Sub Saharan Africa Food Insecurity Environmental Sciences Essay

An Integrated Assessment and Policy Needs Identification Abstract The survey aims to supply in-depth analysis of nutrient security in SSA in a changing clime, by incorporating socio-economic factors into scenario analysis. Furthermore, particular accent will be placed on the regional security issues. The first aim is of the research is to measure the impact of clime alteration on nutrient security, while the 2nd purpose is to place the key policy needs that should be considered in version schemes. Climate alteration scenarios will be simulated utilizing HadCM3 theoretical account. Two scenarios will be examined: â€Å" worst instance † ( 1 % CO2 addition per annum ) and â€Å" best instance ‘ ( 0.5 % CO2 addition per annum ) . The projections of agricultural productiveness will be assessed with IMAGE or AEZ theoretical accounts. Once the land-use and harvest simulation theoretical accounts are run, the estimated alteration of crop-yields will be fed into IMPACT and BLS theoretical accounts in order to measure the impact of clime alteration on nutrient security and hazard of hungriness. The interaction between the two theoretical accounts will capture the cross-cutting drivers for nutrient insecurity in the part. As a concluding measure, the survey will supply socio-economic and political tendencies analysis with chief methods: literature reappraisal, informations aggregation and analysis, arrested development analysis. The overall result of the survey will be designation of the policy needs that rise consciousness, with pertinence in explicating version schemes. Keywords: agribusiness, clime alteration, estimable general equilibrium, nutrient security, integrated appraisal, malnutrition, partial equilibrium, hazard of hungriness, sub-Saharan Africa.1. Introduction The impact of clime alteration on nutrient security is important for developing states. Sub-Saharan Africa ( SSA ) is one of the most vulnerable parts in the universe, due to the high de grees of nutrient insecurity as a consequence of socio-economic, political and environmental force per unit areas. Harmonizing to FAO/ WFP 2010 study 1 SSA is on the 2nd topographic point ( after Asia ) in the universe in footings of figure of ill-fed people ( 239 million people ) . However, on the first topographic point in footings of per centum undernourished of the entire population ( 30 % ill-fed ) . Recent projections for future clime alteration in SSA dismay that the land with suitableness for harvest cultivation will worsen and the land with wet emphasis will increase ( e.g. Fischer, 2005 ; FAO, 2009 ) . At the same clip, the part is characterized with agriculture-driven economic system, whereas the low GDP and weak institutional constructions are barriers for technological development of the agricultural sector. 2. Problem Statement and Aim of the Study Recently, research workers have produced a figure of of import surveies analyzing the impact of clime alteration on harvests productiveness ( e.g. Betts, 2005 ; Challinor 2009 ) and agricultural sector ( e.g. Parry, 2004 ; Fischer, 2005 ) . Those documents present assorted patterning models for regional and planetary appraisal of the impact of clime alteration on agribusiness and the hazard of hungriness. Furthermore, several surveies examine SSA regional scenarios for future tendencies of nutrient demand ( based on the future population and income projections ) , nutrient supply ( based on agricultural productiveness and trade ) , land usage displacements and future clime conditions ( e.g. AIACC, 2006 ; Challinor, 2011 ) . However, most surveies capture chiefly harvest production ( agricultural sector ) and pay small attending to the whole nutr ient system, i.e. nutrient handiness, nutrient entree and nutrient use ( Ingram, 2005 ) . Therefore, in order to supply overall policy deductions for accomplishing nutrient security in a changing clime, we should see the drivers for nutrient insecurity in SSA, such as poorness, deficiency of instruction, hapless market entree, unemployment, failures in belongings rights ( Scholes and Biggs, 2004 ; Ingram, 2005 ) . 1 The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2010, FAO/ WFP Following the logic of the above statements, this survey aims to supply in-depth analysis of nutrient security in SSA in a changing clime, by incorporating socioeconomics factors into scenario analysis. Furthermore, particular accent will be placed on the regional security issues, such as migration and urbanisation, delicate provinces and struggles, refugee crises, HIV/ AIDS. 3. Aims of the Study and Research Questions The survey will near two chief issues. The first aim is to measure the impact of clime alteration on nutrient security. In this regard the research paper will discourse the undermentioned inquiries: – What is the environmental position and future clime conditions in SSA? – Which are the cardinal socio-economic force per unit areas in SSA that should be integrated in the appraisal of clime alteration impact on nutrient security? – What is the impact of clime alteration on nutrient insecurity and hungriness in SSA ( assessed by incorporating future tendencies of socio-economic conditions ) ? The 2nd aim is to place the key policy needs that should be considered in version schemes. In this context, the following set of research inquiries is: – What are the barriers and chances for version in SSA? -Which are the policy needs for nutrient security in the altering clime of SSA? -Which socio-economic and political conditions should be addressed in clime alteration – nutrient security policy models, based on the projections of future tendencies? 4. Sc ientific Methods n order to turn to the first set of research inquiries ( first aim ) , I will utilize he following research methods and instruments. 4.1. Climate Variability and Climate Change in SSA & gt ; Climate variableness – ( I ) calculation of indices for variableness in monthly lower limit and maximal temperature ; monthly rainfall ; ( two ) linear graphs for one-year alterations ; ( three ) arrested development analysis of long term trends2. & gt ; Climate alteration scenarios Tools and method: General Circulation Models utilizing statistical downscaling Model: HadCM3 ( coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation theoretical account ) Datas: extracted from IPCC 2002 Period: 1961-1990 ; 2010-2039 ; 2040-2069 ; 2070-2099 Base-line clime: 1961-1990 ( Fischer, 2005 ) Scenarios: SRES A1F1 and A2 ( â€Å" worst instance † = 1 % CO2 addition per annum ; 855 ppm ) and SRES B1 and A1T ( â€Å" best instance ‘ = 0.5 % CO2 addition per annum ; 560 ppm ) ( e.g. Fisher, 2005 ; AIACC, 2006 ) .The comparing between the two scenarios will turn to the uncertainties3. End product: projected degrees of future CO2 ; precipitation ; temperature The end product from HadCM3 will be fed as an input in IMAGE theoretical account or AEZ theoretical account. Both theoretical accounts provide land-use displacements and harvests fertilisation effects from the informations obtained with HadCM3. 4.2. Food Security Impact Assessment Once the land-use and harvest simulation theoretical accounts are run, the estimated alteration of crop-yields will be fed into IMPACT ( partial-equilibrium theoretical account ) and BLS ( general equilibrium theoretical account ) in order to measure the impact of clime alteration on nutrient security and hazard of hungriness. The interaction between the two theoretical accounts is necessary to capture the drivers for nutrient insecurity in the part. Table 1. outlines how the two theoretical accounts correspond to the socio-economic force per unit areas in the clime alteration – nutrient security impact appraisal analysis. 2, 3 Methodology used by James Adejuwon, 2006. A Concluding Report Submitted to Appraisals of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Change ( AIACC ) , Project No. AF 23 Table 1. Models specification IMPACT Model BLS Model Partial-equilibrium theoretical account with focal point on agricultural sector, H 2O, nutrient supply and demand. It tends to hold more item than genral equlibium theoretical accounts General equlibrium theoretical accounts take into history the linkages between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. The theoretical account represents all economic sectors with through empirical observation estimated parametric quantities. States are linked through trade, universe market monetary values and financies Agricultural productiveness ( exogenic ) Agricultural productiveness and clime ( exogenic ) & gt ; agricultural production and trade ( edogenous ) & gt ; agricultural production and trade ( edogenous ) & gt ; GDP ( exogenic ) ; monetary values and trade ( endogenous ) & gt ; GDP, monetary values and trade ( endogenous ) Allows calculation of per capita KCAL, in peculiar kid malnutrition. Allows calculation of figure of people at hazard of hungriness as a portion of undernourished in the entire population. The per centum of malnourished kids is a map of: mean per c apita Calorie ingestion, female secondary instruction, the quality of maternal and child attention, wellness and sanitation. Thus the theoretical account gaining control broad assortment of societal issues. The estimations are based on: 1 ) SRES scenarios projected income and population degrees and their distribution ; 2 ) ratio of the mean national nutrient supply ( including imports ) Population and GDP ( exogenic ) Population ( exogenic ) ; GDP ( endogenous ) Population projections captures rural-urban kineticss There are regional group theoretical accounts wich capture the economic constructions of a figure of African states by grouping them into: oil exporters, low income nutrient importers and exporters, average income nutrient importers and exporters. 