Developing Managers in Business Essay

â€Å"Success in the knowledge economy comes to those who know themselves, their strengths, their values, and how they best perform† (Peter Drucker) The main aim of this report is to focus on a particular management development programme and by identifying how it works to determine whether it has been effective in developing the manager for its business. The report looks at how certain management development programmes have been used to become shift/duty manager for a particular organisation. It identifies a range of formal and informal approaches that have been used to ensure effective outcomes. It also includes examining the main external and internal factors that have influenced management development. Furthermore the report identifies any shortcomings and changes that are required to improve the process of developmental management. The main method used to conduct this report was obtaining first hand information from a shift/duty manager at a local food industry; however, relevant literature resources have also been used to support views, evaluations and recommendations made. Rosemary Stewart who has been noted for studies of organisations and managers in action. Based on: Managers and their Jobs, (1967/1987) identified four approaches to defining the term management. Theses are as follows: 1. Theoretical approach: – this is based on the development of theories of management, using approaches focused on political, economical, sociological, psychological or anthropological theory and philosophy. 2. Descriptive approach: – has been given a very simple definition, ‘the job that managers and supervisors do’. 3. Comparative approach: – based on the hierarchical organisation and structure within an organisation, also focused on comparison and evaluation methods: 4. Action-based approach: – this focuses more on the way that those defined as managers spend their time: management as the activities carried out by managers What is management development? According to Lessem, R (1990) â€Å"developmental management is humanistic in essence† in other words the developmental manager values the whole team and values them for their inter-dependence. In order to fully understand the concept of management development it is essential to know of its historical roots. In the workplace individuals and managers unaware of certain behaviour patterns will unintentionally damage their personal effectiveness. When a manager understands the unique differences between individuals then they are in a more powerful position. They are better able to manage, understand, and lead people towards higher level of productivity, lower frustration, higher morale, and better retention rates. The type of management development programme focused on in this report is ‘basic management training from shift/duty managers’. The course itself was split into residential and in-store training with a mentor. The total residential training lasted for eight days at a national training centre and head office. The time limit given to complete the modules specified for this particular programme was twelve weeks, in-store with a mentor. However, twelve weeks being a rough guide as some required more time and candidates regularly completed the modules outside this limit. The course was tailored not only for people with experience but also for example graduates who would have had little or no experience in managing a shift. However, as this particular programme was centred towards the duty manager level its main focus was around people management, whereby it would deal with; staff motivation levels, training, receiving and giving feed back, appraisals etc, rather than actual business management i.e. managing a profit and loss account. There were seventeen modules that needed to be completed, below is a table explaining briefly what these modules were: Modules: Programme: 1-3 Orientation and Getting Started. (was completed during residential) 4-5 Cleanliness, Sanitation and Food Safety. Begins by basic training as would be for all members of staff within the organisation, then becomes more involved in how to effectively manage a team to ensure food safety and cleanliness standards are high as they are constantly observed and monitored. 6-7 Safety, Security and Crisis Management. How to ensure the safety of staff and customers on shift, including health and safety. Basically teaches the manager how to deal with anything from a power cut to an armed robbery. 8-9 Product Excellence. Begins quite basic as to how to identify an out of date product, then becomes more in depth regarding basic stock control, ordering procedures etc. 10-12 Basic Human Resource and Labour Management. Dealt with how to effectively manage a team, including exercises on legal responsibilities of a manager with regards to discrimination, grievance procedures and disciplinary action as well as staff training issues, coaching, how to motivate a team and managing cost of labour on a shift-to-shift basis. 13 Service Recovery. How to prevent, anticipate and deal with customer complaints and how to effectively observe and analyse team member performance to reduce the risk of a complaint. 14 Opening the Restaurant. 15 Shift Change. 16 Closing the Restaurant. The above three points (14-16) are self explanatory. Trainee managers were expected to work through these whilst observing the mentor complete the tasks in order to see how the aspect of previous modules were put into practice for example; stock control, security, cost of labour etc. 17 Floor Management. Dealing with problems prior to them becoming formal complaints or even accidents. This included the ‘figure of eight walk’, prioritising new unexpected tasks and team member recognition. The modules were very general, however, before putting theory into practice observation played a vital role, whereby trainees were to observe their mentors completing certain tasks in order to learn how to tailor tasks to suit the environment. Upon completing the training there was a test followed by an interview with the Area Manager in which the test results were discussed and the standards of completed modules were assessed. The informal approaches used whilst completing the management development programme was the mentor advising best practices for within the restaurant. The formal approaches used were the completion of modules and work books as well as observations where both candidates were observing the mentor and the mentor observing the candidate. The programme in itself prepared the trainees for a position as duty manager. The programme was learner centred and in some cases lack of motivation or resources meant that it lasted longer than the original given deadline of twelve weeks. There were both external and internal factors that influenced the development of duty/shift managers working. The main external factors were that being a food preparation industry, there were many laws and government regulations pertaining to food, safety and obviously regulations for health and safety and employment laws that needed to be learned and put into practice. The main internal factors that influenced management development were the standards set by the company which every manager and team member were expected to have extensive knowledge of. This covered every aspect of the business from the way tables were set to uniform standards to dealing with complaints in a professional manner, which involved more in depth training for management trainees. Although the training provided to trainee managers was quite extensive, practical experience gained via mentors seemed more knowledgeable, as stated quite clearly in the quote below from a previous trainee manager: â€Å"I feel that I learned a lot from the course, the modules and the work books as it introduced me to a lot of legal aspects of the food industry which I would not have learned otherwise, but I found that I learned more from the time spent with my mentor about how to be a manager that team members respected†. As recognised by A.Mumford (1993) there are five stages in the ‘evolution of thought about what managers do’; these are [1] The generalisation stage [2] The scientific stage [3] The management by objective stage [4] The contingency/ realistic stage [5] The competency stage †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Many organizations are turning to behaviour assessments and personality trait testing for both hourly workers and managers. Back in the late ’90s, only 5 percent of 500 companies used some type of assessment. Today, that figure is climbing to 65 percent. A year 2000 study by American Management Association showed nearly half of 1,085 employers polled use at least one assessment in their interviewing process. Assessments can help: * Individuals identify their strengths, know which jobs they are best suited for, and design a development plan to overcome shortcomings. * HR managers predict a job applicant’s success before they are hired. * Business owners understand the temperament and work style of individual employees and managers. * Supervisors can give performance feedback to people in a style they understand and accept for improving performance and accelerating professional development. * People enhance communication, understanding, and improve personal relationships. * Sales managers select, hire, develop, and motivate super sales people. For example a company would use the assessment process to improving their hiring and recruitment process. If for instance, previously they made decisions based on the candidates resume and then hired the person based on their ‘gut’ reaction. Once hired, many of these new people created friction, had bad work ethics, and their attitudes had a negative impact on their co-workers. Conclusion: Developing people is less expensive than firing them. By understanding behaviour differences an organization can align an employee’s motivations with the company’s mission. Assessments also help individuals reduce conflict and get along better. Furthermore, co-workers appreciate each person’s unique strengths and abilities. With this knowledge organizations and managers can maximize the abilities of their workforce in ways to help make all employees star performers. References: > Lessem, R. (1990) Developmental Management: principles of holistic business Oxford, Basil Blackwell > Managers and their Jobs (Penguin, 1977, new edition 1988); > The Reality of Organisation (Penguin, 1972, new edition 1986); > The Diversity of Management 1994.

Psychoanalytic, Jungian and Individual Psychology Theories Essay

The counseling roadmap for this learner essentially begins on an angle, with a number of major theories of degree. Some of the major counseling theories the learner will study, in this course, include: classical psychoanalysis, individual psychology, analytical theory, person-centered therapy, rational emotive behavior therapy, existential therapy, solution focused therapy, behavior therapy, gestalt therapy, cognitive therapy, reality therapy, interpersonal approaches to psychotherapy, feminist therapy, and family systems therapy. The learner believes that there will be periods of time with clients, in which one theory will work more effectively than another, or even where eclectic combinations of two or more theories are most appropriate used. Because of times like these, the learner supposes, it is imperative she be well-versed in the foundational elements of a number of major counseling theories, in order to provide the greatest assistance to her future clients, regardless of if she finds herself currently aligned with only one or two of said theories. So, whether you turn out to be an eclectic or a single-theory proponent, knowing the major approaches to counseling and psychotherapy is essential. Even eclectics need to know the approaches from which they borrow. † (Murdock 2009) â€Å"According to Maddi (1996), theories are meant â€Å"to foster understanding of something hitherto not understood† (Murdock 2009). The learner is also of the opinion that counseling theories should elucidate and even forecast, to some degree, the client’s behavior in hopes of contributing to the therapeutic end. The learner accepts as true that utilizing one or more recognized counseling theories makes the forecast unambiguous and more open to assessment. The client’s hopes, goals, perceptions, actions, personality, individuality, creative opinion/s about oneself and his or her problems and attitudes towards treatment will contribute greatly to the theory or theories used. In order to utilize the client’s theory of change and to effectively guide the choice of technique or integration of various therapy models best, the learner must be cognizant of the client’s uniquely personal presentation, in theoretical terms. The client is actually the single, most potent contributor to outcome in psychotherapy – through the resources they bring into the therapy room and what influences their lives outside it. † (Andrews 2007) One of the primary reasons clients theoretically attend and seek out counseling is to reach a therapeutic goal, tangible result, or change that they were unable to accomplish on their own. â€Å"All of these theories attempt to explain the process of helping clients change; they all offer some sort of prescription for what one person, the therapist, can do to help the other person, the client, who has sought assistance. (Murdock 2009) As the learner finds the connection between learning theory and its’ application in professional practice, with regards to client therapy, theory must in time, take on a real human experience, a life of its’ own, so to speak. Counseling theory and professional practice should work for her as ideally complimentary partners, changing, growing and adapting, as needed, and over time. The learner recognizes the benefit and reality that one or more of the counseling theories she adopts will likely be amended or change at least once during her profession career. As her client base grows and changes and as she personally and professionally develops, so will her theoretical models, structures, assumptions and predictions. â€Å"Theory should be applied in a critical way, with the recognition that other approaches exist (and are apparently valid, too) and that theories contain biases that can be dangerous to clients. Also, starting with one good theory does not mean you will stay with that theory forever. † (Murdock 2009) For any counseling theory to be effectively applied, the learner believes, a positive alliance with one’s client is foundationally vital. In order to effectively utilize studied counseling theories and apply one or more of them successfully, the client must be on-board. â€Å"We now consider our clients’ worldview, their map of the territory, as the determining ‘theory’ for therapy (Duncan et al. , 1992), directing both the destination desired and the routes of restoration, and all but ensuring the experience of a positive alliance. (Duncan, Miller, Sparks 2007) The learner understands that an open and meaningful association with her clients is so essential for any counseling theory or theories she adopts to be effectively utilized, in professional counseling treatment. The learner is obliged, as a future counselor, to form a close and sincerely, authentic connection with her clients, through various measures such as active listening, evoking empathy, compassion, and conveying an almost absolute sense of acceptance of her clients; These measures are in essence crucial in creating a positive alliance with her clients. In summary, the learner has determined she must study quite a few major counseling theories to create her foundational map from which to work from. The learner will begin the application of the fundamentals of one or more of these theories and superlatively navigate her way on the roadmap towards a degree of diminished psychological symptoms in her future clients. â€Å"Good psychotherapy results in increased self-understanding and, ultimately, can produce changes in lives that increase happiness. †

