Routine message free essay sample

Also called positive/neutral informative messages or routine announcements, Routine Informative Messages are a common type of Professional Communication. To practice writing a Routine Informative Message you will write a one-page memo to employees announcing the new and revised employee education policies. Read the scenario below and present a solution in your own words, using your own analysis. You will not use all of the information included in the scenario. Some of the information will help you understand the context and implications of the document you create but would not be included in the actual message. Remember it is never appropriate to cut and paste entire sections from the scenario as a substitute for your own writing and thinking. Communication Scenario: Announcing an Employee Education Program You are the human resources director for Easy to Be Green (EBG), an innovative new company that helps homeowners, businesses, and municipalities become more environmentally friendly. We will write a custom essay sample on Routine message or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page EBG wants all employees, whatever their position, to be able to discuss with customers, at least in a basic way, the scientific concepts behind the company’s products and services. Therefore, all employees are given a thorough orientation and ongoing training in these concepts. However, the trainers have begun to realize that for this training to be successful many employees need background work in reading, writing, and math. In addition, because of the company’s rapid growth and because of continuing developments in the field, even employees with advanced scientific training are having trouble keeping up with new developments. Beginning six months from now, EBG will offer basic, intermediate, and advanced courses in reading, writing, and math. In the meantime, managers will evaluate employees and may recommend that employees take one or more of these courses. In addition, employees can choose to take a course or courses without their manager’s recommendation. The courses will be offered during  work hours, employees will be paid for the time they spend in class, though homework and studying must be done on employees’ own time. Books will be provided. Progress in these courses will be taken into account in employees’ quarterly performance reviews and annual salary reviews. Employees who are beyond these basic courses but who need help in keeping up with scientific developments related to their work are encouraged to take courses at local universities, using the company’s tuition reimbursement program. Employees have expressed the following concerns about the tuition reimbursement program: 1) that the maximum reimbursement is not high enough for the better schools 2) that the program doesn’t cover books, 3) that new employees are not eligible. Therefore, also beginning in six months, the company will enhance its existing tuition reimbursement program. The current maximum reimbursement of $3000 a year will increase to $5000 a year, and employees will be reimbursed for books as well as tuition and fees. Currently, full-time employees must be with the company for six months to be eligible; now all full-time employees will be eligible. Additionally with approval from their managers, employees will be able to take off a half day, with pay, on the days their courses meet. To receive reimbursement under these special conditions, however, employees must receive at least a B in the course. Otherwise the required grade for reimbursement is C. Other current tuition reimbursement policies will remain the same. Finally, to help employees who have not been able to find appropriate courses, the company will provide a list of available and recommended courses at local universities Assignment Write a one-page memo to employees announcing the new and revised employee education policies. In your memo, select, organize, and format the necessary information into an effective, reader-friendly routine informative message. Plan carefully which information you need to include and which information you will leave out. Introduce the message in a short first paragraph with the goal of encouraging readers to take advantage of the program. The first paragraph should serve as an introduction to the message as a whole; therefore, it should avoid focusing on one aspect of the message to the exclusion of others. It should provide a brief overview of the information in the message. Organize the necessary information under headings in the body of the message. Use headings that make the information as easily accessible to readers as possible. Do not use a heading for the first and last paragraph, both of which should be fairly brief. Headings and bulleted/numbered lists should follow principles of logic and parallel structure. For reasons of logic, there must be at least two headings; for reasons of readability, avoid more than about five. Keep items in a bulleted or numbered list logically and formally parallel. The bulleted or numbered points can be phrases, sentences, or brief paragraphs, as long as the list as a whole is consistent. A sample is included below. Adapt your approach for the assigned topic.

Vindenergi Essays - , Term Papers, Research Papers

Vindenergi Vind energi er den energien som finna s t i lu fta som er i rorsle. Vinden vil alltid finnast, sa leng e sola ski n. Vindkraft er en fornybar energ ik jeld e som vi har brukt i fleire tusen ar. Vindmylner : Menneska har brukt vindmylne i ca. 4000 ar. Vi brukar vindmylne f o r a fang e vind energi. I Noreg kom vindmylne ne pa 1800-talet, i land med mykje vind som Nederland og Danmark er vindkrafta e i godt utnytta energikjelde. F or a utnytta energikjelda mest mule set man fleir e vindmylner ved sida av kvarandr e . V indkraft blir plassert i omrada med my kj e vind , det vi l si pa kysten og i typiske flate land. K ossen fungerer vindmylner: D et er l ufta som bevegar rotorblada . L ufta blir fort vidare til ein generator som ligg i maskinrommet. Der i fra overfore energien til kablar i form av elektrisk Strom . Vindmylna dreiar seg alltid mot vinden , slik utnyt t ar dei vinden best . Klimaet: V indenergien er klimaven n leg, men ikkje naturlegvis naturven n leg. Kvar form for energiproduksjon vil paverke miljoet i s torre eller mindre grad. Positive ting for klimaet med vind energi er at det er e n fornyba r res s urs. Vind energi vil heller ikkje forureine . Negative ting er at det er farleg for fuglane. Sjolv om vind er gratis, er det ikkje gratis a produser vindenergi . Det er dyrare en n fossilt brenn stoff . K var egnar det seg med vindkraft: S jolv om land som Tyskland og Nederland har bygd ut meir vindenergi, har Noreg my kj e stor re vind res s u rsar pa grunn av var lange kyst linje. Europas beste vindres s ursar fi nn ein i Storbritannia og Noreg. Kvifor er fornybar energi viktig: D en fornybare energien er miljoven nleg. Det kan brukast utan at det blir noko co2 utslepp i atmosfaren. Co2 kan fore til global oppvarming som igjen kan for e t il ein av disse alvorlege konsekvensane: - mangel pa drikke vatn - mangel pa mat - drama tiske oydelegging: stormar, flau mar, skogbrann osv. - mange menneska ma flykt Det a satsa pa fornybar energi er lurt. Vi brukar meir ikkje -fornybar energi , Forn ybar betyr jo at det kan brukast opp og opp igjen. Eksemplar pa ikkje fornybar energi er kol, olje a gass. E i n gong kjem detta til a ta slutt , mens den forn ybare energien berre fortsette a fortsette . Kjelder: Geographica - atlas og kunnskapsverk om jorda, folk og land. Nova 9 (vindmylner) http://www.wwf-norge.no/fadder/lofoten/index.php?p=lofotenutm_source=1000utm_source=1400gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6_y4yOWv1wIVxkQYCh3hPA91EAAYASAAEgJGjvD_BwE https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fornybar_energi http://www.fornybar.no https://snl.no/fornybare_energikilder http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/index.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_ulKgp6-KY http://ungenergi.no/energikilder/vindkraft/hva-er-vindkraft/ http://www.fornybar.no/vindkraft http://www.vindenergi.no

John Grisham - Rainmaker Essays - English-language Films

John Grisham - Rainmaker Essays - English-language Films John Grisham - Rainmaker The world is full of great novels. From Sherlock Holmes to the three musketeers. As the years progress more novels are written and more money is made. John Grisham is a rising star in literature. His books have enticed readers and has given the people something good to read. What makes his books great is that they are so realistic. He applies his personal law and trial knowledge into the books he writes.What it is about ? It was his last semester of law school. Rudy Baylor was assigned to give free advice to a group of seniors. It is at that very time, and that very place, that Rudy encounters his first true clients. Dot and Buddy Black. They have been robbed by a powerful insurance company. A company with millions of dollars in assets. They have caused the suffering of a young man. They have ruined his chances to live by not issuing their coverage that they were obligated to give. Donny Ray, son of Dot and Buddy is dying of Lukemia, he is going to die, his chances for survival are over and it is a matter of months. Rudy doesnt realize the case that has fallen into his lap until phone calls are made. There is a great problem, however, Rudy is broke, he hasnt even passed his bar exam yet. And will go head to head with one of Americas most experienced and accomplished defense attorneys. *From the beginning of the novel to the last word, Rudy is plagued with a series of mishaps and problems. When something looks bright the clouds come in and ruin the hope. Rudy is in Luck. As the big trial begins, he is given a judge that is definetly on his side and 12 jury members that think the same way that he does. After researching great benefit, the insurance company, Rudy discovers cover ups by the company. He also discovers Great Benefits harsh way in getting rid of their numerous mistakes. n How it relates to your audience The TrialObviously Rudy is not stupid. He enters all the facts he has discovered and uses them to help solidify his position in the minds of the jurors As the trial goes on Rudy is given another problem. A beaten girl is discovered by Rudy at the hospital during his studying. Her husband has repeatively beaten her with an aluminum softball bat. Her ankle is broken and her life is in shreds. Rudy knows that these beatings will continue if the couple divorces but the young girl of 18 is unable to leave because she believes that she is still in love with him.n John Grisham does not maintain one single story, instead he creates numerous events so that the reader does not get bored with the main story. *From minor cases to FBI investigations, John Grisham does a swell job in creating a global society. He shows that lawyers have cares concerns about what is going on in the world and contrary to popular belief, lawyers dont focus mainly on cases and they have lives to. Ever-since The Firm was published, in 1991, John Grisham has been in a creative state. His five books that followed the firm, combine to form a total of approximately 50 million copies in print. Why ? The answer is because his thrilling stories and intense legal intrigue is in such a great demand. Now in The Rainmaker Grisham has weaved his talent into the storyline and has created a powerful, and at times humerous , tale of one young lawyers quest for fame,fortune and most importantly, hapiness. I am positive that this novel will rise to the best sellers list, And after reading this book, you will think alike. This novel is for all ages and all types. If the book you are searching for, is for excitement or pleasure. The Rainmaker is a great novel and provides a goood read. John Grisham has done his homework now do yours and read this good book.

