Brand plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Brand plan - Essay Example ark of international quality, a brand that can be used as a yard-stick in daily jargon to compare excellence in product through flawless craftsmanship. Every Rolex watch tells the tale of an instrument that passes through a series of stringent tests in the manufacturing units supplemented by individual care in making sure it truly represents this undisputed royal watch brand. â€Å"Rolex watches are popularly regarded as status symbols† (Khurana, 2010) There are many reasons why Rolex is positioned in the market the way it is. It was a pioneer in the invention of wrist watches through the skill of its co-founder Wildorf in innovating Oyster waterproof case and screw crown. Rolex has many â€Å"first† which account for its â€Å"father-figure†, aristocratic and near-Godly stature. Rolex manufactured watches were the first to come with Kew â€Å"A† test, a prestigious achievement in the early 1900s that deemed it to be perfect in time keeping. Again, Rolex watches were the first to have â€Å"perpetual self winding rotor mechanism† that kept the watch at optimal tension and wound on its own at the slightest movement of the wrist. (Rolex.com, 2012) The watch and jewellery market is huge at the global level with international brands like Rado, Tag Heuger, Citizen, Gucci, Jaeger-LeCoulture, Schwarzkopf, Breitling, Victorinox (Swiss Army), Cartlier, Omega, Tissot, Movado, ESQ, Edward Mirell, marahlago, David Vurman, John Hardy, Roberto Coin, Ammolite, Llardo, Marco Bicego, Honora, Yvel, Tudor etc. Even though these watches make up for them mid-range watch and jewellery market they compete to a certain extent with Rolex to get a share of the larger customer base who are not Rolex loyalists. Rolex has numerous competitors in the 43.6 billion USD watch and jewellery industry. Rolex has released its Tudor in 1946 to eliminate stiff competition faced from mid-range wrist-watch brand like Tag Heuger and Rado. Its model categories: Prince, Princess, Monarch and Sport entered

Cloud Computing Essay Example for Free

Cloud Computing Essay * Integrated development environment as a service (IDEaaS) In the business model using software as a service, users are provided access to application software and databases. The cloud providers manage the infrastructure and platforms on which the applications run. SaaS is sometimes referred to as â€Å"on-demand software† and is usually priced on a pay-per-use basis. SaaS providers generally price applications using a subscription fee. Proponents claim that the SaaS allows a business the potential to reduce IT operational costs by outsourcing hardware and software maintenance and support to the cloud provider. This enables the business to reallocate IT operations costs away from hardware/software spending and personnel expenses, towards meeting other IT goals. In addition, with applications hosted centrally, updates can be released without the need for users to install new software. One drawback of SaaS is that the users data are stored on the cloud provider’s server. As a result, there could be unauthorized access to the data. End users access cloud-based applications through a web browser or a light-weight desktop or mobile app while the business software and users data are stored on servers at a remote location. Proponents claim that cloud computing allows enterprises to get their applications up and running faster, with improved manageability and less maintenance, and enables IT to more rapidly adjust resources to meet fluctuating and unpredictable business demand.[2][3] Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale similar to a utility (like the electricity grid) over a network.[4] | This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. (January 2013)| The origin of the term cloud computing is obscure, but it appears to derive from the practice of using drawings of stylized clouds to denote networks in diagrams of computing and communications systems. The word cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on the standardized use of a cloud-like shape to denote a network on telephony schematics and later to depict the Internet in computer network diagrams as an abstraction of the underlying infrastructure it represents. The cloud symbol was used to represent the Internet as early as 1994.[5][6] The underlying concept of cloud computing dates back to the 1950s, when large-scale mainframe became available in academia and corporations, accessible via thin clients / terminalcomputers. Because it was costly to buy a mainframe, it became im portant to find ways to get the greatest return on the investment in them, allowing multiple users to share both the physical access to the computer from multiple terminals as well as to share the CPU time, eliminating periods of inactivity, which became known in the industry as time-sharing.[7] In the 1990s, telecommunications companies, who previously offered primarily dedicated point-to-point data circuits, began offering virtual private network (VPN) services with comparable quality of service but at a much lower cost. By switching traffic to balance utilization as they saw fit, they were able to utilize their overall network bandwidth more effectively. The cloud symbol was used to denote the demarcation point between that which was the responsibility of the provider and that which was the responsibility of the users. Cloud computing extends this boundary to cover servers as well as the network infrastructure.[8] As computers became more prevalent, scientists and technologists explored ways to make large-scale computing power available to more users through time sharing, experimenting with algorithms to provide the optimal use of the infrastructure, platform and applications with prioritized access to the CPU and efficiency for the end users.[9] John McCarthy opined in t he 1960s that computation may someday be organized as a public utility. Almost all the modern-day characteristics of cloud computing (elastic provision, provided as a utility, online, illusion of infinite supply), the comparison to the electricity industry and the use of public, private, government, and community forms, were thoroughly explored in Douglas Parkhills 1966 book, The Challenge of the Computer Utility. Other scholars have shown that cloud computings roots go all the way back to the 1950s when scientist Herb Grosch (the author of Groschs law) postulated that the entire world would operate on dumb terminals powered by about 15 large data centers.[10] Due to the expense of these powerful computers, many corporations and other entities could avail themselves of computing capability through time sharing and several organizations, such as GEs GEISCO, IBM subsidiary The Service Bureau Corporation (SBC, founded in 1957), Tymshare (founded in 1966), National CSS (founded in 1967 and bought by Dun Bradstreet in 1979), Dial Data (bought by Tymshare in 1968), and Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN) marketed time sharing as a commercial venture. The development of the Internet from being document centric via semantic data towards more and more services was described as Dynamic Web.[11] This contribution focused in particular in the need for better meta-data able to describe not only implementation details but also conceptual details of model-based applications. The ubiquitous availability of high-capacity networks, low-cost computers and storage devices as well as the widespread adoption of hardware virtualization, service-oriented architecture,autonomic, and utility computing have led to a tremendous growth in cloud computing.[12][13][14] After the dot-com bubble, Amazon played a key role in the development of cloud computing by modernizing their data centers, which, like most computer networks, were using as little as 10% of their capacity at any one time, just to leave room for occasional spikes. Having found that the new cloud architecture resulted in significant internal efficiency improvements whereby small, fast-moving two-pizza teams (teams small enough to be fed with two pizzas) could add new features faster and more easily, Amazon initiated a new product development effort to provide cloud computing to external customers, and launched Amazon Web Service (AWS) on a utility computing basis in 2006.[15][16] In early 2008, Eucalyptus became the first open-source, AWS API-compatible platform for deploying private clouds. In early 2008, OpenNebula, enhanced in the RESERVOIR European Commission-funded project, became the first open-source software for deploying private and hybrid clouds, and for the federation of clouds.[17] In the same year, efforts were focused on providing quality of service guarantees (as required by real-time interactive applications) to cloud-based infrastructures, in the framework of the IRMOS European Commission-funded project, resulting to a real-time cloud environment.[18] By mid-2008, Gartner saw an opportunity for cloud computing to shape the relationship among consumers of IT services, those who use IT services and those who sell them[19] and observed that organizations are switching from company-owned hardware and software assets to per-use service-based models so that the projected shift to computing will result in dramatic growth in IT products in some areas and significant reductions in other areas.[20] On March 1, 2011, IBM announced the Smarter Computing framework to support Smarter Planet.[21] Among the various components of the Smarter Computing foundation, cloud computing is a critical piece. [edit] Similar systems and concepts Cloud computing shares characteristics with: * Autonomic computing — Computer systems capable of self-management.[22] * Client–server model — Client–server computing refers broadly to any distributed application that distinguishes between service providers (servers) and service requesters (clients).[23] * Grid computing — A form of distributed and parallel computing, whereby a super and virtual computer is composed of a cluster of networked, loosely coupled computers acting in concert to perform very large tasks. * Mainframe computer — Powerful computers used mainly by large organizations for critical applications, typically bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, police and secret intelligence services, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.[24] * Utility computing — The packaging of computing resources, such as computation and storage, as a metered service similar to a traditional public utility, such as electricity.[25][26] * Peer-to-peer — Distributed architecture without the need for central coordination, with participants being at the same time both suppliers and consumers of resources (in contrast to the traditional client–server model). * Cloud gaming Also known as on-demand gaming, this is a way of delivering games to computers. The gaming data will be stored in the providers server, so that gaming will be independent of client computers used to play the game. [edit] Characteristics Cloud computing exhibits the following key characteristics: * Agility improves with users ability to re-provision technological infrastructure resources. * Application programming interface (API) accessibility to software that enables machines to interact with cloud software in the same way the user interface facilitates interaction between humans and computers. Cloud computing systems typically use REST-based APIs. * Cost is claimed to be reduced and in a public cloud delivery model capital expenditure is converted to operational expenditure.[27] This is purported to lower barriers to entry, as infrastructure is typically provided by a third-party and does not need to be purchased for one-time or infrequent intensive computing tasks. Pricing on a utility computing basis is fine-grained with usage-based options and fewer IT skills are required for implementation (in-house).[28] The e-FISCAL projects state of the art repository[29] contains several articles looking into cost aspects in more detail, most of them concluding that costs savings de pend on the type of activities supported and the type of infrastructure available in-house. * Device and location independence[30] enable users to access systems using a web browser regardless of their location or what device they are using (e.g., PC, mobile phone). As infrastructure is off-site (typically provided by a third-party) and accessed via the Internet, users can connect from anywhere.[28] * Virtualization technology allows servers and storage devices to be shared and utilization be increased. Applications can be easily migrated from one physical server to another. * Multitenancy enables sharing of resources and costs across a large pool of users thus allowing for: * Centralization of infrastructure in locations with lower costs (such as real estate, electricity, etc.) * Peak-load capacity increases (users need not engineer for highest possible load-levels) * Utilisation and efficiency improvements for systems that are often only 10–20% utilised.[15] * Reliability is improved if multiple redundant sites are used, which makes well-designed cloud computing su itable for business continuity and disaster recovery.[31] * Scalability and elasticity via dynamic (on-demand) provisioning of resources on a fine-grained, self-service basis near real-time,[32] without users having to engineer for peak loads.[33][34] * Performance is monitored, and consistent and loosely coupled architectures are constructed using web services as the system interface.[28] * Security could improve due to centralization of data, increased security-focused resources, etc., but concerns can persist about loss of control over certain sensitive data, and the lack of security for stored kernels.[35] Security is often as good as or better than other traditional systems, in part because providers are able to devote resources to solving security issues that many customers cannot afford.[36] However, the complexity of security is greatly increased when data is distributed over a wider area or greater number of devices and in multi-tenant systems that are being shared by unrelated users. In addition, user access to security audit logs may be difficult or impossible. Private cloud installations are in part motivated by users desire to retain control over the infrastructure and avoid losing control of information security. * Maintenance of cloud computing applications is easier, because they do not need to be installed on each users computer and can be accessed from different places. The National Institute of Standards and Technologys definition of cloud computing identifies five essential characteristics: On-demand self-service. A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each service provider. Broad network access. Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and workstations). Resource pooling. The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. Rapid elasticity. Capabilities can be elastically provisioned and released, in some cases automatically, to scale rapidly outward and inward commensurate with demand. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be appropriated in any quantity at any time. Measured service. Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service. —National Institute of Standards and Technology[4] On-demand self-service See also: Self-service provisioning for cloud computing services and Service catalogs for cloud computing services On-demand self-service allows users to obtain, configure and deploy cloud services themselves using cloud service catalogues, without requiring the assistance of IT.[37][38] This feature is listed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a characteristic of cloud computing.[4] The self-service requirement of cloud computing prompts infrastructure vendors to create cloud computing templates, which are obtained from cloud service catalogues. Manufacturers of such templates or blueprints include Hewlett-Packard (HP), which names its templates as HP Cloud Maps[39] RightScale[40] and Red Hat, which names its templates CloudForms.[41] The templates contain predefined configurations used by consumers to set up cloud services. The templates or blueprints provide the technical information necessary to build ready-to-use clouds.[40] Each template includes specific configuration details for different cloud infrastructures, with information about servers for specific tasks such as hosting applications, databases, websites and so on.[40] The templates also include predefined Web service, the operating system, the database, security configurations and load balancing.[41] Cloud consumers use cloud templates to move applications between clouds through a self-service portal. The predefined blueprints define all that an application requires to run in different environments. For example, a template could define how the same application could be deployed in cloud platforms based on Amazon Web Service, VMware or Red Hat.[42] The user organization benefits from cloud templates because the technical aspects of cloud configurations reside in the templates, letting users to deploy cloud services with a push of a button.[43][44] Cloud templates can also be used by developers to create a catalog of cloud services.[45] [edit] Ser vice models Cloud computing providers offer their services according to three fundamental models:[4][46] infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS) where IaaS is the most basic and each higher model abstracts from the details of the lower models. In 2012 network as a service (NaaS) and communication as a service (CaaS) were officially included by ITU (International Telecommunication Union) as part of the basic cloud computing models, recognized service categories of a telecommunication-centric cloud ecosystem.[47] Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) See also: Category:Cloud infrastructure In the most basic cloud-service model, providers of IaaS offer computers physical or (more often) virtual machines and other resources. (A hypervisor, such as Xen or KVM, runs the virtual machines as guests.) Pools of hypervisors within the cloud operational support-system can support large numbers of virtual machines and the ability to scale services up and down according to customers varying requirements. IaaS clouds often offer additional resources such as images in a virtual-machine image-library, raw (block) and file-based storage, firewalls, load balancers, IP addresses, virtual local area networks (VLANs), and software bundles.[48] IaaS-cloud providers supply these resources on-demand from their large pools installed indata centers. For wide-area connectivity, customers can use either the Internet or carrier clouds (dedicated virtual private networks). To deploy their applications, cloud users install operating-system images and their application software on the cloud infrastructure. In this model, the cloud user patches and maintains the operating systems and the application software. Cloud providers typically bill IaaS services on a utility computing basis: cost reflects the amount of resources allocated and consumed. Examples of IaaS providers include Amazon CloudFormation, Amazon EC2, Windows Azure Virtual Machines, DynDNS, Google Compute Engine, HP Cloud, iland, Joyent,Rackspace Cloud, ReadySpace Cloud Services, and Terremark. [edit] Platform as a service (PaaS)

