Death be not proud because I could not stop for death Essay

Passing be not glad since I was unable to stop for death - Essay Example Donne regards demise as an individual in his sonnet and repudiates its capacity. He advises demise not to be so glad as it isn't as frightening as it demonstrates individuals it seems to be. The author tells passing that it isn’t as incredible as it might suspect it is and he negates its quality. The author says that individuals don’t pass on when they meet demise and neither will he himself. He contrasts demise and ‘rest and sleep’ (Donne 11), the two things which are tranquil and not unnerving by any means. He says that the great individuals realize that demise doesn’t bring torment rather joy. The sonnet further proceeds to clarify demise as a slave and the essayist blames passing for being related with components, for example, toxin, affliction, and war. He says that he could simply have a few medications and nod off which is only equivalent to death would be. Demise is viewed as only a short rest that people take and afterward the great ones wak e up again to endlessness (Donne 11). Since this occurs, passing isn't endless and demise kicks the bucket which implies it has no force. The start of the sonnet centers around the subject of death and the speaker tends to death as a glad individual with a demeanor issue who thinks himself as the most impressive. The speaker says that demise sees himself as somebody who can supervisor around and overwhelm the individuals. It is an incredible power that panics individuals and individuals wish to get away from it. He is treated as the ruler as everybody might suspect it is here to accomplish something horrendous (Donne 11). Notwithstanding, the speaker says that he isn’t apprehensive and he realizes that demise isn’t as startling as it shows everybody. The speaker defies demise and discloses to him that he isn’t terrified as he realizes that individuals think wrong. The sonnet at that point shapes further components that demise isn't really passing and it bites the dust regarding the Christian custom that everybody will ascend forever. This implies passing isn't genuine and it isn't until the end of time.

The Basics of Economics :: Economics

Financial matters is the investigation and comprehension of the economy or the arrangement of government and individuals that manages cash and monetary things. Since the administration authorities didn't comprehend my report about the financial changes that should help invigorate the economy, I have chosen to instruct them around not many ideas about the economy and how it functions and how they can profit by me and utilize these ideas to settle on shrewd and great choices to animate the economy. The primary thing I chose to show the administration authorities is monetary opportunity. Individuals exceptionally care about their financial opportunity, therefore, the administration needs to give the buyers or individuals some opportunity. Individuals need to settle on their monetary decisions; their activity or occupation, what they will do with their cash, what to deliver and how to create it. Another significant idea concerning the individuals is monetary value; individuals incredibly esteem uniformity. Treating individuals decently without segregating between them is a significant standard. Along these lines, segregating based on age, sex, race, religion, or incapacity is unlawful. A model for monetary value would be negligible pay; the least lawful compensation that can be paid to a laborer. Individuals who are not rich get influenced drastically by expansion; in this way, individuals want to have value dependability. Value dependability is significant on the grounds that ex pansion can harm a great deal of business and individuals, disheartening them to get in business and this lead the individuals to neediness and abhorring the legislature and doing uproars and strikes. Swelling can likewise toward the final product in expanding the percent of joblessness. Full businesses is when the greater part of the general public or about every last bit of it are utilized or have occupations, individuals wish for this however it will never appropriately be executed. Rivalry is the consequence of having opportunity in a monetary framework. Rivalry is something contrary to the imposing business model; rivalry is the point at which the dealers battle to pull in the purchasers or buyers. Rivalry exists in light of the fact that the individual business people have the opportunity to pick their items. Rivalry benefits both the dealer and the purchaser. Numerous individuals perceive shortage and they need to realize how to manage it. Individuals realize that in the event that the assets are squandered, at that point the quantity of items will diminish and accordingly proficiency in monetary choices is an unmistakable thing. The legislature must be productive in tackling the individuals' issues. Individuals trust in the financial development to increment since everybody needs to have a rich and pleasant life.

What Questions Should Be Asked When Writing An English Reflection Paper?

What Questions Should Be Asked When Writing An English Reflection Paper?Many students spend time thinking about what questions they would ask their teacher when taking an English reflection paper. Of course, the teachers and parents are encouraged to offer as many helpful suggestions as possible. But it can be difficult for the student to know where to begin because often, there is not even a right question.The first step is to make sure that the student has the right questions to begin the process of building a knowledge base of English. For example, one important point that is often forgotten is the need to read an entire book for some topics. Often, this is overlooked by students. They may argue that they need to learn and understand everything right away, but this often proves to be a mistake.The initial stage for an English reflection paper is to start with the basics, which could mean just one word or phrase in one sentence. Then it can lead into more difficult subjects, such a s sentences or paragraphs. So, for example, if there was a sentence like 'The Greek alphabet has 34 letters,' the student could find their way to the beginning of the word and then reading all of the names to find out what they meant.In addition, it will help to improve some research skills. There are many ways to do this. Perhaps the student should look up a definition on the Internet or at their textbook to get some ideas. Or perhaps the student could check their English composition book for ideas.Then it is time to write the essay. Usually, a writer needs to come up with a theme or concept that explains what the paper is trying to say. Although there is no right or wrong idea for this, it will help to keep in mind some things to consider. First, it will help to determine if the topic is worth exploring further.If itis just something that pertains to the writing itself, a student may want to include things such as work experience, hobbies, interests, and affiliations. If it is for an actual skill test, the student may want to include topics like speaking, listening, writing, or typing. In fact, a student may be able to use one idea from each of these areas. Or maybe two ideas are needed.Finally, there is the process of writing the reflective paper. Many students think that this is the final step of the process. This is not true, though.Before the writing even begins, students can reflect on their own thoughts and feelings, which may seem to be inconsistent with a classroom situation. Taking this time can help to clear the mind and produce a very successful paper.

Imperialism And Population Migration During New Zealand

Brownlow (2005) states that â€Å"colonisation, imperialism and population migration have always lead to the demise of languages† (para. 2), and this ‘rule of thumb’ is no different in New Zealand. In the early 1900s te reo MÄ ori (the MÄ ori language) was, by and large, the sole language spoken by the MÄ ori population, yet by the 1930s many MÄ ori were bilingual. (Higgins Keane, 2014). Higgins Keane (2014) attribute this to the negative societal attitude toward speaking te reo MÄ ori in schools -that eventually spilled into home environments- and the fact that many Europeans advocated for monolingualism. As a result of years of this abuse, te reo MÄ ori was threatened with extinction. (Spolsky, 2003). The 1970s and 1980s were decades where many†¦show more content†¦(Fishman, 2013). Giacalone Ramat (1983) succinctly defines language shift as â€Å"the change of habits by a linguistic community as it gradually substitutes one linguistic var iety of traditional use with another variety, either long present in the community itself or newly introduced† (p. 495), and mentions that language shift is the precursor to the terminal phases of language death, language loss and language extinction. Fishman (as cited in Department of Internal Affairs, 2014) adds that the stages to language shift include increased contact with mainstream groups, an increase in the new language being spoken by migrants, and learner proficiency in the new language that subsequently leads to better opportunities. These stages fit with events and views held in early colonial New Zealand and were the impetus for language shift in New Zealand. The attempted assimilation of MÄ ori into mainstream society had an extremely negative effect on MÄ ori language and culture and is an example of one such act. Fleras (1985) describes that early British-MÄ ori policy included the need to protect and assist MÄ ori, but as virtually all legislation was concentrated on complete MÄ ori assimilation into the mainstream, it seems that assimilation was always the primary objective. The policy of assimilation was â€Å"to establish government control over the MÄ ori by phasing out as humanely as possible theShow MoreRelatedNotes on Colonialism and Imperialism1489 Words   |  6 PagesChapter 33 Notes * Foundations of empire * Motives of imperialism * Modern imperialism * Refers to domination of industrialized countries over subject lands * Domination achieved through trade, investment, and business activities * Two types of modern colonialism * Colonies ruled and populated by migrants * Colonies controlled by imperial powers without significant settlement * Economic motives of imperialism * European merchants and entrepreneurs made personalRead MoreComparison Of Old World Imperialism And Globalization2577 Words   |  11 Pagesold-world Imperialism and Globalization reveal about the two systems? â€Å"In Globalization 1.0, which began around 1492, the world went from size large to size medium. In Globalization 2.0, 1800-2000, the era that introduced us to multinational companies, it went from size medium to size small. And then around 2000 came Globalization 3.0, in which the world went from being small to tiny.† This quote by Friedman reflects the widely held view- that contemporary globalization is not a new phenomenonRead MoreThe Postcolonial Of Amitav Ghosh s Novels Let Us Begin3362 Words   |  14 PagesBhabha, 1990) and Culture and Imperialism (Edward Said, 1993). A recurring feature of postcolonial writing is the attempt to identify the differential cultural identity. As oppositional discourse, postcolonial literature seeks to undermine the European discursive tradition that has promoted the entire process of imperialization. The postcolonial theory challenges system of conceptualizations and representation that justify and help maintain imperialist power during and after the age of colonizationRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesAutotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam WineburgRead MoreHas Globalization Change Culture and Societal Norms?3163 Words   |  13 Pagesimprove and sustain local and national economic growth (Giddens 2009). This essay will evaluate how globalisation and the rise of neo-liberalist political ideologies have resulted in changes to cultural and societal norms, impacting upon welfare and migration. The global effects of social exclusion and marginalisation affecting individuals and communities will also be discussed, with particular focus on how this has impacted upon women in society. Lyons (2006) suggests globalisation is a process impactingRead MoreThe Future of Globalization5305 Words   |  22 Pagesthe late 1800s and lasted until the start of the 1900s. It was caused by a combination of falling transport costs and a reduction in tariff barriers. This opened up the possibility of using abundant land countries (Argentina, US, Australia and New Zealand). People immigrated to these countries and capital was invested in manufacturing in these countries. (World Bank, 2000) The second wave came in the early 19th century and lasted until World War I. Policies such as import tariffs were introducedRead MoreRevolutionary Changes in the Atlantic World, 1750–185010951 Words   |  44 PagesAmericas and in India. 2. The unprecedented costs of the wars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries drove European governments to seek new sources of revenue at a time when the intellectual environment of the Enlightenment inspired people to question and to protest the state’s attempts to introduce new ways of collecting revenue. B. The Enlightenment and the Old Order 1. The Enlightenment thinkers sought to apply the methods and questions of the Read MoreSocial Determinants of Health10939 Words   |  44 Pagesconfronting Indigenous people are included, with particular attention to racism. ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER POPULATIONS The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated that in 2006 there were 517,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in Australia. Overall, Indigenous people make up 2.5% of the total Australian population. Among the Indigenous population in 2006, it is estimated that 463,700 (90%) were of Aboriginal origin, 33,300 (6%) were of Torres Strait Islander originRead MoreHumanitarian Intervention Essay3737 Words   |  15 Pageshumanitarian intervention, undertaken with increasing frequency during the last few decades, is to protect the citizens of the target state from violations of their fundamental human rights usually by agents of the state. Humanitarian interventions have also been conducted in some cases where existing institutions of the state, have been rendered incapable of providing even the minimum degree of security and order to their populations. In such cases sovereignty ceases to exist and the privilegesRead MorePre-Columbian Period9302 Words   |  38 PagesAmericans in the United States and Alaskan Native peoples, as well as all indigenous peoples of the Americas. Many indigenous peoples were semi-nomadic tribes of hunter-gatherers; others were sedentary and agricultural civilizations. Many formed new tribes or confederations in response to European colonization. Well-known groups included the Huron, Apache Tribe, Cherokee, Sioux, Delaware, Algonquin, Choctaw, Mohegan, Iroquois (which included the Mohawk nation, Oneida tribe, Seneca nation, Cayuga

