Canadian cultural Essay

In her article â€Å"I Am Half-Canadian,† Pamela Swanigan seeks to define Canadian cultural identity by comparing and contrasting it to the often highly regarded identity attributed to Americans. Born in the USA to parents of mixed racial origin and later immigrating to Canada, Swanigan offers a unique view on many of the common fallacies that come up when one envisions the culture of the United States. Contrary to the popular view, that depicts the United States as an all-welcoming â€Å"melting pot† of cultures and races, Swanigan contests instead that American culture is one of constricting self-definition and pigeonholing. She argues that American culture is neither open nor accepting of diversity, instead forcing people to strictly classify themselves into certain racial and linguistic categories- â€Å"everyone’s forced to pick one definition and stick to it. † Having personally experienced this phenomenon, as a woman of mixed race working in a traditionally male field (sports writing), Swanigan is extremely influential in presenting her case, offering a number of examples as to how Americans are boxed in to certain classifications and social expectations. She further goes on to remark on the close-minded nature of such a view, which leads many Americans to be suspicious and vaguely threatening- a stance that directly contradicts the traditional view of the United States as an open and accepting country. Swanigan contrasts this with the relatively fluid and undistinguishable collective culture of Canada, where a lack of strict individual definition leads to the misconception that Canadians have no culture at all. Instead the author seeks to dispel this myth by suggesting that this lack of identification is in fact the ideal that America claims to promote, which its neighbor to the north that has achieved.

Belonging †Black Swan & Romulus My Father Essay

The experience of belonging is a deep human instinct that is forged through steady connections to place, people and eventually a world of thoughts that keep our existence stable. The failure to maintain these connections can lead to the eruption of alienation, isolation and tragedy. These intensely moving human experiences are investigated in Raimond Gaita’s biographical memoir ‘Romulus My Father’ and Darren Aronofsky’s film ‘Black Swan’. Good morning teacher and classmates. The text ‘Black Swan’ is a film directed by Darren Aronofsky. It is about a ballerina, Nina, who is elected for the main role in the classic ballet performance Swan Lake. She must play both the white and black swan but can only dance the white. She strives to belong in the position as the black swan and succeed in her role, but in doing so she spirals into insanity. My collage of pictures from the movie Black Swan, defines the importance of acceptance as an essential foundation of belonging. Without the acceptance of a person into their surroundings, it becomes difficult for them to believe that they have a sense of belonging, which is what lead Nina to insanity. Although acceptance is a key factor in belonging, identity and relationships can alter the acceptance of the individual. This is displayed when Nina morphs into her evil twin, the black swan that eventually corrupts her identity and total sense of belonging. At times Nina doesn’t feel as though she belongs in herself. Her mind-controlling mother is a big factor in this as she obviously has border issues and keeps strict control over all phases of Nina’s life. Because of this childish way Nina is treated, she feels trapped in her own little world, causing her to feel a sense of not belonging. Nina’s bedroom is displayed in the movie as very juvenile with butterflies on the wall, a big white rabbit, a ballerina music box and an over all theme of baby pink. The white rabbit next to the window is a symbol of mind control, which originates from the movie Alice in Wonderland. By Alice following the rabbit she is lead to an alternate world, wonderland, which results in dissociation, exactly what Nina feels throughout the movie. Throughout the movie Nina thrives to be accepted and belong in the role of the black swan. Thomas, the ballet director selects Nina for the Swan Queen, which means she has to play the roles of both the white and black swan, both completely opposite characters. Thomas knows that the meticulous dancer is perfect for the role of White Swan, but knows Nina’s frigid style will struggle to pull off the twisted, sexual and dangerous character of the Black Swan. Whilst watching Nina dance he says, â€Å"I knew the White Swan wouldn’t be a problem. The real work would be your metamorphosis into her evil twin. † For Nina to belong in both roles as the White and Black Swan she must master good and evil; light and darkness. This concept of duality is so vital, but as Nina lets the Black Swan gain power she begins hallucinating and starts to see all sorts of strange mutations on her body. Nina has no idea how these appear and falls into an utter state of confusion, not feeling as though she belongs in her own skin anymore. Motifs being Mirrors and Black Wings are used throughout the movie as signs of psychosis and the force of the Black Swan into Nina’s White Swan like character. The Black Swan evidently does not belong in Nina and therefore begins to destruct. Mirrors symbolically reflect the true state of Nina’s mind. As the Black Swan continues to take over, creepy images are reflected as though it has a mind of its own. As these images are reflected Nina realises she does no longer belong to her own reflection and that she has a completely separate creature living inside her. It obviously does not belong in her as it acts totally out of her control. Right before Ninas big performance as the Black Swan she fights against herself in her dressing room. During the fight a mirror breaks, this represents the collapse of the psychological boundary separating both creatures. The shattering of the mirror, results in Nina becoming the Black Swan. Black wings symbolically represent the force of the Black Swan into Nina, at different stages of the movie. Shortly after being crowned ‘Swan Queen’, Nina is fascinated by a creepy statue with wings spread. Little does she know it represents what she is about to become. Black Wings also appear on the back of Ninas friend Lily, and attached to Nina at the end of her ‘perfect’ performance as the Black Swan. She is briefly shown with black wings, symbolizing that she has become ‘one’ with the Black Swan and it now belongs inside her. After her transformation, Nina fails to maintain stability between places, people and her thoughts, and as stated in the thesis, this consequently leads to tragedy. The whole process of marrying the white and black, good and evil, light and dark consumes her. The black swan completely possesses her and becomes this destructive force that she cannot live with. After a long process of tormenting her physically and mentally, Ninas sense of belonging finally collapses and she believes she cannot go on. The only way she can free herself is by committing suicide, and that she does. Raimond Gaita’s memoir ‘Romulus My Father’, tells the story of his father Romulus who migrated to Australia with his wife and son. Gaita’s story of his father investigates the events of his life and defines the troubles that Romulus had trying to belong to the Australian culture. Like Nina, Romulus tries his hardest and does everything he can to be accepted. Romulus My Father explores a sense of familiar belonging and how it shapes who we are. In the novel a deep sense of belonging is present within the narrator himself. The narrator delivers observations in a reflective and thoughtful tone. High modality of verbs suggests pleasant nostalgia about events in the book. A sense of belonging between Raimond and his father is displayed in the quote, â€Å"I loved him too deeply†¦no quarrel could estrange us†. Even after Christina dies, Raimonds aspects of belonging is family and culture, â€Å"we came together as son and husband with the woman whose remains lay beneath us†. Juxtaposed against Raimonds belonging is suffering of Christina in her displacement. The mothers inability to belong is described by Raimond as â€Å"a troubled city girl, she could not settle†¦ in a landscape that highlighted her isolation†. The depressed tone that Raimond conveys, suggests that Christine could not fit into the community and in Australia. Because of this lack of belonging she is lead to isolation and alienation, which results in her betraying her family, which is juxtaposed by â€Å"I felt awkward with her†. This shows Raimonds relationship with his mother has lost the familiar belonging it once contained. The parent and child relationship gives belonging to both Raimond and Romulus. Raimond gives his father strength to overcome constant tragedy, â€Å"my son is everything to me† and â€Å"never say I don’t love you†. Romulus does everything he can to give his son a better life â€Å"he denied himself so I would have more†. Other central themes that force the characterizations of Romulus and Raimond are cultural and national belonging. Although pleasure and security is found in Victoria, a strong connection exists between Raimond and Romulus and their origin, Europe. Raimonds similes about his father display his sense of isolation in Australia, â€Å"he longed for European society, saying that he felt like a prisoner in Australia. Raimond found that there was an absence of belonging in Australia, which is a sense of nationality and ethnicity. Verbal irony is used by Raimond, â€Å"They called him Jack†, which shows that even though the town tried to make Romulus belong by changing his name, he still decided to keep his won. Even though Romulus belongs to his community he still felt an absence of belonging that he did not want replaced with a simple name-change. The way that the narrator constantly refers to Europe displays that they still have a strong connection to their home where extra pleasure, comfort and sense of belonging can be found. Our belonging and who we are is shaped by our context. ‘Romulus My Father’ by Raimond Gaita explores the definitive nature of cultural and familiar belonging. â€Å"Black Swan† by Darren Aronofsky allows the viewer to experience the dark side of entertainment through mind control, manipulation and immortality clashing with success and recognition and the destruction that can be caused on an individual when they do not connect with their sense of belonging. Together these texts allow us to examine both positive and negative aspects of belonging.

