Knowledge Management is not Achievable in Large Complex Organizations Essay

Knowledge Management is not Achievable in Large Complex Organizations - Essay Example As the report stresses KM is an important issue for international management, yet there is a considerable confusion as to what constitutes organizational knowledge, whether it can be systematically managed and how. Matters related to incorporation of an organizational and technological mechanism so as to facilitate knowledge management in complex organizations need to be resolved. Experts are also of the opinion that Knowledge Management does not belong to one particular area. From the discussion it is clear people from different disciplines are working on it. A number of people have realized the value of measuring intellectual assets, thereby recognizing the importance of knowledge management as a competitive asset. As a result, many companies have considerably invested in knowledge projects, which range from setting up an intranet using team oriented software, mentoring, chalking out personal development plans to information sharing. Some researchers has claimed that at times, the problems for implementation of knowledge management lies in ways in which the processes and systems for knowledge creation are being developed separately without considering the organization’s social systems. Rather than being a process problem, communication and learning issues are more likely due to poor knowledge creation from a new system. The adoption of this tool would be important in protecting intellectual assets and cultural barriers.

Alcohol the legal killer Essay Example for Free

Alcohol the legal killer Essay Alcohol is an ordinary name for a substance which is chemically known as ethyl alcohol, pure spirits or grain alcohol. Ethyl alcohol is a kind of wine which is produced for medical and other purposes. Alcohol drink is every beverage that has ethyl alcohol intoxicating quantities. The amount of pure alcohol must not exceed more than two percent in beers and not more than sixty eight percent in absinthe. Alcohol is legally allowed to produce and sale in the most of the countries of the world particularly in the western countries. Alcohol is not much dangerous for the drunken person if it is taken in low quantities but it will be more dangerous to life it will be used in bulk and on a regular basis. Alcohol is the part of culture in many countries like India and Australia but it is a silent killer and legal killer because of its negative effects. People like to drink for relaxation, socialization, celebration and taste but most of people lose balance in drinking then travel on the path which goes to death. Alcohol is legally allowed in many countries for drinking but there are some conditions on its usage like a person cannot drink more than a specific amount of alcohol and no one can drive a vehicle if he or she has drunk. But these conditions are not discouraging the use of alcohol as it is also a form of drugs like heroin, opium, hash and cocaine. All these drugs are dangerous for life so all are banned on all countries of the world but the only drug which is legally permissible for producing, selling and using all over the world. In other words it is a license to kill the humanity for its manufactures and sellers. Alcohol has many drawbacks and it is very harmful and fatal for human beings so it should also be banned like other drugs. Every year alcohol related problems are being recorded by US Department of Justice which includes physical violence, domestic abuse. Alcohol- related crimes in the U. S. account for 54% of murder and attempted murder, 68% of manslaughters, 52% of rape and sexual assaults, 48% of robberies, and 40,000 babies are born with birth defects. (cdc) In 2000 19,358 alcohol induced deaths occurred not including motor vehicle deaths, 26, 552 deaths from chronic liver disease, and cirrhosis, which are the 12th leading cause of death in the U. S. (cdc). In spite of all this alcohol is still legal and much abused, with 103 million people in the U. S. currently drinking and 11 million of those heavy drinkers. Everyone have different response for drinking alcohol so it is not sure for saying that what a specific number of drinks a man can on daily basis. Alcohol has many side effects on psychologically and physically. Psychologically it can have these effects like confusion, unsteady manner due to mental illness, and disorientation. First let’s find out that how does alcohol is being digested by our body and how does it affect us, there are three stages of ingestion that happen once a drink is downed. First, it is quickly absorbed into the blood stream through the cell membranes of the digestive tract. As it passes through the digestive tract, some of is absorbed by the mouth and stomach, and most of it is absorbed by the small intestine. The amount of food in the stomach affects the rate of absorption. If a drinker has a pint of beer without having dinner first, the absorption rate of the beer will be much faster. The drinker will get drunk much faster, and maybe even vomit. Most of the alcohol is absorbed by the bloodstream within an hour of ingestion. The second stage is distribution. Once the circulatory system absorbs the alcohol, it is sent out to all parts of the body. Some parts, like the brain, liver and kidney receive larger amounts of alcohol than other parts of the body because they receive more blood. And the third stage is metabolism. As the alcohol travels throughout the body, enzymes released by the liver metabolize the alcohol. This breaks down the alcohol and turns it into a food source for the body. Most of the alcohol ingested is released through the liver. The effects of alcohol on the liver can be deadly. In large amounts, alcohol can damage major organs, particularly the liver. There are three different alcohol-related liver diseases: fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, and cirrhosis. Fatty liver disease is one of the first signs that alcohol is being abused. Fat builds up due to alcohol metabolism. This hurts the liver’s ability to work at full strength. Fatty liver disease can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. When the liver is too damaged from alcohol abuse, scar tissue forms causing cirrhosis, and eventually causing the liver to shut down. Symptoms include loss of energy, loss of appetite, upset stomach, weight loss and weakness. Cirrhosis is one of the ten leading causes of death by disease in the United States. The third liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, is the inflammation of the liver, the stage right before cirrhosis. Jaundice, mental confusion and swelling of the abdomen are common symptoms (NIH). Alcohol is known as a depressant, and its effects on the brain and central nervous system are serious. When intoxicated, drinkers experience a mild euphoria, or temporary â€Å"happiness†, and loss of inhibition. Alcohol impairs regions of the brain controlling behavior, judgment, memory, concentration and coordination. On the central nervous system, alcohol acts as a sedative. Large amounts of alcohol can cause respiratory failure, coma and death. Impaired vision, hearing, and motor skills also occur. The drinker may also experience numbness and tingling in the arms and legs caused by nerve damage. This will result in the staggering walk often seen coming out of bars. Long-term drinking can cause brain damage and drinking while pregnant is known to produce sick babies. Heavy drinking also has damaging effects on the stomach and intestinal system. Irritation of the stomach lining can cause peptic ulcers, bleeding lesions and cancer. Blood loss causes loss of iron, which can cause irritability, lack of energy, headaches and dizziness. Risk of pancreatitis is also increased. Other effects of alcohol abuse include irritation of the intestinal tract lining and the colon; nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, sweating and loss of appetite; and increase in blood pressure, risk of heart attack and stroke, and these symptoms develop over time. Alcoholism, however, can begin to develop after the first drink. When we think about effects of alcohol, you may think about physical effects alcohol has on our body as I explained above, but beside all these physical effects there are many psychological effects of alcohol on the body as well that you may not have thought of. In many cases, the psychological effects of alcohol are much more damaging and painful to you than the effects that you already know about. Heres a look at some of the psychological effects of alcohol on our body: Depression – As I also mentioned above that alcohol is depressant. This means that once it begins circulating in the system, it will decrease the activity within the nervous system of your brain. For this reason as you drink alcohol, you may notice that you start to have more feelings of depression or become entrenched in a depression as a result of the drinking. Many make the mistake of thinking they can drown their sorrows by drinking more, and make the feelings of sadness and uselessness go away. If this describes you, what you dont realize is you are just making the situation worse and causing your depression to become deeper and last longer. Anxiety If you are like a lot of people, as you consume large amounts of alcohol you will become stressed from the impact of the drug. While you may find the buzz from the alcohol enjoyable for a while, it will give way to a series of stresses on your system that will manifest psychologically. From a general feeling of discontent to restlessness, nightmares and even overwhelming fear, there are a number of feelings of anxiety that can come of your alcohol usage. Personality Changes Have you noticed your family members are treating you differently? It may be because you have changed in how you interact with them. Alcohol can make massive personality that you may not even see. Once you become intoxicated, what were your usual personality traits may change dramatically. You may become selfish, egotistical or even angry about your life and everything in it. Aggression and mood swings are some of the most common traits. These changes are brought on by the alcohols effect on serotonin in your body. Serotonin is a chemical in your body that transmits signals relating to mood to your brain. When its job is weakened by alcohol, moods and emotions can get out of control. Another common personality change brought on by alcohol is a deterioration of morals. As alcohol affects the body, it acts to slow the responses of the synapses in the brain. This slowing down of the brains circuitry decreases thinking and reasoning. For this reason, when you are intoxicated, you may be willing to do and say things you would not usually do or say if you were thinking clearly. Obsession Once you become dependent on alcohol (whether you realize it or not), you will start to become obsessed with drinking. While many think a few drinks are not dangerous, to someone who is alcohol dependent or becoming alcohol dependent, there is no difference between getting those next few drinks, and a drug addict who is looking for their next hit. Your obsession can lead to a loss of other interests in your life and a focus only on how you are going to get another drink, while all along denying there is a problem with your desire for alcohol. Generally, you will not realize you are being pulled in to an obsession until it is too late. Denial Just as you would expect in any other type of addict, those who drink a lot of alcohol go through a number of denial issues. If you have heard from those who you love that you may be drinking too much, you really should listen to them. Often, you will not even notice you are becoming more and more intoxicated on a regular basis, because you are too close to the problem. Alcohol dependency is a progressive illness and you may not be able to see what it is doing to you. Just like any other disease, alcohol dependency is a progressive disease. The longer and more you drink, the more pronounced the effects will be on your system. Additionally, these psychological effects of alcohol are not just felt while you are drinking, or the morning after. They can continue for a number of days or weeks after you have consumed the alcohol. The third effect of alcoholism is can be said as economic, beside the physical and psychological effects of alcohol, excessive drinking of alcohol affects the economy of the a society in different ways . According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention the cost of excessive alcohol consumption in the United States in 2006 reached $223. 