Can It Be Contained Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Can It Be Contained - Essay Example the long association that has been noted between Japanese Zen Buddhism and the prowess and aggression of the military†¦ has argued that the Buddhist kingdom in the South East Asia were due to military self-seeking and military aggressive experiences (Wilkinson and Teague, 46). In an example is a description that was given by Walpola Rahula states that the war that was on national independence in Sri Lanka in the second century BC was conducted was conducted with no consideration of the kingdoms but with consideration and in the name of Buddhism. In another instance after there was replacement of Meiji with restoration feudalism with a state that was dedicated to the oversea expansion and the establishment of Zen, there was a new role that came about which involved nurturing absolute obedience to it and supporting the wars that were of conquest. Zen masters in the 1930s was mainly involved in giving military men Zen training. This was intended at increasing the knowledge that they had on war (Wilkinson and Teague, 79). Buddhist scholars say that there is no justification that the teachings of the religion are associated to war yet there has not been separation of the religion and war. The religion has the traditions associated to violence. There has also been linking the religion to the practices of torture, suicides and also other forms of wars. In the teachings of the religion, there is undertaking the training to abstain from killing but on the other hand, there are also trainings that are given on wars (Wilkinson and Teague, 109). Buddhism in states such as Japan and United States has seen the emergence of giving training for corporate employees that are designed to suppress the problems that are caused by the religion. This shows the degree in which the countries have been involved in covering the bad practices that Buddhism has got into rather than tackling the problem and reducing the wars that

Cooperating and Communicating Across Cultures Essay Example for Free

Cooperating and Communicating Across Cultures Essay Case Study: Cooperating and Communicating Across Cultures The article Cooperation and communication between cultures, points out the key components in this case study. In the scenario each one of the team members had their own preconceived notions of the right way they should interact with the team in order for the team to move forward. The viewpoints of the team members, in my opinion, were influenced in part by their own cultures in addition to their own corporate backgrounds. Jim upon entering the team considered himself well prepared. He had knowledge of German culture and language, due to the fact that his wife was German and he visited Germany often, however, he was amazed at the detail in which the planning session went. Jim soon lost patience and interest, and the respect of his fellow team members because he was hardly paying attention anymore to the process. The German team used a three-day planning session as a way to lay the foundation for the structure of the entire product launch. Jim never really understands the importance of the initial meetings in the process because he unes out most of what was being said. Because of this, Jim never really understands the way the team is working in that the first analyze the problem, all possible eventualities, and addressing issues, then dividing the work and moving forward, with the team leader checking and controlling the outcome. The German team leader demonstrates that the team had worked together for at several years and so each knew the procedures very well but Jim clearly did not. An important organizational issue Jim exhibited is not showing respect for the Germans methods nd failing to align himself with the culture more rather than removing himself from the process and complaining. Fundamentally, Jim wanted to outline the problem, jump in, adjust and confer during the process but the Germans had different ideas, and a different culture for doing things. Each side saw the others method of operating as wrong, rather than as a possible new and different way to address a product launch. In the scenario concerning Klaus, Klaus had the same issues arriving in America and learning that the project would be put together as a work in progress rather than carefully thought out prior to execution of a plan. This is a cultural difference both sides experienced that could have been addressed by an introduction to work methods before Jim/Klaus started with their new team, which could have avoided the sense of frustration all on the project felt. Outlining the process and the roles each person would play would help the visitor better learn the corporate/national culture.

