Its midterm exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Its midterm exam - Essay Example rthless if both the responsibility and authority are not equal to each other as the person may not be able to complete his responsibility as he did not have enough authority to obtain resources. 6. When a manager’s span of control is wide, he has a lot of subordinates reporting to him as compared to managers who have a narrow span of control. In such cases a manager may experience loss of control. 7. Empowerment of employees leads to increased employee engagement in the decision making process and this allows employees to bring in new ideas; this even motivates the employees as they gain a sense of responsibility. Empowerment may be viewed in a negative manner by employees as they may think that manager is just offloading his burden on their shoulders. 9. Exploitative Authoritative and Benevolent Authoritative System are two close approaches of management that are similar to theory Y as these two approaches states that decisions are made at the top and delegated to the lower section of an organization. 14. The theory of Fredrick Taylor fails to attain the goal of long term productivity as this theory is based on top down management rule where the instructions are obtained from the top and in such management scenario change is very hard to take place. 15. Delegation of authority takes place when a manager assigns his responsibility and authority to a subordinate to carry out a particular responsibility (Goetsch 120). The advantage obtained from this is that it increases employee’s involvement, but the downside is that the manager is held responsible if the subordinate fails to carry out the responsibility. 18. Electronic communication decrease the lapse time that used to be caused to make appointments and one particular message can be sent to several individuals at the same time. Electronic communication lacks face to face contact, it can lead to misinterpretation of information and electronic communication even contains lack of privacy. 21. It is

Theoretical Aspects of the US Position in ODS and OIF Essay

Theoretical Aspects of the US Position in ODS and OIF - Essay Example s see communities, as well as the identities and norms they help to create and sustain, as the most critical determinants of order, whether at home or abroad (Lebow 56), this explanation could be considered rather plausible. On the other hand, according to Thucydides and classical realists more generally, military power and alliances are necessary safeguards in the volatile world of international relations, but also double-edged swords; thus being considered as likely to provoke as to prevent conflict (Lebow 56). The history of the North Atlantic Alliance appeared the genuine article of such an ambiguity. NATO’s existence during the Cold War was a major factor that prevented military conflict in Europe, standing out against the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet geopolitical aspirations; while after the fall of the Berlin wall and the demise of the Soviet Union, the alliance got involved in military conflicts in Europe and beyond the alliance’s geographical range – start ing with the 1990 invasion in Iraq, as part of the UN-authorized multinational coalition force – thus significantly expanding its influence and geography (Gordon and Shapiro 31, 39). Finally, realism would render another explanation of the 1990 invasion in Iraq, namely as a preventive war waged by status quo powers on a ‘rising’ regional challenger such as Saddam Hussein’s regime (see Lebow 57); which, being tempted to believe that has the advantage of possessing arguably the largest military capabilities in the region, and plenty of elbow room due to messy world of international politics by that time, invaded and occupied Kuwait. Having failed to prevent the war, the balance of power – in accordance with Morgenthau’s postulates (see Morgenthau 155-9, 162-6, 170, cited in Lebow 57) – is... From the research it can be comprehended that considering the importance of community in imposing limits on the ends and means of power, as well as exploring the relationship between domestic and international politics, classical realism presents plausible explanations of Operation Desert Storm, whereas it’s much more convincing in regard to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Having distinguished between interest and power, and delivering a sophisticated understanding of the balance of power, relative power position of the US, and the strengths and weaknesses of both allies and adversaries, classical realism explains not only the reasons for the 2003 invasion, but also the choice of invading Iraq, rather than some other of the so-called ‘rogue’ states, later designated by George Bush Jr to be constituent parts of the ‘axis of evil’. Neorealism, in turn, based on the assumption of power as the first and last resort in the anarchic self-help system of internation al politics, couldn’t satisfactorily explain many of the ODS features, including the role of the UN in authorizing the military action against Iraq. By stark contrast, in regard to OIF, neorealism provides extremely powerful explanations of most, if not all, aspects of the American position and actions, including the motives behind the invasion, the reason why Iraq was targeted, as well as the far-reaching goals and implications of the US-led campaign.

