Information technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Information technology - Essay Example In hiring employees into an organization, the human resource department sets out a number of recruitment criteria. The employees hired in an organization are therefore determined to be the best for performing the specific roles. One key recruitment criteria of recruitment demanded by every human resource manager is relative knowledge relevant to the operations of the department. This is normally sought in the form of a college or university degree. However, after recruitment into the organization employees require effective orientation that is later followed by the requirement of on job training and the provision for continuous development. On job training and opportunities for development once in the company take the form periodic seminars and provision for study leaves. Such programs serve a number of functions in the realization of the organization’s objectives. Such programs motivate employees a factor that if implemented effectively results in highly motivated employees who in turn are very productive. Such opportunities make employees feel valued and acknowledged by their employer, they thus revamp their morale by increasing their out put level. Additionally, such programs retain employee relevance while at the organization. Knowledge changes and so are the means of production. To increase productivity, an organization needs to change its means of production and these may at times a change of the entire technology. A change in technology and means of production requires effective understanding of its operation. This therefore makes on job training and continuous development through studies more important. Some managers may prefer hiring newer employees with every new technology. While this may sound more effective, the cost of implementing such a policy may overwhelm the organization. Furthermore, it demoralizes employees thereby decreasing productivity. Commercial organizations exist in societies; this

E-Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

E-Business Strategy - Essay Example Kourdi defines business strategy as â€Å"the plans, choices and decisions used to guide a company to greater profitability and success† (3). In e-business terms, we can mould this definition to state that e-business strategy is the plans, choices and decisions that are used by the business owners to guide their electronic transactions with other businesses, customers, suppliers, executives, partners and investors to achieve high end productivity in the virtual world. If the e-business owners are able to implement clearly focused strategy, they are then able to provide commercial success to their virtual businesses. On the other hand, if the strategy is faulty, this leads to total destruction of the company in the short or long run. Therefore, it is important to understand the importance of e-business strategy which is quite different from the real world business strategy. It is also important to differentiate between the strategic plans and otherwise decisions because many bu sinessmen have the â€Å"tendency to label every plan and decision strategic when most are about implementing strategy rather than setting it†, according to Kourdi (3). Successful E-Business Strategy- An Example How and why e-business strategies are successful is understood when the results and outcomes are observed. Dave mentions in his book that when the e-business owner knows in which direction he will drive his company and what kind of organizational culture he is going to impart to his e-business so as to enhance the productivity and attract e-consumers efficiently, this enables them to lay down such a strategic plan that helps them achieve their mission. E-business strategies are successful because they tend to clarify the mission statement and the vision of the e-company thus resulting in goal-based and productive performance of the company in the cyberspace. Dave mentions in his book many examples of successful e-businesses out of which a very interesting one is that of the Dow Chemical (p.249). According to Dave, Dow chemical is the result of implementation of a successful e-business strategy

Evaluation Of Australias Decision Marketing Essay

Evaluation Of Australias Decision Marketing Essay Ferrero is an Italian manufacturer of chocolate products founded by confectioner Pierto Ferrero in the year 1946 based in Pino Torinese. In the survey of the 2009 reputation Institute, Ferrero was considered as the most reputable Company in the world. This company has been considered as one of the worlds secretive company. Company concentrates on the manufacturing innovation.It believes in social marketing concept to deliver value in a way to maintain or improve both the customers and societys well being. They focus on customers as centre of strategy to maintain long term relationship and mutual trust and consider this to be the key to their success. The company headquatered in Italian town of Alba has a overall sale of A$10 billion and it employees over 20,000 people around the world and holds over 7.3 % of worlds choclate share(Case Information). Q1. Evaluate Ferrero Australias decision to open an online boutique. Will this have any impact on the companys other business segments? A-With shoppers venturing online at an increasing rate in Australia, Ferrero recognised an opportunity to create an online boutique with ecommerce functionality. Evaluation of Australias Decision In Australia during festive seasons like Christmas there is always a high demand of chocolates. The public interest and demand let the company to launch the first online boutique in November 2010 in Australia aiming the Christmas ahead. These gift hampers are elegantly packed in beautiful keep sake box and personalised to make the special occasion more special. Ferrero choose Australia to pioneer its Asia pacific market because of its familiarity of western culture. According to census 2006 Australia is a country of diverse culture with predominance of Christianity, Roman Catholic (25.8%), Anglican (18.7%) and rest (19.4%).The composition of religious groups includes Buddhism ,Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Indigenous etc (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007). So in a diverse place like this there will be people celebrating some festivals throughout the year. Festival means exchanging gifts and this make the demand for chocolate hampers throughout the year. The literacy rate in Australia is about 99% (WorldBank, 2012). GER (Gross enrolment ratio, Total is the total enrolment in primary education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the population of official primary education age) is found to be 105% in Australia that indicates that its a highly educated country (WorldBank, 2012). According to the internetworldstats about 80.1% of the Australian population use internet which comprise of around 17,033,826 users as of Aug 2009.There is 22.8% of population subscribing broadband connection as of September 2007.According to world bank GNI per capita is US$ 21,650(04) that indicates that its a very wealthy country. Ferrero Online boutique offers premium chocolate for special occasion. It positions as a status symbol with high class product which is seen as a classy and elegant. At the same time pricing is also too high. This is targeting the high income range of people which is niche market. In a place like Australia it can find a range of customers to buy the product that mainly concerns about the social status, pride and quality of service. The limited edition in variety always creates a demand among the customers. Australia is an urban country with 89% in 2010 with 1.2% of the rate of urbanization (CIA, 2012).According to World Bank report the density of population is Australia is 2.86 people per SQ km in 2009 (CIA, 2012).This indicates that the Australia is a huge country with less population. So people would prefer to do online shopping rather travelling long for the store shopping. In a much urbanised country like Australia people will tend to find easier way to get things done with less time. In this kind of world opening an online boutique using internet as a media is providing a convenient way to please their dear ones on special occasions without even spending too much time for it. This way company is meeting its mission as well as customer loyalty. Impact on Other Business Segments Ferrero has 3 different distribution channels to make product available to customers. These channels include online distribution channel, supermarket retailer and physical retailer channel. For online distribution channel ferrero focus on high income grade of population and target only on special occasion as a gift hamper. C:UsersSakiRaviDesktopsaki 2012 june mbamarketingMarketing-Mix.jpg The 4P (price, product, promotion and place) for the 3 different distribution channel are different. The price of the products in online boutique is very high and providing only limited number of variety to make it stand as a high status symbol. The product is a specially designed gift hamper for a special occasion or to be used as corporate gifts which is targeting the high business officials. It is available online and people cant buy these gift hampers in the stores. For the physical retailers and supermarket distribution channels the products like ferrero chocolate, nutella, tic tac, kinder surprise focus on daily needs of a person which can be consumable at all the times of the day. The prices for these products are relatively low to the price of online boutique hampers. These are available in supermarkets and stores and not available online in the boutique. So this clearly says the 4p of the traditional ferrero products and online boutique is different so it will not have any n egative impact on the other business segments. At the same time the strategy behind launching the online boutique was a market penetration strategy. Using very innovative kind of packaging and make it as a gift hamper they are targeting the same target market through different distribution channel. By presenting it as gift the value of the product changes. It adds more value. Using internet as a media they can reach a wide range of audiences. Even though it will not impact negatively the positive impact is always there. Online boutique can boost up the Brand awareness, Brand value, Brand positioning which in turn leads to brand equity. Loyal customers, new customers or the people who are gifted will get attracted to this new product and the company which in turn increases companys reputation. As online boutique offers the gift hampers which are very expensive to the reach of normal class they would like to try the products available in stores for relatively cheaper price which in turn creates brand awareness, creates more brand value and positions itself in the market which leads to brand equity. In fact it looks like its ferreros new strategy of value innovation to come out of competition of chocolate brands red oceans which includes fierce competition with Cadbury, nestles or mars. So its aiming to create significant leap in value for customers as well as company who will make its competitors feel obsolete to create a contested market place with positive impacts on the other products in stores and supermarket to boost up. CONCLUSION As Australia is a very posh, urban, full of literates, diversified and aware of western culture the idea of opening online boutique was breakthrough for the company that targets the niche market. Through the discussion above it is implied that the online boutique will not have any negative impact on the other business segments as the distribution channels for online boutique and stores products are different and both focus on different needs of consumers. Store products focus on daily needs of a person where as online boutique on special needs like gift items. Positively it creates brand awareness for all products. Q2-How can ferrero use new technology to market its products better? A-Even though ferrero is establish well in Australia its always a threat to a confectionary products to stay stable in market because of change in taste preference, emergence of new competitor or threat from existing competitor. With arising new technologies the company can make use of it effectively to create brand awareness and build long term relationship with the existing customers which is very important for a luxury brand like ferrero who target niche market. Attract new customers There is many search engines like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft that help the customer to find the stores or business via internet or mobile search. As People hardly go beyond the first page of listings its important for company to focus on Search Engine Optimizer(SEO) to optimise the metadata information and enable ferrero website to popup in the first listing when customers search for confectionary products (SupportGoogle, 2012). Web Blogs and Community- Ferrero create blogs and at least two communities to create online marketing, one community for Stores and Supermarket products and one for online boutique to avoid confusion. These blogging sometimes use to drive search results to let customers find the company and to gain greater attention. Social Medias are web or mobile based tools for sharing and discussing information. Ferrero can tap into the powerful networking sites to drive customers. Social networking sites like face book, twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, YouTube can provide inexpensive but powerful online marketing. Ferrero should create sophisticated pages to attract users. It can think of allowing to buy products in these networks or can provide link that will allow them to buy in a click go. Additional opportunities include online radio shows on platforms such as BlogTalkRadio. This is very good media to be in direct touch with customers and getting their feedback about the products and building one to one relationship where around 608 million at the End of 2010 people were actively using social media like facebook (TheProvince, 2010). Delight existing customers and create high life time loyalty. The first thing important for a luxury product like ferrero is to find out the customers who are profitable and then try to create a long relationship with them as its cheaper to retain existing customers than acquiring new one (kotler Armstrong, 2012, p. 36). To do this CRM is the best technology used by many companies.CRM (customer relationship management) is an information industry to manage detailed information about the customers and carefully manage customers touch point to maximise customer loyalty using methodologies, software, and Internet capabilities (kotler Armstrong, 2012, p. 143).It consists of sophisticated software and analytical tools to integrate customers information from all sources and analyze them deeply and apply results to build strong customer relationship. So regency, frequency monitory value (RFM) is used to identify the best customers. The companies should focus on high customer life time valu e (CLV) and use methods to deal with them like Mobile marketing- These days cell subscribers read almost all messages they receive and can reach them in minutes. Ferrero should target the most loyal customers and text them about the offers or coupons to redeem in places that match their status, promotions, addition of new products. Apart from this it should focus in applications to be downloaded in app store to be used by iphones, ipad or it can target android as well for black berries .It can create application that will allow the customers to buy their products in a easy click using the application in their phones. QR codes are two-dimensional graphics (similar to barcode) contains information that customer needs like coupons, direction, contact information, availability of products etc. To read QR codes the customer need to download QR reader, then they need to take a picture of the code or scan through it to get the information that is embedded in the code (News C. , 2012). Ferrero can place these codes in ads, websites, in emails or on any other printable booklets or digital medium where camera can scan through the picture. This new technology will create anxiety among customers to know about it and will create more brand awareness. Email Marketing Service provider like mail chimp allows subscribers to send up to 500 emails per campaign and 3000 emails per month for no cost. Ferrero on identifying the profitable customers should send personalised emails or messages on their important days like birthday, anniversary, and festivals to show them how they value the customer and how important they are for the company. This leaves a positive impact in the customers who cares about the service. Email newsletter program enables customer to maintain an ongoing awareness of the company and this remind them about the company when they want service. A professional communication can reinforce branding message. Other than these new technologies ferrero can continue with the old mode of advertising and sponsorship to maintain the status of the brad in people mind. It should target the upcoming Olympic in London 2012. Ferrero can provide advertisements in the corporate blogs and community to attract the business officials and aware them that they have corporate gifts for them. This will attract high end business officials. CONCLUSION- With the emerging technologies, it is implied that ferreo has wide range of technologies to build customer relationship which is the main motto of the company that includes blogging, creating new communities, use of social media, sending personalised emails or messages, advertising in corporate blogs, mobile marketing as well as SEO to create long term relationship with customers and create new customers and make more brand awareness.