The sustainability strategy

The sustainability strategy EXECUTIVE SUMMARY With globalization, technological changes, economic drivers, and social and environmental mandates, the global business environment is less predictable and more challenging than it was even a decade ago. Customers, stakeholders, and society expect and demand superior products, services, and operations with less waste, reduced impacts on health, safety, and the environment, and enhanced corporate responsibilities for the decisions, technologies, products, processes, and activities of every facet of the business enterprise. In the words of Rainey (2006) Today, businesses must thoroughly analyze the global business environment to gain a firm understanding of the opportunities and challenges it presents, and develop aggressive strategies for improving every aspect of their enterprises. To do this, corporations must have in place a comprehensive and integrated strategic management framework for formulating and implementing business strategies, programs, and actions based on considerations that include the entire business environment. Such a framework requires the capability to integrate both internal systems and processes and those of external business entities, including customers, stakeholders, and supply networks. According to Siemens Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2002, Berlin and Munich: Siemens AG, 2002 Sustainable success is our number one priority. Our activities focus on meeting the needs of customers and creating value for our shareholders and employees. Our innovations generated through our own laboratories and in cooperation with customers, business partners and universities are our greatest strengths. Woolworths Limited is an Australian public corporation with annual sales of over 38 billion. The company is recognized as one of the top five retail companies in the world. The company is committed to wards improvement of its environment footprint through a proper sustainability strategy. The sustainability strategy of the company addresses many of the significant issues related with environment, public, staff, and economic responsibilities of business. This sustainability strategy of Woolworths has been discussed in detail along with its benefits and limitations in the report. INTRODUCTION The retail industry connects with every person in some way. To remain competitive and profitable the industry is constantly required to adapt to changing nature of local as well as that of global marketplace. Sustainability is not an easy task as it involves a great deal of complexity related with the issues involved. It is important to have an effective management system for managing environmental, social and economic performance as it is fundamental for a sustainable development of any company or industry as a whole. Further, identifying, measuring, and reporting social and environmental impacts cannot begin until the board of directors and CEO are committed to improved sustainability management. Often it is through a mission statement or the development and articulation of a corporate sustainability strategy that the board and CEO set the tone at the top. It is then necessary to drive this commitment through the organization by implementing the various systems for identifying and measuring impacts, stakeholder engagement, product design, product costing, capital budgeting, information management, and performance evaluation. Epstein, Mark J. (2008) argued that effective and consistent leadership provides an alignment between environmentally and socially responsive activities and corporate goals and provides internal credibility to promote progress toward improved social and environmental management within business units and organizational functions. Woolworths CEO Simon Susman says, We know that sustainable growth can only be achieved through paying greater attention to the world around us than has been the case in the past. The links between economic growth, transformation, social development, the environment and climate change must create a better world for everyone. Purpose and Scope The report aims at making a critical analysis of Woolworths Sustainability Strategy. The strategy is analyzed on the basis of business responsibility towards social, economic and environmental issues. The report will present a view of Woolworths sustainability along with the key introductions in companys new plan of sustainability which was released recently. Woolworth was praised for its sustainability strategy but recently it has also been criticized of working against its own strategy. This aspect is also discussed in the report. Methodology The case study analysis is undertaken to form an opinion about the issue. Secondary source of information is mainly used to analyze the sustainability strategy of Woolworths and its effect of society, environment and economic areas. The data has been collected from various journals, newspapers and website of Woolworths. Various concepts and theories will be applied to the available data in order to present a clear picture of the companys strategy. BACKGROUND Woolworths Limited stretches across food and grocery, liquor, petrol, general merchandise and consumer electronics. The company is a major investor in Australia and New Zealand communities. Woolsworth is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and employ more than 191,000 people with approximately 380,000 shareholders. The company claims of being conscious of its responsibilities towards it stakeholders as its operations impact its own people, customers, communities, shareholders, supply chain and the environment. Woolworths is well known as the fresh food people in Australia and was established in 1924. It was the second largest employer in Australia and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was an integral part of its corporate agenda. Recently Woolworths announced its new sustainability strategy. Under such strategy Woolsworth also opened its first Green Store in 2007 in Sydney. In this store innovative technologies are used to minimize the use of energy and water, and reduce waste generation. Through these stores Woolsworth aims at reducing the environmental impact caused by the companys retail operations. According to Simon Susman (Chief Executive, Woolworths) We have used the phrase the Good business journey because this truly is a journey and there are no easy solutions. We are committed to meeting the 5 year targets we have set and to do this, we will be exploring new ways of doing things in many areas. Reaching these destinations will require significant behavioural and cultural change. If we can take our customers and suppliers along with us, this journey will have an even more meaningful impact on the wide range of transformational, social and environmental challenges that face South Africa, Models and Frameworks The objective of sustainability is the maintenance or restoration of a desired state that has already existed. The promotion of sustainability is an active process of engaging society. Firms need to become involved in this process because, collectively, they are now so powerful that communities and governments often do not act sufficiently strongly to achieve sustainability if there is active or perceived opposition from the private sector. So sustainability-promoting firms need to go beyond simply reducing their own negative environmental, social or economic impacts. They need to produce products that help society to become sustainable and they also need to use their influence to encourage society-wide action to achieve sustainability. This approach will be taken as the basis of our analysis of Woolworths sustainability strategy. Capabilities Framework According to Turner and Crawford (1998) To maximize organizational success, in both the short and the long term, firms need the capabilities to deliver results effectively. They also need to be able to identify viable and desirable future directions. And in the face of the enthusiasm for the new, they still need to retain valuable attributes and resources (within the firm and in society/ the environment). To achieve these three goals firms need special capabilities. Turner and Crawford gave a framework of such capabilities which is depicted in Figure 1 and will be considered while discussing the strategy of Woolswoths. Sustainability Implementation Framework Another framework to be used in the study is the Sustainability Implementation Framework suggested by Diesendorf (1998) that comprises of following three levels: Level 0, comprising the broad ethical principles Level 1, comprising broad goals arising from these principles Level 2, comprising measurable objectives or indicators The above two models will be used to analyze the sustainability strategy of Woolworths. ANALYSIS OF SUSTANABILITY STRATEGY OF WOOLSWORTHS Woolworths is aware of its responsibility towards stakeholders and thus employed corporate social responsibility at the core of its business strategy. Business of the company has social, economic and environmental impacts and thus Woolworths decided to take a range of initiatives to provide a quality of life to its customers, the workforce and the society at large. Along with such social initiatives Woolworths took up several initiatives to be a responsible retailer as well. Woolworths made sure that its initiative related with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) must comprise of initiates towards the betterment of environment, employees, shareholders, supply networks and customers. Some important components in relation to sustainability strategy of Woolworths are discussed as follows: Accelerating Transformation Driving Social Development Enhancing the Environmental focus Addressing Climate Change Providing Quality and Innovation in products and Services Accelerating Transformation Woolworths aims at accelerating transformation of its products, stores and processes. The company is committed to transformation across the business and has embarked upon a company-wide program so as to make sure that transformation becomes an entrenched way of doing business all over the company. Under this approach company will transform the way of doing business across all aspects and also will work in partnership with its suppliers, public sector, and franchise partners. Woolworths will accelerate its retail skills and for achieving this target various straining initiatives have been undertaken by the company. These initiatives include accreditation of Woolworths courses and the establishment of provincial Woolworths learning centers. Such training initiatives will prepare a pipeline of skilled employees which can be harnesses in case of any shortage at senior leadership levels in the organization. Under the sustainability strategy Woolworths is also aimed at meeting employment e quity targets. Also Woolworths aim at focusing at groups such as madumbi farmers of KwaZulu-Natal and the Beaufort West Hydroponics Project to increase the number of core products sourced from BEE supplier partners. According to the website of company In addition to our own broad BEE Employee Share Ownership Scheme, we will focus on advancing skills development and pushing our South Africa first approach even harder. Woolworths also recognized its economic responsibility and have taken initiatives to refine its brand position with significant investment in price, merchandise range, and quality. This investment will continue to deliver gains to shareholders of the company. Driving Social Development Under its sustainable strategy Woolworths is committed towards social development and its first focus is on South Africa in this context. As stated on companys website-Well work harder to drive social development by expanding the existing initiatives of the Woolworths Trust such as EduPlant and MySchool, and by introducing a programme through our stores to improve the plight of orphans and other vulnerable children. Woolworths also plans an effective role in providing employment and giving the community opportunities to expand and grow. The company employs nearly 191,000 people in its retail business. The company claims of employing people based upon their skills, qualifications and aptitude with irrespective of gender, race, religion, marital status or ethnic origin. Also, it employs women in business and provides them flexible working patterns and training opportunities. Health and Safety policy is also undertaken and is well communicated to managers in the organization along with an efficient system of managing and reporting of such a health and safety culture. Woolworths is continuously making a difference in South African Schools. According to the financial results of the company for a period of July 2007 to June 2008, Woolworths has announced a R18 million contribution to MySchool, including MyPlanet and MyVillage in South Africa. The company aims at increasing it social contributions to more than R300m per year. Woolworths also entered into partnerships with charity groups and undertook franchising programs. It supported charities like Foodbank, Salvation Army, Canteen, Beyond Blue, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, etc. Woolworths also started many initiatives to raise awareness about the plight of farming families hit by drought of Australia. The introduction of reusable bags by the company supported new enterprises that were required to produce fabric bags for the company. Enhancing Environmental Focus Another key component of Woolworths Sustainability Strategy is giving full importance to environmental issues. Environmental sustainability was a key aspect of Woolworths CSR approach. Woolworths is in retail business and its operations affect the environment in many ways such as waste production, high energy and fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Woolworths implemented a long term strategy to combat issues concerning the impact of the companys operations on the environment. Woolworths concentrated on refrigeration, lighting and temperature control to reduce the amount of energy consumption in its operations. Installation of automated after-hours blinds on open refrigeration cabinets, lighting and air conditioning made operations more energy efficient. Woolworths have decided to make all of its new stores Green Stores and adopt energy efficient guidelines in all such stores. Through these initiatives company will be able to reduce the emission of Carbon-di-oxide. In the strategy company aims at reducing the use of harmful pesticides and chemicals and increasing organic food and cloth offering. Also, company introduced a new packaging scheme to develop reusable bags which an effort towards saving scarce natural resources. The company targets at reducing the amount of plastic and cardboard in the general waste to less than 1 percent by weight by year 2010. Susman said Water is one of South Africas scarcest natural resources and Woolworths is targeting a 30% reduction in water consumption and will develop a programme to encourage our suppliers to do the same. Woolworths also took several initiatives to save water in it stores. It plans to save at least 200 million liters of water by year 2010. Also, as a fuel saving initiative, Woolworths discarded vehicles that consumed more fuel. It outsourced the disposal of worn-out tires and batteries to third party experts and used grease traps at its truck cleaning centers to prevent oil and fuel waste from entering waste water