Life Is a Continuous Journey Essay Essays

Life Is a Continuous Journey Essay Essays Life Is a Continuous Journey Essay Paper Life Is a Continuous Journey Essay Paper Essay Topic: Our Countrys Good Life is a uninterrupted journey. Some journeys are short and some long. Some journeys are sweet and pleasant while some are rancid. Some journeys are excessively memorable to be erased by the littorals of clip. I had one such experience. The memory of this journey continues to waver. on and on. in my head even after several old ages. We reached on 9th Dec. . as our train reserve was for the undermentioned twenty-four hours by North- East Express. We reached the station early in the forenoon. the following twenty-four hours and boarded the train. The train started away at 6. 00 a. m. I sat by the window and enjoyed the passing scenery. The sights of legion rivers. Bridgess. countryside. evergreen paddy Fieldss. alcoholic green tea gardens. huge fields. etc. enchanted me a batch. In the late afternoon we reached Rajshahi station. which is the gateway to khulna. Some of us got out of the train to hold a expression at the station. The bunco and hustle of people tr aveling approximately. the coming and traveling of trains and the luring sights of the assorted stables of the station attracted our attending and we excessively moved about the platform basking these sights. We didn’t gain how rapidly the clip had passed. Suddenly we saw our train traveling. We were at the far terminal of the platform and ran with all velocity and might to catch the train. I was the last to detect the motion of the train and so the last to run. I excessively ran after my friends to catch the train. But the train was traveling fast. Within minutes my friends managed to acquire in. As I was approximately to make the train. I slipped and fell on the platform. I saw my train rushing off before my sight. I shivered with fright. My friends were shouting at the top of their voice inquiring me to run quicker. Just so a cooly lifted me and ran with me to the door. where my friends pulled me in. I merely looked back and waved my custodies at the good Samaritan. who had helped me-1 got merely a glance of his face. But that face continues to stay afresh in my head. The incident profoundly scared me and I dared non to travel an inch from my place thenceforth. It took some clip for me to retrieve from the daze. The fantastic sights of New Delhi and Agra failed to convey back my lost enthusiasm and involvement. I don’t even retrieve what I saw and how the remainder of the jaunt ended. The incident at the N. J. P Railway Station was excessively great to be forgotten by a few passing cloud nine. I can neer bury this memorable journey. The reminiscences of this journey frequently spark in my head every now and so. Whenever this happens. I say a short supplication for the sort and unknown Samaritan. who helped me on that fatal twenty-four hours to acquire into the train. It was. by far. the most unforgettable journey of my life- a journey that has left its deep cicatrixs on the canvas of my life.

Stag Beetles, Family Lucanidae

Stag Beetles, Family Lucanidae Stag beetles are some of the biggest, worst bugs on the planet (at least they look bad!). These beetles are so named for their antler-like mandibles. In Japan, enthusiasts collect and rear stag beetles, and even stage battles between the males. Description Stag beetles (family Lucanidae) do get quite large, which is why they are so popular with beetle collectors. In North America, the largest species measures just over 2 inches, but tropical stag beetles can easily top 3 inches. These sexually dimorphic beetles also go by the name pinch bugs. Male stag beetles sport impressive mandibles, sometimes as long as half their body, which they use to spar with competing males in battles over territory. Though they may look threatening, you dont need to fear these enormous beetles. Theyre generally harmless but may give you a good nip if you try to handle them carelessly. Stag beetles are typically reddish-brown to black in color. Beetles in the family Lucanidae possess antennae with 10 segments, with the end segments often enlarged and appearing clubbed. Many, but not all, have elbowed antennae as well.​ Classification Kingdom – Animalia Phylum – Arthropoda Class – Insecta Order – Coleoptera Family - Lucanidae Diet Stag beetle larvae are important decomposers of wood. They live in dead or decaying logs and stumps. Adult stag beetles may feed on leaves, sap, or even honeydew from aphids. Life Cycle Like all beetles, stag beetles undergo complete metamorphosis with four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Females usually lay their eggs under the bark on fallen, rotting logs. The white, c-shaped stag beetle larvae develop over one or more years. Adults emerge in late spring or early summer in most areas. Special Adaptations and Defenses Stag beetles will use their impressive size and massive mandibles to defend themselves if needed. When it feels threatened, a male stag beetle may lift its head and open its mandibles, as if to say, Go ahead, try me. In many parts of the world, stag beetle numbers have declined due to forest defragmentation and the removal of dead trees in populated areas. Your best chance of seeing one may be observing one near your porch light on a summer evening. Stag beetles do come to artificial light sources, including light traps. Range and Distribution: Worldwide, stag beetles number around 800 species. Just 24-30 species of stag beetles inhabit mostly forested areas of North America. The largest species live in tropical habitats. Sources Borror and Delongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th Edition, by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. JohnsonInsects: Their Natural History and Diversity, by Stephen A. MarshallStag Beetles of Kentucky, University of Kentucky Entomology Department

Research critique Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Critique - Research Paper Example Prior to its development, only partial checklists were available for qualitative researches. Other methods, which would have been used, for critiquing this research include Bray and Rees model of 1995 and Benton and Cormack model of 2000. These methods have been used prior to the COREQ method and can still be used for critiquing this research (Lee, 2006). The journal featured in the ERA ranking fro 2009. It can, therefore, be said to be highly regarded among numerous published journals. The authors of the report can be identified as professionals in the field. Kate and Jeannie are research fellows at the George Institute for International Health, Sydney, NSW. Cunningham works at Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, NT. Numerous related works of research can be associated with her. The other authors also work in related fields of medicine, and they can be termed as credible authors. The analysis of this research based on the credibility of the authors becomes immensely simplifie d. The title choice for the paper seems impressive. While catching the attention of the reader, it identifies a statement from a respondent (Kothari, 2006). It entices a reader to enquire what caused the statement highlighted to be made. Making this enquiry, the reader manages to review the research. The key point of the research sought to explain the understanding of different Australians concerning end-stage kidney disease. The research bases this on the need for effective communication between a patient and medical staff. The understanding of a patient about a disease can immensely help medical staff in offering the patient with desirable care (Devitt J, 2008). The research sought to establish perceptions of indigenous and non- indigenous Australians concerning the disease. The aim of the research can be identified as establishing the difference in understanding of the ESKD between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. The review of this topic provides a solid base for the r esearch. Existing evidence shows that, Indigenous people face numerous barriers when seeking medical care for the disease (Lawton J, 2009). It, therefore, becomes essential to establish the perceptions of these patients to enable healthcare workers understand the patients. Research team and reflexivity Reflexivity can be defined as the ability for an action to affect the person performing. The authors of this report need not be reflexive in order to avoid bias in their reporting. This can be extremely difficult, considering their profession. They, therefore, should try to limit their reflexivity towards the research. The authors are members of the profession aiming to benefit from the research, therefore, reflexivity can be allowed minimally. None of the researchers worked in the hospitals where the interviews were conducted. The researchers worked for various institutions within the medical profession but not directly in hospitals. The participants did not have any knowledge of the interviewer. The interview sought to establish a life narrative about the existence of the disease and, therefore, the participant did not know the reasons for giving the interview. The interviews were conducted through peer-to-peer mode (Holliday, 2007). This ensured comfort of the participant as the interviewer was conversant with the livelihood of the participant. The interviewer had some knowledge of the participant. With interviews conducted in indigenous languages, it became essential to use interviewers who

Body Modification through Nutrition and Supplementation Essay

Body Modification through Nutrition and Supplementation - Essay Example However, these illegal supplements are associated with serious adverse effects to the human body with some being lifetime irreversible Clark, Lucett, and Kirkendall argues that Creatine as an ergogenic supplement remains efficient in escalating muscle power and strength in brief, high-intensity exercise sessions that lasts to a period of one minute (Clark, Lucett, and Kirkendall 416). Creatine acts as a nitrogenous organic acid and is imperative as a body energy source due to its ability to increase formation of adenosine triphosphate. Moreover, Creatine can buffer lactic acid build-up, thus possibly delaying fatigue associated with anaerobic activities. Furthermore, caffeine can increase muscle contractility, aerobic endurance and enhance fat metabolism (Plowman and Denise 60). Raven asserts that Beta-hydroxy-beta-methyl butyrate helps in preventing breakdown and enhancing synthesis of proteins this helps in improving body composition of the athletes (Raven 419). It also increases the strength of athletes making them more competitive and stronger. Based on American sports medicine advice, Ergogenic doses of caffeine may cause nervousness and restlessness as short-term adverse effects while insomnia, hyperesthesia and heart diseases act as the long-term effects (ACSM 606). Moreover, caffeine and Ephedrine combination effects include tachydia and hypertension, which are adverse to the body. In addition, uses of Creatine supplement increase muscle cramping, are associated with weight gain, and may adversely affect performance of the athlete .Gastrointestinal pain and diarrhea are associated with Creatine use. Protein supplements results in imbalance of amino acid in the body. According to Cobin et al, this imbalance is associated with gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea and vomiting (Corbin et al., 262) (Clark et al., 365) Besides, the aforementioned effects, the potential health risk associated with supplements according to

