Antrax Island essays

Antrax Island essays In the article Soviets Leave Anthrax Legacy by Bruce Finley, Mr. Finley states how we are affected today by the Cold War 11 years ago. From what Finley says in this article, Muynoq, an island in Uzbekistan, has enough supervirulent brown powder to extinguish humanity. Soviet scientists tested very deadly bio-weapons there. This is a problem for Americans today because the Aral Sea is shrinking. This means that the Aral Sea is leaving a land bridge to the north that can spread anthrax. Also, this is a possibility for terrorists to reach this island, and spread anthrax. There are several arguments for and against the U.S. paying to clean up the damage in and around the Aral sea. Although it wasnt the U.S. who caused this, and it is not in the United States, it is an obligation because the U.S. is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and can be doing the world a great favor by cleaning up this mess, and preventing the spread of anthrax throughout the world. I would advise Presi dent Bush to clean up the mess. It is important for him to do this because the U.S. is trying to prevent terrorism, and this is a great way to do it. It will prevent the world from getting sick as well. Although Soviets should be responsible for cleaning this up, it is advisable for the U.S. to take action, and help clean up the world. ...

Changing the Constitution Without the Amendment Process

Changing the Constitution Without the Amendment Process   Since its final ratification in 1788, the U.S. Constitution has been changed countless times by means other than the traditional and lengthy amendment process spelled out in Article V of the Constitution itself. In fact, there are five totally legal â€Å"other† ways the Constitution can be changed. Universally acclaimed for how much it accomplishes in so few words, the U.S. Constitution is also often criticized as being too brief- even â€Å"skeletal†- in nature. In fact, the Constitution’s framers knew the document could not and should not try to address every situation that the future might hold. Clearly, they wanted to ensure that the document allowed for flexibility in both its interpretation and future application. As a result, many changes have been made to the Constitution over the years without changing a word in it. The important process of changing the Constitution by means other than the formal amendment process has historically taken place and will continue to take place in five basic ways: Legislation enacted by CongressActions of the President of the United StatesDecisions of the federal courtsActivities of the political partiesThe application of custom Legislation The framers clearly intended that Congress- through the legislative process- add meat to the skeletal bones of the Constitution as required by the many unforeseen future events they knew were to come. While Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution grants Congress 27 specific powers under which it is authorized to pass laws, Congress has and will continue to exercise its â€Å"implied powers† granted to it by Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the Constitution to pass laws it considers â€Å"necessary and proper† to best serve the people. Consider, for example, how Congress has fleshed out the entire lower federal court system from the skeletal framework created by the Constitution. In Article III, Section 1, the Constitution provides only for â€Å"one Supreme Court and †¦ such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain or establish.† The â€Å"from time to time† began less than a year after ratification when Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 establishing the structure and jurisdiction of the federal court system and creating the position of attorney general. All other federal courts, including courts of appeals and bankruptcy courts, have been created by subsequent acts of Congress. Similarly, the only top-level government offices created by Article II of the Constitution are the offices of the President and Vice President of the United States. All of the rest of the many other departments, agencies, and offices of the now-massive executive branch of government have been created by acts of Congress, rather than by amending the Constitution. Congress itself has expanded the Constitution in the ways it has used the â€Å"enumerated† powers granted to it in Article I, Section 8. For example, Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 grants Congress the power to regulate commerce between the states- â€Å"interstate commerce.† But what exactly is interstate commerce and what exactly does this clause give Congress the power to regulate? Over the years, Congress has passed hundreds of seemingly unrelated laws citing its power to regulate interstate commerce. For example, since 1927, Congress has virtually amended the Second Amendment by passing gun control laws based on its power to regulate interstate commerce. Presidential Actions Over the years, the actions of various presidents of the United States have essentially modified the Constitution. For example, while the Constitution specifically gives Congress the power to declare war, it also deems the president to be the â€Å"Commander in Chief† of all U.S. armed forces. Acting under that title, several presidents have sent American troops into combat without an official declaration of war enacted by Congress. While flexing the commander in chief title in this way is often controversial, presidents have used it to send U.S. troops into combat on hundreds of occasions. In such cases, Congress will sometimes pass declarations of war resolution as a show of support for the president’s action and the troops who have already been deployed to battle. Similarly, while Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives presidents the power- with a supermajority approval of the Senate- to negotiate and execute treaties with other countries, the treaty-making process is lengthy and the consent of the Senate always in doubt. As a result, presidents often unilaterally negotiate â€Å"executive agreements† with foreign governments accomplishing many of the same things accomplished by treaties. Under international law, executive agreements are just as legally binding on all of the nations involved. Decisions of the Federal Courts In deciding many cases that come before them, the federal courts, most notably the Supreme Court, are required to interpret and apply the Constitution. The purest example of this may be in the 1803 Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison. In this early landmark case, the Supreme Court first established the principle that the federal courts could declare an act of Congress null and void if it finds that law to be inconsistent with the Constitution. In his  historic majority opinion in Marbury v. Madison, Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, â€Å"†¦ it is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.† Ever since Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court has stood as the final decider of the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress. In fact, President Woodrow Wilson once called the Supreme Court a â€Å"constitutional convention in continuous session.† Political Parties Despite the fact that the Constitution makes no mention of political parties, they have clearly forced constitutional changes over the years. For example, neither the Constitution nor federal law provides for a method of nominating presidential candidates. The entire primary and convention process of nomination has been created and often amended by the leaders of the major political parties. While not required by or even suggested in the Constitution, both chambers of Congress are organized and conduct the legislative process based on party representation and majority power. In addition, presidents often fill high-level appointed government positions based on political party affiliation. The framers of the Constitution intended the electoral college system of actually electing the president and vice president to be little more than a procedural â€Å"rubber stamp† for certifying the results of each state’s popular vote in presidential elections. However, by creating state-specific rules for selecting their electoral college electors and dictating how they might vote, the political parties have at least modified the electoral college system over the years. Customs History is full of examples of how custom and tradition have expanded the Constitution. For example, the existence, form, and purpose of the vitally important president’s cabinet itself is a product of custom rather than the Constitution. On all eight occasions when a president has died in office, the vice president has followed the path of presidential succession to be sworn into the office. The most recent example happened in 1963  when Vice President Lyndon Johnson replaced the recently assassinated President John F. Kennedy. However, until the ratification of the 25th Amendment in 1967- four years later- the Constitution provided that only the duties, rather than the actual title as president, should be transferred to the vice president.

Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway Essay - 1

Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway - Essay Example Hemingway does not use the crucial word in any part of the story, but the context, dialogues and the behavioral pattern of the two main characters would make it clear that they are planning to travel by train to Madrid to abort their child. The most intriguing aspect of the story is its terse narrative structure that leads the readers slowly to the core of the issue dealt with. The third person narrative serves the functional purpose of describing the mise en scene and filling in the unavoidable details of action. Each word has its weight and significance in the story for the same reason. Moreover, the story makes use of symbolic representations through every image that appears in it. The protagonists have a few drinks in the train station in the Ebro River valley of Spain and speak about the hills in the background, the drinks, their shared life, the abortion and their future. The varying viewpoints of the man and woman regarding the abortion are part cleverly revealed through their conversation and action. Hemingway presents a fragment from the life of the protagonists, but this throws light on the effects of time and space on the quality of their life. They are presumably the representatives of the ‘roaring twenties, who led a hedonistic life after the First World War. The crumbling social valued and family structure have led to a freewheeling life where men and women lived for the moment, and tried to get rid of commitments and responsibilities. The tension felt through the curt dialogue shows how the attitudes to such a life differ drastically between the man and the girl. The man is obviously distracted by the prospective because he is forcing the girl to do it. He forcefully brings the subject during the conversation and says, â€Å"That’s the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy†. He neglects the attempt by the girl to bring to his notice that

Saudi Arabia's Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Saudi Arabia's Economy - Essay Example It is acknowledged that the oil industry is a major contributor in the GDP of Saudi Arabia. However, one should not lose sight that other sectors also have significant roles in shaping the economy of Saudi Arabia. These other sectors, though currently not as significant as the oil industry have a considerable bearing in the performance of Saudi Arabia. Also, the Hubbert Peak Theory, which foretells the downslide in Saudi Arabian oil production, warns of the possible collapse of the oil industry's which will considerably reduce or even eliminate the significance oil to the country. This paper will look at the economy of Saudi Arabia as a whole. The first part will talk about the country's GDP and its composition. Next, it will tackle the contributing sectors individually mostly concentrating on the oil industry. An assessment of the Hubbert Peak Theory and its opponent will also be done. In general, Saudi Arabia has a robust economy supported by its strong oil industry. Saudi Arabia's economy began to flourish during after 1973, when the price of oil in the world market skyrocketed. This phenomenon made the country one of the fastest-growing economy in the world as it enjoyed a substantial surplus in its overall trade transactions with its partners, rapid growth in imports, and the generation of substantial government revenue that supports the country's development efforts (Background Note 27-28). During 2004, the country recorded a total GDP of $310.2 billion dollars which translates to a per capita GDP of $11,742. It should be noted that in terms of GDP, the country is in a decline. The aggregated GDP average growth during the period of 1975-2000 was -2.2% as opposed to the -4.4 recorded during 1980-2000 (Saudi or Saudi Arabian Economy 5). In spite of the overall decline in the economy, Saudi Arabia is showing signs of slow recovery from the oil price collapse in 1998. Real GDP growth rate during 2004 was seen at 5.2% while experts forecast that Saudi Arabia will expand at an annual rate of 5.7 and 4.8% for the years 2005 and 2006, respectively (Saudi Arabia 2). The oil industry largely contribute to the total GDP of Saudi Arabia. As stated above, oil export revenue accounts for 90-95% of the country's export earnings, 70-80% of the total state revenue and 40% of the total GDP. The largest chunk of the country's GDP is shared by the industry sector which makes up 58.8%, followed by the services sector at 36.5%. The remaining 4.7% is accounted for by Saudi Arabia's agricultural sector (Saudi Arabia 2). The Oil Industry Saudi Arabia controls the largest petroleum reserves in the world which is 26% of the proved total, ranks the largest exporter of petroleum and undeniably plays a significant role in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). According to the Oil Gas Journal, Saudi Arabia possesses 261.9 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in the world including those, which are in the Saudi-Kuwaiti Divided. The country has 80 oil and gas fields though more than half of the total reserves is concentrated in only eight fields which includes Ghawar and Safaniya. Ghawar is considered the largest oil field with an estimated remaining reserves of 70 billion barrels while Safaniya is the largest offshore

