Leadership Styles and Their Effect on CEOs Essay

Abstract The purpose of this essay is to analyze, compare, and contrast the leadership styles of two influential CEOs. I have collected information from many internet sources that elaborate on the life, achievements, and misfortunes of Jack Welch and Steve Jobs, and how they overcame their obstacles to become the best CEOs of all time. Leadership Styles and Their Effect on CEOs Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive. Jack Welch and Steve Jobs exemplify the true meaning of what a leader is. Their personality traits of being conscientious open to experiences, extroversion, persistent, and passionate has led them to be the most phenomenal visionary leaders of their time. Jack Welch was the chairman and CEO of General Electric between 1981 and 2001. During his duration at GE, he managed to introduce a fresh and innovative leadership style. Welch developed a ranking system that put employees in one of three categories. The top 20 percent were â€Å"stars†, the middle 70 percent were the crucial majority, and the bottom 10 percent were weeded out (Bloomberg, 1998). I admire and strongly agree with Welch’s management approach of making employee’s accountable. If you are hired to perform a job, then expecting results of a certain quality is justified. In addition, I believe that Welch’s passion for productivity and results allowed him to achieve effective performance management within his company. Results create success, and I believe most people tend not to raise their standards high enough if there are not serious repercussions that follow, such as being dismissed for not providing results. Welch most notable achievement was increasing the market value of the General Electric firm. As CEO he increased it from approximately $12 billion when he took over, to a colossal $505 at the time of his retirement (Management, 2012). He managed to make GE the world’s second largest company with a market capitalization that was only exceeded by Microsoft. Through hard work and perseverance Welch managed to attain legendary status of being one of the greatest CEOs of all time. Leadership Styles and Their Effect on CEOs Steve Jobs was an entrepreneur, co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc. As the CEO of the company, Jobs covered the development of the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, and on the services side the company’s Apple Retail Stores, iTunes store, and the App store. The success of these products under Jobs provided stable years of financial return, and propelled Apple to become the world’s most valuable publically traded company. The reinvigoration of the company is regarded by commentators as one of the greatest turnarounds in business history (Gallo, 2011). Jobs was a â€Å"one-in-a-billion† innovator with a bulldog mentality. He created a vision and relentlessly drove it into completion. Jobs was a demanding perfectionist who always aspired to position his business and products at the forefront of the technology industry by understanding and setting trends with innovation and style. His reputation was built on being a brutal force and often destroyed staff for their â€Å"bozo† ideas and typically shrugged off his associates suggestions in favor of his own gut instinct. Moreover, he only wanted what he called â€Å"A-players†. Meaning that they had to be brilliant and he insisted that under the threat of being fired, that they would never reveal any of Apple’s secrets inside or outside of the organization (Juarez, 2011). In summary, both Welch and Jobs are extraordinary leaders who demonstrate charismatic and transformational leadership styles. They both have very similar qualities in wanting to produce results. However, they differ because Welch’s management style was cut throat in the sense of firing employees who did not perform. Yet, he was still open to the ideas of managers and employees, and empowered them. On the other hand, Jobs leadership style is regarded as unconventional and being a dictator, who only listens to his own intuition. References Bloomberg, L,P. (6/28/2012). How Jack Welch Runs GE. Business Week. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://www.businessweek.com/1998/23/b3581001.htm Gallo, F. (3/17/2012). What Kind of Leader Was Steve Jobs? Calypso Consulting. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://www.chinacalypso.com/content/what-kind-leader-was-steve-jobs Juarez, A. (10/5/2011). A Different Kind of Leader. Studying Systems for a Humane and Sustainable World. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://saybrook.typepad.com/complexity/2011/10/a-different-kind-of-leader-steve-jobs-1955-2011.html Management Strategies From A Top CEO. (4/16/2010). Retrieved November 20, 2012, from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-theory/10/manage-business-like-jack-welch.asp#axzz2CpmsLsRK

How does Tim Butcher emphasise the problems and possible dangers faced on his journey during this passage?

There are many ways in which Tim Butcher emphasises danger during this passage; he does this through his language and through using other techniques such as using triplets. One example of danger is at the very start of the passage (bottom of page 59) and this is where we see the first use of a triplet – using this technique emphasises just how dangerous the Congo can be: â€Å"Thoughts of assassination, acid baths and dismembered bodies† This triplet is used to show the possible, brutal ways of facing death in the Congo – the fact that these are Butchers thoughts imply that he is worrying about facing his death in this way, the horror of it is something no one wants to experience. Butcher also uses an accumulative effect with this list of three as the next situation appears to be worse than the previous. Regardless of this, these three horrific examples are murders which are clearly planned and they show no respect for the dead. An assassination is usually an intentional act aimed at specific subject. As for the other two, acid baths and dismembered bodies seem to be two ways of hiding evidence and getting rid of a body. Neither of these three acts are accidents; all of them are intentional and done on purpose. Following on from this sentence, he mentions that the list of three were the only dark images on his mind. By saying that they weren’t the only images shows that there are many other situations he could be faced with, all of the same sort. The word ‘dark’ conveys the idea of how negative each of his thoughts are as it has connotations liked with is such as death and violence. Already from this first paragraph in the passage, we can see how much potential danger Tim Butcher could be faced with. Another way in which Tim Butcher presents danger is by using an anecdote of a friend who came close to death at the exact same airport he is at now – this makes the potential danger towards Butcher seem higher. The fact that his friend came close to death at the same place as him shows just how high the chance of him also facing death is. What really puts more emphasis on how dangerous the area is is when Butcher mentions his friend covers international crisis. This shows that he will have experienced many types of problems in his past – but none as bad as the Congo. Tim Butcher during this passage shows the majority of danger and problems through his choice of diction and emotive language. During the anecdote, he mentions that troops loyal to Mobuto were becoming increasingly desperate and were hoping to escape. Desperate’ shows how much troops wanted to escape from the power of Mobuto and the phrase ‘hoping to escape’ makes us think that the troops know escaping may be hard or even impossible, but they still try. The Congo is evidently a dangerous place especially for Journalists, as journalists are suspected to be Spies – Congolese people have no time to waste and judge this very quickly, we can tell this as Butcher tells us his friend was Seized. Being seized shows that an arrest was sudden and there was no hesitation in doing it. It comes across as forceful and out of the blue. After being seized, journalists are also stripped at Gunpoint – this shows a sense of danger as stripping someone to their underpants is immediate humiliation and shows vulnerability. Being held at gunpoint means that his friend was facing death, but to make this situation worse, the guards had him in this way for several terrifying hours. We can see here that the experience was being prolonged over seven hours; this makes the situation tenser for the victim as they could be shot at any minute – this is what makes it so terrifying. This section of the passage instantly tells us that the Congolese people are willing to kill. Shortly after this it is mentioned that it took hours of desperate pleading to convince the guards they were simply journalists. Desperate pleading shows how innocent the journalists are as they know having tapes gave the Congolese people the wrong impression. By the use of the word convincing, it implies that the guards weren’t taking their word for it and genuinely believed they were spies. Tim Butcher has again used the idea of the situation being prolonged over a long period of time to emphasise how serious it was. By mentioning they were ‘simply journalists’ it shows how strict the guards are in the Congo; it must have been obvious that the visitors were just journalists and the Congolese people should know they get visitors but they take things too far. During this passage, there is another example of vulnerability being shown; this occurs when an Asian lady lands into the airport and has her luggage taken off her and she has to auction for it to given back to her.

Deadlock Characteristics and Solutions Research Paper

Deadlock Characteristics and Solutions - Research Paper Example When a process cannot change its situation indefinitely due to another waiting process using the same resource, then this leads to a system being in deadlock (Kaveh and Wolfgang). Under normal circumstances, resource allocations in a system undertake the following steps. A process requests a resource and the process is suspended until the resource is available. The process then uses the resource once it has been allocated. Finally, the process releases the resource. A system might have two processes running process-A and process-B namely. The situation above illustrates that Process-A and Process-B are in a deadlock state. Deadlocks have the following assumptions. The process cannot be allocated a resource before it requests for it. Therefore, the order it follows is request then use it and release the resource. A process can also only request more resources than the number of resources available for use by the system. Multiprogramming systems have a resource table than manages resources by showing free and occupied resources being used by processes. It also keeps queues of the processes that are waiting for certain resources. The queues will indicate the time a resource will be released by a process thus making it available for use by other resources. Mutual exclusion occurs when one or at least one of the resource is not sharable. It means that only a few numbers of processes can use the resource at a time. A requesting process has to wait for a resource to be released if it requests the process when it is being used by another process. To illustrate mutual exclusion, Process-A can have an exclusive control of a resource that Process-B needs and vice versa. Process-A and Process-B will block indefinitely while waiting for one process or other processes to free the resource. Mutual exclusion is not restricted to objects in the computer

Aba riot, woman and African economy Research Paper

Aba riot, woman and African economy - Research Paper Example Nigeria provides such an ideal opportunity to study the contribution and state of African women. It is one of the most populated nations in Africa with varied ethnical groups. People of all economical classes are present and education levels also vary. The nation has a lot of resources though it still has economical downturns. Therefore the study of Nigerian women provides a good basis for understanding the difficulties experienced by other African women as they go through their economic activities. In this regard, I agree with Chuku that women were formidable in their contribution to the economic, political and social development1 During the 1920s, women of Ngwa community experienced increased burdens and threats towards their sovereignty in the market and their use of earnings. Despite this situation, women struggled to retain their status. Men somehow got despaired while the women remained closely focused to maintaining the production of food and palm. Martin says that â€Å"at a time when the adoption of cassava was increasing their farming and cooking duties, they managed to increase their production of kernels and to retain their control of the income obtained from selling them†2. In addition to this, they began to trade in oil and kernels. Despite their hard work, social responsibilities prevented them from spending their income on other investments such as joining enterprise opportunities and other trading activities. In fact, they were denied opportunities to own property such as bicycles. While all these were happening, the European firms decided to increase their pricing and new measuring arrangements among the traders. Women were the most affected since they had ventured into trading activities more than their men. By this time, women relied most on trades so as to make their livelihoods. The situations became unbearable for them as they were not able to offset their losses with the little gains that they could manage;