Managing Communications, Knowledge and Information Essay

Managing Communications, Knowledge and Information - Essay Example Knowledge management and information flows within organizations form a critical link to its productivity and performance. However, effective knowledge management practices remain a distinctive challenge for organizations in the form of identifying the key information needs of the organization and developing effective systems for channelising the information flow across departments and business units. How does an organization define the need for knowledge and skills among its employees and what are the measures that it takes to equip the workforce with the desired skills? How can strategic planning in identifying information needs within each department or operational processes in the business and how can this help in meeting the organizational goals and objectives? These are some of the pertinent questions facing organizations and this paper focuses on providing an insight into strategies that can be adopted by an organization to meet its information needs and overall business object ives. The paper analyses the information needs and knowledge management strategies taken by Apple to meet one of its business objectives. On 22 August 2008, Apple launched the I-phone in India. The response they received from consumers was not as expected as hardly any consumers showed up. This was a bit disappointing as compared to the launches in other countries where there were thousands of consumers standing outside the stores to get their I-phones. It was identified that the lack of marketing led to not having enough consumers at the launch date. (Iphone in India, 2011) The graph below shows the Mac market share of Apple: Market share of Apple by geographic divisions (Source: OSXDaily, 2011) By looking at the above graph, we can see that the market share in Asia is 1.61%, out of which about half is China and the rest is India. Considering the population size, it may not seem as low but as compared to other continents, it is considerably low. With

Presentation & Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Presentation & Paper - Essay Example For instance, if the society as a whole or by extension had a problem where the agriculture sector or sphere was affected negatively by whatever cause, it was the duty and role of the University to interceded and do research on the same to see to it that the anomaly was corrected. It is important to note ad record that Cyrus NuttLemuel as the President of the Indiana University, did oversee and period of transition where the new courses and programs at the inaugural stage and manner were introduced to the University. As far as his personal accolades and information is concerned, it is safe to assert that the Cyrus NuttLemuel Moss was a distinguished academicians whose accomplishments and achievements in the University helm was a correlations and reflection on the ability of the president. To begin with, he was the president of the Indiana University from the period of 1860-1875. In the year 1931, as a young man, he earned a bachelor’s of Arts degree from the Allegheny College, which was later accorded full accreditation to earn a charter and earned a charter to become a University. Later on he grew in stature and on the academic ladder and walk to become a professor of languages at the current DePauw University which was formerly known as the Asbury (Andreatta 59). This happened prior to his appointment to lead and serve the Indiana University as the President, thus he taught in the same university in the stated capacity. In the year between 1849 and 1850, he served as the President and visiting professor at the Fort Wayne Female College (Andreatta 53). At this level, it is safe to note and assert the fact that Cyrus NuttLemuel Moss held several prior positions as college heads and presidents before he was appointed as the President of the Indiana University. During this period and point in time, he grew in stature an

1. A Moral Dillema & What is Moral Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

1. A Moral Dillema & What is Moral - Essay Example The responsibility of the student is towards both his widower mother and his lost brother. It is now in his hands to choose as to which responsibility he would fulfill. I believe that the student should never leave his home to fight the Nazis as he would not be able to kill the specific person who killed his brother. Based on moral grounds the lost person cannot be revived again by fighting with the Nazis. The student can perhaps live at home and serve his mother as she is a widow and already suffering from the death of her son. The student can take over the place of his brother and meet all the demands of his mother as she would have wanted from his brother. This decision would help to bring out a positive outcome overall as it would save both the mother and student’s life. It would help the mother to be happy with what she is left with in this world. Over the years it is seen that the controversy regarding piracy of music has taken a new shape. Many registered companies have filed a complaint against different software issuers for pirating music. Even nowadays it is seen that music and movies are available online without any copyright charges. It is a blessing for some people who get the music and movies in free whereas some decide not to buy pirated music and movies as it is considered as a fraud by the people. A question arises regarding the copyrights of music, movies and books over the internet analyzing the current situation. It can be answered by examining the different views of different people. Piracy of these things has become an issue because of the easy access that people have been given. The unregulated distribution of these works should be prohibited over the internet as this line of distribution takes away the line of profit from the manufacturers. It has been found that many of the Internet users prefer using things for free rather than paying for them. One may not want to buy music if he is getting the same music for free

Assignment 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Assignment 6 - Essay Example The all serve purpose of advertising with difference in approaches and content of the messages. This is the initial stage where consumer is made aware of the product and forms a vague idea of the product/service. The marketer needs to ascertain the level of awareness the customer has and act fit towards clearer understanding of the product/service (P.J., 2010). Explanation and use of sample displays at this point will drive the point home increasing the chances of making a sell. At this point, the consumer is well aware of the product or service but probably misses the actual benefits or offers the product or service will accord him. By learning what the target market have an understanding and the depth of the knowledge, the best foot forward here is increasing the spread of the detailed knowledge of the product/ service. A stage is reached when the customer has started relating with the product and develops special connections to it. This is the liking stage and the marketer is to understand the feeling of the consumer about his product /services. When the marketers get a hint of the feeling, they take an appropriate action towards putting campaigns or communication into design. In cases where the market has different other products, the market will seek to unearth the preference of the customer. Getting a glimpse of the priority listing the customer has, the marketer tries a concerted effort to improve preference and bringing it up the priority list. At this stage, the marketer has come along way to give up. The consumer should be given the strongest reason possible to strengthen his belief in the product/ service being offered. The marketer at this point needs to choose the right words that will strongly recommend the product to the consumer to drive conviction of the good or service. The above stages make no sense if it does not culminate at the purchase level. This stage succeeds the conviction stage where

Sustainability Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sustainability - Assignment Example If the environment is maintained then the well being of each human being shall be observed. However there have been some practices or measures which have been taken and have depleted the environment. The aim of these activities is to gain sustainable development. Sustainable development is a pattern of practices which aim to meet the needs o all human beings while at the same time preserving the environment or the importance of future generations. In attaining sustainable development the environment should be kept safe. Some practices like constructions at sometimes do not promote this sustainable development. There are many arguments supporting sustainable development while at the same time there are others which argue against this method o resource use. Many examples have been illustrated for the arguments and therefore it becomes hard to decide whether it is right or wrong. Arguments against Sustainable Development It has been argued that this is a bad concept to put in practice s ince its effects are unknown. The effects that may result to the ecology or the economy are unpredictable making this concept a dangerous one. Some practices like deforestation are likely to cause many environmental hazards. It may lead to global warming and rise of deserts. With global warming all living things shall be affected by the high or low temperatures. Therefore the consequences of sustainable development are likely to be risky to human lie (Morse 2010, p.80). It has been argued that it is not easy to make use of the environment while avoiding the negative outcomes. Since they will always come then this concept should be avoided (Yang & Sidwell 2005, p.90). It has been argued that the term sustainable development is very vague. This is because when man is to benefit from the environment then there is no point in saying that he will still be conserving the environment for future use. For instance in constructions, the environment is interfered with negatively thus it would be impossible for sustainable development to occur. Some have even argued that this is a spam since it talks of what can be done and not what is really been done. The government policies are supporting this to see to it that the environment is not interfered with to save future generations. It has been further argued that this concept is oxymoron. It will not be possible to make maximum use of the environment now and then you expect in future to make the same use. This is termed as de-growth. Sustainable development will only apply now but in future it will not sine the resources will have been fully exploited thus they will not be in a position to human life anymore. This is wrong concept to be used (Chartered Institute of Building 2009, p.46). This concept has also been argued against since it is not measurable. It is not easy to measure sustainable development. Therefore it will be obvious that the consequences of the same will not be known and this may be a big risk for future g enerations (Yang & Sidwell 2005, p.99). Arguments for Sustainable Development It has been argued that human beings must survive in their own ecology using all the possible means. Sustainable development is therefore a good practice which will make the survival

Seed predation in exotic and native legumes Lab Report

Seed predation in exotic and native legumes - Lab Report Example This way the exotic species reproduce fast and form dense populations thereby eliminating the native species that had initially thrived in the ecosystem freely. These are referred to as invasive exotic species. Exotic species are also referred to as non-indigenous species in many books. According to Keane and Crawley 2012, the most straightforward and appealing explanation for the rapid establishment and proliferation of non-indigenous species is that they are produced from the effects of their common foes and pathogens. The enemy release hypothesis explains that the abundance or impact of some non-indigenous species is related to the scarcity of natural enemies in the introduced range compared with the native range. This experiment is aimed at evaluating the effect of invasive exotic species in the ecosystem. Pods of A. lebbeck and L. latisiquum will be used to show the damage by our predator which in our case is the Bruchid beetles. The frequency of the holes made in the pods of the two different species will help us to generate our hypothesis with the two variables being used to generate the hypothesis being the origin of the species and the damage caused. The Chi-square test which will be done at the end of the practical session will be used to determine whether or not the damage caused on the seed pods was independent of the origin of the species. Our chi-square results will provide evidence of the dependence of damage on the origin of the species that we used. According to Siemann and Rogers 2003, the existence of exotic species could be enhanced by better adaptation methods and faster growth rate in the prevailing conditions. Further with time the native species could have generated many enemies and so its survival is further limited, Blossey & NÃ ¶tzold 1995. If the exotic species has developed a resistance to the Bruchid beetles then it

School Shooting Massacres Essay Example for Free

School Shooting Massacres Essay Background: A school shooting is an incident in where gun violence occurs at an education institution. A school shooting can affect the students and workers who were in the shooting mentally and physically. The earliest known school shooting to ever take place in the United States was the Pontiacs Rebellion school massacre which happened on July 26, 1764. In this school massacre, four Lenape American Indians entered the school, shoot and killed Enoch Brown, and killed nine or ten children. It is either nine or ten because the reports can be shifted and changed. Only three children survived. There have been worst serious cases where a shooting had managed to take the lives of a couple of people. The Virginia Tech Massacre which was on April 16, 2007 was one of the deadliest shooting incidents by a single gunman in U.S. history. It lasted between 7:15 a.m.–9:51 a.m. The gun man was Seung-Hui Cho, who was a senior at the time in Virginia Tech. Thirty-three people were killed including the gun man himself and twenty-three were injured. This massacre influenced media coverage and drew widespread criticism of U.S. gun culture. It also talked about how there were gaps in the U.S. system for treating mental health issue because Seung-Hui Cho was mentally unfit. The shooting was also known as the second-deadliest act of mass murder at a US school campus. The Columbine School Shooting took place on April 20, 1999. It lasted between 11:19 am – 12:08 pm. The gunmen involved were two seniors named Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. The shooting was mostly focused on school bullying and cliques at school. This school shooting had a very good chance where it could have been stopped. Erick Harris created a blog on a page for a video game where he talked about school, friends and family. It also included the information on how to create trouble and how to make explosives. The blog also talked about the trouble that they were going to cause. It also included how much they both hated the people who bullied them and society itself. The Sandy Hook shooting took place on December 14, 2012. It lasted between 9:35 am – c. 9:49 am. The gunman was Adam Peter Lanza. The reason for the shooting is unknown since the gunman killed himself. Twenty-eight victims were killed and two were injured. The Shooting is the second deadliest shooting in United States history. It is also the deadliest mass murder in an American elementary school. The shooting started debate on gun control and a new idea for banning the sale and making of some types of semi-automatic weapons and magazines. Adam Lanza also killed his mother at home by shooting her and taking her guns to the school. Adam’s Lanza’s brother also told law enforcement that he was â€Å"somewhat autistic†.