system. Addressing Climate Change Woolworths planned to use B20 (20 percent bio fuel mix) bio-diesel for its entire fleet of trucks. This move was expected to reduce carbon emission by 11,500 tones per year. Also, company decided to use large number of small cars with LPG fuel across its car fleet. The carbon emission from the companys fleet of 3100 cars is to be reduced by 30 percent by 2010 and that of trucks by 25 percent by the end of 2012 as compared to 2006. In addition to this initiative the company aims at cutting its electricity usage by 30% and removing conventional light bulbs from its shelves. Chief Executive, Woolworths, Simon Susman stated Woolworths will support carbon offsetting in as much as greening reduces carbon excess. Well do this by planting more trees at our MySchool schools, our Eduplant schools and our extensive Midrand campus grounds. Providing Quality and Innovation The very first component which formed the base of sustainability strategy was innovation. Woolworths aims at providing innovation in products, services and facilities provided by the company. The company views innovation as the base to introduce any product or service in market, finding more efficient and cheaper sources of supply, new store formats and process improvement to gain a reduction in cost. In this context while considering environment responsibility Woolworths concentrated on adopting a Green Stores strategy where all the new stores of companys would adopt energy efficient guidelines. At the same time Woolworths implemented several water saving initiatives at its stores. While choosing new sites for stores the company special consideration have been given to investigate how a store will fit in the state and local government area. Sufficient market research is being done before opening up any store. An example of innovative practice is a number of modifications being made in store design to address the community interest in Mullumbimby in New South Wales. Company has moved the loading dock away from the car parking area to improve safety for shoppers and making changes to the faà §ade so that the store will fit in better with the streetscape. Woolworths introduced a health kids program named Fresh Food Kids. This program helps in increasing the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in kids. An interactive and educational website has also been launched under this step. There are many successful applicants to the program who have regarded it a success in developing and encouraging eating health and fresh food among kids. Woolworths aims at undertaking innovation through efficiency and enhancing quality in its business processes. It has made a substantial commitment to its Project Refresh which refers to a framework in order to improve business performance and business restructuring programs through end-to end supply chain improvement. APPLYING VARIOUS FRAMEWORKS TO SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY OF WOOLWORTHS Now we will apply the models discussed in section 2 to analyze the performance Woolworths sustainability strategy. Capabilities Framework Path-finding Path-finding refers to developing, crystallizing and articulating new directions, strategies, purposes and values for the organization. Woolworths studied the environment in which the company is operating. It gave due importance to the areas and people affected by its operations and business. Through a continuous study the company realized that it is important to act responsibly towards the stakeholders of the company. So, it designed and developed a strategy committed towards benefit of customers, shareholders, environment, climate and communities. Then company placed the Corporate Social Responsibility at the base of the project so that there is no divergence from this basic objective through the implementation of the strategy of sustainable growth. The directions decided to achieve the objectives of this strategy was guided by the principles of innovation, quality, transformation, environment and climate focus and social improvement. Engagement Getting people throughout the organization informed, committed and motivated to act to achieve the organizations purpose and future direction refers to engagement. Woolworths strategy involved people of the organization to achieve the desired target. The strategy at each step emphasizes on training of employees and workforce of the company so as to understand the need of new initiatives and learn to perform under new objectives. Woolworths has launched an Employee Matching Award (EMA) to support issues that are of particular, personal concern to its staff members and encourage the workforce of the company to help make a positive contribution to worthy causes. However, there is no involvement of customers and other stakeholders in strategy making process. No feedback or suggestions are taken while designing a policy which can impact the lives of general public. Development Woolworths have been engaged in developing its resources whether physical, technological or personnel. Redesigning of stores has been initiated as a strategic move to reduce waste and make them energy efficient. Personnel at all levels are being provided training to perform well in changed environments and with new standards. Also, company has changed its fleet of trucks and cars to reduce emission and fuel consumption. Performance Management There is no set well established management system to assess the performance at each step of implementation of the strategy. In such a strategy where so many changes and new operations have been introduced there is a need of a detailed and efficient performance management system also. Identification Woolworths strategy does not give a clear view of which of the organizations or societys current attributes, strategies will be retained and which will be changed under the plan of sustainability. Marketing and Selling The sustainability strategy of Woolworths lacks a detailed marketing plan. Although, understanding the market and innovating products as per the needs and expectations of customers is surely present in the plan but the strategy to enter new markets and tap existing untapped markets does not find any place in the sustainability of the company. Sustainability Implementation Strategy Applying the Sustainability Implementation Frameworks as suggested by Diesendorf the strategy of Woolworths is now explained. There are three levels discussed in this framework of sustainability development. These levels along with their presence in the sustainability strategy of Woolworths are discussed as follows: Level 0 In this level the broad principles considered are generally ethical requirements. By ethics, we mean pertaining to questions of right or wrong, or good or bad. In the past, consideration of values and ethics was not popular in the business world. The ethical principles described under this framework are respect nature, respect humans and be generous in our respect. According to Diesendorf (2000) Those who are uncomfortable with starting from an ethical position might consider that the above ethical principles are essential for the long term viability of the economy and society. Therefore, they could be seen as enlightened self-interest on the part of individuals and corporations planning for a long term future. In the strategy of Woolworths all the three principles are very well taken care off. There is perfect consideration for nature in the strategy and also humans whether employees, customers or shareholders all are respected and given due consideration while taking any step towards achievement of strategic goals. Level 1 At Level 1, the broad goals to conserve or enhance inter- and intragenerational equity, human well-being, biodiversity and ecological integrity are widely supported. Diesendorf added the conservation of cultural diversity here as a social analogue to the conservation of biodiversity. According to Diesendorf The goal of inter-generational equity is the basic thrust of the Brundtland definition of sustainable development. If we accept this goal, then it can be argued that we must also accept the need for intra-generational (that is, social) equity. It should be recalled that, in this chapter, equity does not mean equality, but rather equal opportunity. This goal is very well taken care of in Woolworths strategy. The company ensures of employing people in the organization irrespective of their cast, race, gender, cultural background and strictly on the basis of their educational qualification and experience. The conservation of natural capital, widely used in some models of sustainability, has been replaced here by the conservation of critical capital, because the former overlaps strongly with conservation of biodiversity and ecological integrity and, even where it does not, there are vast quantities of some forms of natural capital (for example, sand) which are not in urgent need of conservation. Critical capital facilitates a focus on those forms of natural and human-made capital which are threatened with damage, destruction or dispersion (for example, phosphorus, archaeological sites). This feature does lack in the strategy of Woolworths. Conservation of atmosphere and climate is not normally included as a sustainability goal. However, in view of the seriousness of the present threat and the fact that the potential effects of climate change impact on biodiversity, ecological integrity and human health, it has been listed explicitly here alongside critical capital. This goal have been given an important place in sustainability strategy of Woolworths as the retail giant aims at reducing the emission of carbon from its fleet of trucks and cars. Also, introduction of reusable bags in place of plastic bags proves that the company is committed to environmental and climate safety. Level 2 This stage defines the standard criteria for sustainability indicators. This stage explains that such criteria should be measurable, relevant, simple to use and understand, reliable, reproducible, and timely for decision making. Hart (1998) states Several authors suggest that sustainability indicators should, in addition, reflect something fundamental to the environmental, economic and social/cultural health of a community over generations. The sustainability strategy of Woolworths does include set targets which are represents in figures but there is no set measurable standards to judge and measure the achievements of the strategy. RECOMMENDATIONS From the analysis of sustainability strategy of Woolworths it is evident that despite of being a successful strategy with corporate social responsibility as the basis of its operations there are certain key areas where the process is lacking. For the improvement of the strategic program certain recommendations have been discussed as follows: There should be a performance measurement and control system embedded in the strategy of sustainable growth. A proper assessment of performance at various stages and the regular feedback on the performance will help in removing any gaps in the level and efficiency decided for meeting objectives and actual achievement of such objectives. A system of feedback and suggestions from stakeholders should be designed. Such a feedback will help in improving the strategy and making the required changes as per the perception of general public about the initiatives taken by the company. It will ensure a fast and proper acceptance of the strategy by the stakeholders which is an essential element for the success of any strategy. There should be a proper system of informing stakeholders about the strategy. In the present plan no emphasis is given to communication of plans within and outside the organization. If the plans of the management are properly and efficiently communicated they are easily grasped by the concerned parties and makes it easier for the workforce to contribute towards the achievement of desired organizational objectives. Woolworths is also expected to introduce innovation in its products. There have been several innovative steps taken by the company to improve its processes and service to public. The company operates in a highly competitive environment of retail industry where the needs, demands and preferences of consumer changes very fast. To sustain in such an environment it is necessary to introduce innovative products also. Conclusion In the words of Simon Susman The Good business journey is a business imperative for Woolworths. Many aspects of it are linked together to generate a multiplier effect: reducing product miles by encouraging greater local sourcing we will open up opportunities for enterprise development and preferential procurement; reducing packaging will result in energy and paper savings thereby reducing the Woolworths carbon footprint. Corporate responsibility or Sustainability is fundamental to any companys responsibilities. At the same time it is also an opportunity for the company to establish its good image in front of its customers and shareholders. Thus, an integrated sustainability program as that of Woolworths is an important and successful method of managing environmental, economic as well as social risks. Moreover, such a strategy helps in identification of new opportunities, services, new products and new markets for expansion of business. Woolworths program of sustainability is strongly influenced by the strategies of international retailers such as Wal-Mart, and Marks Spencer. However unique to this approach is the placement of South African perspective on the issues related with Social responsibility along with a strong focus on transformation initiatives and environmental safeguard. REFERENCES Brown, Christopher Stephen (2005), The Sustainable Enterprise: Profiting From Best Practice, Kogan Page Bleischwitz, Raimund and Hennicke, Peter (2004), Eco-Friendly, Regulation and Sustainable Business: Towards a Governance Structure for Sustainable Development, Edward Elgar Publishing. Cocks, G.J. (2003), Bringing Life to Organizational Strategy, Mt Eliza Business Review, Winter/Spring, pp. 45-49 Dunphy, Dexter Benveniste, Jodie (2000) Sustainability: The Corporate Challenge of the 21st Century, Allen Unwin. Egelhofff, W.G. (1993), Great Strategy or Great Strategy Implementation-Two ways of Competing in Global Markets, Sloan Management Review, Winter/Spring, pp. 37-50 Epstein, Mark J. (2008), Making Sustainability Work: Best Practices in Managing and Measuring Corporate Social, Environmental and Economic Impacts, Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Edwards, Andres (2005), The Sustainability Revolution, New Society Publishers. Woolworths Limites (2007), Action Plan-2007-2010, National Packaging Convenant Rainey, David L. (2006), Sustainable Business Development: Inventing the Future Through Strategy, Innovation, and Leadership, Cambridge University Press. Stead, W. Edward Stead, Jean Garner (2004), Suatainable Strategic Management, M.E. Sharpe, Inc. Savitz, Andrew W. Weber, Karl (2006), The Triple Bottom Line: How Todays Best -Run Companies are Achieveing Economic, Social and Environmental Success and How You Can Too, Jossey-Bass Werbach, Adam (2009), Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto, Harvard Business Press. Wirtenberg, Jeana Lipsky, David (2009), The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook: When it All Comes Together, AMACOM Internet Source http://www.woolworthslimited.com http://www.woolworthslimited.com.au http://crreport08.woolworthslimited.com.

