The Expansion of the NFL Generations

The National Football League (NFL) has changed over time during its existence from 1920. The National Football League's experience is even more exciting today then in past generations. The players today are bigger, faster, and stronger then professional players. Although the same general rules still apply in today's game, but new ones are brought up every year to protect players from injuries. Ever since the league started in 1920, the football equipment for players has improved even better over the years. Also today's football culture is even more exciting for players and fans to enjoy. For the players today, it is easier to promote themselves and their teams from the Internet and social media. Since the arrival of the NFL, it has improved over the years and the now fans have made it a way in their daily life. The NFL experience improves every year and it is easier for players to promote themselves because of the Internet. Currently, every player joined the NFL because of the Internet. Today, it is easier for players to promote themselves and communicate with coaches or teams because of the Internet. Coaches and team management are always on the look out for great players. After their talent search, the NFL teams scout online using college statistics for their prospect using the college athletics websites from the players school. The NFL coaches today can even watch college player's highlight films on YouTube, which is a great way to promote players. The older generation coaches had to use word of mouth communications to scout players. Unlike past generations, the communication for players and coaches have involved extremely because of advance technology. The NFL generation today is better than past generations and is getting outstanding players to join the league because of the Internet. The NFL players today are paid more money because of their experience, talents, and abilities to play the game. The players who usually get paid the most are the franchise players. The franchise players (best players on their team) are treated more valuable and the teams base their game strategies because of talents of those players. While other players are part of a role in the game plan, the franchise players carry most the load to the game plan. The NFL players today can easily be replaced by other upcoming college standouts. Unlike past generations, the competition is even more difficult to play against today because the players want to stay in the league or not be traded to other teams. The NFL continues to improve year after year because of the great competitors that join the league and the current players that do not want to be replaced. The rules and regulations of the NFL games have changed significantly and the way the game is watched on television. Most of the rules that changed were for health and injury risk issues because of the full contact sport. For instance, the most recent rule that changed was the head-to-head contact tackle. The head-to-head contact tackle is the incorrect way to tackle, but sometimes other players just want to injury other players for their own reasons. This highlight tackle has been banned due to injuries like brain damage, neck injuries, and concussions. If players attempted to do this tackle they will be fined or suspend for an certain amount of games. Just like any other violation tackle, the head-to-head contact tackle is absorbed in the NFL very closely. While, football equipment has improved over the years for safety issues. There are lighter safety pads that protect your bones with more comfort to your body when absorbed contact. The NFL is always improving the football equipment and trying to avoid past life-threatening injuries such as concussions. Others new rules were also created to improve how the game is played and will protect the football players even better today. The games on television have better picture and a greater experience to watch the game. Unlike in the past, there is a huge difference how the picture has improved even more. The NFL games today have more camera angles and closer experience to watch the game. Just imaging and compared how older generations watched the games on black and white televisions? Also, the NFL games are now watched in high definition. There are also now NFL games that can be watched in 3-Dimensional. Unlike basic cable games, the 3-D games change the television experience, they make you feel like you are playing or coaching in the game. The way the game is played and watched on television in today's generation, is extremely better than past generations. Also the American football culture is expanding and growing over the years of existence. During the fall season, fans know Sundays are for NFL football games and church. NFL fans exist through out America; there can be New York fans that live in California or other areas. The fans are expanding everyday and the football culture is now a way of people's life. For example, NFL fans treat Super Bowl Sunday as a holiday than a regular championship football game. Everybody watches the Super Bowl for the game, halftime show, and commercials. NFL fans have parties and invite friends over to watch the big game at their house. Even commercials during the Super Bowl are always talked about because everybody watches the Super Bowl. Although, companies pay millions of dollars for thirty seconds for their commercials to be played during the Super Bowl because they can attract new customers. Even stores get involved to promote Super Bowl Sunday; like having sales on food and televisions. However, the Thanksgiving Thursday Night Football Game is also part of the American football culture. While enjoying time with family on a real holiday, the NFL has a game on Thanksgiving Day. This game always promotes the Super Bowl game because they know fans and their families are watching the game. The football culture has grown bigger through every generation. Everybody knows when it's time for Super Bowl Sunday. The NFL experience has improved over the years and players have been improving each year. My favorite player of all time in the NFL is Ray Lewis, he plays defensive linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens. Ray Lewis is a franchise player for the Baltimore Ravens and is entering his sixteenth year in the NFL because of his effort to be the best he can be. While, I play the same position as Ray Lewis and I try to put in the same effort he does to become a great player. Although I am trying to pursue an NFL career and become a legend just like Ray Lewis it takes hard work and dedication to become the best you can be. My favorite motivation quote from Ray Lewis is â€Å"You might be bigger, faster, stronger, and better than me, but you are not going to outwork me, because I won't let you†. Unlike other players, Ray Lewis is great role model to play the game and he continues to play the game with his heart instead of greed. The National Football League has changed significantly in every generation. The players are more skilled, paid more money, and rules have changed due to past injuries. The players today are bigger, faster, and stronger than past players because of the improvements in the games. Even the technology of watching the game on televisions has improved significantly for fans to enjoy. Today, the NFL culture has grown on every American life including mine. The National Football League will keep changing generation after generation, but the love of the game will continue to grow.

International Relations Essay

International relations (IR) is the study of relationships among countries, the roles of sovereign states, inter-governmental organizations (IGO), international non-governmental organizations (INGO), non-governmental organizations (NGO), and multinational corporations (MNC). International relations is an academic and a public policy field, and so can be positive and normative, because it analyzes and formulates the foreign policy of a given State. As political activity, international relations dates from the time of the Greek historian Thucydides (ca. 460–395 BC), and, in the early 20th century, became a discrete academic field (No. 5901 in the 4-digit UNESCO Nomenclature) within political science. However, international relations is an interdisciplinary field of study.[3] Besides political science, the field of international relations draws intellectual materials from the fields technology and engineering, economics, history, and international law, philosophy, geography, and social work, sociology, anthropology, and criminology, psychology and gender studies, cultural studies and culturology. The scope of international relations comprehends globalization, state sovereignty, and international security, ecological sustainability, nuclear proliferation, and nationalism, economic development and global finance, terrorism and organized crime, human security, foreign interventionism, and human rights. History The history of international relations can be traced back to thousands of years ago; Barry Buzan and Richard Little, for example, consider the interaction of ancient Sumerian city-states, starting in 3,500 BC, as the first fully-fledged international system.[4] The official portraits of King WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw IV dressed according to French, Spanish and Polish fashion reflects the complex politics of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Thirty Years’ War The history of international relations based on sovereign states is often traced back to the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, a stepping stone in the development of the modern state system. Prior to this the European medieval organization of political authority was based on a vaguely hierarchical religious order. Contrary to popular belief, Westphalia still embodied layered systems of sovereignty, especially within the Holy Roman Empire.[5] More than the Peace of Westphalia, the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 is thought to reflect an emerging norm that sovereigns had no internal equals within a defined territory and no external superiors as the ultimate authority within the territory’s sovereign borders. The centuries of roughly 1500 to 1789 saw the rise of the independent, sovereign states, the institutionalization of diplomacy and armies. The French Revolution added to this the new idea that not princes or an oligarchy, but the citizenry of a state, defined as the nation, should be defined as sovereign. Such a state in which the nation is sovereign would thence be termed a nation-state (as opposed to a monarchy, or a religious  state). The term republic increasingly became its synonym. An alternative model of the nation-state was developed in reaction to the French republican concept by the Germans and others, who instead of giving the citizenry sovereignty, kept the princes and nobility, but defined nation-statehood in ethnic-linguistic terms, establishing the rarely if ever fulfilled ideal that all people speaking one language should belong to one state only. The same claim to sovereignty was made for both forms of nation-state. (It is worth noting that in Europe today, few sta tes conform to either definition of nation-state: many continue to have royal sovereigns, and hardly any are ethnically homogeneous.) The particular European system supposing the sovereign equality of states was exported to the Americas, Africa, and Asia via colonialism and the â€Å"standards of civilization†. The contemporary international system was finally established through decolonization during the Cold War. However, this is somewhat over-simplified. While the nation-state system is considered â€Å"modern†, many states have not incorporated the system and are termed â€Å"pre-modern†. Further, a handful of states have moved beyond insistence on full sovereignty, and can be considered â€Å"post-modern†. The ability of contemporary IR discourse to explain the relations of these different types of states is disputed. â€Å"Levels of analysis† is a way of looking at the international system, which includes the individual level, the domestic state as a unit, the international level of transnational and intergovernmental affairs, and the global level. What is explicitly recognized as international relations theory was not developed until after World War I, and is dealt with in more detail below. IR theory, however, has a long tradition of drawing on the work of other social sciences. The use of capitalizations of the â€Å"I† and â€Å"R† in international relations aims to distinguish the academic discipline of international relations from the phenomena of international relations. Many cite Sun Tzu’s The Art of War (6th century BC), Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War (5th century BC), Chanakya’s Arthashastra (4th century  BC), as the inspiration for realist theory, with Hobbes’ Leviathan and Machiavelli’s The Prince providing further elaboration. Similarly, liberalism[6] draws upon the work of Kant and Rousseau, with the work of the former often being cited as the first elaboration of democratic peace theory. Though contemporary human rights is considerably different from the type of rights envisioned under natural law, Francisco de Vitoria, Hugo Grotius and John Locke offered the first accounts of universal entitlement to certain rights on the basis of common humanity. In the twentieth century, in addition to contemporary theories of liberal internationalism, Marxism has been a foundation of international relations. Study of IR Flags of the member states of the United Nations Initially, international relations as a distinct field of study was almost entirely British-centered. IR only emerged as a formal academic ‘discipline’ in 1919 with the founding of the first ‘chair’ (professorship) in IR – the Woodrow Wilson Chair at Aberystwyth, University of Wales (now Aberystwyth University[7]), from an endowment given by David Davies, became the first academic position dedicated to IR. This was rapidly followed by establishment of IR at US universities and Geneva, Switzerland. In the early 1920s, the London School of Economics’ department of international relations was founded at the behest of Nobel Peace Prize winner Philip Noel-Baker, and was the first institute to offer a wide range of degrees in the field. Furthermore, the International History department at LSE, developed as primarily focused on the history of IR in the early modern, colonial and Cold War periods. The first university entirely dedicated to the study of IR was the Graduate Institute of International Studies (now the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies), which was founded in 1927 to form diplomats associated to the League of Nations, established in Geneva some years before. The Graduate Institute of International Studies offered one of the first Ph.D. degrees in international relations. Georgetown University’s  Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service is the oldest international relations faculty in the United States, founded in 1919. The Committee on International Relations at the University of Chicago was the first to offer a graduate degree, in 1928. Now Universities in USA, UK, Europe, India, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Africa, Russia, Indonesia offer Graduate, Post-Graduate & PhD degrees in IR. Theory Main article: International relations theory Normative theory In the academic discipline of International relations, Smith, Baylis & Owens in their Introduction to Smith, Baylis & Owens (2008)[8] make the case that the normative position or normative theory is to make the World a better place and that this theoretical worldview aims to do so by being aware of implicit assumptions and explicit assumptions that constitute a non-normative position and align or position the normative towards the loci of other key socio-political theories such as political Liberalism, Marxism, political Constructivism, political Realism, political Idealism and political Globalization.

