The American Influence in the post-Cold War Era: a Critical Perspective

Introduction The post-Cold War era saw the end of the simple bipolarity in international affairs, and the redistribution of power in the international system resulted in the revision of classic concepts of war, power, security and conflict. The new agenda for economic development of the poorest regions and their political integration in a globalizing world, led to an increased role of non-governmental organisations in foreign affairs (Cox, 2003; 2008; Baylis & Smith, 2007; Brown, 2005; Strange, 2002). With globalization, the capacity of the state was undermined, and transnational corporations and global firms became the landmarks of a new world order, which some labelled as post-democracy (Crouch, 2004). In the age of post-democracy, the debate around the reorganization of power in the international system and the sustainability of the main continuities in US foreign policy such as trade liberalization and democratization became a question of new debate (Nye, 1990; Strange, 2002; Cox, 2003; 2008). The question whether the United States was going to preserve its economic and political primacy in a much more complex world divided experts, and existing theories of imperialism clashed with newly emerged visions of a multilateral world, where influence and resources are shared among a relatively strong America, and emerging Asian powers. This short essay will critically examine the influence of the United States in the post Cold War world, and will explore whether the demise of the American dream for political and economic freedom is really on its way. This will be observed in the context of US foreign policy. Research question This essay will explore whether the American dream and its replications in foreign policy is in its demise in the post-Cold War era. It will defend the view, that despite the rising powers from Asia and the political and military capabilities of Russia, Israel and Iran, the American continuities in foreign policy remain resilient and to a large extent – sustainable in a multi-polar world. In order to do this, the author has decided to look at two specific tenets of US foreign policy and their sustainability as factors in global politics – economic trade liberalism and democratization. Both of them will be discussed separately. First, the author will briefly mention the replications of the American dream in foreign policy. The American dream re-examined – the foreign policy dimension The American dream largely reflects the American values, embedded in the ideas of social equality for all people and economic freedom. Its replications in foreign policy have had two shapes – one is economic trade liberalization, and the other one is the spread of democracy. In the post Cold War era, theories related to the contested powers of the United States permeated the political discourse, and the ubiquity of the American influence in the world became a topic of discussion. According to Gowan (2008), one of the characteristic traits of American foreign policy has been the preservation of its capitalist policies, through the spread of liberal values all over the world. He argues that despite the rise of Asian powers, the US has managed to maintain its â€Å"world empire image† (347) through the sustainability of American dominated free market and institutions. The result of this post-Cold War strategy is the increasing political influence of the US in military and security issues. In sum, the American dream in foreign policy in the post-Cold War period can be looked at on two levels – one is economic and is related with the ever expanding policies of trade liberalism. The other one is related to growing political power, stemming from t he preservation of American controlled markets. For the purposes of this essay, both will be examined. The American economic liberalism in the new era In this section, it will not be sufficient to explore only the American macroeconomic performance after the end of the post Cold War. First, we need to briefly highlight the ideological tenets, on which this performance rests. The ideology, which has shaped the US performance since WWII is related to economic liberalism, free trade and cooperation, for the purposes of sustaining a capitalist model of production (Gowan, 2008; Brown, 2005 Cox, 2003; 2008). It rests on the image of liberal values and openness, which the US embraced during its expansion in Latin America in the 19th century. This image, described by some as American exceptionalism (Hunt, 1987; Levy, 2001) has remained continuity in US foreign policy, despite the changing conditions of the external political environment. The idea of open trade, dynamic industries and multi-lateral trade relations are all tenets of the perpetuating image of the United States as a key player in trade and economics, and a proponent of capital ism. Although it is argued whether this consistency has revolved around economic multilateralism, mercantilism or neo-imperialism (Wallerstein, 2003; Gowan, 2008), its perpetuation in international affairs is undisputed. Despite the global recession and the rising Asian powers, the US has preserved its position as one of the leading powers in the global economy. Official figures for American gross domestic product show that since 1994, the American economy has grown at a significantly faster rate than other main advanced economies such as the Eurozone and Japan (Gowan, 2008). Growth declined sharply in 2001 and 2002 but recovered shortly after, and before the recession, figures show that the US total share in the global economic output has grown to 49.6 per cent (Gowan, 2008:351). With the global recession, the American economic ideology was challenged, and the supremacy of the dollar as the world currency – put to question because of issues related with mounting trade deficits and foreign debt. However, at present America remains one of the largest actors in the global economy, because of its ascending productivity, increasing competitiveness and domineering trade relations. Undisputedly and despite the global economic conditions, the American market will always be attractive for capitalisms from the rest of the world, because of its enormous size (Gowan, 2008; Dam, 2004; Verdier, 1994). This would perpetually encourage other economic powers from Asia and Latin America for example, to accept â€Å"American-centred economic regimes† (Gowan, 2008: 353). Also, the tangible American presence in the international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, makes the US a dominant power in terms of development economics and recovery. In this sense, the ideology and the structural characteristics of American capitalism have succeeded in a post-Cold war world, and despite the challenges ahead, at present the US remains a leading economic power. Democratization and the United States As the previous section briefly outlined, despite the formidable challenges on the global horizon, which the US faces, it has managed to preserve its economic position in the world. This economic position, however, is not simply the result of the rise of American capitalism within the world economy, but also of the political rise of the American values and the ability of the US to use its political power and influence in a globalizing world (Gowan, 2008). Authors such as Wallerstein (2003) and Gowan (2008) suggest that the US has managed to reshape the ideas of world peace and cooperation, through the historic preservation of its capitalist ideal. Also, the attempts to export democracy (Chua, 2004) and democratic values in many parts of the developing world have led to the widespread influence of the United States. Some are willing to speculate, that this was a devised strategy, designed to sustain the position of the United States as a leading political power (Cox, 2003). What was l abelled as neo-imperialism or the spread of American values through the use of â€Å"soft power† (Cox, 2003; Nye, 1990) is one of the main reasons, why the United States is likely to keep its place in the international system in the decades to come. The American democratic model has been exported to Africa, the Middle East and Latin America and despite the criticisms related to its implementation, it has served as a means for the preservation of the American position in foreign affairs. Conclusion This essay has attempted to show, that despite the challenges on the US foreign policy agenda, its influence in the international system remains significant. Therefore it would be exaggerated to say that the American dream is a reminiscence of the political past. The most powerful manifestations of the perpetuating American presence in foreign affairs are related to economic liberalism and political exports, such as democracy, human rights, and social equality. In the post-Cold war period, the United States has continued to spread its influence, and has largely remained at the centre of international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. In terms of political governance, the American formula remains uncontested. America’s greatest export commodity – democracy – has established a sphere of influence in the developing world, where the American presence will remain strong, at least for several decades to come. Whether one will take the mercanlitist, multilateralist or imperialist approach to understanding America’s future role in the world is less relevant compared to the fact that the United States remains an important element in a shared world leadership, where the swing of China and Russia towards capitalism, and the rise of a global civil society, have already shifted the balance of power in a totally different direction. Bibliography: Baylis, J. & Smith, S. (2007) eds, The Globalization of World Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press Brown, C., (2005) Understanding International Relations, Palgrave: Macmillan, Ch. 6, pp. 106-123 Chua, A. (2004) â€Å"Our Most Dangerous export†, Guardian, Saturday, February 28 Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/feb/28/globalisation.iraq Cox, M. (2003) â€Å"Empire’s Back in Town. Or America’s Imperial Temptation – Again†. Millennium: Journal of International Studies. ISSN 0305-8298. Vol.32, No.1, pp. 1-27 Cox, M. & Stokes, D. (2008) â€Å"Introduction: US Foreign Policy- Past, Present and Future†, in US Foreign Policy, Cox, M. and Stokes, D. (eds), Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 3-23 Crouch, C. (2004) Post – Democracy, Polity Press Dam, K.W. (2004) The Rules of the Global Game: A New Look at US International Economic Policymaking, Chicago: University of Chicago Press Gowan, P. (2008) â€Å"Global Economy†, in US Foreign Policy, Michael Cox & Doug Stokes (eds), Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 336-350 Hunt, M. (1987) Ideology and US Foreign Policy. Yale University Press Levy, S.M. (2001). American Exceptionalism and US Foreign Policy. Palgrave, New York Nye, J. S. (1990) ‘Soft power’, Foreign Policy (electronic source), issue 80 (Fall), pp.153-71. Strange, S. (2002) The Declining Authority of States, in The Global Transformations Reader: an Introduction to the Globalization Debate, 2nd edition, Held and McGrew (eds) Cambridge: Polity Press, pp.127-134 Verdier, D. (1994) Democracy and International Trade, Princeton: Princeton University Press Wallerstein, I. (2003) Historical Capitalism with Capitalist Civilization London: Verso

