Fat or Fit? Essay

Fat or fit? Which is normally preferred? Working out and living a healthy lifestyle not only benefits one’s body, it also helps motivate the people around them. It also benefits their way of thinking. Stress relief and concentration, self-confidence, strength and endurance, and longevity are just a few benefits which can be expected as a result of working out. People can stress over the simplest thing. Writing an essay is a great example. One can get writer’s block or overwork their mind. Working out helps take the mind of things which leads to clarity and concentration. Once a body gets into the habit of working out, the body adapts to the constant work, which gives energy and makes one feel less groggy by sweating out the toxins that effect the body. One of the better things about working out is the self-confidence. A better body is in fact guaranteed if you stick to a strict diet and exercise. Not only will one feel more confident about themselves, but they will have that charisma that will make them a better person than they were before. Who knows, one actually might work up the courage to ask out that special someone. There have been many people who have searched for the fountain of youth hoping for longevity, one including legendary Spanish explorer/conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon. It is not the fountain they should be looking for; instead, they should be looking how to live a healthier lifestyle. Jack Lalanne lived to be a healthy 97 year old man with the help of diet and exercise. If a body is treated good both physically and nutritionally, the body will return the favor. Staying fit also allows you to be there for friends and family when needed. The best thing of all when it comes to working out is the strength and endurance. Strength allows one to carry out physical tasks, where endurance gives the ability to last. Besides having a better body, one will be able to do things they were incapable of doing before. Helping someone carry a refrigerator or lifting a 150 pound log that fell on a random passerby are the kind of things you can do when you have the strength. With endurance  one can play football at the beach and look great doing it. They can also run that marathon they have been wanting to join. One will be able to act out, do numerous things, and live their life the way it was meant to be lived, to the fullest. Living a healthier lifestyle changes not only one’s life, but also influences the ones around them. When exercise and diet come together one can drastically change their life. Just like the words of the late Jack Lalanne, â€Å"Exercise is king and nutrition is queen: together, you have a kingdom.†

Ethical Issues in Human Relations counseling Essay

Ethical actions at all levels of human operations [personal or corporate] form the main basement of higher productivity and progress in the society. Kidder points out that the demand for ethical actions has intensified with time as more people become aware of their rights thereby increasing the overall pressure especially to respective authorities in demand for justice (2003, 58-60). Researchers indicate that though cases of unethical professional acts have been increasing with time, over 98%of perpetrators have full knowledge on the same ideologies and principles considerations. According to Cohen, professionals have one of the most important roles of adhering to the demands and requirements of ethics in their duties at all times (1998, 150-155). Understanding of this theory therefore forms the basis of making the correct decisions in resolving different cases and dilemmas that face them in their daily chores. Cohen explains that the theory requires the professionals to assume actions that only result to the greatest good and to the largest number of people at any instance (1998, 175-178). To add to that, it anchors the ability to effectively analyze prevailing situations and prediction of the expected consequences to infer the best decisions. To add to that, the professionals are able to compare their situations with others related cases that took place previously to make up the best decisions in their areas of work. Such comparisons act as major facets upon which the professionals base their calls for change to infer improvements in their areas of work. Taking into consideration that professionals are relied on by other junior staff and the public for guidance, it becomes possible to uphold the rights of all the respective parties without inferring any sense of sabotage. Under the modern system of globalism and fast dynamism in consumerism, the theory would bring out the need for new inclusive decision making systems that incorporates all the people at different levels for acceptance of the decisions made to enhance their further applicability. Professional ethics is a term used to denote the moral issues and obligations that arise from professional specialization and higher levels of knowledge as compared to the rest of the public and/ or the junior staff. As a result many of the scholars tend to define and specify professional ethics on the basis of what they are required to do as opposed to what the concept is really about. Firstly, they are expected to hold professional respect to their clients and their duties at all times through the principle of responsibility. This is generally emphasized because professionals are capable of exploiting their authority and status at the expense of their clients. This notion has often led to the question of the extent to which the professionals should be held accountable for their actions, a notion that has led to major quagmires in the market place. Professional ethics therefore demands operations that are based on true conscience that is not undermined by any commercial underpinning to sabotage the respect and integrity of the clients (American Psychological Association, 2001, 35-37). Kidder (2003, 78-79) explains that professional ethics demand operations within the professional guidelines, seeking the highest possible returns and advice and honesty to the clients. As indicated earlier, professionals hold the helm of national and global development in that they guide their clients on how to progress with different projects. It is therefore considered that failure to effectively give the correct guidance is a direct injustice to the client and the nation in general. To ensure that the professional ethics are adhered to by different professionals, regulatory bodies like engineering society, medical societies and auditors fraternity among others that draw codes of ethics expected for their specialists and address their clients complaints are formed. As indicated earlier, professionals are entrusted with variant responsibilities that demands them to act responsibly even without supervision. In criminal justice, judges have the moral and ethical obligation to ensure that the complainant get the necessary justice while convicted victim get a fair judgment depending with the offenses made. In such cases, the judges should understand that their judgments have further ethical implications to the whole community. To add to that, human resources managers have the ethical responsibilities of ensuring that staff and workers have the correct working environment. Besides, they also have the moral obligations of ensuring that their staff is remunerated appropriately not just as per the law demands, but on their work, motivation considerations and the overall returns of the company. In addition, accountants have the direct moral obligations to give the correct status of a company even if it is making losses as opposed to the general temptations to cover up the problems. This usually leads to to reluctance in addressing the main problem and therefore precipitates to later collapse of the company as it happened with Enron Company (Marianne, 2006, 54-59). Counselors have at times fallen into major temptations to operate against their professional ethics in the course of their duties. Most of them indicate that the main cause for their temptations has been corruption especially by the wealthy individuals who lure them to compromising their decisions (Peterson, 1992, 65-67). Being advanced in form of bribery, unprincipled counselors easily overlook different cases and aspects that could have warranted greater considerations. Besides, they may also be tempted to act less ethically when the end appears highly uncertain and perhaps threatening to them. Cases of life threats that are either directed to counselors and/ or their families may make them to withdraw from such cases or act directly different from what they are expected to. Finally, where there is no goodwill from the clients, the counselors may equally loose the drive to effectively operate ethically in dispose their duties. Though some researchers have indicated their support for to such responses, the notion is indeed very wrong in that counselors should lead in analysis of such situations under the ethical theories and take the best possible courses of actions that lead top the highest good. Presently, there are major cases and issues that face professionals in their different areas of operations that demand careful addressing for ethical progression. If I am faced with such a situation where responsibilities are not immediately clear, I would exploit the following avenues. To begin with, I would seek advice of a friend who has been in the field for a longer time than I and therefore most probably have had such cases and solved them in the past. It is clear that no man is an island and therefore, this relation would be promoted for further later consultations on similar matters. To add to that, I could also seek to get into greater and in depth analysis of the situation by evaluating similar or related cases to make the best decision that will be highly acceptable but within the ethical realms as demanded by the ethical theory. Job market has been dogged with a myriad of unethical issues especially relating to management of workers operations. Many of the ethical issues generally result as the different companies try to reduce the overall costs, evade responsibilities, or stick to different stereotypic notions in their management. Before deciding to form my own company, I was discriminated on the basis of my color immediately after finishing college where I could not secure a job as my white colleagues easily got employed. To add to that, even after getting my first job in the industry, I was soon shifted to work with workers who were far much inferior to me academically until I quit the job. In the later job, similar ethics disregard were encountered as payment was very poor and many of the workers filed their cases in courts against the company. As if that was not enough, the working conditions for the low level workers was very low and we filed more cases in court before the company was closed to upgrade its systems for better working conditions. Conclusion It is from the above consideration that this paper concludes by supporting the thesis statement that ethical actions at all levels of human operations [personal or corporate] form the main basement of higher productivity and progress in the society. Professionals and counselors should uphold the demands of the theory of ethics due to the positions they hold and their main impacts to the society. Indeed, taking ethical responsibilities at all times would stimulate similar actions at the lower levels of the society, a consideration that would reduce the shenanigans of the low ethics at all levels. However, there is need for stronger institutions that guard against exploitation of the same ethics exploitation by the professionals. Finally, it is important to establish a strong relationship between the professionals, counselors, and the public to educate the later on their rights and channels to guard their integrity and dignity. Reference list American Psychological Association (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed. ). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN 9781557987914. Cohen, G. ed (1998). The Vituous Therapist: Ethical practice of counseling and psychotherapy. Belmont, CA: Thonpsom Wadsworth. ISBN 9780534344085. Kidder, R. (2003). How good people make tough choices: Resolving the dilemma of ethical living. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 9780688175900 Marianne, J. (2006). The seven signs of ethical collapse: How to spot moral meltdowns in companies before it’s too late. New York: St. Martin’s Press, ISBN0312354304 Peterson, M. (1992). At personal risk: Boundary violations in professional-client relationship. New York: Norton. ISBN 9780393701388.