Ikea Pestle And Strategic Options Analysis Marketing Essay

Ikea Pestle And Strategic Options Analysis Marketing Essay INTRODUCTION The aim of this paper is to conduct a SWOT and a PESTEL analysis of IKEA and summarise an assessments of IKEAs strategy and strategic options. IKEA, which was started in 1943, is the world largest furniture retailer. It offers a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at affordable prices. This enables as many people as possible to afford them. IKEAs focus throughout its existence has been to make and provide good products at low prices to customers. Thus, it has with time developed methods that are both cost-effective and innovative. SWOT ANALYSIS According to Kourdi (2009), an analysis of the companys strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is a good tool for gathering information on the strategic position of the business. He explains that strengths and weaknesses are found within the internal environment of the organisation while opportunities and threats are usually found from the external environment within which the business operates. Strengths IKEA provides other amenities in their stores these include playrooms for children, ample parking space and restaurants and Swedish cafà ©s. This attracts customers who care about parking and who have children. The children can be left playing at the play zone while the parents do the shopping. IKEA designs its own furniture. This makes the business become innovative in designs and also assures customers of the same range of furniture and quality all over the world. Long-lasting relationships with selected key suppliers are a major strength of IKEAs purchasing and product development strategy. This is because IKEA is directly involved only in conceiving, distributing, and selling its products Designing products so that they can be packed flat and assembled by our customers greatly reduces IKEAs cost. This means IKEA can ship more items in one truck, less storage space is required, labour costs are educed and transport damages are avoided. For the customer, this means lower priced products and easy transportation home. Weaknesses Scandinavian design and style is not everyones preference. IKEA needs to diversify on its product design to appeal to other conservative markets in the world. For example, customising some products and amenities like restaurants to oriental markets in a place like China or Hong Kong , Arabic ones for the middle-east or even African products for the African market (when it ventures to Africa) will appeal more to another market segment of traditionalists or very patriotic citizens of these regions Since IKEA does not own any transport facilities, its supply and distribution network is physically connected through external actors and thousands of logistic partners. Coordinating and connecting this complex network it had adopted needs a lot of concentration and very advances monitoring system, in addition, IKEA does not unilaterally control and most of the logistic relationships Opportunities There is the potential to expand to other areas where IKEA has no stores due to its international fame, strong globally recognised brand and growing demand for its products. These untapped markets include South America and Africa. IKEA recycles materials in its aim to grow organically. IKEAs website states that There is a true business potential for IKEA in providing solutions that enable customers to live a more sustainable life at home. IKEA is developing effective solutions for customers in order to support them recycling or reusing used products, aiming at no products ending up at landfill and the recycled materials used in producing new IKEA products.  [1]   Threats IKEA delegates much responsibility to its competent partners. These are normally either those who have long been in charge of manufacturing a certain product, or those who have specific technical competences. This provides a difficulty in controlling and maintaining standards. Due to this, IKEAs competences and organizational structure need to keep on being re-visited and modified to fit specific partners and interaction processes and networks Like any other business, Competition from low end general discount retailers such as Wal-Mart, office supply stores such as Office Depot, and discount warehouses such as Costco. Wal-Mart is the worlds number one retailer. These general merchandise retailers tend to aggressively promote their furniture products on the basis of price as well. Another threat is the high-end specialty retailers who normally offer luxurious store environments designed to appeal to people looking for feelings of affluence, high class, ostentation prosperity, and comfort. These retailers also offer various payment options and easy credit to make it easier for shoppers to commit to a more items or costly products. PESTLE ANALYSIS PESTLE is a tool that is used to analyse the macro-environment in which an organisation exists. It is an acronym that stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors. PESTLE analysis generates information that helps senior managers when strategising and when formulating strategic plans and policies Morrison (2008) argues that PESTLE analysis can also be used as a framework for looking outside the organisation to hypothesise what may or may not happen. It is a useful framework to use to ensure that some of the basic factors are not overlooked or ignored. Used in a similar way to that of business planning  [2]   Political environment This includes issues to do with government policies on taxation, tariffs and trade restrictions. It also encompasses employment laws and the activities and involvement of trade unions. Political stability of the environment is also important. IKEAs political environment is favourable. In Europe and America, the political systems have developed over long time providing a very stable environment. IKEA does not operate in Africa where most nations are not politically stable Economic Factors IKEA like most businesses in Europe and America is currently operating in global economic recession. In most countries, there has been slow economic growth for the last two years. Other economic factors are typical to each country and have to with inflation rates, interest rates, wage rates and minimum wage legislations. Sociological factors Markets where IKEA operates are faced with changing social trends. For example there are now fewer first time buyers in the housing market which is mainly due to hard economic times. Thus there may be a deceleration in the markets growth rate. According to echeat.com, many people associate Sweden with a fresh healthy way of life.  [3]  This Swedish lifestyle is reflected in the IKEA product range. The freshness of the open air is reflected in the colours and materials used and the sense of space they create by using blond-coloured woods, untreated surfaces and natural textiles. IKEA has also developed a very comprehensive corporate social responsibility program. IKEAs social responsibility policy gives a provision for humanitarian donations and support to various charities such as the World Wildlife Fund, UNICEF and Save the Children fund. Technology IKEA has embraced technology as a business tool. It has an up to date website from which customers can view online catalogues, check for stock availability before going to the store, order online and even correspond with the customer service team. As technology evolves, IKEA will perpetually keep on updating and upgrading its technology to keep pace with its global networks ranging from network relationships with supplier to those with distributors. Legal IKEA is a global business. This means that it is affected by many laws and legislations in all the different countries. This poses a threat where IKEA may be unable to control standards and/or quality in some jurisdictions where IKEA products are where there are no regulations to control working conditions. Environment Since it was founded IKEA has been sensitive to the environment which leads it in making better use of both raw materials and energy. This keeps costs down and helps the company to reach its green targets and have an overall positive impact on the environment SUMMARY ON IKEAS STRATEGY AND STRATEGIC OPTIONS IKEA can create more opportunities and tackle threats by strategic planning whist taking advantage of its strengths and working on its weaknesses. In the case study IKEA Invades America, IKEAs strategy is to have market dominance and market leadership as far as house furnishings are concerned. It can do so by assess its external and competitive environment Low-prices for it products is the main IKEAs strategy that makes customers want to buy from IKEA. This low price strategy is coupled with a wide range of well designed products. IKEAs products cater for every lifestyle and life stage of its customers, who come from all age groups and types of households. This diversity in the niche market is increases IKEAs potential market. In the case study Strategy in Industrial Networks: Experiences from IKEA by E. Baraldi, Industrial networks and business relationships play key roles for the strategy of IKEA. It should therefore continue to work with suppliers who take responsibility for people and the environment and who want to grow and develop with IKEAs growth. As part of its continuous work to improve conditions in the supply chain, IKEA has implemented a revised code of conduct, IWAY, and joined an industry collaboration exploring the possibility of developing global supply chain standards (IKEA sustainability report 2009: 13) Sustainability needs to be a part of the IKEA business strategy, and must therefore be integrated into each and every one of IKEAs business strategies, and in its product range (IKEA sustainability report 2009: 8). IKEA will need to lead developments with innovation and technical know-how and be transparent to its stakeholders. IKEAs products, processes and systems should continue demonstrating responsibility for people and the environment.