The impact of ozone depletion

The ozone is a thin bed of triatomic O molecules located within the ambiance which is capable of absorbing deadly UV ( UV ) radiation from the Sun. Ozone occurs of course within the stratosphere, and it accounts for approximately 90 % of the entire ozone molecules in the ambiance, compared to the tropospheric ozone which forms a major air pollutant and histories for only10 % . Ozone bed in the atmosphere extends vertically up to about 50Km, and there are about 12,000 ozone molecules per 1 billion molecules of air, while less measure exist in the troposphere of about 20-100 molecules per billion molecules of air. Stratospheric ozone is formed through a uninterrupted complex procedure of photochemical reaction affecting the splitting of O molecules into two O atoms by solar energy and each atom farther combines with O molecules to bring forth ozone. Because the procedure is sunlight dependant, more ozone is produced at lower latitudes due the concentration of high solar radiation around the equator ; as such ozone is continually produced and destroyed in these complex chemical reactions. The planetary distribution of ozone depends on conditions such as the handiness of Br and Cl in the ambiance, high solar strength and latitudinal location that favour the production of the molecules. Without this bed, UV-B radiation when making the Earth is capable of damaging works and animate being tissues, increasing the hazard of wellness jobs such as skin malignant neoplastic disease in worlds every bit good as destructing both tellurian and aquatic ecosystems. Depletion of the ozone has been observed over the old ages due to the release of chemical substances into the ambiance by worlds. In 2005, scientists have observed the addition in ozone depleting substances ( ODS ) which consequences to the cutting of this protective bed over Arctic and Antarctic poles by about 30 – 50 % , and a planetary mean decrease of about 3 – 6 % compared to the pre – 1980 degrees. The procedure of depletion begins with the release of the ozone depleting substances ( ODS ) such as Cl and Br and CFCs ( CFCs ) largely from human beginnings. These gases farther accumulate into the ambiance for some clip depending of their occupant times and so transported to the stratosphere through perpendicular commixture. These non-reactive gases are farther converted into reactive compounds by UV radiation, so chemical reactions takes topographic point to destruct the ozone bed. Finally, these gases are transported back to the troposphere where they are re moved through precipitation. Climate alteration and ozone bed depletion are interlinked because ozone itself is a nursery gas and together with other ozone consuming substances such as Br ( Br ) and Cl ( Cl ) contribute to planetary heating. Therefore any alterations in the atmospheric concentration and distribution of ozone will hold important impact on the planetary clime system. Release of these ( ODS ) substances including C dioxide and CFCs has a chilling consequence on the stratosphere. This chilling consequence favours the chemical reactions in Cl and Br thereby lending to the formation of Polar Stratospheric Clouds ( PSC ) , a status that consequences in the depletion of ozone. Surveies have proved that the lessening in stratospheric ozone observed over Antarctica led to alterations in the interactions between the stratosphere and the Earth. These alterations alter the atmospheric circulation peculiarly the North Atlantic oscillation ( NAO ) , which in bend has an consequence on fluctuation of clime around the Atlantic. Depletion of the ozone has another important consequence on the planetary biogeochemical rhythms which has profound consequence on the clime system. Increase in the sum UV-B modifies the C rhythm by impacting the consumption of CO2 by workss during photosynthesis, every bit good as C storage in workss tissues as biomass. Because the tellurian ecosystem serves as a net sink for C, alterations in the sum of UV radiation is capable of upseting the photosynthetic and respiration procedures which link the atmospheric C and tellurian C consumption and release. Within the tellurian ecosystems, certain works species become more susceptible to increased UV radiation, therefore cut downing their ability to gaining control and shop atmospheric C dioxide. Furthermore, a alteration in the UV radiation increases the rate of productiveness of dirt micro beings such as fungi thereby increasing the rate of C release from biomass decomposition. This accelerated bend over clip of C through this procedure of exposure debasement or exposure transmutation decreases the storage capacity of the dirt as a major C sink, as such lending to planetary heating. Scientific projections from theoretical accounts suggest a major displacement in planetary ecosystems from ice chest and wetting agent to warmer and drier conditions in response to climate change-UV interaction. Another of import linkage between ozone depletion and clime alteration is the change of the marine biological pump of atmospheric C dioxide into the ocean underside under the influence of UV radiation. Coloured dissolved organic affair ( CDOM ) nowadays in aquatic primary manufacturers which is utile in absorbing UV in the ocean undergoes exposure decoloring under higher dosage. Thereby ensuing in the loss of the pigment and accordingly let more UV incursion into the ocean and cut down the ability of aquatic workss to repair C during photosynthesis. Besides, thermic stratification of ocean Waterss occur as a consequence of increased CO2 from human- induced emanations decreases mid-water O around the deepness of 200-800m, which affect C consumption by the oceans. This stratification impact perpendicular commixture of substances such as bromocarbons found in tropical Waterss. Under the influence of UV, certain ozone consuming reactive groups such as Br oxide ( BrO ) are produced. Conversely, clime alteration besides has a important influence on ozone bed depletion. This influence may either accelerate or slow the ozone procedure of recovery. Climate alteration induces the formation of Polar stratospheric clouds around the high latitudes which when exported to mid-latitudes bring forth farther depletion of the ozone around such countries. Surveies have shown that radiative forcing from planetary heating may assist the ozone to retrieve because it tends to cut down the formation of such clouds that interact with gases in the ambiance to destruct the ozone. Evidence was observed in the decrease in the loss of ozone over Antarctica between 2001 and 2004 during the spring period. Since ozone depletion is the chief cause of decrease in temperature of the stratospheric ozone by about ( -0.17 & A ; deg ; C/ decennary ) , addition in the emanation of Green House Gases ( GHG ) into the ambiance will hold a warming consequence thereby change by reversaling this loss. Re actions affecting compounds of halogen are straight affected by UV-B and clime alteration. Halomethane emanations attributed to climate alteration react with UV-B and accordingly modulate ozone handiness in the ambiance. Climate alteration induced addition in temperature stimulates the release of methyl bromide and methyl iodide from certain species of workss under the influence of UV radiation. Besides, clime alteration consequence in the change of the planetary hydrological rhythm by increasing the rate of precipitation and eutrophication of organic C into rivers and watercourses from land. Mineralisation of this organic stuff takes topographic point under the influence of UV to foster release C into the ambiance and contribute to planetary heating. In add-on, planetary heating caused by human-induced addition in Nitrogen oxide ( NO ) , Carbon monoxide ( CO ) , and Methane ( CH4 ) from shrub fires increases the rate of production of ozone in the troposphere. As such planetary heating may increase the sum of aerosols nowadays in the ambiance which later affects the rate of ozone photolysis by about 6-11 % . Other natural factors lending to climate alteration such as volcanic eruption and fluctuation in sun-spot activity affect ozone bed depletion. Because ozone depletion in the stratosphere is formed under the influence of solar energy, any addition in the sum of radiation coming from the Sun will increase the sum of ozone in the ambiance. Variation in the 11-year Sun topographic point activity indicate an ascertained addition and lessening in ozone concentration with matching maximal and minimal solar rhythms severally. Furthermore, The Brewer-Dobson circulation is responsible for the conveyance of sulphur gases from volcanic eruptions into the stratosphere. The go uping subdivision of this circulation conveyance gas from the Torrid Zones upwards while the falling subdivision return the gases back to the troposphere in the high latitudes. Volcanic eruptions besides release sulphate gases into the ambiance. These gases significantly cut down the rate of extension of incident radiation from the Sun and diminish the production of ozone. Other natural factors such as the release of methyl bromide into the ambiance from rice cultivation deplete the ozone and therefore increase the incursion of UV radiation. There is a strong relationship between UV radiation, C and N cycling which has a important clime alteration deductions. Increase in UV can impact the N rhythm through alterations in the rate of organic affair decomposition of N incorporating compounds through nitrogen arrested development. Nitrogen compounds such as ammonium hydroxide and nitrate are continuously cycled within the biosphere in series of complex procedures. Dissolved organic Nitrogen ( DON ) reacts with UV radiation to interrupt it down into more soluble ammonium compound through the procedure of photoammonification. All these procedures determine rates of C consumption and decomposition in the planetary C rhythm. Report from the World Meteorological Organisation ( WMO 2003 ) indicate feedback mechanisms from increasing H2O vapor into the ambiance, which increases the handiness of odd-hydrogen extremist that leads to ozone depletion by upseting N and Cl rhythms. Within the marine ecosystem, hydrolysis of Br and I takes topographic point by photolysis reaction in the ocean to bring forth ozone consuming substances. Marine phytoplanktons like algae found in tropical Waterss emit halogen compounds into the troposphere. Besides, the interaction between UV-B radiation and the sulphur rhythm contribute to climate alteration. Pollutants such as dimethyl sulfide ( DMS ) and carbonyl sulfide ( COS ) are emitted as aerosols that have chilling consequence on the ambiance. Climate alteration can besides impact the extension of planetal moving ridges into the ambiance ( Rhind et al.,2005a ; 2005b ; Scott and Polvani, 2004: Scott et al. , 2004 ) . Climate theoretical accounts suggest a important impact of clime alteration on troposphere-stratosphere interaction. Surveies by Rhind et Al. ( 2001 ) estimated in approximately 30 % in this interaction resulted from duplicating of C dioxide sum in the ambiance. Appraisal by Scaife ( 2001 ) shows a decadal addition of approximately 3 % as a effect of clime alteration. All these interactions have profound consequence on the conveyance of ozone depleting substances into the stratosphere every bit good as their remotion from the stratosphere back to the Earth surface. In order to minimise or extinguish the impacts of ozone bed depletion, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed in 1987, and so came into force in 1989. Under this understanding, assorted states that signed up the pact pledged to cut down the production and ingestion of harmful halogen gases.This decrease mark begins with the decelerating down the production and so their eventual stage out through the usage of replacement gases. The usage of ozone friendly Hydrochloroflourocarbons ( HCFCs ) was adopted to replace the usage of CFC-12 in the industry of refrigerants and froth devising agents. The Montreal Protocol has successfully achieved a decrease in the concentration of Cl in the planetary ambiance in the late twentieth century. Another of import accomplishment is the decrease in the production of methyl trichloromethane and Chlorofluorocarbons to a close zero degree at the planetary graduated table. Towards the terminal of this century, substances such as methyl chloride and methyl bromide are expected to be eliminated from the ambiance due to the projected stabilization and subsequent decrease in their production. Complete recovery of the ozone to pre 1980 degree is expected under rigorous conformity to the Montreal Protocol by the center of this century, with slower recovery rate predicted by computing machine theoretical accounts around the â€Å" Antarctic ozone hole † . In decision, human induced clime alteration and ozone bed depletion are closely inter-related. With ozone depletion worsening the rate of planetary warming while clime alteration continues to consume the ozone. Therefore necessary steps must be taken under the Montreal and Kyoto Protocol commissariats to cut down the emanation of ODS and other green house gases in order to salvage the planet from effects of farther warming effects on human wellness and the environment.

Relativism and Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Relativism and Philosophy - Essay Example Relativism has a lot of weaknesses among them being that in this theory, only man is the measure of all things. This poses a threat to the truths that are proved scientifically because they are likely not be accepted by relativists. Also here, everything is relative and there is no difference between knowledge and opinion. Relativism may not be good because opinions that are not true will still be accepted and considered right by individuals and cultures. Many people are lost because of believing in relativism. It takes away any reason one might have for considering the opinions and arguments of others in forming ones belief. It undercuts any reason anyone might have for being critical about their own beliefs. An individual does not have the opportunity of gauging the level of truth in his or her belief and therefore ends up believing every single detail about the belief.   Ã‚  Philosophy is the free and rational inquiry into the limits of human knowledge and into the most general categories applicable to experience and reality. It involves investigating human experience, reality, knowledge and existence. It seeks to build theories and explanations by asking questions and challenging any assumptions made. The study of philosophy provides important skills to individuals such as problem solving, critical thinking, logic and being able to think differently and independently. Philosophy brings about self- improvement in the life of an individual and makes one to view things in a different manner.

Scripts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Scripts - Essay Example This unspoken knowledge is about the customer experience more than what he did. For example, when a customer gets served in a restaurant, his serving and his experience at the restaurant both count. Therefore, to model customer scripts in an efficient manner, the service providers usually have to design simulations to proceed. One helpful tool in this regard is the mental models that define how and to what extent a course of events are related to a specific service facility. The next step is to make a distinction between the real and probable consumers by looking at the differences between the scripts, and to make related service solutions. Effectively consistent services are then designed for every type of customer that he is also able to understand easily through scripts. This way, we can say that scripts are very advantageous when they are used to design tremendously standardized services (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons). Once the service providers take hold of the customer script, t hey get facilitated in designing the service process enabling the customers to effortlessly steer through that service process along with giving them the idea how they can be a part of the service production. However, the designers need to create such a service design that easily incorporates the differences in customer scripts.

American System of Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

American System of Education - Research Paper Example From the discussion it is clear that it is always good to study or learn about a country’s system of education before enrolling in any school. This will help in understanding how the system works and hence help the student during their period in school. Once a student has enrolled he or she can be able to study the units they are interested in so as to enhance their career choice. The American system of education has been admired even by the international students and therefore this topic will help in understanding how the system works. It is also important to know the schools or colleges that one can afford to pay for the tuition fee. This topic entails how the levels of education flow and when and how to enroll in any school.This essay declares that  the education system in the US want to make sure that every child is well educated. Every educator feels the need to improve the system though it has received a lot of challenges. Some subcultures do not see the value for educ ation and that some children are given wrong messages at home that school is not important. Some of the values for schooling need to be instilled from the homes.   Some schools provide for transport although it may be for certain ages or schools. At the primary and secondary levels school is mandatory. Again first grade is compulsory. President Obama has felt the need for the federal government to pay the tuition for students in community colleges.