Art Essay Example for Free (#3)

Art Essay * Art is a term that describes a diverse range of human activities and the products of those activities, but here refers to the visual arts, which cover the creation of images or objects in fields including paintings, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and other visual media. They are two paintings that have been drawn by Dmitry Levitzky in 1773 and by Millais in 1871. The first portrait by Dmitry levitzky is called Nelidova, Ekaterina Ivanovna who she is the daughter of Lieutenant Ivan Dmitrievich Nelidov. She was raised in the Smolny Institute for Young Ladies and was noticed there by Empress Catherine II, who made her a maid of honor to the Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna, later Empress, whose husband Emperor Pavel I. She was sincerely attached to him, although their relations were never intimate. She was able to influence Pavel I, preventing some of his unwise decisions and tantrums. She was also a close friend of the Empress Maria Feodorovna. The second portrait by John Everett Millais is called The Martyr of Solway the â€Å"Margaret† depicted by Millais was Margaret Wilson, who was born in 1667 in Glenvernoch in Wigtownshire. She was a young and devout Presbyterian who was a member of the Covenanters, a Scottish Presbyterian movement of the 17th century in Scotland who signed the National Covenant in 1638 to confirm their opposition to the interference by the Stuart kings in the affairs of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The Stuart kings embraced the belief of the Divine Right of the Monarch. However, not only did they believe that God wished them to be the infallible rulers of their kingdom – they also believed that they were the spiritual heads of the Church of Scotland. This latter belief was anathema to the Scots. Their belief was quite simple – no man, not even a king, could be spiritual head of their church. The following piece will demonstrate the differences and similarities between the two images in a compare and a contrast manner. Analyze the fundamental differences. Point out the major mutual points. Art. (2017, Feb 05).

Case Study 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Case Study 1 - Essay Example The National Cash Registered Country Club (NCRCC) started to benefit thousands of employees who became the core members leading to their development. The club later started offering some two golf courses. Award winning and the championship hosting on the PGA tour are some of the courses offered by the National Cash Register Country Club (NCRCC). The only limitation was that the club was not attracting some new members more especially the young families (Sanchez & Lazaro, 2010). The study is mainly focusing on membership study which is done as part of larger organization creativity to ensure adequate evaluation to different strategic directions that the club may wish to increase its membership. I feel to allow all group age to the club without eliminating some. As in this case, majority are always youths so they need to be given chance to participate in all events of the club. The NCRCC: Teeing Up a New Strategic Direction golf club situated in U.S is observed as the optional extra life styles. However, the McMahon Group came to specialize in the provision of research and strategic consulting to the golf club and providing full services to golf (Floyd &Hebert, 2010). Frank Vain, who was the president of McMahon Group, suggested that with the existence of NCR faced an added wrinkle since it was corporately held. The first impression of McMahon visit where they collected information’s on membership and operations together with the club specialists to discuss the trends of the industry with strategic planning committees (Petar, 2010). The board of National Cash Registered Country Club (NCRCC) hired president McMahon to help the employee with the direction and assistance of the NCRCC development board. Vain estimated historically that the NCRCC has about seven percent diffusion rate in the midst of the employees which was trending smaller which made some reinforcement to the NCRCC membership. However, the NCRCC needed to become

This I Believe essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

This I Believe - Essay Example He should also learn how to respect other people instead of fight them, and to temper his desires and focus on his education instead of having a girlfriend at a young age. I was always the butt of jokes every time my friends would know that I did not have a girlfriend yet or that I have not tried any beer yet. I wonder why they would not mind how many books I have read at this point in my life. I really wonder why they would consider having dated a girl more important than anything else instead. What is also more annoying is that no matter how many times I explained to these people how important studying is more than having a girlfriend or drinking beer, they simply did not agree nor did they listen. What is even worse is that they would sometimes either label me as a nerd or a sissy or gay. I have nothing against nerds, sissies and gays but it is not good to call someone this if it is not true anyway. I believe that older people in the community should also try to help foster the value of good education and should at least help minimize the ridicule that young people like me get from those who constantly criticize every effort of mine to be an excellent student at school. It even seems to me that the society I was in would praise me more and make me more welcome if I were a dropout and if I got myself tattoos of snakes and women all over my arms and the rest of my body. The problem with this society is that the older people tolerate such beliefs because they are the same and they believe in the same thing about being a man. I remember arguing with my father on the subject of having to conform to society, and my father insisted on following what people say in order to avoid being ridiculed. Although I got my father’s point and although I knew that he was just protecting my interests and that he just did not want me to get into trouble, I believe there is always a point at which an individual has to stop conforming to what

American Attitudes towards Homosexuals Research Paper

American Attitudes towards Homosexuals - Research Paper Example In the traditional sense, the discrimination against these individuals has mostly been based on gender bias and the majority perception of the existence of only two genders – that of the male and female sex. Despite this dominant gender perception, homosexuals have been persistent about their rights and about their place in society. The laws have also been firm on the application of the equal protection of rights and the due process of law, as far as these homosexuals are concerned. As a result, these homosexuals have taken on a more public presence and have become more visible to the general population. In a way, they have made their presence known in almost all aspects of American life. However, even as their public visibility has increased dramatically over the past several decades, prejudicial attitudes against them have remained persistent. This paper shall discuss American attitudes against homosexuals, discussing the minor claim that public visibility of homosexuals has increased. In detail, it shall discuss the ways in which homosexual visibility has increased, more particularly through the media and through the â€Å"Don’t ask, Don’t Tell† military policy. ... Most Americans have become embroiled heavily in the contrasting opinions on homosexuality with some of them favoring the rights of homosexuals to self-promotion and perpetuation, and the rest expressing their outrage for homosexuality based on religious and moral grounds. In general, studies evaluating attitudes against homosexuals yielded negative attitudes against these individuals (Besen and Zickling, p. 251). These results have been seen in studies carried out during the 1980s and 1990s, including large scale reviews and surveys during the 1990s (Besen and Zicklin, p. 251). In recent years however, the attitudes towards homosexuals have improved with many Americans considering a more liberal approach towards civil rights (Besen and Zicklin, p. 251). Many of them have been able to gain some form of social acceptance from the general populace; however, to some extent many of them have persistently encountered these social issues on acceptance from moralists. Various factors have be en considered in explaining these attitudes towards homosexuals. Individuals who have negative attitudes towards homosexuals are usually authoritarian and are very traditional in their views of sex roles and of minority groupings (Besen and Zicklin, p. 251). These attitudes have also been spurred on by health concerns, with the percentage of HIV/AIDS sufferers of a higher rate among gay men. Such health concerns have further fueled the homophobic tendencies against homosexuals. Inasmuch as these negative attitudes towards homosexuals have been unfavorable, legal mandates have established provisions in order to protect the practice of civil rights among these homosexuals. Along with the more liberal ideals which many Americans

Defining Love Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Defining Love - Essay Example The word "love" has origin in the English language. Lufu in the Old English was related to the Frisian luve, German luba, and Gothic lubo. The Scandinavians have used the word lof and Latin lubet. In the form we have now "love" was recorded from the English writings in the 8th century (Frequently Ask Questions). Each nation gives a different name to love, but the essence remains the same. What exactly is love Love is a feeling, it would be more appropriate to say, a combination of positive feelings and emotions that make a person happy. Plato has noted that "at the touch of love everybody becomes a poet" (Famous Love Quotes). When people are in love the world seems to be more colorful, pleasant place to live, the person in love is smiling and does not pay attention to the problems and negative moments. Plato has introduced the concept of platonic love meaning that two individuals, a man and a woman, being in love should get emotionally and spiritually close, without sexual relations. He believed that sex can destroy the emotional unity. Platonic love is different from love based on passion when lovers seek not only emotional but also physical unity with each other.

MGM624-0901A-01 Applied Accounting for Decision-Making - Phase 1 Essay - 1

MGM624-0901A-01 Applied Accounting for Decision-Making - Phase 1 Discussion Board 2 - Essay Example However, a steep increase in the prices will have an adverse effect on the sales volume. Hence an increase of 5% in the sales price will bring the break even volume back to [500,000 / (315 – 115)] 2,500 units. It is evident that JTI has invested heavily in the initial manufacturing of the new luggage line. Steps have to be taken to increase productivity of the entire manufacturing process, by reducing wastage and increasing the effectiveness of the labour. The effectiveness of the resources can be attained by introducing incentives based on performance. Awards can also be presented to the most effective employees every month and this will act as a motivating factor for the employees to increase the productivity (Samuels et al, 2000). Assuming that theses schemes reduce the variable costs to $110, then the break even volume becomes [500,000 – (315 – 110)] 2,440 units. There is a risk of losing sales volume, when the price is increased. The increase in price is profitable as long as the sales volume remains at 3,600 units. It is essential to consider the number of customers JTI stands to lose by increasing the prices (Baker et al, 2008). There are a number of risks involved in introducing incentives based on performance to increase the performance. The management has to set up benchmarks to quantify performance. In case the goals set are impossible to attain, the scheme will de-motivate the employees and can have a negative impact on productivity. Also, if the goals are very simple to attain, then the company stands to lose more in terms of incentive payouts to the employees (Latham, 2004). Hence excessive care has to be taken to set the benchmarks against which the performance of the employees will be measured. From the above arguments, it is clear that JTI has to increase prices and also increase the productivity in order to maintain

Re-write this thesis as a research paper, instruction in assignment Paper - 1

Re-write this thesis as a , instruction in assignment criteria - Research Paper Example Sustainability tools require integration of resources, which are noticeably absent on practical research, and studies, which are conducted on individual tools. However, Leasing and Service Models provide examples of sustainability with regard to environmental benefits (Roy, 2000). This research paper aims to provide an understanding of sustainability in terms of technologies through tools and business models. Few suggestions and recommendations will be sought for Veolia and environmental technology in which they carry out their operations. Leasing and Service Models provide sustainable outcomes and benefits that are required by companies to establish themselves in commercial settings. It is seen that Leasing is on the increase (FLA (Finance & Leasing Association), 2013) due to current economic condition and benefits that the management has to offer in exchange (Lifset & Lindhqvist, 1999). These leasing businesses have grown over a period of time. They have gained popularity providing sustainability outcomes, though more research is required as most of the information is outdated. Service Models have also grown, previously there was a traditional product purchase system and now through advancement of technologies service based models are established (Kindstrà ¶m, 2010). The Research design involves data research of Veolia and Imperial experts, which are applied on each other in order to evaluate and form a framework. The main agenda behind the study generates ideas through telephonic conversations with Veolia, which will help in analyzing the research. Moreover, the roles of Imperial experts in the form of supervisor and CEP Veolia Team will provide a conceptual framework to conduct analysis and study. Research is also undertaken from case studies, literature review etc. Literature Review provides an understanding of strengths, weaknesses and critical examination of the relevant literature, which are not just providing the academic research