Cancer: its Risk Factors, Treatments and Diagnosis

Cancer: its Risk Factors, Treatments and Diagnosis Cancer is a disease in which irregular cells multiply uncontrollably and inhabit the surrounding tissues. These cells can metastasize to different parts of the body via bodily fluids such as the lymphatic system (NHS, 2014). Cancers are categorised based on the organ or cell from where they arose. As an example, cancer that develops in the lung is known as lung cancer and cancer that arises in melanocytes of the skin is called melanoma. (Cancer Research UK, 2013) There are four major types of cancer: Carcinoma, cancer that originates on the surface of internal organs. Sarcoma, cancer that initiates in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, and blood vessels. Leukemia, Cancer that arises in bone marrow and causes abnormal blood cells to be made. Lymphoma and myeloma, cancers that originate in the immune system and nervous system cancers, cancers that develop in the cells of the central nervous system (Cancer Research UK, 2013). Some of the risk factors of cancer include the following and for the purpose of this essay, only two are briefly explained. Alcohol Unhealthy eating Lack of exercise Ultraviolet light Air Pollution Radiation Smoking: Smoking precipitates cancer by damaging the DNA, as well as the crucial genes that defend us against cancer. Numerous chemicals such as benzene found in tobacco have been proven to cause DNA mutilation. Old age: The progression of ageing favours two vital processes in cancer growth: the procurement of alterations and the creation of a molecular and cellular environment, which favours carcinogenesis. Over 331,000 people had cancer in 2011 in the UK. 1 in 3 British resident will develop cancer in their lifetime. Approximately 162,000 died from cancer in 2012. The hazard of developing cancer below the age of 50 is 1 in 35 for males and 1 in 20 for females. Less than 1% of entire cancers develop in children aged below 14 years. Less than 1% of all cancers occur in teenagers. In general cancer incidence rates in Great Britain have escalated in the last 40 years, with nearly the entire increase happening in the last 20 years. Cancer is the number one threat for British residents, ahead of debt, violent crime, Alzheimer’s disease and losing a job. There have been huge upsurges in the frequency of numerous cancers strongly related to lifestyle, such as kidney, liver, skin oral and uterine (Cancer Research UK, 2012) Cancer develops when the genetic material of a cell becomes corrupted; the corruption triggers mutations that interfere with the normal cell development and division. When this occurs, the cell does not die. Instead, additional cells are made superfluously; these excess cells accumulate to form a tissue called a tumour, which is the basis of cancer. Tumours are either benign or malignant. Benign tumours remain confined to the location of origin and are not cancerous. Malignant tumours can infiltrate nearby tissues and propagate to various parts of the body. Not all cancers start with a tumour for instance; leukaemia is a cancer of the blood. Viruses such as Human papillomavirus escalates the hazard for cancers of the cervix, penis, vulva, and anus. Hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses extend the dangers for liver cancer. Symptoms of cancer may include lumps and bumps anywhere on the body, changes in colour of the skin, continuous cough, irregular bowel movements, pain when swallowing and unusual bleeding. (NHS, 2012). The government has taken numerous steps to minimise the health hazards associated with smoking. As an example the 2006 Health Act, Smoking was forbidden in virtually all enclosed work and public spaces in the United Kingdom since July 2007. Some of the methods employed to detect early signs of the disease involve the following. Imaging Endoscopy Cancer screening Theres a greater chance of cure for cancer if diagnosed early. Some of the treatments available include Surgery radiotherapy chemotherapy The current Government cancer policy is the Improving outcomes a strategy for cancer 2011: national cancer strategy. Three, conjointly strengthening values, reinforces this policy. To place the patient at the heart of the public services by refining the relationship between the public and service via the principle of no decision about me without me. To set the NHS and public health care services towards bringing progress in outcomes. Permitting local organisations and professionals to attain the liberties to modernise and drive enhancements in services that provide care of the utmost value for all patients. What is smoking