The Iron Age Social and Technological Advances

The European Iron Age (~800-51 BC) is what archaeologists have called that period of time in Europe when the development of complex urban societies was spurred by intensive manufacturing of bronze and iron, and extensive trading in and out of the Mediterranean basin. At the time, Greece was flourishing, and the Greeks saw an explicit division between the cultured peoples of the Mediterranean, as compared to the barbaric northerners of central, western and northern Europe. Some scholars have argued that it was Mediterranean demand for exotic goods that drove the interaction  and led to the growth of an elite class in the hillforts of central Europe. Hillforts--fortified settlements located on the tops of hills above Europes major rivers--became numerous during the early Iron Age, and many of them do show the presence of Mediterranean goods. European Iron Age dates are traditionally set between the approximate period when iron became the principal tool-making material and the Roman conquests of the last century BC. Iron production was first established during the Late Bronze Age  but did not become widespread in central Europe until 800 BC, and in northern Europe by 600 BC. Chronology of the Iron Age 800 to 450 BC (Early Iron Age) The early part of the Iron Age is called the Hallstatt culture, and it was during this time in central Europe that elite chiefs rose in power, perhaps as a direct result of their connections to the Mediterranean Iron Age of classical Greece and the Etruscans. Hallstatt chiefs built or rebuilt a handful of hillforts in eastern France and southern Germany, and maintained an elite lifestyle. Hallstatt sites: Heuneburg, Hohen Asberg, Wurzburg, Breisach, Vix, Hochdorf, Camp de Chassey, Mont Lassois, Magdalenska Gora, and Vace 450 to 50 BC (Late Iron Age, La Tà ¨ne) Between 450 to 400 BC, the Hallstatt elite system collapsed, and power shifted to a new set of people, under what was at first more egalitarian society. The La Tà ¨ne culture grew in power and wealth because of their location on important trade routes used by the Mediterranean Greeks and Romans to acquire status goods. References to Celts, conflated with Gauls and meaning central European barbarians, came from the Romans and Greeks; and the La Tà ¨ne material culture is broadly agreed to represent those groups. Eventually, population pressure within the populous La Tà ¨ne zones forced younger La Tà ¨ne warriors out, beginning the massive Celtic migrations. La Tà ¨ne populations moved southward into Greek and Roman areas, conducting extensive and successful raids, even into Rome itself, and eventually including most of the European continent. A new settlement system including central defended settlements called oppida were located in Bavaria and Bohemia. These were not princely residences, but instead residential, commercial, industrial and administrative centers that focused on trade and production for the Romans. La Tene sites: Manching, Grauberg, Kelhim, Singindunum, Stradonice, Zà ¡vist, Bibracte, Toulouse, Roquepertuse Lifestyles of the Iron Age By ca 800 BC, most of the people in northern and western Europe were in farming communities, including the essential grain crops of wheat, barley, rye, oats, lentils, peas, and beans. Domesticated cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs were used by Iron Age people; different parts of Europe relied on different suites of animals and crops, and many places supplemented their diets with wild game and fish and nuts, berries and fruit. The first barley beer was produced. Villages were small, usually under a hundred people in residence, and the homes were built of wood with sunken floors and wattle and daub walls. It wasnt until near the end of the Iron Age that larger, town-like settlements began to appear. Most communities manufactured their own goods for trade or use, including pottery, beer, iron tools, weapons, and ornaments. Bronze was most popular for personal ornaments; wood, bone, antler, stone, textiles, and leather were also used. Trade goods between communities included bronze, Baltic amber and glass objects, and grinding stones in places far from their sources. Social Change in the Iron Age By the late 6th century BC, construction had begun on fortresses on the tops of hills. Building within the Hallstatt hillforts was quite dense, with rectangular timber-framed buildings built close together. Below the hilltop (and outside the fortifications) lay extensive suburbs. Cemeteries had monumental mounds with exceptionally rich graves indicating social stratification. The collapse of the Hallstatt elites saw the rise of La Tà ¨ne egalitarians. Features associated with La Tene include inhumation burials and the disappearance of elite tumulus-style burials. Also indicated is a rise in the consumption of  millet  (Panicum miliaceum). The fourth century BC began the out-migration of small groups of warriors from the La Tà ¨ne heartland towards the Mediterranean Sea. These groups waged terrific raids against the inhabitants. One result was a discernible drop in the population at early La Tene sites. Beginning in the middle of the second century BC, connections with the Mediterranean Roman world steadily increased and appeared to stabilize. New settlements such as Feddersen Wierde became established as production centers for Roman military bases. Marking the traditional end of what archaeologists consider the Iron Age, Caesar conquered Gaul in 51 BC and within a century, Roman culture became established in central Europe. Sources Beck CW,  Greenlie  J, Diamond MP, Macchiarulo AM, Hannenberg AA, and Hauck MS. 1978.  The chemical identification of baltic amber at the Celtic oppidum Starà © Hradisko in Moravia.  Journal of Archaeological Science  5(4):343-354.Bujnal  J. 1991.  Approach to the study of the Late Hallstatt and Early La Tà ¨ne periods in eastern parts of Central Europe: results from  comparative  classification of Knickwandschale.  Antiquity  65:368-375.Cunliffe B. 2008. The Three Hundred Years that Changed the World: 800-500 BC. Chapter 9 in  Europe Between the Oceans. Themes and Variations: 9000 BC-AD 1000.  New Haven: Yale University Press. p, 270-316Hummler M. 2007.  Bridging the gap at La Tà ¨ne.  Antiquity  81:1067-1070.Le Huray JD, and Schutkowski H. 2005.  Diet and social status during the La Tà ¨ne period in Bohemia: Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen from Kutnà ¡ Hora-Karlov  and Radovesice.  Journal of Anthropological Ar chaeology  24(2):135-147.Loughton ME. 2009.  Getting smashed: the deposition of amphorae and the drinking of wine in Gaul during the late Iron Age.  Oxford Journal Of Archaeology  28(1):77-110.Marciniak A. 2008.  Europe,  Central  and Eastern.  In: Pearsall DM, editor.  Encyclopedia of Archaeology. New York: Academic Press. p 1199-1210.Wells PS. 2008.  Europe, Northern and Western: Iron Age.  In: Pearsall DM, editor.  Encyclopedia of Archaeology. London: Elsevier Inc. p 1230-1240.

Master Of Science Degree Programs - 1502 Words

Master of Science Degree Programs This entry gives a general overview of online Master of Science programs, then specifically examines programs in high demand and those offered in accelerated formats. Next, the entry focuses on information students need to succeed in M.S. programs: how to find the right program, and a major problem that they will likely face during online matriculation. A Master of Science degree (in Latin, Magister Scientaie) is a postgraduate academic Master’s Degree awarded by universities worldwide. In abbreviated form, the degree may appear on academic transcripts variously as MSc., M.Sc., M.Sci., M.Si., Sc.M., M.S., MS, AM or SM. After the Master of Arts, the M.S. is the most completed graduate degree in the†¦show more content†¦The latter option is most common. It involves writing and defending a thesis or completing a research project which represents the culmination of the material learned. Admission to a Master s program is normally contingent upon holding a bachelor’s degree. Should the student desire to graduate from a doctoral program, Master’s level training is a prerequisite. In some fields or graduate programs, work on a doctorate can begin as soon as the bachelor’s degree is finished. Some programs offer a joint Bachelor s and Master s degree after four to five years of study. At the completion of these programs both a B.A. and an M.S. can be awarded. For thesis projects, students will typically work with an academic adviser to propose a topic, write a research prospectus and draft a final paper describing the research results. The research process takes about one year. The thesis is then reviewed by the student’s academic committee who must approve the paper before the student can proceed to graduation. If revisions are needed, graduation could be delayed for one or more semesters. Many graduate schools have residency requirements to complete a degree. A student may be required to spend at least one year living on campus and must accumulate a minimum number of course credits to be considered eligible for his degree. As online graduate education advanced, this residency requirement has been adjusted. Matriculation online may