Sony Corporation Essay Example for Free

Sony Corporation Essay From the time high definition televisions (HDTV) made its appearance into the market in the year 1998 the demand for high capacity storage DVD has increased. Regular DVDs turned out to be insufficient for this application. DVDs support resolutions up to 720480 pixels whereas HDTV will work with the resolution of 19201080 pixel format. The above definition approximately means that to run a two hour video on a HDTV requires storage capacities of 22GB where as the maximum capacity of the DVDs that are available in the market are 17GB. This has led for the development of the DVD with higher storage capabilities suitable for HDTVs. This development ultimately resulted in two DVD formats with huge storage capability, one from Sony Corporation called as Blu Rays and other from Toshiba called as HD-DVD with the support from their technology partners. Evolution of Blu Rays: Sony started two new rewritable disc storage systems: ultra density optical UDO and DVR Blue. The first DVR Blue prototype was released in the October 2000 CEATEC exhibition. In February 2002 the project was officially announced as Blu-Ray Disc(or simply BD) and Blue Ray Disc Association was founded with initial nine members at consortium made by the companies that include Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson. HD-DVD, on the other hand, was created by Toshiba and got support from Microsoft, HP and Intel. The regular DVDs use red laser (wavelength of 650nm) to read and write whereas blu-ray uses a blue-purple laser to read and write data. As the wavelength is smaller for Blue –purple laser (450nm) this allows for a higher recording density. While recording the blue-purple laser is used to burn pits on the disc surface. The areas that weren’t burnt are known as lands. While reading blue-purple laser with lower intensity is thrown on the disc. When a pit is encountered the light is reflected with a lower intensity compared to the land. This is how a Blu-ray detects pits and lands. The physical dimensions of the Blu-ray are same as the regular DVD. This is from the blue laser that is used the named Blu-Ray has been derived. On April 10th 2003 the first Blu-Ray devices were released. It was Sony BDZ-S77 a BD RE recorder which was made available only in Japan. The physical dimensions were finalized only ion 2004. In the year 2005 TDK made an announcement that a polymer coating has been developed for the Blu-Ray discs. BD-ROM specifications were finalized in the year 2006. In the year 2004, a consortium is formed which has been developing the DRM platform that is used to securely distribute movies to customers. The first BD-ROM players were released in June 2006. Blu-Rays titles were first released on June 20, 2006. Initial releases used MPEG-2 video compression similar to DVDs. September 2006 viewed first release of newer VC-1 and AVC codec. First movies using dual layer discs which have storage capacity of 50GHz was released in October 2006. The first mass market for Blu-ray Disc was seen in July 18 2006. The prices are as large around US$699. The Table below shows the Physical dimensions and storage capacity of the BD in comparison with the regular DVD. Competition from HD DVD: A forum was set up in the year 1995 for the exchange of hardware and software updates of the regular DVD. From the initial stage of the development of blue laser DVD committee has different opinions. In August 2002, Toshiba and NEC made an announcement about their competing standard advanced optical devices. DVD forum finally adapted it and the next year it was renamed as HD DVD. There was though competition between the Blu-Ray and HD DVD. The support from the technology partners from both the sides increased the competition among Blu-Ray and HD DVD. Both Blu-ray and HD DVD have same physical dimensions their storage capabilities and other supporting differences are listed in the tables below. Blu-Ray HD DVD ROM single layer: 23. 3/25GB ROM dual layer: 46. 6/50GB RW single layer: 23. 3/25/27GB RW dual layer: 46. 6/50/54GB Highest test: 100GB Theoretical limit: 200GB Single layer: Dual layer: Highest test: Theoretical limit: 15GB 30GB 45GB 60GB 15GB 30GB 45GB 60GB Table-1 Comparison of the capacity of Blu-rays and HD DVD Attempts were made to avoid the confusion over the format between Blu-ray and HDDVD in the year 2005. Blu Ray supporters opted for Java Based platform for interactivity where as HD DVD opted for Microsoft’s HDi. In august 2005 they both disagreed for a common format and the negotiations failed. And by the end of September Microsoft and Intel announced their support to HD DVD. In March 2005 Toshiba released the first HD DVD player months in advance than Blu- Ray. It made its appearance in US market in April 2005 at US$499. The price is small compared to that of the Blu-Ray so as the storage capacity. The difference between Blu-Ray and HD DVD is shown in the table below (Tab-1) and the technology partners of each format are shown in Fig-II.

