Saturday, August 31, 2019

Free Will and Religion: A Nietzsche Perspective Essay

Free will has been studied for many centuries and has still puzzled ordinary people, many thinkers, scholars, theories, literary figures, and theologians worldwide. It has been confused with so many factors such as necessity or determinism from which the individual wonder whether his actions are based on self will or driven by conditions he cannot control. Other scholars linked it with moral responsibility and faith in God claiming that there is really no free will since it is influenced and manipulated by many factors (Kane 2). For many essentialists, free will is not recognized as an independent concept but rather a dynamic and essential context (Sack 79). Over the decades, ancient doctrines had been made recognizing the existence of free will; however many philosophers questioned it such as Friedrich Nietzsche who was one of the known philosophers to criticize free will. In the ancient and medieval studies of free will, a theological dimension has been recognized by many philosophers as a connection to ‘free will’. St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine, whom Nietzsche share similar conclusions, considered free will as a gift from God and by possessing it means that we are beyond animals. More thinkers were intrigued by free will such as Descartes, Hume, and Kant who offered several solutions, a metaphysical framework, and a dichotomy of passion and reason to explain its dynamics. Free will becomes even more problematic as more ideas and concepts were linked to it such as ‘determinism’ and ‘causality’ offered by Schopenhauer and Freud (Dilman 2). These studies seemed to accept that many factors influence free will yet free will still exists. However, for Nietzsche free will is not affected by the course of events, fate, and it has no law (Dworkin 178). Nietzsche criticized â€Å"free will† by differentiating Christian free will and aristocratic free will. He believed that it is just an idea used to make an individual feel guilty particularly as a Christian religion control mechanism over the people. He argued that the â€Å"will† is not free because it is commanded within by the â€Å"I† and that the â€Å"I† and the power within the will is not the same. Additionally, he argued that the actions expressing the will are incorrectly connected to the human will; the power behind willing is separable from external events. Hence, free will is just a matter of â€Å"strong† and â€Å"weak† will (Dworkin 178). In Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future published in 1886, Nietzsche continued to explore about his previous work—Thus Spoke Zarathustra. His arguments attacked on moral consciousness which led to the human presuppositions of â€Å"self-consciousness†, â€Å"truth†, including â€Å"free will†. Instead, he offered the idea of will to power as a concept to explain human behavior and concluding that there is no universal morality. He criticized philosophers and suggested qualities for new philosophers: creation of values, originality, imagination, self-assertion, and danger. He arrived at a concept of the perspective of life which he called â€Å"beyond good and evil† (Nietzsche, Faber, and Holub). The assumptions in Beyond Good and Evil are disturbing and unsympathetic to the traditional moral and philosophical assumptions. Nietzsche strongly suggested an â€Å"aristocratic† perspective of life as he probed on the history of moral values and the demise of strong cultures. These made his work attractive especially the chapters On the Prejudices of Philosophers, The Free Spirit, The Religious Essence, On the Natural History of Morals, and What is Noble (Spinks 167). Nietzsche disagreed with free will but he did not explicitly approve that the will is â€Å"unfree† either. Some wills are strong and some are weak. Given a tautology â€Å"the light shines†, there will be no light unless it shines and that the light does not have a free choice whether to shine or not to shine at all. Hence, the power in will is manifested only through the action or on how it is manifested. Nietzsche further argued that will cannot be free or unfree such that a power has no free choice whether to materialize itself in mild or severe fashion. However, this kind of perspective was not perceived by a common consciousness among people and the notion of strong and weak will is not accepted (Kazantakis and Makridis 28). According to Nietzsche, free will is an idea created by the weak so that they could elevate themselves as an equal to their masters. If the status or worth of an individual is not measured according to the quantity of power he possessed, the weak who use his power mildly becomes better or greater to an individual who is able to manifest a deed in a mild or harsh manner. The strong accept this theory of free will but this indicates pride. One will consider that his actions have undivided responsibility, either â€Å"good† or â€Å"evil,† and come up to a conclusion that his actions is independent and free from regulation of other wills (Kazantakis and Makridis 29). The metaphysics of â€Å"weakness† is explained by Nietzsche by referring to the soul, God, and free will which he described as words that refer to nothing. Will, on the other hand, is a complicated idea that is represented only by a word and commanded by a superior being within a man he assumes is able to obey. The soul, on the other hand, becomes a subject that is eternal, stable, and represents morality and emotions. The notion of stable entity proves the instability of reality and of the world. It cannot be avoided and experience through suffering particularly of the weak. Hence, there is weakness and the weak in return tries to invent an alternative to this kind of reality (Dudley 152). In Beyond Good and Evil, it is impossible to explain free will in relation to morality without the religious framework or a philosophy with God. During the time that famous scholars (including Nietzsche) dealt with free will, Christianity has been the prevailing religion all over Europe and its influence greatly manifested on numerous publications. God is hailed as the source of all morality and its meanings through holy writings such as the Bible, divine interventions, and intermediations. However, Nietzsche presented an overman that is beyond â€Å"good and evil†. The overman is independent, creates his own values, and disregards good and evil. Nietzsche reversed the reality instead by saying that God is created by people, they associated him with values, and followed its doctrines â€Å"as if these values had been decreed by divine will† (Earnshaw 51) As an essentialist, Nietzsche shared the same belief that people create and live by their own values. Hence, the definition of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ is relative to the people and their respective societies. Despite man’s lack of ability to discriminate between what is truth and imaginary, the â€Å"will to truth† is probably the highest â€Å"good†. The unfolding of will, which he described as neither free nor unfree, is perhaps an action of the will to what is true. Nietzsche presented another assumption that can be considered logical. He said that even though searching or willing for the truth is the highest, there are more fundamental matters behind this: affirmation of life, preservation of species, and so on. Therefore, â€Å"untruth† becomes a part of the will as â€Å"truth† is. If this is the case, then conventional philosophers are not seekers of the universal truth but simply rationalizing their prejudices (Earnshaw 52). Since Nietzsche did not accept either free or unfree will, his idea of will is reflected on his concepts of ‘will to truth’ and ‘will to power’. He found out that philosophers like him have an incredible role and impact in creating directing what to will for. Philosophers have great and creative minds and most of them are commanders and legislators. Through their knowledge, they can create; their creation leads to legislation; and their legislation push for will to truth. However, the meaning for will to truth is will to power. Hence, his idea of an overman who is beyond good and evil is externalized since philosophers can extend and reach visions that are not good or God oriented (Allen 71). Religion not only signifies an important role to explain Nietzsche’s â€Å"good and evil† and to describe what to will but also it can also be an instrument for the philosopher-legislator. As Nietzsche described human beings as â€Å"free spirits† or individuals having the â€Å"most comprehensive responsibility who has the conscience for the overall development of mankind†, he argued that a philosopher will use religion for his knowledge to be cultivated. Through religion, the philosopher’s creations can influence human beings and dictate their wills. However, the religion that Nietzsche is referring is a religion that is linked with philosophy and used merely for education and cultivation, a means among other means, but not the ultimate end. Otherwise, if religion is used separated from philosophy and as a legislator on its own, the effects are unexpected and dangerous (Allen 72). Fate, consequences, or course of events do not play significant roles in Nietzsche’s will. The act of willing is not similar to the power behind willing or the causal relationship brought by the natural science. No necessity can influence willing and unfree will is just a mythology. No law is bound to change will other than the power in other wills. The belief on the â€Å"unfreedom of the will,† or the idea that an individual might decide or act upon dictation or influence, is just a mere excuse used by individuals to prevent them from responsibilities and point the blame to other matters. Nietzsche’s argument on â€Å"unfree will† was similar to St. Augustine’s who argued that God indeed has ‘foreknowledge of events’ but gave man a ‘power to will’. If a man’s will is not successful in doing what it wills, fate is not the cause but a more powerful will. However, the weak often blame fate as the root of suffering instead hence Augustine said that â€Å"fate belongs to the weaker of two parties, will to the stronger. † (Dworkin 178). At first glance, Nietzsche argument on will can be vague, confusing, and challenging but given the mass of ideas presented in Beyond Good and Evil, readers and thinkers can get plenty of advice from a seemingly manual type for philosophers publication. In defining his analysis on will, Nietzsche began by attacking the conventional philosophers and philosophical assumptions. The assumptions can be pretty confusing and devastating to other philosophers and his views on God can be described as anti-Christ. Undeniably, he made a strong conclusion by saying that the â€Å"will to power†Ã¢â‚¬â€the strongest will of all that is driven by emotions and things that man is passionate of, can change numerous things in the world. In order to correct this kind of prejudice, Nietzsche offered a solution he called the â€Å"free spirit† which can be achieved through isolation and independence or living a different live, the difficult one. In order to grasps what he meant about â€Å"free spirit†, he further described morality and truth which can be confusing and might unacceptable to others. He said that the only real things in this world are man’s emotions, passions, and motivations. Nietzsche provided a doctrine that is simplified and meant to be understood by ordinary people. The shift is observable since his previous works were mostly misunderstood and used for destructive purposes. Nietzsche attack on Christianity and/or religion intrigued numerous scholars. He described religion as the cause of the distortion of people’s values, pushed many to become non-believers, and offer self-sacrifice. On the other hand, some found his assertions contradictory such as man’s inability to know the truth yet in his book he seemed to declare a lot of truths. He said that philosophers must avoid justifying their own opinions yet Nietzsche sounded like a dictator of his self-declared truths. Nevertheless, he is able to point out that truth is relative among people, that there is no universal truth, and that man should will for his own truth. Works Cited Allen, Douglas. Comparative Philosophy and Religion in Times of Terror. Lexington Books, 2006 Dilman, Ilham. Free Will: A Historical and Philosophical Introduction. Routledge, 1999. Dudley, Will. Hegel, Nietzsche, and Philosophy: Thinking Freedom. Cambridge University Press, 2002. Dworkin, Ronald William. The Rise of the Imperial Self. Rowman & Littlefield, 1996. Earnshaw, Steven. Existentialism: A Guide for the Perplexed. Continuum Publishing Group, 2007. Kane, Robert. Free Will. Wiley-Blackwell, 2002. Kazantakis, Nikos & Makridis, Odysseus. Friedrich Nietzsche on the Philosophy of Right and the State. SUNY Press, 2006. Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhem, Faber, Marion, & Holub, Robert. Beyond Good and Evil. Oxford University Press, 1998. Sack, Robert David. A Geographical Guide to the Real and the Good. Routledge, 2003 Spinks, Lee. Friedrich Nietzsche. Routledge, 2003.

