Assessing Project Management Skills in the UAE Contracting Industry

History of Changes The impressive development of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the non-oil segment results in the improvement of the construction activity (Haddad 2014). The discovering of the oil resources contributed to the dramatic transformation of the country in the sphere of industry and economics. The willingness of the government to reduce the oil dependence consequently led to the investments into the non-oil sector (Haddad 2014).Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Assessing Project Management Skills in the UAE Contracting Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The constructing industry received the priority and became the significant part of the UAE economics. Being the engine of the economic development of the country, constructing industry enjoys incredible popularity over the last decades (Gorgenlander 2011). Since project management is an essential element in construction, employees engaged i n these positions need to build up the skills corresponding to the high level of the industry development (Ochieng, Price Moore 2013; Yousif, Hossan McNeil 2015). Wippel et al. (2014) have examined the specific features and innovative methods that are implemented into the working process of the project managers of the construction sector and found that despite the immense progress in the field, improvements are still welcomed. Problems of Practice Although the construction industry provides many benefits to the country’s economy, it is to make an accent that the industry faces numerous problems and issues. The book A Strategic Analysis of the Construction Industry in the United Arab Emirates Opportunities and Threats in the Construction Business provides the detailed analyses of the peculiarities of the construction in the United Arab Emirates with the PESTEL analysis to demonstrate that there exists the lack of properly made decisions due to the insufficient level of exper tise among 30% of the project managers (Gorgenlander 2011). To address the problem, the UAE firms are constrained to attract expatriate workers (Wippel et al. 2014). New Initiatives With the existing problem of the lack of expertise among some of the project managers in the UAE construction industry, corporations resolved to invest more in the accumulation of human resource well-prepared for working out the newly-aroused issues in the industry (Jaeger Adair 2013). The studies presented in Yousif et al. (2015) provide an understanding that technological change and the drive to the low-carbon solutions impacts the skills in demand for the project managers in this industry. In addition, Yousif et al. (2015) state that the UAE constructing corporations began to work on building the proficiencies in the project managers enabling them to use innovative construction methods and new materials and technological solutions.Advertising Looking for proposal on project management? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Proposed Changes The UAE companies engaging in the construction area need to focus on elevating the proficiency rates among the local project managers to eliminate unnecessary disbursements on attracting expatriate employees (Ochieng, Price Moore 2013). Research That Has Been Carried Out In the Recent Past In the recent past, solid research has been conducted on the congruence between the existing level of project managers’ competence and the requirements placed on them by the current economic situation (Gorgenlander 2011). Research Gap Evaluation of the scope of the existing literature suggests the conclusion that there exists a research gap in the field of practical solutions for educating the highly qualified project management employees. To eliminate this gap, this research aims to analyse the survey with the UAE construction industry leaders and generate the new knowledge as for the strategies th at can apply to cultivate the new generation of the highly proficient project managers. Aim and Objectives The main aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between the development of the managers’ skills in the construction industry and the economic environment in the UAE. To achieve the stated above goal, the following objectives will implement: To collect the data regarding the development of managers’ skills and proficiency in the field of construction over the past five years. To measure the congruity between the current level of managers’ proficiency and skills and the economic climate in the United Arab Emirates. To identify the existing knowledge gap as for the research theme understanding and propose further investigations to eliminate this gap Methodology To achieve the aim, the mixed method of the research design with the literature analysis and survey will be implemented. The combination of the qualitative and quantitative approach w ill provide the better involvement into the issue and help to collect the data from applicable sources. Contributions Project managers’ skills in the UAE generally correspond to the requirements. However, certain gap still exists. To eliminate the existing gap, construction corporations resort to attracting expatriate workers. However, attracting foreign assignees places additional expenses on companies. Current economic situation when the oil prices go down on the daily basis places the need to invest more funds in raising the local human resource to occupy the vacant positions in the construction project management. Reference List Gorgenlander, V 2011, A strategic analysis of the construction industry in the United Arab Emirates opportunities and threats in the construction business, Diplomica Verlag, Hamburg.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Assessing Project Management Skills in the UAE Contracting Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Haddad, E 2014, A critical history of contemporary architecture: 1960-2010, Ashgate Publishing, Burlington. Jaeger, M. Adair, D. 2013, â€Å"Cross cultural construction project management in the GCC countries: a local perspective on western project parties†, International Journal of Construction Project Management, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 67-83. Ochieng, E, Price, A Moore, D 2013, Management of global construction projects, Palgrave Macmillan, New York. Wippel, S, Bromber, K, Steiner , C Krawietz , B 2014, Under construction: logics of urbanism in the Gulf Region, Ashgate Publishing, Burlington. Yousif, Y.A., Hossan, C. McNeil, N. 2015, â€Å"Evaluation of leadership styles in the construction sector of UAE†, International Journal of Business and Management, vol. 10, no. 12, pp. 71-79. This proposal on Assessing Project Management Skills in the UAE Contracting Industry was written and submitted by user Ayleen B. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Must-Read Blogs for College Survival

