Elements of Marketing Mix Essay Example for Free

Elements of Marketing Mix Essay Elements of Marketing Mix A typical marketing mix includes a product, offered at a price, with some promotion to tell potential customers about the product, and a way to reach the customers place (Perreault McCarthy, 2004, pg. 36). A company will use the marketing mix in order to control variables in marketing to satisfy a target group. This paper will describe the four elements of the marketing mix; product, place, price, and promotion. In addition, the four elements of the marketing mix will be discussed on the impacts in the development of Starbucks marketing strategy and tactics. ProductThe product area is concerned with developing the right product for the target market (Perreault, 2004, pg. 38). This requires a company to determine what item or service is desired by the customer in order to fulfill needs. The product needs to provide a service, cover the expected needs for the customer, or deliver the expectations created by other elements of the marketing mix. Service, benefits, branding, and packaging are some things that are taken into consideration with an organizations product (Perreault et al, 2004). The overall objective is to offer a product that will satisfy the wants and needs of people. PlacePlace is concerned with all the decisions involved in getting the right product to the target markets place (Perreault et al, 2004, pg. 39). Place refers to the delivery of a product or service to a location that customers may obtain from. This step is needed to get the finished product from the company or origin to the consumer. Marketers need to consider the most efficient method to distribute an organizations product. Channel type, market exposure, locations of stores, service levels, means of transportation and distributing are factors that are taken into considers when marketers need to develop a strategy for place (Perreault et al, 2004). The overall objective is creating a place in order for customers to buy the product. PricePrice setting must consider the kind of competition in the target market and the cost of the whole marketing mix (Perreault et al, 2004, pg. 40). The price is the amount that will be charged for the product. Managers  must know current practices as to markups, discounts, and other terms of sale (Perreault et al, 2004, pg. 40). The prices set by competitors will affect the price of the product. Organizations use pricing techniques in order to reach a competitive price of the product. Prices are set by a company in order to become profitable or to even reach the break even point. Flexibility, product life, cycles, geographic terms, discounts, and allowances are factors that must be considered before setting the price of a product (Perreault et al, 2004). In addition, pricing strategies also will vary according to region. For example, a product that sells for a price of 10 dollars in California may only sell for 7 dollars in the state of Georgia. The overall objective is the set the right price for the product. PromotionPromotion is concerned with telling the target market or others in the channel of distribution about the right product (Perreault et al, 2004, pg. 40). Promotion is how the marketer will communicate, inform and persuade customers to purchase a product or service. There are many ways in which to market the product. The marketer must take in account multiple ways of promotion; personal selling, mass selling, and sales promotion. All can be mixed to create the right blend that will target the marketplace. Personal selling involves direct communication between a company and their customer, usually face-to-face. However, direct communication can also be through phone interviews or sales calls, conferences through video and the internet (Perreault et al, 2004). Promotion can also be used to target a large group of consumers at the same time such as radio or television advertising. This is known as mass selling. Finally, sales promotion refers to promotion activities that do not in volve advertising and personal selling. Contest, coupons, and special offers are some examples of sales promotions (Perreault et al, 2004). Starbucks Marketing MixStarbucks Coffee mission statement is to establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow (Starbucks, n.d.). Starbucks has utilized the four marketing elements to help create an excellent impact in the development of their marketing tactics and strategies. Starbucks originated in Seattle, Washington, over 30 years ago,  and owns more than 12,000 stores worldwide. Starbucks achieved this by creating a successful marketing strategy. Starbucks was recognized 7 times as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens by Business Ethics Magazine (Shareholder, 2007). Starbucks customers include people of diverse ethnicity, income, and age groups with varying tastes and interest. With this diverse clientele, Starbucks has made marketing a challenge to target all these diverse groups of people. ProductStarbucks is dedicated to purchasing the highest quality coffee and paying premium prices to reflect ongoing commitment to coffee-farming communities (Shareholder, 2007). The reason Starbucks offer so many different varieties of products is to satisfy the diverse clientele. This company has continuously been able to influence their clientele by offering products that appeal to all cultures. Starbucks has been able to meet a specific market demand. Starbucks gives a wide range of food and beverage options, from indulgent treats to lower-fat and reduced-calorie choices for all consumers tastes (Shareholder, 2007). Starbucks continues to innovate and extend the Starbucks Experience with imaginative new ready-to-drink beverages and expanding coffee offerings. PlaceStarbucks stores are strategically placed in locations that are visible and have a great deal of traffic. Starbucks is successful at placing their products strategically in order to impact sales volume. According to the Starbucks 2006 annual report, we opened 2,199 new stores globally (ahead of 1,800), at an average pace of six new stores per day, bringing our total to 12,440 stores in 37 countries (Shareholder, 2007). They have locations on busy street corners, in malls, theaters, office buildings, grocery stores and airports which have allowed them to be clearly visible. Almost anywhere a person turns there is a Starbucks around the corner. PriceStarbucks does not consider their price to strategy to be of significance compared to the other elements in the industry. The companys 12-ounce tall latte ranges from $2.25 in Minnesota to $3 in New York City (Wong, 2004). Like any company, prices are based on the level of economy in each area. Starbucks prices largely are also based on manufacturing.  