Riordan Manufacturing Strategic Plan Essay

Strategic managers have responsibility to both the employees and stakeholders of the organization. Engaging in strategic management decisions should include ethics and social responsibilities. The expectation of such responsibilities from stakeholders is to fulfill legal and ethical economic decisions. Satisfying the purpose of the strategic planning process for Riordan Manufacturing, the management team has taken into consideration the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary responsibilities. According to Wheelen and Hunger (2010), the ethical and discretionary responsibilities are also known as social responsibilities. Ethical responsibilities require decision-makers to follow expected behaviors of society and the community. Riordan may take substantial risk by upsetting customers by failing to meet existing ethical values. Understanding the existing ethical values and standards of Riordan, the management team will assist senior leaders in planning and committing to social respo nsibilities. Why a Strategic Plan? A strategic management plan will focus Riordan’s objectives, goals, and efforts on long-term performance and sustainability. Managing short-term goals and successes is relatively uncomplicated and easily attainable, yet longevity is much more difficult to accomplish. Strategic management lays the framework for lasting success. Corporations can no longer sustain profitable business activities by simply maintaining a business as usual or status quo strategy. As the world and economic markets continue to evolve, companies must also transform to accommodate an ever-changing environment. During such transformations, managers should be careful to implement change that is consistent with the company’s core mission and objectives. Strategic planning assists in effectively accomplishing these changes and provides business owners and managers the opportunity to induce innovative thinking to preserve competitive advantages. Riordan, like other companies, needs a strategic plan. The plastic injection molding company uses modern design capabilities to provide innovative plastic products to national and international customers. Riordan advertises that â€Å"attention to detail, extreme precision and enthusiastic quality controls are the hallmarks of  Riordan Manufacturing† (Apollo Group, Inc., 2004, Internet). By setting such high standards in a lucrative and competitive industry, it is imperative to Riordan’s success that they implement a strategic plan to manage long-term profitability and sustained growth. Ethical and Social Responsibility To understand the role that ethical and social responsibility considerations occupy in the development of Riordan’s strategic organizational planning, one must first recognize what these concepts mean. According to Merriam-Webster (2011), ethics is â€Å"the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation† (para. 1). Outside of this general definition that ethics are standards for morality, researchers and philosophers have actively sought for many years for a comprehensive and all-encompassing explanation of what is and is not ethical. Many factors contribute to the meaning of ethics and corresponding behaviors, including but not limited to culture, religion, societal influences and pressures, and various stages of moral development. Though social responsibility works hand in hand with ethics, it does possess unique implications. Wheelen and Hunger (2010) describe that â€Å"the concept of social responsibility proposes that a private c orporation has responsibilities to society that extend beyond making a profit† (p. 72). This notion exists because the decisions and actions of a business or organization often are far reaching and affect many others beyond the boarders of the company’s facilities and operations. Management has a responsibility to balance that which is good for the business and for the surrounding communities and affected parties while formulating strategic plans. Experts in the fields of corporate ethics and social responsibility argue that profitability is not the only duty to be satisfied by a business. For example, William J. Byron believes that â€Å"profits are merely a means to an end, not an end in itself,† and Archie Carroll suggests that corporations â€Å"have four responsibilities: economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary† (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010, p. 72-73). Riordan is much more likely to experience success and provide greater returns to stakeholders if a well-rounded business approach is adopted, as opposed to a strictly profit-oriented method. An ex tensive internal and external environmental scan will help Riordan determine what ethical and social concerns to incorporate in the company’s strategic plan. For  instance, considering present concerns with environmental pollution, including the over-use of plastics and the toxic air pollution created by manufacturing facilities, Riordan should take a proactive stance in environmental sustainability efforts. Riordan operates in a changing world, and if the company chooses not to pay attention to and participate in the vigorous worldwide environmental conservation activities, they