Gun Control Argumentative Essay Example for Free

Gun Control Argumentative Essay I stumbled over an argumentative article that at first, I did not understand completely. After doing a little research over the topic the author was discussing I quickly connected to his concern for her current children, as well as other children nationwide. What I learnt during my research is about the â€Å"Common Core Standards† that hundreds of thousands of schools follow and teach each year. She set her tone early in the paper so the reader could get an emotional stance on her position. Most common to side with the â€Å"non-common core standard† group is the mothers and fathers of children that are enrolled in many different schools. Whether it’s public or private, and religious or non-religious; each following one of the two choices they have. They can teach the Common Core Standards, or have a choice of what they believe each child will be able to keep up with. Each and every child is different, none are exactly the same. In saying that there is no possible way that the common core is an effective and well established standard for schools to follow. What one child can grasp easily and quickly may take another child longer and need another method of learning and studying in order to be as well knowledgeable as the first student. Others believe that the Common Core Standards are needed for schools to teach ids what they will need to be successful in their future. They see each child as someone that can study and try harder if they are not caught up with the other children, for they are all alike in their learning ways and don’t need special care when learning complicated material. As I see it, when they see a child that struggles in school should try harder or else they will fail, and that’s the end of it. No help to the struggling student or help towards the student that they should want to succeed and thrive in their future. She starts her opinion with a real-life experience that many can relate to. Whether its parents or grandparents they have tried their hardest to give their children what they thought was best. She tells us about how she has sent her 2 daughters through many schools, that have failed to provide her  daughters with the education she believed was right. They (the school) believed that every student was able to learn and act upon that learning in the same ways. She searched and searched through religious schools, private schools, and public schools; until she found one that believed in the power of the student. They moved from the east coast to Colorado where her daughters were enrolled in a school that allowed the girls to escape the corrupted, dumbed-down curriculum of an overpriced private girls school. She uses some examples of mothers that have started home-schooling their children for the sole purpose to get away from the Common core standard, they believe that they will be able to teach their children better than any teacher or school can because they can teach at the pace of the child. Therefore, the children learn in a way that is better for them and will expand the knowledge that they gain throughout their school years. She uses quotes from a mother that is also in her shoes to prove to people that this is a concern that has spread throughout our nation and is making parent take action to change the problem our children face every day Michelle states that â€Å"We were blessed to find a community of parents and public school educators in Colorado Springs who embrace high standards, academic excellence and strong character education for students of every race, creed and class,† she uses words and examples that are easy to understand and comprehend to even the simplest o f minds. All in all Michelle used real-life situations that weren’t only easy to relate to, but also to show her point of view easily and clearly. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone were to respond to the message Michelle is sending to us. Teachers would base their lesson plans on each individual student, pushing for that student to thrive in their studies and achieve what they know they can do. To plan studies that would work best with the students learning abilities. The school would look at the student as an individual, not as the whole student body as the same person. They would stray from thinking that no one is different from another on their learning abilities. Race, ethnicity and social status would not play a part in the education or outcome of each student’s achievements within the school. If no one pays attention to the message Michelle is sending to schools, teachers, and parents around our country; nothing will change. The education of our children, grandchildren, and great great grandchildren will struggle to  learn the material our government thinks they need to know, and learn how they think every student can learn. Our government controls many aspects of our live and environment, why let they control the way we learn and what we learn. They don’t know each individual personally, they have no knowledge on our learning abilities and the struggles we will face with learning certain material throughout our school years. Our educational departments in our nation will only decrease throughout the year if nothing is changed about our educational aspects in children’s lives. Michele did an excellent job on drawing the reader in with a personal story, kudos on the ethos. She wanted people to feel the pain her and her daughters felt throughout their years in school. Struggling with the materials because their teachers neglected to teach in a way that would be more suitable to their learning abilities, which would lead to higher test scores and higher colleges. Her tone, I believe, was perfectly out into this paper. Not to forward to the reader but was easily established in the paper so the reader could identify which side you were defending and the points you would be making throughout the paper. I think that her personal experiences, knowledge, and research are what made her opinion convincing. Knowing that she knew what she was talking about and could answer questions on this topic if need be was very reassuring that she knew her topic well enough to write an opinionated paper in a way to sway even the toughest cookie to her side.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Renewable Energy Environmental Sciences Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Renewable Energy Environmental Sciences Essay This work will represent opinions and thoughts of different scientists, sociologists and politics related to the most discussing topic now days, renewable sources of energy. Lets go back in time hundred thousand years ago when our yet not developed ancestors noticed that fire can be used in many purposes. It was the first energy source. Fossil fuels are the main representative of non-renewable energy group and wind, water, solar power is renewable group, because they are unlimited and can be easily recycled. Major concern in the world is that fossil fuel usage produce dramatically huge emission. President of the United States claimed in his speech to United Nations that Were investing billions to capture carbon pollution so that we can clean up our coal plants(President Obama, 2010). Many debates have occurred since people started to think about future and became threatened that fossil fuels can just go out of stock one day, more over such things as wind miles, solar power panels wer e represented to the world, so the solution is already exist for problem of pollution and destroying environment due to the incredible industrial consumption of energy. However economical question has arisen. This type of technologies is very expensive now, but on other hand the price on them would never be reduced without using it. At present days it is possible to see how this usage of these technologies started to accelerate. Many people and different companies started to apply green energy technologies in their life. For example here in Dubai 80% of the water heated ether by natural sun light, heating the tank on the roof or again by the power of sun light but now, recycled in to the pure electric energy using solar power panels installed on the top of the roof. Consequence of this is that emission made to the air is reduced, in addition once this panel is installed company or person can save money because it has its own resource of hot water. However there is a bad side of any good. Wind mile is dependent on wind and solar power is dependent on sun. Yet it is decidable question which can easily be solved by accumulating energy in battery packs in case of emergency, or transferring energy from sunny and windy regions to others. How sad president of Russia Medvedev: The environment and the economy do not contradict each other. A properly functioning economy is an environmentally friendly economy. (President Medvedev, 2010) WIND POWER The most important characteristic that determines the energy value of wind it is speed. Due to a number of meteorological factors (disturbance of the atmosphere, changes in solar activity, the amount of heat energy reaching the Earth, and other causes) and also due to the influence of relief conditions continuous duration of the wind in the