Globalization and the World's poor Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Globalization and the World's poor - Term Paper Example Though globalization caused major positive changes in the economy, society and business, it has also been argued that globalization increased the numbers of poor worldwide. This piece of research paper presents a brief analysis on various theories of globalization and explains its impacts on world’s poor. Conceptual Framework and forces of Globalization Globalization is the process of social, political, cultural, economic and technological integration between countries. From the economic point of view, globalization refers to the increasing interdependence between national economies, business enterprises and markets. The term globalization refers to the intensification of world-wide social and economic relations that link distant countries or regions in a way that local happenings are shaped by event elsewhere. Salvatore (2005, p. 17) argued that globalization is inevitable because of that consumers around the world are increasingly demanding products and services to converge their requirements. Firms are to outsource parts and components from wherever in the world and they must invest their capital and technology wherever they are highly productive so that they can remain internationally competitive. The major four driving forces of globalization are detailed below: 1- Global Market Forces As and when enterprises globalize, they too become global customers and this increases the potential for global markets. Hill (2004, p. 6) noted that globalization of markets refers to the merging of historically distinct and isolated national markets in to one huge global market place. Due to globalization, people across the world have gained access to quality goods and services from aboard and companies were forced to seek materials, technology and labor from other countries. A company that goes global requires purchasing of required materials and therefore it becomes a customer of another company. The concept of globalization of market state that markets are global ized since enterprises that went global required to meet specific as well as common requirements of its customers and hence they too became customers of foreign markets. The underlying concept was that the tastes and preferences of people in different nations were to converge on some global norm and thereby helping to create a global market place. 2- Global Cost Forces Dornier, Ernst and Fender (1998, p. 77) emphasized that globalization has also been driven by the comparative cost advantage of some countries in various inputs to the manufacturing process. Raw-materials, labor and technology are major inputs and they are often cheaper in some countries as compared to that of some other countries. Reducing unit costs and achieve economies of scale is a management goal. Globalizing products and services is one means of achieving such economies of scale so that production costs can be reduced. 3- Technological Forces Technology changes almost everyday and this has tremendously been imp acting the pace and effectiveness of the business. A business that can use latest technology for manufacturing and marketing a particular product will be more able to meet customers’ requirements as their tastes and preferences are largely influenced by the technology advances. Using latest technology thus has become an integral part of global strategic approach for achieving sustainable

Swot Analysis Dakz Performance Apparel Essay Example for Free

Swot Analysis Dakz Performance Apparel Essay Well-established organisational structure, comprising a Board of Directors and an organization of dedicated and passionate employees  §Stable executive management team that has largely been in place since the companys commencement Will Winsome, CEO, leads the Dakz executive management team, and has been an involved and engaged leader, manager and mentor at Dakz. He is very popular with Dakz employees. They admire his persistence and resilience, as well as the way he always seems to achieve his goals The core group of early employees have been individuals who love sport and exercise Team of in-house designers and sports scientists. The seven designers come from a variety of professional backgrounds.  §Janes most recent career achievement was the establishment of the flagship Australian retail store of a well-known European fashion manufacturer and retailer.  §Janes experience assisting Australian businesses to develop new markets internationally. She worked with a popular Australian stationery retailer to expand into Asia via a joint venture, and also assisted an Australian travel goods brand to establish a product distribution franchise model in Asia  §Ewan to pursue his passion for assisting a medium-sized, entrepreneurial business to grow and be successful. Dakz provides a high degree of flexibility to its employees to attend training sessions, competitions and championships, both domestically and internationally.  §Dakz also provides a generous discount on products purchased by employees, and holds a number of ‘family and friends special clearance sales on sample and discontinued lines throughout the year. The culture at Dakz has typically been one of energy and excitement Employer of Choice in the 2011 Australian Human Resources Association Employment Awards  §Olympics and a national distribution deal with a major sporting goods retailer  §Wholly Australian-owned Australian business Through recent product development, the company has been able to achieve close to 40 per cent market share in the Australian market for compression apparel.  §Dakz invests a considerable amount of its financial resources in  research and development of its products.

106 Congress :: essays research papers

The 106th Congress has been one of the most partisan and ineffectual legislatures in recent memory. The two political parties have barely even kept the government running. Only until recently have they passed Appropriation Bills for the 2001 fiscal year in a lame-duck session. This congress has made little progress in resolving their differences on some of the most important issues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gun control is at the forefront of American politics. Gun violence has soared in recent years, and many tragedies such as the Columbine school shooting have occurred. All Americans want a reduction in gun related violence but gun control is still a decisive issue. On March 3rd, 2000, the then junior Senator from New York, Charles E. Schumer, introduced the Effective National Firearms Objectives for Responsible, Commonsense Enforcement Act of 2000. S.2338 was a bill to enhance the enforcement of gun violence laws. Twelve other Senators including New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan cosponsored this bill. This legislation was an attempt at amending the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. Its purpose was to increase appropriations to Federal prosecutors of Firearm Laws, authorize the appropriations of 600 additional firearm agents and inspectors, give greater authority to the Attorney General to prosecute violations of Federal Firearms Laws, bans violent felons from buying and handling firearms and ammunitions, and increase the penalties and fines of illegal gun sales.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  S. 2338 was read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. The twelve Senators who sponsored this piece of legislation were mostly Democratic. Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, worked along party lines. He effectively pigeonholed this bill without considering it for review. Pigeonholing is a practice of ignoring a piece of legislation and letting it die in committee. Many special interest groups were interested in the outcome of this bill. The Coalition To Stop Gun Violence, CSVG, was one lobbying group that was interested in this legislation. Lobbies try to influence politicians to vote according to their point of view. The CSVG wants to increase gun control measures to reduce the violence in America. It believes that violent crimes and firearms have a direct correlation. The legislative arm of the National Rifle Association is a lobby opposing gun control. The NRA represents millions of Americans all over the United States. It prides itself in promoting and defending the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution that states â€Å"the right of the people to keep and bear arms†.

Marketing Mix Essay

Marketing is a business function that identifies consumer needs, determines target markets and applies products and services to serve these markets. It also involves promoting such products and services within the marketplace. Marketing is integral to the success of a business, large or small, with its primary focus on quality, consumer value and customer satisfaction. A strategy commonly utilised is the â€Å"Marketing Mix†. This tool is made up of four variables known as the â€Å"Four P’s† of marketing. The marketing mix blends these variables together to produce the results it wants to achieve in its specific target market. The following describes the four P’s of marketing: Product Products are the goods and services that your business provides for sale to your target market. When developing a product you should consider quality, design, features, packaging, customer service and any subsequent after-sales service. Place Place is in regards to distribution, location and methods of getting the product to the customer. This includes the location of your business, shop front, distributors, logistics and the potential use of the internet to sell products directly to consumers. Price Price concerns the amount of money that customers must pay in order to purchase your products. There are a number of considerations in relation to price including price setting, discounting, credit and cash purchases as well as credit collection. Promotion Promotion refers to the act of communicating the benefits and value of your product to consumers. It then involves persuading general consumers to become customers of your business using methods such as advertising, direct marketing, personal selling and sales promotion.

