Business strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business strategy - Assignment Example One of the reasons for this ambiguity can be the lack of a productive identification process (Whiddett and Hollyforde, 1999). Core competencies are often recognized in forms of intangible and tangible assets. Equivalent attention should be paid to both intangible and tangible competencies in order to gain sustainable competitive advantage (Bergenhenegouwen, Horn and Mooijman, 1996). This is because the value added and intangible contributions are much influential and critical (Hafeez and Abdelmeguid, 2003). It has also been pointed out that competitive advantage decreases as a result of the tangible assets. Thus, it can be said that the overall competency of an organization cannot be completed unless the personal competencies are also taken into consideration (Whitehill, 1997). This paper will analyze the core competencies in details. The various benefits and drawbacks of the concept will be explained. The paper will also incorporate expert opinions and critics from various researche rs and academics regarding concepts of core competencies as well as paradoxes. The next part of the paper will try to examine any relationship between concepts of core competency and Icarus paradox. Core competency Model Core competencies can be described as deep proficiencies enabling an organization to deliver quick and unique value to its customers. It symbolizes a firm’s collective experience and learning. It also helps in understanding the coordination of diverse manufacturing and production skills as well as integration of multiple technologies. This type of competency creates sustainable and long term competitive advantage for an organization and helps it in branching out into a broader category of related markets (Collis, 1991). The best advantage of having core competency is that it is very difficult for competitors to procure or copy. Understanding and evaluation of core competencies permit an organization to invest in various strengths which differentiates them and implement strategies for unifying the entire organization (Agha, Alrubaiee and Jamhour, 2012). The concept of core competency was first introduced in the framework of Prahalad and Hamel. They defined core competency as â€Å"An organisation’s major value-creating skills, capabilities, and resources that determine its competitive weapons.† (Hamel and Prahalad, 1990). According to this framework, competition cannot be considered as a market power in the long run. This can be derived from the fact that even though organizations have survived in tough global competition, they are all converging towards similar as well as formidable standards for quality, product cost and timeliness. Thus, managers now need to investigate their internal competencies as well as resources and capabilities for securing sustainable and long-term survival (Eden and Ackermann, 2000). According to the model, core competency can be recognized by application of three tests. These are: Firstly, with the help of a core competency, potential access to a wide market area can be gained. Secondly, core competencies significantly contribute in the creation of perceived consumer benefits of the end service or product. Thirdly, it is hard for competitors to copy or imitate as it involves complex harmonization of production skills and individual technologies. In other words, the understanding of the significance of the competence for competitive differentiation, whether the

Music Appreciation ( classical) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Music Appreciation ( classical) - Term Paper Example In the impressionism period, the artists used light and water themes in their artworks which used to give an abstract look to their paintings. Music composers of that period also liked to imitate the sounds of water. The two most popular mediums used by the impressionist composers were orchestra and piano. Claude Debussy, also known as one of the great pillars of musical modernism, is considered to be a very dominant personality in the field of composition and music. He was born in northwest Parisian commune in 1862. If we talk about his educational career, we come to know that Debussy was deprived of public education because the government of France took away all civil rights from his father due to his involvement in the Paris workers’ uprising. But when his parents found musical talent in Debussy, they sent him to his relatives to start his music education. Debussy did not have any regular schooling but he showed his extraordinary skills and abilities in composing. He was awarded with Prix de Rome in the year 1884. Here we must mention that he started his work in music industry as a pianist but he did not get much success as a pianist which made him divert his mind towards composing. If we talk about one of the major forces behind Debussy’s success, we can say that Ernest Guiraud, a quintessential French academic composer, played a great role in Debussy’s success as a composer. It was Debussy’s orchestral work La Mer and the opera production Pellà ©as ET Mà ©lisande which made him one of the most prominent and leading composers of the twentieth century. Printemps and the cantata La demoiselle à ©lue were very famous poems by Debussy which not only played a great role in Debussy’s success as a composer but also symbolized a far-fetched advance on Lenfant prodigue. Under the influence of poets and painters from Rome, Debussy fell under Wagner’s charm and attraction. This was the reason why Debussy’s style was found

Assignment Essay Example for Free

Assignment Essay Practice of Management Assignment Individual assignment to be done as homework To be done in Word with a cover page Watch the full interview from the link below with Indra Nooyi, CEO of Pepsi Co and answer the following questions based on the Interview Interview link: http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=Ft7G549GF3Y Answer the questions with as much detail as possible Question 1 How do you feel about a boss who makes the strong connections with their staff and heir staffs families as Indra Nooyi does? Question 2 What is the operating philosophy of Pepsi Co? (explain in detail) Question 3 What was the specific initiative Indra Nooyi did to get ready for her first Job as a product manager for a textile company? Question 4 What are the characteristics that Indra Nooyi looks for when recruiting for the Pepsi co? Question 5 What does Mrs. Nooyi mean by dont run for office? Question 6 How did Pepsi Co handle the acquisition of Tropicana? Co? Question 5

