The Strategic Analysis of Google, Inc.

Running Head: THE STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF GOOGLE, INC. 1 The Strategic Analysis of Google, Inc. Laura P. Fann Mount Olive College Tillman School of Business BUS 370, International Business Management Dr. Khalid Dubas, Professor of Marketing March 16, 2012 THE STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF GOOGLE, INC. 2 Introduction Company History Google made it’s beginning in 1996 as a search engine that used links to determine the importance of individual web pages. In 1998 its founders, Stanford University graduate students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin formalized their work, creating the company we know today as Google.The company that started from two computer science students in a university dorm room, now employs thousands and holds offices around the world. (Google, Inc. ) Company Milestones Sept. 15, 1997 The google. com domain was registered Sept. 4, 1998Google became incorporated 1999Secured $25 million in funding for its operations. 2000Yahoo is using Google search engine—Ad Sense prog ram is launched 2001Company went global; setting up its first international office in Tokyo-added a new chairman of the board, Eric Schmidt, who soon became CEO 2004Google's search index reached eight billion 006Google bought YouTube 2008Launched mobile phone operating system 2010Company was collecting information from open wireless networks and joining Verizon in a net neutrality pact 2011Entered into an agreement to acquire the mobile phone maker Motorola Mobility for about $12. 5 billion. Google agreed to pay $500 million to settle a case involving the importation of illegal prescription drugs into the United States (John P. Mello, 2011) 2012Billionaire George Soros’ firm added shares in Google in fourth quarter(Burton, 2012) THE STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF GOOGLE, INC. 3 Company PhilosophyDescribed as â€Å"The perfect search engine†, Google has become successful at being better and faster at finding the right answers to search queries. Google continues to push the limit s of existing technology to provide a fast, accurate and easy-to-use service that anyone seeking information can access, whether by computer or mobile device. Google, Inc. operates by ten core principles that guide their actions. 1. Focus on the user and all else will follow. Google has always focused on providing the best user experience possible. 2. It’s best to do on the thing really, really well.Google is in the search business and their goal is to bring the power of search to previously unexplored areas, and to help people access and use even more information in their lives. 3. Fast is better than slow. . 4. Democracy on the web works. Google searches rely on millions of individual posting links on websites to which other sites offer content of value. 5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer. Google is developing new technologies and offering new solutions to the ever increasing mobile market. 6. You can make money without doing evil.The revenue gene rated by Google is derived from offering search technology to companies and from the sale of advertising displayed on their site. 7. There’s always more information out there. Researchers continue to look into ways to bring information to people seeing answers. 8. The need for information crosses all borders. The company mission is to facilitate access to information for the entire world, and in every language. 9. You can be serious without a suit. The company culture is casual and with a diverse background of employees with creative approaches to work and life. THE STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF GOOGLE, INC. 10. Great just isn’t good enough. Through innovation and iteration, Google aims to take things that work well and improve upon them in unexpected ways. (Google, Inc. ) Direct Competitors More than 17. 8 billion explicit core searches were conducted in January. This is down 2 percent from December. Google led the way with 11. 8 billion of the total searches (down 2 percent from December); Bing ended up with 2. 7 billion (down 2 percent), followed close by Yahoo with 2. 5 billion (down 5 percent). Ask Network had 527 million searches (down 1 percent), followed by AOL with 277 million (down 3 percent). Goodwin, 2012) Strengths Google is renowned for its search engine technology and is second to none in the search engine marketplace as it stands. Among its competitors (Yahoo, AOL, msn, infoseek, ask jeeves, etc. ), Google quickly became a household name as searchers discovered that it was not your average search engine. Google set itself apart from its competition by providing more unique information in its searches than the other available search engines. (Alex Harrison, 2011) Google has developed a strong brand equity which tops the list of the world’s most powerful brands averaging about 30% growth this year. Manjoo, NOV2011, Issue 160) Google occupies a place at the top of the minds of online consumers. The word â€Å"Google† and  "search† are used synonymously. A Google search has become the most recognized method to find information on the internet. (Alex Harrison, 2011) THE STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF GOOGLE, INC. 5 Website owners are drawn to using Google because of the company’s ability to help these site owners create useful information. Google Ad words are an advertising platform that places relevant text ads to the right of Google search results.This tool is used by businesses to determine where a website visitor came from, how long they stayed, and how well the information conformed to the user’s needs. (Alex Harrison, 2011) Google’s advertising business just keeps growing and is anticipated to bring in more than $30 billion this year. (Manjoo, NOV2011, Issue 160) Google has consistent revenue streams from their advertising business. Google is the most visited website on the internet, and for this reason, they have no shortage of customers looking to advertise using their platfor m.Many technology companies must issue debt and equity to pay for research and design, which can be costly; however, Google has been able to accumulate a significant cash reserve, which allows them to expand and invent at a lower cost than smaller competitors. (Alex Harrison, 2011) Google’s success despite the completion is based on its persistent focus on satisfying consumers by getting them the answers the want quickly and accurately. Google consistently refines its search algorithms, which now considers over 200 factors in assessing site quality and relevance. Judiciary, 2011) Google makes hundreds of changes to their algorithms each year to improve consumers search experience. THE STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF GOOGLE, INC. 6 Weaknesses Although Google is a company that has grown to be the number one search engine in the United States, a few problems have occurred. Other countries are not open to the amount of information Google needs for certain applications. International reputa tion is a weakness for the company at this time. As of right now Google is not in a position to satisfy foreign countries cultures. Alex Harrison, 2011) Google survives and prospers on its advertising which can also be seen as strength for the company at this time, but could be a negative factor in the future. Google’s revenue comes almost entirely from advertising and when advertising trends change, Google will need to adapt or else lose revenue. Security is a concern for Google due to its having experienced faulty applications and unreliable system designs. This was witnessed when hackers intruded the 2. 3. 3 and earlier versions of the android tablet allowing disclosure to user’s personal information via open wireless access. Alex Harrison, 2011) THE STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF GOOGLE, INC. 7 Financial Analysis Exhibit 1 (yahoo finance, 2012) In Millions of USD (except for per share items) | 12 months ending 2011-12-31 | 12 months ending 2010-12-31 | 12 months ending 2009 -12-31 | 12 months ending 2008-12-31 | Revenue | 37,905. 00| 29,321. 00| 23,650. 56| 21,795. 55| Other Revenue, Total | -| -| -| -| Total Revenue | 37,905. 00| 29,321. 00| 23,650. 56| 21,795. 55| Cost of Revenue, Total | 13,188. 00| 10,417. 00| 8,844. 11| 8,621. 51| Gross Profit | 24,717. 00| 18,904. 00| 14,806. 45| 13,174. 04| Selling/General/Admin. Expenses, Total | 7,313. 0| 4,761. 00| 3,651. 24| 3,748. 88| Research ; Development | 5,162. 00| 3,762. 00| 2,843. 03| 2,793. 19| Depreciation/Amortization | -| -| -| -| Interest Expense(Income) – Net Operating | -| -| -| -| Unusual Expense (Income) | 610. 00| 0. 00| 0. 00| 1,094. 76| Other Operating Expenses, Total | -| -| -| -| Total Operating Expense | 26,273. 00| 18,940. 00| 15,338. 38| 16,258. 34| Operating Income | 11,632. 00| 10,381. 00| 8,312. 19| 5,537. 21| Interest Income(Expense), Net Non-Operating | -| -| -| -| Gain (Loss) on Sale of Assets | -| -| -| -| Other, Net | 65. 00| 11. 00| 2. 37| 4. 52|Income Before Tax | 12 ,326. 00| 10,796. 00| 8,381. 19| 5,853. 60| Income After Tax | 9,737. 00| 8,505. 00| 6,520. 45| 4,226. 86| Minority Interest | -| -| -| -| Equity In Affiliates | -| -| -| -| Net Income Before Extra. Items | 9,737. 00| 8,505. 00| 6,520. 45| 4,226. 86| Accounting Change | -| -| -| -| Discontinued Operations | -| -| -| -| Extraordinary Item | -| -| -| -| Net Income | 9,737. 00| 8,505. 00| 6,520. 45| 4,226. 86| THE STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF GOOGLE, INC. 8 Google is growing at an alarming rate. As shown in Exhibit 1, Google’s net income has grown from $4. 2 billion in 2008, to $ 9. 7 billion in 2011.Google’s revenues and profits are growing over time and are moving in a smooth and consistent fashion as shown in Exhibit 1. Google’s revenue has grown from $21. 7 billion in 2008, to $37. 9 billion in 2011. Gross profits in 2008 were $13. 1 billion and have increased to $24. 7 billion for 2011. The profit margin is currently around 25%, which is a slight decrease from previo us years, 2009 and 2010. (Google Finance, 2012) Exhibit 2 (yahoo finance, 2012) THE STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF GOOGLE, INC. 9 Exhibit 2, shows that Google is close to its’ competitors, Microsoft and Apple when it comes to profit margin for 2011.This is pretty amazing considering how much younger Google is compared to the competition. Environmental Threats The dominant market position of Google's services has led to criticism of the company over issues including privacy, copyright, and censorship. Google CEO Larry Page recently admitted that the greatest threat to Google –was â€Å"Google† itself. Security Breach Liabilities Security is Google’s â€Å"Achilles Heel† because security clashes with Google’s values, mission, philosophy and culture as Google favors speed and accessibility over privacy and property rights.Given that Chinese hackers breached Google’s security and stole their entire password system, and that Google could not meet t he contracted security requirements of the City of Los Angeles. [ (Cleland, 2011) ] Security remains a huge corporate weakness for Google. This weakness could open up the door to cybercriminals including possible terrorist groups. Cybercriminals are becoming a threat that rivals terrorist groups like al Qaeda, according to the nation’s top law enforcement official. In the not too-distant-future it is anticipated that the cyber threat will pose the greatest threat to the U.S. states FBI Director Robert Mueller. [ (Cowley, 2012) ] Sovereignty Backlash from Foreign Governments With 55% of revenues Google receives coming from overseas; Google’s growth is at a risk from a growing backlash of foreign governments over Google’s unique sovereignty intrusiveness. THE STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF GOOGLE, INC. 10 Since it became public that Google worked with U. S. intelligence services, Google’s legendary intrusiveness has increased suspicion of Google overseas. [ (Cleland , 2011) ] Antitrust Franchise RiskCurrently, Google’s business practices are under antitrust investigation by the FTC and DOJ. Google is vulnerable to the FTC’s Sherman Act monopolization investigation because unlike the DOJ, The FTC has Section 5 authority which prohibits â€Å"deceptive and unfair† practices. Given Google’s many undisclosed conflicts of interest, it will be relatively easy for the FTC to establish consumer harm. (Cleland, 2011) Growth Opportunities Cloud Technologies Google is focusing on three areas of growth for the upcoming year. The focus will be on cloud, mobile and social technologies.According to Google Vice President Amit Singh, cloud adoption will accelerate in 2012, especially in small businesses, among which only 10 percent or so have deployed cloud technologies. Google capitalized on the cloud by adding more than 175 new features to Google Apps and offering an SLA (Service Level Agreement) of 99. 99 percent for Gmail. [ (Hic key, 2011) ] Google has cut the price of its Cloud Storage, a hosted service designed for enterprise developers who want to store their applications’ data in the cloud, as opposed to in their own servers. (Perez, 2012) THE STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF GOOGLE, INC. 11 Mobile TechnologiesGoogle will also continue to enhance its mobile offerings. Forrester Research data predicts more than 77 percent of organizations will support Google Android and iOS devices in 2012. According to Google Vice President, Singh, more than 90 percent of Google Apps for business users have already deployed or are interested in deploying Android devices and Android advancements, such as on-device encryption. VPN and Global Address List (GAL) support in the Android version 4. 0. (Hickey, 2011) Google’s goal is to have their apps working first and best across different mobile platforms and allow anyone to be productive from anywhere.Google will continue to invest heavily in mobile and soon the products people use on their smart phones and tablets will work even better. Google is definitely on the right path when it comes to its focus on efforts to carve out a position in the mobile networking market. According to research findings from Pew Internet & American Life Project from February 2012, 88 percent of US adults are cell phone owners and nearly half (46 percent) are Smartphone owners. (Project, 2012) It is expected for the volume of global mobile data to rise tenfold from 2011 to 2016, according to Ericsson, the leading maker of mobile network equipment.The rate is likely to accelerate as more consumers integrate the mobile Web into their daily lives. (O'Brien, 2012) Social Technologies Google+ the company’s recently-launched social network, has 90 million users now (January 20, 2012), from 40 million three months ago. (Sharma, 2012) THE STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF GOOGLE, INC. 12 Google is making multiple improvements to Google+ every week, while also wrapping Google+ with t he controls needed for broader use in larger enterprises with the goal of bringing Google+ to the rest of their products.This will include incorporating features that make it easier to connect, share, and integrate with the wider world. (Hickey, 2011) Assessment, Prospects, and Suggested Future Direction Google Inc, which revolutionized Internet searches with an easy-to-use website, has itself become an increasingly tricky business to grasp. Analysts say Google is simply putting its fingers in too many pies. Google’s market entries into television, Android mobile phones, and music sales in the past two to three years have left the investment community straining to recognize the company.Investors are still uneasy about Google's acquisition of Smartphone maker Motorola; this is a challenge facing Chief Executive Larry Page as he positions the company for new growth opportunities. Some are wondering if Google has a clear strategy for generating revenue and growth out of an abund ance of initiatives, from Android, Google+, especially since Page and management refuse to offer guidance. [ (Oreskovic, 2012) ] The limited insight Google provides on the details of its non-search businesses has not helped matters, as investors struggle to connect the company's ambitious strategic vision with its income statement. Google is very much in the midst of a transformation,† said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis. Since replacing Eric Schmidt last April as CEO, the Google co-founder has aggressively tossed out underperforming and non-essential projects and products. The idea is to put â€Å"more wood† behind the company's most important arrows, he has said. [ (Oreskovic, 2012) ] THE STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF GOOGLE, INC. 13 For Google to keep growing, it needs access to a wider range of content on which it can place ads and make money, particularly as the tech landscape shifts and consumers' Internet habits evolve. Any walled-off content is the enemy of Google, s o they're trying to pry it open. They did it well with Android, they're trying it with social media and they're trying it with television,† said MIT Sloan School of Management Professor Michael Cusumano. [ (Oreskovic, 2012) ] The strategy is not cheap, requiring significant investments for Google to build or buy platforms to reach new content — adding pressure on the bottom line. And many of the new markets may not be as profitable as the search ad business where Google rules the roost, said Cusumano.Google+, which does not currently feature ads, is still in its infancy and the company has yet to outline its monetization plans for the service. But Macquarie Research analyst Ben Schachter said the benefits of some of Google's other non-search initiatives, such as the vast amount of online video it now streams across the Web on YouTube, are coming into focus. â€Å"The goal at the end of the rainbow is TV advertising,† he said. â€Å"For years Google has been eati ng the lunch of print and radio, but TV has held up incredibly well. That will start to change by the second half of this year and into 2013, when Schachter expects that TV advertising dollars will flow to online video providers like Google. [ (Oreskovic, 2012) ] Works Cited Alex Harrison, R. H. (2011, November 9). googlenewsonline. com. Retrieved February 24, 2012, from Google News Online: http://www. googlenewsonline. com/google-swot-analysis. html Burton, K. (2012, February 15). www. bloomberg. com. Retrieved February 15, 2012, from Bloomberg: http://www. bloomberg. com/news/pringt/2012-02-15/soros-buys-google-comverse-while Cleland, S. (2011, November 15). The Top Ten Threats to Google.Retrieved March 2, 2012, from forbes. com: http://www. forbes. com/sites/scottcleland/2011/11/15/the-top-ten-threats-to-google/ Cowley, S. (2012, March 2). FBI Director: Cybercrime will eclipse terrorism. Retrieved March 2, 2012, from CNN Money: http://money. cnn. com/2012/03/02/technology/fbi_cyb ersecurity/index. htm Goodwin, D. (2012, February 10). Search Engine Watch. Retrieved February 15, 2012, from www. searchenginewatch: http://searchenginewatch. com/article/2151761/Yahoo-Search-Engine-Market-Share-Slips-in-January-2012 Google Finance. (2012, March 16). Retrieved March 16, 2012, from www. google. om/finance: http://www. google. com/finance? q=NASDAQ:GOOG&fstype=ii# google inside. (2012, February 15). Retrieved February 15, 2012, from www. ginside. com. Google, Inc. (n. d. ). Retrieved February 13, 2012, from www. google. com: http://www. google. com/about/company/ Hickey, A. (2011, December 21). Google: Cloud, Mobile, Social Will Define 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from CRN: http://www. crn. com/232300927/printablearticle. htm John P. Mello, J. (2011, September 27). Doodle Celebrates Google's 13th Birthday: Here are 13 Milestones. Retrieved February 15, 2012, from www. pcworld. com:

