Ensure a Safe Workplace Essay

Chemicals purchase large quantities of cleaning chemicals. These are delivered in 205 liter drums and include solvents, acids and other corrosives, and detergents. These products are decanted by ABC chemical’s staff into retail size containers (not exceeding 30 liters/kilograms) , re-labelled and shipped in company-badged delivery vehicles to retail outlets throughout the metropolitan area. There is, within 25 meters of ABC chemical, a local nursing home that cares for elderly residents with age-related conditions including dementia. Across the road from the nursing home is a child care center that provides day care for the under 5’s. ABC chemicals employs some 50 people whose duties include the day-to-day running of the business and decanting of the chemicals into smaller containers. Small spills during the decanting procedures are cleaned up with rags, which are disposed of at the end of the day into the general waste dumpster in the rear yard of the premises. The dumpster is collected by a waste contractor on a weekly basis. The ABC chemicals building was constructed in 2000 and has been fitted with limited emergency equipment. None of the staff has received any training in safe handling of chemicals or how to cope with emergencies and there is no emergency plan displayed in the workplace. ABC chemicals is situated on a busy intersection and there have been several significant vehicle accidents in front of the premises. All empty chemicals drums are stored in the rear yard against the back cyclone fence. These drums are collected on monthly basis and as many as 250 drums can be stored there awaiting collection. Behind the cyclone fence is a large open, overgrown paddock with dry grass, which is owned by the local council. The council has advised ABC chemicals that they wish to build a community center on this site at some time in the near future.

Referent and Expert Power

CNUR 833 Week 9 discussion question Summary Outline: Leadership Read the following chapter : Robbins, S. P. , Coulter, M. & Langton, M. (2009). Management (9th Canadian ed. ). Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall. Chapter 12 Review Week 9 Presentation (Found in Course Materials under Weekly Presentations) Focus on the following elements: 1. How leaders and managers differ. LEADERS †¢ Develop vision and long term objectives, plans strategy and tactics †¢ Exhibits leading Beauvoir. Acts to bring change in others congruent with long term objectives †¢ Innovates for the entire organization †¢ Asks what and why to change standard practice †¢ creates vision and meaning for the organization †¢ uses transformational influence: induces change in values, attitudes, behaviour using personal examples and expertise †¢ uses empowering strategies to make followers internalize values †¢ status quo challenger and change creator MANAGERS engages in day to day care taker activities, maintain and allocate resources †¢ exhibits supervisory behaviour : acts to make others maintain standard job behaviour †¢ administers subsystems within organizations †¢ asks how and when to engage in standard practice †¢ uses transactional influence: induces compliance in manifest behaviour using rewards, sanctions and formal authority †¢ relies on control strategies to get thing done by subordinates †¢ status quo supporter and stabilizer 2. How various theories improve our understanding of leadership? Trait theories- early research unable to find the difference leaders from non- leaders †¢ Later research on the leadership process identified 7 traits associated with successful leadership- drive, the desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, intelligence, job-relevant knowledge, and extraversion †¢ Behavioural theories identified 3 leadership styles- 1. autocratic style- centralized authority, low participation 2. democratic style-involvement, high participation, feedback 3. laissez-faire style- hands -off management Leader behaviour Research findings mixed results- †¢ no specific style was consistently better for producing better performance †¢ employees were more satisfied under a democratic leader than an autocratic leader 4. How managers use power and trust to enhance leadership. For manager to lead, manger should have the leadership skill to empower and influence the team or individual to achieve organizational goals by building trust and using power effectively. There are 5 sources of leader power identified: POWER 1. Legitimate power and authority are the same. Leader in position power also likely to have reward and coercive power 2. Coercive power-leaders have the ability to punish or control e. g. employee’s suspension and demotion or assign unpleasant or desirable work to the workers. Followers react to the power out of fear and consequences for not compliance 3. Reward power- give positive benefits and rewards including anything that another person values e. g. money, favourable performance appraisals, promotions, interesting work assignments, friendly colleagues, and preferred work shifts or sales territories. . Expert power- influence based on expertise, special skills, or knowledge. Managers depend on employees’ expert to achieve the organization’s goals due to jobs have become more specialized. 5. Referent power-based on desirable resources or personal traits. Develop out of admiration of another and a desire to be like that person by modelling behaviour and attitudes after the individual DEVELOPING TRUST AND CR EDIBILITY TRUST include 5 dimensions 1. integrity- honesty and truthfulness 2. competence- technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills 3. onsistency- reliability, predictability, and good judgement in handling situation 4. loyalty- willingness to protect a person, physically and emotionally 5. openness- willingness to share ideas and information freely †¢ Honesty is the most important characteristic of admired leader †¢ Credible leaders are competent and inspiring †¢ Able to communicate effectively their confidence and competence and inspiration †¢ Trust and integrity are interrelated and interchangeable Post your views one the 2 discussion questions in the discussion threads. . Describe the differences between a transactional leader and a transformational leader. †¢ Transactional leaders is more of management leadership style by telling what they wanted the employees to do and give clear structure and expectation to their followers what is expected and required to do the job with full responsibility †¢ Reward for success of compliances and effort and punishment for failure to motivate employees to achieve short term goal and not long-term goal by increase their performance or productivity. Followers are expected to do the job as an order whether or not there are resources or capability to do it. Employees obey to do the assignment by negotiating a contract with benefits and incentive. †¢ This leadership style has least interest in changing the working environment and ineffective in promoting job satisfaction. Transformation leadership †¢ Defined as charismatic leaders of change agents who have confidence and belief in themselves by developing vision and putting their passion and energy to take care of their subordinates to success. with clear vision and direction leaders will be able to inspire their followers to buy into it in order achieve their common goal for the organization †¢ Some of the characteristics of transformation leader are enthusiasm, active and good listener, visible, build trust, persistent, keep up the momentum by motivating and rallying their followers, show followers their behaviours and attitudes the way every ones else should behave, commitment, celebrate with success, †¢ This type of leadership enables the leaders to transform organization as they are people oriented and success comes first. Transformational Leaders also tend to see the big picture, but not the details, which could cause failure and also their followers are kept going and may also cause them to give up. References: Robbins, S. P. , Coulter, M. & Langton, M. (2009). Management (9th Canadian ed. ). Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall. Transformation Leadership. Retrieved on 15-3-2010 from http://changingminds. org/disciplines/leadership/styles/transformational_leadership. htm 2. What types of power are available in your current nursing situation? Which types do you use most often and why? The types of powers most often used by nurses are expert power and referent power. This is because nurses have expert power as they possess skill and knowledge; professional specialized in nursing care that is relevant to the job or tasks. Public and patients look up on nurses for quality of care and health knowledge for their expertise. Thus nurses have the power to influence patients as well as team members by exhibiting trust, honesty, credibility, accountability and integrity. Nurses also have referent power being admired by patient, staff and students. Therefore those who admire nurses with referent power will be over power by the nurses and attempt to model behaviour and attitudes after them. This is because the followers believe the leader posses the quality that they would like to possess. Transactional Leadership 72 rate or flag this page By Edi Kurnik [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic] [pic]A – Z of Leadership †¢ A – Z of Leadership How To Improve Your Leadership Skills By Using The Same Secrets Great Leaders Like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Alexander The Great Used To Inspire, Motivate and Persuade Virtually Anyone†¦ Related Hubs Leadership Styles †¢ Quotes on Leadership [pic][pic] [pic][pic][pic]Transactional Leadership Leadership style plays a crucial role in the development of an organization. Transactional leadership is of the leadership style that is often used by many companies. Transactional leadership believes that punishment and reward motivate people. This leadership also assumes that when people agree to do a particular assignment, a part of that agreement is that they give up all authority to their boss. The leader holds control and power over the subordinates. The main goal of the employee is to obey the orders of their managers. The idea is that when a subordinate takes up a job, he or she agrees to obey their manager totally. The ‘transaction' is the money or any other award that the company pays to its subordinates for their compliance and effort. The relationship between the subordinate and the leader becomes transactional. In transactional leadership the leader has the right to punish his or her subordinates if their performance is not according to the predetermined standard. Transactional leadership makes clear that what is equired and expected from their subordinates. It also mentions that subordinates will get award if they follow the orders seriously. Sometimes punishments are not mentioned but they are understood. In the early stages of transactional leadership, subordinate is in the process of negotiating the contract. The contract specifies fixed salary and the benefits that will be given to the subordinate. Rewards are g iven to subordinates for applied effort. Some organization use incentives to encourage their subordinates for greater productivity. Transactional leadership is a way of increasing the performance of its subordinates by giving them rewards. Transactional leadership is also called as ‘true leadership style as it focuses on short term goals instead of long term goals. In Transactional leadership, when the leader assigns work to its subordinates, then it is the responsibility of the subordinate to see that the assigned task is finished on time. If the assigned task is not completed on time or if something then punishment is given for their failure. But if they accomplish the task in time then the subordinates are given reward for successfully completing the task. Subordinates are also given award and praised for exceeding expectations. A subordinate whose performance is below expectation is punished and some action is taken to increase his or her performance. Transactional leadership has more of a ‘telling style'. Transactional leadership is based on the fact that reward or punishment is dependent on the performance. Even though researchers have highlighted its limitations, transactional leadership is still used by many employers. More and more companies are adopting transactional leadership to increase the performance of its employees. This approach is prevalent in real workplace. The main limitation of this leadership is that it assumes that people are largely motivated by simple rewards. Under transactional leadership, employees can't do much to improve job satisfaction. Transaction leadership has been ineffective in providing skilled employees to their organization. This style of leadership is least interested in changing the work environment. Experts do not recommend this approach. Transactional leadership focuses more on management of punishments and rewards. [pic]Rate it:   up   down Transactional Leadership Disciplines ; Leadership ; Leadership styles ; Transactional Leadership Assumptions | Style | Discussion  | See also Assumptions People are motivated by reward and punishment. Social systems work best with a clear chain of command. When people have agreed to do a job, a part of the deal is that they cede all authority to their manager. The prime purpose of a subordinate is to do what their manager tells them to do. Style The transactional leader works through creating clear structures whereby it is clear what is required of their subordinates, and the rewards that they get for following orders. Punishments are not always mentioned, but they are also well-understood and formal systems of discipline are usually in place. The early stage of Transactional Leadership is in negotiating the contract whereby the subordinate is given a salary and other benefits, and the company (and by implication the subordinate's manager) gets authority over the subordinate. When the Transactional Leader allocates work to a subordinate, they are considered to be fully responsible for it, whether or not they have the resources or capability to carry it out. When things go wrong, then the subordinate is considered to be personally at fault, and is punished for their failure (just as they are rewarded for succeeding). The transactional leader often uses management by exception, working on the principle that if something is operating to defined (and hence expected) performance then it does not need attention. Exceptions to expectation require praise and reward for exceeding expectation, whilst some kind of corrective action is applied for performance below expectation. Whereas Transformational Leadership has more of a ‘selling' style, Transactional Leadership, once the contract is in place, takes a ‘telling' style. Discussion Transactional leadership is based in contingency, in that reward or punishment is contingent upon performance. Despite much research that highlights its limitations, Transactional Leadership is still a popular approach with many managers. Indeed, in the Leadership vs. Management spectrum, it is very much towards the management end of the scale. The main limitation is the assumption of ‘rational man', a person who is largely motivated by money and simple reward, and hence whose behavior is predictable. The underlying psychology is Behaviorism, including the Classical Conditioning of Pavlov and Skinner's Operant Conditioning. These theories are largely based on controlled laboratory experiments (often with animals) and ignore complex emotional factors and social values. In practice, there is sufficient truth in Behaviorism to sustain Transactional approaches. This is reinforced by the supply-and-demand situation of much employment, coupled with the effects of deeper needs, as in Maslow's Hierarchy. When the demand for a skill outstrips the supply, then Transactional Leadership often is insufficient, and other approaches are more effective. See also Exchange principle, Transformational Leadership Transformational Leadership Disciplines > Leadership > Leadership styles > Transformational Leadership Assumptions | Style | Discussion  | See also Assumptions People will follow a person who inspires them. A person with vision and passion can achieve great things. The way to get things done is by injecting enthusiasm and energy. Style Working for a Transformational Leader can be a wonderful and uplifting experience. They put passion and energy into everything. They care about you and want you to succeed. Developing the vision Transformational Leadership starts with the development of a vision, a view of the future that will excite and convert potential followers. This vision may be developed by the leader, by the senior team or may emerge from a broad series of discussions. The important factor is the leader buys into it, hook, line and sinker. Selling the vision The next step, which in fact never stops, is to constantly sell the vision. This takes energy and commitment, as few people will immediately buy into a radical vision, and some will join the show much more slowly than others. The Transformational Leader thus takes every opportunity and will use whatever works to convince others to climb on board the bandwagon. In order to create followers, the Transformational Leader has to be very careful in creating trust, and their personal integrity is a critical part of the package that they are selling. In effect, they are selling themselves as well as the vision. Finding the way forwards In parallel with the selling activity is seeking the way forward. Some Transformational Leaders know the way, and simply want others to follow them. Others do not have a ready strategy, but will happily lead the exploration of possible routes to the promised land. The route forwards may not be obvious and may not be plotted in details, but with a clear vision, the direction will always be known. Thus finding the way forward can be an ongoing process of course correction, and the Transformational Leader will accept that there will be failures and blind canyons along the way. As long as they feel progress is being made, they will be happy. Leading the charge The final stage is to remain up-front and central during the action. Transformational Leaders are always visible and will stand up to be counted rather than hide behind their troops. They show by their attitudes and actions how everyone else should behave. They also make continued efforts to motivate and rally their followers, constantly doing the rounds, listening, soothing and enthusing. It is their unswerving commitment as much as anything else that keeps people going, particularly through the darker times when some may question whether the vision can ever be achieved. If the people do not believe that they can succeed, then their efforts will flag. The Transformational Leader seeks to infect and reinfect their followers with a high level of commitment to the vision. One of the methods the Transformational Leader uses to sustain motivation is in the use of ceremonies, rituals and other cultural symbolism. Small changes get big hurrahs, pumping up their significance as indicators of real progress. Overall, they balance their attention between action that creates progress and the mental state of their followers. Perhaps more than other approaches, they are people-oriented and believe that success comes first and last through deep and sustained commitment. Discussion Whilst the Transformational Leader seeks overtly to transform the organization, there is also a tacit promise to followers that they also will be transformed in some way, perhaps to be more like this amazing leader. In some respects, then, the followers are the product of the transformation. Transformational Leaders are often charismatic, but are not as narcissistic as pure Charismatic Leaders, who succeed through a belief in themselves rather than a belief in others. One of the traps of Transformational Leadership is that passion and confidence can easily be mistaken for truth and reality. Whilst it is true that great things have been achieved through enthusiastic leadership, it is also true that many passionate people have led the charge right over the cliff and into a bottomless chasm. Just because someone believes they are right, it does not mean they are right. Paradoxically, the energy that gets people going can also cause them to give up. Transformational Leaders often have large amounts of enthusiasm which, if relentlessly applied, can wear out their followers. Transformational Leaders also tend to see the big picture, but not the details, where the devil often lurks. If they do not have people to take care of this level of information, then they are usually doomed to fail. Finally, Transformational Leaders, by definition, seek to transform. When the organization does not need transforming and people are happy as they are, then such a leader will be frustrated. Like wartime leaders, however, given the right situation they come into their own and can be personally responsible for saving entire companies. See also Appeal principle, Bonding principle, Confidence principle, Pull, The Leadership Challenge Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectation. New York: Free Press. Bass, B. M. (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, (Winter): 19-31. Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row