Must-Read Blogs for College Survival This post may look like an ordinary blog list. But it only seems so. In fact, it is not just a blog list. Blogs are not ranked by popularity or information relevance. Neither are they grouped into specific categories. However, be sure that all of these blogs contain the information you will require at some point of your college life. And when you reach that point - youll know where to look for the information you need! So, what we offer you is not a blog list, but rather a powerful college survival tool. The bloggers listed here are doing a great job supplying students with everything necessary - study tricks, tips to survive exams and cope with tasks, help with college adaptation, job opportunities, and brilliant campus life hacks. Study Prof The blog has it all - tips about studying, self development and even making yourself zombie-proof. You will find good videos and infographics here as well. The writing style is interesting, and you dont feel that you are actually reading an educational blog - you entertain while learning something new! studyprof.com/blog Grey Matters: Blog Mathematics and mental games turn out to be fun here. Reading this blog daily you actually risk to become a mathematical ninja! Though the blog is aimed at people more or less connected with math, it would be interesting for anyone who wants to develop logical thinking. headinside.blogspot.com Mind Hacks The blog concentrates more on your brain development rather than regular studying. The point is youd better start taking care of your mental health and broaden your outlook in college, and this blog is the right resource for that. It raises contradictory questions, motivates you to research, makes you think about the crucial issues and exercise your mind every day. mindhacks.com Thank You Brain Learning process and memory are interconnected and inseparable. Thus, the blog focuses on both of these processes, helping you to exercise memory and improve your learning skills. Deep research and practical relevance is what makes blog posts so valuable for the readers. After reading this blog fro a while you really get the insight to our mental processes and memory development. thankyoubrain.blogspot.com Hack College What apps will help you study? What things you have to pack for college? How to travel on a budget? What can make you really a successful student? Time to learn the truth and debunk myths on college life. And thats what HackCollege is living for! Moreover they sre looking for talented students to write for them, so you can not only read about interesting things, but also share interesting things about college life. hackcollege.com That College Kid The blog is overflowing with useful apps, tips, hacks to help you survive freshmen year and go further. You will find instructions on how to save your budget, how to raise your productivity, what classes to choose and what to do with all that education later. In other words, this blog has everything you need to turn from college kid into the college pro. thatcollegekid.com College Times College is not about studying only! It is about drinking, partying, trends in fashion, relationships, and more fun! If you want to take a minute and rest from studying routine - this site is for you. Stay in trend and enjoy life having best time in college collegetimes.com Life After College Is there life after college? Jenny Blake thinks there is, and discovers the opportunities and career prospect for college graduated in her blog. Even if you are a freshmen and there is a long college journey ahead - do not neglect this blog! Knowing what is waiting for you after college, you can start planning your life today and be prepared for the future to come. lifeaftercollege.org/blog Ð ¡ollege Info Geek As soon as you enter the site, it tells you that it will help you upgrade your college experience. Innovations, tips to make your college life easier, mistakes to avoid and geekery of course - thats what you should expect from the blog. collegeinfogeek.com/blog The College Solution Thats the resource you should read as a student and offer your parents to read as well. It offers practical solutions on different problems and issues that may appear in college. You will find answers on frequently asked questions concerning college admissions, campus life, studying abroad and much more. Perfect resource for freshmen! thecollegesolution.com Scott H Young When a writer, a programmer and a traveler (being all one person) starts a blog, it definitely has a lot to share with audience. And its not only about studying. Its about life experience in general. If you are young, active and enthusiastic you should definitely start reading this blog and sharing your ideas with the author. scotthyoung.com Cal Newport The author of books How to Become a Straight-A Student and How to Win at College definitely knows some secrets of college life, and he is eager to share them with you on his blog. The articles are thought provoking, and include deep investigation of the problems they cover. This is definitely the resource you can rely on concerning time management and planning, setting goals, proof reading, productivity and much more. calnewport.com Teen College Education Great source for students at every stage of college!Starting from freshmen and students-to-be, as it contains a lot of tips on choosing college and majors, analyzing college rankings, passing SAT, surviving college interview, and preparing for the big first day. And finishing with graduates who will find career opportunities, MBA tips, and ideas on what you can do with your university degree. The will literally guide you through the whole education process making it smooth and simple. teencollegeeducation.org Honest College Tons of free information on job search, studying abroad, travelling while college and tricks to make your college life easier. All tips are tested with time and experience and shared by the author and numerous student contributions. What can be better than real working advice straight from the students mouth? honestcollege.com SayCampusLife The last but not the least (and one of the most powerful) source of college tips. Posts are neatly divided into categories - sport, study tips, financial aid, budgeting - so youll easily find your way here. saycampuslife.com

Fusion of face recognition method Research Paper

Fusion of face recognition method - Research Paper Example Figure 3 details these matches considering Amber1 and Andy2 (dashed arrows points to some of the analogous features that may be distinguished from the eigenface). It was observed (from Figure 1 and 2) that Amber1 have more distinguished features from the eigenface. Thus we can say that the eigenface closely and strongly resembles Amber1. Amber1's reconstructed images (shown in Figure 5 - include the step by step reconstruction of Amber1's face contained in folder "ReconstructedPictures") supports this observation. Before finding the eigenfaces, however, 'we first need to collect a set of face images. These face images become our database of known faces. We will later determine whether or not an unknown face matches any of these known faces. All face images must be the same size (in pixels), and for our purposes, they must be grayscale (shown in Figure 6), with values ranging from 0 to 255' (Krueger, J, et al, "Obtaining the Eigenface Basis"). Eigenfaces are basically basis vectors for real faces. This can be related straightforwardly to one of the most basic concepts in electrical engineering: Fourier analysis. Fourier analysis discloses that "a sum of weighted sinusoids at differing frequencies can recompose a signal perfectly"! In the same manner a "sum of weighted eigenfaces can seamlessly reconstruct a specific person's face". (Krueger, J, et al, "Obtaining the Eigenface Basis") CONCLUSION According to Krueger, J. & et al, "the eigenface technique is a powerful yet simple solution to the face recognition dilemma. In fact, it is really the most intuitive way to classify a face. As we have shown, old techniques focused on particular features of the face. The eigenface technique uses much more information by classifying faces based on general facial patterns. These patterns include, but are not limited to, the specific features of the f

Cyber Bullying Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cyber Bullying - Research Paper Example With the rapid advances in technology, however, bullying evolved into a form of harassment that can be perpetuated anytime and anywhere. Specifically, the use of the Internet and mobile technologies has enabled many bullies to harass their victims even when they are at home or sleeping. Unfortunately, authorities seemed to be caught off-guard when cases of bullying online reportedly caused several suicides across America recently. This highlighted how it has become imperative to solve this issue immediately because the degree of harm of cyberbullying is clearly pervasive and fatal today. To underscore the severity of this issue, there are already several research findings that found the prevalence of the problem. For instance, a survey conducted by I-Safe America found that 37 percent of middle school students admitted to being bullied or threatened online. (Shore 2006, p. 19) Pew Internet and American Life Project supported this with their report that one in three online teens has e xperienced online harassment. (The Colorado Trust 2008) The statistics established the numbers that should alarm responsible authorities. The issue is no longer some figment of imagination or opinion of alarmists that needed to be substantiated. The facts are already there for everyone to see. The implication of the above trend is that youngsters are no longer safe from bullies. The perpetrators only need a computer, Internet access or a cellphone in order terrorize hapless victims. This is aggravated by the fact that bullying acts can be done anonymously. Almost anyone can invade someone else's life and ruin it at a click of the mouse, enabling bullies to be more vicious and consistent with their attacks. According to Shore, this is demonstrated in two ways: first, there is the argument that bullies can strike out at others with the knowledge that they will not be caught; and, secondly, â€Å"by being removed from their targets and thus not seeing the impact of their actions, cybe rbullies can delude themselves into thinking they have not really hurt anybody† effectively taking away their ability to feel empathy or remorse for their victims. (p. 20) It is easy to understand, hence, how helpless victims find it difficult not only to escape the kind of torture due to the sheer pervasiveness of the Internet and the huge number of its users but also to bear the stress of online attacks against their persons for its sheer viciousness and intensity. In the past face-to-face bullying has been difficult to quantify because victims are hesitant to report them. The case has been complicated by technology further. The anonymity that technology provides bullies has made it extra difficult for its detection. This development is already a main contributor to the growing number of suicides as evidenced by the case of Tyler Clementi, who jumped off a bridge after his sexual encounter was streamed over the web by his dormmates for everyone to see. Unfortunately, this po sting of hurtful content is just one of the many types that could significantly cause harm to young minds. Maggio listed numerous ways by which cyberbullies can attack their victims using technology. The most serious of these include the posting of abusive content against victims such as threatening and embarrassing messages that are easily accessed by