Smoking is the inhalation and exhalation of tobacco smoke in cigarettes. Traditionally, smoking as a practice, was followed by natives of the Western Hemisphere, in religious ceremonials and for medicinal resolutions. It has a history beginning in the early 1600s. Smoking increases the risks of thrombosis it causes hypertension and accelerate the heart rate, compelling the heart to work harder than normal. It Narrows the arteries, dwindling the volume of oxygen-rich blood flowing to the organs. Smoking can elicit male impotence as it interferes with blood supply to the penis. It also damages sperm, diminish sperm count and initiate testicular cancer. In women, smoking can decrease fertility. Smoking while pregnant can result in a miscarriage, premature birth, and stillborn. It also raises the risk of cot death by at least 25%. Furthermore, smoking is an enormous squander on the budget of families on minimum earnings predominantly as households on low incomes ironically tend to smoke considerably more than those on greater earnings. The typical family spending on tobacco in smoking households is about 2.1%, while the deprived section of the population devotes close to 15% of weekly income on cigarettes. 1 in 5 adults was a smoker in 2012, a proportion that has remained mostly unchanged, compared to 1 in 4 in 2002. In 2013, less than a quarter of 11 to 15-year olds stated that they had attempted smoking. At 22%, this is the lowest level recorded since the statistics were first composed in 1982 and continues to decrease since 2003, when 42% of pupils had tried smoking. The percentage of admissions attributable to smoking as a proportion of all admissions was higher in men than women. In 2013 approxmatley 1 in 6 deaths of adults aged 35 and over were projected to be triggered by smoking compared with 81,900 in 2005 (Hscic, 2014). Some of the determinants of smoking include the following and for the purpose of this essay only 2 are briefly explained. Socioeconomic status Cultural Characteristics Biological elements Stress Advertising The tobacco industry’s advertisements, and other promotions for its products are a tremendous impact in society. The tobacco industry devotes billions of pounds each year to generate and market advertisements that display smoking as exhilarating, stylish, and harmless. Price of tobacco Peer pressure Health Hazard of smoking Cancer Cardiovascular Disease Respiratory disorders Sexual dysfunction Smoking raises the hazard of atherosclerosis and hypertension that can result in the development of a Cardiovascular disease. (NHS, 2012). Some chemicals found tobacco smoke such as benzene can cause cancer. They instigate DNA mutilation that can result in an uncontrollable multiplication of cells consequently forming a cancer tumour(NHS, 2012). The government regularly maintains tobacco prices high through tax policy to discourage young people from starting to smoke and prompt smokers to quit.Tobacco promotion is now illicit in the UK and numerous other countries. After the introduction of the tobacco Advertising Promotion Act 2002, nearly all advertising ended in February 2003, i.e., on posters and in printed publications. Cigarette adverts at the point of sale was forbidden in supermarkets in April 2012 and will be proscribed in small shops from April 2015 (Ash, 2014) Smoking has a significant impact on the environment. Smoke and cigarette butts, instigate air, water and soil pollution, and nearly 5 million hectares of woodland are wrecked each year to facilitate the production of tobacco (Ewles, 2005) Current UK smoking policy is the tobacco control plan for England. â€Å"The Plan intends to lessen adult smoking prevalence from 21% to 18.5% by 2015. Diminish the smoking percentage of 15-year-olds from 15% to 12% by 2015, and smoking during pregnancy from 14% to 11% by 2015† (Ash, 2014). The Plan also pledges support for plain packaging of tobacco products, and to cease the parade of ciggeratt in supermarkets by April 2012, and in small shops by April 2015 (Ash, 2014). Cardiovascular Disease Cardiovascular disease is a overall term that defines the ailments that affect the cardiovascular system. CVD develops after the amount of blood flowing to the heart, and brain reduces due to thrombosis, or atherosclerosis (NHS, 2012) Presently, 1 in 3 deaths in the UK are initiated by CVD, accounting for 180,000 deaths each year. CVD causes a substantial problem of disability, and up to  £8 billion of NHS resources are dedicated to CVD (NICE, 2014). The 4 main categories of cardiovascular disease are Coronary heart disease Stroke Peripheral arterial disease Aortic disease Coronary heart disease develops