To what extent have the fair-trade initiatives increased standard of Research Paper

To what extent have the fair-trade initiatives increased standard of living in West Africa - Research Paper Example The paper tells that since the end of World War II, the industrialized countries of the world have been befitting from consistently increasing world trade patterns. International trade fuels both national economies and the international economy, determining the wellbeing of individual States, and directly affecting the standard of living of the population of every country in the world. In West Africa, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is the overarching economic and political structure, within which unrestricted trade is meant to take place. This structure was set up to promote â€Å"cooperation and integration† leading to an economic union in West Africa â€Å"in order to raise the living standards of its peoples†. A Pan-Africanist slant is also evident in that the intention to promote progress and development on the whole continent is explicitly stated. Thus a common market was an original intention; regional economic reform would have to take pla ce; integration particularly in food, agriculture and natural resources was seen as vital; and the establishment of a common market through liberalization of trade among West African States was envisioned. An important aspect of the ECOWAS initiative is also to ensure a â€Å"common external tariff† and trade policy with regard to third countries. Additionally, a stated intention in the ECOWAS revised treaty is to promote â€Å"balanced development† and a focus on the â€Å"special problems of each Member State particularly those of land-locked and small island Member States†.... This has not happened. The elites – both within countries and within the region continue to be advantaged, while the poor continue to grow in number, and in levels of poverty. Analysis surrounding the economies of West Africa, their political stances, and their trade policies, as well as the world economy, and West Africa’s part in it will be examined in this paper. The information from the analyses is organized in the Findings Section, to show the realities of the situation in West African countries and their economic relationships with particularly the Western, developed world. In the Comments and Recommendations Section of this essay, it is proposed that the exploitative relationship which has existed between African developing or underdeveloped countries (and other developing countries) since slavery and colonialism has not been redressed. Instead, initiatives such as Free Trade agreementsNote that this has been introduced earlier, extensively within associations su ch as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have no chance of success because of the nature of the trade balance which continues to exist between developing countries and the developed world. All that is maintained is the advantage of the Western power blocs over the developing world, in the guise of aiming to stimulate and improve conditions in these countries. The essay concludes with a summary comment on the nature of the economic, political and power relationships between the countries of West Africa, as well as ECOWAS and the world. Analysis There tends to be a bias toward the economic principles, values and norms of the West in much writing about the economics of West Africa

Educating Rita Essay Example for Free

Educating Rita Essay Willy Russell was born just outside Liverpool, but at the age of 5, moved to Knowsley. Academically he was a failure at school, but it was during English silent reading lessons that he realized he wanted to be a writer. He left school with an English O level as his only qualification to work for six years as a hairdresser. The plays he has written include: Our Day Out, Educating Rita, Blood Brothers. Blood Brothers was a musical written in the 1980s about twin brothers who are separated at birth, but in later years become friends. They are friends throughout their childhood and always look out for each other. The play starts at the end, then goes back and tells the events that lead to the situations. Class was a major issue covered in the play the Lyons family was upper class and the Johnson family was lower class. If this class system wasnt in the play then the meeting of Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Lyons would not have happened, Mrs. Lyons employed Mrs. Johnson to clean her house so if the two different classes werent addressed in the play then Edward would have stayed with Mrs. Johnson, so this issue was also a theme that had a useful part in the play. The play is also built upon the theme of the superstition that if twins are separated at birth then they will die on the day that they discover that they are twins. This theme is reinforced throughout the play by the words of the narrator to keep the audience thinking about what will happen. The first time we see the theme of superstition is when the narrator first begins to speak and he says, So did you hear the story of the Johnston twins? How one was kept and one Given away Never knowing that they shared one name till the day they died At the end of the play the narrators last few lines are do we blame superstition for what came to pass or could it be what we, the English come to know as class. I think this is a very true statement that the class system is what killed them. Also the themes of love and friendship were in the play, this was between Eddy and Mickey who where blood brothers and Linda was in love with Mickey. The narrators songs had verses in most of the songs that stuck in my head, these were the lines to do with superstition like shoes on the table and the devils got your number. Act 2, Scene 2 shows the first meeting between the two boys. This is where Willy Russell explores class difference. He does this by contrasting the backgrounds that the boys were brought up in. Mickey, the twin that was kept, was brought up in a working class background with little money and uses slang terms and vulgar language, Im pissed off. Whereas Edward was brought up in a family that had a car, a nice house and plenty of money. This meant that he would have a better education and therefore have better opportunities in life. He also speaks very well and posh. Eddie is absolutely fascinated by the way that Mickey speaks as the people he is around dont usually speak like that, You say smashing things dont you? . My initial opinion of Eddie is hat he is friendly and confident, Are you going to come and play there again? , because he just goes over and starts talking to Mickey. Mickeys initial reaction is that he is suspicious of why Eddie started talking to him. Another time that Mickey is suspicious is when Eddie offers him some sweets. His reaction is one of shock, Are you soft? . I think he reacts like this because the people he grew up with had little as are poor and cant share what they do have. He also worries that people may have tampered with it, if Sammy gives you a sweet hes usually weed on it first. Ironically this is the scene where the two boys make a pact to become Blood Brothers. In Act 4, Scene 2 the difference in class becomes more apparent. Eddie returns at Christmas from university while Mickey is struggling to provide a living for his family. The brotherly bond between them seems to have disappeared.

