Women and the advancement they have made in society Essay

Women and the advancement they have made in society - Essay Example They have come at par with men and work shoulder to shoulder with men in every matter. The per capita income of women has increased over the years. Women have made their representation noticeable in the social and political scenario. â€Å"Moreover, extensive local, national and global networks of women have succeeded in putting women’s concerns on the global agenda and catalyzed the creation of legal and institutional mechanisms to address these concerns† (â€Å"Perspective: The eradication of violence†). Today, many NGOs are functional that work for the rights of women. Despite the rapid advancement of women in the society, women have continued to be the victims of domestic violence. A lot of women are mutilated, humiliated, raped and abused every day. However, the reaction of society to such issues has changed in the favor of women. In the past, many such cases went uninvestigated for many reasons. Either women were too shy to bring such issues in front of the society and put their modesty at stake, or else, the systems were not as established to ensure an efficient working against the criminals. However, in the contemporary age, women have become quite vocal regarding the injustice they are offered which has shaken the foundations of violence in the society.

Discussion 21 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion 21 - Essay Example Likewise, the video also noted information regarding risk factors for developing varicose veins that included: family history, being overweight, lack of exercise, smoking and even preponderance for standing or sitting at long periods of time (Society for Vascular Surgery). Finally, there were interventions or recommended treatment such as wearing compression stockings and other more advanced techniques like schlerotheraphy, vein stripping, and ablation (Society for Vascular Surgery). What is striking and motivating in the video is that even for a female and old-aged patient such as Durene Bryant, she was not afraid of seeking professional advice and determining which mode of treatment would address her medical dilemma. By using her as the patient to promote the needed information on varicose veins, patients with similar dilemma would not hesitate to seek professional advice and determine which is the most effective option to address the kind of discomfort they could experience from varicose veins. The site was therefore very illuminating and beneficial for patients and researchers who are interested to know more on the