Take a stand for or against the proposition Jakob Nielsen should be Essay

Take a stand for or against the proposition Jakob Nielsen should be empowered to set mandatory usability standards for Internet web pages - Essay Example According to Nielson’s web site user interface usability is higher for intranets than for the internet. The reason for this lies in the intranets usability design and in the fact that an intranet is controlled and a user won’t find themselves at a dead link, or fraudulent site (as can happen on the internet). According to Nielson’s website (useit.com) the internet â€Å"is the interface to a vast amount of information, and so the emphasis must be on usability†. According to Frank Spiller (Spiller, 2004) Jakob Nielson â€Å"promotes best practices, he preaches obedience to his guidelines and when he postulates opinions they are interpreted as instructions". Spiller argues that Nielson may be interpreted wrongly and when translated, from the Danish, meanings get lost or misunderstood. The translations do sound a bit egocentric as Nielson declares that: "In the future, first of all, websites will be designed by my guidelines†. It is here that the argument moves away from usability into the realm of personality and professional ethics problems (Spiller, 2004). Nielson comes across as flamboyant and arrogant. He often cites his work a â€Å"we† but doesn’t mention the others he is working with. His professional ethics have been questioned on some occasions. For example, he charges 35,000 for a half day consulting appearance while claiming that usability is the least expensive way to go (Spiller, 2004). There are many arguments against usability as introduced by Jakob Nielson that include: Who will pilot a new usability program? Who will mandate the standards and ensure compliance? What will happen to those who choose not to follow Nielson’s standards? Will their websites be denied web access? Will those trying to access denied sites be redirected to another web address? Any mandated plan will need to be well thought out. Perhaps Nielson needs to visit the

All About Maps Essay Example for Free

All About Maps Essay What are maps? Maps are the world reduced to points, lines, and areas, using a variety of visual resources: size, shape, value, texture or pattern, colour, orientation, and shape. A thin line may mean something different from a thick one, and similarly, red lines from blue ones. How do maps represent reality? A photograph shows all objects in its view; a map is an abstraction of reality. The cartographer selects only the information that is essential to fulfil the purpose of the map, and that is suitable for its scale. Maps use symbols such as points, lines, area patterns and colours to convey information. Why are maps important? A map gives a miniature picture of a very large space. A map is a guide to a space you have not encountered before. Maps have distance, mountains, rivers, and shapes of places or destinations. With a map, one does not have to depend on local directions. For a small price, it is a direction finder and a dependable way to take a journey. What are atlases? An atlas is a collection of maps in book form. Atlases are made for different regions and areas, and are prepared for desk use or travel use. A travel atlas is usually packaged for easy use during a trip, often with spiral bindings so it can be folded flat, and with maps at a large zoom so that they can be easily consulted on the go. A desk atlas features sizes and bindings that are typical for reference books: usually a paperback or hardcover format. Lines of latitude These are imaginary lines that circle the world in an east-west direction. They tell you how far north or south a place is from the Equator. They are drawn parallel to the Equator. There are five main lines of latitude. They are the Equator, the Tropic of Cancer, the Tropic of Capricorn, the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle. Lines of longitude Longitude is the angular distance, measured in degrees, east and west of the Prime Meridian, which is at 0o. These are imaginary lines that run across the Earth’s surface in a north-south direction, from the North Pole to the South Pole. Legends and symbols Since a map is a reduced representation of the real world, map symbols are used to represent real objects. Without symbols, we wouldnt have maps. Both shapes and colours can be used for symbols on maps. A small circle may mean a point of interest, with a brown circle meaning recreation, red circle meaning services, and green circle meaning rest stop. Colours may cover larger areas of a map, such as green representing forested land and blue representing waterways. To ensure that a person can correctly read a map, a Map Le

Interview With A Leader: Analysis

Interview With A Leader: Analysis In the first part of the course work, I made a report about a business person who made impact on me. His behavior and aims which he has already achieved made him my idol in my life. Nothing is perfect this quote is true, the person I chose does not know English, so I have just talked with him in Uzbek, and asked his opinion and ideas about following five criteria personality, motivation, leadership, team and group working skills, and decision making. I chose a person who made impact on me because he has very strong emotional control on himself, also he is very optimistic; he is a business person who manages a credit union in Tashkent. His name is Ilyaos, he was born in Samarkand in a simple family in 1981. In his childhood he wanted to study and work in Tashkent. During these all time I have learned many practical things from him. As he says: I became independent in 1994, and started my own way. So that is why he is so independent nowadays. In 1999 he passed entrance exam to the Finance institute in Tashkent, successfully. He had financial difficulties while he studied in institute. Because of that he had to work after the studies. He studied very hard and the result was a graduate ship red diploma of Tashkent Financial Institute in 2003. In 2005 he began working as a teacher in Finance Institute in Tashkent. In 2010 he got a PhD degree from Insurance. In addition, nowadays he teaches Insurance subject in the Academy of Bank and Finance and also in one time works as a manager of Credit Union. If we look to the theory to the personality it could be said that personality is the sum of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others (Robbins, 2003). In the reference from the Jungs theory that the personality of the individual I chose, can be clarified as an extraverted. Because, he speaks a lot, as we know that extraverted people first speaks and thinks. And also, according to the Big Five Model, Ilyos aka can be put into the personality group of extroversion, because he tends to be gregarious, assertive, and sociable. In my opinion, difficulties in his student life made him very strong. When we talked, I said that difficulties make person stronger if he does not give up and solves them. Then Ilyos aka said that: You will be stronger if you know something to give up and do not be upset. He always says: If you are making decisions, always remember that new things must be more useful and beneficial than your older ones. His life experience and skill which he is gaining made impact on me. Because, when we are having discussions he always wins. He reads books every day, watches news and analysis. That is why, he always the first in discussions. Once I wanted to reflect on him, I wanted to be like him in talking and thinking. It was difficult, but one day I won him in discussion and then he said: Good job, boy! Motivation Motivation is a passion to work for reasons that go beyond money or status (Robbins, 2oo3). As we learned from lectures there are two types of motivation such as internal and external. For example, for the person I chose intrinsic motivation is his own future plans and extrinsically motive is money. Before motivating others, you yourself should be motivated first, for the reason that if, someone hesitates, he/she will hesitate others, too Ilyos aka said. As for him, money is the strongest motivator in the world. In addition, in order to be motivated himself, a person should have strong personality, and optimism, said Ilyos aka. According to the Joyce S. Osland, 2001, most effective leaders are alike in one crucial way: they all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence. It is not that IQ and technical skills irrelevant. And also in this book there was given a research in Leadership and management which was done by author and his friends. They have found five components of emotional intelligence at work. Self awareness is the first component of emotional intelligence which makes sense when one consider that Delphic oracle gave the advice to know you thousands of years ago. Also, self awareness means having a deep understanding of ones emotions, strength, weakness, needs, and drives (Joyce, 2oo1). When I asked him to speak about leaders and leadership skills, he bound leadership skills with motivation, as for him motivation is the most important tactic for leaders and managers, and said that without knowing motivation no one can be can have leadership skills. As I mentioned above he likes to read books about psychology, during the interview he gave example of ideal leader. He said the words of the leader who got one million dollar a month, There is nothing bad for employees except the punishment of their manager. As for me the same situation, I always tried to encourage the people with good words. Leaders should know what his employees want, and always should respect others ideas. Ilyos aka said that: Your works and results should speak instead of you. For example, when he worked in commercial bank as a manager, he had always a good communication with his colleagues. I think, having good communication is good, however manager should remember that he leads the company. So, my o pinion is that managers should be a bit strict with his employees. Team and group working skills A team is a small number of people, with complementary skills, who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable. A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who come together to achieve particular objectives. Groups can be either formal or informal. (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993) The nature of Teamwork occurs when a group of members work together in ways that utilize their skills well to accomplish a purpose. The person I chose has some lack of team and group working skills because when I observed his speech in some meetings he always tries to be first and talks a lot and loud. According to Arts of Communication by Dale Carnegie there was written about that if a person wants to have more audience and friends that person must learn to listen to them. However, he always tries to be in the center of the attention. Speak a lot, gives interesting facts. As for me, it is cannot be seen as a good skills, he has some minus in team working. For example, he should learn how to listen to the others idea. Decision making Then he gave an example of buying his flat as a decision for his own purpose. On the other hand, when he chaired the meeting in his credit union almost always decides regarding to the purpose of the organization.