Coca Cola Essay

Historically, many companies and corporations have received recognition for their growth and success over time. However, although praised, discoveries of controversial issues lead consumers to question various companies’ ethics and operations. Coca-Cola, or simple coke, has existed for over a century, originating in Atlanta, Georgia in 1892, and eventually expanding and providing drinks internationally. Today, the company produces concentrate, which then sells to Coke licensed bottlers internationally; and ultimately ending up sold to retail stores and vending machines for consumers to purchase. Along with the regular â€Å"coke†, the company has also been able to produce other cola branded drinks including water, energy drinks and coffee. The most common of all, Diet Coke; others include Caffeine-Free Cola, Diet Coke Caffeine-Free, Coke Cherry, Coke Zero and Coke Vanilla. All of which could be found in over 200 countries within the year 2013, with consumers drinking at the least 1.8 million servings each day, according to the book, Citizen Coke: An Environmental and Political History of the Coke Company (Elmore p. 717). However, while extremely popular and high in demand, the Coke Company has faced much controversial issues from the public in India throughout its years of growth. Out of every country that Coke operates in, India has the fastest growing market (KillerCoke). From the start of production in 1999 to present day, Coke has spent $2 billion and will continue to spend an addition $5 billion in India. According to the article Coke rejigs bottling arm management, Coke has a plan to pursue expansion for the following few years (until 2020) in India with the plan to double their revenues to $200 billion (TOI). India is among the top seven markets globally for Coke, the CEO of Hindustan Coke stated â€Å"we have made significant investments in the marketplace and as we get ready to further accelerate growth, it is very important to develop a high quality talent pipelines. This team will work closely with Coke India to achieve our 2020 vision.† Part of their expansion was focused on a plan t in Mehdiganj, India. The emerging markets with Coke like India and China will result in about 60% of the incremental sales volume growth (TOI). According to the book Business and its Environment, 80 percent of the world’s population lives in emerging markets countries, and 90 percent of the world’s population growth will be in these countries over the next 30 years (Baron p.477) The start of production for a few of their bottlers in India has raised issues because of  Coke’s use of the water supply of nearby villages. Amit Srivastaba, of the India Resource Center, a center that works to support movements against corporate globalization in India said, â€Å"Three communities in India — Plachimada in Kerala, Wada in Maharashtra and Mehdiganj in Uttar Pradesh — are experiencing severe water shortages as a result of Coke’s mining of the majority of the common groundwater resources around its facilities (KillerCoke).† One of their issues comes from its production in Mehdiganj, near Varanasi, India, that has been in operation since 1999, and has been the center of attention in many surrounding villages since 2003 and especially after Coke announced that they are planning to expand by $25 million. In August of 2012, according to the article Coke Abandons Expansion Plans in India Because of Water, the company halted their plans to expand in Mehdiganj because of a delay in a no-objection certificate and locals becoming concerned about environmental dangers (The Wire). Organizations such as the India Resource Center and others who organize protests increase the awareness of issues, and therefore private regulation have been made an alternative to government regulations. As a result, the strategy Coke had all along failed to see through when the locals did not approve of their actions. If Coke does not have an affective nonmarket strategy in place for their activities in other countries, major opportunities can close when issues of any kind arise. A nonmarket strategy is important to avoid government regulations and to keeping the company’s opportunities open. Aside from the government, the company’s opportunities can also be controlled by private politics such as protests, public criticism, interest groups as well as public sentiment towards the company. (Baron p.31). The other factor that can affect opportunities is moral concerns, which Coke seems to be going through this issue right now. Coke should formulate a policy that oversees the use of water in India, which is the major concern of groups in private politics. Interest groups that are in play from the surrounding villages in India include: anti-coke nongovernmental activist groups, Varanasi-based activist, environmentalist, politicians, farmers and the villagers that have created lives in sur rounding areas. Leading from within these interest groups is The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board; a statutory organization entrusted to implement Environmental Laws and rules within the jurisdiction of the state  of Uttar Pradesh, India (UPPCB). The Control Board had found that Coke violated a number of conditions of its license that had to do with the use of water. The company had not yet obtained clearance for the extraction of groundwater from the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), a government agency that monitors and regulates the process in water-stressed areas (The economic Times). But Coke had some objections to these accusations. According to Coke, a Central Ground Water Authority report from 2012 stated that the reduction of groundwater in the area was not due to their company. According to the article UP pollution board shuts down Coke’s Varanasi unit, the maker of sprite said in a statement that the plant in Mehdiganj has complied with regulatory approvals and applicable laws in India (The Economic Times). Despite these statements, according to the Central Ground Water Authority, the groundwater in Mehdiganj has gone from â€Å"safe† back in 1999 when Coke got back into operating in India to â€Å"critical† in 2009. The closure order by the Central Ground Water Authority stated that Coke increased its production capacity from 20,000 cases to 36,000 cases a day without the board’s permission. Similar to this problem was one in 2004, when one of the 68 Coke plant in Plachimada, Kerala was shut down over accusations that the operation led to the reduction of groundwater (see Exhibit #1). The company faces legislation holding it liable for $47 million in damages (The Economic Times). Initially, Coke had looked beneficial for the local economy, but then the regulations and protesters hit the company as a result from the critically low levels of water. Although this may have halted the company’s expansion plan of $25 million into Varanasi, Coke is seeking permission from the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board to expand into Mehdiganj. With authorization, they will increase productivity by opening a second bottling line. However, the struggle continues as the recent closure has already inspired other protest to start, starting problems down the company’s future operations in their bottling factories. Over 10 years ago, a protest by farmers and anti-globalization activist successfully launched a â€Å"Quit India† campaign in order to stop Coke’s expansion into Varanasi. Many villages are saying big companies like Coke are coming into India and using their drinking water, even when levels are critically low for basic living consumption (see Exhibit #2). According to  the article Coke has a bottler of a headache in India; the level of water for the villagers became even lower as Coke proceeds to operate in India. Amar Signh Rathor, a farmer in the village Mehdiganj, has noticed the continuous decline of water levels by simply observing his own well. Within three years, the water level below his water table has fallen by over 18 meters. Most of the population of Mehdiganj (approximately 10,000 people) blamed Coke for the shocking decrease in their water supply (Sydney Morning Herald P.13). The plant that is to blame is at the edge of the village. A villager named Shakuntala Devi said, â€Å"If the Coke plant isn’t closed it will be impossible to live here (Sydney Morning Herald P.13).† Coke violates human rights for the people of India by taking their water and in the process they damage the environment. According to the article Coke’s Crimes in India, they are draining a vast majority of groundwater from farms and turning farming communities into virtual desserts. These farmers livelihood that have been destroyed have resulted in a increase of suicide, and everyday for many years now, there are protests of some sort, big or small, against Coke’s abuse in India (KillerCoke). On November 24, 2004, a protest outside of the Mehdiganj plant broke out and quickly turned violent. Multiple villagers had attempted to break the barrier of the police in order to reach Coke property, resulting in a defensive attack in return from the police. Organizers stated that there were approximately 2,000 people – mainly woman and youth – who took part in the protest, although Coke reported a much smaller number. This was the first of many protests to start, even though they were at a smaller scale. In this protest alone, two hundred villagers were reportedly arrested during the brawl (Sydney Morning Herald P.13). According to the article Indian villagers want Coke plant shut amid water fears, later in June of 2007, four hundred people marched and rallied at the Varanasi district magistrate’s (DM) office, demanding that the Coke bottling plant in Mehdiganj be shut down effective immediately. Within the four hundred, included people from twenty different villages, all of who submitted a letter to the district magistrate, Vina Kumari Meena, drawing attention to the water shortage and pollution of groundwater and land caused  by Coke’s operation. The letter demanded that the operation be shut down (Monitoring South Asia). Due to the severity of the situation, the director of The District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) declared the water issues in India as â€Å"dark zoned†. A â€Å"dark zone† category infers that ground water resources are over-exploited, and more than 85 percent of the total recharging of ground water resources is being extracted, which resulted in all new underground installations being approved by the government (BBC Monitoring South Asia). Accusations of unethical acts against the environment can lead to nongovernmental organizations forming, which affect the organization in question by mobilizing people to work for causes. â€Å"These groups have been instrumental in advancing the causes of environmental protection, health and safety protection for consumers, and civil and human rights (Baron p.75).† The lead of the campaign Lok Semiti (People’s Committee), a nongovernmental organization that is against Coke, Nandlal Master, said â€Å"When people themselves do not have enough water to meet their basic water needs, why should Coke be allowed to siphon hundreds of thousands of liters of water every day (BBC Monitoring South Asia)?† But the issues with Coke go beyond the use of water and its reduction impacting a majority of the villages. Coke provides waste product from their operation to farmers as fertilizers for their crops. A BBC study found that the fertilizer contains toxic chemicals, stating, â€Å"Dangerous levels of the known carcinogen cadmium have been found in the sludge produced from the plant in the southern state of Kerala (BBC news).† Face the Facts, an investigative journalism for BBC, sent presenter, John Waite, to further investigate the allegations. Part of the investigation consisted of sending a sludge sample to the University of Exeter in the UK, and the results were very alarming. The test revealed that the sludge was a useless fertilizer that contained the toxic metals cadmium and lead. David Santillo, a senior scientist at the university’s lab, affirmed that the levels of cadmium and lead have not only contaminated that sludge provided to the farmers, but the entire water supply as well. The levels are  way above those approved by the World Health Organization. Britain’s leading poison expert, professor John Henry, said, â€Å"The results have devastating consequences for those living near the areas where this waste has been dumped and for the thousands who depend on crops produced in these fields (BBC News).† The professor is correct to assume these consequences because cadmium is a poison that can accumulate in the kidneys and with repeat exposure it can cause kidney failure. Lead is also dangerous, and more to children than to anyone else. Even at low levels, lead can cause mental retardation and even anemia, a blood deficiency (BBC News). The professor also explains that with the levels of chemicals in the water, pregnant women in the villages in India consuming from the farm’s goods can fall vulnerable to miscarriages, stillbirths and premature births. After these alarming results, more test where conducted on the soft drinks. In the year 2003, the Centre of Science and Environment (CSE), a non-for-profit and nongovernmental organization based in New Delhi, India, tested 12 cold soft drinks (Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Mirinda Orang, Mirinda Lemon, Blue Pepsi, 7-Up, Fanta, Limca, Sprite, Thumbs Up and of course Coke). The article, Pepsi, Coke contain pesticides: CSE, based in India was the one to write about the cold drinks, which included 2 big companies, Pepsi and Coke. Both companies failed health standards when both drinks tested positive for pesticides. The tests from three samples of each of these Pepsi and Coke brand drinks that was conducted by the Pollution Monitoring Laboratory (PML) of the Centre of Science and Environment showed that the samples contained residues of four very toxic pesticides and insecticides: lindane, DDT, malathion and chlorpyrifos. These four pesticides are known to cause cancer, damage the nervous and reproductive system, and severely damage the immune system (Rediff) . These tests were conducted in the year 2003 from April to August with samples from across the city. The samples from Coke were found to contain pesticides that exceeded global standards by 30 times the limit at 0.0150 mg/l, with the EEC limit of total pesticides being at 0.0005 mg/l. Coke defended its position by saying their plants use a multiple barrier system to remove potential contaminants and unwanted natural substances including  iron, sulfur, heavy metals as well as pesticides, â€Å"Our products in India are safe and are tested regularly to ensure that they meet the same rigorous standards we maintain across the world (Rediff).† But despite these statements the citizens of India seem to believe the Centre of Science and Environment, as sales have been impacted in the so-called safe and high-quality drink and investors from the company in India have lost confidence (Coke India). Looking at the nonmarket issue cycle, Coke is way past the issue identification, interest group formation, legislation, and has now reached the Administration phase in India (see Exhibit #3). The issues were identified soon after they got back into India in 1999. Villagers, farmers and environmentalist noticed the problem, starting many groups interested in the closure of these factories, sparking the many protests stated above. Legislations already started within the Indian Parliament banning Coke drinks from its cafeterias. Amit Srivastaba, of the India Resource Center, stated that the ban came as a result of tests by the Indian government and private laboratories, which found high concentrations of pesticides and insecticides in the cola drinks (Indian Resource Center). If Coke wants to prevent their company from becoming the next Enron in the ethical sense, they need to take the right action now before they sink too low in unethical actions and laws of the government that are way out of their control start to enforce legislations. Enron was a energy company that was found out to be engaging in unethical marketing malpractices including; misrepresentation of reports regarding the financial position of the organization in order to continue from benefiting from the investments provided by the stakeholders, a false energy crisis to gain more money from investors and finally, executives of the company embezzled money from unsuspecting investors which led to the bankruptcy of the company. Coke’s name is a global brand that can definitely work its way out of the unethical characteristics in the communities of the countries it operates in by simply providing the same quality of goods around the world. So far, Coke’s way of handling the issues in India has been very questionable. Their strategy thus far is to globalize their company no  matter the cost, ethically and environmentally. Protesters from many interest groups have eliminated many opportunities for Coke and have been attacking the company for over exploitation and pollution of water that is already dangerously low. Interestingly, Coke responds with public relations scams, deceptive statements and points out awards of how they are corporate socially responsible (KillerCoke). The article Coke’s crimes in India further expands by saying that Coke stated, â€Å"For four consecutive years, Coke plants in India have won the prestigious Golden Peacock Environment Management Award for environmental practices from the Institute of Directors, which grants the award in association with the World Environment Foundation.† Similar remarks were made in late 2005 when the company claimed to be recognized for being a ‘Water Efficient Unit’ by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) (KillerCoke). Coke continued on with their misleading information in 2007 at two Canadian college campuses about their activities in India and Colombia. Coke bragged that The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), described as â€Å"an Indian-based nonprofit research organization,† had â€Å"begun an assessment of our company’s water resource management practices in India (KillerCoke).† TERI is a respected Dehli-based nongovernmental organization with deep experience in sustainability issues, and Coke falsely stated they were working closely with them on their water management. However, Coke already began to make social responsibility a top priority by investing in new innovations and plant processes to help make more improvement moving forward. The Coke webpage of the UK indicates that outside of their plants they attempt to replenish more than 100 percent of the water that they use by creating rainwater harvesting structures, restoring ponds, and leading interventions that fo cus on improving water efficiency, among other things. And by 2012 they met their goal and exceeded it to 110 percent of water replenished throughout India (Coke UK). From the article Villagers to Coke: ‘Go away’; In India, foes claim company is depleting water supply, a Coke spokesman stated the shortage of monsoons in India from June to October is to blame for water depletion affecting India’s agriculture. Harry Ott, the director of Coke’s Global Center for Water Excellence said, â€Å"If the monsoons are good, these problems don’t come up.† Today in mehdiganj â€Å"the land around  Coke’s plant looks lush. Fields brim with mustard plants, potatoes, peppers, wheat and rice (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution).† But the struggle continues as people focus more on the bad rather than the good. Coke like many other businesses focuses on the profitable side of their operation, without realizing the environmental damages it can cause to surrounding communities. When Coke is looking into the future of the company, it is looking to double their revenues more than working on a nonmarket strategy that will prevent interest groups from the communities they operate in to question the company’s morals. Doubling their revenues further proves that Coke, being the number one beverage company in the world, has some money to play with. In Kala Dera, protests are starting because of the lack in Coke’s corporate social responsibility, leading back to the use of water and the damage being done to the communities around it. In 2010, shareholders at a meeting taking place in Duluth, Georgia, were told by Amit Srivastaba of the India Resource center, â€Å"It is only a matter of time before the Coke company will be held financially and criminally liable for their operations in water-stressed areas in India.† He continued by stating â€Å"The company management is being seriously derelict in its duties by not acknowledging the real exten t of the liabilities Coke has incurred and continues to incur in India (KillerCoke).† By investing a few million dollars a year of the billions of earnings they have reached ever since the late nineteenth century when the company first got started, they will be showing the shareholders that Coke is doing something to get on the right track. Coke could start with compensation of the crops that farmers lost when they initially started to operate in India, and also assure the farmers that Coke is investing in new innovations to solve the water issue so it will not be a problem in the long-run. Also, Coke could invest into the education in India by opening new schools; increase awareness of diseases through nongovernmental programs, as well as investing in the communities in which their bottling factories reside. With the issues out for the public to read about, it should be an incentive for the company to not continue down this horrific path in developing countries. Other things Coke should considering doing for the sake of their image is stepping up in community service, donations focused to help clean up the streets that their distributors travel in, donations to nongovernment organization, show the public that  they are actually working to stop the shortage and contamination of water without spreading lies of what they are actually doing. One way to do is by continuing their activities so far to stop the shortage of water and further help the environment by planting trees. The article Trees Reduce Air Pollution mentions that trees can help with the gas pollutants from the factories by absorbing them through the pours in the leaf surface (DNR). Furthermore, the company can look to work with the nongovernmental organization TERI in efforts to better sustainability of water resources, instead of just talking about doing it because in the end actions speak louder than words. Bibliography â€Å"Coke rejigs bottling arm management.† The Times of India (TOI). (September 24, 2013 Tuesday ): 425 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: 2014/12/15.Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board. June 5, 2014 â€Å"UP pollution board shuts down Coke’s Varanasi unit.† The Economic Times. (June 19, 2014 Thursday ): 430 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: 2014/12/15. â€Å"Coke has a bottler of a headache in India.† Sydney Morning Herald (Australia). (February 17, 2005 Thursday ): 1181 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: 2014/12/15. â€Å"Indian villagers want Coke plant shut amid water fears.† BBC Monitoring South Asia – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring. (June 7, 2007 Thursday ): 622 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: 2014/12/15. June 7, 2007 Thursday â€Å"Villagers to Coke: ‘Go away’; In India, foes claim company is depleting water supply .† The Atlanta Journal-Cons titution. (May 29, 2005 Sunday ): 1908 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: 2014/12/15. UP Pollution Control Board, Lucknow (UP Pollution Control Board, Lucknow). Was Accessed http://www.uppcb.com/ â€Å"Indian Resource Center. PRESS: Groundwater Levels Continue Downward Spiral Around Coke Plant.† March 11, 2010. Was Accessed http://www.indiaresource.org/news/2010/1001.html India Resource Center. Coke – Mehdiganj – The Issues. March 7, 2013. http://www.indiaresource.org/campaigns/coke/2013/mehdiganjfact.html Ray Rogers. â€Å"Coke’s Crimes in India.† Campaign to Stop Killer Coke | Coke’s Crimes in India. Killer Coke. Was Accessed http://killercoke.org/crimes_india.php Was Accessed http://www.cseindia.org/ â€Å"Pepsi, Coke contain pesticides: CSE.† Was Accessed. http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/aug/05pepsicoke.htm Coke India. Was Accessed http://www.Cokeindia.com/facts&myths/varanasi.html Coke India. Was Accessed http://www.Cokeindia.com â€Å"Easy Guide to Understanding ENRON Scandal Summary.† (Enron Scandal Summary). 2013 Was Accessed http://finance.laws.com/enron-scandal-summary â€Å"Coca‑Cola’s water is used responsibly in its operations in India : FAQ (Coke GB).† 2010. Was Accessed http://www.Coke.co.uk/faq/community/responsible-Coke-water-use-in-operations-in-india.html â€Å"Trees Reduce Air Pollution.† Was Accessed http://www.dnr.state.md.us/forests/publications/urban2.html Mosendz, Polly. â€Å"Coke Abandons Expansion Plans in India Because of Water.† August 26, 2014. Was Accessed http://www.thewire.com/business/2014/08/Coke-abandons-india-production-expansion/379128/ Elmore, J Bartow. 2013, Citizen Coke: An Environmental and Political History of the Coke Company. P. 717 Baron, David P. Business and Its Environment. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education, 2012. 784. Print.