Reaction Paper on Geraldine Brookss The Year of Wonders Essay

Reaction Paper on Geraldine Brookss The Year of Wonders - Essay Example This essay discusses that the contaminated articles and clothes of the tailor were not initially destroyed because of lack scientific knowledge. Eleanor and Michael reveal marriage secrets to Anna. Bradford family faces Mo mp hellion's wrath because they ran away, as they had the means to do so like any other noble family. Rector’s secret shadows fall on the nobility of his work. Anna goes through a mental and spiritual unraveling and almost attains a rebirth. All female characters, Lib, Anna, Gowdies, Anna’s stepmother all show the enormous strength of character. Those were the days when antibiotics have not been invented, though science was receiving royal patronage. Methods of disinfection were not well-known even in London and this fear of infection drove Londoners to inhuman methods during the plague. Fear and superstition and survival made them merciless. Other than burning the infected material, there were hardly any alternatives of infection. Written in modern a nd fluid style, not dull or tedious, the book maintains uncanny optimism despite the prevailing grimness, ‘how fear drove ordinary people first into superstition and then into primeval brutality’. It also shows that human nature does not change while knowledge does. The village is in stark contrast with the treatment London gave to its sick, locking them up with the healthy in their houses, sealing the houses without water or food, and according to Samuel Pepys, ‘making us cruel as dogs to one another’. London was gripped by the fear of unknown.

Exploring the interest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Exploring the interest - Essay Example Both Baca and Lu assert that language skills can be used for a variety of purposes and to advance causes which cannot be advanced otherwise. Reading books can play a phenomenal role in a person’s life and the power of writing is such that it can cleanse the wounds and quench the maddening thirst. Baca’s description of what he experienced while writing and how writing relates to thinking suggests that the power of words cannot be denied as it helps transform all the hidden thoughts in black and white. Lu also suggests the same idea but in a different context. She claims that there is a conflict between the world of home and the world of schools. Things we learn at home can potentially conflict with the literacy taught in schools (xxx 372). Baca (cited in xxx 390) expresses in his autobiography how his interest in writing eventually helped him immensely in developing language skills which are important to come out to strangers. Good language skills and writing talent play an immense role in ensuring safety and happiness. While imprisoned, words of the poets like Neruda, Paz, and Hemingway brought life to Baca who thrived for such things as they made him feel liberated and rescued from the unfortunate circumstances which targeted him. Power of the words was such that it transformed Baca into another person whenever he listened to the poetry of great poets from other prisoners. Baca expresses how their poetic language used to enthrall him and carry him to places far away from the gloomy prison cells where he was captivated. That power rescued him from the highly unfortunate inability to defend himself by way of words. Nothing is as humiliating as not being able to express himself (Baca, cited in xxx 387). Lu, in similar context as Baca, express how words helped her to fill up the silence which always haunted her throughout her childhood due to not being able to speak up to her mother how overtly

The Importance of Marketing for Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The Importance of Marketing for Business - Essay Example The author has rightly presented that marketing helps a business in creating value for its customers. Most companies today implement customer-driven marketing strategies which allow them to create value for target customers. Companies today identify and select marketing segments, develop products and marketing programs targeted to each and focus on the buyers who have more interest in the values that they create the best. They then decide on a value proposition by differentiating the market offering and positioning it in the minds of the target customers. The customer relationship management part of marketing is about maintaining and building profitable business relationships by delivering superior customer value and satisfaction. Just as companies are being very choosy about which customers to serve, they are serving the chosen customers in a more lasting way. Marketing today has become an art of finding, retaining and multiplying profitable customers. Apart from helping companies c onnect more deeply with their customers, marketing also helps companies connect to customers more directly. It helps customers buy virtually everything without going to a store through telephone, online, mail order catalogs etc. In fact, such has been the success of direct marketing that some companies such as Dell only use the direct channel to sell their products. Marketing also helps businesses build strong, lasting and profitable relationships with customers through social media

Service quality management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Service quality management - Research Paper Example Online banking, for instance provide customers with an enhanced way of running financial processes and the rapid use of mobile payment reduce the needs for carrying cash. However, most of the times banks back office have thousands of employees that are handling customer requests. This traditional way of executing customer requests is costly and slow, lead to delays in handling customer’s needs and it contains higher error rate. In our research, it was obvious that the chance for automating the back office operations is exists. By redesigning the IT-infrastructure, banks will be able to provide the same financial services with smaller operational divisions running value-adding responsibilities, such as deal originating, loan requests, and any financial process that might require human involvement such as financial reviews. In this report, we will examine and analyze the processes of providing financial services to customers in Dubai. XYZ bank is facing a lot of quality issues i n providing financial services to its customers. The process is taking long time, for example, sometimes the verification process is delayed for 7 days, and the bank is suffering the high cost of its back office. Service Quality Role in Improving Quality of Services in the Banking Industry: A Case of XYZ Bank Recent years has witnessed tremendous changes in the business world which have presented serious challenges to the performance of businesses. These changes have been attributed to a number of factors including increasing customers and shareholders’ expectations, technological advancements and increased competition among other factors (Kotler and Keller, 2006, p. 23). The banking industry is one of the industries that have been greatly impacted by the changes in the business world and particularly the technological advancements. Service quality is one of the areas that many banks have focused on in an effort to gain competitive advantage over their rivals. Service quality is defined as the sum effect of service performances that are essential in determining the level or degree of satisfaction of a particular user of the services being offered or provided (Harvey, 2008, p. 584). Quality is viewed as what the customer perceives of a certain delivered service by a particular service provider. Service quality can thus be said to be the comparison that a customer makes between his expectations with the service provider’s performance. Banks use the service quality tool to improve their employees’ productivity and customer satisfaction (David, 2001, p. 86). This paper will investigate the role that service quality plays in improving quality of services in the banking industry by looking at a case of the XYZ bank. It will look at the key issues of the bank, their consequences and how the bank is dealing with these issues. Service quality is a critical determinant and prerequisite of competitiveness for creating and sustaining satisfying relati onship between service provider and the customers (Wang and Wang, 2006, p. 4). It is thus an important indicator and measure of customer satisfaction and organization therefore needs to pay more attention to service quality that can lead an organization to gain a lasting competitive advantage. Banks have wildly employed service quality as a tool of evaluating performance of their service (Berry and Zeithami, 2009, p. 45). The advent of internet has incredibly

To What Extent Did Public Opinion Shape International Politics in the First Half of the Twentieth Century’ Essay Example for Free

