Business in focus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business in focus - Essay Example However, this key environmental trend is causing many regional and international companies to rethink their existing business strategies in order to satisfy consumer demand for eco-friendly products through marketing and in areas of facilities management. This report identifies differing viewpoints on environmental consciousness along with an assessment of how this both positively and negatively impacts retail business operations and finance. Piell (2009) offers that certain regulatory entities, in international retail selling environments, are adding considerable pressure to companies to comply with energy usage reductions, which is especially noticeable in the consumer sales environment. The United States Environmental Protection Agency created its Energy Star labeling system which was a regulatory effort for appliance manufacturers to clearly list the energy-efficiency rating of their products, such as dishwashers, refrigerators and microwaves (Piell). Additionally, Verizon, one of the largest international mobile communications technology companies, proudly promotes the Energy Star labeling system in over 30 of its international retail stores that are at least 5,000 square feet in order to comply with these regulations and also show interested consumers that the business takes energy consumption at its stores quite seriously (Piell). This regulatory pressure forces many appliance retailers (and other energy-consuming product manufacturers) to change the internal energy mechanisms of their products in an effort to reduce a product’s carbon footprint, the volume of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by the devices. From a manufacturing perspective, this key trend in regulatory activities related to the environment can be a costly business operation as it often involves devoting more financial resources to research and development in order to meet new standards of energy consumption. Energy

Comparing Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale and Michael Radfords F

Margaret Atwood’s depiction of the future in The Handmaid's Tale is extremely bleak and forlorn; this oppressive atmosphere has been created by the development of an independent nation - Gilead - inside the U.S, which is governed by a totalitarian fundamentalist Christian sect. This dystopian text is the brainchild of a series of experimental social ideas which have given birth to a science-fiction novel, which satirises mainly the folly of human characteristics rather than the misuse of technology. Another related text is 1984 the film which was directed by Michael Radford who also envisioned the future as being extremely dark and oppressive; as it depicted in his film adaptation of 1984 the novel, by George Orwell. Several language and film techniques were employed by Margaret Atwood and Radford, such as metaphorical imagery, satire and irony, so that it was possible for the audience to delve deep into the protagonist's mind and understand the world they live in from their perspective. The atmosphere of oppression in The Handmaid's Tale effectively shapes the society of Gilead, as Offred metaphorically describes the life of each individual as being similar to "a rat in a maze †¦ free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze", the maze representing the laws and boundaries of Gilead. Language is used to convey individual opinions and express emotions and feelings; because of this the government of Gilead have attempted to eradicate it, so no revolutionary literature may arouse the mind and create any doubt concerning the integrity of the Gilead and its laws. "Words like free" are "considered too dangerous" because these words encourage thoughts of freedom and individuality which are prohibited since Gilead reli... ...aphorically represent the hope of freedom. We are shown through the metaphorical imagery of the shattering of the pink coral, that this hope is impossible. Ultimately both â€Å"1984† and â€Å"The Handmaids Tale† fulfil the purpose of ominious prophetic texts that have portrayed a dystopian future, a future filled with oppression, corruption and misogyny in the case of The Handmaid's Tale. The governments of Gilead and Oceania have succeeded in brainwashing their citizens by isolating them and attempting to abolish language which would make it impossible for any outcry to be heard or even expressed. Both Atwood and Radford created these texts during times of peril, with the intention of having them serve as ominous reminders of what would become of society if any doctrine was to be enforced by a totalitarian body which withheld all authority without being challenged.