What Is The Importance Of Food Security Environmental Sciences Essay

What Is The Importance Of Food Security Environmental Sciences Essay World Food Day, 16 October, highlights the need to ensure that all people have physical and economic access at all times to enough nutritious, safe food to lead healthy and active lives. More than half the worlds population lives in low-income, food-deficit countries that are unable to produce or import enough food to feed their people. More than one-third of all children are malnourished and 6 million children a year die of causes related to malnutrition. Most of the worlds hungry people are found in the developing world, but 34 million live in the developed world. Soil degradation, chronic water shortages, inappropriate agricultural policies and population growth threaten food production in many countries. While growing export crops such as coffee, cocoa and sugar produces export income, it can lead to a decrease in basic food production, causing hardship for people who are poor. Between 1960 and 1990 world cereal production more than doubled, food production increased by one-third per head, daily intake of calories increased by one-third, and real food prices fell by almost half. There is enough food in the world for everyone to have enough to eat, but it is unevenly distributed. Background What is food security? Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to enough safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy lifestyle. (World Food Summit 1996) To be food secure means that: Food is available The amount and quality of food available globally, nationally and locally can be affected temporarily or for long periods by many factors including climate, disasters, war, civil unrest, population size and growth, agricultural practices, environment, social status and trade. Food is affordable When there is a shortage of food prices increase and while richer people will likely still be able to feed themselves, poorer people may have difficulty obtaining sufficient safe and nutritious food without assistance. Food is utilised At the household level, sufficient and varied food needs to be prepared safely so that people can grow and develop normally, meet their energy needs and avoid disease. What happens when people do not have food security? For the more than 800 million people who do not get enough regular, healthy food, ill health and a shorter life expectancy are real risks. Children, and especially very young children, who suffer from food insecurity will be less developed than children of the same age who have had sufficient food. They will most likely be shorter and weigh less, and be less able physically and intellectually, because of poor nutrition. Why is there food insecurity? Poverty Poor people lack access to sufficient resources to produce or buy quality food. Poor farmers may have very small farms, use less effective farming techniques, and/or be unable to afford fertilisers and labour-saving equipment, all of which limit food production. Often they cannot grow enough food for themselves, let alone generate income by selling excess to others. Without economic resources and a political voice, poor farmers may be forced on to less productive land possibly causing further environmental deterioration. Addressing poverty is critical to ensuring that all people have sufficient food. Health Without sufficient calories and nutrients, the body slows down, making it difficult to undertake the work needed to produce food. Without good health, the body is also less able to make use of the food that is available. A hungry mother will give birth to an underweight baby, who then faces a future of stunted growth, frequent illness, learning disabilities and reduced resistance to disease. Contaminated food and water can cause illness, nutrient loss and often death in children. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has reduced food production in many affected countries as productive adults become ill or die. Lacking the labour, resources and know-how to grow staples and commercial crops, many households have shifted to cultivating survival foods or even leaving their fields, further reducing the food supply. Addressing health issues will improve utilisation and availability of food. Water and the environment Food production requires massive amounts of water. It takes one cubic metre (1000 litres) of water to produce one kilogram of wheat and 3,000 litres of water to produce one kilogram of rice. Producing sufficient food is directly related to having sufficient water. Irrigation can ensure an adequate and reliable supply of water which increases yields of most crops by 100% to 400%. Although only 17% of global cropland is irrigated, that 17% produces 40% of the worlds food. Increasing irrigation efficiency and limiting environment damage through salinisation or reduced soil fertility are important for ongoing food availability. Where water is scarce and the environment fragile, achieving food security may depend on what has been called virtual water, that is, importing food from countries with an abundance of water. This may be a more efficient use of a scarce resource. Gender equity Women play a vital role in providing food and nutrition for their families through their roles as food producers, processors, traders and income earners. Yet womens lower social and economic status limits their access to education, training, land ownership, decision making and credit and consequently their ability to improve their access to and use of food. Food utilisation can be enhanced by improving womens knowledge of nutrition and food safety and the prevention of illnesses. Increasing womens involvement in decision making and their access to land and credit