3.2. nutrient entree ( affordability – income, monetary values ; allotment ) 3.3. nutrient use ( nutrition ) 4. Socio-economic factors ( population, GDP ) 1.Model type 3. Food systems constituents captured by the theoreti cal accounts ( endogenous and exogenic variables ) : 3.1.food handiness ( agricultural production, trade, imports ) 2. Climate related drivers The appraisal will be built on multiple plot line attack ( e.g. Fisher, 2005 ) : Figure 1. Multiple storyline attack 4.3. Socio-economic and political force per unit areas analysis – the chief activities which will be conducted are: literature reappraisal, informations aggregation and analysis, arrested development analysis. & gt ; Economic construction of the SSA states – descriptive analysis will be provided & gt ; Population projections in SSA – the survey will show current demographic tendencies and future projections, based on informations extracted from IIASA. The particular accent will be on migration and urbanisation, HIV/ AIDS, every bit good as educational degrees. Climate alteration induced migration will be discussed. This analysis is closely linked to climate alteration – nutrient security analytical m odel, since demographic tendencies are strongly correlated with environment and nutrient security. & gt ; Income distribution and nutrient demand trends – income degrees change the consumers ‘ penchants for nutrient. As good income distribution and inequalities between states have important impact on nutrient demand ( e.g. Cirera and Masset, 2010 ) . Therefore this issue will be addressed, taking into consideration the findings of this survey every bit good as Gini coefficients for the part. & gt ; Poverty degrees and unemployment tendencies – descriptive analysis & gt ; Political stableness – descriptive analysis on past and present struggles ; hazards of new eruptions ; refugee crisis & gt ; Property rights – descriptive analysis of rural economic conditions & gt ; Poor market entree – descriptive analysis of market engagement Current clime variableness, nutrient security and socioeconomic conditions Socio-economic development and nutrient security with clime variableness ( no alteration ) – baseline simulation Socio-economic development and nutrient security with clime alteration ( â€Å" best instance † scenario ) Socio-economic development and nutrient security with clime alteration ( â€Å" worst instance † scenario ) 5. Significance of the survey The chief parts of this thesis are expected to be: – Designation of relevant clime variables, tendencies and projections ( temperature, precipitation, turning season, land-use alterations ) and appraisal of clime alteration impact on harvest outputs – Designation of the cardinal socio-economic factors in the analysis of the impact of clime alteration on nutrient security in the context of SSA – Appraisal of the impact of clime alteration on nutrient security utilizing partialequilibrium and general equilibrium theoretical accounts – Projection and spacial distribution of people at hazard of hungriness in SSA – Appra isal of the socio-economic and political tendencies, closely related to nutrient security and clime alteration – Designation of barriers and chances for version – Designation of the policy needs that rise consciousness, with pertinence in explicating version schemes Figure 2. Applicability of the survey in Adaptation Policy Frameworks Adaptation Policy Frameworks ( APF ) for Climate Change ( Developed by UNDP ) 1. Scoping and planing an version undertaking 2. Measuring current exposure: Current clime hazards ; Socio-economic conditions ; Adaptation baseline ; Climate change exposure 3. Measuring future clime hazards: Climate tendencies ; Socio-economic tendencies ; Natural resource and environment tendencies ; Adaptation barriers and chances 4. Explicating an Adaptation Strategy 5. Monitoring and Evaluation Policy Development Integrated Assessment Applicability of the survey 6. Restrictions and Uncertainties There are three types of restrictions and uncertainnesss in i ncorporate assessment – proficient ( â€Å" quality of informations available † ) , methodological ( â€Å" deficiency of sufficient cognition to make an equal theoretical account † ) and epistemic ( e.g. human behaviour, entropy of nature ) ( Reilly and Willenbockel, 2010 ) . The survey will foreground those uncertainnesss and will utilize multiple plot line attack in order to turn to them. Bibliography: Adejuwon J. 2006 Food Security, Climate Variability and Climate Change in Sub Saharan West Africa. Final Report Submitted to Appraisals of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Change ( AIACC ) , Project No. AF 23. Betts R. 2005 Integrated attacks to climate-crop modeling: demands and challenges. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2005 360, 2049-2065. Betts R. , Gornall J. , Burke E. , Clark R. , Camp J, Willett K. & A ; Wiltshire A. 2010 Implications of clime alteration for agricultural productiveness in the early 21st century. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2010 365, 2973-2989. Bou wman A. , Kram T. & A ; Goldewijk K. 2006 Integrated modeling of planetary environmental alteration: An overview of IMAGE 2.4. Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency ( MNP ) , Bilthoven, October 2006. MNP publication figure 500110002/2006. Challinor, A. J. , Ewert, F. , Arnold, S. , Simelton, E. & A ; Fraser, E. 2009 Crops and climate alteration: advancement, tendencies, and challenges in imitating impacts and informing version. J. Exp. Bot. 60, 2775-2789. Challinor, A. J. , Thornton P. , Jones P. & A ; Eriksen P. 2011 Agriculture and nutrient systems in sub-Saharan Africa in a 4 A °C+ universe. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2011 369, 117-136. Challinor, A. J. , Wheeler, T. , Garforth, C. , Craufurd, P. & A ; Kassam, A. 2007 Measuring the exposure of nutrient harvest systems in Africa to climate alteration. Clim. Change 83, 381-399. Cirera X. & A ; Masset E. 2010. Income distribution tendencies and future nutrient demand. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2010 365, 2821-2834. FAO. 2009 Climate Change and Food Security. A Framework Document ( www.fao.org/forestry/15538-079b31d45081fe9c3dbc6ff34de4807e4.pdf ) . FAO/ WFP 2010 The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2010, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Fischer G, new wave Velthuizen, H. , Shah, M. & A ; Tubiello F. 2005, Socio-economic and climate alteration impacts on agribusiness: an incorporate appraisal, 1990 -2080 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2005 360, 2067-2083. Fischer, G. , Frohberg, K. , Keyzer, M. A. & A ; Parikh, K. S. 1988 Linked national theoretical accounts: a tool for international policy analysis. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic. Fischer, G. , Shah, M. , & A ; van Velthuizen, H. 2002b Climate Change and Agricultural Vulnerability, Special Report to the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development. Johannesburg 2002. Laxenburg, Austria: IIASA. IEG World Bank. 2007 Disasters, Climate Change, and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons and Future Directions. Evaluation Brief 3. IFPRI. 2008 International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade ( IMPACT ) : Model Description. Ingram J. , Gregory P. & A ; Brklacich M. 2005 Climate alteration and nutrient security. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2005 360, 2139-2148. IPCC 2000 Summary for policymakers, emanations scenarios. A Particular Report of IPCC Working Group III, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. utz W. Samir KC. 2010 Dimensions of planetary population projections: what do we cognize about future population tendencies and constructions? Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2010 365, 2779- 2791. Parry M. , Rosenzweig C. & A ; Livermore M. 2005, Climate alteration, planetary nutrient supply and hazard of hungriness. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2005 360, 2125-2138. Parry, M. L. , Rosenzweig, C. , Iglesias, A. , Livermore, M. & A ; Fischer, G. 2004 Effects of clime alteration on planetary nutrient production under SRES emanations and socio-economic s cenarios. Global Environ. Change 14, 53-67. Raleigh C. , Jordan L. and Salehyan I. Measuring the Impact of Climate Change on Migration and Conflict. The World Bank Group. Reilly M. & A ; Willenbockel D. 2010 Managing uncertainness: a reappraisal of nutrient system scenario analysis and mold. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2010 365, 3049-3063. Satterthwaite D. , McGranahan G. & A ; Tacoli C. 2010 Urbanization and its deductions for nutrient and agriculture. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2010 365, 2809-2820. Scholes, R. J. & A ; Biggs, R. 2004 Ecosystem services in Southern Africa: a regional appraisal. Pretoria, South Africa: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Stern N. 2006 Stern Review on the Economicss of Climate Change. Prepared for HM Treasury, Cabinet Office. UNDP, Adaptation Policy Frameworks for Climate Change. ( available at: www.undp.org/climatechange/adapt/apf.html )

Computer Network and Intense Financial Pressure

