Global Warming Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Global Warming - Term Paper Example United States has not properly addressed the problem of global warming (Besel 162). Therefore, the subject of subject of global warming is live and undisputed scientific fact that the nation should address quickly. Many scientific activities are responsible for the global warming that people experience in United States and the globe at large. United States is becoming dangerous warmer because of emission of greenhouse gases. These gases include methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide. The gases have adverse effects on the environment because they cause pollution. This artificial problem contributes largely to global warming. This is an assertion that the scientific activities drive the climate change and global warming. Scientists have disputed the claims of their responsibility in global warming in various ways. To start with, the scientists argue that carbon dioxide does come from their activities. To them, burning fossils generates a lot of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Thi s is an attempt to assert that they do not take any activity in the problem of global warming. They claim that that they have put proper mechanisms to eradicate the emission of carbon dioxide. Second, the scientist stresses that carbon dioxide has been increasing in the atmosphere before the industrial developments. They scientists insist that other types of natural energies such as solar play a big role in global warming. The scientists argue points out those natural sources such as eruption of volcanoes evolve a lot of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (Griffin 112). The scientists blame their critics for distorting scientific information to assert their points. Third, the unchallenged scientific fact emanate from the measurement that scientists take on the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. These measurements indicate that burning of forests and fossils contributes to generation of harmful gases to the atmosphere. This is an attempt to deny their responsibility in their c ontribution to the global warming and climate change. They argue that natural fluctuations attribute to the sudden increase in temperatures (Maslin 27). It is evident that the undisputed scientific facts have played a big role in global warming. The facts are fallacious. To start with, there was no global warming before scientific revolution. This era of scientific expansion in knowledge and research led to the growth of industries. A natural mechanism ensured a right balance of carbon dioxide that natural processes emitted (Griffin 112). The issue of global warming came into been after the mushrooming of industries. It is therefore a lie for the scientists to claim that they do have a role in the global warming menace. The scientists’ assertion that the current global warming is because of natural fluctuations in the environment is overtly misleading. This is unchallenged scientific facts. The earth has experienced all these climatic swings but there has never been an alarmi ng effect on temperature. It therefore means that scientific processes are responsible for the increase in temperatures in the atmosphere. It is a conspiracy of scientists not to give information of their contribution to the global warming (Besel 163). This is despite the fact that the scientists have the right equipment to provide a qualitative explanation of the issue of global

Religon Buddhism Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Religon Buddhism - Term Paper Example The discourse would initially proffer a brief historical background of Buddhism, prior to determining its common practices and core beliefs. Likewise, the paper would present a personal experience visiting Buddhists’ place of worship and to relay the responses from a devotee’s point of view. History Diverse research literatures have expressed different views on the exact origin of Buddhism. There are studies tracing the roots of Buddhism from the Indus Valley civilization and the Aryans (A View on Buddhism, 2006, pars. 1 & 2). In a website About Buddhism (2007), its history indicates that â€Å"the founder of Buddhism in this world is Buddha Shakyamuni. He was born as a royal prince in 624 BC in a place called Lumbini, which was originally in northern India but is now part of Nepal† (About Buddhism, 2007, par. 1). Likewise, History World (n.d.) identified Nepal as Buddhism’s point of origin, with Siddhartha Gautama, a Nepal prince, â€Å"follows an asceti c life for six years before deciding that a middle path between mortification and indulgence of the body will provide the best hope of achieving enlightenment. He resolves to meditate, in moderate comfort, until he sees the light of truth. One evening he sits under a pipal tree at Buddh Gaya, a village in Bihar. By dawn he is literally buddha, an 'enlightened one'. Like any other religious leader he begins to gather disciples. He becomes known to his followers as the Buddha† (History World, n.d., 1). Common Practices Buddhism reveals three common trainings or practices consisting of sila (â€Å"virtue, good conduct, morality†); samadhi (â€Å"concentration, meditation, mental development†); and prajna (â€Å"discernment, insight, wisdom, enlightenment† (Robinson, 2009). As averred by Robinson (2009), the practice of sila was premised on the principles of equality and reciprocity. Devotees are taught to acknowledge equality in stature of all living things a nd to practice, what is commonly known as the Golden Rule. The underlying idea for this practice is self-preservation. No one wants harm to be inflicted upon oneself. If everyone adheres to this principle, ultimately, no harm befalls mankind – the good of all is preserved. By this, an individual treats everyone else with respect, grace and concern. This in turn, develops good relationship to others, consistent with their belief in karma. Core Beliefs The core beliefs of Buddhism centers on reincarnation, on diverse cycles of rebirth, karma, and on Nirvana, or the state of being free and liberated from suffering (Robinson, 2009). They also believe in Four Noble Truths, the Five Precepts, and the Eightfold Path, among others. These beliefs focus on respect for all living things, ending suffering through the eightfold path, and following commandments which are almost synonymous with the Catholic’s Ten Commandments, specifically highlighting avoiding killing, stealing, tel ling lies, misusing sex and consuming liquor or drugs, among others. Worship Visit There is a Buddhist temple in Knost Drive, Mims, Florida known as the White Sands Buddhist Center. It rests on a 16-acre peaceful and beautiful land very near the Atlantic Ocean. There is complete serenity, simplicity and cleanliness in the worship place – a conducive environment for meditation and reflection, of seeking inner peace and enlightenment. The monastery’s ceremonial hall serves as a worship place for devotees. The statue of Buddha is strategically located

