ECommerce Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

ECommerce - Dissertation Example The second part will develop e-marketing strategies for the organization illustrating the best fit and marketing mix for the organization. The third part would find solution projected at the problems faced and thereby design and develop the strategies highlighted. The next part of the report would consider the budget for the projects and subsequent allocations. Lastly, legal and ethical issues related to the projected are also required to be given importance. Identification of Problems and Prioritization This part of the report discussed the problems that are currently being faced by the company and that would be faced in the setup and implementation of the new center in Birmingham. The IT Academy in its new center intends to open systems wherein they could offer on-line course enrolment and the prospective students could pay the fees online. They need to develop and highly efficient enquiry and student query system that addresses the queries if the student and that had an in-build F AQ section to address frequently asked questions by the students. An uploading and downloading system needs to be developed online at the company website wherein teachers and staff could upload their notes and assignment and students could upload their papers and download notes uploaded. IT Academy for promoting its newly set campus also needs appropriate e-Marketing strategies to continuously promote the academy and the courses offered by it. The e-Marketing techniques when implemented should reflect the strong brand name of the academy and its fundamental power of delivering student courses. The company, at some point of time in future also intends to use advanced technology for delivering its courses to the students. It intends to deliver live lectures with the help of wireless networks so that it could deliver lectures globally at any point of time. This will help the academy to build its brand presence globally and irrespective of the location of the student. But as discussed e arlier, for all this to happen IT academy needs to revamp its network with the help of e-commerce technologies and advertise with the help of e-marketing strategies. For solving the problems and meeting the requirements intended by the academy a proper prioritization plan is required by the company. The prioritizations plan describes how the problem solving approach would be determined and which problem is primary and would be solved first. Prioritization of activities is done primarily on the basis of priority of requirements and linking of activities. In my report developing a proper ecommerce model which is linked to the business model of the IT academy is the prior activity. This is because every other activity is basically linked to the success of this activity. This would act as a base of offering on-line courses and also payment of feed online. This will also build an online system that could handle online queries of the student. Also, based on the effectiveness of ecommerce of IT Academy successful e-marketing strategies could be implemented. So revamping of the e-commerce technology in IT Academic will be priority in my report. E-marketing Strategies After

Examine the different ways in which good is used in meta-ethics Essay Example for Free

Examine the different ways in which good is used in meta-ethics Essay a) Examine the different ways in which good is used in meta-ethics. Meta-ethics is the study of the meaning of moral language. It describes presuppositions and language of morality. There are a number of different ethical theories for the meaning of good used in meta-ethics. The four main headings under which most acceptable theories can fit under in some shape or form. These are Ethical Naturalism (or Definism), Intuitionism, Emotivism and Presciptivism. Definism theory states that all ethical statements are similar to non-ethical statements and can, therefore, be approached in the same way. In the same way that we can verify a scientific fact, ethical naturalism theory states that we can verify an ethical statement. They are both prepositional. Definism states that ethical statements are just a type of short hand for more complex propositions. So therefore, in terms of Ethical Naturalism, if I were to use the term good in a number of examples, it would just be a summary word to sum up all the other words I wish to have incorporated into my sentence. For example, in the sentence: I am good at football, the word good is used to mean skilled or talented. This does not mean that good means skilled or talented, but simply that both of these words are incorporated in the single use of good. In another sentence, good could be used as a short hand for a completely different set of words. In the sentence, It is good to see you, good is used to mean pleasant, nice or heart warming. Again this does not mean that good means pleasant or nice, but simply that both these words are incorporated in the single use of good. A contradictory theory to Definism is Intuitionism. Intuitionism states that good is indefinable. Intuitionism also holds that basic moral truths are objective and stand independently of what people my fell or think. Intuitionism holds that we should pick out our moral principles through what we think or feel. There is no definition of good that can always hold true. For example, if someone were to define good as pleasing, an Intuitionist would respond by pointing out that not all pleasing things are good. A similar theory to Intuitionism is Emotivism. An Emotivist believes that moral judgements simply express our feelings on a subject. If someone were to claim something was good, an Emotivist would see this as an emotional exclamation, not a truth claim, and would take it to mean that the person approves of the thing/action/person etc. Another fairly similar theory is Prescriptivism. Prescriptivists believe that in using moral language such as good/bad or right/wrong, we are simply prescribing our opinions. In other words were are saying, do this, and let everyone do the same in the same situation. Therefore, if someone were to say giving to charity is good, what he or she is really saying is you ought to give to charity. This again, means that good not used as a universal truth, but in this case it is used as a universal prescription. In summary: in Definism, the term good is simply a short hand for more complex propositions that apply to that particular example. In Intuitionism holds that good in indefinable and therefore has no universal meaning. Emotivists believe when we use the term good or make other moral judgements, we are simply expressing our feelings. So, therefore, if I say something is good, this is simply an exclamation and therefore cannot be true or false and cannot be reasoned upon. Lastly, Prescriptivism holds that when we say something is good we are prescribing a particular opinion and making it known to other that we feel they should do the same. b) Anything people approve of must be good. Discuss The response to this question depends on how we define the term good. Can we loosely define good as moralistic? There is a common theory that believes that our morals our simply a product of our culture and background. Therefore, there will be different moral codes in different societies. If each individual society has equal validity, it must be agreed that there can be no universal moral code. This theory is called Cultural Relativism. Cultural Relativism therefore holds that good means socially approved. Therefore if we rearrange the above statement, replacing the word good with the Cultural Relativists definition, we find ourselves looking at a slightly odd sentence which looks as follows: Anything that people approve of must be socially approved. Now there are two ways to interpret this sentence. The first would be to question the number of people included in the generalization of the word people. If the sentence is intended to mean, if anybody approves of something, it must be socially approved, then the statement is not true. However, we can also take the sentence to mean, If the majority of people within a society approve of something, then it is said to be socially approved. If we swap good back into the sentence we end up with a statement that looks like this: if the majority of people within a society approve of something then it is good. Thus we have formed the central principle of Cultural relativism. In terms of the other theories that define good, only one can be applied. Definism would argue that the statement is simply a short hand for more complex propositions. So in this case, good is used to mean beneficial or correct. Since this is possibly true, Ethical naturalists would have a fairly strong argument here. Emotivism, Intuitionism or Prescriptivism cannot really apply here as they are all subjective and based on opinion and in this case good cannot be used an exclamation of opinion.