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Existentialism Free Essays

What if everything gets one nothing? What if it was true that man has the power to do whatever he pleases, but in the end all of it will mean – for lack of a better term – nothing? This school of thought is called existentialism, which is crucial in Tom Stoppard’s play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead – an absurdly written response to William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern experience times of enlightenment, humor, and sorrow throughout their journey, leading them to ponder whether their livelihood actually has some sort of positive meaning. However, the ultimate gift of death crept up on them, without any explanation or hope, for all eternity. We will write a custom essay sample on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Existentialism or any similar topic only for you Order Now The ideas of existentialism are shown in the play through unstable identities, uncertain knowledge of the past, and anti-heroes which lead to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s ultimate fate – their feared deaths. Unstable identities in the play contribute to the idea of existentialism by making Rosencrantz and Guildenstern indistinguishable, emphasizing their need for meaning. When introducing themselves to the Player and the tragedians, Rosencrantz announces, â€Å"My name is Guildenstern, and this is Rosencrantz†¦I’m sorry – his name is Guildenstern and I’m Rosencrantz† (Stoppard 22). Their own deprivation of identity shows that the meaning in their individual lives is lost, making them into cynical, unrecognizable objects. In addition, they have lost their idiosyncrasies, creating a problem for other characters in distinguishing between the two. During a discussion about the King giving them an equal amount of money, Guildenstern exclaims that the king â€Å"wouldn’t discriminate between [them]† (Stoppard 104). To the King, Ros and Guil are simply two objects that are willing to assist in any way possible; to him, there is no point in getting to know them individually. The King’s lack of differentiation between the two shows that Ros and Guil have lost a deeper meaning to the King, leading to the bereavement of identity. The ambiguous identities of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern obliged their characters to embody no purpose, inflicting the idea of existentialism. Ros and Guil’s doomful deaths were caused by their nonexistent individuality. The pair’s past also lead them through an existential drift; without meaning in their past, the pair still have nothing to go on. The uncertainty of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s past supplements the idea of existentialism by making the play enigmatic. While walking along the path to Elsinore Castle, Ros and Guil attempt to comprehend what they are doing before making the expedition to the estate; Guil asks Ros, â€Å"What’s the first thing you remember? † and Ros replies, â€Å"Oh, let’s see†¦the first thing that comes into my head, you mean?†¦ Ah. It’s no good, it’s gone† (Stoppard 16). Ros and Guil are not able to recollect past events due to the fact that the prior matters adhered no meaning. Even when Ros and Guil are dying, they cannot recall what they have done to deserve this with Ros crying, â€Å"We’ve done nothing wrong! We didn’t harm anyone. Did we? † and Guil replies â€Å"I canâ₠¬â„¢t remember† (Stoppard 125). At their dying second, Ros and Guil are still unable to fathom what they have or have not done. Their past events are proven to be meaningless, leading them to an existential wandering containing no answers. Also through the use of anti-heroes, Stoppard made Rosencrantz and Guildenstern useless individuals who could not carry out a duty without the succor of one another. An anti-hero, in some cases, considers his or herself to be incapable of completing tasks while being corrupt, sullen, and disaffected. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern entrust each other to get through all dilemmas and yet they still become confused. When deciding what their next undertaking shall be, Guil asks Ros, â€Å"What are we going to do now? and Ros replies, â€Å"I don’t know. What do you want to do? † (Stoppard 17). Using a popular decision-making device, Ros and Guil reveal that they do not have the confidence to decide what to do and to execute the decision. Confidence is an indicator of optimism, responsibility, and initiative; Ros and Guil occupy none of these positive attributes, giving manifestation of anti-heroes. Also, Ros and Guil count on the King’s letter to get through the peregr ination, with Guil saying, â€Å"Everything is explained in the letter. We count on that† (Stoppard 105). Ros and Guil refer to the letter whenever a predicament arises, urging them to resolve the issue. With the letter epitomizing their fate, it is what they count on the most. The pair fails to envisage that one another and the letter were the ultimate factors that lead to their demise. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern live up to the idea of anti-heroes in existentialism by being each other’s hopeless backbones and depending on the letter, which leads them to their fateful deaths. Through the utilization of vacillating identities, unforeseeable knowledge of the past, and anti-heroes, existentialism augmented Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s ultimate kismet – their anticipated deaths. Tom Stoppard leads Ros and Guil through an obscure existence that turns out to encompass nothing. With this, the reader might ask, â€Å"What is life without purpose? † – And one can say that it is certainly no life at all. How to cite Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Existentialism, Papers

An Exploration of the Fear of Losing Reputation free essay sample

An exploration of the fear of losing reputation within the Salem Society. Good afternoon, today I will be presenting my IOP. I have chosen to base it upon Arthur Millers’ novel ‘The Crucible’, which references back to the Salem Witch trials in 1692. There are many themes in Arthur Millers The Crucible, like intolerance, empowerment, honor, hysteria and paranoia, legal affairs, such as accusations and confessions as well as several references to McCarthyism. However the theme of reputation was only vaguely explored, but yet, it plays such a big important role in the play. This leads me to my presentation topic. CLICK) Reputation: or to be exact, an exploration of the fear of losing reputation within the Salem Society. In today’s presentation I hope to further explore and develop Arthur Miller’s ideas and interpretations on the loss of reputation. What is Reputation? So first of all what is Reputation. (CLICK) Reputation, as stated by the Oxford Dictionary, is the belief or opinion that is generally held about someone or something, or a widespread belief that someone or something has a particular habit or characteristic. Honor: Before we can isolate reputation, we have to understand that there are a whole lot of things that tie in with reputation. One of the more obvious ones is honor,(CLICK) or what you know about yourself. There is a direct link between reputation and honor. If one chooses to save his honor or reputation, it will affect the other, negatively in most cases. An example is: Early on in the story John Proctor confessed to having intimate moments with Abigail Williams, therefore tainting his own reputation but doing the thing which is honorable. Confessing. Here, he chose honor over reputation; he’d rather have a clean conscience (what he knew about himself) than a good reputation (what others knew about him). After being accused of witchcraft, his dilemma was whether to confess to what he did not do or die at the rope. This time he did not confess. Once again he chose the honorable thing to do. Dying for what he believed in. In some eyes, his reputation was made even worse because he died an â€Å"unrepentant sinner† or as someone who was shameless of what he has done in his life, by this I mean the act of adultery. However, I’m sure some saw him as a martyr, so in a way he was saving his reputation as well. What is Theocracy? But before diving deeper into the matter, I would like to introduce the idea of theocracy. CLICK) In Salem at the time, the reputation of a person was heavily influenced by theocracy, which is a system of government in which priests rule in the name of a god. Reputation heavily depended on how a person stood towards god and the church. If a person was true to the church their reputation was most likely well preserved and untarnished. Since this is a Pu ritan society, it took matters concerning the church very seriously. The novel itself depicts two views and positions towards the church and god. This is shown perfectly in the line spoken by Judge Thomas Danforth in Act 3 on Page 85. A person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road in between Act III, Pg: 85 The judge is portrayed selfish and extremely loyal to the rules and regulations of his position throughout the novel. His reputation and the public’s opinion of him are most important to him. There is not much to the quote other than it being an example of theocracy. He emphasizes the fact that one must make his mind up how they stand to the church and can’t sit on the fence, and not ebb back and forth between against and for it. The quote sums up the attitude of the authorities toward the witch trials. Danforth is an honorable man, but, like everyone else in Salem, he sees the world in black and white, meaning he looks at things in a very shallow manner and does not see the importance in looking for deeper meaning. Everything and everyone belongs to either God or the Devil. The court of Salem, was considered blessed and sacred and was God’s way of interacting with humans in a theocracy, one cannot have honest disagreements because God is considered to be flawless and always right. Since the court is conducting the witch trials and representing god, anyone who questions the trials, such as Proctor or Giles Corey, is the court’s enemy. From here on, the logic is simple: the court does God’s work, and an enemy of the court must therefore be a servant of the Devil. (CLICK) Importance of Reputation in Salem: Reputation is tremendously important in theocratic Salem, because ones private life and moralities are the same as their publics. In an environment where reputation plays such an important role, the fear of guilt by associating with people of plans that oppose the church was very big. Many people are focused on maintaining a good public reputation. Many of the folks in Salem fear that the sins of their friends and associates will taint their names. Various characters base their actions on the desire to protect their respective reputations. For example as the play begins, Parris fears that Abigail’s increasingly questionable actions and the hints of witchcraft surrounding his daughter’s coma, will threaten his reputation and force him to quit is job, to which I will come later. The protagonist, John Proctor, also seeks to keep his good name from being tarnished. Early in the play, he has a chance to put a stop to the girls’ accusations, but his desire to preserve his reputation keeps him from testifying against Abigail. At the end of the play, however, Proctor’s desire to keep his good name leads him to make the heroic choice not to sign the false confession and to go to his death without signing his name on the made up confession, which contrasts with his original plan to uncover the pretence of the girls. The Fear of losing one’s reputation: In the novel, there are two main characters, which face the fear of losing or tainting their reputation publicly. These are John Proctor (CLICK) and Samuel Parris (CLICK). Now I will be showing evidence of how their reputation and the fear of its loss are shown. Parris The major fear that Parris has is losing his position in society and having people not respect him anymore. He is the minister for the town, which was a very important position in the Puritan society. As such, he is in a very visible position to everybody. (CLICK) Thomas, Thomas, I pray you, leap not to witchcraft. I know that you- least of all you, Thomas- would ever wish so disastrous a charge laid upon me. We cannot leap to witchcraft. They will how me out of Salem for such corruption of my house. Act I, Pg: 22 This quote is solely dedicated to show Parris’s fear of losing his status and reputation in the village. When his daughter seems to be all paralyzed and people are saying it is witchcraft, he becomes very worried. If the town ministers daughter is involved in witchcraft, or is even possessed by Satan for some other reason, the minister is going to look bad and people are not going to respect him anymore. We can also see that hes really concerned about his image and reputation because he gets so angry when Putnam and others say anything bad about him or insinuate anything to do with witchcraft Proctor It’s hard to stray on this question and not come to John Proctor’s reproach of the Puritan society and pleas for his own reputation. When confronted with the choice of signing a false confession or accepting death as a result of telling the truth, John Proctor speaks these lines. (CLICK) â€Å"I have given you my soul; leave me my name† Act IV Pg: 124 You won’t find another and more passionate line about the need to protect one’s reputation. Proctor speaks these lines at the end of the play, in Act IV, on page 124, when he is fighting with his conscience over whether to confess to witchcraft and thereby save himself from the gallows. The judges and Hale have almost convinced him to do so, and all that’s keeping him from freedom is his signature on the confession, which will be posted on the church for everybody to see, tarnishing his name. CLICK) This refusal reflects his desire not to dishonor his fellow prisoners. He would not be able to live with himself knowing that other innocents died while he knocked on death’s door and got away. More important, it illustrates his obsession with his good name. Proctor’s desire to preserve his one and only good name keeps him from testifying. It seems he has also finally come to the understanding of what a good reputation means and what cours e, and what actions are necessary for it. The most obvious one would be to tell the truth, and not lie to save him from the rope. CLICK) By saying ‘I have given you my soul’, he refers to his confession earlier on in the play about committing lechery. There is nothing purer than a soul, as it is the core of a person, stripped from all its layers of lies and pretence. He has finally come clean of the crime that has been plaguing him for such a long time. (CLICK) He thinks that enough damage was done to his reputation by confessing to adultery, and does not want to tarnish his name any further by confessing to something he did not do. (CLICK) Another quote from John Proctor is (CLICK), in Act 4 on page 118, when he says. I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man. [She is silent. ] My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man. Nothing’s spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before. Act IV, Pg: 118 (CLICK)This quote is drenched subliminal references to reputation as well as honesty, as this is also the first time he has been honest to his wife outside of court, since the start of the play. The word ‘mount’ represents a voluntary action. He can’t face the rope like a saint. Saint referring to Rebecca nurse, who has lived up to accept her fate and is already ‘1 foot in heaven’, and that he can never be as much of a ‘man’ as she is. ‘It is a fraud’ shows the certainty of what’s going on and fraud refers to the situation as a whole, and how none of this should have ever happened, and its all because of a few girls pretending, hence the word fraud, to be possessed by spirits. The stage directions of ‘She is silent’, indicate Elizabeth proctor silently agreeing to her husbands talk, but she may also be too afraid of him to answer, and feels like they are growing further part ever since his confession. John Proctor feels that he is ‘no good man’ because he broke one of the Ten Commandments. Conclusion: In conclusion, I believe that the theme of reputation plays a major role in ‘The Crucible’. Parris and Proctor have different motifs, when it comes to reputation. Ones tries to preserve his, whereas the other is fonder of his honor and the families name rather than his reputation, although both fear the loss of reputation, it just that Proctor has partially come to terms with the consequence. However in today’s society I personally actually believe that reputation does not hold as much power as it used to. For example if a girl in the family was pregnant without being married, the whole family was considered wrong and dirty. In present times, girls like these even have the chance to enhance their reputation, by participating in MTV’s 16 and Pregnant and putting on a good show. Like I said, this is just an example, and some people may not agree with me. But nonetheless in modern society, reputation is still an aspect by which we identify and label people.

