Light in August Essay

Violently employed, religion sallies forth the souls and lives of the Deep South. Consequently, â€Å"the weight of God’s wrath, according to the Bible, becomes white men’s ‘burden’ to carry [†¦]† (Bush 1). Bible Revealed through myriad characters, Light in August not only proves that Southerners inculcate their practice of religion but also engender religious brutality. Presented through Reverend Hightower, Doc Hines, and Mr. McEachern, Light in August establishes distinctive notions of faith. Reverend Hightower â€Å"believed with a calm joy that if ever there was a shelter, it would be the Church; that if ever the truth could walk naked and without shame or fear, it would be the seminary† (Faulkner 478). Diverging from Hightower, Mr. McEachern, viciously pious, believes that â€Å"the two virtues are a work and fear of God† (Faulkner 144). Blinded by his own version of religious life is Mr. Hines. Through lives of these characters, religious views with power from the Bible are evident. The initial moment Mr. McEachern adopts Joe Christmas, he emphasizes the significance of religion. In a serious manner, while introducing himself he avers, â€Å"†¦I will have you learn soon that the two abominations are sloth and idle thinking, the two virtues are work and the fear of God† (Faulkner 144). From a failure to memorize the â€Å"Presbyterian catechism,† Joe receives routine whippings from Mr. McEachern merely at the age of eight. (Faulkner 147). Habitual whippings â€Å"desensitized† Joe towards pain and violence; as a result, receiving them did not have an effect of him. (Faulkner 149). Using violence to teach religion, Mr.  McEachern employs two opposite methods which alter Joe’s mentality. Because the punishment and pain he receives from McEachern, he refuses to learn anything religious; consequently, Joe sees religion as pain. Without reservation, the single answer to this young boy’s incapability to memorize is severe punishment. â€Å"He believes that his job was to teach Joe his religion even if it meant by force, hence, his means to achieve this goal was relentless physical punishment. † (Bush 2) His own inability â€Å"to do God’s work† is his own failure as well, which tremendously frustrates him. This brutal implementation causes Joe to see Mr. McEachern and â€Å"His† religion as antagonists. Moreover, one night as Joe returns home accompanied by a number of bruises and marks, Mr. McEachern asks if Joe left a mark on the person he fought with. He does not ask who he is fighting with or why he is fighting; therefore, this proves to Joe that violence is tolerable. With his pants around his knees while McEachern sadistically beats him ten strokes per whipping, Joe ‘did not flinch. ’ The boy stares outward ‘with a rapt, calm expression like a monk’ (Faulkner 149). The scene demonstrates how a young child is taught, through brutal religious fanaticism, [†¦], he is nothing more than an animal: ‘Joe rose from the bed and went and knelt in the corner [†¦ ] above the outraged food kneeling, with his hands he ate, like a savage, like a dog. ’ (Bush 1) Faulkner produces characters that illustrate a failure to amend. Joe still receives that same punishment at the age of eighteen as he did when he was eight. Out of fear, Joe lies to Mr. McEachern about selling the heifer just to save himself from physical punishment; however, treating him as if he’s still young, Mr.  McEachern strikes Joe after discovering his lie. Present, Faulkner suggests a yearning of vengeance in Joe as he asserts, â€Å"Don’t you hit me again† (Faulkner 164-5). The last time Mr. McEachern attempts to strike Joe steers him to his death. Despite teaching Joe the peace, love and joy of religion, McEachern forcefully teaches Joe his own extreme vision of religion, the dark side. As a result, McEachern fails; he also lessens Joe’s feelings and emotions. Inherently, Joe inherits violence through the lessons of Mr. McEachern.

Julia’s Food Booth

(A) Formulate and solve an LP model for this case The objective here is to maximize the profit. Profit is calculated for each variable by subtracting cost from the selling price. The decision variables used are X1 for pizza slices, X2 for hotdog, and X3 for BBQ sandwich.X1 (pizza) X2 (hotdog) X3 (sandwich) Sales Price 1.50 1.50 2.25 Cost 0.75 0.45 0.90 Profit 0.75 1.05 1.35*For Pizza Slice: Cost/Slice = $6/8 = $0.75 cost per slice Maximize Z = 0.75 X1 + 1.05 X2 + 1.35 X3 Constraints: Budget: 0.75X1 + 0.45X2 + 0.90X3 ≠¤ 1500 Oven Space: 24X1 + 16X2 + 25X3 ≠¤ 55,296 in2 The calculation for the oven space is as follows: Pizza slice total space required for a 14 * 14 pizza = 196 in2. Since there are eight slices, we divide 196 by eight, and this gives us approx. 24 in2 per slice. The total dimension of the oven is the dimension of the oven shelf, 36 in * 48 in = 1728 in2, multiplied by 16 shelves = 27,648 in2,  which is multiplied by 2, before kickoff and during the halftime, giving a total space of 55,296 in 2.(B) Evaluate the prospect of borrowing money before the first game. The shadow price or dual value is $1.50 for each additional dollar Julia would increase her profit, if she borrows some money. However, the upper limit of the sensitivity range is $1,658.88, so she should only borrow $158.77 and her additional profit would be $238.32 or a total profit of $2488.32.(C) Evaluate the prospect of paying a friend $100/game to assist. Yes, she should hire her friend for $100/game for it is almost impossible for her to prepare all the food in such a short time. In order for Julia to prepare the hotdogs and barbeque sandwiches she would need the additional help. With Julia being able to borrow the extra $158.88 she would be able to pay her friend.(D) Analyze the impact of uncertainties on the model.The impact of uncertainties such as weather (to sunny, rainy, or cold), competition, increase in food cost, and the attendance at each of the six games could r educe the demand for the items sold by Julia. If it is raining or cold then there may not be as many patrons at the games and if it is to hot people may not want to eat before or during the games. The higher the uncertainties the demand shifts, therefore the solution of the LP model will change and so does her profit. She will not be able to produce a $1000 profit under high uncertainty.

Criminal Profiling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Criminal Profiling - Essay Example The due process model, however, focuses on rights and freedoms of suspects and in delaying the suspects apprehension, threatens the criminal justice system’s objectives of ensuring law and order and rights and freedom of majority of members of the society who are susceptible to criminal victimization (Packer 153- 172). Threat of terror identifies the need for profiling but provisions of constitutional amendments preclude law enforcement from focusing investigations on groups of people. The Fifth Amendment establishes the need for due process before initiatives by law enforcement officers, on U.S. citizens, and this means that arbitrary focus cannot be made on a group of citizens, despite their potential association with terror threats. The fourteenth amendment also protects fundamental rights from arbitrary laws and this means that it precludes any authority that law enforcement officers can operate on during profiling (Kaplan 30). Ethical consideration would however inform my balancing between interest of safety and security and securing rights and civil liabilities of citizens. Rights and freedoms always conflict and are the cause safety and security concerns to require focus on safety and security. In addition, rights and freedom of criminals, who are a few members of the society, contravenes r ights and freedoms of other individuals. Consequently, focusing on safety and security extends to ensure rights and freedom of a majority to establish a good

Starbucks Marketing Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Starbucks Marketing Strategy - Essay Example When the company was established, it began as a lone store in the famous Pike Place Market in Seattle. During those days, the company offered some finest fresh-roasted bean coffees worldwide. Consequently, the Starbucks was considered to be the best coffee company since it did not only brought the feeling of connection but also celebrated coffee. Starbucks company has a team of leadership that ensures that all goes well in the company. The company has a chairman, Howard Schultz. He is also the chief executive officer of the company. Adam Brotman is the chief digital officer while Michael Conways serves as the president of the Starbucks Global Channel Development. Also, the company has an executive vice president of Starbucks Global Chanel Development. Other key leaders in the company include Jeff Hansberry, president of Evolution Fresh, Lucy Lee, the executive vice president, general counsel and secretary, executive vice president and chief partner (human) resources officer, Scott Pitasky and Sharon. There are many more people holding different leadership positions in the company to ensure that the company runs smoothly without anything that would encourage its downfall. Most of the leaders are trained and equipped for their positions. One of the greatest challenges of the company is climate change. It is important to know that almost a half of the coffee in the whole world is produced in accordance to the sustainability standard though on only 12 percent of the world coffee is sold in the market as a sustainable. Therefore, there is a need that the coffee company should have its definition of sustainability. However, for this to be established, there is a need that the company should be committed to facilitating the increasing demand for sustainability.

