Saturday, August 31, 2019
“Is the Rookie Ready†by Sarah Green Essay
A manager listens, compromises, delegates appropriately, coaches and leads by example. Both Tim O’Connell and Kristen Hammersmith are referenced as Managers in HBR’s case study â€Å"Is the Rookie Ready†by Sarah Green. Although Kristen is the newly appointment Manager and by default one could argue that she is the rookie; but judging Tim’s behavior and rash decision on the Hybara project, I believe he has proven himself as the Rookie Manager. A good manager with any leadership skills would never commit to a very tight deadline with many constraints without asking the customer a few questions and consulting with his or her project manager or team members. Tim points out that â€Å"without this revenue Driscoll may be looking at staff reductions.†Although this is a valid point, he has failed to understand that Hybara is essentially begging him for the software installation so that they don’t lose any more revenue. Tim realizes Hybara’s urgency and an opportunity for the company to gain revenue, but fails to see Hybara’s desperation which is a positive playing factor in negotiating a better delivery timeframe as well as extra revenue in expediting the project installation. Committing to a project that takes three times as long to complete during a Christmas break knowing the staff may be out on vacation, was an impulsive irresponsible decision. This alludes to the fact that Tim failed to give Kristen and her team an opportunity to provide feedback and to feel valued and respected. Tim could have simply empowered Kristen by engaging her with his thoughts or concerns on Hybara’s request, or asked for her suggestions and input regarding the tight timeframe. Instead, Tim put the project at risk, set the project and Kristen for failure as soon as he hung up the phone with Hybara with his commitment. Further, we can see that Tim has ineffectively dealt with his dislike to Alessandra Sandoval’s persona. Not being able to comfortably accept and work with Alessandra’s persona, has lead Alessandra to leave the company. Conflicts and tension can arise in any environment at any given point, but if the issues are not given appropriate attention and resolved in a timely fashion, things will just worsen and may result in a resignation similar to Alessandra. As we can clearly see, Tim is not a good manager. His bad decisions and lack of sensitivity and awareness to interact effectively with employees are costing the company to lose good employees, and setting up projects for failure. Tim has certainly proven that he couldn’t establish a good trusting relationship with Alessandra, nor is he building a credible relationship with Kristen. He has successfully delegated a task to Kristen, but is not successfully managing the task’s outcome. In summary, there are a few activities Tim can engage in to change his rookie management style to an effective management style. First and foremost, establish a credible relationship with Kristen by helping her overcome insecurities she may be facing. Focus on the outcome of the project and plan out a reasonable timeframe, with Kristen and her team, for completing the project. Next, Tim should contact Hybara on a revised installation plan as well as an additional fee for the last minute installation. Committing to be open and aware of the needs of Kristen and her team will further enhance Tim’s management skills. Tim has to ensure that Kristen and her team have the appropriate resources, including time, budget and overall support, to get the job done. Further, Tim has to create a two-way communication environment, believe in and value his team. Lastly, Tim has to provide leadership and clear direction. This recommendation will allow Tim to flourish into an experienced, effective manager.
Environmental Justice In Central America Region: A Critical Perspective Essay
This paper aims to talk a about the realities of life in the Central America region without withholding any truth about the situation in the country. The things that will be dealt with in this paper is very relevant in giving inquiries about how the economic and political intervention of superior countries affect the whole lives of the people in the Central America region. Introduction            Human needs do not only include the necessity to eat meals everyday. It also includes the right to live with dignity and self-reliance without the oppressive intervention of other countries. Life in the Central America region is just as simple as that of other third world countries, that are known to be developing in their status. People there are also hoping for a peaceful, harmonious and progressive existence on earth. That is why people are trying hard to cope up with the changes in the environment brought out by the decisions made by man.            The decisions that I am talking about has something to do with the ability to commit to the preservation of natural resources in the region. Without the will to choose preservation of natural resources, the next generation of the said region will suffer after the prior generation will harvest what nature has to give back. It is not debatable that the people in the region are suffering through the years due to lack of giving importance of natural resources. There may be different factors outside the will of the people, that has been considered as the causes of this event, but at some extent, it is still the fight of the people that will stop the environmental abuse in the region. The environment is no longer working in line with man’s needs but rather going against it. The said situation is very alarming that many scholars and authors like Roberts and Thanos who gave a very comprehensive and relevant criticism and analysis of the situation in Central American region. This paper then, would be guided by the way how the two authors attacked the environmental injustice that occurred in the region under study.            Basically, the needs of an individual alone will include food, shelter and clothing. These needs must be provided to the person because it will serve as one factor on how he would live his life. The moment these needs are not achieved, the individual will suffer physically, as he would get sick due to lack of food, shelter and clothing. The individual will also suffer psychologically and emotionally as he would be disturbed on the difficulty of his situation. Therefore, human needs must be met in all circumstances in life.            In connection with that, it is humbly and respectfully submitted that, the necessity of the development of long-term and sustainable alternative production mechanisms and the promotion that human needs must determine the distribution of food are the solutions to stop environmental crises and poverty in Central America region. Thus, politics and economics must not be the determinant factors or basis in the distribution of food in the region, but human needs in general. What has been the root cause of this submission? The authors of the book â€Å"Trouble In Paradise†, which are Roberts and Thanos perfectly pointed out the environmental problems in the Central America region which greatly affected the lives of the people and will surely affect the next generation. The book talks about Green Revolutions, Deforestation, and New Ideas, that are very much related with each other. Basically, it was pointed out in the article that the widespread adoption of pesticides and fertilizers as well as the rapid growth of biotechnology and genetic seed manipulations altered the human conditions in the region. With that, there is a need to work hard in order to solve the problem.            The purpose of the said changes and innovation in the said region is the attainment of modernization and economic progress at the expense of the environmental or ecological balance. It must be stated that without the preservation of the environment, the economic progress that has been achieved will become useless by the time floods, storms and other calamities will occur due to abuse in nature.            Deforestation has been done to be able to supply logging needs of other countries with the hope of gaining profits with the said import transaction without thinking that eventually, it will cause greater problems aside from poor economic condition. The problems of overpopulation, unequal distribution of wealth and land, as well as natural hazards occurred in the region affecting the lives of the people. If nothing will be done at the moment, the problem will become worse and worse as the time continue to roll. Environmental Justice in Central America Region            Roberts and Thanos practically stated that, the purposes of the modernization of agriculture are to develop the third world through United States aid projects, address poverty and economic stagnation as well as to create markets for United States products. Actually, there is something questionable on these purposes, as these has been the reason why many people are suffering in the Central America region. In the guise of United States aid projects, the countries in the region are affected by the results of widespread modernization of agriculture.            The main reason why it should be done is to augment the food supply system in the region and to sell the agricultural products surplus to other countries. But, the ends does not justifies the means, as the purpose was defeated in the long run. It is true that poverty is addressed in those ways, but there was no valid and diligent consideration on how the processes will affect ecological balance in the region.            What is more shocking is the very purpose of finding dumping grounds for the products produced by the Americans. The country tried to look for markets for their products by means of establishing connection with other countries, particularly third world countries through giving them numerous aid projects in return. The said underground purpose of the American nation is so oppressive and destructive that it should be stopped. Third world countries must be given their chance to govern their own economic and political development under environmental justice considerations.            