Developing yourself as an effective HR Practitioner Essay

Briefly summarise the CIPD Profession Map (i.e. the core professional areas, the specialist professional areas, the bands and behaviours) In this report I will summarise the CIPD Profession Map which is made up of Ten Professional areas, Eight Behaviours and Four Bands. The two core Professional Areas Insights, Strategy and Solutions – This area of the map concentrates on developing an understanding and prioritising the direction of the organisation. Leading HR – Shaping and driving themselves and other employees to deliver a valued service to the organisation. The Professional Areas are made up of Organisation Design – This area of the map concentrates on shaping the organisation structure to the business needs. Organisation Development – This area of the map concentrates on developing skills and training of all employees to build a strong team. Resourcing and talent planning – This area of the map concentrates on identifying and developing talent within the organisation, seeing where the need is for new talent within the organisation, making sure the survival of the business continues to grow. Learning and Development – This area of the map concentrates on developing employee’s knowledge and skill in all levels of the business. Performance and reward – This area of the map concentrates on recognising performance and experience of all employees by rewarding them. Employee Engagement – This area of the map concentrates on insuring employees engage with each other and their work at different levels through the organisation. Employee Relations – This area of the map concentrates on keeping accurate records, supporting employees at all levels and rewarding employees in performance. Service Delivery and Information – This area of the map concentrates on delivering accurate information to the customer within an agreed time frame within an agreed cost. Eight Behaviours Curious – New ideas wanting to update technology and training needs. Decisive Thinker – Being able to analyse information and identify solutions. Skilled Influencer – The ability to influence customers in the direction of organisation needs. Personally Credible – Delivers and builds HR expertise to add value to the organisation. Collaborative – Cooperation between departments making positive contribution to the organisation. Driven to Deliver – Being able to deliver a service on time within budget by prioritising agreed tasks and goals. Courage to Challenge – Being able to challenge by specking skilfully when confronted with challenging situations. Role Model – Respected by other employees by using integrity and tact being able to deliver a solid service. Encourages others to act in the same way. The Bands are made up of four levels – Starting at Band One – Entry Level. Focusing on being accurate and flexible on collecting and providing data to the customer. Band Two – Advisory Level. Leading and advising individuals and teams, understanding issues when they arise and resolving them quickly and professionally. Band Three – Consultant Level. Addressing and leading all HR challenges providing ideas and solutions, analysing risks. Band Four – Leadership Colleague / Coach. Coaching and leading, developing strategies and plans for the customer needs. Comment on the activates and knowledge specified within any 1 professional area, at either band 1 or band 2, identifying those you consider most essential to your own (or other identified ) HR/L&D Role. I will select one Band and one Professional area which I consider most essential to my current employment. Band 1 and Service Delivery and Information as the Professional Area. In my employment I have to have a clear idea of what the Line Managers and Senior Managers want me to deliver. As listed in Band 1, Listening to them and asking the right questions understanding their needs, getting a time frame on when they want it to be delivered is essential. Its gives me a clear picture of what information I have to collate using the technology provided this saving time when delivering the information to them. Keeping the channels of communication open is essential in case of delays or other customer complaints that arise. Activity 2 2.1 Understanding customer needs (including examples of 3 different customers and 1 need for each, and explain how you would prioritise conflicting needs) In this activity I have chosen three customers, Staff, Line Managers and Senior Managers with reference to my own role I will identify their needs and prioritise conflicting needs. Staff – Pay Queries If a member of staff comes to the HR Department with a Pay Query the HR Department must deal with the query within an allotted time. In the Company I work for this time is 48hrs from the time of receiving a pay query. The next step of the process is to talk to the Line Manager to identify where there might be a problem, if this is to do with hours. This will then be passed on to the Payroll department to be rectified, the member of staff will be notified by email or phone call of the progress of the query. If this cannot be resolved by theses means the employee and the line manager will be asked to come to a meeting to discuss the query. Not resolving pay issues in an agreed time frame, can lead to low moral within your employees and give a negative response to the HR Department. Line Managers – Performance At the Company I work for the HR Department is requested by the Line Managers to be responsible for monitoring performance of all employees and reporting back to them if an employee falls below the agreed target. This has to be done daily and weekly depending on what department the employee is from, to keep the continuity of production flowing and reducing problems later on. Without the HR Department doing this as requested by the Line Managers the quality and productivity could be dropped if this is not monitored. This is essential for the business to produce good quality produce for the external customer thus reducing customer complaints. The HR Department would have to prioritise this service. If an employee has been identified that has fallen below the set target, they will work alongside with the Line Manager and agree what course of action should be taken i.e. Would the employee benefit from more training and what type, bearing in mind this would be an extra cost (has a budget been put in place for retraining employees) has the  employee performance dropped due to other circumstance, this would all have to be investigated. The employee would then be invited to attend a meeting with their Line Manager and a member from the Hr Department to discuss this. Senior Managers – Labour and Budgets At the Company I work for the Senior Managers puts together a Labour and Budget plan at the beginning of the year, for the amount of staff they will need each month. This plan is then given to the HR Department to recruit the right amount of staff on budget within the agreed time frame. The HR Department would have to prioritise this plan if they did not it would have a detrimental effect on the business no employees no product no business. The conflicting needs of all the different customers at any one time would have to be prioritised in order, for example Senior Managers requesting information would normally come first over other customers. Line Managers would then come second leaving the Employee last, but is this right does this mean the employee is less regarded in the organisation. No this should not be the case no matter what position you are in. It’s about prioritising what needs to be done first, not what level you work at. This may mean extending your delivery time within an agreed time frame with other customers, keeping channels of communication open with them until you can deliver the service to them. 2.2 Effective communication (include examples of 3 different communication methods and the advantages and disadvantages of each) Daily / Weekly Meeting The advantage of having a daily or weekly meetings is that a manager from each department usually attends a meeting discussing what will be happening or if there have any problems that need to be aired with other colleagues. This keeps communication following. The disadvantage of this, is another colleague would have to cover the manager’s work, while doing their own. Putting pressure on themselves to deliver their own work. Also information may not get passed down to other workers or the information may get distorted causing problems later on. Skype The advantage of using Skype that you can conduct meetings or interviews  with other sites and conduct interviews this would save on travel costs. The disadvantage of using Skype is if you are in an area with a poor signal. Newsletter – Monthly Advantage – A monthly newsletter is a good way of communication to employee’s especially to the ones that don’t have a company email or attend a regular meetings on what is happening in other departments on different sites. At the company I work for our newsletter is divided up into four section on what is happening and what is going to happen this usually starts with Operations Directors talking about what’s happening on their sites. It then moves on to Hello’s & Goodbyes announcing who has left and who has joined the Company and what department and position they are in. As well an email being sent out about a new employee starting this gives other employees a chance to know new faces. A Birthday or Celebration section has also been added. The last section is about Who Are We getting to know an employee each month. These newsletter is attached to the payslips monthly. The disadvantage of printing individual newsletters is the Cost depending on how many employees you have this could be high, the alternative is to place this on a notice board for all employees to see. 2.3 Effective service delivery (include: delivering service on time, delivering service on budget, dealing with difficult customers, handling and resolving complaints. The way to build and maintain an effective service delivery fast and professional, is to have a set procedure in place of: Who does what Has a time frame been put in place to respond, are you in receipt of all information to deal with this Request / Complaint. If you receive a complaint are you appropriately trained to deal with difficult customers. Keep the channels of communication open to all customer needs by the ways of a Phone Call, Email or a Letter or invite them to a one to one meeting. This all helps to keep the customer informed and make them feel valued. Interview the customer, identify key bits of the complaint, do you need to interview anyone else. All these factors need to be addressed to avoid a lengthily drawn out process. Any delay could prevent the Company from having  a successful result. What is it going to cost, is it within the budget. The key is to keep the channel of communication open, inform customers straight away of changes that may affect them. If there is a complaint react straight away. Bibliography ACAS. Workplace relations the key to better UK productivity – Sir Brendan Barber. Available at: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=5169 Accessed (25 February 2015) ACAS. Top tips for better management. Available at: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2966 Accessed (12 February 2015) CIPD. CIPD Profession Map. Available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/cipd-hr-profession/profession-map/ Accessed (21 December 2014) Martin, M and Whiting, F (2013) Human Resource Practice. 6th Edition. London: Chartered Institute of Personal and Development.

Fast Food Nation Essay

In Eric Schlosser’s book, â€Å"Fast Food Nation†, the author presents an in depth analysis of the fast food industry, from its origin of Southern California to its ubiquitous manifestation of today’s culture. Schlosser argues that the fast food industry has used its political influence as a way of circumventing issues of health and working conditions, while greatly increasing profits and expansion. The intent of Schlosser’s book is to impact the reader to stop and consider the consequences of eating at a McDonald’s or similar chain. He expands upon his ideas in a series of broad and diverse ways such as criticizing schools that received payment for Coke machines and advertisements (53). He goes on to argue in chapter 4, â€Å"Success,† that the expansion of the fast food industry accelerated franchising, which can be beneficial for both the company that wishes to expand and for the business oriented person who doesn’t want to risk it alone. McDonald’s has become a real estate giant by leasing property to franchisees which, Schlosser argues, keeps franchisees fully under the control of the corporation because the lease can be terminated. He points out what was once a step to becoming a millionaire is now at a 38. 1% failure rate (98). Schlosser’s view is successfully defended by his careful Pinedo 2 and precise analysis of the fast food industry, effective writing dialect, and his ability intertwine statistics with moral and sympathetic appeal. Schlosser’s book is written for the general population, to which he is conveying a message. One effective writing device that Schlosser uses in this chapter is appealing to the readers’ emotions effectively by creating a background for the individuals. The reader becomes sympathetic to the fast food workers as one learns of their daily lives. Schlosser’s book is written for the general population which he is trying to convey his message to. He introduces the chapter with Matthew Kabong. The reader continues to learn about Kabong’s daily work routine as a Little Caesars delivery guy. â€Å"He earns the minimum wage? and on a good night he makes about fifty bucks† (91). He is a poverty-stricken optimist that wants to own a Radio Shack in the future as Schlosser points out. I can not help but to feel sympathetic to this young man’s current situation. Schlosser intentionally build’s the character of Kabong by using bits of humor such as Kabong referring to his car as his office (92). This appeals to a broad audience who have held such jobs in the past and wish for better things for this individual. Schlosser builds a connection with the reader, instead of introducing the chapter with statistics and franchising information, he builds up the chapter and then introduces his points, which is a very important tool. Shortly after in the chapter, Schlosser introduces Dave Feamster, an ex-NHL player who became a Little Caesar’s franchisee. We learn that a bone fracture at the base of his spine halted his career in the NHL. He vanished from the NHL without so much as Pinedo 3 a good-bye handshake (93). Feamster contacts an old friend and relative of Mike Hitch, company founder of Little Caesars. He buys a Little Caesars franchise with what little money he had left. We learn that his devotion to Little Caesars led him to a good income and a total of five Little Caesars restaurants. Again, Schlosser builds up the individual’s character. In this case, Dave Feamster was shown as a NHL star, who was unfairly dropped and soon had nothing. He rose from nothing and made a new career. I sympathize with Feamster as he undergoes hardship and it builds a certain connection. Schlosser’s uses this connection to his advantage and is able to persuade me to listen more attentively to Schlosser’s message. He is able to capture the reader’s attention and then focus their attention subconsciously to his other points on franchising. Another effective writing tool is Schlosser’s in-depth information surrounding franchising and his powerful argument supported with statistics and reports. Towards the middle of the chapter after Schlosser captures our attention, we learn â€Å"three-quarters of the American companies that started selling franchises in 1983 had gone out of business by 1993. † He backs up this claim with William Bates, a professor of economics at Wayne State University, â€Å"the franchise route to self-employment is associated with higher business failure rates and lower profits than independent business ownership† (98). I am persuaded to believe through his intellectual correspondents that franchising may not be the way to go and not a sure-fire way towards money. He later points out a study conducted by the Heritage Foundation that found almost six hundred new fast food chains were launched in 1996 due to government-backed loans. He shows that according to the study the chain that benefited most from the loans was Subway, which had 109 of Pinedo 4 755 stores opened by government loans (102). In this case the reader is persuaded to believe a study that conducted by what appears to be an unbiased organization. Schlosser’s uses the emotions of the reader; in this case he wanted to create anger in the readers’ mind toward the fast food industry, particularly Subway. We are led to believe we are paying for the opening of these fast food chains with our tax money. This creates an anger and resentment towards the fast food industry. Another example shown, â€Å"According to a 1995 investigation by Canada’s Financial Post, Subway’s whole system seems ? almost as geared to selling franchises as it is to selling sandwiches. ‘† It reports that the lowest investment to open a major fast food chain is Subway at $100,000, but they also take the most royalty at 8% (100). This is a legitimate investigation shared by Schlosser to persuade the reader into seeing his view. Schlosser, in this part of the chapter, is conveying the message that the fast food giants are out only to expand and make money, and really care less about the franchisee. The general population cannot help but to take what these studies say for truth. Schlosser knows this and uses it effectively throughout the book. Another effective tool is the language incorporated in this chapter. He uses certain words to his advantage in persuading the reader to his view. For instance, when talking about Pete Lowe, Schlosser describes him as â€Å"a latter-day entrepreneur, the greatest superstar salesperson of all time, who built a multinational outfit from scratch† (106). Schlosser uses a persuasive dialect to influence his readers and appear as an accredited source. He says earlier in the chapter when describing the city in which Kabong and Pinedo 5 Femster work, â€Å"Pueblo is the southernmost city along the Front Range? a town with steel mills that was never hip like Boulder, bustling like Denver, or aristocratic like Colorado Springs† (91). Again, Schlosser aims at a certain view. He suggests to the reader that the town of Pueblo is sluggish and poverty-stricken. We follow Schlosser’s views as a credible source as one would not know what Pueblo was like without a prior visit. He describes the town and the people in it to complete the background of the chapter. Schlosser, later in the chapter, reinforces his views when describing poor fast food workers, â€Å"these fourteen fast food workers from Pueblo can almost reach out and touch the famous people† (105). Schlosser is indirectly reinforcing his earlier statement. In conclusion, Eric Schlosser’s book, â€Å"Fast Food Nation† writes an accomplished and thought-provoking book on the broad spectrum of effects the fast food industry has on today’s culture. Schlosser’s repetition, dialect, and persuasiveness, along with his ability to appeal to the reader’s emotions, provide a strong and successful argument. When backed up by research studies and investigations performed on the restaurants, Schlosser’s argument only becomes more strengthened.

