Importance of Fungi

Importance of Fungi: Fungi are  eukaryotic  organisms distinct from plants and animals and members of several other smaller kingdoms. Common fungi include mushrooms, conks, corals, jellies, puffballs, stinkhorns, morels, cups, truffles, lichens, yeasts, rusts, smuts, bread molds, mildews, and molds on bathroom tiles. In 1959, R. H. Whittaker introduced a five-kingdom taxonomy that granted fungi equal status with plants and animals. The five-kingdom system has been supplanted by a multiple-kingdom classification, and species traditionally treated as fungi are now distributed across several kingdoms.Those believed to form a  monophyletic lineage  are assigned to kingdom Eumycota (often called kingdom Fungi). Mycology, the science devoted to fungi, still covers all traditional fungi. Fungi are considered as one of the most prolific types of life on earth, which are found nearly everywhere around us. There are many different types of fungi some of which are very beneficial for ma nkind. It has immense economic applications and plays a major role in producing a number of products such as drugs, antibiotics penicillin, contraceptives, food, mushrooms, morels, cheeses, alcoholic beverages, and soybeans.Fungi have a profound biological and economic impact. As decomposers, plant pathogens, and symbiotic partners, their ability to grow anywhere, on anything, makes them both beneficial and harmful recyclers of carbon and nitrogen. Beneficially, they are used as food (mushrooms, truffles) and in baking and brewing (yeasts). They are being developed to detoxify pollutants (soil fungi), control insects (pathogenic Zygomycota), and regulate plant growth (pathogenic Ascomycota).Detrimentally, rusts, smuts, and molds cost billions of dollars through crop disease and spoilage while forest pathogens such as the honey mushroom (  Armillaria ostoyae  ) and root-butt rot (  Heterobasidion annosum  ) similarly threaten the timber industry. Some are toxic when eaten, su ch as the infamous destroying angel (  Amanita phalloides  ). Natural LSD, a hallucinogen produced by ergot (  Claviceps purpurea  ), is associated with medieval hysterical frenzies produced by consumption of infected grain, and the  aflatoxin  produced by  Aspergillus flavus  in improperly stored grain is one of the most potent carcinogens yet discovered.As human and animal pathogens, fungi cause infections that range from the vexing (athlete's foot, yeast infections) to life threatening (histoplasmosis). Fortunately, other fungi (such as  Penicillium  ) have been used to develop modern antibiotics and beneficial  immunosuppressants  . Recycling Fungi, together with bacteria, are responsible for most of the recycling which returns dead material to the soil in a form in which it can be reused. Without fungi, these recycling activities would be seriously reduced. We would effectively be lost under piles many metres thick, of dead plant and animal remains. Food Fungi are also important directly as food for humans. Many mushrooms are edible and different species are cultivated for sale worldwide. While this is a very small proportion of the actual food that we eat, fungi are also widely used in the production of many foods and drinks. These include cheeses, beer and wine, bread, some cakes, and some soya bean products. While a great many wild fungi are edible, it can be difficult to correctly identify them. Some mushrooms are deadly if they are eaten. Fungi with names such as ‘Destroying Angel' and ‘Death Cap' give us some indication that it would not be a terribly good idea to eat them!In some countries, collecting wild mushrooms to eat is a popular activity. It is always wise to be totally sure that what you have collected is edible and not a poisonous look-a-like. Medicines Penicillin, perhaps the most famous of all antibiotic drugs, is derived from a common fungus called Penicillium. Many other fungi also produce antibiotic substances, which are now widely used to control diseases in human and animal populations. The discovery of antibiotics revolutionized health care worldwide. Some fungi which parasitise caterpillars have also been traditionally used as medicines.The Chinese have used a particular caterpillar fungus as a tonic for hundreds of years. Certain chemical compounds isolated from the fungus may prove to be useful treatments for certain types of cancer. A fungus which parasitises Rye crops causes a disease known as Ergot. The fungus can occur on a variety of grasses. It produces small hard structures, known as sclerotia. These sclerotia can cause poisoning in humans and animals which have eaten infected material. However, these same sclerotia are also the source of a powerful and important drug which has uses in childbirth. Food SpoilageIt has already been noted that fungi play a major role in recycling organic material. The fungi which make our bread and jam go moldy are only recycling orga nic matter, even though in this case, we would prefer that it didn't happen! Fungal damage can be responsible for large losses of stored food, particularly food which contains any moisture. Dry grains can usually be stored successfully, but the minute they become damp, moulds are likely to render them inedible. This is obviously a problem where large quantities of food are being produced seasonally and then require storage until they are needed.Types of Fungi Moulds and Yeast . Moulds The cotton-like mass grown on fruits, animal dung, leather goods or bread in a warm and humid climate is known as a mould. E. g. Mucor and Rhizopus . General Structure- †¢They have a network of transparent structures called as hyphae. †¢The entire mass of such threads is called as mycelin. Nutrition – They obtain their food from the substratum on which they grow. Respiration – they acquire aerobic respiration. Reproduction in moulds is both asexual and sexual. †¢Asexual rep roduction in moulds occurs by the method of columella. Sexual reproduction in moulds occurs by the method of conjugation. Yeast Yeast is a one-celled microorganism growing all around us and on us. It grows when it has food and water, and suspends growth when it does not. In suspended animation, it is light enough to be blown by the wind, like a seed. If there is water and food where it lands, it will reproduce and continue the cycle. It is also on human skin and can be transferred to food through contact, with clean or dirty hands. Yeast has been exploited by humans for thousands  to make bread, beer and wine. It does so by turning sugar into alcohol and gas to gain energy.

