Environment impact and health risk assessment Essay

Environment impact and health risk assessment - Essay Example The problem of air pollution has increased rapidly since the onset of the industrial revolution. Factories, trains, automobiles, and planes produce tons of emissions that damage both the environment and effect the health of the general population. There is little doubt that the environment has been effected by the corrosive nature of air pollution, for example recent studies have shown that holes in the ozone layer has occurred over the Antarctic and Arctic. The effect on health is even more dramatic. The 1952 London killer smog made headlines throughout the globe. It was estimated that air pollution caused about 4,000 deaths. Carbon monoxide emissions cause apathy, fatigue, headache, disorientation and decreased muscular coordination and visual acuity. Research is underway to assess the long-term effects of chronic exposure to low levels of air pollution most people are exposed to, especially in developed countries. There may well be a link between air pollution and cancer, birth de fects, and genetic mutations. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia â€Å"Air Pollution: Effects† Acid Rain Acid rain (and snow) impacts the environment is several ways including water, land, infrastructure and forest ecology. In lakes and rivers, acidic precipitation lowers the ph level affecting fish and other aquatic life. It also facilitates the erosion of rocks and increases metal, mostly lead in the water. People who walk in and swim in water with a relatively low ph generally suffer no ill effects. Similar to water, acid precipitation lowers the ph in soil. Some plants and crops are adversely affected by a low ph. In addition soil nutrients can leach out of the topsoil and into the groundwater and eventually into the water table. In the United States acid rain occurs virtually everywhere and is especially prevalent in industrial areas. The infrastructure is also affected by acid rain. Recently in the U. S. there have been numerous bridge and highway failures. One of the main causes is corrosion. Acid rain is a major contributor to this phenomenon. Structures of cement, limestone and marble are also susceptible to weathering enhanced by acid precipitation. Acid rain damages trees especially at high elevations. Wildlife is affected negatively. Answers.com â€Å"how does acid† There are also negative effects on human health. The pollutants that cause acid rain are the culprits. Sulfur dioxide and nitric oxides cause a myriad of health problems in humans (and animals). The sulfate and nitrate particles are inhaled and can cause lung inflammation, asthma and emphysema. Fortunately the Acid Rain Program is working toward reducing acid rain and lowering the mortality rate and hospital visits due to this pollution. EPA Home â€Å"Effects of Acid Rain† Global Warming Some people question whether there actually is global warming. It is my opinion that there definitely is. If nothing is done to stop this trend the results will be devastating an d probably irreversible. Even the skeptics cannot argue that ice is melting at the poles. Continued melting will cause an increase in the sea level. There will be other unpleasant consequences. The melting arctic tundra may be causing an increase in methane levels in the atmosphere. A mysterious spike in the methane level in the atmosphere was measured in 2007. Have you noticed the increase in severe storms? I have. Effects of Global Warming â€Å"Global Warming Effects†

The effects of global recession on local economies Essay - 1

The effects of global recession on local economies - Essay Example Multinational and international industries, local industries, government establishments and the consumers themselves are all affected by the changes in the economic standing of the country. Global recession has a great impact on the value of local and international currencies, generally affecting end-users and households. In effect, the buying capability of the consumers goes down. The general concept in putting up a business is simple, to profit from it. However, this simple concept requires a lot of fields to be taken into consideration before investors or businessmen can make it happen. In a basic business planning, the structure of study for putting up a business or developing an existing one is as follows: investment, resources and raw materials, market demand and profit and loss forecast. Investment is the capital cost is one of the most common things that are taken into consideration in a large or small medium business setup (Northcott 1992). This is the total amount of currency or money a businessman or a corporation invests to put up or develop an existing business. The total cost of the investment will be a basis for the company to determine the total cost of their liabilities. There should also be funds or a part of the budget that goes to the emergency funds for unexpected situation. These are part of the investment cost and are called funds margin or more commonly known as petty cash. Although this is the type of fund that should be replenished every month, quarter or year depending on the initial business funding structure of the company. Its initial will still be included in the total investment cost. Resource is also one of the major factors to be considered in putting up or developing an existing business. Raw materials are products that are bought together for the use for production purposes (Blair and Hitchcock 2001). There are two major types of categories in the business industry: the

The Aesthetical Philosophies of St Thomas Aquinas Essay Example for Free