Cross-cultural Marriages Contribute to Racial Tolerance

Cross-cultural Marriages Contribute to Racial Tolerance CROSS-CULTURAL MARRIAGES CONTRIBUTE TO RACIAL TOLERANCE According to the Pew Research Center, 15 percent of U.S. newlyweds in 2010 were in marriages to people of another race or ethnic group and eight percent of all married people were in these cross-cultural marriages. This is up significantly from four percent in 1986. The growth in the number of these marriages contributes to racial tolerance. Intermarriage strengthens tolerance for reasons related to family, age, and mass media and social platforms. Familial Ties Influence Tolerance of Interracial Marriage One reason cross-cultural marriages contribute to tolerance is because of family bonds. Thirty-five percent of Americans report that someone in their family married outside their race, according to a 2010 Pew Research Center study. Sixty-three percent of the respondents said they would be comfortable if someone in their family married someone from another race or ethnic group.Some people who have a hard-hearted attitude about cross-cultural marriage softened their views when they realize acceptance is the only way to maintain a good relationship with their child, sibling, relative or friend who has entered into one of these marriages. And even though people over 65 are less accepting of these marriages than younger people, not too many are willing to cut off a good relationship with their child because he or she entered into such a marriage. Certainly, most grandparents will want to stay connected with grandchildren who are th e offspring of these relationships. Young People Are More Likely To Accept Cross-Cultural Marriages Age is a factor in who is more tolerant and accepting of intermarriage. While a Pew Research Center study about Millennials- defined by Pew as people ages 18 to 29- found that people over 65 were less accepting of cross-cultural marriages, it reported that large numbers of African-American, white and Hispanic Millennials would accept someone in their family marrying a person of another race or ethnic group. The study, Almost All Millennials Accept Interracial Dating and Marriage, also reported that 93 percent of the respondents said they would be okay with a family member marrying an Asian-American, 92 percent with a white American, 91 percent with a Hispanic-American and 88 percent with an African-American. Eighty-five percent said they would be okay with a marriage to any other group. Millennials are now the largest population by age in the U.S. At 75.4 million, they outnumber Baby Boomers (people ages 51 to 59) whose number is 74.9 million. For these reasons, more cross-cultural relationships can be expected. Talk in Communication Outlets Influences Tolerance The medias focus on celebrity couples is another reason tolerance moves forward. In bombarding people with images of famous people and their marriages, some of which are cross-cultural, mass media and chatter on social platforms foster acceptance. This coverage of celebrity couples is akin to advertising these marriages. The more people see celebrities in cross-cultural relationships, the more likely they are to accept them. In additional to some professional athletes, other famous people who have intermarried include Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower, George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, Audra McDonald and Will Swenson and Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan. In conclusion, tolerance is fostered by intermarriage. Since the 1980s, the percentage of cross-cultural marriages has risen. Many younger people and people who have family and friends in these marriages accept them. Discussion about intermarriage in all forms of communication also contributes to the acceptance of these relationships. Within 30 years, nonwhites will outnumber whites, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. To avoid debilitating conflict within this country and to get along better with other nations, it is good for U.S. residents to look to successful cross-cultural marriages for inspiration about harmony and facing and overcoming the challenges of peoples differences.

Dance movie review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dance movie review - Essay Example The movie follows the first embarrassed steps of the dancers to how they gain confidence to perform an excellent dance that attracts a standing ovation. The video is raw as the audience can tell the dancers are inexperienced. There is no voice-over at the beginning of the film indicating that the neither the dancers nor the audience understood the events going on or what they were meant to be doing. This gives authenticity to the fact that they were very new to the dancing and that they did not know where to start. The movie brings out the personalities of the dancers as they go through the journey and also their stamina and courage. The film focuses mostly on the teenagers and their journey for growth and into adulthood. The movie is profound and very real as opposed to the mechanized dances that are so popular with other dance videos. Wim directed the film after the death of Pina, and it consisted some of the best works by Pina. The dances that are performed in Pina take place everywhere. There are dances in the forests, on the road sidewalks and even in the tram cars. The movie also has some interviews with some of the dancers where their responses are not by word but are rather contemplative as they give their answers. Instead of using words from their minds, they use the dances on their bodies signifying the influence that their mentor had on them. Not only did Pina teach and inspire the dancers to become who they are but she also inspired in them a similar character signifying that she was such a charismatic mentor and her dances lived beyond her. The movie is very exhilarating but there is no single work of dance that is complete in the movie hence leaving the audience a bit frustrated. The power that Pina had is communicated in the movie and the audience experiences a dance and a movie at the same time and thus remains very

Information Security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Information Security - Research Paper Example Lack of awareness and execution to protect company’s information assets can result in loss of revenues, bad reputation for the company and probable law suits by the customers for not being able to protect their data. 2. Threats and Vulnerabilities There are numerous types of threats and vulnerabilities that are required to be considered for the protection of information. Data breach is defined as the disclosure of information to unauthorized individuals in an intentional or unintentional manner. Verizon Business Risk Team (2009) stated that the degree of data breaches is the highest in the modern times than it has ever been. Figure 1: Percentage of Different Types of Data Breaches from 2004 to 2008 (Verizon Business Risk Team, 2009) Data breaches tend to threaten the confidentiality, integrity and authenticity of the data. Confidentiality aspect requires the data to be hidden from unauthorized third parties to protect the privacy of the individual. Hash, Bartol, Rollins, Robin son, Abeles and Batdorff (2005) explained that integrity of data provides the assurance that it is not tampered with or modified at any level as a result of malicious intent. Authenticity of data also ensures that the data is complete and accurate. The absence of such attributes of data makes the data unreliable and may prove to lead to misleading directions and results for the management of the organization. Data breaches may result from outside or inside sources. Moore, Cappelli, Caron, Shaw and Trzeciak (2009) defined insider theft as instances when employees (current or ex-employees) may disclose information for personal motives or as a result of lack of awareness of required information security measures. Employees might help the outside intruders gain unauthorized access to sensitive data by leaking passwords or loopholes in the security systems. Such employees may also damage or destroy the data as a result of personal conflicts or grudges against the management. Outside sour ces of threats and vulnerabilities include denial of service (DOS) attack, virus and worms attacks. Houle and Weaver (2001) explained that DOS attacks are directed to impair the IT services and resources so that legitimate users cannot avail them. Common sources that are witnessed to become targets are bandwidth, data storage services and computing power of a resource. Abundant fake requests are sent to the server to make it incapable and unavailable to cater the requests from legitimate users. Viruses and worms are also common threats that reside in a computer without the knowledge of the owner and perform spiteful actions to harm the data. Viruses and worms are automatically installed on the system if the user opens a compromised email attachment, visits an unreliable website, opens an infected image or clicks on a compromised online advertisement etc. Non-repudiation was defined by Hole (2009); it ensures that the transfer of messages between participating parties is valid and re al. Effective security measures need to be taken by companies to ensure that sender and receiver cannot deny the transfer and receiving of the messages, respectively. 3. Counter Measures for Improving Security Cannady and Harrell (n.d.) proposed a technique to tackle the threat of insider theft; they recommended that ‘user profiles’ should be developed and stored in the server. These user profiles are developed on the basis of routine activities

Report-Analyse Case Suty McDonalds Corp Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Report-Analyse Case Suty McDonalds Corp - Essay Example Proper segmentation, product targeting and positioning are important. McDonalds also needs to be selective in their franchisee selection as it should not disturb the existing franchisees in the region. Customer-oriented approach is essential in the fast food industry. Mass marketing techniques and standardization are no more applicable. Local adaptation is now essential to fight competition. All these indicate that McDonalds need to redefine their marketing strategy. McDonalds, that had once changed the way a nation ate and provided jobs to millions, is now reeling under difficult times. They lag behind in service and quality and despite bringing about changes in their food offers they have met with little success. The main issue is the unpopularity that has developed towards the McDonalds burgers. This has given rise to franchisee relations, downward sales and profits which ultimately are leading to closure of many units across countries. Product diversification without focus, lack of strategic direction and marketing strategies along with the top-down manner in which they dictate the franchisees is responsible for the stunted growth of the company. Attempts to create price war have yielded negative results. The profit margins of the franchisees have reduced between 2-4% against the 15% they enjoyed earlier. The retired CEO has been brought back along with two experienced executives to assist him but there are no signs of recovery. About 30-40% fewer outlets are being added to the chain each year while many close down every month. McDonalds need to realize that their marketing and franchising strategies have to be altered to suit the changed market environment and the ever-changing consumer needs. Kara, Kaynak and Kucukemiroglu (1997) contend that fast-food marketing strategies should have a sound understanding of consumers’ perceptions of and preferences for fast-food outlets and how they differ across cultures/countries. It was assumed in

Ancient and Medieval Political Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ancient and Medieval Political Theory - Essay Example es against Socrates were raised from the general prejudices, which surrounded him over the years he taught philosophy which is simply an approach employed by politicians across the generations and time. The rigidity to accept new concepts that could change the society is depicted in the general prejudices against Socrates. In fact, the core issue in the argument is the failure to acknowledge a current leadership. In addition, Socrates is neither considered a physicalist, nor a Sophist by the accusers1. The false image of Socrates arose from misunderstanding the activity of Socrates which is a true reflection in political rivalry and competition. The role of law in the society is reflected on how it is interpreted by the users. In the case of Socrates, he feels that the imprisonment was a result of wrong interpretation of the law. The understanding of the roles of the individuals in society is presented by Socrates to instigate change in the society2. The death sentence of Socrates is presented in two-perspective; for those who voted for his acquittal, and those who voted for his death. In conclusion, the Crito and Apology by Plato presents the truth about his case and interpretation of the

Are the GMO foods good or harmful to our health Research Paper - 1

Are the GMO foods good or harmful to our health - Research Paper Example Farmers are mainly focusing on cash crops modification such as corn, soybean, cottonseed oil, and canola. Genetic modification is done to help in resistance to herbicides and pathogens. Additionally, genetically modified foods are said to have a high nutrients profile. There are critics of the GMO who focus on environmental impacts and safety. GMOs are reported to damage the environment as well as violation of consumer’s and farmers right as some seeds are subject to intellectual property. Genetically engineered plants are produced in a laboratory. There is alteration of their DNA and assessments done to check whether the desired qualities are achieved. One of the most frequent modifications made is the addition to one or more genes to the plant’s genome. After the production of the desired plants, the producers register for approval so that they can test out in the fields (Skinner & Liang, 2004). GMOs have changing relationships to foods. Some GMO foods are consumed processed to remove its protein and DNA while others are consumed unprocessed. Other are used to generate unmodified foods. Animal and plant relationship differ in all aspects. GMO foods are associated with some advantages in either the consumption or production. They are created with the aim of providing products at lower prices and with significant benefits in terms of durability or nutritional value. The developers of GMO seeds desire that their products will remain acceptable to producers and the developers are concentrating on innovations that will directly benefit farmers. One primary reason for producing GMO is to improve crop protection. The GMO are aimed at raising crop protection through the introduction of diseases resistant crops caused by viruses and insects or plants that tolerate the herbicides (Duvauchelle, 2014). One of the reasons why people like GMO foods is because of their pest resistance. Crop losses from insects have

Low acheiving Students Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Low acheiving Students - Assignment Example The theory of crystallized intelligence is important in accessing student abilities. Students’ abilities can be assessed through the ease of learning. Teachers have to regulate the learning abilities through intellectual gifts and talents ability (Hoy & Hoy, 2009). Students have different abilities which are referred to as different intelligences. Teachers must access the strength and ability of students based on their ability to develop original and advanced ideas. Strong students have ideas whose importance is lasting. Teachers can bring meaningful change into the learning abilities through being equipped with psychiatric fundamental skills. Since effective learning in multidimensional, teachers must be empowered to handle a variety of attitudes, and challenges that hamper learning. Swanson argues that this should be followed by outstanding training on how to implant knowledge when dealing with strong and weak students in a sustainable way. According to Hoy & Hoy, the ability of students should include artistic abilities, and creativity. Teachers should use support groups, background information and personality tests to teach students. Teachers track the progress and give regular reports based on a holistic analysis. Research shows the ability of students to learn is influenced my multiple factors. For teaching to be effective in inclusive classrooms, the causes of different reasoning and understanding abilities must be addressed through professional skills and parent, teacher, students’ action plans and conferences. This has to be done in a sustainable