Introduction: CareGroup was established in 1996 from a three-way merger of several hospitals in the eastern Massachusetts area. The merger was driven by the intense financial pressure and competitiveness in the healthcare community. CareGroup was the second largest hospital group in the area, and was a force to be reckoned with in the war of medical costs that included healthcare providers and employers. Problem: On Nov 13, 2002, a researcher executed an application without terminating it, which caused huge data communication traffics and led to a network crash. The network crash could not be fixed internally and the CIO at CareGroup had to call experts from Cisco for help the next day. While Cisco engineers were fixing the problem, CareGroup employees resorted back to paper based forms as a costly and unorganized replacement to their networked computers. The network was restored five days after the crash and post-crash repairing commenced to help recovery and further potential crashes. Problem Analysis: The source of the collapse was an â€Å"out of spec† network. CareGroup integrated its multiple operating systems into a state-of-the-art IT system. However, not well managed were the incremental changes to the network. This lack of control compromised the paths over which data flowed. That, combined with an experimental application that had been left unmonitored in a production environment, were the underlying causes for the network failure. CareGroup lacked a standardized operational flow to streamline, control, monitor, and document activities of users and researchers. There was little control and IT governance on common users to access or make changes to the network configuration. Right after the outage, several changes were made by various users without synchronization and documenting, which worsened the outage situation. Solutions: The following are the proposed options to help solve the aforementioned problem: 1. CareGroup can implement a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) and Contingency Plan (CP). The DRP describes the road map through which CareGroup must deal with unpredictable, unpreventable, or potential catastrophic events. the contingency plan acts as backbone for disaster recovery and allows for a complete recovery cycle. CP would require careful preparation and planning in order to allow CareGroup the ability to get back to a working state of affairs. 2. CareGroup should redesign the company network infrastructure to employ Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). A multi- VPN approach would enable CareGroup to maintain independency (separate virtual LANs) for their business partners. 3. Combine both options 1 and 2. 4. Outsourcing the network services. Recommendation: I recommend that CareGroup implement a disaster recovery plan, as well as adopt formal oversight of network changes and a prohibition against developers testing in a production environment.

Cancer

Cancer My friend Matt was diagnosed with cancer in May 2002. When Matt 's girlfriend, Amber told me he had cancer, I was shocked when Matt was only 23 years old when he was diagnosed. The type of cancer that mat suffers is called leukemia, or white blood cell cancer. This cancer occurs in the bone marrow, but it may spread to blood, lymph nodes, spleen, liver, central nervous system, and other organs afterwards. Cancer is affected by many people every year, including grandmothers with cancer, and is now one of my close friends. First of all, what does cancer mean? Cancer is not sick. There are various types of cancer, all of which are different. For example, there are common cancers such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer and the like. There are various kinds of leukemia and blood cancer such as lymphoma. They are different, but there are also some common features. I would like to discuss these common functions. It is li ke talking about professional sports. You can say that football, football, hockey, fencing, and baseball are all different, but in general they all can be thought of together. Despite all the differences, all of this involves some kind of competition and physical skills. Likewise, cancer has many things in common. One of the most cited articles in oncology (cancer research) is the classical Weinberg paper detailing the eight general features. I will explain in detail later. In 2000, cancer biologists Robert Weinberg and Douglas Hanahan announced an article titled The Mark of Cancer. Although they are aware that cancer occurs through a series of mutations occurring in any of a number of genes. Nonetheless, they point to six fundamental changes in cellular physiology of malignant features. According to the American Cancer Society, about 11.4 million Americans had cancer history in 2010. In the United States, the death of one in four people is due to cancer. The mortality rate of males in 2010 was 229.9 people per 100,000 people and the mortality rate of women was 157.8 persons per 100,000 people. The incidence of males is 556.5 persons per 100,000 people, and the incidence of females is 414.8 people per 100,000 people. In the United States, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths by men and women. (Source: American Cancer Society) As mentioned earlier, most cancers are not affected. The mortality rate of cancer continues to rise. We know that there are many gene mutations in cancer. There is no doubt that the genomic map of cancer proves this. The problem is that you can not find a mutation. There are even different mutations in the same cancer. Despite investing a lot of time, money, and intellectual investment in this new genetic paradigm, we do not see the corresponding benefits. Genetic defects are not the ultimate cause of cancer - they are still only mid-stage and close causes. What we need to know is the reason for causing these mutations. Cancer Recently, cancer incidence in the world has risen. It is currently one of the top ten causes of death in middle-income countries around the world (World Health Organization, 2008). In Singapore, cancer surpasses cardiovascular disease and is the largest death in the past three years (Ministry of Health, 2007). Breast cancer is ranked top of women in Singapore (Health Promotion Council, 2007). Every year thousands of women are diagnosed with breast cancer and about 270 people die each year (Jara - Lazaro et al., 2010). First of all, what does cancer mean? Cancer is not sick. There are various types of cancer, all of which are different. For example, there are common cancers such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer and the like. There are various kinds of leukemia and blood cancer such as lymphoma. They are different, but there are also some common features. I would like to discuss these common functions. It is like talking about professional sports. You can say that football, football, hockey, fencing, and baseball are all different, but in general they all can be thought of together. Despite all the differences, all of this involves some kind of competition and physical skills. Likewise, cancer has many things in common. One of the most cited articles in oncology (cancer research) is the classical Weinberg paper detailing the eight general features. I will explain in detail later. In 2000, cancer biologists Robert Weinberg and Douglas Hanahan announced an article titled The Mark of Cancer. Although they are aware that cancer occurs through a series of mutations occurring in any of a number of genes. Nonetheless, they point to six fundamental changes in cellular physiology of malignant features. According to the American Cancer Society, about 11.4 million Americans had cancer history in 2010. In the United States, the death of one in four people is due to cancer. The mortality rate of males in 2010 w as 229.9 people per 100,000 people and the mortality rate of women was 157.8 persons per 100,000 people. The incidence of males is 556.5 persons per 100,000 people, and the incidence of females is 414.8 people per 100,000 people. In the United States, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths by men and women. (Source: American Cancer Society) Cancer Cancer Introduction In the American community, cancer is the most common disease for most people in the United States. Cancer is well known throughout history. In the early 1990s nearly 6 million cancer cases have been reported every year around the world, more than 4 million people have died. The most fatal cancer in the world is lung cancer, which has grown rapidly since the spread of smoking in the country. Stomach cancer is the second major form of cancer in men following lung cancer. First of all, what does cancer mean? Cancer is not sick. There are various types of cancer, all of which are different. For example, there are common cancers such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer and the like. There are various kinds of leukemia and blood cancer such as lymphoma. They are different, but there are also some common features. I would like to discuss these common functions. It is like talking about professional sports. Yo u can say that football, football, hockey, fencing, and baseball are all different, but in general they all can be thought of together. Despite all the differences, all of this involves some kind of competition and physical skills. Likewise, cancer has many things in common. One of the most cited articles in oncology (cancer research) is the classical Weinberg paper detailing the eight general features. I will explain in detail later. In 2000, cancer biologists Robert Weinberg and Douglas Hanahan announced an article titled The Mark of Cancer. Although they are aware that cancer occurs through a series of mutations occurring in any of a number of genes. Nonetheless, they point to six fundamental changes in cellular physiology of malignant features. According to the American Cancer Society, about 11.4 million Americans had cancer history in 2010. In the United States, the death of one in four people is due to cancer. The mortality rate of males in 2010 was 229.9 people per 100,000 pe ople and the mortality rate of women was 157.8 persons per 100,000 people. The incidence of males is 556.5 persons per 100,000 people, and the incidence of females is 414.8 people per 100,000 people. In the United States, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths by men and women. (Source: American Cancer Society) Cancer Cancer My friend Matt was diagnosed with cancer in May 2002. When Matt 's girlfriend, Amber told me he had cancer, I was shocked when Matt was only 23 years old when he was diagnosed. The type of cancer that mat suffers is called leukemia, or white blood cell cancer. This cancer occurs in the bone marrow, but it may spread to blood, lymph nodes, spleen, liver, central nervous system, and other organs afterwards. Cancer is affected by many people every year, including grandmothers with cancer, and is now one of my close friends. First of all, what does cancer mean? Cancer is not sick. There are various types of cancer, all of which are different. For example, there are common cancers such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer and the like. There are various kinds of leukemia and blood cancer such as lymphoma. They are different, but there are also some common features. I would like to discuss these common functions. It is li ke talking about professional sports. You can say that