Margaret Sanger - The Morality of Birth Control free essay sample

The Sullivans matrix report Essays

The Sullivans matrix report Essays The Sullivans matrix report Essay The Sullivans matrix report Essay Sullivans matrix introduces different ways to classify the IT/IS environment of an organisation. Within this matrix, there are four environments: Traditional, Opportunistic, Complex and Backbone. The idea of this report is to describe how the IS/IT environment of Inditex fits into Sullivans matrix. According to Ward Peppard (2002) organisations with a traditional IT/IS environment have a highly centralised control of their IT resources. IS is not critical to the business and IT is solely used to improve efficiency on a system-by-system basis. McAfee (2004) raises many points in his article to suggest that the IT/IS of Inditex fits into this Traditional environment. Inditex see IT as merely an enabler for their business. McAfee (2004) confirms this theory as he states that The role of IT, then, is to support the process (McAfee, 2004). Ward Peppard state that within a Traditional environment, IT is simply used to support business processes and to improve the efficiency of the organisation. Another point which supports the theory is that Inditex have an excellent IT and business alignment. business goals always shape the companys use of technology, never vice versa (McAfee, 2004). This portrays Inditex as being entirely business-led where organisational goals invariably define technological innovation. This ethos confirms their desire not to waste money on new systems which do not provide a business value or solution to a specific business problem. McAfee relates to this theory as an inside-out approach. To sum up the arguments, Inditex has one principle which fully shows that their IT/IS environment is Traditional: computerisation is standardised and targeted. You can see this on the low IT budget which is estimated 0. 5% of revenue and the IT staff of 50. Despite Inditexs focus on the Traditional environment, there are also subtle undertones of Sullivans other three IT/IS environments displayed within the organisation. For example, there are factors which show that elements of Inditexs IT/IS environment is Complex. They are dependent on their PDAs which can also be difficult to manage. In addition they are also largely decentralized, because each store manager has to manage his PDA. This is also the case with regards to their POS systems. Inditex is a company with branches around the world. This makes it difficult to manage each POS in every store. In some points, the IT/IS environment of Inditex also displays Opportunistic aspects. In the case of Inditex the attributes for a Complex and Opportunistic environment are very similar. However, one of the more important factors to consider is the teamwork and cooperation conducted within Inditex. Their success is mainly based on the decision making abilities of their staff. This strategy is ensured as technologists work with line managers to understand what the business requires and then start proposing solutions which shows that the workforce is closely integrated and dependent more upon teamwork and decision making than IT capabilities. This type of culture is defined by Ward Peppard (2002) as being an Opportunistic trait as they state that integration of systems occurs due to user-user cooperation occurs within this type of environment. We also examined whether Inditex had aspects of a Backbone IS/IT environment. This may be a factor as the business processes are highly customised, thus the stores may be dependent on PDAs for instance. However, we do not have enough information from the article to be sure whether traits of the Backbone environment exist within their structure. In the late 1990s when other organisations spent vast sums of money on new technologies, Inditex withheld a Traditional framework. Great success has ultimately been achieved while The relative absence of computers throughout Inditex is nothing short of amazing (McAfee, 2004). Inditex has minimized the use of technology to their business needs and therefore they perform efficiently. In our opinion it is not important to classify which IT/IS environment Inditex has. It is more important that the IT/IS environment matches the business environment and the business needs so that IT can become a value creator in the organisation. There are different types of information, which organisations have to handle. Examples of such information types include business process information (which documents any information about the processes of the organisation), information relating to physical-world observations (which relies on new technologies like GPS or RFID) and biological data containing biometrical information of their customers or employees. Government institutions also use public data like CCTV for public surveillance but the most important data types are those which indicates personal preferences or intentions which is often used by those within the retail market. Once these types of information have been collated, an organisational culture must be established to determine the way in which information should be stored, managed and shared within the organisation to adhere to the goals and objectives set out within the information strategy. Essential for the success of any information management strategy is the existence of an appropriate information culture. An information culture can be defined as the values, attitudes and behaviours that influence the way employees at all levels in the organization sense, collect, organize, process, communicate and use information. (Ward Peppard, 2002 p470) There are four types of information culture defined by Marchand (1995): Functional Culture Within this culture it is the managers prerogative regarding which information is made available to the staff. It also follows a hierarchical structure regarding information sharing. Sharing Culture In this culture there is flat structure which is utilised to encourage trust and openness in order to share information between management and staff members. This culture is based on emotions such as trust which can be either advantageous or detrimental to the operation of the organisation or department as these emotions can frequently change. Enquiring Culture This culture may be used as an effective prediction to provide guidance for future developments. It is based on a sharing culture where managers and staff collaborate while it enables the organisation to reduce the time-to-market of their products. Discovery Culture This culture adds to the enquiring culture and focuses on analysing the gathered information. This helps to provide the organisation with a view of changing environments, competitor performance, areas of possible expansion and potential market entry for the future etc. These cultures are mostly found as combinations in organisations. Organisations have different information assets and their staff members have different information needs. Therefore, in order to use these information assets appropriately you need a customised culture which is aligned to the information needs of the organisation. Tesco provide us with a good example of this cross-over in culture definition as information is generally produced at the managerial level and distributed amongst the workforce while it can also be shared amongst line managers and employees at all levels throughout the organisation. An enquiring culture is also used to develop certain areas of the business to enable future profitability while a discovery culture is in place for Tescos attempted entry into markets such as insurance, banking and Internet broadband. All of these points convey Tesco as a multi-culture organisation where different sectors of their business follow different cultures. As we have discussed, the behaviours and attitudes of a workforce can have a profound effect on the success of an organisations performance. For this reason, the information culture must match the requirements of employees in order to facilitate a successful information strategy. Trust and receptiveness are just two behavioural traits which must be monitored in order for employee acceptance. The importance of considering these factors is agreed by Ferguson et al. who state that sustainable competitive advantage will rely on two very human characteristics: insight and trust (Ferguson et al. , 2005 p58). From this point, we can conclude that the consideration of human aspects is vital for the strategic success of information and without an information culture, it can be very difficult to monitor and influence the behaviour and attitudes of the workforce. References Ferguson, G., Mathur, S., Shah, B. (2005). Evolving From Information to Insight. MIT Sloan Management Review, 46(2), 51-58. Marchand, D.A. (1995, 8 December). What is your companys information culture? Financial Times, pp. 10-11. Ward, J., Peppard, J. (2002). Strategic Planning for Information Systems. West Sussex, England: John Wiley Sons