To What Extent Did Public Opinion Shape International Politics in the First Half of the Twentieth Century’ Essay The first half of the twentieth century was indeed a time in history in which things such as two of the most deadly wars, the Russian Revolution, the Great Depression, the foundation of the UN and the start of the Cold War took place. But, were these events at any point influenced by the views expressed by citizens?. This essay is going to discuss public opinion during the first half of the twentieth century. To do so, the essay uses a journal article on public opinion written by Hans Speier as a guideline of the essay. In order to understand the impact of public opinion on international affairs, we must firstly define what we mean by public opinion. According to Slavko Splichal, ‘the concept of public, publicness, publicity, public sphere and public opinion are among the most controversial, ambiguous and nontransparent concepts in the social sciences, that have been used consistently since the eighteen century’. ‘Public opinion’ he adds ‘supposedly developed into a â€Å"inner-media† of political system, a mirror â€Å"generated by mass media to regulate the watching of the observers’. Then, ‘who precisely were the decision makers? Monarchs, presidents, foreign ministers, staff chiefs, or a combination of these?’ In the early twentieth century, public opinion did not have much of an impact in foreign politics. Speier says that public opinion ‘in its early phase [†¦] showed a marked preoccupation with domestic affairs, i.e., with issues of immediate concern to the life of citizens’. On the other hand ‘foreign policy issues appeared less relevant, but they were expected to be ultimately relegated from the realm of power to that of discussion and agreement, as governments would become more enlightened’. And Speier emphasised that public opinion would only support going to war if that was something that ‘were in the interest of enlightened mankind’. As Mike Sharp, Ian Westwell and John Westwood say: ‘In most European countries public opinion in the years preceding 1914 had accepted the likelihood, to some extent even the desirability, of war’. Talking about the interest of enlightened mankind, Woodrow Wilson stated: ‘National purposes have fallen more and more into the background; and the common purpose of enlightened mankind has taken their place’. Moreover he added that ‘this is a people’s war, not a statesman’s’. But Speier states that it was just after the First World War, when the ‘faith in the power of public opinion to render world politics reasonable’ was called into question. Speier argues that this was due to a series of events. The first of these was the demise of the League of Nations, which failed to fulfill its purpose, namely to prevent the outbreak of a new world war. Moreover, US President Woodrow Wilson was an advocate of the League of Nations, yet his country refused to join the organisation. Despite Wilson’s description of the Great War as a ‘people’s war, not a statesman’s’ and his intentions to join the League of Nations, the Senate refused to join the organisation. This action showed that public opinion did not have much influence in fact; it appears that statesmen still played a big role in deciding issues of internal relations. Secondly, Speier mention the ‘disillusionment concerning the lofty war aims of the Allies and the general distrust of propaganda which spread between the two world wars’, as a large section of the public thought that the Allies’ aims were overly idealistic and, more importantly, those aims were not fulfilled. The human cost of the World War was enormous. People had lost their families from the trenches and the reports from the soldiers were awful. War wasn’t glamorous and against this perception, idealism could do very little. Thirdly, Speier talks about the rise of fascism and National Socialism as the main events for which people all around the World dismissed any chance that public opinion could had a possibility to change politics or at least to have a say. On the one hand the emergence of Benito Mussolini’s fascist dictatorship in Italy was the beginning of a fascist era around Europe. This was followed by the establishment of the Nazi party in Germany, which led to the outbreak of the Second World War. In these systems everything was under the control of the state. That means, that all media coverage, either, radio, newspapers or books were censored by the government in power, to make sure that nothing against the government could be said. Censorship was the biggest attack against the public opinion. People could not give their own opinion and demonstrations were forbidden. In a form of state like that, the only presumptions that one can make are that public opinion was almost defunct. People could only see what the people in power wanted to show them. Apart from that, we need to bear in mind that the systems in these countries went further than censorship but rather they believed in the power of propaganda defined by Garth S. Jowett Victoria O’Donnell trying ‘to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist’, made public opinion disappeared. Hitler for example said: ‘ â€Å"Propaganda, propaganda, propaganda. All that matters is propaganda† ’ and it worked, the public bought into the idea of a perfect race in Germany. And again in the Soviet Union, millions of kulaks were exterminated under the death silence of the State in 1918. Fourthly, another factor is ‘the absence of inspiring peace aims during the Second World War’. Hitler had in mind two main objectives for the Second World War, which were ‘ first, to established German control in Europe, and the second (which might well come after his lifetime) to wrest control of the seas and world domination from Britain and the USA’. Both aims were quite demoralising. In practice this meant that the war was prolonged more than expected, which caused a delayed in the freedom of the public opinion. Throughout the war, Hitler made the German people think that the war was about to be won; ever-new levies of recruits were needed for the last effort. Fifthly, another factor is ‘the sterility of the resistance movements in the realm of political ideas’. In Germany for example there was no Parliament and therefore parliamentary opposition was not possible. In Europe during the Second World War both sides had different successes, Germany, for example, had not one because of the great power of the GESTAPO. On the other hand, France had some success through the famous sabotage, and this made that some news were filtered in by the media in the West. Finally Speier mentioned, ‘the use of weapons of mass destruction in the attainment of victory’. A clear example of this was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 that left ‘up to 140,000 reported dead by the end of the year’ an event which did not help to show people the end of the war and to convince the Japanese public that they faced annihilation if they continued the war. Those events mentioned above were the cause of ‘demoralization [†¦] in the power of public opinion’ just after the First World War. To sum up, at the beginning if the twentieth century public opinion had a role in International Politics but it was just after the demise of the League of Nations, the disillusionment concerning the lofty war aims of the Allies, the rise of Fascism and National Socialism, the absence of inspiring peace aims during the Second World War, etc. that the World lost its confidence on public opinion as a way to change politics.

Adolescent Truancy Essay Example for Free

Adolescent Truancy Essay I choose to do my paper on â€Å"Playing Hooky†: Examining Factors that Contribute to Adolescent Truancy, because of the position I am currently in at work places me in several different school s all year long. I have seen the effects and causes of adolescent truancy first hand. This article is a review of previous data that was obtained from Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. This article clearly states that it is a research article, and the research is from a study that compiled data from 20 students. The researchers looked at all variables that play a factor in adolescent truancy, to include family environment, living situations, community involvement, severity of substance use, duration of substance use, and peer victimization. Based on the research from the article on adolescent truancy I learned that truancy has become an ever growing problem and is caused from several different factors. Adolescent truancy is caused by multiple out-of-school and in-school factors. The majority of abscises are driven from outside factors, such as family problems, living conditions, substance use, and community involvement, and school factors, like bullying or hazing. Looking at the research by Dube and Orpinas(2009) it breaks it down into three main behavioral profile groups based on reinforcement be it negative and positive reinforcement, also no reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is things like skipping school to go to the mall or skate park things of that nature. Negative reinforcement is family conflict, living conditions, and substance problems. With substance abuse problems leads to more skipping school, and with skipping school leads to more substance abuse problems, so they both feed of each other. The research is supported by the data that was collected from a study that was done with 20 kids, ages 8-16 and grades 5th to 11th. This article fits in the overall field of sociology because it takes something that needs to be dissected and helps break down the trends and reasoning be hide what is going on, Furth more it opens our eyes to the key indicators to look for if we have a problem like this. Sociology breaks down thing so we can see the reasoning that something may be happing and I think this article does just that. I feel that the chapter that this article would best fit in would be chapter 9 Deviance, because the article cover truancy which is deviating from what you are supposed to be doing and shows why people would be doing this. This article is different because magazines and newspapers do not explain what is going on in this much in-depth information. Non-scholarly periodicals are usually just a brief summary of what is really going on and hitting the key points. This article is done from studies that have been done as well as surveys that have been completed. What this article and non-scholarly periodicals do have in common is that they both do lay out the key points to their research as well as credit the sources that they received there information from. Refrences Dimmick, J. Yanira, C. Aleka, L. and Holly, B. (2011). â€Å"Playing Hooky†: Examining Factors that Contribute to Adolescent Truancy. EBSCOhost. Retrieved from https://web-ebscohost-com.libdatab.strayer.edu/ehost/detail?vid=5hid=25sid=ea8658a5-82b9-4bf5-9730-404a1a35187f%40sessionmgr11bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9hAN=6966092