Discuss how Rhys Ifans and BBC Shorts Production “realises” Act 2 Scene 3 Essay

Discuss how Rhys Ifans and BBC Shorts Production â€Å"realises† Act 2 Scene 3 for television. Do you think this is a successful adaptation? The scene we are studying is directly after the killing of Duncan. This will mean the Director and Actors will have to create a realistic setting. There will be a lot of drama and tension. We all know that Macbeth killed Duncan but what the production has to do is show that he is trying to play along with the rest of the characters as though he is as surprised as them. I have decided to focus my attentions on the BBC Shorts Production of this scene, directed by Justin Chadwick. Firstly we are introduced to the actor, Rhys Ifans, who is to play Macbeth. He is extremely interested in this dynamic character and the scene he is to perform in. He hopes in his performance to convey the conflicting emotions of Macbeth. Macbeth has just murdered the King. He knows this and cannot escape this reality. When Macbeth brings Lenox and Macduff to the room where Duncan’s body lies, he cannot face to go into the room yet he cannot change what has happened. He is trapped. Ifans also describes how there is a â€Å"plethora of options† which the language offers to the actors meaning the character is diverse and can be performed in many different ways. The actors also have to display the relationship of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. She has been the dynamo behind him all this time. Yet when he kills the henchmen we realise that he is no longer â€Å"plotting† with her, but has left her behind. He is also angry with her. He feels as though he has killed for her affections and to prove his manliness which angers him. Lady Macbeth is still a strong character but the actress playing her, Abigail Campton, needs to show that the tables have turned and she has been forgotten. Ifans needs to portray Macbeth in such a way that shows us he detests Lady Macbeth for what he ultimately thinks she pushed him to do. There is also the suggestion that Banquo is suspicious of the Macbeth and his wife as he is shocked at Lady Macbeth’s response to the hearing of the killing when she immediately thinks of her reputation, rather than Duncan’s welfare; and when MacBeth defiantly kills the Henchmen. Banquo, played by Dave Fishley, needs to show that he has a close relationship with Macbeth and he knows that although Macbeth is a brave soldier he is not a cold – blooded killer. This production is set in a Modern Gothic Mansion. This is important because at MacBeth’s time it was gothic so this is an updated version. It is supposed to have affluence and decadence but with an end of the millennium feel to it. The setting is as though it is the morning after a huge party. Top designers such as Gucci, Versace and Alexander McQueen create the costumes. They are very extravagant which suits this production. Ifans creates the atmosphere by saying it gives us a sense of â€Å"heightened reality where anything can happen†. The millennium feel also fits in as it gives us the feeling that it is the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. It would be very difficult for the director to do this scene as it is taken from a very diverse text and he is only concentrating on this section of the play. The production opens with a Prologue: a piece of drama that is not in the text. He decides to show us the actual murder of Duncan, which has spine-chilling effects. The first Shot we see is of a â€Å"door† far away. The door is actually a white curtain, which could refer back to earlier in the text when Macbeth talks of â€Å"wicked dreams† and how they â€Å"abuse the curtained sleep†. When you are sleeping you are protected unless you are disturbed by something evil. The colours in this shot are blue and grey suggesting coldness. There is the sound of a heavy drum and the camera does not zoom up to the door but cuts three times, which creates drama. Heavy breathing is also heard. I feel the director is trying to show us MacBeth’s journey as he goes to kill the King. It is dramatic and the camera is angular. Your attention is totally fixed on the door. The door is a bright white, which signifies that good lies behind it and is going to be destroyed. In the final cut there are noticeably two people posing as statues. They are Egyptian Ka Statues. These statues were put outside the tombs and it was believed the soul of the dead inside would be transferred into the statue. This is significant, as we know Duncan will die in this room yet by having real people pose as the statues intensifies what is about to happen. There is not one statue but two, implying that there will be more deaths after the King. There is then an abrupt change. A dramatic colour change is noticed. It is a deep red but it is also very dark and there are shadows being formed. This is very dominant after the greys and blues. The light is almost as though it is infrared so we can see into the darkness. I think this is to show that it was night time and the red creates the image of evilness and blood. The actual act of the murder is done very cleverly. We see a close-up of Macbeth leaning over Duncan’s sleeping body. His face is tense and his eyes wide to show anxiety. The shot then cuts to Duncan abruptly waking up. There is another quick change of camera as Macbeth makes his first wound in Duncan and then there is a shot of Lady MacBeth’s eye. By introducing her into this scene it shows the control she had over Macbeth and could also suggest he is thinking of her as he kills. The camera then goes back to Macbeth who stabs Duncan twice more then leans over his body breathing deeply. This image is very sexual and his breathing represents a man at the height of sex. Again this makes us think of Lady Macbeth. She challenged her husband’s manhood when he was having second thoughts about the murder. This could also suggest that they both are sexually aroused by the thought of the murder. By killing the King he is in some way making love to her. The dagger is then used as a phallic symbol, which is a representation of a man’s penis in Greek Legend. Macbeth looks straight into Lady MacBeth’s eyes as if questioning to see if he had performed well enough for her. Also by having Lady Macbeth at the murder heightens the drama, as though she is still pushing him. He then offers her the daggers. This again is a sexual reference as he is offering her his manhood and she takes it away, satisfied. We are then taken to outside the door and it is now a retreat away rather than coming towards it. The retreat is slow and gives us the feeling of dizziness, as though Macbeth is faint after completing the deed. There is a backlight now behind the door suggesting that something has happened. There is the sound of music now. It is quite futuristic with slow rhythm tic beats and creates the perfect atmosphere for the next shots. It cuts to a Landscape shot of the main hall of the mansion. The camera slowly moves to the right. Firstly we see Macbeth’s arm. He is holding on tightly to the railings behind him. His head is down and he is still breathing very heavily. His position is suggestive of the crucifixion, almost as though he is crucifying himself for his actions. His behaviour could also represent drugs as the night before was a party. Macbeth is presented by Ifans as sleep-deprived and high. He then looks directly into the camera, which is very dramatic. It implies Macbeth is dangerous as he stops breathing so heavily, as if he is beginning to calm down. This makes the character seem very frightening. The camera then gives us a wider shot of the gothic hallway. At the gothic arches there are colours of deep pink and red on them. This is significant as there has been a murder. Lighting is being used again to show the change in the atmosphere. The drumbeat continues as the camera cuts to a room full of sleeping people. They are lying â€Å"sprawled† across the floor as if they just fell there after their night of partying. We are then shown a close-up shot of Lady MacBeth’s face. The camera is at an angle, which could represent the confusion. Her face is shadowed and she is wearing heavy, dark make-up. This makes her appear evil with no compassion for what has just taken place. Campton has a wonderful glaring look in her eye enabling us to see how cold this character is. This then cuts to the porter who jumps up from the mass of sleeping bodies. Before this character even speaks we know he is going to be outrageous. The costume is really brought into effect here. The wacky headdress and slashed top, along with the mad antics of this character provide this dark scene with some light relief. The Porter is being very crude, shouting, laughing and running about. This could help us realise how the other people in the house were feeling. They were probably hung over and confused about their actions the night before. An interesting shot is taken when there is an Ariel view of two stairwells inter-linking. The Porter runs up and down appearing at different places. This could represent the confusion of the mind and also gives us an image of hell as he is talking about letting people through. It is an image of eternity. Also as he approaches the door quickly, we can see a statue with an orange glow. This is another sign that this house is connected with the evils of hell and because this is the topic the porter is talking about, it makes it all the more dramatic. Two new characters are introduced. Macduff who is played by Christopher Colquhen and Lenox played by Joseph McFadden. They arrive to awake the King as he had made plans to go early. There is the creation of tension, as Macbeth appears on the line â€Å"Is thy master stirring?† As he enters there is a high sound of a computerised noise, like a string on a violin, which causes tension. There is still the rhythm of the drum representing the heartbeat. This is to show Macbeth may look cool on the outside but there is still the anxiety hidden inside. He speaks calmly to both men and tells them he will bring them to the King. He arrogantly walks through them and there is even a hint of bisexual advances between Macbeth and Lenox as they look at one another. Macbeth is relaxed and cool yet the walls are still red showing the truth. We are then taken back to a far off shot of the door. This time two cameras are used. One to show the men as they walk toward the door and another to show what they are looking at. This is a repetition of the opening of the scene. Macbeth is making the same journey. This whole sequence is slowed down and the camera is swaying. The music becomes louder and as the three men walk toward the door they almost seem like models walking on the catwalk. This represents the stylishness of the production. Macbeth’ suit is a tie-dye effect with white and dark blue. The colours are dramatic because it is almost as if his goodness which is represented by the white colour is being covered up by the darkness of the murder, the dark colour. The modern cinema idea comes into play here as the three men walk toward the door, almost like three warriors or FBI agents about to uncover something. There is a glow of red behind the three men, which is very effective. The slowing down of the camera leav es us to wait in anticipation of what is going to happen. They arrive at the door and Macduff goes in to wake the King. Ifans shows us that Macbeth cannot face going inside by continuing to stare at the door, waiting for the truth to be revealed. The cleverness of the text means that although Macbeth will not go into the room, he cannot escape his actions and Lenox represents the death with his words. Lenox is making polite conversation about the weather and as he recounts how the night had been bad due to weather, Macbeth begins to focus on what Lenox is saying. As Lenox speaks of â€Å"Lamentings heard I’ the air†, we can see by Ifans facial expression that he is re-playing what the murder was like in his head. His position on screen is identical to at the start of the production when he is about to stab the King so visually we are reminded of the killing also. The drum becomes louder here as though Macbeth is anxious. MacBeth’s reply totally understates everything which Lenox has said, â€Å"‘t’was a rough night†. The music heightens here to create drama as Macduff re-enters. He is standing with his head lowered and mutters the word â€Å"Horror† as if in total disbelief. The lighting is clever here and we cannot make out his eyes as they are blackened. This is to represent that he has been blinded by the sight he has witnessed and links to the reference in his speech about â€Å"gorgons† which are terrible monsters that blind people. As Macduff comes forward in between the two other men it shows that one of MacBeth’s eyes are blacked out. This could tell us that he two has been blinded but only partially, not fully. Colquhen is excellent as Macduff. Usually, in other productions such as Channel 4’s version directed by Michael Bugbane, we see the character run out of the room shouting in utter disbelief. However, Colquhen gives us the sense that the character is almost faint due to the sight he saw. He begins to walk up the corridor talking in shock and thinking of the people he has to deliver the news to such as the King’s two young sons. This is when he begins to seem deeply angered and spits out his words for the whole mansion to here. This leads us to the room, which Lady Macbeth is in. Macduff enters. Her position is excellent. She is sitting high up, almost as though she is already on the throne assuming power. She speaks to Macduff in a nasty way. She almost spits out the line, â€Å"What’s the business†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and commands him in a strong voice to speak. Macduff refuses to tell the â€Å"gentle lady† what has happened and this is very ironic. It is like black comedy. She is looking very domineering while sitting on her throne and speaking cruelly to Macduff yet he still remarks she is a woman and cannot handle what he has to say. Banquo enters asking about the confusion and Macduff whispers it into his ear but Lady Macbeth overhears. Campton speaks with venom in her words. She sneers at the thought of Duncan being killed in her house. She is showing that Lady Macbeth is not worried about Duncan but because it happened in her house and she will seem responsible. Her costume emphasises this part of her character as she is wearing dark clothes with an elaborate hat, almost like a crown. Banquo is disgusted at her reaction and talks through gritted teeth. He directs the line â€Å"Too cruel anywhere† at her implying his suspicions then turns his back to her to show he does not want to talk about what happened with her. Macbeth then enters with Lenox. He is no longer wearing his coat so he is identical to how he looked when he killed the King. This is ironic, as he has just come back from killing the henchmen. He immediately looks at Lady Macbeth. This is to show he sees her as the primary force in all this mess. Macbeth begins to speak and does so in an accusing way. We know he is speaking for the benefit of Lady Macbeth. He spits out the words almost as though he is ready to burst into tears. His line â€Å"Had I but died an hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed time†, is full of regret and is his way of telling his wife this. Donalbain, one of Duncan’s sons wakes up and questions what is happening. Macbeth responds to the young Prince’s question in an insane way. He holds the Prince’s head in his hands firmly and gently shouts into his face. This shocks the other men. Macbeth speaks to Donalbain in poetical language saying â€Å"the fountain of your blood is stopped†, whereas Macduff Comes straight to the point by saying his father is dead. Macbeth then holds the Prince’s head into his chest. He is realising the effect the murder is going to have on so many people and although it would appear he is comforting the King’s son, he is actually comforting himself. Lenox tells the young Prince’s that the evidence of the bloodied knifes show that the henchmen are guilty and Macbeth announces to the group he killed them in fury. Macduff questions this action and it is the first hint of suspicion by someone other than Banquo, who has been standing behind Macbeth trying to look into his face and discover the truth. Macbeth begins his speech to stick up for himself after MacDuff’s question. He starts to walk around the group of people gathered talking into their necks as though he is sniggering at them because they questioned his actions. As he is explaining the emotions that were running through his body when he discovered the henchmen, he makes eye contact with Lady Macbeth and begins to walk toward her. On the wall behind Macbeth there is a modern painting that looks like the image of the crucifixion. This is a connection with the image of Macbeth earlier in the production and could also be a sign that he has made a mistake and will be punished. He comes to Lady Macbeth and grabs her head into his hands as he did with Donalbain. He begins to describe the actual stabbing, â€Å"Here lay Duncan, His silver skin laced with golden blood† and spits the words into her face. Ifans wanted Lady Macbeth to know exactly what the murder was like and how gruesome it had been. I feel he is so passionate as he speaks because of her earlier accusation to him only loving her if he performed the murder. He is showing her what a mess he has made to prove his love for her and he is very angry. This is when we see the power switch between the two characters. She is genuinely frightened by his reaction and tries to free herself from his grip with trembling hands. Chadwick decided not to have Lady Macbeth faint, as it would not work in this situation. Instead he changes the meaning of the words spoken. When Lady Macbeth says â€Å"help me hence† she is asking the others in the room to help her, not because she feels faint. When Macduff steps forward he takes a hold of MacBeth’s arm and says, â€Å"Look to the Lady†. He is asking Macbeth to look at how he has scared his wife not for someone to attend to her after she faints. This was a very good idea and adds variety from other productions. When Lady Macbeth shouts for help we know she is doing this because Macbeth has overstepped the mark and is revealing too much. This is her way of trying to put him back in his place. Banquo then makes a declaration of loyalty to the dead King to question â€Å"this most bloody piece of work† and directs this speech at Macbeth. Fishley is trying to show that Banquo is taking the moral position. When he speaks he stresses the word â€Å"I† as though he is distancing himself from Macbeth. The other men in the room plight their feelings also but Macbeth remains silent which shows he is no longer the same and is excluded from the declaration. The drum again becomes louder and quicker as we sense MacBeth’s anguish. All the men leave the room and dramatically Lady Macbeth is left alone. She is still leaning against the wall and no longer looks as strong as before. She is by herself and this is significant to the rest of the play. Macbeth no longer needs her. The scene finishes with Donalbain and Malcolm speaking of how they must flee as there are â€Å"daggers in men’s smiles† and they could be in danger. Chadwick again introduces a new idea that Macbeth overhears their conversation about them both fleeing to England and Ireland. This shows us that Macbeth is not finished and will go on to lead a life corrupt with murder and evil. The final shot is of Macbeth looking straight into camera with a sly smile on his face. Ifans was trying to show that there has been a change in Macbeth and he is no longer the man he was before. The colour is again dark grey and blue implying he is cold to human feelings. This ends the scene in an interesting climax and leaves you wondering what will happen next.