Sex DIfferences Essay Example for Free

Sex DIfferences Essay This experiment performed by the males and females in the Tuesday 4pm psychology lab, was done as a replication of the Halari et al experiment in London in 2005. The hypothesis in the original experiment was that women will, on average, gain a higher verbal fluency score than men and men will, on average, perform more accurately than women on mental rotation. The results obtained from Halari et al’s (2005) clearly prove this hypothesis correct. The results also rejected the null hypothesis which says that men and women will not differ with respect to verbal and spatial performance. Our replication experiment also proved the hypothesis of Halari et al’s (2005) experiment correct and rejected the null experiment. Our experiment followed a certain methodology. In the mental rotation task, each participant was to answer 50 questions which contained the stimuli; each of which showed 2 shapes rotated and the participants were to judge whether they are identical or not. As expected males had a higher accuracy level in this this task compared to females. In the verbal fluency task, the participants were given 3 categories; fruits, vegetables and animals. They had the instruction to write down as many items from the relevant categories as possible. As expected females had a higher accuracy level than the males in this task. In the methodology used in our experiment did contain some weaknesses that may have influenced the results. Our experiment was as free from bias as possible in order to make the results accurate and reliable. For the mental rotation task, every participant received a different set of stimuli, so that the participants could not copy each other. This produced reliable results. However this methodlogy contains a debility. The stimuli ranged from sets of easily distinguishable shapes to much harder ones. Since the stimuli was randomly chosen for each participant it is possible that one participant may have received all the hard ones (females) and another may have received all the easily recognisable ones (males). Another debility in this methodology was that the set of stimuli varied in difficulty as discussed earlier. Also their rotation patterns varied. So some sets were just rotated once while other sets were rotated to an extent where some of  the faces were indistinguishable hence breaking the pattern we perceive causing our minds to get muddled in recognising the stimuli correctly. This is clear in the categories used in the verbal fluency task which have no form of gender bias whatsoever. The categories chosen are generic and known well to both males and females. An example of a gender bias category would be something like computers which is more biased towards males than females. While a catergory more bias towards females would be make up. However despite having no gender difference there was a weakness present in this method; english as a second language. Our group of participants contained people of different ethnicities and nationalities. Which meant that not all have english as their first language. This in turn proves to be a weakness to our expeirment as those people who possess english as a second language, wont be able to think of english words as fast as in their own language, (all words written had to be in english). This would have posed a problem for such participants as they would have had to think of a word in their own language and then translate it into english. This could have decreased some of the participants performance as time span was limited to one minute. Overall, the results obtained from this experiment clearly suggest that men and women specialise in different cognitive abilities in relation to spatial capacity and verbal competency. These results solidify that boys and girls-and men and women-are programmed by evolution to behave differently from one another is now widely accepted, (The Economist, 2006). These results indicate the theory posed by Harvard president, Larry Summers to be true. He pointed out the detail that the number of women in professions which require a spatial understanding such as mathematics, engineering are few, (The Economist, 2006). This however does not state that women have no spatial capability, it only suggests that in comparison to men women are weaker in spatial understanding. Nevertheless this does not say that these abilities are completely innate. These cognitive abilties can be trained, so a woman with a PHD in engineering will definietly have a higher spatial capability than a man working at Coun tddown. According to our results men and women vary in terms of cognitive abilities. Men appear to be better at spatial tasks while females at verbal fluency. This variation is deemed as occuring due to the common battle; nature vs nurture. It is said that the social upbringing plays a big part in understanding the reasons for this variation. When a child is born depending on the gender, parents tend to choose either blue or pink for that child. This stereotype created by society may unwillingly fit young boys and girls into their stereotypical roles. According to, The Economist (2006) it was believed that boys and girls prefer different toys. Where boys prefer cars, trucks and guns, girls prefer dolls and tea sets. However this was disapproved and it was found that girls and boys are already different when they are born due to the hormone, testosterone. When a child is born, it experiences two surges of testosterone- one during gestation and one shortly after birth, (The Economist, 2006). The production of testosterone is higher in males than in females hence creating the ‘boy-like’ behaviour we all talk about. This testosterone is said to be the reason for why boys tend to look at mobile phones longer than people’s faces, the way females do. But the basic theory is that the high levels of testosterone in males produces the rough play. While the low levels in females generate the nurturing tendency in them hence causing them to prefer dolls and tea sets, (The Economist, 2006). Unlike the Halari et al, (2005), the experiments conducted to prove this theory did not contain hormone tests. Hence we cannot conclude hormone levels being the main factor responsible for the variance in cognitive abilities. It is more commonly believed though that the interlacing of both social upbringing and hormone levels is what causes these differences. Although women have that low level of testosterone, by nature they are constructed to be the nurturers. Therefore females tend to prefer the dolls to play with as it is an indication towards their future role as a mother where it is needed that they speak and interact more often with their children. Women on average speak 20000 words a day, 13000 more than men, (Mail Online, 2013). This confirms the findings in our experiment where females were found to have a higher verbal competency. At the same time by nature males are constructed to be the strong protectors. Therefore males tend to prefer the cars or guns to play with indicating towards warrior-like behaviour. This point is also argued by The Economist, (2006). They believe these differences are genetically there via hormone levels and the social stereotyping solidifies the roles that they are genetically made for. This experiment was carried out to distinguish the differences between males and females on a cognitive level. The mental rotation task which tested for spatial ability exhibitied an inclination towards the males as their accuracy levels were higher than the females. However, the verbal fluency task exhibited an inclination towards the females as their accuracy levels were higher than the males. The results obatined from these two independent tests were straight forward, though both can be bettered. The spatial task deduced that males possessed a higher spatial ability than females however the task was not closely related to real life. A true test would have been one that would have provided us with examples of real life where these abilities would have needed to be used. For example, giving the participants a set location to reach and allowing them to guide themselves there. This task would have displayed spatial ability in real life conditions. The verbal fluency task concluded that females possessed a higher vocabulary level however this task lacks in fairness in terms of language. Not every participant had english as their first language causing them difficulty within the one minute time limit. To better this limitation, perhaps next time all participants could be of same background with english as their first language. Also since we replicated the Halari et al (2005) experiment perhaps a better imitation would have been to also carry out the hormone tests. With the tasks we performed the results suggested that men were better at spatial tasks and females at verbal fluency however we cannot generalise this statement. Thus the hormone tests may help us solidify this conclusion. This theory is proved by our experiment as well. Although our experiment did not contain hormone testing like the Halari et al, (2005) our results concluded that males have a higher spatial capacity. This ability is an indication at the warrior-like protector behaviour. Females were concluded to have a higher verbal competency. The results we obtained from our replication of the Halari et al, (2005) helped us conclude the difference between the cognitive abilities in males and females hence proving our hypothesis correct.

Language of Love in Shakespeares As You Like It Essay -- Shakespeare

As You Like It is love:   The Language of Love  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most obvious concern of As You Like It is love, and particularly the attitudes and the language appropriate to young romantic love. This is obvious from the relationships between Orlando and Rosalind, Silvius and Phoebe, Touchstone and Audrey, and Celia and Oliver. The action of the play moves back and forth among these couples, inviting us to compare the different styles and to recognize from those comparisons some important facts about young love. Here the role of Rosalind is decisive. Rosalind is Shakespeare's greatest and most vibrant comic female role. She is clearly the only character in the play who has throughout an intelligent, erotic, and fully anchored sense of love, and it becomes her task in the play to try to educate others out of their false notions of love, especially those notions which suggest that the real business of love is adopting an inflated Petrarchan language and the appropriate attitude that goes with it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rosalind falls in love with Orlando at first sight (as is standard in Shakespeare), becomes erotically energized, and remains so throughout the play. She's delighted and excited by the experience and is determined to live it to the full moment by moment. One of the great pleasures of watching Rosalind is that she is always celebrating her passionate feelings for Orlando. She does not deny them or try to play games with her emotions. She's aware that falling in love has made her subject to Celia's gentle mockery, but she's not going to pretend that she isn't totally thrilled by the experience just to spare herself being laughed at (she even laughs at herself, while taking enormous delight in the behaviour which prompts... ...anet Lloyd. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1993. McFarland, Thomas. Shakespeare's Pastoral Comedy. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1972. Marsden, Jean. I. The Re-Imagined Text: Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Eighteenth-Century Literary Theory. Lexington, Kentucky: University of Kentucky Press, 1995. Odell, George C. D. Shakespeare from Betterton to Irving. Vol. 2 New York: Dover Publications, 1966. Russell, Anne E. "History and Real Life: Anna Jameson, Shakespeare's Heroines and Victorian Women." Victorian Review: The Journal of the Victorian Studies Association of Western Canada. 17.2 (Winter 1991): 35-49. Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. in The Riverside Shakespeare. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin company, 1974. Terry, Ellen. Four Lectures on Shakespeare. New York: Benjamin Bloom, Inc., 1969.      