How you have experienced social change in Qatar over the last 5 years Essay

How you have experienced social change in Qatar over the last 5 years or so - Essay Example The above changes are largely because Qatar has been hosting numerous sporting events. Mubarak Al Mana, who is the head of the country’s women’s sport committee, has played an important role in supporting women’s involvement in sports. Apart from the increase in the number of women participating in the country’s labor force, most of them tend to focus in certain occupations, particularly teaching and clerical jobs. As the Qatar society started the complex process of implementing social change decade ago, the imbalanced status of women became prominent. It also became a difficult obstacle. Nevertheless, the country has taken vital recognizable steps in the past five years to ensure that women have similar privileges as men. For instance, women have the privilege to vote and contend for any political position during their parliamentary elections (Great Britain, 2004). In 2010, Sheikha Maha Mansour was appointed as the first woman judge in the country. This greatly indicated how Qatar was experiencing a speedy social change. The situation also created an important example to other women who are currently studying different courses previously meant for men. Another recognizable social change is the organization of the family laws. Formerly, resolutions of family problems were dependent on the judge’s understanding of Islamic law. However, this has changed since 2003 when women were given th e privilege to participate in public life and business. In addition, they also have the privilege to travel alone because laws requiring a guardian’s authority for a woman to be given a passport were withdrawn during this

Economic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economic - Assignment Example As the name suggests, a highly competitive market is possible in the presence of a large number of buyers. Due to the presence of a large number of players, none of them has a clear control or controlling stake either on the market or on the price (Malcolm C. Sawyer, 1985). However, the competitive market operates on the basis of a number of key influential factors, which will be used to explain the case of the store under analysis. A highly competitive market means that each of the suppliers holds an insignificant share in the market, which means that the firm is small in comparison to the size of the overall market that comprises all the suppliers in the sector. As such, the influence of a single supplier on the market price is negligible and the quantity that each produces depends directly on the level of demand from consumers. The price that the firm sets therefore depends on this demand, due to which a supplier will be known as a ‘price taker’. Another factor that makes the market highly competitive arises from the identical nature and quality of the products manufactured by every supplier, which leaves the customer with very little choice to choose between the individual suppliers and brands. Thus, a high substitution of products is another major factor that contributes to the lack of governance on the price (Pass, Bryan Lowes, 1994). The consumer is well informed on the prevailing prices in the market and the producers cannot modify the price above the market price as the higher price combine with the availability of identical products from other suppliers for cheaper prices will encourage the customer to consider other providers thereby bringing the substitution effect once again into play. Suppliers have equal opportunities in terms of access to resources and labor in addition to technological improvements. Thus, improvement in production capabilities by one firm can have a spillover effect on the other competitors and require them to make similar

U.S. Sugar Policy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

U.S. Sugar Policy - Research Paper Example This is due to subsidies, quotas, tariffs, and regulations. Through these measures, the U.S has been able to satisfy the demand of sugar for its domestic market, but the cost of this luxury is significant. The price of sugar has been always higher for American consumers, and due to the subsidies provided to American farmers, most if its sugar is yielded by inefficient methods of producing sugar. Human beings have cultivated and consumed sugar cane for more than a millennium, which means it has developed a crucial role in the economies of countries all over the world. Especially with increases in globalization, the role of sugar as an import and an export is growing. As such, sugarcane economics is necessary for a detailed analysis of the world economy that is becoming indispensable to sophisticated understandings of globalization. This paper will accomplish two goals: first, to define the players in the global sugarcane trade and their relationship to one another in the 21st century economic environment, and second, to discuss the alignment of United States sugar policy with its ideological and normative commitments to capitalism and free trade. In order to accomplish these two goals, one must conduct first a descriptive, or positive, economic analysis of what is actually occurring in the world at the current time, in addition to a normative, or values-based, analysis of th at descriptive data. In doing so, one can make confident predictions and firm recommendations for policy changes with respect to the major contributors in the sugarcane trade. A discussion of a worldwide market in the 21st century necessarily must approach the topic of globalization, which refers to the tendency of ideologies, businesses, and technologies to spread throughout the world. This produces what is termed as â€Å"globality†, or the completely interconnected marketplace that transcends the

Wings of Desire Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wings of Desire - Movie Review Example The movie opens in a gloomy city of Berlin, a city which at this time was recovering from the 1945 bombing and various years of neglect. The angels are then revealed to the viewers. Dressed in black garments, the two, Damiel and Cassiel, have melancholic and benevolent expressions from their faces. Their role is to watch over the city of Berlin and ensure that its inhabitants are safe. We learn that these two are invisible to the inhabitants, but children and other angels are able to see them. Damiel and Cassiel seem to the audience as caretakers of people’s memory. We see them taking down notes and listening to the thoughts of the people. They also travel around the city watching the inhabitants’ actions and extensively studying them. Most of their days are spent serenely whereby they only observe people, but, are not able to interact with them. They are emotionless in that, they are unable to experience joy or pain. This sums up the life of an angel in Berlin. On a normal day, we see Damiel meeting an artist Marion. Damiel gets enchanted and smitten by her beauty. The company that Marion works for reveals that it is out of money, hence, they must be forced to disband. This really upsets Marion. As Damiel watches her, he starts developing human feelings and he makes a decision; that he wants to start living as a human. Damiel is really moved by what marion is going through, hence, decides to be part of her life, share in her pain, and console her in times of distress. As this happens, Cassiel assumes an otherwise opposite trait; he walks around unsmiling and unmoved by events of humans. Perhaps, Cassiel was disturbed by his friend’s continued fondness of the human beings. From this, we learn of the extreme juxtaposition between these two major characters of the movie. While Damiel is enthusiastic, honest and exploitative, Cassiel is dry and wary, and devoid of passion. He is not attracted at all to the human side unlike his friend wh o aspires to lead a human life; however the viewer can begin to note his frustration with the life that he is leading (Willcock 76). The movie depicts the exact nature of human beings in the contemporary life. Angels in the movie keep witnessing human emotions and with time, they become enchanted by it. They start experiencing the sweetness of simple pleasures like a cup of tea and a cigarette stick. From the viewpoint of the angels, the city of Berlin is seen in a tinge of white and black, which is beautiful, yet unreal. Later, when these angels join humans, the color shifts from black and white into a natural looking color and into a harsher rhythm. Through these changes, we see the movie having enigmatic, wistful, somber, dreamlike and meditative tones. Later, Damiel falls from grace by dropping into the world, and we see him roaming about the berlin streets looking for his love Marion. As Damiel does this, his friend Cassiel remains in his black and white world of angels and sti lls retains his sulking mood. Later, unable to hold it longer, Cassiel also becomes human and drops to the Berlin world. Cassiel later meets Marion and Damiel at a concert in Nick Cave. They clown around and the

Hezbollah Essay Example for Free

Hezbollah Essay Hezbollah, Arabic for â€Å"Party of God†, is also known as Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine, the Organization of the Oppressed on Earth and as the Revolutionary Justice Organization (Global Security, p. 1). Hezbollah (also Hizbullah and Hizballah) is a Lebanese social, political and paramilitary organization founded in 1982. Hezbollah’s historical and political background was the Israeli Defense Force’s presence in Lebanon (1982-2000), the Lebanese Civil War (1979-1990) and the plight of Arab Palestinians, many of whom had fled to Lebanon, where their presence â€Å"changed the historical balance between Muslims and Christians† (Bennett, 2005, p. 214). In the war, Lebanon’s various religious communities vied for power and Hezbollah was established as by Shi’a to strengthen their traditionally weak political position, with help from Iran and Syria. Committed to making Lebanon an Islamic state, to the liberation of Israeli occupied territory (which it claims means dismantling the Israeli state) Hezbollah was named a terrorist organization by the USA in 1994. One scholar describes the organization, which has seats in Parliament and in the Cabinet, runs a large social welfare program, as â€Å"a moderate, mainstream political party† (Harik, 2007, p. xiv). Harik says that Hezbollah â€Å"is considered a legitimate resistance force all over the Arab and Muslim worlds† (p. 7).   Azani discusses Hezbollah as a â€Å"social protest movement† (2009, p. 1). This raises the question whether the US is correct to label Hezbollah a â€Å"terror organization† and why it does so?   Harik says that no one has ever proved that Hezbollah has ever attacked a civilian (p. xiv) or that it was responsible for attacks on US personnel (p. 193). In responding to these questions, what follows examines the history of the organizations, its aims, programs and activities and why the US regards it as a terrorist organization. The Shi’a in Lebanon Modern Lebanon was created after World War I, when the Great Powers defeated the Ottoman Empire and divided the Middle East among themselves as League of Nations mandates. These newly created states were to be given independence when they were considered ready for self-determination. The Lebanon became a French mandate. Lebanon was religiously diverse, with Christians in a small majority, followed by Sunni Muslims, followed by the Shi’a. Under four centuries of Ottoman rule, the Shi’a were suspected being Iran’s fifth column. Consequently, the community was â€Å"impoverished and underdeveloped† (Norton, 2009, p. 12). Under the French, an attempt was made to share power between the main communities. The Marionite were given the Presidency, the Sunni the office of Prime Minister, which left the Shi’a with the Speakership, a â€Å"position with far weaker constitutional powers† (Norton, p. 12). This was based on the 1932 census, which, says Norton, was â€Å"the last official census ever conducted in Lebanon† (p. 12). This arrangement continued after independence in 1943. The Shi’a community in Beirut was very small; most lived in the south and in the Beqaa valley. Azani says that the â€Å"political awakening† of the Shi’a began in the 1960s and 1970s, led by Imam Musa al-Sadr, â€Å"a Shiite cleric with the characteristics of a religious and political leader.† Born in Iran to a Lebanse family he studied at the great centers of Shi’a learning (p. 48). From 1959, al-Sadr was Mufti of Tyre and â€Å"in less than two decades he succeeded, with strenuous activity, charisma and high rhetorical ability, in organizing the Shi’a community, characterized for hundreds of years by passivity and isolationalism, and in mobilizing it into collective activity for the realization of social and political goals† (pp. 48-49). The influx of Palestinian refugees into South Lebanon upset the traditional power of the Shi’a elite in the region. The increasing politicization of Shi’a leaders in Iran impacted their role in Lebanon. From the 1970s, the number and influence of clerics increased, with al-Sadr and the future founder of Hezbollah, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, leading a movement that wanted to bring about an Islamic revolution in Lebanon, following the Iranian revolution of 1979. The Lebanese Civil War and the founding of Hezbollah On the one hand, the Shi’a in Lebanon were finding their political voice, encouraged by co-religionists in Iran. On the other hand, the security situation in Lebanon was deteriorating. The tradition of good relations between communities was breaking down with Christians being depicted as pro-Israeli, while Muslims were aligned with the Palestinian cause. April 13, 1973 a Christian paramilitary group ambushed a Palestinian bus in retaliation for the killing of a Christian earlier that day (Bennett, 2005, pp. 213-5). Fighting began between different communities, Sunni, Christian, Druze and Shi’a. In 1976, unable to stop the fighting the President asked the Syrians and other Arab leaders to â€Å"end the war.† Bennett remarks that as a result of the civil war, the word â€Å"Shia† entered the Western vocabulary (p. 215). The revolution in Iran would reinforce the word’s presence in the media. It was in the context of the civil war that Hezbollah was founded. The Palestinian Liberation Army was raiding Israel from across the border. Al-Sdar mysteriously disappeared in August 1978 (Norton, 2009, p. 29). This led to Israel invading Lebanon in June 1982, and to Hezbollah’s formation. From the start, committed to liberating Palestine, Hezbollah also raided across the border. However, its immediate aim was to end Israel’s presence in Lebanon. Between spring 1983 and the summer of 1985, Hezbollah â€Å"launched an unprecedented wave of suicide bombings which included an attack on the US Embassy and US Marine branches in Beirut in October 1983 and the US Embassy annex in Beirut in September, 1984† followed by the taking of Western hostages, according to Global Security (p. 1). Hezbullah’s Aims and Structure The organization’s Consultative Council has 12 senior scholars at its head and a Directing Council under its Secretary-General.. The organization’s charter sets out three objectives: 1. to expel the Americans, the French and their allies definitely from Lebanon, putting an end to any colonial entity. 2. to submit the Phalanges [Christian militia] to a just power and bring them all to justice for the crimes they have committed against Muslims and Christians. 3. to permit all the sons of [Lebanese] people to determine their future and to choose in all liberty the form of government they desire. [Hezbollah] call[s] upon them all to pick the option of an Islamic government, which alone is capable of guaranteeing justice and liberty for all. Only an Islamic regime can stop any further attempts at imperialist infiltration (Richardson, 2006, pp. 83-4). Hezbollah and Israel From 1978, a UN force was deployed in Lebanon to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces under Security Council Resolution 425. However, it was not until 2000 that Israeli troops were completely withdrawn. Until then, Hezbollah carried out attacks on Israelis targets. After the withdrawal, Israeli continued to launch missile strikes and raids into Lebanon and Hezbullah â€Å"in retaliation, launched rocket attacks in Northern Israel on an almost regular basis† (Bajpai, 2006, p. 594). According to Global Security, Hezbollah â€Å"operates against Israel in four main way†: 1. brimging terrorists and collaborators through the border crossings usinf foreign documents. 2. setting up a terrorist organization inside Israel and Judea, Samaria and the Gaza strip. 3. cross-border operations – smuggling weapons and terrorists 4. financial support for Palestinian organixzations and groups. Others do not use the word â€Å"terrorist† but represent Hezbullah’s activities as legitimate resistance to Israel, which has defied UN Resolutions to withdraw from all occupied territory. Bajpai writes, â€Å"even after its formal withdrawal from Southern Lebanon in 2000, Israel engaged in frequent military incursions† (p. 594). In 2004, the UN called for the disbanding and disarming of all Lebanese militia (Resolution 1559). However, in the elections of 2005, Hizbollah won 14 seats (out of 128), and was awarded 2 cabinet posts. By 2008, Hizbollah had eleven out of thirty cabinet seats (Council on Foreign Relations, p. 1). In the 2009 election, it lost a seat but still received 10 seats in the 30 members Cabinet. Hartik says that Christians have supported Hezbollah, which makes it harder for â€Å"its enemies to float the fundamentalist stereotype of a raging gang of religious fanatics whose main aim was to put enemies of the faith to the sword† (p. 79). Other Christians are outspoken in criticizing Hezbollah as the stooge of Syria and Iran and as setting itself up as a state within the state (Azani, p. 231). As well as carrying out military or terrorist action, depending on the commentator’s perspective, it spends millions on welfare and education work, funded by Iran. In 2006, Hezbollah’s operatives crossed the Israeli border and captured two IDF soldiers. This came a month after Palestinian operatives had captured an Israeli soldier (Global Security, p. 1). In response, a 34-day war followed during which Israel launched air strikes, killing â€Å"56 citizens including 37 children† (Bajpai, 594). As a result of this war and Hezbollah’s resistance, its popularity within the Muslim world increased. The war ended with a UN brokered cease-fire and another Resolution calling for the disarming of all militia. Hezbullah did succeed in preventing a full-scale invasion. The Global Security report on Hezbollah states that in addition to funding from Iran and help from Syria, the organizatuon engaged in fund-raising around the world (p. 2). The report makes no mention of its extensive social program but the Council on Foreign Relations however describes it as a â€Å"major provider of social services† (Council on Foreign Relations, p 1.) Acts Attributed to Hezbullah In addition to the acts mentioned above, according to CFR, Hezbollah lists the 1985 hijacking of TWA flight 847 and the attacks in Argentine on the Israeli Embassy (1992) and on a Jewish community center (1994). Azani refers to links with other organizations across the globe. He lists an attempt to destroy US ships in Singapore in 1995 and arrests of members in 1997 for planning an attack in a US Embassy. The 9/11 Report said that Al-Qaeda operatives train at Hezbollah camps (p. 203). He refers to other arrests made in 1999 and in 2001 when plans to attack targets in South and North America were foiled.   He says that the global network is spread across forty countries and every continent, including Europe where activists have also been arrested. In Germany, two charities funding the organization were shut down (p. 205).   However, Hartik points out that while Western attention focuses on its â€Å"guerilla activities† in the Lebanon it is social welfare activities that attract support, making it in her view a â€Å"mainstream† organization. It has achieved more in this field, she says, than any other party (p. 81). On the other hand, it has refused to disarm. After 2001 and the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in NY, the US has repeatedly asked Lebanon to shut Hezbollah down and to close bank accounts. Lebanon has refused to do this, claiming that Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization, which Syria also denies. Syria is one of four countries considered â€Å"state sponsors of terror† by the US State Department. In April 2010, reports began circulating that Syria had given SCUD missiles to Hezbollah. Syria denies this.