Procurement And Inventory Management Commerce Essay

Procurement And Inventory Management Commerce Essay A formal procurement process is a systematic step by step exercise that is important to follow to ensure no or little mistakes, and also achieve time saving, ensure the right solution to meet business needs, to also ensure the right price is paid (not necessarily the lowest price!), and lastly not to miss out on important steps that might have serious consequences. The company Green Chilly (GC) is a private owned restaurant chain operating in the UK. It runs several restaurants for takeaway meals and for people that will stop and sit down for lunch or during any other time of the day. The company currently have 53 restaurants all over the UK in the major cities and towns, collectively they serve on average 16000 eat down in meals everyday and 23000 customers coming for snacks and drinks which are mostly taken away to eat. Due to the companys successful growth the restaurant chain is facing certain seasonality problems of staffing issues and over stocking of items due to the UK holiday seasons and the unfavourable variable weather conditions that are influencing customer preferences. The company have communication, information, pricing issues, quality issues and above all no structured procurement process in place. After offering consultancy services to the company regarding its procurement structure the next stage is developing a well structured procurement strategy for the sourcing of high usage food and non food items that will meet the needs of the company wide procurement process. The owner of the company is experienced and has been in the business for a long time, I will be going through the process of sourcing with him and the rest of the staff. In 1967, the Canadian, American and Israeli marketing researchers, Robinson, Faris and Wind, introduced the buygrid framework as a generic conceptual model for buying processes of organisations. They saw industrial buying not as single events, but as organisational decision-making processes where multiple individuals decide on a purchase. Their framework consists of a matrix of buyclasses and buyphases.   The BUYCLASSES Buyclasses are:   1. New Tasks 2. Modified Rebuy   3. Straight Rebuy   Based on field research, Robinson, Faris and Wind divided the buyer purchase process into eight sequential, distinct but interrelated BUYPHASES: Assessment of a companys current spending: Fully understand the spend category (what is bought, where, at what prices? Assessment of the supply market (who offers what?). Total cost analyses (how much does it cost to provide those goods or services?). Identification of suitable suppliers. Development of a sourcing strategy (where to purchase, considering demand and supply situations, while minimizing risk and costs). Negotiation with suppliers (products, service levels, prices, geographical coverage, etc.). Implementation of new supply structure. Track results and restart assessment (continuous cycle). Assessment of a companys current spending: Using Green Chilly Company as a case study. Assessment of what is bought by the company in recent time and in comparisons to previous years, from which supplier procurement and sourcing were made and lastly at what price were they bought? Fully understand the spend category at the beginning stage, the sourcing team (including the management and some staff) need to ensure it understands everything about the spend category itself. Identify opportunities, what could be of advantage both food and noon food item, especially for meal production. The following materials are needed directly and indirectly by the company: Equipment : general restaurant equipment like cooling system, cooking, washing and rinsing, ventilation e.t.c Components: this includes the good will, style, taste, finishing and services of the company. Raw material: These are items used in cooking, raw meat, rice, beans, vegetables e.t.c. Completely finished goods: inventory held for these goods are usually between company and customers. Suppliers supply the goods and services directly with out any form of modification by the company. Goods like treats by restaurants to customers. Service requirement might include: Computer programmers: for online ordering, restaurant website creation and maintenance. Hazardous waste handlers: proper disposing of hazardous waste substances according to safety measures. Transportation carriers: restaurant trucks maintenance and upgrades. Maintenance service provider: general maintenance in the restaurant i.e. electrical appliances, assets, environment, bill boards (branding), cleaning e.t.c. Assessment of the supply market: The top officials in the sourcing team have re evaluate the suppliers market for new potential suppliers. The re evaluation of suppliers is in two areas: quality and price. A direct comparison is made of existing suppliers against at least three potential suppliers using taste panel. As many suppliers as possible are sought which appear to have a product that is similar to that in question or which have the capabilities to produce such a product. Suppliers could be known to any of the sourcing team members or found through trade journals and directories. Other sources of potential suppliers include trade shows and speculative letters. This process is carried out for both food and non food item. The volume of purchases to be made could be predicted from past procurements with an analytical assessment of which goods and services moved fast and which were slow movers. For fast movers cycle stock inventory purpose or buffer inventory could be adopted especially for goods and services relevant for the production of meals like rice, meat, baking flour e.t.c. And for slow movers i.e. ice cream machines and raw materials a seasonal stock could be adopted, since ice cream are more consumed in summer and summer breaks, than winter. Total cost analysis: How much it costs to procure those goods, the food and non food items. In the past, present and possible future forecast by experts. These recommendations are then passed on to the procurement section of the restaurant that will use them to decide which suppliers should be progressed to the price negotiation stage. The procurement team then request for quotations which are ballpark figures which the team later finalizes (direct comparison on price). It is necessary that the specification is complete, and the expected costs including distribution are a part of this. In this way, the procurement team has knowledge of costing and the taste comparison recommendations before negotiations are entered into. Identification of suitable supplier The company should periodically run assessment for seeking alternative suppliers to existing incumbents, a well carried out assessment for both present suppliers and potential suppliers. The company should have an in depth understanding of the supplier marketplace dynamics and current trends (how goods and service are packaged and delivered, alternative products that substitute the present). Prepare a study of the cost components of the product service, and analyze the suppliers market place for risks (hazardous goods, or infections especially for food raw materials) and opportunities based on a survey to access the capacity and capability of the market to meet your requirements compared with your present suppliers. It will enable the company to assess whether the present sourcing process is feasible or the best. It shows to gather knowledge in the key areas like: Feasibility, Capability Capacity: how much inventory the supplier can provide for the companys restaurant chain in the country. If the supplier is able to meet the demand of Green Chilly company. Maturity Prices of key raw material and other important variables involved in the procurement process such as labour and transportation must be priced and calculations done of the suppliers cost elements referred to as should-cost information from the major components of the key products. Take a view on the key suppliers sub tier marketplace, and analyse for risks as well as opportunities. Should cost analysis drives reduction in cost and supplier continuous improvement efforts. Although should cost analysis does not work for all item, sometimes traditional strategic sourcing techniques work w ell in cases where should cost doesnt work well. Development of a sourcing strategy: Using a cross functional procumbent team in Green Chilly Copany. Deciding where to buy while minimizing risk and costs is the major factor that determines the development of the strategic sourcing strategy. The strategy would depend largely on the alternatives available to the current suppliers, and also how competitive the supplier market is. In addition how open the users are to new suppliers. This process depends on some factors like: How competitive the supplier marketplace is: How supportive your organisations users are to testing incumbent supplier relationships What alternatives exist to competitive assessment: If the supplier have well developed systems for planning material, personnel, and capacity needs Does the supplier track key performance measures, such as throughput time, quality levels, and cost? How easy is it for customers to interact with the suppliers planning and control systems? The next step is to determine the sourcing process; the most common method of sourcing is to use a request for proposal process for soliciting bids (RFP, RFQs, eRFQs, ITTs). This will define and make clear the requirements to all prequalified suppliers. It Includes product or service specifications, delivery and service requirements, pricing breakdown and legal and financial terms and conditions. When all these messages are all been passed out, ensuring all suppliers the competition is on a level played field, a follow up message should also be sent out to encourage a greater response. Negotiation with suppliers In this stage the selection and negotiation with suppliers is carried out based on the products, service levels, prices, quality, delivery, geographical coverage and additional benefits. In respect to products been bided for, suppliers must meet delivery, price, quality and purposes of inventory meaning the quantity required by Green Chilly Company. The supplier must be able to meet the demands of the company based on the volume forecasting of the company which In the case of Green Chill Company, all the bids should be related to food and non food items (i.e. food stuffs like meat, rice, vegetables, provisions e.t.c. non food like cooking, cleaning, dinning equipments) the process of procurement is different for each item. Could be buffer or safety stock for rice, cycle stock for vegetables and meat, in transit inventory for items like chop stick, seasonal stuck for goods like ice cream, during summer or heaters during winter e.t.c. The price and quality of goods, both food and non food items most be regulated across all Green Chill chain of restaurants in the country. Geographical coverage is of high essence to Green Chill Company because of the companys chain of restaurants. The procurement team should apply its evaluation criteria to supplier responses. From this process the GC procurement team will be able to then narrow down to a few finalists. The few finalists should be compared together with the senior executives involved to give their final approval and a final supplier should be selected. The senior executives should be totally briefed so as to prepare them for calls from disappointed suppliers. Implementation of new supply structure: After a proper new structure as been formulated, the winning or successful suppliers should be notified and they should be invited to participate in implementing process and recommendations. Green Chilly Companys new structural process should also be communicated to all staff and users to bridge the communication gaps and problems in the company. Implementation plans vary depending on the degree of changes. The communication plan in the strategic sourcing strategy will majorly comprise of any improvement to specifications or process, changes in delivery (lead time) service requirements (inventory management) or pricing (major changes in the prices of goods both non food and food item) should be communicated in the process of implementing the new process. For old suppliers coming back to be winners there will be communication changes in specifications, improvements in delivery, and service or pricing models based on what they do before compared with the new structure. In the case of new suppliers a communication plan has to be developed that will supervise the transition from old to new at every point in the process that is touched by the structural change. i.e department of finance and customer services affected by this change, and the risk supervision will be particularly sensitive during this period, due to their vulnerability to mistakes. It is necessary to measure closely the new suppliers performance during the first weeks of performance. It is also important to capture the intellectual capital GC sourcing team has developed during the seven-step process so it can be used the next time that category is sourced. Track results and restart assessment (continuous cycle): This is a major aspect of the whole sourcing management process carried out by the Green Chilly Company. It is the start of a continuous cycle, starting with benchmarking the current status of the commodity or category, monitoring the results and ensuring that full value is being achieved. Conclusion After spending time planning all the processes of procurement, the roles and responsibilities of each member of the procurement team must be well established. The procurement process is reviewed and communicated to all parties involved including staff of GC. Given the market Green Chilly chain of restaurants is which is in the United Kingdom. A central distribution system would be of an advantage and feasible. With a central distribution goods and services could be distributed in 4 to 5hours drive to all corners of the UK. With the procurement process listed above putting in mind central location (Birmingham) criteria for suppliers bidding for contracts. Inventories are mostly head in goods in transit, raw material and finished goods in a restaurant. It is safer to run a safety stock for some products in the restaurant and a seasonal stock for some other stock like ice cream ingredients. The main goal is to have a reliable supplier with low price considerations and Just in time deliveries (JIT). Section 1 (2299 words) Reference Marketing Management Guide. MMG: Buy grid model: [Online]. Available from: http://marketing-management-business.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/buy-grid-model.html [Accessed 17th November, 2012]. Leung and Bockstedt: Structural Analysis of a Business Enterprise.Service Science 1(3), pp. 169-188,  © 2009 SSG. [Online]. Available from: http://www.sersci.com/ServiceScience/upload/12556582800.pdf [Accessed 8th December 2012]. Purchasing Insight. The Procurement Process. [Online]. Available from: http://purchasinginsight.com/resources/the-procurement-process/ [Accessed 11th December 2012]. Article citation: Elizabeth Mawson, Andrew Fearne, (1996) Purchasing strategies and decision-making processes in the food service industry: a case study of UK restaurant chains, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 1 Iss: 3, pp.34 41. [Online]. Available from: http://0-dx.doi.org.