Develop A Sustainable Tourism Industry In The Antarctic Tourism Essay

Develop A Sustainable Tourism Industry In The Antarctic Tourism Essay The purpose of this paper is to do research of the tourism industry in Antarctica continent according to the research question of How to develop a sustainable tourism industry in the Antarctic? It is a fundamental to have cooperation from every organization related to Antarctica tourism. Since the continent has been consider as fragile and being the most valuable spot to humankind for exploration in many aspects such as environmental issues. Moreover, the management in this region is quite interesting as there are no permanently resident livings, and seven countries making territory claims during the first half of 20th century. In conclusion, the perspectives from tour operators, tourists and the organizations that work closely to Antarctica are very important to improve and preserve as the world heritage site. Antarctica is the most isolated continent that covers the bottom of the globe; it is also commonly known as the South Pole. It is the coldest, windiest, highest and driest place on Earth with no permanent inhabitants living there. Therefore, it is a challenge to explore Antarctica because of the coldest weather and beautiful scenery with ice covering all region, interesting local animals and plant survival in such area. Travel to Antarctica is one kind of adventure tourism and in the mean time, this can also be education tourism as scientists from all over the world come to study the organism and ecosystem. Antarctica is quite expensive to travel to but most of the visitors find that their experiences are exceed their expectations (Lonely Planet, 2010). This paper also points out about the negative impacts from tourism on Antarctic, especially from human activities toward its environment and means of protecting it. Not only in the Antarctic but also all over the world have concern been expressed about the climate change and global warming. Ozone depletion and melting glaciers are the serious environmental problems to this continent as well. We will see how tourism developments in the Antarctic happen and how to maintain sustainable tourism in this region. There are no restaurants, theaters or shopping malls, what attracts tourists to go there. All of the information above can be found in this paper. Brief Information and Background about Antarctica Timeline History The ancient Greeks who first came up with the idea of this continent named Arktos have known about Antarctica since 350 B.C., but they never actually went there. In the year 1773, James Cook circumnavigated Antarctica that means he was the first person to cross the Antarctic circle. He made a comment: I make bold to declare that the world will derive no benefit from it (cool Antarctica, 2001). In 1820, the Antarctic continent was first seen by human eyes from three men whose separate voyages had been given credit that year. During the years 1840 to 1914 there were many historic trips from the travelers eager to explore the continent and many trips failed and tragedy happened such as a ship that sank and the crew perished because they couldnt stand with the extremely cold weather. The first airplane flight was made by Sir George Hubert Wilkins in the year 1928. December 1, 1959, the Antarctic Treaty was signed to establish the legal framework for the management of Antarctica. In 1991, twenty-four countries signed an agreement that barred exploration for oil or mineral deposit for 50 years (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 1999). Antarctica Geography, Wildlife and Flora Antarctica is centered on the geographical South Pole with 13.9 million square kilometers or approximately twice the size of Australia. For millions of years snow and ice have built up, making the continent entirely covered by an ice sheet comprises about 98% of Antarcticas surface which is about 95% of the worlds fresh water reserves. The lowest temperatures can drop down as -89.6Â °C. Antarctica is ranked as the fifth largest of the seven continents. The continent lacks an indigenous human population, but is home to millions of penguins, seabirds, seals, whales and temporary home to thousand of scientists and their support staff. The hallmark wildlife of Antarctica is penguins with seven species, only the male hatch single egg for nine weeks on their feet. Penguins feed heavily on fish, squid and crustaceans, its natural enemies are seals and killer whales. Watching flying seabirds is one of the popular activities for tourists while wandering on the cruise. The albatross is the largest flying sea bird with 4 meters wingspan. Other fascinating marine animals are Antarctic seals, using sonar for feeding, mainly on fish, squid and krill (a key species for Antarctic ecosystem). During the 19th and 20th centuries, seals were heavily hunted for their skins, fur and oil, driving them almost to extinction. Today, seals are protected by the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals, which allows a small quota for scientific examination. The biggest warm-blooded mammals on this continent are whales. They live their entire lives in the water and has a lifespan between 20 and 40 years up to 80. Antarctica has be en declared an international whale sanctuary with whaling activities closely monitored by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) (Antarctic Connection, 2010). Many people may be confused and think that there are polar bears in Antarctica but it was wrong because polar bears only live in the North Pole. Because of the hostile climate, not many plants can grow well since only approximately 2% of Antarctica is ice-free. There are only two native plants that can grow a grass and a cushion forming pearlwort (laws, 1989). Mosses, liverworts and lichens are the greatest interest to tourist for photography (Bauer, 2001) as they add some color to the region rather than white from the ice sheet. There are some measures to protect Antarctic wildlife and nature such as: Do not use aircraft, small boats to disturb wildlife, either sea or land and do not make any loud noise to frighten them. Do not feed, touch seals, penguins and birds or make anything to cause them to alter their behavior. Do not damage plants or bring non-native plants or animals into the Antarctic. Tourism in Antarctica and its development Antarctica can be referred to a fragile and unknown continent (Bauer, 2001). The Antarctic tourism industry began in the late 1950s when Chile and Argentina took more than 500 passengers to the South Shetland Islands. The world first expedition ship called Lindblad Explorer was designed in 1969 for carrying tourists to the Antarctic; this was in the period of modern cruise industry. Since then, the number of tourists has grown from a few hundred to more than 30,000 each year as shown in figure 1 below. Tourism continues to expand; WTO (2000) forecast estimated that about 1.56 billion tourists would arrive by the year 2020. Figure 1: The statistics of tourists to Antarctica by nationality in 2008-2009 (source: IAATO) Large scale and uncontrolled tourism can have a destructive impact on the continents environment. Therefore, all of the shipping companies, travel agencies, yachts and air operations have become members of International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators or IAATO founded in 1991 to promote and practice safe and environmentally responsible action in the Antarctic (IAATO, n.d.). No visa is required for travelling to Antarctica, but travelers have to check with the tour operator in case they make stops at other countries. Travel insurance is highly recommended. Late October through early April is suitable time to travel because it is the ice recede period, days are long up to 24 hours of daylight in December and January. The gateway ports to Antarctic region include Valparaiso, Chile; Ushuaia, Argentina and Invercargill / Bluff; New Zealand (Travel and Leisure, 2010). Antarctica is an almost completely inaccessible destination with no land connections or regular commercial flights. Therefore, the only way to experience Antarctica is by joining a program conducted by tour operators: cruises, yachts, over flights without landings. With the absence of a local Antarctic population, one interesting question is; Who will benefit from Antarctic tourism activities? In my opinion, the one who will get the benefit from Antarctic tourism is the tour operator in the term of economics but in the meantime, the tourist will also gain their truly spectacular experience where it cannot be bought. As mentioned in the introduction, travelling to Antarctica can be categorized as adventure and education tourism because of its geography surrounding natural laboratories for scientific research, which cannot be done anywhere else on Earth. The research involves government agencies, private industry, scientists and students from the university faculties. The most interesting research falls among the following subjects: geology, glaciology, oceanography, astronomy, meteorology, atmospheric sciences, biology and medical science (Antarctic Connection, 2010). Therefore, most of the tourists going to Antarctica are scientists and student groups to discover case studies and learn from real experience. What make people want to visit Antarctica once in a lifetime and what are the activities for the tourist while they are here will be described. People who love adventure, challenge and want to explore the extraordinary experience will plan their trip here. Gunn (1988) describes attraction as on location places in regions that not only provide things for tourists to see and to do but also offer the magnetism for travel. The attractions is the most powerful component of supply side of tourism Here are the lists of tourist attractions in Antarctica; Natural Attractions tourist can watch a great natural view from the tall mountains, massive glaciers, ice shelves, huge floating icebergs, flora, seabird, seals and penguins. Scientific Research Stations the popular stations for tourist are the Argentinean and Esperanza. Visits to scientific stations provide a chance to meet inhabitants who spent long periods of their time and have another opportunity to discuss and exchange their travel experience in this region. Historic Sites, Monuments and Huts where the explorers left behind, the most frequently visited huts is the one built by Scott and Shackleton on Ross Island. One concern problem is that too many visitors may damage the sites, therefore the 33 historic huts and sites are managed by the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust and restrict for the maximum number of visitors inside the huts and to ensure that the number is not exceeded (Bauer, 2001). Whaling Station Whaling has become unacceptable for conservationists and these mammals are nearly extinct, but stations such as Whalers Bay and Stromness are included in many cruise itineraries. Travelling to Antarctica is risk-taking; as a result, a professional tour operator that prepares all the necessary equipment and contingency plan is recommended. Before planning to go to Antarctica, the tourist should prepare and know their capabilities. Health check-up is essential, and thick clothes are very important to keep the body warm. Bear in mind that an accident can happen at any time. Respect the regulations strictly such as do not walk onto glaciers, where you can fall into hidden crevasses. Environmental Impacts from Antarctica Tourism Many principal causes from the tourism can impact the ecosystem of Antarctica; for example pollution through sewage, fuels, oil, waste and noise from the transportation and human both tourists and scientists. Moreover, introduction of non-native soils, plants and animals, or even travel on foot and disturbance of local bird or seal breeding colonies also cause an impact. This is a very serious problem to the earth as it may destroy nature and accumulate into a big issue. Hence, it is one of the tour operators responsibilities to explain, train and advise the tourists how they have to behave during the trip. The information must contain clear, useful information of do and dont in Antarctica with the reason at the end so that the tourist will understand what will affect the environment if they break the rules. Climate change involves human interventions such as the emissions of greenhouse gases; the experience from National Antarctic Programs over the two decades demonstrates that reducing greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in Antarctica can yield huge benefits to global environment. Also all economic activities such as fisheries should be managed in a preventive way. According to the research, during the years 2004-2005 approximately 50,000 tourists traveled to Antarctica, therefore the average of each person emission of CO2 was 4 tons during their stay, which usually lasted several months (Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, 2009). Glacier melt and ozone depletion are major problems to Antarctica as it affect the living creature. The main cause is from global warming that accelerate the melting of glaciers. Those effects include excessive flooding, rise in sea level and habitat loss (Buzzle, 2010). Chlorofluorocarbon or CFCs found in aerosol sprays, air conditioning systems and refrigerators is a major cause of