Morality Defined Essay

Legendary philosopher, Socrates once said, â€Å"A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true.† With this statement, Socrates argues that there are few people in this world who possess an absolute morality within themselves whereas most others have a relative morality which they stand by. Absolute morality is the belief that something is always right or always wrong while relative morality is the belief that something is right or wrong depending on the circumstances. The crucial difference between absolute and relative morality lies in the viewpoints of the people who possess each one. However, Socrates’ belief is that relative morality is nothing more than a mere illusion because it really has no guidelines that it stands behind; it is solely based on opinion. In his mind, it should not even be considered a morality. In essence, Socrates is arguing that you must believe in something to its extreme or not at all; there is no in-between. Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road, tells the riveting story of a father and son’s survival in a post-apocalyptic world full of thieves and cannibals. The man and the boy travel the United States in search of food and shelter, while also attempting to flee from danger and the threat of death. All through the story, they consistently struggle with issues concerning their own morality, character, and conscience. They are forced to make life altering-decisions that ultimately define who they are as people. Throughout the novel The Road, McCarthy uses nature symbolism and apocalyptic imagery to criticize that many people’s ethics dissipate and their immorality consequently rises when they are immersed in an evil world. The desolate world that the boy, man, and others have to live in results in some people going to the extremes to survive. As the boy and man journey on the road, they encounter very few people along the way. However, one day, the man realizes there are people following him and the boy, so they hide out. Three men and a pregnant woman pass them on the road. A few minutes later they are met with a shocking sight, â€Å"Oh Papa, he said. He turned and looked again. What the boy had seen was a charred human infant headless and gutted and blackening on the spit. He bent and picked the boy up and started for the road with him, holding him close. I’m sorry, he whispered. I’m sorry† (McCarthy 198). The author deliberately describes the appearance of the burning baby using words that convey graphic imagery such as, â€Å"charred, human, infant, headless, gutted, and blackening,† eliciting a repulsive feeling and characterizing the ugliness of evil in the world. The sight traumatizes the boy evidenced when he gasps, â€Å"Oh, Papa,† and turns â€Å"and looked again [at the burning baby].† The man feels regretful for letting the boy experience such a horrendous sight and apologizes as he takes the boy back to the road. This gruesome imagery reveals the absolute social breakdown in humanity and society. The morality of the people in this apocalyptic world has completely faded because there are no governing rules or laws to keep them in line. This results in total chaos and turmoil as seen when the weakest and most helpless of human beings – an infant – is preyed upon by a group of insane man-eaters. The cannibals clearly symbolize the end of civilization and this passage represents the extremes of violence, hunger, and cruelty within the apocalyptic world. Every person in the story seems to be judged by the man and boy as either good and moral or evil and immoral. In his view, the man strongly believes he and the boy are moral and good because, as he tells the boy, â€Å"we’re carrying the fire† (McCarthy 83). This â€Å"fire† is symbolic of hope and human perseverance, despite the wicked world they are living in. The man assures the boy that they are the â€Å"good guys† who â€Å"carry the fire† within themselves to never stop trying to survive in the horrible world even amongst â€Å"bad guys† who kill and even cannibalize people in order to survive. As the story unfolds, the boy and the man encounter many potential threats to their existence and make questionable decisions in order to survive which sometimes violate their self-professed â€Å"good guy† virtues. Through his actions, the man subtly begins to show signs that he is heading towards immorality and evil. The man and the boy are awoken by the sound of a diesel truck not too far from them. They flee their camp site and listen quietly until the silence is broken by a guy stumbling through the woods. The guy wrestles the boy into his arms and the man fires his loaded pistol, â€Å"The man fell back instantly and lay with blood bubbling from the hole in his forehead. The boy was lying in his lap with no expression at all†¦covered with gore and mute as a stone† (McCarthy 66). The man’s quick reaction to save his son represents the very rare love bonds that still exist in this apocalyptic world. The author compares the boy to a â€Å"mute stone† after he obviously experiences another life-changing moment. Sickening imagery is also used in this passage, as seen through the words, â€Å"bubbling, hole, and gore.† These words portray the man’s heroic act to save his son; however, it comes at the expense of the brutal murder he committed. The man shoots the guy who threatens his son with the intention of ensuring the boy’s safety, yet it contradicts his own moral virtues. Because he did this out of love, the man can essentially justify the violent killing as being morally correct. Yet, what the man fails to realize, is what makes his choice more praiseworthy than the choices of the people who kill and even cannibalize others in order to survive. This clearly raises a contradiction which creates an ambiguity between immorality and morality. Although the man killed this guy to protect his son, his decision is still problematic because it only takes one bad decision like this to arouse the inner evil within himself and eventually drive him to immorality. After living in such a malicious world for such a long time, it is nearly impossible for the man not to succumb to immorality and evil. The boy and the man enjoy a nice walk on the beach until they come back to find their camp completely raided. Their entire shopping cart full of food and other survival necessities had been stolen and as a result, they set out to find the thief. They follow the tracks of the shopping cart and finally find the thief in front of the cart with a butcher knife. The man is enraged and pulls his pistol out and threatens the crook, â€Å"Take your clothes off. / What? / Take them off. Every goddamned stitch. / Come on. Don’t do this. / I’ll kill you where you stand. / He stripped slowly and piled his vile rags in the road. / Put the clothes in the shopping cart. / He bent and scooped the up the rags in his arms and piled them on top of the shoes. / Don’t do this, man. / You didn’t mind doing it to us. / You tried to kill us. / I’m starving, man. You’d have done the same. / You took everything. / Come on, man. I’ll die. / I’m going to leave you the way you left us† (McCarthy 256-257). The man clearly displays immorality by the way he treated the thief and how he reacted to the situation at hand. It is obvious he is incapable of any empathy for the guy who is trying to survive in the same hellish world he is trying to live in. The fact that he wanted to punish the guy by stripping him suggests he wants to make the crook suffer a horrible death because the world is too cold to live without any sort of clothing. The thief in this passage symbolizes the deterioration of the human race because he embodies the ugliness that has emerged in this new world where formerly common things are now extremely valuable. The man still believes he is a â€Å"good guy,† however, this controversial decision proves otherwise. Because the man is acting so cruelly in this scene, his viciousness can almost be compared to the brutality of the savages that roam the same barren world he lives in. Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, set in the Pre-Civil War period, tells the story of young boy named Huckleberry â€Å"Huck† Finn, who ventures throughout the Mississippi River Valley. Huck travels with a run-away slave named Jim, meets many new people, and encounters frequent obstacles along the way. Throughout the novel, Huck constantly struggles with complex circumstances affecting his own conscience and morality, but ends up making a big decision that reflects his true character in the end. Due to the social environment in which Huck grew up, his racist outlook is displayed on occasion throughout the story. In one short exchange with Aunt Sally, Huck indicates that he doesn’t actually view blacks as real people. Huck tells his aunt that his boat ran ashore and she worriedly responds, â€Å"‘Good gracious! Anybody hurt?†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Huck replies, ‘†No’m. Killed a nigger,†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ to which Aunt Sally answers, ‘†Well, it’s lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt’† (Twain 167). Huck’s conversation with his aunt vividly illustrates the deeply embedded racism within society. Not only does this exchange exemplify Huck’s own beliefs about blacks’ inferiority, but also proves his prejudiced outlook is primarily derived from the racist society in which he lives. The conversation suggests that both the aunt and Huck think of blacks only as â€Å"things† or â€Å"objects,† not actually human beings. When Huck informs his aunt that a â€Å"nigger† had died in the crash, she casually dismisses any loss of life. Instead, she responds by pointing out that â€Å"it’s lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt [in boat crashes],† therefore essentially revealing that she believes that blacks are not people. Both Aunt Sally and Huck offer no empathy or show any responsiveness to the death, which most people would do if another human had died. Although Huck views slavery as morally correct, he only believes this because it is customary during this time period. In essence, Huck’s moral nature has been misguided and distorted throughout his childhood, causing him to believe slavery and white superiority is ethically right. Sadly, his morality has been skewed so he believes something not necessarily because he actually believes it in his heart, but possibly because it is just what is socially accepted at the time. Bennett Kravits, author of the critical essay â€Å"Reinventing the world and reinventing the self in Huck Finn† reveals his criticism regarding Twain’s portrayal of whites’ perceptions of blacks. He specifically deals with the phrase that Huck uses to describe Jim, â€Å"white inside† (Twain 345).† He essentially explains that although that seems to be an overtly racist description, it actually has the potential to â€Å"undercut the prejudicial notions that whites held concerning blacks† (Kravits 6). It is clear Huck has a difficult time seeing Jim as an equal member of society, but he instead can view him as white inside. According to Kravits, the significance behind this depiction is that Huck discovers a way to see Jim as a fellow human being, just in an odd way. Huck’s morality has been molded throughout his childhood and he has an ingrained belief that blacks are just inhumane slaves that are property to white people; however, Kravits is actually arguing that Huck realizes black people deserve to be labeled as humans and not property. While journeying down the Mississippi River together, Huck and Jim begin to bond in a unique way. A friendship between them starts to develop and Huck’s compassion for Jim grows despite him being a black slave. Huck is faced with the particularly difficult decision of either turning Jim in or rescuing himself from the Phelps’. He struggles between standing up for Jim and what he believes is right or surrendering to the embedded racism he has grown up around. With Jim’s fate on his hands, Huck decides to save Jim instead of himself and rips up the letter to Miss Watson with the astounding exclamation, â€Å"‘All right, then I’ll go to Hell†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ (Twain 162). During the moments leading up to this heroic decision, his mind runs wild with the thoughts of the harsh punishments Jim could possibly face. Huck recognizes that he has a power to give Jim something he has desired his entire life: freedom. Huck’s empathy is so strong at this point, that combined with his loyalty and morality, it causes Huck to have a significant epiphany. The epiphany illuminates Huck’s concern for Jim and shows another step in his moral development. The fact that Huck believes he is giving up his soul for Jim’s freedom demonstrates that Huck’s morality has truly developed over the course of the novel. This shows Huck’s incredible loyalty and his ability to put himself in Jim’s shoes in order to sacrifice his owns wants, needs and desires to save Jim. His empathy displayed in this scene supports the belief that although Huck is racist, he still possesses an enormous capacity to see Jim as a fellow human being. Every person acts in accordance with their beliefs, attitudes, and values, which consequently reflects that person’s ultimate identity. Many factors are responsible for determining the principles people value and respect, including familial, societal, and environmental influences. Throughout Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is in the midst of moral development in his subconscious and his deeper feelings arise as the truer expression of his morality. He makes decisions in his adventures which demonstrate that not only does he possess morals, he possesses extraordinary ones. Huck’s moral maturity rings clear after he makes significant controversial decisions. Huck’s character progression shows that good scruples can be developed in anyone and a more empathetic part of people can triumph over heartlessness. . In the novel The Road, Cormac McCarthy describes the struggle between morality and immorality that exists within every person that walks the post-apocalyptic world. He demonstrates that some people give into the evil while others are able to remain good. McCarthy essentially concentrates on the man’s progression from the moral â€Å"good guy† to an immoral â€Å"bad guy.† â€Å"The fire† that the man truly believed he possessed slowly smolders and he begins to succumb to the immoral world he had faced for such a long time. Huck and the man serve as foils to each other by highlighting Huck’s progression towards a better morality as the man regresses and loses the morals he originally possessed. In essence, both Twain and McCarthy conclude that all people are faced with adversity and difficult decisions, but those people have the power to make certain choices which ultimately define who they really are. Works Cited McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print. Kravits, Bennett. â€Å"Reinventing the World and Reinventing the Self in Huck Finn.† Literature Resource Center. Gale, Winter 2004. Web. 22 May 2012. . Socrates. â€Å"Morality Quotes.† ThinkExist. Web. 22 May. 2012. . Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. United Sates: Tom Doherty Associates, 1985. Print.