English novel

Scottish novelist, short story writer, and Journalist whose real name was Hector Hugh Munro. Saki wrote humorous essays and stories that are frequently described as flippant (lacking proper respect or seriousness), witty, ironic, and cynical. The Open Window â€Å"My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel,† said a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen; â€Å"in the meantime you must try and put up with me. † Framton Nuttel endeavored to say the correct something which should duly flatter the niece of the oment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to come.Privately he doubted more than ever whether these formal visits on a succession of total strangers would do much towards helping the nerve cure which he was supposed to be undergoing. â€Å"l know how it will be,† his sister had said when he was preparing to migrate to this rural retreat; â€Å"you will bury yourself down there and not speak to a living soul, and your nerves will be worse than ever from moping. I shall Just give you letters of introduction to all the people I know there. Some of them, as far as I can remember, were quite nice. † Framton wondered whether Mrs.Sappleton, the lady to whom he was presenting one of the letters of introduction, came into the nice division. â€Å"Do you know many of the people round here? † asked the niece, when she Judged that they had had sufficient silent communion. â€Å"Hardly a soul,† said Framton. â€Å"My sister was staying here, at the rectory, you know, some four years ago, and she gave me letters of introduction to some of the people here. † He made the last statement in a tone of distinct regret. Then you know practically nothing about my aunt? † pursued the self-possessed young lady. Only her name and address,† admitted the caller. He was wondering whether Mrs. Sappleton was in the married or widowed state. An undefinable something about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitatio n. â€Å"‘Her great tragedy happened Just three years ago,† said the child; â€Å"that would be since your â€Å"Her tragedy? † asked Framton; somehow in this restful country spot sister's time. † tragedies seemed out of place. â€Å"You may wonder why we keep that window wide pen on an October afternoon,† said the niece, indicating a large French window that opened on toa lawn. It is quite warm for the time of the year,† said Framton; â€Å"Has that Window got anything to do with the tragedy? † â€Å"Out through that window, three years ago to a day, her husband and her two young brothers went off for their day's shooting. They never came back. In crossing the moor to their favorite snipe-shooting ground they were all three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog. It had been that dreadful wet summer, you know, and places that were safe in other years gave way uddenly without warning. Their bodies were never recovered.That was the drea dful part of it. † Here the child's voice lost its self-possessed note and became falteringly human. â€Å"Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back some day, they and the used to do. That is why the window is kept open every evening till it is quite dusk. Poor dear aunt, she has often told me how they went out, her husband with his white water-proof coat over his arm, and Ronnie, her youngest brother, singing, ‘Bertie, why do you bound? ‘ as he always did to tease her, because she said it got on her nerves.Do you know, sometimes on still, quiet evenings like this, I almost get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that window†Ã¢â‚¬  She broke off with a little shudder. It was a relief to Framton when the aunt bustled into the room with a whirl of apologies for being late in making her appearance. â€Å"l hope Vera has been amusing you? † she said. â€Å"She has been very interesting,† said Framton. â€Å"l hope you don't mind the open window,† said Mrs. Sappleton briskly; â€Å"my husband and brothers will be home directly from shooting, and they always come in this way.They've been out for snipe in the marshes today, so they'll make a fine mess over my poor carpets. So like you menfolk, isn't it? † She rattled on cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of birds, and the prospects for duck in the winter. To Framton it was all purely horrible. He made a desperate but only partially successful effort to turn the talk on to a less ghastly topic; he was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a fragment of her attention, and her eyes were constantly straying past him to the open window and the lawn beyond.It was certainly an unfortunate oincidence that he should have paid his visit on this tragic anniversary. â€Å"The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of violent physical exercise,† anno unced Framton, who labored under the tolerably widespread delusion that total strangers and chance acquaintances are hungry for the least detail of one's ailments and infirmities, their cause and cure. â€Å"On the matter of diet they are not so much in agreement,† he continued. â€Å"No? † said Mrs.Sappleton, in a voice which only replaced a yawn at the ast moment. Then she suddenly brightened into alert attention†but not to what â€Å"Here they are at last! † she cried. â€Å"Just in time for tea, and Framton was saying. don't they look as if they were muddy up to the eyes! † Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look intended to convey sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out through the open window with dazed horror in her eyes. In a chill shock of nameless fear Framton swung round in his seat and looked in the same direction.In the deepening twilight three figures were alking across the lawn towards the windo w; they all carried guns under their arms, and one of them was additionally burdened with a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired brown spaniel kept close at their heels. Noiselessly they neared the house, and then a hoarse young voice chanted out of the dusk: â€Å"l said, Bertie, why do you bound? † Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hall-door, the gravel-drive, and the front gate were dimly noted stages in his headlong retreat. A cyclist coming along the road had to run into the hedge to avoid imminent collision. English novel Scottish novelist, short story writer, and Journalist whose real name was Hector Hugh Munro. Saki wrote humorous essays and stories that are frequently described as flippant (lacking proper respect or seriousness), witty, ironic, and cynical. The Open Window â€Å"My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel,† said a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen; â€Å"in the meantime you must try and put up with me. † Framton Nuttel endeavored to say the correct something which should duly flatter the niece of the oment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to come.Privately he doubted more than ever whether these formal visits on a succession of total strangers would do much towards helping the nerve cure which he was supposed to be undergoing. â€Å"l know how it will be,† his sister had said when he was preparing to migrate to this rural retreat; â€Å"you will bury yourself down there and not speak to a living soul, and your nerves will be worse than ever from moping. I shall Just give you letters of introduction to all the people I know there. Some of them, as far as I can remember, were quite nice. † Framton wondered whether Mrs.Sappleton, the lady to whom he was presenting one of the letters of introduction, came into the nice division. â€Å"Do you know many of the people round here? † asked the niece, when she Judged that they had had sufficient silent communion. â€Å"Hardly a soul,† said Framton. â€Å"My sister was staying here, at the rectory, you know, some four years ago, and she gave me letters of introduction to some of the people here. † He made the last statement in a tone of distinct regret. Then you know practically nothing about my aunt? † pursued the self-possessed young lady. Only her name and address,† admitted the caller. He was wondering whether Mrs. Sappleton was in the married or widowed state. An undefinable something about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitatio n. â€Å"‘Her great tragedy happened Just three years ago,† said the child; â€Å"that would be since your â€Å"Her tragedy? † asked Framton; somehow in this restful country spot sister's time. † tragedies seemed out of place. â€Å"You may wonder why we keep that window wide pen on an October afternoon,† said the niece, indicating a large French window that opened on toa lawn. It is quite warm for the time of the year,† said Framton; â€Å"Has that Window got anything to do with the tragedy? † â€Å"Out through that window, three years ago to a day, her husband and her two young brothers went off for their day's shooting. They never came back. In crossing the moor to their favorite snipe-shooting ground they were all three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog. It had been that dreadful wet summer, you know, and places that were safe in other years gave way uddenly without warning. Their bodies were never recovered.That was the drea dful part of it. † Here the child's voice lost its self-possessed note and became falteringly human. â€Å"Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back some day, they and the used to do. That is why the window is kept open every evening till it is quite dusk. Poor dear aunt, she has often told me how they went out, her husband with his white water-proof coat over his arm, and Ronnie, her youngest brother, singing, ‘Bertie, why do you bound? ‘ as he always did to tease her, because she said it got on her nerves.Do you know, sometimes on still, quiet evenings like this, I almost get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that window†Ã¢â‚¬  She broke off with a little shudder. It was a relief to Framton when the aunt bustled into the room with a whirl of apologies for being late in making her appearance. â€Å"l hope Vera has been amusing you? † she said. â€Å"She has been very interesting,† said Framton. â€Å"l hope you don't mind the open window,† said Mrs. Sappleton briskly; â€Å"my husband and brothers will be home directly from shooting, and they always come in this way.They've been out for snipe in the marshes today, so they'll make a fine mess over my poor carpets. So like you menfolk, isn't it? † She rattled on cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of birds, and the prospects for duck in the winter. To Framton it was all purely horrible. He made a desperate but only partially successful effort to turn the talk on to a less ghastly topic; he was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a fragment of her attention, and her eyes were constantly straying past him to the open window and the lawn beyond.It was certainly an unfortunate oincidence that he should have paid his visit on this tragic anniversary. â€Å"The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of violent physical exercise,† anno unced Framton, who labored under the tolerably widespread delusion that total strangers and chance acquaintances are hungry for the least detail of one's ailments and infirmities, their cause and cure. â€Å"On the matter of diet they are not so much in agreement,† he continued. â€Å"No? † said Mrs.Sappleton, in a voice which only replaced a yawn at the ast moment. Then she suddenly brightened into alert attention†but not to what â€Å"Here they are at last! † she cried. â€Å"Just in time for tea, and Framton was saying. don't they look as if they were muddy up to the eyes! † Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look intended to convey sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out through the open window with dazed horror in her eyes. In a chill shock of nameless fear Framton swung round in his seat and looked in the same direction.In the deepening twilight three figures were alking across the lawn towards the windo w; they all carried guns under their arms, and one of them was additionally burdened with a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired brown spaniel kept close at their heels. Noiselessly they neared the house, and then a hoarse young voice chanted out of the dusk: â€Å"l said, Bertie, why do you bound? † Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hall-door, the gravel-drive, and the front gate were dimly noted stages in his headlong retreat. A cyclist coming along the road had to run into the hedge to avoid imminent collision.