Dynamic and control subjest Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Dynamic and control subjest - Assignment Example 'Controller' controls the system behaviour by providing the necessary excitation. 'Setpoint' is the desired result. 'Output' is the actual result. PID controller may be written in the equation form as: = + + (1) In this equation, all the symbols have the meanings explained earlier. Coming to the explanation in common words, with reference to Figure 1, we want the output Y of a process to be equal to or as close to the setpoint R as possible. Since the real systems are not ideal systems, usually some kind of control system is required to achieve this objective. In a PID controller, the output Y is compared with the setpoint R, the error e is calculated to be equal to R minus Y. Then the controller (a PID controller in this case) calculates u(t) from equation (1). This u(t) is an excitation signal to be passed to the 'process', with the objective of driving the 'output' Y as close to the 'setpoint' R as possible. For example, let us assume that we are required to control the temperatur e of the water coming out from a tap. Let us assume that we want the temperature of the water to be around 50 degree centigrade always. But let us assume that water is supplied to this tap by two separate water feeds. Let us assume that one of the water feed is always at around 30?C (cold water feed). Also, let us assume that the other water feed is always at around 70?C (hot water feed). We can see that to get the water from the tap at 50?C, we need to mix around 50% water from the hot water feed with the remaining 50% water from the cold water feed. This can be achieved by making the valve corresponding to the hot water feed 50% open (i.e., 50% closed) and at the same time, making the valve corresponding to the cold water feed 50% open (i.e., 50% closed). But, in a real system like this, one comes across several uncertainties like the temperature losses during the flow in the pipes due to radiation etc., which cannot be determined for certain since in this case, the radiation depe nds on the atmospheric temperature (or room temperature) also. Hence, when the valve corresponding to the hot water feed is 50% open and at the same time when the valve corresponding to the cold water feed is 50% open, the temperature of the water coming out from the tap may not be exactly equal to 50%. Let us assume that this temperature is 45?C. Now, in this problem, the setpoint R is 50?C while the output Y is 45?C. Now, according to Figure 1, R-Y= 5 ?C is calculated. This is the error e which is an input to the controller. Then the controller calculates 'u(t)' from Equation (1), this u(t) is in fact a signal which controls the valves. In this case, u(t) would instruct the valve corresponding to the hot water feed to open more than 50% (exact percentage would be known from u(t)). Opening the valve corresponding to the hot water feed x% would automatically mean opening the valve corresponding to the cold water feed (100-x)%. This ensures that the flow from the hot water feed is mo re than the flow from the cold water feed, which in turn forces the temperature of the water coming from the tap to go to 50?C. This way, the controller strives to make the temperature of the water coming out from the tap to be 50?C, and for a proper selection of the values for Kp, Ki and Kd, the controller usually performs its task satisfactorily. If the temperature of the tap water goes to 55?C for example, the error would

Marketing essentials Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing essentials - Essay Example It was originally named as Cadbury Schweppes Overseas Ltd (CSOL) after its merger with Schweppes. The mission of the organisation is to offer best quality products to its customers in order to enhance its market share and brand identity in the markets of the United Kingdom as well as globally (Cadbury, n.d.). Thus, in the year 2007, Cadbury undertook a vital strategic move and shifted from the sector of beverages towards confectionary, which not only augmented its corporate image and but its profit margin as well. It started developing various products such as ‘5 stars’, ‘Perk’, ‘Celebrations’, ‘Temptations’, ‘Diary Milks and Gems’. Along with this, it also has offered milk food beverage as well namely Bournvita. Thus, it can be affirmed that Cadbury is a renowned brand and in terms of financial aspect held annual revenue of ?5, 384 million in the year 2008 (Cadbury, n.d.). The major objective of this assignment is to p repare a marketing plan for Cadbury for the next one to three years. It also highlights the situation of the company and the market in the current scenario. The paper also focuses on the SWOT analysis and competitors’ analysis in order to evaluate the existing position of the organisation, Cadbury in the global market. Moreover, it also includes development of an innovative product idea for the organisation along with financial forecasts for the product for the future three years. Analysis of Company Situation Cadbury is a reputed organisation and it mainly operates in international confectionary market. It is the second leading supplier of chocolate and other sugar confectionaries in the market of the United Kingdom (Cadbury, n.d.). As the company is operating from many years so it has established an apparent market brand image that enhanced its position to a large extent among other leading competitors. Moreover, as the organisation is functioning in global markets, it incl udes high prospects of diversifying the booming products of one market to other emerging markets. This helps to augment the market share and uniqueness of the brand in the varied emerging markets all round the globe (Scribd, n.d.). Although Cadbury functions in more than 60 countries, the maximum turnover is originated from the markets of the United States, South Africa, Ireland and United Kingdom. Along with these, other promising markets namely India, Thailand and China also offer significant impact on the growth and development of the Cadbury brand. The other important factor, which enhanced the individuality of the brand among other apparent players in the market, is heavy concentration and investment over advanced technologies. This helped the organisation to offer various new products at an efficient cost, which enhanced the dependency and receptiveness of the customers (Scribd, n.d.). Thus, it facilitated in improvement of the financial situation of the organisation as well. In addition, the strong administration team with centralised hierarchical structure facilitates Cadbury in maintaining a uniform culture, which amplifies the

Environmental Health Assessment-Stakeholder Analysis Essay

Environmental Health Assessment-Stakeholder Analysis - Essay Example Stakeholder analysis is resorted to identify people, organizations, groups who will have a valid and legitimate interest and stakes in the projects being implemented and policies being developed. "Participation analysis - or stakeholder analysis as it is sometimes called - seeks to identify all persons, institutions, etc. involved in a project, in addition to the target group and the implementing agency, and speculates on their expected support or opposition to the program. This analysis is used at the preliminary stages of a project in order to incorporate interests and expectations of persons and groups significant to a project or program" (Participation Analysis, 1990). The process of identifying stakeholders is very important for participatory analysis to be effective. There are various methods of doing this. J.M. Bryson (2003) lists eight thirteen different techniques of doing stakeholder identification and analysis. Here the method suggested in the source quoted earlier (Participation Analysis, 1990) has been followed to identify the stakeholders. They are listed below: The new multibillion dollar industry proposed sees an opportunity to create a profitable venture through meeting a huge demand from KPLC. In view of the hazardous nature of the industry, the regulatory authorities in Kenya have asked the company to incorporate certain additional safeguards such as shifting the location away from the city, providing safety equipment to workers, monitoring their health regularly, installing water treatment plant. All this will mean both higher capital and operational costs. The company may have already factored these in its cost calculations. However there must be a limit to which they would agree for cost escalation. Any Risk Management plan must keep these concerns of the company to get a reasonable rate of return on investment and not push the company to incur cost beyond its bearing capacity. KPLC who is the targeted buyer will benefit from procuring from a local manufacturer which would lower their procurement cost and in turn affect the performance of their company positively. KPCL's primary interest would be that the new company formed has competitive advantage over its current overseas supplier at all times. If at all at some point the newly formed company becomes non competitive, it will run the risk of going back to its earlier supplier and re-negotiating, possibly from a point of weakness. This may adversely affect the utility company and power distribution costs in the country. Setting up a local industry will no doubt create direct and indirect employment. The local labor force will be a direct beneficiary. The labor is most likely to be organized into a labor union, possibly with wider industry linkage. The labor force and the supporting labor union will be an

Pediatric Module Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pediatric Module - Assignment Example Proteins are essential for body growth and tissue requirements in infants. There has been much debate over the years on how much proteins the body should take. For infants below 6 months, they should take 1-13gms, 6 momths-1 year- 0.75-14gms, 1-6 years-. 16-24 Gms (Swearingen, 2009). The estimated calories in a pre-term infant is 4.5 -4.9 kcal/g. This has been reached due to the fact that development of new tissues that is, growth and repair needs more energy intake. The estimated protein in pre-term infant is 1per kg per day. Proteins are very important for the normal growth and development. The lean body mass is dependent on the protein intake. Pre-term infants therefore, if given enough protein show levels of enhanced growth. Milk based formula-It contains cow milk as its protein source. It has a fat source which is oil, lactose as the carbohydrate source, a mix of vitamin and minerals. The rationale for use is when the baby shows signs of hunger. Examples is Similac Go and Grow and Entamil. Milk based formula-It contains cow milk as its protein source. It has a fat source which is oil, lactose as the carbohydrate source, a mix of vitamin and minerals. The rationale for use is when the baby shows signs of hunger. Examples are Similac Go and Grow and Entamil. Soy-based infant Formula-It was developed for infants who cannot take formula made form cow’s milk. It contains protein from soybean, oils from vegetables, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. The rationale for use is when the infants shows signs of hunger. Examples are; Enfamil R and Similac Go and Grow. Protein hydrolysate formula-This formula contains protein which has been broken down into smaller sizes than the ones found in cow’s milk. It is given to babies that cannot take either milk based formula or soy-based formula. It is used whenever the infants shows signs of hunger. Examples are; Similac and PurAmino. Elementa formula- This