Emily Dickinsons Because I could not stop for death :: essays research papers

Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for death" and " I heard a fly buzz when I died", are remarkable masterpieces that exercises thought between the known and the unknown. Critics call Emily Dickinson"s poems masterpieces with strange " haunting powers". In Dickinson's poems " Because I could not stop for death" and " I heard a fly buzz when I died" are created less than a year apart by the same poet. Both poems talk about death and the impression in the tone and symbols that exudes creativity. One might undoubtedly agree to eerie, haunting, if not frightening, tone in Dickinson's poem. Dickinson uses controlling adjectives-"slowly: and "passed"-to create a tone that seems rather placid. For example, "We slowly drove- He knew no haste/ ...We passed the school.../ We passed the setting sun," sets a slow quiet, calm, and dreamy atmosphere (5, 9, 11, 12). "One thing that impresses us," one author wrote, " is the remarkable placidity, or composure, of its tone" (Greenberg 128). The tone in Dickinson"s poems will put its readers ideas on a unifying track heading towards a buggling atmosphere. Dickinson's masterpieces lives on complex ideas that are evoked through symbols, which carry her readers through her poems. Besides the literal significance of the "school," Gazing Grain," "Setting Sun," and the "Ring" much is gathered to complete the poem's central idea. Emily brought to light the mysteriousness of the life's'cycle. Ungraspable to many, the cycle of one's'life, as symbolized by Dickinson, has three stages and then a final stage of eternity. These three stages are recognized by Mary N. Shawn as follows: "School, where children strove" (9). Because it deals with an important symbol, the "Ring" this first scene is perhaps the most important . One author noted that "the children, at recess, do not play as one would expect them to but strive" (Monteiro 20). In addition, at recess the children performed a venerable ritual, perhaps known to all, in a ring. This ritual is called "Ring-a-ring-a-roses," and is recited: Ring-a ring-a-roses, A pocket full of posies; Hush! hush! hush! hush! We're all tumble down. (qtd. In Greenaway 365) Monteiro made the discovery and concluded that "For indeed, imbedded in their ritualistic game is a reminder of the mortal stakes that the poet talks about elsewhere" (21). On this invited journey, one vividly sees the "Children" playing, laughing, and singing.