Ebola Virus Mechanism of Infection

Ebola Virus Mechanism of Infection The Ebola virus (EBOV) is an enveloped, non-segmented, negative-strand RNA virus, which  together with Marburg virus, makes up the filoviridae family. The virus causes severe  hemorrhagic fever associated with 50-90% human mortality1. Four species of the virus (Zaire,  Sudan, Cà ´te d’Ivoire, and Reston ebolavirus) have thus far been identified, with Zaire typically  associated with the highest human lethality2. A fifth EBOV species is confirmed in a 2007  outbreak in Bundibugyo, Uganda3,4. Infection with EBOV results in uncontrolled viral  replication and multiple organ failure with death occurring 6-9 days after onset of  symptoms5. Fatal cases are associated with high viremia and defective immune responses,  while survival is associated with early and vigorous humoral and cellular immune  responses6-9. Although preliminary vaccine trials in primates have been highly  successful10-13, no vaccines, specific immunotherapeutics, or post-exposure treatments are  currently approved for human use. Since 1994, EBOV outbreaks have increased more than  four-fold, thus necessitating the urgent development of vaccines and therapeutics for use in the  event of an intentional, accidental or natural EBOV release. The EBOV genome contains seven genes, which direct the synthesis of eight proteins. Transcriptional editing of the fourth gene (GP) results in expression of a 676-residue transmembrane-linked glycoprotein termed GP, as well as a 364-residue secreted glycoprotein  termed sGP14,15. EBOV GP is the main target for the design of vaccines and entry inhibitors. GP is post-translationally cleaved by furin16 to yield disulfide-linked GP1 and GP2  subunits17. GP1 effects attachment to host cells, while GP2 mediates fusion of viral and host  membranes16,18-20. EBOV is thought to enter host cells through receptor-mediated  endocytosis via clathrin-coated pits and caveolae21, followed by actin and microtubuledependent  transport to the endosome21, where GP is further processed by endosomal  cathepsins22-24. Essential cellular receptor(s) have not yet been identified, but DC-SIGN/LSIGN25,  hMGL26, ÃŽ ²-integrins27, folate receptor-ÃŽ ±28 and Tyro3 family receptors29 have all  been implicated as cellular factors in entry. Here, we report the crystal structure of EBOV GP,  at 3.4 Ã… resolution, in its trimeric, pre-fusion conformation in complex with neutralizing  antibody Fab KZ52. GP1 is responsible for cell surface attachment, which is probably mediated by a region  including residues 54-20132. GP1 is composed of a single d omain (∠¼65 Ã… Ãâ€" 30 Ã… Ãâ€" 30 Ã…),arranged in the topology shown in Fig. 2a, and can be further subdivided into the (I) base, (II)  head and (III) glycan cap regions (Fig. 2a and Supplemental Fig. S3). The base (I) subdomain  is composed of two sets of ÃŽ ² sheets, forming a semi-circular surface which clamps the internal  fusion loop and a helix of GP2 through hydrophobic interactions (Fig. 2b). Moreover, this  subdomain contains Cys53, which is proposed to form an intermolecular disulfide bridge to  Cys609 of the GP2 subunit17. Cys53 resides near GP2 in the ÃŽ ²2-ÃŽ ²3 loop at the viral membraneproximal  end of the base subdomain (Fig. 2a-b). Our EBOV GP contains an intact GP1-GP2  disulfide bridge, based on reducing and non-reducing SDS-PAGE analysis. However, the region containing the counterpart GP2 cysteine is disordered, which may reflect functionally  important mobility in the region. The head (II) is located between the base and glycan cap   regions towards the host membrane surface. Two intramolecular disulfide bonds stabilize the  head subdomain and confirm the biochemically determined disulfide bridge assignments17.   Cys108-Cys135 connects a surface-exposed loop (ÃŽ ²8-ÃŽ ²9 loop) to strand ÃŽ ²7, while Cys121-Cys147 bridges the ÃŽ ²8-ÃŽ ²9 and ÃŽ ²9-ÃŽ ²10 loops (Fig. 2a). The glycan cap (III) contains four  predicted N-linked glycans (at N228, N238, N257 and N268) in an ÃŽ ±/ÃŽ ² dome over the GP1  head subdomain (Fig. 1b and 2a). This subdomain does not form any monomer-monomer  contacts and is fully exposed on the upper and outer surface of the chalice. The central ÃŽ ² sheets  from the head and glycan cap together form a fairly flat surface and, in the context of the GP  trimer, form the three inner sides of the chalice bowl. Ebola virus GP2 GP2 is responsible for fusion of viral and host cell membranes and contains the internal fusion  loop and the heptad repeat regions, HR1 and HR2. Many viral glycoproteins have fusion  peptides, located at the N terminus of their fusion subunit, which are released upon cleavage  of the precursor glycoprotein. By contrast, class II and class III fusion proteins, as well as class  I glycoproteins from Ebola, Marburg, Lassa and avian sarcoma leukosis viruses, contain  internal fusion loops lacking a free N terminus. The crystal structure reveals that the EBOV  GP internal fusion loop, which encompasses residues 511-556, utilizes an antiparallel ÃŽ ²Ã‚  stranded scaffold to display a partially helical hydrophobic fusion peptide (L529, W531, I532,  P533, Y534 and F535) (Fig. 2c). The side chains of these hydrophobic residues pack into a  region on the GP1 head of a neighboring subunit in the trimer, reminiscent of the fusion peptide  packing in the pre-fusion parainfluenz a virus 5 F structure33. A disulfide bond between Cys511  at the base of ÃŽ ²19 and Cys556 in the HR1 helix covalently links the antiparallel ÃŽ ² sheet. This  disulfide bond between the internal fusion loop and HR1 is conserved among all filoviruses,  and is analogous to a pair of critical cysteines flanking the internal fusion loop in avian sarcoma  leukosis virus34,35. Interestingly, the EBOV internal fusion loop has features more similar to  those observed in class II and III viral glycoproteins (in particular to flaviviruses) than those  previously observed for class I glycoproteins (Supplemental Fig. S4). It thus appears that  regardless of viral protein class, internal fusion loops share a common architecture for their  fusion function. EBOV GP2 contains two heptad repeat regions (HR1 and HR2), connected by a 25-residue  linker containing a CX6CC motif and the internal fusion loop. The crystal structures of postfusion  GP2 fragments30,31 have revealed that the two heptad repeat regions form antiparallel  ÃŽ ± helices and that a CX6CC motif forms an intrasubunit disulfide bond between Cys601 and  Cys608 (Supplemental Fig. S5). In the pre-fusion EBOV GP, HR2 and the CX6CC motif are  disordered. By contrast, the HR1 region is well ordered and can be divided into four segments:  HR1A, HR1B, HR1C and HR1D (Fig. 2c), which together assemble the cradle encircling GP1. Similarly, heptad repeat regions in influenza and parainfluenza viruses also contain multiple  segments in their pre-fusion helices that substantially rearrange in their post-fusion  conformations33,36,37. The first two segments, HR1A and HR1B (residues 554-575), together form an ÃŽ ± helix with an  Ã¢Ë† ¼40 ° kink at T565, which delineates HR1A from HR1B. Interestingly, the bend between  HR1A and HR1B contains an unusual 3-4-4-3 stutter, which may act as a conformational  switch31, rather than the typical 3-4 periodicity of heptad repeats (Supplemental Fig. S6). A  similar stutter has also been noted in parainfluenza virus 5 F33. The Ebola virus HR1C (residues  576-582) forms an extended coil linking HR1B to the 14-residue ÃŽ ± helix of HR1D (residues  583-598). HR1D forms an amphipathic helix and the hydrophobic faces of each HR1D join to  form a three-helix bundle at the trimer interface. Although the breakpoint maps directly to a  Lee et al. Page 3 Nature. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 June 22. NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript  chloride ion binding site in the post-fusion conformation of GP230,31 and at least two other  viruses38,39, no chloride ion is observed here as HR1 and HR2 do not come together to form  the six-helix bundle. Instead, the pre-fusion GP2 adopts a novel conformation, intimately  curled around GP1 (Fig. 1c). Ebola virus GP-KZ52 interface KZ52 is an antibody isolated from a human survivor of a 1995 outbreak in Kikwit, Democratic  Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire)40. This antibody neutralizes Zaire ebolavirus in  vitro40 and offers protection from lethal EBOV challenge in rodent models41, but has minimal  effects on viral pathogenicity in non-human primates42. KZ52 is directed towards a vulnerable,  non-glycosylated epitope at the base of the GP chalice, where it engages three discontinuous  segments of EBOV GP: residues 42-43 at the N terminus of GP1, and 505-514 and 549-556  at the N terminus of GP2 (Fig. 3 and Supplemental Fig. S7). Although the majority of the GP  surface buried by KZ52 belongs to GP2, the presence of both GP1 and GP2 are critical for  KZ52 recognition43. It is likely that GP1 is required to maintain the proper pre-fusion  conformation of GP2 for KZ52 binding. Indeed, KZ52 is the only antibody known to bridge  both attachment (GP1) and fusion (GP2) subunits of any viral gly coprotein. Given that KZ52  requires a conformational epitope seen only in the GP2 pre-fusion conformation and that the  KZ52 epitope is distant from the putative receptor-binding site (RBS), KZ52 likely neutralizes  by preventing rearrangement of the GP2 HR1A/HR1B segments and blocking host membrane  insertion of the internal fusion loop. Alternatively, IgG KZ52 may sterically hinder access to  the RBS or to a separate binding site of another cellular factor, especially if multiple attachment  events are required for entry. The KZ52 epitope of GP is convex and does not have a high shape complementarity to the  antibody (Sc index of 0.63), although ∠¼1600 Ã…2 of each GP monomer are occluded upon KZ52  binding. The antibody contacts a total of 15 GP residues by van der Waals interactions and 8  direct hydrogen bonds (Supplemental Fig. S7). Ten out of 15 residues in the structurally defined  KZ52 epitope are unique to Zaire ebolavirus (Supplemental Fig. S6), thus explaining the Zaire  specificity of KZ52. Ebola virus GP glycosylation We generated a fully glycosylated molecular model of EBOV GP to illustrate the native GP  trimer as it exists on the viral surface (Fig. 4). The majority of N-linked glycosylation sites are  concentrated in the mucin-like domain and glycan cap of GP1. Given that the mucin-like  domain is ∠¼75 kDa in mass (protein and oligosaccharide), the volume of this domain is  predicted to be similar to each GP monomer observed here. The crystal structure suggests that  the mucin-like domain is linked to the side of each monomer and may further build up the walls  of the chalice, forming a deeper bowl (Fig. 4). Although a mixture of complex, oligomannose  and hybrid-type glycans are found on intact, mucin-containing GP144, those glycans outside  the mucin-like domain are likely to be complex in nature: the mucin-deleted GP used for  crystallization is sensitive to PNGaseF, but not to EndoH treatment (Supplemental Fig. S8).   Modeling of complex-type oligosaccharides on the EBOV GP indicates that the majority of  the GP trimer is cloaked by a thick layer of oligosaccharide, even without the mucin-like  domain (Fig. 4). The ∠¼19 additional oligosaccharides on the full-length GP (17 on the mucinlike  domain and 2 more on GP1, disordered here) further conceal the sides and top of the  chalice. The KZ52 binding site and, presumably, the flexible regions of HR2 and the  membrane-proximal external region (MPER) remain exposed and perhaps vulnerable to  binding of antibodies and inhibitors. Lee The development of neutralizing antibodies is limited in natural Ebola virus infection. Many  survivors have low or insignificant titres1,7, and those antibodies that are elicited preferentially  recognize a secreted version of the viral glycoprotein that features an alternate quaternary  structure and lacks the mucin-like domain43. The glycocalyx surrounding EBOV GP likely  forms a shield that protects it from humoral immune responses and/or confers stability insideor outside a host. The mucin-like domain and glycan cap sit together as an external domain to  the viral attachment and fusion subunits, reminiscent of the glycan shields of HIV-1  gp12045,46   and Epstein-Barr virus gp35047, perhaps pointing to a common theme for immune  evasion. Alignment of filoviral sequences indicate that regions involved in immune evasion  have a low degree of sequence conservation [i.e. GP1 glycan cap (∠¼5%) and mucin-like domain  (0%)], but the N-glycosylation sites in the glycan cap are mostly conserved among all EBOV  subtypes (Supplemental Fig. S6), indicating the functional importance of these posttranslational  modifications. Sites of receptor binding and cathepsin cleavage Although a definitive receptor for EBOV remains to be identified, previous studies32,48,49  have determined that residues 54-201, which map to the base and head subdomains of GP1,  form a putative receptor-binding site (RBS) for attachment to host cells. Additional  experimental studies have identified at least 19 GP1 residues, assigned into four groups based  on the location in the structure, that are critical for viral entry48-50 (Fig. 5). Many of these  residues are apolar or aromatic and are involved in maintaining the structural integrity of GP1  for receptor binding or fusion. However, six residues (K114, K115, K140, G143, P146 and  C147) cluster within a ∠¼20 Ãâ€" 15 Ã… surface in the inner bowl of the chalice and may thus  represent important receptor contact sites. All residues in the putative RBS are highly conserved  among Ebola virus species (Supplemental Fig. S6). Importantly, this putative RBS is recessed beneath the glycan cap and perhaps further masked  by the mucin-like domain (Fig. 4), suggesting that additional conformational change or removalof the mucin-like domain could reveal additional surfaces required for receptor or cofactor  binding. It has been demonstrated that endosomal proteolysis of EBOV GP by cathepsin L  and/or B removes the mucin-like domain to produce a stable ∠¼18 kDa GP1 intermediate which  has enhanced viral binding and infectivity22-24. The precise site of cathepsin cleavage is  unknown and the role of cathepsins in natural infection is as yet unclear. However, formation  of an ∠¼18 kDa GP1 fragment implies that cathepsin may cleave near the GP1 ÃŽ ²13-ÃŽ ²14 loop  (residues 190-213). Indeed, this loop is unresolved in the pre-fusion structure, suggesting  enhanced mobility and accessibility to enzymatic cleavage. Cleavage within this loop would  remove the entire mucin-like domain and glyc an cap region (Fig. 5). As a result, ÃŽ ²7 to ÃŽ ²9  strands and their associated loops would become exposed. These regions of GP are in proximity  to the previously identified residues critical for viral entry. The fold, location and  physicochemical properties of this site should now provide new leads in the search for the  elusive filoviral receptor(s). A summary of the Ebola virus mechanism of infection, including the events of cathepsin  cleavage and conformational changes to GP2 during fusion, is presented.