may find themselves out of business and in financial ruin. The ethical and socially responsible role of Riordan affects customers, employees, stakeholders, local and international communities, and future generations. If these parties are not satisfied with the company’s efforts and actions, Riordan may be at risk for potential failure. Competitive Advantages and Strategies Riordan presently utilizes an industry standard Six Sigma competitive strategy, along with their customization of innovative products and sale of quality items to a select market of specialized buyers. The manufacturer also takes advantage of high-volume production methods to generate elevated profits. They provide plastic products, including bottles, fans, heart valves, medical stents, and custom parts, to customers in bulk amounts at affordable prices to sustain the company’s revenue stream. Riordan also has a revolving product line, which creates value and sustainability because the products are recycled. These competitive advantages helped Riordan become an industry leader, yet the integration of a differentiation strategy and a lower cost strategy will work to enhance organizational growth. Riordan can improve innovation and sustainability of business operations in the United States and in the global market by implementing a blend of differentiation and lower cost busines s strategies. This arrangement is ideal for Riordan because it caters to the purpose of the manufacturing business, which is to provide valuable products at reasonable costs. Wheelen and Hunger (2010) explain that â€Å"differentiation strategy is the ability of a company to provide unique and superior value to the buyer in terms of product quality, special features, or after-sale service† and â€Å"lower cost strategy is the ability of a company or a business unit to design, produce, and market a comparable product more efficiently than its competitors† (p. 185). The combination of these two exceedingly effective competitive strategies allows Riordan to introduce innovative and distinct plastic products to the  marketplace, creating greater value to customers, in a more efficient and cost-effective manner than competitors. To further guarantee organizational longevity, Riordan should continue to use existing quality improvement processes such as Six Sigma and Total Quality Management, which focus on cost reduction, quality improvement, customer satisfaction, performance improvement, and continual renewal. Measurement Guidelines Using a combination of differentiation and lower cost strategies in the Riordan strategic planning process will help the organization maximize profits through two avenues. The first way the company will adjust the organizational strategy is by using differentiation to sell specialty products to organizations that are willing to pay higher prices for specialty orders. New innovation will increase the sales of the organization. Riordan will use a return on investment (ROI) measurement as a guideline to verify the effectiveness of the innovation strategy. The ROI measurement will look at the profitability of each specialty order and determine if the products are creating enough revenue for the organization. If the products are not meeting a set revenue target goal, then the organization will increase the customers’ cost. The second way Riordan will stabilize the organization’s growth and maximize profits is by using a lower cost strategy. The organization will maintain the existing customer base by selling common plastic products at lower rates. The primary plastic products in this category are beverage bottles, food containers, and common automobile parts. The organization will use a balanced scorecard approach to verify strategic effectiveness of the lower cost strategy. The balanced scorecard will focus on four main strategic goals to determine effectiveness. The first goal is customer satisfaction. Satisfying the customer’s needs will keep profits growing. The second goal is financial stability and profitability. Financial stability will show stakeholders the company is strong and dependable. This encourages more business from other organizations in the future. The third goal in the balanced scorecard approach is internal perspective. Management will look at successes and failures within the organization and determine corrective actions to improve the organization. The fourth step is innovation and learning within the organization. Managers will look at areas that are not meeting the strategic  goals and determine improvements to the strategic plan. The management team will also evaluate ways to improve value of products and ways to cut cost of production. By using the ROI and balanced scorecard guidelines, Riordan’s managers can effectively evaluate the effectiveness of the organizational strategy. This will allow managers to determine if the strategies are successful in their current form or if adjustments are needed to improve production or profitability standards. Internal Dynamics For Riordan to implement the new business strategies, the internal dynamics of the organization must change. These changes will affect the culture and structural leadership of the company. Riordan’s current management structure is a matrix structure using the