The Marriott International Incs Development Marketing Essay

The Marriott International Incs Development Marketing Essay The former of the Marriott International Inc was founded by J. Willard Marriott when he and his wife Alice Sheets opened a nine-stool AandW Root Beer stand which they later called The Hot Shoppe in Washington, DC the spring of 1927.It sold hot food such as tamales, chili, and tacos were added to attracting customers during the winter months. In the following few years, with the hot shoppes kept expanding, Marriotts food service had a good development. In 1957, Marriott opened its first hotel which was a 365-room Twin Bridges Motor Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. In 1967 its name was changed from Hot Shoppes, Inc., to Marriott Corporation and J.W. Marriott, Jr., became President and CEO. During the next 26 years, Marriott was developing fast by opening different kinds of hotels to meet the need of people and acquiring other companies. In 1985, J. Willard Marriott passed away and his oldest son J. Willard Bill Marriott, Jr., was named CEO and took over most major responsibilities. Marrio tt International Inc was established formally in 1993 when the former company splits into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation. With its establishment, Marriott International Inc starts to become a worldwide operator and franchisor of hotels and related lodging facilities step by step. ( http://www.marriott.com/corporateinfo/culture/heritageTimeline.mi) Today, Marriott International Inc headquarters in the Bethesda area of unincorporated Montgomery County, Maryland. And it is a leading worldwide hospitality company with about 3150 lodging properties located in the United States and 67 other countries and territories. In 2010, its sales is $10,908.00M, And there are 137000 employees in this company. With its excellent business achievement and economic strength, Marriott International Inc has become one of Worlds Fortune 500 for many years. And its rank is 213 in 2010. This big company is still developing and making progress continually. (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2010/snapshots/10664.html) Marriott International Incs development cant be achieved without the key people in this company. Nowadays, this companys CEO and chairman is J.W. Marriott, Jr. His leadership spans over 50 years, and he has taken Marriott from a family restaurant business to a global lodging company with 3500 properties in 70 countries and territories. Arne M. Sorenson, the president and COO of Marriott International, Inc. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. And he joined Marriott in 1996 when he specialized in mergers and acquisitions litigation and now he is responsible for the performance and growth of all of Marriotts worldwide brands and businesses. Marriotts Executive Vice President and CFO is Carl T. Berquist. Mr. Berquist holds a B.S. in accounting from Penn State University and is a member of Penn States Smeal Business Schools Board of Visitors. In 2002, he joined Marriott as a partner at Arthur Andersen LLP. And now Mr. Berquist become the CFO with responsibility for global finance, including financial reporting, project finance, global treasury, corporate tax, internal audit, and investor relations. (http://news.marriott.com/our-leadership.html) Although it has steady growth and profitability every year, Marriott International Incs Mission Statement is still to be the best lodging and food service company in the world. It will achieve this goal by treating employees in ways that create extraordinary customer service and shareholder value. And its Vision Statement is to be the worlds lodging leader. To be the leader, this company keeps focusing on serving the guest, extensive operational knowledge, the development of employees skills, and offering the best lodging brands in the lodging industry. (http://www.marriott.com/corporateinfo/culture/heritageJWMarriottJR.mi) Marriott international Incs steady growth and profitability is also related to its strategic alliances. Such as Asian American Hotel Owners Association, Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, Black Culinary Alliance, Gay Lesbian Alliance against Defamation and Hispanic Association of Corporate Responsibility. (http://www.marriott.com/marriott.mi?page=diversity_partners) Acquisitions play an important role during the development of Marriott International Inc. The recent acquisition on Mar 16 2011, Marriott International Inc acquires AC Diplomatic, Barcelona from AC Hotels SA. And later in March 1997, Marriott International acquired Renaissance Hotel Group N.V. for $916 million in cash and the assumption of $54 million in debt. This acquisition is the largest acquisition in Marriott history. (http://www.alacrastore.com/mergers-acquisitions/Marriott_International_Inc-1065110) Section2 Marriots is committed to global diversity to provide services that are above and beyond its customers experience. This strategy and concept has become its blueprint in its marketing plan to match the needs of the customers to the various products and services and provide the best possible experience for their guests during their stays in the hotel. The company is global having three thousand properties in sixty eight different territories and countries by franchising hotels under different brands. Marriotts marketing plan will entail research in the industry to gather critical information and experiences to better generate marketing strategies that would be effective through application of customer care and integrity. Cost leadership and product differentiation has been integrated at Marriotts which offers different brands either luxurious or moderate to fit various clients needs http://www.marriottconsulting.com/planning_services.php#business_plans Standard packages in service and products provide a more variety to the different atmospheres created by the different products offered by Marriotts. Other parameters must be included in the marketing plan like the marketing concept, product lifecycle and focus strategies that are important to guide a hotels marketing plan. The Hotels entry and foundation in the market place plays a major role in its marketing plan by detailing its goals, marketing objectives and the necessary factors to consider while implementing its marketing plan processes. Marriotts marketing strategies are geared towards the plan of maintaining its tradition of cherished service through the hotel brands to elevate guests stays, thus accomplishing its overall marketing objectives. http://www.academicwritingtips.org/component/content/article/35-social-sciences/562-marriot-hotel.html Our company met previous goals. Marriott International fourth-quarter net profit of 173 million, Marriott International Hotel Management Group, the fourth-quarter net profit of 1.73 billion U.S. dollars, earnings per share were 46 cents, this performance better than last year. The fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009, Marriott International hotel management group net profit of 1.06 billion U.S.evenue was 36.4 billion U.S. dollars, 3.38 billion higher than the same period last year dollars. Marriott International Hotel Management Group, the fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 39 cents per share, exceeding analysts had expected. Market research firm FactSet Research survey, analysts on average expected to Marriott International hotel management group for the fourth quarter of 36 cents per share on revenue of $ 3,580,000,000. http://sandiego.jobing.com/catering-sales-manager-courtyard-by-marriott-old-town/job/2710752 Marriotts commitment to society blends corporate financial contributions with in-kind giving and the volunteer service of our associates around the world. We participate in efforts to provide shelter, food, and childrens health, while creating career opportunities for our associates in the workplace and supporting education in the hospitality industry. http://www.marriott.com/corporate-social-responsibility/corporate-values.mi Marriotts environmental vision is to demonstrate that corporate responsibility in hospitality management can be a positive force for the environment while creating economic opportunities around the world. Marriott International has expanded its goals for its Diversity Outreach Initiative with a $1-billion pledge to minority-and women-owned suppliers over the next four years, relationships with four newly signed minority- and women-owned and managed financial services firms, and a plan to double the number of minority owners and franchisees in five years http://www.resource-recycling.com/rr_conference/hotelandtravel.html Section3 Marriott International Inc. is a participant in the Lodging industry. But it is not only a participant but also a leader. Its industry is stable and keeping growing everyday. Marriott International Inc. has been earning strong profits recently, even through comparable periods last year. With the improvement of economy and room rates have bolstered the industry. Figures from a recent report show that average daily rates revenue per room, and occupancy for U.S. hotels all increased during the first week of 2011. Expansion from the ground up, as well as through acquisitions, has been going on in South and Central America, as well as in China and India. With a growing middle class in India and China, MAR meet the need for increased accommodation in the area. As the economy continues to recover, the Lodging industry will be hoping to continue to develop fast. So MAR will be full of motivation and energy to develop. Whether in China or the world, the service quality, advanced technology, and services of Marriott International advanced the worlds first hotel group. Which has won wide public recognition and customers a high degree of trust? Marriott launched a number of brands through market segmentation for different market segments: they are Marriott, JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Courtyard, Ritz-Carlton, Ramada and other hotel brands. Marriott has its own characteristics and different market positions. For example, a luxury-class hotel is JW Marriott, Marriott and Renaissance hotels w ith a high quality, but the brand image of the Renaissance is more flexible. Marriott Executive Apartments is the market for long-term accommodation. Courtyard is for mid-range market. (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-rewards/139599-marriott-reluctant-reward-program-participant.html) Marriott hotels, resort hotels and suites are for upscale, full-service hotels. Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is the high consumption-oriented class, which it is able to provide the best facilities, food and service symbol. Ramada is a high-quality mid-priced brand, mainly for business and sightseeing tourists. (http://www.marriott.com/corporateinfo/glance.mi) Marriott international competitors have begun doing so more pro-actively. The industry of hotels is highly fragmented. Competition with hotels is generally based on the quality of rooms, restaurants, meeting facilities and services, attractiveness of locations, availability of a global distribution system, price and other factors. There are 3 competitors of Marriott international: Hilton Hotels: Hilton is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world. It is primarily involved in the management and development of hotels across the globe. Initially Hilton focused on acquiring and owning more real estate. However, it has recently changed its growth strategy, and it now focuses on spreading its operations through franchisees. InterContinental Hotels: IHG is the largest hotel company by number of rooms, with 590,361 rooms in over 100 countries around the world. It operates a diverse portfolio of brands across multiple economic segments, including Intercontinental Hotels and Resorts. Crowned Plaza Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn, and Holiday Inn Express. Orient-Express Hotels: Orient-Express Hotels is a hotel and leisure group, which is focused on the luxury market. The company owns and operates luxury hotels, restaurants, tourist trains, and river cruises in over 25 countries. (http://www.dailyfinance.com/company/marriott-international-inc) The ways to counter the competition: Marriott prefer to use multi-brand strategy to meet the needs of different market segments Marriott for different market segments successfully launched a series of brand They has been struggling to improve the service details and content, customers will be related to differences in the details of effective records, as well as the attitude of its staff and overall good quality Marriotts corporate culture summed up as: Marriotts staff to create a practical action for the guests to experience the service, its purpose is to serve the people. Marriott full play the enthusiasm of employees and retain talent, and attaches great importance to the role of human resources (http://www.academicwritingtips.org/component/content/article/35-social-sciences/562-marriot-hotel.html) As we all know, Marriott face large competition. So they should invest in research and development. Here are their investments: 1 Project construction area of over 20,000 square meters, is expected to invest over 100 million Yuan, the construction of a 16-story, 300 or more rooms of the modern high-star hotels. 2 Marriott said its hotel owners and new franchise partners will invest a total of $ 190,000,000 bed. 3 1.5 billion of investment in large projects settled Marriott International Ming Shan Hall Here are Marriotts ways to promote their products or services. 1. Know your Hotel: You must be a product expert for both your hotel and your competitors. 2. Prime Selling Time: Adhere to prime selling hours, by market, and ensure those hours are dedicated to pure selling activities and customer interaction. 3. Access to Manager: No Messages on any enquiries, even if the General Manager has to take the call. 4. Customer Rapport: All transactions with customers and sales activities demonstrate our desire to know them and build relationships. 5. Determine Customer Needs: You must determine objectives of event, definition of event success and qualitative decision-making criteria in addition to quantitative dates, rates and space.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Marriotts advantages in its area are that Marriott Hotel: Marriott Hotel was at the service management group, the basic philosophy of people serving people, which has two aspects: fair treatment of every employee, while focusing on the feelings of employees, so that they understand home feeling. Marriott nearly 50% of managers are promoted from within the company, the companys job vacancies to give priority to internal staff, only no suitable internal candidate before hiring from the community, and outside recruitment, salary levels provided by the general high the industry average of 50% to 75%. The hotel is a typical service industry, Marriott that only a good company to employees, employees will be good guests. There are five systems to ensure its Marriott Hotel in the real implementation of its people at the service concept. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriott_International) How does the Marriott Internet develop so fast and Marriott will what the situation introduced new brand or new product on-line? The answer is: when its through in the hotel market survey found there is enough, not yet fill blank or the demand is not fully satisfy customer demand, the company will launch when demand for these new products or services this means that companies need to continuously for customer demand research. Through the analysis can be found, Marriott, the core competences lie in her customer survey and customer knowledge, Marriott will be applied to all this from fair hotel to li jia all hotel brand. So, Marriotts superiorities are not Hotel management, but the customer knowledge acquisition, processing and management. Marriott has been committed to seek it the gaps between different brands. If the investigation shows that some segments of the market has enough targeted customers need some new product or service features, so Marriott will ascend product or service to meet customer new demand; If the survey shows that in one subdivision target audience, many people to a range of different characteristics have needs, Marriott will put these people as a new customer group and developed a new brand. Marriott international company provides beneficial for brand development thinking. For an existing product or service for, new features added to what extent is only necessary to ascend? And to what extent can create a new brand? The answer is: when additional features can create a kind of new things and can attract different target customer, you will have the product or service ascension or brand new born. Marriott company announced the development of the elastic suite this brand of practice is a good example. At the time, Marriott will elastic suite price at $75 between 95 and plans to March 1, 1999, 14 home built in when the two years later add 55 house. Elastic suite fair suite and fair suite originally is fair hotel part. Male was founded in 1997, at the time, the Wall Street journal is so describe the fair suite: capacious but lack adornment, toilet no door, sitting room of the shop is linoleum, its pricing is 75 dollars. In fact, people who are sensitive to the price and terms, this suite are fair in the hotel room of the sample more spacious. The question is: fair suite customers may not like linoleum, and are willing to pay for decorate a bit better room some more money. Hence, Marriott by increasing the ironing board and other pleasant thing to change fair suite image, and through laying carpet, adding the fireplace and breakfast room to improve the sitting room conditions. T hrough these aspects of ascension, Marriott hotel clued into the new batch of target customers emphasizing value buyers. But later, Marriott found fairness suite of the ascension is not always effective, price sensitive type customers dont want, and pay attention to value its customers and the pig. Hence, Marriott consider fair suite convert elastic suites, and restart the customer market segmentation. By measuring, Marriott got this data: relative to price sensitive type customers as fair suite brings the income, those who pay attention to the customer value for elastic suite at least $5 more income. In a competitive market segment for product promotion, we must pay special attention acquire and maintaining customers. For the price sensitive type customers, you must undertake product or service to avoid they turn to the ascension of competitors. Without competition or no foreseeable competition exists, then there is no need for ascension. In fact, competition often always exist, the key is to adopt necessary ascension to ensure that competitive advantage. Face price sensitive type customer, too much room doesnt help fair hotel create a competitive advantage. For China, we can learn a lot from the Marriott. Usually, hotel business income can be divided into three parts, one is relatively stable guest room, it is the hotel accommodation income that came with the catering business income, and three is including offices, shops, apartment rent and entertainment business, miscellaneous income each. Now, with all kinds of office buildings, shops, apartment hotel time, a lot of the fat, the hotel by wantonly robbed in this competition, almost crumbled; in big cities is entertainment speaking, the entertainment blossom everywhere, hotel entertainment income is increasingly atrophy. For example, 2000 Guangzhous biggest garden hotel total operating income is RMB 4.1 billion, compared with 1996 garden hotel revenue 5.4 billion, short four years time, incredibly shrunk more than 24 percent. The garden hotel general manager LiaoMingHua some helplessly say, we pulled out all the way, but the garden hotel business performance is still in step by step and sliding into deep In 2000, the China hotel reve nue is 3.9 billion, the white swan hotel revenue for 3 million, compared to 1996 5.2 million and 3.4 million, in a big shock, and Oriental hotel and international hotels performance is also down dramatically. 2001 is attempting to rumors China industry has been the United States has a good hotel in hotel management ability of the Marriott hotel management group purchase; this makes Guangzhou hotel industry sticker shock. China hotel, said to the outside of the top hotel management control only by Hong Kong new world change, in order to Marriott hotel shareholders did not change, the more there is no takeover, said. It is reported, China hotel grunde Hong Kong new world hotel limited company management, but from the beginning of the change in 2001 by Marriott management, accordingly, Marriott hotel every year from China, turnover extracted from 2.5 percentage points in return. With Chinas eventual entry into the WTO, the famous hotel groups like Sheraton, Hilton, west in brand has an grily blew the trumpets into Chinas hotel industry, the international brand and local hotels exchange unavoidable. Domestic even heavyweight hotel even so big alligator, other colleagues situation can be seen, international and domestic hotel gap also therefore! In fact, the biggest gap between Chinese and foreign hotel management, especially in it is the management strategy of the brand as the core. China hotel industry wants to win in the competition and obtain continuous development, it is necessary to learn modestly from foreign peer learning and solid improve their management level. Marriotts approach is to provide some new ideas for us? Nowadays, the hospitality industry is same as consumer goods is undergoing drastic changes. As a hotel operator, you must always ask yourself: I am ready to compete in upgrading of product or service in order to protect their market, or prepare for new segments of the market to develop new product? If choose the former, pay attention to product or service, thus reduces ascension is not incremental cost, because the existing customers often dont want to pay more. If choose the latter, new product or service must contain many new targeted customers expect things, further says, is the need to have a different brand this brand wont impact the original brand, and new customers can accept this new product or service and are willing to pay higher prices. Marriott hotel through creating elastic suite successfully will a make price sensitive type dissatisfied customers mode is transformed into a emphasizing value customer mode, it is a typical case. Section4 MARRIOTT REVENUES totaled $11.7 billion in 2010 compared to $10.9 billion in 2009. Total fees in 2010 were $1,185 million, an increase of 9 percent from the prior year. Stronger base management and franchise fees reflected the increase in worldwide REVPAR and unit growth across the system. Incentive management fees increased 18 percent reflecting higher property-level profit due to worldwide REVPAR increases and continued cost control, as well as international unit growth. For full year 2010, 27 percent of company-operated hotels earned incentive management fees compared to 25 percent in the prior year. Approximately two-thirds of incentive management fees came from hotels outside North America in both 2010 and 2009 BALANCE SHEET : At year-end 2010, total debt was $2,829 million and cash balances totaled $505 million, compared to $2,298 million in debt and $115 million of cash at year-end 2009. Adjusting for the debt associated with securitized Timeshare mortgage notes now required to be consolidated under new accounting rules, adjusted total debt, net of cash, totaled $1,308 million, a decline of $875 million since year-end 2009. At year-end 2010, Marriott had no borrowings outstanding under its $2.4 billion revolving bank credit facility Google: http://www.finchannel.com/Main_News/Travel_Biz/80829_Marriott_International_Announces_Plan_to_Spin_Off_Timeshare_Business_/ 29 March 2011 The stock price of the company and major competitors: Key Stats  MARMore Stock Ind Avg Price/Earnings TTM 29.6 41.8 Price/Book 8.3 3.3 Price/Sales TTM 1.2 1.8 Rev Growth (3 Yr Avg) -3.5 -3.1 EPS Growth (3 Yr Avg) -11.3 Operating Margin % TTM 5.9 7.7 Net Margin % TTM 3.9 2.9 ROE TTM 33.6 5.8 Debt/Equity 1.9 1.0 Top Marriott International, Inc. Competitors Companies Location Accor SA Évry,  France Hilton Worldwide, Inc. McLean,  VA InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Denham,  Buckinghamshire Competitor on file Minnetonka,  MN Competitor on file Toronto,  ON Competitor on file Spartanburg,  SC Competitor on file Chicago,  IL Competitor on file New York,  NY Competitor on file Boca Raton,  FL Competitor on file White Plains,  NY Competitor on file Phoenix,  AZ Competitor on file Silver Spring,  MD Google: http://www.hoovers.com/company/Marriott_International_Inc/hjfkxi-1-1njea3.html 29 March 2011 But what happened to the stock prices and why, this is because Marriott Internationals asset-light business model, premier brands, and experienced management team have helped the firm carve out a narrow economic moat. Although 2009 was challenging, the travel market  has stabilized and a slow recovery  has taken hold. In our opinion, Marriotts long-term prospects remain bright. Google: http://quote.morningstar.com/Stock/s.aspx?t=MAR 29 March 2011 And what the company will be in the future, The companys 2011 full year guidance assumes that the spin-off of the Timeshare segment does not occur in the current year and does not include pro forma adjustments or transaction expenses.    For the full year 2011, the company expects a strong pricing environment. The company assumes full year 2011 systemwide REVPAR on a constant dollar basis will increase 6 to 8 percent in North America, outside North America and on a worldwide basis. The company expects to open approximately 35,000 rooms in 2011 as most hotels expected to open are already under construction or undergoing conversion from other brands. Given these assumptions, full year 2011 fee revenue could total $1,310 million to $1,340 million and owned, leased, corporate housing and other revenue, net of direct expense, could total $115 million to $125 million. The company estimates that, on a full year basis, one point of worldwide systemwide REVPAR impacts total fees by approximately $15 million pretax and owned, leased, corporate housing and other revenue, net of direct expense, by approximately $5 million pretax. The company expects 2011 Timeshare contract sales to be in line with 2010 adjusted levels. The company expects its 2011 general and administrative costs to increase 3 to 5 percent over 2010 adjusted levels reflecting increased spending for brand initiatives and higher costs in international growth markets. The company expects investment spending in 2011 will total approximately $500 million to $700 million, including $50 million to $100 million for maintenance capital spending. Investment spending will also include other capital expenditures (including property acquisitions), new mezzanine financing and mortgage notes, contract acquisition costs, and equity and other investments. Based upon the assumptions above, full year 2011 EBITDA is expected to total $1,170 million to $1,230 million, a 12 to 18 percent increase over the prior years adjusted EBITDA. Google: http://www.finchannel.com/Main_News/Travel_Biz/80829_Marriott_International_Announces_Plan_to_Spin_Off_Timeshare_Business_/ 29 March 2011 A financial advisor said about the companys stock as an investment. Marriott International Inc.s shares slipped 2.2% premarket to 36.80% after Goldman Sachs lowers its stock-investment rating on the hotel operator to neutral from buy, where it has been since January 2009. Goldman remains bullish on the hotel sector, but says valuation of Marriotts timeshare unit, which it is spinning off, is creating a drag. Goldman says the timeshare division may produce lower margin than expected and units earnings are more cyclical, meaning the remaining hotel entity multiple would have to expand dramatically to offset the possible dilution of the spinoff. Google: http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/03/28/hot-stocks-this-morning-nokia-alcatel-lucent-and-many-more/ 29 March 2011

