Corporate Social Responsibility Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Corporate Social Responsibility - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that for a long time the key areas of corporate social responsibility haves been the well-being of the company’s employees and the protection of the environment. The civil society and the surrounding community focus on corporate social responsibility. The idea behind corporate social responsibility is that companies should not operate in isolation and detached from the broader society in their economic processes. This implies that such views as profitability, competition and survival that traditionally drove business missions are slowly losing ground to corporate social responsibility. New drivers have come because of CSR. It is necessary to explore some of these drivers and analyze how they affect business enterprises. This paper declares that the government’s diminishing role in businesses is one great driver. In many jurisdictions, citizens rely on their governments to provide the relevant regulations and legislations for the delivery of environmental and social objectives among the business communities. However, over the foregoing decades, most countries have witnessed the shrinking of their administration resources and distrust of the regulations set aside. Consequently, companies have resorted to carry out their own exploration non-regulatory and voluntary initiatives for restoring their confidence to the communities of operation. Customers have increasingly developed an interest for accountability and responsibility assumption by business enterprises. ... Customers have increasingly developed an interest for accountability and responsibility assumption by business enterprises. It is evident that the companies’ ethical conduct plays a big role in influencing the customer’s purchasing decisions. It is evident that more than 20 per cent of a company’s clients will likely to reward or punish them based on their perception on the company’s social performances. Besides, there has been an increasing pressure from investors. Lately, many investors assess the performance of companies on matters of ethical concerns before making their decisions on whether to work with the company. According to a report by the Social Investment Forum, there were assets worth more than $2 trillion that were invested in business portfolios that had social and environmental responsibility screens in the year 1999. Besides, more than 25 per cent of American customers considered ethical considerations of a company before purchasing or sell ing stocks with them. This was a survey by the Environics International. The labor market is also very competitive. Nowadays, most qualified and competent employees have increasing focusing on extra benefits beyond their paychecks. In the end, they seek out employers with operating practices and philosophies that coincide with their own doctrines. For a business enterprise to employ and retain these kinds of skilled and competent employees, they are left with no option other than improving their working conditions in terms of corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility is also for the improvement of relations between supplies and business enterprises. This is because stakeholders are increasing

Technology and Social Skills Essay Example for Free

Technology and Social Skills Essay Not long ago people took the time to get to know a person whom he or she had just met. In years past, for a person to claim he or she had a relationship they would invest time in building that relationship. Years ago when people spent time together they paid attention to those they were with, they socialized and interacted with other human beings in a real life environment. The technology today has provided many ways to interact with others via cell phones; computers and PDA’s, just to name a few. With all this technology, it seems as though the true social interaction between people has started to disappear. This technology allows people to interact more but has it made us less sociable? The interaction is taking place in separate rooms, states and even countries, but not together. Is this true interaction? Social interaction is vital to our physical and mental health and it has been proven that maintaining healthy relationships help us to live longer. It is becoming more common for people to socialize via simulated means, internet, texting, and chat rooms to name a few, and ultimately replacing a part of human behavior that is vital for society to function. A second grade teacher of 20 years is shocked when her students do not know what to do when the time comes for recess. AIM, a feature from AOL, encourages the butchering of the English language with abbreviations such as LOL, (lots of laughs), and IDK, (I don’t know). The incentive for going out to make friends has disappeared because of the idea of hundreds of friends on Facebook and MySpace (Knapp, 2008). The dating world has also been completely turned upside-down. Just a couple decades ago chivalrous romance was the way to go about finding a date. Today one would send a friend request on facebook and the prospective date would look at the online profile to see if he or she would be interested. I must admit that I have fallen victim to these new ways of dating and technology but not to the end of chivalry and romance. In due time these ancient ways will be gone as well. Cell phone texting and social networking Web sites such as Facebook help keep today’s teens connected to their peers at all times. A recent national survey of 800 teens and nine focus groups in four United States cities revealed that half of the teens surveyed send 50 or more text messages a day, or 1,500 texts a month. One in three sends more than 100 texts a day, or more than 3,000 texts a month (Gore, 2011). The book â€Å"Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community,† by Robert D. Putnam states that over the past 30 years, nationally, community involvement has declined. In his book Putnam debates that the baby boomers and their children have contributed to this decline. Reasons blamed for this decline has been the growing availability of the Internet and electronic entertainment and gadgets such as IPods, portable computers, and smart phones (Putnam, 2000). Dr. Philip Aspden and Dr. James E. Katz conducted a study that covered several aspects of the internet; the influence on societal infrastructures, and the role the internet had in creating new modes of interaction and communication. Aspden and Katz were unable to find any support to prove that internet activity contributed to any decline in community involvement. In fact, some of the internet users that were interviewed stated they were more involved in social activities than the non-users surveyed. Also found was that 70 percent of internet users had four or more online friendships with 60 percent of this group having met at least one internet friend in person (Blair, 2001). A three year study by sociologist Barry Wellman and Keith Hampton of a social interaction in â€Å"Netville,† a community in Toronto Canada that was one of the first neighborhoods in the world to have broadband internet technology. According to Hampton and Wellman (1999) â€Å"Relationships are rarely maintained through computer-mediated communication alone, but are sustained through a combination of on-and off-line interactions. Despite the ability of the Internet to serve as a global communication technology, much online activity is between people, who live (or work) near each other, In Netville, the local network brought neighbors together to socialize, helped them to arrange in-person gatherings-both as couples and as larger groups (barbecues, etc. facilitated the provision of aid, and enabled the easy exchange of information. The high rate of online activity led to increased local awareness, and high rates of in-person activity. † People today can live in Florida, work in Texas, go to school in Arizona and never leave their house. They can buy a car in their pajamas, attend a meeting halfway around the world and do all their shopping on the Internet. Basically one can do just about anything necessary over the Internet and never see or touch a human being. At times this will be an ideal situation but society is becoming isolated and self absorbed even lonely. Indeed, the fact that people in the United States today claim to be lonelier than prior generations, suggests that although technology has increased interactions it has not created true connections between people. For children raised on the illusion of connection through technology, the danger is that of never understanding how to develop true relationships and to grow up not understanding that without social connections societies easily fall victim to self-interest and fade away. Reference http://www.strosechronicle.com/2.13878/new-technology-replaces-social-interaction-1

Business Plan for Progressive Consulting Essays -- Marketing Technolog

Business Plan for Progressive Consulting What follows is a complete business plan for a hypothetical company. Please copy or save to your disk and use as an example in developing your own business plan. If you would like to read a series of articles jump to Web Marketing . For additional business aids click on The Practical Tools of Consulting 1. 0 Executive Summary Progressive Consulting will be formed as a consulting company specializing in marketing of high technology products in international markets. Its founders are former marketers of consulting services, personal computers, and market research, all in international markets. They are founding Progressive Consulting to formalize the consulting services they offer. 1. 2 Mission Progressive Consulting offers high-tech manufacturers a reliable, high quality alternative to inhouse resources for business development, market development, and channel development on an international scale. A true alternative to in house resources offers a very high level of practical experience, know how, contacts, and confidentiality. Clients must know that working with Progrssive Consulting is a more professional, less risky way to develop new areas even than working completely in house with their own people. Progressive Consulting must also be able to maintain financial balance, charging a high value for its services, and delivering an even higher value to its clients. Initial focus will be development in the European and Latin American markets, or for European clients in the United States market. 1. 3 Keys to Success †¢Excellence in fulfilling the promise completely confidential, reliable, trustworthy expertise and information. †¢Developing visibility to generate new business leads. †¢Leveraging from a single pool of expertise into multiple revenue generation opportunities: retainer consulting, project consulting, market research, and market research published reports. 2. 0 Company Summary Progressive Consulting is a new company providing high-level expertise in international high-tech business development, channel development, distribution strategies, and marketing of high tech products. It will focus initially on providing two kinds of international triangles: †¢Providing United States clients with development for European and Latin American markets. †¢Providing E... ...7% 85.81% 84.90% Net profit margin 4.57% 11.25% 14.92% Return on Assets 12.38% 20.64% 25.49% Return on Equity 50.05% 61.73% 51.37% Activity Ratios: AR Turnover 6.30 7.77 6.66 Collection days 29 45 45 Inventory Turnover 0.00 0.00 0.00 Accts payable turnover 7.67 7.06 7.35 Total asset turnover 2.71 1.83 1.71 Debt Ratios: 1995 1996 1997 ____________ ________________________________________________________ Debt to net Worth 3.04 1.99 1.02 Short-term Debt to Liab. 0.70 0.82 0.83 Liquidity Ratios: Current Ratio 1.91 1.83 2.39 Quick Ratio 1.91 1.83 2.39 Net Working Capital $104,050 $191,250 $340,450 Interest Coverage 4.15 5.90 9.38 Additional Ratios: 1995 1996 1997 ____________ _________________________________________________________ Asset

