Norton Lily

PHASE 1 OF THE TURNAROUND : Building The Foundation Jim Burton set about analyzing the business with an emphasis on quick wins that would contribute to developing the long-term â€Å"execution† foundation. * He was dealing with seasoned industry veterans, each with deaply held beliefs and paradigms about the business – how it had been and should be run. In an effort to build confidence and gain acceptance among his senior peers ( it had to be an incremental approach) * With encouragement and support of the owner, burton first formed an executive committee of nine, including the five business unit.The objective in forming executives committee was to begin decentralizing the decision making process away from the two owner. ( The owners not actively participate in committee sessions, but would instead attend summary reviews, at the conclusion of each meeting, to provide counsel and advice ) * He was to transform the company and build the sustainable growth platform the own er wanted Identifying and Understanding Value Creating Processes Burton focused on its execution and on helping Norton Lilly’s executives understand the key processes that enabled good strategy execution and value creation. Burton first launced process mapping in the linier group, which operated in eight different US offices * At the time, the liner division offered a fragmented mix of services across its eight location, with each location performing some activities more effectively than other location and all location failing to provide adequate service in some regard * By late 2007, mapping the key processes involved in delivering each type of service had helped management and employee understanding of processes led to improved process standardization, end administrative procedures that duplicated work, improved costumer satisfaction, and penalties * By the end of 2007, Burton had assigned responbility for achieving KPI goals to individual managers and supervisor overseeing specific value creating process within the liner division Implementing a Balanced Scorecard Performance Measurement System Accompanying the KPI’s rollout was a balanced scorecard, wich further focused managerial employees attention on the performace of value creating process. Metrics included in the balance scorecard system used at Norton Lilly included process KPI’s. costumer satisfaction and financial performance * In late 2007 Norton Lilly’s balance scorecard system was expanded to included a â€Å" dashboard† of performance indicators that could provide overview of business unit level * The dashboard contained : * Revenue compared to budget * Expense groupings compared to budget * Capital expenditures compared to budget Top 10 Costumer profitability * By the end of 2007 Norton Lilly business unit leaders were holding monthlymeetings to review KPI status and propose corrective action to resolve differences between expectations and actual performance R esource Allocation Policies Other foundation building actions undertaken in 2007 included in the initation of various policy changes. One such policy change involved the company’s capital outlay policy, which was the first new policy established by the executive committee. * The capital outlay policy came about after Burton discovered that the company had variously launched into a number of ventures without much success. The policy called for a nine step due diligence process, that nine steps were as follows: 1. Description of the opportunity 2. Description of how the opportunity fit with Norton Lilly’s objectives 3. Assessment of the competitive threats 4. Assessment of the competitive landscape 5. How success whouldbe ensured 6. Proposed exit strategy 7. Business case 8. Financila pro forma 9. List of major assumtions and risk * The capital outlay policy would ensure that decision to entef into any business venture would be fully vetted, based on fact, not opinions B uilding Managerial Talent Throught out 2007 Norton Lilly focused on another important foundation building element management development. * Burton introduced a leadership evelopment program that matched a person’s profile to a job, the program was based on the fundamental premise that managerial employees could be classified into one of four basic profil; stategist, project director, networker or external qualifier * After being tested and profiled, the 20 highest-rangking employees at Norton lilly entered into workshops directed at helping members of the management team interpreteach profile and respect and deal effectively with differing profiles PHASE II OF THE TURNAROUND REINFORCING THE FOUNDATION The effort undertaken during Phase 1 of Norton Lilly’s turnaround had produced a profitable fiscal 2007, which was the company’s first profitable year since 2003. Improving Information Used for Decision Making Dashboard were also expanded to all of Norton Lillyâ₠¬â„¢s business units.Linerm Ship services, and Overseas. As well as the addiction of Financial measures such as cash flow and accounts receivable KPI’s Changing Financial Performance Expectations Burton initiated another policy change in 2008, although less a stated policy than a mindset. * The concept of value creation was introduced at an executive committee meeting in late 2007 and became the basis for all 2008 budgeting * The concept of earning a fair rate of return based on assumed risk didn’t exist at Norton Lilly, so as apart of the 2008 budgeting exercise each business unit leader was given a margin target A NEW APPROACH TO FORCASTING FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Provide continual refreshing of the assumptions underlying the forecast * Provide the company a continual look at its next 12 months, regardless of how many months were left in the calendar year The move to rolling forecast helpd managers improve forecasting accuracy to the extent that the company missed its financial projections. TAHAP 1 DARI TURNAROUN : Membangun Pondasi Jim Burton berurusan dengan veteran industri berpengalaman, masing-masing dengan keyakinan dipegang dan paradigma tentang bisnis – bagaimana hal itu telah dan harus dijalankan. Dalam upaya untuk membangun kepercayaan dan mendapatkan penerimaan di antara rekan seniornya (itu harus pendekatan inkremental)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dengan dorongan dan dukungan dari owner, Burton pertama membentuk executive committee of nine, termasuk lima bisnis unit. Tujuan dalam membentuk executive committee adalah untuk mulai desentralisasi proses pengambilan keputusan dari kedua owner . owner tidak aktif berpartisipasi dalam sesi komite, melainkan akan menghadiri summary review, pada akhir / kesimpulan setiap pertemuan, untuk memberikan nasihat dan saran)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jim Burton mengubah perusahaan dan membangun sustainable growth platform Mengidentifikasi dan Memahami Value Creating Processes Burton berfokus pada p elaksanaannya dan membantu Norton Lilly’s executives memahami key process yang memungkinkan strategi eksekusi yang baik dan penciptaan nilai. Burton pertama meluncurkan proses pemetaan pada kelompok kapal , yang beroperasi di delapan kantor yang berbeda o   Ã‚  Ã‚  Pada saat itu, divisi kapal menawarkan berbagai pelayanan terfragmentasi di delapan lokasi, dengan masing-masing lokasi melakukan beberapa kegiatan yang lebih efektif daripada lokasi lain. an lokasi semua gagal untuk memberikan layanan yang memadai dalam hal tertentu   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pada akhir 2007, pemetaan key process yang terlibat dalam memberikan setiap jenis layanan telah membantu manajemen dan karyawan memahami proses untuk memperbaiki proses standarisasi, mengakhiri prosedur administrative yang tidak efektif , meningkatkan kepuasan pelanggan. Pada akhir tahun 2007, Burton diberi tanggung jawab untuk mencapai tujuan KPI untuk manajer individu dan supervisor mengawasi spesicific value creating proce ss dalam divisi kapal Menerapkan Kinerja Balance Scorecard Sistem Pengukuran Seimbang Sistem balanced scorecard fokus ke perhatian manajerial karyawan pada performance value creating process.Metrik yang termasuk dalam sistem balance scorecard digunakan di Norton Lilly termasuk proses KPI kepuasan pelanggan dan kinerja keuangan   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pada akhir tahun 2007 sistem balance scorecard Norton Lilly diperluas untuk memasukkan â€Å"dashboard† indikator kinerja yang dapat memberikan gambaran tingkat unit bisnis o   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dashboard berisi: Pendapatan dibandingkan dengan anggaran Pengelompokan Expence dibandingkan dengan anggaran   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pengeluaran modal dibandingkan dengan anggaran   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Top 10 Costumer profitabilitas Pada akhir tahun 2007 para pemimpin unit bisnis Lilly Norton memegang monthlymeetings untuk meninjau status KPI dan mengusulkan tindakan korektif untuk mengatasi perbedaan antara harapan dan kine rja aktual Alokasi sumber daya Kebijakan Tindakan membangun pondasi lainnya dilakukan pada tahun 2007 termasuk dalam inisiasi perubahan berbagai kebijakan.Salah satu perubahan kebijakan tersebut melibatkan kebijakan pengeluaran modal perusahaan, yang merupakan kebijakan baru pertama kali didirikan oleh komite eksekutif. Kebijakan pengeluaran modal muncul setelah Burton menemukan bahwa perusahaan telah meluncurkan beberapa usaha tanpa banyak keberhasilan. Kebijakan menyerukan sembilan langkah due diligence process karena sembilan langkah tersebut adalah sebagai berikut: 1. Deskripsi kesempatan 2. Deskripsi bagaimana kesempatan fit dengan Norton Lilly objectives 3. Penilaian terhadap ancaman kompetitif 4. Penilaian terhadap kompetitif landscape 5. Bagaimana keberhasilan bias dipastikan 6. Usulan exit strategy 7. Kasus bisnis 8. Financial pro forma 9. Daftar asumsi utama dan resikoKebijakan pengeluaran modal akan memastikan bahwa keputusan untuk masuk ke setiap usaha bisnis akan sepenu hnya diperiksa, berdasarkan fakta, bukan pendapat Membangun Bakat Manajerial Norton Lilly terfokus pada perkembangan foundation building elemen management development yang lain   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Burton memperkenalkan program pengembangan kepemimpinan menyesuaikan profil seseorang sesuai dengan pekerjaannya , program ini didasarkan pada premis dasar bahwa karyawan manajerial dapat diklasifikasikan ke dalam salah satu dari empat profil dasar; stategist, direktur proyek, networker atau eksternal kualifikasi   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Setelah diuji dan diprofilkan, 20-rangking karyawan yang tertinggi di Norton lilly engadakan workshop diarahkan untuk membantu anggota tim manajemen saling memahami, menghormati dan menangani secara efektif. FASE II DARI TURNAROUND: Memperkuat Pondasi Upaya yang dilakukan selama fase 1 dari turnaround Norton Lilly telah menghasilkan fiskal tahun 2007 yang menguntungkan, yang mana ini menjadi tahun pertama yang menguntungkan perusahaan sejak tahun 2003 . Meningkatkan Informasi Digunakan untuk Pengambilan Keputusan Dashboard juga diperluas ke semua unit bisnis Norton Lilly. Serta penambahan ukuran finansial seperti arus kas dan rekening yang piutang KPI Mengubah Harapan Kinerja Keuangan Burton memulai lagi perubahan kebijakan pada tahun 2008, walaupun kurang kebijakan dinyatakan dari pola pikir.Konsep penciptaan nilai diperkenalkan pada pertemuan komite eksekutif pada akhir 2007 dan menjadi dasar bagi semua penganggaran 2008   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Konsep a fair rate of return berdasarkan risiko diasumsikan tidak ada di Norton Lilly, sehingga terpisah dari budgeting exercise 2008 masing-masing pimpinan unit bisnis diberi target marjin Pendekatan baru untuk peramalan kinerja keuangam Meng-udate atau refresh terus-menerus asumsi yang mendasari forcasting   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Memberikan perusahaan melihat terus-menerus pada 12 bulan berikutnya, terlepas dari berapa bulan yang tersisa di tahun kalender. Hal tersebut membantu manajer meningkatkan akurasi peramalan saat perusahaan membutuhkan proyeksi keuangan.