Lipman Bottle Company Essay

Synopsis Lipman Bottle Company, the leading bottle distribution company in Albany, New York started distributing bottles of large bottle manufacturers on 1909. From then on, they started to adapt to the changes in the bottling industry such as the use of plastics, which prove to be profitable on their end. They grab the opportunity to distribute and print bottles with different shapes and sizes for clients who liked the convenience of their dual services. Their track record became unstable when the US economy got worse and competitors opted to cut prices of their products. Robert Lipman, the vice president of the company, realized that they have no choice but to cut prices as well so they can keep up the competition. However, he was unsure on how to cut the prices or what products he must cut so that they could survive the economic downfall. He also stated that one way to keep the business going was if they could spread their distribution to pharmaceutical and cosmetics manufacturers. Statement of the Problem What pricing must Lipman Bottle Company adapt in order to achieve the goal of 30% margin? Objectives The objective of the case study is to determine the correct pricing that Lipman Bottle Company must adapt to ensure that they would continue to be profitable and achieve the company’s goal of reaching 30% margin. Analysis and Solution Variable costs were computed per 1,000 bottles were computed based on the different combinations given on the case. Tables 1-2 shows the variable costs for Albany while Tables 3-4 shows the variable costs for the New York-New Jersey market: Table 1. Variable costs of smaller size bottles for Albany Market Table 2. Variable costs of bigger size bottles for Albany Market Table 3. Variable costs of smaller size bottles for New York-New Jersey Market Table 4. Variable costs of bigger size bottles for New York-New Jersey Market After which, we derived the break even prices for each combinations and the recommended prices based on Mr. Lipman’s goal of 30% margin: Table 5. Break even prices for smaller size bottles, Albany Market Table 6. Break even prices for bigger size bottles, Albany Market Table 7. Break even prices for smaller size bottles, New Jersey-New York Market Table 8. Break even prices for bigger size bottles, New Jersey-New York Market How did the Mr. Lipman’s goal of a 30% margin at capacity affect your price recommendation? Comparing the increase and decrease of prices among three production scenarios, the 30% margin will reflect an increase of 23% on price from 1 separation to 2 separation round due to the addition in labor. Whereas, a projected decrease of 16% from 2 separation round to 2 separation oval because of the labor conversion to semi-automatic Table 9. Prices (with 30% mark up) for small bottles, Albany – Lower size (0-1 oz) Same principle follows when you refer to the table for big bottles. Table 10. Prices (with 30% mark up) for big bottles, Albany – Bigger size (17-32 oz) Table 11. Prices (with 30% mark up) for small bottles, New York-New Jersey – Small size (0-1 oz) Table 12. Prices (with 30% mark up) for bigger bottles, New York-New Jersey – Bigger size (17-32 oz) In spite of charging a higher price for 2 separation round, it may seem that it is more profitable with the New Jersey Higher Size with $105.37. But in reality, the $95.66 will have more profit compared to $105.37 because  assuming that at 95.66 per unit, you multiply it with 100,000, which is the minimum production, you will still profit more because of the quantity. And to add, the cost of production is much lower compared to producing less like what was charged to New Jersey Higher Size with 5,000 – 9,999.

Principal and Vice Principals Leadership Styles Research Paper

Principal and Vice Principals Leadership Styles - Research Paper Example Educational management can be described through the management and leadership theories. Bush (2003) identified various models that describe the two main theories. The management theory can be classified into six models that include; formal, collegial, political, subjective, uncertainty, and cultural models. The six models that describe leadership theories in education management include; the moral model, contingency leadership, transactional and managerial leadership, the post-modern as well as participative leadership styles. The formal models describe a hierarchical arrangement in the management structure. In this model, the school heads treat the institution as a system where bureaucracy is maintained (Bush, 2002). There is a system of instruction which is usually top-down while reporting must follow the various ranks to the top. This model is evident in Matador High School. The principal is the overall head and the vice principal reports to him. The vice principal acts as a middl e-level manager in contemporary organizations, supervising the teaching staff, but he too has some lessons that he teaches. All teachers are accountable to the principle and have performance targets that are set for the accomplishment of the overall goal of the school. The formal management structure is matched with the managerial leadership of the principal. This is a leadership style where managers are focused on their purpose in helping the organization to accomplish their objectives. They ensure that all processes are accomplished according to plan and that every person is in the designated place at the right time (Cheng, 2002). Leadership in Matador was top down with the teachers being expected to behave and accomplish tasks according to the laid out procedures in the school.  Ã‚  

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 36

Strategic Management - Essay Example In this regard, the SWOT analysis combines two important factors that are external (Strengths and Weaknesses) and two that are external (Opportunities and Threats). One of the strengths for apple is its technological innovation. Apple has been able to create its position in the industry as the leader in innovation. As a result, most of the customers who are interested in technological products look at the firm as their first choice when it comes to these products. As Ahuja (2010), while using the SWOT analysis, the important thing to consider is to look at the strengths of a business. This is used to look at the organizational environment from within the organization and identify what works out for the business. These are the things that a business can use in its survival in the market. A business will determine its strengths with regard to how it stacks against its competitors in the market. For apple, they know that their strong brand is one of the strengths they can rely on. The other important strength for apple is its ability to streamline production and reduce cost, thus transferring the cost advantage tot eh customers. Apple’s main weakness can only be identifies by comparing it with its main competitor. When compared to Samsung for instance, Samsung has advantage in that it is located in a low cost economy where production can happen at less costs. Although Apple can still access these low cost environment by outsourcing, they still have a disadvantage. As has been identified, all businesses will have some disadvantage as well as advantages. Identifying the weaknesses (disadvantages) of the business is actually important in that it helps the managers to know what they weakest points are and so deal with them. The theory behind identifying the weaknesses of the business is that when a problem is well defined, it is already half solved. Identifying the strengths without identifying the weaknesses of the business can be futile. In this regard,

Homework9 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Homework9 - Essay Example Separation of power identifies three power centers that are necessary for offering checks and balance on each other. The branches are the Congress, the executive, and the Judiciary. The President heads the executive whose roles, besides primary roles, are to offer checks and balances on the judiciary and the Congress. The Congress is the law making body in the nation and the president has the duty to assent to made laws before they can become effective and to veto laws that may be repugnant to natural justice and this ensures that only rational laws that the Congress enact govern the people. The president also plays an important role in appointment of judges through nominating them and this ensures good conduct in the judiciary. The Judiciary is also necessary because of its checks on both the executive and the Congress. Like the executive, it can declare legislation unconstitutional and therefore render it invalid and this ensures that the Congress does not just make arbitrary laws. The Judiciary can also declare actions and decision of the executive unconstitutional to minimize arbitrary authority. The congress is also necessary because of its regulatory powers over the executive such as disapproving a bill that the president prefers, passing a law contrary to the president’s veto, impeaching the president, and refusing to approve the president’s recommendations that are subject to the Congress’ approval. In addition, the congress is necessary for its checks over the courts such as impeachment of judges for misconduct, refusing to approve appointment of a judge, and varying jurisdiction of a judge. Federalism is also necessary for checks and balances by the federal and state governments on each other (Wilson, Dilulio and Bose 31). The nation has an inefficient political system because of the mode of appointment to the political offices.

Questions about argument and enthymeme Assignment

Questions about argument and enthymeme - Assignment Example Another defining feature is consensus-building, which encompasses the search and pursuit for common grounds among the parties questioning the issue under discussion. Third is persuasion, which encompasses the presentation of facts and information likely to change the viewpoint of the other party (Boylan 5). Writers justify claims by offering information on the grounds that they are placing the assertions they raise, through their writing. They also justify their claims through discussing the basis of how they have come to know the assertions they are raising, which could include research. They also justify their claims by explaining the authority they are using to raise the claims from. An example here is a medical claim made by a doctor, as opposed to another made by an accountant. The claim of the doctor is more authoritative. Whether leadership is an in-born or a developed characteristic, it is general knowledge that there are certain characteristics that identify good leaders. These include that a leader should show exemplary characteristics, including trustworthiness, as a leader who does not keep their word cannot be trusted. A good leader should also be enthusiastic about the roles they play, as this enthusiasm is passed on to the followers, towards achieving the set goals. Failure to lead enthusiastically, leads to aimless following, where some followers do not know the goals they are pursuing. This is a successful argument, as it shows both sides of the argument. The process of making an argument is the step by step explanation of different skills and concentration areas, towards presenting arguments effectively. The argument process involves three phases, including organization, where the ideas to be presented are developed. The second phase is construction, where the ideas are given form or shape – which can be passed to the

Customer Inserts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Customer Inserts - Essay Example Problems (including company’s capital analysis, the return on investment, the gross margin percentage, the break-even point,) should be manipulated by manual labor, through use of paper and pencil and desk calculators, or by electronic computers (Navarro, 2005). Math skills also make feasible the construction and conducting of experiments. Able to handle large amounts of data rapidly, they save researchers days or weeks in the search for information. They permit the compression of many years of marketing experience into a brief period. Without the ability to identify main indexes and accounting coalitions, the MBA degree can be used in a limited number of business spheres. Through this approach can be subjected to manipulations in a manner that would be impractical or impossible in an actual business. For example, changing prices abruptly, altering products, or introducing different delivery or service policies could drastically affect a company. If such departures could be simulated and the operations on the model could be studied, then their consequences in the actual business situation might be inferred, without interrupting operations and incurring possible rebuff. Preferably, information should be gained and problems should be solved analytically if these can be done readily (Navarro, 2005). Often math skills become necessary where alternative policies that affect growth, profitability, and market position are being evaluated. Actual marketing situations are frequently too complex to be handled by available ma thematical models or mathematical analysis. Essentially they are training devices that add new dimensions and greater emotional involvement on the part of participants; hence, they are good motivational devices and teaching tools (Navarro, 2005).