Nutrition sciences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8000 words

Nutrition sciences - Essay Example ly consumption of food and drink by a sample of students and to analyse such dietary intakes into useful information, such as nutrients consumed by each student in the given time frame. Moreover the report is also aimed at critically evaluating the findings obtained through analysis and their comparison with Dietary Reference Values (DRV). Healthy diet, which has balanced nutrients, among youngsters is a major factor in determining their health conditions in the years to come. It is due to this reason that consuming a certain level of nutrients in each diet an individual takes is essential for a healthy life. Student life is the phase in which every individual experiences changes and variations in life style and consumption patterns on a frequent basis. Such changes and variations are likely to influence their health in the later stages of their lives and develop certain eating habits, which are difficult to be changed afterwards. It is therefore considered pertinent to make youngsters understand about the health benefits of a balanced diet which ensures the supply of necessary nutrients on a daily basis. In the past, numerous research works have been carried out with the aim of determining the dietary intakes among university and college students. In their study, Kresic, Jovanovic, Zezelj, Cvijanovic & Ivezic (2009) aimed at determining the relationship between the knowledge possessed by students from universities and its impact on their dietary intakes. The researchers found that students who possessed knowledge regarding the optimum and balanced diet were able to ensure a balanced dietary intake in their daily lives as compared to those who lacked such knowledge. The researchers recommended that awareness about nutrition and balanced dietary intakes shall be introduced in universities so as to ensure healthy lifestyles among students (Kresic, et al., 2009). On the other hand, Soriano, Molto & Manes (2000) carried out a research work to find out dietary intake

Culture and religions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Culture and religions - Essay Example Pesently, there are at least 5000 indigenous groups in the world. Their indigenous religion and culture has faded away with the spread of the non-indigenous religions and cultures. The modern civilization has also made it difficult for them to practice the indigenous religion because their rights to practice it are subjugated by the dominant modern people (Scheiner, 1992). The importance of interrelatedness of everything in the cosmos developed from the similarity of experiences of the indigenous people dwelling in different parts of the world. Such experiences included but were not limited to feelings of pain and pleasure, instances of birth and death, and indigenous people’s wonderment regarding the cosmos as well as the place they had in it. In addition to that, the indigenous people also interacted with one another through trade and traveling. These factors allowed the exchange of beliefs and cultures and played the role of catalyst in the interrelatedness of everything in the cosmos. The spiritual purpose that they serve for the indigenous people is that they inculcate unity and harmony among them and enable them to interact with one another in spite of the indigenous religious and cultural differences because these factors make them feel that they are not alone and that they can help others and attain help from them in

Arab Americans in Southwest Michigan Research Paper - 1

Arab Americans in Southwest Michigan - Research Paper Example A unique dynamic of the majority of these first Arab American immigrants was the fact that they were almost invariably single males who, disillusioned with the prospects that their native land could offer them, struck out to find new opportunities in the United States in elsewhere as a means of building their life.1 Rather than settling in the major cities such as Chicago, Detroit, or New York city exclusively, such as so many immigrants before them had done, a large percentage of these young men set out across the Mid-West seeking to earn a living as traveling/itinerant salesmen.2 Although it is of course unfair to categorize an entire population by the actions of a few, it is fair to say that those individuals who engaged in such a line of work found themselves to be quite prosperous; so much so that many of them went back into the cities and opening small stores and shops of their own. It was at this juncture that the idea and actuality of an Arab community within southwestern Mic higan began to develop. Similarly, as the community began to grow and develop, a more nuanced and diverse array of Arab American immigrants began to add their own particular touches to this community. However, such is not to say that the transition that these individuals experienced towards acceptance within the communities they resided was an easy one not marked by hardship, racism, and prejudice. As the numbers of immigrants entering Michigan and elsewhere as a result of what has come to be known as â€Å"the Great Migration† increased, so too did the resistance among the native population to their presence. As with many such stories of assimilation and immigration, the native population believed that the influx of immigrants based on the belief that these individuals were antithetical to the â€Å"American† way of life and held worldviews, religious beliefs, and key cultural differences that would not blend well with

Morality and Moral Controversies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Morality and Moral Controversies - Essay Example Gender identity is one of the first and most far-reaching identities that a human being learns. Many societies have established social distinctions between the sexes which do not inevitably result from biological differences. This largely reflects the impact of conventional gender-role socialization. Gender-roles were defined as expectations regarding the proper behaviour, attitudes and activities of males and females. The application of traditional gender roles leads to many differentiation between men and women. Both sexes are physically capable of leaning to cook and sew, yet most western societies determine that these tasks should be performed by women. Both men and women are capable of learning to weld metal and fly airplanes but these functions are generally assigned to males. All of us can describe the traditional gender-role patterns which have been influential in the socialization of children and the United States. Male babies get blue blankets while females get pink one. Boys are expected to play with trucks, blocks and toy soldiers; girls are given dolls and kitchen goods. Boys must be masculine - active, aggressive, tough, daring and dominant - whereas girls must be feminine - soft, emotional, sweet and submissive. In any society, gender socialization and stratification requires not only individual socialization into traditional gender roles within the family, but al... ender roles, every society has women and men who resist and successfully oppose these stereotypes: strong women who become leaders and professionals, gentle men who care for their children and so forth. With these realities in mind, it seems clear that differences between the sexes are not dictated by biology. Indeed, the maintenance of traditional gender roles requires constant social controls - and these controls are not always effective. 2. Is Rawls right that the obligation to obey the law rests on the duty of fair play (Political and Social Relationships) I believe that nothing in the world is fair. Social stratifications, gender and racial inequalities are very much apparent that we can say not everything is fair and square. With these differences, the law binds all of us no matter what race we have, what economic strata we belong or what our gender preference may be. In complex and rapidly changing societies, there are dislocations between ends and means that encourage individuals to commit acts that are not defined as deviant. Deviance is somewhat more of a social problem rather than a personal trouble; it is a property of the social structure, not of the individual. As a consequence, the solution to deviance lies not in reducing the mismatch between structured goals and unstructured means. In human groups that are growing and changing, class lines are not immutable. Individuals alter their class positions and the boundaries and strata may change. It is important to understand the relationship among social mobility, structural change and moral panic. A central element in our culture is the value placed on improving one's position - through increased income, a job entailing more authority, an access to prestige, ability to have knowledge about technology.

The Process of Applying for a Degree at CSU Assignment

The Process of Applying for a Degree at CSU - Assignment Example Next, click the next icon at the bottom or on any sections outlined on the left line to move to a dissimilar screen. Your data will be inspected for inconsistencies and errors. If omissions or mistakes are realized, you will be taken back to the screen to correct the responses. Otherwise, your information will be saved to allow you proceed. Put in mind that if you use the jump or Skip button on your left, information on that screen will not be saved and you will be required to re-enter your data. Next, click the next icon at the bottom or on any sections outlined on the left line to move to a dissimilar screen. Your data will be inspected for inconsistencies and errors. If omissions or mistakes are realized, you will be taken back to the screen to correct the responses. Otherwise, your information will be saved to allow you proceed. Put in mind that if you use the jump or Skip button on your left, information on that screen will not be saved and you will be required to re-enter your data before submission.   After completing the application, click on the â€Å"SUBMIT† icon positioned on the left side of the column to present the application.   I look forward to your applications. For any questions, please conduct me as soon as possible on my Email address; gitzbay@hotmail.com.  