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/10.1108/13598549610155305 [Accessed 15th November 2012]. Robinson, Patrick, Wind, Yoram and Faris, C.W. Buy-grid framework. Marketing Selling. [Online]. Available from: http://www.provenmodels.com/549 [Accessed 20th November 2012]. eHow. List of equipment needed to start a restaurant by Kristen Bennett, eHow contributor. [Online]. Available from: http://www.ehow.com/list_6720275_list-equipment-needed-start-restaurant.html#page=0 [Accessed 27th November 2012]. Purchasing Procurement Center. Source: 2001 A.T. Kearney. [Online]. Available from: http://www.purchasing-procurement-center.com/strategic-sourcing-process.html [Accessed 28th November 2012]. Supply Management. The seven stages of a sourcing strategy. [Online]. Available from: http://www.supplymanagement.com/resources/how-to/guide-to-strategic-sourcing/the-seven-stages-of-a-sourcing-strategy/ [Accessed 2nd November 2012]. The Supply Chain Resource Cooperative. The SCRC Article library, Procurement process-creating a sourcing plan,by: Robert Handfield, PhD. Published on: Jan 26,2011. [Online]. Available from: http://scm.ncsu.edu/scm-articles/article/the-procurement-process-creating-a-sourcing-plan-procurement-a-tutorial#5 [Accessed 2nd December 2012). Chapter 3, Sourcing Strategies to Manage Supply Distributions, by: Amanda J. Schmitt and Brain Tomlin.Pages [51 to 60]. [Online]. Available from: http://0-link.springer.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-0-85729-778-5_3 [Accessed 6th December 2012]. http://0-link.springer.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/content/pdf/10.1007%2F0-387-25183-9_1 [Accessed 4th December 2012] INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE EN INFORMATIQUE ET EN AUTOMATIQUE.INRIA, by Lyà ¨s Benyoucef,Hongwei Ding, Xiaolan Xie. [Online]. Available from: http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/07/18/60/PDF/RR-4726.pdf [Accessed 4th December 2012]. SUPPLIER SELECTION Contents SUPPLIER SELECTION Question 2 Introduction Nowadays the costs and effect of purchasing raw materials, goods and services from suppliers are very important. Majority of the costs incurred by a company are usually procurements of components and materials for production. This shows how important decision of purchasing activity is. The procurement process usually determines the final cost of a product. Among the decisions related to this activity, supplier selection is most capital decision (Nydick and Hill, 1992) and (Mobolurin, 1995). Supplier selection is the most important decision in the procurement process. Given the market Green Chilly Company is in, the decision making process should be well defined and laid out. Based on the Decision making process (selection of supplier): raw material inventory (food stuffs like meat, vegetables, perishables e.t.c) seasonal stock, safety stock, speculative stock, cycle stock. Monetary influence and non monetary influence criteria affecting the choice of supplier. Also the risks: both influences and external factors should be well examined. There are so many factors to go through in deciding who to buy from, what to buy and what quantity, how to carry out the procurement process, where and for what purpose for inventory. Supplier selection for Baking Flour Baking flour is an essential product in the life operation of a restaurant all round the business year. Used in the production of meals. Using structural role analysis; In respect of the simplistic of the BUYGRID framework, structural role analysis can also be used in reaching a structural frame work for the sourcing and procurement process for the company. This technique allows each task in the buying procedure to be related to the individual (procurement team) responsible for decision making and is more flexible in the description of the buying procedures in the company for baking flour. In this way, it is easier and possible to include explicitly factors affecting the decision making process in selecting a supplier, these factors includes: Social and cultural factors: the cultural differences or social influences on the level of purchases made on some products have to be monitored for the sake of improvement and how to do better on such goods. Since the restaurant chain is different area of UK, with diverse social and cultural differences. This should be put into consideration and monitored. Political and economical factors: factors like political instabilities, strikes (restaurant union), lock outs, Quotas/ import quotas, Exchange rate fluctuation for goods and services imported, regulations ad restrictions concerning products and designs, application and usage. Laws governing goods and services used in restaurants and also the restaurants in the country. For the supplier of baking flour, some types of flour might be banned in the UK, or importation restricted. Technological factors: technology advances in the restaurant market, provides new opportunities for storage and distribution of goods and services. Suppliers have to upgrade to meet up with present trends in the market. Industrial factors: there are mandatory compliance under a variety of industrial acts, affecting suppliers and restaurants concerning some issues like environmental protection, health, safety, and consumer protection laws e.t.c affecting the selection of suppliers. Organizational: this is from both the buyer and the supplier. Organizational set up of the two parties must be examined. Environmental/ External factors: there are environment laws guiding the type of pollution and amount acceptable in a particular area. Disposing of hazardous components is essential. Risks: the potential risk of a supplier defaulting. Adequate contingency plans should be put in place. In the case the supplier contaminates the goods, because restaurants raw material is very sensitive. Monetary and non monetary factors: the price of goods and services supplied plus distribution is the main factor considered by the buyers. Price drives the purpose for seeking for new suppliers. There are non monetary factors like the good will of the supplier or the supplier is the sole supplier of such product. The lead time on some goods is also crucial to the delivery of such goods and services. The above factors throw light on the cause and effect of specific actions during the decision making process. Structural role analysis links personnel structures with the roles and tasks that are carried out. In this way the constructed model gives a clear indication concerning who is responsible for which tasks. This is well illustrated by structural role analysis since the effects on the buying behaviour in terms of the individuals that carry out specific tasks and the order in which they are carried out are exact. These individuals are all part of the procurement team (includes managers, commercial director, operations director and marketing director, site catering managers). Structural role analysis requires the identification of key decision makers and the intentions between individuals in the decision making unit. To illustrate the use of structural role theory, we should consider the case study of Green chilly company. We should start by displaying the roles of the buying centre (procurement team) of the companys restaurant chain, for example a straight rebuy. A straight rebuy is a routine repurchase that may have been made many times before. In this case study on Green Chilly Company, lets pick a straight rebuy for baking flour. A policy of central procurement is followed. Distribution is carried out from the central depot through a specialist distribution company. The distribution company delivers to all restaurants in three to four days per week all over the UK branches. Each member of the procurement team is briefed and assigned a role (buyer and assistant buyer). In this case of repurchasing baking powder on a straight rebuy process re-evaluation is undertaken before reordering with the same supplier. The re-evaluation of suppliers is going to be carried out in four areas: Quality: the quality of products supplied is very essential to the services and goods rendered by the company. Better quality supplies lead to better goods and services produced. Price: the price of goods and service supplied directly affects the selling price. This includes the distribution costs as well. Service : the packaging and technology advances of the supplier is very paramount to the procurement process Delivery: just in time delivery (JIT) is very important, especially in a restaurant running all through the week. For a product like baking flour cycle stock or buffer stocking should b implemented to prevent shortages. A direct comparison is made of existing supplier and against at least three potential suppliers based on the areas above using a taste panel. As many suppliers as possible are sought which appear to specialize in baking flour products with capabilities to produce such a product. The following steps are carried out: Seeking of potential suppliers Direct comparison on quality Direct comparison on price Direct comparison on service Direct comparison on delivery time Decision/ choice of selected supplier Seeking of potential suppliers: Potential suppliers are either already known to the procurement team of the company, or found through trade journals and directories. Other sources of potential suppliers include trade shows and speculative letters. Therefore, there is a pool of suppliers for baking flour from whom to choose as well as active search for new suppliers. The information needs to be readily available to all potential suppliers with a tight specification on the product and with a rough price built into the brief. All suppliers of baking flour need to match the product to these specifications, including quality, delivery time, price and services rendered. The procurement team acts as a forum for discussion and also to make decisions on what quotas to give in terms of quality, price, delivery time and services. Direct comparison on quality: In this process all products from all suppliers are all tasted blind and this side by side comparison is the key evaluation on the quality aspect. The procurement team makes the decision in terms of taste, texture and colour, and then makes recommendations about which products should be considered further, based on the result of the tasting and recipe compilation. This information is now passed to the leader of the procurement team leader and member who now decided which suppliers should be progressed to the price negotiation stage. Direct comparison on price: These are ballpark figures which the team later finalizes. It is necessary that the specification is complete, and the expected costs including distribution of baking flour are well detailed. In this way the procurement team has knowledge of all price quotations of all suppliers and taste comparison recommendation. Direct comparison on service: A detailed weighted point method is used to categories each suppliers based on their pat performances in rendering their services with GC or with other companies. Direct comparison on delivery time Based on past jobs for GC or other companies, the supplier with the best just in time (JIT) delivery stands better chance of getting contracts from the company. Non-monetary criteria Non monetary criteria includes lead time of some goods and services, good will enjoyed by some suppliers from their clients. There are ways to make decisions just based on abilities not just on monetary basis. A weighted point method is a good example to illustrate this point: Weighted point method This method is based on a non monetary criteria evaluation. Not all criteria and decision can be measured in monetary terms, as no market value exists for some criteria. In this method Green Chilly Company we consider the non monetary costs and benefits associated with each of the identified factors. Based on the factors for considerations in choosing a supplier, a well weighted point method could also be used. Starting with quality and delivery with the weight of 40 and 30 respectively, quality problems are the biggest problems in supplier performance. Next to quality problems is late delivery with a weight of 30. Followed by price differentials with weight 20, then lastly service with weight 10. All these factors are measured on a scare of 1 to 5, worst performances equated to 1 and best performances equated to 5. In this sample method, three suppliers were selected based on their performances and measure against the factors. SAMPLE SUPPLY MODEL FOR BAKING FLOUR (Figure 1) Supplier A rating Supplier A score Supplier B rating Supplier B score Supplier C rating Supplier C score Factor Weight How Measured Quality 40 1 = Worst 5 = Best (3/5)x40 24 (4/5)x40 32 (3/5)x40 24 Delivery 30 1 = Worst 5 = Best (4/5) x 30 24 (4/5)x30 24 (3/5)x30 18 Price 20 1 = Worst 5 = Best (2/5) x 20 8 (5/5)x20 20 (2/5)x20 8 Service 10 Good = 100% Fair = 70% Poor = 40% .7 x 10 7 1.0 x 10 10 .7 x 10 7 Total Points 100 63 86 57 Based on the figure 1 example supplier A has a rating of 3/5 in quality and a total score of 24, 4/5 in delivery and a total score of 24, 2/5 in price and a total score of 8, finally a 70% rating on services render. Supplier B on the other hand scored higher than both supplier A and B, with a total score of 86, scoring higher than supplier A in all levels except delivery with equal level. Supplier C is the worst of all suppliers. So supplier B is the best suited for this purchase of baking flour, and should be awarded the contract. The above developed weightings for criterion dependent on assessment of how important each criterion factors are to the success of selecting supplier C for the supply of baking flour and the impact it will have on the companys activities could as well be measured. Decision/ choice of selected supplier: All these factors enables the procurement team to make decision regarding the suitability of suppliers to fit into the current portfolio of products and prices, since the overall budget is the responsibility of the procurement team, they reach the final agreement on wish supplier to pick based on the budget and delivery process across the country for baking flour. Once those suppliers with acceptable products and services have been identified for the supply of baking flour, the procurement team will meet them in order to discuss the prices and volumes under consideration for the product (baking flour). A few suppliers are retained to this stage so that there is a choice from the procurement teams perspective, and also in the case the chosen supplier starts to under perform. Price is dependent on volume, so both aspects are discussed in tandem. The volumes required for a new product are an educated guess. However, a replacement product has known volume which is traded. The volumes are used as guide in negotiations but are never guaranteed to a su