Population geographies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Population geographies - Essay Example This movement is often termed as migration. Population movement is categorized under the micro and macro levels. Macro migration refers to the movement of people from one country to another while micro refers to people moving from one region or area to another. A population movement is as a result of the pull (voluntary) and pushes (non-voluntary) factors. While major cities are a focal point of public attention, urbanization will be concentrated in the smaller cities, which have inadequate resources to cater for the needs of the new urban population. In most countries, the total number of urban dwellers continues to swell at a higher rate than the cities’ or towns’ capacities to provide water, jobs, sanitation, houses, and other essential services. The UN states that the unemployment rate of immigrants in urban areas is higher than in rural areas. It is only about 40% of the immigrants who have access to good jobs. Consequently, many people are forced to fend for themselves by entering the informal sector, or turning to crime and prostitution. Due to high unemployment levels, some of the urban dwellers are forced to build their houses since they cannot afford to pay rent. These shanties give rise to slums within the urban environment. Slums lack sewerage, waste disposal and water facilities. Accessibility of clean water in the urban areas is a necessity everywhere. Unlike in developed countries where the urban population has access to clean water, third world countries lack this basic need or commodity. In Africa, 26 % of the urban population has access to clean water. 29% of the Asian urban population has access to clean water whereas, in South America, only a paltry 12% have access to clean water. The movement of people from rural to urban areas (mostly in developing countries) is among the most common visible trends today. According to the United Nations data, 60% of the world’s population will be

The impact of science and technology on society Essay

The impact of science and technology on society - Essay Example Both the school of thought presents a series of convincing arguments to prove their own point of views. (Chandler, 1996) It is, however, difficult to determine that which group is making a true claim, since this debate is not like black and white. There is always a gray area in this issue. Therefore, some arguments of technology pessimists are convincing which few of those of technology optimists are more impressive. It is therefore very difficult to take an absolute stance. However, as the questions requires, I am bound to take one side. Thus, I am more inclined towards the point of view of the technology optimists. Science has played a vital role in revolutionizing the human life. It has given color of reality to those facts which were a dream in past. Science has bestowed upon mankind with immeasurable blessings and it is impossible to confine them in a nutshell. Whatever we see around us, it reminds us the manifestation of science. It is argued by the technology pessimists that these are the needs of the human society that compel the people to make inventions, as it is well known quote that "necessity is the mother of invention". However, if we accept this argument, we will be at a great puzzle. It is so because; the needs of human society have been existing since the day one. It was the desire of mankind to fly since very beginning, after seeing the birds. Yet the airplane was invented, after thousands of years of the inception of this desire. If somebody had desired to have a machine to keep the food cool in the third century Before Common Era (B.C.E), would he have been able to get the microwave oven at time Human desires are not bound in time and space, but the science and technology

Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 9

Critique - Essay Example rrupt practices act which was formed with an intention of stopping bribery of foreign official ad prohibit Us citizens and firm from making improper payments to foreign officials. The National Free trade agreements were designed between three countries to remove taxes on products traded and also helped protect copyrights, patents and trademarks. Another similarity is that all this organizations have some sort of controversies and criticisms. At some point it has failed to achieve its goals, interest and objectives. At some point each of this organizations have impacted negatively on the welfare of people in terms of equity, cost – benefits analysis such increasing the rate of crimes, unemployment, increase in social crimes. For example, the removal of taxes on product makes the local industries lose a substantial market share due to foreign stiff competition from superior products. The United Nations Security Council at some time enacts sanctions meant to benefit only its members at the expense of other non-members. The IMF on then other hand offers credit in an unfair manner such as imposing heavy and unfair terms and conditions on the funds to be lent. The member states in all these papers that both members have voting rights and take part in decision making process that affects the operations of each of the organi zations. However, there are different between paper one and paper two. First countries formed in paper one are from Europe for example, the European union which is formed in Europe while in paper two the organizations formed are from America notably the United states of America. It can also be pointed out that the formation of those organization in paper one is signed and ratified by the member states unlike in paper two where the only the head of states are endowed with authority of signing of the agreement. Another notable difference is that those organizations in paper two have been formed to indentify and promote the rights of consumers of

The Situation of Horace and Wynona Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Situation of Horace and Wynona - Essay Example Further, the parking lease of Nicola is for ten years and according to the section for where a lease for more than seven years is granted, it is compulsory for the title to be registered. Since Horace had failed to do so the title had, in fact, become defective. Also as the title has not been registered Simon would not be obligated to pay any rent to either his parents or to Pavel, Simon would also be able to claim that he has an ownership interest in the property as he is Horace and Wynona’s heir. Wynona is also entitled to take Horace to the court of law over questions regarding his ownership rights, as the title is unregistered and there is no single owner of the property, and since she has also made payments towards to the purchase of the property she is the real owner of the property and hence entitled to an equal share in the income generated from the sale. Under such big circumstances, where the property, which has been transferred, is in dispute any transfers so made a re not considered legal. Horace has also neglected to inform Pavel of any material defect in the contract, and by not doing so has failed to uphold his duties and obligations as a seller. Under such circumstances, Pavel may hold the sale to be void. It has also been established that the sale of the property by Horace to Pavel is a fraudulent one, therefore Pavel may either hold the sale as void or may sue Horace for damages. On his part, Pavel failed to exercise due care and did not inquire about the title.