Starbucks prices reflect cost of coffee beans, sugar, geographical areas, and the overall experience. Distribution also plays a role in how the product is priced at each company. PromotionStarbucks employs a mix between personal selling and sales promotion. Personal selling lets the salesperson adapt the firms marketing mix to each potential customer (Perreault et al, 2004). Starbucks does not just have salespeople, but baristas. Starbucks baristas inform and sell the product face-to-face to the customers. Starbuckss promotions do not include traditional advertising, but global sales promotions. Sales promotions spark purchases by customers through different channels. In August of 2006, Starbucks supported Jumpstarts Read for the Record campaign. They sold 53,000 copies of The Little Engine That Could and hosted 330 reading events setting an official Guinness world record. Furthermore, incentive sales promotions included donating 5 cents for every bottle sold for the Ethos Water Fund. The Ethos Water Fund focuses on improving local water sources and providing sanitation and hygiene education to the communities in Ethiopia and Indonesia (Shareholder, 2007). People want to be apart of Starbucks global efforts and these are examples of effective sales promotions. ConclusionWhen developing a marketing, all decisions impacted the four Ps should be made at the same time. The four elements of the marketing mix are equally important. This is because the products, places, prices, and promotions of an organization surround the most important element; the customer (Perreault et al, 2004). According to Starbucks 2006 annual report, There are numerous competitors in almost every market in which Starbucks operates and in which it expects to expand in both the specialty coffee beverage business and the specialty whole bean coffee business (Shareholder, 2007). Starbucks has proven to stay on top of their market. However, Starbucks and any organization need to continuously examine their marketing mix in order to stay competitive and profitable. By successfully completing the circle of the four Ps, Starbucks has established a multi-million dollar organization that is a Fortune 100 Company. References Perreault, W. D. McCarthy, E. J. (2004). Basic Marketing: A Global-Managerial Approach. The McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved Nov. 11, 2007, from https://mycampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.aspStarbucks, (n.d.). Retrieved Nov. 11, 2007, from http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/environment.aspShareholder, (2007). In Starbucks Coffee 2006 Annual Report. Retrieved Nov. 11, 2007, from http://www.shareholder.com/visitors/dynamicdoc/document.cfm?CompanyID=SBUXDocumentID=1382PIN=Page=13Zoom=1xWong, B. (2004, Sept. 28). In Cup of Starbucks going up average of 11 cents Oct. 6. Retrieved Nov. 11, 2007, from http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/192721_coffeeprice28.html

Gene Therapy: the Danger of Enhancement Essay -- Science Medicine Ethi

Gene Therapy: the Danger of Enhancement I. Introduction Gene therapy has the potential to revolutionize modern medicine. The techniques of gene therapy are still in their infancy as medical treatments and there are still many problems which must be solved before gene therapy will live up to its potential. However, it is very likely that gene therapy will become a reality at some point in the future and when that time comes, the ethical questions surrounding gene therapy will be pushed to the forefront of medicine. Science may find a way to reduce the risks associated with gene therapy but science alone cannot eliminate the serious ethical and societal risks which gene therapy brings to bear on the world. We need to put people's fear about the dangers of altering the genetic makeup of human beings to rest by establishing ethical principles which clear the way for advancement in medical therapy. Ethical guidelines for gene therapy must be established which emphasize medical uses over uses for human enhancement. II. Concepts of Gene Therapy Gene therapy involves the transfer of genetic material into the cells of an organism in order to cause a specific protein to be produced or in order to cease the production of a specific protein. This procedure usually involves transferring a specific gene into host cells to be incorporated into the chromosomal DNA of the host and later to be expressed. However, according to Dorothy Bonn, the future of gene therapy may also include the use of antisense DNA strands to disrupt expression of a gene or the use of homologous recombination to alter host DNA (1996). In medical terms Jeffrey Leiden, M.D. (1995) defines gene therapy as, "the introduction and expression of recombinant genes in... ...Leiden, Jeffrey M. (1995, September 28). Gene therapy - promises and pitfalls." New England Journal of Medicine, pp. 871-872. Marshall, Eliot. (1995, December 15). Less hype, more biology needed for gene therapy. Science, p. 1751. Miller, Henry I. (1994, July 30). Gene therapy for enhancement. The Lancet, pp. 316-317. Nelkin, Dorothy. (1996, May-June). Genetics, god, and sacred DNA. Society, pp. 22- 25. Voelker, Rebecca. (1993, November 17). The genetic revolution: Despite perfection of elegant techniques, ethical answers still elusive. Journal of the American Medical Association, pp. 2273-2274. Wivel, Nelson A. and LeRoy Walters. (1993, October 22). Germ-line gene modifications and disease prevention: Some medical and ethical perspectives. Science, pp. 533-538. Wright, Richard T. (1989). Biology Through the Eyes of Faith. New York: HarperCollins. Gene Therapy: the Danger of Enhancement Essay -- Science Medicine Ethi Gene Therapy: the Danger of Enhancement I. Introduction Gene therapy has the potential to revolutionize modern medicine. The techniques of gene therapy are still in their infancy as medical treatments and there are still many problems which must be solved before gene therapy will live up to its potential. However, it is very likely that gene therapy will become a reality at some point in the future and when that time comes, the ethical questions surrounding gene therapy will be pushed to the forefront of medicine. Science may find a way to reduce the risks associated with gene therapy but science alone cannot eliminate the serious ethical and societal risks which gene therapy