenya Education System Essay

With a total population of over 43 million, Kenya is the biggest and most advanced economy in the east and central Africa. It is well-known for its natural resource and the vast variety of wildlife, which contribute a large proportion to Kenya’s GDP in agricultural and service sectors. It’s prosperous capital Nairobi is also given the name â€Å"East African Paris†. But behind the misleading impression of affluence left by a minority of urban population, Kenya is still a poor developing country with half of the population living in total poverty. Even though with a GINI index of 42. which is only medium, the economic status inequality of Kenyans is relatively high: The rich has a condo with four private cars and two maids while the poor in shabby clothes are living in slums just two miles away. The economy of the country also leads to problems in the education sector in Kenya. The objectives of this memo is to identify three most important issues that may be challenges for Kenyan Government and Kenyan education sector, and come up with potential solutions and strategies to address them. 1, Educational inequality between urban and rural areas There’s been a significant educational inequality between urban and rural Kenya. From the data provided by â€Å"Exploring Kenyan Education† site, School Location Density (2007), most schools distributes around big cities in the southern and southwestern Kenya where the majority of the population lives in. These cities includes Nairobi the Capital, Nakuru, Kericho, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kakamega, Meru and Mombasa. Since the school density does not show any problems because it follows the demography theory, but the enrollment rate and the educational investment may tell a part of the story. In big cities like Nairobi, the gross enrollment rate of primary education is as high as 103% and the net enrollment rate is 91% (2009). But as of northeastern and northwestern Kenya the ratio is as low as 35% or even 25%. Even though the primary education is free and uniform in Kenya, there are still extra costs. One that blocks the way of education for children is the school uniform. Students drop out of schools simply because they don’t have school uniform, the situation is even worse in those tribe territories and extreme poor areas. The school uniform costs almost a thousand Ksh that many families cannot afford. Even though there has been official regulation noting that no student ought to be turned away for not having uniform, uniform is such an ineradicable â€Å"culture† in Kenya schools that either schools or parents keep students away from school for not having schools uniforms. Lacking of resources becomes another. Lacking of sufficient textbooks and necessary stationaries makes students in rural areas hard to study. Students normally depend on what their teachers can provide to them and most of the time a textbook is shared by two plus students. Even there are articles saying lacking of teachers is another problem, but according to the data by Kenya Open Data, the Pupil-Teacher Ratio in rural areas is not significantly higher than that is in developed area) -Possible solutions Providing free school uniforms targeting economically challenged students (application by student or their parents). Education ministry should also take responsibility to make sure every single student can have the textbooks they need. Unified and organized studying necessities delivery should be arranged at the start of each semester. 2, Primary-to Secondary Bottleneck The primary education in Kenya is free and an average of over 90% of eligible school-age children are enrolled into primary schools, but the net enrollment rate only ranges from 3%-50%, that means even in the best conditioned area, nearly half of the students quit studying at the age of 15. Tuition Fees remains the largest barrier for going secondary school. Data shows that a primary student cost around 3,000 Ksh (32 USD) per household per year (2005), but surges to 25,000 Ksh (270 USD) for secondary education, which accounts for more than half of Annual income per household. Despite government subsidies for secondary schools, some national and top provincial schools charge fees as high as 73,600 Ksh for one year. Such excessive education expense may be totally fine for students from privileged families, but for kids from middle class or poor families who fight all the way to those schools, that becomes a disaster. The other factor that creates the bottleneck is the poor education quality in most of the public primary schools. Primary school students need to reach over 250 points in KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) to be qualified to continue secondary education. There are better teachers teaching in private schools and students are receiving â€Å"elite† education. 77 percent of private primary school students (2007) score over 250 compared to only 45 percent among public school students. This really reveals the poor teaching quality which fails students in public schools, thus most economic privileged families send their children to private schools. -Possible solutions: More government subsidies – Though the secondary education receives governmental subsidies, more subsidies are needed to help those students with economical difficulties. Document students who need tuition aid and set up foundation targeting those students. Thus the resource can be concentrated to those in need. Further more, more money should be invested for better teachers, better infrastructures in public schools. Strengthen subsidy usage supervision – Kenyan Ministry of Education spends more than 10,000Ksh per secondary student annually. This amount of money is controlled by schools instead of directly by the students, and the tuition gets even higher each year. Many secondary schools charges suggested annual tuition standard by MOE for only one semester, and most of them cannot explain the subsidies usage. Having government nominated supervisor sent to schools regularly to make sure the subsidies are in proper use would be a potential solution. Heath problems that contribute to the dropout and poor education quality Health problem has been a huge challenge for students in Kenya and the country’s heath system has been always in a difficult time trying to provide accessible heath care for its population. Poor nutrition, underweight, intestinal worms, malaria, HIV, unexpected early pregnancies, etc. have greatly influenced students’ academic performance. In some areas such as Naivasha and Thika, own illness/disability becomes the biggest reason for not attending school. The ratio may be as high as over 70% and some time reaches over 90%. Also, early pregnancy is also a main contributor to the high dropout rate among girls. -Possible solution School heath program: a school based heath system should be set up to secure students’ health condition. Since families may not be able to provide enough food supply especially for those poor families, government should help schools provide at least one meal per day to ensure students’ nutrition supplement. Also, 3. 6 million children were dewormed in 2009 and continuing implementing deworming program has been proved to be an effective way to increase attendance. Then schools should also take responsibilities for sex knowledge education which most children could not receive at home.