A Brief History of Unctad Essay

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues. The organization’s goals are to â€Å"maximize the trade, investment and development opportunities of developing countries and assist them in their efforts to into the world economy on an equitable basis.† (from official website). The creation of the conference was based on concerns of developing countries over the international market, multi-national corporations, and great disparity between developed nations and developing nations. In the 1970s and 1980s, UNCTAD was closely associated with the idea of a New International Economic Order (NIEO). The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 in order to provide a forum where the developing countries could discuss the problems relating to their economic development. UNCTAD grew from the view that existing institutions like GATT (now replaced by the World Trade Organization, WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank were not properly organized to handle the particular problems of developing countries. The primary objective of the UNCTAD is to formulate policies relating to all aspects of development including trade, aid, transport, finance and technology. The Conference ordinarily meets once in four years. The first conference took place in Geneva in 1964, second in New Delhi in 1968, the third in Santiago in 1972, fourth in Nairobi in 1976, the fifth in Manila in 1979, the sixth in Belgrade in 1983, the seventh in Geneva in 1987, the eighth in Cartagena in 1992 and the ninth at Johannesburg (South Africa)in 1996. The Conference has its permanent secretariat in Geneva. One of the principal achievements of UNCTAD has been to conceive and implement the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). It was argued in UNCTAD, that in order to promote exports of manufactured goods from developing countries, it would be necessary to offer special tariff concessions to such exports. Accepting this argument, the developed countries formulated the GSP Scheme under which manufacturers’ exports and some agricultural goods from the developing countries enter duty-free or at reduced rates in the developed countries. Since imports of such items from other developed countries are subject to the normal rates of duties, imports of the same items from developing countries would enjoy a competitive advantage. Currently, UNCTAD has 194 member States and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. UNCTAD has 400 staff members and an bi-annual (2010–2011) regular budget of $138 million in core budget expenditures and $72 million in extra-budgetary technical assistance funds. It is also a member of the United Nations Development Group.] There is a list of non-governmental organizations participating in the activities of UNCTAD A Brief History of UNCTAD Page Image Image CaptionPage ContentFoundation * In the early 1960s, growing concerns about the place of developing countries in international trade led many of these countries to call for the convening of a full-fledged conference specifically devoted to tackling these problems and identifying appropriate international actions. * The first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was held in Geneva in 1964. Given the magnitude of the problems at stake and the need to address them, the conference was institutionalized to meet every four years, with intergovernmental bodies meeting between sessions and a permanent secretariat providing the necessary substantive and logistical support. * Simultaneously, the developing countries established the Group of 77 to voice their concerns. (Today, the G77 has 131 members.) * The prominent Argentinian economist Raà ºl Prebisch, who had headed the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, became the organization’s first Secretary-General. Phase 1: The 1960s and 1970s * In its early decades of operation, UNCTAD gained authoritative standing: * as an intergovernmental forum for North-South dialogue and negotiations on issues of interest to developing countries, including debates on the â€Å"New International Economic Order†. * for its analytical research and policy advice on development issues. * Agreements launched by UNCTAD during this time include * | * * the Generalized System of Preferences (1968), whereby developed economies grant improved market access to exports from developing countries. * a number of International Commodities Agreements, which aimed at stabilizing the prices of export products crucial for developing countries. * the Convention on a Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences, which strengthened the ability of developing countries to maintain national merchant fleets. * the adoption of a Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices. This work later evolved into what is today known as â€Å"Trade and Competition Policies†.

U.S. National Intelligence Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

U.S. National Intelligence Services - Essay Example All their responsibilities revolve around one thing: â€Å"To maintain peace and prosperity in United States and to eradicate all the evils from the society which are causing disruptions†. Some of its top-most responsibilities are to protect United States from terrorism, intelligence threats, high technology crimes, cyber-based attacks, civil rights etc. It has the duty perform which includes combating and eradicating public corruption at all levels, white collar and violent crime etc. Protecting civil liberties is one of the main aims of FBI in which FBI is responsible to collect all the required information and provided to the foreign intelligence collection agencies. It has to perform its duty in accordance to United States constitutional system. FBI also trains special agents so that they can have an insight, how to carry on civil rights protections programs in the country. This extensive Civil Law instruction greatly helps in maintaining law and order in the country. Responsibilities of FBI have been re-stated and improvised after the social and political impact of the events of 9/11. Its Motto says it all: ‘Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity’. FBI needs should make such an organizational structure which clearly defines the responsibilities of the supervisors and other employees to increase efficiency. Improving internal security systems and managerial systems will directly improve the management of this agency. Being an individual United States civil agency, CIA has to follow a proper framework of responsibilities set in accordance with Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act 2004 mainly. Conducting counterterrorism and counterintelligence activities is the main responsibility of CIA. Taking care of the special national security matters is what the main duty of CIA is. All these responsibilities can only be carried efficiently and effectively only in one case which is,

Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Questions - Essay Example king in a different division, the permission of both supervisors must first be sought, in order to maintain an effective line of control and only after the two supervisors agree on the collaboration, the respective team members can collaborate with each other. The argument offered in support of this position is that information may sometimes need to be kept confidential within a particular division or group, which justifies such policing. If I was the CEO of this organization, I would apply a different set of rules to such collaborations between individuals performing different organizational roles. I would utilize the tools provided by software such as wikis, to set up online areas where users can collaborate with others across the organization and modify information on websites for use by others. In this way, there is scope provided for free exchange of information and collaboration within the organization, so that the existing organizational boundaries between divisions are dissolved automatically. In the present day framework, effective communication within an organization is vital, although the confidentiality must also be preserved. Too much hierarchical control over collaboration between individuals may undermine the free flow of information, however the use of wikis offers a less rigidly policed boundary, which could be beneficial to the firm. 2. Hodgkinson and Johnson (1994) offer the argument that there is likely to be a greater degree of heterogeneity existing among organizations that function in task environments, which are more competitive. The task environment relates to those market factors that play a role in the functioning of a business. In a manufacturing organization, task pressures are higher because they are conditioned by market forces, especially in the retail sector which needs to be responsive to fluctuating customer demand. In the case of Zara, the clothing retailer, the organizational manages the competitive pressures in the

Global economic and lobal recession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Global economic and lobal recession - Essay Example Since the 2008 global economic crisis the airline industry was severely affected by reduced business revenues as the market adjusted to difficult economic times. Commercial and private travel costs had to be reduced in order to keep in touch with the economic realities that global performance had dipped into. Many related industries such as the motor vehicle industry were also severely hit to liquidation, which illustrates the magnitude of the threat that the industry faced. As a result of the reduced fortunes and opportunities in the industry and many national economies in general, governments had to chip in their protectionist policies against adverse impacts on the economy. As a result, there was an increase in government debt particularly in European economies that have had adverse impact on the integrity of the industry as an aftermath of the recession. The banking sector which impacts directly on the performance of most industries was also hit during the recent economic crisis and until full stabilization occurs, operation certainty remains elusive in the airline industry. According to Niththyananthan (1), the domestic market in the whole of Europe is particularly affected by the proceeding in the banking sector to such an extent that business operations are conducted with extra caution. This explains the huge national bailout pleas that certain economies in Europe have been forwarding to the IMF and the European Union, since their economies were severely affected.

