Public Relation Campaigns as Key Constituent of Contingency Plan In Essay

Public Relation Campaigns as Key Constituent of Contingency Plan In Crisis Situation - Essay Example This essay stresses that Tylenol murder case was exemplary example of public relation that was used as tool for effectively managing crisis situation. The extensive media campaign in the post crisis phase enabled the company to recover its falling stock as well as the market credibility which had witnessed considerable damage in early crisis phase. The PR exercises in post crisis phase helped to promote tamperproof tablets and regain public trust. This paper makes a conclusion that crisis management and corporate communication have become increasingly important issues to cope with unexpected situations and respond timely to thwart long-term harm of any kind. Acknowledgement of the crisis per se becomes the key enabling element of crisis management that helps to develop appropriate strategy for minimizing the damage and expedite recovery. In the case of Tylenol tragedy, leadership initiative of the chairman of Johnson & Johnson and strategic PR exercises hugely contributed in overcoming the negative publicity and maintaining public trust. The crisis issues have cascading influence and can lead to considerable damage if not addressed early. Therefore they need to be addressed urgently; using effective communication that can convey firm’s stance and the measures that are taken to address the crisis. Johnson & Johnson’s crisis management was distinct in its creative public relation that had redefined corporate commun ication and its wider implications.

Mathematics of the Greeks and the Mayans Essay Example for Free

Mathematics of the Greeks and the Mayans Essay Mathematics is the study of time, space, structure, and quantity which is used to calculate almost anything in the world from the amount of atoms in an element to calculating the air pressure in a room. Although levels of math such as calculus are not taught until college, the use and study of mathematics have been around since the beginning of time and the world wouldn’t be able to function without it. The term â€Å"mathematics† comes from the Greek word mathema which means study, knowledge, or learning. Along with philosophy and astronomy, the ancient Greeks were well known for their development and contribution as brilliant mathematicians. Despite their widely spread fame as the world’s first greatest mathematicians, the Greeks had competitors. My contention is that the Mayans were one of the top mathematicians of the ancient world and were even more advanced than the Greeks. Ancient Greek mathematics has been developed since the early seventh century B.C. which could also be called the period during the Hellenistic Mathematics. Some of the greatest Ancient Greek mathematicians were Pythagoras, Aristotle, Anaxagoras, Euclid, Archimedes, Thales, and Aristarchus. These Greek mathematicians were big on the development of geometry which is a subdivision of math that focuses on shapes, size, and the relativity of space. Although their number system was based on letters of the alphabet and used units of five and ten, they therefore were not big on the processes of Algebra. However the Greeks became the masters of calculating solutions concerning volume, lengths and areas using geometric methods and theorems to solve algebraic equations. Despite contributions to modern day arithmetic such as the Pythagorean Theorem and Euclidian Geometry the Greeks were missing one essential part of math, one number that modern day civilization mathematics would not be able to f unction without. The Mayans included this number in their mathematic system which in turn made them the greatest mathematicians of the ancient world, this number was zero. Along with ancient Greece, Egypt, Rome and Babylonian history did not have or use the number zero. Although the Greek number system worked fairly well for their arithmetic, they were very limited to what they could do because of their limitations of their numbers. For example, the number zero and irrational numbers did not exist and were not possible from the doubt of how nothing could count as something. It was not until 150 A.D that Greek astronomer Ptolemy was the first to put a zero at the end of a number represented by the letter O which was well over a thousand years after the Mayans. Maya civilization was established in Mesoamerica in current day Yucatan Peninsula from about 2,000 B.C to 250 A.D during the Pre-Classic era to the classic era up until the settlement of the Spanish conquistadors and its collapse. Similar to Greece, Maya was not a unified kingdom and consisted of many smaller city states and they were also known for the uniqueness of their astronomy, original art and architecture which was all built and based by math. Contrasting from the Greeks instead of using units based on five and ten, the Mayans used a base number of twenty. In the Mayan number system, a dot represented one while a horizontal bar represented five. During the Hellenistic period in Europe, many astronomers arose when they applied their knowledge of math to astronomy. Some well-known astronomers of ancient Greece are Anaxagoras, Thales, and Ptolemy all of which who discover that the Earth was round, Earth revolved around the son and that the weather was not controlled by God. Due to these marvelous discoveries, Ancient Greece is often referred to as the Father of astronomy however this is not quite accurate. These findings were based on grounds that were built upon by civilizations in other parts of the world such as Mesoamerica. Because of the geographical distance from the Maya civilization to the Greek civilization, they were not influenced by the Greek’s findings and instead came across almost the same discoveries but with their own methods. Not much is known about Maya history due to the destruction of Maya texts and writings by the Spanish church and government officials in the 16th century; however three books miraculously survived which are the Dresden Codex, Madrid Codex, and the Paris Codex. These books contain the last written information about Maya history, art, rituals, astrology, zodiac, calendar, and math. One significant item in these books was a drawing of a shell which was on the first representations of the number zero. The codex also contained recorded meticulous observations of the sky and space. In the codex were diagrams that displayed an eclipse table that calculates times when eclipses might happen, a Venus table that calculates the times when Venus appears as morning star, and a Mars table that records the times when Mars goes into reversing motion. The Maya pursued to apprehend the repetitive sequences of motions of the moon and planets to be able to forecast when these objects in the sky would be in a certain place in the sky during a certain time. For example, they used the movement of the sun in the sky to calculate the number of days in a year. Due to the tilt of the Earths axis, the sun shows up at different locations in the sky depending on the time of year which causes the change in seasons. The Mayans were able to calculate the number of days in a solar tropical year from the equation, 1507 tropical years = 1508 haabs or 365 multiplied by 1508 days which equals out to be 365.242 days which is very precise and accurate to the actual modern calculations of 365.24198 days as compared to the Greeks calculations of 365.24667 days. The Mayans have proven to be at the top of the ancient world’s mathematics and astronomy from their discoveries that are established as accurate even to this day by using their own methods written on their codex stripping ancient Greece of their title of the fathers of mathematics and astronomy.

Essay on The Awakening as Romantic, Realistic, and Local Color Writing

The Awakening as an Example of   Romantic, Realistic, and Local Color Writing A fair woman slowly, but surely, makes her way into the water.   It is obvious that she is slightly afraid, but not to the point where she is willing to stop progressing into the gradually deepening water.   She believes that after she lets the water grab her life, everything will be fine.   Sounds appealing?   I did not think so.   However, Edna Pontellier thinks that this is the best option for her.   Drowning seems to be the only way out.   The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, describes Edna Pontellier's battle against society, and how she decides to handle this battle.   This novel was considered an immoral piece of literature during the early 1900's.   Its descriptions of a strong woman who goes against a grim and strict Creole society shocked critics and readers alike.   Edna's strong will and determination cause changes that were not welcome at the time.   Despite the fact that The Awakening was unwelcome in the early 1900's, it is a widely read novel that most consider to be an extraordinary piece of literature.   The Awakening is a great novel because of its unique combination of Romantic, Realistic, and local color writing.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Awakening demonstrates Romanticism in many ways.   The accentuation of the imagination, freedom, emotion, nature, and nobility of the common man characterize Romanticism.   The Awakening demonstrates this in many ways.   For example, a mockingbird and a parrot are shown to describe the role of women of that time; they had the potential to be successful and respectful citizens, but society kept them caged in.   This demonstrates the "natural world" aspect of Romanticism.   In addition to this, constant references are ma... ...nd city names in her writing adds a lot to the feeling behind the novel.   Using the name "Grand Isle" has a larger effect on the reader than if she were to say "beach", or even "summer getaway".   Through the utilization of local color, the reader actually feels that he or she is a part of the novel, walking alongside the characters and feeling all their pain and suffering.   He or she can form visual images of life during the time of the Creoles.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through her inclusion of Romantic, Realistic, and local color writing, Kate Chopin makes The Awakening a truly extraordinary piece of literature.   Reading this novel makes the reader feel that he or she is living during the society of that time.   This is a unique writing that demonstrates one-of-a-kind combinations of literary elements.   Every person should read this novel and appreciate it for the talent.