Aspects of Communication & Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Aspects of Communication & Culture - Essay Example 63). Other people such as Stahl (2011, p. 1) and Goldkuhl (2003), among others, have different theories. This essay is an analysis of a telephone conversation between Michael and Prinze, based on communication analysis’ theoretical concepts and features of communication. Michael and Prinze’s Profile and their Background This is a telephone conversation between two close friends; Michael in his early fifties and Prinze in his late forties. One of the participants (Prinze) was observed throughout the recording for body language and gestures. These two interlocutors have known each other for more than ten years and share similar back grounds and interests. Also both interlocutors were born and have spent most of their lives in East London although their cultural and ethnic backgrounds are very different; Prinze is an English speaking cockney born and raised in London with a Pakistani parentage, whilst Michael is a native English speaking cockney. Each conversant is calling from the comfort of their home and from different towns; Mohammed lives in Luton and Michael in East London. Michael is recovering after a shoulder operation, whilst Prinze has just got home after a walk in the park. Both the interlocutors had not spoken or seen each other for more than a couple of months, but there had been regular communication between them by text messaging (SMS). The purpose of the call from Prinze to Michael was to get an update on how Michael was doing and also to discover if he had received the forwarded mail Prinze had sent him earlier. A transcription of the conversation between the two is given in the Appendix. Analysis Based On Theories and Main Communication Features Theories There are different theories of communication and theoretical concepts used in communication analysis. Just as noted Different authors have different views about these theories. Stahl has described nine categories of communication theories as listed by Little John (1999); cyberneti cs, semiotics, conversational analysis, message reception, socio-cultural approach, message production, symbolic interaction, phenomenological hermeneutics and critical theory (2011, p. 1). Littlejohn and Foss have eight theories; all described in the introduction (2007, p. 63). Goldkuhl (2003), on the other hand, considers the theories in the Language Action Perspective. The author notes that there are two theoretical concepts of communication representation approaches that are within the named perspective. These are; that there are predefined patterns in which communication is always organized as found in conversational analysis, and that language use can be considered as action as found in speech act theory (Goldkuhl, 2003, p. 51). In this case, two of the theoretical concepts will be explained with reference to Prinze and Michael’s conversation. These are; conversational analysis and speech act theory. Conversational Analysis It is the systemic analysis of human talk-in-i nteractions (Hutchby & Wooffitt, 2008). Conversational analysis’ theoretical concept is based on the view that conversations have predesigned structures. According to Psathas, telephone conversations open with a caller, who in this case, knows whoever he/she is calling. This is then followed by a response from the recipient who may know the caller or not. If the recipient does not know the caller, the next response will be

The Recruitment and Selection of Sales Staff Essay

The Recruitment and Selection of Sales Staff - Essay Example It aims at ensuring that an organization recruits the most competent work force that will help it to meet its goals and objectives. Therefore recruitment can be a source of success or failure for the organization. The cost of selection and recruitment can weigh heavily on the organization based on the way the whole process will be carried out. In order to have a competent workforce, many organizations have taken a systematic approach to the recruitment and selection of staff. They have put in place a mechanism that ensures that they attract and select the best workforce in the market. This has been achieved by ensuring that the process is based on selection on merit. The human resource department has been given the overall duty of ensuring that it comes up with the best selection plan that will ensure that the organization meets its objective in recruitment process. The human resource department must ensure that it upholds the policy of equal employment opportunity for all which is reflected theory the recruitment framework. (Gareth 2005, p. 21) Kids 'R' US is a super store that has specialized in selling of children's clothes and other equipments like toys. The store is owned byte the ABZee Group. The groups has decided to venture in the market in order to take advantage of the parent pound market which has been one of the growing market in the recent past. In order to achieve its objective, the company wants to o... Recruitment method The company will use external recruitment as compared to internal recruitment In this case it will be recruiting those from the local areas. Due to the size of the company, it may not be able to get enough staffs if it conducts internal recruitment. In order to get enough staff and bring more variety to the new store, the company will be recruiting different people but from the local area who understand the demands of the local people. The company will use physical interview in combination with e-recruitment in order to get the most qualified candidates for the job. (CIPD Factsheet, 2007) Kid 'R' US as an equal opportunity employer The company is an equal opportunity employer in the market and therefore the recruitment process will be targeting all the people the market based on their qualifications. In the recruitment process the company will continue to uphold it's the policy of being an equal opportunity employer. It will continue to recruit, hire, train and promote in all its job levels the most qualified and competent person without any discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, nationality or the sexual orientation of the person. In this case the company will not base its employment on issues of gender favors or discriminate the applicant based on their disabilities. Therefore all the applicants should be treated as equal and the selection procedure will be based on the qualification of the candidate. The company will also continue to administer other personal mater as regards issues of compensation, benefits, transfers, layoffs, training and development, education and other social recreation programs that the company wishes to uphold. (Torrington and Taylor2005, p. 28) Recruitment

Cloud Computing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cloud Computing - Essay Example Tayade (2014) explains that due to the emerging complexity of mobile devices, security trends are becoming more prevalent in various firms. Yang et al. (2011) explains that cloud computing in organizations has been essential in the fact that it assists easier access and processing of information. The cloud computing systems have also assisted in effective storage of sensitive information in order to provide minimum security operations. The organizations have been made possible to use enforceable password to unlock screens and implement automatic lock on the device using cloud computing. Cloud computing systems also result in fixed device encryption, which has been installed to maintain the confidentiality of sensitive data whenever there is any theft or loss of the device. Anti-virus, firewall, or anti-malware software is installed in cloud computing systems (Tayade, 2014). Performing system scans has been beneficial since it assists check for any malicious threats or viruses. Ren et al. (2011) argue that cloud computing users do not install applications directly from the internet without having any assurance that the product to be installed is safe or has no malicious code. As such, restrictions on cloud computing users are advantageous because the operators can download applications from any websites and perform third-party software installation (Tayade, 2014). Cloud computing has become an attractive target for many cybercriminals, and the susceptibility of open source application is well documented. This occurs mainly in organizations that use mobile and cloud computing appliances to download apps without applying security practices like installing antivirus software to their devices (Tayade, 2014). Ren et al. (2011) indicate that when suspicious threat occurs, the organizations can limit and restrict mobile access by customers by applying some hardening steps to mitigate security trends. Various organizations face refined cyber security problems

Many high profile organisations have - through the media discussed Essay

Many high profile organisations have - through the media discussed their need to change their culture. The mining industry, p - Essay Example The managers form the largest group that spear head initialization and implementation of proposed programs in various department of any organization. Some of the roles played by the managers include provision of leadership, managing people, managing priorities and safety in the workplaces (Brown, 2004). In fact, competent managers contribute immensely to the success of a business. In relation to contextualized issue of social dynamism, the managers have a special and critical niche to occupy in a bid to achieve the overall goal of achieving a highly rated level of social diversification. Essentially, initialization and implementation of any program should follow the normal managerial process, which involves setting up the work agenda, identifying the work methods and roles, implementing management functions, applying knowledge and key management skills and organizational performance (Weidlich, 2000). A successful application of a managerial process in initializing and implementing a program or a process contributes to achievement of the intended goals. This study establishes that, mangers focus their energies through work agendas when implementing a program (Brown, 2004). ... More over, the managers should uphold high standards of managerial ethics. The aspect of social responsibility refers to the commitment of an organization to act with intent of protecting and improving the welfare of a given society. The organizational responsibility entails three key perspectives, which include invisible, and, the government and management hand (Brown, 2004). It is imperative to note that, the process of responding to any social demand requires inclusive participation of the stakeholders, which include the shareholders, employees, customers, local community, international community and the society. The bid by numerous organizations to embrace diversification in social demands and relevant response mechanisms revolve around critical societal matters related to health, education, technology, culture, environment and ways of generation of income (Hunnicutt, 2000). To define social responsibility in relation to the environment the basis of social paradigm in systems is a fundamental component for consideration. It is imperative to note that, organizations secure numerous resources and release outputs to the society in a bid to strengthen the economic and social milieu (Brown, 2004). On how to respond to the social demands through building of social response mechanism, a corporate social responsibility should take the epicenter of all events. This is the origin of the intended solutions for social demands attributed to an organization. Corporate social responsibility (CRS) can be referred to as the corporate accountability or corporate ethics. It should be noted that, the move to embrace this aspect of management is intended to establish better practices within the

Strategic Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Strategic Marketing - Assignment Example (Zeithaml & Bitner, 2004; Daly, 2004). We Classification of industries or businesses facilitate some generalizations about appropriate marketing strategies for each classified group. The service sector has multiple varieties of businesses ranging from airlines, telecommunications to professional services to even one person businesses such as body masseurs. This multiplicity makes categorizations of services more tedious than physical goods (Samiee, 1999). Lovelock and Yip (1996) classified services into various groups. One important grouping was - People Processing Services: These services necessitate the customer's presence while the service is being provided. Most of such services are aimed or applied to people and so their presence is essential. In order to buy, use and appreciate these services customers must be ready to spend time, co-operating with the service operation (Lovelock, Vandermerwe & Lewis, 1996). Typical examples of such services are medical services, passenger tran sport, hotels, fitness centers and beauticians. It is the marketing of these services which is radically different from marketing of physical products. The focus of this paper is the marketing efforts of one such service viz.Hotel services. We have chosen Marriott Hotel's marketing efforts and examine them for their focus and propriety. The entire paper has theoretical support covering various aspects of service marketing. Peculiarities of Services A service is an activity or benefit that one party can offer to another which is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything.Kotler (2000) demonstrates that in the goods continuum the distinction between products and services is far from clear as one traverses from tangibility to intangibility. The lack of distinction is particularly prominent mid way through this continuum where tangibility and intangibility may gel indistinguishably. However the fact remains that the tangibility dimension of the offering is a critical distinction and can identify a service offering. For instance, in a hotel stay once the stay has been completed nothing tangible is left with customer for preservation except experience, hence hotel stay is a typical person processing service offering. Such an offering may have tangible dimensions to it like the complementary food and products; however it may be seen that most of these are 'consumed' and do not survive the stay. Even if so me tangible offering e.g. souvenirs etc does survive the hotel stay; it does not emanate from the main service but is only incidental to the service offering. On the whole the services retain their intangible and perishable characters in most offerings. Chief characteristics associated with services can be stated as below: Intangibility - Services are not physical. They can neither be possessed nor seen or felt. The tangible indicators of service are few, if any, and they are not good enough indicators to reduce consumer uncertainty. This increases the work of service marketers who must diligently determine how to effectively communicate the service process and the final outcome the

