Competitive Landscape for Cosmetics Company Case Study

Competitive Landscape for Cosmetics Company - Case Study Example They introduced the revolutionary bare minerals makeup: a lightweight powder foundation, free of oil, preservatives, fragrance, talc, dyes or other potential irritants, and claims to provide "makeup so pure you can sleep in it". Bare Escentuals products are sold in company-owned retail stores, on QVC; and, through direct-response, TV, mail order, Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom, spas, salons, and international channels. The product of Bare Escentuals cater to women of all ages and skin types. Most importantly, it is targeting those who have sensitive skins, allergies, scars, blemishes, rosacea, wrinkles and pigmentation who can benefit from their 100% pure bareMinerals. Currently, Bare Escentuals spearheaded by its CEO Leslie Blodgett has traveled across the globe to look for women with real problems to serve as their spokespersons. Vital statistics: Used by women ages 18 - 60 Friendly to women of various skin types and sensitivities Used by single women, married ones and even grandmothers Major City Dweller who are financially capable Price range from less than $20 - $ 100 Highlights: 100% pure bareMinerals Joined forced with md formulations skin care in 2001 Major leader in skincare Bare Escentuals is one of the fastest growing cosmetics companies in the US Bare Escentuals has the #1 national beauty infomercial Recommended by The Skin Cancer Foundation. Quadrupled revenue from 2001 to 2004 Strengths 1. use of 100% pureMinerals 2. free from various skin irritants 3. partnership with md formulations which produced a good tandem of providing the best skin for the best makeup effect 4. excellent customer service 5. covers acne to scar problems 6. light, easy to use and clean 7....Bare Escentuals products are sold in company-owned retail stores, on QVC; and, through direct-response, TV, mail order, Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom, spas, salons, and international channels. The product of Bare Escentuals cater to women of all ages and skin types. Most importantly, it is targeting those who have sensitive skins, allergies, scars, blemishes, rosacea, wrinkles and pigmentation who can benefit from their 100% pure bareMinerals. Founded in France by world-renowned makeup artist Terry Gunzberg in 1998, by Terry is an exclusive brand of cosmetics. It uses the most expensive, delicate tints in creating extraordinary textures in various exciting and "sensual" shades. Their makeup is complemented by a unique jewel cases which are also luxury accessories. By Terry's "ready-to-wear" cosmetics are very popular among French actresses and socialites. The brand also has a team of makeup specialists that develop haute couteur as called by Gunzberg. This haute couteur is an exclusive custom-made makeup line that is tailored for each client and is very expensive and has to be pre-ordered or booked in advance. The Christian Dior Group started way back in the 1940's.

How the area of a wire affects the resistance in a circuit Essay Example for Free

How the area of a wire affects the resistance in a circuit Essay Electricity is conducted through a conductor. Resistance is the word used to describe the opposition between forces. The more free electrons there are, the better the conduction and the worse the resistance is. The more atoms vibrate, the more resistance there is. The free electrons are given energy, as a result they move and collide with the surrounding electrons. This happen throughout the whole wire. This is how the electricity is conducted. Resistance is the result of energy loss in form of heat. How do we measure it? V=I/R V=Voltage I =Current R=Resistance Ohms Law. This law states that the current through a metallic conductor (wire) at a constant temperature is proportional to the potential difference (Voltage). Therefore the Voltage and Current is constant. If the resistance increases the temperature increases, so it stays constant. At higher temperatures the particles move more quickly, increasing the collision of the free electrons. Possible Input Variables Wire area Wire thickness Wire length Applied voltage Material Taught connections Cross-sectional shape Insulated Density of wire Coiled or not Temperature Preliminary Experiments. Easy to measure? Easy to change Wire area V V Wire thickness X X Wire length V V Applied voltage V V Material X V Taught connections X X Cross-sectional shape X X Insulated X V Density of wire V X Coiled or not V V Temperature V V Applied I or V by a double cell which is measured by digital volt and ammeter. I will find out the Resistance by the formula using R=V/I. Wire area. It is difficult to change the area. A possible solution would be to add wires and twist them together. Coiled or not? It has not got an obvious affect. The Voltage and Current didnt increase or decrease. Temperature. My idea was to set up a water bath to keep the wire at a same temperature at every point. I would experiment with temperatures from 20? C-100 (room temperature to the boiling point of water) Wire length. Is very easy to set up. There is a very large range of results. Chosen Input variable I chose wire area as my variable because it is has a better variety of results. I will have 8 wires with the same cross sectional area. It would be to expensive using different cross sectional sizes of wire. I will put the wire parallel to each other an twist them add the end to increase the area of the wire. My chosen output variable is resistance because that is what I am looking for in the wire. Fair Test In the experiment I am not going to change anything ( wire length and applied voltage). The only thing I will change is the area of the wire (input variable). I will use the same equipment throughout the test, to make sure it is a fair test. If I would use different equipment it may give me different readings. I am using a safety resistor, so that the current is the same and that the wire will not overheat. It would not be a fair test if the wire would heat because it would give my different sets of results at different temperatures. It could also be a safety hazard if the wire overheats. Method Cut eight wires of the same cross sectional area in 35cm length (only 30cm of wire measured because I have to attach crocodile clips on each side   The equipment is as following: 2 cell Battery Ammeter+ Voltmeter Safety Resistor 8 wires (35cm) 2 crocodile clips   My circuit will look as following:   Let electricity pass through the circuit and note down the readings of the ammeter and voltmeter. Add more wires to the circuit and continue as planned   Make three sets of results through an accurate experiment Prediction I will expect that if the area of the wire increases the resistance will decrease. This can be proven by background physics of the past. Observation Test Results Nr. of wires   This graph shows the voltages I measured Nr. of wires This graph shows the Current I measured Nr. of wires R1 R2 R3 Rave Area m^2 1/Area   This graph shows me the resistance and resistance average I have worked out. It also includes the formulas for the Area and 1/Area My Graphs are on a separate sheet of graph paper. Analysis My graph shows me that if I increase the area the resistance decreases. I have plotted two graphs to give me a wider range of results and averages in different areas (1/Area and Area m^2). My Area graph looks like a y =1/X graph X Y 1 1 2 0. 5 3 0. 333 4 0. 25 To reassure this I have plotted an average 1/Area. If it is correct then I should get a straight line. When I plotted the graph I had a straight line. This tells me that the average is proportional to 1/Area i. e. Rave ? 1/Area. The slope is: y/x= 10. 5/16= 0. 66 ? /mi I am ignoring the offset on my 1/Area graph This experiment shows me that resistance is definitely affected by the area of the wire. Looking at my background physics it has worked out like resistors on a parallel circuit. When attaching another wire to the experiment it acts like adding another parallel resistor in a parallel circuit. So if the area of the wire increases the resistance decreases. Also I have learned if the voltage goes down the resistance goes up Evaluation I found this experiment easy to do. I had no anomalies on my graph. This means that the points I have plotted are all in a acceptable arrangement. There were no experimental caused by a faulty connection. There were no safety hazards and the experiment was safe to do.

Parents Influence on CHildren Essay -- essays research papers

When two people decide to have a child, either knowingly or unknowingly, they make a vow to raise that child to the best of their abilities. While some parents are wonderful, loving, proud parents some are hurtful, abusive both physically or mentally, or just down right evil the impact they have is immense and will determine many aspects of the child and the way he/she lives out the rest of his/her life. In my life I have both kinds of parents, my mother is the most caring, loving, proud parent I know; while my father is very abusive and hateful towards me and this has had a tremendous effect on me.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the years my mother has always been there for me and has been the one true positive factor in my life. She left my father with a 7 year old and two 3 year old children making $4.75 an hour at Walgreen’s. She has always defended me and helped me do many things I would not have been able to do without her help. Her love and devotion has fought many battles against my father and schools that did not care about the student but only test scores. It hasn’t always been easy and many years were spent with sometimes just enough money to eat, but through it all she has been a strong beacon of hope.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the other side of life is my father, he was a man who I believed may have loved my mom at one point but he was abusive, he was an adulterer, and just down right evil. He spent many years with at his peak four girlfriends p... Parents Influence on CHildren Essay -- essays research papers When two people decide to have a child, either knowingly or unknowingly, they make a vow to raise that child to the best of their abilities. While some parents are wonderful, loving, proud parents some are hurtful, abusive both physically or mentally, or just down right evil the impact they have is immense and will determine many aspects of the child and the way he/she lives out the rest of his/her life. In my life I have both kinds of parents, my mother is the most caring, loving, proud parent I know; while my father is very abusive and hateful towards me and this has had a tremendous effect on me.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the years my mother has always been there for me and has been the one true positive factor in my life. She left my father with a 7 year old and two 3 year old children making $4.75 an hour at Walgreen’s. She has always defended me and helped me do many things I would not have been able to do without her help. Her love and devotion has fought many battles against my father and schools that did not care about the student but only test scores. It hasn’t always been easy and many years were spent with sometimes just enough money to eat, but through it all she has been a strong beacon of hope.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the other side of life is my father, he was a man who I believed may have loved my mom at one point but he was abusive, he was an adulterer, and just down right evil. He spent many years with at his peak four girlfriends p...