5 billion or about $1. 90 per drink. Researchers also found that the cost largely resulted from losses in workplace productivity (72 percent of the total cost), health care expenses for problems caused by excessive drinking (11 percent of the total cost), law enforcement and other criminal justice expenses related to excessive alcohol consumption (9 percent of the total cost), and motor vehicle crash costs from impaired driving (6 percent of the total cost). The study did not consider a number of other costs such as those due to pain and suffering by the excessive drinker or others who were affected by the drinking, and thus may be an underestimate. Researchers estimated that excessive drinking cost $746 per person in the United States in 2006 (CDC). Lastly it can be said that alcohol has many physical, economical and psychological effects which in simple words cause of many problems that have impacts on different aspect of life. But the real problem is that it is a legal killer which is allowed by law of countries. If we think it is also a drug among other drugs which are legally prohibited and discouraged by the law as law has some punishment for using and selling those drugs but alcohol has no legal restriction on its consumptions and business as it is one of the top profiteering business in the world. Works Cited Adams, Gabriel J. What Are The Effects Of Alcohol Addiction? 2013. 4 May 2013 . Ricky Gates. WordPress. com Get a Free Blog Here. The RickyRay Show. WordPress. com, 26 Nov 2009. Web. 12 May 2013. . Buddy, T. The Effects of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. 4 May 2013 .. , NIAH. Alcohol and Health. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). NIAH, 8 Apr 2008. Web. 15 May 2013. .CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Economic costs of alcohol abuse. CDC, 7 2012. Web. 15 May 2013. .

Causes of Political Disaffection and Disengagement

Causes of Political Disaffection and Disengagement Is the British political class to blame for political disaffection and disengagement? The Founding Fathers suggested that a democracy can only come to impartial decisions if both high levels of representation and deliberation take place (Gargarella, 1998). As a result of growing political disengagement and disaffection within contemporary British politics, there is a growing, â€Å"focus on the quality of representative democracy in Britain and on the quality of participatory democracy† (Kelso, 2007, p365) – the relationship that has been recognised is that political disaffection and disengagement are not conducive with an impartial democracy. Worryingly, both the Hansard Society’s annual, ‘Audit of Political Engagement’ (2017), and a recent House of Commons briefing paper, ‘Political disengagement in the UK: who is disengaged?† (2017), suggest that political disaffection and disengagement are growing issues; knowledge of politics is down six percent from the previous year (49%), the level of trust in Government ‘to put the needs of the nation first’ has dropped to 17% (2013) and trust in the credibility of MPs stands at a measly 9%. These figures indicate that there is indeed an issue of disaffection and disengagement within the UK, thus, to determine if the political class or instead, something else is responsible, it becomes necessary to investigate what the cause of disengagement and disaffection is within specific subsections of the population; especially those who are more likely to become disengaged from politics – the ‘disaffected democrats’ (Flinders, 2015). These factions include demographics such as the ‘working class’ and ‘18-24 year olds’, both of which account for low levels of knowledge in politics compared to the average mentioned above; 29% and 33% respectively (Hansard Society 2017). The term ‘political class’ is contentious and, ‘is still not thoroughly developed in literature’ (Manolov 2013). Allen & Cairney’s, ‘What do we mean when we talk about the â€Å"Political Class†?’ (2015), offers the best practical definition; that the term political class is used to identify certain, ‘flawed characteristics’, that elected politicians tend to hold, those being: Limited roots in local constituencies, inexperience of the real world, inability to reï ¬â€šect the social background of the voting population, inability to represent devolved and English regions, and their tendency to engage in a style of politics that is off-putting to the general public.