European Environmental Agency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

European Environmental Agency - Essay Example We are a main information source for those involved in developing, adopting, implementing and evaluating environmental policy, and also the general public" (p.1). The agency works towards reaching its primary goals in the following ways; "By providing a wide range of information and assessments of: The state of the environment and trends, Pressures on the environment and the driving forces behind them, Policies and their effectiveness and Outlooks/scenarios," (EEA, 1995-2008 p.1). Further promotion of the works of the group come with, "The European Environmental Agency (EEA) Scientific Committee has called for the suspension of the EU target of 10% biofuels use in transportation by 2020, and is recommending a new, comprehending scientific study on the environmental risks and benefits of biofuels," Further elaborating that, "The Scientific Committee assists the management board and executive director of the EEA by providing scientific advice and delivering professional opinions on any scientific matter in the areas of work undertaken by the Agency. The committee comprises 20 independent scientists from 15 EEA member countries, covering a variety of environmental fields," (Green Car Congress 2008, p.1). Each individual organization has a listing of primary responsibilities that are the primary focus for the organization, as well as the body of memb

Witnessign to Jehovah's Witnesses on the Issues of Life and Death Research Paper

Witnessign to Jehovah's Witnesses on the Issues of Life and Death Decisions - Research Paper Example Modern civilization now puts its emphasis on the respect for individuals and this includes the ideas, beliefs and ideologies of a person. For a better world to exist, this would be an ideal notion that everyone might agree with and even advocate. However, there is also the fact to be considered that there are differences among individuals that usually make it difficult for an ideal world to be had. Individuals in a family have different perspectives which usually cause misunderstandings. Likewise, individuals in organizations, fraternities or even churches have this similar problem. No matter how similar people’s beliefs are, there are always points of differences where contradictions among members occur and these should be understood and respected to achieve the old adage, ‘Live and let live.’ This paper will look into the situation of a couple who are faced with a decision considering the medical condition of the young woman as dictated by their beliefs. The wom an suffers from severe pain and abdominal cramps and is found to have ectopic pregnancy. The doctor explains the situation and the remedy and warns the couple that if the woman does not undergo the operation, blood transfusion and other procedures needed to be done, she would die. Being members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the couple believe that the entire procedure is entirely against their beliefs. So, the question of whether they will push through with the procedure to save the young wife’s life or not receive medical attention at all and face the sting of death, is upon their shoulders. The following discussion will offer the possible result of this decision-making the couple is to make. Blood transfusion is one of the major concerns of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ beliefs and in fact to this day, the most debated among its beliefs. It is believed by critiques that such belief reflects their rejection of modern science and the extreme literalism of their exegesis (Horton, 2006). Witnesses prohibit members from receiving blood transfusions based on Acts 15:20 (Schmidt, 1993) so that in this view, the couple would most likely decline the idea of the operation to save the life of the woman. Spiritual beliefs could be difficult to debate about when such circumstances occur so that the medical team should be as well versed with different belief systems as they are with the technicalities of their profession. With such a weapon, they can try to convince patients to concede to whatever is needed to make an operation successful however; they should also know their limitations and boundaries so as not to desecrate what patients consider important for them. Most physicians with their educational training would desire to save a life and in the aforementioned situation, would like to save the life of the wife. A medical practitioner could probably try to convince the couple by looking closely at their basis for their belief found in Leviticus 1 7:11-14. It can be noted that the scripture prohibits men to eat blood and blood transfusion is not the same as eating. It is the desire of a loving God for His people to live in health and wellness and therefore would want the woman to live healthy and well. The same scripture claims that blood is life (NIV, 2005) that is why blood transfusion is a means of giving life to the patient. In addition, according to James Sire, the Witnesses’ argument about Acts 1520 is based on a false analogy. He agrees that blood transfusion is not the same as eating blood. He even claims that it is far different from intravenous feeding because the blood goes straight to the blood vessels and does not undergo the process food does, passing through the stomach to be processed before being distributed to the different parts of the body through the blood (Schmidt, 1993). One of the reasons that Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse blood transfusion is the fact that there have been those who underwen t blood transfusion

Response paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 27

Response paper - Essay Example The author also says that there were many continuations of the Algerian War found in the modern French society (McCormack 200). The Algerian War in history terms shows parts of the present in relation to its sequels. I believe the Algerian War memories are important in understanding the modern French society. The Algerian war memory has been reserved while the Indo-China conflict has been truly out of the memory, as it does not reappear in the present. The repression of the memory is unhealthy for the French community as it results in repetition of old divisions. It prevents a peaceful mind from existing and brings about the injury produced by painful memories (McCormack 220). Essentially, the commemoration of the Algerian War events should be perceived as an opportunity for the French administration to show their readiness to the Fifth Republic to identify the problematic facets of its history. The French government must generate a report through the creation of a commission to gather evidence and facts about the Algerian war. Great work needs to be done if France is to conquer the divisions in the French society that were inherited from the

Cross Culture Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cross Culture Management - Essay Example Initially as a student I tried co-operating with my fellows so as to achieve mutual goals but the approach of collectivism started to negatively impact my progress since I wasn’t recognized as an individual with higher self esteem and confidence. In order to adjust into the new environment I started focusing only on myself but then I recognized another cultural issue i.e. the different nature of social relationships. In China people prefer to have hierarchies while maintaining their assigned positions in a formal manner. On the other hand Americans have egalitarian approach towards social relations which are comparatively informal in nature. Moreover, least value is given to the social standards in America which is actually beneficial for the social development but this cultural aspect is difficult to adopt by the Chinese. Hence at first it was very hard for me to move with people who were having lower social status than me. Friendship plays a very important role when it comes to education and career development. Chinese usually have few lifetime friends with greater sense of obligation towards one another but Americans emphasize on maintaining a large circle of friends who change over the time and do not have long time mutual obligations. This is further related to the idea of avoiding interdependence as Americans have an individualistic approach towards life. Being Chinese I did not know this fact before and for that reason I tried to have reciprocal obligations with my friends in USA. This actually caused me much trouble as I always had too many expectations from my immediate acquaintances. Furthermore, Americans give preference to the accomplishment of tasks over the relationships whereas Chinese are considerably relationship oriented. For instance, if I have an argument with my friend while working on a project then in order to complete work he would rather join another group or submit an individua l project without giving importance to our

Ask week6 m 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ask week6 m 8 - Essay Example 621), the knowledge of â€Å"Winner Curse† helps professionals to become more aware of issues and matters at hand. It also helps an individual to be more creative and innovative in future decision making process. Operation successful: patient dead is defined by Holmes (1985) as a phrase that explains changes and reforms in the health care sector. It expounds on possible predicaments that may hinder the transformation process. For example, the transformation in healthcare sector in Canada can be referred to as operation successful: Patient Dead. According to Masuch (1983, p. 17), vicious circle is articulated when a wrong decision in an organization is followed by another wrong decision for a long period. This may be due to poor policies and ideologies As observed by Breyer (1993, p. 87), vicious circle can be alleviated through change of attitude and improvement in organization tactics such as a change in decision making tactics. For instance, the involvement of all stakeholders in decision making process is very critical in averting the vicious circle According to Rothstein (2005, p. 67), decision paradox is a situation where a rational decision making process leads to unexpected results, which may undermine the objectives and goals of the decision maker. For example, a failed plan aimed at improving organization performance can be referred to as decision paradox (Amason and Mooney, 2008, p. 407). As stated by Bell (1982, p.961), to counter the impact of decision paradox, decision makers ought to identify the decision paradox risks and develop ways of managing them in decision making process. For example, any decision to expand organization operations ought to be preceded by a comprehensive market survey According to Bulow and Klemperer (2002, p. 7), winner curse is more likely to occur in a competitive environment. Competitive environment leads to increased level of uncertainty relating to the value of the product or services to bid (Burger