Accounting Essays (1221 words) - Management Accounting, Accounting

Accounting ACCOUNTING THE LIFE-LINE OF THE BUSINESS WORLD Christian De Church Professor Hercer Communications 215 April 18, 2000 Introduction What goes on in business and other organizations? How are their activities carried out? Who is responsible for them? And, what part does accounting play? These questions and many more are often thought about by many confused and mislead business majors. The main purpose of accounting is to provide useful, reliable, and timely information to people who make rational investments, credit, and similar decisions. Because accountants serve decisions makers by providing them with financial information that helps them make better decisions, accounting is often decried as a service activity. Decision makers who use accounting information include present and potential investors, lenders, managers, suppliers, customers, and other users. Accounting is used to provide information about all profit-oriented businesses. Accountants also provide information about nonprofit organizations such as churches, hospitals, museums, schools, and various government agencies. The people who use accounting information about nonprofit organizations include their managers and people who denote to or pay taxes to them, who use their services, or who otherwise work with them. Whether you are planning to be an accountant, an employee, a manager within an organization, or an external user of the information, a your knowledge of accounting will help you achieve more success in your career. The internal role of accounting is to serve the organization's various functions by providing information that helps them complete their tasks. By providing this information, accounting helps departments such as Finance, Human Resources, Research and Development, Production, Marketing, and Executive Management reach their overall goals. Finance Department Every organization needs money to operate and grow. Organizations use money to acquire equipment, buildings, vehicles, and financial holdings. The finance department has the function of planning how to obtain money from sources such as payments from customers, loans from banks, and new investments from owners. In preparing plans, the finance department identifies and evaluates alternative sources of funds. In addition, finance analyzes alternative investment opportunities to identify which to take and which to reject. With this information, the finance department uses the accounting information about actual cash flows and evaluating past decisions to function. Human Resource Department All organizations require efforts from people. As a result. employees must be located, screened, hired, trained, compensated, promoted, and counseled. The human resource department function is responsible for handling all these tasks of the organizations. The accounting aspect that helps the human resource department function is the payroll and its costs. Employees need to be paid in order to work for the company and their wages or salaries are expenses to the company in which an organization must report for profits/losses and taxes. Research and Development Department As economics tells us, the law of supply and demand, companies need to find new ways to meet the needs of their customers and others. Thus, research and development into new technologies and products or services is essential. This may be as simple as testing a new recipe for pizza or as complex as creating a more powerful computer. Research and development managers need information about the costs they already incurred so they can decided whether to continue their projects. Production Division Many companies produce and then sell goods to their customers. Producing these goods requires planning and coordinating many specific activities. These activities include designing the production process, acquiring materials used in production, and selecting the workers' skills to be applied are all ran by the production manager. The production division of the company depends heavily on accounting information to determine whether its operating costs are occurring as expected. In carrying out its work, the production department operates within a set of internal controls designed by the accounting information. Internal controls dictate procedures that are necessary to ensure that accounting reports about production activities are dependable and useful. Marketing Department Companies can sell goods and services only if customers are willing to buy them. The marketing department provides customers information about goods and services and encourages their purchase. This includes sales efforts that involve contacting customers directly. The marketing department also includes advertising that provides information to large numbers of potential customers. The marketing managers use accounting information on reports about the company's sales and its marketing costs. Executive Management Department All organizations must have leadership, vision, and coordination.

Moral and Legal Issues Concering Capital Punishment essays

Moral and Legal Issues Concering Capital Punishment essays 1. The main arguments David Gelernter makes related to the issue of capital punishment are focused in fact on the idea of strict justice and absolute equality between deeds. In this sense, he is the supporter of a certain sense of divine justice which at times must be made with a human hand. However, he questions the validity of the the actual act of the death penalty taking into account the fact that this punishment is in fact an arbitrary solution. In this sense, he asks himself in relation to a particular situation, but in fact under a general tone Why did we execute the penitent and spare the impenitent? (Gelernter, 1998). Therefore, he sets the question in relation to the actual fairness of the decisions taken when the issue of capital punishment is discussed. More precisely, he argues that indeed, the idea of divine justice is the actual engine which should drive the behavior of the individuals. At the same time however, there are situations in which mistakes are made and innoc ent or at least less guilty individuals suffer. At the same time, Gelernter argues the issue of the human nature. In this sense, he considers that indeed a murdered must be punished. At the same time however, it is rather hard to consider that murderous acts will eventually stop as every crime is answered with a crime. More precisely, he underlines the fact that generally speaking the capital punishment represents a useful punishment if we were a community in which murder was a shocking anomaly and thus in effect a solved problem. But we are not. Our big cities are full of murderers at large (Gelernter, 1998). Therefore, although Gelernter argues that the capital punishment is a communal and somewhat justifiable answer to a crime, it is not effective for the task it is set up to undertake. His arguments are not convincingly in favor of the capital punishment because although we may consider talionlis lex as justifiable, we can...

Completing the wheel Assingment 8 & 9 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Completing the wheel Assingment 8 & 9 - Essay Example 5. Dittmar fears talking in front of people. He says: â€Å"To deal with this challenge, I --- either through a case of sheer brilliance or stupidity --- placed myself in front of a group of teenagers to teach high school English† (Dittmar 86). 6. I like the statements: â€Å"We all are blacksmiths in our own lives. How well we use the hammer and the anvil will determine how well we grow as individuals† (Dittmar 85). I like these statements because they basically wrap up the whole idea of the chapter. We are the masters of our lives and everything we get comes from every decision we make. 8. Fear results in us choosing to stay within our comfort zones, refusing to pursue the opportunities that lay before us. Fear will hold us back from re-inventing ourselves and creating a better â€Å"us.† 10. We can only expand ourselves through the process of â€Å"realization of self and the joy of expressing the quintessential part of who you [we] are† (Dittmar 87), and this can be achieved only by going through fire. 11. The qualities we need to develop to keep wheels moving with evenness are â€Å"curiosity, flexibility, self-reliance, persistence, imagination, risk orientation, ability to focus, and openness to new experiences† (Dittmar 96). 12. According to Dittmar, curiosity is important because it provides the continuous thrill and excitement of discovering new things in life. It prevents life from appearing stale and boring, and keeps the freshness of discovery alive. 13. The main quality that Dittmar developed to go from being a high school dropout to receiving a college degree is curiosity. He says: â€Å"I was just so curious about things† (Dittmar 98). He never planned what to do with it nor have grand dreams on the possibilities after achieving it. He was merely curious on perhaps what this will offer him after. 14. Flexibility is important to our development because it allows us to â€Å"notice

Maintenance and Plumbing Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Maintenance and Plumbing Services - Essay Example This research will begin with the strength of the business. Maintenance and plumbing services offered by the business is enjoying various merits or strengths. The use of social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter is one of the ways that will envision the mission of the business to another level in the market. The target will be enlarged via marketing through social media; however, in order to meet the full potentials of the business, the management will consider using brand promotion. The business will adopt an artistic approach such as using famous artists to advertise a product via social media.   The business is using powerful digital resources to get a grip on the target market as compared to the competitors. This is considered as an added advantage to the business. Despite the fact that the business is using this approach to meet its goals and objectives, it should consider other clients with limited digital access. Thus, the business will also consider bringing other marke ting strategies such as the use of hard digital materials as the use of bronchus. In addition, the business will also use billboard and posters to meet the potential clients who have infinite digital distance. Enjoying weaknesses of the competitors places Mp services an upper hand in the business. For example, its competitors are not embracing the use of digital marketing and online plans to meet their target market.