will in turn improve food security as women invest in fertilisers and better seeds, labour-saving tools, irrigation and land care. Disasters and conflicts Droughts, floods, cyclones and pests can quickly wipe out large quantities of food as it grows or when it is in storage for later use. Likewise, seeds can be destroyed by such environmental dangers. Conflict can also reduce or destroy food in production or storage as farmers flee to safety or become involved in the fighting. Previously productive land may be contaminated with explosive debris and need to be cleared before it can again be used for food production. Stored food, seeds and breeding livestock may be eaten or destroyed by soldiers, leading to long-term food shortages. Government spending needs to prioritise food security in the aftermath of conflict. Population and urbanisation Population growth increases the demand for food. With most productive land already in use, there is pressure for this land to become more productive. Poor harvests and higher costs lead many poor farmers to migrate to cities to look for work. Expanding cities spread out across productive land, pushing food production further and further away from consumers. This increases the cost of all the activities associated with producing and transporting food, and decreases the food security of the poor in cities. Trade Many poor countries can produce staples more cheaply than rich nations but barriers to trade, such as distance from markets, quarantine regulations and tariffs make it difficult for them to compete in export markets against highly subsidised farmers in rich countries. This deprives poor farmers of income and entire countries of the agricultural base they need to develop other sectors of the economy. In addition, trade imbalances prevent poor countries from importing agricultural products that could enhance their food security. What is being done? Improving food production Increasing the amount of food available is necessary to feed the growing population. The Green Revolution of the 1970s and 1980s led to huge increases in output, largely due to the cultivation of high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat, the expansion of land under production and irrigation, greater use of fertilisers and pesticides and greater availability of credit. In many countries these gains have reached their limit, and social and environmental issues must now be addressed. Further increases in food production depend on better integration of traditional knowledge with research; improving farming practices through training and the use of technology to increase outputs from current land without further loss of productive land; land reform to provide secure access to land for more people; and the provision of low-cost finance to help farmers invest in higher quality seeds and fertilisers and small irrigation pumps. While genetically modified seeds are being hailed as a means of improving crop outputs, there are also concerns about the ownership of seeds, adequate compensation for traditional knowledge and possible side effects. Economic growth and trade liberalisation Increasing food production leads to greater availability of food and economic growth in the domestic and/or overseas markets. Generating income can provide access to more and varied foods and provide cash for use in other areas of the economy, such as small enterprise and manufacturing, which in turn helps reduce poverty. Trade liberalisation is opening up markets slowly, but there are costly barriers to overcome. Work is underway through the Doha Round of multilateral trading negotiations in the World Trade Organisation to make trade rules fair, encourage trade liberalisation and assist developing countries to participate in the global trade environment. Distribution While there are sufficient resources in the world to provide food security for all, policy and behavioural changes are necessary to guarantee a fair share for all people, especially the poor. Building on a series of global conferences, in particular the 1992 International Conference on Nutrition and the 1996 and 2002 World Food Summits, countries have developed national nutrition plans and policies in nine major strategic action areas that: include mainstream nutrition goals in development policies and programmes improve household food and nutrition security protect consumers through improved food quality and safety prevent and manage infectious diseases promote breastfeeding care for the socioeconomically deprived and nutritionally vulnerable prevent and control specific micronutrient deficiencies promote appropriate diets and healthy lifestyles assess, analyse and monitor nutrition situations. The progress towards achieving these goals, however, has been much slower than intended. Recognising the role of women Gender equality is a prerequisite for the eradication of poverty and hunger. Many programs recognise the need for changes in access to food, land, credit, education, health and nutrition training and decision making in order to make effective use of womens roles in agricultural production and food preparation. Food aid The need for food during emergencies such as drought, disaster, population displacement and conflict is addressed by the distribution of basic food supplies and fuel. Early warning systems can predict problem areas, allowing action to be taken to keep people in their homes and help them back to food self-sufficiency as quickly as possible. Food sourced locally rather than internationally minimises the costs and disruption to local markets. In severe situations feeding may be necessary but often food aid is linked with work, health or education to avoid dependency and address the long-term causes of food insecurity.