Concept of the Ideal Family Within the Volksgemeinschaft :: German Family Masculinity History Nazi Essays

Concept of the Ideal Family Within the Volksgemeinschaft Adolf Hitler and the Nazis esteemed Aryan women as heroes in Nazi Germany because of their ability to procreate. Women had no place in such an industrial society so they were encouraged to focus on their role as a dutiful wife and mother. They contributed to the Volksgemeinschaft by constructing the future generation and making more of the Aryan race. Thus, since all women were valued as the creators of the nation’s most important product—pure Aryan people—there were no restrictions on their sexual orientation. Women were allowed to become homosexuals while men were prosecuted and imprisoned for partaking in any homosexual offences. The Nazis were fervent in preserving the concept of the ideal family within the Volksgemeinschaft, and thus they reinforced masculinity within men and instilled the significance of maternity within the women. The textbook that high school students are studying in the Santa Ana School District barely emphasizes the topic of gender in Nazi Germany. Unfortunately, these high school sophomores will not be able to understand the significance of gender nor will they be able to see Nazi Germany in a different light. The authors of the textbook, however, emphasize the maternity role of the women. The Nazis dismissed women from their upper-level occupations so they could pursue the maternal role. It was the responsibility of the women to increase the birthrate of pure-blooded Aryans. Women were even offered rewards for having more children. Although the text highlights the importance of women in their household roles, it does not offer a comparison between men and women. The Nazis stressed the importance of maintaining a utopian society within the Volksgemeinschaft. Hitler wanted to keep Germany as pure as possible—meaning no Jews, no homosexual males, nothing outside of the citizens of the Aryan race. Laws were established to preserve the Aryan purity of Nazi Germany. The Reich Penal Code of 1871 was revised in 1935 as Germany had changed under the stronghold of its new leader, Hitler. Section 175 under the revised code listed the penalties for a sex offence between males: â€Å"A male who commits a sex offence with another male or allows himself to be used by another male for a sex offence shall be punished with imprisonment.

Strategy Formation and Strategic Change: Barnes&Noble and Amazon

The business sector is becoming more competitive than ever before, and many establishments lean on marketing to stand above the rest, making comprehensive strategies essential to any organization. Under strategy comes two distinct terms, which are often interchanged: strategy formation and strategic change. How are they similar, or different?How are they similar or different in terms of two online reference store giants Barnes&Noble and Amazon? Strategy Formation According to the Process of Strategy Formation (n. d. ), strategy formation includes both planning and implementing the details of the strategy.It requires strategists to answer the what, when, where, why, and how of the strategy that they are brewing. There are two bullet points in forming a strategy: activities and roles. Strategy formation activities are the actions that strategists will undertake throughout the strategic implementation. This includes determining the objectives of the strategy, assessing the strategy, pla nning the actual strategic plan and implementing them. Roles refer to the person or groups of people who take charge on each aspect of the strategy, implementing and controllong them.When Amazon started out, it is generally an online book store, with side products that avid web visitors can buy occasionally. The idea, it seems, was to bring convenience to the reading web consumers. (Amazon. com, 2006) Barnes& Noble on the other hand started out as an online â€Å"education system,† and courses were free. The book store phase comes when students start the class, as they are encouraged to buy the references from the site. The idea is to give free training, and sell books that students can use to maximize those trainings. (Barnesandnoble. com, 2006) Strategic ChangeStrategic change, on the other hand, is making an improvement or modifying an existing strategy. There are different reasons why strategies are modified, the most recurrent of which is the inefficacy of a strategy. Fr om an online book shop with occasional gifts and extra items, Amazon now carries many consumer goods—from the pioneering items books, music, and movies, clothing, electronics, household items, even event registries. The strategic change was from an online bookstore into an online shopping site, yet the mission is still to bring convenience to Amazon’s consumers.(Amazon. com, 2006) Barnes&Noble has adopted a similar strategic change, but it chose to stick with the writing-reading consumers in mind. The site, apart from the B&N University which offers free courses now sells books, stationeries, pens, and other gifts that writers and readers, as well as their friends, can appreciate. There is still the occasional stray items not intended for writers or readers, like toys and playthings and outdoor equipment, but they do not affect the general feel that Barnes&Noble was created with a specific market in mind. (Barnesandnoble.com, 2006) The two organizations’ strateg y formations were different—one opted to be a store while the other started out as an online school. However, they both had readers and writers as their costumers in mind. The strategic change, however, was a little bit similar as both sites branched out to selling more than books. The strategic change differed with the type of items that each site chose to sell. In the end, Amazon and Barnes&Noble’s strategy were based on their target markets, explaining why they were similar and different in their own respects.While B&N tried to touch base with their reading and writing customers, Amazon hoped to reach not just this market, but more. References Process of Strategy Formation. (n. d. ). Strategy Formation Chapter 3, 105-162. Retrieved July 20, 2006, from http://userwww. sfsu. edu/~bheiman/DMch3. pdf#search='process%20of%20strategy%20formation' Barnesandnoble. com. (2006). Retrieved July 20, 2006, from http://www. barnesandnoble. com/index. asp? z=y Amazon. com. (2006). Retrieved July 20, 2006, from http://www. amazon. com/gp/homepage. html/ref=topnav_gw_gw/102-2681851-9996929