A short story – Behind the Canvas

Behind the canvas the shadow loomed large and dangerous. The head was enormous and it seemed to be floating in the air. The feet, as long as canoes, would rise and fall as the other elongated shadow moved up towards the top of the tent. As John entered the tent, the head burst. It was a balloon, a silly childish prank. The shadow, a petite ten year old. Falling on top of his mates in laughter, John started to come round from his ever-lasting laughing fit. â€Å"That was the worst monster I've ever seen,† laughed James. † It wasn't as bad as your go yesterday!† chuckled David. â€Å"OK, but you have to say that that was awful David,† James stated. † Time for some real stories I think.† â€Å"Not ghost stories, James they're boring,† whined John. â€Å"Not a ghost story, John, a real story†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The time was 2-45pm and there was only fifteen minutes until kick-off and the road was deserted. A piece of tumbleweed blew across the pavement. A bulky shadow squeezed under the thin barriers and a tall, chunky middle-aged man was walking across the road towards the ground. By his side his son, a skinny seven year old. They rushed through the busy traffic and into the long never-ending passageway, which reflected the sight of a Leviathan winding through the prehistoric woodlands, towards the stadium. The boy was furiously tugging his father's hand in an attempt to arrive on time. Stopping 100m from the ground the boy's dad slowly bent down to tie his shoelaces up. By this point the young boy could see the amount of people. Thousands gathering for the match. He began to sweat. His father rose; he quickly grasped his hand and tightened up against the giant figure. And pulled. As they pushed through the big crowds plaguing the entrance, a sight similar to an ocean of tall, blue and white waves crashing into each other, a loud, unfamiliar crackling sound rang in his ear. He sharply turned his head and could see a speaker blurting out messages that just seemed scrambled to the excited boy. They took their seats for the start of the match. With his father to the left of him, the boy looked across to his right where he saw a big-boned bald supporter, with distinctive dark glasses, tucking into a Cornish pasty. The man lowered his head. As the match progressed the crowd grew more and more agitated. A large, black crow hovered over the grandstand. The boy's father was fidgeting constantly. After a few minutes the father got up from his seat. † I'll be a few minutes son, just got to use the toilet.† The small boy looked like a pebble on the beach in contrast to the crowd's attendance, which was like the mountainous Rockies. Minutes past and his father had still not returned. He looked over to his right. The man with dark glasses had disappeared. A grey cloud passed over the stadium. The boy started to panic. His heartbeat rocketing, his body trembling and his eyes watering. The referee blew his whistle loudly to signal half time and the crowds started to disappear into the toilets and hot dog stalls, into the bars and club shop. In an instant the crowd had plummeted in number. He couldn't see anybody he recognized and he felt so alone. The minutes ticked by, never before had he been left so alone. As the crowd reappeared from the exits, every fan that wasn't the boy's Dad was like a knife in his heart, as painful as a pig to the slaughter. After nearly giving up hope of his father returning, the strange dark-glassed man emerged from the exit, a wide grin on his face. As he placed himself next to the boy he glanced over. † Alright kiddo, are you enjoying yourself?† The small boy, as frightened as a cat running away from a dog, hesitantly replied with a nod. As the match progressed so did the boy's anxiety. It had been 30 minutes since his Dad left and the boy was really starting to shake. He lowered his head onto his lap and as he lifted it back up he could see a tall, broad, sinister looking Caribbean man with an afro plodding up the steps in a fluorescent orange jacket. The boy sat up properly and the man squeezed his way through the seated crowd and placed himself next to the boy. Before the boy could speak he was being carted off towards the emergency exit and thrown into the back of a shiny silver Renault Cleo. The boy didn't know what was happening and as they passed through the gates of the football stadium he could see the chunky bald man he'd been sitting next too staring at him with his dark shaded glasses. Suddenly I shiver wriggled down the boy's spine. The car, being driven more recklessly by the minute, every junction they passed through a loud ringing sound would come out of the car. The car, going faster than the boy was used to when his dad was driving started swinging round roundabouts, accelerating through motorways and skidding past corners at great speed. The car finally came to a halt outside a big four-storey building; the boy was swiftly whisked out of the car and marched into a plain white room where he was left. This room was plain, with five simple chairs around an oak table. A few womens magazines were all that lay upon this furnished table and it seemed an eternity for the boy whilst, he was waiting. The boy didn't know what was happening; with nothing to do he stared at the low walls. He heard the door rattle and turned sharply, the door hadn't been touch. The boy, panicking, ran to the door to answer it but it wouldn't budge. He yanked it. He kicked it. He barged into it but it still wouldn't open. He was going, crazy what place was this? He could see men and women in wheelchairs and crutches ambling round the place. Men with head bandages and women with there arms in slings. Every few minutes a big trolley would pass the room. The boy would knock as hard as he could but still there would be no answer. Nobody could see him and no one answered his cries. As the fourth trolley rushed past it stopped just outside the door. A tall, chunky middle-aged man stepped off it. The boy instantly recognized the figure. It was his father. The door was unlocked immediately and the two were re-united. The boy was still unsure what had happened but he didn't care in the slightest. â€Å"That wasn't scary at all James, tell us another one,† laughed John. â€Å"It was scary John, look how scared Peter is,† â€Å"Peter, what's the matter that wasn't as scary as one of mine.† As the boys looked across to Peter who was shaking like a leaf, the door flap flew open as a cold chilling wind descending down their spines, and in the door laid a pair of dark shaded glasses.

Analysis of Elizabeth Bishop’s “The Fish”

Esther Zamora Jon Schneiderman ENC1102-09 03/12/2013 Analysis of Elizabeth Bishop’s â€Å"The Fish† All battered and scarred from many years of trials, Grandma always has a smile on her face. Grandpa died when she was still young, her three sons have also died, and only her two daughters remain. In spite of these difficulties in her life, she manages to be happy and accepting of what life has tossed her way. An older person has scars from life and doesn’t have the strength to fight for it. The elderly have gone through many trials and afflictions that life has tossed at them.With age, they have gained wisdom and understanding through these hardships. Life has a tendency to cruelly throw darts at humanity without any kind of reservation or remorse. In Elisabeth Bishop’s â€Å"The Fish,† the narrator is the fisher woman. Upon catching a tremendous fish and analyzing it carefully, she is reminded of her life. She notices the fish is not fighting to sta y alive. He just hung there, still, and ready to die. This reminds her of her own life. She is now faced with the memory of the many scars that life has brought her.She’s not willing to fight as she once did. Age has really taken a toll on her, demanding her once youthful strength. The author speaks of the fish saying, â€Å"He hung a grunting weight, battered and vulnerable and homely† (7-9). The fisher woman found a similarity with her life and the fish’s life. She made a distinct connection between her life and this small creature. Older and more experienced, the fisher woman is reminded of her past afflictions. Now old and gray which are signs of aging, as the fish’s lips that give away his age.The lips are an important sign because the hooks and lines they have in their mouth demonstrates their experience. The fish in the poem declares â€Å"hung five pieces of fish- line† (51), showing how many times the fish had previously been caught and re leased again. Each line represents the many endeavors the fish had accomplished by conquering those hooks. As with people who overcome adversity and scars inhabit their life, the fish also has scars that remain as an indication of previous struggles. Wisdom and understanding is gained as things in life happen.For the fish, he gains wisdom and understanding each time he escaped a net or a line which is shown by his scars. A person gains wisdom and understanding with the trials they are faced with and that age has brought them. These are reminders to people as well as for fish. A person may have loved ones who have passed away, or possibly experienced some kind of trauma. All these tribulations serve for gaining wisdom and understanding in life. In conclusion, the fisher woman, by looking and observing the fish closely, is reminded of all the previous trials she had in her life.The scars in his lips, the â€Å"five-haired beard of wisdom† (62) helps her think of herself. She no tices the rainbow of colors reflecting from the oil on the boat, reminding her of the fish’s accomplishments. Even though the fish is small, it somehow provokes a sense of relation with herself. She relates these attributes of the fish with maturity, adversity, trials, wisdom, and understanding. She encounters a close identification with the fish. Filled by this emotional connection and compassion for the fish, she let him go.