Biography of Willa Cather, American Author

Willa Cather (born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 to April 24, 1947) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer who gained acclaim for her novels capturing the American pioneer experience. Fast Facts: Willa Cather Known For: Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer whose novels captured the American pioneer experienceBorn:  December 7, 1873 in Back Creek Valley, Virginia, USADied:  April 24, 1947 in New York City, New York, USAEducation: University of Nebraska–LincolnSelected Works: My à ntonia (1918), O Pioneers! (1913), Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927), One of Ours (1922)Awards and Honors: 1923 Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours, 1944 Gold Medal for Fiction from the National Institute of Arts and LettersNotable Quote:  There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before. Early Life on the Prairie Willa Cather was born on the farm of her maternal grandmother, Rachel Boak, in the poor farming region of Back Creek Valley, Virginia, on December 7, 1873. The oldest of seven children, she was the daughter of Charles Cather and Mary Cather (nà ©e Boak). Despite the Cather family having spent several generations in Virginia, Charles moved his family to the Nebraska frontier when Willa was nine years old. After spending about eighteen months attempting to farm in the community of Catherton, the Cathers moved into the town of Red Cloud. Charles opened a business for real estate and insurance, and the children, including Willa, were able to attend formal school for the first time. Many of the figures in Willa’s early life would appear in fictionalized form in her later novels: most notably her grandmother Rachel Boak, but also her parents and her friend and neighbor Marjorie Anderson. As a girl, Willa found herself fascinated by the frontier environment and its people. She developed a lifelong passion for the land and befriended a wide array of the area’s residents. Her curiosity and interest in literature and language led her to forge connections with immigrant families in her community, especially older women who remembered the â€Å"Old World† and who delighted in telling young Willa their stories. Another of her friends and mentors was the local doctor, Robert Damerell, under whose guidance she decided to pursue science and medicine. Student, Teacher, Journalist Willa attended the University of Nebraska, where her career plans took an unexpected turn. During her freshman year, her English professor submitted an essay she had written on Thomas Carlyle to the Nebraska State Journal, which published it. Seeing her name in print had a huge impact on the young student, and she shifted her aspirations immediately towards becoming a professional writer. While at the University of Nebraska, Willa immersed herself in the world of writing, particularly journalism, although she also penned short stories. She became the editor of the university’s student newspaper while also contributing to the Journal and to the Lincoln Courier as a theatre critic and columnist. Quickly, she gained a reputation for her strong opinions and sharp, intelligent columns, as well as for her dressing in masculine fashions and using â€Å"William† as a nickname. In 1894, she graduated with her B.A. in English. In 1896, Willa accepted a position in Pittsburgh as writer and managing editor for Home Monthly, a women’s magazine. She continued to write for the Journal and the Pittsburgh Leader, mostly as a theatre critic while running Home Monthly. During this period, her love for the arts brought her in contact with Pittsburgh socialite Isabelle McClung, who became her lifelong friend. After a few years of journalism, Willa stepped into the role of teacher. From 1901 to 1906, she taught English, Latin, and, in one case, algebra at nearby high schools. During this time, she began publishing: first a book of poetry, April Twilights, in 1903, and then a short story collection, The Troll Garden, in 1905. These caught the eye of S.S. McClure, who, in 1906, invited Willa to join the staff of McClure’s Magazine in New York City. Literary Success in New York City Willa was extremely successful at McClure’s. She ghostwrote a notable biography of Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy, which was credited to researcher Georgine Milmine and published in several installments around 1907. Her position as managing editor earned her prestige and the admiration of McClure himself, but it also meant that she had significantly less time to work on her own writing. On the advice of her mentor Sarah Orne Jewett, Willa left the magazine business in 1911 to focus on fiction. Although she no longer worked for McClure’s, her relationship with the publication continued. In 1912, the magazine published, in serial, her first novel, Alexander’s Bridge. The novel was well-reviewed (although Willa herself would, later in life, consider it a more derivative work than her later novels). Her next three novels cemented her legacy. Her â€Å"Prairie Trilogy† consisted of O Pioneers! (published in 1913), The Song of the Lark (1915), and My à ntonia  (1918). These three novels centered on the pioneer experience, drawing on her childhood experiences of life in Nebraska, the immigrant communities she loved there, and her passion for the untamed land. The novels included some autobiographical elements, and all three were celebrated by critics and audiences alike. These novels shaped her reputation as a writer who used plain but beautiful language to write thoroughly American romantic literature. Dissatisfied with her publisher’s lack of support for her novels, Willa began publishing short stories with Knopf in 1920. She would eventually publish sixteen works with them, including her 1923 novel One Of Them, which won the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel. A subsequent book, 1925’s Death Comes for the Archbishop, also enjoyed a long legacy. At this point in her career, Willa’s novels were beginning to move away from epic, romantic tales of the American prairie to stories that leaned into the disillusionment of the post-World War I era. Later Years As the 1930s rolled around, literary critics soured on Willa’s books, criticizing them for being too nostalgic and not contemporary enough. She continued to publish, but at a much slower pace than before. During this time, she received honorary degrees from Yale, Princeton, and Berkeley. Her personal life also began to take a toll. Her mother and the two brothers with whom she was closest all passed away, as did Isabelle McClung. The bright spot was Edith Lewis, the editor who was her closest companion from the early 1900s until her death. Scholars are divided as to whether or not the relationship was romantic or platonic; Willa, a deeply private person, destroyed many personal papers, so there is no certain evidence either way, but scholars of the queer theory have often interpreted her works through the lens of this partnership. Willa’s personal life remained something she kept closely guarded, even after her death. Willa despaired over the coming conflicts of World War II, and she began to have issues with an inflamed tendon in her writing hand. Her final novel, Sapphira and the Slave Girl, was published in 1940 and marked a significantly darker tone than her previous works. In 1944, the National Institute of Arts and Letters awarded her the gold medal for fiction as a mark of her lifetime of literary achievement. In her final years, her health began to decline, and on April 24, 1947, Willa Cather died of a cerebral hemorrhage in New York City. Legacy Willa Cather left behind a canon that was both plainspoken and elegant, accessible and deeply nuanced. Her portrayals of immigrants and women (and of immigrant women) have been at the center of much modern scholarship. With a style that encompassed sweeping epics along with realistic depictions of frontier life, Willa Cather’s writings have become iconic pieces of the literary canon, both in America and worldwide. Sources Ahearn, Amy. Willa Cather: A Longer Biographical Sketch. Willa Cather Archive, https://cather.unl.edu/life.longbio.html.Smiley, Jane. Willa Cather, Pioneer. The Paris Review, 27 February 2018, https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/02/27/willa-cather-pioneer.Woodress, James.  Willa Cather: A Literary Life. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1987.