International Political Economy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International Political Economy - Research Paper Example These included the entry of the Scandinavian monetary union and the Latin Monetary Union into the spectrum. In case a country was lacking in the membership of any of the international unions, trading operations were facilitated by common involvement in the gold systems by the international partners, regardless of their independence and colony status. Great Britain became top on the economic list of best performing countries. The country had developed massive economic, political, industrial influence, and was technically controlling more of the global market. According to Forbes (22), whereas capital controls similar to the Bretton Woods System had not yet been implemented, imbalances in capital flows were rarer than the post 1970 era. In light of its economic dominance, Britain's investment in other countries helped to control any imbalances across the world; the capital exports continued to grow when Britain's financial system hit a crisis, thus enabled other nations to recover reve nue lost from commodity exports. In light of this, this period witnessed mostly consistent economic growth and fairly infrequent economic crises. Unlike the Bretton Woods standards, the global financial order witnessed between 1870 and 1914 was not established at a common high level meeting; rather it underwent natural growth. In light of this, the Gilded Age that witnessed rapid economic development in North America squarely contributed to the stability of the monetary standard. After World War I The era between the two World Wars (1919-1939) witnessed a slump in the world economic status (White 411). Between 1919 and 1939, major economic players concentrated on their internal policies at the expense of global economy. Basically, both international business activities and capital flows reduced like never before. During the First World War nation-states had technically steered clear from the gold standard. Only the United States saw its significance, albeit temporarily, especially i n mid-1920s. Notably, within the first half of 1930s, the common standard was basically a disjointed system of using exchange rates. Forbes noted that in this period, major global economic powers such as Great Britain and the United States realized that the internationally accepted gold standard practically deviated from the widely acceptable national policy of retaining autonomy (23). To safeguard their gold reserves, nation-states, sometimes saw it wise to increase interest rates and adopt a general deflationary economic policy. This policy was aimed at averting a downturn, in cases where countries had reduced interest rates to trigger more investment and growth. Heston and Summers (97) argued that the need to reintroduce the gold standard in Britain may have been driven by the financial institutions to hurt the local working class. Great Britain emerged from the World War I financially weaker than the United States, allowing the latter to substitute her as the top-most financial giant in the world. America however was hesitant to take over her trading partner’s leadership role, because of isolationism and the need to concentrate on local issues. In contrast to Great Britain’s economic strength before the 1914, US capital exports were not counter cyclical. Fleming indicated that they grew faster in line with the America’s economic development until 1928, when the pangs of Great Depression began to bite (61). The intensification of the

Civil Rights Legislation and the Return of Status Essay

Civil Rights Legislation and the Return of Status - Essay Example These students would become known as the "Little Rock Nine."2 In 1960, students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. Their mistreatment was televised to the nation and prompted reflection. Also in North Carolina, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was founded at Shaw University to give black students direction in the civil rights movement.3 1963 was an active year on the Civil Rights timeline. Martin Luther King was arrested and jailed. There, he wrote his famous "Letter From the Birmingham Jail," voicing the familiar argument that is was a moral duty to disobey unjust laws. In May, Birmingham officials unleashed fire hoses and police dogs on black protestors, once again televised for the world to see. The Lincoln Memorial was the congregation point of 200,000 who joined the March on Washington, where King spoke his "I Have a Dream" speech. Violence continued in the streets of Birmingham when four young girls were killed in an explosion at the Sixteenth Baptist Church, the location of several civil rights meetings.4 Progress came in the form of the 24th Amendment in 1964, which abolished a poll tax designed to block blacks fro

Research project Mystory Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Project Mystory - Research Paper Example Generation X experienced poor jobs, slow economic growth and the recession, but they worked hard trying to acquire better living standards (Wartenberg). They got referred to as echo boomers due to their birth in the 80’s when there were high birth rates. Bathes shows the basic perspectives as well as the core values of the Generation X during the 90’s. Barthes focuses on the social occurrences and events that shaped the feelings and views of generation X when growing up in the 90’s. In the templates, Barthes shows the sociological occurrences and events that happen when one is changing to a sexual adult. He also explores how the transition influenced the sexual behavior, gender roles and the general attitude towards life. He shows the sociological events that happen when the youngsters in Generation X reached economic adulthood. The main character sits in a cafe waiting for his lover, and he gets carried away by thoughts wondering what would happen if the relatio nship failed. In the movie ‘Singles’, which was a 1992 Romantic film, it shows the life of young people of Generation X during the 90’s (Crowe). The movie centers on the love life of young people and how the hard social, political and economic conditions affected them. From this, the audience sees people growing up in the 90’s were keen to get into good relationships, which turned out not as easy as they thought. The movie and Barthes templates depict the Generation Xers as cautious lovers who desired stable marriages for themselves. They were cautious because their parents experienced a lot of divorce and they did not want to follow their footsteps (Crowe). In ‘A Lovers Discourse’ by Bathes, the Generation X gets viewed as desperate and eager for love. They get depicted as people expecting too much from their love relationships. In a scene from ‘Singles’, it depicts a male character sitting in a cafe and waiting for his lover to arrive. In the process, he falls into deep thoughts and starts thinking what would happen if the person he was waiting for failed to arrive. For moments, he recognized his love for what it was and thought of his life without her presence. This depicts generation X as people expecting so much from their lovers, yet they offered so little in return. The generation X faced a lot of challenges in love while growing up in the 90’s (Wartenberg). Most of them were looking forward to starting a family when they are thirty years old. Those who were in their late twenties and did not have lovers appeared desperate as time does not bide. They reduced the rate of divorce compared to their parents as they married later in life as most of them focused on career and education first. From the templates, it is evident that People from Generation X ended up following their parents’ footsteps unintentionally. Some of them because of getting raised by single mothers they opted for the sam e for fear of break ups. When growing up in the 90’s most of them got neglected or ignored because they happened to be offspring’s of absent or divorced parents. Many of the Generation X growing up in the 90’s desired a need to make a total commitment to their own children. This was because most of them had fallen victim of neglect. They wanted to be better than their parents and avoid making the same mistakes they made. When it comes to culture, the Generation X populace had no specific culture.