the destruction of the ozone layer over Antarctica. There is an isolated region in the atmosphere which had a circular motion called polar vortex and researchers believe that the gases will float about 20-50 km above the ground towards Antarctica, thus, creating a big hole above (thinkquest, 2010). Moreover, poor visitors management can cause ecology damage such as stepping on the moss can affect its slow growing, disturbing wildlife can affect their behavior and their breeding, rubbish and waste from the ships and cruises can distort the balance of ecology. Even an accident such as oil spill and chemical leak can have a big impact, as it will take a long time to disappear from the sea surface (Gee, 2003). Future forecast for Antarctica in the year 2100 are 33% reduction of sea ice, all main krill will experience food limitations, and the number of mike whale will be depleted by 5-30%. A possible adaptation is to protect the area and maintain stable sea ice, control human activities to minimize impact and to implement appropriate biosecurity measures. Antarctica plays an important role in the Earths climate system as the research is crucial for understanding global warming, in conclusion it need to be monitored closely for every activity occurring in Antarctica. Regulation of Antarctic Tourism under the Antarctic Treaty System Antarctica is different from any other place in the world; it is a continent that is not owned by any country, organization or individual. The unique political situation makes the management of tourism activities here unlike any other tourist destinations. Seven countries making territory claims in Antarctica: Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom. The treaty was signed on December 1, 1959 with a total of 44 countries signing the treaty; 7 claim territory in Antarctica, 12 are Original Signatories and 27 are Consultative Parties (Australian Antarctic Division, 2000). The Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties (ATCPs) hold annual meetings to discuss issues and make recommendations to each partys government for the management of Antarctic affairs. The Treaty describes measures for rules setting to each area for proper use of the environment (Australian Antarctic Division, 2000). The main objectives of Treaty state that Antarctica is to be used for peaceful purposes and prohibit for military activities or any weapons, there are freedom for scientific research and scientific information sharing, radioactive and nuclear materials are banned (skwirk, 2010). It is good to have at least one organization to control and be responsible for the remote land like Antarctica otherwise there would not have been the land left until the present time. U.S diplomats proposed expanding the 50 years old of Antarctic Treaty System to include the restrictions on tourism. The Obama administration pushing the limits on the size of cruise ships sailing and the number of passengers bring to ashore to protect Antarcticas environment under international law restriction on tourism. The purpose is to minimize the accidental of marine oil spills to ensure that the tourism is responsible in safety and environmentally (fox news, 2010) Figure 2.1: Antarctica Territorial Claims (Source: Australia Antarctic Division) Figure 2.2: Antarctica Seven Countries Territorial Claims Figure 2.1 shows the big picture of the Antarctica and the Southern Ocean Territorial Claims by seven countries where figure 2.2 shows the small picture of those seven countries claims for clearly illustrate. Not many places in the Earth where there has never been war, the environment is flawlessly and fully protected which is the place where scientific research has full authority such like Antarctica. Because of no original inhabitant in this region, there should be some government sector to operate and monitor on it. The objectives of the Treaty is to ensure that the area is zone free for nuclear test and used the area for peaceful mission only, to promote international scientific and to set aside disputes over territorial sovereignty. Is Tourism in Antarctica Sustainable? And how to develop a sustainable tourism industry in the Antarctic Over the past few decades, tourism industry is one of the worlds fastest growing industries. So far, Antarctica is one of a few areas in the world that remained untouchable whereas the number of tourists has been steadily increasing according to the statistics from the beginning of Antarctic tourism in 1960s until now. The major environmental impact in Antarctic is from tourism; therefore sustainable tourism has been introduced and integrated into this area. Sustainable Tourism is an effective balance among economic, environmental and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development to ensure that there is less impact to the place visited and to guarantee long-term benefits for all community involved (UNWTO, 2004), including continue keeping the natural resources for our next generation to be seen as well as we have seen it today. Sustainability becomes the most frequently addressed in tourism during 1990s in order to maintain, preserve or rebuild resources for tourism development that have the least negative impacts on the natural environments, additionally, this is more environmentally friendly kind of tourism (Bauer, 2001). The term sustainable development is now replacing the old word conservation. One kind of tourism that is the expression of sustainable tourism development is called ecotourism (Ritchie Goeldner, 1994), implying that tourism development and resource protection can be compatible. During the progress of tourism, ecotourism offers opportunity for financial support for resource protection (Ziffer, 1989). Does tourism in Antarctica fall into ecotourism category? Since it offers travel experience with educational and outdoor adventure. Ecotourism can defined as travelling to remote or natural areas to enhance understanding with appreciation of environment and cultural heritage while avoiding deterioration to remain the same condition for others experiences (Figgis, 1993). Therefore, tourism in Antarctica could be one kind of ecotourism. The sustainable development goal in Antarctica including the role of tourism that focused on destination rather than human development. It is believed that tourists who visit Antarctica could be spokesperson and become more active in protecting the continent because they have seen the real scenario in front and would have the feeling to preserve this valuable territory. One of the article survey and interview with the tour organizer and tourist about the overview of the Antarctica tourism in the future, many of the interviewees believe that more regulation is really needed for effectively management and also the enforce restrictive policies should be issue. The way to improve the role of Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) for the regulation of Antarctic tourism is to establish a commission with the representatives from main tourism countries that reported to ATS (Lamers, 2009). Accreditation system set up has been suggested for tourism operators to guarantee safe and for industry standard s (Australia, 2004). The issue of specific restriction and prohibition of the number of tourists or ships visiting Antarctica has been raised, but that would be difficult because of political will and difficulties of enforcing as countries might not want to limit their economical opportunities in such area. Although the general principles of Antarctic tourism are accepted on environmental quality and human safety, in terms of future scale and the control of tourism development still in argument. Some opinion seeing tourism as a harmless activity, which can create ambassador of Antarctica against the devastating actions that might happen in the future. Second perspective sees tourism as a potential source of income for local stakeholder such as National Antarctic Program or NAPs. Third perspective sees that tourism is allowable as long as there is no negative impact to the environment (Lamers, 2009). The last perspective is a good conclusion due to the fact that travel with harmless to the nature is one k ind of sustainable travelling therefore the clearly tourism policy towards Antarctica should be made suddenly. Planning with the solution is quite a good review in order to maintain the last resources of the world. Adaptation to the situation is also necessary, we must change our life before we are force to do so (Thomas, 2009). How can sustainable tourism in Antarctica be achieved? It is not an accountability of any company, organization or country but it need cooperation from everyone who involve in such businesses or places such as the tour operator, tourist, government or even the local who live near the tourist attraction. Antarctica is the ultimate destination for anyone interested in natural history but it also challenges those people who visit to think broadly about our responsibilities to all life on Earth. Thats the view of Dr.Robert Lambert, a lecturer on Tourism and the Environment at The University of Nottingham, who has just returned from the Antarctic as an observer for the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) (Science Daily, 2008). Hence, any trash should not be leave in the area to maintain natural and undestroyed, the tourist should realize that they are short-term visit, full responsible and ethical to surrounding environment is essential. Conclusion In order to practice sustainable tourism in Antarctica, it should be clearly understood the concept that to be sustainable is to travel with conscious and deeply understand the value of nature, be concerned and realize the consequences that might happen in the future are not only in a positive way but also in negative ways. The concept of sustainable tourism is wider scope on economics, environmental and socio-cultural whereas ecotourism is focus on environmental and ecological issues. In addition, sustainable tourism is emphasize on indigenous people, in this case it mean the local fauna that live in Antarctica. The preservationist anxious that in the future Antarctica will be in the crisis of global warming which is the result from human activities that may cause the fauna become extinct. In addition, the ozone depletion that makes the world get higher temperature and make the glacier melt is one of the possibilities for the disappearance of Antarctica Continent in the next decade. A big flooding could happen as Antarctica has about 95% of the worlds fresh water reserves, therefore it is possibility effect to the near located countries and also to the world. An active contribution to the community is one kind of sustainable tourism as some tourists might volunteer to help create or preserve the natural resources. The tourist who visit to the rare place of the world like Antarctica must be arrogant and feel cherish that give a power to do something to help promote or preserve the precious place before it is too late to protect. They may give a donation to the foundation, or write a story on the internet to share their experience and their feeling visiting the wonderland like Antarctica. This is another way to express their intention of how important to preserve and make it sustainable. Since the current world is relying on the cyber and internet, the information putting should be trustworthy to avoid misunderstanding. To answer the research question: How to develop a sustainable tourism industry in the Antarctic? will not be easy if there is a lack of cooperation from many sides or parties that have to relate and share in Antarctic tourism. Henceforth, the organization that have influence in Antarctica such as the seven countries that making territory claims or Antarctic Treaty Consultative Party (ATCP), International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) should have an explicitly guideline to the concerning parties. Updated regulation and prohibition is crucial due to the world has change and the old rules may not comply with the new facing problems. As the Antarctic tourism regulated by ATCP has been considered weak and too slow in implementation process and decision-making (Bastmeijer Roura, 2004), also many regulations are not legally compulsory (Bastmeijer, 2003) therefore transparently operation is very important in the self-regulatory regime. World Tourism Organisation (WTO) launched the principle of sustainable tourism and defined as: development that meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future. It is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems (WTO, 1993). The success of a sustainable tourism development in the Antarctic should be combining with the sustainable use, resource conservation, economic development and diversification, learning about the natural and cultural environment (Wylie, 1994). Good sources of information and knowledge are very important in development since the tourists may not know deeply about Antarctica as scientist, for that reason the tourists must have useful information about the place visit and know how to behave during the trip. Such information is very vital to avoid the risk of effecting an environment and ecosystem. Travelling with unharmed nature is the best solution to develop sustainable tourism since we can be appreciate the nature and at the same time can keep the same resources last long.