Interview With Sports Organisation Leader Essay

Part I: Interview Questionnaire 1. Briefly describe your current position and its duties and responsibilities. I am the treasurer to the Mid-Crest Panthers. My responsibilities include ensuring safe custody of all the organization funds and assets as well as handling all financial matters in the organization. I am also a member of the board in which most decisions of the organization are made. 2. How long have you held this position? 3. What is the leadership structure like in your organization? This organization has a board which is the main decision making body. The board is made of the president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, athletic director, cheer coordinator, football director, parent coordinator, and fundraising coordinator. The organization also has team coaches which head various teams. However, all these leaders work in union as far as coordination of the club is concerned. 4. Who are some of the primary stakeholders of this organization? The primary stakeholders include customers and fans, management, coaches, staff, youth and parents. 5. How do you strive to meet the needs of the stakeholders? All stakeholders are represented in board meetings where they give their opinions of what whom they represented would like to see happens in the organization.   I also note this down and ensure that their needs are met as much as possible while still considering all decisions made by the board. 6. How would you describe your leadership style? My leadership style is including others views in carrying out duties entrusted to me. It is democratic leadership. Coming up with ideas and then letting other opinion into these ideas. 7. How important is leadership to the success of your organization? Leadership is very important. It gives the guideline of what activities to be carried out, how and when they will be carried out. It also comes up with strategies of financing these activities. It unites all stakeholders of the organization. It also gives solution to various problems that faces the organization as far as daily activities are concerned. The leadership monitors the organizations activities and gives direction for the necessary actions. 8. What do you feel is the most important aspect of leadership? Most aspect of leadership is to understand people you are leading and their needs- what they need, and then come up with appropriate way of solving these problems. 9. What are some of the significant changes your organization has undergone? The size of this organization has greatly increased over the past years. The organization has also increased its network with other organization in its effort to ensure reliable club funding and participating stakeholders. 10.   What role did leadership play in these changes? The leadership comes up with policies that will enhance this and then present them to the stakeholders as they seek support of the same. 11.   What methods do you use to resolve conflict or resistance to change? Method of solving conflict depends on what kind of conflict is at hand. There are some conflicts which are solved by the team leader, the board or both. Opinions from different members are also given priority so as to avoid conflicts. Dialogue is employed so as to solve many conflicts and rule of majority is also employed. 12. What advice would you give someone entering a leadership position for the first time? One should be ready to work extra hard than the people he/she is leading, understand their needs, including their weaknesses and strengths and be ready to listen to their opinions. Part II: Interview Summary According to this interview, it is clear that a leader is not a person who makes decisions and imposes them those he/she is leading. Success of a leader greatly depends on the relationship he/she has created with those he/she is leading. It is not enough to make decision on how to lead an organization, it also calls for great effort to sell these ideas to all stakeholders so as these decisions may be well implemented. This interview has also changed my view about this organization. I have come to understand that it is a big family where cooperation of all stakeholders is emphasized. All stakeholders are well informed of all activities going on in the organization. It is not a place where stakeholders receive policies from the top management; it is a place where all of them are involved in decision making e.g. in this organization, board members consist of representatives from all stakeholders. As the main decision making body, it is certain that decisions made will involve opinions from all stakeholders. This interview also enriched my knowledge about leadership. As a leader I should have ideas about how to handle a certain situation, but I should also make sure this is supported by the majority and also enrich these ideas from opinions of all stakeholders. In case I was in leadership position, I will consider others opinions very important for my success as a leader. I will equally respect all staff to this organization and support decisions made by the board.

Conjugating the French Verb Soutenir (to Support)

