alexandre dumas essays

alexandre dumas essays Alexandre Dumas was a major playwright who helped to revolutionize French drama and theater. He was one of the best historical novelists, publishing more than two hundred novels. He was born on July twenty fourth, mille eighteen in the french town of Villers-Cotterets. His father was a general in Napoleon's army. His mother, Marie-Louise-Elizabeth was an innkeeper. His father died when he was four years old and his mother was not able to provide him with much education. As a young man, Alexandre Dumas worked as a clerc and moved to Paris. After seeing one of Shakesphere's plays, Hamlet, he had found the direction that he needed to go. The play had inspired him to become a playwright. In eighteen twenty four his son Alexandre Dumas fils, who became a writer himself, was born. A few years later, after many failures, Alexandre Dumas wrote Henry III, which was a great success. Dumas became prominent as one of the leaders of the Romantic movement. Year's later, he turned all his attention to writing vivid historical novels. His best known novels are The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. However, He became famous not for his novels, but for his plays . Having been regarded as the most important playwright, one of the most prolific writers ever, and the most famous novelist in France, Dumas soon found his luck failing him. He made a fortune and quickly lost it due to his lavish life-style, and generosity. His reputation became tarnished because he often collaborated with people who supplied ideas and minor works, to which Dumas gave his touch of literary genius. He now faced accusations and even suits charging him of plagiarism. Later on in his life, he wrote his memoirs and on December fifth eighteen seventy, he died in the bed at his son's estate in Puys. ...

Definition and Examples of Interjections in English

Definition and Examples of Interjections in English An  interjection,  also known as an ejaculation  or an  exclamation, is a word, phrase, or sound used to convey an emotion such as surprise, excitement, happiness, or anger. Put another way, an  interjection is a short utterance that usually expresses emotion and is capable of standing alone. Though interjections are one of the traditional parts of speech, they are grammatically unrelated to any other part of a sentence. Interjections are very common in spoken English, but they appear in written English as well. The most widely used interjections in English include hey,  oops, ouch, gee, oh, ah, ooh, eh, ugh, aw, yo, wow, brr, sh, and yippee.  In writing, an interjection is typically followed by an  exclamation point, but it can also be followed by a comma if it is part of a  sentence. Knowing the different kinds of interjections, and understanding how to punctuate them, will help you use them correctly. First Words Interjections  (such as  oh  and  wow) are among the first words human beings learn as children- usually by the age of 1.5 years. Eventually, children pick up several hundred of these brief, often  exclamatory  utterances. As the 18th-century  philologist  Rowland Jones observed, It appears that interjections make up a considerable part of our language. Nevertheless, interjections are commonly regarded as the outlaws of English  grammar. The term itself, derived from Latin, means something thrown in between. Interjections usually stand apart from normal sentences, defiantly maintaining their syntactic independence. (Yeah!) They arent marked  inflectionally  for  grammatical categories  such as tense or number. (No sirree!) And because they show up more frequently in spoken English than in writing, most scholars have chosen to ignore them. With the advent of  corpus linguistics  and  conversation analysis, interjections have recently begun to attract serious attention.  Linguists  and grammarians have even segregated interjections into different categories. Primary and Secondary Its now customary to divide interjections into two broad classes: Primary interjections  are single words (such as  ah, brr, eww, hmm,   ooh, and  yowza) that are not derived from any other word class, are used  only  as interjections, and dont enter into syntactic constructions. According to linguist Martina Drescher, in her article The Expressive Function of Language: Towards a Cognitive Semantic Approach, which was published in The Language of Emotions: Conceptualization, Expression, and Theoretical Foundation, primary interjections generally serve to lubricate conversations in a ritualized manner. Secondary interjections  (such as bless you, congratulations, good grief, hey, hi, oh my, oh my God,  oh  well, rats, and shoot) also belong to other word classes. These expressions are often exclamatory and tend to mix with oaths, swear words, and greeting formulas. Drescher describes secondary interjections as derivative uses of other words or locutions, which have lost their original conceptual meanings- a process known as  semantic bleaching. As written English grows more colloquial, both classes have migrated from speech into print. Punctuation As noted, interjections are more commonly used in speech, but you might also find yourself using these parts of speech in writing as well. The Farlex Complete English Grammar Rules gives these examples: Ooh, thats a beautiful dress.Brr, its freezing in here!Oh my God! Weve won! Note how punctuating both primary and secondary interjections in writing depends entirely on the context in which they are used. In the first example above, the term  ooh  is technically a primary interjection that generally does not enter into syntactic constructions. It often stands alone, and when it does, the word is generally followed by an exclamation point, as in  Ohh!  