Effects of Marijuana :: Free Essays Online

The dominant fear about marijuana has been that its effects were somehow similar to the dangerously addictive effects of opiates such as morphine and heroin. Scientists fe atomic number 18d that , like opiates, it had an extremely high potential for abuse and addiction. Despite widespread decriminalization of marijuana in the United States in the 1970s, this concern has remained the buttocks for federal law and policies regarding the use and study of marijuana. But the discovery of tetrahydrocannabinol receptor sites in the header refutes that thinking and may force scientists to re-evaluate their positions.   The 1988 discovery of the THC receptor site in the brain was the pivotal event which led to the legalization of marijuana. The receptor breakthrough occurred in 1988 at the St. Louis University Medical School where Allyn Howlett, William Devane, and their associates place and characterized a cannabinoid receptor in a rat brain. Receptors are binding sites for chemicals in the brain, chemicals that instruct brain cells to start, stop, or otherwise regulate various brain and body functions. Before this discovery, no one knew for sure just how the psychoactive chemical in marijuana workes on the brain. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, researchers made tremendous strides in understanding how the brain works by using receptor sites as switches which respond to various chemicals by regulating brain and body functions. The chemicals which trigger receptors are k at presentn as neurotransmitters. The brains neurotransmitters are known as endogenous ligands. In many instances, drugs mimic these natural chemicals working in the brain. Scientists are just now confirming their determinations as to which endogenous ligands work on the cannabinoid receptors. It is likely that the neurotransmitter which naturally triggers cannabinoid receptors is one known as anandamide.   Many important brain functions which affect forgiving behavior involve the neurotrans mitter dopamine. Serious drugs of abuse such as heroin and cocaine, interfere   with the brains use of dopamine in manners that can seriously commute an individuals behavior. A drugs ability to affect the neural systems related to dopamine production has now become the defining characteristic of drugs with serious abuse potential.   The discovery of a previously unknown system of cannabinoid neural transmitters is profound. While century-old questions such as why marijuana is nontoxic are finally being answered, new enchanting questions are emerging. In the words of Israeli researcher Raphael Mechoulam, the man who first isolated the structure of THC, Why do we have cannabinoid receptors?

The Potato And Its Societal Effects Essay -- Essays Papers

The Potato And Its Societal Effects The potato had a great effect in Europe during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. The potato was a part of the Agricultural Revolution that took place during this time. The Agricultural Revolution not only had a great impact on agriculture, only society as well. This revolution caused an increase in population. J.G. Hawkes, author of The Potato Evolution, Biodiversity, and Genetic Resources, notes that the potato was brought to Spain about 1570 by Spanish explorers who discovered it in South America. The potato was great(p) in the solid ground of Chile. Hawkes also asserts that the potato was most likely brought to England around 1590. However, Redcliffe Salaman, author of The History and Social Influence of the Potato, explains that the potato was a luxury fare in England until the middle of the seventeenth century (445). The potato helped to revolutionize society. During the eighteenth century the working class of England could not afford bread. Bread prices rose dramatically, but workers wages remained low. This caused a great deal of disease and malnutrition within the working class in England. Salaman notes that the potato was mainly responsible for remedying this condition amongst the working classes of the country (435). The potato was used as a substitute for bread because there was a shortage of wheat. The potato helped England to survive a shortage of wheat and bread. The westbound Heritage Brief Edition textbook explains that with the potato, a single acre of land could produce enough potatoes to feed a peasant family for an entire year (381-82). Salaman offered the grounds of esteemed economist Adam Smith who said, one acre land under potatoes would yield... ... it was and could not afford food. Potatoes had been the primary source of food for seventy percent of the Irish people. This Famine changed Ireland socially and culturally in many ways. Works Cited - Food and Drink in History S elections from the Annales. Vol. 5. Baltimore The John Hopkins University Press, 1979. 5 vols. - Hawkes, J.G. The Potato Evolution, Biodiversity, and Genetic Resources. Washington, D.C. Smithsonian get Press, 1990.. - Salaman, Redcliffe. The History and Social Influence of the Potato. Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 1985. - Szabo, Liz. Interpreting the Irish Famine, 1846-1850. Liz Szabos Home Page. http//avery.med.virginia.edu/eas5e/Irish/Famine.html (25 March 1998). - The Western Heritage Brief Edition. Vol. 2. New Jersey Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1996. 2 vols.

HIV and Its Coreceptors Outline Essay -- Biology AIDS

What is human immunodeficiency virus?The Human Immune System * In order to understand HIV, one must understand the human immune system. The first disceptation of defense is a persons skin, mucous membranes, and other secretions which pr tear downt pathogens from ever entering your body. Pathogens are considered things your body does not want, for utilisation bacteria and viruses. * The second line of defense holds non limited mechanisms which attempt to contain the spread of pathogens throughout ones body. The second line of defense relies firmly on the use of white blood cells, which ingest invading organisms. About 5% of white blood cells are made of monocytes, which develop into macrophages. The role of these macrophages is lively to the human immune system, as they are able to engulf pathogens without having to ego destruct. * The bodys third line of defense is a highly specific means of distinguishing self from non-self and destroying all non-self. All of one per sons cells are marked with a unique set of proteins which label them as self. Certain cells in the body are capable of recognizing every antigen (molecules belonging to viruses/bacteria) that may enter ones body over a lifetime. These cells include macrophages, T-Cells, B Cells, and interior thymus cells. These cells rely on Helper T-Cells to alert them of antigens in the body, thus creating an immune response. Once recognized, Killer T-Cells actively destroy pathogens and even the bodys own cells if that have been invaded by a pathogen. How HIV attacks the Body * As commonly known, HIV cannot penetrate your immune systems first line of defense. You cannot contract HIV by breathing bad air or by holding the hand of somebody who is HIV positive. You have to wo... ... lymphocytes. Phipps and Branch discovered Fyn Kinase activity in patients with and without HIV. Those with HIV contained high Fyn Kinase activity and low levels of Fyn protein. They also found that Fyn Kinase activi ty increases within 30 minutes of infection of the CD4+ T cells. This new-found learning revolutionized the way testing for HIV occurs. ReferencesAlkhatib, G. et al, CC CKR5 A RANTES, MIP-alpha, MIP-1 beta Receptor as a Fusion Cofactor for macrophage-tropic HIV-1. Science 272, 1955 (1996).Grimes, W., R. Hallick, M. Hewlett, J. Aronson, and B. Fishel. Biology 181 Laboratory Manual 2002. Hayden-McNeil Publishing, Inc.Moore, J.P. Co-receptors Implications for HIV Pathogenesis and Therapy. Science 276, 51, 1997.Purves, W., D. Sadava, G. Orians, and H. Heller. Life The Science of Biology , Sixth Edition 2001. Sinauer Associates, Inc.

THE WOMENS REVOLUTION :: essays research papers

From the American Revolution to the Civil War there were several developments that shaped the lives of American women. There were cults formed that supported domesticity. The women of the south, both black and white were very similar to those of the north. The women had gotten roles that they had never faced before. When the men left for war the women took entertain of many things including, the farms, the businesses, etc. Just because men went to war that did not mean that the women did not go as well. In many cases the women joined their male congener in the Patriot camps. With many tasks to be completed while the men were gone women were just trying to become free and have rights of their own. Whether they were successful or not was something that they did not want to think about.The lives of women were being completely controlled by the men all around them. The women were tired of it and just wanted this to end. The social roles amid both the men and women were changing. The y still had the typical rights in both politics and within the family. In 1837 women were now accepted into colleges and universities. The first schools that allowed this to begin were Oberlin which was located in Ohio and Mt. Holyoke which was located in Massachusetts. Mt Holyoke was an all women school, where as Oberlin was both men and women. Around this time changes took place in the bourgeois families. The normal role of the muliebrity of the house was to contribute economically, but now they were to strictly stay home and take on a number of domestic activities. This meant they were to keep the house looking for perfect, clean, relaxing, etc. Women that worked outside of their homes were looked at as low-class. They worked in factories and mills, but had much more horrible circumstances. The women of the south had taken on roles that were very like the roles that the middle-class women of the north possessed. They too were at home wives. They served as their husbands attend ant and looked after the children. Along with being similar to the north, they were also very different. The women had pregnant importance to the men the men played a defense role for the women. Many white women in the south lived on a farm and had petite or no contact with the public world.

The Movie Wit Essay -- Wit Movies Films Film Essays

The Movie Wit In the movie Wit, English literary scholar Vivian Bearing has spent years translating and interpreting the poetry of John Donne. Unfortunately, she is a person who has cultivated her intellect at the expense of her heart. Both colleagues and students view Bearing as a chilly and unfriendly person lost in her private world of words and mysterious thoughts.At the age of 48, she is diagnosed with stage-four metastatic ovarian cancer. Dr. Kelekian wants her to take eight high-dose experimental chemotherapy treatments for eight months. He warns her that she will unavoidableness to be tough to rely upon large reserves of inner courage and willpower.Vivian tries to remain tolerant as she suffers through questions and tests from technicians grand rounds, where she is prodded by medical students and toughened like a specimen rather than a human being. Through her whole ordeal she has to face the loneliness of the hospital not to mention of enceinte time spent in an isolation ward. She had no visitors, and the hospital was no place for fun. There is even a part in the movie where Vivian speaks intimately the dull and tedious hospital atmosphere. Most regrettably, through all of this she is dealing with the terrible side-effects of the chemotherapy and then the pain of the still spreading cancer.Through several flashbacks we actualize insights into Vivians life an encounter with her mentor E. M. Ashford, who warns her to spend more time with friends a ...

The Movie Wit Essay -- Wit Movies Films Film Essays

The Movie Wit In the movie Wit, English literary prentice Vivian tutelage has spent years translating and interpreting the poetry of John Donne. Unfortunately, she is a person who has cultivated her intellect at the expense of her heart. Both colleagues and students view Bearing as a chilly and unfriendly person lost in her private world of words and mysterious thoughts.At the age of 48, she is diagnosed with stage-four metastatic ovarian cancer. Dr. Kelekian wants her to take eight high-dose experimental chemotherapy treatments for eight months. He warns her that she will need to be tough to rely upon large reserves of inner courage and willpower.Vivian tries to stop tolerant as she suffers through questions and tests from technicians grand rounds, where she is prodded by medical students and treated like a specimen rather than a human being. Through her alone ordeal she has to face the loneliness of the hospital not to mention of grueling time spent in an isolation ward. She ha d no visitors, and the hospital was no present for fun. There is even a part in the movie where Vivian speaks about the dull and tedious hospital atmosphere. Most regrettably, through all of this she is dealing with the prankish side-effects of the chemotherapy and then the pain of the still spreading cancer.Through several flashbacks we gain insights into Vivians life an encounter with her mentor E. M. Ashford, who warns her to spend more time with friends a ...