Friday, August 30, 2019

High-Blood Pressure Essay

In this particular essay, I am going to attempt to inform you about the disease called high blood pressure. In this three to four page report I will discuss what causes it, how it can be treated and when you know it is too high. Hopefully, after reading this piece, you will be more aware of what high blood pressure is. To begin with, the disorder or disease that I will be doing my report on is High blood pressure; also known as hypertension. The system that the disorder comes from is the cardiovascular system. The majority of times, there is no clear cause, which can be identified as the cause of the disorder. The clearest cause of why blood pressure is high is that the arteries that the blood flows through are too small. High blood pressure is most common in people whose families have had it; the same as heredity. It is also most common in males, patients who are over 35 years old, African-Americans and in women on oral contraceptives. High blood pressure is far more common in families where other members have had this condition. Even though sometimes it is a hereditary disorder, it is not always. For instance, while the incidence of high blood pressure is low in Japan, it is higher in Japanese who migrate to America. Cultural things that we do in America will affect the incidences of high blood pressure, these include: Being overweight, eating high sodium diet, exercising too little, and drinking more than two alcoholic drinks daily. Some of the symptoms include: Calcification, cardiac arrest, chest pain, depression, diabetes, dizziness, heart attack and shortness of breath. The disorder doesn’t really progress within the system. If you have high blood pressure in one part of your system, it is most likely that you have high blood pressure in all of your system. Blood only comes from one place in your system, your heart. So if a little part of your body has high blood pressure, then every blood vessel in your body should have it as well. Some people think that only at a certain level of high blood pressure should be treated. Some people also think that the higher the blood pressure, the higher the risk of suffering one of its complications. People with hypertension are encouraged to: Maintain ideal body weight, reduce the consumption of sodium and maintain at least a modest exercise program. If  your blood pressure is too high, then medications may be taken to control it. Several readings are required to test whether or not you have high blood pressure. Generally, blood pressure is said to be too high at the level of 140/90, and some therapy should be started at this level. If after the therapy, the pressure is still too high, then you should start taking medications. You can’t really tell when your blood pressure is too high. One of high blood pressure’s nicknames is â€Å"silent killer† because it can hurt you very bad even when you don’t know you have it. The biggest problem with the treatment of high blood pressure is not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of applying our current knowledge. To help treat the disorder remember these key points: take your medications as prescribed, Get your medications filled before they run out, and follow-up with your doctor. There is a syndrome that people sometimes feel eerie about. This is called â€Å"White Coat Syndrome†. This is a situation where patients have a high blood pressure in the doctor’s office, but nowhere else. This is usually where when someone sees a doctor he or she starts to feel tense and irritated. This is not a terrible thing. If you have an occasional high blood pressure it is not as dangerous as when your blood pressure remains elevated all of the time. There is really no prevention of high blood pressure. It is mostly a hereditary trait passed down from a family member. The best bet that you have to prevent the disease is to maintain an ideal body weight, reduce your consumption of sodium and maintain at least a modest exercise program. Doing these things will not prevent it 100%, but they might help you out for the future. Some common causes of the disease are medications, habitual alcohol use, too much salt in the diet, obesity, stress and arteriosclerosis. In conclusion, I have summed up some pretty important topics in this composition. Some of the most important things that I learned are that some people don’t even know when they have high blood pressure or not, what you can do to treat the disease, and what you can get it from. I think that after I have read learned all this about the disease, I will probably try to consume less sodium, maintain an ideal body weight and exercise fairly  regularly. By doing these everyday things I should be able to help myself from getting the disease.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Challenges and Opportunities of the Organizations Assignment

Challenges and Opportunities of the Organizations - Assignment Example Accepting money from the Mexican drug dealers helps in satisfying its business goals as the deal increases deposits for loaning. Involvement of the organization in money laundering activity is leading to the likelihood of it incurring a fine of $700 million. Another challenge facing the organization relates to lack of proper marketing focus. This element has led the company to face legal suites. The business is also on the verge of compensating some of its clients who lost money through uncertain schemes that it initiated. For instance, the organization is setting aside $1.3 billion for compensating victims of improper insurance selling. With proper marketing focus, the organization would be able to identify and detect the problem and avoid the associated losses. Additionally, the business is poised to incur bills in payment of the damages for the alleged misinformation about its American consumer-finance business. The organization is also under scrutiny for violation of mortgage foreclosure rules, which will see it compensate customers that lost investments in the scheme of Bernard Madoff Ponzi. Despite the challenges faced, the organization enjoys some opportunities that it can exploit and develop to improve its condition. One of the opportunities relates to the growth experienced in the marketing markets, which has the potential to increase profitability. The business already has a big name in the banking and financial industry. It only needs to correct its tainted image and will manage to gain acceptance in the emerging markets. Another opportunity relates to the low-interest rates that the organization offers on mortgages. The organization can take advantage of its recognition as offering low-interest rates on mortgages to expand its market share and revenues.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

A past future city vision, explaning what the main ideas were and Essay

A past future city vision, explaning what the main ideas were and commenting on the possible sucess it may or may not have had as a sustainable - Essay Example d and therefore it is not surprising that a common theme in the visions of future is addressing the challenges of growth and development of cities, without endangering the surrounding environment and employing sustainable natural resources. Built into these visions were attempts to address the issues of production of resources, its consumptions, and the threat of rising sea levels due to global warming (Ng, 2008). The vision for Washington D.C. includes the use of the military forts surrounding the city that defended it in the past to bring life to the city in the future. Sinuous towers are envisaged on these forts to enable harvesting of wind, solar energy and rainwater and the production of food through the use of hydrophonic farms. Food supply will be further augmented through communal farming on the greenway that will be created in the present avenues of the city (Ng, 2008). Addressing transportation requirements in a unique way is seen in the vision for San Francisco, based on the use of Hydro-net consisting of walls made of carbon nanotubes. The underground Hydro-net is a network that transports individuals, vehicles, water and energy in the city. The Hydro-net also acts as a resource production system with hydrogen-producing algae farms, fog catchers to collect air moisture, and water extractors to collect fresh water from an aquifer below the city (Ng, 2008). For Atlanta the vision includes the reintroduction of treated water from the old sewage system around the ground to produce a natural waterway that flows through city. The surrounding forests would be allowed to creep into the city reducing the city grid and creating new hybrid environments. The idea here is to restore the natural systems to offset the burden of the man-made infrastructure of the city (Ng, 2008). While such a competition may result in what may appear as far fetched solutions for the development, they do provide ideas and solutions for the man made problems in the cities. An example

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Poetry Interpretation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Poetry Interpretation - Essay Example By outward appearances, the man looks like he has it all. He is in a relationship, and probably seems well off within the trappings of a successful life. His lover is very committed to him. Yet something eats away at him and he is neither satisfied nor happy. Quite to the contrary, he feels out of control - like he is going "down the drain;" and he cannot control it because his life has assumed its own trajectory. His "body spins and sinks" like a rock tossed into deep murky water. His only escape is to fall asleep, but sleep merely throws him "into a black hole." From a black hole to sinking and being sucked down a drain, all of the imagery of this poem suggests someone unable to resist the overwhelming pull of gravity sucking him toward an undesirable existence. The things that should be pleasant for the man - sex and love - are more like drudgery and chores. Sex makes him "feel like a servant." Love makes him "feel like a slave." These things are serving someone else, his master, rather than himself. The imagery of a servant and a slave implies a sense of subordination and a life spent at someone else's pleasure. While his lover thinks the relationship is wonderful, that lover fails to see the one-sidedness of it all. The old notion of a committed lover being shackled with a ball-and-chain comes to mind.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Financial overview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Financial overview - Essay Example For this purpose, the raw material will be collected on a donation basis from the general public through online and off line advertisement, and designers and artists would be recruited from the target customers to convert that raw material into products. Therefore, the initial investment on the collection of raw material would be negligible, and most of the investment would be spent on the setting up of retail and flag shops, and the development of websites and other online platforms for interaction between the customers and the business owner. The business is aimed to be launched in three cities simultaneously. The overall budget is estimated to be around $50,000. The following is the chart representing the breakdown of the budget for the venture: The fluctuation in the exchange rate of the currency as regards foreign currency is a major determinant when choosing international markets for the launch and operation of businesses. The Japanese market is quite volatile in this regard (Reuters, 2011); it is determined that the Japanese Yen has gone from  ¥76 to  ¥84 in relation to U.S. dollar in the past six months this year (Reuters, 2011). This is a great increase on the price of the dollar, of more than ten percent (Reuters, 2011), and is testament of a relatively unstable business environment. Multi national companies hesitate to invest in a market with currency values fluctuating in the values of more than one percent (Reuters, 2011). To counter this risk of business failure, GAAFE would wait till the launch time coincides with the highest currency value so that maximum profits could be attained. If a low value

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Descartes and Darwin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Descartes and Darwin - Essay Example Secondly, the paper will explore how history and modern science has added more weight to the views of Darwin which suggests that this view may be more ‘correct’ in its nature. The Debate on Human Nature One of the most well-known parts of Descartes’ philosophical views is the concept that to be human is to be composed of two incompatible pieces; the body and the soul. The body is full of the natural processes, whilst the soul contains all the information that we need to be ourselves, including all of our decision-making faculties and our personalities (Descartes, 2006). These two components, perhaps communicating through the pineal gland, are thoroughly different in composition and matter. Descartes would argue that human nature is partially comprised of the soul which cannot be explained by science and therefore there are elements of ourselves that science cannot explain. Descartes did, however, suggest that â€Å"the mind depends so much on temperament and the disposition of one's bodily organs that, if it is possible to find a way to make people generally more wise and more skilful than they have been in the past, I believe that we should look for it in medicine† (Descartes, 2006, p45), meaning that there are some elements of human nature which should look to science for explanation. Charles Darwin had very different ideas. Often known as the father of evolution, Darwin explored a great number of scientific concepts pertaining to human and animal behavior, often finding that these two concepts were linked and very similar. This view can be illustrated from Darwin’s words that â€Å"it has often and confidently been asserted, that man's origin can never be known: but ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science† (Darwin, 1871, p4). This just shows Darwinâ€℠¢s faith in science, and the power of science to explain even the inexplicable. Human nature is no exception from this rule, and as Darwin suggests, â€Å"there is no fundamental difference between man and the higher animals in their mental faculties† (Darwin, 1971, p34). Having studied a number of animal behaviors throughout his career, it is obvious that Darwin had more interaction with different creatures and therefore more information to draw his strong conclusion about human nature from. As the father of evolution, it is obvious that Darwin will favor an evolutionary perspective of human nature, one that suggests that all elements of our behavior and other aspects of being a human can be explained by science. Although there were some gaps in the evidence Darwin provided for this hypothesis, these have been slowly filled since the publication of The Descent of Man and are continually being updated as time goes on. It is perhaps the fact that Darwin’s work fits so n eatly with modern science which makes it the more appealing hypothesis, as explained further below. These views are evidently at odds with each other. Although Descartes does alert the reader to the importance of science and medicine, it is evident from Discourse on the Method that there are some things that Descartes feels are inexplicable. This may seem like a feasible resolution to come to, as human nature and personalities appear to be extremely complicated and different from those of other

Saturday, August 24, 2019

History, Consuption of BLUE JEANS (FASHION in U.S History) assignment Research Paper

History, Consuption of BLUE JEANS (FASHION in U.S History) assignment - Research Paper Example It looked dark blue as it was generally colored with indigo, a type of colorant derived from plants in India and America. Almost 20 million tons of indigo is produced for the dyeing of jeans every year, though each pair of jeans requires only a few grams of the dye. It was worn by workers as the fabric was very durable and strong. Gold was found in California in the year 1848 which gave rise to the popular Gold rush, the workers of the gold mine required long lasting cloths that would last long and not be worn off easily. A man called Leob Strauss who lived in New York shifted to San Francisco which is quite close to California and started a wholesale business of supplying clothes, later he changed his name to Levi from Leob, who the founder of the well known Levis Jeans Company. The major problem faced by the miners was that the pockets of their jeans would easily tear away from the jeans, so a person called Jacob Davis thought of an idea to overcome this problem. He had the idea of using metal fasteners to prevent the pockets from tearing away and to hold the pockets and the jeans together. Davis wanted to copyright his idea but due to lack of funds. He could not do so. In the year 1872 Davis sent a written proposal to Strauss, offering him a deal if Strauss agreed to pay fort the copyright, the proposal was accepted by Strauss and Davis started manufacturing copper fasteners. Levi attached a leather label on their jeans in the year 1886; it displayed two horses pulling a pair of jeans from in opposite directions, this was to display and advertise the strength of the jeans, and represented that even if it is pulled by two horses it would not tear apart. Hollywood stared making many western movies in 1930’s, where cowboys generally wore denim waist overalls; jeans were called that back then. This denim waist overall that