football, football, hockey, fencing, and baseball are all different, but in general they all can be thought of together. Despite all the differences, all of this involves some kind of competition and physical skills. Likewise, cancer has many things in common. One of the most cited articles in oncology (cancer research) is the classical Weinberg paper detailing the eight general features. I will explain in detail later. In 2000, cancer biologists Robert Weinberg and Douglas Hanahan announced an article titled The Mark of Cancer. Although they are aware that cancer occurs through a series of mutations occurring in any of a number of genes. Nonetheless, they point to six fundamental changes in cellular physiology of malignant features. According to the American Cancer Society, about 11.4 million Americans had cancer history in 2010. In the United States, the death of one in four people is due to cancer. The mortality rate of males in 2010 was 229.9 people per 100,000 people and the mortality rate of women was 157.8 persons per 100,000 people. The incidence of males is 556.5 persons per 100,000 people, and the incidence of females is 414.8 people per 100,000 people. In the United States, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths by men and women. (Source: American Cancer Society) As mentioned earlier, most cancers are not affected. The mortality rate of cancer continues to rise. We know that there are many gene mutations in cancer. There is no doubt that the genomic map of cancer proves this. The problem is that you can not find a mutation. There are even different mutations in the same cancer. Despite investing a lot of time, money, and intellectual investment in this new genetic paradigm, we do not see the corresponding benefits. Genetic defects are not the ultimate cause of cancer - they are still only mid-stage and close causes. What we need to know is the reason for causing these mutations. Cancer Cancer Introduction In the American community, cancer is the most common disease for most people in the United States. Cancer is well known throughout history. In the early 1990s nearly 6 million cancer cases have been reported every year around the world, more than 4 million people have died. The most fatal cancer in the world is lung cancer, which has grown rapidly since the spread of smoking in the country. Stomach cancer is the second major form of cancer in men following lung cancer. First of all, what does cancer mean? Cancer is not sick. There are various types of cancer, all of which are different. For example, there are common cancers such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer and the like. There are various kinds of leukemia and blood cancer such as lymphoma. They are different, but there are also some common features. I would like to discuss these common functions. It is like talking about professional sports. Yo u can say that football, football, hockey, fencing, and baseball are all different, but in general they all can be thought of together. Despite all the differences, all of this involves some kind of competition and physical skills. Likewise, cancer has many things in common. One of the most cited articles in oncology (cancer research) is the classical Weinberg paper detailing the eight general features. I will explain in detail later. In 2000, cancer biologists Robert Weinberg and Douglas Hanahan announced an article titled The Mark of Cancer. Although they are aware that cancer occurs through a series of mutations occurring in any of a number of genes. Nonetheless, they point to six fundamental changes in cellular physiology of malignant features. According to the American Cancer Society, about 11.4 million Americans had cancer history in 2010. In the United States, the death of one in four people is due to cancer. The mortality rate of males in 2010 was 229.9 people per 100,000 pe ople and the mortality rate of women was 157.8 persons per 100,000 people. The incidence of males is 556.5 persons per 100,000 people, and the incidence of females is 414.8 people per 100,000 people. In the United States, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths by men and women. (Source: American Cancer Society) Cancer Cancer Introduction In the American community, cancer is the most common disease for most people in the United States. Cancer is well known throughout history. In the early 1990s nearly 6 million cancer cases have been reported every year around the world, more than 4 million people have died. The most fatal cancer in the world is lung cancer, which has grown rapidly since the spread of smoking in the country. Stomach cancer is the second major form of cancer in men following lung cancer. First of all, what does cancer mean? Cancer is not sick. There are various types of cancer, all of which are different. For example, there are common cancers such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer and the like. There are various kinds of leukemia and blood cancer such as lymphoma. They are different, but there are also some common features. I would like to discuss these common functions. It is like talking about professional sports. Yo u can say that football, football, hockey, fencing, and baseball are all different, but in general they all can be thought of together. Despite all the differences, all of this involves some kind of competition and physical skills. Likewise, cancer has many things in common. One of the most cited articles in oncology (cancer research) is the classical Weinberg paper detailing the eight general features. I will explain in detail later. In 2000, cancer biologists Robert Weinberg and Douglas Hanahan announced an article titled The Mark of Cancer. Although they are aware that cancer occurs through a series of mutations occurring in any of a number of genes. Nonetheless, they point to six fundamental changes in cellular physiology of malignant features. According to the American Cancer Society, about 11.4 million Americans had cancer history in 2010. In the United States, the death of one in four people is due to cancer. The mortality rate of males in 2010 was 229.9 people per 100,000 pe ople and the mortality rate of women was 157.8 persons per 100,000 people. The incidence of males is 556.5 persons per 100,000 people, and the incidence of females is 414.8 people per 100,000 people. In the United States, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths by men and women. (Source: American Cancer Society) Cancer Cancer Introduction In the American community, cancer is the most common disease for most people in the United States. Cancer is well known throughout history. In the early 1990s nearly 6 million cancer cases have been reported every year around the world, more than 4 million people have died. The most fatal cancer in the world is lung cancer, which has grown rapidly since the spread of smoking in the country. Stomach cancer is the second major form of cancer in men following lung cancer. First of all, what does cancer mean? Cancer is not sick. There are various types of cancer, all of which are different. For example, there are common cancers such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer and the like. There are various kinds of leukemia and blood cancer such as lymphoma. They are different, but there are also some common features. I would like to discuss these common functions. It is like talking about professional sports. Yo u can say that football, football, hockey, fencing, and baseball are all different, but in general they all can be thought of together. Despite all the differences, all of this involves some kind of competition and physical skills. Likewise, cancer has many things in common. One of the most cited articles in oncology (cancer research) is the classical Weinberg paper detailing the eight general features. I will explain in detail later. In 2000, cancer biologists Robert Weinberg and Douglas Hanahan announced an article titled The Mark of Cancer. Although they are aware that cancer occurs through a series of mutations occurring in any of a number of genes. Nonetheless, they point to six fundamental changes in cellular physiology of malignant features. According to the American Cancer Society, about 11.4 million Americans had cancer history in 2010. In the United States, the death of one in four people is due to cancer. 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Enterprise Strategy Essay Example for Free

Enterprise Strategy Essay This type of business structure that is E-business is more common in the developed countries than in third class countries; to sell products customers in the comfort of their homes is widespread in these countries, so Forejustin Passman the founder and general manager plans to make widespread this type of business even in a developing country, Botswana. 1. 0 THE entrepreneur 1. 1 The motivation for starting the business Pull factors are exploiting opportunity and a financial incentive whilst the push factor that led him to open the business was threat of unemployment. The pull factors He was pulled into this business because he wanted to exploit an opportunity to sell gadgets such as tablets i. e. Apple’s Ipads, Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes amp;Nobles’ the nook. Consequently he decided to open Group Little, a predominantly virtual company, having little physical presence and high internet presence. After a market research he realised that most gadget stores in Botswana undermine internet trading and he decided to exploit this opportunity. Citing most gadget stores are set up according to a strategy and are purposely designed to make customer experience as pleasant as possible but their websites normally do not have a similar strategy applied to them, as the sites are normally a glorified business card that does not engage visitors and in some cases even harm the business image. Mr Passman was also pulled to gain financial incentive he paid meticulous attention to primary research in order to weigh the benefits, the cost and opportunities of his approach. The push factors The threat of unemployment is the only push factor that influenced Forejustin to start his business. At age 18 he performed poorly in his A-level results which caused him to fail to pursue a business degree at university, other than compromising and pursuing other degree programmes that he lacked interest in he decided to re-sit some examinations. Whilst in wait for examination results he did not want to be considered to be part of the unemployed so he started his company Group Little. 