How Belief Systems Effect Politics :: essays research papers

The belief systems of the modern world have helped determine the policies and politics of nations around the world. For centuries before, and almost definitely for decades after now, there will be disputed between people and countries on account of their faith. Religions have started wars, ended them, impacted, and persuaded people. Needless to say, beliefs are very influential on the world today. People of different faiths don’t only fight over their basic beliefs and land but they end conflicts. Making amends between religious groups greatly helps relieve the constant strain of division that we are all too aware of these days. The Lutheran religion began 482 years ago when monk, Martin Luther, attacked the practices of the Catholic Church. These who followed his ideas eventually into what we call Lutherans today. For those 482 years, Lutherans and Catholics have stayed divided on uneasy terms. Now the leaders of the modern Lutheran and Catholic churches both signed a document that laid to rest those many years of differences under the explanation that it was all a misunderstanding. Sometimes different faiths just don’t seem like they want to even try to compromise on a conflict. The Jordanian Muslims and the Israeli Jews fighting over which side of the Jordan River Jesus was baptized on is a perfect example of this. The Muslims have invested over one million dollars t fix up the site. The site will bring in expectantly millions of tourists and with them billions of dollars that will be spent locally to boost the economy. Looking past the irony of the Jews and Muslims disputing over a Christian site, the focal point of the quarreling is that such a site will bring. The Pope and Prince Charles have already scheduled a visit, but as of now, no resolve has come about. These days it’s not always conflicts between two specific regions, but between regions occupied by faiths who disagree on certain topics. The two groups being the Israelis and the Palestinians, and the compromise on the rift in the settler movement conflict arising in those countries. To the Jews the West Bank is part of the greater Land of Israel, given by God to the Jews. To cement their control over the land, the Jews built forty-two hilltop encampments on the West Bank. They did this to prevent it from becoming a Palestinian state. The Palestinian government claimed that some of the outposts didn’t have the necessary building papers and twelve of those sites were dismantled.