Capital Punishment Must be Abolished :: The Case Against the Death Penalty

"Crimes against children are the most heinous crime. That, for me, would be a reason for capital punishment..." -- Clint Eastwood "I could not become an American citizen. I would not like to become a citizen of a country that has capital punishment." -- Werner Herzog In most of the industrialized world, capital punishment is not used to punish criminals. However, it is still used in the United States. The capital punishment debate in the United States has raged for almost four hundred years. Supporters of capital punishment often cite its roles as deterrent and retribution as reasons for their support of the death penalty. Opponents of capital punishment cite its arbitrariness and finality as reasons for their opposition against the death penalty. Because capital punishment can lead to an unequal application of justice, sometimes to the point of executing innocent persons, no amount of argument from its supporters should prevent it from being abolished. The Arguments of Those Who Favor Capital Punishment Supporters of capital punishment begin by arguing that capital punishment deters murder. This view has been held for thousands of years. In his book The Penalty of Death, Thorsten Sellin notes what the famous 18th century English law commentator William Blackstone wrote in his Commentaries on the Laws of England: As to the end or final cause of punishment, this is not by way of atonement...but as a prevention against future offenses of the same kind. This is effected three ways, either by the amendment of the offender...or by deterring others...or lastly by depriving the party injuring of the power to do future mischief. (Sellin 77) This sentiment was expressed by Socrates (in Gorgias) and by his antagonist Demosthenes some 2,000 years before Blackstone (Sellin 3-5). But what evidence is there to support the idea that the death penalty deters potential murderers better than any other form of punishment? Until Professor Isaac Ehrlich released his study on this subject, only anecdotal evidence existed, and that had been provided by people in the law enforcement, judicial, and corrections fields. By 1953, the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment in England noted: ...capital punishment has obviously failed as a deterrent when a murder is committed. We can number its failures. But we cannot number its successes. No one can ever know how many people have refrained from murder because of the fear of being hanged.