Attendance and Discipline Referrals Research Paper

Attendance and Discipline Referrals - Research Paper Example Literature Review Johnson and Lampley (2010) undertook a research to examine LISTEN (Linking Individual Students to Educational Needs) which is the mentoring program used at schools for identification of students at risk. The study adopted examination of LISTEN to evaluate its performance objectives and outcomes. LISTEN being a school program was sponsored by the district of East Tennessee to provide mentoring services to the students who need it the most. Johnson and Lampley (2010) took hold of the academic data from 2003-2005 to determine the post implementation effects of LISTEN on the grade 6 to 8 students. The study in detail focused on the relationship of discipline referrals, GPAs and attendance records of the students at risk. The study found that there was a clear difference between the rates of attendance, discipline referrals and the GPAs in pre and post implementation of LISTEN. This means that the students who are at risk need a mentoring program that can help them resol ve the problem of absenteeism and discipline referrals which eventually leads to improved GPAs. Sowell (2012) undertook a study to evaluate the relationship of school uniforms with the school attendance, achievement and discipline. The study used a causal and comparative study research design to determine the relationship. It collected data from the two high schools in the South West Georgia. One of the school had school uniforms as a compulsory element of education whereas the other did not have such restrictions. The study found that the school with uniforms had better attendance rate as well as fewer infractions of behavior as compared to the school without uniform. These schools... The paper focused on the influence of absenteeism and discipline referrals on the academic achievement of special students to understand the factors that greatly attract them towards absenteeism. It found that the special and disabled students are not involved in discipline referrals however, they tend to show absenteeism and lead to low academic achievement. The special schools implement models that encourage the students to remain regular and full on attendance. Thus, the factors like encouragement activities and regular programs motivate the special students to remain regular and active in their classes. The study showed that the students perform better when they undertake creative and active participation. Furthermore, the study found that the use of uniforms also encourages the students to attend the class and achieve higher grades in their academic career.

Compare Enlightened Despotism with the French Revolution Essay Example for Free

Compare Enlightened Despotism with the French Revolution Essay The Enlightenment, an historical period of the 18th and early 19th centuries influenced actions of absolute rulers. This movement also provided a framework for the French Revolutions. Enlightened despots believed that political change could best come from the ruler. Where as the French Revolution did many things, unleashed new forces, destroy old ideas, offered new promises. Not the Revolution itself, of course, but the people who made it. However, Enlightened despots were encouraged by the philosophers to make good laws to promote human happiness. Despots acted abruptly and desired quicker results. They were impatient with all that stood in the way of their reforms. In addition, they justified their authority on the grounds of usefulness, not divine right? Frederick II (Frederick the Great), the most famous Prussian absolute monarch and a military genius, pursued an aggressive foreign policy. In 1740 he seized from Austria the province of Silesia. His action culminated in a major European conflict, the Seven Years War (1756-1763), in which he was pitted against a powerful Europe. Enlightened monarchs embraced the principles of the Enlightenment, especially its emphasis upon rationality, and applied them to their kingdoms. They tended to allow religious toleration, freedom of speech and the press, and the right to hold private property. Most fostered the arts, sciences, and education. Enlightened Absolutists believe that they had the right to govern by birth. Emperor Joseph II can be said to have fully embraced the Enlightened concept of the social contract. In contrast Catherine II entirely rejected the concept of the social contract while taking up many ideas of the Enlightenment. The French Revolution (1789-1799) was a pivotal period in the history of France and Europe. The Revolution is widely seen as a major turning point in European history-from the age of absolutism, to the age of the citizenry, as the dominant political force. Many interrelated political and socioeconomic factors contributed to the French Revolution. It fell to the ambitions of a rising bourgeoisie, allied with aggrieved peasants, wage earners, and individuals of all classes who had come under the influence of the ideas of the Enlightment. It was and remains a system of ideas that are usually goal- directed. Most ideologies are, therefore, fundamentally political, bright descriptions of the means and methods by which the instruments of revolution, party, or government ought to be used for the purpose of social change. The French Revolution was the first major social revolution, of far greater dimensions and of deeper purpose. Elected to the Committee of Public Safety in July 1793, Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794) soon came to dominate that group, hence dominate the revolutionary government. He exhibited himself as a ruthless individual, incorruptible, dictatorial, impersonal, and determined to sweep away all who opposed the Revolution. He urged the war on against the monarchical powers of France, and he encouraged the Reign of Terror. The major causes of   French Revolution include the following: A poor economic situation and an unmanageable national debt were both caused and exacerbated by the burden of a grossly inequitable system of taxation and Frances funding of the American revolution, A resentment of royal absolutism; An aspiration for liberty and republicanism; A resentment of Manorialism (seigneurialism) by peasants, wage-earners, and to a lesser extent, the bourgeoisie; The rise of enlightenment ideals; Food scarcity in the months immediately before the revolution; High unemployment and high bread prices resulting in the inability to purchase food; A resentment of noble privilege and dominance in public life by the ambitious professional classes. In principle and by legislation, French revolution made the individual citizen the center of a new social order. The social order should, therefore, be designed to maximize this freedom, this personal liberty. References Spielvogel Western Civilization Volume II: Since 1500 (2003) p.493, 517. Scott, H. M, Enlightened Absolutism: Reform and Reformers in Late Eighteenth Century Europe (1990), ISBN 0472101730.