There were so many problems that occurred in the region due to the Green Revolution, that is the modernization of agriculture. First, the said modernization of agriculture was not introduced into a social vacuum. The modern techniques for agricultural production was mainly confined on the rich and affluent families that are connected with political leaders that they are closely associated with. The poor and working tenants or the masses were not informed of the said modern techniques. This is because the modern techniques of agricultural production is the vehicle for producing export commodities. The local inhabitants were not taken into consideration as there will be no profits that can be taken from them. Their role in the situation is to become the working class as farmers and not to share with the fruits of their labor.            Second, the situation reinforced and worsened the economic and social divisions in the Central America region. The truth is, few of the elite landowners as well as wealthier peasant farmers and the poor are greatly divided as there was a great disparity of their income and social standing. The poor and working class, who were the people who caused the tremendous production of agricultural products were downgraded to wage laborer status instead of getting an appropriate share of the profits.            Third, there was a terrible states of erosion and contamination. This happened because there was a serious and heavy reliance on agrochemicals that created ecological damages. Merriam- Webster On line Dictionary simply defined agrochemicals as those belonging to fields or soil (â€Å"Agrochemicals†). Practically, agrochemicals were used to control the presence of pests in the agricultural fields worldwide to be able to prevent it from destroying the crops.            However, this solution to the problem was not really effective and there was no difference on the results when agrochemicals are used compared to its lack of use. Roberts and Thanos declared in their work that, pests continue to destruct around 37% of the world’s agricultural products and compared to the time before the modernization of agriculture, pests also caused the loss of 34-40% of all the global agricultural production (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). Thus, due to the ineffectiveness of the use of agrochemicals, the environment was affected and the ecology with all its living things suffered imbalance. Now, what are other effects of this destructive practice in farming? What about the share of political agenda on this matter? Was it fair for the people in general?            Unfortunately, the answers of these questions were vague and we need to seriously deal with this. Roberts and Thanos correctly commented that, in the political arena, what happened was that, agricultural inputs such as seeds and machinery that are exported from wealthy countries are very expensive but agricultural products are sold cheap (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). This means that aside from the environmental injustice that was brought by the use of agrochemicals, there was also an economic unfairness that was experience by those farmers who worked hard to till the land that may be owned by them or by rich large landowners.            What is worse is the fact that, there was a finding that pesticide poisonings known as nemoticide caused sterility in male laborers. This product was actually banned in the United States but was dumped or sold in the Central America region (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). The product was obviously banned due to its negative effects in the health of the person. The farm workers who will be affected in the said pesticide will surely suffer.            Besides, regulatory agencies and United States manufacturers were aware of the danger of pesticide use but there was no care on the matter as long as profits can be taken from the export of pesticide activities (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). The dumping ground of this product are the third world countries of which are trying hard to improve their agricultural production for economic advancement. Then, the third world countries are easy prey to the deception that was done in terms of exporting dangerous nemoticide chemical. In order to facilitate the export of these restricted pesticide products, the same were illegally shipped to third world countries without warning labels of its negative effect in their consumption pertaining to agricultural production (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70).            In addition to that, Roberts and Thanos also pointed out that, the said dangerous chemical can also affect women and children (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70).Going back to the scenario wherein the other poor and working peasants became the workers of the large lands to produce export commodities, there were many negative effects it would bring to them in particular. The owners of these farms only raked profits of the production but little did they know that the farmers who worked in the farm experienced health problems in the process.            Women and children can be seen in the farm helping in the production process. The children, young as they were, would help in harvesting the export commodities produced in the fields. Women also work, in addition to the activities they are confined with in their homes. In line with these, Pan International said that, short term economic interests greatly affects policy-making (â€Å"Dangerous Pesticide Use In Central America-Wanted A New Approach†, 2001, p. 1). The said interests of producers of those export commodities and the pesticide industry have prevailed over concerns of public health (â€Å"Dangerous Pesticide Use In Central America-Wanted A New Approach†, 2001, p.1). This was really a sad report and very unfair for that matter.            Another thing is that, theres was a directive to use pesticides safely but by all means use pesticides in the agricultural production (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). Yet, the assurance was repeated by pesticide producers and backed up by scientific studies which was paid for and done by pesticide companies themselves (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70).That was also a case of utter deception. It was pointed out by Pan International that, pesticides are hazardous technology when used under conditions that cannot give a minimum of safety, and they have negative effects in the worker’s health (â€Å"Dangerous Pesticide Use In Central America-Wanted A New Approach†, 2001, p.1).            The truth is, this is incompatible with principles of sustainable development. Global community defined sustainable development as the sound balance among the interactions designed to make a healthy economic growth, preserve environmental quality, make a wise decision on our resources and enhance social benefits (â€Å"Definition of Sustainable Development†). Another thing that was done by companies to produce export commodities was the biotechnology industry. Roberts and Thanos explained that, â€Å"many seed and biotechnology companies was bought by chemical producers who made species resistant to their own herbicides, so that other plants will die while only the modified species continues to grow after application of weed killers†(Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 70). This process will also destroy ecological balance as it will eventually make other living things extinct.            Moreover, the University of Texas Press also pointed out that, economic reform or liberalization in Latin America generally included the eradication of protectionist rules, the availability of international markets by decreasing tariffs and quotas, the privatization and or disbanding of government corporations for rural credit, infrastructure, commercialization and technical assistance, the end or even reversal of land reform rules and regulations and the radicalization or reorientation of food policies pointed on the internal market toward an export-based agricultural economy (â€Å"Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in Latin America†, 2008, p. 1). The effects on this pattern was directed to the constituents of the third world countries, particularly the Central America region. Aside from that, the University Press presented the fact that, â€Å"many people are excluded as producers by the new agricultural policies and technologies†(â€Å"Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in Latin America†, 2008, p. 1).            Furthermore, the ranks of the unemployed was increased due to this phenomenon and peasant farmers were made as wage workers (â€Å"Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in Latin America†, 2008, p. 1). The sad thing is that, third world counties possess the largest plant biological diversity on earth, as well as the largest problems of soil depletion and environmental problems (â€Å"Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in Latin America†, 2008, p. 1). The injustice that we knew through this fact is very evident and degrading on the part of developing countries that for so long, they were deceived and used by oppressive rules and polices.             This time, we will be informed of the effects of deforestation due to the efforts of agricultural modernization of countries. But before that, it is wise to define first the term modernization. Global Change defined deforestation, as â€Å"the conversion of forest to another use or the long- term decrease of the tree canopy to include below a 10% threshold†(â€Å"Deforestation†). It also implies the long-term or permanent loss of forest cover and its transformation into another land use (â€Å"Deforestation†). Some of the activities that are very much related to deforestation are forest clearing, degradation and fragmentation by means of timber harvest, conversion to agricultural road building and human-caused fire (â€Å"Deforestation†). Merriam-Webster also simply defined deforestation, as the action or process of clearing of forests, the state of having been cleared of forests (â€Å"Deforestation†).            