Discussion Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Discussion - Movie Review Example The painting specifically represented the most heartening horrors associated with war and the likely technological inhumane that is used as a critical warfare of the super powers. It serves to warn of the upcoming terrors and mishaps for the next generations regarding cross-border armed conflicts. This artistic work had a story to tell of the horrifying war event that had taken place earlier in the year during when German and French air forces unprecedently bombed a culturally significant village in Spain. The village got a horrifying ambush leaving the whole nation dismantled in terms of security and military operations. A lot of lessons and or messages come from this piece of work. First, from the painting we can clearly ascertain the bad sides of armed cross-border wars. It leaves innocent people dead, maimed or displaced from their homesteads. Second, it portrays how horrifying war can be to the victims. This means that apart from death and displacement, wars also maim the victims. Besides, the military personal show disorganization in a manner that they may not have time to retaliate. LÃ ©ger made a major artistic debut in 1913 in painting. During then, he managed to paint a series of abstract studies that he later referred to as Contrast of Forms. One of the motives for creating the paintings was to make an illustration of his theory that the strongest pictorial effects could only be achieved by juxtaposing contrasts of colour, of both straight and curved lines, and of both flat and solids planes. This is what culminated into one his lectures in 1914 on Contemporary Achievements in Painting. In the lectures, LÃ ©ger made comparisons between the contrasts in his painting and the landscape appearance of billboards. From the video, the narrator does not explain to the audience where and how LÃ ©ger began his artistic work, the progresses he made and how he ended up with the work after

Apple Marketing Strategy Essay Example for Free

Apple Marketing Strategy Essay 1. Apple Marketing StrategyApple has been so successful in these last years thanks to his fresh, imaginative way to think and do its business: awinning combination of exceptional products, great style and design, great strategy, innovative marketing, sleekand enticing communications.Apple owes its overwhelming success in the last years to the iPhone and to the smart iPod and iTunes productcombination, a combination of a great hardware piece with great style, great software, great performance, userfriendly interface, with a good e-business service. The iPod + iTunes halo effect and new great Mac computers andMac OS software did the rest in increasing Apple revenue stream. In the 5 years between 2003 to 2008 the Apple share value increased 25 times, from $7.5 to $180 per share. At july2008 prices, before the US Financial Crisis, Apple stock market capitalization was $160 billion.In January 2010 Apple shares topped the $210 mark.But even the best companies with the best products have bottleneck factors which often avoid full exploitation ofthe opportunities.The iPod.Few people are aware and few market analysts too that for the first 3 years the iPod was an absolute flop. TheiPod was launched in october 2001, and between 2001 and 2004 iPod sales were between 100-200 thousand unitsper quarter, very far from todays 10-20 million units per quarter, and the iPod sales were not even covering theproduct research development costs. Then, in June-Aug 2004 something happened, and iPod sales began to grow strongly, quarter after quarter. Today,we all know where the iPod stands, and what a remarkable success it is.The iPod made the fortune of Apple, and it stands out as the major turning point in the company growth.Few people know that the iPod + iTunes business idea was not conceived inside Apple, but was proposed to Appleby an outside source, a music lover and Engineer named Tony Fadell.More on Tony Fadell and on the iPod marketing on iPod Marketing StrategyThe iPod marks another outstanding result in marketing:the annihilation of competitors. To know more see the analysis onThe iPod competitorsIt should be noted that, since the second generation of iPods in 2002, the iPods were made compatible not only withthe Mac operating systems but with Microsoft Windows operating systems as well.We should ask ourselves (and to Steve Jobs): how many iPods would have been sold if the iPods would had beencompatible only with Mac operating systems?Where the iPod is manufactured and assembledThe iPhone. The pipeline of new products which came out from Apple in the last years is impressive, and overwhelming. In 2007,with the successful launch of the iPhone, Apple has marked another milestone in its development and growth.And moreover, the iPhone enters a market the market of mobile phones a market which is mature, and saturated.Nonetheless, Apple has been able to develop a revolutionary product, and to change the paradigm in the mobile 2. Phone market.The iPhone is 5 years ahead of all its competitors. A wonderful product, amazing user interface, great design. It isnot only a mobile phone, it is a product between a mobile phone and a laptop computer. Even calling it asmartphone is not enough.In July 2008 Apple launched the second generation iPhone, the iPhone 3G.The iPhone 3GS.In June 2009 Apple launched its third generation iPhone: the iPhone 3GS.The iPhone 3GS has a 3 megapixel autofocus camera, video recording and editing capabilities, voice control, longerbattery life, 7.2 Mbps HSDPA internet connection. iPhone 3GS is twice faster than the iPhone 3G. The iPhone 3GSprices: $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 32GB model.more on the new iPhone 3GS on the iPhone 3GS page.More on iPhone Marketing on the iPhone Marketing Strategy page.Apple did great. no doubt. However Apple has done some serious mistakes.The most serious mistakes Apple has done concern marketing and distribution strategies in Europe.Apple has overlooked the European markets, and missing big numbers in unexploited sales. With better marketingstrategy, better communication and distribution, Apple could have made 300% more revenues in Europe in the last 4years. Apple Marketing in EuropeWe met with with Erik Stannow, Apple Vice President of Marketing for Europe EMEA. We have been talking withErik Stannow about the marketing and distribution issues of Apple in the European markets and we gave somevaluable suggestions to improve the Apple marketing strategy and distribution in Europe.Well, it seems that in Cupertino they dont care so much about Europe.Steve JobsIf we talk about Apple success, about Apple great products, we need to talk about Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs has beenand is the great mind behind all this.Steve Jobs is a genius, he is a magician, too. He is the most skilled guy in introducing new products one morething the most skilled in presenting the key features, and he is a great communicator. Even more important, Steve Jobs has Vision. Vision in the strategy, Vision in the product development, Vision in thealliances.Apple Communication Strategy.Apple communication is sober, intriguing, simple, clear, minimalist and clever. And it has a style of its own. Both inthe tv ads, both in print ads, both in the online communications. A lesson to be learned by many companies in theworld. Well, of course when you have great products it is much easier to entice the costumers, but neverthelessdoing it with style and cleverness is a very good point. It boosts sales, but enhances the brand value too.The famous I am a Mac, I am a PC tv ads are a milestone in communications. Smart, simple, effective andhumiliating (for Microsoft ).More on Apple Communications and on the Apple Commercials I am a Mac I am a PC on the AppleCommunication Strategy page.