Write a case study on a small group, community, or organization

Write a on a small group, community, or organization - Case Study Example The paper is a comprehensive explanation of the mode of interaction between the American Indians and the rest of Americans. The American Indians are the indigenous inhabitants in the United States of America. They are distinct from the rest of the Americans because they preserve their traditions and are not easily influenced by the modern technology. California in 2000 had the largest population of American Indians. The census report of that year indicated that there were 628,000 American Indians in total. The American Indians are composed of numerous distinct tribes and ethnic groups whose migration happened over thousands of years ago. It involved different groups which are usually referred to as Native Americans or the American Indian. These people crossed over from Asia through a frozen land bridge to the modern day Russia which was by then still part of northern America. They later migrated to Alaska as the ice began to decline thus making them move even further to the southern part. These migrants eventually settled in the modern days United States. Due to their conservative nature, American Indians are regarded as uncivilized by majority of the rest of Americans. But they value their practices since they attach them to identity and unity symbols. Just like all the other communities, they adhere to various social concepts and theories. This is because they have to interact with the rest of the Americans thus making them venerable to internal and external influences. The social concepts and theories apply in various levels and aspects of the American Indians’ lives just like in other social units. Amongst the theories affecting American Indians is the conflict theory. The theory argues that in any society, people do not coexist in pursuit of equilibrium where everybody receives an equal share of resources. It further states that people live competitively with everyone trying to outdo the other with the weakest