The Trials of Becoming a Hero

The Trials of Becoming a Hero The Trials of Becoming a HeroHero worship has existed in this world since the beginning of time, from the Jews honoring Moses, to the Germans honoring Adolf Hitler. Becoming a hero is a very difficult thing to accomplish. One must be successful in gaining the reverence of one's peers while at the same time not developing to big of an ego. Two examples of men trying to become heroes are Prince Henry and Dr. Faustus. Both, in their respective plays, have the capabilities of becoming a hero, but only Prince Henry succeeds while Dr. Faustus fails.At the beginning of The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus, Faustus is a well known doctor and is looked up to by his friends. Hal, on the other hand, starts out in Henry IV, Part I, spending much of his time in a tavern engaged in talk with robbers and hoodlums, therefore being looked down upon by the high society which he is supposed to live in.HalWhile it appears that Faustus seems to be headed to becoming a hero and Hal seems to be throwing awa y his chances, the audience can see from their soliloquies, that they both plan on changing their ways; Hal for the better and Faustus for the worse.Faustus has risen to a great point in his life. He was born to 'parents base of stock (line 11),' but still has managed to gain a degree from the University of Wittengberg, thus acquiring much respect from the professional world. From the onset though, Faustus has his mind set on other things; such as magic and necromancy. Hal, on the other hand was born to a high society. Even though he does all of these mischievous things, he plans on repenting and returning to his father.The audience can see from Hal's soliloquy at the end of Act I, scene 2, that no matter how unruly the individuals are that he hangs out with, they do not have an influence on him:Yet herein will I imitate the sun,Who doth permit the base contagious cloudsTo smother up his beauty from the world,That, when he please again to be himself,Being wanted, he may be more wond ered atBy breaking through the foul and ugly mistsOf vapors that did seem to strangle him. (line 152-158)From the onset, Hal informs the reader that he is only befriending these unruly individuals to have some fun, but when the time comes, he will take on the serious role of being a prince.In opposition to this, the only thing that influences Faustus is evil. When he calls upon his friends Valdes and Cornelius to teach him magic, he does this only to draw himself closer to evil:Philosophy is odious and obscure,Both law and physic are for petty wits;Divinity is basest of the three,Unpleasant, harsh, contemptible and vile.'Tis magic, magic that hath ravished me. (line 106-109)The reader can see from here how enthralled Faustus is with magic.From the magic that Faustus performs, he comes to sell his soul to Lucifer. Though Faustus brings this all upon himself, he is not doomed for an after-life of hell, but still has the chance to repent. Four different times, his conscience, in the fo rm a good angel and a bad angel, fight over his soul. Though Faustus has many thoughts not to go ahead with his deal with the devil, the audience can easily see that in the back of his mind, that Faustus knows that he will go through with it:EVIL ANGEL. Ay, but Faustus never shall repent (Line 194).'Once Faustus signs the contract with the devil, he does not once think about turning back towards God.Hal on the other hand, does not plan on staying on his corrupt path. He realizes at the beginning of the play that he will eventually have to take on the responsibilities of a prince, but for now, when there are no obligations to take on, he will enjoy himself.When Hal is rebuked by his father, King Henry IV, he takes this chance to change his ways and receives forgiveness from his father. In this scene, Prince Henry is taking that step towards becoming that hero which he is capable of becoming.Faustus though, does not jump on his opportunity. At the end of his life, his conscience appea rs to him, this time in the form of an old man who pleads with Faustus to leave his damned course and repent:Ah Doctor Faustus, that I might prevailTo guide thy steps unto the way of life,By which sweet path though may'st attain the goalThat shall conduct thee to celestial rest. (line 26-29)Mephastophilis, however, appears and presents Faustus with a dagger and threatens: ''Faustus, come thine hour is come!' (line 41).' Faustus asks Mephastophilis for forgiveness and offers to reaffirm his vow with Lucifer. This is Faustus' last chance to become a hero, but he lets it slip through his fingers.One might think that Dr. Faustus actually does repent, and that he does become the hero he deserves to be. In his final words he denounces Mephastophilis and wishes he had just a little more time so he could 'repent and save his soul (line 64).' However, when one delves deeper into the life that Faustus lived, it is obvious that he did not repent. During his twenty four years of 'voluptuousness ', not once does Faustus' conscience cause him to think about repenting. Only at the beginning of the play, before he begins to be served by Mephastophilis, and at the end of his life, when he realizes that he is damned and that he has no opportunity to repent, does he even entertain the idea of atoning. Thus, Dr. Faustus can never be considered a hero.However, unlike Dr. Faustus, Prince Henry does accomplish the feat of becoming a hero. While at the beginning of the play, it appears that Hal does not really care what happens to himself or his father's kingdom, throughout the play, he slowly takes on his role of prince. He finishes his destiny of becoming a hero with his defeat of the warring Percys.A hero is defined as 'b. a man of courage and nobility famed for his military achievements c. a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities and considered a model or ideal (Webster's dictionary).' Prince Henry exemplifies both of these definitions. After he defeats his enemy, Ho tspur, it is obvious that the people of England changed their view of him and began looking up to him. Now with this new found admiration, Prince Henry has gained the title of 'hero.' Dr. Faustus on the other hand, never reaches this point in his life. Numerous times, he has the ability to repent and turn around his life, but his desire for evil prevails. Both characters possessed the right qualities to become a hero, but only Prince Henry took advantage of them. As the audience can see, the only thing that matters is what someone perceives of themselves. No matter how much influence society has on someone, if they have it in them to succeed, they will. Consequently, anyone can prevail in becoming a hero.

Beware of Buzzword Bingo

Beware of Buzzword Bingo Beware of Buzzword Bingo Beware of Buzzword Bingo By Mark Nichol Far back in the mists of Internet time (that would be the 1990s), a couple of wags at a computer company called Silicon Graphics created a subversive game that filled a need. You’ve been there, perhaps: a company meeting at which executives or tech geeks unironically launch volleys of absurd marketing catchphrases or tech jargon. Well, these two fellows brainstormed some of the most egregious examples, created bingo-type cards with each box in the grid containing a term, and passed them around to select colleagues. The idea was that whenever you heard a buzzword, you’d mark the pertinent box (surreptitiously, of course). As in bingo, you strove to be the first person to mark five boxes in a row. In this version, however, it was not advisable to leap to your feet and shout â€Å"Bingo!† Instead, you would, without interfering with the official proceedings, either silently and stealthily notify your fellow participants or, if you were bold enough, ask a question of the presenter that somehow, in the context of the discussion, employed the use of the word bingo and hope that neither you nor your competitors would lose it and bust a gut. So, what does this have to do with DailyWritingTips.com? Don’t be that person who inspires a rousing game of buzzword bingo, or perpetuates the need for the game. If your employer or client requires you to use more than a couple of selections from the following word list in writing or speech, you have my permission to cry. (No honest person will deny having used at least one.) You also have permission to delete the term from your word-hoard and employ a handy little language called English. Here are 24 terms enough for one card (with a Free spot in the middle of a 5 x 5 grid): 2.0 (n.): the next generation action item (n.): high-priority issue bandwidth (n.): attention span, or ability to devote resources (such as brainpower) benchmark (n.): standard best practice (n.): a standard, proven strategy bleeding edge (n.): an intensifier of bleeding edge; denotes innovation circle (v.): check back with deep dive (n.): an intensive exploration of detail dialogue (n., v.): talk going forward (v. and adv.): from now on (but with the implication that the period before going forward was marked by going backward ass-backward, that is) granularity (n.): fine detail helicopter view (n.): overview incentivize (or incent) (v.): to motivate leverage (n., v.): power (n.), enhance or exploit (v.) metrics (n.): measurements mindshare (n.): expression of a thought paradigm (n.): model low-hanging fruit (n.): the simplest option push(ing) the envelope (verb phrase): exert(ing) maximum effort synergy (n.): compatibility take (blank) offline (verb phrase): discuss something later team player (n.): someone who is collegial and cooperative think(ing) outside the box (verb phrase): to produce, or producing, unorthodox ideas touch base (verb phrase): to meet for a status report value-added (adj.): accompanied by an additional benefit (also used in noun form: value add) For an inspired, brilliant skewering of the buzzword mentality, go to this column from the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate.com (scroll down past the usually droll columnist’s uncharacteristic rant to â€Å"In other news†). 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 Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Possessive of Proper Names Ending in SList of Greek Words in the English Language35 Synonyms for Rain and Snow

Battle of Resaca de la Palma - Mexican-American War

Battle of Resaca de la Palma - Mexican-American War Battle of Resaca de la Palma - Dates Conflict: The Battle of Resaca de la Palma was fought May 9, 1846, during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). Armies Commanders Americans Brigadier General Zachary Taylor2,222 menMexicansGeneral Mariano Aristaapprox. 4,000-6,000 men Battle of Resaca de la Palma - Background: Having been defeated at the Battle of Palo Alto on May 8, 1846, Mexican General Mariano Arista elected to withdraw from the battlefield early the next morning. Retreating down the Point Isabel-Matamoras road, he sought to prevent Brigadier General Zachary Taylor from advancing to relieve Fort Texas on the Rio Grande. In looking for a position to make a stand, Arista sought terrain which would negate Taylors advantage in light, mobile artillery which had played a critical role in the previous days fighting. Falling back five miles, he formed a new line at Resaca de la Palma (Resaca de la Guerrero) (Map). Here the road was hemmed in by thick chaparral and trees on either side which would negate the American artillery while providing cover for his infantry. In addition, where the road cut through the Mexican lines, it passed through a ten-foot deep, 200-foot wide ravine (the resaca). Deploying his infantry into the chaparral on either side of the resaca, Arista placed a four-gun artillery battery across the road, while holding his cavalry in reserve. Confident in the disposition of his men, he retired to his headquarters in the rear leaving Brigadier General RÃ ³mulo DÃ ­az de la Vega to oversee the line. Battle of Resaca del Palma - The Americans Advance: As the Mexicans departed Palo Alto, Taylor made no immediate effort to pursue them. Still recovering from the May 8 fight, he also hoped that additional reinforcements would join him. Later in the day, he elected to push forward but decided to leave his wagon train and heavy artillery at Palo Alto to facilitate more rapid movement. Advancing along the road, the lead elements of Taylors column encountered the Mexicans at Resaca de la Palma around 3:00 PM. Surveying the enemy line, Taylor immediately ordered his men forward to storm the Mexican position (Map). Battle of Resaca de la Palma - The Armies Meet: In an attempt to repeat the success of Palo Alto, Taylor ordered Captain Randolph Ridgely to move forward with the artillery. Advancing with skirmishers in support, Ridgelys gunners found it slow going due to the terrain. Opening fire, they had difficulty spotting targets in the heavy brush and were nearly overrun by a column of Mexican cavalry. Seeing the threat, they switched to canister and drove off the enemy lancers. As the infantry advanced through the chaparral in support, command and control became difficult and the fighting quickly degenerated into a series of close-quarter, squad-sized actions. Frustrated by the lack of progress, Taylor ordered Captain Charles A. May to charge the Mexican battery with a squadron from the 2nd US Dragoons. As Mays horsemen moved forward, the 4th US Infantry began probing Aristas left flank. Surging down the road, Mays men succeeded in overrunning the Mexican guns and inflicted losses among their crews. Unfortunately, the momentum of the charge carried the Americans a quarter mile further south allowing the supporting Mexican infantry to recover. Charging back north, Mays men were able to return to their own lines, but failed to retrieve the guns. Though the guns had not been seized, Mays troopers succeeded capturing Vega and several of his officers. With the Mexican line leaderless, Taylor promptly ordered the 5th and 8th US Infantry to complete the task. Advancing towards the resaca, they launched into a determined fight to take the battery. As they began to drive back the Mexicans, the 4th Infantry succeeded in finding a path around Aristas left. Lacking leadership, under heavy pressure on their front, and with American troops pouring into their rear, the Mexicans began to collapse and retreat. Not believing that Taylor would attack so soon, Arista spent most of the battle in his headquarters. When learning of the 4th Infantrys approach, he raced north and personally led counterattacks to halt their advance. These were repulsed and the Arista was forced to join the general retreat south. Fleeing the battle, many Mexicans were captured while the remainder re-crossed the Rio Grande. Battle of Resaca de la Palma - Aftermath: The fighting for the resaca cost Taylor 45 killed and 98 wounded, while Mexican losses totaled around 160 killed, 228 wounded, and 8 guns lost. Following the defeat, Mexican forces re-crossed the Rio Grande, ending the siege of Fort Texas. Advancing to the river, Taylor paused until crossing to capture Matamoras on May 18. Having secured the disputed territory between the Nueces and Rio Grande, Taylor halted to await further reinforcements before invading Mexico. He would resume his campaign that September when he moved against the city of Monterrey. Selected Sources Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park: Resaca de la PalmaHandbook of Texas: Battle of Resaca de la PalmaUS Army Center for Military History: Guns Along the Rio GrandeTrudeau, Noah Andre. A Band of Demons Fights for Texas. Military History Quarterly Spring 2010: 84-93.