area, its speed and direction vary randomly. Therefore, the power that can produce wind-setting at different times, one can predict with a very low probability. At the same time, the total production of the unit, especially over a long period of time can be calculated with high accuracy, since the average wind speed and frequency of the velocity distribution within a year or season change little. Airflow, as well as any moving body, has the energy of motion, or the reserve of kinetic energy. The latter with wind turbine or other working body is transformed into mechanical energy. Depending on the purpose of wind turbine mechanical energy by means of actuators (generators, compressors, electrolytic, etc.) can be converted into electricity, heat or mechanical energy, as well as the energy of compressed air. The principle of wind power is simple: the wind turns the blades of a windmill, driving the shaft generator. The generator in turn produces electrical energy. It turns out that wind power work, how toy cars on batteries, only the principle of their action is opposite. Instead of converting electrical energy into mechanical energy, wind energy is converted into electrical current. SOLAR POWER Solar energy the use of sunlight to generate energy in any form. Solar power uses a renewable source of energy and the potential to become environmentally friendly that is not generating hazardous waste. The advantages of using solar energy: 1) Accessibility and inexhaustible source (the sun). 2) Theoretically, the complete security to the environment (but currently in production of solar cells and in themselves harmful substances are used). Now solar energy is widely used in cases where the inaccessibility of other energy sources combined with an abundance of solar radiation justifies its cost. Sun. Source of life and hard killer, giving the chance to be born and grow up every living organism on Earth for several billion years. Seriously about technology taming of sunlight people began to think only in the last century. Currently, solar power plants are built mainly of two types: Solar power tower and solar power distributed (modular) type. In the solar power tower central receiver used with a field of heliostats, provides a degree of concentration in a few thousand. System for tracking the sun is much more complicated since it requires rotation around two axes. The system is controlled by the computer. As a working body in the heat engine is commonly used steam temperatures up to 550  ° C, air and other gases up to 1000  ° C, low-boiling organic liquids (including freon) up to 100  ° C, liquid metal coolant up to 800  ° C. DISADVANTAGES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY Solar power: Because of the relatively small magnitude of solar constant for solar energy requires the use of large areas of land for power plants (for example, 1-GW power plants it could be several tens of square kilometers). However, this drawback is not so great (for example, hydropower output from the use of much larger tracts of land). In addition, photovoltaic cells on the large solar power plants installed at a height of 1,8-2,5 m, which allows the use of land for power plants for agricultural purposes, such as for grazing. The problem of finding large areas of land for solar power is solved in the case of the solar balloon stations, suitable for both terrestrial and maritime and for high-rise home. The flow of solar energy on Earths surface is strongly dependent on latitude and climate. In various places the average number of sunny days per year can vary greatly. Technical problems: 1) Solar power does not work at night and not effectively work in the morning and evening twilight. The peak power consumption falls on the evening. In addition, power plants can dramatically and unexpectedly fluctuate because of changing weather. 2) The high cost of solar cells. Probably with the development of technology will overcome this shortcoming. In 1990-2005 prices for solar cells decreased on average by 4% a year. 3) Lack of efficiency of solar cells. 4) The surface of the graphic panels should be cleaned from dust and other contaminants. With their area of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹several square kilometers of it can cause difficulties. 5) The efficiency of photovoltaic cells decreases significantly when heated, so there is a need to install cooling systems, usually water. 6) After 30 years of operation, the efficiency of photovoltaic cells begins to decline. Wind power: Wind energy plants produce two types of noise: Mechanical noise noise from the operation of mechanical and electrical components (for modern wind power is virtually absent, but is significant in the older models of wind turbines) Aerodynamic noise the noise from the interaction of wind flow with the blades installed (amplified during the passage of blades past the tower of wind turbines) In the vicinity of wind turbines in the axis of wind turbine noise level are sufficiently large wind turbines can exceed 100 dB. An example of such design errors is a wind turbine Grovian. Because of the high noise level setting worked about 100 hours and was dismantled. Laws adopted in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, restrict the noise level of running wind power plant of up to 45 dB in daytime and 35 dB at night. Minimum distance from installation to homes 300 m. Low frequency vibrations transmitted through the soil, causing significant jitter windows in homes at a distance of 60 m from the megawatt-class wind turbines. Population of bats living near the wind farm on the order of magnitude more vulnerable than the population of birds. Near the ends of turbine blades, a region of reduced pressure, and a mammal which has got into it, gets barotraumas. Over 90% of the bats found near wind turbines find signs of internal hemorrhaging. According to the explanation of scientists, the birds have a different structure of the lungs, and therefore more resistant to sudden changes in pressure and suffer only from a direct collision with the blades of wind turbines. In contrast to conventional thermal power plants, wind farms do not use water that can significantly reduce pressure on water resources. Metallic structures wind turbines, especially items in the lobes, can cause significant interference to radio reception. The larger the wind turbine, the more noise it can create. In some cases, to solve the problem have to install additional repeaters. CONCLUSION Undeniable role of energy in maintaining and further follows the development of civilization. In modern society it is difficult to find at least one area of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹human activity sequence, which is not required to directly or indirectly tively more energy than it can give a human muscles. During the existence of our civilization many times a change of traditional energy sources for new, more sophisticated. And not because the old source was exhausted. The sun shone and warmed man always: and yet once people have tamed the fire began to burn wood. Then the wood has given way to the stone coal. Timber resources seemed limitless, but steam engines required more nutritious food. But this was just a stage. Coal will soon yield its leadership in energy markets petroleum. And here is a new milestone in our days leading fuels are still oil and gas. But for every new cubic meters of gas or a ton of oil to go farther north or east, dig deeper into the ground. It is no wonder that oil and gas will be from year to year cost us all more expensive. In pursuit of an excess of energy a person deeper into elemental world of natural phenomena and to some pores are not really thought about the consequences of their deeds and acts. But times have changed. Now new significant step the earths energy. There was energy, gentle. Constructed so that people do not cut down the branch on which it sits. Concerned about the protection of already heavily damaged biosphere. Undoubtedly, in future, in parallel with a line of intensive energy development will have extensive rights of citizenship and an extensive line of: non-point sources of energy are not too much power, but with high efficiency, environmentally friendly, easy to handle. Energy accumulates very quickly, assimilates and incorporates all the newest ideas, inventions and scientific achievements. This is understandable: energy is associated with literally everything, and all drawn to power, depends on it. Labyrinths of power. Mysterious passages, narrow, winding trail. Full of puzzles, obstacles, unexpected insights, wailing grief and losses, joys and triumphs of clicks. Thorny, is not easy, continuous energy path of humanity. But we believe that we are on the way to an era of energy abundance, and that all the hurdles, obstacles and difficulties will be overcome. The story of energy may be infinite, innumerable alternative forms of its use, provided that we have to develop that are effective and economical methods. Not so important, what is your opinion about the needs of energy, sources of energy, its quality, and cost? We probably should just accept the fact that the scientist said the sage, whose name remains unknown: There are no simple solutions, only intelligent choices.