The effects of working night shift Research Paper

The effects of working night shift - Research Paper Example Studies provide enough evidence that adequate sleep benefits alertness, memory, problem solving capacity, overall physical and mental health, and also reduces the risk of accidents. A good sleep during night will allow us to wake up feeling refreshed. On the contrary, if sleep is deprived every part of our body and life can suffer. The jobs, relationships, productivity, health and safety are all put at risk when sleep is deprived. Night shift working can be a serious problem to health and well being of an individual. Nursing profession is a good example for shift based working. In today’s busy schedule of nurses, they often have to compromise on sleep. According to a study, nurses get an average of 6.8 hours of sleep on a working day which is far less than the recommended 8 hours of sleep. This may result in reduced vigilance, reaction time, memory, psychomotor coordination, and decision making that is of utmost importance in this profession (Stutts et al.). There are also stu dies that show that speed of mental processing slows down during the night under conditions of sleep deficiency (Monk et. al. 399-401). Interns made significantly more serious medical errors when they worked repeatedly on shifts of 24 hours compared to when they worked in shorter shifts. (Landrigan et al. 1838-1848). The results for the study by Landrigan et al. may also be extended to nurses who work overtime and commit serious medication errors. In addition to sleep deprivation, there are other problems such as finances, family life, disease, studies, parents, children, etc. that can be a major cause for stress and anxiety. And when lack of sleep combines with stress and anxiety over a period of time, many serious health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes etc. may occur. The major health challenges in people who work regularly during the night are due to sleep deprivation and unscheduled eating habits. Studies have identified that human body works on natu ral biological clock that is termed as Circadian Rhythms. Several physiological functions in the human body undergo natural rhythmic changes in the course of 24-hour period that are seriously disturbed in night shift workers. For instance, the heart rate and body temperature for individuals getting adequate sleep are lowest around 4:00 am and are at peak around 12:00 pm. For night shift workers, the circadian rhythms are disturbed and this can be linked to most disturbing health effects such as gastrointestinal problems, increased risk for cancer, obesity and type 2 diabetes (Baldwin and Barrett 149-155; Levi 119-136; Blask et al. 11174-11184; Arendt 10-20). Additionally, night shift working may also aggravate diseases such as diabetes mellitus, epilepsy and thyrotoxicosis (LaDOU 525-530). Studies on night shift working women showed an increased risk of breast cancer. More precisely, these women working during the nights have 60 percent higher chances of developing breast cancer whe n compared to other women. The reason for this is linked with the production of a hormone Melatonin that occurs during the night and there is a lack of this hormone in night shift working women. Additionally, problems such as irregular menstrual cycles and pain during menstrual periods are also high in these women. There are also problems such as higher risk of spontaneous abortions, low fertility, delayed fetal development, premature delivery and low birth weight faced by women who work during the night (OHCOW 1-6). Night shift working people are