Management of Local Environmental Projects

Management of Local Environmental Projects There are various methods or approaches that can be used to manage local environmental projects through the implementation of environmental management measures with varying degrees of success and effectiveness. The methods and approaches used to manage local environmental projects can vary due to the objectives, active group membership, and the actual geographical location of those environmental projects. The scale and objectives of local environmental projects can vary greatly, ranging from short-term projects with a single objective such as regenerating a polluted area or on longer- term projects with many objectives. These environmental projects will range from those with a few volunteer members to those that could involve hundreds of people and rely on links between pressure groups, volunteers, and local or even national government. Since environmental projects started to emerge from the late 1960s as concern began to grow about the ecological impact of human economic activities methods of environmental project management have evolved. For ecologists the planning and implementation of local environmental projects has always been a major part of their strategy as a means of empowering local communities to improve their quality of life whilst helping the local environment. Local environmental projects had the advantage of not being controlled by government or businesses and could be regarded as an important strand of the social movements that emerged almost simultaneously with the ecology movement. Local environmental projects represented and still represent an alternative economic, social and political outlook upon life and how irresponsible material gain should not be the primary objective of governments and societies (Eatwell Wright, 2003 p. 233). Every environmental project should certainly consider the need for project management, whether on a full time, part time, or consultancy basis to maximise the ecological impact of the project. When it comes to protecting the world’s environment people often assume that national governments have the largest role to play in adopting measures to slow down or even reverse ecological damage. However, everybody has an individual responsibility to do their bit to protect their local environment. Environmental projects in theory and frequently in practice have shown that as individual projects they have a limited impact upon the global environment yet if the affects of all the environmental projects were added together they are far from being insignificant (Eatwell Wright, 2003 p. 234). Modern economic practices tend to emphasise that projects and economic activities at the local level are largely insignificant in comparison to regional, national, and international economic trends or decisions. That is not actually the case as much that has been achieved at protecting the environment has been influenced by or implemented by local environmental projects. Local environmental projects can help to change the widely held belief that only multinational corporations and national governments make a difference to the environment as ‘what cannot be measured is of no importance’ (Porritt, 1984 pp. 43-4). The people that manage local environmental projects have to consider several factors once it has been decided to start their environmental project. Unlike the earliest local environmental projects there are now a variety of government, non-governmental and business funding resources available that means people that are involved in local environmental projects do not have to meet the costs of running or working on their environmental projects. That is an important consideration when many environmental project workers could be unemployed or volunteers, the majority of local environmental projects would not be able to function if their workers and volunteers were forced by financial necessity to work elsewhere. For local and community environmental projects that are intended to have a long term future having a skilled environmental project manager that has the knowledge and the experience to attract funding is without doubt essential. An effective environmental project manager came make all the difference between continuing the project for the benefit of the local community and the environment, or the project closing down through lack of funding or volunteers. Funding can come in the form of grants made by central and local government, grants made by non-governmental organisations such as the National Lottery, or through business sponsorship or endorsements. In certain circumstances local and community environmental projects could be used as contractors or sub-contractors to achieve the policies of local and national government. Businesses may genuinely want to help to protect the local environment or they may just want to gain some positive publicity for themselves. Whatever peoples underlying reasons for supporting local and community environmental projects it is clearly in everybody’s self –interest to assist any projects that can protect their local environment (Jackson, 1996 pp. 181-3). As well as staffing levels and funding local environmental projects and their managers should also consider the resources that they need to operate effectively with and whether they can use sustainable resources or not. Local environmental projects may only be on a small barely detectable scale when the global environment is considered as a whole yet they can prove significant at the local level. If every local community could decrease its consumption levels when added together that could have highly beneficial results (Redcliffe, 1996 p. 91). Local and community environmental projects should be projects that effectively manage their resources so that they can limit environmental damage and help prevent or possibly reverse pollution levels within their respective communities. Local and community environmental projects should be evaluated to judge how their resource requirements could be met through sustainable resources, recycling, and the conservation of energy. Local and community environmental projects for instance should try to keep their use of paper, energy, and water to a minimum so as to reduce pollution (Chokar, Pandya, Raghunathan, 2004 p. 137). Thus all local environmental projects where possible should promote greener forms of energy consumption, and transport to improve the environment in their local area. There have not always been enough reasons for local and community environmental projects to proceed as the scientific proof of environmental decline was not widely or publicly accepted (Redcliffe, 1996 p. 136). If practical projects should attempt to use renewable energy sources either by selecting a renewable energy supplier or finding ways to operate their own power supplies (Chokar, Pandya, Raghunathan, 2004 p. 122). Ironically enough local and community environmental projects can become more effective and numerous as a result of national directives or legislation to protect and in some cases to conserve the environment (Jackson, 1996 p.173). Local authorities can help improve the environment in their local areas by promoting traffic free zones and encouraging greener transport use. They could even consider helping local and community environmental projects by assisting those projects in using cycles and promoting walking (Vaz, 1999 p. 99). Local and community environmental projects should also help to protect the local and community environment by recycling as much as possible. Not only is recycling helping to improve environmental sustainability it could also be an extra source of income for some local and community environmental projects depending upon the volume of material recycled. Recycling has the added benefits of reducing the levels of waste and pollution in local communities. The management of local environmental project needs to evaluate the ease of travel to the site of the environmental project. Consideration has to be made for people to walk, cycle or use public transport to reach the environmental project, either as workers, volunteers, or visitors. Transport issues can be more significant if the local and community environmental project is in a rural area with less public transport and greater distances for people to travel to it. Persuading people to walk or cycle to the environmental project would hel p to reduce the vehicle exhaust emissions that increase pollution and acts as a major cause of health conditions such as asthma. Reduced levels of pollution are good for local communities, less pollution brings public health, and economic benefits to those areas compared to other areas were there has been no environmental projects established and operating at all (Vaz, 1999 p. 158). Environmental project managers can gain funding, volunteers and workers for their projects through various channels. Gaining the support of the local community could be just as important for long-term success and continuation as obtaining direct funding can be. Local and community environmental project managers could attract supporters and volunteers by arranging publicity in the local press and television coverage to make people aware of the environmental project and its objectives for improving the environment in the local area. Public awareness can lead to people donating to the project, working for the project, or it can make them adjust their individual behaviour to help the local environment by themselves (Redcliffe, 1996 p.136). Publicity campaigns if well judged or well timed could make the local environmental project newsworthy and with increased support or influence within the local community it is there to help. As well as press releases and articles in local newspapers lo cal and community environmental project workers have found forging relationships with local schools, colleges, and youth organisations is beneficial. Such relationships can prove useful in raising the profile of their local and community environmental project; managers believe it useful in the gaining of workers or volunteers in the present and the future. Local and community environmental projects can form close links with schools, colleges, and youth groups by organising visits to those places or arranging for these groups to visit the environmental project. Project managers could also consider the option of allowing school children to go on projects as part of their work experience training or placement. Recruiting students at college or university could be another source of workers or volunteer as well as recruiting local people from the community (Vaz, 1999 p. 158). Increasing the number of people that visit local and community environmental projects potentially has legal consequences for the management of such projects to worry about. The local and community environmental projects management have to consider that they are legally responsible for the health and safety of everybody that works for, volunteers for, or simply visits their environmental projects. Managers should establish whether any of the materials, waste products, or working practices carried out as part of the projects are dangerous or detrimental to the health and safety of anybody linked to those projects. Before cleaning up pollution managers should check that all work does not contravene health and safety considerations (Jackson, 1996 p.55). Legal liability in the event of accidents could prove costly and lead to the closure of environmental projects that are inadequately insured. Local and community environmental projects especially if they work closely with local government and central government departments may have contractual arrangements that can only be broken or unfulfilled at the cost of legal action been taken or threatened. With local and community environmental projects often needing public funding or believing they need it, the cost of losing such contracts could be financially hard hitting for environmental projects. Environmental projects could also be victims to changes in political policy decision making which might decide to reduce the funding available for environmental projects (Vaz, 1999 p. 138). A good example of a local and community environmental project that has benefited or could benefit from the use of project managers was the Colchester Local Food Project. The Colchester Local Food Project had two distinct objectives. Firstly the Colchester Local Food Project attempted to increase the profile and sales of organically grown products from the Colchester area. Organic farming has obvious environmental advantages, for instance not using artificial fertilisers and pesticides that cause pollution and health problems if not used properly. The other part of the project was to help keep the local farms in business by establishing a Farmers’ market for the local area. The environmental benefits of conventional farming techniques may not be as obvious as organic farming yet farming would cause less damage to the local environment than building new homes or industrial sites on the land. Environmental project managers could have brought benefits to the scheme by finding fund ing for the organic growers and farmers, as well as advice in producing the local food directories and promoting the Farmer’s market. The actual project ran from June 2003 through to December 2004 with the directories helping to improve awareness and food sales (www.en-form.supanet.com). Bibliography Chokar K B, Pandya M, Raghunathan M, (2004) Understanding Environment, Sage Publications, New Delhi, Thousand Oaks and London Eatwell R Wright A, (2003) Contemporary Political Ideologies 2nd Edition, Continuum, London Jackson T, (1996) Material Concerns – Pollution, Profit and quality of life, Routledge, London and New York Porritt J, (1984) Seeing Green: the politics of ecology explained, Blackwell, Oxford Redcliffe M, (1996) Wasted – Counting the costs of Global Consumption, Earthscan, London Vaz K, (1999) Cities for the future, Hansib Publications Limited, London W.W.-form.supanet.com/projectsenform.htm