Fast Food Industry Challenges and Opportunities

Fast Food Industry Challenges and Opportunities Fast food franchising was still in its infancy in the 1950s however this picked up greatly in the 1970s due to several factors including the steady decline on hourly wages of US workers which resulted in a substantial percentage of women re-entering the job market to support their families. This trend resulted in great business opportunities for fast food chains whose product saw a substantial increase in demand due to long working hours of parents, thus lack of time to dedicate to cooking due to other family commitments, including a lack of quality time between family members. Fast food options thus made it easier for families who could choose to either purchase take away food, on their way home, or else consume it at the chains premises together with family members or friends. Thus this provided an affordable solution to purchase cooked food, for families, single parents, youths and professionals. Burger King was the first fast food chain to introduce drive thru service which now accounts for a majority of the companys business. www.datamonitor.com Apart from the drive thru option, Burger King as well as other fast food retailers, offered home service delivery in order to suit the needs of consumers who were pressed for time. The provision of such convenient services boosted the organisations turnover. Lack of elaborate furnishings and low skilled labour of fast food chains, compared to full service restaurants were substantially lower, contributed to low operating costs, which was reflected in the price of meals, rendering them affordable. Although the chains sales were very promising, stiff competition from other fast food operators forced fast food leaders to engage in aggressive marketing campaigns and diversified product offerings. Burger Kings major limitation has been the adoption of a reactive rather than a proactive strategy. This resulted in higher costs which were at times wasted as the reactive strategy would have been employed too late, and the competitors effort would have by then been too effective to be beaten. It is also worth noting that although in the case of Burger King, its major competitors have been McDonalds and Wendys being the first and third placed leaders respectively, in the fast food industry, so far, yet competition from many well-established food service companies, has been cut throat. The restaurant industry is intensely competitive and BKC competes with many well-established food service companies on the basis of product choice, quality, affordability, service and location. Burger King Corporation- SWOT Analysis: May 2010 ( www.datamonitor.com) Health concerns lead to a substantial slow down by fast food chain companies in the 1990s. Health campaigns bombarded the media claiming that obesity was the result of excessive fast food consumption. Fear of heart conditions, damaged liver and other health conditions, resulted in lower consumption of fast food, which proved to be a major threat to fast food sellers, particularly large chains like Burger King who had thousands of outlets spread across the globe reflecting high investments in the franchise. This major setback also led to a considerable drop in value meals which had been introduced to beat stiff competition from other fast food suppliers. Such favourable pricing strategies encouraged consumers to opt for the added value meal options, contributing further to health problems including obesity. During this period, Obesity was believed to cause more deaths than smoking. (Case Study:4) Apart from consuming high levels of fast food, people hardly engaged in physical due to their working commitments and hectic lifestyles which were the main reasons for drawing crowds to fast food consumption. Had fast food companies not have catered for such a shift in demand, they would have probably been driven out of the market particularly since people have become more health conscious due to higher exposure to media and the internet the latter being a super highway of information. The emerging popularity of certain diets including the Atkins and the South Beach diets, which proved to be effective for many, were also a threat to the industry, thus the introduction of a much varied menu by fast food retailers. With increased health consciousness, consumers shifted to healthy food like salads and organic food. (Case Study: 6). Leaders in the fast food industry sought to adapt to changing consumer preferences. The provision of healthier options increased operational costs, including the requirement for more cooking spaces. Fast food leaders sought to transform the initial threat into an opportunity for business development, particularly since the desire for healthy options at fast food outlets, was not a phase but is still in demand today. Awareness of the negative effects of hydrogenated oils which were deemed to be cancerous, had to be eliminated from fast food kitchens and replaced buy healthier oils. The industry was further challenged by the bird flu and Mad Cow diseases which also contributed to a decrease in consumer traffic. In 2005, the World Health Organisation (WHO), also made reference to the fact that Acrylamide in certain foods as fried or roasted potato products, has shown to cause cancer. Growing public awareness about Acrylamide levels in French fries, could affect the companys sales. Other threats faced by fast food retailers including Burger King, include Legal tangles such as violation of accessibility requirements under federal and state law, which will reflect negatively the brand image of the organisation. Unemployment and low consumer confidence the US a case in point, will affect consumer spending and thus will impact directly Burger Kings financial performance which tends to be highly sensitive to such economic conditions. Burger King, apart from dealing with the number of threats faced earlier in the write up, had a number of internal issues to solve. These problems contributed to higher challenges the company has to face particularly since for a company to deal with external factors, it must be backed up by key important factors, including internal organisational stability. Lack of constructive communication between the Mother Company and franchisees led to a number of outlets to close down. [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] disagreements soon erupted between the franchisees and the parent company regarding issues of product control, store image, design and operations. (Case Study: pp 6) Franchisees claimed that Burger King failed to understand and adapt to the needs and requirements of the franchisees target audience who demanded a varied product to suit the culture and trends of the particular country and location. Franchisees also claimed that they had no financial backing from the mother company to refurbish the ir outlets, thus a considerable percentage of Burger Kings outlets were shabby and neglected. The No. 2 fast food chain may need to spend billions on refurbishing. Burt Helm (2010) Burger King also faces the threat of expiry franchise agreements. Of the 409 agreements that expired in fiscal 2006, only 47% were renewed and 28% were extended for similar periods. If a substantial number of franchisees decide not to renew their agreement, the companys operations would be affected. (www.datamonitor.com) In spite of the number of threats faced by fast food retailers during the past decades, one must not underestimate the future opportunities which such industry players can take advantage of. In this regard there has been a considerable rise of the restaurant industry in the US. New dining and lifestyle patterns including an increased percentage of working women, divorce, rise in single parent household and longer working hours have all been extended further over the last three decades. Demographic changes including the demand for snacking