1. 2 Forejustin Passman’s character traits Proactive- he is one of the few people who do not believe in luck, he seeks after opportunities other than wait for them to present themselves to him. He is also quick and decisive, when faced with the dilemma of whether to go into just conventional retailing he decided and to have the virtual retailing, where he has limited physical presence and a fully-fledged internet presence. His logic behind such a decision being that the internet is a necessary portal for success in the 21st century business and beyond. He is regarded by some a restless while he considers himself easily bored because as he says he is easily diverted to the most recent market opportunity. He is especially known as a man who acts and then learns from the outcomes of his action, and thus far his upbeat approach has worked positively to advance the company. Visionary- Mr Passman has and had a clear vision for Group Little; for it to become a household name in virtual companies of Africa and to be an expert in Africa’s virtual market space. He wants Group Little to be benchmarked by any international company exploring to invest in the virtual market place of Africa. Now this visionary flair has positioned him to be always at the right place at the right time and being able snatch opportunities within his vision. 1. MR Passman’s personality type Mr Forejustin Passman is certainly spontaneous. Spontaneous because most of the things he does, he does instinctively. This matches positively with his proactive character trait mentioned previously in section 1. 2. He is a creative, lively and open-minded person. His humorous nature disposes a contagious zest for lif e. Forejustin’s enthusiasm and sparkling energy inspires the team to work harder, his strengths therefore are creative problem solutions, discovering new ways and opportunities, the conceptualization of new ideas on one hand, but not so much his concrete implementation on the other. To compensate for this weakness he has staff of capable colleagues that takes over his concepts and runs with them. Spontaneous is the best classification of Mr Passman, other than classifying him as an introvert or extrovert which is a widely used approach of personality type definition, which in some cases is limiting to define peculiar individuals as Mr Forejustin Passman. 1. 4 Decision making and leadership style Decision making style Forejustin Passman’s decision making style is conceptual. He has high tolerance for ambiguity in that even when he was not sure how Batswana will respond to an e-business he still went on decided to do what he planned. He has a broad outlook in business, with the resident of truth being not enough Batswana are connected to internet currently, he deemed it fit to go ahead because most industries around the world are adopting e-business and even though Botswana is still lagging behind the time is eminent for her as well to join in. His conceptual decision making style is also evident in that he has found a creative way to solve the local problem of segregated demand and supply. Where people in difficult to reach areas have a high quantity demand of some products from businesses yet they cannot reach those businesses to be supplied with what they demand, so he decided the customers will shop in the comfort of their own far away home and he will deliver the products to them. 1. 5 Leadership style Laissez-faire style, he is a leader who has consciously made a decision to pass focus of power to the outsourced employees. He considered since the workforce is already talented and qualified to do the job they must be able to positively exercise judgement to respond to issues. Mr Passman simply sets out the targets and deadlines afterwards he charges the taskforce to do the work that is at hand, he is not very interested in how they do the job he just wants the work to be done in due time. Some have criticised his type of leadership saying he is risking the success of his business by delegating power the employees but according to him this type of environment breeds creativity, and that is what he wants from his team, creative ways to solve problems, which is a direct match to his decision making style he wants them to think like him. 1. 6 Mr Forejustin Passman’s role within the business Forejustin oversees the review of Group Little’s corporate strategy, looks for market opportunities, acquires strategic assets and protects Group Little’s existing competencies. As this organisation is relatively small, Forejustin has adopted this multidisciplinary role. His acquisition of strategic assets is done in order to solidify their position in the market, he cites sometimes organic growth is too slow for the company’s vision therefore acquisition of some assets provides an impetus to desired growth. The staff The majority of his staff is outsourced, the employees are highly knowledgeable about internet business. Being a cheerful entrepreneur he advocates for a cheerful workforce because he believes if employees are happy that drives up productivity which in turn brings healthier profit margins. 1. 7 Entrepreneurial networking Forejustin’s decision to effectively network sprung up in the beginning stages of his business, he wanted a trademark for Group Little and he just happened to remember months earlier he sent his broken computer to some young technicians; one of them named Kabelo had recently graduated from a creative arts university of Limkokwing where he studied graphic designing. He had saved his contacts in case he needed computer help but his contact wound up birthing more than just computer solutions but also a trademark for his business. This was a highlight to Forejustin that networking especially informal networking is a tool for success, his response; * He strikes conversations with strangers, to get any bit of information he can, exchanges contacts with such an individual and then regularly contact that individual until they establish a network that can provide him relevant business information, advice and support services. Chats with movers and shakers of different industries in order to get some referrals and leads. Mr Passman’s formal networks In this the entrepreneur is lacking. He has not signed up to any formal network which means his chances for collaborative opportunities with others are diminished. It is highly unlikely for him to form new business relationships and lastly it is slow to solve problems because there is no access to a si gnificant number of possible solution providers as emphasised by Kay (2010). His professed inhibitors to formal networking are high membership fees of some formal arrangements. He also attributed inflexible structured timetable for some of these formal networks as a major impediment for him join as he prefers groups that are open where he can come on casual ‘drop in’ basis. But considerations are still being made to join the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) network an outlet that informs and organizes exhibitions for small enterprises. 1. 8 Innovation There a certain drivers of innovation that prompted Forejustin Passman to pursue e-business and figure a, is quite very useful in illustrating that. Source: Sheth and Ram (1987) Figure a Because of technological advances, after the internet boom he realised he needed to adopt an approach in business which matches the changes in technology. The change in technology alters the business environment. This then means that threshold competencies and basic resources are redefined, he implication to Forejustin’s company is, whatever used to be basic necessities of successful trading is now redefined to fit the current robust and continually changing business environment. Group Little’s business environment is no longer just about having the right gadgets, it is also about close interaction with customers and widespread, effective marketing therefore Mr Passman had to approach service delivery differently. Competition for selling gadgets has intensified, with Incredible Connecti ons, Hi-Fi, Game and other gadgets stores exerting pressure, Group Little had to distinguish itself by going online. Understanding that service delivery is directly related to the customer’s psyche he found it fit to offer technological products in a technological platform such as the internet which sends a message to customers of technological proficiency. He also had to innovate since customer needs are frequently changing consequently he had to effectively address them. The weakness of his innovative approach Even though innovation is commendable and obtaining ideas from the international front is encouraged it is evident Forejustin Passman has failed to address the contextualization of this worldwide trend. His payment outlets for instance should have been modified to fit the traditional payment outlets other than just adopting the internationally proclaimed payment system PayPal. 2. 0 The enterprise 2. 1 Business strategy According to Meyer (2010) strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long-term. General enterprise strategy Emergent strategy is Group Little’s adopted strategy. Having considered the high turbulence in the industry he trades in Mr Passman decided to use this approach to guide his business. This strategy has been adopted since this industry is uncertainty and innovation based. It allows frequent feedback on the business environment which in turn permits reallocation of resources to address any information that is received about any changes in the business’ external environment. Operations strategy Figure b Source:ibbusinessandmanagement. com(2012) Using Michael Porter’s generic model figure b above, Forejustin has opted differentiation operational strategy. In this strategy unique attributes that are valued by customers and which are perceived to be better than the gadgets of the competition are intensively adopted by Group Little. This company has the following internal strengths to make this differentiation strategy successful; * Highly skilled and creative development team. * Strong sales team with the ability to successfully communicate the perceived strengths of the gadgets The risks linked with this strategy include imitation by competitors and changes in customer tastes. In addition, a range of firms pursuing focus strategies may be able to achieve even greater differentiation in their market segments. 