Strategic Analysis Of Nestle Company Management Essay

Strategic Analysis Of Nestle Company Management Essay The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the strategic decisions that have occurred over the corporate history of Nestle mentioned in the case and to what extent has Mergers and Acquisitions and Strategic Alliances played a role in NESTLEs strategy in that period. In order to evaluate these strategic decisions, the paper shall outline Nestlà ©s historical strategic decisions; give a brief description of each decision and how mergers and acquisitions contributed to the growth of the company. The paper goes on to explain the current strategies of Nestlà © and how sustainable these strategies may be in the future. It explains the rationalisation of these current strategies and the new strategies that ought to be developed. The paper then looks at the future strategies of Nestle to outline the issues that are likely to be faced when these strategies are implemented .Likely actions are then suggested which may help give solutions to problems faced by Nestle on implementation of its future strategies. The strategic decisions involve new product development, extensive research development and entry into new product category which were mostly achieved through mergers and acquisitions. The current strategy was noted as unsustainable in the long term due to the fact that most of the products of Nestlà © cannot be classified as healthy .The suggestion made was that Nestle should come up with strategies that will make them healthier than their competitors. Nestlà ©s future strategies were also scrutinized and possible solutions given to overcome some of the strategic implementation issues the organization is likely to face. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Evaluate the strategic decisions that have occurred over the corporate history of NESTLE mentioned in the case and to what extent has Mergers and Acquisitions and Strategic Alliances played a role in NESTLEs strategy in that period?    Expansion According to Bell and Shelman (2009), Nestlà ©s sales expanded rapidly across Europe a few years after its inception. The company started developing an international reputation, and in 1905 it took the strategic decision of acquiring its main competitor, the Anglo-Swiss Condensed milk company (Bell and Shelman, 2009). The Federal Trade Commission refers to this as a horizontal merger where a firm acquires a former competitor allowing for a consolidation of companies in the same industry (Barney, 2011). As a result, Nestle in the early 1900s began positioning itself as a powdered milk, and infant food company. Furthermore, the combined companies through the Nestle brand name continued to grow through product and market extension mergers. Barney (2011) describes a product extension merger as one which adopts a complementary product through an acquisition, as seen in the case of Nestle which aligned product adoption in categories such as sugar, milk, cocoa and coffee. Nestlà © further undertook market extension mergers which involve gaining entry into complementary markets through acquisitions (Barney, 2011); whereby Nestle entered the confectionary, coffees, cereals, soft drinks, ice cream, water and prepared foods markets (See Ansoff Matrix below). Ansoff (1965) would argue that Nestlà © uses four different approaches to grow its products and markets. To explain the reasoning behind Nestlà ©s past MAs they can be assigned into these categories of growth which include: market penetration, product development, market development and diversification (See Ansoff Matrix above). During the 1920s, Nestle diversified its portfolio from infant formula to include Milo. This was its first powdered drink not created for infants. Spanning from 1938 to 1948, Nestlà © made the decision to enter into coffee and tea sector with the launch of Nescafe and Nestea. Nestle also diversified into the confectionary market, prepared foods, water, pet foods, energy bar and weight loss markets with the acquisitions of Peter, Cailler, Kohler Swiss Chocolate Company, Maggi, Vittel, Friskies, Powerbar and Jenny Craig respectively. Diversification outside the food and drink industry to enter pharmaceuticals and cosmetics was executed in the 1970s when it became a minority shareholder of LOreal (25%) and later acquired Alcon Laboratories. Barney (2011) highlights that acquiring new companies leads to reduction in production or distribution costs through economies of scale and vertical integration. Mergers and Acquisitions are also beneficial In increasing market share For industry know how and positioning For Financial leveraging (See appendix 3) Reasonable for this industry To improve profitability and EPS (See exhibit 2 for EPS 2006 and 2007) Source: Lasserre (2012) According to Lasserre (2012), MAs can also create several types of values for a company. He argues that they are justifiable if the economic value of the two entities is worth more combined than the sum of independent values before the merger (2012). Thus, the businesses must create shared economic values through synergy by increasing revenues whilst decreasing costs. Lasserre assumes these created values can be both short-term (one-off value) and long-term (synergistic effects). Diversification and global reach were the main values created for Nestlà © in its acquisitions. For example, Carnation enabled Nestle to extend not only in its product range but also to reach new areas around the world. The following table outlines the values created through Nestlà ©s MAs. Nestlà ©s MAs Value created Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consolidation Maggi  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Diversification Acquisitions in canned and frozen foods, water, ice cream and pets food  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Diversification Alcon Laboratories  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Diversification  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Options (to monitor the evolution of the technology) Carnation  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Global reach  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Diversification Ralston-Purina  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Diversification Jenny Craig  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Diversification Novartiss Gerber  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Global reach  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Options (to monitor the evolution of the technology) Table: Nestlà ©s MAs and their value created. Source: Authors own creation based on information from Bell and Shelman (2009) and Lasserre (2012). Furthermore, the relationship between Nestle and LOreal developed further when they created two joint-ventures: Galderma and Laboratories Inneov. According to Barney (2011), joint ventures are undertaken in order to manage risk, share costs, and enter into new markets and industries. It is assumed that Nestle saw the benefits of alliances rather than acquisitions into the cosmetics market due to its lack of knowledge on the industry. Once Nestlà © diversified its portfolio, they followed-up by expanding brands through what Ansoff (1965) refers to as market penetration. In order to utilise its current resources, and take advantage of the market opportunities created by Milo and Nescafe, Nestle developed new brands such as Nesquik and Nespresso (Bell and Shelman, 2009).   Additionally, Nestlà © acquired more brands consistent with its presence in the water and pet foods market: e.g. Vittel and Friskies.   Ã‚   According to Ansoff (1965), market development is the introduction of existing products into new markets. This can be seen through Nestlà ©s acquisitions of Stouffer, which enabled the company to sell its food products to different markets: frozen prepared meals. Lastly, Nestle used product development to introduce new products such as Buitoni, Carnation, and Kit Kat to grow within its existing market of food, powdered drinks and confectionary. Nestlà ©s diverse portfolio provides it with a competitive advantage, and has enabled the company to become the worlds largest food and Beverage Company (Bell and Shelman, 2009). However, it seems that some product diversifications through mergers and acquisitions led to the downfall of its profits; especially visible in the years leading up to Mauchers administration (Bell and Shelman, 2009). Barney (2011) suggests that mergers and acquisitions between strategically unrelated businesses do not necessarily create significant economic profits. Thus, it can be assumed that Nestlà ©s strategically unrelated acquisition of Alcon and partial acquisition of LOreal between 1974 and 1977, contributed to a decline in profits between 1978 and 1981. Supply Chain Rationalisation As Nestle grew and entered new markets, they worked towards horizontally integrating their supply chain. According to Christopher (2005), companies such as Nestle seek to spread geographically, whilst reducing costs through economies of scale by prioritising manufacturing and operational processes. This can be seen throughout the 1900s as Nestle invests in its value chain by: opening processing plants within the U.S., Britain, Germany and Spain; manufacturing in Australia; warehouses in Singapore, Hong Kong and Bombay; and factories in the U.S. and Brazil (Bell and Shelman 2009) (See Nestlà ©s value chain). Firm infrastructure Decentralized organization Executive Committee consists of the CEO and 12 top managers The company is structured through 43 regional organisations reporting to directors of three geographic zones (zone Europe, Asia/Oceania/Africa and zone Americas). Country managers are given a large degree of autonomy when dealing with customer matters. Nestlà ©s Value chain Human Resource Management Focus on developing local management Investment in training and providing cross experiences People start from the bottom and move their way up in the organisation Unique culture/ focus on long term results Developing people from acquired companies. Technology Development Strong RD platform/ open innovation model Big investment in RD (investment to support pharmaceutical businesses and food, nutrition, health and wellness) Creating an innovation acceleration team to support rapid product introductions. Initiating a common technology infrastructure/ a comprehensive information system named the GLOBE. Margin Procurement Purchasing some raw materials instead of processing them in-house. 60% of materials purchases from emerging economies Direct sourcing -In developing countries agricultural commodities are bought from local markets and often directly from farmers- rather than on the world market Service Jenny Craig -personal nutrition counselling / Jenny Direct website and phone /Home delivery. Personalized services 24/7 service though telephone and internet help line for Nestlà ©s premium products. Marketing sales Positioning the company as healthy Strong brands product and brand differentiation. Dealing directly with consumers. Medical nutrition: market to professionals Outbound Logistics Synchronization of data between manufacturing and retailers- through the GLOBE system. Introducing new distribution channels for some brands (e.g. Nespresso corners, boutiques and home delivery) Inbound Logistics Ware- Housing Operations -Manufacturing, food processing plants -Producing locally -About half of the factories are in developing countries/ production for the local market. -Partnership with local farmers -providing advice and support -Implementing quality control processes. Moreover, Nestle made the strategic decision of establishing local supply chains which meant deploying its agricultural capabilities down to  the farm level through strategic alliances. This is referred to as their milk district model which allows farmers to supply milk to the company directly and in exchange Nestle provides its resources and know-how, such as providing storage and chilling facilities (Nestle, 2012). This highlights the fact that Nestle was seeking to establish its value chain activities, or Global business system, earlier on in its history (See value chain above).   According to Hill and Hill (2009), this type of model has the capability of reinforcing a companys competitive advantage as it is able to overcome barriers to integration, better respond to delivery speed, simplify sharing of information and reduce costs of production (Bell and Shelman, 2009). Adapting to a Global Role Nestle recognised that for it to sustain its competitive advantage it needed to establish a global technological platform to capture data, manage information and create knowledge (Bell and Shelman, 2009). Consequently Brabeck made the strategic decision of initiating the GLOBE system. Using this common technological infrastructure, it would be able to share information amongst all Nestlà ©s businesses and allowed for a synchronization of data in its supply chain (Bell and Shelman 2009). Refocused Strategy: Nutrition, Health and Wellness Nutrition has always been an integral part of Nestlà ©s vision, dating back to its first nutritious infant formula. However, due to Nestlà ©s realisation of consumers being increasingly aware of the link between food, health and personal wellbeing, there has been more of a shift away from a technology and processing-driven image towards health and wellness (Bell and Shelman 2009). Under Brabecks tenure, a Nutrition Strategic Business Division was created, along with the acquisitions of Proteika, Musashi (nutrition business), Jenny Craig (diet centres) and Novartis Medical Nutrition (Bell and Shelman 2009). Restructuring of Research and Development Unit Nestlà © also made a strategic decision of restructuring its RD unit to satisfy customer needs and internal growth. This was by shifting away from small decentralized units set up globally to limited large resource-intensive centres. This was done to renovate old brands by finding multiple uses for its product. Under Brabecks tenure, a 60/40 preference rating system was introduced where products were either discontinued or sold if they did not achieve the 60% level. This was done in order to ameliorate the companys performance and market orientation (Bell and Shelman, 2009). 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚   To what extent is the current strategy of NESTLE competitively sustainable in the future? How should it be rationalised and what new strategies ought to be developed in the future? Current strategy Nestlà ©s current strategy was to achieve worldwide sustainable competitiveness through four strategic pillars: low cost, efficient operations, renovation and innovation of the Nestle product line, universal availability and improved communication with consumers through better branding. They also had a vision of transforming the company from a technology-and processing-driven food and beverage company towards a vision of nutrition, health and wellness. (Bell and Shelman, 2009, p.3). Nestlà ©s current strategy of reorganizing its operations did come as an advantage as in some cases moved away from its agricultural and processing roots to buying the ingredients from outside suppliers (Bell and Shelman, 2009). This can be argued on the basis of Nestlà © reducing the steps of its value chain activities as Brabeck explained some of these activities could not add value to some businesses. An example would be the fact that Nestlà © exited from cocoa roasting but still carried on producing chocolate. This in turn reduced the costs and made the value chain more efficient. In fact, in terms of strategic operations, Lasserre (2012) argues that making fundamental changes in the value chain can lead to developing new products and services which can help a company sustain its innovative advantage. Moreover, to enhance the reliability of its suppliers, Nestlà © implemented a strategy of forming partnerships with its suppliers by creating direct links with them and providin g them with support and technical advice. This helped the company cope with the volatility of the supply market and enhance its operations.   