High School and Teen Pregnancy Essay

A. General Purpose: To inform B. Specific Purpose: To inform my audience on what I see as the biggest challenges young adults face today. C. Central Idea: I will give three reasons as to what I see as the biggest challenges are; the abuse of drugs and alcohol, teen pregnancies, and unemployment. I. Introduction A. More than half of teen mothers never get their high school diploma because they drop out of high school to provide a better parenthood for their child. B. The use of illegal drugs is increasing in young teens. An average age of first usage of marijuana is 14 and alcohol usage can start at age 12. The usage of marijuana and alcohol is now very common in high schools. C. More than 40% of those who have earned their college degree in the last two years are working in a job that does not require their degree. II. A. Teen pregnancy is affecting young adults more each year. 1. Young adults are taught that it is okay to raise a child no matter what age you are. 2. Even though statistics show that teen pregnancies are a negative outcome in their lives, some manage to make it a positive outcome. B. Young adults do not realize the use of drugs and alcohol at young age can cause negative effects on your life. They feel like they are indestructible and immune to the problems that others experience. 1. It is common for teens to experiment the use of drugs and alcohol. The problem is when they get addicted and are moving on to more dangerous drugs. 2. see more:papers on teen pregnancy Teenagers, who are depressed, have low self-esteem, and feel like they don’t fit in will most likely develop a serious drug and alcohol problem. C. Some young adults who are unemployed, are not able to pay their student loans, car payments, and cannot afford an apartment so they have to go back to their childhood bedroom and live with their parents. 1. The unemployment rate in young adults rose significantly in just one month of July 2013 from 16. 4% to 16. 8%. 2. More than 4 out of 5 are now delaying and changing their major life decisions. I. Conclusion Young adults face many challenges every day. I have listed the main three that I consider are the biggest, teen pregnancy, the abuse of drug and alcohol, and the unemployment that young adults are facing today. Some challenges are just part of life and we have to learn how to deal with them, but there are others such as unemployment that we can change. The thing is, it’s not going to change by its self, and we have to do something about it if we want to see a change in the coming future.

Music in the Late 90s and 2000s

Compare and Contrast Music in the Late 90s and 2000s As all of us know, music is the universal language. It is the art of expressing and interpreting an opinion or expression through the creation of sound; and it certainly has histories of many centuries and periods since the existence of human. The question is- would you consider music as a necessity in your daily life? Well, I would easily agree to it; with more quotes popping up recently that are related to music, such as, ‘No Music, No Life’, and ‘Music is the Essence of Life’.These quotes never fail to prove how strongly music influences in all our daily lives. However, music is created very uniquely and differently in every century and here we are now, to compare and contrast between music in the late 90s and in the late 2000s, in terms of the style, the presentation, and the genres. From J. S. Bach, to W. A. Mozart, to Ludwig Van Beethoven, to Claude Debussy, to Scott Joplin, to Miles Davis, to The Be atles, and then to the current Justin Bieber; these people are to be said as the ‘icon’ of their century.Each of them showed progression of music along the century; portraying individualistic in music of the century. As for music in the late 90s and 2000s, contrasts in their musical style and elements have been clearly shown through their music. Judging by the music in the late 90s music, musical instruments used seemed to be more original in the sense of its sound and timbre produced compared to the more technology infused music in the 2000s.This creates a huge contrast in both musical style as the sources of the sound produced is very much differ from each other. Besides that, the song lyric in the late 90s music can be judged as more meaningful compared to the 2000s- more insightful lyrics were incorporated in the 90s with more decent vocabulary compared to the more trendy lyrics style in 2000s with more foulness and wildness usage of vocabulary in expressing a music .This clearly shows the influences of generation in the past and in the present that indirectly influence their musical style in music of the century. Next, how do we audience perceive a kind of music? This is a general question with a general answer; which is presentation of the music itself. A presentation of the music is affected mainly by its outlook- recording. In the 90s, the quality of the music recording seemed to be not as excellent as the ones in 2000s; due to the progression of technology at that period.However, music in the late 90s provides and instills good vibes and awareness of quality music into the society with its positively contented music compared to music in the 2000s which concentrated more on catchy and trendy music videos for publication to attract more audiences while neglecting the education of music towards the society’s mind- videos are recorded with more sexual and violent actions incorporated are indeed deluding and corrupting the generation of the century.This shows how a presentation of a music recording affects the perception of the audiences towards the music in the late 90s and the 2000s. Last but not least, technology does play a critical role in music. Evidence could be seen with the increment of music genre that is well equipped with technology influences, especially through the music progress from the 90s to the 2000s.In the 90s, the music produced are played with more authentic musical instruments, such as piano/keyboard, drums, guitars, and etc; while in the 2000s, the music are more technology based with frequent usage of synthesizer which is capable of switching to many types of instruments’ sounds and even have a function to play the drum beats in the background while you play the synthesizer, thus replacing the role of few musical instruments.The dominance of contrast between music in the 90s and the 2000s is clearly seen with the genre of music the century focused on, which is pop/rap/rock music in t he 90s and trance/techno/rock metal music in 2000s which obviously prove the influences of technology in music of 2000s. Music is deeply engaged in our daily lives without any doubts, whether we are in the 90s or the 2000s.There is no ‘better’ music through comparison of music from different era. It is purely based on one’s preferences and understanding towards it. Music from the late 90s and the 2000s has strongly showed the musical style of their own with the contrasts found in their music, as stated above. Let us just embrace and appreciate music as it is instead of holding grudges towards them! Reference http://www. thepeoplehistory. com/90smusic. html

Financial Markets Study Questions Essay

14.1 What are financial markets? What function do they perform? How would an economy be worse off without them? Financial markets are institutions and procedures that facilitate transactions in all types of financial claims. Financial markets perform the function of allocating savings in the economy to the ultimate demander(s) of the savings. Without these financial markets, the total wealth of the economy would be lessened. Financial markets aid the rate of capital formation in the economy. The economy would be worse of without financial markets for several reasons. Savers would not be able to earn a return on their savings. People who need capital wouldn’t be able to get the funds from other people and so would have to rely only on their own money. The inability to get capital from others would slow the growth of businesses and reduce the purchases of consumers because they can no longer get loans. These would lead to decreased demand for products and services as well as a decrease in available jobs both of which would harm the economy. 14.3 Distinguish between the money and capital markets Money Markets facilitates transactions using short-term financial instruments; whereas, Capital Markets facilitates transactions using long-term financial instruments. A money market is a market for short term debt securities such as banker’s acceptances, commercial paper, repos, negotiable certificates of deposit, and Treasury Bills with a maturity of one year or less and often 30 days or less. Money market securities are generally very safe investment which returns a relatively low interest rate that is most appropriate for temporary cash storage or short-term time horizons. A capital market is where debt or equity securities are traded. 14.4 What major benefits do corporations and investors enjoy because of the existence of organized security exchanges? Organized stock exchanges provide for: †¢ A continuous market. This means a series of continuous security prices is generated. Price changes between trades are dampened, reducing price volatility, and enhancing the liquidity of securities. †¢ Establishing and publicizing fair security prices. Prices on an organized exchange are determined in the manner of an auction. Moreover, the prices are published in widely available media like newspapers. †¢ An aftermarket to aid businesses in the flotation of new security issues. The continuous pricing mechanism provided by the exchanges facilitates the determination of offering prices in new flotation’s. The initial buyer of the new issue has a ready market in which he can sell the security should he need liquidity rather than a financial asset.

Mr. Jim Wormold, the Unlikely Optimist in “Our Man in Havana”