Taming Disability, Mastering Minds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Taming Disability, Mastering Minds - Essay Example I don’t wish to call him disabled, because he had a distinctive ability to mimic the teachers and almost all of the popular figures. He was rather short and pudgy when he was a little young boy and his growth was challenged by dwarfism in an early age of eight years. Jestin was excellent as a student and his ability to learn mathematics and physics was always a reference to all of us. He liked to play games with us; most of them were power demanding and involving a lot of athletic abilities. When he walked, it was a curious sight to new people. I met him when I was in the elementary school. Our teacher – Julie – introduced him, told us to look after him and then assigned me as his partner to sit together. He walks towards me, I then realized why Julie told us to look after him – he is disabled. I stared at him with a strange face – I have never been with a disabled person this close before. I think he knew I was staring, but he pretend like he did n ot know. Maybe he was used to strange people’s attention in public, maybe he is just do not want to look at me in the eye and see something he did not want to see – pity. He had his short limbs which were spectacular when he attempted running or boarding the school bus. We always observed him as different existence and that worried him a lot; someone occasionally called him names of goblins and teased him a lot. He was teachers’ pet as he used to be the most punctual and one of the most brilliant students in the school. Though his brain was sharp, his hands were too small to handle the writing board in the classroom and so, he was denied the opportunity of being the leader of the class. Altogether, â€Å"the link between his biological construction and inner self† was established that way (Mossman, 15). His small body contained much appetite and he used to eat a lot. The lunch hour of the school was seemingly inspiring to him as he would eat from a lunch box rather disproportionate to his size. While he attempted opening the lid of the lunch box, it was an amusing scene for other people to watch. The short hands grabbed a lot of food and rhythmically forced it inside his mouth in a rapid phase – he was interesting. I always observed him with absolute attention to understand how his body reacted to his requirements to cope up with the challenges of mingling with classmates and doing experiments in the science lab. He was never discouraged; rather, he developed the habit of exploring the secret abilities that differentiated from normal people. Dwarfism was a curse to him when he liked to play on field games; therefore, he managed to settle himself into mind games and excelled in the feats. His eye contact and the facial expressions were very mature, but they were not supported by his short limbs to give him a perfect identity. Most noticeable fact of his mannerism was the style he used in arguing with someone who is very tall; he would poke and punch the stomach of the contender and make him silly with his witty expressions. As I grow up, I realized that there are so many people who need help, and there is no way I could help them all. The other thing I realized is that there are so many fake beggars and they are just faking it so people would give them money. I have decided to not look at them in the eye when I pass by and continue to walk my way. I used to watch him working so hard on his homework, using his left hand –

Protecting Privacy in Social Media Research Paper

Protecting Privacy in Social Media - Research Paper Example Users create profiles which they share with friends as a form of self expression. When registering as a user of a particular social media; the information mostly shared with other users and available to the public includes photos, age, gender, contacts and interests (Massey 3). Moreover, most people provide their biographic data such as their education, employment history and hometown. Although users have a right to determine who accesses their information on this social media; their information may got to unauthorized persons thereby infringing on the rights of the user. Security and privacy of one’s information is a major concern for many users of social media, where some networks allow personal information to be accessed by advertising groups or some malicious people who can use such information to the determent of the users. Privacy involves the right of an individual to control collection and utilization of personal data. Problems Associated with Social Media Usage The ma jor privacy problem of experienced by social media users is that their information is accessed by unauthorized persons. Additionally, there is usually a problem of having social media allowing other applications to access users’ information which is used for various purposes such as marketing. The other privacy issue is where some users sign up to the social media with intention of spying on someone and eventual doing something malicious to them or disturbing them. The other problem in social media is posting of indecent photographs and videos which should not be viewed by children although these networks do not have adequate measures to protect children from such materials. The other security and privacy issue arise when one’s status update may be used by criminals to in crime. According to (Jackson et al 212), security and privacy issues related to social media are generally behavioral issues rather than technology. The other problems associated with use of social me dia is that the applications that are used to lure users into the network also expose this sites prone to infection by malware which can lead to shutting down of organization network while keystroke loggers may access credentials. Other risks in social networking include sphere phishing, spoofing and social engineering. Solution Section To guarantee security and privacy the information of social users, it is important that when registering on the social media, one must read the privacy policy. This is because most social media have a functionality which allows users to define the people who can access their information or the people who can they can share information with. Although most social media offers security and privacy setting most users do not take set their security information (Jackson et al 214). Security setting in social media helps users to control the people who can access their information. Additionally, privacy settings help to ensure that a user’s informati on cannot be accessed when searched on the common search engines like Google (Notess 41). When registering as a new user, one needs to review the security policy of the social media since there are some social networks which share emails and other data with third parties. To protect the security and privacy of our information on the social networks, we must be cautious before clicking a link to access to a new page or when opening an online application although the

The darkness of mans heart Essay Example for Free

The darkness of mans heart Essay The question I have chosen to do this essay on is to discuss the way the novel is described; it is described as exploring the darkness of mans heart. The novel is set in the not too distant future where war is waging between nuclear powers in the world. Because of these circumstances a large number children have been evacuated from their homes but before they reach their destination their plane is shot down and the survivors land on a tropical almost paradise like island, unspoiled by man. This island is a microcosm representing the world. On the island the survivors all meet together and create a chief Ralph. Things soon go wrong due to members of the original group creating trouble and they decide to form their own tribe with a new chief Jack. I am going to look at how the events on the island have created an idea that the novel is exploring the darkness of mans heart. There are many areas within the novel which give evidence to support the view that the main theme is about the darkness of mans heart.. The first part of the novel is a very important part as it sets the scene of how these boys have such beautiful surroundings and how they are keen to think of ways to be rescued and just the pleasures of day to day life they enjoy. During the opening stages you can sense that the boys still have a strong memory of law and order and how to conduct themselves. One thing that shows this is when Roger an almost non existent character with little dialogue throws stones at a small child, not to hit him as he is circled with the taboo of old life Another time when we are shown the way the children have been restricted in their basic instincts due to the fact that they have been subjected to societys rigid rules, is when they go on their first hunting expedition. Jack could not bring himself to kill the pig because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood. All these games are all right to begin with but the darkness of mans heart ie the evil which many are capable of but lies hidden, needs to be controlled or else it will flourish. This shows us how we need to have rules in society or else anarchy and savagery will reign. The way in which the children remember the rules and power of the old life is  through the conch. The conch is just a shell to you and me but through it they see power and authority as whoever holds the conch has the right to speak. The conch represents in our own world today the mace in the House of Commons; this mace has the greatest of importance, as without its presence the House of Commons cannot begin. The conch I think holds them all together for a while, but its when they try to bend its rules by suggesting to remove its power in different areas of the island and eventually destroy it along with Piggy. Then I believe the darkness of mans heart becomes clearer as the conch symbolises law/order and authority. Another important part of the novel is when the beast takes on a physical persona. The beast we learn at the start is non-existent and only an empty shell that the younger children and some of the elders talk about. But it is when Ralph appeals to the adult world for help, if only they could send us something grown-up a sign or something, then from the sky a dead airmen falls from the sky. The sign the adult world gives them is one of death and destruction and we soon realise that it is not a beastie they are afraid of it is themselves, its mans own nature. This is confirmed by Simon later what I mean is maybe its only us, he is the only one to make the connection and he pays dearly for trying to communicate it to others. The deterioration in the boys sense of moralitys through the novel are ever so clear. And when we reach towards the end of the novel we see how that has happened, through the lack of authority and law. The boys have now become savages, they have gone through a massive transformation because of their surroundings and their ability to destroy and kill, and this is shown through the scar made in the island. It does this by showing mans destructive powers he is capable of. There are many things each of the characters symbolise at the end of the novel, Roger is evil a Satan like creature who has no conscious, Jack is savagery and anarchy, the beast is the inner evil in everyone (darkness of mans heart). The whole novel is symbolic in nature except the rescue in the end where adult life appears, dignified and capable, but in reality enmeshed in the same evil as the symbolic life of the children on the island. The officer  having interrupted a manhunt, prepares to take the children off the island in a cruiser, which will presently hunting its enemy in the same way. And I believe the cruiser is very important as it makes you think who will rescue the adult and his cruiser. This novel message about the darkness of mans heart means that society holds everyone together, and without these conditions, our ideals, values and basic choices of rights or wrong are lost. Without societys rigid rules anarchy and savagery can and will come to light. This novel is valuable not that it tells us of the darkness of mans heart, its valuable as it shows it by allowing us to enter into the island.