Case Study Of Qatar Diar Commerce Essay

Case Study Of Qatar Diar Commerce Essay The real estate industry is a development process that involves establishment of real estate in prepared land by individual, government or developers. In this work Qatar was chosen as the country and Qatar Diar as the real estate company. To support growing economy of Qatar with an eye to manage Qatars real estate development priorities Qatar Diar was established in the year 2005 by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) which is the autonomous wealth fund of Qatar state. Northwest of Doha and on the coast of Arabian Gulf Qatar Diars headquarter is located. It started with $1bn capital. Its main concern was investment in real estate and community based projects. Since the start the company has worked on its portfolio which is worth $60bn estimated through its global investments. Vision and Mission: Qatar Diars vision is to be the finest real estate company in the world by valuing consumer imagination, cultural values and inspiring relations. Companys vision statement is so far being honest with its vision. It has since its incorporation focused on luxurious ventures. Despite the fact that Qatar hasnt seen booming real estate bubble like its neighbour UAE Qatar Diar has provided with excellent opportunity to represent Qatar in the real estate market. Mission of Qatar Diar is to improve quality of life of Qatars people and in places they will have project by creating distinguished grand development projects by valuing top industry standards. Since the beginning the company has worked on the standard of its developments and it is evident from the projects they have done so far. More discussion on that will be in the next section. Projects of Qatar Diar: In a short span of time Qatar Diar has managed to create a global portfolio of real estate projects. At present the company has projects in Qatar and GCC, Asia, Europe, The Americas and Africa. Companys first project was Lusail City which was launched in December 2005 and soon it gained momentum. It wasnt long when Qatar Diars innovative outlook started gaining praise for its work. This city is progressively self-contained which is the largest singleton real estate development undertaken in state of Qatar. Although the project hasnt completed yet but Lusail have already created buzz about Qatars grand scale vision on next generation of developments. Qatar Diar already has become synonymous to quality. Lusail Real Estate Development Company started its journey in September 2008 to operate the expansion, construction and other development operations in legendary Lusail City Development. In 2009 November under Qatar Diars flagship Qatar Railways Development Company was established which was of significant value for its portfolio. This company brought Qatars vision of creating a fully integrated national rail network and this regions first ever integrated railway system into reality. In parallel with its developments in Qatar, Qatar Diar has always been committed to focusing on international market simultaneous to domestic market. Not only life of Qatars people was touched by Qatar Diar but also it has touched million people through its worldwide development ventures. As of now it is now one of the most famous, trustworthy, respected real estate company. It has become possible because of its continuous commitment to quality service, developing communities with state of the art innovative designs, worthy partnerships and trademark sustainability promise. In January 2012 report released by Qatar Diar it has US $4 billion capital with currently undergoing 49 projects solely in Qatar related to development and planning. Also they have projects in 29 countries all around the world which combined can be valued at US $35 billion. Strategic Business Management and Planning Tool: Every business operates in micro and macro environment. To be successful in this competitive age every business have to have strategy for its operations whether its company management or marketing its products. For a company like Qatar Diar it has greater responsibility towards its wider stakeholders. For the purpose of this study focus will be given on two widely used strategic tools. SWOT Analysis PESTEL Analysis SWOT Analysis of Qatar Diar: SWOT which stands as an abbreviation of Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats is a widely used tool to analysis an organisations current standing in the business environment. It also looks into the future considering current competitions. This is a comprehensive planning tool where internally it focuses on strengths and weaknesses of an organisation at current state and looks into external impact factors in forms of opportunities and threats (Sadler, 2003). http://www.lindsay-sherwin.co.uk/guide_managing_change/images/01_swot_1.gif Figure : SWOT to Business Strategy (Sadler, 2003) From both external and internal appraisal Confrontational questions are generated. For every single Opportunity which strength element can assist the company to take advantage of the opportunity and which weakness can form a barrier to do so. For every single Threat which strength factor can lead to compete with the threat and which weakness can bound the company not to do so. Following SWOT analysis examines Qatar Diars Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats considering its present scenarios. Strengths: Strengths of a business are all the positive elements that it do exceptionally well and generally are under its control. The strengths of a company gives it competitive edge over other business competitors. Often a company will emphasis on its strengths to reach to new dimensions. Below is a list of strengths for Qatar Diar. Having associations with other robust and prevalent businesses around the globe is a major advantageous point for Qatar Diar as it helps bring in new clients and make business more operative. Qatari Diar since beginning have formed strong alliances in form of joint ventures with construction and management firms. In 2008 it signed agreements with Germanys Hochtief; in 2009 signed agreement with Germanys Deutsche Bahn to form the Qatar Railways Development Committee (QRDC). Under this committee, the Qatar Railways Company manages the expansion of Qatars $35bn rail system. In 2010 it joined with Frances Vinci Construction. Being a market leader, as Qatar Diar is, is key to their success as it increases status, revenue and market share. Under Qatar Diar there are several key real estate development is ongoing which gives Qatar Diar additional advantage. Innovation is a vital component of Qatar Diars overall accomplishment, as this retains them way above the other real estate companies. Riding high in the niche market in Real Estate industry has helped boost Qatar Diar and raised reputation and turnover. It has so far focused on high end luxurious projects. Not only they have ambitious projects in Qatar but also in several other countries with high profile construction work in prime locations. The US $1bn expansion of Londons past Chelsea Barracks is one such instance. The establishments developed by Qatar Diar are sustainable modern, meaning this high valued clients will return to Qatar Diar for future projects. Qatar Diars marketing strategy has proven efficiency. Which helped the company to raise profiles and profits and standing out as a major strength not only in gulf region but in the world. Qatar Diars innovation keeps it a leader in Real Estate as it is frequently implementing new proprietary technology and design. Experienced employees are key to the success of Qatar Diar helping to drive them forward with skill and knowledge. For example in March 2012 Qatar Diar appointed thirteen international law organisations to Qatari Diars six legal boards. High quality machinery used in sites, experienced staff, offices and equipment guarantee the job is done to the utmost standard, and is a strength of Qatar Diar. Qatar Diar has a widespread client base, which is a key strength regarding profit. Qatar Diar is spread in all over the globe in prime locations. Being financially strong helps Qatar Diar deal with any problems, ride any dip in profits and out perform their rivals. Qatar Diar has state backing which helps them to stay strong in volatile market. Qatar Diar has emerged as a strong brand which is an essential strength. Qatar Diars international operations establishes its authority over the business. 