An Overview Of Sainsburys Plc

An Overview Of Sainsburys Plc Sainsburys PLC consists of Sainsburys a chain of 502 supermarkets and convenience stores-and sainsburys bank. Sainsbury’s Supermarkets is the UK’s longest standing major food retailing chain, having opened its first store in 1869. The Sainsbury’s brand is built upon a heritage of providing customers with healthy, safe, fresh and tasty food. Quality and fair prices go hand-in-hand with a responsible approach to business. Sainsbury’s stores have a particular emphasis on fresh food and strives to innovate continuously and improve products in line with customer needs. As per an article published on the BBC news website, Sainsbury was the market leader in the U.K until 1995 when Tesco took over the number one position. In July 2003 Asda took over sainsbury’s position to become UK’s second largest supermarket chain. As a marketing consultant appointed by Sainsbury PLC, through this document I shall lay down strategies which would enable Sainsbury PLC to secure its future, regain its momentum and emerge as a market leader in the times to come. It would be meaningful to begin our analysis through a current situations review. The purpose of analysis of our situations review is to primarily understand what may affect the enterprise in the future. In order to accomplish our objectives it would be worth assessing the external environment through: The super market retail industry in the UK is highly competitive. According to an article published by Research and Markets, under the heading â€Å"UK Food Retailing Market Forecast (2005-2010)†, large convenience stores dominate the retail markets in the UK. Seventy five percent of the total sales in the retail industry is attributed to the large supermarkets. Again seventy Five percent of the market share is held by four large players in the industry which include Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Morissons. The industry is projected to still witness enormous potential of growth, unlik e other developed regions in the world. According to an article published by the Oxford University press, â€Å"Michael Porter made one of the most thorough attempts to analyse the economic forces within an industry. Porter’s work had an important place in the positioning school which sees the fundamental role of strategy as positioning the enterprise for the future† Threat of new entrants: Threat of new entrant would be high when the industry appears attractive and the barriers to entry are low. The UK supermarket industry is rewarding and as discussed earlier is projected to see further growth. This makes the industry eye-catching. However there is no doubt that entry into the UK markets would require a huge amount of capital. Considering this it would be appropriate to expect entrants from developed parts of the world. I see a threat of entry from American retail giants keeping in mind the slowdown in the retail industry in the American markets. One cannot undermine the possibility of new entrants from other European regions. A recent example would include the entry of German supermarket giant Lidl which has opened up retail stores in major British cities.

Persepolis and Satrapi's Why I Wrote Persepolis H R Essay

Persepolis and Satrapi's Why I Wrote Persepolis H R - Essay Example The author admits that she is a pacifist (Satrapi 3).The best way to embody this characteristic into her work was through the use of a child narrator who easily fits the description of a person who would not understand the resolve to war and violence. The child is a reliable narrator; the author succeeds at expressing her mind very obediently as a child would. This adds to the credibility of the work. It feels like she is giving an unbiased opinion because she is too young to establish her core beliefs. The author succeeds at hiding her own biases on the events that were happening around her. She even manages to criticize her own parents. She succeeds at using the innocence associated with childhood to draw the reader’s attention to the political power games of the murderous regime and the cultural intricacies which were taking place at the time. The text includes the example of children acting out the torture they witness to emphasize that they are not always aloof about their surrounding and they fully comprehend what is going

Incidents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Incidents - Essay Example As an autoethnographic text, however, Incidents also demonstrates that Linda, the main character, has a very clear idea of her own cultural identity, and that that cultural identity is in large part imposed upon her from beyond her control. As a black salve girl, she is expected to fit those cultural norms regardless of anything else in her life, and she recognizes that she must take every step she can to navigate theses issues throughout her life. Linda’s family situation is one of the main things that creates an autoethnographic understanding of herself. A child is usually innocent with the social environment during the early stages of his/her life. However, as time passes, a child is faced with the inevitable task of acknowledging the state of affairs surrounding his/her life. For Linda this meant one thing: dealing with the situation of slavery, which she experiences almost entirely through the lens of her family. The story Incidents is, in large part, the story of Lindaâ €™s growing understanding of her family. ... Linda admires her grandmothers hardworking nature and appreciates all the efforts she made while trying to free her family from bondage. This aspect of hard work and objectivity in her grandmother chores even as a slave encouraged Linda in many aspects of her life. It is through the lenses of these stories about family that Linda begins to understand her own cultural identity – her cultural understanding of self is constantly influenced by the way her family describes their interactions with slave owners. In every slavery situation, the victim faces unfair and unjustified treatment from their masters. Such mistreatments extend from basic acts of discrimination to other inhumane acts. In her narration about the condition surrounding the childhood life of her mother, the girl highlights this act of oppression on the relationship between her mother and the grandmother’s mistress daughter. Linda’s maternal grandmother was used as the foster mother of her motherâ€⠄¢s mistress. After birth, her mother as weaned from her grandmother so as to give the mistress the chance to be breast fed sufficiently by her grandmother. In the story, Linda is bitter about this content and feels that the people who at the same time pretended to care for her mistreated her mother as a child. Linda’s identity formation process is not solely centered on her blood family, however. Her extended family in the form of other slaves, and especially god-parents, leads in large part to Linda understanding her cultural place in the world. Jacobs illustrates the roles played by the people who care about us in life. Jacobs is not different to the significance of Linda’s mother mistress in taking care of her and her sibling. As we can witness from the text,

JB Hi FI Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

JB Hi FI - Research Paper Example The brand audit is basically the valuation of the brad in a quantitative manner. JB Hi Fi is one of the leading electronics retail chains in the Australia and New Zealand. However, the evolution of the brand JB Hi Fi was not an easy job. It has gone through many changes and many obstacles in the past. And it has overcome many barriers with the help of great branding strategy. Brand audit and background analysis of the Brand JB Hi Fi: The brand audit is an important factor for the improvement of the brand. It helps a company to understand the health of the brand (Solomon 2009, 159). Brand audit is a very important platform for building the brand identity (Roll 2006, 101). It also identifies the additional values required to improve the brand equity. The brand is the name, logo or some marks associated with the product which distinguishes the product from the other identical products. (Clifton, Simmons, and Ahmad 2009, 23). According to Martin Jelsema 1 the auditing of the brand has ma ny factors involved, and these factors are basically segregated as six major factors. These six factors are brand matrices, brand positioning, market segmentations, internal strength of the brand, brand personality and differentiators which differentiate the brand from the other competing brands. JB Hi Fi is having a great personality as a brand in the Australian market and it has shown great improvement in all of these six factors related to the brand audit to increase the brand equity. JB Hi Fi Started its journey in the year of 1974, with the great vision and mission of Mr John Barbuto (JB) and with his intellects and great visions towards the future as a single electronic store in Victoria became a great brand (About Us: JB Hi Fi. Nd). However, in 2000 the JB Hi Fi was bought by private equity bankers and they started a new branding strategy to increase the brand equity with the national expansion. And in 2003 the JB Hi Fi was listed in the Australian stock market (About Us: JB Hi Fi. N.d), since that time the JB HI FI became the brand of the nation for the retailing of electronics. The brand equity of JB Hi Fi: The JB Hi Fi started its journey in 1974 and from that time in never looked back within few years with a great strategic vision it got 131 stores in Australia and 10 stores in New Zealand within 2010 (Roth 2010, 106). Recently the stock price of the JB Hi Fi is floating around $ 20 and the last 12 months average price is $ 21.65 with the market capital of $ 2,154 million (JB Hi-Fi Limited, 2011). Within just one decade it has gained a great position in the Australian Qualitative stock market. Competitive advantage: Competition makes a brand more powerful. And the competitive advantage can be felt if and only if the competition is there. However, JB Hi Fi got a great competitive market in Australia. Few of the competitors are Harvey Norman, The Good Guys, Domayne, Sanity Entertainment, Strathfield Group, HMV, Video Ezy and Blockbuster. However the g reat branding strategies and value pricing have made the JB Hi Fi one of the toughest competitors in Australia. Current branding strategy and marketing programs: Branding is all about powering the product profile with great brand equity (Keller 2008, 59). And the brad equity plays a great role in it. the success of branding lies on few important factors and they are brands awareness, identifying