Fighting Environmental Injustice Essays

Fighting Environmental Injustice Essays Fighting Environmental Injustice Essay Fighting Environmental Injustice Essay Fighting Environmental Injustice Crystal Rainey SCI 207 Dependence of Man on the Environment Richard Hoagland March 30, 2011 Fighting Environmental Injustice Our envirment has been poorly treated by humans for years. It should be everyones job to help take care of our enviroment. Taking care of our enviroment and trying to make our environment healthier is a big job and is something everyone care partake in, but who fights for enviromental injustice. The Environmental Protection Agency or EPA you could say is the main fighter when it comes to fighting for environmental Injustice but are they doing enough and should they be doing more? I think that the EPA should be doing more for fighting for environmental injustice but being that the EPA is an government agency could their view have become distorted by finantional gain. I will be demastrighting what the epa was done for enviromental injustice but more importanly what they are not doing. In 1990 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published Envi- ronmental Equity: Reducing Risks for All Communities, (Easton, T. 2008)a repost that acknowledged the need to pay attention to many of the concerns raised by environmental justice activists. At the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, a set of principles of Environmental Justice was widely dis- cussed. In 1993 the EPA opened an Office of Environmental Equity (now the Office of Environmental Justice) with plans for cleaning up sites in several poor communities. In February 1994 President Bill Clinton made environ- mental justice a national priority with an executive order. Since then, many complaints of environmental discrimination have been filed with the EPA under Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964; and in March 1998 the EPA issued guidelines for investigating those complaints. : However, in April 2001 the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that individuals cannot sue states by charging that federally funded policies unintentionally violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2009 the EPA administered the Recovery act( Recovery Act, 2009) The Recovery Act provides $7. 22 billion for specific programs administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Program-Specific Recovery Act Plans accompany thisdocument and represent the heart of EPA’s contribution to the nation’s economic stimulus. The six Program Plans are: Clean water revolving fund recovery act plan:Investing in construction of water quality protection and wastewater treatment infrastructure. , Drinking water state revoling fund recovery act plan: Ensuring clean drinking water, Brownfields Recovery Act plan : Cleaning up former industrial sites for newcommercial or community use, and training and placing persons in environmental careers. Superfund Recovery Act:Cleaning up uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. Clean diesel: Supporting the use, development, and commercialization of strategies to reduce diesel emissions. The EPA may be on to something but its not having an effect on everyone. There are still hazardous waste, unclean water and many many things that are not accomplished. For example we have people to come pick our trash up but no one to pick up our recycable, so why make that extra trip when we can just throw everything in with the trash. This is what I think apart of the EPAs jobs they should make these kind of things more assessable for people. I think this would make people want to contribute more. The Epa also has been on board of the clean air act Prior to 1990, the Clean Air Act required EPA to set standards for each toxic air pollutant individually, (Environmental Protection Agency,2007) based on its particular health risks. This approach proved difficult and minimally effective at reducing emissions. As a result, when amending the Clean Air Act in 1990, Congress directed EPA to use a technology-based and performance-based approach to significantly reduce emissions of air toxics from major sources of air pollution, followed by a risk-based approach to address any remaining, or residual, risks. Under the technology-based approach, EPA develops standards for controlling the routine emissions of air toxics from each major type of facility within an industry group or source category. These standards known as maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards are based on emissions levels that are already being achieved by the better-controlled and lower-emitting sources in an industry. This approach assures citizens nationwide that each major source of toxic air pollution will be required to employ effective measures to limit its emissions. Also, this approach provides a level economic playing field by ensuring that facilities that employ cleaner processes and good emission controls are not disadvantaged relative to competitors with poorer controls. So far sould like the EPA is doing a job but what are some of the problems the EPA is not paying closer acattention to and are these problems effecting our enviroment? A hudge problem is that of monitoring and enforcement of the nations environmental regulations. This could mean many things for example a company is not being monitored for how much toxons that are being put into the air. Restuccia, A. 2011)The Environmental Protection Agency is not doing a good enough job monitoring the potential public health hazards associated with a controversial natural gas drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, or â€Å"fracking. Fracking in which water, sand and chemicals are injected into the ground to release valuable natural gas deposits – is a major drilling techni que for accessing the country’s massive shale gas reserves. But environmentalists have long raised concerns that the process pollutes drinking water and harms the enviroment. EPA is in the process of conducting a study on the health effects of fracking. But a recent invertigative series by the new york time found that fracking wastewater has been released into waterways withoutbeing teated for radioactive isotopes. The investigation also found that federal scientists concerns about fracking have been removed from key EPA documents on the issue. This is unacceptable, anything that could have a effect on human health needs attention. By the EPA doing this they are not doing their job. These toxions the EPA has resting in their hands even involve the food we eat (Resnik,B. D Portier. C. 2005) . Faced with higafety standards for a variety of chemicals, some pesticide companies decided to conduct experiments on human subjects to produce data that they hoped would convince the U. S. EPA to lower the interspecies safety factor. From 1996 to 2004, the U. S. EPA received 20 studies from private companies providing human dosing data on pesticide toxicity. However, a Law that was intended to provide additional safety protection for children had the unintended effect of encouraging some companies to test toxic compounds on human beings to avoid the regulatory impact of the law. So not only were these people testing on other humans they were putting toxions in the air. There are many strategies we are now using to help with minimizing toxic effects (Cunningham Cunningham, 2008) A fundamental concept in toxicology is that every material can be poisonous under some conditions, but most chemicals have a safe level or threshold below which their effects are undetectable or insignificant. Each of us consumes lethal doses of many chemicals. over the course of a lifetime. One hundred cups of strong coffee, for instance, contain a lethal dose of caffeine. Similarly, 100 aspi- rin tablets, 10 kg (22 lbs) of spinach or rhubarb, or a liter of alco- hol would be deadly if consumed all at once. Taken in small doses, however, most toxins can be broken down or excreted before they do much harm. Furthermore, the damage they cause can be repaired. Sometimes, however, mechanisms that protect us from one type of toxin or at one stage in the life cycle become deleteri- ous with another substance or in another stage of development. Let’s look at how these processes help protect us from harmful substances, as well as how they can go awry. With most things there is going to be a reaction. Most things put off some type of toxon. Being that most of them are at a human level of saftey does not mean we should be careless. While the EPA seems to be doing their job, seems that they are missing some big issues that need to be address. I still think that taking care of our enviroment is a big job and it should be everyones job. I think that the job of the EPA is to try to stay on top of making sure that if people are not doing things they should not be doing when it comes to our enviroment they should be punished. People that do not go by the guidelines for the EPA should be punished and not just a slap on the hand. This is not a game everytime these companies produce more toxions then they should or dump waste into waters. It is not just effecting one person. This type of behavior effects everyone but it still seems whenever money is involved anything goes. This could be how people are getting away with doing these acts and nothing is being done. We have to face that when money in envolved many things get passed and this very well could be happening because a lot of these companies could be making millions even billions. It would be nothing for the EPA to get paid off to keep out of EPA reports. Its really a shame that money has become even more important then protecting the enviroment. Resources Easton, T. (2008) Taking sides: Clashing views on controversial envirmental issues. (Custon 13th(. New York: McGraw-Hill Environmental Protection Agency(2007) Taken Toxics out of the air. http://epa. gov/air/oaqps/takingtoxics/p1. html Restuccia, A. (2011) EPA not doing good enough job monitoring. http://thehill. com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/147701-house-democrat-epa-not-doing-a-good-enough-job-monitoring-fracking Resnik,B. D. Portier. C. (2005) Pesticides Testing on Human subjects. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC1257640/ Cunningham, W. P. , Cunningham, M. A. (2009). Questions for baloney detection. In Principles of enviromental science.

Free Essays on Three Strikes

Strike Three Countless couples currently embark into their married life with minute problems. Many of these couples have been given advice. This advice may have included, Life will get stressful, and it always does. Commit to making time to do pleasurable things together. Also remember that as they become used to one another, they may, both enjoy occasional time alone. This is normal. As time passes the problems seem to diminish since the couple is learning to communicate and cope through their differences together. In the short story â€Å"The Other Two† the author Edith Wharton portrays a struggling newlywed couple, learning the communication and coping skills they need to make this relationship work. Alice Waythorn is adventuring into her third marriage. Both previous marriages were ended due to circumstances with her daughter Lily. Alice had been divorced for fairly some time when she married Mr. Waythorn. For two extremely different reasons. The two ex husbands are brought back into the life of not only Alice Waythorn, but also the new husband Mr. Waythorn. Alice’s first husband Mr. Haskett has a great desire to spend time with his ill daughter Lily. At first Alice is very hesitant that Mr. Haskett is going to be around, but soon she realizes that seeing him is not as awful as she thought that it might have been. Alice’s second husband Mr. Varick is introduced when Mr. Waythorn is pressed into professional interaction with him. Mr. Waythorn is very uneasy about this situation also. Although Mr. Waythorn new his wife’s history, he had not fully measured the ongoing ties that would unite all of the live’s as one. Wharton uses the elements of irony and characterization to display the conflict with the two ex-husbands, and the newly married couple. Wharton characterizes Alice as a round character. She is complex and has different sides to herself. She is portrayed as a woman, mother, wife and ex-wife. Wharton first c... Free Essays on Three Strikes Free Essays on Three Strikes Strike Three Countless couples currently embark into their married life with minute problems. Many of these couples have been given advice. This advice may have included, Life will get stressful, and it always does. Commit to making time to do pleasurable things together. Also remember that as they become used to one another, they may, both enjoy occasional time alone. This is normal. As time passes the problems seem to diminish since the couple is learning to communicate and cope through their differences together. In the short story â€Å"The Other Two† the author Edith Wharton portrays a struggling newlywed couple, learning the communication and coping skills they need to make this relationship work. Alice Waythorn is adventuring into her third marriage. Both previous marriages were ended due to circumstances with her daughter Lily. Alice had been divorced for fairly some time when she married Mr. Waythorn. For two extremely different reasons. The two ex husbands are brought back into the life of not only Alice Waythorn, but also the new husband Mr. Waythorn. Alice’s first husband Mr. Haskett has a great desire to spend time with his ill daughter Lily. At first Alice is very hesitant that Mr. Haskett is going to be around, but soon she realizes that seeing him is not as awful as she thought that it might have been. Alice’s second husband Mr. Varick is introduced when Mr. Waythorn is pressed into professional interaction with him. Mr. Waythorn is very uneasy about this situation also. Although Mr. Waythorn new his wife’s history, he had not fully measured the ongoing ties that would unite all of the live’s as one. Wharton uses the elements of irony and characterization to display the conflict with the two ex-husbands, and the newly married couple. Wharton characterizes Alice as a round character. She is complex and has different sides to herself. She is portrayed as a woman, mother, wife and ex-wife. Wharton first c... Free Essays on Three Strikes Three Strike Law â€Å"Three strike and you’re out,† law generally prescribe that felons found guilty of a third serious crime to be locked up for 25 years to life. Three-strike law is California law that went into effect in March 1994. Some say that three-strike law is cruel and unusual because people can be put into jail for weird counts as long they have three felonies count. This had cause jail to be more over crowed since the war on drug era. The three strike law applied to any person convicted of a serious felony who previously has been convicted of a serious felony in this state or of any offense committed in another jurisdiction which includes all of the elements of any serious felony, shall receive, in addition to the sentence imposed by the court for the present offense, a five year enhancement for each such prior conviction on charges brought and tried separately (California Criminal Law). For example you have committed an arm robbery and was caught, that is one count and you have serve your time for that. Later on you did another offense. This time you did beat someone up with a deadly weapon, that’s another count goes toward you. Same as last time, you have done your time and ready to get out. On your last time out you committed another felony but this time it’s your third strike, since it’s your third strike judge just sentence you 25 to life. Even though your third offense time severs should only like 4 year but since it’s your third strike judge give you 25 year. Some argue that this law is unfair and cruel because they get charge for a strike that is not serious and none violent. For example, Mr. Andrade stole videos worth 153.54 dollars from two K-marts and wound up with a sentence of 50 years in prison with no possibility of parole. Usually, state law treats a petty theft (anything under 400 dollar) as a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail. But Mr. Andrade had been convict... Free Essays on Three Strikes â€Å"Miners, Musicians, and Salesgirls on Strike† The book Three Strikes written by Howard Zinn, Dana Frank, and Robin Kelley is a gateway for readers back to the difficulties Americans faced in the early twentieth century. More than that it deals with three specific strikes that took place in American history that most people are unaware of. Mainly miners, musicians, and salesgirls and how they fought the labor battle in these times. The authors capture the drama and grief of the labor clashes that pit corporations against union organizers, chain stores against low-wage sales clerks, and new technologies against displaced workers. Zinn tells the story of the bloody Ludlow Massacre during the Colorado coal miners' strike in 1913-14. Frank writes of the successful seven-day strike by Woolworth salesclerks and waitresses in Detroit, Michigan. And Kelley tells of the events by New York City Theater musicians to organize and unite as the introduction of "talking pictures" in the 1930s threatened their jobs. It also implies how people th en and now use unions to fight for equal human rights and touches on the ongoing rights for American workers as well as their future. I will present the reasons for these groups to strike, what their goals were, whether they were successful, and my personal opinion. First I will give a brief summary of the events that lead up to the strikes. Zinn tells the grim tale of the conflict in which at least 66 people died, including women and children who were burned to death in a pit beneath the coal miners' tent colony in southern Colorado. Although Woody Guthrie wrote a song about the tragedy, historians have mostly overlooked it still today. It should be recalled, because embedded in the events of the Colorado strike are issues still alive today. The class struggle between owners of large enterprises and their workers, the relationship between economic power and political power, the role of the press, and the...