Roberts and Thanos mentioned that, rich countries are considered consumers of forest timber and they contribute to deforestation in a large capacity (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 77). The regular harvest of timber products without replacing them was exported to wealthy nations for their use. The Central America region is rich in its timber products resources and it follows that many of its forests were victims of rampant deforestation.            Aside from that, each generational increase in human numbers places additional demands on land and natural resources (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 77). The people will cut more and more trees and clear the forest fro them to have additional place to live and land to till for survival. Those who are poor and cannot afford a land for their own, will be forced to go to the countryside to live. They would develop the forest area on their own way and live there with their extending families. As a result, in the Central America region, the forest was in the edge of disaster due to deforestation (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 77). The living things that can be found in the area will loose its place to live. As a result, they would become extinct in the long run. Extinction of living things in the ecosystem will cause ecological imbalance affecting the entire place. Ecological imbalance will affect farming activities that will cause shortage in the production of food resources.            There are examples of forest in the Central America region that is known for its rich biodiversity features and natural resources. In Mexico, for instance, the forest named as Lacondona Forest was known for its rich natural resources and wide area (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 78). Also, in Costa Rica their forests was famous for being full of bird species larger in numbers compared to other countries with the same land area. This fact is good to know but was disrupted by the fact that these forests has been used to produce timber products for export purposes without doubling its reforestation activities. It is alarming to note that trees were cut in these areas without giving much effort in replacing those trees that had been cut. The soil erosion is common in areas were tress are always cut and were forest were cleared. That would cause flood and storms that will affect the people living in the area. If there will be more floods in these areas, the lives of the people will be displaced. Many will die and get sick for that matter.            In line with that, Roberts and Thanos practically mentioned that, there were some research pertaining to this matter speaking that, when there is environmental degradation, social inequality increases (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 78). As the natural resources become depleted, the rich nations will find more places to exploit almost destroying all forests, while the poor ones will eventually loose its home. More people will loose their jobs and others will continue working with timber companies having a low wage. Children will suffer from too much hunger and their development as a child will be affected. The women in the families will live within their means that is already too small for their families to survive. Their families will suffer diseases brought by famine and natural disasters while the rich ones continue to live comfortably. This social inequality had exists in the region for so many years and will continue to happen if the environmental problems will not be given priority for solutions. While the rich countries are the most benefited by the natural resources production of developing countries, they should be aware that if they will continue to do this practice, they would also be eventually affected because we are just living in the same planet.            With that, Roberts and Thanos pointed out that, transnational groups such as the World Wide life Fund, Conservation International and Nature Conservancy intended to give assistance and funding to countries that were politically â€Å"open†and where there were already active local conservation groups (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 78). Now, what is the rationale for this one?Why is it necessary for the wealthy countries to select only those politically open nations to extend aid projects? That was very alarming and it means injustice. Admittedly, it could be logically said that wealthy countries would give help in the guise of financial aid for reforestation projects to get something in return. They like those nations who could give them favor while they extend funding to them. As such, the developing countries will believe with them because of the hope that they could use the extended or sponsored reforestation to rehabilitate their already destroyed forests. Yet, these purpose actually cause so many problems involving the same people who live in the areas where forests are rehabilitated to some extent by foreign aid projects.            In line with that, Roberts and Thanos were aware that, forest-dwelling individuals were relocated out of the protected areas and treated as poaches if they continued to harvest fuel wood, wildlife, medicines or other forest resources that had sustained them for generations Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 79). It would be unfair for this people who are the most holder of rights to live in the area knowing that they can no longer survive to live in the cities. Their only resort is to live in the forest and depend on the natural resources that they could get there. These natural resources are the only things that they could afford because they do not have the money to afford things that are sold in the city like medicines, foods and even clothing.            For so long, they were so dependent on the produce of the forest for food for their families to survive. Thus, any attempt to deprive them of the right to take resources in the forest and to live there give them no choice but to rebel. It is ironic that the people who occupied and called the lands their owned were not allowed to use the same for their benefits. Then, it was absurd to rehabilitate forests when the supposed to be recipients are driven away.            While it is true that there was a peasant- administered conservation reforestation projects, the same was not reasonable and fair. Roberts and Thanos confided with this respect that, large landowners were reportedly paid up seven times more than small landholders and squatters were paid less Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 79). The said disparity in payment is not acceptable in a society that loves freedom and self-reliance. That was an example of economic and environmental injustice to the prejudice of the people in the Central America region.            However, no matter how unfair the situation may be, as long as it can contribute to the rehabilitation of the forests, then it would be okay. The best thing that should be done is fight for the rights that is accorded to an individual so that injustice will not prevail. Yet, how said it is to say this, that if we succeed in saving an ecosystem but lose the people that are a part of it, what have we really won? No matter how we try to save the environment when the people are no longer surviving, it will be useless.            One solution to the problem is the introduction of ecotourism. This term was simply defined by the American Heritage Dictionary of the American Language as, a tourism involving travel to places of natural or ecological interest, typically under the guidance of a naturalist, for the purpose of observing wildlife and learning about the environment (â€Å"Definition of Ecotourism†). This means that, there were groups of people who are holding projects in this purpose for governmental profits or purposes and sometimes aided by foreign funding.            Tourists are the frequent visitors of places that are placed as ecotourism business and only few of the domestic people who availed of the said services. These people who avail services under ecotourism pay an indigenous community, government agency, or even private establishment to let them â€Å"experience nature†(Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 80). They would really enjoy the adventure as the forests in the Central America region are beautiful places to visit with and that it was known for its rich biodiversity and ecological resources.            Actually, the visitors will also be informed of the importance of ecological imbalance. However, environmentally benign projects, like observing or feeding wildlife, can be incredibly disruptive when repeated by flocks of ecotourists everyday, or even several times a day (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 80). That means the living things that are preserved in ecological preservation projects are â€Å"preserved to death†as pointed out by Roberts and Thanos (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 80). For instance, if there were many birds in the area for ecotourists, these species of birds will be disrupted by the constant presence of people who will sometimes feed them improperly. Besides, due to the increase of the number of tourists in the area, it could be possible that building other infrastructure within the area for commercial purposes could happen. The aim of preserving the ecology would become useless if this thing would occur.            At this juncture, it is expected that we will be informed of the contentious globalization touching the topic of international law, treaties, green labeling and human rights. This is a very important topic since it talks about the dynamics of the environmental problems in the Central America region. According to Roberts and Thanos, Justice Lloyd Doggett’s decision to allow the suit in a Texas court was a pivotal step in the international struggle to make transnational corporations more accountable to their employees (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 81). This a practical solution to end utter oppression in the region leaving the indigenous inhabitants nothing in their hands as if their lives depends upon the whims and caprices of these transnational corporations.            