Jane Austens Persuasion Essay Example for Free

Jane Austens Persuasion Essay Jane Austen is a successful classic romance novelist, one of her many novels is Persuasion, a novel that portrays love. She published six novels that all relate to the theme of love and marriage along with the consequences of making that important decision. While the novel Persuasion is romantically favourable, there are ideas presented about marriage that are not very appealing. The main story of the novel was the reunion of Anne and her shattered love with, Captain Wentworth. Though they were sincerely in love, the relationship was rejected by her father and Mrs. Russell from a financial and social class perspective. The ending of the story brings us to a beautiful happily ever after, where the engagement of Anne and Captain Wentworth takes place. The reunion of the couple, led to happiness for the two and that was all that concerned them. There are marriages however, that are quite uncooperatively performed. Some marriages usually serve the purpose of financial aid or social mobility for the significant other who is less fortunate, in this case it is usually the women. This is evident with Mrs. Clay and her desire to marry Sir Walter for wealth or Mr. Elliot and his desire to marry Anne to become baronet. Marriage in Regency England was used as a vehicle for many things (Pack 2012) . Hence, Jane Austen tells her perspective of women’s idea of why they should marry during that period of time. Overall, the ideas of marriage would be happiness; social class and wealth are what persuades most of the women into marrying in Regency England. â€Å"Why should the people be unhappy? Are there not landed gentry, country parsons, and even wealthy naval commanders for them to marry? Ruoff 2012)† For a successful marriage relationship involves the dedication and affection of both partners. During the course of the novel, the most successful and content relationship would be Anne Captain Wentworth. Though their relationship was unapproved and disregarded by the elders of the family, they both knew from time that they were meant for each other. Jane Austen uses Anne and Cap tain Wentworth as an example, contrary to the other marriages present in the novel to reveal her belief in the possibility of â€Å"good† marriages. The substantial ratio of love marriages to the others in the novel evidently conveys Jane Austen’s opinion on happy marriages; indicating that perhaps happiness in marriage is just a matter of chance. The love relationship with Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth in the beginning was very strong; regardless of their separation it is still continued to be one. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight and a half years ago. Dare not say that a man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. (Austen, page 177) When Captain Wentworth says this to Anne its describes his unconditional love towards Anne which is true, regardless of her breaking their engagement when Lady Russell discourages her from the engagement. He willingly stated the truth of his feelings which indicates the fact that he had loved nobody and thought of nobody other than Anne. In this novel Captain Wentworth was portrayed by Jane Austen as a character to show the value of men’s love. â€Å"What was most wrong to Jane Austen was to marry without at least affection if not love. Always ridiculed when young women and their mothers go into secure marriages more than love† (wit and wisdom of Jane Austen 2012). In all the novels that Jane Austen has written it showed how much of a believer she was in love marriages and how she regarded it as. Austen felt that love should be shown in all relationships within the partners. When the other reasons of marriage were looked upon it came back to the necessity of women. When looking at this argument however, men also have the equal standing and determinations regarding the decision of marriage. Throughout this story Austen points out and mocks the characters that chose to get married for security of themselves over happiness of their lives. For example, Mary was shown to be arrogant, complaining, and careless mother because she cared about social class more. Just as much as men showing their affections and happiness towards their partners, women also show the same amount of affection and happiness but in some cases women’s love towards their partner is greater than expected compared to men. If I loved a man as she loves the Admiral, I would always be with him, nothing should ever separate us, and I would rather be overturned by him, than driven safely by anybody else. (Austen, page 61). When Louisa says this line it portrays that another character who believed in love marriages. This quote points out the depths of a women’s love in Aus ten’s perspective, showing her understanding of love and how it should be seen. The effectiveness of this line proves that it is not easy for a woman to accept love and it’s just as important as any other decision that you could ever make in your life. Their union, she believed, could not divide her more from other men, than their final separation. (21. 2). When Anne says this quote it shows her unconditional love towards Captain Wentworth and that there will be no other man other than him to replace her love, it also shows that even after seven years she never stopped loving Captain Wentworth still regretting her actions. This proves that women take their love seriously and that it is very strong. â€Å"†¦ is the only man she can love †¦ she in sorrow and lose beauty and youth in unveiling regret† (Kavanagh 2012). This quote reveals the sorrow of a woman when she has to part from her partner, it uses imagery to better illustrate the feelings of a woman when she goes through this. It relates to Anne because this is how she felt when she had to break the engagement between her and Captain Wentworth; and how much she regretted making that decision. Marriage is an important factor when it came to women especially when it either helps elevate their social status or bring it down. Throughout the story, Austen mainly portrays the significance of social ranking in society marriages. She pictured out which couples were more successful in the marriages, for example, the Crofts whom were well matched when it came to social status. Most of the women in this novel are put out as wanting to marry for high position in social rank. One of the marriages was Mary, it helps the purpose of marriage but it does not show the real meaning of marriage. â€Å"He thought it a very degrading alliance† (Austen, page 18). At the end of the novel, Anne and Wentworth are united but in the beginning they were disapproved especially by Sir Walter because Wentworth had no social ranking. Particularly, to the people of higher ranks, social class was tremendously important regardless of what the situation might be. No matter what the circumstance was, one does not marry below their own class. Looking at Anne’s perspective, her being a Baronet’s daughter could not marry Wentworth who was not of social rank or it was frowned upon in society and brought disgrace to the family. Westgate Buildings! said he, and who is Miss Anne Elliot to be visiting in Westgate Buildings? A Mrs Smith. A widow Mrs Smith; and who was her husband? One of five thousand Mr Smiths whose names are to be met with everywhere. And what is her attraction? That she is old and sickly. Upon my word, Miss Anne Elliot, you have the most extraordinary taste! Everything that revolts other people, low company, paltry rooms, foul air, disgusting associations are inviting to you. But surely you may put off this old lady till to-morrow: she is not so near her end, I presume, but that she may hope to see another day. ( Austen, page 14). The usage of this quote reminds Austen’s audience the consequence of marrying of low class. Since Mrs. Smith married someone of a low class she was frowned upon those who were above her like Sir Walter. â€Å"Jane Austen’s novels do affirm the value of a social order is undeniable† (Ruoff 2012). When Jane Austen wrote her novels she was extremely careful about how social class worked in marriages and the importance it gave even for the smallest issues, social class was almost a question of life or death. Marriage was undisputable. Women needed to find a husband with a high status to maintain personal status. Mary had merely connected herself with an old country family of respectability and large fortune, and had therefore given all the honour (chap 1 page 3). Mary like her father was very concerned about her personal statues and chose to get married to a wealthy and respected family. Since she was married into a family like that she was given all the honour and respect automatically regardless of what she was before. Here Austen shows that marriage in Mary’s case was to upgrade her social ranking and it shows the relationship of Mary and Charles is rather unstable and nor do they love each other. Marriage here was shown as a social mobility. â€Å"†¦by her pride, the Elliot pride† (Austen, pages 65). When Louisa said this, a believer of love marriages, suggested the pride that she had towards her husband, his family and herself. Mary is completely proud of her married life because as Baron’s daughter she held up the pride of the Elliot’s name and married into a respectful family. Even though she does not lead a happy life, she is fulfilled with the position that she has in society from the marriage she had. Jane thought the worst case scenario of a woman is not able to find a husband in her own social class and whose family cannot support her (wit and wisdom of Jane Austen 2012). Even though Jane Austen was a believer of love marriages at heart she also understood that a woman without social rank or a husband without a social rank won’t have a bright future. Especially when the woman’s family won’t support her in any way. Respect and Pride was two words that if in any case it was taken away; it is almost as life or death in most women’s lives. Mary acquired importance after becoming Mrs. Charles Musgrove; but Anne, with an elegance of mind and sweetness of character †¦ was nobody: her word had no weight†. Anne’s characteristic was portrayed as sweet, wittier and overall a better person compared to her sister Mary. However, she was barely respected or seen as a member in the family. Mary’s characteristic was portrayed as a horrible mot her, arrogant and just obnoxious and yet people respected her and treated her like an equal part of the family. Mary, being married into a wealthy and high social ranked family, secured her position as high in the social circle. Still, focusing on appearance and rank as he inserts Captain Wentworth’s name in the Baronetage. He has not changed at all (Adamson 2012). Sir Walter dismissed Captain Wentworth as a potential husband for Anne because he had no title or wealth but now Wentworth is respected by Sir Walter since Wentworth has acquired a fortune putting him stable and rich and qualified to be respected as one in the high society. This will help Anne gain everybody’s respect when she becomes dependent on Captain Wentworth and will lead a wealthy life. Throughout the past, marriages were frequently seen as a contract to protect the welfare of the family’s statues and finance, especially amongst the mist of local nobility and landlord gentlemen which is always pointed out and focused on in all her novels. Marriage was a tool and excuse to become wealthy and respected. Vastly women took the upper hand and advantage when considering marriage especially if it allows their lives to be prosperous. They are not mainly to be blamed because they have no choice, they were not educated or had the right to their parent’s wealth, marriage was the only other option for them to avoid the gutters and live royalty. Since women had no education like the men, women had no means or opportunities to make money to live their own life of their choosing. â€Å"Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. † (Austen, page 172). This quote states that education was not something woman were able to grasp at all, it was given to the men at a high degree and even if women were given education and it was just to read and write a little and that was it. In today’s world the more education you had, the better the career. However, back then, women were unfortunate as the quote suggests â€Å"The pen has been in their hands. † â€Å"Men always had the upper hand and the means of living compared to the women, â€Å"You have always a profession, pursuits, business of some sort or other, to take you back into the world immediately, and continual occupation and change soon weaken impressions. (Austen, page 173. ) When Anne says this line it bluntly says the situation of women and how they can’t have a job to rely on or anything else like the men because they have no education and mostly women were not allowed to even work in England. They were expected to stay home and look after the house and the children. Hence women relying on making good marriages financial wise in order to live happily. Women in the upper classes had the leisure to educate themselves; however, they, like their counterparts in the lower classes, were not expected to think for themselves and were not often listened to when they did. Jane Austens novels both reflect and challenge the periods attitudes toward women (Smith 2012). In Jane Austen’s novels, Austen was able to portray the struggles of uneducated people in that time period. The lower class women had no education at all compared to the high class ladies so their words were not considered anywhere. While the high class ladies at least were able to read and write somewhat and because of their positions in society it was easier for higher class ladies to express themselves. Regardless, of whether a family had a daughter, as the oldest child, the parent’s wealth always ended to the closet male family member and the daughter has nothing. â€Å"She had, while a very young girl, as soon as she had known him to be, in the event of her having no brother, the future baronet, meant to marry him. † (Austen, page 4). In England back in the time, had the law where the property and wealth of the family will go to the son who will be the next in line to take responsibilities of the household. Sir Walter has no heir; son, hence, putting his nephew William Walter Elliot, cousin of Elizabeth and her sisters next in line to the Baronet title. Elizabeth knowing this well enough decided to get married to him at such a young age to gain respect and wealth, proving that women have no choice regarding the family’s wealth it never went to the daughters. Hence, forcing them to marry for just wealth and prestige. â€Å"The gentlemen, the head of the house, like you father† (Austen, page 8). Ideally the head of the house back in the time and even now the men were the head of house. Austen uses a little dryness in this quote because women were in charge of looking after the house like cooking and cleaning and they were considered as â€Å"head of the house†. However, this quote says men to be the head of the house. This shows the reality of a woman’s life and goes to prove that women had limited to no opportunity regarding credit and job opportunities. Therefore, pushing forth with women using marriage has a tool to get the hold of respect and money. She realised that it was necessary for women to marry in order to avoid poverty (Gill and Gregory, 2003).