According to the online version of the Merriam-Webster dictionary, â€Å"faith is the allegiance to duty or a person: loyalty (1): fidelity to one's promises (2): sincerity of intentions. †# The concept of faith can cleverly be disguised as a purely religious byproduct; possessed primarily by the followers of a religious belief system or spiritual path. However, faith simply means a strong trust in something or someone. Faith is to commit oneself to act based on life experience to warrant rationalization, but without sufficient proof.To have a faith in someone or something also involves an act of will to persevere when the odds are at great length. Even though the protagonist, Jim Wormold doesn’t have religious faith and his actions motivated entirely by desperation to have the approval of an absent wife and spoiled daughter, he is the only character that doesn’t exhibit blind faith. Faith is closely related to loyalty, as evidenced by the ideal of †fidelit y to one’s promises† or an inherent â€Å"faithfulness†. Faith is not an uniquely religious principle, but it is a byproduct of entrusting loyalty.And both loyalty and faithfulness have connections to trustworthiness. Loyalty cannot exist without faith. Wormold’s faith is engrossed to the loyalty of his daughter. As stated in Chapter 2, â€Å"Unlike Wormold, who believed in nothing, Milly was a Catholic: he had been made to promise her mother, he supposed, was of no faith at all, but she had left a Catholic on his hands. It brought Milly closer to Cuba than he could come himself† (Greene, 15). When marrying, Wormold promised his wife they would raise their children as Catholics. Even when his wife leaves he continues to raise Milly as a Catholic.Although it appears that he himself is absent of a religious faith, his actions to ensure she is Catholic are very significant. Wormold failed in his marriage, but doesn’t want to fail in raising his daughter with the right upbringing. Wormold is wholly dedicated and governed by the main woman in his life, his daughter Milly. She is the entire reason for him becoming involved in the Secret Service. By all accounts he should have rejected Hawthorne's offer. He has no background or training of any kind that would qualify him to be a spy. However, he sees a chance to make some money and he exploits it.He not only takes the basic pay of $300 offered him, but goes out of his way to make as much money as possible by creating phantom agents and missions all requiring more money, which of course he uses on his daughter. The following quote presents the reasoning why Wormold accepts Hawthorne’s offer. Milly wants a horse and a country club membership for her seventeenth birthday although she knows Wormold cannot afford the extra expenses of such a gift. †¦,‘Oh, I knew you’d take it like this,’ Milly said. ‘I knew it in my heart of hearts. I said two novenas to make it right, but they haven’t worked.I was so careful too. I was in a state of grace all the time I said them. I’ll never believe in a novena again. Never. Never. ’ (†¦) He had no faith himself, but he never wanted by any action of his own to weaken hers. Now he felt a fearful responsibility; at any moment she would be denying the existence of God. Ancient promises he had made came up out of the past to weaken him. (18) In the given quote, Milly begins to doubt whether her prayers will be answered. It is obvious she takes advantage of her father and asks for anything even if she knows her father cannot afford it.In fear of Milly becoming skeptical of her Catholic faith, Wormold keeps the horse as he had made â€Å"ancient promises to his wife† to â€Å"raise a good Catholic†. Wormold’s fear of his daughter, or at least the fear of her disapproval is brought to realization. Wormold has a great love for his daughter and wants to give her everything she wants so that he can succeed as a single parent and remedy faults he committed to his wife. He sees direct parallels to his daughter with his wife. Wormold failed at his marriage, but he intends to succeed in rearing their child.Several times throughout the novel, Milly manipulates and controls her father with a similarity to her mother. He feels distant and detached from her world and often gives into her requests. â€Å"He was glad that she [Milly] could still accept fairy stories: a virgin who bore a child, pictures that wept or spoke words of love in the dark. Hawthorne and his kind were equally credulous, but what they swallowed were nightmares, grotesque stories out of science fiction† (75). Wormold compares the significance of Milly's Catholic faith to that of a childhood fairytale as it ensures she maintains her innocence and faith in something without skepticism.This critique of Catholicism is similar to the Santa Claus myth. Parents lie t o their children about the existence of an imaginary entity in hopes to instill principles of goodness and morality in their children. Wormolds’ lack of religious faith is a result of a moral discrepancy. His wife was apparently a devote Catholic but still managed to overlook her marriage and run off with another man. Religion for the protagonist, Wormold is irrelevant. On the other hand, to have a faith that things will continue being advantageous isn’t considered far-fetched.Our Man In Havana takes place against the background of the Cold War. The British Secret Service is operated by heresy and the fear of expansion of the Communist regime. The novel’s setting in Havana Cuba is important because the story is written and takes place just before the revolution led by Fidel Castro. At the time of the story, Cuba is a largely poor country. There are many European and American tourists and businesspeople on the island who have their personal agendas and respective loyalties. Wormold remarks about this in Part 5 of Chapter 4: â€Å"You are loyal. † â€Å"Who to? † â€Å"To Milly.I don't care a damn about men who are loyal to the people who pay them, to organizations†¦ I don't think even my country means all that much. There are many countries in our blood, aren't there, but only one person. Would the world be in the mess it is if we were loyal to love and not to countries? † (195) The paranoia surrounding the Cold War is what drives the Secret Service to recruit agents so quickly without giving them proper training. Loyalty is a recurring theme throughout Greene’s novel and questions the validity of the ability to have a loyalty to a country when residing in another.Espionage is rampant because the fear of a Communist threat appears imminent. Consequently, they are so desperate for any information that they are very excited when they get Wormold's fake reports. Their desire to outmaneuver the Communists oversh adows their common sense. The British Secret Service engages in a prime example of blind faith with enlisting Jim Wormold. Hawthorne, the British secret agent who recruits Wormold, is not revered as an outstanding agent and isn’t trusted by his superiors. This may be a result in his questionable judgment for selecting new recruits.Although the British secret Service prides itself to â€Å"employ agents who were men of good social standing,† Hawthorne lies about Wormold’s true occupation and social standing by embellishing it: â€Å" ‘Oh, he imports, you know, Machinery, that sort of thing. ’ It was always important to one’s own career to employ agents who were men of good social standing. The petty details on the secret file dealing with the store in Lamparilla Street would never, in ordinary circumstances, reach this basement-room† (52). Later, Hawthorne suspects Wormold's reports may be falsified, but does nothing about it.In Part 4 of Chapter 2 Dr. Hasselbacher states, â€Å"At first they promised me they were planning nothing. You have been very useful to them. They knew about you from the very beginning, Mr. Wormold, but they didn't take you seriously. They even thought you might be inventing your reports. But then you changed your codes and your staff increased. The British Secret Service would not be so easily deceived as all that, would it? † (146) Faith is a suspension of disbelief. This is vital for believing in things that can't be proven, and as such is a personal decision for the individual.The function of the British Secret Service is to rely heavily on sources that cannot be easily confirmed. They have to put much trust in people like Wormold. While it is likely that most of them are reliable and diligent intelligence gatherers, there are few checks and balances in place to confirm they are not. The information they provide is obviously secret and not easily verifiable. This is dangerous bec ause decision makers have to much of their faith on these sources when making serious decisions.When wrong information gets through the system, whether it is intentionally wrong or not, it resulted in disastrous consequences as several people do in fact die indirectly because of Wormold's fake reports. The Secret Service is supposed to be a highly competent organization, but in reality they are unwittingly relying on Wormold who is neither qualified nor a loyal patriot of the British Crown. â€Å"If you have abandoned one faith, do not abandon all faith. There is always an alternative to the faith we lose. Or is it the same faith under another mask? # The idea of faith being either religious or not is purely semantics. For Wormold it is not a matter if he has faith, but who or what he places his faith in. Throughout the novel, Wormold exhibits optimism that he will be able to preserve a decent livelihood for himself and his daughter through playing up the insecurities and paranoia of the British secret service. Through the depiction of Wormold, Greene's Our Man In Havana suggests that true faith is not blinded by fear of attack of an unknown enemy or mythology of an ominous being, but loyalty to one’s individual morals and loved ones.

A good manager and a good leader Essay

What is more important, a good manager or a good leader? Discuss There are a lot of issues that are linked with managing oneself when trying to build work based relationship and engage positively in the organizational decision making procedure. The business sector in today’s society is cumulatively rapid, and with this prompt increase comes the need for more people to manage and lead the growing establishments, but this growing need also raises some potential questions: Can anyone become a leader or a manager? Is there a difference between the two? Can people be trained to become leaders or a managers? Just like many other questions that might be asked in business; these questions have no one, definite answer. I will begin first by acknowledging the definitions of the two root words; the word manage according to the â€Å"oxford online dictionary† means â€Å"Be in charge of (business, organization or undertaking, and having the position of supervising staff at work. W hile the word lead simply means to go or guide. Similarly as the two words have different meanings or definitions, they also have different purposes. To help individuals increase their capabilities in business, an internationally recognized motivational speaker by the name of â€Å"Marc Sanborn† has developed certain theories that, â€Å"much like in science or art, prove some things to be more true than others by providing supporting facts to prove the legitimacy of certain ways of thinking†. Most of his theories authenticate the fact that in general, â€Å"good managers tend to be good leaders, but good leaders are not always good managers†. It is stated by (Rodenberg, 2007, p. 14), Any company that cannot imagine the future will not be around to enjoy it. Therefore, before any manager or leader can affect changes in their business they have to do what â€Å"Marc Sanborn† describes as visioning; they must mentally look into what they want to see as the potential outcome of any given situation. Managers are concerned with the problem at hand; they focus on what has to be done. Leaders on the other hand, notice what has to be done, but spend their time figuring out how to get it done. To be an effective leader it is important to focus on the determined details of a situation, look for opportunities and how to achieve them. Visioning cannot be taught but can be developed (Maser, 1998, p. 10). It is important for both manager and leader to start from the end an d works backwards, or thinks to themselves â€Å"what will this team accomplish because of me? â€Å"Leadership is all about taking an organization to a place it would  not have otherwise gone without you, in a value-adding, quantifiable way. When you vision, you think your way into a situation and it is the approach in visioning that separates managers from leaders. Visioning however is not the only method that separates managers from leaders. (Buckingham, 2008, p. 3). The different strategies used by managers and leaders in terms of their use of human resources can also differentiate the major factors that influence each position. Managers are required to monitor, supervise, and get tasks done in a certain amount of time. Managers have to be efficient, and thus time is the most important human resource for them. By improving their efficiency, managers can improve their managerial success. Leaders, on the other hand, must strategically use not only their time, but energy as well. Therefore, leaders should use their energy efficiently because there is only a certain amount of tasks that can be done in one day. By using these resources strategically, leaders can also efficiently use the time and energy of others. According to (Stephen R. Covey, 1995, p. 27) â€Å"Managers try to put more time into life, while leaders try to put more life into their time†. Leaders must carefully plan out strategies they will use to accomplish given tasks because strategy is not the consequence of planning, but the opposite; it is the starting point. Understanding that managers and leaders have different strategic approaches in developing their human resources shows that it is the approach that separates one from the other. It is evident that by visioning the appropriate outcome and by using our human resources purposefully we can reach our goals efficiently. However, what good are the two if you are not focused on the right thing? The concept of focus is what â€Å"Stephen R. Covey† portrays as one of the most powerful factors in succeeding. To help us understand just how powerful the concept of focus can be, just like the â€Å"bird feeder story†, in which the squirrels were the victors in their attempt to eat from a feeder intended for the birds. The man that made the birdfeeder was unable to repel the squirrels from reaching the feeder simply because the squirrels were much more focused on achieving their goal than he was. (Perkins, 2012, p. 123) Similarly, if managers and leaders focus intentionally on any problem, their outcome will always abound over their competitors simply because more effort was put into the task at hand. As Marc Sanborn stated, â€Å"In the corporate world it is not intelligence which is the deciding factor in who succeeds, it is how focused  one is that makes all the difference. As mentioned by (Perry MCINTOSH, 2010, p. 45), time is the most valuable resource for managers because they must be efficient and be able to make a wisely use of it. Therefore, it can be said that the managers are focused on time. The prime focus in a managerial position is the speed at which tasks are completed. Leaders conversely are and should be more focused on being effective, that is their intentions are on doing the right thing. Marc also stressed out an example of two people who were trying to reach a destination. They were going at great speed and making good time, but they were going the wrong way. It is evident by now that there is indeed a great difference between managers and leaders and it is ultimately the approach taken upon certain methods that is the determinant of your leadership role. (Schermerhorn, 2011, p. 259) Explains that managerial power is positional power being the manager, â€Å"This power includes remunerations, force, and acceptability†. It is power over people whereas leadership is supportive power, and it is power with people. Whether you vision the destination, or the transportation there, whether you try to be efficient or effective, and whether you focus on the speed or the path all come into play as your leadership quality level. These qualities can be improved and developed if they are all focused on the right things. That is why good managers tend to be good leaders, because they can focus on getting tasks done proficiently and also do it right at the same time. (Swansburg, 1996, p. 435) Managers are good disciplinarians; they are able to manage certain objectives while being efficient. Many people tend to think that management and leadership are related. Good managers are not always good leaders. Managers usually can implement their management responsibilities succe ssfully but not show that they are great leaders as well. According to (Sims, 2002, p. 390), â€Å"an organization’s obligations for management and leadership will change as the elements affecting the organization change. Because leaders are important change agents, they play important roles when the external environment is changing fast as is the case with the new economy; and an organization has diminutive need for a strong change agent if little is changing around it†. To be able to lead proficiently will allow a successful person or leader to stand out from the average ones. A manager transacts with the everyday errands of the organization such as planning, organizing, and controlling but when you are a great leader you are able to  make effective changes inside the workplace. As stated by (Al Maktoum, 2006, p. 214), leading comprises of setting a pattern, direction and also generating a visual of the goals that must be met. Management involves establishing the structure of the company, hiring good people who are competent enough to complete the work at the right time, and also supervising events and activities. Leadership keeps employees inspired to overcome obstacles and focus on buildin g the organization towards its potential future. The typical manager tends to focus on the daily activities and short-term profits. They usually do things as they come along. This is fine if your goal is just to manage, but if you are looking advance and reach long-term goals then you must focus on being a leader to your assistants (Roger B. Winston, 2013, p. 45), to be a great leader and manager you cannot have one without the other. Managers must implement their tasks or else the organization can become ineffective and unorganized. Leadership on the other hand involves special processes that are distinguishable from basic management processes. Therefore, if one manager can master both roles effectively this can result in success. However good leaders are more supportive and creative and might sometimes lack the disciplinary quality of getting the right thing done as efficiently as possible. For the most part, there is a very fine line between good managers and good leaders, but good leaders just aren’t and do not want to be, managers. Bibliography Al Maktoum, H. S. (2006). My Vision: CHALLENGES IN THE RACE OF EXCELLENCE. Motivate Publishing, 2006. Buckingham, m. (2008). The one thing you need to know: About Great Managing,,,,, Great Leading and Sustained Individual Success. Maser, C. (1998). Vision and leadership in sustainable development: Volume 6 of sustainable community development . CRC PRESS, 1998. Perkins, D. (2012). Delightful stories from the heart of maine. WestBow Press. Perry MCINTOSH, a. R. (2010). Becoming a Manager. AMACOM Div American Mgnmt Assn, 2010. Rodenberg, J. H. (2007). Competitive Intelligence and senior Management: â€Å"The best solution to where to place the office of competitive intelligence is on a par with functions that report directlt to the board†. Roger B. Winston, D. G. (2013). The professional student Affairs administrator: Educator, Leader and manager. Routledge publisher, 2013. Schermerhorn, J. R. (2011). Exploring Management. John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Sims, R. R. (2002). Managing organizational behebior. Greenwood publishing Group. Stephen R. Covey, A. R. (1995). First Things First,,,, â€Å"Fireside Book†. Simon and Schuster, 1995. Swansburg, R. C. (1996). Management and Leadership for Nurse Managers. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 1996.