William James

William jam, an Ameri peck psychologist and philosopher was born on January 11, 1842 at the Astor House in New York City. His father crowd Sr. is described as an on an individual basis wealthy and notoriously eccentric Swedenborgian theologian well acquainted with the literary and intellectual elites of his day. (wikipedia, 2011, p. 1) The James family were remarkable epistolary of talents. His brother became a prominent novelist and his infant publicly published a diary. James was a very ill child, who had various amounts of sickness both physical and psychological all growing up and eventually until his death.He attended Harvard Medical School in 1864 and the following year, went on a scientific expedition on the Amazon River. Soon after he fell sick and traveled to Germany in search of a cure and stayed until November 1868. His self diagnosed soul-sickness was cured in 1872. James went on to earn his M. D. in June 1872, although he would never practice medicine. In the same ye ar James began to teach at Harvard University. In his spare time James read philosophical system and began to see a link between it and physiology. To James the two seemed to converge in psychological science. Morris, Maisto, 2010, p. 6) He published his first textbook, The Principles of Psychology in 1890. He wed Alice Gibbons in 1878. William James studied and taught biology, medicine, and psychology but was more interested in the scientific study of the human mind. James acquaintances Herman Helmoholtz of Germany Pierre Janet of France implemented courses of scientific psychology at Harvard in the 1875-76 school year. (Shultz, 2004, p. 179). James and associates created the lively group known as The Metaphysical Club in 1872.Some of James students included Boris Sidis, Theodore Roosevelt, W. E. B. Dubois, Walter Lipmann, Mary Culkins, Ralph Barton Perry, G. Stanley Hall, Horace Kallen, and George Santayana. William James retried from Harvard University in 1907. James published naive realism, Pluralistic Universe and The Meaning Of The Truth. During his last years he became ill again but this time with cardiac pain. James worked on a philosophy text (unfinished but posthumously published as Some Problems In Philosophy.The following year James sailed to Europe to disturb in experimental treatments that proved to be unsuccessful. He returned home and finally succumbed to his illness on August 26, 1910 t his home in Chocorua, NH. He was inhumed at Cambridge Cemetery in Cambridge, MA, in the family plot. (wikipedia, 2011, p. 3) James despite his constant illnesses lived a very prestigious life, he lived out his passions and researched his curiosities. He was one of the strongest proponents of Pragmatism in philosophy and functionalism in psychology.James founded the American Society for Psychical Research. He always challenged his colleagues and students not to let a narrow mindset keep open and honest appraisal of those. (wikipedia, 2001, p. 3) James was found to be the 14th most eminent psychologist of the 20th Century. (Haggbloom, 2002, vol. , 6, No. 2, 139-45) Pragmatism is defined by James as truths emerge from facts, but they dip forward into fact again and add to them which facts again create or reveal new truth (the word is indifferent) and so on indefinitely. The facts themselves meanwhile are not true. They simply are.Truth is the function of the beliefs that start and terminate among them. (Mounce, 1997). The Will To Believe a philosophy of pragmatism and a famous lecture of 1897 by James defended the right to violate the principle of evidentialism to justify hypothesis venturing. This theory justifies religious beliefs by using results of his hypothetical venturing to prove indorse the hypothesis truth. My first act of free will shall be to believe in free will. (XXX, 1909, p. 177) James simply asserted that his will was a free two-stage finis process that separates chance, from choice.The Philosophy of Religion was t aken very seriously by James he interpreted religious experiences according to his pragmatic conclusions. He claimed that when canvas Religion the main topic should be just that, Religion because everything else is just a descendent of Religion. James also said that only a Psychologist can accurately interpret Religious experiences because have the best insight of the human mind. in 1884 William James published an article What Is An Emotion? (psychclassics, 1884, p. 188-205) he conceived of an emotion in terms according to a sequence of events.This article was very important not only because of his remarkable response to the question but also because in that location were no psychology journals, yet. James felt that emotions were often accompanied by bodily responses. For example If you were to run from a vicious dog, your body will serve to your emotion of fear by heart rate increase, because you ran your body will sweat and/or ache you may also be out of breathe. basically yo ur body goes through physiological upheaval. Now love has a totally different physiological signature, the parasympathetic nervous system.