The Resource Based View Of Wal Mart Management Essay

The Resource Based View Of Wal Mart Management Essay The broad marketing environment of an organisation consists of the intra-organisational interactions amongst its internal factors, as also the external, diverse and inter-related environmental factors that are referred to as the external macro-environment (Lancaster Reynolds, 2001). Michael Porters diamond model states that whilst criteria like location, land, labour and magnitude of local population are conventionally considered to be influential in shaping competitive advantage, the real competitive national advantages are obtained by factors like strategy, organisational structure, business rivalries and competition, and related ancillary industries (Proctor, 2002). Hofstede, in his study of international cultures found that cultures comprise of rituals, values, symbols and heroes and that the bedrock of cultural differences between organisational culture flowed from five dimensions of national culture, (Hofstede, 2001), namely (a) power distance, (b) Uncertainty avoidance, (c) individualism, (d) long-term orientation and (e) masculinity (Vinken, Soeters, Ester, 2004). The larger macro environment, widely referred to as the PESTEL analytical framework, concerns political, economic, societal, technological, environmental and legal factors, whose analysis helps in scrutinising and pinpointing the influence of such environmental forces on organisations (Gray, 1999, P 12). Ritzer (1996) concludes that whilst remonstrating and opposing McDonaldisation is potentially worthwhile, the future of added McDonaldisation appears inevitable (Alfino, Caputo, Wynyard, 1998). The resource-based view (RBV) centres into intra-industry heterogenic organisations and contends that firms are distinctive packets of resources and capabilities providing the foundation for gaining competitive advantages; it conveys that organisations should leverage these self-owned resources even in unstructured international markets (Fahy, 1996). The RBV states that competitive advantage from resources can be achieved only if such resources are precious and enable the exploitation of an external opportunity or the counteracting of a threat (Fahy, 1996). Another critical characteristic of resource is rarity, which is inherently the key to heterogeneity, i.e. competitors should not have or be able to access similar resources rendering competitive advantages (Fahy, 1996). The critical condition of imperfect or limited mobility of resource must be further satisfied; imperfect resources that render competitive advantages must not be tradable amongst competitors (Fahy, 1996). Finally, the resource should be imperfectly imitable (Barney, 1991) or as per Peteraf (1993), render several ex-post restrictions to the opposition (Fahy, 1996). Stalk, Evans and Schulman (1992) aver that Wal-Marts growth, leading to its market supremacy, vests in its unique logistics competencies, which underline the magnitude of capabilities as latent causes of competitive advantage; their cross-docking coordination system makes certain that merchandise between two loading docks is transported in not more than forty eight hours (Fahy, 1996). This has benefited Wal-Mart not only in cutting cost of sales, and thereby improving margins, by 2 to 3 percent, but also in minimising the inventory levels (Fahy, 1996), working capital cycle and interest costs. The above system is therefore, seen to be immensely beneficial in value generation through cost reduction and thereby in being a source of competitive advantage; since it satisfies all requisite criteria (Fahy, 1996). The cross-docking system is rare. As it is resource based in terms of the joint utilisation of personnel, delivery vehicles and transportation and communication systems, it satisfies the condition of imperfect mobility (Fahy, 1996). It is also enormously complicated and thus difficult for competitors to reproduce, vis-a-vis the requisite coordination and communication between vendors, distribution centres, sales depots and outlets; it is this intrinsic ability to raise high barriers to imitation that bestows Wal-Mart with competitive advantage (Fahy, 1996). The advanced management methodologies underlined by the current advances in technology now permit the availability of customised merchandise on mass scales; such mass customisation arises from the juxtaposition of dual Japanese systems of flexible manufacturing, or lean production system, and adaptable marketing systems (Yasumuro, 1993),  (Alfino, Caputo, Wynyard, 1998). Wal-Mart is being able to successfully utilise its resources and competencies in establishing sustained competitive advantage, with appropriate and combined application of Porters Diamond model with PESTEL methodologies and RBV theory, in order to cater to variable, disparate and localised merchandise preferences, desires and needs of their customers. Question 2: In May, 2006, Wal-Mart announced the sale of all its 16 South Korean stores, and shortly thereafter, in July of the same year, the sale of its German operations to Metro A.G.; after eight years of effort to try to make the businesses profitable (Depamphilis, 2009). Unlike its remarkable success in getting it right on its home turf, Wal-Mart could not adapt to the regulatory and cultural differences, as well as the strong labour unions, in Germany (Depamphilis, 2009). The intensity of the German competitors in offering very low price points across product categories and the consumers thrift and prudence was also largely underestimated by the company (Depamphilis, 2009). Various factors like (a) the German shoppers adverse perceptions regarding clerks bagging groceries, (instead of themselves, as per their habitual practice), (b) legal tussles with employees over Wal-Marts policies against employee-supervisor liaisons, (c) the companys inability to proffer extended shopping hours or to sell below cost, (because of German regulations), and (d) its inability to implement cost reductions because of strong unionism, contributed in making the companys German venture a big mistake (Depamphilis, 2009). Wal-Mart forayed into Korea with the acquisition of 4 units, in 1999, from the Metro owned Dutch chain named Macro (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). Korea is a comparatively established market with the local Emart being the leader in the retail marketplace (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). Emart was made an acquisition offer by Wal-Mart, which it rejected (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). The company was also cautioned by Emart that with Korea being a localised market with very specific customer needs and wants, Wal-Marts size and its status as the largest global retailer would not be very relevant in achieving competitive advantage in the Korean marketplace (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). Wal-Mart entered the market with a bang but could never gain prominence; after seven years it sold its stores (ironically) to Emart and exited the market (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). In China, on the other hand, the company progressed well. Avoiding major blunders, it has been able to achieve the right mix of localisation of store formats and merchandise mix (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). Chinas high heterogeneity, with regard to its peoples habits and wants are similar to that of any other developing economy (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). It has laboured hard to become an esteemed retailer in China, even as it is still too early in the country to realise its full potential (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). This is important because China and India are at the centre of Wal-Marts global ambitions for Asia (Depamphilis, 2009). Wal-Mart reckons China as a solitary large market, whereas its more successful French competitor Carrefour considers China as a cluster of regional or local markets; Wal-Mart has a centralised sourcing and distribution centre unlike Carrefour (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). The Chinese prefer to purchase fresh poultry and meat; hence the need for local sourcing to be faster and smarter rather than being centrally sourced (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). Wal-Mart in China assists local retailer businesses to improve their functioning and service standards in order to integrate better with the local economies (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). Its perseverance in localisation of procurement creates more job opportunities, reposes trust in local producers, and helps in sustaining local economies (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). Wal-Mart treats its Chinese vendors as partners in development. Practically 95% of the goods sold by the company are locally produced by almost 20,000 suppliers (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). Wal-Marts journey in China has been fraught with many challenges, primarily due to the American retailing methodologies followed by the organisation (Gopalkrishnan, 2009). The singular differentiator between Wal-Marts strategies and Carrefours more entrenched adjustment to the Chinese environment lies in it appreciation of and response to local culture and consumer behaviour (Gopalkrishnan, 2009). In China the company possibly needs to understand that heterogeneous Chinese shoppers would possibly be better served by decentralised operations, combined with simultaneous leveraging of its competitive advantages of low prices, quality, and technologically superior logistics (Gopalkrishnan, 2009). Working together with local partners within the regulatory framework and cultural landscape is a critical lesson that appears to have been absorbed and espoused in advancing its Chinese retail footprint (Gopalkrishnan, 2009). Wal-Mart, by exiting the German market, (post the $ 1 billion pre-tax bottom-line hit), and retreating from the Korean marketplace, conveyed to its stakeholders the lessons it learnt on (a) the importance of appreciating cultural and environmental differences in new markets and (b) the need to focus sharply on profitability and returns in its global investment and growth strategy (Workman, D., 2006). Question 3: The widely used PESTEL framework represents an analytical methodology for evaluating the milieu in which individual organisations or industries operate, work and are managed; such an analysis aids in methodically focusing upon and assessing the impact of various environmental forces, namely those that are political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, environmental and legal in nature, upon business organisations or particular industrial segments (Gray, 1999, P 12). The Wal-Mart group scrupulously operates within the political and legal frameworks in all the countries in which it operates; such a strategy can often lead to the emergence of serious challenges, as in Germany where local regulations did not permit the company to extend the weekend hours or to sell below cost (Depamphilis, 2009). The companys expansion into different nations are also dependent on local political conditions and governmental and local regulations, as illustrated by Wal-Marts unsuccessful foray in Indonesia, where it needed the support of Suhartos network to ensure continuance of operations (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). Apart from such factors organisations have to deal with copious local laws regarding labour and welfare; other trading regulations also affect business operations and need to be complied with, by organisations, their employees and their participating associates. Ecological challenges with regard to environmental protection and use of green production methodologies also need to be diligently targeted above minimum statutory requirements and achieved; Wal-Mart projects itself as a sustainability leader and incorporates participation of all internal and external associates and partners in setting targets for fulfilment of their energy needs (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). Its environmental and green objectives are targeted to be achieved through greater use of renewable sources, encouraging use of environmentally friendly products and working towards zero waste (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). Catastrophic events and fluctuating weather patterns can also challenge operational efficiencies (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). Most global retail players have at one time or another felt the need to factor in challenges relating to country specific general economic conditions, disposable incomes of shoppers, buying patterns and preferences, cost of goods and labour, interest and currency exchange rates, customer debt levels, credit availability and history, fuel and energy prices, insurance costs, et al. (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). Economic challenges, especially in forays into matured markets, include top-line protection, sustained profitability and cash flows; these challenges assume critical proportions, not only due to the intense rivalry and competition in the retail turf, but also due to wafer thin margins and the fairly long gestation period involved in setting up just-in-time inventory and logistics, and best in class infrastructure. The socio-cultural norms of no two nations are alike. This poses immense challenges in conforming to local practices and customs and therefore requires diligent and sustained efforts in satisfying cultural needs; inadequate attention to cultural needs has led to numerous retail failures across the globe; Germany and Korea represent two cases of different cultures that Wal-Mart failed to tackle appropriately (Depamphilis, 2009). Another case in point is the heterogeneous nature of the Chinese population, which mandates local rather than centralised sourcing (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). Diverse cultural environments prevail even within small countries, on the lines of geographical or other divisions, demanding adherence by business to disparate social and cultural norms. Retail forays into new international marketplaces need implementation of contemporary technology for combating the inherently competitive nature of the industry. Wal-Mart and other major retail players are using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology for product tagging and coding to combat the logistics challenges for procuring, moving, stacking and selling ever increasing volumes and varieties of merchandise across geographies and continents (Stoler, 2006). Additional risks that Wal-Mart could be exposed to in its global businesses could emerge from fiscal and monetary policies and inflation rates of its host countries, political, social and economic instability, adverse tax consequences, and, inter alia, difficulties in enforcing IPRs (Intellectual Property Rights) in non-US countries (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). The mitigation of these challenges and risks essentially lie in diligently adapting to local country-specific and region-specific norms and regulations and in synergising them with proprietary best-in-class expertise in technology and logistics. Such stratagems are required for the progression of glocalisation or transnational objectives and attainment of economic and sustainable growth. Question 4: The management of the Wal-Mart conglomerate employs numerous measures for evaluation of corporate performance, the chief among them being (a) total sales, (b) operating income, (c) comparable store sales, (d) diluted income per share from continuing operations, (e) return on investment and (f) free cash-flow (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). The total sales for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2010, clocked in at $ 401.2 million compared to $ 374.3 million for the previous year, registering a 7.2% growth, following a 8.6% growth in the previous 2008 fiscal (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). Such enhancement in net sales resulted from diverse acquisitions, store sales additions, and the worldwide expansion of business (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). The efficacious management and leveraging of expenses of the company can be measured by operating income, which rose by 3.95 % in fiscal 2009, against