Introduction to Operating Systems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Introduction to Operating Systems - Assignment Example An answer file is a key component of an unattended installation. Users only need to run the setup program using a command-line parameter which makes the setup program take inputs form the answer file. During the rest of the windows setup process, the setup hardly requires administrators for guidance as the program takes all input form the answer file component of the unattended installation. As Koons (n.d.) states, â€Å"the computer manages to bypass user interaction by reading instructions that are coded within a response file†. The setup installs all files in an automated manner minimizing user interaction to a large extent. The setup program also automatically restarts the computer system during installation when necessary. Users/administrators only need to customize their settings during the process of installation. Although many tools work in an operating system’s built-in mechanism, I would like to use a file-protection tool which should take care of all files required to run the operating system. Sometimes, important files get damaged affecting the working of an operating system. Therefore, I would like to include a file protection tool in an operating system’s built-in

Business Insurance Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Insurance Law - Case Study Example It is palpable that pressure is piled on Allied Insurance to cover for John’s damages. Either way, there is an extremely little probability or chance of John missing the payment when the case reaches the Jury. This implies that Allied has to be prepared to eventually pay. The only concern now is to determine how to pay less than is being demanded. It is recommended that Allied seeks to have the case dismissed without it heading to the Jury. The risk of taking the case to court is high considering the expenses. For example, the chance of Allied paying nothing to John is 0.20 against 0.30 which exposes them to pay the whole amount. The time and cost is to be lost in the process yet John had accepted an offer of $750,000. It is, therefore, witty to persuade John into accepting a figure closer to that amount or if he cannot then the $750,000 be awarded to him.Decision StrategyIn order to negotiate for a counteroffer of $400,000, Allied can arrange for a session with John himself o r with the lawyers representing him so that the case can be solved. In order to convince John into accepting the counteroffer Allied as well needs to be represented by a shrewd negotiator who can navigate through the case and reach an amicable solution. This strategy will ensure that Allied persuades John much more since both parties would not want to lose the case. Through the sessions, Allied should be able to explain the possible outcomes of the court case so as to convincing John into giving in to the offer.

Information security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Information security - Essay Example Although this protocol allows devices to communicate with each other easily, but the network-enabled devices have a number of weaknesses in them that have make the networks exposed to attacks (Westervelt 2013). â€Å"The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) is warning about weaknesses in the Universal Plug and Play protocol† (Westervelt 2013, p. 1). The reason behind the warning is a recent research about the security flaws in universal plug and play devices which has identified some protocol vulnerabilities and configuration errors in the use of UPnP devices. According to the report, 81 million universal plug and play devices expose themselves to the internet and nearly 16 million devices of those have the tendency of allowing attackers to intrude into the systems by making the firewall ineffective (Moore 2013). In this paper, we will cover some of the main issues associated with the universal plug and play devices and the ways that can be used to overcom e the risk of hackers’ attacks. The discussion will support the statement that technology usually gets deployed in a hurry without proper consideration of the harms associated with it. 2. Weaknesses Although plug and play devices allows easy communication between devices, there also exist some major weaknesses related to network security protocol. Researchers have shown that nearly 40 to 50 million network-enabled devices face risk because of universal plug and play protocol vulnerabilities (Moore 2013). UPnP allows communication between devices, such as, printers, routers, smart TVs, media players, webcams, and network-attached storage (NAS). The three main security flaws bringing millions of users under risk of attack include programming issues in SSDP raising the risk of execution of arbitrary code, exposure of private networks to attacks because of exposure of plug and play control interface, and crashing of the service because of programming bugs in HTTP, UPnP, and SOAP (Moore 2013). Disabling the universal plug and play protocol is one way to prevent the attacks the risk of which is always associated with the use of UPnP devices. Most of the vendors usually do not have any plan of updating their vulnerable devices. Therefore, organizations need to use Metasploit modules and ScanNow UPnP tool to identify vulnerable media servers, printers, and other UPnP devices (Blevins 2013). One of the main weaknesses of universal plug and play devices is that trust on all other communicating devices which in most cases are not trustworthy. There is no software that can check whether the devices with which UPnP devices communicate are prone to attacks or not. Moreover, buffer overflows are also an issue regarding the use of UPnP devices (Schmehl 2002). An effective way to overcome this issue is the blocking of the UPnP at the Internet gateway. After doing this, link to any system outside the LAN should be blocked using the firewall in such a way that it does not access the ports 1900/UDP anymore. In case of Windows system, those ports are 2869/TCP. Along with this, UPnP on the router should also be turned off (Vaughan-Nichols 2013). As Raikow (2001, p. 1) states, â€Å"an attacker could gain complete control of an entire network of vulnerable machines with a single anonymous UDP session†. The attack not only provides the hacker with an access to all files and data stored in

Trends In Merchandizing Essay Example for Free

Trends In Merchandizing Essay Over several years ago, manufacturers and retailers have been putting more emphasis and placing increased importance on the in-stock merchandizing and marketing. Since mid 1990s, the effectiveness of traditional marketing has really declined. Also the competition between retailers and channels has been increasing which have been treated as the factors in driving the trend. According to Bishop Willard in October 2002, he noted that more consumers make around 70% of all purchasing decisions while in store shopping. This has been the main reason as to why stores are the new platforms for brand marketing while the difficulties in delivering effective in store solutions for merchandizing increases, and also the need to implement state-of-the art merchandizing software capable of strategizing, planning, visualizing and communicating such solutions arises (Varien 2001, pg 45).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interactive edge in merchandizing has built many interactive sales applications for the top consumer package goods manufacturers for about ten years ago. Since the year 2002, there has been an increase in demand for interactive requests which focused entirely on planning and communicating merchandizing solutions. The ability to create account specific market plans is very crucial because each customer has specialized schedules, strategies, programs, objectives and store and market conditions. Marketing plans are ideally supported by customer and category insights, analysis of promotion that speak in the situation of the customer, sales goals and brand information. The marketing plans that are informed by customer insights and account specific category have greatest impact in setting the stage for activities in merchandizing. In any marketing planning, it is important to implement the existing opportunities and conditions for each customer by first assessing the customer’s current merchandizing solution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Smart bargains have managed thousands of dollars of continual changing inventory on daily basis. The firm’s experienced buyers should act on a moment’s notice to buy a wide range of high quality products at unexpected discounts. At the midst of controlled disorders at the core of this changing business, smart bargains required a solution to enable buyers, senior executives and planners to report and manage future and historical merchandize plans in a responsive, efficient and highly flexible manner. Smart bargains has turned to Envisa to implement and architect a business intelligence suite through use of Microsoft server 200 analysis and Microsoft table in excel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The solution which leveraged merchandizing data mart had been developed during earlier incentive which provided smart bargain with a powerful reporting architecture that untied business users from the need to make complex questions in custom report writing. Merchandizing strategy creation does not imply a complete decorator make over. In order to enhance customers’ image of store, one should perceive his own store the way the customers see it and provide the customers with their requirements. According to research by Russel M who is a retail hardware operator, the consequences of a customer satisfaction survey came up with seven aspects customers want their hard ware stores to play for them. The customers require hardware stores to offer services which are special, make enjoyable shopping, have provision of one stop shopping destination, help them to save time, help them to save money, assist them better to understand d-i-y projects, and also make shopping easy (Phelps 1963, pg 78). At global shop, retail design experts, annual retail design exposition co-produced by design ideas and display conducted studies on why and how today’s consumer shop and also how a store can merchandize its goods so as to best meet the customers requirements. Those designers came up with emerging merchandizing trends to assist the retailers in all firms and industries to provide their customers with the kind of shopping experience they need. It is very important to keep up to date with these trends because as the number of shopping choice in the market grows, clients will find the most enjoyable and satisfying experience for shopping. This is also a better way of reaching ones store’s changing customer base. This includes more shoppers of females and also the next shopper’s generation who would expect more interactive and entertaining shopping experience.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to maintain home improvement shoppers from shifting to other shopping alternatives like big boxes, the internet and mass merchandisers, the retailers require incorporating an updated merchandizing strategy so as to cultivate customer loyalty and sales based on preferences of consumers. Some of the emerging trends, with details on how the home improvement industry is incorporating these trends are outlined below. Accommodation for shopper’s need for entertainment competing with the increasing popularity of increasing sales during an uncertain economy and internet shopping one the only two major factors that drive the today’s trend towards entertainment in retailing according to Schaffner K who is the publisher of design ideas and displays searching for ways to get customers to interact with the produced products is the core of the retail tainment concept, according to Schaffner. He added that this strategy does not hurt while conducting it. Such thinking was behind sears’ new tool territory format which so far has implemented in 131 stores of mall nation wide with around 200 additional stores slated for format incorporation this year (Brand 1963, pg 85).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The tool territory concept was created from consumer’s point of view and its caters to how the stores target clients –male-d-i-years-prefers to stores. The purpose of designing the tool territory was to be an interactive playground for men according to Costello Larry who is a senior manager in communications for sears. He further explains that, sears created a tusk force to research for customer’s requirements and expectations especially when shopping for tools. The study concluded that, individuals want to interact with tools and also experience their features in the stores. In incorporating these hands on approach to buying tools, sears have positioned a strategy of â€Å"try me† stations in several locations within the hardware department. For instance, if a client is deciding which item to purchase, like hammer, he or she can first try it our by hitting it on a free standing metal spike that has been placed in front of hammer display. Prospective buyers of power drills can pick up on the drills displayed outside the boxes on light displays with signed, and use it to make a hole in a well placed block of wood (Shilburg 2003, pg 231).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With all consumer packed goods or items available and the notice able changes in effective displays of merchandizing and the market place promotions, it becomes very hard for a consumer to come up with proper decisions. Manufacturers and retailers should start to cut through this clutter by having simplified shopping experiences the latest research conducted from the information researchers has not covered the early indicators that point to consumer centric approach to emerging merchandizing consequently, merchandizing as it is defined today is likely to undergo major of transformations. By considering the emerging trend, trends report and the latest times and also the growing demand for a consumer centric approach, the world’s largest provider of enterprise market information services and solutions for the customer package goods, health care industries and retail, explores trends in practicing merchandizing, including displays, new practices of innovations like manufacturers embark up on this transformation, customer packaged goods and temporary price reductions. As the retailers reduce the grocery display space, manufacturers require innovative merchandizing devices that should have a stress to the importance of consumer centric merchandizing to provide more profitable rewards in order to feature and complete space during the next several years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marketers should step up merchandizing innovation in have the shopping experience simplified, to have a break through the clatter and have better alignment with consumer segments and their patterns of shopping. The Information Resources Inc report aimed at helping the consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers to see new risks and opportunities that will arise with the new trends of merchandizing so that they can be able to act on the insights with confidence and speed and win at the shelf (Beck man 1967,pg 421).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For the past several years, merchandizing activity has been declining in more than half of all the customer packaged goods categories as the CPG marketers start to realize that, more of anything is not better with respect to merchandizing. Through development of new store formats and pronounced focus on perimeter upscale and departments, uncluttered layouts, a competition for shrinking grocery display space has intensified for various categories. Merchandizing is perceived as an effective sales driver as the majority of consumer categories gain an average volume lift of around fifty percent or more with around 25 percent reacting 100 percent when the tactics of merchandising are applied. References Beckman T, (1967). Marketing. New York. Brand E, (1963). Modern Supermarket Operation. New York. Phelps D, (1936).Migration of Industry to South America. New York. Shilbury D, (2003). Strategic Sport Marketing. Crows Nest. Varley R, (2001), Retail Product Management in Buying and Merchandising. London.