The Functional Requirement Of Cladding System Essay

The Functional Requirement Of Cladding System Essay Strength and Stability A wall structure should have adequate strength to support its own weight between points of support or fixing to the structural frame, and sufficient stability against lateral wind pressures. To allow for differential movements, there has to be adequate support to carry the weight of the wall structure, and also restraint fixings that will maintain the wall in position and at the same time allow differential movements without damage to either the fixings or the wall material. Thin sheet wall materials such as GRP, metal and glass suffer rapid changes in temperature and consequent expansion and contraction which may cause distortion and damage to fixings or the thin panel material or both. In the design of wall structure faced with thin panel or sheet material, the ideal arrangement is to provide only one rigid support fining to each panel or sheet with one other flexible support fixing and two flexible restraint fixings. The need to provide support and restraint fixings with adequate flexibility to allow for thermal movement and at the same time adequately restrain the facing in place and maintain a weather tight joint has been the principal difficulty in the use of thin panel and sheet facings. Resistance to weather/exclusion of wind and rain The least thickness of solid wall material necessary to prevent penetration of rainwater to the inner face depends on the degree of exposure to driving rain. Common practice is to construct a cavity wall adequate thermal resistance to the passage of heat, and an attractive finish. Common practice is to construct solid cladding systems with an outer leaf of light weight block for insulation. Material used to seal joints is required to be resilient enough to accommodate movement and resist weather deterioration. The rain screen principle is designed to provide a separate outer skin, to screen wall panels from scouring by wind and rain and deterioration by sunlight, and to improve the life and efficient of the joint seals. Durability and freedom from maintenance The durability of a wall structure is a measure of the frequency and extent of the work necessary to maintain minimum functional requirements and acceptable appearance. For example, masonry required a little maintenance because the dirt stained due to slow run-off of water from open horizontal joints. Panels of glass will maintain their finish over the expected life of buildings but will require frequent cleaning of the surface if they are to maintain their initial appearance, and periodic attention to and renewal of the seals. Another material that can be used is metal. bronze and stainless steel, both materials, will weather by the formation of a thin film of oxide that is impermeable and prevents further oxidation. Fire safety/fire Resistance Primary precautions are the internal spread of fire across the surface materials of the wall and ceilings, external fire spread over the fabric and fire spread such as cavities. The Building Regulations prohibit the use of materials that encourage spread of flame across their surface when subject to intense radiant heat and those which give off heat when burning. Limits of using thermoplastic materials in roof lights and lighting diffusers set in Building Regulation. To limit the spread of fire between buildings, limits to the size of unprotected areas of walls. The term unprotected area is used to include those parts of external walls that may contribute to the spread of the fire between buildings such as windows. The Regulations also limit the use of materials of roof coverings near a boundary that will not provide adequate protection against the spread of fire over their surfaces. Resistance to the passage of heat/thermal property Addition insulation need to be provided by lining of the cladding material. The interiors of building clad with large areas of glass may gain through large part or the whole of their internal heat from a combination of solar heat gain through glass cladding and from internal artificial lighting. Solar heat gain can be controlled through the use of simple shading devices fixed externally or internally to the building fabric. Control of internal temperatures As we know, solar is gain through glass panel. The thermal control can be achieved by deep recessed window used in conjunction with external vertical fins, non-transparent external louvers and used of special solar control glass. Another way is minimized the air leakage in the building. We need to maintain the temperature in the building like the concept of green house effect that can traps the heat in the building in the cool day. Resistance to the passage of sound/sound insulation There are several ways to overcome this problem. Firstly, used the resilient pad to prevent sound originating within the structure to be transferred vertically through cladding members. Airbone soung can be prevented by utilizing double glazing panel to window area. B) A client requires a road that requires little maintenance with reasonable non-skid properties. With the aid of diagramme, suggest a type of road and the construction methodology for the proposed used. A client requires a road that requires little maintenance with reasonable non-skid properties. With the aid of diagramme, suggest a type of road and the construction methodology for the proposed used. Type of Road: Flexible Road Sub-grade: original soil or backfilling soil Sub base: small aggregates. The surface of the compacted sub-base should be close textured to prevent migration of sand from the bedding course. Example: sand or quarry dust. Road base: crusher run Surfacing : pre-mix bituminous. Prime coat as binder of particles. Construction Methodology Site Clearing Right of way The corridor of the road has to be cleared to the required width (prevention of soil erosion) Make sure that the accessibility of the road is permitted legally. Clearing and grubbing of the site Using dozer or grader for the works. The hedges and grass roots can be removed by using dozer. Grader is usually for grubbing works where the topsoil needs not to remove form site Cut and fill of the road Cutting: Formation level is lower than original ground level. Filling: Formation level is higher than original level. Preparation of sub grade layer Make sure that the base and subgrade layers must provide adequate and moisture resistant strength and modulus, in addition to durability and stability. Before subgrade can start, make sure the installation of services has finished such as ground surface drainage, piping for water supply and electrical. Subgrade is started and compacted until reaching uniform density for the whole width and to falls. Replaced the unsuitable material such as rock or not useful soil. Subgrade, and base materials frequently require treatment with additives such as asphalt, cement, fly ash, and lime.   Should have unsoaked C.B.R (California bearing ratio) of 15% in the subgrade. CBR is a penetration test for evaluation of the mechanical strength  of  road  subgrades Preparation of sub base 300mm thick of sand/quarry dust. Compacted with 8-10 tonne smooth wheeled roller at 125mm layer 12 times. Rolling start from one side of the road to the center of road in horizontal direction by using roller-compactor. Road base construction Constructed into two layers with same thickness with each layer not more than 150mm thick. Materials (crusher run) leveled following chambers. Lastly, using compactor to compact the mixing tar of the road. Surfacing Construction the graded subgrade or the top granular base layer may be prepared with a prime coat A prime coat is a sprayed application of a cutback (MC-30 or MC-70) or emulsion asphalt applied to the surface of untreated subgrade or base layers.   The size of the premix: 12.5mm to 19mm Compaction should be done quickly Underseal which is a sprayed application of asphalt binder (emulsion or hot applied asphalt binder) immediately covered by a layer of one-sized aggregate. The last step is Road surface marking by using white paints. C) Describe the performance and specify of the material that can be used to fill the void of disused structures e.g. culverts, redundant sewers, cellars and basements and also for soil stabilization, e.g. bridge abutments tunnel stabilization and embarkments. Describe the performance and specify of the material that can be used to fill the void of disused structures e.g. culverts, redundant sewers, cellars and basements and also for soil stabilization, e.g. bridge abutments tunnel stabilization and embarkments. Materials used: Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) Developed in Sweden in the late 1920s, autoclaved cellular concrete (ACC) is a lightweight precast concrete building material that is cured under elevated pressure inside special kilns called autoclaves. Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (often shortened to AAC) is effectively concrete with lots of closed air pockets in it. It is lightweight and energy efficient, and is produced by adding a foaming agent to concrete in a mould, then wire cutting blocks or panels from the resulting cake, and cooking it with steam (autoclaving). Performance Appearance It contains many small voids (similar to those in aerated chocolate bars) that can be clearly seen when looked at closely. The closed air pockets contribute to the materials insulating properties and also its aerated nature. Although there is no direct path for water to pass through the material, an appropriate coating is required to prevent water penetrating into the AAC material. AAC can be sculpted with wood working tools, but its softness means that it is rarely used as an exposed finish owing to its need for surface protection. Structural Capability The compressive strength of AAC is very good and load-bearing structures up to three storeys high can be safely erected. Entire building structures can be made in AAC from walls to floors and roofing with reinforced lintels, blocks and floor, wall and roofing panels available from the manufacturers. AAC panels and lintels contain integral steel reinforcement to ensure structural adequacy during installation and design life. Thermal mass With its mixture of lightweight concrete and air pockets, AAC has a moderate overall level of thermal mass performance. The temperature moderating thermal mass is most useful in climates with high cooling needs. Sound insulation With its closed air pockets, AAC can providevery good sound insulation. As with all masonry construction, care must be taken to avoid gaps and unfilled joints that can allow unwanted sound transmission. Combining the AAC wall with an insulated asymmetric cavity system will provide a wall with excellent sound insulation properties. Fire resistance AAC is inorganic and incombustible and is thus especially suited for fire-rated applications. Depending on the application and the thickness of the blocks or panels, fire ratings up to four hours can be achieved. AAC does not harbour or encourage vermin (ulat). Durability and moisture resistance The purposely lightweight nature of AAC makes it liable to impact damage. With the surface protected to resist moisture penetration it is not affected by harsh climatic conditions and will not degrade under normal atmospheric conditions. The porous nature of the material can allow moisture to penetrate the material to a depth but appropriate design (damp proof coarse layers and appropriate coating systems) prevents this happening. AAC will not easily degrade structurally when exposed to moisture. Toxicity and Breathability There are no toxic substances and no odour in the final product. If low toxic, vapour permeable coatings are used on the walls and care is taken not to trap moisture where it can condense, AAC may be an ideal material for homes for the chemically sensitive. Environment Impact AAC has manufacturing, embodied energy and GH emission impacts similar to those of concrete, but can be up to one quarter to one fifth that of concrete based on volume. Its much higher insulation value reduces heating and cooling energy consumption. As an energy and material investment it can often be justified for buildings intended to have a long life. Buildability, availability and cost AAC is relatively easy to work, is light and easily carved, cut and sculpted. Very large block sizes may require two-handed lifting and be awkward to handle but can result in fewer joints and more rapid construction. Low waste component, as the offcuts can be re-used in the construction of the wall. *Figure show the principle of heat insulation and sound insulation D) Briefly describe the activities involved in external works at the start of the contract. Briefly describe the activities involved in external works at the start of the contract. External work is means by the work or the construction is carried out outside of the building or the work generally done externally from main building. At the contract commencement, there are many types of external work can be carry out such as drainage, temporary access, temporary storage, temporary car parks, temporary site facilities, and public utilities such as water, electricity and telecom. Those external works must be prepared before the construction can be started. Most of the activities will span the whole contract period but bulk of activities will fall under early stages of construction and toward the end of the construction. In early stages of construction, there are many external work s need to prepare. For examples, drainage main runs, access arrangement, storage facilities, car parks, place to settle the machinery for foundation construction, and services to the construction sites. The first activities involves in external works at the start of the contract is drainage system. There are two categories of drainage which are surface drainage and sub-surface drainage. Surface drainage is the removal and disposal of water from the surface of the pavement. Whereas sub-surface drainage is the use of underground pipes and other fittings to corect the flow of water from where it is not wanted to some other place. This includes land drainage that removing and disposing of surplus groundwater from gardens, fields and other plots of open land. A subsurface drain is a perforated conduit, such as tile, pipe or tubing, installed below the ground surface to intercept, collect or convey drainage water. *The picture show the surface drainage and sub-surface drainage Besides drainage that need to take consider in the early stages of external work, temporary access also an importance in construction site. Ususally, a geotextile is used as a temporary road access. A geotextile is a synthetic permeable textile material used with soil, rock, or any other material. Geotextiles extend the service life of roads, increase their load-carrying capacity, and reduce the incidence of ruts. These benefits are accomplished by separating aggregate structural layers from subgrade soil while allowing the passage of water. Geotextiles should be considered for use on any section of road requiring an aggregate (rock) layer for surfacing. Geotextiles can reduce the amount of aggregate required, thus reducing the cost of the road, as well as providing the benefits described in the previous paragraph. * The picture show how the geotexile work. Next, temporary site storage and car park (empty area) also consider as external work that need to prepare in construction site. The uses of the temporary site storage is to keep important material or the expensive material. For example, the cement which cannot put outside space, it must be covered by the roof to avaid raining. The cement also need to keep in a dry place because it is easily chemically react with water. Car park or empty area also need in construction site because it is for the lorry to loading or unloading the things for the construction. Car parks also need for the site manager or outsides visitor to keep their vehicle. * The picture show the temporary car park at the site of construction Apart from that, at the commencement for external works, public utilities such as water supply, electricity and telecom also need to prepare in the site of construction. The piping work must be installated at early stage of external work in order to easy the work. The electricity supply need for the lighting, and machinery used. Telecom is used for the communication purposes.