Lord of the Flies Essay

The title of this book, Lord of The Flies, refers to Beelzebub, a figure that is often linked with the devil. The book also has several references to Jesus Christ of the new testament, which shows us the religious integrity of the book. This essay refers to a specific character in that book, Simon, a boy who is lost on an island with a group of other boys. Simon has just been killed by the other boys. The other boys have embraced their inner savage, and have disregarded their previous civilized lives. Simon however, is the only one who has not. In the last four paragraphs of â€Å"Chapter Nine: A View to a Death†, of Lord of the Flies, Golding makes clear the use of light imagery to suggest the apotheosis of Simon. The changing environment around Simon suggests his apotheosis. The sky shows us that Simon is being deified. When Simon is killed, â€Å"the rain cease[s]† (153) and the sky becomes scattered with â€Å"incredible lamps of stars† (153). This text suggests that Simon’s death has gone noticed, from which the setting turns from a dark rainy night, into a clear, starlighted evening, as if Simon has been summoned by fellow deities. Golding describes nearby holy organisms using light imagery. The passage states that the shoreline â€Å"was full of strange, moonbeam-bodied creatures with fiery eyes† (154). The creatures that are present in the scene are bright and full of light, which indicate the holiness of the scene, as only a deity could attract such mysterious and bright creatures. The shoreline itself is also used to describe imagery. The shoreline Simon’s body was on â€Å"became a streak of phosphorescence† (153). The word phosphorescence is another indicator of light, which shows the imagery of the scene. It is suggestes that this is spontaneous phosphorescence, which means it suddenly luminated the dark scene upon Simon’s death. Golding uses several factors of the environment to create light imagery, which suggest the divine change that Simon’s body is going through. The imagery used to describe the transformation of Simon’s body suggests a divine change. Golding describes how Simon’s body becomes outlined. On the beach, â€Å"the line of [Simon’s] cheek silvered† (154). The reference of silver, which is referenced multiple times in this passage, shows that Simon is being encrusted in a outline that is abnormal to mortals. As in, he may be dead, but his body is being immortalized like a god. Imagery is used to describe the creatures that surround Simon and their actions. These creatures â€Å"with their fiery eyes†¦ busied themselves round his head† (154). The creatures are rounding Simon’s head, which creates a halo, an angelic symbol. The halo is often drawn on angels, which are prophets of deities. Simon’s body becomes permanently preserved as a deity. After the creatures surround him, â€Å"the turn of [Simon’s] shoulder became sculptured marble. Marble is a stone that is usually used to create statues of gods and goddesses, which is the bright stone that Golding states Simon’s body transforms into. Golding uses deity-like qualities to describe Simon’s dead body with light imagery. Simon’s environment, as well as his dead body, has been proven to show clear symbolism between him immortal deities. Golding uses light imagery to accomplish this. Simon was executed for no logical reason in this book. It is important to note that the savagery of primitive society slowly, but steadily, got the best of these boys, with the exception of the one boy, who brought reason but was rejected.

To Kill a Mockingbird Review

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is regarded as one of the great pieces of literature of its time. It is universally respected because the author uses the common experience of growing up, through the eyes of his narrator Scout, to speak about intense topics such as racism, injustice, and prejudice in the Southern United States in the 1930’s. Atticus Finch states during the story, â€Å"you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view†¦ until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. Harper Lee helps us understand the issues that matter to him in To Kill a Mockingbird using the universal experience of growing up through the eyes and skin of a child, the main character and narrator, Scout Finch. In the beginning, Scout has a great deal of respect for her father, Atticus. Although, she has a tremendous amount of respect for him, her attitude toward him is self-centered and childish. She feels that he is an old man and canâ €™t do very much. After the trial of Tom Robinson however, Scout sees her father put himself in a very dangerous position, risking his life to fight for what he believes is right by defending an innocent black man in the racist south. Her father teaches her, â€Å"In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life. † Through this experience, Scout gains more respect for her father and realizes the sometimes harsh realities of the world she is living in, that life isn’t all childish games. She sees that her father is a hardworking man with good morals, who does the right thing even if it’s hard and dangerous. In this way, we witness her point of view growing up. It is obvious in the first couple of chapters that Scout has very little patience for everyone and can lose her temper in an instant. For this reason, when people (mainly children) make her mad even just a little, that she gets in plenty of fights with them and ends up getting in trouble. However, during an afternoon at her house with Aunt Alexandra and her missionary circle, Scout decides that she needs to learn to become a woman. The ladies wore powder and rose, smelled good, and gossiped over coffee cups and refreshments. Scout admits, â€Å"I wondered at the world of women†¦ There was no doubt about it, I must soon enter this world, where on its surface fragrant ladies rocked slowly, fanned gently, and drank cool water. During this luncheon, it’s one of the first times in the story you see Scout attempt to choose her words more carefully and care what others were thinking of her. In this way, you see Scout attempting to have a more grown up manner of acting. Scouts ability to see the world through other people’s eyes changes throughout the course of the story, but finally at the end when she meets Boo Radley. At first, Scout and her brother Jem were very curious along with being scared of Boo Radley. They wanted to see who he was so badly that they tried peeking into the Radley house but were unsuccessful. However, at the end when Boo saves Jem and Scout from being killed by Bob Ewell and Scout finally meets Boo, she realizes that he really isn’t a very bad or scary man after all. She walked Boo home and stood on the Radley front porch and saw the world from Boo’s point of view. A quote came from Atticus when Scout told him â€Å"he was real nice†, and Atticus replied: â€Å"Most people are Scout, when you finally see them†.

Destructiveness of War essays

Destructiveness of War essays Vonneguts Illustration of Destructiveness of War Slaughterhouse-Five was written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. in 1953. Whether the book is an antiwar novel or a science fiction novel is ambiguous, but after writing this book, Vonnegut insists that it was a failure. Failure it is not according to many critics. Rather than just writing an anti-war/science fiction novel, Vonnegut wrote a tale of the trials and tribulations resulting from the complete and utter destruction of Dresden during World War II. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut develops the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim along with utilizing science fiction and satire to demonstrate the destructiveness of war. Vonnegut uses satire and fiction to ironically display the destructiveness of war. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut comes at last in direct confrontation with his Dresden experience (Keogh and Kislatis 172). John Somer adds, It took him twenty three years to write his lousy little book (222). In fact, because Vonnegut found it so difficult to write about the bombing of Dresden, He comments on the reality of Dresden by treating the problems as fiction (Giannone 83). One critic establishes that Vonnegut enjoys playing with fiction, using it to represent truth or reality (Meeter 208-209). Glenn Meeter adds that Billy alone is a separate version of the role of fiction in the novel by describing his space adventures and time warps (210-211). Billys character is satirical in itself, for he is a weak and feeble man, not fit to fight a war. Ironically, J.G. Keogh and Edward Kislastis agree, At the core of the characterization of Billy Pilgrim is the conception of war as a childrens crusade (182). Vonnegut introduces Edgar Derby to further strengthen the ills of war: I think the climax of the book will be the execution of poor old Edgar Derby...The irony is so great. A whole city gets burned down, and thousands and thou...

lebanon essays

lebanon essays Prior to the 20th century, the Middle Eastern nations could easily have been categorized as third world countries. It was not until the early 1930s that oil production was begun and not until the mid-century that oil became an important commodity in the world market. Thus, the Middle Eastern countries experienced a huge influx of capital. This wealth had a major impact on the Middle East, yet most Middle Eastern countries still retain a Third World status. The use of oil-revenues has had a major impact on the Middle East that distinguishes them from other Third World countries. Yet, at the same time, this wealth has not caused these countries to break free from this status in order to raise their status to that of major powers. Disagreements among Middle Eastern nations, their inability to effectively organize and political instability have all contributed to the Middle East remaining Third World. Until the invention of the combustion engine, the oil industry only slowly developed. This was because oil was not a major commodity until it became more widely used in cars, planes and other engines. Until this time, there was little use for oil. Oil exploration in the Middle East began in the late 19th century with the first wells being drilled in Iran in 1884. In the early 20th century, oil was struck in commercial quantities at Masjid-I-Sulayman in 1908 and in Egypt in 1909. In 1909, the first pipeline used to transport oil was built by the Egyptian Oil Trust and by 1914, Persia was producing two million barrels of oil annually. From this time until the Second World War, oil production and organization of oil producing countries progressed slowly. During World War II, the demand for oil increased. Oil began to be used more frequently as a source of heat and for the British Royal Navy. Because of this, oil production increased to 8.6 million barrels. World War II also saw the expansion of oil production in Bahrain, ...