Importance of individual differences in understanding behaviour

Importance of individual differences in understanding behaviour If you go into any job no matter where you are in the world you will come across a multitude of different personalities and behaviours. An individuals personality doesnt just affect the individual, but everyone around them. Organizations consist of people who work together. Differences between individuals based on personality traits, may be an incentive for the development of creativity and a source of conflicts and other problems existing in the organization. Managers need to be able to measure personalities in order to make useful hiring decisions and they can do this by giving personality test and evaluating the results. This essay will cover information about the individual differences and behaviour at work. Also will give examples of method of measure of personalities and theories. Main Body The word personality derives from the Latin persona, meaning mask ( J.Maltby, L.Day and A.Macaskill, 2007). Psychological definition of personality, define personality in terms of characteristics, or the qualities typical of that individual (J.Maltby, L.Day and A.Macaskill, 2007). Psychologists are interested in what people are like, why they behave as they do and how they became that way.à Ã… ¸Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ Ã‚ ¾Ãƒâ€˜Ã‚ Ãƒ Ã‚ »Ãƒâ€˜Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€˜Ã‹â€ Ãƒ Ã‚ °Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€˜Ã…’ à Ã‚ Ãƒ Ã‚ ° à Ã‚ »Ãƒ Ã‚ °Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒ Ã‚ ¸Ãƒ Ã‚ ½Ãƒ Ã‚ ¸Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬  Ãƒ Ã‚ µ There two main attributes of the individual differences: ability and personality (C.Cooper, 2002). Ability is one of the traits that distinguish one person from another. There are found in the speed, depth and strength of mastery of methods and techniques of some activities and are internal mental regulators (C.Cooper, 2002). Personality stable system of philosophical, psychological and behavioural symptoms, personal feelings, thinks, behaves, that characterize the person (C.Cooper, 2002). According to information above, people differ from each other is obvious. Each person is different from any other their individual psychological peculiarity. The identity of each person is endowed with a combination of traits and characteristics that form the personality a combination of psychological characteristics of people that make up its identity, its difference from other people. Individuality manifested in the character traits, temperament, habits, the prevailing interest, as cognitive processes, abilities, individual style of activity. Studying individual differences is especially important ability for leaders and managers, enabling them to understand and relate well to others as well as understand themselves. It helps effectively promote functions and well-being among employees, because how employees will participate at work will depend on the production, reputation, quality of company or organization where person is working. There are so many different tests which can help to predict or describe personality. For example, there are two popular methods ( J.Maltby, L.Day and A.Macaskill, 2007), which managers can use to help them to determine which type of individual they want to bring to the organization or how to effectively manage the people. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and The Big Five Personality Model, they used to measure personalities. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator is the most widely used in the world. MBTI is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. Individuals are given a 100 question personality test that asks them how they would react in certain situations. Based on the results from the test they are rated as an introvert or an extrovert, intuitive or sensing, feeling or thinking, and perceiving or judging person. Management would rate a quiet or shy person as an introvert and a person that is outgoing, assertive and sociable as an extrovert personality. And intuitive person often looks at the big picture and a sensing person has attention to detail and often likes routine and order. A feeling type of person relies on emotion and values and a thinking person uses simple reason to handle situations. A perceiving individual would be able to handle flexibility and be spontaneous, and a judging individual likes control and ofte n prefers things to be structured. The Big Five method is a research method in which it has five basic dimensions that measure human personality. Personality is an important determinant of how a person thinks, feels, and behaves; it is helpful to distinguish between different types of personality. This method uses five factors which are extraversion a person that is positive emotional and feel good and world around one, neuroticism a person that is negative emotional and view the world around negatively, agreeableness which is a person that is tendency to get along well with others, conscientiousness is a person who is responsible and organized, careful persevering, a person that has openness to experience is creative, original, has broad interest and sensitive. Depending on what the individual scores it will determine which type of personality that they have (S. Wood, M. West, 2010). If the psychological test was carefully chosen it can help organisation or practically manager to do their work easily. General personality measures may well produce some important information about candidates; however, without clear ideas about what to look for, based on a detailed job analysis and other sources (The Psychology of Personel Selection). Each person is unique and has different types of personality that may be suited to different kinds of organizational situations. Characterize human it is not enough to know his temperament and style of the nervous system. Even with a very good knowledge of someones cognitive ability and personality it would impossible, because most of factors depend on situations (The Psychology of Personel Selection). For this reason, it is not enough to spend a few tests to know as individual difference. Good manager should understand and learn how to deal with people and find right way to manage them (à Ã‚ ºÃƒ Ã‚ ½Ãƒ Ã‚ ¸Ãƒ Ã‚ ¶Ãƒ Ã‚ ºÃƒ Ã‚ ° à Ã‚ ¿Ãƒ Ã‚ ¾ OB) . Dispositional factors play a considerable role in our everyday life and there seems no reason to expect that they will not have some effects on work performance Teamwork has become an important part of the working culture and many businesses now look at teamwork skills when evaluating a person for employment. Therefore, it is important that students learn to function in a team environment so that they will have teamwork skill when they enter the workforce. As I dont have any work experience I want to discuss the individual differences according to my team working experience. Starting from, that I actually dont like working in group, because you depend on your group mates, you cannot work at yourself, all time you have to common concept. On other side, there are some positive sides of working together, you can find new friends and some time just make conversation with new people. In my experience I have a lot of team projects, some of them I was enjoyed, some of them were absolutely terrible, because group working is not easy as it looks in reality, you working not with friends or people with whom you prefer to work, but with people who was selected by someone, in my example it was undergraduate office. In group team all people have different inelegance, different character, some of them hardworking, some lazy. According to my group work experience, it easy to say that in this world everything is not as easy as it look like, because sometime you have to do work which you dont like but unfortunately you have to do it. First of all, in my group work were four people including me, all of us were different nationality. In our group were conflicts, difference of opinions, discrepancies, we make decisions, sometimes not quite correct, but we did them together, so its fault belong not to one person, its belong to whole group, because decisions in group make together, because the group is one and decisions should taken collectively. It was difficult to arrange time of our meeting because everyone has different time table But when we were learn about each as some information, it was easier to work In our project most of us participate, but we had one girl, she actually didnt attend most of our meetings, we e-mail to her, called, but she didnt replay on. So we had discussion in our group and decided that we going to gave her that 10% of final work. In fact it was really useful decision, because at the final presentation she was so active, tried to participate in all decision. But our group decided that her it going to be useful lesson for future. As well as, in our group was one person, who was responsible for finance, he was really intsiastics he all time In the conclusion, Importance Of Individual Differences In Understanding Behaviour Importance Of Individual Differences In Understanding Behaviour With globalisation becoming increasingly important, the corporate world is attracting a more diverse workforce and hence an increase in individual differences. An organisation is made up of people and individual differences are a key aspect in any organisation as each and every person brings along their own personal and unique differences. Much of psychology involves finding rules that describe how people behave in general. (Cooper, 2002) Understanding and triggering the best out of the individual differences is crucial for organisations to keep a competitive edge in todays fierce business environment. However managing individual differences is a complex issue as it relates to a number of human factors such as differences in attitudes, values, perceptions of the situation and self. There are diverse roles and research to support the findings of individual differences. However, for the purpose of this assignment I shall focus on how people respond differently to particular motivation interventions. Secondly this essay will also aim at examining individual differences in regards to how motivation affects performance. Studies have shown that motivation is a key influencer in job performance for individuals within their organisation. According to Stevens (2005) motivation is central to most human activities because it governs the choice of behaviour and attitudes. Motivation at work is complex because it relates to a number of interrelated human factors and organisational factors such as individual difference in work competence and organisational procedures, reward systems and communication framework. The higher motivation one has for the job, the more probable they will be to put more effort and work more efficiently. There are various ways that organisations adopt when ensuring that their employees are constantly motivated in their job. A decrease in motivation not only affects the employee and their productivity but the organisation as a whole, as the products will not be produced to the highest quality possible. The various ways that certain methods can be implemented in organisations to increa se the motivation are; increase in wages, bonuses, increase in holidays, days out, etc. However with reference to Taylors theory of motivation, Taylor claimed that money was what the worker wanted most (Locke, 1982). This cannot be proven to be a completely correct, with the research and evidence from individual differences, this contradicts what Taylor claims. Each individual has their own preferences and therefore not will be motivated in different ways Motivation enables one to have a different outlook on their performance of any sort, they will feel a different emotion when completing a task. A number of theories have been proposed to explain the impact of motivation on attitudes towards work and job performance. Reinforcement theory demonstrates that any behaviour that is rewarded would be repeated. This is known as positive reinforcement. An example of this in the workplace could be any monetary or non monetary reward, praise, approval, promotion or access to decision making