Proud to Be a Filipino Essay

Filipinos are abundant in terms of culture, tradition, cuisine, and transportation. All of us Filipinos should be proud of them. There are a lot of tourist spots in the Philippines that we can be proud of. And to introduce my culture would be fun and great. I would make them ride a jeepney, eat some street food like kwek-kwek and drink some alcohol like tagaka. First, I would make foreigners ride a jeepney. It is one of the transportations in the Philippines. It has four wheels and a lot of colors and designs. It has a small aluminium horse in the front as a sign of a traditional jeepney. It is the most used transportation in the Philippines because it has the cheapest fare among the other transportation here in the Philippines. Second, I would make them eat some street foods like kwek-kwek. It is a Filipino street food that is made up of hard-boiled egg or quail egg coated with orange batter and flour. It is deep fried and served with cucumber, salt, and vinegar. Lastly, I would let them drink the â€Å"tagaka† an alcoholic drink made in the Philippines. It is a drink made of tanduay, gatas, and kape. It is mixed and it taste like chuckie. It is popular among the Filipino drinkers. It is cheaper than a bailey drink. It is taste like a cocktail and you can taste the bitterness of the coffee, the sweetness of the milk and the taste of the alcohol. Our colourful and lively Philippine culture that makes us distinctly Filipino is the one thing that makes us different from the rest of the world. We do have different traditions and beliefs but all of them are purely Filipino. There are many other kinds of foods and transportations that are purely Filipino. Let us be proud of our nationality.

Holographic Technology

In 1989, Robert Zemicks made a movie starring Michael J. Fox called Back to the Future Part II. Unlike its predecessor, this film saw the protagonist Marty McFly, not going into the past to right wrongs and alter his family history, but going into the future to step in and prevent his children’s terrible fate. Comedy and flux capacitor aside, Zemeciks’ future shows several technological advances that captured the imaginations of not only the generation who were of age at the time of the films release but also generations since.Today, someone has crafted self lacing Nikes, tablet devices, and the hoverboard technology seen in the film is being researched. One stand out piece of tech that is often referenced, other than the flying car, was the holographic shark that jumps out from a marquee and tries to eat Marty. Despite the rudimentary appearance of the Jaws shark that tries to virtually take Mr. McFly’s life, it indeed is an interesting idea. Holographic Technol ogy: The Future of MultimediaHolographic technology is nothing new to the world of science fiction but with today’s technological advancements science fiction is moving off the screen an into our every days lives with holograms following suit. Several companies worldwide have beuan research and implementation of this exciting new 3D tech. This new technology offers an array of possible applications ranging from interactive learning experiences, highly engaging entertainment experiences and an entirely new way to present graphics and multimedia elements.I will research how holographic technology works to better understand what is behind the tech itself, the major players producing holographic technology to learn about where we are with the current state of holographic technology, look into the more cutting edge iterations of holograms to see where the technology is heading to be aware of what can be expected in the future and finally explore the ways that holographic technolog y applies to our field to enhance and revolutionize the possibilities of multimedia technology.

Strategic Audit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 2

Strategic Audit - Essay Example Worldcom was regarded as world’s second-largest long-distance telecommunications company (Lyke, 2002). It was established in 1983 by Bernard Ebbers as a long distance discount service (LDS) provider. It initially sold AT&T WATS lines to small businesses. WorldCom was successful in selling LDDS and thus, the business grew rapidly (Lyke, 2002). The company acquired about 70 small and medium-sized companies. The acquired companies included IDB WorldCom, largest international carrier; WilTel, telecom carrier; and lastly, international phone company and parent of UUNET, MFS Communications (Lyke, 2002).  During the period 1997, the operational networks of CompuServe and America Online formed part of the giant company, WorldCom. The company also merged with Brooks Fiber and thereafter, it had acquired MCI. The merger and acquisition had rendered the company the second largest long distance carrier in the United States. However, prosperous position in the market of United States had not sustained as the company had to file bankruptcy in 2002 (Lyke, 2002). WorldCom filed for bankruptcy since it had encountered huge financial deficit. The company disclosed to have earned the inflated profit of $ 3.8 billion for the previous two years. Nevertheless, the amount was observed to rise beyond $ 10 billion, rendering it the â€Å"largest accounting fraud in U.S. corporate history† (Yahoo! Inc., 2007; Lyke, 2002).  The external auditor of WorldCom was Arther Anderson LLP and later, KPMG.

Information System Outsourcing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Information System Outsourcing - Essay Example It is easier so outsource the development of information technology and systems and workers do not require complex infrastructure to begin their work. As the outsourcing market is highly competitive internationally and has a high level of mobility, it poses a certain degree of threat that major operations might be to other countries that are better able to provide a stable supply of skilled workforce. China has replicated the Indian model, is taking a more sustainable approach towards creating a stable flow of skilled workers and seems determined to grab a substantial market share in the outsourcing business. IBM is one successful business that has been able to retain a large pool of highly skilled labor in India. Its labor force has increased substantially from thirty-five thousand employees to well around sixty thousand headcounts. Its success is deeply rooted based on its ability to pay premium wages to its employees based on its international standing and its ability to charge its clients a premium based on its brand image. British Petroleum similarly outsourced its entire information technology system development program without enough geographical diversification and found after a year that none of the information technology firms in India was able to provide any satisfactory program for implementation. In conclusion, it is clear that outsourcing has its benefits for both parties but also adds significantly to the risks. A better strategy for outsourcing is the use of multi-sourcing to avoid risks related to non-performance and delays.

Dinosaur bones were placed on this earth by Satan to confuse man Research Paper

Dinosaur bones were placed on this earth by Satan to confuse man regarding the existence of God - Research Paper Example â€Å"Dinosaur bones were placed on this earth by Satan to confuse man regarding the existence of God† According to some Christian sects, dinosaur bones were placed on this earth by Satan to confuse man regarding the existence of God. Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, and Church of Christ’s believers explain their disbelief for the Theory of Evolution and instead believe in the Bible’s account of creation, where God created the world in seven days (Lulu, n.d). They strongly believe this concept of dinosaur bones being placed on earth by Satan because their conceptualization of creation is based on the accounts of the Bible. They point out that the Bible does not make mention of dinosaurs; therefore whatever proof there may be that dinosaurs exist is merely the work of Satan and a test of our faith in God (Warren, 1995). Dinosaur bones are a test of our faith because it leads the people to think that dinosaurs existed a long time ago and that the theory of evolution by Charles Darwin is the accurate account of the birth of our world. Darwin believes that the world was created in stages through his Big Bang Theory where from a single explosion, the world was born (Schwarz, 2002). From such an explosion, the planets and the solar systems came about. With the careful process of time and evolution, more developments in the creation of living things were seen – from the earliest organisms to dinosaurs, then on to mammals and finally to human beings (Schwarz, 2002). These Christian groups however oppose the idea that man evolved from primates and they point out that the missing link has never been discovered (Timmons, 1991). Therefore the idea that man evolved from primates is an inaccurate theory according to these religious groups. Instead, they believe that God created man in seven days. On the first day, God created light. On the second day, he divided the sky and the waters below. On the third day, he gathered the wat ers and the lands together in separate places. On the fourth day, he created the stars and the heavenly planets. On the fifth day, he created the living creatures of the skies and the seas. On the sixth day, he then created the creatures of the lands, including man. And on the seventh day, he rested (Somers and Christmayer, 2004). As can be seen from the account of creation, dinosaurs have not been created by God. Therefore, they do not and have never existed. These dinosaurs are therefore a product of Satan and a test of our faith in God and his creation of our world. In believing the accounts in the Bible, we are therefore led to believe that the accounts in the Bible are a lie and that God does not even exist. Those who believe in this concept of dinosaur bones being the work of Satan, also point out how the different scientific theories contradict their faith (Warren, 1995). One of these theories is that Satan uses such dinosaurs in order to confuse young Christians about their faith and to turn their faith away from God. When these young Christians go to school and learn about these dinosaurs, they also eventually turn away from God and from the teachings of the Bible (Warren, 1995). Some Christians believe that the dinosaurs are not part of God’s creation because man cannot coexist with these creatures. In the end, man would end up being eaten by these dinosaurs. It is therefore difficult to conceptualize the idea of these dinosaurs actually roaming our earth (Trussville, 2008). Their existence has mostly been proven through fossils and not much else. Proof of their existence beyond the realm of such fossils is impossible to place in a firm footing of believability. The best conclusion which can therefore be drawn is to disbelieve the existence of dinosaurs and consider them as works of Satan. For those who have a strong faith in God and the teachings of the Bible, it would be easier for them to believe that dinosaurs never existed even with proof to the contrary (Trussville, 2008). Instead, the crucial belief is for the support in God’