Family and community Essay

Several factors influence student’s learning. These may be enumerated as individual experiences, talents, and prior learning, as well as language, culture, gender, health, family, and community. It is essential to understand and analyze these factors to make successful students from the perspective of the teacher. Individual experiences Individual experiences of students influence student learning as it is only through the use of meaningful information, personal experiences and the student’s thoughts and beliefs that they can develop their knowledge and enhance their learning strategies and cognitive skills. Their experiences and responsibilities make them goal oriented and they contribute to their individual learning. Through their experiences, they will be able to access their preference of learning and its pace. However, as these preferences may not always help them, the educators must help them with their experiences and preferences and modify whenever required. Experiences also create individualism and differences among the students. Thus, the educators must be sensitive to their differences and allow them to adapt in their own ways, building their individual approaches and strategies. As the student learns to relate new information with his or her experience, his knowledge broadens and deepens. As we will learn later on, individual experiences, both academic and personal, builds our prior knowledge, which is very important for the students and effects student learning. (Edelman, 2005) Talents Some individuals are born with and some develop their individual talents and capabilities. The talent of an individual determines the nature of the relation among his new experiences and new information gathered. Thus, his talent can reorganize, modify and even add to his existing knowledge. However, there is some distinction among talent and giftedness. While giftedness requires one to possess and use his spontaneously expressed and completely untrained natural abilities or gifts or aptitudes so that he can be among the best in his age group, on the other hand talent requires the capability to systematically develop knowledge and skills or abilities in one field so that the child can be above others in his age group. Thus, talent influences the learning abilities of a child greatly. As talents are nothing but natural anilities of a child, faster and easier learning processes help to develop greater natural abilities or talents in a student. Talent affects the intelligence of a student, which determines his ability to reason things. A student’s talent also motivates him to perform better than the others helping in his learning process. (Kar, 2006) Prior learning A student’s prior learning affects his capabilities, approaches and strategies thus, influencing his learning abilities. As said earlier new knowledge needs to be integrated with the student’s prior knowledge to increase his learning abilities. Nevertheless, if the student does not have any prior knowledge then this integration will not take place isolating the new knowledge, which the student will not be able to utilize in his new tasks. In addition, those students who have some idea about a certain topic learn faster than others do. They can readily link their prior knowledge to the new one infusing them to increase their knowledge database. Prior knowledge also generates curiosity and interest in the student to learn more thus, helping him in his learning. Students also learn faster and can remember things better if they can link new information to an appropriate prior knowledge. This mainly helps during examinations. The students also listen to their educators and pay better attention increasing their learning. Prior learning definitely influences student learning since it builds up self-esteem in the student and they find themselves in familiar grounds when attending a lecture. In addition, the process of learning begins with prior knowledge and proceeds with newly presented information. In addition, if the students do not have any understanding or knowledge about what they are learning they may become frustrated feeling inadequate and unsuccessful. (Edelman, 2005) Language A student’s language greatly affects his learning abilities. As most of the students are proficient in their native languages, they are more comfortable when taught in the same language. They understand more and thus, are able to learn more. Nevertheless, they also need to learn the universally dominant language, English, even if it may be difficult for some students to learn. All the educators may not be proficient in the student’s native language and thus, if he is not able to understand the language used in the lectures he will be left behind in his studies. Thus, there should be a common language of interaction between the students and educators and among the students themselves so that they can communicate with each other. Thus, the more the student is academically sophisticated in his language skills the easier it will become for him to increase his abilities and knowledge. (Fletcher, 2005) Culture Culture includes religion, ethnicity, socio-economic background and even at times gender. Thus, it is evident that culture definitely affects student learning. Their individual experiences in their early years and values of their cultures affect their process of learning. As students remember and learn things faster when they can relate new information to prior knowledge, if they can link their classroom instructions to their experience and culture they will be able to familiarize with the topic faster. In addition, students having same cultural backgrounds have similar styles of learning and can thus, help each other to learn and perform better. This is also important as sharing information increases ones knowledge database. A child’s roots and cultural values and experiences affect his academics and learning process as it makes them independent in their thinking and open to learning new things. It also affects their accuracy, objectivity, analytical thinking and independence. Their values and cultures transform into their learning experiences increasing their knowledge, aptitude and thinking and improve their learning abilities making them better competitors. A student’s personal and cultural experiences also influence his language, which plays an important role in his learning abilities. (Kar, 2006) Gender Gender is also one of the factors that mildly influence a student’s learning process. Sometimes not only the gender of the students affect their learning process but also the gender of the teacher. This is because most of the times, female educators consider male students inattentive and disruptive and female students are a little hesitant to approach male educators. Also sometimes, the educators prefer only male or female students in their class depriving the other sex valuable instructions. It has also been seen that since female students outscore the male ones, the educators prefer to teach the female students. However, this can have negative affects on the learning process of the male students who deserve equal opportunities. Nevertheless, it has also been seen that most of the boys attend their educational institutions less than the girls attend and thus, sometimes fall behind the girls in their academics. On the other hand, in some communities the girl students are not allowed to attend schools and colleges due to their culture. This affects the learning process of the girl students who, even if they are interested in learning, are not allowed to do so. Sometimes the gender of the educator affects communication between the student and teacher as some students pay more attention and give better performance if taught by a teacher of the same gender. However, the gender of the educator does not matter as long as the educator is able to support and recognize the talent in the students and the students are able to learn from them effectively. (Edelman, 2005)

Elderly Drivers

Stefani Ward Age Limit Essay Professor Trewitt 8 – 8:55 Mandatory Age Limits As senior citizens grow older, they do not react as quickly as they used to. It’s not realistic to allow someone to drive who could endanger others. Senior citizens over the age of 75 should not be able to drive. They have increased health problems, require more medication, and drive too slow. Senior citizens have increased health problems making it difficult to handle a car safely.For example, a person with diabetes could have trouble controlling their blood sugar level, and might be in danger of losing consciousness. A person who has a pacemaker or a defibrillator could be a threat to safety because there is a chance that the device could stop working. Vision is a vital part of driving. As a person ages, their eyesight becomes poor, making it difficult to see things. In addition, senior citizens should not be able to drive because they require more medication.Medications can have serious side effects making it difficult to drive. Both prescription and over-the-counter medicines can affect the ability to drive safely by making you feel tired, dizzy, or nauseated. Studies have shown that using certain medications or many medications increase the chance of being in an accident. Senior citizens tend to drive slower than the average person. Driving under the speed limit can cause distractions, and possibly an accident. Not only can it harm other people on the road, but the elderly too.In some states a person can be given a citation for driving under the speed limit. Senior citizens have health problems, require more medication, and tend to drive slow, making the roads unsafe. Studies show that older drivers are more susceptible to injury or even death. Roads will be much safer if the government requires elderly drivers to turn in their licenses at age 75. There will be less accidents, less stress, and increased safety on the road. If the law doesn’t pass, the roads wi ll be dangerous and will cause chaos for other drivers.

Artist involved with Freedom essays

Artist involved with Freedom essays Freedom in itself is a term that is widely used to describe no boundaries. To have no boundaries is a dream for every individual although each individuals dream of freedom differs. Artists gained out of there dreams of freedom buy portraying them in visual arts. Artists such as Peter Booth, Trevor Nickolls and Kathe Kollwitz. Each of these artists use human form, contemporary aboriginal art and real life experiences. Peter Booth used post modernism to express his freedom views. He used disturbing images of the insane to portray a journey or progress of loneliness and isolation, both restraints off freedom. His Social view is an astute contemporary world view, he suggests that society is accountable for its own crimes. A constant state of mutation and metamorphoses into living things, such as animal headed monsters and hybrid of bird or insect life creates a world in his pieces of no other then restraints. Overall Booth is a great example of an artists who uses freedom to evoke strong reactions from the audience and associate with wider world issues. Deep tenderness is felt through audiences around the world when they encounter Kathe Kollwitz intense works. Restraints and freedom is very much involved with lifes hardships and fleeting joys. Personal experiences depict Kollwitzs main subject of suffering of humanity. Deeply traumatized with Germanys rising poverty and prostitution, Kollwitz tried to use her art to alleviate these freedom problems. Social views expressed by Kollwitz reveal her intimacy for sorrow involving the plight of woman, especially mothers and children. Kollwitz presents an affirmative view of working-class woman whom in Germany face freedom problems regularly. Woman with dead child is a great example of her Kollwitz used freedom to enhance her overall visual look. Trevor Nickolls was born in 1949, he is widely known for his own personal identity being unique, and also usi...

buy custom “Confronting Intimate Partner Violence, A Global Health Care Priority” essay

buy custom â€Å"Confronting Intimate Partner Violence, A Global Health Care Priority† essay The article under consideration is headlined Confronting Intimate Partner Violence, A Global Health Care Priority; it was written by K.S. Chibber and S. Krishnan and has been published in May, 2011. The presented article deals with one of the main aspects of intimate partner violence, mainly the cures and approaches which are nowadays used in order to combat diverse consequences of it as well as prevent IPV. The overall aim of the article is to address the core issues related to the confronting techniques aimed at prevention of IPV as well as curing of its victims. It should be noted that the paper addresses techniques and methods which are used in both developed and developing countries as the authors ascertain that there are huge differences in organizing IPV-combating facilities and staff in industrial world and the world of the developing countries. The authors state that the use of antenatal care and other related care techniques has increased for one third in Asia and 14% in Latin America during 1991-2000; nowadays, these numbers tend to expand which of course makes this problem urgent. The article also asserts that non-abused pregnant women are less likely to become victims of murders, assaults, or other attempted crimes than those pregnant women who have already experienced violence. Therefore, the authors consider that this factor should be among the most important ones which are to be considered more attentively by those who draft and adopt IPV prevention poicies and programs. Moreover, the authors claim that the programs aimed at prevention of IPV should become an integral part of the reproductive health policies. The article goes on with the enumeration of the consequences of IVP. They are all different and largely depend upon the type of violence inflicted on a victim. Among the others are physical disabilities, unwanted or unplanned pregnancies, chronic pain, HIV infections, maternal mortality, sexually transmitted illnesses, etc. At the same time, the authors stress that the costs needed for health care of victims of IPV are huge, which once more proves that this problem is urgent and should be addressed immediately and properly. It has been reported that health care costs needed for women who have experienced violence range from 42% to 31% more than needed for those who have not been victims of IPV. It should also be noted that the statistics of the victims of IPV differs in developing and developed countries. For example, according to reports, almost 90% of women have become victims of IPV during the first five years of marriage in the developing countries. The situation is a little different in the developed states where women in their mid or late adolescence usually become victims of IPV. Considering the approaches aimed at combating outcomes of the IPV, the authors assert that despite the fact that individual providers care is nowadays severely reformed, it has been reported to be rather effective. At the same timee, the authors point out three different models for organizing facilities aimed at providing help to victims of IPV. Therefore, there are one-stop centers where all the necessary services are provided, a department within the primary care centers, and one center with multiple functions which refers to other centers with specific services. Finally, the authors point that in general there are three main challenges for IPV policy adopters. First of all, there is a necessity to expend prevention interventions of IPV beyond traditionally used techniques. Secondly, decisions regarding IPV should be strictly evidence-based. Thirdly, the authors ascertain that IPV prevention policies should include men, families, and communities and be of comprehensive character. In my opinion, this article is of great use for students, lecturers, as well as those who are interested in IPV issues. I find it to be rather comprehensive as it provides an in-depth analysis of different problematic issues surrounding IPV such as its prevention and combating. Moreover, it is rather interesting to discover statistics regarding IPV in both developing and developed countries as it differs a lot. In addition, the authors thoroughly cover the aspects regarding the main approaches used for establishment of health care centers for victims of IPV. However, since the authors have not paid much attention to the causes of IPV, I assume that the future studies should be dedicated to this issue as it is also should be considered while adopting IPV prevention programs. Buy custom â€Å"Confronting Intimate Partner Violence, A Global Health Care Priority† essay