2012 World Cup will be held in Qatar. Before then the company will have some of their high profile projects finished which will enable them to capitalize the event. Weaknesses: Weaknesses of a corporation are things that should be improved for a better result; which are under their control. Weaknesses puts a business behind its competitors and create barrier to achieve its target. This section will present core weaknesses of Qatar Diar Global economic crisis will have an adverse impact on the sales of high end products. As more and more people are trying to hold their money in safe investments. Qatar is yet not as promising as UAE which is first preference among many client. Legal issues that buyers may face for the developments is still an issue for Qatar Diar as this creates barrier for potential customers. Opportunities: Opportunities are external deviations, drifts or desires that could improve the business or organisations strategic positioning, or which could be of a benefit to them. This section will summarize opportunities that Qatar Diar currently have. Qatar Diar gets direct backing from Qatar Government which allows them to have additional support when they go overseas or even inside the country with grants and favourable policies. Sudden change or adaptation of technology could give Qatar Diar an opportunity to strengthen future success. Use of social media network to promote its products to target markets may open new windows for them. Qatar Diar is in respectable monetary position, which is an opportunity for them to explore in terms of investment in new developments. Qatar Diar has the opportunity to enter niche market with their ever favourable government support to maintain leading position and therefore lift financial performance. Grasping the opportunity to magnify the customer base is something Qatar Diar can aim for, either geographically or through new products. Qatar Diar has planned to take its innovative developments to other countries in coming time. Qatar Diar can also explore takeover and merger opportunities could be explored for Qatar Diar and which later can be used to acquire new customers, new resources and enter new markets. Threats: Threats are reasons which may confine, harm or put areas of the business or organisation at jeopardy. They are factors which are external of the companys control. Being conscious of the threats and being able to prepare for them makes this section valuable when considering contingency plans and strategies. This section will outline main threats Qatar Diar is currently facing. Consumer lifestyle changes could lead to less of a demand for Qatar Diar products/services. A slow economy or financial slowdown could have a major impact on Qatar Diar business and profits. Rising costs could be a major downfall for Qatar Diar as it would eat into profit. PESTEL analysis of Qatar Diar In the macro environment there are many factor that affects decision making process of organisation. Changes can come in form of law change, trade barrier, impose of tax, demographic change along with government policy changes. These all are changes in the macro environment (Bennett, 2002). We can use PESTEL model to assess and analyse most of these factors. This arrangement differentiates between: Political factors. These factors denotes various government policy for example the degree of involvement in the economy. Which products and services the government wants to promote? Which areas will receive subsidy? Political factors can have tremendous impact on numerous important areas of business. It will determine how healthy the nation is and in terms of infrastructure how good it is i.e. road and rail network throughout the nation. Economic factors. Economic factors includes but not limits to purchase interest rates, taxation charges, slow or high economic growth, inflation and exchange rates. To understand how it might affect a business with high impact lets see the example: higher interest rates might discourage investment since it costs extra to borrow a strong currency may make exporting more problematic because it may increase the price in terms of foreign currency inflation may aggravate higher wage demands from employees and increase costs   higher national income growth may boost demand for a firms products Social factors. Changes in social tendencies can influence on the demand for a firms products and the accessibility and readiness of persons to work. In Qatar Diar most of the workers are from different countries. If they cannot offer a competitive salary with other benefits there might be issue with finding right people. Also in 10 years time there will be Fifa 2022 World Cup in Qatar this might mean there will be additional interest for people to get involved and invest in properties. Technological factors: new technologies generate new products and new procedures. Social networking, online shopping, online booking and computer aided design are all developments to the way we do business as a consequence of improved technology. Technology can lessen costs, improve quality and lead to innovation. These expansions can help customers as well as the groups providing the products. Qatar Diar has access to latest technologies in their work bases which helps them to minimize cost and maximize opportunities. Environmental factors: environmental factors comprise the climate and environmental changes. Tourism industry can get hugely affected by temperature change or issues like changed climate. Due to global warming slowly there is significant environmental awareness which indicates that it is not a problem of a region. Qatar Diar also has implications of environmental factors. Sustainable growth will mean that there will be less scope for doing non-environmental friendly tasks. The recent trend of being more environmental friendly is something Qatar Diar can work on to build up campaign or similar movements which will be beneficiary for the business. Legal factors: These factors are significant for a business in terms of the geographical area where they are based on. For example discriminations on the basis of age, sex, religion can have huge adverse impact on a businesss operation. Following laws of different country is also important as most of the time they does vary geographically. Also lawsuits can cost a company fortune. So having sound legal advisors are a must. Qatar Diar has an experienced panel of legal advisors to assist them with development planning. Different categories of law that has direct relation with Qatar Diar includes: consumer laws; these are intended to guard customers against biased practices such as ambiguous descriptions of the product competition laws; these are designed at protecting trivial firms against oppression by larger firms and safeguarding customers are not exploited by firms with monopoly influence employment laws; these