old method management. This means that longevity in the organization is a stipulation for management placement. Each level of manager is put in a position and the job is made to fit the candidate. The company will keep the current matrix structure in place with one major difference. In the new internal dynamics of the company, the requirements of the job determine the eligibility of candidates. New job placement processes will cause the cultural environment to change within the organization. Employees, whom may be waiting for older workers to leave the company, will find it easier to move into new positions without the wait. The most qualified candidate will be eligible for the positions, instead of employees relying on l ongevity. This type of organizational movement will promote innovation through education by placing fresh candidates in leadership positions. This will also help the company avoid downturns in innovation and growth. Organizational managers must determine if the new business strategy will fit the current culture. If the strategy does not fit, managers must decide how to implement the strategy by making changes in the structure. According to Wheelen and Hunger (2010), the management team can try one of four methods to adjust the culture. â€Å"The strategy makers can take a chance and ignore the culture, manage around the culture by changing the plan, change the culture to fit the plan, or change the strategy to fit the culture† (Wheelen and Hunger, 2010, p. 256). The new organizational business strategy must have the support of the stakeholders to which the changes will affect because a failure to plan and adjust the business strategy effectively could result in failure of the implementa tion process. Business Continuity Business continuity are the activities performed by an organization to ensure that the business functions will be available when needed by customers, suppliers, regulators, and others of Riordan that must have access to those particular functions. Business continuity is performed by members of the company such as management, employees, and its stakeholders. The business functions and continuity at Riordan consist of project management, system backups, change controls, and the help desk. These functions help Riordan maintain service, consistency, and recoverability within the organization. Riordan influences business continuity by supporting items in their mission statement. The influences are geared by Six Sigma and R&D, which is the industry leader in identification of industry trends. Riordan’s business is also influenced by ISO 9000 standards that define the company’s attitude and abilities. Long-term customer relationships and team oriented working environments are significant businesses influences of this company. With a continual focus on achievement and maintaining profitability to ensure sustained growth, financial and human capital availability are identified as ongoing strategic goals and objectives. Assessment and Feedback Controls Riordan provides its employees with well informed and properly supported information that focuses on the long-term viability of the company. The assessment and feedback controls that should be acknowledged in determining the direction for Riordan in the proposed strategic plan are as follows. The assessments will ensure that Riordan examines employee motivation and empowerment, manufacturing and marketing areas, and the structure of performance reviews. Once these areas are assessed, then the feedback process will begin. The management feedback process consists of making sure employees are still being recognized as team players as Riordan is changing the strategy of the company. Providing employees coaching sessions to identify problem areas, implementation of career development opportunities, and instituting a pay rewards system for good performance that supports the company’s vision will provide direct feedback to the company. At Riordan, product quality and quantity is a major focus. Establishing an evaluation, control, and assessment process will provide timely feedback to leadership  in anticipation of results or areas of concern. Areas of assessment include employee and customer satisfaction, environmental presence, and environmental scanning for external locations of the manufacturing facilities. Instituting assessment and feedback to determine the profitability and feasibility of the company is established through the strategic process. Management will determine and specify what measurements are necessary, establish standards of performance through specific implementations, measure performance by predetermined controls, and compare desired performance within a tolerance range. Should the performance fall outside of the predetermined tolerance range, leadership will have the ability to take immediate corrective action. Companies may experience fluctuation or desired standards not being achieved. Thi s provides the company with an opportunity to take corrective action and re-evaluate the strategic plan. Should Riordan’s strategic plan fluctuate or not achieve predetermined goals as according to plan, management would consider altering the specific strategy. Some of the changes to be considered are based on the feedback, but may