In connection with that,this was considered an international struggle because the problem is not only existent in the Central America region but also in other third world countries. The said case proposed that, the principal determinants in the case were political, economic and social factors-not technical or procedural factors as claimed by Dow and Shell (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 80). If the principal determinants of the case would be technical and procedural factors, the rationale that was built within the law used as the basis for rendering decision will be put to nothing.            There was a very strong argument that is connected of the case given as an example on how international law would come to the rescue concerning international struggle for environmental injustice. If we could remember the cases of laborers who are victims of sterility due to the dangerous chemical nemoticide produced by Dow and Shell Companies, thousands of farmers filed cases against them asking for damages (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 71). In line with that, the dominance of profit interests as well as control over information and technology by the manufacturers who concealed early toxicological research evidence of the reproductive hazards and by the managers of the banana producer-companies influenced and ultimately determined the case (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 81). Profit-oriented companies do not care with the health of the people and instead refuse to disclose the danger of said chemicals early on so that the peasants could prepare and be warned of its ill effects.            There were so many people who fought to solve these problems in the region. Many people also fall as victims of human rights violations as they magnified their struggles. Some died for that matter. With that, Roberts and Thanos wrote that, the deaths of these people gives us an idea that we must turn our focus to the social and political underpinnings of violence. It was so sad that individuals needed to shed blood in order to defend their own lands. For example, Sign On San Diego pointed out that, a leading human rights group said that, it had lost its faith in Mexico’s legal system and would take is efforts to clear the names of two celebrated anti-logging activists to an international tribunal (â€Å"Mexican Rights Groups Says It Will Take Environmentalists Case To International Court†, 2002, p. 1).            Finally, alternative production mechanisms should be done by the people in their own efforts with the assistance of their governments in the region. The organic food production was tried wherein the use of pesticides was lessened to some extent. However, Roberts and Thanos reported that only a few profit will go to the contract farmer and the rest of the fruit of his labor will go to the seeds producer, fertilizer companies and others (Roberts and Thanos, 2003, p. 81). Fair trade efforts was also done wherein farmers were paid a fair amount or living wage on their exported products. Conclusion            The destruction of the environment will result to the suffering of the people. It will create a dilemma that will haunt them as pervasive as to the next generation. That is why it is necessary to take good care of the ecological balance of nature. Deforestation must be stopped and reforestation must be done double time. This is because according to the Rotarian Fellowship for Population and Development, deforestation contributes to soil erosion, scarcity of water, and climate changes (â€Å"Population and Deforestation in Central America†). Aside from that, three fourths of Central America is hilly or mountainous and that when it would be stripped with cover and the trees would be cut, it would unable to hold water and soil (â€Å"Population and Deforestation in Central America†). As a result, the destruction from Hurricane Mitch was seriously caused by the deforestation because of overpopulation in the region.            It is also concluded that, the environmental preservation projects that was made in the forests of the Central America region was not sustainable because it could disrupt the existence of living things in places made and intended for ecotourism. The purpose of preserving the wild animals and plants will be defeated of the constant presence of visitors and adventurers in the area. Thus, environmentally-benign projects are indeed not sustainable.            Finally, we should learn lessons from this paper since it has something to do with our survival and the future of the next generation. We must admit that all things are interconnected that any destruction done in the other side of the globe would affect us in one way or another. The realization that the environment is the common factor that would help us solve poverty is evident and we should not discard the idea. It may be true that wealthy nations will live comfortably because of the wealth that was taken from deforestation and inappropriate farming methods, but time will come that they would experience calamities as a result of the ecological abuse. Therefore, all of us must unite in preserving the fragile planet in which all of us are housed. References Global Change. (2008). Global Deforestation. Retrieved March 23, 2008,           from            http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/global/change2/current/lectures/deforest/deforest.html. Global Community. (2008). Definition of Sustainable Development. Retrieved March 23, 2008 from            http://globalcommunitywebnet.com/globalcommunity/definitionsustainabledevelopment.htm Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.(2008). Agrochemicals. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from            http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agrochemicals. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. (2008). Deforestation. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from            http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary&book=dictionary&va=deforestation. Pan International Website. ( December 2001). Dangerous Pesticide Use In Central America-    WantedA New Approach. Retrieved March 23, 2008 from http://www.pomuk.org/pestnews/            issue/pn54p.12.htm Roberts, J. T. and Thanos, N. D. (2003). Trouble In Paradise. USA: Routledge. Rotarian Fellowship for Population and Development. (2008). Population and Deforestation:   Central America. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from            http://www.rifpd.org/overview/predicaments/enviroment/deforestation/deforestation.html. Sign On San Diego. (21 August 2002). Mexican Rights Group Says That It Will Take                                  EnvironmentalistsCase To International Court. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from            http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20020821-1356-mexico-humanrights.html. The American Heritage: Dictionary of American Language. (2000). Definition of Ecotourism.                                                                                                                                                           20            Retrieved March 23, 2008, from http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/            ecotourism. University of Texas Press. (2008). Food For The Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in            Latin America. Retrieved March 23, 2008, from http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/            exotefoo.html. Â
Friday, August 30, 2019
Coffee and Starbucks Essay
?Introduction Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee company and coffee house chain headquartered in Seattle, Washingston. Starbucks was founded in 1971, when three academicians, began a specialty coffee store called Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spice in Seattle (Starbucks Corporation, 2009). In 1996, Starbucks operated its first international store expansion in Tokyo, Japan. With current approximately 19,500 stores in 58 countries (Location xcelerated, 2012), Starbucks is quickly becoming one of the best known brands and the largest specialty coffeehouse company in the world. The Market Demand of Coffee. The demand of coffee in the United States has rose 2 percent in 2011(Perez, 2011). Americans drank 77. 4 billion cups of coffee during a year (Perez, 2011). A statistics showed that â€Å"the average consumption among coffee drinkers in the United States is 3. 1 cups of coffee per day†(E-Imports, 2012). With gathering the information and statistics, it has proved the demand of coffee market in the US is extremely high. Also, the coffee market is the potential market for rivals entering into. Hence, Starbucks has to attain strong competitive advantages and market demand with its resources and capabilities. Starbucks’s Resources and Capabilities An organization has the ability to identifying and determining the competitive power of their resources and capabilities to create competitive advantage. Business resources are the productive input or competitive asset that is owned or controlled by the organization (Thompson, 2012). In the case of Starbucks, the resources and capabilities are coffee bean, store ambience, employee culture, and brands and reputations. Coffee Beans Coffee beans are the natural resources of Starbucks. They are one of the most valuable resources for coffee industry. Starbucks was a purveyor of specialty coffee – it has seemed top-notch coffee beans to produce high quality of coffee. High quality of coffee beans was usually sourced directly from coffee-producing countries, for instance Kenya, Guatemala and Indonesia. Starbucks was usually acquired the coffee bean at a premium price for suppliers who suited the Starbucks’ standards, socially and environmentally responsible farming. Starbucks has committed the long term contracts with the supplier in order to protect both party with the price and quality of coffee beans. The Starbucks’s coffee beans provided a sustainable competitive advantage in the face of active competition. It is due to the high quality and premium coffee beans sourced from other country were uncommon and costly to imitate for competitors. Store