an increase of 7.1% in the previous year; this occurrence occurred primarily because of Internationals adverse impact from foreign currency conversion rates, (amounting to $ 2.3 billion) and the Sam Clubs marginal percent decrease, due to increases in operating and overhead expenses (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). Introducing new stores leads necessarily to reduction in sales of existing stores in the vicinity; as per revised capital efficiency computation methodology, the adverse approximate impact on current store sales was 1.1% and 1.5% in fiscals 2009 and 2008 respectively; this impact will abate in future due to intended reduction in opening of new stores (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). The diluted income from continuing businesses increased from $ 3.16 in fiscal 2008 to $ 3.35 per share in fiscal 2009, consequent to income enhancements, combined with repurchase of outstanding quantum of weighted average shares. The corresponding figure for fiscal 2007 was $ 2.92 diluted income per share (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). The Return on Investment (ROI), a critical measurement tool for assessment of efficiency of deployment of assets by the organisation, stood at 19.3% for fiscal 2009 and 19.6% for fiscal 2008. Some of this decrease occurred because of the investment in Chile and the settlement of workers class action lawsuits (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). Free cash flows are net cash flows made available by continuing operations for a period, less the outflows made for purchase of equipment and property during such period, and reflect the capability of organisations to engender additional cash flows from various business segments ; Wal-Marts free cash flows increased from $ 5.7 to 11.6 billion through fiscals 2008 and 2009 respectively (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). A scrutiny of the 5 year financial data reveals that organisational sales increased from $ 281.5 million in fiscal 2005 to $ 401.2 million in fiscal 2009, representing a 42.5% absolute increase (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). A further analysis of the financials reveals that overall net sales realisation per square footage increased by 1.7% from $ 428.2 to $ 435.7 between fiscals 2007 and 2009 respectively (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). It is also important to note that for the Wal-Mart US segment, (which contributed 63.7% of the overall net sales for fiscal 2009), the net sales realisation increased by 3.6% from $ 418.8 to $ 434.0 per square foot between fiscal 2007 and 2009. The average realisation per store in the US increased from $ 65.73 to $ 69.95 million, representing an increase of 6.4% over the same period (Wal-Mart Group, 2010). The above performance analysis of Wal-Marts business segments, vis-à  -vis its strategies, reveals that the group should be able to continue to successfully overcome or sidestep the challenges it must inevitably face in future, considering its worldwide span of operations in 15 diverse global territories. The companys financials reveal that the strength of its balance sheet will continue, barring major risks, to supplement its resources every year in achieving its strategic objectives for the benefit of its stakeholders. Question 5: Wal-Mart forayed into the global marketplace, with the opening of the Sams Club in Mexico, in the 1990s, to revitalise its constrained domestic sales growth; this diversification yielded immense results in terms of growth, in both revenues and earnings, especially after appropriate changes in the companys international strategy were effected in 1999 (Wal-Mart Group, 2007). The company thereafter entered, (in quick succession), Puerto Rico in 1991, Canada in 1994, Brazil and Argentina in 1995, and China in 1996 (Wal-Mart Group, 2007). The subsequent ingress into the UK through the purchase of ASDA, as well as into Japan through Seiyu, furthered its global operations (Wal-Mart Group, 2007). The first part of the companys three-pronged strategy, to unlock the value in their global business, addressed portfolio optimisation in making of correct investments, dissociating from unsuccessful investments, and growing both organically and inorganically (Wal-Mart Group, 2007). The second leg of this international strategy, according to Mitch Slape, Wal-Marts (International Business Development) Vice President, is to leverage global markets to add value through use of all of Wal-Marts resources, competencies, and associations, (Wal-Mart Group, 2007). The year 2007 saw the addition of the third dimension of their strategy, namely, to be triumphant in each of the geographical areas of operation and to have a unique position for eventual generation of value for shareholders. The company, to achieve this, continues to be fixated on the local consumer, relocate know-how, and grow the best international and local talent to enable leveraging the global scale (Wal-Mart Group, 2007). The competition amongst retail companies on the basis of local market power and local scale establishes the branding, cost composition and recall presence for the customer, in all countries; Wal-Mart hurt itself sorely whenever it did not adhere to this principle (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). With most of the customers, to the first Mexican Wal-Mart store, commuting by buses instead of cars, the companys large Americanised parking-lot was piled up with shopping carts at the end that was closer to the bus stop (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). The product categories and inventories stacked were attuned to American needs, e.g. golf balls for the lower income level customers (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). Wal-Mart learnt quickly from these initial and relatively minor errors and bounced back to achieve remarkable success (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010). Bartlett and Ghoshal (1989) aver that the organisation must manage itself to realise the synergies of global assimilation and national receptiveness and learn to thrive in the global arena (Fahy, 1996). In terms of wherewithal, such a theory connotes that the organisation should depend not only on the parent organisations resources (global assimilation) or on the resources of the local company (national receptiveness) but must equally highlight both; it must also effectively ensure two-way transfer of learning between both the companies (Fahy, 1996). Although numerous authors assert the pursuit of a global strategy on the foundation of the industrys internationalisation prospects (Porter 1986; Yip, 1989), there is a divergent view that companies need to merge both the local and global dimensions; this combination is occasionally known as localisation (Main, 1989) (Fahy, 1996). Translated, the transnational solution advocates that global business players assimilate the organisational resources and competencies of both the host and the home country (Fahy, 1996). The primary and widely accepted reason for Wal-Marts success in China, as also in the other countries it has forayed into concerns its ability to, over time, acclimatise its operational, merchandising and marketing stratagems to enable their juxtaposition with the host countrys culture. The pursuit of such a transnational, or glocalisation strategy, has led to the company becoming an entrenched transnational retail player. Wal-Mart has successfully implemented its intended stratagems in growing from one international retail store in 1991 to over 3000 stores in 2007 in 13 non-US markets under 50 diverse banners; with almost 600,000 associates or employees offering goods and services to 49 million consumers every week, it has been growing at a compound rate of 24.7% per annum for the last seven years (Wal-Mart Group, 2007). Question 6: Globalisation has ensured enormous wealth creation worldwide over the last two decades. The unprotected and saturated domestic markets of business organisations have forced them to cross their national borders (Stoler, 2006); this global competition has wrought considerable internal and external benefits to businesses and societies across the world. The direct benefit of quantitative growth has profited Wal-Mart in two critical areas, the first being the considerable economies of scale that Wal-Mart has been able to garner from its worldwide buying clout and second, the benefits that have accrued to it from the exchange of ideas across its global operations (Wal-Mart Group, 2007). Wal-Marts volumes have helped it in extracting deeper discounts from all the local businesses of its multinational vendors, like Proctor Gamble, GE and Unilever; who have their own worldwide operations (Wal-Mart Group, 2007). The flow of ideas across geographies also help in the best practices of one country being imbibed in another; a case in point being the layouts of the wine departments in stores in Argentina being replicated into layouts globally (Wal-Mart Group, 2007). Technology has propelled the use of bleeding edge innovations in ensuring efficient inventory and logistics controls. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) product coding and tagging , as an alternative to bar codes, for inventory and security purposes, is already in use by large manufacturers and retailers like Wal-Mart and their worldwide vendors (Stoler, 2006). This translates into immense benefits in terms of supremely efficient global tracking, securing and movement of large volumes of merchandise containers by road, sea and air (Stoler, 2006). Wal-Marts use of its competitively advantageous cross-docking logistics system, by ensuring the movement of these tracked goods between two docking stations within forty eight hours, results in nominal inventories and substantial saving of 2 to 3 percent (Fahy, 1996). In a business where low costs and stretched margins are crucial, this system has generated substantial business values and market dominance (Fahy, 1996). The inimitable local and global synergies of bringing together people, communication systems and modes of transportation give Wal-Mart exceptional competitive advantages (Fahy, 1996). The larger implication of the use of these technologies is in facilitating and promoting, rather than in retarding, international trade through addressing of crucial anti-terrorism and security apprehensions (Stoler, 2006). The extensive use of such technologies also implies that customers will soon be able to verify radio-tagged products, know where, when and by whom they were manufactured, the physical components and chemical procedures used in manufacture, the shipment logistics, the dietetic content and , inter alia, their adherence to sustainable development manufacturing methodologies (Stoler, 2006). Such well informed shoppers should further the cause of superior retail management by buying more merchandise than they are content with (Stoler, 2006). The global commodity chain (GCC) approach of Gereffi and Korzeniewicz (1994) looks at the worldwide unification, along value and / or commodity chains, concerning consumption, distribution and production of goods (Dolan, 2004). This diagnostic tool is especially valuable in identifying the vital role that conglomerates like Wal-Mart, GAP and Nike play in managing activities in value chains (Dolan, 2004). Gereffi (1994, 1999) underlined the criticality of the so-called buyer-driven commodity chains, and argued that, in certain business sectors, the large marketers, brand-name companies, and retailers, play a central role in instituting and prodding geographically disseminated manufacturing and supplying systems, without their ownership of such systems (Dolan, 2004). The horticultural value chain pertaining to UK-Africa demonstrates numerous properties of a buyer driven commodity chain (Dolan, 2004). The supermarkets oversee the supply arrangements that cover numerous African nations and not only identify the goods but also the manners of production of such merchandise (Dolan and Humphrey, 2004) (Dolan, 2004). Such supermarkets progressively establish the manufacturing imperatives of the upstream horticultural entities and obliquely impact their assumed employment stratagems (Dolan, 2004). This enables significant and direct benefits to Wal-Mart in terms of display of disparate and locally preferred merchandise on its shelves worldwide, thereby helping it to service its customers better. Assignment 2: Individual Reflective Statement Moon (2004) avers that the stages of the reflective cycle, in the widely used Kolb cycle, (Gibbs. 1988), have been variously described by theorists as (a) the experience, (b) identification of the necessity for a resolution of an issue, (c) explanation of the issue, (d) reassessing and remembering, (e) re-evaluating affections / expressive stage, (f) processing of information and thoughts, (g) the ultimate resolution, likely transformation and action and (h) probable action. The Business Synoptic attempts to analyse, with the global retailer Wal-Mart, as the case study, the main issues of the frameworks used to garner competitive advantage in the global marketplace. The exercise helps in comparing the successful, or otherwise, entries into different foreign markets and in assessing the learning thus achieved, understanding the challenges and risks associated with such ventures, identifying the appropriate performance indicators for enabling the analysis of performance of last five years, assessing the results of such analysis vis-à  -vis the adopted strategies, examining the strategies adopted by the company, and finally deciding whether and why such strategies were and are appropriate, and how globalisation has benefited Wal-Mart. This reflective statement study draws greatly on the available literatures that cover the disparate fields of marketing management, strategic management, retail management, international business, and industrial organisation economics, as also the information available on Wal-Mart in the public domain, both on and off line. The analysis involves the use of primary and secondary information available from sources like the Wal-Mart groups website and from books, magazines, journals, the media and newspapers. Whilst the period of reference for this reflective statement commences in the 1960s, when Wal-Mart was founded, the major part of the analytical period spans from the early 1990s when Wal-Mart established its first overseas venture to the five years from 2004 to 2009, for assessment of financial performance indicators. It is also pertinent to note that adequate care has been taken in making sure that the subject matter under examination is pertinent to the issues under this analysis. During the course of this study, I have found that my reflective skills have developed, though I have sometimes skipped certain stages of the reflective cycle and have revisited them later, whilst, in other cases, I have digressed tangentially and have veered away from the current topic of study. This has, over the course of the study, enabled me to delve into the multi-faceted aspects of the diverse factors, as well as the underlying processes and policies that are involved in the management of huge conglomerates. This has also enabled me to better appreciate the humungous logistics behind the everyday retail experiences of millions of shoppers, including the author, who throng the ubiquitous worldwide superstores. During the course of one such digression, I was disheartened to learn that a multinational can also be susceptible for liabilities that can arise out of the non- compliance of its contracted associates with corporate policies on contract labour. The case study revealed the complex relationships that exist between the business environment and the tactical and strategic policies implemented in business segments, as well as the impact and relevance of such policies in staying competitive in the international marketplace. The study also presented the author with the diverse economic, environmental and social criteria that mandated the present and prospective course of action of an organisation for maintenance of its global supremacy in the retail industry. The study of the literature further clarified the importance of social and cultural influences on inter related business decisions and the resultant prosperity, market penetration and growth. The use of both quantitative and qualitative infor