Tourism and hospitality management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tourism and hospitality management - Essay Example Hospitality management is one of the key areas which can define the overall competitiveness of the firms working in the hospitality industry. Over the period of time, firms which have been able to develop better management of its resources have been successful in developing important competitive advantages over their competitors. This report has presented a complete analysis of different issues pertaining to two different services providers in the industry. The overall purpose was to check and analyse whether different aspects of hospitality management and project management are carried out in accordance with the best practices. A visit to Sheraton Hotel suggested that the hotel has good quality hygiene food, better services, safety management as well as the roles and responsibilities are adequately defined. This has allowed the hotel to develop a system under which different activities are carried out in accordance with the laid down policies and procedures. This was done in order t o get a firsthand information about the best practices adapted by the industry leading organizations. Crystal Clear Resort, our next assignment, however, showed somewhat a different scenario as the resort faced different issues such as people management, diversity, customer services as well as communication between the employees. Due to diversity of the employees, Resort is facing different challenges and as such requires complete change in the overall attitude of the management in shaping its overall competitive advantage within the industry.... ike work place diversity , reducing the conflict between the employees as well as improve communication between them requires that the Resort must develop better strategies as well as work environment in order to ensure that it can operate on the long term basis besides become more competitive in the industry. It is also critical that Resorts must be able to implement better conflict management practices in order to ensure that it can deliver better customer services to its customers. Overall the organization needs a direction- a new strategy to ensure that it has put in place important changes. This would include better management of HR resources, better operational planning as well as the adequate and effective conflict management system. Develop and Implement Operational Plans Appendix A The need for Operational Plans Operational plans are considered as the sub-set of the overall strategic framework of the organization and require meticulous compliance with the overall strategy of the firm. It not only defines the short term goals and objectives to be achieved but also outline as to how and what parts of the overall strategy of the firm needs to be operationalized. A well-developed operational plan is considered as essential for the development and approval of the operational budget of the organization. A well-developed operational plan therefore provides answers to questions like how to measure the progress and where firm intends to go. This approach therefore makes operational plans an important part of the overall strategy execution of the firm. A clear and well prepared operational plan therefore helps firms to set clear objectives, overall activities to be delivered as well as desired outcomes. Appendix B Internal and External Factors In order to better prepare

The Slow Death of Slavery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

The Slow Death of Slavery - Essay Example Firstly, the consideration that babies presented the next generation was a strong factor which threatened southern whites. This reflection was based on the fact that babies, who in this case, were typical Americans, were presumed to at one point carry out a brutal Negro revenge. The viscosity presented by the whites through denying the black basic rights was ill registered by the growing children community (Burton, 43). The whites were monitoring any presumed big brains amongst the babies. Secondly, it is imperative to consider that slave trade was already disowned by the world. Therefore, there was a necessity to retain the available slaves by taking care of the young generation In this case, numbers mattered. Yes, they could have helped to identify runaway slaves for sale; firstly, it is appropriate to acknowledge that the print media was much established in 1844. Again, the description included in the newspaper did have names, plantation affiliation and in some cases images with the basic bibliography of slaves, strengths, weakness and disciplined attitude. These were appeared to be successful approaches towards identifying runaway slaves. However, this was not the case, since the runaway slaves’ campaign attracted criticism from the liberal ideologist communities. The newspaper ads were interested in communicating to the public about the will to buy or sell a slave. The general effort to end buying of slaves was spearheaded by several activists in the quest to establish equal presentation. The world by then was actively looking for methods to put an end to slave trade; thus, the newspaper ads were irrelevant. This paper has attempted to establish that slavery lost clout in the middle of 19th century in America.

Rhetoric from renaissance to modern day Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rhetoric from renaissance to modern day - Essay Example It is important to understand from the very beginning, that the division of the history of rhetoric into periods is somewhat conventional. In fact, from the moment of the emergence of rhetoric in its classical form, and through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the period of the early modern history, and up until modern times there was taking place an interconnected process of diversification of fields of application of rhetoric, as it was endowed with many different tasks during its 2500 year history by needs of politics, religion, philosophy, and science. In general, in the time that preceded the Renaissance rhetoric was made to serve Christian religious goals instead of political ones as it was the case with the classical rhetoric. Also, during the Middle Ages the classical prescriptive attitude to notion of good composition was greatly intensified, so that many medieval rhetoric works contained only rules and examples of composition. In the early Renaissance there appeared rhetor ic that followed classical examples but was composed in vernacular language. Rhetoricians who practiced such an approach accentuated the examination of style, and at times directly connected their vision with poetry. Another significant factor that influenced Renaissance rhetoric was the work of Peter Ramus, who wanted to reform the so-called medieval trivium (studied by medieval students as a combination of grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic) by shifting accents in the classical division of the stages of composing on invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. Rhetoric of Ramus deepens the separation between these stages, and assigns invention and arrangement to the field of logic. In general, Ramists strived to establish a strictly logical frame that would be efficient due its rationality. For Ramists, rhetoric relates only to style, memory, and delivery. In their turn, memory and delivery gradually declined in significance during the Renaissance due to introduction of prin ting, which made written texts ever more essential for political, religious, and academic life. In this situation, rhetoricians of the Renaissance began to view the role of rhetoric in upper-class education as of a means to decorate one's ideas with the most graceful appearance. The University of Edinburghs rhetoricians, for whom such an attitude to rhetoric was trivializing, attempted to halt this tendency by postulating, on the basis of connecting of rhetoric with psychology, that the study of right and convincing style created not only professional orators but good people as such. Their greatest influence on America probably stemmed from works of 1780s of Hugh Blair, who accentuated the ethical qualities of belletristic taste and authorized the social superiority of a professional public speaker. Actually at this time George Campbell, another rhetorician of the Scottish tradition, related rhetoric to the functioning of the human mind, and described eloquence as the art to adapt discourse to its proper end. Alexander Bain, a later Scottish rhetorician, argued that persuasive discourse is formed by combining ideas in such a way that they produce the needed emotion in the public. Bain also formulated familiar classification of structures of discourse - narra tion, description, exposition, and argumentation. For America with its young democracy, the Scottish modification of classical rhetoric was especially important, as there was a perceived need for

Early Christian Music Essay Example for Free

Early Christian Music Essay Singing is an essential part of worship to God. Even the creation itself was accompanied by the singing of morning stars (KJV, Job 38:7). So, music and singing were a vital part of the Israel and in the Old Testament we may find numerous confirmations of this fact. Jesus Himself sang hymns with His disciples before His sufferings (Matthew 26:30). During the Apostolic Era, singing in temple and synagogues still united the Jewish nation, and the apostles urged the believers to sing psalms, when anyone is merry (James 5:13), and in his letter to Corinthians, when he mentioned about the order in the congregation, Paul wrote that â€Å"everyone of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1-Corinth. 14:26), where psalm is mentioned first. Psalms became the primary source texts for Christian music and liturgy establishment. Christianity, which originated from the Middle East and had spread throughout the Roman Empire during the first five centuries A. D. , was founded on the basis of the Jewish religion and, therefore, its key practices, such as the sacrificial concept and worship, are rooted and were formed from the traditions and commandments of the Old Testament. The center of Church singing became Christ, the Lord. Music was not limited by canons or regulations; it was simple and exalted, joining the loving souls. Love to the Savior Jesus Christ was so deep that the first Christians were aware of the tiniest step towards worldly and pagan influence; therefore, pomp and coddle of roman music did not attracted them. The basis of singing in the early church was music of the Temple in Jerusalem – the chant of words from the Scripture. One was leading, while the whole congregation repeated him. Other Christian singings included: â€Å"speaking to [themselves] in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in [their] hearts to the Lord† (Eph. 5:19), which represented a two-part singing by-turn; being filled with the Holy Spirit, Christians were making and singing new songs, like the new song to honor the Lamb in the Revelation of John. Pliny the Younger, the Roman appointee in Bithynia, in his report to the Roman â€Å"Early Christian Music† â€Å"Page #2† Emperor 110 A. D. , had found out that the activities of Christians are not anti-social and their meetings are simple and start with singing a hymn of praise to Christ, as God. During the Roman persecution, Christians were forced to make services in catacombs – the walls of these galleries still keep the images of singers and, moreover, the texts of hymns. Monotonous music of hymns was amazing in its austerity and exaltation at the same time. Musical instruments were not allowed because of their heathen usage. On the first council of Nicaea in 325, the persecuted church became the state one. Therefore, singing and worship, staying monotonous, was supplemented with such chants as Gallican France, Mozarabic (Visigothic) Spain, Old Roman, Ambrosian, and Sarum use – England (Norton, 2002) and was influenced by national differences. The second council in 381 had excluded non-Christian singing, for Christian music, enjoying the freedom for decades, had been loosing its vitality and simplicity. 100 years later, Manlius Severinus Boethius had written a five-volume book on music – De institutione musica (Fundamentals of Music) – where he had concluded writings and findings of Greek authors (Nicomachus, Ptolemy, Pythagoras, Euclid and Aristoxenus). Boethius had divided music into three categories: musica mundane – described the universe, planets, seasons – music of the spheres; musica humana – described the interrelations of body and soul; musica instrumentalis – described music performed with the help of instrument or voice (Norton, 2002). He claimed that music must be a representation of harmony, knowledge, and order. St. Ambrose and St. Gregory the Great played the most significant role in the development of early Christian music – they have left the patterns, which are now called Ambrosian and Gregorian chants, though the founders themselves had no intention to establish a canon. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, realized the need to enrich the monotonous hymn’s â€Å"Early Christian Music† â€Å"Page #3† performance and wrote a number of hymns for his church, which reproduce the psalms of David in verses. He depicted bright images, using a manifold oratorical language of Cicerone, Horatio and Vergilius. His music was simple and close to folk’s one. He introduced antiphonal singing, known in Jerusalem Temple, which represents a by-turn psalm singing of soloist, while the rest of congregation is refraining (antiphon) the verses. Besides, Ambrose had put a foundation for eight voice chorus in the West. The original form of Ambrosian chant is still kept in native Milan. Pope St. Gregory I, a son of roman Senator, who refused to serve these worldly passions, and, having sold his possessions, entered the St. Andrew’s monastery, became the first monk, who was elected to be the pope. Being devoted to liturgy, which was aimed at prayer and teaching, he advanced the plain singing as a sacred music and stressed on the importance of church music as an outer manifestation of faith that can raise man’s heart to spiritual level. This form of monophonic chant became a standard of monastery (Office) and public (the Mass) worship, as well as other services, and had been sung by choirs. This very chant had replaced Old Roman chant in Rome and has been revised and developed until the tenth century A. D. The singing itself started with â€Å"halleluiah† – the victorious exclamation of Christians after two and a half centuries of persecution. Its best samples were composed at the end of 5th century (between the invasions of Goths and Lombards), in the epoch of wars, destructions, plagues, famine, disasters – such horrifying that Gregory supposed them to be the signs of the end and presages of the Last Judgment. Yet, this singing is filled with peace and faith for the future. Therefore, the Early Christian Music was written in times of persecutions and hardships and was aimed to inspire and give faith to believers. That is why the chants and hymns of that time still restore the souls of mankind and are the basis for main services in the most of Christian world. Works Cited: Holy Bible, King James Version. Plume, 1974. Norton, W. â€Å"Music in the Early Christian Church†. Concise History of Western Music. 2002. W. W. Norton Company. 11 Apr 2008 http://www. wwnorton. com/college/music/concise/ch1_outline1. htm. Ward, Justine. â€Å"The Reform of Church Music†. The Atlantic Monthly 04 1906 1-10. 11 Apr 2008 http://www. musicasacra. com/publications/sacredmusic/pdf/ward. pdf.