Macro and Micro Environment Analysis of McDonalds

Macro and Micro Environment Analysis of McDonalds 2. Literature Review This section provides a broad picture of the dissertation that includes setting up the arameters and limits to the field of inquiry going into the research. Its aim is to identify key ideas, marketing theories applicable and marketing case studies that impinge upon the area of this investigation. It makes an effective starting point leading into the introduction and the background of the dissertation. 2.1 Macro Environment Analysis of McDonalds The analysis is done using a top down approach where first the Macro Environment and then the Micro environment has been examined, in which McDonalds operates. 2.1.2 Internal Anlaysis Internal Analysis is done using Value Chain analysis. The term ‘value chain was used by Michael Porter (1985) in his book â€Å"competitive advantage; creating and sustaining superior performance†. Brown (1997),â€Å"described value chain as a tool to disaggregate a business in to strategically relevant activities†. In McDonalds case, the key value adding activities are inbound logistics, operation, outbound logistics, marketing sales and service. McDonalds logistics function is to buy food on behalf of its operator (franchisee) and arrange delivery in to their restaurants. McDonalds logistics includes; the procurement and shipment of raw materials in to suppliers, the procurement and shipment of finished goods between the suppliers and the distribution centres, together with the warehousing at each distribution centre, the ordering and the delivery to restaurants of all food, packaging and operating supplies. To improve its logistics operation, McDonalds combines a number of food-processing plants dedicated to its operation only. The establishment of â€Å"food towns† consisting of a distribution centre and a bakery, a meat plant, a sauce plant and a chicken plant, gives McDonalds competitive advantage. The supporting activities that can be identified are procurement, human resources development and technology. McDonalds uses electronic procurement system. It had set logistics trends for restaurants with its online ordering system. It was noted that more than 12% of McDonalds franchisees ordered food supplier electronically. Revamping its supply chain with software and technology made it easy to respond quickly and efficiently to customers needs. With the online ordering system, McDonalds had a return on investment of 23.2% in 2008. However, the human resource development at McDonalds is excellent. McDonalds uses a high-engagement approach to improving both their operations, leadership pipeline and employee satisfaction with their career growth. Every management staff at McDonalds receives training at one of the regional training centres and at the national centre, Hamburger University in East Finchley. Training all employees to work in one best way (quick-service culture) made McDo nalds to gain customers loyalty continuously leading to a competitive advantage. 2.1.3 External Anlaysis PEST analysis is applied for an in depth understanding of macro environment in fast food industry where McDonalds operated. Kotler (1998) claims that PEST analysis is a useful strategic tool for understanding market growth or decline, business position, potential and direction for operations. POLITICAL The operations of McDonalds are affected by the government policies on the regulations of fast food operation. Currently government are controlling the marketing of fast food restaurant because of health concern such as cardiovascular and cholesterol issue and obesity among the young and children in the country. Governments also control the license given for open the fast food restaurant and other business regulation need to follow such as for a franchise business. Good relationship with government in giving mutual benefits such as employment and tax is a must for the company to succeed in any foreign market. McDonalds should also protect its workers by ensuring all the hiring, compensation, training or repatriation is according to UK and European Labour Law and the Middle Eastern Labour Laws as stipulated. ECONOMICS As a business entity, McDonalds need to face a lot of economic variables outside its company or its macro environment. Dealing with international sourcing for its material McDonalds should be aware on the global supply and currencies exchange. Remember, McDonalds import most of its raw material such as beef and potatoes due to local market cannot supply in abundant to meet the demand of its product. Any upside of currencies especially dollar will be impacting its cost of purchase. Working on the local country, McDonalds must face government regulations on tax of profit where it gains from the operation and other tax such as entertainment and restaurant service tax. Each country may have different scale or types of tax available and McDonalds should follow the regulation if it wants to continue the operation. As a franchise, McDonalds should also pay certain percentage of the revenue to the parent company in United States. The economic condition and growth of the country also is an important indicator to the demand of products that McDonalds offered. As the food priced slightly above normal foods, not many people will have the income range to consume the products. Moreover if the economy is bad and income percapita is affected, the demand of McDonalds product will certainly going down. On the other hand the good economy also means disposable income is more and people can spend more on more expensive food at fast food restaurant. SOCIAL/CULTURAL The changing lifestyles of Malaysia due to development of Malaysian economy should be also taking into consideration. While more people are able financially to eat at more expensive outlet such as fast food restaurant, they have higher expectation. They want to have quality in services and more conveniences that can differentiate one restaurant from another. Young urban consumers want technology in their life and facilities such as credit card payment, wireless internet, cozy and relaxing ambient place, and other attraction for their hangout and eating. All these needs should also be taken into consideration. There is not much difference between cultural and the purchase of products in a single country but for different countries cultural sensitivity should be upheld. For example in India people (Hindu) do not take beef, Muslim countries do not take pork, German like beers, Finnish like fish type of food menu, Chinese like to associate food with something good (for ex ample prosperity), Asian like rice and Americans eat in big-sized menu. So far McDonalds has shown good efforts in localization of its menu to suit local taste but it should constantly survey and learn about local culture to better understand and design the best product for them. TECHNOLOGY For a fast food restaurant, technology does not give a very high impact on the company and it is not a significant macro environment variables. However McDonalds should be looking to competitors innovation and improve itself in term of integrating technology in managing its operation. For example in inventory system, supply chain management system to manage its supply, easy payment and ordering systems for its customers and wireless internet technology. Implementation of technology can make the management more effective and cost saving in the long term. This will also make customer happy if cost savings results in price reduction or promotional campaign discount which will benefits them from time to time. LEGAL As a certified fast food operator, there are many regulations and procedures that McDonalds should follow. For example is the Halal certification that becomes a concern to Muslim consumers. McDonalds should protect its integrity and consumer confidence by ensuring all materials and process are as claimed or must followed. Other legal requirement that the business owner should follow as stipulated in laws are such as operating hours, business registration, tax requirement, labor and employment laws and quality environment certification (such as ISO) in which the outlet has been certified. The legal requirement is important because the offenders will be fined or have their business prohibited from operating which can be disastrous. ENVIRONMENT As one of world largest consumer of beef, potatoes and chicken, McDonalds always had been critics for world environmentalist. This is because high consumption of beef causing the green house effect by methane gasses coming from the cows ranch. Large scale plantation has effect the environment and lost of green forest opening for plantation activities. Vegetarian environmentalist criticizes the fast-food giant for cruelty to animals and slaughtering. In Japan, once McDonalds want to introduce whale burger causing uproar because whales are endangered species. Before using paper packaging, once McDonalds also had been criticized for being insensitive to pollution because using polystyrene based packaging for its foods. Imagine millions of people purchase from fast food operator and how is the impact to world environment by throwing away those hard to recycle packaging. Our world is getting concern on environment issue and business operating here should not just care for prof it, but careful usage of world resources for sustainable development and care for environment safety and health for our future generation. Critics and concern from all public or activist should be review and support if necessary to ensure we play our social responsibility better. 2.2 Market Position McDonalds is operating in a very competitive market. In order to maintain on the top position of the competition, it is important to understand the companys industry environment to be prepared for actions. Porters 5 Forces is a useful model for analysing the industry environment, it identifies five competitive forces that shape every single industry and market. Supplier Power If suppliers have strong bargaining power, competitive pressure will be greater (Pearce and Robinson, 2004). McDonalds works in partnership with most of their suppliers to protect the quality of their foods and minimise the bargaining power of suppliers. Buyer Power Consumers buying power in the food market is high. With the continuously changes in tastes and the increased concern in healthy eating, companies in the food market has to make changes and improvements to satisfy its customers. Otherwise there is a high possibility in getting bad publicity and lost in profit. Threat of Substitute The threat of substitute is high in the fast food market due to the strong competition and the increasing amount of ready to eat foods. Customers have many choices other than McDonalds, and ready to eat meals are cheaper and convenient. Competition The competition in the fast food market is very high. McDonalds has to compete with strong competitors like Burger King, Pizza Hut, Wendy and KFC. Threat of Entry The threat of new entrant is low in the fast food industry because of the amount of competition with the big players in the market. New entrants will not likely to win due to lack ok economic of scale. The fast food industry is highly competitive. Taking one step further from the internal analysis, in this chapter, external analysis was done so as to determine where McDonalds I positioned in the market, given the intensive rivalry. PESTLE is used to gather data for completion of this analysis. From the data using PESTLE, swot analysis is done to determine how McDonalds strong market position as the largest foodservice and fast-food retailing chain in the world is bolstered by robust all-round growth witnessed by the company. By analyzing PEST and SWOT an understanding of overall of the companys power and how it can grow, is established. This was done keeping the focus on Western European Market and the Middle east. Hence the impact of European Regulations and turbulence caused by ter rorism and Iraq war is also taken as a significant point as part of analysis. Porters five forces model is used as the tool to analyse the market competition in the European and the middle east market. The existing rivalry in the industry is already strong although McDonalds is in a dominant market position. The above analysis helps to conclude MCDonalds competitive advantage and its uniqueness to gain broad target in the aforementioned markets. 2.3 : Marketing Strategy and Mix Every organisations need to identify their strategic aims to be able to have a direct focus of what and when to achieve it within a given time. This is usually based on the organisations limited resources and capabilities. As (Barney 1991), â€Å"stated an organisation could extend their limited resources and capabilities through organisational learning, sharing, generation of knowledge, redeployment of existing resources in an effective and efficient ways†. In this section, the strategic aim of McDonalds is discussed. This is used for evaluating the way it has implemented its objectives and the effectiveness of the global and local marketing strategies. This was important to fully understand its market and environment in order to evaluate its right marketing plans and the adopted strategies. After analysing the market and environment of McDonalds, this chapter focuses on the plans and strategies adopted by the company to overcome its weaknesses and avoid the threats. It uses various survey results to determine the effectiveness of its marketing mix. In the year 2003, when, McDonalds had been having problems on losing market share, reducing profit and bad publicity, the company started aligning their global system around a common mission with a common set of customer focused goal oriented actions. It was called â€Å"McDonalds Plan to Win† which was to put the companys concentration on the five drivers of exceptional customer experiences Product, People, Place, Promotion and Price. This plan was aimed to increase profits by improving its services to increase customers. These 5 variables are also known as the Retail Marketing Mix or the 5 Ps. They are the variables that marketing managers can control in order to best satisfy customers in the target market. This cha pter discusses and evaluates the way McDonalds has established its revitalisation plan in the European and the Middle East markets. While doing the research on the five Ps, McDonalds relationship marketing is also examined, that is viewed as an asset and the companys marketing goal is to attract, maintain, and enhance customer relationships. Then there is an argument on whether the combination of five Ps with the relationship marketing is enough to stay on the competition or is there any other areas to be focussed as well. In the aspect of marketing sales McDonalds adopted the concept of 7ps of marketing mix formulated by McCarthy (1975) and Gilligan Fifield (1996). These 7ps includes; product, place, price, promotion, people, process, physical. With these 7ps McDonalds was able to create a uniformity of items that taste the same in different countries. McDonalds realises that although there is cost savings in standardisation but success can be achieved by being able to adapt to a specific environment. It has a pricing strategy that enables it to cope with a particular market. In setting price, McDonalds looks at the elasticity of demand for its product in response to price. Considering the diverse range of culture, custom in different countries, McDonalds has localised its marketing communication strategy using different promotion and advertisement. For instance McDonalds uses the England footballer Alan Shearer as a logo to advertise its hamburgers in the