Friday, August 23, 2019

Term Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 5

Term Paper - Essay Example Humans preserve life, as duty requires. Duty seeks to restrict the actions of humans to follow a certain direction. In a way, duty brings out the best of someone’s will. Kant depicts how a dealer interacts with his customers to illustrate how accordance to duty affects the will of a person. The dealer treats all of his customers, whether recent or patrons equally. He does so prudently to maintain his customer base. Utility is the greatest form of happiness a human can experience. According to the principle of utility, a person acts in ways that are most likely to cause him happiness. To the majority of humans, happiness is all about the absence of pain and the abundance of pleasure. Pleasure, as with any resource, is more desirable when it is in plenty. Quantity is more desirable than quality and is usually the measure of happiness. All humans are subject to this principle as they all attempt to achieve happiness in their lives. Another correlation that is similar to the relationship between pleasure and pain is that of vice and virtue. The desire of virtue is similar to that of happiness. Unlike happiness, the desire of virtue is not universal. For this reason, the pursuit of happiness is one of the motivators of human conduct but it is not the only one. The major issue of contention in developing laws is the issue of injustice and favoring one party over the other. Using a veil of ignorance, as Rawl puts it, lawmakers are able to develop laws that are just and fair. This veil ensures that there is no party that is advantaged or disadvantages as everyone becomes subject to social circumstances and natural chance. A veil of ignorance ensures that all the principles that dictate the law are arrived through fair agreement and bargain. Through the veil, justice has the chance to become fair. By thinking what might happen in the absence of a certain law, legislators naturally use to veil to come up with the laws. An example is that of a

Obesity in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Obesity in America - Essay Example â€Å"Two out of every three adults are either overweight or obese.† (Obesity in America) Two out of three adults, this is spreading at a very alarming pace and something concrete should be done about this. We put on weight when we consume more calories than we burn, eating anything and everything is fine as long as we are able to burn it but the problem starts when one begins to put on weight, the desire to flex muscles drastically reduce when one starts putting on weight, the person’s stamina takes a toll and he starts feeling lazy, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are a plethora of problems which come with obesity; the biggest of them all is overspending. Obese people are prone to spending; they indulge in unwanted fantasies which are both expensive and unhealthy. For instance, a person who loves eating chocolate cakes would never get enough of it and would definitely eat as many as plausible even after knowing the fact that he is obese, this is where self-control comes into play but obese people have no self control which is why they turn obese. Some people may have genetic problem and may be excluded but most others have very little or no self control overall. â€Å"If Americans have such a large problem with their weight, why don’t they do something about it? They are trying. There is much money being spent on obesity in America. Market research firm, Market data, found that Americans spent 59 billion dollars on weight loss in 2008. All of that money spent and only 2 percent of the people who actually lose weight will be able to keep the weight off longer than 5 years.† (Weight Loss Attempts) Weight loss pills are nothing but eyewash, the biggest problem is not being able to stay fit, running thirty minutes a day is more than good enough to be fit. There is another problem, some obese people do get lucky, they shed a little bit of weight by

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Solar and Wind Energy to Ashton Island Essay Example for Free

Solar and Wind Energy to Ashton Island Essay This is so the southwest winds can blow the windmills. The windmills would spin and they would turn a generator, which would produce electricity. After the electricity would have been generated, it would be supplied with cables down to the laboratory and the cooling equipment. However you would not be able to place a lot of the windmills on the hill. Therefore the next ideal position would be on the coast which would contain the strong southwest breezes. This can also be done seeing as the coast is not far away from the laboratory. This would supply electricity through wires in rubber pipes to the laboratory and further on to the refrigerators where the cooling equipment would be placed. In order to make sure that the supply of energy was continuous we could ensure that whilst the energy was being generated some of it would pass into a battery which would supply the cooling equipment with electricity when the wind is not blowing. The electricity would have to be split roughly half ways so when the wind is blowing 50% would pass into the cooling equipment while 50% went onto the battery. The material on the island that would have to be carefully monitored is the wood in the forms of trees within the forest. This is because if all the other sources of energy run out, this is the only other form of material, which will provide a quick source of energy. None of the other forms of energy are constant; the sun does not always shine, the wind does not always blow, the sea is not always rough and rivers do not always flow. However wood will always be there to provide quick energy. If the team only had a limited amount of money then they would have to try and harness the resources using the cheapest ways. The types of energy to harness would be different to choose from; in the sense that we would have to choose the cheapest resources available and also the most efficient. The cheapest resource available would be the natural biomass in the form of wood in the forests. However this would eventually run out because there are only a limited number of trees within the forest. Therefore we would have to resort to the burning of rubbish and rotting matter. We could use rotting matter to produce energy by leaving the rotting matter in a closed tank then through anaerobic digestion the gas methane would be produced. This gas could be used for heating, cooking and lighting. This is a very cheap method and it would produce energy at a very good rate aswell. By far the most expensive source if energy extraction would be solar panels and the windmills. These would cost a lot to make and they may not be as efficient as the geothermal and natural biomass. However if there were costs to be considered throughout the whole thing then we would have to resort to the extraction of geothermal energy and burning biomass. Another aspect of the limited money would be the fact that they may not be able to purchase the vast amounts of machinery needed to generate electricity like the turbines and the generators and therefore we would not be able to have such a vast amount and variety of different methods of harnessing electricity. Another aspect which would have to be considered on a limited budget would be the purchase of the equipment in order to extract the energy and the network through which it would have to run in order to be successfully linked up to all the equipment and finally the workforce which would be needed to construct the equipment and set it all up could be very timely and costly. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Electricity and Magnetism section.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The importance of caterpillar inc in mining

The importance of caterpillar inc in mining Caterpillar Inc is the largest maker of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines in the world (Caterpillar Inc, 2010, p.1). It was started in 1925, and is based in Peoria, Illinois. Its operations are divided into three segments: machinery, engines, and financial business segments (Businessweek, 2010). With a global footprint, Caterpillar Inc.s product line boasts of more than 300 products, manufactured in twenty three countries (Caterpillar Inc, 2010). In the sections that follow, an internal analysis of the firm is carried out and its distinctive capabilities and core competencies evaluated. Its corporate, functional, and competitive strategies are also analyzed. Distinctive capabilities: The resource-based view of the firm asserts that an organizations resources and capabilities underpin the bedrock upon which the firms competitive advantage and strategy is based. While resources refer to the productive assets owned by the firm (Saloner, Shepard, and Podolny, 2008, p.12), capabilities refer to what the firm can do (Saloner, Shepard, and Podolny, 2008, p.12). Three types of resources have been identified: tangible resources, intangible resources, and human resources. As far as Caterpillar Inc is concerned, these are discussed below: Tangible Resources: Financial Resources: Caterpillar has a strong and healthy cash flow position. Net cash flows have increased from $592,000 in 2007 to $1,614,000 in 2008 and $2,131,000 in 2009 (Yahoo Finance, 2010). It enjoys strong market capitalization, which stands at $39.8 billion compared to only $6.29 billion for its closest competitor and the industry average of $1.71 billion. Its operating margins as well as price earnings ratio are well above the industry average (Yahoo Finance, 2010). Caterpillars sales revenues, profits, and other financial indicators have shown a consistent improvement over the years. For instance, sales revenues have risen from $30.3bn in 2004 to $51.3bn by 2008, surpassing the firms 2010 target of $50bn with two years to go. Over the same period, profits have risen from $2bn to $3.6bn. Other financial ratios have also witnessed a strong climb-up (Annual Report). The firm also boasts of an investment-grade credit rating as well as easy access to the capital (Caterpillar I nc, 2009). Marketing Resources: Caterpillar Inc has a marketing and distribution system that spans the entire globe. Additionally, it holds the market leadership position in the construction and mining industries as well as in the construction of natural gas, diesel, and industrial engines (Caterpillar Inc, 2009). With the broadest global footprint in the industry, it is very well diversified in terms of geographical spread and derives only 33% of its revenues in the US market. With over 300 products in its product line, its product base can be described as broad and well diversified which can help cushion it against downturns in specific product areas. Its customer service can also be described as superior, given that the firm offers among others quality assurance underpinned by a three year warranty, as well as fixed rate long-term financing tailored to specific customer needs (Caterpillar Inc, 2009). Physical Resources: Caterpillar Inc boasts of hi-tech manufacturing facilities spread in at least twenty three countries, and geared towards production in thirteen different industries. Under the Caterpillar Production System (CPS), it has a world class manufacturing, supply chain, and distribution system that are closely aligned with the flexible manufacturing philosophy (Caterpilar Inc, 2009). Intangible Resources: Technology: the number of patents which Caterpillar Inc has received has continued to increase year after successive year. By 2010, it had 620 patents. This is in line with its expenditure on RD which has grown from just $928 million in 2004 to $1.73bn by 2008 (Caterpillar Inc, 2009). Reputation: the market leader in the construction and mining industries and in the natural gas, industrial, and diesel engine industries, Caterpillar enjoys strong brand recognition as well as a strong reputation for machines distinguished by their specialist expertise, durability, design, as well as dealer and service excellence. According to Saloner, Shepard, and Podolny (2008, p.12), resources by themselves cannot give a firm a competitive advantage but must be blended together to give the firm capabilities. Based on the inventory of Caterpillar Inc.s resources presented above, the firms capabilities can be given as follows: strong financial position which also gives the firm a high ability to finance innovation (RD) and working capital requirements, raise credit financing to expand its operations or investments, as well as the ability to finance its customers and dealers purchases over the long run. Strong innovation capabilities as evidenced by the increasing number of patents it holds and the sustained investment in RD activities. Supply chain efficiencies (flexibility, cost effectiveness, etc) as evidenced by its Caterpillar Production System (CPS). Strong manufacturing and distribution capabilities as evidenced by its global configuration of production, supply, and distribution facilities. Strong marketing capabilities as defined by its market leadership position, broad product portfolio (over 300 products in thirteen different industries), its strong brand recognition and reputation, and superior customer service and excellence. Selznick (1990) coined the term distinctive competences / capabilities to describe those things which the organization does extremely well relative to its marketplace rivals. In the case of Caterpillar Inc, its distinctive capabilities can be said to include: its innovation and financial capabilities as well as its well-diversified product base and geographical spread. Core competencies: Prahalad and Hamel (1990) define core competencies as those capabilities which are central to an organizations achievement of a sustainable competitive advantage. For the capability to be termed as a core competence, it has to meet four criteria as spelled out by the VRIO framework. It must be valuable, rare, inimitable, and the organization must be sufficiently organized to exploit it. While Caterpillar Inc has a very broad product line and wide geographical spread, this can be easily replicated by its rivals through a deliberate strategy of market development and product diversification. Its supply chain capabilities can also be easily replicated through undertaking demand and supply chain integration activities such as maintaining low inventory levels and adopting flexible manufacturing systems. Its main core competencies therefore are its innovation capabilities, its superior financial position, and its superior customer service. Strategy: Strategy formulation has been described as taking place at three levels: the corporate level, business level, and the functional level. Robbins and Coulter (2005) identify three types of corporate strategies. These include growth, retrenchment, and stability strategies. Traditionally, Caterpillar has pursued the growth strategy which involves aggressively expanding into new markets and introducing new products so that by 2008 it had more than 300 products. Apart from its domestic US market, it has spread to most countries in Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe and Middle East, and Latin America. However, prompted by the increasingly cyclical nature of the industries across which it operates as well as the recent global economic recession, the firm put brakes on its growth strategy and pursued a retrenchment strategy instead. This was characterized by cost reduction initiatives, closure of underperforming business units, and employee layoffs (Caterpillar Inc, 2009). According to its annual report, the firms trough planning initiative has involved: Scaling down the number of its employees by more than 20,000, through voluntary as well as forced layoffs. Additionally, the firm has done away with many contingent workers (that is, temporary, agency, and contract employees). Reducing working hours as well as closing some plants temporarily in many of its global facilities. In some areas, the firm has introduced shorter working weeks. The firm has also undertaken various measures to optimize its supply chain management. These include reduction of inventories (which is expected to lead to lower inventory carrying costs), forging closer relationships with key suppliers, and the alignment of its logistical processes to conform to its flexible manufacturing system dubbed the Caterpillar Production System (CPS). It has drastically reduced compensation levels for its employees and managers, in some instances by as much as half. This is expected to drive cost savings. According to Robbins and Coulter (2005), firms which pursue the corporate strategy of growth have various strategic alternatives at their disposal. These include: concentration, vertical integration, horizontal integration, and diversification strategies. Of the four strategies, Caterpillar Inc has primarily made use of the diversification and horizontal integration strategies. Diversification involves expanding the firms scope of operations into other industries and product lines and this can be seen in the firms expansion to over 300 products and in thirteen industries. The horizontal integration strategy involves merging operations with other players in the same industry with a view of enhancing the firms competitive thrust and lowering competition in the industry. In the case of Caterpillar, this is evidenced by: Combination of its operations with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 1965 in the Japanese market; joint venture with Navistar International Corporation which led to the creation of a new entity known as NC2 Global LLC in 2009; and a joint venture agreement with China Yuchai Machinery Co. Ltd in 2009 (Businessweek, 2010). The Ansoff Matrix has further identified the strategies which can be pursued by a firm deploying the corporate strategy of growth as: product development, market development, diversification, and market penetration strategies (Mercer, 1996). The firm has predominantly made use of the product development strategy which involves the introduction of new products for existing markets. Cases in point include the introduction by the company of next generation mining trucks, the first ever electric drive tracks in the industry, as well as the innovation of the revolutionary cat 175 engine (Caterpillar Inc, 2009). The market development strategy is also evident in the firms strategic posture, especially in its forays into more countries through geographic expansion. Some of the countries recently ventured into by Caterpillar include Saudi Arabia and India (Caterpillar Inc, 2009). At the business level, three main strategies have been identified. These include the overall low cost leadership strategy, the differentiation strategy, and the niche / focus strategy. The niche strategy has further been distinguished as either a differentiated niche strategy or focused low cost strategy. Additionally, an organization may follow a stuck in the middle approach where it simultaneously pursues two or more of these strategies (Porter, 1998). Of the three generic strategies, Caterpillar Inc can be described as following the generic strategy of differentiation. As its annual report (Caterpillar, 2009) attests, this strategy is based on two of its core competencies: its innovation capabilities and superior customer service. Functional level strategies are strategies which are implemented at the functional level in order to support the business level and ultimately, the corporate level strategies (Robbins and Coulter, 2005). For example, as far as the human resource is concerned, the firm continues to put a lot of emphasis on the training and development of its personnel. In 2008 for example, it spent up to $60 million in training and development initiatives. By ensuring that its employees are well trained and developed, the firm can see to it that creativity and innovation is fostered and that the staff are in a position to deliver exceptional levels of customer service. Its customer service strategy for example has involved offering three year warranties, and long term financing for customers and dealers (Caterpillar Inc, 2009). Its manufacturing strategy has involved upgrading of its facilities. For example, in 2008, the firm spent up to $2.4 billion in initiatives aimed at modernizing its manufacturing infrastructure. Other functional level strategies include ensuring costs are kept within manageable levels while maintaining high quality standards through initiatives such as the Six Sigma program, and ensuring that the organization is aligned with emerging market needs (Caterpillar Inc, 2009).