The Theme Of Macbeth :: essays research papers

The play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare in the beginning of the 17th century, deals with a man's turn from the king's most glorious, brave and courageous general into a traitor and murderer influenced by evil forces.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the following I am going to describe the play briefly and explain the theme of it. Furthermore I will discuss Macbeth's character and his internal conflict.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While the general Macbeth and his friend Banquo are returning from a victorious battle, King Duncan hears of their courage and bestows the title of Cawdor on the still absent Macbeth. The two warriors encounter three witches who greet Macbeth as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and „(…) King hereafter'. They prophesize that Banquo will become king though he will not himself be one. Macbeth, who is already Thane of Glamis, is startled when two messengers from the king greet him as the new Thane of Cawdor, thus fulfilling the witches' prophecy in part. When Macbeth learns that Duncan's son Malcolm has been appointed Prince of Cumberland, automatic successor to the throne, he momentarily entertains the idea of killing the king and so begins the ultimate prediction of the witches.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Banquo resists any thoughts that might hasten the witches' prophecy that his children will be kings. Lady Macbeth, however, strengthens her husband to kill the king and they accomplish it. When the murder is discovered, the king's sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, seeing a similar fate for themselves, flee Scotland. Macbeth proceeds to Scone, where he is crowned as Duncan's successor to the throne.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Banquo half-suspects Macbeth of Duncan's murder but accepts an invitation at the new king's fiest and attends it with his son Fleance. Macbeth employs two murderers to kill both in an attempt to avoid the second part of the witches' prophecies. They kill Banquo but Fleance escapes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Macbeth decides to find the witches to demand further assurances. They answer him with a procession of ghostly appearances: an armed head which warns him against Macduff; a child covered in blood which says that „(…) none of a woman born shall harm Macbeth'; a child holding a tree, who says Macbeth will be safe until „(…) Birnam Wood (…)' comes to Dunsinane; and eight kings followed by Banquo's ghost, which, with a smile, points to them as his descendants. Leaving, Macbeth encounters the nobleman Lennox, who tells him that Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth vows to kill Macduff's wife and children.

indo-canadians :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Canada is referred to as a multicultural country because it openly accepts new immigrants from around the world (Gabor, 1994; Nodwell and Guppy, 1992). It has been documented that approximately 11.2% of Canada’s total population identify themselves as visible minorities (Varma-Joshi, Baker, and Tanaka, 2004; Fantino and Colak, 2001). Starting a life in a new country not only brings happiness, but also anxiety and a fear of losing one’s identity. Often feelings of being an outsider act as a catalyst for gang related violence and crime, especially in the Indo-Canadian community. However, there is not enough documented evidence explaining why violence is so prominent amongst Indo-Canadian youth. Although there is not enough evidence accumulated by researchers on this topic, based on research that I have gathered about other minorities involved in gang related violence, I will show that there is a tendency for Indo-Canadians to follow the same pattern a s other minorities who become involved in gang activities. The lack of academic research on Indo-Canadian gang violence is significant to the practice of social work because it is the absence of research which makes it difficult for social workers to pinpoint key signs of gang violence and how they maybe related to their clients. As a result of a lack of academic based research on Indo-Canadian gangs, it limits one from finding possible solutions to deter future incidents of gang violence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even though gang violence is not a new phenomenon there has been a noticeable lack of Canadian based research done on this topic (Gordon, 2000; Varma-Joshi, Baker, and Tanaka, 2004). Although there is limited knowledge about gang violence, research shows that males are more likely to engage in gang activities (Gordon, 2000; Jemmott, B., Jemmott, S., Hines, and Fong, 2001). There are several factors that contribute to why many youths become involved in gangs. One of the main reasons why visible minority youth become submerged in gangs is because they are searching for a sense of identity and belonging (Gordon, 2000; Meloff and Silverman, 1992; Nodwell and Guppy, 1992; Fantino and Colak, 2001). Gordon (2000) finds that, â€Å"they want to belong to a friendly, supportive group that include their friends or close relatives and this includes a desire to be with individuals from the same cultural and ethnic group; gang members felt ethnically marginalized† (pg. 51). The reason why minorities are attracted to gangs is because they create a family setting which embraces their differences as opposed to being judged on their differences by mainstream society.

Masculinity

Epic heroes like Achilles, Odysseus, and Aenas were warrior-type males who fought enemies and wars with great strength and exceptional courage.   Most of the time they had little regard for their own personal safety.   That, particularly characterized Achilles.   Odysseus on the other hand was cautious and wise.   He was a complex and strategic thinker.   Aenas had a deep devotion to God and would fight for his people and country. Those epic heroes were the image of masculinity.   They fought wars which they won.   They had great moral convictions.   They were strong and courageous.   They did not shrink from challenges, they instead charged forward for God, people and country.   They did not only capitalize on their physical strength, they had great minds as well. The long years in between periods of history saw the transformation of the idea of masculinity from the time of the epic heroes to the modern day masculinity.   However, on those times when, again, nations went to war, the ‘heroes’ in men once again surfaced.   They were aggressive and patriotic, and they sacrificed and felt honored by serving in the war. Different times had different norms.   The ‘war’ is now on athletics.   Physical strength was no longer for combat but it became healthy physique for athletics.   Athletes have to compete, whether it is against one’s self or an opponent.   Like in combat, they need to have the will to win, a strong character and of course, the fire of nationalism. Media has the most experience in defining and presenting masculinity.   They came up with stereotypes like: he has a sense of humor, he is aggressive, he is in control and is decisive, he is successful, and lastly he gets angry too, meaning he is being human. The perception or idea of masculinity do not seemed to have changed from the epic heroes, to the athletes at the Olympics and to the present-day or modern men.   Very evident, therefore significant are; love of God and country, courage, character and success as traits that truly make a man masculine. References: â€Å"Epic Traditions: the Hero–Homer to Virgil to Dante to Milton.† 13 November 2006. http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng211/epic_traditions_the_hero.ht â€Å"Common Stereotypes of Men in Media.†Ã‚   Media Stereotyping.   13 November 2006. â€Å"Characters of the Classical Epic.†Ã‚   13 November 2006. http://www174.pair.com/mja/epic.html Bourke, Dr. Joanna.   â€Å"The Image of Man.   The Creation of Modern Masculinity. By Professor George L. Mosse.† February 1997.   Updated 26 March 2002.   13 November 2006. http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/paper/bourke.html   

Is the Game Theory, the Right Game Essay

Yes, indeed the game theory is the right game. Business is not about winning and losing nor is it about how well you play the game. The essence of business success lies in making sure you’re playing the right game. The challenge for us is to make sure we’re playing the right game. There are times in our life that we think we are in the right game but suddenly we realize that it is not the game we should play. For example, the course that you choose in college, you enrolled in accounting because your parents said so or because you don’t have any choice yet but you don’t possess the passion, attitude and skills an accountant must have. That is an evidence that you are in the wrong course, the remedy is to change your course into the course you love and possess the skills and passion for. To every action, there is a reaction. You have to look forward into the game and then reason backward to figure out which of today’s actions will lead you to where you want to end up. In order to succeed we need to go beyond the threats and opportunities that might occur and what we what to become in the future but we need also to be realistic and not too imaginary. Thus, after looking forward we make the action that will lead us to where we what to be. The decisions and actions you make today will affect our future career. So make the right actions and decisions. You cannot take away from the game more than you bring to it. You cannot take away more than your added value. Don’t remove something that contribute to your strengths, keep and maintain them. The main focus is allocentrism. It is the importance of focusing on others. You have to put yourself in the shoes and even in the heads of other players. You have to ask not what other players can bring to you but what you can bring to other players. It’s changing our mind-set into other players mind-set because if you know what and how they think it’s easy for you to discern what they need and what to the betterment of the company. Successful business strategy is about actively shaping the game you play, not just playing the game you find. It’s true that we should actively shape the game we play. It means that finding a continuous improvement and not just be stagnant in where you are now. We should find a way to increase and improve to the next level as years pass by. Understanding other players can help find new strategies for changing the game or new applications of existing strategies. In changing the game we should understand the players, added value, rules, tactics and scope. There is nothing permanent in this world we should actively change into better. The world is constantly changing and we need to adapt to it for us not to be left behind. In conclusion I agree that we should be a game maker than a game taker. We should have a coopetition mind-set and to be an allocentric. I believe that in business and even in our own lives there is no end to the game of changing the game. It is always an on going process that we should adapt and be flexible to it. We should be alert and wise to make decisions and actions because our decisions and actions today will change and have an effect to our future career.