Nissan Altima Electric Mode Hybrid Car Question

Nissan Altima Electric Mode Hybrid Car Question Hello Christine and Scott, I was very relieved to find your pages under About.com and find out I could email you. A few weeks ago we purchased a 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid and recently we noticed something that has us worried: the gasoline engine kicks on a few seconds after starting the car and while the car is still in PARK. It stays on EV MODE for only the first few seconds. This is not what we expected! We thought (from research) that the high voltage battery would have total control at startup, low speeds, and when not moving (at a stop sign /red light). In other words, NO GASOLINE being used at these times. EV MODE the whole time! We also observed: 1. After we shift to D, DRIVE, it happens again every time the vehicle comes to a full stop while at a stop sign or red light and were not moving for more than a few seconds. 2. The engine stays on for at least a minute and then shuts off, EV MODE resumes and all is quiet until I start moving and accelerating. 3. This behavior seems to happen when the engine is cold, in other words, when it hasnt been used for hours (e.g. first drive in the morning) and keeps happening for about 1/2 hour or so during that first drive. After 1/2 hour or so, this stops happening. In other words, the EV MODE sign comes on and STAYS ON the whole time the car is stopped (idle) at a stop sign/red traffic light or while the car is in PARK but still on. This is what we thought would ALWAYS happen! 4. There is one exception to what I just said in item 3 above. Today for the first time, while at a red light, and after the car went into EV MODE, the engine kicked on even though I had just driven the car for at least one hour at high speeds on highway. Is something wrong with my car? I noticed on your website that you own your own 2008 Nissan Hybrid. Please tell me whats happening with yours. At first my husband thought that this was due to the cold weather (under 40 degrees). But today, the temperature was at 48 degrees and it still didnt stay in EV MODE at startup. Please help. I am afraid this might be a defective car. Dora PS. Yesterday I drove the car to the dealer and the salesperson that sold us the car told us that he has seen it happen before and that it is normal. He even had me drive another hybrid (2007) that had not been sold yet and sure enough, seconds after the car started, the EV MODE signal disappeared and the engine started EVEN THOUGH I was still in park mode. I dont know whether to believe him or not. I also dont find any info on manual to either identify this behavior as normal or not normal. Hey Dora, Thanks for writing - good questions. We understand your concerns. No worries – it sounds as if your 2008 Altima Hybrid is working perfectly normally. Your husband is right - it does have a lot to do with the cold temperatures, and there actually are several conditions that will make the engine on your car run, regardless of your input. They are: State of battery charge Temperature of the engine and hybrid components Ambient air temperature When you start the car, it will usually start the engine after just a few seconds, even if its been only a few hours since youve last driven it. The computer does this automatically to warm the engine, hybrid battery and associated hybrid components. Under mild weather conditions, the engine should shut off after just a few minutes, but when it’s colder out, it could take substantially longer- it also depends upon the amount of charge left in the hybrid battery. If it’s on the low side, the engine may continue running to charge the battery up to full capacity. Also, and this is especially true in the winter (and if you are using the heater and/or the defroster a lot), the engine will run longer. The engine has to run to warm the cabin- and the higher you have the heat set (and the longer it’s on), the more the engine will run. If you have electrically heated seats, using those can help minimize the need to heat the cabin air as much, thus minimizing the engine ru nning time also. Even if you are stopped for a minute or more at a traffic light and the car is in EV mode, if any of these conditions come up (low battery, car needing heat), the engine will start. Again, all of this is normal. You’ll notice as we get into spring and early summer (and you won’t be needing the heat/defroster as much), everything will come up to operating temperature quicker and the Altima Hybrid will stay in EV mode much longer. In the summertime when it gets really hot and you’re using the AC a lot, you could notice that it runs the engine more. The AC compressor runs off electricity, so you may find the engine kicks on more often to keep the battery charged. Just bear in mind that this is a hybrid electric car and is reliant upon the gasoline engine to keep the entire system up and running. Even though you can drive in electric mode, it’s still more of an assistant than a main power source. Your Altima uses Toyota’s Synergy Drive System- in our opinion, it is the best one available. As you get used to this car, we bet you’ll not only be able to maximize the EV mode driving (and fuel economy), but come to love it as well. For your reference, here’s an article we wrote about hybrids and cold temps, and some info about obtaining the best mileage from your hybrid via hypermiling. (Yep, Scott hypermiled in the Altima Hybrid- look what it can do. Thanks for visiting our site and writing- please feel free to let us know if you have any more questions. Best regards, Christine Scott

LPN to RN Transitions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

LPN to RN Transitions - Essay Example Registered nursing is at the top of the nursing team. They are holders of a degree or a three-year diploma course. Registered nursing have expanded duties in the field but their main role is taking care of the patients and ensuring that patients are living in a safe and a healthy environment. Another role is taking orders from the head of the nursing staff and assessing the patient’s condition by coming up with a plan to take care of a patient. The care plan is determined by many factors including the age, sex, religion, dietary needs and the willingness of the family support. Registered nurse is also responsible for triage, a practice that determines which patients should receive treatment first based on the showing symptoms and major complaints. Nurses with Bachelor’s Degrees have greater opportunities in the careers as they are involved in research programs in the nursing field that helps in promoting effective health care in the community and in health facilities. As such, the registered nurses are also involved in nursing science, which entails scientific research in health care (Dreher, 2011). Leadership role in Registered nurses ensures improved health care in patients and helps nurses in acquiring essential skills and abilities required in the health system. For instance, carrying re-education projects to improve the effectiveness in nursing. LPN nurses also referred to as vocational nurses have about a year in the nursing school to attain a certificate in the field. LPN nurses can perform most RN duties but they assess duties as directed by the physician. LPN role ranges from giving medication to patients as directed by the physician, injections and immunizations, entering data in the computer system, taking medical history, checking crucial sign encompassing temperature and high blood pressure. They are also responsible in checking wound care, which include cleaning and bandaging an injury.

Operations management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Operations management - Assignment Example In addition, the London Ritz hotel through their annual service quality week awards the best employee mostly through customer’s votes. The organization does its best in terms of service delivery to the customers because they believe in culture of employee satisfaction who later sells the same to customers in building the organizational reputation. The Ritz hotel in London is popular around the world due to its remorseful as a tourist attraction center. It is featured amongst the top most tourism profitable organizations in the whole world, generating invisible returns to London and the United Kingdom as a whole. For sustainable economic development of this institution, the management of Ritz hotel has continuously done its best to improve the level of professionalism and quality management in its services by ensuring that the customers’ demands are met and the institution remains the most competitive in the service industry sector (Bamford and Forrester 2010). Moreover, The Ritz hotel does its best to ensure that all its employees and practitioners receives recognition and high level of benefits in terms of ethical conduct since any practices of the stakeholders may subject the business to lose the reputation it has built over a long period of time thus leading to a downfall in returns. THESIS: This report is developed to determine the operation management strategies that the Ritz Hotel in London has adopted to remain competitive in the market. At the Ritz hotel inventory and assets, management is considered as one of the most important areas that requires keen management personnel. This is because the hotel spends a lot of money to purchase food items, the utensils and sanitaries, which are the commonly used items. Therefore, the hotel has put in place enough measures that ensure that competitive assets management system

Causes and Effects of Tattoos Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Causes and Effects of Tattoos - Essay Example It is characterized to be Tahitian, tatau, meaning an indelible figure fixed upon the body especially by the insertion of pigment under the skin (Merriam Webster Dictionary 732). However, these signs which used to be mere adaptation and camouflaged have advanced into many different uses dependent upon the enthusiast or fanatic. Aficionados vary in attitude, age, lifestyle or standard of living and interest, much as are the designs, motifs, consequence and significance. Nonetheless, the acquisition of infectious diseases corollary to motivations and driving forces is blameworthy. Whether healthy or unhealthy, in fad or mainstream, an aesthetic or natural, religious or secular, figurative or literal tattoo has its doable side. It is a mechanism of driving in some colorant using sharp edge instrument down to the dermal layer of the body's first line of defence. The human skin as an organ protects the underlying parts from physical trauma, pathogen invasion, and water loss (Mader 730). Infringing through the homogeneous epidermal sub layers: 1-a) twenty to thirty tiers of keratinized squamous epithelial cells making up the cornified outermost level, the stratum corneum; and 1-b) basal cuboidal cells, highly mitotic cells producing replacement epidermal cells for sloughed keratinized portion; and the dermis, the inner stratum of : a) connective tissues consisting of collagen, reticular and elastic fibres, blood vessels, nerves, pigment cells, adipocytes and fibroblast; b) sebaceous and sweat glands; c) hair follicles; and d) the papillary layer (Ayque 42-43) wou ld naturally wind up to its malfunction. In the dermis too are small receptors for pressure, touch, temperature and pain (Mader 731). Immunity, the ability of the body to defend itself and as non-specific defences consist of barriers to entry, inflammatory reaction, natural killer cells and protective protein. Any minor injury resulting from broken skin would result to redness, swelling, and pain. This would mean destruction to the epidermis, the underlying connective tissues and mast cells (Mader 762). It is the creation of an avenue for microbial invasion. Although the human body has its natural flora of microorganisms called indigenous microflora (Burton and Paul Engelkirk 5), opportunistic pathogens may cause a dilemma. A case in point is the intrusion of Escherichia coli. It is a species of coliform bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae, normally present in the intestines and common in water, milk, and soil. E. coli is the most frequent cause of urinary tract infection and is serious gram-negative pathogen in wounds. E. coli septicemia may rapidly result in shock and death through the action of an endotoxin released from the bacteria (Mosby's Pocket Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health 458). It may gain access into the bloodstream passing through lesion causing septicemia (Burton and Paul Engelkirk 488). It is typified by fever, chill, hypotension, pain, headache, nausea, or diarrhea (Mosby's Pocket Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health 1155-1156). Other opportunistic pathogens as human indigenous microflora are Staphylococcus aureus and Enteroccocus spp (Burton and Engelkirk 260). Staphylococcal infection of the skin includes carbuncles, folliculitis, furuncles, and hindradenitis supurativa. Bacteremia, the presence of bacteria in the blood is common and may result in