The Impact of Marijuana Use :: Interview Essays

The Impact of Marijuana Use I conducted each of the following interviews. I obtained verbal consent from the individuals and informed them that their confidentiality would be completely protected. To insure their confidentiality is protected I am using pseudonyms for the individuals interviewed. They were also informed that they could stop the interview at any time with no questions asked and there would be no penalty of any kind if they chose to do so. Interview number 1; female, 47 years old, Africa Board Question (Q): Why do you use? Answer (A): (There is a long pause) †¦it's hard to put into words. I like it obviously, it seems to keep me centered and focused. (Q): What do you get out of it? (A): It is a solitary thing more than a group thing so it is not social, it's not a party thing. I like the quiet, and the focusing. (Q): How long have you used? (A): On and off since I was a teenager. (Q): What are the positives of using? (A): The focusing, it seems like my creativity is increased, and I like getting in touch with nature. (Q): What are the negatives of using? (A): Society's attitude, it seems like there is a lot of judgment placed on marijuana that is not necessarily fair or accurate. (Q): Why do you think society has a particular attitude towards marijuana? (A):I think because of the 1960s when people were experimenting with lots of drugs, people were dropping out of school. The establishment did not like people thinking for themselves so they medicated people with television and propaganda that inaccurately portrays marijuana. (Q): Do you feel addicted? (A) No because there have been times where I haven't smoked. When I went to Mexico I didn't use, it's not worth the risk, not worth jail time. I quit when I was pregnant and sometimes I just don't feel like using. Interview Number 2; female, 29 years old, Jasmine Grant (Q): Why do you use? (A): I don't anymore. It was a social thing. All of my friends were doing it so I thought "why not". (Q): What do you get out of it? (A): It made me feel accepted, not just because of peer pressure but also because my words seemed to flow better and I felt less self-conscious. I liked the way it took the edge off reality. It numbed a small piece of me and allowed me to relax. (Q): How long have you used?

Analysis of Dulce et Decorum Est :: Papers

Analysis of Dulce et Decorum Est It is sweet and meet to die for ones country, better known as Dulce et Decorum Est is a great  poem written by war poet Wilfred Owen. It involves a tragic war situation. It is easily understood. The  poem also has a very unique sound to it.    Wilfred Owen was born on March 18th in 1893.He was the eldest of four children born in Oswestry. He was brought up in the Anglican religion of the Evangelical school. An evangelical man is saved not by the good he does but by faith he has in redeeming power of Christ’s sacrifice. He  rejected most of his belief  by 1913; the influence of his education remains visible in his poems and their themes: Sacrifice biblical language, and his description of hell.    In 1913 he moved to Bordeaux, as a teacher of English in the Berlitz School of language: one year later he was a private teacher in a prosperous family in the Pyrenees. He enlisted in the Artists Rifles on the 21st of October 1915 there followed 14 months training in England. He was drafted to France in 1917 the worst war winter. His total war experience will be a short four months, from which only five weeks in the front line. On this is based all his war poetry.    In August 1918, after his friend, the other Great War poet, Siegfried Sassoon had been severely injured and sent back to England, Owen returned to France war was still as horrid as before. The butchery war ended on November 11th, 1918 at 11 o clock. Seven days before, Owen had been killed in one of the last vain battles of this war. The situation of Dulce et Decorum est s a tragic situation. The poems  speaker is Wilfred Owen. He is a soldier who is sent into the front lines of battle.There is not a particular audience that he is looking for.    The occasion is the cold winter  war in the trenches. It is men fighting for their country and dying for an honor. The poem takes place on a cold day in 1917.It is outside on the Western Front in France. The poem is telling our about the hard ships that the soldiers went through. His theme of the poem is about trench warfare.

Internet Security Essay -- Essays Papers

Internet Security Security is crucial to any flourishing society such as the one in which we Americans live today. Imagine if there was no law enforcement in New York City. No one except criminals would dare to walk down the streets. People would live in fear every day. No one would work and no one could enjoy nature and the outdoors. We would all barricade ourselves indoors, only daring to venture outside into the dangerous world when we absolutely needed to. Everything would be different. Thinking of the Internet as a society, or a global community, one can also apply this notion of the importance of security. Imagine if everyone had access to all the files on every individual's and every business's computers. It would be the same as if all stores in a city were open to the public 24 hours, 7 days a week with all merchandise available for free, and all citizens' homes, credit cards, family heirlooms, etc. as well. It would be anarchy, it would be disastrous. In America today, citizens generally feel safe. We feel safe not only from our neighbors, but also from attacks by foreign countries. We have the most advanced military defense systems, and we've proven ourselves to be a powerhouse in recent years like in the Persian Gulf War. For a while, many of us perhaps even felt like America was invulnerable. On September 11 of this year 2001, we learned otherwise. We learned that America did have security holes. We learned first-hand about the horrors that criminals could bestow to us as a nation. Similarly, throughout the last 20 or so years, the Internet has harnessed a wide variety of criminals committing new kinds of crimes. What's more, everyone is at risk, the rich and the poor, m... ...5(4), 161-185. Popular print information source: Bansal, Parveen. (2001, November). Updating the Hole in the Wall. The Banker, 151, 81. Electronic scholarly journal article: Schultza, Eugene E, Proctorb, Robert W., Lienb, Mei-Ching, & Salvendy, Gavriel. (October, 2001). Computers & Security. Retrieved December 8, 2001 from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science%3f_ob=JournalURL&_cdi=5870&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=0&md5=7ad5f679d398b70e02e99cc968692dda Reliable multimedia video/audio online: The Morning Show: Internet Security. Retrieved December 10, 2001 from http://search.npr.org/cf/cmn/cmnpd01fm.cfm%3fPrgDate=2%2F16%2F2000&PrgID=3 Reliable web site: National Institute of Standards and Technology. (January 19, 2001). Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Fact Sheet. Retrieved December 8, 2001 from http://csrc.nist.gov/encryption/aes/aesfact.html