Safeway

This paper talks about Safeway a store, now so popular that it has made itself establish as a brand in the market. This paper talks about problems that are plaguing Safeway and how can a solution be reached. It starts off with a summary of the entire paper and then details on the company’s vision, mission, goals etc. It provides a list of problems that Safeway has been facing through the years prioritizes these and then develops a solution plan in a logical step-wise manner. The paper concludes itself with a brief discussion on how the solution can be achieved in an effective manner and provides a brief evaluation of it. Executive Summary. Safeway is a chain of stores, now so popular that it has made itself establish as a brand in the market. Safeway started off as a store back in 1915, under the vision of M. Skagg’s. Then, it was just a store and now we see around one thousand seven hundred and seventy five stores all across United States of America and Canada. The vision at Safeway talks about value and adding value to the chain of operations that the store is involved in. It talks about giving value to customers through value added products and services under the name of Safeway stores and by strategizing success in terms of profits by keeping them narrow while expanding. In 2000, Safeway faced a huge internal labor problem whereby it received threats and complaints from peers and its competitor, Wal-Mart. Another issue was that of loss in sales and of customer base. It also experienced declining profits. (IBSCDC) Safeway, as of its current standing has been facing internal issues revolving around pay conflicts and the chain not keeping its promises to the laborers/ workers. This has resulted into a lot of frustration and feelings of negativity in between the two entities. Strikes arranged by labor union/s have been the looming issue this year, 2009 at Safeway. The basic reasons for this are frustrated workers because of their wages and pension benefits, which they consider low or minimal. (SFGate) Other issues revolve around lawsuits by two pension funds on the management and board of Safeway, blaming them guilty to deceit, greed and managerial inexperience. Due to this situation, many a times the shareholders have gotten very upset at the way things function inside the chain. Another main problem that the company faces is that of conflict of interests, which results in selfish behavior. (RedOrbit) The labor problem directly affects the key stakeholder groups. It has resulted into upsetting the laborers or workers who are the driving force behind the various operations that the chain undertakes, be it the sales stores, warehouses, or the staff at the chain’s office. And when this extends to the whole of America and Canada, it results into negative spill over effects throughout the organization. This affects the shareholders, since history has also proved that two lawsuits also were filed against the management of Safeway due to reasons of conflict of interests, no or minimal transparency etc. The different solutions that this paper has proposed comprise of a sound transparent system in overall operations, fair measurement of performance through technology usage and SAPs (HRMReport), improving upon the recruitment guidelines by involving pre-agreed upon contracts between the company and the worker being recruited, and lastly, employing the element of bureaucracy by the ‘stick’ technique applied to the upper management by the Board. The last option surrounds replacement of all those managers who have shown a history of conflict of interests. Resource Center) The best solution out of all these is a combination of achieving transparency through correcting any occurrence of conflict of interests with pre-agreed setting of labor contracts. The solution can be implemented by communicating it to the shareholders, workers and upper management. This should be done in a clear manner. A ‘no-patience’ approach should be communicated boasting an environment fr ee of greed, selfishness and self-interest- envisioning, communicating and implementing a conflict of interests free environment. This can hence help in adopting a measurement of performance for workers plan under which the transparency guidelines will be communicated effectively. Position Safeway started off as a store back in 1915, under the vision of M. Skagg’s. Then, it was just a store and now we see around one thousand seven hundred and seventy five stores all across United States of America and Canada. Today, Safeway is not just a chain of stores (grocery stores) rather it is a brand. It has also launched several private brands under its umbrella all across North America. There are three thousand products approximately available under the brand names of Lucerne, Mrs. Wright’s, Safeway and Safeway Select Label that markets more than a thousand premium brands. Through the years, the chain of stores has done its share of corporate social responsibility. It does this by donating to schools, for breast and prostate cancer research, contributing towards the displaced people resulting out of natural calamities like the Tsunami and also helps disabled people. This initiative, which is a proper program at the company basically, has helped it make and retain community partnerships. Also, Safeway has contributed towards the restoration and preservation efforts of the environment, by extending help in the areas of renewable energy and solid waste management. (Safeway Website) Vision and Mission of Safeway The vision at Safeway is the same as it was before that was built by Skagg’s. It talks about value and adding value to the chain of operations that the store is involved in. It talks about giving value to customers through value added products and services under the name of Safeway stores and by strategizing success in terms of profits by keeping them narrow while expanding. Its mission statement is that of ‘expanding for the better’, which revolves around continuous improvement when the management jargon is applied. These also constitute the broader, long-term goals for the company. Safeway believes in ‘Ingredients for Life’, since it encompasses the concept of ‘wholesomeness’ in whatever services and products it is providing to the customer. This, henceforth also forms its tagline. (Safeway Web Site). Stakeholders of Safeway These include groups and people from the different segments of the countries. First and foremost it includes the shareholders who have been investing in the company and the Board of Directors of Upper Management. Other key stakeholders include customers who contribute towards the revenues by visiting stores and making purchases. Its suppliers include all the companies that through stocking fee reserve their spaces in shelves in all Safeway stores for retail. The Corporate Social Responsibility Steering Group or CSR Steering Group is yet another group that has stake in the chain of stores- Safeway. Others include, Media Companies, Journalists, Laborers, and last but not least its employees. Problems: Contextual Analysis Safeway’s ride to success and its expansion efforts have not been problem free. It has faced many internal as well as external problems that have rendered its free will operations difficult to perform under such circumstances. In 2000, Safeway faced a huge internal labor problem whereby