Analyze The Haagen Dazs Marketing Essay

Analyze The Haagen Dazs Marketing Essay Through this assignment we are going to analyze the Haagen Dazs ® brand and the strategy that theyre adapting, in order to achieve and maintain the luxury image of this product. The interesting thing with this brand is that it belongs in one of the most valuable brands, despite the fact that it belongs in a very difficult industry for luxury brands, as the ice cream industry which is considered as a low cost industry. But Haagen Dazs, by continuing its excellent job in quality and launching of new unique flavors, is still enjoying its premium brand position as well as high price and profit margins. This story will prove us how a brand in a low price selling industry and specific target group directions can differentiate its position and build a luxury brand icon and targeting in customers that are willing to pay premium price in order to taste the world best flavors. We will also notice that too much advertising in TV, Radio is not the key marketing issue, since Haagen Dazs has bee n mainly developed as a luxury ice cream due to the world of mouth advertising. It is impressive that this brand has made its first advertising TV campaign in 1983, after almost 60 years and having already being famous for its luxurious positioning and well known as the creator of the luxury ice-cream category. Haagen Dazs started its history in early 1920s, thanks to the dream of the young Reuben Mattus. Mr. Mattus was working in a family business, transferring with his bicycle ice creams to their customers in the streets of Bronx in New York. This small family business was developing business in the same local way until 1960. It was then that Mr. Mattus took the big decision, supported also from his wife, to change the function of the business and targeting in further development of their products. He set up the brand name Haagen Dazs and the company begun with three basic flavors, focusing always in premium quality production. This was the reason that the ingredients were only coming from their country of physical production. Dark chocolate from Belgium, vanilla beans from Madagascar, macadamia nuts from Hawaii. In contrast with other ice cream producers, Haagen Dazs is using a high percentage of milk and cream, to create an original and more dense ice cream. Fresh cream and egg yolk wer e used to give the ice creams a rich creamy flavor and fresh skimmed milk was used for the body and texture of the ice cream http://www.icmrindia.org, (viewed 21 March 2011) . Having reached the premium quality the product became famous very quickly, and the demand started growing due to the mouth advertising only. In the start, Haagen dazs ice creams were only placed in luxury shops in New York and after were further distributed in the southern coasts of United States. By 1973, the brand was further distributed in the entire cities of United States. The first Haagen Dazs shop has been opened in 1976, by Mr. Mattus daughter, Doris. This strategic move was resulted of a huge success and as a result Haagen dazs products were spread in all United States. In 1983 Haagen Dazs brand was sold in Pillsbury Company and then in General Mills group, since Pillsbury was acquired from General Mills in 2001. Pillsbury was truly committed to the dream of Mr. Mattus and the ice cream remained in the same quality level with a large variety of unique flavors, spreading the variety in more than 100 flavors, including ice cream, ice cream bars, ice cream cakes, frozen yogurts, sorbets. General Mills group is operating in a global level and has reported in 2009 $14,7 billion turnovers and net profits of $2,6 billion. (According to General Mills annual report, 2009). Untitled.png 2. Brand Analysis 2.1. Positioning Haagen Dazs is positioned, mainly based on its products and service differentiation. As we have referred, they are trying always to maintain the quality due to the special selected ingredients coming only from their physical country of origin. In addition the high cream density, with no excess air is offering truly unique ice cream experience. In order the quality to be ensured, the company is strictly testing daily not only the suppliers, but also all the phases of manufacturing processes. The company fulfills its brand image with a big variety produced only by the best ingredients around the world. Its position is also based on their image differentiation following always a luxury brand strategy. There is a specific logo with golden colors and black fonts in order to pass the luxurious icon. The logo is also accompanied with the moto made like no other ®. All the advertisements are focusing in highlighting the luxury flavors of the products and the unique exotic tastes. 2.2. Target Group Haagen Dazs has differentiated its target group from the start of its growth. While the ice-cream industry was considered worldwide as a low price industry and mostly targeting in small ages, haagen dazs has from the start been focus on adults, who love the luxurious ice cream flavors. An important reason for taking this choice, has been their premium price strategy, since only the financially independent adults could spend more money for high quality ice creams. The second target market, are the health conscious adults, who are interested in desserts but they prefer natural ingredients and low fat substitutes. Focusing only on these two target segments, they might have a small market potential, but the profit margins are much higher. With this differentiation Haagen dazs is playing alone in this interesting market field. 2.3. Segmentation Haagen Dazs is segmenting in its business according to three major segments. These segments are, demographic, socio-cultural and psychographic. Looking on demographics, the company focuses on adults who have higher income and could spend in luxuries as for example premium price ice-creams. But beside of the age, they often tend to approach couples, by relating many flavors with romance advertising and pleasure that can be earned when a couple tastes a haagen dazs dessert. The second one is the socio-cultural segmentation. Intercultural management has been very successful by the haagen dazs marketers. Big variety of flavors can cover any need according to each countrys habits. For example, Europeans have some preferences in alcohol drinking, while Asian people have preferences in teas. Islamic countries are negative in romance images, while western populations are more enthusiastic on that. The third segment is according to psychographic characteristics. There are many people who love luxurious brands and need of being members of this brand category. Usually they feel more special, different and in higher quality level than the others. These category of people are too emotionally linked to brands and since branding is mainly emotional based, this target segment is very important for Haagen Dazs. Thus, in the haagen dazs shops the company tries to train the franchisers to focus on a high quality service, behavior and keeping the products within a way that they can be always fresh and delicious. 