Overview of Rider Bills in Government

Overview of Rider Bills in Government In U.S. government, â€Å"riders† are bills in the form of additional provisions added to the original versions of bills or resolutions considered by Congress. Often having little relationship to the subject matter of the parent bill, riders are typically used as an often-criticized tactic intended to gain the enactment of a controversial bill that would probably not pass if introduced on its own.   Other riders, known as â€Å"wrecking† or â€Å"poison pill† bills are used not to actually be passed, but merely to prevent the passage of the parent bill or to ensure its veto by the president. Riders More Common in the Senate Though they are all in either chamber, riders are used more often in the Senate. This is because the Senates rule’s requirements that the subject of the rider must be related or â€Å"germane† to that of the parent bill are more tolerant than those of the House of Representatives. Riders are rarely allowed in the House, where amendments to bills must at least deal with the substance of the parent bill. Most States Effectively Ban Riders The legislatures of 43 of the 50 states have effectively banned riders by giving their governors the power of the line-item veto. Denied to Presidents of the United States by the U.S. Supreme Court, the line-item veto allows the executive to veto individual objectionable items within a bill. An Example of a Controversial Rider The REAL ID Act, passed in 2005, required the creation of something that most Americans have always opposed – a national personal identification registry. The law requires the states to issue new, high-tech driver’s licenses and prohibits the federal agencies from accepting for certain purposes - like boarding airliners- driver’s licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet the law’s minimum standards. When it was introduced by itself, the REAL ID Act garnered so little support in the Senate that is was never even brought to a vote. But its backers got it passed anyway. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R) of Wisconsin, attached it as a rider to a bill no post-9/11 politician would have dared vote against, titled the â€Å"Emergency, Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief.† That bill allocated money to pay the troops and pay for the war on terror. Few voted against the bill. The military spending bill, with the REAL ID Act rider attached, passed in the House of Representatives by a  vote of 368-58, by a vote of 100-0 in the Senate. President George W. Bush signed it into law on May 11, 2005. Rider bills are most often used in the Senate because the Senate’s rules are far more tolerant to them than the rules of the House. In the House, all amendments to bills must generally be related to or deal with the subject of the parent bill being considered. Riders are most often attached to major spending, or â€Å"appropriations† bills, because the defeat, presidential veto or delay of these bills could delay the funding of vital government programs leading to a temporary government shutdown. In 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes complained that lawmakers using riders could hold the executive hostage by â€Å"insisting upon the approval of a bill under the penalty of stopping all of the operations of government.† Rider Bills: How to Bully a President Opponents – and there are many – of rider bills have long criticized them as being a way for Congress to bully the President of the United States. The presence of a rider bill can force presidents to enact laws they would have vetoed if presented to them as separate bills. As granted by the U.S. Constitution, the presidential veto is an all-or-nothing power. The president must either accept the riders or reject the entire bill. Especially in the case of spending bills, the consequences of vetoing them just to quash an objectionable rider bill could be severe. Basically, the use of rider bills greatly dilutes the president’s veto power. What almost all presidents have said they needed to counteract rider bills is the power of the â€Å"line-item veto.† The line-item veto would allow the president to veto individual measures within a bill without affecting the main purpose or effectiveness of the bill. Currently, the constitutions of 43 of the 50 U.S. states have provisions allowing their governors to use the line-item veto. In 1996, Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 granting U.S. presidents the power of the line-item veto. In 1998, however, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the act unconstitutional. Rider Bills Confuse the People As if keeping up with the progress of bills in Congress isn’t hard enough already, rider bills can make it even more frustrating and difficult.   Thanks to rider bills a law about â€Å"Regulating Apples† can seem to vanish, only to end up being enacted months later as part of a law titled â€Å"Regulating Oranges.† Indeed, without a painstakingly daily read of the Congressional Record, riders can make keeping up with the legislative process almost impossible. And it’s not like Congress has ever been accused of being too transparent in how it does the people’s work. Lawmakers Introduce  Anti-Rider Bills Not all members of Congress use or even support rider bills. Senator Rand Paul (R – Kentucky) and Rep. Mia Love (R - Utah) have both introduced the â€Å"One Subject at a Time Act† (OSTA) as H.R. 4335 in the House and S. 1572 in the Senate. As its name implies, the One Subject at a Time Act would require that each bill or resolution considered by Congress embrace no more than one subject  and that the title of all bills and resolutions clearly and descriptively express the subject of the measure. The OSTA would give presidents a de facto line-item veto by allowing them to consider only one measure at a time, instead of rider-packed, all-or-nothing â€Å"package deal† bills. â€Å"Under OSTA politicians will no longer be able to hide the true subjects of their bills behind propagandistic titles such as the PATRIOT Act, the Protect America Act, or the No Child Left Behind Act,† stated DownsizeDC.org, in support of the bill. â€Å"No one wants to be accused of voting against patriotism or protecting America, or of wanting to leave children behind. But none of those titles actually describes the subjects of those bills.†

Pros and Cons of Capitalism and Socialism Research Paper

Pros and Cons of Capitalism and Socialism - Research Paper Example Capitalism is the idea whereby the possession of capital i.e. the means of production are usually owned and determined by private individuals with little or almost no interception from the government. The entire world can be considered to be operating under the capitalist system. According to the Capitalist system a small proportion of the entire world’s population controls the resources of the world. This leads them to dictate their terms and accumulate and increase their respective wealth and fortune. Many commentators consider this to be a major flaw of Capitalism. Commentators are of the view that the working classes within the economy are negatively exploited as a result of this undue power. Exercising such undue power usually results in Monopolies within the economy and these monopolies lead to an increased benefit being gained by charging higher prices for different goods and services. Except this, there are other negative aspects of Capitalism which include discriminat ive distribution of wealth amongst the economy whereby some people are favored over others. Proponents supporting the Capitalism system consider the economic system to increase economic growth of a society (Hyman, 2010). Socialism on the other hand is a system that has increased government interception with respect to the use of capital/ resources and the income is distributed amongst the people as desired by the government. Advocates favoring socialism consider the system to be a proper distributor of wealth and income amongst the public/economy. People favoring Socialism are of the view that the system has always led to an equal allocation of responsibilities. The negative aspect of Socialism is the fact that the government intervention may lead to many different factors such as decreased growth, reduced flexibility and unclear price signals. These unclear price signals may not be good enough to perform economic calculations and predict the uncertain market trends. Socialism has a lways been pointed out for its budget-constrained attribute. This lack in budgets leads to reduced innovation and growth because of reduced incentive for the people (Hyman, 2010). Economies around the World have always been found to operate under the Socialist economic system. Those economies with a view that they are following the Capitalist economy are merely facing a delusion as there is not a single country in the current era that operates without government’s intervention. Karl Marx’s idea of socialism was to hand the power to the working class and by means of such power; the working class would be able to derive their respective pay scale. According to Karl Marx, the consciousness of the working class would only be altered by a change in their working conditions such as pay scales and for a successful implementation of a proper socialism system; the capitalist system should be over-thrown i.e. possession of resources should not be confined to a limited minority ( Hyman, 2010). Proponents around the world are of the view that the socialism view has not been properly implemented to gain proper advantages from it. On the contrary, the existing system has led to a chaos within the global economy resulting in different financial and economic issues around the globe. A documentary released by some Greek theorists suggests that the economic system wrongfully portrayed as a socialist system has led to the Greek Financial Crisis. The documentary is known as ‘

MKTG sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MKTG sustainability - Essay Example Placement refers to the concept of places of buying and selling. Marketing sustainability is a revolutionary idea that is essential for guiding the objectives of marketing. It introduces the social aspects of marketing. Marketing sustainability relates to the philosophy of corporate social responsibility. It comes handy in the face of globalization whereby customer attraction and retention activities are becoming intense. The philosophy entails marketing activities that goes beyond profit seeking. It links market share, profitability and good ethics (Nwankwo and Gbadamosi 369). It becomes vital to handle the market in a way that still contributes to the well being of society. Sustainability marketing adds two concepts to the four orientations of marketing. In this sense, marketing includes product and production orientation. In addition, it entails sales and market orientation. Lastly, it entails societal and social marketing orientation. It includes broad categories such as ecological and environmental marketing. It also entails ethical marketin g and elements of social responsibility. Sustainable marketing should be able to meet the requirements of the present generations without jeopardizing the lives of future generations (Nwankwo and Gbadamosi 370). It is defined as the production and creation of sustainable marketing solutions while continuing the satisfaction of consumers and stakeholders. Such marketing should satisfy three conditions. To begin with, the customers should attain their needs. Similarly, organizations should meet their needs. Thirdly, the marketing process should be compatible with ecosystems. This suggests two things. First, marketing respects the profit value of businesses. Additionally, this marketing is sensitive and it respects both the natural and social environments. Ethics refer to the values and moral principles that inform on conduct of individuals and organizations. The business is part of the society. However, its

Factors of production and circular flow of income Coursework

Factors of production and circular flow of income - Coursework Example These factors are divided into four main categories: Land is the first category; land entails all the natural resources. Labor is another factor which simply refers to man power or human resources available for production through the utilization of natural resources and others. The third factor is capital also referred to as the man-made resources. Last but not least is Enterprise; which combines the other three factors or resources for production purpose. The factors are also classified in terms of management, money, materials and machines (Gitman, & McDaniel, 2009, Pg. 5). Where management depicts land resources, machines refer to labor, capital is equated to materials and enterprise to money. They are termed as factors of production since they are scarce resources, which are useful for the creation of services and goods, though, not for immediate and direct satisfaction of human needs. Economists simplify the different sorts of factors of production into broad categories to assist in understanding these factors of production. Land as a factor of production involves anything that comes from it. The most common land resources include water, oil, minerals, forests, gas and others. The land resources form the raw resources or materials in the production process. Natural resources are classified in three kinds such as chemical nature, their availability and abundances and lastly their distribution. Chemical nature resources entail inorganic resources such as air, minerals and water. Organic resources of the chemical nature refer to animals, plants, microorganisms and fossil fuels. The last chemical nature category includes mixed resources like soils. The other category of land resources is abundance and availability which entails in exhaustible or exhaustible resources. Exhaustible resources entails renewable and non-renewable, whereas renewable resources can sustain themselves or be replaced if properly managed. Non-renewable resources are lost forever once has been used. The distribution category involves national, multinational and international resources, which are used to create resources. The revenue that resource proprietors receive in return for land amenities is known as rent. The next factor of production to analyze is labor. Labor as a factor of production is the effort that human beings contribute to the production of services and goods. Labor resources encompass the activities of the people to facilitate service provision and production of goods to assist in day to day activities. Labor resources are almost contributed by people who have attained age of working to earn. This is because economist says that if one has ever been paid for the work he or she did then in that way has contributed labor resources; thus, has enabled production of goods and services. The income obtained from labor resources is referred to as wages and forms the greatest source of income for the majority. The third resource of production is capital. Accor ding to economist, capital as a factor of production refers to tools, machineries or other instruments that humans use to produce goods and services. Capital as a resource of production differs; this is because different services and goods require different resources to produce them. The income that is gained from capital as a fact