The arguments for floating and fixed exchange rates

The arguments for floating and fixed exchange rates Evaluate the respective arguments for floating and fixed exchange rates. Your answer should include an exploration of theoretical issues and evaluation of historical and contemporary experiences of alternative international monetary regimes. Historical Overview of the International Monetary System (IMS) The International Monetary System refers to the institutional framework within which International payments are made, movements of capital are accommodated and exchange rates are determined. An appreciation of the international monetary system is essential for the understanding of the flow of international capital or currency  [1]  . The exchange rate regimes that have been practised for over a century have taken the forms of fixed and floating mechanisms. Floating exchange rate is that which allows exchange rate to vary in accordance with the changes in the supply and demand for foreign exchange. Fixed exchange rate refers to a currency price that is intentionally prevented from fluctuating by means of specific government policies that influence the supply and demand for foreign exchange  [2]  . Reviewing the principal international monetary systems that nations have practised over the past century, it would be seen that each mechanism carries with it a set of rules which are sometimes explicit in the form of laws or regulations and sometimes implicit in the form of conventions or customs that are in the parlance of international finance termed the rule of the game  [3]  . Ronald McKinnon (1993) describes the operations of he principal international systems of the last century and noted that the period from 1914 to 1945 reflected the global turmoil of two World Wars and the Great Depression that no uniform system could be ascribed to the period. Mckinnon (1993) organises his review into seven different episodes except the inter-war period, each having own set of rules  [4]  . McKinnons categorization appears to have been rendered outdated by more recent development in the international monetary system. From my own point of view, I would rather classify the metamorphosis of the international monetary system into eight episodes that are discussed below:- 1. Bimetallism Period Before 1875:- Commodity money system using both silver and gold which are precious metals for international payments and for domestic currency because they possessed the features of a means of exchange such as intrinsic value, portable, recognizable, homogenous, divisible, durable and non-perishable  [5]  . Under a bimetallic standard (or any time when more than one type of currency is acceptable for payment), countries would experience Greshams Law which is when bad money drives out good money  [6]  . 2. The International Gold Standard -(1879-1913) For about 40 years most of the world was on an international gold standard, ended with World War II when most countries went off gold standard. London was the financial centre of the world, most advanced economy with the most international trade. Rules of the Game I The International Gold Standard -(1879-1913) Fix an official gold price or mint parity and allow free convertibility between domestic money and gold at that price; Impose no restriction on the import or export of gold by private citizens, or on the use of gold for international transactions; Issue national currency and coins only with gold backing, and link the growth in national bank deposits to the availability of national gold reserves. In the event of a short-run liquidity crisis associated with gold outflows, the central bank should lend freely to domestic banks at higher interest rates. If Rule (i) is ever temporarily suspended, restore convertibility at the original unit parity as soon as practicable. As a result of these practices, the worldwide price level will be endogenously determined based on the overall world demand and supply of gold. Source:- All the Rules of the Game were adapted from Ronald I. Mckinnon, The Rules of the Game:- International Money in Historical Perspective, Journal of Economic Literature, Volume 31 (Mar 1993) Arguments in Support of the Gold Standard Price Stability through the tying of money supply to the supply of gold, central banks are unable to expand the money supply. The only ways in which they can do so are by acquiring more supplies of gold through production or by running balance of payments surpluses with other countries  [7]  . Facilitates Balance of Payment adjustment automatically this was first described by David Hume and is referred to as Humes specie flow mechanism  [8]  . Arguments Against the Gold Standard The growth of output and the growth of gold supplies needs to be closely linked.- For example, if the supply of gold increased faster than the supply of goods did there would be inflationary pressure  [9]  . Volatility in the supply of gold could cause adverse shocks to the economy  [10]  . In practice, the monetary authorities may not be forced to strictly tie their hands in limiting the creation of money, so some of the theoretical advantages may not hold up. For example, the Central Bank could issue more currency without having acquired more gold, and the public may not become aware of what is going on  [11]  . Countries with respectable monetary policy makers cannot use monetary policy to fight domestic issues like unemployment. 3. The Inter-War Period (1919-1939) After the eruption of the World War I, each warring country after the other put the gold convertibility on hold and embraced the floating exchange rates. However, the United States which joined the battle late, upheld gold convertibility but the dollar floated effectively against other currencies that had ceased to become convertible into dollars. Many exchange rates fluctuated sharply after the war and in the early and through mid-twenties as a lot of currencies experiencing massive devaluations against the dollar but the United States currency had greatly improved its competitive strength over the European currencies during the war in tandem with the stronger relative position of the United State economy  [12]  . Sequel to a prolonged internal debate, the United Kingdom restored the gold convertibility at the pre-war parity against the United State dollar  [13]  . It was not surprising to see other countries emulate Britain and returned to the gold but in many cases at devalued rates and what was the impact of this action on those countries economy? The anomalies and disequilibria created during the war were not well manifested in the par values that were established in the mid-twenties  [14]  . The exchange markets were characterised by turbulence and chaos during the 1930s. Under a condition serious global depression and erosion of confidence, the international monetary system broke down into rival currency blocs, competitive devaluations, discriminatory trade restrictions and exchange controls, high tariffs and barter trade arrangements. Several efforts geared at re-establishing order proved abortive.  [15]   4. The Spirit of the Bretton Woods Agreement (1945) In July, 1944, the International Monetary and Financial Conference organised by the United Nations attempted to put together an international financial system that eliminated the chaos of the inter-war years. The terms of the agreement were negotiated by forty four nations, led by the U.S. and Britain. The British delegation was led by John Maynard Keynes, perhaps the most famous economist of the twentieth century  [16]  . In essence, the Bretton Woods Agreement sought a set of rules that would remove countries from the tyranny of the gold standard and permit greater autonomy for national monetary policies. The negotiators recognised the historical shortcomings of other systems and the trade-offs they would face in trying to balance stable yet adjustable exchange rates. Rules of the Game II:- The Spirit of the Bretton Wood Agreement (1945) Fix an official par value for domestic currency in terms of gold or a currency tied to gold as a numeraire; In the short run, keep the exchange rate pegged within 1.0% of its par value, but in the long run leave open the option to adjust the par value unilaterally if IMF concurs; Permit free convertibility of currencies for current account transactions but use capital controls to limit currency speculation; Off-set short-run balance of payments imbalance by use of official reserves and IMF credits, and sterilize the impact of exchange market interventions on the domestic money supply. Permit national macroeconomic autonomy; each member pursuing its own price level and employment objectives. The IMF was created with the specific goal of being the multilateral body that monitored the implementation of the Bretton Woods agreement. Its role was to hold gold reserves and currency reserves that were contributed by the member countries and then lend this money out to nations that had currency difficulty meeting their obligations under the agreement.  [17]   Currencies had to be convertible:- central banks had to exchange domestic currency for dollars upon request. However, certain countries were also allowed to institute capital controls on certain types of transactions. Only current account related transactions were required to be fully convertible and countries were allowed to impose restrictions on the exchange of capital account related transactions.  [18]   The Asymmetric Position of the Reserve Centre Country In a world with N countries there are only N-1 exchange rates against the reserve currency. If all the countries in the world are fixing their currencies against the reserve currency and acting to keep the rate fixed, then the reserve country has no need to intervene  [19]  . The Collapse of the Bretton Woods System Bretton Woods faltered in the 1960s because of a U.S. trade and budget deficits. Nations holding U.S. dollars doubted the U.S. government had gold reserves to redeem all its currency held outside the U.S. Demand for gold in exchange for dollars caused a large global sell-off of dollars  [20]  . In 1971, the U.S. government closed the gold window by decree of President Nixon. The world moved from a gold standard to a dollar standard: from Bretton Woods to the Smithsonian Agreement  [21]  . Growing increase in the amount of dollars printed further eroded faith in the system and the dollars role as a reserve currency. By 1973, the world had moved to search for a new financial system one that no longer relied on a worldwide system of pegged exchange rates.(Levich, 2004) 5. The Floating Rate Dollar Standard (1973-1984) The floating rate system that developed after the fall of the Bretton woods was not devoid of rules and the rules which were of two folds, one set of rules for countries other than the United States and the other set for the United States. The US dollar remained the centrepiece of international financial markets. To assess the external values of domestic currency, officials would typically refer to an exchange rate in US$. And when intervention was called for, it was generally conducted in U.S. dollar. While the system was called floating, it was far from a freely floating laissez-faire system. Policy makers were unwilling to let private market forces be the sole determinant of exchange rates. This is not surprising given the importance of exchange rates to an economy. Richard Cooper (1984) reminds us that it is inconceivable that a government held responsible for managing its economy could keep its hands off the exchange rate. And sure enough, they are not left alone. The IMF also recognised that each country saw its exchange rate as an important policy variable and that the exchange rate policy of one country could have significant negative spill-over effects on other countries. Therefore, in 1974, the IMF enacted a set of guidelines designed to limit the potential for conflicts regarding exchange rate policies  [22]  . While these guidelines are not binding, they show that the IMF sanctions intervention as a method to promote orderly conditions in the foreign exchange market  [23]  . Essentially, the foreign exchange rate was left to play the role of a residual variable that did a great deal of the adjusting to offset the macro-economic policy differences across countries. With little coordination of these policies, one would expect exchange rate volatility to increase sharply.(Adam Bennett, 1995) Rules of the Game III Industrial Countries Other Than the United States. Smooth short term variability in the dollar exchange rate but do not commit to an official par value or to long term exchange rate stability; Permit free convertibility of currencies for current account transactions while endeavouring to eliminate all remaining restrictions on capital account transactions; Use the US$ as the intervention currency (except for transactions to stabilise European exchange rates) and keep official reserves primarily in U.S. Treasury Bonds; Modify domestic monetary policy to support major exchange rate interventions, reducing the money supply when the national currency is weak against the dollar and expanding the money supply when the national currency is strong. Set long-run national monetary and price targets independently of the United States; let the exchange rates adjust over the long run to off-set those differences. Rules of the Game The United States. Remain passive in the forex market; practise free trade without a balance of payment or exchange rates target. No need foe sizeable official foreign exchange reserves; Keep the U.S. capital markets open for borrowing and investing by private residents and foreign sovereigns; Pursue a monetary policy independent of the exchange rate or policies in order countries, thereby not strong for a common stable price level (or anchor) for tradable goods. 