Mastering the three world of information system Case Study

Mastering the three world of information system - Case Study Example When an organization has established its data execution plan, it should proceed to communicate the same to various departments. Network IT comes in handy because it enables the organization to organize its communication channels and messages in order to interact with all the stakeholders like the customers. It is practical for corporates to compile an inventory of all their data before they take any significant step that pertains to the inventory. Any communication or interaction about the data so collected must use certain network infrastructure that will enable the organization to convey information effectively and efficiently. After effective communication with all the clients and stakeholders, an organization can then undertake the fundamental business process in its Enterprise IT. For this reason, all the categories of IT are critical for any organization that plans to succeed in the modern world of technological

Developing life story Essay Example for Free

Developing life story Essay Great-Expectations is just one novel that follows a tradition of novels that choose to focus on one particular character and their developing life story. Other novels that follow this same tradition are Adam Bede (1959) and Jude The Obscure (1894) which I may use as comparative texts due to the fact all three books/novels are written around the same time and tend to high light crime death and poverty using similar techniques. Death, crime and poverty feature strongly in the vast majority of fiction during the Victorian era. Many authors including Charles Dickens thought by repeatedly writing about the harsh inhuman conditions that many poor people were succumb to that the middle and upper classes would gradually begin to change there stigmatisms and prejudices. Great-Expectations concentrates mainly on two sections of Pips life, Pip as a young bashful child and the mature sophisticated Pip that develops as his life unfolds. Both Pips I think paint a very diverce picture of Victorian life one being Pip in a ramshackle unpleasant environment the other being Pip in a lavish gentlemanly one. In the opening paragraph, we are introduced to Pip who is the main character in the novel. We know that Pip is a young child because he describes him self in having an infant tongue that cannot pronounce the word Pirrip his fathers name or his Christian name Philip. Other indications that Pip is in the early stages of his life are that he thinks that the words on his mothers and fathers grave stone some how illustrate to him what they may of looked liked. The shape of the letters on my fathers grave stone gave me the odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair I believe this to be a obvious indication that Pip is a fairly young child aged around six to eight. Pip is visiting his mothers and fathers grave stone in a churchyard he describes as being a bleak place, over grown with nettles Pips overall location is some where on the marshes I know this for certain because he says Ours was the marsh country down by the river. Pip is a young child in a church graveyard by himself with only dead people for company, so I can see why he appears to be unsettled. By the end of the text, Pip has been reduced to a small bundle of shivers growing afraid of the church setting and beginning to cry. Crime and death is rife in this section when Pip tells us what his most vivid memory of his of his early childhood is he chooses to mention a church graveyard he visited on a raw afternoon. Therefore, death has clearly had a major effect throughout his life if this memory is so vivid and easy to remember in later years. Whilst at the graveyard yard Pip is not only visiting his mother and father he has also gone to pay his respects to his five older brothers who all died as infants. As you can see, infant mortality was very high in this time period and a recurring problem the five dead infants would have died of disease or at birth, primitive maternity was to blame. In the early Victorian times, only twenty per cent of the British population lived in towns. By 1901, it had risen on over seventy-five percent. London was the largest but other towns also grew just as rapidly. Because there were so many people in such a small, area feeding your family was problematical, finding a job was nearly impossible. Workers houses were built in the centre of towns close to factories. The houses were over crowed and it was nearly always two to three in a bed some times more. City streets were filthy as there were no proper sewers or drains and the air was polluted with smoke from the factory chimneys. Pregnant woman living in these conditions could easily pick up infections and minor illnesses witch would result in infant death The word gibbet was used in reference to death in this section, a gibbet was something that criminals were hung from. The government in the Victorian era tried to keep order with harsh punishments especially for crimes against peoples property. Small crimes could be punished by whipping or branding with a hot iron. Some criminals were tied to the pillory this was a post in a public place where people could throw rotten food or even stones at them. The worst punishment for a crime was hanging people could be hung for 200 different crimes most of these crimes would be considered very minor today. Pickpockets and burglars could be hung next to murders and rapists and I think that Charles Dickens had a major problem with this aspect of the English legal system and set out to try to make a difference by writing in hope he might influence those in power. Dickens believed reform was needed to alleviate poverty, which he felt was the main cause of crimes against person and poverty. Dickens thought that the judicial system was designed to protect the rich and elite. He particularly abhorred the brutality surrounding these punishments An Extract From Charles Dickens letter to the Times News Paper I went there with the intension of observing the crowd gathered to behold it I believe that a sight so inconceivably awful as the wickedness and levity of the intense crowed collected at this execution this morning could be imagined by no man. The horrors of the gibbet and of the crime which brought the wretched murders to it faded in my mind. I think that Charles Dickens creates an excellent setting to affect his characters different behavioural patterns. He uses a range of different techniques to accomplish this such as imagery. Some examples of this are where it says this bleak place over grown with nettles I think this is an excellent example of just some of the bits of imagery he uses. By placing Pip in a bleak place bleak meaning barren and desolate and then to make this place over grown with nettles will undoubtedly stir emotions and provoke a reaction with any character especially Pip. Doing this will also create a tense atmosphere. Pip is placed in a scenario where he doesnt know his parents or his five brothers due to circumstances beyond his control; he has suffered tremendous loss at such a young age. Then hes placed in a unfruitful setting where theres nobody around. This is an excellent combination if you are trying to get a entertaining and interesting reaction from one of your characters the climax of all these different factors working together is when Pip breaks down crying the text decries him as a being a bundle if shivers this has clearly effected both Pips behaviour and his feelings. I as a reader was made to share Pips experiences in many ways I think that the way that Charles Dickens skips in and out of reality is extremely effective more to the people he aimed his novel at than me today. People of the Victorian period would have been able to relate to many aspects of the first few pages; the feature of infant mortality and the notorious gibbet would have been very real topics to them. Charles Dickens uses very descriptive language to try and explain things to the reader as much as possible this in its self-makes the reader feel more involved and makes the text appear more real. Another way Charles Dickens helped me share Pips experiences was through imagery I thought that painting a mental picture in my mind was very beneficial in trying to help me share Pips feeling and emotions. I particularly felt in Pips shoes when the animals were frightening him. The next time we meet Pip he describes the setting hes in as being a rimy morning and damp. I think that Pip is in his bedroom looking out on to the marshes I say this because in the same paragraph Pip says, Ive seen the damp lying outside of my window. I homed in on the word my in this statement and thats why I came to that conclusion. I can only assume that Pip is the same age he was when he had his experience in the church graveyard. The reason I say this is because Pip doesnt seem to have developed in any way, hes still seems to be the immature child he was when went to visit his mother, father, and siblings at the graveyard and doesnt seem to have changed any. Since the last time we met Pip he was told to steal some food for a convict that escaped from the hulks. Hulks were huge prison ships that were anchored around a mile out to sea the reason for this was that hardly any people were able to swim at this time let alone poor people. The food on the hulks was so bad that most men melted candle wax into there soup to try to make it more nourishing. Early prisons in this period were so crowded and dirty, thats why hulks came about I think that they were made to try to ease the heavy burden that was on the shoulders of the English prison system.

South African Apartheid: Political Defiance Campaigns Against the Gover

After the National Party won the elections of 1948 and introduced legislative measures for the promotion of apartheid, harsher political repression arose and led to increased organization among blacks. Before the 1940s, society was often overwhelmed by the numerous acts of rebellion that many blacks carried out in their daily lives; however, many black organizations refrained from visible remonstration of the National Party government. In the 1950s until the mid-1990s, the significant shift to new black political tactics that stressed open protest became a driving force in the fight against apartheid. This new defiance campaign was composed mainly of actions on a wide-scale level in which black political organizations and civic associations took a powerful role in staging protests and creating mounting unrest. The most significant were political activities; even activities that were originally non-political forms of defiance inadvertently became politicized, such as criminal behavio rs prominently displayed by youth, squatter movements, and pass-law violations. Activities of political defiance included the organization of anti-apartheid parties such as the African National Congress, Pan-Africanist Congress, and United Democratic Front, and the politicization of labor unions and civic associations; constant government efforts were unable to suppress these actions. Black South Africans' acts of resistance, whether political or seemingly non-political, eventually united them in a massive fight against racial oppression which ultimately destroyed apartheid. The National Party’s main goal when it came into power was to create programs to prevent the escalation of the â€Å"black peril† that the Smuts government failed to repress. Immediate... ... Bonner, P. L. "Family, Crime, and Political Consciousness." Journal of South African Studies 14.3 (1988): 393-420. Print. Bonner, Phillip L. "The Politics of Black Squatter Movements on the Rand, 1944-1952." Radical History Review 46.7 (1990): 89-115. Print. Lembede, A. M. "Some Basic Principles of African Nationalism." Inyaniso Document 51 (1945): 314-18. Print. Marks, Shula, and Stanley Trapido. "South Africa Since 1976: A Historical Perspective." South Africa: No Turning Back (1988): 1-45. Print. "Sharpeville Massacre -- The 21 March 1960 Sharpeville Massacre -- Build-up to the Massacre." African History -- Explore the History of Africa. Web. 07 April 2015. . South Africa: Overcoming Apartheid. Web. 07 April 2015. .

The Evil of Colonialism and Imperialism in Heart of Darkness by Joseph

Exploring the Evil of Colonialism in Heart of Darkness   Ã‚  Ã‚   A masterpiece of twentieth-century writing, Heart of Darkness exposes the tenuous fabric that holds "civilization" together and the brutal horror at the center of European colonialism. Joseph Conrad's novella, Heart of Darkness, describes a life-altering journey that the protagonist, Marlow, experiences in the African Congo.   The story explores the historical period of colonialism in Africa to exemplify Marlow's struggles. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is most often read as an attack upon colonialism.   Marlow, like other Europeans of his time, is brought up to believe certain things about colonialism, but his views change as he experiences the effects of colonialism first hand. This essay will look at Marlow's negative view of colonialism, which is shaped through his experiences and from his relation to Kurtz.   Marlow's understanding of Kurtz's experiences show him the effects colonialism can have on a man's soul.  Ã‚   Most of Marlow's comments about colonization in general seem to defend or even praise the idea. He says "the conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than us is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much," but he says that such action is redeemed by the idea behind it. "Not a sentimental pretence but an idea, and an unselfish belief in the idea- something you can set up and bow down before, and offer a sacrifice to" justifies colonization. The idea is civilization, and Marlow's speech indicates that civilizing the rest of the world is worth the sacrifice of the freedom of the uncivilized peoples of the earth. Marlow further describes colonization in gl... ... to a man's soul.   Marlow's journey was not only into the heart of Africa, but also into the heart of Kurtz where he realizes the truth of colonialism and the potential evil it entails.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited and Consulted: Conrad, Joseph.   Heart of Darkness 3rd Ed.   Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York:   Norton Critical, 1988. Edward W. Said, The World, the Text, and the Critic. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1983) 13.   Hillman, James. "Notes on White Supremacy: Essaying an Archetypal Account of Historical Events," Spring (1986): 29-57. McLynn, Frank. Hearts of Darkness: The European Exploration of Africa. New York: Carol & Gey, 1992. Meyers, Jeffrey.   Joseph Conrad.   New York:   Charles Scribner's Sons, 1991. Patrick Brantlinger, "Heart of Darkness: Anti-Imperialism, Racism, or Impressionism?" Criticism (Fall, 1985) 364.     