Synthesis, Characterization and Thermal Studies of NDPAH

Synthesis, Characterization and Thermal Studies of NDPAH Synthesis, characterization and Thermal Studies of a Bis {N- (2, 4- dinitro- phenyl) N- (3- phenyl- allylidene)- hydrazine} Uranyl (VI) nitrate  [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Shahriar Ghammamy, Sajjad Sedaghat Abstract Bis {N- (2, 4- dinitro- phenyl) N- (3- phenyl- allylidene)- hydrazine} abbreviated as NDPAH was synthesized and characterized. Bis {N- (2, 4- dinitro- phenyl) N- (3- phenyl- allylidene)- hydrazine} Uranyl (VI) nitrate prepared r Keywords: Bis {N- (2, 4- dinitro- phenyl) N- (3- phenyl- allylidene)- hydrazine} Uranyl (VI) nitrate, synthesis, thermal analysis, FT-IR and UV–Visible spectroscopy, Schiff bases. Introduction A Schiff base, named after Hugo Schiff, is a compound with a functional group that contains a carbonnitrogen double bond with the nitrogen atom connected to an aryl or alkyl group, not hydrogen. Complexes of uranyl with nitrogen ligand are of considerable interest due to broad spectrum of biological activities. Formation of transition metal complexes with ligands of uranyl family are important because this ligands connected with various modes to the electron-rich and electron-poor metals. uranyl containing ligands are known to form stable complexes with class b metal ions, such as gold (I). Nitrogen-containing ligands is an important factor in the development of coordination chemistry such as Schiff bases and their metal complexes. and biochemically relevant studies of metal complexes [1]. A group of nitrogen-containing ligands represent a wide range of biological activities and this class of ligands known as pyrimidine system. These groups are valuable ligands in chemistry and on th e other hand have a huge impact on biological properties. For example, a furopyrimidine ring according to the isoelectric contact with purine, is highly regarded. Other uses are as a pesticide and medicine such as antifolates, antimalarials, and antivirus and other hand, protects against radiation. Recently, it has been found that the fluoropyrimidines to prevent some of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) and high epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is used However, many synthetic protocols that have been reported as long-term reactions or quick reactions suffer from defects and flaws. Requires a multi-step reaction, requires without water conditions, low efficiency, the use of metal constructions containing materials and special tools or starting substances are examples of these flaws. Therefore achieve new techniques and efficient for the preparation of furo (2, 3, d) derivatives of pyrimidine is still highly desirable [7] Pyrimidine represents a very i nteresting group of compounds, because these compounds are used extensively in phytosanitary, pharmaceutical, and analytical . On the other hand, industrial aspects of this class of compounds is considered. For example, these compounds are used as anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. [8]. This class of compounds also have biological activities [9–13]. The role of metal ions in biological processes of life has long been known and is highly regarded. Studying the properties of transition metal complexes with this class of biologically active ligands is very interesting. In this paper, the synthesis and characterization of a number of the ligands and uranyl complexes have been studied. In this work, we report the synthesis and structural studies of the ligand and complex isolated from the reactions of: Bis {N- (2, 4- dinitro- phenyl) N- (3- phenyl- allylidene)- hydrazine} Uranyl (VI) nitrate. Experimental Solvents were purified by standard methods. All reagents were supplied by Merck and were used without further purification. Melting point was measured in an Electro thermal 9200. The FT-IR spectra were recorded in the range 400–4000 cm-1 by KBr disk using a Bruker Tensor 27 M 420 FT-IR spectrophotometer. The UV–Vis spectra in CH3CN were recorded with a WPA bio Wave S2 100 spectrophotometer. Thermo gravimetric analyses were done on a Perkin Elmer TGA/DTA lab system l (Technology by SII) in nitrogen atmosphere with a heating rate of 20 ºC/min from 35- 700  ºC.  ¹ H and  ¹Ã‚ ³ C-NMR spectra were measured on a BRUKER DRX-500 AVANCE spectrometer at 500 MHz. Synthesis of the [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+: For synthesis of the [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ to a magnetically stirred of ligand (0.88g, 2.8mmol) in acetonitrile(10ml) was added to uranyl (VI) nitrate (0.71g, 1.4 mmol) And the reaction is performed at room temperature. To ensure complex formation and precipitation of the complex. The solid complex obtained was filtered. And to remove material that did not participate in the reaction complex was washed with diethyl ether. Yield, 75%. Anal. Calcd of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+; C; 20.14, H; 1.34, N; 6.26; found: C; 20.24, H. 1.41, N; 6.32. Mp: 290  °C.  ¹HNMR (DMSO): 7.4-7.9 (CH phenol), 8.5-8.8 (CH dinitrobenzen), 8.4 (CH azomethyne), 7.1 (CH), FT-IR (KBr, cm-1): 1133 s (ÃŽ ½ N-N), 1614 s (ÃŽ ½ C=N), 420 w (ÃŽ ½ U-N), 935 s (ÃŽ ½ O=U=O), UV-vis (DMSO): à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¬max 260nm(ÃŽ µ 26000), 320nm(ÃŽ µ 15000), 413nm(ÃŽ µ 32000) (Figure 1-8). [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ is soluble in chloroform, acetone, dichloro methane, DMSO and DMF and insoluble in water, hexane and diethyl ether and little soluble in methanol, Acetonitrile and ethanol. Figure 9, 10 shows Chemical structures of NDPAH and [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+. Analysis of NDPAH Ligand Anal: %68. Calcd of C15H12N4O4; C; 57.72, H; 3.84, N; 17.94; found: C; 57.81, H. 3.89, N; 17.99. Mp 254-256  °C,  ¹HNMR (DMSO): 7.3-7.7 (CH phenol), 7.8-8.5 (CH dinitrobenzen), 8.1 (CH azomethyne), 7.1 (CH), 9.1 (NH), FT-IR (KBr, cm-1): 1133 s (ÃŽ ½ N-N), 1613 s (ÃŽ ½ C=N), 3111 w (ÃŽ ½ NH). NDPAH is soluble in acetonitrile, acetone, chloroform, DMF, DMSO and diethyl ether insoluble in water, hexane, methanol and ethanol little soluble in dichloro methane. Results and discussion Preparation of Ligand and complex Compounds are quite stable and could be stored without any appreciable changes for long time. Compounds with multiple methods using FT-IR, UV-Visible and  ¹ H and  ¹Ã‚ ³ C-NMR spectra were identified. These compounds were evaluated for thermal analysis. In this paper, a new method for the synthesis of the Bis {N- (2, 4- dinitro- phenyl) N- (3- phenyl- allylidene)- hydrazine} Uranyl (VI) nitrate is presented . Following the single-step reaction between the UO2(NO3)2.6H2O and the NDPAH desired compound is obtained.This method has some advantages for the manufacture of complex. These include: there is no side products and does not require special conditions such as high pressure or high temperature, and that this reaction is a very fast reaction. The [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ has 290 °C melting points respectively. It is soluble in chloroform, acetone, dichloro methane, DMSO and DMF and insoluble in water, hexane and diethyl ether and slightly soluble in methanol, acetonitrile, and ethanol . The spectral data of the complexes have good relationship with the literature data. The IR spectra of the Schiff base show characteristic bands due to ÃŽ ½(NH), ÃŽ ½(C=N) and ÃŽ ½(N-N), in the region 3111cm-1, (1613, 1133) cm-1 respectively. The strong band in the region 1613, 1133cm-1 in the IR spectra of the Schiff base are assigned to ÃŽ ½( C=N), ÃŽ ½( N-N) respectively. In the case of U(VI) complex we observed the following changes. The bands appeared around 1133, 1614, 420 and 935cm-1 due to ÃŽ ½ N-N, ÃŽ ½ C=N, ÃŽ ½ U-N and ÃŽ ½ O=U=O. Thermo gravimetric analyses The thermal properties of these compounds were investigated by thermo grams (TG, DTG and DTA). Figure 11 shows TGA and DTA curves for [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+. In the temperature range 200-305ËÅ ¡C, 57.9% weight losing was observed which was related to the loss of most parts of compound. In the temperature range from 360-500ËÅ ¡C, 20.6% weight reduction was found, which was related to the loss of a part of compound. Conclusion It is clear from the above discussion that [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+complex and NDPAH ligand offer a new outlook for chemotherapy. The results of antitumor activity show that the metal complexes exhibit antitumor properties and it is important to note that they show enhanced inhibitory activity compared to the parent ligand. The mechanism by which these complexes act as antitumor agents is apoptosis. It has also been proposed that concentration plays a vital role in increasing the degree of inhabitation. References [1] R.J. Vidmar, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 21 (1992) 876-880. [2] A.S.N. Murthy, A.R. Reddy, Journal of Chemical Sciences. 90 (1981) 519-526. [3] V.N.K. Razakantoanina, P. Phung, Parasitology Research 86 (2000) 665-668. [4] R.E. Royer, D.L. Meck, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 38 (1995) 2427-2432. [5] M.R. Flack, P.R. G.yle, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism.  76 (1995) 1019-1024. [6] R. Baumgrass, M. Weiwad, Journal of Biological Chemistry. 276 (2001) 47914-47921. [7] M.B. Teimouri, R. Bazhrang, Bioorganic Medicinal Chemistry Letters.  16 (2006) 3697-3701. [8] M.B. Teimouri, Tetrahedron. 62 (2006)10849-10853. [9] J.M. Grevy, F. Tellez, Inorganica Chimica Acta. 339 (2002) 532-542. [10] A. Bernalte-Garc ´Ãƒâ€žÃ‚ ±a, F.J. Garc ´Ãƒâ€žÃ‚ ±a-Barros, Polyhedron. 18 (1999) 2907-2912. [11] K. Lemma, J. Berglund, Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry. 5 (2000) 300-306. [12] M.J.M. Campbell, Coordination Chemistry Reviews. 15 (1975) 279-319. [13] S. Padhy ´e, G.B. Kauffman, Coordination Chemistry Reviews. 63 (1985) 127-160. [14] B. Erwin, C. Omoshile, Journal of the Chemical Society Perkin Transactions. 2 (1995)1333-1338. [15] G.Zhao, H. Lin, Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry. 70 (1998) 219-226. Figure 1: FTIR spectrum of NDPAH (KBr Disk) Figure 2: FTIR spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ (KBr Disk) Figure 3: 1H- NMR spectrum of NDPAH Figure 4: 1H- NMR spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Figure. 5. 13C- NMR spectrum of NDPAH Figure. 6. 13C- NMR spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Figure 7: UV/ Vis spectrum of NDPAH (DMSO, 5Ãâ€"10-4 M) Figure 8: UV/ Vis spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ (DMSO, 5Ãâ€"10-4 M) Figure 9: Chemical structure of NDPAH Figure 10: Chemical structure of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Figure 11: Thermal analysis data of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Figure 1: FTIR spectrum of NDPAH (KBr Disk) Figure 2: FTIR spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ (KBr Disk) Figure 3: 1H- NMR spectrum of NDPAH Figure 4: 1H- NMR spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Figure. 5. 13C- NMR spectrum of NDPAH Figure. 6. 13C- NMR spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Figure 7: UV/ Vis spectrum of NDPAH (DMSO, 5Ãâ€"10-4 M) Figure 8: UV/ Vis spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ (DMSO, 5Ãâ€"10-4 M) Figure 9: Chemical structure of NDPAH Figure 10: Chemical structure of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Figure 11: Thermal analysis data of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+