Short Stories :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the two short stories, â€Å"The Free Radio† and â€Å"Everything Rises Must Converge,† the main characters of each story have to make many important decisions/choices. The choices that are made change how other characters see the main character as well as how they react to them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the short story, †The Free Radio,† by Salman Rushdie, Ram has many choices to make throughout the story. Ram who could have had anything in the world he wanted made many poor choices. Ram was the cutest guy in the town; he had everything going for him. Then he met the widow and her five children, and he also started hanging with the youth armbands, these people lead to the downfall of Ram. The radio represented a way for Ram to escape reality and when Ram didn’t get it he had to deal with all the negative choices he made. This is what hurt Ram because he had made so many negative choices in throughout the story. The theme of this story is to be happy in whatever you do and if your not you can always move to a new town and start over like Ram did. In the short story, â€Å"Everything That Rises Must Converge,† by Flanery O’Connor, Julian learns there are more people in this world other than himself. The way he learns this is by taking his over weight mother every Wednesday night to the Y so she could exercise. Julian’s mother is scared to go by herself because her town has become segregated. In the story there is an expensive hat that is wore by Julian’s mother. The mother was skeptical to wear it because she thought it was funny looking, but she wore it anyway. While on the bus to the Y a colored lady came on with a similar hat as Julian’s mothers. When Julian saw this he began to make fun of his mother because she had the same hat as a colored person.