Digital Fortress Chapter 115-117

Chapter 115 The emptiness in David Becker's mind was absolute. I am dead. And yet there was a sound. A distant voice†¦ â€Å"David.† There was a dizzying burning beneath his arm. His blood was filled with fire. My body is not my own. And yet there was a voice, calling to him. It was thin, distant. But it was part of him. There were other voices too-unfamiliar, unimportant. Calling out. He fought to block them out. There was only one voice that mattered. It faded in and out. â€Å"David†¦ I'm sorry†¦Ã¢â‚¬  There was a mottled light. Faint at first, a single slit of grayness. Growing. Becker tried to move. Pain. He tried to speak. Silence. The voice kept calling. Someone was near him, lifting him. Becker moved toward the voice. Or was he being moved? It was calling. He gazed absently at the illuminated image. He could see her on a small screen. It was a woman, staring up at him from another world. Is she watching me die? â€Å"David†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The voice was familiar. She was an angel. She had come for him. The angel spoke. â€Å"David, I love you.† Suddenly he knew. Susan reached out toward the screen, crying, laughing, lost in a torrent of emotions. She wiped fiercely at her tears. â€Å"David, I-I thought†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Field Agent Smith eased David Becker into the seat facing the monitor. â€Å"He's a little woozy, ma'am. Give him a second.† â€Å"B-but,† Susan was stammering, â€Å"I saw a transmission. It said†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Smith nodded. â€Å"We saw it too. Hulohot counted his chickens a little early.† â€Å"But the blood†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Flesh wound,† Smith replied. â€Å"We slapped a gauze on it.† Susan couldn't speak. Agent Coliander piped in from off camera. â€Å"We hit him with the new J23-long-acting stun gun. Probably hurt like hell, but we got him off the street.† â€Å"Don't worry, ma'am,† Smith assured. â€Å"He'll be fine.† David Becker stared at the TV monitor in front of him. He was disoriented, light-headed. The image on the screen was of a room-a room filled with chaos. Susan was there. She was standing on an open patch of floor, gazing up at him. She was crying and laughing. â€Å"David. Thank God! I thought I had lost you!† He rubbed his temple. He moved in front of the screen and pulled the gooseneck microphone toward his mouth. â€Å"Susan?† Susan gazed up in wonder. David's rugged features now filled the entire wall before her. His voice boomed. â€Å"Susan, I need to ask you something.† The resonance and volume of Becker's voice seemed to momentarily suspend the action in the databank. Everyone stopped midstride and turned. â€Å"Susan Fletcher,† the voice resonated, â€Å"will you marry me?† A hush spread across the room. A clipboard clattered to the floor along with a mug of pencils. No one bent to pick them up. There was only the faint hum of the terminal fans and the sound of David Becker's steady breathing in his microphone. â€Å"D-David†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Susan stammered, unaware that thirty-seven people stood riveted behind her. â€Å"You already asked me, remember? Five months ago. I said yes.† â€Å"I know.† He smiled. â€Å"But this time†-he extended his left hand into the camera and displayed a golden band on his fourth finger-â€Å"this time I have a ring.† Chapter 116 â€Å"Read it, Mr. Becker!† Fontaine ordered. Jabba sat sweating, hands poised over his keyboard. â€Å"Yes,† he said, â€Å"read the blessed inscription!† Susan Fletcher stood with them, weak-kneed and aglow. Everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing and stared up at the enormous projection of David Becker. The professor twisted the ring in his fingers and studied the engraving. â€Å"And read carefully!† Jabba commanded. â€Å"One typo, and we're screwed!† Fontaine gave Jabba a harsh look. If there was one thing the director of the NSA knew about, it was pressure situations; creating additional tension was never wise. â€Å"Relax, Mr. Becker. If we make a mistake, we'll reenter the code till we get it right.† â€Å"Bad advice, Mr. Becker,† Jabba snapped. â€Å"Get it right the first time. Kill-codes usually have a penalty clause-to prevent trial-and-error guessing. Make an incorrect entry, and the cycle will probably accelerate. Make two incorrect entries, and it will lock us out permanently. Game over.† The director frowned and turned back to the screen. â€Å"Mr. Becker? My mistake. Read carefully-read extremely carefully.† Becker nodded and studied the ring for a moment. Then he calmly began reciting the inscription. â€Å"Q†¦ U†¦ I†¦ S†¦ space†¦ C†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Jabba and Susan interrupted in unison. â€Å"Space?† Jabba stopped typing. â€Å"There's a space?† Becker shrugged, checking the ring. â€Å"Yeah. There's a bunch of them.† â€Å"Am I missing something?† Fontaine demanded. â€Å"What are we waiting for?† â€Å"Sir,† Susan said, apparently puzzled. â€Å"It's†¦ it's just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I agree,† Jabba said. â€Å"It's strange. Passwords never have spaces.† Brinkerhoff swallowed hard. â€Å"So, what are you saying?† â€Å"He's saying,† Susan interjected, â€Å"that this may not be a kill-code.† Brinkerhoff cried out, â€Å"Of course it's the kill-code! What else could it be? Why else would Tankado give it away? Who the hell inscribes a bunch of random letters on a ring?† Fontaine silenced Brinkerhoff with a sharp glare. â€Å"Ah†¦ folks?† Becker interjected, appearing hesitant to get involved. â€Å"You keep mentioning random letters. I think I should let you know†¦ the letters on this ring aren't random.† Everyone on the podium blurted in unison. â€Å"What!† Becker looked uneasy. â€Å"Sorry, but there are definitely words here. I'll admit they're inscribed pretty close together; at first glance it appears random, but if you look closely you'll see the inscription is actually†¦ well†¦ it's Latin.† Jabba gaped. â€Å"You're shitting me!† Becker shook his head. â€Å"No. It reads, ‘Quis custodiet ipsos custodes.' It translates roughly to-â€Å" â€Å"Who will guard the guards!† Susan interrupted, finishing David's sentence. Becker did a double-take. â€Å"Susan, I didn't know you could-â€Å" â€Å"It's from Satires of Juvenal,† she exclaimed. â€Å"Who will guard the guards? Who will guard the NSA while we guard the world? It was Tankado's favorite saying!† â€Å"So,† Midge demanded, â€Å"is it the pass-key, or not?† â€Å"It must be the pass-key,† Brinkerhoff declared. Fontaine stood silent, apparently processing the information. â€Å"I don't know if it's the key,† Jabba said. â€Å"It seems unlikely to me that Tankado would use a nonrandom construction.† â€Å"Just omit the spaces,† Brinkerhoff cried, â€Å"and type the damn code!† Fontaine turned to Susan. â€Å"What's your take, Ms. Fletcher?† She thought a moment. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something didn't feel right. Susan knew Tankado well enough to know he thrived on simplicity. His proofs and programming were always crystalline and absolute. The fact that the spaces needed to be removed seemed odd. It was a minor detail, but it was a flaw, definitely not clean-not what Susan would have expected as Ensei Tankado's crowning blow. â€Å"It doesn't feel right,† Susan finally said. â€Å"I don't think it's the key.† Fontaine sucked in a long breath, his dark eyes probing hers. â€Å"Ms. Fletcher, in your mind, if this is not the key, why would Ensei Tankado have given it away? If he knew we'd murdered him-don't you assume he'd want to punish us by making the ring disappear?† A new voice interrupted the dialogue. â€Å"Ah†¦ Director?† All eyes turned to the screen. It was Agent Coliander in Seville. He was leaning over Becker's shoulder and speaking into the mic. â€Å"For whatever it's worth, I'm not so sure Mr. Tankado knew he was being murdered.† â€Å"I beg your pardon?† Fontaine demanded. â€Å"Hulohot was a pro, sir. We saw the kill-only fifty meters away. All evidence suggests Tankado was unaware.† â€Å"Evidence?† Brinkerhoff demanded. â€Å"What evidence? Tankado gave away this ring. That's proof enough!† â€Å"Agent Smith,† Fontaine interrupted. â€Å"What makes you think Ensei Tankado was unaware he was being killed?† Smith cleared his throat. â€Å"Hulohot killed him with an NTB-a noninvasive trauma bullet. It's a rubber pod that strikes the chest and spreads out. Silent. Very clean. Mr. Tankado would only have felt a sharp thump before going into cardiac arrest.† â€Å"A trauma bullet,† Becker mused to himself. â€Å"That explains the bruising.† â€Å"It's doubtful,† Smith added, â€Å"that Tankado associated the sensation with a gunman.† â€Å"And yet he gave away his ring,† Fontaine stated. â€Å"True, sir. But he never looked for his assailant. A victim always looks for his assailant when he's been shot. It's instinct.† Fontaine puzzled. â€Å"And you're saying Tankado didn't look for Hulohot?† â€Å"No, sir. We have it on film if you'd like-â€Å" â€Å"X-eleven filter's going!† a technician yelled. â€Å"The worm's halfway there!† â€Å"Forget the film,† Brinkerhoff declared. â€Å"Type in the damn kill-code and finish this!† Jabba sighed, suddenly the cool one. â€Å"Director, if we enter the wrong code†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yes,† Susan interrupted, â€Å"if Tankado didn't suspect we killed him, we've got some questions to answer.† â€Å"What's our time frame, Jabba?† Fontaine demanded. Jabba looked up at the VR. â€Å"About twenty minutes. I suggest we use the time wisely.† Fontaine was silent a long moment. Then sighed heavily. â€Å"All right. Run the film.† Chapter 117 â€Å"Transmitting video in ten seconds,† Agent Smith's voice crackled. â€Å"We're dropping every other frame as well as audio-we'll run as close to real time as possible.† Everyone on the podium stood silent, watching, waiting. Jabba typed a few keys and rearranged the video wall. Tankado's message appeared on the far left: ONLY THE TRUTH WILL SAVE YOU NOW On the right of the wall was the static interior shot of the van with Becker and the two agents huddled around the camera. In the center, a fuzzy frame appeared. It dissolved into static and then into a black and white image of a park. â€Å"Transmitting,† Agent Smith announced. The shot looked like an old movie. It was stilted and jerky-a by-product of frame-dropping, a process that halved the amount of information sent and enabled faster transmission. The shot panned out across an enormous concourse enclosed on one end by a semicircular facade-the Seville Ayuntamiento. There were trees in the foreground. The park was empty. â€Å"X-eleven's are down!† a technician called out. â€Å"This bad boy's hungry!† Smith began to narrate. His commentary had the detachment of a seasoned agent. â€Å"This is shot from the van,† he said, â€Å"about fifty meters from the kill zone. Tankado is approaching from the right. Hulohot's in the trees to the left.† â€Å"We've got a time crunch here,† Fontaine pressed. â€Å"Let's get to the meat of it.† Agent Coliander touched a few buttons, and the frame speed increased. Everyone on the podium watched in anticipation as their former associate, Ensei Tankado, came into the frame. The accelerated video made the whole image seem comic. Tankado shuffled jerkily out onto the concourse, apparently taking in the scenery. He shielded his eyes and gazed up at the spires of the huge facade. â€Å"This is it,† Smith warned. â€Å"Hulohot's a pro. He took his first open shot.† Smith was right. There was a flash of light from behind the trees on the left of the screen. An instant later Tankado clutched his chest. He staggered momentarily. The camera zoomed in on him, unstable-in and out of focus. As the footage rolled in high speed, Smith coldly continued his narration. â€Å"As you can see, Tankado is instantly in cardiac arrest.† Susan felt ill watching the images. Tankado clutched at his chest with crippled hands, a confused look of terror on his face. â€Å"You'll notice,† Smith added, â€Å"his eyes are focused downward, at himself. Not once does he look around.† â€Å"And that's important?† Jabba half stated, half inquired. â€Å"Very,† Smith said. â€Å"If Tankado suspected foul play of any kind, he would instinctively search the area. But as you can see, he does not.† On the screen, Tankado dropped to his knees, still clutching his chest. He never once looked up. Ensei Tankado was a man alone, dying a private, natural death. â€Å"It's odd,† Smith said, puzzled. â€Å"Trauma pods usually won't kill this quickly. Sometimes, if the target's big enough, they don't kill at all.† â€Å"Bad heart,† Fontaine said flatly. Smith arched his eyebrows, impressed. â€Å"Fine choice of weapon, then.† Susan watched as Tankado toppled from his knees to his side and finally onto his back. He lay, staring upward, grabbing at his chest. Suddenly the camera wheeled away from him back toward the grove of trees. A man appeared. He was wearing wire-rim glasses and carrying an oversize briefcase. As he approached the concourse and the writhing Tankado, his fingers began tapping in a strange silent dance on a mechanism attached to his hand. â€Å"He's working his Monocle,† Smith announced. â€Å"Sending a message that Tankado is terminated.† Smith turned to Becker and chuckled. â€Å"Looks like Hulohot had a bad habit of transmitting kills before his victim actually expired.† Coliander sped the film up some more, and the camera followed Hulohot as he began moving toward his victim. Suddenly an elderly man rushed out of a nearby courtyard, ran over to Tankado, and knelt beside him. Hulohot slowed his approach. A moment later two more people appeared from the courtyard-an obese man and a red-haired woman. They also came to Tankado's side. â€Å"Unfortunate choice of kill zone,† Smith said. â€Å"Hulohot thought he had the victim isolated.† On the screen, Hulohot watched for a moment and then shrank back into the trees, apparently to wait. â€Å"Here comes the handoff,† Smith prompted. â€Å"We didn't notice it the first time around.† Susan gazed up at the sickening image on the screen. Tankado was gasping for breath, apparently trying communicate something to the Samaritans kneeling beside him. Then, in desperation, he thrust his left hand above him, almost hitting the old man in the face. He held the crippled appendage outward before the old man's eyes. The camera tightened on Tankado's three deformed fingers, and on one of them, clearly glistening in the Spanish sun, was the golden ring. Tankado thrust it out again. The old man recoiled. Tankado turned to the woman. He held his three deformed fingers directly in front of her face, as if begging her to understand. The ring glinted in the sun. The woman looked away. Tankado, now choking, unable to make a sound, turned to the obese man and tried one last time. The elderly man suddenly stood and dashed off, presumably to get help. Tankado seemed to be weakening, but he was still holding the ring in the fat man's face. The fat man reached out and held the dying man's wrist, supporting it. Tankado seemed to gaze upward at his own fingers, at his own ring, and then to the man's eyes. As a final plea before death, Ensei Tankado gave the man an almost imperceptible nod, as if to say yes. Then Tankado fell limp. â€Å"Jesus.† Jabba moaned. Suddenly the camera swept to where Hulohot had been hiding. The assassin was gone. A police motorcycle appeared, tearing up Avenida Firelli. The camera wheeled back to where Tankado was lying. The woman kneeling beside him apparently heard the police sirens; she glanced around nervously and then began pulling at her obese companion, begging him to leave. The two hurried off. The camera tightened on Tankado, his hands folded on his lifeless chest. The ring on his finger was gone.