cover parts such as dismissal, sacking, working hours and minimum wages. They aim to defend employees against the misuse of power by bosses health and safety legislation; these laws are aimed at guaranteeing the workplace is as safe as is sensibly practical. This legislation covers important issues such as training, accident reporting and other provision for safety equipment. Classic PESTEL features to ponder comprise: Factor Could include: Political e.g. Qatar government involvement in real state policies, investment agenda Economic e.g. inflation, credit crisis, national debt, exchange rates. Social e.g. view towards certain products, demographic characteristics, income Technological e.g. technological advancement, new ICT product, social networking, new product development by using new technology, rate of technological obsolescence Environmental e.g. global warming, climate change, natural disasters and other environmental issues Legal e.g. laws that company is abide by. competition law, health and safety, employment law However, it is significant not to just list PESTEL factors as this does not in itself tell very much. What business strategic management team need to do is to work out which of the many listed factors may change. For example as a government holding company Qatar Diar will more or less have favourable policies from the government. Problem will arise when it goes to a different geographic location. Qatar Diar has a global portfolio that makes it challenging to take into consideration all the wider aspects of all its development activities. In order to assess a big company like Qatar Diar it will be a good idea to distinguish between factors in terms of local, national and global (Drummond,2001). For example, we can evaluate Qatar Diars PESTEL factors as: Local factors such as designing a government project and its approval. National factors such as government law regarding recruiting people for the construction. Global factors such as entering into new market zones and its impact on business. Conclusion: This paper has looked into Qatar Diars business management from a strategic point of view. It is not long since the business was established. Getting world recognition in such a short time is really uncommon in todays world. Qatar Diar has proved how innovative approach in real estate industry can shape its future. Strategically, Qatar Diar has been lucky to have state support throughout its operation. Thanks to its joint ventures it has seen its growth over 29 countries. In coming years Qatar Diar will reach to its peak and probably 2022 will be a milestone year for Qatar Diar.

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens Essay -- Nicholas Nickleby Charle

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens Chapter 13 effectively encourages the reader to resent Squeers and see him as the villain, whereas Nicholas is portrayed as the hero and Smike and the other bays are lavished with sympathetic feelings. The chapter starts with a depressing description of the boys sleeping conditions, Dickens uses words like: feeble, ragged, and dull, to describe it, this powerful description makes the reader feel-strengthening hatred toward Squeers. Squeers is the headmaster at the boarding school "Dotheboys Hall"where Nicholas was sent to work by his uncle after his father's death. His father had only a small amount of money so he left it to his brother, and trusted him to look after his family, consisting of Nicholas's mother and Sister Kate. Nicholas's uncle is a hard remorseless man and sends Nicholas and his sister to work to earn their keep. The family are moved into a small dirty flat and given little money to live on. During Nicholas's time at Dotheboys Hall, he meets one of the boys "Smike" and befriends him. Smike has no parents to speak of so he is kept on as a servant to the family. Nearing the end of the chapter Nicholas inspires Smike to run away, unfortunately he is caught, resulting in the chapters climax. Squeers is about to beat Smike but then Nicholas steps in and following a fight, they make off together. Throughout the chapter Dickens enhances the reader's negative feelings towards Squeers. Dickens use of verbs to describe Squeers's actions ads, a greater depth to his character, using words like retorted, bounced and feasted. These words show the rage in Squeers's character, and the way he goes about daily life, they give the reader a sense of his disrespect... ...can be hard going to read Dickens's work, his highly expressive and intricate style of writing, can become incredibly engaging to the reader, as it does to me. You become almost used to it after a while .This stile gives the reader a sense of emotional involvement with the characters in the book. It makes the reader more in touch with the characters moods and personalities, giving the book a better dramatic influence on the reader. A favourite quotation: "`Which no doubt you would have been devilish sorry to do,' said Squeers in a taunting fashion." This line sums up Squeers's character as, the conniving villain that he undoubtedly is, but when said out loud in the proper style, this quotation can start a passion to read more writing in this style and explore the character from whose lips those word were said, rejoined, retorted, demanded, or even sneered.

Womens Rights :: Women Empowerment

Today women and men right are equal in the United States of America. Not long ago, there was a great difference in the treatment of men and women. Women provided care for the children and usually remained at home. Their education was limited to learning domestic skills. There were few opportunities for women to obtain an education because only a few colleges or universities would accept a female. Women had no access to positions of power. They were not allowed to enter professions such as medicine or law. They thought they were totally dependent on men. For the Industrial Revolution women were a really important role. This was the beginning of their independence, although factory conditions were very bad and their pay, were lower than men's, meant that lower-class women could become wage earners in factories. At the same time middle and upper-class women were expected to stay at home as idle, decorative symbols of their husbands' economic success. Such conditions encouraged the feminist movement. With industrialization happening rapidly in Great Britain and U.S feminism was more successful. In 1848 more than 100 persons held the first women's rights convention, at Seneca Falls, New York. Led by the supporter Lucretia Mott and the feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, they demanded equal rights, including the vote and an end to the double standard. The number of working women increased virtually after the two world wars, but had low paid, female- dominated occupations, such as school teachers and clerical work. Women were not even allowed to vote until August 1920. In the 1960's however, changing demographic, economic and social patterns encouraged a resurgence of feminism. As working women encountered discrimination in many forms. The women's movement also questioned social institutions and moral values, basing many of it's arguments on scientific studies suggesting that most supposed differences between men and women result not from biology, but from culture. In the early 70's active feminists organized women's rights groups, ranging from the moderate National Organization for Women, founded in 1966 and claiming about 250,000 members to smaller, more radical groups. Private and governmental efforts covered in November 1977, when the largest convention of women ever held in the U.

