attila the hun essays

attila the hun essays Attila the Hun is known as one of the most ferocious leaders of ancient times. He was given the nickname Scourge God because of his ferocity. During the twentieth century, Hun was one of the worst name you could call a person, due to Attila. The Huns were a barbaric and savage group of people, and Attila, their leader, was no exception. He was the stereotypical sacker of cities and killer of babies. The Huns lasted long after their disappearance in mythology and folklore, as the bad guy. Generally, they were not fun people to be around. Priscus saw Attila the Hun at a banquet in 448. Priscus described him as being a short, squat man with a large head and deep-set eyes. He also had a flat nose and a thin beard. Historians say that his general personality was irritable, blustering, and truculent. He was said to be a persistent negotiator, and not at al pitiless. While Priscus was at the banquet in 448, he observed a few other details about Attila. All of Attilas chief lieutenants were served dainties on silver platters, but he was served only meat on wooden plates. No other real qualities of Attila as a general really survived through time, but he is thought to have been an outstanding commander from his accomplishments as a barbarian. Huns themselves were mysterious and feared people. They first appeared in the Fourth Century around the Roman Empire. They rode their warhorses around and cause the Germanic barbarians and Romans alike to fear them. Yet, it was said that they were very uncivilized. It was said that they made no use of fire, and just ate the roots of plants they found in fields. They were also said to have eaten the almost raw meat of animals. The only reason the meat was almost raw was because they were said to have cooked it by placing it between their thighs and the backs of their horses to give it warmth. The Huns sometimes engaged in regular battle. The...

Stomata Lab Report Essay Example

Stomata Lab Report Essay Example Stomata Lab Report Paper Stomata Lab Report Paper During those high-carbon-dioxide times, lands with fewer stomata will have an advantage and will be common. On the other hand, when carbon dioxide levels are low, plants need many stomata in order to scrape together enough carbon dioxide to survive. During low-carbon- dioxide times, plants with more stomata will have an advantage and will be common. (Understanding Evolution) Therefore, the question to be tested will be if you count the number of stomata of the same species of leaf at different stages of life will the number of stomata be different? My hypothesis is if we count the number of leaf stomata at three different stages of life then the umber of stomata will be less as the leaf gets older because the leaf is dying. (Understanding Evolution) Procedure Approximately three leaves of the where gathered to use in this experiment. Each leaf was at a different stage of life: alive, dying, and dead. A thin cast of a tiny part of the surface of the underside of each leaf was created using NYC clear nail polish. The imprint of each leafs underside was viewed one at a time under a light microscope using the cast, which was carefully removed from each leaf with a piece of packing tape. The stomata were completely visible and were able o be counted under the lowest view setting of xx. The stomata of each leaf were observed and counted four times. When viewing the stomata in each leaf for detail, the setting of xx was used. This made the view of the stomata large enough to tell whether they were open or not. The number and description of the stomata of each leaf was recorded. The leaf that was alive had an average of 34. 5 stomata counted in the one specific area observed, the dying leaf had an average of 31. 75 stomata in the area observed and the dead leaf had an average of 29. 25 stomata in the area observed. These averages were results f four different trials in which the stomata were counted and observed in the specified area of each plant, every trial having a new person count the stomata. The stomata of the dead leaf were closed; the stomata of the leaf that was alive were open. The stomata of the leaf that was dying varied. In some places, the stomata were opened, in others, they were closed. The stomata that were open were bunched in separate areas of the observed section of the leaf, as were the stomata that were closed. Neither of the different stomata were mixed between each other in the dying leaf. All three leaves stomata were scattered around n the observed area and did not have a noticeable pattern to their placing. Conclusion: The data gathered shows that there is, in fact, a difference in the number and the appearance of stomata in three different life stages of an American elm leaf. However, the differences in the number of stomata are slight, calculating to a difference of only 5. 25 stomata between the largest and smallest average. The leaf that was alive had the greatest number of stomata, followed by the dying leaf and then the dead one, which had the least number of stomata. The numbers of stomata seem to descend as the leaf dies. However, this difference s insignificant considering that the stomata that were counted were a part of a very tiny area of the leaf (smaller than a fraction of a centimeter). The difference of stomata in each leaf came out to only 5. 5, which isnt a large enough difference in the stomata of a small area of the leaf to be determined as significant. Further investigation would have to be performed in order to test this and get more accurate results. The difference that was significant was that of the appearance of the stomata. In the dead leaf, the stomata were closed; in the leaf that was alive, the stomata were open. The stomata o f the dying leaf however, aired. Parts of the section viewed under the microscope consisted of opened stomata, others consisted of closed stomata. This might be because the leaf wasnt completely dead, or parts of the leaf were still alive. When something is dying, the working parts of it do not stop functioning completely, they shut down at various times. This explains why some the stomata are open and some were closed. There was no significant difference in the number of stomata between the three leaves; however there was a dramatic difference in the appearance of the stomata in each leaf. If I were to re-do this lab in the future I would make ere to keep my fingers off of the viewing part of the tape. I think it may have altered our results in the end, like the number of stomata should have been without outliers. Another error that I have discovered was that we used different microscope power for the leaves. We should have used all the same power on each leaf for more accurate results to be sure we were viewing the same amount of area. The data also proves this because for the alive and the dying leaf we used the xx zoom, but we used xx zoom for the dead leaf. Id infer that we did this because the dead leafs stomata were closed which could have made them harder to see.