Coyote Blue Chapter 3~5

CHAPTER 3 The Machines of Irony Bring Memory Santa Barbara After Sam's secretary gave him the address of his appointment he hung up the cellular phone and punched the address into the navigation system he'd had installed in the Mercedes so he would always know where he was. Wherever Sam was, he was in touch. In addition to the cellular phone he wore a satellite beeper that could reach him anywhere in the world. He had fax machines and computers in his office and his home, as well as a notebook-sized computer with a modem that linked him with data bases that could provide him with everything from demographic studies to news clippings about his clients. Three televisions with cable kept his home alive with news, weather, and sports and provided insipid entertainments to fill his idle hours and keep him abreast of what was hot and what was not, as well as any information he might need to construct a face to meet a face: to change his personality to dovetail with that of any prospective client. The by-gone salesman out riding on a shoeshine and a smile had been replaced by a shape-shifting shark stalking the sale, and Sam, having buried long ago who he really was, was an excellent salesman. Even as some of Sam's devices connected him to the world, others protected him from its harshness. Alarm systems in his car and condo kept criminals at bay, while climate control kept the air comfortable and compact discs soothed away distracting noise. A monstrous multi-armed black machine he kept in his spare bedroom simulated the motions of running, cross-country skiing, stair climbing, and swimming, while monitoring his blood pressure and heart rate and making simulated ocean sounds that stimulated alpha waves in the brain. And all this without the risk of the shin splints, broken legs, drowning, or confusion that he might have experienced by actually going somewhere and doing something. Air bags and belts protected him when he was in the car and condoms when he was in women. (And there were women, for the same protean guile that served him as a salesman served him also as a seducer.) When the women left, protesting that he was charming but something was missing, there was a numb er that he could call where someone would be nice to him for $4.95 a minute. Sometimes, while he was getting his hair cut, sitting in the chair with his protections and personalities down, the hairdresser would run her hands down his neck, and that small human contact sent a lonesome shudder rumbling through him like a heartbreak. â€Å"I'm here to see Mr. Cable,† he said to the secretary, an attractive woman in her forties. â€Å"Sam Hunter, Aaron Assurance Associates. I have an appointment.† â€Å"Jim's expecting you,† she said. Sam liked that she used her boss's first name; it confirmed the personality profile he had projected. Sam's machines had told him that James Cable was one of the two main partners who owned Motion Marine, Inc., an enormously successful company that manufactured helmets and equipment for industrial deep-sea diving. Cable had been an underwater welder on the rigs off Santa Barbara before he and his partner, an engineer named Frank Cochran, had invented a new fiberglass scuba helmet that allowed divers to stay in radio contact while regulating the high-pressure miasma of gases that they breathed. The two became millionaires within a year and now, ten years later, they were thinking of taking the company public. Cochran wanted to be sure that at least one of the partners could retain controlling interest in the company in the event that the other died. Sam was trying to write a multi-million-dollar policy that would provide buy-out capital for the remaining partner. It was a simple partnership deal, the sort that Sam had done a hundred times, and Cochran, the engineer, with his mathematical way of thinking, his need for precision and order, his need to have all the loose ends tied up, had been an easy sale. With an engineer Sam simply presented facts, carefully laid out in an equationlike manner that led to the desired answer, which was: â€Å"Where do I sign?† Engineers were predictable, consistent, and easy. But Cable, the diver, was going to be a pain in the ass. Cable was a risk taker, a gambler. Any man who had spent ten years of his life working hundreds of feet underwater, breathing helium and working with explosive gas, had to have come to terms with fear, and fear was what Sam traded in. In most cases the fear was easy to identify. It was not the fear of death that motivated Sam's clients to buy; it was the fear of dying unprepared. If he did his job right, the clients would feel that by turning down a policy they were somehow tempting fate to cause them to die untimely. (Sam had yet to hear of a death considered â€Å"timely.†) In their minds they created a new superstition, and like all superstitions it was based on the fear of irony. So, the only lottery ticket you lose will be the winning one, the one time you leave your driver's license at home is the time you will be stopped for speeding, and when someone offers you an insurance policy that only pays you if you're dead, you better damn well buy it. Irony. It was a tacit message, but one that Sam delivered with every sales pitch. He walked into Jim Cable's office with the unusual feeling of being totally unprepared. Maybe it was just the girl who had thrown him, or the Indian. Cable was standing behind a long desk that had been fashioned from an old dinghy. He was tall, with the thin, athletic build of a runner, and completely bald. He extended his hand to Sam. â€Å"Jim Cable. Frank told me you'd be coming, but I'm not sure I like this whole thing.† â€Å"Sam Hunter.† Sam released his hand. â€Å"May I sit? This shouldn't take long.† This was not a good start. Cable gestured for Sam to sit across from him and sat down. Sam remained standing. He didn't want the desk to act as a barrier between them; it was too easy for Cable to defend. â€Å"Do you mind if I move this chair over to your side of the desk? I have some materials I'd like you to see and I need to be beside you.† â€Å"You can just leave the materials, I'll look them over.† Technology had helped Sam over this barrier. â€Å"Well, actually it's not printed matter. I have it in my computer and I have to be on the same side of the screen as you.† â€Å"Okay, I guess that's fine, then.† Cable rolled his chair to the side to allow Sam room on the same side of the desk. That's one, Sam thought. He moved his chair, sat down beside Cable, and opened the notebook computer. â€Å"Well, Mr. Cable, it looks like we can set this whole thing up without any more than a physical for you and Frank.† â€Å"Whoa!† Cable brought his hands up in protest. â€Å"We haven't agreed on this yet.† â€Å"Oh,† Sam said. â€Å"Frank gave me the impression that the decision had been made – that this was just a meeting to confirm the tax status and pension benefits of the policy.† â€Å"I didn't know there were pension benefits.† â€Å"That's why I'm here,† Sam said. It wasn't why he was there at all. â€Å"To explain them to you.† â€Å"Well, Frank and I haven't gotten down to any specifics on this. I'm not sure it's a good idea at all.† Sam needed misdirection. He launched into the presentation like a pit bull/Willy Loman crossbreed. As he spoke, the computer screen supported his statements with charts, graphs, and projections. Every five seconds a message flashed across the screen faster than the eye could see, but not so fast that it could not nibble on the lobes of the subconscious like a teasing lover. The message was: BE SMART, BUY THIS. Sam had designed the program himself. The BE SMART part of the message could be modified for each client. The options were: BE SEXY, BE YOUNG, BE BEAUTIFUL, BE THIN, BE TALL, and Sam's personal favorite, BE GOD. He'd come up with the idea one night while watching a commercial in which six heavily muscled guys got to run around on the beach impressing beautiful women presumably because they drank light beer. BE A STUD, DRINK LIGHT. Sam finished his presentation and stopped talking abruptly, feeling that he had somehow forgotten something. He waited, letting the silence become uncomfortable, letting the conversation lay on the desk before them like a dead cat, letting the diver come to the correct conclusion. The first one to speak loses. Sam knew it. He sensed that Cable knew it. Finally, Jim Cable said, â€Å"This is a great little computer you have. Would you consider selling it?† Sam was thrown. â€Å"But what about the policy?† â€Å"I don't think it's a good idea,† Cable said. â€Å"But I really like this computer. I think it would be smart to buy it.† â€Å"Smart?† Sam said. â€Å"Yeah, I just think it would be a smart thing to do.† So much for subliminal advertising. Sam made a mental note to change his message to: BE SMART, BUY THE POLICY. â€Å"Look, Jim, you can get a computer like this in a dozen stores in town, but this partnership policy is set up for right now. You are never going to be younger, you'll never be in better health, the premium will never be lower or the tax advantage better.† â€Å"But I don't need it. My family is taken care of and I don't care who takes control of the company after I'm dead. If Frank wants to take a policy out on me I'll take the physical, but I'm not betting against myself on this.† There it was. Cable was not afraid and Sam knew no way to instill the fear he needed. He had read that Cable had survived several diving accidents and even a helicopter crash while being shuttled to one of the offshore rigs. If he hadn't glimpsed his mortality before, then nothing Sam could say would put the Reaper in his shaving mirror. It was time to walk away and salvage half of the deal with Cable's partner. Sam stood and closed the screen on the computer. â€Å"Well, Jim, I'll talk to Frank about the specifics of the policy and set up the appointment for the physical.† They shook hands and Sam left the office trying to analyze what had gone wrong. Again and again the fear factor came up. Why couldn't he find and touch that place in Jim Cable? Granted, his concentration had been shot by the morning's events. Really, he'd done a canned presentation to cover himself. But to cover what? This was a clean deal, cut and dried. When he climbed back into the Mercedes there was a red feather lying on the seat. He brushed it out onto the street and slammed the door. He drove back to his office with the air conditioner on high. Still, when he arrived ten minutes later, his shirt was soaked with sweat. CHAPTER 4 Moments Are Our Mentors Santa Barbara There are those days, those moments in life, when for no particular reason the senses are heightened and the commonplace becomes sublime. It was one of those days for Samuel Hunter. The appearance of the girl, the wanting she had awakened in him, had started it. Then the Indian's presence had so confused him that he was fumbling through the day marveling at things that before had never merited a second look. Walking back into his outer office he spied his secretary, Gabriella Snow, and was awed for a moment by just how tremendously, how incredibly, how child-frighteningly ugly she was. There are those who, deprived of physical beauty, develop a sincerity and beauty of spirit that seems to eclipse their appearance. They marry for love, stay married, and raise happy children who are quick to laugh and slow to judge. Gabriella was not one of those people. In fact, if not for her gruesome appearance, an unpleasant personality would have been her dominant feature. She was good on the phone, however, and Sam's clients were sometimes so relieved to be out of her office and into his that they bought policies out of gratitude, so he kept her on. He'd hired her three years ago from the resume she had mailed in. She was wildly overqualified for the position and Sam remembered wondering why she was applying for it in the first place. For three years Sam had breezed by her desk without really looking at her, but today, in his unbalanced state, her homeliness inspired him to poetry. But what rhymed with Gabriella? She said, â€Å"Mr. Aaron is very anxious to talk to you, Mr. Hunter. He requested that you go right into his office as soon as you arrived.† â€Å"Gabriella, you've been here three years. You can call me Sam.† Sam was still thinking about poetry. Salmonella? â€Å"Thank you, Mr. Hunter, but I prefer to keep things businesslike. Mr. Aaron was quite adamant about seeing you immediately.† Gabriella paused and checked a notepad on her desk, then read, â€Å"‘Tell him to get his ass in my office as soon as he hits the door or I'll have him rat-fucked with a tire iron. â€Å" â€Å"What does that mean?† Sam asked. â€Å"I would assume that he would like to see you right away, sir.† â€Å"I guessed that.† Sam said. â€Å"I'm a little vague on the rat-fucked part. What do you think, Gabriella?† Gabriella, Gabriella, As fair as salmonella. â€Å"I'm sure I don't know. You might ask him.† â€Å"Right,† Sam said. He walked down the hall to Aaron Aaron's outer office, composing the next line of his poem along the way. It wouldn't surprise me in the least If you were mistaken for a beast. Aaron Aaron wasn't Aaron's real name: he had changed it so his insurance firm would be the first listed in the yellow pages. Sam didn't know Aaron's real name and he had never asked. Who was he to judge? Samuel Hunter wasn't his real name either, and it was certainly less desirable alphabetically. Aaron's secretary, Julia, a willowy actress/model/dancer who typed, answered phones, and referred to hairdressers as geniuses, greeted Sam with a smile that evinced thousands in orthodontia and bonding. â€Å"Hi, Sam, he's really pissed. What did you do?† â€Å"Do?† â€Å"Yeah, on that Motion Marine deal. They called a few minutes ago and Aaron went off.† â€Å"I didn't do anything,† Sam said. He started into Aaron's office, then turned to Julia. â€Å"Julia, do you know what rat-fuck means?† â€Å"No, Aaron just said that he was going to do it to you for sucking the joy out of his new head.† â€Å"He got a new head? What's this one?