and increased comfort requirements are creating further opportunities for businesses within the catering industry. The FFHR business in the US is expected to grow at an annual rate of 4% per annum during 2006-2011. (www.datamonitor.com) Burger King is seeking to extend on product development by introducing new products and an increase in limited time offers. Ongoing product development must be in line with current market trends to ensure that the menu is appealing to the target market and to ensure that the menu is not stale, which will benefit competitors. Launching new products will enhance the brand image in line with the success of its direct competitors. However the success of the Whopper which is Burger Kings signature product which initially contributed to Burger King Brands image, should continue to appear in the chain marketing campaigns, with the latter being more innovative. Burger King is also seeking to expand in current and tap potential markets, including Asian markets such as China and Malaysia. This diversification plan will hopefully improve Burger Kings threat of market concentration. Further investment in the chains restaurants could also be an opportunity to boost the brand image. A change in design and image of the outlets, would provide an opportunity for further growth, targeting upcoming generations proactively. Market analysis and in-depth research will provide the company with feedback regarding the emerging customer needs not only as regards food menu, but also design and dà ©cor and in-store facilities including a potential area accommodating business meetings and coffee breaks, if in demand. In todays global, fast changing and ever growing competitive environment being a market leader, today, will give you some advantages but definitely will not grant you automatic market leadership for the future. A competitive strategy based on a number of key internal competences will provide a solid platform for organisation sustainability and long-term success. Internal competences may be referred to as stated by Barney (1991) in Lado et al. (1994) organisational resources that are rare, valuable, non substitutable and imperfectly imitable form the basis for a firms sustainable competitive advantage. Unless these core competences are unique to the company, achieving competitive advantage would be harder particularly in todays competitive business environments. Further more Prahalad and Hamel (1990) state that In the 1990s managers will be judged on their ability to identify, cultivate, and exploit th core competences that make growth possible indeed, theyll have to rethink the concept of the corporation it self. Organisations must seek to understand first and foremost the micro and macro environment including, the immediate industry (micro) and competitive environment, and general economic conditions (macro). Understanding the Critical Success Factors of the industry in which they operate helps companies identify the areas in which the company must excel over its competitors to achieve competitive advantage in the market place. Internal competences will prove to be effective if they contribute directly or indirectly to the organisations success, based on the industry Critical Success Factors. In this respect, the Board of Directors and the CEO should: have the ability of understanding the process of industry evolution; be able to predict change that would satisfy customers in terms of their expectations and preferences; understand that company Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, is not a one off exercise. Such factors have to be analysed and revised regularly to ensure that the organisations strategy is updated to cater for any changing patters, newly recognized weaknesses or threats and that any potential opportunities are tapped in real time Investment in quality Human Resources contributes towards achieving competitive advantage. Recruitment and selection processes are fundamental for a companys long term success, considering nowadays, the organisations best resources are human resources. Ongoing training and development of employees contributes to high efficiency levels within companies, and in the case of retail, ongoing training and monitoring ensures that high levels of customer service by the organisations employees, is practiced at all times. In the case of a large company as Burger King, standardised and compulsory training ensures that service standardisation is achieved throughout its franchise outlets. Apart from providing ongoing, updated training, companies should seek to develop their staff complement so that their key staff members will improve their skills and will be given the opportunity to be promoted internally and contribute to the companys success, rather than leave the organisation in search for better opportunities. This investment in human resources contributes highly to a companys internal competences, thus to the companys overall success, considering a substantial percentage of Burger Kings (as an example) employees are the chains front liners, providing the service directly to the customer. The way employees are treated at the workplace and the relationships with their superiors, automatically affects their performance and hence the efforts they give. In a way this all depends on the management level and as Foot and Hook (1999) state [] they enhance the willingness and ability of employees to contribute to the achievement of their organisations goal. The level of Information Sharing and Effective Communication within organisations may also be viewed as a fundamental internal competence. Members within an organisation should be informed and should feel part of the organisations success of failure. The Mission and Vision of the company must be clear from top to bottom, otherwise it may result in lack of commitment due to a lack of understanding of the companys goals. Dissemination of information and communication within companies may take different forms ranging from meetings, e-mails, intranet and newsletters. Further advancements in technologies, have reduced communication barriers to a substantial degree, thus communication between the head office, or parents company and its internationally spread businesses, is now even more possible than ever. The use of Skpe, conference calls, video conferencing have contributed to new forms of communication options. Total Quality Management (TQM) emphasises the responsibility of each individual for ensuring high levels of quality throughout the organisation. Commitment and training in this regard will require less supervision and higher levels of commitment. Encouraging Quality Circles, involves having a group of people who meet away from the shop floor to discuss potential improvements in the work systems. Members of quality circles will then analyse the data and set up proposals addressed to senior management for consideration. Achievement of effective Total Quality Management within companies provides results in competitive advantage over competitor organisations since high levels of quality, are the order of the day. Other examples of organisational competences include; innovation, embracing change rather than resisting it and other key characteristics which render a companys product or service distinct from those of direct competitors or substitutes. Organisations must not take their internal competences for granted but must seek to develop them further so as to maintain long-term competitive advantage. Seeking other forms of key internal competences is very important in view of the ever changing market conditions in which organisations operate. Unless organisations have key ingredients distinguishing them from what their competitors are offering, it would be very challenging to operate sustainably and register ongoing growth. Market research including competitor analysis is carried out by companies with the main purpose of identifying any potential threats or new opportunities within the diverse business markets. Unless companies seek to embrace their key competences and improve to maintain mar ket leadership position whenever possible, they will soon be challenged by upcoming competitors. Enterprises across the whole spectrum of the economy are faced with multiple challenges generated within the parameters of national and global economy. Globalisation is resulting in a high degree of economic openness, and to a very large measure, this exposes emerging businesses to vulnerable business scenarios. Ruysseveldt et al (1995) highlighted that In general, companies now face fierce competition, and this in turn affects the employment relationship, which is increasingly subject to the logic of the market. In this regard, organisations which fail in adapting their structures to emerging societies of the market will eventually face a natural death. Subsequently, visionary agile organisations need to capitalise on a proactive approach, in anticipating and responding to change effectively. 