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The River Murray, Australia

The River Murray, Australia 1. Introduction The river Murray is one of the largest river in Australia and also known as The Mighty River and Murray Darling the name of the basin is derived from its two major rivers, the Murray River and the Darling River. River Murray had been in Australia for thousands of years and it is the biggest river in Australia, there are many activities that happened along the river side for many years and the impact of human to the river is very big. It is a major source of domestic water for 1.25 million people. Hydro-electricity generated from the River and supplies electricity for Victoria and New South Wales; but the water of the river is getting more polluted meanwhile the Murray valley is becoming well known for its tourism. 2. Geographical location The Murray Darling river pass through Australia and because of its length as the total 2.341 miles and Murray river pass through Corryong, Albury-Wodonga, Echuca, Moama and Swan Hill. It content: 85 species of mammals, with 20 extinct and 16 endangered, 53 species of frogs, with none endangered, 46 species of snakes, with 5 endangered, 5 species of tortoises, with none endangered, and 34 species of fish, with none endangered. Total water flow in the Murray-Darling in the period in 1885 is average 24,000 gigalitres per year. Estimated total annual flows for the river range from 5,000 gigalitres and in 1902 to 57,000 gigalitres in 1956 and average rainfall = 480 mm/year = 508,000 GL/year 3. History It is thought that the Murray Darling River was formed about 60 million years ago. The Murray Darling region is full of fascinating history 40 thousand years ago, through to the more recent times of early European settlement. The history of the Murray River in the late 18th and 19th centuries, the Murray River became an important transportation route to carry goods to and from Melbourne. Between 2.5 and 0.5 million years ago the Murray River end and form freshwater lake that called Lake Bungunia. Discovered by European explorers Hamilton H. Hume and William H. Hovell in 1824. The river also the start of many species of animal in Australia for example: emus, koala bears, Western Grey kangaroos, Bearded Dragon lizards, red-rumped parrots, black swans, pelicans, and dolphins. For many years in history the Murray Darling river help people co carry wood, wheat, and facilities up and down the river the first trips being made by two boats from South Australia. In 1919 a dam that name Hume D am had been build and the dam had change the entire river. Hume Dam is located in the downstream of the Murray River and Mitta Mitta River 16 kilometers east of Albury-Wodonga the dam is 2,225 km from the Murray mouth at Goolwa. 4. Impact of human use The industrial and domestic needs for water have meant that regulation and control of the rivers natural flow that effect the plant and animal that depend on the river. The use of locks and dams interrupted the river flow and restrict water in some area that needed, while other areas receive more water than they normally would in a heavy rainfall or flooded. This has affected the breeding cycles of animals and plants depend on the river. The river system is now in a serious problem with salinity. This problem is blame for agriculture because of the fertilizer, chemical and pesticide runoff that put into the water then increase the amount of salt flow into the water, it is also blame for lower productivity such as the poor water quality and flooding. It is estimated that salinity costs the users of the Murray River $47 million each year to filter the water for usage. Dame use in river had changed the entire river and life along the river side. Hume Dame had limited the amount of water flow and extremely lowers the water level. The lower water level makes agricultural decrease its productivity and salinity is increase because that water level is too low so it cant dilute the water. Because of the salinity so animal and plant had a very big impact and at the Murray mouth at Goolwa, it had been found that the water is just like sea water because of its pollution. And because of these effects, its affect the water use of people and affect the peoples who use water from the river as water resource.

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Political, Feminist, and Religious view of Frances E.W. Harper, Phl

The Political, Feminist, and Religious view of Frances E.W. Harper, Phllis Wheatley, and Alice Dunbar-Nelson Phillis Wheatley, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, and Francis E. W. Harper were all groundbreaking and poignant authors whose works have remained influential throughout time. Feminism, politics, and religion are three aspects evident in their personal lives an d literature. Wheatley was considered a feminist icon because she was the first published African American female poet. However, her writing did not deal with feminist issues, rather, they focussed on religious and political themes. Unlike Wheatley, Harper's femi nist views are incorporated into her work. She uses religion as a method to express her political and social views. Dunbar-Nelson, a writer of all genres, brought together her personal beliefs and activism into many pieces of her work. Political and fe minist issues were important aspects of her personal life, which served as important themes throughout her literature. Religion, while not as prevalent, also presented itself, most specifically through her poetry. PHILLIS WHEATLEY BIOGRAPHY Phillis Wheatley is the first published African American writer. She was born in 1753 in West Africa. She was kidnapped from Africa and sold as a slave when she was around seven or eight years old. She was purchased by a wealthy family that taught h er how to read and write. Wheatley showed great intelligence in her writing style. Wheatley's book, The Collected Works of Phillis Wheatley was first published in London. Five years after her return from London her owners; Mr. and Mrs. Wheatley died. In 1778 Wheatley married John Peters and they had three children that all died ve ry young. In 1779 Wheatley advertised a... ... They're flogging my sons on the farm; But I know that Omnipotence watches, That God has a far-flung arm (Hull 93). From this one passage we can see Alice Dunbar-Nelson combine issues of gender, race, and religion. Three issues which had a major affect on her life and her writing. Bibliography Foster, Frances Smith (1993). Written By Herself: Literary Production by African American Women, 1796-1892. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indian University Press. Hull, Gloria T. (1988). The Works of Alice Dunbar-Nelson. New York: Oxford Printing Press. Robinson, William H. (1982). Critical Essays on Phillis Wheatley. Boston: GK, Hall and Company. Robinson, William H. (1975). Phillis Wheatly in the Black America Beginnings. Detroit: Boadsiod. Shields, John C. (Eds.). (1988). The Collected Works of Phillis Wheatley. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Was the U.S. Right or Wrong Using the Atomic Bomb in ?Hiroshima? Essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The history over few centuries shows that the Japanese never gave up, that they always choose â€Å"death† than â€Å"surrender†. These two articles which I was studying very carefully, shows two opposite opinions about the necessity of using the atomic bomb to the end of World War II. Gar Alperowicz, in his article, â€Å"Hiroshima Remembered: The U.S. was Wrong†, the evidence to prove that America didn’t need to use atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagashaki to end the war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Contrary to this article John Connnor in his article â€Å"Hiroshima Remembered: The U.S. was Right† is trying to prove and convince reader that using atomic bomb on Hiroshima was necessary to end the war and it saved tremendous amount of American and Japanese lives. John Connor is using very emotional and very graphic language in his article. He called Japanese the â€Å"militarists† who are implacable, relentless enemies for â€Å"whom surrender was worse than death!† Their resistance was â€Å"savage† to the end in each battle they participate. As a proof of this, he mentioned the battle in Tarawa in 1943 where only 17 soldiers remain alive out of 5,000 soldiers â€Å"when the island was taken.† Another example is the battle in Saipan where only one thousand soldiers of 32,000 defending Japanese survived; 10,000 civilians were killed, among them a lot of children. Japanese â€Å"bashed their babies’ brains out of rocky cliff sides†¦ children threw grenades at each other.†17,000 Americans ...