Can nurses do to Reduce Malnutrition in Hospitals

Can nurses do to Reduce Malnutrition in Hospitals Reducing the incidences of malnutrition that often occurs during admission to hospital has been a priority within the nursing care profession for many years. There have been various explanations for this such as lack of staff, patients not able or are unwilling to admit they require assistance, poor use of assessment tools and care pathways. A key factor in the prevalence of patients presenting with malnourishment is the disturbances patients endure during mealtimes, such as ward rounds, non urgent medical interventions, housekeeping activities and visitors. This essay will explore the incidences of malnutrition, and those who are most at risk and the changes that have been made to reduce such incidences. Change management should be regarded as an ongoing process, which requires good communication, planning, positive leadership and cooperation. This essay will endeavor to explore the change management processes, leadership and team management skills used in the implementation of protected mealtimes. It will explore the negative aspects and problems encountered when implementing a change and the ongoing management skills required to maintain such changes. For many patients admitted to hospital, in particular the elderly, malnutrition is a common occurrence. It is the nurses fundamental duty of care to provide patients with the highest of care possible, a major requirement for any human being to survive and live a healthy life is the intake of a healthy nutritious diet, be that by conventional methods or artificial measures suitable for the patients state of health at that time (Royal College of Nursing 2007). Studies into hospital malnutrition show that as many as four out of ten elderly patients admitted to hospital are already malnourished and as a result of a hospital admission as many as six out of ten elderly patients, become malnourished, their situation worsens and their illness very often escalates (Age Concern 2006; BAPEN 2007). The NHS Improvement Plan (2004) set standards to deal with the increasing incidences of malnutrition within hospital settings; it has become apparent that these examples of good practice recommendatio ns have not been implemented in every hospital in the country, as incidences of malnutrition continue to exist. Davidson and Scholefield (2005) reports that inadequate nutrition can lead to longer hospital stays, impairs the recovery of patients and increases financial costs; several hospitals have indeed planned and implemented changes to reduce such incidences but on the whole have had limited success. The authors found that constant interruptions from drug, rounds, clinical activities and lack of nursing staff being on the ward at mealtimes (due to lunch breaks coinciding with mealtimes) all accounted for patients being provided with very little or on occasion no nutritional intake at any given mealtime. Savage and Scott (2005) does agree with this statement to some extent but argues that it is all to easy to blame nursing staff alone, it is the responsibility of each individual NHS trust to implement managerial changes and policies and ensure that they are monitored, evaluated a nd improved to provide the best care possible for each patient. Mamhidir et al (2007) argues that since the implementation of protected mealtimes in some hospitals there is substantial evidence to suggest that patients, particularly the elderly benefit immensely; patients gained weight, healing time reduced, were discharged earlier and mealtime experiences were a more pleasant experience for patients as well as nursing staff. Mooney (2008) argues that there is evidence to suggest even after hospital trusts have been presented with unarguable evidence that malnutrition is a major problem and a catalyst for longer hospital stays, only 43 percent of those trusts have not yet provided evidence that they have implemented schemes in order to reduce hunger and malnutrition. The Hospital Caterers Association (2004) further comment that mealtimes should not primarily focus on the provision of nutrition, it also makes way for social interaction between patients and carers, they further commen t that in general the quality of the food provided is not the issue, the inability of the patient to be able to feed themselves is far more the worrying issue. Council of Europe (2003) comment that hospitals should be designed to be patient centred, ensuring that the delivery of nutrition is flexible and all deliverance of care is set within a framework; all staff should work together in partnership to ensure that incidences of poor nutrition are dealt with. Repetitive reports of malnourishment is evidence enough to suggest that current practices are no longer working, change is a necessary force to ensure incidences are reduced. It is the responsibility of the leader to ensure this is tackled (Age Concern 2006). Change Management can be described as the process of developing a planned approach to change within an organisation. The objective should be to maximise the collective benefits for all stakeholders involved in the change and minimise the risk of failure implementing the change. Change involves assessment, planning and evaluation; changes in which people are nursed should always be focused on the benefits patients will receive if change is implemented (National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence, 2007). Welford (2006) writes that there are many theories which explore the need for change; the goal should be the provision of the highest quality of care, each individual involved in the delivery of such care should work together, be committed and supportive of each other during times of change. Change within a team which leads to new practices and ideas affects each individual differently; it can be a very daunting task for some and for others it is embraced to allow for personal development and the sharing of knowledge (Murphy 2006). There are many theories which uses steps or phases that can evaluate if a change is needed and if the changes that are implemented work. For the purpose of this essay the author refers to a popular theory developed by Lewin in the 1950s which requires three stages to implement effective change the acceptance and participation of all those involved in the area requiring change. The first phase, commonly referred to as the unfreezing stage of this theory requires the participants to acknowledge the need for change; evidence should be provided to encourage new thinking and beliefs about current practices. Hallpike (2008) writes that there is evidence to suggest that teams can be divided into groups who have their own individual opinion on certain regimes, practices and care deliverance. This can be said for the provision of nutrition to patients. In this particular study the author reports that some team members did not think the re was a problem with the current provision, some were not convinced that changes would be made and others did not have faith in a holistic approach across the team. In this situation it is the responsibility of the team leader to persuade all the team members that the need for change is necessary in order to provide the best service possible, that the whole team work towards a common goal. Welford (2006) discusses the second phase of Lewins theory; describing this stage as the moving stage, allowing individuals to voice their own ideas, experiment with different regimes, it allows time for reflection, to discuss positive or negative findings. Past practices may have seen some team leaders adopt the belief that employees were seen to work better when the leader provided strict job descriptions and a clear plan of what was expected of them; their opinions and ideas were not of value to the overall success of a team. Major (2002) argues that for a leader to adopt such thinking will on ly lead to flaws and a feeling of negativity within a team; the leader should adopt good communication skills and openness to allow for effective team building, positive group dynamics, all working efficiently and productively. Dennis and Morgan (2008) suggests that although change is the responsibility of the service provider, input from the service user is without doubt a valuable tool in assessing if a change is working for the greater good. Feedback, regardless of being positive or negative ascertains if the change has been a positive one. If the new change has a detrimental affect to the service user then the change has been a negative one, this requires a return to the freezing stage to allow the team to make further changes to increase the benefits to the service user. The authors further comment that managers should be seen as advocates for the service user; it should be the responsibility of the manager to challenge team members over poor practice, poor attitudes and resist ance to change for the better. Conflict within a team leads to unrest, a disbelief that change is for the greater good leading to a dysfunctional team. The third phase of Lewins theory can be commonly referred to as the refreezing stage, where new ideas and behaviours become a new or common practice. Pearce (2007) argues that to name this phase as such denotes that the change remains static, leaders should continuously strive to make changes for the better, communication across the whole team allows for individuals points of view to be exposed and discussed; feedback on how a new change is working is necessary in order to achieve the highest levels of quality care. Leadership styles become a key issue when developing, implementing and upholding change. Motivation of staff also plays a key role in the acceptance of change; leaders should demonstrate that they are a good role model, adopt a friendly attitude towards team members, accepting of criticism and be willing to provide positive feedback, when the team endeavour to believe in and implement the change (Darlington 2006). Corkindale (2009) argues that leaders need balance their role within a team to ensure that they do not become too over familiar with individual team members, as this may lead to team members relying too heavily on the leader to make all the decisions and authority may be compromised. Murphy (2006) writes that leaders need to adopt a style of leadership that suits the workforce; a laissez-faire approach can be seen as the leader not taking into account individual team members ideas, work ethics and commitment seriously, it can lead to a team feeling devalued and unorganised. The National Institute for Mental Health (2007) further suggests that leaders who show their commitment, by working alongside their colleagues, adopting and maintaining the changes themselves demonstrates a leader who is at the forefront in the deliverance of quality care. They further suggest that each leader will bring their own set of ethics, life experiences and education to a team, will often adopt their own style of leadership that may be a mixture of several styles moulded to suit the team and the area of practice they are employed to manage. Opportunities for team members to voice their opinions and concerns are invaluable; they are after all the main implementers of the change and wil l have be the first to recognise if the change has gained positive or negative results. The change can only work if leaders allow for reflection, discussion and adaptation of the change to suit each individual involved in the change process. A change that is difficult to implement or maintain will end in failure, this leads a team adopting negative feelings and a resistance to change in the future. Goleman (2000) suggests that to adopt an authoritarian approach, can at times be a positive approach to leadership especially if some team members resist change or there is a need to produce quick results. Goffee and Jones (2000) disagree with this statement and suggest that a good leader is someone who other people want to follow without bullying, threats or the fear of reprisals; they lead by communicating effectively and adopt a style of leadership that allows the team to understand what is expected of them. RCN (2007) writes that the only way malnourishment can be identified and managed effectively is with effective use of recognised screening tools.Perry (2009) argues that in many cases nursing staff are given the means and tools to assess a patient, but many are inadequately trained to understand the findings of the assessment or are unwilling to involve other health professionals in the care of the patient. A multidisciplinary approach to tackle such problems should be used. Protected mealtimes have been proven to be useful to not only the patient but to the whole care team, it allows for assessment in areas such as speech and language, mental health issues and other physical problems which can affect the nutritional intake of individuals. South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust (2009) reports that protected mealtimes affects and involves all staff within in the organisation from physiotherapists, domestic staff, maintenance staff through to outside professionals such as social worker s. It involves all areas of clinical practice where patients require nutritional intake, not only for patients who are unable to feed themselves but for those patients who require and deserve a quiet, interruption free period to eat, drink and relax. To maintain and monitor the change process and may require several attempts before the target is reached. takes time and may not always be successful first time. National Patient Safety Agency (2008) states that many clinical staff referred to the implementation of protected mealtimes as a hindrance to their daily routine, but once the benefits for patients as well as the staff members were explained they became more compliant and understanding for the need to change.

Regions of US after Civil War :: essays research papers

The Civil War left an impressionable mark on the nation as a whole - physically, economically, and furthermore politically. Two of the nations regions most affected was the South and the West. While the south gained political strentgh through a "solid south" Democracy, thier weak reliance on the crop lien system adversel affected thier econmy; meanwhile the farmers migrated to the west because of the Homestead Act, thier economy suffered in part because of over production, but united to form one of the most popular third parties in American history - the Populists. The Civil War is an example of a sectional war whose results left most of American nation in a weak state, which is illustrated especially in the South. Upon the end of the Civil War, a new ideology of th south developed known as the "New South Creed," encouraging Southeners to diversify the economy by industrializing and become independant of northern manufactoring industries. Although the intial intent was well motivated, the South did not industrialized, whith exceptions to textile mills. Instead, because of the heavy reliance of staple cash crops such as tobacco and cotton, the South shifted into a new system of argicultural known as the crop lein system, which resulted in a cycle of debt that led the South further into debt. The system itself designed only to pay farmers once a year, was a failure and a problem to the farmers because it forced them to buy thier tools and land on credit - adding to the exixsting poster war debts. Although the Southern region was weakene d economically because of debt and dependance on "King Cottom," it did gain political strength through the use of "Solid South" Southern politics, after the Civil War, shifted directly into the opposing view of the North, and quickly all of the Confederacy merged, politically speaking, into what has become known as the "Solid South" with most states voting always Democratic.These dems in turn wanted an atenbellum South, but could not achieve it constiutionally. While the South struggled through its failing argicultural system and gained victory in major supremem courty decisions, the West's economy was aided through the opening of western lands, as well as by the formations of a new and popular third partyt known as the Populists which contributed directly to the Democractic Platform. The west, known mostly as the being the most liberal region of the nation, was affected by the Civil War; this region was plagued by low farm prices which in turn affected the economy and politics of the region.

Ambition in Rosemary Wells When No One Was Looking :: When No One Was Looking

Ambition in Rosemary Well's When No One Was Looking      When No One Was Looking is a suspenseful story of a girl's ambition, friendship, and love of tennis, that takes her to the top. Although she is not beautiful, rich, or good in school, fourteen year old Kathy Bardy has a natural talent for tennis. One day, Kathy loses a match against Ruth Gumm that should have been simple for her. The next day Kathy finds out that Ruth is dead. Although Julia, Oliver, and Kathy's parents try to comfort her, Kathy feels guilty for wishing Ruth was dead the other night. Because of Ruth's death, Kathy has problems concentrating, and she starts lazing off. Kathy's will, spirit, and love from her friends takes her to the New England championships. Kathy loves tennis. She finally finds something that she is good at, and practically makes her into a celebrity. Kathy is told by many people, including Marty her tennis instructor, that she has got what it takes to make it to the top. When Kathy plays against Ruth, she becomes annoyed because it should have been a simple match. When she finds out ruth is dead, people accuse Kathy of it, and kathy even blames herself. Kathy proves she was at the ball game the night of the murder. She regains her confidence, and works her way up to the top. Julia and Kathy have been best friends since they were in first grade. Because of Julia's wealth, she is different, and is treated just that way. Kathy would defend her when she used to get picked on. Since then, Kathy and Julia are inseparable. They have such a good relationship, that they would do anything to stop the other from getting hurt. Ruth Gumm has no special talent when it comes to tennis, she is just okay at the sport. When Kathy competes with her, she expects it will be a snap, but she actually loses. Annoyed by the match, Kathy wishes Ruth was dead. The next day, she finds out Ruth was drowned in the pool. Some suspect Kathy of the murder, and because of some clay (that appeared to be from a tennis court)found on the floor surrounding th e pool, investigations are done. It turns out the clay is molding clay, and Kathy proves she was at the game.