Soutenir  (to support, to give support to, to defend, to maintain) is a  common French verb that belongs to one of the groups within  irregular  -ir  verbs  that display some conjugation patterns: a first group  of verbs that are conjugated like partir; a second group conjugated like verbs ending in  -llir,  -frir,   or -vrir;  almost all of which are conjugated like regular -er verbs; and a third group ending in -enir, such as  tenir (to hold)  and venir  (to come), which follow a shared conjugation pattern in the present tense. The verb soutenir belongs to the third group of irregular -ir verbs ending in -enir that are conjugated like tenir and venir.  Note that the conjugations in the table at the bottom of the page are only those for simple tenses; compound conjugations of soutenir, which include a form of the auxiliary verb  avoir  and the past participle  soutenu, are not included. Theres one major difference in the compound tenses of tenir, venir, and their derivatives: Tenir and its derivatives use avoir as their auxiliary verb, while venir and most of its derivatives use  Ãƒ ªtre. There are many verbs conjugated like these two major French verbs. Other FRENCH VERBS ENDING IN -TENIR Verbs that end in  -tenir  are all conjugated the same way.  They all  take  avoir  as their auxiliary verb. sabstenir  Ã‚  to refrain, abstain fromappartenir  Ã‚  to belong tocontenir  Ã‚  to containdà ©tenir  Ã‚  to detainentretenir  Ã‚  to look after, support, foster, keep alivemaintenir  Ã‚  to maintainobtenir   to obtainretenir  Ã‚  to retaintenir  Ã‚  to hold, keep FRENCH VERBS ENDING IN -VENIR Most verbs that end in  -venir  use  Ãƒ ªtre  as their auxiliary verb. A few, such as  circonvenir, prà ©venir, and  se souvenir  (see  below) use  avoir. advenir  Ã‚  to happencirconvenir  Ã‚  to circumvent, get aroundcontrevenir  Ã‚  to contraveneconvenir  Ã‚  to suit, be suitabledevenir  Ã‚  to becomeintervenir  Ã‚  to interveneparvenir  Ã‚  to reach, achieveprà ©venir  Ã‚  to warnprovenir  Ã‚  to come from, be due torevenir  Ã‚  to come backse souvenir de  Ã‚  to remembersubvenir  Ã‚  to provide forsurvenir  Ã‚  to occur, take placevenir to come Expressions and Examples With Soutenir Sa prà ©sence ma beaucoup soutenue dans cette à ©preuve. His presence was a great comfort to me in this ordealTu  soutiens toujours ta fille contre moi  !   You always side with your daughter against me !soutenir une à ©quipe   to be a fan of  / to support a sports teamJe pense que nous sommes libres mais elle soutient le contraire.  Ã‚  I think that were free but she claims (that) the opposite is true.Il soutient que tu mens.   He keeps saying that youre a liar.soutenir la comparaison avec  Ã‚  to stand  / to bear comparison withsoutenir un sià ¨ge  militaire   to withstand a siegesoutenir sa thà ¨se  Ã‚  to defend ones thesisse soutenir (reciprocal pronominal)   to stand by each other,  to stick togetherse soutenir (intransitive pronominal) to hold oneself up,  to support oneselfLe vieillard narrivait plus à   se soutenir sur ses jambes. The old mans legs could no longer support  /  carry him.Elle se soutenait avec peine.   She could har dly stay upright. HOW TO MEMORIZE FRENCH VERB CONJUGATIONS Tip:  Concentrate on the most useful tenses (prà ©sent, imparfait, passà © composà ©) and get used to  using them in context. Once youve mastered them, move on to the rest. Training with an audio source may also be helpful. There are many liaisons, elisions, and modern glidings used with French verbs, and the written form may mislead you such that you end up using the wrong pronunciation. Simple Conjugations of the Irregular French -ir Verb Soutenir Present Future Imperfect Present participle je soutiens soutiendrai soutenais soutenant tu soutiens soutiendras soutenais il soutient soutiendra soutenait nous soutenons soutiendrons soutenions vous soutenez soutiendrez souteniez ils soutiennent soutiendront soutenaient Pass compos Auxiliary verb avoir Past participle soutenu Subjunctive Conditional Pass simple Imperfect subjunctive je soutienne soutiendrais soutins soutinsse tu soutiennes soutiendrais soutins soutinsses il soutienne soutiendrait soutint soutnt nous soutenions soutiendrions soutnmes soutinssions vous souteniez soutiendriez soutntes soutinssiez ils soutiennent soutiendraient soutinrent soutinssent Imperative tu soutiens nous soutenons vous soutenez