Eassy Rewrite Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Eassy Rewrite - Essay Example (Plutarch 28) This account is based on what was told to Plutarch’s own grandfather, which no doubt shaped Plutarch’s own view of Cleopatra. That Plutarch was not as impressed as Antony is obvious from his use of words like â€Å"squandered† and â€Å"incredible extravagance.† (Plutarch 28) Cleopatra’s fame, at least in the Western intellectual tradition, owes to a great extent her encounter with the Romans, and in particular Mark Antony amongst other leaders. This also means that the Roman perspective on Cleopatra and Egypt is shaped as much by these interactions, dealings and visits than other aspects of her rule and kingdom. This fame, however, was coloured by the Romans’ view of her as someone who led great men like Antony astray. She successfully captivated the attention of Antony as with Caesar earlier, but in Rome, for all her hospitality, she became â€Å"the victim of a vicious propaganda campaign† ( §1.3). At the heart of this unfortunate circumstance for Cleopatra was Octavian’s envy for and conflict with Antony. Thus, there are two opposing perspectives on Cleopatra. One is the affectionate perspective as indulged in by Antony, and the other is the negative picture portrayed by Octavian and much of the rest of Rome. In the end, the defeat of the former at the decisive battle of Actium allowed history to be largely swayed by viewing Egypt as an enemy of Rome, and Cleopatra as a seductress, enemy and loser. This negative characterisation of Cleopatra and Egypt were present in Octavian’s speech delivered before the battle. He gave the impression to his army that Egypt’s way of life was decadent, and that Antony had been â€Å"enslaved by [Cleopatra]†. (Cocceianus 54) Although Cleopatra’s effect Antony caused a deep impression and led him to develop close attachment, the wider and more lasting Roman view as promoted by Octavian and Plutarch, was one of

LECOM School of Pharmacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

LECOM School of Pharmacy - Essay Example Besides, I see that new accelerated programs in pharmaceutical care are helping the nation's healthcare needs to be met more efficiently and cost effectively. My previous experiences have been great preparation, and I will use much of the knowledge gained in my current job in this accelerated program. I hope that this accelerated program will provide me with advanced practical and theoretical preparation, because year-round curriculum proposed by LECOM School of Pharmacy best fit my needs and life expectations as I am an organized, determined, and well-rounded person who supposes that quality pharmaceutical care requires critical thinking to assess the patient's needs. I will do my best to become a high qualified professional in this field, because I have strong personal aspiration for it. I am an energetic and enthusiastic person, who loves to communicate with patients and have the constant demand for sincere attention for their needs. I have defined my career goals and the level of my education I require the next step matching my personal needs with the offerings and characteristics of specific programs like those proposed by LECOM School of Pharmacy. I am sure that I can cope with the demands of this program being well prepared, motivated and committed to pursuing my degree.

Chamberlin & Castings Plc Finacial Management Essay

Chamberlin & Castings Plc Finacial Management - Essay Example A takeover could be hostile and resisted by a company. This distinction is important with regard to valuation of the businesses and management of risk. The valuation of the Companies proposed to be merged is: 1st company: Castings Plc. Valued at ?85 M 2nd company: Chamberlin Plc. Valued at ?40 M The paper seeks to study Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), the justifications for takeover/merger, rationale applied for target identification and financial justifications for the proposal and make an analysis of the proposal. I - Mergers and Acquisitions The advantages of M&A in meeting the Challenges of strategic development perhaps mainly rest on the ability it gives the companies to grow fast in a rapidly changing business environment. For instance, expansion into new products and new market areas through M&A process is simpler and faster compared to organic growth which could be slow in reacting to the external developments, consequently seizing the opportunities. On the other hand, the go vernments place restrictions on M&A though competition laws, for example Competition laws in European Union and Antitrust Laws in the US. Correa (2007, p. vii) states â€Å"While IP law deliberately subjects intellectual assets to the exclusive control of right owners, competition law seeks to avoid market barriers and benefit consumers by encouraging competition among a multiplicity of suppliers of goods, services and technologies†. ... one trillion.† After the collapse of junk bond market which has fueled M&A in 1980s, the increase in the M&A activities have started again and reached a phenomenal level in 1990s. These mergers were horizontal in nature in the field of oil, telecommunication and financial services mainly in the US. M&A activities follow a wave pattern and Johnson, Scholes & Whittington (2008, p. 349) state that the worldwide announced deals declined rapidly after 2000 (falling by nearly 30% in 2002 to about 25,000 deals). Justification for takeover strategy Corporate companies have been adopting Mergers and Acquisitions as a strategy for growth. M & A have been necessitated due to various reasons such as inorganic growth, cost reduction, access to technology, growth in market share, synergy in the operations, capacity utilization, entry into new markets, competition, need for capital, weakness in the capital structure of one of the merging company, tax considerations, brand value and stability in the operations. Rao (2009), states that the losses can also be carried forward indefinitely for relief against future income from the same trade Under UK Laws. The companies can explore the possibilities of taking advantage of this provision, through proper legal structure of the combined entity so that the accumulated losses could be set-off against the profits after merger. Relative valuation of the assets of a company and the general economic conditions can make the takeover proposal more attractive on a global basis. The revival in the US economy and the growing economic power of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries make the assets in the UK engineering sector attractive. Hochberg (2011, p. 23) predicts that M&A activity [in engineering sector] will increase in 2011 as the

Law in Civil Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Law in Civil Engineering - Essay Example In the UK, there are several laws enacted to protect women against this kind of discrimination. Though the laws also protect men from being discriminated against, women are the victims in most cases. Several cases have set precedence of the actions and compensation that victims are entitled to in such cases. The case In the UK, the equality act enacted in 2010 protects employees against any form of sexual discrimination. The equality act is just an extension of the sex discrimination act of 1975. It does not apply only to women but also covers men. The aspects of employment such as recruitment, appraisal and promotion are covered under this law. The terms of an employment contract should provide similar entitlements to both men and women since the nature of their work is homogenous and of the similar value. In drafting its employment contracts, the company should consult its legal experts who will advise it on the implications of each of the contract statements. Eileen could sue the company for gender discrimination, age discrimination, criminal intimidation and unfair dismissal. She is entitled to damages should she win the case or decide to settle. On the first count of gender discrimination, Eileen is likely to be successful if the case goes to court. Her manager’s comments that the company has an unwritten policy for women in their twenties to be promoted are sexist. He says that the reason for this is that they leave to have children. An example would be a case in which a male supervisor at the Deutsche Bank made jokes considered sexist in the office about women. An employee Dr. Swinburne sued the bank for sex discrimination and was awarded compensation of ?40000 (Labour research department, 1988). Another example of such a case was the Crown Prosecution Services vs Maria Bimieh in February 2000. She won a case for sex and racial discrimination case against the firm. Her male supervisor failed to promote her even after her performance reviews showed that she met the requirements for a promotion. She had worked at the firm for 12 years. The company is vulnerable if it does not have any written document on its policy on sex discrimination. If Eileen and other employees bear witness that in her time working for the company, the management did not hold any educational forums to educate its employees on the implications of sex discrimination or have official policies on according each person equal opportunities on promotion and other matters, then the company is liable for the damages. In 2003, a trainee sales representative at a car showroom belonging to beadles group sued for discrimination claiming compensation of ?180000 which she won. The reason for her compensation was that she was forced to quit work by the offensive conduct of a colleague at work. The court ruled that since the company did not make any efforts to deter this behavior from its employees, it was liable for her emotional injuries. The medical evidence presented during the case showed that it would be more than 2 years before she was emotionally fit to work again. Sex discrimination cases do not always go in the directions of the plaintiffs, some have also lost. In Villalba vs Lynch inn 2004, the tribunal found that she had no basis for a sexual discrimination claim in which she was asking for ? 1.7m in settlement. She claimed discrimination for being made to perform the duties of cabin crew as the directors of