Corruption in the Canturbury Tales by Gefforey Chaucer Essay -- greed,

The Canterbury Tales, penned by Geoffrey Chaucer gives its audiences insight on the corruption that exists to this day in humanity. As you read through the chapters Chaucer reveals the dark sides to supposedly respectable people such as the Summoner, along with people he favors like the Knight, the Wife of Bath, and women in general. His comical descriptions and stories that coincide with each character express his thoughts on real people in his society. My perception of the Summoner’s tale moral is that greed is the root of all evil. The Summoners tale introduces us to a greedy Friar who only begs at the homes of the rich. Instead of praying for the people he meets the Friar erases their names from his tablet after taking advantage of their accommodations and stealing their money. When the greedy Friar makes a stop at Thomas’ home he is greeted by his troubled wife who had recently lost her child, the Friar sees the wife’s vulnerability as an opportunity to make more money and tells her he had a vision of her son in heaven. This leads to Thomas’s wife reaching out to the Friar about her dieing husband being in a nasty mood. Thomas sees the Friars transparency so he questions him about his health â€Å"God knows† said Thomas, I feel no benefit therefrom. So help me, Christ, in the few years I have spent many a pound on all sorts of Friars, yet I never get better. Truly, I have almost used up my mon ey. Farewell by gold it is all gone!† (Page 192-193)The Friar then turns the tables on Thomas and blames his illness on him giving money to other friars â€Å"Why does a man who has a perfect physician need to seek other doctors in the town? Your infidelity has ruined you. Do you think that it insufficient that I, or rather our group, should pra... ...d fair, And take your chance on those who will repair To your house now and then because of me (Or to some other place, it may well be). Choose for yourself the one you'd rather try." (Pages 1119-1125) The Knight seems to have learned his lesson for he leaves the decision up to the old woman, the story ends with the Knight living happily ever after with is beautiful and faithful wife. This story reflects on how strongly Chaucer believed in women’s rights because it reveals women’s desires and opinions. In conclusion, The Canterbury Tales reflects Geoffrey Chaucer’s view on medieval society. From his writings we are able to visualize and learn about different social classes’ from an honest point of view. The Knight, the Wife of Bath, and women character we greatly favored throughout the tales while others were highly unlikeable. Works Cited the cantubury tales

Deforestation and its Effect on our Environment Today

DeforestationDeforestation is the operation of cut plants and trees because of fuel and architecture expanding and other reasons. Forests are cut down for many reasons. This essay will describe the causes and effects of deforestation, and how can we solve this problem.There are many causes of the deforestation. Firstly, Agricultural expansion, large scale agriculture is the main economic factor behind deforestation. Another factor which is Logging for Timber logging especially illegal logging, is a major cause of deforestation. Moreover, road construction is the infrastructure development that contributes most to deforestation because roads encourage immigration and the spread of agriculture into forests, particularly in remote areas where property rights are unclear. What's more, is the firewood collection, one third of the world’s population uses biomass fuels, mainly firewood, to cook and to heat their homes, together with population growth, this can have a devastating effe ct on forests in poor countries.Deforestation effect on our environment deeply today. Deforestation resulted in Climate Change, when deforestation occurs, many of the trees are burnt, which resulted in releasing the carbon that is stored in them as carbon dioxide. This leads to greater concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Therefore, the climate will change which cause the global warming. Furthermore, When forests are cut down, this regulation of the flow of water is disrupted, which leads to alternating periods of flood and then drought in the affected area.What then should be recommended as solutions to these problems? For every tree that is cut, three, not two should be planted in its case. We have reached such a critical point that to prevent the desertification so we need to plant more trees.In brief, deforestation is a warning to the worldwide life. It has become a huge concern in today's life. Deforestation can be solved only if everyone cooperate with each othe r and stop people from cutting these forests. Remember you can make a change and influence the people around you to save our beautiful planet. Also, Recycling is an option for the richer countries.