Dentist: Dentistry and Dental School

Dentists There are many different careers out there. Dentistry is a career that requires more training than others. There is a wide variety of different specialties that one can do in dentistry, but the majority of dentists are general practitioners. On average, general dentists in South Carolina make about $137,400 a year (Dentists). In order to become a dentist in South Carolina, you are required to graduate and attain a dentistry license. Dentists must be able to do different tasks throughout the day and work with many people.To become a dentist, one must attend dental school which usually takes four years beyond undergraduate college. You may graduate with a degree as a doctor of dental surgery or a doctor of dental medicine. The admittance requirements for dental school vary based on each school. Some of the more common requirements include: at least three or four years of college and at least a GPA of 3. 5 (Dental Schools Ranked by GPA). It is not mandatory to have a Bachelor o f Science degree, however, it is encouraged.Some dental schools require you to take certain science classes such as, chemistry (organic, inorganic and biochemistry), mathematics, physics, biology, and psychology. Before you apply to a dental school, you must pass the Dental Admission Test. The DAT measures your scientific knowledge, reading comprehension, and reasoning skills. After graduating from dental school, you have the option of specialty training. Specialty training is offered at many schools and normally takes about two more years beyond dental school. About one-fourth to one-third of new graduates enroll in postgraduate training programs to prepare for a dental specialty† (Henderson). Some dental school graduates start out working as associates for established dentists. They usually work for them for about a year or two while gaining experience. Others purchase or open up a practice immediately after graduation. Many aspiring dentists also receive additional experien ce by working in clinics affiliated with the school. Another way dental school students may receive experience would be through internship.While interning for a practice, they are able to get used to the physical demands and everyday tasks of a dentist. Dentists should be trained to offer a wide variety of professional services. They should be able to aid gum inflammation, tooth decay, chipped, infected or broken teeth. It is important for a dentist to be able to stand and keep their hand steady for a long period of time. They must â€Å"develop a gentle touch† for the comfort of their patient (Field). This gentle touch will also help them when they have to perform root canals, remove teeth, or corrective surgery on the gums.They should also be able to determine the difference between shades of color and brightness. Dentists are exposed to diseases and infections carried by patients on a daily basis. For this reason, it is important for them to wear protective gear when worki ng. I researched this career because I hope to become a Pediatric Dentist someday. I plan on going to college and majoring in psychology and biology and then going to dental school. My uncle is a dentist and has inspired me to become one. He is very successful and loves his job. Hopefully one day I can become successful and love my job just like my uncle.

Free Essays on St Thomas Aquinas

The human body is an animated body. Throughout St. Thomas’ writing, it has been kept in mind that there can not be any discussion of the body without an awareness that it has being only in union with the soul. To speak of the human body as if it were only a material thing no different from any other corporeal being, is not to speak of the body of man as it is. A human essence has two constituent principles and to identify one part with the man is to say at once that he is and is not a man. On the other hand, while it must be insisted that man is what he is because of his rational soul, the judgment cannot be made that he is his soul. As a material creature, man must have a body. This material essential element in him has characteristics in common with everything else that is material. It is extended, three-dimensional, occupies space, is changeable and measurable by time, is subject to corruption because of its composition, and is finite. The common sense of mankind based upon experience makes it obvious that all of these qualities are found in the human body. But the determination of the nature of the body must go beyond these spontaneous judgments based upon observation. According to the Angelic Doctor, matter as such does not and cannot exist by itself. It is only a determinable principle, as yet without any determination, if considered as prime matter. Any existing sensible object is more than matter in this primary sense. It is secondary matter; i.e., a composition of two incomplete substances, matter and form, the form actuating the matter. Only because of union with a form does matter come into actual existence. If human bodies are, they are informed, and they must be informed by something that makes them human. This is the human soul, which at one and the same time gives existence to the body and specifies the nature of the composite. The human body can only be understood in terms of the kind of form actualizing it. By applyin... Free Essays on St Thomas Aquinas Free Essays on St Thomas Aquinas The human body is an animated body. Throughout St. Thomas’ writing, it has been kept in mind that there can not be any discussion of the body without an awareness that it has being only in union with the soul. To speak of the human body as if it were only a material thing no different from any other corporeal being, is not to speak of the body of man as it is. A human essence has two constituent principles and to identify one part with the man is to say at once that he is and is not a man. On the other hand, while it must be insisted that man is what he is because of his rational soul, the judgment cannot be made that he is his soul. As a material creature, man must have a body. This material essential element in him has characteristics in common with everything else that is material. It is extended, three-dimensional, occupies space, is changeable and measurable by time, is subject to corruption because of its composition, and is finite. The common sense of mankind based upon experience makes it obvious that all of these qualities are found in the human body. But the determination of the nature of the body must go beyond these spontaneous judgments based upon observation. According to the Angelic Doctor, matter as such does not and cannot exist by itself. It is only a determinable principle, as yet without any determination, if considered as prime matter. Any existing sensible object is more than matter in this primary sense. It is secondary matter; i.e., a composition of two incomplete substances, matter and form, the form actuating the matter. Only because of union with a form does matter come into actual existence. If human bodies are, they are informed, and they must be informed by something that makes them human. This is the human soul, which at one and the same time gives existence to the body and specifies the nature of the composite. The human body can only be understood in terms of the kind of form actualizing it. By applyin...

Choosing the Best Anti-Fouling Paint

Choosing the Best Anti-Fouling Paint The earliest anti-fouling systems consisted of two elements. The first was a metal scraper and the second was the lowest ranking sailor on the vessel. But seriously, the buildup of biological matter on the submerged hull is a huge problem for the material and for the efficiency of the vessel. The task of manually scraping bottoms was made much easier when sheet copper was fastened to the bottom of wooden hulled ships. Eventually the technology advanced to produce paint that held copper compounds and slowly released them into the environment. The next major breakthrough was tributyltin which worked very well but it was so toxic to the environment that it was banned three decades later. Improved copper based paints and non-copper alternatives are now available. In fact there are so many specialized paints it’s difficult to leave the copper behind to try something else. Why change? Well in some areas we are already seeing the signs that point to widespread bans. Northern Europe and the West Coast of the U.S. are phasing in bans in some areas and more will follow. Types of Anti-Fouling Paints Ablative Anti-Fouling Anti-fouling paints take different strategies to meet the goal of eliminating plant, animal, and algae growth on the wet parts of the hull. There are three common types of anti-foul available. The most common is ablative paint which wears away like a bar of soap. This soap analogy is very old but really works well for this type of paint. If you use your vessel regularly there should be no problem wearing away the growth. Seasonal boats that have long periods of disuse will not benefit as much of the cleaning takes place while underway. This paint works well since animals like the zebra mussel have difficulty finding a firm hold. They are generally pulled off as the vessel moves through the water. A moderate amount of maintenance is required for this coating since it must be applied to last until the next haul out. Large vessels that cannot be hauled should use a more durable paint. Copolymer Anti-Fouling Copolymers are much tougher than ablatives and don’t have some of the disadvantages of hard paints. They can be exposed to air during maintenance and not lose potency. There is also little chance of paint build up since copolymers are designed to ablate at a much slower rate than a true ablative paint. Unless you have a specific need for an ablative or hard paint this is often the best choice. It is also the safe option if a location has unknown conditions. Some people refer to these as slow polishing paints. Hard Anti-Fouling When a vessel gets to a certain size you no longer want the expense of dry dock or haul out. This is where hard coatings shine. The most common base for these paints is epoxy or some other tough polymer. It releases biocide constantly by allowing the poison to migrate to the surface of the paint and leaches fewer toxins away in the process. This is durable stuff and it does not come off in harsh conditions. In fact it must be removed mechanically by blasting or sanding. Because of the pollution potential of the runoff or dust from these processes produce toxic wastes that have significant costs of disposal. The cost of these paints is generally higher due to specialized application processes. For a smooth finish these paints should be sprayed while the others can be applied by roller and brush. Since this is a low maintenance solution most large commercial vessels use this type of paint. The Biocides Biocides are the toxic element in the paint which deters life from attaching to the hull. There are several types and sometimes combinations in the same product. Cuprous Oxide – This is the most common biocide by far. It is also the target of environmental regulators because it is building up in harbors. This is not necessarily because the bottom paint is leaching too much copper. The problem is thought to be caused by the power washing, scrubbing and sanding done on thousands of recreational vessels.Almost all of this runoff has a short trip from the bottom of the boat to the water it was almost never collected in the past. New regulations are now requiring marinas to collect this waste and dispose of it properly. This will increase the overall cost of maintenance and some services may no longer be available. Cuprous Thiocyanate – Similar in behavior to cuprous oxide but stronger biocides make it useful for high foul areas or low use vessels. Composite Copper – This is still copper but in a better package. The copper is encapsulated in another material that makes it less likely to leach beyond the needed rate. Silica is currently being used as a matrix but this is a rapidly advancing technology. Pyrithione Zinc – One of the best copper alternatives. Alternatives to copper are increasing as bans become inevitable. This biocide is not generally recommended for high fouling areas like the tropics. Non-Metalic Biocides – These are fairly new to the market and are composed of organic molecules most likely modeled from compounds found on a living creature. Anti-Foulings of the Future The future is super slippery and we have been promised something that is more of a thin film than paint. The first of these products have come to market and are best for low-fouling areas. They hold a lot of promise since they have no biocide and may last for the life of the vessel when fully developed. Imagine the days when a coating goes on at the shipyard and never needs replacement and at the same time improves efficiency. Until then somebody go get the scraper. Nanoparticles also hold some promise for the future of low friction coatings of all types.