Analysis and Interpretation of Religion: Upanishads Essay

The concept behind Upanishads is the existence of a universal spirit known as Brahman, and an individual soul known as Atman. Brahman is considered to be the ultimate, in both the transcendent and immanent aspect, as well as the absolute infinite existence, the totality of everything that existed before, now, and the coming future. The Upanishads are very mystical in nature, and it also offers intense philosophical bent, which gave birth to three main schools of self-realization or Vedanta. One interpretation of the Upanishads doesn’t give Brahman a God-figure in a monotheistic sense; instead it is something with no limiting characteristics. This is the one of the three main schools of Vedanta, the philosophy of Shankara known as advaita. Another one, the dvaita, was founded by Madvacharya, which holds the idea saying that Brahman is but a personal god, the same as other Hindu gods like Vishnu and Krishna. The third school, known as vishishtadvaita, was founded by Ramanujacharya, which has similar aspects with the other two schools of Vedanta. Upanishad knowledge means Brahma-knowledge, giving not only spiritual vision, but also a philosophical argument (Universe). Upanishads are responsible for the conception of the major Vedic doctrines, including Self-realization, yoga and meditation, karma and reincarnation, which were previously clouded by the symbolisms of its religious roots. We often see some of the older Upanishads very much related or affixed to a certain specific Veda, through a Brahmana or Aranyaka, though most of the recent ones are not. Upanishads also emphasized on the spiritual meanings of the Vedic texts that they also adhere to, emphasizing it at its own right. Upanishads and the Vedas go hand and hand in shaping both the spiritual and philosophical leanings of the people at that time. The concept of religion that comes out in the Upanishad represents a threat and a challenge to religious group developments in India as well as any kind of religion, based solely on theism. It’s because of the focus that they give on their central figure, the Brahman, which is in some cases, taken as a god, while in some, a much more powerful entity. Upanishad’s Brahman does not really focus on a monotheistic god, instead it is a universal entity, something that can be attained or be aligned with ourselves by properly doing the teachings or following the Vedas. Upanishads propose a similar concept of the soul, which is the Atman. The atman is present in all individuals, and that it still needs to be nourished in order for it to reach a certain desired state, the ultimate, universal Brahman. These two are similar in state, formless, inconceivable, though it is up to the people to realize it through discrimination that can be attained by doing and following the right things that it calls for, as stated on the Vedas. Putting these against the earlier and later religious developments, which undeniable focus on a central God character, distinct from the world we can see that Upanishads stand out because their ultimate end is being one with everything in the world. It is the main concept of the religion that then challenges the existence of the various Gods of the other religions. Still, it teaches people to do what is right, to practice things that would enable them to be at one with the ultimate end, the Brahman, but it offers people a chance to be at one with all that is, was, and ever will be, instead of being with a separate entity. Upanishads gives us an alternate view of the world, a religion with a unique take of what is real, and what is at the end for all of us. Much like other religions, it still focus on motivating to do the right things, in order to achieve one final end, though it may be different because it does not have a concrete god-figure, instead it has a universal entity waiting in the end. Work Cited: Universe, Dharma. â€Å"Upanishads†. 2009. March 5 2009. .

Formation of an Alkene by Alcohol Dehydration

Formation of an Alkene by Alcohol Dehydration Lab Report Balanced Chemical Equation for the Main Reaction Mechanism The acid-catalyzed dehydration of secondary and tertiary alcohols involves non-isolable carbocation intermediaries. In the first step of the of the reaction mechanism below, a phosphoric acid catalyst adds a proton to the oxygen atom of the alcohol to form an oxonium ion. The OH is converted to a better leaving group as the positive charge on the oxygen weakens the carbon-oxygen bond. The carbon-oxygen bond breaks during heating giving water an unstable carbocation. Without a nucleophile, the carbocation intermediate loses a proton from a carbon and forms a carbon-carbon double bond from the carbon-hydrogen electrons. The formation of a carbocation intermediate from the loss of a leaving group classifies this as an Elimination Reaction. Table of Reagents Pertinent Safety Information The phosphoric acid in this lab is a corrosive acid. Caution must be used to not get the acid in contact with skin or clothes. Gloves must be worn while pouring it. If there is a spill, wash the area with large amounts of water. Cyclohexanol, and especially cyclohexene, are very flammable liquids. Do not use an open flame as a source of heat with these substances. Outline of the Procedure Add 20 mL of cyclohexanol and 5 mL of 85% phosphoric acid to a 50-mL round-bottom flask along with 1 or two boiling chips Swirl the flask gently to thoroughly mix the layers and incorporate this into a simple distillation column Heat the flask until distillation begins and slowly distills the mixture, controlling the heating so that the temperature of the distillation vapor does not go above 100-105 degrees C. Cool the receiver in an ice bath to reduce the loss of distillate to evaporation Continue the distillation until only 5-10 mL of high-boiling residue is left in the flask Allow the flask to cool and disconnect the apparatus Transfer the distillate to a separatory funnel and shake it with 10 mL of saturated sodium chloride solution, then drain off lower aqueous layer Add 5 mL of 10% sodium carbonate to solution to neutralize any acid, gently shake the mixture, and drain off the lower aqueous layer again Pour the upper layer into a dry, clean Erlenmeyer flask Add 1-2 g of anhydrous calcium chloride, and allow the flask to stand for 15-20 minutes with occasional stirring Clean and dry the condenser, distillation flask and adapters for the final distillation Decant or filter the dry cyclohexene from the calcium chloride into a dry distillation flask and set up a simple distillation apparatus Add 1-2 boiling chips to the flask and distill the cyclohexene, collecting the liquid that boils between 79 and 85 degrees C in a small graduated cylinder Data and Observations The purpose of this lab is to synthesize cyclohexene from cyclohexanol using phosphoric acid. This student had difficulties maintaining the temp erature of the distillation vapor between 100-105 degrees C. the distillate recovered that was between 79 and 85 degrees C was discarded. The receiver was placed in an ice bath to reduce evaporation. A total of 21 mL was collected. Results and Discussion Volume of cyclohexene: 2. 8 mL Weight from density of cyclohexene: (0. 810 g/mL) / (2. 8 mL) = *0. 29 g cyclohexe*ne Percentage yield of cyclohexene: 20 mL x 0. 960 g/mL = 19. 2 g = 0. 192 mol 0. 192 mol x 82 g/mol = 15. g x 1mL/0. 81 g = 19. 4 mL (Theoretical Yield) 2. 8 mL/19. 4 mL x 100 = 14. 4% Yield (but of excellent quality) In a small test tube, add 5 drops of cyclohexene to 1 mL of 0. 5% aqueous potassium permanganate solution The solution turned brown immediately and then formed a dark, thick precipitate within 1 minute 1 mL of a 2% solution of bromine in carbon tetrachloride The solution immediately turned clear, and remained that way throughout the lab Conclusions The dehydration of alcohols is one of several methods to p roduce alkenes. This dehydration may be accomplished using a strong mineral acid such as sulfuric and phosphoric acid. The first step in this transformation is protonation of the hydroxyl group by the acid yielding an excellent leaving group. Next water is eliminated from the molecule resulting in a carbocation intermediate, which then eliminates a proton to form an alkene. Questions Name and draw the structure of the alkenes that might be obtained by acid-catalyzed dehydration of 2-methylcyclohexanol 3-methyl-3-hexanol What would be the best alcohol to use in an acid-catalyzed dehydration to prepare 1, 3-dimethylcyclopentene? The most suitable alcohol to use is 2*, 5*-dimethylcyclopentanol. Write equations to show the products that form in the reactions of cyclohexene with potassium permanganate and bromine.