Sociology Research Literature Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sociology Research Literature Review - Essay Example There is no doubting that terrorism is a 'hot topic', in recent times it has come to dominate global media coverage almost to the point of socially damaging saturation. It has been a long held belief amongst academics of all persuasions that an individual's perception of social reality is often based on the information available to them. As a highly influential medium both print and electronic media is an important source of information within the global society. The individual factor of writer, reporter or journalist influences the presentation of ideas in the media. News provides information the reader, on the basis of his or her own knowledge, perception and level of analytical skill; help them form opinions or beliefs about a given set of circumstances. Many factors influence this process building a social construct of reality in the society, such as, the level of understanding that a reader has for the language, tone, pictures used, context and time of the appearance of the news . News published on terrorist activities during sensitive time like war is likely to have more impact than it might during peace. The use of words, language and pictures in that particular context impacts dramatically on the perception of the masses. A series of recent terrorist activities have been largely associated with religious militant organisations, in the name of faith, god, religion and religious responsibilities young minds are being trained to get involve in terrorist activity. Derrida suggests that deconstructive faith has to be distinguished from a particular order of messianic faith (a faith within a determinable horizon) (1998, 8). The September 11 attack and London 7/7 Bombings are current examples of Derrida's notion of destructive faith. This news has presented by media groups around the world as being the product of Islam, Islamic faith, terrorism and Al-Qaeda. Linking these ideas together creates an ideology in the mass media that automatically presumes that these individual variables are synonymous to each other; this ideology created by the media then becomes problematic. The role of ideology then, requires consideration; defining 'ideology' can be difficult in itself. Chomsky (2002) raises various issues on the way media represents various issues of war, trade union issues and terrorism. The issues ranged from the presentation of these events by media and control of powerful groups over these mediums to control thought process of mass. Various other issues are raised in Said (1996, 44) on his work "Covering Islam". These were related to the partial knowledge of the people in West about Islam and questioned the interpretation based on this partial knowledge. Crelinsten (1989, 167-198), Slone (2000, 450-520), Weimann and Winn (1994, 51-89) explained in their works the emotional effect of the media stories. According to them media stories are highly sensational and selective. This is apparent from the news appearing on various media sources. The stories about pain, killings and inhuman activities sell more than other constructive stories. The appetite of society for the bad stories has been largely commercialized by several media groups. (Altheide

Gun Control Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Gun Control - Research Paper Example And there are people, who support the laws, which give them permission to use the guns to protect themselves or for other purposes, as they believe that it will be safer to live in such environment. Today more than 60% of all crimes and murders are performed with the help of guns. However, the gun control issue became urgent in late 1960s, when the crime rate significantly increased. Murders and assaults were increasing in number for about 30 years. People believed that introducing the laws, which will restrict the gun sale, would improve the situation. According to statistics, 70% of US population believed in this idea and supported it. However, starting from 1994 the crime rate started to decrease (at present the crime rate in the US is 17%  less than 10 years ago), and today only roughly half of the population (about 49%) support strict gun control (Barret "Why Gun Control Is Basically Dead"). Recent accidents, which deal with mass shooting and killings of people in the US, are the reasons why common citizens worry. The accidents at Virginia Tech University (33 deaths), the American Civic Association in Binghamton, New York (14 deaths), elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut (28 deaths), movie theater in Colorado (12 deaths) and other places (Barret "Firearm Sales Up + Crime Down = Gun Control Dead", Barret "Why Gun Control Is Basically Dead", "Gun Control vs. Gun Rights"), make people worry about their own lives and lives of their children, relatives and close friends. The misuse of small weapons is also considered to be one of the vital safety problems in the world. The number of small arms, used by people, significantly increased after the end of the  Cold War. Small weapons are available everywhere in the world, easy to buy and easy to keep unnoticed. Some experts state, that more than 60% of all crimes are committed with the help of small

Cultural Dimensional Model of Hofstede and Mintzberg Essay

Cultural Dimensional Model of Hofstede and Mintzberg - Essay Example Individualism. This dimension deals with the amount of interdependence that a society values among its members. Observably, individualism in the context of the US is relatively higher and scores 91 while China scores 20. This implies that people in the US are more concerned about themselves and the family members. On the other hand, China is categorized as a collectivist society where people place importance on group efforts (The Hofstede Centre, â€Å"Cultural Tools†). Masculinity. This dimension reveals the degree of value placed by the people on achievement and success. Correspondingly, Chinese society can be found to be driven by achievement success and competition. Accordingly, it ranks 66 with respect to the dimension of Masculinity. On the contrary, the US, although not represents a feminist society but it ranks 62, which is slightly lower as compared to China (The Hofstede Centre, â€Å"Cultural Tools†). Uncertainty Avoidance. China ranks 30 in terms of uncertainty avoidance, which implies that the people in China are more enthusiastic and like to conduct activities that are governed by low regulations. On the other hand, the US ranks 46, which is comparatively higher than China. This implies that the people in the US are more inclined towards revealing risk-avoiding behavior than the people in China (The Hofstede Centre, â€Å"Cultural Tools†). Pragmatism. In terms of pragmatism, Chinese as compared to American culture is very pragmatic and people in China are more dependent on the situation, context and changing scenario. According, the US ranked 26 while China scores 87 on the scale of pragmatism (The Hofstede Centre, â€Å"Cultural Tools†). Indulgence.  

Webdesign for an online shopping environment Essay

Webdesign for an online shopping environment - Essay Example Using this, the available sizes, image of the product can also be maintained. All this would help the person in easy selection of the product that she wants to buy. After checking on the check boxes available, the person can go to the payment counter where she can pay for the total bill including all the purchases done by her thus far. The user can log off at any point in time. Payment is taken through a paypal link. The menu in the logged on screen will also have My Account which would provide information about the account of the person who has logged on. This would include the purchases already done by her and her particulars like shipping addresses and the registered details. Any alteration if it has to be done can be done by her here. The screen will be in orange and black. Only three colours are used including white. HCI norms indicate that using more than three or four colours would make the working uncomfortable. Additionally, the screen is made in such a way that the menu is on the right side while there is lots of working space in the main area. This would also be the space for displaying information and collecting data. 3. This information is verified with the user data and if it matches, the user is allowed entry into the system. Else an error message is shown with the option to click Forgot Password / Register as well as Home where the user can reenter. 5. User can click on the Buy Now button to get into the invoice. The invoice will list all the items the user has selected along with their quantities and price. If the user wants to remove some item, she may do so here. She can also increase the quantity of the items by directly altering the number. The invoice is recalculated. 5. User can click on the Buy Now button to get into the invoice. The invoice will list all the items the user has selected along with their quantities and price. If the user wants