Halting the wheels of hope Essay Example for Free

Halting the wheels of hope Essay The concept of governmental tyranny is often difficult to grasp to those living in more democratic nations, and media output and literature become key in growing to understand it’s implications. Serving to heighten this political perspective is â€Å"The Wheels of Freedom: Bicycles in China† by Fred Strebeigh, which describes China’s bicycle ban in 1989 and subsequent protests in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. The bicycle provided significant growth and freedom within Chinese culture, and Strebeigh endeavors to communicate this to readers. Illustrating this, he defends the will of the people to preserve their right to ride them in the face of government opposition, and the tragedy imposed by political oppression. Upon the bicycle’s introduction to the people of China in the early 20th century, many looked to it through eyes of bewilderment. A fascinating and not yet popularized machine, it was most commonly ridden by members of affluent societies. As it’s newness wore off, however, it slowly became available those of the more humble classes, and in place of the word â€Å"bicycle†, the term â€Å"foreign horse† found it’s use in the minds and mouths of the masses. Strebeigh includes that the term â€Å"foreign† communicated the people’s feelings of admiration for the bicycle while alluding to the fact that it was modern. The peasantry of China found themselves with the deepest sense of admiration for the â€Å"foreign horse†. To them, the thought of owning one brought to mind the ease it could bring to their everyday lives, as they often carried burdensome loads on their backs. Yet, the low supply and thus high cost of the bicycle made it’s acquisition impractical for them. In response to the desire, the government later began regulating higher production rates of the bicycle to readily supply them to the impoverished and raise morale. However, the term â€Å"foreign horse† was banned in light of it’s glorification of another nation’s ingenuity, highlighting the extremes of the Chinese government to exercise their sovereign of the people. In it’s place, the name â€Å"self-running cart†. This served to express the government sentiment that the people could have what they wanted, but only at it’somplete jurisdiction. The people tolerated the name change of their beloved bicycles, as the trade-off of name for it’s widespread distribution was easy enough, and many still used it’s original moniker in private. Following it’s popularization, the lives of many saw an enrichment in quality. The dignity of the people improved, as it granted them new freedoms and eased the stress of everyday tasks, al lowing for flourishing business and connectedness within communities. Perhaps stated best, Strebeigh wrote of it’s wide use, â€Å"Everywhere, cycles kept life rolling† (Strebeigh). In addition to heightening the commerce of societies, it introduced the occupation of bicycle repair, which Stebeigh revered as perhaps the â€Å"freest† job in China. In it’s praise, he wrote, â€Å"A hard worker needed only a street corner and a few tools. Before his eyes bikes would inevitably break down and, if he was skilled, clients would multiply. Bicycle repair seemed to offer an extension of what the bike itself offered and what so many Chinese sought: modest dignity, new choices, ample freedom. † (Strebeigh). Bike repair was a choice outside of the typical, and entirely pursued as an individual pleased. Sadly, it was the bicycles issuance of dignity, choices, and freedom that that ultimately inflicted threat upon the Chinese government. They understood that with bike ownership, the people were growing to a height of advantage. It was their supposition that, if the people continued in such a fashion, government control perhaps had the potential to become menial. To ensure that their ultimate authority was not being overlooked, a ban was placed on bicycles within China. News of this did not come amicably to the people, and their response was protest. It was Tianenmen Square in Bejing which saw the organization of a large-scale demonstration which rallied for government reform. It lasted weeks, and ended upon the mobilization of troops to the area. Their invasion was destructive and resulted in the loss of many lives as troops initiated the use of tanks and weaponry to control the people. In media coverage, it was not the bloodied bodies of victims that were aired on television screens in Chinese homes, but rather the depiction of bicycles which had been crushed by the military. Of it, Strebeigh writes, â€Å"They wanted to show crushed dignity, crushed humanity, crushed freedomso much that the bicycle means in China. † (Strebeigh). This image was a wise devise of the government. They knew what the bicycle represented to the people, and knew that to show it destroyed would communicate their dominance and triumph. The concept of tyrannical rule and its implied bleakness are often incomprehensible, or altogether unrecognized by the people of more democratic countries given their many freedoms. With the words of Fred Strebeigh, however, perspective expands. The honor of an object as seemingly simple as a bicycle becomes worthy of defense, even dying for, and the tragedy of oppressive rule becomes very real. Works Cited