(Allen & Cairney, 2015, p18  ) The general view that the working class currently have of politicians is one of ‘cynicism’ (Manning & Homes 2012). Within a study conducted by Manning & Holmes (2012), members of the working class gave opinions on how the political class cannot represent them – one member of the survey describing David Cameron, the then PM as followed: â€Å"he’s snooty†¦ [h]e’ll not really be interested in ordinary, what I class ordinary people† (Manning & Holmes, 2012, p.483). This line of narrative makes total sense as there is no sense of ‘descriptive representation’ (Pitkin, 1967) for most elected MPs. For example, just 3% of MPs elected in 2015 came from an occupational background described as ‘manual work’ (House of Commons Library 2016), whilst the proportion of the population that lies within the social class of manual workers (DE) stands at 25% (NRS, 2016). Moreover, the annual wage for the working class sits below  £20,000 (Manning & Holmes, 2012) whilst the base annual salary of an MP starts at  £76,011 (Parliament.uk, 2017). It would be fair to say that there is a huge socio-economic disparity between the two classes which makes it hard for the working class to believe that they are truly represented within Parliament. This idea has been explored thoroughly in regard to the descriptive representation of women; Phillips (1995), most notably suggested that the electorate tends to favour those that are, â€Å"best equipped to represent† (Wà ¤ngerud, 2009, p.52), their views – those that can empathise directly with their electorate. Underrepresentation is an issue for a much wider demographic than just the working class. Just 8% of MPs identify as BME (British Future, 2017) whilst the population of BME citizens in the UK stands at 13% (Census, 2011). Furthermore, just 2% of MPs are under the age of 30 (Total Politics, 2016) whereas those who are of voting age under 30 make up 8.4% (Census, 2011). As the political class is not representative of the working class, or if it fails to represent minorities proportionally, there is no sense of, ‘impartiality’, within the representative process (Gargarella, 1998), resulting in political disaffection and potentially even disengagement. Whilst Pinkleton & Austin (2004) suggest that political disaffection leads to political disengagement, in evaluation, there is evidence to suggest that although disaffection is significant within the UK, the same cannot be said for political disengagement. Flinders (2015) argues that the current political climate is not, ‘anti-political’ –   that is it is not in favour of disengaging from politics – but that it is, ‘anti-establishment’ – disaffected from contemporary politics and the nature of the institution of the political class. Whilst statistics previously mentioned indicate that the levels of political knowledge within the working class are relatively low (29% vs. social class AB returning 71%), voter turnout in the 2017 General Election is only slightly lower than the highest ranking social class; DE’s 61% in comparison to AB’s 73% (IPSOS Mori, 2017). This would then indicate that even though the working class feel s disaffection towards politics, they remain involved in the political process. This seems to be the case more generally; more and more people are involving themselves in politics. Party membership numbers are ever increasing with the Labour party holding a 38 year high of 552,000 members (June 2017) and the Liberal Democrats a 24 year high of 102,000 (June 2017) (House of Commons Library, 2018). The logical question therefore; why is this the case amongst the working class and society in general? Birch (2016) reiterates the assumption that the [re]mobilisation of certain cleavages within politics indicates that a, â€Å"new issue has galvanised a previously political quiescent sector of the population† (p.107). This is reflected in the 2015 YouGov analysis of the General Election in which, the data within the social class ‘DE’ shows a shift away from the Conservatives (a vote share of 29%, their lowest amongst any social class) and one towards the alternatives of Labour and UKIP (37% and 18% respectively). A vote for Labour, whilst not as obviously as a vote for UKIP, could still very well be a vote against the political class. Mills (1958) specification of the political class as the, ‘political directorate’, places greater influence on the role of Cabinet above both Government and naturally Parliament. Following Mills’ terminology, a vote against the, ‘political directorate’, would be any party that would topple the current Cabinet. Thus, as Labour offer the most immediate alternative to the, ‘political directorate’, in a UK that is converging upon a two-party system (Prosser, 2018), a vote for them could also be interpreted as a rejection of the current political class; proof of political disaffection but not of disengagement. A stronger argument for disaffection being the fault of the political class would be the rise in support for UKIP. Nigel Farage, former leader and ardent supporter of UKIP, ran on a campaign revolving around the political class, ‘selling us out’, due to them being, ‘career politicians’ (GE 2015 & Brexit referendum 2017), drawing a clear line between the electorate and, ‘them’, (the political class). As well as furthering the argument of a lack of descriptive representation causing political disaffection, Farage’s campaign platform highlights an issue Crouch outlined in Post-Democracy (2004); career politicians are, â€Å"more concerned with meeting the needs of big business rather than ordinary citizens† (Jennings et al., 2016, p.880). This concept is reinforced by a survey carried out by Jennings et al, which reports that 78% of social classes C2DE believe politicians to be ‘self-serving’. This in tandem with the rise in votes for other parties, gives evidence of a growing cleavage against the political class, which although has prevented political disengagement from becoming a widespread issue amongst the working class, has cemented political disaffection within society. However, in evaluation, whilst political disaffection is self-evident, there is a systemic issue which enables the political class to unjustly receive much of the criticism. Flinders (2014, p.3) draws attention to the 1975 report, The Crisis of Democracy, which suggests that, â€Å"the demands on democratic government grow, while the capacity of democratic government stagnates†. The concept Flinders then explores in the same article is one of an, ‘expectation gap’, and, in