ABC Financial Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ABC Financial Business - Research Paper Example Business planning to expand its sales with a 25% increase requires the management and its shareholders to set their targets and goals through a forecast budget. An effective business will lays out the perfect strategy in realizing the companies’ goal of profit maximization. By having the capability to read the agency’s future, it is practical to form feasible strategies that work in favor of the additional products that can leverage the current ABC employee skill-set as well as the manufacturing facilities. In this case, it is critical to form a financial plan to assist the agency’s long term objectives. This is especially if it is the first time trying to make it in this entrepreneurial venture. Some of the aspects that surround this business need addressing so as to make it simpler to deal with the hurdles that these project faces. This paper will examine such a plan in bide of setting aggressive growth target of reaching $3 million annual sales within the next 3 years and how it may impact the growth and development of the business, in the long run. The paper also analyses the overall risk profile of the company based on current economic and industrial issues that it may be facing based on the track records of its financial statements. Discussion It is fundamental for one to be apprehensive about the issues the market may be facing. One of these issues may be an economic downturn. The economic activities that surround this manufacturing industry are a vital aspect in the continuation of the new proposed project (Chandra, 2011). An expansion of the activities occurring in the manufacturing environment means that, there is a chance of having restructuring other interdepartmental that do facilitate the production of final product. As a growing business, the board of management needs to be sensitive to such customer needs and requirements. Overall customer satisfaction is another sensitive area to look into in the business. Customers prefer to have access to information. The ability to provide this access at a rapid pace means that, they will be inclined to get more involved with the business (Brigham, & Ehrhardt, 2011). This works in boosting the annual revenue acquisition. This is where technology comes into play in the business. Offering customers information leads to more interaction, which is the primary focus of the product. Government regulations are also a sensitive area to look into while trying to grow the business in order not to derail the quality of their product (Chandra, 2011). The government policies could also improved access to financial services which on the other hand is help-full in raising the funds for such proposed expansion. All these sensitive areas might determine if the business will grow after expansion, or if it will remain stagnant as at the commencement of the pursuit of new venture. It is very pertinent to acknowledge the presence of all factors present in the industry that might enable it to grow, decline, or remain stagnant (Brigham, & Ehrhardt, 2011). In order to attract a wide variety of customers, it is vital to have an image of the build cedar dollhouses that are to be offered in the market. The price would depends on alternative product which the competitors also do offer in market, that reflect the loyalty of the client, and how much they are invested in the business as a cost of production. Loyalty in any business is fundamental in its growth as cabalist. However, diverting customers from the competition is instrumental in covering the business and some of its costs. In order to provide capital to enable the business to grow and give the shareholders their share,

Risk Management table Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Risk Management table - Essay Example This is due to the fact that, probability mainly defined the expected number of times that a particular impact can happen. Therefore, if the impact is high and the probability is also high, then the team ranked this as a top threat. Contrastingly, if both are low then that particular threat was ranked at the lowest level (Wheeler, 2011). The reasoning behind the mitigation steps for different types of threats is as stipulated below. If a threat affects the operations of a network device, then the mitigation steps shed light on protecting its data storage locations along with its network access layer. Secondly, if the threat is due to poor user practices, the mitigation steps focused on coming up with the proper policies on the use of organization resources. Lastly but certainly not the least, if a particular threat affected a whole system, then focus was laid on configuring the interconnection devices such as routers and switches (Wheeler,

Health Standing for Mexico Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health Standing for Mexico - Assignment Example Health Standing for Mexico Mexico cumulative health statistics has improved to a great extent over the years. Nevertheless, Mexico lags behind other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations (OECD) in health standing and health care accessibility. Overall health care expenditure accounted for a 6.9% of GDP in the year 2009; for every capita expenses on health care was US$846, which was adjusted for buying power parity, making it an approximate of a divide of four parts of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development typical. In the year 2009, 45.5% of health expenditure was remunerated from public sources. Private backing in Mexico is almost exclusively in the structure of out-of-pocket expenses, as only 3.1% of totality expenses on health are subsidized through private health assurance (UNICEF, 2010). Healthcare within Mexico is worldwide, which makes private programs’ health cover pointless except for utilization in private hospitals. A numbe r of authorities have made a note of that whilst Mexico has a number of 3000 private hospitals; a few private hospices could by a hair's breadth be well thought-out hospitals at all, given that they do not have laboratories, radiography paraphernalia, or even nurses. The outstanding 1000 or several public hospitals take account of the greater part of hospital divans and, in fact, the size of private hospitals are establishments that have less than 20 beds. In the year 2009, Mexico had an approximate of 1.8 doctors as well as 2.2 nurses for every 1,000 population, a noteworthy boost in healthcare human resources over the preceding decade but again underneath the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development standards for these pointers. The death rate for children who are younger than five years of age was 17 for every 1,000 surviving births in the year 2009, and Mexico has given away a faster increase of rate to lower death rates when compared to the United States and Canada within the preceding 10 years. 94% of the populace had direct access to clean water and 85 % to sanitation (UNICEF, 2010). In the same year of 2009, the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) amid persons who are 15 years of age to 49 years of age was 0.3%. At 11,000 deaths in a year vs. 22,000 deaths per year in the United States, this corresponds to a 44% elevated per capita mortality rate than the U.S. The Mexican government has made Health Insurance for a New Generation referred to as "Life Insurance for Babies’, which will reduce the death rates of children. This will help families to effectively take care of their children till they reach adulthood, without any difficulties in how they are to pay for health services they access. Universal Care Coverage has been made available for Pregnant Women. This is particularly vital because these women can have access to prenatal care making sure that the unborn babies are wel l taken care of till they are born and after with the Life Insurance specifically meant for babies (UNICEF, 2010). Top Recommendations to the Mexican Leadership I recommend that Mexican leaders should make universal Care Coverage public for everyone.