Political Science (U.S. foreign policy Afghanistan) Term Paper

Political Science (U.S. foreign policy Afghanistan) - Term Paper Example With these principles in place, the U.S would have long succeeded in its intervention in Afghanistan with regards to the establishment of a functioning government that provides essential services to its citizens. Several reasons have been cited to explain the difficulties and the challenges the U.S faces as it tries to establish a stable and functioning government in Afghanistan. First, many journalists and scholars cite rampant corruption in Afghanistan as a hindrance to the establishment of a functioning government in the country. Additionally, the U.S and its allies have consistently failed to deal with the Afghans that drive out and kill fellow Afghans that are committed to rebuilding their country. These criminals and corrupt Afghans and terror groups profit from the many opportunities and huge influx of money getting into the country. The U.S. had a chance and the resources to assist in rebuilding Afghanistan immediately after the invasion but let the chance slip away. However, there is still time and opportunities for the U.S to rebuild the country and empower its hardworking and patriotic citizens. The U.S, as well as the local Afghans, must, therefore, be more than ready and willing to expose and eliminate the non-patriotic groups and individuals that seek to profit at the local, regional, and national level at the expense of hardworking Afghans (Brown & Scales, 2012). This paper explores the best possible policy direction that the United States should adopt to realize most, if not all of its objectives in Afghanistan. The United States has had numerous opportunities to help rebuild and empower Afghanistan and its citizens after the invasion of the country by the NATO forces but has let the opportunities pass by. Through the adoption and the implementation of the most appropriate policy on Afghanistan, the U.S will play its leadership role of

Advanced Computer Architecture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Advanced Computer Architecture - Assignment Example Multiprocessing tasks carry two simultaneous steps, one being performing the task of editing and the other is the handling of the data processing. A multiprocessor device over a single semiconductor chips a plurality of processors including a first group of processors and the second group of processors. The first bus is one to which first group of processors is coupled while the second external bus is the one to which the second bus is coupled. This term is also used to refer to a computer that has many independent processing elements. Processing elements are nearly full computers in their own right. The main contrast is that they have been freed from the encumbrance of communication with peripherals (El-Rewini and Abd-El-Barr, 2005). The processors are made of small and medium scale ICs which usually contains a less or large number of transistors. The multiprocessors involve computer architecture most common multiprocessor systems today use SMP architecture. In this scenario of multicore processors, the SMP architecture applies to the nuclei, handling them as separate processors. SMP systems permit any processor to labour on any task no matter where the data for the task are located in memory; with proper operating systems can easily move tasks between processors to balance the work load efficiently (Stallings, 2013). Multiprocessing in terms of architecture has some benefits like increased processing power, scale resource use of application requirements and also some additional operating system responsibilities such as, all processors remain busy, they work on consistent copies of shared data, execution of related processes synchronized and mutual exclusion is enforced. Multiprocessing is a processing type in which two or more processors work together to process more than one program simultaneously. Multiprocessor systems have more than one processor and that’s

Political Science (U.S. foreign policy Afghanistan) Term Paper

Political Science (U.S. foreign policy Afghanistan) - Term Paper Example With these principles in place, the U.S would have long succeeded in its intervention in Afghanistan with regards to the establishment of a functioning government that provides essential services to its citizens. Several reasons have been cited to explain the difficulties and the challenges the U.S faces as it tries to establish a stable and functioning government in Afghanistan. First, many journalists and scholars cite rampant corruption in Afghanistan as a hindrance to the establishment of a functioning government in the country. Additionally, the U.S and its allies have consistently failed to deal with the Afghans that drive out and kill fellow Afghans that are committed to rebuilding their country. These criminals and corrupt Afghans and terror groups profit from the many opportunities and huge influx of money getting into the country. The U.S. had a chance and the resources to assist in rebuilding Afghanistan immediately after the invasion but let the chance slip away. However, there is still time and opportunities for the U.S to rebuild the country and empower its hardworking and patriotic citizens. The U.S, as well as the local Afghans, must, therefore, be more than ready and willing to expose and eliminate the non-patriotic groups and individuals that seek to profit at the local, regional, and national level at the expense of hardworking Afghans (Brown & Scales, 2012). This paper explores the best possible policy direction that the United States should adopt to realize most, if not all of its objectives in Afghanistan. The United States has had numerous opportunities to help rebuild and empower Afghanistan and its citizens after the invasion of the country by the NATO forces but has let the opportunities pass by. Through the adoption and the implementation of the most appropriate policy on Afghanistan, the U.S will play its leadership role of

Writer's choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 9

Writer's choice - Essay Example Additionally, sometimes acts as a little mirror. According to Land, Michael and Dan-Eric, the iris serves as a reflector for the animals because light falls on the eye and it is reflected spontaneously (45). In this regard, some animals reflect green light. The reddish appearance of the eyes among people is called red-eye effect. Such effect is associated with the capturing of light, which is reflected from retina. The problem is resolvable through various ways. Light rays usually permeate through the corns of n eye in order to focus clearly on the retina. This causes the light-detecting cells, which are at the back of the eye to responds according. Consequently, the eye retina converts the light rays into electronic pulses, which are able to align with the theoptic nerve. This enhances the creation of visuals images. According to Russell, the process of reddening of the eyes is subject to the constriction of the eyes (78). The constriction of the eyes is subject to time and the flas h of light overwhelms the retina. The speed of light reflection is high and causes the impact of the red eye-effect. Moreover, the eyes appear red after a flash of light because of the high supply of choroid in blood. Choroid is layer of connective tissues, which occur at the back of the eye (Rakoczy 65). The purpose of the layer is to nourish the retina. The other purpose of the choroid layer is to maintain the red color of the normal eye. It is possible to prevent the red-eye effect. People should not look at a camera with their naked eyes. There is needed to make the room of snapping brighter than normal. The setting of the camera must be adjusted. For instance, the anti-red eye effect function must be adjusted. Technology has played a major role in enhancing the reduction of the red-eye effect. Modern cameras are sophisticated because they have adequate customizations. For instance, the modern cameras have

Constructive Critique on Public Speaking Essay Example for Free

Constructive Critique on Public Speaking Essay Dr. Pausch lost his battle with cancer, but his legacy lives on through his achievements and in the countless number of students who were fortunate to learn from such an extraordinary individual. Dr. Randy Pausch was a widely respected professor from the University of Carnegie Mellon. He co-founded the entertainment technology center in 1999 and he spearheaded the creation of the Alice Project, a program that aids in the learning of computer science academics. Dr. Pausch has received numerous accolades from his work and dedication to his students. He has appeared on many television shows like Good Morning America and the Oprah show. To this day people are still recounting the lessons learned from Dr. Pausch. In a recent video interview highlighted on the Oprah’s website, one lady stated what she thought was so meaningful to her about Dr. Pausch and his lectures as his amazing outlook on life and his appreciation for every aspect of his life. These qualities are witness in his 2008 lecture nicknamed the Last Lecture. Throughout the lecture Dr. Pausch showcased his ability to reach out to his audience. He and captured their imagination with his humor and enthusiasm despite begin diagnosed with cancer six months earlier. Because of the importance and popularity of this inspiring lecture I will provide a critique of Dr. Pausch ability to deliver his massage to his audience and analyze his public speaking mechanics. More specifically I will look at the way he keeps the audience engaged and what are the areas he could improve. Strengths noted: From the moment the lecture began I was hooked. Dr. Pausch did not waste any time keeping the audience engaged and keeping them marveling at the foundations of his strength despite his diagnosis. After the standing applause, Dr. Pausch told his listeners to â€Å"make me earn†. This mindset shows that he cares about the message that he was about to give and the message that the audience was about to receive. He also started his lecture with this question which I though was the glue to the seats. His question was fundamental in keeping them engaged and thinking. â€Å"If you had one last lecture to give to the world before you died what would it be?† From this point on, If this was Dr. Pausch last lecture I wanted the hear it. Thereafter, He gave a back story in the lecture which to thought was helpful to the audience member that did not know his circumstances. One of the tactic in his lecture that I though was the most important is he told the audience what he was not going to talked about. This eliminated all guessing and left no room for disappointment. I thought that I was public speaking brilliances. Pausch visual media kept the focus of the lecture and was very easy to follow and understand. It was clear, concise and to the point. He also has props. He voice was evenly tone and he spoke as if he was just engaging in a normal conversation. Additionally Dr. Pausch humor seemed to be naturel; he kept his audience laughing throughout the lecture which I think helped them to stay uninterested. Last but not less, I love that the lecture was not just a lecture to the audience but a lecture to his children. Knowing that he passed away made that lecture much more intimate and could be used as a blueprint for all parents to help their children achieve their dreams. Areas to improve: Connecting to the audience is definitely Dr. Pausch strong suit but sometimes he did get off topic a little bit. Because he is such a dynamic person I understand that it can be easy to get caught telling your person story rather than sticking to the topic. I noticed Dr. Pausch did get off topic a few times and told a few side bar stories but not too much that would have downgraded the lectures quality. Conclusion: I my introduction I highlight the accomplishment of DR. Pausch; the inspirational professor from Carnegie Mellon University. I was instructed to write a critique about his â€Å"last lecture;† that focused on the strength and the areas of improvement. In the strengths the most important aspect about the lecture is that Dr. Pausch keeps the audience entirely engaged throughout. Dr Pausch spoke for 72 min with the complete attention of his audience. In the strengths of my critique I was able to show this by highlighting the various tactics that were used. For example the question he asked in the beginning of the lecture was one tactic and his great sense of humor was another. Areas of improve were hard to find but the only time I found any in the lecture was when Dr. Pausch gets off topic a few times; other than that the lecture was flawless. Unfortunately we lost Dr. Pausch too soon but his lesson will live forever. Everyone can learn something from his willingness live life to the fullest no matter what god has in store for you. The one quote that stands out to me in the lecture is â€Å"you can’t change the cards we are dealt just how we play the hand† Bibliography http://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture/story/index.html http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Lessons-Learned-from-Randy-Pausch-Video http://www.etc.cmu.edu/site/