The Aesthetical Philosophies of St Thomas Aquinas Essay Thomist philosophy as the only true Christian philosophy3 , regarded to the best of its kind. As we delved into the study of the aesthetics of Tomas Aquinas, the interesting thing about it that there seemed to be no singular book written about the topic among his great body of philosophical oeuvre. It also have been said that he seemed to be not written a clear, specific aesthetic theory4 . Yet his appreciation of beauty and aesthetics and his artistic personality are spread throughout and very much evident in his works. Now lays a problem for me, our contemporary era in the 21st century has no relevant comparison to the medieval times. Our contemporary times with the technological advancements and societal developments and upheavals present little resemblance to the conditions of the Middle Ages. To my mind the world we are living in, i. e. my life and my way of thinking, is anything but medieval. Studying the philosophies of St. Thomas, made me think if there is any significance of his aesthetic principles to my artistic future. Now comes the question: do the aesthetic principles of St. Thomas still be applicable to our fickle fast-faced times of â€Å"anything-is-possible† and â€Å"art-isover†5 mentality? In these era of mobile phones, Internet, iPodâ„ ¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s, iPadâ„ ¢s and Digital Cameras, where beauty is a sinuous shape and titanium casings to to die-for, do integritas, proportio, and claritas6 still ring true to the contemporary artists like Vik Muniz7 , designers at Apple ®, or to the recent OSCARâ„ ¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s best picture movie director of â€Å"The King’s Speech†, are they even applicable to other arts such as performance art like dance? What got me interested in this particular topic is stating the obvious: I am curious if St. Thomas aesthetics and appreciation of beauty is still relevant to me? With a 700 years between us, can his teaching still have any impact to me? A newbie artist / graduate student. 3 4 5 Ralph McInerny, Thomas Aquinas: Selected Writings (London: Penguin Books, 1998) p. xxvii Umberto Eco, The Aesthetic of Thomas Aquinas (Milan: Gruppo Editoriale Fabbri, 1970) p. 19 Arthur Danto, The End of Art in the Philosophical Disenfranchisement of Art (New York: Columbia Uni- versity Press, 1986) pp 85 6 7 Thomas Aquinas, â€Å"Summa Theologica† Q39, Ar 8. Vik Muniz is a Brazilian Artist who is famous for bringing multi-media artform to the wide acceptance of the public. See his TED video presentation of his life, work and artistic philosophy: http://blog. ted. com/2007/04/20/vik_muniz_on_te/ Majella Salceda-Tresvalles †¢ [emailprotected] com †¢ UST Graduate School 4 Tomasso D’Aquino His education and professional life Thomas from the land Aquino was born in the thirteenth century Italy, in 1225, at a time of resurgence in the appreciation of the classical literature, philosophical writings and concepts. He was born to an aristocratic class, and having been well provided for, had been educated at the nearby monastery of Monte Cassino. He was exposed very early in his life to musical education thanks to the resources of his landed family. Having been honed early in rhetoric, grammar, dialectic in his trivium years and later, quadrivium of arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy8 , the appreciation of the finer arts of music, poetry and literature came very natural. Through his education that his aesthetic sense was developed. His early grasp of musical harmony shows in his liturgical musical compositions later in his professional life. His solid background in rhetoric is well evident in his voluminous writings of the Summas, Commentaries, Letters, etc. All these presents us, modern people, a deep artistic appreciation of the many creative talents of Thomas Aquinas. Thomas wrote on his appreciation of beauty of the arts was coming from the breath of his education and experience and not merely coming from detached point of view of an observer or mere intellectual. Before becoming a friar himself he had already a highly-developed sense of artistic talent and aesthetics. Much was said about how Tomas became a Dominican, a mendicant order of friars, much to the consternation of his wealthy family who had designs for him to become a landlord himself or become an Abbot of the nearby Benedictine Abbey, Monte Cassino, much like his uncle the Abbot Sinibald. But Tomas had other plans. He became a Dominican, this ambition was instrumental to his success as the leading thinkers of all history. It was with the Dominicans that 8 Ralph McInerny, editor, Thomas Aquinas Selected Writings, (London: Penguin Books, 1998) pp. x Majella Salceda-Tresvalles †¢ [emailprotected] com †¢ UST Graduate School 5 his in-depth intellect was nurtured and encouraged and given credence. It was a match simply planned in heaven! Tomas became a protege of Albertus Magnus, a giant among the intellectuals in the Dominican order. But earlier on, in his education at the University of Naples Tomas was introduced by one of his teachers, Master Lawrence, a Transylvanian, of to the great writings of Aristotle9. It also have to be noted that the classical philosophies at that time had a resurgence by way of Alexandria. The islamic scientists and scholars have been known to have and propagated the ideas championed by Plato, Aristotle 10, Plotinus, Boethius and many more. St. Albert the Great nurtured Tomas’ talent and intelligence to maturity. To cite a few of his compositions, â€Å"The Office and Mass of Corpus Christi† is surely the most admirable liturgical service ever composed, the â€Å"Adoro Te† touches deep emotion and has been considered as a great poetry. Tomas was not only exact in his theology but also a master of prosody11 . Tomas became a bright young teacher himself after being conferred a master at the University of Paris. He was under the tutelage of his great mentor, Albertus Magnus and eventually out-shined his master. A contemporary of Tomas was Giovanni Di Fidanza, who later became Bonaventure, a Franciscan who later became a