The Theories Of Language Acquisition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Theories Of Language Acquisition - Essay Example This paper will review theories of language acquisition and their relationship to the academic outcomes of 16 students enrolled in a childcare course. First, popular theories of language acquisition will be presented. Secondly, the process of langue development in a child will be outlined, whilst emphasizing developmental stages that vocab, syntax, and pragmatics occur. Finally, an indication of learning developments at secondary school and at higher education will be discussed, particularly in regard to students undertaking a childcare course. I would like to remind the reader of Clibbens warning of not to be caught up in the various debates which can deviate from the true purpose of helping all children, young people and adults to use language and communicate. It is generally accepted that language acquisition is partly innate and partly environmental (Bickerton, 1990). It is generally conceded that for all people, language development is a gradual process that occurs through general development and interaction with people and the environment.Nurture Skinner Skinner's (1957) behavioral approach to language acquisition was simply a set of habits. He did not consider language to be different to any other behavior. The learner of a language is a tabular rosa - an empty slate. He ignored nativist approaches of innate knowledge, as the inner workings of language were unobservable and so un-measurable. Skinner insisted that interaction with the environment leads to stimulus-response conditioning and that the product of this is knowledge. For example, an unconditional environment brings about an unconditional response, the response is followed by an event that is to the liking of the learning organism, and the response becomes positively reinforced. If this sequence of events occurs a number of times, the organism learns to associate the response to the stimulus to the reinforcement. So that when encountering the stimulus again, the same response will be elicited, and so becomes a conditioned response. Behaviorism considers that all learning, including language, occurs through this process of establishing habits. Hence, a linguistic input is due to linguistic utterances in one's environment as stimulus. However, it has been noted in research since that imitation alone does not allow for language acquisition, and simplistic stimulus-response conditionings do not account for it either (Kiyamazarslan, 2001).Piaget Piaget (1952) was a biologist and a psychologist and yet he felt that language acquisition was due to social interaction (cited in Kiymazarslan, 2001). He saw a child's language ability as being reflected in their ability to manipulate symbols, and that a child learns when they are developmentally ready to.

Evolution of Transformational Leadership Assignment

Evolution of Transformational Leadership - Assignment Example Transformational leadership is perhaps the modern category of leadership which not only conceives from the point of view of leaders but it also attempts to renovate the followers or subordinates into leaders. " facilitates a redefinition of people's mission and vision, a renewal of their commitment and the restructuring of their systems for goal accomplishment. It is a relationship of mutual stimulation and elevation that converts followers into leaders and may convert leaders into moral agents. Hence, Transformational leadership must be grounded in moral foundations." (Leithwood, as cited in Cashin et al., 2000, p.1). 1. Genuine Transformational leadership builds indisputable trust between leaders and followers. They believe that without constant commitment, enforcement, and modeling of leadership, standards of business ethics cannot be attained in organizations. 3. They increase the awareness of what is right, important, and beautiful when they help to elevate followers' needs for achievement and self-actualization, when they foster in followers higher moral maturity, and when they move followers to go beyond their self-interests for the good of their group, organization, or society. The truly transformational leader is who seeks the greatest quality for the greatest number and thus sets an example to followers about the value of valid and accurate communication in followers. 4. In organizations where Transformational leadership has a broad influence, at times both leadership and follower-ship are equal but they perform different activities at different times. Individuals who assume leadership roles have sound visioning, interpersonal and organizational skills, and the desire and willingness to lead. Effective followers are distinguished by their capacity for self-management, strong commitment, and courage (Kelley, 1995).

Analysis of coca cola Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of coca cola - Essay Example The vision aims at creating great workplace, nurturing networks with partners, improving productivity, maximising return to shareowners while ensuring corporate responsibility in order to build sustainable communities (Kozami, 2005). Stakeholder is any person or group who can affect or is affected by the actions of an organization. Primary stakeholders continuously participate in the organization while secondary stakeholders do not engage directly with the organization, but they either influence or are affected by the organization (Srivastava & Verma, 2012). Primary stakeholders are impacted either positively or negatively by the decisions of the management while the secondary stakeholders play an intermediary role, but are positively affected by the outcome of managerial decisions. Stakeholder analysis enables companies to identity the changing interests of stakeholders, identify the potential risks and implement measures that will satisfy the stakeholders’ needs (Srivastava & Verma, 2012). The analysis will identify the actual and potential conflict of interests and relationships among several stakeholders. Shareholders- These are primary stakeholders since they are the owners of the companies by virtue of contributing capital (Srivastava & Verma, 2012). They have a direct interest in the company and are interested in receiving acceptable return of their investment through dividend payments and appreciation of their share values (Kozami, 2005). Coca Cola is committed to ensuring high profitability in order to maximize the return to shareholders. Customers- these are primary stakeholders since they create demand for company products and their actions will influence the revenues and profitability of the company. The customers are interested in receiving value-added and high quality products at fair prices (Srivastava & Verma, 2012). Coca Cola Company must offer high quality products and ensure customer convenience in order to

Henry Fayols Principles of Management Assignment

Henry Fayols Principles of Management - Assignment Example Equity. There should be a fair and equal treatment of all employees by the management. In an organization, the rules and regulations should apply equally to all personnel. There should not be any form of discrimination against any of the employee or to favor any of them. Authority. The managers of any organization should be in a position to give orders and ensure that all orders adhere. For instance, the instructions and rules given by the management should be adhered and respected by all employees. Discipline. Employees of an organization must respect the rules, regulations, and the laws that govern the organization. This will ensure there is clear cooperation between the management and employees. The employees must follow all the instructions, and be responsible for all the activities allocated to them. Unity of command. There should be a defined source of orders and information in an organization. The source of the orders and information should come from the highest level of management to the employees at the lowest level. Unity of direction. Any organization should have clear objectives that are to be achieved by the collective activities of all the employees in the organization. These objectives should be achievable. All the organization’s activities should be tailored towards the achievement of the objectives. Subordination of individual interest to the general interest. The objectives of the organization must supersede the objectives of each individual. All the employees in an organization should have the same objectives of achieving the overall organizational goals. Their objectives should not prevent the achievement of the organizational goals. Remuneration. All the employees in an organization must get adequate rewards for their service in the organization. The input of an employee should be equal to the outputs derived. There should be no exploitation of any  employee.

Internet business and e commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Internet business and e commerce - Essay Example Some sites appeared to be stark and uninviting while others were warm and welcoming. The online selling world really represents a radical departure from traditional selling methods and although a relatively new selling model for most businesses, it appears as though the online store is the way of the future (Pellet 1996). Companies wishing to harness the power of the internet must be able to target their audience effectively while presenting an attractive, accessible and simple to use online â€Å"storefront† through which products can be market, advertised and sold. Sites which used a variety of color are naturally the ones that people are most drawn to. Some sites appear uninviting and therefore unappealing and the image one presents on a homepage plays an important role in attracting customers. While determining customer preferences may be difficult to gage, some website features are sure to attract customers more so than others. Pop-ups, running advertisements and other distracting features will probably do more to dissuade as opposed to reassure a customer interested in making an online purchase. From a personal perspective, I was drawn to sites in which photos of smiling people present; this made me instantly more comfortable and ready to shop! Sites that appeared to be user friendly and easy to navigate (with readily available hyperlinks to move from one section of the site to another) rated highly on my list and sites that used proper English as well as catchy phrases to attract my attention where also positively received. Sites which I had an immediate aversion to where sites in which the photos appeared to be distorted, they were too â€Å"busy† or if pop-ups immediately distracted my vision. Pop-ups, distracting advertisements, poorly positioned and distorted photographs, as well as unenticing language rank highly as the most distracting aspects

Henry Fayols Principles of Management Assignment

Henry Fayols Principles of Management - Assignment Example Equity. There should be a fair and equal treatment of all employees by the management. In an organization, the rules and regulations should apply equally to all personnel. There should not be any form of discrimination against any of the employee or to favor any of them. Authority. The managers of any organization should be in a position to give orders and ensure that all orders adhere. For instance, the instructions and rules given by the management should be adhered and respected by all employees. Discipline. Employees of an organization must respect the rules, regulations, and the laws that govern the organization. This will ensure there is clear cooperation between the management and employees. The employees must follow all the instructions, and be responsible for all the activities allocated to them. Unity of command. There should be a defined source of orders and information in an organization. The source of the orders and information should come from the highest level of management to the employees at the lowest level. Unity of direction. Any organization should have clear objectives that are to be achieved by the collective activities of all the employees in the organization. These objectives should be achievable. All the organization’s activities should be tailored towards the achievement of the objectives. Subordination of individual interest to the general interest. The objectives of the organization must supersede the objectives of each individual. All the employees in an organization should have the same objectives of achieving the overall organizational goals. Their objectives should not prevent the achievement of the organizational goals. Remuneration. All the employees in an organization must get adequate rewards for their service in the organization. The input of an employee should be equal to the outputs derived. There should be no exploitation of any  employee.