3. SWOT Analysis Strengths Well known brand synonymous with a history of luxury, premium ice cream leader producer. Strong market position. Intelligent market targeting and segmentation. Weaknesses High distribution cost. Bad image of many franchise shops, non related with the brand image. Opportunities Ice cream market is growing. Outside lunching is increasing. Development of other markets, BRIC markets. New trend in creams placement, i.e. cinemas, ho.re.ca. Threats Ben Jerrys competition. Nestle integration in the premium price ice cream market. Increase of ingredients price, oil price, distribution cost. 4. Marketing Mix Product As we have referred the production of the product is based on high quality ingredients and rich creamy taste. The packaging is also important, having a specific protective cap to assure the material in each pot. The products are categorized by size, in individual cups, family caps, bars, sundae cones, and high weight packages for mass sales. (5kg, 10kg, etc). Very special flavors are often produced in limited quantities and higher prices, reminding the luxury brand strategy. Place Haagen dazs is directly distributed with refrigerated vehicles to the customers. Customers might be super markets, high class shops, high class restaurants, hotels, food industry chains, i.e., pizza hut, simply burgers, movie places, i.e. cinemas, movie selling shops, other known chains, i.e. IKEA, cruise boats and finally to the haagen dazs franchise shops. Price The brand is characterized of a premium price, which is excused due to the ingredients and the high taste quality. Price varies among the several flavors. Haagen dazs is still the price leader and the competition as for example Ben Jerrys, follows H. Dazs strategy. Promotion The product is not so much advertised in mass media as are TV, radio. It is mainly advertised in printed themes. All advertisements targeting in express the product quality and the differentiation against competition. Trade marketing is more developed than other means, sponsorships and events are also usual methods. Advertising is mainly focus in haagen dazs credentials. 5. Evaluation of H.D. brand Strategy -Recommendations Haagen Dazs is a very well established brand in the ice cream industry and has been successfully placed in many countries worldwide. Focusing on the adults has been a brilliant idea, because of income advantages, high tighten-emotional relationships with brand lifestyle. This generation is much more recognizing and desire high quality, in comparison with the youngest one, who looks more as turn around consumers. The company should continue targeting on the adults, but they must not forget that the younger generation is also growing. It might be a good period in start searching their mind and introducing the brand value to this generation as well. Romance flavors might not be so successful, because they are mainly addressed to younger ages. So, H.D. should also start target the younger couples, but with the appropriate advertising messages through different civilizations, ethics and moralities. For example, if you want to address in younger couples, advertising should have more sexy and funny images, but you have to pay attention in the different moralities. Nevertheless, if the company will develop such campaign, they should take in consideration that it has to be does with a much more spread advertizing messages depending on the country. The company is correct based on the original ingredients and this fact has given them the premium quality awareness worldwide. But taking in consideration that the population is growing rapidly, the brand might be prisoner in its own choices. The demand might not be able to be covered from the existing ingredient quantities, since they are reduced a lot every day. Reducing might also create price increases and then the brand could face many difficulties in remaining in the market. It might be the ideal time to rethink again their production recipes, or invest in ingredients production worldwide, which will offer them a competitive advantage. Resources and capabilities must be planned in a better way in order to face the future with more power. In order to develop internationally, they have to focus more in the exclusive haagen dazs shops, who are expressing the brand icon in the several markets. H.D. looks weaker in this development in international field and competition in many places is more powerful. They can train their franchisers, or establish Franchise supervisor managers and trainers. Personal relationship and selling must also be more developed in this sector of exclusive shops. The development of the Brand internationally and premium price strategy has been enough successful, but in many countries as China, the brand is luxury, but so luxury that is placed only in too much luxury places. After a research in the web, I found a very characteristic statement of Mr. Eddie Lu, marketing manager of H.D. in Shanghai, which signifies this problem: In Beijing, freezers selling Haagen Dazs stand proudly in the lobbies of five star hotels. The price for a pint of Swiss vanilla: $10, compared to $3 in the U.S. However people dont mind paying for prestige items, especially if they are foreign. This issue has to be serious taken under consideration, since Middle East and the BRIC countries are the most potential markets and you cannot leave them outside of your growth strategies. After my research for this assignment, I have realized that H.D. has a very small market share in many countries of Middle East. They have for example to invest more in finding flavors more suitable to these populations. 6. Conclusion Ice cream is a very dynamic industry, which is growing every day. Haagen Dazs is at the moment the global leader in this field, but no one is certain that they can be always in this position. Time passes, lifestyle changes, leading markets are changing and this fact means that marketers of Haagen Dazs should work a lot in adjust their strategy in the new challenges that are in front of us. The brand is dominating the ice cream market for many years, but external and internal factors should be reconsidered in order to face future with success. The marketing mix of haagen dazs is really impressive and offered to the brand, the luxury image and brand equity for years. By continue being committed in their ingredients strategy, correcting things that we referred as logistics, production, resources, growth gaps, attention to intercultural ethics-morals, norms, franchising strategy improvement, Haagen Dazs can definitely continue being a golden brand and situated always ahead of competition as they have been doing for many years in the past.