Sources Of Municipal Solid Waste In Delhi Environmental Sciences Essay

Sources Of Municipal Solid Waste In Delhi Environmental Sciences Essay India is the second most populated country a second fastest growing economy in the world. From the period of 2001-2026 the population of India is to increase from 1030 million to 1400 million, if we consider the increase rate to be 1.2 % annually then there will be an increase of 36% in 2026.accordingly about 285 million live in urban areas and about 742 million live in rural areas. (Census of India, 2001).In India urbanisation is becoming more because people are moving from villages to cities and there is a rapid increase in population in the metropolitan cities .Mumbai is the largest populated city followed by New Delhi and Kolkata. Generally, the greater the economic prosperity and the higher the percentage of urban population, the greater is the amount of solid waste produced (Hoornweg and Laura, 1999). In Hoornweg and Laura, 1999 1996 about 114,576 tonnes/day of municipal solid waste was generated by the urban population of India, by the end of 2026 it is predicted to increase to 440,460  tonnes/day This great increase in the amount of MSW generated is due to changing lifestyle and living standards urban population(Hoornweg and Laura, 1999). STUDY AREA Delhi is a very densely populated area and is the capital of India. Since Delhi is an urbanised city the annual growth rate is increasing very rapidly in the last decade the growth rate has increased by 3.85%. Delhi is the capital of India this tells us that it is the centre for commerce trade and power, since it is one of the largest cities and the capital it produces excellent job opportunities, which account for its rapid increase in its population and increased pace of urbanization. Due to the fast urbanisation and the growing population the production of municipal solid waste is also increasing very rapidly. According to a survey Delhi generates about 7000 tonnes/day of municipal solid waste and this municipal waste is to ride about 17000-25000 tonnes/day by the year 2026.due to the rapid increase in the population and municipal solid waste the disposal of the waste has become a great head ache for the municipality in Delhi. Out of the waste gathered only 70-80% of municipal sol id waste is collected while the remaining is dumped onto streets or open ditches. Out of the 70-805 collected only 9% of the collected municipal solid waste is treated by composting the remaining is sent to the land fill sites. New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB) are three municipal entities responsible for MSW management in Delhi. (Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008). IDENTIFICATION OF SOURCES, TYPES AND COMPOSITION OF MUNCIPAL SOLID WASTE IN DELHI Sources and types of solid waste in Delhi: Residential:-the residence might be single family or multiple family dwellers the types of waste they produce are paper, food wastes , cardboard , leather, yard wastes, textiles, glass, special wastes, metals, plastics , ashes, wood and household hazardous wastes. Industrial: industries produce ashes, food wastes, packaging, special wastes, housekeeping wastes, construction and demolition materials and hazardous wastes. Commercial Institutional: they produce wood, metals, cardboard, glass, special wastes, Paper, food wastes, hazardous wastes. Municipal services: landscape and tree trimmings, Street sweepings, general wastes from beaches, parks, and other recreational areas, sludge. (Hoornweg, Daniel with Laura Thomas. 1999) Composition of waste: The population of Delhi is 13.9 million they produce 7000 tonnes/day of municipal solid waste at the rate of 0.500 kg/capital/day and accordingly the population as well as the MSW in increasing by 2026 the municipal solid waste generated will increase to 17,000-25,000 tonnes/day. Because of the increase in the MSW the municipal body will face a lot of problem after composting and incineration they would still have to deal with a lot of waste and this waste would generally go to landfill sites. The characterisation of the waste by its type, composition and source is important this will make monitoring and management of solid waste easy. Based on this we can use different types of processes to dispose the solid waste. The following information will tell about the generation of MSW from various sources is Delhi in the year 2004. Source wise generation of the MSW (tonnes/day) in Delhi Sources MSW(Tonnes/day) Residential waste 3010 Industrial waste 502 Hospital waste 107 Main shopping centres 1017 Construction waste 382 Vegetable and fruit markets 538 Source 🙠 MCD, 2004) The Tata Energy Research Institute conducted a study in 2002 in Delhi to determine the physical and chemical composition of municipal solid waste. This study in 2002 tells us that the composition of MSW is not changed that much from the past decade. According to the study the major part of the MSW consists of biodegradables fallowed by other wastes. Physical composition (as wt. %) of MSW Chemical composition (as wt. %) of MSW Parameters 2002 Biodegradable 38.6 Inert 34.7 Glass and Crockery 1.0 Paper 5.6 Non-biodegradable 13.9 Plastic 6.0 Parameters 2002 Moisture 43.8 Phosphorus as P2O5 0.3 Organic carbon 20.5 nitrogen 0.9 C/N ratio 24.1 Calorific value (kCal/kg) 713.0 Source 🙠 TERI, 2002) The composition of MSW of an urban population depends on various factors like place location, climate, commercial activities, population, cultural activities, economic status if the residence and urban structure .Before we do anything we need to know the composition of the MSW so we can determine the best suited operations and equipment for the facilities that dispose of the MSW. There was a survey conducted by Municipal Corporation of Delhi to evaluate the composition and properties of MSW. This study involved the different places in Delhi where MSW was produces. The following table tells the details of the study Composition (as wt. %) of MSW generating from various sources in Delhi Parameters Food waste Recyclables Inert Others Moisture Ash content C/N ratio Lower CV (kcal/kg) Higher CV (kcal/kg) Residential waste 1.low income group 58.4 15.7 22.8 3.1 54 21.8 39 754-2226 2238-4844 2. Middle income group 76.6 21.2 0.5 1.7 65 6.3 30 732-1939 3415-6307 3.High income group 71.9 23.1 0.3 4.7 59 10.9 31 1300-1887 4503-5359 4. JJ Clusters (Slums) 69.4 14.1 15.8 0.7 63 15.6 46 204-1548 1582-4912 Vegetable markets 97.2 2.3 0.5 76 3.3 16 0-1309 3083-4442 Institutional areas 59.7 33.8 4 2.5 50 6.7 35 129-3778 2642-5459 Streets 28.4 12 56.1 3.5 19 56.7 51 1007-2041 1188-3289 Commercial areas 15.6 68 16.4 18 8.8 158 1815-4593 3373-6185 Landfills 73.7 9.2 10.8 6.3 47 15.3 38 191-4495 2042-5315 Source :- (MCD, 2004) RELEVANT REGULATIONS FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA The major policies and legislative frameworks for the municipal solid waste management in Delhi are Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000: according to this policy there is a set process for the collection, sorting, storage, transportation and disposal of the MSW. The Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 and Amendment Rules, 2003:- bio-medical waste should be treated according to the standards of schedule v. The Delhi plastic bag (Manufacture, Sales and Usage) And Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act, 2000: according to this plastic bags should be recycled and non-degradable plastic bags should not be dumped in public drains. Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989 and Amendment Rules, 2000 and 2003:-there are limitations for the import and export of hazardous wastes and there should be proper handling and management of hazardous waste. (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2000) MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGENENT IN DELHI Primary collection and storage of MSW in Delhi According to the Delhi municipal corporation act 1957 the owners, tenants or the person who is occupying the residence, commercial or industrial area is responsible for the disposal of the MSW at a particular area provided by the municipal corporation. But this rule was changed in 2000 which stated that the collection of MSW would be from house to house because of this rule the municipality cooperation faced a lot of problem due to the rise in population as well as residential houses so doth the systems are being applied to collect MSW. The municipal cooperation of Delhi is getting awareness programs to help the citizens understand the need of segregating the municipal solid waste by placing two separate bins one for recycling materials and the other non-recycling materials. By doing this the municipality is reducing the work load and they can dispose of the material in an easy way without any fuss. The municipal authority has a schedule for the collection of the waste example a part icular area will have a particular day for the collection of MSW. The Delhi municipal authority provides a primary storage facilities like dustbins, metal containers that have different capacities ranging from 1m3 ,4m3,10m3 to 12-15 tonnes these containers are placed in locations that are easily accusable to people. The size of the containers that are place at a primary storage location depends on the amount of MSW being produced by the area and the population of the area. These metal containers and bins are emptied with the help of modern hydraulic collection trucks. In Delhi on an average there are 3-4 collection sites. The MCD has employed about 50,000 people for primary storage collection, 2600 for secondary storage collection and about 370 people foe sweeping the streets. (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2000) Transportation The MCD has many vehicles for the collection of primary and secondary storage waste. The MSD in its fleet contains refuse removal trucks, tractors and loaders they have about 100 vehicles to do the job. What these vehicles do is they collect the waste and take them to the landfill sites. Recycling and re-use Recycling and re-use of MSW is done in a widespread manner where waste pickers are employed as well as there are self employed waste pickers who collect the waste and sell them. How the system works is that these waste pickers and waste collectors gather waste from the residential areas, commercial areas, streets and landfill sites and they sell them to the dealers these dealers range from small, medium and large dealers. After the dealers purchase the materials they are sent to the recycling plant that is established by the government. The following table tells us at what rate the materials are sold (Ankit agarwal, Ashish Singhmar, 2004) Prices of recyclable materials at different recycling levels Recyclable material Recyclable material Price at small recyclable dealer (Rs.) Price at medium recyclable dealer (Rs.) Price at large recyclable dealer (Rs.) Value added in the Process (%) Plastic PET bottles 1.75 2.25-2.50 3.75-4 121 Milk packets 5.5-6.5 6-7 8-8.50 37.5 Hard plastic like shampoo bottles, caps 7-7.25 9 10-10.5 41 Plastic thread, fibres, ropes, chair cane 6-7 8-8.50 10 67 Plastic cups and glasses 7-8 10-12 13-14 80 Paper White paper 3-3.25 3.75-4 5-6 76 Mix shredded paper 2-2.25 2.25-2.50 3-3.25 47 Cartons and brown packing Papers 2.25 2.50 3 33 Fresh newspaper 3-3.50 3.25-3.75 4.50-4.75 42 Tetra pack 1.75-2 2-2.25 2.75-3 53 Glass Broken glass 0.50 0.90-1 90 Bottles 2 2.25-2.50 19 Aluminium Beer and cold drink cans 40-45 43-48 75-85 88 Deodorant, scent cans 42-45 55-60 90-95 113 Aluminium foil 20-22 25-27 30-32 48 Other metals Steel utensils 20-22 25-27 30 43 Copper wire 70-75 80-85 95-100 35 Source 🙠 Ankit agarwal, Ashish Singhmar, 2004) Composting: Coming to composting only 9% of the total MSW is composted the remaining 91% is sent to landfill sites. There are three places set up by the Delhi municipal authority for composting MSW where as two plants are set up at Okhala and the other one is set up at Bhalswa .These plant has a treatment capacity of 150 tonnes/day but they are not utilised to the fullest because of the cost. The treatment capacity of the plant at Bhalswa is 500 tonnes/day. (Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008) Incineration: The municipal cooperation of Delhi also tried incarnation they built an incineration plant with the help of a foreign company. But this was shut down immediately because the MSW did not have enough calorific value the minimum calorific value is between 1200-1400 kcal/kg. (Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008). Final disposal of MSW: Of the total amount of MSW collected 91% is sent to landfill. These landfill sites are located at the outskirts of the city. The land fill sites are the nearest available low line area or waste lands. The transfer of the MSW to these sites is by the vehicles that the Delhi municipality has. These landfill sites are chosen based only on availability and not on any other reason. These landfill sites are poorly maintained which arises a problem of health and safety as well as environmental concerns. There is another big issue because of the poor maintenance of the landfill sites there is a lot of leachate that is being produced mostly in the rainy season due to which the ground water as well as the river next to the landfill sites is getting contaminated. At these landfill sites with the help of bulldozers the MSW is levelled and compressed. The MSW is compressed to a layer of 2-5m and a covering is provided. At the binging there were 20 landfill sites that were created by the Delhi mun icipality out of which 15 are exhausted already. At present there are 3 landfill sites that are being operated one is at Gazipur it was started in 1984 , the other landfill site is located at Bhalswa it was started in 1993 ,the last operating land fill site is located in Okhala it was started in 1994. (Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008). HEALTH AND SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS Health and safety and environmental risks are a major concern in the MSW management in Delhi. The workers as well as the waste pickers are not provided with proper health and safety equipment like boots and gloves. The working conditions are unhygienic .the chance of transfer of infection is high and because of this if a worker gets sick he loses his wages. The workers are also not provided with medical insurance. The environmental risk is also high because the landfill sites are not maintained properly and the leachate gets leaked into the underground water as well as the river Yamuna .these issues should be looked into very carefully. IMPROVEMENTE We can improve these poor conditions by privatisation. We can let the private sectors help in the disposal of MSW. The Delhi municipal authorities can open the incineration plant and dispose the waste. They can also involve the local communities as well as the NGOs to help in the disposal of waste. The municipal authorities should identify a proper treatment technology. The authorities should increase standards of reuse and recycling of waste mainly composting. CONCLUSION With the rapid increase in population and fast urbanisation of Delhi the current policies and regulations want be sufficient for controlling the rapid increase in the MSW. Due to this the health and safety as well as the environmental risks are increasing .The municipal authorities of Delhi cannot keep up with the MSW that is being produced now but according to a prediction the MSW by 2026 is going to increase 4 folds if this happens the municipal authorities will be facing a lot of problem. Even the Delhi government has realised this and they are making changes in the form of master plans. The government is also approaching the public and private sectors for help like the citizens and the NGOs. First of all people should be educated on proper disposal of MSW. The government should see to that the master plans are being properly followed at all levels. Only by doing this the Delhi municipal authorities can keep the MSW in control. Referencing Ankit agarwal, Ashish Singhmar, 2004. Municipal solid waste recycling and associated markets in Delhi, India. Resources, Conservation and Recycling Census of India,.2001 . Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (GoI). [Online].available http://www.censusindia.net Hoornweg, Daniel with Laura Thomas. 1999. Working Paper Series Nr. 1. Urban Development Sector Unit. East Asia and Pacific Region. Page 5. [Online] http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/urbanenvironment/sectors/solid-waste-sources.html. Hoornweg, D., Laura, T., 1999. What a waste: solid management in Asia. Working Paper Series No. 1. Urban Development Sector Unit, East Asia and Pacific Region, the World Bank, Washington, DC MCD, 2004. Feasibility study and master plan report for optimal solid waste treatment and disposal for the entire state of Delhi based on public and private partnership solution, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi, India. Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2000.the gazette of India. [Online]. Available http://envfor.nic.in/legis/hsm/mswmhr.html TERI, 2002.Performance Measurements of Pilot Cities, Tata Energy Research Institute, New Delhi, India. Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008. State of municipal solid waste management in Delhi, the capital of India, Waste Management Volume 28, Issue 7, 2008, Pages 1276-1287