Deception Point Page 34

Tolland looked only partially comforted, his relief apparently clouded by a deeper mystery. â€Å"I can't be for sure without a microscope,† Tolland said, â€Å"but it looks to me like this is a bioluminescent plankton from the phylum Pyrrophyta. Its name means fire plant. The Arctic Ocean is filled with it.† Corky shrugged. â€Å"So why'd you ask if they were from space?† â€Å"Because,† Tolland said, â€Å"the meteorite was buried in glacial ice-fresh water from snowfalls. The water in that hole is glacial melt and has been frozen for three centuries. How could ocean creatures get in there?† Tolland's point brought a long silence. Rachel stood at the edge of the pool and tried to get her mind around what she was looking at. Bioluminescent plankton in the extraction shaft. What does it mean? â€Å"There's got to be a crack somewhere down there,† Tolland said. â€Å"It's the only explanation. The plankton must have entered the shaft through a fissure in the ice that allowed ocean water to seep in.† Rachel didn't understand. â€Å"Seep in? From where?† She recalled her long IceRover ride in from the ocean. â€Å"The coast is a good two miles from here.† Both Corky and Tolland gave Rachel an odd look. â€Å"Actually,† Corky said, â€Å"the ocean is directly underneath us. This slab of ice is floating.† Rachel stared at the two men, feeling utterly perplexed. â€Å"Floating? But†¦ we're on a glacier.† â€Å"Yes, we're on a glacier,† Tolland said, â€Å"but we're not over land. Glaciers sometimes flow off a landmass and fan out over water. Because ice is lighter than water, the glacier simply continues to flow, floating out over the ocean like an enormous ice raft. That's the definition of an ice shelf†¦ the floating section of a glacier.† He paused. â€Å"We're actually almost a mile out to sea at the moment.† Shocked, Rachel instantly became wary. As she adjusted her mental picture of her surroundings, the thought of standing over the Arctic Ocean brought with it a sense of fear. Tolland seemed to sense her uneasiness. He stamped his foot reassuringly on the ice. â€Å"Don't worry. This ice is three hundred feet thick, with two hundred of those feet floating below the water like an ice cube in a glass. Makes the shelf very stable. You could build a skyscraper on this thing.† Rachel gave a wan nod, not entirely convinced. The misgivings aside, she now understood Tolland's theory about the origins of the plankton. He thinks there's a crack that goes all the way down to the ocean, allowing plankton to come up through it into the hole. It was feasible, Rachel decided, and yet it involved a paradox that bothered her. Norah Mangor had been very clear about the integrity of the glacier, having drilled dozens of test cores to confirm its solidity. Rachel looked at Tolland. â€Å"I thought the glacier's perfection was the cornerstone of all the strata-dating records. Didn't Dr. Mangor say the glacier had no cracks or fissures?† Corky frowned. â€Å"Looks like the ice queen muffed it.† Don't say that too loudly, Rachel thought, or you'll get an ice pick in the back. Tolland stroked his chin as he watched the phosphorescing creatures. â€Å"There's literally no other explanation. There must be a crack. The weight of the ice shelf on top of the ocean must be pushing plankton-rich sea-water up into the hole.† One hell of a crack, Rachel thought. If the ice here was three hundred feet thick and the hole was two hundred feet deep, then this hypothetical crack had to pass through a hundred feet of solid ice. Norah Mangor's test cores showed no cracks. â€Å"Do me a favor,† Tolland said to Corky. â€Å"Go find Norah. Let's hope to God she knows something about this glacier that she's not telling us. And find Ming, too, maybe he can tell us what these little glow-beasties are.† Corky headed off. â€Å"Better hurry,† Tolland called after him, glancing back into the hole. â€Å"I could swear this bioluminescence is fading.† Rachel looked at the hole. Sure enough, the green was not so brilliant now. Tolland removed his parka and lay down on the ice next to the hole. Rachel watched, confused. â€Å"Mike?† â€Å"I want to find out if there's any saltwater flowing in.† â€Å"By lying on the ice without a coat?† â€Å"Yup.† Tolland crawled on his belly to the edge of the hole. Holding one sleeve of the coat over the edge, he let the other sleeve dangle down the shaft until the cuff skimmed the water. â€Å"This is a highly accurate salinity test used by world-class oceanographers. It's called ‘licking a wet jacket.'† Out on the ice shelf, Delta-One struggled with the controls, trying to keep the damaged microbot in flight over the group now assembled around the excavation pit. From the sounds of the conversation beneath, he knew things were unraveling fast. â€Å"Call the controller,† he said. â€Å"We've got a serious problem.† 40 Gabrielle Ashe had taken the White House public tour many times in her youth, secretly dreaming of someday working inside the presidential mansion and becoming part of the elite team that charted the country's future. At the moment, however, she would have preferred to be anywhere else in the world. As the Secret Serviceman from the East Gate led Gabrielle into an ornate foyer, she wondered what in the world her anonymous informant was trying to prove. Inviting Gabrielle into the White House was insane. What if I'm seen? Gabrielle had become quite visible lately in the media as Senator Sexton's right-hand aide. Certainly someone would recognize her. â€Å"Ms. Ashe?† Gabrielle looked up. A kind-faced sentry in the foyer gave her a welcoming smile. â€Å"Look over there, please.† He pointed. Gabrielle looked where he was pointing and was blinded by a flashbulb. â€Å"Thank you, ma'am.† The sentry led her to a desk and handed her a pen. â€Å"Please sign the entry log.† He pushed a heavy leather binder in front of her. Gabrielle looked at the log. The page before her was blank. She recalled hearing once that all White House visitors sign on their own blank page to preserve the privacy of their visit. She signed her name. So much for a secret meeting. Gabrielle walked through a metal detector, and was then given a cursory pat down. The sentry smiled. â€Å"Enjoy your visit, Ms. Ashe.† Gabrielle followed the Secret Serviceman fifty feet down a tiled hallway to a second security desk. Here, another sentry was assembling a guest pass that was just rolling out of a lamination machine. He punched a hole in it, affixed a neck cord, and slipped it over Gabrielle's head. The plastic was still warm. The photo on the ID was the snapshot they had taken fifteen seconds earlier down the hall. Gabrielle was impressed. Who says government is inefficient? They continued, the Secret Serviceman leading her deeper into the White House complex. Gabrielle was feeling more uneasy with every step. Whoever had extended the mysterious invitation certainly was not concerned about keeping the meeting private. Gabrielle had been issued an official pass, signed the guest log, and was now being marched in plain view through the first floor of the White House where public tours were gathered. â€Å"And this is the China Room,† a tour guide was saying to a group of tourists, â€Å"home of Nancy Reagan's $952 per setting red-rimmed china that sparked a debate over conspicuous consumption back in 1981.† The Secret Serviceman led Gabrielle past the tour toward a huge marble staircase, where another tour was ascending. â€Å"You are about to enter the thirty-two-hundred-square-foot East Room,† the guide was narrating, â€Å"where Abigail Adams once hung John Adams's laundry. Then we will pass to the Red Room, where Dolley Madison liquored up visiting heads of state before James Madison negotiated with them.†

Environmental Analysis of Target Inc.