Essay --

As we ended the year, the State Board of Education had approved a plan to replace the OGT with eight to ten end-of-course exams and had proposed that students earn points toward graduation. The State Board’s plan met challenges as the Ohio House committee passed HB 193 on December 18, 2013. HB 193 differed from the board’s plan by reducing the number and types of state tests that students will need to graduate. It also delays the timeline one year for implementation of the new assessments citing technology readiness issues from school districts. The State Board of Education was not included in the drafting of HB 193 but did provide written testimony on a number of issues it had with the bill early on in the process. HB 193 is expected to receive a House floor vote in early 2014, and then head to the Senate for consideration. I will continue to monitor HB 193 as this makes its way through the legislative process. In the meantime, a technology study conducted by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) shows difficulties in schools’ capacity to administer the new assessments online. T...

Can We Trust Our Emotions In The Pursuit Of Knowledge?

Mankind shares psychological phenomena known as emotion that is a natural state of mind deriving from a person. 1 By means of this special ability, trusting our emotions in the pursuit of knowledge can be questioned, as it is a circumstance that involves only an individual, there might be an increasing chance of being invalid. This generalization can be countered by the fact there can be influences of emotion in pursuing knowledge in many cases such as in two particular Areas of Knowledge: History and Natural Science.As such, the knowledge issues rose: To what extent does emotion hinder our acquisition of knowledge? This question examines what role emotion play in the pursuit of knowledge and whether or not emotion is a source of knowledge or otherwise, an obstacle to knowledge. In history, the sense of trusting emotions in the process of knowledge acquisition in History as a discourse is rarely ideal. The explanation for this is that emotions can wrongly paint our perceptions for pr oofs to prop historical facts and events.When referring to emotions, it is possible to develop a negative attitude from the evidence presented. There can be of a lot of benefits of the study in history discourse. History aids in understanding what is being studied, give insight of who did it and the approximate or the actual period a study or event occurred. Emotions restrain and influence rationality and thereby leading to distorted history and false facts. An example of emotion is probable forces involving the trial David Irving Vs.Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin publishers. David was accused of being a racist and anti-Semitic by claiming that Holocaust never happened. During a trial, he came up with the evidence to prop his claim that Holocaust never happened. In his evidence, he claimed that there was no official plan or policy to put the Jewish race into termination though there was a proof of the Wansee conference where the Nazis met to plan against the Jews.In the trial, the cou rt was also notified that he used to sing a racist song to his daughters2and based on this fact therefore, one can deduct that he had confirmation biasness owing from his emotions (hatred), towards Jewish race. This biasness therefore, masked the facts of the Holocaust causing the defendant to see things from one dimension which impacted on his judgment and reasoning. Irving was even consistence in his bias by claiming that the gas chambers were not met to exterminate humans but was for delousing. This claim was then discredited by doctors and remained as a conflictive issue.From this point therefore, emotions are not trustworthy in the process of acquisition of knowledge in history. Whilst emotions may negatively impact the history leading to distortion, some emotions can have a positive impact on history as a discourse. These emotions of liking and enthusiasm towards an event, thing, place or group may make one develop the sense of searching for more knowledge concerning the subje ct and therefore this leads to one quest for unearthing the deep hidden facts on the subject and hence producing facts require in History.Example here is: it is the deep sense of belonging and deep feeling of enthusiasm that led to the Egyptians Hussein Bassir, Ahmad Faschri, Sami Gabra, Zakaria Goneim, Labib Habachi among others venture into Egyptology (Study of ancient Egypt). 3 That affection gives these individuals challenges for unearthing more artifacts for ancient history that helps articulate the pieces of Ancient Egypt history and hence an example of positive contribution of emotion to history. 4 In natural science, emotions also may impact the acquisition for knowledge to a great extent.In pharmacology for example, a negative attitude of a researcher in determining the medicinal value, toxicity and the dosage of a certain physiologically active compound (P. A. C. ) from a given herbal might lead to biased research. This has the potential to lead to wrong administrations of bioassays and test of the very same dosage that may lead to negative result even if the P. A. C. is present in large quantities, the result are then pre-set to read negative due to the attitude of the researcher that is likely to affect his dexterity, carefulness and also  perception.This finally leads to a wrong conclusion that in the real sense lacks scientific approval or disapproval as the biasness brought about by emotions led to successive blunders in the following of scientific syntaxes and therefore wrong conclusion and results at the long run. A perfect example to this is a certain Biology class in High Ridge High school where, students were asked to observe different cells in blood samples under a light microscope.The students first perceived that one could not visualize blood cells since it was their first time to do so and more so did it against their wish of using the new microscopes as opposed to the old ones they were obliged to use. Due to the inbuilt feeling that the old microscopes were not as efficient as the new ones therefore, the students smeared their specimen on a slide and then mounted it on a microscope without staining the specimen and hence could not visualize blood cells.In their report to the respective tutor, the students wrote that there was absence of blood cells and the test was negative. The truth of the matter was the negative emotion of being denied the chance to use new microscope outflanked the result orientation in the minds of the students to the extent that they forgot the most crucial step that could lead to success of their scientific activity. Emotions, i. e.attitude, love, hatred, happiness, moods, affection and all others are not worth trust in the process of knowledge acquisition be it in History as a field of discourse, philosophy, natural sciences and even language since the perception of emotions occurs in brain and the knowledge acquisition still occurs in brain and therefore, negative conception of a cert ain idea might lead to biasness that might distort the much required fact either in history research or in natural science.Emotions mask one’s rationality to reason as per the expectations and therefore in that sense impair ones judgment. In the two cases that we have examined, Irving failed to acknowledge the eventuality of Genocide in Germany by the Nazi regime and went further to claim that the murderous gas chambers used were for delousing and not killing humans. Secondly, due to the preset emotions of the students, they fail to stain their specimens and this leads them to wrong results and subsequently conclusions owing to their negative attitude towards using old microscopes as opposed to new ones.The error that occurs is not as attribute of the microscopes but students’ ignorance and negative attitude. It is worth a note also that emotions are not always detrimental to acquisition of knowledge but at times beneficial to the process of knowledge acquisition if at all they are positive as per the case of patriotic Egyptians in their career as Egyptologist. Can we trust our emotions in the pursuit of knowledge? Mankind shares psychological phenomena known as emotion that is a natural state of mind deriving from a person. 1 By means of this special ability, trusting our emotions in the pursuit of knowledge can be questioned, as it is a circumstance that involves only an individual, there might be an increasing chance of being invalid. This generalization can be countered by the fact there can be influences of emotion in pursuing knowledge in many cases such as in two particular Areas of Knowledge: History and Natural Science.As such, the knowledge issues rose: To what extent does emotion hinder our acquisition of knowledge? This question examines what role emotion play in the pursuit of knowledge and whether or not emotion is a source of knowledge or otherwise, an obstacle to knowledge. In history, the sense of trusting emotions in the process of knowledge acquisition in History as a discourse is rarely ideal. The explanation for this is that emotions can wrongly paint our perceptions for pr oofs to prop historical facts and events.When referring to emotions, it is possible to develop a negative attitude from the evidence presented. There can be of a lot of benefits of the study in history discourse. History aids in understanding what is being studied, give insight of who did it and the approximate or the actual period a study or event occurred. Emotions restrain and influence rationality and thereby leading to distorted history and false facts. An example of emotion is probable forces involving the trial David Irving Vs.Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin publishers. David was accused of being a racist and anti-Semitic by claiming that Holocaust never happened. During a trial, he came up with the evidence to prop his claim that Holocaust never happened. In his evidence, he claimed that there was no official plan or policy to put the Jewish race into termination though there was a proof of the Wansee conference where the Nazis met to plan against the Jews.In the trial, the cou rt was also notified that he used to sing a racist song to his daughters2and based on this fact therefore, one can deduct that he had confirmation biasness owing from his emotions (hatred), towards Jewish race. This biasness therefore, masked the facts of the Holocaust causing the defendant to see things from one dimension which impacted on his judgment and reasoning. Irving was even consistence in his bias by claiming that the gas chambers were not met to exterminate humans but was for delousing. This claim was then discredited by doctors and remained as a conflictive issue.From this point therefore, emotions are not trustworthy in the process of acquisition of knowledge in history. Whilst emotions may negatively impact the history leading to distortion, some emotions can have a positive impact on history as a discourse. These emotions of liking and enthusiasm towards an event, thing, place or group may make one develop the sense of searching for more knowledge concerning the subje ct and therefore this leads to one quest for unearthing the deep hidden facts on the subject and hence producing facts require in History.Example here is: it is the deep sense of belonging and deep feeling of enthusiasm that led to the Egyptians Hussein Bassir, Ahmad Faschri, Sami Gabra, Zakaria Goneim, Labib Habachi among others venture into Egyptology (Study of ancient Egypt). 3 That affection gives these individuals challenges for unearthing more artifacts for ancient history that helps articulate the pieces of Ancient Egypt history and hence an example of positive contribution of emotion to history. 4 In natural science, emotions also may impact the acquisition for knowledge to a great extent.In pharmacology for example, a negative attitude of a researcher in determining the medicinal value, toxicity and the dosage of a certain physiologically active compound (P. A. C. ) from a given herbal might lead to biased research. This has the potential to lead to wrong administrations of bioassays and test of the very same dosage that may lead to negative result even if the P. A. C. is present in large quantities, the result are then pre-set to read negative due to the attitude of the researcher that is likely to affect his dexterity, carefulness and also  perception.This finally leads to a wrong conclusion that in the real sense lacks scientific approval or disapproval as the biasness brought about by emotions led to successive blunders in the following of scientific syntaxes and therefore wrong conclusion and results at the long run. A perfect example to this is a certain Biology class in High Ridge High school where, students were asked to observe different cells in blood samples under a light microscope.The students first perceived that one could not visualize blood cells since it was their first time to do so and more so did it against their wish of using the new microscopes as opposed to the old ones they were obliged to use. Due to the inbuilt feeling that the old microscopes were not as efficient as the new ones therefore, the students smeared their specimen on a slide and then mounted it on a microscope without staining the specimen and hence could not visualize blood cells.In their report to the respective tutor, the students wrote that there was absence of blood cells and the test was negative. The truth of the matter was the negative emotion of being denied the chance to use new microscope outflanked the result orientation in the minds of the students to the extent that they forgot the most crucial step that could lead to success of their scientific activity.Emotions, i. e.  attitude, love, hatred, happiness, moods, affection and all others are not worth trust in the process of knowledge acquisition be it in History as a field of discourse, philosophy, natural sciences and even language since the perception of emotions occurs in brain and the knowledge acquisition still occurs in brain and therefore, negative conception of a c ertain idea might lead to biasness that might distort the much required fact either in history research or in natural science.Emotions mask one’s rationality to reason as per the expectations and therefore in that sense impair ones judgment. In the two cases that we have examined, Irving failed to acknowledge the eventuality of Genocide in Germany by the Nazi regime and went further to claim that the murderous gas chambers used were for delousing and not killing humans. Secondly, due to the preset emotions of the students, they fail to stain their specimens and this leads them to wrong results and subsequently conclusions owing to their negative attitude towards using old microscopes as opposed to new ones.The error that occurs is not as attribute of the microscopes but students’ ignorance and negative attitude. It is worth a note also that emotions are not always detrimental to acquisition of knowledge but at times beneficial to the process of knowledge acquisition if at all they are positive as per the case of patriotic Egyptians in their career as Egyptologist.

Wilmot Proviso

It could be said that the American Civil War was brought on by Americans need to expand its territories and the one sided Mexican War. The whole debate or controversy over this expansion was David Wilmot’s (and his squad of backers: Hamlin, Brinkerhoff, and King) trying to implement the Wilmot Proviso into the funding for the Mexican territories we acquired. The proviso actually fueled the debate over slavery into the newly acquired territories by trying to make the territories slave free acquisitions. The Wilmot Proviso was a simply desire to make newly acquired territories free from slavery.As pointed out in the opening of this discussion however, banning slavery in these territories was a mute point in the fore front. So what impact did the Wilmot Proviso have on the debate over slavery in America? It actually seemed to create a debate were one did not actually exist. The debate or desire to ban slavery was created by Democratic House members (anti-slavery members) who were afraid that the Whig party would spin the War with Mexico into their desire to expand slavery. [1] So the very party that supported slavery issues had the desire to ban slavery in the new territories anyway.Although these few anti-slavery Democrats did not represent the whole, the desire was there and they wanted the territories to be free. Given, this move was to keep the Whig party from making the accusations that the Democrats were moving to expand the real estate for slavery. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, even points out that Congressman from the northern states tried to enact a proviso banning from the territories acquired by a war in which two-thirds of the volunteer soldiers had come from slave states. General Taylor was a slaveholder but opposed the expansion of slavery when he became president. 2] McPherson examines the irony of this fact as well as many other ironies that were to do with the Mexican War and the Civil War.Another point that McPherson makes is that the men won the Mexican War because of the marksmanship and elan of their mixed divisions of regulars and volunteers and above all because of the professionalism and courage of their junior officers. Yet the competence of these men foreshadowed the ultimate irony of the Mexican War, for many of the best of them would fight against each other in the next war. 3] This is pretty powerful stuff that McPherson is feeding us, pointing out the fact that nearly the same group of men who fought the Mexican War would face one another again during the Civil War. The fact that they were so successful in the first led them to face one another in the second partly due to the Wilmot Proviso and other factors that revolved supposedly around the slavery issue. Taking a different avenue of approach on the supposed fact that slavery and the Wilmot Proviso was the cause and sole factor of the Civil War.During and in the heat of the Wilmot Proviso debate, many southern lawmakers began to question the right of Congress to determine the status of slavery in any territory. According to John Calhoun, the territories belonged to all the states. Why should a citizen of one stated be denied the right to make his property, including slave, into territory owned by all? This line of reasoning began to dominate the southern argument. [4] So here now enters the government encroaching on the rights of the southern states and overreaching its authority to tell them what they could and could not do in their territories.So, although slavery was the catalyst, the southerners began to turn the whole issue into â€Å"rights† issue that revolved around properties. The federal government began meddling in the rights of the states to govern its domain. So the fact that the Wilmot Proviso was trying to govern who and who â€Å"could not† have slaves was a violation of the state’s rights. The issue moved from one of abstraction to one involving practical matters. The n ature of the Constitution, slavery, the value of free labor, political power, and ultimately political realignment were all involved in the debate. 5] The southerners started to become enraged at the fact they were being told what to do and how to do it. So what was the impact of the Wilmot Proviso on the debate over slavery in America? Some would say that the Wilmot Proviso is one of the top five reasons or causes for the Civil War and I might have to agree with that as well. In my opinion, the proviso just fueled the fire on the slavery debate simply due to the fact that it was pointless in the sense they were trying to impose a ban on in area that would have not really benefited from the use of slaves anyway.The areas of Texas, Arizona, and California were not geographic areas where slaves would have made a great deal of difference anyway so the proviso was pointless to them. The proviso was trying to impose a ban on slavery in areas where there was to be little need for slaves a nyway. So the proviso was just a platform to them to impose slavery bans in the south and expand their agenda on the issue. The southern states saw the proviso as an insult to the Southern states and their stand on slavery.Of course, I do think they were moving in the right direction from a humanitarian standpoint they were going about it the wrong way. The debate should have been over the constitutionality of the issue all together and the rights of all men/women. They even entertained the thought of popular sovereignty but that would just have let the issue as is because the southern states would have left it like it was and the northern states would have moved to abolish it all together. Let us not forget that the southern states were not the only areas that possessed slaves.The northern states and citizens did indeed possess slaves in large numbers and many of the politicians pushing the issue of banning it were slave owners themselves. So, in a hypocritical fashion, they were p reaching one thing and practicing another. This could not have been favorable to their standpoint at all. Sounds a lot like our politicians today and the way they practice government of late. The point made and known today is that slavery was wrong, inhuman, and unjust and we know that today. The reasons or thought process they used then to justify what they were doing boggles the mind and makes you wonder.It should have been made law without question and the Wilmot Proviso was a move towards that fact. The only ones that were offended or involved were the ones that were practicing this and most of those were wealthy farmers and beau crates and the most common of people could have cared less.[1] http://blueandgraytrial. com/event/Wilmot_Proviso [2] James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford Press 1988, p. 4 [3] Ibid, p. 4 [4] www. ushistory. org/us/30b [5] Michael F. Holt, The Political Crises of the 1850 s. 1978, p. 50

blood cell essays

blood cell essays Blood is composed of cells and fluid, contain many inorganic and organic molecules. Functions of blood could be falls into three categories: transport, defense and regulation, they all have different function. Blood transport oxygen and nutrients and removes waste from the body. It also transports hormones, which control the body's organ. Blood defense pathogens such as bacteria and viruses and it clots, which prevents the loss of blood. In regulatory functions, blood helps maintain body temperature A molecule cells use in cellular respiration, transport oxygen, is called red blood cells. Red blood cells also known as erythrocytes, they are very small. There are about 4 to 6 millions of red blood cells in our whole blood. It's containing a respiratory pigment called hemoglobin. It's carries oxygen and it is red in color. In red blood cell, it's contains about 200 million hemoglobin molecules. If we losing a big amount of hemoglobin in our blood, our blood will become thicker, so then is hard to All blood cells are produced from stem cells with in the red bone marrow. Stem cell, which can divide, and producing new cells into specific type of cells. Red blood cells can only live for 120 days, after that, they will destroyed in the liver and spleen and there are about 2 million cells are destroyed per second. Therefore, an equal number much be produced to keep the cell count in balance. People who are lack of hemoglobin will suffer Blood that playing the role of defends is the white blood cell. White blood cells also known as leukocytes are differ from red blood cells. It's fight infection, they are more largely and being lack hemoglobin. White blood cells are came from the stem cells in the red bone marrow. They defend us against pathogens that have invaded into our body. White blood cells are ...