Green and Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Green and Sustainable Supply Chain Management Environmental changes across the world have generated a movement to identify the causes of global warming and develop solutions to end it before it is too late. In an effort to achive this, many countries are creating laws and regulations with the specific aim to reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gas effect. The truth is that environmental change is upon us. Not only do we have climate problems but we are also dealing with a resource depletion issue. With economies like India and China growing at double digit rates, the population of the world continues to grow creating shortages of many resources that we use to take for granted. Many consumers, stakeholders and businesses are becoming more involved in the growing green movement. Influenced by customer loyalty shifting towards environmentally friendly products, businesses are trying more and more to make their supply chains greener by introducing sustainability strategies throughout their organizations and supplier relationships. The recent focus on sustainability has resulted in a growing need for integrating environmentally safe choices into supply chain management practices. The concept Green Sustainable Supply Chain Management GSCM can be defined as the process of using environmentally friendly inputs and transforming them through change agents into outputs that can be reclaimed and re-used at the end of their lifecycle therefore, creating a sustainable supply chain. The whole idea of a sustainable supply chain is to reduce costs while helping the environment. 2. Sustainability and Profitability A Green Sustainable Supply Chain integrates ecological factors and supply chain management principles to identify the environmental impact of an organizations supply chain processes. Businesses are becoming aware of the importance of this integration to enable a sustainable business strategy. Many are now seeking out solutions and guidance on how to implement a sustainable supply chain. A sustainable supply chain should not be only optimal for the organization, but also optimal in terms of a limited environmental impact. The sustainable supply chain is no longer exclusively about green issues, but also about generating efficiencies and cost containment. As organizations restructure to reduce their companys environmental footprint, supply chains have become a key area of focus. Many people think that being environmentally friendly increases costs. In the past, most of the companies were focused on reducing unit costs. Only later, many companies could do the change and look instead at total landed costs with the on-set of global trade. Some companies also started looking at the usage costs with a piece of equipment- total cost of ownership TCO. Sustainability is a tremendous weapon for companies to reduce their costs. There are many facets of the supply chain that could be improved by looking at it from a sustainability point of view. The consulting firm A.T. Kearney released an analysis of businesses submitting information to the Carbon Disclosure Project that finds more than half of them along with 25 percent of their suppliers are generating cost savings as a result of adopting sustainable supply practices. It is a major action because they believed that at least half of the carbon emissions attributable to some global companies are generated in their supply chains. The Carbon Disclosure Project 2011 Supply Chain Report, which covers 57 global companies and more than a thousand of their supply chain partners, shows that 86 percent of those companies derived value out of addressing their supply chain processes as part of a corporate sustainability initiative. PepsiCo. Is a very good example of this, A.T. Kearney reports that the company saved more than $60 million in energy -16% reduction per-unit across its beverage plants as the result of managing the carbon associated to those activities. Walter Todd, the vice president of operations for PepsiCo UK and Ireland, where many of these savings took place, says: With a robust strategy and proven benchmarks in place, PepsiCo set out to engage and educate suppliers about potential opportunities to innovate their own operations. By providing suppliers access to the same energy assessment tools we use in our own operations, weve seen a mutual return on investment. Pepsi-Co also saved around $44 million by switching from corrugated to reusable plastic shipping containers for bottles. Other major companies have also reported significant savings thanks to a sustainable supply chain strategy: Dell is saving over $20 million annually as a result of packaging improvements. They achieved its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2008. One of Sherwin-Williams facilities reduced disposal costs from $95,000 to around $39,150 in less than two years through source reduction, refurbishment of metal containers, and recovery of fiber and steel. Texas Instruments is saving $8 million per year by reducing its transit packaging budget for semiconductor business by implementing source reduction, recycling and reusable packaging systems. Raymour Flanigan Furniture has saved more than 15 million pounds of waste after renovating a building to serve as a recycling center, now they have the capacity to prepare scrap polystyrene, plastic film, and cardboard for market. Commonwealth Edison generated $50 million in financial benefits from managing materials and equipment by taking a lifecycle management approach to production management. Dow Corning saved $2.3 million by using reconditioned steel drums in 1995 and conserved 7.8 million pounds of steel. It is interesting to notice how several companies have developed new revenue sources on the waste they used to throw out. If a sustainable supply chain can be developed, money can be saved by not having to dispose harmful by-products, reduce of obsolescence, decrease the spent on scrap and resources spent on complying its regulatory issues. Another key issue that sustainable companies are focusing on is the logistics and transportation of the product. A simple action such as filling the trucks as full as possible can represent significant savings; Dell has increased its average truck load and worked with UPS to optimize delivery strategies. Multinational company 3M has developed an innovative system to install adjustable decks in trucks. By placing pallets on two levels they were able to reduce the number of daily truckloads by 40% and save around $110 k per year. Sustainability can be profitable. Improvements in transportation efficiency, operations, raw material selection and packaging are all in the top of the list of green sustainable supply chain initiatives. 3. Sustainability as a competitive advantage Greener supply chain management practices represent a competitive advantage thanks to the increasing customer awareness and regulatory norms. Across industries, there is also a shift in the focus of GSCM programs from compliance to creating value for customers and shareholders. The implementation of Green Supply Chain initiatives has evolved from strictly a compliance issue into a means of generating value. The following table shows how to create value out of traditional cost compliance, including environmental, safety and health business contributions. More and more companies are using sustainability as a competitive advantage to grow market share within their industry. A green supply chain usually pushes the organization towards an improvement of their products, processes, quality and productivity. It can also be considered as an enabler for innovative decisions and brand differentiation improvement. GE now has an Ecomagination program focused on growing their revenue stream from environmentally friendly products to around 20 billion dollars by 2011. They recognized the opportunity associated with saving the environment. Nowadays many companies are offering customers environmentally produced power and charging a premium for that offering. The green initiatives also help a company to maintain and enlarge their customer portfolio. Environmental concern and social responsibility are now considered as an important part of a succesful business strategy. All competitors are under same market force to change their direction and priority towards a more green initiative, therefore, efforts and investments on this area are becoming more and more important. In addition, more countries will enforce importers to import green products to their nations with tax incentives and this will trigger the chances to do global business. In the same direction, new product development should not be only the responsibility of product design and engineering department; it should also include the fully team-work among marketing, engineering, procurement, logistics and materials operations in order to find the best solutions, like how to ship the products effectively, how to ensure that processes will not generate hazardous wastes and emissions to the environment, what green components can be purchased, what is the optimal packaging size and re-cycle materials to pack each prodcut, etc. In brief, companies have to consider the new product development process as part of the green supply chain strategy. The development, implementation and commitment of green supply strategy are not only to fulfill the customer needs; but also to meet general publics expectations to improve and enhance the role in social responsibility and environmental concerns. In exchange, the company will gain sustainable competitive advantage in the industry. 4. Sustainability and Suppliers Management One of the bigger issues facing companies these days is the actions of suppliers. Companies today are being held accountable for environmental or social problems created by their suppliers. Corporate buying practices can impact suppliers ability to improve their business conduct. Pressure on cost and efficiency can force suppliers to contravene some of their own standards in order to meet their customers commercial requirements. But as the opposite effect, companies can use their purchasing power to help install best practices in small and medium-sized companies. In fact, the companies that engage their suppliers around these issues constitute one of the most important drivers for spreading corporate green and sustainable principles around the world. Collaboration is the key. Many companies are performing environmental audits or implementing rules of conduct to check the actions of their suppliers. The most successful green efforts in supply chains are based on the creation of value by sharing with suppliers and subcontractors the intelligence and know-how about environmental and emerging regulatory issues and emerging technologies.   Suppliers and customers can strengthen each others performance, share cost of ownership and social license to operate and create a reciprocal value.   Supply chain sustainability must be driven by the originating manufacturers that rely on deep tiers of suppliers and vendors for their products. The reported supplier human rights and environmental violations done by Apples suppliers, is an example of the challenges that suppliers face in managing or influencing these issues on the ground.   Apple recently did the right thing by transparently releasing its Apple Supplier Responsibility 2011 Progress Report, which underscored just how challenging and difficult multi-tiered supply chain management can be. GE and other multi-national companies- including Wal-Mart, Honeywell, Citibank and SABIC Innovative Plastics- have partnered to create the EHS Academy in Guangdong Chinese province.   The objective of this non-profit venture is to create a better trained and capable workforce of environmental, health and safety professionals and give them the management, implementation and technical knowledge to be able to proactively ensure that real performance is sustainable and integrated fully into the overall business strategy and operating system of a company.   Chinese regulatory agencies are also invited to participate as well. The model that GE is using in China offers a positive example of collaborative innovation. One of the main difficulties is the enforcing of supplier sustainability, spceially in growing economies like China or India.   Only a small percentage of suppliers meet the requirements in the codes of conduct- including worker compensation and environmental requirements- of major multinational companies. There are still major challenges related to wages, working hours, overtime compensation, lack of unions and social insurance.   One factor contributing to the difficulties is the high presence and mobility of migrant workers. 5. Green SCOR model Green SCOR incorporated within the SCOR framework can provide immense help by offering information on best practices, waste disposal process and metrics to increase the success of Green SCOR initiatives. It also provides environmental metrics that can be included in the calculations for optimizing the supply chain. GreenSCOR focuses on the impacts of SCM in each stage of the product life cycle. GreenSCOR integrates best practices and metrics into the entire supply chain planning process. It also enables a systematic study of the supply chain to unearth opportunities for making the supply chain greener. Best practices include collaborating with partners on environmental issues, reducing fuel and energy consumption and minimizing and reusing packaging. It also includes the metrics to measure the effects of greening, including carbon and the environmental footprint, emission costs per unit, energy costs as a percent of production costs, waste produced as a percent of production and returned products disposed of versus remanufactured. Processes to address waste management, such as how to collect and manage waste produced during production and testing (including scrap and non-conforming product). It also enables more efficient use of resources and increases the visibility of financial and operations benefits of supply chain practices. Lastly, the metrics can be effectively used to monitor the progress an organization is making towards a green supply chain. By implementing this model a company increases the chance of success of any green initiative. 6. Challenges when implementing a GSC Contrary to what many people could think, making a business sustainability operational within a supply chain is becoming easier, not harder. There is more information available from procurement managers, environmental directors, design engineers, marketing, communication staff and operations managers- among others- and this deffinitely makes a difference when a supply chain decides to go green. But still big challenges like the lack of information about the green supply chain practices and the lack of tools to optimize the supply chain with environmental management makes the implementation less easy. With the trend of global sourcing tracking the carbon footprint of finished products can be difficult; however, new initiatives have emerged for adopting the practice of requesting a carbon footprint from suppliers. Barriers to global trade because of the increasing environmental regulations, more restrictions on hazardous substances, bigger emphasis on lean manufacturing and increased supplier auditing and verification are creating the critical road toward new supply chain management expectations. The seek for efficiencies in supply chain management and producing products while reducing waste is a vital imperative in a recovering economy. Shareholder value, company valuations and possible mergers and acquisitions are affected by supply chain sustainability. This impacts cash management and liquidity, for example, carbon-intensive sectors may see an increase in the cost of capital. The World Resources Institute is working on the new supply chain and product lifecycle greenhouse gas protocols that will frame the new expectations of value chain sustainability accounting and reporting. Increased attention will be paid on conflict minerals, fair labor and other social aspects of sustainability, management of hazardous substances in toys and other consumer products. It is acknowledged by all organizations that the needs of the community are as important as those of other traditional stakeholders. Larger companies are identifying the critical supply chain partners that have the greatest product impact and collaboratively address the environmental and social footprint of their products through the value chain. Consumers will play a leading role behind greater supply chain collaboration. Consumer awareness about sustainability demands a more CO2-friendly supply of products and services. Other main challenge is in monitoring sub-supplier sustainability, this has become a tough task for companies with complex global supply chains.  It is the responsibility of the direct suppliers to ensure that their sub-suppliers acknowledge, understand and accept the companies sustainable requirements.   However, when a supply chain is long and complex, ensuring compliance at many thousands of sub-suppliers represents a major challenge. The future of sustainability will inevitably include the sustainability of entire supply chains, not just direct suppliers One example of this recently has been Dells use of bamboo in its packaging.   The company worked to secure Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for its entire bamboo supply chain, from forest to manufacturing.   The packaging is still a small percentage of Dells overall packaging needs, but it is a start. Another example could be IKEA, according to their sustainability annual report, the company is moving in the right direction.   Although the company they fell short of its goal of having 30% of its solid wood sourced from verified responsibly managed forests, they are working actively to increase the number, especially in China and Russia. The company has a team of nine forestry specialists who are dedicated to the two countries and is working towards certifying forests which are closer to the production facilities of IKEAs suppliers.   IKEA has the goal of having 35% of its solid wood sourced from certified forests by 2012. If companies are not able to manage product compliance such as regulatory norms, they can suffer business interruptions such as product redesigns, delayed market launches, product returns and recalls. Therefore, effective lifecycle management is a key differentiator for short-term as well as long-term to get an advantage and stable position in the market. Suuply chain network and logistics optimization is also key when implementing a GSC, inefficient transportation methods represent a significant part of the ecological problem. It has been illustrated by a recent report that found that as much as 75 per cent of a companys carbon footprint comes from transportation and logistics alone. Transportation management includes load consolidation and route planning to drive cost savings and reduction of environmental impact. Another important challenge is related to establish a reverse logistics network that supports life cycle design and demanufacturing processes. Producers are required to meet specific targets for material recycling and recovery, relative to the total amount of packaging that they have put into the marketplace. This helps to shift the responsibility for collecting packaging and end of life products from local government to producers. Reverse logistics manages the handling and disposition of returned goods, improving a companys ability to put returned goods back on the market. Companies implementing reverse logistics processes can dramatically reduce the waste going into landfills and increase opportunities to reintroduce products to market. Xerox implemented a reverse logistics solution and achieved huge financial benefits of equipment remanufactured and parts reuse amounting representing over $100 million and reduced the waste from landfills. Another important point is the ability to simulate the unpredictable events in the supply chain network flow and evaluate the supply network design frequently. Companies need to work esigning optimum supply chain networks for sustainability incorporating criteria like fuel usage and carbon emissions. Process optimization is another challenge; companies should improve the synchronization of production with customer demand and supplier capacity. The main areas of green manufacturing are reduction in energy, water consumption, waste and emissions that are part of manufacturing processes. And the last challenge I will include is the green reporting, measuring and reporting the environmental impact is the first step towards reducing them. There are direct benefits to organizations from measuring and reporting as because it gives a better understanding of the risks and exposure. Globally, sustainability and environmental reporting are becoming one of the most important management concerns due to increasing pressures of legislation as well as other initiatives. The challenge remains to quantify and report the emission and environmental footprints. It can be a time consuming and costly process that requires extraction of data from multiple systems and manipulating it to arrive at required reports. 7. Findings and conclusions Economic activity has an impact on the environment and the society; industries need to conmsider this into their business operations and costs. It is becoming critical to measure and manage the environmental and social impact of activities and procesess across the supply chain. Green practices and a sustainable supply chain have become a necessity due to both regulatory obligations and economic benefits, yes; a green supply chain can help a company to discover hidden sources of profitability. Increasingly the companies are giving more importance to sustainability to promote loyalty of customers, who are getting more aware about the socio-ecological implications of businesses. A green sustainable supply chain enables business to improve products, process and supply quality and productivity. It also pushes the company to make innovative decisions that respond to green economy requirements, by doing this, companies gain access to key markets through diverse certifications. By using a model such as GreenSCOR incorporated in SCOR version 9, the chances of success in any green initiatives increases. Some key success factors and reccomendations in the implementation of a green sustainable supply chain were identified: Stakeholders should be actively engaged in the sustainability strategies of the business. Green initiatives should be aligned with the strategic objectives of the company. GSCM Best Practices should be adopted when implementing a green supply chain. Technology and models such as SCOR should be used to enable the green initiatives. The company should boost its responsiveness to the expectations of the consumer. Green practices should be designed for minimal environmental impact, focussing the efforts to reduce packaging and in-transit damage when shipping. Planning and inventory management should pay special attention to reducing inventory and identifying optimal distribution solutions. Transportation solutions should be improved by collaboration. Procurement departments should perform lifecycle analysis for choosing products or solutions to minimize environmental impact. Suppliers relationship management should include the regular monitoring of suppliers and sub-suppliers sustainability. Benefits should be extended to the local community, as starting point.