Parle G: Marketing

Parole G Is the world's largest manufacturer of biscuits by volume or tonnage and has been in the numerous nun spot since a very long time. It has done so primarily by positioning its product, Parole G Biscuit, at optimally affordable rates which caters to customers from all walks of life especially the low income groups In the Bottom of the Pyramid. Of late, due to Inflation and evolution of economic factors, the Input of two major raw materials, sugar and weight which constitutes 55% of the manufacturing cost have risen provoking the management to rethink on the pricing strategy.The outcome of this inflation has resulted in the decrease In the margin It used to command. The dip has been from 15% to 10% of margins of Its total revenues. Management is now mulling over to raise the price to reinstate the margins at 15% as previously mandated. Proving Giuliani, the GM of Parole Products has to take two major decisions regarding the above scenario and they are as follows:- These questio ns needs to be addressed as soon as possible because of the presence of competitive products and companies in the same domain.The other very visible trend that management bore witness to, was the gradual migration of consumer pending to high-end biscuit segment belonging to the sweet, cream and milk categories. This trend was seen to be taking place within the portfolio of Parole G products and in the industry it was operating in.The Pricing Strategy Decision One of the methods to zero in on a pricing strategy Is a careful analysis of the existing product biz a biz the price and the quality. Parole G biscuit, as can be Inferred from the case, is a high quality biscuit with a low price.High Quality here does not mean premium biscuits as the like of Bourbon or Ore; It means that the utility generated Day ten product Is very null. 0 Turner Loretta, take ten example AT Monika Phones that are available in the market. The range varies from INNER 1200 (approve) to figures substantial than that. The lower segment phone still generates world class service that comes within such price. Hence, the quality being high and the price being low, the company has followed Penetration Strategy. This allows for the marketing objective of proportioning increasing sales volumes or market share rather make profits.This method of Pricing has the following advantages:- ; It can create goodwill among the early adopters segment. This can create more trade wrought word of mouth. ; It creates cost control and cost reduction pressures from the start, leading to greater efficiency. ; It discourages the entry of competitors. Low prices act as a barrier to entry (Porter 5 forces analysis). ; It can create high stock turnover throughout the distribution channel. This can create critically important enthusiasm and support in the channel.The major disadvantage of Price Penetration is that it establishes long term price expectations on the part of the consumers and hence companies find it difficu lt to raise prices later in the years to come. Studies have shown that switchers (bargain hunters) are attracted by such pricing strategies and that is the reason why Parole G witnessed a dip in sales after it went ahead with a price increase. We can further say that the huge customer base that Parole G has garnered are extremely price sensitive individuals and will switch once prices rise.All said and done, if we again carefully examine the situation of Parole G before the mentioned inflationary setbacks hit them, we see the following points that do merit mentioning:- ; Product demand is highly price elastic. Substantial economies of scale are available. The product is suitable for a mass market as a result of high demand ;The product has a chance to face stiff competition in the future For Parole G to win in the market place it has to devise strategies centered on Price Penetration since following any of the other strategies will have immediate ramifications or would not fit into the scheme of things.In short, Price increase is not the best feasible options Parole G has. Product Life Cycle On the Product Life Cycle front, it's absolutely important to trace where Parole G lies. As on the date of the case, it's very visible that the product had attained maturity and NY change in market environment or internal strategy could either destabilize leading the product to dip or sustain the current traction of maturity. Parole G, being excessively price sensitive should ensure to stabilize the product and that would mean adopting practices and strategies which would ensure penetration without changing the price.The other option we can thus look into is reducing grammar. This was done before with success and it can be replicated again however this has to be done without compromising on quality Ana calorie. I en toner long term Implication AT tens P owe the other products of Parole G are faring. Hide & Seek and Milan are both on a growth stage while at the same time th e growth potential of the premium market is pegged at 20% annually, more than 15% in the glucose category. Parole G can hence focus on this segment proactively as well.This is not proposed to offset the decline in the glucose segment but to De-risk the company and take advantage of the booming middle class of India that grows significantly every year. From Exhibit 2, the population of seekers and aspires are growing significantly. The Representation of the data is as follows:- Recommendations and future plan of action:- 1. Proposed reduction in grammar of INNER 4 from 82. G to egg Rationale: The INNER 4. 00 SKU contributes 1 1. 9 billion (2008-09) which is 34% of Parse's total Revenue and 50% of Parole G revenue.This SKU caters to the largest segment of consumers. As mentioned before, the price of the product cannot be changed due to high price elasticity of demand, therefore to mitigate the fall in margin, we propose a decrease in the grammar of this SKU from 82. G to egg. This red uction of 2. 5 g would lead to a reduction in the costs of 3. 03% per unit of INNER 4 SKI-J. Since the margins are a direct function of the cost and this particular SKU comprises of a large percentage of the business, this reduction in grams would increase the margins considerably. 2.Target the socioeconomic classes of RI, RE, RE and RE Rationale: This segment consists of the rural population of 145. 7 million households out of which 68. 3 million households are current consumers of the brand. Thus 53. 1% of this segment is still untapped which we believe is a tremendous potential for the company. This segment, also referred to as the BOP, is primarily attracted by the low prices and therefore the smaller SKU s. If we can increase our customer base in this segment, the decrease in cost in the SKU by reduction in grammar would be able to overcome the fall in margins.

The Governor Generals resignation essays

The Governor Generals resignation essays Dr Peter Hollingworth, the recently resigned Governor General of Australia and former Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, was crucified by the media over a matter that did not affect his ability to act as a very efficient Governor General and consequently caused his resignation. There were two cases against him one he was accused of raping a women 37 years ago this was entirely uncorroborated, and the other was controversy over the decisions he made, dealing with a confessed pedophile in 1990. Through all of this we have to keep in mind Dr Peter Hollingworths immaculate record and life devoted to community service in the Anglican Church and Brotherhood of St Lawrence The rape alligation was made by a woman, Rosemarie Annie Jarmyn, from 37 years ago and consequently outside the stature of limits, and she was mentally unstable at the time of the accusation. Not long after the allegation she committed suicide at 56. The case against Dr Peter Hollingworth was discontinued. Dr Peter Hollingworth, as Brisbane Archbishop, was also under scrutiny over his handling of a case in 1990 where a priest who confessed to being a pedophile was allowed to continue to practice under some restrictions. There was a formal inquiry by the Anglican Church of Queensland into these allegations the results of which were released on May 1st this year. They found that his decision not to remove the priest in question were untenable. But we do need to take into account that it is hard to judge a decision made 13 years ago with a formal inquiry of today with todays attitudes. The decision Dr Peter Hollingworth made was then and the inquiry was now. If the media had not got so involved in this whole thing and started ripping into Peter Hollingworth then he would still be Governor General. For example take this article in the front page of the Age on May 26th titled Right decision at last but sadly, he still doesnt get it ...