Construction Of Oil Rigs And Producing Oil - 1327 Words

Introduction: In the industry of producing oil for the world’s energy sources, safety should always remain the top priority in the creation of oil rigs and producing oil. There are multiple steps in building these massive devices and each of the steps have to be handled with the greatest of care. These steps are assembling and maintenance. Assembling is the part where the workers put together the structure of the rig and ensure that it is set up correctly. â€Å"Maintenance is where the drilling equipment failure is monitored and operational so that they do not fail when producing oil† [1]. Well control is where employees monitor the drilling fluid pressure and blowout preventions. It can be difficult for workers to complete their tasks if a hazard or danger occurs. The safety procedures are focused on Assembly and Maintenance because they are key elements in the creation of oil rigs. The construction of the rig and the maintenance of the design have to be looked over to ensure that the structure is working properly. While there are already safety concerns that the industry is aware of, they are sometimes overlooked by the idea that hazards do not occur very often when working on rigs. This idea is true in terms of the hazards occurring not very often but sometimes when something goes wrong, the hazards present themselves and the consequences can be severe. â€Å"These safety concerns are involved with the process of placing and assembling the parts of equipment that create theShow MoreRelatedCurrent Ethical Issues on Oil Spill1482 Words   |  6 Pagestheir domestic consumptions of oil have led to increased prices of gasoline whereby alternative forms of energy production are sought. With this in mind, offshore drilling can be a viable option for satiating the need of oil and also to boost the economy of the nation. In this report, I am going to discuss how the current Deepwater Horizon rig explosion has led to disastrous oil spill into the Gu lf of Mexico causing environmental problems and also discuss how the oil spill if resolved and with safeRead MoreBaker Hughes Incorporated ( Bhi / Nyse )858 Words   |  4 PagesHughes Incorporated (BHI/NYSE) Baker Hughes is a top-tier oilfield service company that is headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company provides oil and gas exploration and production companies worldwide with products and services for drilling, formation valuation, production, and completion. Baker Hughes also provides services for downstream segments of the oil and gas industry. Technological innovation is at the center of Baker Hughes’ success. The company is over 100 years old, with 60,000 employeesRead MoreShould The North Dakota Pipeline Lead A Negative Ecological Impact? Essay1467 Words   |  6 Pagesthat will transfer about 470,000 to 570,000 barrels of crude oil a day through four states, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, and Iowa. The pipe is thirty inches in diameter and â€Å"will connect the rapidly expanding Bakken and Three Forks production areas in North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois† (Energy Transfer Partners). This pipeline is hoped to help the US become less dependent on foreign oil and is a safer and cheaper way to move crude oil compared to rail car or trucks. It is also estimated to bringRead MoreDrilling Rigs : Offshore Drilling5013 Words   |  21 Pages An offshore drilling rig is a machine that creates holes (usually called wells or boreholes) and/or shafts in the ground. Drilling rigs can be huge structures that house equipment which is then used to drill water wells, oil wells, or natural gas wells. The term â€Å"rig† refers to the complexity of the equipment that is used to penetrate deep into the surface of the earth’s hard crust. Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled through the seabed. Typically carried outRead MorePros and Cons of Energy Sources1119 Words   |  5 Pages Pros and Cons for Oil Pros Cons - Readily available - Creates jobs for economy when required to drill and transport - Largest provider of electricity - The world has been using oil for the last 100 years - Not much new technology will be required to extract oil - Use of oil continually grows the U.S. economy - If certain regions would be allowed to drill oil in, then more oil could be extracted and the price could lower for gasoline - Production of oil rigs could lead to the development ofRead MoreThe Extension Of The Lease1506 Words   |  7 PagesHowever, paragraph twenty-three (â€Å"Extension of the Lease†) references the primary term and states â€Å"the original two (2) year primary term.† It appears the language cannot be harmonized by other evidence in the lease, so an appropriate canon of construction may apply. Even though there is an ambiguity, a court would likely find that the habendum clause prevails over recitals stated in paragraph twenty-three; therefore, the primary term would be three years. The language states the lease will expireRead MoreEconomics On The Fuel Economy1375 Words   |  6 Pageswill examine the overall number economic impacts relating to oil spills and the overall oil producing economy. The United States economy is highly dependent upon fuel. Fuel is a major source that come from fossil fuels from all around the world. Fossil fuels are used to fuel cars and airplanes, power electricity plants, and heat our homes. So this lies around the question, where does fuel come from? There are 3 forms of fuel, coal, oil, and natural gas. Coal is found in many of the lower 48 statesRead MoreEurasia Drilling, A Provider Of Drilling Services1815 Words   |  8 Pagesonshore drilling conducted in CIS. It offers its onshore integrated well construction services and workover services to local and international oil and gas companies primarily in Russia and its offshore drilling services to Russian and international oil and gas companies in the Russian, Kazakh and Turkmen sectors of the Caspian Sea. Its onshore drilling services include the construction of production, exploration and appraisal oil and gas wells and certain other types of wells, including vertical, deviatedRead MoreT he United States Energy Industry Essay1431 Words   |  6 Pagesto the occasion as an alternative to other fossil fuels such as coal because it burns cleaner. As the oil reserves in many parts of the world are being depleted, the availability of a viable alternative such as natural gas is becoming increasingly important. So too is the lure of the future possibility of energy independence for countries both developed and developing. In the last decade, oil and natural gas development have rapidly expanded in the United States, fundamentally reshaping domesticRead MoreHow Drilling Should Be Approved For Their Families1614 Words   |  7 Pages People Have to Eat Hitting an oil well on someone’s land is the dream of a lot of oil miners. Most oil miners have never seen a new well being tapped, that’s because of the technology available to people. Most oil miners will never experience the tapping of a fresh oil well. For the most part, all the untapped oil deposits are in endangered landscapes that are protected by sanctions, and or preservation laws. With all that untapped oil lying dormant in a deposit, it infuriates people

The Rise of Christianity in the Roman Republic free essay sample

Throughout the Roman republic and most of the empire, the Roman religion was polytheistic. The religion was based on the Greek religion and included multiple gods and goddesses who were anthropomorphic and cruel. However, during the first century of the Common Era, Judaism and â€Å"mystery religions† such as Mithraism, Eleusis, and Christianity were becoming increasing popular. Roman rule tried to control the spread of these religions but eventually Christianity became the chief religion of Rome and its empire. In the early stages of these new religions, Rome was surprisingly tolerant. Many rulers allowed citizens to practice these religions and asked only for simple patriotism and to recognize the holidays of Roman gods. Most Jews and Christians were uncooperative with this notion. In fact, many radical Jews and Christians emerged. A notable radical Jesus, who was an orthodox Jew, led and taught â€Å"the good news† to his followers. This stubborn disobedience enraged rulers such as Nero and Diocletian, who ordered for many Christian persecutions. We will write a custom essay sample on The Rise of Christianity in the Roman Republic or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Diocletian ordered that churches and sacred books be destroyed throughout the Empire. Nero is best known for a devastating fire which was rumored to have been started by Nero himself. He tried to end these rumors by punishing many Christians as a distraction. Persecutions were common and often resulted in death. Women were persecuted the same as men. Christians accepted Jesus as their messiah after he had been put to a gruesome death under the orders of Pilate. At this time, the Roman Empire was in economic turmoil and Christian persecutions were its last attempt at control. A major turning point in the history of Christianity occurred in 312 of the current era. The story is told that Constantine, Roman emperor during this time, had a dream telling him to decorate his shield with the Greek letters for Christ. When he did so and was victorious during battle, Constantine decided that he would convert to Christianity. Constantine also ended all persecutions and allowed all Christians to worship freely. Theodosius the Great took the work of Constantine a step further. He forbade any religion to be practiced except Christianity. This movement gave many more privileges to the church. Churches could now own property and were exempt from certain taxes. Christians were finally free to live and worship. The phenomenon of Christianity was not a battle won easily. There were many cruel and devastating punishments to those who practiced against Roman religion. Men and women were put to death or forced into hiding in the first century. However, as the population of Christians grew rapidly, Roman law found it necessary to revise laws and allow Christianity within the Empire. Christians had won the victory of faith and progressed onward through history.

African Slave Trade essays

African Slave Trade essays There are three documents that explain the African Slave Trade. Document seven, The Life of Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, The African, is a primary memoir written by Olaudah in1789. Equiano wrote this document to describe his life in Africa and explain what it was like being a slave. This document, which was written for people involved in the English antislavery movement and anyone else who wanted to know about his experiences as a slave, relates to the slave trade from Africa and the sugar plantations in the West Indies. Both the document and the text talk about Equianos life as a slave and some of what he went through. Document eight, Commerce, Slavery, and Religion in North Africa, is a primary memoir written by a member of a caravan headed by a Tuareg guide called Cheggeun in 1860. This document, which was written for General E. Daumas, a French officer serving in Algeria, explains trade, slavery, and religion in North Africa. This document relates to the Atlantic trade syste m in sub-Saharan Africa. Both the text and the document explain the tasks that African slaves performed in Islam. They also talk about how Muslims were like Christians in that they saw no reason for trading slaves. Document nine, Slavery and the Slave Trade of Brazil, is a primary memoir written by Thomas Nelson in 1846. His purpose for writing it was to describe the conditions of the Africans he came into contact with while aboard slave ships. This document, which was written for people who wanted to know about the Africans aboard the slave ships, connects to the eighteenth-century. The document and the text both tell a little of what the slaves endured. They discuss several diseases such as dysentery and malaria, which took the lives of many slaves.These documents are similar in that they are all primary memoirs written to explain the African Slave Trade and discuss the ...