when the coronary arteries narrow due to fat accrual. This ailment is known as atherosclerosis, and the fat is called atheroma. Eventually, the arteries will be so narrow the provision of oxygenated blood diminishes accordingly damaging certain parts of the heart causing angina. However, if a part of atheroma disassembles, it may initiate a thrombosis and if it occludes the blood flow for a long enough time the heart muscle is perpetually impaired or dies causing a heart attack. Angina and heart attack are the two most common symptoms of CHD. The typical symptoms for angina include pain, ache, discomfort in the chest area. The pain usually subsides within 10 minutes after resting. If glyceryl trinitrate is administered the pain fades within 2 minutes. Angina pain can also be generated by other causes of a rapid heart rate. For example, when in a state of â€Å"fight or flight†. A Heart attack usually has the following symptoms, chest pain – a feeling of heaviness, and tension in the centre of chest. Discomfort in various areas of the body it can feel the pain can spread from the chest to arms typically the left arm is affected, jaw, neck, feeling light-headed, sweating and shortness of breath. A stroke happens when the blood provision to a section of the brain halts and creates damage due to oxygen deprivation. A thrombosis or a haemorrhage in the brain can elicit the blockage. As a result, the affected region of the brain cannot operate routinely. Strokes affect people in dissimilar ways, subject on the section of the brain that is impaired, how extensive the harm is and how healthy the individual was afore the stroke. A stroke can change the way the body functions as well as the thought procedures, communication and vision. A stroke can also have an emotional effect and can create problems such as anxiety, despair or alterations to personality. Types of strokesThere are around 152,000 strokes in the UK each year. There are around 1.1 million stroke survivors living in the UK. Stroke is a significant cause of adult incapacity. More than half of entire stroke survivors are left reliant on others for everyday activities. Stroke is responsible for roughly 7% of deaths in men and 10% in women. Statistics In 2010, cardiovascular diseases were the UK’s main killer, nearly 180,000 people died from CVD roughly 81,000 of these deaths caused by coronary heart disease and about 50,000 from strokes. In 2010, cardiovascular diseases were responsible for around 46,000 untimely deaths in the UK; 68% of these were men. For men, the incidence of angina is highest in Wales, for women it is highest in Scotland. It is lowest for both sexes in England. In 2009, CVD cost the NHS  £8.7 billion and  £19 billion on the economy. Risk factors risk factors associated with coronary heart disease and stroke Family history, Ethnicity and age, Tobacco exposure, Hypertension, High cholesterol, Obesity, Physical inactivity, Diabetes, Unhealthy diets, Harmful use of alcohol Hypertension, Blood pressure refers to the total force the blood applies to the inside walls of the arteries as it passes through them. It is typical for blood pressure to momentarily upsurge. However, if blood pressure is regularly greater than the healthy level when at repose, this condition known as high blood pressure or hypertension. Blood pressure is quantified in millimetres and noted as two numbers: Systolic pressure – the force of the blood when the heart pumps blood out. Diastolic pressure – the pressure of the blood when the heart reposes between beats, which reveals how efficiently the arteries are resisting blood flow. Smoking Alcohol Alcohol is a product that has delivered a range of purposes for people throughout history. Alcohol has played a significant part in religion and worship. Historically, alcoholic drinks have served as a source of nutrients and extensively used for medicinal, antibacterial, and palliative properties. They can be a social lubricant, can aid entertainment, can provide pharmacological pleasure, and can enhance the pleasure of eating. Alcohol impedes the brain’s messaging paths and can influence the manner the brain operates. These disturbances can alter attitude and behaviour, and make it difficult to think sensibly and move with coordination. It is difficult to know and recall the quantity alcohol is in beverages, and just how this can impact health. The lower risk guidelines can assist with this. Men are reccomended to drink no more than 3 – 4 units of regular strength of lager, or cider per day. For women no more than 2-3 units of a normal glass of wine. There’s no evidence to verify that drinking alcohol is completely safe, but by