Current article related to international aviation management Course

Current related to international aviation management Course - Article Example EasyJet reports having difficulty selling used aircraft, specifically its â€Å"A319 narrowbodies† but as a result of low offerings, was forced to take the used aircraft off the market (Wall, 2012). The problem is attributed to financing according to an official attached to the aviation industry. It has become increasingly difficult to obtain finacing for used aircraft that is â€Å"more than a few years old† (Wall, 2012). The high cost of fuel has also contributed to the lack of interest in used aircraft. This is particularly true with respect to â€Å"high-fuel-burn† aircraft even in cases where the used aircraft is virtually new. It is therefore hardly surprising that Boeing 737-600s previously used by Malex Hungarian Airlines are currently being phased out as opposed to being leased or sold. The financial struggles of leasing companies are also contributing to the lack of interest in used aircraft. For example, International Lease Finance Corp. has experienced insolvency problems with some of the leased aircraft. In addition, leasing companies are facing competition from the higher rate of production of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Thus in the final analysis, the demands created by overbookings are easier to satisfy by new aircraft than by used aircraft. Wall, R. â€Å"Aircraft Makes, Lessors Split on Market Outlook.† Aviation Week & Space Technology. March 5, 2012. http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_03_05_2012_p24-431328.xml (Retrieved April 21,

Learning Framework Essay Example for Free

Learning Framework Essay 1. I want my family to be proud of me. 2. I want to earn my degree in Network Management. 3. I want my children to be encouraged to stay in school and not quit. The reason I choose the three I did was because I have always felt like I could never do right in my family’s book. I am an unwed mother of five children and I have been ridiculed for that. I have always failed where my family is concerned. I figure going to school and making me better would help to fix that. I choose my degree in Network Management because I love computers and I am very good with them. I have a desktop that I built from the ground up and that is what also helped me decide this degree. When it comes to my children, I do not want them to quit school at a young age like I did and the years later figure out that they cannot get a job without a High School Diploma or a GED. I want them to get their careers out of the way before they have children so that they can have a secure future and not be struggling like I have for years. College for me is not only for me, but my children also. I want them to know that if I can do it, they can do it. I always tell them you can be whatever you decide to be in life. Having an education plays a major role in that I believe.