Top 5 Companies in Terms of Social Responsibility

November 13, 2012 Top 5 Companies in Terms of Social Responsibility We live in a society that holds companies accountable for their actions in relation to the environment, the welfare of the less fortunate, and the investors that fund them. A company’s actions in terms of social responsibility are placed into three categories: profit responsibility, stakeholder responsibility, and societal responsibility. Profit responsibility refers to a company’s responsibility to maximize profits without using deceptive or unfair practices.Stakeholder responsibility is a company’s responsibility to consider the consequences of its actions on those that can be negatively affected by them. Societal responsibility refers to the duty a company has to preserve the environment and to the public in general. Using these guidelines, CR magazine compiled a list of the most socially responsible companies. The top five on this list are: 1. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. 2. International Busines s Machines Corp 3. Intel Corp. 4. Microsoft Corporation 5. Johnson Controls IncAs a global â€Å"BioPharma† company, Bristol-Myers Squibb uses its resources to formulate medicines that help millions of people affected by various illnesses. They have devised a strategy that combines their resources in order to maximize profit while providing a value to consumers. â€Å"We focus on our customers’ needs, giving maximum priority to accelerating pipeline development, delivering sales growth and continuing to manage costs† (BMS). While making a profit, Bristol-Myers Squibb has continued to pursue its mission to provide access to healthcare through their patient assistance programs.These programs provide free or low cost medicines and services to those that have met financial hardship. In addition, they provide a diverse workforce that respects cultural and familial differences among its employees. As for the environment, Bristol-Myers Squib integrates â€Å"comprehen sive energy management, pollution controls, and other practices to reduce environmental impacts† at their worldwide facilities. â€Å"Bristol-Myers Squibb delivers on its commitments: to our patients and customers, to our employees, to our global communities, to our shareholders and to our environment† (BMS).According to the New York Times, Bristol-Myers Squibb declared a self imposed ban on drug ads in 2005. He reasoning behind this ban was to give physicians time to understand new products before patients began asking for them (Saul). â€Å"We want to make sure that before we start mass media – television, radio and print branded advertising – that physicians have a level of comfort about the treatment and which patients are appropriate for it,† Brian Henry, a spokesman for Bristol-Myers, said (qtd. in Saul).International Business Machines Corp, also known as IBM, is a global technology company that prides itself on thinking outside of the box to â€Å"solve some of the world's most complex problems† (IBM). In terms of corporate citizenship, IBM uses a comprehensive approach to focus on societal issues that include literacy, education, and community economic development. They utilize a global environmental management system to ensure they are protecting the environment at all of their worldwide facilities.Approximately 8% of their purchases are from diverse suppliers and they also have a commitment to maintaining employee diversity. â€Å"IBM believes that a company culture based on core values not only helps our business, but also defines the role that we can and should play in society† (IBM). CBS News published an article detailing IBM’s 2008 study on corporate social responsibility. This study showed that only 17 percent of companies ask customers for their social responsibility concerns. â€Å"IBM believes that by asking customers about their CSR concerns, companies can actually uncover new sales op portunities† (Holstein). One clear implication of the study for top management is this: it no longer suffices to have one office dedicated to CSR, handing out a few community grants. CSR needs to be built into the business units and into the business strategy† (Holstein). Intel prides itself at maintaining the highest standards through leadership, company governance, contributions to health and environment issues, and within its commitment to being socially responsible. The company has created a code of conduct that focuses on improved worker conditions, economic development, and a cleaner environment for communities.Beyond their code of conduct, Intel has an innovative education program that provides girls worldwide with educational opportunities through technology access and community learning programs. They have also created their Teach Program to assist teachers in becoming effective educators. All of this is in line with their vision: â€Å"This decade we will crea te and extend computing technology to connect and enrich the lives of every person on earth† (Intel). According to Huffing Post writer, Ryan Scott, â€Å"Intel has decidedly immodest goals for its corporate community involvement† (Scott). In 2011 alone, Intel funded nine different projects to the tune of $125,000 in total to nine different projects. One of the recent programs is Intel's work studying colony collapse disorder† (Scott). Microsoft Corporation claims global corporate citizenship through the company’s commitment to fulfill its public responsibilities by serving the needs of people in communities worldwide. â€Å"As our company has grown, this commitment has extended far beyond our own products and services and has been amplified many times over through our network of partners, including governments, nonprofits and other organizations† (Microsoft).One of the ways in which Microsoft serves the community is through YouthSpark. YouthSpark is a hub that provides access to tools, programs, and resources to help children and teens imagine and reach their full potential. In addition, they strive to work responsibly through a diverse workforce that provides competitive compensation and extensive employee training in addition to benefits to domestic partners of employees. They also provide humanitarian response worldwide and aid in empowering nonprofit organizations to do the same. We provide powerful technologies and human support that make it possible to keep families and communities connected, and speed the arrival of much needed aid† (Microsoft). Beyond an initial response, Microsoft stays to help rebuild. â€Å"We extend our commitment beyond the immediate need, supporting rebuilding efforts for months and years afterward† (Microsoft). Microsoft’s statement seemed to ring true in a brief article published by the Seattle Times. â€Å"Microsoft said it will donate $1. 25 million, a combination of cash and in-kind donations, to Haiti earthquake relief† (Chan).With this effort, they also encouraged employee participation by â€Å"matching annual donations up to $12,000 per worker and reaching out to local government and non-government agencies to offer help† (Chan). Johnson Controls provides an environment in which their employees understands and values each other’s similarities and differences. â€Å"We cultivate a culture where our people recognize it is the strength of personal relationships across businesses and functions that help us continually succeed† (Johnson Controls).The company also practices diversity in its selection of suppliers, increasing diverse suppliers from 300 to 420 in 2009. Johnson Controls also shares a spirit of giving through global community relations that support arts, education, health and social services, the environment, and leadership development. â€Å"In 2011, Johnson Controls donated more than $15. 4 million worldwide to nonprofit and community organizations in support of these causes† (Johnson Controls). According to WTMJ out of Milwaukee, Johnson Controls made a â€Å"historically large† donation to Milwaukee Public Schools in September 2012. The plan involves an investment in Pulaski High School's automotive program† (WTMJ). While details of the dollar amount were not available, the donation itself is a testament to Johnson Controls support of education. To conclude, a company’s actions in terms of social responsibility are placed into three categories: profit responsibility, stakeholder responsibility, and societal responsibility. The top five are known as, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. , International Business Machines Corp. , Intel Corp. , Microsoft Corporation and Johnson Controls Inc.From resources to formulate medicines that help millions of people affected by various illnesses, to inventing the new Microsoft Windows 8 system, each have become a huge part in society and in our lives and most likely continue to be part of our future. Works Cited BMS. â€Å"Bristol-Myers Squibb – A Global Biopharmaceutical Company. † Bristol-Myers Squibb – A Global Biopharmaceutical Company. N. p. , n. d. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. . Chan, Sharon. â€Å"Microsoft Donating $1. 25M to Haiti Earthquake Relief. † Seattle Times. N. p. , 15 Jan. 2010.Web. 10 Nov. 2012. . CR Magazine. â€Å"100 Best Corporate Citizens 2012. † Corporate Responsibility Magazine. N. p. , n. d. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. . Holstein, William J. â€Å"IBM's Study on Corporate Social Responsibility: It's a New World. † CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 18 Mar. 2008. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. . IBM. â€Å"IBM – United States. † IBM – United States. N. p. , n. d. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. . Intel. â€Å"Company Overview. † Intel. N. p. , n. d. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. . Johnson Controls. â€Å"ABOUT USOur Community Focus. † Our Community Focus. N. p. , n. d. Web. 7 Nov. 2012. . Microsoft. â€Å"Microsoft Corporate Citizenship. † Microsoft Corporate Citizenship. N. p. , n. d. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. . Saul, Stephanie. â€Å"A Self-Imposed Ban on Drug Ads. † New York Times. N. p. , 15 June 2005. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. . Scott, Ryan. â€Å"Intel: Making the World Better for Every Person on Earth, That's All. † The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost. com, 24 Aug. 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. . WTMJ. â€Å"TODAY'S TMJ4. † Johnson Controls Set to Give ‘historic' Donation to MPS -. N. p. , 26 Sept. 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. .

World Terrorism

Terrorism. It is a word that strikes fear into many. Terrorism has been around since the beginning of time, and has caused empires to rise, fall, and allowed people to gain power. Terrorism is a growing problem in this unstable world. A simple act of terrorism can cause tensions to break between two countries, as seen with Israel and Palestineaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s conflicts due to religious beliefs and territory disputes. Among the various potential threats are wars with neighboring countries, missile attacks on cites, biological and chemical terrorism, suicide bombings, and hostage taking.In an April 1999 survey the most feared terrorism was bombings on US soil. (Cole, 1) There are many ways to combat terrorism. First, would be an international team that is always on call to respond to terrorist threats, and retrieve hostages with minimal loss of life. The second is gun control, which would limit the weapons accessed by potential terrorists. The last thing is to recognize terrorist organ izations before they have a chance to attack. Terrorism has been around since the days of ancient Egypt.People have been killing leaders of countries to try and overthrow the government, and for the past one hundred and twenty years terrorists have had ne Terrorism, which has been around for as long as people can remember, has been on the rise for the past ten years. Terrorists use murder, kidnapping, hijacking, and bombings to almost always achieve a political purpose. These radicals are not just subject to the United States, terrorism is all over the world, in every way, shape and form. There are many different types of terrorism, for many different purposes.The primary reason for terrorist acts are to force a change in their nation's government. If terrorists are not satisfied with there government's political positions, they may end up taking the matters into there own hands. Another reason for terrorist acts are because of hate towards a race, nationality, or religion. For exam ple, in 1972 the Palestine Liberation Organization invaded Israeli dorms in the Munich Olympics, and held the Israeli athletes hostage until Israel would agree to release Palestinian terrorists that were captured in Israel.When Israel refused to comply with the terrorists demands, they blew up two helicopters which held the Israeli athletes, killing the whole team. This was one of the many cruel types of terrorism. In recent years, terrorism seems to be at a new high and attacks are more violent than in the past. With terrorism being so secretive and having no forewarning, it has been a real problem to deal with. The governments of many countries have tried to stop these cowardly acts, but they just seem to be on the rise.I have a few ideas that might work Solution: Since there are no fool-proof ways to predict when a terrorist will strike next, there can really be no complete answer to this problem. Even though there is no way to totally eliminate terrorism, my solutions may still prove valid. With the bombing of the World Trade Center, and the federal building in Oklahoma, rental moving trucks have been used to hold the bomb. An idea I have for this type of attack.