The differences in business systems in Asia and the West Essay Example for Free

The differences in business systems in Asia and the West Essay When researching the differences in business systems between Asia and the West it is very difficult to find any material that does not attribute many of these disparities to cultural influences (Davidson, 1987; Ferguson, 1993 and Blackman, 1997). This is due to the fact that it is generally believed that intercultural awareness does contribute to successfully doing business in another culture. However, establishing how and where culture affects business systems is by no means an easy question to answer and many western businesses are in fact currently trying to answer this question in order to successfully integrate into the Chinese marketplace (Dayton, 2006 and Journal of Intercultural Learning, 2006). Therefore, in this essay I will analyse exactly what role culture has in explaining the distinctions between business systems in the West and China and argue that in many cases these discrepancies are incorrectly attributed to cultural reasons when in fact these variations can be explained by using far more obvious economic causes. Harris (2006) notes the eagerness of business journalists to attribute the differences in Western and Asian business systems to cultural factors by stating: the airport newsstand best-sellers and glossy news weeklies are packed with admonishments to preserve face and build relationships and local Chinese writers have jumped on the bandwagon, poking fun at the clueless westerners blundering towards failure in China because they dont understand the local culture. Graham and Lam (2003) concur stating that Western and Chinese approaches to business often appear incompatible. Graham and Lam (2003) also believe that these differences in business systems and attitudes stem from deep cultural origins and in order for western business to successfully interact with their Chinese counterparts they must understand the cause of these differences is in fact their cultural differences. However, Maidment (2006) argues that western Multi-National Companies (MNCs) are succeeding in China because they place little value on the role of culture when conducting business in China, but rather focus solely on business issues when conducting business. Maidment (2006) states that MNCs succeed because they hire the best local talent, pay the highest salaries, and invest the most. They have no culture, no beliefs, and no  predispositions. They are machines. It does seem that too many western businesses are too concerned with recognising cultural differences in China, which often provide no explanation to the difference in business systems. Instead they should just focus on implementing successful business strategies in China, rather than becoming fixated on cultural differences (Harris, 2006 and Dayton, 2006). Recognising that China has a different culture to that of western countries is not a universal explanation to explain the differences in business systems (Baird et al, 1990). In fact, Maidment (2006) argues that traditional Chinese culture is changing so fast that no one understands it. It is therefore debatable whether or not culture plays any part in the difference in business systems, this is due to the fact that the current generation of Chinese professionals has very little in common with the previous one (Maidment, 2006). One could therefore argue that analysing cultural differences to explain the business ones carries very little weight in China (Asian Business Law, 2006). However, Maidment (2006), Harris (2006) and Dayton (2006) all concede that knowing Chinese history and culture is a benefit to conducting business in China but also state that cultural knowledge should not be solely relied upon in order to understand these differences. Given the rapid changes that are occurring in both the Chinese marketplace and Western economies it would seem that understanding the economic forces of the here and now would provide far greater insight into understanding the differences between China and the West, rather than mulling over traditional cultural influences. In contrast the Journal of Intercultural Learning (2006) when contrasting Chinese and Western businesses argues that culture shapes our values, attitudes and our behaviour. It affects the way we communicate with each other, the way we expect to lead and to follow, the way we negotiate, the way we buy and sell, and the way we work together in teams. Nevertheless such a broad statement provides little insight into which specific aspects of culture affects business systems in both Asia and the West. In order to better understand this, a contextual background is needed rather that just  providing stereotypical cultural tips, such as those that are regularly found in many business magazines. Anyone who thinks reading a few books on Chinese culture gives them the measure of the individual Chinese person with whom they are dealing is mistaken (Maidment, 2006). When examining the current differences in business systems between the West and China, differences in educational systems and levels in different localities, the rate of change, the intricacy of different systems in different locations, geographical factors and the widening gap in economic development between Chinas rich and poor provinces all affect business developments to a greater extent than any cultural factors would (Harris, 2006, Dayton, 2006, Ferguson, 1993 and Maidment, 2006). Burton and Scott (2008) do not however share such reservations when glorifying the role of culture in explaining the differences in business systems. Burton and Scott (2008) argue that the Chinese have been conducting business for thousands of years, and their system of business ethics has been shaped by the culture in which it developed — as was the business system in the West. At the centre of these differences is the fact that Chinese culture is far more relational than Western culture, and this difference is especially pronounced in business culture (Burton and Scott, 2008). Indeed, Miles (1999) also recognizes the stark differences in business relationships between the West and China and maintains that this is at the heart of potential differences between the two systems. The type of relationship and networking structure that is referred to by Burton and Scott (2008) and that is such a crucial part of conducting business in China is of course, guanxi. Despite the various definitions relating to guanxi, there appears to be a common consensus that guanxi has its own cultural base and meaning in Chinese culture (Lee, 2006 and Yang, 1994). In order for guanxi to be established between two or more people there needs to be a cultural base and many candidates for guanxi bases are unique to the Chinese culture (Chen, 2004: 308). Therefore, while social networking is important when conducting business in any country throughout the world, the type of networking referred to as guanxi appears to be  exclusively Chinese as it can not be separated from the intricacies of Chinese culture. In fact, Burton and Scott (2008) argue that because of Chinese culture, guanxi defines not only relationships but also how business is done in China. Given these circumstances an d the importance that many scholars place on the role of guanxi in explaining the difference in business systems between the West and China, it would appear that culture is the dominant factor to explain these discrepancies (Backman, 2001 and Chen, 2004). Therein however lies the problem in establishing exactly what role culture plays in explaining the difference in business systems between the West and China. While Backman (2001), Chen (2004), Burton and Scott (2008), Yang (1994) and Lee (2006) all argue that guanxi is inextricably linked to Chinese culture and that culture is the root of the differences in business systems between the West and China, Dayton (2006), Harris (2006) and Maidment (2006) contend that these universal business tips such as guanxi and preserving face are in fact not cultural specific. This is best summarized by Harris (2006) who states there is just hardwork and guanxi, which is good networking, a pretty universal essential to doing business anywhere. Good networking therefore is an interpersonal skill that needs to be used to cross many cultural divides, not just those between the West and Asia. Simply defining the different ways that Chinese businessmen interact as guanxi and attributing this to culture is far too simple, as there are many other factors rather than just culture that are the source of these differences in business systems. Furthermore, Maidment (2006) argues that understanding Chinese culture is is a lot like learning chess. The basic rules are easily memorized; responding to every situation that can arise is very, very difficult. Given the speed that the Chinese economy is moving at, businesses are often searching for answers to explain the differences in business systems and are increasingly falling back on the broad generalization that it can be explained because China simply has a different culture. The truth of the matter however is that these so called predetermined  cultural differences that are so often spouted by western business magazines have huge variations in many Asian countries, particularly China where business and cultural philosophies vary greatly among the rich and poor provinces, the educated and the uneducated and the young and old business generations (Harris, 2006, Maidment, 2006 and Dayton, 2006). Understanding Chinese history and culture is beneficial for understanding Chinas business system, however because circumstances in China change so quickly, staying abreast of Chinas current situation is far more important than knowing its past (Maidment, 2006). There is no doubting that culture does play a role in determining the differences between the business systems of the West and Asia, but all too often these cultural influences are over-exaggerated, and current regional and international economic influences more often than not dictate the differences betwee n Asia and the West. Bibliography Asian Business Law. (2006) Do The Top Ten Cultural Tips For Doing Business In China Really Help? (Online) http://asiabizlaw.blogspot.com/2006/04/do-top-ten-cultural-tips-for-doing.html Accessed [30th April 2008]. Backman, Michael (2001). Asian Eclipse: Exposing the Dark Side of Business in Asia. Singapore: John Wiley and Sons Inc. Baird, I.S., Lyles, M.A. and Wharton, R. (1990). Attitudinal differences between American and Chinese managers regarding joint venture management. Management International Review, Volume 30. Blackman, Carolyn (1997). Negotiating China: case studies and strategies. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen and Unwin. Burton, F and Scott, S. (2008). China: Guanxi and Corporate Security (Online) http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/china_guanxi_and_corporate_security [Accessed 3rd May 2008]. Chen, Xiao-Ping (2004). On the intricacies of Chinese Guanxi: A process model ofGuanxi development. (Online) http://www.iacmr.org/XP_APJM_2004_3.pdf [Accessed29th April 2008]. Daniels, Jack (2007) China is a great place to do business if you know the rules (Online) http://www.chinasuccessstories.com/2007/08/28/tips-for-doing-business-in-china [Accessed 30th April 2008]. Davidson, W.H. (1987). Creating and managing joint ventures in China. California Management Review, Volume 29. Dayton, David. (2006) Culture Wars China Law Blog (Online) http://www.chinalawblog.com/2006/05/chinese_culture_wars_truce_dec.html [Accessed 27th April 2008]. Ferguson, T. C. (1993). Joint ventures in China: when West meets East and encounters the great wall of differing management thought. Journal of Management Inquiry, Volume 2. Graham, John and Lam, Mark. (2003) Negotiating in China Harvard Business Review, Vol 81, No. 10, October, 2003. Harris, Dan. (2006) To Succeed in China Know the Now China Law Blog (Online) http://www.chinalawblog.com/2006/04/to_succeed_in_china_know_the_n.html [Accessed 27th April 2008]. Journal of Intercultural Learning. (2006) Cultural Knowledge is a Plus to Business Success (Online) http://www.interculturallearning.net/2006/05/21/cultural-knowledge-is-a-plus-to-business-success [Accessed 26th April 2008]. Lee, Joseph (2006) The Importance Of Guanxi (Relationship) When Doing Business InChina (Online) http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Lee [Accessed 29th April2008]. Maidment, Paul. (2006) The Real Deal on China Forbes Magazine (Online) http://www.forbes.com/columnists/2006/04/20/china-yuan-hu_cx_pm_0420notes.html [Accessed 29th April 2008]. Miles, Michael (1999) Power and Relationship: Two Elements of the Chinese/Western Divide (Online) http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JCIM/bin/get.cgi?director y=vol3_1/filename=miles.htm [Accessed 2nd May 2008]. Yang, M. M. (1994). Gifts, Favors And Banquets: The Art Of Social Relationship inChina Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Hamburger Hill Essay Example for Free

Hamburger Hill Essay The entire mountain is a rugged, uninviting wilderness blanketed in double- and triple-canopy jungle, dense thickets of bamboo, and waist-high elephant grass. Local Montagnard tribesmen called Ap Bia â€Å"the mountain of the crouching beast. † LTC Weldon Honeycutt, commander of the 3d Battalion, 187th Infantry (the â€Å"Rakkasans†), called it â€Å"Hill 937. † The Soldiers who fought there dubbed it â€Å"Hamburger Hill. † The ? ght on Hamburger Hill occurred during Operation Apache Snow, the second part of a three-phased campaign intended to destroy North Vietnam Army (NVA) bases in the treacherous A Shau Valley. The American and South Vietnamese units participating in Apache Snow knew, based on existing intelligence and previous experiences in the A Shau, that they were in for a tough ? ght. Beyond that, however, they had little evidence as to the enemy’s actual strength and dispositions. Masters of camou? age, the NVA completely concealed their bases from aerial surveillance. When the NVA moved, they did so at night along trails covered by triple-canopy jungle, again confounding observation from above. They effected their command and control mainly by runner and wire, leaving no electronic signature for the Americans to monitor or trace. Technology, therefore, provided scant assistance to the American battalion commander trying to â€Å"see the enemy† during Apache Snow. He had to generate his own tacticalintelligence. Patrols, captured equipment, installations, documents, and occasionally prisoners provided combat commanders with the raw data from which to draw their assessment of the enemy order of battle and dispositions. Gathering this information took time, though. Moreover, intelligence about the enemy’s strength and dispositions did not necessarily illuminate his commander’s intent. It took days to ascertain this, and the learning experience proved decidedly unpleasant for the Americans. On 11 May, Honeycutt dispersed his Rakkasans and scoured the vicinity to the north and northwest of Ap Bia Mountain. When Bravo Company made heavy contact with some NVA late in the day, Honeycutt adjusted his estimate of the enemy’s strength from â€Å"a few trail watchers† to a reinforced platoon or even a company. The Rakkasans could still deal with a force that size, but they would have to concentrate to do so. For the next three days, Honeycutt fought the mountain and the NVA to bring his scattered companies together for a coordinated battalion attack. Despite the fact that, since the initial assault, no company was more than about 1,500 meters from the crest of the mountain, it took two days to consolidate the battalion for a three-company assault. Time and again, the American infantrymen found themselves hampered as much by the topography as by the enemy. The rugged terrain slowed dismounted movement to a crawl. Between 12 and 14 May, for example, Delta Company was virtually immobilized when it went down a steep ravine and was caught there by the enemy. In one grueling ? ve-hour period, the company labored to advance a total of only 500 meters. The steep, mud-covered slopes, more than the enemy, kept this company from ful? lling Honeycutt’s intent. In the end, the troops had to abandon their attack and withdraw the way they had come. These three days were a period of intensely unpleasant â€Å"discovery learning† for Honeycutt and his men. Map reconnaissance and helicopter over-? ights did not indicate that his initial scheme of maneuver was impractical. It took Delta Company’s three-day ordeal to do so. Though Honeycutt had a long and distinguished record as a combat commander in both Vietnam and Korea, he underestimated Ap Bia Mountain and the NVA facing him. Although his estimate of the enemy strength was incorrect, his miscalculation was not immediately apparent to him or to any of the American leadership. It took three days of assaults by Bravo and Charlie Companies, each bloodily repulsed, before the situation became clearer. The enemy was stronger than anticipated, much stronger than company strength, and he grew more powerful every night as he received reinforcements from Laos. The NVA commander’s demonstrated tenacity and willingness to replace heavy losses indicated he intended to put up a stiff ? ght for Hill 937 (Scalard).

What is the Impact of Carbon Dioxide Emissions?