Price Reaction To Merger And Acquisition Announcements Finance Essay

Price Reaction To Merger And Acquisition Announcements Finance Essay Event study of stock price reaction to merger and acquisition announcement has been concerned by experts since it started being developed. The common method to estimate the price reaction around the event is residual analysis, which means that test whether there are abnormal returns before and after announcement date. Also, residual analysis can be used as a mean to test the market efficiency. In this paper, it concentrates on the study of the effect of merger and acquisition announcement on share prices of target companies and then tests the market efficiency by analyzing the result of abnormal returns before and after announcement date, whether there is inside information influence before announcement date and whether the price reflection public information quickly after the announcement. The paper first will review the literature of development of event studies and methodology used in event studies. Then, it will illustrate the data and methodology of the event study of this paper . Last but not least, it will analysis the effect of announcement on price reaction and market efficiency according to the statistic result. Literature review An event study is a method to estimates the stock price impact of certain corporate events, such events can be dividend announcements, mergers and acquisitions. According to S.P. Kothari and J.B. Warner(2004), event studies that focus on announcement effects for a short-horizon around an event provide evidence relevant for understanding corporate policy decisions. In financial markets, event studies can be used to specify and test economic hypotheses. Besides, event studies also research on evidence of market efficiency focusing on long-horizon tests at least twelve months. The evolution of event studies started from Dolley(1933), who examined stock price reaction to stock splits, plusing several other published papers indicating that by the 1960s, which made their way into leading business economics journals(C.J. Corrado). S.P. Kothari and J.B. Warner(2004 ) reported that the total number of papers reporting event study results is 565 in five leading journals from the year 1974 to 2 000, Journal of Business(JB), Journal of Finance (JF), Journal of Financial Economics (JFE), Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (JFQA), and the Review of Financial Studies (RFS). The number of papers published per year increased in the 1980s. Among these papers, Fama(1991) paid attention to the relation of event studies to tests of market efficiency and Kothari and Warner(1997) summarized of long-horizon tests. Beyond financial economics, event studies are also researched by experts in related areas, such as accounting literature (Kothari(2001)), law and economics. As a standard method of measuring security price reaction to certain corporate events, the methodology of event studies is also concentrated by experts and developed in parallel with the event studies. Initially from event study methodology being introduced by Fama, Fisher,Jensen and Roll(1969), the basic format of methodology of event studies has not changed over time. The key focus is to measure the sample securities mean and cumulative mean abnormal return around the event(S.P. Kothari and J.B. Warner(2004)). There are two areas of changes that make the methodology more precise and sophisticated, one is the use of daily instead of monthly security return data. According to S.J. Brown and J.B. Warner(1984), as long as methodologies are based on the OLS market model and using standard parametric tests, the characteristics of daily data present few difficulties in the context of event study methodologies. For example, the non-normality of daily returns has no obvious impact on method ologies of event studies. The other is the long-horizon event study methods used to estimate abnormal returns and calibrate their statistic significance, although there are more limits in using long-horizon event study methods compared with short-horizon methods. The basic of methodology is to measure abnormal returns as residual by using some benchmark model of normal return. Specifically, there are a variety of models can be used to measure the normal rate of return, with the addition of certain variables, and then to generate abnormal return estimates. J.J. Binder(1998)reported that abnormal returns have be measured as mean-adjusted returns, market-adjusted returns, deviations from the market model, deviations from the one factor Capital Asset Pricing Model(Sharpe(1964), Lintner(1965), Black(1972)), deviations from a multifactor model like Arbitrage Pricing Theory(Ross(1976)). Stock price reaction to merger and acquisition events There are a large number of literatures representing the impact on the market value of merging firms before and after the merger and acquisition events and numerous studies have examined the impact of merger announcements on the prices of the stocks of the acquirer and target firms(M.F. Leong, B. Ward and C. Gan(1996)). Hawawini and Swary(1990) reported the stock market reaction by examining 130 acquirer banks and 123 target banks during 1980s, they found that targets banks perform better than that of acquirer banks in mergers and the share price of a target bank increased by 11.5 percent during the week of the merger announcement on average. Dodd and Asquith(1980) concluded the evidence that mergers have a favourable effect on the common stocks of the merging companies, besides, they found that acquired firms stockholders earn large positive abnormal returns from the merger and acquisition events and the acquiring firms stockholders are affected little if at all. The same results co mes from Asquith and Kim(1982)s research, which concluded that abnormal returns are positive and statistically in acquired firms significant but are not significantly different from zero. The reason why target companies performed well is established at a condition, which is that investors do not anticipate the event before the announcement period, in another words, the market is at least semi-strong. If not, the returns of the target company around merger announcement date do not reflect the complete economic impact of the event(M.F. Leong, B. Ward and C. Gan(1996)). Leong, Ward and Gan(1996) concluded that if the market doesnt reflect to an event, it can be interpreted as evidence of the irrelevancy of the event instead of an indicator of market efficiency. They also directed that market price reaction following the announcement of the merger can be affected by either the content of the information or how its relation to previous information expectations. Gopalaswamy, Acharya and M alik(2008) reported that there was an upward trend of target companies in India between the year of 2000-2007 in the cumulative average abnormal return few days before the announcement of mergers because of anticipation or leakage of information. Besides, there is sudden downfall in the CAAR for the target companies from the day after the announcement and the average abnormal return is negative and significant after two days of announcements, as a result, they concluded that the India market is semi-strong efficient. Data and methodology To analyse the stock price reaction around merger announcement date, it is necessary to choose the appropriate sample in order to represent the entire trend of the stock market in one country. In this paper, it chose 50 target companies of France that were announced during1/ 2010 to 3/2012. The more the companies are chose, the more the result is closed to normality. The announcement date is identified as the day when the target company first publishes disclosed information about the merger and this was specified as day zero in the event time. In order to be included in the event study, all target companies should be listed in France-continuous market. Besides, the sectors of selected companies are widely spread so that it can avoid the market impact on the specific sectors. According to S.P. Kothari and J.B. Warner(2004), constructing a portfolio of event firms for a number of days around the announcement can address the bias of estimated standard deviation of cumulative abnormal re turn. The information and the data of each company are obtained from the website http://banker.thomsonib.com/ta/. The data of each company are selected 100 days prior to the announcement date and 10 days after announcement date. The data obtained is daily price other than monthly price or else. OLS Market model In order to measure the magnitude of the share price variation around the announcement date, abnormal return should be calculated. According to A. Leemakdej(2009), since an abnormal return is unobserved, it is identified by taking the difference between an actual return and an expected return derived from a financial model. There are a variety of expected return model can be used in event studies to calculated the expected return of stocks. Here, the market model is selected to be used to calculate the expected return of stocks: In order to calculate the expected return of stocks around the announcement date, the event study separates the data of the sample into two sections, namely estimated periods and test periods. Estimated periods are identified as the day 100 before the announcement to the day 15 before the event. While, test periods are identified as ten days before and after the event and the event window is[-10, 10]. Speaking of event window, it is a consideration that the dissemination of company-specific information may extend over more than one day. Because the release of information of a company and the financial express reporting information may not happen simultaneously, it is unsure that whether market participants had information released by companies when they are trading. So, it is necessary to extend the day of event into multiple days(M.F. Leong, B. Ward and C. Gan(1996)). Data during the estimate period is used to estimate the expected return model by representing the return of stocks i n [-100, -15] as expected return. Rmt is the market return calculated by using the SBF120 index of France. The objective of estimate period is to calculate two parameters in the market model alpha and beta in order to estimate the expected return of the stock in event period. and are obtained by an ordinary least-squires regression of E(R) and Rm, which are used to estimate the true value of and . Besides, event period data can investigate the impact from the event and the abnormal return should be calculated in this period in order to get the cumulative abnormal return. The return of stocks can be calculated using the formula: The equation of abnormal return is: The equation of cumulative abnormal return is: The sample has chose 50 target companies, in order to avoid the specific influence of some special companies, it is necessary to calculate the average cumulative abnormal return of each day in test period. The equation of average cumulative abnormal return is: Note that by using a time-series of average excess returns, the test statistic below can take into account cross-sectional dependence in the excess returns of specific securities(S.J. Brown and J.B. Warner(1984)). Hypotheses testing The objective of this event study is to access whether there are any abnormal returns in the test period. So the null hypotheses is there is no abnormal performance while the alternative hypotheses is that abnormal return is not equal to zero. H0: ARi,t = 0 H1:ARi,t à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 The test statistic used sampling distributions and it is a random variable because abnormal returns are measured with error, which comes from two reasons, predictions about securities unconditional expected return are imprecise and individual firms realised returns at test period are affected for reasons unrelated to the event. In order to reduce this error, the estimated standard deviation of cumulative abnormal return is the portfolio of 50 target firms of 10 days before and after the announcement. M. Barakat and R. Terry(2011) concluded that OLS market model is well specified under a variety of condition, for example, non-normality of daily returns has no impact on event study methods. As the deviation of abnormal return is estimated by the sample,so the hypotheses used t-statistic: As there are two variables É‘and ÃŽÂ ²that have been used, the degrees of freedom is (n-2). The significant level is 5%. With the two-tail test, the null hypotheses should be rejected if A test statistic larger than the upper-tail critical value t0.025 provides statistical evidence that the announcement had a significant positive impact on the price. While, a test statistic less than the lower-tail critical value -t0.025 provide evidence that the announcement had a significant negative impact. Furthermore, the hypotheses can also test the market efficiency. If the market is efficient, the share price will reflect all available information and the announcement will cause the abnormal return performance. Empirical result on stock returns The event study chose two event windows to analyse the result from the empirical research. First, when the event window is [-10, 10], the estimated standard deviation of the mean abnormal return is 1.626. Putting the figure into the t-statistic test can obtain the daily critical value used to test the null hypotheses. The table below illustrated the critical values 10 days before and after the announcement. event window average CAR t-statistic -10 -0.34 -0.207671297 -9 0.10 0.061251696 -8 0.07 0.040681124 -7 0.21 0.130356535 -6 0.22 0.135745854 -5 -0.01 -0.003102476 -4 0.17 0.101805486 -3 -0.25 -0.155581646 -2 0.58 0.355347928 -1 0.63 0.386680663 0 2.73 1.679904902 1 3.81 2.342014843 2 3.83 2.356724889 3 3.69 2.266579855 4 3.25 2.000369788 5 2.99 1.838127393 6 2.75 1.694045979 7 2.77 1.70510293 8 3.24 1.991626516 9 3.40 2.093802276 10 2.93 1.800949686 As the significance level is 5% and the degrees of freedom is 48, the critical value of two-tail test is 2.01. According to the table above, the t values in day 1,2,3 and 9 are greater than critical value, which means that the abnormal return are significantly positive in the day 1,2,3 and 9 after the announcement. However, the t-values of the day before the announcement are all less than the t-value, which concludes that there is no abnormal return before announcement. So, it can infer that there is no information of announcement leaking to certain market participants, the stock price does not change and investors can not acquire abnormal returns before announcement date. If there is abnormal return before announcement, according to M.F. Leong, B. Ward and C. Gan(1996), there are two reason can be explained. First, there is insider trading. The information is leaking to some investors who then buy stocks before the announcement, as a result, the stock prices will start to react the inside information and those investors will obtain abnormal returns before the announcement. It can conclude that the market is semi-strong efficient. However, the information may not be leaked, the reason of the increase of stock prices is that public may become suspicious of merger before the announcement. So, it is impossible to monitor directly all trading motivated by the possession of inside information. No matter what happen, it can conclude that the market in France may be not semi-strong efficient because if the inside information is leaked the share prices will reflect the insider information, however, the null hypotheses should be accepted as there is no abnormal returns before the announcement. So, in these condition, the market is strong efficient and prices incorporate all information that any investor can acquire. Therefore, non-public information is not useful for certain investors make abnormal return. On the other hand, the semi-efficient form market can not be rejected. The inside information may not be leaked and investors have no anticipation that the firm they they owned would be acquired by other companies, so they have no incentives to buy a large number of shares before the announcement and the share price would not increase beyond participants expectation. According to the table above, on the announcement date, the realised value is 1.68, although the figure is much larger than that one day before announcement, it still smaller than the critical value. There are two reasons that can explain this condition. First, the market is not efficient because the share prices can not reflect the public information. This may be the result of European sovereign debt crisis, during the crisis, the bond market was influenced heavily in France, even in the stock market, investors had less confident to invest fund to financial market, so even the announcement of merger can not bring them confidence to investment. However, there is also evidence that the market is efficient. According to Mitchell Netter (1990), they reported that corporations may release information one day and the financial press may report this information on the following day, therefore, it is sometimes unclear on which day the information reaches the market. It can happen because m arket participants had the information during the market trading hours on the day is not the information that is released by corporations. So, the share price may not reflect to the announcement because investors did not receive the information if the financial market, or only a minority of investors have confidence to purchase stocks. From the table above, the t-value on day one is greater than the critical value. The null hypothesis is rejected from the first day after the announcement, so the share prices reflect the announcement start from the following day of the announcement until the third day after the announcement. However, there is an abnormal condition that the abnormal return is not equal to zero on the ninth day after the announcement, which can happen for the reason beyond the merger event. In order to clear away the influence this abnormal return, the event window can shrink to five days before and after the announcement date. event window CAR t-statistic -5 -0.01 -0.003182304 -4 0.17 0.104424975 -3 -0.25 -0.159584813 -2 0.58 0.364491149 -1 0.63 0.396630085 0 2.73 1.723129414 1 3.81 2.402275663 2 3.83 2.417364204 3 3.69 2.324899708 4 3.25 2.051839968 5 2.99 1.885423021 The table illustrates the t-value when the event window is [-5, 5]. Similarly, there is no abnormal return before the announcement. Although the t-value on the announcement date is much larger than that before the announcement, the abnormal return is still equal to zero. The share prices begin to reflect the announcement from the following day of the announcement. So, it would thus appear that the market is efficient in France. Conclusion According to the statistic result, there is no abnormal return before announcement, which concluded that no inside information was leaked before announcement date. On the day of announcement, there was still no abnormal return, this can not be explained that the market is not efficient because there may be a gap between the releasing of information and reporting of information. It can be demonstrated that the abnormal return emerged after announcement until the third day. However, this method used to test market efficiency has its weakness generated in its estimation of regression of market model. Nevertheless, the result presented that the market is efficient.

Whitmans Democracy :: essays research papers

Whitman's Democracy "I speak the pass-word primeval, I give the sign of democracy, By God! I will Accept nothing which all cannot have their counterpart of on the same terms." This is Whitman's expression of the idea of democracy taken from "Song of Myself." In this all encompassing interpretation Whitman says that the freedom offered by democracy is for all not a chosen few. It included all people, not renouncing those of other races, creeds, or social standings. Examples of this acceptance are scattered through many of the poems Whitman wrote. In his poem "To a Common Prostitute" Whitman wrote: "Not till The sun excludes you do I exclude you." He has accepted the women as a prostitute, but this also conveys Whitman's ideas of democracy. The notion that all people should be covered under the cover of freedom. The sun is used as a metaphor for democracy in this poem, as it should shine upon all equally. When Whitman discusses the "shunn'd persons" in "Native Moments" he once again mimics the concepts of democracy with his words. He lets all know that he embraces the people that others have rejected, as democracy should embrace all. These people are part of America also, and should be accepted as such. as democracy should embrace all. Whitman commends the many people of America in "I Hear America Singing." He writes of the mothers, and the carpenters. He says that they all sing their own song of what belongs to them. In this poem Whitman brings these people from all backgrounds together as Americans. In the freedom of American democracy