Design and Ambience Starbucks was positioned as a â€Å"third place†between beyond home and work with the store design and relaxing ambience. The design of store is provided a comfort and relaxing environment for its costumer. Each detail of likes the style of fixtures, the edges of countertops and the texture of slate floors was examined to enhance the unique ambience and mood of the Starbucks store. With blended the colorful banners and artworks, the merchandise displays, the music and the aromas, Starbucks has created an attractive, consistent and stimulating environment that provided comfort of a home for customer, excellent customer service and quality products as the concept of â€Å"third place theme†(Moon & Queich, 2003) cited by (Harveywallbanger, 2012). These elements made the Starbucks experience key in retaining its customers with the competitive advantage and capture new markets. The store design is valuable by providing a third place theme, a relaxing and conform atmosphere. Besides, it was rare design in United States as Starbucks is the first mover to replicate the Italian style coffee store. Competitors are difficult and costly to imitate as the Starbucks has an exclusive In-House architects and designers to ensure the right image and character for each store. Employee Culture A vital dynamic in Starbucks’s growth was the human resources, its employee. Starbucks has provided a great work environment around its employees, one of its most important resources and sources of sustainable competitive advantage (Gates et al. , 2011). Schultz believed that a plentiful employee benefits package was a key competitive advantage. Starbucks was the first company to offer all employees, even part-timer, were qualified to get healthcare benefits, participate in the Bean Stock program for stock option grants. Besides that, Starbucks has offered an extensive training program to each employee that includes a commitment to customer service experience and the knowledge of products (Balaban et al. , n. d). All employees of Starbucks were trained to have good customer experiences for retaining customers. For example, they were trained â€Å"just say yes†to customer requests. Starbucks’ approach towards employees benefited to company has maintained the turnover rate at 60-65 percent, while the other national industry turnover is about 150-400 percent a year. The plentiful employee benefit package provides a sustainable competitive advantage to Starbucks. It is added value to Starbucks because employees will have the better job performance due to the motivation and courage. It was rare as the Starbucks was the first company provided healthcare benefits and stock option plan. And also, it is costly to imitate for Starbucks’s competitors. Brand and Reputation Brand recognition and reputational are essential resources and capabilities to Starbucks’s competition advantage. According to Starbucks Strategy Fortune, â€Å"Starbucks store traffic has risen between 6 percent and 8 percent a year even in a down economy†. Starbucks reputation was growing mostly by word of mouth rather than spending on advertising. Schultz believed that opening numerous stores helped to build the brand to Starbucks by increasing awareness of the brand. On the other hand, Starbucks also strengthened its brand and reputation with Fair Trade Certified coffee and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The company collaborated with CARE and Conservation International to encourage environment responsible methods of growing coffee. These activities would be created the attention and attraction of its customers on the brand of Starbucks. Due with the strength of brand and reputation, Starbucks was achieved sustainable competitive advantages in the specialty coffee segment. Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model. One of the powerful and widely assessment tools of an organizations industry’s competitive forces is the five forces model, created by Michael Porter. This model embraces that the competitive forces affecting industry success go beyond rivalry among competing sellers and include four coexisting sources (Thompson, 2012). The Michael Porter’s five forces are the threat of entry, the threat of substitutes, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of supply and rivalry among competing sellers. I will identify the competitive environment of Starbucks in coffee industry by using Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model. 1) Industry Rivalry The industry competition among the existing firms is positioned at the center of Porter five forces model. Rivalry is gradually growing against Starbucks each year as the growing of industry. The growth of industry rivalry has increased due to introduce the new products into the market and differentiate products based on quality, service and selection (Gamble & Thompson, Jr. , 2011) cited by (Brown, 2011). With this point, Starbucks has introduced a new way of having premium coffee and new product of Frappuccino, was greatly differentiated from the competitors. Starbucks also served coffee with the highest freshness standards with FlavorLock bags. Starbucks compete to against two strong orgationation in the fast food industry who have operated coffee beverages and stepped into coffee market, McDonalds and Dunkin’ Donuts. The competitive threat distributed by McDonald’s to Starbucks was referring to the Consumer Reports magazine in 2008 , which rated that the McDonald’s the quality of coffee is better and the price is cheaper as compared to Starbucks. The industry’s growing has slowed down while the industry competition is increasing among existing firms. In short, the force of industry rivalry formed by the competition among coffees industry is characterized very strong. 2) The Threat of New Entrance The second competitive force of Porter’s model has significant differenced in the late of 80s and the recent competitive environment of Starbucks, is no barriers to entry. According to Porter (2008), barriers of entry are low in the specialty coffee industry. The coffee houses in the United States were about 585 in 1987 and 25000 in 2007. It showed that the new entrants of specialty coffee market was increasing speedily in 20 years. Besides that, the specialty coffee market had grown from $11. 5billion (2005) to $12. 27 billion (2006) in the United States. Due to the market demand growing rapidly, it was attracted a number of fast-food retailers, such company as McDonald and Dunkin’ Donuts. In addition, the product differentiation (included coffee selection, roasting and brewing) is considered weak. With these elements, it can be established that the threat of new entrants in coffee industry is moderate. However, Starbucks has a strong competitive advantage with a well-known brand and image, the quality service and diversity products, and a strong market in the segmentation. 3) The Threat of Substitutes Another competitive force of Porter’s model is the threat of substitutes. The force of substitutes is significant decreased in the coffee market. This is because, there are only little of substitutes product, such substitute as soft drinks, energy drinks and fruit juices. The principal substitution of products has posed a slight threat to coffee industry were carbonated soft drinks which introduced by the Pepsi and Coca-Cola company. In the past few years, studies have done that coffee has increasingly obtained the preference of consumer more than carbonated soft drinks. This is probably concentrated the healthy related with carbonated soft drinks, and evidenced that coffee is a relatively healthy preference. (Harding, 2000) cited by (Larson. , 2008) Based on the information and evidence, the threat of competitive substitute products is considered to be weak for Starbucks Corporation. 4) The Bargaining Power of Suppliers The bargaining power of supplier has changed in several ways through the widely growing in the coffee industry. Starbucks was purchased it premium coffee beans from the farmers that were numerous, small and unconnected during the late 1980s. In the recently years, coffee beans suppliers were joint by Fair Trade Certified coffee and acted like a large entity. Specialty coffee companies were making the coffee beans suppliers gradually important by seeking greater quality of coffee to compete the competitors in the market. The coffee beans suppliers today are more power, with increased joint and increased importance upon high quality coffee beans. Starbucks has work out with the coffee beans suppliers into continuing fixed-price commitments in order to ensure an adequate supply, which decreased the supplier bargaining power. (Larson, 2008) 5) The Bargaining Power of buyers. The last element of five forces model is the bargaining power of buyers. The force of the buyer’s bargaining power is defined to the buyer’s capability to force down prices, and seek for higher-quality products and services (Porter, 1998, p. 24) cited by (Larson, 2008). The bargaining power of buyer in specialty coffee segment is considered high, since two strong competitor of Starbucks, McDonalds and Dunkin’s Donuts have offered the lower prices. However, Starbucks has introduced the several new products and high quality of coffee, highly differentiated to maintain consumers satisfied and away from competitors in the coffee market. Thus, the buyer bargaining power has offset and became moderate. The Summary of Michael Porter’s Five Factor In summary, the coffee market faces very strong forces from the industry rivals but it obtains weak forces from the threat of substitutes. Besides, the other three forces are considered as moderate. Generally, the impact of the five forces is moderate in the specialty coffee industry. Therefore, Starbucks is able to obtain the ideal revenues in the coffee market with operated effectively and efficiently. Starbucks’ Generic Strategy. There are three successful generic competitive strategies that organizations can apply to achieve their competitive strategies, included overall cost leadership, differentiation and focus, defined by Michael Porter. Overall cost leadership strategy implies an organization to apply lower overall costs to attract consumers. The differentiation generic