Racism and Discrimination in Sports Essay -- Race Racism Athletics Ess

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dealing with the issue of sport and ethnology, three major factors come to mind; prejudice, racism, and discrimination. These factors span across gender, ethnic, racial, religious, and cultural groups. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss how these factors have played a part in the evolution of sport in our society. The first issue tackled in this paper will be racism in sports, followed by prejudice and discrimination. Racism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ?A definition of race might rely on an outward manifestation such as color or some other physiological sign. Race and ethnicity (and to some degree nationality) also imply a shared socio-cultural heritage and belief system. Finally, race and ethnicity harbor a physiological self-identification. Indeed, this factor is perhaps the most important in defining the identity of an ?ethnic? or ?racial? individual. It implies a conscious desire on the part of a person to belong to an aggregate of people, which possesses unique cultural characteristics, rituals and manners and a unique value system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  North America is, and always has been, an ethnically diverse society. Yet this cultural diversity along religious, ethnic and national lines had been tolerated only in a limited degree, end even only on the dominant Anglo-Saxon elite?s terms.? (Eisen and Wiggins, 1994, p. xii). History books repeatedly show this in their pages. A person can not pick up a history book and read through the pages with out finding something on how a particular athlete or group of athletes were persecuted because of their race. Part of the American dream that is taught to our youth of is freedom, equality and the ability to move ahead in life if a person is motivated to do so. It is unfortunate that this isn?t the case; that is unless the person fits into the right sociological group.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For instance, ?The American Dream of unlimited possibilities was shattered for black athletes. By 1900 most of them had successfully been excluded from American sport and were forced to establish their own separate sporting organizations. The most famous of these were the black baseball leagues, a loose aggregate of teams that did not achieve much organizational structure until Rube Foster founded the National Negro Baseball League in 1920. Late nineteenth-century black athletes were often disturbed by their inability to be classified by an... ...ng treated equal. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The concept of a perfect world where race, color, religion, political stance, and gender are all equal is a good goal to strive for. Singling out individuals or groups based on any of those characteristics is wrong. We all have room to grow, and can make a better effort to be open-minded. Sports would be a perfect place to let down the barriers. There is bias in sport today. There is racism and discrimination. Only by a conscious effort can anything be done to help move past our present state. Racism and discrimination should not be in sports, because all humans are of the same species regardless of color or origin. We all bleed and we can all die, therefore, we should all be equal. References Eisen, George, and Wiggins, David K. (1994). Ethnicity and Sport in North American History and Culture. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Du Bois, W.E.B, (1961). The Souls of Black Folk. New York: Fawcett. MacClancy, Jeremy, (1996). Sports, Identity and Ethnicity. United Kingdom: Oxford International Publishers. Hoffman, Frank W., PHD, and Bailey, William G., MA, (1991). Sports & Recreation Fads. New York: The Haworth Press.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Conducting a Strategic Management Project Essay

Introduction Shell is one of the world’s leading energy group and petrochemicals companies. It has around102000 employees in more than 100 countries. The objectives of the Shell Group are to engage efficiently, responsibly and profitably in oil, oil products, gas, chemicals and other selected businesses and to participate in the search for and development of other sources of energy to meet evolving customer needs and the world’s growing demand for energy. Mission Statement Shell’s innovative approach ensures that they are ready to tackle the challenges of new energy futures. 1.1 Topic of investigation having a strategic implication. This report explains the team buildings and teams work in Shell and development of its research work progress within the organization. It also presents suitable analysis of the project management and planning, advisory and project implementation of work. In this report, positive results of theories and its test showed that effective teamwork can lead to a success and achieving critical goals of Shell. It may also be able to gain the sustainability of competitiveness. Moreover, study explains that how team performance can be improved through leadership with project planning to face the upcoming challenges in modern era of business environment Shell operates in. 1.2 The aim, scope and objectives of the project. †¢ How can we improve Shell’s research study about lubes oil? †¢ What strategy we should adapt for improving Shell’s research? †¢ How and effective team force can be made for this purpose? The aim of the project is to achieve such team management, technology and resources that meet the new emerging energy challenges. Shell need to adapt such management strategies which will make a strong workforce with experienced and skilful team members. Shell wants to be recognised as a great company-competitive successfully and a force for progress. Shell has a fundamental belief that they can make a difference in the world because of it’s worth in the global market. A strong consumer proposition has been developed for the brand and embodied in the line â€Å"World Quality† which communicates Shell value-based offering in a precise manner, to its core target audience. The purpose of the advertising in the first instance is to support this strong value pr oposition and secondly to tailor the media solution to the store. 1.3 Justifying the scope, aim and objective. In meeting the energy challenges, the world faces three hard truths. The first is that there has been a step-change in global energy demand, with rapidly developing countries like China and India entering the energy-intensive phase of growth. Even with huge improvements in energy efficiency and substantial growth in renewables, fossil fuels will still be the main element of the energy mix by mid-century. The second hard truth is that easy-to-access oil and gas is in decline. As a result, energy will come increasingly from unconventional sources, such as oil sands. The third hard truth is that the increased burning of fossil fuels especially coal for power generation could mean unacceptably high emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming and climate change. Meeting the energy challenge Shell is helping to meet the energy challenge with a broad range of approaches. It uses advanced technologies that can unlock oil and gas in more remote or hostile environments, and new techniques to extend the lives of existing fields. We are increasing production from unconventional sources, including oil sands. Shell helps make the most of cleaner-burning natural gas through our output of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas to liquids (GTL) products. We are helping to develop second-generation bio fuels that do not compete with food crops; and we are developers of wind and solar power. 1.4 Evaluation of project research methodology. Methodolgy Research Study should be verified by seniors because all research is based on practical data and that data may vary by location of the research and by person. Need to Understand the Hypothesis before research and development. Which department are more feasible and which person is more interested and suitable for that research. Research should be complete on time. Research conduct at same time on different locations 2.1 Identify sources of data and information that will support the aim of the project. For a company like Shell having the right information about the environment, customs, laws and customer needs is of key importance. To gather this information the company will firstly see the law of the country in which it is going to start business, as we are talking about their business in UK the law allows this business. Here in UK there is a high demand it is a rich environment for the company to run their business. Data about this can be obtained by doing surveys and examining the current market i.e. by observing the similar businesses running in the country. Scanning the Environment In this research study, an appropriate approach of environmental scanning is considered in the industrial organisations that are operating in the chemical industry. Different types of information were used in this study. It included general information about the industry and specific about the participating companies. The type of data that was included was; †¢ Formal data that concerns the company’s character. †¢ Data that is publicly available, like in annual reports. †¢ Interviews of managers that provided the history and culture of the companies. This information was very important to analyse and research the topic and to see how other companies are operating in the industry. Strauss (1987) emphasizes the usefulness of the case study approach when used with grounded theory. Grounded theory seeks to generate theoretical statements and, ultimately, complex theories based on empirical evidence, although it can be used in different ways and reach various degrees of complexity. The research design framework adopted in this study can be described as a multiple case study, composed according to the theory building structure, as described by Yin (1989), i.e., where the sequence of chapters follow a theory-building logic, and using the grounded theory method of qualitative data analysis. 2.2 Synthesise the data and information for options or alternatives that support the project aims. An effective information infrastructure was implemented to assess the information required in this research, which included technological information, processes and information acquired by people. A rich collection of scientific and technical information was gathered, which was managed by professionals having different backgrounds. However, some companies just provided a consistent picture which was a small collection made up of journals, literature and reports mainly. The information being pervasive is one of the main reasons in having difficulty in accounting for the costs involved in the research as it depends on specific roles and their performance. The data that was collected showed that in medium or large chemical companies data and information was being handled by 50% staff while in smaller companies about 9% staff was involved. The scope of the companies was assessed by their li nks with Research and Development organisations and hoe they collaborate with the regulatory agencies. Strategic change Larger companies like Shell influence the planning adoption but some other factors also interfere with the tendency, for example in what form the organisation is and what is the management style of the organisation. No evidence was found that suggests that the subsector companies should adopt the planning technique as a planning tool. While, the planning offices are also rare and their main duty is to collect the difficult data which is needed by the top management for decision making. The strategic change analysed mainly talked about increasing the quality of the product, which includes mainly improving the conditions of production. Environmental protection was also an issue in some cases there were highly pollutant industries. Globalisation and diversification were also some important strategic changes. Companies that targeted globalization pursued growth in the industry but some companies just secured their positions in the internal market due to the threat of major competitors operating in the main market. Companies which had a little scope of growth adopted specialization. The main target was to improve the product quality. Some companies claimed that they always pursue improving the production quality while other companies admitted that they have to improve the quality of the product to satisfy the EC regulations. 2.3 Determine an option or alternative that supports the project aims. Other way of supporting the project aim is to use theoretical information and implement it directly on the company. Information is like team management theories. Inductive and deductive research can be used to gather information and to move towards the aim. Deductive research Deductive reasoning works from the more general to the more specific. Sometimes this is informally called a â€Å"top down† approach. Conclusion follows logically from premises Inductive research Inductive reasoning works the other way moving from specific observations to broader generalizations and theories. Informally, we sometimes call this a â€Å"bottom up† approach. Conclusion is likely based on premises..It involves a degree of uncertainty. Inductive type based on induction. Data is collected on a subject and researcher tries to develop theory from this data. 3.1 Evaluate the research analysis to enable conclusions to be made. Team Management It is difficult to build a team and maintain good working relationships. However, team members go through a number of development stages to work together effectively in team performance management. Individuals performing well are rewarded while those who are not performing good are motivated. The functions and roles of its members should be recognised by its team. The leader should establish continuous communication lines and set clear goals that are understood. A team that performs well accomplishes projects quickly and with less difficulty, misunderstanding, and divergence. Strategic Objectives Strategic goals or objectives are broad, high level aims, derived from organisation’s mission statement and purpose, affecting the whole organization (sometimes referred to as corporate aims). These will be: †¢ Long term (time horizon of several years), although they should be monitored regularly (typically annually) and may be revised periodically. †¢ Responsive to external factors such as new competition, changes in global economic conditions, or customer demands. The term ‘strategic’ denotes a particular focus of the managers’ planning and decision making responsibilities. Senior mangers focus mostly on ‘why’ questions, concentrating on the ‘big picture’ and providing vision and leadership for employees across the whole organisation. Alignment of team performance and corporate goals To achieve the corporate aims it is necessary that the direction of the teams is towards the long term strategic goal. Managers and team leaders have to keep in mind what they need to achieve overall. And hence, to control the teams in such a way that either they are working on long projects or short it’s all adding up to the final goal. In the case of Shell the main objective of the company is to provide good quality chemicals. To achieve this there has to be a proper direct and control system of the staff working at the stores from the top management to the staff working on the floor. A good communication and understanding will always lead to easy achievement of goals, satisfying the customer at the end. Mangers are supposed to take into account the demand and supply of the products to make sure every product is available on time and then work should be allocated to the subordinates in a proper system to get all the work done systematically and easily. Proper team management should be done by the supervisors and the team leaders. All the staff should be divided into small teams which have to work in different sections. Proper training should be given to all the team members and a standard way of achieving the goal. This performance target should be given to all the team members and should be monitored and reviewed constantly. This standard should be according to the company policy and should be according to health and safety and customer satisfaction oriented. Providing good work at the end of every shift, which is the availability of all the products on time with good customer service. 3.2 Recommend a course of action that achieves the project aim. Skills that need some development †¢ Communicating †¢ Decision-making †¢ Leadership †¢ Prioritizing †¢ Valuing and †¢ Skills need to be achieved. †¢ To respond problems, experiences and opportunities from which to learn. †¢ To generate ideas without constraints of policy or structure or feasibility. †¢ Involving with other people i.e ideas bouncing off them, solving problems as part of a team. †¢ Need to have a limelight/high visibility i.e can chair meetings, lead discussion, and give presentations. †¢ To be engaging myself in short, activities such as business games, competitive teamwork tasks, role playing exercises. Supporting Others †¢ Motivating †¢ Analysing †¢ Delegating †¢ Reporting 3.3 Analyse the impact of the recommendations. Training courses at Shell for career progression. Management Development Programme Includes: †¢ Consumer Legislation †¢ Customer Service †¢ Employment Law †¢ Health and Safety †¢ Human Resource Management †¢ Policies & Procedures Opportunity development builds competitive positions by identifying and utilizing opportunities in the environment. Opportunity development is necessary because your existing positions are constantly being degraded by change. Opportunities exist as â€Å"openings† in the environment that allow you to advance your position in the direction of your mission. These openings are usually small, but by taking advantage of the small openings, you eventually position yourself for the big advances you want. Training After the initial audit our ethical trade specialists work with the suppliers to support them through remediation of any issues that are found. Training is offered to suppliers on particular issues and best practice, at regular intervals. Shell is in the process of more than tripling the size of its own ethical trade team that focuses on training and intensive problem solving with its suppliers. These individuals are trained to the highest levels and are equipped to address endemic problems in the supply chain and come up with viable solutions for the suppliers. 4.1 Produce the results of the investigative project. The purpose of this study was to explain the team buildings and teams work in Shell and development of its research work progress within the organization. It also presents suitable analysis of the project management and planning, advisory and project implementation of work. In this report, positive results of theories and its test showed that effective teamwork can lead to a success and achieving critical goals of Shell. It may also be able to gain the sustainability of competitiveness. Moreover, study explains that how team performance can be improved through leadership with project planning to face the upcoming challenges in modern era of business environment Shell operates in. The main result was in the adoption of the learning and training courses within the company in order to prosper and enhance in the future. Shell is one of the leading companies in the world in the chemical an oil sector and it felt pride in taking these training and development steps in order to move forward and to achieve its project aim as a result of the research program. 4.2 Evaluate the impact of the investigative project The future sustainability of any organization heavily depends on the quality of project management to be able to cope with today’s dynamic business environment. There is direct co relation between stake holder business project and the people within the firm. Shell is one of the four largest companies in the UK and has been ranked number one of the top 100 graduate employers in the UK and all over the world. The sustainability of Shell competitive advantage of its brightest people is depending on the successful team work and leadership. The best leaders know how to get others to follow and the best team members know how to follow their leaders. REFRENCES BOOKS: Aguilar, F.J. (1967) Scanning the Business Environment. New York: McMillan. Robert , buttrick ,(2005).The project workout: pearso education limited Edinburgh gate Education 3rd (1) pp, 305-350 Strauss, A. & Corbin, J, (1990). Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. London: Sage. Strauss, A. (1987) Qualitative Analysis For Social Scientists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Total Quality Management: The route to improving performance by John S. Oakland (Hardcover – 15 Mar 1993) Shell employee control hand book 07/08 Personal development as a strategic manager unit 7001: level 7 strategic management and leadership CMI Checklist: †¢ Personal development planning †¢ Developing strategy for world class business E-learning †¢ Your role in improving personal effectiveness †¢ Development needs and planning development Web links: †¢ www.milum.net 13/12/2009 †¢ www.enotes.com 13/12/2009 †¢ www.quickmba.com 13/12/2009 †¢ www.managers.org.uk 10/12/2009 †¢ www.shell.co.uk 20/12/2009