process. However, it is necessary to consider the balance of the value of rewards to avoid potentially risky behaviour. For example, an individual will be motivated to achieve the greatest reward thus deliberate omission of complying with risk management practices. According to Skinner (1938) managers giving praise to others for working to minimise risk act as a strong motivator to comply with risk management practice and encourage involvement and responsibility. Moreover Social Learning theory contends that an individual are motivated not only by reward and punishment but by observing others receiv ing rewards and punishment. Individuals are motivated to imitate the behaviour of others if they observe they are being rewarded for their behaviour. Hence, managers can lead by example to gear the individual differences into the desired behaviour. However, given that each and every individual is unique, the managers must ensure not to promote discrimination while leading through example. Goal theory shows that people are money through reward systems and involvement in goal setting. Locke (1968) argues that employees are motivated to achieve specifically stated goals which are perceived as personally achievable. Hence understanding the individual differences is vital to help the organisation set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely (SMART) goals to create a win-win situation. There are diverse motivation methods in which todays organisations use. There is a growing concern that more and more employees tend to increase the number of turnover within a company thus In order to keep the turnover low, managers need to find new innovative ways to keep individuals within the organisation motivated. The reality is that we can only hypothesise that people are motivated by some particular thing by looking at their behaviour and seeing if there is anything different when the particular thing is involved. (Weightman, 1999). This theory helps to reinforce the fact that understanding motivation of individuals is key in a work environment, this can help determine and predict an individuals performance within the job role. 2. In the war for talent, managers have to keep an even closer eye on staff morale and motivation. (Personnel Today, January 2001) Individual differences are seen all around; in the way each of us reacts to certain situations is a perfect example of differences. There are many diverse ways in which personality can be measured at work. Conversely to measure ones personality can be hard to define. The Big Five Model is a well known technique which explains how different personality traits link together. The Big Five Model has five diverse stages which help to identify the personalities of people, these are; Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Openness/ Intellect. Extraversion- this goes more into depth about how comfortable one feels around others, and also takes into consideration how sociable and outgoing a person is versus a quiet and reserved person. The more a person is sociable and outgoing, and a person who seeks out status, the more extrovert we say a person is. Agreeableness- This measures the extent to which a person is warm and trusting and open to others, versus someone who is less open and unfriendly. This can also show how a quickly a person can adapt being put in diverse situations and how friendly and welcoming they are to meeting new people. Conscientiousness- This shows the extent to how a person is organised and dependable, versus a person who is unorganised and impulsive. This will show how a person thinks and their feeling towards how they carry out certain tasks. Emotional Stability- This shows the extent of how a person is calm and stable versus a person who is more neurotic and nervous. When placed in certain situations we all experience various feelings and this can help show ones first instinct and how they adapt when placed in certain situations. Openness/ Intellect- This shows the extent to which a person is imaginative and innovative with regards to their ideas and openness to new and diverse experiences versus a narrow-minded and unimaginative individual. To fully understand the various personalities of individuals we need to know and understand all of the five different factors within the big five model. Only then will we be able to understand which category one fits into and thus can determine the way in which they are likely to react when placed in certain situations. Creating a great place to work meant developing an environment where self-motivation could take root and flourish. (Personnel Today, January 2001) When it comes to motivation within peoples careers or jobs, then employees do not want to feel that they need many incentives of motivation in order to be productive, self-motivation from within can also generate high efficiency from an individual and higher overall productivity. The pleasure of being to complete something and wanting to do well and succeed is a perfect example of self-motivation. The want or need to complete something successfully from start to finish and obtain a feeling of satisfaction, is a perfect exam ple of self-motivation at its best. LOOK IN BOOK AND ADD THE DIAGRAM AND TALK ABOUT THE MOTIVATORS FROM BOOK, AND LINK IN WITH INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES. Reflective Report-From a personality report created from questionnaires which I filled out with regards to my personality. There were several questions which responded to thirteen different categories of characteristics these are; Sociability, Leadership, Optimism, Cooperation, Compassion, Sensitivity, Stability, Calmness, Order, Industry, Intellect, Culture, and Achievement. Each of these characteristics helps determine an individuals personal traits and behaviour. Both I and a peer completed the questionnaire which would help to outline individual differences in action, and show whether the way I perceive myself would be the same as the way in which my peer perceived my characteristics to be. The results in some cases show that the way in which I have seen myself, can in many cases be completely different or sometimes similar to the way in which others perceive myself. Relevant research helps to support the individual differences theory and helps one to understand how they are perceived by others and the difference in how a person might perceive them to be. Whether introvert or extrovert, all of these traits and personalities are what makes us different, and the way in which we see ourselves on a day-to-day basis can be seen completely different by someone who sees us on a day-to-day basis. Another example of how personality theories have supported certain situations that I have been placed under is doing group assignments at University. I was placed within a group of individuals that I had never previously met. After a few weeks of starting to understand one another, we all felt that we had similar qualities and personalities. Conversely weeks gone by, I started to notic e that people that I originally thought had the same personality in some certain aspects to myself, turned out to be completely different. For example, everyone in the first instance was very agreeable, which in most cases is always true, because we were all aware that this was group work and we had to work together in order for this to be completed. However after meeting often with the group, I noticed people were a lot more extroverts with their feelings, and were not afraid to let their feelings be shown, even if this was negative. In addition to this after several meetings after people who I perceived to be like-minded would be completely opposite to what I thought earlier for example; they would turn up to meetings late or not at all, whereas I am a punctual person and thought they were too from initial meetings, they were very laid-back in approach to their work, and took their time whereas in the beginning showed enthusiasm in wanting to get the work complete. In addition to this, from my personality report, it has been proven that the way in which I perceive myself to be a much organised, conscientious type of person, my traits have been perceived by others to be the same, and that others agree to an extent that I am a very conscientious person. Within the group, there were many who at first gave the impression of being very conscientious however as time went on, I found that they were quite the opposite and more impulsive. Working in a group with such diverse and in most cases opposite personalities to my own was at first daunting and quite a difficult task to ensure each person can remain motivated and get the work completed, however being able to adapt to situations proved to be a strong trait of mine, enabling me to get my message across to all people, in a positive way. Another previous experience of mine showed that I perceive myself to be a good leader in one way or another in being able to apply my thoughts across to my peers and when dealing w ith group work, I am an organised person which helps in being a good leader. From the feedback of the personality report, a friend perceived me in the same way, and thought likewise, as well as this, being in a group with students whom I had never previously met, after receiving a high result in the work, feedback came unknowingly from peers claiming they were glad I was the leader and I made an excellent leaderall credit goes to you. Which helps to show evidence that in some cases we can see ourselves and know most of what our personality is like and what others may also perceive however in many cases many people can get the wrong message about one another. The reflective report helps to support my theory of personality traits within a working environment. My experiences within working at university in group assignments and the peer profile helps to show that personality is key when understanding individuals. Personality helps to determine the outcome of an individual and what is expected of them. Recommendation- There are diverse ways in which work processes can be improved in the future, an example of this is; for managers to schedule regular one-to-one basis meetings, where employees will be able to express their concerns if they have any. On one hand, some employees prefer interaction and want to feel like they have a voice within the company. If a manager is able to effectively understand the employees needs and provide new innovative ways of implementing new systems so that can help employees to feel more motivated, they will thus achieve a better response of motivation. There are individuals who differ, which shows a clear demonstration of individual differences. Thus, some individuals will prefer to have clear guidance and a supervisor or manger to conduct regular meetings, however some may not prefer this technique. Therefore, it is the duty of the manager to get the balance right and ensure that they are able to respond to employees wants and needs. As mentioned abov e, there are various techniques of motivation interventions which can all contribute to the overall performance of an individual. By implementing these motivation factors and putting them into practice in a working environment such as; doing a group project at work, using different techniques which can be creative and not tedious can increase motivation, productivity and the overall efficiency. The downfall of having so many motivation interventions is that due to individual differences within a group, it may be difficult to know which method is the best to pursue. This can have an adverse and opposite effect leaving some members feeling rather de-motivated and generally un-interested, which creates a further problem of trying to re-motivate and create responsiveness in the group. Give advantages and disadvantages to the recommendation when being introduced in an organisation. Bibliography Fincham R, Rhodes P, (2005) Principles of Organizational Behaviour, New York: Oxford University press Inc. Furnham, A. (1992) Personality at Work: The role of individual differences in the workplace. London: Routledge Mazerolle, D, M. James, R, L. (2002) Personality in Work Organizations, London: Sage Publications Inc. Schermerhorn R. J. Jr, Hunt. G. J, Osborn. N. R (1991) Managing Organizational Behaviour, Ohio University: John Wiley Sons, Inc.