Comparison of the Society of Animal Farm and America Today :: comparison compare contrast essays

Comparison of the Society of Animal Farm and America Today Humankind has always had a thirst for power; over its peers, environment and spiritual beliefs. To quench this thirst it has gone as far as genocide; but has often employed more subtle techniques, such as mind control. In today’s socio-economical and political worlds, mind control plays a key role in dictating tastes and lifestyles; as well as controlling political thoughts, views, and people’s understanding of the world. It is accomplished using various channels to condition people’s thinking. Publicity and advertisement campaigns saturate people with products, broadcasting over radio, and television which in itself is a prime example. Many religions employ mind control, conditioning their followers to obey without questioning. Â  With nearly global use of the television; it has become a preferred method with which to influence and regulate people’s thinking, creating an unreal and idealistic, hypothetical reality which people strive to emulate. This is accomplished through shows and movies; the majority of which emphasize a perfect world, entirely free of corruption and poverty; where everyone is physically attractive, emotionally stable, and economically wealthy; a distorted reflection of our own world. This leads real people to attempt to create this imaginary world, only to fail; thus generating in themselves a sense of unworthiness, which in turn prompts them to try harder, to stop being individuals and become uniform. Â  Another controlling method that is diffused through television, radio and written publications; is any reported information about world politics and news. Powerful political groups narrow people’s views of what is going on around them by tainting and twisting information to their own device. They decide what to say and when to say it, revealing as much or little information as desired, in ‘befitting’ instances; thus enabling them to hide information they consider deleterious to themselves, from the public. It also permits them to depict opponents in overly negative terms. Â  Similar to news in its widespread marketing, publicity is another method in which people’s minds are reprogrammed, this time by the merchandisers. Publicity attempts to ingrain concepts and transmit political and commercial messages into the consumer’s minds, in an endeavor to make them buy specific goods. They do this by constantly exposing the people to the products through their repeated displayal on various mediums. Billboards and posters can be found on most highways, and in nearly all cities around the world. Consequently they push ideas at the consumer any time he/she travels on foot, by car, or even uses the public transport systems.

Satanism Essay -- social issues

Satanism The occult is on the rise; many young people are seeking their spiritual identity through Satanism. Satanism has become an issue of great concern in our society. It is a phenomenon that crosses the city limits into the rural areas of our nation. Satanism is not just a big city problem. The news wires carry story after story about young children being kidnapped, only to be found later as victims of some bizarre ritualistic crime. This paper will analyze and will come to a conclusion to the most frequently asked question â€Å"What makes a person to convert his/her religion to Satanism?† To do so, this paper will examine the following areas: Effects of Satanism on our youth and society, does power attracts young people to become a Satanist? And is music a factor in changing one’s religion to Satanism? As satanic involvement among our youth increases, we begin to see the primary goal of such activity. It has become clear, according to the data so far analyzed by those who investigate satanic involvement, that the primary goal is to alter people's values and turn them against themselves, their beliefs, family, God, and society. C. S. Lewis, a famous English writer, in his book Screwtape Letters, says this about Satan: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight. The term occult means "hidden" or those things or teachings that are "unknown" or secret. This might build some interest or curiosity in some people who want to know what these things are. The occult is the seeking knowledge of unknown information, knowledge that is gained beyond the five senses. Therefore, it is believed that this knowledge is received by some supernatural involvement or connection. Anton LaVey of the First Church of Satan in San Francisco, California, says that: Satanism is a blatantly selfish, brutal religion. It is based on the belief that man is inherently a selfish, violent creature... that the earth will be ruled by those who fight to win. Young Satanists believe that the strong will rule with Satan. Once they are sufficiently involved, they often make a deal with Satan. They commit themselves to a future... ... acceptable in a civilized society. In conclusion, after examining the three focus areas i.e. the effects of Satanism on our youth and society, does power attracts young people to become Satanists and if music is one of the factor in changing one’s religion into Satanism. I have reached the conclusion that there are a lot of others things besides the one mentioned above, that can force a person to change his/her religion to Satanism, which includes lack of social skills, physical or emotional abusing, media/music, obsession with power, etc. BIBLIOGRAPHY Book Sources Cavendish, Richard. The Black Arts, London, Pan Books Ltd, 1967. Kahaner, Larry. Cults that kill, San Francisco, Warner Prints, 1994. LaVey, Anton Szandor. The Satanic Rituals, New York, Avon Books, 1972. Marron, Kevin. Ritual Abuse, Canada, McClelland-Bantam, Inc., 1989. Internet Sources Lavey, Anton. â€Å"Church of Satan†, http://www.churchofsatan.com, (January 8th, 2004) â€Å"Satanism†, April 1999, http://www.dpjs.co.uk/, (January 8th, 2004) â€Å"Satanism Exposed†, http://www.exposingsatanism.com, (january8th, 2004) â€Å"Satanism†, http://altreligion.about.com/cs/satanism/, (January8th, 2004)