Assessing The American Fast Food Industry Business Essay

Assessing The American Fast Food Industry Business Essay The world has become a fast paced environment where people operate on tight schedules. This has reduced time to prepare home cooked meals and has made quick fast food meals very popular especially for adults who shuttle to and from work and the kids who see it as a treat. This trend has made it possible for the fast food industry to thrive. This very competitive industry has a large market made of all ages of the population. The restaurants now produce healthy innovative and nutritious food which surmounts the fears customers have about unhealthy diets. The industry has been highly successful in the United States and has gradually increased its reach to tap into the growing world market. This has made the fast food industry develop rapidly into an international industry. 1.2 INDUSTRY OVERVIEW   A fast food restaurant is synonymous with quick and freshly prepared food which is convenient to the buyers. The most common meals served are: hamburgers, hotdogs, sandwiches, chicken and pizza. The side dishes usually include: salads, fries, baked beans, baked potatoes, onion rings and a wide variety of desserts. Beverages like soft drinks, bottled water, hot chocolate, coffee, tea, milkshakes and juice are also offered alongside with the meals (Hovers, 2010). Fast food franchise chains such as Subway, Burger King,  McDonaldHYPERLINK http://www.buzzle.com/articles/mcdonalds/HYPERLINK http://www.buzzle.com/articles/mcdonalds/s, Prà ªt-a-Manger and Pizza Hut cater to demands for seafood, lean meat, special diet meal components, and other considerable regional variations (Buzzle, 2010). 1.3 ORIGIN OF FIRMS IN THE FAST FOOD INDUSTRY The origins of fast food restaurants in the USA which is also known as fast food capital of the world can probably be traced to a specific date 7 July 1912 when a fast food restaurant was opened in New York City by Horn Hardart. The establishment offered its happy customers a selection of pre-prepared fast foods which were displayed behind small glass windows and coin-operated slots (Yusef, 2002). The development of fast food which is a big business as at today can be traced back to America which made great impact internationally (Yusef, 2002). Although there was undoubtedly fast food all over the world in some shape or form centuries ago, it really started to become a business enterprise when social, manufacturing and economic conditions made it cheaper to eat out (Rowlinson, 2002). 1.4 INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE FAST FOOD INDUSTRY The internationalization of the food service industry was pioneered by, and is still being dominated by, U.S. based quick-service restaurants (QSR), e.g. McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, and Pizza Hut. The decision by these companies to go international was associated with the great prospect of foreign food service markets and to service Americans travelling abroad. It is interesting to note that American fast food is embraced by young people in many foreign countries as fashion food, an element of the popular Western culture. This has contributed to the success of quick-service restaurant operations in many foreign countries. (Yu, 1999). According to the National Restaurant Association in the United States, there are approximately 160 U.S. owned food service companies operating internationally, this is illustrated in figure 1 Restaurants chain Total us units Total foreign units Mc Donalds 21,022 8,923 KFC 9,863 4,784 BURGER KING 8,874 1,817 SUB WAY 12,516 1,668 WENDY 4,933 564 Table 1: Total US units include both company-owned and franchise- owned units. Source: Personal communication, National Restaurant Association. (Washington, DC, 1997) The firms in the fast food industry (QSR) tend to internationalize fast by adopting franchising as a mode of entry (Yu 1999). Yu also identified that the fast food industry tends to follow lodging industry in internationalizing its operation. This is because of growth in population and economic development. The author identified six world regions these firms have internationalized as Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. The internationalization history could be traced to the 1990s and has internationalized greatly spreading to different parts of this world .This could seen to concur with Uppsalas Model of internationalization where firms tend to gradually move to closer countries to reduce uncertainty i.e. psychic distance. Also, the model addresses the issue of objective knowledge which has contributed to their reasons for internationalizing as a result of easy transfer of knowledge. (Johanson and Wiedersheim, 1975). 2.1 POPULAR TARGET MARKET The industry generated its strongest growth outside the US, such that their target markets were in Europe, Asia/Pacific, Middle East-Africa (Apmea) operations. Europe region has been the most popular target market for firms in the industry because of its political and cultural stability (Yu, 1999) while other regions were based on factors like population. 2.2 GEOGRAPHICAL CLUSTER The main target market for the USA fast foods are Europe, Asia pacific, Middle East and Africa. In these countries they have some form of concentration of fast food restaurants in areas close to schools to characterize school neighborhood food environments, shopping malls and the airports. The geo-coded databases research shows that restaurants are strategically positioned at schools, shopping malls and airports which have been used to examine locational patterns of fast-food restaurants in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools in Chicago. The use of bivariate K function statistical method by most researchers to quantify the degree of clustering (spatial dependence) of fast food restaurants around school, shopping mall and airport locations. Fast-food restaurants are concentrated within a short walking distance from schools, and also close to shopping mall, airport which might expose children in school to poor-quality food environments in their school neighborhoods. This might help others such as the travelers and shopaholics (Austin et al, 2005). According to Austin from the Harvard School of Public Healths Prevention Research Center compiled a comprehensive list of 613 fast-food restaurants in the city of Europe, as well as a list of 1,292 public and private kindergartens, elementary schools, middle schools and high schools. Whereby each restaurant and school was assigned longitude and latitude coordinates and census tract identification codes. Using statistical methods, the researchers quantified the distances between schools and restaurants and calculated the degree of clustering. 3.0 FOREIGN MARKET ENTRY MODE Firms Number of foreign outlets Mc Donalds 8,923 KFC 4,984 Burger King 1,817 Sub way 1,668 Wendy 564 Taco Bell 348 Pizza Hut 482 Little Caesars 379 Table 2: Firms location in various continents Source: Personal communication, National Restaurant Association. (Washington, DC, 1997) and annual Report The table identified some countries the number of foreign outlet where the above US fast food firms operate. The major market entry modes employed by these firms in this industry is franchising. Franchising could be seen as one of the entry modes employed by organizations, which involves a contractual agreement between a company and an individual or another company where the franchisor gives the right to do business under a common trade name in a prescribed manner, over a specified period of time and place in exchange for royalties or the payment of other fees. The company offering the right is called the franchisor, the company/ individual who buys and maintains the right is the franchisee, and the right been bought is referred to as the franchise (Mendelsohn, 2004). 