keeping within these guidelines, there is only a little risk of causing damage in most situations. Drinking excessively over an extended period or on a single occasion can harm the heart, causing health conditions such as Cardiomyopathy Arrhythmias Stroke High blood pressure fatty liver Alcoholic hepatitis Fibrosis Cirrhosis Cancers Approxmatley 9990 people were victims of alcohol related driving accidents in the UK in 2011 together with 280 who lost their lives and 1290 who sustained severe harm. Alcohol-linked criminality costs  £11 billion each year. They were roughly 1.2 million alcohol associated hospital admissions between 2011 2012, a 135% upsurge since 2002-2003 and 8748 deaths absolutely linked to alcohol. The alcohol-related deaths of men in the most deprived socio-economic class is 3.5 times greater than for men in the least deprived class whereas for women the number is 5.7 times Between 2002 and 2009, 92,220 children below18 years were admitted to hospital in England for alcohol-related illnesses. The incidents of people aged between 60 and 74 admitted to hospitals in England due to alcohol has escalated by over 50%, more than in the 15-59 age category over the last decade. Change4Life is a public health plan in England, created in January 2009 regulated by the Department of Health. Change4Life focuses on helping the public to make small, maintainable yet essential enhancements to their diet, activity levels and alcohol intake. The Public Health Responsibility Deal was formally launched in March 2011. It challenges businesses and other organisations to play their role in creating an environment that supports people to make informed, balanced, healthier choices. The Government’s Alcohol Strategy. The Strategy focuses on Crime and disorder Binge drinking/’irresponsible drinking’ Individual responsibility ‘Minimum Unit Pricing’ and increased punitive measures Younger people

1 Corinthians Essay -- Bible, Apostle Paul

Paul the Apostle is the central figure in many New Testament writings. Many historians have attributed fourteen New Testament letters to Paul’s writing; seven of these letters are uncontested meaning historians are sure that Paul wrote them, the remaining seven are contested. Paul was not always a Christian; in fact, he persecuted Christians before Christ came and temporarily blinded him. Upon seeing Christ, Paul devoted his life to Christianity and set out to spread the teachings of Christ. Scholars often credit Paul’s leadership to the ability of the Church to become Hellenistic in one generation. Paul also answered specific worries and questions that his converters may have had in many of his writings; one of these writings is 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians, Paul set out to deal with the many believers in Corinth who are divided into the followings of Paul or Apollos rather than Christianity as a whole. The converts of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12-14 were divided during times of worship because of jealousy invoked by the spiritual gifts received from the â€Å"Spirit†; the worships and the church became a place to boast who is closest to God, instead of a place of worship, interpretation, and love. In 1 Corinthians 14:26-33, Paul set guidelines in times of worship to heal the divide among his converts present in 1 Corinthians 12-14. 1 Corinthians was one of the seven uncontested writings of Paul; Corinth was the capital of Achaia in the times of Paul’s writing. According to Acts 18:11, Paul spent a year and a half in the city of Corinth. He established the main church in Corinth by converting many Corinthians to Christians. Paul eventually travelled from Corinth to Ephesus, a city on the coast of modern-day Turkey. When Paul arrived a... ...zing or speaking in tongues. Paul’s setup of worship is very orderly and gives directions to who can speak, when, and where. Doing so, Paul reiterates the fact that God is in favor of peace and his place of worship should also be of peace and equality. In 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul set out to address the issues of exclusivity and the divide among the converts of Corinth that has been caused because of spiritual gifts. Paul set a guideline to his converts in Corinth to create order and conduct during times of worship in 1 Corinthians 14:26-33. Doing so, Paul hoped that the divide that has been caused from those with special or â€Å"exclusive† spiritual gifts do not cause other believers to become jealous or envious. Paul’s guideline to the Corinthians showed the leadership that Paul had that allowed him to guide the Church to become Hellenistic in just one generation.