include the competitive strategies, measurement guidelines, and internal dynamics. These areas provide opportunities for improvement but could also reflect similarities to the original plan with minor adjustments and still provide successful outcomes. Alterations of the strategic plan would be evaluation of: Competitive Strategies – In the area of competitive strategies, we will limit the high-volume production methods and not add any new innovation. Measurement Guidelines – In the area of measurement guidelines, we will eliminate the differentiation to sell specialty products to organizations for a higher price which leads to return on investment. Riordan will focus on maintaining the product line that already exists. Internal Dynamics – In the area of internal dynamics, Riordan could not go forward with the new changes to the company culture and job placement process. Only a few minor adjustments are needed for this particular area. Job placement should be considered upon experience and the company culture should remain the same. If Riordan fails to make these corrections prior to implementation of the new strategic plan, the company could be at risk of losing market share, not having the ability of expanding globally, jeopardizing the relationship with stakeholders, and lose of profitability. Conclusion Companies are respected and rated by their ethical and social responsibilities to the stakeholders and employees. These responsibilities are as important as the ROI. The purpose of business is to make a return on investment, and this factor is used to evaluate the performance of management and offers a market comparison to similar firms and industries. Key performance measures are essential for achieving the desired strategic outcome. A comprehensive plan that includes environmental scanning, strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and evaluation and control processes will provide assurance of a well-developed strategic approach to business strategies and growth initiatives. References Apollo Group, Inc. (2004). Virtual Organization: Riordan Manufacturing. Retrieved from Apollo Group, Inc., Simulation, MGT498 – Strategic Management website. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated (2011). Ethic. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethics. Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, J. D. (2010). Concepts in strategic management and business policy: Achieving sustainability (12th ed.). Prentice Hall.

Caring for Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease does not form part of the common ageing process but a higher risk of experiencing this disease is more prevalent in the older population. Alzheimer’s disease emerged as a term when Dr. Alois Alzheimer reported in 1906 the condition of a fifty-five year-old woman suffering from the effects of progressive dementia, a condition that is strongly linked to old age. Edwards et al.Due to the progressive nature of the disease, the individual with Alzheimer’s disease together with the community within which the individual belongs also becomes affected. In the latter stages of the disease, the individual may suffer dementia manifested in the disorientation of surroundings, inability to recognize family members, and lack of awareness of daily needs and wants.Mahoney (2003) states that around four million of the American population is already suffering from Alzheimer’s disease with the number expected to multiply three-fold in 2050. The effects of the disease together with the expected increase in the population of people with Alzheimer’s disease has given importance to the enhancement of knowledge and practical experience on the part of caregivers with family members suffering from Alzheimer’s disease stressing on vigilance as a standard of care.Family Caregivers of Individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease Alzheimer’s disease has been the subject of many studies covering its various areas from the determination of the causes and effects of this disease to the access and availability of healthcare for people with Alzheimer’s disease and then to the focus on caregivers and care giving standards.Some studies on caregivers are continuing because of the need to collect and collate information on the importance of families caring for members with Alzheimer’s disease together with the concurrent important role of nurses and other healthcare professionals in providing family caregivers with the informative and other forms of support they need to take on the task of dealing with the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. Mahoney (2003) explains that caregiver burden emerged in studies on the caregivers of family members with Alzheimer’s disease to describe the aggregate demands and issues faced by the caregivers.These cover the financial burden incurred by the family in caring for their family member with Alzheimer’s disease from seeking professional healthcare to continuing care at home as well as the emotional and social burdens of seeing or experiencing the symptoms of dementia such as the inability of the individual with Alzheimer’s to recognize family members or frequent disorientation. The failure of family caregivers to understand and effectively deal with