brings to bear on the world. We need to put people's fear about the dangers of altering the genetic makeup of human beings to rest by establishing ethical principles which clear the way for advancement in medical therapy. Ethical guidelines for gene therapy must be established which emphasize medical uses over uses for human enhancement. II. Concepts of Gene Therapy Gene therapy involves the transfer of genetic material into the cells of an organism in order to cause a specific protein to be produced or in order to cease the production of a specific protein. This procedure usually involves transferring a specific gene into host cells to be incorporated into the chromosomal DNA of the host and later to be expressed. However, according to Dorothy Bonn, the future of gene therapy may also include the use of antisense DNA strands to disrupt expression of a gene or the use of homologous recombination to alter host DNA (1996). In medical terms Jeffrey Leiden, M.D. (1995) defines gene therapy as, "the introduction and expression of recombinant genes in... ...Leiden, Jeffrey M. (1995, September 28). Gene therapy - promises and pitfalls." New England Journal of Medicine, pp. 871-872. Marshall, Eliot. (1995, December 15). Less hype, more biology needed for gene therapy. Science, p. 1751. Miller, Henry I. (1994, July 30). Gene therapy for enhancement. The Lancet, pp. 316-317. Nelkin, Dorothy. (1996, May-June). Genetics, god, and sacred DNA. Society, pp. 22- 25. Voelker, Rebecca. (1993, November 17). The genetic revolution: Despite perfection of elegant techniques, ethical answers still elusive. Journal of the American Medical Association, pp. 2273-2274. Wivel, Nelson A. and LeRoy Walters. (1993, October 22). Germ-line gene modifications and disease prevention: Some medical and ethical perspectives. Science, pp. 533-538. Wright, Richard T. (1989). Biology Through the Eyes of Faith. New York: HarperCollins.

Greenpeace and Politics Essay

Greenpeace is an organization which often collides with governments in countries all over the world in its attempt to stop things like global warming, deforestation, overfishing and more. Greenpeace tries to reach their goals by direct action and lobbying. This is the part where they often collide with the governments. My questions about this topic are: -What conflicts does Greenpeace have (or did they have) with the government and corporations in the Netherlands and governments and corporations of other countries in the world? -How exactly does Greenpeace influence governments and corporations? -What influence does Greenpeace have on governments and corporations? I want to answer these questions by first telling a bit more about Greenpeace. Then I will tell about some conflicts which Greenpeace have had and still have with Dutch government and corporations. I am also going to tell how Greenpeace acted in those conflicts and if they reached their goal(s). by telling this, I will have answered the second and third question. I will also tell about some conflicts Greenpeace has with other governments and corporations and how Greenpeace acted there. Greenpeace Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization. It has offices in more than forty countries all over the world. Its international coordinating body is in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Greenpeace states its goal is to â€Å"ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity.’’ It focuses on worldwide issues such as global warming, deforestation, overfishing, commercial whaling and anti-nuclear issues. Greenpeace is known for its direct actions and lobbying to stop or delay things but also uses research and innovation to achieve its goals. Greenpeace does not accept money from governments, political parties, or companies. It relies on more than 2.9 million individual supporters and foundation grants. Greenpeace is a founding member of the INGO Accountability Charter; an international non-governmental organization that intends to promote accountability and transparency of non-governmental organizations. Greenpeace has been described as the most visible environmental organization in the world. It has raised environmental issues to public knowledge, and influenced both the private and the public sector. Greenpeace has also been a source of controversy; its motives and methods have received criticism and the organization’s direct actions have led to legal actions against Greenpeace activists. Greenpeace and conflicts with the Dutch government and Dutch corporations – In August 2008, Greenpeace threatens the negotiations of the Dutch government and civil society organizations concerning the designation of protected nature reserves in the North Sea. Greenpeace threw large rocks in the Sylter Buitenrif, near the German-Denmark border. Each of the rocks are about two to three tons. Because of the rocks, fishing is impossible in that area because the fishing nets might get hooked on the rocks, which will be dangerous for the boats. The reason why Greenpeace did this was because the Dutch government was too slow with the designation of protected nature reserves. In 1995, all EU countries promised they would take protective measures known as ‘Natura 2000’, but all North Sea countries, including the Netherlands, took too long to do this and were behind schedule. The Dutch minister of agriculture, minister Verburg, agreed to designate four protected nature areas. – Minister Verhagen declared he wanted a second nuclear power plant (NNP) to be built in the Netherlands, one much bigger than the NNP we already have in Borssele. He had already found a solution for the nuclear waste: put it under the ground. According to minister Verhagen, two soil types are suitable for storing nuclear waste, salt domes in the northern Netherlands and the Boom clay layer which extends over the Netherlands and a part of Belgium. And since a few months, Dutch Greenpeace activists have been protesting against nuclear energy in the Netherlands. They have been trying to persuade the cities to say ‘no’ to nuclear waste storages underneath their city. They did this in several ways, they for example placed warning signs under more than 64 signposts of cities in middle and south Netherlands. Greenpeace activists also visited cities and spoke to councilors and they dumped ‘nuclear waste’ in several places. By now, more than 75 cities said ‘no’ to nuclear waste and the energy company Delta declared in January to have put the plans for a second NPP on hold. They declared it was not feasible anymore to built a second NPP. However, minister Verhagen