Writer's choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 20

Writer's choice - Essay Example Indeed, I will quote two scholarly readings from the 1960s to prove this assertion. The students for a democratic society released a statement in 1962 that defined a declaration of SDS principles (University of Michigan, 1962). Ideally, SDS was a radical student organization that derived fundamental influence in 1968. Indeed, the movement drew many students in protesting against Vietnam War. The growing distribution of the Port Huron statement translated to a strong student movement that influenced global democracy in the1968 (University of Michigan, 1962). In 1968, SDS led to students’ demonstrations that involved more than 150 demonstrators who demanded multicultural curriculum and financial support for ethnic studies. The Students for a Democratic Society launched a major antiwar demonstration at Columbia University in April 1968 (Hayden, 1968). The demonstrators occupied various buildings and kidnaped three school officials. It took the intervention of more than 1,000 police officers to clear the growing number of student demonstrators who were in excess of 5,000 students (Hayden, 1968). SDS governing council called for "two, three, many Columbians† in 1968. The call encouraged the demonstrators to heighten the protests with an aim of forcing the federal government to change or send American troops to take over American universities (Hayden, 1968). Indeed, they treated the Columbia strike as a case model for student protests in all universities in 1968 since it defined a new tactical movement. Indeed, the student protests contradicted black protests since they opposed fundamental institutions (Hayden, 1968). Initially, students were responding to the black movement but in 1968, they focused on â€Å"Student Power." The demonstrators adopted an internationalist and revolutionary approach in opposing imperialism in American universities (Hayden,

Young People in American Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Young People in American Society - Essay Example According to the essay in 1990, students’ (adolescents) violent attitude and violence in schools got dedicated attention from the society. The move was based upon ensuring peaceful atmosphere in schools and colleges and to invest educational resources on productive and learning targets rather than disciplining young students. But evil behind this oppression remained strong and untouched so far and this evil is called ‘adultism’. The adultism is discriminatory ‘ism’ for young members of the society. This particular ‘ism’ consists of closest family members, teachers and elders etc. The after effects of this oppression are very dangerous and endless for example adults may force their dependants to steal, beg, fight, break laws, deal with drugs and adopt prostitution. In addition to illegitimate and immoral activities differential oppression can be inflict with apparently positive and ethical dogmas based upon religious beliefs, cultural trad itions and   regional   limits.From this paper it is clear that governments are allegedly great contributors of differential theory via discriminatory legal system against young people. The lack of protective laws for young people should be considered as oppressive behavior against them.  Our current economic systems are also dominated by certain group which is largely made up of adults. Thus it violates young people’s desires to take part in competition with adults in business and offices.... Political Ageism Governments are allegedly great contributors of differential theory via discriminatory legal system against young people. The lack of protective laws for young people should be considered as oppressive behavior against them. Economic Ageism Our current economic systems are also dominated by certain group which is largely made up of adults. Thus it violates young people's desires to take part in competition with adults in business and offices. Cultural Ageism Even though we are living in more civilized societies, but discrimination on the basis of sex, color, race, religion, ethnicity and age is universally everywhere. Children are among top victims in cultural divisions, they are not even provided with simple choices such as career, education, marriage and employment. Interpersonal Ageism Young people are oppressed interpersonally not only by parents, guardians but also by friends and siblings and sometimes by neighbors and teachers as well. Kind of oppressions by these groups is of discouraging, disrespecting and unrecognized nature. The reaction by the young people in response to oppressions is of severe violence oriented and it can be witnessed everywhere. In United Sates of America this oppression has resulted into extreme youth reactions in form of high rising school crimes, rage, and unlawful activities among students. The introduction of overly restricted rules and regulations is another contributor in juvenile offenses in United Sates, consequently pushing youngsters towards more depression and ultimately societal epidemic. A distinctive element of differential oppression is that the already victimized people (at the time of their youth) are

Definition of Human Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Definition of Human Rights - Essay Example It is clear from the discussion that the development of human rights is supported by many institutions but the major source of conception is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The treaties and laws instituted under this statute are later adopted by several international organizations. The human rights philosophy has answers to the queries regarding the creation, concept, nature, universal approach, justification and legality of each and every human right. Human rights are considered to be universally applicable to people from all societies, to provide legal and independent status to them. However, this concept it somehow produces continuous doubts in the mind of critics and, thus, a philosophical difference occurs at many stages. A wide range of literature, interpreting and illustrating the philosophy of human rights, has been published. Thus, if people analyze and understand the concept in its right perspective, such doubts can be eliminated. In 1948, the Universal Declarati on of Human Rights has proposed a list of more than twenty-four specific rights that every member nation has to accept to guarantee protection to its citizens (Morsink 12). The division of the formulated human rights also has been done in six different categories. The first category is right to security, which gives protection to citizens from criminal activities like annihilation, bloodshed, violence, victimization, and rape. The second category includes the rights that guarantee complete safety from atrocities of the legal system like punishment without trial, unfair or secret trials and harsh punishments. The third category includes liberty rights that provide protection and liberty of belief, speech, right to assemble and participate in political or social movements.  

Young People in American Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Young People in American Society - Essay Example According to the essay in 1990, students’ (adolescents) violent attitude and violence in schools got dedicated attention from the society. The move was based upon ensuring peaceful atmosphere in schools and colleges and to invest educational resources on productive and learning targets rather than disciplining young students. But evil behind this oppression remained strong and untouched so far and this evil is called ‘adultism’. The adultism is discriminatory ‘ism’ for young members of the society. This particular ‘ism’ consists of closest family members, teachers and elders etc. The after effects of this oppression are very dangerous and endless for example adults may force their dependants to steal, beg, fight, break laws, deal with drugs and adopt prostitution. In addition to illegitimate and immoral activities differential oppression can be inflict with apparently positive and ethical dogmas based upon religious beliefs, cultural trad itions and   regional   limits.From this paper it is clear that governments are allegedly great contributors of differential theory via discriminatory legal system against young people. The lack of protective laws for young people should be considered as oppressive behavior against them.  Our current economic systems are also dominated by certain group which is largely made up of adults. Thus it violates young people’s desires to take part in competition with adults in business and offices.... Political Ageism Governments are allegedly great contributors of differential theory via discriminatory legal system against young people. The lack of protective laws for young people should be considered as oppressive behavior against them. Economic Ageism Our current economic systems are also dominated by certain group which is largely made up of adults. Thus it violates young people's desires to take part in competition with adults in business and offices. Cultural Ageism Even though we are living in more civilized societies, but discrimination on the basis of sex, color, race, religion, ethnicity and age is universally everywhere. Children are among top victims in cultural divisions, they are not even provided with simple choices such as career, education, marriage and employment. Interpersonal Ageism Young people are oppressed interpersonally not only by parents, guardians but also by friends and siblings and sometimes by neighbors and teachers as well. Kind of oppressions by these groups is of discouraging, disrespecting and unrecognized nature. The reaction by the young people in response to oppressions is of severe violence oriented and it can be witnessed everywhere. In United Sates of America this oppression has resulted into extreme youth reactions in form of high rising school crimes, rage, and unlawful activities among students. The introduction of overly restricted rules and regulations is another contributor in juvenile offenses in United Sates, consequently pushing youngsters towards more depression and ultimately societal epidemic. A distinctive element of differential oppression is that the already victimized people (at the time of their youth) are

Ethics Worksheet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics Worksheet - Essay Example The wife is, obviously, lying for her husband and trying to protect him. Socially, she has not done any wrong in doing so, and since the police have not been able to convict the husband, they are bound by law and cannot carry out further investigation without due cause. The other issue at hand is the belief of the police officers that the husband was driving while intoxicated. They checked the hood of the car, which was warm, suggesting that it had been very recently used. They also observed the husband drop the car keys and put them in his pocket while he was walking up to the front door. After carrying out a check, they retrieved a set of car keys from his front pocket, but the husband denied driving and said he was out walking. The wife maintained she had not driven either. However, it was obvious that the husband was lying. The husband failed to pass the intoxication tests satisfactorily, and it was established that he was, indeed, intoxicated; his alcohol was on the scale of 0.2 0 on his breath. It is socially unethical, and legally unlawful, to drive intoxicated. However, since the officers did not observe him driving themselves, they are unable to take any action. Q3: 3A: Claimant 1: The husband. He is the person who would be convicted of two crimes, domestic violence, and intoxicated driving, if the crimes were to be proven. Therefore, he would prefer that the police do not find sufficient evidence to convict him. To that end, he has got his wife to lie for him as well. From the perspective of the moral agent, the obligation of justice is owed to the husband. All the preliminary evidence points towards him being guilty. He is on socially and legally unethical grounds, and to make it worse, he is lying about it. He should be dealt with justice, and convicted. 3B: Claimant 2: The wife. She has a minor role to play in the case. She was the victim of domestic violence, but now she denies it, and there are no visible signs of violence about her to convict the husband for that. She is also lying for her husband. For the sale of her husband, she would prefer the authorities not to find him guilty, and she would prefer the police not to find sufficient evidence to convict him. That is the reason for her lying. The obligation owed towards her is beneficence, and she should be dealt with it. If indeed she is the victim of violence, then she should be taken into protective custody and her problem solved. She should also be given the confidence that she can still live her life with her husband convicted, so that there is no need for her to lie to protect him. 3C: Claimant 3: The police officers. They have strong belief of the husband being guilty based on their observations, and they would prefer for the husband to be convicted of the crimes, because they believe he is lying about them. The experience of the older police officer also point towards this verdict. However, since they do not have sufficient proof, such as visible signs of domestic violence and the actual observation of the husband driving while intoxicated, they should deal him with the moral obligation of non-injury, since they can protect bringing unnecessary harm to the couple. Q4: Alternative 1: The police do not convict, based on insufficient evidence. Best case scenario, the husband does not repeat the mistake again. Worst case scenario,