Zeus and Poseidon

Zeus and Poseidon In Greek mythology, there are many gods. All the gods rule a certain thing. One of the main gods are Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. These gods are very alike and yet very different. When comparing and contrasting Zeus and Poseidon based on powers, place of rule, and marriages, it is clear that Zeus is the better choice. While both gods are very strong, Zeus is superior in power. Zeus is the god of the gods and thunder. Poseidon is the god of the sea and earthquakes.This makes both gods very powerful, Earthquakes make plenty of damage but thunder is much more destructive. Thunder can commence a fire that lasts for days. An earthquake lasts for a while. Zeus is clearly superior power wise. Comparing and contrasting place of rule Zeus also triumphs over Poseidon. Poseidon’s place of rule is the sea; Zeus’s place of rule is the heavens. The heavens and the sea are both beautiful places. Poseidon has his beautiful creatures underwater. But Zeus lives on Mount O lympus which is gods’ most wonderful place.Zeus feasts on ambrosia and nectar everyday. While comparing and contrasting Zeus and Poseidon’s marriage, Poseidon is the clear winner. Zeus is married to Hera and Poseidon is married to Amphitrite. Zeus was married six times, and he had numerous affairs with goddesses and mortal women. Poseidon, much like Zeus, also had many affairs but unlike Hera, Amphitrite was not jealous. In fact, the myths don't indicate that Amphitrite took much notice of her husband's love affairs.Poseidon triumphs over Zeus in marriage because Poseidon seemed to be more loyal to his wife. These two very powerful gods have numerous similarities and differences. Yet one is triumphant over the other in two of three categories. Zeus is triumphant in power and place of rule. Poseidon is superior when it comes to marriages. This shows that when comparing and contrasting Zeus and Poseidon derived from power, place of rule, and marriages Zeus is the finest god.

Titanic essays

Titanic essays How often are students assigned a homework assignment that they may actually enjoy' Well, I was asked to watch and review one of my all-time favorite movies, the 1997 film classic Titanic' directed by James Cameron. I remember seeing this movie when it first came out in the theater with my family. That memory stands out to me because of the fact that all throughout the movie the audience all around me, both men and women of all ages and various ethnicities, cried during the movie's more intense scenes. Of course, I also loved the Titanic' sound track sung by none other than Celine Dionne. This assignment was just the reason I needed to rent this classic again. I have always had an interest in the maiden voyage of the Titanic but this rendition of the story helped open my eyes and made me want to know more about the ship, the situation and the times. The idea of well over a thousand people freezing to death or drowning in the ocean while the more affluent passengers are rowed away to safety in lifeboats that still had plenty of seating available reminds me of that the world's inequities are not a new phenomena. This review is not simply an attempt to retell the story of the Titanic. It is more of an attempt to provide an insight into some of the film's symbolism, messages of both internal and external human struggle and a review if those struggles got resolved as well as an account of how realistic or believable the movie's setting, This film was a mega hit and was loved by movie goers the world over. In regard to honors and awards for the director, cast and crew, one would have to consider Titanic' a highly successful venture to say the least. I am definitely taking into consideration that the film received numerous honors and awards, some of which include: 14 Oscar nominations: (Best Director (James Cameron), Best Actress (Kate Winslet), Best Sup...

Marketing Project Management Tool Is CoSchedule the Best One for You

Marketing Project Management Tool Is the Best One for You is an all-in-one hub to help content creators get organized and produce awesome work. Built to support your entire workflow from ideation to execution, every feature has been designed to make getting more stuff done in less time easier. In short, it’s all things content marketing, all in one place. What if you’re a project manager, rather than a marketer yourself, though? You might not be getting your hands dirty creating content, but you are responsible for making sure the creatives on your team finish their work on time, under budget, and up to expectations. That’s no easy feat, and you need a marketing project management tool that can support your needs. Fortunately, has you covered. Why Should I Use for Project Management? As a collaborative tool, our software is here to support your entire team. And even if you’re not a project manager yourself, odds are you’re responsible for some project management tasks. That’s especially true if your team doesn’t have a designated project manager, and you need something that can help keep all your tasks and deadlines straight on your own. So, how can make you better at project management? Let’s count the ways.

Case Involving the Model of Ethical Decision

Case Involving the Model of Ethical Decision An ethical decision making-model In most cases, solving ethical dilemmas are not through the application of the codes of ethics and standards that are put in place. Therefore, it is critical to have a framework through which any emerging ethical dilemma could be analyzed and the final decision reached.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Case Involving the Model of Ethical Decision-Making specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Ethical dilemmas are usual occurrences in many professions and are resolved through the applicable ethical decision-making models (Johnson Koocher, 2011). However, in this case, the Potter Box ethical decision-making model will be applied to come up with the solution to the ensuing problem. Defining the situation In the case, a woman is suffering from the major depression because of divorce filed by the husband and the looming court proceedings that may result in the loss of the sons to the husband. The woman claims that the husband has an extra marital affair, which according to the psychologist, is delusional and should not be included in the final assessment report for diagnosis. However, the psychologist used much of the personal information on the assessment report, which could have negative influence on the client during the court proceedings. The dilemma is whether the psychologist should include the personal information on the report. Identifying the values Ethical principles and codes of conduct form the basis of values that control the conduct of the psychologist. The psychologist beliefs and values should emanate from the general codes ethical codes of conduct that control the behavior, assessment and evaluation of clients as well as decisions that are being made. In this case, the psychologist must apply the principles, standards and codes of ethics while assessing the client’s situation. Identifying the principles Ethical models in decision-making process must back all the actions of the psychologist. In addition, the advice and recommendation of the assessments should also emanate from the theoretical models in ethical decision-making process. In this case, theoretical models such as the utilitarianism and contextualism would be applied to support the recommendations in the assessment report concerning the client’s situation. Choosing the loyalties In this case, it is critical to take into consideration the situation of the client while assessing the life circumstances. However, the consent of the client should be emphasized. The psychologist should seek for the client consent while coming up with the assessment report. Even though the consent may be hard to get in this case, the client should be persuaded to provide his consent on some of the information to be presented.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Applicabl e codes, principles and standards The principles that apply to this case include the beneficence and nonmaleficence, integrity, justice and the respect for the rights of the clients as well as the related people. In applying the principle of beneficence and nonmaleficence, the psychologist must ensure that its assessments and actions does not cause subsequent harm to the client as well as the related people such as the children and the husband. In other words, the psychologist must ensure that the content of the assessments safeguard the interest of the client as well as the husband. The integrity principle requires that the psychologist must observe sincerity, precision and honesty while assessing the client’s situation. Moreover, all the concerned persons must equally benefit from the actions. Finally, the psychologist must respect the rights of the client as well as other individuals in the assessments. The only limiting factor is that while the psychologist would observe and promote the integrity, justice and rights of one individual, other individual right may be compromised. In other words, striking the right principle balance between the people affected may be difficult for the psychologist (Koocher Keith-Spiegel, 2007). During the assessment, the psychologist should put into consideration the ethical standards that include the misuse of their work (Johnson Koocher, 2011). In the case, where the psychologist realized that one party might benefit from the assessments, the necessary steps should be taken to correct the information in assessment report in order to avoid the misuse of such information. The other important ethical standard to be observed is the boundaries of competence. The psychologist should perform the assessment within the boundaries of his psychological knowledge, experience, training and professionalism (Ford, 2006). Most important, the psychologist should produce the final assessment report based on the informed consent (Ford , 2006). The standard of informed consent is critical for the final decisions used for therapies as well as legal proceedings that may ensue. The informed consent standard requires that the client is involved in every step of the assessment and the psychologist seek out the client’s approval (Ford, 2006). In addition, the psychologist should observe the standard of privacy and confidentiality.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Case Involving the Model of Ethical Decision-Making specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The psychologist should establish the limits of private information and the levels of confidentiality without intrusion into the private affairs of the family. Finally, the psychologist should consider the standards of assessment (Ford, 2006). Before putting down the recommendation for further therapies, the psychologist should thoroughly examine the client in order to have adequate information. Applying the utilitarian model to explain the case The theory focuses on the positive outcome of the actions. The psychologist, applying the utilitarian approach to ethical consideration, should consider recommending actions that provides maximum benefits to the client (Johnson Koocher, 2011). In other words, the psychologist should recommend actions in its assessment report that offer maximum quality of happiness to the client. In essence, the decisions made during the assessment should benefit the client. Even though the recommendations should be in favor of the client, the extent to which such recommendations affect the related people should also be taken into consideration. However, the psychologist should be aware of the difficulties in getting the information as well as the extent of the consequences of the recommendations on the concerned individuals. In other words, it would not be possible for the psychologist to measure the extent of the consequences of the assessment recommendati ons. The application of ethical contextualism to think through the case Contextualism model assumes that there exist competing ethical principles and conflicts normally occur between these competing principles. According to this theory, ethical dilemmas should be treated differently depending with the situation and the expected outcome (Ford, 2006). As such, the psychologist should provide assessment recommendations depending with the situation. Further, the theory asserts that there is no ethical principle that can be used to predict the solutions of any other ethical dilemmas (Ford, 2006). Therefore, the solution to the problem will depend on the situation and the outcome of the assessments made. The problem with this school of thought is that the psychologist may find difficulties in the situation where genuine principles conflict (Koocher Keith-Spiegel, 2007). In essence, the psychologist should not utilize the experiences from other cases to apply to this situation.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The case represents a different situation and therefore the principles to be applied in this case should depend on the assessed factors. In other words, the context in this case should inform the moral principles that should be used to find the solution to the problem. References Ford, G. G. (2006). Ethical reasoning for mental health professionals. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Johnson, W. B. Koocher, G. P. (2011). Ethical conundrums, quandaries and predicaments in mental health practice: A casebook from the files of experts. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Koocher, G. P. Keith-Spiegel, P. (2007). Ethics in psychology and the mental health professions: Standards and cases. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