Better Known As No Child Left Behind Education Essay

In 2002, Public Law 107-110 dramatic all(prenominal)y replaced the answerability of humans schooldayss. Better known as No kid Left Behind ( NCLB ) , this jurisprudence requires schools to yearly document break downing bookman public notification through standardised testing. Since all schools must turn out becoming Yearly Progress ( AYP ) , Fullan noted that redress plans, after school tutoring Sessionss, excess tutoring in mathematics and reading, specially designed single plans, and many other scholarly person redress attempts have been employed to assist pupils accomplish proficiency. Districts have hired extra teachers to supply remedial mathematics and reading perpetration, and benchmark appraisals chronicling pupil overture have become common topographic point ( Fullan, Hill & A Crevola, 2006 ) . Fullan observed that schools use informations direction dodgings to wargonhouse pupil information, giving instructors entree to real time public presentation informations, and have developed edifice agendas to give instructors the ability to flexibly group pupils based upon their single public presentation demands. In world, all schools seeking to accomplish or keep AYP continually search for schemes that will give them any advantage in bettering overall pupil public presentation on compulsory high bets trials ( Senge, 2000 ) . Yet, more demands to be done to guarantee that no kid is left behind ( Fullan, 2008 ) .The query worker in this travel along stepped off from the microscopic scrutiny of how advanced curricular plans and high-impact schemes increase single trial tonss for pupils. Rather, the research worker looked at the patterns identified and developed by the take company at big that have been shown to advert the detail of employee involvement which so improves a ) public presentation, B ) profitableness, degree Celsius ) client satisfaction, vitamin D ) productiveness, and vitamin E ) lower turnover of concern units ( Buckingham & A Coffman, 1999 ) . Since Buckingham noted that there is a profound relationship between success in concern and employee involvement, the research worker in this assess will analyse principals perceptual mystifys of patterns that raise employee involution in the concern community and their sensed effectivity in bettering instructor battle in the schools where they lead.Harmonizing to Scarlett, employee battle is indispensable in concern, yet few musical arrangements successfully define, step, or pull off this leading theoretical account. Top-performing concerns fancy this force in driving public presentation prosodies ( Coffman, 2003 ) . For this cogitation, employee battle is defined as the measureable grade of an employee s imperious or negative emotional sore regard to their occupation, co-workers, and organisation which deeply influences their willingness to larn and execute at work ( Scarlett, 2011 ) . In order to raise battle, organisations seek to construct part nerships between the organisation and its employees such that employees to the full understand and atomic number 18 committed to accomplishing the organisation s aims and the organisation respects the personal aspirations and aspirations of its employees ensuing in invention and forward motion ( Coffman, 2003 ) . Buckingham and Coffman ( 1999 ) have outlined a strong instance that shows the importance of the director and their managerial patterns in raising the degree of employee battle. So, if utilize by principals, would these identical schemes and patterns that have been shown to drive up degrees of employee battle and public presentation positively impact teacher battle?Bellamy and others noted that public presentation mindsets for principals in this high-stakes testing epoch are at infrequent high degrees. While principals still keep in line the duty for effectual edifice direction, at no other clip has the force per unit area to better trial tonss so signifi hind endtly w eighed upon their shoulders and focused their attending more on instructional leading. Once responsible chiefly for internal operations, principals now are accountable to the community, school territory, responsibleness, and even federal authorities for bettering pupil acquisition and shuting the accomplishment spreads between diverse cultural and socioeconomic pupil groups ( Bellamy, et al. , 2007, p. 1 ) .pollock and crossbreeding noted that school systems and communities still expect principals to a ) create safe environments, B ) develop effectual agendas, degree Celsius ) hire and supervise quality staff, vitamin D ) speak good in public, vitamin E ) efficaciously discipline pupils, degree Fahrenheit ) manage mountains of paperwork day-to-day, and g ) reference an eternal watercourse of issues that vie for their clip. Pollack continues that while dexterously managing all of these normal outlooks, principals are besides expected to a ) dissect informations, B ) develop prog rammatic betterment programs, degree Celsiuss ) program and post high quality professional development, vitamin D ) follow a litany of province authorizations related to pupil informations, and e ) create environments contributing to high-performance. They are expected to be change agents while non angering any constituency ( Pollack & A Ford, 2009 ) . Porras and Thompson surmised that with all of these outlooks, it is critical for principals to understand their alone abilities and duties and allocate the right sum of clip to each, non equal or balanced parts, but instead their ain separately chosen penchants. They need to hold the freedom to take what is of import to make and so hold the toast to move on what they have chosen ( Porras & A Thompson, 2007 ) .Fullan ( 2008 ) noted that the solution to over-taxed administrative duties is non to unfetter the principal to move autonomously, but instead to enable focussed ropiness ( p. 13 ) in their actions. One facet of this cohe rence is to prosecute instructors at high degrees in the mission of the school, a key to efficaciously pull polish off schools. Teacher battle is critical to school betterment, measured by the three dimensions of schoolroom instruction and acquisition a ) teacher-student relationships, B ) pedagogical patterns, and degree Celsius ) teacher relationships with the organisation ( Lesko, 1986 ) . The principal is expected to take schools where his or her instructors are given the chance to prosecute in action research on a prolong footing in a collaborative environment. The leader s map is to supply chances for instructors to work together in self-managing squads to better their ain direction, ever with the outlook for improved acquisition ( DuFour, et al. , 2005, p.147 ) . In a sense, this transportations leading for larning to and raises the battle of the instructor. The relationship between occupied instructor leaders and pupil accomplishment is profound and distinguished ( DuFo ur, et al. , 2005 ) .Gordon noted that there are organisational barriers to raising teacher battle degrees such as a ) association understandings, B ) school board mandates, degree Celsius ) exceptional information schemes, vitamin D ) pupil agendas, and vitamin E ) yesteryear patterns those established patterns non portion of formal understandings. These barriers can and make impact the instructor s emotional fond regard to their occupation, co-workers, and organisation ( Scarlett, 2011 ) . It is critical, hence, to concentrate on increase instructor battle ( Gordon, 2006 ) in order to raise school public presentation. Gordon observed that the literature on raising public presentation through raising employee battle in the workplace is plentiful in business-oriented literature. Gordon continued to detect that raising the degree of employees battle is non yet as influential in educational scenes as it is in the workplace nevertheless, the attempt to prosecute instructors is d eriving land. Research has studied the features of the best employees for decennaries. As more surveies of the features of the best instructor continue to emerge, a similarity is that they have a high degree of battle ( Gordon, 2006 ) .Buckingham and Coffman ( 1999 ) touted the importance of holding extremely prosecute employees, and organisations like Gallup, the Harvard Business school day, the Albert Shanker Institute, and the Academy of Human Resource Development have each noted the positive economic impact of occupied workplaces. Odell ( 2007 ) showed that companies with the highest per centum of occupied workers experience greater net income. In a 12-month sketch across 50 companies companies with the highest per centum of occupied workers had a 19 % rise to power in runing incomes and a 28 % addition in net incomes per portion ( p. 1 ) . Statisticss like this spring increased inducement to find whether the degree of principals perceptual experiences of best patterns in concern direction has any impact on instructor battle. Building on the work of infinite business-oriented surveies, this pot will analyze specific patterns that have been identified and shown to raise concern unit public presentation and examine principals perceptual experiences as to whether these same patterns may impact teacher battle in a positive mode.Need for the StudyParents, irrespective of socio-economic or cultural background, want to direct their kids to schools committed to excellence ( Beare, et al. , 1990 ) . Every instructor longs for the professional energy of working in an environment of educational excellence ( McEwan, 2002 ) . Principals dream of taking a community of scholars committed to excellence ( Whitaker, 2003 ) . Overseers, school board members, policy shapers, even existent estate agents all work out that their communities will be led by schools of excellence ( Fullan, 1993 ) . The hunt for schools of differentiation is a regular portion of eternal co nversations about pupil acquisition ( Sparks, 2007 ) .No barbarian Left Behind statute law has forced schools to a ) examine trial tonss, B ) survey instructor methodological analysis, degree Celsius ) research course of study enterprises, vitamin D ) observe instructional focal point, vitamin E ) investigate edifice agendas, and degree Fahrenheit ) consider multiple informations from a sort of beginnings. It has besides required the reappraisal and survey of patterns of every constituent that comprises the makeup of schools ( Pa. Dept. of Ed. , 2009 ) . The high force per unit area, high bets environments within schools can impede attitudes and perceptual experiences doing many to rethink the profession ( Gordon, 2006 ) . The demands on principals continue to spread out as the hunt for patterns that will better pupil larning intensifies ( Gordon, 2006 ) .Stronge ( 1988 ) found that a regular principal s 24 hours was characterized by multiple managerial undertakings and diverse maps, including a ) clerical, B ) budgetary, and degree Celsius ) other generalist undertakings. At that clip, Stronge stated that change overing principals into instructional leaders would necessitate a drastic function redefinition. Since Stronge s research in his 1988 paper, principals preparation and support have since shifted off from direction to instructional leading. Instructional leading has become the focal point of a ) seminars, B ) doctorial plans, degree Celsiuss ) national organisations that support instruction, vitamin D ) literature, vitamin E ) professional diaries and vitamin D ) province statute law mandating go oning instruction preparation for principals ( Hallinger, 2003 ) . The managerial undertakings that Stronge mentions, nevertheless, have non disappeared, and today, some chief preparation plans exclude managerial preparation. The twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours direction of edifices still exists ( Stronge, 2008 ) .Through the Gallup Corporation, re search workers like Buckingham and Coffman ( 1999 ) and Harter, et Al. ( 2009 ) have studied high executing work topographic points for old ages. Business literature has enter the positive public presentation impact of holding engaged employees. Gordon noted that there has been small involvement in developing resources to analyze occupied schools. Reeves ( 2008 ) proposed a new model that would advance effectual alteration through raising the degree of teacher leading and stated that instructors must be actively engaged in prosecuting additions in pupil acquisition. Marzano, et Al. ( 2005 ) and Whitaker ( 2003 ) have documented that the patterns exhibited by principals make a difference in raising pupil public presentation. This education-based literature gives particular(a) attending to outdo patterns in concern direction. Has the good displacement of focal point onto best patterns in instructional leading moved principals preparation excessively far off from best patterns in d irection as described in business-oriented literature?In today s educational environment, every advantage, no affair how little, is pursued in order to give schools increased pupil public presentation hence, are at that place concern direction patterns implemented by principals that impact instructors battle degree that would so ensue in improved pupil public presentation? The research worker in this survey will analyze chief perceptual experiences of best concern direction patterns in operating schools and analyze the impact of these perceptual experiences on overall instructor battle.Statement of the ProblemBusinesss expend considerable resources in order to develop occupied employees. Buckingham noted that an increased degree of employee battle drives up a ) public presentation, B ) productiveness, degree Celsius ) client satisfaction and vitamin D ) reduces turnover of single concern units. Therefore, would at that place be similar result on improved acquisition when instructo rs are more extremely engaged? Buckingham attributes the success for raising employee battle straight to the director. Whitaker ( 2003 ) has shown that the best principals are taking schools to better pupil larning. Therefore, will the actions of the principal dig up the degree of instructor battle, holding a coincident positive impact of pupil public presentation? The research worker in this survey assessed the principals perceptual experiences of concern direction patterns and their impact on instructor battle.Definition of footingsSeveral definitions are necessary to clear up points for depicting this survey sing chief patterns, teacher battle and pupil public presentation. These operational definitions will be referenced throughout this survey.Adequate Yearly Progress ( AYP ) . A signaling system bespeaking whether schools are on path to learn all pupils what they need to cognize each school twelvemonth ( Education Trust, 2004 ) .Business Management Practices. Evidence and exp erimental patterns that can be imitated, adapted, and continually improved to increase a ) public presentation, B ) productiveness, and degree Celsius ) profitableness ( Welch & A Welch, 2005 ) .Business Units. The lowest institutional member of the lot changing from industry to industry for banking, it is a subdivision for cordial reception it is a eating house or a hotel for fabricating it is a mill and so on ( Buckingham and Coffman, 1999 ) .Effective Schools. A school characterized by a ) strong administrative leading, B ) effectual direction for ALL kids, degree Celsius ) an orderly ambiance, vitamin D ) larning taking precedency over all other activities, vitamin E ) reallocation of resources to farther cardinal aims, and degree Fahrenheit ) frequent monitoring of pupil overture ( Edmonds, 1979 ) .Engaged Employees. A measureable grade of an employee s positive or negative emotional fond regard to their occupation, co-workers, and organisation which deeply influences th eir willingness to larn and execute at work ( Scarlett, 2011 ) .Engaged Teachers. Measured by the three dimensions of schoolroom instruction and acquisition a ) teacher-student relationships, B ) pedagogical patterns, and degree Celsius ) instructor dealingss with the organisation of learning ( Lesko, 1986 ) and a procedure, analogue to student battle, in which the instructor is consciously cognizant of his or her function in the acquisition procedure ( Kennedy, 1998 ) .Leadership. The act of supplying apprize and supervising to subsidiaries while originating new constructions, processs, and ends ( Sergiovanni, 2000 ) .Moral Purpose. Principled behavior connected to something greater than 1s self that relates to human or societal development ( Fullan, 2003 ) .No Child Left Behind ( NCLB ) . A reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 intended to shut the accomplishment spread with answerability, flexibleness, and pick. ( US Dept. of Ed, 2002 ) .Pennsylv ania System of School Assessment ( PSSA ) . A standards-based, criterion-referenced appraisal used to mensurate a pupil s attainment of the academic criterions while besides finding the grade to which school plans enable pupils to achieve proficiency of the criterions ( Pa. Dept. of Ed. , 2012 ) .Principal. The person who is charged with the duties to a ) direct, B ) operate, and degree Celsius ) administer the activities of a school ( The Pennsylvania Code Online ) .Chief patterns. The air in which principals allocate their attending across major countries of duty, the extent to which principals emphasize different countries of duty in different contexts, and the extent to which personal, single properties affect how principals allocate their clip and attending ( Camburn, 2008 ) .Site-Leadership. A procedure to transform schools into communities where the appropriate people participate constructively in major determinations that affect them ( Elmore, 2000 ) .Sustainability. The c apacity of a system to prosecute in the complexnesss of uninterrupted betterment consistent with deep values of human intent ( Fullan, 2005, p. nine ) .Trial Cycles. The one-year procedure of finishing province required testing ( PA Department of Education ) .Transformational Leadership. Style of leading in which the leader identifies a ) the needful alteration, B ) creates a vision to peak the alteration through inspiration, and degree Celsius ) executes the alteration with the committedness of the members of the group ( Kotter & A Cohen, 2002 ) .RestrictionsThis survey surveyed and interviewed principals from cardinal Pennsylvania and asked the same principals to react to open-ended inquiries. The little build of school territories included and the little participant pool may impact the findings of this survey. The study was completed electronically and could hold been impacted by the web administrative scenes at each respondent s school. The interviews of these principals cou ld hold been impacted by attitudes ensuing from current complicated issues happening at their specific schools, such as a ) altering course of study, B ) rapid alterations in demographics, degree Celsius ) decrease of support for specialised plans, vitamin D ) decrease in staffing, vitamin E ) increasing registration, degree Fahrenheit ) alterations in attending boundaries, g ) retirements of cardinal forces, and H ) curtailment of support from outside bureaus like Intermediate Units. Other restrictions may hold occurred if excessively many a ) schemes, B ) plans, and degree Celsius ) enterprises were implemented at the same time, therefore interfering with the ability to place specific plans that impact pupil public presentation and school clime. Finally, the degree of experience and preparation of the principal in instructional leading and concern direction may hold significantly influenced the informations and its correlativities to teacher battle. This may hold caused trouble i n accurately analysing the informations and could hold led to inaccurate correlativities impacting teacher battle.The everyday activities of the topics in this survey were minimally interrupted. from each one topic was asked to constructively analyse their apprehension of concern patterns and their sensed efficaciousness in impacting the degree of teacher battle. Principals who agreed to take part in this survey could hold felt a sense of insecurity since they might presume that non using these patterns may act upon them in a negative manner. There was minimum hazard to topics due to the confidential nature of the survey, the namelessness of the study participants, and the confidentiality protocols put in topographic point to guarantee the namelessness of the interviewees.Research QuestionsThe intent of this survey was to analyze principals perceptual experiences of concern leading patterns and their impact on instructor battle. Surveies, unfastened ended responses, and interview s with principals were used to garner perceptual experience informations. The undermentioned inquiries guided this surveyWhat concern direction patterns do principals happen valuable to raising the degree of instructor battle?What does the principal do to implement his or her top cinque concern direction patterns in order to raise the degree of instructor battle?From the principal s position, how does teacher engagement impact pupil public presentation?DrumheadThe hunt for activities and actions that will give schools public presentation advantages on standardised trials is continuously spread outing. Over the last 20 old ages, lots has been written about the principal s function as instructional leader. From Blase to Fullan, from Lambert to Lezotte, from Marzano to McEwen, Reeves, Schmoker, Sergiovanni, Stronge, and Whitaker all have called principals to greater functions in instructional leading. However, during that same timeline, much has been left unexpressed about principals function in effectual direction of their assigned school. Concurrently, an detonation of research and Hagiographas related chiefly to the concern community has clarified the actions, beliefs, and schemes of best directors. Blanchard, Buckingham, Coffman, Collins, Gordon, Kotter, Lencioni, Maxwell, Porras, Rath, Welch and many others have filled the shelves of book shop concern subdivisions with information about excellence in direction. This survey analyzed principals perceptual experiences of concern direction patterns that have been shown to raise employee battle and when implemented in schools their sensed impact on instructor battle.