2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the franchising business model used by Burger King. What are the implications of this approach for successful implementation of their strategies? Franchising is a form of business in which the franchiser gives the authority to a franchisee to distribute services, products or methods of business to affiliated dealers. In many cases franchisees are given exclusive access to a particular geographical area. The franchiser usually mandates uniform symbols, trademarks and standardization of services. On the other hand negative macro consequences of franchising include the propensity of franchising to promote anticompetitive distribution systems (Hunt, 1972), the rationalization of consumer choice (Alon, 2004), and the destruction of local customs (Ram, 2004), leading to what has been called the McDonaldization of Society (Ritzer, 1995). Currently Burger King has 3 different forms of franchise schemes, which correspond to 3 different types of franchise ownership: Individual or Owner/ Operator Entity Corporate Individual or owner/ operator ownership was traditionally used for individuals who signed the franchise agreement personally and who were personally responsible for operating the franchise restaurant. Although the individual franchise agreement can be assigned to an operating company under certain conditions, the individual remains personally responsible under the franchise agreement. Entity ownership allows different forms of ownership and management of, and equity investment in the franchisee. Under the Entity ownership program, a corporation, a limited partnership or a limited liability company can directly execute the Entity franchisee scheme if they satisfy Burger Kings guidelines and for approval of franchise ownership distribution plans. Generally, one of the conditions of Entity ownership is that one or more individuals or entities guarantee to be responsible for the franchisee obligations to Burger King out of which one of them has to be designated by Burger Kings approval to be the managing owner who shall be responsible to ensure that they comply to the franchise agreement and has to have enough authority to make certain decisions. Additionally the managing owner must have at least 5% ownership of the franchisee. Corporate ownership franchise scheme occurs when a company with publicly-traded stock or a subsidiary of a publicly-traded company, that controls locations that are not accessible or have limited access to the general public. Such franchisees are typically food service companies that provide a variety of contract feeding services in a institutional location such as government buildings and facilities, airports, bus and train stations, theme parks and zoos. A qualified director of operations who shall be approved by Burger King needs to be appointed who will have certain responsibilities and authority to ensure that the corporate franchisee is complying with the franchise agreement. Although these 3 franchise schemes may slightly vary between them as to responsibilities and setup costs, however in substance they follow the traditional franchise setup that Burger King has adopted through the years. Burger King grants franchisees to operate restaurants using Burger King trademarks, trade dress and other intellectual property rights that it owns, from quality of products and standardization of service. For each franchise restaurant, Burger King enters into a franchise agreement that covers a number of standard terms and conditions that are common to all franchisees. Franchisees incur recurring fees consisting of royalty and advertising payments that range between 3.5% to 5% on monthly gross sales, and a fixed yearly fee that starts from $50,000 depending on the size of franchisee set-up. Burger King offers its franchisees its renowned barbell menu strategy, which gives the franchisees the opportunity to expand on Burger Kings high-margin premium products and value products in order to grow the core drivers of its product offerings. The barbell menu strategy is aimed at driving average check and traffic, since Burger Kings management team believes that by adopting this strategy Burger king is balancing higher margin products with value offerings and at the same time increasing the brand equity of flame-broiled taste. However the fast food industry is highly competitive and some of Burger Kings competitors have greater resources, such as Macdonalds. This leads to a disadvantage when it comes to compete with Macdonalds, since Burger King takes a reactive mode to price changes, furthermore Macdonalds marketing campaigns in general are more effective than Burger Kings. Clearly this gives the competitors a competitive advantage through higher levels of brand awareness among consumers. In addition, our major competitors are also able to devote greater resources to accelerate their restaurant re-modelling and rebuilding efforts, introduce new product and implement advantageous product offerings, which in most cases gives them a competitive edge over Burger King. Furthermore, the market for retail real estate is highly competitive. Due to the economies of scale that Burger Kings competitors managed to achieve, Burger Kings major competitors may have the ability to negotiate more favourable terms and entrepreneurs may offer priority or grant exclusivity to these competitors for more desirable locations. As a result, this may hinder the ability to obtain new franchisees or renew existing agreements. The capital required to grow and maintain Burger King Corporation is primarily funded by franchise agreements, this presents a number of drawbacks in Burger Kings portfolio management strategy, especially when the company currently holds ownership of only 10% of its restaurants. Burger King is planning to significantly reduce the ownership of these restaurants over the next 5 years. This may lead to problematic situations whereby Burger King being the franchisor will have limited influence over franchisees and high reliance on franchisees to implement major initiatives. This may also lead to limited ability to facilitate changes in restaurant ownership, limitations on enforcement of franchise obligations due to bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings and inability or unwillingness of franchisees to participate in our strategic initiatives. On the other hand Burger Kings principal competitors are mainly Macdonalds and Wendys. These have greater influence over their respective franchisees due to the significantly higher percentage of company restaurants and ownership of franchisee real estate that they hold. This may result, that they may have a greater ability to implement operational initiatives and business strategies, including their marketing and advertising programs. While Burger King can mandate certain strategic initiatives through the enforcement