Immanuel Kant and Thomas Aquinas Essay

Immanuel Kant and Thomas Aquinas were two great philosophers who developed arguments for the existence of God and taught ways of critically assessing the natural world. They both believed that we all are born the same and learn through experience. You must first experience something in order to gain knowledge by experiencing it first. This meant that people could not be certain about something until they â€Å"saw† it first. They both believed in â€Å"free will† and that everyone could make their own choices but god had a plan that was ultimately the best. Another similarity between Kant and Aquinas was their schooling and their profession after school. They both went through extensive schooling and ultimately became teachers. The biggest difference in the two was their belief in god. Kant believed in god but did not believe there was a way to prove his existence. Aquinas spent his life trying to prove there was a way to prove his existence.. Aquinas would make logical examples that make you understand where he was coming from. â€Å"One of Thomas Aquinas’ examples begins with the idea that someone decides to build a house with deep foundations and solid supports. Obviously, that person would begin by digging the foundation, but at some point, he or she would have to stop the digging process in order to actually erect the house. This implies that the hole for the supports would have to end somewhere in the earth. Likewise, creation must be traced back to a specific point that governs and explains existence. † The most simple principle of Mills idea on utilitarianism is the greatest happiness principle, an action is right as long as it is maximizing utility. Everybody’s happiness is equal in a sense and counts as much as anyone else’s. There are some things that we are forbidden to do to other people regardless of whether the loss of that individual’s utility would be made up by increases in other people’s utility. Utility is defines as happiness, but we all have our own perception on utility. For instance, I may find happiness in fishing, or sitting around and viewing nature, but someone else may find utility in doing sadistic acts like killing puppies. The Female genital mutilation video represents utilitarianism. It was not pleasurable or beneficial to the women getting â€Å"mutilated† but they were in a sense shunned if they were not mutilated. A modern-day Robin Hood might increase society’s total utility, but theft is both legally and morally wrong. From a nature standpoint humans are the deciding factor in what has value. Where I may gain pleasure in hunting ducks, I’m sure that they are not gaining any type of value from me. Mill believed that utility â€Å"gave unity to my conception of things. I now had opinions: a creed, a doctrine, a philosophy; in one among the best senses of the word, a religion; the inculcation and diffusion of what could be made the principle outward purpose of a life. â€Å"

Starbucks Internationalization in Recent Years

With the first coffee shop opened in Sydney CBD, Starbucks entered into Australian market in July of 2000 and then expanded rapidly to 85 coffee shops in the following years. However, in August of 2008, Starbucks Coffee Company Australia announced to shut down more than 60 of its 85 coffee shops and to date it has scaled down to 22 opened in Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and Melbourne (Starbucks 2010).This writing will focus on the analysis on the attributes of Starbucks’ products and marketing, and identify the opportunities and threats facing the Starbucks Australia. The second part of the analysis also draws attention to the changes in social economy, competitors’ move and the main trends in the hot drink market. Based on the findings, recommendations are offered, aiming to help Starbucks gain competitive advantages in Australian marketplace and long run sustainability in a larger social context.In terms of coffee products and service quality, the cafe market in Australia is extremely mature and competitive. It is understandable that consumers’ expectation towards the newly-introduced coffee brand has been exalted high, especially when they are charged with premium price (Marketing Lessons 2010). However, the exotic coffee brand does not bring specialty to the local coffee culture as expected, the consuming experience stay mediocre. Meanwhile, products do not suit Australians' coffee tastes (Marketing Lessons 2010).Starbucks’ positioning in Australian cafe market has departed from the consuming needs and patterns of the local customers. Dismantled with the uniqueness it possessed and its success in the US and other Asian countries, Starbucks Australia seems to be as ordinary as one of the numerous choices for customers in Australia (Coffee Break and review 2008), and people never genuinely felt the necessity to go to a Starbucks shop. Evidently, Starbucks overestimates its points of difference, as well as th e customer-perceived value of its services (Marketing Lessons 2010).To compete out in Australian Cafe market, Starbucks needs to find new ways of creating competitive advantage to differentiate itself from local market competitors. What could make Starbucks special? It could be the menu including items catering customers’ special needs in coffee tastes, or the store environment which makes customer feel comfortable to sit in and enjoy the time, or the excellent service offered by people. Or it could be the combination of all the specialties makes the consuming experience unique.Datamonitor (2010) points out that the core competence of Starbucks is the quality of products. However, it is far from enough, because the best coffee and best equipment in the world could only make 20 percent of success, just as Ed Charles (2007) describes that success of product and service is 80 percent due to the performance of staff, and they must be