Corporate strategies of Skanska Construction

Corporate strategies of Skanska Construction Strategic planning and strategic management have attracted continuing interest from both researchers and executives over past decades. Strategic decision making although recently taken into account in the construction industry is one of the key drivers of success. Since construction is a project-based and highly fragmented industry, corporate strategies are difficult to develop. Studies so far point out the significance of project management competencies in delivering successful projects, however the organizational performance heavily rely on the effectiveness of the strategic decisions made by the companies based on their competitive resources and the market conditions where they operate. In this work, a world-known construction company, Skanska Construction from Sweden, is taken as a case and its corporate strategies together with its competitive resources are analyzed. Future directions for the company are discussed in the light of the challenges faced by the company. Keywords: Corporate strategy, construction industry, strategic analysis. INTRODUCTION It is generally considered that modern organizations should develop long term strategies in the face of an increasingly dynamic and competitive world. Porter (1980, 1985) suggested that a company needs to develop a competitive strategy in order to achieve competitive advantage in a market economy. Strategy has grown from a practice of military commanders and corporate executives into the field of management science. It has enjoyed contributions from various disciplines such as economics, organizational sociology, political science and cognitive psychology (Rumelt et al., 1994). Differing perspectives of strategy development and implementation have evolved, centering generally on ones view of the capacity and motives of individuals and organizations (Whittington, 2001). Mainstream strategic studies, however, have not typically considered the construction industry, and conventional thought within the industry has often downplayed strategys significance. Strategy is defined as a plan, pattern, position, perspective, and ploy (Mintzberg et al., 1998). Its significant effect on performance is demonstrated empirically in the literature (Porter, 1980). Emphasizing the importance of strategic decision, Child (1972) also stated that companies can achieve higher organizational performance by adopting different competitive positioning alternatives based on strategic decisions. Lately, construction industry researchers have changed this perception to some degree as publications regarding strategic management have increased. Warszawski (1996) outlined a methodological procedure for strategic planning in construction companies. Serving as somewhat of a primer to construction professionals on the topic, he discussed the definition of companys mission, the significance of business environment, and a broad outline of the steps involved in analyzing a companys resources. His elaboration on the development of competitive strategy was based largely on Porters (1980) theory of generic strategy. Chinowsky and Meredith (2000) conducted a survey to identify areas of strategic concern that construction organizations need to emphasize. Venegas and Alarcon (1997) were the first to propose a simplified model of variables affecting strategic decisions before recommending a mathematical model to predict the impact of the decisions. In this paper, the corporate strategies of a very well known Swedish construction company, Skanska Construction, will be analyzed. In doing so, first of all the components of corporate strategy will be investigated based on a literature review. The performance models that examined the importance of strategies and competitive resources will also be included as a part of this study. The major section will deal with Skanskas success based on its corporate strategies and competitive resources. Besides, the external factors including the market conditions together will be discussed along with the future directions of the company. CORPORATE STRATEGY IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY Corporate Strategy Cheah and Garvin (2004) developed a framework to define corporate strategy. The model divides corporate strategy into seven strategic fields as shown in Figure 1. All strategic fields rightly are separate, major components within the realm of corporate strategy. Whereas some strategic models such as Porters (1985) value chain concept treated activities like human resource (HR) management merely as supporting activities, this model casts these strategic fields as distinct areas since they have currently evolved into disciplines requiring separate planning and execution. As evidence, most business schools at present offer separate courses for each of these fields after a general treatment of the topic of strategic management. Figure 1: Framework for corporate strategy (Cheah and Garvin, 2004) The following sections summarize the dimensions of corporate strategy being HR strategy, financial strategy, business strategy, operational strategy, IT strategy, marketing strategy, and technology strategy. HR strategy In essence, HR strategy is more concerned about the aspects of managing human assets of an organization. HR strategy deals with (Cheah and Garvin, 2004): personnel management (e.g. training programs; job rotation among functions and geographical regions); industrial relations (e.g. employment law; union-management relationship; negotiation tactics and strategy); incentives and compensation policies and systems; and restructuring concerns (e.g. downsizing). The goal of HR strategy is to have an effective system for obtaining (recruiting), training, mobilizing and managing the human assets of an organization to systematically carry out business operations and new ventures. Financial strategy There are two fundamental aspects in financial strategy: investment decisions and financing decisions. During investment decisions, firms are confronted with the challenges of capital budgeting and financial resource allocation. In order to make better decisions, managers must select the appropriate tools for project analysis and evaluation, which include, but are not limited to, the net present value (NPV) method, decision tree analysis, optimization, portfolio planning and real option valuation. Behind these tools lies a common and fundamental principle of balancing risk and return (Cheah and Garvin, 2004). Financing decisions, on the other hand, are concerned with issues of capital structure. In providing the detailed mechanics, Grinblatt and Titman (1998) showed how investment and financing decisions could impact the corporate strategy as a whole. Business strategy Business strategy is defined as strategies adopted to ensure successful ventures of individual business units, whereas corporate strategy is concerned with operations of the entire organization. This distinction is obviously consistent with the model, since business strategy is one of the seven core fields of the overall structure (Cheah and Garvin, 2004). Business strategy formally deals with the development of competitive advantage and core competencies. In particular, Porters (1980, 1985) techniques such as the determination of uniqueness and cost drivers, the Five Forces model, and the market segmentation matrix are some commonly known concepts in formulating business strategy. Operational strategy Operational strategy is primarily concerned with execution and implementation how firms manage their operational processes to convert different inputs into final products and services. These activities might include inbound and outbound logistics, procurement functions, production processes for physical products such as precast components, and procedural functions for service provision. For contractors, these activities are analogous to most project management functions such as material procurement, construction of the physical structure, and management of labor and machinery. Likewise, service firms utilize their expertise and knowledge to assist clients in fulfilling their needs and goals, as in planning, design and engineering functions (Cheah and Garvin, 2004). IT strategy In this conceptual model, IT strategy is separated from technology strategy. Specifically, IT strategy focuses mainly on the use of technology to leverage information to the advantage of a firm. This contrasts with other types of technology development in general. This distinction is justified by the fact that information technology has grown into a separate market segment and research area since the mid-1990s (Cheah and Garvin, 2004). IT is often taken as the driver of corporate strategy. More appropriately, it should be treated as an enabler that connects the corporate strategy of a firm with its operational processes (Ross and Rockart, 1999). In many aspects, the current trends of IT investment and implementation within the construction industry still appear to follow very vague goals. Too often, participants from the industry investing in IT (at least during initial stages) have forgotten their original identity as firms that provide construction services, thereby putting their core competencies at stake. In many cases, these investments are lacking in terms of establishing linkages between processes and corporate strategy in the long run (Cheah and Garvin, 2004). Marketing strategy In manufacturing and other industries that sell physical products, the Four Ps (product, price, place and promotion) in conventional marketing management remains relevant at present, though changes in technology and IT have redefined the boundary and meaning of these components (Cheah and Garvin, 2004). Although construction is mainly service-oriented (except suppliers or vendors who are selling physical products), many of these concepts can be applied to selected parts of the construction value chain. For example, in terms of promotion, marketing strategy is especially important in signaling to clients the value created from the design of products and services in order to demand a price premium differentiation is meaningless unless clients are able to perceive the value added that suits their unique needs. To achieve this, firms need to identify both needs (demand) and resources (supply factors), and choose the most efficient means of service provision. Some common corporate involv ement in marketing strategy includes: umbrella branding and reputation building; logistics issues (a critical factor toward lean construction); and collection of information about clients needs (e.g. to improve facility operation and maintenance) (Cheah and Garvin, 2004). Technology strategy Tatum (1988) illustrated that the range of possible technology-based strategies for construction firms is wide. At present, choices and means for technology development still remain as the most basic questions in technology strategy. Three primary issues particularly stand out. The first issue is the notion of pioneer versus follower. Not surprisingly, whether one should be at the bleeding edge of the technology wave as a first mover is always a tough decision to make. This is especially true when technological trends are shaped by uncertain environmental factors. The second issue deals with integration. Large Japanese contractors, for example, have their own research institutes and tend to develop their technology internally. Third, firms have to assess the relative importance between basic and applied research in order to allocate resources accordingly (Cheah and Garvin, 2004). Corporate performance in construction Based on Isiks (2009) work, a construction companys performance is mainly determined by the strategic decisions made and resources and capabilities of the firm. External factors, strength of relationships, project management competencies, and project performance are the other factors of success. These variables are listed in Table 1. Since this papers major objective is to discuss the corporate strategy and competitive resources impacting on the success of a construction firm, the main emphasis is on the strategic decisions and resources and capabilities leading to success as defined by Isik (2009). Construction organizations have long been criticized for a lack of long-term strategic planning and management (Veshoskyi, 1994; Chinovsky and Meredith, 2000). The literature on strategic decision-making is spread over a wide range from an individual strategists perspective to strategic management techniques, to the implementation of these techniques in real situations (Globerson, 1985; Letza, 1996; Warszawski, 1996; Neely et al., 1997). The strategies adopted in Isiks (2009) work represent the characteristics of the construction industry as a project-based organization. These strategies are summarized in the following section. Table 1: Factors affecting the corporate performance for construction firms (Isik, 2009) Corporate strategies in construction firms: Corporate strategy can be seen as the linking process between the management of the organizations internal resources and its external relationships with its customers, suppliers, competitors and the economic and social environment in which it exists. The organisation develops these relationships from its abilities and resources. Hence, the organisation uses its history, skills, resources, knowledge and various concepts to explore its future actions (Adnan and Jusoff, 2009). The industry environment is the set of factors that directly influences a firm and its competitive actions and competitive response; the threats of new entrants, the power of suppliers, the power of buyers, the threat of product substitutes and the intensity of rivalry among competitors. An opportunity is a condition in the general environment that if, exploited helps a company achieve strategic competitiveness. A threat is a condition in the general environment that may hinder a companys efforts to achieve strate gic competitiveness. The resources of an organisation include its human resource skills, the investment and the capital in every part of the organisation. Organisations need to develop corporate strategies to optimise the use of these resources. Differentiation strategies refer to the differentiation of products or services that provides competitive advantage and allows a company to deal effectively with the threat of new entrants to the market (Porter, 1980). Many new construction companies enter the industry every year because starting a new company does not require a large investment; consequently the construction industry becomes more competitive and forces existing companies to seek advantages over competitors by means of differentiation strategies. Market, project, client and partner selection strategies are related to the characteristics of construction projects such as the location and complexity of the project, environmental conditions, availability of competent subcontractors, availability of materials, equipment and know-how locally, financial stability of the client, and potential partners that have capabilities that the company does not possess. Project management strategies can be developed by referring to the mission of the company and the companys business environment. The managerial functions of a project include activities such as planning, cost control, quality control, risk management, safety management, to name but a few. In order to achieve project goals, adequate strategies have to be set up relative to these functions. Investment strategies occur along several dimensions such as capabilities of the company (resources), pricing (financial decisions), product (construction project related factors), and finally research and development (Spence, 1979). Organizational management strategies involve decisions pertaining to the companys reporting structure, planning, controlling and coordinating systems, as well as the management of the informal relations among the different parties within the company (Barney, 1991). Resources and capabilities: The strategic management literature defines resources and capabilities as the strengths of a company. Given the competitive environment among the rivals, resources and capabilities cannot be assumed to be identical in every company (Porter, 1980; Barney, 1991). According to the resource-based perspective mentioned by Barney (1991), a companys resources and capabilities have to be valuable, rare, inimitable, and should lack substitutes to have a positive effect on performance. Only if these conditions are met can resources and capabilities be transformed into a source of competitive advantage (Barney 1991). It follows that a construction companys equipment, manpower, technical, and managerial know-how should be efficient, cost-effective, rare, and sophisticated enough to prevent imitation by competitors. Financial resources indicate a companys strength in the market in terms of its capacity to carry out projects. Adequate financial resources ensure the company can get into risky situations that have a prospect of high returns. As a companys financial strength increases, its credibility and reputation also increases among clients and suppliers (Warszawski, 1996). The majority of construction projects are funded by the owner who pays the contractor periodically, who in turn pays the subcontractors, the suppliers and other parties of the project for services rendered. The success of this routine depends on the financial strength of the owner as well as of the contractor (Gunhan and Arditi, 2005). Technical competency refer to the physical assets of a company such as machinery and equipment and the extent of technical know-how available that is necessary to undertake specific projects. According to Warszawski (1996), a companys technical competency can be assessed by analyzing the companys preferred construction methods, the experience of its technical staff, the productivity and speed of its construction activities and the quality of the companys output. Leadership involves developing and communicating mission, vision, and values to the members of an organization. A successful leadership is expected to create an environment for empowerment, innovation, learning and support (Shirazi, 1996). Researchers have examined the links between leadership styles and performance. Fiedler (1996), have emphasized the effectiveness of a leader as a major determinant in success or failure of a group, organization, or even an entire country. Experience is highly related to a companys knowledge management competency. Organizational learning can be effective only if the lessons learned from completed projects are kept in the organizational memory and used in future projects (Kululanga and McCaffer, 2001). Organizational learning is difficult for companies because of the fragmented and project-based structure of the industry. This difficulty can be altered by knowledge management activities and provision of a continuous organizational learning culture (Ozorhon et al., 2005). The image of the company compared with its competitors is important. As in all market-oriented industries, contractors also need to portray an image that fits the needs of the market and the clients targeted. It gives an impression of the products, services, strategies, and prospects compare to its competitors (Fombrun and Shanley, 1990). Contractors in construction industry have to portray an image that addresses the expectation and demand of the clients and users, like in all other market oriented industries. Moreover, image of a company may enable higher profitability by attracting better clients and investors and increasing the value of the product (Fombrun, 1986). Research and development capability is a response to increased industry requirements that occurred as a result of globalization and competition between the companies. Developments occur in all phases of the construction process and technologies emerge that are deemed to have a positive impact on competitive advantage. In contrast to the traditional conservative stance of the industry, construction companies are forced to develop and adopt new technologies in order to survive. Innovation capability is an important factor in achieving cost leadership, focus, and differentiation, hence enhancing competitiveness as stated in Porter (1980). A companys ability to innovate is related to the industry in which it operates. The traditional characteristics of the construction favor cost leadership obtained through lowest bids and focus obtained through specialization (e.g., tall buildings, sewage systems etc.) as the predominant competitive advantages. According to Arditi et al. (1997) innovations are rather incremental than radical in construction industry. The construction is a supplier dominated industry. Construction companies are dependent on other industries for innovations such as construction materials, equipment other than the technological innovations such as new construction processes and methods. Alternative corporate structures, financing methods etc. can also be added as the potential innovation areas in construction industry (Arditi et al. 1997). SKANSKA CONSTRUCTIONS CORPORATE STRATEGY Skanska AB is one of the worlds largest construction enterprises. With headquarters in Sweden, the Skanska group employs 54,000 people worldwide and provides construction-related services and project development. They create sustainable solutions and aim to be a leader in quality, green construction, work safety and business ethics. They also aim to maximize the potential of Skanska with regard to returns. They are a Fortune 500 company and a member of the UN Global Compact. Skanska is one of the worlds ten largest construction companies. Background of Skanska A brief history of Skanska is found in the website that reads (Skanska, 2010): The origin of the company dates back to 1887 when Aktiebolaget Skà ¥nska Cementgjuteriet was established and started by manufacturing concrete products. We quickly diversified into a construction company and within ten years the company received its first international orders. Through the 20th Century we played an important role in building Swedens infrastructure, including roads, power plants, offices and housing. In the mid-1950s, Skà ¥nska Cementgjuteriet made a major move into international markets. During the next decades we entered South America, Africa and Asia, and in 1971 the US market. The US is now our largest market and Skanska ranks among the largest in the construction sector. Today, Africa and Asia are not included in our home market concept. The company was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange A-list in 1965. In 1984 Skanska became the Groups official name. During the 1990s, Skanska initiated its most expansive phase ever. Sales doubled in only a few years. While the major portion of this growth was organic, a string of successful acquisitions also paved the way for Skanskas growth into a global company. Since the beginning of the 21st Century profitability rather than growth is a strong focus. The operations are streamlined to construction and development of residential, commercial and infrastructure projects in selected home markets in Europe and America. Skanska offers construction services in all of their home markets Sweden, the US, UK, Norway, Finland and Estonia, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia and in Latin America. Skanskas management structure is shown in Figure 2. Figure 2: Skanskas management structure (Skanska, 2009) Skanska aims to be a financial and qualitative leader. Their financial targets reflect the ambition to exceed the industry norm. In each of their geographic markets and specific segments, they have established what we call outperform targets. In addition to the financial targets and as means to reach them they have also adopted qualitative targets. The qualitative targets are expressed in Skanskas five zeros vision (Skanska, 2010): Zero loss-making projects. Loss makers destroy profitability and customer relationships Zero accidents, whereby the safety of their personnel as well as subcontractors, suppliers and general public is ensured at and around their projects Zero environmental incidents, by which their projects should be executed in a manner that minimizes environmental impact Zero ethical breaches, meaning that they take a zero tolerance approach to any form of bribery or corruption Zero defects, with the double aim of improving the bottom line and increasing customer satisfaction. The qualitative targets, as expressed in the five zeros, reflect their core values. The five zeros as well as the financial targets also provide the basis for incentive systems at various levels within Skanska. Markets of operation and market strategies of Skanska Skanska is active in selected home markets in Europe, the US and Latin America. In the US, which is their single largest market, they are a leading company within building and civil engineering projects. They are also targeting the US Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) segment. In the Nordic region, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, their operations cover the construction and investment businesses. In Latin America, they are mainly active in the oil, gas and energy sector and in PPP. In the UK, they are a leading player in construction as well as within PPP. In 2006, there were 67 891 companies operating in the construction sector in Sweden. The biggest companies are Skanska, NCC and Peab. There has been an increase in the competition from foreign companies over the last years. It has been a rising market in 2006-2007. During the last four years the investments have increased with 5-10 %. However, due to the current market weakness, there was a decline in 2009. There is no legislation in Sweden stipulating how construction work and services should be performed. Instead, there are general conditions which have been developed by organizations and parties operating within the Swedish Construction Sector. Figure 3 shows the geographical markets of operation of Skanska including Sweeden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, UK, US, and Latin America. Figure 3: Markets of operation of Skanska (Skanska, 2010) Skanska attaches special importance to metropolitan regions, which often demonstrate higher growth than their respective country as a whole. Skanska offers many of the products and services that are needed in growing cities workplaces, schools, hospitals, sports and leisure facilities, as well as housing and infrastructure for transportation, energy and water. In individual markets, Skanska operates today only in certain segments, but by taking advantage of its collective expertise, the Group can enhance its opportunities for growth and higher earnings in these markets (Skanska, 2009). Competitive advantage of Skanska (resources and capabilities) In Isik et als (2010) work, resources and capabilities was found to be most influential on company performance. The critical importance of the resources and capabilities of a company was also emphasized in the literature. The strategic management literature defines resources and capabilities as the strengths of a company. Given the competitive environment among the rivals, resources and capabilities cannot be assumed to be identical in every company (Porter, 1980; Barney, 1991). Skanskas distinctive resources that create competitive advantage for them are as follows (Skanska, 2009): Size: Being a market leader positions Skanska well with the most demanding customers. Its stature also provides access to the best suppliers, which can live up to Skanskas promises to customers regarding timely delivery and quality as well as safety and ethics. Skanskas size gives it an advantage in the most complex assignments, where it uses its collective experience and know-how to meet the demands of customers. Only a few companies can compete for the type of projects where, aside from price, comprehensive solutions and lifecycle costs are of crucial importance. The Groups size and international profile are also attractive qualities in the recruitment of new employees. Technical competency: BIM, a computer-based method for detailed panning, coordination and more efficient execution à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ shall be used in Skanskas design-build projects, in which Skanska is responsible for both design and construction. BIM means greater standardization and also improves Skanskas ability to utilize the savings potential of its corporate-level purchasing efforts. Human resources: Skanskas skilled, dedicated employees combine expertise with the Groups overall focus on sustainable development in order to successfully deliver projects to customers. The Groups ability to transfer knowledge between different geographic markets also contributes to its strength. Image of the company: Skanskas brand has been built up during more than 120 years of working in many different countries. One element of the brand is the Groups Code of Conduct, which includes policies on employee relations, health and safety, the environment and business ethics. Financial resources: Financial strength is an important factor in maintaining the confidence of customers and capital markets in Skanska. It also enables the Group to invest in project development and assume responsibility for and invest in major privately financed infrastructure projects. Innovation capability: Business units of the Skanska Group specialize in project development or construction but often collaborate in specific projects. This strengthens the Groups customer focus and creates the prerequisites for the sharing of best practices, while ensuring efficient utilization of the Groups collective competence and financial resources. To take further advantage of synergies and bring together the Companys expertise, a number of support services are available to all units. These include the Skanska Knowledge Map, a web-based intranet tool that visualizes experts and teams of experts from Skanska on a global basis in selected strategic areas, for example Building Information Modeling (BIM), Green Business and Design/Build. By utilizing its specialized expertise in planning and executing projects, Skanska improves risk control, which in turn results in higher quality and profitability. Global collaboration thus leverages both earnings potential and the Groups abilit y to satisfy the needs of its customers. In the Skanska Group there are both operational and financial synergies that generate increased value for their shareholders. By being a global player, Skanska generates operational synergies mainly due to the potential for taking advantage of the local specialized expertise found globally in various business areas. Shared purchasing activities and product development also boost efficiency and contribute to greater synergies in the organization. The Construction business stream operates with negative working capital and generates a positive cash flow over time. This cash flow is invested in the Groups project development business streams, which have enjoyed very good return on invested capital. These investments also enable Construction to obtain new assignments that generate a profit for the business stream. Figure 4 illustrates how this system works. Figure 4: Synergies at Ska