3.1 THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE STRATEGY According to Alan et al (1999), the benefits that accrue to firm that engages in franchising as a mode of entry into foreign markets includes: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Reduced cost and financial risk associated in entering a foreign market à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Serves as a good incentive to build profitable operation faster. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It offers strategic alliance which aids the franchisee to benefit from economies of scale and allows the franchisor the regulatory flexibility of a smaller firm. Erramilli et al (1990), in his study identified that the service industry makes use of Franchising as a mode of entry. This is particularly so because Fast food firms offer soft service and his ideas about soft service firms are based on the fact that such firms cannot export their product because exporting necessarily require a separation of producer and consumer and therefore they have to rely on contractual method i.e. franchising/licensing in order to expand their market. Arnold (2003) identified that franchising is the most appropriate for duplication of a business model or format, such as a fast-food retail format and menu. He further identified that fast food is not culture bound in which marketing knowledge (i.e., the product- or service-specific knowledge involved in marketing this particular offering) is at least as important as local market knowledge (i.e., the knowledge required to operate successfully in a particular territory). It is also important to note that in such businesses, the local service personnel are a vital differentiating factor, and these will obviously still be local in orientation even if they operate within an internationally consistent business format.(Arnold 2003: 2) Another idea suggested by researchers is based on Governments in many developing countries are becoming aware of the economic benefits that franchising can bring, and are facilitating the entry of foreign franchisors in their markets (Pelton et al, 1997). Tayeb (2000), suggested that Franchising seems appropriate for firms who want to retain control which will be associated with reduced risk. Erramilli et al (1990) acknowledged that firms in this industry (shown in the table below) tend towards adopting franchising as a mode of entry, basically for market seeking. This can be identified to fit in well with the eclectic theory. This is based on the ownership factor where firms transfer their ownership specific assets to combine with the most favorable sets of traditionally fixed elements in the global economy. This is paramount in order to maintain control which indicates that Franchising is the appropriate strategy for firms in this industry. Table 3: Showing type of service offered by Fast food firms and motive of internationalization Source: Erramilli and Rao (1990:141) Despite the benefit that usually accrue to firms that use franchising as a mode of entry, (Hill, 2009) identified a disadvantage that is Peculiar to the Fast food industry. He was of the opinion that quality control always persists. This is because the geographical distance of the firm from its foreign franchisees can make poor quality difficult to detect. 4.0 THE STRUCTURE AND CONTROL OF FAST FOOD INDUSTRY. The fast food industry has about 200,000 restaurants in the United States and their annual revenue when combined is about $120billion (Hover, 2010). The highly fragmented industry has 25% of the industry market share controlled by top 50 companies (Hover, 2010). The production within the industry is split between a few of the different companies but there is no particular company that has a large enough market share to be able to influence the price levels (Global Edge, 2010). The fast food industry operates on product diversity, service differentiation and internationalization (Stuart, 1993). The fast food restaurants are involved in local market adaptation and adjust some parts of their menu based on the each countrys specific dietary preference. This is in line with Hill (2009), which states that despite the proliferation of standardized products, McDonalds had to find a way to customize its product offerings to suit the differences in taste and preference around the world. The co ntrol system that exists is the cultural control. According to Hill (2009), this control is achieved when staffs of the company take interest in the norm and value systems of the company. The employees can control their behavior which improves operations and management assistance when needed. The fast food industry operates on the transnational strategy. This strategy involves companies that try to realize location economies and experience effects, to leverage products internationally, transfer core competencies and skills and also give consideration to local responsiveness (Hill, 2009). Figure 1: Food service structure Source: Tourism: Goeldner et al, (2000:179) The fast food restaurants in this report fit under the chain broad menu structure. The restaurants have the same name, offer the same kind of service and have standardized menus in different locations. 5.0 EXPLANATION OF ABOVE POINTS The fast food industry tends to internationalize very fast. This imploding pattern of internationalization is prevalent because these various restaurants aim to increase their various outlets and hold a larger market share than that of their competitors. The restaurants are able to control the huge boost of business activities through the tight and stringent quality control measures over franchisees that run the businesses. The location choice for Europe as one of the major destination place for the fast food industry is because of the relative low political risk experienced in these countries compared to other continents. For example in 2001, when the Unites States invaded Afghanistan, McDonalds restaurants were vandalized in Pakistan and Indonesia and there was a call for boycott of US products (Rugman and Collinson, 2009). There is no threat in these European countries and these countries are developed nations which are highly globalized. This makes fast food popular in the counties. The franchising entry mode is prevalent in the fast food industry because it facilitates the low cost global expansion of the restaurants without great risk to the franchiser. The franchisee deals with the day to day running of the business operations and the franchiser controls the operations through rules o The prevalent local menu adaptation as opposed to standardization in the fast food industry is due to different taste and preferences of customers all over the world. For example, For example, in India McDonalds developed a menu which is entirely free of beef and pork to suit the vegetarian preference of the Indian population (Rugman and Collinson, 2009). 