another article, joined by Kelso, he goes on to assert that the contemporary system of Government, ‘encourages politicians to promise standards of behaviour †¦ that are unrealistic and unattainable’ (2011). Thus, when these, ‘unattainable’, promises are not kept, the result is one of disaffection as the electorate feels let down. Looking through the lens of game theory, it becomes clear as to why this is a systemic issue within contemporary UK politics. Whilst competing politicians both offer the most out of reach promises, any attempt to reduce the expectation gap by lowering the quality of promises will yield less votes, as to the electorate, the other candidates yields them a better payoff. Thus, the current scenario remains in a Nash equilibrium in which both candidates will offer a high level of promises in detriment to the expectation gap. Whilst it could be argued that the political class is at fault for offering unreasonable promises in the first places, it is to an extent only as a result of the nature of the contemporary electoral system. It can also be argued that political disaffection and disengagement are both contributed to by external factors, as opposed to just the political class. One of those external factors would be the influence of social media. Whilst this applies more to the younger generations within the electorate, the effects of social media in creating political disaffection are considerate. Yanamoto et al. (2017) report of ever increasing, ‘attack advertising’, and, ‘negative media coverage’, which perhaps foreshadowed the investigation into the activities of Cambridge Analytica (Channel 4 News, 2018). CA was more notoriously active in the Trump presidential election yet played a part in the 2016 Brexit referendum. Although there has been no leak of the explicit role CA played in the Brexit campaign, going off track record of its campaign defining ‘crooked Hilary’ slogan it developed from US Facebook data, it would be fair to suggest that the firm played a part in inflating political disaffection felt by the UK electorate. Even if CA was not directly involved, it cannot be denied that websites such as twitter, facebook and YouTube give individuals and entities a platform to spread cynicism and a rhetoric in favour of political disaffection. As suggested in Flinders (2015) individuals such as Owen Jones and Russel Brand played, ‘major roles’, in promoting a, ‘different form of politics’, engaging their audience, primarily the youth, in a narrative which revolved around the idea that, ‘the nature of British democracy’ was one of failure. Yanamoto et al (2017) found that cynicism like this, did not yield in disengagement from politics but rather, it, ‘foster[ed]’, a sense of desire to create change. In evaluation, social media is only a means of venting and publicising the original disaffection held by the electorate – disaffection which has been created by the political class. Bibliography Allen, P. & Cairney, P., 2015. ‘What do we mean when we talk about the â€Å"political class†?’. Political Studies Review, 2017, Vol.15(1), pp.18-27. Available from: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1478-9302.12092 Birch, S., (2016). ‘Our new voters: Brexit, political mobilisation and the emerging electoral cleavage’. Juncture, 2016, Vol.23 (2), p.107-111. Available from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=1b6a5f7d-88e1-4a87-93c5-b91d1acc55b3%40sessionmgr102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=118114895&db=bth British Future. ‘52 minority MPs to sit in ‘most diverse UK parliament ever’’. London: British Future. Available from: http://www.britishfuture.org/articles/52-minority-mps-to-sit-in-most-diverse-uk-parliament-ever/ Channel 4 News., 2018. ‘Exposed: undercover secrets of Trump’s data firm’. London: Channel 4. Available from: https://www.channel4.com/news/exposed-undercover-secrets-of-donald-trump-data-firm-cambridge-analytica Crouch, C., 2004. Post-Democracy. Cambridge: Polity Crozier, M., Huntington, S. P., Watanuki, J., Trilateral Commission., 1975. The crisis of democracy: Report on the governability of democracies to the trilateral commission. New York : New York University Press Farage, N., (2017). I got into politics because I could see our political class in Westminster would sell us out to Europe. Available from: https://www.facebook.com/nigelfarageofficial/videos/1542379039143027/ Flinders, M., 2014. ‘Explaining Democratic Disaffection: Closing the Expectations Gap’. Governance, Vol.27(1), pp.1-8. Available from: https://bath.userservices.exlibrisgroup.com/view/action/uresolver.do?operation=resolveService&package_service_id=2335930000002761&institutionId=2761&customerId=2760 Flinders, M., 2015. ‘The General Rejection? Political Disengagement, Disaffected Democrats and â€Å"Doing Politics† Differently’. Parliamentary Affairs, 2015, Vol. 68(suppl1), pp.241-254. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/pa/article/68/suppl_1/241/1403570 Flinders, M. and Kelso, A., 2011. ‘Mind the Gap: Political Analysis, Public Expectations and the Parliamentary Decline Thesis’. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Vol.13(2), pp.249-268. Available from: http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy1.bath.ac.uk/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-856X.2010.00434.x Gargarella, R. (1998). ‘Full Representation, Deliberation and Impartiality’, in J. Elster (ed.), Deliberative Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 110–37 Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, 2016. Social background of MPs 1979-2017. London: House of Commons Library. Available from: http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7483/CBP-7483.pdf Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, 2017. Political disengagement in the UK: who is disengaged?. London: House of Commons Library. Available from: http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7501/CBP-7501.pdf Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, 2018. Membership of UK political parties. London: House of Commons Library. Available from: http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN05125/SN05125.pdf The Hansard Society, 2017. Audit of Political Engagement 14. London: The Hansard Society. (The 2017 Report). Available from: https://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/research/audit-of-political-engagement IPSOS Mori, 2017. How Britain voted in the 2017 elections. London: IPSOS Mori. Available from: https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/2017-06/how-britain-voted-in-the-2017-election_2.pdf Jennings, W., Stoker, G., and Twyman, J., 2016. ‘The Dimensions and Impact of Political Discontent in Britain.’ Parliamentary Affairs. Vol. 69(4), pp. 876-900. Available from: https://academic-oup-com.ezproxy1.bath.ac.uk/pa/article/69/4/876/2468902 Kelso, A., 2007. ‘Parliament and Political Disengagement: Neither waving nor Drowning.’ The Political Quarterly. Vol 78(3), p. 364-373. Available from: https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy1.bath.ac.uk/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1467-923X.2007.00865.x Manolov, G. L., 2013. ‘The Political Class – Defintion and Characteristics’. Slavak Journal of Political Sciences, Vol. 13(No. 1), pp.5-23. Available from: https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/sjps.2013.13.issue-1/issue-files/sjps.2013.13.issue-1.xml Mills, C. W., (1958). The Power Elite. London: Oxford University Press, pp. 225-42. National Readership Survey, 2017. Social Grade. London:   Publishers Audience Measurement Company Ltd. Available from: www.nrs.co.uk/nrs-print/lifestyle-and-classification-data/social-grade/ Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. 2011. ‘Census aggregate data’. UK Data Service. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-2011-1 Pinkleton, B. E. & Austin, E. W., 2004. ‘Media perceptions and public affairs apathy in the politically inexperienced’. Mass Communication & Society, Vol.7(3), 319–337. Available from: https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy1.bath.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15327825mcs0703_4?needAccess=true Pitkin, H., 1967. The Concept of Representation. Berkeley, CA.: University of California Press Phillips, A., 1995. The Politics of Presence. Oxford: Clarendon Press Prosser, C., 2018. ‘The strange death of multi-party Britain: the UK General Election of 2017.’ West European Politics. 26 January 2018, p.1-11. Available from: https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy1.bath.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1080/01402382.2018.1424838?needAccess=true Wà ¤ngerud, L., 2009. ‘Women in Parliaments: Descriptive and Substantive Representation.’ The Annual Review of Political Science. Vol.12(1), pp.51-69. Available from: https://www-annualreviews-org.ezproxy1.bath.ac.uk/doi/10.1146/annurev.polisci.11.053106.123839 Whale, S., 2016. ‘The under-30 club: Life in the Commons for Britains youngest MPs’. Total Politics. London: Total Politics. Available from: https://www.totalpolitics.com/articles/features/under-30-club-life-commons-britains-youngest-mps

Germany: Economic Powerhouse of the EU Essay -- Germany Economy

The country of Germany is one of the strongest economies in Europe as a whole. A brief history and overall status of this country is going to be explained giving examples and demographics. Along with my understanding of the information, I will try to help you understand the importance of this country’s overall macroeconomic stance that contributes to today’s wealth of the European Union. The barbaric Celts are believed to have been the first settlers of the Germanic lands before the tribes of the second century before Christ. The German barbaric attacks against the declining roman infrastructure added in the destruction of the Roman Empire in the 400’s and 500’s A.D. The Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne, was crowned after he attained the supremacy of Western Europe in 800 A.D. Charlemagne derived from one of the tribes known as the Franks, native to present day Germany. For many of the years following the rule of Otto the Great many of the leaders of Germany had high positions of leadership in the Holy Roman Empire, this lasted for several centuries. (Education) The Holy Roman Empire was to loosely spread around the 14th Century. The long line of Hapsburgs ruled the Holy Roman Empire until its down fall in 1806. A dispute brought an internal war for Germany in 1618 and lasted for 30 years until 1648. This war left Germany torn apart, spread into hundreds of principalities that independently survived with out the Emperor. In a short time after, Prussia developed into impressive strength. Frederick the Great, organized the Prussian military and defeated the Austrians. The struggle for power between the Austrians and Prussians continued and ended in the defeat of Austria in 1866. (Education) Following the Defeat, Pru... ...and resilient one full of economic prosperity. The geography, demographics, and politics have shaped this country into what it is today. From a Macroeconomic stance, Germany has out done all of its neighbors. Many other countries should enact what polices Germany has in play. Germany also has some of the top business schools in the world that I believe is responsible for the majority of the outcomes of the GDP being where it is today. Works Cited Education, Pearson. Germany. 2005. 01 December 2013 http://www.infoplease.com/country/germany.html. Foundation, The Heritage. "Germany." 2013. 2013 Index of Economic Freedom. 01 December 2013 http://www.heritage.org/index/country/germany. Gurtler, Detlef. Wirtshcftstlas Deutschland. Berlin, 2010. X-Rates. 01 December 2013. 01 December 2013 http://www.x-rates.com/table/?from=USD&amount=1.00.