Compensation Consultants Essay

Compensation consultants are now becoming a popular tool to assist company in managing their compensation program and corporate governance strategies. However, there are both pros and cons in using compensation consultants. On one hand, there are some clear benefits; firstly, compensation consultants can provide expert knowledge, for example, insight and advice on trends in executive compensation, an assessment of executive compensation relative to executive performance; and insight and advice on the level and mix of pay and benefits (Conyon, 2007). Although, compensation consultants are viewed as external third parties providing solutions of optimal efficient managerial compensation contracts to align the benefits of both the employee and employer in the most fair and unbiased way. They have the ability to help the firm maximize shareholder’s value by designing compensation schemes that more closely align the interests of managers with shareholders since they can bring breadth and depth of experienced from handling similar problems and benchmarking comparable (peer group) firms especially when there is high information asymmetry between different parties. Other benefits include cost reduction in recruiting/rewarding process and efficient allocation of resources by taking the tasks away from human resource, compensation committee and shareholders who may not have the knowledge and experience in determining senior executive pay package. On the other hand, there are some drawbacks in hiring compensation consultants. Firstly, compensation consultants face potential conflicts of interest that can lead to higher recommended levels of CEO pay, including the desires to cross-sell services and to secure repeat business. Evidence shows that US CEOs receive about 18% more total compensation, and Canadian CEOs receive about 33% more, when their executive compensation consultant also provides other services to the firm (Murphy & Sandino, 2010). They are more likely to help executives by pushing for higher compensations in hope of being rewarded with more consultants services with the company as such firms that hire compensation consultants are more likely to have higher CEO compensation levels than those that have not hired a consultant (Voulgaris, et al. 2010) (Goh & Gupta, 2010). However, contrary to the study of Murphy & Sandino 2010, some scholars found that the potential conflict of interest between the firm and consultant is not a primary driver of excessive CEO pay. Their explanation is that opposing incentives to maintain consultants’ credibility or safeguards put in place by compensation committees limit actions taken with regard to cross-selling incentives (Cadman, et al. , 2010). Secondly, consultant fees can be substantial; thus, the company should weigh the costs/benefits to determine whether hiring a consultant is appropriate. Thus, in my view, compensation consultants may not be part of agency problems but rather a solution to the problem of designing an optimal executive pay contract that aligns the interests of both the employee and employer if the firm can strengthen and promote transparency in its hiring process to maximize shareholder’s values.

Osteoporosis

Abstract:As the world's population lives longer, the significance of osteoporosis and fractures increases.Introduction:Osteoporosis is an age-associated disease, which is influenced by genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. Age is a high hazard factor for osteoporosis. Lack of vitamin D and insufficiency of calcium absorption are the most popular reason for the osteoporosis in the elderly. (Jakob et al, 2014)Jakob, F., Seefried, L., ; Schwab, M. (2014). Alter und Osteoporose. Der Internist, 55(7), 755-761.?Jakob F, e. (2018). [Age and osteoporosis. Effects of aging on osteoporosis, the diagnostics and therapy]. – PubMed – NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24903137 [Accessed 16 May 2018].It is mostly a disease of old age people. The prevalence of osteoporosis increase significantly with age and it is an independent risk factor for the improvement of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fracture. As indicated by National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data the diffusion of osteoporosis based on reduce density of hip bone was estimated at 4% in women 50 to 59 years of age compared to 44% in women 80 years of age and older. The number of seniors in risk for osteoporosis will continue increasing with the aging of society. (Vondracek et al , 2009).Vondracek, S. F., ; Linnebur, S. A. (2009). Diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in the older senior. Clinical interventions in aging, 4, 121.? I choose this topic because when I was in clinical area I saw many old patient they came to do x-ray and when I read the justification I saw they have osteoporosis. So I want to know how the x-ray help to diagnosis this disease. In this assignment I will talk about first the principles of the osteoporosis, the equipment components required for carrying out the osteoporosis examination and their functions. Also, I will discuss the role of radiographer and technical and radiation exposure considerations of it. Finally, I will talk about one clinical example for osteoporosis patient with clear images.Principle:Osteoporosis was described as a pathological in which there is non-attendance of bone tissue, however that tissue which remains is completely calcified. Osteoporosis creates when bone resorption happens too rapidly and substitution happens too gradually. (Makhdoom, et al,2014) The older senior is at high risk for osteoporosis. It is important for healthcare providers to be fully aware of the potential risks and benefits of diagnosing and treating osteoporosis in the older senior population. Data indicate that bone mineral density testing is under-utilized and drug therapy is often not initiated when indicated in this population. Bone mineral density testing with central dual energy x-ray absorptiometry is essential and cost-effective in this population. All elder people should be instructed on a bone-healthy lifestyle containing age-appropriate weight-bearing exercise and smoking cessation if necessary. The very important role in the risk for osteoporotic fractures, especially in the older senior is a falls play. The risk for vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency is high in the older senior and can contribute to falls and fractures. To treat this problem they should intake sufficient amount of calcium and vitamin D. (Vondracek et al,2009) Vondracek, S. F., ; Linnebur, S. A. (2009). Diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in the older senior. Clinical interventions in aging, 4, 121.?DEXA procedure detects the osteoporosis disease and this early diagnosis will improve the disease management practices and would help in impeding national productivity losses by mass screening and awareness. Also, it can help prevent osteoporosis. (Makhdoom, et al,2014) Makhdoom, A., Rahopoto, M., Siddiqui, K. A., ; Qureshi, G. A. (2014). Early Detection of Osteoporosis by Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry. Pakistan journal of medical sciences, 30(6), 1265.? Equipment component and function:The technique used to measure the mineral bone density and the average concentration of mineral in a defined section of bone is the Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). It performed with a low radiation dose and accurate (exact measurement of BMD), precise and flexible (different regions can be scanned). A DEXA scanner consists of a low-dose x-ray tube with two energies for separating mineral and soft-tissue components and a high-resolution multidetector array. It has one of two different system a fan-beam device that emits alternating high (140 kVp) and low (70–100 kVp) x-rays and sweeps across a scan area or a constant x-ray beam with a rare-earth filter and energy-specific absorption, which separates photons of higher (70 keV) and lower (40 keV) energy.( Lorente-Ramos et al,2011).Lorente-Ramos, R., Azpeitia-Armà ¡n, J., Muà ±oz-Hernà ¡ndez, A., Garcà ­a-Gà ³mez, J. M., Dà ­ez-Martà ­nez, P., ; Grande-Bà ¡rez, M. (2011), Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry in the diagnosis of osteoporosis: a practical guide. American Journal of Roentgenology, 196(4), pp 897-904.Role of radiographer with osteoporosis patients:Understanding every step of the procedure is important for maximizing the usefulness of the imaging evaluation to patients and referring clinicians in this procedure the radiographer play a great role in preparing the patient and taking care of the patient before, during and after examination. Before the examination, the radiographer must be Check patient history, old x-ray, Select the optimum exposure factors, Prepare the room for examination and Prepare the patient for the examination. During examinationThe radiographer must be Explain the procedure to patient and relative ,Reassure and care for patient during examination, Position the patient, Place radiation protection and Constantly assess the patient's condition and then Expose. After examination they should be Move the tube away from patient, lower x-ray table down and finally given instructions to patient.Radiation exposure in X-ray-based imaging techniques used in osteoporosis:In old patients, central DEXA measurements of the lumbar spine and proximal femur are recommended. Two regions should be measured so that if one is unavailable, the forearm can be imaged. Appropriate patient positioning is essential for optimizing BMD measurement. The patients are placed in the supine position for poster anterior imaging of the lumbar spine and femoral neck and sitting next to the table for imaging of the forearm. Images are assessed for patient movement. The area of interest exceeding 1–2 cm and superior and inferior limits should be included to verify that the complete anatomic region is scanned. The bone axis should be straight and centered and the lesser trochanter should not be seen on images of the proximal femur. Equipment from various manufacturers generates automatic ROIs, which should be reviewed. Correct numbering of vertebral bodies is the main goal in DEXA of the lumbar spine. The indicators of correct positioning are as follows: the ribs appear at T12, the largest transverse processes are L3, the vertebral area values increase from L1 to L4, BMD increases from L1 to L3, and the BMD of L4 is similar to or slightly less than that of L3. Sometimes radiographs are necessary for correlation. Altered vertebrae (deformed or with lesions or artifacts in them) should be excluded from the analysis. If only one vertebral body is left, the region is not useful for diagnosis. In hip scanning, it is important to avoid undesired bone. The anatomic landmark selected for femoral neck ROI placement is the greater trochanteric notch.( Lorente-Ramos et al,2011) Case study:A 70 years old patient was admitted to Khawla hospital due to presence of lower back pain and restricted waist movement. A lumbar x-ray was done to the patient and showed sever narrowing of the disc space between L3 and L4 with no fractures over the lumbar bodies. For further investigation, a bone densitometry test was done that showed the presence of severe presence of osteoporosis with increased risk of fracture. Thus, discectomy was done for the herniated portion of the disk between L3 and L4 that compresses the nerves and causes the pain and instrumented fusion of L3 and L4 was also done to stabilize and strengtnus the spine after the intervertebral joint space reduction that occurred between L3 and L4. Finally, the patient was prescribed with vitamin D and calcium tablets to compensate the calcium and vitamin D reduction due to the osteoporosis.(khawla hospital,2018) .(khawla hospital,2018) Conclusion: Over all, Osteoporosis is a systemic disorder of the skeleton that is characterized by a reduction in bone mass. Although the condition affects a higher percentage of old people. The importance of osteoporosis lies in the fact that osteoporotic bones are more fragile and susceptible to fracture than normal bones. DEXA is a quick, accurate, low-cost imaging method for the diagnosis of osteoporosis. It comprises adequate performance (symmetry, morphology, positioning), ROI placement, detection of artifacts, pathologic evaluation (incidental findings and those affecting analysis), and evaluation of bone mineral density.