For-Profit Organizations Essay

Nonprofit/For-Profit Organizations Essay Nonprofit vs. For-Profit Organizations Essay Nonprofit vs. For-Profit Organizations Essay Comparing Differences in Operation of Profit and not for Profit Organizations In business, it is important to compare the differences between not for profit and profit making organizations. They operate under different systems of management. These organizations are under different management types because their purposes are not the same. Different management strategies are used to deals with different organizations. They operate under different cultures and it is important to know precisely how they affect the community. These organizations serve different levels of stakeholders and it is vital to compare the differences between nonprofit and profit making organizations. This comparison is vital for the government and other related institutions. Investors ought to know the differences between these organizations so that they know where to place their investments. At the initial stages of forming a business it is important to know if it is for the financial benefit of an owner. Profit making organizations are always guided by profits. Nonprofit organizations ex ist to provide better services to citizens. They exist to perform the intended services. Most hospitals must make profits so they can survive economically. A profit-making hospital is a business venture that is run mostly by private individuals. This may not be the case for all situations. They can also be owned publicly by shareholders, who buy the hospital shares. It means that if the public buys shares of the hospital then they are the owners of the hospital. The public expects the hospital to make profits so that they can expand their investments. The main objective of profit making hospitals is always to yield profits that will ensure their survival. There are formed for the sole purpose of generating profits. Profit is normally the main objective and the hospitals pay taxes based on these. Not for profit hospitals are formed to provide healthcare. According to new financial standards, it is now preferred to call organizations not for profit rather nonprofit organizations. This is because the organizations will make profits either way although their main aim is not to yield profits but provide better healthcare. There are formed to provide outreach programs to the community and create networks with other facilities to provide better health care services. It is important to compare the operation and quality of services provided by various hospitals. It will help in better decision making and planning. Capitalism is a major factor in the economy of the United States, where commercial firms have market dominance. However, the situation is much different in the healthcare sector, because nonprofit making firms have a large market share. In addition, healthcare is the biggest nonprofit industry, forming 60 percent of the revenue from nonprofit sector and over 25 percent of contributions from private charity. Healthcare has consistently represented a bigger portion of the sector and expenditures on healthcare continue to be on an upward trend in the United States. From 1965 to 1996 the healthcare expenses increased from $230.3 (in billions of 1996 dollars) to $1,035, which is 349 percent rise, which is almost twice that of GDP of the nation (Barocci, 2001). Hospitals are the biggest component of the healthcare sector, accounting for 35 percent of $1.035 trillion (1996 dollars) in healthcare expenditure, or about $362.3 billion, rendering hospitals considerably important for the nonprofit sector. There can be three types of hospitals ownership: (1) Nonprofit, which constitutes a half of all hospitals (2) Government, which forms 31 percent of all hospitals and (3) For-profit, which only forms 19 percent of all hospitals. (2006 spending basis) Advocates of not-for-profit organizations believe that the non-distribution limiting factors allow the objectives of such organizations to focus on community service, with not utilized revenues being invested into the community; the result is more benefits to the society caused by the increase in care rates not compensated, and educational programs designed for the community. Also, the aspect behind not-for-profit organizations is the emphasis on output maximization while it should be on profit maximization. Therefore, tax exemptions are offered to not-for-profit organizations. If there has been significant influence of nonprofit organizations on the healthcare sector, then the matter at hand would be questioning why the transformation of hospitals into for-profit from nonprofit status are criticized. As examined by Thorpe, Seiber, and Florence (2000), the degree of uncompensated care decreases when transforming a nonprofit organization into a for-profit one. Advocates like Young and Desai (1999) make suggestions that â€Å"transformation of a nonprofit organization does not averagely reduce the benefit to the community as compared to services that are not profit oriented†. The definition of community benefit is â€Å"any service or program made for the improvement of health in communities and increased accessibility to health care†. Three different factors are examined when comparing a for-profit firm with a nonprofit firm. First, non-profit organizations must raise initial capital from investors because the powers to borrow capital have not been vested in them, as they have to repay from future profits made. Secondly, as a result of non-distribution, a limiting factor, nonprofit organizations cannot propose and pay dividends from either interim or whole year profits the company may make; rather investing the funds back into the company is recommended. Lastly, where a nonprofit firm is sold, the funds raised cannot be used to pay owners. These three major factors essentially affect the overall performance of nonprofits hospitals. The objectives of the companies are affected by the differences in organizational structures. There is a significant difference in the missions of for-profits and not-for-profits organizations. As a result of the non-distribution limiting factor, there is a primary similarity of all not-for-profit missions concerning the output maximization idea, an attempt by a firm to maximize the level of services provided to the community. For-profit companies are formed on the basis of profit maximization. Upon first examination, it is expected that not-for-profit organizations should be of the most benefit to the community, at a lower cost; however, the research has both credited and discredited this conjecture. The argument that not-for-profit structures add benefit the community is one of the important reasons why they are granted tax exemptions. Since exempted taxes provided to not-for-profit organizations reduce a significant amount of their expenditures, they should be at a position to provide more benefits to the community. Ultimately the services offered by hospitals can result to three types of benefits to the community: uncompensated care, unprofitable services and net prices. In brief, a definition to uncompensated care is â€Å"any care out of charity given to persons who are less privileged to cater for the bills of the service†. There is a consideration of net prices that when prices of services are lower, the services become more affordable. The unprofitable services comprise of the programs developed to raise awareness of various issues and to broaden community knowledge. Together, all three factors assist in the creation of community benefits. In order to compare a profit making clinic with a not for profit hospital, a research done in New York; it indicated that the clinic’s ownership was held by physicians who were interested in the company’ well-being. The results show that the clinic used a strategy of costs reduction effectively using its supplies; as a result, the expenditures of the clinic were 35% lower than those of the nonprofit hospital. The latter was bigger in size, had many resources and had problems giving back to the community. Consequently, board members and hospital managers disagreed due to the allocation of funds and what programs should be commenced; this led to minimal or no community benefit production. This resulted to inefficiency of the management structure and final decisions prevented the hospital’s mission from being followed. For-profit organizations have a fundamental obligation in ensuring the shareholders’ wealth is maximized. â€Å"Transformation of hospitals had a negative impact on provision of charity care. Studies intimate that not-for-profit organizations do not prevail in health care due to the occurrence of market failures when for-profit organizations control the market of hospital services. The market fails because of three factors: first, the private market functions when participants of the market have perfect knowledge.† There is a complexity of healthcare and it is difficult to determine the services needed, so the consumers usually do not have perfect information. Secondly, allocation of resources is based on the most profitable expenditures. Persons unable to afford the service do not get appropriate care. Thirdly, positive externalities make a contribution to market failure. There is a poor allocation of resources where externalities exist. The demand for healthcare is hi gh and most people do not access it because of high medical costs. Poor people rely on subsidized government healthcare. Medicaid is a government program that targets low income earners. Both governments allocated $213 billion (2002 dollars) to fund this program. Baker and Royalty (2000) showed that a 10% increase in fees for services provided by Medicaid, increase the number of physician office visits by the poor by 2.4%. Not-for-profit hospitals are very few in New York. There are 8 for-profit hospitals in the metropolitan area of New York City. Only one of the hospitals is not for profit. The hospital is owned by groups of partners who have been certified by the state to be competent enough to provide healthcare to people in New York. The state screens and identifies the potentials individuals who want to run a profit making hospitals. It is a sensitive matter and the state normally controls the actions they take. Profit making hospitals always have better access to capital for expansion than the not for profit hospitals. Not-for-profit hospitals use their profits for the purpose of improving the hospital activities. The profits are used to run daily operations of the hospital. These hospitals are formed to accomplish a certain task. The profits raised by these hospitals must be circulated back to the operations of the hospital. These will enable the hospital to finance its operations leading to the hospital fulfilling its mission. In Mount Sinai hospital, which is a not for profit hospital, the profits are used to pay administrative expenses. The employees are paid using the profits made by the hospital in the course of providing better health care. The generated profits of the hospitals are accumulated and are used to improve the efficiency of services provided by the hospital. Lenox Hill Hospital in New York retains the profits it makes to address the administrative needs of the hospital. L enox Hill Hospital has a 67% approval rating by the patients. It is an indication that the patients approve the hospital`s function. Profits made by profit-making hospitals are for the owners of the hospitals. Profit making hospitals have access to more finances than not for profit organizations. The profits are distributed among the owners of the company. The owners may be the shareholders who are allowed to realize financial gains if the hospital becomes successful. Tax Exemption Profit making hospitals are not granted the federal state tax exemptions. They are required to pay taxes on the property owned by the organization. The hospital is entitled to pay some amount depending on the rates provided by the tax authorities. The donations made by the hospital are tax deductible depending on the recipient. Raising Capital Not for profit hospitals raise capital through the solicitation of funds. The not for profit hospitals are funded by the government mostly and they may be used to fund the operations of the hospital. Capital in these hospitals is used to fund the internal operations of the hospital. These hospitals find it easier to borrow money from the public, investors and the government. This is because they are seen to be helping the humanity in comparison with the profit making hospitals that raise capital by offering a certain percentage of the hospital shares to the investors. The investors are supposed to become partial owners of the hospital. They are given shares and in exchange for funds provided to the hospitals. The hospital management then must look for ideas that will enable them to maintain solvency. The ideas are incorporated into the normal activities of the business. The profit making hospitals rarely make money soliciting the government and other investors for money. Resourcing Profit-making hospitals have more asset freedom to use assets than the not for profit ones. Profit making hospitals like Bellevue Hospital Center in New York have assets that belong to the hospital. These assets legally belong to the owners of the hospital while the assets of not for profit making hospitals like Long Island Jewish Medical Center belong to the hospital itself. Investors are less likely to invest in not for profit hospitals because their assets are restricted to the hospital itself. In case a not for profit making hospital is dissolved the assets of the hospital are donated to another not for profit organization. In cases a profit making hospital is dissolved the assets are distributed among the owners. The profit-making hospitals normally find it hard to retain and attract skillful individuals to work in their organization. The profit-making organizations have few resources at their disposal. They also don’t have the capabilities of providing high salaries and bonuses to employees. The not for profit hospitals offer good salaries that enable them attract the best doctors to work for them. It has been witnessed that New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York offers high salaries to their medical staff. This has led to a high approval rating by patients who prefer to be treated there. As a result, the hospital is able to attract highly skilled doctors, who are motivated by high salaries provided to them. Differences in Provision of Quality Services in not for Profit and Profit Making Hospitals There is difference in the quality of services in not for profit and profit making hospitals that are based in New York City. The profit-making hospitals offer relatively profitable medical services to their patients. The not for profit hospitals offer services that are non-profitable. Not-for-profit hospitals accept when it comes to treatment of individuals. This act comes regardless of a patient’s ability to pay for the medical services provided to him/her. This makes the not for profit hospitals exempted from paying tax. St Francis Hospital in New York accepts patients regardless of their financial background. They believe in providing better health care for each and every individual. It provides the needed service that individuals require at crucial times. The profit-making hospitals in New York provide their medical services at a fee. They don’t accept just anyone to be treated at their hospitals. The individuals to be treated should have insurance or any other means of payment in order to receive treatment at the hospital. It indicates that not for profit hospitals provide quality services when dealing with a large number of individuals due to the capability of handling them. Both not-for profit hospitals and profit making hospitals offer medical services to the community as a whole. They both offer services that are beneficial to the community. Therapy sessions and other educative services are offered in a large amounts by not for profits hospitals. Winthrop University Hospital offers educations to students who want to obtain a degree in medicine, which is very beneficial to the community. The hospital also offers clinical services to the low income earners and therapy session to individuals who want to stop smoking. This shows that the not for profit hospitals offer better quality of services to the community members (Hepton, 2007). The not-for profit-hospitals offer more salaries to their doctors and nurses. This is important when it comes to provision of quality services. The not for profit hospitals have skilled doctors and nurses at their disposal. The doctors and nurses are highly motivated to do their work. This will improve the quality of medical services offered in such hospitals. Profit making hospitals do not have the capacity to offer high salaries to their employees. Both not for profit and profit making hospitals offer good services to the citizens. This may differ because of skills of doctors who work in these hospitals. New York-Presbyterian Hospital offers high quality medical services. The hospital has the highest patient approval rating among the not for profit hospitals in New York City. It provides medical care to all people irrespective of their background. The hospital provides a variety of procedures that are not always offered by profit making hospitals (Gentry Penrod, 2008). Clifton Springs Hospital, located in New York, launched an incentive to try and get quality doctors to work for it. It shows that the profit making hospital doesn’t offer good salaries to their doctors and nurses. The hospital has many facilities compared to their counterparts who are in the field for the purpose of generating a profit. The aim of not-for profit hospitals is to adequately satisfy the demand in the market in instances where there might be positive externalities, resulting in healthcare terms` underproduction. The structure of ownership ascribed to not-for profit hospitals induces the maximization of quantity in place of profit maximization. This focus on the maximization of quantity encourages these entities to provide the community with healthcare services at a low cost or in some instances for free, hence increasing its contribution to the community. The figure below exhibits a model of output maximization, with the assumption of a demand curve that slopes downward. The quantity and price outputs represent the points of equilibrium ascribed to both not-for profit and profit companies. The not-for profit organization makes a decision to break even and is obligated to produce where (P=AC) is the maximization equilibrium quantity. live CHAT The model