View Advertising Tracking Devices with Caution Essay -- Business Priva

In today’s society, one can see that tracking a person has become much easier with the technology advances that have been developed. When most people think of tracking devices they primarily think of negative issues, but that has all changed now. A tracking device the size of a tic tack that can be surgically implanted to provide a tamper proof means of identification, enhanced e-business security, locating lost or missing individuals, monitoring heart rate, vital signs, tracking of the elderly, the location of valuable property, and monitoring the medical conditions of at risk patients. With advertisement companies, tracking device software is used to allow the customers information on the status of package, delivery address, and the person that signed for the package. However, advertisers could use that private information to their advantage and try to sell that person more frivolous objects or pass that information to another advertisement company. Tracking devices can be m arketed toward other companies that advertise luxury cars or other industrial goods, but when those companies buy that product, they will be put in a purchasing list and the company that sold that product will keep track of that particular company and try to sell more goods. Cookies are used by internet shopping sites to keep track of what is being purchased by that person who is on that site, but used as a device for tracking browsing and buying habits of individual web users. Through the analytical view of cause and effect of internet cookies and tracking devices, one can understand the good qualities, but dangerous misuses of having a tracking chip in the advertising world. Despite the flaws of a tracking device, there are many reasons why advertisers are ... ...the controversies are. Basically, the issue involving tracking devices may lead to a person using one for security or interrogative purposes or use one for their own perverted or invasive pleasure. In conclusion, one should not take tracking devices lightly. Works Cited Lewen, Todd. â€Å"Chips: High Tech Aids or Tracking Tools?† www.usatoday.com. September 3, 2008 Newlyn, Korbin. â€Å"GPS Tracking Devices- Teens vs. Parents, Law Enforcement vs. Invasion of Privacy.† www.buzzle.com. September 15, 2008 â€Å"New Campaigns.† B to B 86. Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Orange Coast College Library. October 1, 2008 Bowes, Elena. â€Å"Rita: A Highly Competent Secretary, Helps Deliver Fiscal Health to UPS.† Advertising Age International (December 1999). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Orange Coast College Library. October 1, 2008. â€Å"Internet Cookies.† www.ciac.org. October 1, 2008