Running head: ANALYSIS OF TARGET INC. Environmental Analysis of Target Inc. Team B Contemporary Issues in Leadership and Management MM590 October 9, 2006 Abstract Team B conducted an Environmental Analysis and an Industry Analysis of Target Inc. In the Environmental Analysis, competition for customers is always a threat in any business but the success of Target is always looking for new opportunities. The Target Inc. analysis found that competition with the â€Å"big box† stores including the availability of substitute products and threats of new entrants are keys to their success. The analysis of the remote environment found new regulations and shifting demographics influence Target’s success. Falling petroleum prices, confidence in the stock market and families migrating from the city to rural areas were the result of the Industry Analysis. .Our recommendations for overcoming the threats and capitalizing on the opportunities were to increase internet shopping, become move competitive in smaller towns, globalization, and allow the Salvation Army to silicate donations during the holidays. Environmental Analysis of Target Inc. Team B conducted an Environmental Analysis and an Industry Analysis of Target Inc. o identify opportunities and threats that may arise in the near future. In this research paper, the team will evaluate the findings and provide recommendations for responding to the issues and opportunities that Target stores face. Environmental Analysis of Competition An analysis of the competition indicates there is availability of substitute produc es and threats of new competition entering every year. The retail industry provides steady competition among business and within departments of the organization. Target offers a wide variety of products and services, which leads to an immense competition pool. The organization rovides services with photo development, pharmaceutical, prepared food with some locations having chain services, optical, and portrait studio centers. These diverse services provided for the expansion of the competition pool to include non-general retailers. Since retail merchandise is Target’s primary source of profitability, the organization must make proper investments to ensure the quality of these services surpass those of the competition. Quality service in the food preparation department will increase the chances that a customer will pass other fast food companies in order to get the same service at Target. Target competes for the customer’s business in retail merchandise with other discount retailers, department stores, wholesalers, and supermarkets. The competition with other discount retailers is Kmart and Wal-Mart. Each company involved in general retail offers similar products to the customers. Customers can bring a shopping list to include socks, shampoo, DVD player, and holiday decorations to each of the general retailers with confidence that each company will satisfy the customer’s needs. The differences in each business, which determines a customer’s preference is the organization’s reputation. This reputation is developed by personal experiences, and/or by external influences like media and other consumers. A consumer’s life situation is another influence on a customer’s decision on business of choice. Some families find finical benefits in purchasing items found at Target in bulk at wholesaler. A consumer’s location in proximity to businesses is another influential factor. Some of these considerations cannot be altered by a business. Although, Target can offer outstanding service to force the customer’s preference to surpass all other factors in choosing a retailer. According to Kijoo and Kim, â€Å"†¦ store managers need to give their best effort to enhance their customers' perceived satisfaction because satisfied customers have a greater chance of purchasing merchandise† (2006). The retail business relies solely on the customer’s choice in where their money is spent. The best method for retaining customers is to provide them with the products or services they desire. Those businesses, which are successful at customer service, will out perform their competition. The final source of competition involves internal aspects of the company. The competition produces threats to an organization’s retention. In each of the organization in which Target competes in sales, Target also competes in filling similar jobs. All retailers have similar job necessities including cashiers, clerks, receivers, managers, and store managers. According to the article in Human Resources Department Management Report, companies should â€Å"aim to identify the most suitable candidates as well as track trends in applicants and employees, including reasons for departure, rehire possibilities, top performers, and job specifics† (2005). The authors maintain that reduction in turnover can positively affect the profitability of the company. Businesses can operate differently but this does not change the skill requirements for being a leader. Target defines superior leadership performance as the individual who can excel in communicating effectively, managing execution, and demonstrating accountability. Since leadership is not defined by retail experience, Target searches for managers with various experiences including education, military, or public service. As Target is expanding their applicant pool, so is their competition. Once Target recruits strong leaders, retention is significant to the company’s success. Therefore, competition affects Target’s sales growth but also internal growth. Remote and Industry Analysis The analysis of the remote environment found new regulations and a shifting of demographics that influence Target’s success and ability to operate. A corporation that conducts an analysis of the environment must review all available information. This should include, a comparison of one corporation’s information against others in the same industry, and a look at all influences whether they are market related, legally based or social trends that affect the environment. For this analysis, we will focus on Target Corporation, and their main competition (Bateman & Snell, 2004, p. 56). Overall, the retail industry has seen continued strength the last year. This is partially the result of falling petroleum prices, which has led to increased trips to the store, and increase in spending. Adding to the optimism is an increase in confidence in the stock market. Forecasts are for retail sales to continue to increase as they ramp up for the November-December holiday season. In response, the retail industry and Target alike has continued expansion in the e-commerce arena- highly ptimistic that forecasts achieve their estimate of 5% over last year (O’Donnell, 2006, p. 1). Other demographic factors include the continuing trend of families migrating from the city to rural areas, the movement of retirees to western states such as Arizona and Nevada, in addition to the continuation of retirees flooding into Florida. To capitalize on these opportunities, seve ral initiatives have been seen in the industry (PRB, 2006, p. 1). Target has continued a steady yet comprehensive expansion project estimating the addition of 60-65 new stores this next year, with an overall growth rate of 8%. This expansion includes the Super Target stores, which are designed to compete with the Super Wal-Mart, providing grocery as well as retail consumer service (Target Annual Report, 2005, p. 3). Targets advertising costs have increased by $24 Million, double the increase from the previous year. These expenditures are primarily in the newspaper and media circular areas, but Target also increased expenditures on focused advertising campaigns targeting college students as they return to class in the fall (Target Annual Report, 2005, p. 29). This type of advertising has proven fruitful. This is an example of how