of its franchise agreements, they need the actively seek support from its franchisees for a successful implementation of these initiatives. These efforts to build this alignment with its franchisees may result in a delay in the implementation of the marketing and advertising programs. Although the current relationship with its franchisees is positive, there is no assurance that it will continue to be so. In fact Burger King has already been sued by the National Franchisee association, this organisation represents over 50% of Burger Kings franchisees in the United States. This law suit is due to Burger Kings decision to dictate to the U.S. franchisees to sell the 1/4 lb. Double Cheeseburger and the Buck Double burger at $1. This is a clear example whereby Burger Kings failure to win the franchisees support in its marketing programs and strategic initiatives could lead to negatively affect the ability t o implement the strategy that it would have decided to adopt. Burger Kings operating results substantially depend upon its franchisees sales. However, its franchisees are independent operators and they cannot control many factors that impact the profitability of their restaurants. Pursuant to the franchise agreements and their operational manual, Burger King mandate menu items, signage, equipment, hours of operation and value menu, standardization of procedures and approval of suppliers. However, the quality of franchise restaurant operations may be diminished by any number of factors beyond its control. Consequently, franchisees may not successfully operate restaurants in a consistent manner with the mother company standards and requirements. Due to various factors, Burger King as a franchisor may not be able to identify problems and take action quickly enough; as a result, its image and reputation may suffer. Most of Burger Kings franchisee restaurants are presently located on leased premises. As restaurant leases expire, our franchisees may be unable to renegotiate a new lease, on commercially acceptable terms or nothing at all, which could cause a number of its franchisees to close down. As already stated, the fast food industry is intensely competitive and Burger King has to compete both in the U.S. and internationally with a number of established companies on the basis of product choice, quality, affordability, service and location. Burger Kings competitors include a variety of independent operators, in addition to well-capitalized national and international chains and franchises. Furthermore, this industry has few barriers to entry, and therefore new competitors may emerge at any time. Burger Kings ability to compete will mainly depend on the success to improve existing products, to develop new products, effectively respond to consumer preferences and to manage the complexity of its operations as well as the impact of our competitors actions. 3.Using relevant theory and examples to support your answer, critically evaluate the role of leadership in managing cultural and behavioural factors during the execution of a turnaround strategy.    In the rapidly developing modern world and the age of globalization, the concept of organisational change has become more important than ever before. Although it has always been an important feature of organisational life, the place, magnitude and necessity of organisational change has considerably escalated over the past two decades (Arnold, 2005). As Mullins (2007) states, Change is a pervasive influence. It is an inescapable part of both social and organisational life and we are all subject to continual change of one form or another. There exists a multitude of reasons as to why organisations must constantly make changes, both external and internal. Although internal factors play a role, the main pressures faced by companies to change comes from external forces. This is because in order to survive in the corporate world, organisations must be properly prepared to face and respond to the new challenges and opportunities presented by the ever-changing external environment (Mullins, 2007). Many organisations appear to be in a continuous state of change as they are forced to increase the speed with which they respond to the unpredictability of external factors, essential for their survival (Hussey, 2000). One of the most influential forces instigating organisational change today is the rapid rate of globalisation and consequent fierce world competition. With the accelerating emergence of economies such as India and China, Mayle (2006) states that globalisation is no longer an academic discipline or a fringe movement but a business imperative Thus creating the need for constant change and the fact that competition is intensifying, means that organisations cannot simply ignore developments and give advantage to their competitors. Technological change has therefore become extremely significant as the rate of obsolescence increases, a trend that is set to become more significant with the rapid growth of the internet and E-commerce. As Hussey (2000) states, it is unlikely that organisations can introduce new developments without causing changes to skills, jobs, structure and often culture. Another external factor to consider is that the demographic profile of most countries is changing the proportion of older people is increasing relative to the proportion of younger people. This will create huge pressures for organisations, and corporate issues may involve finding ways of dealing with skill shortages, changes in attitudes to the employment of older people and problems of motivation in flat organisational structures which of fer little opportunity for promotion (Hussey, 2000). Other external forces of change relevant to organisations include government intervention, political interests, scarcity of natural resources and the nature of customers. Internal sources of change include innovations, new methods of work, re-locating, training, staff development and the re-allocation of resources and responsibilities (Mullins, 2007). The survival and success of any organisation depends how they choose to adapt to these internal and external demands. It is not about whether to change, but to how and when. Burger King started this process in 1977, by hiring Donald Smith as president and CEO. Smith identified the shortfalls that Burger King was facing at the time. Smith adapted and executed his turnaround strategy, and modelled on the basis of Macdonalds strategy which proofed rather successful. The processes involved in organisational change may differ widely depending on the corporation in question and the current situation that it is facing. However, it is important for all organisations in todays globalised economy to understand the importance of continual change constantly transforming in order to keep up with the changing environment and hence survive in the competitive modern world. The actual changes to an organisation can either be implemented in a planned and systematic fashion, often designed and implemented by consultants, or in a more informal and reactive way, where managers react to situations on a daily basis and implement change accordingly (Tosi, Rizzo Carroll, 1994). The notion of organisational development change that focuses on the whole organisation is concerned with anticipated, planned and consciously designed change that will serve to increase an organisations effectiveness (Cummings and Worley, 2001). Lewins change model provides a fundamental m odel of planned change, which perceives change as a modification of those forces keeping a systems behaviour stable. In this model, Lewin believes that the change process consists of three steps: Unfreezing, Moving and Refreezing. Unfreezing involves diminishing the forces that uphold an organisations current behaviour often done by showing employees the discrepancies between behaviour desired by the organisation and behaviour that is currently displayed. Through a process of psychological disconfirmation members can thereby be motivated to change. The second step, Moving aims to shift the current behaviour of