still wants a second NPP, though he does not seen to get much support anymore†¦ – In December 2011, Greenpeace campaigned in the harbor of IJmuiden against harmful giant ships which was about to set sail to the waters West-Africa. Because of overfishing in the European seas, ships like these now have to go to other seas because they cannot catch enough fish in European seas anymore. The ships against which Greenpeace was campaigning was part of the Pelagic Freezer-Trawler Association (PFA). This is a company which is established in the Netherlands and is a partnership of several Dutch fisheries. PFA got more than 142 million euro subsidy from 2006 to 2011 on. the last five years more than 142 million Euros in European subsidies. Subsidies which are paid from tax money paid by European inhabitants. Greenpeace wrote the amount of money which one of the largest fishing ships in the world got on the ship itself. Also, on the 31st of January 2012, Greenpeace anchored one of Europe’s largest ships to the dock with steel cables to prevent it from setting sail to fishing waters. The Second Chamber will debate about overcapacity on the 15th of February in the Algemeen Overleg. Greenpeace and conflicts with other governments and corporations all over the world Finland, 1995 In June 1955, Greenpeace took a trunk from a tree and put it on display at exhibitions in Austria and Germany. They declared that the trunk was from a tree from a ancient forest in a national park which was supposed to be protected. Metsà ¤hallitus is a state-owned enterprise in Finland has the tasks of managing most of the protected areas of Finland and to supply wood to the country’s forest industry. They accused Greenpeace of theft and said the trunk was from a normal tree that had been destroyed during a storm. Greenpeace replied that the tree had fallen down because the forest around it had been clear-cut. With this action, Greenpeace wanted to highlight the fate of old forests, and they did, because the incident received publicity in some large Finish newspapers. Great Britain, 2008 On the 11th of September, 2008, six Greenpeace activists were acquitted in a case started by energy company E.ON. The activists were protesting against the emission of COâ‚‚ and the construction of a new coal plant in Kent. They climbed the chimney of an existing plant and wanted to write the text ‘Gordon, bin it’ on the chimney. However, they were stopped after they had written ‘Gordon.’ E.ON wanted the activists to pay the damage costs of  £ 35,000 but the judge decided that the damage to the environment done by the coal plant was many times bigger than the activists’ graffiti. France, 1985 The first ship of Greenpeace was the Rainbow Warrior, a 40 meter long former fishing trawler. From 1978 to 1985 on, it was used as a ship to prevent whale hunting, ocean-dumping of toxic and radioactive waste, seal hunting and nuclear testing. In 1985, the Rainbow Warrior was to lead a fleet of protest vessels into the waters surrounding a French nuclear testing site. The French government secretly bombed the ship in the Auckland harbor, New Zealand. The bombings killed a Dutch freelance photographer. At first, the French government denied they had bombed the ship, but in the end they were exposed by the New Zealand police. They agreed to pay New Zealand a compensation of 13 million New Zealand Dollar. They also paid 2.3 million French francs to the family of the photographer. Liberia, Greece, 2002 In 2002, Greek, German and Swiss activists boarded the vessel MV Zini in the port of Kalamaki. The vessel was there to unload logs which it had picked up at the Liberian port of Buchanan. That port is largely controlled by the logging company Oriental Timber Company (OTC). OTC is run by a close business associate of the President of Liberia, who has granted the logging rights to at least one third of Liberia ´s remaining 4.8 million hectares of ancient forest to the company. Liberia’s forests contain enormous biodiversity, but its timber industry is fuelling both environmental destruction and human rights abuses. The Greenpeace activists dressed like animals, the same animals that are being wiped out around the world through the destruction of ancient forests. In reaction to the Greenpeace action, the Greek ministry of environment joined other European nations in committing itself to keep a very clear and strong position for the protection and sustainable management of the last ancient forests of the world and they made promises to take action against forest destruction. Japan, 2008 In June 2008, the Japanese police arrested two Greenpeace activists for stealing a box which was supposed to be full of cardboard, but which was in fact filled with whale meat. The two activists presented this box as evidence to the Public Prosecutor in Tokyo of wide-scale corruption at the heart of the government-sponsored whaling operation in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. There has been an investigation, but according to the Tokyo District Prosecutor Office, it has been unable to find evidence of the embezzlement. The investigation into crew and whaling officials has stopped. After their arrest, the two Greenpeace activists, known as ‘the Tokyo Two’, have been held without charge for some time. In that time, more than 170.000 people have done a cyber action, and a quarter million people sent a mail to the Japanese government to demand their release. The Tokyo Two have been handed a one year suspended prison sentence last year September, despite of the world wide protests against the unjust sentence. Although they are now in prison, they did manage to put whaling successfully on trial, both in court, and in Japan’s national media. Switzerland, 2010, Other European countries In 2010, the Swiss Parliament extended its ban on the cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) plants for three more years. Switzerland will now stay free of GE plants until at least 2013. The original moratorium was backed by Swiss voters in a referendum 5 years ago. Supporters of the ban included farmers, who were concerned about the impacts of GE crops on organic produce as GE crops pose unpredictable risks to human and animal health. The Swiss Greenpeace office has been supporting these farmers and Swiss consumers to ensure the country remains GE-free. The EU Commission President Barroso is trying to force GE crops into the EU and to bypass standard authorisation procedures. However, this approval has met many criticism and opposition. The governments of Greece, Austria, Luxembourg, Italy, Hungary and France have all publicly announced that they will not allow GE potato crops grown in their countries. Six other EU countries, Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Luxembourg have bans on GE maize cultivation. I hoped I was able to give an idea of the conflicts Greenpeace gets into with governments and corporations all over the world. Of course, what I told is only a fraction of the actions Greenpeace does and the conflicts and problems they walk into when campaigning but had I told about them all, or even half of them, I could have continued for a very long time. And of course, Greenpeace does not always get into conflict with governments or big corporations, sometimes they only get into conflict with small companies or a small group of people.