Fact Finding Techniques In System Investigation

Fact Finding Techniques In System Investigation Fact-finding is an important activity in system investigation. In this stage, the functioning of the system is to be understood by the system analyst to design the proposed system. Various methods are used for this and these are known as fact-finding techniques. The analyst needs to fully understand the current system. The analyst needs data about the requirements and demands of the project undertaken and the techniques employed to gather this data are known as fact-finding techniques. Various kinds of techniques are used and the most popular among them are interviews, questionnaires, record reviews, case tools and also the personal observations made by the analyst himself. Each of these techniques is further dealt in next pages. Two people can go into the same area to gather facts and experience entirely different results. One spends weeks and gets incomplete and misleading data. The other is finished in a few hours and has complete and solid facts. This session outlines some of the things a person can do to achieve the latter. Requirements analysis encompasses all of the tasks that go into the investigation, scoping and definition of a new or altered system. The first activity in analysis phase is to do the preliminary investigation. During the preliminary investigation data collecting is a very important and for this we can use the fact finding techniques. The following fact finding techniques can be used for collecting the data: Interviews Analysts can use interviews to collect information about the current system form the potential users. Here the analysts discover the areas of misunderstanding, unrealistic exception and descriptions of activities and problems along with resistance to the new proposed system. Interviews are time consuming. Questionnaires Here the analysts can collect data from large groups. Questionnaires could be Open-ended or Close questionnaires. Open-ended questionnaires are used to learn feelings, opinions, general experiences on process detail or problem. In it, questions are answered in their own words. Where as in closed questionnaires a set of prescribed answers are used and specific response have to be selected. This is a costly affair as the questions should be printed out. *Getting Cooperation in Fact Finding: The cooperation of operating people is crucial to fact gathering. However, if the operating people believe that the purpose of the fact gathering is to make changes in the work with the object of reducing staff, it is naÃÆ' ¯ve to expect them to help. The key to obtaining cooperation is two-way loyalty and trust. We get this by commitment to developing improvements that simultaneously serve the interests of employees while they serve the interests of owners, managers and customers. Process improvement projects should be undertaken with the object of making the company as good as it can be, not reducing staff. Of course process improvements will change the work, often eliminating tasks. This is obvious. Not quite so obvious is the fact that eliminating tasks does not have to mean reducing staff. It can mean having resources available at no additional cost to do any number of things needed by the organization, not the least of which could be further improvement work. And, no one is in a better position to improve the work than the people who know it firsthand. When organizations are truly committed to their people and their people know this, their people can relax and enthusiastically commit themselves to continuous improvement. This article is written for companies that want to capture the enormous potential of enthusiastic employees embracing new technology. They cannot accomplish this with lip service. The employees of an organization are its most valuable resource. When executives say this sort of thing publicly but then treat their people as expenses to be gotten rid of at the first opportunity, that is lip service. Resources should be maintained and utilized, not dumped. When they are dumped, trust dissolves. Meanwhile the people and their society have changed significantly in the last few decades. The popularization of computers stands high among the factors that have contributed to recent social change. Young people are being exposed to computers early in their education. A sizeable portion of the work force is comfortable working with computers. This was certainly not so a generation ago. Another social change that is very important to process improvement is the increasing acceptance of involving operating level employees in the improvement process. It has become rather commonplace to form teams of operating people. Along with the increasing acceptance of employee involvement has come a dramatic change in the role of the internal consultant who is learning new skills for working with teams. This article addresses the role of the facilitator who gathers facts about work processes to use with an improvement team. The facilitator follows a work process as it passes through departmental boundaries and prepares an as-is Chart. Then an improvement team made up of people from the departments involved in the process studies the as-is Chart and develops a To-be Chart. Facilitators learn how to study work processes. Facilitators are a great help as they gather and organizing the facts of work processes and guide the study of those facts by improvement teams. *What Facts to Gather? Knowing what facts you want to gather is crucial to effective fact gathering. When a people do not know what they are looking for but attempt to learn everything they can, in effect to gather all of the facts, they embark on endless and often fruitless effort. Knowing what facts not to gather is just as important as knowing the facts that are needed. There is a pattern to fact gathering that is particularly helpful during process improvement. It makes use of the standard journalism questions: what, where, when, why, who and how. This pattern focuses on the information that is relevant for process improvement and avoids that which is not. How it accomplishes this is not completely obvious. It goes like this. *Distinguishing Between Facts and Skill: No matter how carefully facts are gathered, they will never match the understandings of people who have experienced the work first hand for years. Those people possess the organizational memory. They have accumulated detailed knowledge that is available to them alone. They access this knowledge intuitively, as they need it, in a fashion that has the feel of common sense. But, they cannot simply explain it to someone else. For instance, we could ask an experienced medical doctor what he does when he visits a patient and expect a general answer like, I examine the patient and enter a diagnosis on the patient record form. However, if we then asked How do you do that? How do you know what to write as the diagnosis? we would be asking for detail that took years to accumulate. During those years this detail has been transformed from myriads of individual facts to intuitively available skill. We simply cannot gather it. The information that the doctor and for that matter all employees can readily provide answers the question, What? The information that cannot be provided because it resides in the realm of skill answers the question, How? Rather than attempt to gather the skill and settling for simplistic/superficial data we acknowledge that that information is not accessible to the fact gatherer. However, this information is critical to effective improvement. In order to get at it, we must invite the people who have it to join in the improvement development activity. This is the fundamental strength of employee teams. They provide the organizational memory. And, dont think for a moment that medical doctors have skill but clerks dont. In all lines of work there are differences of skill levels. Our object in process improvement should be to incorporate into our changes the finest skills available. So we use teams of the best experienced employees we have. To do otherwise invites superficiality. *Using the Description Pattern: The description pattern provides facts, not skills. We organize these facts on charts as effective reminders of the steps in a process. When these charts are used by people who are skilled at performing those steps, we have the knowledge we need for improvement. Therefore: What Answer this question at every step. This tells us what the step is and provides the necessary reminder for the team. Where This question deals specifically with location. Answer it for the very first step of the process and then every time the location changes and you will always know location. When When dealing with processes, this question generally means how long. Ask it throughout the fact gathering, making note of all delays and particularly time-consuming steps. Who This question deals specifically with who is performing each step. The easiest way to collect and display this information is to note every time a new person takes over. How This question is important but it changes the fact gathering to skill gathering. We should rarely get into it. Instead we leave this information to be provided by the team, as needed. Why This question is different. It is evaluative rather than descriptive. It becomes most important when we study the process for improvement but while we are fact gathering, it is premature. Just gather facts. Later as a team we will question the why of each of them. http://www.freetutes.com/systemanalysis/images/decriptivepattern.gif Follow this pattern and: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ You will always show what is happening. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ You will always show where the work is happening. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ You will show who is doing the work whenever a person is involved. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ You will show when most of the processing time is occurring. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ You wont bog your readers down with how the individual steps are done, non flow detail. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ You wont bog your readers down with how the individual steps are done, non flow detail. *How to Initiate Fact Gathering Public Announcement: A public announcement can go a long way towards inspiring cooperation. It can also provide an opportunity to forestall the anxieties just discussed. The people working in the areas affected by the project are informed that a five or ten minute meeting will be held at the end of a work shift and that a senior executive has an important announcement. (This senior executive should be a person whose authority spans the entire project.) The meeting includes an announcement of the project, its objective, who is involved in it, a request for the support of all employees and an invitation for questions. It is conducted by the executive mentioned above because it is important that statements about the intent of the project be made by someone who has the authority to stand behind his or her words. It is also helpful for the executive to introduce the analyst and the team members who have been assigned to the project. The issue of staff cuts may be introduced by the executive or may surface as a question. (Or, it may not arise at all in organizations where loss of employment is a non-issue.) If it is addressed, it should be answered directly and forcefully. I guarantee there will be no loss of employment because of work improvement. This is not a difficult guarantee for executives who genuinely believe that their people are their most valuable resource. (Note, this is not a guarantee that there will be no loss of employment. If we fail to improve our work, there is a pretty certain guarantee that there will be loss of employment.) This meeting can also have constructive side effects. One is that the analyst gets a public introduction to the people from whom he or she will be gathering data. Simultaneously, everyone is informed of the reason for the project, making it unnecessary for the analyst to explain this at each interview. And, the explanation carries the assurances of the boss rather than an analyst. *Common Sense Protocol Where to Get the Facts? It is critical that the analyst go where the facts are to learn about them. This means going where the work is done and learning from the people who are doing it. If there are a number of people doing the same work, one who is particularly knowledgeable should be selected or several may be interviewed. Unfortunately, analysts often try to collect data in indirect ways. Occasionally this may be for no better reason than that the analyst is too lazy to go where the work is done. Or, the analyst may have been instructed to keep the project a secret because management wants to avoid stirring up concern about job loss. Unfortunately, when employees learn (and they will) that secret projects are underway in their areas, their anxiety levels will rise all the higher, encouraging more non-cooperation. Introverts tend to be attracted to research type work and they also tend to find excuses to avoid meeting people. They are often tempted to use written procedures as their source of data rather than going directly to the operating people. Or, they may simply assume data to avoid having to go after it. Sometimes an analyst arrives in the supervisors office (a proper practice when visiting a department for the first time) and the supervisor wants to provide the information rather than having the analyst bother the employee who does the work. This could be motivated by a sincere desire to help. The supervisor may also want to slant the data. Regardless of the motive, it separates the analyst from the work place and the person doing the work. Whatever the reasons, each time an analyst settles for collecting data at a distance from reality, the quality of the analysis suffers. Guesses replace facts. Fantasy replaces reality. Where the differences are small the analyst may slide by, but professionals should not try to slide by. Where the differences are large the analyst may be seriously embarrassed. Meanwhile, the quality of the work suffers and, in the worst cases, major commitments to work methods are made based on faulty premises. Introduction to the Employee at the Work Place When we are gathering data, everywhere you go people are accommodating you, interrupting their work to help you do your work. The least you can do is show that you are willing to return the favor. When the time is not convenient, agree to come back later. Occasionally an employee will suggest that it is an inconvenient time and ask that you come back later. Sometimes, however, the employee is seriously inconvenienced but for some reason does not speak up about it. A sensitive analyst may notice this. However, to be on the safe side it helps to ask, Is this a convenient time? Coming back later is usually a minor problem. Typically you have a number of places to visit. Pick a more convenient time and return. Dont be surprised if the employee appreciates it and is waiting for you with materials set out when you return. Whatever you do, dont start suspecting that every time a person puts you off that person is trying to scuttle your work or is a difficult employee. Assume the person is honestly inconvenienced and simply come back later. If someone puts you off repeatedly, it is still a minor inconvenience as long as you have data to collect elsewhere. Give the employees the benefit of the doubt, knowing that every time you accommodate them their debt to you grows. If you do in fact run into a genuinely uncooperative and