Periodic Table Definition in Chemistry

Periodic Table Definition in Chemistry The periodic table is a tabular arrangement of the chemical elements by increasing atomic number which displays the elements so that one may see trends in their properties. The Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev is most often credited with inventing the periodic table (1869) from which the modern table is derived. Although Mendeleevs table ordered the elements according to increasing atomic weight rather than atomic number, his table illustrated recurring trends or periodicity in the element properties. Also Known As: Periodic Chart, Periodic Table of the Elements, Periodic Table of the Chemical Elements Key Takeaways: Periodic Table Definition The periodic table is a tabular arrangement of chemical elements that is arranged by increasing atomic number and groups elements according to recurring properties.The seven rows of the periodic table are called periods. The rows are arranged so that metals are on the left side of the table and nonmetals are on the right side.The columns are called groups. Group contain elements with similar properties. Organization The structure of the periodic table makes it possible to see relationships between elements at a a glance and predict properties of unfamiliar, newly discovered, or undiscovered elements. Periods There are seven rows of the periodic table, which are called periods. Element atomic number increases moving from left to right across a period. Elements toward the left side of a period are metals, while those on the right side are nonmetals. Groups The columns of elements are called groups or families. Groups are numbered from 1 (the alkali metals) to 18 (the noble gases). Elements within a group display a pattern with respect atomic radius, electronegativity, and ionization energy. Atomic radius increases moving down a group, as successive elements gain an electron energy level. Electronegativity decreases moving down a group because adding an electron shell pushes the valence electrons further from the nucleus. Moving down a group, elements have successively lower ionization energies because it becomes easier to remove an electron from the outermost shell. Blocks Blocks are sections of the periodic table that indicate the outer electron subshell of the atom. The s-block includes the first two groups (the alkali metals and the alkaline earths), hydrogen, and helium. The p-block includes groups 13 to 18. The d-block includes groups 3 to 12, which are transition metals. The f-block consists of the two periods below the main body of the periodic table (the lanthanides and actinides). Metals, Metalloids, Nonmetals The three broad categories of elements are metals, metalloids or semimetals, and nonmetals. Metallic character is highest at the bottom lefthand corner of the periodic table, while the most nonmetallic elements are in the upper righthand corner. The majority of chemical elements are metals. Metals tend to be shiny (metallic luster), hard, conductive, and capable of forming alloys. Nonmetals tend to be soft, colored, insulators, and capable of forming compounds with metals. Metalloids display properties intermediate between those of metals and nonmetals. Toward the right side of the periodic table, the metals transition into nonmetals. There is a rough staircase pattern- starting at boron and going through silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony, tellurium, and polonium- that identified the metalloids. However, chemists increasingly categorize other elements as metalloids, including carbon, phosphorus, gallium, and others. History Dmitri Mendeleev and Julius Lothar Meyer independently published periodic tables in 1869 and 1870, respectively. However, Meyer had already published an earlier version in 1864. Both Mendeleev and Meyer organized elements by increasing atomic weight and organized elements according to repeating characteristics. Several other earlier tables were produced. Antoine Lavoisier organized elements into metals, nonmetals, and gases in 1789. In 1862, Alexandre-Emile BÃ ©guyer de Chancourtois published a periodic table called the telluric helix or screw. This table was probably the first to organize elements by periodic properties. Sources Chang, R. (2002). Chemistry (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. ISBN 978-0-19-284100-1.Emsley, J. (2011). Natures Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-960563-7.Gray, T. (2009). The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe. New York: Black Dog Leventhal Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57912-814-2.Greenwood, N. N.; Earnshaw, A. (1984). Chemistry of the Elements. Oxford: Pergamon Press. ISBN 978-0-08-022057-4.Meija, Juris; et al. (2016). Atomic weights of the elements 2013 (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure and Applied Chemistry. 88 (3): 265–91. doi:10.1515/pac-2015-0305

The Hart-Rudman Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Hart-Rudman Report - Research Paper Example The Hart-Rudman Report was constituted in the late 1990s by the US top-level government to study major issues of National interest, mostly to do with national security, and then recommend on the way forward for the same in the 21st century (Carl, 2003). The commission came up with a report that gave various observations that were predicted to affect the US in this century. Among the observations of the report was that there would arise a necessity to control the Middle East oil resources in the future. Further, the report predicted a resistance that would be faced by the US, which was to be both domestic and external resistance (USCNS, 1999). The commission also gave a recommendation about the issue of National security, which was majorly driven by the September 11 occurrence. Upon this, the report recommended that Homeland security measures were to be implemented, in order to avert the recurrence of the same. The report went ahead to warn that the issue of patriotism was the greatest threat to the security of the nation, in that there was a need to deal with domestic cynicism and apathy (USCNS, 1999). The greatest threat of US national security is terrorism. However, terrorism against the US is more understandable, owing to how the country has interfered with the lives of the less developed countries, in a bid to secure its interest, mostly oil. This policy has extended the threat of terrorism beyond the US to other parts of the world, where the US seems to have interests. For these reasons, The Hart-Rudman Report observed that the threat of terrorism is not yet over (Carl, 2003).The Hart-Rudman Report was meant to entice and influence the public opinion so that the public can accept the risks and sacrifices that the US foreign policy entails, in securing its oil interests abroad (USCNS, 1999). The report predicted that as the countries in Asia

Sales Channels in Retail Industry Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sales Channels in Retail Industry - Case Study Example 2.2 Carrefour The Fournier and Defforey families created the Carrefour Company in 1959. They opened the first supermarket in 1960 in Annecy, France. Promodes was created in 1961 by the group and the first supermarket 'Promodes' was opened in the year 1962. A new concept of the hypermarket was invented in 1963 by the Carrefour group. The first hypermarket was opened in Sainte Genevive des Bois. In 1969 Carrefour opened a store abroad in Belgium. With a move into Belgium in 1969, Carrefour began its internationalization. tThe group Promodes adopted many banner names in the 1970s such as Shopi and Continent. We can say therefore that Carrefour was an important brand with the aim of growing and expanding its operations into new countries. By the end of 1971, the company was operating 16 wholly owned stores, had an equity interest in five stores operated as joint ventures, and had franchise agreements with seven additional stores. The idea of the hypermarket stressed mass sales, low delivery cost and discount everyday to achieve high rotation. by1999; it had 681 hypermarkets, 2,259 supermarkets, 3,124 hard discount stores, and 1,921 convenience stores and other formats selling under its banner. The stores were located mostly in France but also throughout Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Carrefour internationalized much faster than Wal-Mart. 3.0 Product Sector The Carrefour Group mostly deals with consumer goods and services. These include convenience goods such as food products, which are sold by all formats of retail stores, and shopping goods and services (household appliances, electronic devices) which are sold by hypermarkets only. For Wal-Mart, the major merchandise lines include house wares, consumer electronics and... As the paper declares Wal-Mart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton and his brother James â€Å"Bud† Walton. They first started with a single discount store in Rogers, Arkansas. The Discount store consisted of servicing small and middle-sized towns at prices equal to or lower than prices in nearby cities. The company has registered a unique success story in the history of retail industry credited to the leadership of Sam Walton. The company internationally came off the ground by opening its first store abroad in Mexico City in 1991. The company then extended its international presence to Puerto Rico, Canada, China, Brazil, Argentina, South Korea and Germany and today operates more than 600 stores in international arena. According to the research findings the Carrefour Group mostly deals with consumer goods and services. These include convenience goods such as food products, which are sold by all formats of retail stores, and shopping goods and services (household appliances, electronic devices) which are sold by hypermarkets only. For Wal-Mart, the major merchandise lines include house wares, consumer electronics and groceries or food products. The two therefore deal with consumer goods and services hence are competitors as the products are similar. Wal-Mart differentiated business departments to thereby serving different market segments. Wal-Mart’s success is built on the practice of a lowest price everyday strategy that significantly reduces searching cost.