† â€Å"A wild boar he shot last year. The taxidermist delivered it this morning.† â€Å"Thanks Julia, I'll be sure to notice it.† â€Å"Good luck.† Julia smiled, then held the smile while she checked herself in the makeup mirror on her desk. Walking into Aaron's office was like stepping into a nineteenth-century British hunt club: walnut paneling adorned with the stuffed heads of a score of game animals, numbered prints of ducks on the wing, leather wing-back chairs, a cherry-wood desk clear of anything that might indicate that a business was being conducted. Sam immediately spotted the boar's head. â€Å"Aaron, it's beautiful.† Sam stood in front of the head with his arms outstretched. â€Å"It's a masterpiece.† He considered genuflecting to appeal to the latent Irish Catholic in Aaron, but decided that the insincerity would be spotted. Aaron, short, fifty, balding, face shot with veins from drink, swiveled in his high-backed leather chair and put down the Vogue magazine he had been leafing through. Aaron had no interest in fashion; it was the models that interested him. Sam had spent many an afternoon listening to Aaron's forlorn daydreams of having a showpiece wife. â€Å"How was I to know that Katie would get fat and I would get successful? I was only twenty when we got married. I thought the idea of getting laid steadily was worth it. I need a woman that goes with my Jag. Not Katie. She's pure Rambler.† Here he would point to an ad in Vogue. â€Å"Now, if I could only have a woman like that on my arm†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"She'd have you surgically removed,† Sam would say. â€Å"Sure, be that way, Sam. You don't know what it's like to think that getting a little strange could cost you half of what you own. You single guys have it all.† â€Å"Stop romanticizing, Aaron. Haven't you heard? Sex kills.† â€Å"Sure, suck the joy out of my fantasies. You know, I used to look forward to sex because it was fifteen minutes when I didn't have to think about death and taxes.† â€Å"If you do think about death and taxes it lasts half an hour.† â€Å"That's what I mean, I can't even get distracted with Katie anymore. Do you know what someone with my income has to pay in taxes?† The question came up in every one of their conversations. They had worked together for almost twenty years and Aaron always treated Sam as if he were still fifteen years old. â€Å"I know exactly what someone with your income is supposed to pay in taxes, about ten times what you actually pay.† â€Å"And you don't think that that weighs on me? The IRS could take all this.† Sam rather liked the vision of a team of IRS agents loading large dead animal heads into Aaron's Jag and driving off with antlers out every window while Katie stood by shouting, â€Å"Hey, half of those are mine!† No matter how much Aaron attained, he would never let go of his fear of losing it long enough to enjoy it. In his mind's eye, Sam imagined Aaron mournfully watching as they carried the wild boar head out by the tusks. â€Å"This thing is gorgeous,† Sam said. â€Å"I think I'm getting a woody just looking at it.† â€Å"I named it Gabriella,† Aaron said proudly, forgetting for a moment that he was supposed to be angry. Then he remembered. â€Å"What the fuck did you just pull over at Motion Marine? Frank Cochran is talking lawsuit.† â€Å"Over a little subliminal advertising? I don't think so.† â€Å"Subliminal advertising! Jim Cable fainted after that stunt you pulled. They don't even know what happened yet. It could be a heart attack. Are you out of your fucking mind? I could lose the agency over this.† Sam could see Aaron's blood pressure rising red on his scalp. â€Å"You thought it was a great idea last week when I showed it to you.† â€Å"Don't drag me into this, Sam, you're on your own with this one. I've pulled some shit in my time to push the fear factor, but I never had a client attacked by an Indian, for Christ's sake.† â€Å"Indian?† Sam almost choked. He lowered himself very gently into one of the leather wing-backs. â€Å"What Indian?† â€Å"Don't bullshit me, Sam. I taught you everything you know about bullshitting. Right after you left his office Jim Cable walked out of the Motion Marine building and was attacked by a guy dressed up as an Indian. With a tomahawk. If they catch the guy and he tells that you hired him, it's over for both of us.† Sam tried to speak but could find no breath to drive his voice. Aaron had been his teacher, and in a twisted, competitive way, Aaron was his friend and confidant, but he had never trusted Aaron with his fears. He had two: Indians and cops. Indians because he was one, and if anyone found out it it would lead to policemen, one of whom he had killed. Here they were, after twenty years, paralyzing him. Aaron came around the desk and took Sam by the shoulders. â€Å"You're smarter than this, kid,† he said, softening at Sam's obvious confusion. â€Å"I know this was a big deal, but you know better than to do something desperate like that. You can't let them see that you're hungry. That's the first rule I taught you, isn't it?† Sam didn't answer. He was looking at the mule deer head mounted over Aaron's desk, but he was seeing the Indian sitting in the cafe grinning at him. Aaron shook him. â€Å"Look, we're not totally screwed here. We can draw up an agreement signing all your interest in the agency over to me and backdate it to last week. Then you would be working as an independent contractor like the other guys. I could give you, say, thirty cents on the dollar for your shares under the table. You'd have enough to fight the good fight in court, and if they let you keep your license you'll always have a job to come back to. What do you say?† Sam stared at the deer head, hearing Aaron's voice only as a distant murmur. Sam was twenty-six years and twelve hundred miles away on a hill outside of Crow Agency, Montana. The voice he was hearing was that of his first teacher, his mentor, his father's brother, his clan uncle: a single-toothed, self-proclaimed shaman named Pokey Medicine Wing. CHAPTER 5 The Gift of a Dream Crow Country – 1967 Sam, then called Samson Hunts Alone, stood over the carcass of the mule deer he had just shot, cradling the heavy Winchester.30?C30 in his arms. â€Å"Did you thank the deer for giving its life up for you?† Pokey asked. As Samson's clan uncle, it was Pokey's job to teach the boy the ways of the Crow. â€Å"I thanked him, Pokey.† â€Å"You know it is the Crow way to give your first deer away. Do you know who you will give it to?† Pokey grinned around the Salem he held between his lips. â€Å"No, I didn't know. Who should I give it to?† â€Å"It is a good gift for a clan uncle who has said many prayers for your success in finding a spirit helper on your vision quest.† â€Å"I should give it to you, then?† â€Å"It is up to you, but a carton of cigarettes is a good gift too, if you have the money.† â€Å"I don't have any money. I will give you the deer.† Samson Hunts Alone sat down on the ground by the deer carcass and hung his head. He sniffed to fight back tears. Pokey kneeled beside him. â€Å"Are you sad for killing the deer?† â€Å"No, I don't see why I have to give it away. Why can't I take it home and let Grandma cook it for all of us?† Pokey took the rifle from the boy, levered a cartridge into the chamber, then let out a war whoop and fired it into the air. Samson stared at him as if he'd lost his mind. â€Å"You are a hunter now!† Pokey cried. â€Å"Samson Hunts Alone has killed his first deer!† he shouted to the sky. â€Å"Soon he will be a man!† Pokey crouched down to the boy again. â€Å"You should be happy to give the deer away. You are Crow and it is the Crow way.† Sam looked up, his golden eyes shot with red and brimming with tears. â€Å"One of the boys at school says that the Crow are no more than thieves and scavengers. He said that the Crow are cowards because we never fought the white man.† â€Å"This boy is Cheyenne?† Pokey said. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Then he is jealous because he is not Crow. The Crow gave the Cheyenne and the Lakota and the Blackfoot a reason to get up in the morning. They outnumbered us ten to one and we held our land against them for two hundred years before the white man came. Tell this boy that his people should thank the Crow for being such good enemies. Then kick his ass.† â€Å"But he is bigger than me.† â€Å"If your medicine is strong you will beat him. When you go on your fast next week, pray for warrior medicine.† Samson didn't know what to say. He would go to the Wolf Mountains next week for his first vision quest. He would fast and pray and hope to find a spirit helper to give him medicine, but he wasn't sure he believed, and he didn't know how to tell Pokey. â€Å"Pokey,† the boy said finally, very quietly, his voice barely audible over the hot breeze whistling through the prairie grass, â€Å"a lot of people say that you don't have no medicine at all, that you are just a crazy drunk.† Pokey put his face so close to Samson's that the boy could smell the cigarette-and-liquor smell coming off him. Then, softly, in a gentle, musical rasp he said, â€Å"They're right, I am a crazy drunk. The others are afraid of me 'cause I'm so crazy. You know why?† Sam sniffed, â€Å"Nope.† Pokey reached into his pocket and pulled out a small buckskin bundle tied with a thong. He untied the thong and unfolded the buckskin on the ground before the boy. In it lay an array of sharp teeth, claws, a tuft of tan fur, some loose tobacco, sweet grass, and sage. The largest object was a wooden carving of a coyote about two inches tall. â€Å"Do you know what this is, Samson?† Pokey asked. â€Å"Looks like a medicine bundle. Ain't you supposed to sing a song when you open it?† â€Å"Don't have to with this one. Nobody ever had medicine like this. I ain't never showed it to anyone before.† â€Å"What are those teeth?† â€Å"Coyote teeth. Coyote claws, coyote fur. I don't tell people about it anymore because they all say I'm crazy, but my spirit helper is Old Man Coyote.† â€Å"He's just in stories,† Sam said. â€Å"There isn't any Old Man Coyote.† â€Å"That's what you think,† Pokey said. â€Å"He came to me on my first fast, when I was about your age. I didn't know it was him. I thought it would be a bear, or an otter, because I was praying for war medicine. But on the fourth day of my fast I looked up and there was this young brave standing there dressed in black buckskins with red woodpecker feathers down his leggings and sleeves. He was wearing a coyote skin as a headdress.† â€Å"How did you know it wasn't just somebody from the res?† â€Å"I didn't. I told him to go away and he said that he had been away long enough. He said that when he gave the Crows so many enemies he promised that he would always be with them so they could steal many horses and be fierce warriors. He said it was almost time to come back.† â€Å"But where is he?† Samson asked. â€Å"That was a long time ago and no one has seen him. If he was here they wouldn't say you were crazy.† â€Å"Old Man Coyote is the trickster. I think he gave me this medicine to make me crazy and make me want to drink. Pretty Eagle, who was a powerful medicine man then, told me how to make this bundle and he told me that if I was smart I would give it to someone else or throw it in the river, but I didn't do it.† â€Å"But if it is bad medicine, if he is your spirit helper and doesn't help you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Does the sun rise just for you, Samson Hunts Alone?† â€Å"No, it rises all over the world.† â€Å"But it passes you and makes you part of its circle, doesn't it?† â€Å"Yeah, I guess so.† â€Å"Well maybe this medicine is bigger than me. Maybe I am just part of the circle. If it makes me unhappy then at least I know why I am unhappy. Do you know why you are unhappy?† â€Å"My deer†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"There will be other deer. You have your family, you are good in school, you have food to eat, you have water to drink. You can even speak Crow. When I was a boy they sent me off to a BIA school where they beat us if we spoke Crow. Next week, if your heart is pure, you will get a spirit helper and have strong medicine. You can be a great warrior, a chief.† â€Å"There aren't any chiefs anymore.† â€Å"It will be a long time before you are old enough to be a chief. You are too little to be unhappy about the future.† â€Å"But I am. I don't want to be Crow. I don't want to be like you.† â€Å"Then be like you.† Pokey turned away from the boy and lit another cigarette. â€Å"You make me angry. Give me your knife and I will show you how to dress this deer. We will throw the entrails in the river as a gift to the Earth and the water monsters.† Pokey looked at Samson, as if waiting for the boy to doubt him. â€Å"I'm sorry, Pokey.† The boy unsnapped the sheath on his belt and drew a wickedly curved skinning knife. He held it out to the man, who took the knife and began to field-dress the deer. As he drew the blade down the deer's stomach he said, â€Å"I am going to give you a dream, Samson.† Samson looked away from the deer into Pokey's face. There were always gifts among the Crow – gifts for names, Sun Dance ceremony gifts, powwow gifts at Crow Fair, naming ceremony gifts, gifts for medicine, gifts to clan uncles and aunts, gifts for prayers: tobacco and sweet grass and shirts and blankets, horses and trucks – so many gifts that no one could ever really be poor and no one ever really got rich. But the gift of a dream was very pure, very special, and could never be repaid. Samson had never heard anyone give a dream before. â€Å"I dreamed that Old Man Coyote came to me and he said, ‘Pokey, when everything is right with you, but you are so afraid that something might go wrong that it ruins your balance, then you are Coyote Blue. At these times I will bring you back into balance. This dream that I dreamed I give to you, Samson.† â€Å"What does that mean, Uncle Pokey?† â€Å"I don't know, but it is a very important dream.† Pokey wiped the knife on his pants and handed it to Samson, then hoisted the deer up on his shoulders. â€Å"Now, who are you going to give this deer to?†