Indeed, you could reconstruct the sentence so that the primary interjection stands alone, followed by an explanatory sentence, as in: Ohh! Thats a beautiful dress. In the second sentence, the primary interjection  brr  is followed by a comma. The exclamation point, then, does not come until the end of the connected sentence. But again, the primary interjection could stand alone- and be followed by an exclamation point- as in: Brr! Its cold in here. The third example contains a secondary interjection  Oh my God that stands apart from the second sentence, with the interjection and sentence both ending in exclamation points. You can also use secondary interjections as integral parts of  sentences: Hey, why did you let the dog in here?Oh my, I knew I should have turned off the oven!Good grief Charlie Brown! Just kick the football. Of course, the creator of the Peanuts cartoons would have likely used the secondary interjection more like a primary interjection. Indeed, a biography of the famed illustrator uses the phrase in just that way: Good Grief! The Story of Charles M. Schulz Since interjections depend so heavily on how they are used in speech, the punctuation they take varies greatly, according to context, but they are usually followed by an exclamation point when standing alone or a comma when introducing a sentence. Versatile Parts of Speech One of the more intriguing characteristics of interjections is their multifunctionality: The same word may express praise or scorn, excitement or boredom, joy or despair. Unlike the comparatively straightforward  denotations  of other parts of speech, the meanings of interjections are largely determined by  intonation,  context, and what linguists call  pragmatic function, such as: Geez, you really had to be there. As  Kristian Smidt wrote in Ideolectic  Characterisation in  A Dolls House published in Scandinavia: International Journal of Scandinavian Studies: You can fill it [the interjection] like a carrier bag with twenty different senses and a hundred different shades of meaning, all dependent on context, emphasis, and tonal accent. It can express anything from indifference to comprehension, incomprehension, query, rebuttal, rebuke, indignation, impatience, disappointment, surprise, admiration, disgust, and delight in any number of degrees. With interjections fulfilling such a large role in English, grammarians and linguists are calling for more attention to and study of these important parts of speech. As  Douglas Biber,  Stig Johansson,  Geoffrey Leech,  Susan Conrad, and Edward Finegan note in Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English: If we are to describe spoken language adequately, we need to pay more attention to [interjections] than has traditionally been done. In an era of increasing communication via text messaging and social media- which is often laced with interjections- experts say that paying more attention to these loud and forceful parts of speech will help create a better understanding of how human beings actually communicate. And that thought certainly deserves a loud and forceful  Youwza! Sources Biber, Douglas. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Stig Johansson, Geoffrey Leech, et al., Longman, November 5, 1999. Farlex International, Inc. The Farlex Complete English Grammar Rules, 2016: Grammar. Bukupedia, June 16, 2016. Johnson, Rheta Grimsley. Good Grief!: The Story of Charles M. Schulz. Hardcover, First Edition edition, Pharos Books, September 1, 1989.

Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 19

Globalization - Essay Example It  Furthered stated that the environmental challenges such as  climate change, cross-boundary  water  and  air pollution, and  over-fishing  of the ocean are linked with globalization.  Globalizing processes is affect by the business  and  work  organization,  economics,  socio-cultural  resources, and the  natural environment.  When you are referring to trade and transactions, globalization has led countries to increase their shares in the world trade resulting greater variation among major regions. For instance, the  newly industrialized economies  (NIEs) of Asia prospered due to globalization while African countries as a whole performed poorly. The countrys exports are an important indicator of success. Manufactured goods are exports soared dominated by developed countries and newly industrialized economies (NIEs). Commodity exported such as food and raw materials were often produced by developing countries while commodities share of total expo rts has declined over periods. The interactions amongst states which was on a global scale confined to Asia, North Africa, the Middle East and certain parts of Europe marked their success in the world of trade.  In the early globalization, it was difficult for states to interact with others who were not within close proximity. The advance technology has allowed states to learn from others who existence in trade markets. The third has to do with  interdependency, stability and regularity. When a state is not depending on other states then there is no way they can mutually affected by another. This is the driving force behind global connections and trade. With globalization states can be able to get what they are not able to produce from other state and supply what they produce to other state. Due to globalization approach and its modern forms have resulted to the  industrial revolution. This is though industrialization standard  production