One Sample Hypothesis Test Essay

Earning potential and income of every person is severely different; many factors have a hand in determining the amount of money a person makes and how much his or her earning potential can increase. Some of the factors currently determining the earning potential of people around the United States are; education, marital status, age, union participation, race, age, years of experience, sex, the industry in which the individual works, and the position held by individual. This paper is going to show the correlation between marital status and income, the team has disregarded all other determinants to answer the research question clearly. The research question that the team has developed and the hypothesis was formed from goes as follows; does marital status affect earning potential? Every decade that passes, it seems as though people are waiting longer to get married. Waiting for job security, completion of college and social norms are just a few factors that influence this trend. This is a big change from 50 years ago, when most people would get married straight out of high school. The fact is being single has some advantages when deciding to start a career, it also affects ones earning potential. Being single allows more dedication to the job as well as the mobility to go wherever the job may take an individual. While being single may be good for starting a career, being married will actually increase a person’s earning potential in the long run. The mean salary for the single person is $24,864 per year. The mean income for married individuals is $33,303. This leads us to our null hypothesis (H0) that being married will not improve the earning potential of an individual. Our alternate hypothesis (H1) is that being married will help improve the earning potential of an individual. Numerically it is stated: H0: ÃŽ ¼1 ≠¤ ÃŽ ¼2 H1: ÃŽ ¼2 > ÃŽ ¼2 The five-step hypothesis test starts with stating the null and alternative  hypothesis. The null is H0: ÃŽ ¼1≠¤ÃŽ ¼2 and the alternative hypothesis is H1: ÃŽ ¼1>ÃŽ ¼2. The second step in find the decision rule. The decision rule is reject H0 if ÃŽ ¼1< ÃŽ ¼2< ÃŽ ¼1. Step 3 is to calculate the test statistics. It has come to the mean of the earning potential of those who are married and those who are unmarried. Married couples have a mean salary of $33,303.00 and unmarried individuals have a mean salary of $24,864.00. Step 4 is to compare the test statistics to the critical value. The test results in married couples have a greater income than the salaries of unmarried people. Step 5 is to state the results. In result, married couples have greater earning potential than that of their unmarried counterparts. Therefore, in this case the team has to reject their null hypothesis because they have discovered a greater earning potential for married couples over unmarried individuals. The team’s results provided support to the null hypothesis that a married individual has a higher earning potential than that of a single individual. As previously stated a single individual on average makes $25, 000 while married individuals make on average $34,000 a year. Our research also indicates more working individuals are married over single. Our sample only included 33 single and 67 married individuals. Our study also found non-married men have wages that range from $11,000 to only $27,000 while non-married females wages range from $15,000 to $83,000. Married men have wages that range from $28,000 to $84,000, married women however only have wages that range from $11,000 to $50,000. This shows independent women with one sole income on average make more than men. However, after marriage, the men tend to become the higher wage earner. Education does not appear to play a significant role it ranges from four to 18 years. A married man with 18 years of education can made up to $84,000 while a single man also with 18 years of education only made $27,000. That is in contrast with a single woman with 17 years of education who make $83,000 a year and a married woman with 17 years of education who made $34,000. The maximum wage for a married woman was $50,000 and this was with 12 years of education. We analyzed many different aspects of earning potential and the majority proves a married individual will make more than that of a single individual. With all of the numerical data analyzed, the research question answered, and the hypothesis being correct, the team has been able to state confidently that marital status drastically affects  earning potential. On average, those who are married make nearly $8,500 more than those who are unmarried. Several other factors determine the income potential differences, but without further analyses of data not provided in the data set, the team would just be throwing around assumptions on the matter. References David P. Doane, L. E. (2007). Applied Statistics in Business and Economics. New York: McGraw- Hill.

How to Pronounce Vowels in Italian

How to Pronounce Vowels in Italian Italian pronunciation might pose some difficulties for the beginner. Yet it is very regular, and once the rules are understood, it is easy to pronounce each word correctly. Italian vowels (le vocali) are short, clear-cut, and are never drawn out. The glide, with which English vowels frequently end, should be avoided. Finally, it should be noted that the vowels a, i, and u, are always pronounced the same way. E and o, on the other hand, have an open and a closed sound that may vary from. How to Pronounce Vowels A- sounds like a in fatherE- has two sounds: short vowel like e in pen; long vowel, similar to ai in fairI- sounds like ea in tea or i in marineO- has two sounds: like o in cozy or similar to o in costU- sounds like u in rude Tips: Italian vowels are always articulated in a sharp, clear fashion, regardless of stress. They are never slurred or pronounced weakly.Vowels (a,e,i,o,u) always retain their value in diphthongs.Italian is a phonetic language, which means that it is spoken the way it is written. Italian and English share the Latin alphabet, but the sounds represented by the letters often differ considerably in the two languages.    Examples of Vowels a is like a in the English word ah! Here are some examples in Italian with an English translation. casa  houseantipasto  appetizerama  lovesbanana  bananasala  hallPapa  Popefama  famepasta  pasta; dough; pastry e is sometimes like e in the English word they (without the final i glide). Here are some examples in Italian with an English translation. e  andbeve  drinksme  mefede  faithvede  seesmele  applessete  thirstpepe  pepper e is sometimes like e in the word met. This is the open e. Here are some examples in Italian with an English translation. à ¨Ã‚  islento  slowbene  wellfesta  party; holidaysedia  chairpresto  soonvento  windtà ¨Ã‚  tea i is like i in machine. Here are some examples in Italian with an English translation. libri  booksbimbi  childrenvini  winesviolini  violinstini  vatspini  pines o is sometimes like o in the English word oh!. Here are some examples in Italian with an English translation. o  ordono  giftnome  namesolo  aloneposto  placetondo  roundvolo  flightmondo  world o is sometimes like o in or. This is the open o. Here are some examples in Italian with an English translation. moda  fashiontoga  togano  nooro  goldposta  mailbrodo  brothcosa  thingtrono  thronerosa  roseolio  oil u is like u in rule. Here are some examples in Italian with an English translation. luna  moonfungo  mushroomuno  onelungo  longfuga  fuguemulo  muleuso  usetubo  tube

police report of munich putsch essays

police report of munich putsch essays 8th November 1923, Otto von Lossow (commander of the Reichswehr) and State Commissioner Gustav von Kahr were addressing a meeting of 2,000 right-wing supporters in the Munich beer-hall. A man named Adolf Hitler, a pro-active right-wing leader, burst into the hall with armed storm troopers and declared a national revolution. Hitler, gun in hand, forces the State Commissioner and the Army Commander, Lossow, into a side room of the beer-hall. Hitler coheres both Lossow and Kahr to state their support for a march on Berlin to impose a new government, with General Ludendorff as the new Commander-in-Chief. During these talks thousands of storm troopers were terrorising other members of the Bavarian government and causing complete chaos, but the storm troopers failure to gain control of the army barracks and because of the procrastination of the revolutionaries control and order were restored. 9th November 1923, President Ebert declares a national state of emergency. General Seeckt orders Lossow to crush the revolt. Lossow and Kahr soon announce a proclomation denouncing the putsch. Adolf Hitler was said to be very upset by the announcement of Lossow and Kahrs proclamation and becomes very anxious about carrying on with the revolt. General Ludendorff persuades Hitler to carry on and at noon 2,000-armed Nazi storm troopers march into a military base in Munich. Our armed police units and the Bavarian army meet them at the military base. The first shots were fired by the Nazi troops. 14 Nazi troops were killed in the revolt, General Ludendorff marched up to the police units and was arrested, and Hitler fled the scene and was found and arrested on the 11th November. As a result of the Putsch General Seeckt bans the Nazi party. The aims of the Putsch was to essentially take over Germany and replace the existing government with a new provisional government consisting of people such as ...

How To 10x Your Content Ideas With Sujan Patel From Web Profits

How To 10x Your Content Ideas With Sujan Patel From Web Profits Have you struggled to come up with content ideas about your niche that are significantly better than what’s already out there? Also called 10x content, this type of content is important for appealing to both search engines and the readers who are going to end up buying from you. Today’s guest, Sujan Patel, is the co-founder and GM of Web Profits, a growth marketing agency. He’s been quoted in Forbes, Inc, and Entrepreneur, among other publications, and today Sujan is going to talk to us about generating 10x content ideas that will help you succeed as a marketer. Some of the topics that you’ll hear about today include: What Web Profits is all about, what Sujan does, and other projects that he’s working on. How Sujan stays focused on 10x growth as evaluates content ideas, from brainstorming to the narrowing-down process, and how publishing fits into the 10x growth plan. Why it’s so important to publish lots of quality content, consistently. Sujan’s process for generating great ideas for content: How he comes up with ideas and how he makes sure it will be effective in terms of SEO. Some of Sujan’s favorite brainstorming methods and tips. Sujan’s best advice for a marketer struggling to come up with 10x ideas. Powered by PodcastMotor Actionable Content Marketing powered by By 00:00/00:00 1x 100 > Download file Subscribe on iTunes Leave Review Share Links: SujanPatel.com Web Profits Growth Mapping Podcast Quora ContentMarketer.io MailShakes Email Outreach Playbook Sujans Customer Delight Playbook If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Sujan: Quotes by Sujan: â€Å"Staying focused means saying no to a lot of things.† â€Å"One piece of content can be used multiple different ways when you apply different formats.† â€Å"If you’re writing things that are on par with what others are writing, go back and double that part. Go deeper.† â€Å"The best way to build a personal brand is to leverage blogging.†

Business of weightloss Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business of weightloss - Assignment Example There are certain principles that anchor the success of South Beach Diet as outlined in the sections below. The principle used is based on Glycaemic Index where carbohydrates are broken down into sugar after consumption and absorbed to the bloodstream resulting in high blood sugar causing the release of insulin to reduce it (Agatston, 18). In the first, phase South Beach Diet proposes a carbohydrate free diet that results in energy for the body and fat storage. Owing to the lack of carbohydrates, the body will retrieve stored fats and burn them to produce energy to ensure energy balance in the body is maintained leading to about 3.5 to 5.5 kg loss of weight. To ensure energy balance is maintained in the body, gradual introduction of low glycemic foods and high fiber carbohydrates are reintroduced in the diet in phase two raising insulin levels at a slower rate than starchy carbohydrates. These food aids in supplementing the required energy for the body despite being on a weight loss program. After achieving the desired weight through phases 1 and 2 of the South Beach Diet, maintain the lifestyle principles of phase 1 and 2 is recommended however all the foods are eaten in moderation to avoid intake of more calories than is needed in the body. The diet encourages intake of fruits and vegetables as well as fiber and whole grains to ensure healthy diet and maintenance of weight. At this stage, the diet recommends 3 servings o starch, 3 pieces o fruit, and at most 2 tablespoons of good fat to ensure that the weight remains at the desired level. Healthy living is the other aim of South Beach Diet and this is achieved through drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water a day, supplementing the body with minerals and vitamins with a recommendation of 500 mg of calcium for anyone below 50 years, and 1000 mg for women aged above 50 years. Avoiding caffeinated drinks and alcohol is the other measure of maintaining a healthy body as