Challenges Faced By The Nomura Securities

Challenges Faced By The Nomura Securities Nomura Securities was founded in 1925 by Tokushichi Nomura II and it was the first Japanese securities company to establish an office outside Japan in 1927. Nomura Securities Co. Ltd is a subsidiary of Nomura Holdings. Inc, a Japanese financial holding company. Nomura Securities is the leading Brokerage house and Investment bank in Japan and performs equity and fixed-income trading, underwriting of stock and bond issues, MA advisory services. Until October 2008, most of Nomuras operations were mainly restricted within Japan and having made a number of unsuccessful attempts to expand into other key markets, the acquisition of Lehman proved to be a watershed deal. In order to expand its operations globally Nomura took over the Asian, European and Middle Eastern (EMEA) operations of Lehman brothers, an American investment bank after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Barclays took over Lehman brothers North American Operations. The acquisition of Lehman Brothers is expected to help Nom ura reach its goal of becoming one of the top five independent successful global investment banks. Before the acquisition of the Lehman businesses Nomura had an 18,000 strong workforce although a large part were based out of Japan, and greater than 90 % of its revenue from its local operations. After the acquisition, it retained over 8,000 former Lehman staff which meant Nomura had a difficult task in hand to integrate two very different corporate cultures. The union was termed as marriage of Tokyo and Wall street.'(FT.com, 2008) This was the first time when such a union had been attempted in the investment banking arena. The firm is still in its cultural transitional phase and its trying its best to overcome its teething problems. 1.2 Operations Nomuras operations are divided into three regions:- Asia-Pacific including Japan and India- Regional headquarter is in Hong Kong. Its operations are spread across 12 countries in the region. Americas- Regional headquarter is in New York. It operates from 6 strategically located offices in North and South America. Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Regional headquarter is in London. The operations are spread across 18 countries in the region. The banks global headquarters is in Tokyo, Japan. All of Nomuras business lines are coordinated globally and the regional heads report to their Tokyo-based business heads. Source: http://www.nomuraholdings.com/investor/summary/financial/data/2009_2q_leh.pdf http://www.nomuraholdings.com/investor/library/ar/2009/pdf/ar_all.pdf 1. 2 Vision Its long term vision is to become the top independent global investment bank. Source: http://www.nomura.com/europe/about_nomura/index.shtml Expansion of operations could render a firms organisational structure to become more complex as decision making takes more time. In order to make the decision making process faster and effective Nomura decided to reaffirm its matrix management style of organisation. Nomuras approach to decision making is quite centralised. Centralization means that the responsibility of making decisions is limited to those at the top of the organisations hierarchy. (Gordon, Pg 403)Decision making at Nomura is top down which consists of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on the top followed by the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and then five CEOs for each of its business division. The CEOs of business divisions are responsible for all the decision making of their division taking into consideration the management values adopted by the Nomura group as a whole. All these heads are based in Japan. To oversee the companys European operations theres also a European Regional Head. 2.1 Matrix Structure Matrix structure is an integration of a Functional and a Market Oriented structure. Functional structure groups people according to their skill set. It allows division of labour as specialisation which makes the organisation more effective. On the other hand in a Market Oriented structure employees are grouped according to product, project, client or geographical area. A Matrix structure team has two heads i.e. one being the functional head and other a regional head. Matrix structure helps in flexibility of employees as per the changing needs of the organisation. It also aids in prompt decision making and brings about diversity in skills and ideas. At Nomura, employees are grouped according to their expertise in various functional lines as well as relative experience in client servicing. The Lehman acquisition although brought in strong operational diversity and better branding the resultant organisational structure was mammoth and complex an HR nightmare possibly. Nomuras post-Lehman operational structure looks more diversified both from a product offering as well as a geographical stand-point; Nomura has three reportable geographic segments with a stronger talent pool and a broader franchise i.e. Asia-Pacific, Americas and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). It has appointed CEOs every business division stationed in Tokyo with every region having a regional head as well as a regional divisional head. 3. Organisation Culture Organisation Culture is defined as a set of shared values and beliefs that interact with an organizations people, structure, and systems to produce behavioural norms. (Harvey Brown, Pg 69) Every organisation has a unique culture. Nomura traditionally has been a conservative investor and largely risk-averse which seemed poles apart from the usual wall-street philosophy. The distinctions between Nomuras Japanese and American Corporate cultures are cited below: Employment Tenure- Employees in Japan are more likely married to their firms with most firms expecting to retain talent through long-term employment schemes. American firms, on the other hand have their eyes firmly set on profitability and return. Promotions- In Japan promotions are based on age and seniority whereas in America promotions are based more on performance. Payroll- Japanese Companies usually pay their employees a fixed salary with low or very little bonus whereas American firms have fixed salaries and employee bonuses are decided according to their performance. Decision Making- In Japanese companies decision making is top down whereas in American style companies managers have more delegation and authority. Therefore decision making in American firms is prompt. Attitude towards risk- Japanese are risk averse whereas Americans are more aggressive. Work Culture- Japanese work culture is very stiff in terms of dress code and punctuality to work whereas American culture is more flexible. Nomura hired 8,000 former Lehman employees. In order to keep the Lehman operations running Nomura had an uphill task of retaining Lehmans employees which meant it needed to change its organisation culture. Source: http://globalization.suite101.com/article.cfm/japanese_corporate_culture 4. SWOT Analysis Strengths- Lehman had a strong position in Europe and it had well developed IT and RD platforms. It possessed high velocity trade machines. Lehman was very active and was one of the best in the markets aided by a very skilled work force which gave Lehman a competitive edge. 95% of Lehmans employees accepted job offers given by Nomura. It is imperative for Nomura to effectively utilize the skill set and knowledge base in order to enhance its business prospects and also achieve economies of scale by resource integration. Weakness- Nomura needed to protect its human capital resulting in high employee costs right at the outset very much in line with Lehman tradition of keeping up higher pay outs. Nomura also needed to build its client franchise from scratch given its lack of presence in the EMEA region and also battle a growing reluctance from clients to trade with a relatively fresh and un-proven broker-dealer. It also initially suffered the baggage of the Lehman bankruptcy, which made it extremely difficult to convince clients and regulators as well as to its viability as a solvent counterparty. Opportunities- One could say that the recent credit crisis provided Nomura with a unique prospect of re-inventing itself. Additionally Nomuras traditional Asian advantage enabled it to push its franchise far more aggressively having added talent from Lehman. Nomura currently has a sound platform to launch a strong client-focussed business. Joint operations will create synergies and generate higher revenues as Nomura can be cost effective in running combined operations. It has a diverse set of services as well as workforce which can help them specialise in niche markets as well as create innovative products in investment banking. Threats- Market conditions are currently volatile across Europe while recovery in the Americas has been painfully gradual. Nomura continues to sustain high operational costs. Although Nomura is desperately trying to mould itself into a global player the inherent cultural clash remains, which could de-motivating for the employees. Source: http://n.ethz.ch/student/rebibr/projects/Lehman-Nomura.pdf 5. Organisational Change Organisations have to change in order to stay competitive. Changes in an organisations environment in terms of competition, new clients and diversity in workforce force an organisation to make changes to its culture. However these changes are significant to Nomuras goal to become a world-class investment bank. Organisational change represents any alteration to existing cultural fabric of an organisation. It happens when a company is growing and going through evolution in terms strategy. Nomura is adopting a behavioural approach to change i.e. its a planned change and it improves communication, group behaviour, leadership skills, and power relations by changing employees knowledge, skills, interactions and attitudes as well as the organisational culture.'(Gordon, Pg.460) The Organisational change was done in four Phases:- Create Synergies Promote efficiency Start Joint Operations Ex- Lehman staff Join Nomura PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3 PHASE 4 Phase 1-Retain Lehman employees in order to smoothly run the acquired business. Phase 2- Integrate infrastructure as Nomura took over Lehmans Information Technology (IT) platform and Global Services in India. Phase 3- Making sure that the combined infrastructure and Operations are running efficiently. Phase 4- Joint operations will create synergies and generate high revenues. Source: http://www.nomuraholdings.com/investor/summary/financial/data/2009_2q_leh.pdf 5.1Changes in Nomura Compensation Structure- Nomura is seeking to follow Lehmans compensation structure of paying high performance bonus of its employees in line with global investment banking standards. Although Nomuras old employees were given a choice to choose Lehmans compensation structure of low basic pay and high performance bonuses. Over half of their old staff chose the Western compensation system which is very different from the traditional Japanese pay structure. Job Security- Earlier Nomuras employees had a better job security although compensation levels were average and very different from the Wall Street philosophy. With the current structure the employees would be offered performance-based bonuses and higher total compensation although the job security would be relatively absent. Complex Matrix- It has adopted a complex Matrix type of organisation structure to achieve flexibility and prompt decision making. Decision Making- Regional and Divisional managers are given more delegation. Traditionally decisions were taken in groups. Managerial Changes- Traditionally most of the senior managerial positions were handled by Japanese but recently three non Japanese Managing Directors have been appointed who are ex Lehman staff. Changes in Job Scope- In the past positions were decided according to age and seniority and now more emphasis is based on the skill set of the employees and their performance. The takeover of Lehman by Nomura looks like a reverse takeover as Nomura is trying to follow Lehmans Organisation cultures rather than super-imposing its own culture. This is because it realises the value of the ex Lehman staff as they can give them a competitive edge over other investment banks. Therefore its making sure that the ex Lehman staff is satisfied working at Nomura so that they can perform well and stay in the job. Another reason for adopting these changes could be that in the past Nomura had made some failed attempts to expand its business operations outside Japan. 5.2 The Change Process The change process of Nomura could be explained with the help of Kurt Lewin Model. The model describes the change process in three stages which are as follows:- 1. Unfreezing- Creating awareness of a need for change and create the right environment for change. Giving old Nomuras employees an option to change their compensation structure is a method of unfreezing as its older employees realise that their counterparts from Lehman will be earning higher. This could have put pressure on Nomuras employees to perform according to Lehmans expectations and thus forcing them to change to the new culture. 2. Change- Making the change. In Nomura this was done through changing its management structure, educating employees and motivating them to work together as a team. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Nomura, Mr. Takumi Shibata acknowledged that there were cultural differences in integrating the two companies but they were focused to work as one team, one firm. 3. Refreezing- A firm has to cement the change and make it its organisation culture. In Nomuras case, they are still undergoing change as the takeover took place only a year and half back. However the progress so far achieved has been no less spectacular given the hard line differences and size of operation. Source: http://www.mansis.com/freeze.htm Nomura Annual Report 2009 6. Organisational Development Techniques Organization development is a system-wide application of behavioural science knowledge to the planned development and reinforcement of organizational strategies, structures, and processes for improving an organizations effectiveness.(Cummings and Worley, Pg 2) Nomura believes in upgrading the skills of its employees through its employee development programmes. This is done so that an employees potential could be maximised at work. Employees are given authority to demonstrate their skills, abilities and they are evaluated on the basis of their performance. In order to enrich the careers of its employees Nomura initiated comprehensive education and training programmes. In 2006, it launched a Happy career and life project which aimed to help its employees maximise their potential. Nomura initiated training in global business etiquette in seven of its offices worldwide including Japan so that the employees could understand the differences in culture and background. This was done to increase responsiveness among its employees so that they understand the importance of building relationship with customers and fellow employees. In 2008, Nomura established Diversity and Inclusion offices in Europe and Asia Pacific. Diversity and inclusion is about respecting human rights and offering equal opportunities within organizations regardless of gender, age, race, faith, or values and harnessing peoples talent.'(Nomura Holdings Website) This programme was introduced to unleash employee potential and capitalize on value. Under this Nomuras Human Resource department will analyse the HR processes such as promotion, recruitment and performance management so that their diverse workforce is well managed. In order to prevent discrimination based on age, race and gender Nomura orga nised 29 training sessions and over 14,000 employees attended the training. Nomura has also created support systems for its female employees in terms of proving more childcare leave and offering assistance with the day care expenses of infants. Source: http://www.nomuraholdings.com/csr/stakeholder/employee/diversity.html http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2010/04/investment-bank-nomura-launches- multi-strand-equality-strategy.htm 7. Conclusion Nomuras long term aim is to become a World class investment bank. After the acquisition, Nomura has achieved market gains in Asia (excluding Japan) and Europe. They are aggressively building business in the US market. Nomuras revenue from markets outside Japan has increased significantly after the acquisition of Lehman Brothers operations in Europe and Asia. Net revenue from its Asia and Europe divisions surpassed Japan in two of the four quarters for the first time. Clearly the integration has benefited Nomura as its revenue from its overseas operations has increased significantly. The Acquisition has generated immense synergies and its helping Nomura to achieve its goal of becoming a World Class Investment Bank. The two firms complement each other in terms of products, geographical locations and customers. Till now the acquisition has proved to be a good one but in the long run Nomura will have to address to a lot of challenges in terms of culture while maintaining balance between American and Japanese culture to keep its new as well as its old employees satisfied. It was easy for Nomura to retain ex Lehman employees as when the takeover took place as the market conditions were bad but once the market conditions stabilise employees might look for greener pastures. Therefore, Nomura has to a task of retaining its employees in the long run as employees are its biggest assets. Source:http://www.financeasia.com/News/174347,nomuras-emergence-as-a-global-investment-bank.aspx?refresh=on 8. Recommendations Most of the success stories on Wall Street have been of firms following a singular cultural philosophy across their businesses. Although the sweeping changes at Nomura have been largely well received by its employees, the company is a long way from realising its potential in the market-place. It needs to inculcate the performance-based compensation spirit amongst its Japanese employees while at the same time relying on Japanese practical wisdom of conservatism. Also behavioural changes in terms of better group dynamics, equal-opportunities irrespective of race, sex and age should be inculcated given the largely male dominated Japanese society. Nomura should take the culture change slowly as it has to keep its employees in Japan in high spirits. They might feel less motivated and think that new employees are more important to the company. Rather than the top management deciding how to change the organisation culture the decision should be taken collectively involving all its employees. Nomura should not get too carried away by the increase in revenues in overseas markets. It has to make sure that the upward trend in revenue generation continues without any holdups. Nomura should not get too Americanized in terms of risk adverse attitude. American banking approach allows managers to take risks which can be very disastrous. It should follow a mixture of Japanese risk averse and American risk adverse attitude in other to run the operations successfully without any turbulence in these volatile economic conditions. Lastly, there should be team building activities in which new and old employees should play an active part. Both old and new employees should work together as a team in order to make Nomura a successful global investment bank.