Therefore, in terms of operational efficiency, Nestlà © can be seen to be sustainably competitive. Secondly, Nestlà ©s current strategy was focused on renovating and innovating its product line through reorganizing its RD.   Lasserre (2012) suggests that organizations such as Nestlà © could be trying to gain a critical mass advantage. He further explains that in order to achieve this, a minimum amount of resources needs to be mobilized for an activity to perform efficiently and effectively. Hence, Nestlà ©s shift from decentralized units of RD to few large resource-intensive centres. As a result of its RD centralization, Nestlà © was able to reinvigorate old brands; an example was finding multiple uses of the Nesquik brand from not only being a powder but to also present it as syrup and into ready to drink varieties. However, this strategy came at a disadvantage to Nestlà © as they lost the benefits of decentralization. These benefits include proximity to markets which gives a firm the ability to create products that fit local customer specificities, gaining access to geogr aphical clusters of knowledge creation and development access to good-quality scientists and the capability of a firm to learn from different market and cultures (Lasserre, 2012). Therefore, in terms of its RD strategy, it could be argued that Nestlà © will have trouble sustaining its competitive advantage in the future since part of its future strategy is to expand to other markets. Thirdly, with the introduction of GLOBE in the mid-2000s, Nestle initiated an era of capturing data by tying all of Nestlà ©s entities together under a common technological platform. This led to the company standardizing its data to manage its vast information and create and share knowledge among its Strategic business units, manufacturers and retailers. The main idea was to use shared knowledge to enhance the collaboration between all the different units of the company which can reduce costs and produce value all over the organisation. Bauwens (2012) outlines this as a social innovation where knowledge is shared and can be used by others. A good example would be the fact that the Globe system allowed for a synchronization of data leading to an improvement in order fulfilment between manufacturers and retailers. This has allowed Nestlà © to sustain its competitive advantage by adapting much faster to change and delivering value to customer (Lasserre, 2012). Therefore, knowledge sha ring has the potential to play a big role in helping Nestlà © maintain its competitive advantage.    Nestlà ©s final strategic pillar of improving communication between the organization and consumers through better branding could signify the companys efforts to differentiate its products. Barney (2011) would argue that Nestlà © could be trying to alter perceptions of current and potential consumers by altering its product features. In fact, Nestlà © focused on reducing fat and calories as well as incorporating healthy and natural ingredients into a wide range of products. It could be argued also that better branding is linked to its vision of moving from a food and beverage company to a wellness, health and nutrition company. This could also be Nestlà ©s way of differentiating its products by taking advantage of its reputation in the marketplace as a leading company in its industry. Therefore, customers would, in the long term, respond positively to the companys efforts of producing healthier products. Thus, if Nestlà © actually succeeds in changing peoples perceptions and posi tion itself as a health driven company, it can manage to maintain its competitive advantage in the future. It is through these four strategic pillars that Nestlà © derives its current model, the Nestlà © model, which refers to the companys long term of objectives of organic growth (target of 5% and 6% each year), continuous yearly improvement in EBIT and improve capital management which determines the assets of the company against the profit it generates (Bell and Shelman, 2009). The company seems to be achieving its objective as it has slightly improved its earnings before interest and taxes as seen in exhibit 6; it has slightly made progress in its capital management through its improved return on capital employed as seen in Appendix 2; and it has been able to achieve its objective of organic growth between 5% and 6% except for 3 years between 1996 -2007 years also indicated in Exhibit 6. Therefore, it is safe to assume that Nestlà ©s current strategy is competitively sustainable in the present however it remains to be seen if it can be successful in the future with its new vision . This is due to the fact that Nestlà © is possibly trying to implement both product differentiation and cost leadership strategies. Porter (1980) defines such firms as stuck in the middle (Barney, 2011). On the one hand, three of its strategic pillars indicate the companys intention of becoming a cost leader through low cost operations, restructuring its product line and efficiently managing its knowledge. On the other hand, it wants to differentiate its whole portfolio of products and services by changing the product features or by diversifying their products. Porter (1980) cited in Barney 2011 further explains that if a firm tries to implement both strategies then one of them will fail. He continues to add that for a firm to be economically superior in a single industry then they need to sell   at a high price and have small market share (product differentiator) or sell at a low price and gain significant market share (cost leader) therefore Nestlà © needs to decide which of the two it wants to become . As a result, a lot of their organizational requirements such as organizational structure and management control systems are stuck in the middle for example the fact that certain products need to be managed globally especially in the nutrition division while others are locally managed. Nestlà ©s current strategy could be rationalized by foregoing their vision of being a nutrition, health and wellness organization. Instead they should focus on being more of a healthier food and beverages company as a cost leader with its current Nestlà © model. First of all, if Nestlà © was to pursue a health, nutrition and wellness strategy Nestlà © would then have to restructure its product portfolio by getting rid of its unhealthy products such as Hot Pockets, and Kit-Kat. In exhibit 8 it can be seen that these products do not deliver growth to the company yet in exhibit 9 they seem to have a higher market share. This shows that the unhealthy products are in fact the cash cows of Nestlà © which indicate that they are the foundation of the company. It should try and follow Unilevers example of focusing on its core products. Therefore, Nestlà © should frame new strategies and make changes to its vision. Instead of holding on to unrealistic goals, the company could reposition itself in the market as becoming healthier than the competition. In fact, Nestlà © has already implemented this approach in the past with several products by introducing some nutritional improvements. As an example, Nestlà © reduced ice-cream fat by 50% and calories by 30% for Dreyers Slow Churned ice-creams and added healthy ingredients to some chocolate snacks (Bell and Shelman 2009). This indicates that the company has the resources needed to deploy this repositioning strategy. The company should also revaluate its SWOT analysis in terms of switching its vision to Health, Nutrition and Wellness. (refer to Appendix 2) Indeed, the strong RD platform enables Nestlà © to produce more healthy products while maintaining its taste. Moreover, Nestlà © has the capabilities of doing so with its open innovation model (global network with 5,000 scientists and technologists as well as RD centres worldwide) which enables the company to maximize its chances of coming up with new and innovative products. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚   With regards to future strategies what are the strategic implementation issues likely to be faced by the company and what actions should they take to overcome them? Future strategies One of the future strategies of Nestlà © is to grow internally instead of growing through mergers and acquisition. Implementing this strategy could be catastrophic for the company as its growth has been largely relying on acquisitions and joint ventures. Nestlà © would also lose the benefits of using joint ventures, strategic alliances and acquisitions (Appendix 4). This would then imply that Nestlà © would have to use its own resources and core competencies to expand thus placing a greater risk on the business. It can also have a negative impact on the liquidity position of the company. A way in which this issue could be overcome is by applying both strategies. By applying both strategies, the company would be able to spread its corporate risk and share its costs as its return on capital employed still continues to generate profits for the company. Additionally, Nestlà © has managed to build strong foundations through mergers and acquisitions which has led it to improve its financial position. As seen on Exhibit 4, the acquisition of businesses has increased from 447 million in 2006 to 456 million in 2007 which has improved its cash flow. Therefore, in order to maintain a strong position, Nestlà © should carry on with mergers and acquisitions as well as growing internally. Another of the future strategies initiated by Bulcke is to shift the structure of Nestlà © from an organisation by country to an organisation by business through sharing best practices using GLOBE (Bell and Shelman 2009, p.10). He argues that this would enable Nestlà © to start managing its operations globally instead of adapting to every market. However, using the McKinsey 7s framework, many issues can be foreseen as seen on the table below. Factor Strategy Produce variety of quality products, wide variety of brands. Focus on nutrition, health and wellness. 4 strategic pillars (low cost, efficient operations, renovation and innovation of the Nestle product line, universal availability and improved communication with consumers through better branding) (Bell and Shelman, 2009, p. 3) Structure Decentralised and relatively flat organisational structure which helps to cater for local needs thus increasing flexibility. organized by country/ every country is like a small kingdom It has operations worldwide through strategic business units. System Comprehensive information system:   the GLOBE Employees move from the bottom up in the organisation. Style Democratic leadership style: managers are given autonomy to take decisions.   As such, they feel a sense of belonging in the organisation Staff Nestlà © maintains local companies with regional staff in local markets as they better understand the needs of customers. 43 regional organisations. More than 275,000 employees. It has a pool of experts- its staff consists of scientists, technologists from top universities (Bell and Shelman, 2009, p. 6) Skills Nestlà ©s competitive advantage is its RD. It has a high level of technology (23 Product Technology Centres), and  a network of experts around the world. (Bell and Shelman, 2009, p. 9). Shared Values Deliver long term value to shareholders. Focus on long term results. Unwritten culture strong personal culture (Bell and Shelman, 2009, p. 8). Although the change in the structure and the strategy was supported with a change in systems by adapting the GLOBE, other elements of the framework have not been adapted. For instance, the style used by Nestlà © was a democratic leadership style where management in the different countries are given a great deal of autonomy. By changing to a more centralized and global management style some internal resistance from the people can emerge.   The different markets are used to operating as small kingdoms (Bell and Shelman 2009, p.10). Therefore, given that country managers in the different countries were used to be given a great deal of freedom especially when dealing with issues related directly to the customer, this new strategy can produce some internal problems for Nestlà ©. To overcome this issue, other elements of the 7s framework have to be adapted. The main element that links everything together is shared values. Nestlà © has to work on making changes to its internal culture by introducing new shared values between its people. Implementing the GLOBE is not enough to implement the new strategy, a culture of sharing information and best practices should also be introduced and reinforced. Nestlà © should teach its people to move from a management style of taking control and matters into their own hands to a style of sharing control and producing decisions globally and collectively. The implementation of this approach may differ across countries due to the cross-cultural differences between countries. According to Lasserre (2012), country specific cultural values influence managerial values and assumptions in an organisation. As an example, Lasserre (2012) illustrates that western countries are more individualistic while Asian countries are collectivists which heavily impacts how business is done in these countries. In terms of implementing a culture of sharing, it can be assumed that Asian countries would respond more positively to the change than western countries.   Ã‚   Nestlà © intends to achieve its future growth by implementing four platforms for growth which are health, nutrition and wellness (to be the centrepiece), emerging markets, out of home consumption and premiumisation of existing products. (Bell and Shelman, 2009).The aforementioned strategy for growth is expected to double Nestlà ©s sales in the next 10 years. (Bell and Shelman, 2009)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bulcke emphasized that the priority should be on health, nutrition and wellness to implement the vision into every product segment and every country. This vision is in line with Brabecks strategies of going beyond food to Nutrition, Health and Wellness (Bell and Shelman, 2009). The total sales for Nestlà © Nutrition segment has significantly increased from 5,964 million in 2006 to 8,434 in 2007, which represents an improvement of 41% as shown in Exhibit 11. Although total sales have increased, most products that have led to this increase in sales were unhealthy. So, in order to maintain its vision as a Health, Nutrition and Wellness, Nestlà © should give up its unhealthy products in the long term. However, this would negatively impact on the financial position of the company as these are its core products. Moreover, making the same products available in every market might not be adapted to the needs of every customer in terms of tastes, preferences and nutritional value so Nestlà © should make sure at least every different product are tailored to the needs of every different market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Regarding emerging markets, Bulcke found out that these markets are growing at a faster pace and therefore Nestlà © should integrate further into it as there is a high potential for growth. The implementation of popularly position products (PPP), a strategy designed for low income earners so they can afford good nutrition products on a daily basis, is ex