7. The Plaza-Louvre Intervention Accords the Floating Rate Dollar Standard-(1985-1999) The US had held a fairly passive stance toward exchange rates during first 10-years of float. In 1981, the induction of an expansive US fiscal policy combined tight monetary control (supported by President Ronald Reagan) combined with tight monetary control (guided by Federal Reserves Chairman, Paul Volcker) started the US dollar on a prolonged appreciation. By early 1985, the US$ had appreciated nearly 50% (relative to 1980) in real terms against an average of the worlds other major currencies. As the US dollar rose higher, some economists characterised its price behaviour as a speculative bubble (meaning a movement greater than, and progressively greater than justified by macroeconomic fundamentals) and predicted that the foreign exchange value of the dollar was not sustainable.  [24]   The entire episode convinced policy makers that:- exchange rates were too important to be left to market forces, hence intervention was deemed appropriate to smooth disorderly markets and halt market excesses, and exchange rates were too important to be the residual from uncoordinated economic policies, so better policy coordination was required to establish a set of economic fundamentals that in turn would produce a smother path of the exchange rate. As a result, since 1985, a new set of rules has evolved emphasizing the role of exchange market intervention and macroeconomic policy coordination. The first part of the policy change, the easy part, was foreign exchange intervention. Although, the appreciation of the US$ peaked in early March, 1985, the dollar did not initially fall by much and the use Congress continued to favour import restrictions (Barry Eichengreen, 1996). 7(a) The Plaza Accord On September 22, 1985, officials from the Group of Five (G-5) countries Britain, France, West Germany, Japan and the US met at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, where they issued a communiquà © announcing that they would interfere jointly foster dollar depreciation. The dollar fell sharply on this news and continued to decline through 1986. The Plaza communiquà © represented a sharp break with earlier policies. Exchange market intervention was often characterised by leaning against the wind behaviour to reverse the market trend. The Plaza meeting had the Central Banks leaning with the wind of the recently weak dollar. Further exchange market interventions were often kept secret and were often the doings of a single central bank  [25]  . 7(b) The Louvre Accord The dollars free fall continued into 1987, so much that some European officials began to fear for the competitiveness of their own export industries which prompted policy makers from the G-5 countries plus Canada to make another attempt at exchange rate co-operation in a meeting at the LOUVRE in Paris in February 22, 1987. At the Louvre meeting, policy makers agreed to foster stability of exchange rates around their current levels. This was not an unusual statement as part of a press release from a meeting of international finance minister but the Louvre accord was more than an emotional statement in praise of stability. The substance of the Louvre meeting was a set of target zones, or exchange rate range, that the Central Bankers agreed to defend using active foreign exchange intervention  [26]  . The Louvre accord has been criticised on the ground that the target zone strategy could have no real force and the decision to keep the zonal boundaries secret was simply a device to prevent any evaluation of the policys success. The Rules of the Game IV- The Plaza-Louvre Intervention Accords and the Floating Rate Dollar Standard-(1985-1999):- Germany, Japan and United States (G-3) Set broad target zones for the US$/DM and US$/Y exchange rates. Do not announce the agreed upon central rates, and allow for flexible zonal boundaries; Allow the implicit central rates to adjust when economic fundamentals among the G-3 countries change substantially; Central Banks intervene collectively but infrequently to reverse short-run exchange rate trends that threaten a zonal boundary. Signal the collective intent by announcing rather than hiding intervention. G-3 countries hold reserves in each others currencies, for the U.S. This means building up reserves in deutsche marks, yen, and possibly other convertible currencies. Sterilize the immediate impact of exchange market interventions by not adjusting short-term interest rates. Each G-3 country aims its monetary policy towards stable prices (measured by domestic consumer or wholesale prices or the GNP deflator), which indirectly anchors the world price level and reduces the drift in exchange rate zones. The Rule of the Game Other Industrial Countries Support or do not oppose interventions by the G-3 to keep the dollar within its target zone limits. Indeed, policy makers have had to adjust the central rate of the implied target zone and be flexible about the precise location of the target zone boundary. Intervention under the Louvre accord seems to be more successful when accompanied by macroeconomic policy changes, and less successful when domestic monetary is preserved through sterilized intervention. Sterilized intervention in the foreign exchange market leaves the domestic monetary base unaffected  [27]  (Krugman, P and Maurice, O, 2000). The Louvre accord began a process towards greater and, it was hoped, better policy co-ordination. Progress in the coordination process is essential to fundamentally affect the stability of exchange rates in the longer run. 8. The Spirit of the European Monetary System (1979) Following the collapse of the Bretton Woods, European Union (EU) nations looked for a system that could stabilise currencies and reduce exchange-rate risk. In 1979, the created the European Monetary System (EMS) to stabilize exchange rates subject to the following guidelines:- Rules of the Game V The Spirit of the European Monetary System (1979) Applicable to All Member Countries. Fix a par value for each exchange rate in terms of the European Currency unit, a basket weighted according to country size. Keep exchange rate stable in the short run by limiting movements in the bilateral rates to 2.25% on either side of the central rate. When exchange rate threatens to breach a bilateral limit, the strong currency Central Bank must lend freely to the weak currency Central Bank to support the exchange rate. Adjust the par value in the intermediate term only if necessary to realign price levels, and only with the collective agreement of other EMS countries. Work toward a convergence of national macroeconomic policies that would lead to stable long run par value for exchange rates. Maintain free currency convertibility for current account transactions Hold foreign exchange reserve primarily in ECUs with he European Fund for Monetary Co-operation (EFMC), and reduce U.S. dollar reserves. Repay Central Bank debts quickly from exchange reserves or by borrowing from the EFMC within strict long-term credit limits. No single countrys money serves as a reserve currency nor does its natural monetary policy serve (asymmetrically) as the nominal price anchor for the group. The EMS was successful, currency realignments were infrequent and inflation was controlled. Problems arose in 1992 and the EMS was revised in 1993 to allow currencies fluctuate in a wider band from the mid-point of the target zone. The system ceased to exist in 1999 when the EU adopted a single currency. 8(a) The European Monetary System as a Greater DM Area (1979-1998) As earlier proposed, the EMS appears to enshrine the symmetry of the EU member nations in a co-operative process. In practice, the DM was the centrepiece of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), and German monetary policy formed anchor for the EMS price level. As a consequence, the operation of the EMS was subject to more strains than might have been foreseen, as the strongest country with the least inflation called the Policy Tune, rather than some equally weighted average of all the policy presumptions of the member countries. Most of the strains in the EMS over the period arose from the desire by some European leaders to achieve still closer economic and social union. In 1989, a European Council headed by European Commission President Jacque Delors, presented a plan to establish a European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Under the EMU proposal, a single European Central Bank was to set up the monetary policy for a single European money thereby abolishing national monies and an independent role for national central banks. The Delors Plan  [28]  recommended a three-stage plan process to phase in the EMU as follows:- Stage 1- Bring all 12 members EC countries into the ERM while bringing tighter convergence of monetary policies to secure the ERM; Stage 2- Narrow the permissible bands of the ERM and permit a new European Central Bank to exercise more control of national monetary policies. Stage 3- Replace national monies with a common currency, placing responsibility for the European Central Banks that reflect the interests of all EC countries. The EMS Crisis of 1992 1993 The Delors Plan called for a transfer of national sovereign power over monetary policy and national monies to a new EC institutions. In December, 1991, the EC drafted the Maastricht Treaty a 250 page document that laid out the procedure for transferring policy making authority and the approval by all the twelve EC countries was required either by national referendum or parliamentary vote. For reason that substantial parts of the treaty were contentious, most of the sponsoring countries became sceptical and the document could not be approved by member nations contrary to expectation, As a result, currency tension persisted throughout 1993. In the summer of 1993, speculative attacks continued on the French franc and other currencies. This caused Central Banks to intervene heavily but the French resisted devaluation  [29]  . (Richard Cooper, 1984). The Path to European Monetary Union Notwithstanding the shocks suffered by the Delors Plan, voting on the Maastricht treaty continued and by November, 1992, it was adopted and the European Union (EU) was born. However, many countries had negotiated the right to opt out of certain key provisions, including the EUs common monetary and defence institutions. According to the Delors Plan, countries had to meet various economic targets before joining the EMU  [30]  . These criteria were very stringent to fulfil that as at February 1997, only Luxembourg satisfied them. Despite the difficulty in meeting the criteria, undaunted EU policymakers proceeded by designing and unveiling new physical coins and notes. Private firms and banks were compelled to follow suit, redesigning their accounting systems and functional software to accommodate the new euro. 8(b) The Spirit of the European Economic Monetary Union 1999 In May 1998, the European Council met to make two critical decisions:- To determine which countries would participate in the launch of the EMU set for January 1, 1999; and Who would be elected as the President of the European Central Bank. Many observers had expected a narrow EMU with only six countries going in at the start because requirements on fiscal budget deficits and national debt level. Surprisingly, the European Council elected eleven countries virtually all EU except countries, those that desired to opt out of the pioneer team such as Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Greece actually wanted to join but clearly had not met the convergence requirements  [31]  . On 1st January, 1999, the final and irrevocable conversion rates of the eleven legacy currencies versus the euro were announced. The transition went hitch-free in terms of transaction execution in the foreign exchange market and the operation of the EMU payment and settlement system. Financial markets in the EMU countries redenominated all traded financial securities and instruments from their national currencies into euros. A new market for bonds denominated in euros is thriving. The trend toward trans-national mergers and acquisition across firm within the euro started growing. The last step on the path to monetary union is the introduction of physical euro notes and coins and the withdrawal of legacy currency notes and coins. This process was scheduled to begin January 1, 2002 and to be accomplished not later than July 1, 2002. Empirical Evidences of Recent Currency Crises Despite nations best efforts to head off financial crises within the international monetary system, the world has witnessed several unpleasant crises some of which are summarised below:- Developing Nations Debt Crisis By the early 1980s, developing countries (especially in Latin America) had amassed huge debts payable to large international commercial banks, the IMF, and the World Bank. To prevent a meltdown of the entire financial system, international agencies revised repayment schedules. In 1989, the Brady Plan called for large-scale reduction of poor nations debt, exchange of high-interest loans, and debt instruments tradable on world financial markets. Mexicos Peso Crisis Rebellion and political assassination shook investors, faith in Mexicos financial system in 1993 and 1994. Mexicos government responded slowly to the flight of portfolio investment capital. In the late 199