of output maximization draws comparison between profit maximization ascribed to for-profit organizations and output maximization ascribed to not-for-profit organizations. The y-axis gives a representation of the dollar in terms of unit of healthcare services while the x-axis stands for the quantity of health services, which amounts for the number of patients to which services are provided. These two structures of ownership produce different equilibrium prices as well as quantity outputs. A number of market conditions exist and function to alter the prices and output ascribed to health services within a real market. Moreover, the graph herein makes the assumption that these two entities offer goods that are perfectly substitutable (Hepton, 2007). Not-for-profit firms produce in contexts that have the average revenue (AR) and the average cost (AC) intersecting. In respect to this model, the quantity and price of a firm that maximizes quantity is represented by Qq and Pq. Not-for-profit organizations seek to capitalize on their output owing to the constraint of non-distribution, meaning that not-for profit organizations are not able to redistribute profit to executives or employees of a firm. Proponents of for-profit organizations within the healthcare sector hold that organizations which are motivated by profit maximization tend to produce almost the same quantity of benefits associated with not-for-profit organizations owing to a number of reasons. To begin with, in the short-term, for-profit organizations constantly seek to establish ways in which they can decrease costs of the services they provide. Secondly, fixed costs represent most expenses within a hospital. An additional patient’s cost has a relatively minimal marginal cost, which means that for-profit organizations are able to avail charity levels that are similar to those of not-for-profit organizations at a much lower cost. The figure below makes adjustments and espouses new points of equilibrium for the non-profit and for-profit hospitals. The model herein incorporates two adjustments. Proponents of for-profit organizations intimate that these adjustments differentiate these two structures of ownership. The first adjustment is a representation of the increase of fixed costs ascribed to both firms. Hospitals spend the greatest amount of money to acquire and pay for costly medical facilities and equipment. Additional patients do not significantly impact the total cost but cut down the opportunity of availing charitable services. The graph herein makes the assumption that for-profit hospitals incur lower expenses. The theory stems from the idea that executives and owners of for-profit organizations invest more in their firms in contrast to those of not-for-profit organizations. The investment they make in their firm motivates the employees to look for techniques that can enable them to seek for avenues of saving costs in a bid to maximize short-term profits. However, in the long term, organizations enter the market when t here is economic profit, which is effective in lowering the cost of services provided to patients. Consequently, the amount of services increases up to such a point that the equilibrium of quantity and price is attained. The equilibrium of price and the average cost of not for profit hospitals is normally found when the curves intersect. The intersection of the marginal curve with marginal cost leads to the production of profit making hospitals. There are new equilibrium points that are derived from the adjustment of fixed costs and the average costs. In the short run, the not for profit hospitals (Pq and Qq) will produce a situation where the price is lower and the quantity is relatively compared to the one of for profit hospitals( PÏ€ and QÏ€). There is a narrow difference between the price and the quantity levels. The not for profit hospitals have to have an ownership structure that will enable them produce at a zero economic profit. An organization willing to operate like this must be able to provide quality medical services with the patients paying absolutely nothing. It means engaging the variable QÏ€ which increases the contribution of the hospitals benefit to the community benefit. Contrary to these is that there are tax exemptions granted to the not for profit hospitals that will reduce the contribution of not for profit organizations to the community benefits. The for-profit organizations in the hospital industry have to pay corporate taxes. An example of tax that they pay is the property tax that goes back to the local community. This tax may be presented in different forms which include: income given to schools, creating roads and parks in the area and other related forms of giving back to the society. The not for profit hospitals give back to the community, when the amount of medi cal care and lower prices is outweighed by the impact of the tax exemption. The taxes are used by the government to intervene in situations that may arise if the market is to be left alone (McElroy, 2006). The not for profit hospitals exist to serve and increase the community benefits. The for-profit hospitals exist to increase profit of their owners. They are driven by the urge to maximize the profits through efficient allocation of resources. The not for profit hospitals are driven by the urge to increase the benefit of the community. They however lack the financial outlay to execute this idea of benefiting the community. They incur relative losses compared to profit making firms. An efficient increase in the delivery of services is one of few contributions made by the individuals who manage a hospital. The government needs to find a way to encourage the not for profit hospitals to increase benefits provided to the community. There are anachronistic policies used to treat the not for profit hospitals. It has lead to an inefficient healthcare system. Most not for profit hospitals provide charity care. There issues related to tax exemption since the current tax regulations are not properly implemented. When a company gets a not for profit approval it doesn’t adhere to the existing tax rules. Such companies result in taking tax from the community and yet they have not fulfilled their community obligations. This leads to an inefficient health care system. In conclusion, the conversion of the structure of ownership of not for profit to for-profit leads to the maximization of the benefits granted to the community, as a result of minimizing the positive externalities created by a poor health care system. The Role of Non-Profit Organizations in Addressing Social Challenges: Food for the Poor Many non-profit organizations have appeared recently around the globe. It is justified by the importance and the variety of functions they perform in everyday life. Historically, the most common response to social ills like poverty, homelessness, and poor education has been to spend more money. When money is tight, concerned citizens ramp up their efforts for more fundraising, more requests for federal grants and government funding, and, ultimately, more investment in short-term solutions to solve long-term problems. But these traditional efforts rarely yield sustainable long-term results. To make progress, leaders needed a new approach. They needed an approach that integrated the best ideas of social programming with the expertise that the for-profit sector has acquired in achieving long-term outcomes (Rothschild 1). Non-profit organizations perfectly fit this role. Non-profit organizations play the vital part in shaping modern civil society, developing the democratic values, and human rights protection. With time, their contribution to addressing both international and regional challenges becomes more and more noticeable, especially when referring to the issues related to the economic growth, social security of population and cultural cooperation. However, the impact of the non-profit organization on social and economic environment in every country is directly dependent on their collaboration with governmental and executive state bodies as well as with local authorities. Generally, the non-profit organization is known as the one whose activity is not aimed at receiving profit and whose members, respectively, may not share any profit. Some people prefer to call the non-profit sector the humanitarian sector. Others call it the social profit sector, the third sector, the independent sector, or a number of other things (Pallotta 13). Alike organizations include public, religious, charitable organizations, science, culture, education, health security or sport assisting funds and other different associations and unions. The non-profit institutions usually may do business within the limits required to fulfill their main functions. Most non-commercial institutions are founded to solve the same problems the state and municipal authorities are dealing with every day. The scope of activities thereof covers the help to low-income population, upbringing and education of children, preserving and advancing culture, basic rights and freedoms protection and many other spheres which are not   able to operate only at purely commercial basis. Activity of the majority of non-profit organizations is focused on addressing most vital issues within certain community or region. The existing of alike organization is primarily determined by the striving of the most active members of society to contribute to solving sharp problems through not only performing their direct duties laid down by the state, but also by doing something extra, exceeding the main responsibilities. There is an opinion that non-profit organizations may even operate more efficiently in social and public domains than the state and the structures thereof. It may be explained by the fact that the non-profit organization is governed by the members only and solely according to the focal purpose of each organization. As a result, states often decide to delegate funds to independent non-commercial organization, of course, in return of strict and clear obligations the latter undertakes, rather than establish additional governmental bodies. Common good organizations form one of the most important groups of non-profit organizations. They are also referred to as philanthropic organizations, and their main feature is that private resources of the members thereof are voluntarily distributed by their owners in order to help those in need, solve social problems and improve public life conditions. The mission of the common good organizations consists in implementing general interests together with the ones of the organization members, in drawing the authorities, mass media and social attention to the issues and circumstances of public importance. Philanthropic organizations often become the feedback channel between population and the state, contribute to the transparency of power and to the breeding of the social responsibility spirit. When choosing an organization to talk about, I found out that no so many charitable institutions are trusted. The money never gets to the people who need it. That’s the familiar refrain we hear whenever the subject of charity comes up in casual conversation. A Google search for â€Å"charities waste money† generates 3.6 million results – about twenty-five times more results than a search for the phrase, â€Å"charities use money wisely.† It hardly constitutes a scientific inquiry, but it probably means we can conclude that people who don’t trust charities outnumber people who do. Similarly, people’s comments in the blogs, articles, and forums picked up on a simple Internet search reveal a pervasive public distrust of how charities conduct their business (Pallotta 1). Therefore, I decide to pick up â€Å"Food for the Poor† – one of the largest charitable organizations in the United States, the organization operating for more than 30 years and having been rated the fifth-largest recipient of private support according to 2011 survey by Forbes of the 200 largest U.S. charities (Food for the Poor). This organization is different from other food and shelter providing organizations, first of all, by the scale of its’ activity, and, secondly due to its’ defined Christian-based ideology. This aspect is clearly visible from the mission statement of the organization, which says the goal of the institution is to connect the Christians in the developed countries with the Christians from the developing states in a way that assists both the materially poor and the poor in spirit (Food for the Poor). I share alike vision of aid as I believe everyone who is able to help should help those in need. Food for the Poor was established in 1982 by Ferdinand G. Mahfood with the focus purpose to help the poorest population in the countries of Latin America and Caribbean. At its’ beginning, the founds mostly came from the members of various Christian communities. First members were actively engaged into the activity of the Organization both by donating money and by personally working with poor people. They were travelling to the Latin America and Caribbean countries to provide the most essential help and support to those who needed it. They campaigned for collecting more funds, and soon the Christian network of caring people enlarged. Currently, more than 300 people are permanently employed by the Organization rendering assistance to more than 17 countries. Since the inception in 1982,   the Organization has provided approximately $9 billion in aid and has built more than 77,417 housing units for the destitute (Food for the Poor). According to the latest information on the website of the Organization, in 2011, Food for the Poor shipped 3,319 containers of aid and built 6,294 new housing units in the countries they serve. More than $19 million were spent on housing, medical, educational, sanitation and development projects (Food for the Poor). The Organization hosted several Food for the Poor Special Events. These are regular activities organized in different sited over the country aimed at raising funds and deepening the social awareness on the issues that form the core activity of the Organization. They are not so frequent but the schedule is published on the website. For example, there only five alike events planned for 2013. They are all free for children but paid for adults. For instance, the last such event, which took place on 2 February 2013, raised enough money to build homes for 65 destitute families in Canaan Heights in May Pen, Jamaica. The beginning of works is scheduled for March (Food for the Poor). Besides the activities focused on fundraising, the Organization encourages people to participate in its’ mission trips. As for today, more than 6000 volunteers have traveled to the states of Caribbean and Latin America. During such journeys, the volunteers have the opportunity to communicate with the local population, to help the mission by participating in hands-on activities – for example, painting houses, repairing schools, planting fruit trees, drilling water wells etc (Food for the Poor). These trips are to be paid by the volunteer, but the price is fair enough. As for me, I would love to come in one of such journeys some day. I believe alike experience will change my outlook and my perception of the world. Of course, it is easier to give money, but I think that the real understanding of what the charity is may come only when becoming a part of mutual philanthropic efforts. Unfortunately, not many people who want to donate for good purpose, trust charitable organizations. I understand their concerns. In my point of view the main reason for it is that the majority of alike organizations are not active enough in media. To make people trust, the organization should report regularly on its’ activity and inform though all means they can about their future planned events. It would also be nice to create the general database of most reputed charitable organization with different focus to suit personal commitments of various people. The more people know about the possibility to donate, the more people will be saved. I believe non-profit institutions are very important for our nowadays society as they serves to achieve charitable and administrative aims, where the state has proved to be helpless. Non-profit organizations are established, as a rule, â€Å"from below† at the initiative of concerned people. An organization develops from a seed – a common concern, a critical issue, a central purpose, an individual’s passion. If this seed interests enough people, including potential contributors who share the passion, a group of some sort forms (Hummel 1). Such organizations mostly do not have strict hierarchy, they are independent, fluent and what is more important – they really long for helping people by solving certain issue. Throughout the country, non-profit organizations provide needed services to children, other young people, elder adults, the mentally and physically differently abled, and other socially or economically disadvantaged people. They promote arts. They a dvocate for the rights of people and focus attention on threats to the environment. They work and volunteer in support of many religious faiths and organizations (Hummel 1). International experience provides numerous evidences of efficient cooperation between state and private philanthropic capital and proves of fruitful collaboration of state authorities and social good organizations aimed at social system improvement. Today we see initiatives like the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, which call for achieving a series of benchmarks for tackling extreme poverty by 2015. We see Share Our Strength, calling for the end of child hunger in five years; Bono’s ONE Campaign calling on us to save 4 million children’s lives within five years, and many other similar examples (Pallotta 9). Besides international cooperation, we see many examples of personal non-profit activities. Fortunately, as the need for more effective social organizations has become urgent, innovation is proliferating among organizations that have a social purpose. Throughout the world, entrepreneurs with social agenda are experimenting with new business models, new ways to finance start-ups and growth, and new ways to combine the practices of business and charity. Social entrepreneurship has become a recognized global movement (Rothschild 5). This understanding of the vital role of non-commercial aid proves that alike initiatives are to exist. Common good organization not only solve the problems the state and business do not have enough forces, they often become the leaders of social sphere through getting involved with the resources thereof into performing social policy and offering progressive means of addressing sharp public concerns.