Management And Leadership Essay -- Business Management

Management and Leadership Paper Each person in a company brings his or her own experiences, values, and beliefs to the company. All the experiences, values, and beliefs combined formulate the organizational culture of the company. A sick organizational culture can cause failure in a company. In a company with a healthy organizational culture employees work together to ensure the company reaches its goals. This paper will discuss the roles leadership and management play in a healthy organizational culture. How the four functions of management support and maintain a healthy organizational culture will also be addressed. In addition, strategies that leaders can use to promote a healthy culture will also be reviewed. Each company has a vision. A leader helps others to see the vision and inspire them to make the vision reality. Bateman and Snell (2007) assert that leadership is ineffective without a vision, employees or teams can establish a vision for jobs or an organization, and many people are more focused on carrying out his or her duties each day. Even some managers do not have a clear vision. When looking at an organization’s culture, one sees the motivation given employees to achieve the organization’s goals. One way a leader motivates employees is to lead by example. For example, if a leader states that company policy is company vehicles are not to be used for personal business, the same leader must also abide by the policy. When an employee observes a leader not following a company policy, the employee is less inclined to follow the policy. From time to time vendors will impart such items as baseball or rodeo tickets to purchasing personnel at XYZ, Inc. In order to avoid a conflict of interest, the tickets are accept... ...omote a healthy organizational culture. The four functions of management play a role in supporting and maintaining a company’s culture. A healthy organizational culture will go beyond the every day duties and ensure company goals are achieved. The values, beliefs, and experiences of each employee blend to create a unique environment within a company. Each person has his or her part in helping the organizational culture. References Adler, H. (2007, December). Key leader characteristics. Leadership Excellence, 24(12), 5. Retrieved May 6, 2008 from ProQuest database. Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. A. (2007). Management: The new competitive landscape (7th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin. Bova, M. (2008, March 18). Are you a leader or a manager? EzineArticles. Retrieved May 5, 2008 from http://ezinearticles.com/index.php?Are-You-A-Leader-Or-A-Manager?&id=1047476