UK and in France its uses Fabien Barthez, t he French international goalkeeper. Obviously, McDonalds uses a number of styles to attract customers. After analysing the market and environment of McDonalds, this chapter will be focusing on the plans and strategies adopted by the company to overcome its weaknesses and avoid the threats. In the past few years, McDonalds has been having problems on losing market share, reducing profit and bad publicity. In the year 2003, the company have aligned their global system around a common mission with a common set of customer focused goal oriented actions. It is called â€Å"McDonalds Plan to Win† which was to put the companys concentration on the five drivers of exceptional customer experiences Product, People, Place, Promotion and Price. This plan was aimed to increase profits by improving its services to increase customers. These 5 variables are also known as the Retail Marketing Mix or the 5 Ps. They are the variables that marketing managers can control in order to best satisfy customers in the target market. (Please refer to appendix 2 for further information on the 5 Ps) Product The following are the strategies applied by McDonalds on their Products: To satisfy customers desire for premium products at affordable prices. More choices on the Happy Meal such as fruit options and milk for the kids. To address the desire for foods that fit into todays lifestyle. McDonalds has added new choices like meal-size salads, fruit options and sandwiches in order to fit the increased concern on health eating. McDonalds is controlling the quality of the foods by working in partnership with its suppliers and to work closely with food experts to ensure the quality is in the highest standard. People The following are the marketing strategies adopted by McDonalds on its People: Speeding up service by simplifying the restaurant environment for their staff and customers. Ensuring the restaurant staffs are focused on being friendly, as well as fast with hospitality training. Providing cost-efficient, relevant training for their world-wide workforce. There are more than 1.6 million people worldwide working for McDonalds. McDonalds has placed emphasis on the training and development of its employees, aiming to provide career opportunities for people to achieve their potential. McDonalds has five commitments to their employees, which are: Respect and Recognition Values and Leadership Behaviours Competitive Pay and Benefits Learning, Development and Personal Growth Resources to Get the Job Done Place McDonalds has over 30,000 restaurants in 119 countries. It opens in places where has high consumer flows such as high street, shopping malls, train station, airports, retail parks, gas stations, and even schools. Freestanding restaurants are positioned so that customers are never more than a few minutes away by foot in the city or by car. The following are McDonalds strategies on Place: To make the environment the gold standard for cleanliness. They have recalibrated their standards and are consistently enforcing them. McDonalds has added additional service to customers by providing Wi-Fi accessibility in some of the restaurants so customers can stay connected to the internet while enjoying their foods. Giving customers more reasons to visit McDonalds by adding more products offering such as coffee and to locate in the right place. Relocating, renovating and rebuilding some of the restaurants to give McDonalds a fresh edge. Promotion Every year McDonalds spent huge amount of money on promotion. The company has been trying to maximise the impact of the advertising spending and broaden their reach through public relations and by placing adverts in media well beyond the traditional prime-time network television format. The objective of spending so much money on promotion is to build brand loyalty and bonds of trust. The following are the strategies: The new creative brand direction â€Å"Im Lovin It!† is designed to connect with customers around the world, especially young adults, moms and kids. It has became McDonalds signature brand voice in 119 countries, generating awareness figures as high as 96% in some parts of the world. Appealing to young adults with relevant advertising. McDonalds is bringing top creative teams from around the world to gather ideas, study trends and find inspiration to create world-class advertising. Price McDonalds has a rigorous pricing process that is used to determine the price for that particular market in each country. The reason is to be able to offer affordable prices to customers and also to be profitable for the company. The following are the process which sets out the basic framework that allows the company to set localised pricing: Selecting the price objective Determining demand Estimating costs Analysing competitors costs, prices and offers Selecting a pricing method Selecting a final price (www.mcdonalds.com) 2.4 : Performance Measurement Quality is an important issue in services due to the features of inseparability, intangibility and perishability. That which can not be stored and is intangible cannot be checked for defects before ‘delivery to customers. In addition each individual involved in the exchange process brings with them varying levels of expectations and levels of satisfaction in addition to the unpredictable nature of human beings. It is this dominant role of human interaction in services that shape customers expectations and create difficulties in understanding and implementing quality initiatives (Behara Gundersen (2001)). Officially McDonalds names three elements in their strategy to be the worlds best quick service restaurant: People (being the best employer), Customers (providing them excellence) and System Growth (for owners/operators, suppliers and company). ‘McDonalds has always been a franchising Company and has relied on its franchisees to play a major role in its success. McDonalds remains committed to franchising as a predominant way of doing business. Approximately 70% of McDonalds worldwide restaurant businesses are owned and operated by independent businessmen and women, our franchisees. Usually, McDonalds offers franchises to poor performing restaurants in order to sustain profitability. Advertising is used to differentiate McDonalds products from competitors and as a means of branding: Advertising Spend in 2001 amounted to  £39m (KFC:  £14m, Burger King:  £8.6m, Pizza Hut:  £7.4m). Furthermore, McDonalds is involved in various high profile sponsorship schemes (e.g. major Sponsor of FIFA World Cup, ‘gold sponsor and official restaurant of the Olympic Games) that secures them favourable PR. Recently McDonalds acquired Boston Market Chicken restaurants, the Donatos pizza chain and Chipotle Mexican Grill. In the UK, it purchased the Aroma coffee chain and 33% of Pret A Manger. This demonstrates that McDonalds has diversified into other segments of the fast food/ convenience /take away market. McDonalds is the worlds largest food service organisation. It has the greatest market share of the breakfast, lunch and dinner market and holds 67% of the UK Burger Market. McDonalds golden arches are the worlds biggest brand with higher awareness than Coca-Cola. McDonalds is constantly introducing new products, usually for a limited period of time. This is because management recognise that consumers like variety as well as a continuation of good products such as Big Macs and Cheeseburgers. Also, they are well aware that if McDonalds has too many products running at the same time then the speed of customer service will deteriorate. However, McDonalds has not introduced healthier products in response to growing concerns about obesity. It is difficult to evaluate the extent to which McDonalds fulfils customers demands. In the 2001 consumer survey conducted by Sandelman Associates, McDonalds was ranked as last out of 60 chains for taste. Statistics that describe McDonalds cleanliness are not available and therefore the achievement of this objective is difficult to examine, but anecdotal evidence suggests that suitable policies are in place to meet that objective. Customer service quality is difficult to assess but it is renowned for being quick. 2.5 : Ethical Criticism Ethical behaviour has come up as one of the most important aspect of any organisation. By ‘Doing the right thing internally and externally, businesses created a good working atmosphere, while also benefiting society and the environment. However many ethical issues are subjective and based on ones values and beliefs. As a result, they are often difficult to enforce and easy to neglect. The result of this is that ‘when the costs are added up, the social balance sheet contains enormous debts to society (McEwan, 2001). This chapter discusses the ethical issues that McDonalds have been facing over a period of time and how effectively it addressing its corporate social responsibility. The 2008 corporate social responsibility report has been critically evaluated and based on that it is determined, whether much of its efforts are just descriptive or has been realistic. It uses various results from the data set based on the primary and secondary research to determine the effectives. It is the notion of an organizations ‘debts to society, which led to the branch of ethics known as ‘corporate social responsibility. This refers to ‘the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic expectations placed on organizations by society at a given point in time (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2000). This theory of responsibility to society is based around two headings, stated by Wells (1998). Social Responsibility deals with ‘the purposes for which companies should act (Wells, 1998), and Corporate Responsibility is the ‘liability attached to a company for actions done in its name (Wells, 1998). On 2002, McDonalds published its first Corporate Responsibility Report and this was followed up with an updated version in 2004. Neverthless many critics of McDonalds still believe that this, like many Corporate Responsibility Reports, is simply a medley of generalities and assumptions, that do not provide hard metrics of the company, its activities or its impacts on society and the environment (Hawken, 2002), and is ‘peripheral to the core interests of an organization (Strategic Direction, 2002). Consequentially, there is a need to analyse the claims made towards McDonalds, and whether they have been resolved within the two Corporate Responsibility Report. The incident which has done the most damage to McDonalds ethical reputation was the ‘McLibel trial, where the company expected a quick conclusion to its action against activists who had distributed a pamphlet, Whats Wrong with McDonalds?. Instead it ran for two and a half years and became the longest ever English trial , upon its completion in June 1997 (McSpotlight.org: The McLibel Trial, 2005). One of the main ethical criticisms consistently faced by McDonalds over the last 30 years relates to the food offered in its stores. Critics claim that McDonalds is a major contributing factor to the ver-increasing levels of obesity in the UK and European countries. Medical studies show that ‘waistlines are expanding faster in the UK than in any other European country†¦with 1 in 5 adults dangerously overweight (Walsh, 2003), while in 2001 it was reported that 300,000 deaths a year in the U.S. are related to obesity compared to 400,000 through cigarette smoking (McMans Depression and Bipolar Weekly, 2004). McDonalds contribution is a result of the unhealthy nature of fast food. For example, a meal of a Big Mac and medium fries would provide you with ‘910 calories, as well as 46g of fat, 13g of which are saturated (McDonalds.com, 2005). Considering the fact that this is half the Recommended Daily Allowance for a female adult, it is clear that McDonalds does not meet U. S. dietary requirements. Apart from obesity, ‘diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and some forms of cancer are related to a diet high in fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar (Inside the McLibel trial, 1995). The impacts of a McDonalds diet were clearly shown in Morgan Spurlocks controversial film ‘Super Size Me, where he ate nothing but McDonalds for one month. Although this was an extreme example, the impacts on Spurlock were dramatic. ‘Spurlock gained 25 pounds, raised his cholesterol by 60 points, dropped his libido and turned his liver into pate (McMans Depression and Bipolar Weekly, 2004). He also experienced headaches and depression, and actually became addicted to the products. The impact of a McDonalds diet on children is also a major ethical concern, as an increasing number of children are faced with obesity problems. ‘Every month, 90 percent of the children between 3 and 9 in America visit a McDonalds (Schlosser, 2001). McDonalds has been cri ticised for exploiting children with advertising. They have traditionally aimed themselves towards children with collectable toys in ‘Happy Meals, as well as colorful advertising campaigns and promotions in schools. Most criticized is the use of the Ronald McDonald clown character, which has been seen as a ‘cynical exploitation of children to use a clown to drum up business (Inside the McLibel trial, 1995). These marketing tactics contribute to the increasing unhealthy diet of many children. Stakeholders in a corporation may not only be human because animals are also seen as an important part of society and deserve the same treatment as humans. McDonalds has been criticized for the way it treats animals before they are killed and turned into fast food. ‘The corporation is the worlds largest promoter of meat-based products, the largest user of beef and the second largest user of chicken (McSpotlight.org: McDonalds and Animals, 2005), and thus is faced with the usual claims aimed at slaughterhouses. It is claimed that ‘chickens were crammed into sheds with less than one square foot of space per bird and no daylight (Inside the McLibel trial, 1995). As a result, ‘44% had leg abnormalities and other health problems (Inside the McLibel trial, 1995). This treatment was not just reserved for chicken but also other animals involved in McDonalds fast food products. 40% of piglets were held in indoor breeding units, and half had tails docked for no apparent reason (Inside the McLibel trial, 1995). Ethical criticism is also aimed at the methods for killing the animals. ‘14% of chickens received pre-stun shocks, which caused undue stress, while 1% (1,350 per day) were decapitated before being stunned (Inside the McLibel trial, 1995). As well as social ethical issues, corporations must also consider environmental ethics, which means treating natural resources not just as commodities, but as part of the ecological whole. It is important because it affects the image of the company and consumers perceptions. For example, ‘a Wall Street Journal poll in 1991 claimed that 53% of people avoided purchasing a product because of environmental concerns about a product or manufacturer (Hawken, 2002). The most famous environmental issue is the suggestion that McDonalds has destroyed hundreds of acres of Brazilian rainforest to make way for large-scale cattle ranching. This not only removes a valuable natural resource, but also has an impact on global warming, as the rainforest is an essential mechanism for the absorption of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere. McDonalds also ‘annually produces over a million tons of packaging used for just a few minutes before being discarded (McSpotlight.org: Environment, 2005). Traditionally a number of ozone depleting gasses were used in polystyrene foam packaging. In the 21st century, McDonalds uses almo