History of the periodic table Essay

Alexandre Beguyer de Chancourtois (1820-1886) In 1863, a 44 year old French geologist, he created a list of the elements arranged by increasing atomic weight. The list was wrapped around a cylinder so that several sets of similar elements lined up, creating the first geometric representation of the periodic law. In 1862 was the first person to make use of atomic weights to reveal periodicity (i.e. when the elements were arranged according to their atomic weights, similar elements seemed to occur at regular intervals.) He drew the elements as a continuous spiral around a cylinder divided into 16 parts. The atomic weight of oxygen was taken as 16 and used as the standard against which all others were compared. Chancourtois noticed that certain of the triads appeared below one another in his spiral. In particular the tetrad oxygen, sulfur, selenium and tellurium fell together, and he called his device the â€Å"telluric helix†. The atomic weights of these elements are 16,32,79 and 128, respectively, and quite fortuitously they are multiples or near multiples, of 16. Other parts of the screw were less successful. Thus boron and aluminium come together all right but are then followed by nickel, arsenic, lanthanum and palladium. Chancourtois had discovered periodicity, but had got the frequency wrong. If a periodic table is regarded as an ordering of the chemical elements demonstrating the periodicity of chemical and physical properties, credit for the first periodic table (published in 1862) probably should be given to a French geologist, A.E.Beguyer de Chancourtois. De Chancourtois transcribed a list of the elements positioned on a cylinder in terms of increasing atomic weight. When the cylinder was constructed so that 16 mass units could be written on the cylinder per turn, closely related elements were lined up vertically. This led de Chancourtois to propose that â€Å"the properties of the elements are the properties of numbers.† De Chancourtois was first to recognize that elemental properties reoccur every seven elements, and using this chart, he was able to predict the the stoichiometry of several metallic oxides. Unfortunately, his chart included some ions and compounds in  addition to elements.

Two Precedents essays

Two Precedents essays George Washington had accomplished many things in his presidency which further bettered the United States. Two precedents that Washington established for the presidency and executive branch throughout his terms were that he developed a cabinet and created a new capital for the country. George Washingtons first take was to establish a cabinet. The cabinet is an group of men organized by the President to assist him in all kinds of things that he has to deal with. He chose Alexander Hamilton secretary of treasury and Thomas Jefferson secretary of state. He created departments within the government, each with different jobs. The congress organized four sub- groups: the secretary of the state, the secretary of treasury, the secretary of war, and the attorney general. Washington picked Jefferson to create a policy of seeking trade with European nations. Alexander Hamilton became the secretary of treasury; he came up with important ideas like: a funded national debt and the making of the Bank of the United States. Henry Knox was appointed the secretary of war, and Edmund Randolph was the attorney general. It had its first meeting in 1789. Washington reorganized his cabinet in 1795, and Tennessee became a state in 1796. Now the mains of fourteen executive d epartments form the cabinet. Washington decided to create a capital for the United States of America. Washington, D.C. was a planned city from the start. It was the first city in the United States to be planned before it was built. The Constitution of the United States gave Congress the power to govern Washington. For a lot of the city's history, its leaders were appointed by the president. In 1973, Congress granted the city the right to elect their local officials. D.C. was divided into districts to regulate the uses of the property which is called zoning. Washington, D.C. did not become the United States capital until 1800. Congress moved its meeting...