The Organisational Structure Of Fedex Commerce Essay

The Organisational Structure Of Fedex Commerce Essay Logistics is managing the flow of goods, information and other resources, including energy and people, between the point of origin and the point of destination to meet the requirements of consumers. The main functions of logistics include purchasing, inventory management, transportation, and warehousing. The transportation industry can be identified in three major sectors such as shipping, passenger transport and manufacturing of equipment. In this paper we discuss about shipping which is responsible for transportation of supplies. FedEx has acquired and realigned number of small companies and managed synergies in order to control more of the market. Acquisition strategy of FedEx has given opportunity to capture different areas of logistics and transportation business with different client base and locations thereby integrating their operations to achieve better synergies and economies of scale. Business without borders Having their own fleet enabled them to reconfigure their systems and reroute existing flights in order to take advantage of the markets. Same way feeding three costly networksair, ground, and information technology is extravagantly expensive. They operated in a Global scale in order to offer customers limitless opportunities thereby expanding customer base and achieve global economies of scale. FedEx involves in many Corporate Social Responsibility programs as a branding strategy by carrying pandas, penguins and whales across the countries to provide them with proper living conditions. Though this type of transportation is considered risky FedEx does this with affection in order to protect them. They maintain a strong brand name as a strategy and advantage of its brand image, the name that customers have counted on for reliable service and cutting edge technology. Frederick W. Smith Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Fred Smith was a charismatic-visionary leader. He pioneered the transportation field and founded FedEx when he was 27 years of age. He had a desire, a drive to lead the company. He was confident, intelligent and also had the job-relevant knowledge in the field. His military background helped him to believe that the FedExs people are more valuable than technology. Fred always started thinking outside the normal which made FedEx a great success. Though he was a risk taker and invested highly in IT he succeeded in the business because of his visionary thinking and determination to go ahead. Fred re-shaped the entire transportation industry. FedEx believes in leadership through accessibility which makes all forms of interaction with customers. (b) Transportation and logistics infrastructure within FedEx Corporation FedEx acquired its own fleet of transport while competitors were hiring space on commercial airlines and sub-contracting their shipments to 3rd parties. With this, the need for booking space in commercial vessels ceased and FedEx experienced cost advantage over other companies. Landing larger freight planes were allowed after the de-regulation of the airline industry and using these reduced the operating cost. After de-regulation of the trucking industry, FedEx established regional trucking system further reduced the cost. FedExs unmatched air route authorities and infrastructure make it the worlds largest express transportation company, providing speedy, reliable and time-definite transportation with easy access to the locations. To cut down cost and time, packages from all over the country were flown to a central point or hub at night where traffic lanes were comparatively empty. Packages were sorted, redistributed at the hub and again flown to their ultimate destination to reach them next day. Even with the limitations such as adherence to the skyline regulations, ground clearance and administrative issues, FedEx managed to make this a turning point towards their success. (Please refer annexure page à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ for more details) Value added services such as multiple warehousing, scanners given to drivers to capture package information and overnight distribution system were external factors contributed to the growth in FedEx business. Just-in-time inventory management created demand for speed and accuracy in transportation and shortened the lead time for companies Integration between FedEx and customers blocked them from going to competitors. How it helped FedEx Michael Porters Value Chain C:UsersvirginiaDocumentsMBAMBA-Second yearGlobal Corporate strategyVIRGI FED EXvalue chain.png How FedEx reduced cost by applying value chain (refer document New FedEx and dragon) Primary activities Outbound Logistics Processing time at the local offices was reduced since they did not need to fill forms and attend to customers individually. In FedExs point of view reducing processing time means reducing labour costs. FedEx has achieved tremendous savings by strategic implementation of IT. Tools such as just-in-time manufacturing and total quality management are adopted for inventory control and enhancing of service quality. Marketing and Sales Information on customers preferences, geographical data and traffic volumes of each web page collected automatically. These data could be used for strategic initiatives, planning and marketing. World Wide Web is a low cost media for advertising in the global market and discovers potential markets. Packaging in a timely fashion was one of the marketing tools they used. Customer Service FedEx discovered that its advanced IT systems contain a mother lode of information about the profitability of each client. They knew which customers create how much profit, which actually end up costing FedEx. Secondary activities Procurement Strategic plans are developed with suppliers to support the process and development of new services. Transactions are managed through Web to achieve greater efficiency. Further they are streamlined through Electronic Data Interchange. FedEx had agreed upon better dealings with the fuel with suppliers. Human Resources FedEx will strive to develop mutually rewarding relationships with its employees, partners and suppliers. They recruited correct people and top positions were filled with competent managers. Further incentives, profit shares and internal promotions are given to keep the staff moral high in order to make their processes less costly and effective. They motivated the front liners conducted a fair treatment program to all staff. Information Technology When customers log onto the FedEx system they could place orders to pick up and pay using the credit cards which made greater convenience. Moving the process to the internet reshaped the transportation industry. In applying systems like Cosmos, PowerShip, EDI and Netscape integrated services supplied to customers are enormous. 1 (c) Virtual Information infrastructure at FedEx Corporation How it helped FedEx provides its customers supply chain solution from the point of raw materials to end of the product life cycle. Each stage of the supply chain has IT applications and systems that have been implemented by FedEx in order to fulfill efficient customer solutions. Some of the systems were transportation management solutions, order processing and related distribution centre operations, fulfillment, just-in-time inventory control, purchasing and production which provide peace of mind throughout the entire distribution cycle. COSMOS is a customer oriented services and management operating system. This Centralized computer system kept track of all packages handled by the company. This was made possible by placing a bar-code on each point of pickup making greater reliability to its customers. Further data package movement, pickup, invoicing and delivering data to central data base. PowerShip Features such as Label printing, on-line packaging pickup request, package tracing and stored frequently used addresses of most active customers. EDI and Internet This allowed companies to build one-to-one relationship with customers was the perfect scenario for manufactures. They could match supply and demand without wastage. Agreement with Nescape to adopt their software as the primary technology for accessing its corporate intranet sites. Advantages of the Nescape are mentioned below. Customers would build integrated websites using FedEx application Free down load from fedex.com which incorporated a link enabling them to track packages directly from their own site. Enhancement to package-tracking service. Information with regard to 25 shipments can be checked simultaneously and forward same to three e-mail recipients. Some countries are able to access information in their native language. FedEx claimed to have the largest on-line client server network in the world that operated in real time Web based application 1994 (write) FedEx can reach customers in other countries more easily through internet. This will further expand operations at FedEx in the global market. A creative alliance with marketplace will allow FedEx to tap into the growing e-commerce market for consumers. Web surfers link different companies web sites, where they can order a variety of products and services. IT infrastructure will support supply chain operations. The FedEx website was launched in 1994 and included a package tracking application and allowed customers to generate their own unique bar-coded shipping labels. The web site provided speedy and customer focused features. OUTBOUND TRANSPORTATION AND DELIVERY ORDER MANAGEMENT MANUFACTURING INBOUND (PURCHASING) SUPPLIER Stages of the Supply Chain FedEx Systems Applications GIVS IMI Multiship Custom Clearance system Transportation Optimization system Global Inventory visibility System (GIVS) Inventory Management Systems (IMI) GIVS IMI Warehouse management systems (WMS) Transport management systems (TMS) Customer clearance system Enterprise resource planning ERP IMI (including invoicing) The FedEx Integrated Logistics Solution FEDEX SOLUTIONS FOR THE ENTIRE SUPPLY CHAIN Strategy Bob de wit Ron Meyer (Page 653) (Please refer annexure for detailed explanation of the systems and application of supply chain at FedEx) Evaluation FedEx has developed many innovative services that would not be possible without its strong IT capability. IT expansion at FedEx effectively created a barrier to new entrants in this industry. Even though FedExs coverage to supply chain through integrated systems by tightening, improving and synchronizing the various parts of the supply chain, it was no longer a competitive advantage but a competitive imperative as the customers saw the benefits of squeezing time and inventory out of the system. The virtual information infrastructure at FedEx immensely supported to maintain the market leadership in the past years. They have forecasted the future in a positive direction and implemented correct decision by funding on IT development. Throughout the years this has helped FedEx to reduce cost, minimize process time and become customer focused and ultimately increased the profit margins which helped in a growth in global GDP and International trade. Even though FedEx has highly invested on IT for upgrading on a periodical basis, technical issues such backup systems, virus protection, handling issues with web hacking have been successfully addressed in order to remain in the market leader position. BRANDING AND BUSINESS STRUCTURE UP UNTIL 19 JANUARY 2000 Mergers and acquisitions (MA) Introduction 2.0.1. Mergers Joining of two or more companies to form a single legal entity can be defined as a merger. The assets of the smaller company are merged in to the larger. Share holders of the smaller company (or the target company) will be bought over by the acquiring company. In general mergers take place in a friendly setting. Executives of the respective companies participate in a due diligence process to ensure a successful combination of all areas of business. 2.0.2. Acquisitions Purchasing of more than 50% of voting shares of a company by another company is an acquisition. Both companies can continue as separate legal entities. Acquiring company will be the parent company (or holding company) and the target company will be the subsidiary. Acquisition may take place through a hostile takeover by purchasing the majority of shares of the company in the open market. (Source:A Simple M Model for all Seasons by Bu Sam Rovit, David Harding, and Catherine Lemire) 2.0.3. Mergers and acquisitions strategies Mergers and Acquisitions are a common strategy in Global Logistics and Transportation industry by which companies in the industry expand geographically and increase the reach and access. 2.1 Benefits and limitations of MA strategies in the Global Transportation and Logistics industry 2.1.1. Benefits Obtain maximum value and create sustainable competitive advantage Increase output Obtain new technologies, expertise and provide entire new products Improved focus on core skills of the firm Improvements in use of the brand names Increased consumer welfare and overall cost reduction from the joint consumption of complementary products Fastest method to achieve growth Creating a broad and deep product portfolio Strength in storage sales and services Integrate technologies and practices across entire product line such as strong capabilities in data archiving, manage products to better address the regulatory compliance and market opportunity Capability to integrate disparate business processes and information into one common framework Quicker and cheaper growth of the organization, synergies of market size and distribution channels, easier finance (revenue and cost synergies), economies of scale, gaining customers, cost efficiencies, improved infrastructure. Achieving maximum benefit of synergies by integration Reduction in transaction cost and transportation cost Fulfilling increasing / complex customers demands Redesigning of the global supply chain Obtain excess capacity in terms of production and warehousing facilities Mergers and acquisitions improve market efficiency by capturing synergies between firms. May help in removing inefficient management or to respond to economic shocks 2.1.2. Limitations Most of the studies have shown that mergers have failure rates of more than 50 percent Acquisitions are complex and difficult to execute and manage successfully. The companies should have the ability to integrate the technical know-how and the resources to bring that know-how to market products. In mergers and acquisitions there may be a significant impact on corporate culture. The purchasing company sets the quality bar high for the people in the company to be acquired. The companies cultural norms will be will be reinforced by the innovation, collaboration and integrity and customer focus of those employees. Generally there are clashes in such a situation. Though companies expect the synergies from take overs, it is found that acquiring companies lose about 10% of their value during the first five years after mergers. 2.2. How FedEx Corporation managed the acquisition of Caliber Systems in 1998- whether it is a success or failure FedEx Acquisition History up to year 2000 YEAR ACQUISITION OVERVIEW 1984 Gelco Express International FedEx dramatically expands its presence outside of the U.S. with the acquisition of Gelco Express, a worldwide courier with service to 84 countries. 1989 Tiger International Inc. With the integration of the Flying Tiger Line, FedEx becomes the worlds largest full-service, all-cargo airline. The acquisition includes routes to 21 countries, a fleet of cargo aircraft including Boeing 747s, facilities throughout the world and Flying Tigers expertise in international airfreight. 1998 Caliber System Inc. FedEx creates FDX Corporation (later renamed FedEx Corporation) and grows its portfolio of services with the addition of ground small-package carrier RPS (now FedEx Ground), Western U.S. less-than-truckload carrier Viking Freight (now part of FedEx Freight), Caliber Logistics (now FedEx Supply Chain Services), Caliber Technology (now part of FedEx Services) and Roberts Express (now FedEx Custom Critical). 2000 Tower Group International Inc. World Tariff Ltd. FedEx Corp. creates FedEx Trade Networks. Today, FedEx Trade Networks is one of the largest-volume customs entry filers in North America and provides FedEx customers with end-to-end transportation and customs clearance solutions around the world. acquisitions history.cfm.htm 2.2.1 Caliber Systems FedEx acquired caliber systems in 1998 and five separate subsidiary companies were formed such as Federal Express, RPS (Roadway package Systems), Robert express, Viking freight and FDX Logistics. They focused mainly on the small package business. Each subsidiary was managed separately and was responsible for its own accounts. Caliber had developed its expertise in moving raw materials, plates of steel bars and managed in work-in-progress. It manufactured cars and fork-lift trucks. After acquisition FedEx started offering other services besides express shipping. 2.2.1.1. Federal Express Federal Express was the world leader in global express distribution. They offered 24 to 48 hours delivery. Also was the leader in overnight package delivery business. Goods shipped ranged from flowers to lobsters to computer components. 2.2.1.2. RPS RPS was the second largest ground small package delivery of business-to-business. Also it was a low cost, non-union, technology-savvy company. Shipments were done in one to three days. RPS had the lowest cost models in the transportation industry. With the take-over by FedEx, RPS moved on to business-to-consumer delivery service and took advantage of electronic commerce. They operated through independent truckers who are contractors and specialized in delivering small packages between businesses at rates lower than UPS. 2.2.1.3. Viking Freight This was the first less-than-truck-load freight carrier in western USA. They shipped 13,000 packages per day. 2.2.1.4. Robert Express This was the worlds leading surface-expedited carrier for non-stop, time critical and special-handling shipments. This was the smallest company within the FedEx group. Robert Express Exclusively allowed customers greater control at a price. They had a limited number of aircrafts but they had to pay for use and crew time. 2.2.1.5. Caliber Logistics Caliber logistics was the pioneer in providing customized, integrated logistics and warehousing solutions worldwide. The acquisition of caliber brought over the-road transportation and warehousing capabilities. Caliber Logistics was renamed as FDX Logistics. 2.3 Merging of Caliber Logistics and FLEC New company was FedEx Logistics brought together all splintered operations of logistics in all the subsidiaries, streamlined costs and presented one menu of logistic services offered to clients. They aligned R D of systems upon common, agreed platform. 2.4. HOW FEDEX MANAGED THE ACQUISITION OF CALIBER SYSTEMS? Acquisition contributed to reinforce FedEx commitment to become more than just a delivery company. With the acquisition, company image was transformed to a holding company. Accordingly company changed its name to FedEx Corporation. FedEx managed the subsidiaries by operating independently, each company focused exclusively on delivering the best service for its specific market. They competed collectively. Under the FedEx banner they offered entirely different services, different customer terms and different sales procedures. Usage of IT resources spread among the group. FedEx introduced a one-stop shopping as solution for all levels of supply chain. This was the ultimate goal of FedEx in order to bring the subsidiaries closer together to create synergy. FedEx brand name had been inculcated in the peoples minds throughout the years. This strong global brand name and the brand image created among the entire world from the inception had sufficient market for FedEx to operate even after acquisition. Operating under the FedEx banner created customer confidence although the companies acquired were operating in their own names. Acquisition improved FedExs non-express delivery capabilities and brought in other new businesses to the company. When UPS had the advantage of promoting just one brand, UPS was to sell the entire company and the services it offered. Acquisition of Caliber Systems enabled FedEx to match UPS in offering a wide variety of delivery options. But, UPSs extensive network for making door-to-door deliveries was far ahead of FedEx. Business at UPS was slightly affected after the acquisition of Caliber Systems by FedEx. Further the strategies adopted by the FedEx management such as enhancing business capabilities though IT and building up strong relationships regularly with clients and communication with the global market, created competitive advantage at the time of acquisition of the Caliber Systems. Hence acquisition of the Caliber Systems by FedEx was a success. 3.1 DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET MARKET AND E-TAILING http://media.techtarget.com/searchCIO/images/spacer.gif http://media.techtarget.com/searchCIO/images/spacer.gif Internet is the extensive, worldwide computer network available to the public. It is interconnected to computer networks that are connected by internetworking. E-tailing (electronic retailing) means the selling of retail goods via Internet. E-tailing done mostly with business-to-consumer (B-to-C) transactions. E-tailing began to work for some major corporations and smaller entrepreneurs were started around year 1997. (Source: http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid182_gci212079,00.html) 3.2. How internet/e-tailing had been applied to the transportation and logistics industry? At the time when the web based purchases were growing, UPS one of FedEx competitors were ahead of them in terms of ground transport. FedEx identified the booming opportunities arising with the growth in internet based purchases. FedEx bought over Caliber System in January 1999 and the aim was to enhance the reach of business to business coverage while catering to increasing demand from internet based buying. FedEx anticipated growth in ecommerce and planned to start FedEx Home Delivery to co-op specializing in business-to-consumer e-tailing. At that time, in 1997 FedEx was handling shipping for only 10% of all goods sold online, compared to the 55% handled by UPS. In 1999 FedEx signed up with CISCO with mission of critical one stop online source for sales tools and client information. Web portals such as Yahoo! had been offering store-building services for some time, as did all other Internet service providers. By that time UPS, their main competitor was had been offering the same services since 1997 through vendors Harbinger Corp. and IBM Corp. FedEx started to offer its ecommerce Builder Internet platform free to clients later, with e-commerce services. 3.3. Non-financial performance at FedEx in the context of Internet market and e- Tailing Internet was the basis for competition. It opened opportunities in logistics management as most businesses started integration with customer supply chains using the internet. FedEx had the right business model to take advantage of this opportunity. Growth in e-tailing needed assistance of express transportation to fulfill the customer expectations and FedEx already was a giant in the field achieved advantage over the situation. FedEx was the leader in the market and enjoyed a strong brand image in the transport and logistics industry. Even though they identified and anticipated enormous opportunities which came up with the development in e-tailing, UPS was the leader in ground transportation. FedEx made a smart move by buying over Caliber Logistics and later integrating all systems and a powerful technical architecture that enabled internet commerce usage. The competition became fierce with the as the major transportation companies were betting big on technology. Even though FedEx were investing millions on IT and introduced internet in 1994, it became the industry norm rather than a competitive advantage. FedEx developed all its software in-house where competitors like UPS formed strategic alliances with Open Market Inc., and worked with IBM. One of main reasons for FedExs successful performance financially and non-financially was that they identify anticipate the changes and adopt themselves accordingly. 3.4. Financial performance at FedEx in the context of Internet market and e-tailing Online holiday shopping, which accounted for $650 million in 1997, grew to rapidly $4 billion over the holiday season of 1999. By the end of year 2000, more than 20,000 client Web sites were linked to the FedEx Marketplace, and the ecommerce Builder unit had secured around 2,000 customers. Despite the analysts concerns their earnings totaled $688 million on sales of $18 billion. The expected growth associated with e-tailing was USD 7.0 billion in 2000 and USD 327 billion in business-to- business presented enormous opportunities for FedEx. (Source: http://ecommerce.hostip.info/pages/444/Fedex-Corp-MOVE-INTERNET.html) Annual report of 1999 reflects that the growth in revenue as follows. Year Growth in Revenue 1999 5.67% 1998 11.48% 1997 11.91% 1996 8.5% 1995 13.76% FedExs average revenue growth is around 10%. In year 1999 this has reduced to 5.67% which they claim as a result of the high fuel price. FedEx has invsted in IT and was Market share growth REFER ANNUAL REPORTS DATA