Product Offering Essay Example for Free

Product Offering Essay BMW, the Ultimate Driving Machine, is developed from an independent company. This company was able to focus on turning great ideas into great cars. The company exhibits one of the most recognizable logos in the world, the blue and white BMW insignia which is known as the Roundel. This emblem depicts motion as it portrays the movement of an airplane propeller against a clear blue Bavarian sky. One of the most visible BMW design elements is the twin-kidney grill, introduced in 1933, the distinctive shape of the kidneys first emerged from an effort to reduce aerodynamic drag. BMW is manufactured in the Leipzig Plant in Germany, which has been called one of the ten most important buildings of the 21st century. The building was designed by the renowned architect Zaha Hadid. The BMW company has remained relatively small and very independent for over 90 years. Market needs The BMW Company indicated that it is not enough to build great cars, but also to strive to create lasting relationships. The BMW ownership experience is said to be a partnership with the drivers, this experience continues to drive the market for these vehicles. The experience also shows the excellence in performance and how committed the company is to the vehicles that bear their name. The BMW Performance Driving School was built to create better drivers and to attract customers. They build these facilities because of their need to remain competitive in the market, with the idea of fine tuning their vehicles. The need for BMW motor vehicles continue to grow because of their performance as compared to vehicles in the same class. Customers are seeking quality craftsmanship, well thought out design, and excellent customer service so as to build a loyal customer base. Market  growth With the present economy, where unemployment rate is at an alarming 9.5%, and the prices of motor vehicles going down due to competition by so many vehicle manufacturers, the BMW market has had slight growth throughout the world. Consumers are discovering the fun of driving a BMW. SWOT analysis BMW Motor Company is independent; therefore, they can do things differently in terms of developing their vehicles. They do not have to cut corners or costs to satisfy a parent company. This is one of the reasons for their strength in the market. BMW has an important racing heritage. All BMW vehicles feature near perfect front/rear weight distribution. This balance in the product is for high performance handling. BMW continues to gain more opportunities both locally and abroad, because of their attention to details and their innovative efforts. BMW weaknesses lies with cost of the vehicles, most of their vehicles are above the $30,000 mark, which is not affordable by the average consumer. BMW is a motor vehicle company, and like other motor vehicle manufacturing company, is under threat. Other companies have manufactured and produce great automobiles which are competitive and comparable to the BMW. Companies such as Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motor Corporation, Daimler Chrysler AG, Volkswagen AG, Nissan Motor Corporation, Ltd., and Honda Motor Corporation have also produced top of the line motor vehicles with competitive prices and therefore, pose a threat to the BMW. The slump in the economy is also a threat to BMW, since less people will be able to afford the vehicles. Competition Since BMW is an independent motor company, it has relatively few major competitors, however, as an automobile company it still has a stiff competition. With today’s economy, consumers are not able to afford higher priced vehicles made by BMW, and are buying more affordable domestic and international cars. Companies like Toyota, Hyundai, or Ford may have more customers, but BMW is not for the average customer. In fact, most of these companies advertise and run promotions so much, that it can devalue the product offering in buyers’ minds, which is why BMW carefully promotes its products. The type of consumer that typically buys a BMW will not buy  lower-end cars, but will consider other cars made in Germany, like Porsche, Audi and Mercedes, which are the closest competitors for BMW. Mercedes focuses more on luxury, whereas Porsche is more of a sports-car line. This is why BMW has created the Ultimate Driving Machine, since it can offer what all of these other German aut omobile companies offer, at a reasonable price when compared to them respectively. Product Offering/ Product Definition BMW is an international automotive company that designs middle and high-end cars for consumers. The main product lines offered by BMW are the 3 series, 5 series, 7 series, and M series. The 3 series car is a smaller, faster car, whereas the 5 and 7 series are the higher end luxury sports car. The M series is the ultimate sports car with handling like that of a Porsche. The reason BMW makes these higher priced, higher end sports cars, is because this is what the consumer wants. When offering products, companies like BMW â€Å"make sure that the quality of the product offerings is in fact the quality that consumers really want†(Kotler, 2006). BMW’s product offerings give the company its product definition, which allows the company to stand apart from other companies. If a consumer wants a regular car that gets them from point a, to point b, they buy a Honda Civic. However, if a consumer wants a car that gets them to and from the same place, but with an extra kick of sport and luxury, they buy a BMW. Product Identification Product recognition, preference, and insistence are the goal of product identification. This can be achieved through the creation of logos, symbols, slogans, colors, and brand names. The BMW brand carries a rich history of quality engines, brakes, aircrafts, and automobiles. Land, air and seagoing vehicles, automobiles, bicycles, accessories for automobiles and bicycles, vehicle components, stationary engines for solid, liquid and gaseous fuels and their components and accessories(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_BMW). The brand is symbolic due to its early 1900’s association with World War I /II development of aircraft engines and flight schools. During the 1920’s BMW began manufacturing motorcycles and re-designed the original logo. The new logo incorporated portions of the original logo to maintain recognition with existing consumers as well as build value around the automobile side of the  business. †The inner area of the Rapp logo was decorated with the head of a black horse – Rappe in German. By analogy with this, the blue and white panels of the Bavarian national flag were placed at the center of the BMW logo. Not until the late 1920s was the logo lent a new interpretation as representing a rotating propeller. The BMW Trademark, called a roundel, was submitted for registration on the rolls of the Imperial Patent Office, and registered there with no. 221388 on December 10, 1917†( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_BMW). BMW has achieved its strong product recognition through effective international marketing of quality, value, prestige, and class. The company has done an excellent job maintaining brand value, while working to target several variations of segmented consumers. BMW has established preference and insistence through effective marketing of high quality, service guarantee, and luxury. Product Justification The BMW product earns justification through its ability to meet market needs and wants. BMW meets consumer demand from a want perspective. Consumer’s long for the experience to own, lease, or drive a luxury BMW machine. The BMW product serves a need from a service guarantee perspective. â€Å"We design extraordinary cars. It only seems right to offer a service plan to match. No other premium automaker provides such comprehensive benefits for absolutely no cost. So while other car owners will incur from several hundred to over one thousand dollars of maintenance or repair costs during the first 4 years they own their vehicles, you pay nothing for the first 4 years or 50,000 miles†(bmwusa.com). Conclusion BMW is the ultimate driving machine, and as the company offers additional products, consumers are willing to pay a little bit extra for the quality that BMW can provide. The competition is fierce, and the economy is always fluctuating, but BMW has always created the greatest products, backed up by German precision engineering. References (2009). BMW Ultimate Service. BMWUSA.COM. Retrieved on July 12, 2009 from http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Owner/BMWUltimateService/Default.aspx (2008). History of BMW. Wikipedia.Org. Retrieved on July 12, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_BMW Kotler Keller. (2007). A Framework for Marketing Management (3rd Ed.). New Jersey: Pearson – Prentice Hall.