Role of MIS department Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Role of MIS department - Essay Example The identification of issues that may lead to poor technology management may be the first step in making this improvement possible. Talking to the employees in the department about the use of technology management can improve the attitude they have about the system. Attitude among the staff may be one of the reasons that enable people to do as they wish. Finding out what it is that encourages them to work better with such a system is crucial in improving the system (Megantz, 2002). Privacy issues are also the main cause of poor technology management. Personal information being the key component in running the technology system, employees may be reluctant to give out this information. This is because of fear that people may steal their identities. An example is the login requirement that is present in every system, in a company. This may be the reason as to why it is difficult for them to use the technology system to attain their goals (Megantz, 2002). There might be some strategies that may be used to improve technology management. One of these strategies would be to state the goal of the system. Stating it to the employees in the department is a strategy that enables them to create a target for themselves (Dorf, 1999). In this scenario, every department it is responsible for a set target by the company, and that it must be realised. Another manner in which technology management can be improved is through the creation of a modest learning cycle. This learning cycle helps improve the manner in which employees decide to use the technology system. If they are set in a manner that will deal with the issues that arise from the use of such methods, then it is possible the system can be improved (Dorf, 1999). This may lead to an improvement in the company’s dealings. Using a timeframe strategy for producing results is usually the

The ways of resolving conflicts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The ways of resolving conflicts - Assignment Example This research will begin with the statement that if one were in Lee Lattoni’s place, one will deal directly with the conflict by talking with B.J. O’Malley first before making any decision. Since B.J. seems to be the leader of the male group in the cost accounting department, the objective is to convince him to accept the decision so that eventually, he can convince the others in the department. One will tell him about the plan to hire Regina Simpson and the reason why one believes that it will be for the best interest of the department to hire her. One will point out to him that it will make the department more efficient and if that happens, everyone in the department will benefit because management will see its improved performance. One will request him to just be open to the idea and not judge Regina prematurely. One will also talk with Regina to inform her in advance about how she might be treated in the department and the culture that pervades there. She will, howe ver, be assured that she will have one’s 100 percent support. For B.J. O’Malley is the difference in the values, beliefs, and personalities. Whereas Lee and Regina value a college education, B.J. and the rest of the males in the department find it irrelevant. The insecurities of the males in the department are reasons why they do not want Regina to join them. Their male egos are threatened by Regina’s presence, especially her educational background.

Risk of Disease due to Heredity and Lifestyle Term Paper Essay

Risk of Disease due to Heredity and Lifestyle Term Paper - Essay Example That while both grew up under almost similar conditions, eating more or less similar foods, and with both developing affinity for basketball at early ages, the latters’ injury that left him with a broken leg during his second year in college would latter change his fortunes forever. Though Johnson remained focused on his studies, the loss of his basketball career was but a painful experience that pushed him into a partying spree that included heavy drinking, with beer alongside buffalo chicken wings and pizza finding way much into his daily diet. Despite the unforeseen circumstance that befell his brother, Lida never lost hope, spending hours conditioning his weight both in the gym and through sports in order to scale up the heights that they both started together. Unknown to Lida was the very fact that Johnson has gone extreme, eating convenience foods, heavy in protein, in effect avoiding the strenuous, time consuming fresh food preparation that are usually much healthier. At his graduation, Johnson weighed over 400 pounds, increasing even further after securing a job in one of the reputed auditing firms in the country. He, Jonson, would soon be diagnosed with hypertension, type 2 diabetes and mild kidney disease, all of which can be traced within the family lineage. More than anything else, he has more than worsened obesity statistics that the state is fighting so hard to reduce. It is more of a fact that obesity is a threat to a healthy lifestyle. The above diseases are more related to poor eating habits and inadequate physical exercises to help in the burning of excess fats within the body systems, and that more than ever, I am determined to pursue nutritional information as much possible, ensure the availability of nutrient-rich snacks, model healthy eating habits, and more than anything else, make tremendous efforts in practicing such healthy

Analysis and Importance of Peter Voulkos' Work in Ceramics Research Paper

Analysis and Importance of Peter Voulkos' Work in Ceramics - Research Paper Example This discussion will also include an analysis of some of this artists’ work. Biography Peter Voulkos is a well-known ceramic artist who in the 1960s was honored as the leading ceramic artist in California. He is acknowledged for raising ceramics to a higher rank of pensiveness and articulation of a person’s ideas. Peter Voulkos was born by his Greek immigrant parents in the year 1924. He went to school in Montana State University, where he studied painting and ceramics. He also won himself a masters of fine arts degree in California College of the Arts. Production of dinnerware was the first activity he undertook in his ceramics career. He later pioneered a department of art ceramics in Otis College of Art and Design and University of California, Berkeley. In the latter university, he worked until the year 1985 from 1959. His work was influenced by abstract expressionism whereby they renovated traditional ceramics to large scale and non-traditional ceramics (Carasso 56) . Peter Voulkos began his ceramics work in his senior year in the year 1949 at Montana State College. Despite being a ceramic artist, Voulkos also used other materials in his sculptures. He used bronze, and in other cases, he painted his works. Some of the pieces of art he made using bronze casting are Missoula and Bucci. In his later years, Voulkos was initiated into the use of wood-fired to make his sculptures. His work is found in quite a number of museums all around the world such as Museum of Modern Art, found in New York, Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art, found in Japan, Victoria and Albert Museum, in London, and The National Gallery, in Melbourne, Australia among other museums. Voulkos normally did his work in the presence of an audience. This was to help the audience, which was inclusive of other artists, to understand the techniques he used in his work. His work many times comprised of a plate, ice buckets, and stacks with wood firings. Normally, this ceramic artist dest royed other smaller pieces of art then made a new one of a larger scale. Peter Voulkos passed on in the year 2002 due to a heart attack after leading a ceramics workshop at a college in Ohio, Bowling Green State University (Carasso 57). Significance of Peter Voulkos ceramic work Peter Voulkos has been of great importance to the field of ceramics. To begin with, he facilitated the movement of abstract expressionism. This as stated above entailed the transformation of traditional ceramics to non-traditional ceramics. He amongst other artists made use of this movement in their artwork. This enhanced the way in which they expressed themselves. Peter Voulkos made the transition easy by elevating the conservative ceramics above the accepted limits. This formed a platform for abstract expressionism. Through this mode of expression, he managed to be the leading sculptor in the 1960s and created an avenue for California to be a centre for moulding using clay. This show the role he played in improving the use of clay in ceramics. It also illustrates his role in the facilitation of abstract expressionism, which faced challenges then, but currently is being used by many artists. Voulkos also loved working with an audience. This is of great importance since it created a channel through which he could educate his students on how he created his pieces. It also created an avenue for other artists to learn relevant techniques that could assist them in their work. As a result of this,

Risk of Disease due to Heredity and Lifestyle Term Paper Essay

Risk of Disease due to Heredity and Lifestyle Term Paper - Essay Example That while both grew up under almost similar conditions, eating more or less similar foods, and with both developing affinity for basketball at early ages, the latters’ injury that left him with a broken leg during his second year in college would latter change his fortunes forever. Though Johnson remained focused on his studies, the loss of his basketball career was but a painful experience that pushed him into a partying spree that included heavy drinking, with beer alongside buffalo chicken wings and pizza finding way much into his daily diet. Despite the unforeseen circumstance that befell his brother, Lida never lost hope, spending hours conditioning his weight both in the gym and through sports in order to scale up the heights that they both started together. Unknown to Lida was the very fact that Johnson has gone extreme, eating convenience foods, heavy in protein, in effect avoiding the strenuous, time consuming fresh food preparation that are usually much healthier. At his graduation, Johnson weighed over 400 pounds, increasing even further after securing a job in one of the reputed auditing firms in the country. He, Jonson, would soon be diagnosed with hypertension, type 2 diabetes and mild kidney disease, all of which can be traced within the family lineage. More than anything else, he has more than worsened obesity statistics that the state is fighting so hard to reduce. It is more of a fact that obesity is a threat to a healthy lifestyle. The above diseases are more related to poor eating habits and inadequate physical exercises to help in the burning of excess fats within the body systems, and that more than ever, I am determined to pursue nutritional information as much possible, ensure the availability of nutrient-rich snacks, model healthy eating habits, and more than anything else, make tremendous efforts in practicing such healthy

The Effects of an Ineffective Safety Program Research Paper

The Effects of an Ineffective Safety Program - Research Paper Example Stranks (2010) explains that any organization should take responsibility of its actions. Whether a goods making or service industry, the operations of a business will affect the environment either positively or negatively. The negative effects are the most common due to awareness of labor laws and human rights by the employees. Safety programs cut across almost every type of business or organization be it teaching, service providing or nonprofit making organizations. Its consequences are felt due to the presence of people. A business which practice poor safety measures suffers a big blow in the long run. If the company has poor working conditions, it risks the effect of strikes, vandalism and go slows. Strikes and go slows hinders the organizations operations and profitability at the end of the day. A peaceful environment is easy and cheap to maintain as compared to the costs incurred to solve a dispute (Williams, 2014).The costs incurred to solve organizational disputes may be tremendous involving legal fees, fines and compensation which add up to the company’s cart of losses. The company’s ineffective safety precautions can also cause financial losses due to payment of damages to workers and law suits. Financial losses affect the stakeholders capital share which ruins the company’s net worth and reputation. The company can also be sued by the community if it practices unhygienic waste disposal mechanisms (Cambridge, 2010).The community can also seek an injunction from the court to terminate the existence of the company. These are some of the areas that the companies need to check to avoid sudden interruptions. Manufacturing organizations pose a significant chance of hazards to its employees as compared to service providing companies. This is due to the frequent usage of dangerous machines and equipments. Many manufacturing companies experience a lot of cases regarding partial or physical disability encountered during the line of duty. Under Labor

African-American Separatism Essay Example for Free

African-American Separatism Essay African-American novelist James Baldwin (1963) maintained that at the heart of inhumanity perpetrated by whites upon blacks is the projection of their own paranoia, hate and longing. Baldwin supposed that should white people learn how to accept themselves, â€Å"the Negro problem will no longer exist, for it will no longer be needed.† At the core of Baldwin’s hypothesis is that cruelty to the black man persists because of the white man’s dissatisfaction with its own culture (hence the occasional white man who romanticizes and aspires to black ideals). Few other eras in white American history evoke such a level of dissatisfaction as the era of The Great Depression, a period of downturn not just in economy but in morale. When white culture has descended to such low spirits, it is no surprise that black separatism emerged. Marcus Garvey advocated a form of Pan-Africanism which suggested that black people reclaim and re-colonize Africa in order to form its own black nation. Elijah Muhammad on the other hand, advocated a form of black nationalism called The Nation of Islam, which concentrated more on social infrastructure such as the development of economics and nationhood. The emergence of these doctrines are not entirely surprising: with white culture being at its most broken state, the zeitgeist which results for blacks is to advocate a repudiation of this culture. Black pride therefore takes the shape of one race formulating its own society as a means to escape this broken culture, as well as to evade the white man’s inevitable projection of latent self-hate. Separatism and nationalism is therefore of meaningful use to the black races, simply because it allows them to chart their own national, political and civic self-identity apart from that which has been foisted upon them by the white culture, as well as free them from the scrutiny or approval of the white culture. However, it also poses risks because for every weakness, shortcoming or failure that may arise from nations and cultures created by these movements is the potential for more discrimination from the white culture, which will most likely subject these to more racially-charged judgment.