Reaction Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 7

Reaction Paper - Essay Example I did not expect this result and therefore, he scored lowly in this context. However, there was a strong point from the Fall Risk Assessment tool, which gave me expected results. Indeed, the participant remained at high risk of falling even with assistance on his legs. In carrying out the social assessment, I encountered a weakness where despite his quietness and lack of many friends, Mr. Vega seems to live a happy life when he tells stories about his kids and his younger life. I also encountered a strong point where the participant got good support from his family that was educated. They knew how to use available resources to keep the patient away from the hospital. In relation to Community Resource Utilization, I realized a strong point in that the patient and family had enough knowledge on how to use community resources. On health promotion activities, I received recommendations from senior medical practitioners that had detailed knowledge on heart failure. I validated that the pa rticipant got the recommendations by the fact that they came in a language he would understand and the fact that his memory was equally sharp. In my line of collecting data and doing interviews, I used an understandable language, polite language, and asked question that were easy to generate a response. Indeed, I was so comfortable with the reception I got, the response from the participant, and the collected data. However, I would recommend the time of collecting data to be long to capture the attention of the old participants wholly. Health promotion is important to the group in that it derives a better understanding on heart failure and its variance with

Monopolies and Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Monopolies and Economics - Essay Example Economists have debated the value and the cost of monopolies for centuries and still have come to no clear consensus. Even our laws that protect the market from monopolistic practices have been viewed as incapable of defining the words 'market' and 'monopoly'. When does market share become a monopoly In the United States, the foul line is crossed when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) interprets the anti-trust laws and rules that the actions are injurious to competition. The technical definition of a monopoly is a business that is the sole provider of a good or service that has no suitable substitute. Consumers are restricted to buying from the monopolist. Geographic limitations can also create a monopoly such as being the only doctor within a hundred miles. Monopolies can also exist where a firm manufactures a specialized product to a limited market. New innovations may become monopolistic due to patent restrictions or until the innovation becomes more widely available. Another characteristic of a monopoly is that there needs to be a barrier to entry into the market. This is usually due to high sunk-costs that prevent competitors from reaching an economy of scale. Though all these traits are seen in monopolies, many practices are labeled monopolistic because they restrict competition and are prohibited by law. Most of these practices serve to limit competition or drive competition out of business. Product dumping, price fixing, predatory pricing, and bid rigging are all considered monopolistic practices. In the United States corporations are occasionally allowed to engage in a monopoly or monopolistic practices. Professional sports, utilities, government institutions, and markets with a single producer are sometimes exempted or protected. These protected monopolies do not always benefit from their monopoly status, as they may still need to be competitive to keep new entrants from competing. Major League Baseball is sometimes seen as a monopoly. However, there are substitute products in the form of other sports and entertainment activities. Though they prevent any new entries into the market, they can't be called a true monopoly. Even the US Post Office, a protected monopoly, has come under increased competition with the advent of new technology and services. Though they were once the only provider for their services, failure to innovate left them vulnerable to alternate suppliers. A criticism often leveled at monopolies is that they are complacent and slow to innovate. . Monopolies can be destructive to the economy because they give the firm the opportunity to be a price maker rather than a price taker. The monopoly will reduce the supply, which increases the price to the point that it maximizes profits (Parkin 110). This point is almost always at a point above the price that would be available in a competitive market. According to Stigler, "the purely "economic" case against monopoly is that it reduces aggregate economic welfare". For example: If a firm can sell 100 units when the price is $5 it will generate $500 revenue. If they price them at $7 they can only sell 80 units, but will have generated $560 revenue. However, the loss to the economy is 20 unsold units at $5 each, or $100. Though the firm has gained $60, the market has lost $100. This aggregate loss is known as deadweight loss and is what the anti-trust laws are designed to

Supply Chains with a Focus on Customer Value Essay - 6

Supply Chains with a Focus on Customer Value - Essay Example Supply chain management excellence is crucial to customer satisfaction; consequently, customer satisfaction is critical to customer loyalty, and loyalty critical to profitability (Reichheld 1996 cited in Flint et al., 2008, p. 258). In order to address the problem of customer loyalty, firms apply product and service innovations. Supply chain learning should be a part of the firms’ strategies to address customer satisfaction and loyalty. This is also the main objective of market orientation – customer satisfaction through superior performance of products and services (Singh, 2004, p. 3). Companies attain competitive edge through constant innovation. The first periods of the new century marked profound shifts in organisation’s strategies with aims for talents, technologies and customer’s focus and loyalty (Venkatraman and Henderson, 2008, p. 258). Organisations keep constant contact with customers, looking for ways to satisfy their needs and wants. Good customer relation is an important aspect of business (McColl-Kennedy & Schneider, 2000, p. S884). To get closer to the customers, businesses have to work as cohesive organisations, using tools and technology (Gulati and Oldroyd, 2005, p. 92), and focus on knowledge-based economy, slowly moving away from the industrial economy. Identifying and working out to strengthen customer satisfaction, supply chains can help in having good relationship with customers, but supply chains have two attributes which are cost and service. Service is itself responsiveness to the customer’s demand, but demand can also increase cost. Putting on a lot of innovations on the product/s means adding cost on production. â€Å"Supply chain efficiency is measured as a cost of producing and delivering goods and service to the customer.† (Hines, 2004, p. 61) This means that if we increase responsiveness to supply chain, we add cost to the delivery of service.

America's Post-Civil War Growing Pains Assignment

America's Post-Civil War Growing Pains - Assignment Example The end of reconstruction where Hayes withdrew the last union troops from the south also took place during this time. The civil war and the reconstruction periods were the major turning points in the history of America (Robert 2008). The civil war was a tragic conflict that made people to turn against each other brother against brother where the generic slaves were acting only as a historical backdrop. The civil war separated people and still united them as a nation. It was fought over the secession of the union. Some of the causes of the civil war were: slavery, nationalism and honor, the election of Abraham Lincoln, territorial crisis and the constitution among others. The reconstruction period followed the civil war and it disastrous as it was caused by early granting of political and civil rights to the African Americans. The reconstruction period brought about various questions like what would be the place of the freed African Americans in the south? And did the abolition mean t hat the blacks could have equal opportunities like the whites? Though the civil war was over reconstruction was also a kind of war. The civil war and reconstruction had an impact on the nationalist collectivism of the Americans as they encouraged the collectivist to promote their visions of reform and devalued the individualism of the American society. Individuality became more of a liability than an asset. Industrial expansion after the civil war made way for changes in urbanization of America. America became more urbanized, there was the growth of cities in size and population and extensive new systems of transportation. They also led to immigration of new foreign people who posed a threat to the political systems and increased the unemployment rate as they were more than willing to work for lower wages that the native-born Americans refused. The civil war and reconstruction led to problems which affect the integrity of the government, the way industrial workers are treated, the n eeds of the western farmers and the treatment of the immigrants (Perman 2008). The civil war and reconstruction had an impact on the America’s economy as it imposed substantial costs. Both civil war and reconstruction had a negative impact on the private investments through the process of range substitution. These wars led to the destruction of economic infrastructure and human lives. They undermined the state legitimacy thus posing a threat to the rule of law and property rights security. These wars created economic uncertainty on America’s economy putting both public and private investments at risk. The civil war and reconstruction had a negative impact on the economic production as it reduced the growth and level of the capital stock and damaging the government’s fiscal balance. This made the government to move its expenditure from production enhancing services to the conduct of the wars. The destruction of slavery had a negative impact on the cotton producti on. The civil war and reconstruction era impacted politics in various ways. This era led to a greater political division especially among the southerners and northerners and refused to unite. By allowing the blacks to participate in politics this led to corruption, and poor running of the government (Richard 2008). The reconstruction led to the development of the south and positive progress for the former slaves and the end of the whites’