Organisational Change Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Organisational Change Management - Case Study Example The organization is also likely to face stiff competition from its competitors in the market some of who may be so aggressive thus the need to encourage innovativeness as a way to realizing the much needed change as some consider rebranding with the sole aim in mind. Effectiveness is of the essence owing to its ability to better place the organization far beyond its competitors. In order to attain high projections it’s wise to be more conversant on how the market may be faring at any one time and could be facilitated when a good feedback system is adopted (Berger, Sikora & Berger, 1994). In order to bring about change, change ought to begin at an individual level before it can be marketed. Staffs are thus expected to embrace a good attitude while going about their duties. This is due to its ability to increase productivity as most staffs are more motivated when this is achieved. A number of considerations are thus looked at both at internal and external levels due to their sig nificance to this process. Such factors are able to affect the entire process in both direct and indirect way. In order to achieve much one ought to use his skills and knowledge appropriately while implementing change in line with upgrading current systems to match up with the changing world as (Managing Change, 2003). While championing change one is likely to realize that this if well managed could be used as an effective tool thus making it possible to overcome existing barriers which in a more efficient way. Factors triggering the need for Change   Change management is a transformation process championed in an organization while striving at maintaining its relevancy in the industry. It could be adopted while trying to solve noted problem or rather trying to take advantage of an opportunity in a more ambitious way before other players capitalize on it. A number of common features are stated below and could give us a clue on what may cause it. 1. A new system is likely to be acqu ired by the organization and thus could be working on modalities geared at its implementation (Nickols, 2000). Factors leading to such change could be externally or internally derived. 2. In some situations organizations may be forced to adhere to change owing to a change in legislation based on the laws of certain countries, social issues as well as competition (Nickols, 2000). During such events rarely does it have a say regarding such issues. How does Change Management work several procedures are followed while going about the change process. At the top of the list change trigger are noted and good strategies initiated till the entire process is implemented as illustrated; Figure 1: The Change Management Model (L. A. Berger et al., 1994) Change Management Value A lot can be derived from this process basically because it motivates them towards realizing the much needed change while limiting barriers in existence at the organizational environment level. It is thus important to reco gnize the present need for change before taking any meaningful step to actualizing anything. When such problems are handled well organizations are more likely to derive much from such situation and could be because they could present an opportunity to them (Nickols, 2000). Table 1  - Examples of Change Management   Barriers/Drivers Example Motivation  - lack of value or confidence; don't care or understand the benefits Motivation

Tidal Barrage Social and Economic Benefits Vs Environmental and Dissertation

Tidal Barrage Social and Economic Benefits Vs Environmental and Ecological Negatives - Dissertation Example There is a major difference between a dam and a tidal barrage in the sense that dams store water on one side whereas, tidal barrages firstly allow water to flow into a river during high tides and later releasing the water back during low tides (Heal, 2009). This is mainly done by controlling the tidal flow and sluice gates. A sluice gate is a barrier made of wood or metal set in the sides of waterways. The main purpose of sluice gates is to control water level and flow in rivers and bays. They are also used in wastewater treatment to recover wide arrays of minerals in mining operations (Iwo-Hwu, 2008). Tidal barrages are the oldest and most convenient methods of tidal power generation; many countries like Russia, the UK, and China have been benefitted by it. However, there are positive and negative factors associated with tidal barrage. A Tidal barrage may offer social and economic benefits in terms of producing tidal energy that can be useful for the society at the cost that is very affordable and economical (Sobolev, et al, 2009). This helps in meeting energy needs along with adding value to the social and economic framework. The research is based on ascertaining the importance of tidal barrages along with analysing the social and economic benefits and environmental and ecology negatives. For this purpose, a systematic and critical approach will be undertaken to underpin the pros and cons of tidal barrage and thus reflecting the overall value and challenges. 1.2: Research Aim The research aims to investigate the importance of tidal barrage along with underpinning the social and economic positives and environmental and ecological negatives. In order to support and strengthen the proposed research aim, the researcher has formulated few research objectives that have been discussed as follow: 1.3: Research Objectives The purposed research objectives are as follow: To underpin the usefulness and impact of tidal barrage in a critical manner To assess and analyse th e social and economic positives To evaluate and assess the environmental and ecological negatives To critically assess the value and contribution of tidal barrage in strengthening the overall infrastructure To offer recommendations based on the results to enhance the positive effects of a tidal barrage 1.4: Research Questions The researcher has formulated few research questions that will further help in seeking answers for the proposed research aim and objectives. The research questions are as follow: 1. What is the usefulness and significance of tidal barrage? 2. What are the social and economic benefits associated with the effective maintenance of tidal barrage? 3. What are the environmental and ecological challenges associated with the structuring of tidal barrage? 4. What are the initiatives that can be undertaken to enhance the utility and benefits of tidal barrage? 1.5: Rationale for the Research Topic Sources and resources of energy play a pivotal role in the social and econo mic development of countries. Oftentimes, conventional sources of energy help nations to cut power costs along with safeguarding the environment and eco-system. In this regard, tidal barrages have emerged as one of the highly cost

Constitutional Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Constitutional Government - Essay Example For example, federalism allows the national and local government to come together and formulate polices that may be used to regulate how the activities will be executed. However, during the policy making process the level of power and control between the national and local government is not equal, the national government may have more scope to exercise its authority and powers over the national government. A good example of a country that employs corporative federalism is the United States. The theory of federalism emerged after the Second World War and great depression that substantially affected the United State economy and the world at large (Schütze, 2009). The theory of cooperative federalism utilizes a comparison of the marble cake whereby, there is overlapping of responsibilities between the federal government and the state government. One of the major areas where there are such overlapping is on the area like education, security, finance to mention just but a few. For example, the state/local government was give given the mandate to determine the level of qualification among teachers as well as set standards for learners among different students. Any interference by the federal government on education affairs was faced with a lot of criticism by the affected parties. Under the theory of cooperative federalism the state had the powers and authority to supply funds to support education and security at the local level but was not suppose to interfere with administrative duties/responsibilities (Schütze, 2009). . On the contrary, the theory of dual federalism was established via the tenth constitutional amendment. The theory entails a system of governance where the national government is concern with foreign affairs while the state government are directly involved in managing and ruling citizens. Unlike cooperative federalism where authority and powers between the state and federal government are not

'Majority rule is the right response to resolving disagreements in Outline

'Majority rule is the right response to resolving disagreements in society.' Discuss - Outline Example Government is an institution majorly formed to create stable society for the people that it governs. The people are however a complex group with widely varying wishes, needs and ideas as such the government must always turn to majority rule. The government cannot in anyway please everyone all the time. It must focus on making most of the people happy in order to gain stability faster (Web, N.d). Right is conformance with justice, law or morality. It is fair and effective. Rights can also be defined as entitlements to perform certain actions, or to be certain in states or entitlements that others perform certain actions. They dominate modern understandings of what actions are permissible and which institutions are just. They structure the form of governments, content of laws, and distribution of freedom and authority. Thus to accept a set of rights is same as to approve a distribution of freedom and authority and hence to endorse a certain view of what may, must and must not be done ( Wenar, 2010). Many theorists agree that A’s claim-right gives B a second order reason not to act on some first order reason. To go by this route we would need to tamper the conclusiveness of the conclusive reasons implied by assertions of rights to accommodate the fact that some rights have priority against others, and if any, few rights outweigh absolutely all non-right considerations in all circumstances (Wenar, 2010).This paper will focus mainly on the principle of majority rule and the rights of the minority. The main arguments are that majority rule is the right response to resolving agreements and supermajority rule is a better response to resolving disagreements in the society. Majority rule is right to resolving disagreements because it provides utility and fairness. Utilitarian argument The principle of utility states that in any circumstance that action ought to be done and that institution ought to obtain all the alternatives available, produces the greatest net ba lance of happiness over unhappiness when we sum up all happiness and unhappiness over all sentient beings from now in to the future (Cohen, 2002). The main feature of utilitarian political feature is that it calls for the maximization of happiness summed over all and not any particular distribution of happiness and subject to the constraint of everyone is above a certain minimum level. Thus from this emphasis on aggregation, utilitarianism requires that we trade off the burdens on some people and benefits to other people. The utility principle reduces highly contested and vague issues of right and wrong to problems that can actually be addressed through public methods of observation and calculation rather appeals to equally vague and contested intuitive ideas. Because of the gains in analytical tractability one may be able to secure greater public agreement about what is at stake in a political dispute and how to resolve it. Hence this principle represents one way to treat people as moral equals and it assigns the happiness of each affected party equal weight in determining what ought to be done. In actual sense the principle of utility represents a refinement of the intuitive idea that conduct and policy are right just in case they have the overall consequences or best results (Cohen, 2002). Egalitarian argument Egalitarian view that equality is the special sense of comparative equality but the prioritarian view that