it received threats and complaints from peers and its competitor, Wal-Mart. Another issue was that of loss in sales and of customer base. It also experienced declining profits. (IBSCDC) Safeway, as of its current standing has been facing internal issues revolving around pay conflicts and the chain not keeping its promises to the laborers/ workers. This has resulted into a lot of frustration and feelings of negativity in between the two entities. Strikes arranged by labor union/s have been the looming issue this year, 2009 at Safeway. The basic reasons for this are frustrated workers because of their wages and pension benefits, which they consider low or minimal. (SFGate) Other issues revolve around lawsuits by two pension funds on the management and board of Safeway, blaming them guilty to deceit, greed and managerial inexperience. Due to this situation, many a times the shareholders have gotten very upset at the way things function inside the chain. Another main problem that the company faces is that of conflict of interests, which results in selfish behavior. (RedOrbit) Sense One of the major problems at the company revolves around its labor workers due to labor unions and their frustrations. The chain of grocery stores- Safeway has been trying to take control over this issue, through resolution efforts in terms of labor agreements etc. , but nothing too productive and fruitful has been done. Therefore, the issue still stands and even though is not raging with the same force as it was before it is definitely the most problematic area for the corporation as of now. SFGate) The fringe benefits including health care and pension related alongside the wage issue present in the labor staff, has resulted into a deep frustration. This has resulted into a negative feeling between the company and the workers. The labor union demands increments in their wages and wants a yearlong hold to adjusting the pension program (which constitutes pension benefits for the workers). Many companies have agreed to these terms to some extent by increasing the retirement age but the wage issue remains frozen. (McGhee, T. These however are the symptoms of a larger cause, a greater problem, this being mismanagement on the part of the upper management arising due to a conflict of interests and as mentioned above greed and hypocrisy. The labor problem directly affects the key stakeholder groups. It has resulted into upsetting the laborers or workers who are the driving force behind the various operations that the chain undertakes, be it the sales stores, warehouses, or the staff at the chain’s office. And when this extends to the whole of America and Canada, it results into negative spill over effects throughout the organizat ion. This affects the shareholders, since history has also proved that two lawsuits also were filed against the management of Safeway due to reasons of conflict of interests, no or minimal transparency etc. Uncover The problem surrounding labor related issues and up rise of labor union movements against the management is the biggest problem at Safeway because if a company’s employee/s workers are not happy, the manual force behind its operations is not strong therefore this results into low profitability, bad reputation and further conflict of interests. The different solutions that this paper has proposed comprise of a sound transparent system in overall operations, fair measurement of performance through technology usage and SAPs (HRMReport), improving upon the recruitment guidelines by involving pre-agreed upon contracts between the company and the worker being recruited, and lastly, employing the element of bureaucracy by the ‘stick’ technique applied to the upper management by the Board. The last option surrounds replacement of all those managers who have shown a history of conflict of interests. Resource Center) Solve The problem is so massive that it requires a proper plan of action in the form of a labor plan and a formalized labor budgeting report. This calls for transparency as well as a clear set of goals for the laborers or workers at the company. Employing transparency within the company is the key solution here and others should replace replacing managers or upper management people, who have showed a selfis h attitude, in the corporate market. This is the only end solution in end. But, since this is not a feasible option since laying off and replacing a company’s upper management just like that is not an easy task, what needs to be established is a formalized, controlled system of labor handling. Under this each laborer or worker before his recruitment will know about his wages, fringe benefits and pension benefits. If the agreement proves to be a compromise between the company as well as the worker, then it should be agreed upon to start off induction and the recruitment processes after that. There should also be a sound â€Å"management of employees framework†, that helps in gaining accountability and transparency with fairness to the entire process of performance evaluation. The best solution out of all these is a combination of achieving transparency through correcting any occurrence of conflict of interests with pre-agreed setting of labor contracts. Build Strategic decisions involve making of sound decisions which includes goal identification, problem finding, generation of solutions as possible options and then evaluation these to select the best possible one. Schwenk, C. (1984) says that cognitive psychology hence needs to be adopted when making decisions in the corporate world. (Schwenk, C. , 113) A risky project comprising of uncertainty according to theorists comprises of setting a performance measure that results into goal alignment successfully. The ‘standard’ here is that of the project passing through the potential ‘Pareto Improvement’. (Graham, D. , 715) In line with these theorists’ views, the best solution as proposed above out of all the ones mentioned is a combination of achieving transparency through correcting any occurrence of conflict of interests with pre-agreed setting of labor contracts. The positive side of this tells a story of no or minimal confusion in agreements of labor contracts, less occurrence of ill reputation, and no or minimal frustration on the part of the workers and shareholders as the two key stakeholders here in this case. The dark side to the cost benefit analysis in line with what Schewenk, C. 1984) has talked about revolves around fears of bureaucracy and the upper management becoming agitated and frustrated due to less empowerment and control in their hands. Achieve The solution can be implemented by communicating it to the shareholders, workers and upper management. This should be done in a clear manner. A ‘no-patience’ approach should be communicated boasting an environment free o f greed, selfishness and self-interest- envisioning, communicating and implementing a conflict of interests free environment. This can hence help in adopting a measurement of performance for workers plan under which the transparency guidelines will be communicated effectively. An evaluation phase can be developed henceforth, by having an internal audit constituting of representatives of the Board Members, so as to hold checks after each quarter. This shall help in consistency supervision and prevention of conflict between Safeway and its workers.