Medium & light industries Essay Example for Free

Medium light industries Essay Medium light industries have also received a significant portion of the industrial development funds because they are less capital intensive than heavy industry and they can generally turn a quicker profit. Chinas textile industry is the largest in the world, which is why its typically referred to on its own as opposed to being grouped within the light industry branch. Chinese enterprises have a competitive advantage in the textile industry because of the abundant supply of cheap resources, which includes labor and raw materials such as cotton. China ranks among the world leaders in the production of coal and oil. Coal is the primary energy source among petroleum, electric power, and coal in China. Therefore, a vast majority of the coal that is mined is consumed domestically. On the other hand, the petroleum industry has expanded beyond the domestic consumption capacity. Thus, the petroleum industry also services foreign markets with crude oil and other refined petroleum products to a certain extent. Services Chinas service sector (tertiary industry) includes many industries such as food beverage, banking financial services, retail trade, commerce, legal services, health services and insurance services. Similar to the manufacturing and industry sector, Chinas service sector has blossomed with the economic reforms of the last two decades. Before the reforms Chinas service sector was virtually non-existent. Today the service sector has grown to account for 33.8% of the countrys GDP (2002 est.). Retail trade has taken in Chinas urban areas. The roads are now lined with a multitude of privately owned shops and street markets. In the larger towns and cities immense shopping centers and department stores are also common. Western food and beverage chains such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and McDonalds are also popping up in residential areas. Before the reforms, tourism was very limited because government policies prevented almost all foreigners from visiting China. Today this industry is receiving more attention because the government sees this market as an opportunity to earn foreign dollars. To accommodate tourism many hotels have been built, airline destinations within the country have grown and historic sites, such as the Great Wall, have been opened to foreigners. The communications industry has also benefited from the economic reforms. The telecommunications industry boomed during the 1990s and now telephone service can be found in basically every locality although only 16.7% of households have a phone. Today there are many magazines and over 2,000 newspapers published across China. Radio and television broadcast are also in abundant supply reaching 75% of the population although only 1 citizen out of 3 owns a television. The States heavy hand compels the media to refrain from reporting on politically sensitive issues. As a result, the media adheres to a strict code of self regulation to ward off further government manipulation. Trends and Outlook According to the official figures reported for real GDP, Chinas economy grew to $1,405.95 billion, an increase of 9.1% which is higher than the rate that was forecasted. Government officials speculated that with the spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus across China the consequences would be felt in the form of an underperforming economy, especially in the services sector. Therefore, an annual growth of 7-8% was predicted although many in the economic community felt this figure was too low. Chinese officials arent intentionally sandbagging the forecasts. Instead they are still acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to make accurate macroeconomic forecasts, which can be quite difficult in China whose economic statistics are generally misrepresented, especially at the provincial and local levels. The following 2 graphs illustrate Chinas GDP, CPI RPI since 1996. After falling 0.8% in 2002, Chinas consumer price index (CPI) increased slightly in 2003 by 1.2% compared to the previous year. By location, CPI increased by 0.9% in urban areas and by 1.6% in rural areas. The increase in CPI is somewhat misleading because of state interference. Although price controls for commodities are virtually nonexistent, the state indirectly influences the prices for 13 broad categories of items such as electric power, transportation, communication, and some services. Retail prices continued to drop by 0.1% from the 2002 level, which has been on a downward trend for 6 consecutive years. Analyst believe this downward trend is an indicator that China might not be able to sustain or create the needed high levels of consumption and investment required to fix the structural problems that plague the countrys economy, especially from the private sector. China essentially fixes (pegs) the exchange rate of the yuan to the U.S. dollar allowing it to float against other currencies in accordance with changes in the values of the dollar. Although officials recognize the need to eventually switch over to a market-based exchange rate mechanism, the time frame for implementing such a mechanism hasnt been defined. Consequently, the yuan exchange rate remained relatively stable in 2003. Chinas balance of payments remained in a strong position as a result of interest rates that fell for countries in the west (United States) and due to Chinas current account which continued its good standing. Although the trade surplus was $25.5 billion in 2003, this was a decrease from the previous year by $4.9 billion. The countrys foreign exchange reserves saw considerable growth to $403.3 billion, an increase of $116.8 billion compared with 2002 end of year figures. The following 2 graphs depict Chinas foreign exchange reserves and foreign direct investment. The principal growth sectors in China continue to be within the secondary and tertiary industries. The value added in the secondary industry for 2003 was $744.31 billion and $453.84 billion for the tertiary industry which represents an increase of 12.5% and 6.7% respectively over last year. Conversely the value added for the primary industry, which employs half of the labor force, was only $207.8 billion representing a meager growth of 2.5% year-on-year. The continued high growth rates in the secondary industries is fueled by government spending to build the states infrastructure, technical upgrades by leading enterprises, and a tremendous upsurge in the output of steel, which is needed to supply the construction materials and manufacturing equipment required to service real estate development. Although the SARS outbreak had detrimental effects on the retail sales and other service industries, this segment is expected to show signs of a rebound in the near future. This holds true esp ecially for the telecommunications sector. China is now home to the largest wireless and wireline networks in the world and preferential government policies have made this sector very attractive. Although its not reflected in official figures, Chinas labor surplus continues to be problematic for the economy. Income inequality is also an area of concern where urban residents annual disposable per capita income amounts on average to $928 compared to rural figures of $298 which is will below the World Banks $1 per day, i.e. $365, poverty line standard. Other main problems that quell economic and social development include energy shortages, a weak legal structure, corruption, nonperforming loans, inefficient state operated enterprises and most important a socialist system that interferes too much with pricing, interest rates fees, and general market control. TRADE China ranks 4th in the world for exports at $431.6 billion based on 2003 estimates, trailing the United States, German, and Japanese exports. On the other hand, 2003 estimates indicate that the PRC ranks 3rd in the worlds imports at $397.4 billion. The trade balance between the values of imports and exports continued Chinas long standing trend of having a trade surplus. As Chinas foreign relationships improve and barriers against trade fall, its projected that the trade surplus will eventually diminish in magnitude. The worlds economic community frequently had problems with Chinas human rights policies during the 1990s. American disapproval was particularly poignant to the point that the United States teetered on the verge of withdrawing Chinas normal trading status (historically referred to most-favored-nation trading status). Understanding how important the normal trading status was for the countrys continued growth, Chinese officials radically changed the regulations and rules governing trade and investment. The sweeping reforms were aimed at increasing international competition and investment, decreased protectionism for domestic enterprises by limiting previous barriers on U.S. imports of agricultural and industrial goods, and by decreasing tariffs. In turn, the U.S. Congress ratified legislation in 2000 granting the PRC permanent normal trading status based on the belief that improved trading relations will foster labor, environmental and human rights reforms in China. Regulations and Standards Chinas foreign investment and trade policies have historically lacked transparency. This has resulted in a system that generally creates a great deal confusion when it comes to trade and foreign investment because the rules and regulations governing business activity can not be obtained easily; therefore, they arent applied consistently and they often vary by region. Other downsides include poor protection of intellectual property, unequal treatment between domestic and foreign companies, and an inadequate mechanism for resolving disputes. December 11th, 2001, marked Chinas accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Even though China is now a standing member of the WTO, the PRC still has a long way to go to adopt all the necessary WTO regulations, which is being accomplished through reforms and the passage of new legislation. Chinas entry into the WTO has not only improved the countrys growth potential but it will also service the Chinese people by improving labor, environmental, and human rights conditions, which will ultimately affect the Chinese culture to a certain degree. Significant changes resulting from the WTO accession include tariff cuts and a dramatic expansion of trading rights in 2002. In 2003, China further reduced tariffs and reformed its tax system in an effort to lessen the distinction between foreign and domestic enterprises based on the principle of national treatment. Quotas on imported goods have also been considerably lowered. The latest change deals with the WTOs transparency requirement. As of July 1st, 2004, the Chinese government promulgated reforms for business licensing. In the past enterprises wishing to do business with China had to undergo an approval process through the Ministry of Commerce which was time consuming, cumbersome, and not clearly defined. The new system utilizes a registration process that is clearly defined and easily accessible with little or no barriers to trade for individuals or legal entities seeking import and or export licensing. Therefore, the registration process is expected to remove yet another trade barrier by making Chinas market more accessible to foreign entities wishing to operate within and to China.

Constructivism Essay Example for Free

Constructivism Essay Constructivism and/or social constructionism can be reflected particularly to Alexander Wendt. In his article, Anarchy is What States Make of It: the Social Construction of Power Politics in 1992, laid the fundamental theoretical groundwork for demanding what he believed to be a flaw between neo-realist’s and neo-liberal institutionalist’s; i. e. commitment to a form of materialism. Alexander Wendt opened the way for international relations scholars to pursue work in a wide range of issues from a constructivist perspective by attempting to show that even a core realist concept (e. . power politics) is socially constructed—that is, not given by nature. Hence, is capable of being transformed by human practice. Constructivism principally describes how many core aspects of international relations are. Socially constructed describes constructivism wherein they are given their form by means of ongoing procedures of social practice and communication. Wendt identifies two acknowledged fundamental principles of Constructivism; (1) that the structures of human association are determined primarily by shared ideas rather than material forces, and (2) that the identities and interests of purposive actors are constructed by these shared ideas rather than given by nature . In the formative work of Wendt, constructivism defies the supposition of Neorealist being Structuralist’s by means of showing that the contributory powers attributed to Structure are not given, but will depend in which Structure is constructed through social practice. Regardless of the nature, culture and traditions, religion, society, constructivism does not foresee whether two countries will be allies or enemies, whether they will recognize each others power, will have dynastic ties, and will be revisionist or status quo powers. In a constructivist’s perspective, international laws created were based on the diversity of the races, culture, religion, society, traditions and political power of each of the member countries. In example, the United Nations addresses projects of food security, poverty, and other projects that are for humanitarian purposes. Ideas generated from this kind of institution tend to help countries that were included in the third world countries or what we commonly called the developing countries. With regards to the international relations, international laws were general or universal in terms of what the participating countries see as good, basic to most of the countries, humane, and will not tolerate violence to the whole. Constructivist’s disallows anarchy, of the actions of the countries and deflects materialism. International laws and institutions craft the needed room for their interests, i. e. to take a central place in theorizing international relations. Today, countries are not simply directed by the imperatives of a self-help system but their interests become important in analyzing how they will be of help to other countries that needed them and to maintain peace at all times. As of the nature of the international system, Constructivists see our interests being not objectively grounded in material forces but the result of ideas and the social construction of such ideas. To summarize, the constructivism philosophy with regards to internal relations, the role of international laws and institutions, reflects to a social order, leadership to any system, thus, leading to foundation of international laws and institutions that are general in nature, thus, leading to better international relations of each of the countries and/or actors.