Transmission Of A Tv Signal English Language Essay

Transmission Of A Tv Signal English Language Essay In electronics, many different types of carrier signals exists and due to the fact that this signals simply carry data intended for a different audience, which most of the times, are farther than the area of production of such signals. This gave rise to various modulation techniques to ensure effective transfer of these signals bearing information without loss of quality or degradation. This paper deals on how to modulate a Television (TV) signal using 16-QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) Keywords include: 16-QAM, TV Signals, Amplitude Modulation, Data, and Attenuation, baseband. 1.0 Introduction Everyday different types of signals transverse the air around us, most of which we cant feel or see, but we see their impact or influence everyday through different electronic gadgets we have or own personally. Most of these electronic gadgets are able to work as a result of them being able to receive a signal and they able to correctly interpret that signal and we in turn appreciate the devices. For the devices to correctly interpret these signals a kind of technique was used and this is known as Demodulation, this being that the devices are designed to receive this type of signals. The processes that led to being able to demodulate is what my focus is on; the process is known as modulation. Why modulation? This is due to the fact that not all intended users of a particular device or service reside close to the production station and also production signals called baseband signals cant travel much and would need a lot of power to transmit them over the air medium and this adds to the operating cost of the station and this is not acceptable. 2.0 Transmission medium for TV signal As with any kind of signal, the most important of that signal is to be received and decoded correctly, so that information encoded can be seen or viewed. The medium of passage of such signals is of consequence, because these helps to know the appropriate modulation to use and what, this information is tied to the channel coding, the advantages of the channel and the noise rate of that channel in consideration. For example, the transmission medium for sound received by the ears is usually air, sound can also travel through solids, liquids and plasma Electromagnetic waves have no need of any material substance for it to propagate but can be affected by the transmission media they pass through at the boundary between the media by absorption, reflection or refraction. Therefore, TV signals are like communicating data sent from one location to another which requires a pathway or medium. These pathways, called communication channels; two types of preferred media are: (a) Cable (twisted-pair wire, cable, and fibre-optic cable) and (b) broadcast (microwave, satellite, radio, and infrared). {Note:- Cable media use physical wires of cables to transmit data and information, while Twisted-pair wire and coaxial cables are made of copper, and fibre-optic cable is made of glass.} 2.1 BASEBAND SIGNAL The definition of a baseband signal is a signal that contains information, which may vary from audio signals, video signals, speech signal, image signal and many different other types depending on application and use. These signals cant move more than a few metres after production; for example, a speech signal; two persons can hear themselves clearly in close proximity to each other, as the distance between them increase, they start hearing faint messages or signals from each other and at a point, they cant hear each other again. Therefore for them to be heard no matter the distance between them there is need to modulate the speech signal generated by each person, so that each person can hear what the other person has said or is saying. A signal can be said to be an analogue data stream with which it varies with respect to space and time; with this property, each signal can be sampled, quantized, and transformed into digital data streams or packets. These processes it goes from being analogue to digital data streams or packet is called modulation. There are different modulation techniques used to carry different signals depending on the transmission medium and the condition inherent in that medium. 2.2 Modulation What is modulation? According to Margaret Rouse, modulation is the combination of signal to an electronic signal carrier, modulation is useful in direct current by turning it on and off to alternating current. Literally, modulation can be said to be a way of quicken the transfer of data or information through a medium. Transmission of sound through air has restricted degree of power generated by the lungs, to give the extent at which the voice can reach there is need to transmit it through a medium such as phone line, radio etc. therefore, the successful conversion of information in this case voice, to pass through a medium such as wire or radio waves is known as Modulation (www.complextoreal.com ). 2.3 TYPES OF MODULATION Modulation helps in many ways and it can be referred to as the process of transposing a signal wave onto a carrier wave in order to carry information. There are 3 three key properties of this carrier wave, which is a sinusoid wave with an amplitude, a phase and a frequency, these properties can be exploited to generate another kind of waveform to carry the intended information which is known referred to as a modulated signal. (www.encyclopediapro.com/mw/modulation) In most part of the world, frequency spectrum is expensive to waste and often its a national property, which means, to use it, the intending user has to be licensed and must follow a protocol process to have that frequency band assigned to him solely and given the channels parameters he can use. This is because, there are many different users competing for the same frequency band, due to the fact that the lower the frequency given, the lower the operating cost of using that frequency band. There are 2 broad class of modulation; they are the analogue modulation and the digital modulation. In analogue modulation, there is a continuous change in response to the signal to be modulated; this can be seen in Phase Modulation, Frequency Modulation, Amplitude Modulation, Single-Sideband Modulation, and Vestigial-sideband Modulation. In digital Modulation, there are changes in the signal position with respect to a starting position, while each position corresponds to a piece of information or symbol and can be represented on a constellation diagram. Examples include: Phase-Shift Key (PSK), Frequency-shift Key (FSK), Amplitude-shift Key (ASK), Minimum-shift Key (MSK), Gaussian minimum-shift Key (GMSK), Very minimum-shift Key (VMSK), Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), this a combination of PSK and ASK. Continuous phase modulation  (CPM) and Trellis coded modulation  (TCM). (www.encyclopediapro.com/mw/modulation) For each of these types of modulation techniques, their phases, frequencies and amplitude are assigned a unique sequence of bits which corresponds to an equal number of bits and make up a symbol that represent that particular phase or code. 3.0 QAM The modulation of interest for the purpose of his paper is the QAM, or Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, from research; it was noticed that QAM has both an analogue and digital modulation properties depending on how its to be applied. QAM is made up of two modulation scheme, namely the Amplitude-shift Keying which is achieved by modulating or changing the state of the amplitude of two carrier waves to carry two analogue message signal or two digital data streams. The other is the Phase-shift Keying, in which the sinusoidal waves are usually out of phase to each other and apart by 90o. When these two waveforms are combined, it results to Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (two different amplitudes two out of phase signals). QAM, this modulation technique is used to encode and transmit digital cable channels, while the simplest of the QAM techniques is the 16-QAM i.e. 24 phase points, this is able to carry 6MHz bandwidth regulated by the authoritys policy. The type of signal interested in is the signal generated from a video source, this type of signal consumes more than the set frequency of 6MHz, a typical video source signal is huge, so using 16- QAM techniques, it is possible to encode the signal onto the QAM carrier wave to carry it and pass through the 6MHz bandwidth limit and still be able to carry additional signals such as the voice signal component of the video signal. However there are different video formats such as the NTSC, PAL, MPEG; this video formats also help in reducing the size of video signal, hereby assisting the 16-QAM to effectively encode the signal without loss of quality and making it noise proof. Other variants of QAM includes 64, 256 phase variants, but as this phases size inc rease, so do they incorporate noise and mismatching often affect the performance of the receiver to be correctly tuned in to receive the sequence of bits sent over the medium. One of the uses of QAM is in the modulation of digital television systems, due to its high spectral efficiencies and the requirement of a cleaner path, and such hybrid fibre coaxial cables are used to deliver digital television signals to homes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM_tuner, 2012) In the United Kingdom, 2 variants of the QAM are being used, this are the 16 and 64 variants and they are used for digital terrestrial TV like Freeview by British Telecoms Top-Up TV, while for the 256-QAM, is being considered for the HD version of freeview which is delivered over high speed fibre optics links to homes across the country. Therefore, the makeup of QAM is shown via the figure below and the different modulation techniques it uses to modulate and encode its own signal and how it lead to the development of QAM. 3.0.1 Amplitude Shift Keying (Ask) According to N.Vlajic (2010), Ask is the modulation of digital data with changes in the amplitude of a carrier while both frequencies an d phase remain constant; carrier signal is varied by representing the binary with 0 and 1. Also in ASK, the mode of operation is to vary the amplitude of the carrier wave to carry a baseband signal, while the frequency and phase remain constant. Ask has two levels called binary bits of implementing its modulation process and it is often referred to as Binary Amplitude shift keying or on-off keying (B-ASK or OOK). Each binary bit corresponds to a symbol that represents an amplitude level. According to (Glover and Grant, 2004, chapter 11, page 391), they said that in B-ASK, the two digital levels can be one and zero, to represent the pulse of a sinusoidal carrier wave, although any one of the changing amplitude can be inferred to be one and the other zero and from this result, it describes why it also referred to as on-off keying sequence. This method of digital sequence of one and zero can be referred to a switch and was used to transmit Morse codes (Wikipedia) in the early 20th century. In recent times, additional amplitude levels has been developed for enhanced encoding schemes such as a 4 four level encoding scheme to take on two bits or 22with corresponding shift in amplitude, also there is an eight level scheme to represent 3 three bits or 23, and so on. This gives a reduced power required to transmit and hence advantageous to use. (Wikipedia-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplitude-shift_keying) A binary amplitude-shift keying (BASK) signal can be defined by S (t) = A m (t) cos 2pfct. For: (0 Implementation of ASK is relatively cheap and simple but its amplitude is usually affected by noise, distortion s and the propagation conditions on different route which makes the process more difficult. In ASK digital data is transmitted over an optical fiber. Figure 1. ASK signal representation. 3.0.2 Phase shift keying (PSK) Phase-shift keying (PSK) refers to a modulation scheme that is used to carry information by changing, or modulating, the phase of the carrier wave. PSK can still be defined as the modulation of digital data with amplitude at peak, frequency remain constant and phase with carrier signal varied to depict binary 0 or 1, with binary 0 = 180 degree phase and binary 1 = 0 degree.PSK is not sensitive to error and productively make use of bandwidth, so high data rate is possible but has more complex signal detection (N. Vlajic, 2010). This modulation scheme like the Amplitude shift Keying (or ASK) also uses a finite number of distinct signals to represent digital data. Each of the finite phases, is assigned a unique pattern of binary digits that forms a symbol. Phase shift keying comes in two forms, which are binary PSK (this uses two phases which are 180o apart) and Quadrature PSK (this uses four phases and the phases are 45o, -45o 135o and -135o). (Forouzan, 2013 pg 144) 3.0.2.1 Binary PSK In Binary PSK, it has only two signal element said suggested by Forouzan, 2013, pg 142; with each phase set at 0o and the other at 180o. The general form for BPSK follows this equation Sn (t). (wikipedia- H. Stern S. Mahmoud, Communications Systems, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004, p283) s_n(t) = sqrt{frac{2E_b}{T_b}} cos(2 pi f_c t + pi(1-n )), n = 0,1. This yields two phases, 0 and à Ã¢â€š ¬. In the specific form, binary data is often conveyed with the following signals: s_0(t) = sqrt{frac{2E_b}{T_b}} cos(2 pi f_c t + pi ) = sqrt{frac{2E_b}{T_b}} cos(2 pi f_c t)For binary 0 s_1(t) = sqrt{frac{2E_b}{T_b}} cos(2 pi f_c t) For binary 1 [where fc is frequency of the carrier-wave.] Also, the BER of a two signal BPSK in AWGN can be calculated as follows P_b = Qleft(sqrt{frac{2E_b}{N_0}}right) P_b = frac{1}{2} operatorname{erfc} left( sqrt{frac{E_b}{N_0}}right) 3.0.2.2 Quadrature PSK This sub part of psk is such that it uses two separate BPSK modulations to generate a QPSK modulation scheme; this is able to work due to each BPSK band as an in-phase carrier and the other out of phase carrier. The phases are different and the first point is located at 45o, then 135o, then -135o and lastly -45o, the amplitude stays constant at 2 ½. The bit stream is then split into two bit streams I (in-phase) and Q (Quadrature) .The bit stream in-phase (I) is called the even stream and quadrature(Q) is called Odd stream. (http://turboblogsite.com/quadrature-phase-shift-keying-qpsk-modulation.html) QPSK is used mostly to transfer digital data by varying the phases of the carrier signal, the 4 phase points tally with 4 points on a circle and can be so represented. The figure below shows the mapping of the 4 phase points. QPSK diagram showing how four different binary codes can be transmitted Fig: QPSK diagram showing how four different binary codes can be transmitted The list below gives some of the other commonly used forms of phase shift keying, PSK, they are O-QPSK Offset Quadrature Phase Shift Keying, 8 PSK 8 Point Phase Shift Keying, 16 PSK 16 Point Phase Shift Keying, QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, 16 QAM 16 Point Quadrature Amplitude Modulation and 64 QAM 64 Point Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/rf-technology-design/pm-phase-modulation/what-is-psk-phase-shift-keying-tutorial.php) Figure 2. PSK signal diagram representation 3.1 QAM bits per symbol The advantage of using QAM is that it is a higher order form of modulation and as a result it is able to carry more bits of information per symbol. By selecting a higher order format of QAM, the data rate of a link can be increased. (http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/rf-technology-design/pm-phase-modulation/8qam-16qam-32qam-64qam-128qam-256qam.php) The table below gives a summary of the bit rates of different forms of QAM and PSK. Modulation Bits per symbol Symbol Rate BPSK 1 1 x bit rate QPSK 2 1/2 bit rate 8PSK 3 1/3 bit rate 16QAM 4 1/4 bit rate 32QAM 5 1/5 bit rate 64QAM 6 1/6 bit rate 3.1.1 Quantized QAM using constellation diagram In QAM, the constellation diagram plots are usually arranged in square formation with different spacing and this spacing point represent binary bits per symbol, this spacing point is in the power of 2s. The more the bits per symbol, the more it is to transfer more information over a given channel or medium. But as the bits increase, the points move closer and make the system susceptible to noise corruption, and this gives rise to a high BER ratio, making useless the information sent due to its high noise component. There are different bit positions for the constellation diagram, this diagrams show the different position of each symbol and the states of QAM, and the constellation diagrams for BSPK, 16 QAM. 32 QAM, 64 QAM. Therefore, the figures below show various constellation diagrams: http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/rf-technology-design/pm-phase-modulation/modulation-constellation-bpsk.gif http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/rf-technology-design/pm-phase-modulation/modulation-constellation-16qam.gif http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/rf-technology-design/pm-phase-modulation/modulation-constellation-32qam.gif http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/rf-technology-design/pm-phase-modulation/modulation-constellation-64qam.gif 3.1.2 QAM applications QAM is in many radio communications and data delivery applications. However some specific variants of QAM are used in some specific applications and standards. For domestic broadcast applications for example, 64 QAM and 256 QAM are often used in digital cable television and cable modem applications. In the UK, 16 QAM and 64 QAM are currently used for digital terrestrial television using DVB Digital Video Broadcasting. In the US, 64 QAM and 256 QAM are the mandated modulation schemes for digital cable as standardised by the SCTE in the standard ANSI/SCTE 07 2000. In addition to this, variants of QAM are also used for many wireless and cellular technology applications. 4.0 Conclusion In this review, it is clearly shown that Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) and Phase Shift Keying (PSK) modulation techniques that form Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) ensures effective transfer of TV signals In QAM different combination of amplitude and phase are used to achieve higher digital data rate, the number of bit transmitted per time T (sec) interval can be further increased by increasing the number of levels used References Behrouz A. Forouzan , Data communications and Networking H. Stern S. Mahmoud, Communications Systems, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004, p283) http://engineering.mq.edu.au/~cl/files_pdf/elec321/lect_mask.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplitude-shift_keying (Accessed 06 December 2012) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM_tuner, 2012 (Accessed: 28 November 2012) http://turboblogsite.com/quadrature-phase-shift-keying-qpsk-modulation.html http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/rf-technology-design/pm-phase-modulation/8qam-16qam-32qam-64qam-128qam-256qam.php (Accessed 06 December 2012) http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/rf-technology-design/pm-phase-modulation/what-is-psk-phase-shift-keying-tutorial.php (Accessed 06 December 2012) Ian A. Glover and Peter M. Grant, Digital communications, second edition Intuitive Guide to Principle of Communication, www.complextoreal.com Margaret Rouse, July 2005 Merriam Webster N.Vlajic, Instructor, CSC 3213, fall 2010. Analog transmission of digital data (ASK, FSK, PSK, QAM) Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia (Accessed: 28 December 2012) www.encyclopediapro.com/mw/modulation (Accessed: 28 November 2012)

Style Mirrored in the theme of As I Lay Dying :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Style Mirrored in the theme of As I Lay Dying William Faulkner in his book As I Lay Dying communicates the central theme of Independence to show his style of writing; Point of view. In As I lay Dying the theme is independence; of the family, of each character. Each of the characters independence is devised of their isolation and their individuality. In each characters chapter its their points of view, either if they are reliable or not, he shows what they are and converts it through the characters words and then to us. There are three passages in sequential order which show true isolation through their points of view are; Cora, Addie, Whitfield. These three characters have conflicts relation to one another, but each of their chapters they inform us more, while the other characters are oblivious to what really happened. In the chapter of Cora (the wife of Tull, a religious woman in the area, who disapproves of Addie) she spends the finals hours of Addie’s life with her. There was a flashback to when they were having a conversation of religion, how Addie was judging rather then leaving it up to God. Addie was vain and proud of it, and she realized that Jewel was her favorite and most appreciative. That Jewel is her God â€Å"He is my cross and he will be my salvation.† Cora is independent to this family; she has nothing in common but their location. They Bundren family is not religious compared to Cora, Cora seems as a missionary trying to convert this family into believers. But even thought The Cora and the family don’t see eye-to-eye, she thinks that she needs to be there to explain religion.