freudian slips essays

freudian slips essays Some would argue that all slips of the tongue are Freudian slips. Indeed Freud and his avid following of psychoanalysts would insist that all slips of the tongue reveal the presence of suppressed impulses or intentions. However, much evidence has been found to refute this psychoanalytical view; and it can be convincingly asserted that all slips of the tongue are not Freudian, and that there are other cognitive reasons to explain these verbal slips. In Dr. Freud's own words, "a suppression of a previous intention to say something is the indispensable condition for the occurrence of slips of the tongue" ( ). He would argue that slips of the tongue were never accidents, that they always revealed some underlying unconscious or repressed need or impulse. For instance, Freud once set up the scenario of a professor of anatomy who was lecturing on the female genitalia and was heard to declare "In the case of the female genitals, in spite of many temptations (Versuchungen)- I beg your pardon, experiments (Versuche)" ( ). Freud's theory suggests that this professor's slip of the tongue arouse because of some suppressed impulse or intention on the part of the professor. In Freud's mind, this verbal slip could not have been accidental or based on any explanation other than the "indispensable condition" of suppression he had proposed. Furthermore, Freud and his psychoanalysts would assert that this suppression of intent or impulse, which they made the cornerstone of all slips of the tongue, could operate at three different levels. On one level the suppression could be conscious and deliberate, on another the suppression can be identified afterward by the person who made the slip but was not intended beforehand, and at the deepest level the person absolutely denies the suppression. For Freudians, it really doesn't matter what level the person who has made a slip of the tongue is operating at. For them "in all cas ...