Environmental Management Case Study of AkzoNobel

Environmental Management Case Study of AkzoNobel Abstract In modern business, sustainability has become of great importance when determining a companys strategy.   AkzoNobel, a company that produces chemicals, paint, paper and pulp, is well aware of this evolution and has built its business model around it. This case study aimed to analyze and review AkzoNobels environmental- and sustainability performance by exploring the companys webpage as well as other critical resources. The management of the company was analyzed, along with the tools, methods and metrics that are used to reach set objectives. Furthermore, the environmental- and sustainability policy was related to the ISO14001 requirements. It was determined that, although AkzoNobel puts in significant effort to include environmental aspects in its long term goals, it is clear that their sustainability agenda is a tool for boosting their reputation to outcompete their competitors. Table of Content Abstract 2 Table of Content 3 Introduction 4 Environmental Management 4 Executive body 5 Driving forces 5 Objectives/Comparison with Sweden 5 Environmental Policy 7 Sustainable systems 7 Tools, methods metrics 8 Eco-premium products 8 Environmental Assessment Tools 9 Safety 9 Product stewardship 9 Managing scarce resources 9 ISO14001 and AkzoNobel 9 Suppliers sustainability 11 Supplier visit 11 Vendor compliance letter 12 Key supplier management program 12 Sustainability focus areas 12 Climate change AKZO Nobel 12 Position 12 Achievements 13 The Future 13 Discussion 14 Conclusion 15 References 16 Introduction AkzoNobel is the largest global paint and coating manufacturer in the world and a leading producer of specialty chemicals, pulp and paper. It is a company of about 57,000 employees that are situated in more than 80 countries. The companys slogan is Tomorrows answer today. In other words, their strategy is to produce products that are far more advanced compared to their competition. With todays concern about environmental issues, this competitive edge comes with producing products that are deemed sustainable. Therefore, the forefront of AkzoNobels agenda, it can be said that sustainability is the key word in AkzoNobels business. The aim of this report is to review the environmental and sustainability management performance of AkzoNobel. The objectives of this report are to: Give a short description of AkzoNobels activities and to investigate their executive body; Analyze the driving forces behind the environmental management performance of the company; Define the most significant environmental aspects of AkzoNobel and relate them to Swedens Environmental Objectives; Critically analyze the environmental/sustainability policy; Identify and analyze the different environmental and sustainability management tools, methods and metrics; Provide AkzoNobels position on global warming; Describe AkzoNobels supplier and vendor policy; Examine their business strategy in relation to business opportunity; Judge their actual sustainability performance; and Comment on outside criticism of the company. Environmental Management When a company sets its goals towards sustainability, it is often necessary to completely rework the way in which the company is managed. In order to successfully improve negative social and environmental impacts, it is essential for the company to integrate these factors into every day decision making (Epstein, 2008). AkzoNobels management team has claimed to have done this by the appointing a management team that has sustainability at its utmost priority. Executive body AkzoNobel has established an executive committee (ExCo) which is composed of five members of the board of management and four leaders with functional expertise. This arrangement allows business and function to be taken equally into account while managing the company. The functions that are now representing the ExCo are: HR Organizational Development, Research, Development Innovation, Legal  and Supply Chain/Sourcing. The ExCO shares powers and responsibility for managing the company under the chairmanship of the CEO, Hans Wijer. (AkzoNobel, 2011c) AkzoNobel also has a special Sustainable Development Group. This team is composed of 13 individuals with background studies ranging from chemistry to economics and from environmental sciences to policy and management. (AkzoNobel, 2011g) Driving forces In 2008, AkzoNobel put in place a strategy with a sustainable agenda. Their specific sustainability objectives were to: Remain in the top three in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes; Reduce the total reportable rate of injuries to 2.0 per million working hours by 2015; and Deliver a step change in people development, in part through substantially improving the diversity in the company. (AkzoNobel, 2011e) The first point connects the companys business side and its environmental objectives together. Investors are increasingly focusing on investing in companies that set industry-wide best practices with regard to sustainability. Sustainability has become attractive to investors because it aims to increase long-term shareholder value. Sustainability leaders are increasingly expected to show superior performance and favorable risk/return profile (Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, 2011). Consequently, a company with a sustainable agenda is considered a good investment. AkzoNobel is well aware of this as can be seen in their business principles when they state: We need to make sustainable profits if our business is to thrive (AkzoNobel, Business Principles, 2011a). The companys sustainable agenda also mentioned that they aim to reduce the reportable rate of injuries. AkzoNobel is a company that works with substances and chemicals that have high environmental and health risks. Companies fear having a reputation for a high number of injured employees or for causing environmental damage. Because AkzoNobel handles these types of substances it is consequently under the microscope. In order to avoid pressure from environmental advocacy groups such as Greenpeace or to avoid bad media, it is of strong interest to account for environmental aspects as well as the safety and health of its employees. Objectives/Comparison with Sweden According to the companys website, AkzoNobel set its targets on the following objectives towards sustainability: Improving safety performance; Increasing turnover from eco-premium products  which are both eco-efficient and attract a premium; Developing sustainable water management   at all sites; Reducing carbon emissions from cradle to gate; Adherence to and training in the companies Code of Conduct ; Strengthening the diversity of the companys workforce; and Implementing leading people development programs (AkzoNobel, 2011b). From these targets it is clear that AkzoNobel considers a well trained and ambitious workforce an important step towards sustainability. It can also be seen that there is an emphasis on the responsibility of the workforce. It is important for the company that its personnel are aware of the sustainable targets and that the employees take part in reaching them. In comparison, Swedens Environmental Objectives are the following: Reduced Climate Impact Clean Air Natural Acidification Only A Non-Toxic Environment A Protective Ozone Layer A Safe Radiation Environment Zero Eutrophication Flourishing Lakes and Streams Good-Quality Groundwater A Balanced Marine Environment, Flourishing Coastal Areas and Archipelagos Thriving Wetlands Sustainable Forests A Varied Agricultural Landscape A Magnificent Mountain Landscape A Good Built Environment A Rich Diversity of Plant and Animal Life (Government offices of Sweden, 2011) The management of AkzoNobel is in line with most of Swedens environmental objectives. They are aware of the need to reduce carbon emissions and employ sustainable water management. Furthermore, the production of eco-efficient products is a step towards a non-toxic environment. Eka Chemical is AkzoNobels daughter company that specializes in specialty chemicals, pulp and paper. Their goal is to have pulp and paper products that are made from sustainably sourced fibers (i.e. sustainable forestry), while using energy from renewable sources and discharge only of water that is cleaned after production (AkzoNobel, 2011d). Taking into concern its environmental aspects, AkzoNobel has a clear aim towards one of Swedens Environmental Objectives, which is A Good Built Environment. Environmental Policy Within a company, the principles of environmental policy are the foundation for implementing a sustainable system. Usually full support at the top management level is needed to make such a system work and to gain the attention of all employees inside the organization (ISO 14001,2010). The term Environmental Policy can be defined as: any [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] action deliberately taken [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] to manage human activities with a view to prevent, reduce, or mitigate harmful effects on nature and natural resources, and ensuring that man-made changes to the environment do not have harmful effects on humans. (Fairbridge Technologies, 2009). As mentioned previously, AkzoNobel really takes care of its reputation for being a sustainable company. This, again, is mentioned in their Vendor Policy. The slogan Tomorrows Answer today shows that this topic is omnipresent and AkzoNobel not only explains that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦sustainability is at the heart of everything we do but also that they have integrated sustainability into every area of their business. (AkzoNobel, 2011a) Sustainable systems Sustainable systems are considered ones that take into account not only environmental aspects but also social and economic ones. The main goal of an Environmental Management System is to improve all three aspects simultaneously without losing performance in one. AkzoNobel uses a sustainability framework which is part of the managing our values ideal. Former key points such as integrity, governance and compliance are now being replaced with new topics such as value creation through process excellence, innovation and talent development. More specifically, AkzoNobels sustainability framework focuses on three concepts: Improve: continue to comply with environmental and social regulations to ensure a license to operate. This point is considered to be the core element of how AkzoNobel, as a company, operates. Manage: include sustainability in all aspects of the value chain. Invent: integrate sustainable value propositions to develop a long-term strategic value. (AkzoNobel, 2009) Tools, methods metrics The global strategy of AkzoNobel is to integrate sustainability in all aspects of the value chain, to decrease their carbon footprint and to make profits from these standardized systems. It starts in the early stage of market research across sales and ends in cooperation with stakeholders. Furthermore, AkzoNobel highlights the essential aspect of long-term opportunities for their business which should be reached by these tools, methods and metrics. In the following theres a detailed list of the sustainability actions in the company. Eco-premium products AkzoNobel analyzes all of their products by quantitative or qualitative measurements every time they bring a new product on the market. In order to be deemed an eco-premium product, the product must score significantly better than a currently available product in at least one of the following categories: Toxicity Energy Efficiency Use of Natural Resources and Raw Materials Emissions Waste Land use and risk (AkzoNobel, 2009) Environmental Assessment Tools As mentioned previously, AkzoNobel quantitatively and qualitatively measures the sustainability of all products before they are considered suitable for sales. In order to conduct these assessments, the company implements the use environmental assessment tools such as life cycle analysis, environmental impacts analysis, carbon footprint analysis, eco footprint analysis and eco efficiency assessment. Environmental tools, such as the ones mentioned, are essential for turning data into environmental business strategies. Data for each of the tools is gathered from in house personnel, measurements, authorities, etc. and the conclusions from each report are used for negotiations, reducing costs, meeting permit requirements, improving efficiency, meeting customer demand and setting sustainability targets. (AkzoNobel, 2010b) Safety The establishment of a behavior-based safety program and a new Safety Leadership Program for head management is an efficient method of improving the injury rate for employees and contractors. This figure is also influenced by the integration of standards for process safety and occupational health and the, so called, Health, Safety, Environment and Security (HSES) audit process. The aim is to share good practice all over the company with corporate HSES audits to analyze progress. (AkzoNobel, 2009) Product stewardship To guarantee that AkzoNobel fulfills all legal and ethical requirements for their products (according to REACH, GHS etc.), a Global Product Stewardship and Regulatory Affairs Council has been established. Their tasks are to integrate good practice from the company into a product stewardship framework and to ensure that supplies, training and audits are optimized step by step. (AkzoNobel, 2009) Managing scarce resources AkzoNobel puts in a significant amount of effort in reducing the carbon footprint of their products and creating more value for the customer at the same time. Sourcing managers have been installed to identify focus areas for improvement and develop a carbon management plan in a dialogue with suppliers. In the future, AkzoNobel wants to learn more about customer applications to become more efficient in their environmental management. (AkzoNobel, 2009) ISO14001 and AkzoNobel The ISO 14000 family of environmental management standards can be used to implement a successful environmental management system. Specifically, ISO 14001 can be considered the most important framework for organizations around the world to reach their environmental goals and keep an effective environmental system running. The cyclical process of plan, do, act and check are similar to the ISO 9000 family (Quality Management) but focused on environmental issues. Nevertheless, it is possible to combine the two because it is voluntary for companies to implement these systems. Therefore, every organization regardless of size or sector has the ability to implement ISO 14001. Two