Treatment of Native Americans Essay Example for Free

Treatment of Native Americans Essay From the very beginning of American history, settlers have poorly treated the Native Americans. As some people know, â€Å"poorly† is an understatement. The treatment of the indigenous people was horrible during the 1800s from being forced to move west, having laws made against them by the government, and mass murder, even though that isn’t what our history books like to tell us today. In 1804, fur trading was established with the Oglala and became a big part of their life. Then, the Oglala and Lakota tribes decided to expand their control and influences west toward the Big Horn mountains. Then, on March 26, the United States government forced the Native Americans to move west past the Mississippi River. This meant that they would have to leave everything they had to move to a reservation where they would have to start all over again. They only had a certain amount of time to move cooperatively but when that time was up, they would be moved forcefully. If the Native Americans did not agree to move, then they were killed. Many laws and acts were passed against the native American people. In 1833, a law was made that no Native American to reside in the state of Florida, so, yet again, the indigenous people of our country were forced to drop everything thing they had to go live in a reservation in the west to start all over again. Also, in 1834, the Indian Intercourse Act was passed. The Indian Intercourse Act said that Congress created Indian Territory in the west that included the land area in all of present-day Kansas, most of Oklahoma, and parts of what later became Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming. The area was set aside for Indians who would be removed from their ancestral lands which, in turn, would be settled by non-Indians. The area steadily decreased in size until the 1870s when Indian Territory had been reduced to what is now Oklahoma, excluding the panhandle. Along with all of the laws and forced movement of Native Americans, there were also many battles that killed a lot of the indigenous people. In 1835 to 1842 was the Seminole War, the second and most terrible of three wars between the US government and the Seminole people was also one of the longest and most expensive wars in which the US army was ever engaged. Thousands of troops were sent, 1,500 men died, and between 40-60 million dollars were spent to force most of the Seminole to move to Indian Territory more than the entire US governments budget for Indian Removal. Another fight between settlers and Native Americans was in 1855. The Ash Hollow massacre was a pretty dumb battle when you think about it. Colonel William Harney uses 1,300 soldiers to massacre an entire Brulà © village in retribution for the killing of 30 soldiers, who were killed in retribution for the killing of the Brulà © chief, Conquering Bear, in a dispute over a cow. Settlers used any excuse they could think of to humiliate and kill as many Native Americans as they could. In conclusion, the treatment of Native Americans in our country was brutal. We are all told that a human is a human and everyone is equal. Well, clearly, people in the 1800s did not think so. They attacked anyone that was different in order to get ahead, including our indigenous people.

Limited Liability Corporations: Advantages and Disadvantages

Limited Liability Corporations: Advantages and Disadvantages INTRODUCTION Definition of a limited liability corporation (LLC) This paper will first commence by giving the exact meaning of a limited liability corporation. A limited liability corporation (LLC) is the usual incorrect name used instead of a limited liability company. Therefore the limited liability company and the limited liability company both refer to the same thing. Following the clarification made above it is therefore correct to say that a limited liability company (corporation) is a legally known business institution that gives a limited type of liability to its members (owners). It must be remembered that the limited liability corporation as it is known is not a corporation but is also a kind of association that is unincorporated. The only existing feature that is similar between a limited liability corporation (company) and a corporation is that both have or give their owners limited liabilities. The LLC bears the flexibility advantage over the normal corporation. In order to further simplify the definition of an LLC; it is a business entity that has both the qualities of a partnership type of business and a corporation (Mancuso, 2007). The Internal revenue service authority has realized that the LLC are very popular due to their flexibility. The owners of these LLCs are also known as members and these members could range from individual to corporations, foreign institutions and even other LLCs.the American LLCs have an unlimited number of maximum members. Its also true as regulated by the IRS that certain business institutions cannot be LLCs these institutions include:- Banks Insurance companies Nonprofit organizations History of limited liability corporations (LLC) This type of business has been in existence for a while now and it has been adopted in many parts of the world, this type of business is also protected and bound by law in the many different countries. There operations might be slightly different but the main principles that govern their running remain the same (Shenkman, Weiner Taback, 2003). The different history stories will give a clear a picture of how the LLCs operate in the different countries and their governing principles. This paper will look at the history of LLCs in the United States of America. History of LLCs in the United States of America The LLCs in the United States were as a result of inspirations from a German business organization, the business organization is known as the GmbH.The American LLCs also got their inspirations from the business model of many Latin American countries also known as the Lamitadas (Wood, 2000). The history of the LLCs in America is quiet interesting with the LLCs making their first appearance in the year 1977 in a state called the Wyoming. The Wyoming state had come up with a Limited liability Company act for an oil company, three years later there was a ruling by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and a private letter was issued to the LLC Company that was formed under the Wyoming LLC act. The letter had stated that the IRS would treat the LLC under the Wyoming LLC act as a partnership for the purposes of Federal Tax (Humphreys, 1998). The IRS would later propose legislations that would deny all business enterprises (that had owners whose liabilities were limited) the partnership classification, further complicating matters for the LLCs. Many American states introduced the LLC act in the year 1988 due to the uncertainties that were arising due to the tax issue that were facing the LLCs. This is because the IRS in that year did pass a revenue ruling that finally accepted the Wyoming type of LLC companies formed under the Wyoming LLC act as partnerships for tax related purposes. Every state had installed an LLC act by the year 1996 and in that same year a body called the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws worked to adopt the Uniform Limited Liability Company act. This act was then revised in the year 2006. Facts about taxation of LLCS There are a few facts about the Taxation of LLCs that must be noted, these facts include the regulation and guide lines that have been issued by the IRS to give direction on the system of taxation for the LLC owners. The guidelines also highlight the type of tax returns to be filed and how to file the tax returns. The following are some of the guidelines given by the IRS For single owned LLCs For the purposes of filing a federal tax return, it is a common practice by the IRS to ignore the fact that the business entity is an LLC. This step is only meant for the taxation process and the business entity is still legally recognized as an LLC. There are two categories of reporting the income and expenses. The first category is for those LLCs that are owned by individuals and the IRS expects the LLCs income and expense to be reported on the form 1040, schedule C, E or F. In situations where the only member of the LLC is a corporation then the LLCs income and expenses must be reported on the corporations return which is form 1120 or 1120S (www.irs.gov) Taxation for LLCs with multiple owners These types of LLCs usually file a partnership return which is done in the form 1065 (www.irs.gov) Employment taxes All LLCs must meet their employment tax requirements as stipulated by the IRS, it is therefore a fact that all the LLC employees are subject to withholding tax. The LLCs must also file form W-2 and form 1099 upon request. The issue of self employment is also captured by the IRS and it is a requirement that the LLCs must file the schedules C or F where the owners are subject to self employment taxes on their earnings. In situations where the LLCs file for the partnership returns then the members must pay taxes on their share of partnership earnings (www.irs.gov) There is a special rule that applies in a situation where the LLC has operating losses, and this rule also limits the amount of deductions because of the owners Limited liabilities for the LLC debts. Advantages of an LLC Tax flexibility The LLCs usually enjoy a degree or room to choose in what category to be taxed i.e. the LLCs can either choose to be taxed as a sole proprietor, corporation or even as partnerships. The owners liabilities are limited Depending on the legislation of a given country the owners usually enjoy a degree of protection against Liability for the debts of the LLC, this would depend on the laws that govern the LLC in that particular country. Reduced Administrative Work The LLCs usually enjoy a much more reduced level of paper work and also administrative works compared to the corporations meaning that they would incur less costs by reducing their administrative works. No double taxation The LLCs are normally taxed once unless they choose otherwise for example if they decide to be taxed as the(C) corporations No taxation at LLC level According to the tax category in which the LLCs are placed they are usually only taxed from the individual level, this means that the owners of the LLCS are the ones who are taxed but the LLCS are not taxed as the company. Separate entity Some laws to provide or state that the LLCs are different entities from the individuals, hence if an individual or owner is affected in any way by the law then this does not affect the company or if the company is involved in a legal suit then this does not affect the owners of the company. According to Shenkman, Weiner and Taback (2003), the other advantage of the LLCs is that the owners can usually retain the gains of the company as capital gains or even better as income that is foreign sourced meaning that the LLC is able to maintain the character of its income this only happens in cases where the LLC has chosen not to be taxed as a corporation. Easy setting up of the LLC It is quiet possible to set up the LLC in some states of America because it only requires one person to be involved (physically). Assigning of membership interests When it comes to the LLCs it is possible to assign the membership interests; the economic advantage brought about by the interests can be separated and even assigned, this gives the assignee the benefits that result from distribution. These listed advantages that are enjoyed by the owners are most appreciated and the owners are keen to work within the confines of the Law. The owners have particularly been keen on the tax flexibility of the LLCs as stipulated by most laws, thus the owners can enjoy a far much reduced burden of taxes that are levied thus they enjoy significant profit margins (www.irs.gov). The fact that most laws recognize the LLCs as separate entities it is easy for the owners not to be victimized incase of a Legal tussle between the company and any other entity. With proper and strategic utilization of the advantages the owners can be able to maximize their business potential and have a competitive advantage in the business market. The disadvantages of LLCs Lack of definite title of authority One of the major challenges facing the LLC is the fact that the LLC as a business entity lacks a definite title of the designated authority that can enter into an agreement or a contract on the behalf of the LLC for example the title used by LLC include President, Chief executive officer, partner and managing director. Threat of being treated as a disregarded entity Since the LLCs are a new a concept and the many states apparently do not really recognize the LLCs but instead view them as sole proprietorship incases where it is owned by an individual or as partnership incases where it is run by a group. This means that the LLCs lose the advantage and instead their liabilities become unlimited. The third disadvantage is that in a situation where the LLC is outside the American jurisdiction then there is a greater possibility for the LLC to be treated as a corporate therefore stripping it of the advantages it enjoys as the LLC. The fact that the LLCs structures not properly understood by many is a clear indicator that its reception is also limited among the greater public. The LLC also does not have a board of Directors. In some situations where the LLCs are just starting the members are usually required by creditors to personally guarantee the loans on the behalf of the company, this directly implies that the members or owners become directly liable for the debts incurred by the company. Difficulty in raising capital This may occur due to the fact that the general operating structure of the LLCs is not understood well by the investors; hence they are more relaxed to invest their money simply because they do not have the hopes of making profits through the Initial public offer (Mancuso, 2007). There is also a possibility of the owners of the LLC getting into trouble for not having an operating agreement; this is possible mainly due to the fact that there is no legal requiring for the members to have one. How the disadvantages affect the company Some of the above disadvantages greatly affect the company, starting by the increased inability to raise capital; when this occurs or when a company is unable to attract the required number if investors to help it raise capital the operation costs of the company become difficult to meet, secondly without the optimum amount of capital the company becomes unable to meet optimally its set out objectives and it then even becomes difficult for this particular company to even expand. The lack of a definite title authority to enter into agreement might make the potential business partners to enter into any binding business agreement for fear of losing out by either entering into an agreement with a company representative who does not have the authority to legally enter into a binding agreement, meaning the company might lose out on many business opportunities (Humphreys, 1998). The issue of jurisdiction and taxation issues might be unfair to the company and in turn hurt the company profits in the long run, this is mainly because of the fact that the US LLCs might be considered as corporate for tax purposes which should not be the case thus they will lose more revenue through the taxes levied on them. Another thing that could really hurt the company is the fact that some creditors demanding that the owners guarantee loans that have been taken for the LLC,this not only strips the owners of their right to limited liabilities but also limits the capacity or the amount of credit that can be taken for the LLC for one simple reason and that is the fact that the individuals might have a limited capacity to guarantee the loans compared to if the LLC took the loan as separate entity (Humphreys, 1998). The fact that the LLCs are not really recognized in many states and that incase of an individual the LLC is only recognized as a sole proprietorship does actually limit its extent of operations and also exposes it to liabilities that face the sole proprietorship as a business entity. Operational tax issues At the state level The operational tax issues might not have guidance at the state level simply because different states do have there different laws and guidelines event though the laws are harmonized there are those states that would differently treat the issue of operational tax. Self Employment There are two aspects to this operation tax. The first aspect is the LLCs category of filing namely C and F This mostly requires that the members file their self employment taxes on their earning. The filing of partnership returns Here there is a general requirement that the owners must pay tax from their share of partnership earnings. Passive activity This usually limits the owners or members on the amount of loss that they are able to deduct References Cody, T., Hopkins, D.A., Perlman, L.A. (2007). Guide to Limited Liability Companies. (9th ed.). Boston: CCH. Humphreys, T.A. (1998). Limited liability companies. Sydney: Law Journal Press. Mancuso, A. (2007). Form Your Own Limited Liability Company. (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Nolo. Mancuso, A. (2007). Your Limited Liability Company: An Operating Manual. (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Nolo. Shenkman, M.M., Weiner, S., Taback, I. (2003). Starting a Limited Liability Company. (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley and Sons. â€Å"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Information Center.† Retrieved August 24, 2009 from http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204335,00.html?portlet=6 Wood, R.W. (2000). Limited liability companies: formation, operation, and conversion. (2nd ed.). Atlanta: Aspen Publishers Online.