6.0 CRITICAL REVIEW OF DUNNINGS OLI PARADIGM This section will critically review how well international business theories best explain the internationalization process, the choice of foreign market entry mode within the Fast food industry. Based on the analysis of entry modes used by key industry players such as Mc Donalds, Burger King Etc the Dunnings OLI paradigm models best explain internationalization behavior within the industry. For this reason, this theory will be discussed in relation to the Fast Food industry. 6.1 DUNNINGS OLI PARADIGM Dunning theory suggest three essential factors are required to engage in FDI place. These factors include the O- ownership, L- location, I- internationalization. Majority of the fast food companies benefit and interact using the internationalization of the Dunnings OLI paradigm to determine the extent of foreign production and activities. The relationship between these factors and franchising as a mode of entry is beneficial and economical to franchisors by taking advantage of franchisees working capital and local knowledge (Teegen, 2000). Usually international franchisers of foreign ownership behaviours involve resource-seeking activities and asset exploitation which was analyzed by (Chung et al, 2004). Dunnings OLI paradigm, which embraces asset-augmenting foreign operations of multinational enterprise (MNE), examines foreign ownership choices of international franchisors which are directly related to their strategic intent. (Dunning, 2007).Considering the data from section 1, an analysis of Dunning theory will be done in the subsequent section. . 6.2 O-Advantages of the FAST FOOD (FF) O-advantages can be viewed from the owners assets of the international firm, making provision for ability and skill that are the due to strategic advantage. Owners assets can be in two dimension such as tangible and intangible. The intangible assets of the MNE include different types of tacit as well as experiential knowledge. In FF business, O-advantages reside mainly in intangible owner assets, which can be social capital and human capital. Such assets include specific managerial potential within the managers and their network, (Bian, 2002). The importance of relational O-advantages originated as a role in reducing inter-firm transaction costs, which can be explained in terms of preference interdependence among members of the same social group (Buckley and Casson, 2003). The main O-advantages of the FF with respect to section1includes: deal-making, relational contracting, operational control, risk management, and firm size. 6.3 L-Advantages of the fast FOOD (FF) Fast Food industries also seek advantages by considering its geographical location choices with its O-advantages. This indicates that firms would always want to create a blend between the O-advantages and the L-advantages of the host market. Most firms target locations that benefit them and also where there is a strategic fit between the capacity of the firm and it requirements and formulation of its operating environment. At this point the main O-advantage of the FF is its relational contracting ability; it must seek out locations where the environment for business is opaque rather than transparent, and relational contracting skills are crucial to successful performance (Yeung, 1999, pg. 120) Another impact of aligning L- and O-advantages is that FFs thrive in other locational environments that may be considered attractive by the Western MNE.i.e. there are specific locational advantages for the international FF to enter regions where it can utilize its ability carry out its operation effectively, economic environments where codified market-enhancing institutions are weak and / or where personal connections are required. A similar argument can be made with respect to industry preference. MNEs and FFs usually operate and succeed in different industries. There is strategic importance of the FFs superior relational contracting ability which is industry-dependent. FFs are found in a range of industries, usually including real estate property development, banking and finance, as well as certain kinds of manufacturing, such as garments and food processing. While individual companies typically engage in non-related diversification, the overall pattern of industry. Cultural familiarity and proximity are an important source of location advantage for firms that understand the culture of the local environments whose characteristics match the locational characteristics of the host country. Thereby with the alignment of the psychic distance, such advantages relate to specific cultural knowledge and skills. In the case of America, they may include familiaring the firm to the language of the host country. This therefore leads to a cluster of these firms in order to achieve this benefit. 6.4 I-Advantages of the FAST FOOD (FF) In MNE theory, I-advantages provide the benefit to undertake related international business activities within the firm, rather than contracting them out to other firms or exporting them. The I-advantages of the international FF center on its characteristic ability to quickly mobilize coordinated action and resources, thereby gaining advantages of timing and flexibility vis-à  -vis competitors (Yeung, 1999). The focus is positioned in the network structure, which enable it to gain assets and capabilities of others in the network. The tatics behind internalization can be explicit in terms of transaction costs. When inter-firm transaction costs exceed the cost of intra-firm transacting, efficiency is improved by internalizing market transactions within the firm. Conversely, when intra-firm transaction costs exceed the cost of inter-firm transacting, efficiency is improved by externalizing transactions to the market. The comparison cost of conducting inter-firm transactions among members of a network with the cost of intra-firm transactions within the internalized firm shows a grounded network can be the more efficient way to organize (Buckley and Casson, 2003). The Ownership assets that give the international FF its distinctive O advantages are on the basis that are highly intangible human capital assets involved in relational contracting capabilities and deal making skills (Hamilton, 1996). These are characteristics that cannot easily be sold in markets and must therefore be exploited internally, within the firm. The resulting timing advantages account for the prevalence of the FF in industries where windows of opportunity open and close faster. Conclusion Finally, since FFs are relatively big in comparison with Western MNEs, they are able to achieve a high degree of operating flexibility without sophisticated internal organizational processes and systems. However, it also leaves them unable to expand the size of their organizations when it would be strategically advantageous to do so. In such cases, the business network can allow the big firms to surmount some of the limitations of size (Child, 1973, 1984), including economic and geographic limitations (Hamilton, 1996) and transaction costs (Buckley and Casson, 1993). Hence this study concurs with the factors responsible for internationalization as stated by Dunning theory of internationalization