Freuds concepts and their value for contemporary psychology

Freuds concepts and their value for contemporary psychology Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is well known as the founder of psychoanalysis in psychiatry and is thought of by many as a key figure in psychology. Throughout his work Freud came up with numerous concepts and theories, many of which still cause a lot of debate amongst psychologists. In this essay I will discuss some of Freuds key concepts including; development of personality, personality structures and defence mechanisms. After which I will attempt to assess their significance in modern psychology and conclude whether or not I believe Freuds concepts are of value to contemporary psychology and if we should continue to look into his work. One key concept developed by Freud is the development of personality. He came up with five distinct stages, known as the psychosexual stage, to describe how our personalities develop from birth to about 18 years of age. He places particular emphasis on the development of sexual drives and how this shapes our personalities. Furthermore, each stage has a region, known as the erogenous zone, where the libidinal energy is focused. The five stages are: Oral stage (birth one year old), in this stage Freud (1901) suggests that events around feeding are the focal point of pleasure for the infant, the erogenous zone includes the lips, mouth and tongue (Maltby, Day and Macaskill; 2007). Anal stage (1year -2 years), Freud believed that bowel movement gives the baby sensual pleasure, also at this stage the child is rewarded for bladder and bowel control (Maltby et al., 2007). The anal region becomes the new erogenous zone. Phallic stage (3 years -5 years), at this stage the child starts to mature physiologically and the libidinal energy is transferred to genital region (new erogenous zone). At this stage gratification is gained from masturbation (Maltby et al., 2007). Freud thought that girls experienced what he called penis envy as they become aware that boys have penises and the do not. In addition, boys become sexually aware of their mother and start to view their father as a sexual rival (and experience castration anxiety fear of losing their penis), this is known as the Oedipal complex. Latency stage (5 years -12 years) can be seen as a resting period of the psychosexual stage. Social interactions are most important in this stage, children develop friendships with same sexed peers, as well as, identifying with the same sexed parent (Maltby et al., 2007) resulting in socialisation of gender roles. Genital stage (12 years +) as this stage puberty begins, which reawakens the libidinal energy, resulting in a more mature sexual attachment, in normal development the main sexual objects are members of the opposite sex (Maltby et al., 2007). Freud also developed the idea of personality structures. He identifies three personality structures that develop in every person, these are the; ID (present from birth), EGO and superEGO (these two form later on in development). The ID is the primitive, pleasure seeking part of the personality, it strives for immediate gratification (i.e. I want X and I want it now!). The EGO plays an important role as the mediator and is the rational aspect of our personalities (i.e. You will find a way to get X, just be patient). Finally the superEGO is the moral, guilt driven side of the personality which then becomes our conscience (i.e. You cant have X because its wrong). And finally I will talk about defence mechanisms, a well-known concept developed by Freud. Defence mechanisms can be described as the minds way of protecting itself from unacceptable or painful thoughts, as well as, conflict from the three personality structures. Freud mentions eleven defence mechanisms: Repression, denial, projection, reaction formation, rationalisation, conversion reaction, phobic avoidance, displacement, regression, isolation and undoing. The two most known defences are: repression the idea that we push undesirable thoughts, feelings and impulses from our conscious mind into our unconscious in order to shield ourselves from pain and protect our self-esteem. In other words Freud saw repression as the Ego and superEGOs way of supressing the ID. Denial is simply when we refuse to face certain situations or realities as we do not find them acceptable. Cramer (1991) states that the boundaries between these two defence mechanisms are often hard to distinguish between (cited in Baumeister, Dale and Sommer Freudian Defence mechanisms and empirical findings in modern social psychology; 1998). The next part of the essay will aim to assess the value of some of Freuds work in contemporary psychology. The concept of personality development is solely based on how libidinal instincts shape us. Maltby, Day and Macaskill (2007), state that Freud does not meet the parsimony criteria in his explanation of the motivational basis of behaviour, Freud implies that sexual and aggressive instincts are the only motivators of human behaviour (Maltby et al., 2007). The psychosexual stages, do not fully explain human behaviour as they are highly reductionist and ignore the complexity of the human mind, as well as, being bias in only emphasising one aspect as the basis of all behaviour, therefore, it can be said that they are of little value to contemporary psychology. Freud also identified problems that may occur as a result of fixation in anyone of the five psychosexual stages. He then developed treatment, known as free association, which would allow the patients to resolve their emotional conflicts, which involved catharsis, where the patients discharged their emotions by speaking freely about anything they want, leading to resolution of these issues. This method has been widely reviewed and is still used in contemporary psychology. Greenberg (2002) concluded that emotional arousal and processing within a supportive therapeutic relationship is the core element for positive change in therapy. He emphasized the cognitive aspect of catharsis and the need to understand and make sense of emotions. (Esta Powell; 2007). Free association is replicable making it reliable and has many applications to contemporary psychology making it valid. Conversely, much of Freuds work on the psychosexual stages was largely based on his interpretations of observations of young children or self-reports of dreams and thoughts. Freud used Little Hans primarily to support his theory of the Oedipus complex (Jennifer Stuart; 2007). Critics contend that Freuds theory is lacking in empirical evidence and relies too heavily on therapeutic achievements, whereas others assert that even Freuds clinical data are flawed, inaccurate, and selective at best (Beystehner; 1998). Thus, the validity of his work is very much in question. As these concepts, such as the psychosexual stages, cannot be operationalized and tested they are not falsifiable and are of little relevance to contemporary research. Many of Freuds theories are simple in a way that they are not comprised of many concepts, for example, his theory on personality structure consists of three clearly definable structures. In this sense his work can be said to be parsimonious and has formed a basis for further research. According to Dangleish and Power (1999) the personality structure purposed by Freud has face validity as we are all aware of anxiety and conflicts in everyday life decision making (as cited in Maltby, Day and Macaskill, Personality, Individual Differences and Intelligence; 2007: 34). Face validity implies that there is support for his theory on personality structures, and so this theory can be operationalized and tested to see how personalities coexist within us and data from these tests can have practical applications. Furthermore, Freuds work on defence mechanisms was widely accepted and leads to follow up research, such as that by Brewin and Andrews. After reviewing this area of psychology, Brewin and Andrews (1998) concluded that 20% to 60% of therapy patients who had been victims of sexual abuse in their childhood reported not being able to recall being abused for large periods of time in their lives (cited in Maltby et al., Personality, Individual Differences and Intelligence; 2007: 36,37). This shows us that the mind does use methods, such as repression, to protect itself from indecent memories. This shows falsifiability as it is replicable and has practical applications in life which can be used and developed in contemporary psychology. Freuds work is very controversial and has provoked enormous debate, much of which has led to the development of novel ideas in psychology. Not only has his work been expanded upon and developed (e.g. to better treatment of mental patients) but many breakthroughs have been made in trying to disprove his theories. Although many of Freuds theories are subjective and based on his interpretation of dreams and thoughts which cannot be empirically tested, he has made many valuable contributions to psychology. These include the use of defence mechanisms and the idea of personality structures, both of which have supporting evidence from contemporary psychologists, e.g. Brewin and Andrews (1998) work supports the concept of defence mechanisms. As well as this he created clinical practice of psychoanalysis for treating psychopathology, developed therapeutic techniques such as the use of free association and concluded dreams are the primary insight into the unconscious mind. All of these have ha d practical applications and have formed the foundation of contemporary psychology. Thus, I believe that it is potent that Freuds theories and concepts continue to be revised. Referencing: Maltby, J., Day, L Macaskill, A. (2007). Personality, Individual Differences and Intelligence (2nd Ed.). London: Prentice Hall Baumeister, R.F., Dale, K. Sommer, K. L. (1998). Freudian Defence mechanisms and empirical findings in modern social psychology: Reaction Formal, Projection, Displacement, Undoing, Isolation, Sublimation and Denial. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Stuart, J. (2007). Little Hans and Freuds Self-Analysis: A Biographical View of Clinical Theory in the Making, 55, (3), 799-819. Beystehner, K. M. (1998). Psychoanalysis: Freuds revolutionary approach to human personality. Retrieved October 22, 2010, from Personality Papers Web site: http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/beystehner.html Powell, E. (2007). Catharsis in Psychology and Beyond: A Historical overview. Visited on October 25, 2010, Web site: http://www.primalmatters.com/images/Catharsis%20.pdf

Eye For An Eye Or Turn The Other Cheek? :: essays research papers fc

It is a time of mourning for the United States. They are now being compared with the countries they, themselves, condemn. The death penalty is cruel and unusual because it breaks sacred amendments and commandments. The death penalty should no longer be an option. According to many people, "we have progressed since the barbaric stone-age," (Alexander 1) yet our Judicial system does not seem to show it. Murdering someone is a barbaric act, whether it is by an individual, society, or our government. Everyone has heard the saying, "two wrongs don't make a right," what would one call the death penalty? The death penalty must be eliminated because it kills innocents and destroys our fundamental human rights: "the right to life" (Reddall 1), it is racially biased, it is based on revenge not as a deterrent and it does not deter crime, it is more expensive, and it goes directly against The Bible. Whether someone wants to believe it or not, innocent people have been sent to death row. "From 1900 to 1985, 350 people imposed with the death penalty were innocent, and 23 of those people were actually put to death" (Cruel 2). Supporters of the death penalty seem to show no remorse for these deaths. One supporter said, "In the medical profession almost 100,000 people are wrongly killed every year by errors, and we fix them and move on" (McLaughlin 2). These barbaric acts should not come as a shock, though. "The United States is one of only five countries in the world that execute minors. The U.S. joins Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen" (Cruel 1). It seems ironic that all four other countries the U.S. condemns for human's rights violations. "Abma criticized the U.S. for using a 'double standard' in human rights cases. He said a large gap exists 'between what the U.S. is saying to others and what the U.S. is doing to its own citizens.' He cite d cases of police brutality and poor prison conditions, aside the obvious death penalty, as examples" (Yashiro 1). â€Å"I have full sympathy for the families of murder and other crimes, but I refuse to accept that one death justifies another† (Reddall 1). Capitol punishment is an act from ages ago and should no longer be used. Although, the argument already seems logical there is still more that can be argued. â€Å"Contrary to popular belief, capitol punishment is 4 to 6 times more expensive than life imprisonment† (McLaughlin 2).