Final Strategic Plan Essay

Everyone wants to have a delicious meal that will not cost them a lot of money. There are many restaurants that try to sell you their services. Greg’s Family Restaurant is a restaurant which will provide a wholesome nutritious meal and great customer service for all our patrons. Mission Statement The mission of Greg’s restaurant is to provide wholesome meals at unbelievable prices the competition cannot compare. Our restaurant is to provide customers the service each and every one of them want and deserve. We will provide this type of service with the technology that is available to us as a business. With this technology we provide our customers with great service and delicious meals at an unbelievable price. We will become the best restaurant in the area that provides our customers with Mexican, Afro-American cuisine. The employees of Greg’s restaurant will be like family. Organization Vision Vision is the strategic planning of a company to achieving its goals. â€Å"A vision statement presents the firm’s strategic intent that focuses the energies and resources of the company on achieving a desirable future† (Pearce & Robinson, 2009, p37). The aim for Greg’s restaurant is to in the next 2-4 years to be above and beyond the competition and to expand the business to other areas within the city. The future planning of the restaurant is to come up with menu items that will continue to help the business to prosper. Guiding principles: Culture, social responsibility, and ethics Greg’s restaurant is following many values and cultures according to the needs of customers. The menu items of the restaurant represent different cultures that can attract customers of different nationalities and societies. Greg’s restaurant is multi- cultural and offers a wide variety of menu items that everyone can enjoy. Greg’s restaurant gives priority to the values of honesty and integrity in full support of their valued patrons. The restaurant also offers specials throughout the week and also issues coupons to get half off on certain menu items. The business is using products that are environmentally friendly and to help protect the environment and health of the community. The vision, mission, and values statement of the restaurant will provide the framework, structure and the company’s goal. The vision is the end goal the restaurant wants to achieve whereas the mission and the values will provide the business with the everyday activities the business already performs and also the structure and framework for the strategic plan for the business. The business will address customer needs by providing good service and meals to each and every patron that enters the establishment. All customers will get the same fresh meal the first customer to the last customer. The staff will act in a professional manner and provide great customer service and our suppliers along with the restaurant will serve the freshest ingredients available. Organization Strategic Direction Without strategic direction the business will not be able to accomplish its mission or vision. So it is very important that a company has a strategic direction for the implementation of its mission and vision. Strategic direction is defined as strategies made by a business or company to fulfill its mission. Strategic direction helps the owner and employees to know what is needed or required to achieve the mission of the company. Customer needs and competitive advantage At Greg’s restaurant it is important for the business to provide a relaxed comfortable atmosphere to the customers so they can like at home. At Greg’s restaurant there has been mechanisms added to provide the customers with the necessary seating and waiting areas to help them feel more comfortable at the restaurant. It is also a positive direction the company has taken is there is no priority of any culture or religion to dine at the restaurant. Honesty is a key element that we strive when dealing with patrons. Strategy planning helps the company review the mission and vision and to make sure that the company is headed in the right direction on achieving the goals. The future planning and vision of the restaurant has an impact on the restaurant strategy and it could impact the way the business will do over the next few years. The business has to utilize its vision and mission statements to make new decisions or to improve on the decisions it makes about the future of th e business and what is going to benefit the business. SWOTT Analysis In the restaurant business and by being new to the industry which is very competitive a SWOTT analysis plays a key role and is needed for a business to succeed. Greg’s Family Restaurant sets itself apart from other restaurants by servicing their customers with excellent customer service and meals. When analyzing a business one has to look at the internal and external factors that affect the company. A SWOTT analysis provides a breakdown of all these factors even factors that could affect a business internally and externally. SWOTT analysis is a tool a company uses in forming a strategic plan. It is the most effective tool a company uses to determine and uses for a strategic plan. SWOTT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats, and Trends a company must face. Business can use SWOTT as a tool to create and overview of the organization strategic situation. (Pearce & Robinson, 2009). For a new establishment like Greg’s Restaurant a SWOTT analysis is necessary to establish and compare where it is in a competitive market. When operating any type of business preparation is a key element: looking into as many potential options as possible is a must to prevent the company from profit loss along with the shareholders but in this case it is Greg’s stakeholders at risk. By eliminating all possible threats and creating opportunities with limited financial resources and concentrating on the long- term goal is the key to the success of the business and the future. SWOTT provides basic framework for business existing or new. More opportunities can be created by eliminating various weaknesses. External forces which are opportunities, threats, and trends are sets of uncontrollable factors the restaurant face and must overcome to succeed in the restaurant business. After conducting a SWOTT analysis legal and regulatory, economic, technology, Global and social trends were found external forces that need to be addressed. Legal and Regulatory Because of the external forces of opening a new restaurant or possible refitting and exiting building you will have to deal with the zoning laws. Restaurants need licenses and permits to operate or a food service establishment permit, alcohol license and food safety permit. Food safety health codes vary from state to state but restaurant businesses have to abide by the rules and laws that are put forth. The rules and regulations are to help protect the consumers and business. Economic Information regarding to products, services, tools, technology, and suppliers will compromise the economic environment of the restaurant. In 2001 California restaurants are projected to register 63.8 billion in sales, every $1 spent generates additional $1.19 in sales for the state economy. In 2010 there were 62, 794 eating and drinking places