these demands and issues could lead to fatigue and stress or even to psychological problems on the part of family caregivers.This means that apart from studying the cause, effect and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, there is also need to focus on providing multi-faceted support to family caregivers based on the underlying principle that family caregivers also need care. This implies the important role of health professionals, especially nurses that constantly deal with family caregivers to extent care to family caregivers. Care Issues of Family CaregiversWith the expected increase in the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease in the succeeding decades, it is then important to make sure of the proper care not only for the patients but for their caregivers as well. As individuals depend on them for optimum care so that keeping abreast with current care giving trends and applications covering patient care and keeping themselves less stressed and fatigued are imperative. This ensures the caregiver’s health and competence in handling Alzheimer’s disease cases and patients.Sufficient and relevant data exist that prove the increased probability of caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s disease to experience symptoms related to depression. The financial burden, coupled by the physical and emotional turmoil of caring for elderly with Alzheimer’s may be some reasons for the increased risk of depression and health problems of caregivers. Wykle (1996) conducted an earlier study on family caregivers and recognized the extent that the Alzheimer’s disease takes its toll on the families caring for their members suffering from this disease.While studies on the cause and cure of Alzheimer’s disease are ongoing, there is also need to conduct parallel studies on alleviating the stress and pressure on families caring for their members with Alzheimer’s disease. Based on the recognition of the increases responsibility of families in caring for members with Alzheimer’s disease, these families are calling for appropriate and effective interventions in reducing family stress and supporting caregivers man aging the manifestations of dementia. After almost a decade, studies on caring for family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease continue to advance.Vitaliano, Katon and Unutzer (2005) studied caregiver health in the context of geriatric psychiatry in the five areas of: 1) caregiver outcomes in relation to the manifestations of the link between caregiver distress and physical indices in order to determine the intervention to caregivers; 2) assessing caregiver status and condition; 3) relationship between the caregiver and the recipient of care; 4) future studies; and 5) important areas to consider in applying interventions to family caregivers.These constitute important considerations for nurses providing support and care to family caregivers. Nursing Support for Family Caregivers Roper, Logan and Tierney (2001) developed a model for nursing care that incorporates a consideration of five factors, which are:1) activities of living,2) lifespan,3) continuous relationshi p of dependence and independence,4) factors affecting activities of living,5) individuality in living experiences.This means that throughout a person’s lifetime, a number of biological, psychological and environmental factors experienced by individuals either improve or threaten the physical, mental and emotions well-being of individuals. To prevent the threats, individuals engage in preventive activities such as being in a safe environment, communication, and having a healthy lifestyle. People go through these activities with other people, such as other family members, other families and healthcare professional, creating a continuous relationship of dependence and independence with the dependenceIn relation to nursing support for family caregivers, this model suggests that nurses play the important role of supporting family caregivers especially in the stages of dependence. This means that importance of determining when the dependence stages occur, the extent of support need ed by family caregivers, and the appropriate intervention to apply. To assist nurses in this task, Mahoney (2003) discuss the model of vigilance that applies to the relationship between the family caregiver and care recipient and the nurse’s relationship with the caregiver and care recipient.By applying the concepts of watchful supervision, protective intervening, anticipating, being on duty, and being there, patients with Alzheimer’s disease will be effectively cared for by family caregivers in the same way that family caregivers will be supported by nurses and other healthcare professionals. Salient Learning on Family Caregivers of Person’s with Alzheimer’s Disease Proper orientation prior to taking on the job of caring for family members with Alzheimer’s disease is important, so is periodic evaluation and assessment of the patient’s condition and the degree of influence it has over the caregiver.Caregivers must also allow sufficient time for leisure activities, rest and relaxation. It is also important for caregivers to be aware of the symptoms which may lead to their stress and fatigue. The symptoms they must look out