Friday, August 16, 2019

Beautiful Boy and Tweak Essay

Reading two different accounts of the story of a drug addict allows much room for comparison between the two. In the case of David and Nic Sheff’s books, I was surprised at how much similarity there was between the two; they agreed on most points and there was no striking discontinuity in their stories. There is, however, a significant difference in the perspectives from which the two are told. Naturally, Nic, as the addict son, takes on a more self-centered view. In David’s book it is clear that Nic’s addiction is the one central driving force in their family life, especially in David’s daily life. In Nic’s book, however, his relationship with his father and the rest of his family is only one of the several focal points of the book; Nic is also preoccupied with girlfriends, friends, and his sponsor. David Sheff’s book is a very self-reflecting account. He is constantly analyzing the past, the decisions he’s made with Nic, and putting it all together in a desperate attempt to find answers to his son’s downfall. He struggles with a constant mental conflict: â€Å"What did I do wrong?† His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself, and the obsessive worry and stress took a tremendous toll, to the point where he suffered from a massive hemorrhage. David’s view of the progression of Nic’s addiction reflects the Social Learning Theories and Psychoanalytical explanations of American drug use. At first, David views the onset of Nic’s addiction as a cause of some childhood lifestyle factors he lived through (such as the divorce). Later on, however, David realizes that there are thousands of teenagers who are reeled into the dark world of drugs and do not necessarily come from traumatic backgrounds; that these two things are not always directly linked. They are simply reinforced by others, usually drug-using friends, regardless of how they were raised. Ronald Akers built on this idea of operant conditioning by pointing out that drug-using behavior is reinforced socially more than physiologically. This is exactly what happened to Nic as he surrounded himself more and more with friends and girlfriends who induced his addiction. As evident as it may have seemed, it took David a while to shift his focus from reflecting on the past to what was quickly making Nic’s situation worse. Nic, on the other hand, is not very psychoanalytic about his addiction.  David has hope for his son, while Nic has very little hope for himself. While telling his story, David is trying to discover and unveil what led to all of this misery in his family. He longs to find answers and causations for all of it. Nic, on the other hand, doesn’t focus on the â€Å"why.† Although he has moments where he confesses he never thought he would turn out this way, he doesn’t spend much time dwelling on what led him to his addiction. Instead, Nic just tells his story and focuses on the very near future. This is typical of an addict’s mentality. Each day is so unsure and unstable that they can’t manage to plan more than one or two days ahead. The deeper he sinks into his addiction, the more surprised he is to find that he wakes up alive each day. Rather than fight it, Nic accepts the fact that he is a hardcore addict and that his life will never be the same. It took his father a much longer time to realize this and fully accept it. I was genuinely shocked at how honest Nic is throughout the whole book while telling his story. He admits that his parents are forcing him to go into a treatment center and that he has â€Å"fucked everything up beyond repair.† Most addicts make themselves seem like the victim and leave out a lot of information about their bad habits. Nic openly shares everything, even his darkest moments of intoxication and suicidal depression. He looks for ways to support the high demands of his druggie lifestyle and makes the necessary amends, even if it means stealing from his own family while they are desperately trying to help him. Nic’s selfishness, however, turns into feelings of deep guilt toward the end on the book when he is on the road to recovery and with his two parents. When his mind clears up, he realizes how badly he has torn everyone apart, especially his mom and dad. These emotional realizations are part of his recovery. David, however, experiences the exact opposite. At the early stages of his son’s addiction, he dedicated all his time and energy to the matter, to the point where he forgot about his own health and happiness. As Nic’s addiction progressed, David shifted focus to himself and stopped obsessing over everything that had to do with his son’s addiction. David’s road to recovery meant almost the exact opposite of Nic’s: dedicating more time and energy to himself rather than taking others into primary  consideration. David Sheff tells his family’s story from the very early happy days and takes his readers all the way through Nic’s descent into his darkest moments, while Tweak begins with Nic already deep into his addiction. Nic Sheff’s Tweak is the dark counterpoint to Beautiful Boy. The elder writer’s grief-filled memoir glows dimly like a distant planet of despair, while the son’s account of the same events burns like an angry Mars.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Ingvar Kamprad Leadership Essay