Doing Business in Russia

Export and Investment Chapter 5: Trade Regulations, Customs and Standards Chapter 6: Investment Climate Chapter 7: Trade and Project Financing Chapter 8: Business Travel Chapter 9: Contacts, Market Research and Trade Events Chapter 10: Guide to Our Services 1 6/7/2013 Return to table of contents Chapter 1: Doing Business in Russia †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Market Overview Market Challenges Market Opportunities Market Entry Strategy Market Fact Sheet Link Market Overview †¢ Return to topWith a vast landmass, extensive natural resources, more than 140 million consumers, a growing middle class, and almost unlimited infrastructure needs, Russia remains one of the most promising and eexciting markets for U. S. exporters. Russia is the world’s 11th largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and 7th largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It has the highest per capita GDP ($13,400) of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Afric a). Russia is an upper middle income country, with a highly educated and trained workforce and sophisticated, discerning consumers.Russia’s economy is still recovering from the economic crisis that began in 2008, with GDP growth estimated at 2. 8% for 2013. In terms of trade in goods, Russia was the United States’ 27th largest export market and the 16th largest exporter to the United States in 2012. Russia was America’s 21st largest trading partner overall. U. S. exports to Russia in 2012 were $10. 7 billion, a new record and an increase of almost 30% from 2011. This is six times more than the growth rate for overall U. S. exports worldwide, which rose by 5%. Russian exports to the United States in 2012 were $29 billion, a decrease of 15% from 2011.Russia’s leading trade partners were recently Netherlands, China, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, and Turkey. U. S. accumulated investment in Russia is approximately $10 billion. According to Russian data, the United States is Russia’s 10th largest foreign investor. Russia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in August 2012. This brought the world’s largest economy outside the WTO into the organization and bound it to a set of rules governing trade. Congress also enacted legislation to extend permanent normal trade relations to Russia in the same year.Russia’s membership in the WTO will liberalize trade with the rest of the world and create opportunities for U. S. exports and investments. For industrial and consumer goods, Russia’s average bound tariff rate declined from almost 10% to under 8%. U. S. manufacturers and exporters will have more certain and predictable access to the Russian market as a result of Russia’s commitment not to raise tariffs on any products above the negotiated rates. For American businesses, Russia’s accession to the WTO will also bring the following: 3 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ More li beral treatment for service exports and service providers.Sthronger commitments for protection and enforcement of IPR. Rules-based treatment of agricultural exports. Market access under country-specific tariff-rate quotas. Improved transparency in trade-related rule-making. More effective WTO dispute resolution mechanisms. The United States is working vigorously to expand bilateral trade and investment cooperation to benefit both Russia and the United States. In the last several years, the positive atmosphere resulting from the â€Å"reset† of bilateral relations has led to an unprecedented advance in economic cooperation between our countries.From 2009 to 2011, U. S. exports to Russia rose markedly by about 57%, and total United States-Russia trade increased by more than 80%. There is much more room for growth in this important relationship. Return to top †¢ Market Challenges †¢ †¢ †¢ Russia is the largest country in the world, spanning nine time zones an d encompassing over 17 million square miles. Seriously underdeveloped infrastructure poses logistical challenges, especially in accessing markets outside of major cities.An incomplete transition from central planning has led to an insufficiently iintegrated economy and disparities in wealth distribution, both geographically and demographically. Conducting business might be impeded by: burdensome regulatory regimes; inadequate intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement; widespread corruption and inadequate rule of law; inconsistent application of laws and regulations; lack of transparency; and the continued presence of large state-owned, or state-controlled, enterprises in strategic sectors of the economy.Investments in â€Å"strategic sectors† of the Russian economy are subject to Russian Government control. Recent reforms make it easier for companies to hire expatriate employees, but the Russian immigration and visa system requires time and patience for bu siness travelers to obtain necessary permissions to do business in Russia. English is not widely spoken although knowledge of the language is expanding especially in the major cities. Return to top †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Market Opportunities In alphabetical order: †¢ Agricultural Equipment †¢ Apparel †¢ Automotive Parts and Service Equipment/Accessories †¢ Aviation 4 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Chemicals/Plastics Construction Consumer Electronics Electric Power Generation and Transmission Equipment Energy Efficiency/Green Build Medical Equipment Refinery Equipment Safety and Security Equipment Travel and Tourism to the United States Return to top Market Entry Strategy †¢ †¢ Commit time, personnel, and capital seriously, as developing business in Russia is resource-intensive. Conduct market research, such as with the U. S. Commercial Service’s Gold Key or International Partner Search services, to identi fy opportunities and potential Russian business partners.Conduct due diligence, such as with the U. S. Commercial Service’s International Company Profile service, to ascertain the reliability of business partners. Consult with U. S. companies already in the market, as well as with the U. S. Commercial Service and business organizations such as the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia and the U. S. -Russia Business Council. Communicate regularly with Russian business partners to ensure common understanding of expectations. Frequent travel to Russia is sthrongly recommended in order to establish and maintain relationships with partners and to understand hanging market conditions. Maintain a long-term timeframe to implement plans and achieve positive results. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Return to table of contents 5 Return to table of contents Chapter 2: Political and Economic Environment For background information on the political and economic environment of the c ountry, please click on the link below to the U. S. Department of State Background Notes. http://www. state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/index. htm Information on Russia can be found at the following link: http://www. state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3183. tm Return to table of contents 6 Return to table of contents Chapter 3: Selling U. S. Products and Services †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Using an Agent or Distributor Establishing an Office Franchising Direct Marketing Joint Ventures/Licensing Selling to the Government Distribution and Sales Channels Selling Factors/Techniques Electronic Commerce Trade Promotion and Advertising Pricing Sales Service/Customer Support Protecting Your Intellectual Property Due Diligence Local Professional Services Web Resources Return to top Using an Agent or DistributorEncompassing nine time zones, Russia is the largest country in the world by landmass. Therefore, many busi nesses tend to approach the Russian market on a regional basis. Most new entrants start in Moscow and then move into the regions either through an existing distributor or by seeking new distributors in those locales. As both Moscow and St. Petersburg are major population and business centers, many Western firms have representatives there. The Northwest Federal District consists of the northern part of European Russia and includes eight federal subjects (equivalent to U.S. states), including Russia's second largest city, St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad Region are home to Russia's largest port facilities, and the area has significant natural resources, especially in forest products and oil and gas. The region's population of over 13 million provides a stable and highly educated workforce. In addition, the region shares a long border with Finland, and nearly 40% of European Union-Russia trade takes place along this border.American companies have made signif icant investments in northwest Russia: Caterpillar, Ford, GM, International Paper, Kraft Foods, Wrigley and ConocoPhillips are some of the U. S. brand names with investments there. Some companies have successfully entered the Russian market by starting distribution in other key regions first because of market features and industry sector concentrations (e. g. , woodworking in northwest Russia and energy projects in Sakhalin and western Siberia) and then expanding elsewhere. Well-organized distribution channels are established in western Russia, especially in Moscow and St.Petersburg, and continue to 7 develop rapidly in southern Russia, the Volga region, Urals, Siberia, and Russian Far East. With a high concentration of mineral resources (diamonds, gold, silver, tin, tungsten, lead and zinc), fishing, and timber resources, the Russian Far East also represents business opportunities for U. S. exporters. The Russian Government is promoting a shift in the region to deep processing of n atural resources and fostering local production of high value-added products, while preserving a reasonable focus on resource extraction.Deep processing is focused on the timber, fishing, and agricultural (meat and milk production) industries and will create a need for equipment in these areas. Local and international environmental groups are supporting this strategy, aimed at more sustainable economic development in the region. The Russian Government has mega-projects in the fuel and energy sectors, including continued development of the major Sakhalin oil and gas project at a cost of over 1. 8 trillion rubles. Chemical production facilities using natural gas will likely be built along the pipeline routes.A large-scale petro- and natural gas chemical industry is expected to develop in the Russian Far East along the main pipeline routes to include methanol, ammonia, and fertilizer products, as well as manufacturing of polymeric plastics. These new projects will require procurement o f equipment and machinery to support their production. The mining sector is also expected to be developed, including continued development of gold deposits in the Amur and Magadan regions and the Chukotka Autonomous Region.New projects in the mining sector will drive up the demand for expanded fleets of road construction machinery, and other equipment by local companies. The development of regional aviation as a mearns to connect population centers in the Russian Far East is another Government priority. A new Federal program (adopted in April 2013) plans to allocate 101 billion rubles to support regional aviation, including the upgrade of local airports’ infrastructure. This will create business opportunities for suppliers of regional aircraft and equipment, as well as for service providers specializing in airport modernization.