Political science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Political science - Essay Example In this essay, some major changes that have occurred in international relations since 1900 shall be reviewed. In the era of 1914s, there arose a phenomenon that came to be known as the Problem of Sovereignty and Great Power System. Sheehan (2006) explains that sovereignty concerns its self with the ideology that â€Å"political power is distinct from other organizations in the community—religious, familial, economic.† Further on, â€Å"sovereignty asserts that this public authority is preeminent and autonomous, that is, superior to institutions within the community and independent from those outside† (Sheehan, 2006). Before the 1914s, various nations of the world who were supposedly known as the world’s super-powers ventured into what came to be known as colonization. Colonization involved talking political dominion over another nation. However in the periods of 1914s, most nations who were colonized began fighting for common course of freedom to attain sovereignty and power over their own system of governance. The actors involved here were colonial masters and t heir colonized countries. Most colonial masters did not welcome the quest for sovereignty in good faith and there were reports of wars in most parts of the world. However as the demands began pressing, foreign treaties were signed to grant freedom to the pressing countries. The Problem of Sovereignty and the Great Power System was therefore a period of hostility among international relationships between colonies and colonial masters. The eventual sovereignties that were granted led to economic crises in most parts of the world as the colonial masters were no longer getting supply of free trade and payment of tax from their colonies. Economic retardation was therefore the global challenge that characterized the Problem of Sovereignty and the Great Power System. The middle of the twentieth century saw a new trend in international relation that

The reason why celebrities famous 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The reason why celebrities famous 2 - Essay Example Those who have it and know it rises to the top and those without or rather haven’t known it yet are always left behind. This is evident in youtube where celebrities are unveiled on a daily basis (Hirsen, para 3). Actually, this is the basic premise behind all the success stories one can see in youtube. All individuals in Hollywood have enough claim to be labeled the title â€Å"celebrities." After all the reason, one knows they exist is because they are who they are and by that they have become successful from their performances in Hollywood. This does not take into consideration at all the people who have as much talent as them or even more. These talented people showcase their expertise via the internet. With the high usage of technology, young people have taken being a celebrity into their own hands by downloading videos into youtube so that they can share with the world, making them overnight celebrities. The audience in return enjoys the performance given by the youtube stars as they are original as compared to Hollywood stars (Hirsen, para 9). All in all, the article written by Hirsen clearly shows that the trending celebrities are youtube stars. They are mostly teenagers. These stars employ the aspect of talent into amusing individuals. Clearly, this shows that success and talent are facets that are not worlds apart, rather

The Genocide in Bosnia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Genocide in Bosnia - Research Paper Example Sells (1998) suggests that it was the Serbian religious mythology, extreme nationalism, and racist theories, which contributed to the occurrence of the Bosnian genocide. The events which led to this genocide were put into motion with the death of the Yugoslav president Josip Tito in 1980 who had managed to hold the Yugoslav federation together throughout his rule. Now the Croat and Bosnian nationalists started to agitate for their independence and as a response, Serbian nationalism, which had been dormant for many decades, was suddenly given a new lease of life. The Serbians had been the dominant people within the Yugoslav federation and with its collapse they would have lost the power and influence which they had exercised over the other states within it. After Slobodan Milosevic became the Serb leader and by default the leader of the Yugoslav federation in 1987, he encouraged Serb nationalism not only in Serbia but also in the other states in which large Serb communities lived. Cro atia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and these three new states were all recognized internationally. There followed a year’s fierce fighting between the mainly Serb Yugoslavian army and Croatia in Yugoslavia’s attempt to hang on to the Serb communities there and when this was not successful, the Serbs turned their attention to Bosnia. A sign of the increasing tensions in the area occurred in 1992 when the Serb army began shelling the National Library of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo. Over a million books, more than a hundred thousand manuscripts and rare books, and centuries of historical records were destroyed and this can be considered to have been a systematic campaign of cultural eradication. A good case study of the Bosnian genocide would be the one that happened in Srebrenica. In July 1995, Serb troops and paramilitary units descended on the town of Srebrenica and began shelling it after dealing with the Muslim soldiers in the countryside, besieging the town’s thousands of Muslim civilians. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the town which consisted of French and Dutch soldiers, could do little to help the civilian population and had to agree to a vague promise made by Mladic, the Serb commander, that everyone would be allowed to cross out of Serb territory but only after the screening of the men so that ‘war criminals’ could be detected. This promise proved to be false as witnessed when the men were separated from the women and children and the latter were forced into trucks and buses and deported. The men on the other hand were all killed and this process of large scale murder and deportation continued for the next four days. It is estimated that up to 7500 men and boys over thirteen years old were killed after being driven on trucks or marched to their places of death. It is said that up to 3000 were while in the act of escaping by being shot and decapitated in the field s. Thousands of bodies were buried in mass graves although most of these were later exhumed and re-buried in more secret places. According to Ching and Ching (2008) more, than 26000 Muslim civilians were killed during the Bosnian genocide and thousands more died from starvation and a lack of medical care. Furthermore, over 10000 Muslim civilia

E-Logistics and International supply Chain Management Essay - 1

E-Logistics and International supply Chain Management - Essay Example Furthermore, industries are driving towards landscape that is defined as flat one by Thomas Friedman. Thomas Friedman declared that era of multinational corporations or the era of globalization 1.0 especially in high tech industries is on the verge of passing away. Similarly, there is a major shift in the aero-strategy and the systems with which the aircrafts are conceived, planned, produced, and supported have changed considerably. The new era defined as globalization 2.0 is the era of horizontal specialization with tight integrations of specialized original equipment manufacturer (OEM) (AIAC, 2009). With this the new era of globalization in the aerospace industry, 320-hectare Seletar Aerospace Park of Singapore has managed to attract the considerable investment from the aerospace manufacturers across the world as reported in the Financial times recently published article (Grant, 2014). Among leading investors include leading aerospace industry giant Rolls Royce and the supply chain perspective for Rolls Royce in Singapore’s aerospace hub forms the central idea of this paper. This paper is based on the assessment of factors that drove Rolls Royce towards Singapore and its potential challenges in place; while concluding with, action to overcome challenges. The aerospace industry, including the defense and commercial industry, accounted for $695 billion in the year 2012 with four percent increases from 2011. The annual operating profits $59.8 billion and 8.6% annual profit margin (PwC, 2013a). According to another project in reference from past trend, the future is projected as follows: According to Capgemini (2011) the demand drivers of the industry is the reviving economies while, at the same time, growth in demand from the middle-east, China and India have been offsetting the slowed demand from developed part of the world. The major factor driving demand includes the rising low cost carrier pattern trends specifically in the developing countries.

Sustainable Tourism in the Galapagos Islands Essay

Sustainable Tourism in the Galapagos Islands - Essay Example I had no idea that sustainable tourism would really amount to such a profound and important topic. So much has been made of global warming and the melting of the polar ice caps, ozone layer pollution and the ozone hole over the Antarctic, the depletion of the rain forests, and many other cases of abuse to our environment because of the emission of harmful greenhouse gases, irresponsible logging, and other acts that we know are wrong but do anyway. Not so much has been said about sustainable tourism. But tourism isn’t an act that is wrong in itself, especially if one takes nothing but pictures and leaves nothing but memories. It never occurred to me that there was such a place as the Galapagos Islands where the very presence of throngs of people is in itself destructive. Acts so innocent as walking off the beaten path, or drinking water and eating fish, if done by enough people at the same time and with great frequency, already compromises the sustainability of the place. This is because off-path grounds may be the site of rare plants or the nesting or feeding place of unique species of rare animals, and mass consumption of drinking water and fish compels added importation of drinking water – more chances for the transfer of pollutants – and encourages overfishing that may reduce aquatic life to unsustainable levels. For me, the Galapagos in many ways is a miniature version of our planet earth. The species existing in it could not survive anywhere else; so, too, could we not survive outside our planet, at least as far as we know now. Any species lost in the Galapagos is lost forever, such as in our planet; thus, we need to preserve the Islands, just as we need to preserve the planet, enough to sustain life.

The Value of Human Life in the Poems To His coy Mistressby Andrew Essay

The Value of Human Life in the Poems To His coy Mistressby Andrew Marvel and Out, Out by Robert Frost - Essay Example Both poems show that human life has less value than the reader might wish to think, Marvell’s poem by showing that the woman only has value as long as she is beautiful and Frost’s because he shows that the death of the boy has little effect on the continuation of life. The poem â€Å"To His Coy Mistress† love poem written with the idea that the woman he desires is not letting him close enough to her. The narrator desires her and wants to have sex with her, but she is not letting him. He tells her all of the wonderful ways in which he sees her. Yet, the beauty that she has he know will fade and be lost to them, He wants to consummate their lust for one another before she has aged and no longer has the desires of her youth. His first lines provide his first argument as to why she should not be coy. He states â€Å"Had we but world enough, and time,/This coyness, lady, were no crime† suggesting that by being coy she is not committing a crime. In order to woe her, however, he discusses all the way that time would give him to praise her beauty and wait for her to give in to him. In the second verse, however, he shows that he does not have the time to praise her beauty the way that he would want to do it. ... thers both his devaluation of the woman and his argument why she should give into his lust by saying â€Å"Now therefore, while the youthful hue/ Sits on thy skin like morning dew,† describing her through references to the fresh dew of the morning. He his argument by saying â€Å"Thus, though we cannot make our sun/ Stand still, yet we will make him run†, showing that the sun will dry the dew from her beauty as well as using the sun to show the passage of time. Andrew Marvell tells in his poem that time will take away the value that the object of his desire holds. He shows that she is without any other value to him than that which her physical beauty gives. Frost shows a similar message in his poem, although he gives honor to the one who is the object of that poem. Frost sets up a story within his poem of a boy who has a terrible accident. He shows how quickly everything can turn from being normal towards a terrible event. The narrative is the story of a saw that cuts t he boy’s hand, his approximate age indicated by the lines â€Å"Then the boy saw all - /Since he was old enough to know, big boy/ Doing a man's work, though a child at heart –â€Å". In this poem, the individual is valued. The narrator of the poem shows sentiment towards the boy, his words â€Å"Call it a day, I wish they might have said/ To please the boy by giving him the half hour/ That a boy counts so much when saved from work† suggesting that he wanted him to have a good experience. Of course, what happens next is terrible and the narrator describes the event by personifying the saw. The say cuts the boys hand. By writing phrases like â€Å"The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard† which suggested that the buzz saw was an aggressive and alive thing, and through saying â€Å"As if it meant to prove saws