Challenges Faced By Social Entrepreneurs In India

Challenges Faced By Social Entrepreneurs In India India achieved an average growth rate of 7.7% from 2002-07; however the dividends of this growth have not trickled down to the bottom of the pyramid (Planning Commission of India 2007). According to UNICEF, 42% of India’s population is below the international poverty line of US$1.25 per day (UNICEF 2005).   [ 1 ]   India’s Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) aims to reduce the head-count ratio of consumption poverty by 10 percentage points. However, to solve complex problems such as poverty the government, business and citizen sector need to work together and create innovative solution to pressing problems. In fact, Indian government has recognized the positive impact of citizen sector and has provided increasing levels of funding, under the five-year plans. It is estimated that India has 1.2 million to 1.5 million Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) operating currently. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the legal, tax and regulatory challenges faced by soc ial enterprises and recommends policy action. The paper is organized as follows: Section II puts forward a definition for social entrepreneur; Section III features two pioneering social entrepreneurs; Section IV focuses on the challenges faced by social entrepreneurs in India; and Section V provides recommendations to counter these challenges. II. DEFINITION OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR Social entrepreneurs are not the creation of the modern society. Historically, individuals and groups have combined the concept of entrepreneurship with social value creation to transform a current state of ‘unjust equilibrium’ for a targeted group of society (Roger and Osberg 2007). For example, Florence Nightingale built the foundation for the modern nursing profession at a time when nursing was not considered a respectable profession and lacked any codes, ethics and formal training. Further, this phenomenon was not limited to the developed world even the developing world had its share of so cial innovators. In 1920s, Jamnalal Bajal, founding father of a successful Indian enterprise Bajaj Group   [ 2 ]   , popularized the importance of business ethics and launched social initiatives to eradicate the malice against ‘untouchables’ in Indian society. While social entrepreneurs have existed throughout history, the concept of social entrepreneurship is a relatively recent one. Drawing from social entrepreneurship literature, following are five key components of the concept: (1) creating social value that transforms the lives of those who lack the capacity to change the social and economic ecosystem (2) recognizing and capitalizing on the opportunity embedded in the current state of affairs (3) innovating and dislodging the present system of doing things (4) willing to take risk in this process and undeterred by scarcity of resources (5) forging a new, stable equilibrium that uplifts the lives of the targeted group and expanding this cycle to other geographic al locations (Peredo and McLean 2006) (Roger and Osberg 2007) (Bolton and Thompson 2004). Having emphasized the social entrepreneurs of the past, it is fitting to draw attention to their modern counterparts. III. SUCCESS STORIES OF INDIAN SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS Vikram Akula, SKS Microfinance In 2006, Vikram was named by TIME Magazine as one of the world’s 100 most influential people and was awarded Social Entrepreneur of the Year by Schwab Foundation. Vikram recognized that the traditional banking institutions in India failed to reach out to millions of poor due to lack of collateral and high transaction cost; forcing the poor to be trapped in the vicious cycle of small debt-heavy interest by exploitative money lenders.

Transition to Walsh College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Transition to Walsh College - Essay Example However, it must be admitted that many of my peers have experienced a tough transition period. As far as I can see, the major difficulty encountered by students is the rigor of the academic curriculum. Many students struggle to cope with the coursework on entry because of the varying standards of their previous accounting backgrounds. Of course, any dilution of academic standards will only be counterproductive to the college’s aim of producing graduates of the highest caliber in accounting practice, and no student would wish for that. I recommend that all transitional students take a brief test to ascertain their level of proficiency as measured against the standards of Walsh College’s program. Any students falling short in this could be given the opportunity to attend a short bridge course tailored to bring them on par with the prevailing standards in college. In this context, optional courses in English communication may also find some takers. This would iron out any differences in academic foundations and make the transition smooth and stress-free to all students, giving everyone a level playing field.

Risk management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Risk management - Essay Example This can be done by quick and speedy detection of the errors so as to alleviate adverse effects that may result from the menace. The quantity of errors reported from the healthcare setting has resulted to high numerical counts of deaths. In this situation, Joint Commission Resources (2001) shows that the matter of medical safety must not be approached carelessly, but a group effort of all the involved stakeholders in tackling the issues. This can be achieved by the administration of the affected healthcare institution by establishing a plan whereby the health practitioners can find means of reporting any form of errors that take place in the health institution. In this case, the institution will be better positioned in terms of risk management that may arise due to medical errors, an added benefit to the patients. Risk management, according to Cohen (2007), requires collective effort, the health providers have to feel comfortable and always report errors that emanate from dispensing duties. This will create a situation whereby the health practitioners will accept their mistakes and actually learn a great deal from them. This fear-free culture will indeed allow the health practitioners to be comfortable with their bosses. Risk management of medical errors, in one way or another allows the health practitioners to devise measures of dealing with factors that may lead to packing the wrong medicine to the patients, labeling or even give the wrong information regarding consumption of the medicine. No matter how experienced medical practitioners may be, chances are that they may get involved in medical errors. Strategic Objectives At Risk (SOAR) process and risk management This leads to the development of the risk management methodology that endeavors to identify the types of risks in the healthcare setting, and devising the best means of dealing with the risk. Monahan (2008) indicates that for risk management to be effective, the Strategic Objectives at Risk (SOAR) p rocess has to be applied. This, according to Monahan’s research refers to the process in which the risk managers can have a better understanding of the risks involved; thus, devise the best methodologies that can influence positive outcomes to deal with the risks. In the course of applying the Strategic Objectives At Risk (SOAR) methodology, the health practitioners will have a better opportunity to gain an understanding of the factors underlying the actions that are applied in the case of dealing with medical errors. Therefore, the managers are well guided on what policies to apply if they have to manage risks objectively. Through systematically laying out of the factors that deal with medical errors- the SOAR methodology-risks can be well assessed and managed (Monahan, 2008). Risk identification and analysis Medical errors can be categorized in a number of groups. One of the errors that may take place while dispensing medical care includes the prescribing error. This error involves giving the patients the wrong medicine either by mistaking the types of products present in the store or by not being certain the implications of a particular drug on the patients. As a result, Cohen (2007) indicates that there is a great likelihood that the patients

Levels of AnalysisCh. 3 & Arab-Israeli Conflict book & homework. My Assignment

Levels of AnalysisCh. 3 & Arab-Israeli Conflict book & homework. My assigned Country for this research is NIGERIA - Assignment Example Another important event is the publishing of the works of Leo Pinsker (Auto-emancipation) and Theodor Herzl (Der Judenstaat) which called for the establishment of a Jewish homeland or state (Schulze 7). Both of these articles actually called for the need to establish a homeland for the Jewish people, given that they have been experiencing discrimination in the different countries where they are scattered (Schulze 7). In addition, both of these papers also emphasized that the establishment of such homeland for the Jewish people would make them preserve their cultural traditions and solidify their national identity as Jews. The establishment of the World Zionist Organization is important, for it spearheaded the creation of a Jewish homeland in Israel, which was the same territory of the Ottoman Empire controlled Islamic Palestine (Schulze 8). It is said that Palestine was chosen as the land where the Jewish homeland would be established because it is here where the ancient kingdom of I srael and Judah where located. These kingdoms are the only Jewish states which have existed in history. Seen as the origin of the Jewish people, the Zionist movement saw the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine as essential in the nation-building process of the Jews who were historically scattered and in Diaspora.