Julian Assange: Hero or Terrorist

Attention Getter: George Orwell once said,† Political Language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. † 2. Bond: Link to Audience: It’s easy to take our 1st amendment rights for granted but imagine if we didn’t have them anymore. Can you imagine living in an America where it’s considered treason to say what you think and to tell the world what you know? Well, that is what the current battle between our government and Julian Assange is about. . †Credentials† of speaker: I have been following the developing story of Julian Assange for the last 3 years. So, it’s fair to say that I know a little bit about him. 4. Thesis: My research leads me to believe that Julian Assange should be afforded the same rights as every other journalist. 5. Speech Preview: First, I’m going to talk about the global smear campaign against Julian Assange. After that, I’m going to talk about the violations that the U. S. is posing to his human rights.Finally, I am going to talk about what America is going to look like if we don’t have our rights anymore. 6. Transition: But let’s start with the smears that have been dealt to Julian Assange. II. Body 1. Main Point #1: a. State Point 1: A global smear campaign is going on right this moment against Julian Assange. b. Argument: Some are saying that he is a woman raping terrorist. c. Proof: In an article by BBC News, Julian Assange said he believes that currently there is a global smear campaign to make him look disreputable and crazy.I read in an eBook called, Assange Agonistes that Nick Davies, a journalist for the New York Times, said that America’s preferred method of control is through Media management. He also said that the American government is,† the biggest media manipulation machine in the history of mankind. † I think that this is absolutely true because this isn ’t the first time the U. S. government has used smear tactics against someone who stood up against them. I discovered 2 other incidents where our government and a major bank had smeared someone’s name through the use of exual misconduct charges; the first being Scott Ritter. I watched a video on YouTube by The Young Turks, where they were discussing the allegations that were brought up against Julian Assange. In the video they were talking about how Scott Ritter, a decorated war veteran, who spoke out against the war in Iraq and said that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Soon after Ritter made that statement, alleged sex charges were brought up against him to make him look like a dirty old rapist who would do anything to make our government look bad.The second case I also discovered was about Elliot Spitzer, who accused the banks of insider trading. Suddenly the North Fork Bank reported to the IRS that Spitzer was using funds to pay for a hooker and s ex charges were brought up against him. Due to the media scandal he resigned from his position as Governor of New York because it painted a negative reflection on our government. d. Give an Example: In an article that I read on Wired. com it talks about a woman that has accused Julian Assange of raping her. In the article it describes the process by which this woman describes her â€Å"incident† with Assange.Ms. Anna Ardin said that he pinned her down to the bed when she reached for a condom, but then he consented and put a condom on. According to Ms. Ardin she feels she was raped because the condom broke at some point in time during the act. While I was investigating I found out that she had posted to her blog the â€Å"7 steps to get legal revenge. † I personally don’t find her story very credible after reading a translation of her blog. Ms. Ardin is known in Sweden for her feministic views  on how men achieve social dominance through sex.The government was anxious to pounce on her accusations of rape even though she is a known feminist with a history of reporting baseless rape. I do not find this a coincidence that a few days before the rape accusation Mr. Assange had released an embarrassing video of US soldiers gunning down no less than a dozen unarmed civilians in Iraq, while they were talking about it like it was a game of Call of Duty. Julian believes it was not a coincidence that after he embarrassed the U. S. by leaking this video, he was then accused of a crime that would have him extradited back to Sweden and then to the U. S. for further punishment.This was before they discovered there was nothing that the US government could charge him with and it was a violation of his human rights to send him to Sweden where he hadn’t been charged for the alleged crime. To date Julian has never been charged with the rape of this woman and has been confined to house arrest for more than 500 days without any charge against him. e. Re state the point: There is a global smear campaign set against Julian Assange because he is the face of WikiLeaks. g. Transition Sentence: Next, let’s talk about the violation to his rights. 