Heroics of Women in Ibsens A Dolls House Essay -- A Dolls House Essays

Heroics of Women in Ibsens A Dolls House The Heroics of Women Henrik Ibsen’s â€Å"A Doll’s House† is a play about a young wife and her husband. Nora and Helmer seem to be madly in love with one another and very happy with their lives together. Yet the conflict comes into this show when Nora brags to her friend Ms. Linde about how she had forged her father’s name to borrow money to save her husband’s life and how she had been secretly paying off this debt. Helmer finds out about this crime and is furious, until he finds that no one will ever know about it. This entire conflict is written to bring to light the ridiculous social expectations demanded of both women and men. Ibsen expertly leads the audience into accepting that these social expectations are foolish and wrong. The audience buys into this so much that in the end when Nora stands firm and refuses to bow down to what society demands of her, we see her as the hero. The social expectations of men in the late nineteenth century was of a more patriarchal thought-line then it is today. The man of the house was expected to be the sole provider. This works best for the families of that time, because they believed that by natural design men alone were capable of managing money wisely and carefully. The first scene of the show we see Helmer and Nora acting out this belief. Helmer comes in and he and Nora argue over how much can be spent for Christmas. â€Å"Has the little spendthrift been out throwing money around again? (Ibsen 1569)† He naturally assumes that Nora, being a woman, is out frivolously wasting money. This belief comes very naturally to Helmer. He is the model man of his time, as well as this one. He has a bright future ahead, cares for his family, is kind to his w... ...e door of the apartment she begins her journey to find the truth and to leave the lies and illusions behind (Hemmer 82). She sets out to cure her childishness by going out to learn of life without someone coloring it to their pleasing for her. Nora’s faults that are present throughout the play are evidence of her childlike nature. Nora constantly is munching on and subsequently hiding candy, she off-handedly lies, and also can’t resist bragging to Ms. Linde about what she has done (Boyesen 214). Nora walks out the door to find herself and to learn of life. She leaves the audience much as Ms. Linde met them. She has no hope or future and is alone. She is paralleled to Rank by his exiting his life into the unknown of death completely alone, and she exits her life to enter the unknown of the real world, the world that had been hidden and kept from her (Northam 108)

For Whom The Bell Tolls :: essays research papers

Part II The title For Whom the Bell Tolls symbolizes the uncertainty of life and destiny, where the main character in this story finds himself in a series of unpredictable situations that are beyond his control. The only certain event in life is death and knowing that this may happen to anyone at any time, renders the protagonist powerless against destiny, which he approaches with a fatalistic disposition. Part III For Whom the Bell Tolls takes place in Spain, during the bloody civil war, between the years of 1938 and 1942. It unravels among people who live in the rural mountain areas of Spain. They were forced to kill others in order to survive and to defend their country from fascist. The environment where the actions unfolds are the roughed mountains. A lot of killing takes place in this story. It certainly was a time of fear and desperation. Many heroic military deeds are depicted here: Robert Jordan and his group of internationalists sabotaged bridges, trains and building. Lots of peasants are starved, tortured and killed, and many children were left orphaned. Part IV 1 "He lay flat on the brown, pine-needle floor of the forest, his chin on his folded arms, and high overhead the wind blew in the tops of the pine tree"(p.1) 2 "He crosses the stream, picked a double handful, washed the muddy roots clean in the current and then sat down again beside his pack and ate the clean, cool green leaves and the crisp, peppery-tasting stalks"(p.12) 3 "Robert Jordan breathed deeply of the clear night air of the mountains that smelled of the pines and of the dew grass in the meadow by the stream. Dew had fallen heavily sin the wind had dropped."(p.64) 4 "Now the morning was late May, the sky was high and clear and the wind blew warm on Robert Jordan’s shoulders."(p.311) 5 "Then he heard the far-off, distant throbbing and, looking up, he saw the planes"(p.329) 6 " Sweeeish-crack-boom! It came, the swishing like the noise of a rocket and there was another up-pulsing of dirt and smoke farther up the hillside"(p.494) 7 "The others came behind him and Robert Jordan saw them crossing the road and slamming on up the green slope and heard the machine gun hammer at the bridge"(p.505) 8 "He looked very carefully around the withers of the dead horse and there was a quick hammering of firing from behind a boulder well down the slope and he heard the bullets from the submachine gun thud into the horse"(p.