Zaras Retailer Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Zaras Retailer Company - Essay Example This paper looks at various operational and expansion strategies that Zara uses in its quest to boost its economic status as well as expand to other parts of the world. These strategies include advertising and marketing, cost of production and strategic partnerships among others. It also looks at the operational management challenges, effects of manufacturing in China on the company’s sustainability and corporate social responsibility and effect of opening a major warehouse outside Spain on its distribution model and local manufacturers. How should Zara’s operation strategy support its expansion strategy? Zara make use of a business model that is vertically integrated retailer in apparel industry, linking customer demand to manufacturing, and linking manufacturing to distribution and to retailing business. It aims at responding to market demands in a quick manner since they are always changing. It can be broken down into three components that include concept, value drivers and capabilities. Its fundamental concept is to maintain design, production, and distribution processes that help it to respond to shifts in consumer demands in a quick manner. Similarly, this company has necessary resources or capabilities to exploit any opportunity that arise. It has tight control over its production processes while at the same time keeping manufacturing and design in-house or sometimes with some strategic partnerships that are located near its headquarters. In addition, it as strategic agreements with various local manufactures; this ensures timely service and delivery. Zara maintains the expansi on and flexibility required to design and produce more than twelve new items each year, thanks to the strategic partnerships and benefits brought forward by the proximity of operational and manufacturing processes (Slack, 2012, p.12). This capability help Zara achieve its expansion strategies as well as its expedited response to consumer demand. Value drivers ensure huge returns of benefits to all stakeholders. Zara has outstanding financial performance, which is a clear indication of its success. For instance, it tripled its corporate profit between 1996 and 2000. Likewise, the company has high level of brad recognition and customer loyalty; hence, increasing the number of customer that buys its products in an enormous manner (Mihm, 2010, p.15). This has further boosted its expansion strategy in most parts of the world. Operational strategies Speed It quickly responds to the demands of its target customers, who are mostly the young city dwellers who are always conscious of fashion. According to Cunningham & Harney (2012, p.67), this strategy helps Zara to time fashion trends and strike whenever a trend is hot; hence, it is never stuck with inventory when it dies off. Its ability to market in product is far is better than that of its competitors; hence, it is able to expand to other locations at a high rate. Its speed provides additional value to customers, stores, and stakeholders in the process of producing affordable fashions at affordable prices (Cunningham et al., 2012, p.89). Decentralized decision making and product development Zara is centralized by a group of commercials that are chiefly

Monopoly Market Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Monopoly Market Structure - Essay Example In the operating system of monopoly there is usually one firm that provides the majority of the products and services sold and there may be a handful of smaller firms that might have little or no impact on the large dominant firm Because of the lack of competition the firms in the monopoly makes super normal economic profit which attracts other firms to enter the market. However there are quite some barriers for the new entrants (Mike Moffatt). The technology may be such as to exhibit substantial economies of scale which require only a single plant if the economies are to be fully reaped. For example in transport, electricity, and communications there are substantial economies which can be realized only at large scales of output. The size of the market may not allow the existence of more than a single large plant. In those conditions it is said that the market creates a natural monopoly and it is usually the government in such cases undertakes the production and distribution of the commodity or service so as to avoid the exploitation of the consumers. There is an ongoing debate about the advantages and disadvantages of monopoly. "The consensus seems to be that the economic case for and against monopoly needs to be judged on a case by case basis- particularly when assessing the impact on economic welfare" (Tutor2u). (1) Economies of Scale and Low... Advantages and Disadvantages of Monopoly There is an ongoing debate about the advantages and disadvantages of monopoly. "The consensus seems to be that the economic case for and against monopoly needs to be judged on a case by case basis- particularly when assessing the impact on economic welfare" (Tutor2u). There are certain distinct benefits accruing out of monopoly. These are: (1) Economies of Scale and Lower Prices - Because the monopoly producers often provide the goods or services on a large scale the producer may be able to take advantage of the economies of scale leading to a reduction in the total cost of production. Although this may increase the profits of the monopolist sometimes the higher efficiency in production may be passed on to the consumer in the form of lower prices for the product or service. (2) Regulation of Monopoly - Since there is always the possibility of economic welfare loss arising from the exploitation of monopoly power there are governmental regulations which can control the annual price increases and can also introduce fresh competition in certain industries which is beneficial to the consumers. (3) Research and Development, and Innovation - There is the necessity for the large firms to remain competitive globally to earn supernormal profits. Some part of the supernormal profits might be used to make research and development programmes which have the potential to bring new and innovative products and services into the market for the benefit of the consumers. (4) Price Discrimination - Some form or price discrimination being adopted by the monopolists may benefit the consumers. (5) Domestic