saint himself. The two had a mutual respect for each other but that relationship was later tested by a religious controversy, which we will not be discussing, as the scope of this paper is limited. The two former classmates went on their separate directions, Thomas became a renowned teacher and philosopher, had two stints as regent master of the Parisian Dominican house and Bonaventure, a noted Theologian, eventually became the Minister General of the order of Franciscans. Both led parallel lives and both died in the same year, 1274, a mere four months of each other. Bonaventure was eventually declared a â€Å"Doctor Seraphicus† and we know Tomas is â€Å"Doctor Angelicus† and the â€Å"Doctor Universalis†. St. Thomas died early without finishing his greatest work, the third part of Summa Theologica, about Christ. Around six months prior to his untimely 9 Peter Strather, Thomas Aquinas in 90 Minutes An Audiobook (Blackstone: London, N. d. ) Ibid. David Knowles, â€Å"The Evolution of the Medieval Thought† 2nd ed. (Longman Group: Essex, England, 10 11 1988), p235 Majella Salceda-Tresvalles †¢ [emailprotected] com †¢ UST Graduate School 6 death, he had another vision of God that changed his point-of-view. Apparently he had conversation with God while saying a mass, this vision had shown him the magnificence and grandeur of God. After which, he ‘hanged his writing instruments’, so to speak. His reasoning was that all his writings were mere ‘straw’ compared to the majesty of God. Tomas was canonized a saint some fifty years after his death, but not without controversy within the theological community, largely brought by the Franciscans 12 and other theologian opposed to his theoglogy. But Pope Leo XIII, an ardent Thomist scholar, prevailed in 1879, citing in his encyclical Aeterni Patris that the theology of Thomas is philosophia perenis, whose philosophies are to be taught in all the religious schools from there on after. Thus, the prophesy of Albertus Magnus came true, that the ‘dumb ox’s bellowing will be heard to the ends of the earth’, and it is still being heard as of this day, loud and clear. 12 â€Å"St. Thomas Aquinas†, New Advent website, 7 Majella Salceda-Tresvalles †¢ [emailprotected] com †¢ UST Graduate School Medieval Concept of Beauty and Art Gothic Cathedral in Lyon, France (Photo Credit: Majella Salceda-Tresvalles, 2008) Let us start by understanding the concept of beauty and art during the medieval times, the appreciation of beauty is very much different from appreciation of arts. Way back in the classical times in Greece, Arts, or Ars, as it was known then, as techne (‘ ’, meaning craft)13 were related to craftmaking only, unlike what we know of art today. The artist then was a craftsman that churns the requirements of the religious to come up with tall churches, golden vestments and bejeweled chalices. The monarchs and landed too are among the privileged few that can afford to have beautiful things to adorn their palaces and splendid residences. Medieval thought, like the classical thought, did not considered that art necessarily had to do with the production of beautiful things or stimulation of aesthetic pleasure. As â€Å"Ars† (art) signified a technique for constructing objects. If some of these objects appeared to be beautiful, this was a side issue. However this â€Å"side issue† is central to modern philosophy, to which the artistic experience is always somehow connected with aesthetic experience. 14 13 14 Steve Shipps, (Re)Thinking ‘Art’: A Guide for Beginners (USA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2008) pp. 4 Eco, Aesthetic of Thomas Aquinas, pp. 3 Majella Salceda-Tresvalles †¢ [emailprotected] com †¢ UST Graduate School 8 A survey of the history of medieval aesthetics provides ample evidence of the two of the elements in medieval culture: (1) philosophical reflection on beauty; (2) a concrete and conscious awareness of the beauty of things and the aesthetic reality of art. Some historian assert that the two are in fact independent of each other, the metaphysical reflection on beauty was something quite separate from the everyday, concrete aesthetic sensibility at that time. In the medieval times, the appreciation of beauty in the everyday living was grounded on the ordinary taste. It cannot be denied that the medievals had aesthetic sense, yet it must be noted too that during those times, they lack in the proper artistic semantics unlike what we have in our â€Å"advanced† era of the 21st century. But not knowing the terminologies does not mean that they did not admire what beauty was. One only has to survey the designs of medieval cathedrals, musical compositions, commissions to produce various metal functional implements, to agree that truly there was medieval aesthetics. The integration of the temporal pleasures to the theological beauty was very much evident in the Middle Ages, i. e. temporal pleasures admiration of the beauty of a church, theological beauty- church architectural design served to â€Å"give praise† to the divinity of God. If art could simultaneously instruct and delight (prodesse et delectare) this was because the medieval sensibility like the whole medieval culture as a whole, was an â€Å"integrated† sensibility. 16 This integration was used to the fore by the church, choosing the art in churches to simultaneously instruct and enhance worship. The Catholic Church was the biggest benefactor or client for the artisans, art was used for religious, court and political purposes only. Whether one favors that the only appreciation of beauty was limited to theological aspects or only of this earth, or both, the apparent system of aesthetic sensibility, i. e. its limitations in semantics should be taken into account within the cultural framework of the medievals at the time. Lets face it, the wheels of history was moving slowly during that time, and inventing new words and discovering new things took time.