Wars and Religion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Wars and Religion - Research Paper Example We have also used religion to explain certain things in the past that we as a people could not explain, understand or accept, such as the ancient Greeks using their gods to explain how the sun rises and sets, or how Zeus used lightning. Not everyone believes in the same deity, in fact not all religions and beliefs have only one deity. Some have many gods, like Hinduism or Ancient Greek and Roman beliefs. Other beliefs do not have deities but instead, are about worshiping ancestors or objects. And for some reason, weather it is because of a lack of understanding, conflict of belief, and other factors, wars have been fought over religion. Religious wars have been part of man’s history almost as long as religion its self, and our history books are filled with conflicts, persecutions, wars that have been waged in the name of religion. This paper’s purpose is to take a look at some of these religious struggles and discuss happened in the events and provide some feedback abou t them. This paper will focus on certain wars and struggles throughout history that have had significant effects on our civilization as a whole. There will be some key points about these conflicts that will be stressed in this paper namely; how the conflict began, who were included in the conflict, some main points about the conflict such as political effects and justifications, and finally, how it ended. This paper will focus mainly on known and historical wars and conflicts and break them down with the key points mentioned above. It will attempt to make brief, concise and objective comments and analysis of these wars. The wars and conflicts that will be discussed and analyzed in this paper are as follows: †¢ The persecution of Christians in the Ancient Roman empire †¢ The crusades †¢ The Islam – Hindu conflict in India †¢ The Jewish state of Israel and its conflicts †¢ The attacks of September 11 on the United states †¢ Conclusion The persecuti on of Christians in the Ancient Roman Empire. For those who are not very familiar with history, it may be hard to understand that there was a persecution of Christians in Rome, since we now know of the religion known as â€Å"Roman Catholic† but despite the confusion, there was a mass persecution of Christians in ancient Rome. Before Rome became a Christian symbol, it first was a place of pagan religion. An article by mariamilani.com provides us with a bit if insight as to what happened during this time. The growth of the Christian church during this time meant that the Christians were also Roman citizens and because of the speed at which they multiplied, they were, as the article says â€Å"more than a religion amongst many but rather like a state within a state†. Now at first, the people of Ancient Rome were liberal and fine about the idea of worshiping different deities depending on their needs, and Rome its self was alright with its citizens worshiping whichever de ity they please as long as they do not go against the state. As for the treatment of Christians, it was not at all that bad at first. Some places were very neutral of Christians while other places even celebrated it. The problem came when the emperors of Rome began to follow a more oriental style of rule being that they were to be considered living gods that ruled over Ancient Rome and in order to pay respect to the state, a citizen would have to worship the Roman emperor. This now, was very much against the Christian belief since they have a monotheistic belief. Added to this is that fact that, according to the article, â€Å"they were following a law which had a point of reference which was not

Use Of Pleasure Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Use Of Pleasure - Term Paper Example It is due to the use of pleasure that individuals enjoy themselves and sometimes every bit of life (Mulvey 439). The concepts of pleasure can have a strong influence over the personality of individuals. Such as those people who love every bit and every moment of this life , their personality is different, while those who do not enjoy life or we could say that those people who are a bit introvert and shy their personality is totally different. The use of pleasure can be achieved through different ways. Many people smoke or drink and enjoy life and they believe or claim that they are enjoying life and are in a state of pleasure. On the other hand there are people who have attached different meanings and values to other activities and then through those activities they achieve enjoyment or we could say that they are using pleasure directly or indirectly. There are different ways and means through which the state of pleasure can be achieved. It depends upon person to person and their likings for different activities and hobbies through which they achieve the state of pleasure. Some of the factors through which the choices of enjoyment are made are the following. Many people achieve the state of pleasure through adventure. Basically these people are those who are extrovert ,who love going out, who are consider interaction much important and they also go out and try to explore the world .However , we must keep in mind that such people also are different and it depends upon person to person. For example it also depends upon the nations and different countries. In United States of America the local or native people might like to go out and see different places this is the ways through which they achieve the state of pleasure or through this way they use pleasure. On the other hand for example people in Russia might love to go out and see the pure Russian sights such as the different locations of Siberia. So this shows that there are variations all over the world

Levels of AnalysisCh. 3 & Arab-Israeli Conflict book & homework. My Assignment

Levels of AnalysisCh. 3 & Arab-Israeli Conflict book & homework. My assigned Country for this research is NIGERIA - Assignment Example Another important event is the publishing of the works of Leo Pinsker (Auto-emancipation) and Theodor Herzl (Der Judenstaat) which called for the establishment of a Jewish homeland or state (Schulze 7). Both of these articles actually called for the need to establish a homeland for the Jewish people, given that they have been experiencing discrimination in the different countries where they are scattered (Schulze 7). In addition, both of these papers also emphasized that the establishment of such homeland for the Jewish people would make them preserve their cultural traditions and solidify their national identity as Jews. The establishment of the World Zionist Organization is important, for it spearheaded the creation of a Jewish homeland in Israel, which was the same territory of the Ottoman Empire controlled Islamic Palestine (Schulze 8). It is said that Palestine was chosen as the land where the Jewish homeland would be established because it is here where the ancient kingdom of I srael and Judah where located. These kingdoms are the only Jewish states which have existed in history. Seen as the origin of the Jewish people, the Zionist movement saw the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine as essential in the nation-building process of the Jews who were historically scattered and in Diaspora.

Use Of Pleasure Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Use Of Pleasure - Term Paper Example It is due to the use of pleasure that individuals enjoy themselves and sometimes every bit of life (Mulvey 439). The concepts of pleasure can have a strong influence over the personality of individuals. Such as those people who love every bit and every moment of this life , their personality is different, while those who do not enjoy life or we could say that those people who are a bit introvert and shy their personality is totally different. The use of pleasure can be achieved through different ways. Many people smoke or drink and enjoy life and they believe or claim that they are enjoying life and are in a state of pleasure. On the other hand there are people who have attached different meanings and values to other activities and then through those activities they achieve enjoyment or we could say that they are using pleasure directly or indirectly. There are different ways and means through which the state of pleasure can be achieved. It depends upon person to person and their likings for different activities and hobbies through which they achieve the state of pleasure. Some of the factors through which the choices of enjoyment are made are the following. Many people achieve the state of pleasure through adventure. Basically these people are those who are extrovert ,who love going out, who are consider interaction much important and they also go out and try to explore the world .However , we must keep in mind that such people also are different and it depends upon person to person. For example it also depends upon the nations and different countries. In United States of America the local or native people might like to go out and see different places this is the ways through which they achieve the state of pleasure or through this way they use pleasure. On the other hand for example people in Russia might love to go out and see the pure Russian sights such as the different locations of Siberia. So this shows that there are variations all over the world