DISCUSSION BOARD PART 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

DISCUSSION BOARD PART 2 - Essay Example It is actually claimed, â€Å"Medicare fraud costs the U.S. government approximately $80 billion a year† (Stefanacci, 2010, p. 1). The federal government as well as healthcare legislative bodies in the healthcare industry find it extremely difficult to address this problem adequately since the healthcare industry relies heavily on health and billing records to track Medicaid fraud (Krause, 2010). More notably, tracking of fraud becomes difficult since reimbursement formulas are not appropriate. Additionally, technological advancement especially in information systems has not been fully utilized to address the issue. However, hope in addressing this issue is still overwhelming as research that is more rigorous and fruitful continues to find interest in policy implementers. Healthcare industry is continually benefiting from technological advancement. However, integrating technology and information systems that are more reliable to address Medicaid fraud has not yielded a lot since the specific problem has not yet been addressed. Therefore, the main point of concern for this research is to find the most appropriate and appealing use of technology and information systems to solve the menace of Medicaid fraud. Whereas it is a basic and constitutional human right to have access to affordable and appropriate healthcare, Medicaid programs are heavily compromised by Medicaid fraud. More specifically, approaches to address the issue of Medicaid fraud are yet to yield meaningful results since they rely heavily on traditional methods of health records. The problem becomes even more complicated when reimbursement formulas have not been harmonized and information systems have not yet been fully optimized to address this problem. From a perfectionist point of view, healthcare industry needs a near-perfect system of tracking Medicaid fraud for there to be meaningful

Read the story of Paul's Conversion described by Luke in Acts of the Essay

Read the story of Paul's Conversion described by Luke in Acts of the Apostles Chapter 9 - Essay Example His mission was to wipe the religion completely from the surface of the earth. Along the way to Damascus, Saul encounters with God’s power, a very bright light that sent him to the ground flashed around him. In addition, a sound confronted him on his persecution mission. He could not see anything as the encounter had made him blind. He remained blind for three days. Ananias was sent to go and pray for Saul. After the conversion, Saul continued living with the disciple. This amazed many people as the story of Saul persecuting Christians had spread all over the place. The name change to Paul was quite significant as it indicated a total conversion of the Former persecutor to a gospel minister. As such, a large number who new Saul as an evil person will not be swayed by their former knowledge of the person, Bryant (2009). This conversion is very important to a contemporary Christian. When God sent Ananias to plead for Saul, God said that he has chosen Saul as a gospel minister. This implies that many of the modern Christians have huge roles in the gospel ministries only that they have not encountered God for a conversion. As for my personal thought of this conversion, I believe that every Christian encounters such episode as Saul. It may not exactly be like that described in the bible that involves a voice from heaven or the lighting that made him blind. No. God manifest ton us in various ways with intentions of changing our life so as to serve Him

Critically analyse and discuss whether an international organisation Essay

Critically analyse and discuss whether an international organisation should implement similar human resource management practices across the world or adapt them to suit local conditions - Essay Example 101). An organization with an international presence should endeavor to treat its workers in an impartially but in a culturally ideal way. This paper seeks to examine why it is important for an organization to adapt human resource practices that suit local practices (Aycan, 2005). The moment that an organization opens a branch in another part of the country, it adopts responsibilities that go beyond the primary functions of human resource management. An example of an organization that takes human resource management in the international context seriously is IBM. The company has over 400,000 thousand employees in various parts of the world, and it places a big emphasis on the functions of staffing, training, and employee’s development. IBM does not just deal merely with selecting the best employees to work in their various organizations internationally but they also factor in the needs of the entire family that will accompany the employee in the completely new cultural environment. In the past, IBM has had to reject numerous successful candidates simply because their families could not fit into their new environment (Gooderham & Ringdal, 2006). Over the years, IBM has been organizing training for its employees before they begin their international assig nments just a few months before they depart. The company is also deeply involved in organizing for visas for the employee and anyone else accompanying him. IBM also goes ahead to prepare the residence in the new environment as well as to guarantee health services and placement into schools for employee’s children. This deep involvement ensures that the employee settles in their new job quickly and hence productivity is guaranteed (Kiessling & Harvey, 2005, p. 40). The world has become more aggressive, unsure, and unstable than in any time in history. In order to succeed, many organizations have to fight for a position on the international playing field since

The Analysis of Seven Meaning by Geoffrey Leech in A Poetry Essay Example for Free

The Analysis of Seven Meaning by Geoffrey Leech in A Poetry Essay The Analysis of Seven Meaning by Geoffrey Leech in A Poetry My 20 Lines For My Broken Heart Godspower Oshodin The windows of my heart is shut and disdained, My memories in reminisce of how it was pained. The open shutter of love, is now closed Moments like before will never be tossed. Love has spanked my heart to pain, As I write this poem with no poetic gain. My hand can no longer touch your beautiful face, The one I love have given me a long space. My hands fidget, as I exhaust this cubic pen, That your love for me is no longer ten over ten. My eyes cant stop cascading tear, cascade For wooing the next girl, is my lyrical fear. I have stopped sleeping, because I dont want to dream of you, Yet, staring at this blue sky, all I see is you. My dreams of fathering your children is dead My purple hibiscus has turned red. Steep is the road I now passes thru And yet, getting back to your heart is my only clue. My Journey with love has been cut shot, Now, all my feelings for a girl, has a but. Analysis: 1. First Stanza: The open shutter of love, is now closed, Synonym lists: Disdained : scorn, disregard, despise Reminisce : recall, recollect Pained Closed Tossed : acne, hurting, tenderness, griet : shut, lock, near, block : throw, let fly At the first line of the first stanza above, the windows of my heart has connotative meaning this feeling if we relate it to the whole lines of the first stanza, and at the third line the words the open shutter of love also has connotation with My heart. All the lines in the first stanza have affective meaning which can be analyzed that the writer shows us of how hurt his feeling marked by the words disdained and pained which are in conceptual meaning the word disdained means Refuse with contempt and pained means hurt or upset. Paraphrase This feeling is shut and despised, As I recall the memories of how it was hurt me. My heart is now closed, Because this old memories will never be thrown. 2. Second Stanza Spanked : smack, slap, hit, strike Poetic : lyrical, rhytmical : addition, increase, get, profit Gain The whole lines in the second stanza have affective meaning that the writer shows us the cause of the pain that the writer felt as he stated obviously at the third and fourth lines in the second stanza above which explain that the pain made him can not write the poem poetically. This second stanza also has connotative meaning on the words long space in the fourth line expressing the writer had left by his beloved ne or it could be meant the writer had a parting with his beloved one. Paraphrase: Love has slapped my heart to pain, As I write this poem without lyrical addition. My hand cant touch your beautiful face again, Youre the one I love, the one who left me. 3. Third Stanza My eyes cant stop cascading tear, Fidget Exhaust Cascading : shaking, fiddle, be uneasy : tire out, weaken, use up, finish, wear out : flow, pour, fall, drop Woo Lyrical Fear : persuade, pursue : poetic, romantic, emotional : terror, fright, worry, anxiety, phobia All lines of the third stanza above contain the affective meaning which is about the ffect of the writers pain and it can be seen at the third and fourth lines of the third stanza above. The second line at the third stanza above is obviously telling us that the writer is upset and disappointed with his woman because it seems like the womans love to the writer is not as much as the writer expected and it caused the writer crying and made a deep trauma of himself to try to start new relationship with another women because he did not want to feel those kinds of pain again. Meanwhile, in the fourth line if the third stanza above has a social meaning marked in words for wooing the next girl. If we compare the word wooing based on conceptual meaning, wooing means persuading or flirting someone to get attention, but in social meaning, the word wooing has a different meaning that is seeking the affection of a woman which is usually with the hope of marriage . This shows us that the relationship of the writer and his woman almost reached the marriage as the writer wished. Paraphrase: My hands are shaking when I use this pen, That your love for me is not as much as I expected. I cant stop crying, And its frightened me to try to find another girls. . Fourth Stanza Synonym list: Dead : deceased, lifeless, boring, over, finished The fourth stanza still consists of affective meaning showed by the first and second lines of the fourth stanza above describing the effect of the parting which obviously tell us that the writer want to forget the woman even the writer is still haunted by the shadow of the woman. The third line of the fourth stanza above has thematic meaning. In this li ne, My dreams of fathering your children is dead the writer wanted to emphasize that his dream is dead or over. The fourth line of the fourth stanza above has connotation meaning because in this line, My purple hibiscus has urned red n hidden meanings in the two key word purple and red . Based on sources and after combining with the whole lines of the fourth stanza, purple means imagination and dreams and red means anger (negative expression) here because the line has the opposite meaning between purple which attached with the word hibiscus, kind of flowers and red. In the conceptual meaning, the word Hibiscus here is kind of flowers and tends to beautiful thing. So it can be concluded that the meaning of the fourth line is the writers beautiful dream (fathering the omans children) had become anger caused by the pain and the parting. I have stopped sleeping, because I dont want to dream of you, Even if I look at the sky, all I can see is you. My dream to be a father of our children is over, My beautiful dream has become anger. 5. Fifth Stanza Clue : sign, hint, evidence At the first line of the last stanza has a reflected meaning marked by Steep is the road I now passes thru while in the conceptual meaning steep described as a steep place as on a hill and if we relate it to the steep in the context of the first line here, teep could be meant as the writers life destruction or it could be the pain that he must face. The third line of the last stanza has a connotative meaning marked by My journey with love has been cut shot. For the first highlight words, My Journey with love could be meant as the writers love life and cut shot here could be meant as broken or fall to pieces. But the whole lines at the last stanza have affective meaning that tells us about the condition of writers psychology that the only way or his only wish is back to the woman he loved or it could be the writer wanted to tell and give he woman sign in order to get her back and after all the pain he got, his feelings and his point of view ofa girl has a doubt. Pain is the one that I must face now, But, back to your side is my only wish. My love life has fell to pieces, Now, all my feelings for a girl has a doubt. Conclusion: The outline of the whole meaning of this poem tend to affective meaning describing what the writer felt about love and how love can destruct his dream to be with his beloved one as long as ne wanted, now the happiness becomes pain and miserable the parting with the beloved one is. now