Marketing Analysis of BQ | SWOT

Marketing Analysis of BQ | SWOT Introduction A strategy is developed by a consideration of the resources of the organisation in relation to its environment, the prime purpose being to add value Dobson (2004). According to Stredwick (2008), Strategic analysis is concerned with the strategic position of the organisation. It consists of the organisations values, culture, resources and its environment. It tackles the following questions: what are the key characteristics of the organisation, what changes are going on in the environment, and how will these affect the organisation and its activities. In addition, a detailed internal and external environmental analysis including an assessment of culture enables the organisation to make a strategic choice and also help in the strategic implementation. Therefore, the report will use different tools such as SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis in relation to Michael Porter five forces analysis to highlight where BQ (UK) is, and the environment it operates in, is strategically and where it could be in the future and the nature of competition. It looks at internal factors, the strengths and weaknesses of BQ, and external factors, the opportunities and threats facing the business. Besides, PESTLE (Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Legal and Environmental) analysis is another tool to be used to analyse the macro external environment. Johnson (1992) Cultural web will also be used for the assessment of BQ culture. BQ Profile BQ was the first national DIY retailer and has been in the DIY business for more than 30 years. Richard Block and David Quayle (BQ) wanted to bring value, longer opening hours and a broader product range to everyone. In the 1980s it bought the Scottish DIY chain Dodge City and eventually became part of the Kingfisher Group. Today, BQ is the UKs leading DIY and garden centre retailer and its stores offer approximately 40,000 inspirational home improvement and garden products for the homemaker, occasional to serious DIY and trade professionals. Swot Analysis of BQ UK Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities Threats (SWOT) analysis is a tool of environmental scanning aimed at analysing both the internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external environment (i.e. opportunities and threats) to see whether the organisation can seize new opportunities given its strengths and face new threats despite its weaknesses. Thus, a SWOT analysis is a well-rounded analysis which goes well beyond the internal environment. Strengths Leading brand and good reputation BQ is the number one leading brand in the UK and is twice the size of its competitor. It has a market size of  £31bn as regard to the size of repair, maintenance and improvement market. Being the number one position in the UK market, BQ has a major strength as they are ahead of their rivals. Furthermore, BQs reputation is strong and popular which means people view it with respect and believe in it, for example, BQ is supporting Prince Charles in his Preserve the Rainforest. Increased market share BQ has a market share of 14% where it employs 22,602 employees and has 321 stores in the UK (http://www.kingfisher.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=33 accessed [19/10/10]. Thus, BQ will continue to grow in the home improvement and garden sector. Their increased market share is a key to their success as it boosts reputation, profit and the value of the organisation. Constantly creating new, differentiated, Innovative and wide range of Products BQ offer around 40,000 products in stores. BQ also has its strong own-label such as BQ car boot protector, BQ Foot pump and so on. BQ has innovative, well displayed products and they are also continuing with their renewal programme which includes updating product ranges such as launching their first fair-trade products and designing more eco-products. Thus, BQs innovation keeps it a front-runner in the home improvement and garden centre as it is regularly re-launching and designing new products. Hence, having a product differentiation strategy makes BQ at a better competitive advantage. Sites BQ has some good positions and new opening opportunities. BQ has 321 stores in the UK. They also encourage more eco stores such as their eco flagship store is located in New Malden and boasts innovative developments such as 108 underground bore holes, 100 metres deep which heat and cool the store with energy from the earth. Moreover, for the first year 2010/11 half progress, three large and 1 medium stores revamp (kingfisher strategy progress, March 2010). Thus, this is a strength which shows the overall performance of the BQ. Adding value to the organisation Adopting Michael Porter (1985) value chain concept through all its primary and supporting activities, BQ Delivering Value programme of self-help initiatives is working well, meaning now it generates significantly higher profits and cash flow from its operations and a much better return on capital for its shareholders [www.kingfisher.com]. Technological strengths BQ have embraced technological advancement in their business. For example, it has their own website where customers can shop on line namely, www.diy.com, thus facilitating e-commerce. In addition, BQ intranet facility also helps in improving its internal communication system where policy and procedures of the company can be accessed to all employees. Furthermore, on the 4th august 2010, BQ has launched its first iDIY APPS which makes it easier for customers to get the job done by having BQ experts available for them whenever needed. It is new at apple store and free to download for I phone and I pad users. Moreover, a range of green technologies have incorporated into new stores at BQ. Good customer relationship management More than three million customers come at BQ (UK) doors every week. Thus, BQ has an extensive customer base, which is a major strength regarding sales and profit. Besides, BQ retain their customers by giving them the opportunity to create, design their own product according to their taste. BQ offer different types of discount for regular shoppers which also help in customer retention such as the diamond card which offer 10 % discount off to the over 60s every Wednesday off selected purchases or products, Trade Discount Card which also offers discounts for trade customers and Corporate Gift Cards which receive discounts for bulk spending. Effective Human Resource Practices BQ has been awarded again for the fourth year running the Gallup best workplace award. Besides, on the 22nd June 2010, BQ UK also scoops the top award at institute of internal communications [www.kingfisher.com]. BQ UK is also recognised for its constant emphasis on employee training in order to improve customer satisfaction. For example, 15 500 employees of BQ UK have completed a Retail Skills Level 2 NVQ or Home Improvement Knowledge Qualification awarded by City Guilds. BQ has a very experienced workforce which drives the organisation with knowledge and expertise. In general, we can therefore comment that BQ UK concentrate on the soft side of human resource management. They invest in people through good communications, teaming and training. A participative management style BQ has an organic or flatter organisational structure which reflects its culture. Employees are empowered and have freedom of expressing new ideas. Thus, BQ unlocks the potential of its employees. At BQ, they have been busy laying the foundations for future growth. For example, they recently launched a Dragons Den-style panel to help them filter new innovative and creative ideas from staff which is called the Innovation Den. This, therefore, encourages a culture of entrepreneurship and empowerment. Financial resources BQ has improved their financial performance; this can be proved by the key performance indicators such as the operating margin which has increased from 2.8% in 08/09 to 4.9% in 09/10. Thus, the rigorous focus on generating improved cash flow from operations, reducing the investment in working capital, whilst tightening controls over capital expenditure, has yielded a significant reduction in financial net debt [www.kingfisher.com ] Effective waste and recycling management Reducing waste help to improve efficiency of organisation, thus, so far BQ has 48 % less carbon emitted from waste. They have tried to manage their production in a systematic way through the use of technology. They encourage customers to return old products and packaging for recycling. Low threat of new entrance (one element of Porters five forces analysis) Being the market leader, having a market size of  £31bn, concentrating on product differentiation; economies of scale; having cost advantages; having high capital requirements and being part of kingfisher, the third largest home improvement retailer in the world, BQ, has low threat of new competitors. Bargaining power of suppliers: one element of Porters five forces analysis BQ maintain strong relationship with their suppliers, for instance, ensuring that their suppliers provide them with eco-friendly products. Thus, the bargaining power of their suppliers is low, which makes BQ having a competitive advantage. Weaknesses As per kingfisher business review, august 2010, BQ like to like sales has increased on seasonal products such as garden products; however, one weakness will be that sales of garden product will be reduced due to winter weather which will discourage customers to invest in their gardens. BQ website, diy.com, has a poor e-commerce ratings as they were ranked bottom overall, with customer scans of 50%. In addition, the site got only two star ratings for price and product out of five stars. Furthermore, they also have delivery issues; from over packaging and delays to time slots which shows how BQ is wasting both its time and resources and also reveals their inability to adapt quickly to change. Opportunities BQ is to expand its offer in to the trade market, with the triumphant trial of Trade Point stores in nine of its large UK branches. As customer tastes keep changing, for example many people prefer to use eco-friendly products, thus an opportunity will be to broaden BQs customer by offering several trials of new or expanded product categories. Thus, this will expand the product/service lines by BQ which could help them to raise sales and increase their product portfolio. In addition, products which are cash generators and are at the maturity stage on the product life cycle can finance the rising star at the growth stage and even the question mark that are at the introduction phase. To open more eco-stores, thus, meeting the companys aim of being a sustainable business. Integrate advanced ICT (information communication technology) in business process to improve efficiency and effectiveness such as having an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. Reinforce its web design to facilitate effectiveness e-commerce. Redesigned and reduced the size of packaging on a number of lighting products, removing significant amounts of plastic and polystyrene. This will help in handling waste appropriately. Further international growth. BQ has several stores in the UK and Ireland. It also operates in china. BQ has a number of highly skilled staff, which is an opportunity for them to explore as expertise of their staff can help B Q to bring the business forward. Threats Industry Rivalry (one element of Porter five forces analysis) Focus (DIY) Limited; Wickes and Homebase Limited are the top UK industry rivalry. Homebase limited is the second market leader in home improvement and garden centre retailer in the UK. Homebase with its sister company Argos (750 stores) booming rapidly, shows a recorded sales figure of  £1.57 billion 2009/10 and profit margin was  £41.2 million 2009/10 (www.homebase.co.uk). Although, BQ are going to open some Trade points, Homebase has already a robust supply chain partnership with Argos. Being the first one to introduce loyalty cards, Homebase have an advantage in retaining customers. Homebase allow customers to collect and redeem nectar points. Even BQ has a system of processing nectar points, but this is available only on their website, even though, points are spent, not collected. In addition, Homebase is also recognised for choice, style and customer service across the wider home enhancement market. In addition, according to the Observer (31st October 2010, by Zoo Wood), analysts verdict stated that Homebase is planning to buy Focus (DIY) limited, if the acquisition is confirmed, BQ would be facing big competitive challenges, and may even lose its number one market position in the UK. Thus, the nature of competition where BQ operates is fierce. Tax increases can place additional financial burdens on BQ Changes in the way consumers shop and spend and other changing consumer patterns could be a threat to BQs performance For example, during the recession, many customers buying behaviour pattern changes, most likely, they will not spend money in home improvement or garden products. In addition, wallpapers colour paint can also be changed according to the colour fashion trend. BQ could be threatened by the high bargaining power of customers that they can influence BQ pricing strategies. BQ is susceptible to slowing UK housing market. For example, in the UK, sales declined by 2.6% to  £4.3bn in March 2009, as the recession hit consumers upgrading their homes. In addition, Kingfisher state that UK home improvement market has fallen down which will not only affect the sales, but will also affect the companys profitability and performance. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7965018.stm accessed [19/10/10]. Ultimately, when strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are identified, BQ implement the three strategies which can be formulated: a) matching strategies: match strengths with opportunities; b) conversion strategies: converting threats into opportunities and/or weaknesses into strengths; c) creative strategies: they can also be creative and try to identify hidden strengths. PESTLE Analysis of BQ PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, legal issues and Environmental) analysis is used as a tool to analyse the external macro environment. It deals with those six factors that affect the organisation. Although the items in a PESTLE analysis rely on past events and experience, the analysis can be used as a forecast of the future. Besides, Kotler (1998) claims that PESTLE analysis is a useful strategic tool for understanding market development or decline, business position, prospective and direction for operations Political Factors Employment legislation According to Balchin (1994), For employment legislations, the government supports retailers to provide a mix of job opportunities from flexible, lower-paid and locally-based jobs to highly-skilled, higher-paid and centrally-located jobs. BQ has a flexible workforce of 60%; BQ does provide work for a diverse of people, such as students; people aged 45 plus; and under 25. In addition, increasing the retirement age up to 66 year old by 2020 will make BQ to review its HR policies to formulate new strategies. Besides, due to the increase of tax (VAT 20%), BQ price strategies need to be reviewed. However, BQ has requested to the government and European Commission to reduce the VAT to 5% on energy saving products to make it affordable to all www.diy.com . BQ is working in partnership with the government to promote sustainable growth For example, BQ is helping the Government Launch of the Green Loan Pilot Scheme where BQ is partnering the London Borough of Sutton in an experiment of the governments new (PAYS) Pay as You Save Scheme www.crp-news.com . Besides, BQ is helping the government to provide security equipment at reasonable prices and as affordable as possible to secure 45,000 homes. Government also offers BQ with vouchers to help in preventing burglary (National Security). Thus, having a good relationship with the government may help BQ in the future, such as having tax breaks, good public relations and strengthen their reputation. Economic Factors Economic factors are of concern to BQ, as they are likely to influence demand, costs, prices and profits. One of the most significant factors of the economy is high unemployment levels which have mainly increased due to the recession. The recession causing an increase in unemployment has decreased the effective demand for many goods, adversely affecting the demand required to produce such goods. For example, in 2008 the UK home improvement market declined by around 4% as the economic environment worsened, impacting consumer spending. BQ was badly affected by the weak housing market, that have made them concentrate on different marketing strategies of how to attract; retain or acquire the customers. BQ GDP (Gross Domestic Product) estimates for 2010 is 1.5 % This really shows the contribution BQ has made to boost the economy by producing its product within the countrys border. A positive GDP also indicates an avenue for economic growth which leads to higher living standards and greater prosperity for individuals. It also supports businesses to be profitable, which creates employment and income. Increase interest rates by 4% in 2011 and an increase in inflation rates will affect both BQ and the consumers. Therefore, the economy is likely to experience falls in consumption and investment. Social Factors Shifts in values, culture and lifestyle Norms, values and paradigms form the socio-cultural environment. They have impact on corporate strategies. For example, there has been a shift of lifestyle where nowadays people are more concerned of the environment issues occurring, such as the Green House Effect, the widening gap of the ozone layer, and so on, thus, they are more prone to consume eco-friendly products which help in maintaining a sustainable environment. Thus, to adapt with this socio-cultural shift, has pushed BQ towards the being responsible to the environment and support ethical behaviour. For example, they have designed new eco products and open new eco stores by using green technologies, such as QUEST environmental management system. In addition, BQ social responsibility which can reflect upon its culture, are divided into four section: Their diversity strategy (value of respect for people), Environmental impact (life cycle and make up of products); Ethical (how and where to buy our products) and Community (their better neighbourhood approach). Demographic changes Demographic changes such as the ageing population and an increase in female workers have made BQ to review its employment policy, for example, this made them concentrate on benefits offered to older workforce. In addition, having an ageing population has also influenced BQ in developing different marketing strategies to retain older customers such as the diamond discount card which offer 10 % discount off to the over 60s. Source: Hogarth, T. and Michael C. Barth (1991) Moreover, families are nowadays having fewer children, and having an ageing population, will result in a shortage of skilled labours in the market. Thus, this had led to the recent introduction of legislations such as the entrepreneurs visa, point-based systems and working visa. Therefore, BQ should acknowledged these changes and review its employment policy accordingly. Education In order to promote children skills, BQ has launched its nationwide job done initiative by teaching children DIY skills as a curriculum for the future. In addition, to educate both women and men about the use of DIY tools, BQ has introduced its IDIY apps. Technological Factors Technology is a major micro environmental factor which has influenced the development of BQ products and services. The new technologies benefit both customers and the company: customer satisfaction increases as products are readily available, services can become more personalised and shopping more convenient (Data monitor Report, 2003). BQ utilises the following technologies: New tracking technology: BQ is using TaqMan operation campaign technology Decorating card technology Variety use of low carbon technologies including solar panels and ground source heat pumps for New Malden eco store. And, in the future, solar system can be used in most homes as a replacement for gas and electric heating. BQ joined SEDEX- a web-based system that provides a membership based data exchange where it provides them with greater visibility at all levels of their supply chain. Legal Factors Many government legislations and policies have a direct influence on the performance of BQ. For instance, Kingfisher retail board ensures that BQ adopt the code of practice to guarantee ethical business practices among its employees, suppliers, contractors and investors. For example, BQ has an anti-bribery and corruption policies and procedures in the light of the new UK Bribery Act 2010. The existence of powerful competitors with reputable brands generates a threat of intense price wars and robust requirements for product differentiation. The governments policies for monopoly controls and reduction of buyers power can limit entry to this sector with such controls as license requirements and limits on access to raw materials (Mintel Report, 2004; Myers, 2004). Thus to device politically correct pricing policies, BQ set reasonable prices for its products. Environmental Factors In 2003, there has been greater pressure on many companies and managers to recognise their responsibility to society, and act in a way which benefits society overall (Lindgreen and Hingley, 2003). Thus, in 2008, BQ signed a three year partnership with BioRegional to move towards becoming a One Planet Living business in order to reduce its impact on the worlds resources. BQ is awarded chain-of-custody certification for both Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC). In addition, Graiser and Scott (2004) state that in 2003 the government has planned to introduce a new strategy for sustainable consumption and production to minimise waste reduce consumption of resources and minimise environmental damage. Thus, this has pushed BQ in developing strategies such as making use of a new supplier measurement system call QUality-Ethics-SafeTy (QUEST) to ensure that the green policy is respected in accordance to the sustainability standards. However, BQ commitment is that they will force all timber products to be source certified, and also developed enforcing principles to engage its environmental campaign on suppliers. In this circumstance, question can be asked about power relations between BQ and suppliers: could other companies do what BQ is doing? Do BQ have that much power which it holds over its supply base? According to New (2003), he states that BQ does not have that power to change the way the supplier operates as green purchasing policies would vary between firms context. Assessment of BQ Culture According to CWL Hill G R Jones (2001), an organisational culture is the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organisation and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organisation. Cultural Onion What is right and proper? What the organisation should seek to achieve? The basic assumptions of the group The way we do things around hereCulture can be compared to an onion with three layers. Figure : Cultural Onion; source: Trompenaars Hampden-Turner (1997) Cultural Web One of the most commonly used ways of making sense of an organisations culture is to use the cultural web (Johnson, 1992). It is a schematic representation of the elements of an organisations culture in such a way that we can see how each element influences the paradigm. The cultural web theory is also a useful analysis for management as it represents the fundamental assumptions related to political, symbolic and structural aspect of the organisation. Figure : cultural web. Source: Johnson (1992) Cultural web theory application is an effective tool in assessing the cultural environment for BQ. As mention before, the cultural onion contains layers of norms, values, and paradigm and also the ways of doing business within and outside the company. Hence, the concept of cultural web is the demonstration of these actions taken for granted for understanding how they associate and influence the strategy (Veliyath and Fitzgerald, 2000; Johnson and Scholes, 2003). It is also used to bridge the gap between actual and desired culture through adaption of future strategies. Culture can be examined through the interpretations of how the organisation behaves, including, rituals, stories, structures, routines and systems. This shows the clues about the taken-for-granted assumptions (Paradigm). BQ has a very friendly, welcoming and supporting approach in the routine ways that shows how staffs behave towards each other, and towards those outside the company that can make up the way people do things. The control systems and measurements are continually under the management review to display the competence of the staff and bosses decisions. For instance, control systems on its quality of service, its strong environmental supply chain system, and the behavioural control of its staffs by having a good HR policy. The rituals of the organisations life are, corporate gatherings, the special events which BQ stresses what is mostly important and reinforce the way things are done. Symbols represent different basics such as Titles, Logos, uniforms or the type of language and expressions commonly used which becomes a shorthand image of the nature of the organization. BQ has already a recognised eye catching Orange colour as its logo as well as its uniforms. The brand and the logo signify a lot to people inside and outside the organisation. Nevertheless, BQ is recognised for using similar orange colour logo and store layout from the American giant DIY retailer, Home Depot, thus, the question is how innovative and unique is BQ as regard to its logo and brand positioning? What will happen to BQ if Home Depot comes into UK market? Power Structures are the core assumptions that contribute to the paradigm and are likely to be made by the most powerful management groupings in the organisation. And, as for BQ, its power relies in the environmental and ethics department, how to make people more committed to the environment and as well as to develop their core values. Continuous meetings and communication at every level of the organisations hierarchy signify a strong internal environment and a flat (organic) organisational structure. Conclusion The report entails a detailed environmental analysis of BQ including an assessment of culture. BQ had adopted influential identities by making their DIY model into a virus and outlaying it out into the culture via a range of channels: cultural sponsorship, consumer experience, political controversy, and brand extensions. The report has used mainly SWOT and PESTLE to conduct the environmental analysis. Although they are powerful tool for analysis, they do have some limitations. For example, they are only good for the person who makes it. For instance, in SWOT analysis strength can be seen as a weakness by another person. Thus, it lacks of validity and reliability. However, conducting an environmental analysis will help to formulate generic strategies for the company to have a competitive advantage. Furthermore, the industry life cycle can also be viewed as an extension of PESTLE analysis as it is a way of showing how certain PESTLE factors influence the development of an industry over time. For example, it was the changes of PESTLE factors that caused BQ to move from growth to maturity and back again. Besides, due to a dynamic environment, strategy formulation should be viewed as a route to continuous learning. The excellence of a formulated strategy and the speed of its implementation will hence depend on the quality of BQs intellectual and behavioural learning processes.