Comparison of Agile Traditional Web Technologies The WritePass Journal

Comparison of Agile Traditional Web Technologies 1 Introduction Comparison of Agile Traditional Web Technologies 1 Introduction2 Contextual ReviewLiterature review3 Hypotheses:3.1 Aim of study3.2 Expectation4 Goals and Objectives5 Methodology and EvaluationBibliographyRelated 1 Introduction Nowadays, both pace and quality have undeniable role on phenomenon, and web development is not exception. That is why the concepts such as software engineering and afterward patterns were applied in recent decades. Although they have improved the quality of web development, non of them are perfect to guarantee matters like customer satisfaction, customer commitment and collaboration and flexibility [1]. Because of these matters software developers searched for a more productive approach. In early of twenty one century a group of software developers gathered to discuss on software engineering approaches, after that a manifesto was signed by them which is known as Agile now [2]. James Shore and Shane Warden have indicated to this manifesto:† Individuals and interactions over processes and tools, Working software over comprehensive documentation, Customer collaboration over contract negotiation, Responding to change over following a plan† [3]. As can be subsumed from this manifesto Agile is an emerging approach in software engineering which instead of process, documentation, contract and plan pays more attention to persons, software, customer and flexibility. These characteristics are more evident in principles which have been written by means of the establishers of Agile. James Shore and Shane Warden quote some of these principles:† Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software, welcome changing requirements even late in development†¦, deliver working software frequently†¦, business people and developers must work together†¦, build projects around motivated individuals†¦, working software is the primary measure of progress†¦, the most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation,†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [4]. From all the specification which was mentioned above it can be perceived that despite of other software engineering approaches and patterns that have specific steps to follow, Agile could be something like especial philosophy and ideology that developer always bear it in his/her mind. This ideology makes developer able to consider a large number of possibilities and opt the best one [6]. Despite of agile establishers’ claim, some software developer believe that traditional and agile methods work in same way or at least agile is not able to increase productivity as much as its advocates claim. For evaluation of these asserts there is not enough witness in particular when it comes to empirical studies and comparisons. [36] Because of this shortage a practical comparison will be conducted via implementation of two website. Agile methodologies would be applied in one of them and another one will be implemented by traditional approaches. In section 2 business background about agile has been discussed, hypotheses and aim of study have been explained in section 3, goals and objective have been discussed in section 4, methodology and evaluation has been described in section 5. 2 Contextual Review In the rapidly changing environment, the best phenomenon and services are those which adapt themselves easily with changes with lower costs, and programming and software development are not exception. In the other words applications are evaluated as a good production when they would be able to accept changes with lower costs and in shorter time. In other words, they should be more flexible. When it comes to software development, flexibility would be one of the most important aspects which agile attempts to improve it. For instance, at the early of twenty one century a great deal of money was spent just for changing date byte in applications in US [19]. In addition a large number of company’s money is spent for maintenance that has direct relation with productivity and flexibility. All of these issue show importance of agile in market and industry because all of these criteria can be improved by agile. That is why companies and firms are being more interested to agile gradually . Result of a survey shows agile was being applied by means of 14 percent of companies, and more than three times of this amount were keen on using agile in Europe and US in 2005 [20]. Indeed, this amount has been increased now. Also, annually, a great deal of money is wasted for implementation of projects which are not used in reality because they do not satisfy customers’ requirements. Customers claim that they have ordered another production, while they have received completely different ones. If claims of agile which were mentioned in last sections be implemental, it will be able to prevent the majority of these situations or at least reduce the costs dramatically. As it was said in previous sections, projects which are implemented by means of agile methodology would be more flexible therefore when it comes to changing they can adapt themselves with changes more easier and with lower costs. Because of this matter cost of maintenance will be reduced as well. In addition, since, customers are considered as a team member and they collaborate with developers tightly this possibility that the final production would not be acceptable is reduced significantly. Because of frequent software delivery in agile methodology it is crystal clear that customer notices the developers if he/she expects a production with different specification in weekly communications. [21] Another specification of ASD which was mentioned is learning within implementation. This matter can diminish cost of holding training course that are hold by companies annually. In conclusion, it seems obvious that the majority of developers and companies would opt agile as their methodology and agile will possess the software development market in future [22]. Literature review A number of key specifications of Agile approach can be concluded from these principles. Despite of   the other approaches Agile Does not have any problem with changes even it would be late. On the other words, application should be written that much flexible which altering does not waste time and resources a lot. This amount of flexibility needs expert and experienced developers, therefore another characteristic could be skillful developers. In addition these developers should work with constant pace that is why the principles emphasize motivated developers because motivation could be engine of team and persuades members to learn during the work. The high and constant pace makes Agile teams able to hand in executable software more frequently to customers. Therefore they can change customer requirements and interact with developers and finally would be more satisfy. As can be deduced form Agile definition, main emphasis is on individuals rather than plan, documents and other phenomenon. Therefore Agile approach mainly is applied in team based projects in particular self-organizing teams-teams in which members take managing responsibilities instead of external manager who controls the team [5]-. Also here executable software is a scale of progress evaluation. It can be concluded from manifesto and principles of Agile that if these principles are implemented project will be more successful obviously, while there is a controversial point that is it possible to apply these rules and principles in practice? The majority of resources which were reviewed emphasize that projects which use Agile could be more successful, while some of them like James Shore and Shane Warden believe that:† I do not recommend adopting agile development solely to increase productivity. Its benefits come from working differently, not from working faster. Your team will need time to learn agile development. While they learn, they will go slower, not faster.† [7] For a scientific judgment we should discuss on success in software development and have a precise definition first. Traditional definition of success emphasizes on cost, time and customer requirements as specification [8]. On the other words it believes that a project will be successful if it is finished before due time, costs do not proceed on budget and all the customer requirements are satisfied, while the modern ones are seemed totally different. They express a project which is evaluated as a failure one can be a successful project because it would be possible a large number of customers and addressers will be attracted to the project or it would create a unique characteristic and vice versa. On the other words, a project which satisfies all the traditional success criteria could be failure one from viewpoint of modern definitions. [9][10] It can be said that current definitions apart from the old criteria consider flexibility, business process and personal success as new success criteria, therefore a project would be more successful from viewpoint of   recent definitions that: Decreases delivery time Its costs would be less than estimates and enhances return on investment(ROI) Has more capability to satisfy customer requirements Has more flexibility to adapt itself with changes and customer new requirements Causes more personal success-technical and non technical- for contributors-developer, customer and manager- Develops business aspects[11][12] From reviewed resources can be concluded that different parameters can affect success in software development. A group of them can be observed here which have been mentioned by Indian Institute of Technology:†customer satisfaction, customer collaboration, customer commitment, decision time, team size, planning and control, people factors, competency, communication and negotiation, training and learning and so on †[13] Obviously, some of these factors can be found in agile manifesto and principles easily, but how agile would be able to implement them properly? There is another controversial issue, agile claims that could be able to manipulate all of these parameters properly! Here, the main hypothesizes and questions which shape the goal of this proposal are created which will be described more detailed in following chapters. When it comes to comparison between traditional software development methods and agile, different opinions can be found. The majority of them express that agile works in different way,  Ã‚   few number of them say there is not any especial difference between them and some ones tell they are in some aspects same and in another aspects different, but in total, It can be concluded from literature that there are radical differences between them that some of them would be mentioned in following. When it comes to design stage, traditional approaches are plan base. In the other words in these approaches, developer tries to predict everything in advance and spend a great deal of time for it. Plan and design are usually recorded formally, that is why these approaches do not welcome to changes, while ADS is not limited to a pre defined plan. Developer thinks about possible events during the implementation and tries to opt best solution.   Therefore, it can be said knowing and action happen concurrently. In ASD is emphasized on discovering new experience meanwhile the implementation. Projects which are implemented by means of ADS are progressed in terms of iterative actions, while ordinary methods just follow a sequence of stages. Traditional ways act in vicinity of optimization, while agile works based on flexibility and adaption. Developer tries to formulate everything in traditional ways, but the problems are solved via iteration and experiment in agile. In general it can be said, traditional methodologies keen on controlling and directing projects in one path. They do not welcome to conflicts and changes and managers have key role on controlling the developers. In these ways design surpasses other aspects and affects them, while agile emphasizes more on exploring instead of prediction. Interaction, communication and collaboration between all members even customers is one of the most important characteristics of this methodology. In ASD, iteration and changing are inseparable. In addition in agile, projects are managed by means of all members and manager just is a facilitator. [14] From all the specification which was mentioned above it can be perceived that despite of other software engineering approaches and patterns that have specific steps to follow, Agile could be something like especial philosophy and ideology that developer always bear it in his/her mind. This ideology makes developer able to consider a large number of possibilities and opt the best one [6]. Such as this ability just could be gained via experience, study and practice in long term, but there are some methods that agile and its advocates claim by means of them developer would be able to earn this philosophy. These methods are recognized as agile methodology and are introduced briefly in following. Crystal clear methodology: A group of methodologies which are suitable for small groups that work on not life-critical projects. These methodology instead of process, emphasize on people an communication between them. [24, 25] Dynamic software development method (DSDM): An iterative methodology that projects are completed gradually within the iterations. In this methodology projects are divided to three stages: pre-project, project life-cycle and post project that each stage has own principles. This methodology follows the same principles which form the concept of agile, in particular this methodology tries to involve customer as a team member in project. [26, 27] Feature-driven development: This methodology attempts to apply both plan-base (traditional ways) and agile approaches. In this methodology projects are divided to features that every feature has a plan that this plan and its implementation are completed during iteration. [28, 29] Lean software development: This methodology was used in Toyota production system for the first time. This method focuses on preventing the wastes. In terms of this approach each activity and process that does not add any worth to customers means waste. [30, 31] Scrum: Management aspects are emphasized more in this methodology. Regularly meetings are hold in which each member expresses his/her feedback and others adjust themselves with his/her feedback. During this meeting customer representative decides feedback is in harmony with requirement or not. After customer’s satisfaction development team continues working, otherwise they consider changes to persuade the customer. Usually there are not any external managers in these kinds of groups and supervising is done via members. [32, 33] Extreme programming: This methodology consists of a set of practices that makes developer able to choose best techniques and make the best decisions. [34, 35] 3 Hypotheses: As can be observed in previous chapters the majority of literature believe that agile works differently in both implementation and management. Also agile advocates claim that projects which are implemented by means of agile would be more successful. In addition it can be concluded from literature review section that agile in some aspects treats radically different. Here, the hypotheses which form motivation of this project are born. They have been expressed in terms of success criteria which presented in last chapters. The customers would be more satisfied when projects are implemented via agile, therefore project will be more successful. Customers are treated as members of development team, therefore commitment of the customers is higher and project more successful. Customer as a member of team would have more collaboration, in result project will be more successful. Size of development team would be smaller therefore face to face communication will be simpler and success opportunity more Team members make a decision in shorter times periodically, therefore success opportunity will be more Development team members are selected more expert and competent, therefore the project could be more successful Progress would be evaluated by means of the team members which know project better instead of managers, so project could be more successful Designing is evolutionary and based on iteration, so the project will be more flexible   Implementation will be accompany with learning and this matter makes the developers more motivated Cultural and social issues will be considered in ASD [16] These are some hypotheses which form motivation to do this project and proposal and they would be considered within the implementation of project. On the other words, this project is done to check how much these hypotheses could be correct and if they are, which methodologies does agile apply to reach these goals? In addition, this project tends to check the differences which have been recognized between agile and traditional methodologies in literature review are actual or not? Some radical differences were recognized in that part which can make other hypotheses: Traditional methods work based on predefined plans while agile do not emphasize on plan Plans in ordinary methods are formal and resistance on changes while plans on agile are informal and welcome to changing Traditional ways follow s sequence of steps while agile is progressed iteratively. In traditional ways manager controls the progress of project while, in agile team members act as a manager Face to face and daily communication is one of the most important principles in agile while, it is not that much important in traditional ones Customers are considered as a team member in agile methodology while, in ordinary ones communication with customers is in vicinity of contract Agile emphasize on flexibility and traditional ones on optimizing [16][17][18] These hypotheses would be evaluated as well within development of project. 3.1 Aim of study As can be concluded from literature review, the quantity of valid empirical researches which have compared ASD with traditional methodologies and researches that consider agile claims, is rare. [23] It could be the most interesting motivation for designing a systematic and scientific way-has been described in methodology and evaluation section- for assessing the mentioned hypotheses. 3.2 Expectation Before conducting the project, there are some expectations which have been concluded from literature review and it is predicted that some of them would be resulted after accomplishing the project. These expectations could be same with hypotheses, but it is crystal clear that for scientific comparison all the conditions should be matched with the conditions in real world. Unfortunately, there are some conditions and situations which do not exist in this project-they will be mentioned in detailed in next chapter-and they will be simulated with simulated situations and maybe this issue affects the results, but with precise simulation it will be tried to reduce this influence as much as possible. 4 Goals and Objectives Doing a fair, empirical and scientific comparison between agile system development and traditional ways can be considered as goal of this project. Also scientific evaluation of this issue that agile is useful approach for software development or not can be another goal. As can be perceived these goals are general and intangible, therefore some objectives make them more clear and measurable. For first goal development of two websites that agile has been applied in one of them and comparison between them could be suitable. Therefore when it comes to comparison objectives can be: Select a suitable context which has this potential to be implemented as a website in agile   and traditional approach Choose a proper languages for development of these websites Opt systematic and scientific methods to compare action of these websites These objectives will be described in detailed in methodology and evaluation chapter. Also, when it comes to second goal these matters can be considered as objectives: Determine specification of a good application Determine success of   software development is assessed by means of which factors Decide what criteria affect web development success Determine these criteria are fulfilled more in agile or traditional approach via systematic and scientific way These objectives would be explained in methodology and evaluation chapter as well as previous ones. 5 Methodology and Evaluation For evaluating benefits which ASD claims have-mentioned in last chapters- and comparison between traditional software development methods and ASD, two website would be designed and their productivity, flexibility, readability and other specifications compared with each other. For a correct comparison context and title of these websites should be same, in other words they should be designed for same target. After discussing with supervisor it was determined that two websites should be implemented for a library which would be presented as online services. As It was mentioned the application and interface of these websites would be same while in one of them Agile methods will be applied and in another one traditional methods like plan base. In follow some details of these websites can be observed.   First library website which is supposed to have Agile methods would be implemented by means of C# language in ASP.Net framework. While the other one will be implemented via PHP language. C# has been opted because of its Object Oriented specification and also as a dynamic language it can be useful to apply ASD methods. In addition PHP has been selected because it was essential that one programming language should be out of the teaching materials of university. These two websites belong to a library which wants to let customers use online services. There would be different kind of books, papers and references which would be available in terms of their type. For instance, some books which have more appeal can be borrowed for shorter period in compare with the others and some recourses cannot be borrowed. Customers will be classified to different types which have distinguish priority. For example, when a book-there is just one available copy of this book- is demanded by two persons that one of them is postgraduate and another one undergraduate, it will borrowed by postgraduate student. There would be a waiting system that puts persons who has requested unavailable items in a queue in respect to their priority that mentioned above. Also, an Email delivery system will send an Email to remind the due time to customers automatically a day before it. After implementation of these websites they will be submitted to a number of expert web developers accompany with a questionnaire- that would be designed after consulting with supervisor- which asks them to determine which application is more productive, flexible and reliable. The developers will not be noticed that Agile methods has been used in which application. In addition it is possible a group of customers would be asked to use two websites and after that express which one is more user friendly and productive, but due to same interface and functionality it could be difficult to mention any differences. As it was mentioned one of the most important specifications which Agile advocates claim can be increased via applying it, is flexibility.   But one of the most vital characteristics of ASD which helps improvement of flexibility is interaction with customers and stockholders. Unfortunately, there is not any actual customer in this comparison therefore project supervisor and another person-who is familiar with web development and is determined after consulting with supervisor are assumed as customer and would be asked to change their requirements as a customer requirements every week regularly then consequent changes in coed are recorded as a documen t and attached to dissertation report. For a scientific comparison all the conditions should be close to reality therefore another minus can be detected and considered, is absence of a team as a development team ,because ASD is completely team based that these teams are usually self organization an cross functional teams. For compensation of this weakness the developer should study different contexts like finance and business and regularly consult with people who are expert in their fields to approach the comparison to reality. 6 Project plan Bibliography [1]ketabe art safeye 3 [2] http://agilemanifesto.org/history.html [3] In Art of Agile Development book [4] In Art of Agile Development book [5] futureworksconsulting.com/resources/TeamAgilityAgileTimesFeb04.pdf [6] In Art of Agile Development book safeye 3 va X||| [7] ketab safheye 3 [8] ketab safeye 4 [9] ketab safeye 4 [10] ketab safeye 4 pavaraghi [11]ketab bakhshe movafaghiyat [12]article success factores [13] article success factores [14] article, what we know about agile? [15]article success factores [16][17][18] [19]ye chiz peydaa kon vase Amrica [20] article, what we know about [21] http://agilemethodology.org/ [22] what we know safeheye aval [23] what we know safeheye aval va ye done dig eke save kardi rood esc top [24] article ke kheili khoobe va ziyaade va jadval dare [25]refrence 16 hamoon article [26] article ke kheili khoobe va ziyaade va jadval dare [27] refrence 60 hamoon article [28] article ke kheili khoobe va ziyaade va jadval dare [29] refrence 50 hamoon article [30] article ke kheili khoobe va ziyaade va jadval dare [31] refrence 52 hamoon article [32] article ke kheili khoobe va ziyaade va jadval dare [53] refrence 52 hamoon article [34] article ke kheili khoobe va ziyaade va jadval dare [35] refrence 9, 10 hamoon article [36] Empirical studies of agile software development: A systematic review/abstract