Wedding Speech Delivered by the Groom -- Wedding Toasts Roasts Speeche

Wedding Speech Delivered by the Groom Well , what can I say, Thankyou for those kind words Alan and I hope $20 was enough. I recently read somewhere that a survey had been conducted of things that people fear most, and top of the list above things like spiders and heights, was the fear of standing up and making a speech in public. I'm no different, suffice to say that this isn't the first time today I've risen from a warm seat with a piece of paper in my hand. MANY PEOPLE Many people thought this day would never come. That I'd be standing here making the speech of a Newly Married man, myself included. Many people have also told me how lucky I am to be marrying Jo, including Jo in fact. But I would like everybody here, especially my new bride, to know how lucky and proud I am to be standing here speaking to you as her husband. WIFE & I And so, for the very first time, I'd like to say, 'On behalf of my Wife and I' I would like to thank you all for coming today and sharing Our special day. I know this is meant to be our day, but of course it wouldn't be as special a day if it wasn't for our family and friends being here with us, and I'm sure you'll all agree that we found the ideal setting for this memorable occasion. We would also like to thank you all for your cards, kind thoughts and wonderful gifts. TRADITION Tradition dictates that I now tell you an amusing stor... ...would like to thank our little Bridesmaids, Charlotte and Lucy for doing such a great job today. I'm sure you'll all agree they look beautiful, especially in their bridesmaids dresses, which once again Daphne was kind enough to make. Gift Now, ladies and gentlemen please be upstanding and raise your glasses in a toast to Charlotte and Lucy 'The Bridesmaids' Finish Before I sit down I'd like to finish by reading a quotation I came across a couple of days ago, that I found very apt. "Happy marriages begin when we marry the one we love, And they blossom when we love the one we married" With that thought in mind, I look forward to a wonderful married life together. Thankyou!!!

Ford Motor Company Case Study

————————————————- ————————————————- Ford Motor Company Case Report ————————————————- Executive Summary Ford Motor Company has a long history, starting in Michigan in 1903. They have focused on designing and manufacturing and have been very successful, however with increasing competition, global markets and over-capacity the company needs to look at ways to improve profitability. The company has implemented various programs and processes to create a lean, responsive system with better consumer forecasting.Their challenge is to continue to research ways to stay viable in current market and industry conditions. Dell Computers has been very successful with a direct model and virtual integration that may or not work well for Ford. CONTENTS * ISSUE3 * ANALYSIS4 * ALTERNATIVES6 * RECOMMENDATIONS 7 * IMPLEMENTATION 8 * CONCLUSION8 * REFERENCES9 * ISSUE: The Ford Motor Company is facing a number of challenges including the direction of CEO Jac Nasser to focus on customer responsiveness and shareholder value to deal with increasing competitiveness, an industry with potential over-capacity and the expansion into globalized markets.Ford had begun to implement systems to reduce cycle-time, improve quality and to lower costs. Programs included consolidating product development into five Vehicle Centres (VCs), reeingineered processes such as Order to Delivery (OTD), Fort Production System (FPS) and Business to Business (B2B) capacity. Additionally, information flow was examined to overcome geographical constraints, thus becoming a critical component of Ford’s global approach. During the past decade the company has implemented many programs and processes becoming the most improved automaker with steady upward trending sales and record profit sharing.The supply chain initially had a base of many competitive suppliers until the 1990’s when they began to move toward fewer, long term supplier relationships. Ford fostered relationships with tier one suppliers who would interface with tier two and other suppliers. With Ford’s support, the suppliers tried a variety of strategies including Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory, Total Quality Management (TQM) and Statistical Process Control (SPC). A limitation emerged in the variance of IT expertise and capability among the supply chain members.To reach the goal of reduced cycle time, creating a lean and flexible process, Ford is researching Dell Computer’s successful direct model to see if this virtual integration system would work for them. The direct model reduces the time and costs of third party distribution through direct interfacing with as few partners as p ossible as a way to improve production and customer responsiveness. The challenge is to determine if this system will work for Ford Motor Company. * ANALYSIS: The CEO’s directive is complicated by various factors.While Dell’s direct model works for Dell, it may or may not be effective with Ford. The company has been through a decade of change and adjustments to various processes and directions and while the option is available, a decision is not urgent as Ford is in a fairly good position. Dell’s direct model involves a customer focus, small numbers of supplier partnerships, customization, a just-in-time inventory and manufacturing. In order to do this, Dell ties in technology to communicate and coordinate these goals and strategies. They use what they call vertical integration.This means that they work very closely with customers and suppliers including actually having staff on site working directly with customers and partners, sharing information and knowledge to enable flexibility and effectiveness reducing cycle times. Dell establishes partnerships or collaborations with their customers and suppliers which is much like controlled outsourcing. Michael Dell of Dell computers argues that outsourcing is traditionally a way to â€Å"get rid of a problem†. His direct model, in contrast, is partnering with companies who are treated as though they are internal staff.This model improves the level of information sharing and motivation to succeed as a team. Technology means that the information sharing can be easily and effectively done in a win-win type of arrangement. The challenge is to maintain these relationships and focus on the task at hand. Providing suppliers with real-time information and up to date demand enables the supplier to act accordingly to meet Dell’s requirements. Removing multiple layers and working closely with customers and suppliers removes the possibility of misinformation, reaction time and ability to not o nly react, but to make more accurate forecasts.Dell has been able to streamline their customer response times by helping the customer ‘decide’ what they need. They make it easier for the customer to make the decisions and are ultimately preparing for it while the conversation is happening. Dell acts as a consultant and trainer getting direct feedback and key information for planning, research and development. They include key people from a wide range of responsibilities in regular meetings to ensure communication, ideas and overall commitment from the entire supply chain. Virtual integration goes even further to merge the traditional roles and boundaries of the supply chain.Dell argues that the direct model and virtual integration is beneficial to the customer from distribution to manufacturing and design. This model works for Dell, but whether it would work for Ford is the question. Ford has already reduced it’s supply chain base by dealing with Tier one supplie rs to use Just-In-Time inventory processes and other strategies to improve commitment and capability. They implemented the Ford Production System (FPS), focusing on key parts of the manufacturing process to improve efficiency. The Synchronous Material Flow (SMF) was developed to ensure a continuous flow of materials.This was done by using lean manufacturing concepts, careful scheduling and sequenced assembly. Their Order to Delivery (OTD) process was also developed to streamline the cycle time, reducing the order to delivery from 65 days to as little as 15 days. In order to do this they used forecasting, keeping 15 days of vehicles in the assembly plant’s order bank, using regional mixing centers for deliveries and a responsive order amendment process. Last but not least they worked on something called the Ford Retail Network (FRN) to test best practices and to create an alternate distribution channel.The idea was to consolidate Ford’s efforts to compete against the co mpetition of other auto makers rather than compete against each other. Because Dell and Ford are such different companies it is difficult to know if vertical integration would work. Dell is a smaller company whose current success is due to customer focus, pull demand, speed of response and virtual integration. In contrast, Ford is a much larger company with a complex and long-standing system of supply chain leadership where purchasing was historically heavily involved in the various activities of the company.A move to virtual integration requires that roles shift and responsibilities change to allow greater collaboration and information sharing. ALTERNATIVES: Differences between the companies include dealer networks, product and process complexity, age and size of the company, technical expertise and control over systems. Ford has a great amount of control, difficulty forecasting customer needs, higher product complexity, a strong dealer network and unionized labour. Dell is relativ ely new, there is high technical expertise, the product is not as complex, forecasting can be fairly accurate and their supplier relationships are good.Ford enjoys a significant amount of control over their supply chain, manufacturing, assembly and distribution, while Dell may not be able to exercise control depending on the relationships built and arrangements made. At this time, Ford does not really need to make a decision to change their business model, but there is a push for greater globalization, efficiency and flexibility. They can move toward virtual integration, stay the same, or adopt some kind of balance of the direct model with their current model.Because of their size and established supply chain, a move toward vertical integration and a direct model would mean fairly drastic changes and giving up controls that have been carefully developed over the past decade. That said, staying the same would not be advisable, as the market is increasingly competitive on the local an d global stage. Ford will be required to look at further adaptations to their operations in order to stay competitive. RECOMMENDATION: It would be advisable for Ford to examine vertical integration in at least some areas of their operations.Because this requires high levels of technology, they can work with Tier one suppliers to develop collaborations and more extensive information sharing. Doing nothing is not usually a feasible option in successful business and full integration would be very difficult to accomplish and my not have the results that Dell has due to the various differences in the companies and their products. IMPLEMENTATION: Ford can use focus groups and regular meetings to move toward a direct model in at least some areas of the business.The dealer network may be used as an advantage to forecasting if they work more closely with the development teams, manufacturing and assembly plants. The customer focus groups can begin to develop relationships that help to develop what customers want and might have as potions can be insightful and will improve forecasting. Purchasing, engineering, marketing and other groups can get involved in these focus groups, which may also encourage dialogue and collaboration toward cohesive end results. * CONCLUSION:Ford has implemented many strategies