Muscle Skeletal Muscle

NAME LAB TIME/DATE _ Microscopic Anatomy and Organization of Skeletal Muscle Skeletal Muscle Cells and Their Packaging into Muscles 1. Use the items in the key to correctly identify the structures described below. g; perimysium c; fascicle Key: a. b. c. endomysium epimysium fascicle fiber myofibril myofilament perimysium sarcolemma sarcomere sarcoplasm tendon 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. connective tissue ensheathing a bundle of muscle cells bundle of muscle cells contractile unit of muscle ; sarcomere d; fiber a; endomysium h; sarcolemma e; myofibril d. a muscle cell thin reticular connective tissue surrounding each muscle cell plasma membrane of the muscle fiber a long filamentous organelle with a banded appearance found within muscle cells actin- or myosin-containing structure e. f. g. h. 1. f; myofilament 8. 9. j. k. k; tendon cord of collagen fibers that attaches a muscle to a bone 2. List three reasons why the connective tissue wrappings of skeletal muscle are important.The connective tissue wrappings (a) bundle the muscle fibers together, increasing coordination of their activity; (b) add strength to the muscle; and (c) provide a route for entry and exit of blood vessels and nerves to the muscle fibers.3. Why are there more indirect-that is, tendinous-muscle attachments to bone than there are direct attachments? They conserve space (less bulky than fleshy muscle attachments) and are more durable than muscle tissue where bony prominences must be spanned.4. How does an aponeurosis differ from a tendon structurally? tendon is a band or cord of the same tissue. An aponeurosis is a sheet of white fibrous connective tissue; The diagram illustrates a small portion of several myofibrils. Using letters from the key, correctly identify each structure indicated by a leader line or a bracket. Key: a. b. c. A band actin filament I band d. e. f. myosin filament T tubule te rminal cisterna g. h. i. triad sarcomere Z disc . On the following figure, label a blood vessel, endomysium, epimysium, a fascicle, a muscle cell, perimysium, and the tendon. Perimysium Tendon Epimysium Fascicle 90 Review Sheet 14 r>. The Neuromuscular Junction7. Complete the following statements: The junction between a motor neuron's axon and the muscle cell membrane is called a neurornuseular junction or a _1_ junction. A motor neuron and all of the skeletal muscle cells it stimulates is called a _2_. The actual gap between the axon terminal and the muscle cell is called a _3_.Within the axon terminal are many small vesicles containing a neurotransmitter substance called_4_. When the _5_ reaches the ends of the axon, the neurotransmitter is released and diffuses to the muscle cell membrane to combine with receptors there. The combining of the neurotransmitter with the muscle membrane receptors causes the membrane to become permeable to both sodium and potassium. The greater influx of sodium ions results in _6_ of the membrane. Then contraction of the muscle cell occurs. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. yoneural motor unit synaptic cleft acetylcholine nerve impulse (action potential) depolarization 8. The events that occur at a neuromuscular junction are depicted below. Identify by labeling every structure provided with a leader line. Key: a. b. a e c. d. e. Nucleus axon terminal mitochondrion muscle fiber myelinated axon sarcolemma synaptic cleft synaptic vesicle T tubule f. c g. h. (a) g————-, b——–†¦ f———, Junctional—R:: folds of the sarcolemma h -+—–. :r-! -I Part of a myofibril (b) Review Sheet 14 91

Good Friday and Easter

Good Friday and Easter Good Friday and Easter Good Friday and Easter By Maeve Maddox Reader Elaine Peters wonders if the word Good in Good Friday has anything to do with the word God, pointing out that the English good-bye is a shortened version of the once common expression God be with ye. The word goodbye is the result of running words together until theyve dwindled into a compressed version of the original. The English words good and god, however, are not related. Both stem from Indo-European roots. The word god meaning deity, is thought to come from a word meaning that which is invoked. Or, It could come from a different Indo-European word meaning to pour as in the pouring of a libation. The word good, meaning having a desirable quality, comes from a Proto-Indo- European base word with the meaning to unite, be associated, suitable. Like the word nice, good can be used in so many contexts that it is probably a word to be avoided by careful writers. For example, good can have the following meanings: prosperous: He makes a good living. beneficial: Spinach is good for you. welcome: The doctor gave him good news. fertile: The land isnt very good in this area. attractive: Actors must have good looks. genuine: This money is not good. advantageous: I got a good deal on this couch. Among the many meanings of good are virtuous, moral, and wise. One of the meanings of the word holy is infinitely good. From such meanings come the expressions the Good Book and Good Friday. To call the day of the crucifixion of Jesus Good Friday could seem a little perverse, but seen from the perspective of Christian belief, the day marks the salvation of mankind and the triumph over death. For that reason it is called Good Friday in the Christian calendar. The Christian use of the word Easter for the religious celebration of the passion and death of Christ is one of those ironies of linguistic history. The word Easter derives from the name of an ancient Germanic goddess of fertility and sunrise, Austron. Her feast was celebrated at the spring equinox. Anglo-Saxon converts to Christianity adopted the name and, according to the Venerable Bede, some of the practices of the old worship for their Mass of the Resurrection as well. The word east derives from the same word as does the name of the goddess. The German word for Easter is similar: Ostern, but most European languages use words derived from Medieval Latin pascha: French: PÃ ¢ques Dutch: Pasen Italian: Pasque Spanish: Pascua Portuguese: Pscoa* Russian: nacxa [pass-kha]* (with thanks to Andre, Andriano, and Alexey) The Latin word come from a Hebrew word which passed into Aramaic as pasha and from there into Greek and Latin. William Tyndale, translating the Bible in 1530, translated Hebrew pesah as pass over. During the Middle English period, some writers used the word Pasche for Easter, but the pagan word is the one that has survived into modern English. Even though English speakers use Easter as the name of the festival, they do have an adjective, paschal, that has the meaning of or pertaining to Easter. One of my family traditions was the eating of the Paschal Egg on Easter morning. We cut one of our colored eggs, usually a purple one, into four pieces, one for each member of the family. I suppose that an Easter egg hunt could be referred to as a paschal event. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Words with More Than One SpellingThe Possessive Apostrophe6 Foreign Expressions You Should Know