Rice; Food; Meal in Chinese

Rice; Food; Meal in Chinese é ¥ ­ (or é £ ¯Ã‚  in traditional Chinese) is pronounced fn in pinyin. This is the 618th most common character in Chinese and can mean rice, food or meal. The two latter meanings are the most common in modern Chinese. Character Breakdown é ¥ ­ / é £ ¯ is a semantic-phonetic compound, which means that one part describes its meaning and the other part describes its pronunciation. The character is composed of two parts:   é ¥ £/é £  (shà ­): food; to eatÃ¥   (fÇŽn): contrary; reverse é ¥ £/é £  (shà ­), which means food; to eat, is obviously related to the meaning of the word and is also the radical of this character. Ã¥   means contrary; reverse, and is not related to the meaning of the character. Instead, this character component carries information about how its pronounced. Since this character was created a long time ago, things have changed and the pronunciation is no longer identical. In fact, the tone is different. Still, if you know how to pronounce this component, remembering the pronunciation of the entire character becomes easier (and the other way around). Common Words Using Fn Coupled with another character,  Ã© ¥ ­ can take on a different meaning. Here are a few examples: Ã¥ Æ'é ¥ ­ (chÄ « fn): to eat (in general, not to eat rice)æâ€" ©Ã© ¥ ­ (zÇŽo fn): breakfastÃ¥ Ë†Ã© ¥ ­ ( wÇ” fn): lunch晚é ¥ ­ (wÇŽn fn): dinneré ¥ ­Ã© ¦â€  (fn guÇŽn): restaurantç ± ³Ã© ¥ ­ (m Ç  fn): riceè ¦ Ã© ¥ ­ (yo fn): to begé ¥ ­Ã¥ ºâ€" (fn din): hotel (typically one that has a restaurant inside) Sentence Examples Using  Fn QÇ ng gÄ›i wÇ’ yÄ «wÇŽn bifn.è ¯ ·Ã§ »â„¢Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã§ ¢â€"ç™ ½Ã© ¥ ­Ã£â‚¬â€š(traditional Chinese)è «â€¹Ã§ µ ¦Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã§ ¢â€"ç™ ½Ã© £ ¯ (simplified Chinese)Please give me a bowl of white rice.NÇ  kÄ›yÇ  mÇŽi yÄ « jÄ «n mÇ fn ma?ä ½  Ã¥  ¯Ã¤ » ¥Ã¨ ² ·Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã¦â€" ¤Ã§ ± ³Ã© £ ¯Ã¥â€"Žä ½  Ã¥  ¯Ã¤ » ¥Ã¤ ¹ °Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã¦â€" ¤Ã§ ± ³Ã© ¥ ­Ã¥ â€"Can you buy a pound of rice, please?WÇ’ à ¨ le! Qà ¹ chÄ «fn ba!我é ¤â€œÃ¤ ºâ€ Ã¥Å½ »Ã¥ Æ'é £ ¯Ã¥  §!我é ¥ ¿Ã¤ ºâ€ Ã¥Å½ »Ã¥ Æ'é ¥ ­Ã¥  §!Im hungry! Lets go eat!NÇ  mÄ  zuà ² de fn ti ho chÄ «leä ½  Ã¥ ª ½Ã¥ Å¡Ã§Å¡â€žÃ© £ ¯Ã¥ ¤ ªÃ¥ ¥ ½Ã¥ Æ'ä ºâ€ Ã¤ ½  Ã¥ ¦Ë†Ã¥ Å¡Ã§Å¡â€žÃ© ¥ ­Ã¥ ¤ ªÃ¥ ¥ ½Ã¥ Æ'ä ºâ€ Your moms cooking so so good.NÇ  xiÇŽng qà ¹ nÇŽ jiÄ  fnguÇŽn?ä ½  Ã¦Æ' ³Ã¥Å½ »Ã¥â€œ ªÃ¥ ® ¶Ã© £ ¯Ã© ¤ ¨Ã¤ ½  Ã¦Æ' ³Ã¥Å½ »Ã¥â€œ ªÃ¥ ® ¶Ã© ¥ ­Ã© ¦â€ Which restaurant do you want to go to?

Aldebaran, the Fiery Orange-Red Eye of a Starry Bull

Aldebaran, the Fiery Orange-Red Eye of a Starry Bull Behind every star in the sky is a fascinating origin tale. Just as the Sun does, they shine by burning fuel in their cores and giving off light. And, like the Sun, many have their planets. All were born in a cloud of gas and dust millions or billions of years ago. And, eventually, all stars grow old and evolve. Thats whats happening to Aldebaran, a star that is practically a neighbor to our own star, the Sun, at 65 light-years distance. Youve probably seen Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus (which is visible to us at night from about October through March each year). Its the reddish-orange star at the top of the V-shaped face of the Bull. Observers in ancient times saw it as many things. The name Aldebaran is from the Arabic word for follower, and it does seem to follow along as the Pleiades star cluster rises higher in the sky late in the year. For the Greeks and Romans it was the eye or the heart of the bull. In India, it represented an astronomical house, and portrayed it a deitys daughter. Others around the world have associated it with the season to come, or even as an aid to the Pleiades (who, in some cultures, were seven women in the sky).   Observing Aldebaran The star itself is fairly easy to spot, particularly beginning in the evening skies of October each year. It also presents a remarkable  experience for skygazers patient enough to wait for it: an occultation. Aldebaran lies close to the ecliptic, which is the imaginary line along which the planets and Moon appear to move as seen from Earth. Occasionally, the Moon will slide between Earth and Aldebaran, essentially occulting it. The event is visible from northern hemisphere locations in the early autumn. Observers with a keen interest in watching it happen  through a telescope can see a detailed   view of the lunar surface  as the star slips slowly behind the Moon and then reappear a short time later. Why Is it in a Vee of Stars? Aldebaran looks like its part of a cluster of stars called the Hyades. This is a V-shaped moving association of stars that lies much farther away from us than Aldebaran does, at a distance of about 153 light-years. Aldebaran happens to lie in the line of sight between Earth and the cluster, so it appears to be part of the cluster. The Hyades themselves are fairly young stars, about 600 million years old. Theyre moving together through the galaxy and in a billion years or so, the stars will have evolved and grown older and scattered apart from each other. Aldebaran will have moved from its position, too, so future observers will no longer see an angry red eye at the top of a vee-shaped swarm of stars. What is Aldebarans Status? Technically speaking Aldebaran is a star that has stopped fusing hydrogen in its core (all stars do this at some point in their lives)  and is now fusing it in a shell of plasma surrounding the core. The core itself is made of helium and collapsed in on itself, sending the temperature and pressure soaring. That heats up the outer layers, causing them to swell. Aldebaran has puffed out so much that its now nearly 45 times the size of the Sun, and is now a red giant. It varies slightly in its brightness, and is slowly blowing its mass out to space. Aldebarans Future In the very distant future, Aldebaran may experience something called a helium flash in its future. This will happen if the core (which is made of helium atoms) gets so densely packed that helium starts trying to fuse to make carbon. The temperature of the core has to be at least 100,000,000 degrees before this will happen, and when it gets that hot, almost all the helium will fuse at once, in a flash. After that, Aldebaran will start to cool and shrink, losing its red giant status. The outer layers of the atmosphere will puff away, forming a glowing cloud of gas that astronomers refer to as a planetary nebula. This wont happen any time soon, but when it does, Aldebaran will, for a short time, glow even more brightly than it does now. Then, it will dim down, and fade slowly away.

Should animal be used for experimentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Should animal be used for experimentation - Essay Example The use of animals in laboratory experiments has its advantages and disadvantages. Although a lot of animal rights activists believe and argue that it is not justifiable nor it is ethical on the part of humans to cause harm to the animals in exchange of improving the life span of human beings, I strongly believe that the benefit of using these animals in medical research purposes significantly outweighs the socio-economic consequences as being protested by the animal rights activists. Even though the use of animals in laboratory testing can be perceived as an act of cruelty, it is undeniable that the end-result of using animals in laboratory experimentation has significantly improved the quality and efficiency of medicine in terms of searching for effective medicine in treating human illnesses and prolonging the lives of each human being. During the past few decades, the use of these animals in medical experiments has contributed a lot in terms of enhancing the available medicine tha t is being used to cure a long list of diseases including diabetes and leprosy among others.

Race and the American Quest for Equality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Race and the American Quest for Equality - Essay Example The fact that German-Americans were not held in internment camps proves there was a racial dimension. Most African-Americans were brought to America against their will and enslaved. Slavery was not a new practice. In the ancient world, people could be enslaved if they were defeated in a war. The fact that Americans enslaved a specific race meant that society justified their actions by claiming that people of that race were inferior. Even after African-Americans were released from slavery, they still had to struggle against widespread racism and economic and political discrimination. Native Americans were horribly disadvantaged when the Europeans first came to America and began to take their land. In a long process, the United States took more and more land until they had taken virtually all the lands that had once belonged to the Native Americans. Discrimination continued against the Native Americans even after their lands had been stolen. They were forced onto small reservations whe re jobs were hard to find and alcoholism and psychological problems went untreated. Even though there has been great progress in reducing racism, these groups are still disadvantaged today. Racism still exists in America even though most people are now afraid to show they are racist or don’t even believe they are racist. One part of racism today is the stereotyping of members of minority groups. Comedians today joke about how Asian Americans are good at math and have small penises and African-Americans are violent and lazy and Native Americans are alcoholics and lazy.... Sometimes these jokes are funny and the comedian is making fun of his own racial group, but that does not mean that it is not racist. The jokers forget that members of a "race" are individuals who cannot be defined by their ethnic background. These groups are also disadvantaged today because of the economic and political discrimination their ancestors have already experienced. If your parents and grandparents were successful, then it is much easier for you to be successful because your parents are able to teach you how to succeed and they can provide support to help you take advantage of your opportunities. People in these groups who have been discriminated against do not have a fair chance to help their children be as successful as those who have not experienced discrimination. San Francisco includes many people in its vision of success, but it is still not perfect. I know many Asian Americans who are successful here, but that does not mean they are always treated fairly. I don't know as many African-Americans, but I know that some of them are successful and some are not as successful. For the ones who aren't as successful, part of the reason they are disadvantaged is probably because of their "race," and this is wrong. I don't know many Native Americans, which shows that they are still disadvantaged, since they used to be the only people here. I feel that the best way for me to change people's vision of who is included in my community is to celebrate my own culture and to try to learn more about others' cultures. Many of the differences that have been attributed to "race," which makes people believe the differences are biological, should be attributed to culture. For example, the comedian that says