Personal Experience Essay Example for Free

Personal Experience Essay Life is full of adventures and experiences. The key to living well is making these experiences as meaningful as possible. I went through a very significant experience, which was actually more of a risk, about two years ago. I was 15 years old and I had to decide whether I would stay in my hometown or move to Monterrey, Mexico. As in every dilemma faced, there are pros and cons that will try to sway you. Time wouldn’t stop and the day of my decision was getting closer and closer; the less time I had to decide, the more confused and undecided I became. All I could do was imagine myself living the future in my hometown or in Monterrey. But, why was I put into this situation? Should I have stayed where I was born and where I’d lived my whole life or would the best thing be to move to an entirely new city? My family once consisted of my mom, my dad, two older brothers, and me. Unfortunately, my dad passed away in December of 2007 when I was twelve years old. Monterrey is a city characterized by having many foreign students because of the highly recognized university, Tec de Monterrey (ITESM). Both of my brothers decided to study there. This left a lonely house with only a widowed mother and a teenage girl. That was the moment I realized we needed to do something, having me make the decision of my life with the pressure of time. I was born and raised in Matamoros, Mexico, which is a border town with Brownsville, Texas. Having my student passport, I studied there my whole life. I had many friends living in both Matamoros and Bro wnsville. This was a major factor on my decision because I didn’t want to leave them and, in Monterrey, I didn’t know anyone. The thing was that in Matamoros, every corner of my house, every street, and every part of the city would only remind me of my dad who was already in Heaven. To me, this was a kind of torture. I had to either leave my friends and start a new life, or stay there with everyone’s support, but constantly having to deal with the suffering of not being able to let go of my dad because of my surroundings. I knew moving to Monterrey was a very good idea, but like everything, it had its negative views as well. It would be a good thing to move because my mom and I would now live with my brothers and we would all be united like we were before. This new beginning would help us overcome the death of my dad. The bad part was that, as I was about to enter high school, moving to Monterrey without knowing anyone would be very difficult. I had always studied in the USA, so attending a school in Mexico would probably lower my grades and make things more complicated. It was all about taking the r isk. Decision time was near. After I analyzed everything, I understood that the best thing I could was to move to Monterrey with my mom. This was a very significant experience because it really impacted me. The first semester was very hard as I felt all alone. As soon as I began making friends, however I realized I couldn’t have made a better decision. People in Monterrey are very humble and caring. They taught me many things, enabling me to become a better person with better feelings. These friends were the ones who pulled me closer to God when I most needed Him. There was no better feeling than getting home and seeing my brothers living with me again. My family was once again united, and I am very grateful for all of this. View as multi-pages