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Quotes - Essay Example To give some leeway to the other side of the argument, there is certainly a cost associated with getting an education since college is not cheap. It is not really easy to fund a degree since it may require an individual to take out loans, put in their time as well as effort and eventually get a degree that confirms their going to college and obtaining the required training. However, that process in and of itself is such a beneficial training for life that many employers require college education and also ask for higher degrees for higher positions within the same organization. Of course, such an education becomes rewarding since it allows a person to be greater than what they would have been had they not got their required educational qualifications. Overall, I feel that the process of education may be with its ups and downs but the overall affect of the process can not be considered a negative one. In fact, it becomes so positive that the whole process remains a good experience for those who are willing to undertake it. I fully agree with the statement since hope is perhaps the only thing which keeps us alive. Even Shakespeare suggested that in some cases it might be easier to give in to the thousands of sorrows that mortal flesh is heir to yet perhaps it is nobler to remain steadfast against them with hope that one can oppose and overcome them. It is hope for a better tomorrow which keeps us fighting against impossible odds and a hope for a better world which allows us to continue working towards some impossible goal. Without hope, it is unlikely that a person could simply go on living just to stay alive. I feel that the human spirit needs hope since it allows them to look at the future and see a silver lining even if there isn’t one. Without hope, we can actually fall prey to mental diseases which may manifest them as physical ailments or mental ailments

Harlem Renaissance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Harlem Renaissance - Essay Example Supported by the African American Church and even more so by the African American writers, playwrights, artists, and musicians; the expression of African American resentment and the new grown self- confidence was demonstrated in their protests of American entry into the First World War in 1917. The Harlem Renaissance was very vocal against what they believed was a capitalist war that was not in their interests, and so exhorted the African American brought into New York from the South to support the war effort, to join the trade unions instead of being involved in the actual fighting in the war. Yet, many of the African Americans did go to war, expecting to get full citizenship. The denial of citizenship along with the segregation faced by them in the army, caused the returning soldiers to be involved in the expression demanding more rights for the African Americans (Williams, p.1-20). The newly found prosperity of the African Americans disappeared with the Great Depression in 1929. This was to have a profound impact on the survival of the Harlem Renaissance. In the beginning, the Great Depression had little impact on the fortunes of Harlem. Life went on as usual and the great writers continued to churn out inspirational works that expressed the African American desire of greater freedom and social expression. Yet, the era of the great days of Harlem were over. Erosion of the new found prosperity gradually reduced the importance of Harlem, as people strived to face the challenges of the Great Depression. The final nail in the coffin was the repeal of Prohibition by the government in 1933. The nightlife of Harlem disappeared, with the population of Manhattan preferring to remain in Manhattan, as they could drink legally in Manhattan. Many of the Harlem residents lost their jobs and were forced to eke out a living in penury, leading to racial riots (Worth, p. 92-98) . Yet, to view the impact of the Harlem Renaissance as limited to