Analysis Of The Porter Forces Theories Commerce Essay

Analysis Of The Porter Forces Theories Commerce Essay Porter 5 forces analysis is a business strategy development to determine competitive intensity and attractiveness of market. Porter 5 forces deals with external factors which influence the nature of competition. It is helpful to understand an organizations strength and weaknesses. Besides, it also assists to understand the current competitive position as well as to cope with competition. It consists of suppliers, customers, new entry, substitute and rivalry. Threat of substitute Analyzed that Porter theory was helping FedEx to take fair advantage of its strength as well as avoid wrong steps. Instance of case study, FedEx (1973) provided overnight products delivery and next-day delivery, it to avoid threat of substitute of post which take longer time between normal delivery. This service could satisfy customers who are time-sensitive. Besides, FedEx also used airborne delivery to replace the marine shipping in early years. Thus, FedEx updated their facilities to match todays environment. Bargaining power of suppliers In FedEx, packaging equipment suppliers and oil suppliers also have strong bargaining power because FedEx have to rely on them to package all the products for delivery services or in case of improvement of fuel prices. In case study, FedEx planned to reduce the bargaining power of suppliers, thus its invested heavily in IT development and in year 1984, PowerShip systems provided label printing, online package pick up requests, package tracking and others. It helped FedEx to save costs and to be independent on its operation. 1 Rivalry In the year 1979, FedEx used COSMOS system to manage vehicle, people, and others. This system helped FedEx to process the data on package movement to a central database. FedExs PowerShip programme also aimed to improve their operation efficiency and monitor the process. FedEx practice is to cope with rivals to decrease the high strategic stakes, high existing barriers, high fixed costs and others. FedEx is able to become the strongest in this logistic field and make more profits. *Kindly refer appendix 1 2 The Porters value chain is described as interrelationship of the value activities for the firm (Remenyi, D Remenyi, B, 2009). The value activities help to classify the operation into two categories which is technological and economical, thus the operation can be performed well. All the products and services have to pass through all the value chain activities and are evaluated by each activity. In addition, it could increase the organizations effectiveness and efficiency. Primary activities One of aspects of FedExs value chain activities is operation through 24 hours and is called Global Operations Command Centre. It was able to provide efficient gathering and spread of real-time data. According to case study, FedEx decided to restructure its internet IT infrastructure under Project GRID in year 1998. The network computers linked over a Global Internal Protocal network aimed to enhance the quality and quantity of FedExs services. This will bring FedExs operation into good control and ensure that a coherent set of actions are implemented which are consistent. Support activities FedExs value chain analysis also focused on technology development. Under Smiths leadership, the company had set a few records with breakthrough technology. Based to case study, FedEx invested heavily on IT development and promoted the globalization of commerce to generate operation efficiencies, reduce costs and improve the services. *Kindly refer appendix 2 (509 words) 3 Question 1.b FedExs success in logistic field is having strong core competencies and capabilities. The core competencies and capabilities include leadership, innovation and technologies, services, facilities and others. FedEx Corporation is having advanced technologies, which is COSMOS (Customer Oriented Services and Management Operating System). Its a global shipment tracking network based on a centralized computer system to manage vehicles, routes and weather scenarios on a real-time basis (Wit, BD Meyer, R, 2004,p.650). The advanced technology assists FedEx to improve their efficiency (speed, packaging, process, time). For example, FedEx used advanced technology system to help National Semiconductor Corp to have control over the goods sent out in shorter duration, save cost and achieve customers satisfaction. In FedEx, facilities are part of the tools to attract customers, and its aim to success. FedEx corporate served nearly 210 countries around the world; manage over 10 million square feet of warehouse space worldwide, 648 aircraft and more than 60,000 vehicles, with a staff of nearly 200,000 (Wit, BD Meyer, R, 2004, p.649). FedEx has good facilities in their operations and it is able to deliver the products to wherever the customers require and with the less time and cost. So, other competitors (GD express, Nationwide Express) didnt have ability to replace or influence FedEx market, because GD express has less facilities to compare with FedEx Corporation. *Kindly refer to appendix 3. 