The Centrality of Forgiveness Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Centrality of Forgiveness - Assignment Example He further states that both the oppressed and the oppressor risk spending the rest of their lives in self-imposed imprisonment unless they let go of the past and embrace the hope that forgiveness brings. In essence, Gould refers to forgiveness as a form of healing for both the oppressor and the oppressed that holds a future with hope. In the article â€Å"Five forgiveness assessments recommended for conflict resolution Processes† Gould provides detailed guidelines towards holistic forgiveness. He explains that to be able to forgive they must be aware of their subconscious perception of forgiveness. Such holistic forgiveness is very effective in resolving conflicts. From the discourse outlined by Gould, there is the realization that different people have different expectation from the process of forgiveness. It is therefore important to reconcile these expectations and seek for a common ground that will be amicable for the conflicting parties as explained by Gould. Gould also outlines that it is important that the healing for the conflicting parties take a higher priority even before they are persuaded to forgive each other. In essence, forgiveness should be a deliberate move by both individual without any form of external pressure and it should be preceded by

Weber or Foucault Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Weber or Foucault - Essay Example Through this people in North Korea lack proper knowledge of what is happening. They also do not enjoy the freedom of speech something that has been widely criticized. North Korea has been on the spotlight in the recent for cases of human rights violations. It is impossible to establish the full extent of the violations but the country has been on the spot over different kind of violation affecting human rights according to Paul Walker. It has also been realized that the extent of human rights violation is accelerated by lack of awareness. North Korea’s constitution has been accused on infringing on human rights (Walker). Currently the freedom of speech has been limited to radio stations, televisions and music providers who are legally owned by government or government operated. Moreover, humans have been subjected to forced labor as prisoners in concert ration camps in North Korea. As a foreigner it has been difficult to access this country with more strict rules which monitor every visitor in that country. The situation is worse for aid workers who are under constant surveillance and scrutiny as well as exclusion from certain government

Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Financial Management - Essay Example They should who the business is currently progressing and how it is likely to perform in the future. Accounting has its objectives which it is supposed to fulfil. In order to fulfil these objectives, there are concepts and conventions that have to be followed and adhered to. This essay describes ten accounting concepts citing practical examples for each concept. The essay will distinguish between the concepts which are contained in IAS1 from those that are not contained in the IAS1. IAS1 accounting concepts Consistency The first concept of accounting is the consistency. The accounting records should be consistent. The financial statements of one financial year should be consistent with the financial statement of another financial year (Stickney, 2010). They should be easily comparable. There are instances where the methods used in the preparation of financial statement of a certain year are changed in the next financial year hence it becomes difficult to compare the two. This should only be done when the reason is very genuine and satisfactory. Otherwise, the methods should always be similar. A good real life example of the consistency concept is that of a company that uses straight line method in computing depreciation of assets. In all the subsequent years, straight line basis should be used in the computation. This will enable the comparison of depreciation in various financial years. Going Concern Under this concept, it is assumed that an entity should continue to operate for an indefinite period. Recording of assets in the financial statement should be on the basis of original costs rather than the market value (Stickney, 2010). In addition, the concept assumes that the assets will be useful in the business for an indefinite period of time. The idea is that there is no intention to sell the assets in the foreseeable future. In preparing the financial statement, the management is supposed to keep in mind that the business will be in operation for a long per iod of time and in case there are any plans that there are some assets which will be liquidated in the near future, disclosures should be made on the statements. A real life example of a going concern is where a business is being sold to another person. The business will be sold with all its operations, liabilities and assets as they were under the ownership of the previous owner. Nothing should be changed since under the going concern concept, the business is expected to continue as it is indefinitely. Accrual basis It is the requirement under IAS1 that the financial statements of a business entity should be prepared on the accounting accrual basis (Stickney, 2010). Only the cash flow is exempt from this requirement. This means that revenue is supposed to be recorded in the time it was earned. It does not matter when the money or the earnings will actually be received. In the case of expenses, they should be recognized in the year they were incurred and the time they have actually been paid does not matter. For instance, if the business issues goods on credit in a certain financial year, this transaction should be recorded in the financial statement of that year even if the money is to be received in subsequent year(s). Materiality In a business, there are transactions which have the ability to affect the decision making of the management (Stickney, 2010). Such transactions

DRAMA OF DIVERSITY Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DRAMA OF DIVERSITY - Assignment Example It is my personality around those I do not know well that has led to me being labeled and judged unfairly. At several different junctures throughout my life, I have dealt with people who are acquaintances or people that I come into contact with casually. Sometimes, when I engage these people in a conversation, they will tell me straight to my face that they believed I was really stuck up or arrogant before talking to me. I am always astounded and hurt at this revelation. I was brought up to be a humble and well-mannered person, so having these people label me in this fashion is extremely upsetting. I then have to tell these people that I am merely a quiet and reserved person, but this doesn’t change the fact that their words sting me. I can’t help but want to point out the fact that their actions in relaying this label to me shows me a lot about their character. In the end, I just have to remind myself that everyone judges and labels others. I think that the most unfair judgements and labels are those that are formed without knowing a person at all. Essentially, this kind of judgement reminds me of a person being sentenced in a courtroom without the ability to showcase evidence to the contrary. It is because of my own experiences with unfair judgements, that I make it a point to not judge a person, especially if I don’t know them very

Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Financial Management - Essay Example They should who the business is currently progressing and how it is likely to perform in the future. Accounting has its objectives which it is supposed to fulfil. In order to fulfil these objectives, there are concepts and conventions that have to be followed and adhered to. This essay describes ten accounting concepts citing practical examples for each concept. The essay will distinguish between the concepts which are contained in IAS1 from those that are not contained in the IAS1. IAS1 accounting concepts Consistency The first concept of accounting is the consistency. The accounting records should be consistent. The financial statements of one financial year should be consistent with the financial statement of another financial year (Stickney, 2010). They should be easily comparable. There are instances where the methods used in the preparation of financial statement of a certain year are changed in the next financial year hence it becomes difficult to compare the two. This should only be done when the reason is very genuine and satisfactory. Otherwise, the methods should always be similar. A good real life example of the consistency concept is that of a company that uses straight line method in computing depreciation of assets. In all the subsequent years, straight line basis should be used in the computation. This will enable the comparison of depreciation in various financial years. Going Concern Under this concept, it is assumed that an entity should continue to operate for an indefinite period. Recording of assets in the financial statement should be on the basis of original costs rather than the market value (Stickney, 2010). In addition, the concept assumes that the assets will be useful in the business for an indefinite period of time. The idea is that there is no intention to sell the assets in the foreseeable future. In preparing the financial statement, the management is supposed to keep in mind that the business will be in operation for a long per iod of time and in case there are any plans that there are some assets which will be liquidated in the near future, disclosures should be made on the statements. A real life example of a going concern is where a business is being sold to another person. The business will be sold with all its operations, liabilities and assets as they were under the ownership of the previous owner. Nothing should be changed since under the going concern concept, the business is expected to continue as it is indefinitely. Accrual basis It is the requirement under IAS1 that the financial statements of a business entity should be prepared on the accounting accrual basis (Stickney, 2010). Only the cash flow is exempt from this requirement. This means that revenue is supposed to be recorded in the time it was earned. It does not matter when the money or the earnings will actually be received. In the case of expenses, they should be recognized in the year they were incurred and the time they have actually been paid does not matter. For instance, if the business issues goods on credit in a certain financial year, this transaction should be recorded in the financial statement of that year even if the money is to be received in subsequent year(s). Materiality In a business, there are transactions which have the ability to affect the decision making of the management (Stickney, 2010). Such transactions

Stereotypes and Prejudices Essay Example for Free

Stereotypes and Prejudices Essay Everyone uses stereotypes in one way or another. (CX) People tend to judge from their first impressions, but prejudices do not get very dangerous until they lead to stereotyping and discrimination. The victims of prejudices and stereotypes may lose their own individual personalities, and they retreat into their own groups. Both Chopin, in â€Å"Dà ©sirà ©e’s Baby,† and Piercy, who writes â€Å"Barbie Doll,† bring up this problem in their writings. Chopin and Piercy write about stereotypes and prejudices because they want people to think about the devastating effects of stereotypes and prejudices. To develop their theme, they write about the victims of prejudice, how they are treated differently, and how they end up in life. (S) Appearances influence many people. One day, when Desirà ©e stands â€Å"against the stone pillar,† Armand â€Å"ride[s] by and see[s] her there,† and he soon falls in love with her (Chopin 346). (CC) Not knowing much about her characteristics, Armand falls in love with Dà ©sirà ©e, and he marries her not long after that, which can be seen by the fast transition in Chopin’s story. Similarly, the â€Å"girl child† in â€Å"Barbie Doll† is described by her classmate as having â€Å"a great big nose and fat legs† (Piercy 352). Piercy writes that although she â€Å"[is] healthy and tests intelligent,† she keeps â€Å"[going] to and fro apologizing† for her body (352). People care about how she looks more than what she has in her heart. Being victims of prejudices, the characters in Chopin’s and Piercy’s works are treated differently. The way that Dà ©sirà ©e, her baby, and the girl child have to face prejudice is not identical. While talking to her daughter, Madame Valmondà © does not stop looking at the child; in addition, she â€Å"[lifts] it and [walks] with it over the window that [is] lightest,† and she â€Å"[replaces] it beside its mother† (Chopin 346). No one uses â€Å"it† to call a baby, and Dà ©sirà ©e’s son is regarded as an animal because he is not white. From being the â€Å"proudest father in the parish†, Armand turns cruel as he discovers that his child â€Å"is not white; it means that [his wife is] not white† (Chopin 347). (CC) Chopin brings readers back to the age of slavery, which is a shame in humans’ history; the slaves cannot live as humans because they are distinct from the majority of the Whites. (S) Obviously, being different is the end of their life. (CX) On the  other hand, the girl child in â€Å"Barbie Doll† has a chance to live if she gives up her personality. The author writes that she â€Å"[is] advised to play coy, exhorted to come on hearty, exercise, diet, smile and wheedle† (Piercy 352). She is given a chance to live the life of a machine, not a human, which is programmed according to the social standards. â€Å"Her good nature [wears] out like a fan. So she [cuts] off her nose and her legs, and [offers] them up,† writes Piercy (352). The fact that she has a choice is ironic. Chopin and Piercy also come to the same ending for their characters. Dà ©sirà ©e and the girl child finish their lives in the same way. Dà ©sirà ©e does not take the â€Å"broad beaten road which [leads] to the far-off plantation of Valmondà ©,† but she walks â€Å"across a deserted field† (Chopin 348). Readers may ask themselves whether Dà ©sirà ©e does not take or is not allowed to take the broad road. She disappears among the â€Å"reeds and willows†, and she never comes back (Chopin 348). Likewise, the girl child ends up her life â€Å"in the casket displayed on the satin she [lies] with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on, a turned-up putty nose† (Piercy 352). â€Å"Is everyone satisfied?† asks Piercy. (CP) The victims of prejudice are not happy, so they choose the death to cease their misery. It is the time that people have to be aware of stereotypes and prejudices. Both Chopin and Piercy signify that stereotypes and prejudices are destructive. â€Å"Consummation at last† is a sarcastic way of Piercy to tell the truth (352). It is the consummation of people who judge others through appearances. (CP) Prejudice is no longer accepted in modern societies; however, it still exists in the nature of humans. Stereotyping prevents people from learning the real facts about themselves, and it allows them to discriminate and commit various crimes against all kinds of people. In pursuit of a better society, everyone should patiently fight against the unfairness of stereotypes and prejudices.