Photovoltaic and passive solar design :: Essays Papers

Photovoltaic and passive solar design The sun is an infinite source of energy for our planet. In 1839 Edmund Becquerel, a French experimental physicist, discovered the photovoltaic effect while experimenting with an electrolytic cell made up of two metal electrodes. His Discovery was never taken to a commercial level until 1950 when silicon was used in semiconductors. In 1973 there was a oil crises in the U.S. and it created huge public awareness about the limited resource of fossil fuels, and led to the emerging market of solar photovoltaic technologies. This awareness was heightened even more by nuclear accidents like Three Mile Island in 1979. There are many different kinds of PV cells but all cells are made from silicon and have no moving parts. They convert light photons into moving electrons, which creates electricity. There are three major types of PV cells that have been developed in Germany, United Kingdom, and the United States. Using an experiment called integrated spectral response (ISR), it is possible to determine the efficiency of each cell. In a laboratory solar cells have proven to be up to 26% efficient. In the real world, however, the efficiency can vary. The light spectrum is what determines the solar cells to be used in a certain area. In order to decide which solar cell is best, the light used must be filtered by using IRS. The cell must also be hooked up to a spectrophotometer. A spectrophotometer measures the wavelength that is used by the solar cell. In an experiment done in Cairo, Egypt the procedure above was followed. The conclusion was that the monocrystalline cell from the United States was the most efficient cell. However, due to the price of this cell it would be better to use more polycrystalline cells made in Germany. Also determined by the experiment was the fact that humidity changes the efficiency of the cells. In a desert climate the US cell was the most effective. In the presence of moisture the German cell was the most efficient (Shaltout, etc). Photovoltaic cells are a great template for current solar panels. However, solar panels take 15 years to get back the energy it took to make them. This is not a very sustainable design. So it is not the only technology being developed.

Optimal Sexual and Reproductive Health and Happiness :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Like most wives, sometimes I drive my husband crazy. And even though he's a good sport about it, one of the most consistent ways in which I do so relates to one of my most pronounced idiosyncratic behaviors. For example, we will arrive appropriately early on a Saturday night at a theater to see a movie that will undoubtedly be sold out. And after picking the perfect seats, (one for him that gives him room to stretch out his long legs, and one that affords me the ability to have room to see around anyone who sits in from of me who will inevitably be much taller than I) and then I'll get up and move. What, you may be wondering, would cause me to behave this badly? Well, it is really a matter self-protection. It's because of all the people who have been socially conditioned to interfere with nature and act upon the belief that they must be disinfected, deodorized and then re-fragranced. While this may be a headache for my husband, for me it could be a migraine. Many migraine sufferers report that strong smells can trigger a migraine (1); and in my case, perfumes are among the worst offenders. Of course, people are not setting out to make life uncomfortable for those, like me, with hypersensitivities to chemical odors. But discomfort or even extreme pain is often the consequence of people's over utilization of substances that remove their natural fragrances and their replacement of them with chemical substitutes. However, it is my contention that it may also be detrimental to the health and happiness of those who engage in such practices. Americans, in particular, have been taught that human body odors and secretions are offensive. And consequently they wage a daily battle against those that their own bodies produce and hope that others will do the same. However, those dreaded smells and secretions play an important role in many human behaviors, most notably those related to sexuality and reproduction and the health of those systems. But some of the time, much to my husband's relief, I actually can tolerate the chemically scented world in which we live better than at other times. The intensity of my sensitivities wax and wane in accordance with my menstrual cycle. This is because a woman's ability to smell varies over the course of her cycle and at the time of ovulation is believed to increase over 1,000 fold from that of the time of menstruation (2).