The Role of Chorus in Euripides Medea Essay -- Euripides Medea Essays

The Role of Chorus in Medea In section 18 of the Poetics Aristotle criticizes Euripides for not allowing "the chorus to be one of the actors and to be a part of the whole and to share in the dramatic action, . . . as in Sophocles." Aristotle may be thinking of the embolima of Euripides' later plays (satirized also by Aristophanes), but he is certainly wrong about the Medea. Its choral odes are not only all intimately related to the action but are also essential for the meaning of the play, particularly because here, as elsewhere (e.g. Hecuba), Euripides forces us reevaluate his main protagonist in midstream and uses the chorus (in part) to indicate that change. In her first speech Medea wins over the chorus by a plea to solidarity in the face of women's victimization by a male-dominated society, and this response by the chorus is an essential step in the poet's paradoxical task of winning sympathy and understanding for a mother who kills her children. But as that first speech itself indicates, Medea both is and is not a typical (Greek) woman: she is a foreig...

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Essay

Frederick Douglass was born as Frederick Augustus Bailey, a slave in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, Maryland. His mother Harriet Bailey was a slave and Frederick also became a slave since law required children to follow status of their mothers. He was separated from his mother at an early age and was raised with a group of slave children. Driven by thirst for knowledge and learning, he bought his first book, â€Å"The Columbian Orator† at the age of thirteen. The book made him understand the miseries of enslaved people and to realize the necessity of universal freedom. This knowledge sowed a seed of revolt in Douglass that ultimately made him escape the slave camp in 1938. After his arrival in New York he changed his name to Frederick Douglass and started working for abolitionist movement. After joining American Anti-Slavery Society, he came to be known as a famous orator, journalist, and slave leader of the 19th century. His autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was published in 1845, followed by My Bondage and My Freedom in 1855 and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass in 1881 respectively. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he has provided a deep insight into a slave’s life working on the Southern plantations. At the age of eight, he was sent to the custody of Hugh and Sophia Auld at their farm house. The slaves were by law prohibited to get education and knowledge and those guilty of violation were subject to heavy fines, whipping or imprisonment. Blacks and slave did not have access to purchase books or even Bible. The plantation owners considered educated slaves as a threat to their authority and thus barred them of the privilege. Douglass faced same resistance from his master at his early age when his master’s wife tried to teach him Bible and was stopped by her husband. Literacy therefore, became of primary importance for Douglass since he thought it to be the only means to freedom and emancipation. In the narrative he states, â€Å"I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. †¦ he must be made to feel that slavery is right; and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man† (99). Douglass was highly critical of the slaveholders religion as that added even more to their cruelty towards the colored labor on their plantations. He describes the conversion of his master, Captain Auld, in August, 1832 of which he thought to bring a positive change in his behavior towards slaves. Against his hopes, â€Å"It neither made him to be humane to his slaves, nor to emancipate them. . . . it made him more cruel and hateful . . . a much worse man after his conversion . . . he found religious sanction and support for his slaveholding cruelty† (57). Regarding cruelty of religious Southerners, Douglass opines, â€Å"For of all slaveholders with whom I have ever met, religious slaveholders are the worst† (80). At the Southern plantation, the conduct of masters towards slaves was bad beyond imagination. They were deprived of basic and fundamental rights such as education and denied freedom on least degree. The slave-owners presumed that if slaves get education they would be of no use for their masters. The slaves were supposed to be yes-men to their masters and they did not require those who argued or questioned their authority. Any effort or attempt for freedom was crushed with an iron hand. Physical and intellectual oppression became interconnected during that period. Those who tried to seek mental freedom by acquiring knowledge were more exposed to physical penalties than others. The penalties were horrible including cutting of fingers and sometimes of hands, whipping and finally killing them. In such circumstances, Douglass developed a strong urge for emancipation supplemented further by the fair treatment he received from William Freeland as he craved to be his own master. Douglass witnessed a wide difference in slave’s living conditions after he arrived in Baltimore. Life for slaves, he observed, in the northern cities was far easier than those at Southern plantations. He writes, â€Å"A city slave is almost a freeman, compared with a slave on the plantation. He is much better fed and clothed, and enjoys privileges altogether unknown to the slave on the plantation (38). Like many other revolutionary slaves, Douglass planned to escape his master’s brutalities and seek freedom body and mind. He was dissatisfied with almost everything in his slave life. Above all, he was discontented with the way slaves were robbed of their monetary gains. He started planning to flee in 1835 but stayed back due to a number of reservations. Primarily he was concerned with his fellow slaves and wanted them to accompany him in the attempt for independence. He convinced each of them personally and took days to chalk out a feasible escape plan. The multiple fears of being caught and return to slavery were horrifying and difficulties numerous. Finally, a group of six bound for the Chesapeake Bay was constituted to flee on Saturday night. Douglass even managed to prepare fake undertakings on behalf of their masters for all six. As the last moment, however, the mission failed and all of them were held due to the betrayal of one of the fellow slave. Finally when Douglass succeeded to escape towards North in 1838, he found the region totally different from what he presumed. While living in abysmal depths of slavery at the Southern plantation, he thought of the Northern slaveholders having just a few comforts of life or rather they didn’t own any slaves. In his simplicity, he thought the slaves a source of wealth and extravagant life that was supposedly inexistent in the North. He writes, â€Å". . . upon coming to the north, I expected to meet with a rough, hard-handed, and uncultivated population, living in the most Spartan-like simplicity, knowing nothing of the ease, luxury, pomp, and grandeur of southern slaveholders† (111). In contrast, he found himself â€Å"surrounded with the strongest proofs of wealth† (111). The blooming northern industry engaged numerous workers living in far better conditions (both physically and economically) than the pathetic southern slaves. In short, he found a new world, a world of hope where future lies. Works Cited Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library. Accessed August 20, 2008 http://etext. virginia. edu/toc/modeng/public/DouNarr. html