Employee Productivity Essay

Human resources are considered an entity’s most valuable assets and should be well appreciated for them to be extremely productive. Such appreciation increases employees’ productivity to ensure that a company remains a market leader in the industry that it operates in. High productivity also improves an organization’s market value. The use of incentives will be necessary to entice the workforce up to the point that they give their best to their employer. Increasing the workforce’s productivity is mainly centered in motivating them at the lowest production and operating cost possible. Piecework compensation programs are of encouragement to the employees. Employees will work hard having in mind that their pay is directly proportional to units of output and will produce more. Payments should be based on parts assembled, sales made or even hours billed. Most people are motivated by a high pay and piecework compensations tend to increase the overall workforces’ output. The human resources should therefore get a return that is directly proportional to their output. Promoting from within entice employees to be more productive because they are assured of moving up the career ladder. Those who tend to be more efficient and effective should be given a higher rank for them to perform even better. An example is the case where an Accountant may be promoted to be the chief Accountant for his quality work. The manager should also ensure adequate equipments for the workforce. Machines should be good and computers up to date if the employees are to deliver at their best. The manger should also provide a fair opportunity for the workforce to be productive enough. He should not be biased based on nepotism or racism for the workforce to feel appreciated. Office supplies should also be adequate so that the labor force does not fall short of materials. Profit sharing schemes makes the employees to be owners of the organization and will produce more for profitability to be at its best. Employees will be shareholders of the business entity and will produce more for dividends and earnings per share to be high. The manager should also offer achievement awards like plaques, special parking areas, employees should also be allowed to wear casually at least once a week and on certain days, lunch breaks should be long. The employees will therefore work at ease to the advantage of the employer. The manager should also provide adequate breaks during work to allow employees time to relax during their delivery to the employer. This refreshes the mind because they will have something to look forward to and recharge their batteries. By being shareholders, employees will participate in the company’s Annual General Meetings and will be in a position to vote in the entity’s directors. They end up considering themselves as part of entity’s owners and become more productive. Incentive programs should be adjusted frequently for the workforce to feel rejuvenated. Salary increments should be annual for the workforce to realize that they are being appreciated. Incentives should also depend on the value created after performance appraisals have been carried out. Non monetary rewards like gifts, acknowledgements and praises should be frequent for productivity to be at its best. Money motivates employees at initial stages but as time progresses it becomes less active as a motivator. Motivating employees psychologically may be more useful because it normally acts as some inner energy and they deliver more. Employee appraisals are aimed at examining employees’ performance during a certain time period. They help in determining whether employees are helping in realizing the entity’s short-term goals in line with the company’s mission statement and vision. Every responsible employee should target the company’s expectations in terms of sub optimization for the company to remain focused Employee appraisals also help to examine the variance between observed and expected performance. Corrections can therefore be made where necessary so that actual performance does not deviate much from the expected standards. Mentors will therefore be kept on toes for their juniors to understand why they should stick to the entity’s standards of operation and performance. Organizational controls can be exercised after the employees’ performance has been evaluated. They therefore assist the entity in achieving and maintaining its leadership position. Appraisals also help in determining the training development requirements for the future. Employees requiring special training needs will be identified and the management will focus on filling in the gap that may relate to knowledge or education. Employees may therefore consider paying for their employee’s school fees for their education to remain relevant. Information is provided on human resources in terms of promotions or transfers. Those who have been performing excellently will be appreciated through promotions or taken to other departments for them to maintain similar good performance. They also provide a clear picture in terms expectations or responsibilities of duties to be carried out by employees. Â  After the employees’ performance has been accessed, it will be possible to determine what the management can expect of their workforce given their knowledge, education, experience and expertise. Appraisals also help in judging the efficiency of various human resource duties like recruiting, selecting, developing and training. Employee grievances will also be reduced through appraisals. By evaluating someone’s performance, it will be possible to determine whether the recruiting was carried out fairly and the training needs required. Performance appraisals also help in strengthening the bond or communication between juniors-seniors and workforce to the management bond. Appraisals determine how well the subordinates are cooperating with their seniors for mutual success of their employer. Payroll and reimbursement decisions are made easy because employers base their remuneration packages on their employees’ contribution to the entity’s success. Decisions of future objectives and actions to be taken in relation to human resources management are made easy. Performance appraisals assist in job analysis or provision of supervisor support, guidance and counseling. Those who need direct supervision are identified and adequate support is offered for the workforce to be extremely productive. According to the Vroom’s Expectancy theory, effort is separated from performance or outcome. Efforts must be linked to performance and psyching for motivation to be realized. Three variables are proposed to cater for this relationship. The three variables are instrumentality, valence and expectancy. EXPECTANCY: this is the belief that more effort increases performance, therefore working hard makes things better. It is determined by the availability of the right resources, that is raw materials or time, right skills for doing the job, necessary support for getting work done like seniors’ support and the right job information. INSTRUMENTALITY: this relates to believing that performing well leads to a valuable output being received; therefore doing the job right yields something. An employee will therefore put more effort in his work because he expects to be remunerated at the end of the month. It is determined by a clean understanding of the link for performance with outcomes that is the reward game rules, trusting the persons making the decisions on how outcome is distributed and a transparent process of deciding how outcome is distributed. An organization is supposed to have well laid down standards of reimbursing employees so that bias is avoided. The employee should provide adequate rewards and incentives that match contribution by the workforce for them to keep on performing well. Rewards should however be well designed so that none of the entity’s groups of workforce is left out. VALENCE: this is the vitality that employees place on expected outcome. For instance a person who is mainly motivated by cash does not value additional time off offers. Persons change their effort level depending on the importance placed on outcomes they get from processes and on their idea of awareness of effort and outcome links. Hence perceiving that improved effort increases performance, increased performance improves rewards and one values rewards being offered , then Vroom’s Expectancy theorem indicates an individual will be motivated. Therefore efforts, performance and rewards are prerequisites for adequate and sufficient motivation. Employees will be well psyched up to perform if they are assured of a good return to match their continued effort. They should be made to feel as part of the entity for them to be efficient and effective enough. Rewards should however be designed in such a way that the entity maximizes its profits at the lowest cost possible. If a professional employee is currently being well rewarded, he will not see the point of looking for a greener pasture and he will remain a true human capital to the employer.