Case Study Salary Inequities at Acme Manufacturing

When it comes to developing strategic pay plans it is important to have a good understanding of some basic factors to determine pay rates. Employee compensation is â€Å"all forms of pay going to employees and arising from their employment† (Dessler, 2013, p. 352). According to Dessler (2013), it consists of both â€Å"direct financial payments and indirect financial payments.† As we explore the case study of Acme Manufacturing, we will see the salary inequities and the struggles that the newly appointed president, Joe Black, has to go through to fix those issues. In an article titled â€Å"Fair Pay or Power Play?† Shin (2013) reported that â€Å"pay inequity provides strong motivation for CEOs to restore equity.† For this case, I will identify some issues†¦show more content†¦The issues faced by Acme are issues that are seen across the spectrum of businesses, companies, and organizations, and in most cases go unnoticed and never get resolved. John Black, current president for Acme took the first step in resolving the existing issues by hiring a compensation consultant to assist him with the resolution process. Together, Black and the consultant decided that all â€Å"25 salaried jobs at Acme be placed in the same job evaluation cluster; that a modified ranking method of job evaluation should be used; and that the jobs descriptions recently completed by the HR director were current and usable in the study† (Dessler, 2013). With these steps already in place, I would recommend that Acme use performance appraisal and incentive pay to maintain individual equity, and use communications, grievance mechanisms, and employees’ participation to help ensure that employees view the pay process as procedurally fair. The need for my recommendation is highly necessary as we saw that employees were left to brainstorm the reasons behind pay gaps between male and female supervisors, and had a definitive answer as to such pay gap. Another tentative solution to be implemented within Acme would be establishing a pay policy. According to Dessler (2013), once a compensation strategy is created, it will manifestShow MoreRelatedSalary Inequities at Acme Manufacturing873 Words   |  4 PagesSalary inequities at Acme Manufacturing   Joe Black was trying to figure out what to do about a problem salary situation he had in his plant. Black recently took over as president of Acme Manufacturing. The founder and former president, Bill George, had been president for 35 years. The company was family owned and located in a small eastern Arkansas town. It had approximately 250 employees and was the largest employer in the community. Black was the member of the family that owned Acme, but heRead MoreThe Salary Inequities For The Female Employees Essay1783 Words   |  8 Pagesmany cases it is thought that the main reason is because women are less likely to negotiate their salary. Even if this is the case, companies need to be aware of their employee’s salaries to stay within their legal obligation. This is what Joe Black, the president of Acme Manufacturing, has discovered within his organization. Critical Factors The central dilemma for this case with Acme Manufacturing is the salary inequities for the female employees. There are concerns that these inequities wereRead MoreInequities at Acme Manufacturing1420 Words   |  6 Pages Salary Inequities at ACME Manufacturing | Human Resource Management | | The case study of Salary Inequality within the Acme Corporation is all too common in our workforce. The issue is of a â€Å"Pay Gap† exists in economiesRead MoreHrm Case Study12223 Words   |  49 PagesCase Study-1 Jack Nelson’s Problem Chapter-1 Introduction to Human Resource Management Page: 1 * The case is all about the necessity amp; functions of HR unit in a local bank. In this bank Jack Nelson is a member of board of director and Ruth Jonson is an excellent employee. As Mr. Nelson was very much curious about how Jonson operate her machine, she briefly gave an idea about it. Speaking with the in-charged supervisor of a branch of this bank Nelson found that something was wrong inside

Global Terrorist Organizations Essay example - 4168 Words

ETA stands for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna in Euskara, or in English, Basque Fatherland and Freedom. It grew out of the EKIN in Spain in 1959 and formed as a radical Basque separatist group. Discontented with the moderate nationalism of the main Basque party, the ETA is dedicated to a separate nation-state for the Basque people, an ethnic group inhabiting areas of northern Spain and southwestern France. Currently there are about 300 members . Current leaders include Juan Cruz Maiztegui Bengoa and Josà © Luis Eciolaza Galà ¡n, however very little is known about the ETA power hierarchy. They are extremely secretive about their leadership structure. However in 1992, ETAs three top leaders — military leader Francisco Mujika Garmendia,†¦show more content†¦The group has attempted several cease-fires, including a 14-month one that lasted until December 1999. While there have been a number of ETA attacks since 2000, the group has claimed fewer victims. The strings of bombings in September 2004, December 2005, and early 2006 were generally preceded by warnings and did not result in any deaths. Also the Spanish government has been cracking down, and there are more than one hundred suspected ETA members in Spanish prisons today . In March 2006, ETA declared a permanent cease-fire, but broke this deal in December with the placement of a car bomb. Since then they have appeared relatively weak, especially with the arrest of Jurdan Martitegi, the fourth consecutive ETA military chief to be arrested by the police . However, violence resurged in the summer of 2009, leading to the death of three individuals and injuring dozens more. The ETA may simply be biding its time before commencing another string of attacks. FARC FARC stands for Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The group grew out of the Colombian Communist Party in 1964 with the aim of overthrowing the current democratic government of Colombia and replacing it with a Communist government. There are currently around 12,000 FARC members . Manuel Marulanda andShow MoreRelatedTerrorism in the City of Boston Essay1228 Words   |  5 Pagesimportant for a terrorists to plot an attack, such an attack would devastate and scare not only people around the Boston area but nationwide. Two brothers by the name of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev were affiliated with a foreign terrorist organization that has roots in Chechnya, had planted two bombs near the finish line at the marathon. Upon detonation of the two bombs, three people were killed as well as many others that were injured. 