strategy contains the creation of service and product as being valuable and unique for the industry. Focus is the last generic strategy, which aims a certain market of a product line (Porter, 1998, p. 38) cited by (Larson, 2008). However, Starbucks are suitable the broad differentiation strategy of the five generic competitive strategies nowadays. This strategy allows Starbucks to serve a broader customer base with the differentiation of product and service (Grant, 2009) cited by (Brown, 2011). This approaches to retain and attract as many consumer with the generally product mix. Starbucks had the unique skills, products and services reputation with the distribution segment of specialty coffee industry. For instance, Starbucks was developed an icy-blend of dark-roasted coffee and milk, named Frappuccino. This drink was a hit with $54 million sales in the first year on the national market. In addition, the high-quality standards and strong employee culture of Starbucks were known well in the specialty coffee industry. The high-quality coffee beans are purchased from Fair Trade Certified, considered a differentiation product to other competitors. The employees of Starbucks were also trained to have strong customer experience. In the differentiation strategies, Starbucks have strengthened the brand and reputation for quality and creative flair. Starbucks’ Strategy Options. Starbucks is able to create three strategic options for sustaining competitive advantage and further growing the business by having evaluated its forces. The three strategic options for Starbucks are that diversification, expansion and merger. 1) Diversification The diversification of a business is that introducing new products and offering new services to the industry. There are two way of diversification for business, be related or unrelated. Starbucks is suited to attempt related diversification, reflecting more association with the specialty coffee industry. Schultz believed that the company has lacked on blockbuster products, only the variations of products. Starbucks has a successful product diversification in the history with launched coffee and tea beverages, brewing and serving equipment, roasted coffee beans, music and gifts. The introduction of savory products such as cake, donut and muffin is a successful diversification as it can be combined with the existing product and core product, coffee. The diversification strategy is a good option for enhancing Starbucks’ growth and competitive advantage. 2) Expansion. The expansion of an organization can be within a country and into an overseas market. Starbucks should reduce their expansion efforts in the United States and focus to expand its business into new countries to further internationalize it. The Economist stated, â€Å"While Starbucks has expanded so have its rivals. The firm’s home market seems to have reached saturation point. †With the rapid expansion, Starbucks is oversaturated in the United States. Therefore, this strategy option is suitable for Starbucks as the United States coffee market is reaching saturation point. If Starbucks has to go further growing and expanding, the international expansion is one of the best strategies for Starbucks. 3) Merger and Acquisition According to Investopedia, it defined as â€Å"a merger is an alliance of two organizations while an acquisition is the attaining of one organization by another. †The strategy of merger and acquisition sets out to accomplish the same goal, by increased broad customer base, market share and corporate strength of business. In the history, Starbucks has merged with Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream to develop super premium ice cream and acquired a premium tea company, Tazo LLC. In the case study of Starbucks, there states that there were about 25000 coffee houses in the United States in 2007. The merger and acquisition of small specialty coffee retailers will enhances the market position, market share and competitive advantage of Starbucks. This is a strategy that will exploit opportunities whilst avoiding threats to further growing and expansion of Starbucks. Recommendations The first and most important process which Starbucks should take is to diminish the efforts expansion in the United States. According to Starbucks’ strategy Fortune, a new store will often cannibalize about 30% of the sales of a nearby Starbucks. The continuing aggressive of expansion in the United States by opening as many new stores of the same area is an act to cannibalize store sales. The reason why Starbucks should diminish their expansion plan is the coffee market has reached the saturation in the US. The overcapacity of expansion plans in a location will be met with failure to an organization. On the basis of all the evaluation and evidence referred for the strategy options, the recommendation is to further expand internationally. Starbucks can convey the remained investment into international development plans by reducing the expansion plans in United States. The expansion of international market offers a supreme target with three fundamental objectives. The first reason is the lack of awareness of coffee market in many countries which represent the prospective market share. For instance, Starbucks currently opens approximately 20,000 stores with 13,000 in the US and 7000 in foreign countries. The total coffee consumption per person in the US has lowered much than many countries, such country as Finland and Italy. With gathering the information, this proves that expand internationally, there is a massive coffee drinking population and potential market share to be selected. (Starbucks Corporation, 2008) cited by (Larson, 2008). Another reason that international expansion offers an ideal prospect is that the expansion of product innovation. For example, Starbucks has announced their Tazo tea brand into the Japanese market. And, Tazo was brought into the United States market as it was a successful trial in Japan. Tazo green tea has brought a success to Starbucks as it was a national drinks and showed that the power of brand in North America. Starbucks could have to evade the risk of brand reputation as more innovative products should run a trial in international markets. Since the markets have yet visible to Starbucks for a period time, it is possible to avoid a great risk with affecting the brand reputation. Therefore, Starbucks has great competitive advantage in the markets with expand intentionally. The last reason of international expansion is to increase the brand reputation. Building brand image is key factor to an organization as the brand will affects an organization’s sales and position in the market. For example, in case of Starbucks, the company has increased revenue from $7. 8 billion in 2006 to $9. 4 in 2007, along with an increase in brand value. In order to recover the exclusivity of Starbucks brand, Schultz would focus the expansion of international countries and slow down the expansion of the United States. Therefore, the international aggressive expansion will help to strengthen its brand image and regain a strong competitive advantage for Starbucks. In a nut shell, I am highly recommended a strategy decision to Starbucks is that expanding into international markets. International countries have represented the ideal potential market shares with the high demand of specialty coffee. By applying this strategy, Starbucks will continue to be the leader in the specialty coffee industry and further regain and strengthen its competitive advantage. Furthermore, it also gains the customer satisfaction in the international markets. International expansion is the way to move forward. Reference Balaban, S. et al. (n. d) â€Å"Management 600†Starbucks Coffee Company. http://cobweb2. louisville. edu/faculty/regbruce/bruce/cases/starbucks/starbucks. htm [Accessed on 7 April 2012]. Brown, H. (2011) â€Å"External Environmental Analysis of Starbucks and the Coffee Industry†Strategic Management MGMT 4340 http://www2. uhv. edu/chapao/MGMT4340/Samples/Project%20Sample%203. pdf [Accessed on 9 April 2012] E-Imports (2012) â€Å"Coffee Statistics†Espresso Business Solutions. http://www. e-importz. com/Support/specialty_coffee. htm [Accessed on 5 April 2012]. Gates, R. et al. (2011) â€Å"Strategy Analysis MGMT 562†http://freedownload. is/pdf/strategy-analysis-mgmt-562-2925711. html [Accessed on 6 April 2012]. Harveywallbanger. (2012) â€Å"Starbucks’ Customer Retention Strategies 89†HubPages.http://harveywallbanger. hubpages. com/hub/Starbucks-Customer-Retention-Strategies [Accessed on 6 April 2012]. Heavey, J. (2012) â€Å"Starbucks a Strategic Report†Scribd. http://www. scribd. com/doc/27614539/Starbucks-a-Strategic-Report-by-James-Heavey [Accessed on 8 April 2012]. Larson, R. (2008) â€Å"Starbucks a Strategic Analysis†Past Decisions and Future Options http://coe. brown. edu/documents/StarbucksaStrategicAnalysis_R. Larson_honors_2008. pdf [Accessed on 8 April 2012]. Location Excelerated (2012) â€Å"How many Starbucks are they? †Location Excelerated. http://loxcel. com/sbux-faq. html.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Analysis of a work of art with a contemporary advertisement Essay
Analysis of a work of art with a contemporary advertisement - Essay Example Initially, these pieces had been applied to communicate on the ethical values or offer a reflection required within the society. Art has been evolved to represent ideology based on selling an idea to a market. This provision has been included in advertising with the created pieces holding powerful visual messages to the consumer. Art styles are applied in advertising, in the contemporary society, to highlight the message under consideration to give a piece meaning. With advertising, the key method applied to sell brand identity, and product description, art has emerged as a powerful communication tool within the contemporary society. An added provision within the art has been the application of advanced mediums to strengthen the image quality and buffer message reliance. The modern technology has produced advanced paints and mediums to be included in advertising that relate to the artistic style that had been developed. Pop art has been adversely used in advertising since the inventi on in Britain in the year 1955. Pop art was a movement of art that found the origin in Britain in the 1950s and the trend spread to the US who modifies the definition of style, to fit the pieces that had been established (Gibbons 53). Pop artists challenged the principal conception of the known artistic movements to present ideologies that would popularize a piece. The style incorporated existing forms and to those created in the artist’s mind to give the shape of the layout. The style developed on the movement known as abstract expressionism to explore the provision issued by the artist. The style is characterized with the provision that is accorded in utilizing a combination of shapes and images with found material incorporated within a piece. This provision has linked the movement to Dadaism utilizing highly expressive images. The style behind the creation of a pop artwork involves the application of famous images