Strategies for Performance Improvement

Strategies for Performance Improvement In a simple way performance means doing something successfully mainly by using the available resources. Performance can be elusive concept. It deals with the outcomes, results, and accomplishments achieved by a person, group or Organisation. (William J. Rothwel, Carolyn K.Hohne Stephen B. King: 2007). In many cases people do define performance based on financial aspects of the business. Focusing only on financial matters does not tell us what should we do and how to do in order to be successful. Performance is the definition and progressive achievement of tangible, specific, measurable, worthwhile and personally meaningful goals. (Darryl D. Enos 2007). We get a clear point in this definition that organisation should have well defined, specific and measurable goals. This serves as the first requisite in assessing the organisations performance. Having vague and general goals without proper measurement, pose a problem in evaluating corporate performance and proposing techniques for imp roving the performance. Michael Milgate 2004 said that, by monitoring performance for each measure and taking appropriate remedial action, improve revenues, business growth, reduced expenses and compliance with sector regulations have resulted. 2.1 PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT There is a clear relationship between performance improvement and change management (discussed in Section 2.5 of this chapter). Many studies concluded that most organisations either fail or achieve very limited success in their efforts to improve performance. Success or failure in performance improvement efforts begins with the reasons why organisational decision makers decide to get involved in the first place. Darryl D.Enos 2007). Personally, I feel that there should be a motivation factor to stir up the process of improving performance. In addition to this Darryl Enos 2007 added that commitment and involvement of leadership is the most critical element for the performance efforts to be successful. Rephrasing Enos unless a leader is motivated by authentic interest and be committed in the process then efforts of performance improvement have little chance to work. Every organisation has problems. A good start is to admit the problem and find what is to be accomplished to solve the problem. Sometimes performance improvement starts with a targeted program for dealing with a problem that is limiting achievement of a worthwhile goal.'(Darryl Enos 2007). As a suggestion, before approaching any technique to boost performance or implementing the efforts, management should identify areas which need improvements. The problem of poor performance or constant/stagnant performance may be caused by the top management itself.( Refer Enrons Scandal 2001).Thus, the areas for performance improvement must be clearly identified and evaluated to avoid investing efforts in areas which are not critical to performance improvement. In trying to adopt efforts and strategies to achieve corporate performance, Organisations face challenges and end up failing. In one of their research Kaplan and Norton found that 9 out of 10 companies fail to implement their strategies. (Bob Paladino 2007). Paladino explains four barriers that contribute to Organisations failure to achieve expected results from their efforts and strategies put in process. There barriers are: Vision barrier (where research shows that only 5 % of companys employees fully understand their companys strategy); Management barrier (where 85 % of executive teams spend far less time discussing strategies and strategic issues than traditional operating results); Resource barrier (where most companies do not link their budgets to strategy): and the fourth barrier being People barrier (where research shows that only 25 % of managers have incentives linked to strategy). 2.2 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (PMS1) Performance management system (PMS1) is not an end by itself, but its improvement enables an Organisation to perform better. Improving its efficiency ensures the data generated will tell where the Organisation is, how it is performing and where it is going. Effective management depends on the effective measurement of performance and results (Gobal. K. Kanji, 2002). Mohan Nair (2004) argued that Corporations sometimes measure too much of something and too little of others. Contributing to this it is even possible that Organisations unknowingly does not measure some of the business aspects. Moreover many organisations fail to link what they measure with corporate strategy. Nair added that many of these measurements are un-integrated and serve the wrong goals. Many corporations lack an overarching model for monitoring, measuring and managing the business. Balanced Scorecard offers a broad and overarching skin to the structural architecture of the business. (Nair 2004) Gobal K. Kanji (2002) explains the role of PMS1 and how an organisation may achieve business excellence by identifying areas to improve and how it can use its limited resources to reflect the improvement of the system. The design and implementation of a new PMS1 may in one way or another bring questions and tensions to employees. Kanji (2002) stated that, It is important to build a measurement system where measures are used as a management and motivational tool. I personally back this idea as will help in gaining management and employees support during designing and implementing the new system. In this regard, the PMS1 should be clear to employees explaining how each will contribute to the overall strategy. The efficient PMS1 also serves as the communication and rewarding tool. Furthermore, Kanji (2002) explains the past and present performance measurements and their implication on todays business era. Traditionally, performance measurement focuses on financial measures .. that do not match entirely with competencies skills companies require to face todays business environment. In insisting that financial measures of performance are under criticism in todays world, Paul Niven (2003) said that they lack predictive power, reinforce functional silos, may sacrifices long term thinking and are not relevant to many levels of the Organisation.. Kanji then supports the significant contribution by Kaplan Norton (1992) to overcome the shortcomings of traditional PMS1 that employs only financial measures. 2.3 THE BALANCED SCORECARD (BSC) Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton (2005) invented BSC in 1992 due to the fact that traditional accounting measures like Return on Investment and Earning per Share give misleading picture while in todays business environment continuous improvement and innovation is very important. The authors realised that many managers do not depend on single set of measures in isolation of the other. This implied the need of balanced presentation of both financial and non financial measure. Kaplan Norton complemented financial measures by operational measures calling it Balanced Scorecard (BSC). Kaplan and Norton define BSC as, a set of measures that gives top management a fast but comprehensive view of the business. The BSC includes financial measures that tell the results of actions already taken. And it complements the financial measures on customer satisfaction, internal processes, and Organisation innovation and improvement. These (including financial measures) are the four perspectives of BSC as mentioned by the authors. They suggested that for each of the perspective, managers should translate their visions and missions to strategic goals and objectives and these goals should be translated into specific measures. The word Balance in the Balanced Scorecard represents the balance between financial and non financial performance indicators; internal and external elements stakeholders of the Organisation; and lag lead indicators (Paul Niven 2003). Michael Milgate (2004) defines scorecard as a balanced management system in which shared vision and strategy are reference points for the management process; achieving this balance enables synergy and a practical fit with other frameworks. BSC serves as a powerful tool as it focuses on achieving breakthrough performance considering all measures without isolating non financial performance measures (Kanji 2002).Since its creation in 1992 by Drs. Norton Kaplan of Harvard Business School the Balanced Scorecard has been implemented by different business units in the Public as well as in the Private sectors-worldwide.( Michael E. Nagel- Vice President, BSC Collaborative) Henri .JF (2006) applied the BSC framework in his survey on how top management in a manufacturing company could use PMS to improve the strategic management and Organisational performance. Given its depth as a strategic management system, the BSC principle will continue to be widely adopted and further refined in user Organisation as experiences in its implementation emerge ( Michael A.Milgate 2004). This shows how widely BSC is used to improve the PMS if the Organisation chooses to adopt and implement it. Henri .JF (2006) poses a question that top managers should ask themselves; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"How can we improve our system? .However, the author suggested that the improvement of the PMS is a continuous process that involves changing measures to reflect the new ideas and insights brought to the Organisation through creativity and other development activities. BSC can be successfully implemented in any organisation where the management is committed and devote time to formulate strategy and ready to accept changes. BSC has been implemented many organisations including services business , military units, schools, government institutions and also for profit organisations ( Wikipedia). An important point to note here is that an organisation should design its own BSC as management is knowledgeable of its responsibilities organisations operations rather than adapting another Organisations BSC. David P. Tarantino (2003) complements the work of Kaplan and Norton. He defined BSC, as a performance management tool that is used to provide an integrate perspective of an organisation.He also pointed out the four perspectives of the BSc as, external (how customers views the Organisation; Internal (Look at where the organisation must succeed and improve); Growth learning (examine how organisation grows and learns) and Financial (study financial performance of the organisation).These perspectives depend and influence one another. Tarantino (2003) said, To concentrate on only one, such as financial performance fails to recognise the contribution and balance of the other three perspectives. Of interest from the author is the explanation on how to develop the BSC. The first step he suggested is for the organisation to decide which goals are to be measured that should be included in the four perspectives. Then the organisation should figure out the measures for each of the four BSC pers pectives and determine the weight of each for ultimate evaluation of overall performance. Harvard Management-Update (2000), No need to wait for a companywide initiative-the key principles of this strategic-management system can be put to work in your unit right away.The author of the article tries to convince management to apply BSC reporting system. He is of the views that even if companies take years and spend millions to implement the scorecard across their operations the effects can be dramatic when the system takes root. He said that managers today dont have to wait for a scorecard- inspired corporate transformation before learning- and implementing some of the methods centred ideas. He explained the four lessons from BSC that can be applied right away in virtually any business unit or department. Watch a variety of metrics Connect your metrics to strategy Develop a strategic budget Get everyone involved in tracking metrics The author still insists that BSC is a method that helps managers to develop a well -rounded strategy and then get everyone in the company involved in implementing it. Mohan Nair 2004, arguing in favour of BSC, the changes in the character of business assets has exaggerated the challenges faced by business. In the past company assets would be reflected in the balance Sheet but now 85% of the assets are intangibles.Having the same arguments as previous authors about the inefficiencies of the financial measures, Nair also added that those financial measures are applied only to tangibles, when the intangibles are what fuels the future. According to an online source, www.balancescorecard.org/BSCresources the benefits of BSC are: improve organisation alignment, improve communication, more emphasis on strategy and organisational results, linked strategy and operations, and integrated strategic planning and management. 2.3.1 BSC development Kaplan and Norton explained four steps which many organisations have used to develop their balanced scorecard. The process includes: Define the measurement architecture To a beginner, it is recommended to start with a business unit applying the metrics as designed in the BSC rather than to the corporate level. Specify strategic objectives This step includes deriving strategic objectives for each of the four perspective from corporate goals. Choose strategic measures The third step is to choose related measures for the strategic goals to evaluate the performance so as to achieve the strategic objectives. Develop the implementation plan After selecting measures for each of the perspective, remains implementation process.Target values are assigned to the measures. A link is then established from various metrics from the top to bottom of the BSC. The established scorecard is then incorporated in the organisations management system.. The online source www.balancescorecard.org/BSCresources also recommended nine steps to success develop and deploy BSC framework- In a sequential order these are; Organisation assessment, strategy development, strategic objectives, strategic mapping, performance measures and targets, strategic initiatives, automation, cascading the BSC throughout the organisation and last evaluation. Overall the BSC involves the following steps: Clarify the vision Communicate to middle manager and develop business unit scorecards Eliminate Non-strategic investments and launch corporate change programs Review business unit scorecard Refine the vision Communicate the BSC to the entire company and establish individual performance objectives Update long-range plan and budget Conduct monthly and quarterly reviews Conduct annual strategy review Link everyones performance to the BSC 2.3.2 BSC criticisms The use of the balanced scorecard system may not result to what managers expect. Some professionals spoke some problems that make the BSC under criticisms. It has been noted by professionals that the BSC concept does not guide how the approach can be deployed within an organisation. It is just been viewed as an approach that attracts managers to install and implement without a real sense on how it works, and what should be expected. (Stephen Smith 2006).From his article à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"problem with a balanced scorecard, Smith pointed out some of the key issues that can cause BSC initiatives to fail. These are: Poorly defined metrics These should be relevant ,clear and easily understood Lack of efficient data collection and reporting Smith is concerned with the investments made in collecting metrics data, whether consuming too much time and energy. He then suggests the importance of prioritising key performance indicators to get most relevant information. Lack of formal review structure This is necessary to accommodate any change in metric value. Reviewing is a cross functional activity. No press