eventually have to impose a time, it is nice to be able to remind that person of how many times you have rescheduled for his or her benefit. At such times you will also appreciate the project-announcement meeting when the senior executive brought everyone together, described the importance of the project and asked for support. As you are about to start the interview the employee may bring up a subject for idle conversation such as the weather, a sports event, a new building renovation, etc. People often do this when they first meet in order to size up one another (on a subject that doesnt matter) before opening up on subjects that are important. Since the purpose, on the part of the employee, is to find out what you are like you will do well to join in the conversation politely and respectfully. Then when it has continued for an appropriate amount of time, shift to the subject of the interview, perhaps with a comment about not wanting to take up too much of the employees time. *Respect: Most of the time analysts gather data from people at the operating levels who happen to be junior in status (i.e. file clerks, messengers, data entry clerks). Be careful not to act superior. One thing you can do to help with this is to set in your mind that wherever you gather data you are talking to the top authority in the organization. After all, if the top authority on filing in the organization is the CEO, the organization has serious trouble. Dont treat this subject lightly. We all receive a good deal of conditioning to treat people in superior positions with special respect. Unfortunately, the flip side of this conditioning leads to treating people in lesser positions with limited respect. Unintentionally, analysts frequently show disrespect for operating employees by implying that the way they do their work is foolish. The analyst is usually eager to discover opportunities for improvement. When something appears awkward or unnecessarily time-consuming the analyst is likely to frown, smile, act surprised, etc. In various ways, an analyst can suggest criticism or even ridicule of the way the work is being done. The bottom line is that the analyst, with only a few minutes observing the work, is implying that he or she knows how to do it better than a person who has been doing it for years. This is unacceptable behavior. Dont do it! Go to people to find out what is happening, not to judge what is happening. First get the facts. Later we can search out better ways and invite knowledgeable operating people to join us in that effort. *A Caution about Instant Improvements: While the analyst cannot match the employees detailed knowledge of what happens at their workplaces, it is not at all difficult to discover some things that those people are unaware of, things that involve multiple workplaces. During data collection, opportunities for improvement of a certain type surface immediately. Some of them are outstanding. The analyst discovers, for instance, that records and reports are being maintained that are destroyed without ever being used. Time-consuming duplication of unneeded records is found. Information is delivered through roundabout channels creating costly delays. The only reason these opportunities were not discovered earlier by the employees is that the records had never been followed through the several work areas. These instant improvements simply werent visible from the limited perspective of one office. The people preparing the reports had no idea that the people receiving them had no use for them and were destroying them. The people proc essing redundant records had no idea that other people were doing the same thing. These discoveries can be clearly beneficial to the organization. However, they can be devastating for the relationship between the analyst and the operating employees. The problem lies in the fact that the analyst discovers them. This may delude the analyst into believing that he or she is really capable of redesigning the procedure without the help of the employees. After all, they have been doing this work all these years and never made these discoveries. I found them so quickly. I must be very bright. Most people spend a great deal of their lives seeking confirmation of their worth. When something like this presents itself, an analyst is likely to treasure it. It becomes a personal accomplishment. It is perceived as support for two judgments, I am a lot better at this than those employees. and Employees in general are not capable of seeing these kinds of things. Both of these judgments are wrong. The credit goes to the fact that the analyst was the first person with the opportunity to follow the records through their flow. If any one of those employees had done the same thing, the odds are that the results would have been the same. The analyst is apt to alienate the employees if he or she grabs the credit for these discoveries. If this prompts the analyst to proceed with the entire redesign of the procedure without the help of the employees, he or she will be cut off from hundreds of finer details, any one of which could seriously compromise the effort. Taking credit for these early discoveries can also alienate employees even if they are invited into the improvement activity. For instance, it is not uncommon for an analyst who is about to go over a new process chart with a group of users to start by telling them about the discoveries made while preparing the chart. This can appear very innocent, but the fact is, the analyst does this in order to get the credit for the discoveries before the team members spot them. Instinctively, the analyst knows that as soon as the employees see the chart those discoveries will be obvious to them as well. An analyst who realizes that the enthusiastic involvement of the team members is much more important than the credit for one idea or another will want to keep quiet about early discoveries until after the employees get a chance to study the chart. In doing this the analyst positions himself or herself to provide professional support to knowledgeable employees. Soon they make these obvious discoveries for themselves and this encourages them to become involved and excited about the project. It makes it theirs. In the end the analyst shares the credit for a successful project, rather than grabbing the credit for the first few ideas in a project that fails for lack of support. *Recording Technique: Recording Data The keys to effective data recording are a reverence for facts and knowing how to look for them. You do not go into data collection with a preconceived notion of the design of the final procedure. You let the facts tell you what shape the procedure should take. But, you must be able to find facts and know how to record them. This is done by breaking down the procedure into steps and listing them in proper sequence, without leaving things out. The analyst keeps his or her attention on the subject being charted, follows its flow, step by step, and is not distracted by other subjects that could easily lead off onto tangents. The analyst becomes immersed in the data collection, one flow at a time. Record what is actually happening, not what should happen or could happen. Record without a preference. Wash the wishes from your eyes and let the facts speak for themselves. When later you have them neatly organized and present them for study the facts will assert their authority as they tell their story. *The Authority of the Facts: There are two authority systems in every organization. One is a social authority set up for the convenience of arranging people and desks and telephones, dividing up the work and making decisions. The other authority system is reality itself. Too often the former is revered and feared and attended to constantly, while the latter is attended to when time permits. Yet, whether we come to grips with the facts or not, they enforce themselves with an unyielding will of steel. Reality is whether we are in touch with it or not. And, it is indifferent to us. It is not hurt when we ignore it. It is not pleased or flattered or thankful when we discover it. Reality simply does not care, but it enforces its will continuously. We are the ones who care. We care when reality rewards us. We care when reality crushes us. The better we are able to organize our methods of work in harmony with reality, the more we prosper. When we are unable to discover reality, or deny reality we are hurt. Period! So we enter into data collection with respect for reality. We demonstrate respect for the people who are closest to reality. And, we do our best to carefully record the unvarnished truth. *Observation: A person who has been doing a job for years will have an understanding of the work that goes well beyond his or her ability to describe it. Dont expect operating people to describe perfectly and dont credit yourself with hearing perfectly. Sometimes it is a lot easier for a person to show you what he or she does than to describe it. A demonstration may save a good deal of time. A person might be able to show you how the task is done in minutes but could talk about it for hours. Most people are able to speak more comfortably to a human being than to a machine. Furthermore, a tape recorder doesnt capture what is seen. If you are going to use a tape recorder, use it after you have left the interview site. It can help you capture a lot of detail while it is fresh in your mind without causing the employee to be ill at ease. *Level of Detail: As covered earlier while explaining the Description Pattern, you can gather facts but not skill. If you attempt to gather enough information to redesign a procedure without the help of experienced employees, your data collection will be interminably delayed. For instance, if you are studying a procedure that crosses five desks, and the five people who do the work each have five years of experience, together they have a quarter of a century of first-hand experience. There is no way to match that experience by interviewing. No matter how many times you go back, there will still be new things coming up. Then, if you redesign the procedure based solely on your scanty information, your results will be deficient in the eyes of these more experienced people. It doesnt do any good to complain that they didnt tell you about that after you have designed a defective procedure. Save yourself a lot of time and grief by not bothering to record the details of the individual steps and concentrate on the flow of the work. It goes here. They do this. It sits. It is copied. This part goes there. That one goes to them. Never mind the detail of how they do the different steps. Just note the steps in their proper sequence. Then, when it comes time to analyze and you invite in those five people, they bring with them their twenty-five years of detailed experience. Voila! You have the big picture and you have the detail. You have all that you need to discover the opportunities that are there. *Defused resentment: When people who have been doing work for years are ignored while their work is being improved, there is a clear statement that their experience is not considered of value. These people tend to feel slighted. When the organization then pays consultants who have never done the work to develop improvements, this slight becomes an insult. When the consultants arrive at the workplace trying to glean information from the employees so that they can use it to develop their own answers, how do you expect the employees to react? Do you think they will be enthusiastic about providing the best of their inside knowledge to these consultants? Here, let me help you show my boss how much better you can figure out my work than I can? Really! We dont have to get into this kind of disagreeable competition. Instead we honestly accept the cardinal principle of employee empowerment which is, The person doing the job knows far more than anyone else about the best way of doing that job and therefore is the one person best fitted to improve it. Allan H. Mogensen, 1901-1989, the father of Work Simplification. By involving operating people in the improvement process, you also reduce the risk of getting distorted or misleading data. Their experience is brought into improvement meetings, unaltered. If they get excited about helping to develop the best possible process they will have little reason to distort or withhold the data. *How to Keep the Data Organized: One important characteristic of professional performance is the ability to work effectively on many assignments simultaneously. Professionals have to be able to leave a project frequently and pick it up again without losing ground. The keys to doing this well are: 1. Knowing the tools of the profession and using them in a disciplined manner. 2. Working quickly. 3. Capturing data the same day that it is gathered *Using the Tools of the Profession with Discipline: In this respect, there is more professionalism in a well conceived set of file names and directories than there is in a wall full of certificates belonging to a disorganized person. For that matter, a three-ring binder may do more good than another certificate. A professional simply keeps track of the information that he or she gathers. Perhaps the worst enemy of data organization is the tendency on the part of intelligent people, who are for the moment intensely involved in some activity, to assume that the clear picture of it that they have today will be available to them tomorrow or a week later or months later. One way of avoiding this is to label and assemble data as if it will be worked on by someone who has never seen it before. Believe it or not, that person may turn out to be you. A word about absentmindedness may be appropriate. When people are goal-oriented and extremely busy they frequently find themselves looking for something they had just moments before. The reason is that when they put it down their mind was on something else and they did not make a record of where they put it. To find it again they must think back to the last time they used it and then look around where they were at that time. Two things we can do to avoid this are: 1. Develop the discipline of closure so that activities are wrapped up. 2. Select certain places to put tools and materials and do so consistently. *Working Quickly: An analyst should take notes quickly. Speed in recording is important in order to keep up with the flow of information as the employee describes the work. It also shortens the interview, making the interruption less burdensome to the employee, and it reduces the probability that something will come up those forces the interview to be terminated prematurely. At the close of the interview it is a good idea to review the notes with the employee, holding them in clear view for the employee to see and then, of course, thank the employee for his or her help. Skill in rapid note-taking can be developed over time. This does not mean that you rush the interview. Quite the contrary. Address the person from whom you are gathering information calmly and patiently. But, when you are actually recording data you do it quickly and keep your attention on the person. For process analysis data gathering, you dont have to write tedious sentences. The charting technique provides you with specialized shorthand (using the symbols and conventions of process charting in rough form). See the rough notes following. *Same Day Capture of Data: The analyst then returns to his or her office with sketchy notes, hastily written. These notes serve as reminders of what has been seen and heard. Their value as reminders deteriorates rapidly. While the interview is fresh in mind these notes can bring forth vivid recall. As time passes they lose this power