Destruction of the Ibo Tribe in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart Essay

The Assisted Suicide of the Ibo Tribe Nothing on this planet is indestructible, everything must go at some point in being. However, if an object is left untouched, it will not disappear. Something has to assist its end. The same concept applies for the tribe of Umofia. The Umofian culture cannot prosper forever, something had to aid in its downfall and in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the British were to blame for the downward spiral the Umofian people saw. The novel Things Fall Apart is set in Africa and focuses on Okonkwo, the main character. Okonkwo leads an ambitious life until he mistakenly shoots a member of the tribe during a festival. His reprimand for this act was seven years in exile in which he served reluctantly. Upon his arrival to his home tribe, he observed that his clan’s folk had become â€Å"women-like.† He quickly noticed the reason of this sudden change and held the British responsible. At this point, the tribe runs down a dark tunnel, one that Okonkwo does not want to see so he performs suicide. Okonkwo’s death symbolizes the Ibo tribe’s downfall and the group that assisted both deaths was the British. The ways that the British aid in the falling apart of the Ibo tribe is by taking away the Ibo culture, belittling their gods, and converting Ibo clan’s folk. When a society gets its traditions taken away, they can assume they have taken the first step towards assimilation, for without their culture, they have nothing proving who they are. The same concept can be applied to the situation in Umofia. When the British came and started to change Umofian culture, things started to fall apart. The first action the British did was change the Umofian Judicial system. Instead of meeting in front of the Egwugwu, as cu... ...nsidered a being to fear, however, Mr. Brown implies that Chukwu is a â€Å"Loving father† and â€Å"Not feared by those who do his will† (Achebe 181). By saying this, Mr. Brown alters the way the Umofian people believe in God which may make them confused for never hearing of another religion before. In the novel, things started to fall apart because the British came and took away the Umofia people’s culture which includes their right of jurisdiction, belief in their own God and, converting the clans folk. This shows that nothing, however big, or small can flourish forever. Even if the British had not of come, something would have caused the Umofian downfall. Everything must come to an end, in this case it was the Umofian clan. However Okonkwo sums it all up the best â€Å"The [British] has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart† (Achebe 176).