Company Analysis

Company Analysis Executive summary Founded as a small company in 2008, Google has grown to be a major technology company operating in almost all countries around the globe. Like many global companies, Google management and major operations are based in Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View California.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Company Analysis Google specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Google is the leading world technology firm that aims at improving people’s information and attachment. The company’s aspiration is to improve the lives of multitude number of world inhabitants. To categorize information and make it helpful and easily reached in the globe is the mission of the company. The company’s website is the most acknowledged in the whole world. This is because of innovations in the advertisement and web search. Furthermore, the company conveys relevant cost-effective online advertisement to genera te income. It also provides other businesses with its Ad Words program to promote their products and services. Additionally, Google network uses Ad Sense program to provide relevant ads to improve user experience and to breed profits. It engages in public offering initially completed in August the year two thousand and four. The company overview The foundation of this company was long back in the year nineteen ninety-eight. The company is a major internet services provider both in United States and all over the world. It is based in Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View California. In the fiscal nineteen ninety-eight the company was fully incorporation in accordance to the California state company laws and regulations (Google, 2010). Another subsidiary of the company established later established in August the year two thousand was incorporated in the in the state of Delaware. Currently the company is found in many countries around the world.Advertising Looking for research pa per on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Google is a hi-tech company that upholds online website index contents for providers, advertisers, and users. It provides program advertisement based on auction known as Ad Words and Ad Sense. This enables liberation of ads through Google network websites. Programs like Google Display and Ad Word advertisers include interactive ads, images, texts, and videos. The company has Exchange Double Click Ad that is concurrent to public sale for trade of display ad space (Google, 2010). Furthermore, You Tube provides use to advertisers for ad formats, interactive, and videos. The company’s Google Mobile has optimized Google mobile phone application. These devices allow the advertiser to sprint campaign on ad search, download, and browse. Additionally, it has Google local to deliver information locally on the web. The company offers an open mobile source software platf orm and operating system that is Android and Google Chrome OS. It enables different individuals share a variety of ideas online using Google+, Web browsers, and Google Chrome. The company has also provided a podium for customers to exploit internet and TV on a solitary screen. Google Books employed by the company exhibits a place for consumption, searching, and discovering books printed online (Google, 2010). Moreover, the company supplies Google Applications such as Google site, Google translate, Google Calendars, Google Doc, and Gmail for device collaboration and computerizing obscured messages set. The company governance The company s committed to maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance and business conduct according to the corporate governance guidelines (Google, 2011).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Company Analysis Google specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company also believes t hat these guidelines are essential in running the business in an efficient manner and in serving its stakeholders as well as maintaining the integrity in the market place. Board of Directors currently manages this company (Google, 2011). Eric Schmidt is the Principal Executive Officer. He is the chairperson of the board of directors and chief executive officer. Patrick Pichette is the senior vice-president and chief finance officer (Principal Accounts and Finance Officer). Mr. Sergey Brin holds the position of director and president of technology. Subsequently, Larry Page is the director and president of products. Finally, Shirley Tilghman, Ram Shriram, Paul Otellini, John Hennessy, and John Doerr all serve as Directors. The directors’ responsibility is to oversee the day-to-day operations of the company. The directors run the company with the help of various committees including executive compensation committee (Google, 2011). In addition, shareholders make the company major decisions. The company shareholders are composed of the individual shareholders, institutional shareholders and the mutual fund owners. The company governance efficiency is evident in growth rewards. For instance, the company has experienced a substantial growth of major users, advertisers, and consumers reallocating to online from offline (Dwivedi, 2008). In addition, the company is experiencing rapid improvements in search technology. As a result, speedy deliverance of relevant search outcome and comprehensive index has expanded. Furthermore, speedy innovations have enabled the company to develop products including Place Search, Instant Previews, and Google Instant. Besides, aggressive venture into new businesses such as enterprise, cell phone, and display has led to faster growth of the company. A strategic investment in decisive products like Chrome OS, Chrome, and Android is evident in the past years.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This has followed the company’s philosophy of open platforms and infrastructure for the achievement of web users. Investment in technologies, services, products reflects the management focus on efficiency and customer satisfaction (Dwivedi, 2008). Ethics and Social responsibility Google has broad defined values that are shared by all the stakeholders particularly the employees and management. The central values are geared towards providing users with dispassionate access to information (Chaffey, 2007). In addition, the central values are designed in such a way that it helps the company to focus on the needs of customers and provide the best services or products. In essence, the company values are meant to abide by the legal requirements, industrial regulations and respect to the competitors (Chaffey, 2007). These common values form the basis in which the company formulated its code of conduct. The approach of the company is to have a code of conduct that fosters highest stand ards of ethical business (Mahaney, 2005). The belief is that high ethical business standards help the company employ great individuals, build great products and services that attract loyal users. The company beliefs are coined in its mission statement that emphasizes mutual respect and trust among employees and users. The company believes that trust and mutual respect are the basis for its success. The company code of conduct is geared towards serving their users. For instance, the company upholds integrity, privacy in addition to freedom of expression while serving users. Moreover, the code of conduct encourages respect among the stakeholders as well as avoiding conflict of interest. Most important is the preservation of confidentiality and protection of the company assets. These include the intellectual property, the confidential information, and the company equipments (Reuters, 2009). Further, the code of conduct promotes financial integrity and responsibility as well as abiding by the legal requirements. Besides setting up the ethical standards, the company engages in corporate social responsibility (CRS) activities. These include creating awareness in various fronts such as the climate change, education, public health, and sanitation (Chaffey, 2007). However, these activities are connected in some way to the company long-term revenue generation. Google Foundation is an institution created by the company to implement its corporate social responsibility programs. It has undertaken various initiatives including developing renewable or green energy, predict, identify, prevent, and enable rapid response to various risks associated with climate change and infectious diseases. It is equally intended to improve public services through public awareness and empowerment. Google foundation also promotes the development of small and medium sized enterprises through capitalization and risk management. In its commitment to provide appropriate services to its users and t o act responsibly with communities where it operates the company has been fraught with problems. For almost all its operating period, there have been concerns whether the company products infringes the privacy of users as well as others (Chaffey, 2007). Concerns about the company practices regarding the collection, use disclosure as well as the security of personal information or any other privacy related matters have resulted in the damage of the company reputation. However, most of these concerns have been unfounded. While the company thrives to comply with its code of ethical regulations, any perceived failure has resulted in court actions by other entities and that have potential adverse effect on the company reputations and the brand image. Compliance with both local and international regulations has also posed a great challenge to the company. For instance, the difficulties experienced by the company operations in China and compliance with the Chinese regulations resulted in i ts censorship by not only the Chinese government but also various governments (Reuters, 2009). These censorships portrayed the company as antisocial and undemocratic. This hugely negated the company reputation. As a result, the company loses much of its market share especially in highly government controlled economies. As regards to social responsibility, the company commitment to green energy program has become under scrutiny. The environmental protection agency (EPA) tends to follow the alleged release of a refrigerant in one of the company’s data facilities. The EPA also follows and scrutinizes other issues relating to environment protection. The investigations could have resulted in administrative actions, criminal or civil penalties or fines (Google, 2010). However, these allegations have been proved unfounded as the EPA as most of the documents investigated were justified by the energy regulations. Organization Board of directors is the highest decision making organ by the company. Though the company tends to minimize the bureaucratic structures, the board of directors makes all decisions. The bureaucratic structures are minimized through various committees as well as encouraging teamwork in almost all operations of the company. The company culture of enhancing equality of employees, teamwork as well as encouraging individual talent growth is critical in structural organization. In addition, the freedom in individual and team decisions enhances effectiveness and efficiency in the operations of the company (Google, 2011). The short vertical structure and the encouragement of horizontal integration have been essential in enhancing creativity among the employees, which in effect create better products for customers. The company adopts the modern management practices and organization structure that enhances free decision-making, encourages teamwork and creativity. The company takes great pride in its culture that is based on creativity and collaborati on (Mahaney, 2005). The company culture of collaboration promotes the iteration of ideas used as solutions to complex challenges. The company also encourages transparency and open dialogue among its employees. In essence, the company embraces a culture of transparency, dialogue, collaboration, and creativity. In addition, the company encourages the culture of diversity. Employees of the company have the freedom to act on individual ideas despite the company responsibilities (Mahaney, 2005). The employees are also employed based on their diverse ideas, backgrounds, and perspective. The company provides a favorable environment where such work diversities are effectively nurtured, and thrives. In addition, the company embraces a culture that promotes and defends important talent. These policies include, effective communication, data drive decisions, stopping being evil, striving to reach consensus, encouraged creativity, making coordination easy, packing projects in, catering for emplo yees needs, and hiring through commission (Mahaney, 2005). Moreover, the company encourages employment practices that attract and retaining the best talents and skills. Further, the company practice employment procedure that is fair and based on standards to facilitate greater personality appointment by the company. The company is offering an extreme package of typical remuneration as well as good working environment to retain the best talent (Mahaney, 2005). Additionally it provides hard working engineers with commuter buses, parched cleaners, car washing, haircuts, kneading and laundry room, gymnasium, and dining facilities. Planning According to Olsen (2006), all businesses small or big require strategic plans to attain their goals particularly in situations where the business is fast growing. In strategic planning, the business must able to analyze trends that determine the future of the business. The company must also set measurable and realistic goals that can be attained (Ols en, 2006). Moreover, for the organization to succeed in its growth and development, it must make strategic planning continuous practice of the organization. In addition, the company must prioritize various strategies that must be implemented simultaneously. The company should also set defining vision for the company that guides all planning and strategies (Olsen, 2006). In the case of Google, all strategic planning is under the head of strategy and planning and operations. The company’s operations consist of a global team that ensures the business complex activities are efficiently managed (Mahaney, 2005). The department comprises of experts that are consistent, systematic, and pragmatic in their implementation of the company plans. This department come up with revenue plans, develops high-level goals, and instigates activity programs that speed up organizational development and improve output. In essence, the