different companies can run two completely different environmental management systems but both according to the framework in ISO 14001. The basic principle which distinguishes ISO 14001 from all other strategies is the Concept of Continual Improvement Process (CIP). This concept ensures that products are continually being monitored and improved to adhere to environmental and safety regulations. (Envirocip, 2011; Environmental Management System, 2011; ISO, 2009) ISO 14001 consists of four basic points (figure 1). They are similar to traditional generalized strategic planning and are following: Plan Do Check Act (ISO, 2009) Figure 1: ISO 14001(Jonsson, L. 2011) An explanation of each step and its connection with AkzoNobels business policy is as follows. Plan: Environmental management system implementation In the first step of the PDCA-cycle, environmental goals are defined and strategic processes are created to reach them. Ideally those targets are measurable so it also gives a framework for a control system. AkzoNobel installed sourcing managers to take care of their carbon management plan and to find new focus areas for improvement and development together with suppliers. (AkzoNobel 2009; ISO, 2009; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2008) Do: Conduct life cycle assessment and manage environmental aspects During this step, the company begins the life cycle assessment process and determines how to manage environmental aspects. This step requires that documentation be taken throughout the entire assessment, control systems are run, employees are educated and emergency plans are established. One example of how AkzoNobel deals with this step in the ISO 14001 process is the implementation of the EUs REACH-Project in 2007. This program involved changing the requirements and rules for suppliers which how AkzoNobel educated their contractors to manage environmental aspects differently. (AkzoNobel ,2007a) Check: Conduct audits and evaluate environmental performance The check step in the ISO 14001 involves screening, measuring and controlling all processes and products controlled by internal audits etc. AkzoNobel is very proud of its Eco-Premium Products. They give this label to new products after positive analyses of their carbon footprint. (AkzoNobel 2009; ISO, 2009; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2008). Act: Communicate and use environmental declarations and claims During this stage, companies determine whether their goals and targets within their Environmental Management System were fulfilled. In AkzoNobel, a Product Stewardship System controls and improves all activities from cradle until gate. An effective way to follow this step of the ISO-framework is to check the current situation, and go back and find a better solution in a continuous process. (AkzoNobel 2009; ISO, 2009; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2008) Suppliers sustainability As mentioned previously, AkzoNobel claims to have implemented sustainability into every area of their business. As per this initiative, part of their long-term strategic goal is to build relationships and work with partners that help the company increase its sustainability. Currently, AkzoNobel requires suppliers of raw materials to adhere to certain restrictions with regards to social and environmental standards. This is laid out by the AkzoNobel Vendor Policy- a document that formulates the conditions that suppliers are legally bound to. The conditions that vendors must comply to have been broken down into four categories: supplier visits, vendor compliance letter, key management program, and sustainability focus areas. (AkzoNobel, 2011h) Supplier visit AkzoNobel regularly conducts support visits with their vendors. The purposes of these visits are to not only ensure that AkzoNobels restrictions are being met but also to provide sustainability counseling. AkzoNobels personnel give suggestions and act as environmental consultants to their suppliers. Continual regular visits ensure that the suppliers have implemented the sustainability measures and have maintained their new strategies. This process is laid out in the Vendor Relationship Management Framework. (AkzoNobel, 2011h; AkzoNobel, 2011j) Vendor compliance letter As part of the legal obligation for vendors to adhere to AkzoNobels business principles, vendors are required to sign the Vendor Compliance Letter. This document contains AkzoNobels core values as well as a framework for labor, environmental, safety, and business relations guidelines. (AkzoNobel, 2011i) Key supplier management program This program aims to work with suppliers to increase and improve Eco-premium solutions for their customers. Regular meetings are conducted where suppliers and AkzoNobel agree upon new products that will continue success not only in economic terms, but also environmental sustainability terms. (AkzoNobel, 2011h) Sustainability focus areas AkzoNobel has developed sustainability focus areas (SFA) in order to source products and services that give the company the opportunity to significantly reduce their ecological footprint. These areas include: Logistics Travel Waste Management Packaging Carbon Management Renewable Raw Materials IT Lease Cars (AkzoNobel, 2011h) Climate change AKZO Nobel Position AkzoNobels position on climate change is laid out in the document AkzoNobels Position Statement. This document states that AkzoNobel recognizes climate change as a man-made global issue of great importance and, therefore, it is necessary to mitigate CO2 emissions. In an effort to reduce their carbon footprint, AkzoNobel monitors, measures and studies all CO2 emissions related to industrial or production activities. Yearly, this data is compiled into reports that are in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and provide an analysis of direct, indirect, and total CO2 emissions. From these reports, reduction goals and mitigation objectives are developed that the company aims to achieve by the following year. The 2015 target is to reduce carbon emissions by 10% (based on 2009 emissions) per ton of product and the 2020 target is to reduce carbon emissions by 20-25% (based on 2009 emissions). (AkzoNobel, 2008) Achievements AkzoNobel has been recognized as the global leader in sustainability in the chemicals industry. From 2006 to 2007 AkzoNobel has managed to decrease their carbon dioxide emissions from 5.2 (Million T c) to 3.3 (Million T c). From 2007 to 2008, AkzoNobel decreased their carbon dioxide emissions 1 percent per ton of production. Because AkzoNobel aims to significantly reduce their ecological footprint, they have set up a strategy to help reduce carbon-intensive processes and improve energy efficiency. Thus far, they have achieved the following: 73% of worldwide power consumption is based on zero and low carbon sources 37% of electricity in the production process is based on hydropower Considered in the top ten percent for energy efficiency in manufacturing salt-chlorine-PVC loop- on our their most energy intensive processes Use low carbon energy sources to produce their other two most energy intensive chemicals- sodium chlorate and hydrogen peroxide Trying to replace fossil fuels with renewable resources such as wood chips Assessed the eco-efficiency/carbon footprint of key products Developed several carbon efficient solutions for our customers Include energy efficiency and carbon footprint criteria in their investment decisions (AkzoNobel, 2008) Additionally, Scandinavias pulp and paper industry and Hollands base chemical production are AkzoNobels most energy intensive production plants. These two industries combined are responsible for 82% of AkzoNobels total energy use and 73% of their CO2 emissions. Recently, the pulp and paper chemicals production plant shifted 58% of its energy to hydropower. Also, the base chemicals plants were retrofitted with highly energy efficient, gas fired cogeneration units that produce steam and power. (AkzoNobel, 2007b) The Future AkzoNobel has made plans to invest in creating a system that produces steam from waste and biofuels. AkzoNobel also supports implementing a cap and trade system that encourages plants to become sustainable while punishing the unsustainable ones. Their position states that they support the development and implementation of the most energy efficient technologies worldwide. For the future, AkzoNobel is revising their 2008 Carbon Strategy to build new sustainability goals. This strategy will include plans to reduce carbon emissions in the area of manufacturing. (AkzoNobel, 2007b) Discussion After reviewing AkzoNobels business strategy, it is clear that AkzoNobel looks at high environmental/sustainability performance as a business opportunity. The company specifically aims to produce products that are economically as well as environmentally rewarding. Currently, sustainability and climate change issues are at the forefront of the global agenda. If AkzoNobel chose to disregard these issues and continued with business as usual their reputation would lack the high integrity which has been a key element to their success. Because this company has managed to significantly reduce their ecological footprint, they have received several awards, media attention, and PR. This attention does not go unrecognized as consumers are attracted to companies that hold such a high esteem. Additionally, it is well known amongst the general population that chemical production as well as pulp and paper production are two notoriously environmentally harmful industries. As the general population b ecomes increasingly involved and aware of environmental issues, AkzoNobels business and purchasing decisions begin to reflect it. It is, thus, in AkzoNobels best interest to address the companys sustainability and remain at the forefront of the global sustainability arena. If AkzoNobel chose to disregard sustainability issues it would, in the long-term, cause AkzoNobel to not be able to compete with its competitors in the market. This is in line with AkzoNobels philosophy of environmental stewardship and their understanding of customer demand as can be seen by the following AkzoNobel quotation: [Sustainable innovation process] SIP is driven by the need for better product performance but its always connected to sustainability and environmental performance. We cant bring a product to market that is less environmentally friendly than its predecessor and expect it to succeed. Equally, a new eco-product will only do well if it also offers real competitive advantage. (AkzoNobel, 2010a) Regardless of the companys attempt to address environmental/sustainability issues, AkzoNobel is nonetheless environmentally harmful. Producing chemicals, paint, paper, and pulp products is never done without an ecological price. However, AkzoNobel has made a significant effort to increase the companys environmental sustainability as much as possible. This has been done by developing strategies, goals, and plans through rigorous sustainability planning and the success of the activities have been monitored via environmental testing. Because reductions in VOCs, CO2, SO2, and NOx emissions have been proven, the business activities of the company are in correlation to the environmental planning. As mentioned, companies in modern business are aware of the importance of being green. Unfortunately some of them fail to act green even though they present themselves as such. Greenpeace has set up a campaign to stop this so called Greenwashing and ask companies to: Clean up your act, NOT your image (Greenpeace, 2011). While surfing AkzoNobels webpage, it was clear that AkzoNobel was extremely proud of all its positive achievements but hardly mentioned when it didnt succeed or have a bad performance. However did SOMO (Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations) make a report in 2009 about AkzoNobel to provide additional information that AkzoNobel itself might not have reported, focusing on the 2008 annual report. In this report it was stated that in 2008 the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) of the University of Massachusetts had ranked AkzoNobel in the 85th place on the Toxic 100 Index. This index indicates the top 100 air polluters in the U.S. on the basis of tota l human health hazards resulting from air toxics emissions at their facilities. (Knottnerus, 2009). It was also noted that in 2008, AkzoNobel had not fulfilled requirements about the usage and purchase of renewable energy. Knuttnerus mentioned more cases that were not environmentally friendly, though many were old, some even stationed back in the 1980s. Sustainability first became a fundamental principle in AkzoNobels business in 2004. The company had a quick success and already in 2008 it was in 2nd place on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. (Knottnerus, 2009). The company has succeeded a lot in a short time and its understandable that some things cant happen over a night. From our point of view AkzoNobel could think about taking part in the Chemical Leasing program coordinated by UNIDO to mitigate their environmental pollution. The idea of ChL is to establish a service-oriented business model and to guide customers away from buying and using too much chemicals for the purpose of the environment. The producer mainly sells the functions performed by the chemical and functional units are the main basis for payment. (UNIDO, 2010) Conclusion After analysis of AkzoNobels environmental/sustainability management performance, it is clear that the company has a strong sustainable agenda that is supported by all levels of management- an essential aspect for successful implementation of business strategies. To execute this plan, AkzoNobel established an Executive Committee and a special Sustainable Development group that focuses on these matters. The main driving force for the development of this strategy is to increase long-term share holder value. The company monitors and develops both their internal production as well suppliers through the use of several sustainability tools. It was determined that AkzoNobel uses this sustainability strategy as a business opportunity as well as a means of boosting their public image. Since it was difficult to find figures or statistics that showed negative environmental performance, it is unclear whether the company adheres to Greenpeaces campaign slogan Clean up your act, NOT your image. Ei ther way, it is important that modern day companies are transparent and do not forget to report their bad performance. Transparency and honesty in business is the best way to be trusted and to avoid being classified as a Greenwashing company.