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The terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 marked the transformation of not only the American economy, but also a shift in public perceptions of terrorism, both at home and abroad. The

The Bullying Crisis in America Essays - 1949 Words

Schools do not talk about it, parents do not know how to stop it from happening, but so many suffer from it, bullying. Bullying has become the biggest growing issue in the world. So many people go through the day in silence while struggling to not let bullying affect them, but it does. Bullying happens in so many different ways, but no one ever talks about it. Everyday 160,000 people suffer from being bullied at school and half of those people will try to commit suicide because of it (Karmazin). Imagine yourself walking on campus, and all of a sudden another student starts calling you names. This is what so many students fear every day. One in every four students is a victim of some kind of bullying. Why does this happen? Bullying has†¦show more content†¦Physical bullies are what they’re called physical, because they are known to kick, hit, push, trip, or cause any physical harem to another kid. Verbal bullies are the bullies that use their words to belittle their vi ctim. They resort to name-calling, racial slurs, cruel comments about a person, or comments about their victim’s physical look. This type of bullying is the most common type of bullying and is reported the most. Relational bullies are the bullies that make it hard for their victim to be accepted by anyone. The bullies will single out the victim for all peer groups. This type of bullying is done mainly by a bullying spreading detrimental rumors and using extreme verbal threats pertaining to their victim (California Department of Education). Finally, the last type of bullying is cyber bullying. This is done by the bullies using the different social media sites to bully their victim. Cyber bullying is the use of electronics, phone, computer, etc. to post cruel and hurtful comments, pictures, and rumors about someone on the internet or on instant messages. There has been a high increase of teen suicide due to cyber bullying. 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Evaluation and Analysis on Sustainability Reporting

Question: Discuss about the Evaluation and Analysis on Sustainability Reporting. Answer: Introduction The following report aims to present the explanation and evaluation on the concept of management decision in terms of processes that are associated with the efficient allocation of business resources. The report includes the discussion on sustainability reporting framework along with the evaluation on Global Reporting Initiative considering the given organization Bega Cheese. The following study covers the description of key features of the organization along with an overview on the positive and negative impacts in terms of environmental social factors. The report also contains analysis on the probable alteration of the companys information in the annual report and other sources including corporate website through the application of gap analysis. Considering the compliance of Global Reporting Initiative guidelines, the study incorporates the evaluation on the benefits to the potential investors, shareholders as well as other stakeholders. Background of the company Bega cheese is a manufacturing company in Australia, one of the largest cheese manufacturing companies in Australia. The company exports its products across the globe while distributes the products in Australia in most of the general stores as well as in supermarkets. As the current financial information, the company incurred revenue amounted to $119.63 million while the amount of profit has been $29.202 million. It has been noted that the company serves the dairy products to around 9.3 billion consumers while the quality management system ensured to design the organizational inputs and business activities through supply chain methods (Begacheese.com.au, 2017). Key Features of Bega Cheese Considering the present report of the company, Bega Cheese thrives to maintain achievements in business activities and finances for delivering products at low commodity prices and significant competition within the Australian region. During the year, financial performance of the company has been stable over the years while adding more values to the organizations manufactured dairy products. It has been noted that the company always managed o consider the best business approach to create business values along with the appropriate risk management by applying the experience, knowledge and skill along with the updated and innovative business ideas. During the recent years, companys revenue reflected increased value by around 131.9% along with the improvement in overall performance margin by 32.6%. The statement of financial position of the organization reflected net debt balance amounted to $53.1 million during the year 2016, which was reduced by $5.6 million in comparison to that of the year 2015 (Begacheese.com.au, 2017). Overview of the environmental and social impact of the organizational operations Sustainability reporting is a report that is prepared and disclosed by the management of the organization presenting the accountability towards the internal as well as external stakeholders. The report considers organizational performance overview along with the reporting on economic, social as well as environmental impact that involves positive and negative factors (Ioannou Serafeim, 2014). Considering the current