The Life of Tupac Shakur Essay examples -- Tubac Biography Shakur Essa

Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971. Named after an Inca Chief, Tupac Amaru means â€Å"Shining Serpent† referring to wisdom and courage and Shakur meaning â€Å"thankful to God†. Shakurs mother, Afeni Shakur, was a leading member of the Black Panthers, a radical wing of the civil rights movement, with support for hardcore ghettos as well as white patronage. When Tupac’s mother was pregnant with Tupac she was spending time in the Woman’s House of Detention in Greenwich Village for conspiring to bomb several public places in New York City. All growing up his family lived in homeless shelters and run down town houses. Many times his family could not even afford lighting in the house. The only fond member he ever told of his childhood was of a diary he kept. In this diary he recorded his first attempts at poetry, this is where it began. A big moment in Tupac’s intellectual life occurred when he was twelve. At the age of twelve his mot her enrolled him in 127th Street Ensemble, a theater group in Harlem. Even at an early age his mothers political views where confusing, and intriguing him. As he told the January issue of VIBE magazine in 1994, â€Å" She was trying to make me live in the white picket fence lifestyle, but yet we ain’t got no money and no good food and no lights. You want me to go to school? They tellin me all this stuff about fighting the system but they pushin me in the system.† Meanwhile Tupac’s father was serving time in prison, when released Tupac and his mother had moved to Baltimore. Before Afeni Shakur could contact him, he had died of a crack induced hart attack. While in Baltimore, Tupac auditioned for, and was accepted into, the Baltimore School of Arts. This success gave Tupac a goal and ambition. It also exposed him to white people who cared about his life. However, before Tupac could finish high school at this school of arts, his family moved to Marin City, California.. Because of this move, Tupac never did finish highschool. Marin City, at the time, was nicknamed â€Å"the jungle† because it was mainly project housing and had high crime rates. This is the point in Tupacs life where he claimed he â€Å"got off track†. Tupac began selling crack to all the ghetto inhabitants and was soon thrown out of his house. During this time, however, he did receive a positive brake, he was hired as a roadie/dancer for the hip-hop group Digital U... ...f all his problems are â€Å"knawing at my sanity† as if it where a rat or other animal. Hyperbole is an exaggeration, when something is embellished. Hyperbole is also used. At one point Tupac says that the children are â€Å"bred with ruthlessness† This exaggeration makes it sound like they are bred for certain traits, like animals, bred to be hartless and without feelings. This is an obvious exaggeration as that no person is actually bred to be without feelings. The final piece of figurative language is irony. Irony is almost a sort of mockery, or a satire. What I mean is, for example, if a person feared flying all their life, but finally decided to fly, and died in a plane crash. Irony in this poem is when he writes â€Å"scared of being outcast , afraid of common fate.† In this he says that people are afraid of being different than everybody, yet they also scared of being the same as everyone. This is irony. Theme The theme of this poem is that although things may be bad , if you keep your head up, and fight everyday for what you believe in, then you can achieve and make the future better. You must leave the past behind you, and you will achieve what you want in the future.