successfully and has been forward thinking in their consideration of various models and options. Becoming faster may or may not work to their advantage as buying a car is a decision that is weighed carefully and is a bigger investment than choosing a computer or laptop. The speed at which the company supplies a vehicle once ordered is important, but I suggest, not as important as the customer getting the options, financing and service that they expect with this type of purchase.That said, customers expect greater customization and choice than ever before. Whether Ford takes on this model or chooses to research another model is a step in the right direction. Supply chain management is a large part of how well the company can respond to customer needs and ultimately create profit and ongoing competitive advantage. * REFERENCES: Austin, Robert D. , Ford Motor Company: Supply Chain Strategy, 9-699-198, Harvard Business School Publishing, 1999. Magretta, Joan (2001) â€Å"The Power of Virtual Integration: An Interview with Michael Dell,† Harvard Business Review Ford Motor Company Case Study ————————————————- ————————————————- Ford Motor Company Case Report ————————————————- Executive Summary Ford Motor Company has a long history, starting in Michigan in 1903. They have focused on designing and manufacturing and have been very successful, however with increasing competition, global markets and over-capacity the company needs to look at ways to improve profitability. The company has implemented various programs and processes to create a lean, responsive system with better consumer forecasting.Their challenge is to continue to research ways to stay viable in current market and industry conditions. Dell Computers has been very successful with a direct model and virtual integration that may or not work well for Ford. CONTENTS * ISSUE3 * ANALYSIS4 * ALTERNATIVES6 * RECOMMENDATIONS 7 * IMPLEMENTATION 8 * CONCLUSION8 * REFERENCES9 * ISSUE: The Ford Motor Company is facing a number of challenges including the direction of CEO Jac Nasser to focus on customer responsiveness and shareholder value to deal with increasing competitiveness, an industry with potential over-capacity and the expansion into globalized markets.Ford had begun to implement systems to reduce cycle-time, improve quality and to lower costs. Programs included consolidating product development into five Vehicle Centres (VCs), reeingineered processes such as Order to Delivery (OTD), Fort Production System (FPS) and Business to Business (B2B) capacity. Additionally, information flow was examined to overcome geographical constraints, thus becoming a critical component of Ford’s global approach. During the past decade the company has implemented many programs and processes becoming the most improved automaker with steady upward trending sales and record profit sharing.The supply chain initially had a base of many competitive suppliers until the 1990’s when they began to move toward fewer, long term supplier relationships. Ford fostered relationships with tier one suppliers who would interface with tier two and other suppliers. With Ford’s support, the suppliers tried a variety of strategies including Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory, Total Quality Management (TQM) and Statistical Process Control (SPC). A limitation emerged in the variance of IT expertise and capability among the supply chain members.To reach the goal of reduced cycle time, creating a lean and flexible process, Ford is researching Dell Computer’s successful direct model to see if this virtual integration system would work for them. The direct model reduces the time and costs of third party distribution through direct interfacing with as few partners as p ossible as a way to improve production and customer responsiveness. The challenge is to determine if this system will work for Ford Motor Company. * ANALYSIS: The CEO’s directive is complicated by various factors.While Dell’s direct model works for Dell, it may or may not be effective with Ford. The company has been through a decade of change and adjustments to various processes and directions and while the option is available, a decision is not urgent as Ford is in a fairly good position. Dell’s direct model involves a customer focus, small numbers of supplier partnerships, customization, a just-in-time inventory and manufacturing. In order to do this, Dell ties in technology to communicate and coordinate these goals and strategies. They use what they call vertical integration.This means that they work very closely with customers and suppliers including actually having staff on site working directly with customers and partners, sharing information and knowledge to enable flexibility and effectiveness reducing cycle times. Dell establishes partnerships or collaborations with their customers and suppliers which is much like controlled outsourcing. Michael Dell of Dell computers argues that outsourcing is traditionally a way to â€Å"get rid of a problem†. His direct model, in contrast, is partnering with companies who are treated as though they are internal staff.This model improves the level of information sharing and motivation to succeed as a team. Technology means that the information sharing can be easily and effectively done in a win-win type of arrangement. The challenge is to maintain these relationships and focus on the task at hand. Providing suppliers with real-time information and up to date demand enables the supplier to act accordingly to meet Dell’s requirements. Removing multiple layers and working closely with customers and suppliers removes the possibility of misinformation, reaction time and ability to not o nly react, but to make more accurate forecasts.Dell has been able to streamline their customer response times by helping the customer ‘decide’ what they need. They make it easier for the customer to make the decisions and are ultimately preparing for it while the conversation is happening. Dell acts as a consultant and trainer getting direct feedback and key information for planning, research and development. They include key people from a wide range of responsibilities in regular meetings to ensure communication, ideas and overall commitment from the entire supply chain. Virtual integration goes even further to merge the traditional roles and boundaries of the supply chain.Dell argues that the direct model and virtual integration is beneficial to the customer from distribution to manufacturing and design. This model works for Dell, but whether it would work for Ford is the question. Ford has already reduced it’s supply chain base by dealing with Tier one supplie rs to use Just-In-Time inventory processes and other strategies to improve commitment and capability. They implemented the Ford Production System (FPS), focusing on key parts of the manufacturing process to improve efficiency. The Synchronous Material Flow (SMF) was developed to ensure a continuous flow of materials.This was done by using lean manufacturing concepts, careful scheduling and sequenced assembly. Their Order to Delivery (OTD) process was also developed to streamline the cycle time, reducing the order to delivery from 65 days to as little as 15 days. In order to do this they used forecasting, keeping 15 days of vehicles in the assembly plant’s order bank, using regional mixing centers for deliveries and a responsive order amendment process. Last but not least they worked on something called the Ford Retail Network (FRN) to test best practices and to create an alternate distribution channel.The idea was to consolidate Ford’s efforts to compete against the co mpetition of other auto makers rather than compete against each other. Because Dell and Ford are such different companies it is difficult to know if vertical integration would work. Dell is a smaller company whose current success is due to customer focus, pull demand, speed of response and virtual integration. In contrast, Ford is a much larger company with a complex and long-standing system of supply chain leadership where purchasing was historically heavily involved in the various activities of the company.A move to virtual integration requires that roles shift and responsibilities change to allow greater collaboration and information sharing. ALTERNATIVES: Differences between the companies include dealer networks, product and process complexity, age and size of the company, technical expertise and control over systems. Ford has a great amount of control, difficulty forecasting customer needs, higher product complexity, a strong dealer network and unionized labour. Dell is relativ ely new, there is high technical expertise, the product is not as complex, forecasting can be fairly accurate and their supplier relationships are good.Ford enjoys a significant amount of control over their supply chain, manufacturing, assembly and distribution, while Dell may not be able to exercise control depending on the relationships built and arrangements made. At this time, Ford does not really need to make a decision to change their business model, but there is a push for greater globalization, efficiency and flexibility. They can move toward virtual integration, stay the same, or adopt some kind of balance of the direct model with their current model.Because of their size and established supply chain, a move toward vertical integration and a direct model would mean fairly drastic changes and giving up controls that have been carefully developed over the past decade. That said, staying the same would not be advisable, as the market is increasingly competitive on the local an d global stage. Ford will be required to look at further adaptations to their operations in order to stay competitive. RECOMMENDATION: It would be advisable for Ford to examine vertical integration in at least some areas of their operations.Because this requires high levels of technology, they can work with Tier one suppliers to develop collaborations and more extensive information sharing. Doing nothing is not usually a feasible option in successful business and full integration would be very difficult to accomplish and my not have the results that Dell has due to the various differences in the companies and their products. IMPLEMENTATION: Ford can use focus groups and regular meetings to move toward a direct model in at least some areas of the business.The dealer network may be used as an advantage to forecasting if they work more closely with the development teams, manufacturing and assembly plants. The customer focus groups can begin to develop relationships that help to develop what customers want and might have as potions can be insightful and will improve forecasting. Purchasing, engineering, marketing and other groups can get involved in these focus groups, which may also encourage dialogue and collaboration toward cohesive end results. * CONCLUSION:Ford has implemented many strategies successfully and has been forward thinking in their consideration of various models and options. Becoming faster may or may not work to their advantage as buying a car is a decision that is weighed carefully and is a bigger investment than choosing a computer or laptop. The speed at which the company supplies a vehicle once ordered is important, but I suggest, not as important as the customer getting the options, financing and service that they expect with this type of purchase.That said, customers expect greater customization and choice than ever before. Whether Ford takes on this model or chooses to research another model is a step in the right direction. Supply chain management is a large part of how well the company can respond to customer needs and ultimately create profit and ongoing competitive advantage. * REFERENCES: Austin, Robert D. , Ford Motor Company: Supply Chain Strategy, 9-699-198, Harvard Business School Publishing, 1999. Magretta, Joan (2001) â€Å"The Power of Virtual Integration: An Interview with Michael Dell,† Harvard Business Review