MENDEZ Surname Meaning and Family History

MENDEZ Surname Meaning and Family History Mendez is a patronymic surname meaning son or descendant of Mendel or Mendo, both given names that derived as a reduced form of the medieval name Menendo, itself derived from the Visigothic name Hermenegildo, meaning  complete sacrifice from the Germanic elements ermen, meaning whole, entire, and gild, meaning value, sacrifice.  Mendes is the Portuguese equivalent of the Mendez surname. The beginnings of the Mendez surname have been traced back primarily to the village of Celanova, Spain, according to the Instituto Genealà ³gico e Histà ³rico Latino-Americano. Mendez is the 39th most common Hispanic surname. Surname Origin:  Spanish Alternate Surname Spellings:  MENDES, MENENDEZ, MENENDES, MÉNDEZ, MÉNDES   Famous People with the Surname MENDEZ Fernando Lugo Mà ©ndez - a former Catholic Bishop and the current President of ParaguayEva Mendes - American actress and international spokeswoman for Revlon CosmeticsTony Mendez -  CIA officer best known for efforts  during the 1979 Iran hostage Where is the MENDEZ Surname Most Commonly Found? The Mendez surname is most prevalent in Mexico, according to surname distribution data from Forebears. It is most common, however, in Guatemala, where it ranks as the 16th most common surname in the country, followed by Venezuela (28th), the Dominican Republic (32nd), and Mexico and Nicaragua (35th). Mendes is also the 50th most common last name in Spain where, according to WorldNames PublicProfiler, it is found in greatest numbers in Asturias, where the surname is believed to have originated, followed by the Canary Islands and Galicia.  The Mendes spelling, meanwhile, is found more commonly in France (especially in the area around Paris) and Switzerland (especially the Genfersee region).   Genealogy Resources for the Surname MENDEZ 50 Common Hispanic Surnames Their MeaningsGarcia, Martinez, Rodriguez, Lopez, Hernandez... Are you one of the millions of people sporting one of these top 50 common Hispanic last names? Mendez  Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Mendez  family crest or coat of arms for the Mendez surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. Mendes DNA Surname ProjectMales with the Mendes, Mendez and other surname variants are invited to join this DNA project to combine Y-DNA testing and traditional genealogical research to sort out various Mendes and Mendez family lines. MENDEZ Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Mendez surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Mendez query. FamilySearch - MENDEZ  GenealogyExplore over 2  million  historical records which mention individuals with the Mendez surname, as well as online Mendez family trees on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. MENDEZ Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Mendez surname. DistantCousin.com - MENDEZ Genealogy Family HistoryFree databases and genealogy links for the last name Mendez. GeneaNet - Mendez  RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Mendez  surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. The Mendez  Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse family trees and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the last name Mendez  from the website of Genealogy Today.- References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997. Back to  Glossary of Surname Meanings Origins

How Big Global Businesses Compare Research Paper

How Big Global Businesses Compare - Research Paper Example Such results buoyed by strong growth in sales in North America. Thus, the revenue grew to three point eight billion euros. Due to the last year of the considerable change and reinvention, it enabled the company to expect the upcoming 2015 year to be a year of execution with expects annual sales to grow in all sectors, networks, mapping services, technologies and patents (Huuhtanen, 2015). While Nokia holds thirty-nine percent of the world market, it still faces severe competition from such companies as Apple and Google, which entered the market with their high-end products in 2007. Organizational culture is an important factor that influences companies in various contexts. Thus, it is important for establishing competitive advantages and it also impacts on organizational performance. The interest in culture has led to the development of different models, which aim is to explain organizational culture and its relevance for organizations (Dauber, Fink & Yolles, 2012). It is assumed that there are three models of culture within organization, which are the artifacts, the values and the assumed values. Schein believes that artifacts of the company are its dress code, work process and organizational structure. Business goals and strategies as well as company’s philosophies are the espoused values, which should be supported by the way company performs its activities and how these activities are managed. All shared values within the organization constitute assumptions of the company. While using Scheins model, business are able to understand cultural elements o f their organization and be  able to analyze the relationship between assumptions and common business practices. Using models gives possibility to change the basic assumptions of a given culture and hence improve the effectiveness of the company as well (Madu, 2011). Thus, for Apple, the main competitor of Nokia Company, the model of culture includes people with their innovative approach to the development of

CIA Article Review and Anaylsis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

CIA Article Review and Anaylsis - Term Paper Example eport on CIA Accountability with Respect to the 9/11 Attacks. The analysis is conducted with a view to identifying the intelligence process, models and sources of intelligence, and organizational functions and structures existing just prior to the 9/11 attacks. The analysis will also identify and analyse how the traditional intelligence cycle identified in the OIG’s Report, point to a need for an alternative intelligence analysis such as the target-centric analysis presented by Clark. In this regard, Clark’s target-centric analysis involves an intelligence process that brings together all stakeholders: consumers, analysts and those who collect intelligence for collaboration and cohesion against a common and complex enemy. The objective is to build a shared picture of the target from which all participants can extract the elements they need to do their job.5 By reference to the OIG’s Report and drawing on Clark’s target-centric analysis this study identifie s the main purpose of intelligence analysis and how intelligence analysis failed to meet its objective. II. OIG Report on CIA Accountability with Respect to the 9/11 Attacks: Summary Intelligence analysis is designed to aid officials such as policymakers, the military, law enforcement and all stakeholders to respond to and to more accurately predict threats to national security.6 However, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) failed to meet this objective with respect to the 9/11 attacks despite the fact that the organization had gathered on al-Qaeda operatives 20 months prior to the attack. The intelligence collected indicated that a terror attack was eminent.7 Following a joint inquiry with respect to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Congress requested that the OIG conduct an investigation with a view to determining whether or not CIA officials and personnel in charge of intelligence gathering and analysis prior to and during 9/11 were and are responsible for failing to execute their d uties satisfactorily.8 As a result of its investigation, the OIG completed a report in 2005, although the report was not publically released until 2007 at which time only an executive summary of the report was released.9 The OIG’s report indicated that the CIA together with its personnel failed to execute their duties satisfactorily, although none of the relevant officers broke the law or acted in a way that involved â€Å"misconduct†.10 A review team, appointed by the OIG pursuant to the investigation concluded that although CIA officers throughout the organization worked aggressively with respect to al-Qaeda and Usama Bin Ladin, they â€Å"did not always work effectively and cooperatively†.11 The report goes on to state that the review team: ...found neither a â€Å"single point of failure† nor a â€Å"silver bullet† that would have enabled the Intelligence Community to predict or prevent the 9/11 attacks. The Team did find however, failure to im plement and manage important processes, failure to imple