2. 2 E-business As Group Little is a typical example of an e-business it is quite instructive to use the SWOT model to analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats this organisation it has; Strengths Global reach to marketing. Since the web is an international platform Group Little’s marketing is not just limited to local media and advertising opportunities it spreads out to other regions. There is improved customer interaction. The customer and the enterprise meet in the comfort zone of the customer, therefore the customer can openly offer ideas, orders and even complaints all this will better Group Little’s service delivery. Weaknesses Security; customers are always concerned with the integrity of their payments, most shy away from revealing confidential bank information in the web, which costs Group Little significantly. The other weakness is the customer has no idea of the quality and physical condition of the gadgets; it is very common for discrepancies to exist between what sites advertise and the actual product. Opportunities New technologies surfacing could open up internet accessibility in Botswana which will be advantageous to Forejustin’s company since the critics’ argument pivots around this matter. Group Little also has prospects on cutting down local competition. As local competition has not adequately used the online trading space which can give Group Little an online competitive advantage if Forejustin Passman chooses to invest significantly to develop this area. Threats Fraud; given that there are some individuals that are out to deceive for financial gain are always Mr Passman’s concern, they may fake Group Little’s website and deceive the customers. Changes in law and regulation are always a threat. Regulatory authorities to protect customers from fraud they may place laws and regulations that will stifle Group Little’s competitiveness. 2. 3 Organisational culture This has been defined as, a system of shared actions, values and beliefs that develop within an organisation and guides the behaviour. This is as cited by Uhl-Bien et al. (2010). Forejustin Passman has directed Group Little culture, one of the shared values is the ‘no Sunday policy. ’ In this Forejustin has reflected his Christian beliefs and his philosophy of people before profit into the corporation’s culture. His belief in God prompts him to keep the Sabbath which to him is Sunday and his people before profits philosophy leads him to protect their wellbeing by giving them rest on Sunday. Any order placed on Sunday is attended on Monday by rejuvenated and more productive employees. This has its obvious disadvantages such as foregone sales but Mr Passman believes his policy is beneficial to all parties involved. When work is on between Monday to Saturday the team is relaxed and open, this as Forejustin says allows for conception of creative ideas. Any facet that stifles creativity is minimized be it the tangible such as tables or chairs or the intangible aspect like a mental attitude that stigmatizes mistakes. This culture solves two important issues external adaptation, which deals with reaching goals; how to reach those goals and if members have developed this freedom to make mistakes they can effectively guide their day-to-day activities. It also solves the issue of internal integration, members can easily merge and share ideas when mistakes are not stigmatized and this leads to greater productivity. . 4 Critical success factors of his business Branding Forejustin’s Group Little has to create a brand that appeals to the African technologically adept. Now as asserted by Perry (2009) a brand is more than just a corporate symbol it is an intangible asset that provokes emotional responses from individuals which presents a sustainable competitive advantage. This entrepreneur must position his company’s brand to be able to leverage from being one of Botswana’s few companies that are committed to successful internet trading. Little is known of Group Little but this is an incentive not a deterrent because the brand can be driven in any direction that Forejustin sees proper to execute his vision. Even though his company was registered with the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property in 2009, not long ago every product and or service he introduces must align to the strategy of the company; he has to monitor Group Little’s identity, as the perception portrayed to customers over these few years is the one that affords the company to leverage on the brand premium. Realising that the company’s brand was its critical success factor efforts to protect his brand symbol from infringement were undertook; he decided to copyright the brand symbol. Distribution Comprehending their need for effective systems, Group Little has rationalized their distribution systems to enhance performance of their products. As an attempt to enhance the logistics execution and capabilities Mr Passman decided to form a synergy with Botswana Couriers. This he decided to do in order to quicken delivery of the gadgets sold, in contrast to sending the orders via Botswana Post with their renowned incompetence he decided to solidify his distribution by having an exclusive agreement with Couriers. As Meyer (2010) asserts exclusive distributor agreements will constitute a major impediment to the distributors if the distributor wants to switch from the commitment. In this synergy Group Little is offered discounts because of the volume of gadgets it trades around the country and basic efficiency in the distribution of the products is greatly enhanced. Technology It seems obvious yet still noteworthy that Group Little has technology as their trading platform has to remain on vigilant and aware of new technology developments. Most gadgets they sell use mobile applications, applications are pieces of software that are designed to fulfil a particular purpose, for Group Little that purpose simply is to make easy access to its website’s content and increase sales, therefore Group Little is in the process of having their own application. The entrepreneur has looked at engaging a company named Bright labs which operates in Tlokweng for the development of Group Little’s very own mobile application this will enable those who have bought these gadgets to also download the application and then browse for more products from Mr Forejustin Passman’s Group Little. 2. 5 Conclusion Forejustin Passman’s Group Little’s performance has been average, but if he can put measures in place to direct its strategy the company will realise its potential to become a benchmark e-business in Botswana and even in Africa. He simply needs to re-assess who he is and what Group Little is, a point of focus (the target market to approach, how he is going to approach that market). In addition he is required to solidify his networks as this is one business competence he has ignored and it will ultimately cost him and his business from growing from being a small medium enterprise to being the envisioned benchmark multinational. Contextualisation of Group Little’s business model also can provide an impetus its success as well, Mr Passman shall consider adopting traditional transaction means in order not to inhibit his business from reaching every possible customer. Bibliography Books 1. Meyer, R, Wit, B, (2010), Strategy-process, content, context an international perspective, 4ed, Hampshire: Cengage learning EMEA 2. Perry, B, (2009), Enterprise operations, Oxford: Cima publishing 3. Uhl-Bien. M, Schermerhorn J. R. , Hunt . J G, Osborn R. N, (2010), Organisational behaviour, Hoboken: John Wiley amp; Sons 4. Kay. F, (2010), Successful networks, London: Kogan Page 5. Yves, L, Goz, G. H, (1998), Alliance Advantage-The art of creating value through partners, Boston: Harvard business School Press. 6. Sugars. B, (2012), Super Size your sales, the entrepreneur, August, p. 2 7. Bessant J, Tidd J,(2011), innovation and entrepreneurship, 2ed, Sussex: John Wiley and sons 8. Moon. R, Gee. S, (2012), Creating business opportunity, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan 9. Mullins L. J, (2010), management amp; organisational behaviour, 9ed, Essex: Prentice Hall Websites 10. Multiply (2012): Spontaneous idealist [online] Available from: http://mirau. multiply. com/jour nal/item/116/My-Personality-Type-Spontaneous ,[ accessed 14 December 2012] Appendix Personal reflection Studying real entrepreneurs and real companies always equips I as the student beyond lecture content. The study of this enterprise and Mr Forejustin Passman was a delight because I got to know interesting real aspects about business, I have learnt when in real business some academic theories will have to be set aside and suspended to deal with the challenges of real business. The more I researched I understood what differentiates successful entrepreneurs and unsuccessful entrepreneurs and that content I learnt were not part of the assignment requisite but I did learn This module lectures are also noteworthy, I figured this was a reiteration of Enterprise anagement I did in my second year, so lectures consisted of emphasis of year two material. Even though the material is more or less the same as of second year the assessment was interestingly structured, it was strategic rather than operational that seems like an obvious comment but this has really marked the difference in our approach. We were no longer just reporting facts, concepts and academic theories we had to apply and use our groomed understanding to critically analyse the business case.