Military Drinking Age

What would happen If the drinking age were lowered for those In the military? Xx xx English 123 Mrs.. Xix 20 Par XX Military Drinking Age 1 What would happen If the drinking age were lowered for those In the military? When I started this paper, I didn't want my own views to sway my opinion on this question. The more I researched, the more I had even my own views expanded. I wanted to know what military people thought about this topic, what civilians thought and even President Obama. I wanted to explore why age 21 was chosen and when the age was lowered and then raised again and why.For many people In the military I am sure have a different stance on this than clansman or maybe not, but this Is why I researched the information that I did. The first thing that I typed in my Google search engine box was, â€Å"Should the drinking age be lowered for the military? ‘ I found that President elect Obama in 2008, sympathized with Army veteran Ernest Johnson about serving his country at age 18, but not being able to come home and have a beer, but that setting the legal drinking age at 21, helped reduce the amount of drunken driving Incidents and that it should remain. Military_com. 008). This peeked my curiosity and I wondered If most law makers felt the same. New Hampshire State representative, James Explains, D-Portsmouth said that it would be hypocritical to have people make life and death decisions in Iraq, but not be able to have a drink in New Hampshire. (Shank, 2005). Both men appreciate the fact that these people help in guarding and serving our country, but both had very deferent opinions on whether it should be lowered. So I wanted to get more points of view on this matter.I found that Jason Gibbs, the spokesperson for the Governor of Vermont, Jim Douglas had the same stance as D-Portsmouth. Gibbs said, â€Å"Philosophically, it's difficult to reconcile the notion that you can enlist in the military, serve your country, go to war, but not go into your l ocal pub and get a draft beer. † Gibbs went on to say, â€Å"Even Gob. Jim Douglas, a republican, might see some logic in the proposal if the federal highway money was not Involved. † (Bullock, 2005). Why would federal highway money be Involved? It didn't make sense to me, so I wanted to explore that further.When I searched for federal highway money, I came upon the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 (AMANDA). This Act required all states to raise their minimum purchase and public possession of alcohol to age 21 . States that did not comply faced a reduction in highway funds, under the Federal Highway Act. (Hanson, n. D). So this brings me back to one of my original questions, why was the age 21 chosen? I found that becoming a full adult at age 21 dates back to English common law. (Rice, 2 IT Military Drinking Age the age was set at 21 in 1984, when before was it 18 and why was it 18?President Franklin Roosevelt lowered the draft age from 21 to 18 during World Wa r II, eventually during the Vietnam era, people were upset that they were old enough to enlist in the forces, but now old enough to vote, so in 1971 they applied that same logic to drinking and lowered the age to 18. (Tree, 2008). Why would they want to change the age back to 21, I wonder? Apparently, certain states had stricter rules and teens would drive to other states that had less off strict drinking rule, drink and drive back and depending where they lived, the further out they were, the more probable it was for an alcohol related incident. (Tree, 2008).So Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MAD) fought to have the drinking age back to 21 and that's when the AMANDA was set forth in 1984. (Tree, 2008). Now that I had all the dates figured out and who prompted the changes, I wanted to see if changing the drinking age actually had an effect on decreasing alcohol related incidents. I found that statistically in 1984, that alcohol related fatalities made up for 54% of all fatalities and 23 years later, in 2007, only 37% of alcohol related fatalities made up for all fatalities. (Alert. Com, 2006). So again, back to one of my original thoughts, I wanted to see opinions from a litany stand point.I came upon some writings from Air Force Colonel Celebrities, who wrote that Junior enlisted, ages 18-24 made up 1/3 of the Air Force and accounted for 81% of the alcohol related incidents. He said that on average, the Air Force has about 5,300 alcohol related incidents annually, so that means 4,293 of those incidents basically belonged to the Junior enlisted. Cool. Celebrities said that the military message, â€Å"Work hard, Play hard,† was sending the wrong message. (Slouchier, 2007). After a long day of work, you go out and play hard, what better of way, than to drink and relax, but there are other ways of relaxing than drinking.As I was concluding my research, still not yet satisfied with my results, I found a website that was written by Jim Hall, from the National Transportation Board, who had all these statistics that stated how alcohol related fatalities had gone down, alcohol related suicides reduced and the number of DEW Military Drinking Age 3 arrests had decreased since raising the age of drinking to 21 . He later stated that the younger a person starts drinking, the greater the chance of that person develops alcohol dependency and or abuses alcohol. Hall, n. D).

Hazardous wastes come

Hazardous wastes come in many different signifiers, forms and sizes. But all risky waste has one thing in common. If it is non disposed of properly it can be harmful to our planet. Hazardous waste can come in the signifier of a solid, liquid or gas. Hazardous wastes are divided into different classs ; listed wastes, characteristic wastes, cosmopolitan wastes, and assorted wastes. Listed wastes are specific wastes that the US Environmental Protection Agency has decided are unsafe. They are farther categorized into the F-list ; non- specific beginning wastes from common fabrication and industrial procedures, the K-list ; source-specific wastes in industries such as crude oil refinement or pesticide fabrication, and the P-list and U-list ; specific discarded commercial chemical merchandises such as certain pesticides and pharmaceutical merchandises. Characteristic wastes are non needfully listed as risky but if they show grounds of ignitability, corrosivity, responsiveness, or toxicity. Universal wastes include batteries, pesticides, mercury-containing equipment, and visible radiation bulbs. Assorted wastes contain a combination of radioactive and risky waste constituents. A individual, company or a location that generates risky waste are divided into three classs: Large measure generators ( LOGs ) bring forthing 1,000 kgs per month or more, little measure generators ( SOGs ) bring forthing more than 100 kgs, but less than 1,000 kgs per month, and Conditionally relieve little measure generators ( CESQGs ) bring forthing 100 kgs or less per month of risky waste. Businesss such as dry cleaners, car fix stores, gas Stationss, infirmaries, eradicators, and exposure processing centres generate a great trade of risky waste. In infirmaries entirely, risky waste can be found in research labs, nursing units, the pharmaceutics, runing suites, dental clinics, x-ray units, and the mortuary. In those countries, risky waste can come in the signifier of x-ray movie, ethyl alcohol, batteries, fluorescent visible radiation bulbs, IV bags, z-ray shielding putty, and even chemotherapy drugs. This nevertheless is merely a short list of possible risky waste in our concerns. Although industries create a batch of risky waste, families generate a just sum every bit good. In our autos we use gasoline, antifreeze, car batteries, brake fluid, oil and fuel filters, carburettor cleansing agent, engine degreaser, and transmittal fluid. To clean our place we use ammonia, antibacterial merchandises and germicides, Cl bleach, drain opener, furniture Polish, metal cleaners, oven cleaner, rust remover, athletics and discoloration remover, and lavatory bowl cleansing agent, and for our out-of-door needs we use lawn and garden works insect slayer, bullet toxicant, weed slayers and if you own a pool, pool chemicals. For personal merchandises use hair colour, hairspray, nail gloss, nail Polish remover, and risky wastes are even in some medical specialties. Transporters move risky waste from one site to another. A transporter must obtain an EPA designation figure, must follow transportation installation demands, provide attesting and record maintaining and cognize the actions to take in the event of risky waste discharges or spills ( 1 ) . The Hazardous Waste Manifest System is used to track risky waste from the site where it is produced to the site that will hive away, recycle, dainty or dispose of the waste. The Toxic Substances Control Act controls the 70,000 plus chemicals that are being distributed in the United States. The policy includes â€Å" 1 ) adequate informations should be developed with regard to the consequence of chemical substances and mixtures on wellness and the environment and that the development of such informations should be the duty of those who manufacture and those who process such chemical substances and mixtures ; 2 ) adequate authorization should be to modulate chemical substances and mixtures which present an unreasonable hazard of hurt to wellness or the environment, and to take action with regard to chemical substances and mixtures which are at hand jeopardies ; and 3 ) authorization over chemical substances and mixtures should be exercised in such a mode as non to hinder unduly or make unneeded economic barriers to technological invention while carry throughing the primary intent of this chapter to guarantee that such invention and commercialism in such c hemical substances and mixtures do non show an unreasonable hazard of hurt to wellness or the environment † ( Chapter 53-Toxic Substance Control, Subchapter I-Control of Toxic Substances ) . This Amendment was passed in 1976 to guarantee the ordinance of these substances by the Environmental Protection Agency and the safety of our planet and the animals and worlds populating it.