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Volleyball Research Paper For some people, they literally live, breathe, and are volleyball; others do hate the sport and prefer soccer or football (as many do already). But volleyball has been around for more than 100 years! And it is one of the world’s most popular sports; a worldwide estimate of around 800 million people play volleyball at least once a week. But today’s volleyball doesn’t compare with the volleyball that was first invented in 1895. Society has modified to an extent this trending sport the past few decades that some actually think that William G. Morgan, the inventor of volleyball, wouldn’t be able to recognize his own sport. William G. Morgan was an instructor at the YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Morgan came up with the new idea by mixing parts of other sports like tennis, baseball, basketball, and handball together. The net idea was actually derived from tennis (which is probably why it looks so familiar), however Morgan decided to raise it a little over six feet above the middle of the court; now, the net can be up raised 8 feet above the court due to changes in the game and its rules. Another aspect that wasn’t original is the word â€Å"volleyball†. The game was in fact called â€Å"mintonette† when Morgan first created it but after observing a demonstration game, some scholars approached Morgan with a new name, â€Å"volleyball†, which they found more appropriate to call the name due to the way the athletes volleyed the ball back and forth over the net: hence, the name was changed and has been the same for more than a century. In 1895, Morgan created only one volleyball but like everything else, it has revolutionized into subsets and variations of volleyball such as: Indoor/Outdoor, Newcomb, Beach, Footvolley, Shoo... ... apply to spikes and serves. For body composition, having lower levels of body fat will be an advantage because it could provide more power, better coordination, and possibly better balance. If there were to be an â€Å"excessive† amount of body fat, it is possible that the player’s ability to move around the court freely could decrease and would increase chances of fatigue during the exercise. In conclusion, volleyball is a competitive but amusing sport in which really anyone could participate and could excel in when following the rules and guidelines. Health-wise, it would make a great addition to a daily workout; an average human could burn up to 600 calories during one hour of competitive volleyball! And not only does it burn calories, but it adds a great variety of skill to your coordination and improves cardiovascular and muscular endurance and body composition. Essays -- Volleyball Research Paper For some people, they literally live, breathe, and are volleyball; others do hate the sport and prefer soccer or football (as many do already). But volleyball has been around for more than 100 years! And it is one of the world’s most popular sports; a worldwide estimate of around 800 million people play volleyball at least once a week. But today’s volleyball doesn’t compare with the volleyball that was first invented in 1895. Society has modified to an extent this trending sport the past few decades that some actually think that William G. Morgan, the inventor of volleyball, wouldn’t be able to recognize his own sport. William G. Morgan was an instructor at the YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Morgan came up with the new idea by mixing parts of other sports like tennis, baseball, basketball, and handball together. The net idea was actually derived from tennis (which is probably why it looks so familiar), however Morgan decided to raise it a little over six feet above the middle of the court; now, the net can be up raised 8 feet above the court due to changes in the game and its rules. Another aspect that wasn’t original is the word â€Å"volleyball†. The game was in fact called â€Å"mintonette† when Morgan first created it but after observing a demonstration game, some scholars approached Morgan with a new name, â€Å"volleyball†, which they found more appropriate to call the name due to the way the athletes volleyed the ball back and forth over the net: hence, the name was changed and has been the same for more than a century. In 1895, Morgan created only one volleyball but like everything else, it has revolutionized into subsets and variations of volleyball such as: Indoor/Outdoor, Newcomb, Beach, Footvolley, Shoo... ... apply to spikes and serves. For body composition, having lower levels of body fat will be an advantage because it could provide more power, better coordination, and possibly better balance. If there were to be an â€Å"excessive† amount of body fat, it is possible that the player’s ability to move around the court freely could decrease and would increase chances of fatigue during the exercise. In conclusion, volleyball is a competitive but amusing sport in which really anyone could participate and could excel in when following the rules and guidelines. Health-wise, it would make a great addition to a daily workout; an average human could burn up to 600 calories during one hour of competitive volleyball! And not only does it burn calories, but it adds a great variety of skill to your coordination and improves cardiovascular and muscular endurance and body composition.

WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding: Case Studies Essay -- World Trade

WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding: Case Studies The World Trade Organization implemented the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) as a means for member countries to settle trade disputes in an orderly process. The process involves an alleged injured country (complainant) filing a request for consultations with the alleged injuring party (respondent). If the consultations do not result in a mutually acceptable outcome, the complainant may request a Panel to hear the case and provide recommendations in accordance with GATT other WTO agreements. If either party disputes the outcome, they may appeal to the Appellate Body (AB), which may uphold or overturn the panel’s decision. Compliance with the recommendations is not compulsory however if a country does not conform to recommendations, the other party may request and impose sanctions on the other party if they are granted (Trebilock, Howe, & Eliason, 2013). Following are summaries of three cases presented before the Dispute Settlement Body. Japan — Measures Affecting the Importation of Apples On March 1, 2002, the United States (US) filed a request for consultations with Japan concerning their Sanitary Phytosanitary (SPS) regulations. At issue was Japans policy of restricting importation of apples from the US to prevent against fire blight bacterium. Since 1994, Japan had required triannual inspection of US apple orchards for fire blight, and banned importation from any orchard showing sign of the blight within a 500-meter perimeter of the orchard. It further required the sanitization of harvested apples with chlorine. The US argued Japan's measures appear to be inconsistent with the obligations of Japan under Article XI of GATT 1994, Articles 2.2, 2.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5... ...pan - Measures affecting the importation of apples - Report of the panel. Retrieved from World Trade Organization: https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/FE_Search/FE_S_S009-DP.aspx?language=E&CatalogueIdList=14714&CurrentCatalogueIdIndex=0&FullTextSearch= Summary. (2010, February 24). Summary of the dispute to date. Retrieved from World Trade Organization: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds245_e.htm Trebilock, M., Howe, R., & Eliason, A. (2013). The Regulation of International Trade. New York, NY: Routledge. WT/DS243/8. (2003, July 21). United States - Rules of Origin for Textiles and Apparel Products - Panel Report - Action by the Dispute Settlement Body. Retrieved from World Trade Organization: https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/FE_Search/FE_S_S006.aspx?Query=(@Symbol=%20wt/ds243/*)&Language=ENGLISH&Context=FomerScriptedSearch&languageUIChanged=true#