A Nation of Wimps Essay Example for Free

A Nation of Wimps Essay A Nation Of Wimps Parents are going to extreme lengths to take the bumps out of life for their children. However, that has the net effect of making kids more fragile, and that may be why they’re braking down so easily. People learn through experience, and through failure they learn how to cope with things later on in life, themselves. And whether we realize that or not, this nation is turning out to be producing more and more wimps. The Fragility Factor College is one of the biggest fragility factors. It leads to psychological distress, binge drinking, substance abuse, self-mutilation, etc. Relationship problems don’t go away, anorexia and bulimia keep on coming. Welcome to the Hothouse Parents are overprotecting their children, they are intruding too much into their lives. They started to call colleges and asking about their grades. American parents today expect their children to be perfect, and that puts to much pressure on them. Arrivederci, Playtime Children don’t play enough these days. Over 40, 000 schools in the U. S. don’t have recess anymore. Commercialization of children’s play leads to more stressed out children. Plays develops cognitive thinking, and is important for normal development of children. The Eternal Umbilicus Cellphones today make children addictive to their parents. Students are typically in contact with their parents several times a day, which makes them constantly homesick, and keeps them away from learning how to manage for themselves. All that is the pathway to depression, it weakens self-regulation, it influences relationships and friendships, and make children become more frustrated and impatient which then leads to the fail of relationships and even greater depression. From Scrutiny to Anxiety and Beyond What creates anxious children is parents hovering and protecting them from stressful experiences. This group of children experiences stress in situations most kids find unthreatening. They grow up shrinking from social contact, and lack confidence. They are later on easily influenced by others. Overparenting creates lifelong vulnerability to anxiety and depression. Endless Adolescence Adulthood no longer begins after adolescence ends. Kids are starting to extend childhood, because they are making up for the things they weren’t supposed to do as children, and are creating a whole new stage called the â€Å"early adulthood. † Boom Boom Boomerang Play is connected to the making of healthy relationships later on in life. The less time children spend in play, the less socially competent they become. Through play we learn how to read feelings and negotiate conflicts. Taking the play out of childhood is bound to create development lags. Just Whose Shark Tank Is It Anyway? Competition has become a stressful and significant part of our everyday lives. Parents imagine that their children must be swimming in a big shark tank. Kids today are more ambivalent about the college race than are parents. Nowadays, parents are actually locking their kids into fragility, and by that the kids never learn how to cope with anxiety. Putting Worry in its Place Parents need to abandon the idea of perfection and give up some the invasive control. Children are far less integrated into adult society than they used to be, and by that parents have introduced a tendency to assume that children can’t manage difficult situations. Parents need to remember that one of the goals of higher educations is developing the capacity of thinking for ourselves. Conclusion Indeed parents today have became overprotective of their children, they overshelter them and overpraise them. They cheat for their children by making up fake diseases and getting them into colleges by relations. All of that is creating a whole different type of kids, that aren’t individuals anymore, we are creating the nation of kinds depending on their parents, a nation of wimps,

Strategic Management in FedEx in response to Competition

Strategic Management in FedEx in response to Competition History of air carriers as given by Coyle et al attributes the use of airplanes for mail transport as the starting point of the airline industry (Coyle et al, 2006:158). From mail transport air transportation moved to passenger, transport where the industry has all through established its dominance especially when it comes to transporting passengers over long distances in very short periods of time. The services offered by for-hire carriers can be classified into all-cargo, air taxi, commuter, charter and international services (Coyle et al, 2006:159). All-cargo carriers such as FedEx and UPS airlines are primarily concerned with the transportation of cargo. Federal Express Corporation, which is a cargo airline, is based at Memphis in the United States of America. Federal Express Corporation also known as FedEx is the largest airline globally with regard to freight tons but in terms of fleet size, it is the worlds second largest airline (Zhang, 2006:98). The corporation provides direction and financial reporting for a number of companies, which collectively compete under the Federal Express name globally. The companies include FedEx Ground, FedEx Express, FedEx Office, FedEx Freight, FedEx Services, FedEx Trade Networks and FedEx Custom Critical (FedEx.com, 2010:110). Before the Federal Express became Federal Express Corporation it was known as FedEx but it adopted the current name under which it currently operate in 1998 when it acquired Caliber System Inc. Federal Express Corporation built on its strength of express delivery service and formed more diversified company which incorporated different but related businesses (Denton, 1992:86). Federal Express Corporation is the leading firm in the transportation industry globally. The company has managed to attain its current position by incorporating what it takes to be a major player in the global market (Gp-Training, n.d.). FedEx Corporation has built superior virtual, physical and people network to shape network economy in the global scale. The following discussion will seek to conduct a strategic management analysis of FedEx based on two models; Porters five forces model and the SWOT analysis. The two models have been selected based on the reason that they provide a step-by-step analysis of an organization. They are objective and can enable a planner or strategic manager to make accurate predictions of a business or project. Further, they greatly assist in prior determinations before capital investments are made, for instance, they greatly assist in determining whether the goals and objectives of a particular business are attainable. SWOT Analysis and five forces model of Federal Express Corporation Introduction SWOT analysis refers to an evaluation technique deployed in determining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and techniques in a business venture. On the other hand, Michael Porter established a structure that models a business as being influenced by five main forces. This model is very important and can be used by industries to understand their operations better. According to Overbeck (2009:126) porters five forces, which is a model for industry analysis, include rivalry, threats of substitutes, Buyer power, Supplier power and Barriers to entry or threat of entry (McGrew Wilson, 1982:75). In addition, FedEx SWOT analysis presents various opportunities as well as strengths of the company, which have made it become one of the market leaders globally. However, the company also has a number of threats and weakness that should be addressed to be able to become even more prosperous in future. Source: Hill, C. and Jones G. (2009:67). Strategic management theory. New York: Cengage Learning. Porters Five Forces model Rivalry According to Hill and Jones (2009:42), competition between rival firms according to traditional economic model drives profit to ultimately zero. However, competition is not perfect and businesses are not basic passive price takers but they strive for competitive advantage over rival firms. Application of rivalry, which is Michael porters first force to the Federal express, is evident. For instance, the corporation was faced with threatening rivalry challenge before it occupied the current position in the industry. For instance, the entry of competitors in their market. UPS in particular, posed a major threat. The company was ready to spend enormous sums of money in market penetration. For example, it invested in a thirty million dollar ad for purposes of competing with FedEx. Another challenge facing FedEx is the progressive developments in technology which act as substitutes to transnight mail delivery, for example, fax and emails. The entry of UPS into the market posed a severe thr eat to FedEx, serious enough to cause Pauline and Farhoomand (2000:88), to report that the transportation volume of FedEx was going down. FedEx Corporation responded to the threat of rivalry that threatened its progress and in January 2000, it resorted to reorganize the company into groups operation by doing business with the whole FedEx family. According to Hill and Jones (2009:42) it is important to reconsider strategy in order to compete effectively in the market. The theory of Porters five forces model state that such action should only be taken after understanding the structures of the industry (Goodwin, 2001:178). The resolution was that the five subsidiary companies and FedEx corporation was to compete collectively but to function independently, a strategy that boosted their pursuit for an advantage in the industry. This is in accordance with the strategic management theory and the model of Porters five forces, which further advocates the scrutiny of competitive forces in the market before identifying threats and opportunities as well as coming with a suitable strategy (Hill Jones, 2009:201). Another strategy that FedEx Corporation used was improving product differentiation by embracing innovation and offering high quality products and services to customers. According to (Goodwin, 2000:67), FedEx Corporation pooled its marketing, sales and customer service function that enable customers to access services of the group at a single point. The reorganization cost FedEx Corporation 100 million USD in a span of three years, but the end justified the means. These measures retained FedEx in the market, but did not frustrate UPS which in a number of years has managed to scoop its fair share of the market. Today, FedEx has grown into a multi- billion corporation owning various companies namely the FedEx corporation, FedEx Ground, FedEx Express , FedEx Freight, FedEx custom critical, FedEx Trade Networks and FedEx Kinkos . On the other hand, UPS has grown to the largest package delivery company on the globe owning companies like; UPS Mail Innovations, UPS Air Cargo, UPS Capital Corporation, UPS Consulting, UPS Aviation Technologies, UPS Mail Boxes Among Others. Threat of Substitutes A substitute product in Porters model is a product in other industries which could be deployed as an alternative to another product from a different industry. The threat of substitutes according to the five forces theory therefore exists when the demand of a product is affected by change in price of a substitute product (Overbeck, 2009:56). The same way the price elasticity of a product is affected by same substitute products hence when more