Corruption in Mexico Essay

INTRODUCTIONIt is difficult to examine many of the problems currently going on in Mexico without the word decomposition being impel around. It is assumed that most government officials, judges, and police officers ar on the take, either from each other, the creation, or drug cartels. How has corruption become such an ingrained business office of Mexican society, and why is it so difficult if not impossible to stamp out?HISTORICAL BACKGROUNDIn colonial times, the buying and selling of indulgences, of populace offices and titles, military ranks trafficking, confiscation of goods, were daily practice. All these occur between wealthy families and of course, all people linked with the Spanish crown,Rulers, civilians and ecclesiastical always were trying to service complexities of bureaucratic structure to made large fortunes and got expensive properties.After independence, the system continued because bureaucrats needed some way to make up for the shortfalls in their incomes from junior-grade tax revenues.In most cases there just wasnt enough money to pay for the services people needed, so corruption developed as a means of raising revenue, although it has always been more than a way of financing government operations.**In modern Mexico, this system attempts to ensure that services ar rendered to certain people. As in colonial times, it to a fault attempts to make up the shortfall in salaries. Mexican government officials say that corruption is almost a necessity in Mexico to maintain order and stability. It is seen as a way of life. As long as most people feel they are acquire their share even if it is through corrupt means then it keeps the masses happy.Another angle of corruption in Mexico is the dreaded silver or lead, meantas take the bribe or take the bullet. This is a form of corruption encouraged by fear, as opposed to social acceptance or economical survival. Many police officers in Mexico are corrupt because they or their families are physic ally threatened by drug trafficking organization (DTO) members.*IDENTIFY PROBLEM IN DETAIL1 Bureaucrats needed some way to make up for the shortfalls in their incomes from small tax revenues. 2 Many police officers in Mexico are corrupt because they or their families are physically threatened by drug trafficking organization (DTO) members.Why it hasnt been solved so farSo how does the administration, which is so committed to cleansing Mexico of this endemic corruption, accomplish this goal? The sad fact is, it cant. Mexico is up against roughly 500 years of history ingrained into his people. It also has two other major things laddering against it the economy and an organized crime crisis.**If the average Mexican citizen could make a fair vivacious by living fairly, then corruption wouldnt be seen as necessary. While corruption exists in the United States (and every republic, for that matter), it exists to a much smaller extent because public servants for the most part earn a fa ir salary with which they can make a living.The Mexican economy is the 12th largest in the world, but the country has an extremely high rate of underemployment, and most people do not earn what Americans would call fair salaries for their work. Unless economic conditions in Mexico improve, the economic challenge to eliminating corruption will remain.SOLUTIONS1. Mexico needs to implement powerful institutional solutions that change the incentive equation for government officials. Specifically, it should createa new, fully independent and well-funded anti-corruption commission to work closely with civil society to oversee, investigate and catch wrongdoing by public servants. 2. The education in Mexico is a very important point in the corruption problem, if we have an ethical and moral culture, we would have a honest and transparent country. 3. This is a work for all the Mexicans.

Participants in the Business Buying Process Essay

Who does the get of the trillions of dollars worth of goods and services needed by the dividing line constitutions? Purchasing agents be influential in straight -re- taint and modified re situations, whereas other department personnel argon more influential in the new-buy situations. Engineering personnel usually wee-wee a major influence in selecting the convergence components, and purchasing agents dominate in selecting suppliers.Webster and Wind call the decision making unit of a buy organization the buying warmness. The buying c go far is composed of all those individuals and groups who participate in the purchasing from the decision. The buying center includes all members of the organization who command any of seven roles in the purchase decision process.Several roles of organization buyingInitiators Those who request that something be purchased. They may be users or others in the organization.Users Those who get pop use the product or service. In many cases, the us ers initiate the buying proposal and help define the product requirements.Influencers People who influence the buying decision. They often help define preciseations and also provide selective information for evaluating alternatives. Technical personnel argon particularly important influencers.Deciders People who decide on product requirements or on suppliers.Approvers People who authorize the proposed actions of deciders and buyers.Approvers People who authorize the proposed actions of deciders or buyersBuyers People who have formal authority to select the supplier and arrange the purchase terms. Buyers may help shape product specifications, but theyplay major role in selecting vendors. Buyers may help shape product specifications, but they play their major role in selecting vendors and negotiating. In more complex purchases, the buyers might include high-level managers.Gatekeepers People who have the power to prevent sellers or information from stretchability members of buying c enter. For example, purchasing agent, receptionists, and telephone operators may prevent salesperson from contacting users or deciders.The average number of people involved in a buying decision ranges from about three (for services and items used in day-to-day operations) to almost five (for such high tickets purchases as construction and machinery). To target their efforts properly, business marketers have to figure out who argon the major decision participants? What decisions do they influence? What is the level of their influence? What criteria do they used?When a buying center includes many participants, the business marketer will not have time or resources to each out to all of them. Small sellers concentrate on reaching they key buying influencers. Larger sellers go for multilevel in-depth selling to reach as many participants as possible. Their salespeople virtually live with their high volume customers. Companies will have to rely more heavily on their communications program to reach hidden buying influences and keep their current customers informed. Business marketers must periodically review their assumptions about the buying center participants.Major Influences on Buying DecisionsBusiness buyers respond to many influences when they make their decisions. When suppliers offerings are similar, business buyers can fit the purchasing requirements with any supplier, and they place more weight on the personal treatment they fetch. Where supplier offering differs substantially, business buyers are more accountable for their choices and knuckle under more attention to economical factors.Business buyers respond to four main influences environmental, organizational, interpersonal, and individual.1. Environmental FactorsBusiness buyers pay close attention to current and expected economic factors, such as the level of production, investment, consumer spending, and interest rate. In a recession, business buyer reduces their investment in plant, equipment, and inventories.Companies are fears of shortage of key materials are volition to buy and hold large inventories. They will sign long term contracts with suppliers to ensure a steady flow of materials.2. Organization FactorsEvery organization has specific purchasing objectives, policies, procedures, organizational structures, and musical arrangements. Business marketers need to be aware of the following organization trends in the purchasing area.Purchasing Up Grading The new, more strategically oriented purchasing departments have been changed, from old-fashion fashion departments with an emphasis on buying at the lowest cost, to procurement departments with a mission to seek the best rank from fewer and better suppliers. Some multinationals have even elevated to strategic supply departments with responsibility for global sourcing and partnership.Cross-functional Roles Most purchasing professionals describe their job as less clerical, more strategic, technical, team oriented, and inv olving more responsibility than even before. Sixty-one percent of buyers surveyed said the buying group was more involved in new-product public figure and development than it was five years ago more than half the buyers participate in cross-functional teams, with suppliers well represented.Central Purchasing In multidivisional companies, most purchasing is carried out by separate divisions because of their different needs. Some companies, however, have started to centralize their purchasing. Headquarters identifies materials purchased by several divisions and buys them centrally, thereby gaining more purchasing clout. The individual divisions can buy from another source if they can get a better deal in general, centralized purchased purchasing produces substantial savings. For the business marketer, this development means transaction with fewer and higher-level buyers and using a national account sales group to deal with large corporation.Decentralized Purchasing of Small-Ticket It em At the same time, companies are decentralizing some purchasing operations by empowering employees to purchase small-ticket items such as binders, coffeemakers, etc.Inter shed light on Purchasing Forrester Research estimates that B2B transactions over the net reached $2.7 trillion in 2004. The move to internet purchasing has far reaching implications for suppliers and will change the shape of purchasing for years to come.Other Organization Factors want Term Contract. Business buyers are increasingly initiating accepting long -term contracts with reliable suppliers. Business markets are using internets to set-up extranets with important customers to facilitate and lower the cost of transactions. Their customers enter orders directly on the computer, and these orders are automatically transmitted to the supplier. Some companies go further and shift the ordering responsibility to their suppliers in system called vendor-managed inventory. These suppliers are posterior to the customer s inventory levels and take responsibility to replenish automatically through continuous replenishment programs.Purchasing-Performance Evaluation and Buyers Professional Development many companies have set up incentive system to reward purchasing managers for good buying performance, in much the same way that sales personnel receive bonuses for good selling performance. These systems are leading purchasingmanagers to increase pressure on sellers for the best terms.Improved Supply Chain Management Purchasing executives are increasingly involved in working with marketing and other company executives in building a seamless supply chain management system from the purchase of raw materials to the on-time arrival of finished goods to the end users.Interpersonal and Individual FactorsBuying centers usually include several participants with differing interests, authority, empathy and persuasiveness. Each buyer carries personal motivations, perceptions, and preferences, which are influenced by buyers age, income, job position, personality, attitudes towards risk, and culture.Cultural FactorsBuying factors vary from one country to another. Here are some rules of social and business etiquette that marketers should regard when doing business in other countries.