trained to perform at their best both on produ cts and service to maximize the perceived value of customer.More specifically, customers’ perceived value is related to both tangible benefits such as price, product quality, service, convenience and price, as well as intangible benefits concerning reputation, aesthetics, social and emotional needs like self-enhancement and sensory pleasure needs. Quality service performed by staff could highlight both tangible and intangible benefits of customers. The attributes of the quality service in coffee shop can be demonstrated by thinking of the best consuming experience you could ever imagine.When entering a clean, well-furnished coffee shop with attractive decoration and cozy ambience, customers are recognized by friendly employees and greeted by own names. Order is made in an attentive manner, and fulfilled accurately and timely. Coffees with appealing aroma are served at moderate temperature and they are great and unique in taste. Market players could acquire some of the attribu tes depicted in the scenario to survive in the marketplace and their service quality varies depending on the competency of the service staff.What customers need is consistent quality services, which is discovered in the report by Chen and Hu (2010) that if customers feel confident that they can have a consistent quality consumption experience each time they come, they tend to choose the same coffee shop to enjoy their coffee. And such favorable attitude towards the service they have received could evolve into customer loyalty, since the essence of customer loyalty is, as Barnes (2001) depicts, â€Å"all about how you make them feel†, vice versa.Customer loyalty may result in consistent purchasing behavior of the brand over time. Therefore, it could be concluded that the all-round quality service performed by staff with high consistency could be the competitive advantage of Starbucks, which can make it special and achieve long run sustainability in Australian market. In light of this finding, Starbucks Australia should devote more efforts to human resources management. More specifically, a series of human resource practice could be designed and implemented to strategically improve employees’ competency and working attitude.For example, staff training could help them be more competent to perform all tasks involved up to standards and with high consistency and staff motivation could boost morale and let them know what is expected of them in a quite specific way. Both staff training and motivation could increase employees’ satisfaction to the extent that they are willing to exert effort to perform the service well and taking initiative to improve the service quality. It is supported by a study that a 5 percent increase in staff satisfaction can result in 1. 3 percent increase in customer satisfaction (Kleinman 2007).By improving the service performance of each staff, which is as Kleinman (2007) defined ‘employee-centered outcome’, Starbucks could achieve higher customer satisfaction, which is ‘organization-centered outcome’, and as the customer satisfaction accumulated and boosted, Starbucks would successfully deliver its positioning as ‘best coffee with premium service’ to the Australian market. And the company’s competitive advantage lies in its human resource management which includes a combination of human resource practice to increase employees’ competency and willingness to render consistent quality service to customers.Compared with the strategies which focus on price, menu and store environment, strategies on HRM would be less susceptible to imitation, since it is intangible and tacit and it is hard for competitors to know the exact HRM practices which could be replicated Additionally, the human resource management (HRM) practices should be facilitated with other non-HRM measures. For example, particular resources related to improving the service quality should be prioritized and allocated by the management to enhance the service performance.If Starbucks managed to acquire the quality service and achieve high customer satisfaction and loyalty through its competitive advantage in human resource management, it could have stayed profitable even during tough social economic condition and keep competitors away from its marketing territory. Since 2007, customer’s consuming confidence was dramatically decreased due to the economic recession and they spent money with more discretion as a result of or threatened by unemployment, bankruptcies and degraded credit. The decreased confidence of consuming caused the curbed spending which in turn resulted in pressure on the company's margins’ (Datamonitor 2010). Such tightening of consumers’ spending has encouraged defection. McDonald's, for instance, has already made small forays into providing decent coffee, and achieved some successes (Economist 2008). To retain customer, Starbuck s need to stress on premium service quality to achieve high customer satisfaction and further differentiate its products and service from McDonald’s, so that existing customers feel attached to the unique consuming experience in Starbucks and reluctant to defect.Although McDonald’s could offer decent coffee with a reasonable price, the premium consuming experience and series of HRM practice behind the strategy will be the major barriers for McDonald’s. Like most other coffee products, Starbucks' products contain caffeine, dairy, sugar and other active compounds. It is proved by public research that excessive consumption of these ingredients may lead to variety of health hazardous. The health issues are increasingly calling for public awareness and the public are suggested by doctors and experts to choose foods with discretion and reduce the frequency or quantity of intake.Such trends of food choice will reduce the demand of Starbucks’ beverage and food pr oduct (Datamonitor 2010). Noticeably, despite the threats from the health issues against the coffee products, a report by Parker (2005) reveals that the coffee demand in Australia will keep increasing from USD268. 