4 FedEx has strong leadership skills and provide proper guidance to lead the employees to be smart. Good leadership skills include good planning, good thinking and good management, good teaching and correct investment. Based on case study, Fred Smith is the chairman of FedEx Corporate. It comes out with a good plan to shorten the duration of order cycle and improve cash flow. According to Jones, PB, leadership development is helpful in an organization because it may assist the organization to limit employee turnover, increase productivity, and provide better vision to obtain great performance in the organization. FedEx Corporate focused in services area, and provides excellent quality of services to the customers. The excellent services are operating business 24 hours via internet, high speed and reliability of delivery system and responsibility. Besides, FedEx provides overnight delivery service and optional services of delivery through aircraft, ship, and truck; its quite flexible to the customers who make decision. According to case study, FedEx provide value added service which is pick up documents from customers homes and has document safety hand-held scanner. For example, the staff use hand-held scanner to make sure whether, the document is legal or illegal, and will pick it up as an order with the purpose to protect public safety. (394 words) 5 Question 1.C International trade is defined as trade between two or more countries with exchange of goods and services, that is, exports and imports. No matter which country is, the importance is to find something that can be produced cheaper than other countries (http://www.wordiq.com/definition/International_trade). One of the benefits of FedEx in international trade is enjoy economies of scale (http://www.myownbusiness.org/s13/#4). Exporting product is an excellent ways to enjoy pure economics of scale. It will increase the quantity of production and decrease the average cost of product. According to case study, FedEx operates other centers in Colorado Springs, Orlando, Singapore and Brussels to enjoy lower cost of employees and material. Next benefit for FedEx in international trade is reducing dependency on existing market, because existing market will be limited on sales and opportunity. So, FedEx going globalization might be getting more new markets and opportunity. Besides, it is less affected by fluctuations in the home countrys marketplace and economy, because their business which is spread out overseas does not fully rely on domestic market. For example, FedEx aimed to achieve business-to-consumer (B2C) electronic commerce market in the world, and reduce dependency of business-to-business (B2B) market. Another benefit is being able to be leader of logistic corporate and gain the global market share, able to control the entire market share, have power to give any suggestion and gain good reputation everywhere. FedEx in year 1998 was leader in global logistic field, and it offered the delivery services to 211 countries that comprised 90% of the worlds GDP (Wit, BD Meyer, R, 2004, p.649). 6 The disadvantage of international trade for FedEx is different culture and language, high risk, government barriers (tariffs, quotas, and embargos), it brings a lot of difficulty to FedEx to operate business. (http://www.rajputbrotherhood.com/knowledge-hub/business-studies/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-foreign-trade.html ). One of the disadvantages of FedEx in international trade is high risk, because of large investment capital in system, services, transportations and marketplace. Besides, it will bring high risk to FedEx during operation; it may lose in the first few years. For example, FedEx investments at overnight delivery system with excellent packages, but because of high invest and make losses in the first three years of operation. Disadvantage of FedEx in international trade is hosts country government policy (tariffs, quotas, and embargos). Besides, FedEx will get less profit and cannot smoothly expand their business. For example, Malaysian government will impose high tax to foreign organization during the trading; government aim is to protect domestic organization. (http://www.mida.gov.my/en_v2/index.php?page=taxation-2) The disadvantage of FedEx in international trade is facing different culture and language during the transaction. Even though, FedEx website has provided many different languages for customers to choose. But, during verbal communication its no helpful, because employees disable communication with customer. So, it will affect the organization profit and sales. For example, Japan is used own language Japanese-language. (453 words) 7 Question 2 Question 2.a Strategy Development In FedEx Corporate, strategic development helps to establish the right structure to achieve their objectives. It assists FedEx to determine the condition and position as well and use the correct steps that decide with visionary and conceptual. Strategy development and planning is upgrading the organization with intention to increase the potential of organization. One of the strategy development used by FedEx is Whittingtons perspective. Classical perspective Classical perspective is one of the strategies that classified into Whittingtons perspective. It is used at the beginning of the operation and will more secure and helpful to stabilize the future operations. In the process strategy management for classical perspective is conceived as deliberate, predetermined, planned, programmed movement from now to the future. Assuming an organization without any deliberate plan for each operation, it will have huge amount of losses for the company. It had shown the importance why an organization have to use this strategy as due to the security to the company and is helpful to save cost and time. FedEx Corporate used deliberation as a strategy because it helps to save costs and time from any wrong steps. Deliberation all plans and go through all the relevant survey, it make the corporate confident and more secure to make any decision. Based on case study, Smith was acquired to improve their transportation fleet to avoid any control by third parties, while not like other competitors to sub-contracting to third parties. 