for include denial, short and hot temper, anger (which may be prolonged or manifested in spurts), withdrawal from family members, friends and activities which were enjoyed previously, anxiety and agitation, sleeplessness, irritability, and exhaustion.These symptoms, if undetected, may give rise to serious health problems or even depression later on. Nurses play an important role in facilitating understanding and stress alleviation. Important Topics for Continuous Learning Although many studies have directed focus on diagnosing and treating family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, there are still areas that need further investigations and learning.On the part of nurses providing support to family caregivers, the existence of healthcare infrastructures to support the recognition of the importance of supporting family caregivers through the sharing of knowledge and experience to family caregivers constitutes one important topic for learning. This is because it is common for hospitals and nursing homes not to have their own Alzheimer’s disease care unit. Nurses and other healthcare providers may be commonly assigned from one station or area to the next which may limit the expertise gained if the said people concentrate only on a particular area.The lack of an Alzheimer’s disease unit may be due to lack of funds, hospital space, facilities, and different priorities. A possible area of learning could be the viability of establishing Alzheimer’s disease units in hospitals or nursing homes or stationing nurses in the care of Alzheimer’s patients to allow nurses to develop learning and best practices not only in treating patient’s with Alzheimer’s disease that they can use in understanding the issues of family caregivers and they can share as practical lessons to family caregivers.Another possible area of learning could be the differences in the experiences of family caregivers, caring for family members with varying manifestations of dementia, in terms of the degree of stress and fatigue and ways they apply in care giving. Concurrently, effective practical means that caregivers apply to alleviate care giving burden such as relaxation and leisure or group support become equally important. These areas of learning constitute important consideration in the orientation, evaluation, training and development of nursing care to family caregivers to assure the best care possible given to and extended to care recipients.Pertinent Actual and Potential Nursing Diagnoses of Family Caregivers Enough relevant and significant data are available that discusses the high risk of clinical depression and anxiety in family caregivers. The said depression and anxiety may be a result of the demanding physical and emotional w ork that caregivers who take care of patients with Alzheimer’s disease experience daily as part of their care routine. This may give rise to certain conditions that afflict the caregiver him/herself.â€Å"Hidden† patient is the term used to describe nurses or caregivers who suffer from anxiety and clinical depression, coupled with health problems (Parks and Novielli, 2003). Hidden in a sense that their despair and symptoms are commonly denied, not given attention to, or altogether ignored, which may give rise to graver threats later on. Caregiver depression is a condition that family caregivers may experience. These include persistent and untreatable pains and aches, irritability, weight loss and loss of appetite, exhaustion and lack of energy, insomnia and feelings of guilt and anxiety (Vitaliano, Katon, & Unutzer, 2005).Thus, nurses supporting caregivers should be well aware of the symptoms that may lead caregiver depression. Conclusion Due to the extent of the impac t of Alzheimer’s disease to the various people, including the family of the individual suffering from the disease, other people comprising the social network of the patient, and healthcare professionals, there is need to apply collaborative learning and information sharing in order to derive optimum and comprehensive understanding of best practices on the alleviation of the care giving burden of family caregivers.This is important since family caregivers able to handle and adjust to the care giving burden would lead to effective care outcomes for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.References Edwards, J. , Handy, R. , Lancaster, M. , & Turnbull, J. (Eds. ) (1998).Alzheimer's Disease: A Handbook for Caregivers. St. Louis, M. O. : Mosby. Mahoney, D. F. (2003).Vigilance: Evolution and Definition for Caregivers of Family Members with Alzheimer’s Disease. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 29, 24-30 Parks, S. M. , & Novielli, K. D. (2003).Alzheimer's Disease Caregivers : Hidden Patients. Clinical Geriatrics, 11(5), 14-16. Roper, N. , Logan, W. , & Tierney, A. (2001).Roper-Logan-Tierney Model of Nursing: Based on Activities of the Living. London: Churchill Livingston. Vitaliano, P. P. , Katon, W. , & Unutzer, J. (2005).Making the Case for Caregiver Research in Geriatric Psychiatry. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 13, 834-843. Wykle, M. L. (1996).Interventions for Family Management of Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease. International Psychogeriatrics, 8, 109-111.

Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Information Systems - Essay Example y apply to businesses in the manufacturing setting but also to those in the service industry such as banks, hospitals, the military, as well as the environment management(Gupta, 1998). Companies that are service oriented may be seen to distribute non-physical products, they are also involved in the distribution of decisions and activities that accompany those decisions(Edelstein, 1991). For instance, in this case R/Way Trucking Company could be involved in the distribution of freight bills to its suppliers or clients. The company may need to maintain all the inventories held by the manufacturers of its trucks which may also include transporting the shipping documents. The idea of selecting internet based architecture would be a brilliant one for R/Way Truck Company because it will help the company keep up with the growing competitive forces in the market as well as respond to the pressures of the global marketplace. Incorporating internet based architecture will also help the company to deliver their services faster, with high quality and greater performance. This architecture will contain software applications that range from document management systems, word processing programs to payroll management software. R/Way Truck Company should adopt the client-server architecture because it is accessible in a much easier way from various platforms in the networks. It is also an improvement of the functions of the user as well as presentation from the server to the client. Moreover, it leads to an improved system scalability and responsiveness to the user whereby changes can be made easily by upgrading the server. Also, the company can be able to define and access its security rights when the server is being set. The client server architecture will not only bring about the efficient when it comes to sharing of information but also in the integration of services. The client server is also easily control and ensures that there is proper management of the files and easier

How to Fake a Puffin Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How to Fake a Puffin Society - Essay Example There does not seem to be any underlying arguments about the politics of the environment or anything like that – the author spends almost the entire time describing the process that had to be undertaken to return Puffins to a colony, including using fake birds and â€Å"recorded bird calls† to get tarns, a bird that would replace another bird that threatened the puffin population (Nijhuis 3). The time devoted to describing this and other scientific processes that the professor had to do over the years shows that the author really is just trying to tell an interesting, informative story. The author does not seem to have a very small or specific audience in mind. The author does not seem to think that the reader will be any kind of experts in the field, because she takes great efforts to make sure that the reader, even if they do not already know anything about Puffins, will understand. Also, the author explains things that someone with any kind of academic or practical k nowledge of puffins would already know, things like the way they relate to each other, how they mate and so on. The language is not very advanced, without any specific technical words. This seems to show that the author wants to write for a very general audience, they want anyone who happens to pick up this article to be able to read it and have a good time. Other than that there is very little to show that the author intends a specific audience: they do not seem concerned about age, gender, education, or any of the other things that people usually use to target an audience. The author writes for a very broad group. The author’s persona is very closely tied to the audience. This author wants to write in a way that makes readers interested and want to connect with what she is saying. In this, the author’s persona comes across as being very relaxed, but engaged. She seems to find all of the information that she is passing on to the reader valuable and genuinely interesti ng, diving into the smallest details. The persona also comes across with a great deal of curiosity and a little bit of authority. It seems like the persona knew nothing about this topic before looking into it, but has now discovered a great deal of information and wants to share that information with the reader. This means that the persona comes across as having real authority to speak on the topic but also puts the reader very far from being too knowledgeable – the persona does not at all speak down to the reader, but rather shares the exploration with him or her. There are several methods used in this piece. The first appeals to authority. Most of this paper is structured as the things that the author had learned from the main scientist she investigated, and so many of her reports stem from his authority. The article also uses a cause-effect structure because it tries to demonstrate how certain actions in helping a puffin colony develop actually allowed the colony to develo p. The article has almost no statistics but is very descriptive of the processes undertaken. The appeals used in this article vary. On the one hand, there seem to be a lot of emotional appeals. The article begins by talking about how â€Å"First things first: Puffins are adorable† (Nijhuis 1).