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

Beethoven - Essay Example Beethoven spent his teenage and young adult years studying music and composing many of his own works. In 1790, he met the famous musician of the time, Franz Joseph Haydn. In 1792, when he was twenty-two, Beethoven moved to Vienna to study music under Haydn. The age difference between the two men caused difficulties; Haydn, being sixty at the time, was more old-fashioned in both his music and his teaching, while Beethoven was more rebellious with his music. He did not like conforming to the limitations set down by musicians of the classical era, and Haydn was not as willing to let him experiment. After some time, Beethoven was accepted into the palace of Prince Lichnowsky, where he had more musical freedom; indeed, there were times when Beethoven did not even feel like playing. The prince allowed him these moments, eventually giving Beethoven his own quarters in the palace so that he could have the utmost independence. In the early years, Beethoven focused on writing only keyboard and chamber music pieces. As he continued to age and grow in his music, he began to experiment with other genres. Between the years of 1792 and 1802, Beethoven had his first performances and compositions of keyboard and chamber works. Between 1802 and 1812, Beethoven wrote six symphonies, four concertos, five string quartets, a opera, several orchestral overtures and numerous piano sonatas, as well as more chamber pieces (Yudkin, pg. 199). Beethoven also established his own personal music style, one that people would be in awe of for centuries to come. Unfortunately, aside from various music styles, Beethoven discovered something else in 1802: he was gradually going deaf. The majority of his best works took place as his hearing became increasingly worse. Unlike many other people, Beethoven refused to let this simple little flaw get in the way of what he loved the

The Gap Inc. as a major retailer of wearing apparel and accessories Case Study

The Gap Inc. as a major retailer of wearing apparel and accessories - Case Study Example Gap is in the fashion industry and must continually compete on the basis of brand desirability. Brand name equity is Gap's greatest asset. However, the recent economic downturn has had, and will continue to have, a negative impact on Gap's ability to generate revenue. Gap is a luxury apparel item and would be one of the first to be reduced in a consumer's budget. In 2007, Gap closed several Forth and Towne stores after test marketing did not meet with customer acceptance (We Are Gap Inc. ). In addition, protectionist attitudes in the US, and the coming election, may alter the trade agreements that have benefited Gap's manufacturing and distribution strategies. The industry environment is best analyzed by using Michael Porter's five forces. New entrants into the fashion apparel industry are faced with the ease of entry, and the difficulty of marketing. Globalization has made it easier for international brands to compete via the Internet or established distribution networks. According to Formisano, "As more countries develop around the world, more competitors are created, which fuels more competition for market share" (58).

Digital project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Digital project management - Essay Example Undoubtedly, the field of project management has as well been influenced by this innovative technology. Currently such highly refined online collaboration technology is used in the field of project management for remotely handling and managing the projects, directing business contracts as well as managing virtual relationships (Mumbi & McGill, 2007), (The Project Wall, 2011) and (Filev, 2008). This paper discusses the important aspects of digital project management. In this scenario I will assess the prime strategies and techniques which can be applied by a project manager in order to deliver the required results of the project. This paper will also discuss new developments and advancements in the field of project management. Project Management 2.0 This section discusses a new evolutionary paradigm of Project Management 2.0 that is evolved through the high-tech support and facilities of web 2.0. Project Management 2.0 (sometimes mistakenly acknowledged as the Social-Project-Managemen t) is one of the evolutionary information technology (IT) based project management practices. Additionally, this new IT based project management is implemented through the interface of new enhanced Web 2.0 tools and technologies. In this scenario, the modern Web 2.0 tools and technologies like wikis, blogs, shared communication boards, collaborative software, etc. have really supported the development of project management to a superior level. Additionally, through the implementation of these new Web 2.0 technologies, shortly distributed as well as globally distributed online virtual teams are competent to work in cooperation with a great deal of additional proficiency by using the next-age, usually less costly or free online development and project management systems. In addition, these innovative applications and effective tools completely change the customary approach of the project manager. Moreover, the new Project Management 2.0 practice demonstrates an impressive enhancement in the competency for collaboration or cooperation in distributed project management teams (Filev, 2008), (The Project Wall, 2011) and

The Gap Inc. as a major retailer of wearing apparel and accessories Case Study

The Gap Inc. as a major retailer of wearing apparel and accessories - Case Study Example Gap is in the fashion industry and must continually compete on the basis of brand desirability. Brand name equity is Gap's greatest asset. However, the recent economic downturn has had, and will continue to have, a negative impact on Gap's ability to generate revenue. Gap is a luxury apparel item and would be one of the first to be reduced in a consumer's budget. In 2007, Gap closed several Forth and Towne stores after test marketing did not meet with customer acceptance (We Are Gap Inc. ). In addition, protectionist attitudes in the US, and the coming election, may alter the trade agreements that have benefited Gap's manufacturing and distribution strategies. The industry environment is best analyzed by using Michael Porter's five forces. New entrants into the fashion apparel industry are faced with the ease of entry, and the difficulty of marketing. Globalization has made it easier for international brands to compete via the Internet or established distribution networks. According to Formisano, "As more countries develop around the world, more competitors are created, which fuels more competition for market share" (58).

Accounting - Internal Cash Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Accounting - Internal Cash Control - Essay Example This will help the company to shift from manual processes to automated processing. Lastly, a safe should be provided where all blank checks are stored and access should only be provided to the treasurer or whoever, is entitled to sign checks. Guard Dog Company has brought stringent changes to their system which will help them use their cash well and avoid any mistakes in cash disbursements. Guard Dog has applied the following principles in their attempt to strengthen their internal cash control for cash disbursements. Firstly, Guard Dog’s approach to eradicate manually preparation of checks has been in pursuance of a principle known as ‘Documentation procedure’. All checks are to be numbered and written after receiving approved invoices. Multiple payments can be avoided through this process. Secondly, another principle that the company has applied is ‘establishment of Responsibility’. The principle requires designation of personnel, preferably treasurer, to write any disbursement check. The company has assigned Tom Kimball, the treasurer, or Karen Thews, the assistant treasurer, to make all check disbursements. Fourthly, the company has applied ‘segregation of duties’ principle as well. According to this principle, different individuals approve and make payments. In this case, the invoice should be approved by Jane Bell, the purchasing agent, and Dennis Kurt, the receiving department supervisor. After the approval is given, the checks would be written by either the treasurer or his assistant. This will help them minimize the potential for theft. Fifthly, a principle that is essential to strengthen cash control is the application of ‘Physical, mechanical and Electronic Controls’. This principle requires the company to store blank checks in safes with limited access (Harrison, 2008). The company has obeyed to this principle by storing all blank checks in a safe in the treasurer’s

Feminist or Gender Discrimination Essay Example for Free

Feminist or Gender Discrimination Essay Yes, of course feminist thinking is a facilitator in the field of woman and development because feminism is a movement a set of beliefs , that problematize gender inequality . feminist believe that women have been subordinated through men’s greater power variously expressed in different areas. They value women’s lives and concerns and work to improve women’s status and development. Feminism that means feminist thinking is a facilitator as it begins with an acknowledgement of women’s inequality oppression , subordination and need to change the situation and improve the quality of women’s life . It is also a movement against hieranchy , which goes the liberation of a sex , it contains the possibility of equal relations not only between women and men , but between men and men , women and women ,and even between adults and children ,(rowbotham,1985:214) To the widen implication of feminist thought is that it would eradicated domination and transform society . as it marks a commitment to recognizing society so that self-development of people can take place . Feminism entails an ethical and political commitment provides a social theory through which to understand and explain women’s lives and experiences . Feminism is useful in the field of women and development if we take into account feminist perspectives . According to feminist view that it aims to change a male dominated against society furthen see women’s subordination as resulting to from gender norms ,rather than biological sex and aim to change these narms , they focus on equal opportunities for women and men . women’s inequality is resulting from their inferior education . Marxist feminist asserts that capitalism , the current form of class society ,perpetuates the subordination of women by enforcing their economical dependence on men . there for main tool of Marxist feminist is class straggle and revolution which will bring about new production relation and emancipation of women . Radical feminist insist that women’s subordination primarily depends on partriarchy subordination is rooted in their biology ,that is their reproductive physiology hithout changing basic biological features emancipation was not possible . his implied that only a revolution in bio –technology would change women’s condition . Eco-feminism is the social movement that regard the oppression of women and nature as interconnected . it focused on that the women are the victim of environment desaradation .feminist theorist have extended their analysis to consider the interconnections between sexism the domination of nature , and also racism and social inequality . consequently it is now better understand as a movement working against the interconnected oppression of gender, race , class, and nature. If we go further extention of whether feminist thinking is a fecilitation or roadblock to woman and development . then can take emphasize on feminist methodology too. feminist methodology 1 feminist seek a methodology that will do the work of â€Å"excavation â€Å" that is shifting the focus of standard practice from men’s concerns in order to reveal the location and perspective of all women . the aim of much feminist research has been to bring women in that is to find what has been ignored ,censored and suppressed and to reveal both the diversity of actual women’s lives . Feminist methodology have searched for practices that will minimize harm to women and limit negative consequences . this focuses not onl on women , welfare bt also practical research strategis drawing on the work of grass roots and professional women’s organization . 3 feminists seek a methodology that will supported research of value to women , leading to social change or action beneficial to women. At last , after above all discussion we have come to the point that feminist thinking is ethical as well as useful in the development of women as modifying women’s problem is the process of development.