The appointment of Silvio Napoli at Schindler India

The appointment of Silvio Napoli at Schindler India The decision to choose Silvio Napoli as the general manager for Schindler India was not right. For status, his character and way of doing business was such that he used to dictate what to be done. The worrier character was not good for India where people are open minded. He did not have any international experience. Napoli ought to have been taken through some training before being assigned the job in India. Schindler also had very high expectation because Napoli believed that the company was to grow at a very fast rate in the first five years. Unfortunately this did not happen. Schinders target was to sell 50 units in the first year and occupy 20% of the market share after five years. There are however instances when Napoli made reasonable decisions in his role as general manager. Selecting a team of experienced members was one such instance. Adding buy-ins onto the companys business model was also a wise step. It was however very unwise of him to relocate his family at the same time when he was to begin his work as a general manager. So much time was wasted dealing with personal issues making him lack the much needed concentration. Rejecting to make alterations in the business plan when need arose was also a negative decision. The increase in transfer rates and imports rates from 22% to 56% was a big blow to the company but it was a good idea to turn to outsourcing strategy. The lack of urgency by the Europe plant to the needs of the India plant was also discouraging. Napoli should therefore have reported the matter to Mr. Schindler so that he could use his power to make the plans work out faster. Did Schindler make the right choice in selecting Silvio Napoli as general manager for India? Schindler must have made the worst choice in selecting Silvio Napoli to be their general manager in India. As much as he might have had success in Switzerland, India was a new world that had its own way of doing business. Its no doubt that Napoli was an MBA graduate from Harvard Business School but in business there is more to offer than the mere knowledge. Besides heading such a huge firm, the company ought to have selected an individual with international experience in the real world. Its a nice thing that he was successful in Switzerland but there were still many aspects that Schindler had to consider. To begin with, Napolis management style was not applicable in India. He is one person who believes that people have to follow what he says and he calls all the shots. He must have developed this form of leadership from the culture in Swtizerland where hierarchy was very clear. For instance Napoli recalls that when he began his first job in Sweden, the employees were very responsive to anything he requested. This is just a confirmation that the leaders were very much feared in Switzerland. One of the employees even says He was the assistant to Mr. Schindler, so I knew Id better be nice to him. It must have been the culture in Switzerland to tread carefully with those in leadership. Unfortunately Napoli transferred this culture to India without really understanding that this was a different country with different traditions. It is common for a businessman to confront a new culture by thinking that his way was the best way. This is exactly what Napoli did. From the study, he says he had to adapt his way of management which did not succeed. Schindler ought to have taken Napoli through some management training before giving him a job in a different country. The most important area that needed training was the issue of building relationships. Indians have a very different way of doing business since they value good relationships before anything else. For one to succeed in doing business in India, he has to understand that trust is a very important virtue for them. This is an area where Napoli definitely failed since be imposed his own way of management. Moreover, in India everybody is very respective of his position and duties. For instance moving a desk in the office can not be done by anyone else other than the peon. The best general manager had to be an individual who could change his behavior under different circumstances depending on the situation. It would therefore been a good idea for the company to take some of its managers through some kind of mentality test so as to determine the best man for the position. The general manager makes very important decisions for the company and therefore should understand his employees. A good organizational culture is also very important for any company. The general manager should therefore be capable of creating good relationship between employees and the leadership as well as amongst the employees. This is where Napoli went totally wrong. His colleagues describe him as impatient, impulsive and over-communicative on some occasions. If fellow workmates can say this about their general manager then there must be a very big problem. The expectations of Schindler were very high since it needed to grow very fast within a short period of time. With Napolis character: impulsive, impatient and so on, it would most probably take a very long time before the Indian branch stabilized and began making the required profits. Schindlers expectations were to make sales of about 50 units during the first year of business and acquire 20% market share in the first five years. These are definitely high expectations for an individual who had very little experience in international business. The company should have chosen a general manager who had worked for the company for a longer time and had the experience of working in various countries or various cultures. Just like in Switzerland where Napoli was answerable to the CEO, it would have been better if the company had done the same in India. It even appears that it was obvious that Napoli was not fit for the job in India. In the case study, one of his colleagues says He wants eve rything done yesterday and in India things dont get done yesterday. This is a clear indication that Napolis character was not compatible with the culture in India. Looking at the whole study, the main problem seemed to be on poor leadership. This is enough proof that Napoli was not fit for the job. On several occasions he was seen to underestimate the potential