department is responsible for developing main activity areas in li ne with the organizational strategy, forecasting, and analytics. The department manager personally oversees the implementation of key strategies as well as operations projects (Chaffey, 2007). Therefore, the department is responsible for the delivery of yearly programming and reporting. The company general business planning efficiency is observed in its ability in perpendicular and aggressive analysis, business analytics, as well as the production of business intelligence to the management (Chaffey, 2007). Leadership Google leadership policy has always been laissez-faire. The company has been engaging in employing highly skilled engineers and supporting the most brilliant rich the higher leadership positions. Once in leadership, they make their own decisions and plans on how to achieve the required goals and objectives (Dwivedi, 2008). However, this has not been the case as time changes. New leadership qualities have to be incorporated apart from the technical skills that the compan y has been emphasizing. Some managers could no attain the outcome given the changing environment. Therefore, leadership qualities such as good coaching, team and micro-management, interpersonal skills, sensitive towards results and productivity, good communication, strategist and career development were highly encouraged (Dwivedi, 2008). Technical skills have not been highly emphasized since all employees have almost similar qualification in this area. These competencies are important for the company since they are the focus towards increasing returns. The reason why the company has been emphasizing these qualities is that they require little changes in personality. In addition, there is the likelihood for augmented advancement (Dwivedi, 2008). Most importantly, these leadership qualities are important in the Google culture. The company top management has adopted various leadership styles to develop a cordial relationship with the employees. For instance, the management has been emp hasizing on the clear vision and strategy for its team of technical employees (Google, 2011). Moreover, the company has been putting a lot of interest on the employee’s personal development. The employees career development. Lastly, Google leadership helps their clients and employees to think through issues that may arise. According to Armstrong and Kotler (2009), there are leadership assessment tools that organizations utilize to provide feedback on leadership styles. In the case of Google, leaders have incorporated six important strategies in their leadership styles. These include visionary strategy, affiliative strategy, participative strategy, and coaching strategy. In the visionary strategy the company leadership creates, sell, and are held accountable for the delivery of the company vision (Mahaney, 2005). The affiliative strategy recognizes the individual contribution to the company and his needs. The leadership adopts participative strategy to create teamwork that is essential in generating ideas as well as offering solutions to any unanticipated problems (Mahaney, 2005). Controlling The operational conduct and regulation of systems, apparatus, or machines means control. Institutions regulating its business processes apply this. Such processes include financing, distribution, and production. In fact, control help businesses avoid and trim down the increase of bottlenecks and mistakes (Armstrong Kotler, 2009). In the traditional context, control is an aspect of management ground rules. These aspects are, coordinating, planning, and organizing. Hence, it is the most important apparatus used by managers to persuade the staff members to work and attain the set goals. Another meaning is, to seek out observance with set conformance objectives and significance that is, quality criterion, standards, and arrangements (Armstrong Kotler, 2009). All these facilitate and confine the organization to assess performance and supervise development. For Google C ompany to organize its business management well, it must have a control system. Research has recognized four domestic control gadgets put into practice by the company. Culture, social structures, expertise, and in-house controls are the mechanisms used for implementation (Chaffey, 2007). Thus, a broad definition of the internal control entails the formula and standards employed by the company to safeguard its materials and goods. The company tends to recruit more workforces to assist in conducting its businesses as it grows. Conversely, absence of procedure and policy in implementation makes protection of assets impossible. Moreover, it will encourage disagreement between the organization staff. Google Company has discovered four forms of control tools namely, dialectic of control, civilization, social culture, and individual control (Reuters, 2009). Whereas social culture is the fixed controls amid incentive proposals, career ranking, distinct work explanation, regulations, course of action and guidelines. Similarly, culture is the employees shared customs and significance that sway attitude, regulate perception, and nature behavior (Chaffey, 2007). Shared beliefs prevent the need for open and wide-ranging decree and processes. It further stops provision of viewpoint curiosity and rules where members can assume unlimited particular statute to outfit unstable condition. These objective reinforcements are by employees’ internalized socialization and rules. On the other hand, dialectic of control explains the poised category for assistants’ trial power to their superiors. The knowledge of personnel is the key positive feature in Google Company. This is important in controlling the conduct of workers, bureaucrats, and executives. Corporate governance guidelines are set by a panel of directors to enable the management to function efficiently. The corporate configuration has also instituted both internal management and suitable financial control. Thou gh this company rapidly expands, it upholds modest company management practices (Mahaney, 2005). Therefore, hiring the right person ensures control implementation in the company. The hiring policy favors aptitude rather than knowledge and is discrimination free. Hence, a reflection of world audience served by the search engine. Furthermore, the expansion in Google developments has demanded recruits who distribute a compulsive commitment (Chan, 2007). The recruiting process is one of the control measures put by the company. For first-class control to be established, employees fill up the forms of application in their own inscriptions. The company conducts two to three interview follow-ups to potential employees over other associates. In the Google Company, the committee does hiring to prospective candidates by soliciting hard-hitting questions to direct incompetent interviewee (Mahaney, 2005). Specialized and responsible panels make the company projects. This makes determination of s uccessful and well-organized job easy through separating responsibilities. Thus, administration schedule realization is much easier. Specialization helps one become conscious in the intellect of making work execution more resourceful and successful. The company has also put control measures in financial management. The major controls are in the financial disclosures that must comply with the set of procedures. The company management normally institutes these procedures, and they include the statutory regulations such as the exchange act. The management must evaluate the financial control and disclosure procedures in pursuant to the regulations provided in the exchange act. The financial disclosure control and procedures must be effective and provide a reasonable assurance that the information provided is reliable (Chan, 2007). According to the act, the financial information must be processed, recorded, summarized, and reported within the required period. The management require that such information should be communicated more so to the executive officer and chief financial officer before its release to the public. Moreover, the management must approve such information and must make decisions regarding disclosure (Chan, 2007). Internal controls include evaluating the effectiveness of the company financial reporting based on the framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Tread way Commission. The framework is known as the Internal Control – Integrated Framework. However, the assessment results should be reviewed with the audit committee or an independent auditor (Google, 2010). In designing and assessing the disclosure controls and procedures, the management should recognize that any control measures only provides reasonable guarantee of attaining the preferred control aims. Despite this limitation, the company internal financial controls and procedures reflected the resource constraints. Therefore, the management is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs. References Armstrong, G Kotler, P. (2009). Principles of marketing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Chaffey, D. (2007). Google case study-covering Google business strategy and technology case. Retrieved from davechaffey.com/E-commerce-Internet- marketing-case-studies/Google-case-study/ Chan, J. (2007). Google’s acquisition strategy. Retrieved from http://fishtrain.com/2007/09/13/googles-acquisition-strategy/ Dwivedi, J. (2008). Google’s robust strategy and business model. Retrieved from iproceed.com/blog/2005/02/googles-robust-strategy-business-model.html Google (2010). 2010 annual report. Retrieved from investor.google.com/pdf/2010_google_annual_report.pdf Google (2011). 2011 annual stockholders meeting. Retrieved from http://investor.google.com/proxy/2011/index.html Mahaney, M. (2005). GOOG: increased conviction in Google. San Francisco: Citigroup Global Marke ts, Inc. Olsen, E. (2006). Strategic planning for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons. Reuters (2009). Google drives into navigation market. Retrieved from independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/google-drives-into- navigation-market-1811289.html Company Analysis The purpose of this company analysis is to discuss the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Procter Gamble. However, this report concentrates more on Porter’s five forces, resources, and capabilities of PG, present strategies, and Resource Base View (RBV) model to recommend the company.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Company Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Current Strategic Situation: Growth Strategy: Chairman and CEO of PG Bob McDonald stated that Purpose-inspired growth strategy is beginning to work because this strategy is touching and improving more consumers lives in all over the world, for instance, expansion tasks of Ambi Pur with Febreze contract; Operational strategy: Procter Gamble reported that it would carry out an environmental sustainability program throughout its operations to reduce carbon emission by 20% and it would also focus on water and energy utilization and w aste removal from corporate plants; Product development strategy: PG always interested in introducing new products considering consumer demand and they concentrate more on product innovation, and it has already developed few new brands, such as introduce of the second wave in toothpaste or oral care brand, coverage of Western Europe by Pampers Dry Max and ingredient variation in Pantene and so on. However, Home Care, Fabric Care, Hair Care, and Oral Care are the most successful segments; Figure 1: 1950-2009 PG Product Strategy Source: Smith (1) Customer Relationship Management: Now, PG is concentrating more on serving more customers by implementing new CRM policies along with continuous innovation and expansion of brand portfolio upper, vertical or downward value integration; Organizational Chart: It reshaped organizational chart to implement its strategies properly where global business units focus more on global buyers, competitors, and brands, which function as the media of in tended innovation, profitability, and ROI by using its efficient and expert employees to deliver the best performances to gain competitive advantage; however, the following figure shows the organizational chart of PG Figure 2: Organizational chart of PG Source: Procter Gamble (1)Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Pricing Strategy: Smith (1) pointed out the view of the CEO and argued that PG offers low price to introduce new products in the existing market, and the aim of CEO is to increase competition and at the bottom and the decade long stagnation to decline in middle-class income; however, PG offers only 10% price reduction on average. Figure 3: 2010 PG Product Strategy Adjustments Source: Smith (1) Resources and capabilities of PG: Figure 9: Resources of PG Source: Self-generated Financial Resources: According to the annual report, the financial position 2010-11 was outstanding as PG’s organic sales grew 4%, Organic volume grew 5%, Core earnings per share grew 8%, PG’s dividend has increased at an annual compound average rate of approximately 9.5%; however, it returned about $7 billion to shareholders through the repurchase of PG stock. According to the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement of PG, its present key financial variables are Key variables 2011 ($ million) 2010 ($ million) 2009 ($ million) Total Sales Revenue 82,559.0 78,938.0 76,694.0 Gross Profit 41,791.0 41,019.0 38,004.0 Operating costs 25,973.0 24,998.0 22,630.0 Operating Income 15,818.0 16,021.0 15,374.0 Net income (loss) 11,797.0 12,736.0 13,436.0 Total Assets 138,354.0 128,172.0 134,833.0 Total Liabilities 70,714.0 67,057.0 71,734.0 Total Stockholder Equity 68,001.0 61,439.0 63,382.0 Total Cash Flows From Financing Activities (10,023) (17,255) (10,814) Table 1: Financial information of PGAdvertising We will write a custom essay sample on Company Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Source: self-generated from Yahoo Finance (1) Organizational resources: Staff of the PG is one of the significant assets, and it has 127,000 employees according to the annual report 2011 of PG who worked in inside and outside the US market and the help the company expanding business; Physical resources: This resource includes constructions, property, equipment, furniture, and so on; however, the following table shows the total amount of property of PG Key variables 2011 ($ million) 2010 ($ million) 2009 ($ million) Property Plant and Equipment 21,293.0 19,244.0 19,462.0 Technological resources: Graul et