Organizational Behavior and Communication in the Walt Disney Company

This paper focuses on the organizational behavior and communication within the Walt Disney Company. This piece contains a discussion on The Disney Company’s philosophy, mission statement, vision statement and values and its affect on organizational behavior and communication. The Disney Company is an international organization in which communication role plays an important part in the organizations’ perception and organizational culture. The Company supports its values through its actions and communications among and within cast members (employees) as well as the general public. The Walt Disney Company â€Å"started with a mouse† a favorite comment made by Walt himself as he looked back at the humble beginnings of his organization. The Company’s philosophy, mission statement, vision statement and values come directly from The Company’s annual report (2010). The Company’s philosophy is taken directly from Walt Disney himself where â€Å"every child is born with a vivid imagination† which became the foundation for animated sequences of fantasy, visits to the depths of the ocean and dreams of flight into Space. The Company’s mission statement is â€Å"to be one of the world's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world. † The vision statement reads â€Å"The Walt Disney Company is to be the preeminent leader in the field of family entertainment. The Company values are Innovation, quality through high standards of excellence and maintain quality standards for all product categories; Community to create a positive and inclusive idea about families and provide entertainment experiences for all generations to share. Every product will tell a story and will be timeless and engaging to inspire and delight; Optimism which focuses on hope, aspiration and have positive resolutions and Decency where the company honors and respects the trust people place in the Company and provide an atmosphere to create fun and to laugh at experiences and themselves. Communication plays a crucial role in perception and organizational culture within The Disney Company. A significant part of communication lays the question of trust between people receiving information and those giving information. Thomas, Zolin & Hartman, 2009 discussed the capability of trust and communication improving organizational concerns relating to employee participation and job performance. Open communication is a factor relating to interpersonal trust. If employees cannot trust supervisors then employees hesitate to work towards organizational goals. When companies exhibit openness, it promotes the organizations’ commitment to it culture and values (DeRidder, 2004). Being a global company, Disney employs people with diverse backgrounds and nationalities and being unable to communicate and work together can create problems. The Company aligns its communication style with its culture and values through the use of storytelling. Using a method called the â€Å"Grandparents Story†, Murray Nossel teaches employees of global companies how to listen and communicate with each other (O’Connor, 2010). Nossel says the use of storytelling brings people together because everyone has a Grandparent story and key to the method is not the story itself, but people listening (O’Connor). Barker and Gower (2010) recognized storytelling as a person’s ability to establish a common ground and social relationships. By creating a picture through stories, organizations are able to represent personal, interpersonal and corporate perspectives on a social level (Barker and Gower). A noteworthy part of communication is dealing with and resolving conflict. The Disney Company faced significant communication conflicts with Euro Disney (now Disneyland Paris) in France. Instead of listening, assimilating and communicating with the French people and their culture, The Disney Company dictated how the park would be set-up, prices to charge and create another â€Å"America† in France. According to France, everything had to be â€Å"the Disney way† and the French and their culture were pushed aside adding to a hostile environment (Spencer, 1995). The Company should have formed a group with French and American members to work out conflicts because the opinions of the members create discussions establishing an improved detailed method rather than a singular perspective (Jehn and Mannix, 2001). To improve communication with and among groups, The Company should follow the methods of recently acquired Pixar Company. The people at Pixar have the freedom to communicate with anyone in a â€Å"safe† environment to offer ideas and criticism with explanations from anyone at any level in the organization. The leadership at Pixar explains that creativity is behind the company’s success and having an open communication format is the basis of the company culture (Catmull, 2008). Disney’s espoused values align with its enacted values. The Disney Company focuses on the customer and their experiences and even created a new term called â€Å"guestology† (Innovation value). The term applies to the importance Disney puts on understanding their customers. Disney measures the amount of time a customer has to wait, the number of acceptable drops on the ride Tower of Terror† and what prices