Shakespeares Presentation Of Kingship Essay Example for Free

Shakespeares Presentation Of Kingship Essay In Henry The IV Part 1 The Transformation Of Prince Hal Is Central To Shakespeares Presentation Of Kingship. Looking At Two Different Scenes In The Play, Explore The Ways In Which Shakespeare Analyses Issues Related To Kingship And How Each Would Appear To Its Elizabethan Audience William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in the town of Stratford upon Avon. He died in 1616 but is still today one of the most renowned playwrights of all time. He has written 37 different plays in many different styles, for example comedy, history, tragedy, roman and others. Further more he is responsible for revolutionising English drama and hence culture through both his poetry and drama. He wrote plays that would have appealed to the Elizabethan people this is why his plays are written in the rich language that was used at the time. His main audience would have been common people who could not read or write so for entertainment they used imagery. Elizabethan people would have either gone to the theatre, gone bearbaiting or cockfighting; this was their idea of entertainment. Henry the IV Part 1 is based on a true story set in 1399 and is centred around the idea of kingship. This is due to the fact that the Elizabethan public of the time were very interested in the lives of the nobles and the idea of kingship. Even though it is set in the past the play is clearly designed for the Elizabethan public as it represents the end of the old politics and the start of the new capitalism over feudalism. The key characters in the play are: King Henry Bolingbroke (Henry the IV) Prince Hal Bolingbroke (Son of the king heir to the throne) Harry Hotspur (Son of the earl of Northumberland) Sir John Falstaff (Prince Hals companion) The play is set in two worlds. The so-called honourable life of the court, and the dark world of the tavern. Each with their prospective rulers for; the court the ruler is King Henry, and for the tavern the ruler is Sir John Falstaff. In between these realms sitting in the middle is the Prince, Hal caught up between the desire to please his father and his own whims. He cannot go too far down the easy road of dishonour nor can he be too much like his father for then he will be the right kind of king. There are two scenes, which I feel show the transformation that overcomes Hal and in which Shakespeare depicts to his audience the beginning of the end for Falstaffs realm. These are. Act II scene 4 and then Act III scene 2 The first scene that I believe is appropriate to analyse that shows the beginning of the transformation within Prince Hal is Act II Scene 4. This would have been one of the most humorous of all the scenes to the audience of the time as it holds many punch lines and represents a mockery of the crown. The scene starts with an example of Falstaffs deceptive nature, when he claims that he and his group of robbers were attacked by an ever-growing group of thieves who drove them off and won the stolen chest. What Falstaff doesnt realise is that the group of thieves that drove Falstaffs group away were none other then Prince Hal and his friend Poins. When they reveal this fact to Falstaff and tell him that they know he is lying and that he fled like a coward, Falstaff thinks fast and makes up another excuse claiming that he knew that it was Hal and he ran so he didnt need to hurt the Prince. This part of the scene is filled with banter and so would have been very appealing to the audience. The most influential part of this scene is were Prince Hal and Falstaff act out what they feel the king will say in his interview with Hal in the morning. Firstly Falstaff plays the king and Hal himself. Falstaff as king demands Hal to exile all of his friends who lead him astray except Falstaff who he claims is most noble of carriage. When Hal hears this he deposes Falstaff and makes himself the king. This is a highly ironic moment as the way in which King Henry Hals father came to power is by deposition. This time Hal acts more serious though it is clear banter is involved when he says there is a devil haunts thee in the likeness of an old fat man. This is the first time through out the play in which Hal reasons with himself and opens up and says it is Falstaffs fault that he is the way he is. Hal finishes his criticism of Falstaff with the naming of the man so far in the kings favour Falstaff that old white bearded Satan. Then Falstaff pleads on his account to Hal claiming that he is valiant and sweet. He then begs Hal not to banish Falstaff from the company of Hal. Falstaff (as Prince Hal). Falstaff banish not him form thy Harrys company. Banish plump jack, and banish the world Hal replies with the famous line. Prince Hal (as the king) I do, I will This concludes the play interview. The reason I feel that this shows the beginning of the transformation that turns Hal from the mad cap Prince into the heir to the throne is because I feel that at the point where he plays king he realises that eventually he will become king and that he will have the responsibility to banish people from his presence if they do not give him the correct direction. The insult of calling Falstaff the white bearded Satan indicates that he is the lord of the under world and the king of deception and lies. The most important line in this scene is (Hal) I do, I will as it shows the impending rejection of Falstaff, because for Hal to become king he must reject sin and corruption. These are the things, that Falstaff stands for. One way in which Shakespeare gets his message across to the audience is by using iambic pentameter. This is when he writes in lines of 10 syllables 5 are stressed and 5 are unstressed. Shakespeare uses the iambic pentameter to show when nobles are speaking. For a working class character then he uses ordinary prose. The way we notice this is that Hal is the only noble that doesnt speak in iambic pentameter this represents that Hal is not yet immerged in his proper role at the court , he is more in touch with the dishonest world of the tavern. The next scene that I feel is influential is Act II scene 4. This is the scene wherein the actual confrontation between the king and his rebellious son where they tell each other how they feel. The scene starts with the king ordering all lords to leave the room so that he and Prince Hal can talk in private. The king starts by demanding of God weather he is being punished for his taking of the crown and killing of the rightful king and if Hal is his punishment. Hal then says that most of the wrong things he has been accused of are just mutterings from newsmongers. King Henry rebukes this and demands Hal to be loyal to him , in addition he compares him to Richard II the skipping king who ambled up and down with shallow jesters . Hal says that he will be more like himself but Henry is still incensed and then says And even as I was then Percy is now. Now by my sceptre, and my soul to boot, he hath more worthy interest to the state than thou the shadow of succession. Hal tells his father that he will kill Hotspur and so take all of his glories. King Henry then gives Hal some money to raise an army and lead it. The main thing that is clear throughout this scene is the disappointment of King Henry and the fear that Hotspur will depose him. During the interview Hal starts to talk in iambic pentameter and this could show his initiation into the noble world leaving behind his old common world. Throughout the interview it is plain that King Henry sees himself in Hotspur and fears it because he believes if Hal were King then a rebellion would be appropriate. In addition he sees Hal as a Richard figure as he acts like a fool, by mingling his royalty with capering fools. More over he also sees Hals companion Falstaff as a threat not only because he is a bad role model but also when Hal becomes king he might give Falstaff some authority and he might abuse it or even worse might usurp Hal. This scene would have been very interesting to the Elizabethan audience, as they would not have seen a king in such a way in which they are not happy. It is unlikely that they would have realised that the monarch that they see is not the same behind the closed doors of a room, it would have intrigued them to see a family incident. In conclusion I feel that the scenes that I analysed were influential in the final result of Hal as he ended up King Henry V, who was one of the most renowned king of all time. This play shows the two worlds, which make a great king, I feel that if Hal had not experienced the world of the tavern then he would not have turned out as he did. For to be a great king Hal could not follow any of the role models presented to him. He couldnt follow down the path of Falstaff, as it was dishonest. He could not either follow his father the king as he both usurped and caused a rebellion. And he could not follow in the footsteps of Hotspur, as he was to blood thirsty and brash. So the mix between the world of the tavern and the court was just appropriate for the young Prince. And indeed he brought a balanced perspective to his role.