Theory of Orgone Energy :: Wilhelm Reich

Reich developed his theory of orgone energy over several years and expanded it throughout his lifetime. His theory was the result of experiences with his neurotic patients and his biological experiments, which he felt provided concrete evidence for the existence of orgone. Orgone energy can be thought of as organic or "life-energy." Reich first observed this energy while studying the bioelectric nature of pleasure and anxiety. Using a galvanometer, he discovered that in pleasurable situations skin has a charge, while in displeaurable ones it does not. He initially called this phenomenon "bioelectric energy." Later, while attempting to research the origin of life, Reich discovered what he termed bions. These globules of energy seemed to give off a certain radiation, such that when objects were left near the cultures containing bions, those objects became highly charged. Reich later observed that this radiation was the same energy he had observed in his skin conductance experiments, and that indeed, this energy surrounded all living things and was free in the atmosphere. He renamed this energy "orgone." After conducting an experiment in which Reich believed he had succeeded in developing protozoa from bions, he began to investigate the formation of cancer cells. He believed that cancer cells formed in the same way, and supposedly produced a motion picture in which cancer cells did indeed develop from the breakdown of living tissue. Reich felt certain that this "biopathy" was the result of sexual repression. Continuing his cancer research, Reich developed the orgone accumulator (ORAC), which was intended to produce a concentration of orgone energy. The device itself was simply a large box constructed by alternating layers of metal (preferably iron) and organic material, often wood. He experimented with the ORAC by keeping both healthy mice and mice with cancer in the accumulator and comparing their lifespans with control mice which were not kept in the ORAC. Reich found that even the mice with cancer lived longer than the controls who had not been kept in the ORAC. Reich continued his accumulator experiments, moving on to work with humans. He found that the ORAC helped cure a variety of ailments. These ailments were assumed to be due to a lack of energy within the organism which the ORAC replaced. Subjects who already had high levels of orgone energy were not able to tolerate the accumulator. Believing that orgone energy might be used to combat nuclear radiation, Reich undertook what would be called "The Oranur Experiment. Theory of Orgone Energy :: Wilhelm Reich Reich developed his theory of orgone energy over several years and expanded it throughout his lifetime. His theory was the result of experiences with his neurotic patients and his biological experiments, which he felt provided concrete evidence for the existence of orgone. Orgone energy can be thought of as organic or "life-energy." Reich first observed this energy while studying the bioelectric nature of pleasure and anxiety. Using a galvanometer, he discovered that in pleasurable situations skin has a charge, while in displeaurable ones it does not. He initially called this phenomenon "bioelectric energy." Later, while attempting to research the origin of life, Reich discovered what he termed bions. These globules of energy seemed to give off a certain radiation, such that when objects were left near the cultures containing bions, those objects became highly charged. Reich later observed that this radiation was the same energy he had observed in his skin conductance experiments, and that indeed, this energy surrounded all living things and was free in the atmosphere. He renamed this energy "orgone." After conducting an experiment in which Reich believed he had succeeded in developing protozoa from bions, he began to investigate the formation of cancer cells. He believed that cancer cells formed in the same way, and supposedly produced a motion picture in which cancer cells did indeed develop from the breakdown of living tissue. Reich felt certain that this "biopathy" was the result of sexual repression. Continuing his cancer research, Reich developed the orgone accumulator (ORAC), which was intended to produce a concentration of orgone energy. The device itself was simply a large box constructed by alternating layers of metal (preferably iron) and organic material, often wood. He experimented with the ORAC by keeping both healthy mice and mice with cancer in the accumulator and comparing their lifespans with control mice which were not kept in the ORAC. Reich found that even the mice with cancer lived longer than the controls who had not been kept in the ORAC. Reich continued his accumulator experiments, moving on to work with humans. He found that the ORAC helped cure a variety of ailments. These ailments were assumed to be due to a lack of energy within the organism which the ORAC replaced. Subjects who already had high levels of orgone energy were not able to tolerate the accumulator. Believing that orgone energy might be used to combat nuclear radiation, Reich undertook what would be called "The Oranur Experiment.

Good Characteristics to Live By in The Chosen by Chaim Potok :: essays research papers

Qualities of a Good Person What are things that make someone a good person? Is it their ability to get along with other people? How about the choices that the person makes? Or is it the way that he or she treats his or herself and others? All of the qualities make someone a good person. In the novel The Chosen by Chaim Potok, Danny and Reuven learn many qualities that make them to be better people. Respect, responsibility, and honesty are all important qualities for one to have in order to become a better person. Respect is a characteristic that all people should show in every aspect of their lives. It is very important to show respect in a work situation. People must show respect to their bosses in order to keep their jobs. Even more important is for people to have a respectful manner when dealing with their clients. If they do not show respect for the client, then the client will find somebody else to do business with. Another place that respect should be shown is at home. Parents must show respect for their children so that the children will listen to them. Disrespectful parents will find it difficult to have a good relationship with their children. Children who show respect for their parents and siblings will find it much easier to receive more privileges. A lack of respect towards the members of one?s family can create a very uncomfortable home life. Having an uncomfortable home life can cause grades to go down and ability to function well with others to decrease. People should also hav e respect for themselves. Having respect for oneself makes that person have better feelings for his or herself. If people cannot respect themselves then how are they going to be able to show respect for others? Also respecting oneself makes it easier for other people to respect that person. The ability to take responsibility for ones jobs and actions is a very important quality for a person to show. One place that it is extremely important to take responsibility for oneself is at work. People are given tasks that they are to perform in order to receive a paycheck. In order to continue to have a job people must take the responsibility to complete their assigned tasks. If they do not take that responsibility, they may just find themselves out of work. Not only does it allow people to have a job, but it can also lead to raises and promotions in honor of their actions.