MacDonald’s Corporation Essay

McDonald’s Corporation is an American based world’s leading company in the fast food industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice. McDonald in 1948 they reorganized their business as a hamburger stand using production line principles. Ray Kroc joined the company in 1955 as a franchise. A McDonald’s restaurant is operated by either a franchisee, an affiliate or the corporation itself. McDonald’s Corporation revenues come from the rent, royalties, and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants. In 2012, McDonald’s Corporation had annual revenues of $27.5 billion, and profits of $5.5 billion. Products: Macdonald’s primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken burgers, French fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes and deserts including ice-creams. Currently restaurant also expanded its menu to include salads, fish, wraps, smoothies and fruits in order to change the taste of the consumers. Company also serve soup in the Asian countries. The menu of the company differs according to the serving countries like prawn burger in Singapore. In Germany and western European countries MacDonald’s serve beer also. Operating countries: Macdonald’s corporation is one of the largest fast food selling company. It have 31,800 flagship restaurants serving nearly 68 million people in each day among the 119 countries worldwide. Mainly, company operated by franchisee, an affiliate or the corporation itself. Basically company is operated largely in America, Canada and European countries like U.K., Competitors: There are many fast food restaurant running currently in the market. However, Macdonald’s is one of the largest company operating internationally. Though, MacDonald’s itself is a brand but also it have some of the competitors in the market. There are many small fast food restaurant like as chicken and chips shops which serve the most of the items served by MacDonald’s in context to U.K. Besides these small fast food operating restaurant some of  other big company are also running internationally. Such as Burger King, KFC fast food, Sam, Subway, etc. All of these are the main competitors of the MacDonald’s. PESTLE ANALYSIS. POLITICAL FACTOR: The international operations of McDonald’s are highly influenced by the individual state policies enforced by each government. (2001) For instance, there are certain groups in Europe and the United States that clamour for state actions pertaining to the health implications of eating fast food. (2005) they have indicated that harmful elements like cholesterol and adverse effects like obesity are attributable to consuming fast food products. On the other hand, the company is controlled by the individual policies and regulations of operations. Specific markets focus on different areas of concern such as that of health, worker protection, and environment. All these elements are seen in the government control of the licensing of the restaurants in the respective states. For instance, there is an impending legal dispute in the McDonald’s franchise in India where certain infringement of rights and violation of religious laws pertaining to the contents of the food. The existence of meat in their menus in India is apparently offensive to the Hindu religion in the said market. In terms of the Asian countries there are many people who do not consume beef burger and it hurts their religion as well. This kind of act arise the dispute and violence and it affects the business of the company. Like also in Middle East countries, they have their political law that meat provided in the country should be Halal. The company should f ocus on the religion, ethnic and the political status of the operating countries for the sustainable business. There are also other studies that points to the infringement of McDonald’s Stores with reference to the existing employment laws in the target market. Like any business venture, these McDonald’s stores have to contend with the issues of employment procedures as well as their tax obligations so as to succeed in the foreign market. Political system: 1. Liberal democracy (less than half 191 UN members) A liberal democracy is a form of representative democracy in which elected representatives who hold power are limited by a constitution that emphasizes protecting individual liberties, equality and the rights of minority groups. Among the many liberties that might be protected are freedom of speech and assembly, freedom of religion, the right to private property and privacy as well as equality before the law and due process under the rule of law. Such constitutional rights, also called liberal rights, are guaranteed through various controlled institutions and statutory laws. Additionally, the constitutions of most contemporary liberal democracies prohibits majorities, which is rule by the will of majority, when it harms those in the minority. 2. Authoritarian or absolutist (Burma, Saudi Arabia) A political theory holding that all power should be vested in one ruler or other authority. b. A form of government in which all power is vested in a single ruler or other authority. 2. An absolute doctrine, principle, or standard. 3. Communist (china, Cuba, North Korea) Communist reg the term â€Å"Communist state† is generally applied to a state with a republican form of government characterized by single-party or dominant-party rule by a Communist party which sets as its ultimate aim the construction of communism. Technically, â€Å"communist state† is a contradiction in termini as a communist society is in principle stateless; hence such states do not refer to themselves with this term, but rather as socialist states or workers’ states. It should therefore be understood that â€Å"Communist†, in this sense, refers to the Communist organization governing the state rather than the state structure itself (imes) 4. Theocratic (Iran, Vatican) Theocracy is a society governed by priests, or one whose government is heavily influenced by religious leaders. Originally, theocracy meant a system where divine law was the basis of all humanly enacted law, and in which religious and political hierarchies were merged. Today, the term  theocracy is applied to refer to the dominance of religion over state. Technological Factor: McDonald’s generates a demand for their own products. The Company’s key tool for marketing is by means of television advertisements. There are similarly some claims that McDonald’s are inclined to interest the younger populations more. The existence of play spots as well as toys in meals offered by the company shows this actuality. Other demonstration of such a marketing strategy is apparent in the commercials of they use. They employ animated depictions of their characters like Grimace and Ham burglar. Other advertising operations employ popular celebrities to promote their products. Company also have its marketing strategy like as Facebook, Google Ads, etc. The like has become endorsers for McDonald’s worldwide â€Å"loving’ it† campaign. Moreover, the operations of McDonald’s have significantly been infused with new technology. Elements like the inventory system and the management of the value chain of the company allows for easy pa yments for their suppliers and other vendors which the individual stores in respective markets deal with. The integration of technology in the operations of McDonalds tend to add value to their products. Basically, this is manifested in the improvements on its value chain. The improvement of the inventory system as well as its supply chain allows the company to operate in an international context. According to (computing.co.uk) MacDonald’s are inventing the new ideas of technology. The company is also introducing wireless networking, PlayStation 2 video games consoles, internet terminals, flat screen televisions and music videos into its revamped stores. They are also providing free WiFi in the context to U.K. market. According to (marketingmagazine Jan 2011) MacDonald’s have started using contactless card payment service in U.K. This services helps in faster service for the consumer and saves the time period. Macdonald’s also have invented their new machinery equipment for the better service. They use new process for oil refining and latest machines which help in le ss pollution. They also use their cooked oil as bio diesel for their own delivery trucks. SOCIO- CULTURAL FACTOR Articles on the international strategies of McDonald’s seem to function on  several fields to guarantee lucrative returns for the organisation. To illustrate, the organisation improves on establishing a positive mind-set from their core consumers. McDonald’s indulge a particular variety of consumers with definite types of personalities. It has also been noted that the company have given the markets such as the United Kingdom, an option with regards to their dining needs. (2005) pointed out that McDonald’s has launched a sensibly valued set of food that tenders a reliable level of quality for the respective market where it operates. Additionally, those who are aged just below the bracket of thirty-five are said to be the most frequent consumers of McDonald’s franchises. As socio – cultural includes the attitudes of people, religion, their culture, taste, family, etc all this factor may affects the MacDonald’s company. As matter of fact, MacD onald’s opened in India have to be concern in selling the meat products like beef, mutton, and pork. The religion where these products are as offensive will not be consumed. Another example is selling meat products in Muslim based countries also. All the meat products should be Halal otherwise the consumer will not use the products. Other meat is pork which is not allowed to sell in the countries of Middle East like U.A.E, Dubai, Qatar etc. MacDonald’s should focus on the culture of the operating countries. The culture and tradition of the country also impact on MacDonald’s. Many people have tradition of not using the market cooked foods or they don’t have culture of eating outside, this also may affect the business of the company. Education and awareness is another factor. People may have the bad image of the food they consume if the quality of the food is not well. As a result they spread the negativity which may arise the fall in the sell. Another is age groups of people. So, company should emphasis on the socio-cultural aspect of the operating countries in order to provide the best service and obtain well business. Currently in U K MacDonald’s faced social problem. As from report from BBC, it was found about the sexual poem in the Kid Meal which was complained by the parents of the country and later the company apologised. LEGAL FACTOR In the external environment legal factor also have its impact in the different organisation and companies. In context to the fast food companies it arises the different problems. The legal issues regarding the quality of  foods, employees, environment and many more are some of them. There was a current roar against the fast food industry. It has forced McDonald’s to apply more close examination on their corporate social responsibility. As a whole it has addressed to requirement of the company to generate its corporate reputation to more positive and the more socially responsible company. The reputation of McDonald’s is obviously a huge question. Noticed on company’s web site, seems, that they have got steps to take in hand the key social condemnation that they abused them in the last decades. The company gave to their clients the corresponding data in which they need the relation of food essence of their products. This is to attend to the arguments of obesity c harged against the products of the company. In the same way consumers have provided freedom in a choice, whether they want to buy the meal. It is connected with socio-cultural market signs which they influence. For example, operations in predominantly Muslim countries demand, that their meat corresponded to Halal requirements of the law. In the same regard, those that operate in countries in the European Union should correspond to the existing laws forbidding usage of genetically modified meat products in their meal. Other legal concepts as tax obligations, employment standards, and requirements to a degree of quality are only a few of important elements on which the company should consider. Otherwise, smooth operations should be difficult to reach. Some issues may be: company sells fatty foods it may be changed in the operating countries. Other, MacDonald’s opens 24 hour in some places which also may be changed by the law and gets affected. PORTER’S FIVE FORCES 1. The threat of entry of new competitor   McDonalds, has make an entry barriers that others competitor cannot enter the fast food industry easily because, McDonalds have good product and services that customer has learned to expect from fast food industry.  · As we can see, people more choose McDonalds compare to others fast food like KFC, Burger King or A&W because MacDonald’s has cheaper price a lots of menu that suitable with Malaysian taste and good service like MC Delivery compare to others fast food restaurant.  ·The greatest strength was creating an image in the minds of the people and introducing them to the fast food culture. Delivery speed, customer care and cleanliness are the core strengths on  which these stores expanded. They created a corporate symbol and their advertisement campaigns were highly successful in establishing the brand image and logo in the minds of the millions. Two main competitors generally identified with McDonald are the Burger King a nd the KFC. McDonald marketing strategy is concerned with the internal resources.  ·A large amount of product differentiation exists in the industry. The McDonald brand ranks as 8th in Business Weeks Scoreboard over global brands. Furthermore the brands KFC and Pizza Hut are also represented (with place nr. 61 and 63 on the scoreboard). This signifies a large consumer preference to the global brands, and would create somewhat of a barrier for new entrants. 2. The bargaining power of supplier Different suppliers have different bargain powers in the fast food industry. There is the soft drink industry where mayor supplier brand names supplies products and brand value to the fast food industry. Then there is the large amount of smaller suppliers that delivers other products to the fast food industry. For example, Coca Cola and Pepsi. The market for soft drinks is dominated by a few companies. Mainly Coca Cola and Pepsi. These soft drinks suppliers are the only ones who have the capacity to match the needs of the global fast food chains. The domination of a few suppliers in an industry with more customers sets a high bargaining power for the suppliers.  · The fast food industry is interested in having the soft drink producers being a part of their own branding. The Pepsi and Coca Cola brand have a global brand ranking of respectively 23 and 1.  · With the smaller fast food places the soft drink suppliers are holding all the bargaining power, since the individual fast foo d companies does not form a significant part of the supplier clientele, and their business could be partially dependent of the suppliers willingness to provide necessary equipment for the company. 3. The bargaining power of customers (buyers) Since the industry is flooded with many different kinds of fast foods and many different suppliers of fast food, then the buyer are in a situation where many suppliers are offering products that have a certain similarity. Since the global fast food chains have been trying to match each other’s successful products and product packages, then the buyers can actually buy  similar products from multiple suppliers, and that is a situation the empowers the buyer.Furthermore, if the fast food industry does not match the demands of the buyers and the general consumer trends, then the buyers can choose not to buy their product and convince others to do the same.  · A good example of this is the movie ‘Super Size Me’ in America. It is a movie showing an ordinary consumer trying living of McDonald’s fast food, and the purpose of the movie was to see what the traditional fast food from MC Donald could do to your health if you were to eat their products for every mea l. This movie shows what the buyers possible reactions could be if not satisfied or not being pleased. The reactions from the whole market were a large change in consumer preferences and brand preferences. 4. The threat of substitute products or services The generic products of fast food are mainly considered as convenience. Convenience and availability are the main drivers for choosing fast food. However, this is backed up by focus on value. Since the market as a whole consists of many differentiated fast food companies, then the customers are used to having the option of choosing the best value products.  · The value of the substitute products in general matches the fast food products and the consumer preferences of the consumers. The substitute product offers both cheap value meals and quality products for both ends of the quality scale that the fast food industry normally targets. Furthermore, it offers healthy alternatives to match the consumer needs and wishes.  · The differences between McDonald and their others competitive are services of delivery that is Mc Delivery that give a good service, faster and make customer easy to buy from any kind of set of menu at McDonald’s. 5. The rivalry among existing firms in the industry McDonald however is far larger than most in the industry with 31,000 outlets compared to its nearest hamburger competitor Burger King, with 11,500 (Reuters, 2008). KFC (owned by 2nd largest competitor Yum! Brands (Yahoo7finance, 2008), Burger King and countless others sell similar product to McDonald.  · McDonald traditional competitors include many of the other fast food outlets across the country has been shown that the presence of a Burger King, for example, will increase the likelihood that McDonald will  open nearby. Thus, it can be seen that the threat of competition from traditional rivals is intense and should never be over looked. In general, McDonald and its main competitors (Burger King Corporation, Wendy’s International, Inc., Hardee’s, and Jack in the Box) are active in making fresh moves to improve their market standing and business performance by introducing their product innovation and launching many outlets franchise. A good example of this would be the price competition between multiple fast food chains’ value meals. Price dumping is normally a good way to attract new customers, or stealing customers from competing companies, and since it have been a growing consumer trend to go after these value meals, then it is a product category that have been adapted from most of the global fast food companies. The high level of competition forces the individual competitors to copy of each others are products and ideas quickly since the competitors are always keeping an eye out for new ideas for themselves, and so far there have been no way of protecting a burger or sandwich recipe. In Malaysia, every Chinese New Year, there will be a prosperity burger. Thereby they have found a way to differentiate, which gives them a bit more space to move in, and thereby a little less fierce competition.  · The main competition goes through the branding. In addition, the competition to create the strongest brand is fierce. Firstly, normal advertising through TV, posters radio-commercials are regular. However, the biggest brands like McDonald’s and Burger King have been branding their own brand through piggy backing on other brands power. Ecological Factors affecting International Business Environment or ecological factor is one of the aspect of external environment. Ecological factor is any factor, biotic (living) or abiotic (non-living) that influences living organism. All the environmental factor brings marked distributional, structural and functional changes in the living creatures which directly affects the business internationally. International business is highly influenced by the different ecological factors. Manufacturing industries, different organisations, food selling companies, etc faced the several problem through many environmental factors. For the sustainable growth and development of any business all the aspect  should be well matched. In absence or excess of any factor, which is necessary in the business may arise the depletion in the business. As a matter of fact, ecological factor should be considered vitally for the growth of international business. Below we will discuss some of the ecological factor that affects the business. 1. Climate, weather and climate change Any business can only be success in the favourable climate and weather of the place. Climate and weather is very important in order to have a growth of business. It affects the business in the unfavourable conditions. Especially climate, weather and climate change affect the industries such as tourism, farming, insurance etc. The adverse effect of climate change causes many problem in the industries. However, businesses that are dependent on long-term investment are likely to have larger impacts, because the consequences of climate change increase over time. So the industries of construction, real estate, transport and infrastructure are likely to be the most effected by climate change impacts. As for the example, tourism sector will be directly affected by the climate change and the weather condition of the place. People couldn’t broad to their destination due to the inconvenience. Climate change may occur high temperature, low temperature, high rainfall etc. in the improper time period which result problem for the tourist. Currently, in USA there was a high snowfall in the history which is due to the climate change. As a result the industries and companies are not able to run their business accordingly. Climate change will affect almost all forms of infrastructure: electricity, gas, and water in the utilities as well as transport access and telecommunications. This in turn will affect people. 2. Natural calamities Natural calamities or disasters are another factor of ecology which affect dynamically on the business. These disaster came unknowingly and create the adverse effect not only on the business but also affect people. Natural disaster affect all small and large types of business. Natural disaster includes flood, landslides, earthquake, volcano, tsunami, storm, hurricane, and others. If one of these occurs than it brings the wide problem in all  companies and industries. Additionally, natural disasters have larger repercussions for small businesses because they often operate from a single location. As small businesses also gets the majority of their business from customers in the surrounding area, any of these disaster may bring the adverse effect. As for example last year storm in New York causes several problems. Business are closed for many days due to unviability of electricity, water, telecommunication, transportation etc. Due to this factor business cannot take off and there was a huge loss in all sector of businesses. Another example is flood in Pakistan, Tsunami in Philippines, volcano in Indonesia, earthquake in japan etc. As of the report Japan nearly need a year to recreate it business in all of the sector. Not only the host countries businesses get affected but also they affects worldwide. There will be shortage of supply and recession may arise. 