Data Gaps And Limitations Environmental Sciences Essay

Data Gaps And Limitations Environmental Sciences Essay An extensive site history and description of the Trimpell Middleton petrochemical site has been put forward and documented in the phase I site investigations carried out for Environmental Agency and documented in the Atkins scoping study. This historic site is situated to the North and West of Middleton and positioned on National Grid with reference SD420590 (Semple, 2013 as cited in Atkins, 2000). It is about 2km south-east of Heysham and occupies an expanse of 116 hectare. The site was built and managed as a joint project between Trinidad Lake Asphalt, Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and Shell to produce aviation fuel during the World War II after which it was closed down in 1945 (CSM). It became operational again in 1948 under the ownership of Shell and ICI with a reform in its production techniques and with the introduction of new chemicals (CSM). The main refinery operations and chemical productions closed down in the 1970s and the site became derelict and has been decommissioned. The only finger prints observable in the site is the operations of SRM limited formerly Solrec Limited who are in to solvent refinery and recovery (CSM). The site is considered in two basic areas for the purpose of this report. These are the Main Refinery Area (MRA) and Final Production Tank Farm (FPTF). The main refinery area includes all the land initially occupied by the refinery, located to the west of Middleton Road and an extension which is assumed not to have been occupied by the refinery. The Northern part of the site was purchased by Solrec Limited in1975 while the Lancaster City Council has the ownership of the central and south-western parts (CSM). The Final Production Tank Farm (FPTF) is situated between the railway passageway to the east and Middleton road to the west and contains four giant tanks buried within the vicinity of supporting buildings and parts of the undeveloped land. At present, the Lancaster City Council is the known owner of the two storage tanks in the northern most part while the two other storage tanks and the remaining part of the FPTF in the furthermost south towards the railway passageway are thought to be owned by Middleton Business Park Ltd (CSM). SITE GEOLOGY The site has its central part lying flat with a rising land to the east in the direction of Middleton Road and Trimpell Tip and to the west near Whittam Hill. The site is elevated in both the northern and southern parts compared to the central part which is low-lying with the furthermost southern part of the site having a lower topography than the central part (CSM). Over these years, the site topography and ground elevation has changed because of dumping activities including inert waste materials in some parts of the site (CSM). This is documented in the report and was also observed during the site reconnaissance visit. PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES: In the operational years of the refinery, gasoline was stored in tanks at the banks of Heysham and was conveyed to the tanks on Whittam Hill for refinery use. The conveyance relied on gravity and supported by the topography (CSM). The refinery operation stopped after the World War II and restarted in 1948 with the refinement of crude to produce gas oil, fuel oil, gasoline and butane (CSM). Sulphur was removed from the crude at the Hower Baker Plant possibly by conversion to hydrogen sulphide and absorbed into an alkaline solution in the caustic soda plant (CSM). Knowledge of recovery of sulphur or the sulphide is lacking. The catalytic cracking process introduced sour water condensate which was likely to contain hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, phenol and some other hydrocarbons. Knowledge of the fate of the sour water produced is lacking. Mercaptan, an intermediate product would possibly have been removed by the use of sulphuric acid or sodium hydroxide during production of gasoline in a process of sweetening. This could be by conversion of mercaptan to disulphide (CSM). Ammonia was produced in the main refinery site in the ammonia stalls. Possible by-products of this process are coal tars and ammonia. Hydrogen used in ammonia production was produced in a water gas plant. The residues of this process were carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide which were removed by brushing with caustic soda and injection with copper liquor respectively. Methanol was produced and was stored in ICI product tanks thought to have been previously used to store petroleum. This manufacturing technique stopped and methane was produced by the addition of high temperature steam to waste oil obtained from Shell production activities. ICI went in to manufacturing of insulating board after the war using isocyante process and asbestos was thought to have been used in the process. Insulation board production was continued by Kingspan Insulation and Coolag Limited after ICI left. Knowledge of their manufacturing details is lacking. Also within the vicinity of the site is Trimpell Tip where waste from the refinery and nitrates processing such as incinerator residues, domestic and commercial waste, potentially combustible substances and inert materials were disposed. HIGHLIGHTS OF PHASE I The process of contaminated land management as described in contaminated land report 11 (CLR II) falls within three paradigms. These are risk assessment, option appraisal and implementation of the remediation strategy. The phase I investigation aims to define the purpose of the investigation, identify arrears of concern and to refine a preliminary conceptual site model using available information (CLR II). This is achieved by collating and evaluating desktop information, site reconnaissance survey and possibly interview from people who have historical or current information of the site. In doing this, all the information gathered would be needed to construct a conceptual site model that takes in to cognizance all contaminant sources, pathways and receptors or potential receptors. The report documented in phase I investigation (CSM) has identified areas of concern which is a major objective of the initial environmental site assessment. This includes the refinery area and the final production tank farm. The report makes known the historical sequence of events that have taken place in the site from agricultural use which preceded the refinery to its current derelict state. The report also describes the siteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s environmental setting including the topography and geology. DATA GAPS AND LIMITATIONS The report from the scoping study of the phase I investigation provides basic information about the site including site history and description, geology and a range of production activities that took place at the site. However, there are uncertainties and incompleteness on knowledge of certain historic activities and operations that took place at the site. The most pronounced limitation in the site scoping study is the lack of knowledge of the precise locations where certain operational activities were carried and knowledge of the extent of pollution impacted on the site by reason of those activities. Report shows that some locations of historic facilities (structures) have been identified while some are yet to be traced. Example is the underground tanks whose locations are yet to be determined. Knowledge of some underground utilities is lacking such as piping and sewer system and consequently their pollution or contaminant linkage is not ascertained. Other notable information includ es: The historic processing and manufacturing areas have been identified but there are missing information in the phase I report regarding the disposal and fate of most of the chemicals used in the manufacturing and processing operations. The areas of concern have been identified but contaminant releases and migration mechanisms are yet to be determined. The site geology such as topographical features is known but knowledge of its hydrology, hydrogeology, drainage routes, direction of ground water flow is not known. Contaminants of concern have been identified but whether release has occurred at the areas of concern is yet to be identified. Information is lacking on the background concentrations of the site as this would be a parameter to consider during remediation processes. Because of the gap and limitations in information from the phase I report, the need arises to propose and develop a phase II site investigation and conceptual model which would be used to fill the missing gaps or information. OBJECTIVES OF PHASE II The purpose of phase II investigation is to pull together enough information to determine if release has occurred at each area of concern identified or not (CDEP, 2010). A release is established to have occurred if concentrations of contaminants of concern detected exceed the limits stated in the reasonable confidence protocol (CDEP, 2010). In this stage, consideration will be given to both environmental setting and potential receptors. The site scoping study shows a possible presence of a wide array of contaminants generated from refinery or petrochemical operations, fertilizer works, railway haulage and asbestos manufacturing related process. The potential receptors of concern for these contaminants are humans, fauna, flora, controlled waters and ecological receptors. From the phase I study, a number of significant pollution linkages have been identified with most of them being probable and possible pollution linkages. A complete pathway exists between contaminant sources and the s ite drainage (CSM). This pathway is complete through discharge of site surface water run-off to the Morecambe Bay which is the ecological receptor. The phase I report recognizes a probable significant pollutant linkage through volatile emission, dust generation, direct contact to infrastructure, fauna and human health. Also, likely to exist is a significant linkage in which ground water or surface water could reach deeper groundwater in the aquifer. For the final production tank farm no significant pollution linkage was identified. Noteworthy that the tanks were sealed off during decommissioning and such suggests no significant linkage. However, a probable pollutant linkage has been demonstrated to exist between shallow groundwater and the site drainage system (CSM). There is probable existence of a pathway from groundwater and contaminated soil through dust generation, volatile emission and direct contact to infrastructure, fauna and human health. Table 1: List of possible contaminants to be found on the site Contaminants Class of chemical Fuel oil Organic Gasoline Organic Butane gas Organic Phenol Organic PAHs Organic Coal tars Organic Naphtha Organic Waste oil Organic Alcohols Organic Esters Organic Ketones Organic Toluene Organic Xylene Organic Hexane Organic Cellulose thinner Organic Chlorinated Solvents Organic Sulphur Inorganic Caustic Soda Inorganic Ammonia Inorganic Mercaptans Inorganic Copper Liquor Inorganic Sulphuric acid Inorganic Nitrates Inorganic Asbestos Inert materials Table 2 CONCEPTUAL SITE MODEL AND PHASE II INVESTIGATION Identified Potential Areas of Concern (Potential Sources) Potential Release Mechanism (Potential Migration Pathway) Expected Release Locations Suitable for Sampling and Analysis for Phase II Investigation. Underground storage tanks Tank leaks, over fills, Piping, valve, and dispenser leaks. I) For probable tank leaks, the underlying soil at the edge of the tank and sidewall can be sampled. II) For over fills, sample collection should be underneath the tank or vent pipes at the low lying or by the sloping area. II) For piping and valves, sampling should be along the pipes, pipe joints, and the vicinity of the valves. Underground water Leaching, from the vadose zone through the fringe capillary in to the underground aquifer. Sampling wells should be bore at the lowest lying area of the site, from the site geology; the central and southern parts are the lowest lying areas, so sampling should be carried out within that area. Permanent or temporary wells could be installed. A temporary well enables the detection of contaminant release while permanent well enables to monitor the ground water flow and the effects of season and tides on the fate of contaminants. Trimpell Tip Leaks, degradation and leaching. Within, beneath, down slope within the vicinity of the tip. Delivery and Loading areas Spills and leaks Cracks on the asphalt or motor way reinforcement. If there are no basement where cracks could be found, then areas with sparse vegetation which are observable within the vicinity of concern. Fire service water dam It could be a reservoir or sink for an array of contaminants which seep into it. It can leach downwards or the degradation products may persist and can also be remobilized into the surrounding environment. Beneath, adjacent to the dam. Legacy structure (building) which are fingerprints of the remaining in the site. Spills, volatile emission and depositions. Cracks on walls and floors, joints between the building roofing, wall and floors. Main refineryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s drainage system Migration, leaching to underground water. Underground water or soil core. Solrec Limited Release from solvent recovery and refinery plant. Spills and leaks. Soil within the vicinity of plant, water sample from the low lying terrain of the site Gasoline storage tanks on Whittam Hill. Leaks, spills from over fills Adjacent and underlying soil. SAMPLING STRATEGY The limitations and gaps of the phase I study suggest the need for more site interrogation through sampling to ascertain the presence of contaminants at the areas of concern. The sampling approach to be used will be more direct based on the information that has been obtained from phase I on the particular areas of concern. In addition, the data quality objective is very important in designing a sampling protocol needed to achieve site specific objectives. Ground water The identification of a probable pollutant linkage for ground water or surface water seepage into deeper groundwater necessitates a sampling protocol for groundwater. Besides, ground water sampling is an integrated sample which is representative of more spatial zone. This is because of effect of several environmental system including the unsaturated soil, capillary fringe and aquifer constituents on the underground water (USEPA, 1995). Table 3: Proposed sampling locations, number of soil samples and permanent monitoring wells to be installed for underground water sampling. Sampling Locations Number of samples Number of wells Well depth Main Refinery Area 2 1 Final Production Tank Farm. 2 1 Up Gradient of the site (North). 2 1 Mid-point (Low lying Central Area) 2 1 Down gradient (South) 2 1 Solrec Recovery Plant Site 1 1 Slope down side of Timprell Tip. 1 1 Outside Area of Concern (Background sample) 2 1 The collection of samples at each of the designated area of concern should be close enough to be representative of the area. Monitoring wells designed with screened intervals intercepting the saturated zone at the upper portion are suitable for assessing the occurrence of release to the ground water. Consideration of the site geology such as the length at which release is expected to occur, groundwater flow path and transport characteristics of the potential contaminant of concern should be made before sampling (USEPA, 1995). A single ground water sampling event may not be sufficient to establish a release, so multiple sampling or permanent wells are proposed for complementary purpose. With this strategic arrangement of bore holes, it would be possible to obtain ground water which could be interrogated for non-aqueous phase liquid, oily sheen and samples for laboratory analysis to know if there is organic or inorganic contaminants in the water sample. The observation of high or low pH solution would be suggestive to changes in natural status of the aquifer which could facilitate the mobilization of contaminants of concern. Soil Sampling and Analysis A soil sampling program is being proposed having identified a probable significant pollutant linkage through volatile emission, dust generation, direct contact to human health, fauna and infrastructure. The object of this is to establish if there is a complete pathway for the source emission to reach the receptors. This would involve sampling and analysing core soil samples from designated target areas so as to better characterize the site. A technical bias or judgemental sampling would be used since information has been known about the areas of concern. Sampling can also be carried out for cracks on the walls of legacy structures present on site to reveal the presence of contaminants. Table 4: Proposed sampling locations, number of samples and sampling zones or depth. Sampling Locations No of Samples Core depth Main Refinery Area 3 Surficial Final Production Tank Farm. 3 Surficial and Saturated Slope down side of Timprell Tip 2 Saturated zone. Gasoline storage tanks on Whittam Hill. 2 Surficial and Saturated zone Underground storage tanks 2 Saturated zone Outside the area of concern (background sample) 4 Surficial and saturated zones. The surficial sample which be able to detect if a release has occurred or not but a saturated sample would be representative of an integrated sample affected by the environmental quality of enormous zones of unsaturated soil, capillary fringe and aquifer material. The analysis of the samples should be judgmental for cost effectiveness. Because the contaminants of concern have been identified in the preliminary site investigation, there would less need for a broad spectrum of analytical parameters instead; analysis should be streamlined to the identified contaminants of concern which are mostly petroleum based organic contaminants and a few inorganics. Soil core samples can be observed for non-aqueous phase liquid in sample which usually have characteristic black dint. Detection of organic contaminants in the analysed samples above background concentration or within the reasonable confidence protocol would mean the empirical confirmation that a release has occurred. Noteworthy that dr illing fluid that could contaminate the well should not be used as not to have false positives and the environmental professional has to demonstrate that any contamination observed is not artificial but represents the site contamination state. The occurrence would be suggestive of a significant pollution pathway.