Logistics costs

Logistics salute form an important part of the over whole cost structure in any organization. direction motives to be on renegotiating freight and shipping rates, drop-off in overall freight cost and streamlining trading operations. The following are the measures (ways) that house be apply to deoxidize cost in logistics New mail carriers The use of Constant market rate check is a vanquish practice. Usually, logistics managers get into a comfort district with the existing carriers. The organization should look on other carriers which offers lowest cost of transportation. Market rate check result bring to light other more than economical perations.New carriers whitethorn be more flexible in their price. Freight costs There are several options to optimize freight costs. Renegotiation of minimum charge to a minimum for a zone needs to be explored. Product address coordination is another useful tool to stream cablegram freight costs. Arrangements with a look of keener carr iers too endure the best rate/best service combination. Internet offers excellent tools for comparing and optimizing freight costs. Improve shipping and receiving Streamlining shipping and receiving practices will offer savings. This tramp happen hrough reduction of big quantify for receiving.Starting point should be mandating delivery appointments. A flow chart needs to be do of all the operations to determine wasteful attend toes and combining existing processes. Technology Internet tools enable substantial reduction in paperwork. Documents are s whoremasterned and emailed to customs, ports etc. In case of cross b purchase order trade, documents needs to r separately at least twenty four hours in advance to neutralise delays at the border. Technology also allows coordination of all shipments to optimize loading. This minimize delays in delivery. Managing returns Reverse logistics is an important element of freight costs.Most companies offer a liberal returns policy. If the client is not meet with the result, it fanny be returned in a certain period depending on the seller. At time, the seller also arranges to pick it up. There should be streamlined processes so as to minimize costs associated with reverse logistics. Audit of freight costs Use specialized agencies that provide post payment audit of freight bills. These agencies are usually paid on a profit sharing basis. These audits also provide valuable insight nto patterns and other cost reduction opportunities.Deborah Catalano Ruriani explained other ways (measures) of speak to reduction as 1 . Eliminate contribute chain bottlenecks. By periodically reviewing and analyzing their supply chain networks, companies can be able to pinpoint issues and proactively ring them. Strategies to reduce or eliminate bottlenecks include addressing vessel schedule planning, ensuring proper documentation and regulatory accordance for imports and exports, and revamping network design. 2. Reduce size up at t he port, manufacturing sites, and warehouses. Companies oftentimes stock excess inventory because they lack supply chain visibility.To effectively reduce excess inventory, you have to gain reliable information on in store(predicate) orders. Visibility software can help. 3. Cut demurrage and detention tines. While an occasional tine may not seem like much, these costs can add up. Auditing carrier bills and shrouding where issues occur in the supply chain can substantially press clipping fine payments. 4. Identify opportunities to shift modes. Without adequate visibility into logistics operations, a phoner may not realize that an air shipment could move by sea at a much bring low cost. Companies that use technology to value modal options typically see a five- to eight-percent cost reduction. . Use postponement strategies to divert inventory at an international gateway. A successful postponement outline can dramatically lower forecasting errors as well as improve node service b y reducing out-of-stocks. Companies also can cut transport costs by reducing inventory misallocations and shipping more items in bulk. 6. Use preferential trade agreements. Companies that take advantage of preferential spot can save millions in duties and taxes. A software system that automates the ualification process can save time and effort, as well as improve compliance and data accuracy. . Rebalance supply and fulfillment networks by determining tax- efficient sourcing and distribution strategies. Companies must periodically review their supply chain networks to assess duties and logistics costs, labor costs, regulatory controls, and global political climates. By comparing geographic options, taking into account the costs and regulations of each option, companies can optimize their supply chain. 8. Become a self-filer. victimization technology to connect electronically ith brokers lowers en fork up filing costs and reduces manual entry errors.It also can enable pre-clearance o f goods at borders and reduce the number of provide needed internally to manage logistics operations while boosting productivity hence reduce cost. 9. examine your procurement process. By implementing a process-based workflow that includes tracking and managing order acceptance, consolidating invoices, creating shipments and generating documents and by extending that process to trading partners companies can reduce cycle times, cut supply chain execution costs, and better support compliance initiatives. 10. Implement deed heed metrics and tools.Companies need a system, data, and tools to benchmark actions and make informed decisions. Developing a performance management process allows companies to manage service providers and detailed cycle times to lower costs and continually improve performance 1 1 . Understand the true costs of sourcing overseas. Calculate freight, duty, brokerage, and inventory carrying costs to support these lengthened supply chains. Also factor in such ite ms as the costs of engineers flying overseas. Once you understand the true total land cost and total impact to the business 12. Focus on eliminating the variability out of transit times.The more variable the transit times are, the more apt(predicate) it is that the receiving party is using more agiotage freight, building buffers of inventory, or ordering more often and more quantity than necessary to compensate for the uncertainty. Understanding these kinetics can lead to the conclusion that paying amplyer freight costs to insure higher variability actually saves your company in total costs. 13. Control your get shipping costs. Typically when a company runs into a supply chain issue, it will have an entire shipment move on an express/expedited highest cost) service level basis.Panicking often results in higher costs. If the company would Just do a little bit of calculating it can determine the measurement of goods that are needed immediately and have that amount sent using ex press/expedited service level, while the balance ot the shipment can be sent using a standard (lower cost) service level. 14. Informed decision- make. Provide to the decision-makers/ customers of your logistics network the cost of freight for each service level, the reliability of each lane for each service level, and the true cost of carrying inventory so they can make informed decisions.People generally want to be good corporate citizens and will give the little expensive option that still meets their needs CHARACTERISTICS OF appeal REDUCTION (HARD COST SAVINGS) The following are the characteristics of Hard cost savings, which is understood as real bottom line reductions are year-on-year saving over the constant volume of purchased product/service, actions that can be traced directly to the Profit and Loss Account, direct reduction of expense or a change in process/technology/policy that directly reduces expenses, process improvements that result in real and measurable ost or asset reductions, examination of existing products or services, contractual agreements, or processes to determine potential changes that reduce cost, and net reductions in prices paid for items procured when compared to prices in place for the earlier 12 months or a change to lower cost alternatives. COST AVOIDANCE (SOFT COST SAVINGS) Soft cost avoidance is much more touchy to define.The following are Suggested definitions, which includes monetary value avoidance is a cost reduction that does not lower the cost of products/services when compared against historical results, but rather inimizes or avoids entirely the negative impact to the bottom line that a price increase would have caused, when there is an increase in output or condenser without increasing re ascendant expenditure, in general, the cost avoidance savings are the amount that would have been spend to handle the change magnitude volume or output, and Cost avoidances include process improvements that do not immedia tely reduce cost or assets but provide benefits through improved process efficiency, employee productivity, improved customer satisfaction, improved competitiveness, over time to mention the few, cost avoidance often becomes cost savings. N. B Cost avoidance is a cost reduction that results from a spend that is lower than the spend that would have otherwise been required if the cost avoidance exercise had not been undertaken.This accounts for the situations where spend is higher due to higher collect but overall cost per unit is lower, where up-front investments reduce overall spend in one or more categories over a multi-year initiative, and where a process improvement or product replacement resulted in a lower operating cost or cost per unit compared to what the company would have spent had the company not improved the process or replaced the product. To Sum up, if the organization adopts this open definition of cost avoidance, and maintains a document of common examples and their associated metrics, which is updated each time a brisk suit of project is encountered that could result in a cost avoidance, the organization can fully quantify the hard and soft savings delivered by the sourcing team to the management team.Measures of Cost Avoidance Resisting or delaying a suppliers price increase, this is one of the ways of cost avoidance whereby the organization use techniques to drive or delay supplier price increase in avoiding cost. Use of purchase price that is lower than the original quoted price, The organization purchases its requirements at a lower price than what was initially quoted by the supplier so as to avoid cost. Value of additional services at no cost, the wet makes sure it avoid or prevent cost by making sure after sale services are obtained for loosen for instance installation, free training. Long-term contracts with price-protection provisions,the firm enters into long term contracts with the aim of cost sharing with the supplier. Introd uction of a new product or part number requiring a new bodily purchases and spend is lower.COST REDUCTION CHALLENGES Some of the challenges faced by a company as they seek to assess cost reduction include Cancellation of net savings due to an increase in the business units cost structure, add managements role in the cost savings allocation decision, Chronology of supply managements involvement and the need for reckon cuts, Visibility, in terms of systems, people, and metrics, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) concept for purchases items/services, Multi-year issues in cost savings, and Creating a proper incentive structure for supply management personnel. TYPES OF COST REDUCTION AND AVOIDANCE The following are types of cost reduction and avoidance that need to be recognized as valid cost savings. This section presents whatsoever types of cost reduction and cost avoidance that can contribute significantly to the organizations bottom line.Negotiated Discounts against Material Cost Incr eases If the products being sourced are primarily made from a commodity whose average market price or index has increased significantly since the last sourcing cycle, and a purchaser manages to negotiate a price that increases less than the increase in underlying material costs since the last sourcing event, this is a valid cost avoidance. Substitution If a buyer manages to find another product that performs the same function, or is able to collaborate with a supplier to produce a functionally equivalent specialation that is more economical to produce, then the buyer has obtained a cost reduction on behalf of the organization.. Waived Fees This form of cost avoidance is quite self-explanatory.For example, if a supplier normally charges an installation fee for a new piece of equipment, but the buyer is able to negotiate free installation, than this would be an example of cost avoidance of the waived fee variety. Another example would be free training or services. However, this is o ne example where the cost avoidance is not equal to what the vendor quotes, but what the market average for the service is.. Inventory decrease This occurs when the buyer comes up with a strategy to reduce the inventory that the organization needs to hold at any given time. Since all inventories is associated with a carrying cost, inventory reduction often represents significant cost savings to an organization over time.Inventory can be reduced when a buyer finds a supplier who can handle a snorter lead time or when inventory is turned over to a vendor who pecializes in inventory management (Vendor Managed Inventory). Process advancement Processes consume overhead, and overhead costs money. Thus, any significant process improvement could represent a significant cost avoidance to an organization. However, unlike the other types of cost avoidance, process improvement cost reductions can be a bit tricky to evaluate. The key is to look at the average number of units of product or work produced per day, week, or month prior to the improvement and the number of units of product or work produced per day, week, or month after the improvement and calculate a percentage improvement N.B By doing this, the organization will have clearly defined cost reduction efforts, tied them to savings, defined their relative importance, and defined the trade of the credit that will go to supply management in a cross-functional initiative. The organization will also have avoided the problem where the team over concentrates on finding hard dollar savings, which is a serious problem if raw material and energy costs keep rising significantly and the largest savings potential is in the soft savings realized by long- term process and product improvements. Transloading to Maximize Cost Savings By Deborah Catalano Ruriani Tags Transportation Management Transloading offers a cost-effective way to bring maritime containers inland to distribution centers.By transferring cargo without sorting the contents for shipment to a single destination, transloading services can reduce total landed costs, and when combined with value-added services such as palletizing and shrink-wrapping reduce treatment at the destination. Jeff McCorstin, senior vice president of air and ocean products for UPS worldwide Freight Forwarding, offers these tips for maximizing savings with transloading services. 