5 Step Value-Chain Analysis for Customers’ Strategic Needs

Value-chain analysis is used for many purposes, but the process of examining customers’ value chains is relatively new. In our five-step process, Step 1 explains how internal and external value chains can be used separately and in related ways. Step 2 shows how to construct a customer’s value chain. Step 3 shows how to identify the customer’s business strategy by examining this value chain and using other kinds of information. Step 4 explains how to use additional information and intelligence to leverage that understanding into strategic needs and priorities. Finally, Step 5 explains how a firm’s marketing function can best use this method of value-chain analysis as a new strategic capability. Step 1: An overview of value-chain analysis Value chains may be defined in two ways: (1) within a company they describe the various value-added stages from purchasing materials to distributing, selling, and servicing the final product (Porter’s 1985 concept),[3] and (2) they also delineate the value-added stages from raw material to end-user as a product is manufactured and distributed, with each stage representing an industry. 4] For convenience, we will refer to these two definitions as ‘‘internal’’ and ‘‘external’’ value chains, respectively. The internal value chain is a key concept in the field of strategic management that has been thoroughly explored. In contrast, the external value chain has not been studied as extensively. The external value chain consists of the important ups tream/supply and downstream/distribution processes. However, even though these processes occur outside the corporation, the strategic opportunities they reveal and areas of risk they highlight warrant careful study. Consider: Outsourcing – involves transferring certain primary or support functions in the internal value chain to the external value chain. B Vertical integration – involves taking control of one or more additional stages of the external value chain and making them internal. B Horizontal expansion – involves new product lines or expanded channels of distribution, including geographic expansion. B Strategic alliances with suppliers – involves more closely managing external suppliers as if they were part of the company’s internal value chain, but without actually owning them (for example, Toyota’s Kaizen ystem, wherein key suppliers are located very near a factory and receive all kinds of help and training from Toyota to ensure smooth and efficient production). One of the most complex value chains today can be found in the oil industry. This chain has nearly 30 significant elements, starting with the search for oil (at the upstream end) and including fie ld production, transportation (pipelines and supertankers), refining and processing and, lastly, consumer gas stations (at the ‘‘downstream’’ end). Internally, the oil-industry value chain processes a broad range of products, including such major categories as oil/lubricants, gasoline, petrochemicals (plastics), fertilizers/pesticides, natural gas, power generation/electricity, and convenience stores. The firms that are considered major integrated oil companies participate in a significant number – sometimes all – of these external (upstream and downstream) and internal value-chain elements. In a 2006 issue of Strategy & Leadership, authors Wayne McPhee and David Wheeler suggested that strategists should use Porter’s concept to consider value-chain operations beyond the boundaries of the firm. Since its introduction, value-chain analysis has proven immensely valuable in three principal ways – cost analysis and reduction, differentiation, and product development – but the standard practice was for firms to analyze only their own value chain. Step 2: How to construct a customer’s value chain First, recognize that you need to construct both internal and external value chains for a particular customer. The internal value chain follows Porter’s original concept, which includes value-added steps from purchasing to distribution as well as support functions such as R&D and human resources. It’s tempting to let this generic diagram serve as the customer’s value chain, but it must be tailored to the particular customer. To produce a useful value-chain analysis, members of your engineering or sales team should ask the customer how its business processes add value and whether any have unique best-practice features. To perform the external value-chain analysis, team members should ask the customer a set of getting-to-know-you questions. What does your supply chain (the upstream value chain) look like? What role does your company play in it? How do your products reach their customers (the downstream value chain)? Your final diagram models only this single customer’s value chain and it represents virtually everything the customer does to add significant value. If your relationship with the customer permits a candid exchange of information, have the customer validate the value chain you have created. As an example of how the diagnostic process works, consider how a supplier to Wal-Mart might learn to enhance its value. [6] The objective of creating both internal and external value chains is to understand Wal-Mart well enough to be able to discern its implicit and explicit strategic concerns. Exhibits 3 and 4 depict preliminary pictures of Wal-Mart’s internal and external value chains. Getting to this initial stage is relatively easy – adding more detail, nuance, and understanding takes more time, involves interviewingWal-Mart executives, and more closely observing how the firm operates. Step 3: Inferring the customer’s business strategy Even long-time suppliers have trouble distinguishing critical customer activities from sometimes urgent but ultimately nonstrategic ones. Understanding your customer’s business strategy is therefore crucial. Value-chain analysis helps a supplier distinguish between the activities of the customer’s firm that directly support its competitive strategies – for its products and for enhancing key capabilities – and ordinary operations. For example, routine operations like billing customers or servicing the fleet of company vehicles must be done, and done well. But there is little if any competitive advantage to be gained from the superior execution of such activities. Nor are they likely to provide an opportunity for gaining new sources of revenue and profit. It is the customers’ strategic activities and projects that offer the potential for future profits and command the attention of your customers’ senior management. So by supporting strategic activities, B2B service providers stand to gain the high-margin work they hunger after, the work that produces the highest returns, and the work that should be their constant priority. The Fluor case Fluor Corporation is a global engineering and construction company providing major capital facilities for a vast range of industrial clients in many vertical markets. With as many as 2,000 projects under construction employing 40,000 workers in more than 50 countries at any time, Fluor operates in all geographic regions of the globe and in all parts of its customers’ supply chains, delivering engineering and construction management services – in sum, a full range of B2B services. The questions of where Fluor should concentrate its resources to meet its customers’ most urgent needs can become enormously complex. To rationalize this process, Fluor must determine which customer projects – the ones that address its customers’ greatest strategic needs and, hence, have potentially the greatest margins – have the highest value. For many years, Fluor has known the critical importance of understanding every one of its B2B customers’ businesses. But that was not enough. The questions for Fluor’s marketing team became, ‘‘How can we learn each customer’s business strategy and strategic needs? ’ Some of the many different sources of information about a customer’s strategy are: B Marketing communications including printed materials (brochures and advertisements), media communications (press releases) and marketing websites reveal new product directions and customer targeting; these provide insights into market positioning and marketing strategy. B Financial-community reports (annual reports, SEC filings, as well as meetings with financial analysts) shed light on internal strategic initiatives in addition to market-positioning moves. Annual reports form the basis of this Fluor case study, but 10Ks and analysts’ reports could prove equally useful. B The academic literature is replete with surgical dissections of strategically successful companies and industries. Business-school cases abound featuring companies like Apple and industries like automobiles. Wal-Mart, for one, has been the focus of many Harvard Business School cases. [8] B Many companies make their published strategic plans available to interested parties. For example, British Petroleum has published its strategy on its corporate website since 2000. B Consultants that specialize in competitive intelligence. B Face-to-face conversations with your customers. Step 4: Discovering the customer’s strategic needs Strategic activities are the activities a firm must implement in order to realize its strategy or strategies. Every strategy has such a set of activities. Insofar as a company finds doing any of these activities difficult, potential suppliers have been trained to see these as ‘‘needs. ’’ But, suppliers need to differentiate between operations that are difficult and ones that are strategic. For example, an innovation strategy requires a system for generating ideas and picking the best ones, cost estimating, engineering, R&D, prototype construction and testing, and market-acceptance testing. The pharmaceutical industry relies on a great many B2B service providers to support its new-drug-development programs in the drug-formulation (R&D) stage and also B2B service providers that develop new systems to expedite regulatory approval. Value-chain analysis identifies both as key strategic functions. Step 5: Making value-chain analysis a strategic capability of the marketing department Engineering/construction companies have developed at least two approaches to break the forces of commoditization in their industry: 1. Project screening and selectivity. Not all projects are created equal or represent equal opportunity. Service providers should select projects on the basis of projected margin, not projected revenue. They must pursue projects that build on their strengths and core competences, projects where they can apply their best talents to serve their customers. This is done by first serving customers’ commodity work to position them to then pursue customers’ strategic opportunities. This is the approach used in the Fluor example. 2. Become selected customers’ strategic business partner. Such practice puts the business-services provider right in the customers’ lap, a decidedly advantageous position to be in when strategic opportunities are brewing. It also leads to many sole-source or noncompetitive-bid opportunities and, potentially, to higher margins. 1. The method described in the article is based on actual experience of one author when he worked for Fluor Corp. . A recent example is Ram Charan, What the CustomerWants You to Know: How Everybody Needs to Think Differently about Sales, Portfolio (Penguin Group), 2007. The application of value-chain analysis to B2B clients of engineering and construction management services was originally suggested by Don F. Coleman of Fluor Corporation in May, 2000. 3. Michael E. Porter, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Free Press, 1985. 4. Stanley C. Abraham, Strategic Planning: A Practical Guide for Competitive Success, Thomson South-Western, 2006, 214. . Wayne McPhee and David Wheeler, ‘‘Making the case for the added-value chain,’’ Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 34 No. 4, 2006, Exhibit 1, p. 41; exhibit used with permission. 6. The supplier could have many other customers, and could replicate this process with those other customers. Typically, doing such an analysis would be reserved for the supplier’s top 3-5 customers. 7. The authors found little in the literature about B2B marketing practices based on knowledge of the customer’s value chain and business strategy. 8. See, for, example Harvard Business School Case #9-794-024, ‘‘Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ,’’ August 6, 1996, which provides a thorough review of Wal-Mart’s business practices up to its international (horizontal) expansion. 9. Michael E. Porter, ‘‘What is strategy? ’’ Harvard Business Review, November-December 1996. 10. HBS Case #9-794-024, op. cit. 11. Harvard Business School Case #9-302-102, ‘‘Robert Mondavi and the Wine Industry,’’ May 3, 2002. Mondavi’s flagship brand ‘‘Woodbridge’’ is a rare example of a brand name pointing, not to product benefits, but up the value chain to process benefits.