The Value of the Internet for Terrorists - ALQAEDA Dissertation

The Value of the Internet for Terrorists - ALQAEDA - Dissertation Example It considerably extends their ability to manipulate the ways target audiences perceive them and to stage manage not only their own image, but also the images of their enemies. Although, for many groups, their target audience may be small, an Internet presence is nonetheless expected. Regardless of the number of hits a site receives, a well-designed and well-maintained Web site gives a group an aura of legitimacy (Conway, 2005). The Internet can serve as a mass media tool for the terrorist's such as TV or radio, newspaper or journal. Through web, worldwide broadcast can be made of events, in their original and uncensored form. Although a few filters at a few sites, chat rooms, websites, and bulletin boards are generally uncontrolled. This climate is ideal for an fund starved group to explain its actions or to offset both internal and international condemnation, especially when using specific servers. The Internet can target sympathizers as well as true believers with different messages, oriented to the target audience (Thomas, 2003). While the danger that cyber-terrorism spread through the Internet is today frequently debated, precious little is known about the enormity of the threat posed by such abuse of the Internet. The Internet has been converted into a forum for terrorist groups and individual terrorists, both to spread their messages of hatred and violence and to communicate with one another as well as other sympathizers (http://www.adl.org/ , 2006). The apparent virtues of the Internet-ease of access, lack of regulation, a vast potential audiences, and fast flow of information, among others, have been turned to the advantage of groups committed to terrorizing societies... As the paper declares the Internet can serve as a mass media tool for the terrorist’s such as TV or radio, newspaper or journal. Through web, worldwide broadcast can be made of events, in their original and uncensored form. Although a few filters at a few sites, chat rooms, websites, and bulletin boards are generally uncontrolled. This climate is ideal for an fund starved group to explain its actions or to offset both internal and international condemnation, especially when using specific servers. The Internet can target sympathizers as well as true believers with different messages, oriented to the target audience. According to the research findings while the danger that cyber-terrorism spread through the Internet is today frequently debated, precious little is known about the enormity of the threat posed by such abuse of the Internet. The Internet has been converted into a forum for terrorist groups and individual terrorists, both to spread their messages of hatred and violence and to communicate with one another as well as other sympathizers. The mass media, policymakers, and even security agencies while focusing on the proliferating threat of cyber-terrorism, have paid insufficient attention to the more routine uses made of the Internet. These uses are numerous and, from the terrorists' perspective, an invaluable tool with infinite possibilities. It is imperative that the security agencies continue to improve their ability to study and monitor terrorist activities on the Internet, and explore measures to limit the usability of this vulnerable medium by modern terrorists.

Holocaust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Holocaust - Essay Example Germany lost battle during the war. The German economy dropped drastically. Apparently, the Germans started developing hatred towards the Jews since most of them, at that time were well off. Hitler was among those who had an extreme hatred for the Jews. He tried unsuccessfully to vie for presidency in Germany. However, he occupied a leadership position in the German governing system. It was through that position that he started spreading the message of hate towards the Jews. In 1933, Hitler rose to power and introduced anti-Semitism that meant hatred towards to Jews. He introduced holocaust that lead to the death of 6 million Jews. This paper will attempt to explain activities that took place during the Holocaust. It is obvious that many Jews and some Germans perished the atrocious events that happened during the reign of Hitler. Apparently, Hitler did not commit the activities alone. He received support from collaborators who did not like the Jews. Moreover, due to his experience, e ducation, and influence he was able to lure people and collaborators to join his quest. According to most articles considering events that took place during the holocaust it is difficult to explain the causes of Holocaust. However, many factors supported it and contributed largely to atrocious activities that took place during Hitler reign. Some of the factors that influenced holocaust dates back when Jesus Christ was alive and living in Israel, home to many Jews (Walters, 2009). After the death of Christ, most people across the world, including the Germans, developed hatred towards the Jews. Germans viewed them as the people responsible for the death of Jesus. Many Germans are Christians. Therefore, most of them believed in the message communicated by Jesus. For this reason, they grew hatred when they met those related to Jesus murderers. According to the most Germans, they were revenging for Jesus Christ. At a young age, especially after First World War,

Pharmaceutical Business in Puerto Rico Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Pharmaceutical Business in Puerto Rico - Essay Example Currently, Puerto Rico is experiencing some serious problems in power supply and taxation and hence some experts predict that the region could be on its path to loosing its position as one of the leaders in pharmaceutical manufacturing unless more incentives are initiated and a shift from basic manufacturing to research based production since sophisticated production means are better for the market. The marketing objective of any business firm in to increase sales hence maximizing the profits. This cannot be achieved just like that hence a marketing plan should be put in place to be implemented systematically so that better results are achieved. Since there is a lot of competition of Puerto Rico from existing companies, the entry of a new one would necessitate a thorough and an all inclusive plan or strategy to help achieve the company objectives (Blaisdell 2000). There are three marketing approaches that will be employed and they include; company oriented, product oriented, and disease oriented strategies. The major objectives will include the following; strategic objective which aims to expand the market share and consequently enhance profitability of the firm; the company will entrench a strategic focus in the marketing strategy to help penetrate and expand the markets and to increase its productivity; the company will identify target customers to establish segmentation and product position; the marketing strategy will be implemented to assess competition and establish competitive strategy and positioning and finally the company will establish a unique marketing mix that will address the elements products, promotions, place and prices (Pathak & Escovitz 1996).. Resources The major resources that a business investor should assess before establishing a company are the availability of manpower both skilled and non skilled. Cheaper manpower enhances cost effectiveness. The infrastructure is another basic resource since distribution and transportation of raw materials will greatly rely on the infrastructure (Pathak & Escovitz 1996). For a machine to be operated, there need to be power (i.e. electricity or any other appropriate means) Puerto Rico has established a history of well coordinated distribution lines since the pharmaceutical industry in the region has now been in operation for a while. Infrastructure requirement for new drug dealers in the region will encompass factors such as building, road access, power supply, water availability and better supply and distribution channels (Blaisdell 2000). Puerto Rico is renowned for its highly educated labor force that has also proved to be innovative and very skilled. The country also enjoys extensive regulatory experience fro products and also a well organized delivery system (Pathak & Escovitz 1996). According to market research for marketers in the United States of America, Puerto Rico is has grown rapidly to become one of the largest manufacturers of high technology products in the region. The future of the Island remains bright as there are even more companies involved in research and development of pharmaceutical products, biotechnology hence the region is leading in this drug and device industry (Blaisdell 2000). For a start up business in pharmaceutical pr