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Does Nietzsche provide any good reasons for being sceptical about Essay
Does Nietzsche provide any good reasons for being sceptical about Christian love - Essay Example Despite being the son of a Lutheran minister, Nietzsche was a man who did not subscribe to the ideas of Christianity, especially those that dealt with love, believing that the concept of love had been completely corrupted by the church. However, he was also a great admirer of Jesus because of the manner in which he had lived his life and attempted to reform the religion of Judaism so that it could become more progressive. While this was the case, Nietzsche criticized the teaching of love in the Gospels stating that they did not hold any truth in the reality of many individuals. It was his belief that those individuals who practiced Christianity did not live their lives to the fullest because they subscribed to teachings of Gospels, which were aimed at ensuring that life was composed of absolutes. According to Nietzsche, life was not full of absolutes and the concept of love could therefore not be practiced as preached in Christianity because to do so would mean that individuals could no longer make decisions for themselves; hence remain in the fossilized hierarchy to which the church had relegated them. According to Nietzsche, because Jesus died on the cross, the concept of love died with him and this is the reason why there no longer needs to be any form of absolutes in the manner in which individuals profess love towards each other. According to him, the Christian manner of love as practiced was highly hypocritical because instead of making people happy, it made them slaves of their own actions (Hollingdale, 1999, p.21). This declaration by Nietzsche does not hold any truth because Christian teachings relating to love enabled the church to grow in strength and have continued to sustain it in the modern world despite the rapid secularization currently taking place. There have been points of view though criticized by Nietzsche that Christian teachings on love are among the elements that have ensured a continued growth in provision of charity and aid for
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Haier Global Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Haier Global Analysis - Case Study Example Yes. It took Haier some time to establish as a quality player in developed markets. But once it has established itself in those countries Haier was able to retain more margins and introduce some products that are suitable for special segments. This has helped in introducing more products with increasing revenues. It also helped Haier to enter into developing countries with an established reputation in developed markets.Yes. It took Haier some time to establish as a quality player in developed markets. But once it has established itself in those countries Haier was able to retain more margins and introduce some products that are suitable for special segments. This has helped in introducing more products with increasing revenues. It also helped Haier to enter into developing countries with an established reputation in developed markets.But it has faced problems in customizing its products to developing markets. As each market is different in its market characteristics Haier has to deve lop separate marketing strategies.Haier has developed its brand as a niche player in developed countries. This makes it to position in developing markets also easier. The advantage of branding itself as a niche player and continuously maintaining quality will enable Haier to offer its product line at a premium as well as it can increase sales. The reputation in one product will help other product lines as well.†¢ Develop an International marketing strategy as well as standardization strategy.†¢ Focus on R&D to produce innovative products for customization for the local markets†¢ Focus on Brand promotion as a niche player as well as develop good distribution network for developing markets.As the focus on more number of countries increases, there is a need for developing an International marketing strategy. The International Marketing Strategy enables Haier to develop strategies that on a global level. This helps in identifying countries according their importance a s well as their markets. Identify the markets to understand customers according to their preferences. Key Point #2 Haier has introduced new and more innovative products as an entry strategy into developed markets. It has helped Haier to position itself as a quality player. So it can adopt the same strategy to enter into newer markets. There is also a need to develop customized products to several markets apart from standardized products. This helps it to understand its markets well.(fig: B) Key Point #3 Being a niche player as well as a developing good distribution network are key strategies to
Monday, August 26, 2019
African studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5
African studies - Essay Example Additionally, the trade also led to the adoption of Islam religion. The encounter of West Africans with the Arabs helped Northern Africa to become a part of the Islamic influence. The Trans-Saharan region had been prepared for acceptance Islam faith in 7th century. Islam was one of the influential factors in the civilization of West Africa where Europeans had refused to penetrate due to the desert conditions. The cultural transformation entailed value for human life, novelty, and social prestige. Powerful kingdoms arose in West Africa due to Trans-Saharan trade. Soninke of Ghana and Mandinka in Mali participated in the trade and accumulated enormous wealth (Shillington 88). Wealth gave the kingdoms the power to maintain rule and influence in the trade. However, the region was not safe and secure due to the gold and ivory trade. Kingdoms would attack each other when traversing the desert. Robbers attacked and hijacked caravans and charioteers. Additionally, kingdoms required slaves and led to a reduction of people. People fled and moved southwards to escape the mistreatment. The spread of Islam brought tension in Western Africa as traditionalist communities resisted the influence of the religion and created a balance. The interactions between Arabs in North Africa and the trading parties from Western Sudan led to the development of infrastructures such as trade roots, monuments, and schools. According to Shillington, the development of fundamental trade centers such as Taghaza, Fezzan, Gao, Tadmeka, Wakata, and Kumbi-Saleh brought commercial and administrative organs that were responsible for trade of goods (p. 92). Communities gained gold, ivory and slaves to boost their economic power in the trade. Local leaders use forced labor to collect goods and make profits from the inferior trading communities. The economic benefits of Trans-Saharan trade were felt in Mali, Songhay and Bornu due to participation in
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Amazing Services of Dubai Islamic Bank Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1
Amazing Services of Dubai Islamic Bank - Article Example An Istisna agreement is usually signed between the representatives of the bank and a person who wants to construct a certain building on an area owned by him. The bank is paid in full according to the agreement after the building has been constructed; this facility is a very good facility. A person who owns the land and wants to construct a hotel can simply approach the bank and get the hotel constructed. This is hassle-free and very convenient. However, there are some very important things which must be kept in mind. 25% down payment on the expected constructions cost is necessary and this sounds very genuine too, there is hardly anything unreasonable about it. The transaction period can be up to 10 years and a lot can change in 10 years. â€Å"We adopt Istisna mode of financing to fulfill your financing requirements in relation to properties, buildings, and villas, etc. Following is a brief outline of this mechanism. If you own, or have a usufruct of, a plot of land and want to construct a property on it and need financing for this purpose, we will sign an Istisna agreement with you to sell the property and then construct the building as per your specifications at our own cost and will get the sale price from you on a deferred payment basis.†Murabaha on Land is another service or product that the Dubai Islamic Bank offers and this is another very intriguing product. â€Å"Literally, Murabaha means selling on profit.†This product is intriguing because the bank buys a piece of land for a client who approaches the bank and the same piece of land is sold to the client and the bank makes a profit in this transaction. The buyer is free from risk because the bank takes the risk for the buyer and this is one great thing. Anyone who is too scared of buying a piece of land because of fraud can approach the bank and buy it after the bank buys it for the client and this is how a client can remain perfectly risk-free and can get a good deal. The down payment has changed when compared to the earlier product, it is 50% now but it was 25% on the earlier product. The transaction period has also changed, it was 10 years on the earlier product but it is 5 years on this one.