String Types in Delphi

As with any programming language, in Delphi, variables are placeholders used to store values; they have names and data types. The data type of a variable determines how the bits representing those values are stored in the computers memory. When we have a variable that will contain some array of characters, we can declare it to be of typeString.  Delphi provides a healthy assortment of string operators, functions and procedures. Before assigning a String data type to a variable, we need to thoroughly understand Delphis four string types. Short String Simply put,  Short String  is a counted array of (ANSII) characters, with up to 255 characters in the string. The first byte of this array stores the length of the string. Since this was the main string type in Delphi 1 (16 bit Delphi), the only reason to use Short String is for backward compatibility.  To create a ShortString type variable we use:   var s: ShortString; s : Delphi Programming;​ //S_Length : Ord(s[0])); //which is the same as Length(s) The  s  variable is a Short string variable capable of holding up to 256 characters, its memory is a statically allocated 256 bytes. Since this is usually wasteful - unlikely will your short string spread to the maximum length - second approach to using Short Strings is using subtypes of ShortString, whose maximum length is anywhere from 0 to 255.   var ssmall: String[50]; ssmall : Short string, up to 50 characters; This creates a variable called  ssmall  whose maximum length is 50 characters. Note: When we assign a value to a Short String variable, the string is truncated if it exceeds the maximum length for the type. When we pass short strings to some Delphis string manipulating routine, they are converted to and from long string. String / Long / Ansi Delphi 2 brought to Object Pascal  Long String  type. Long string (in Delphis help AnsiString) represents a dynamically allocated string whose maximum length is limited only by available memory. All 32-bit Delphi versions use long strings by default. I recommend using long strings whenever you can.   var s: String; s : The s string can be of any size...; The  s  variable can hold from zero to any practical number of characters. The string grows or shrinks as you assign new data to it. We can use any string variable as an array of characters, the second character in  s  has the index 2. The following code   s[2]:T; assigns  T  to the second character os the  s  variable. Now the few of the first characters in   s  look like:  TTe s str....Dont be mislead, you cant use s[0] to see the length of the string,  s  is not ShortString. Reference counting, copy-on-write Since memory allocation is done by Delphi, we dont have to worry about garbage collection. When working with Long (Ansi) Strings Delphi uses reference counting. This way string copying is actually faster for long strings than for short strings.  Reference counting, by example:   var s1,s2: String; s1 : first string; s2 : s1; When we create string  s1  variable, and assign some value to it, Delphi allocates enough memory for the string. When we copy  s1  to  s2, Delphi does not copy the string value in memory, it only increases the reference count and alters the  s2  to point to the same memory location as  s1. To minimize copying when we pass strings to routines, Delphi uses copy-on-write technique. Suppose we are to change the value of the  s2  string variable; Delphi copies the first string to a new memory location, since the change should affect only s2, not s1, and they are both pointing to the same memory location.   Wide String Wide strings  are also dynamically allocated and managed, but they dont use reference counting or the copy-on-write semantics. Wide strings consist of 16-bit Unicode characters. About Unicode character sets The ANSI character set used by Windows is a single-byte character set. Unicode stores each character in the character set in 2 bytes instead of 1. Some national languages use ideographic characters, which require more than the 256 characters supported by ANSI. With 16-bit notation we can represent 65,536 different characters. Indexing of multibyte strings is not reliable, since  s[i]  represents the ith byte (not necessarily the i-th character) in  s. If you must use Wide characters, you should declare a string variable to be of the WideString type and your character variable of the WideChar type. If you want to examine a wide string one character at a time, be sure to test for multibite characters. Delphi doesnt support automatic type conversions betwwen Ansi and Wide string types.   var s : WideString; c : WideChar; s : Delphi_ Guide; s[8] : T; //sDelphi_TGuide; Null terminated A null or  zero terminated  string is an array of characters, indexed by an integer starting from zero. Since the array has no length indicator, Delphi uses the ASCII 0 (NULL; #0) character to mark the boundary of the string.  This means there is essentially no difference between a null-terminated string and an array[0..NumberOfChars] of type Char, where the end of the string is marked by #0. We use null-terminated strings in Delphi when calling Windows API functions. Object Pascal lets us avoid messing arround with pointers to zero-based arrays when handling null-terminated strings by using the PChar type. Think of a PChar as being a pointer to a null-terminated string or to the array that represents one. For more info on pointers, check:Pointers in Delphi. For example, The  GetDriveType  API function determines whether a disk drive is a removable, fixed, CD-ROM, RAM disk, or network drive. The following procedure lists all the drives and their types on a users computer. Place one Button and one Memo component on a form and assign an OnClick handler of a Button: procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); var Drive: Char; DriveLetter: String[4]; begin for Drive : A to Z do begin DriveLetter : Drive :\; case GetDriveType(PChar(Drive :\)) of DRIVE_REMOVABLE: Memo1.Lines.Add(DriveLetter Floppy Drive); DRIVE_FIXED: Memo1.Lines.Add(DriveLetter Fixed Drive); DRIVE_REMOTE: Memo1.Lines.Add(DriveLetter Network Drive); DRIVE_CDROM: Memo1.Lines.Add(DriveLetter CD-ROM Drive); DRIVE_RAMDISK: Memo1.Lines.Add(DriveLetter RAM Disk); end; end; end; Mixing Delphis strings We can freely mix all four different kinds of strings, Delphi will give its best to make sense of what we are trying to do. The assignment s:p, where s is a string variable and p is a PChar expression, copies a null-terminated string into a long string. Character types In addition to four string data types, Delphi has three character types:  Char,  AnsiChar, and  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹WideChar. A string constant of length 1, such as T, can denote a character value. The generic character type is Char, which is equivalent to AnsiChar. WideChar values are 16-bit characters ordered according to the Unicode character set. The first 256 Unicode characters correspond to the ANSI characters.