years sustainability report of Bega Cheese, it has been noted that the organizations total dairy farms consists of more than 400 while 94% of the milk suppliers engaged in the firms sustainability assessment. Further, engagement of direct milk suppliers along with the sustainability and growth consists of around 93%. Environmental factor for the organizational operations reflected reduction of 7% in the intensity of production energy over the period of five years. Similarly, social impact reflected 11% reduction in the Lost Time Injuries number during the financial year 2 015, whereas the company managed to increase the financial support for the local community including benefit fund for the employees (Asx.com.au, 2017). In view of the companys reported sustainability report, the management considered the environmental impact reflecting improvement in the dairying community. The company has been able to influence the aspects related to environment in terms of milk supply base with respect to animal welfare and improvement in the production programs. Positive impact of the environmental issues includes several programs based on the Bega Environmental Management System to provide long- term benefit on production sustainability (Begacheese.com.au, 2017). The program has been considered to incorporate nutrient management, protection and improvement in the farm safety along with the development in professional service. Considering the positive environment impact, the organizational management emphasizes on reducing the greenhouse gas that affects the environmental hygiene. Apart from that, the organization considered protection with respect to animal health, managing and reducing the waste products in far m as well as savings in energy and water supply. Considering the positive social impact of the organization, the company adopted emerging pool for the young leaders in terms of capacity, energy and passion for managing business activities. It has been noted that the organization considers its employees and society as an important required to achieve the business targets and aspirations in future years. Positive impact of the social diversity includes development of business structure, greater accountability and improves the management skill with respect to the improvement in business operations and sustainability (Fernandez-Feijoo, Romero Ruiz, 2014). The organization also considers the regulatory compliance on women employment and management hence, management group of the company involves around 22% women members as per the current report. Social impact of the company involves safe workplace to the employees and workers that adds to the core values of the organizational operations and performance. It has been observed that the or ganization focused to implement the framework on comprehensive as well as safety management that aims to promote the hygiene and safe environment for the employees (Begacheese.com.au, 2017). Other than the positive impacts on environmental and social factors, there are certain negative impacts as well representing several challenges to the business operations of the company. The organization focuses to develop the operational program with respect to prevention of pollution and environmental performance recognizing the sustainability risks for better performance of the business activities. However, the organization experience challenges with respect to the energy and water due to change in climate (Benn, Dunphy Griffiths, 2014). It has been observed that the probable impact of changes in the climate affect the quality of milk product along with the product volume resulting in affecting the farming cost for the organization. Apart from that, challenges with respect to air emissions has been environmental risk for the organization since several sites of the company operates generating harmful steam from the sawdust and other timber mill wastes. Negative social impact on th e organizational operations includes contribution of tax payment, relationship among the organization and its stakeholders along with the human resource management. Moreover, the organization considers certain schemes for the benefit of employees as well for the society, challenges in terms of release of water and solid waste, product storage as well as product transport that affect the environment hygiene (Begacheese.com.au, 2017). Analysis of application of GRI guidelines along with the application of gap analysis Gap analysis is a procedure that the organization considers to determine the steps for comparing the actual performance of the company with that of potential performance. It is conducted by the organization to identify the gap between the allocation of operational resources and its integration in accordance with the present level of allocation (Hahn Khnen, 2013). Further, development of sustainability reporting framework by the Global Reporting Initiative, which is a non- profit organization provided mandatory practice to present sustainability reporting for all the organizations. The primary reason for such initiative was to make the companies of Australia more active and to maintain the sustainable growth parallel to the business activities of international companies. Currently, the annual report of Bega Cheese presents its responsibility of the employers and partners for the business operations while the reporting guidelines by GRI provides presentation of principles for comparab ility, accuracy and balance. Second part of the sustainability reporting guidelines include standard disclosures required to present by the company in the suitability reporting with respect to the strategy and business profile, approach of management and indicators of performance. Considering the current sustainability reporting, annual report and corporate website of Bega Cheese it can be said that the company presented the business operation process, supply chain procedure along with the operational performance covering the financial aspects, environmental aspects and social aspects (Begacheese.com.au, 2017). However, if the proposed sustainability guideline is followed then the company is required to include performance strategy for business operation along with the steps taken by the company to develop the particular business activity (Sacks Pikas, 2013). In terms of economic, environmental or social factors, the organization presented positive impact as well as certain challenges that affects the safety an d hygiene to the workplace and consequently affects the business performance. Application of GRI guidelines for reporting