Business Strategy term project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Business Strategy term project - Essay Example Agilent Technologies is a leading manufacturer of measurement devices in a variety of industries. It was formed through an IPO (initial public offering) from a spin-off of Hewlett Packard in 1999. The company website states the following about the company: "Agilent Technologies, a spin-off of Hewlett-Packard Company, broke records on Nov. 18, 1999 as the largest initial public offering (IPO) in Silicon Valley history. The US $2.1 billion raised from that IPO was a sharp contrast to the $538 in working capital that founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard began with in 1938. From a small garage in Palo Alto, California, to employees around the world serving customers in 110 countries It is located in room 5022, just off the Santa Clara Campus's main lobby at 5301 Stevens Creek Blvd. in Santa Clara, Calif..(Agilent,2007).The company's corporate brochure describes itself as: " When measurement matters, engineers, scientists, manufacturers, businesses, researchers, and government agencies rely on Agilent tools and solutions. ... No other company offers the breadth and depth of measurement tools and expertise to meet the world's critical requirements for electronic and bio-analytical measurement".(Corporate Brochure,2007) The 1934 setup company launched its first product after a good amount of R&D as the company's website states, "Bill Hewlett's study of negative feedback results in Hewlett-Packard's first product-the resistance-capacity audio oscillator (HP200A), an electronic instrument used to test sound equipment. The oscillator uses an incandescent bulb as part of its wiring scheme to provide variable resistance, a breakthrough in stability in oscillator design. The principle of feedback provides the foundation for other early HP products such as a harmonic wave analyzer and several distortion analyzers". (Agilent, 2007) In 1943 ,as the company's website states, "Company enters the microwave field with signal generators developed for the Naval Research Laboratory and a radar-jamming device. A complete line of microwave test products follows World War II, and the company becomes the acknowledged leader in signal generators". 2. Identification of the industry and competitorsAgilent has been operating in multiple industries as its website clearly states that, " Agilent has a long history of innovation and leadership in the communications, electronics, semiconductor, test and measurement, life sciences and chemical analysis industries".(Agilent,2007) The Major Competitors for Agilent Technologies are reproduced from Agilent Technologies Fact Book 2007 as under : Source :Agilent Technologies Fact Book, October 2007 Agilent began with measuring instruments way back in 1938 and developed this area as field of

Corporate social responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Corporate social responsibility - Essay Example The primary object of business is to supply quality goods and services to the consumers through the creation of utilities. Peter Drucker (1974) enumerates 8 key areas in which objectives of performance and results are to be set. They are marketing, innovation, human organization, financial resources, physical resources, productivity, social responsibility and profit requirements. Every business organization like everyone, lives in the midst of laws of the land, government regulations, economic conditions, changing consumer preferences, technological changes, culture, values system and business ethics of the society. All these factors constitute the business environment. A business organization and its environment are mutually interdependent, interacting with each other continuously. Environment is the supra-system of which the firm is only a small subunit. It can survive and thrive only when the environment desires its output of goods and services and is prepared to approve of an end orse its activities. Business organization had grown from the time immemorial, with the advent of industrial revolution, business organization, controlled by few thrive towards profit maximization. Industrial revolution changed the whole concept of business and capitalistic approach and individual profit making takes the prime objective. But during the 20th century it has changed. More democratic governments and their control but a brake on profit maximization tendencies of the organization and diverted them towards employee welfare and social welfare activities. Governments through various legislations are safeguarding interest of employees. Later on due to technological innovations and global connectivity the whole concept of business has changed. Development of technologies posses’ opportunities and uncertainties as well as risk and challenges, which can make or mar the future of business. Economic environment such as changes in competition, demand, lifestyle, consumer

Annotated references Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Annotated references - Essay Example This model was evaluated and later on proven successful to both teachers and learners. Conversely, there are issues cited in the article, which still remain lacking in this model. This is with regard to the safety of the program and how to win the teacher’s trust versus imparting the right knowledge in children. In particular, this article is helpful in the development of early childhood. This is with an aim of empowering both teachers and children in the line of acquiring high quality education. The authors intend to enhance efficiency and boosting quality of learning in children. The article is relevant to the curriculum with regard to the choice of words and noteworthy sources used. Ultimately, the sources used target the development of early education. For example, the model helps teachers in comprehending what they do clearly and much more helps them see the value of articulating their practices effectively, such as integrating young children with the old in order to have the young learn from the old. The authors, Blank, Damjanovic, Peixoto da Silva and Weber (2012), present a multi-case study that provides an explanation of early childhood and teachers with their experiences when executing project work in present-day classrooms. The authors put emphasis on the challenges that teachers encounter during the implementation process of the project work. This entails how they responded to both developing professional knowledge and skills on the subject of the project strategy and to the available practices considered in the specific school perspectives. This article provides a description of operational project work in a study of three classes with an aim of illustrating main arguments from each of the specific scenarios. The article also presents a construed argument that merges the three scenarios. Finally, the authors indicate what teachers’ encounter while putting

Book Summary about the book Train Go Sorry by Leah Cohen Essay

Book Summary about the book Train Go Sorry by Leah Cohen - Essay Example The plight of the deaf persons is shared through the analysis of Sofia’s life. When she takes her journey to join Gallaudet University, there is much doubt even amongst her family members, regarding the possible chances of Sofia surviving independently at the institution (Cohen, 172). Nevertheless, through the determination to partake the journey of improving her life, Sofia later realizes the vast opportunities that exist for the hearing-impaired persons in the society. Through Sofia’s journey, the book by Leah Hager Cohen demonstrates how being a deaf person in a new environment can be challenging, considering that Sofia is a deaf Russian immigrant, who is trying to settle in the new university environment. Thus, Cohen uses the American Sign Language idiom ‘Train Go Sorry’, which is interpreted to mean the ‘missing the boat’, as an indication that there is a great deal of miscommunication between the deaf and the hearing people, both at the individual and at the societal level (Cohen, 127). Nevertheless, the challenges faced by the deaf can be overcome, where there is a sense of independence and desire to live a normal and fulfilling life,. This was demonstrated by Faye Cohen’s, who is Leah Cohen’s grandmother. Despite her challenges as a deaf person, coupled with the tragedy of loss of her mother, she married another deaf person, and went ahead to live a fulfilling and respectable life, as a wife and a mother (Cohen, 77). However, there is a real threat to the deaf people’s world by the world of the hearing, where the advancement in technology has come to undermine any assistance that the deaf could have obtained in communicating with the hearing. In this respect, there is less technological advancement in the hearing-impaired devices. The effect has been the discrimination of the deaf people and those who struggles to fight

Annotated references Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Annotated references - Essay Example This model was evaluated and later on proven successful to both teachers and learners. Conversely, there are issues cited in the article, which still remain lacking in this model. This is with regard to the safety of the program and how to win the teacher’s trust versus imparting the right knowledge in children. In particular, this article is helpful in the development of early childhood. This is with an aim of empowering both teachers and children in the line of acquiring high quality education. The authors intend to enhance efficiency and boosting quality of learning in children. The article is relevant to the curriculum with regard to the choice of words and noteworthy sources used. Ultimately, the sources used target the development of early education. For example, the model helps teachers in comprehending what they do clearly and much more helps them see the value of articulating their practices effectively, such as integrating young children with the old in order to have the young learn from the old. The authors, Blank, Damjanovic, Peixoto da Silva and Weber (2012), present a multi-case study that provides an explanation of early childhood and teachers with their experiences when executing project work in present-day classrooms. The authors put emphasis on the challenges that teachers encounter during the implementation process of the project work. This entails how they responded to both developing professional knowledge and skills on the subject of the project strategy and to the available practices considered in the specific school perspectives. This article provides a description of operational project work in a study of three classes with an aim of illustrating main arguments from each of the specific scenarios. The article also presents a construed argument that merges the three scenarios. Finally, the authors indicate what teachers’ encounter while putting

Air Quality in Tung Chung Essay Example for Free

Air Quality in Tung Chung Essay In summer, wind blow from south to east, there is low pressure on land and high pressure on sea, onshore wind from Central China and in winter, wind blow from north to west, serious air pollution in Tung Chung due to monsoon wind. As there is high pressure on land and low pressure on sea, offshore wind from Central China to Pacific Ocean blows air pollutants emitted by industries, power stations and vehicles from South China to Tung Chung. Secondly, another cause is human factors. The major developments on Lantau Island at present are the Hong Disneyland and Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, AsiaWorld-Expo and power station in Penny’s Bay. First, combustion of fossil fuels from the airplanes at the Airport worsens the air quality in Tung Chung. Second, busy vehicular flow to the airport, AsiaWorld-Expo and Hong Kong Disneyland and emits air pollutants. Third, fireworks at Hong Kong Disneyland produce air pollutants which are blown to Tung Chung by wind. Last, air pollutants also emitted from the Penny’s Bay Power Station. The major development project on Lantau Island in the future includes the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. The commercial work and the busy vehicular flow after their completion will further produce more air pollution. The air quality in Tung Chung is likely to be worsened in future. Rapid economic development in South China results in serious air pollution in Tung Chung. As more industries are relocated from Hong Kong to South China due to lower production cost, there is a rapid cross-border flow of goods and people between Hong Kong and South China. There are some type of air pollutants: Carbon oxides, Carbon monoxide, Carbon dioxide and Sulfur dioxide. In conclusion, the air quality of Tung Chung is poor. Physical and human factors are the causes of air pollution in Tung Chung.