8 Evolutionary Perspective In the evolutionary perspective, an organization might become victim or banned by the market when it is over dependent on its environment. Why is this strategy important to an organization? The reason is it includes emergent, flexible, adaptation and evolution. Commonly discussed, an organization surely has to be aware of any unexpected issue, and randomize to cope with the issue or adapt it and evolve for it. An emergent strategy is the process of becoming apparent. Simultaneously, it is a pattern of action that develops over time in an organization in the absence of a specific mission and goals. (http://planningskills.com/glossary/154.php) Where there are no plans, but their behavior is still strategy. In this strategy, it is to develop a manager with no prior intention and experiences, to expose him/her to learn and piece together a consistent set of behaviors over time (Wit, BD, Meyer, R, 2004, p.113). For example, FedEx could not predict the unexpected, but shall retain enough mental freedom to cope with this as they emerge. In the case study, FedEx invested heavily on technologies development and introduced electronic data interchange (EDI) and built relationship between one-to-one with their customers. Thus, it resulted in efficiency and it is a perfect circumstance to match supply to demand without wastage. (429 words) 9 2.2 Question 2.b FedEx used these perspectives to succeed in its operations in the international market and both are helpful in efficiency and controlling the operation. Classical perspective helps FedEx to plan on the operation and operate as well as save on costs and time. Without objectives and plans, an organization would be adrift. Plans are the programming all organizational activities in advance. Classical perspective was helpful in FedEx to operate the logistic services. Evolutionary perspective is an important strategy to FedEx too. With this strategy, FedEx has solved and coped with all unexpected issues. In emergent strategy, it consists of opportunism which copes with unpredictable issues, flexibility, learn by experimentation and others. It makes sense to FedEx to operate successfully in its logistic field. Evolutionary perspective is the best choice that is preferable for FedEx. It provided significant contribution in increasing efficiency during process and operation. Evolutionary perspective was selected as best performance for survival in other markets, especially managerial labor markets, markets for capital and corporate control (Whittington R, 2001, p.16). FedEx is able to maximize the operational areas in a short period with perfect performance against their environment. Besides, this perspective does not rely on managements ability, but expect markets to secure profit maximization for the organization. It does not necessarily utilize planning methods, it rather argues to do best perform for the organizations to survive. Managers need not be rational optimizers because evolution is natures cost-benefit analyses. For Business to Consumer (B2C) areas, FedEx should do survey on customers needs and come out with a plan of promotions to match their needs and satisfy them as well. For example, FedEx also needs to match with todays event such as FIFA World Cup event, therefore, FedEx may create an attraction for those consumers who purchase FedEx delivery services more than three times and above within a week, they are provided lucky draws of free flights to South Africa to enjoy the live FIFA World Cup final show. Thus, an organization survival in a competitive environment depends on strategies of differentiation. (335 words) 10 Question 3 Processual perspective is one of the strategic management which pays attentions to. It defined as characterized by pluralism with means concerning more than one, as well as it not unitary and viewpoint are disagreeing constantly. Processual perspective is a strategy as result of process in political activity for concerned between manager and stakeholder. In Ralph Staceys integrated model, seems the issues of the connection among change context and decision making modes. Besides, it is an implication for strategic management with four loops as following: Rational loop Overt politics loop Culture and cognition loop Covert policies loop * Kindly refer to appendix 4, 5, 6 7 The rational loop According to strategic management, UOS (2004, p.157) stated Ralph Staceys integrated model, the rational loop is a classical starting point of the strategy management. It has to be unitary and everything has to be supported by strong evidence and logical argument. So, every transaction and process is fixed by organization. The processes are strictly based on discover-choose-act, an organization has to discover its position with environment and make choice for necessity, thus, act with to the final requirements. Thus, processual perspective is a strategy that influences the decision making of rational loop but there is shown low. Because every transaction and process are fixed and its needs logical argument to support with strong evidence. So, everyone could not process any transaction without the rules and regulation which are set by the organization. Even top management would not get special offers to enter the transaction. 