Uses and Abuses of Censorship :: social issues

Uses and Abuses of Censorship The uses and abuses of censorship in developed and developing countries have been under discussion for quite a long time. Although societies claim for freedom of thought and expression, which are indispensable to live peacefully, censorship is sometimes necessary, due to the fact tha its abuse may badly influence the behaviour of a society and may also result in anarchism. There are different kinds of censorship. The most common ones are: governmental, press and television censorship. The first one is connected with the respect and consideration people should live with. If the citizens of a country do not have the chance of giving voice to their discontent, they feel furstrated and inhibited. Freedom of expression is extremely important inthis case. People must have the opportunity of saying what the think in order to improve the conditions of living, without governmental censorship. Unfortunately, this freedom is sometimes exercised in a wrong way obliging the Government to use its power to censor demonstrators, because they behave violently and irrationally. It is clear, then, that it is highly positive that people have freedom of expression, but on the other hand, that freedom must be used in logical and civilized terms, to improve life in society, otherwise its bad use may lead to a social chaos. Press censorship is quite common nowadays. The press plays an important part in modern societies. Although there are some exceptions, some journalists and reporters are nowadays mor reliable than most of the politicians. Independent press has the freedom of publishing true facts about everyday governmental activities and decisions. In some cases, if the press did not investigate political and government affairs, people would never know some decisions, which most of the times, are in favour of leaders and against grass roots. It is said that the press is the fourth estate by the influence it has on the society, consequently, it should never be censored by the Governmet. Unfortunately, sometimes this freedom is used by journalists with political tendencies, so Government should have the power to investigate secret arrangements between the opposite political parties and some corrupt journalists. Another common case of censorship is the one shown by the Government, which in past times used to censor some television programmes. There are a lot of examples of programmes which were prohibited by governmental organizations. This was the clearest exemplification of censorship in past times.

child development :: essays research papers

Video Reflection Play v Importance v Indoors Play v Levels of Play v Social Skills v Intellectual Play q Importance: Growing up my mother encouraged her four children to play hard. We were allowed the space to work off or steam by playing dirty in the mud. Or being allowed to jump into a pile of leaves. Her basic motivates and comments to us were always; that the clothing could be washed, we could take a bath but enjoy be a child. In the video â€Å"Play†, it is discussed as a way for children to be allowed to let go of their emotions. In chapter 15, Enhancing Creativity, Play is described a crucial stage in the development of the child. It allows the child to develop their sensor motor skills. q Indoor Play When a child plays indoor, they are in the process of developing a greater since of their physical skills. They can learn hand eye coordination; also, problems solving skills will be enhanced. In chapter 15, Enhancing Creativity, it is important for the children have the ability and space to gain a deeper understand of who they are how they can function indoors. q Levels of Play To watch a child play is to watch a world being created before your eyes. Children have the ability to experience freedom and love at its best. Yet, even the nature has laws and different levels of interaction. There are different forms of play associated with how children will interact. Functional play is when children can explore using sense’s to figure out what they can do. Constructive play is used by children of all ages. In chapter 15, Enhancing Creativity, the different levels of play allow the child to develop a sense of there own personality. q Social Skills As children learn how to play and interact with each other, they learn social skills. They learn how to cooperate with each other, in order to accomplish what they need. Play allows them the ability to release a lot of so cial tension. In chapter 15, Enhancing Creativity, learned social skills are important in the development of the child. These are the first steps that the child will need to take to eventually take their place in the society.

Mergers and Acquisition Essay

Why are there mergers and acquisitions? Mergers and acquisitions take place for a number of reasons, such as refinancing for a better price, amplifying expansion, and submerging risk through diversification. New entities may drag behind after a merger takes place due to the higher cost of matching different and unconnected economic activities. Diversification by business groups may also reduce technical effectiveness. When a merger takes place, a bigger business groups emerges from the two which usually will have more economic and political influence In this paper, we will assess the impact of mergers and acquisitions on firms, including sensible† and dubious reasons for, and benefits and costs of, cash and stock transactions. We will also be sure to examine the financial risks of merging with or acquiring an organization in another country and how those risks could be mitigated. First we will we will assess the impact of mergers and acquisitions on firms while also touching on the benefits and costs of, cash and stock transactions. Who gains from mergers? Typically, the selling firm tends to be impacted favorably by the merge and/or acquisition rather than the firm acquiring the selling firm. Studies demonstrate that most of the benefits from mergers and acquisitions were earned by the selling firm, not the acquiring company. For example, recent research found that holders in the acquiring firm earned an estimated 4% return on their investment with the completed acquisition in contrast to the holders of the target firm whom typically received a 30% return on their investment. So, to imply that mergers and acquisitions do not create benefits would not be correct because the acquiring firms are paying too much money for their acquisitions. There are many sensible and dubious reasons for mergers and acquisitions. Many times the reason for acquisitions is for expansion. Expansion that is not limited by internal resources means there is no reduction of working capital which crates many benefits such as; stocks can be exchanged faster, assets can be purchased more quickly rather than building, better technology can be gained as well as resources and skills, and the tax benefits can sometimes give the new company better operating leverage in their particular market. Smaller firms will usually always gain from merging with larger firms because larger firms have better equipment, resources, and technology. The aforementioned reasons make the merged firms more effective in daily operations, which in turn, make the merged firms more alluring to their current and potential clients. Mergers and acquisitions also help reduce the merged firm’s risk by diffusing their debt and risk among the various companies with the firm. Oftentimes firms will merge in order to gain a larger market share within their perspective fields. For example, AT&T recently merged with Cingular Wireless to become the nation’s largest telephone network and gain the highest market share of customers in telecommunications, thus trying to eliminate competition. Now, we will discuss the financial risks of merging with or acquiring companies in another country. There are many financial risks of merging or acquiring companies in another country. One, oftentimes there are culture clashes between the foreign firm and the home firm. These cultural clashes sometimes lead to losing valuable managers and workers to other firms because they do not desire to live in another country. Two, there may be a conflict of intentions in two different countries which could spell disaster for all firms involved. Other financial risks can include; foreign exchange rates, lawyer, banker, and brokers fees. Firms must know foreign banking and business laws such as the proper filings they must report with the SEC and foreign officials. Many consideration must be taken when considering merging /and or acquiring a foreign firm. In this paper, we assessed the impact of mergers and acquisitions on firms which we found to be more beneficial to the smaller of the merging firms due to their gaining of better equipment and resources. We found that there are indeed many sensible and dubious reasons for, and benefits and costs of, cash and stock transactions which include risk diversification among the merged firms. We examined the financial risks of merging with or acquiring an organization in another country and conclude that mitigation can be done by ensuring that the proper laws and culture differences are overcome before merging. References Brealey, R., Myers, S., Marcus, A. (2004). Fundamentals of Corporate Finance. Chapter 22: Mergers, Acquisitions, and Corporate Control. Retrieved from the internet on April 22, 2007 from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary/content/eReader.h#Investopedia.com.(2007). Retrieved from the internet on April 22, 2007 from www.investopedia.com/university/mergers/mergers4.asp – 36k –

Public Speaking Self-Reflection Essay

In order for public speaking to become a skill, there are a few areas in which I need to improve to make it a suitable strength. Public speaking is not a weakness for me but I would like to transform it into one of my strengths. During my two minute presentation, I found that in order to do this I need to improve my ability to perform long speeches without hesitation, maintain eye contact, and be energetic in front of an audience showing more overview what topic I am discussing. In class I plan to work on take the steps of improving my verbal communication in front of my peers. While talking I plan to avoid using filler words that will drag a speech on and draw less interest from my audience. Being able to talk among my peers by keeping good eye contact on them at all times. By doing this it allows me the freedom to walk around and not be completely immobile when giving a speech. Understanding how to organize my work to have a solid overview on what I will be saying when presenting. With this class I hope it takes me to a whole new level on how to talk to people and how to control my emotions when in front of any audience regardless who it is. By allowing myself this sense of understand and awareness will help give me a sense of calmness giving me the ability to stand up and say what I need to say when giving a speech or if I am in a crowd listening to someone speak to offer my views on what is being said. In order for myself to improve my weak areas to accomplish my goals I will have to do the following: first write a speech and review it, next go over the speech many times in a place I feel safe performing the speech. After this find a mirror, use this to help reduce my fear when speaking in front of people. If this doesn’t work for me I can always use my family to help me. This will be continued to repeat itself until I felt I was ready to give my p resentation. Once I have accomplished improving my shortcomings will have the tools needed to be successful in any  job related to my career field.