Sutherland Global Services Is A Financial Corporation Marketing Essay

Sutherland Global Services Is A Financial Corporation Marketing Essay For any business excellent customer service is the income. Bringing back the customers is the best customer service. And in relation send them away pleased happy enough to pass encouraging criticism about the business alongside others, who may perhaps then attempt the merchandise or service you recommend for them and in turn into repeat clients. You can offer advancement and cut prices to bring in as many fresh customers as you want, but unless you can search out some of those customers to come back, there will no profit for a long time in your business. If the firm truly wish for having good customer service, all you have to do is make sure that your business constantly does these things: Respond to the customers phone call. Dont give the customer promises unless you will fulfil the promise. Listen to your customers patiently while they are talking and make appropriate responses to show the customers that we are listening. After listening to the customers issue, we have an idea how to deal with complaints. Be helpful towards the customers even if there are no instant financial gains in it. If you have any staff, give training to be always supportive or helpful, knowledgeable, and chivalrous. By taking the extra steps does not mean that you have to tell the customer to search for it, you have to guide them to the right path and wait if they have any queries. Throw in some additional information about the product that the customer buys. Following these eight steps, ones business will be known for their good and excellent customer service. The irony of the excellent customer service is that this will increase the number of new customers is the best part. (Ward 2010) For dealing with the customer service, I have opted Sutherland Global Services for doing the research, as the firm is widely known and personally I was a member of the customer service team in this BPO firm. SUTHERLAND GLOBAL SERVICES Sutherland Global Services is a financial corporation headquartered in Rochester, New York. There are 22,000 employees employed in this business process outsourcing firm and operations in seven countries including India, the Philippines, Canada, Mexico and Bulgaria. Sutherland cherishes their customers or clients as their business companions. They are enthusiastic and keen to provide the highest quality service to the customers and will treat their target and objectives as companys own. The firm will boost their aggressive benefit by constantly higher than the expectations. Sutherland Industries: Globalization, expertise promotion, lesser telecommunications expenses, and the adulthood of outsourcing facility providers are motivating companies to influence business process outsourcing (BPO) as a tactical move towards the enhancement of efficiency and taken as a whole functional efficiency. Industries that serve a large number of customers are the most important beneficiaries of a BPO. Because of the physical scenery of the business processes that are mandatory to attain, sustain and retain their customers, companies in these industries are outsourcing a variety of customer-facing and back-office operation. For more than two decades, Sutherland Global Services has built and managed outsourced operations for 1000 companies crossways numerous industries. Over the course of 20 years of experience, Sutherland has urbanized a demonstrated method for supervising outsourced operations that is applied to BPO whereabouts athwart any industry. By sternly clinging to this evolution on each commitment, the company is able to trim down start-up and changeover endangers, accomplish beleaguered objectives more rapidly, and run a more reliable steady-state operation on the clients behalf. Sutherland offers specialized BPO services for the following industries: (i) Retail/e-Retail (ii) Insurance (iii) Mortgage (iv) Banking/Financial services (v) Healthcare (vi) Telecommunication (vii) Technology (viii) Energy/Utilities and (ix) Travel and hospitality. Retail/e-Retail: Retailers function in a globe of tremendous market volatility, cost pressure and supply-chain intricacy. Sutherland supplies incorporated customer-facing and significant back-office support services to a high-speed increasing roll of key leaders in the vend space. Sutherlands services are geared in the direction of conventional trade, online/e-commerce and direct to customer oriented companies looking for an incorporated resolution. For each client or customer, the firm designed a personalized explanation built just about their explicit needs together with safety, skill and equipment, procedure, quality and exposure. Leveraging the firms field knows how, expertise, processes, and infrastructure, Sutherland helps worldwide retail firms concentrate on end-to-end dare. Insurance: Sutherland furnishes public and private Insurance companies an end- to-end scheme to perk up their functioning efficiencies and enables them to vie more capably which in turn facilitate them to innovate and generate a eternal aggressive benefit. In particular, Sutherland delivers: cost lessening and a changeable cost replica income increases through various allocation channels go around time upgrading for field force and members/consumers the aptitude to bring a steady customer skill Mortgage: Mortgage originators must productively deal with outlay in the phizog of altering technological, operational, and personnel demands. Sutherlands Mortgage Origination services drastically lesser the risks and expenses linked with a multiplicity of business processes rise above the entire instigation sequence. Sutherland can considerably improve a lenders output, customer satisfaction, and income generating occasion. Banking/Financial services: Financial or Banking services companies in each section are beneath strong stress to stay on beneficial. Customer expectations keep on increasing as business leaders features expenditure challenges. Sutherland Global Services suggests a BPO model for contact centre and back-office processes. Delivery options comprise North American aground, work at home, offshore service delivery via the facilities in the Bulgaria, Canada, India, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, United Kingdom and United States. Healthcare: Generally in customer-focused industries, Health Insurance companies are appraising tactical sourcing alternatives that will consent to them to improved control costs, diminish resource expenditures and get better level of overhaul they deliver to their customers. One way, Health Insurance companies can achieve these objectives is to deem choosy Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) for definite sales, customer service, claims organizational and back-office processing functions. Technology: Sutherland has about two decades of experience with building and controlling sales, advertising and customer support operations for the technology industry. Sutherland Global is branded and recognized in the industry for knowledge, realm skill and track-record of grades working with some of the most flourishing names in the hi-tech industry. Energy/Utilities: Travel and Hospitality: Sutherland understands that travel and hospitality companies functions multifaceted organizations with many global business units overseeing separate PL responsibilities. As business and individual journey experience stable quantity increases, every company faces passionate rivalry to supply astonishing customer service while controlling outlay. Companies must swiftly take action to varying consumer demands, which requires litheness and flexibility in operations, customer relationship management and back office processes. Telecommunication: It habitually seems hard to locate a business with the aim of more competitive than telecommunications. Service providers are quickly escalating an innovative service skill and insistently entering fresh markets, blurring the lines connecting voice, data, cable, IP and wireless. Exceptional cost and rigid pressure is making it trickier for providers to nurture market share and deal with a healthy profit image. For numerous telecommunications service providers, outsourcing definite client contact centre and back-office procedure is a reasonable and significant way to stay competitive and nurture their industry. That is why the top telecommunications companies have trusted on Sutherland for more than a decade to experience a variety of aspects of their customer lifecycle management errands. Sutherlands has formed for the following types of service providers for outsourcing services for the telecommunications industry. Those are as follows: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Traditional wire line à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Wireless/mobile à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Cable à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Satellite à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Data network operators à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Internet online service providers (Sutherland Global Services 2009) Research Questions Why Sutherland Global succeeds? How others make benefit? How does Sutherland Global make impact on various sectors? Research Objectives It is very essential for a company to make a good relationship with the customer and the company. This should be the main motto of the company to make a customer happy after getting solved all the issues of the customer. The important factor to set up nonstop or long term achievement is by giving importance to the customers. The main advantage of the company is to deliver quality services to customers and will certainly increase the selling opportunities for a happy customer. By this the company will grow autonomously. Some companies only focus getting new customers and ignore the value of the old customers. They forget that these old customers has helped them the chance to grow. They knew that getting new clients instead of the old ones will be more profitable. But they forget that generating new clients will be more expensive than they are already in the asset. (Customer Service BPO 2008) Customer service always helps to make an industry more profitable. By keeping the old customers and gaining new ones, brilliant customer service is crucial to any business replica. Human resources professionals must be able to give explanation for the importance of customer service teaching and extract from organization broad support for a complete programme. (Reheer 1999) Research Philosophies: The researcher establishes assumption, examines and analyzes the active facts and synthesizes the substantiation into a feasible hypothetical sculpt. Nuisance dealing with objectives, syllabus, course content, desires and style are but a small number of the vital issues that can be determined only through the theoretical or philosophical mode of crisis solving. Even though a few authors give emphasis to the distinction among science and philosophy, the philosophic process of study follows fundamentally the similar steps as other methods of technical means of solving. The philosophic approach uses systematic facts as the foundation for formulating and test to do research suggestion. (Jerry R. Thomas 2005) Literature Review: Why chosen BPO for Research Method? Business process outsourcing or else recognized as BPO is the procedure of leveraging skill vendors in a variety of third worlds or developing countries for doing a career which was on one occasion the dependability of the venture. Or in simple thoughts, it is the method of shifting an internal occupation practice to an outside or external corporation which might have an entirely dissimilar ecological locality. The reassigning of internal business processes, for instance, customer relationship organization, investment secretarial, human resources and acquisition , to an external service source that improves these processes and administers these functions to an approved service criterion and, classically, at a abridged expenditure. In general, the processes being outsourcing as division of BPO are backend works like call centres, medical transcription, billing, payroll processing, and data entry and so on. Most of these jobs are outsourced by first world nations like USA and UK to third world nations like India, Philippines, China, Malaysia and some eastern European countries. These nations have a good number of English speaking youth who are given accent and job related training before they are inducted at a salary which is much lesser than what their counterparts in first world nations would require. This allows first world organizations to get advanced profits and offer improved services by lowering the prices and by recruiting more work than they could possibly do. In addition to promoting the first world nations economic standard, business process outsourcing has also benefited third world nations by generating much needed jobs. In the early days, BPO typically consisted of outsourcing processes such as payroll. Then it grew to take in employee reimbursement management. Now it includes a number of functions that are measured non-core to the primary business strategy. Now it is common for organizations to outsource fiscal and management processes, human resources functions, accounting and payroll and call centre and customer service performance. These outsourcing deals commonly engross multi-year contracts that can run into hundreds of millions of dollars. Frequently, the people performing the work within for the client firm are transferred and have converted into employees for the service provider. Leading outsourcing service providers in the BPO fields include US companies are Sutherland Global Services, IBM, Accenture, and Hewitt Associates, as well as European and Asian companies Capgemini, Genpact, TCS, Wipro, Infosys and many more and some of which also dominate the IT outsourcing business. (Ritu Thapar . 2010) PROBLEMS OF RESEARCH METHOD: ETHICS Business ethics is fairly ancient as a subject of personage and social apprehension, but it is comparatively newly fangled as an area of social logical analysis. The late 20th century was a deafening instance for business ethics. (Trevià ±o and Weaver 2003) Limitations of doing research: No access to information: As doing the research, there was any access to information while browsing because of the company policy. The firm will only give access to their company policy only if t helps their employees, agents and trusted third party service providers. (Privacy Policy, 2010) Lack of knowledge: It could be difficult completing the coursework with no knowledge about the sector or subject you have chosen. Resistance in companies and people for sharing knowledge