of his management team and yet he had hired them for the same job of providing advice. For instance when he realized that the team had taken an order for custom glass pod elevators, he rejected the order because he claimed that it was a violation of the companys strategy. Remember this was a decision from a team he had picked because he needed assistance from the members. On another occasion he rejected another offer to equip a government building in Mumbai with glass walled elevators. Team members insisted that it was only a minor modification of their S001 model but Napoli insisted that it would be difficult for a new team to install the elevators. A good general manager should be one who can accept challenges and be ready to take up the job as long as it is for the good of the company . Similarly he should be able to accept the views of his management team because this is what they are paid for. There is no need in having a team whose views do not count on any occasion. He dictated all that was to be done. As Luc Bonnard, how would you evaluate Silvios first seven months as general manager of the Indian company? What advice would you offer? Even though there were negative attributes with Silvios performance, it is worth saying that he also showed very positive performance on some occasions. For instance he was very logical in selecting his management team. His plan was well thought since he understood the kind of environment he was working in. It was therefore wise for him to select his team from a pool of experienced candidates identified by Egon Zehnder. Starting with 42 year old Kara Signh as the managing director, to 33 year old Jujudan Jena who was recruited for the position of chief financial officer, it was wise of him to pick a team of experienced individuals to help him since he lacked the experience. This team would help show the right way by which the company was to follow. Considering the fact that the selected team was from India, they had a clue on what to expect and would therefore provide the best advice. Most importantly, he had a reason for the selection of every member of the team. For instance when picking the chief financial officer, he said You try to see whether the character of the person is compatible with yoursà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(Fagan, Yoshino Bartlett 6). This is an indication that he did not just choose blindly but was looking at very important characteristics. He is justified to do so because if you choose someone that you are not compatible with, it might be difficult to make decisions. A compatible team ensures that there is trust amongst the members and most importantly good relationship or cohesion. Without trust, members will all be in differences and poor working relationships is the last thing one would need for such a company with high expectations. It was also a positive initiative for Silvio to hold a meeting with his teammates to introduce them to one another so that they could know who they were working with. Meeting also helps bring about one on one communication among team members and thereby developing trust among the members. It is through this meeting that members could also share views on how to run the business. Silvio also had the desire to get views from the management team rather than solely relying on his own ideas. Considering that these were people who were to help run the company, it was important that buy-ins from the team were added to Silvios business model right from the word go. On a negative point of view, it was wrong for him to relocate his family when he was supposed to start his work in India. The best option would be for him to either move the family after he had established the company and it had started running or he would have moved the family prior to his commencement of work. There was so much time lost dealing with family issues like the accidents his children had gone through leave alone spending so much time looking for a good place to live. This time could be dedicated to working at the company. Because of his family problems: his child getting cut on the forehead, his wife suffering from food poison and his son breaking his leg made him unsettled and therefore he could not concentrate on his work. There was no single goal that was well executed because her was not settled. He also ought to have accepted to make alterations when the market required that the business plan needed to be altered. The problem with Silvio was that he was so determined to go by his business plan even when it was so obvious that it wont work. For instance his plan suggested that there would be no customization of products. On the other hand, customers reveled that there was no way the standard product line was going to be accepted for the initial orders received by Schindler India. The best advice I would give the company is for its management to reevaluate Schindler Indias business plan. From there, Silvio will have to gain the teams respect and support for the business to run smoothly. The culture back in Switzerland was that you had to respect your leader. This is the reason as to why Silvio earned respect from the companys employees regardless of how tough he was. The situation in India is however different; Silvio has to make sure that he is respected by the management team. His worrier style of management was not doing him any good in India. Perhaps it was time that he learned the monk attributes for him to earn the respect of team members. What advice would you give to Silvio regarding his decision on the non-standard glass wall elevator that has been ordered? Despite the fact that the company was going to make a loss if it accepted the order, Silvio should just go ahead and accept it. The most important thing at this point is for the company to penetrate into the market. Unfortunately, sometimes a business just has to make some loss to benefit from it in another way. The market is dominated by strong competitors and this is the chance to show customers the difference between the Schindler and other competitors. If Silvio can accept the order, the company will most likely be accepted in the market because it provides what the customers need. The company could still end up making profits if Silvio demonstrate reliability, pulls off installation and most importantly provide the customers with