improvement methodology Many organisation lack basic and standard toolkits and approaches for tracking problems. It therefore consumes a lot of time an efforts to address a problem that is caused by the performance gap. Too much internal focus Smith ranks this as one of the major criticism of BSC. He suggests that Organisation should always start with an external focus through analysing organisations markets, shareholders, competitors, employees and other stakeholders. However Smith assured that all is well with the introduction and the concept of balanced scorecard. This means that the BSC approach is a useful tool and can bring desired results if management knows how to structure it and take the above points in considerations to avoid its initiatives from failing. It has also been learnt that BSC is being criticised by academic society on its practical nature, applicability and functionality. (Wikipedia).They also noted that some of the criticisms focus on technical flaws in the method and design of the original BSC proposed by Kaplan Norton. Supporting the main problem as seen by Smith 2006 other academicians have focused on the lack of citation support. Another criticism is that the BSC does not provide a bottom line score or a unified view with clear recommendations; it is simply a list of metrics. (Wikipedia). Regardless of these criticisms the studies done so far indicated that BSC is a useful tool in strategic performance management in an Organisation. An online source www.netmba.com added to the BSC pitfalls that during implementation managers should avoid the use of generic measures, which are being adopted by successful firms. Management should not take BSC as a guarantee of success in companys operations. It should think clearly the companys strategy and implement the scorecard for improving performance in operational level that derives improved financial performance. Kaplan and Norton said, Even an excellent set of BSC measures does not guarantee a winning strategy. The BSC can only translate a company strategy into specific measurable objectives. They also advised that by combining the four perspectives, the BSC helps managers understand implicitly many interrelationships. The four perspectives relate to each other and the effect on either of the perspective will impact the other. A well designed BSC should describe your strategy through objectives and measures you have chosen. These measures should link together in a chain of cause and effect relationships (Paul Niven 2003). Thus, it is suggested that all have equal importance and neither should be taken in isolation of others. 2.4 COMPARISON BSC AND OTHER PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUES When we talk of performance improvement in an organisation apart from BSC, Six sigma and Total Quality Management (TQM) come under discussion. Both tools when applied properly work to achieve what management really expects. These tools are contrasted with BSC in the subsequent sections. 2.4.1 Balanced Scorecard (BSC) Vs Six Sigma It has been learnt that BSC and Six Sigma work independently from each other. BSC translates corporate strategy into actions that help to achieve the strategy. Six Sigma aims to solve the problem of poor performance by closely looking at the root cause of performance problem. In this case Six Sigma tries to minimise the errors and reduce other causes of defects in business processes. However, these frameworks are complementary and if used together they offer huge potential value. (Michael E. Nagel). BSC and Six Sigma when used together can deliver great and unexpected business performance (Alastair Horn 2006) . Nagel justifies his idea by clarifying that BSC and Six Sigma are complementary because the former provides the strategic context for targeted improvement initiatives and the latter is a business improvement approach that solve a myriad of performance issues. To make the difference more clearly, Nagel stated that, unlike Six Sigma, BSC is not a solution for closing specific st rategic performance shortfalls. He then concluded that BSC describes the strategy for creating value and aligns resources to ensure the strategy is successfully executed. Six Sigma executes the strategy by using data and process improvement tools. It has been learnt that both BSC and Six Sigma strive for good performance through fixing up the performance gaps. In a clear manner a corporation may choose to implement any of the frameworks but the use of both the approaches would result to high performance according to the way each of them works. Rephrasing Horn, Six Sigma focuses on the best processes that organisation may adopt to improve its performance of products and processes on a continuous basis. while BSC focuses on performance management that translates strategy into executions. In explaining how both BSC and Six Sigma can work together, Henry Killackey (2008) speaks his idea that it is a very common practice to label organisation performance matrix in the BSC with red ( poor performance), yellow ( mixed results),and green ( excellent). If the organisation implements Six Sigma approach then the red ratings alert Six Sigma practitioners the areas which need immediate attention so that they can figure out ways of reversing the poor situation. In simple words, we may say that BSC serves as a communication tool for Six Sigma professionals. It has been learnt that BSC prompts weak and bad performing areas for Six Sigma professionals to act upon. As previously explained, the ultimate aim of both BSC and Six Sigma is to improve the performance of the organisation. In this regard the organisation can simultaneously implement both the approaches. They both rely on accurate data from customers and external stakeholders. Moreover the output indicators in Six Sigma may be used as measures in the BSC framework where by both the BSC and Six Sigma professionals will concentrate on the same goals. (Henry Killackey 2008) However Paul Grizzell (2004) in his article admitted that many authors see Six Sigma as the most effective performance management control system ever. But he cautioned readers that it is important to first consider the assumptions that were used to generate the opinions. Grizzell put forward his opinion that all performance management tools (in his case, Six Sigma, lean, BSC, Baldrige) when used as an integrated approach to maximise performance will lead to breakthrough and not just incremental improvement. 2.4.2 Balanced Scorecard (BSC) Vs. Total Quality Management (TQM) It is argued that the best approach for an organisation between BSC and TQM depends on the organisation itself. When developing a business strategy an organisation must consider multiple factors including leadership, customers ,business processes, financial goals and the structure, culture and the size of the corporation.( Schwartz Jay 2005). Jay continues that TQM and BSC share a common theme of improving communication in an organisation. He also added another shared goal of the BSC and TQM as the reduction of costs and improvement of services of an organisation. Moreover both TQM and BSC need management support to ensure that all employees support the new initiatives. However BSC and TQM differ in other aspects. The difference between TQM and BSC is in the number of people involved in the process; TQM requires full participation, compared with limited involvement for the BSC'(Schwartz Jay 2005).With my little knowledge on the BSC, I think it also requires full participation. This is very important to prevent any possible resistance. Another difference named it major difference by Schwartz is that BSC places more emphasis on finance i.e. using traditional financial objects; TQM while not diminishing the importance of financial solvency, it focuses more on the systems of the organisation, the concept of empowering people and employees involvement. I also raise my concern to Schwartzs views on where the focus is in BSC .i.e. finance!!.Looking at the four perspectives of the BSC ( financial, customer, internal process and learning growth) it is clear that BSC involves both financial and non financial aspects. BSC was established to compliment the fin ancial measures, so it does not put much emphasis on financial matters only but includes also non financial measures. The BNET business dictionary defines BSC as a system that measures and manages an organisations progress towards strategic objectives. Introduced by Kaplan Norton (1992) ,the BSC incorporates not only financial indicators but also other perspectives . To conclude this Schwartz (2005) suggests that before managers decide whether TQM or BSC which fits the organisation they must ask themselves the following questions: What is the organisation structure?, What is the corporate structure? What is the size of the organisation?. He then recommends that for a large and bureaucratic organisation BSC fits best and TQM fits best with small service related organisation. However Schwartz didnt make it clear how to define a large organisation either in terms of capital, employees ,etc. I would rather say that whether using BSC or TQM the most important aspect to consider is whether the organisation is real committed and has a leader to initiate the change including involving all the employees. I would personally recommends the use of BSC as its structure is clear and helps the organisation to put the strategy into measurable goals. 2.5 MANAGEMENT CHANGE Management change involves the process of reducing the chances for resistance done by top management personnel and executives. In many organisations the tendency of management to resist changes, especially in adopting a new system keeps on growing day by day. Thus for the organisation to manage the changes there should be a systematic process, planned properly and which involves the shareholders and other key stakeholders. In this respect a change may be defined as any addition to an existing or modification to an old system or any deletion of an aspect of an old system. Some of the reasons for making changes could be solving problems, growth motives/purposes, improving performance, accommodating technology change, etc. In any organisation for a change to be successful, management should commit itself to make the change operational within a reasonable time. In many organisations this has not been the case as it has been relative difficult to implement changes especially adding a new thing to an existing system. It may be said that the systematic approach to implement changes reduces the negative impact of changes and the possible failure. The researcher will evaluate the performance of the Local Authorities Pensions Fund ( LAPF) using the metrics as structured in the proposed Balances Scorecard (Table 1) which is relevant to the Funds operations. Some metrics may be in use while others may not. In this case LAPF may wish to fully adopt the performance metrics as shown in the proposed BSC. Thus all issues relating to change management should be considered before trying to implement BSC approach to measure and improve the overall performance. This is the essence of analysing how change process may be done, possible challenges and change failure together with suggesting how to maximise chances for successful change process. Improving the performance is a continuous process, that necessitates new measures and approaches to be adopted. This also justifies why changes cannot be avoided by an organisation if it wants to occupy large market share, beat competition and improve the overall performance.( Henry J.F, 2006). Change management means to plan, initiate, realise, control and finally stabilise change process on both corporate and personnel level. In some situation change brings problems for instance disturbing system , staff programs and other development programs that are in progress. ( Oliver Recklies 2001).The author shows much concerns on those management and staff who have negative thoughts and perception on what is change and why change.. Management always fears to be questionable for failure while employees have fears of losing their jobs. Majority of employees tend to put forward resistance to change without considering that change facilitates improvements (Oliver Recklies 2001). The effects of change may be unclear to employees and thus fear something bad may happen that affects their tasks, responsibilities and worse enough even their lives. Management should consider possible aspects that may have negative impact on the change initiative so as to achieve the desired results. The su ccess of change projects depends on the Organisations ability to make all their employees participate in the change process in one way or the other. ( Oliver Recklies 2001). Lawler (1986), viewed from Rob Paton James Mc Calman (2008),said that overall change is not impossible but it is often difficult. The difficult is that most organisations view the concept of change as a highly programmed process which takes as its starting point the problem that needs to be rectified, breaks it down to constituent parts, analyses possible alternatives, select the preferred solution and applies this relentlessly- problem recognition, diagnosis and resolution Recklies (2001) made a significant contribution on how to minimise the negative effects of change to arrive at successful change process. He therefore divided the change process into seven stages it is relative better for management to understand in which stage they should expect what kind of problems. The stages are : shock and surprise, denial and refusal, rational understanding, emotional acceptance, exercising and learning, realisation and last being integration.( diagrammatically presented in figure 2.1) Shock surprise- This involves confrontation with unexpected situations Denial refusal-No need for change, i.e. Change is not necessary Rational understanding- people realised the need for change but unwilling to change own pattern of behaviour Emotional acceptance This is the most important stage characterised by slow pace. Management should succeed in creating willingness for change for the organisation to exploit its real potentials that lie in different aspects. Exercising learning This is the learning stage that will be influenced by peoples willingness. It is a trial for a new system and process. The stage is characterised by failure and success. This leads to the increased perceiveness of people own competence. Realisation This stage highly depends on stage 5 above, as people get more information through learning and allows mind to receive new challenges and experiences, The stage is characterised by flexibility and thus perceived competency increased. Integration At this stage people have acquired new skills and patterns of thinking The introduced change becomes familiar and a routing process. Figure 2.1 .Change process ( adapted from Oliver Recklies 2001) The seven stages simplify the implementation of the new process or change. Those who are responsible to accommodate the changes into the business should understand these stages so as to apply them systematically. John P. Kotter (1996) in his book Leading change explained clearly the most common mistakes done by organisations when adopting change and also he came up with their solutions. As Recklies 2001 (above) Kotter 1996 also explained eight stages for change process. Lets now examine the change mistakes done by management ( by Kotter ) and later we will explain the change stages and contrast them with Recklies change stages. Allowing too much complacency This is one of the biggest mistake as ranked by Kotter. The over confidence attitude of an executive wishing to process change may cause change failure. Having been successful in the past drives the executive to proceed with change plan without establishing and understanding the urgency of