Gilgamesh and Odyssey Essay

Gilgamesh is an ancient poem that significantly marked its name as somehow being the first major heroic narrative in the world literature. Fractions of this literature were discovered uniquely carved in tablets even before the Roman, Hebrew and Greek civilization appeared. Gilgamesh depicts a unique and propinquity story of Gilgamesh and his companion Enkidu that transcribed a complex and moving gist of bonds of friendship, of the pursuit for prominence and of the enduring and timeless attempt to escape death, of which considered to be the common fate of humankind. On the other hand, Odyssey, an epic story by Homer, is concerned on the idyllic events proceeded after a war and mainly on the significant return of the heroes who survived the war. The main subject of this written epic work somehow focus on the enduring, drawn-out return of one of the heroes named Odysseus of Ithaca, whose fate is to amble in unknown seas for ten years before he returned to his rocky kingdom. This paper will provide detailed and comprehensive comparison between the two main characters from both epics Gilgamesh and Odyssey. Motivation, goals, self-control, pride, outside influences, behaviors and personal and social relationships will serve as points of comparison being grasped in this paper. Motivation and Goals Gilgamesh, as described in the transcription, was provided with bizarre and astonishing strength, courage, and beauty by his divine and great creator. He is portrayed to be more of a god than a man. These characteristics of him profoundly surpass all circumstances all throughout his journey, a journey that significantly paved the greatest aspiration that probably mankind would have wanted – how to escape the universal fate of the human race. Simply, Gilgamesh wanted to run away from death and have eternal life. One of the tablets inscribed the mere dialogue between Gilgamesh and Utanapishtim (The Distant One). Utanapishtim is descriptively the wisest man who ever lived. Gilgamesh’s search for eternal life led him to ask Utanapishtim the greatest question, how to escape the universal fate of mankind? On a tablet transcribing such meeting, Gilgamesh apparently questions Utanapishtim of how did the latter join the ranks of the gods and find eternal life, though Gilgamesh described him not different; physically indifferent and yet his eart drained of battle spirit. And as response to the wondering question of Gilgamesh, Utanapishtim told him the â€Å"story of the flood†. Utanapishtim profoundly stated that he was commanded to build a boat to save everyone from the wrath of a devastating flood made by a god named Enlil, the chief god living on earth to wipe out human race. This story somehow illustrates events similar to the biblical script â€Å"Noah’s Ark†. The punishment to human race by Enlil gave Utanapishtim the opportunity to have eternal life. Gilgamesh’s greatest achievement though was bringing back to the human race this untold and unknown story. Gilgamesh, by some means, got hold of a plant that can likely grant rebirth to those who eats it, but unfortunately, a serpent stole it from him. With greater wisdom, Gilgamesh returned to Uruk knowing that only the gods are immortal. The goal of seeking immortality is what made both Gilgamesh and Odysseus, from Homer’s epic Odyssey, distinct and divergent with each other. Unlike Gilgamesh, whose goal is to seek and find answers on how to become immortal, Odysseus’s goal, on the hand, is merely the fact that he wants to find his way back home after a long and bloody war. During his voyage towards home, several temptations tested his mental qualities and physical endurance. Circe offered him the Lotus flower that endows forgetfulness of home and family. The greatest temptation however is offered by the goddess Calypso, whom he spent his seven years with – immortality. Instead of accepting such promising offer of immortality, he somehow denied such and still chooses the human conditions in spite of struggles, difficulties, disappointments and even its foreseeable death. Odysseus’s motivational force that drives his willingness to go back home is his wife, Penelope. Self-control Gilgamesh was first described as a king without self-control, rash and violent. People of Uruk, his kingdom, often complained about his absence of self-control towards oppressiveness to the Sumerian gods. Due to this aggressiveness, the gods created Enkidu as counterweight to Gilgamesh. But surprisingly, both Gilgamesh and Enkidu became best of friends; they fought together in every battles and wars, and found in each other the true companion they both sought. In an event where both took an adventure to seek universal fame and immortality pictures out the harsh and uncontrollable oppression to the gods overwhelmingly end the curtain to Enkidu. Enkidu’s death and his continuous and sole journey to seek immortality cause personal transformation. This change and transformation broaden his perception towards greater acceptance and recognition of reality and man’s mortality. On the other hand, Odysseus has extreme sense of self-control. Within the epic story, his remarkable self-control was described and admired. Again, during his adventures on the voyage home, his mental abilities and his physical endurance were tested. Instances occurred that tempted him to descend from his struggle towards home. A Lotus flower is said to suggest forgetfulness of home and family. Circe, goddess of magic, offered a pleasant life in the island of Lotus eaters. In the Phaeacia, he once offered the love and marriage of a young princess. Calypso is an immortal goddess whom Odysseus spent his life with for seven years offered the most significant and most tempting proposal, which probably all of mankind cannot resist. Calypso offered eternal life for Odysseus that will make him immortal. But all of these temptations were single-handedly denied by Odysseus as he preferred more to be mortal and be human amidst varied struggles, disappointments and the predictable end called death. Self-control might be a struggle for every man, but if every man has the drive to hold on to their will and embrace limitation, it will never be too late or too impossible to resist and deny any temptations. Pride The story of Gilgamesh started out as depiction of his arrogance of power. Because of his extraordinary capabilities endowed to him by his divine creator, his egotism of power endangered the relationship between mankind and the Summerian gods. To end Gilgamesh’s arrogance and injustices, gods then created Enkidu. His arrogance and pride concerning his power and unusual capabilities were continuously tested all throughout their journey in quest of rejuvenation of life and immortality. But then again, as mentioned earlier the previous section, after Enkidu’s death changed his perception not only towards man’s mortality but also the perception of one-self. One of the most significant limitations that Odysseus possesses is his pride which Odysseus had much. Part of the story somehow depicted Odysseus’s pride, particularly on the Cyclops’ island. When Odysseus and his men escaped safely from the island, Odysseus surprisingly brags and boasts about his exploit. Cyclops heard him and tossed huge rocks into the ship and some almost sing the ship. Effect of circumstances surrounding the character There are several external influences that bounds and affects the transformation of the once-known arrogant and violent king of Uruk. Due to the egoistic personality of Gilgamesh, it resulted to the discontentment and complaints from his people in which Summerian God interfered. The effect of these external events somehow paved a new path towards the overall impacts of Gilgamesh’s journey that led to his transformation from an arrogant king to a more unselfish and wisdom-filled individual. Another circumstance that greatly affected the character is the death of his supposed and destined enemy, Enkidu. Enkidu was a god-like mortal created by the gods intended to end Gilgamesh’s injustices and arrogance. Both somehow became friends and found a true and deep bond of friendship with each other. Death of his friend allowed him to solely seek answers for mankind’s immortality, which led him to his astonishment that there should no more battle to be fought and needs answers not surpassing violent circumstances. His continuous journey to seek answer guided him to Unatapishtim, the Divine One who could answer Gilgamesh’s wonderings, and which that this Divine One is blessed with immortality and abundance from the gods. Their conversation drew in new and significant events of the Divine One that gave him unending mortality. This occurrence surprisingly influenced and changed Gilgamesh’s perception on man’s mortality and broadens his acceptance to reality. Odysseus’s journey back home from the Trojan War somehow had endowed circumstances that might affect his own beliefs and characteristics. For example, when tempted by different immortal goddesses, most especially on the offering by Calypso to have everlasting and unending existence, he still grasps tightly to his humanity and instead chose to be human than immortal. His faith and dedication somehow proved that every obstacles and disappointments can be surpassed if he is optimistic enough to exceed and outdo every ounce of it. Behaviors In the beginning of the story, Gilgamesh’s subservient behavior is steered by his own self-contentment and self-sufficiency. Arrogant, violent, harsh, and no self-control are self-seeking behaviors and characteristics being affixed to the king, in which all these opened doors to discontentment and dissatisfaction from people. Gilgamesh’s behavior guided him to destruction. This ego-centric manner blinded Gilgamesh from reality that his conscious tried to make him see. For an instance, Gilgamesh tried to strike down on Ishtar during their second adventure to Cedar Forest with Enkidu. Ishtar cannot handle Gilgamesh’s harsh rejection and provoked to send the Bull of Heaven against the people of Uruk. Although they succeeded, it brought terrible damage to his kingdom and brought about the painful death of Enkidu. Unlike Gilgamesh, who is depicted as ego-centric individual, Odysseus has the contrast of this characteristic. Odysseus is optimistic and altruistic as he struggles not only for his own survival during the war, but also for his shipmate’s personal survival. Odysseus is described having versatility which either way compliments his physical strength and courage in battle, skills he showed during the war at Troy. These behaviors somehow resulted from his eagerness to return home to his wife and from his perseverance to preserve and finish the heroic reputation and dignity that he won in war at Troy. The same scene that illustrated Odysseus pride also depicts his care and being concerned to his fellow shipmates. After Cyclops threw boulders to the ship, Odysseus hastily gave his identity to Cyclops and the latter called Poseidon, his father, to punish Odysseus who brought harm to him. That incident hurt Odysseus more than losing his fellow men. This showed Odysseus’s heed towards his fellow shipmen. Personal and Social Relationships The Gilgamesh poem depicted not only ancient Mesopotamian myths and legends, but also endowed diverse and complex relationships and dealings between people involved in the epic story, particularly the main character, Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh’s relationship towards his people as a king is somehow in deep and shaky condition. There have been misunderstandings and lack of sense of unity between the king and its people that hindering a kingdom to flourish due to Gilgamesh’s disturbing and arrogant means of ruling Uruk. Another unstable relationship is with Gilgamesh and the Summerian gods. Gilgamesh tends to oppress the gods which led to the creation of Enkidu. Although Enkidu was created as a counterweight of Gilgamesh, unpredictably, both became friends. Relationship between the king and the supposed enemy is probably the most light and happy relationship made by Gilgamesh. They think of each other as brothers and a true companion in which their common journey indeed deepened their brotherly bond and friendship. There are also different relationship built all throughout the story between Odysseus and other characters in the epic. Again, he built a strong and deep bond and camaraderie with his fellow men. He even risked himself just to keep other from falling in the hands of Cyclops. Odysseus somehow has heart of gold for those who treasure him and appreciate him from his doings. His relationship with his wife, Penelope, also is as strong and sturdy as a diamond which no one can break even through rough and long times of being away from each other. To show his commitment and love to his wife, he even tricks his wife’s suitors and disguised himself as beggar.