Rubidium Facts - Rb or Element 37

Rubidium Facts - Rb or Element 37 Rubidium is a silver-colored alkali metal with a melting point slightly higher than body temperature. The element is atomic number 37 with element symbol Rb. Here is a collection of rubidium element facts. Fast Facts: Rubidium Element Name: RubidiumElement Symbol: RbAtomic Number: 37Appearance: Grey metalGroup: Group 1 (Alkali Metal)Period: Period 5Discovery: Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff (1861)Fun Fact: The half life of the radioactive isotope Rb-87 is 49 billion years or more than three times the age of the universe. Rubidium  Basic Facts Atomic Number: 37 Symbol: Rb Atomic Weight: 85.4678 Discovery: R. Bunsen, G. Kirchoff 1861 (Germany), discovered rubidium in the mineral petalite via its dark red spectral lines. Electron Configuration: [Kr] 5s1 Word Origin: Latin: rubidus: deepest red. Isotopes: There are 29 known isotopes of rubidium. Natural rubidium consists of two isotopes, rubidium-85 (stable with 72.15% abundance) and rubidium-87 (27.85% abundance, a beta emitter with a half-life of 4.9 x 1010 years). Thus, natural rubidium is radioactive, with sufficient activity to expose photographic film within 110 days. Properties: Rubidium may be liquid at room temperature. It ignites spontaneously in air and reacts violently in water, setting fire to the liberated hydrogen. Thus, rubidium must be stored under dry mineral oil, in a vacuum, or in an inert atmosphere. It is a soft, silvery-white metallic element of the alkali group. Rubidium forms amalgams with mercury and alloys with gold, sodium, potassium, and cesium. Rubidium glows red-violet in a flame test. Element Classification: Alkali Metal Biological Effects: Rubidium carries a 1 oxidation state, like sodium and potassium, and displays biological activity similar to that of potassium ions. Rubidium concentrates inside cells within the intracellular fluid. The biological half-life of rubidium ions in humans is 31 to 46 days. Rubidium ions are not particularly toxic, but rats die when over half the potassium in heart muscle is replaced by rubidium. Rubidium chloride has been tested as a therapy for the treatment of depression. Researchers found dialysis patients suffering from depression tended to experience depleted rubidium levels. The element is not considered to be essential for human nutrition, although it is present in small quantities in nearly all human and animal tissues. Rubidium Physical Data Density (g/cc): 1.532Melting Point (K): 312.2Boiling Point (K): 961Appearance: soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metalAtomic Radius (pm): 248Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 55.9Covalent Radius (pm): 216Ionic Radius: 147 (1e)Specific Heat (20 °C J/g mol): 0.360Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): 2.20Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 75.8Pauling Negativity Number: 0.82First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 402.8Oxidation States: 1Lattice Structure: Body-Centered CubicLattice Constant (Ã…): 5.590CAS Registry Number: 7440-17-7 Rubidium Trivia Rubidium melts just a little above body temperature.Rubidium was discovered using spectroscopy. When Bunsen and Kirchoff examined their sample of petalite, they found two red spectral lines deep into the red part of the spectrum. They named their new element rubidium after the Latin word rubidus meaning deepest red.Rubidium is the second most electropositive element.Rubidium can be used to give fireworks a red-violet color.Rubidium is the 23rd most abundant element in the Earths crust.Rubidium chloride is used in biochemistry as a biomarker to track where potassium is taken up by living organisms.The hyper-fine electron structure of Rubidium-87 is used in some atomic clocks to maintain accuracy.The isotope Ru-87 was used by Eric Cornell, Wolfgang Ketterle, and Carl Wiemen to produce a Bose-Einstein condensate. This earned them the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics. Sources Campbell, N. R.; Wood, A. (1908). The Radioactivity of Rubidium. Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. 14: 15.Fieve, Ronald R.; Meltzer, Herbert L.; Taylor, Reginald M. (1971). Rubidium chloride ingestion by volunteer subjects: Initial experience. Psychopharmacologia. 20 (4): 307–14. doi:10.1007/BF00403562Haynes, William M., ed. (2011). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (92nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p. 4.122. ISBN 1439855110.Meites, Louis (1963).  Handbook of Analytical Chemistry  (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.Weast, Robert (1984). CRC, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Boca Raton, Florida: Chemical Rubber Company Publishing. pp. E110. ISBN 0-8493-0464-4.

Philosophy of Leadership in Schools Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philosophy of Leadership in Schools - Assignment Example The concept of leadership in a school requires the principal (administrator) to be able to improve the students' performance and introduce various positive changes into the schooling system. All in all, the school's administrator should manage the school in a way that ensures its survival and development. All the actions and risks of a school administrator should be in line with his or her forward-looking vision. This vision is developed with the participation of teaching staff as involving them into the decision-making process ensures their higher motivation and boosts their creativity. It should be kept in mind that the efficient leadership of the school administrator is hardly possible without stable and productive relations with teaching staff and effective planning. When hiring the teachers, the school administrator should make sure they are professional and eager to work with children. In order to be a good leader, the school administrator should implement the correct leadership style. Generally, three different styles of leadership are singled out - authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire. I believe that for the school administrator, the best way is to be a democratic leader because it presupposes a higher degree of involvement of teaching staff members and students into the process of taking decisions, introducing innovations and improving the functioning of school in general. However, there are different views as far as introducing changes to K-12 schools is concerned. On the one hand, there is an opinion that it is necessary to update the curriculum as a way to modernize the school with no risks on the part of teachers and principal. On the other hand, it is considered that the school, and the administrator at the first place, are the main agents of change. This second approach is more challenging and demands from the administrator to take decisions, however at the same time it allows the school principal reveal his or her potential, creative abilities, capacity, and it also requires that the administrator is persistent, self-confident, and eager to develop.  Ã‚  

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 29

English - Essay Example For example, multi-billionaire Richard Branson became successful because he knew he wanted to do something with music. He opened a small company that sold mail-order albums and was able to save enough capital to open up his first record store. From his savings, he was able to build his record label with new artists and soon his wealth started increasing (Lorenz, 2006). People who are motivated and dedicated can teach themselves whatever it is that they need to know in order to follow the profession they have selected. If this is not possible, then there are also the possibilities of internships or apprenticeships, where individuals are taught the skills they need in order to perform the job they are trying to get without having to pay with their own money to learn (Forbes staff, 2006). Then there is the question of money. It has been said many times that one can make more money if he has a college education, but this argument is questioned by a number of studies. Challenging the idea that non-college educated individuals can earn close to or the same as college-educated individuals, Michael Robertson (2008) admitted there may be some truth to the statement after examining the results of a 45 year survey. However, Forbes staff (2006) indicates that those who choose not to attend college are able to gain 4-5 years of work experience while their peers are in class. Thus, they do not acquire the huge college loan debt that often worries college graduates. Furthermore, if they invest their college money rather than spend it on education, they may also end up making money from the investment. In addition, there are several examples of very wealthy people who have managed to make their fortunes at young ages because they were not wasting their energies in the classroom and were out there waiting to take advantage of opportunities that came. These include Barry Diller, who started in the mail room of the