57 million in 2006 to USD307. 13 million in 2011. This can be partly explained by the research (Luciano et al. 2005) that people’s preference to coffee beverage is genetic in Australia, and it is different from their preference to tea which is affected by the environment.It is understandable that although people’s consuming concept is becoming increasingly health-oriented, they still maintain their coffee-drinking habit. In this sense, Starbucks could retain the coffee demand by adding more decaffeinated coffee beverages and other coffee products incorporated with healthy components. The overall increase in coffee market could be seized if Starbucks manage to tune in the market trend by adjusting their coffee product structure.According to the research by Che n and Hu (2010), one of the attributes of the coffee industry is that it is highly competitive and homogenous in terms of services and products, and the availability of alternatives to the customers can be considered as an important attribute in decision making of purchasing. Therefore, Starbucks could offer a wide range of selection of coffee products as well as other beverages like tea and juices. This proposal of strategy could be justified by the finding that Wong (2010) mentions in her report.The culture of hot drinks in Australia has been evolved towards heath, and consumers are becoming mature while choosing the beverage in better taste as well as showing their preference toward premium products in both coffee and tea categories. The estimation by Datamonitor (2010) of the overall growth in the hot drink market in the next five years is 9. 1 percent, which will increase from AUD1350 million in 2008 to AUD1473million in 2013. Noticeably, the emerging tea market will increase b y 8. 1 percent, from AUD437million in 2008 to AUD473million in 2013.To optimize the profits, Starbucks could bank upon such trend and launch new products featured in tea category. Tea product can serve its market among the health conscious Australian consumers well in the next few years, due to its healthy and medicinal benefits. There is another marketing feature draws our attention. As discovered in the research by Luciano et al. (2005), women consume more beverages than men and show a lower preference for coffee than men, but higher preference for tea, which implies that the primary driving force for tea consumption is its appeal to women.This feature drives Starbucks to develop more tea products to cater for women’s preference in taste. By adding ingredients in women’s favor and making the beverage attractive in color and design, Starbucks just launched a series of tea products (Starbucks 2010) to attract more female customers. At the same time, Starbucks has creat ively combined the tea with coffee (Starbucks 2010) to create a product with specialty, which introduces a different way of enjoying coffee and tea product and also is an effective ay to surprise and delight their customers continuously. To be successful in the competitive Australian market, it is necessary for Starbucks to focus more on the human resource management practices to achieve sustainable and competitive advantages, which make their staff more capable and motivated to perform outstanding services with high consistency, so as to restore brand specialty in the marketplace. It is also important for Starbucks to be alert to all the changes in the market, as customers’ consuming habits and preferences in taste are always changing.The product structure, according to the market trends and new marketing strategies, should be adjusted to seize the opportunity facing the company. Just as Cairns put it in the report Starbucks (2008), the company needs to put the specialty to the market and grows with its customers. The winner could even proactively guide the market trends and foster the new consuming needs of customer to boost profitability. This requires the market player to be consistent in quality service performance but active and creative in marketing changes.

Wastewater Treatment essays

Wastewater Treatment essays The reason for me doing this report is because I could not attend class enough to grasp the concept of Wastewater Treatment. This report is an overview of each stage of the treatment of sewage. I have included a diagram of a typical sewage plant. The wastewater that enters a treatment plant contains debris that might clog or damage the pumps and machinery. The material is removed by screens, and is burned or buried. The wastewater then passes through a comminutor (grinder), where all the organic material such as leaves are mushed smaller so that they can be removed later. Back in the day, long narrow channel-shaped settling tanks, known as grit chambers, were used to remove all the inorganic substances like sand, silt, gravel, and cinders. These chambers were made to allow inorganic particles 0.008 in. or bigger to settle at the bottom while the smaller particles and most of the organic material that remain in suspension pass through. Today, spiral-flow aerated grit chambers with hopper bottoms, or clarifiers with automatic scrapper arms are used. The grit is removed and disposed of as sanitary landfill. Grit build up can reach from 3 to 8 cubic feet per1 million gallons of wastewater. With the grit removed, the wastewater goes into a sedimentation tank, where the organic materials removed. The method of sedimentation can remove about 20 to 40 percent of the biochemical oxygen demand and 40 to 60 percent of the suspended solids. The big boys in the industry use a chemical process known as coagulation and flocculation in the sedimentation tank. I really dont know much about this subject so Im The alternative to sedimentation is a treatment called flotation, in ...