Du Pont Case

The Lally School of Management & Technology Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rev. June 28, 2006 DuPont’s Biomax ®: The Push for Commercial Applications Biomax ®, a polyester material that can be recycled or decomposed, holds up under normal commercial conditions for a time period established in the product specifications.The material itself can be made into fibers, films, or resins and is suitable for countless agricultural, industrial, and consumer products: mulch containers, mulching film, seed mats, plant pots, disposable eating utensils, blister packs, yard waste bags, parts of disposable diapers, blown bottles, injection molded products, coated paper products, and many, many others. In the United State alone, where the average household creates over three tons of disposable waste each year, the number of potential applications for Biomax ® is immense.Its development represents a potentially huge business for DuPont and an important solution to the mounting problem o f solid waste in developed countries. In 1989 at the inception of the project, DuPont executives were pressing research units to find new products with commercial applications. One of these research units had-developed a new â€Å"melt-spun† elastomeric material and was seeking commercial applications through the Success Group, its business development unit. The initial target application was as a substitute for the tapes then used on disposable baby diapers, which at that time used more expensive DuPont Lycra for that purpose.Rather than lose that business, however, the division dropped the price of Lycra. The project had reached its first dead end. A senior research associate of the Success Group, Ray Tietz, had noted the degradable characteristics of this new material. â€Å"One of the problems they had with the fibers we made with this material was that it would disintegrate if you boiled it in water. This was because of the sulphonate in it. I knew that if I made a poly ester with this stuff in it, it would probably hydrolyze quickly. Iit might even be biodegradable. John Moore, the head of the Success Group, was a high energy â€Å"promoter,† as one colleague described him. He was determined to find a customer for whom degradability would be an important benefit-hopefully, a big one. A logical target was Procter & Gamble, a major vendor of disposable diapers. Procter & Gamble first introduced the disposable diaper in 1961 and by 1989 had built it into a huge business. Its success, however, coincided with a period of growing environmental This case was prepared by Mark Rice, Gina O’Connor, Richard Leifer, Christopher McDermott, Lois Peters, and Robert Veryzer, Jr. f the Lally School of Management and Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY as a basis for class discussion, and is not designed to present illustrations of either correct or incorrect handling of management problems. All rights reserved  © 2000. To order c opies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-518-276-6842 or write Dr. Gina Colarelli O’Connor, Lally School of Management & Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 Eighth Street, Troy, NY 12180.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the permission of the Lally School of Management & Technology. 1 DuPont’s Biomax ® awareness, and it didn't take long before the millions of used diapers sold by P and it imitators were attracting the attention of activists and regulators. By the 1980s, a growing number of voices were talking about either banning or significantly restricting the use of this class of products.Sensing the public mood and nervous about possible regulations, P was more than willing to listen to Moore's pitch about the new de- gradable material. It even rev ealed its interest in the development of an entirely new material, one that was both degradable, and that didn't have the â€Å"crinkly† feel of plastic or the â€Å"rustling† sound of paper. The diaper that P's people envisioned would be a laminate with a cloth-like feel on the inside and a waterproof film on the outside, and they encouraged DuPont to work on a prototype. Sensing a huge potential market, Moore's people were quick to oblige P. We spent a lot of research effort trying to make a degradable polymer that would be tough enough for the job,† Teitz later recalled. Months of effort produced a new laminated material that Teitz and others in the Success group thought would meet P&G's needs. Time and events, however, combined to work against them. Sensing that political pressure for restrictive regulation was on the wane, and that cost-conscious customers would not pay a premium for biodegradable materials, Procter & Gamble discontinued interest in the mate rial under development by Moore's development unit.From Degradable to Biodegradable The Success Group was now at a dead end. Furthermore, the standards for environmental acceptability were changing, becoming more stringent. Being degradable (i. e. , a substance that would disintegrate) had become passe; the new standard was biodegradability. Further, anything that passed itself off as biodegradable had to disappear in a reasonably short period of time. As of 1991, two years into the project, no one knew for sure whether DuPont's new material would qualify as biodegradable.Given these new conditions, senior management was concerned about John Moore's ability to command the respect of the technical community and decided to assign a new project manager, Ron Rollins. Credibility on the issue of biodegradability would be necessary for market acceptance. Obviously, no one would make a commitment to the new material until DuPont had firm data on its snack food appeal to microbes and on the rate at which it would disappear. Some suspected that the big opportunity with P&G had been missed because of the absence of solid test data.To test the material, which by this time had been registered as Biomax ®, and to assure the credibility of it data, the project recruited a highly respected company scientist on a parttime basis. Henn Kilkson was a DuPont Fellow with experience in biodegradation. His job was to design and implement a system for evaluating the biodegradation of the new material. The choice of Kilkson for this job was deliberate; he was, in fact, DuPont's representative to both an international committee and one formed by the American Society of Testing and Materials to set standards for biodegrabability.Before long, Kilkson's researchers were busily making and composting prototype diapers that incorporated the newly developed laminated material. Using a sludge composting facility in Fair- field, Connecticut as a test bed, researchers tossed the 2 DuPontâ€⠄¢s Biomax ® prototypes into the unsavory mess, and at the end of the composting cycle raked through the remains to observe the number and size of the remaining materials. This exercise determined the rate of disintegration, but never answered the question of biodegradability.Meanwhile, Kilkson found a European company that was actively involved in compost testing. A number of trials with Biomax ® samples were conducted; all indicated a favorable rate of biodegradation. However, Kilkson was not satisfied with the validity of these tests. Researchers also struck up a relationship with the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, which had a program for bagging and composing grass, leaves, and other yard wastes. The Charlotte facility used lots of manpower to empty bags of waste into a huge grinder and then transfer the ground waste to a composting pile.If employees could simply toss these bags into the grinder without having to cut them open and dispose of them separately, program mana gers reasoned that they could save substantially on labor costs. Of course, the ground up remnants of these bags would have to disappear — and quickly. The DuPont people gave the Charlotte facility a supply of net bags made from Biomax ® and enlisted their collaboration in testing biodegradable characteristics. Ideally, all remnants of these bags would be undetectable in less than a year.The bags themselves were made at a DuPont plant in Canada using a process introduced by a research associate in an- other laboratory. Employees in that tab were, like Rollins' people, also searching feverishly for commercially attractive projects that the operating units of the company would support. Results at the Charlotte facility were positive. Not only did the bags decompose quickly, but they degraded biologically as well. The Charlotte experiment gave the Biomax team something to cheer about. The bag-making plant in Canada was also elated; it too was looking for a big market to serve. Things were at last looking up. But real customers willing to write out real purchase orders were still illusory. Meanwhile, Down in the Banana Groves †¦ By 1992, the Ron Rollins' Success group had been disbanded and Biomax ® seemed destined to sit on the shelf—-one of many good ideas developed by DuPont scientists for which no market application could be found. Before this happened, however, the material caught the eye of Terry Fadem, head of the Corporate Development Group. Fadem thought that Biomax ® was worth another try.Even though a real customer had not signed on, the new polymer had two important features: first, no major capital investment would be needed to produce it in commercial quantities; and second, the potential market for a biodegradable alternative to the mountains of synthetic materials piling up in the industrialized world was huge-at least in the abstract. European consumer products companies, Fadem knew, were facing much stricter environmental controls than were their North American counterparts. The â€Å"Greens† were an active political force, particularly in Germany. Perhaps he could get some commitment from a European customer.According to Fadem, â€Å"I was of the opinion that if that didn't work, or if we didn't get some break in the market that was big enough, that we should either put the technology on the shelf or sell it off † So Fadem provided funds to support a small team of people working part time to keep the project alive As luck would have it, a break in favor of 3 DuPont’s Biomax ® Biomax ® appeared, but from a source that neither Fadem nor anyone else would have anticipated: the banana plantations of Costa Rica. Steve Gleich was a senior technical researcher working the DuPont's Research Division for Agricultural Products.A chemical engineer by training, Gleich was experimenting with different packaging systems for controlling the delivery of pesticides. One was by means of a wat er soluble â€Å"bio-disappearing† film, as he later described it. The pesticide was distributed evenly through the film; when the film became wet it disappeared into the soil, leaving the chemical behind. Thus, farm workers could lay lengths of the chemical-laden material over a row of strawberries, for example, and the first watering or rain would lay down a perfectly even and prescribed dose exactly where it was needed. Gleich was aware of the Biomax ® project.He was also familiar with work on biodegradables being conducted by a joint venture company owned by ConAgra and DuPont. One day, another packaging engineer told Gleich, â€Å"If you solve the banana bag problem down in Costa Rica, you'll be a big hero. † Banana bag problem? Gleich had no idea what he meant. So the engineer pulled a low-density polyethylene bag from his drawer. â€Å"They use millions of pounds of this stuff in the banana plantations,† he said. â€Å"They put a bag over every banana bunch. Some are impregnated with pesticides, but most are simply used as little hot-houses to ripen the fruit and protect it from bruises. This bit of information flipped on a switch in Gleich's mind. Millions of pounds of nondegradable polyethylene translated into two things: big revenues for the vendor and a massive waste disposal problem for growers. If a bag material could be designed to disintegrate and biodegrade at the right time, growers could eliminate major labor and waste handling costs. Working with contacts in Fadem's development unit, Gleich arranged to have 50 bags made from Biomax ® and sent down to a sales agent working with Delmonte's banana operation in Costa Rica.These bags were used to cover the fruit in the normal way and were observed over a 3-4 month period. As the bananas were harvested, the bags, now brittle, began to break apart into small strips and fall to the ground, where they could easily be raked up and composted. These first bags, however, turned brittle too soon in the cycle of fruit production, causing some bruising. So the enterprising researcher asked for another batch of bags — slightly heavier and formulated to come apart more readily.This second batch worked much better and Delmonte and its competitors, Dole and Chiquita, were soon expressing interest. They also wanted to explore applications for melons, strawberries, and other fruit. Ironically because of an internal squabble between the field manager and his counterpart at the head office, the field manager refused to install the redesigned banana bags and this application reached a dead-end. About this time Steve Gleich was assigned new duties within his business unit and his involvement in the Biomax ® project waned.The little band of part timers continued seeking applications. Some new potential agricultural applications emerged, but the project was going nowhere fast. Finally, Fadem convinced senior management to provide substantial corporate funding fo r a high profile advertising campaign soliciting inquiries. Approximately thirty serious responses were received. 4 DuPont’s Biomax ® They were deemed sufficiently promising that in 1996 Biomax ® was transferred out of development and into DuPont's polyester resins and intermediates business unit.When Fadem's team contacted the business unit manager to initiate the handoff, the manger asked where the prototype materials had been manufactured. She was surprised when Fadem told her that the prototype production had been done in her manufacturing facilities. Additional applications development work was required before significant production could be undertaken, and hence, even after the transfer, Terry Fadem's team remained involved. A product manager in the business unit was assigned the task of completing the technical and market development for Biomax ®.Unfortunately for the project, he had only just begun the effort when he was promoted. The project was at a standstill for almost a year until a new product manager was assigned and brought up to speed. The second product manager forced his team to assess the thirty plus leads that had been generated by the advertising campaign and to select four on which to focus. As of mid 2000, development of the product and the search for commercial applications continued. The new product manager was convinced that the first significant revenues were just around the corner. 5