The Human Brain Is The Most Complex Structure Of The Universe

The human brain is the most complex structure in the universe. We are still unsure of its complexity today. The human brain begins forming very early in prenatal life (just three weeks after conception), but in many ways, brain development is a lifelong project. That is because the same events that shape the brain during development are also responsible for storing information, new skills and memories throughout life (Zerotothree.org). Thesis statement (what is your paper going to discuss) Development all starts the moment of conception. According to the information provided by Modern mom, By the time you are three weeks pregnant, the developing embryo has formed a neural groove, which is the foundation for the brain structure. By the time your baby is born, their brain will have over 100 billion neurons. By birth, only the lower portions of the nervous system (the spinal cord and brain stem) are well developed, whereas the higher regions (the limbic system and cerebral cortex) are still rather primeval. The lower brain is in control of the newborn s behavior, such as the kicking, crying, and grasping. These behaviors are the functions of the brainstem and spinal cord. This includes the visual behavior- their ability to track a moving object. Cite Info The brain will not be fully developed until late adolescence. Up until then, their brains will experiences different periods of development. Jean Piaget was a dDevelopment biologist who devoted his life to observing andShow MoreRelatedWorld History in Context Essay1160 Words   |  5 Pagesquestions the context of world history as well as the complexity of human history and the societies with which they live. 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The Tragic Hero Victor Frankenstein Free Essays

Aristotle’s ideas about tragedy were recorded in his book of literary theory titled Poetics. In it, he has a great deal to say about the structure, purpose, and intended effect of tragedy. His ideas have been adopted, disputed, expanded, and discussed for several centuries now. We will write a custom essay sample on The Tragic Hero Victor Frankenstein or any similar topic only for you Order Now The following is a summary of his basic ideas regarding the tragic hero: 1. The tragic hero is a character of noble stature and has greatness. This should be readily evident in the play. The character must occupy a â€Å"high† status position but must ALSO embody nobility and virtue as part of his/her innate character. 2. Though the tragic hero is pre-eminently great, he/she is not perfect. Otherwise, the rest of us–mere mortals–would be unable to identify with the tragic hero. We should see in him or her someone who is essentially like us, although perhaps elevated to a higher position in society. 3. The hero’s downfall, therefore, is partially her/his own fault, the result of free choice, not of accident or villainy or some overriding, malignant fate. In fact, the tragedy is usually triggered by some error of judgment or some character flaw that contributes to the hero’s lack of perfection noted above. This error of judgment or character flaw is known as hamartia and is usually translated as â€Å"tragic flaw† (although some scholars argue that this is a mistranslation). Often the character’s hamartia involves hubris (which is defined as a sort of arrogant pride or over-confidence). 4. The hero’s misfortunate is not wholly deserved. The punishment exceeds the crime. 5. The fall is not pure loss. There is some increase in awareness, some gain in self-knowledge, some discovery on the part of the tragic hero.. 6. Though it arouses solemn emotion, tragedy does not leave its audience in a state of depression. Aristotle argues that one function of tragedy is to arouse the â€Å"unhealthy† emotions of pity and fear and through a catharsis (which comes from watching the tragic hero’s terrible fate) cleanse us of those emotions. It might be worth noting here that Greek drama was not considered â€Å"entertainment,† pure and simple; it had a communal function–to contribute to the good health of the community. This is why dramatic performances were a part of religious festivals and community celebrations. How to cite The Tragic Hero Victor Frankenstein, Essay examples