What is the Impact of Carbon Dioxide Emissions? Alvena Nance Abstract Are we paying attention to the effects of carbon dioxide emissions and doing everything we can eliminate the negative effect it has on our overall air quality, our agriculture, and the environment? In the world the United States stands second to China among the ranks of other countries that utilizes carbon dioxide as the primary source of emissions. Energy Choices We count on the common forms of energy that are known as fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas, that when combined we breathe them. It is vital that this out pouring of energy or emission into our environment is processed and monitored with the greatest accuracy so it does not negatively affect us, our country, our climate, and our agriculture. In 2016 China with 28.21 percent and the United States with 15.99 percent were the largest producers of carbon dioxide emission worldwide. World carbon dioxide emissions are one way of measuring a countrys economic growth too. The latest figures published by the respected Energy Information Administration show CO2 emissions consumption the vast majority of carbon dioxide produced. On pure emissions alone, the key points are: China emits more than CO2 than the United States and Canada put together up by 171% since 2000 The United States has had declining CO2 for two years running, the last time the United States had declining CO2 for 3 years running was in the 1980s The United States is expected to decrease their carbon dioxide emissions by 46 percent by 2040. Looking at the two leading countries agriculture growth China is the leader in gross value of agriculture outpour is rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, apples, cotton, oilseed, pork and fish. The United States ranks high in wheat, corn, other grains, fruit, vegetable, cotton, beef, pork, poultry, poultry, dairy products, fish and forest products. The comparison between China and Americas materials and energy production and consumption in the early 2000s with those of today. China now produces, and consumes approximately 60% of the worlds cement and second to that on the planet is India. As far as cement goes, China produces thirty times more cement each year then America. Chinas cement industry is the significant contributor to global carbon dioxide emissions.ÂÂ   Interestingly that in a single decade China went from producing 20% of the worlds steel to producing half of it. The comparison with America is equally striking. Given that almost 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions come from iron and steel making, this has both obvious and important consequences. (Wilson,2017) The production of aluminum was ten time more for China than America. China produced 60 % more than America, however Americas production declined by 25%, while Chinas increased by nearly 400%. Electricity generation is important and China has total electricity capacity increased from 344 to 1,100 gigawatts between 2001 and 2011. While Chinas primary energy consumption increased by 150% in a single decade, Americas decreased by 4%. (Wilson,2017) Coal is used a lot by China, today it consumes half of the worlds coal about four billion tons. America however is now using much less, with a decline of 20% between 2002 and 2012. (Wilson,2017) Looking at carbon dioxide emissions Americas is 50% higher than those in China, and a decade later China produced almost twice that of America and now produces more than America and the European Union put together and likely a decade from now China will emit at least three times more carbon dioxide than America. (Wilson, 2017) According to this source (Wilson, 2017) forecasting is futile however an illustrative statistical comparison to put possible energy futures of both America and China in context. Climate change is a shared challenge. The EPA collaborates with Chinas Ministry of Science and Technology on research to better assess emissions and their impacts, improve mitigation practice and technologies, and enhance sustainability. Areas of shared research include emissions that impact air and climate, water sustainability, computational toxicology, soil remediation, and toxic air pollutants. Also participating in government -wide EPA initiatives with China, is the United States. (EPA and OITA, 2017) Culture and the expectations within cultures affect all business transactions and it is important that all involved understand one another. (Pitts et al).ÂÂ   The US standard of ethics may have the potential for conflict, therefore an understanding of knowledge, of culture ethics, set expectations, and guidelines will play a role in these countrys success in working together. In conclusion it is clear that understandings of the energies and how they are studied, processed and utilized are important because they affect every human being and space around the globe and should be treated as a safety issue to mankind and the environment in which we live.

The Analysis of Autism Facilitates Neuroanatomical Investigations :: Biology Essays Research Papers

The Analysis of Autism Facilitates Neuroanatomical Investigations Studying the functions of the various structures of the brain is best carried out through analysis of brain defects. For example, individuals with autism exhibit particular behaviors that are not considered normal. Assuming that behavior originates from the brain, then it becomes clear that in order to discover the causes of the abnormal behavior a comparison must be made between and healthy brain and the brain of an autistic person. By finding structural differences such as size and composition, the role that the structures play in the behavior of the autistic can be inferred while also investigating the normal functions of brain structures. There are several differences between a healthy brain and the brain of an autistic person. Dr. Joseph Piven from the University of Iowa noticed a size difference . In the autistic brain, the cerebellum is larger and the corpus callosum is smaller. Another study showed that the amygdala and the hippocampus are different in an autistic brain. In an autistic these structures have densely packed neurons and the neurons are smaller than those in a healthy brain. Also, in the cerebellum there is a noticeable reduction in the number of Purkinje cells. Structure and function can not be separated from one another and changes in one indicate alterations in the other. Because an autistic person has brain defects, a reasonable assumption is made that changes in structure will alter the behavior. An autistic person is characterized by having impaired social interaction, difficulty with communication both verbal and nonverbal, trouble with imagination, and limited activities and interests. By analyzing the abnormal behaviors of the autistic person, the roles that the cerebellum, the corpus callosum, the amygdala, and the hippocampus play in the disease can be inferred. The cerebellum is usually associated with motor movements. Concerning this topic it is interesting to note the research of Dr. Eric Courchesne. He found that the VI and VII lobes of the cerebellum were smaller in autistics than those of a normal brain. This condition is called hypoplasia. The reverse condition, which is what Piven encountered, is called hyperplasia. Courchesne linked the cerebellum with attention shifting . He proposed that the autistic takes longer time to change the focus of his attention. He believed that this condition was caused by lack of development of the cerebellum in utero caused by perhaps oxygen deprivation, infection, toxic exposure, or genetically.

Essay examples --

In the given constraints of Cost, Bulkiness and Portability we will design a smart phone based Fundus imaging device. Device application software will solve the more problem like: Automatic Glaucoma Detection and Image Enhancement problem so that its doesn't required trained user for operation. That will be possible by embedding the Optical(image capturing unit), Electronic (Microprocessor), Communication media(Wi-fi,Blue-tooth,Web etc) and Data base in a single device (Figure 2.1). This section will capture magnified fundus image in CMOS Camera. To make its possible by interfacing direct ophthalmoscope with CMOS Camera.Ophthalmoscope is an instrument that is use for examining the interior structures of the eye, especially the retina, consisting essentially of a mirror that reflects light into the eye and a central hole through which the eye is examined. Here it will interface device and human eye. We will used smart phone high resolution ($>$ 5MP) Camera for the same. Use a mobile phone holder (Rapid Prototype Model) to mount Mobile phone camera on ophthalmoscope. section{Image Accusation and Data management} Optical image of the fundus is converted into digital form by Mobile phone inbuilt Camera. Initially capture image/video is saved in local on board memory or SD Card. This section handles the data organization and management work such that we can easily find out any patient data.To organized data it will do flowing task: egin{enumerate} item{Create Folder whose Name is same Patient ID} item{Save Image/Video in that folder} item{Right and Eye Information is used to do file naming .} end{enumerate} section{Image Processing} This section will perform all the image processing task, that is widely separated into two ... ...paration of around 10 mm. The ophthalmoscope used provides an easy entry into the eye, together with a wider field of view to better observe eye conditions. paragraph{} The unit captures the fundus image in a JPEG format, which gets stored in the phone. The image is then processed for detection of its optical disk and cup, after which the respective areas are calculated to compute the CDR for setting up the threshold for the affected eye. The image processing operations as discussed above are inbuilt in the Android Application. paragraph{} The setup for capturing the fundus image of a person's eye using the developed system is shown in figure 2.2. The system is held very close to the person's eye to be detected for Glaucoma. The real time application on the phone displays the image. Also, it prints out the result in a format which can easily be interpreted.

Sex Roles and Gender Bias in Early Childhood Education Essay -- Stereo

Sex role stereotyping and gender bias permeate everyday life. Children learn about sex roles very early in their lives, probably before they are 18 months old, certainly long before they enter school.(Howe, 1). The behaviors that form these sex roles often go unnoticed but their effect is immeasurable. Simple behaviors like: the color coding of infants (blue & pink), the toys children are given, the adjectives used to describe infants (boys: handsome, big, strong; girls: sweet, pretty, precious), and the way we speak to and hold them are but a few of the ways the sex roles are introduced. These behaviors provide the basis for the sex roles and future encouragement from parents and teachers only reinforce the sex roles. Toys, literature, media, and films also encourage sex roles. Males are depicted as "doing", while females are always "receiving." In this paper, 5 articles focusing on sex roles were used. The articles look at the damaging effects of sex role stereotyping, and some ways the sex roles are accentuated in the schools. The research on sex role stereotyping is currently growing. There are many theories regarding its existence. Some attribute the sex roles to the media, literature and society, but it is a combination of all these factors. Despite the best of intentions by parents to not encourage the sex roles, at the time of kindergarten, children will demonstrate behaviors specific to their sex. It is believed that this phenomenon occurs because the children know that they are either a boy or a girl but are trying to figure out exactly what that means (Seid, 114). The behaviors that children seem to learn do have gender specific characteristics. Examples of male appropriate behavior includes: aggression, independence and curiosity. Female behaviors reflect the opposite of the male behaviors: passivity, dependence and timidity (Howe, 3). Parents have a strong impact on the sex roles that children acquire. If the sex roles are stereotypical in the home then the children will imitate the behavior that is observed in the home. Simple, parental behaviors such as who drives and who pays for dinner influence the children’s perceptions of sex roles (Seid, 115). This issue has been extensively researched. Howe states " Schools function to reinforce the sexual stereotypes that children have been taught by their parents, fri... ...nantly dictated by the upper class, Caucasian male. This excludes well over half the population of the nation. Our country is saying that essentially, just a few of us, the elite, will govern and make the rules, but we expect everyone; regardless, of how these rules may affect your life to obey them. That is putting a number of our citizens at a high risk for failure. Society needs to change to accommodate the growing needs of its people. Although most of the research seems to indicate that sex role stereotyping permeates our society and our schools, there are ways to discourage children from falling into the stereotypical roles. It will take the voices of everyone to make a change in the way that society portrays boys and men, girls and women. We are doing an injustice to our children by encouraging these roles. Educators need to become increasingly aware of their practices in their classrooms. It is very easy to fall into the trap of segregating the sexes; all of us have to support and encourage our children that they can do and be anything. When enough people believe that the sex roles can be diminished, then society, the media and the government will follow.