2. Main Point #2: Solutions to those problems . State Point 2: The U. S. government is violating Julian Assange’s human rights.b. Argument: In an article by The Atlantic quoted Hillary Clinton saying that Julian Assange was attacking their international community. c. Refutation: Julian Assange is a journalist and is protected by the U. N. ’s Declaration of Human Rights under article 19. Under article 19 it says: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. . Give an Example: In 1968 when we were in the thick of the Vietnam War there was a man named Daniel Ellsberg that was courageous and released classified Pentagon documents to the New York Times. On History. com and from my uncle, who was a journalist in the Vietnam War, I learned that that the war ended earlier as a result of a public outcry, where 75% of the American population protested the war. Daniel Ellsberg also helped end the war by releasing classified documents that exposed the lies that made us go to war in the first place which forced President Reagan to withdraw from Vietnam.If we stand together and say that we need to stop unjustly blaming Julian Assange for promoting a more transparent government and take a look at what it is that we are unknowingly promoting. Julian Assange believes that we have the right to know about the lies and secret dealings going on by our government. It is our right to know what they are saying and doing behind closed doors. Yes, there are instances where our government needs to have secrets, but that doesn’t mean that they can to lie to us about the general majority of secr et dealings that are going on.If Julian Assange is attacking our International Community then maybe it needs to be attacked because what is going on right now and all the lies that we are being told need to be known. We need to see just what is going on. We need to know why the rest of the world hates us so much. e. Restate the Point: Julian Assange’s human rights are being violated and we need to do something about it. 3. Main Point #3: Visualization a. State Point 3: Imagine an America where it becomes treason to say what you think and to tell others about it. b.Argument: Our government would say that there is a need to be censored in order to keep us safe. c. Refutation: Our 1st Amendment rights are going to disappear if we don’t halt this violation right now. Pretty soon we’re going to be trapped in a world where we don’t have our most basic of rights. Imagine a world populated with militarized police and being under lock down in an authoritarian dict atorship where we no longer have any rights or freedom. How many of you believe that the governments placing cameras on the roads and on top of buildings are really about watching traffic?I believe that it is really about watching the people. So, it’s already begun. d. Give an Example: We need to stand together and we need to tell our friends and loved ones. Spread the word tell people about what’s going on! Everyone needs to know that our rights are at risk right now! e. Restate the point: America is going to change dramatically if Julian Assange is arrested for being a journalist. f. Transition: Let’s summarize what I have been talking to you about today. III. Conclusion 1.Restate thesis: Julian Assange should be afforded the same rights as every other Journalist. 2. Restate main points: Julian Assange is being attacked by so many companies and governments. His rights are being violated and it’s going to change America if our government succeeds in arre sting Julian Assange. 3. Call- to-Action: Protest! Say what you think! We need to challenge our government and show them that they are wrong because if we don’t America, the so-called land of the free, is soon to be the Soviet America.

Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour Within a Multinational Leader H&M

Human resource management and organizational behaviour within a multinational leader Hennes & Mauritz is a multinational retail-clothing company operating in 38 countries and employing a total of 87,000 people. It has been founded in 1947 in Sweden and experienced a rapid growth due to international expansion since the 1960’s. H&M’s mission is at the same time one of the reason for its big and fast success; offering fashion and quality at the best price. Customer expactations are supposed to be exceeded at all times as well as customers being satisfied with the company itself. In order to achieve that H&M needs to sustain its very positive brand image and staff that is organized in the best possible way to handle those goals set. In its annual report it is stated that the company’s focus should be on commercial mindset, simplicity, constant improvement, cost consciousness and entrepreneurship. With those aspects in mind, the long term goal being „making fashion available to everyone, giving the customer a fashion experience that strengthens H&M brandâ€Å" should be reached allowing the business to further expand and to enter new markets on the basis of a 10-15% growth per year, funded internally. Over the years, the company has set a strategy which has the three main aspects of price, design and merger &acquisitions. First of all, since H&M always tries to offer their customers the lowest price possible, they need to achieve a competitive advantage to achieve low costs, and sustaining profitability at very low prices. This is achieved through keeping the number of middlemen to a minimum, benefiting of economies of scale, taking advantage of their great experience and selecting suppliers carefully and keeping distribution costs as low as possible. Designing is completly processed inh-house while all of the production is outsorced but its outcome is tested carefully on a regular basis to ensure high quality at all times. Mergers & acquistions have also been one of the company’s major strategy in the past, especially focusing on acquisitions of small design companies to enrich their product portfolio and being able to offer diversified products worldwide which is an essential part of their international expansion strategy. H&M’s corporate strategy is to expand on a continuing basis, and as a consequence, employee strength also increases continuously. For 2009, H&M’s The continous expansion means that there is also an ongoing process of recruitment within the company, as additional staff is needed with every new shop opening. Annual increase in the number of employees for the upcoming years is 5000-10,000 people from all different kinds of backgrounds, mostly recruited locally at the place of store opening. H&M puts a strong emhasis is to maintain their image of being a good employer, which will help them not only to be confronted with a higher number of applicants for job vaccancies, but also reduces staff turnover as well as it increases employee’s satisfaction towards their job and hence, productivity. This also includes making efforts that exceed national requirements of employer’s responsibilities, which are, especially in some of the recently entered asian markets, very low compared to western standards. This objective is summarized by the HR department as following: â€Å"In order to meet people’s expectations of H&M as an attractive employer, the company develops global guide lines on diversity, equal rights and against discrimination† Hennes & Mauritz wants to give every employee the feeling that they are an essential part of the business, constently offering them to develop and giving the positive signals that promotions are within the company are always ahead. The company is very open towards trade unions and is known for its good and close communication on an employee-management level. Represantitves are being elected which frequently discuss possibilities for improvement with managers, representing the employee’s opinions while at the same time managers are encouraged to actively communicate with employees of all levels as well. This creates a strong feeling of trust within the organization, which is excellent at managing diversity. At times of promotions, managers are advised first to look for the best candidate internally in order to gain advantage of the employee’s experience with the company and encouraging others to work hard and being the best andidate for future promotions. However, the companies philosophy is built among a concept which does not award employees with outstanding job titles but instead continiously increasing opportunities and responsibilities. The fast international expansion of course requires high level of training of new staff. As stated before, internal recruitment is one the main objectives, but since the number of staff is growing so fast, new employees need to be introduced to the job quickly. This process is being accelerated by on-the-job training in which new staff in new markets is invited to join a co-workers in an established market to be introduced into the philosophies, practices and day-to-day tasks. One of the main characteristics a H&M employee therefore needs to bring is a sense of entrepreneurship, good communication skills and being open to work in different environments. Once being hired by H&M, the employee is offered a huge range of benefits for which the company is well recognized for (a list of possible benefits is attached in the appendix)

germ line gene therapy essays

germ line gene therapy essays Whether it is referred to by its scientific term "syngamy" or by the general term "conception", the moment a sperm cell unites with an egg cell stirs, both in the scientist and the layperson, much awe and reverence. It is the point at which a new and unique genome is created. To some it is the instant a new person comes into existence. Such a union has been repeated for billions of years since its advent in the first, simple organisms. It is a means by which evolution can exert its influence. When the genetic material of two individuals combine in sexual reproduction, any variations between the two inherited sets of genes may result in offspring that are more or less suited to its environment. Human beings have come to a point in this process where we can now, to an extent, shape the environment to suit our needs. The evolution of intelligence in our specie is the characteristic that has had the most profound impact on our planet and on us. This intelligence, among other things, allows us to understand and combat some genetic diseases. Inventions such as spectacles to correct our vision or drugs that fight heart disease and cancer have extended and improved the lives of individuals who, in a more Darwinian world, would have otherwise been eliminated by natural selection. Cheating this process, however, has allowed a multitude of genetic diseases such as Tay Sachs and hemophilia to propagate in our gene pool. But researchers are taking the field of medicine to a new frontier that promises to eliminate genetic diseases. New technology is being developed that will allow scientists to alter or replace defective genes in germ-line cells (egg and sperm cells). In a literal sense it will allow us to control the evolution of our specie as these alterations may be passed on from generation t o generation. The implications are profound for the individual and for society. Above it all the specter of eugenics, the process of se...