Business Leader Profile Ingvar Kamprad Founder of Ikea Retail Stores Why Ingvar Kamprad? Does the name Ingvar Kamprad mean anything to you? To most people it doesn’t and it's a testament to the fact that he built up a brand that is so powerful people recognize it immediately, while not tying it into, or even knowing, the genius behind it. The brand? IKEA! The reason why we chose this business leader is simple, Ingvar Kamprad is a businessman and the founder of IKEA with an estimated worth of $22. 5 billion dollars.Kamprad was born in the south of Sweden in 1926 and raised on a farm called Elmtaryd, near the small village of Agunnaryd. He is a great leader and one amazing thing about him is that he went into business early in life, selling matches as a schoolboy and also, very wisely for his age (or any age for that matter) Kamprad took his profits and used them to expand his operations, adding to his small line of goods with decorations of Christmas trees, fish, and seeds. He was learning the operational side of retailing, and he was learning it quickly and profitably.When Kamprad did well in school, his dad rewarded his with some money, and that was the seed to launch a company he named IKEA. He got the name from his initials I. K. , and then added the EA from the name of the farm and the town he was raised in – Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd. Don't think the idea of a furniture company was brewing in the mind of Kamprad with his new company, he still focused on smaller items, and for the most part look to the business of securing contracts of supplying pencils. Like in his younger years, Kamprad soon began to expand into all sorts of other areas, including everything from jewelry to male and female ccessories. He soon outgrew individual visits to customers and went into the mail order business on the local level, having the milk trucks deliver his products to his customers. When Kamprad first included furniture as part of the product line of IKEA, his i dea was to use local manufacturers to keep costs low and under control. That was in 1947. By 1951, furniture sales were so successful, he decided to drop all other products and focus on the furniture line alone. The first furniture showroom opened in 1953, and the rest is history.Almost immediately a price war started between IKEA and its chief competitor, and the inclusion of the showroom helped sway potential customers who were able to see and touch the quality before making their purchases. Like many great retailers, Kamprad was obsessed with controlling costs, and dedicated to finding new ways to do things at a less expensive level. That has been one of the major reasons behind the ongoing success of IKEA furniture sales and profits. Some people attempt to point out the fact that Kamprad has several properties he owns and so the frugal image is contrived.I have to disagree with that, because the reason he can afford some of these things is because he remained frugal within the c onstruct of his company, and so because he was able to put of instantaneous gratification, could then do whatever he wanted once he became wealthy. While there is some truth to the image part, it was also very much practiced by Kamprad. Many people think being frugal is being cheap in a negative way, and yet those best at it are the ones that serve their customers and employees at the highest level by giving customers the best deals possible, while at the same time offering longevity to employees.The best definition that reflects the idea of leadership for Kamprad is â€Å"Leadership is a kind of activity meant to influence behavior, beliefs and feelings of the group members in a certain direction. † (Wright, Peter L. and Taylor, David S. Improving Leadership Performance. Great Britain: Prentice-Hall International Ltd; 1984. p. 2). As Peter F. Drucker said â€Å"The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say â€Å"I. † And that’s not because t hey have trained themselves not to say â€Å"I. † They don’t think â€Å"I. They think â€Å"we†; they think â€Å"team. † This idea is mostly based on a simple word, and that word is â€Å"team†. Every leader who has this trait is surely to have great success simply because they don’t work and take decisions just on their own, they seek and welcome the help of employees, one of those leaders being Kampard of course. If we go back to Niccolo Machiavelli, we can see that he once said that â€Å"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him. and it a really smart and correct thesis, because in order for a leader to successfully empower his organization he needs employees, but not just any employee, they have to be creative, loyal and intelligent in order to really be useful to their organisation. So while cost control is a major part of the IKEA success story, the empowerment of its custo mers is as well, which is brought about from a highly committed and talented design team. Leader’s position in organizational structure „In an hierarchical system, participants take for granted what the participants with the higher position defines† (Becker, 1998).In other words, social actors in the labor market believe what the professionals (leaders, professors, mass-media) define as leadership, considering that the privilege formal position brings privilege information and ethics. This is not a valid statement if we look into the organizational structure at IKEA. Anecdotes about Kamprad abound. When his father complained that Ingvar slept late in the morning, Ingvar got himself an alarm clock, set it for six o’clock, and yanked away the off button. According to Kamprad, we should all divide our lives â€Å"into 10-minute units, and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity. Though past 80, Kamprad still travels the world to visit new IKEA stores. He flies economy class, calls his employees â€Å"co-workers,† encourages everyone to dress informally, stays in cheap hotels and even replaces bottles from the hotel room mini-bar with cheap bottles bought in local supermarkets. He gives no interviews. As far as setting an example through his actions, Kamprad flies only economy class, drives a 15-year-old vehicle, and focuses on little things for his workers like writing on both sides of the paper, and other frugal practices. That has helped IKEA remain on the top of a highly competitive market.Critics of these stories say they seem intended to reinforce the company’s no-nonsense brand and encourage cost-awareness among company staff. They point out that Kamprad may be the world’s richest man, that owns several lavish houses around the world, and that it would be ludicrous to assume a man of such wealth would not use any of it for private purposes. If you've ever read IKEA literature, catalogs or advertising, they reinforce their and Ingvar Kamprad's motto of not only existing to make improvements in the lives of people, but to improve people themselves.With that in mind, the way the stores themselves are set up and the design of the furniture built with the idea of being very simple to assemble, it generates the healthy idea of self-sufficiency, which helps empower people and make them feel good about themselves. Leader or non-leader; manager or leader If we would be to make a list with leader and non-leader and manager traits we would easily see that Ingvar Kampard is a leader, not only that, he is a good example for hundreds of people out there who thrive to become leaders themselves. If we look closely at Kampard we can see that he is a proactive an, he believes in people following examples, he motivates and inspires top results and has great strategic orientation. If a leader is not like this, then as Abraham Maslow said †If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. †. Based on interviews with employees at IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad is a good example of leadership because he strongly expresses the organisational value of IKEA through his behaviours. Thereby, all the IKEA employees (from top management to co-workers) follow this organisational value as a framework.In addition, the leadership style of management position also was influenced through strong organisational value. Employees have used descriptives such as „role model† and „father† when speaking about Ingvar Kamprad thereby denoting the familial nature of IKEA corporate culture. If we apply the model of leader vs. Manager described by Abraham Zaleznik – Ingvar Kamprad is the epitome of business leader. All of this is based on his empathic relationship with his co-workers and employees. By setting examples and inspiring, he also sets the company’s overall direction by altering the direction of its employees.One of his subordinates characterises his leadership style as a „teacher†. Senge (1990) and Max de Pree(1990)’s theory states that a leader should be a teacher in the organization „ †¦ much of the leverage leaders can actually exert lies in helping people achieve more accurate , more insightful and more empowering views of reality, when the leaders carrying out stewardship (Senge, 1990: 353)†, according to Senge (1990). The roles that leaders should play is exactly how Kamprad has been doing for so long. Creativity As Teresa M. Amabile once said „Keep doing what you are doing†.Or if you want to spark innovation, rethink how you motivate, reward, and assign work to people. † What is business creativity? We tend to associate creativity with the arts and to think of it as the expression of higly original ideas. Think of Pablo Picasso reinvented the conventions of painting or how William Faulkner redefined fiction. In business, originali ty isn’t enough. To be creative, an idea must also be appropriate, useful and actionable. Within every individual, creativity is a function of three components : expertise, creative-thinking skills and motivation.Expertise is, in a word knowledge – technical, procedual and intellectual. Creative-thinking skills determine how flexibly and imaginatively people approach problems. Do their solutions apend the status quo? Do they persevere through dry spells? Not all motivation is created equal. An inner passion to solve the problem at hand leads to solutions far more creative than do external rewards, such as money. This compenent – called intrinsic motivation is the one that can be most immediately influenced by the work environment.Senior manager at IKEA strongly believes that IKEA is a creative organisation based upon home-furnishing company; IKEA has to be creative within value â€Å"efficiency and cost conscious†. This reason makes IKEA differ from other companies because it is not easy to produce a good product at low price. Furthermore, IKEA has a strong organisational value that every employee should concern as follows: †¢ Togetherness †¢ Cost consciousness †¢ Respect †¢ Simplicity IKEA follows a model of „family business† because at its inception, Ingvar Kamprad was developing it as a family business which eventually grew to outstanding proportions.Due to this, most of his own ideeas like the simplicity and togetherness have actually become some of the company’s most important organizational aspects. IKEA is an extremely creative organisation because IKEA allows employees to work in freedom and are open for trying new ideas. To demonstrate clearly, when employees have concepts, it is important to express their concepts to the manager in order to consider whether it is possible to develop and make this concept concrete. The respondent emphasises that â€Å"It does not take a long time, if you have a really good idea.This creative idea will be developed and spread out to use at every store of IKEA in the world Moreover, the organisation also encourages employees to continually learn from their own experience and also other’s experiences such as co-workers. As a result, employees are able to complete their own tasks as well as generate new ideas that make IKEA different from other companies. Leadership styles Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Kurt Lewin (1939) led a group of researchers to identify different styles of leadership.After a complete analisys of all three styles(autocratic, democratic and delegative) we have reached the conclusion that Ingvar Kampard is most of the times a Participative(democratic) leader. This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect. But of course, he is not always using this style, since every problem requires a different style.Besides the fact that Kamprad is one of the wealthiest living people, he is also an impressive leader. The leadership style he embodies is one of personal example. Though he has billions of dollars, Ingvar is reluctant to a life in luxury. People confess seeing him haggling in the market and dining together with his wife in cheap, dirty places. His image makes up for billion words. Black worn out shoes, cheap glasses and a grey faded coat dress up the billionaire in most of his rendezvous. Taxis are substituted with public transportation like busses and subways and, luxurious jets with low-cost airlines.By his daily routine and his habits of living in an artificial poverty, Ingvar Kamprad embodies the average IKEA customer. â€Å"I look at the mo ney I'm about to spend on myself and ask if IKEA customers could afford it. † â€Å"If I start to acquire luxurious things then this will only incite others to follow suit†¦ †. Ingvar considers himself to be an example for all others and tries to appear as a normal individual. In â€Å"A Furniture Dealer’s Testament,† Kamprad suggests that â€Å"IKEA people do not drive flashy cars or stay at luxury hotels. †, â€Å"How the hell can I ask people who work for me to travel cheaply if I am traveling in luxury? he asks. â€Å"It’s a question of good leadership. † From a young age, Ingvar learned what working hard meant and what a strong bound truly is. He is a preacher of the religion of simplicity and during over half a century, along the constant growth of his company, numerous others joined in. According to Plato, the mob is a â€Å"big and dangerous animal† which must not be underestimated. What kind of strategy could work with masses rather than a leader of their status? Governments have fallen and people died along time only to protect the need of having a representative leader which could alike them.Ingvar Kamprad succeeded in building up a truly simple and productive leadership style only by regarding himself as equal as and never more important than the commoner. Nicolo Machiavelli stated: â€Å"Religion is not important because of the truth it holds but because of its efficiency in maintaining control over masses†. In our case we have little to do with angry mobs but with the angry way in which money are wasted by a company or individual in matter of costs. Kamprad understood this fact and built a distinctive corporate culture which comprehended his true nature.In contrast, the famous RJR enjoyed the expense of private planes and luxury and unlike our billionaire, success was only passing by. Warren Buffet’s mentality resembles the one IKEA’s Founder and together with the m indset, the income is comparable. Coming again to Plato, the philosopher once said „Those who rule must provetheir leadership abilities. A person can be trained to be a good ruler, but we have to distinguish between superficial competencies (oratory) and profound competencies (developed with the help of philosophy). The ruler has to guard not only the peaceon the ship but also to know which wayto sail and ow. † Ingvar’s thinking is flexible and innovative. Mistakes are praised and considered as the most important link to success. He is without regard a transformational leader. His style motivates people and defines a new way of thinking. Ingvar also connects with his followers and is a source of inspiration for younger generations. Bernard M. Bass, after decades of research and experimentation, regards transformational leaders as the leaders who recognize the needs of the followers and in addition tends to go further and satisfy higher needs of the follower.All of these actions are aimed to propel the follower on a higher tier in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Whereas common leadership or transactional leadership seeks only to maintain the satisfaction of the individual, transformational leadership looks into enchanting the well-being of the followers in order to achieve a higher outcome alongside with their happiness and devotion. This gap between the leadership styles is what I believe to be the main reason for the existence of