Smitty :: essays research papers

Hello my name is R, I had been running track all through high school and am just about to start my senior season. I had never been great, but good enough to make states last year in the 100 meter dash. Up until this year (When I transferred to Newark after 3 years at Hodgson) our only coaches were only temporary or who only coached track because they needed some more spending money on their paycheck. Some were even athletes themselves before they let themselves go and now wanted to relive their fantasies of victory through our hard work and sweat. This winter though, events will change. I have an experienced track coach who has championships to prove it and also cares of his athletes as if they were his children. He had run track in both high school and college but chose to be a coach for the love on the sport. His name is â€Å"Smitty† (as though we call him) and he was my ideal coach and person since he obviously was better at it than any of my other coaches. Not only that, but he has more passion than anyone else on the team and all my other coaches. Add to that the fact that he was more successful than most of the coaches in the state in sending athletes to college. He is also a very stern coach that comes with extremely hard workouts. If he hadn't been one of the nicest and most helpful people in the world things might have gotten ugly between him and I very quickly because at Hodgson I didn’t practice much. Instead, he became one of my best friends, as well as part of my family. I don't know exactly why, but Smitty seemed to make me his special project for the season( Calling me the next Brandon Reeves). From the first day of meeting him he pushed me harder than anyone else, spent more time with me and made sure that I pushed myself. Maybe it was because I ran the same distances he ran, but then again so did a few of the other guys. Maybe it was because he saw something in me that none of the other coaches had. I wasn't sure what it was, but at times I enjoyed the extra attention, on the other hand I am sure that I will hate it when he makes me run the extra distance or work extra hard.

American Teenagers Similar to The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq; by William Thackeray :: Memoirs Barry Lyndon Thackeray Essays

American Teenagers Similar to "The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq;" by William Thackeray "The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq;" by William Thackeray, is a story that follows an Irishman who wishes and makes attempts to become a bougeiouse nobleman during the 18th century. Upon first reading the novel, I couldn't help but notice a peculiar feeling I developed towards the story: it has a lot in common with an American teenager's life! Of course, it seems rather absurd to compare the story of an 18th century Irishman to a contemporary American teenager lifestyle, but closer inspection of the novel proves that a lot of Barry's experiences, desires, fears, and emotions have very interesting similarities with those of an American teenager. In Barry's younger years, he wished to join the upper-class and be viewed as a nobleman among society. Many teenagers of the present day can relate to these desires. For what American teenager does not wish himself to be more wealthier and perceived as more socially-signifigant? Barry feels that joining the British Army will strenghten his social identity and help him move up in the world. It is interesting how Barry's desires to join the Army are similar to a teenager's desire to join a clique/sporting team. Teenagers often try to find a strong social identity by joining a clique that appears to have some sort of social signifigance. For what is so different about Barry wanting to join the Army from a geeky kid wanting to join his high school football team? Both situations show men wanting to prove their worth by joining a group that promotes masculinity. The novel displays women as being objects of desire as well as sources of emotional chaos. The women in Barry's world create romance and passion but also bring about confusion, inadequecy, rejection, and heartbreak. Any teenage male can identify women like these in their world. High school and college can be times when dating is taken very casually and in a nonchallant manner. Teenage males can be very recognizable of women who elicit the same types of feelings Barry faces with his women. There are many females in Barry's world, but the feelings of intimacy are rather brief. Any teenage male can surely relate to Barry's love life. "The Memoiors of Barry Lyndon, Esq." is ultimately the story of a man who finds himself in the social status he always dreamed of, but finds that it is not as fulfilling as he though it'd be.