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Amazonian Ageing and Cultural Stress Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Amazonian Ageing and Cultural Stress - Essay Example From this discussion it is clear that in the United States, the link between biomedicine, ageism, and culture is centred on the dietary and physical needs of the ageing population. Currently, the United States ageing population is increasing older, with more of the male and female population reaching ages into their late nineties. This places increased importance on health in the older age groups, where gender, age, obesity, fat distribution, and diet are common correlates of high blood pressure. In Amazonia, the general ‘aged’ population exists between the ages of 21-49, and high blood pressure.According to the report the social practices of traditional Amazonian tribes are likely the reason dietary activities are not the focus of medical concerns in the ageing population. Though there has been some indication that the traditional tribes of the Cof ´an are consuming more Western foods with increased salt, their social welfare is still highly integrated with thei r meals. Gardening, hunting and fishing are all important parts of the subsistence lifestyle, and, importantly all members, even the aged, participate in the growing and gathering of foodstuffs. The aged Amazonian still has a significant and functional role in the social village in gardening and gathering, and thus does not face the same role reduction that many United States retirees are subjected too, and the aged villager is not socially isolated from the village.... More importantly, however, the traditional tribal communities are under constant pressure to matriculate into the modernist societies of Ecuador. High blood pressure, as a medical concern, is not derived from the Amazonian diet, but rather from the stress of resisting social and cultural change (Fitton 2005). The social practices of traditional Amazonian tribes are likely the reason dietary activities are not the focus of medical concerns in the ageing population. Though there has been some indication that the traditional tribes of the Cofan are consuming more Western foods with increased salt, their social welfare is still highly integrated with their meals. Gardening, hunting and fishing are all important parts of the subsistence lifestyle, and, importantly all members, even the aged, participate in the growing and gathering of foodstuffs (Fitton 2005). This contrasts to the United States, where the 'breadwinner' of the family faces role reduction and social isolation once they retire. The aged Amazonian still has a significant and functional role in the social village in gardening and gathering, and thus does not face the same role reduction that many United States retirees are subjected too, and the aged villager is not socially isolated from the village. The aged Cof'an villager main tains their contemporary value orientation as a food gatherer, and there is little resource competition. Pressures on Ageing Amazonians The ageing members of Amazonian Cof'an tribes experience stronger familial and cultural pressures. First, as Fitton (2005) notes, age in the indigenous tribes is relative to their familial position, rather than physical age. Many of the Cof'an area persons do not have recorded ages earlier than 50 years, when missionaries came
Friday, August 23, 2019
Overview of the Current Preschool Mathematics Teaching Dissertation
Overview of the Current Preschool Mathematics Teaching - Dissertation Example One is parental attitudes that influence how they regard Math. Another is also the way teachers of early childhood education do not prioritize Math as much as literacy learning. Children who are exposed to negative views of Math at such an early age, are most likely to develop the same negative attitudes towards a subject area that will prove to be very significant in their lives. It is believed that whatever perceptions of what Math is at this early stage will impact their views, attitudes and even performance when they grow older. Hence it is crucial that provision of high quality early childhood Math programs in the foundation stage be ensured (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000).It is equally important to know how teachers of Math perceive how their young students learn the subject and what particular concepts and skills to teach at that sensitive stage of development. It is a common experience of most people to dread Math and this does not exclude Math teachers wh o may still nurture some negative emotions for the subject. Good teachers are central to the development of positive attitudes towards a potentially gruelling subject that most people find difficulty in. Enhancing their confidence and competence in their teaching skills goes a long way in implementing an efficient Math program. Schools should be able to provide quality training for teachers that focus both on the relevant content and the development of a positive disposition towards the subject (Tsamir & Tirosh, 2009). This is echoed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) which calls for the education, experience and expertise of teachers when decisions regarding children’s programs are made (Decker et al, 2009). Platas (2008) came up with the instruments, Knowledge of Mathematical Development (KMD) Survey and the Beliefs Survey that measure the knowledge of early mathematical development and beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning in the preschool classroom of preschool teachers. She found in her study that there was a significant variation in the knowledge and beliefs of early childhood teachers on age-appropriateness of math instruction, classroom locus of generation of mathematical knowledge, math versus socio-emotional development and the comfort level in providing the instruction. Standardizing such knowledge will greatly aid new teachers and old teachers alike in knowing what to teach. Platas’ instrument is very helpful in preparing future Math teachers. Platas’ work has raised many issues and beliefs regarding the developmental knowledge of preschoolers. Such issues include age-appropriateness of mathematical instruction used by teachers in preschools, the extent of learning of such mathematical concepts taught, the purpose of teaching math concepts in preschool and the comfort level of teachers when they introduce such math concepts to preschool children (Clement & Sarama, 2007; Ginsburg & Golbeck, 2004; Platas, 2008). 2. Preschool Teachers' Knowledge of Mathematical Development Platas (2008) defines early mathematical development as â€Å"the increasingly complex mathematical constructions and goals that young children develop and pursue in their activities (p.3). It follows the teacher’s knowledge of mathematical development refers to their adeptness in understanding this definition and knowing how to implement developmentally-appropriate programs to help their students achieve these goals. Standardized goals for mathematical development have been developed by several national and state organizations. Forty-six states have
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