All about me

The first thing that came to mind was the simple fact I was going to fall. I had to ask several questions before even completely understanding the requirements. We had to evaluate who we were, why we were here, and how Mr.. Wentworth could be of service to us. I worked for many days composing this essay; including many rough drafts and bad ideas. The first part of the prompt was by far the hardest, it took the most thinking. Preprinting consisted mainly of sitting around trying to figure out who I actually thought I was.I wrote about 3 rough drafts before deciding on how I was going to present myself. After finally liking one draft, I did numerous amounts of editing. The editing process was difficult for me because I did not want to mess up my very first essay and make a bad first impression. Revising the essay was much simpler with help from peers. The benefits of using a formatted writing process are ultimately what lead to my higher grade. This process helps to organize, edit, and write with ease during difficult assignments.To better organize I wrote many drafts and billeted list of important ideas to include, which helped to be sure I included all necessary points. Editing was made easier by my peers who read over the essay and gave me feedback from different perspectives to improve the flow ND structure of the essay. And lastly, the ease of writing the final draft came from this described process used. Without this process, I would've made a much worse grade and been more stressed out over trying to get it done.Who are You? The prompt of this essay was to write a declaration of independence from your parents, much like the Declaration of Independence written by our founding fathers. We were instructed to use more Latin based words as well as all of the rhetorical devices we studied in class. The goal of this assignment was to gain independence room our parental units and was a chance to explain our wants and needs in a professional way.We then had to read this essay to our parents in order for them to grade how well we did. Using a formal process to write this essay made it much easier to get our point across rather than Just writing without structure. Another process used as well was studying the format used by the founding fathers of our country. However, the traditional writing process helped in many ways to receive the grade I desired. Preprinting, the most important, helped me to figure out what I wanted to say and exactly how I would say it.

A Bone to Pick Essays - Death Customs, Catacombs, Cemeteries, Paris

A Bone to Pick Essays - Death Customs, Catacombs, Cemeteries, Paris Kayla Cardwell ARTH 2010-W91 Amy Evans 11-10-15 A Bone to Pick The catacombs walls are very structured in they way they were built, the walls hold a lot of history, and the catacombs today are a very large tourist attraction. The Catacombs are located in Paris, France. Paris is not all about romance and love. Paris medieval vibe was once overwhelming. By the seventeenth century it was in fact, so overwhelming that there were literally dead bodies filling the streets. They then had the idea to move the rotting corps into the underground limestone quarries that were made in the thirteenth century when Paris was being built. Louis XV tried to move all cemeteries out of Paris for this very reason. Churches fought for them to stay, as it is wrong to move the dead. Residents often complained about the overwhelming stench of rotting flesh that filled the air. Perfume shops in the area complained that even they could not operate business properly because of the unusual putrid smell. This continued for years, as nothing was done about the cemeteries unti l 1780. The remains werent just thrown underground never to been seen again. No, they were artfully placed on the walls throughout all of the underground quarries. The tunnels cover right at 4.3 miles under Paris. Mazes and twists and turns throughout are all covered floor to ceiling with neatly stacked bones including human skulls. Despite the obvious eerie nature, the catacombs are actually quite beautiful. Patterns were even created using the bones such as a cross and heart. A big storm hits Paris in the 1700s causing the ground to rise. The corpses of millions of Parisians rose with it at an astounding eight feet above the street level. The streets were literally being filled with dead bodies. Residents in the area were getting diseases from the water and other supply that was being contaminated by this. Between 1786 and 1788, city officials agreed to have the cemeteries moved to the underground quarries beneath Paris. Priests blessed the tunnels below before any of the remains were moved. Taking place at night, the bones were silently moved on carts followed by a parade of priests. There are now roughly six to seven million people buried within the catacombs. There were some disagreements of this by neighboring churches due to beliefs that the dead must stay where they were laid to rest. After disease and the sickening smell of the dead filled the streets however, this decision was a lot easier to make. Among the millions that were buried, there were a handful of famous people. According to Erin McCarthy, a writer for New York Times, A number of notable people buried in those cemeteries likely had their bones transferred to the Catacombs. The list includes writers Jean de La Fontaine (Fables) and Charles Perrault (known for fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and Puss in Boots), painter Simon Vouet, and architect Salomon de Brosse (who designed the city's Luxembourg Palace) (McCarthy, Spending Time Among the Bones of Pariss Catacombs). The Catacombs today attract numerous tourists. Thousands upon thousands of thrill seekers come to Paris each year for the tour of a lifetime. It is now widely known as one of the scariest places on earth. After closing the cemetery off for burials, city officials decided it would make an exotic experience for tourists. For around $11 one can take the forty-five minute guided or unguided tour underground. Only few are allowed in at a time due to lack of oxygen below. Tourists are only welcome to 2.1 miles of the Catacombs. The rest of the winding tunnels are closed off and made illegal for public entrance. Apparently, it is quite easy to become lost within the tunnels.

Free Essays on Ayn Rand

AYN RAND The Fountainhead  · SETTING- Plane ticket- the story took place in metropoliton new york, but Rorke often finds himself travaling it many different places just to find a job.  · MAJOR CHARACTER-Howard Rorke- Light Bulb- Howard Rorke has new ideas that vary few accept. The light bulb is an odd shape which symbolizes Rorke’s new, diffrent ideas.  · MOOD-struggle against society- paper clip chain- Rorke often finds society tring to mold him to society’s chains, that keeps the people in conformity.  · THEME- Building something from nothing- ruler, pencil, eraser- The major theme of the story is building something from nothing, like buildings, relationships, or love. The tools symbolize an architect’s tools that he works with to create new things.  · CLIMAX- Rorke keeping his stand- blueprint/ picture of house- Rorke is asked to make decision between building one last building of his choice, and then conform to society and build what they want, or never build again. Rorke chose to never work again rather then compromise his ideals.  · QUOTE-"Sometimes, he was asked to show his sketches; he extended them across a desk, feeling a contraction of shame in the muscles of his hand; it was like having the clothes torn off his body, and the shame was not, that his body was exposed, but that it was exposed to indifferent eyes." Part 1, Chapter 8, pg. 99- Ken doll- the Ken doll shows how Rorke must have felt exposed to the world when he would show his skeches of buliding that he put his soul into and then for the the people not to care.  · CHOICE (ANOTHER CHARACTER)-Dominique- flower- she is decribes as being the ideal woman. She is perfect like a flower, but also she is like a flower because she must bloom into her true self.... Free Essays on Ayn Rand Free Essays on Ayn Rand Life and Philosophy of Ayn Rand In order to fully understand Ayn Rand’s philosophy you must understand the time and place she came from. The woman who would become Ayn Rand was born Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaumon on February 2, 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her father was a successful pharmacist while her mother was involved in the theater. They would be considered members of the intellectual class. During the early part of the 20th century most women did not have much choice on what they wanted to do with their lives. Being a woman in Russia was even more limited than being in America. Ayn taught herself to read at the age of six and three short years later decided to make writing fiction her career. Her determination to stand up for what she believes and not to let her upbringing hold her back is why I chose her to be the subject of my paper. In 1917, the Russian Revolution broke out and her father’s business was seized by the Bolsheviks. The family relocated to the Crimean Peninsula. In 1926 she traveled alone to the United States never to return to her Russia. Her experiences growing up in St. Petersburg, fleeing Crimea, and returning to the University of St. Petersburg had a tremendous impact on her philosophy. Her experience’s in oppressive, communistic Russia directly correlated to her numerous works and philosophy. Not long after her arrival to the United States Ayn moved from Chicago, where she stayed with family, to Hollywood. There she applied for a job as a screenwriter at the DeMille Studios. She was not a star as of yet. She got a job working for Cecil DeMille as an extra and a script reader on the film â€Å"The King of Kings†. Although this job did not bring upon stardom this is where she met Frank O’Connor, her soon to be husband. The next few years Ayn worked at odd jobs such as being a waitress. In 1929 she finally married Frank O’Connor and began working on the first novel she had publ... Free Essays on Ayn Rand AYN RAND The Fountainhead  · SETTING- Plane ticket- the story took place in metropoliton new york, but Rorke often finds himself travaling it many different places just to find a job.  · MAJOR CHARACTER-Howard Rorke- Light Bulb- Howard Rorke has new ideas that vary few accept. The light bulb is an odd shape which symbolizes Rorke’s new, diffrent ideas.  · MOOD-struggle against society- paper clip chain- Rorke often finds society tring to mold him to society’s chains, that keeps the people in conformity.  · THEME- Building something from nothing- ruler, pencil, eraser- The major theme of the story is building something from nothing, like buildings, relationships, or love. The tools symbolize an architect’s tools that he works with to create new things.  · CLIMAX- Rorke keeping his stand- blueprint/ picture of house- Rorke is asked to make decision between building one last building of his choice, and then conform to society and build what they want, or never build again. Rorke chose to never work again rather then compromise his ideals.  · QUOTE-"Sometimes, he was asked to show his sketches; he extended them across a desk, feeling a contraction of shame in the muscles of his hand; it was like having the clothes torn off his body, and the shame was not, that his body was exposed, but that it was exposed to indifferent eyes." Part 1, Chapter 8, pg. 99- Ken doll- the Ken doll shows how Rorke must have felt exposed to the world when he would show his skeches of buliding that he put his soul into and then for the the people not to care.  · CHOICE (ANOTHER CHARACTER)-Dominique- flower- she is decribes as being the ideal woman. She is perfect like a flower, but also she is like a flower because she must bloom into her true self....

Appraising Investment Decisions and Affects of Non Financial Factors The WritePass Journal