Analysis Of A Modern China Family English Literature Essay

Analysis Of A Modern China Family English Literature Essay Pa Chins Family is a historical, semi-autobiographical narrative of the hardships endured by the members of an aristocratic family during the massive transformation in Chinese social and political order that took place during the early 20th century. The central conflict that is embodied in the novel is the inability of the individuals portrayed in the narrative to move past the often oppressive traditional social constructs that prevent them from moving forward in light of the new revolutionary paradigm that was sweeping the country. Three brothers, Chueh-hui, Chueh-min and Chueh-hsin, are the central figures in this narrative, and the struggle to balance the responsibilities imposed upon them by the traditional order and their desire for radical change defines the essential subject matter of the novel. These conflicting desires tear them apart and force them to either adapt or be left in the past. The work embodies the voice of a nation that was steeped in contradiction, and demonstrates throughout its passages strong underlying themes of societal disillusionment and unrest. By offering a unique insight into the most personal aspects of life during this tumultuous period of Chinese history, Family offers the historian a critical perspective on the psychological underpinnings of a society undergoing fundamental changes in structure. The increasingly pronounced dichotomy between old and new is critical to the understanding of the narrative in this story. This is represented at numerous avenues, but is revealed most blatantly in a sequence where Chueh-huis ponders upon his grandfathers sleeping body and through careful analysis comes to the realization that the old man ultimately represents not his grandfather, but an entire generation and that he himself was similarly the representative of his own generation. Reflecting further upon this observation leads him to the conclusion that they could never see eye-to-eye. (Chin 64). This conclusion is important, and foreshadows the inability of China to reconcile the two radically divergent world-views; there would be an ultimate clash between traditionalism and socialist progressivism that tears apart not only the country, but all the bonds that are held within. This antagonism between the old and the new similarly crosses historical lines, with historical texts demonstrating a fundamental disconnect between the traditional constructs that served as the guidance of Chinas actions on the world stage for generations and a powerful need for reform that threatened to sweep away these traditional systems. In Madame Sun Yat-Sens public address concerning the political left, she opens with the following: if China is to survive as an independent country in the modern struggle of nations, her semi- feudal conditions of life must be fundamentally changed and a modern state created to replace the medieval system which has existed for more than a thousand years. This task needs to be done by the method of revolution (Cheng Lestz 267). Statements such as these reflect a growing animosity towards traditional social constructs, in this instance painting them as medieval. This attitude is indicative of an unwillingness to compromise with the past in order to move forward it must be burned away to make room for the new. Critically, it must be recognized that the ultimate impetus of this rebellion was not reform for the sake of general development or even reform for the purpose of furthering China as a nation, but as a means to catch up with the West. Here we see a marked transformation; China is no longer the smirking, dominant nation who expects Western nations to cow-tow to the whim of the Emperor, but a third-rate nation with a collapsing political system that is forced to play catch-up to the burgeoning Western powers. A palpable sense of inferiority can be observed when reading political material originating from this period, permeating all layers of Chinese society. The New Life movement can be seen as an extension of this pathological national insecurity; it is an attempt to emulate the West. In Madame Chiangs address on the matter, she states that Each nation, according to its lights, has sought to find a way out of stagnation into normalcy. Italy has its fascism, Germany its Nazism and America its New Deal (Cheng Lestz 295). This can be interpreted as indicative of Chinas interests to pursue the developmental patterns of the West; in the psyche of the Chinese they can no longer carve their own path in history only hope to follow the path of the West without losing the essential Chinese spirit, which is largely based on Confucian values. This attempt to reconcile the past with the present parallels many of the hardships endured by the brothers in Family. An interesting aspect of the story is the employment of the third-person narrative in order to divulge the various characters in the story in a setting where there is clearly a great degree of confusion regarding social and moral normality. By nature of this form of narration, we are sometimes limited in the psychological motivations and inner feelings of many of the characters in the novel. This is an important plot device in some instances; we do not learn anything of Master Kaos innermost thoughts until just before his death, at which point he is revealed to be a man of a good nature who holds only the best intentions for his family. In the narrative, three promising young women are ultimately destroyed by the family: Ming-feng, Jui-cheuh and Mei. This serves not only as the reason for Cheui-huis decision to abandon his family and, by extension, the traditionalist teachings of Master Kao, but a statement of the way in which traditional Chinese society exploits women in such a manner as to deprive from them the will to live. Despite the seeming lack of regard for their welfare, loss of the women is felt acutely by all members of the family, considerably more so in comparison to Master Kao, where after his passing the major concern is the dividing of his wealth and assets (Chin 295-296). This belies the fact that there was little love for the harsh Master amongst these closest to him; the love is a fascade, like all things in the traditional life. The death of Jui-cheuh was especially hard on Cheuh-hui, who felt that the baby was an enemy who had taken his beloved, then went so far as to blame the entire social order and, by extension, his own conformity to the traditional order, for having made him so weak as to be unable to save the two women that he loved: What had taken his wife away was something else. It was the entire social system, with its moral code its superstitions. He had borne them for years while they stole his youth, his happiness, his future, the two women he had loved most In the world. They were too heavy a burden; he wanted to shake them off; he struggled (Chin 309). Throughout the novel we are confronted with a Cheuh-hui that is deeply troubled by his inner hatreds and insecurities; here it is manifested in a way that is blatant to the reader and presented in a way as to make the deep-seated societal dysfunction that is the underlying theme of the novel explicit in a dramatic fashion. In Family, the brothers are ultimately driven apart, with Cheuh-hui leaving in disgust of the events that had taken place, and unable to reconcile with the past. Similar changes had also taken hold of the other brothers, whom had turned against the family either in fact or in spirit with a deep chasm growing between the siblings with the elapse of time only narrowly being reconciled by last-minute efforts to make peace with one another. Examples of such attempts include Master Kaos assertions that Cheuh-hui was a good child (Chin 289) and Cheuh-hui promising Cheuh-hsin that not only would he write, but that they would surely see one another again in the future. It is a hopeful yet sad parting, with each of the brothers attempting to make good with one another in the recognition of the fact that they have all been forced to endure extreme hardship. Family is the biography of a China that cannot reconcile with itself through any means other than destruction of the old. As Cheuh-hui is forced to endure the loss of everything that he has cherished in his life in order to break free of the traditional order that has bound him to a life that is filled with sorrow and anger, China is also forced to contend with a similar situation . Change does not and cannot come as a compromise, such as Chiangs New Life movement, but as a radical communist insurrection that simply erases the past and sews the seeds of a new future. While some of his brothers may be more willing to accept the family even in the face of its inevitable destruction, Cheuh-hui embraces the uncertain future; he recognizes that he can only move forward if he does not look back.

Willie Russells Educating Rita :: Willie Russell Educating Rita Essays

Willie Russell's Educating Rita In this play, Willie Russell has created two extremes of culture and put them together to focus on the differences between them and how these two cultures change as the play develops. Firstly there is Frank with a good job as a teacher and a large house and is well educated, who is contrasted with Rita who has a council house, works as a hairdresser and is not well educated. They first meet when Rita goes to Frank because she wants to be educated. As the play continues, Frank and Rita almost completely exchange roles as they are both unhappy with their culture and want to be more like the other. This play was written in the 1980's where the working, middle and upper classes were still used widely to determine what your culture was and how important you are to the social society at the time. The theme of culture appears a lot in the play. One of the ways that Willie Russell shows the two distinctly different cultures is how much power the higher classes have over the lower classes. In the play knowledge is shown as a symbol of power. Frank has the superior knowledge over Rita so therefore he also has more power over Rita. But when Rita returns from summer school and is more knowledgeable than Frank because Frank wanted to be more like Rita, so Rita has more power over Frank as she now has the superior knowledge. I think that the swivel chair determines who is most in control over the other person in terms of power and knowledge. At the start of the play Frank is sat in the swivel chair, but once Rita is further educated she sits in the swivel chair. The fact that it is a swivel chair that determines power is significant because it turns around. Much like Frank and Rita as the power turned from being in Frank in to Rita. Willie Russell also used education to show the two different cultures that Frank and Rita live in. Rita says that she wants to be educated because she wants to know everything as she is not happy being classed as working class. But Denny, Rita's husband, does not want her to change and he does this by burning all of her books. Education also symbolises power as Frank has the power to change is life because he is educated, but Rita wants to become educated so she can change her way of life and culture. Education affects the audiences' interpretations of the play as the two extremes of culture that are