different aspects of business operations would alter the present sources of reporting in terms of inputs of business operations, strategies implemented to develop the business activities and performance and presentation of self-evaluation. Benefit to the potential investors, shareholders and other stakeholders due to compliance of GRI guidelines Global Reporting Initiative provided certain guidelines to present the sustainability reporting for the purpose of stating the business performance in balanced way including positive impacts and negative impacts. It includes the guidelines for the organizations to report the business operation strategy, approach of management and other factors for assessing the performance benchmark for the benefit of stakeholders, shareholders and other potential investors (Globalreporting.org, 2017). The purpose of GRI guidelines include demonstration of organizational operations involved in sustainable development of the company along with the presentation of performance comparability with other organizations of the same industry. Presentation of the information on business performance, strategies along with the comparative details would assist the investors and stakeholders to analyze the companys performance other than the financial information (Ramos et al., 2013). Sustainability reporting is prepared and presented by the organizations to provide the performance information other than the financial activities, which is reported in the financial report during the accounting year. On the contrary, sustainability reporting relates to the performance evaluation with respect to production activities, economic activities, environmental activities and social aspects including human resource management (Bhaduri Selarka, 2016). Therefore, if Bega Cheese follows the guidelines to represent its sustainability reporting, it would benefit the potential investors to analyze the overall performance of the company. In addition, compliance of GRI guidelines requires the company to present sustainability practices by reporting on supply chain analysis, environmental protection along with the presentation of risk management. Accordingly, such information would provide the potential investors, shareholders and other stakeholders. Compliance of sustainability reporting guidelines provided by GRI assists the company, Bega Cheese in building trust with the potential investors and other users of the companys report. Presentation of non- financial factors in a transparent manner assists the company to eliminate the potential risk on business reputation while demonstrating the leadership quality for business accountability (Bellantuono, Pontrandolfo Scozzi, 2016). Compliance of GRI guidelines for presenting sustainability reporting would improve the business systems and internal management processes required for making appropriate business decisions. Bega Cheese would present the comparable reduced cost factors along with the sources of measuring and monitoring the energy consumption issues, use of materials for producing dairy products along with the consideration of waste materials (Begacheese.com.au, 2017). Compliance of GRI guidelines for sustainability reporting by Bega Cheese would provide benefit to the users in terms of business progressing strategy by analyzing the comprehensive information on the companys strength and weakness. Presentation of internal control analysis and organizational visions including the information on protection program for farms and milk suppliers would present detailed information to the potential investors that are essential to evaluate the companys business strategy (Shannon, Chao Ramos, 2015). For providing benefit to the shareholders and other stakeholders, analysis on compliance costs for using the resources to produce dairy products would assist in measuring performance along with the analysis on regulatory requirements. The benefit to the investors would include the analysis on competitive advantage along with the analysis on Bega Cheeses bargaining power for the purpose of providing investment opportunities and other economic benefits (Begacheese .com.au, 2017). Conclusion Financial reporting of the company is important to evaluate the financial performance during the reporting year, which does not provide the overall performance analysis to the shareholders, stakeholders and potential investors. Accordingly, companies prepare and present sustainability reporting to provide evaluation on non- financial factors with respect to the economy, environmental and social factors incorporating positive and negative impacts on the business operations. Therefore, the study demonstrates the essential features of the selected organization Bega Cheese along with the overview on environmental and social impact with respect to sustainable milk supply by the farm services, supply chain and product growth for the business services. It has been observed that the organization provides code of practice for animal welfare and several programs for improvement environment protection and social values. The report also demonstrates the analysis on application of Global Reportin g Initiative guidelines for presenting sustainability reporting that would alter several non- financial information of Bega Cheese in terms of management approach and business strategy. The report presents the difference in standard disclosures for monitoring the internal control and management activities of the organization that provides benefit to the shareholders and other stakeholders. It can be concluded that the compliance of sustainability reporting guidelines as developed by GRI would benefit potential investors, shareholders and other stakeholders. Compliance of sustainability reporting framework would assist Bega Cheese in building trust with the consumers as well as with other stakeholders because of the presentation of non- financial information by maintaining transparency and accountability. Apart from that compliance of GRI guidelines for preparation of sustainability reporting provides benefit with respect to improved business processes and business strategy along with the information on reduction of compliance cost to provide competitive advantage. Reference List: Alonso?Almeida, M., Llach, J., Marimon, F. (2014). A closer look at the Global Reporting Initiativesustainability reporting as a tool to implement environmental and social policies: A worldwide sector analysis.Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management,21(6), 318-335. 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