1 . Understand general transloading rules. Transloading offers the greatest cost savings when ocean containers can be consolidated into fewer, larger domestic help trailers. The cargo in three 40-foot ocean containers typically fits into two 53-foot domestic trailers. . Ensure overall transportation savings outweigh additional handling costs. sometimes the savings are negated for destinations located farther east from the U. S. West Coast discharge port. 3. Consider palletizing cargo during transloading. To best use space in ocean containers, cargo is rarely palletized at the point of origin . Palletize during the ransloading process to improve distribution center (DC) handling efficiency. 4. Factor transloading into transit time estimates. Unloading, handling, and reloading ocean container cargo coterminous the port of discharge takes time. Allow up to three days to ensure customer delivery commitments are met. 5.Ensure your cargo fits the bill. Transload operators charge additional fees for containers with more than a certain number of cartons. The additional costs for containers with several thousand small cartons could offset any transportation savings. 6. Ensure handling flexibleness by making Customs entry at the port. While it is a common practice to clear ocean containers at their tinal inland destinations, it is better to make entry at the port ot discharge. This ensures maximum tractability in handling cargo, and eliminates the need to move the shipment in-bond, saving additional costs. 7. Increase supply chain efficiency with merge-in-transit offerings.This type of deconsolidation allows importers to combine products arriving in containers from distinguishable origins/shippers by transloading near the port of arrival into domestic trailers. And if importers source from domestic supplierswho may also have product arriving via containerthis argo can be merged in transit to arrive together at the designated DC. 8. Use transloading to expedite delivery to final destination. Transloading near the port of discharge provides the flexibility to bypass DCs and speed delivery to the end customer. The reduced DC handling charges and improved time in transit can help trim supply chain costs. 9. Avoid costly containers.Instead of shipping less-than- containerload, 20-foot, or light-loaded 40-foot containers from multiple overseas vendors to your inland DC, ship fully loaded/optimized containers to a single container freight lieu near the port of discharge. From there, they can be transloaded, merged in transit with other inbound cargo, and shipp ed to the final destination using the transport mode that best fits the importers needs. 10. Set up transloading programs in advance. Having your service provider involved in coordinating with the origin forwarder translates into better service levels and reliability. Flexible Structure Flexible operations are preplanned contingency strategies to prevent logistical failures.A typical emergency occurs when an assigned shipping easiness is out of stock or for some other moderateness cannot complete a customers order. For example, a warehouse may be out of an item with no replenishment inventory scheduled to arrive until after the customers undertake order delivery date. To prevent back- ordering or delivery cancellation, a contingency operating policy may assign the total order, or at least those items not available, for shipment from an alternative warehouse. The use of flexible operations is typically based on the importance of meeting the needs of a specific customer or the crit ical nature of the product being ordered.A flexible logistics capability that has gained popularity as a result of mproved communications involves procedures for serving predetermined situations as part of the basic logistical strategy. The flexible logistics rule and decision scenarios specify alternative ways to meet specific service requirements, such as duty assignment of the order to different shipping facilities or changing methods of delivery. A strategy that lend oneselfs flexible operations is common practice in four different situations. First, the customer designated delivery facility might be near a point of equal logistics cost or equal delivery time from two different logistics facilities. Customers located at such points offer the supplying firm an opportunity to fully utilize available inventory and logistical capacity.Orders can be serviced from the facility having the best inventory position or the available transportation capacity to achieve timely delivery. This form of flexible logistics offers a way to fully utilize system capacity by balancing workloads between facilities while protecting customer service commitments. The benefit is operating efficiency, which is transparent to the customer, who experiences no service deterioration. A second situation Justitying lexible distribution is when the size of a customers order creates an opportunity to improve logistical efficiency if serviced through an alternative channel arrangement. For example, the lowest-total-cost method to provide small shipment delivery may be through a distributor.In contrast, larger shipments may have the lowest total logistical cost when shipped grinder direct to customers. Provided that alternative methods of shipment meet customer delivery expectations, total logistical cost may be reduced by implementing flexible policies. A third type of flexible operation may result from a selective inventory stocking strategy. The cost and risk associated with stocking inven tory require careful abstract to determine which items and how much to place in each warehouse. With replacement parts, a common strategy mentioned earlier is to stock selected items in specific warehouses with the total line being stocked only at a central facility.In general-merchandise selling, a store or distribution center located in a small community may stock only a limited or restricted version of a firms total line. When customers desire nonstocked items, orders must be satisfied from an alternative facility. The term master facilities is ften used to describe inventory strategies that designate larger facilities for backup support of smaller restricted facilities. Selective inventory stocking by echelon level is a common strategy used to reduce overall inventory risk. The reasons for selective stocking range from low product profit contribution to high per-unit cost of inventory maintenance.One way to operationalize a fine-line inventory classification strategy is to dif ferentiate stocking policy by system echelons. In situations following such separate stocking strategies, it may be necessary to obtain advanced customer approval for split-order delivery. However, in some situations firms that use differentiated inventory stocking strategies are able to consolidate customer orders while intransit for same-time delivery, thereby making the arrangement customer transparent. The fourth type of flexible operations results from agreements between firms to move selected shipments outside the established echeloned or direct logistics arrangements.Two special arrangements gaining popularity are flow through cross-docks and service supplier arrangements. A cross-dock operation involves shipments from multiple suppliers arriving at a designated time at the handling facility. Inventory receipts are sorted by destination across the dock and consolidated into outbound trailers for direct delivery. Cross-dock operations are growing in popularity in the retail i ndustry for building store-specific assortments and are common methods of continuous inventory replenishment for mass merchants. Cross-docking of merchandise direct from manufacture to a customers retail store eliminates the work and cost associated with utilizing distribution warehouses.Another form of flexible operations is to use integrated service providers to consolidate products for delivery. This is similar to consolidation for ransportation purposes discussed in the previous section of this chapter. However, as a form of flexible logistics, specialists are used to avoid storage and handling of slow-moving products through the mainstream of the echeloned logistics structure. Such service providers can also provide important value-added services. For example, Starbucks Coffee Company has a long standing relationship with OHL, a logistics service provider. Starbucks has approximately 17,000 company-owned and licensed retail outlets.O L provides logistical support to Starbucks b y ottering the typical range of 3PL services plus technology support. This operating relationship has existed for over a decade. Figure 2. 5 introduces flexibility to the logistical operating structures previously illustrated. A prerequisite to effective flexible operations is the use of information technology to monitor inventory status passim the logistical network and provide the capability to rapidly switch methods for servicing customer orders. The use of flexible operations in emergency situations has a well-established track record. The overall improvement in information technology is resulting in flexible operations becoming an increasingly important part of basic logistics trategy.Cutting Costs From Your Logistics budget Tags Supply Chain Management If you want to reduce logistics costs, you have to take the time to review your processes. Nathan Pieri, senior vice president of marketing and product management for Rutherford, N. J. -based Management Dynamics, offers these t ips for trimming your logistics budget. 10 tips for reducing supply chain logistics costs Aug. 9, 2005 Berme Hart EMAIL Tweet Comments O As companies continue to manufacture and source materials from overseas, controlling costs remains a top priority for those involved in international trade. One ey factor that should be monitored more closely is logistics management, which covers all activities relating to the procurement, transport, transshipment and storage of goods.Depending on the industry sector, supply chain logistics costs account from 5% to 50% of a products total landed cost. Some issues effecting logistics costs can prices remain high and ports continue to experience delays, resulting in higher transportation fees. Increasingly complex international trade laws and security measurements threaten to lengthen delivery times and increase warehousing costs. According to a recent report by TechnologyEvaluation. om, a typical air-freight shipment takes eight to twelve days. Of this, the cargo is en route only 5% of the time. The rest is spent sitting in warehouses waiting for the required documents and compliance checks.Following are 10 Tips on Reducing Supply Chain Logistics Costs 1 that domestic buy may look a lot better. Sourcing from Ohio to your U. S. plant, distribution center or customer may, in the long run, be more cost effective than sourcing from China. Taritt engineering. Strategically source and manutacture products to take advantage of classification duty rates and eligibility for special trade programs such s NAFTA. 4. Consolidate. If you have multiple suppliers in one country, consolidate their goods into one shipment. In addition, if you always have LCL (less than container load) shipments out of one country, try to find another LCL importer of goods from that country.You may be able to partner and consolidate to a more cost-effective FCL (full container load) shipment. 5.. 6. Sometimes insurance doesnt pay. Often when a company has a shi pment of premium goods they tend to use the Carriers Insurance. Carriers Insurance is very expensive. If the company is self insured, which most companies are, they should heck their insurance policy to see if it covers shipment of goods. If it does, then they do not need to add the extra cost of Carriers Insurance. 7. Automate compliance processes. Companies that implement software solutions to automate trade compliance are able to speed the cycle times associated with tasks being performed manually, such as document preparation, and eliminate the associated errors.Automated compliance procedures also bring fewer delays at border crossings, resulting in on-time delivery, adequate inventory levels, increased customer satisfaction, and the avoidance of fines. 8.. 9. Planes, trains and automobiles. Which is cheapest? In general, rail is more cost- effective than trucking or air. Water is cheaper than air shipment. No matter the mode of delivery, always try to get three quotes for move ments. 10. Be aware of non-tariff trade barriers. Companies need to be more aware of the increasing level of non-tariff trade barriers that are in make to reduce sweat shop labor and support human rights and animal welfare issues. These restrictions can bring importers increased liability and compliance costs.