Ethics of Gene Therapy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethics of Gene Therapy - Case Study Example The term cloning encompasses three different procedures leading to different results. These are embryo cloning (artificial twinning), adult DNA cloning (reproductive cloning) and therapeutic cloning (bio medical cloning). Of these three, therapeutic cloning seems to hold the maximum potential to breed humans (read human cloning). Human cloning is most aptly described as breeding humans for the purpose of harnessing tissues and organs from their bodies. Therapeutic cloning begins with the insertion on a human DNA into an ovum. A pre embryo is formed by giving electric shocks to the resultant ovum. The stem cells from the developed pre embryo are then extracted and subsequently provided an suitable environment where they develop into the required tissue or organ. These experiments are yet to produce any significant results. Once accomplished, the aim of developing organs or tissues which perfectly match with the recipient will be realized eliminating the fatal risk of rejection because the organ will be based on the recipient's genetic material. Human cloning is also expected to make new breakthroughs in rejuvenation, heart attack reversals, diabetics, leukemia, genetic disorders and even cancer. Despite the broad spectrum of benefits that human cloning offers, according to a poll, "63% believed that human cloning is against God's will and 90% considered it to be a bad idea" (Times, 2001). A Morgan poll conducted during November 2001 found that 70 percent of Australians aged 14 and over approved of extracting stem cells from human embryos to treat disease and injury. Seventy percent also believed that couples with excess embryos after infertility treatment should be able to donate them to research rather than discard them. However, when it came to using a patient's own genetic material to create a cloned embryo to be used as a source of stem cells (i.e. therapeutic cloning), just over half (55 percent) of the respondents approved, with 32 percent disapproving and 13 percent undecided (Morgan Poll, 2001).Animal cloning application as a regular process should be prevented and breeding of humans should also be strongly opposed to maintain the natural uniqueness of each individua l (Church of Scotland, 1997). These objections are not absolutely without any reasons. They do have apt explanations and sufficient grounds. Human cloning would produce a gamut of clones with reduced mental abilities and enhanced physical strengths which would make then highly susceptible to exploitation. Producing designer babies with enhanced skills would also lead to an excess of skilled persons thus decreasing the importance of talent and skill. Human cloning may also lead to emotional difficulties in the clone human's life. A child born from his father's DNA would in effect be a twin of his own father. This can also lead to a high degree of conundrum. There is no guarantee that human clones would be normal and they might even be suffering with life long disabilities. Any minor flaws while incorporating certain characteristics could as well create fictional monsters. Tampering with nature to an

Analyse the economic arguments of an independent central bank Essay

Analyse the economic arguments of an independent central bank - Essay Example It must be remembered that while affecting this right to any amount of degree the State is also assuming responsibility for the value of legal tender to an equivalent extent. Maintaining internal and external value of legal tender money is a function of inflation targeting and appreciation/depreciation of currency. Whether such critical monetary policy outcomes be left independent in the hands of Central Bank professionals or be merrily dictated by elected politicians who are often not trained in such trade. We discuss this and concomitant issues in paragraphs below. The most preferred and often cited argument favoring an independent central bank is that the power to expend money should be separated or delinked substantially from the power to create money. In case these two capabilities converge we have spendthrift governments indulging in fiscal profligacy while the Central Bank simply acts as a 24/7 mint or currency printing house. State control over the ability to create money has resulted in several episodes of economic mess. Even in the days of the ancient Roman Empire the tax collection by state officers in the form of silver coins ended up being melted and corrupted with inferior metals. This gave Caesar substantial money to divert to his luxuries and such spending was a multiple time of what came in as collected tax. The result was a spiraling inflation as now more coins vied for smaller stock of market wares. In todays monetary systems running on paper, plastic and electronic money the Roman story has been repeated quite often. The Latin American inflations are fable material with inflation rates sky rocketing often to 200% or more. In some extreme cases what was affordable at twilight became unaffordable by daylight. With complex and fine lending and borrowing of money as investible funds, interest rates have turned indicators that are pliable in the hands policy makers or dictators as the case may be.Government, myopic with political

Property Cycle Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Property Cycle - Research Paper Example Recent studies have shown that fluctuations in property cycle produces economic adversity to certain areas such as property, finance, socio-economic performance and have profound international impacts (Cedic Pugh and Alireza, 2001). The recent economic and financial crisis developed in ASEAN countries on the overheated property investments is suspected to be the main cause for this. Though valuation theorists traditionally ignored cycles arising from the predictability of this area of study in their valuation frameworks and models, similar to that of many social sciences (Born and Pyhrr, 1994; Pyhrr, Born, Robinson and Lusac, 1996), many studies support the relevancy of these cycles, for instance Institution of Charted Quantity Surveyor of United kingdom prepared a printed document for its members specifically addressing the practical implication of Britain's property cycles. Stepen A. Pyhrr, Stephen E. Roulac and Waldo L. Born (1999) tracing back to the happenings of early 1930s, provided a fairy exhaustive review and laid a good foundation for the body of knowledge of development of property cycles. Figure 2 represents a briefed summary of their work. Nikolai Kondratiett in 1928 noticed severe economic depressions in Russian economy that occurred regularly at 45 to 60 year span. These depressions followed by another long surge of business activities resulted in new peaks of economic outputs and prosperities (Stoken, 1993, cited in Stephen et al 1999). Depressions of this nature often referred to as recessions seemed to occur during 25 to 35 year up cycle period. Similarly in the west, Mitchell (1927, cited in Stephen et al 1999) suggested theoretical foundation and provided an empirical evidence for cyclical economic activities in U.S... Further works of many writers such as Schumpeter, Forrester and Rostow added more potency to this idea. Other highly noticeable studies on cycles came from Roy Wenzlick who studied the long cycles of

Ethics of Gene Therapy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethics of Gene Therapy - Case Study Example The term cloning encompasses three different procedures leading to different results. These are embryo cloning (artificial twinning), adult DNA cloning (reproductive cloning) and therapeutic cloning (bio medical cloning). Of these three, therapeutic cloning seems to hold the maximum potential to breed humans (read human cloning). Human cloning is most aptly described as breeding humans for the purpose of harnessing tissues and organs from their bodies. Therapeutic cloning begins with the insertion on a human DNA into an ovum. A pre embryo is formed by giving electric shocks to the resultant ovum. The stem cells from the developed pre embryo are then extracted and subsequently provided an suitable environment where they develop into the required tissue or organ. These experiments are yet to produce any significant results. Once accomplished, the aim of developing organs or tissues which perfectly match with the recipient will be realized eliminating the fatal risk of rejection because the organ will be based on the recipient's genetic material. Human cloning is also expected to make new breakthroughs in rejuvenation, heart attack reversals, diabetics, leukemia, genetic disorders and even cancer. Despite the broad spectrum of benefits that human cloning offers, according to a poll, "63% believed that human cloning is against God's will and 90% considered it to be a bad idea" (Times, 2001). A Morgan poll conducted during November 2001 found that 70 percent of Australians aged 14 and over approved of extracting stem cells from human embryos to treat disease and injury. Seventy percent also believed that couples with excess embryos after infertility treatment should be able to donate them to research rather than discard them. However, when it came to using a patient's own genetic material to create a cloned embryo to be used as a source of stem cells (i.e. therapeutic cloning), just over half (55 percent) of the respondents approved, with 32 percent disapproving and 13 percent undecided (Morgan Poll, 2001).Animal cloning application as a regular process should be prevented and breeding of humans should also be strongly opposed to maintain the natural uniqueness of each individua l (Church of Scotland, 1997). These objections are not absolutely without any reasons. They do have apt explanations and sufficient grounds. Human cloning would produce a gamut of clones with reduced mental abilities and enhanced physical strengths which would make then highly susceptible to exploitation. Producing designer babies with enhanced skills would also lead to an excess of skilled persons thus decreasing the importance of talent and skill. Human cloning may also lead to emotional difficulties in the clone human's life. A child born from his father's DNA would in effect be a twin of his own father. This can also lead to a high degree of conundrum. There is no guarantee that human clones would be normal and they might even be suffering with life long disabilities. Any minor flaws while incorporating certain characteristics could as well create fictional monsters. Tampering with nature to an

Property Cycle Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Property Cycle - Research Paper Example Recent studies have shown that fluctuations in property cycle produces economic adversity to certain areas such as property, finance, socio-economic performance and have profound international impacts (Cedic Pugh and Alireza, 2001). The recent economic and financial crisis developed in ASEAN countries on the overheated property investments is suspected to be the main cause for this. Though valuation theorists traditionally ignored cycles arising from the predictability of this area of study in their valuation frameworks and models, similar to that of many social sciences (Born and Pyhrr, 1994; Pyhrr, Born, Robinson and Lusac, 1996), many studies support the relevancy of these cycles, for instance Institution of Charted Quantity Surveyor of United kingdom prepared a printed document for its members specifically addressing the practical implication of Britain's property cycles. Stepen A. Pyhrr, Stephen E. Roulac and Waldo L. Born (1999) tracing back to the happenings of early 1930s, provided a fairy exhaustive review and laid a good foundation for the body of knowledge of development of property cycles. Figure 2 represents a briefed summary of their work. Nikolai Kondratiett in 1928 noticed severe economic depressions in Russian economy that occurred regularly at 45 to 60 year span. These depressions followed by another long surge of business activities resulted in new peaks of economic outputs and prosperities (Stoken, 1993, cited in Stephen et al 1999). Depressions of this nature often referred to as recessions seemed to occur during 25 to 35 year up cycle period. Similarly in the west, Mitchell (1927, cited in Stephen et al 1999) suggested theoretical foundation and provided an empirical evidence for cyclical economic activities in U.S... Further works of many writers such as Schumpeter, Forrester and Rostow added more potency to this idea. Other highly noticeable studies on cycles came from Roy Wenzlick who studied the long cycles of