Demography - Statistical Study of Human Populations

Demography - Statistical Study of Human Populations Demography is the statistical study of human populations. It includes the study of the size, structure, and distributions of different populations and changes in them in response to birth, migration, aging, and death. It also includes the analysis of the relationships between economic, social, cultural, and biological process influencing a population. The field of sociology draws on huge bodies of data generated by a variety of sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau. Demography is widely used for various purposes and can encompass small, targeted populations or mass populations. Governments use demography for political observations, scientists use demography for research purposes, and businesses use demography for the purpose of advertising. Statistical concepts essential to demography include birth rate, death rate, infant mortality rate, fertility rate, and life expectancy. These concepts can be further broken down into more specific data, such as the ratio of men to women and the life expectancy of each gender. A census helps provide much of this information, in addition to vital statistic records. In some studies, the demography of an area is expanded to include education, income, the structure of the family unit, housing, race or ethnicity, and religion. The information gathered and studied for a demographic overview of a population depends on the party utilizing the information. From the census and vital statistics gathered using a wide variety of sources, sociologists can create a picture of the U.S. population – who we are, how we are changing, and even who we will be in the future.

Dell Supply Chain Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Dell Supply Chain Management - Case Study Example Thus, the supply chain system of Dell does possess shortfalls and improvement areas do exist. This paper serves the purpose of critically evaluating the Dell Supply Chain and envisaging not only the efficiency of the system but its inefficiencies as well. The paper firstly describes what a supply chain is. The next section presents what is actually supply chain management. Dell's Supply Chain is discussed next following the critical success factors adopted by the Dell Supply Chain Management. Then a major section of the paper presents a critical evaluation of the Dell Supply Chain. And then the conclusions are finally presented. Supply Chain involves every person and stage that is involved in satisfying the customer's demands. It includes every party from the manufacturer to the customers. The supply chain involves the chain that starts from manufacturer, suppliers, transporters, warehouses, retailers and ends on the customers (Chopra and Meindl, 2004). The supply chain of every company is active and ever changing. Information and products are the crucial and continuously involved constituents of every stage in the supply chain. T The key to successful supply chains are the customers because the basic intention of the supply chains is to fulfill the customers' requirements (Chopra and Meindl, 2004). Every party involved in the supply chain works to fulfill the customers' demands because when the customers are satisfied and are getting what they actually want, they are willing to pay even high prices for the products and making profits is what every company lives for. The supply chain is an entire network of various parties striving towards the fulfillment of the demand (Chopra and Meindl, 2004). Thus every supply chain is demand-driven i.e. the whole of the chain of supply works to fulfill the demand (R Ernst, B Kamrad, 2000). The different stages involved in the supply chain involve stocks and inventory which are updated at every stage (Alan Johnson, 2006). Supply Chain and the Competition The competition in the entire global industries is now based on the competition of the supply chains. The approaches different companies use to run and deal with their supply chains are crucial for their construction or destruction (David A. Taylor, n.d.). Supply chain also has a great impact on the cost that the organizations incur and the savings that it makes. Enhancements in supply chains are not just beneficial for the baseline operations but they are also important for the top line operations because an efficient supply chain can increase the competitive advantage of the organizations over the others (David A. Taylor, n.d.). Therefore, the organizations today are focusing on the lowering of costs mainly through their supply chains and through these low-costs, fulfilling the demands of the customers.

Software Engineering Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Software Engineering Exam - Essay Example This is because the sub-system found here involves exchanging of data. The data exchange is done where the shared data is stored in a central or repository which can be accessed by every sub-system. Additionally, each and every subsystem tends to maintain the database and passes the data to various sub-systems. a) the best control model for word processing system is repository model this is because the model offers an efficient way of sharing large amount of information and data. Additionally, the sub system need not to be associated with the production of data since there is security and back up. Consequently, the sharing model undergoes publication as a schema for repository. b) the appropriate control model for the real time system that control the safety system in a factory is abstract machine model. This is because the model will organize the system into a collection of layers with each providing a collection of services. It also supports the rising development of the subsystems in various layers. When the layer interfaces change, the adjacent layers will be the one to be affected. 3. Coupling how much a module in terms of package, class, or method relies on the other modules. It is better to reduce coupling or minimize the amount that a specified module will rely on others system modules. Cohesion is how closely the related parameters like the classes, methods, and functionality within the method of the module are to other members within the same module. It is better to raise the cohesion as that shows that the module has specific activity and does only that activity (Dorfman & Thayer, 97). Coupling between the modules arises for various reasons, some of which can be desired and others not. A ranked list comprising of the least to the most desirable include the internal data coupling, global data coupling, parameter coupling, and subclass coupling. Cohesion can also be ranked from those that are least desirable to those that are most desirable