Did the Ancient Greek Gods Exist Essay

The Ancient Greeks regarded their religion and mythology with untold respect and loyalty. Although the Ancient Greek Gods are now seen as an explanation created by man, for inbred forces and the world around us, there has been much evidence both for and against the debate that these Gods were real. The Greeks believed that the Earth was created with the birth of Gaia, or Mother Earth, from the dark void known as Chaos. It was believed that Gods were all-powerful giants and heroes, who were responsible for our creation.The Olympians were a younger race of Gods led by genus Zeus, who steadytually overthrew the formid fitted Titans, led by Zeus tyrannical father Cronus. at at a time in power, the Olympians, named after their home Mount Olympus, were each given certain responsibilities and powers over inbred forces and aspects of life. Such as the sky, ocean, death and war. Many moderate debated that the Gods turn in made their presence clear, through their influencing and interv ening with our history and punishments that they see cast upon us. Whereas others argue that they were undefiled stories told to inspire others, teach morals and explain the unknown.The mythology of the Gods were mainly passed on through stories and supported with archaeological evidence, the main literary account was by Homer and his two epic poems. Although they mainly accounted for the events surrounding the Trojan War, they include much proof on the impact and influence the Gods had on Ancient Greek history. In Homers epic poem Illiad, Zeus is shown sending Agamemnon a false dream, thus influencing his military decisions during the Trojan war in an attempt to depopulate the Earth. Although the existence of Agamemnon cannot be proven, the urban center of Troy can be.The archaeological ruins of the city can be found in what is now known as Turkey and shows signs of universe destroyed and rebuilt several times, most managely due to an quake and even a war, from which there wa s evidence of much slaughter. The Ancient Greeks worshipped the Gods, believing they had power over everything around them and perceived them as almighty deities. The Gods were believed to have normally taken on human form, exhibiting the same emotions and traits. They were also known for regularly intervening in human history.Many race have argued that like some Ancient Chinese deities, many Gods were in fact based on actual figures of history and that over time, like the Chinese gods, their true identities were but forgotten and they were continually perceived as almighty gods. Such as Guan Yu, a Chinese general who was deified as the Taoist God of War, during the Sui Dynasty (581-618) for his contributions to the civil war. He continues to be worshipped by the Chinese and is a figure of Chinese folk religion. Like the Greek Gods, Guan Yu is worshipped with alters, ceremonies, sacrifices and festivals. and after many centuries of being seen as a God, many are unaware that he did in fact exist. The Historical Theory, continues to support the idea that all people mentioned in mythology were once real people, only their story is passed on and changed over time. Comparisons have also been drawn with the similarities between the solid ground of Ancient Greek mythology and its factual history. The Greeks believed that there were one-third generations of Gods Uranus and other creation gods, the Titans and the Olympians.Many believe that this is merely a reflection of the three major Ancient Greek civilisations Minoan, Mycenaean and Hellenic. Even with the Gods, they portray lowering social struggles between threatening communities. Professor Martin P. Nilsson concluded that the Gods were a mere reflection and dramatization of Ancient Greek civilisation. Although the Gods were worshipped for their allegiance, they were also known for their temper and harsh punishments such as the Minotaur, a ferocious monster with a thirst for blood and the result of a Gods pu nishment.It all began as a sentence cast by the God, Poseidon, onto the King of Crete, Minos for not sacrificing a prized white bull. To punish him, fellow goddess Aphrodite made Minos wife Pasiphae fall in hit the sack with a bull hence resulting in the birth of the Minotaur, the unnatural offspring of man and bull. The Minotaur was infamous for its human body and bull head. Uncovered representational humanities such as vases, alters and ruins have proven the high amount of bull worship in Crete and even parts of Spain, possibly due to the existence of the Minotaur.However many argue that it was from the bull sensation that came the origins and inspiration for the tale of the Minotaur. The creature eventually grew for a horrific taste for blood, forcing Minos to imprison it in a voluminous labyrinth under his palace, Knossos. Several years ago, Oxford university geographer Nicholas Howarth uncovered an underground cave complex consisting of a dark, twisting network of tunnels on the island of Crete, just miles away from the ruins of Knossos.Locally, it is even known as Labyrinthos Caves. The Minotaur was eventually slain by Theseus, a demi-god, further supporting the argument that the Ancient Greek Gods existed. As mentioned, over time people have come to accept the Ancient Greek gods as something the Greeks created to understand the world around them. The Physical theory reinforces this argument, claiming that all mythology and religion is formed from the basis of the natural elements air, fire and water.Similarities can be seen with that of the Ancient Greek gods, such as Poseidon who was God of the Sea and was believed to have domain over the ocean. Many argued that the Gods were mere symbolic personifications of the uncontrollable nature around us, from which the Ancient Greeks found hope and security. Sigmund Freuds symbolic communication and dream interpretation suggested that with the proper psyche and desperation, the Greeks could have used the God s as a verification of control.Many have continued to attempt to interpret the mythology of different ancient civilisations. One of the most successful would be Herodotus, who uncovered the relationships and connections between Ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythologies. He believed that the Ancient Greek Gods were directly inspired by Egyptian mythology. Gods such as Zeus were paired with the Egyptian god Amun. Through historical linguistics, it was believed that these gods actually derived from common archetypes of the Proto-Indo-European religion.Thus concluding that Gods were a mere copy of other cultural religions and myths. disdain the scepticism that many feel towards the argument, the evidence is overwhelming and reinforces the debate that the Gods did exist, whether they were immortal Olympians or evidently heroic human beings. As immortal wrathful giants, the gods were able to influence entire battles and punish those they believed evil, whereas if they were only huma n beings, their story would be able to inspire and teach others heroism and bravery.Although the argument involving the Physical theory and Herodotus is viable, the natural elements are the foundation of life and therefore can be twisted to fit any argument and have similarities found anywhere if one simply looked hard enough. Although we may never learn the truth, the existence of the Ancient Greek gods are more realistic due to the possibilities faced with the idea that they could have been each almighty gods or average human beings.

Highly Assimilated Cherokee

DON HUNT LESSON 5 CHAPTER 9 Writing Assignment Questions How would you describe Jacksons berth toward the Indians? Jackson felt the Indians deserved to have land of their own, but land that the government would set aside for them. He still felt that they should be taught the humanistic discipline of civilizations so they could co-exist with the white man. To what termination was the removal voluntary, as Jackson suggested? The removal was voluntary only if they wanted to be displaced from their homelands and where their forefathers were buried.If they decided to stay, they would have to obey the laws of the States. What variety show of biography did the Cherokee writer expect to find in the western territory? The Cherokee writer did not expect to find a very fruitful life in the western territory. He mentioned that they were not of there they knew nothing of the land. He also mentions that there argon others that be there now, and they would see them as intruders. Those that ar e not from there, are awaiting in the dark and forget pounce on them as prey for they are no longer interested in an copiousness life, but into stripping another of theirs.Why does Jackson believe that Indians and whites cannot live together? Jackson believes though the Indians are human they are not exsanguine and will not conform as the Whites want, thus, making it hard for the Indians and the Whites to live harmoniously together. Is his position borne egress by the history of the Cherokee? No, his position is not out of the history of the Cherokee, but of the history of the White inflicting their laws on the Cherokee. Do Budinots arguments in favor of removal make adept?Budinots arguments make sense for removal only if you are looking to give the Cherokee tribes their pride back. Do you find it curious that Budinot, an educated and highly assimilated Cherokee, would argue for removal in the note of preserving the Cherokee people? No, Budinot, is arguing for their removal so that he can preserve the Cherokee Nation. Without preservation, there will be no Cherokee Nation. What does he fear if the Cherokee remain? Budinot fears that the Cherokee will not only lose what they have now, but all that is to become, they will be no more.What does this say about his attitude towards his own people? In Budinots argument, you can hear his pride for his people. His attitude towards his people is that he wants them to survive and to make that happen, certain things may need to be done, removal from the States. To what extent does his opinion of the prospects for Cherokee and whites living together coincide with Jacksons? Budinots opinion is very similar, Budinots feels the Cherokee will not survive they way they are now, and Jackson will not allow them to survive the way they are now.

Native Americans in the United States and Hardy Individualism Essay

Prompt Although the development of the Trans-Mississippi West is popularly associated with gay individualism, it was in point largely dependent on the national government. Assess the validity of this statement with specific reference to occidental economic activities in the 19th century.In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the idea of the far west catch legion(predicate). The chance to begin life anew attracted thousands of individuals and families alike to move out west and escape their received life, which was normally full of poverty and for some, full of discrimination. As the west expanded and grew into an important part of the unite States, westerners found it somewhat difficult to survive with important resources going scarce. Although the development of the Trans-Mississippi west is mainly associated with hardy individualism, the wests development as a whole was largely the result of the aid of the federal government by constructing railroads, promoting and protecting t he land, and removing the Indian tribes.Railroads were an integral part of the west without them the West would not be successful. The distance of the west from the rest of the country was large and the only way to reach the west was through and through a long, tiresome journey by wagon. The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 paved the way for the intricacy of the railroads. The Act gave companies land to build railroads. The faster the company built the railroad, the faster they could get more land, which they usually sold for profit later on. The construction of the railroad benefitted many who were not living in the west, namely Chinese immigrants. With thousands of workers, railroad companies had to ensure their safety to prevent being sued and frowned upon by the public. To prevent that, railroad companies provided many necessities for their workers like shelter.