Competitive Strategy Essay Example for Free

Competitive Strategy Essay â€Å"Successful and unsuccessful strategies shape a company’s destiny† – R.A. Burgelman, Strategy is Destiny†¦ Competitive Strategy is the high-level strategy used by the firm to realize its business goals, and in particular, profitability, in the face of competition. We study competitive strategy within the overall context of technology firms, which operate within a so-called industry, e.g., the computer industry, the consumer electronic industry, the cellular phone industry. Each industry, ideally, serves a market, which denotes the buyers or customers of the products and services offered by the industry. The function of strategy, which has a time horizon of years, is, in general, to set the long-term direction or position of the firm, for example define the technology, product, or service that the firm intends to develop, and determine the intended market for the product or service. The function of planning, which, in general, has a time horizon of several months to years, is to translate long-term strategy into medium-term activities, e.g., the portfolio of projects that the firm should execute the time-phased planning of these projects, and resource allocation. The function of operations, which has the time-horizon of days to months, is, in general, to translate medium-term planning activities into short-term product design, development, and delivery activities such as prototyping, manufacturing, product release, and shipment. No company can follow only one strategy. For example, Johnson Johnson uses one marketing strategy for its common product such as BAND-AID Johnson’s baby products; and different marketing strategy for its High Tech healthcare products such as Vicryl Plus, antibacterial surgical sutures or NeuFlex finger joint implants. There are several different types of strategy, including competitive strategy, technology strategy, product market strategy, financial strategy, and supply-chain strategy. For a technology company to be successful all these strategies need to be aligned with each other, and with the business goals of the firm. Competitive strategy, is the highest level of strategy in the firm, and is intimately related to the mission and vision of the firm and also to setting the direction for all the other strategies in the firm. There are several schools of strategy formation: design, planning, positioning (Mintzberg, 1998). We focus on two important schools or frameworks for strategy-creation or â€Å"strategy-making† that are particularly important for high-technologycompanies. The first framework is the so-called â€Å"positioning† approach due to Porter (Porter, 1980), In this approach strategy is viewed as taking a generic position in a competitive market and which views strategy-making as an analytic process performed at the industry-market structural level (Porter, 1980) and the resulting dynamics between functional groups of players (e.g., competitors, suppliers) in the industry. The second framework analyzes strategy-making at the industry-level, company level, and intra-company level using evolutionary organization theory (Burgelman 2002). In this evolutionary organizational theory approach, each company is an organizational ecology within which strategy emerges through two basic mechanisms, external selection and internal selection. When companies start, because they are new and small ¸ the external selection mechanism dominates. As a company grows in size and becomes more established, internal selection plays an important role. Based on e volutionary organization theory, views strategy-making as an evolutionary process performed at three levels: industry-company level, company-level, and intra-company level. When these two frameworks are combined, an integrated approach to competitive strategy emerges: from industry-market level all the way to intra-company level. A unique aspect of creating competitive strategy for a company, and in particular, a high-technology company, is that the time-scales for the evolution of markets, industries, and technologies are, in general, much shorter (â€Å"faster†) compared to other industries. Therefore, the strategy frameworks of the positioning school needs to be augmented with functional maps (Clark and Wheelwright, 1993), which capture the evolution of the market, industry, and technology relevant to the company, and which can therefore be used to create strategy. The objectives of this chapter are as follows: 1. Describe the positioning framework for the creation of competitive strategy. 2. Provide an integrated competitive strategy process which is useful in developing competitive strategy in a technology company. 3. Demonstrate the application of the process of competitive strategy The objective of technology strategy (Clark and Wheelwright, 1993) is to guide the technology company in developing, acquiring, and applying technology for competitive advantage. An important part of technologystrategy is the definition of technical capabilities (e.g., advanced device design, rapid prototyping, automated assembly) that provide competitive advantage. The objective of product/market strategy is to clearly establish the following: define what differentiates the product from its competitors; identify market segments for the product, the customer needs of these segments, and the corresponding products (i.e., product lines) that will be offered to these segments; etc. An important outcome of produc t/market strategy is to define the product roadmap, including sales volume and price, necessary to realize the business goals. However, in the rapidly evolving industry and market landscape of high-technology, competitive strategy, in turn, depends on three levels of â€Å"strategy-making† as follows (Burgelman, 2002): 1. Industry-company level. At this level the firm must determine its strategic position, its core competencies, and its strategic action. 2. Company level: At this level strategy-making involves induced strategy and autonomous strategy. 3. Intra-company level: At this the internal level autonomous strategy is created. In successful companies, it is the tight coupling of strategy these three levels of strategy-making with the highest-level (i.e., industry-market level) competitive strategy that, results in successful strategic action where what the company actually does, e.g., the product lines it develops and markets, results in the realization of its business goals. It is also useful to mention two other strategies that are closely related to competitive strategy. Financial strategy in cludes issues such as capital budgeting and portfolio management, i.e., deciding on which technology and product development projects to fund in order to maximize the cumulative expected profit. Another important and related strategy is supply chain strategy (Chopra), which specifies the service, distribution, and operations functions, performed either in-house or outsourced, that the company should do well in order to successfully realize its intended competitive strategy. The â€Å"Positioning† Framework We first present a historical overview of the positioning or analytic school of strategy. Then, we develop the five forces framework (Porter, 1980) and the approach to creation of competitive strategy that is closely related to the five forces framework. We will use the personal computer industry to illustrate the approach. The positioning school of strategy which emerges from the competitive school is based on the following assumptions (Mintzberg, 1998): the marketplace is competitive strategy is a generic position in the marketplace; strategy formation is the selection of a generic position based on analysis. The underlying assumption is that industry or market structure drives position which drives the organizational structure of the firm. Matrices like the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) introduced two techniques: the growth-share matrix, and the experience curve. The growth-share matrix for a firm, developed in the early 1970s, is a 22 matrix with â€Å"growth† along one dimension, and â€Å"market share† along the other dimension. Each of these variables can take two values, â€Å"high† or â€Å"low† resulting in a 22 matrix. Therefore, the product portfolio of a firm can be decomposed into four combinations of growth and market share, each with a well defined meaning: (High growth, high market share) or â€Å"stars†, (high growth, low share) or â€Å"question marks†, (slow growth, high share) or â€Å"cash cows†, and (slow growth, low share) or â€Å"dogs†. The approach to strategy using this matrix would be to have a portfolio balanced mainly between cash cows (the stable business of the firm, e.g., â€Å"MAC† computers in the case of Apple) and stars (e.g., the iPod, in the case of Apple). The experience curve, developed in 1965-66, is based on the idea that accumulated experi ence by a firm influences costs and prices. The claim â€Å"for the experience curve was that for each cumulative doubling of experience, total costs would decline roughly 20% to 30% because of economies of scale, organizational learning, and technical innovation† (Ghemawat, 1999). In 1971, the consulting firm McKinsey came up with the GE/McKinsey nine-block matrix called the Industry Attractiveness-Business Strength matrix (Ghemawat, 1999), which plotted business strength [High, Medium, Low] along one axis, and industry attractiveness [High, Medium, Low] along the other axis. The basic idea was to divide the company into â€Å"strategic business units (SBUs)†, and then make the appropriate strategic recommendations for each SBU depending on its â€Å"location† in the matrix. The Five Forces Framework and Competitive Strategy In this framework there are two high-level stages in the creation of competitive strategy, each stage corresponding to a high-level determinant of profitability mentioned in the previous section. The first stage is the assessment of the attractiveness of the industry in which a given company is embedded based on a structural analysis of the industry. In this stage, called the five forces framework, five forces that influence industry attractiveness are identified, as well as the factors (e.g., number of competitors, size of competitors, capital requirements) that determine the intensity of each force and therefore the cumulative intensity of the five forces. The purpose of the five forces framework is to relate the degree (or intensity) of competition in a given industry, as qualitatively measured by the combined strength (or intensity) of five forces, to the attractiveness of the industry, defined as its ability to sustain profitability. Based on the structural analysis, a particula r company may be in a very attractive industry (e.g., pharmaceuticals) or in an unattractive industry (e.g., steel). However, though a firm exists in an unattractive industry, it can still be highly profitable by choosing the proper competitive position within the industry, for example, e.g., a mini-mill such as Nucor in the steel industry in the nineteen-eighties (Ghemawat). The second stage of strategy creation addresses the competitive strategy available to the firm in order to achieve a strong competitive position. Ideally, a firm would want to be in a very attractive industry (e.g., pharmaceuticals) and have a strong competitive position (e.g., large pharmaceutical firms such as Smith Klein or Glaxo) within the industry. The five forces framework for the structural analysis of an industry is as follows. First, we define the following terms used in the structural analysis of the industry: industry, market, competitors, new entrants, substitutes, buyers, and sellers. The term ind ustry denotes (1) the manufacturers (or producers) and (2) the suppliers of a primary product or service, as well as (3) the manufacturers of alternative products and services that could serve as a substitute. For example, the (conventional) personal computer (PC) industry would include PC manufacturers like Dell and Apple, suppliers of semiconductor chips like Intel and Micron, suppliers ofdisc drives like Seagate, suppliers of software such as Microsoft, etc. Substitute products could be pen-based tablet PCs or small hand-held personal digital assistants (PDAs). In the five forces framework described below, manufacturers and producers will designated as (1) competitors in the industry if they already have established products, or (2) new-entrants if they are trying to enter the industry, or (3) substitutes, if they provide alternative (substitute) products. The term market denotes the buyers (or customers) of the product or service. For example, the market for PCs would include enterprises and individual consumers. The analytical process of strategy analysis and creation can be decomposed into the following five steps. 1. Create a map of the industry in which the technology company is em bedded. There are five key sets of players that constitute the business landscape: competitors, new entrants, substitutes, suppliers, and buyers. Identify key players (companies) for each industry. 