Placement Reflection Essay

Pembroke Residential Home, Saltburn 10/02/14 Today was my first day on placement at Pembroke Residential home in Saltburn. When I first arrived I was a little nervous as I didn’t know anybody and I wasn’t sure on what to do because I didn’t know their routine. The pressure eased off a bit after the first hour because another student came in as she was doing her block placement and I was told to just follow what she did as she had been before and knew what she was doing. Firstly, I observed the other student as she fed a resident, this made me feel a lot more at ease as I knew I would be doing this another tine and I was given the opportunity to observe first so I knew exactly what to do and how to act when I was asked to fees in the future this was a positive experience for me. I also had a one to one conversation with a resident about a programme that was on the television in the lounge. We talked for about 30 minutes and he seemed pleased that I had taken the time to sit a listen to him and have a convers ation with him. This was a positive experience for me and made me feel great as I felt I had made him feel happier. It also gave me a chance to get to know the resident and use my communication skills using one to one interactions. Pembroke Residential Home, Saltburn 03/03/14 Today I was quite excited as I had been asked to feed a resident and this was an opportunity for me to get some experience of my own for the future. The resident is unable to get out of bed as she only has use of her upper half of her body so I took her breakfast upstairs (golden syrup porridge and a cup of tea which had to be drank through a straw) and fed her as well as having a one to one interaction with her. This was a positive experience for me and once I had finished I had to record everything that I had given her as every meal has to be recorded in her book. I felt good because the resident had a smile on her face and seemed happy, also it was the first time on placement that I had interacted with a resident like this. I hope to be able to feed this resident in the future as I really enjoyed it. Pembroke Residential Home, Saltburn 10/03/14 I was a bit disappointed today as I felt like I didn’t learn anything new and found it wasn’t very beneficial for me. All I have done today is take the tea/coffee trolley round all of the residents numerous times, washed the pots numerous times and picked up some sample pots for the residents at Huntcliffe Surgery, Saltburn. I felt like I was just being used as a run about and being given the jobs that none of the staff particularly wanted to do. Although this was a negative experience for me, I didn’t complain and I just got on with it, I feel like I haven’t achieved any experience today. Pembroke Residential Home, Saltburn 17/03/14 It was quite busy today on placement so I was on my feet a lot and helped out as much as I could. I fed the same resident that I have previously fed another time. I fed her both her breakfast (apple and cherry ready break and a glass of milk) and her lunch (chicken stew, mash, carrots and a cup of tea). I also had several one to one conversations with various residents throughout the day. Communicating with the residents made me feel as though they enjoyed it and I got to know a little bit about each of their personalities which will help me to interact with them more in the future. I am going to continue communicating with the residents as much as I can so that I can get to know them better. I observed the staff ordering new medication for the residents and filling in care plans, progress sheets etc. This was a positive experience for me as I got to see the non-practical side of working in a residential home and had an insight on the types of paperwork involved. Today made me feel t hat my placement was becoming a little more beneficial for me as I am slowly learning new things again rather than doing nothing health and social care related. Pembroke Residential Home, Saltburn 31/03/14 The home was very busy today I was on my feet a lot but I enjoyed it because I always had something to do. I fed the usual resident I feed regularly this morning (original ready break and a cup of tea) and her lunch and then recorded how much she had ate and drank on her sheets so that the other staff new how well she was eating. I also did the same for her lunch (beef casserole, mash and veg, a yoghurt and a glass of juice). This was a positive experience for me and I found it easier to interact with the resident today because we had more to talk about. I also feel that the resident enjoyed my company because on both occasions we has one to one communication. As this residential home is small and only has 10 residents they don’t usually get a choice of meals unless they don’t like what is on the menu then they will be given an alternative. Today, the cook made two different meals for lunch and I went round the residents to ask which they would prefer. This was also a p ositive experience for both me and the residents as they felt a lot happier about the fact that they were given a choice of meals rather than just what was on the menu. I felt that I had cheered the residents up by doing this. Every week since I have been on placement at this residential home I have taken the tea/coffee trolley round the residents and visitors and washed lots of pots. I was told to do the same today which was a negative experience for me as I don’t feel that this helps me to achieve anything and get an idea of what it is like to work in health and social care with the elderly. I felt annoyed that I had been asked again to do these things as I get asked do to these every week. Activities are offered to the residents every day so that they feel they have something to do rather than just sit about and watch the TV, read the newspaper etc. I was asked to offer the residents a choice of activities today but unfortunately none of them felt up to participating in anything that I offered. Although no activities were carried out, this was a positive experience for me as I then had to record that what I had done in the activities booklet to show that even though the residents had chosen not participate in various activities they were still given the choice. I felt that the staff had trust in me to be able to start filling in this sheet as even though it is only a small step it gave me more experience on what type of paperwork is involved in working in a residential home. As I have  previously been shown how to work the stair lift one of the staff member asked me to take a resident upstairs to their room. I was trusted to do this myself, using the stair lift. This was a positive experience for me as although I had observed the stair lift being used I had never actually used it myself to get residents up to their rooms. The resident seemed rather happy with how I placed her on the stair lift and how I used it. This made me feel great as I knew I had achieved another skill for working with the elderly/disabled in health and social care. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed attending placement this week as I was never left with nothing to do and felt I learnt a lot of new skills even if they are just small steps to working in helath and social care in the future.