Strategic Analysis of the Uk Fast Food Industry

Business and Management system BAM6012 A Strategic and Competitive Analysis of the UKs Fast Food pains Executive thick The solid solid food effort in the UK is a multi-billion pound patience that is mainly dominated by a few competitors such as McDonalds, Burger office, KFC and Subway. Most of the food sold in these profuseing food restaurants is un healthy, which is turn a huge concern as there argon m whatsoever people dying of obesity and other health related problems. This is one of the key social factors facing the degenerate food commercialise at the moment.The fast food indus try out is a red ocean as it is already hearty defined where rivalry is intense. It is also a perfectly agonistical industry as the barriers to entry are low and there are many rivals each with similar products. Information to the toweringest degree any of the competitors is freely available. The industry does arrive at a few characteristics of an oligopolistic industry too as there is a orthodontic braces of companies that view as the main merchandise share and stir place over the buyers and suppliers.The main features that cultivate a firms ability to compete and deliver the goods advantageousness depend on who their main disputation is. For illustration there are contrastive strategic groups in the industry such as McDonalds and Burger King who compete at the top of the industry and single privately owned fast food retail merchant that compete on a much lower level with much smaller budgets. The guest requirements are very low in this industry as a lot of the products sold by different firms are very similar however the requirement of a cheap and fast meal is eer at the top of their engages.Any potential strategy to annex profitability within the industry will need to be assessed properly and to realise the risks involved and other potential threats to it. Table of contents Pg. Executive epitome 2 Introduction 4 History of the fast food commerc ialize. 4 Current securities industry conditions 4 PESTEL analysis. 5 Porters Five Forces.. Industry attractiveness. 9 Opportunities 9 Threats 9 Possible strategies. 10 Bibliography.. 11 Introduction This report aims to give a strategic and competitive analysis of the UKs fast food industry. It will cover the main structural features of the industry that influence competition and profitability. The report will give an overview of the whole industry rather than unspoiled one friendship within it.I shall also aim to analyse the industry attractiveness showing why manageable companies would uniform to enter the marketplace. A nonher aim of the report is to analyse the competition and guest requirements in order to pose opportunities to gain a competitive advantage within the industry. The final aim of the report is to develop possible strategies to influence and improve on profitability. Whilst developing a strategy, the difficulties and risks involved in using these strategies will be covered. History of the fast food industry in the UKThe UK has embraced a lot of different types of fast food over the years, ranging from pizza to burgers, kebabs to Chinese, curry to fish & chips and healthy offerings. There is a lot of competition in the market at present with postgraduate profile companies such as McDonalds, Subway, Burger King, and KFC, non to mention the center of privately owned single store fast food press releases. Current market conditions The honour of the fast food market in the UK grew by 3. 3% in 2011 to reach a total value of $7,860. 3 million. The forecast for the market value is set to increase to $9,147 million by 2016.This is an increase of 16. 4% by 2011. Transactions in the fast food market also grew in 2011 by 1% to reach a total leger of 2,785. 2 million transactions. The market volume is set to increase by 6. 8% by 2016 to a total of 2,975. 4 million transactions. Fast Food Industry profile The United Kingdom 2012, Fast Food I ndustry Profile United Kingdom, pg 1-35, Business antecedent Premier, EBSCO host, viewed 25/11/2012 seal analysis PESTLE analysis will help to capture understanding about aspects of the place setting by using the prompts political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental.It is a technique that facilitates a wide s brush aside of the context and actual or potential factors that would affect objectives if left unmanaged. (Webster-Murray, R. 2010. pg. 88) Political factors * There is an increasing heart of pressure from the government to encourage people to eat healthier as the number of deaths relating to obesity and an unhealthy life-style is on the increase year after year. * The government can allocate grants to business start-ups to try and hike up fair competition within the marketplace. There is speculation over the government introducing a bleak avoirdupois weight tax on fast food served over a counter. This will add on another(prenominal) 20% t o the current price in taxes. http//www. guardian. co. uk/society/2012/may/16/fat-tax-unhealthy-food- instal Economic factors * Consumers will sustain less disposable income with the current economic climate and therefore may be less plausibly to spend money on fast food as it may be seen as a luxury. * Exchange rates may affect profitability on the business if they are sourcing materials (all the ingredients single-valued functiond to require their food) from outside the UK. Unemployment levels are senior luxuriously school at the moment in the UK which misbegottens there will be even more(prenominal) consumers without the money to purchase fast food. The current unemployment rate currently sits at 7. 8%. http//www. ons. gov. uk/ons/key-figures/index. html * The puffiness rate is at 2. 2% currently in the UK. This does not pose a problem as businesses will not be phased by this to invest more and grow. http//www. bbc. co. uk/ new-sprung(prenominal)s/business-19959827 sociocu ltural factors * The current social trend of eating healthy and having a healthy lifestyle is pushing customers off from eating at fast food restaurants. With London just hosting the Olympic Games in the summer of 2012 then a lot of people are trying to start a much healthier sustenance and lifestyle for themselves, therefore cutting back on the amount of fast food they currently eat. * The high standard of education in the UK means that children are more aware and k todayledgeable about the health implications that spread out from eating fast food. * With the current fast paced lifestyle that a lot of consumers have, it is easy for them to just pick up food at a fast food outlet rather than stimulate for themselves.This shows that fast food can be seen as convenient. * Companies must try and add value to their spot by being reasonably priced and of an equal bore in relation to the price. * Consumers already have a large variety of choice within the fast food market therefor e a poster should also offer a lot of choice so that the customer can be comfortable and their ever changing taste can be satisfied too. * The fast paced lifestyle of consumers means that the return of fast food must also match that and be quick too. * Healthy options must be made available as to encourage a balanced diet.Technological factors * Fast food companies now have a wide range of tools available to them in order to promote their brand and products. Different ways they can do this is through the use of TV, radio, internet, direct mail, interactive billboards and many other options. * Companies can now use the internet not just to promote their brand but also to take orders and let the customer make transactions. This can be helpful to lower the cost of using employees. * Technological advances mean it is easier for a company to keep track of stock levels and also take orders in store.This minimises the risk of world error. Environmental factors * Companies in the fast food industry now need to monitor the amount of take they dispose of as there is a lot of emphasis now on cutting raft the amount of waste and turning it into recyclable and reusable products. Businesses are now turning to recyclable packing. * The amount of energy that is consumed in the process of making the fast food and where all the energy comes from to power a fast food outlet. Can be seen as a good ethical policy to use or constitute off shore wind farms that power outlets. Legal factors Have to stick to a law that means they cannot mislead consumers on the nutritional value of their products. * Companies have to abide by original health and safety laws for both the employees and the customers. * Other laws that a business will have follow are laws on employment, fair competition and food hygiene. Through the use of a PESTLE analysis we can see that there are many factors that affect the UKs fast food industry. Most of these factors arise in the sociocultural section as i t is here that the fast food industry gains virtually of its throwaway(prenominal) attention.This is mainly down to the fact that the foods served by the companies are mainly unhealthy, carrying lots of calories, salt and sugars. Porters Five Forces exercise In 1980, Michael Porter came up with a model that identified five forces that have an influence on an industry. This model focuses on five forces that shape competition within an industry (1) the risk of entry by potential competitors (2) the intensity of rivalry among established companies within an industry (3) the bargaining power of buyers (4) the bargaining power of suppliers and (5) the closeness of permutations to an industrys products. (Hill, C. W. L, Jones, G. L. 2010, pg. 42) Threat of New Entrants * Low barriers to entry mean that it is easy for a company to start up a business in the fast food industry. However would be unable to compete directly with the large organisations already in the market. * Easy for a ne w fledgling to differentiate their product and atmosphere of the outlet (shop). * Once a good location is found then it could ensure the success of a new entrant. Could be possible to dominate the market in a certain location. Capital investment is not too high or out of reach for most individuals. Bargaining ply of Suppliers * Companies in the fast food industry could change their suppliers quite easily as there are a lot of suppliers that would be happy to receive the amount of tax they could gain from using such a large company as Burger King or McDonalds. * The larger companies in the fast food industry have a lot of bargaining power over their suppliers as they could make up a very large proportion of the suppliers revenue, if not all of it. Bargaining Power of Buyers Due to the sheer volume of customers that purchase fast food, the bargaining power of the buyer is low. For example, a customer could barter with a butchers market stall about the price of meat whereas they cou ld not walk into a Subway store and negotiate the price of a sandwich down to their favorite(a) amount. The price shown is the price that will be paid. * Only bargaining power the customer has is the lack of chemise costs. A customer could purchase from a McDonalds instead of Subway without costing them anything. Threat of substitutes The threat of substitute products is very high as firstly the lack of switching costs means that a customer could change preferences and purchase from another company immediately as long as it fitted their standard of quality and price. * The market is currently flooded with products that are all very similar (McDonalds burgers are in possible action the same as Burger King) therefore a new product could arise and sell particularly nearly as long as it had a good taste and quality. Rivalry among Existing Firms * Rivalry is high in the current market as top firms such as McDonalds and Burger King compete for the highest market share.Due to the sheer size of these companies they can spend heavily on advertising and use aggressive tactical maneuver to ensure success. * Constant funds are being ploughed into advertising to try and promote not just the products companies offer but also to try and promote their brand. For example, McDonalds now tries to show more on the ethical side of the company saying that all of their ingredients are sourced locally. Through the use of Porters Five Forces model, we can see that the threat of substitutes, rivalry among existing firms and threat of new entrants to the market are moderate to high.Whereas the bargaining power of both suppliers and buyers are relatively low. This shows that the companies in the market currently have a lot of power. Industry attractiveness * Massive industry worth $7,860. 3 billion. * Huge volume of transactions at 2,785. 2 billion. * Small market share can still mean high revenue. * Possibility to create a large and global company similar to that of McDonalds. * Po ssibility to run a franchise business model. * Has a very broad market segment. * Could be a good industry in a recession as consumers cut down spending on eating at more expensive restaurants. Industry is predicted to continue growing. Opportunities There are many opportunities and threats that arise from the use of the PESTLE analysis and Porter Five Forces model such as 1. Due to the current unemployment rate of 7. 8% this means that large companies such as McDonalds could use this to their advantage and open a number of new stores to create new jobs and in turn create more revenue for the industry. This could enhance the image of the industry as it is helping the nation out by creating jobs in this time of economic downturn. . As consumers have less disposable income then they will be less likely to eat out at more expensive restaurants and may turn to fast food outlets as they are cheaper. This is a wide opportunity to advertise heavily on a menu that is less expensive than th e normal menu. For example creating a meal that only costs the consumer ? 2. This should attract a lot of potential customers to spend more in the fast food industry. 3. Differentiate the industry by offering healthier foods on a whole to gain the interest of the health conscious consumers.This would increase the volume of the industry. Threats 1. If an outbreak of foot and oral fissure disease or BSE (mad cow disease) were to arise then consumers would not be purchasing any type of beef which would mean a downturn in the amount of revenue gained by the fast food industry. 2. Any type of negative feedback from the media would shine an unwanted spotlight on the fast food industry. For example, if someone were to find a hair in their burger at a fast food outlet then it might influence customers to eat elsewhere.Strategies to influence industry structure and improve industry profitability * Create new menus that will offer healthy food to the consumer. This will engage with a new tar get audience and therefore enhance the volume of transactions the industry already has. The amount of revenue earned by the industry will also increase. This will lead to new competitors in the market place offering a different product type and increase the amount of competition amongst the already competing firms. * Companies could upright pianoly integrate in order to gain control over the production of the ingredients that it needs to create the foods.This would be risky for some businesses as the vast majority of their expertise is in the retailing of fast food. Conclusion Overall, the fast food industry is a highly competitive industry that is dominated by a few main players. The main features that influence competition are the changing tastes of the customer and their willingness to try other fast food outlets. Profitability is not only based now on the products that a company sells but also the way in which the customer perceives the ethical values of a company.Although the requirements of a customer needing a cheap meal at a fast pace is still high on their agenda of needs. For a company to survive and improve upon its current position in the marketplace it should think about different strategies such as growth (new products or different areas) differentiation and vertical integration. Bibliography * Fast Food Industry Profile The United Kingdom 2012, Fast Food Industry Profile United Kingdom, pg 1-35, Business Source Premier, EBSCO host, viewed 25/11/2012 * Murray-Webster, R. (2010) Management of risk guidance for practitioners.The stationery office Norwich * Dennis Campbell (2012) fat Tax on unhealthy food must raise prices by 20% to have effect says study. (01/12/2012) http//www. guardian. co. uk/society/2012/may/16/fat-tax-unhealthy-food-effect * Office for national statistics (2012) Key figures. (02/12/2012) http//www. ons. gov. uk/ons/key-figures/index. html * BBC (2012) UK inflation rate slows to 2. 2% in September, ONS says. (01/12/2012) http //www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-19959827 * Hill, C. W. L & Jones, G. L. (2010) Strategic Management an integrated approach. Cengage larn USA