An Annotation of Wallace Stevens Of Modern Poetry Essay -- Wallace St

An Annotation of Wallace Stevens' Of Modern Poetry In "Of Modern Poetry," Stevens describes the purpose of modern poetry given what the audience knows and values. Modern poetry must be different from traditional poetry, because people of his time perceive themselves and their world differently than the people of earlier times. Stevens suggests that war, like other changes, have affected what people believe. Poetry must reflect to its audience what they want to hear. It must show them that the order, meaning and value they need is real, in so much as their minds both need it and can create it. OF MODERN POETRY The poem of the mind in the act of finding What will suffice. It has not always had To find: the scene was set; it repeated what Was in the script. Then the theatre was changed To something else. Its past was a souvenir. It has to be living, to learn the speech of the place. It has to face the men of the time and to meet The women of the time. It has to think about war And it has to find what will suffice. It has To construct a new stage. It has to be on that stage And, like an insatiable actor, slowly and With meditation, speak words that in the ear, In the delicatest ear of the mind, repeat, Exactly, that which it wants to hear, at the sound Of which, an invisible audience listens, Not to the play, but to itself, expressed In an emotion as of two people, as of two Emotions becoming one. The actor is A metaphysician in the dark, twanging An instrument, twanging a wiry string that gives Sounds passing through sudden rightnesses, wholly Containing the mind, below which it cannot descend, Beyond which it has no will to rise. It must Be the finding of a satisfaction, and may Be of a man s... ...resent in his poem all specific examples. Therefore, it is interesting to notice that he finds women as representative of humanity as men. Again, this reflects the beliefs of people of his time -- social roles of men and women and social propriety of the past were not held by modern people. Poets must recognize this change and reflect the sensibilities of their audiences. The audience of modern poetry should be the mind, the contents of modern poetry should be from the mind, and the source of modern poetry is the mind of the poet. Humans can act on their ability to create a new conceptual and cultural play derived from values and truths of their minds. Writing modern poetry, likewise is poets acting on their ability to create from the mind and respond to people who have learned to look to themselves for order and meaning. Thus, the poem is of the act of the mind.

Vegetarianism Essay -- Healthy Lifestyle Essay

Vegetarianism Eating is a staple of life. In every culture, food customs and variety are part of that cultures definition. In American society and other cultures, meat is a main food that is consumed, yet not by everyone. Dating back to medieval times, some meats were not consumed due to the "impurities" they were seen to be by the religions of the time. Throughout history, this has developed from not eating red meat, to not eating any meat at all, and even further to the vegan extreme of not eating any animal products at all. Though not everyone feels this way, more and more people change their eating habits every day. Methodology Due to the nature of this report, information is not hard to find, especially in this town. Considering that there is a whole food "industry" in today's society, the data is not hard to collect. Also, with the new wave of vegetarianism and veganism making its way through society, research on it was plentiful. Most of the books in the library tended to be older books, but they did briefly go into vegetarianism in certain sections. As is shown through various graffiti art on the sidewalks, such as "VEGAN POWER XXX," to the food in the dorms (signs stating the vegan or vegetarian nature of the food), this is a new heath and moral concern with people, but especially college students today. Students who have changed their eating habits are also good sources for information on how one goes about changing theirs too. Description and Analysis To live, one has to eat, and the best food for the body is that of the healthy nature. "The concept of eating in such a way as to help the body to balance and adjust itself is of course a widespread one," (pg. 93, Wheeler/Poh). Over the years, starting b... ...matter. Actually narrowing my paper down helped me be more productive for I had a goal in mind instead of just a very broad subject matter of food. This report turned out very well and I enjoyed researching it. However, in the future I hope to interview more people to get more of a range of opinions. Overall, I enjoyed doing this research and finding out more about vegetarianism than I could have ever imagined. References Denny, Laura. 2001. Interview by Sarah E. Patterson, 2 December, Bloomington, Indiana. Tape Recording. SEP A-052. Twigg, Julia. 1983. "Vegetarianism and the Meaning of Meat," in The Sociology of Food and Eating, by Anne Murcott. England: Gower Publishing Company Limited. Wheeler, Erica and Poh, Tan Swee. 1983. "Food for Equilibrium," in The Sociology of Food and Eating, by Anne Murcott. England: Gower Publishing Company Limited.

government court cases :: essays research papers

Smith v. Allwright A resolution of the Democratic Party of Texas, a group that the Texas Supreme Court had deemed a "voluntary association," allowed only whites to participate in Democratic primary elections. S.S. Allwright was a county election official; he denied Lonnie E. Smith, a black man, the right to vote in the 1940 Texas Democratic primary. Question Presented Did denying blacks the right to vote in primary elections violate the Fifteenth Amendment? Conclusion The Court overruled its decision in Grovey v. Townsend (1935) and found the restrictions against blacks unconstitutional. Even though the Democratic Party was a voluntary organization, the fact that Texas statutes governed the selection of county-level party leaders, the party conducted primary elections under state statutory authority, and state courts were given exclusive original jurisdiction over contested elections, guaranteed for blacks the right to vote in primaries. Allwright engaged in state action abridging Smith's right to vote because of his race. A state cannot "permit a private organization to practice racial discrimination" in elections, argued Justice Reed. (The Court's decision in this matter was amended on June 12, 1944.) Buckley v. Valeo Facts of the Case In the wake of the Watergate affair, Congress attempted to ferret out corruption in political campaigns by restricting financial contributions to candidates. Among other things, the law set limits on the amount of money an individual could contribute to a single campaign and it required reporting of contributions above a certain threshold amount. The Federal Election Commission was created to enforce the statute Question Presented Did the limits placed on electoral expenditures by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, and related provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, violate the First Amendment's freedom of speech and association clauses? Conclusion In this complicated case, the Court arrived at two important conclusions. First, it held that restrictions on individual contributions to political campaigns and candidates did not violate the First Amendment since the limitations of the FECA enhance the "integrity of our system of representative democracy" by guarding against unscrupulous practices. Second, the Court found that governmental restriction of independent expenditures in campaigns, the limitation on expenditures by candidates from their own personal or family resources, and the limitation on total campaign expenditures did violate the First Amendment. Since these practices do not necessarily enhance the potential for corruption that individual contributions to candidates do, the Court found that restricting them did not serve a government interest great enough to warrant a curtailment on free speech and association.