excellent, world-changing people, in contrast with the unsuccessful ones.Their view of the world is their most precious asset and how they regard to others is the main secret of conquering unreached heights. Due to the fact that Ingvar Kamprad has a unique way to behave with the employees of IKEA and tries to enrich them with traits so important for the success of both the corporation and the employee’s leadership skills, I believe that Kamprad is a brilliant representative of Bass’s beliefs. Kamp rad could also be considered to be a Level 5 leader according to Jim Collins’s â€Å"Good to Great†. Ingvar greets the uncommon and is on a constant quest for taking apart obstacles which lie between failure and success.His constant struggle for reaching excellence in everything he does could be clearly seen in the process which I would like to call â€Å"building the empire of self†. His focus on the main purpose, the one of bringing innovative furniture in each and every household and changing the lives of many by simplifying their existence, assured his success and the status of one of the greatest business managers and leaders to have ever existed. A Napoleon of the furniture industry, Kamprad was. Close to followers, talented and emotionally involved were some principles he used during his reign.Thus many would say he received divine help, he started as a common man. Only his devotion and hard work made the difference. Garry Gemmill and Judith Oakley refer to a leader as a Messiah or a savior and hardly agree with the concept of a leader as a creator. Moreover, they state that â€Å"Leadership is nothing else but a myth propagated in order to keep everybody else quiet and nice. † . They might be right but in my consideration, this words do not apply to the hero we analyze in this project. Ingvar strongly encourages creative discussions within the company and his actual position is one of a leant and a symbol of excellence.David Goleman on the other hand expresses, in his work â€Å"What makes a Leader? † some traits which could help us identify other traits of the IKEA Giant. Goleman places a great emphasis on emotional intelligence and connects the status of a leader according to it. The main skills David puts behind a glorious leader are Self-awareness, Self-regulation, Motivation and the abilities to relate to others – Empathy, and Social Skill. Ingvar seems gifted with emotional intelligence when managing peop le and events. Happiness is in his opinion the greatest asset an IKEA worker should possess.An excellent business man and an excellent time manager he proved to be during many occasions and time only knows when the world could inherit another great leader such as Ingvar Kamprad, the Swedish Scotsman. Conflict management style â€Å"The Ikean culture, which was directly linked to Scandinavian culture, valued simplicity and informality, frugality, humbleness, responsibility, and the constant will to renew. † The company initially sold furniture provided by numerous suppliers. As time passed, competition started to corrupt the suppliers and as a result, Ingvar decided never to trust others than himself.It was a turning point in the history of IKEA which now started to produce its own furniture. A moment of conflict and lack of trust turned into a brilliant idea and started to place the organization on the path to success. Another turning point in Ikean history was by the time an employee decided to disassemble the furniture in order to transport it by car. Kamprad saw this particularly insignificant moment of conflict as a possibly gorgeous opportunity for the future. From that point onward, the furniture company started to differentiate and build up not just furniture but a light, innovative, easy to use and cheap type of furniture.The most significant property Ingvar’s furniture has is its ability to be assembled by the customer and offer him the joy of putting the puzzle pieces together. Price was amazing. IKEA furniture was 50% cheaper than the competition and besides this important factor; it was more than friendly and practical. Ingvar once was accused of being a Nazi supporter due to the fact that he attended to their meetings on numerous occasions. The conflict took a serious impact on Ingvar’s personality and started to shift its public perception in a truly negative way.However, the conflict was in some manner consumed when Kamprad composed letters of apology to all his employees and people whom he disappointed. He recognized that he made a mistake and that it was a dark chapter in his existence which shouldn’t have happened. Questioning the status quo is Ingvar’s best way in dealing with everyday problems and through his successful career they were many. To begin with, the more IKEA grew, the more Ingvar’s problems developed. Alcohol, Nazi support and deaths at the opening of a store were only the biggest of them.Despite the severity of the problem, the modesty, humanity and determination always brought Ingvar on the right track. For the IKEA founder, conflict never ceased to be functional. It helped both him and the employees remain focused and constructive. It generated growth, activated learning, maintained excellent interpersonal skills and gave a different perspective over issues. The main conflict management style of his was collaborating. In almost every occasion he and the employe es formed a team and everyone is expected to contribute with anything they can.Departments are structured on the philosophy of sharing ideas and support. Also, there is a win-win situation between IKEA and its customers. On the one side, IKEA has tremendous profit margins (about 16% – almost two times higher than other furniture retailers) and sells for tens of billions annually and on the other side, the customer benefits from exceptional quality and practicability for the given money. Ingvar’s mentality (comprehended by the Business Harvard Review: How Management Teams Can Have a Good Fight) is one of creating common goals. The company and he was an impeccably motivated and determined group of people.Creative and interpersonal relations are also highly praised within a company and IKEA makes no exception. In his work, Kenneth W. Thomas, refers more and more to the importance of conflict in an organization. Throughout a sustained study of the great players in the corp orate world, the mesmerizing power of a poorly managed conflict is revealed. Too many companies suffer great reductions in income and performance due to this mostly overlooked default. Using a bi-dimensional representation, Thomas expressed the whole conflict issue using 5 elements – Avoiding, Accommodating, Compromising, Competitive and Collaborative.The IKEA model works entirely based on the Collaborative model due to the fact that it is mostly a win-win situation in which both the company and the employee reach a high level of fulfillment. Conflict can also be managed using a system of rewards resembling the one parents use for their children. It might be unexpected but I believe this is an awesome way to educate outsiders and to make them behave according to a reward. Despite the fact that it might be a bit manipulative, the rewards system is a good way to achieve a prosperous work environment.However, if good is not enough for a company, this system could be substituted by one composed of amazing people, highly talented and qualified personnel which requires little training and can propel the company to new heights. The ideal way in which I believe conflict could be turned into a powerful creative force is through the use of Virtuoso Teams. Despite the fact these kinds of teams require a constant action and an important continuous goal. Jeff Weiss and Jonathan Hughes express in their â€Å"Accept-And Actively Manage Conflict† the necessity of conflict in a prosperous working environment.After and during the Industrial Revolution, people and mostly employees were kept under and oppressive working regime which limited their creativity and power to change their condition. Riots were common and worker unions started to prosper. However, the work was dull and no sane man could cope with it more than a few years. Now, a century later, conflict is comprehended as a powerful tool. Just thinking about the Olympiads or a race between two close friends is more than enough in order to have an insight into the invisible motivation a challenge releases.The same principle applies in the development of Ikean furniture. People have a â€Å"Vojna Idej† (War of the Ideas) and as a result breakthroughs occur. However, due to the fact this war of ideas is hardly sustainable in time, there must be a boundary composed of the corporate vision and goal. I believe that none of the amazing commercials and ways of presenting the company could have emerged without a nearly balanced conflict management system. Weather we think of the cleverly designed buss stations or the exquisite TV commercials, IKEA is a sign of greatness. EthicsBusiness ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations. Busin ess ethics reflects the philosophy of business, one of whose aims is to determine the fundamental purposes of a company. If a company's purpose is to maximize shareholder returns, then sacrificing profits to other concerns is a violation of its fiduciary responsibility.Kamprad began to develop a business as a young boy, selling matches to neighbors from his bicycle. He found that he could buy matches in bulk very cheaply from Stockholm, sell them individually at a low price, and still make a good profit. From matches, he expanded to selling fish, Christmas tree decorations, seeds, and later ballpoint pens and pencils. When Kamprad was 17, his father gave him a cash reward for succeeding in his studies. IKEA was founded in 1943 at his uncle Ernst's kitchen table. In 1948, Kamprad diversified his portfolio, adding furniture.His business was mostly-mail order. The acronym IKEA is made up of the initials of his name (Ingvar Kamprad) plus those of Elmtaryd, the family farm where he was b orn, and the nearby village Agunnaryd. Kamprad has lived in Epalinges, Switzerland since 1976. According to an interview with TSR, the French language Swiss TV broadcaster, Kamprad drives a 15-year-old Volvo 240, flies only economy class, and encourages IKEA employees always to write on both sides of a paper. He reportedly recycles tea bags and is known to pocket the salt and pepper packets at restaurants. In addition, Kamprad has been known to visit IKEA for a â€Å"cheap meal. † He is also known to buy Christmas paper and presents in post-Christmas sales. The firm he created is still known for the attention it gives to cost control, operational details and continuous product development, allowing it to lower its prices by an of average 2-3% over the decade to 2010, while continuing its global expansion. Kamprad explains his social philosophy thusly in his â€Å"A Furniture Dealer's Testament,† â€Å"It is not only for cost reasons that we avoid the luxury hotels.We don't need flashy cars, impressive titles, uniforms or other status symbols. We rely on our strength and our will! † Despite this, Kamprad allows himself some luxuries; he owns a villa in an upmarket part of Switzerland, a large country estate in Sweden, and a vineyard in Provence, France; he also drove a Porsche for several years. Ingvar Kamprad had made two „big mistakes†. From 16 to 25, Kamprad was a friend and follower of Per Engdahl, the leader of the quasi-fascist, pro-Nazi Neo-Swedish movement. Engdahl attended Kamprad's first wedding in 1950.Kamprad only terminated his involvement in 1951. When the scandal broke in the early 1990s, Kamprad wrote to his employees: â€Å"You have been young yourself. And perhaps you find something in your youth you now, so long afterwards, think was ridiculous and stupid. In that case, you will understand me better. † He also apologized in a television interview and said he had not fully understood what the Neo-Swedish movement was about. And the second happened while working with furniture manufacturers in Poland earlier in his career, Kamprad became an alcoholic.He has, however, stated that his drinking is now under control. In 1947, Kamprad introduced furniture into the IKEA product line. The use of local manufacturers allowed him to keep his costs down. The furniture was a hit, and in 1951, Kamprad decided to discontinue all other product lines and focus on furniture. In 1953, the first IKEA showroom opened. It came about because of competitive pressures. IKEA was in a price war with its main competitor. The showroom allowed people to see it, touch it, feel it, and be sure of the quality before buying.Kamprad's vision has been the driving force behind IKEA's succcess. IKEA hires its own designers, who have received numerous awards over the years. Kamprad believes that the company exists not just to improve people's lives, but to improve the people themselves. The self-service store design and ease of assembly of their furniture are not merely cost controls, but an opportunity for self-sufficiency. This vision is reinforced in their advertising and catalog, as well. Kamprad has been extremely shrewd in creating IKEA's organizational structure.It is owned ultimately by a Dutch trust controlled by the Kamprad family, with various holding companies handling different aspects of IKEA's operations, such as franchising, manufacturing, and distribution. IKEA even has an investment banking arm. Kamprad has repeatedly resisted pressure to take the company public, feeling that it would slow their decision-making processes that have allowed their phenomenal growth. On a final note This leader and founder of IKEA is an Old – School Business man that made mistakes in his teens. His mistakes were that of an average teen that dreamed at glory and power or of that of an overworked man.He weakes up at 5am in the morning, every day and sometimes arrives at the IKEA store before the first truck. Ingvar Kamprad treats all his employees with respect and calls them co-workers, he recycles and he tries to persuade his employees not to buy expensive cars and big villas in countries that are reprezented as dots on the World map. Ingvar Kamprad built IKEA from scratch and he worked very hard so that the comapany became what it is today. Finally, he is a man that was interested in being a business man since he was a child.He is a much respected man and a wonderful example for future leaders and it was a pleasure for our team to work out together in order to realize this portfolio about Ingvar Kampard. I hope you enjoyed reading our essay as much as we enjoyed writing it. ( Questions Are there strong parallels between theory and organizational environment, reflecting your understanding of reality? -Based on our understandings the reason for that is most experiences in organizations have autonomous processes which are self-replicating and form themselves randomly by gro up decision.Theory is embedded only when it is actually considered firsthand Did you use various perspectives to analyze the leader? -We have extended our search into various perspectives about Ingvar Kampard, such as private life, workplace and even his â€Å"fun† time. How many problems or â€Å"bugs† did you identify in the theory or practice of leadership? -As far as we’ve gone into research, we were not able to find many bugs in the practice or the theory of our leader, only minor mistakes that are now â€Å"buried† underneath the ground. Do you have a critical approach to leadership? Our approach towards leadership is pretty much critical but not to a higher extent Did you use tables, logical schemes or graphics to illustrate your ideas? -At our meetings we needed to put up our ideas somewhere so we used logical schemes that we followed and established by ourselves and after that we transferred the info onto paper. Are your ideas backed-up by eviden ce? – The evidence is provided in the form of surveys and results conducted by people with authority to perform such research. Some evidence may be anecdotal, lacking any form of statistical analysis.However most of the data is falsifiable (both in theory and practice) hence observable in different ways, so that reality can speak for itself instead of giving evidence or proving points. Did you use relevant and important papers/authors? -We have used relevant and also important papers/authors/articles. Did you use both academic and professional sources? -Yes we did. One of our most important sources were the Harvard Business Reviews Reference: fondatorul-ikea/ ———————– [pic]