Criminal Justice - Youth Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Criminal Justice - Youth Justice - Essay Example The focus is no longer on punishment. A search for committed effective criminal justice practice is often hindered by an unwarranted certainty about what works regarding reformation of youth criminals. The best way to view the entire juvenile justice system is as a work in progress rather than something that is written on rock. Nothing is certain at this point on what works or not and it is very necessary to keep an open mind on new theories and one of these is a child rights-based framework (Cotter, 2006: 108) The Children Act of 1908 established juvenile courts to try young offenders. It tried to stamp out infanticide by the introduction of foster parenthood in the country. This led to the establishment of orphanages for unwanted children and to keep them out of the workplace in which they could be mistreated by the new capitalist system. A law called Children and Young Persons Act of 1933 was more encompassing as it prohibited sale of liquor and cigarettes to persons under 16 years of age, letting them in the prostitution business, use them for begging in the streets or inflicting cruelty to them. Before this law, criminals below 18 years of age can be executed for serious crimes but it raised the criminal responsibility of a child from only 7 to 8 years of age. The Children Act of 1948 established childrens committees and authorities are mandated to receive vulnerable kids into their care (Batty, 2005: 1). November 20, 1959 saw the adoption of the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child and made this a universal celebration each year on this date. It expanded the original version from only 5 principles to a present 10. This was followed by the Children and Young Persons Act of 1969 that introduced more compulsory measures for the State to intervene in behalf of a child and to take over parental rights if necessary. It introduced a revolutionary concept of care and control through the use of care orders for criminal kids.

The impact of sales promotion by 'Nike Golf' in Thailand on the Essay

The impact of sales promotion by 'Nike Golf' in Thailand on the Strength of the Brand - Essay Example The importance of price in purchase decisions puts an emphasis on the relationship between the price of a purchased item and its quality (Mesak, 1979). Among the most attention-grabbing is the sales promotion of Nike golf Thailand used for their Driver and golf clubs. This was also the event Driver SQ series was introduced in 2006. The approach was to reduce the cost of the item in a short period of time. For demonstration, when the company promotes new product, which is done once every year, the price that kicks off at roughly four hundred dollars ($400) to six hundred dollars ($600), which is about 13, 000-20, 000 Thai Baht will hold a price of just about $250 (approximately 8, 000 Thai Baht) six months later. Then towards the end of the promotion, it will fasten to a price of $120 at the least, which is around 5, 000 Thai Baht. January 2002 came into the vastly competitive golf club industry of $1.5 billion. Nike is relying on its sound brand image as well as its deep pockets to vie in commerce where companies are inclusive of rigorous technologies (Gabrielle et al, 2002) when golf became popular and demands begin to escalate. Companies subsequently changed mode of production to mass production by means of shifting production processes to China with the intention of decreasing the costs (Anderson, 2008). Owing to the formidable marketing strategy as well as the production mode which is being used by Nike golf in promoting their merchandise, items of Nike golf are virtually offered in all golf shops throughout the world. They are able to distribute merchandises through dealers on every country and that particular dealer ought to employ their own strategy or technique in advertising their products. Hence, the Thailand Nike golf sales promotion which is being applied for their SQ driver series is distinctive from other sales promotion used by dealers from other countries

Meaning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Meaning - Essay Example The basement and crawl space are major sources of heat loss. They can be sealed by mechanical key locks as a ventilation mechanism. The crawlspace walls can be insulated with rigid insulation. As for the base walls, a layer of insulation can be attached either on the inside or outside4. 16. ICF (Insulated Concrete Form) Foundations: a green and sustainable building system that delivers a foundation or wall that is highly energy efficient, structurally  tough, and resistant to fire fire and sound. 17. Sump pump and French-drain locations: sump pump is located in the basement and collects water that has accumulated in the water collection sump basin. The French drain is a trench with perforated pipes or filled with gravel that redirects ground and surface water away from a given area7. Doors are covered in Section R612 of the 2012 International Code Requirements. For example, during the times of fire the doors deter the spread of flames and smoke. The owner needs to be aware the hazards the glass doors could pose15. iv. COM Check – building program that allows simplifies compliance for building officials, plan checkers, and inspectors by allowing them to quickly determine whether new commercial or high-rise residential buildings, additions, and alterations meet the requirements of the IECC and ASHRAE Standard 90.1, as well as several state-specific codes. Buildipedia. Structural Steel Framing . http://buildipedia.com/knowledgebase/division-05-metals/05-10-00-structural-metal-framing/05-12-00-structural-steel-framing/05-12-00-structural-steel-framing>. Web July, 22, 2009. Accessed april 24,