U.s. History 1920-1940 Essay -- essays research papers

U.S. HISTORY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1920 – 1940   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During this time period of American history, the country could not have been more contrasting than from 1920 through 1940. The twenties were a period of fun, partying, and economic security hence the term â€Å"roaring twenties†. While the nineteen thirties were known as the time of the â€Å"Great Depression.† From 1920 to 1940 our country saw five presidents, the first flight around the world, the completion of the worlds largest dam, a depression, prohibition, women given the right to vote, and new musical expressions. The 1920’s began shortly after World War I when the Americans and the Allies defeated the Germans in 1918. It was a dawn of new politics in America when congress finally passed the women’s suffrage bill and the 19th Amendment became law, giving women the right to vote. Some twenty five million women had won the right to vote. This would play a major role in the up coming election. Many Americans were fed up with Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president from 1913 to 1921. The first election of the twenties saw Warren G. Harding win and become our nations 29th president. Unfortunately, Harding died before finishing his term and vice president Calvin Coolidge took over to become our 30th president. At the end of this term Coolidge was reelected in 1924. The United States had one of the greatest periods of prosperity ever during his presidency from 1923 to 1929. Great technological advances were also made in the 1920’s. Our nation witnessed the first flights around the wor ld. Inventions such as cars and radios improved the standard of living for the common man. These inventions as well as the conservative economic pollicies added to a huge economic boom. â€Å"The economy experienced growth of seven to ten percent in six years of the twenties† (Vanguard, facts on funds). Later, many of the economic procedures in the decade would lead to danger especially in the stock market. â€Å"The nations total income rose from 74.3 billion in 1923 to 89 billion in 1929.†(Vanguard facts) In the 1920’s, pop culture thrived. Radio became a large form of entertainment. Jazz developed as a new form of music. Louis Armstrong, a trumpeter from New Orleans among others, led the emergence of jazz. During th... ...ames over Lakehurst, New Jersey. After having made ten successful round-trips across the Atlantic Ocean, the Hindenburg exploded in flames as it came in to dock at the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, N.J., on May 6. The craft was destroyed in just one minute, with 35 of the 97 people aboard perishing in the flames. The cause of the disaster was never identified, though there was speculation that a spark from the zeppelin's engines or atmospheric static electricity ignited highly inflammable hydrogen gas leaking from the craft, causing the explosion. The possibility of sabotage against Nazi Germany was widely rumored but never proven. In conclusion, the 1920’s were one of the most prosperous periods in American history because it reflected in every aspect how to enjoy life. The prosperity of the people influenced society, culture, and politics. The thirties were a complete 180 degrees from the twenties. During the 1930’s prosperity crashed with the stock market and the nation fell into an economic slump that took years to climb out of. I don’t know if our country will see such contrasting decades ever again, but one thing will definitely hold true â€Å"learn from your mistakes.†