Future of Oil Essay -- Essays Papers

Future of Oil Is the world on the brink of an oil crisis? I decided to look into this possibility, because it seems like a rather serious question, one that I would feel more comfortable about if I had enough information to at least form a fairly justifiable position. After all, the little I knew about the situation before conducting any research yielded one undeniable result: the issue is an extremely divisive one, with plenty of proponents on both sides of the argument. I decided to look first at the arguments of those who claim that a crisis is looming. George Monbiot summarizes the problem in the following succinct fashion: â€Å"The world's problem is as follows. We now consume six barrels of oil for every new barrel we discover. Major oil finds (of over 500m barrels) peaked in 1964. In 2000, there were 13 such discoveries, in 2001 six, in 2002 two and in 2003 none. Three major new projects will come onstream in 2007 and three in 2008. For the following years, none have yet been scheduled.† This, at first, seems like a rather startling discovery, but it’s its significanc... Future of Oil Essay -- Essays Papers Future of Oil Is the world on the brink of an oil crisis? I decided to look into this possibility, because it seems like a rather serious question, one that I would feel more comfortable about if I had enough information to at least form a fairly justifiable position. After all, the little I knew about the situation before conducting any research yielded one undeniable result: the issue is an extremely divisive one, with plenty of proponents on both sides of the argument. I decided to look first at the arguments of those who claim that a crisis is looming. George Monbiot summarizes the problem in the following succinct fashion: â€Å"The world's problem is as follows. We now consume six barrels of oil for every new barrel we discover. Major oil finds (of over 500m barrels) peaked in 1964. In 2000, there were 13 such discoveries, in 2001 six, in 2002 two and in 2003 none. Three major new projects will come onstream in 2007 and three in 2008. For the following years, none have yet been scheduled.† This, at first, seems like a rather startling discovery, but it’s its significanc...

Essay --

On October 25th, 2013, at Wenling City First Hospital, close to Shanghai, China, a 33-year-old man, furious at the result of an operation over an year ago on his nose, stabbed a doctor to death and wounded two others. He had gone to the ear, nose and throat department looking for the doctor who treated him, but the doctor was not there, so then he pulled out a butcher knife and stabbed the head of the department instead. He also stabbed two other doctors before he was retrained by security guards. Also in October this year, a female doctor in Beijing was stabbed 17 times by an unhappy patient who had spent years blogging about a throat cancer surgery that he claimed was a failure. Xinhua news, quoting a survey from the Chinese Hospital Association, shows that there were 27.3 assaults on medical staff – per hospital – in 2012. Medical professionals across China are increasingly becoming victims of physical violence at the hands of disgruntled patients. In some cases, doctors charged with saving lives are having their own cut short – murdered in cold blood over financial concerns or unhappiness with the quality of treatment. These attacks epitomize and crystalize, in a very extreme way, the severe deterioration of the doctor-patient relationship in China. What could make the doctor-patient relationship, which apparently is supposed to be healthy and mutually beneficial, so noticeably exacerbated in the past decade in China? Some critics say it is the low level of the medical equipments’ quality and doctors’ ability that badly displease and enrage patients, and cause these tragedies. According to Zhongshang News, â€Å"in China, medical students only need 5 years of professional training to be able to obtain the officially authorized qu... ...to African and Asian allied countries. Instead of short of money, the flaws and loopholes in the design of Medicare system explains its low coverage in needed areas. Chinese state media has condemned each of the attacks, and the Ministry of Public Security has required hospitals with more than 2,000 patients to have at least 100 security guards present. But the deeper issue remains—- the exacerbation of doctor-patient relationship due to the low credibility of doctors to their patients; the origin of these corruptions and dissatisfactions is the imperfections of the medical system and the core of solving this problem is first eliminating these problems. Work Cited: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-10/31/c_132847107.htm http://thediplomat.com/2013/11/why-are-chinese-patients-killing-their-doctors/ http://www.askci.com/news/201208/13/8548_88.shtml