Natural Gas as an Alternate Energy Source for Transportation :: Alternate Energy Sources

Natural Gas as an Alternate Energy Source for Transportation Petroleum, the oil that is refined to create gasoline and diesel, and that as of now is the main energy source powering transportation worldwide, releases too many pollutants into the air and is not very far away from becoming a depleted resource. As global warming becomes a larger threat, gas prices rise, and the air in cities around the world becomes increasingly polluted, it is becoming more apparent that an alternate, and cleaner, source of energy is needed for use in transportation. The best option for a replacement to petroleum is natural gas, also known as methane. Today, twenty-four percent of the total energy consumed in the United States is natural gas, which means a change is already in progress (though due to a lack of technology in natural gas recovery and stubbornness of consumers, it is happening slowly) [Pros and Cons]. However, the important question is, â€Å"why is natural gas so much better that petroleum?† To begin, natural gas is much better for the environment than petroleum. If natural gas vehicles (NGVs) were to become the norm, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could be alleviated by ninety percent and hydrocarbon emissions could be reduced by eighty-five percent [NaturalGas.org]. This is very important, because it is the elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that are responsible for the large increase in the greenhouse effect, which is thought to be causing global warming. In addition, natural gas produces only ninety-two pounds of nitrogen oxides (NO2) and one pound of sulfur dioxide (SO2) per billion Btu of energy, as opposed to petroleum’s 448 and 1,122 pounds, respectively [NaturalGas.org]. The significance of these figures lies in the fact that it is nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides that cause acid rain [Pros and Cons]. However, converting to natural gas would help more than just the environment. From an economic viewpoint, the widespread use of natural gas for transportation purposes as opposed to petroleum in the United States would not only relieve American reliance on foreign oil, but would also help the economy. This is because eighty-seven percent of natural gas consumed in the United States is â€Å"domestically† produced, which means it is produced in America [NGVC]. Therefore, using natural gas instead of petroleum as an energy source for transportation would help the environment and the American economy. Natural Gas as an Alternate Energy Source for Transportation :: Alternate Energy Sources Natural Gas as an Alternate Energy Source for Transportation Petroleum, the oil that is refined to create gasoline and diesel, and that as of now is the main energy source powering transportation worldwide, releases too many pollutants into the air and is not very far away from becoming a depleted resource. As global warming becomes a larger threat, gas prices rise, and the air in cities around the world becomes increasingly polluted, it is becoming more apparent that an alternate, and cleaner, source of energy is needed for use in transportation. The best option for a replacement to petroleum is natural gas, also known as methane. Today, twenty-four percent of the total energy consumed in the United States is natural gas, which means a change is already in progress (though due to a lack of technology in natural gas recovery and stubbornness of consumers, it is happening slowly) [Pros and Cons]. However, the important question is, â€Å"why is natural gas so much better that petroleum?† To begin, natural gas is much better for the environment than petroleum. If natural gas vehicles (NGVs) were to become the norm, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could be alleviated by ninety percent and hydrocarbon emissions could be reduced by eighty-five percent [NaturalGas.org]. This is very important, because it is the elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that are responsible for the large increase in the greenhouse effect, which is thought to be causing global warming. In addition, natural gas produces only ninety-two pounds of nitrogen oxides (NO2) and one pound of sulfur dioxide (SO2) per billion Btu of energy, as opposed to petroleum’s 448 and 1,122 pounds, respectively [NaturalGas.org]. The significance of these figures lies in the fact that it is nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides that cause acid rain [Pros and Cons]. However, converting to natural gas would help more than just the environment. From an economic viewpoint, the widespread use of natural gas for transportation purposes as opposed to petroleum in the United States would not only relieve American reliance on foreign oil, but would also help the economy. This is because eighty-seven percent of natural gas consumed in the United States is â€Å"domestically† produced, which means it is produced in America [NGVC]. Therefore, using natural gas instead of petroleum as an energy source for transportation would help the environment and the American economy.

Japanese culture Essay

1. Briefly discuss the Japanese business practices. Business traditions and practices are greatly influenced by the culture in which they function. The values of a culture help to define the underlying structure and philosophy of business. Many traditions and practices within a culture are often integrated into the country’s businesses.   Japanese culture greatly affects its business practice on all levels. It is a unique country with many distinct cultural traditions. As a result, cultural traditions tend to be uniform and community is central to daily life. Culturally, the Japanese are rather introverted in their ways, focusing on their own culture and traditions. A strong sense of community, family, and being part of a larger group and business family are central to the Japanese culture. The ritualistic traditions that are characteristic of the home environment typically spread to the social and work sphere of life. The Japanese culture maintains a very formal style of interactions. Even introducing oneself in Japan is formal in nature. Exchange of business cards is an obligatory custom at business meetings. The exchange of gifts is an accepted custom in Japan.   The Japanese bow is part of Japanese culture that expresses honor and greetings to a guest. Thus Japanese are well behaved in their business practices and try to do a lot of good stuffs which can influence the international relations. They believe in a business where trust exists. The do their level best to be recognized as nice people in the business market. 2. What is the appeal of the Japanese market for world business? The Japanese government and business leader’s marks deep changes in their market from closed to open while acknowledging its competitive nature (Shetty and Kim, 1995). They argue that all firms should understand their market and do provide the quality products and services demanded by the consumers. Large firms should offer lifetime employment, and employees may be reluctant to accept employment with foreign firms that do not. Furthermore, the firms must consider employment with a foreign company less desirable than employment with a domestic firm. It suggests that long-term relationships and mutual commitments in the market will encourage practices such as bidding and close parent company-supplier ties. â€Å"Japan appeals that the three factors to compete successfully in the world market is quality, followed by the ability to hire qualified employees and the attitudes of top corporate management.† (Shetty and Kim, 1995) Japanese focus on quality of products and services, keeping good personnel, hiring local staff, strong corporate head office with limited interference, reputation of the business, brand image, latest technology and strengthening value chain. These are some of the major deciding factors that help a firm to gain profits in the market. Besides, Japanese, have understanding of respect, they are persistent, they have perseverance and ability to develop strong global network. To increase the world business, the market should value advanced technology and innovation and should willing to try new products or technologies. Finally, establishing manufacturing and distribution facilities is a visible sign of a firm’s commitment. So the market must take care of it. But the main theme is that the market should value personal, harmonious, and long-term relationships with distributors, customers, suppliers, and employees. 3. Briefly discuss the major business trends and opportunities in Japan’s economy. Japan is the worlds second-largest and Asia’s largest economy. United States is the largest economy.   This is the only member of G8 from Asia. It is also a member of the UN Security Council on a temporary basis. In Japan the wages are highest in the world. From 1960s to1980s, there was a swift economic growth with a growth rate of 10%, 5% and 4%. The economy of Japan was in the state of turbulence in the late 1980s. The reason was falling stock and real estate prices.   By 1989 the situation turned worst. The Tokyo Stock Exchange crashed. During 1990s the country’s economic growth remained slow. The economy trend of Japan is a slightly uneven but it is continuously focusing on increasing the GDP. Japan has lot of business opportunities and it supports business activities. Eco-towns are being promoted in order to build a resource recycling-type economic society, which limits waste while encouraging recycling. Japan has developed a robust way of dealing with the pollution and completely self-sustainable industrial parks with zero emissions (JETRO). â€Å"The Kawasaki Foundation for Promotion of Industry (Kawasaki Small and Medium-Sized Business Support Centre) and KSP (Kanagawa Science Park) are providing various types of venture support, including assistance for businesses, help in establishing new enterprises, and educational research.† (JETRO)   Government is providing assistance from operations management consultation to assistance with publicity. 4.  Briefly discuss the different modes of entry to Japanese market. These are some common modes of entry in the Japanese market. A) It is possible to directly go to Japan and establish a firm. B) Local distributer and partners for the companies.   These are good way of entering to the market at the early stage of the business. c) Specialized business consultant can be hired. The market is matured. This forces the marketer to focus more on keeping the cost low and at the same time performance and features should be maintained. The quick increase in revenue is not possible in the Japanese market. Understanding of Consumer behavior is very important.   In approach ‘A’ one need to justify the stagnant revenue to the investors. After some years of experience in Japanese market, the revenue may grow with steady rate. Plan ‘B’ is a convenient way to enter the market. The reason is that here one is utilizing Japanese resources. However success largely depends on finding right distributor and partners, with good market connections, commitment on financial and operations. 5.  Ã‚  Compare and contrast the Japanese and the American commercials. The difference of American and Japanese advertisements appears to be in the degree and not in kind. The advertisement appeals of these two different countries are different. It is based on general employment of the traditional and respect of elders in Japan. Japanese appeal is based on moral values. The general usage of status is different. American advertisements have consumer based appeal. American advertisement is based on western values. The product merit appeals are higher in American advertisements as compared to the Japanese advertisements. The difference also exists in use of youthful or modernity appeals. Japanese advertisement is based on relationship model. 6.  Briefly discuss the Japanese way of product development The Japanese approach to product development emphasizes continuous technological improvement. It is also aimed at making a successful product and providing better solutions for the consumer needs. They have clear competitive vision of product development. They know what types of investments are required to maintain their market positions. Japanese manufacturers invest their resources into technology development, product development, productivity improvement and quality control and thus making the international market becomes more competitive. They focus on high-quality, high-performance products which are relatively inexpensive against those of the same level offered by European and American competitors and thus their products can be easily available to common man in the market. Japanese identify customer needs and develop new products and roadmaps for technological development on the basis of the same. They use modern technologies for keeping the cost low. They hire trained and skil led people and invest in technology and development of human resources. They emphasize on quality and minimization of the production cost.