11 For example, in the Penang Swimming Clubs rules of 40 (c), a member has to settle his/her account within 14 days from the defaulter period. If the account still remains in the unpaid status, membership will be ceased. Even the President is bound by the rules. After cessation, he has to pay RM1000.00 as deposit to reinstate his account to active status. There are no any discounts for committee or even the President of the Club. All the procedures are set by clubs rules, and all members have to follow it strictly with no short-cut procedures. * Kindly refer to appendix 8 The overt politics loop Based on strategic management, UOS (2004, p.157) stated this loop shows reality and overt to the organization resources as well. Nevertheless, the resources in an organization might be limited and possibly inadequate. Therefore, the implementation option in stage of choice, which courses of action, possibly can threaten and subvert the organizations current environment. Besides, some will use their power to bargain with each other to get the resources in the organization to achieve their goals. Processual perspective is acceptable in overt politics loop because there is limit and scarcity of resources. It could give rise to conflicts and make environments challenging each other. So, each department will come to challenge the decision making of the organization with a purpose to obtain the resources prefer to. They could to use different methods to get the resources from the organization, however, use their power to obtain from the organization. For example, in Sime Darby Corporation, those facing financial instability and limitation of capital because of economic crisis in year 2008, each departments proposal to obtain the limited resources, could make the organization get into confusion of decision. Processual perspective is helpful in this situation and to assess every proposal with requirements in details. It makes a difference to an organization to decide where the resources are supposed to go and might make a loss if there are any wrong decisions, due to limited resources. 12 The culture and cognition loop In culture and cognition loop, its to sustain unitary organization in its shared mental of model. As long as everyone is having same organizations thinking and culture, it will bring the organization to be peace and stable. In culture and cognition loop, its depends on the organizations employee culture whether is unitary of non-unitary. Once the organizations employees thinking are not unitary, the processual perspective will shown high, with occur issues or conflict between each other during meeting or propose the ideas to the management. So, processual perspective is acceptable to reduce the conflicts and analyze the problems, thus management able to solve it with better ways. In this loop, the organization needs to provide relevant training and development courses to help the employees become more cooperation attitude and have similar thinking and knowledge as well. Because, when the employees are having equal knowledge for their performance tasks, it will be unitary in their ideas and conflicts will be reducing naturally. Covert Politics loop Based on strategic management, UOS (2004, p 160) stated this section is regarding the psychology of an individual who respond to contradiction and conflict. Obviously, majority of individuals are afraid to something new as they feel threatened to go out of their current environment and situations. Some people fear failure and challenges. Even refuse the new reality once they have lost their confidence for it. 13 Assume as an example in the tailoring industry, the manager planned to replace the entire old machines with new and high technology machines. Some new staff feels good to learn new things, but some old staff would disagree with this because they fear the challenge of new technology. Thus, management could apply processual perspective to estimate and evaluate the issues of the disputation. With processual perspective, it has shown there is high of processual perspective because it had influenced management to manage the old staff with these new machines. Finally, management made the final decision that they should have leader who is able to cope with challenges and is willing to learn. This leader has to guide all staff, especially old staff to train with new machines. Therefore, a leader is must be able to reduce their anxiety and lead to pluralism in an organization. (904 words) 14 LIST OF REFERENCING Electronic Publications Anon, 2007, Emergent Strategy, viewed 29 June 2010 Anon, 2008, Malaysian Industrial Development Authority, viewed 29 June 2009 . Anon, 2009, Porters Five Forces Model, viewed 18 June 2010 Anon, no date, International Trade-Definition, viewed 20 June 2010 . Anon, no date, My Own Business: Advantage and Disadvantage of International Trade, viewed 21 June2010 . Anon, no date, Planning Skills, viewed 24 June 2010 . Anon, no date, GDEX, viewed 24 June 2010 Jones, PB 2008, Five Benefits of Leadership Development For Your Organization, viewed 27 June 2010, Morrison, D, no date, Product Management and Value Chain Analysis, viewed 19 June 2010 Palekar, A no date, Rajput Brotherhood, viewed 27 June 2010 . 15 Book Penang Swimming Club, 2007, Penang Swimming Club Rules, Georgetown Penang, Malaysia. Strategic Management (2004), 2nd version. The University of Sunderland Whittington, R, 2001, What is Strategy- and does it matter?, 2nd edition, Thomas Rennie, London. Wit, BD, Meyer, R. 2004. Strategy: Process, Content, Context. 