3. Pollution and wastes Another ecological factor affecting the business internationally is pollution. It is one of the most important factor which is to be consider in the change in businesses. Mainly there are air, water, noise and land pollution. All of these four pollution creates the adverse effect in current business sector worldwide. All type of businesses are influenced from pollution. Manufacturing industries are highly affected through this factor. Due to high pollution businesses cannot produce high number of product due to which it generate loss in the industries. Chemical industries are main source of water pollution, they are advised to deactivate their chemicals and proper managements for their waste and build separate place to dispose it. Due to which companies need to spend big amount of money for the waste management. In china government encourage to use the public transport instead of private due to extreme air pollution. This directly affects the motor industries sector as their sales ge t decrease. According to the report from BBC, due to the extreme air pollution in Hong Kong it is very difficult for the people. Tourism industries is influenced as people cannot see the proper scenery due to the air pollution. As from report air quality in Hong Kong is three times worse than London and New York. Wastes management also affect the business sector. Proper waste management gives the healthy environment. Mainly food factories and restaurants are affected due to waste  pollution. 4. Global warming and depletion of resources Global warming is the average increase in the temperature of the earth in air level and oceans. Industries including agriculture, tourism, health, real – state etc. are main sector of business which are affected. Due to the pollution and global warming the depletion of Ozone layers is highly occurring as a result the UV rays of sun will directly fall in the earth surface and increases its temperature. This affects the wildlife, agriculture and others sector dynamically. The business in this sector gets affected and it creates the vital problem. Another is depletion of natural resources. Raw materials are one of the important ingredients to run any type of business. All the manufacturing industries required raw material to run their business. Due to the global warming and improper use of resources it difficult for the companies to find raw materials which may result closing of the businesses. Scarcity of raw materials typically slow down the long term strategies and responses b y the business, thereby missing on opportunities to make early moves and position themselves competitively. Ecological Factor affecting MacDonald’s MacDonald’s corporation is one of the largest fast food selling company globally. It have its companies in more than 119 countries serving 68 millions of people each day. McDonald’s is growing day by day by increasing the number of restaurant. The main source of ingredient and packaging is nature. McDonald’s has a Rain Forest Policy, which declares its commitment to beef purchasing practices that do not contribute to tropical de-forestation. Everyday McDonalds using a huge amount of napkins, carryout bag, tray lines, clamshells. Oil and water is other major ingredient using in MacDonald’s. Environment is the most important in context to the business of MacDonald’s. As most of the ingredients came from the environment and they need depend on it. However, due to different ecological factors there is imbalance in the ecosystem and environments gets affected. As a result various impacts affects the business of MacDonald’s. Some of the ecological factors which affects MacDonald’s corporation are discussed below: 1. Global Warming and climate/weather change The process of changing the temperature of the earth surface gradually and occurring the unfavourable climate is known to be global warming. In a common way, having the imbalance climate and weather in earth surface which is not acceptable for the living creatures indicates as global warming. MacDonald’s is the fast food selling company which is highly affected due to the impact of climate change and global warming. Most of the materials used by the company are fully available from nature. First of all let we discuss the resources used by the MacDonald’s to run its business. They use different animals such as beef, chicken, pork, etc. Vegetables and salad are also most important for their productions. Organic coffee beans which comes from tropical rain forest is another raw materials which are used. Other several resources are used to run the business. Climate change and global warming creates impact in the whole environment not only in the numbers of product. MacDonald’s use the coffee beans from African tropical forest, due to the climate change their will not be the favourable environment to produce the organic coffee, as a result company need to use for cost to recreate its business. On the other hand, customers may not be fully satisfied because of non-organic and in concern to the health. Also tropical deforestation is becoming one of the vital problem which generates the low production of resources. This result the fall in the business. Different animals are used in the burger of MacDonald’s, due to global warming the UV rays of the sun are reflect back into the earth and its temperature rises gradually which makes difficult for the creature to survive. Global warming brings the unpredictable weather conditions. This will bring the bad impact in the business like MacDonald’s. As of the current example, heavy snowfall in New York City which is due to the global warming. Many places were affected due to that unpredictable snowfall. As a result all the companies including MacDonald were also closed for several days. Overall, global warming and climate change is one of the hot topic of concern in current situation. Food sectors and many more are adversely affected through unpredictable change in the environment. All the business sectors are fully responsible to do a research and generate awareness in controlling the environment. 2. Natural Disaster, pollution and resources depletion. Natural disasters are those calamities which have not any time period to happen. They happens automatically and unknowingly. It includes flood, landslides, earthquake, volcano, etc. Food selling companies like MacDonald’s are directly affected due to this type of disasters. Normally, people are affected in the places of occurrence. So, the business of that places influenced badly. In terms of MacDonald’s in U.K, beef are provided from Scotland. If disaster like landslides or earthquake happens than there will be difficulties in the transportation facilities. Other like communication, electricity, water facilities, etc are also affected. Due to which there will not be supply of goods. As a result it slow down the business of MacDonald’s and customer are will not be satisfied. As for the example, tsunami in Japan, Flood in Pakistan, storm in USA, etc directly affects the business. Due to this factor MacDonald’s are closed for long period of time. Pollution is also one of the ecological factor which created disturbances in the business of food selling companies. As MacDonald’s corporation use most of the natural resources for it food production, pollution mainly affects the environment. Harmful gases are released by the different manufacturing industries which creates air pollution. Due to this pollution there is more probability of acid rain which dynamically affects the living creatures and plants. MacDonald’s use coffee bean seeds from tropical rain forest, but due to acid rain it will generate several problems and will not be more organic. Different kinds of diseases will emerge in the animals like beef, chicken and pork. As MacDonald’s is popular for Hamburger, the diseases like swine flu will directly affect in the pork, another bird flu in chicken and others. Government may apply the new rules regarding water, noise and land p ollution which may also affects the opening of new branches worldwide. Depletion of natural resource is another major factor. Deforestation, water resource depletion, wildlife degradation are some of them. All this will adversely affect the ecosystem which creates scarcity of resources. MacDonald’s may face the scarcity of the raw materials required for its production due to deforestation in the tropical forest. Due to lack of water resources it generate the negativity in the productions of drinks and other products. Hence, natural disaster, pollution and resources depletion affect the business of MacDonald’s in a major way. MacDonald’s need to focus on these factors to create its business  successfully in worldwide. Preservation and long term usage of production should be in action. Long term strategies and external sources should be implemented in order to get the sustainable business and growth of the company. MacDonald’s responding to the ecological factors. a) Other areas of improvement include coffee beans and milk. McDonald’s now only uses those beans certiï ¬ ed by the Rainforest Alliance; and uses organic milk for milkshakes and hot beverages. It has Rainforest policy where it is completely against tropical deforestation supporting the balance in eco-system. b) Recycling and reusing of the products (to decrease the pollution) c) Separate agriculture and farming facilities to produce for its own use. (eg, beef, pork, chicken, vegetables) d) Use of vacuum urinating facilities(preserve water resources) e) Using paper bags instead of plastic, easy to dispose f) Use its grease oil for its own delivery trucks g) it have its separate waste management site which helps to make community clean h) McDonald’s worked with Conservation International to develop an environmental scorecard. It drives greater awareness of resource use (energy, water, air emissions and waste) with the ultimate goal of reducing our environmental impacts i) To provide customer with both good food and good value, MacDonald consider priorities for food safety, quality and cost–as well as sustainability–when making sourcing decisions. Their vision for a sustainable supply chain links responsibility for ethical, environmental and economic outcomes. j) McDonald’s has developed a next generation â€Å"low oil volume† (LOV) fryer that uses about 40% less cooking oil and 4% less energy maintaining the SAME Great taste. Hence these are available in restaurants around the world. As a result of this, environmental action plans have been developed to address these issues. For example, McDonald’s has a policy of sourcing its food as close to home as possible, with approximately 70 percent of the company’s food coming from the UK and Ireland k) In a ï ¬ rst for the quick-service restaurant industry, McDonald’s opened the world’s ï ¬ rst hydroï ¬â€šurocarbon (HFC)-free restaurant in 2003 in Denmark. The result is that the restaurant does not use Freon in its  refrigerants, thereby helping cut down on harmful climate changing emissions. As further proof of its commitment, McDonald’s’ efforts at efficient packaging and recycling have been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Also, the Campus Ofï ¬ ce Building received the LEED-EB Platinum award in2009, in recognition for its ‘green’ initiatives. Future developments work MacDonald’s can use the electrical heating instead of gas to save the resources Also can use the latest machinery equipment which produce less emission of harmful gases Using less fridge and freezer which emits harmful gas such CFC. Use new technology to open the new restaurant which have less effect on environment featuring the Rainforest Alliance Certified MacDonald’s celebrate their work with the Rainforest Alliance and want to inform customers that they should feel good about purchasing their espresso beverages that are brewed with 100% Espresso from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. Environment awareness campaign Intellectual properties: Patents Patents protect what makes things work – like what makes a wheel turn or the chemical formula of your favourite fizzy drink Copyright Copyright is an automatic right which applies when the work is fixed, that is written or recorded in some way Trade mark Trademarks are signs (like words and logos) that distinguish goods and services in the marketplace Design Designs protect the appearance of a product/logo, from the shape of an aeroplane to a fashion item Types of Market: 1. Monopoly 2. Oligopoly 3. Monopolistic Monopolistic competition is a market structure where many companies sell similar products, but are not identical. Firms in this market structure are a monopolist for their brand. There is freedom of entry and exist into the industry as there are no barriers such as strategic raw material, very high  start –up cost and lack of information. Mc Donald’s maintains its competitive advantage with ‘Big Mac’ as its biggest attraction and backbone of the corporation.(ukessay) So how McDonald has managed to compete with other monopolies? McDonald’s have their own profitable specialty coffee in the form of McCafes, a concept taken from Starbucks. Recently, McDonald’s has remodelled the design of some of their restaurants, replacing their fiberglass tables and industrial steel chairs with wooden tables, comfortable faux leather chairs, and have painted their interiors of muted colours of orange, yellow, and green. McDonald’s not only have borrowed Starbucks’ concept of coffee, but have also begun borrowing the same design and feel. McDonald’s has gone under this remodelling with their restaurants to bring down other top competitors such as Burger King and Wendy’s since they are not as successful and cannot afford such upgrades to their own restaurants. Non-price competition is a way of how firms attract consumers with factors other than price, such as style, service, or location. So how McDonald has used non-price competition to convince customers to come to them instead of other burger places. Macdonald’s has not only been trying to beat other top competitors in the burger industry. It has also been competing with restaurants that are not even fast food chains. One of the examples of non fast food chains that McDonald’s has been trying to draw customers away from is Panera Bread. McDonald’s has also been trying to bring customers away from Chipotle, a Mexican chain that was originally owned by McDonald’s until October 2006. McDonald’s has also competed with Starbucks Coffee with the selling of their McCafes. 4. Perfect competition Globalisation, its indicator and main driver. Hetal (1999) defines globalisation as, ‘ the widening, deepening and speeding up of all worldwide interconnectedness in all aspects of contemporary social life, from the cultural to the criminal, financial to the spiritual. It helps in following: increased international trade a company operating in more than one country greater dependence on the global economy freer movement of capital, goods, and services Recognition of companies such as McDonalds and Starbucks in less economically developed countries. INDICATORS OF GLOBALISATION: 1. International trade 2. Financial flows 3. Migration DRIVERS OF GLOBALISATION: 1. Economic ( benefits of economies of scale, cheap labour) 2. Technology (communication and transportation) 3. Political/regulatory BARRIERS TO GLOBAISATION: 1. Government regulation( tarrifs and subsidies, border and immigration control, public procurement, control on capital flows) 2. Cultural and geographic distance (taste, culture, language, religion, corruption, work culture) DEMOGRAPHIC FEATURES: 1. Population 2. Ethnicity 3. Religion CSR and MacDonald’s Corporate Social Responsibility is a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. CSR is generally understood as being the way through which a company achieves a balance of economic, environmental and social imperatives (â€Å"Triple-Bottom-Line- Approach†), while at the same time addressing the expectations of shareholders and stakeholders. Key CSR issues: environmental management, eco-efficiency, responsible sourcing, stakeholder engagement, labour standards and working conditions, employee and community relations, social equity, gender balance,  human rights, good governance, and anti-corruption measures. Being a responsible corporate citizen, McDonald’s firmly believes in giving back to the communities it operates in. they love to provide support and encouragement to the people who need it the most. All our restaurants contribute to their local community and every year we help set up and support numerous educational, sporting and charity programs designed to help a wide range of people. McDonald’s has a proactive approach to charities and sponsorships. We believe these help inspire and support the people of Pakistan, especially the underprivileged ones, to live a better life. We are dedicated to delivering great experiences through our ongoing community support programs. Some of the program done by MacDonald’s: 1. In Pakistan, litter patrol set up in the neighbour to pick up litter and aware the people, cleaning campaigns, walk for cruelty of killing animals, support woman, support the thalassemia society in Pakistan. 2. In UK, clean the surrounding near the restaurant, fix litter patrol, keep Britain clean campaign, feeding program in London Olympics, charities and support to the different clubs, support education sectors. 3. Support various community based programs such as sponsoring education for the poor people in India and Asian countries. 4. Support in sports and encourage children to physically fit. MacDonald’s use low energy LED light bulbs, energy saving equipment and waterless urinals, and recycle used cooking oil into biodiesel to fuel more than half of our delivery trucks. They also recycle the cardboard boxes used in more than 89% of our restaurants, and more than 85% of our packaging is made from renewable resources. They are the Community Partner Community Partner of t he four nations’ Football Associations. This means it work with local football clubs, schools, youth teams and junior leagues around the UK. MacDonald’s programme gives people the chance to volunteer and qualify as a football coach so they can give free, high-quality coaching to young people across the country. They also organise daily litter patrols and work with environmental charities Keep Britain Tidy , Keep Wales Tidy , Keep Scotland Beautiful and Tidy Northern Ireland. Most of our charity work is focused on supporting Ronald McDonald House Charities, an independent charity which McDonald’s has supported for over 20 years. Ronald McDonald House Charities provides a ‘home away from home’ for families with children undergoing  treatment in hospital. The Charity relies on voluntary donations, and you can find collection boxes in every single one of our restaurants. MacDonald’s also invest over  £360 million a year in the UK agricultural industry. The majority of our ingredients come from Britain and Ireland, with more than 17,500 British and Irish farmers providing us with ingredients such as beef, Freedom Food pork, free-range eggs, organic milk and potatoes. E Business: McDonald’s is one of the most recognisable brands in the world, yet also has to battle a fair amount of negative publicity The McDonald’s UK page has more than 30m fans, and its local market pages have all attracted several hundred thousand ‘likes’. Data collected by Internet Access – Households and Individuals, 2013 In 2013, 36 million adults (73%) in Great Britain accessed the Internet every day, 20 million more than in 2006, when directly comparable records began. Access to the Internet using a mobile phone more than doubled between 2010 and 2013, from 24% to 53%. In 2013, 72% of all adults bought goods or services online, up from 53% in 2008. In Great Britain, 21 million households (83%) had Internet access in 2013. Broadband Internet connections using fibre optic or cable were used by 42% of households, up from 30% in 2012. Globalisation strategy of McDonald: McDonald’s has developed their unique globalisation strategy. McDonald include their fore main characters to make perfect business strategy. Are shown as below 1 Think globally but act locally 2 Pricing 3 Advertising strategies 4 Social responsibility 1. Think Globally but Act Locally: The main aim of the McDonald’s Corporation is to focus locally with the global strategy. It always performs and supply all the operation, systems as per the requirement of the local factors. It always try to be fit in local traditions, cultures, society and political. McDonald’s Corporation always  keep special factors in mind while making their business strategy. It always performs as per the requirements of the different markets. Macdonald expenses lots of resources to develop and create its products as pre the local demands and traditions. However, once McDonald’s corporation failed to do this, while establishment in Germany and Netherlands, consumers did not accept their local menu in the year 1970 because they wanted American food rather than their local menu. After this experience company realised that every restaurant’s local menu should incorporate some local tests as well but at a minimal level.At the time of establishing in India, McDonald has considered that Hindu community does not eat beef as per their Hindu belief. Therefore, they specially introduced new vegetarian series of the product in their menu. Also taking Muslim community in focus that Muslims did nit consume poke. Therefore, they only sell chicken and lamb. It had done separate preparation for Vegetarian and non-vegetarian. 2. Pricing: The other most important feature is their price differentiates than their competitor. This pricing strategy of McDonald’s corporation is very reliable and unique. While fixing the price McDonald’s takes some factors in consideration like local life style, income of the family, location etc. The time of fixing price for the products, they also focus on the primary target group of the company, lower and power level. McDonald’s enters in most of metropolitan city of the country in which it enters.Sometime during period of lean time company offers discounted price to boost their sell in short McDonald’s corporation believes that to stay longer life in the market we should have unique pricing policy. 3. Advertising/Promotional strategies: Advertising is the other platform to the company by the help of which company introduce their product, boost to the customers etc. every organization have their unique and own promotional strategies. Here McDonald’s arranges their promotional strategy as a part of advertisement. The worldwide promotional activities of the McDonald’s corporation is organised by â€Å"DDB Needhamand Leo Burnettas† well their local collaborates in different countries. It sometimes organised by the local advertising company also. Other than advertisement, McDonald’s corporation uses more promotional tools to promote their product. Company offers their product at law price; it gives toys to  the children etc. most successful promotional strategies became very popular now days .McDonald’s has for decades maintained an extensive advertising campaign. In addition to the usual media (television, radio, and newspaper), the company makes significant use of billboards and signage, sponsors sporting events ranging from Little League to the Olympic Games and makes coolers of The Orange with their logo available for local events of all kinds. Nonetheless, television has always played a central role in the company’s advertising strategy. In January and February 2008 there was an offer of buy one get one free by McDonald’s UK particular for the Big Mac. Company introduced press coupons and those coupons can be exchanged at the McDonald’s restaurant to get benefit of the product. To date, McDonald’s has used 23 different slogans in United States advertising as well as a few other slogans for select countries and regions. At times, it has run into trouble with its campaigns