Nursing School Barriers

Review of literature valued several other barriers that contribute to student being unsuccessful. The top barriers included lack of financial support, inadequate emotional support, low self-efficacy, and time constraints. A review of the literature found a major barrier interfering with the success of students is financial constraints. Many Of today's students are considered nontraditional and have many responsibilities outside of the classroom that require the student to work. If unable or not allowed to work, students risk losing the necessities needed for survival.For many, working hours are more than or equivalent to he time spent in class. Therefore, the work schedule and hours, interferes with the amount of time the student can dedicate to studying. Students are also working more to cover financial obligations to the school. With the rising cost vitiation, students faced the harsh reality of not being able to afford school (Peterson, 2009). Proactively, many have decided to att end community college instead of a university, in hopes of decreasing the financial burden so the number of hours worked can be decreased.Others are forced to work because the lack of available scholarships or financial aid. Most consider mans as a last result because of the interest rates and the fear of not being able to repay in the future. Nursing school can be mentally, physically and emotionally draining. Many students are not prepared for the challenges the body endures because of the emotional roller coaster of school. Many consider the idea of preparing for a profession where human life can be jeopardized if an error occurs very stressful.At the same times, are surrounded by family and friends who do not understand the ramifications if an error occur. Some students are the first in the family to attend college; therefore, family members may not understand why the student has to choose between family functions and studying. Students can face ridicule from family and friends because there is a lack of understanding as to the amount of time and dedication needed to complete a nursing program successfully. Time constraints also affect student success in nursing school.Students find it difficult to balance personal life and a school schedule. Students find the rigor of nursing school overwhelming. Often, in nursing, students are in the classroom six to eight hours a day and clinical can range from eight to twelve hours, two or three days a week. The school leaves little time for family or extracurricular activities. At least 35% of a student's day is dedicated to class, studying and preparing for the next scheduled class (Department, 2014). Students with families struggle with feeling as though they have abandoned their responsibilities.Mothers returning to the classroom often feel guilt when not able to cook a meal or attend a child's activity. As a result, many withdraw with the hope of returning to school when the children are more independent. Research ers have also found low self-efficacy contributes to the lack of success in the classroom. Self-efficacy is defined as ones belief in actual ability to complete a task (Bandeau, 1997). Thus, self-efficacy is a crucial concept in a student's perception of capability to complete a nursing program.According to Brothers (201 AAA), self-efficacy has become an instrument in evaluating student's outcome in the classroom. Lower self- efficacy students often avoid challenges and set less challenging goals. Many enter nursing programs lacking the confidence to be successful. The students often dwell on personal deficiency and attributes failures to bad luck. Lower self-efficacy students often doubt their ability to successful complete a urging program and often give up when faced with a challenge.

Outline the concepts of just war and pacifism Essay

Outline the key concepts of Just War and Pacifism. A01 [21] The Just war theory maintains that war may be justified if fought only in certain circumstances, and only if certain restrictions are applied to the way in which war is fought. The theory that was first propounded by St Augustine of Hippo and St Ambrose of Milan ( 4th and 5th centuries AD) attempts to clarify two fundamental questions: ‘when is it right to fight?’ and ‘How should war be fought?’. Whereas Pacifists are people mainly Christians who reject the use of violence and the deliberate killing of civilians but claims that peace is intrinsically good and ought to be upheld either as a duty and that war can never be justifiable. However, Realists agree that, due to the nature of humans, force is a necessary action to be used to maintain a just and ordered society. Therefore, since the Second World War, people have turned their attention to Just War again establishing rules that can serve as guidelines to a just war- the Hague and Geneva conventions. Many Christians had taken the view that war may be justifiable under certain circumstances, and only if fought observing certain rules of conduct. Wars against the Muslim control of Jerusalem in the 11th-13th centuries were sometimes seen as holy wars which were popularly regarded as Crusades. Some philosophers based their justifications on the stories in the Bible. For example, St Paul in Romans 13:4 wrote that rulers are servants of God ‘†¦for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil’. In the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas gave an outline (the first three criteria of a just war) on the Justification of war and the kinds of acts that are allowed in a war in Summa Theologica. His ideas became the model of later scholars such as Franciso Suarez and Francisco de Vitoria. The first three conditions necessary for a just war were listed by Aquinas which included right authority, just cause and just intention. These and the three additional conditions that were later included, were referred to as ‘Jus ad Bellum’-rules about when it is right and just to go to war. Aquinas asserted that just authority meant that war could only be started by legitimate authority: ‘the authority of the sovereign by whose command the war is to be waged’. He wrote that sovereign authority which has been elected legitimately has the sole authority to declare war. This meant that, there can be no private armies of individuals who can start a war and, equally, an incompetent government or sovereign does not have the authority  to initiate war. Just cause, is considered to be one of the most important conditions of jus ad bellum. Aquinas once stated that, ‘†¦those who are attacked, should be attacked because they deserve it on account of some fault’. It was considered that self defence against physical aggression was the only sufficient reason for just cause. Finally, Aquinas wrote that the war fought with just intention, was to be for ‘the advancement of good, or the avoidance of evil’. Kant once said that sovereigns could not fight wars for immoral intentions only for good motives. During a state of conflict, right intention should mean for peace and reconciliation. Therefore, soldiers cannot use or encourage a hatred of a minority in war. Their intentions must always be virtuous. In the 16th and 17th century, Suarez and de Vitoria added three additional conditions: proportionality in the conduct of war, only entering war as a last resort, and only fighting when there is a reasonable chance of success. Hence when dealing with proportionality, a state should never wage war that causes relatively more suffering and destruction than the actual wrong