Emerging crises of natural hazards management Essay

Procedure of large-scale urbanization is intricate and changing. So too are the study and management of natural hazards and disasters. Although the US experience is highlighted, the changes noted apply to many other countries. US also initiated International Association of Emergency Managers that certified emergency manager. Through this certification, new ways of thinking about hazards and disasters are emerging, whose long-run allegations are hard to foresee (Mitchell, 1993b). The competence of existing means for managing natural hazards and other types of environmental hazards is ever more being called into question in the United States and the global community. This is exemplified by a sampling of the issues that have lately emerged in professional and lay forums. formerly are problems that are posed by new kinds of hazard. These come in numerous varieties. several are amalgams of natural and technological hazards (Showalter and Myers, 1994). while a storm or a tsunami affects a chemicals manufacturing or storage provision it is not just the threat of high water and strong winds that is of concern; it is also the prospect that toxic materials might be disseminated all through surrounding areas. If an earthquake affects a nuclear reactor site, radioactive materials might be released. The flooding of old mines can root surface collapses . Given the escalating variety of technological hazards, the potential for new or atypical combinations of natural and technological hazards are escalation upwards. Three classes of technological hazard pose fairly diverse sets of problems when combined with natural hazards: a. Unsuspected hazards entail substances or activities that were considered as harmless or benign until scientific proof or human experience showed otherwise (e. g. DDT, asbestos). b. indecently managed hazards entail failures of diverse kinds of hazard-control systems (e. g. nuclear facilities such as Wind scale, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl; chemical plants such as Seveso, Basle,Bhopal; transportation systems such as the US space shuttle Challenger and super tankers such as the Exxon Valdez; storage and discarding sites for toxic materials such as Kyshtym, Times Beach, Love Canal, Minamata). C. Instrumental hazards are planned to cause harm and are intentionally employed towards that end; they comprise sabotage, arson, and warfare. Military industrial technologies fit in to this group (e. g. nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons such as defoliants and nerve agents; premeditated oil-spills and oilfield conflagrations). The UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs, formed in 1992, has begun to examine a diverse but related set of problems that they call intricate emergencies. These consign to events such as those happening in the former Yugoslavia, Kurdistan, southern Sudan, Mozambique, and Somalia, where political conflicts, drought, famine, and other troubles are intertwined. Hazards of global environmental change comprise a separate but correlated class of events that are now making their approach onto the public policy agenda (Mitchell and Ericksen, 1992). It is extensively accepted that a build-up of greenhouse gases in the environment might set off climate changes and other consequences such as sea-level rise. Several of the industrial hazards are adequately well known to be classifiable as â€Å"routine† hazards, but others including most of the hazards connected with global ecological change are completely unprecedented in the human experience. They are best considered â€Å"surprises† (Mitchell, 1996). A next way in which natural hazards are varying grows out of the first. It is that there are now strong pressures to inflate the legal definition of natural disasters. In the history, only the victims or potential victims of measures activated by natural phenomena (somewhat erroneously labelled â€Å"acts of God†) were believed eligible for public support to upgrade awareness or provide relief. However, in current years there has been an instantly recognizable trend towards broadening the range of technological and social phenomenon that are entitled for aid. In the United States this began with natural gas shortages in the cold and snowy winter of 1977 and later integrated the community of Times Beach, Missouri – a disreputable case of contamination by the toxic chemical dioxin. More lately, the collapse of an old, disused, and dwindling Underground Railroad system was treated as a â€Å"natural† disaster while water from an adjacent canal inundated the basements of high-rise buildings in downtown Chicago. In the early nineties, civil unrest in Los Angeles also qualified for disaster status, as did the 9/11 in New York city. These events suggest that peculiarities between different kinds of disasters are waning in the public policy arena. Perhaps they imitate the growing impact of socio-technical hazards and the decline of natural phenomena in the extremely human-made environments of a rich country. Maybe they are correlated to further politicization of public decisions concerning disasters, or to the political influence of explicit interest groups that place a high premium on predictability and permanence (e. g. business corporations)? It is also probable that they are products of a broad shift in public attitudes towards risks of all kinds. Further type of change is distension of public dissatisfaction with hazard management agencies. Condemnation of disaster management in developing countries such as Bangladesh or the states of the African Sahel is not new. Mass media reports concerning the poor performance of national government organizations and international agencies are squad. Natural hazards and disasters can be unstable political issues in developed countries and a certain sum of controversy about governmental responses is the norm as anyone who has experiential the aftermath of Italian earthquakes, or Australian wildfires, or American hurricanes can attest to. But lately there has been a sharp acceleration of complaints concerning the effectiveness of hazard-management agencies in main developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, and Russia. The US International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been a particular target. It has been indicted of providing insufficient and inappropriate relief to disaster victims. It has as well been criticized for supporting the occupation of hazardous lands by proffering low-cost insurance to rich investors; and it has drawn fire for offering too much effort to cleaning up after past disasters and too little attempt to reducing the prospects of future disasters. IAEM’s mishandling of relief in the wake of hurricane Andrew triggered a major investigation by the US Congress. Critics called for the nation’s armed forces to replace IAEM, and large numbers of military personnel have, actually, been deployed after recent disasters. The military is usually in charge of disaster management in third world nations because it is often the simply institution competent of providing aid during disasters and one of the few organizations that can be counted on to inflict government policies at other times. Although in the United States and other Western nations proposals for a larger military role in civilian affairs are frequently controversial. Advocates of civil authority and legal due procedure are concerned that increased military concern in disasters may signal an corrosion of citizen rights and responsibilities, while others point to the reduction in international tensions and the require for more cost-effective national institutions as grounds for making ingenious use of military expertise in new roles. Devoid of going into detail, it is useful to note that there is a widespread loss of faith in the capacity of national public agencies to combat natural and technological hazards in numerous other countries. The failures of Soviet agencies in connection with the Armenian earthquake (1988) as well as the Chernobyl nuclear power station fire (1986) have been well documented and they are supposed to have contributed to the crumple of the Soviet government. British civil defence agencies have also been forcefully criticized for insufficient preparedness and lack of attention to hazard improvement (Mitchell, 1989; Parker and Handmer, 1992). Partly as government agencies have come under attack, there has been a dogged effort to shift the burden of disaster management on private individuals and institutions. In countries such as the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom, this began with a conformist revolution in politics led by people such as Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, and Helmut Kohl. In the perspective of hazard management, policy reforms usually took the form of insurance systems (flood insurance, earthquake insurance, crop insurance, etc. ), limitations on central government expenditure for disaster relief and recovery, an end to public funding for building in hazardous areas, and penalties for people who rebelliously build or rebuild in such places. Now there is an emerging body of evidence that such policies might not work as intended. For instance, insurance is not the panacea it was once announced to be. Many potential victims are uninsured or underinsured and those who have sufficient insurance often experience serious trouble securing reimbursements. Not all threats are covered by insurance, and major problems take place when hazards involve several perils (e. g. hurricanes bring floods, erosion, wind damage, landslides, and other events). Cut-backs in government financial support of social services have become common all through the developed world in current years, and spending on disasters is no exception. Consequently, policies that underline private responsibilities for hazard management may assist to widen the gap between richer and better-educated victims specifically; those who can afford to make supplies for their own security and the poor or disadvantaged groups that lack such a competence. Briefly, a hazard-protection system that relies mostly on market mechanisms might well be detrimental to broader public interests. British experience with the great storm of 15 October 1987 demonstrates several of these problems (Mitchell, James K. , Neal Devine, and Kathleen Jagger. 1989). Before the storm, local governments and private individuals in England had been expectant to be self-reliant and not to expect the national government to give recovery funds in the event of a disaster. But the storm, which recorded the highest wind speeds in 250 years, blew down some fifteen million trees and inflicted economic losses greater than any natural disaster in Britain since the end of the Second World War. In the course it exposed the limitations of local resources for managing with disasters and it obliged a major reversal of national policies that would have left local governments to ensure of natural disasters. If there is concern regarding the general efficiency of disaster management by the private sector, there is deep concern about the future of hazard insurance systems. Lack of insurance coverage and insufficient reimbursements are continuing problems, but the fundamental issue is that very large disasters might bankrupt the entire international insurance system. Insurance and reinsurance companies in Germany, Japan, and the United States are all extremely troubled by this prospect.