Established Brand In Highly Competitive Indian Market Marketing Essay

Established Brand In Highly Competitive Indian Market Marketing Essay As there are other strong players like Britannia, HUL, Knorr etc. in the market for branded packaged food, it is imperative for ITC to implement sustainable marketing and operations strategies to gain a competitive advantage and rapidly grow its business share. In order to attract new customers and to retain existing ones a new plan is proposed for ITCs Sunfeast to launch brown bread, as growing health concerns and WHO identifying the high level of sugar, salt and preservative found in biscuits as harmful might affect the brand in near future. The SOSTAC (Situation, Objectives, Strategy, Tactics, Action and Control) framework will be used to understand the companys marketing strategy. Differentiation in terms of product marketing can be useful for Sunfeast as it already has its presence in the FMCG market, a study of existing strategies of this brand in the FMCG market can help draft new marketing strategies for the future. Identifying the strengths of ITC in utilizing its already existing market for product marketing, distribution and also its operations strategies implemented to create brand positioning is important in formulating a new strategy, to achieve its goal of sustainable growth through increased revenues and higher profitability. Detailed understanding of the activities required for the successful implementation and their operationalisation for launching brown bread can be found in the Gantt chart. 2-Introduction As a marketing consultant, this report will aim to exhibit current marketing and operational strategy to implement a sustainable marketing and operations plan that enables Imperial Tobacco Company (ITC) brand of Sunfeast Biscuits to enhance value for its customer and in the process increase its revenue share and profitability The report will demonstrate the ability of Sunfeast to launch brown bread in fast moving consumer good market (FMCG) of India to generate sustainable revenue and value for both customer and the company, by suggesting meaningful changes to its current marketing and operational strategy. 2.1 Objectives Critical evaluation of the current and revised Marketing Strategies In detail, planning of one specific, and new, sustainable initiative, and its marketing/operationalising, to both current and new customers Provide detailed understanding of the activities required for the successful implementation and their operationalisation Justify how both Marketing and Operations must integrate strategically and drive this initiative for sustainable customer value. 3-Analysis The current situation Company Background Sunfeast biscuits ITCs brand in the FMCG segment in the branded and packaged food was initiated in July 2003 with an aim to capture the biscuits market and it has been successful in expanding its foray into a range of biscuits and bakery products. According to business standard (2009) the brand has been catering to all segments of the market with variations in its products to help differentiate itself from other brands like Britannia and Parle. Among the other range of products like tobacco, cigarettes, personal care and stationary, the company has is well diversed portfolio in branded food segment that include staple food, biscuits, snack food, ready-to-eat food and confectionery with over 170 different products under 6 brands. In 2005 Sunfeast diversified into food segment with Sunfeast yippee noodle and pasta to gain sustainable competitive advantage over its competitors like Maggie (Nestle),Knorr (Galaxo Smith Kline) Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), utilising a well established distribution channel that has been created by huge tobacco business. Sunfeasts key products are : Sunfeast Milky Magic ,Sunfeast Marie Light, Golden Bakery ,Dark Fantasy, Dream Cream, Snacky, sweet n salt, Nice ,Sunfeast Benne Vita Flaxseed Biscuits ,Sunfeast Special. (Sunfeast collection -source -itcprtal.com) 3.1.2 PEST ANALYSIS FOR SUNFEAST Political Rapid development programmes, facilitation of increased FDI. Larger centralized wholesale markets (Chengappa, 2011 p.1). Support for competitive markets. Tax relief for international firms, incentive to develop in India. Strong technological focus in order to present to the global economy, India as a technology hub. Greater liberalization in the markets (Market research, 2010 p.1). Economic Rising consumer spending in India, Indias income will triple over the next three decades (McKinsey Global, 2010 p.1). Fifth largest consumer market Predicted to be the second largest economy by 2050 in the BRICS study (Wilson and Purushothaman, 2003 p.19). Declining poverty Greater infrastructure developments, allowing for a greater output of goods. Shift from rural spending to the cities, predicted that by 2025 cities will have 62% of the countrys appending power. Rise in supermarkets. Social Desire for healthier produce. More globalized tastes influencing the range of food produce available. Greater product ranges, in line with consumer expectations for an increasing amount of variety. Increased affluence is re-shaping consumer desires. Focus on international brands and goods. Technological Advances in technology to improve production and operations management. Links with total quality management in which a focus is created on long=term relationships in order to improve production. Rapidly developing market, rate of change is fast and thus, technological improvements will result in a more innovative culture for the firm. Technology facilitates greater quality control. SWOT ANALYSIS FOR SUNFEAST Strengths ITC is one of the worlds most reputable companies Market capitalization to the value of $18 billion Diversified product portfolio, which results in a spreading of strategic risk. Sun Feast has a strong brand image, which connotes happiness and pleasure. Growth rate of 53%. Focus on experiential marketing in which, the emotional aspects of the brand are highlighted. Diversification within the product line, presence in all types of biscuits categories. Strong focus on healthy products, kid friendly goods, which mothers will purchase. This is in line with the changing social environment. Strong brand image and high levels of customer loyalty. Successful move into the savory market. Production of noodles and pasta. Key focus on operations management in order to ensure minimal waste and efficient production. In line with lean manufacturing. Inherent focus on marketing, customer focus and a need to be reactive and adaptive to change. Weaknesses The business continues to use its original trading name Imperial Tobacco Company this could result in negative connotations with the brand and it is difficult to find a link between tobacco and Sunfeast goods. Company is inherently dependent on its tobacco products, as such this accounts for 47% of the firms revenue. Thus, the company is likely to experience future criticism due to the health associations with smoking. Lack of focus on sustainability and corporate social responsibility this is an area which could differentiate the company in the future. Failure to treat staff as an intangible resource (Henry, 2007 p.32). Opportunities Further expansion into the savory market Differentiation strategies in order to gain a competitive advantage (Henry 2007 p.42). Future strategic vision in order to discern trends in the external environment. Internationalization of product range. Utilise innovative strategies in order to leverage sales. Long-term strategic vision to turn the company into Indias premier brand. Opportunity to increase market share Threats Increase in both domestic and international competition. Emerging consumer society could result in greater buyer power. Is being a diversified conglomerate the most beneficial strategy formation? Negative association with the parent company. 3.1.4 ANALYSIS OF SWOT AND PEST A review of the external environment facilitates an ability of the firm to discern trends, which, can then be translated into a strategic vision. To ignore the external environment is to be unfocused, and a in a market as rapidly developing as the food retail market, this could result in a decline in profits for the firm. From a resource-based view of strategy (Wernerfelt, 1997 p.6), it can be seen that ITC are able to utilise their strengths to respond to the market. For example: the company have a strong brand image, and it is this brand image, which has supported the development of the firms diversification strategies. The very move into the production of biscuits has been allowed due to high levels of customer loyalty and recognition that the brand represents quality. This will in the future facilitate the firms diversification into other markets, such as the launch of brown bread products. Finally, consideration must be given to the huge potential, which the domestic market hold s for Sunfeast. India is developing at a rapid rate, and as mentioned has gained increased attention due to the publication of the BRICs study, as such it is important for the firm to further establish themselves in their own domestic market, before tapping into the potential of international markets. Such advice is given due to an influx of international firms, who may produce a more competitive environment, which Sunfeast must be well equipped to respond to. 3.1.5 STP ANALYSIS OF SUNFEAST Segmentation is an adaptive strategy, and as such it consists of a separating of the market with the intention of selecting one or more market segments, which will facilitate the ability to match marketing mixes to specific market needs. Through such a strategy Sunfeast will be able to gain a competitive advantage, and this is something, which as noted by Porter (1998p. 231) has a powerful effect on competitive advantage because it shapes the configuration of the value chain. By understanding consumer needs, Sunfeast will be able to specifically meet their needs and expectations, and therefore, added value results. Thus, at present Sunfeast can be seen to carry out large amounts of market research. This is something, which provides the firm with an ability to position themselves in the market successfully. They are able to segment their consumers based on their needs, for example: families, affluent single consumers, elderly consumers, those with dietary requirements etc. As a result, Sunfeast have several ranges, and this has resulted in them developing their market share in a steady manner (current market share 10%). By focusing on the specific needs of the consumer, Sunfeast are able to provide higher value to their consumers. From an economic perspective, it can be seen that firms create monopolistic market conditions through the utilisation of various curves of demand for a specific product category (Ferstman and Muller, 1993). Thus, in line with Porters five forces model, it can be seen that specific market segmentation lowers competitive forces through the creation of submarkets, and a more focused marketing approach. With regards to positioning, Porter (1998 p.42) noted how a firm must either follow a strategy of cost leadership or differentiation. To follow both is to have an unfocused strategy, and thus it can be seen that ITC through their Sunfeast brand target the mass market through a strategy of cost leadership. By targeting the mass market the firm are able to target to the needs of a large group due to a variety of product lines. This in turn produces higher revenues and results in greater profits for the firm. CURRENT MARKETING AND OPERATIONAL STARTEGY OF SUNFEAST Establishing a new brand in highly competitive Indian biscuit market was not easy for Sunfeast, especially when its an unrelated diversified venture. In 2003, ITC forayed into this market; everybody doubted its ability to launch a successful brand in biscuit market. According to Business Standard (2008) ITCs ability to gain competitive advantage by utilising its competences like highly organised distribution channel and brand building capabilities has helped establish itself as a serious FMCG player. Economic times (2009) states that Sunfeast holds 9-11% share of this market. Careful brand building and heavy and innovative promotion has helped Sunfeast position itself as a dynamic and exiting brand. Being a convenience good, Biscuit industry requires constant innovation so that value can be provided and sustained for both customers and shareholders. Innovative products like orange marie and milk glucose biscuits aim to provide that extra value than can edge Sunfeast over its competitors. In 2003, Sunfeast was launched with innovative six varieties of biscuits. Primarily the product, which has been taken as a teatime snack, has encountered a wild transformation with new innovative flavors of Sunfeast. The core strategy of its products has been new taste, something fresh and 4 biscuits equal to 1 roti did wonders. The excellent promotion and advertising policy like Sunfeast Open and Hara Bano campaigns helped the product and created awareness among people. Market Share Breakdown  -The Indian biscuit industry is dominated by brands like Parle, Britannia and Sunfeast. The company set up and integrated food manufacturing facility in each region that gives them advantage when it comes to distribution and packaging. The company leverages its excellent distribution and supply chain management system that has made sourcing from farmers very easy, 4 lakh display rack is a by product of combining both its mark and operation network. ITCs Sunfeast packaged food has high quality and safety measures with its manufacturing units being accredited by third party for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) standards. Also, ITC has RD centers with product-specific technology cells (PTCs) which cater to the business through market intelligence, product testing and Product Quality Rating System (PQRS) services, Prototyping services through advanced pilot plants, flavor and fragrance development services, periodic audit of factory quality systems and Product Knowledge and Training Workshops. It also collaborates with national and international RD institutions