Trading Simulation Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Trading Simulation Report - Essay Example A portfolio once built and left alone is of no use. Hence, I have decided to carry out a trading simulation and an in depth analysis of the four companies that have been chosen by me. As all four of these companies provide different products and services, it is almost obvious that different returns are expected from each of these companies. Although the portfolio had been developed keeping in mind mainly the long term aspects but analysing it a short term may give us an insight about the future. The four companies that had been considered, along with an introduction and a summary of their latest performance, are: Johnson & Johnson Pfizer Exxon Mobil Walmart Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson is a multinational U.S based company. It was founded in 1886. It deals in pharmaceutics, medical devices along with the manufacturing of consumer packaged goods. Johnson & Johnson comprises of One of the world’s biggest and diversified medical devices company The 6th biggest company with respect to biologics and also with respect to consumer health. Ranked 8th with respect to the world’s biggest pharmaceutics company The headquarters of Johnson & Johnson is situated in New Brunswick, which is in New Jersey USA. The Johnson & Johnson family includes around about 275 operating companies around the globe. Johnson & Johnson employees around about one hundred and twenty eight thousand people in more than sixty countries. Pfizer Pfizer was founded in 1849. Its founding members included two cousins, namely, Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart. Pfizer is the biggest pharmaceutical company with respect to the revenue it generates. Its headquarters in based in New York, USA while the headquarters of its research program is in Connecticut, USA. Although it has many research facilities around. Pfizer has acquired many renown and established pharmaceuticals on its way to success. The companies acquired include Pharmacia and Wyeth. The latter at its time, 2009, was considere d as the biggest merger since the Bellsouth and AT& T in 2006. Exxon Mobil Exxon Mobil is a Multinational oil and gas company based in USA. Its headquarters is in Irving, Texas. Exxon Mobil was actually formed through merger of Exxon and Mobil in1999. Exxon Mobil is believed to the world’s biggest traded company publicly in the field of Oil and Gas. Walmart The home office of Walmart is situated at 702 SW 8th Street Bentonville. Walmart is a multinational retail company. It basically operates through warehouses and departmental stores. It has around about 10,800 stores across 27 countries. It also operates through websites in 10 countries. It employees above two million people worldwide and is considered as the largest employees recruiting worldwide. It is also estimated that around about 245 million people visit its outlets worldwide on a weekly base. The company was founded in 1962 and is now the largest retailer of USA. Recent Performance According to the first quarter rep orts 2013 of Pfizer Profit of Pfizer has seen an increase of about 53%, that is, an increase from 1.78 billion dollars to 2.75 billion dollars a year before. Earnings per share experienced an increase of 14 cent from a year ago, that is, from 24 cents to 38 cents Adjusted earnings saw a decrease of 3 cents as compared to a year

American Government Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American Government - Research Paper Example ticle handling the roles of the house and the senate, the second article providing for the powers and responsibilities of the president, the vice president and the departments, while the third article caters for the duties and authorities of the federal and the supreme courts. The system of checking the powers is enhanced through having one arm of the government limit the powers of the other. The system of checks and balances can be demonstrated by the nature of relationships between these arms of the government. The executive is authorized to constitute the judiciary through having the president appoint judges. The legislature on the other hand is mandated to approve or disapprove the appointments made by the president. This way, there is a participation of each arm of the government in such decision making, ensuring that no arm exercises excessive powers over the others (Kilman and Costello, 56). The other nature of a relationship is that while the legislature, through the congress passes a law, the executive, through the president can veto such a law (Kilman and Costello, 58). Further, the judiciary can rule on the unconstitutionality of a law passed by the legislature, but the legislature can avert this through initiating the amendment of the constitution to suit such laws, if deemed necessary for the state. Thus, the separation of powers ensures that each arm is acc ountable to the others and by extension the whole republic (Kilman and Costello, 79). The process of passing a bill into a law includes the introduction of such a bill by the congress. The bill can either emanate from the senate or the house of representative, with the person introducing it becoming the sponsor (Kilman and Costello, 107). The introduced bill is then passed on to a selected committee of the senate or the house, depending on the nature and the rules of the process, for consideration. From here it can be passed on to subcommittees for further review. The next stage after the

The death penalty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The death penalty - Research Paper Example Notably, the rate of death penalty punishments is decreasing although some countries are still practicing it. Indeed, Amnesty International notes that USA, Japan, some African states, China, many Asian and Middle Eastern countries retains the death penalty punishment (Amnesty international 1). As such, death penalty exists in many countries and many American citizens, political leaders, and religious leaders have been victims of the death penalty. The continued use of the death penalty is because of its effectiveness in controlling capital offences and rendering justice. Various countries and religions have different definitions of crimes that may lead to a death penalty as well as distinct methods of carrying out the punishment. Crimes that may lead to a death penalty include murder, treason, rape, terrorism, and even adultery in the Muslim religion. However, in all cases, intentional murder leads to a death penalty. Methods of executing a death penalty include hanging, stoning, lethal chemicals, firing squad, and beheading. Nevertheless, in all religions, there must be enough evidence against a convict in a due court process for the court to prescribe a death penalty where the burden of proof rests with the complainant or the prosecutor. There have been numerous debates and opinions in support and against the death penalty where Amnesty international condemns the death penalty in all cases regardless of the characteristics of the offender, nature of crime, or the method of execution (Amnesty international 1). Moreover, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that death penalty is a denial of the right to life (Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty 1). Indeed, it confirms that the death penalty is a violent practice, and does not accord justice to either the accused or the offended (Center for Constitutional Rights 1). Proponents of

Turbo Tax & IRS FreeFile and a Software Program of the Intuit Company Research Paper

Turbo Tax & IRS FreeFile and a Software Program of the Intuit Company - Research Paper Example The IRS is the provider of the FreeFile that is also a program for filing taxes online. FreeFile assists in tax preparations and e-filing for free. A prospective user would need Turbo Tax software because of many reasons. One of the reasons relates to the ability of the software to support the online filing of tax returns. Through the capability, the software can help a user to save time that would others waste when moving to places of tax returns, and sometimes following along system to get clearance. Another reason that a prospect would love to use Turbo Tax software relates to its ability to run error checks. The software is able to perform error checks, and a final review of a user’s return to ensure that tax calculations are correct. Turbo Tax software has four major versions meant for different kinds of consumers. The first version is the Federal Free Edition that performs simple tax returns, and absolutely free. The second version is the Deluxe that maximizes an individual’s tax deductions. The Deluxe version of Turbo Tax costs $34.99 and is the most popular version. The third version of Turbo Tax software is the Premier, which is good for rental and investment property (Krantz, 2015). The Premier version costs $54.99. Home and Business is the fourth version of the Turbo Tax software. The edition costs $79.99 and appropriate for sole proprietors and small business operators. One can find the Turbo Tax software versions from the link https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/compare.jsp. A prospective user would also want to use the IRS FreeFile program because of some good features of the software. The software is capable of performing deductions and analyzing tax history of the taxpayer and provides a comprehensive report to the effect (IRS, 2015). The FreeFile is also safe and efficient, which enable t to assure security, preserve privacy and allow quick access to user’s tax records. FreeFile also has features that support  the filing of tax returns for individuals earning below $60000.  

As a firm grows the lines of communication are often stretched Essay Example for Free

As a firm grows the lines of communication are often stretched Essay As a firm grows the lines of communication are often stretched. To overcome this meetings could be set up to keep people informed. The companys span of control could be re-emphasised so that workers know whom to report to and who to inform of their orders. A clear structure and hierarchical pyramid will reduce arguments in the short term. Team building exercises are a modern way of improving morale, team spirit and efficiency. They are a long-term measure to keep all managers striving for the same aims and goals for the company as a team. I have been assigned by the company Koka Kola to sort out the problem they have where a new base 50 miles outside of there London head quarters has been built. The problem is the communication between the two bases; I need to find the best way to communicate between the two bases. Business Objectives The Business has objectives it must achieve; the businesses main objective is to set up a new communications system between the London Head Office and the newly built Production Site. The problem with this is that it may clash with another objective, Profit. If the company is to spend money on a new communications system it must make sure that the money spent on the system, staff, marketing etc, does not overshadow the money made by sales and other sources of profit. This, although a big problem could have benefits in the long term. If the money spent on setting up the Communications System is more than the profit made that month. In the months after when the System is set up, the benefits in profit as a result of the it being set up could be far greater than that in past months before it was made and so in the future could eventually be bigger than the amount paid on the Communications System and maybe even the Production Site. This concludes that although the short-term objectives maybe conflicted, the long term must be waited upon in order to reap the benefits. Communication: Communication is the process of passing information from one person to another. Once the target receives the information it is acted upon and feedback is sent to the original sender. An example of communication in business might be a company producing cars. The message might be an advertisement on television telling customers about a new car. The target will be the segment of the market interested in buying a car. The feedback will be the level of sales when the magazine first goes on sale. Communications are important in a business because it keeps the company working on the right track. For example if a marketing director who never asked the customers what they wanted in a product made a set up an advertising scheme on television, the advertisement would be based on the directors interests rather than the views of the customers. The customers wouldnt be interested and would turn a blind eye. The problem with the business I have been appointed to is that the business is splitting into two bases amongst which people will work who would normally communicate with each other. I have organised an interview with a worker from a local business to find out what methods of communication they use: 1) How many methods of communication do you use in your business?