2. Perform a five forces analysis of the industry structure. The five forces that influence the intensity of competition in a particular industry, and therefore the profitability of the firms within the industry: Force 1: the degree of rivalry (or competition) between the competitors; Force 2: the threat of new entrants (or the inverse of this force, the barrier to entry); Force 3: the threat of substitutes; Force 4: Buyer Power (to demand lower prices); Force 5: Supplier Power (to increase material prices). For each force, determine the key structural determinants which affect the intensity of the force. Porter and Ghemawat provide a detailed set of the determinants for each force, some of which are given in the table below. In the last column of this table we indicate plausible values o f each force for the PC industry in the nineteen nineties. Table 1 |Force |Key Determinants |Strength of the force | |Rivalry between competitors |Concentration (number) and size of |Medium to high | | |competitors | | | |Fixed costs/value added | | | |Brand indentity | | |Barrier to entry |Economies of scale |Medium to high | | |Brand identity | | | |Capital requirements | | |Threat of substitutes |Price/Performance of substitutes |Low to medium | | |Switching costs | | |Buyer Power |Buyer concentration | | | |Buyer size (volume) |Medium to high | | |Switching costs | | |Supplier Power |Supplier concentration |Low to medium | | |Supplier size (volume) | | | |Switching costs | | In theory, one would, qualitatively determine the strength of each force, as indicated in the third column of the above table, and then determine the cumulative or combined intensity of the five forces. The collective intensity or strength of the forces will determine the structural strength of the industry, as characterized by attractiveness, or the profit potential of the industry. The profit potential is measured by the long term return on invested capital (ROIC). If the collective strength of the forces is high, as in the steel industry, then the corresponding profit potential or attractiveness is low, and vice-versa. At one extreme of this analysis is the perfectly competitive free market, where there are numerous firms alloffering very similar products that cannot be differentiated (therefore, the force of rivalry is high), entry is free (therefore, the threat of both new entrants and substitutes is high), and bargaining power of both suppliers and buyers is low. Using the PC industry of the 1990’s as an example, the qualitative values of the forces shown in the last column of the above table would lead one to conclude that the cumulative strength of the five forces was medium to high, and therefore the attractiveness of the industry, i.e., its profitability, was medium to low. The PC industry in the nineteen-nineties would therefore not be attractive to new entrants, and in fact, in the early 2000s, HP’s computer business was unprofitable, and IBM sold its computer business to Lenovo. (It is important to note that HP’s unprofitability in computer business in the early 2000s cannot be attributed solely to industry attractiveness being low, but is also due to issues associated with its acquisition of the computer company Compaq.) 3. Select a competitive positioning strategy The basic premise of Porter and Hall was that for a firm to be successful (in a market) it had to compete based on one of two sources of competitive ad vantage: cost, i.e., by providing low cost products, or differentiation, i.e., by differentiating its products from its competitors with respect to quality and performance. Porter also proposed that a firm needs to select its strategic target: either offering a product to the entire market (â€Å"market-wide†), or offering a product for a particular market segment. Using these two dimensions (source of competitive advantage, and strategic target), Porter proposed the following three generic competitive strategies: 1. Cost Leadership: offering the lowest costs products to the entire market 2. Differentiated: offering highly unique products (as perceived by the customer) to the entire market 3. Focus: offering products which serve the needs of a niche segment of the market Porter’s claim is that for a company to be successful in the industry in which it operates it must choose between one of the three generic strategies: cost leadership, differentiated, and focus. If one uses the personal computer industry in the US during the 1990’s as an example, then the competitive strategies of the major players was as follows: Dell was the low-c ost leader; HP had a differentiated strategy with high-quality products; Apple had a focus strategy, targeting a narrow marketsegment of users who whom the user-experience (look, feel, and graphical user interfaces) were extremely important; and IBM had a mixed strategy. 4. Link competitive strategy to strategic planning (Ghemawat 1999) In order for a company to derive competitive advantage (or position) within its industry, the company needs to maximize, relative to it competitors, the difference between the buyer’s willingness to pay and the costs incurred in delivering the product to the buyer. Therefore, the next step in the competitive analysis is for the company to link competitive strategy to strategic planning by analyzing all the activities involved in differentiation and cost, and, to this end, a value chain (Porter, 1985) is an extremely important tool. According to Porter, â€Å"the value chain disaggregates a firm into its strategically relevant activities in order to understand the behavior of costs and the existing and potential sources of differentiation.† A three step process for using these activities, first to analyze costs, then to analyze buyer’s willingness to pay, and finally to explore different strategic planning options to maximize the difference between willingness to pay and cost, is developed in (Ghemawat, 1999). 5. Competitive strategy needs to evolve, especially in a high-technology company where markets, industries, and technologies, are changing relatively rapidly. A good example of the evolution of competitive strategy is IBM’s strategic decisions to evolve from a product-based company in the early nineties to a services-led company at the present time. In the early nineties, when the company was in trouble, IBM closely examined its business model and strategic direction, and decided to â €Å"stay whole† by moving its focus from products and hardware to solutions. One result of this strategic shift was the creation of IBM Global Services in the mid-nineties. By the late-nineties the company moved into e-business solutions, and extended this model in the 2000’s to â€Å"business-on-demand†. One result of these shifts in strategy was IBM’s decision to exit the Personal Computer Market by selling its PC business to Lenovo. Functional Maps A functional map essentially is a time-based evolutionary map of a key metric for an important organizational function, e.g., a product performance metric map for the engineering function in a technology firm, e.g., the well-known Moore’s Law in the semiconductor industry. Since the time-scales for the evolution of markets, industries and technologies for technology companies, especially â€Å"high-tech† companies, is short compared to other industries, the creation of the appropriate functional maps is critical to strategy formation in a technology company. As an example, in the relatively short span of four decades, information technology evolved from mainframes through workstations, servers and personal computers to internet-based and mobile computing. An important feature of our approach to developing competitive strategy in a technology firm is the integrated approach to strategy for a technology company, which relates company strategy to the company’s busin ess goals, business strategy, technology strategy, and product marketing strategy. Since, markets, industries, technologies, and products for a technology company are continually evolving, an important concept that plays a vital role in the creation of strategy, and, in particular, competitive strategy, is the functional map (Clark and Wheelwright, 1993). Here are some useful â€Å"dimensions† along which to create functional maps for strategy creation: a) Evolution of the industry in which the enterprise operates (changes in technology, customer needs, competitive landscape, etc.) b) Evolution of strategy business, technology, and market of the enterprise c) Evolution of technology (including manufacturing), product platforms, and product lines of the enterprise. The processes used for technology, product, and process development within the enterprise. d) Growth (or decline) of the enterprise with respect to of market share, revenues, costs, profits, etc. e) Organizational structure of the enterprise f) Key decisions made at different stages in the life of enterprise, and the drivers for these decisions g) The interconnections and relationships between all the above dimensions A multi-dimensional functional map for Intel is given in the next section. A very simple example of how functional maps can shape strategy is in the information technology industry. A functional map of the Information Technology Industry from the 1990s to the 2000s would reveal a shift from â€Å"products† to services†. The Services business in 2007-08 is approximately $750 billion, with IBM, whose share of this market is $54 billion, being the leader. HP, whose own share in the market is $17 billion seeing this shift in the industry and the need to build competitive strength, acquired EDS, whose share of the market is $21 billion. The combined share of HP and EDS would then be $38 billion, allowing it to compete more strongly with IBM. Another simple example of the use of a functional map in creating strategy is in the software industry. In the 2000s the software market is moving from a â€Å"packaged† product to online software, where individuals can get software that is mostly free, supported by advertising. Google is using its leadership on the Web to provide online softwa re that competes with Microsoft’s packaged software. Understanding this shift from packaged to online, and the corresponding change in the revenue model from direct sales (of product) to advertising, Microsoft is aggressively entering the online advertising business. Process for developing competitive strategy in a company If we combine the positioning framework for competitive strategy due to Porter, the evolutionary organization theoretic framework due to Burgelman, and augment these with the creation of relevant functional maps, then the resulting process of developing competitive strategy in a company can be decomposed into four stages, as follows. Stage 1: Company Analysis 1. Establish the business goals and objectives (ROI, %market share, revenue, and growth aspirations). 2. Determine the technology strategy and product market strategy for the company. 3. Define the overall development goals and objectives to align business goals, technology, and market strategies. 4. Develop the functional evolutionary maps of the markets and industry in which the company is embedded. Create functional maps (time-based evolutionary maps) for technology, product market, and manufacturing strategy of the firm. These maps will be useful in the process of assessing and creating competitive strategy. Stage 2: Industry Analysis 1. Perform the structural analysis of the industry in which the company is either an active competitor, or a new entrant, or a substitute. 2. Determine the existing competitive strategy of the company within the industry. 3. Determine the relationships between the company and the other players in the industry Stage 3: Assessment and Evolution of the company’s strategy within the relevant markets and industries 1. Using the functional maps of the overall markets and industry in which the company is embedded, as well as the company specific functional maps, assess the evolution of the company’s competitive strategy. 2. Decide on what the company’s future competitive strategy should be, and the corresponding technology strategy, product market strategy, and manufacturing strategy. Glossary Autonomous Strategy (also see induced strategy). Autonomous strategy refers to actions of individuals or small groups within the company that are outside the scope of current high-level corporate strategy. While autonomous strategy is constrained by the company’s distinctive (core) competencies, it usually (1) involves new competencies that are not the focus of the firm, and (2) results in so-called â€Å"disruptive technologies† that could change the strategic direction of the firm (Burgelman, 2002). Company Structure (vertical vs. horizontal). A vertical company is one which uses only its own proprietary technologies. A horizontal company is one which (usually because of the existence of open-standards) which does not solely rely on its own proprietary technologies, but usually uses technologies and products from other suppliers. In the computer industry, traditionally, Apple is an example of a vertical company, while Dell is an example of a horizontal company. The co mputer industry, itself, moved from a vertical structure to a horizontal structure in the 1980s (Ghemawhat, 1999). Corporate Strategy (official corporate strategy). Corporate strategy is top management’s view of the basis of the company’s success. It includes distinctive (core) competencies, product-market domains, and core values (Burgelman, 2002) Industry. The term industry, e.g., the consumer electronics industry,denotes (1) the manufacturers (or producers) and (2) the suppliers of a primary product or service, as well as (3) the manufacturers of alternative products and services that could serve as a substitute (Porter, 1980). Market. The term market denotes the buyers (or customers) of the product or service. Typically markets are segmented, for example, a two-dimensional segmentation based on the types of product (product segmentation) along one axis, and the types of customers (customer segmentation) along the other axis. The market, as represented by â€Å"Buyers† is an important part of the industry analysis in Porter’s framework. Once youve established the key assets and skills necessary to succeed in this business and have defined your distinct competitive advantage, you need to communicate them in a s trategic form that will attract market share as well as defend it. Competitive strategies usually fall into these five areas: 1. Product 2. Distribution 3. Pricing 4. Promotion 5. Advertising Many of the factors leading to the formation of a strategy should already have been highlighted in previous sections, specifically in marketing strategies. Strategies primarily revolve around establishing the point of entry in the product life cycle and an endurable competitive advantage. As weve already discussed, this involves defining the elements that will set your product or service apart from your competitors or strategic groups. You need to establish this competitive advantage clearly so the reader understands not only how you will accomplish your goals, but why your strategy will work. [pic] References Burgelman, R.A., â€Å"Strategy is Destiny†, The Free Press, New York, 2002. Chopra, Sunil, and Peter Meindl, â€Å"Supply Chain Management, Strategy, Planning, and Operations†, Third Edition, Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2007. Clark, K. B., and S.C. Wheelwright, Managing New Product and Process Development, Text and Cases, The Free Press, New York, 1993. Edwards, Cliff, â€Å"Intel†, Business Week, March 8, 2004, Pages 56-64. Ghemawat, Pankaj, Strategy and the Business Landscape, Text and Cases, Addison Wesley, 1999. Mintzberg, Henry and Bruce Ahlstrand, and Joseph Lampel, Strategy Safari, The Free Press, New York, 1998 Porter, Michael, Competitive Strategy, New York, The Free Press, 1980 Porter, Michael, Competitive Advantage, The Free Press, New York, 1985 Figure 1: A strategic view of the technology firm, showing different types of strategy Revenue ($), Growth (%), Etc. Purpose of the company Financial Strategy Competitive Strategy Market Strategy Technology Strategy Business Goals †¢ Vision †¢ Mission