The Dark Side Of A Wonder Drug-a Selected Collection Of Testimony On T :: essays research papers

The Dark side of a Wonder Drug-A Selected Collection of Testimony on the Safety of Ritalin "We give our children every day, yet we punish adults for taking speed," stated a concerned parent(Ritalin Zone). A trip to the principal's office used to mean big trouble. These days, more kids are showing up in the school office just to get their midday dose of Ritalin. Ritalin, the drug used to treat hyperactivity in children, is being seized on by a generation worried about controlling inappropriate behavior. But some doctors think Ritalin is being prescribed to children who are simply having trouble in school. The numbers suggest they have good reason to worry. The number of prescriptions for Ritalin increased four-fold from 1990 to 1995, making the stimulant one of the most prescribed drugs in the country. No one knows exactly what's behind the surge in Ritalin use, but experts speculate it's due to everything from increased awareness of attention disorders in schools to teachers and parents becoming less tolerant of unruly behavior. Some local school offices have become virtual noon-time pharmacies. At one Ottawa-area board of education, the number of medications dispensed to students by office administrators has increased 20 per cent over the past 18 months. A good chunk of those pills are Ritalin. "We always worry that we're a half-step away from giving someone the wrong dosage," says John Beatty, the board's superintendent of school operations(Ritalin Boy). "In certain school systems there's been a teacher who has seen it work and they'll start suggesting it as an option for all children who are acting out," said Linda Budd, a St. Paul, Minn., psychologist who has written the book Living With the Active/Alert Child. "We've got some teachers we call "Ritalin bullies' - he's not paying attention to me so he needs Ritalin"(Ritalin Zone). Marcia Ruberg, a school psychologist in Cherry Hill (N.J.) School District, said the number of children taking Ritalin varies greatly from class to class, depending on "the teacher's belief system"(Ritalin). At some schools, children as young as seven are asked to take their Ritalin themselves. The little blue pills have become so common in school yards that some kids are reportedly selling their spare Ritalin to friends, who take it in the hope of getting a buzz. "Every parent wants their child to be at the top of the class," says Dr. Andre Cote, clinical director of the Children's Mental Health Treatment Center at the Royal Ottawa Hospital. "What we might be seeing is that people are trying to improve their kids' performance by giving them medication"(Health: Ritalin). Others worry that Ritalin has become an easy answer for busy families

My Favourite Artist

One of the things that we enjoy doing in life is listening to music. I couldn’t imagine life without music because we listen to music almost at any moment of the day and we can find music everywhere, even now, u can find music in the beating of your heart. Music gives us pleasure and makes us forget about our daily problems and tries to relax us for a couple of minutes. i would like to introduce to u guys one of my favourite artist and he was JJ Lin. JJ was born in Singapore and he is a Singaporean Chinese pop singer based in Taiwan. He may not be good looking but he is very cute and his voice is beautiful. It would definitely melt everyone’s heart if u listens to his song. Actually, JJ is among the few artists that I adore because I heard their music first and got addicted before seeing their pictures. But seriously, JJ lin is extremely talented and brilliant, He knows just how to express his emotions in his songs, and make the listeners feel that way too. He is good in composing, singing, dancing and beat boxing too. JJ Lin first started out performing as backup vocalist and writing songs for various artistes before the entertainment spotlight shone on him. JJ came to musical prominence in Asia after he scored himself a ‘Best Newcomer’ award in the 15th Taiwan Golden Melody Awards. Since then he has also won multiple awards in the region, gaining recognition and applause for his musical works far and wide. So far, JJ has released 7 albums but I only collected 3 of his albums. I went to his autograph concert twice. Each album has won him various awards in the Asian region. As a serious musician, he composes each and every song in all of his albums and he constantly seeks to do something different with each album in order to surpass his own and others’ expectations of him.