PESTEL Analysis of McDonalds Food Industry PEST Example

PESTEL Analysis of McDonalds Food Industry PEST Example Introduction McDonald’s is the largest fast food chain in the world. There are approximately 35,000 McDonald’s stores across 119 countries, and they jointly serve around 68 million customers a year (McDonald’s, 2014). Each McDonald’s is either run as a franchise, or by the McDonald’s Corporation itself in the UK, approximately 65% of McDonald’s restaurants are run as a franchise, and the remaining 35% are run by McDonald’s themselves. There is a relatively stringent application process involved in becoming a McDonald’s franchisee – McDonald’s themselves lists some of the requirements, including:a high level of integrity, business experience, experience within the food industry, the time and ability to complete a minimum of nine months franchisee training, a full time commitment to the opportunity, and a high level of investor capital (McDonald’s, 2014b). Such commitment to ensuring the strength and commitment of their franchisees has perhaps contributed to the strength of the McDonald’s brand, which is among the world’s best-recognised and well-regarded, particularly in the fast food market (Moskowitz, 2014) This essay will examine the current business environment McDonald’s operates in through a PESTEL analysis, to examine the general external business environment and the specific industry factors that may affect the business. The results of this essay can then be used as the background for a SWOT analysis to highlight the specific strengths and weaknesses of the McDonald’s business model and its potential future opportunities and threat, which should help to determine the best strategic direction for McDonald’s to take in the coming years. PESTEL Analysis A PESTEL analysis examines the external business environment facing a firm in 6 main areas; Political factor, Economic factors, Sociological factors, Technological factors, Environmental factors and Legal factors. Though a single organisation is normally unable to directly affect the external factors facing it, a conglomeration of companies can exert some pressure on these factors, particularly any political factors through the intelligent use of political lobbying. Proper understanding of these factors allows the organisation to highlight areas of business opportunity when combined with proper understanding of the business’ strengths, and also potential threats to the business when combined with a proper understanding of the firm’s weaknesses (Baines et al, 2011). Thus, for effective strategic planning, analysis of the external factors is the most important step before performing an analysis of the business’ intrinsic strengths and weaknesses through a SWOT analysis. Political The fast food industry is often a target for government initiatives aimed at improving health and reducing obesity, particularly in European countries. In 2003, after the publication of a report by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) on the link between general levels of salt intake among the UK population and heart disease, the UK government introduced initiatives to reduce the amount of salt in many foodstuffs, including many products within the fast food industry in general, and McDonald’s in particular. In response, McDonald’s reduced the overall salt content of its UK menu by around 14% (Food Standards Agency, 2005). In Germany, a recent food labelling initiative required all fast food restaurants to provide clear indications of a number of nutritional factors for each of their meals, including salt and sugar levels, calorie content, saturated and unsaturated fat levels, and a traffic-light label indicating the overall level of healthiness, with green indicating both low calorie and low fat options, and red indicating high calorie, high fat options (Hurt et al, 2010). Similar initiatives have been implemented in the UK, France and the Netherlands, though reports indicate that the introduced food labelling has little impact on overall demand within the fast food industry (Grunert and Wills, 2007). In Denmark, a government initiative in 2003 placed restrictions on the amount of artificially created unsaturated fats, known as Trans Fat, or TFA, which have been shown to be heavily involved in increasing cholesterol and thereby heart disease risk., TFAs are present in many food industries that rely on deep fat frying, as they can be used for far longer than more conventional oils while still staying relatively fresh (Choe and Min, 2007). Prior to the imposed restrictions, a meal of Chicken McNuggets and Medium French Fries at a typical Denmark McDonald’s had, on average, 30g of Trans Fat. After the restrictions, the same meal had on average less than 1g of Trans Fat (Hurt et al, 2010). In the US, by comparison, the fast food industry is far more self-regulating, with little to no government intervention at all, despite many published reports on the link between fast food industry advertising and childhood obesity (Wilson and Roberts, 2012). This is due to two main factors: firstly the US political system as a whole tends to be far more committed to laissez-faire economics than even its most right-wing European counterparts – in general, there is far more political inertia to overcome (Skousen, 2009). Secondly, the fast food industry has an aggressive and concentrated lobbying presence in the capital (of which McDonald plays a significant role), and is politically savvy enough to avoid or negate any proposed regulation that makes it through (Wilson and Roberts, 2012). The fast food lobby has thus far defeated proposed restrictions on Trans Fat content similar to those enacted in Denmark, a proposed ‘soda tax’ on sugary drinks, and policies aimed at controlling the amount of sugar, salt and fat in children’s meals (Wilson and Roberts, 2012). This helps to keep McDonald’s US profit margins higher than those countries where such restrictions have been imposed (Schlosser, 2012). Economical The recent economic recession was incredibly disruptive for firms in many industries, reducing revenues and profits across the board, and decreasing consumer demand for many goods and services (Kliman, 2012). However not all firms and industries were adversely affected – some actually saw revenue and profit opportunities increase during the economic downturn due to higher demand these tend to be firms and industries that are seen to provide ‘value for money’, of which the fast food industry is one (Bems et al, 2010). Fast food restaurants can be seen as imperfect substitutes for more traditional restaurants; many consumers prefer to eat out at a fast food restaurant as a cheaper alternative to a more expensive traditional restaurant. In 2008, near the height of the crisis, the fast food industry in the UK actually saw increased growth in terms of revenue of 4.5%, with an overall increase in demand for McDonald’s products of around 4% (Key Note, 2009). Other countries that saw similar increases in demand in the fast food industry in general and McDonald’s in particular include Japan, France and Belgium (Economist, 2010). By comparison, in the US the demand for McDonald’s products over the recession did not increase as in Japan, the UK and France, but more importantly it did not decrease either – this during a time where demand in the overall US restaurant industry fell by around 6% (Economist, 2010). These figures paint a picture of the fast food industry being relatively recession proof; however, as a Moody’s report (2009) cautions, this may not always be the case. Consumers may choose to eat at home rather than going out in particularly severe recessions, substituting home-cooked meals for restaurant ones, value-for-money or otherwise. They may also focus their demand on low-cost, ‘budget’ menu items with particularly low profit margins. Indeed, during the recession Burger King saw its US profits fall by around 6% as customers increasingly turned to its dollar menu options which it had chosen to focus on as a marketing strategy during the recession, with demand for those items increasing by as much as 20%. A number of Burger King franchises actually sued the corporation after requiring them to promote and sell double-cheeseburgers at $1, when they cost $1.10 to make (Economist, 2010). Such poor marketing strategies undoubtedly led to Burger King’s fall in profits during the recession – in contrast, McDonald’s continued to focus on its more expensive standard menu options, and actually increased marketing spend by 7%, as many companies cut back (Ritchie, 2010). Sociological While McDonald’s and the fast food industry in the US has manage to dodge most proposed regulation aimed at reducing the unhealthiness of many of their products, they have been perhaps less successful in dodging the negative public opinion over the same issue. Fast food in general has seen its public image decline as society in general becomes more health conscious –the preceding decades have seen a rise in many societal health-based food initiatives, such as increased demand for unprocessed and organic foods, and a growing public awareness of obesity and heart disease and its links to high-fat foods. In 2004 Morgan Spurlock, an American social-commentary filmmaker in the same vein as Michael Moore, created the documentary Super-Size Me (2004), where he ate only McDonald’s for 30 days, for 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner). He did not allow himself to have any other food during that time, and had to upgrade to a super-size meal whenever asked, which had double the amount of fries of a medium sized meal, and also came with a 42 ounce coke. After the 30 day period, he had gained 1 stone and 10.5 pounds of extra weight which represented a 13% body mass increase, had a cholesterol level of 230 (where levels below 200 are considered healthy) and had developed cirrhosis of the liver (Spurlock, 2004). There have also been many damaging reports made about the fast food industry in general and McDonald in particular, including a number of studies that have suggested fast food addiction shares many of the same characteristics as drug addiction (Garber and Lustig, 2011; Volkow and Wise, 2005). A paper by Johnson and Kenny (2010) found that high-fat food triggered many of the same dopamine receptors in rats as those triggered by cocaine or heroin, and can override standard eating responses and lead to bout of compulsive, addictive-like eating. In response to this, McDonald’s has phased out the super-size option for all of its US meals (the UK supersize meal option had been phased out in 2001 due to very low demand, and had not been introduced in any other countries) and began offering more healthy menu options, including fruit smoothies, salads, milk, water and fruit (Pompper and Higgins, 2007). They have also launched a number of innovative marketing campaigns aimed at highlighting the new range of healthy alternatives, a policy that is estimated to cost an additional $35million in marketing costs (Vizard, 2013). Such an approach appears to have been effective, with no sales decline reported in any month over the last 10 years (Vizard, 2013). Technological The advent of the internet has opened up many opportunities for low-cost, high-impact marketing across a range of firms and industries. Increasingly, firms are being judged more and more strongly on their online presence and perceived technological savvy – it can seriously harm a business’ image if they are seen as out-of-touch with the modern technological world (Chaffey, 2009). Marketing opportunities using the internet are many and varied and can range from intricate, involved, multi-layered viral campaigns, through website design and functionality to a simple social media presence. While the fast food industry was slow to catch on to the benefits of internet marketing in the beginning, most firms have now embraced its potential, and McDonald’s is at the forefront. As well as taking the (now somewhat standard) step of establishing a strong social media presence, with the creation of both a Facebook page and twitter account in 2009, McDonald have also run a number of successful online marketing campaigns, including an ‘Ask McDonald’s Youtube campaign in 2012, where over 20,000 questions from the public were answered, with most being based around the quality and supply chain of McDonald’s food and burgers. Many of the questions were answered through short Youtube videos, some of which have gathered over 10 million views, and most of which were received very positively (Macmillan, 2012). However, as with most other firms, the internet has proved to be a double-edged sword in terms of marketing success for McDonald’s. There have also been a number of negative articles posted on Facebook and Twitter about the company and its products, including an obvious hoax post that claimed a batch of McDonald’s hamburgers in Oklahoma had been found to have been contaminated with ‘human meat’ (Hooton, 2014, p1). Despite the obvious falseness of the claims (the posts were taken from a joke news site, satirising the Tesco horse meat scandal of 2013) many people online believed the stories, claiming to be sickened by them, and declaring they would boycott McDonald products from now on (Hooton, 2014). Such false information is easily spread online with little to no information regulation; firms can be at the mercy of false accusations and internet pranks. Also, in direct contrast to the successful Youtube campaign was a perhaps less successful Twitter campaign, where McDonald’s promoted the #Mcdstories hashtag for twitter users to post their stories and positive experiences with the firm. However, as there was no ability to either control or properly interact with the responses as with the Youtube campaign, the campaign collapsed almost immediately with a glut of negative anti-McDonald’s tweets, outweighing the positive responses by around 10 to 1 (Kolowich, 2014). Careful monitoring of the company’s online presence and quick response to such incidents will go some way to mitigating the potential damage. Environmental In recent years, environmental issues have come to the forefront of public consciousness with the rise of many green initiatives and movements. In response, many businesses now include some form of environmental damage mitigation to counteract the negative environmental aspects of their typical business production methods; typical methods include the replanting of trees to offset carbon emissions caused by the transportation of goods, a reduction in the amount of paper used in the administrative side of the business, energy-saving initiatives such as the turning off of lights, electrical appliances and computers when facilities are not in use, and a reduction in the amount of packaging used in the production process (Satya, 2002). Environmental concerns about a business’ operations are particularly pronounced in the food industry, as food production techniques are often associated with poor environmental controls, particularly in emerging third world economy producers, and budget meat suppliers (Foster et al, 2007). Indeed, a number of protests have been levelled at many fast food firms in general, and McDonald’s in particular – on 19th July 1985, Greenpeace in the UK declared an â€Å"anti-McD Day of Action† (Veggis, 2014, p1) which involved demonstrations, protest marches and pickets of many McDonald’s stores across the UK. The ‘Day of Action’ has been repeated every year on the same date, and protests against â€Å"the promotion of junk food, the unethical targeting of children, exploitation of workers, animal cruelty, damage to the environment and the global domination of corporations over our lives† (Veggis, 2014, p3). In 1997, two of the protestors were sued by McDonald’s for libel, after repeating some of these claims in many McDonald’s restaurant. The judge found in favour of McDonald’s for some of the allegations of libel, but found others had some truth to them and could not be considered libellous, including claims that they â€Å"falsely advertise their food as nutritious, risk the health of their long-term regular customers† and â€Å"are culpably responsible for cruelty to animals reared for their products† (Justice Bell, 1997, p13). In response to this, McDonald’s have initiated a number of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies centred on reducing the environmental impact of the business; they currently participate in ‘Earth Hour,’ an initiative that encourages many businesses to turn off their lights and unused equipment on a specific hour each year, to reduce their carbon footprint. They have also sought to reduce the environmental impact of their packaging, seeking out more biodegradable packaging in many markets; they have initiated paper-reduction policies in many of their administration centres, and they have also instigated investigations into the care and management of the animals reared for their product supply, with a view to ensuring no unnecessary cruelty or inhumane treatment is taking place (McDonald’s, 2014c) Legal The specific legal environment in which McDonald’s operates is highly dependent on the specific country and market in question; however, most of the markets that McDonald’s operates in have some form of a Health and Safety legal framework, particularly with regard to food preparation. Many, if not all of the countries McDonald’s operates in has some form of public health inspection system with regard to food producers in the UK, it is the Food Standards Agency, while in the US, it is the Food and Drug Administration (Campbell et al, 2008). In both markets, any employees with food-handling capabilities must take part in food-hygiene training at the company’s expense. McDonald’s has implemented a system that adds additional controls to those required by either health agency, and as their customer-facing website states, â€Å"there are at least 70 safety checks on beef and chicken every day. In fact, McDonald’s rigorous standards have been used by government agencies as models for their own regulations† (McDonald’s, 2014d, p1). In this way, their dedication to food safety over and above that required by law can be used as a marketing tool, to emphasise their commitment to quality (Campbell et al, 2008). There are also a number of employment laws to consider in each market, including those regulating the maximum length of an employee’s daily and weekly working hours, the requirements for employee breaks and facilities, tax and payroll requirements, business registration and accountancy standards for reporting profit and loss (Jones, 2013). McDonald’s tends to adhere to the same legal standards across markets for each of these areas, even in markets with less stringent regulations or legal requirements than those of the UK or US markets (McDonald’s, 2014a). Conclusion In conclusion, McDonald’s faces a number of challenges from its external environment, including the threat of further government health regulation in the US, social concerns about the unhealthiness of their products, adverse publicity from hoaxes or failed marketing campaigns on the internet, and additional protests regarding the environmental impact of the business. Through understanding these challenges, McDonald’s marketing and strategy managers can use the business’ strengths, such as its commitment to food quality and safety, its successful marketing campaigns, and the overall strengths of its brand, to turn these challenges into potential business opportunities. In order to do so, they can use the information provided by this PESTEL analysis as the groundwork for a comprehensive SWOT analysis, to enable the intelligent setting of future strategy for McDonalds. In this way, they can help to ensure McDonald’s remains a market leader in the fast food industry. 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