Appraising Investment Decisions and Affects of Non Financial Factors 1. BACKGROUND Appraising Investment Decisions and Affects of Non Financial Factors 1. BACKGROUND2. LITERATURE REVIEW2.1 Investment2.2 Investment Decision2.3 Investment Appraisal2.4 General or Conventional Appraisal Techniques2.4.1 Payback period2.4.2 Return on Investment2.4.3 Discounted Cash Flow Methods2.4.3.1 Net Present Value (NPV)2.4.3.2 Internal Rate of Return (IRR)2.5 Limitation of Conventional Techniques2.6 Strategic Investment3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY3.1 Research Objective3.2 Research Questions3.3 Research Philosophy3.4 Research Approach3.5 Research Design3.6 Research Strategy3.7 Data Collection Techniques3.8 Qualitative Research4. TIME PLAN4. CONCLUSION5. REFERENCESRelated 1. BACKGROUND The search for reliable techniques for project appraisal is an aged activity. Still it is of prime importance because the survival of a corporation is predominantly determined by its ability to revitalize itself through the allocation of capital to productive use (Arnold and Hatzopoulos, 2000). Inadequate use of decision tools expand the possibility of less return then the cost of capital, resulting in destruction of firm’s value (Copeland et al., 2000). A successful investment can make profits, increases market share and adds value to the firm, but on the contrary, if it is unsuccessful the firm will experience a loss. An incorrect investment decision may even lead to closure of a firm or bankruptcy. Therefore, the decision to invest or not is very crucial to any firm as it determines its future, and at the same time, this decision signifies the importance of investment evaluation techniques accordingly. Due to importance of such decision and extensive research, there is no shortage of tools and techniques to analyze an investment. Numbers of tools are available to find out the extent of profitability of an investment to help managers in making this vital decision (Akalu, 2001).   The most popular techniques are the net present value, internal rate of return, return on investment, benefit/cost ratio method and payback period (Remer and Nieto 1995). Scholars and some other sources tend to emphasize discounted cash flow methods, especially NPV approach, as superior to other methods (Tatsiopoulos and Tolis, 2002; Kaplan and Atkinson, 1998; Zimmerman, 1997). However, these conventional appraisal techniques (especially DCF methods) sometimes misinform when they are improperly used, estimation of cash flows are inaccurate, rough identification of discount rate or when vital non-quantifiable aspects of projects are omitted (Kaplan, 1986; Dugdale and Jones, 1995). In literature almost all of the proposed techniques are not free from criticism. The most common and major argument made by scholars is that conventional methods of appraising investment does not give adequate information due to risk and uncertainties; and they are not even appropriate to analyze strategic investments (Bierman, 1980; Brealey et al, 1992; Cox et al, 1985). Risk can be reduced if identified and uncertainties may even be dealt with research, but it’s almost impossible to eliminate these factors from investment. To deal with these factors scholars have proposed some additional methods like sensitivity analysis, simulation analysis, scenario analysis, probability analysis and portfolio theory (Pike and Neale, 2006). Though, in regard to strategic investments, conventional appraisal techniques fall short because they don’t capture intangible or non financial project attributes (Busby and Pitts, 1997; Dempsey, 2003). Butler et al. (1991, p. 402) noted: â€Å"In making decisions on strategic investments, quantifiable financial performance factors (whether measured by discounted cash flow techniques, payback period, or impact on sale and profits) were viewed as of secondary importance by most respondents. Product quality, fit with business strategy and improving the competitive position of the firm were the most important factors considered by all informants.† Some special methods for appraising strategic decision are also established and described by scholars. Among these, the balance scorecard, real option analysis, value chain analysis, benchmarking and technology roadmapping are of vital importance (Kaplan and Norton, 2001; Hoque, 2001; McCarthy, 2003; MacDougall and Pike, 2003). However, continuous usage of conventional appraisal methods, despite their recognized limitation, leaves us in a vague situation and inclines us to explore more. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Investment Investment is employment of funds or capital with the aim of making future benefit. In literature and corporate world this activity is also referred as capital investment. G.H Lawson and Richard Pike (1981) describe it as: â€Å"Capital investment usually refers to the commitment of funds to fixed capital expenditure in the anticipation of returns that compensate for the risk of the investment and the delay in the enjoyment of funds, i.e. consumption.† 2.2 Investment Decision It is the process where managers or investors decides whether or not, when and how to spend money on the project. The heart of all investment appraisals is to calculate the value of spending money, by comparing the benefits with the costs. If this is done incorrectly, it could hammer the investor or firm’s growth (Mott, 1982). 2.3 Investment Appraisal The most important step to start appraising the investment is the identification of cost and benefit associated with it. This step requires immense of experience and expertise as it is an anticipation and mainly this reason has also forced Aggarwal (1993) to argue that â€Å"evaluating capital investment is close to an art and father from a science than is desirable†. Hence it can be said that investment appraisal techniques can never replace managerial judgment, but they can help make judgment more sound (Lumby and Jones, 1999). The major questions to be asked while investment appraisals are highlighted by Campbell (2006), these are: What return on capital employed will the project deliver? How quickly will the project pay for itself? Will the project add value to business? 2.4 General or Conventional Appraisal Techniques 2.4.1 Payback period This non-discounted appraisal techniques seeks to assess how quickly the positive cash flow recovers the initial capital investment. It is calculated by estimating the timely cash flows and at what time the project over comes the investment by the later returns. The project is accepted if it is equal to or less then the predetermined acceptable time or the one with lesser recovery time among available alternatives is accepted (Mott, 1982; Campbell, 2006). 2.4.2 Return on Investment Return on investment or return on capital employed is another non-discounted method for project appraisal. It is a ratio indicator which tells how well the investor or firm is utilizing the capital to generate revenue. The calculation is done by taking profit before tax and divides it by the difference between total asset and current liabilities (Lumby and Jones, 1999). This method has also some disadvantages but is a useful technique as well. 2.4.3 Discounted Cash Flow Methods These methods covers the issue of time value of money, which is, the future money is worth less than money at present. DCF technique converts the future cash flows value into the value of present day. In this manner we can worth the investment at the point when we are actually making it (Brealey et al, 2009). Among the family of discounted cash flow techniques net present value and internal rate of return are vital. 2.4.3.1 Net Present Value (NPV) Net present value is calculated by converting all future cash flows in today’s date and then deducting it from today’s investment. Positive NPV implies that the project is worth to create value and generally the project is accepted when NPV is greater than zero or the one with higher NPV is selected among available alternatives (Campbell, 2006). 2.4.3.2 Internal Rate of Return (IRR) It is that rate at which the net present value is zero. It is complex and difficult to calculate manually, as it is a trial and error method. Generally the project is accepted if the IRR is greater than the hurdle rate, discount rate or in simple terms the opportunity cost (Blank and Tarquin, 1989). 2.5 Limitation of Conventional Techniques Although every technique has its own and unique limitations but here general limitations are mentioned. The non discounted methods are normally criticized due to time value of money and discounted methods are argued due to its complexity. The most common errors found in applying DCF methods are: pre tax calculation of discount rate; anticipation of non-economic statutory in discount rate which may leads to error and incorrect results; interest charges are included in cash flows; cash flows are specified in today’s money (excluding inflation); use of single cut of rate instead of rate reflecting project risk (Pike and Neale, 2006). A major limitation of these techniques, which I have also mentioned earlier, are incapability to include the non financial factors into consideration like risk, uncertainties and factors involved in strategic investments. It has been argued that every single benefits of strategic investment are difficult to quantify and some other approach is required for strategic investment decisions, other than conventional financial techniques ((Butler et al., 1991; Covin et al., 2001). 2.6 Strategic Investment Strategic investment decisions mainly concerns long term investments in asset. Common type of SIDs includes: new product development, new market development, new technology or infrastructure, mergers and acquisitions (Harris et al., 2009). Strategic investments does not only brings economic value to the firm; benefits like increase in product quality, better competitive position, fit with business strategy, increase in customer loyalty can an advantage of strategic investment (Butler et al., 1991). 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Objective The main purpose of this research is to examine the importance of non-financial factors that could affect the investment appraisal process.   The research aims to analyze and study conventional investment appraisal techniques and highlight their limitations. Moreover, the research shall investigate the non-financial factors that are considered important in evaluating strategic investment projects.   Lastly, the study shall investigate whether recently developed analysis tools such as those that aim to integrate strategic and financial analysis, being used to evaluate strategic investment projects. 3.2 Research Questions The research questions that this study shall attempt to answer through the analysis of empirical data are as follows: What are the limitations of conventional investment appraisal techniques? What non-financial factors are considered important in investment evaluation, especially in strategic investment decision? Do organisations use conventional appraisal techniques for evaluation of strategic investment projects or prefer using recently developed strategic analysis tools in order to evaluate? 3.3 Research Philosophy The research philosophy adopted by the researcher is one of ‘subjectivism’.   Morgan and Smirchich (1980) state that subjectivism perceives reality as a â€Å"social construct†.   Saunders et al (2009) state â€Å"the subjectivist view is that social phenomena are created from the perceptions and consequent actions of social actors†. In this case, the social actors are the company’s that shall be studied.   Strategic investment decision making shall be analysed and investigated in this research based upon the actions of views of these ‘social actors’. Saunders et al (2009) state that for a researcher to understand any action he should explore the subjective meanings motivating those actions. This research aims to investigate the reasons behind implementation of modern strategic analysis tools by identifying the weaknesses of conventional strategic analysis methods and understanding how non-financial factors affect investments. Remenyi et al (1998) also emphasise on this issue and discuss the importance of studying the details of a certain situation in order to understand the ‘behind-the-scenes’ reality. 3.4 Research Approach Deductive approach is defined as developing a conceptual framework by studying the theory and testing this through either confirming or rejecting the hypothesis developed based on the theory by studying the empirical data collected (Bryman and Bell, 2007).   An inductive approach, as defined by Bryman and Bell (2007), is one where theory is the outcome of research. According to Saunders et al (2009) in an inductive approach the theory follows from the collected data unlike in a deductive approach where it is the other way around. This research shall collect empirical data on strategic investment appraisal techniques using the methods mentioned below and the researcher will draw a conclusions based on the collected data by studying the inherent patterns   and thus, this study shall adopt an inductive approach. 3.5 Research Design Research design is defined by Collis and Hussey (2003) as planning procedures for conducting research in order to obtain the most adequate results. The purpose of implementing an appropriate research design is to make sure that the data collected for the purpose of the research enables the researchers to answer the research questions proposed. According to Saunders et al (2007) there are seven types of research designs and each can be used for explanatory, descriptive or exploratory research.   Since this research aims to highlight the limitations of conventional investment appraisal techniques and investigate the use of modern techniques, an exploratory research needs to be conducted.   An exploratory research is used when there are no existing models to use as a basis for the study. 3.6 Research Strategy The research strategies as discussed by Saunders et al (2009) are experiment, survey, case study, action research, grounded theory, ethnography, and archival research. The research strategy adopted for the purpose of this study is ‘case study’. Stake (2000) defines case study as an organised and systematic way of producing information on a certain topic. Cooper and Morgan (2008) define case study as â€Å"an in-depth and contextually informed examination of specific organizations or events that explicitly address theory.† Case studies help analyse the experience or activities of a particular event of phenomena. This research aims to investigate the use of recently developed strategic analysis tools and thus shall conduct an in-depth study of an organisation in order to investigate whether the said organisation implements such techniques. The company selected for the purpose of this research is Engro Corp. Engro Corp is one of the largest conglomerates in Pakistan and since I have family working within the organisation at reputable posts I have access to the company and shall be able to obtain the required primary data rather easily. Due to the fact that there is very little data on the use of recently developed strategic analysis tools and the data required for this research is not reported externally, this research shall use primary data collected through a questionnaire.   For this particular topic, only primary data can assist in answering the research questions posed and the objectives stated. 3.7 Data Collection Techniques The research shall primarily use primary data.   Some secondary data will also be used to support the primary data collection. Primary data used for this study shall be collected through a survey. An open-ended questionnaire shall be used to collect the data required for the research.   The questionnaire shall be self-administered and E-mail to the appropriate personnel within the company. The in-depth questionnaire shall explore the use of investment appraisal techniques within the company and if required, the researcher shall also issue a follow up questionnaire in order to collect further data for this research. 3.8 Qualitative Research Cresswell (1994) stated that qualitative research assists in understanding social or human problems by building a complex picture formed using words which report detailed views of informants.   Qualitative research involved the use and collection of a range of empirical data and involved an interpretive approach towards the subject. Hence, in this case qualitative research methods shall be used due to these aforementioned characteristics which are deemed suitable for this research. 4. TIME PLAN 4. CONCLUSION Choosing investment decision for research is due to my interest in the topic. However, it is also a part of my degree program and as per my knowledge there are some gaps which need to be filled. 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