License Plate Recognition

Emerging Trends in Computer Science and Information Technology -2012(ETCSIT2012) Proceedings published in International Journal of Computer Applications ® (IJCA) Automatic Vehicle Identification Using License Plate Recognition for Indian Vehicles Sandra Sivanandan Department of Computer Engineering K. K. Wagh Institute Of Engineering Education & Research, Hirabai Haridas Vidyanagari Amrut-Dham, Panchavati, Nashik-422003 University of Pune, Maharashtra Ashwini Dhanait Department of Computer Engineering K. K.Wagh Institute Of Engineering Education & Research, Hirabai Haridas Vidyanagari Amrut-Dham, Panchavati, Nashik-422003 University of Pune, Maharashtra Yogita Dhepale Department of Computer Engineering K. K. Wagh Institute Of Engineering Education & Research, Hirabai Haridas Vidyanagari Amrut-Dham, Panchavati, Nashik-422003. Yasmin Saiyyad Department of Computer Engineering K. K. Wagh Institute Of Engineering Education & Research, Hirabai Haridas Vidyanagari Amrut-Dham, Panchavati, Nashik-422003. ABSTRACT In this study, a smart and simple algorithm is presented for vehicle’s license plate recognition system.The proposed algorithm consists of three major parts: Extraction of plate region, segmentation of characters and recognition of plate characters. For extracting the plate region edge detection and morphological operations are used. In segmentation part scan line algorithm is used. Character Segmentation for Devanagari Number Plates is also presented. Optical character recognition technique is used for the character recognition. The objective is to design an efficient automatic authorized vehicle identification system by using the vehicle number plate.Here we are presenting a smart and simple algorithm for vehicle’s license plate recognition system for Indian Vehicles. In this study, the proposed algorithm is based on extraction of plate region, segmentation of plate characters and recognition of characters. In India we find plates having Deva nagari fonts as well (though according to rules it is not allowed). Character extraction for Devanagari font is slightly different as compared to English font because of the header line (shirorekha). We propose algorithm for character extraction for Devanagari font. The recognized plate an be then compared with police hotlist database to identify stolen vehicles. The paper is organized as follows: Section II provides an overview of the overall system. Extracting the plate region is explained in Section III. Section IV gives the segmentation of individual plate characters. Section V deals with recognition of characters using optical character recognition based on statistical based template matching algorithm which uses correlation and section VI deals with verification of plate according to Indian rules. The paper concludes with Section VII. KeywordsDevanagari, Edge detection, License plate recognition, Optical character recognition, segmentation. 1. INTRODUCTION License plate recogn ition (LPR) is a form of Automatic Vehicle Identification. It is an image processing technology used to identify vehicles by only their license plates. Real time LPR plays a major role in automatic monitoring of traffic rules and maintaining law enforcement on public roads. The LPR system’s significant advantage is that the system can keep an image record of the vehicle which is useful in order to fight crime and fraud (â€Å"an image is worth a thousand words†).Early LPR systems suffered from a low recognition rate, lower than required by practical systems. The external effects (sun and headlights, bad plates, wide number of plate types) and the limited level of the recognition software and vision hardware yielded low quality systems. However, recent improvements in the software and hardware have made the LPR systems much more reliable and wide spread. 23 Emerging Trends in Computer Science and Information Technology -2012(ETCSIT2012) Proceedings published in Internat ional Journal of Computer Applications ® (IJCA) in night condition, contrast enhancement is important before further processing [1]. . STRUCTURE OF LPR SYSTEM Fig. 1) Original Image Fig. 2) Gray Scale Image Flowchart of Proposed System The algorithm proposed in this paper is designed to recognize license plates of vehicles automatically. Input of the system is the image of a vehicle captured by a camera. The captured image taken from 3-5 meters away is first converted to gray scale. We apply vertical edge detection algorithm and morphological operation i. e. open and close for plate extraction. After applying morphological operations image is filtered out to get exact plate region. Plate region is cropped.Row segmentation separates row in plate and column separation separates characters from row. Finally recognition part OCR recognizes the characters giving the result as the plate number in ASCII format. The result in ASCII format is can be verified on the basis of rules followed in India. Fig. 3) Gray image after contrast enhancement 3. 2 Vertical Edge Detection Before applying edge detection median filter is to be applied to image for removing noise. The main idea of median filter is to run through the signal, entry by entry, replacing each entry with the median of neighboring entries.Such noise reduction is a typical preprocessing step to improve the results of later processing (edge detection) [2]. 3. EXTRACTION OF PLATE REGION Plate Extraction is done in following steps 3. 1 Convert image to Gray Scale 3. 2 Apply Vertical Edge detection 3. 3 Candidate Plate Area Detection ? Morphologically Close image ? Fill holes in image ? Morphologically Open image 3. 3 Filtration of non Plate region 3. 1 Conversion To Gray Scale This is pre-processing step for plate extraction. We apply Formula: I( i, j) = 0. 114*A( i, j,1) + 0. 587*A(i, j, 2) + 0. 99* A(i, j,3) where, I(i,j) is the array of gray image, A(i,j,1), A(i,j,2), A(i,j,3) are the R,G,B value of original im age respectively. Sometimes the image may be too dark, contain blur, thereby making the task of extracting the license plate difficult. In order to recognize the license plate even In ascending order of values: 0, 2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 10, 15, 97. Center value (previously 97) is replaced by the median of all nine values (4). Edge detection is performed on the given image, which aims at identifying points in digital image at which image brightness changes sharply or, more formally, has discontinuities.There mainly exists several edge detection methods (Sobel, Prewitt, Roberts, Canny). We use here Sobel operator for vertical edge detection. If we define A as the source image, and Gx and Gy are two images which at each point contain the horizontal and vertical derivative approximations, the computations are as follows: 24 Emerging Trends in Computer Science and Information Technology -2012(ETCSIT2012) Proceedings published in International Journal of Computer Applications ® (IJCA) Where * i s 2D convolution operation. Fig. 5) Closed Image Fig. 4) Sobel Vertical Edge detection Fig. 6) Filled Image 3. Candidate Plate Area Detection A morphological operator is applied to the image for specifying the plate location. We build a morphological operator that is sensitive to a specific shape in the input image. In our system rectangular box is employed as a structural element to detect the car plates. In mathematical morphology structuring element are represented as matrices. Structuring element is a characteristic of certain structure and features to measure the shape of an image and is used to carry out other image processing operations [4]. Typical rectangular structuring element is shown in figure. Fig. ) Opened Image 3. 4 Filtration Of Non Plate Region After identify the ROI, image is then filtered using following filtering techniques. First find the connected components in image. The first technique involves removing of all white patches which has more or less area than t he threshold. For instance components having area < 2000 or >20000 are eliminated. Using Bounding Box method, draw Bounding Box around components and fill the image. According to the height values, for instance, only the objects with a height greater than Tmin_h and less than Tmax_h are retained, and eliminate the other objects.After that, if the width values of the retained objects are greater than Tmin_w and less than Tmax_w, the objects are retained; otherwise, the objects are removed, and so on. Where: Tmin_h : Minimum height of the object. Tmax_h : Maximum height of the object. Tmin_w : Minimum width of the object. Tmax_w : Maximum width of the object [6]. After filtering plate region is cropped by searching for the first and last white pixels starting from top left corner of an image. Plate is cropped from original image after getting coordinates. Using two basic operation of morphology (erosion and dilation), opening and closing of image is done.The opening of A by B is obtai ned by the erosion of A by B, followed by dilation of the resulting image by B. The closing of A by B is obtained by the dilation of A by B, followed by erosion of the resulting structure by B. For closing image 10*20 rectangular structuring element is used. After closing image we have to fill the holes in this image. A hole is a set of background pixels that cannot be reached by filling in the background from the edge of the image [3]. Then image is opened using 5*10 rectangular structural element. Values are determined according to the size of the image.Here we have used 1280X980 resolution images. 25 Emerging Trends in Computer Science and Information Technology -2012(ETCSIT2012) Proceedings published in International Journal of Computer Applications ® (IJCA) 4. SEGMENTATION OF PLATE CHARACTERS Before applying the OCR, the individual lines in the text are separated using line separation process and individual characters from separated lines. Steps for Character Segmentation: 4. 1 Binarization of Plate image 4. 2 Scan Line Algorithm for row segmentation 4. 3 Vertical Projection for column segmentationFig 6) Filtered Image on basis of area Fig. 7) Bounding Box and filled image 4. 1 Binarization Of Plate Image Binarize the plate image. Threshold for binarization must be such that characters are displayed well. For that we take average of all pixel values in plate image and calculate threshold. Fig. 10) Binarized image Fig. 8) Image after filtration on basis of height &width of objects 4. 2 Scan Line Algorithm The scan line algorithm is based on the feature that there is transition from 1 to 0 and 0 to 1 transition in character region in a binary image.Thus the total number of transition in character region is more than the total number of transition in other region. There are at least seven characters in license plate region and every character has more than two Jumps[7]. We can choose twelve as the threshold value. If the total number of transitions in a ce rtain line is greater than twelve, this line may be in character region. Otherwise, it is not in character region. Algorithm: 1) Let H be height and W be Width of Plate image. 2) for(i=H/2 to 0) { Count no of transitions ie 0 to 1 and 1 to 0 in cnt; if cnt