al. (54) reported that this company invests more than $2 billion for the development of technology in 2005, it has more than 29,000 patented technologies along with twenty technical centers in four continents; Intellectual and human reso urces: According to the annual report of the PG, RD teams enrich with more than 200 scientists, chemists, and so on; besides, they are responsible for identifying, developing, and using leading health care technologies to develop health care products; Reputation resources: Procter Gamble affords a high brand value, which tends to expand in the future and this reputation is the outcome of consumer perceptions about the quality, trust, and ethical factors in every market segment; however, the subsequent table demonstrates goodwill of PG for three years Key variables 2011 ($ million) 2010 ($ million) 2009 ($ million) Goodwill 57,562.0 54,012.0 56,512.0 SWOT Analysis of PG: Figure 4: SWOT Analysis of PG Source: Graul, et al. (71) Strengths: The internal strengths of PG are significant scales of scope and economies, share price, sales growth, human resources, financial capabilities, supply chain, product innovation and overall performance in the global market. Leadership Brands: According to the annual report of PG, its fifty leadership brands are some of the world’s most famous household names and twenty-four of these fifty brands each make above $1 billion every year, which indicates 90% profits generate from these brands; Market Share: it has a worldwide business operation and has a significant share in the global market; Innovation: It is one of the most critical factors for this company to compete with high customer satisfaction. Also, the demand of the customers change on time, and the management of PG maintains a specific strategy to meet the demand of the buyers; Sales Volume: Sales revenue from the consumer product line has increased all over the world; Human Resources: PG has more than 127,000 dynamic and high educated employees to carry on the business in the adverse economic situation, and it also has research team to introduce new products; Experience: PG established in 1837 and served the US Army, so, it has long-experience alon g with the glorious historical background to operate global market with strong brand awareness; Other: Corporate social responsibility, investment plan, human resource management are key strategies of the company. Weaknesses: Besides strong points, PG has to concentrate on many other factors, such as Market expansion: It has many familiar brands in global market, but the perforce of the company in developing countries is not outstanding as it earned only 35% of total profits from the operation in developing countries; however, it has opportunity to increase loyal customer base in developing countries by decreasing price of the products; Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Figure 5: Net sales by market maturity and geographic region Source: Procter Gamble (62) Operating expenses: The total operating expenses of PG are increasing each year, for instance, these expenses were $25,973 million in 2011, which was more than $985 million from last year expenses; Political factors: Unrest situation in many countries may effect on the supply chain management system of the company, and it could adversely affect sales revenue; Strategic decision: Unilever, Johnson Johnson and other competitors have taken measures to diversify product line and implemented new marketing strategies; for instance, these companies arranged integrated marketing communication campaign to increase customer base. Opportunities: External opportunities of PG includes New product development: PG has a strong capability of developing new products using existing resources and capabilities along with long experience perform; thus, it has the opportunity to capture marketing leading pos ition; Joint venture: It has the financial strength to joint venture with large competitors like Unilever to reduce market competition; Stock Performance: the performance of PG in Stock market is satisfactory from the very beginning though the share price of the company decreased in 2009; however, the following figure demonstrates the position of PG in Nasdaq Figure 6: Basic chart of PG Source: Yahoo Finance (1) Performance in Recessionary Economy: PG has experienced huge success in spite of global financial crisis while most of the companies have endeavored to survive, which gives confidence to the management of the company to go ahead with existing resources and capabilities; Threats: External threats of PG includes Legal: Nowadays, multinational companies need to concentrate more on the legal issue to reduce unexpected costs, for instance, BBC News (1) reported that PG was fined â‚ ¬211.20 million to fixing the price of washing powder in eight European countries; Compet ition: Strong competition among the market players is one of the main challenges for PG because competitors captured a significant market share of consumer products, for instance, Sunsilk of Unilever captured shampoo market; Compensation: Controversial issues could adversely affect on the company such as toxic shock syndrome and tampons, price fixing controversy and logo controversy created hindrance for the business operation and increased costs. Porter’s five forces model analysis of PG: Figure 7: Porter’s five forces model of competition for PG Source: Self-generated form analysis Barriers of new entrants: The consumer product industry has to face intense competition both in the national and international market due to the existence of local competitors of different products and many brand items have produced by these companies to attract segmented customers. As a result, threats of new entrants are moderate to high for this company while it should not require hi gh investment to produce few items in the local market, but the aggregate risk is low; thus, it not difficult for the new companies to occupy the market share of PG; Bargaining power of suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers is moderate because of the availability of suppliers; however, this power accelerates when PG like to switching off suppliers; Bargaining power of buyers: the bargaining power of buyers is now high because of the current pressure of the global economic crisis, low switching off costs, availability of similar products, frequent change of customers’ demand, and unrest political position in Asian and European countries and so on; Threats of substitute products: PG faced intense competition from direct and indirect competitors, and these companies produced many consumer products those can reduce the demand of any brand of PG, for instance, PG’s feminine products replaced by the substitute due to toxic shock syndrome and tampons controversy; Rival ry among existing firms: PG has to compete with many direct and indirect companies at both home and abroad, for example, major competitors of this company are Unilever, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Johnson Johnson, Clorox, Colgate-Palmolive, etc. However, the rivalry among existing companies is extremely high, and these companies frequently change their functional plans to increase sales volume and take measures to get undue advantages from the market, for example, PG and Unilever fixed the price of washing powder in eight EU nations to increase sales. To compare the position of PG in industry, the subsequent figure shows direct comparison Figure 8: Direct Competitor Comparison of consumer product industry Source: Yahoo Finance (1) Resource Base View (RBV) model: Resources Sources of Competitive Advantage Rare Valuable Inimitable Non-substitutable Core Competencies Innovation: it has 50 established brands along with 300 consumer products in four segments like PG Beauty, Family Health, Household Care, and Gillette and it has now seven core segments like beauty, Health, Baby Care, Fabric, Home Care and so on Yes Yes Possible as it has already established as successful inventors in consumer product markets; however, it is hard to measure the volume of innovation It is feasible if PG can use research and development team properly Patents: it has more than 29000 patented technologies Yes Yes It is feasible, not probable It is feasible, not probable as it should involve huge investment Go to Market Expertise: Capabilities Yes Yes Hard to attain It is tough to attain as competitors, for example, Unilever is functioning on this now. Brand Management: Development of brand image along with the trust of consumers Yes Yes Achievable through market leadership hard to overtake Difficult in market leading Brand Leadership: 50 brands each produce $1 billion sales annually (90% of total earnings) Yes Yes Feasible except hard in non-commoditized markets Feas ible though it is hard in non-commoditized markets Resources Capabilities Existing RD: twenty technical centers in four continents Yes Yes Yes, however, it involves high entry expenses hard to substitute or compete with IP Global Scope Advantage: business operation in more than 180 countries Yes Yes Feasible in spite of high reproduction costs Feasible in spite of high reproduction costs Large scale manufacturing operations; locations in 42 countries Yes Yes Yes Yes Economies of Scale with leveraged Buying Power and supply chain management Yes Yes Yes, it is necessary to have collaboration from keen partners and top-management Yes, it is necessary to have the cooperation from keen partners and top-management Economies of Scale with Global operations Yes Yes Yes Yes Expansion in Emerging Markets like China, India Bangladesh Yes Yes Feasible though it needs high reproduction costs Feasible though it needs high reproduction costs Value Added Networks for B2B Customers Yes Yes Yes, it is essential to have cooperation from enthusiastic associates and management Yes, it is essential to have cooperation from enthusiastic associates and management Electronic Data Interchange only available in the US and it should require development Yes Yes Yes Yes Enterprise IT Strategy for cost reductions, positive customer impact, functioning competence, and return on investment Yes Yes Yes but it hard to apply due to requiring high investment Yes but it hard to apply due to requiring high investment Recommendation Strategy 1: Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Campaign Decision Criteria for Strategic Alternatives Evaluation Criteria Evaluation Criteria or why choosing this strategy Image creation This company has fifty leadership brands in the global consumer product markets; however, it has to face intense competition, so, the decision-maker should focus on IMC campaign to develop brand awareness; Aligns with mission Since this company wo uld like to provide the best quality products, IMC campaign would help the company to aware target customer regarding the quality of the products Exploits core competency It has already developed the product quality to avoid any controversy like toxic shock syndrome and tampons, and IMC campaign could give this message to the customer Competition To compete with large competitors, it will play a vital role Creating a loyal customer base As competitors offer similar products at a low price, then it is difficult to say that IMC help creating loyal customer base though it would increase sales Financial risk Considering previous experience, it can say that the IMC campaign has no financial risks for PG The short and long term Growth rate It would only meet the short-term growth rate Think customer first As IMC Campaign would emphasis on the positive factors of PG, the customer must be benefited from it. Strategy 2: Reformation of the Pricing Strategy Decision Criter ia for Strategic Alternatives Evaluation Criteria Evaluation Criteria or why choosing this strategy Create a brand image It would help PG creating the brand image in developing countries Aligns with mission Sales may decrease anytime due to adverse economic condition; therefore, restructuring pricing strategy match with the mission of the company. Exploits core competency Operating at economies of scale is one of the PG’s core competencies, so, capacity utilization development by reducing production cost assist the company offer low price; Competition PG would be able to hit this competitive market Creating a loyal customer base The purchasing power of the customers reduced due to recession; so, reforming pricing strategy is the only solution to sustain as a market leader; Financial risk Adopting this strategy has minimal financial risk; however, the European Commission could impose fines for breaking competition law in the EU zone The short and long term Grow th rate It can meet long-term growth in the global consumer product market Think customer first It upholds the concept of think customer first. Strategy 3: Reduction of operating costs Decision Criteria for Strategic Alternatives Evaluation Criteria Evaluation Criteria or why choosing this strategy Create a brand image It is an internal factor to hold an existing market Aligns with mission This strategy would increase profit and match with the mission of PG Competition Help the company compete with existing resources Creating a loyal customer base This strategy would not help PG building a large customer base but increase profits from existing sales volume Financial risk Reduce financial risk in the global financial crisis through this company experienced success in the economic challenges The short and long term Growth rate Meet both short and long-term growth Think customer first It mainly focuses on reducing the switching off costs for the customers of competitors. BBC News. Unilever and Procter Gamble in price-fixing fine. 2011. Web. bbc.co.uk/news/business-13064928. Graul, Lee Ann, et al. Procter Gamble, Unilever, and the Personal Products Industry. 2006. Web. http://info.umuc.edu/mba/ep/Presentation/EP_Olp/data/GSA.pdf. Procter Gamble. Annual report 2010-11 of PG. 2011. Web. http://annualreport.pg.com/annualreport2011/financials/. Smith, Tim. â€Å"PG Shifts Pricing Strategy to Meet Post-Recession Market.† The Wiglaf Journal. 2010. Web. wiglafjournal.com/pricing/2010/09/pg-shifts-pricing-strategy-to-meet-post-recession-market/. Yahoo Finance. Balance Sheet of Procter Gamble Co. 2011. Web. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=PG+Balance+Sheetannual. Yahoo Finance. Direct Competitor Comparison of Procter Gamble Co. 2011. Web. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?s Yahoo Finance. Income Statement of Procter Gamble Co. 2011. Web. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=PG+Income+Statementannual.