done by the enemy. Therefore, in any case, excessive violence, death and damage should be avoided. For example, it was not proportionate for the atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan that were conducted by the United States during the final stages of World War II in 1945. Additionally, all peaceful attempts at resolution must have been exhausted before violence is used. War cannot be chosen as a first response but as the last resort. Also, there should a reasonable chance of success during a war. It’s immoral to enter into a hopeless war, thus magnifying the suffering and loss for no constructive reason. There have always been rules of conduct in war, although such rules have often been ignored. In Christian tradition, there are conditions of conduct that limit the degree of destruction and who may or should not be killed. These conditions were referred to as Jus in Bello- rules governing how war should be fought. The principles include: only legitimate targets should be attacked, proportionality and that, agents of war should be responsible for their actions. An act of war aimed indiscriminately using chemical/biological weapons at the entire cities or of extensive areas along with their populations, is not only a crime against God but one against humanity and should be condemned. Also, it is unfair and unjust of attack non-combatants (civilians, or innocents) because it is against their right  and therefore they cannot be justly attacked. However, the Just war theory comes under criticism from those who advocate pacifism. They maintain that war is always wrong. Pacifism is described to be the opposition of all forms of violence as a means of settling disputes, either between individuals or between countries. The Christian argument for pacifism is based on Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount where he rejected the option to use physical force even in defence of himself against unjust aggressors. An example includes the incident at Gethsemane where Jesus ordered Peter to drop his sword and not to resist the authorities (Matthew 26:52). Mennonites and Quakers are two groups that emphasise pacifism. Members of this group conscientiously object to violence and have been often persecuted as a result. They believe that Just war theory ignores the essential pacifist stance taken by Jesus. An absolute pacifist claims that it is never right to take part in war, even in self-defence. They believe that peace is intrinsically good and should be upheld whether as a duty or on that it is better for humans to live at peace than war. They think that the value of human life is so high that nothing can justify killing a person deliberately. These pacifists claim that they would prefer to die rather than raise their fists to protect themselves. This is because; killing in self-defence is ‘an evil that makes the moral value of the victim’s life less important than our own’. They rely on the fact that there can be no justification for killing which stems from the scriptures of the bible ‘thou shalt not kill’ (Exodus 20:13). Absolute pacifists usually hold this view as a basic moral or spiritual principle, without regard to the results of war or violence, however they could logically argue that violence always leads to worse results than non-violence in other words, there can never be any good that comes out of war or violence. On the other hand, Conditional Pacifists offer a more flexible approach which allows the use of violence under certain circumstances. Pacifism is a word defined by Martin Caedel to describe those who prefer peaceful conditions to war but accept that some wars may be necessary if they advance the cause of peace. Conditional pacifists usually base their moral code on Utilitarian principles – it’s the bad consequences that make it wrong to resort to war or violence. These pacifists accept that sometimes our duties to uphold peace and non-violence may conflict with the duty to save or defend lives against aggression.  Utilitarian pacifists claim that wars generally do not produce favourable results but in certain circumstances, they can be acceptable. Such examples may include wars to protect people from genocide. To conclude, the Just war theory accepts that human nature is evil and most often use force to maintain a just and ordered society. Therefore, past philosophers and the present generation have offered moral guidelines that serve as justifications for the act of war. Whereas, pacifism which firstly originated from Christians believe that war and the act of violence is intrinsically evil and that peace should be the resolution of all conflicts in the society. Comment on the views that a pacifist can never accept the principles of Just war A02 [9] Pacifism can never accept the principles of Just war due to their firm belief that, all violence or force should be forbidden. Additionally, some pacifists would argue that the advantages of the just war theory does outweigh the disadvantages simply on the ground that there is no morality towards violence and that there is no place for ethics in war. Firstly, the criteria for a just war is considered to be unrealistic and pointless because, once the combatants have gone into battle the results of the war are unpredictable and such soldiers are unlikely to adhere to any conditions of a just war making the moral guidelines irrelevant. Pacifists argue that the results of war will always be bad since there can never be any positive outcome in war because; it leaves more damage on peoples’ lives. For example, the holocaust that occurred during the Second World War left more harm on the victims rather than the justice the so-called Nazis were supposed to achieve. A pacifist would argue that it will be inhumane to the point of cruelty to suggest such an incident like the Holocaust was just to serve for the greater good. Therefore a pacifist would argue that war is a waste of resources given by God, a cause of immense suffering, including suffering of innocent people and they believe that war encourages greed, hatred and prejudice. Secondly, Pacifists believe that life has an absolute value. They argue that the indiscriminate mass destruction brought about by the use of nuclear and biological weapons violates the sacredness of human life. It is though that the social and moral damage caused by war is too great, and that it should be abandoned. They maintain that non-violence and non-resistance will change the minds of, or disarm those who use violence. Hence, Pacifists encourage non-violence  resistance will goes against the principles of a just war. However, the deontological objection to a just war is favoured by absolute pacifists. Similar to Reihnold Neibuhr’s (1932) claim; it is inevitable that humans are prone to violence or the act of violence simply because , human nature is evil(imperfect). This means that most Pacifists are most likely to have a consequential approach towards the matter. Jeff McMahan once pointed out that Pacifism is difficult to maintain as it places extraordinary limitations on individual rights and self-defence which, in an era of weapons of mass destruction and the practice of genocide, may ultimately appear unacceptable. For this reason, Pacifists may claim that wars generally do not produce more favourable results, in specific examples. They can be acceptable. Additionally, most Pacifists accept that if someone is threatened by a dangerous person then the use of violence can be permitted since it would be considered to be self-defence. Therefore, due to the inconsistencies evident in Pacifism, most Christians still accept that the use of violence can be justified in the society. To conclude, Pacifists do believe that the weaknesses of a just war theory does outweighs its strengths simply because, it lacks purpose and morality. However , others do have different views; which means that they actually accept the principles of the just war theory.