3rd ed. West Publishing Company. E-book Remenyi, D Remenyi, B. (2009) How TO Prepare Business Cases. [e-book]. Elsevier Ltd, Burlington USA. Available from: http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falsepg=PT119HYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falsedq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelHYPERLIN K http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falsehl=enHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf= falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falsesa=XHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseoi=book_resultHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf =falsect=resultHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseresnum=8HYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ve d=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseqHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com.my/books?id=9rH_SZ6NJsgCpg=PT119dq=michael+porter+5+forces+modelhl=enei=vPcrTKXDAY-TkAXC1eWYCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepageqf=falsef=false [Accessed 14 June 2010]. 16 Appendix 1 Porter 5 Forces analysis Sources : http://notesdesk.com/notes/strategy/porters-five-forces-model-porters-model/ 17 Appendix 2 Porters Value Chain Sources : http://allaboutproductmanagement.blogspot.com/2007/04/michael-porters-value-chain-analysis-is.html 18 Appendix 3 Competitor of FedEx Corporation GD Express Sdn Bhd (GDex) was formed in 1997 to provide express delivery service for both the domestic and international markets. It operates a network of 96 stations, comprising 53 branches, 2 affiliate stations and 41 agents throughout East and West Malaysia. GDex has a fleet of more than 280 trucks and vans used primarily for hauling of documents and parcels between stations and the National Hub (termed line-haul fleet) for local pick-ups and deliveries. The companys express delivery service operations are structured along the principles of the Hub and Spoke concept whereby customers packages are collected by the branches, sent by trucks to a Central Clearing Hub for sorting and then redirected to their ultimate destinations. The group currently employs more than 1300 staff. GDex is the first local express delivery company to obtain ISO 9001: 2000 (Quality Management System) certification for all its entire 25 departments in 2003. In November 2009, GDex upgraded its (Quality Management System) to ISO 9001: 2008. In its quest to be a world class service provider, the company has embarked on a world class excellence training programme called the Prime Minister Quality Award programme (PMQA) to equip its employees for world class performance in express carrier service and operations. GDex is listed on the Mesdaq market of Bursa Malaysia through its holding company GD Express Carrier Bhd in May 2005. Sources: http://www.gdexpress.com/history.php 19 Appendix 4 Rational Loop Sources : Strategic Management (2004), 2nd version. The University of Sunderland 20 Appendix 5 Overt Politics Loop Sources : Strategic Management (2004), 2nd version. The University of Sunderland 21 Appendix 6 Culture Cognition Loop Sources : Strategic Management (2004), 2nd version. The University of Sunderland 22 Appendix 7 Cover Politics Loop Sources : Strategic Management (2004), 2nd version. The University of Sunderland 23

Fuel Cells are The Future Energy Source Essay -- essays research paper

In a society that is capable of producing and consuming large amount of energy, we often take these nonrenewable resources for granted. It isn’t until the last few decades that people begins to realize the effect of global warming. With more and more cars appearing on the road everyday, the necessity of gasoline is greatly increasing. Fortunately, a â€Å"new† technology has been developed. It is believed to be the next replacement for gasoline and it would have positive environmental impact. As you might have guessed, it is the fuel cells. History The idea of fuel cells has actually been developed more than a century ago by William Robert Grove, thus it is not exactly a new development. Initial ideas with the fuel cells are to be used in power plants. However, it isn’t until recently, that detailed research has been conducted How It Works There are different types of fuel cells, the most common type involves hydrogen. Energy is released when two hydrogen atoms are combined with an oxygen atom and it is potentially the energy that is used by the vehicle. As the two gases are storable, it makes it possible to be used in places upon request. Efficiency Unlike fuel cells, many renewable resources are storable, but can not provide enough energy. This makes fuel cells one of the very few replacements of gasoline. At the same time, fuel cells are more efficient than gasoline. It is estimated that around 40 to 50% of the energy generated through the process will actually be used by the fuel cells vehicle. However, having these two flammable gases in one’s vehicle would make it far too dangerous if safety precautions aren’t properly taken. Other downsides to the fuel cells include the fact that if produced from water, it uses ... .... If governments decide to melt glaciers, it will only speed up global warming. Due to the fast change in our weather, more and more people are aware of global warming. Thus, promoting fuel cells vehicles will encourage politicians to take action to protect our environment. For the next fifty years, the environment will have a larger impact in politics as the change in temperature will affect people’s daily lives. It is predicted that a much larger budget will be used cut to compensate those who will be adjusting to the fuel cells technology. As this technology matures over the next decade, governments will put more stress on using fuel cells vehicles. The fuel cells market will expand to fulfill the idea of a hydrogen economy with an emission free and zero carbon emission. It is a promising invention with promising a future. However, only time one will tell.