Comparative Commentary Text 1 Those Winter Sundays, Text 2 The Boat Essay

Text 1 and Text 2, both have the common theme of fathers. Text 1 is a poem titled â€Å"Those Winter Sundays† by Robert Hayden, while Text 2 is an extract of the short story â€Å"The Boat† by Alistair Macloed. The purpose of Hayden is to tell the story and to tell younger people to appreciate their father; on the other hand Alistair MacLoed’s purpose was to entertain the audience. The common theme are the fathers, both texts narrate the story and the relationship between a father and a son. Both texts show how they treated their fathers in a careless way but then realized they shouldn’t have. In text 1 he realizes too late, and he can’t do anything to change it, however in text 2 the character realizes just on time and starts loving his father and appreciating what he does. There are several other similarities and differences like the fact that both fathers do hard work and they probably belong to the working class or even to the poorer class. This can be seen as in text 1 the father had hands that â€Å"ached from labour in the weekday†; in text 2 the father is a â€Å"fisherman†. Both fathers dedicate lots of their time and effort to their families, in text 1 the father wakes up really early so he can warm the room for his children to wake up into a comfortable room while in text 2 the father sacrificed his â€Å"dreams and inclinations† and lived a life doing what he really did not want for the benefit of the family. Similarities are also found in the tone. The tone in both texts is regretful. In text 1 the regretful tone is suggested through the description of the father, â€Å"Cracked hands that ached† as this increases our empathy towards the father, furthermore in text 2 the regretful tone is suggested through the description of the father’s action as â€Å"he burned and reburned over and over again†. This is also to increase empathy. Increasing the empathy helps us connect more to the author and be able to understand his regret. Another way through which regret is portrayed in text 1 is thought Robert Hayden’s last lines, with the rhetorical question at the end â€Å"What did I know,† This quote shows how Hayden has now realized how much effort his father had put into the family, this also shows how Hayden feels that it is too late to do something now that he has realized. In text 2 the tone of regret is portrayed not only through the description of the father but also through how the short story develops. The structure of text 1 is very different to text 2, first of all the fact that text 1 is a poem and text 2 a short story. As it was already mentioned, the regretful tone in text 2 is transmitted through the development of the story; the story is structured in paragraphs. The structure of the short story is very important as it starts by setting the scene as it describes the â€Å"good summer†. In the second paragraph Alistair MacLoed describes the father and how he suffers and keeps on working, â€Å"his lips still cracked so that they bled when he smiled†, this starts creating a tone of guilt as the character saw his dad suffer and did nothing. In the third paragraph we notice some transformation as he starts to realize the hard work his father does but it’s in the last paragraph is where we see the biggest change as he changes his attitude and starts loving his father. Structure is also very important in text1, the poem. It is a short poem that contains 3 stan zas. There is no rhyme in the poem as rhyme introduces a happy, joyful connotation; Robert Hayden decided not to include rhyme as this poem corresponds to a melancholic and sad relationship between father and son. When it comes to sentence lengths, text 1 contains 5 sentences, they are very different in sentence length as we have a very short one, â€Å"No one ever thanked him.† and really long ones as the 4th sentence, which takes up 6 lines. The poem isn’t structured as a poem but as a narrative, if the same text would not be in stanzas it would be a narrative. However in Text 2, as the text is structured in paragraphs, we can see how the sentences change depending on which paragraph they are in. For example, in paragraph 2, the one that tells us the dad’s sacrifices the sentences are long and the use lots of â€Å"and†, this gives a sense of continuous and a sense of repetition, which makes you feel the father’s pain. It is a very effective sentence a s it increases the empathy. Both texts have similarities and differences regarding language. Text 1 ends with a rhetorical question, this rhetorical question increases the regret already portrayed in the poem and the feeling of guilt as it is already too late to change anything and previously he hadn’t noticed his father’s effort. The diction through out the poem is quite simple, as the poem is directed to young people. Robert Hayden used imagery to create empathy towards the father as he is described as waking up in the â€Å"blueblack cold† and his â€Å"cracked hands that ached†. The use of the words â€Å"chronic angers† suggest tension in the family and opens the possibility of a long lasting fight happening inside the house, â€Å"speaking indifferently to him† also adds into the suggestion of tension in the house and the use of the word â€Å"indifferently† creates guilt as he treated his dad in an indifferent way. Furthermore Alistair MacLoed, the author of text 2 uses common diction through out the short story, the diction in both texts is very similar. MacLoed uses several times the word â€Å"and† there are several purposes for the use of the word â€Å"and†, at the beginning, when describing the father’s effort the word â€Å"and† is used for repetition as it increases the effect of empathy in the sentence. Later on in the story the word â€Å"and† is used to link ideas and to establish a good relationship between father and son as the text reads with a happier but still regretful tone. In conclusion both texts have clear similarities and differences as they both shared the topic of fathers and their relationship with their sons, though they have different purposes and therefore differences.

Night: the Holocaust and Figurative Language

â€Å"Night† by Elie Wiesel is an autobiography in which Elie’s life during the Holocaust is explained. Elie Wiesel uses imagery, figurative language, and pathos as tools to express the horrors he experienced while living through a nightmare, the Holocaust. Elie describes his experiences with imagery. â€Å"Open rooms everywhere. Gaping doors and windows looked out into the woid. It all belonged to everyone since it no longer belonged to anyone. † â€Å"Some were crying. They used whatever strength they had left to cry. Why had they let themselves be brought here?Why didn’t they die in their beds? Their words were interspersed with sobs. † (35). Elie explains how people reacted to finding their friends alive. You can picture how desperately they cried with an understanding as to why they were crying. â€Å"The two men were no longer alive. Their tongues were hanging out, swollen and bluish. But the third rope was still moving: the child, too light, was still breathing. And so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering between life and death†¦He was still alive when I passed him.His tongue was still red, his eyes not yet extinguished† (64-65). As a way to show control, keep fear and prevent rebellion, â€Å"prisoners† were hung. Elie describes the gruesome hanging of a young boy as he died a slow, painful death. The imagery throughout the book describes, with detail, things that couldn’t be imagined alone. Elie writes his autobiography with figurative language. â€Å"My soul had been invaded-and devoured-by a black flame† (37). Elie no longer felt like he was living. He uses a metaphor to compare the feeling of his defeat to his soul being eaten. All I could hear was the violin, and it was as if Juliek’s soul had become his bow. He was playing his life. His whole being was gliding over the strings. His unfulfilled hopes. His charred past, his extinguished future. † (95). Elie meets Juliek, a man he knew before who played the violin in the Buna band, at the concentration camp in Buchenwald, and as Juliek plays his violin, Elie sees it as Julie expressing how he felt. Elie writes how Juliek and his violin symbolized everyone’s thoughts and feelings.Using different types of figurative language, Elie conveys the feelings of defeat and anguish they felt. The element of pathos is also used by Elie as means to describe his experience as he appeals to our emotions. â€Å"Not far from us, flames, huge flames, were rising from a ditch. Something was being burned there. A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies! Yes, I did see this with my own eyes †¦ children thrown into the flames. † (32). Elie describes how the ones that couldn’t work were treated.Because children were seen as a hindrance to the work, they were burned to their death. Even babies who haven’t had the chance to live life were mercilessly murd ered. â€Å"The idea of dying, of ceasing to be, began to fascinate me. To no longer exist. To no longer feel the excruciating pain of my foot. To no longer feel anything, neither fatigue nor cold, nothing. † (86). Elie was in so much pain living, her felt that dying would feel better then living. He was suffering so much to the point where he would even accept death if it came.Elie writes with pathos, as he appeals to the readers’ emotions. Elie Wiesel’s autobiography, â€Å"Night†, uses many components in writing a story that would indulge readers as they read how he lived and felt during the Holocaust. He uses things such as imagery, figurative language, and pathos as means to do so. The pain, the horrors, the fear, the defeat felt during that nightmare, the Holocaust; things that we wouldn’t ever be able to truly understand unless we experienced it, he tries his best to speak of his experience as a survivor.