guests are willing to pay before becoming unhappy (Quality, Every product telling a story and Optimism values) (Ford and Heaton, 2001). According to Ford and Heaton, the organizational culture of The Disney Company guides and directs employees on how to handle situations using honor and respect that may not appear during formal training (Optimism value). Disney cast members (employees) are empowered to make decisions or perform reasonable actions to satisfy guests (Decency value). According to Michael Griffin, Vice President of communications for Walt Disney World, when it comes to communication, Disney disseminates in writing the same information to cast members as it does to the general public. When it comes to information not in writing, team leaders are informed and they in turn verbally inform their members. According to Griffin, the company does everything to protect the brand (Elsasser, 2009). As the Walt Disney Company grew through the innovative efforts of artists and technology, the Company maintains its philosophy of creating with the vivid imagination of a child. As the company grew to international status through movies, amusement parks and Broadway productions, the company continues to maintain its dedication to providing innovative, quality entertainment for all members of the family. The Disney Company communicates its corporate values which are infused in the organizational culture, instilled in employee training and acted upon with honor and respect to the customer.

Evaluation of a Business Code of Ethics

First Energy and the Business Code of Ethics PHL/323 March 7, 2011 First Energy and the Business Code of Ethics First Energy prides itself on the ethical standards it has created. These standards are the basis that builds upon the trust between customers, shareholders, employees, and the surrounding communities. First Energy encompasses more than five states and supplies millions of customers. As a service company, First Energy expects its employees to adhere to a workplace free of harassment, unethical or unlawful business activities, and discrimination.Each employee must conduct him or herself accordingly with high ethical standards while conversing with customers, other employees, and First Energy suppliers. These standards contribute to First Energy’s mission statement. First Energy’s mission statement will strive to provide high-quality products, competitively priced, and exceptional services in four areas. These areas include; Energy sales and services, power supp ly, energy delivery, non-regulated, and regulated supplemental services related to the core business (First Energy Corp, 2007).The following paragraph will delve deeper into the ethical make-up of First Energy. First Energy seems to portray a utilitarianism type of ethical system. Utilitarianism strives to obtain the highest positive effects, which include morals and financial maximization, and minimize any negative outcomes (Reference for Business, 2011). This ethical system portrays itself best from the company’s website. First Energy’s vision is to become the best in their field and recognized as such. Striving for excellence in operations, safety commitment, and top rated customer service is essential.First Energy will focus on long-term growth, commitment to its employees, and maximum financial stability with focus on the highest morals (First Energy Corp, 2010). The key pulled from the previous statement attempts to substantiate the ethical system with maximum st ability portraying the highest morals. Utilitarianism explains that correct actions are actions that provide the highest balance of happiness over sadness. Every person’s happiness is of equal importance (Lasley & Pickett, 1992). The following paragraphs will provide more information into the utilitarianism system between management, employees, and the board of directors.Utilitarianism and First Energy’s employees strive to maximize the happiness of all employees. From firsthand experience the company accomplishes this by providing education assistance programs, discrimination guidelines to ensure all employees comply with and treat his or her coworkers with respect, and various outlets to ensure all employees questions and concerns are addressed. Along with the union First Energy also provides for excellent health coverage, paid holidays, maximum sick days, personal days, generous vacation day allotments, and grievance outlets to ensure employees concerns are brought to light.The next section relates this ethical system to management. Supervisors and management are held much more responsible for his or her actions than the employees. Although management is held to higher standards, he or she obtains substantial benefits from the company to achieve the utilitarianism maximum happiness. Management is also provided comparable benefits to the employees. Management obtains the same excellent health coverage, paid holidays, comparable sick days, and vacation time. Rule utilitarianism seems to portray itself prominently.Rule utilitarianism strays away from assessing acts of individuals and leans strongly toward the utility of a rule for action. What this means to management is this: if management enforces a rule for everyone to follow the opinion of tolerability should be at a maximum (Nuigal