in California; every extra $1 million spent in California’s restaurants generates an additional 23.8 jobs in the state. In 2012 California restaurants employ 1,445,000 people (www.restaurant.org). Macroeconomics is very sluggish at this point in time. Inflation is at a high and banks are increasing interest rates. People are not spending as they did in the past they are more frugal with their finances. With the housing market in a slump, unemployment on the rise and with energy prices on the rise it is giving the restaurant industry a hard time. Changing labor conditions and cost is affecting smaller family type restaurants to eventually lose their business. Globalization Globalization shows opportunity for Greg’s restaurant to expand outside the United States. Forming a Limited Liability Company (LLC) it protects your personal assets from any liability the business incurs. If the owner plans on setting up a restaurant in different locations have separate LLC for the location. Social Socially people love to meet, dine, and have a drink and fun. But given the economic conditions of today it is hard for people to dine like they once did in the past. People are also concern about eating healthy and given the increase of a lot of food recalls in the past. Social media is also playing a big role in the marketing aspect of the restaurant industry. Technology Technology in the restaurant industry is very vital to the everyday operation. There is software available to track inventory, supplier orders, and to manage food orders. Technology is being developed every day to improve the way restaurants do business. Managers are no in more control of their staff with remote monitoring systems. Internal forces are more controllable factors a business can use to improve the operation and its path to success. After conducting an internal evaluation these were the factors the business came up with that is logical: strategy, strategic capabilities, and structures. Strategy In order for the restaurant to grow and expand a strategy has to be designed to which the business should offer products and services which customers could not receive from anywhere else. As far as strategizing the restaurant has the use of resource control which is key i.e. (operations, finance, supplies, and manpower). Strategic Capabilities Strategic capabilities play a big part in the restaurant industry. A business can create its own uniqueness through its marketing and strategic capabilities. A well- organized supply chain, a well trained staff, and a competent management team are strategic capabilities that will help the restaurant to fulfill its vision. The business also needs to consider its ability to manage working capital, expecting manpower issues and customer expectations and the ability to think ahead of the competition. As the industry changes over a period of time the threats and opportunities the restaurant will face the strategies and model of the business will have to adapt to these changes to meet the needs of the customers. It is very critical management focuses and maintain a product mix that works well for the business. The restaurant should position itself to reach specific demographic groups. Issues and Opportunities As mentioned in internal forces issues that are apparent is the lack of interactions between the employees. With these issues it allows opportunity to create meetings between employees and management. These meetings will allow staff to feel they belong and part of the family. It also allows employees to express what is working and not working for the business and what need improvement since the staff are the ones interacting with the customers. Balance Scorecard To develop a Greg’s Family Restaurant a balance scorecard is essential. It is key component for defining the goals and targets of a business as well as the mission vision and SWOTT analysis. A balanced scorecard is, â€Å"A set of four measures directly linked to a company’s strategy: financial performance, customer knowledge, internal business processes, and learning and growth† (Pearce & Robinson, 2009, p. 202). Financial Perspective/ Shareholder Value A well thought out vision and mission statement will facilitate the restaurant to achieve its target. The restaurants objectives are to increase the performance of the restaurant. The responsibility of the restaurant is to seek its customer satisfaction. Increase revenue, and also achieve financial stability. Customer Value Perspective Customers determine the success of the business. The ups and downs of the restaurants as well as the delivery of the services the business provides relates to the customers satisfaction. The more the customers are satisfied the better the business will do to attract more customers. Process/Internal Operations Perspective Strategic planning is very effective to give a nutritious meal to customers. This should be done in accordance with the customer needs. The most important thing is to determine the purpose and intentions of the strategy, because this will help the business towards its goals. The restaurant should set its goals and the path while keeping in minds the values and interest of the patrons. Customer comment cards should be available so customers can express their comments and concern. Greg’s family restaurant is always taking initiatives to improve service and products to increase their customer base. Learning and Growth Perspective Learning and growth process is the prospective to know about your business and if it is developing into the type of business you dreamt of. Learning in accordance to Greg’s family restaurant means to learn about the attitudes of the employees which are internal and customers which are external. Strategic planning within the growth and learning perspective should focus on employee training to have competent employees. Balance Scorecard Shareholder Value/Financial Perspective Strategic Objectives * Market share should increase * Net revenues should increase * Financial stability should be achieved * Production cost should be minimized Performance Measure * Revenue growth * Increased operating cost * Return on interest and capital Targets * 3-6 % market share increase over the next 3 years * 20% profit margin Customer Perspective Strategic Objectives * Focus on public interest * Quality food should be delivered * Community support * Improving brand name in market Performance Measures * New Menu Items should be offered * Awareness of brand in public Targets * 100% customer satisfaction * 15% increase in customers for the next 3 years Initiatives * Restaurant should expand to other cities * Benefits & rewards program Learning & Growth Perspective Strategic Objectives * Employees retention increased * Technology should be improved * Employee satisfaction Performance Measures * Customer satisfaction should improve * Employee turnover rate decreased * Surveys, monitoring and training Targets * 100% participation of all employees Initiatives * Staff training * Improved customer service * Analysis of Staffing References Pearce, J. A. II, & Robinson, R. B. (2009). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill www.restaurant.org http://www.balancedscorecard.org/BSCResources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default.aspx