Target is carving their niche in the market by focusing  on a part of the marketplace that has specific needs (Bateman & Snell, 2004, p. 524). Another contributing factor to the overall increase in budget was the result of a, â€Å"†¦decline in viewer ship of the national networks and the increase in media fragmentation† (Target Annual Report, 2005, p. 11), which has caused a fundamental shift in advertising, utilize more web based services (Target Annual Report, 2005, p. 11). To capitalize on the continued growth of on-line marketing and distribution, Target renewed its agreements with Amazon reiterating their commitment to, â€Å"†¦remain focused on our core strengths of merchandising and design, and while continuing to benefit from Amazon's innovation and expertise† (Target E-Commerce, 2006, p. 1). The article goes on to explain how Targets goal is to provide the ultimate on-line shopping experience to the customer. This methodology helps ensure Target remains a viable competitor in the on-line retail industry. Distinguishing itself from the competition, Target continues to maintain a vibrant image through its promise to ensure its, â€Å"†¦distinctive merchandise provides style, timeliness and quality at â€Å"best in class† prices† (Target Annual Report, 2005, p. 5). As part of this brand recognition initiative, Target continues to build relationships to enhance the shopping experience with industries such as Starbucks and Pizza Hut (Target Annual Report, 2005, p. 5). This is an important part of its effort to distinguish itself from the rest of the retail environment. A study done by Moorehouse in 1984, shows that states that strictly regulate store-opening hours have fewer large stores. In these cases, the consumer pays more for the products in the larger stores, because operating costs are so much higher. This could affect many of the Target stores because it will cost the company more money to operate to give their customers more shopping flexibility, or they have to increase the prices. Target has tremendous growth and profits are high. From the studies, it appears that Target has kept their prices at the same cost, no matter what. Some of these states include many smaller towns that would not survive without the â€Å"big box† stores and welcome companies like Target. Many times even if the cost is higher, the profits are high because of the demand (Tanguay, 519). Globalization is a concept of the international marketplace that influences increased trade, economic interdependence and decreased market barriers primarily due to increased connectivity (Bateman & Snell, 2004, p. 538). Target has been no exception with recent expansion of services in India described â€Å"to perform business functions more productively† (Target Annual Report, 2005, p. ). This global expansion is a direct result of the environment, which fosters global interconnectivity, and more cost- effective operations sourced by major industry, lower labor costs, technology, and an ever-expanding international market. Recommendations Target Corporation has increased advertising dollars to ensure the corporation is targeting custom er’s needs. The increase has done well for the company due to increase in profits over time. The internet-shopping arena is a huge business in the United States. Target’s plan to renew a contract with Amazon was a good decision. This enables customer’s greater flexibility. Many consumers do not like to drive to find the product they need and this helps Target increase profits. One recommendation for the company would to promote more internet shopping in their advertisements. This will especially help with the stores located in certain states where there are stricter regulations on store hours. This helps the consumer in those areas and gives them more flexibility. This will also help the retail chain gain more profits than the competition in those areas. In the smaller towns where companies like Target are considered the â€Å"big box† stores, the company can become more competitive with the local businesses. Many â€Å"mom and pop† stores in smaller communities consider Target a threat because they can offer lower prices on many products. Target should evaluate the markets in these smaller towns to see what the consumers are looking for and at what cost. Globalization has a huge impact on the retail industry. A survey of American organizations shows that in 1996 $100 billion were spent by large organizations on outsourcing contracts. This helps companies like Target build more alliances over seas and reduce costs in technology and labor. This helps the retail chain spend more money on advertising and marketing ventures in the Unites States. Target should continue. On the other hand, the company should look into how many jobs that they are providing here in the US. Consumers like to see major companies consider the welfare of the job economy in the states (Greco, 50). One recommendation is for Target to consider working better with charities. The Target Corporation decided to eliminate any charities soliciting for money inside or outside of their stores. This was a huge headliner when the company stated nationwide that they were not going to allow the Salvation Army (bell ringers) outside of their stores during the holidays. Target’s defense was if they let the Salvation Army in, they would have to let all charities at their store. This created uproar with many consumers. Many customers will no longer shop at Target stores because of this. One of Target’s biggest competitors, Wal-Mart has an advantage because of this. Many of the Target locations are relatively close to the Wal-Mart stores and ecause of the cost proximity Target is losing business. The best decision for Target is to let the Salvation Army back for the holidays. This will increase their profits during that season and may potentially bring back old customers. This does not mean that they have to let all charities at their stores. Allowing this major nonprofit organization will help with the competition tremendously. In summary, Team B found in the analysi s that Target Inc. provides steady competition with the â€Å"big box† stores including the availability of substitute products and threats of new entrants. The analysis of the remote environment found new regulations and shifting demographics that influence Target’s success. Our recommendations for overcoming the threats and capitalizing on the opportunities were to increase internet shopping, become move competitive in smaller towns, globalization, and allow the Salvation Army to silicate donations during the holidays. References Bateman, T. and Snell, S. (2004). Management: The new competitive landscape. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. Greco, JoAnn. (1997). Journal of Business Strategy. Outsourcing: The New Partnership†. 18(4), 48-55. Retrieved from the Thomas Gale database on October 4, 2006. Human Resources Department Management Report. (2005). How ‘Closed-Loop Analytics' at Albertsons Reduces Turnover & Saves Millions of Dollars. 5(3), 2-4. Retrieved from EBSCOhost database October 6, 2006. Kijoo, K. , and Kim, E. (2006). Suggestions to enhance the cyber store customer’s satisfaction. Journal of American Ac ademy of Business. 9(1), 233 – 240. Retrieved from EBSCOhost database October 6, 2006. O'Donnell, J. (2006). USA TODAY: Holiday Season Sales Forecast. Retrieved October 5, 2006 from USA Today web site: http://www. usatoday. com/money/industries/retail/2006-09-18-retail-usat_x. htm Tanguay, George. (1995). Economic Inquiry. Shopping Hours and Price Levels in the Retail Industry: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis. 33(3), 516-525. Retrieved from Thomas Gale database on October 5, 2006. Target Annual Report. (2005). Retrieved October 4, 2006 from Target web site: http://investors. target. com/phoenix. zhtml? c=65828=irol-reportsAnnual