Factional Distillation of Crude Oil

8. 2. 1 (iv) Fractional Distillation of Crude Oil By Blake Turner – Year 11 Fractional Distillation of Crude Oil Introduction Crude oil is the term for â€Å"unprocessed† oil, the stuff that comes out of the ground. It is also known as petroleum. Crude oil is a fossil fuel, meaning that it was made naturally from decaying plants and animals living in ancient seas millions of years ago — most places you can find crude oil were once sea beds. Crude oils vary in colour, from clear to tar-black, and in viscosity, from water to almost solid. On average, crude oils are made of the following elements or compounds: * Carbon – 84% Hydrogen – 14% * Sulphur – 1 to 3% (hydrogen sulfide, sulfides, disulfides, elemental sulfur) * Nitrogen – less than 1% (basic compounds with amine groups) * Oxygen – less than 1% (found in organic compounds such as carbon dioxide, phenols, ketones, carboxylic acids) * Metals – less than 1% (nickel, iron , vanadium, copper, arsenic) * Salts – less than 1% (sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride) The Process Fractional Distillation The oldest and most common way to separate things into various components (called fractions), is to do it using the differences in boiling temperature.This process is called fractional distillation. You basically heat crude oil up, let it vaporize and then condense the vapour The various components of crude oil have different sizes, weights and boiling temperatures; so, the first step is to separate these components. Because they have different boiling temperatures, they can be separated easily by a process called fractional distillation. The steps of fractional distillation are as follows: 1. You heat the mixture of two or more substances (liquids) with different boiling points to a high temperature.Heating is usually done with high pressure steam to temperatures of about 1112 degrees Fahrenheit / 600 degrees Celsius. 2. The mixture boils, forming vapor (gases); most substances go into the vapor phase. 3. The vapor enters the bottom of a long column (fractional distillation column) that is filled with trays or plates. The trays have many holes or bubble caps (like a loosened cap on a soda bottle) in them to allow the vapor to pass through. They increase the contact time between the vapor and the liquids in the column and help to collect liquids that form at various heights in the column.There is a temperature difference across the column (hot at the bottom, cool at the top). 4. The vapor rises in the column. 5. As the vapor rises through the trays in the column, it cools. 6. When a substance in the vapour reaches a height where the temperature of the column is equal to that substance's boiling point, it will condense to form a liquid. (The substance with the lowest boiling point will condense at the highest point in the column; substances with higher boiling points will condense lower in the column. ). 7.The tr ays collect the various liquid fractions. 8. The collected liquid fractions may pass to condensers, which cool them further, and then go to storage tanks, or they may go to other areas for further chemical processing. Components of the Mixture Crude Oil Components All the †¦. Product| Boiling point ( degrees Celsius )| Petroleum gas| 40| Naphtha or ligroin| 60-100| Gasoline| 40 – 205| Kerosene| 175-325| Gas oil| 250-350| Lubricating oil| 300-370| Heavy gas| 370-600| Residues| 600| Products of Separation Assessment Question: Why is the mixture separated?What are the components used for? Why is Mixture Separated? 42393793 161b What are the Components Used For? Below is a list of separated components and what they are used for: Petroleum gas Used for heating, cooking and making plastics. Commonly known by the names methane, ethane, propane, butane. Naphtha or Ligroin Intermediate that will be further processed to make gasoline. Gasoline Motor fuel. †¢liquid Kerosene Fu el for jet engines and tractors; starting material for making other products. †¢liquid Gas Oil or Diesel DistillateUsed for diesel fuel and heating oil; starting material for making other products. †¢liquid Lubricating Oil Used for motor oil, grease, other lubricants. †¢liquid Heavy Gas or Fuel oil Used for industrial fuel; starting material for making other products. †¢liquid Residuals Coke, asphalt, tar, waxes; starting material for making other products †¢solid Wastes Bibliography http://science. howstuffworks. com/environmental/energy/oil-refining4. htm http://www. aip. com. au/industry/fact_refine. htm www. theoildrum. com/node/6089 en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Separation_process

Proton

* 1. INTRODUCTIONPerusahaan Otomobil Nasional Berhad (PROTON) wasincorporated in May 7, 1983 to manufacture, assembleand sell motor vehicles and related products, includingaccessories, spare parts and other components. PROTON produced Malaysias first car, the ProtonSaga, commercially launched on July 9, 1985 by formerMalaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr. MahathirMohamed, who had originally conceived the idea of aMalaysian cars. Toyota Motor Corporation is the market leader inautomotive industry and the worlds largest motorvehicle manufacturing groups.It sell about 7,234,439unit of all type of vehicles in 2009. * 2. BENCHMARKPROTON benchmark is based on Toyota Motor Corporation . ToyotaMotor, the worlds largest automotive manufacturer (overtaking GM in2008), designs and manufactures a diverse product line-up that rangesfrom subcompacts to luxury and sports vehicles toSUVs, trucks, minivans, and buses. Its vehicles are produced either withcombustion or hybrid engines, as with the Prius. To yotas subsidiaries alsomanufacture vehicles: Daihatsu Motor produces mini-vehicles, while HinoMotors produces trucks and buses.Additionally, Toyota makes automotiveparts for its own use and for sale to others. Popular models include theCamry, Corolla, Land Cruiser, and luxury Lexus line, as well as the Tundratruck. In Asia, they generates almost 40% of sales. * 3. VISION†¢ They strive to become a successful Malaysian Automotive Manufacturer globally by being customer oriented and producing competitively priced and innovative quality products. * 4. MISSIONOur Company history is one of the remarkable achievements ofwhich we are proud(1) of.In our pride lies the vital energy thatdrives us forward and forces us to take on new challenges. Notonly our customers but also our business associates andshareholders need to trust our ability and rely(2) on us todeliver on our promise of quality. We continually strive toexpand our knowledge(3), skills and expertise in order to findbetter sol utions and produce better results. As a nationalproject, Proton is also committed to lead in the acquisition ofintellectual capability in design and technology(4), which willpropel the nation to achieve the status of an industrialisednation.With people as our primary focus, we are committed tobuilding a friendly organisation, sensitivity to customers needswith clear communications leading to mutual understandingand care(5). * 5. CHARACTERISTIC OF MISSION 1. Philosophy †¢ Proud 2. Self – 5. Customers concept †¢ Caring †¢ Reliable Mission element 4. Employees 3. Technology †¢ Knowledgeable †¢ New technology * 6. OPPORTUNITIES†¢ Replacement model make an increasing sales about 40. 7%. †¢ Joint venture with other company. †¢ The development of concept car(Nissan)†¢ Rising oversea demand about 20. % * 7. THREATS†¢ Global financial crisis effect the vehicle sales are tipped to fall 12. 4 per cent in 2009. †¢ New product from ot her companies with better technology. †¢ Gas price up almost 30%. †¢ Local competitor, Perodua or Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua has surpassed Proton in sales. * 8. The External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix WEIGHTED OPPORTUNITIES WEIGHT RATING SCOREReplacement model make anincreasing sales about 40. 7% 0. 08 1 0. 08Joint venture with other company 0. 2 2 0. 4The development of conceptcar(Nissan) 0. 09 3 0. 7Rising oversea demand about 20. 7% 0. 12 4 0. 48 * 9. WEIGHTED THREAT WEIGHT RATING SCORE Local competitor, Perodua orPerusahaan Otomobil Kedua hassurpassed Proton in sales. 0. 23 3 0. 69Gas price up almost 30%. 0. 08 2 0. 08Global financial crisis effect the vehiclesales are tipped to fall 12. 4 per cent in2009. 0. 08 4 0. 32New product from other companieswith better technology. 0. 12 3 0. 36 Total 1. 0 2. 68 * 10. STRENGTH†¢ Strong R&D (R3)†¢ Revenue per employee. †¢ Government Linked Company (GLC)†¢ Employee morale is excellence. The market share of 56. 9% in the industry. * 11. WEAKNESSES†¢ Quality of product is still lower compare to competitor product. †¢ Employee is lacked of technical skill. †¢ Had suffered a net loss of RM60. 1mil for its third quarter ended Dec 31 because of restructuring expenses incurred by its sports car division, Lotus Group International Ltd. * 12. SWOT MATRIX Click this * 13. BCG MATRIX FOR PROTON BHD * 14. †¢ From this graph, it shows that the Proton Bhd. market share was about 25% and industry sales growth rate is -5%.From the result, we consider of three types of strategies which is divestiture, product development and market penetration. * 15. DOGS STRATEGY1. Divestiture. 2. Product Development. 3. Market Penetration. * 16. DIVESTITURE†¢ By using this strategy, the company should focus more on their core business only because of it is in DOGS requirement. Divestiture often is used to raise capital for further strategy acquisition or investment. For example proton must reduce the production of Proton Juara and Tiara because the car demand is low and difficult to find spare part and make up the car.The reason is longer proton produce the car the inventory turnover will be higher. * 17. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT†¢ In this strategy, our company needs to gain endeavor to incorporate select technologies and manufacturing expertise such as from Nissan Motor Co. that could lead to potential cost savings in capital expenditure and research and development (R&D) for the national carmaker. * 18. MARKET PENETRATION†¢ In this stage, Proton must consider getting a third party to use its plant for a long-term planning for better utilization of plant capacity. Proton can go and get technology from a small company as many big companies in South Korea, Japan and Europe were using them to design their cars. * 19. BALANCE SCORECARD FRAMEWORKStrategies Priorities Goal Target StrategyFinancial Increasing sales of New Focus on developing proton product demographica l country. areasCustomer Attract more people to Young and the Made sporty car model buy proton car middle age people that can attract customersManager / Increase Working Potential worker Send them oversea toEmployee performance strengthen skill and expertise