Definition of Mergers and Acquisition Essay

One plus one makes three: this equation is the special alchemy of a mergers or an acquisition. The key principle behind buying a company is to create shareholder value over and above that of the sum of the two companies. Two companies together are more valuable than two separate companies – at least, that’s the reasoning behind Mergers and Acquisition. This rationale is particularly alluring to companies when times are tough. Strong companies will act to buy other companies to create a more competitive, cost – efficient company. The companies will come together hoping to gain a greater market share or to achieve greater efficiency. Because of these potential benefits, target companies will often agree to be purchased when they know they cannot survive alone. Distinction between Mergers and Acquisitions Although they are often uttered in the same breath and used as though they were synonymous, the terms mergers and acquisition mean slightly different things. When one company takes over another and clearly established itself as the new owner, the purchase is called an acquisition. From a legal point of view, the target company ceases to exist; the buyer â€Å"swallows† the business and the buyer’s stock continues to be traded. In the pure sense of the term, a mergers happens when two firms, often of about the same size, agree to go forward as a single new company rather than remain separately owned and operated. This kind of action is more precisely referred to as a â€Å"mergers of equals. † Both companies’ stocks are surrendered and new company stock is issued in its place. For example, both Daimler – Benz and Chrysler ceased to exist when the two firms merged, and a new company, DaimlerChrysler, was created. In practice, however, actual mergers of equals don’t happen very often. Usually, one company will buy another and, as part of the deal’s terms, simply allow the acquired firm to proclaim that the action is a merger of equals, even if it’s technically an acquisition. Being bought out often carries negative connotations, therefore, by describing the deal as a merger, deal makers and top managers try to make the takeover more palatable. (Investopedia. com – the resource for investing and personal finance education. http://www. investopedia. com/university/mergers (Page 3 of 15). A purchase deal will also be called a merger when both Chief Executive Officers agree that joining together is in the best interest of both of their companies. But when the deal is unfriendly – that is, when the target company does not want to be purchased – it is always regarded as an acquisition. Whether a purchase is considered a mergers or an acquisition really depends on whether the purchase is friendly or hostile and how it is announced. In other words, the real difference lies in how the purchase is communicated to and received by the target company’s board of directors, employees and shareholders. Garbage (2007) in his thesis paper on International Mergers & Acquisitions, Cooperation and Networks in the e-business’ defines a mergers as â€Å"the combination of two or more companies in which the assets and liabilities of the selling firms are absorbed by the buying firm†. According to Gaughan (2002) â€Å"a mergers is a combination of two companies in which only one company survives and the merged company ceases to exist, whereby the acquiring company assumes the assets and liabilities of the merged company†. An acquisition also known as a takeover? s the buying of a company, the target? by another or the purchase of an asset such as plant or a division of a company. In the case of Vodafone acquisition of GT the acquired company Ghana Telecommunication Company limited still remains the legal name and Vodafone Ghana (VFGH) as the brand name. Rosenbaum and Pearl (2009) describe another form of acquisition known as a consolidation. According to them the terms mergers and consolidation are sometimes used interchangeably. As a general rule of thumb, a merger describes the acquisition of a smaller company by a larger one. If the union is between two corporations of more or less equal size, then the term consolidation is probably applicable. For the purpose of this study, the definition of Rosenbaum will be adopted as the working definition of a merger. Types of Mergers From the perspective of business structures, there are different kinds of mergers. According to Welch, P. and Welch, G. (2007) Economics: Theory and Practice (8th ed. ), economists generally classify mergers into three types: (1) horizontal, (2) vertical and (3) conglomerate. Horizontal mergers This type of mergers takes place when two firms in the same line of business i. . they are in direct competition or they share the same product lines and markets combine. A typical example is the 1999 Exxon Mobil mergers. The merger between Vodafone and Ghana Telecom which is the focus of our study is also a horizontal merger. Anticompetitive effects The vast majority of significant competition issues associated with mergers arises in horizontal mergers. A horizontal merger is one between parties that are competitors at the same level of production and/or distribution of a good or service, i. e. , in the same relevant market. There are two types of anticompetitive effects associated with horizontal mergers: unilateral effects and coordinated effects. Unilateral effects, also known as non-coordinated effects, arise where, as a result of the merger, competition between the products of the merging firms is eliminated, allowing the merged entity to unilaterally exercise market power, for instance by profitably raising the price of one or both merging parties’ products, thus harming consumers. In homogeneous markets, unilateral effects can be pronounced when two significant competitors merge to create a large, dominant player with only a few or no other competitors. In these markets, an important role in the assessment is played by market shares and by the capacity available in the market. In differentiated markets, unilateral effects tend to arise particularly when the two merging companies have highly substitutable goods. Such a price increase does not depend on the merged firm being the dominant player in the market. The likelihood and magnitude of such an increase will instead depend on the substitutability of the products supplied by the two firms – the closer the substitute, the greater the unilateral effects. Coordinated effects arise where, under certain market conditions (e. g. , market transparency, product homogeneity etc. ), the merger increases the probability that, post merger, merging parties and their competitors will successfully be able to coordinate their behaviour in an anti-competitive way, for example, by raising prices. As in the case of unilateral effects, the most common form of coordinated effects is in the case of horizontal mergers, i. e. mergers between firms active on the same market. The main question in analysing coordinated effects should be whether the merger materially increases the likelihood that firms in the market will successfully coordinate their behaviour or strengthen existing coordination. The task is to identify what factors are likely to lead to coordination taking place between firms post-merger. This was a controversial area with which competition authorities and courts have struggled to come to terms over the years, but experience has led to the emergence of some agreement on what conditions are most likely to give rise to coordinated effects. According to the â€Å"Airtours criteria†, coordination is more likely to emerge in markets where it is relatively simple to reach a common understanding on the terms of coordination. In addition, three conditions are necessary for coordination to be sustainable. First, the coordinating firms must be able to monitor to a sufficient degree whether the terms of coordination are being adhered to. Second, discipline requires that there is some form of credible deterrent mechanism that can be activated if deviation is detected. Third, the reactions of outsiders, such as current and future competitors not participating in the coordination, as well as customers, should not be able to jeopardise the results expected from the coordination. Vertical mergers These are mergers between firms that operate at different but complementary levels in the chain of production (e. g. , manufacturing and an upstream market for an input) and/or distribution (e. g. , manufacturing and a downstream market for re-sale to retailers) of the same final product. Another example is the acquisition of ABC television network by Walt Disney to enable Walt Disney air its recent movies to huge audiences. In purely vertical mergers there is no direct loss in competition as in horizontal mergers because the parties’ products did not compete in the same relevant market. As such, there is no change in the level of concentration in either relevant market. Vertical mergers have significant potential to create efficiencies largely because the upstream and downstream products or services complement each other. Even so, vertical integration may sometimes give rise to competition concerns. Anticompetitive effects Vertical effects can produce competitive harm in the form of foreclosure. A merger is said to result in foreclosure where actual or potential rivals’ access to supplies or markets is hampered or eliminated as a result of the merger, thereby reducing these companies’ ability and/or incentive to compete. Two forms of foreclosure can be distinguished. The first is where the merger is likely to raise the costs of downstream rivals by restricting their access to an important input (input foreclosure). The second is where the merger is likely to foreclose upstream rivals by restricting their access to a sufficient customer base (customer foreclosure). However, it should be noted that in general vertical merger concerns are likely to arise only if market power already exists in one or more markets along the supply chain. Conglomerate mergers involve firms that operate in different product markets, without a vertical relationship. They may be product extension mergers, i. e. , mergers between firms that produce different but related products or pure conglomerate mergers, i. e. , mergers between firms operating in entirely different markets. In practice, the focus is on mergers between companies that are active in related or neighbouring markets, e. g. , mergers involving suppliers of complementary products or of products belonging to a range of products that is generally sold to the same set of customers in a manner that lessens competition. This kind of mergers takes place when two firms in unrelated lines of business combine. A merger between a bank and a media house will be an example of a conglomerate merger. One example of a conglomerate merger was the merger between the Walt Disney Company and the American Broadcasting Company (http://www. sk. com/wiki/Conglomerate_merger) Anticompetitive effects Merger review in this area is controversial, as commentators and enforcement agencies disagree on the extent to which one can predict competitive harm resulting from such mergers. Proponents of conglomerate theories of harm argue that in a small number of cases, where the parties to the merger have strong market positions in their respective markets, potential harm may arise when the merging group is likely to foreclose other rivals from the market in a way similar to vertical mergers, particularly by means of tying and bundling their products. When as a result of foreclosure rival companies become less effective competitors, consumer harm may result. However, it should be stressed that in these cases there is a real risk of foregoing efficiency gains that benefits consumer welfare and thus the theory of competitive harm needs to be supported by substantial evidence. Evaluation of the effectiveness of existing regulations aimed to reduce anticompetitive practices of Mergers and Acquisitions in Ghana. Mergers and Acquisitions among companies in Ghana are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Securities Industry Law 1993 (PNDC Law 333) (Ghana Investment Promotion Center, 2008). The law mandates the SEC ‘to review, approve and regulate takeovers, mergers, acquisitions and all forms of business combinations in accordance with any law or code of practice requiring it to do so. Ghanaian law on mergers and acquisitions is an amalgamation of several executive and legislative instruments passed as the corporate finance industry continues to evolve. The need to generate constructive competition among enterprises has been recognized by the government, and monopolies are actively discouraged as a result. The merger in November 2003 of two prominent international mining companies – Ashanti Goldfields and AngloGold (AngloGold succeeded in outbidding Rand Gold in the highly con-tested race with an offering of $1. 4 billion) promises great value to shareholders and the operations of both companies. The Companies Code stipulates the manner in which mergers and amalgamations should be effected. It places emphasis on company resolutions that authorize mergers and amalgamations and on the preservation of affected creditors’ rights. Ghanaian courts frown upon the arbitrary treatment of members or shareholders, and ample provision is made for aggrieved persons to apply to the court for redress at different stages of the merger or acquisition process. Foreign enterprises are guaranteed unconditional transferability of profits and dividends through any bank authorized to deal in freely convertible currency, encouraging and securing foreign investment. The transfer of company shares is exempted from all stamp duties and capital gains resulting from mergers, amalgamations and reorganizations are also tax exempt. Under Ghanaian investment law, preferential treatment is given to foreign and Ghanaian joint ventures by guaranteeing lower minimum capital requirements than those required for wholly foreign-owned enterprises. On the whole, mergers and acquisitions in Ghana continue to evolve as the government secures an attractive environment through executive, legislative and judicial activism to attract direct foreign investment and thus improve the economy. Consequently, the local corporate finance market has began to see increasingly complex financial transactions taking place as more international companies elect Ghana as the regional centre for their operations and its courts for dispute resolution issues.

Succession Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Succession Planning - Essay Example While aging of the staff is major contributor to the commencement of the issue, it is also true that a lack of skill levels in the staff also makes succession planning a major issue. This is particularly true in the case of public sector. Nearly 50% of the people employed by the US government is eligible to retire, says Douglas Braddock (1999). One in five senior executives of Fortune 500 companies will have to retire before the year end. All this mean that succession planning is becoming more meaningful to government offices as much as it is for private enterprises. He further says that man power requirement due to replacements (34.7 million) in organisations will far outstrip the requirements due to increase in business (20.3 million). While on one side there is a vacancy coming up, on the other side there is no talented and qualified people to hire from. According to Manpower (Jan 2006), nearly 44% of employers find difficulty in getting the right kind of person with the required skill level to fill the vacancy that is existing in the company. The succession planning is different from the replacement planning in the sense that while replacement planning will look for one single person and find a replacement for him from the market. Whereas in the case of succession planning, the company needs to consider who would take his position and who in turn would occupy once the succeeding person is promoted and so on. This would mean that the existing people have to be evaluated and kept ready for promotion and also the succession streak right to the end of the entire hierarchy where some one will be taken in from outside to fill the gap. Aims and Objectives To examine the potential elements involved in having a succession planning strategy and to present options and recommendations to the Management Board. The objective is to demonstrate the business benefits and added value to the organisation by producing an acceptable business case. Literary Review Workforce Life Cycle Management The Life Cycle of the workforce has to be completely taken care of including the retirement and succession thereof. Every employee should have an appropriate standby option in case he is to leave the employment. While this is normally looked at as a replacement plan for the individual, similar planning is needed for the succession too. The workforce life cycle would aim at a career planning for every person in the company followed by a succession plan. This would ensure that every key position in the company is filled whenever there is a need without any delay. Every position would require selection of the right person with adequate skill levels. After selecting the right person, an appropriate training program should be designed and provided in order to ensure that the person selected is trained for the position he is destined to take over. The person should also go through on the job observation and training enabling him to take on the assignment when it should occur. This would cr eate a hot standby for important key posts. On non-key positions, standby is maintained for a group of requirements. This would take care of any requirement that might arise among the equal positions. However, this may not be exactly the same position and might require some time to take over the assigned job. Succession planning is defined by Wendy Hirsh (2000) as