substitutes become available, it influence demand, which becomes more elastic because customers have more alternatives. Competition can be endangered by threat of substitutes when they come from outside industry. Strategic management theory and five forces theory according to Hill and Jones (2009:53) assert that existence of very close substitutes poses a strong threat in the market and leads to reduced profitability. To deal with such a challenge the two theories support the idea of diversifying a companys products and service as FedEx did (Hill Jones, 2009:53-54). FedEx embraced technology and innovation, which enhanced reliability and speed of deliveries in the firm. The company adopted next day delivery services, which completely revolutionized the industry. This made it preferable to many customers because it became reliable and convenient. Perishable commodities could reach their intended destination with appropriate time, which consequently reduced competition among its rivals. According to Overbeck (2009:45), FedEx Corporation Company under the leadership of Smith pioneered a number of technological breakthrough that propelled the firm above all others. For instance, over 100000 PCs loaded with Federal Express software made to log and link customers into tracking and ordering systems were introduced in FedEx. Federal Express also, became the first to issue their drivers with handle scanners, a device that alerted customers when packages were either delivered or picked up. According to Pauline and Farhoomand (2000:113), Federal Express Co rporation was the first to launch a website with tracking and tracing capabilities. Such strategies helped the company to grow without feeling the pinch of the threat of substitutes. Buyer Power This is the impact that customers (buyers) have on a producing industry. According to Overbeck (2009:89), there are factors that determine the buyer power. Federal Express Corporation has been shaped by the buyer power especially corporate buyers who have enormous bargaining power resulting from the large amounts of purchases they make. Buyer power is also influenced by the switching costs. It is a fact that buyers power greatly influences FedEx. For example, it gained a huge share of the catalogue business because it was able to offer buyers lower prices as compared to UPS. The company has always tried to expand with the demand of its customers (Overbeck, 2009:89). FedEx Company has used information technology that has been quite significant in the globalization of trade, effective and efficient sharing of information within and outside the company, improved customer service and reduced costs of services offered by the company. As a result, the buyer power is skewed towards Federal Express Corporation because it provides the services that the buyer demands. According to five forces theory and strategic management theory, buyer power is a very significant consideration in designing business strategy (Hill Jones, 2009:50-52). On the other hand, buyer power also constrains FedEx in some ways. The delivery has nominal switching costs such that when a customer is not satisfied, they can easily switch to the competitors services. For instance, when UPS made its entry into the market, offering its services at half the price offered by FedEx, many of its customers disregarded the switching costs and moved to UPS. Supplier Power Supplier power illustrates the ease with which suppliers can determine prices. Supplier power id determined by the number of suppliers available in an industry, the distinctiveness of their services or products their influence over a company. The more supplier options open to a company, the less the likelihood of high supplier power. According to Hill and Jones (2009:52), a powerful supply has the ability to influence the producing industry. According to five forces theory and strategic management theory, suppliers can easily determine the future and progress of a firm and so can the third parties (Hill Jones, 2009:53). While other rival companies in the industry were sub-contracting their shipment to third parties and buying space on commercial airlines, Federal Express Corporation tried to acquire its own transportation fleet and in the tenth year, it became the first company in the United States to achieve 1 billion USD revenue mark in ten years without corporate mergers and acquisitions. According to Farhoomand and Pauline (2000), Federal Express Corporation does not have external factors that influence its internal decision and operation and has been able to advance greatly in the industry this is because Federal Express Corporation has limited influence of buyer power. Barriers to Entry/ Threat of Entry Hill and Jones (2009:43) argue that industries possess some characteristics, which protect the lofty levels of profit of firms in the market, which prevent additional firms from entering the market. It is this inhibition of additional rivals in the market, which is termed as barriers to entry. According to Strategic management and five forces theories, barriers to entry reduce rate of entry of new businesses, which therefore maintains the high level of profit for those firms that are already in the industry (Hill Jones, 2009:87). The sources of such barriers include government created barriers, Asset specificity, patents and proprietary knowledge and organizational economies of scale. Federal Express is already in the industry and dominating the industry already (Farhoomand Pauline, 2000:79). Therefore, it is not faced with any barrier to entry into the industry. FedEx and the other delivery companies already in the market like UPS are the cause of the barriers. They have large brand name as well as established relations with foreign countries. Smaller companies will have an almost impossible task of penetrating the market because of the large capital requirements. With little capital, it will be impossible to offer competitive prices. Further, reaching the standards set by the market giants is an uphill task. Federal Express SWOT Analysis FedEx SWOT analysis presents how the company has been able to use information technology in defining its strategies (Quality-Assurance-Solution, n.d.). Information technology apart from improving the performance has made it possible for the company reaches new associates or groups of people. SWOT analysis of FedEx Company involves analyzing strength, weaknesses, opportunities as well as the threats of the company in accordance with the SWOT analysis theory (Burger, 2008:12) Strengths of FedEx SWOT analysis theory according to Burger (2008:13) is very instrumental in helping companies identify internal and external attributes and factor, which affect the companies resource capability. According to the theory, internal attributes are strengths and weaknesses while external attributes are opportunities and threats (Burger, 2008:13). FedEx strengths in the transport industry include ; Efficient service delivery to customers. The company gives the needs of customers first priority. This has instilled customers with confidence in the company, thereby making it quite preferable among many people in the global market. In addition, Grignard (1994) argues that the strength of the company is the ability to offer express mail services, which ensures that mails are delivered overnight. This has made the company to outdo many major players in the industry such as United States Postal Service in terms of service delivery as well as customer service. According SWOT analysis theory such strength is very crucial in making FedEx realize its objectives (Burger, 2008:13). FedEx Company also has a very strong brand name, which gives it its place in the global market. FedEx is known for its innovativeness. It has proved time and over that it is capable of initiating great ideas that totally change the market. For example, the purchase of their own airplanes and ships instead of hiring. This boosts a customers confidence in the company as they are guaranteed that third parties are not a party to the delivery of their parcels. Further, FedEx is known as a market leader. Its known for its use of advanced technology and effective communications systems in all its operations. Its a recognized worldwide transportation company and its also known for its ability to take in smaller companies to expand its needs. Above all, its greatest strength is its brand name and the goodwill or reputation attached to it. Weaknesses SWOT theory according to Burger (2008:12) states that weaknesses are some of the internal conditions, which prevent companies from achieving their objectives. For instance, the dispute between the company and its pilots is an internal crack which could damage its reputation

Gendered Language of War :: Free Essays Online

Gendered Language of War The ways in which we have come to understand, explain and react to the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 are coded by our linguistic system and the meanings it constructs. Words mediate between internal, cognitive responses to war and external, behavioral responses (Beer 9). These words, and the complex system of meaning and power that they constitute, are gendered: "in this symbolic system, human characteristics are dichotomized, divided into polar opposites that are supposedly mutually exclusive†¦[and associated] with a gender" (Cohn 229). In this paper, I will explore how this gendered and dichotomized discourse has unfolded in the dominant discourse of war, shaping and limiting our response to the September 11th attacks both militarily and on the homefront. In this process I will seek to answer several questions: How has the gendered discourse of war been understood historically? What is different about the present conflict and what is being revisited? What are we as a nation saying and not saying in our response to the events on September 11th? How is gender constructed in ideas about war? How are men's and women's experiences of and feelings about war articulated through language? What are women's roles purported to be during wartime? From Vietnam to Desert Storm: Remything American Military Prowess The United States' involvement in the war in Vietnam fundamentally changed our national, historical and political understanding of war. The women's movement and the peace marches that accompanied it left an indelible mark; the "loss" in Vietnam emasculated the American consciousness, and the former mobilizations bore the brunt of the blame. 1980s Cold War politics attempted to reinstate American masculinity and nationalism by combating communism. The U.S. military and national security rhetoric of the eighties "depended on segregating the residual anti-war discourse along often unconscious but deeply culturated associations of gender" (Boose 70). The pacifist, antiviolence ethos of "bleeding heart liberals" and Congressional "doves" that had "lost us the war" was identified with the "feminine." Anti-war consciousness was demonized and Vietnam was reconceived: "the problem was no longer the excessive deployment of militarized values but the failure to deploy them strongly enough" (Boo se 72). George H. W. Bush attempted to see that this would not happen again through the escalation of Desert Storm. Once George H.W. Bush had set a deadline for military action against Iraq for its invasion of Kuwait, discussions about the potential conflict shifted from whether the U.