History Of Human Resource Management Essay

Human resource management is a function in organizations designed to maximize employee performance in service of their employer’s strategic objectives.[1] HR is primarily concerned with how people are managed within organizations, focusing on policies and systems.[2] HR departments and units in organizations are typically responsible for a number of activities, including employee recruitment, training and development, performance appraisal, and rewarding. HR is also concerned with industrial relations, that is, the balancing of organizational practices with regulations arising from collective bargaining and governmental laws. HR is a product of the human relations movement of the early 20th century, when researchers began documenting ways of creating business value through the strategic management of the workforce. The function was initially dominated by transactional work, such as payroll and benefits administration, but due to globalization, company consolidation, technologi cal advancement, and further research, HR now focuses on strategic initiatives like mergers and acquisitions, talent management, succession planning, industrial and labor relations, and diversity and inclusion. In startup companies, HR’s duties may be performed by trained professionals. In larger companies, an entire functional group is typically dedicated to the discipline, with staff specializing in various HR tasks and functional leadership engaging in strategic decision making across the business. To train practitioners for the profession, institutions of higher education, professional associations, and companies themselves have created programs of study dedicated explicitly to the duties of the function. Academic and practitioner organizations likewise seek to engage and further the field of HR, as evidenced by several field-specific publications. HR is also a field of research study that is popular within the fields of management and industrial/organizational psychology, with research articles appearing in a number of academic journals, including those mentioned later in this article. In the current global work environment, most companies focus on lowering employee turnover and retaining the talent and knowledge held by their workforce. New hiring not only entails a high cost but also increases the risk of the newcomer not being able to replace the person who was working in that position before. HR departments also strive to offer benefits that will appeal to workers, thus reducing the risk of losing knowledge. History Antecedent theoretical development HR spawned in the early 20th century and was influenced by Frederick Taylor (1856-1915). Taylor explored what he termed â€Å"scientific management†, striving to improve economic efficiency in manufacturing jobs. He eventually keyed in on one of the principal inputs into the manufacturing process—labor—sparking inquiry into workforce productivity. The human relations movement grew from the research of Elton Mayo and others, whose Hawthorne studies (1924-1932) serendipitously documented how stimuli, unrelated to financial compensation and working conditions, yielded more productive workers.[6] Contemporaneous work by Abraham Maslow, Kurt Lewin, Max Weber (1864-1920), Frederick Herzberg, and David McClelland (1917-1998) formed the basis for studies in industrial and organizational psychology, organizational behavior and organizational theory, giving room for an applied discipline. Birth and evolution of the discipline By the time enough theoretical evidence existed to make a business case for strategic workforce management, changes in the business landscape (à   la Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller) and in public policy had transformed the employer-employee relationship, and the discipline was formalized as â€Å"industrial and labor relations†. In 1913, one of the oldest known professional HR associations—the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development—was founded in England as the Welfare Workers’ Association, then changed its name a decade later to the Institute of Industrial Welfare Workers, and again the next decade to Institute of Labor Management before settling upon its current name.[7] Likewise in the United States, the world’s first institution of higher education dedicated to workplace studies—the School of Industrial and Labor Relations—was formed at Cornell University in 1945. During the latter half of the 20th century, union membership declined significantly, while workforce management continued to expand its influence within organizations. â€Å"Industrial and labor relations† began being used to refer specifically to issues concerning collective representation, and many companies began referring to the profession as  Ã¢â‚¬Å"personnel administration†. In 1948, what would later become the largest professional HR association—the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)—was founded as the American Society for Personnel Administration (ASPA). Nearing the 21st century, advances in transportation and communications greatly facilitated workforce mobility and collaboration. Corporations began viewing employees as assets rather than as cogs in a machine. â€Å"Human resources management†, consequently, became the dominant term for the function—the ASPA even changing its name to SHRM in 1998.[9] â€Å"Human capital management† is sometimes used synonymously with HR, although human capital typically refers to a more narrow view of human resources; i.e., the knowledge the individuals embody and can contribute to an organization. Likewise, other terms sometimes used to describe the field include â€Å"organizational management†, â€Å"manpower management†, â€Å"talent management†, â€Å"personnel management†, and simply â€Å"people management†.

Stonyfield Case Study

Stonyfield Case Study PowerPoint Script Introduction of Team Diversity Members: AMBA Team Summary of Stonyfield Farm Case Study I. What factors should StonyField Farm review before going international? Reasons to expand in international markets – Increased profits in international markets – Expansion and diversification of customer base – New business opportunities and investments Major Factors to consider before going International Minimizing Production Costs – Researching the labor laws of the specific country – Working with local vendors and suppliers directly Dealing with low trade barriers – Utilizing subsidies from local governments – Resources access to inexpensive resources and raw materials Economies of Scale – Strategies to reducing production costs – Knowing of the geographic location for the international expansion – Understanding the markets- knowing consumers wants and needs – Knowing the forei gn countries economic and political systems Economies of Scope – The variety of products and services the company wants to offers (Daft, 2010) – Determining the geographic regions of expansion Knowing the markets size II. What are the major ways for Stonyfield to take their operations global? Form Strategic Alliances with local partners Indirect Exporter – Creating strategic alliances with other firms to increase market share ( Horngren, Sundem and Stratton, 2002) – Contract with local vendors and suppliers to manage resources Direct Exporting Methods – Establishing a domestic-based export department – Creating overseas sales branches or subsidiaries – Utilizing export sales representative using foreign based distributors and agents Licensing Stonyfield could consider selling its rights to other companies to use as trademarked names in the foreign markets Joint Ventures and Consortia – Establishing a separate entity with two or more active firms in the industry as sponsors – Stonyfield farm will benefit from sharing development and production cost, and penetrate new markets – Combined knowledge of local markets, shared strengths in technology and distribution channels will make them marketable III. Recommendations for StonyField Farm on how they should restructure to take their operations global?Slide 1 – Stonyfield in the Multinational stage and the re-structured company – Start by exporting products via strategic alliances with local partners for a test period. – Evaluate the market demand and profit forecasts; make a decision on further expansion. Expanding to the Multinational stage with Overseas farms & Sales Teams – Stonyfield establishes farms and sales teams in their host countries – This will reduce delivery time and cost. – It will also ensure fresh products and eco-friendly message.Operations & Strategy department in head office oversees a ll location specific teams – Basic farm production would be globally standardized for quality control – Overseas teams would have autonomy over marketing, packaging/labeling, shipping, and special flavors for local tastes. It will make them more adaptable. [pic] Slide 2 – Structure of the local teams, outsourcing local roles and use of technology – Managers have full autonomy in pursuing local opportunities, and maintain good supply chain relationships. HR, marketing and sales and other staff can be hired locally or outsourced to local companies. – Local staff’s knowledge of the host country culture and nuances will be useful in understanding the market. Technology for the new global organizational structure – Software technology will allow flow of information between overseas and field offices. – Allows for flow of ideas, information, and troubleshooting. – Software tracking system will also allow tracking of supplies a nd products. IV. How can Stonyfield Farm mange to maintain their â€Å"eco-friendly† operations internationally?Explore current operating functions and all potential factors – Stonyfield should conduct research on farming and dairy production industries in both UK and France – Should do research about the market, competitors and other eco friendly competitions Environmental impact of Stonyfield products and host country regulations – Become familiar with applicable environmental regulations – They learn about the impact of this environmental standards and regulations – It will be advantageous for Stonyfield to review the international established regulations and revise its operating standards – Recycling and waste management is another important regulation that should be taken seriously. Minimizing eco-friendly production costs in host countries – Production costs will be expensive as transitioning into foreign markets is chall enging – Operations need to be restructured to focus on sustaining manufacturing and design – Stonyfield’s main objective is to consume minimal amounts of resources and energy using recycled materials Clear production and pricing strategy It is necessary for Stonyfield to create a defined production and pricing strategy – They need to continually make production more efficient, work to decrease waste and resource usage Consumer patronage of eco-friendly products and their concerns – Recent studies indicate that 93 percent of consumers say they actively participate in eco-friendly events and 37 percent of those individuals are concerned about the environment (Borin, Cerf, & Krishnan, 2011). – The a growing demand or eco-friendly products (Borin, Cerf, & Krishnan, 2011) Marketing eco-friendly products – More companies are creating their own labels in their effort to differentiate themselves in the market place – Stonyfieldâ€℠¢s marketing plan should focus on packaging and labeling with eco friendly logos, making sure all messages are legible and informative. – They should also refer to packaging regulations and green marketing tools Importance of labeling in eco-friendly products Labeling is important because it informs the customers about the quality of the products and its shows value (Menzel, Smagin, & David, 2010). – When labeling the package, Stonyfield should remember to focus on informing the consumer about the consumer about the product. References AMBA 610 Course Pack: Daft, R L. , (2010). Organization theory and design (10th ed. ), 211-216, Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western. Borin, N. , Cerf, D. C. , & Krishnan, R. (2011). Consumer effects of environmental impact in product labeling. Journal of Consumer Marketing , 28 (1), 78-86. Horngren, C. T, Sundem, G. L. & Stratton, W. O (2002). Introduction to management accounting (12th ed. ), 227-235.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Grimm, M. (2005, November 28). Progressive business, Brandweek, 46 (43), 26. Retrieved December 17, 2010 from http://ezproxy. umuc. edu/login? url=http://search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true&db=bth&AN=20445636&login. asp&site=ehost-live&scope=site Gurtoo, A. , & Antony, S. (2007). Environmental regulations Indirect and unintended consequences on economy and business. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Jornal , 18 (6), 626-637. Menzel, V. , Smagin, J. , & David, F. (2010). Can companies profit from greener manufacturing? Measuring Business Excellence , 14 (2), 22-31.