Sealed Air Company Hbs Case

For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN Harvard Business School 9-582-103 Rev. September 24, 1985 Sealed Air Corporation The president and chief executive officer of Sealed Air Corporation, T. J. Dermot Dunphy, explained the firm’s 25% average annual growth in net sales and net earnings from 1971 to 1980: The company’s history has been characterized by technical accomplishment and market leadership. During the last 10 years we built on our development of the first closed-cell, lightweight cushioning material, introduced the first foam-in-place packaging system, and engineered the first complete solar heating system for swimming pools.We intend to follow the same management guidelines in the 1980s. We intend to seek market leadership because market leadership optimizes profit, and foster technological leadership because it is the only long-term guarantee of market leadership. In July 1981 Barrett Hauser, product manager of Sealed Air’s Air Cellular Products, was refle cting on Dunphy’s management philosophy as he considered how Sealed Air should respond to some unanticipated competition in the protective packaging market.As product manager, Hauser was responsible for the closed-cell, light-weight cushioning material that Dunphy had mentioned. Sealed Air’s registered trademark name for this product was AirCap. 1 AirCap cushioning materials had always faced a variety of competitors in the protective packaging market. More recently, however, several small regional producers had invented around Sealed Air’s manufacturing process patents and begun to market cheap imitations of AirCap in the United States. AirCap Cushioning and Its CompetitorsAirCap cushioning was a clear, laminated plastic sheet containing air bubbles of uniform size (see Exhibit 1). The feature that differentiated AirCap cushioning from all other bubble products was its â€Å"barrier-coating†: each AirCap bubble was coated on the inside with saran. This gr eatly increased air retention, meaning less compression of the material during shipment and, consequently, better protection. Barrier-coating and its customer benefits had been the central theme of Sealed Air’s AirCap cushioning selling effort for 10 years. Sealed Air, AirCap, and Instapak are registered  ® trademarks of Sealed Air Corporation. Solar Pool Blanket is a TM trademark of the same corporation. Robert J. Dolan, associate professor, prepared this case as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Certain nonpublic data have been disguised. Copyright  © 1982 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685 or write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. 1 This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ? nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN 582-103 Sealed Air Corporation Between 1971 and 1980 Sealed Air and Astro Packaging of Hawthorne, New Jersey, were the only air bubble packaging material producers in the United States.Sealed Air licensed Astro to use Sealed Air’s patented technology. Astro produced two types of bubbles: a barrier bubble similar to AirCap,2 and an uncoated bubble. Its sales were split about evenly between the two. In 1980 Astro’s total U. S. sales were approximately $10. 5 million, compared with $25. 35 million in U. S. sales for AirCap cushioning. Sealed Air’s market education had made customers aware of the advantages of coated bubbles; consequently, uncoated bu bbles had never achieved greater than a 15% dollar share of the U.S. market before 1980. In July 1981 uncoated bubble operations were being set up in Ohio, California, and New York. GAFCEL, which served the metropolitan New York market, was the only competitor yet to achieve significant sales volume. Two GAFCEL salespeople—one full time, the other about half time—had reached a $1 million annual sales rate. Several of AirCap’s distributors had taken on the GAFCEL line. Hauser was preparing to recommend Sealed Air’s reaction to these somewhat unanticipated competitors.The firm could produce an uncoated bubble as cheaply as GAFCEL within a month with no major capital investment; it could run on machines used for another Sealed Air product. If Hauser were to recommend that the historic champion of barrier-coating offer an uncoated bubble, he would have to specify timing, the marketing program for the new product, and any adjustments in policies for AirCap cus hioning and Sealed Air’s other products. As Hauser thought about his options, he again flipped through the training manual recently distributed to Sealed Air’s sales force: â€Å"How to Sell against Uncoated Bubbles. †The Protective Packaging Market The three major use segments of the protective packaging market were: 1. Positioning, blocking, and bracing: These protective materials had to secure large, heavy, usually semirugged items in a container. Typical applications included shipment of motors and computer peripherals. 2. Flexible wraps: These materials came under less pressure per square foot. Applications included glassware, small spare parts, and light medical instruments. 3. Void fill: These materials were added to prevent movement during shipping when an item and its protective wrap (if any) did not fill its carton.The positioning, blocking, and bracing market was unique because of the heavier weights of items shipped. Flexible wrap and void fill were sometimes hard to separate because it was convenient to use the same product for both functions. The key distinction was that loose fills (for instance, polystyrene beads) dominated the void fill market but provided no cushioning protection and, hence, did not qualify as flexible wrap. Until 1970 most materials used for protective packaging were produced primarily for other purposes. Heavy, paper-based products had dominated the market. Sealed Air was one of the first Astro’s barrier bubble and the AirCap bubble differed in both manufacturing process and coating material. Astro used nylon rather than saran. The basic idea of reinforcing the polyethylene bubbles to improve air retention was, however, the same. 2 This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ? nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN Sealed Air Corporation 582-103 companies to approach the market with a customer orientat ion, i. e. , it began product development with an assessment of packagers’ needs.Since then a variety of products specifically designed for protective packaging had appeared. Sealed Air served these markets with two products: 1. Instapak ® foam-in-place systems (1980 worldwide sales of $38. 8 million) could accommodate any application, though their most advantageous use was for heavy items. In this process two liquid chemicals were pumped into a shipping container. The chemicals rapidly expanded to form a foam cushion around the product. Instapak’s comparative advantage resulted in a majority of applications in positioning, blocking, and bracing. . AirCap bubbles (1980 worldwide sales of $34. 3 million) primarily served the flexible wrap and void fill markets. In addition to coated and uncoated polyethylene air bubbles, there were two major competitors in these markets: paper-based products (cellulose wadding, single-face corrugated, and indented kraft), and foams (p olyurethane, polypropylene, and polyethylene). An excerpt from an AirCap promotional brochure in Exhibit 2 shows how Sealed Air positioned AirCap as a cost-effective substitute for these competitive products and loose fills.The brochure first pointed out the cost savings from AirCap cushioning, then presented results of â€Å"fatigue† and â€Å"original thickness retention† tests to demonstrate AirCap’s protective superiority. Exhibit 3 compares products competitive with AirCap cushioning and Exhibit 4 gives their U. S. Iist prices, which represent relative costs for any order size from an end user. Quantity discounts were offered on all materials. Buying Influences The proliferation of packaging products and the lack of easily demonstrable universal superiority caused confusion among end users.For example, products such as pewter mugs were shipped around the United States in AirCap cushioning, Astro coated bubbles, or even old newspapers. Users were a varied lo t. Some bought on a scientific price/performance basis. They understood â€Å"cushioning curves† such as those in Exhibit 5. Sealed Air could provide independently measured cushioning curves for competitive products as well as its own. Regardless, many firms did their own testing. At the other end of the spectrum were firms with â€Å"a purchasing-department mentality,† as some packaging materials suppliers put it.Price per square foot was their first consideration, delivery their second. As one Sealed Air executive commented, â€Å"To these people, cushioning curves are like accounting numbers. They think you can make them say anything you want. † There were no systematically collected data on the buying process or the extent to which price dominated performance in the purchase decision. Based on his experience as a district sales manager and now product manager, Hauser guessed that a packaging engineer influenced about 40% of the material purchase decisions. 3 This document is authorized for use only by Md.Saquib Hussain in marketing ? nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN 582-103 Sealed Air Corporation The U. S. Market In 1980, dollar sales by segment in the U. S. protective packaging market were: †¢ †¢ †¢ Positioning, blocking, and bracing: $585 million Flexible wrap: $126 million Void fill: $15. 6 million Exhibit 6 breaks down total sales for the flexible wrap market by product type for 1975, 1978, and 1980. AirCap cushioning annual sales in the United States since 1972 were: Year 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 Gross Sales (in millions) $7. 10. 0 13. 0 12. 8 14. 6 Year 1977 1978 1979 1980 Gross Sales (in millions) $16. 4 18. 4 21. 2 25. 3 Despite the high cost of coated bubbles relative to the uncoated product, Sealed Air had kept most of the U. S. air bubble market. Key factors were Sealed Air’s patent protection and licensing of only one competitor, ext ensive market education, and the packaging mentality in the United States. Packaging engineers enjoyed a status in U. S. organizations not accorded them elsewhere. Packaging supplies were viewed as a productive, cost-saving resource.In contrast, recent research by Sealed Air indicated that many European firms viewed packaging supplies as â€Å"expendable commodities. † The European Market Sealed Air had manufacturing operations in England and France and a sales organization in Germany. 3 It was the only company selling a coated product in these countries. Sales figures for 1980 were: Country England France Germany Total Bubble Sales $3,649,000 4,480,000 7,688,000 AirCap Sales $2,488,500 592,200 404,600 3 The firm also had a manufacturing facility in Canada and a sales organization in Japan.Sealed Air licensees operated manufacturing facilities in Australia, Mexico, South Africa, and Spain. 4 This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ? nal tau ght by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN Sealed Air Corporation 582-103 Table A Differing Grades of AirCap Cushioning Bubble Heights SB: SC: ST: SD: 1 8 / in. high, used for surface protection when cushioning requirements were minimal. 3/16 in. high, used primarily for wrapping small, intricate items, possibly for larger items if not very fragile. 5 16 / in. igh, used in same kinds of applications as SC grade, except with slightly greater cushioning requirements. Also used as a void fill. / in. high, used for large, heavy, or fragile items or as a void fill. 1 2 Plastic Film Thicknesses Light duty (110): each layer of film was 1 mil (1/1,000 of an inch) thick; used for light loads. Regular duty (120): one layer of 1 mil and one layer of 2 mils; for loads up to 50 lbs. per sq. ft. Heavy duty (240): one layer of 2 mils and one of 4 mils; for loads up to 100 lbs. per sq. ft. Super duty (480): one layer of 4 mils and one of 8; for l oads over 100 lbs. er sq. ft. England. Sealed Air had developed the protective packaging market here and had good distribution. Later on, Sansetsu, a Japanese firm, began marketing a high-quality uncoated product made in Germany. Prices for the uncoated bubble were 50% less than the cost of comparably sized AirCap cushioning. Sansetsu and other uncoated bubble manufacturers had chipped away at Sealed Air’s one-time 90% market share. The most pessimistic Sealed Air distributors estimated that the firm would lose 50% of its current market share to uncoated bubbles within three years. France.Here, Sealed Air owned an uncoated bubble manufacturer SIBCO, with sales of $750,000 in 1980. In 1972 SIBCO was the only marketer of uncoated bubbles in France. Two major competitors, one with superior production facilities, had entered the market. Uncoated bubbles were priced about 40% lower than AirCap, and price was the key buying determinant. The major French distributor of AirCap cushio ning had a 50-50 mix of coated and uncoated sales in 1978. In 1980 the mix had changed to 70-30 (uncoated over coated), with 90% of new bubble applications being uncoated. Germany.AirCap cushioning was a late entrant (1973) to the German market and never held commanding share. Moreover, from 1978 to 1980, it had lost share at a rate of 20% to 30% per year. Sansetsu had an efficient manufacturing facility in Germany and sold approximately $6 million of uncoated product in 1980. (The price for uncoated was about 35% less than for coated. ) AirCap Cushioning Grades and Sales AirCap cushioning grades differed in bubble height and thickness of the plastic films. Bubble heights were designated by a letter code, and the plastic films came in four thicknesses (see Table A).Sealed Air produced eight different height/thickness combinations (see Table B). Some of the known end uses for each grade are shown in Exhibit 7. 