(Persuasive Speech) City-Wide Wifi Essay

Intro: WiFi, WiFi everywhere. WiFi everywhere you go, no more bad connection. You can’t escape it. When you step outside, free WiFi. When you step inside, free WiFi. When you go to your technologically impaired Grandma’s house, free WiFi. When you’re going for a bike ride, free WiFi. This, is what happens when you have citywide WiFi. Aren’t you tired of getting nagged by your parents about going over your data limit on 3G or 4G? Aren’t you tired of those super expensive phone bills? The cheapest 2-year plan for an iPhone is $1,799.76. If that’s not expensive to you, then listen to this. The most expensive 2-year contract for the iPhone costs $3,360.00. Imagine getting to keep all of that money. You’d have thousands of dollars over just a few years. Free public WiFi for the entire city is not impossible, and it has been done. Corpus Christi has free public WiFi for the whole city, and when I went there, I didn’t have to use 3G on ce. Have you ever been to one of your friends houses and had to nag them for the WiFi password? Imagine never having to know the WiFi password for anything ever again. You could get a free texting app and save thousands of dollars a year. Imagine what you could do with that money. Buy a car. Buy the new XBox. Buy a bunch of new video games. With all of that money, you might be able to afford to buy one snack at the movie theatre. The only price you would pay for WiFi would be just a little extra tax. With a free public WiFi, you could watch videos, stream music, and download stuff without using any data.Public city WiFi has the potential to change the cell phone industry forever. If more cities adopt a public WiFi, then eventually, expensive 3G and 4G prices will go down, or go away completely! Are you tired of bad connection to school WiFi, where everything fun is blocked? Just connect to the city WiFi! Since the urban population relies on technology so much in our new generation,a free public WiFi could be very beneficial to our society. Thesis: Because our world is more technology based than ever, city WiFi will be easier than any other way of connecting to the Internet. — #1 Attention-getting topic sentence: Free public wifi has the potential to bring society to a whole new level of sophistication. Analysis: People could communicate freely and without data-lag. Business owners could communicate with their employees about meetings, freely, and effortlessly. People would grasp a whole new idea of social media.People could share their thoughts, ideas, and concepts without hassle, so others could see them, and learn from them. Advertising ideas and products to the city would be as easy as 1-2-3. Cause/Effect/Reasons/Evidence: Mashable.com states that â€Å"The public networks would be much stronger than average household network—their signal would hypothetically travel for long distances and penetrate thick walls and other objects.† which means that you could get wi-fi in your house, in the grocery store, or anywhere else. Many of the major cell phone carriers, including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, are going against the proposal of free public wi-fi. Their argument? Well, they believe that free public wi-fi would cause people to cancel their cell-phone data contracts and would lose them money. In easier terms, these companies don’t want wi-fi because they want to keep ripping us all off. From an artical on mashable.co m i also found that Google and Microsoft, have partnered up in a rare move to support the public Wi-Fi networks. They argue that national Wi-Fi networks would spark a wave of technological innovation. Both companies also manufacture devices which would benefit from massive public Wi-Fi networks, from Google’s Android operating system to Microsoft’s Windows Phone and Xbox gaming consoles. If microsoft wants free public wi-fi for the xbox gaming console, you know the wi-fi will be blazing fast. this is because xboxes need an enormous amount of bandwidth to run smoothly. so if microsoft wants wi-fi, they will want it to be fast so their xbox customers are satisfied with their product. Free wi-fi will create a huge debate between the people who want to rip you off, and the people who want to give you the best technological entertainment possible. would you rather continue on this path of slow, expensive service, or would you like to see the other side of the spectrum?-blaz ing fast internet service that anyone can afford an can use at anytime. Concluding Sentence: Free public wi-fi has the opportunity to not only change the way people communicate, but also change they way people work and play. — Attention Getting Topic Sentence: You may think that WiFi is more of a luxury than a necessity, though with current smartphone technologies it becoming of a necessity rather than luxury. Analysis: Public WiFi can be used for educational tools, emergency services, daily web browsing, and much more†¦ Some consumers already use their 4G data on their smartphones but what about the others who don’t own smartphones. It’s estimated that approximately 94% of city dwellers own an internet capable device. With such a high rate, it’s highly necessary for public WiFi. This will allow more businesses to communicate news with others also providing helpful and cost saving services with their users. Cause/Effect/Reasons/Evidence: Providing public WiFi for consumers is like a long-term investment. The government will add local long range hotspots into the city. Many competing businesses and consumers can pay credit to the government by buying advertising licenses and paying a little bit of extra taxes. Many companies would try to compete with this opportunity by lowering their service costs and increasing their demand. This change would affect you by lowering down your monthly cell pho ne bill. Also another great reason to encourage WiFi is with all the communication that’s occurring. Communication can be expressed in many different ways or forms. As humans, it’s impossible for us to not communicate. Communication is a right rather than a privilege, therefore it should always be free. Free public WiFi would offer your free communication to whether it’s to your penguin friend in Antarctica or to your local supermarket. It doesn’t have to be a quick call. Public WiFi offers texting, calling, instant messaging, emailing, video chatting, and violent slaughtering! Maybe not. Today’s generation is pleading for communication as it’s required for work, school, militaries, etc. Remember, WiFi is not a luxury. It’s a major necessity in a developing country like America. Concluding (Sentence): Overall, free public WiFi is a great necessity to have but it can’t be done without your support. A developing country like America needs more integrated connections among citizens and a small boost in the economy. Free public WiFi is the solution. Conclusion: Citywide Wifi does more good than bad. It will help both the people, and the city.The networks will help the economy of the community by attracting more people to the city. It will also be a service to the people living in the area who don’t have the money to experience the magical world of the interwebs. The applicability of using it is so easy, and everyone can do it. You don’t even need 3G or 4G to connect, all you have to do is connect to the city WiFi. Everywhere you go, you can experience free WiFi. People will visit certain stores, go to a certain restaurant, or visit a fixed library just to experience their wifi connection. With the city free wifi, you can do whatever you want without having to worry about connecting to the once privately owned wifi services. Wifi is not even a indulgence anymore honestly, people literally will do anything for the internet. We depend on technology nowadays, to the point where we cannot live without our phones. That’s where we are heading, and we should take advantage of the utilities we have access to, and try to gain something valuable from them, such as knowledge about something we like, or lessons that teach us amazing life skills. We can learn things from our devices, and have them for our entertainment as w ell. Wifi belongs to everyone, and not just for the people who can actually pay for it.Everyone should have. It will help enhance the curiosity for knowledge in kids that don’t have access to wifi, and make them ask more questions. People NEED access to modern technology, and wifi is the most basic form of modern technology. Everything we do is now electronic. Everything we are taught is now based on electronics. Books will always be there for us, but when we don’t have the certain book for us to answer a question, we need an answer somewhere. This is an idea that we can put to the test. Let’s try to make a citywide wifi plan which will benefit us all, rich and poor, curious and young,and and old. Let us grasp information like never before, and use it. Let’s be the generation of extraordinary wealth in knowledge.