Hcc Industries

1. Evaluate the decision to use â€Å"minimum performance standard† (MPS) targets instead of â€Å"stretch† targets. The purpose of setting a budget system is to briefly forecast a company’s performance in the following year, and it can also be a result control system that makes people in the corporation work properly to achieve the objectives and give them incentives by bonus related to performance. From this point of view, the budget system should be reasonable, achievable, and also have some challenge to ensure the hard working. HCC Industries was using â€Å"stretch† performance targets until 1987.The main idea of using â€Å"stretch† targets was to motivate managers to perform at the highest level possible by setting aggressive targets with probability of achievement between 75 % and 80 %. In order to motivate the managers, incentive system was directly related to the budget targets. The bonus potential for division managers was 30% of base sal ary and was equally based on profit before taxes (PBT) and subjective rating of performance depending on the degree of accomplishment of the targets in all seven performance areas.In case that only few of performance areas were not met, but the management considered them important, no subjective bonus would be provided. Objective bonus based on profit before taxes was provided as following: if 60 % of the budget was achieved, 80 % of the bonus potential was paid; if 100 % of the budget was achieved, 100 % of the bonus potential was paid; and if 140% of the budget was achieved, 150 % of the bonus potential was paid. Bonuses were paid quarterly at the level of 80 % of what was earned in order to prevent paying the bonuses that were not earned.However, philosophy of using â€Å"stretch† performance targets in HCC Industries did not work very well, since it encouraged thinking optimistically that pushed employees to perform at a higher level leading to innovation. This philosophy is advantageous for particular companies with a certain size that have an understanding of the markets and have an ability to influence them. HCC Industries was a small publicly held corporation which was just taking orders and not doing marketing. For this reason, there was little probability for the employees to enlarge the market and achieve an aggressive growth in sales every year.Performance targets were set too high and optimistic, they were unrealistic, unachievable, and not suitable for a company which could not make a sustaining growth by influencing the market. One of the main disadvantages of â€Å"stretch† targets was that they were set too high. This led to the situation that for the last four years HCC Industries never achieved its targets. As a result, employees lost their motivation and commitment to achieve the targets; they were discouraged, and exert less effort by giving up trying, as they felt that â€Å"stretch† concept was causing the corporatio n not to achieve its plans.If a division keeps missing the budgets, employees feel like a failure. Taking into account that the employees could not achieve the targets for already four years, they had lost their confidence and became used to missing the budget and the enthusiasm to strive for the objectives was weakened. Although the targets were set at an unreachable level, the control system was not that tight. Even if the managers failed to achieve the targets, they may also be paid the bonus. For example, the managers were still paid 80% of objective bonus potential based on profit before taxes if they had just achieved 60% of the budget.So if a manager was not so ambitious, he did not have to worry about meeting the budget. Moreover, important constraint to motivation of division personnel was that they did not know their bonus potential and the bases on which the bonus awards were made, as division managers did not want to disclose division-level financial information to their personnel. As a result, being unaware of the main objectives of the corporation and its incentive system, employees did not exactly know what they are expected to do and how they would be rewarded for their efforts.As a result of the lack of communication between division managers, middle managers and employees, division personnel became discouraged and demotivated. In addition, if employees are systematically undercompensated, the corporation may suffer from losing key employees. Another disadvantage of â€Å"stretch† performance targets was subjectivity of incentive system. According to the information, provided from the case study, bonuses were paid only to employees included in the bonus plan. It can be concluded that not all employees were included in this plan.Moreover, half of the bonus potential was based on subjective evaluation of top management. However, there is a concern whether top management could judge each division in appropriate way, taking into account all the differences between them. The aforementioned subjective aspect influences performance and motivation of employees. In addition, important demotivating factor was that awards had to be paid quarterly at the level of 80% of what was earned. It took three to four months before they actually were paid because the necessary approvals by several levels were needed before the payments could be made.The remaining 20 % was paid at the end of the year based on annual performance. Taking into account aforementioned challenges of using â€Å"stretch† performance targets, the management of the corporation had taken a decision to change the philosophy to â€Å"minimum performance standard† (MPS) targets from the fiscal year 1988 onwards. The philosophy provided a two-level budget standards. The first level included the minimum performance standard that determined the basic financial target that divisions should reach. The second level included the targets that were set more cha llenging, and had some incentive effect.The main objective of this decision was to submit budgets with realistic targets with an achievement probability of 100% in order that divisions could meet the targets. As a result, division managers and other employees would become motivated by being proud of themselves, having self-esteem and starting feeling like â€Å"winners†. Being motivated, division personnel would be encouraged to work hard, be entrepreneurial and increase the level of aspiration for the future. Moreover, they would be given an opportunity to earn extra rewards.Another advantage of highly achievable budget targets is that they reduce the costs of needed interventions from corporate managers and the costs of optimistic revenue projections. Highly achievable budget targets also reduce the risk of game-playing. However, not all potential advantages of MPS targets were achieved in HCC Industries. Before implementing MPS targets, corporate managers did not analyze c arefully all problems that the company faced on the level of operations, marketing and finance. Corporate managers of HCC industries introduced the following changes in the corporation connected with the switch to MPS budgeting philosophy.First of all, the probability of the achievement of the budgets had been changed. MPS budgets were to be set with the felt probability of achievement 100%. In addition, managers were asked to set targets that exceed normal capability and involve an increase by 25-30 % with the probability of achievement of 50 %. However, although the budgets were planned to be set realistic and achievable, in reality they were too high and some division managers were even more than before concerned whether it would be possible to achieve them.In some divisions, such as Glasseal and Sealtron, corporate managers just increased the planned budgets without any analysis of the actual situation and discussion about business potential and risks with the division managers. As a result, division managers became even more demotivated because of too optimistic budgets. Moreover, by missing the new budgets, employees could be fired. The division manager of Hermetite was not provided by top managers with essential information about the corporation, its strategy, targets and the actual situation, and targets of his division before planning the budget.Being just hired and having the lack of experience and knowledge, he set too optimistic targets that could never be achieved in reality. As a result, the new division manager experienced failure and frustration at the beginning of his working experience in HCC Industry that had led to undermining of his confidence and commitment. Secondly, the incentive system had also been changed. According to new incentive compensation plan, bonus pool consisted of 20 % of the amount by which actual division PBT exceed MPS and 25 % of the amount by which it exceeded the target.Bonuses were paid quarterly at a level of 90 % of that earned and the remaining 10 % at the end of the year depending on the performance. It can be concluded that the rewards became lower than with â€Å"stretch† performance targets. The probability of losing the job in case the MPS targets would not be met, became greater. The disadvantage of subjective judgment concerning the bonuses was not eliminated under the new philosophy, as the division managers were given the discretion to decide which of their subordinates would share in the bonus pool and how the pool would be allocated among themselves and the others included.The key factor to the success of the budget system lied in the accuracy of forecasting the market share, the booking rate, the potential growth of sales, and so on. If a manager had little knowledge about the market information and the competitors, it would be difficult to set the MPS. The effectiveness of the budget system would be weakened, and this was the one of the main problems HCC faced after intr oduction of the MPS system. Evaluating the decision of changing the corporation’s philosophy based on early results, allows concluding that the new concept was not implemented well, even given the fact that it was a good idea.After the first quarter of fiscal year 1988, none of the divisions achieved all of its MPS and some of the divisions missed their minimum performance by large margins. 2. Should HCC managers have expected that the MPS target-setting philosophy would be equally effective in all four operating divisions described? HCC Industries was organized into four operating divisions: Hermetic Seal, Glasseal, Sealtrol that were producing connectors of various types, and Hermetite that was producing custom-designed, micro-electronic packages. Each division was run by a general manager who was responsible for all business functions of a certain division.In order to proper evaluate and monitor divisions’ results on which the bonuses were based, controllers of each division reported to HCC’s CFO. Corporate managers should have taken into account that the divisions differ from each other, and should have considered each division separately while using MPS target-setting philosophy as each division had some specific characteristics that were different from others. Although all the three connector divisions were similar in that they were profitable but growing slowly, there was a significant difference in the degree of standardization of their product lines.For example, division Sealtrol was highly standardized and produced connectors with large economies of scale. On the contrast, Hermetic Seal was the least standardized division and operated primarily as a job shop that designed and produced small batches of custom connectors. Glasseal’s product lines had the medium level of standardization. The forth division Hermetite was completely different from the connector divisions. In comparison with the first three divisions, its market and competitors were well defined and its potential for growth was tremendous.In addition, Hermetite faced huge price competition and significant production technology and control challenges. Moreover, the production processes were complex and its engineering and production organizations were instable. Given the fact that all four divisions were independent from each other, had different targets, accounting and information systems, product standards, served different customers, had different professional background of division managers, a detailed analysis should have been made whether MPS targets would be equally effective in all four divisions.Mike Pelta, the manager of the first division Hermetic Seal was more motivated after the changes, as with â€Å"stretch† performance targets, the probability of the achievement of the targets was 85-90%, whereas with MPS targets it has increased by 95-98%. The reason of such a high probability of achievement the targets was the fact that the division manager had set conservative targets. Mike Pelta was a cofounder of HCC, and was more familiar with the situation of the company. From the first quarter revenue result of 1988, we can find that only Hermetic Seals exceeded target in both bookings and profit before tax.But on the other hand, there were some problems in product qualities such as returns and rework. The manager of the second division Glasseal was even more demotivated after the changes than under the â€Å"stretch† performance targets. After the division manager had prepared the budget based on realistic forecast, the targets were increased by corporate managers. As a result, the probability of the achievement of the targets remained 90%, as it was before changes. However, with the â€Å"stretch† targets the rewards were greater and could be earned even if the budget was missed.It could be concluded that the change for MPS targets had not become better and more motivated for the second d ivision. Historical performance of the third division Sealtron was not so good. Efficiency in sales per employee was 50 % below other connector divisions, and budget was missed so salaries were frozen. The division manager, Lou Palamara, was recruited in 1986. Lou Palamara had a background of an engineering manager, so he was not that familiar with the corporation and had less knowledge about budget and cost saving. The division manager was discouraged by newMPS targets, as the targets he set had significantly been increased by corporate managers and the probability of its achievement according to division manager, was only 60-65%. As a result, if the budget would have increased by 18 % compared to the previous year, there would be still no bonus earned. Moreover, in case MPS standards would not be achieved the manager could be fired. At the same time, CFO of the corporation assessed the probability of the achievement of the targets by 90%. His idea was to stimulate sales as the Sea ltron’s efficiency was below other connector divisions.It can be concluded that the opinion of top managers and division manager on the achievement of targets was significantly different (90 % versus 60-65 %). In this situation, in order to come to common solution, additional analysis should have been done of actual situation and current performance of the division. It should have been carefully analyzed the reason of poor performance of the third division. Before the fourth division Hermetite was acquired in August 1985, it had been operating at a loss for the price competition and the production problems.The former general manager of Hermetite left a serious delinquency problem, which had worsen the reputation of the company, so booking could not be guaranteed. The manager Alan Wong, being new in the corporation and lacking particular experience and knowledge, was not provided with additional training and explanation of the corporation’s and division’s main ob jectives. He thought the corporate managers would not accept a budget that projected a loss. As a result, he had set very aggressive and optimistic targets that were unrealistic and corporate managers decreased the targets.However, the probability of achievement of the performance target at sales was 80 % and PBT target was only 5 %. The performance of the forth division was very risky and uncertain. From the first quarter results of 1988, we can discover that the bookings and shipments were both below MPS. After analyzing MPS targets in all four divisions, it could be concluded that only the manager of the first division, that was the original HCC business, was motivated by the changes. The managers of the other three divisions were even more concerned than before the changes.The main reason of such situation was that corporate managers thought that the targets were achievable, whereas division managers had the opinion that they are not achievable and unrealistic. It can be conclud ed that there was a lack of communication between corporate and division managers. Moreover, the evaluation standards were the same for every division without taking into account different situation and various targets of each division. Given the fact that there were only four independent divisions, individual approach and specific evaluation standards for each division should have been used. 3.What, if anything, could have been done to improve the implementation of the new philosophy? From 1988 onwards, the philosophy in HCC Industries had been changed from â€Å"stretch† targets to minimum performance standard (MPS) targets. However, according to the results of the first quarter of 1988, none of the divisions had achieved all of its MPS. It can be concluded that there were some problems in implementing new philosophy. First of all, the targets of every division should be aligned with the long-term strategy of the corporation. Top managers should clearly set the company stra tegy and priorities and communicate them to all divisions.Division managers should in turn have been communicated to the corporate managers opportunities, resource needs, constraints and risks. HCC Industries would achieve success if all divisions would work together towards common targets and objectives instead of being concentrated on personal goals of each division that could diverge from the strategy of corporation. According to the information provided in the case study, corporate managers were confident that the set objectives were achievable and realistic, division managers had the opposite opinion.As a result, division managers were discouraged to perform from the beginning. In order to avoid demotivation and increase the probability of the achievement of the targets, the balance should be found between the desires of the top management and the possibilities of the divisions. In that case, they closely need to communicate with each other and come together to the common solut ion. This would lead to more realistic budgets, would build employees up and increase managers’ commitment to achieve the targets.Secondly, as long as at HCC all divisions were decentralized, the differences and unique characteristics of each division should be taken into account. As a result, different performance evaluation standards should be used for every division. It is impossible to compare Hermetic Seal which is the original HCC business with Glasseal and Sealtron that were acquired even if all of them produce connectors. Moreover, the degree of standardization of product lines within these divisions is completely different. The forth division is completely different from the first three.That is why individual approach should be used for every division. There are only four divisions, that is why it is realistic for corporate managers to evaluate and analyze each division separately. Whereas some divisions could achieve higher targets, for others lower targets are more realistic. When planning the budget, the actual situation and performance of each division should be analyzed instead of comparison with other divisions. Before increasing the targets of the second and third divisions a more detailed analysis was needed.In addition, it would be helpful for corporate managers to discuss with the division managers the possible constrains of poor performance of their divisions and to evaluate whether additional actions are needed in order to improve performance. In order not to demotivate employees, it would be better to agree the targets and to find compromise rather than just to set them. Corporate managers should establish the dialogue with division managers and other personnel in order to gather an objective opinion about the real situation inside the company.Such working atmosphere would encourage employees to be involved in the company more and would give them the feeling that corporate managers listen to them when changing strategic issues. Div ision managers would feel themselves important in the organization and would be more encouraged to perform at the highest level possible and would feel more responsibility for the achievement of the targets. Thirdly, top management before changing the budgeting philosophy should have made a sound analysis of current performance on corporate level as it is a very important decision.Implementing new standards for evaluating involves the research of effectiveness of operation potential growth, the personal characteristics, the financial constraints, resource limitations, opportunities and risks. Fourthly, personal controls could be used by training division managers. For instance, it was very important for the fourth division to provide the manager with some additional information about the corporation before planning the budget.Taking into account the fact that Alan Wong was relatively new in the corporation, it is quite obvious that he lacks some experience and knowledge to plan an e ffective and realistic budget. It is also clear from the information provided in the case study, that he was unfamiliar with the strategy of the corporation and the expectations from the top managers from his division. Planning the budget is very important for the corporation. It requires deep understanding not only the goals and objectives of a particular division but also of the entire corporation.As there was a lack of communication between the top management and the division managers, the new division manager had set unrealistic budget. Fifthly, there was not only a lack of communication between top management and division managers, but also between the division personnel. In order to increase the motivation amongst personnel, the division managers should clearly communicate the main objectives and set the targets to their employees and provide them with the detailed information concerning the incentive system.In this case, employees would understand what they are expected to do and how they would be rewarded for that. Sixthly, as the marketing information collection was an obvious obstacle for the accurate forecast of the future, it is important to set up a marketing team in the four divisions. The target of the team is to collect the market share data of each product in previous years, the reasons for the up-and-downs of the market share, find out what kind of improvement will the target consumers need in the future, the scale of potential customers, and so on.With the detailed information of the market, it will be easier for the division to forecast the future sales and try to expand the existing market. Seventhly, it can be suggested, that for the first year when the changes were applied, the top management could set very realistic conservative targets in order to encourage employees and make them feel that the targets are achievable. Given the fact that the targets were not achieved for the last four years the employees got used to missing targets and became demotivated.In addition, given the fact that some divisions, for example Hermetite, experience current problems, flexible targets could be set, that would depend on certain conditions at a particular time. Finally, before taking a new decision about the changes, it could be helpful to organize the meeting with all division managers in order to announce them personally about the expected changes and gather some ideas from them about how to implement the new philosophy. Such brainstorming could help to pay attention to some important aspects from the bottom that top management was not considering. Hcc