Way, 2005). Utilitarianism is not without its problems, and this issue will appear in a later paragraph. The last group explored is the board of directors. The pu rpose of the board of directors is providing the highest profitability for its shareholders while addressing any ethical concerns.It is not possible to predict and address every situation that may rear its head so it becomes a challenge to maximize happiness with ethical concerns. An excellent example of utilitarianism in this case is this: concerning child labor and business overseas, it would not maximize total happiness if every business overseas were to employ children to increase profits for the shareholders (Nuigal Way). Utilitarianism has its flaws and criticisms. This ethical system by itself, whereas formed in good intentions, is not efficient enough to run a business properly.The following paragraph attempts to suggest alternatives to First Energy’s current code of ethics. Opponents of utilitarianism explain that happiness and pain of certain tasks cannot be generalized to determine the maximum pleasure of all individuals. An individual cannot assume that one person will feel the same degree of pain or pleasure from the same act (Griffin, 2000). Management may need to stay away from general rules as they may not capture the desired effect of employee happiness when compared with workload and ethics.Rules are put into place to protect the employee, and to a lesser extent, to protect the company image. An example of this that enacted recently by First Energy was banning personal cell phones. This general rule states that personal phones are not allowed on company property at any time. Although this rule portrays good intentions, it fails to address other personal issues. Family emergencies occur from time to time. If an employee must wait for messages from his or her supervisor or manager, a catastrophic family event may occur that may not present itself to the employee in time.A differing point of view is suggested in the next section. The existing code of ethics is very solid. As Chief Executive Officer few problems rise to the forefront, and may not require change. One situation witnessed recently could warrant a change. During completing an associate program paid for by First Energy and working on a-hands-on task with a fellow student, the instructor became enraged and started screaming at and belittling the other student. The instructor already had two previous cases. The case made its way to human resources and eventually was swept under the rug.Although paid for by First Energy and involved in company tasks, students are not represented as employees. Certainly it seems anyone in this situation should have the same benefits as employees. Consequently it is unethical to ignore a recurring problem with an employee simply because he or she is an instructor for non-employees. The code of ethics is there to protect everyone as can be seen in the next section. The code of ethics presents itself very clearly and all employees and management adhere strictly to the outline.Employees treat each other with respect and adhere to ethical values. Wider acceptance is adopted when concerning human interaction and differing ethical values. This acceptance stems from years of education, governmental programs, and company policies. The constant influx of company provided classes and weekly meetings provide for this acceptance in a greater capacity. In conclusion and like any other system, the underlying purpose of this philosophical ethics code strives to provide for the greatest happiness with the least amount of displeasure.Many procedures and rules must be analyzed to provide for the maximum positive effect not only for the employees but also for the stakeholders. Taking important aspects of the utilitarianism code and striving to remove the negative aspects of this system will provide for a smooth running machine. The bottom line is this: despite its numerous inadequacies, utilitarianism does contain a solid moral foundation. No one can deny the intrinsic benevolence in promoting the greatest good for the gre atest number.Utilitarianism must also be applauded for existing as a self-contained philosophy and the key to making utilitarianism work lies in refining the way that proponents practice this system (Griffin). References First Energy Corp. (2007, July 5). Vision and Mission. Retrieved from http://www. firstenergycorp. com/career_center/why_firstenergy/vision_and_mission First Energy Corp. (2010, January 11). First Energy Code of Conduct Introduction. Retrieved from http://www. firstenergycorp. com/investor/files/Code%20of%20Conduct_Rev%2001_11_10. pdf Griffin, A. 2000, October 31). Utilitarianism. Retrieved from http://anton_eclipse. tripod. com/utilitarianism. htm Lasley, J. , & Pickett, I. (1992). INTRODUCTION TO TYPES OF ETHICAL SYSTEMS. Retrieved from http://www. woodrow. org/teachers/bi/1992/ethical_systems. html Nuigal Way. (2005, September 30). BUSINESS ETHICS :: Utilitarianism. Retrieved from http://www2. it. nuigalway. ie/staff/h_melvin/prof_skill/L2_handout. pdf Reference for Business. (2011). Utilitarianism. Retrieved from http://http://www. referenceforbusiness. com/encyclopedia/Thir-Val/Utilitarianism. html Related article: Disadvantages of Ethics in the Workplace