History of IKEA Essay

Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA in 1943. The name IKEA is formed from Kamprad’s initials (I.K.) plus the first letters of Elmtaryd (E) and Agunnaryd (A), the farm and village where he grew up (1). IKEA originally sold pens, wallets, picture frames, table runners, watches, and jewelry and nylon stockings. Known today for its furniture, IKEA did not start furniture sales until 1948. Kamprad saw opportunities for selling furniture on a large scale, distributing the first catalogue in 1951. In 1955, in the midst of a fierce price war with a competitor, Kamprad took his company a step further by opening the first store showroom. The concept behind this was that customers could now touch and look at IKEA home furnishings before they purchased, showing that quality did not have to be sacrificed for lower prices. With this being a success, Kamprad opened the first store in Almhult, Sweden in 1958. At its opening, the 6,700-meter store was the largest home furnishings store in Scandinavia (1). Kamprad retired as IKEA Group’s president in 1986, with Anders Moberg becoming his successor. This brought about many other changes for IKEA. Starting in 1990, IKEA took interest in corporate social responsibility (1). The IKEA Group developed an environmental policy that would ensure the company and its co-workers take environmental responsibility for all activities conducted within its business. Since then, they have become more energy efficient by generating their own renewable energy. They also work with their suppliers to inspire them to do the same. One example of this is each of their facilities is fully equipped with solar panels on the roof. They also take into consideration where and how they get their raw materials. Raw materials most important to the business and those that have the highest potential environmental or social impact are wood, cotton, palm oil, leather and food (3). Taking wood, they are continually looking for ways to get the most out of the wood they use by designing their products to minimize the amount of material needed and increasing the effici ency of manufacturing. They also only use wood that comes from responsibly managed forests in an effort to safeguard wood supplies to protect the future of their business, prevent deforestation, and to support the livelihoods of those communities. In order to make sure these efforts continue IKEA hired a fulltime forestry manager to secure sustainable use of forest resources (3). Upon Anders Moberg leaving IKEA in 1999, Anders Dahlvig became the President and CEO of the IKEA Group. This brought about more changes for the company by writing out a Code of Conduct. This code of conduct called â€Å"The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products (IWAY)† defines what suppliers can expect from IKEA and specifies what IKEA expects from its suppliers in terms of legal requirements, working conditions, active prevention of child labor, external environment and forestry management (1). In addition, IKEA also introduced â€Å"The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labor† in order to ensure that their suppliers and their sub-contractors use no child labor (1). IKEA has grown rapidly since its founding. As of August 31, 2012, the IKEA Group has operations in 44 countries, including 30 service-trading offices in 25 countries. T hey also have 33 distribution centers and 11 customer distribution centers. The IKEA Group had 298 stores in 26 countries. They employ 139,000 co-workers, 99,000 in Europe, 18,000 in North America, 11,000 in Asia and Australia, and 11,000 in Russia. They send out over 212 million catalogues, which has increased their foot traffic into the retail setting to 776 million visits. As technology use increases, so has their internet and app traffic with 1.1 billion visits to their website and over 5.7 million app downloads. With these increasing numbers, they have been able to open another 18 stores around the world in 2012 (5). IKEA’s vision and business statement paraphrased is to provide quality furniture products at a low price for all. Their product has always been furniture and over the past few years, they have grown to a company that is well known among all ranges of income from, broke college students to wealthy senior executives of companies. They do provide quality products whose function and style rival all other products in their industry. With those rival products, they also have prices that are lower than any of their competitors can afford to rival. How do they do it? IKEA is a very cost conscience company, where other companies will spend large sums of money on employee accommodations, IKEA does not. They tell of an instance where employees were at a conference and instead of paying for them to stay in the one and only hotel in town, an overpriced Marriot, they had their employees sleep in their cars (6). They have recently adopted a new energy saving method for each of their stores, both bettering the atmosphere as well as cutting energy costs. This mentality of saving, though extreme, has allowed the company to build a business into an industry leader in quality and price that most companies are not able to touch, based on their spending habits. This has been the mentality of the company structure since day one. Kamprad grew up in a farm-based village where people were not used to having quality products at an affordable price. From this, he developed the mentality and business structure that continues. The company has grown immensely due to their overall understanding of cost cutting and satisfying customer needs. The companies’ culture, as listed above, is all about saving money to provide a better company and product to the customer. One example of this is Kamprad had made company employees sleep in cars on a business trip. Having not talked to an employee that was forced to sleep in their car, as opposed to a Marriot hotel bed, I cannot say how they feel toward the company. That being said, I could make two inferences. The first is that the employees were upset. They should be provided with the basic essentials of life when on a business trip and the company should be able and willing to provide that. My second inference would be that these employees made this decision for themselves as well as the company, for the overall benefit of the company. The company advertises that that they share values for each employee. They ask for a unique employee and they advertise that they are not â€Å"filling jobs† but rather collaborating with people based on shared unique values. They compose and suggest these four-shared values as just a start to their list of shared values; One: togetherness, two: cost-consciousness, three: respect, four: simplicity. With those, four shared values maybe being their foundations, it would be easy to say that all employees, if truly investing time and effort into these values, are happy to work together in a uniform effort to save money as well as remain simple and respect one another. This would imply that they all are happy to work together in a situation that is best for everyone, as well as the company. IKEA is an industry leader when it comes to cutting costs and providing quality furniture at a price for everyone. In the market place, they have established themselves with their main competitive advantage to be price. They have done this in a way that most companies are not willing or would be too difficult for companies to rebuild their business model; and thus they are an industry leader. IKEA has established their marketing strategy as a furniture store that provides its customers with stylish furniture at an affordable price. Its founder Ingvar Kamprad instilled this strategy/mindset of the company. Mr. Kamprad’s mission for IKEA is to offer â€Å"a wide range of home furnishing items of good design and function, at prices so low that the majority of people can afford to buy them.† Therefore, IKEA’s focus is finding ways to lower prices yet still maintain the quality product they have been delivering, to its customers, for 70 years. This is their competitive advantage. IKEA maintains their competitive advantage by operating outside the practices of the conventional furniture supplier. A typical furniture store has an open show floor, where customers can peruse at their own leisure. IKEA steers away from this by designing its store in a trail pattern. This forces the buyer to proceed to the entire store and possibly find items they might not had intended on purchasing. Another thing IKEA does differently is, instead of providing delivery for every purchase, IKEA provides means of attaching containers on a customer’s car. This allows them to be able to take the furniture home the same day that they purchased it (7). The containers are usually pods that strap onto the top of a car. Then the customer takes it home and brings it back upon their next visit to IKEA. In addition, IKEA requires more of its customers than classic furniture stores. IKEA does not offer pre-assembled furniture. IKEA’s furniture is easy to assemble furniture that customers can take home and quickly put together (7). They take pride in the simplicity of their designed assembly. They also will not place a cumbersome item that would need to be assembled in the store because it is neither cost effective nor customer friendly (7). IKEA’s main strength comes from their value chain. â€Å"Unique design capabilities, unique sourcing, and tightly controlled logisti cs†¦they are able to produce products that are distinctive enough to provide market recognition, secure sourcing for long runs at profitable levels, and reduce inventory costs through regional warehouses which work closely with stores† (4). Meaning, IKEA is in complete control from furniture design to furniture delivery and storage. IKEA’s main weakness, one could assume, would be the large operation that it is. IKEA now operates in 29 different countries with over 2,000 suppliers in over 50 countries. With the large span of products and countries involved, maintaining control and communication will pose as one of IKEA’s biggest issues. The biggest challenge IKEA is facing would be wood. IKEA consumes 1% of total commercial wood, which amounts to over 13.5 million cubic meters (8). With all this considered, IKEA is launching a new campaign to operate in a more economic-friendly way by only processing wood that has been FSC certified. They are slowly incorporating new policies and plan to be â€Å"forest positive† by 2020; however, missed their 2012 goal of using 35% of their wood from FSC certified wood mainly because according to IKEA’s CSO Steve Howard, ‘only 7% of the world’s forest areas are currently certified to FSC standards† (8). However, IKEA is not only meeting obstacles from the environment, certain countries bureaucratic powers are causing some difficulty for further advancement in the country. China is one of these countries. The Chinese government is imposing harsh restrictions on its real estate market, which has caused stores to close (9). IKEA continues to grow every year by saving money at their current locations through energy saving building and using renewable resources. With their corporate responsibility programs, they continue lead the way in their industry. They also continue to work toward a better future for children all over the world through their Child Labor initiatives. As they continue to keep costs down, they will continue to expand all over the world. Works Cited 1. â€Å"About IKEA.† History. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. 2. â€Å"Facts &Figures.† Inter IKEA Systems B.V. N.p., Oct. 2012. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. 3. Canada, Newswire. â€Å"IKEA Group releases 2011 Sustainability Report.† Canada Newswire 15 Feb. 2012: Regional Business News. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. 4. Grol, Paul, Christopher Schoch, and Michel Roger. â€Å"Culture as a Competitive Advantage.† Efbl.org. N.p., 16 Dec. 2010. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. 5. â€Å"IKEA Group SWOT Analysis.† IKEA Group SWOT Analysis (2012): 1-8. Business Source Complete. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. 6. Lewis, Elen. â€Å"Chapter 2: Ingvar Kamprad: The Grand Designer.† GBS: Great IKEA!. 28-45. n.p.: Marshall Cavendish Limited, 2004.Business Source Complete. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. 7. â€Å"The IKEAConcept.† Inter IKEA Systems B.V. N.p., Oct. 2012. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. 8. Kelly, Annie. â€Å"IKEA to Go ‘forest Positive’ à ¢Ã‚€Â“ but Serious Challenges Lie Ahead.† The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 14 Dec. 2012. Web. 16 Feb. 201 3. 9. â€Å"WantChinaTimes.com.† WantChinaTimes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2013.