5 This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in market ing ? nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN 582-103 Sealed Air Corporation Table B Eight Different Height/Thicknesses by Sealed Air Thickness Height (inches) SB-1 8 110 X 120 X X X 240 X X X 480 / SC-3/16 ST-5 16 SD-1 2 / / X Table C AirCap Sales by Grade Sales in 1,000 Square Feet Grade 1/8 in.SB-110 3/16 in. SC-120 SC-240 5/16 in. ST-120 ST-240 1/2 in. SD-120 SD-240 SD-480 Total sales July–December 1979 59,128 76,349 5,036 31,912 4,369 44,252 25,202 3,138 249,386 January–June1980 48,513 81,014 4,426 42,234 3,914 43,624 21,799 1,358 246,882 Note: In addition, because SB-110 could not compete in price against foams for many surface protection applications, Sealed Air introduced an A-100 grade in January 1980. The A-100 bubble was 3/32 in. high—the shortest coated bubble Sealed Air could make with available technology. January to June 1980 sales of A-100 were 17,802,000 sq. ft.Sales by grade for the last six months of 1979 and the first six months of 1980 are shown in Table C. Pricing All AirCap cushioning was sold through distributors. Prices reflected Sealed Air’s costs and the prices of competitive products. Variable costs and prices to the distributor are shown in Table D. Sealed Air’s suggested resale price list is shown in Exhibit 8. Largely because of its selective distribution policy, distributors generally followed this list. The price schedule entailed quantity discounts for end users. Thus, distributor margins varied with the size of the customer’s individual order. Quantity price was determined by the total square footage of a single order, combining all grades, ordered for shipment at one time to a single destination. ) In some major metropolitan areas, up to 50% of AirCap business was truckload/railcar orders by end users. In this event Sealed Air shipped the material from its plant directly to the end user; the distributor received a 10% mar gin and handled user credit and technical service. In some markets the percentage of direct shipments was as low as 10%. 6 This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ? al taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN Sealed Air Corporation 582-103 Selling Effort Sealed Air’s U. S. operation consisted of 7 regional manufacturing operations, 62 salespeople (each selling AirCap cushioning, Instapak, and other Sealed Air products), and 370 distributors. To control the shipping cost of its bulky product, Sealed Air had regional manufacturing operations in three eastern states, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, and California. The regional presence, however, had proven to be an effective sales promotion device as well.Table D AirCap Variable Costs and Distributor Prices (in dollars per 1,000 sq. ft. ) (1) Total Variable Cost $13. 78 16. 01 20. 56 32. 47 30. 65 38. 12 36. 31 44. 45 70. 81 (2) Price to Distrib utor for Truckload Deliverya $20. 60 30. 25 43. 50 56. 30 51. 40 65. 35 65. 35 78. 60 140. 90 (2) – (1) Sealed Air Dollar Margin $6. 82 14. 24 22. 94 23. 83 20. 75 27. 23 29. 04 34. 15 70. 09 Grade A-100 (3/32 in. ) SB-110 (1/8 in. ) SC-120 (3/16 in. ) SC-240 (3/16 in. ) ST-120 (5/16 in. ) ST-240 (5/16 in. ) SD-120 (1/2 in. ) SD-240 (1/2 in. ) SD-480 (1/2 in. ) Manufacturing $12. 46 14. 02 17. 92 29. 83 25. 36 32. 83 28. 38 36. 52 62. 88Freight $1. 32 1. 99 2. 64 2. 64 5. 29 5. 29 7. 93 7. 93 7. 93 a Less than truckload shipments were priced 15% to 20% higher. Consequently, distributors almost always ordered in truckload quantities. They were allowed to mix grades within an order. Depending on the grade ordered, a truckload could contain 70,000 sq. ft. (all SD-480) to 420,000 sq. ft. (all A-100). Before Instapak was acquired in 1976, 28 salespeople devoted 90% of their time to AirCap cushioning products. In 1981 the 62-person force was expected to allocate time as follows: 60 % to Instapak systems, 35% to AirCap cushioning, and 5% to other Sealed Air products. Exhibit 9 shows Sealed Air sales by product line and other financial data. ) Part of Sealed Air’s market share leadership philosophy was a consultative selling approach. Salespeople spent about half their time making cost studies at end-user locations. With the help of Sealed Air’s packaging labs, salespeople attempted to show how their products could save on material and labor cost and reduce damage in the end user’s particular situation. Distributors’ salespeople took orders on AirCap cushioning but did little to demonstrate AirCap use and application to customers.If a distributor’s salesperson identified a potential AirCap account, he or she would inform the Sealed Air salesperson and a joint call would be arranged. In this way the potential account learned about the product and ordering procedures simultaneously. Distributors sometimes complained to Sealed Air about the level of AirCap selling effort. Since distributor’s margins on AirCap cushioning were generally higher than the 10% to 12% for Instapak sales, distributors were not happy with Sealed Air’s greater allocation of salesperson time to Instapak.Some distributors said they would be content if the salesperson in their area really allocated 35% to AirCap; some claimed the actual AirCap selling effort amounted to only 20%. Instapak’s sales growth had been impressive, but some Sealed Air executives felt this had cost them some distributor satisfaction. Both distributors and end users regarded Sealed Air’s salespeople as among the best trained and most knowledgeable in the packaging industry. Sales force salaries were above average. They were composed of a base salary plus commissions of 2% on net AirCap sales and 1% on net sales of all other products, including Instapak. As an added incentive Sealed Air gave salespeople $75 for each Instapak dispenser pl aced. It took back $75 for each one removed. ) In a typical week a salesperson called on 20 end users and checked in with two or three distributors. 7 This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ? nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN 582-103 Sealed Air Corporation U. S. Distributors During the 1970s Sealed Air invested heavily in developing a selected distributor network. The firm had 370 distributors by 1980.Sealed Air considered 135 of these their â€Å"first-line distributors† because they collectively handled over 80% of its business. The 20 largest AirCap distributors handled about 35% of the business. Larger distributors typically carried both Instapak foam-in-place and AirCap cushioning. The largest distributor of Sealed Air products had 1980 Sealed Air sales of approximately $2 million, just about half of which were AirCap. Distributors traditionally tried to be full-line houses—capable of meeting each customer’s complete packaging needs—so they carried a broad range of products.A survey of Sealed Air’s firstline distributors showed that 83% carried loose fills, 65% carried polyethylene foam, and 29% carried Du Pont’s polypropylene foam. Although most carried competitive products, distributors had displayed loyalty to Sealed Air and AirCap cushioning. Sealed Air, in turn, had kept to its selective distribution policy. Competing Uncoated Bubble Cushioning Sealed Air considered both types of bubbles made by Astro as inferior products. GAFCEL, the new regional producer, made a â€Å"decent product† in Hauser’s estimation; he felt that its success to date came largely at Astro’s expense.The New York metropolitan market was ideal for the new producer. It was not customer- or distributor-loyal, and price was a key variable. Sealed Air’s estimate of GAFCEL sales rates was $750,000 per year for the 1/2-in. -high uncoated bubble and $250,000 per year for the 3/16-in. bubble. Both had two layers of film 2 mils each. GAFCEL’s distributor prices for truckload shipments and suggested resale prices to end users for the metropolitan New York market are shown in Table E. (Astro’s uncoated bubble prices are in Exhibit 4. ) Sealed Air had not yet extensively tested the GAFCEL uncoated bubble.Although it was better than Astro’s uncoated, its performance would not be dramatically different from that found in previous uncoated testing (see Exhibit 2). In terms of cushioning curves, the l/2 in. GAFCEL bubble was comparable to Sealed Air’s ST-120 or SD-120 for very light loads, not greater than 0. 15 lbs. /sq. in. pressure. At greater loads, however, the acceleration curve would increase rapidly, moving above even the SB-110 by pressures of 0. 25 lbs. /sq. in. (see Exhibit 5). 8 This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ? nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012.For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN Sealed Air Corporation 582-103 Table E GAFCEL’s Distributor Prices per 1,000 Sq. Ft. SO-22 (3/16 in. ) LO-22 (1/2 in. ) $36. 03 Distributor truckload Suggested resale by order size: 1,000 sq. ft 20,000 sq. ft 40,000 sq. ft 100,000 sq. ft Truckload $31. 63 $56. 54 47. 12 42. 84 39. 40 34. 79 $75. 24 62. 70 57. 07 44. 68 39. 63 Sealed Air Decisions Sealed Air had conducted a good deal of research on manufacturing uncoated bubble products. It knew the best production process would be similar to that currently used for its Solar Pool Blanketsâ„ ¢.Thus, the firm could begin manufacture of an uncoated product quickly in its New Jersey plant. Likely distributor response to a Sealed Air uncoated product was difficult to predict. Some distributors had requested it, but others regularly complained that there were already too many coated grades. Preliminary estimates of the variable cost s for producing Sealed Air uncoated bubbles were $19 per 1,000 sq. ft. for 3/16 in. height, $20 per 1,000 sq. ft. for 5/16 in. , and $21 per 1,000 sq. ft. for 1/2 in. Freight cost depended on bubble height and distance shipped.Although GAFCEL’s production process was completely different, its production costs were believed to be comparable. Hauser now had to decide whether to recommend that Sealed Air enter the uncoated bubble market (with an about-face on its previous exclusive emphasis on coated bubbles), or whether to suggest some other reaction to its new competitors. 9 This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ? nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN 582-103 Sealed Air Corporation Exhibit 1 AirCap ® Products and UsesCushioning AirCap ® air bubble cushioning protects products against shock and vibration during handling and shipping by literally floating them on a cushion of air. This material offers consistent performance because our unique barrier-coating guarantees air retention. AirCap withstands repeated impact since it will not fatigue or take a compression set. Cushioning applications include a range of products from lightweight retail items to delicate power supplies weighing several hundred pounds. Choose the grade that best fits your cushioning application! Protective Wrap/InterleavingAirCap is an excellent â€Å"protective wrap† material and ideal for â€Å"interleaving† between similarly shaped items. It is clean, non-abrasive, easy to use and provides superior surface protection. Lay your product on AirCap sheeting, fold it over and your product is fully protected! Typical protective wrap/interleaving applications include china, glassware, printed circuit boards, and spare parts. Void Fill When a void in a package is not completely filled, the cushioned product may migrate within the shipping container. This movement is a m ajor cause of damage in transit.Since large regular-duty AirCap bubbles do not compress, they fill voids effectively and eliminate product movement. Simply stuff AirCap sheeting into the carton, (left) or use an economical rolled â€Å"log. † It’s easy, clean, lightweight, and cost efficient! 10 This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ? nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. 582-103 -11- Exhibit 2 Sealed Air Presents AirCap as Cost-Effective Substitute Typical Cost-Savings Comparisons 60 Cellulose Wadding Rubberized Hair Type IV Resists Fatigue 50 40 0 Uncoated Bubbles Urethane Foam Polypropolene Foam AirCap % Increase in Shock 20 In the transportation environment packages are subjected to many jolts, bumps, and shocks that can potentially cause damage. To function effectively a cushioning material must retain its ability to protect over a series of repeated impacts. The loss of protective ability during r epeated impact is termed ‘material fatigue. ’ This graph (left) indicates the increased shock an average procut (0. 25 psi) will receive during a ten drop sequence from 24 inches. Test results show barrier-coated AirCap ® outperforms all materials tested. 