Astral Case Study Essays

Astral Case Study Essays Astral Case Study Essay Astral Case Study Essay Essay Topic: The Healers Introduction? This instance gives a good? avor of the challenges of a general director. in peculiar when 1 is new to the occupation. The instance explores the parachuting in of Sarah Conner. a venture-capitalist ( BLL. 60 % proprietor of Astral ) employee. to take over the running of Astral ( North America ) following the sudden decease of its long-time president ( Maxwell ) . Astral is largely a maker of Cadmium records for other labels. though Maxwell has expanded its ain recording concern ( 10 % of grosss ) across a scope of musical genres. Astral has established a name for quality and invention. but generallyavailable engineering has become so dependable that quality no longer truly serves as a discriminator in the industry. The? rst intent of instance surveies is developing a better apprehension through larning to use appropriate and diverse tools/concepts taking to better replies increasing your chance of success. With the information provided brand sure you 1. province the facts . 2. provide reading of these facts ( besides through usage of constructs ) . and so 3. conclude. The latter two stairss are frequently losing in instance survey studies. Besides. construction is cardinal. Some narrative is non a job. narrative without construction de? nitely is a job! ? ? De? ne the Context? ? De? ning the context is non synonymous to supplying a sum-up of the instance survey. Based on what you have read province. interpret and draw decisions. If you province the industry of Compact Discs is no longer differentiated but monetary value is going the chief competition issue. you need to bespeak why this is relevant and what this implies ( like: graduated table is of enormous importance in this state of affairs and if Astral does non? nd another manner to distinguish itself. like developing the DVD. from rivals its hereafter will look instead inexorable ) . If you province Astral’s formation of scheme resembles that of the entrepreneurial school residing in the head of the leader. you need to interpret this into. Stellar footings ( the scheme of Astral NA resided and was executed in the caput of sir Max ) and conclude what consequences this has for Conner ( really few people in Astral NA will be able to make up ones mind harmonizing to this scheme because that is what sir Max did ) . If you province that sir Max resembled the creative person type of a director. you need to reason what consequences this has/d for Astral’s operations: short on inside informations and followthrough which means that Conner is bound to? nd a batch of loose terminals ( like the missive from Yurbank dating July 1st. seemingly non acted upon ) . Top quality. high tech merchandise means high investing demands. instead high entry barriers. high hazard of replacements. etc and this in bend means that one can easy miss’ possible rivals ; Entrepreneurial leader means low authorization of employees and the degree of political power depends on propinquity to the leader ; A Venture Capitalist as cardinal stock holder means a potentially stronger focal point on shorter term return ; A female leader in a paternalistic working environment means Conner has some excess hurdlings to take and booby traps to avoid ; A fabrication company like Astral means coordination by standardisation of work procedures connoting a instead large planning and quality direction section ; A growing scheme means high dependence on recognition lines to procure hard currency to procure growing ; etc. ? ? ? 26. Rue Maunoir | 1207 Geneve | Switzerland | World Wide Web. sustineo. org | [ electronic mail protected ]/*org | +41 79 822 3546 De? ne the Key Issues or Problems? Cases are semi-structured jobs. and job de? nition accomplishments are one of the chief acquisition merchandises of perennial instance survey analysis. Stating the many weak signals and symptoms in a instance survey without indicating to bigger issues and/or jobs does non assist. What is truly traveling on in this instance survey and why did it go on this manner? Output of this measure should be a clear de? nition of the cardinal issues or jobs at manus backed up with the informations available ( facts ) added with premises made. The type of Leadership and scheme formation of Astral is one of the cardinal issues as it will be impossible for Conner to retroflex this ; This has led to an under-empowered and under-developed direction ( i. e. Conner will hold a difficult clip to? nd Alliess ) and a batch of urgent and some of import affairs to cover with non limited to the memos found on Conner’s desk ( there will be many other affairs which were in sir Max’s caput ) . For Conner the cardinal issue will be to capture the chief issues at manus ( direction control. ? nancial form. menaces. scheme ) being able to boil these down to a study to be produced in 2 hebdomads while necessitating to be in England to link to the other major stockholder and pater familias and procuring hard currency to go on operations. ? ? Use Concepts? Even though common sense and intuition are of import in direction and scheme it is cardinal to use different concern constructs ( both prescriptive and descriptive ) in order to increase your apprehension of the issues in your context ( and to prove the pertinence of the constructs studied ) . Management Control: In Wrapp’s Good directors don’t make policy decisions a metaphor is used depicting a director sitting in a watercourse: operating jobs? oat by. the director rapidly examines each 1. hangs onto the good 1s and after roll uping a few Begins to see ways in which they might associate. be perceived in the power construction. and travel the organisation toward its aims. In some ways this metaphor rhenium? ects the existent state of affairs of Conner. The many memo’s indicating to operating ( and scheme ) jobs could be perceived as chances to larn to understand Astral. Successful executives have a endowment for maintaining good informed ( or going wellinformed for Conner ) about a broad scope of operating determinations being made at different degrees in the company. Effective executives know how to concentrate their clip and energy on comparatively few issues. This is an issue for Conner as she is surrounded by people who are looking to her for every move. Successful executives play the power game. They recognize the? rm’s power construction and work though corridors of comparative indifference. Conner needs to acquire a appreciation on the new power construction developing in this vacuity ( and maintain a close oculus on Wallace Alexander ) . Successful executives besides cultivate an art of impreciseness. fulfilling their organisations so that they have a sense of way while avoiding public committedness to speci? hundred aims. Because Conner does non hold the elaborate apprehension of the concern as a sir Max would hold this art of impreciseness will proof to be of import. Effective executives muddle with a intent. acknowledging that it is best to seek for partial plans and modest advancement toward ends. patching together parts of different proposals. This requires wide-ranging involvements and he ability to see how things relate. Peter Senge’s The Leader’s New Work: Building Learning Organizations could be helpful in supplying penetrations for Conner as she will necessitate to assist Astral to larn. She needs to assist the directors to see the system ; seeing the systems that control events. The directors can no longer rely on sir Max to hold on the beginning of jobs. Conner is a interior decorator planing the regulating thoughts of intent. vision. and nucleus values ; of the policies. schemes. and structures to interpret steering thoughts into concern determinations ; and the creative activity of effectual acquisition procedures. Astral Case Study 2? ? ? ? ?  © Dr. Lammert Vrieling / 2013? ? ? Conner is a teacher assisting people get more penetration. It includes assisting them acquire a better image of their mental theoretical accounts and to believe consistently. Conner is a steward ; Stewardship applies to both the people led and the intent that underlies the endeavor. This would be the biggest alteration in an organisation similar Astral as this is the antonym of a centralist bossy theoretical account. It remains a inquiry whether a steward function would work within Astral at the minute. However. the functions of interior decorator and instructor seem rather appropriate. For person like Conner ( non a music specializer. much younger than sir Max and female ) the leading attack needs to be rather different without questioning sir Max’s attack or seting excessively much duty on the directors excessively fast. Huy’s In congratulations of Middle Managers states in-between directors are important for a company: they are the enterprisers ( able and willing to recognize new concern thoughts ) . they are communicators of the demands for alteration. they are the healers making a clime of reassurance. and they are tight rope creative persons supplying business as usual’ of import in times of alteration. This could be a helpful position for Conner as she needs to acquire her center directors to act like this. ( Financial ) Shape of the Company: To ease this rating exercising Rumelt’s four trials of scheme ( consistence. consonant rhyme. advantage. and feasibleness ) could assist. There does non look to be issues of consistence: the ( formulated ) scheme seems to be rather straightforward and does non incorporate open via medias. Consonance exists when the basic mission or range of the? rm matches its environment over clip ; the? rm will so hold a generic scheme. In Astral’s instance this is distinction ( this might return to be leading if new distinction possibilities remain undeveloped. Competitive advantage can usually be traced to one of three roots: ( 1 ) superior resources ; ( 2 ) superior accomplishments ; or ( 3 ) superior place. In the past competitory advantage was based on all three ; today this is less the instance. The result of the current picture compaction onto disc ( DVD ) could make a new competitory advantage. The trial of feasibleness asks whether the scheme can be attempted within the physical. homo. and? nancial resources available. Astral is running up against barriers in footings of being able to? nance its growing. Phahalad and Hamel’s strategic purpose casts a visible radiation on the earlier yearss of Astral and how it was founded. Today there is non a clear strategic purpose steering Astral to regenerate planetary market leading. After Conner has led Astral into smoother sailing this would go a point of action. Menaces: Andrews in the construct of corporate strategy clari? es what the? rm might make. i. e. . placing the menaces and chances in the environment. Second is what the? rm can make. i. e. . measuring the? rm’s strengths and failings. Third is what the? rm wants to make. i. e. . sing the personal values of the top direction. Last. there is what the? rm should make. i. e. . the ethical facets of strategizing. Because Astral comes from an entrepreneurial scheme position ( scheme shacking in the caput of the enterpriser ) it should likely switch to a more plan-based position stressing deliberation and preparation from a design school perspective as Conner will be the CEO to plan this ( instead than a particular planning section in the planning school ) . Because Astral has been successful in the yesteryear separating itself from the competition through invention a competences/resource-based analysis of Astral might be bene? cial supplying penetration in possible new beginnings of competitory advantage. Because Astral has lost ( some of ) its competitory advantage a? ve forces analysis of its current place might be appropriate. The earnestness of the menace of entry depends on the barriers present and the reaction from incumbent rivals. Astral and the industry at big has several beginnings of barriers to entry: economic systems of graduated table. merchandise distinction. capital demands. cost advantages independent of graduated table. and entree to distribution channels. Suppliers have dickering power by raising monetary values or cut downing quality and the consumer is demanding of all time lower monetary values. higher quality and more service. Substitutes limit the pro? t potency of an industry by puting Astral Case Study 3? ? ? ? ? ? ?  © Dr. Lammert Vrieling / 2013 a ceiling on monetary values. Even though – at the clip – Cadmiums were the cardinal merchandise higher monetary values would open the door for replacements. There is besides intra-industry competition indicated by monetary value competition and new service offering. Rivalry is intensi? erectile dysfunction by approximately tantamount rivals. slow industry growing. and deficiency of distinction. The industry is traveling towards cost leading as the dominant generic scheme. ? Barney’s looking inside for competitory advantage provides the analysis tools for a resource-based analysis mentioned above. The writer identi? es four cardinal standards inquiries that this internally-oriented analysis must turn to: value creative activity ( resources and capablenesss are valuable merely when they exploit chances or extenuate menaces ) ; rarity ( capablenesss or resources that are valuable but common will be indispensable in leting a? Rm to accomplish para. but non to out-compete. its challengers ) ; imitability ( resources and capablenesss that are valuable and rare will confabulate long-run advantage if challengers? nd it dif? cult to either extra or replacement for these resources and capablenesss ) ; ? nally. there is the inquiry of organisation ( valuable. rare. and hard-to-imitate resources will confabulate superior long-run pro? tability depending on how good they are orchestrated into a coherent system. Astral does non hold a sustainable competitory advantage at the minute. it does make value because of its high quality ( but this is non sustainable ) . Scheme: Mintzberg’s generic concern schemes provide more insight into the type of generic scheme Astral could take. Step 1 is to turn up the nucleus concern in the industry ( upstream. midstream. or downstream ) : Astral is a midstream concern pulling a assortment of inputs into a individual production procedure out of which? ows the merchandise to a assortment of users. Step 2 is separating the nucleus concern – opening up the nucleus concern to separate the features that enable an organisation to accomplish competitory advantage and so to last in its ain context. We distinguish between Input sourcing schemes ( procurance. enlisting. ? nancing ) . throughput processing schemes ( procedure development. fiction. assembly. merchandise research. merchandise development ) . end product bringing schemes ( distribution. publicity. pricing. gross revenues. service ) and back uping schemes ( legal. control. preparation ) . Stellar focal points chiefly on throughput processing schemes and – to a lesser extent – end product bringing schemes indicating to a distinction scheme ( with low cost ) . Initially Astral focussed on design distinction and quality distinction. At the minute it still has ( some ) quality distinction and seeking to tilt on support distinction. Measure 3 is lucubrating the nucleus concern by develop its merchandise offering within the concern. developing the market via new sections. new channels or new geographical countries or force the same merchandises more smartly through the same markets: diversi? cation ( ? ) . merchandise development ( better CD’s ) . market development ( new CD labels ) . incursion. Step 4 is widening the nucleus concern by concatenation integrating ( widening operation downstream or upstream ) including rosin makers ( upstream ) or music labels ( downstream ) . diversi? cation schemes ( entry in some concern non in the same concatenation of operations ) . schemes of entry or control. or backdown schemes. Finally. Step 5 is re-conceiving the nucleus concern ( Es ) through concern rede? nition scheme. concern recombination schemes or nucleus resettlement schemes. At the minute this might non be an immediate option for Astral. but with the cognition of today one could conceive of a resettlement scheme towards ( digital ) music. or a rede? nition scheme ( digital storage devices ) . ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  © Dr. Lammert Vrieling / 2013 4 Astral Case Study Provide Alternative Courses of Action? ? ? ? ? Based on above analysis and understanding what should be done following? What are the true options at manus and when implemented what will be the expected consequence ( i. e. will all issues be resolved or will at that place be staying or new issues/problems ) ? What options does Conner hold in the short-run? A none-negotiable is to go to to the different memo’s and bring forth a selection/decision mechanism. Conner needs to to the full understand Astral’s current scheme. supply a robust rating in footings of scheme rating ( consistence. consonant rhyme. competitory advantage and feasibleness ) . positioning. internal resource-base and options of generic schemes. Conner needs to suggest a manner frontward ( a 6-month program within 2 hebdomads and an 18month program at the terminal of the month ) . Conner can suggest to go on the current scheme every bit much as possible procuring a? nancial injection by BLL. reconstituting the company for improved deputation ; stop the current scheme and concentrate on rationalisation traveling to a low cost scheme ( might be dif? cult as Astral is non built on this premiss ) ; Re-focus the current scheme altering its formation procedure. and re-emphasising the distinction scheme and beef uping competitory advantage ( a bundling scheme possibly: music. picture. videodisk ) ; issue scheme: rationalisation. cleaning up. reorganizing and so selling the company. Choose a Course of Action? Choose a class of action from the alternate classs of action bespeaking why ( explicitly sing and rejecting the other alternate classs of action ) . Indicate both hard. quantitive informations and your soft qualitative feelings about each class of action. For Conner we need a list of pending actions/decisions and a logical thinking as to which action/decision should be taking. at what clip and by whom. ? Develop an Action Plan? Develop an action program by which the desired action may be achieved or implemented within the context. and bespeak who should make what. when and how. Besides provide a process to measure your class of action of pick based on its existent impact. Below you’ll? nd a good illustration of a hands-on action list – by Ms. Maridali Alicea. Date: August 24th August 24th Recommendation: Keep meeting to inform staff of alterations ( deputation. and duties ) Brief him on difference in direction attack. Capable: Staff Meeting with Astral Toppers Meeting with Assistant ( Wallace ) MBA pupil visit Fox Hunt Production run out of specs BLL spouses visit Delinquent history Billboard Magazine interview Safety Day plans Unauthorized Return of Merchandise August 24th Reschedule September 7th Probably necessitate to travel August 25th Operations section will manage ( Bart O’Reilly ) – Reminder the quality of our merchandise is one of the companies competencies September 7th. Assistant can set up adjustments August 26th Finance section – recommend immediate payment to forestall holds in shipment ASAP this hebdomad Reschedule for more appropriate clip Manufacturing section will manage ( Bart O’Reilly ) – Social concerns must be considered Marketing and Gross saless section will manage ( G. Scott Herron )  © Dr. Lammert Vrieling / 2013 5 Astral Case Study Renewal of Revolving Credit EPA Inspection: Fish putting to death Contract Negotiations Safety Day plans concerns EPA Inspection: legal advocate Proposal for New Plastic Packaging August 25th Sarah Conner will manage – reexamine capital construction Sarah Conner will manage. emphasize the importance of ecology conformity Selling and Gross saless section will manage ( G. Scott Herron ) . Manufacturing section will manage ( Bart O’Reilly ) – Social concerns must be considered Sarah Conner will manage. emphasize the importance of ecology conformity Manufacturing section ( Bart O’Reilly ) and Marketing and Gross saless section ( G. Scott Herron ) will manage – see the blessing for New packaging equipment Manufacturing section ( Bart O’Reilly ) and Marketing and Gross saless section ( G. Scott Herron ) will manage – see the proposal for New Plastic Packaging Sarah Conner will manage – reexamine capital construction Sarah Conner will manage – importance to upcoming audit HR section. ( Sandy Bien-Fait ) will manage. Operations section will manage ( Bart O’Reilly ) Sarah Conner will manage – see the impact of engineering invention. but besides current? nancial restrictions Sarah Conner will manage – due to? nancial restrictions unable to follow hard currency colony Approval of New Packaging Equipment. Renewal of Revolving Credit Lawsuit Hiring CD Rot Project Future Vision Lawsuit Employee Reprimand Audit Planning Meeting Equipment Maintenance Signing party and concert Anonymous note – employee behavior Capital Structure Summary August 24th HR section ( Sandy Bien-Fait ) will manage. September 10th Sarah Conner will manage – must be up to day of the month with all issues relevant to cases. environmental concerns. and CD Rot August 26th Finance section – remind of environmental concerns and hazards Marketing and Gross saless section will manage ( G. Scott Herron ) HR section ( Sandy Bien-Fait ) will manage. Sarah Conner will manage  © Dr. Lammert Vrieling / 2013 6 Astral Case Study.