Mydin Business Profile

Mydin Business Profile Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd is one of the largest and well-established Malaysian-owned Companies involved in wholesaling and retailing. The company was founded in 1940 and was based on Subang Jaya, Malaysia. The company incorporated in 1957. Mydin currently operates 100 outlets nationwide inclusive of 10 hypermarkets, 18 emporiums, 3 bazaars, 54 mini markets (MyMydin), nine convenience stores (MyMart) and six franchise outlets (Mydin Mart). The company started the first operation in Kelantan and the company also known as the affordable and competitive prices offered among the budget-conscious consumers.Mydin Target Market and Product lines The company supplying several range of goods to the lower and middle income groups and also to the other wholesalers, retailers, small businesses, offices and schools. The main competitors of Mydin are Carefour, Qiant and Tesco. Mydin target more on Muslim market and their target market is as halal-wide as their range of produ cts. It offers food and beverage, apparel, accessories, household goods, fittings and furnishings, electronics, children’s toys and even exercises equipment, stationeries, daily and dairy products, toiletries and Muslim goods.There are a variety of accessories to put on for the scarves for the Malay girls and ladies to choose. Besides that, Mydin is the best place to buy Muslim clothes, prayers rugs and other attire to Islamic worship at affordable prices in Kuala Lumpur. Pricing Mydin is a market-oriented approach that reacts to what customers want. Mydin’s outlets are very popular with the residents in Malaysia due to the competitive pricing. Mydin is able to offer lower pricing that has value for money than the competitors because it bypasses distributors and sources for goods from the manufactures.The customers can also buy a lot of things with a little of money. Besides that, through their impressive appearances, Mydin has been able slowly change the perception th at their economical priced goods to low quality products. Mydin purchases in bulk to enjoy the lower prices. Mydin also use the customary pricing such everyday low price and the need for quality for the customer. Mydin relentlessly pursues bargains from suppliers to execute its everyday low price philosophy. Mydin target the lower and middle income groups. Mydin use the flexible pricing according to he festivals such as there is a Deepavali promotion in Mydin Bukit Jambul, Penang which is 1 panel RM39. 90 and 2 panels are RM49. 90 for the curtains. Besides that, the accessories with different designs are in RM29. 90 and the maggi mee is only RM3. 69 buy 5 free 1. Promotion There are four types of promotion mix in Mydin which are advertising, sales promotion, public relation and direct marketing. Advertising Mydin advertised in brochures in USJ Subang Jaya Mydin during 7th-20th March 2012. It was to let the customer enjoy the freshness of quality products.Besides that, Mydin also adv ertised their promotion offer products in the website. Mydin sets up corresponding billboards and by buying similar advertisement placement in the newspaper. Mydin provide quality products to customers and Mydin creates excitement on special period of low costs offer such as there are a lot of promotions in festive seasons. Mydin also promote it is the best place to shop round especially the Muslims. Mydin partly sponsored by the manufacturer and retailer such as Dutch Lady, Sunquick, Jacob, Tops, Premier. There is a slogan named ‘why pay more? Buy at wholesale prices’! n everywhere of the hypermarket. It is to attract the customers to buy their products at the low prices. Sales Promotion There are several kinds of sales promotion in Mydin such as Deepavali, Salam Aidiladha and Brand Fair, Holiday and Holiday and Travel Fair and Wedding Fair. Besides that, people get an automatic entry to win a Mount Bike and Cash Vouchers when a min of RM50 at Mydin with the customerâ €™s Mybankard Debit Card. It is a contest in April. The upcoming kids colouring contest is on 10th November 2012 starts at 4pm at the Mydin Wholesale Hypermarket Taman Saga, Alor Setar (Malaysia).There was a health, beauty and wellness campaign held on 26th April until 8th May 2012. It is let the customers to try out and maximize their talents and grab a chance to win great prizes. Public relations There was a CSR shopping programme at Mydin supermarket, Bukit Jambul on 2nd August 2012 involving the children from Permata Kasih Orphanage. Besides that, R. Apparavoo lead the management of Mydin hypermarket in Ayer Keroh prepared and distributed the free bubuk lambuk to the shoppers on Saturday 18th August 2012. The porridge which was packed in a container.Apparavoo’s staff had cooked the porridge in several big pots before distributing to the customers. These charity events are to demonstrate innovativeness and maintain and improve the company image. Direct marketing Mydin hypermarket has a twitter account to post latest updates and let the customers to get to know what’s new in Mydin hypermarket. Place Mydin’s headquarter is in Jalan Masjid India, Kuala Lumpur . The locations of Mydin can be search in the website by category and by state. It may show the nearest locations. The customers may get to buy the groceries at the nearest outlets.Mydin in Penang such as Mydin Wholesale Hypermarket Bukit Jambul in Penang is near to the residential areas. It also has a bus stop outside the Bukit Jambul complex. It is so convenient for the customers to buy their stuff. The local manufacturer will send the products by trucks to the Mydin hypermarkets. Mydin will provide delivery services to the small retailers where the retail shops are located nearby the Mydin branches by the Mydin vans. Positioning Mydin’s position as the leading local hypermarket operator which sealed its position to operate the KR1M