SWOT and Porter’s Five Forces for Sheng Siong Essay

Introduction Growing up in a pig farm, the CEO Mr. Lim Hock Chee and his brothers have brought Sheng Siong Group Ltd to an over 800million market capital, Singapore Exchange listed supermarket chain. The group’s humble beginning in the year 1985, from its first store in Ang Mo Kio which surrounded by 5 other grocery stores, has now expanded to be the one of the largest supermarket chain in Singapore. Sheng Siong is publicly listed at the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on August 17, 2011. Since then, it grows to become a major supermarket chain in Singapore with a total retail area of 400,000sq ft over 33 outlets island-wide. Sheng Siong’s outlets are designed to provide customers with both â€Å"wet and dry† shopping options ranging from a wide assortment of fresh, live and chilled products, such as meat, seafood and vegetables to processed, packaged and preserved food products as well as general groceries. Over the past few years, they have developed a selection of house brands to offer customers alternatives with at ample savings. Sheng Siong has now over 400 products under their 10 house brands. With the long history and reputation for quality products at competitive prices, the â€Å"Sheng Siong† brand had become an established household name in Singapore. Widely recognized by consumers, Sheng Siong were awarded the â€Å"Superbrand† status by Superbrands Singapore since 2008 (Superbrands, 1994). Mission: We strive to offer communities in which we operate quality products at reasonable prices together with good service in order to create value to our customers Vision: Our vision is to be the preferred retailer in the market, starting from Singapore and then further ashore. SWOT analysis Strengths Weaknesses 1. Strong brand recognition 2. Experienced management 1. Susceptible to rent hikes and labour cost hikes. 2. Lack of a formal succession plan Opportunity Threats 1. Overseas expansion 2. Untapped areas in Singapore 1. Losing market share 2. Supply disruption Strengths Strong brand recognition Sheng Siong is among the top 3 supermarket chain in Singapore. Sheng Siong launched a television show titled â€Å"The Sheng Siong Show† since year 2007 to further raise its profile amongst national audiences, on top of the traditional marketing mediums. Strong recognition by Singapore residents as a value-for-money supermarket chain. Awarded â€Å"Superbrand† status by Superbrands Singapore, a global organization that recognizes the most valued and exceptional brands, every year since year 2008. Experienced management Sheng Siong is founded since year 1985 and focus only in retail business in Singapore. Management of the group since then rests in the hands of the three founding Lim brothers: Mr. Lim Hock Eng (Executive Chairman), Mr. Lim Hock Chee (CEO) and Mr. Lim Hock Leng (Managing Director). They have almost 30 years of experience in grocery retailing, equipped with in-depth knowledge of the industry in Singapore. Weaknesses Susceptible to rent hikes and labour cost hikes The cost of rental and labour takes up 85% of Sheng Siongs’ operating expenses (Maybank KE, 2013) thus it is very vulnerable to hikes on operating cost in order to sustain their low-cost strategy. The Singapore Government had increase the restrictions for hiring foreign labour (Mom.gov.sg, 2013), which pressure Sheng Siong, in which one-third of its 2600 employees are non-Singaporeans, in their operating cost. (Michelle Teo, 2013) In Maybank KE’s research (2013), under the sensitivity analysis, an increase of 5% additional staff cost would incurred 9% of shortfall in Sheng Siong’s profit. According to Sheng Siong’s Annual Report in 2012 and 2013, rental expenses had been increased from 1.095million to 1.693million, representing  a more than 50% hike. In order to sustain the low-cost strategy, such rental hike issue had made Sheng Siong Group opened no new store in year 2013, whereby they cannot find suitable and affordable space to rent for expansion. La ck of a formal succession plan The founders, Lim brothers are holding more than 60% of the shares of Sheng Siong Group and also on the top managing positions. (Annual Report, 2013) The lack of a formal succession plan could prove to be a weakness in the long-run. The listing of Sheng Siong in the SGX had made incorporation of some outside talents including Mr. Tan Ling San (Executive Director) and Mr. Wong Soong Kit (Finance Director) into the management ranks, however if the Lim brothers decide to retire or step down before a formal succession plan is put into place, it may lead to a potential loss of strategic direction. Opportunities Overseas expansion Despite the foreign markets are also dominated by major players, Sheng Siong might able to seek chances in overseas expansion, especially in neighbor countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. The benefits of overseas expansion including increase brand value, find new customers, seek for tax incentives and reduce excessive domestic, single market reliance and furthermore enjoy the robust economic development of the region of South East Asia. Especially in Malaysia, Sheng Siong has had various suppliers which relationships had been established for decades, the expansion into the market is not impossible. Untapped areas in Singapore There are still many highly populated areas in Singapore where Sheng Siong has no presence such as Bishan, Tampines, Hougang, Sengkang and Bukit Merah. This means that Sheng Siong still has a lot of room to grow its store network. Furthermore, Sheng Siong had commenced an e-commerce pilot project in December 2013, in the Thomson vicinity to provide customers the convenience of shopping groceries online via the website â€Å"allforyou.sg†. The possible success of this e-commerce project can reduce dependence on human labour, save cost on warehouse management and create new and better shopping experience of customers at their convenience. Threats Losing market share Sheng Siong operates in a highly competitive environment where it faces intense competition from other major super market chains as well as traditional grocery retailers, wet markets and even petrol kiosks. Its existing stores may face competition from new competitor outlets in their operating areas; it may lose market shares in the area where new competitor’s outlets are open where Sheng Siong is absent. Sheng Siong has suffer zero expansion in retail outlets in year 2013, making it a crucial threat of losing market shares due to expansions of its competitors. Supply disruption Supply disruptions arising from harsh weather conditions, force majeure events or natural disasters might hit Sheng Siong because about 30% of its revenue (Ocbc is from the sale of fresh produce. Porter’s 5 forces Competitive rivalry – High Sheng Siong is in tough competition with major direct competitors such as NTUC FairPrice and Dairy Farm’s Cold Storage and Giant, yet there are many other smaller retailers in the market. The 4 major supermarket chain had a dominant market share of more than 85percent (Euromonitor, 2014) (Maybank KE, 2014), making the business to be in a semi-consolidated industry. Supermarkets are having very low level of product differentiation. The retail sectors is growing steadily but slow. (Singstat.gov.sg, 2014) For the full year, retail sales in Singapore contracted by 4.3%, a reversal from the 1.3% expansion in 2012, but supermarket sales grew by 4.3% at current prices and 2.4% at constant prices during the same period, compared with an increase of 7.5% and 5.3% respectively in 2012. (Economic Survey of Singapore, 2013) The increasingly intensive competition may result in lower sales and greater operating costs and have an adverse effect on Sheng Siong. Threat of new entrants – Low The big 4 supermarket chains took up to more than 85percent of the total  market shares in Singapore, thus becomes a huge barrier for new entrants to meet the excessive capital requirements into the harsh competition. A new entrant would have to achieve the economies of scale needed to compete on cost advantage with the major market players, therefore not an easy barrier to cross over. Branding is another barrier to entry. A new entrant would need to differentiate themselves with the big 4 and to attain identity through promotions and advertising which may incur extremely high expenses. The highly responsive to competition of the big 4 supermarket chains to sustain market share also makes the barrier higher for new entrants. New entrant also face disadvantage in lack of expertise and knowledge of consumer trends, as the big players had been in the business for decades. Difficulties in accessing to distribution channels and locations is also an entry barrier for new entrant as Singapore is a matured market. Threat of substitute – High Chains of convenience stores such as 7-eleven and Cheers are emerging in the market. Convenience stores are selling some Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) like dairy products, soft drinks and packaged food which also sold by supermarkets, thus become a substitute of supermarkets. Restaurants, kopitiams (coffee shop) and food centers are also substitutes for supermarkets. People may want to dine outside rather than purchasing fresh meats, fishes and vegetable to cook at home. Pharmacies which are selling medicine, personal care, and baby care and toilet / pocket papers are also a substitute of supermarket. Traditional wet markets are considered another substitute for supermarket business. Newly emerged online groceries shopping brings threat of substitute to supermarket also. Bargaining power of customer – High Sheng Siong is facing intense competition from traditional grocery retailers such as wet markets, supermarkets and hypermarkets, and from non-traditional competitors such as, petrol kiosk convenience stores, convenience stores and restaurants. Customers have various options when comes to buying groceries. While pricing is one of the keys, convenience also plays a significant role in groceries shopping. People might choose to buy daily groceries from neighborhood grocery store just on their doorstep or buy drinks from the  nearest convenience stores, rather than purposely go to supermarket. Bargaining power of supplier – Low Due to the nature of grocery retailing business, Sheng Siong purchase goods from a large number of suppliers and contract manufacturers. A large network of over 1,000 suppliers and contract manufacturers had been established for Sheng Siong’s business. Some of the supplying relationships had established since the commencing year of 1985. The large and stable supplying relationships have enabled Sheng Siong to have a continuous supply of products without major disruptions and allow them to wield greater bargaining power in terms of the purchase prices of their products. No single supplier or contract manufacturer contributed more than 5.0% of Sheng Siong’s total purchases. (Prospectus, 2011) Summary Competitive rivalry: High Threat of new entrants: Low Threat of substitute: High Bargaining power of customer:High Bargaining power of supplier: Low The analysis above shows Sheng Siong is in a really intensive business environment. Therefore, the management team should act really cautious on their strategy planning for business operations as well expansions in order to stay competitive. Strategic planning As Sheng Siong is implementing low-cost strategy, it is very important for the management to plan their business tightly watch on their operational costs, as they are vulnerable to rental and labour hikes. On the other Hand, not having a succession plan may negatively impacts the operations of company in long run. Thus Sheng Siong should have plans with the goal to train and sustain the dynamic key management team for the company’s future growth. Goals Plans Control operating costs, Sustaining low-cost strategy Reduce dependence of foreign labours. Computerized operations to reduce labour costs. Seek new property rental or purchases opportunity in new high populated resident areas such as Punggol and Hougang. Make optimum utilize of the centralized warehouse cum distribution center in Mandai Link, to achieve economies of scale. Train and sustain the upcoming management team Set up a management training for potential employees from internal or external. Succession plan as well as a contingency plan should be well established as soon as possible to enhance the stability of the long term operations of the company. Organizing Sheng Siong is applying the functional organization where by it divides into different divisions such as Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, Purchasing and Retail Operations. It is also a centralized organization since it was originally a family business. Most decisions are made by high-level executives and pass down for implementation. In my opinion, a transition should be made in the organizing system in Sheng Siong if the company wants to sustain in a longer run. Talents from internal or external should be brought up to managerial level through systematic trainings and being delegated in decisions making to cultivate fresh thoughts and ideas for the operations and growth of the company. The company should gradually decentralized in their organization to promote creativity and innovations, as well as act as a pathway for establishing succession plans. Leadership Despite using power of authority, power of rewards has been used in Sheng Siong’s leadership over their employees. 20% of the groups’ profit before tax was distributed in the form of various bonuses to its employees in the past 2 years. Relationship-motivated leadership Having policy such as provides one free meal per workday for every full-time  worker that has become a tradition of the company for 25 years. (Sheng Siong, 2013) The CEO Lim Hock Chee is an authentic and transformational leader. Although featuring at position 35 in Forbes’ Singapore’s 50 Richest list, Lim Hock Chee remains a humble man. He is known as the â€Å"towkay (meaning ‘boss’ in Chinese) who drives a lorry† due to that being his mode of transport for many years. He undertook a two-year car mechanic course and thus stood him in good stead as until recently he was known as â€Å"Mr Fix it† at Sheng Siong, regularly welding trolleys and fixing power outages. (Hunt, 2014) These good traits of leadership styles should be kept on in Sheng Siong to distinguish themselves from major trends in capitalized world that applies less relationships concerned leadership. However, a family business cannot sustain and grow if it stays only at family style, standardization and formalization should progressively apply and leaders should apply a balanced portion of task performance behaviors in their lead. Control In spite of bureaucratic control, market control is always being well-utilized in Sheng Siong. The plans and strategies in marketing, property renting and purchasing, and invests and divests are set according to close studies of the market. Sheng Siong emerged as Runner-up in the Retail & Household Goods category of the 14th Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (SIAS) Investors’ Choice Award – Most Transparent Company Award (MTCA) 2013. (Annual Report, 2013) This indicates Sheng Siong is having good control of their accounts and audits with optimum information stated in their financial reports. Despite the financial parts, management audits are closely monitored. The evaluations of the the company’s planning, organizing, leading and controlling is always printed in their annual report. It reviews what have been done and what the upcoming plans are, giving a clear picture to investors and business partners. Recommendations Sheng Siong should always prudent in its expansion and execution under the  harsh economic environment. Setting up a clear succession plan of short, medium, and long term to ensure the future operations of the company. Overseas expansion exposes to risks and opportunities, the company should well utilize the connections that it has to expand the business to another level, locally and regionally. Conclusion Sheng Siong had gradually emerged as one of the biggest groceries retailer in Singapore. Nevertheless, there are huge growth opportunity for the company. The company should stay dynamic and improve the weaknesses to keep explore the chances of growth in this competitive environment. Changing is not always a bad idea. From a family business to a listed company, from a small establishment to a corporate, Sheng Siong has gone this far, but be it just the beginning of the future great arms in supermarket operators in the region or even in the globe. Modern management studies will help Sheng Siong to embrace any possible threats in the future. The transition of Sheng Siong should not be stopped at this point but should keep improving, strive to achieve its mission and vision.