superior services than its competitors. Even though its always good for the management to commit itself to the companys business plan, sometimes it calls for adjustments in one way or the other to benefit from market share. At this point the company had not received much entry into the market. By accepting the order to supply a government building with elevators that had glass walls, it will give the company entry into a very important part of the market. The government as an institution adds new buildings every now and then. Supplying the government building with the best elevators, might earn the company more orders when need arise. Customer loyalty is very important in business because it keeps the customers coming back. It also opens for more ways because a good job to a customer will make him inform his friends about the good job you did and this might help the company own a bigger market share. Besides the teams members some of who are experts in the elevator industry understand that the glass-walled elevators was only a modification of the standard product the company had. There is no doubt that it might cost the company a little more but the most important issue is it will still give the company a very good opportunity to penetrate into the market. Silvio should also take up the initiative to inform Mr. Schindler about European plans which are definitely not giving him the support he needs. It was very important for the company to outsource the S001 model to local suppliers immediately. Any details will definitely be disadvantageous to the company. Mr. Schindler needs to be informed about the situation so that he might use his power and position to talk to the Europe plant to quickly respond to the needs of the Indian plant. The increase of rates of import duty from 22% to 56% has a very devastating effect to the companys objective of breaking even. It was very wise for the company to take the alternative idea of outsourcing elevators to local suppliers. This is the spirit of a successful company at this point in time when competition is high. Plans to accelerate the supply of S001 could not be delayed any longer because this was the only available chance for the success of the company. 50 units are enough to make good money fo r the company. Informing the CEO about the delays might see things change. How should he deal with the challenge he is facing over transfer prices and limited technical cooperation from the Europe plants? Both the transfer prices and limited technical cooperation from the Europe plants are serious issues that need immediate attention since they are crippling the company pursue for success. According to the companys business plan, the company was to outsource key logistic and manufacturing function in order to gain the much needed competitive advantage. This is the best way for the company to evade the high import duties charged by India and high transfer prices and most importantly to keep the overhead cost low. The first option he has would be to stick to the plans because this will cut the cost. By doing so, there will be no need to import items from abroad because the company will deal with what is locally available. He should therefore stick to the outsourcing concept because this is the best way to avoid the transfer rates and high import rates. However, since the European plant seems to be slow in responding to Schindler Indias needs, it would be better for Silvio to inform Mr. Schindler about the issue. With his position and power, he is most likely to make the European companies to harry up. On the other hand if he kept quite, all the blame will be upon him, and the compny will lose out on its desire to own 20 % of the market share. One of the responsibilities of a general manager is to discuss the companys policies and strategies with the top management. The final approval comes from top management. In this situation, Mr. Schindler should be informed about the delays because he is in a better position to deal with the European plants. Time is of the essence for the company and it cannot afford to waste any single minute if it is to remain competitive in the market. All its competitors must be looking for ways to cut down on their overall costs. The best company will therefore be that which acts quickly and respond to the needs of the customers. Unfortunately, issues to do with increase in transfer rates or import duties do not concern the customers. For them, the most important thing is getting the best products at reasonable prices. It is however, still important that Schindler India maintains good relationship with the companys plant in Europe because these are parts of one family. There is no need Silvio to make the managers of the plant in Europe to look incompetent. It is important that he reports the matter to the CEO in a manner that would not make the management of the Europe plant look incompetent. There might be some miscommunication or some technical problem that was beyond the control of the management team of the plant. In business sometimes things happen beyond the control of the management team but the most important thing is how the team deals with it. Its good that Alfred Schindler understands that the business experience in India was similar to that of a battlefield. He also understands that the environment in India was very hostile and calls for the management team to be tough. The sudden increase in transfer rates is an example of the hostile environment. It calls for Silvio to remain calm and deal with the issue in the right way. A direct communication with the general manager of the Europe plant could also have been of importance. The best mode of communication would be to call him directly other than using mails or talking to other members of the management team. Alternatively he would have taken a fight to the Europe plant to find out what the issue really was. A good general manager should act fast to make corrections whenever necessary. It is of no help for him to remain in India and keep waiting for response from Europe. Urgent issues need urgent response and this was an urgent issue that ought to be solved immediately. What action should Luc Bonnard take with Napoli moving forward? Looking at Napolis profile, he seems to posses the much needed knowledge to run a business. He needs to understand that every environment has its