Hcs 430 Week 2 Essay Example for Free

Hcs 430 Week 2 Essay Regulatory Agency paper Name HCS/430 Legal issues in Health Care: Regulations and Compliances September 27, 2010 Instructor Regulatory Agency paper The Joint Commission is an agency that maintains partnership with the government to help improve the standards of health care within the United States. The Joint Commission accredits health care organizations and health care programs by setting standards to help improve the quality and safety of health care. The Joint Commission work closely and collaborates with government officials and legislation by ensuring health care organizations in the United States meet specific guidelines, set by The Joint Commission, which health care services provided are delivered with the highest quality and safety for the patients they service. Generally, health care organizations elect to have the joint Commission evaluate their facility through surveyors who work under a Board of Commissioners that is made up of health care experts that advocate for consumers. History The history of The Joint Commission dates back to the early 1900s. Earnest Codman M.D. created a system that would help hospitals track their patients from the beginning of admission through discharge. The proposed result system help hospitals determine if the patients care was successful. The results influenced future patient care. By 1917, the American College of Surgeons proposed a certification program for hospitals. The first minimum standards for hospitals were also developed in 1917.Very few hospitals met the proposed standards. By the 1953, the American College of Surgeons transformed their hospital certification program to the Joint Commission. The Joint Commission started accrediting hospitals in that same year. The Joint Commissions sponsors included the American College of Physicians, the American Hospital Association, and the American medical Association (The Joint Commission, 2010). Through the years, many notable changes were made, including the accreditation program for all health care organizations. Standards were developed for every accreditation program and updated each  year. In 1987, the Joint Commission organization changed to the Joint commission on Accreditation of Health care Organizations (JCAHO) to reflect the organization’s mission. During the 1990s the organization focused on performance improvement and measurement outcomes. By the early 2000s, the Joint Commission designed pathways that focused on improving the accreditation process and establishing goals for improving the patient safety and quality of care. Source and Scope of Authority The Joint Commissions main source of authority is governed by the Board of Commissioners that consists of a diverse group of health care experts. The corporate members include the American College of Physicians, the American College of Surgeons, the American Dental Association, the American Hospital Association, and the American Medical Association. The Joint commission also works closely with Congress to improve the quality and safety of health care (The Joint Commission, 2010). Structure The structure of the Joint commission is made of a diverse group of health care experts that seek to improve health care services. The Joint Commission’s Board of Commissioners and the corporate members collaborate on setting standards and requirement for health care organizations for improving health care and safety practices within the United States. The Joint Commission has set multiple standards for different health care programs. The standards and requirements must be approved by the Board of Commissioners. The Joint Commission also consists of several board committees’ that have specific areas of interest, such as executive, accreditation, performance measurement, standards, survey procedures. The Joint Commission also has a Board of directors who help provide consults to health care and focuses on global accreditation. The board members also serve as liaisons to many groups and committees that are affiliated with the Joint commission (The Joint Commission, 2010). Day-To-Day Responsibilities The responsibilities of the Joint Commission are to set standards to help improve the quality of health care services and provide safety guidelines for health care organizations. Their mission as a nonprofit organization is to continuously improve health care (The Joint Commission, 2010). The Joint  Commission accredits and certifies health care organizations by surveying facilities to ensure health care standards, performance measurements, safety guidelines have been implemented and carried out for better patient. The Joint commission sets standards and guidelines in compliance with federal laws to evaluate health care services. Health care organizations generally volunteer to seek accreditations from the Joint Commission by allowing expert surveyors evaluate their facility. The surveyors are made up of a multi-disciplinary team that spends an average of two days inspecting health care facilities. The purpose for the inspection is to evaluate a health care facilities standards, staff, regulations, policies and procedures, and quality improvement, and performance measurement. The Joint Commission surveyors generally look to see if the organizations governing board is taking part in ensuring that the facilities has facilitated safety and quality assurance program. In order for a health care organization to qualify for an accreditation, they must certain requirements. The requirements that health care facilities must meet before applying for an accreditation are, the organization must be located the United States and governed under the United States government, the facility works on improving quality of care, the facility has an indication of services provided, the facility addresses the standards set by the Joint Commission, the facility meets the requirements Medicare and Medicaid. Other responsibilities of the Joint Commission are to strengthen the safety of patients and build the trust and confidence of communities. The Joint Commission is constantly addressing specific areas to help hospitals improve their performance measurement. Effects on Health Care The Joint Commission has a direct effect on the health care system. The standards developed by the Joint Commission help health care organizations improve their care they provide. An accreditation from the Joint Commission is a seal of approval that is an indication to patients that the health care facility focuses on quality care and the safety of their patients. According to Ernest, (2009, p.48) â€Å"evaluating healthcare organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality value†, However, Ernest, (2009, p.48) also argues that The Joint Commission has placed the needs of the facility it inspects above those of  their patients. This is an indication that some of the standards set are burdensome to health care organizations and deemed unnecessary. According to (Doctors lash out, 2007), JCAHO requirements that become implemented are sometimes at odds with the real needs of patients even though they are supposedly driven to en sure patient safety. They take control away from the physician/nurse-patient relationship where it should be. Example of Agency Carrying out Duties An example of an agency carrying out its duties would be the Joint Commission and their mission to improve the health care and safety for patients. Health Care organizations, such as hospitals must comply with federal and state laws to protect the health and safety of their patients. A hospital that provides different services must meet the regulations and standards set for each service provided. The duties are carried out play a role in governments funding toward health care, such as Medicare and Medicaid. These government funded programs set certain standards that hospitals and other health care organizations must adhere to in order to qualify for reimbursement. The Joint Commission has set standards that must be carried out by health care organizations compositions, structure, and daily functions. Basically, a health care organization must carry out their duties because of the responsibility that encompasses the health care system a whole. Conclusion The Joint Commission is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of health care and the safety of all patients. Their mission is to continuously improve the health care services within the United States. The Joint Commission has helped improve the quality of health care and how it’s delivered through a series of standards and regulations that health care organizations must comply with in order to meet the accreditation that symbolizes excellence in health care delivery. Through much collaboration with a diverse team, health care and health care safety will continue to improve through the ongoing effort and dedication from the Joint Commission.

Ender and Valentine

Ender and Valentine Ender and Valentine Relations are really important to have in life, as it lets you share your life with someone. Without relations a person doesnt have an identity and becomes very lonely. In the book Enders Game by Orson Scott Card, a story has been told about a young man named Andrew Wiggin a.k.a. Ender. Being a third child wasnt easy for Ender, because people around him always misunderstood or underestimated him, which caused problems in his relationships. In these situations, his sister, Valentine, was the only one who supported him. Throughout the book he faced many problems, mainly isolation. In these times he would look up to no one but her sister. Valentine always supported, cared and fought for Ender, and thats what made their relationship grow stronger. Since Valentine cares for Ender very much, she acts like Enders mother throughout the book. Whenever there is a fight between Ender and Peter, his older brother, Valentine is the one who brings the fight to an end just like a mother. Everyone in the novel thinks that Valentine is the caretaker of Ender because when Ender gets his monitor removed, Valentine acts as his monitor. Valentine protects Ender from Peter by being Enders shadow. Noticing this behavior, Peter threatens Valentine, â€Å"You are his mother now, you better watch him, day and night. You better be there.† (Card 13) This scene takes place in chapter 2, when Peter, Ender and Valentine are playing games and Peter beats up Ender. Valentine always supported and fought for Ender. She is the only person Ender was related to. But their relationship becomes weaker when Ender decides to go to the battle school. The distance between earth and the battle school was now visible in Enders and Valentines relationship. This distance in their relationship, on the bright side, was a good idea because it helps Ender concentrate at battle school and make it to the command fleet. Valentine was never able to forget Ender and therefore writes letters to him every time. She celebrates Enders birthdays all by herself. This proves her one hundred percent commitment towards their relationship. On the other hand, Ender little known about his sister didnt think about Valentine that much. Due to his own problems at the battle school, he couldnt write back letters. Few years passes, they see each other again. This is when Ender is sent to earth for his vacation. While in the lake talking about their childhood, Valentine questions Ender, â€Å"So were strangers now? (Card 235)† Ender answers, â€Å"Arent we, Valentine? (Card 235)† They are completely unaware of each others lives but they still remember their childhood. This is the beauty of Enders and Valentines relationship. After some time spent together they were closer than before. Since Ender sees Valentine as his caretaker he obeys her and returns to the battle school. The gap in their relationship once again increases until the destruction of the buggers. Valentine towards the end gets very manipulative towards Ender and their relationship, â€Å"I know what youre thinking, Ender youre thinking that Im trying to control you just as much as Peter or Graff or any others. (Card 280)† This scene occurs when Ender is done with bugger world and wants to go back to the earth, but Valentine refuses to go because Peter was now in charge of the earth. Valentine knew that she would never see Ender again, if Ender went to the Earth and she went to the first colony. And thats why she tries to convince Ender to stay with her. This proves that she really cares about her little brother and loves him dearly. Valentine is also very cunning and manipulative like Peter. She tries to show Ender that she is not controlling, but she is. Due to Enders compassion for people, Valentine wants Ender to be with her forever after the destruction of bugger world. After discovering bugger queen, Ender decides to publish a book based on the story said by the bugger queen. Ender had full support of Valentine in publishing Speaker of the dead. She helped him inform people of earth that buggers werent really harmful. Valentine plays a very important character when it comes to Ender and his relationship, because Ender always obeys her. Valentine is the only person Ender has a good relationship with. The ups and downs always occur in a relationship, but thats what made their relationship grow stronger. Supporting each other was the key factor in their relationship. In this way Ender and Valentines relationship survives through the obstacles.