0 0 1 Number of Impacts 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 BARRIER-COATING Each individual AirCap bubble is barriercoated to retain the air. AirCap Vs. Corrugated Inserts A distributing firm found that it needed an excessive amount of flowable to prevent product migration. A new AirCap package (left) using a simple criss-cross technique resulted in reduced material, shipping, labor and carton costs. Item Carton Inner packaging Labor Freight Total Cost Savings w/ AirCap IMMEDIATE THICKNESS LOSS AirCap retains its original thickness upon the immediate application of a load (See Below).Loose Fill Package $ . 73 . 75 . 42 3. 02 $4. 92 AirCap Vs. Loose Fills Material Tested A manufacturer using corrugated inserts, cellulose wadding and p olyethylene bags eliminated the need to inventory many packaging components (right) and reduced labor 84% by switching to AirCap (left). Total Thickness Loss Retains Original Thickness Item Carton Inner Packaging Labor Freight Total Cost Savings w/ AirCap Corrugated Package $ . 55 . 80 . 83 2. 60 $4. 78 AirCap Package $ . 55 1. 05 . 13 2. 40 $4. 13 $ . 65 AirCap Package $ . 47 . 54 . 25 2. 72 $3. 98 $ . 94AirCap SD 240 14% Polypropylene Foam 30% Polyethylene Foam 40% Cellulose Wadding 38% Rubberized Hair IV 51% Uncoated Bubbles 64% (Large) Urethane Foam (1. 25 53% * * pct) Embossed 54% * * Polyethylene (Hex) *30 day evaluation not conducted due to excessive initial thickness loss. Initial Thickness Loss Upon 04 psi Load 7% 19% 16% 26% 24% 14% Gradual Thickness Loss After 30 Days 7% 11% 24% 12% 27% 50% When a load is placed on a cushioning material two things occur that may contribute to a deterioration in its performance. First, is the immediate compression of the material.Second, i s the additional, more gradual loss of thickness termed ‘creep. ’ Generally excessive thickness loss of a material results in increased material usage in cushioning and dunnage applications. Creep may contribute to product damage as the loss of thickness creates a void in a package, allowing the product to move, shift, or migrate. This chart (left) demonstrates how barrier-coated AirCap retains its original thickness better than all materials tested and provides product protection throughout the entire packaging, shipping, handling, and storage cycle.GRADUAL THICKNESS LOSS (CREEP) AirCap’s unique barrier-coating retains the air more effectively than uncoated bubbles, eliminating creep. AirCap Vs. Thin-Grade Foams AirCap Vs. Cellulose Wadding A metering firm discovered it needed only half as much AirCap to achieve the same performance that cellulose wadding provided (right). In addition to lowering material costs, AirCap (left) is clean, lint free, non-abrasive, a nd lightweight. Item AirCap Package An electronic service center employing the use of a thin-grade foam (right) required many layers of wrapping to protect against shock and vibration.Large AirCap bubbles (left) provided superior performance and lower packaging costs. This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ?nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. Carton Inner Packaging Labor Freight Total Cost Savings w/ AirCap Cellulose Wadding Package $ . 30 . 22 . 25 1. 35 $2. 12 $ . 22 . 12 . 08 1. 20 $1. 62 $ . 50 CONVENTIONAL CELLULOSE MATERIAL UNCOATED BUBBLES Item Foam Package For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN Carton Inner Packaging Labor Freight Total Cost Savings w/ AirCap $ . 46 1. 33 . 66 4. 09 $6. 4 AirCap Package $ . 38 . 87 . 33 3. 94 $5. 52 $1. 02 For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN 582-103 Sealed Air Corporation Exhibit 3 1. Competitive Product Information Cellulose wadding (a paper-based product which tries to trap a ir between piles of sheeting) †¢ Major suppliers: Jiffy Packaging, Hillside, N. J. CelluProducts Co. , Patterson, N. C. †¢ Sizes available: Thickness of 0. 17 in. , 0. 25 in. , 0. 37 in. , 0. 50 in. †¢ Advantages/disadvantages: Much cheaper than AirCap in thin grades; will not mark item wrapped; heavier than AirCap (3–4 Ibs. per cu. ft. vs. less than 1 lb. or AirCap) meaning higher shipping cost; excessive compression under heavy loads (see test results, Exhibit 2). Corrugated products (sheets of ribbed cardboard, often cut and perforated to specific sizes) †¢ Major suppliers: About 800 firms manufacturing in 47 states, including larger paper companies. †¢ Advantages/disadvantages: Single face (cardboard with ribs on one side) appreciably cheaper than AirCap on square-foot basis; labor cost of using corrugated usually very high; poor cushioning. Polyethylene foam (thin, smooth, rigid sheets of low-density foam) †¢ Major suppliers: Sentinel Foam P roducts, Hyannis, Mass.CelluProducts Co. , Patterson, N. C. Jiffy Packaging, Hillside, N. J. †¢ Sizes available: 48 or 68 in. wide rolls of thickness 1/16, 3/32, 3/16, 1/4 in. †¢ Advantages/disadvantages: Appreciably cheaper than AirCap in thin grades on square-foot basis; does not mark item wrapped; rigid product means hard to work with; tendency to tear; cushioning inferior to AirCap; more expensive than AirCap in thicker grades. Polypropylene foam (thin, coarse, rigid sheets of low-density foam) †¢ Major supplier: Du Pont Microfoam †¢ Sizes available: Standard 72 in. wide rolls of thickness 1/16, 3/32, 3/16, 1/4 in. Advantages/disadvantages: Basically the same as for polyethylene foam. Loose fills (expanded polystyrene beads, peanuts, etc. ) †¢ Major suppliers: Many small firms †¢ Advantages/disadvantages: 50% cheaper than AirCap on cubic foot basis; messy; poor cushioning. Uncoated bubbles (sheets of small air bubbles made of polyethylene film) â₠¬ ¢ Major producer: Astro, Hawthorne, N. J. (Sealed Air licensee) †¢ Sizes available: 48 in. wide roll standard, bubble heights 3/16, 1/4, 1/2 in. Bubbles also varied in the thickness of the films used. Generally, thicknesses were 1, 2, 3, or 4 mils with increasing film thickness giving greater strength. Advantages/disadvantages: Cheaper than comparable height coated bubble; excessive air loss over time (about 65% height loss under 50 Ibs. per sq. ft. pressure over 30 days vs. 15% for AirCap). Competitive coated bubble (essentially the same as uncoated bubble except nylon film coating added) †¢ Major supplier: Astro, Hawthorne, N. J. (Sealed Air licensee) †¢ Sizes available: 48 in. wide roll standard, bubble heights 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 1/2, 1 in. †¢ Advantages/disadvantages: Under heavy loading, nylon barrier holds up better than Sealed Air’s saran barrier; poor quality control (bubble heights generally 13% less than specified). . 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 12 This docume nt is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ? nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN Sealed Air Corporation 582-103 Exhibit 4 Suggested End User Prices (in dollars) for Major Competitive Products 1. Paper-Based Cellulose Wadding (Jiffy Packaging) Thickness (in. ) 0. 17 0. 25 0. 37 0. 50 2. Foams Thickness (in. ) 1 16 Price $27. 70 37. 40 50. 60 65. 00 Single-Face Corrugated $22. 75 Jiffy Packaging (polyethylene) $20. 30 25. 90 34. 15 53. 35 na Sentinel Products (polyethylene) $18. 20 24. 00 32. 70 49. 40 naDu Pont Microfoam (polypropylene) $17. 20 25. 17 34. 90 53. 86 109. 72 / / 1/8 3/16 3/8 3 32 3. Competitive Bubbles (Astro) Coated Nylon Bubble Height (in. ) 1 8 3 16 Uncoated—Polyethylene a Film Thickness (mils) 1 and 1 1 and 2 1 and 2 1 and 2 2 and 4 1 and 2 2 and 4 Price $35. 25 49. 50 57. 00 71. 75 87. 75 90. 00 110. 00 Bubble Height (in. ) 3 16 Film Thicknessa (mils) 2 and 3 2 and 3 2 and 4 Price $47. 00 54. 50 65. 75 / / 1/4 1/2 1/2 1 1 / / 1/2 1 4 Note: Prices are per 1,000 sq. ft. based on a 50,000 sq. ft. order. a. Each bubble is made of two layers of film. Thicknesses shown are for individual layers in mils.Thicker film produces a stronger product. 13 This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ? nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN 582-103 Sealed Air Corporation Exhibit 5 Comparative Cushioning Performance by Grade Engineered To Provide Superior Cushioning The test data on the graph below was developed by the Lansmont Corporation, an independent testing laboratory. The test method used closely simulates actual shipping conditions, and employs the use of an enclosed test block and shock machine.Five bottom drops were executed from 24 inches at each static stress. The last four drops were averaged to arrive at data points used to develop each cushioning effective ness curve. This data illustrates AirCap’s superior performance over a wide range of loadings, and may be used for comparison and to specify the best AirCap grade and thickness for your cushioning requirements. (SD-240 curves taken from data provided in Military Handbook 304-A). 300 SB-110 SC-120 250 SC-120 (2 layers) Peak Acceleration (G’s) 200 SCT-120 150 SD-120 100 ST-120 (2 layers) SD-120 (2 layers) SD-120 (3 layers) SD-240 (4 layers) 50 SD-240 (6 layers) . 05 . 1 . 15 . 2 . 25 . 3 . 35 . 4 Static Stress (psi) Source: AirCap brochure. Note: To be read: For a product exerting 0. 25 Ibs. per sq. in. of pressure on the packaging material while at rest, the peak acceleration (a measure of shock to the product) when dropped from 2 ft. is 118 g. if SD-120 is used, 260 g. if SB-110 is used. 14 This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ? nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN Sealed Air Corporation 582-103 Exhibit 6 U. S.Market—Flexible Wraps by Product Type (in millions of manufacturers’ dollars) 1975 1978 23 25 1 49 11 5 6 22 22 93 1980 23 27 1 51 12 7 25 44 31 126 Paper-based Cellulose wadding Single-face corrugated Indented kraft Foamsa Polyurethane Polypropylene Polyethylene Polyethylene air bubbles Coated and uncoated (combined) Total Source: Company records. b 20 20 1 41 10 4 1 15 15 71 a. Sales figures exclude nonpackaging uses, such as construction and furniture industries. b. Figures are for flexible wrap market only and are therefore less than AirCap’s and Astro’s total U. S. sales. Exhibit 7 Grade SB-110AirCap Applications by Grade Package Contents Furnace thermostats Shorthand machines Taco shells Tempered glass sheets Clocks Wooden picture frames Light fixtures Overhead projector lenses Computer components Telephone bell ringers Amplifiers Saucepans Two-way radios Exit alarms Mixers Fryers Carbonless paper rolls Oven burners Pharmaceutical bottles Candleholders Recorders Carburetors Lamps Gallon jugs Computer terminals Printed circuit boards Foil wallpaper Blood coagulation timers Leaded glass windows Custom motorcycle seats Motor controls Shredded paper Packaging Material Displaced (if known) 16-in. Corrugated / polypropylene foam SC-120 SC-240 ST-120 Shredded paper Corrugated Corrugated Corrugated / polyethylene foam Corrugated Urethane foam pads 3 32-in. ST-240 SD-120 Polypropylene foam SD-240 Corrugated Foam pads and corrugated Corrugated Astro uncoated bubble LP-24 SD-480 15 This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ? nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN 582-103 Sealed Air CorporationExhibit 8 Suggested U. S. Resale Price List, Effective March 1980 Sq. Ft. per Order per Single Destination 1,000 or more 5,000 † † 10,000 † † 30,000 † † 50,000 † â⠂¬  Truckload/railcar 1,000 or more 5,000 † † 10,000 † † 30,000 † † 50,000 † † Truckload/railcar 1,000 or more 5,000 † † 10,000 † † 30,000 † † 50,000 † † Truckload/railcar 1,000 or more 5,000 † † 10,000 † † 30,000 † † 50,000 † † Truckload/railcar 1,000 or more 5,000 † † 10,000 † † 30,000 † † 50,000 † † Truckload/railcar Same price per 1,000 sq. t. as SD-120 1,000 or more 5,000 † † 10,000 † † 30,000 † † 50,000 † † Truckload/railcar 1,000 or more 5,000 † † 10,000 † † 30,000 † † 50,000 † † Truckload/railcar 1,000 or more 5,000 † † 10,000 † † 30,000 † † 50,000 † † Truckload/railcar $107. 85 97. 70 87. 55 81. 40 79. 35 72. 40 130. 75 118. 30 105. 95 98. 55 95. 70 87. 25 232. 75 210. 55 188. 35 175. 55 171. 25 $155. 60 Price per 1,000 Sq. Ft. $34. 30 30. 85 27. 45 25. 70 24. 75 22. 80 50. 00 45. 40 40. 90 38. 10 37. 05 33. 50 71. 0 64. 55 57. 40 53. 75 52. 60 47. 65 93. 40 84. 40 74. 95 70. 20 68. 60 62. 25 85. 30 77. 10 68. 50 64. 25 62. 75 $57. 25 Item (thickness in inches) A-100 (3/32) SB-110 (1/8) SC-120 (3/16) SC-240 (3/16 ) ST-120 (5/16) ST-240 (5/16) SD-120 (1/2) SD-240 (1/2) SD-480 (1/2) 16 This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ? nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012. For the exclusive use of M. HUSSAIN Sealed Air Corporation 582-103Exhibit 9 Selected Financial Data ($ thousands) 1976 1977 $21,422 15,489 3,595 2,682 $43,188 35,765 $24,270 12,093 (816) 6,009 1978 $25,028 21,133 3,453 4,644 $54,258 43,410 $31,111 14,527 (738) 7,882 1979 $29,996 29,056 3,432 7,951 $70,435 54,325 $43,199 16,855 (278) 10,103 1980 $34,330 38,802 3,688 11,777 $88,597 67,344 $54,125 21,4 85 (119) 12,868 Net sales by class of product Air cellular packaging Foam-in-place packaging Other packaging Recreational and energy prod.Total worldwide United States Costs and expenses Cost of sales Marketing, administration, development Other income (expense) Earnings before income tax $18,872 3,049 4,553 $26,474 – $16,451 6,696 32 3,359 Source: Sealed Air Annual Reports 1979, 1980. 17 This document is authorized for use only by Md. Saquib Hussain in marketing ? nal taught by Suresh Ramanathan from October 2012 to October 2012.