own way of doing business. To begin with Napoli needs to be taken for some serious training on how to conduct business in different countries or cultures. It is not just enough to base the success of an individual on his educational background, his character or his performance in one project. There is no doubt that Napoli was successful in Switzerland. But this is India and not Switzerland. Moreover, in Switzerland he used to report to the CEO and the Swiss culture was such that employees were very cautious when dealing with people in top management positions. However, the culture was totally different. For instance unlike in Switzerland where a young veteran said He was the assistant to Mr. Schindler, so I knew Id better be nice to him, the situation totally different in Indi(Fagan, Yoshino Bartlett 3). The first question he was asked by M.K was who are your friends inside the company? Who doesnt like you?Fagan, Yoshino Bartlett 5) This implies that Indians are much brave and would speak their minds out. Other than training he also needs to shade his worrier character and pick up the monk character. Luc Bonnard should therefore make sure that Napoli looks at his business plan afresh. Together with his management team, Napoli should re-evaluate the companys aspirations since the business model seemed to be over ambitious. For instance it stated that the company was to make a high level growth by the end of its first five years in the market. What he did not understand was that the market environment in India was unpredictable and you have to use the first year to learn before making conclusive plans. Similarly, the business model the company went for had never been attempted in India. Even though its wise to come up with new ideas in business, a research has to be done before putting the idea to practice. Focusing on the standardized elevators was not a wise move because it had never been done before. There is a need for a business model to be flexible if a company is to succeed in any competitive market. This is also an area that Bonnard should ensure that Napoli readjusts in hi s business model. The biggest obstacle to Schindler India success has to be Napolis business model. If he has to continue as at general manager, Bonnard should also ensure that this obstacle is conquered for the company to register any growth. Bonnard should also ask Napoli to reevaluate his management team. To be specific, the chief financial officer needs to pull up his socks. It is the responsibility of the chief financial officer to evaluate the market situations and predict any possible changes to come in future. He seems to have failed on this part because it was his responsibility to inform the company in advance about the changes in transfer prices and export. The idea of using outsourcing as a strategy to go past the problem of increased transfer and import rates seemed to have backfired. Advice on money matters should be addressed by the chief financial officer and therefore he must have been the source of this strategy. Apart from Jena Jujudhan, he does not seem to have enough experience to control financial matters of an international company under pressure of establishing itself in a new market. Although it might not be wise to suck a general manager after such a short time, this might also be a good solution for the company. Another experienced member could be given the mandate to run the plant in India while Napoli could be returned to Switzerland where he seems to be successful. As the Vice President, Bonnard should also consider teaming up with a local elevator company because it might have an understanding of how the market in India works. By going into the new market without merging with any other company, it proved to be a little bit difficult. Even though the management team was made up of experienced members who had worked in India, this was not enough. All of them were from different companies and therefore had different strategies. Bonnard should therefore consider merging with a local company in order to benefit from some of its customers.

Their Eyes Were Watching God 4 :: essays research papers

Unlike The Odyssey or any other epic tales, Their Eyes Were Watching God has a different perspective of what a hero is. In this novel, Hurston writes a story about an African-American woman named Janie Crawford whose quest is to find her identity and desire as a human being to be loved and appreciated for who she is. Her quest to fulfill those desires is not easy since she has to overcome so many obstacles and challenges in her life. A superiority that her Nanny posses over her to determine Janie's own life when she was a teenager and being a beautiful accessory to the glory of Joe Starks' are some of the experience that she encounters. She also has to make some sacrifices. And yet, just like any other heroes, at the end, she returns to her home with a victory on her hands. Janie who continually finds her being defined by other people rather than by herself never feels loved, either by her parents or by anybody else. Her mother abandoned her shortly after giving birth to her. All she had was her grandmother, Nanny, who protected and looked after her when she was a child. But that was it. She was even unaware that she is black until, at age six, she saw a photograph of herself. Her Nanny who was enslaved most of her lifetime only told her that a woman can only be happy when she marries someone who can provide wealth, property, and security to his wife. Nanny knew nothing about love since she never experienced it. She regarded that matter as unnecessary for her as well as for Janie. And for that reason, when Janie was about to enter her womanhood in searching for that love, Nanny forced her to marry Mr. Logan Killicks, a much older man that can offer Janie the protection and security, plus a sixty-acre potato farm. Although Janie in her heart never approv es what her Nanny forced her to do, she did it anyway. She convinced herself that by the time she became Mrs. Killick, she would get that love, which turned out to be wrong. Nanny's biggest mistake is that she never consults with Janie about what she wants in life. Janie's second husband, Joe Starks, is a repeat of Janie's unhappiness in marriage. At first, Janie looked at Joe as a man who would offer her an escape from her loveless marriage with Mr.