Oil and Global Warming in Saudi Arabia Essay

Oil has been identified as a very important resource; it provides a lot of significant benefits to mankind. It is used for numerous purposes such as transportation, heating, electricity production, and industrial applications. It has a high energy density which makes it an efficient fuel source plus the fact that it is fairly easy to transport and store. Its versatility is of great importance, and this is proven by being by most valuable commodity in world trade (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003,). According to Doyle, it is estimated that two billion dollars switch hands in petroleum transactions, making it the world’s first trillion dollar industry (cited in O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). Oil is very profitable for corporations as well as for governments since oil taxes generate a lot of income. Oil is important for the national economic viability of Saudi Arabia as it accounts for more than 80 percent of total national exports. Other countries that are dependent on the oil business are Libya, Kuwait, Iran, and Venezuela (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). Environmental Effects of Oil Oil transport, refining, exploration, drilling, and extraction have had negative effects on the environment, but much attention has recently been focused on the negative environmental impacts of the use of oil. It is widely believed that burning fossil fuels contribute to global warming since carbon dioxide, an abundant greenhouse gas, is produced as oil is burned. Findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicate that around three quarters of total carbon dioxide emissions come from fossil fuel use (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). To be able to fully understand the how oil use affects global warming, it is necessary to get a clear understanding of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon. Imagine a greenhouse and that is just how the greenhouse effect works. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and ozone trap heat thereby slowing its escape from the atmosphere. The dramatic increase in the release of greenhouse gases has brought about an abnormal increase in the average world temperature already estimated at around 1 percent at the turn of the century. However, without the greenhouse effect, the Earth would be too cold to sustain the currently thriving ecosystems (West, 2008b). Due to the fact that oil is a widely used resource and that oil produces significant amounts of carbon dioxide as it â€Å"generates roughly 30 percent more carbon dioxide from every unit of energy produced,† it can be inferred that dependence on oil has extensively contributed to global warming (Barry & Frankland, 2001, p. 362). Importance of Oil to Saudi Arabia In all parts of the world, oil is considered as an important resource especially in modern life. â€Å"Any measures to reduce oil consumption were hampered by powerful opposition of certain governments and inter-governmental organizations† (Barry & Frankland, 2001, p. 362). Oil is particularly of great importance especially to members of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) since it constitutes a great part of the income of member countries. Saudi Arabia is a member of the OPEC including Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Saudi Arabia may be considered as the most important oil producer since it produces large amounts of oil as it accounts for 13 percent of the world’s total oil output. It makes up 35 percent of the OPEC’s total oil production in 1991. Saudi Arabia has also been identified as the â€Å"swing producer† of oil since it has the capacity to affect the level of supply and demand as well as affect international oil prices. Oil is important to Saudi Arabian economy as figures in 1991 pointed out that oil accounted for 73 percent of the country’s revenues. 90 percent of total oil exports in 1991 come from Saudi Aramco (Country Studies). However, data from Beyond Petroleum Statistical Review of World Energy shows that despite the knowledge of the implication of oil in global warming, the consumption still increased—the 3163. 5 million tonnes consumed in 1992 jumped to 3462. 4 in 1999 (Beyond Petroleum, 2008). Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change Despite the great number of proponents pointing to global warming as a real environmental threat, Idso and Idso (2008) indicate that it is â€Å"highly unlikely† that increases in carbon dioxide emissions will lead to global warming. They cited numerous arguments that would disestablish the link between the global warming and greenhouse gas emissions. They primarily indicated that there is a â€Å"weak short-term correlation† between carbon dioxide and temperature increase. Thus, the emissions may not be the likely cause of any warming that is being experienced or will be experienced. Even as both temperature and carbon dioxide emissions have increased, this does not necessarily mean that the two are interrelated. To identify a clear causal relationship, the presumed cause must precede the presumed effect. Several cycles of increase and decrease must also be present in order to make a concrete judgment that the two factors indeed affect each other. They also indicated that â€Å"a strong negative climatic feedback† will prevent any catastrophic warming from manifesting. These play a major role in the planet’s climate system but are totally ignored by scientists lobbying for the existence of global warming. They cited numerous other factors that would disprove the existence of global warming. II. Saudi Arabia The Oil Industry The Saudi Arabia landscape is characterized by the presence of several multi-million dollars worth of infrastructure created to support the oil production capability of the country. These infrastructures are costly investments made by different companies. The effort to contain the emission of carbon dioxide from oil manufacturing and processing sources has different impacts, particularly in economics. Another â€Å"important issue concerns taxes and duties on oil products consumed in oil-importing countries as well as environmental taxes and duties on emissions of carbon dioxide, aimed at curbing oil demand and potentially harming oil exporters’ revenues† (Noreng, 2006, p. 16). Oil production felt a decline. In 2002, daily oil production in Saudi Arabia was 8,928 thousand barrels, and this steadily climbed to 11,114 thousand barrels in 2005. However, this dropped to 10,853 and 10,413 thousand barrels in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Last year, Saudi Arabia’s total oil output dropped by 440,000 barrels per day and is the largest decline in the world last year. In addition, the whole of the Middle East produced 25,176 thousand barrels daily in 2007. The Middle East is also the world’s largest oil producer and holds the highest share in the world’s remaining oil reserves at 21. 3 percent with 264. 2 thousand million barrels. In measuring oil consumption, Saudi Arabia does not consume as much with 2,154 thousand barrels daily. The United States is the largest oil consumer with a consumption rate 20,698 thousand barrels per day (Beyond Petroleum [BP], 2008). Saudi Aramco and the Environment Saudi Aramco or Arabian-American Oil Company, which is based in Saudi Arabia, is the world largest oil company. It produces the most quantity of oil and also leads the count with its oil reserves. It has 102 oil and gas fields within its grasp as of the middle part of 2007. Its oil reserves amount to 259. 9 billion barrels and it produces 8. 9 million barrels per day. Its oil exports for the year 2006 amount to 2,541,692,569 barrels (Country Studies, 2008). Saudi Aramco has unveiled that it would help fight global warming through cutting carbon dioxide emission in the oil and gas business. Experts indicated that persuading Saudi Aramco to fight against global warming is a big step forward since it is the world’s largest oil producer. Saudi Aramco president and Chief Executive Officer Abdallah Jum’ah told a panel from 163 nations in a meeting in Germany about expanding the Kyoto Protocol that â€Å"the petroleum industry should actively engage in policy debate on climate change as well as play an active role in developing and implementing carbon management technologies† (Hammond, 2006, n. p. ). He clearly indicated that national oil players such as Saudi Aramco can make great contributions in forwarding anti-climate change efforts. During the meeting, Robert Socolow from Princeton University also indicated that 40 percent of the increase in carbon dioxide emissions comes from the oil industry. He also indicated that the oil industry is the major cause of global warming. Aramco officials also stated that research and development effort have already leaned towards removing or reducing carbon dioxide omissions coming from oil (Hammond, 2006). Saudi Aramco has expressed that it cares for the environment such that it has an Environment Protection Department that provides leadership on environmental issues and its operations are always environmentally responsible. Saudi Aramco considers the environment as a basic responsibility and a company commitment. The company has developed a variety of operational requirement that give consideration to environmental impacts such as â€Å"sanitary codes, project environmental assessments, air and water quality standards, occupational health regulations, hazardous material communication guidelines, waste management procedures, and vital oil spill contingency plans† (Saudi Aramco, 2008). The Environmental Impacts of Oil Oil has always been an environmental issue. From searching for oil, refining it and until its usage, it is always regarded as an environmental threat. Oil exploration and drilling are the first phases in the oil life cycle. It is also referred to as the â€Å"upstream phase† (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003, p. 593). Drilling and extracting oil affect the natural ecosystems, human health, as well as local cultures. It does not matter if the drilling is on-shore or off-shore; the effects are just the same. The physical modifications in the environment caused by oil exploration, drilling, and extraction are so devastating that they could be more harmful than a large oil spill. The more devastating effects of these are â€Å"deforestation, ecosystem destruction, chemical contamination of land and water, long-term harm to animal populations (particularly to migratory birds and marine mammals), human health, safety risks for neighboring communities and oil industry workers, and displacement of indigenous communities† (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003, p. 593-594). Oil exploration requires heavy equipment, and moving these equipment results in deforestation and erosion. Mobile rigs used for temporary drillings can reach weights of over two million pounds. On the other hand, drillings make use of large amounts of water and also contaminate it in the process. It is released afterwards which leads to the contamination of land. Exploration and extraction have also been known to produce large volumes of drilling wastes and associated wastes. In addition, oil processes make use of a waste pit where chemicals and other wastes from the oil process are being dumped. Exposure of these oil pits is a threat to aquifers as well as to animals and birds. They can mistake the pits for water holes, therefore engorging themselves in chemical waste. Exploration, drilling, and extraction also lead to a variety of health risks for humans. These risks may arise from radioactive materials that have surfaced from drilling as well as the bioaccumulation of oil, mercury, and other hazardous elements in animals that are consumed by humans (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). Oil Spill Threat In order for oil to be delivered to different parts of the world, oil transport is necessary, and the main mode of oil transport is through oil tankers. However, moving oil using pipelines is becoming vastly popular. Oil currently accounts for half of all sea cargo and oil pipelines now spread more compared to railroads. Oil transport has also led to an environmental threat known as oil spills. Large oil spills receive much attention particularly because of media coverage; however, small cumulative spills go undocumented and measuring the amount of oil spillage from these proves to be significant. Accidents have been known to occur at all segments of transport as well as at each point of transfer. Also, since the 1960s, at least one large-scale oil spill has been documented every year (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). Ocean transport of crude oil and petroleum products accounted for 3,000 gallons spilled per billion ton-miles in 1983 and nearly 8,000 gallons per billion ton-miles in 1984. Pipeline spills contributed less than 100 gallons per billion ton-miles for both years. (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003, p. 599) Oil spills have also been known to occur during extractions. A 2002 estimate by the National Academy of Sciences indicated that 38,000 tons of petroleum hydrocarbons from oil and gas operations were released into the world’s oceans (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003, p. 595). Saudi Aramco Oil Spill Contingency Plan Saudi Aramco has always been responsible in handling oil spills such that it has developed a contingency plan against to help counter oil spills. Saudi Aramco’s first focus on handling oil spills is being self-sufficient. It â€Å"built specialized oil spill recovery and containment vessels, and purchased equipment and materials to combat spills† (Zaindin, 1996, p. 2). In 1989, it even designated a committee to review and assess the anti-oil spill capabilities of the company. The task force made recommendations which were called the Global Oil Spill Contingency Plan which (1) â€Å"establish[ed] an oil spill policy for [the company’s] worldwide operations,† (2) â€Å"direct[ed] Saudi Aramco and its affiliates to join major cooperatives and assign[ed] regional responsibility for oil spills† and (3) â€Å"require[d] the development, implementation, and maintenance of regional and owned tanker oil spill plans† (Zaindin, 1996, p. 2-3). Saudi Aramco has also established an Oil Spill Committee in 1990 and this committee instituted a policy for the prevention and cleanup of oil spills resulting from the company’s operations. The Global Oil Spill Coordination Group was created to put into action and coordinate company activities that address the oil spills. If an oil spill takes place, a Regional Oil Spill Coordinator cleans the oil spill with the aid of an Oil Spill Response Team. The director takes care of the spill and is responsible for safe and efficient control, cleanup operations, disposal, restoration, as well as documentation processes. The response team is always ready as they receive special regular trainings (Zaindin, 1996, p. 3-4). Equipment that could effectively handle small to medium-sized oil spills have been stationed at the vicinity of the Red Sea and in case of any large oil spills, additional resources will be brought to immediately address the threat. Saudi Aramco has also inked ties with organizations that provide cooperative assistance in case of oil spill, namely, the Oil Spill Response (OSR) Ltd. based in England, Clean Caribbean Cooperative (CCC), Marine Preservation Association (MPA), Marine Industry Repsonse Group (MIRG), and the Gulf Area Oil Companies Mutual Aid Organization (GAOCMAO) (Zaindin, 1996, p. 4). III. Involvement Saudi Arabia and Japan Saudi Arabia has been involved in a lot of international treaties. One of these treaties was signed with Japan when both countries, among other things, acknowledged the importance of the stability of the world oil market as well as the importance of adopting security measures against global warming (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2007). Both sides reaffirmed the importance of the stability of the world oil market. The Japanese side expressed its appreciation and understanding for the Saudi Arabia’s balanced oil policy, which is a secure and reliable source for providing oil supplies to the international markets in general, and to the Japanese market in particular†¦while stressing the significance to further promote bilateral cooperation in energy, based upon mutually complementary relationship between Saudi Arabia, with its largest hydrocarbon resource in the world, and Japan, with its advanced energy-related technologies. The Saudi side expressed its intention to continue to assure stable oil supply to Japan, and the Japanese side expressed its appreciation for this (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2007). Both sides [also] decided that the international community should adopt appropriate measures against a possible global warming, based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities as stated in the international agreements on climate change. In this regard, the Japanese side expressed its willingness to develop its cooperation in both levels of government and private sectors to promote the clean development mechanism (CDM) that contributes to combating the possible global warming as well as achieving sustainable developments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Both sides reaffirmed the importance of the roles of the private sectors in both countries for promoting CDM projects (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2007). Saudi Arabia should use the power of the law, as well as submit to the rule of international law, in order for efforts versus global warming to be successful. â€Å"Law plays an important role in environmental protection at both the international and the national levels† (Chopra, Leemans, & Kumar, 2005, p. 41). However, a drawback to this concept is the fact that Saudi Arabia itself shows signs of not being fully amenable to the stipulations of several international agreements and international laws on global warming. â€Å"Some OPEC countries (e. g. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) also opposed the FCCC (Framework Convention on Climate Change) for fear of its potential impact on the price of crude oil† (Alexander & Fairbridge, 1999, p. 637). The Clean Air Act and Addressing Global Warming The Clean Air Act is a law that has been passed by some countries in a hope to control air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Numerous developed countries such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have adopted such laws and even some third world countries have done so. Saudi Arabia has yet to adopt such a law. In the United States, the Clean Air Act is a federal law which means that its coverage spans the whole country and it has been an effective tool in regulating greenhouse gas emissions. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) plays a crucial role in regulating processes regarding the law such as setting limits on certain air pollutants. The Clean Air Act which resulted in reduced air pollution has improved human health as well as the status of the environment. Since 1970, the six common air pollutants have been reduced to 50 percent while air toxics from large industries including oil refineries have been reduced by 70 percent. Additionally, new cars are 90 percent cleaner and are expected to be a lot cleaner in the future. Ozone depleting chemicals such as CFC’s have also ceased production. This all happened while the economy prospered and energy and vehicle use increased (EPA, 2008). The same benefits could possibly be reaped if Saudi Arabia would adopt the same policies. The 2007 Climate Change Performance Index indicated that Saudi Arabia is at the bottom of the list when it comes to addressing global warming followed by the United States, China and Malaysia. Sweden, Britain and Denmark were identified as the countries that have been doing the most to prevent further global warming. Nevertheless, the report indicated that what Sweden, Britain and Denmark are doing are not enough to prevent further climate change. IV. Organizations Different organizations and alliances take part in addressing global warming, like the Kyoto Protocol and the WTO. While Saudi Arabia is an active international player, it is not always in agreement with the rest of the group. Referring to the act of non compliance to the Protocol’s instituted policies, Grosse (2005) stated that â€Å"Saudi Arabia has been among the non-Annex I countries that have been particular to the Protocol† (p. 155). â€Å"The issue of subsidies favoring the coal, nuclear renewables sector has been raised by Saudi Arabia in the WTO’s Committee on Trade and Environment,† according to Yamin and Depledge (2004, p. 256), in reaction to the WTO policies. The Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol is one doctrine that binds nations that have ratified it to help fight against global warming by reducing their emissions of six greenhouse gases, namely, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, HFC’s and PFC’s. It was instituted in Kyoto, Japan on December 1997 and was opened for ratification on March 16 of the succeeding year. The main goal of the Kyoto Protocol is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 5. 2 percent below the 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels from 2008 to 2012. Countries that have bound themselves to the protocol must adopt certain policies and strategies in order to meet the specified emission targets. However, the protocol has been subject to a lot of debate because it exempts developing countries, such as China and India as well as Saudi Arabia, from having emissions cuts. The United States refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol because of the exemption of the developing countries. US President George W. Bush also stated that they will not sign the protocol because it does not bind developing countries and that it would be harmful to the US economy (West, 2008a). Late in 2004, the government of Saudi Arabia has approved of the Kyoto Protocol, but being a developing country, Saudi Arabia is not bound to adopt any cuts on greenhouse emissions although it is expected that the Saudi Arabian government will suffer huge financial losses as the developed countries approve the protocol. According to Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, the government will have accumulated losses amounting to $19 billion by 2010 because of the policies that the developed nations will adopt in order to reduce their emissions to meet the specified targets (Planet Ark, 2004). Carbon Capture and Storage Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is one approach that scientists are looking at which could probably help mitigate global warming. It has been regarded that CCS will reduce the costs associated with mitigating climate change as well as provide flexibility in attaining greenhouse gas reduction goals. CCS makes use of new technology. It collects and concentrates the carbon dioxide produced in industrial and energy related sources and transports it to a storage location where it will be kept away from the atmosphere. This would allow the use of fossil fuels such as oil with a minimum level of greenhouse emissions (Metz, Davidson, de Coninck, Loos, & Meyer, 2005). Geological storage is one form of CCS. It is done by injecting carbon dioxide in dense form into rock formations underground. Porous rock formations have great potential in storing carbon dioxide. Such rock formations may include those that previously hold oil and natural gas. This kind of carbon storage is already being used in three industrial sites, namely, the Sleipnir Project in the North Sea, the Weyburn Project in Canada and the In Salah Project based in Nigeria. Moreover, 30 megatons of carbon dioxide per year is injected for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). This is mostly in Texas and the United States. This system of carbon capture and storage makes use of almost the same technology used for the exploration and production of gas (Metz, et al. , 2005). Geological storage may however be associated with some risks. Leakage from stored carbon dioxide may provide certain risks which are classified as either global risks or local risks. Global risk is identified as the release of carbon dioxide which will have significant effects on global warming. On the other hand, carbon dioxide leakage may also expose humans, ecosystems and groundwater to certain risks. These are the local risks (Metz, et al. , 2005). Annex 1 shows an overview of geological storage. Annex 1: Overview of Geological Storage Another type of carbon storage is ocean storage. It is done by injecting captured carbon dioxide at depths of greater than 1,000 m. under the ocean. This would isolate the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for centuries. Consequently, the stored carbon dioxide will become part of the global carbon cycle. However, just like geological storage, ocean storage also has certain risks such that it can cause a great deal of harm. Studies have indicated that animals have been found with reduced rates of calcification, reproduction, growth, circulatory oxygen supply and mobility, and even an increased mortality rate. Annex 2 shows detailed information on Ocean Storage (Metz, et al. , 2005). Annex 2: Overview of Ocean Storage Mineral carbonation and industrial use is yet another form of carbon capture and storage. Mineral carbonation makes use of converting carbon dioxide into solid inorganic carbonates through some form of chemical reaction. Mineral carbonation is actually a natural earthly process called â€Å"weathering† but human intervention needs to hasten this process since it is too slow to become a viable carbon storage system. Industrial use involves using carbon dioxide â€Å"directly or as a feedstock for production of various carbon-containing chemicals† (IPCC, __, p. 39). Industrial use makes use of chemical and biological processes wherein carbon dioxide is utilized as a reactant. The industrial use of carbon dioxide can help keep carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by instead diverting it into a â€Å"carbon chemical pool†, but this measure will only be of great benefit to preventing climate change if there is a significant amount of carbon dioxide taken away from the atmosphere. Refer to Annex 3 for more detailed information (Metz, et al. , 2005). Annex 3: Mineral Carbonation and Industrial Use Saudi Arabia and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have expressed support with the development of this technology. Norway also demonstrated great interest with Carbon Capture and Storage technology. Norwegian Oil and Energy Minister Aaslaug Haga has requested the support of the Saudi Arabian government in the development of CCS to which Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi responded eagerly. Dagens Naeringsliv quoted al Naimi saying that â€Å"both Saudi Arabia and Norway are concerned about the environment and want to reduce emissions with all possible means. CO2 capture and storage is an excellent way to reduce emissions† (Acher, 2008, n. p. ). These countries want carbon capture technology included in the Clean Development Mechanism so that industrialized countries can cooperate to help advance this technology (Acher, 2008). According to the European Technology Platform on Zero Emission Fossil Fuel Power Plants, it is the lack of funding which impales research on carbon capture which then limits its potential (Kanter, 2008). The King of Saudi Arabia announced that the Saudi Arabian government will shell out 300 million USD for research on climate change, and this includes Carbon Capture and Storage technology. Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates also made an assurance that each of them will be giving $150 million each tom support the Saudi Arabian endeavor (OPEC, 2007). Saudi Arabia shelling out that huge an amount of money for climate change research would indicate that the kingdom is now giving attention to climate change. The World Trade Organization Saudi Arabia is now also a part of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has recently signed a bilateral trade agreement with the United States. The trade agreement came at a good time since Saudi Arabian imports have experienced a decline. The WTO has become a sign of respect and acceptance for Saudi Arabia particularly because it is the only GCC country and the largest oil producer (Zahid, 2005). Saudi Arabia initially did not join GATT, the WTO’s predecessor global trade agreement because oil, its sole export at the time, was not part of GATT (still not part of WTO). Later, as the Kingdom developed its downstream oil and petrochemical capacity, joining WTO became a key imperative in order to protect its exports from inordinate tariffs by mature, high-cost producer countries. (Zahid, 2005) For new aspirants at the WTO, rules may be harsh such that they will need to sign bilateral agreements with any member country that requests it, and the terms will have to be extended to other member countries. Afterwards, a multilateral agreement should be inked with all member countries before being admitted into the WTO (Zahid, 2005). According to Zahid, the WTO had some negative impacts on Saudi Arabia but the WTO may be likened to a medicine. â€Å"It is painful to swallow but it eventually makes you better† (Zahid, 2005, n. p. ). In the short term, the WTO will hurt Saudi Arabia, but in the long run, the Saudi Arabian economy will prosper because of the WTO such that there will be increased transparency, protection of copyrights, rule of law, and foreign investment. Saudi Arabia’s exports will also have access to WTO member countries (Zahid, 2005). The full impact of WTO will be a long and unfolding story for the country. We still need to know the details of the final agreement. WTO has given other countries long implementation periods and many exceptions. Also, we have to see what the final Saudi offer is in terms of tariffs, sectors, binding rates, etc. With this report, we start a series on what the WTO means for Saudi Arabia. (Zahid, 2005) On one point of view, it is regarded that the WTO can enforce better greenhouse gas reductions compared to the Kyoto Protocol. Peter Franklin of the Guardian proposes the: Negotiat[ion of] a successor to Kyoto and then let the WTO enforce it. Nations that failed to meet their carbon targets would have a proportionate tariff slapped on their imports. Such a system could even be used to deal with countries that refused to sign up to the new agreement. The WTO would unilaterally impose a target on each non-signatory nation, with their excess carbon emissions and consequent penalties being assessed in absentia. The export-led economies of China, India and other key Kyoto absentees would be particularly susceptible to such pressure (Franklin, 2006). The Kyoto Protocol has no fangs and this could be filled in by the WTO as those who do not approve of reducing greenhouse targets will have to suffer some consequences from the WTO. This could however be treated as a disrespect to a country’s sovereignty. In the long run, since the WTO would attract more foreign investment, foreign investments will also be encouraged in developing alternative, renewable energy solutions in Saudi Arabia. Consequently, CCS can thrive from a commercial point of view as the awareness of climate change would trigger interest in forwarding this technology for economic gains. The WTO system encourages a good government, which in turn will help in framing policies for increased participation in anti-climate change efforts. V. Problems and Solutions The planet’s worsening climate condition is partly the doing of the industrial cities in Saudi Arabia, from where carbon dioxide emissions from oil manufacturing and processing come from. The investment of Saudi Arabia in finding solutions for the problems posed by global warming is research and resources. Countries like Saudi Arabia allocate funds for studies. It focuses its studies on oil-related aspects of global warming management. It is important for countries to sponsor studies so that they can get first hand information about global warming and its implications. â€Å"Nations should foster the continued development of these epistemic communities not only to stimulate new avenues of research, but also to help create greater opportunities for consensus building and coordinated action† (Lee, 1995, p. 14). In reducing carbon dioxide emissions coming from oil, there are a variety of methods that could be adopted. One is eliminating subsidies to prevent increase in consumption levels. Simply saving up on energy use can help alleviate greenhouse emissions. Resorting to renewable energy sources provides great potential in dealing with this environmental threat since these renewable energy sources produce no amount of emissions whatsoever. For countries like Saud