programme.The government gave a simple condition which was for the prices to be competitive so that it benefits the low-income earners in the KR1M project. They drafted a list of essential items such as rice, flour, milk, diapers and washing detergent which need to be affordable. The company leads wholesale and retail company to provide the best value, the wide assortment of goods and continuous excellence in the business formula and improve the work efficiency and set a competitive price to increase price purchasing power of Malaysian consumers. PeopleThe staff must have undergone the training before they starts working. There are a few levels that are specific staff staffs assigned for different tasks which are the management, stock, store, sales assistant, management and the cashier in every Mydin branch. Most of the staff will be trained as sales assistants and cashiers because they are required for doing the daily operation in the branch. The foreign workers will work as janitors in the Mydin hypermarket. Physical E vidence There are a lot of building and outlets of Mydin in Malaysia such as Mydin Mall in Taman Saga, Alor Setar was newly opened in March.Mydin leads the way for dynamic digital signage in the hypermarket retail industry in Malaysia by employing its own in store multimedia TV network; Mydin USJ, Selangor has recently launched Mydin TV. The shoppers, tenants and suppliers can know the up to date promotions and campaigns or activities throughout the stores by the Mydin TV channel. Layout of Mydin is grid pattern layout. The aisle must be long enough for the customers to look long enough at the merchandise as they pass the shelves display.The products put accordingly at the shelves display such as the food and beverages are put in the same area, the stationery and books are put in the same area. the color of the Mydin are blue and yellow. There are free wifi in Mydin Bukit Jambul, Penang. Process The computerization the warehouse system of Mydin has been increased the accuracy in ter ms of automation. It is much more effective than relying on a manual labour. Other than that, Mydin select Intermec because of the the rugged design and robustness of the CK61 which can withstand repeated drops from high ground.Besides that, Intermec’s security feature, iLaunch is to present to lock the operating system automatically. The staff cannot use or exploit the computer for personal use. The policies of the consumers who shop in Mydin hypermarket should get a written copy of guarantees and warranties and compare their features. Besides that, the consumers have to read and understand any contract you are asked to sign. The consumers have to make sure there are no blank spaces and the salesperson’s verbal promises are in the contract.

Harlequin Case Analysis Essay

Harlequin Enterprises has been able to capture 80% of the series romance market. Our great existing strategy (see exhibit 1) has allowed us to be the biggest player in the series romance market. Now we face the opportunity to capture a rapidly growing market of single-title women’s fiction novels. I recommend that Harlequin aggressively pursue the single-title market, using its extensive back list collection to reissue novels by best-selling authors. Even though the consistent, well defined product, combined with an optimized supply chain and distribution in the series market has provided valuable margins, the stagnant growth in the series market is insufficient to meet company growth objectives. Operating income is currently projected to grow at 3% for next 5 years (see exhibit 2). With the launch of MIRA, Harlequin can add an incremental $10MM in the next year, and $57MM in the next 5 years. This is 16%-19% incremental profit (see exhibit 3). We will have to focus on the women’s romance fiction segment of the market. At Harlequin, we have cost efficient printing resources, which allow us the flexibility to print single title. We will need to switch from same format printing, to match the need of each individual title. We also have great editor-author relationships. Using the backlist of best-selling authors will save the company $45MM in the next 5 years in author advances (see exhibit 3). Each unit is more profitable without an author advance. (exhibit 3). We will have to abandon our current process of front-list printing only. Coincidently, our editors will need to cultivate existing series authors into single-title authors, who ensure quality content to maintain our reader’s trust. Our editors will have to adapt the editing criteria to the strengths of each individual author. Harlequin will have to rely on single title solicitation, and no longer our standard order procedures. We will utilize our existing wide distribution network, but we will have to reduce our distribution to mass merchandisers while increasing our penetration in bookstores to significantly greater than 55% (exhibit 4). Offering greater distribution margins than our series novels will help us grow our volume, and our distribution partnerships, while still maintaining healthy margins. We will allocate and spend marketing funds to promote each individual book and author, rather than the just the Harlequin brand. We will use our existing large customer base, but promote with MIRA branded covers to build brand identity and loyalty, as we aim to become a strong player in the single-title romance novel market. We will create an order system for the direct to reader channel, and eventually, we will need to implement a system to be able to forecast demand to optimize supply and profitability. If within the first two years, Harlequin does not capture atleast 5% of the unit volume sales from the market using existing back-list collection, we will invest in current best-selling authors. Even after paying the large advances, we will be able to gain an incremental $12MM in profit in the next 5 years (see exhibit 6).