to continuously improve its RD facilities, key processes, products, services performance (www.itcportal.com) TV commercials along with print media are prominent in Sunfeasts advertisements. Celebrity endorsements, children, advertisements revolving around the theme of happiness with a smiling sun as logo, event sponsoring like The Sunfeast Tournament for Tennis, etc. are the promotional activities that the brand engages in (Angshu, 2009). ITC has been investing 35-40% of its turnover from the biscuits segment for advertising and promotion which amounts to about Rs 115-120 crore which is much higher than the 10% investment by leading player, Britannia (rediff.com, June 28, 2006). RECOGNIZED RISKS As mentioned, Sunfeast provides a large selection of different products in packaged food segment, in order to maintain its competitive positioning in the market Sunfeast is continuously increasing its product range. Hence there is a lot to pressure on its marketing department to be dynamic and proactive. New communication strategy is required to reach ever demanding and price wise Indian consumers. Therefore, company cannot rely on same marketing and operational strategies to stay competitive especially when huge global giants like Galaxo SmithKline (GSK) and United biscuits are ready to take on Indian market. Growing health concerns regarding effects of packaged food on kids has not helped the company as majority of the products are targeted towards kids. World health organization (WHO) has identified the high level of sugar, salt and preservative found in biscuits as harmful for kids. Therefore, company has to come up with products that are free from artificial stuff and at the same time is health option rather than just being a snack so that value can be added and sustained for its customers and shareholders in long run. PROPOSED MARKETING PLAN In order to minimize level of salt, sugar and preservative and yet improve value for the customers, Sunfeast can introduce brown bread which is rich in anti-oxidants like magnesium, iron, selenium etc. Brown bread rich fibre content acts as a bowel stimulant and prevents digestive problems and constipation. Brown bread has zero calories and it is very good for health. According to (hdfc.com) there are about 75000 bread manufacturers spread all over India including some of those operating from even residential premises. South India consumes 32 percent of the total bread produced in the country followed by north which consumes about 27per cent, west 23 per cent and east 18 per cent. The total bread production in the country is estimated to be 3.75 million tonnes annually growing at a rate of about 6 per cent. Sunfeast will need to have manufacturing units in all four regions to keep quality and freshness. The key driver that indicates vast scope for consideration of nutrient enriched brown bread is the encouraging trend among of population of lower and middle class to consume nutrient rich bakery products. According to a survey conducted by times of India (2010) bread consumption during breakfast is finding popularity among Indians, replacing traditional Chapattis. This initiative will help Sunfeast gain 2-4 % share in first year and in the year two can company will plan to target wholesale market by supplying Kfc and McDonald direct which will help generate extra revenue and contribute to grow overall revenue of Sunfeast by 4-6% in year three. Sunfeast has a core strategy of providing healthy products at basic price and our proposed plan is in line with overall business strategy. 3.2.1 SOSTAC FRAMEWORK The SOSTAC framework will be used to discuss the marketing strategy for Sunfeast brown bread. This framework helps evaluate the brands position in the market along with identifying ways or options of how to position it in the future (Smith, 2003). SOSTAC- a generic framework for e-marketing planning 3.2.1.1 SITUATION where are we now In order to analyse the current situation the TOWS matrix will be used as below: TOWS MATRIX FOR SUNFEAST External Opportunities: 1-Long-term trend of consumers purchasing healthier goods. 2- Expansion of diversified product ranges. The opportunity to use brand image to further the business portfolio of the group. 3- Increasing consumer spending, more affluent market. 4- Rise in supermarkets allowing for products to reach a greater mass market External Threats: 1- Global economic crisis causing a strain on consumer income. 2-Rise in social concerns, linked to negative connotations with the parent company image. 3-Increased domestic and international competition. ITC must focus on the creation of submarkets and a focus on diversification strategies. Internal Strengths: 1- Trusted brand image, this is linked to higher levels of customer loyalty. 2-Strong, reputational brand in India. 3-Infrastructure development in India. 4-Strong customer focus and a development of the marketing mix. SO strategies: 1-Strong organisational culture, focus on innovative measures. 2-Expansion of product ranges to spread risk and target a larger mass market. 3-Rise in e-commerce, online supermarkets allowing a greater access to markets. ST strategies: 1-Intangible focus on staff. Greater training and development in order to ensure strong supplier relationships and consumer relationships. 2-Differentiation in order to overcome competition. Internal Weaknesses: 1-Confused brand image, no clear link between tobacco and biscuits. 2-Issues with quality control, returned produce. 3-A need for a clear strategic focus. WO strategies: 1-Clear displays of product ranges. 2-Changing the image of ITC in order to present one clear dedication to a specific product range. WT strategies: 1-More customer orientated relationship. 2-Focus on added value for the consumer; experiential marketing will enable a greater ability to link to consumers. 3.2.1.2 MARKETING MIX OF SUNFEAST -7PS The marketing mix of sunfeast has helped it grow 28% in the last quarter. Figure On next page 3.2.2 OBJECTIVES Where do we want to go The objective of introducing Sunfeasts brown bread will be discussed in details below using the SMART model. Specific Greater focus on training programmes for their staff. This will promote the intangible nature of their staff, which in turn will contribute to a competitive advantage. This can be developed within 1-2 years. ( Continued-next page) Focus on strong relationships with the consumer and suppliers. This will increase the quality of the goods being released and will ensure a greater reputation. Continued development on product ranges greater diversification. Launch of a brown bread range. Measurable Feedback systems can be developed to review the financial benefits associated with a greater development of strong relationships with suppliers. Feedback systems from which consumers can give their opinions and input into new product ranges. Achievable ITC has an established recognition as a strong and developed brand. As such it can be seen that the firm have already many provisions in place, which will ensure the achievability of the objectives. http://www.itcportal.com/shareholder/annual-reports/itc-annual-report-2010/images/page39-1.png(The Stockholm challenge award 2006 ITC e-chaupal winner) The firm has strong resources and capabilities. As such it is these resources, which will develop an achievability of the objectives. Realistic The objective to build stronger relationships with both suppliers and consumers is realistic as it is in line with the culture of the firm. Furthermore, it can be seen that the development of new product ranges, is in line with the innovative culture of the firm. Large and experienced workforce. Timed A detailed breakdown of time required to complete this objective can be found in appendix 1. 3.2.3 STRATEGY How do we get there? Strategic vision is seen as the long-term direction of the firm. A focus on a vision is needed and as such this will develop the organisational culture of the firm (Wilson, 1992 p.18). ITC have a strategy, which is customer focused, and in turn this has resulted in a development of ranges, which are specific to consumer needs. Segmentation of the market can clearly be identified as the family market, and the more affluent single market. Thus, a clear differentiation exists between milky family biscuits, and luxury chocolate biscuits. Even better understanding of market segmentation, targeting and positioning is needed for future success. The launch of a brown bread product range requires a greater understanding of the market, and thus a combination of internal, external and customer analysis will contribute to the development of a strategy which is customer focused. 3.2.4 ACTION Who is responsible for what and when? ITC need to conduct in-depth customer research in order to find out whether customers have a desire to eat brown bread, and whether they would purchase such a good, and if so at what price. Pricing strategies are vital, and as such it can be noted that the price point of the product must be correct. Furthermore, due to it being a new product launch, the company must ensure that quality is assured. This therefore promotes a need to focus on marketing strategies and in particular the need to promote experiential marketing (Schmitt, 1999 p.53). The product range can be tried by consumers, and can result in the development of a customer base before the official launch of the product. The company must focus on building an image, and developing an emotional link between the consumer and the product. Table below (Source: Sustainability Report 2010, 2010, pp 30, 31) represents the stakeholders roles and responsibilities at ITC: Stakeholders Role Task Shareholders Ensure continued profitability and growth, communication and investor servicing. Corporate website is made available to inform and serve the shareholders with a direct response email too. Also, the Chairman meets the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting to address and provide clarifications through an open dialogue. Customers Share needs and aspirations for products and services during customer engagement process. Market surveys, personal contacts, customer satisfaction surveys, joint development and improvement projects, discussions of quality, cost, etc during customer engagement process. Employees High levels of performance to strengthen organizational efforts for competitiveness. Through workplace interactions, talent recognition programmes and employees/Manager surveys, employees are engaged to remain globally competitive. Farmers Form part of the value chain. Improve quality of agri-based raw materials sourced from the farmers by partnering with them while ensuring improved productivity, assured markets and better price realization. Suppliers Have a critical role in the value chain as they have the capability to provide quality products and services. During the supplier engagement process, supplier concerns like cost of materials, timely payments, variability in demand, capacity improvements, etc. are discussed and compliance to standards are ascertained. Community Responsible for the social performance of the company as part of its vision for inclusive growth. Community need assessment surveys in and around the operating units to provide support. Government Regulatory and public policy frameworks through industry bodies. Best-in-class practices adopted by proactively interacting with Government Regulatory authorities. 3.2.5 CONTROL How do we keep track of progress? Planning and control are inherently linked and are a necessary part of any marketing plan. Control is a fundamental management activity, and as such it can be seen that there is a growth in strategic management literature (Jaworski, 1988 p.23). At a strategic level it can be seen that the firm must track progress in a manner, which contributes to both the short-term objectives and long term goals of the firm. Feedback systems are vital, and as such it is important that SMART objectives must be considered in a manner, which can be controlled. 3.3 OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES AND PLANS TO OVERCOME THEM. There are operational challenges associated with the development of a new production range. At present the firm produce largely biscuits, however, recently have made moves towards the production of pasta and noodles. Therefore, the firm has the ability to change their production lines in order to facilitate the production of brown bread. Importantly, any change to the organisation has to be linked to change management theories (Hayes, 2007 p.12). And, as such it can be seen that the work of Kotter (1996) must be followed to ensure that the change is a smooth process. Change must be communicated in a clear manner, and most importantly the firm must project that the introduction of a brown bread product range would result in greater opportunities for the firm. 3.4 STRATEGIC INTEGRATION OF MARKETING AND OPERATIONS There is an inherent need for an integrated marketing mix. Furthermore, it is important that any marketing techniques are inherently linked to the operations of the firm. This integration will ensure that a smooth image is presented to the consumer, and such a clear brand image will link to higher levels of customer loyalty. There is a need for the two departments to work together, largely due to the fact that production will vary depending on what the marketing department dictate. The integration of the two will focus on much more than just supply and demand, and will focus on an improved organisational culture (Pickton and Broderick, 2008 p.19). 4- CONCLUSION In conclusion, in relation to the SMART objectives it can be seen that the launch of a brown bread product range would be in line with changing consumer demands, and would be aligned to the projection of the future financial figures. ITC must focus on the provision of product ranges, which are targeted to the needs of the consumer. Healthier demands, and a focus from the government on healthier and outdoors activities, drive the market for healthier produce such a brown bread. By showing the consumer the benefits of the brown bread, they will be able to tap into a differentiated market and gain a competitive advantage.