A Civil Action Essays - Legal Entities, W. R. Grace And Company

A Civil Action Essays - Legal Entities, W. R. Grace And Company A Civil Action A Civil Action The movie A Civil Action brings up an interesting idea that many people in the public don't see or hear about very often. The idea that the big corporations often don't take into account the safety of the people that work for them or the people that live around the factories. These big corporations are run entirely by money and the idea of what things will cost and how much money they can possibly make. Too many times money is more important than the lives of human beings and the people that run these places only see in dollars and cents. The moral issues that this dilemma brings up are immense. This has been happening for centuries since the industrial revolution. Workers were subjected too harsh conditions and unsafe factories so that more goods could be produced. They had children as young as seven and eight years old working 15 hour days. In our modern times, toxic waste now plays a big part in the safety of people. The waste that these companies produce and dump under our noses don't seem to bother them in the least. The way microeconomics effects this must be fully explored to realize the way the corporate world thinks and acts. The goal of any corporation is to make the maximum profit that they can providing a good or service to the community while doing it as inexpensively as possible to them. Too many times producing these goods, toxic by-products are also produced. Nuclear power plants create plutonium, factories let poisonous gasses into the atmosphere, and chemicals are dumped into the drains and washed into our water everyday while being unknown to the people around them. The issue then becomes what to do with these poisons at the cheapest cost to retain the most revenue. In A Civil Action the W.R. Grace company decided that the best place to dump the T.C.E. was in the river behind the plant. It's too bad that all the people who lived down stream were also effected by the carelessness of this company. It got into the drinking water and gave kids cancer and seizures among other health conditions. These companies try to cover up these kinds of things as much as possible by buying people off. They think that if they give people money for their losses than everything will be alright. For huge corporations dealing with billions of dollars these payoffs are only a drop in the bucket for them. Even a million dollars to any family is an incredible amount of money and often the money becomes more important than the real issues behind the problem and can't be passed up by a family struggling to get by. The benefits of paying of these people for their trouble is much cheaper then doing things the right way in the beginning and protecting their safety. Money in our society has become a sense of power and authority. People think to many times that money is the key to happiness. Although money isn't a bad thing it effects the way people act and causes them to not care about the things that they should many times. Corporations have a structure that they follow in order to make them run in an efficient manner. In the movie John Travolta initially doesn't want to take the case because he doesn't think that there will be any money in it for him and his firm. Even though he goes and sees how much pain this company has caused to the people in Wolburn, he still doesn't care because of the money. Not until he realizes how big the companies are does he take the case. As the case goes on he isn't able to achieve what he ultimately wanted to do because the Grace Company has so much money that it will almost always win. Travolta's firm goes eight million into debt trying to win this case but ultimately has to settle because they can't go on. The firm doesn't even have to clean up the polluted land that caused all the problems. It wasn't until the E.P.A. steps in and with their power was able to achieve a

Attendance at a local seminar (report) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Attendance at a local seminar (report) - Essay Example â€Å"Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a successful project,† (Lonergan, K) Walters explained, stressing on the dire need of project managers in the industry. Walters further informed the students about different factors which influence the success of a project. They were Project team, sponsor, customer, programme manager, operations and the sellers. He mentioned that there were three crucial points related to project management also known as â€Å"triple constraint.† They are known as time, cost and scope. Walter mentioned the Work-Braeakdown-Structure where he described the project management tools, including, common sense, eyes, ears and all the other senses. He clearly noted that â€Å"trust but verify.† Dear Client, I have written what all I could understand from the pdf’s. If you think I am missing on some points do let me know. Apart from that, if you think I can pick up matter from the internet, I would do that. Let me

Recycling Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Recycling - Assignment Example We are tuned to wants being unlimited and deprivation is not a word that's welcomed. So let us equate the word Reduce with 'No Wastage.' This is something that is understandable and manageable and can be immediately implemented. Mass media's Hidden Persuaders [2] have trained us to reach out for the new. It makes good commercial sense, to them, to have products flowing from the manufacturing line, straight into the hands of the consumers. It has made us to imbibe a false sense of dignity, by privately or publicly discarding the partially used, a form of squandering actually, to deal with the new. Let us then look at the word Reuse to be consistent with 'getting the money's worth' by being a good steward. There is one great notable point to be derived from all these three strategies. To extend and save the planet Earth by every act of Reduction or Reusing or Recycling, YOU are important. When you serve the purpose you are worthy to be emulated. When that happens, you are to be celebrated. Dear Ones, the fast pace at which precious scarce resources are being used up Reduce, Reuse or Recycle may not remain a choice. It may just become mandatory that we exercise it. Believe me we are not very far from such a situation. If we show concern NOW, we may surely be able to postpone it for some time in the future. Or else it may tantamount to committing hara-kiri. Let us look in some detail as to what we... It may just become mandatory that we exercise it. Believe me we are not very far from such a situation. If we show concern NOW, we may surely be able to postpone it for some time in the future. Or else it may tantamount to committing hara-kiri. Let us look in some detail as to what we can do with these three recommendations. So that it becomes a way of life for us. So that our conscious efforts continue to yield the desired results, and that we impact the world in a positive manner. I would like to get on with the first two, Reduce and Reuse very briefly. For you will find when I elaborate on Recycle how these two interweave with it to make it an essential composite whole. REDUCE When we introduced the word here we decided to look at it as 'No Waste.' If we gear our activities towards waste minimization the immediate effect will be fall in procurement. The less we buy the less waste or garbage is generated. Truly the discipline exercised will stand in good stead in time to come. Be an informed and aware consumer and your shopping selections will begin to fall in place. 4 REUSE One advantage of this is that it requires no further processing for it to be used. It is good the way it is and has the latent potential to serve the purpose it was bought for. All that we need to do is reach out for it again. Donating things and stuff to charities fall in this bracket too. So does garage sales! Some one is going to buy and reuse it. Reusing products postpones it from becoming a waste. RECYCLE When waste is perceived as a valuable resource the re-cycle process begins from that moment. This generates a host of environmental, financial, and social benefits when it is followed through.