The Internal Sources of Finance

The Internal Sources of Finance In order to grow your small business into a larger one, it is important to invest in it. And to invest in your business, you need access to finance. Unfortunately, external sources of finance — lenders and investors — are often skeptical of small businesses. This can leave you to rely on internal sources of finance for investing in your business. Retained Earnings Retained earnings are an easy source of internal financing to use because they are liquid assets.Retained earnings are the portion of net income that you have retained in your company and not paid out. In a small business, retained earnings are usually paid out to the owners, who often do not draw a budgeted salary. Instead of paying out retained earnings, you can reinvest them into the company. Current Assets Current assets consist of cash or anything that can easily be converted into cash. For example, if your business has stock holdings in other companies, you can divest your self of those stocks and use the proceeds as a source of financing.You should be careful, however, not to decrease your current assets to levels less than your current liabilities, as this may prevent you from paying off your debts. Fixed Assets Fixed assets are those that are not easily converted to cash. Typically, these assets include equipment, property and factories. Because these assets take time to convert to cash, they cannot be relied on for short-term access to finance. If you have the time, however, you could — for example — sell off some equipment or even property to invest in your business.This is particularly useful if your needs have outgrown some of your fixed assets — for example, if you need to purchase newer equipment. Personal Savings Personal savings are the backbone of many small businesses. If your business doesn't have the assets to finance your project, you may still have personal finances that you can contribute to the business. This pr ovides an alternative to seeking external investors or loans and allows you to retain control over your business.

Wholefoods Market, Do They Practice What They Preach?