Nancy J. Chodorow :: Biography

Personal Background Chodorow is often appointed as a leading theorist in feminist thought, especially in the field of psychoanalysis and feminist psychology. Her essays are included in many books concerning gender roles and construction as well as psychoanalysis. Her evaluations of the ways in which the psychological dynamics of the gender system is systematically generated and subject to historical change and development are acknowledged as significant contributions to feminist theory. Chodorow is now at the University of California at Berkeley, and she continues her Education and Training She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1966, she earned her PhD in sociology from Brandeis University and received her psychoanalytic training at the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute. She then received her PhD from Brandeis University in 1975. Major Contributions Chodorow begins her experiences with challenging psychoanalyst none other than Sigmund Frued. His ambition for psychoanalysis led him to his first methods and theories. These methods and theories are as followed; Oedipus complex, dream analysis and his understanding of sexuality and psychopathology. Nancy was inspired by the psychology of women contributions of the 1920’s and 1930’s. Frued’s Oedipus pivots an entire legacy of Nancy’s curiosity of mother-daughter psychology, and which led Frued (1931) to redefine the psychology of feminity. As Chodorow was influenced by the influencing psychoanalysis in the 1930’s, she realized that psychological anthropology (her own subspecialty) had explored the psychology of gender culture. Chodorow’s first women’s conference in 1969 is what propelled her and other women into awareness. â€Å"Being and Doing† was Chodorow’s first published book which contained a cross-cultural examination of the socialization of Males and Females (1972). Its main focus was that sexism is political, economic, familial institutions in terms of men’s behavior toward women. Chodorow explains that â€Å"Being and Doing† located the men’s origin of male dominance in men’s dread of women and fear of their own external feminity. Surprisingly, Chodorow found that male and female bisexual identifications were asymmetrical; the man’s being more threatening. (Chodorow, 2004). The book concluded that women’s identity was based on â€Å"being† and men’s masculine identity was based on â€Å"doing.† â€Å"Being and Doing† was published over 30 years ago and inadvertently anticipated many of themes that are now found in psychoanalytic rethinking of feminity. At this point in time Chodorow insists to take an intuitive and natural mode; beginning with a single, self-evident, taken-for granted but previously unnoticed or unstudied feature of psychic or culture world and expand the consequences of the fact from within the clinical moment (Chodorow, 2004).

Digital Bangladesh Essay

Bangladesh is a developing country. She achieved independence 42 years ago but still she depends on foreign helps regarding many issues. She is trapped in a lot of problems such as poverty, over population, unemployment, corruption, health hazard, food and accommodation crisis, illiteracy etc. But, the present government has promised and started taking steps to change the situation and has determined to build a â€Å"Digital Bangladesh†. The sense of Digital Bangladesh is not clear yet. We assume that the gov. wants to make Bd fully digitalized by the year of 2021 through application of third generation information and communication technology. It was an election manifesto(2008) of Awami League, one of the leading political parties of Bangladesh. The philosophy of Digital Bangladesh comprises ensuring people’s democracy and human rights, transparency, accountability, establishing justice and ensuring delivery of gov. services to the citizens through maximum use of techn ology with the overall improvement of the daily lifestyle of people of all classes. The government further emphasized on the four elements of DB Visions which are: human resource development, people development, civil services and use of information technology in all possible sectors. It is not only e-governance or e-commerce or e-banking or operating a country wide mobile phone network, it is a combination of all of them. It is a country-wide application of 3G ICT to institutionalize the best management practices in every sectors and sub-sectors. The scope of Digital Bangladesh is very wide. It includes the following substances: democracy and effective parliament, political framework, decentralization of power and people’s participation, good governance through establishing rule of law and avoiding political partisanship, corruption free society, empowerment and equal rights for women, economic development and initiative, infrastructural development, environment etc. To digitalize Bangladesh with 3G technology in 12 years is fairly ambitious. It needs strong commitment and strategic planning for sustainable Digital Bangladesh. The starting must focus on developing infrastructure in terms of hardware, software and manpower. Merely buying millions of computers and distributing among several thousand workstations in educational institutions, commercial and medical organizations will not digitalize Bangladesh. Local qualified manpower must be available to run the system without depending on foreign experts. To produce such human resources, government must assign highest priority to the  improvement of science, technology and management education and develop our own manpower. Unless we perform the basic terms, Digital Bangladesh will make Bangladesh highly vulnerable by making dependent on those nations that manufacture, control and distribute ICT. Sustainability is more imp than starting. If we fail to manage a sustainable digital Bangladesh with our own resources, Digital Bangladesh 2021 will harm rather than benefit the nation. But if we succeed, Bangladesh will achieve independence literally.