Shell’s strategic position in the light of its external and internal environment

Shell’s strategic position in the light of its external and internal environment Shell Strategic Analysis The paper analyses Shells strategic position in the light of its external and internal environment and the key forces and pressures acting on it. The paper takes an overview and then uses PESTLE, SWOT and Value chain analysis to provide a strategic insight of the firm. PESTLE; SWOT; Value Chain Analysis Shell Strategic Analysis Introduction and Company Overview Shell Group provides energy and petrochemical services across the world. With its headquarters in Hague, the Netherlands, and largest subsidiary in the United States, its mission is to position its self as a global leader in the oil and gas sector with a superior competitive advantage in terms of meeting energy demand responsibly. Shell Group belongs to Royal Dutch Shell Plc, based in Wales and England (Shell, 2010 [online]). Its upstream strategy focuses on the exploration of new natural reserves of oil and gas and investing in projects to gauge technological and know-how value-added advantages. As for the downstream strategy, the company selects growth markets to invest in and uses existing assets to acquire consistently high cash returns (Shell, 2010 [online]). Performance focus, growth delivery and new project plans form its strategic framework with strong priority given to competitive performance, profitable growth and sharper delivery. The group operates in more than 90 countri es with over 100,000 employees and 44,000 service stations. Shell has the share of 2% in the global oil market and 3% in the gas sector. In 2009, its earnings were $12.7 billion which fell sharply from 2008s $27 billion figure (Shell, 2010 [online]). The paper will explore how the external and internal environments of the company are affecting its strategy and operations and overall success. Comprehensive PESTEL Analysis Political Forces As declared by EU and UN, carbon emissions are to be charged with penalties and taxes, oil and gas companies have been forced to settle government pressures through partnership agreements and alliances to support their operations by offering an incentive to the government in the form of the betterment of the economy. Oil has been found to gauge economic development of a country (BBC, 2010 [online]). Due to its intense demand, especially in the U.S, government tends to come under the pressure of the leading giants and ease strictness on them, though; they still raise questions regarding the environmental impacts but with the demand pressures from the customers, governments allow Shell and companies alike to find new reserves to meet the demands (The Guardian, 2010 [online]). However, these new means include bio-fuels which do not harm the environment. But Shell has strong reliance on oil and gas reserves and has no intention to venture into bio-fuels in future despite of all social an d political pressures. Shell has been engaged with the Climate Action Partnership with the US, as an attempt to gauge a positive image of the company in terms of a socially responsible business, while it actually uses highly carbon intensive production methods (Foe Europe, 2010 [online]).The partnership is focused towards reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, but while the government is going in that direction, Shell, using its strategic alliances with the government has lessened the regulatory control over its high carbon emitting fuel products. Shell has been forced to take on such diplomatic measures to ease political and regulatory pressures onto the company, when it faces a decline in the conventional natural oil reserves and has to find new alternative forms of oil reserves to meet the demand, which are more carbon intensive but allow it to stay profitable (Foe Europe, 2010 [online]). In underdeveloped nations such as Nigeria, which craving for basic necessities, welcomes companies like Shell to bring in foreign direct investment and more job opportunities. Thus, despite of social pressures to reduce exploitation of workforce and gas flares that is destroying lives, the government gives ease to the multinationals in order to support the growth of the economy (Foe Europe, 2010 [online]). Free trade agreements among the European and Americas allow Shell to more profitability engage in exports of oil. Russia is a hub of oil reserves and Shell took on the opportunity to exploit the reserves in Russia to meet the challenge of its growing demand, and its increasing lack of conventional oil reserves around the world. Russian government, previously had a high export duty on oil imports, has recently reduced it by 2.6%, which is benefiting Shell and other oil companies with their plants in Russia to export the oil products to their home countries and respective countries where they sell the fuels (Shell, 2010 [online]). Environmental Forces Conventional oil reserves are fast declining but Shell since 1995 has been engaged in finding new forms of oil reserves as oil sands in Canada to oil shale, but with the expense of environmental degradation (The Guardian, 2010 [online]). Research has shown that carbon emissions are much higher from the unconventional oil reserves being used in the manufacturing of fuel, and Shell having invested a large amount of capital in projects to extract oil from unconventional reserves has become the worlds most carbon intensive company (Foe Europe, 2010 [online]). Social Forces Oil and gas companies harm not only the environment but to the workforces as well as there are various security and health issues to consider. 20 people were reported to have died due to severe working conditions in 2009 (Shell, 2010 [online]). In Nigeria, Shells operations have been causing gas flares consistently which has caught social attention but the company is reluctant to take action due to its cost reduction strategy (Foe Europe, 2010 [online]). Globally, consumers are engaged in responsible consumption and the companies have been obliged to encourage responsible consumption (Dess, 2009). Shell took on the initiative in 2007 to advertise itself as a manufacturing facility that does not harm the environment but uses its waste (carbon dioxide) to cultivate flower growth (Foe Europe, 2010 [online]). This encouraged consumers to develop a positive image of Shell but later on, news reports on the matter suggested a different story. Only one of the plants in Netherlands was engaged in the flower growth while the rest were heavily involved in carbon emissions (The Guardian, 2010 [online]). This hampered Shells image further as not only was its accused of destroying the environment but also of misleading the consumers. Technological Forces The oil and gas industry has been benefited greatly owing to technological advancements in drilling and extraction of oil and gas. Heavy capital investments are required to acquire the advance technological equipment to extract oil and gas from unconventional reserves. Shells biggest strength is its investment in smart technologies that allow it to make the most out of the oil and gas reserves (Shell, 2010 [online]). Economic Forces Oil prices have increased the world over, which has resulted from heavy taxations from the government due to which costs of production have risen (Shell, 2010 [online]). Using extensive, costly technology which requires heavy investments, further forces the companies to charge high prices for fuels (The Guardian, 2010 [online]). There is a growing demand for energy, which is expected to rise up by 57% in the next 20 years (Shell, 2010 [online]). This becomes a challenge when there are fewer natural reserves of oil and gas left to meet this demand. Shell has used its scenario planning efforts to invest in new projects to extract oil and gas from unconventional reserves to be able to meet the growing demand in future, but this also translates to higher prices for customers (Shell, 2010 [online]). Legal Forces Environmental safety and carbon emission regulations have increased for all oil and gas companies, including Shell (BBC, 2010 [online]). With the growing concerns all over the world over the drastic changes occurring in the environment due to global warming, the government raises strong questions against major companies responsible for global warming, the oil and gas companies. Shell and BP are quite on the main screen when such allegations are put forward. Oil and gas companies are enforced with strict employment safety and health regulations as the manufacturing plants are dangerous for human health. This has a heavy cost potential for companies (Hill, 2009). Comprehensive Porters 5 Forces Analysis Level of Competition There is a high level of competition in the industry but among few players. Shells major competitor is British Petroleum. British Petroleums strategy has also been focused on acquisitions, partnerships and alliances to build up a larger framework to meet growing demand. Currently BP has acquired contractual agreement with the government of Azerbaijan and Gulf of Mexico, while Shell gauged its success in 2009 in Iraq, Canada, and Australia and also in the Gulf of Mexico (BP, 2010 [online]). The competition among these two companies is intense due to their similar strategy to obtain cost reduction, performance focus and growth. While, BP has invested in solar energy, giving in to the political, social and environmental pressures, Shell is still glued to the oil and gas reserves to stay ahead in the game (Oil and Gas, 2010 [online]). While BP has lowered its stakes by investing in solar energy, Shell is playing a much risky game by perusing new oil reserves through heavy capital investments (BP, 2010 [online]). Threat of Substitutes With the advent of alternative energy sources, the threat of substitute products has risen, such as from bio fuels. Many companies are now investing in bio fuel technologies to respond to social, environmental and political pressures (The Guardian, 2010 [online]). Threat of New Entrants Threat of new entrants is low, as it requires a heavy capital investment to set up plants and use advance technology for extraction domestically and internationally to meet the demands. There are heavy fixed costs involved in the industry which can only be curbed once economies of scale are received (Oil and Gas, 2010 [online]). Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining power of suppliers is low. There are few suppliers in the industry. The industry is focused on low cost production and, thus, alternative energy sources are searched and invested in heavily, the suppliers of which are low, but under the influence of the manufacturers (Oil and Gas, 2010 [online]). Bargaining Power of Customers Bargaining power of customers is low as there are not many fuel companies available in the industry which offers conventional, alternative and bio mass fuels. Detailed SWOT Analysis Strengths Shell has obtained competitive edge in terms of technology. In 2009, it spent over $1.2 billion in research and development activities (Shell, 2010 [online]). Shell has obtained first mover advantages by using unconventional oil reserves which has given its cost benefits (Shell, 2010 [online]). The company has taken a much focused strategy for performance, which has allowed it to reduce costs by $1 billion by 2010 (Shell, 2010 [online]). Shell signed a joint venture with Cosan (S.A) Company to produce and sell ethanol and extract power from sugar cane in Brazil. The company sensed its cost benefits and its prospect to enhance its presence in the ethanol market (Shell, 2010 [online]). Shell has invested $ 1 billion in solar and wind energy which is part of Shell Renewables SBU (Shell, 2010 [online]). Shell has 20% brand preference which is the highest among its competitors (Shell, 2010 [online]). Weaknesses Shell currently has a severe lack of association with bio fuels, which are growing in demand There is also lack of substantial countering of the social pressures and the media exposures on part of Shell (Foe Europe, 2010 [online]). Opportunities Bio-fuel and low-carbon emission fuels sector is growing and is highly encouraged by the government, society and is healthy for the environment (The Guardian, 2010 [online]). Promoting a better health and safe environment in the plants is a good opportunity for Shell using commercials or public relations campaign. Threats Government and interest groups are taken strong actions against heavy carbon emitting fuel companies, like BP and Shell Heavy investments in unconventional gas reserves are full of stakes as these reserves allow for a large amount of carbon emission. This is potentially dangerous for the companys image and acceptance (Oil and Gas, 2010 [online]). Value Chain Analysis Primary Value Chain Activities Inbound Logistics Shell is currently in contract with Cosan, a Brazilian company to supply ethanol. Azherbaijan and Russian suppliers are also used to supply oil and gas reserves (Shell, 2010 [online]). Operations The performance strategy involved restructuring and reorganizing the operations of the company to upstream and downstream where priorities were towards performance focus, competitive growth and new project investments. The overall operational performance has also met with improvement as efficiency rates have rose. The reorganization will allow faster implementation of future growth strategies as well (Shell, 2010 [online]). Outbound Logistics Shell has an extensive global outbound logistics network which allows it to distribute the refined oil in the most cost efficient manner. It uses light transportation (Shell, 2010 [online]). Marketing and Sales Shell markets itself as the largest fuel provider, where its service centers are located in 90 countries worldwide. It adds the image of an innovation and quality-focused company which does not compromise on performance. Although, Shell has previously received an excellent amount of sales revenue, recently, there has been a decline, due to rise in oil prices, rising social exposure of the workforce exploitation and environmental degradation by the company (Shell, 2010 [online]). Service Shell uses its helpline service to address customer complaints and queries. Other than that, there is no extensive or special form of service that Shell offers to customers with regard to complaints and queries. Shell service stations have the direct interaction with the customers and the company makes sure that the employees address to customers appropriately and offer services in the standard way (Shell, 2010 [online]). Support Value Chain Activities Procurements Shell is now engaged in e-procurement, using the help of SAPs support systems to enhance its supply chain activities. SAPs support offers an ERP system that allows procurement to be done online (SAP, 2010 [online]). Technology Development Over $1.2 billion have recently been spent by Shell in research and development of new technologies to gauge the most benefit out of the reserves of oil and gas and find new opportunities for investments (Shell, 2010 [online]). Technological innovation development in extracting energy is a key strength of the company and it is continually engaged in investing in new technologies that would give it an edge over its competitors. Human Resource Management Human resource activities are the most challenging for Shell as it has to face several employment issues starting from health, and work environment to safety issues. These are true for factory workers who work in high danger zones (Shell, 2010 [online]). In Nigeria, a high rate of people dying in the factory has become common. As shell is a global competitive company, it seeks highly talented and experienced people who seek innovation and growth for the company for its management. Shell offers learning and development opportunities for its diverse workforce. It offers monetary and non-monetary forms of incentives to employees (Shell, 2010 [online]). The human resource management uses online application system for interested candidates and uses simulation based testing tools for hiring appropriate employees for middle management and senior management posts. Firm Infrastructure Shells infrastructure is heavily reliant on technological support, by means of ERP, data management, research and development, marketing, procurement, human resource management, extraction and production operations (SAP, 2010 [online]). This allows a strong network of coordination and communication to be maintained globally. Conclusion Shell Group with industry leadership in terms of cost, quality and technology, is faced with immense social, political, economic and legal challenges. Its strategy to focus on performance, new ventures to exploit unconventional oil and gas reserves and achieve profitable growth in return has met success, but the pace has slowed due to economic influences. for big oil giant like Shell, keeping diplomatic alliance with the governments of many countries has become common but this not something to rely on and to put heavy capital investments at stake like Shell is doing right now, by continuously investing in new plants for oil and gas extraction from unconventional reserves such oil sands and oil shale. Such attempts are increasingly causing environmental degradation and the government may go strictly against them in future once more drastic environmental changes become dominant. Clever strategy is to continue ethanol and solar and wind energy production and invest in more bio fuel ener gies to tap new opportunities.