Implications of a performance pay system

IntroductionHuman resource and industrial relations is viewed by many scholars as themes that see the sights of thoughts that relates to employment relationships in many organizations including teaching institutions in Australia. The issue of performance in these institutions is of interest to nearly every one in the country and much has been centred on improving the results of the students that are in these institutions. Over the past few years, teachers have been under pressure to produce best results in Australia and this development has led to introducing performance/merit pay system. (Williams and Adam, 2006)There is an argument that some or all a worker’s pay is ‘contingent’ that is it only gets paid if the worker meets certain benchmarks. This means that teachers in learning institutions are required to beat specific targets in order to be compensated. The teachers will be compensated for the extra work that they have done and more specifically if their stu dents have performed best in their studies. Research indicates that the Australian teachers with superior degrees and additional years of experience are remunerated extra than those employed recently or those with low educational levels and terms of service are just a manifestation of age and persistence. This system is founded on the supposition that compensating teachers for outstanding performance would offer encouragements for enhanced student accomplishment gains in their studies. (Williams and Adam, 2006)These performance pay strategies are founded on individual instructor performance which may result to rivalry in the middle of the teachers in the learning institutions. This practice has led to every teacher the bright students when they are teaching them in order to achieve the best results and hence get bonuses associated with such outstanding performance. This means that the teacher’s cooperation which is essential in each and ever institution is threatened and actu ally in some cases shattered.This practice of performance pay in Australia has led to unions of teachers being argumentative that the assessment is prejudiced and it is not based on intended statistics. These performance pay systems often provides for additional payments to that of the teachers salaries and has led to economic complexities because more funds are required to be used for the payments.   This system of merit/performance pay has another bad implication to the teachers in that there are under enhanced strain and force to produce good results from their students in the learning institutions within Australia. This pressure in turn leads to low motivation of teachers which may affect the student’s performance in long-term when the teachers involved will feel that they have achieved enough in terms of gaining financial resources associated with student’s performance. (Hagglund and Provis 1996)The Industrial Relation perspectiveThe performance/merit pay system s in Australia has led to teachers expressing their dissatisfaction brought about by the increased pressure of trying to meet the set targets of students performance in order to be compensated. The teachers unions have had the responsibility to champion the rights of the teachers who are the members. (Blyton and Turnbull, 2004)Unitarism/pluralismFor effective collective bargaining teachers through their trade unions are expected to be united and speak in one voice. This implies that with such practice they will have a bigger advantage because their grievances can be solved with ease and with fewer complications. Channelling grievances through trade unions will give them an added advantage and they may be rewarded with payments that they will be comfortable with unlike when they just express their individual opinions to the relevant paying systems.Collectivism v individualismIndividualism is all about achieving individual goals while Collectivism can be defined as a system that asser ts the primacy of collective goals rather than individual goals. Through collectivism individuals’ requirements are viewed to be of less significance than that of the entire society. Individual privileges may be constrained if they are seen to go up against the objectives of the society. Today collectivism is practiced in Australia as socialism whereby socialism can be traced back to scholar known as Karl Marx (1818-1883).In his argument, Marx takes the view that the government or the state ought to own the way of production to guarantee a just reimbursement of workforce and to steer clear of mistreatment of the masses by a few individuals who take advantage of others for their own benefits. Socialism are of two forms; the first one being that of communism whereby its supporters supposes that socialism can only be attained through cruel revolutions and dictatorship. The second form is that of social democrats whereby its supporters seek to achieve socialism or collectivism th rough democratic means. (Hyman, 1975)Merit/performance pay system in Australia have been viewed by the teachers unions to be individual means of compensating performance and thus these unions have been seeking collectivism where all teachers are remunerated equally and depending on there competences. Collectivism in teachers performance may be achieved through the concept of collective bargaining by both the teachers unions and the employer in this case the Australian government. (Hunt and Provis, 1995)Fairness v competitivenessIn order to achieve goals in any learning institutions fairness should be practiced and unfair competition should be avoided because it may results to conflicts between the teachers in teaching fraternities in Australia. If merit pay system is encouraged in the teaching profession teachers will compete for brighter students. This implies that teachers will feel secure and be sure of more bonuses if their students are bright and can perform well in their studi es. With such system also teachers in Australia may result in competition whereby they try to outdo each other in terms of their remuneration that they get from there bonuses. This means that teachers can manipulate the results of their students in order to receive high bonuses than that of their fellow teachers.The HRM perspectiveHuman Resource Management strategy may be defined as a calculated means by which the enterprise deploy its human resources to accomplish its purpose and basic objectives under the most advantageous circumstances. This implies that the HRM strategy defines the direction in which the learning institutions in Australia intends to move and establish the framework of action through which it intends to get there due to the efficiency of the teachers. This is because the institution management and especially the Human Resource Departments believe that people are the most important assets in the institution as compared to other assets that aid in running learning institutions. (Maund, 2001)How can performance be assessed?The human resource perspectives take the view that performance can be assessed through the overall performance of the human resource and in this case the teachers in the various learning institutions. Performance can only be assessed through organizational effectiveness in learning institutions in Australia. Organization effectiveness can defined as achieving results in an organization through a well organized and coordinated series of managerial activities that comprises of planning, leading, organizing, directing, and controlling of all the resources in the organization including teachers in order to achieve desirable results.Organizational effectiveness involves number of activities including; recruiting competent, motivated and qualified teachers in order to achieve good results, good communication system in the learning institutions, unambiguous policies, decisions and regulations, a conducive environment for teaching, good management, ability to adapt to   any changes, and building a viable and strong culture and mission among others. (Sparrow and Hilltop, 1994)Therefore organization effectiveness can only be achieved through management functions; planning, which encompasses defining learning institution’s goals establishing an overall strategy for achieving those goals and developing a comprehensive hierarchy of plans to integrate and coordinate activities, organizing, which is the determination of what tasks have to be done, who does them how the tasks are to be grouped? Who reports to whom and where decisions are to be made.Controlling, this involves monitoring the teacher’s performance, leading, which involves head teachers motivating teachers, directing the activities to be done, selecting the most appropriate channels of communication and resolving any conflicts among the teachers. There are numerous ways in measuring the effectiveness of learning institutions and include; p roductivity, profits, stability, turnover, growth among others.How can differences in performance be rewarded?Rewarding differences in performance is a difficult task in learning institutions and especially in regards to teachers in Australia. It will be wise if the employees in this case the teachers are paid according to the work that they are doing. A good remuneration system that will involve paying better wages to these teachers as required in their profession plus other benefits when they have achieved the set goals. It is prudent for job evaluation to be carried out in order to reward performance.Job evaluation is all about the relative ranking of an individual job in relation to other jobs that exist within the group. This also refers to technique used in ranking of jobs in an organization. This is normally carried out on the basis of various responsibilities and duties that are assigned to the specific job or task. (Sheridan and Provis, 1998)The results of the job evaluatio n process include the job being assigned a specific range of payment.   The range normally includes a maximum pay rate that the specific job can attract and also the minimum rate of payment that can be given to a person holding such a position. Job evaluation as a management tool has been used by employers and managers for approximately more than seventy five years.This management tool has been used both in the private and in the public sector including in learning institutions. Basing on some generic factors, the value of each teaching job is well defined in the job evaluation process. When the teachers responsibilities are evaluated in terms of their results achieved then they can be rewarded with exactness and without prejudice. (Turner, 1962):Will it actually improve performance?Rewarding difference in performance through job evaluation is very important to employers and managers especially in learning institutions in Australia and actually may improve performance. The reason as to why rewarding difference in performance as a management tool never goes out of fashion is because it plays a big role in reducing teacher’s turnover rate.One of the steps involved in job evaluation is bench marking the jobs. This is done in relation to the jobs that have been evaluated before.   In this case the bench mark jobs are those that are commonly included in salary surveys found in most learning institutions. In this process the bench mark jobs of internal pay structures are related to the external structure’s existing in the labour market that is in other institutions.This greatly helps in reducing employee turnover in the various learning institutions because teachers will be satisfied with their pay. This is because job evaluation carried out will enable the learning institution’s pay grades to be at per with competitor institutions. In this case teachers will not see the need of looking for greener pastures since their pay grades will be sim ilar to what their colleagues in the same positions are paid in other learning institutions. This is really important to employers and managers because they will not be worried about losing teachers to better paying learning institutions and will also motivate the teachers to produce results. This generally plays a big role to stability in the organization. (Anderson, Provis, and Chappel, 2002)Possible disadvantages of actuality performance?There are some disadvantages associated with actuality performance and one can be that of teachers being under pressure to produce the best results in their teaching practice. Because of such pressure sometimes they feel over strained and hence they are low motivated at some level. It may also result to unfair competition between the teachers and this may lead to producing bad performance through sub standard teaching practices thus students may not gain the required knowledge and may be termed as half-baked in the job markets. (Provis, 2004)Conc lusionPerformance/merit pay can be both effective and ineffective in learning institutions in Australia. For example with such system teachers can produce the best results because they will be motivated to get bonuses from their work. On the other hand if not utilized well teachers may create an environment full of unfair competition in an effort to produce good results from their students and they may engage themselves in bad activities like leaking exams to students before the exam dates so that they can perform better. This implies that students will not have an opportunity to gain a wider knowledge but instead they will be narrowed to subjects and topics that will be included in their exams. (Provis, 1986)References:Anderson, B. Provis, C. and Chappel, S. (2002): The Recognition and Management of Emotional Labour in the Tourism Industry. Report to CRC on Sustainable Tourism, Pp 124-134Blyton, P. and Turnbull, P. (2004): The Dynamics of Employee Relations, 3rd Edition Macmillan, London Pp 32-56Hagglund, G. and C. Provis (1996): Enterprise Bargaining and Productivity Issues in South Australia, Contemporary Issues in Business and Government 2 (4), Pp 49-54Harris, R.., Provis, C., Park, R., Mason, D., Delbridge, R. and Gough, R. (2002): High Performance Manufacturing and the Learning Factory, Report to Industry Pp 78-89Hunt, I, and Provis, C (1995): The New Industrial Relations in Australia. Federation Press, Sydney Pp 67-78Hyman, R. (1975): Industrial Relations- A Marxist Introduction, Macmillan, London. Pp 67-89Maund, L. (2001): An Introduction to Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice: Palgrave, Macmillan. Pp 67-79Provis, C. (2004): Ethics and Organisational Politics, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham and Northampton. Pp 100-123Provis, C. (1997): Mediation and Conciliation in Industrial Relations- Reflections from Australia,' Labour Studies Journal 21 (4), Pp 83-99Provis, C. (1986): Comparative Wage Justice.   Journal of Industrial Relations 28 (1) Pp 26-34Salamon, M. (2000): Industrial Relations. Theory and Practice, 4th Edition, Prentice Hall, London. Pp 45-67Sheridan, K. and C. Provis (1998): Enterprise Agreements in South Australia. Progress or pretence?   International Journal of Employment Studies 6 (1), Pp 129-1140.Sparrow, P. and Hilltop, J. (1994): European Human Resource Management in Transition: New York Prentice Hall, Pp 43-78Turner, H. (1962): Trade Union Democracy in Trade Union growth, structure and policy. Allen and Unwin, London. Pp 292-294Williams, S. and Adam S (2006): Contemporary Employment Relations- A Critical Introduction, Oxford Pp 54-67