Industries 1. Evaluate the decision to use â€Å"minimum performance standard† (MPS) targets instead of â€Å"stretch† targets. The purpose of setting a budget system is to briefly forecast a company’s performance in the following year, and it can also be a result control system that makes people in the corporation work properly to achieve the objectives and give them incentives by bonus related to performance. From this point of view, the budget system should be reasonable, achievable, and also have some challenge to ensure the hard working. HCC Industries was using â€Å"stretch† performance targets until 1987.The main idea of using â€Å"stretch† targets was to motivate managers to perform at the highest level possible by setting aggressive targets with probability of achievement between 75 % and 80 %. In order to motivate the managers, incentive system was directly related to the budget targets. The bonus potential for division managers was 30% of base sal ary and was equally based on profit before taxes (PBT) and subjective rating of performance depending on the degree of accomplishment of the targets in all seven performance areas.In case that only few of performance areas were not met, but the management considered them important, no subjective bonus would be provided. Objective bonus based on profit before taxes was provided as following: if 60 % of the budget was achieved, 80 % of the bonus potential was paid; if 100 % of the budget was achieved, 100 % of the bonus potential was paid; and if 140% of the budget was achieved, 150 % of the bonus potential was paid. Bonuses were paid quarterly at the level of 80 % of what was earned in order to prevent paying the bonuses that were not earned.However, philosophy of using â€Å"stretch† performance targets in HCC Industries did not work very well, since it encouraged thinking optimistically that pushed employees to perform at a higher level leading to innovation. This philosophy is advantageous for particular companies with a certain size that have an understanding of the markets and have an ability to influence them. HCC Industries was a small publicly held corporation which was just taking orders and not doing marketing. For this reason, there was little probability for the employees to enlarge the market and achieve an aggressive growth in sales every year.Performance targets were set too high and optimistic, they were unrealistic, unachievable, and not suitable for a company which could not make a sustaining growth by influencing the market. One of the main disadvantages of â€Å"stretch† targets was that they were set too high. This led to the situation that for the last four years HCC Industries never achieved its targets. As a result, employees lost their motivation and commitment to achieve the targets; they were discouraged, and exert less effort by giving up trying, as they felt that â€Å"stretch† concept was causing the corporatio n not to achieve its plans.If a division keeps missing the budgets, employees feel like a failure. Taking into account that the employees could not achieve the targets for already four years, they had lost their confidence and became used to missing the budget and the enthusiasm to strive for the objectives was weakened. Although the targets were set at an unreachable level, the control system was not that tight. Even if the managers failed to achieve the targets, they may also be paid the bonus. For example, the managers were still paid 80% of objective bonus potential based on profit before taxes if they had just achieved 60% of the budget.So if a manager was not so ambitious, he did not have to worry about meeting the budget. Moreover, important constraint to motivation of division personnel was that they did not know their bonus potential and the bases on which the bonus awards were made, as division managers did not want to disclose division-level financial information to their personnel. As a result, being unaware of the main objectives of the corporation and its incentive system, employees did not exactly know what they are expected to do and how they would be rewarded for their efforts.As a result of the lack of communication between division managers, middle managers and employees, division personnel became discouraged and demotivated. In addition, if employees are systematically undercompensated, the corporation may suffer from losing key employees. Another disadvantage of â€Å"stretch† performance targets was subjectivity of incentive system. According to the information, provided from the case study, bonuses were paid only to employees included in the bonus plan. It can be concluded that not all employees were included in this plan.Moreover, half of the bonus potential was based on subjective evaluation of top management. However, there is a concern whether top management could judge each division in appropriate way, taking into account all the differences between them. The aforementioned subjective aspect influences performance and motivation of employees. In addition, important demotivating factor was that awards had to be paid quarterly at the level of 80% of what was earned. It took three to four months before they actually were paid because the necessary approvals by several levels were needed before the payments could be made.The remaining 20 % was paid at the end of the year based on annual performance. Taking into account aforementioned challenges of using â€Å"stretch† performance targets, the management of the corporation had taken a decision to change the philosophy to â€Å"minimum performance standard† (MPS) targets from the fiscal year 1988 onwards. The philosophy provided a two-level budget standards. The first level included the minimum performance standard that determined the basic financial target that divisions should reach. The second level included the targets that were set more cha llenging, and had some incentive effect.The main objective of this decision was to submit budgets with realistic targets with an achievement probability of 100% in order that divisions could meet the targets. As a result, division managers and other employees would become motivated by being proud of themselves, having self-esteem and starting feeling like â€Å"winners†. Being motivated, division personnel would be encouraged to work hard, be entrepreneurial and increase the level of aspiration for the future. Moreover, they would be given an opportunity to earn extra rewards.Another advantage of highly achievable budget targets is that they reduce the costs of needed interventions from corporate managers and the costs of optimistic revenue projections. Highly achievable budget targets also reduce the risk of game-playing. However, not all potential advantages of MPS targets were achieved in HCC Industries. Before implementing MPS targets, corporate managers did not analyze c arefully all problems that the company faced on the level of operations, marketing and finance. Corporate managers of HCC industries introduced the following changes in the corporation connected with the switch to MPS budgeting philosophy.First of all, the probability of the achievement of the budgets had been changed. MPS budgets were to be set with the felt probability of achievement 100%. In addition, managers were asked to set targets that exceed normal capability and involve an increase by 25-30 % with the probability of achievement of 50 %. However, although the budgets were planned to be set realistic and achievable, in reality they were too high and some division managers were even more than before concerned whether it would be possible to achieve them.In some divisions, such as Glasseal and Sealtron, corporate managers just increased the planned budgets without any analysis of the actual situation and discussion about business potential and risks with the division managers. As a result, division managers became even more demotivated because of too optimistic budgets. Moreover, by missing the new budgets, employees could be fired. The division manager of Hermetite was not provided by top managers with essential information about the corporation, its strategy, targets and the actual situation, and targets of his division before planning the budget.Being just hired and having the lack of experience and knowledge, he set too optimistic targets that could never be achieved in reality. As a result, the new division manager experienced failure and frustration at the beginning of his working experience in HCC Industry that had led to undermining of his confidence and commitment. Secondly, the incentive system had also been changed. According to new incentive compensation plan, bonus pool consisted of 20 % of the amount by which actual division PBT exceed MPS and 25 % of the amount by which it exceeded the target.Bonuses were paid quarterly at a level of 90 % of that earned and the remaining 10 % at the end of the year depending on the performance. It can be concluded that the rewards became lower than with â€Å"stretch† performance targets. The probability of losing the job in case the MPS targets would not be met, became greater. The disadvantage of subjective judgment concerning the bonuses was not eliminated under the new philosophy, as the division managers were given the discretion to decide which of their subordinates would share in the bonus pool and how the pool would be allocated among themselves and the others included.The key factor to the success of the budget system lied in the accuracy of forecasting the market share, the booking rate, the potential growth of sales, and so on. If a manager had little knowledge about the market information and the competitors, it would be difficult to set the MPS. The effectiveness of the budget system would be weakened, and this was the one of the main problems HCC faced after intr oduction of the MPS system. Evaluating the decision of changing the corporation’s philosophy based on early results, allows concluding that the new concept was not implemented well, even given the fact that it was a good idea.After the first quarter of fiscal year 1988, none of the divisions achieved all of its MPS and some of the divisions missed their minimum performance by large margins. 2. Should HCC managers have expected that the MPS target-setting philosophy would be equally effective in all four operating divisions described? HCC Industries was organized into four operating divisions: Hermetic Seal, Glasseal, Sealtrol that were producing connectors of various types, and Hermetite that was producing custom-designed, micro-electronic packages. Each division was run by a general manager who was responsible for all business functions of a certain division.In order to proper evaluate and monitor divisions’ results on which the bonuses were based, controllers of each division reported to HCC’s CFO. Corporate managers should have taken into account that the divisions differ from each other, and should have considered each division separately while using MPS target-setting philosophy as each division had some specific characteristics that were different from others. Although all the three connector divisions were similar in that they were profitable but growing slowly, there was a significant difference in the degree of standardization of their product lines.For example, division Sealtrol was highly standardized and produced connectors with large economies of scale. On the contrast, Hermetic Seal was the least standardized division and operated primarily as a job shop that designed and produced small batches of custom connectors. Glasseal’s product lines had the medium level of standardization. The forth division Hermetite was completely different from the connector divisions. In comparison with the first three divisions, its market and competitors were well defined and its potential for growth was tremendous.In addition, Hermetite faced huge price competition and significant production technology and control challenges. Moreover, the production processes were complex and its engineering and production organizations were instable. Given the fact that all four divisions were independent from each other, had different targets, accounting and information systems, product standards, served different customers, had different professional background of division managers, a detailed analysis should have been made whether MPS targets would be equally effective in all four divisions.Mike Pelta, the manager of the first division Hermetic Seal was more motivated after the changes, as with â€Å"stretch† performance targets, the probability of the achievement of the targets was 85-90%, whereas with MPS targets it has increased by 95-98%. The reason of such a high probability of achievement the targets was the fact that the division manager had set conservative targets. Mike Pelta was a cofounder of HCC, and was more familiar with the situation of the company. From the first quarter revenue result of 1988, we can find that only Hermetic Seals exceeded target in both bookings and profit before tax.But on the other hand, there were some problems in product qualities such as returns and rework. The manager of the second division Glasseal was even more demotivated after the changes than under the â€Å"stretch† performance targets. After the division manager had prepared the budget based on realistic forecast, the targets were increased by corporate managers. As a result, the probability of the achievement of the targets remained 90%, as it was before changes. However, with the â€Å"stretch† targets the rewards were greater and could be earned even if the budget was missed.It could be concluded that the change for MPS targets had not become better and more motivated for the second d ivision. Historical performance of the third division Sealtron was not so good. Efficiency in sales per employee was 50 % below other connector divisions, and budget was missed so salaries were frozen. The division manager, Lou Palamara, was recruited in 1986. Lou Palamara had a background of an engineering manager, so he was not that familiar with the corporation and had less knowledge about budget and cost saving. The division manager was discouraged by newMPS targets, as the targets he set had significantly been increased by corporate managers and the probability of its achievement according to division manager, was only 60-65%. As a result, if the budget would have increased by 18 % compared to the previous year, there would be still no bonus earned. Moreover, in case MPS standards would not be achieved the manager could be fired. At the same time, CFO of the corporation assessed the probability of the achievement of the targets by 90%. His idea was to stimulate sales as the Sea ltron’s efficiency was below other connector divisions.It can be concluded that the opinion of top managers and division manager on the achievement of targets was significantly different (90 % versus 60-65 %). In this situation, in order to come to common solution, additional analysis should have been done of actual situation and current performance of the division. It should have been carefully analyzed the reason of poor performance of the third division. Before the fourth division Hermetite was acquired in August 1985, it had been operating at a loss for the price competition and the production problems.The former general manager of Hermetite left a serious delinquency problem, which had worsen the reputation of the company, so booking could not be guaranteed. The manager Alan Wong, being new in the corporation and lacking particular experience and knowledge, was not provided with additional training and explanation of the corporation’s and division’s main ob jectives. He thought the corporate managers would not accept a budget that projected a loss. As a result, he had set very aggressive and optimistic targets that were unrealistic and corporate managers decreased the targets.However, the probability of achievement of the performance target at sales was 80 % and PBT target was only 5 %. The performance of the forth division was very risky and uncertain. From the first quarter results of 1988, we can discover that the bookings and shipments were both below MPS. After analyzing MPS targets in all four divisions, it could be concluded that only the manager of the first division, that was the original HCC business, was motivated by the changes. The managers of the other three divisions were even more concerned than before the changes.The main reason of such situation was that corporate managers thought that the targets were achievable, whereas division managers had the opinion that they are not achievable and unrealistic. It can be conclud ed that there was a lack of communication between corporate and division managers. Moreover, the evaluation standards were the same for every division without taking into account different situation and various targets of each division. Given the fact that there were only four independent divisions, individual approach and specific evaluation standards for each division should have been used. 3.What, if anything, could have been done to improve the implementation of the new philosophy? From 1988 onwards, the philosophy in HCC Industries had been changed from â€Å"stretch† targets to minimum performance standard (MPS) targets. However, according to the results of the first quarter of 1988, none of the divisions had achieved all of its MPS. It can be concluded that there were some problems in implementing new philosophy. First of all, the targets of every division should be aligned with the long-term strategy of the corporation. Top managers should clearly set the company stra tegy and priorities and communicate them to all divisions.Division managers should in turn have been communicated to the corporate managers opportunities, resource needs, constraints and risks. HCC Industries would achieve success if all divisions would work together towards common targets and objectives instead of being concentrated on personal goals of each division that could diverge from the strategy of corporation. According to the information provided in the case study, corporate managers were confident that the set objectives were achievable and realistic, division managers had the opposite opinion.As a result, division managers were discouraged to perform from the beginning. In order to avoid demotivation and increase the probability of the achievement of the targets, the balance should be found between the desires of the top management and the possibilities of the divisions. In that case, they closely need to communicate with each other and come together to the common solut ion. This would lead to more realistic budgets, would build employees up and increase managers’ commitment to achieve the targets.Secondly, as long as at HCC all divisions were decentralized, the differences and unique characteristics of each division should be taken into account. As a result, different performance evaluation standards should be used for every division. It is impossible to compare Hermetic Seal which is the original HCC business with Glasseal and Sealtron that were acquired even if all of them produce connectors. Moreover, the degree of standardization of product lines within these divisions is completely different. The forth division is completely different from the first three.That is why individual approach should be used for every division. There are only four divisions, that is why it is realistic for corporate managers to evaluate and analyze each division separately. Whereas some divisions could achieve higher targets, for others lower targets are more realistic. When planning the budget, the actual situation and performance of each division should be analyzed instead of comparison with other divisions. Before increasing the targets of the second and third divisions a more detailed analysis was needed.In addition, it would be helpful for corporate managers to discuss with the division managers the possible constrains of poor performance of their divisions and to evaluate whether additional actions are needed in order to improve performance. In order not to demotivate employees, it would be better to agree the targets and to find compromise rather than just to set them. Corporate managers should establish the dialogue with division managers and other personnel in order to gather an objective opinion about the real situation inside the company.Such working atmosphere would encourage employees to be involved in the company more and would give them the feeling that corporate managers listen to them when changing strategic issues. Div ision managers would feel themselves important in the organization and would be more encouraged to perform at the highest level possible and would feel more responsibility for the achievement of the targets. Thirdly, top management before changing the budgeting philosophy should have made a sound analysis of current performance on corporate level as it is a very important decision.Implementing new standards for evaluating involves the research of effectiveness of operation potential growth, the personal characteristics, the financial constraints, resource limitations, opportunities and risks. Fourthly, personal controls could be used by training division managers. For instance, it was very important for the fourth division to provide the manager with some additional information about the corporation before planning the budget.Taking into account the fact that Alan Wong was relatively new in the corporation, it is quite obvious that he lacks some experience and knowledge to plan an e ffective and realistic budget. It is also clear from the information provided in the case study, that he was unfamiliar with the strategy of the corporation and the expectations from the top managers from his division. Planning the budget is very important for the corporation. It requires deep understanding not only the goals and objectives of a particular division but also of the entire corporation.As there was a lack of communication between the top management and the division managers, the new division manager had set unrealistic budget. Fifthly, there was not only a lack of communication between top management and division managers, but also between the division personnel. In order to increase the motivation amongst personnel, the division managers should clearly communicate the main objectives and set the targets to their employees and provide them with the detailed information concerning the incentive system.In this case, employees would understand what they are expected to do and how they would be rewarded for that. Sixthly, as the marketing information collection was an obvious obstacle for the accurate forecast of the future, it is important to set up a marketing team in the four divisions. The target of the team is to collect the market share data of each product in previous years, the reasons for the up-and-downs of the market share, find out what kind of improvement will the target consumers need in the future, the scale of potential customers, and so on.With the detailed information of the market, it will be easier for the division to forecast the future sales and try to expand the existing market. Seventhly, it can be suggested, that for the first year when the changes were applied, the top management could set very realistic conservative targets in order to encourage employees and make them feel that the targets are achievable. Given the fact that the targets were not achieved for the last four years the employees got used to missing targets and became demotivated.In addition, given the fact that some divisions, for example Hermetite, experience current problems, flexible targets could be set, that would depend on certain conditions at a particular time. Finally, before taking a new decision about the changes, it could be helpful to organize the meeting with all division managers in order to announce them personally about the expected changes and gather some ideas from them about how to implement the new philosophy. Such brainstorming could help to pay attention to some important aspects from the bottom that top management was not considering.