Whole Foods Market, Do they practice what they preach? Festus Acha, Jaesang Kim, Wanda Moss, Linda Pressley, Alioune Thiam The Johns Hopkins Carey Business School Management & Organizational Behavior Professor Rick Milter March 22, 2010 Whole Foods Market, Do they practice what they preach? Abstract The purpose of this paper is to show a correlation between what is perceived about Whole Foods Market and what is factual about them. We intend to explore and investigate the following key points such as their mission statement, vision, their strategy for success, and empowerment techniques. We will look at how they motivate, compete with others, and the type of inspiration used as a whole to promote cohesiveness throughout their business. We want to feel out their communication techniques as well as the emotional intelligence of their employees. It will be an experience to observe their team leadership in action rather than by hearsay. Coaching and mentoring has to be an important function for such a global organization as well as the steps taken for decision making and problem solving. We have come to realize that change is inevitable in any business and we want to know what their plans for change are and how it will be dealt with. Lastly we take our information collectively and see just how Whole Foods holds up through our audit of their leadership. Our leadership audit of Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFMI) was based on the following criteria: Mission & Vision Statement (Core Values) Strategy for Success Empowering Employees Motivation & Inspiration Competing without fear Communication Emotional Intelligence Team Leadership Effectiveness Coaching & Mentoring Problem solving & decision making Organizational Change Overall Management We graded them on a sliding scale of Excellence to Needs Improvement and based on the financial data and management of their competitors such as Kroger’s, Safeway, and Trader Joe’s their score was given based on overall performance in those areas. Their biggest competitor being Trader Joe’s being a privately held company it was difficult to obtain financial information to do an effective comparison. Whole Foods Market has a running history of being a family oriented company. It is also reported that upper management uses a hands off practice of allowing its employees complete autonomy in decision making regarding the operation of their stores. Based on primary information obtained through observations and interviews at multiple Whole Foods Markets throughout the Maryland area we are able to shed some validity to some of the theories currently circulating. We also have information that may show or allude to controversial information as well. During these interviews we talked with employees and the managers on duty. What we learned is what people say and what you see may not always be the same. Our secondary information was obtained through reports found through second party interviews, up to date journals and magazines such as Harvard Business Review. Vision & Mission (Core Values) Whole Foods Market came into existence on September 12, 1980. Workers for Whole Foods Market experience this organization as a positive paternalistic organization. It is characterized by very high trust levels, complete autonomy and accompanied by very little uncertainty. Their vision statement speaks of their objectives and goals reaching beyond a food retailer. It highlights its customer satisfaction, healthy employee environment, profits, investments and stockholders always ending on a positive note. Their mission is to lead by example. Some of their core values are things such as: Ensuring they are selling the best quality all natural and or organic products available for resale. Making sure their customers are always satisfied Support team members Invest in the community and the environment Great relationships with our suppliers and business partners Whole Foods truly believes in creating wealth through profits and growth for the company and its employees. However, on March 17, 2010 one of our team members Wanda Moss visited the Whole Foods Market located at 1001 Fleet Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. Her visit revealed that workers were friendly, outgoing, and very accommodating as she sought out a particular herbal seasoning to use in a seafood casserole. Her curiosity and interest in their herbs and spices made G. Singh, an employee more relaxed as she divulged her interest in their company for a school project. Ms. Singh has been working for the company for a little over four years she revealed. When questioned about the mission of Whole Foods as it pertained to her store and she replied that they are very good to her and they act as family towards one another. The employee was asked one other question in regards to the company’s position on unionized labor and she replied no one that she knows in her store wants to be in a union and that they like things just fine. Wanda Moss said she felt a defensive spirit as â€Å"G† responded. Nonetheless Ms. Moss continued to check out with her items and thanked the young lady for her time. Whole Food Markets employees are very knowledgeable about the store and its practices almost as if one has to rehearse. We have surmised either these employees are well prepared for inquisitions or the vision or mission statement of Whole Foods is genuine being practiced. We rated them good in their ability to mirror their vision and mission statement. Strategy for Success Which leads us to what is their marketing strategy to remain successful and move forward? Information obtained from their website suggests that they rigorously will be vigilante assessing their current situations in all aspects of the business in which they operate and examine as to how they can stay the front runner. Part of that plan is to expand geographically in the future and give consideration to altering their product mix to attract more main stream customers. Since they are not really clear on their plan of execution for expansion and innovation in altering their current mix, we rated them average and the need for improvement. Empowerment Their strategy will lead us to how they intend or are currently empowering their employees and low level managers to remain on the frontline for the business. What was learned is that their empowerment techniques equate to trust all day long. For instance the employees believe that with management placing an immeasurable amount of faith in them, a high value is placed upon them. That same value is transferred to the customers and other stakeholders that help them to remain profitable and a front runner in their field. Their CEO John Mackey is walking the talk by nurturing from the inside out to enhance the quality of benefits distributed in all of their stores. The empowerment of their employees and or team leaders is unique and inspiring so we rated them excellent in this category. Inspiration Whole Food Market was created by local business people who had the conviction that the natural food industry was ready for bigger stores. They decided to opt for the supermarket format that was hosted by only â€Å"half a dozen† stores providing natural food in the United States. In terms of nutrition, Whole Food Market claims to always look for the â€Å"highest quality, least processed, most flavorful and natural food possible†. They believe that their products are the purest within the US and that everything that you can pick up at the store will be healthy. The company also buys from local growers in order to support them and reduce their â€Å"carbon footprint†. That way, Whole Food Market is then really â€Å"committed to helping take care of the world around [them]† and the â€Å"support of organic farming and sustainable agriculture helps protect our planet†. The company also supports food banks and all sorts of micro lending operations in order to leave something positive to the community. Whole Food Market also believes that its employees make the company. They select them carefully, making sure that their values and the Whole Food market’s values are in sync. The company is trying to create a workplace where employees are pushed to improve and feel respected as well. Motivation Several factors have to be taken into account when assessing the origin of employees’ motivation. One important factor that motivates employees is that Whole Food Market support â€Å"advancement from within†. In other words, they promote their current employees to apply for the higher responsibilities positions. According to Whole Food Market, once an employee has gained valuable knowledge, he may qualify to apply for any available opportunity in the Whole Food stores and facilities. Whole food makes a point to post all the openings for positions â€Å"at team leader level or higher† only in their internal job site. It prevents outsider to access high level responsibilities positions as well as it promotes current employee to expand their product knowledge, develop their skills, enhance their value to the team, and advance inside the company. Another important factor that keeps the employees motivated is the benefit packages provided to them. Fortune Magazine recognized Whole Food Market to be one of the â€Å"100 best companies to work for during the last 13 years†. In 2009, Whole Food Market was part of the only 15 companies that would provide 100% coverage on their employees’ health insurance premiums. Their benefit packages include â€Å"health insurance, paid time off, retirement savings and generous store discounts. The company also claims to be unique in the way it allocates benefit packages. Indeed, since every team member is important to the companies, they all get a voice when it comes to the content of their benefit packages. Team members will vote every three years to determine the content of the benefit packages offered by the company. This system results in different benefit packages according to the country or region employees are working in. The Paid- Time –Off policy, for example, is different depending on where the employee is working. For US employees, the paid time off depends on whether the employee is working full-time or part-time. In Canada paid-time-off depends on the time spent within the company in years, and In the UK, every single employee gets 7 days and the possibility to add an extra day. The last factor (but not least) that we discovered to be pushing employees is the learning experience and the experience itself. Alioune Thiam, one of our team members interviewed a couple of employees at different positions. When they were asked the question † what motivates you† one of them spontaneously answered that the learning experience was her principal source of motivation when the other stated that he just love the company and what the company does for the environment. Competition Based on the multiple interviews held with the store managers, Whole Food Market does not consider other giants of the food industry as threatening competitors. They acknowledge that other stores also carry organic food but they are convinced that the high quality standard set is not rivaled. Employees also mentioned shopping at Whole Food Market as an experience where the customer and the team members are educated. They emphasized a lot about the learning experience that makes them unique and out of reach for other grocery stores. However, according to Hoovers, a business analysis company, Whole Food Market still has dangerous competitors. A business analysis of the Whole Food market shows us that The Kroger is the most important competitors to Whole Food Market closely followed by Safeway and Trader Jo’s. Even though these stores do not provide only natural, organic, healthy food, they do offer a wide variety of food ranging from organic/natural to less healthy and more commonly found nutrition. Communication Communication is essential in any organization and it would appear that Whole Foods has communication as one of its top priorities. There is great communication among team members as well as the different teams in each store. I visited the Whole Foods store in Mt. Washington and spoke with Joe Young, Associate Customer Service Team Leader regarding how communication. Mr. Young stated that the employees feel that the communication is very transparent, from team leadership to team members. Any communication from the corporate office in Texas is given to the regional offices. Information is then given to the stores and is disseminated to the team leaders who, in turn, give it to the team members. I asked about feedback from customers. Mr. Young stated that feedback from customers is encouraged. Whenever feedback is received from a customer, it is given to the team leader for whichever section it concerns. The question along with the answer is posted on a bulletin board for customers to see. This feedback response is usually given within a week. However, some of the research that I have found indicates that team members are not allowed to say anything about working at Whole Foods on social websites, such as Facebook. According to some blogs, John Mackey uses pseudo names to become â€Å"friends† with some of his employees on Facebook to keep a tab on what is being said about the company. These employees face repercussions from posting on the website. Communication Grade – Good. There seems to be good multi-directional with team leaders and customers. However, employees should be able to express themselves constructively through social websites and not feel they will be penalized. Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is defined as an ability to recognize the meanings of emotion and their relationships and to reason and problem-solve on the basis of them. The employees I interview seemed to really enjoy working for Whole Foods. According to Fortune 500 Magazine, Whole Foods is listed as one of the best places to work and has been for the past 10 years. When I visited the Mt. Washington store, the atmosphere had a relaxed feel. People seemed to enjoy shopping there and the employees were attuned to the customer needs. While I was speaking with Mr. Young, he greeted several customers by name. Mr. Young pointed out the core values of Whole Foods which are listed on huge individual placards in the store. The quality standards were also listed individually on placards. As I stood in line to purchase my items, the cashiers had a great attitude. They also knew customers by name, commented on their purchases – one cashier spoke about the dinner and dessert from purchases of a customer. I also interview a long-time customer of the store. She stated she could not find anything to say negatively. She recently moved for New Orleans and shopped at those stores as well as the store at Mt. Washington, Maryland. She felt the employees enjoyed working at Whole Foods and would stop whatever they were doing to help customers, even if it meant walking over the whole store to help them find products. She felt that the service and atmosphere of Whole Foods makes customers feel good about what they are buying there. In her opinion, the team members take pride in the products that they sell. Emotional Intelligence Grade – Excellent Team Leadership & Effectiveness In the textbook The Future of Management, author Gary Hamel describe the type of management of Whole Foods. Each store is considered a team and inside the each store, there are departmental teams. According to my research, this concept seems to work. Leadership decisions are made from the bottom up instead of from the top down, which is the industry norm. Each departmental team has team leaders. It is very intriguing the way team leadership is chosen. The leader of each team is interviewed by a panel. The panel includes Regional Vice Presidents, various Team Leaders either from the same store or another store in the region, as well as a cross of team members. Mr. Young also said there is no â€Å"seniority† when choosing a leader. Leaders are chosen by the panel if they exhibit the ability to lead a team and not by how many years they have been with the company. Mr. Young also stated that when decisions affecting their team members need to be made, all team members are allowed to vote on the changes. For example, when it comes time to choose health care, the team members all vote for their health benefits. Team Leadership Grade – Excellent Coaching & Mentoring Decision Making The Whole Foods culture is built on decentralized teamwork. Decisions in Whole Foods are not made by upper management but each store has been empowered to make its decisions independent of the other. Critical decisions, such as whom to hire is made by those who will be directly impacted by the consequences of such decisions. Decision making in Whole Foods is made by teams. Each department and its team are responsible for all key operating decisions, including pricing, ordering, staffing, and in-store promotion. With regards to product selection, team leaders are given the authority to stock products they feel appeal to customers. Stores are encouraged to buy locally as long as the items meet the stringent standards of Whole Foods. With this empowerment given to teams comes accountability, which ensures that associates use their discretionary decision-making power in ways that drive the business forward. Part of Whole Foods’ strategy is to put decision right down to the front lines and hence teams make many important decisions. Problem Solving Teams maintain a culture in which open dialogue and debate is the norm. This is reinforced by openly addressing behavior that involves excessive criticism or cynicism. Not tolerating such behavior sends a strong signal to the team and sets behavior patterns. Team processes have a profound influence on team effectiveness. Effective processes ensure rigorous and optimal decision-making; generate buy-in from team members, balance the influence each member exerts on the group and minimize interpersonal conflicts while encourage constructive debate. Information and ideas of each team member is properly incorporated into the decision making process. Whole Foods has multiple processes built into its teams to achieve optimal team functioning. The tight linkage between business intelligence and decision-making authority at Whole Foods ensures that little problems do not have to compound into big problems before action is taken. Organizational Change Whole Foods Market started with a small single store. In 1978, twenty-five year old college dropout John Mackey and twenty-one year old Rene Lawson Hardy opened a small natural foods store, Safer Way, in Austin, in Texas. Two years later, John and Rene merged Safer Way with Clarksville Natural Grocery and then they opened the original Whole Foods market in 1800. Even though Whole foods Market focused on natural foods, it tried to change structure and management to improve its performance. In 1986, it was first time to purchase an existing store, when Whole foods bought the Bluebonnet Natural Foods Grocery in Dallas and converted it into a Whole Foods Market. After that, Whole Foods not only open new stores but also purchased their competitors in new regions. Through the expansion program, Whole Food Market reached out to potential customers. Whole Foods Markets launched a private label called Whole Foods. Whole Foods Market tried to find smaller manufacturers who produced quality organic products. The private label encouraged customers to return to Whole Foods Market. Its own Whole Foods brand became the first retailer to maintain a private label line featuring organic food products. In 1996, in order to resemble other Whole foods store, Whole Food Market started to transform the Mrs. Gooch's stores and made them adopt the Whole Foods Market name. The change in name caused a 5 to 10 percent sales drop. After that, Whole Foods was more careful about changing the names of acquired stores. To improve productivity, Whole Foods established a centralized purchasing system. By the end of 1997, the system facilitated the company to track product movement and prices. In addition, Whole Foods made a low priced private label, 365. The 365 products were different from the Whole Foods products. The 365 products did not provide organic products, but they were priced about 20 percent cheaper. The 365 products attracted more customers who typically bought groceries. Moreover, Whole Foods Market has expanded into global market. In 2002, Whole Foods Market expanded into Canada and two year later it entered the United Kingdom. In 2010, Whole Foods employs 53,300people in more than 290 stores in the U. S. , Canada, and the UK. The tenth-largest food and drug store in the U. S. , Whole Foods ranks 324th on the Fortune 500 list, with annual sales of approximately $8 billion. Whole Foods Market has high standards and provides organic and quality foods. In 2003, Whole Foods Market was designated America's first National Certified Organic Grocer. Three years earlier, Whole Foods was the first national food retailer to join the USDA advisory board to help increase the U. S. Organic Standards. In 2008, Whole Foods established stricter guidelines to reduce environmental impact and to require vendors to pass a third-party audit. Over the past decade, Whole Foods Market is increasing its reputation with organic, fair-trade, or locally produced food. Even though Whole Foods Market is a huge food store, it is going to change and to pursue what people need. Over the next decade, Whole Foods will offer more resources to emphasize healthful eating. If Whole Foods Market stops changing, it cannot survive in the food industry. Overall Management Whole Foods Market believes that customer experiences anticipate and predict its business outcomes. Whole Foods Market also knows employee performance has influence on customer experiences. Therefore, Whole Foods Market tries to satisfy its employees by offering adequate compensation program, safe and friendly work environment. These facts are able to motivate and guide employees to increase productivity and effectiveness. Whole Foods Market also makes employees feel like a part of the company. So every employee takes an important role to achieve its goals and their performances affect directly to the company’s outputs. Especially, Whole Foods Market is a workplace to respect for all individual team members and self-empowerment. At Whole Foods Market, there are five values to affect the employees’ performance outcomes. First, Whole Foods Market believes one of the most important jobs is talking to team members. Whole Foods Market knows what its team leaders say and do affect their team members. If team members cannot trust the leader, they also do not trust the mission of the company. Each leader represents their teams. Whole Foods Market knows communication is very important. So each leader attempts to share the mission and core values of Whole Foods Market. Also, Whole Foods Market emphasizes a self-directed team structure. It organizes Whole Foods store and company into a variety of teams. In small team organizational structure, every member is vital and important. The contributions of every member make the success of the team. Whole Foods think self-directed teams are the key work unit of the company. So Whole Food pays more attention to each team. To discuss issues, solve problems and appreciate each others' contributions, each team meets regularly. Whole Foods Market insists empowerment enhances the effectiveness of teams. When each team is fully empowered to do their work and to fulfill the organization’s mission and values, empowered organizations have great advantage. Empowerment improves creativity and innovation. Whole Foods support individual team members. Next, Whole Foods Market attempts to optimize transparency to all team members because an important element of trust is transparency. Whole Foods Market allows every team member to access information that affects their jobs and annual individual compensation report. When a company decides to hide some information, the motivation is a lack of trust. Whole Foods is afraid that the information that would cause more harm than good if it was known. However, Whole Foods is willing to take the risk. Without transparency, Whole Foods cannot reach out to high level of organizational trust. Finally, Whole Foods is not able to create high trust organizations without love and care. We are more likely to look for love and friendship with our families and friends, but not from our work. If the leadership expresses love and care in their actions, then love and care will flourish in the organization. For example, everyone participates in the meeting and gives the opportunity to voluntarily appreciate other members in the group for services. Appreciating team members helps encourage every team member. They want to get involved in their teams and trust each member. As a result, in 2010, Whole Foods ranked 18th on Fortune’s list of the â€Å"100 Best Companies to Work For. Appendix Table of opportunities: Table of opportunities: Competitors list: Leadership Audit References Diamond, D. (2009, October 1). Perception Vs. Reality. Progressive Grocer, 88(7), 34. Hamstra, M. (2010, January 1). Mackey No Longer Chairman? Supermarket News, 58(1), 1-7. Hoovers Company Records, 10952. Dow Jones Financial Data on Whole Foods Market. Retrieved March 25, 2010, from http:/ /finance. yahoo. com/q? s=WFMI. Linda Pressley. Whole Foods Market. Mr. Joe Young, Associate Customer Service Team Leader, Whole Foods Store, Mt. Washington, Maryland. Interviewed on March 23, 2010 Ms. Fay Day, Whole Foods Customer. Interview March 24, 2010. Paskin, J. (2009, February 1). Growth slows, but mackey doesn't [Keeping employees motivated]. 18, 2, 24-26. Pressley, L. Whole Foods Market Interview. Retrieved from www. discoveryhealth. com. Whole Foods Market. Retrieved from www. wholefoodsmarket. com. http://www. hoovers. com/company/Whole_Foods_Market_Inc/ http://www. hoovers. com/about/100000489-1. html www. marketwatch. com/ http://www. wikinvest. com/stock/Whole_Foods_Market_%28WFMI%29