Strategic business management planning

Strategic business management planning Introduction In this assignment I will be aiming to access, in a critical manner, the classic and contemporary models, concepts and tools in business strategy and planning. I will also be evaluating the methods used by organisations to identify their goals and values. I will be doing the above two in reference to the British bakery chain Greggs plc. 1) Manning (1988:27) made a set of assumptions about the contemporary concept and ideas of strategy, and in relation to Greggs plc they are: The strategy Greggs develops must be designed in order to allow the organisation to deal with an uncertain future. The strategy developed designs a restructuring process instead of a plan per se. The rules of competition with other bakery must be inherent in the strategy. Inspiration and imagination of Greggs allow better performance for them. Synthesis is the most important skill for Greggs. All discussions in the Greggs board room are followed by measurements, which in turn is managed. ‘Transformational is an executive management tactic. This involves combining Greggs organisational strategy and target with their initiatives for the employees, process and technology. This tactic helps in supporting the business strategy and achieving the long-term goals. This tactic is achieved by combining different areas of people, process and technology, and trying to achieve specific targets together; this involves changing appearance, shape and form, and also through new technology, business models and management practices. Incremental is a gradual increase by a certain (or fixed) amount. E.g. Greggs experienced the opposite of incremental (a decrement) as it had a gradual decrease in its profit margins from 2009 to 2010, and then continuing to 2011. However, they also had an increment as sales increased on a fixed percentage of 2.1% year on year. 2) Greggs uses various methods, as shown above, to achieve their targets. As a modern day organisations, it is fair to evaluate the success of those methods for Greggs. The strategy Greggs developed a few years back has surely failed to ensure it was designed for an uncertain future. This is evidenced by their fall in profits from  £52 million to  £48 million; they were not able to prepare for a future they were not sure of and thus had to face consequences. On the other hand, if Greggs initial strategy was to increase sales then they have indeed succeeded as they have experienced increases in sales of 2.1%. But, even so Greggs can still be taken to be a failure as it failed to increase profit. Therefore we can conclude the success of their strategies depends on exactly what they were, but either way Greggs have faltered. Transformational is visibly used by Greggs. This is evidenced by their use of newsletters to increase communication between employees; this will allow staff, starting from those in the lowest level to those in the most influential position, to be aware of the organisations target, as well as staying updated on any happenings around any other departments. This in turn will aid in motivating and inspiring staff to work harder together towards the common target. 3) The main differences between prescriptive and emergent theories in relation to Greggs plc are: Prescriptive approach, as used by Greggs, will be systematic and based upon pre analysis of future happenings in the bakery industry. But, emergent, in contradiction to that is, unplanned and develops over time as Greggs continually keeps adjusting to the changing business environment in the bakery market. In prescriptive, the executives of Greggs set the objectives, and design the organisation strategy. But, in the emergent approach, managers at any level (e.g. managers of local branches) are capable of having an input in setting the objective or strategy. The prescriptive approach supports analysis of the situation in the bakery market as a strong base for competitive advantage. But, the emergent approach supports Greggs expert knowledge as the basis for competitive advantage. The logical and analytical approach of the prescriptive allows Greggs to predict and revise their strategies in order to take advantage of any new opportunities that may come up. One example of this approach (in relation to another company) is when EasyJet correctly predicted and lowered their cost in order to gain an advantage in the cost-conscious European market. Whereas, the emergent approach allows a more creative and responsive strategy which can be well suited for a hyper-competitive and unpredictable business environment (as that in the food market). Examples of organisations (other than Greggs) that dont tie themselves to pre-designed objectives and strategies include big names such as Microsoft and Apple In todays organisations, like Greggs, the emergent approach would have a bigger relevance. The reason being the prescriptive model doesnt allow the contemporary style of allowing employees at the lower levels to make contributions to the decision made. As a result of such an approach employees become less motivated. 4) There are three types of goals. They act together to form the overall organisation goal. The three goals in relation to Greggs plc are: Strategic Goal (the targeted position Greggs intends to be in the future), Tactical Goal (the targets set for the most important departments within Greggs), and Organisational Goal (specific results expected from a certain department, groups or individuals). Goals help in designing the actions to be taken, and works best when clear choices exist regarding the future. But, in may not work properly if Greggs restructures at a fast rate. Every organisation has its own values, including Greggs. This values shape the Greggs culture and working environment. It helps in setting goals in line with the culture, and in increasing performance in key areas such as quality and customer service. Peter Druckers Eight Content Areas in Developing Goals are: Marketing Innovation Productivity Physical and financial resources Profitability Managerial   performance and development Worker performance and attitude Public responsibility One of the most important problems with goal and value setting is the failure of Greggs to think strategically. A common problem that occurs is that planners (i.e. the executives at Greggs) confuse organisational efficiency with organisational effectiveness. In doing so, they only look at internal matters and how to make things slightly better than they currently are. Ultimately, they end up without having solved potential threats, and without using their strengths to gain advantage. Steps to a progressive strategic thinking (in other words settings goals and values) are: Select the strategies that Greggs wants to implement. Strategies must focus with the restructuring of Greggs, as this aids in directing and sustaining changes. Strategies must be designed in order to allow adaptation to unexpected results. Use brainstorming techniques to allow fellow planners to contribute. While developing the strategy the planners (the executives at Greggs plc) must think whether it will allow a change in the organisation, as well as it was whether it was actually a strategic activity. Reconsider strategies that have failed in the past. Make sure to avoid conflicting strategies. Also, Greggs must take the following into considerations to ensure their strategies, targets and values are truly effective and dont contradict each other: The most important issues always present the most complicating problems. Therefore it is advisable to concentrate more on such matters. Continually question every idea to ensure clarity. Each of the strategies must be associated with currently running programs. 5) Stakeholders in Greggs plc have different interest, some of which are conflicting and some of which are in agreement. Examples of agreement include high profits (which leads to high dividends and job security), interest in growth and prosperity, etc. Examples of conflict include wage rises (which results in a decrease in dividends), growth of the organisation at the expense of short term profit and local community, etc. It cannot be taken that stakeholders have equality in terms of power and influence. Stakeholders can exert influence by disrupting and causing uncertainty in Greggs plans. However, Governments, community groups and managers can also exert influence; government can indirectly through the use of taxation, community groups through protests and violence, and managers as they make decisions and therefore hold extensive power. In conclusion, even though stakeholders on paper have greater influence and power, other individuals or groups can exert influence through indirect means and methods. However, if conflict or disagreement exists between stakeholders, than proportionality in the ownership of the company comes into effect, as those with the largest share are the most influence. 7) Strategic intent is the reason behind the existence of any organisation like Greggs. It forms a clear path to achieve the vision of the company. It helps to prioritise and concentrate on the important issues. The means of strategic intent are the following: A properly designed strategic intent allows development of strategies and setting of targets. Inspiring people by making targets a valuable asset. Encouraging participation and contribution. Careful direction of resources. Emphasises on building new resources. Strategic intent has certainly been used by Greggs in restricting their organisation. They have ensured participation, efficiency of resources and have developed a well thought strategy. This is clearly visible as their number of sales as increased in the past years. In conclusion, strategic intent is indeed a successful theory as seen by the success of Greggs due to their implementation of it. Mission statement states the importance behind the existence of Greggs. It explains the basic expectations, and the primary values of the company. The statement should be brief, to-the-point and easy to understand. Also, it should showcase the uniqueness of the organisation. Vision statement is how the organisation wishes to be in the future, in other words its future position. 8) Mission intent is a description of the role the organisation plays in serving their stakeholders.It provides a framework upon which strategies are formulated. The means of mission intent are the following: Produce a mission statement that is feasible and clear. A statement which is inspiring and credible. A statement which is unique and analytical. Greggs mission statement is â€Å"Making a difference to the lives of people in need in the heart of Greggs local communities.† It is a well-structured mission statement because it is feasible and very clear (to help the local communities), it is inspiring (helping others is always a motivating cause) and analytical (because it looks carefully at the specific needs of the community). And it certainly seemed to have succeeded as Greggs successfully raised money in aid of the local community, as well as ensuring to provide environmental friendly packaging for its products. In conclusion, the mission intent is an effective tool in creating a friendly and comfortable atmosphere and environment. It increases organisation profile and allows successful growth. Vision statement is a statement identifying what the organisation intends to be in providing its services and products. A well planned statement should be clear, realistic and should harmonize with the organisations culture and values. Greggs vision is â€Å"Our vision is to be Europes finest bakery-related retailer. Our purpose is the growth and development of a thriving business, operating with integrity, for the benefit and enjoyment of our people, customers, shareholders and the wider community.†It is a perfect vision statement as it is clear (grow into Europes finest bakery), realistic (it can almost be achieve as it continues to grow across Europe) and harmonize with the organisations culture and values (of support for the community). The fact Greggs clear vision has allowed it to become one of Europes biggest and fastest growing bakery shop, proves that vision intent is indeed an effective method. Objectives are targets that the organisation aims for in a certain time. The theory of objectives suggests they are: They are the basics of any plan. Policies are designed in order to achieve objectives. Setting objective is the responsibility the executives. It is common to have a set of objectives, rather than one single. Objectives are set in the short term, as well as long term. Objectives must be set in order to ensure they can be adjusted in the future if needed. The objectives must be feasible, realistic and operational. Greggs objective of being a ‘customer-focused business has certainly been a success, as seen from their increased sales and their growth. This proves that setting objective is indeed effective as it allows an organisation to meet their target in an organised manner. Conclusion: In conclusion, businesses now-a-days use all forms of models, concepts and tools, regardless of whether their classic or contemporary, to develop their strategy and plans, and do so in a successful manner so that the strategies and plans are both compatible for both the present and future situations that the Greggs might find themselves in. Also, the methods used by organisations like Greggs to identify their goals and values, are certainly effective and aids in developing and furthering growth for the company.