The Return of the King

The Return of the King and deservedly gets 9 points.

Should I choose online or classroom SAT prep

Should I choose online or classroom SAT prep SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Like most things in life, the answer to this question is: it depends. In this case, it depends on what kind of learner you are, what your schedule looks like, how quickly you need to beef up your skills, and how much you (or your parents) want to pay. Online education is still young, trying to find its footing as technologies become more sophisticated and people become more connected to the internet 24/7. And SAT prep is also entering a phase of speedy evolution, as theCollege Boardannounced recently that willprovide free preparation for theredesigned testthat begins in the Spring of 2016. But if the College Board’s record for (lack of) transparency is any indication, the prep they provide will be incomplete at best. They've been providing "College Board Official Prep" for decades and certain students benefit from more than that. After all, their job is to present questions that can’t be â€Å"tricked†! So it’s important to keep on top of all your options, as you only have to take the test once if you prepare well. Like it or not, the SAT is probably an important factor in the direction of your post-high school life. A quick comparison of online and classroom SAT prep: Online Classroom where wherever you want major cities when whenever you want late (average weekday start time 7pm) or early (average weekend start time 8am) setting home, library, your choice high school and college classrooms customization fully customized algorithmic program* none timed practice 10 full practice tests* none (no time!) program design self-paced pre-planned (if you get sick, too bad!) upgrades every 2 weeks when the test changes (approx. every 10 years) progress tracking constant and precise none instructor availability 24/7 during class time (about 3-6 hours per week) feedback constant and updated very little *with PrepScholar When Classroom is Better: Of course, there are advantages to traditional classroom instruction that are difficult to quantify. There are some types of students who will do well in a classroom setting: students who require the presence of an authority figure to get anything done students who enjoy the high school experience students who aren’t much higher or lower than the average ability of the class students who are willing to ask every single question they have students who prefer pen-and-paper work to online work If you or your student(s) fall into a few of these categories, you may want to consider classroom preparation. But most students don’t. Obviously, online SAT prep has a ton of advantagesand its abilities are expanding every day. The bottom line is that most proponents of classroom teaching don’t know what technology is capable of. Most educators, in high schools and big prep companies, are middle-aged or older. Their experience with technology is limited at best. PrepScholar (time to toot our own horn!) is founded and staffed entirely by people who have been using computers our whole lives. The company was founded on the principle that technology can provide enriching, compelling educational experiences and we are constantly working to push the boundaries of what we can deliver. We aren’t the least biased authority on the advantages of online test prep, but we may be the best informed. Next Up: Should you take the New SAT or Old SAT? And if you found this interesting or helpful, sign up to the right to stay updated on the topics we think SAT preppers and their parents might find useful. Also, get our FREE SAT guide!

Clinical immunology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Clinical immunology - Essay Example n recipients of any organ transplant, in whom the prevalence of morbidities such as systemic hypertension, diabetes mellitus, renal insufficiency, and malignancy remain high as compared with the general population. The barriers to short and long-term success of transplant procedures are predominantly the result of incompatibility between donor and recipient, acute and chronic rejection, and complications of long-term pharmacologic immune suppression. This is the reason why clinicians need to consider several factors prior to transplantation. Examples of conditions to be studied include, but are not limited to: 6. Susceptibility to and prevention of the adverse consequences (e.g., nephropathy, systemic hypertension, diabetes mellitus, malignancy) of current post-transplant immunosuppressive regimens (Department of Health and Human Services, 2003). In many cases of transplantation the histocompatibility barrier between recipient and donor remains a problem in that it will activate immune responses leading to graft rejection. Because HLA plays such a dominant role in transplant immunity, pre-transplant histocompatibility testing seems important for organ transplantation. In order to appreciate the role of Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) in transplantation, we must first consider the structural and functional aspects of HLA molecules. HLA antigens are controlled by a series of highly polymorphic genes on the short arm of chromosome 6, referred to as the human MHC. These genes have been classified into major categories. HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-C encode for Class I molecules consisting of a 45kD glycopeptide chain complexed to a 12kD ï  ¢2-microglobulin chain encoded by a nonpolymorphic gene on chromosome 15. The genes in the HLA-DR, HLA-DQ and HLA-DP regions encode for Class II molecules consisting of a ~30kD ï  ¡-chain and a ~28k D ï  ¢-chain. These HLA class I and class II alloantigens can induce transplant immunity at both humoral (antibody) and cellular (T lymphocyte)

Manish or not Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Manish or not - Essay Example The styles of the era created a softer, more feminized version of men’s wear exemplifying the growth of feminism as young men, admittedly as much in rebellion against older generations, were seeking to understand the mystical sense of the ’Otherness’ of the female gender. As the sexual revolution was creating a confusion within the defining factors of gender identification, embracing both aspects of the human experience became popularized and reflected in cultural art and design. In looking at â€Å"Mr. Fish†, the design, texture, and construction of the suit creates the soft aspects of the feminine, while adapting the integrity of a male perspective in clothing. While the experimental periods of the 1960’s and 1970’s was curbed with the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980’s, the philosophical and theoretical discourse on sexuality that has interwoven identity with sexual desire and expressions has created an environment of on -going contemplation of the meaning of gender within the framework of the human experience. The concept of gender as compared to the concept of sex has been defined as one having to do with cultural and psychological identification, and the other having to do with biological identification. When the physical attributes of an individual does not match the culturally accepted behaviors that identify them as the gender associated with those behaviors, the individual finds themselves in a situation of that is not ideal for socialization. However, the 1960’s saw a time where the cultural norms associating gender to sex were blurred, creating an effect that was reflected in art and design. In looking at the displayed garment â€Å"Mr. Fish† which resides at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, an example of 1960’s design with overtones of androgyny allows for a discussion of gender identity, cultural reflection and philosophy. The