Geely Holding? Group? Marketing Essay

Markets,? Marketing? and? Strategy? Essay? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Strategy? This? essay? will? attempt? to? identify,? analyze? and? discuss? the? strategic? issues? in? Geely? Holding? Group? using? industry? structure? and? dynamics.? There? are? five? competitive? forces? that? shape? the? strategy? of? a? company,? threat? of? new? entrants,? bargaining? power? of? supplier,? bargaining? power? of? buyers,? threat? of? substitute? and? rivalry? among? current? competitors.? However,? as? covering? all? five? forces? will? be? beyond? the? scoop? of? this? essay,? it? will? be? focusing? on? threat? of? ew? entrants? and? rivalry. Even? though? Geely? Holding? Group? exports? cars? on? top? of? selling? in? its? local? market,? its? main? market? is? the? China’s? automobile? industry1.? With? China’s? automobile? market? growing? rapidly? in? the? last? few? years,? it? has? become? one? of? the? biggest? automobile? markets? in? the? world,? this? mean? that? t he? existing? firms? in? the? industry? will? have? to? be? aware? of? new? entrants? into? the? industry.? Gerenally,? barriers? are? high? in? an? automobile? industry,? and? there? are? several? main? factors? contributing? to? this.? One? of? he? factors? is? supply? side? economics? of? scale.? When? firms? have? high? output,? it? allows? them? to? cut? cost? in? production? by? buying? in? bulk? and? because? they? have? huge? buying? power,? supplier? will? not? want? to? lose? them? as? customers? and? give? them? better? deals.? They? will? also? be? able? to? spread? cost? over? more? units? for? their? marketing,? research,? services? and? distribution.? This? means? that? new? entrant? will? have? a? much? higher? cost? of? production? unless? they? are? able? to? come? in? on? a? large? scale.? With? 1. 2? million? Geely? cars? on? the? oad? globally 2,? this? is? certainly? an? advantage? that? Geely? has? over? smaller? new? entrants. Established? firms? also? enjoy? demand? side? benefits? of? scale.? When? more? people? use? the? product,? it? will? assure? people? that? the? product? is? trustable,? causing? even? more? people? to? be? willing? to? pay? for? the? product.? With? products? like? automobiles,? quality? is? important.? Incumbents? have? the? advantage? of? having? experience,? acquiring? technology? and? building? customer? loyalty? over? the? years? thus,? unlike? entrants,? they? do? not? have? to? spend? as? much? on? arketing? and? advertising? to? prove? that? they? are? trustable.? In? 2010,? Geely’s? sales? surpassed? target? by? 15,000? units3.? It? sales? will? be? a? testimony? of? its? reliability? to? new? customers? who? would? be? more? willing? to? buy? from? a? company? that? is? doing? well? than? to? take? a? risk? with? a? newcomer.? All? these? will? discourage? entry,? as? entrants? will? have? to? keep? their? prices? much? lower? to? compete? for? customers.? To? enter? the? automobile? industry,? there? is? a? high? capital? requirement.? The? high? level? of? investment? sometimes? will? keep? entrants? ut? because? it? means? that? risk? is? high.? Entrants? will? need? not? only? to? invest? in? fixed? facilities,? they? will? need? to? invest? in? advertising? and? research,? which? are? mostly? unrecoverable? cost,? if? they? 1? Geely? Automobile? Holdings? Limited? Annual? Report? 2009? [ONLINE].? Available? 2? Geely? Holding? Group? [ONLINE].? Avilable? from:? from: http://hmdatalink. com/PDF/C00530/e00175(116). pdf http://www. geely. com/english/1? 6. html 3? Geely? Auto? sales? surpass? 2010? target.? (January,? 2011)? [ONLINE].? Avaliable?

Aviation Flight School

The research focused on the ways in which flight schools can provide a specialized training format that satisfies goals for both professional and recreational pilots. These are unique ways in which, flight schools can achieve flight instruction for students by providing a strong training format that meets the individuals needs. Offering practical and theoretical skills to the students, and ensuring professional instructors. Also the use of modern facilities and equipment for teaching students; with a strong emphasis for FAA standards during all phases of instruction. These are some ideas flight schools should adopt in order to meet needs and demands of their students. Introduction The purpose of the research was to find how flight schools provide unique flight training solutions to meet needs of their students. The research identifies principles that flight schools practice as a school that takes a pilot from never having piloted an aircraft to, â€Å"helping them know when to use their landing lights, transponder, and trim tabs. (Above View FBO [AV], 2008) Learning to fly is one of the dreams of many people; and there are many reasons to learn to fly and most local flight schools can facilitate student’s needs on just about any schedule and desired rating or certification. (G&B Aircraft Management [G&B], 2008) Some may want to learn to fly for recreational purposes while others may learn to fly for a career. Whether as a career, or for recreational purposes in flight operations is one of the more unique areas of flight training in aviation. Students at flight schools can be trained to become commercial pilots or recreational pilots. For the commercial pilot the world of aviation is very much exciting, dynamic and can be very demanding. In order for one to become a professional aviator whom the world can rely and depend on in the future, one has to undergo thorough flight training. Simply attending a flight school is never enough, though it is a basic requirement, one needs to be thoroughly trained before he is given certification. Schofields flying club [Schofields], 2008) For Private pilots aviation is taken as a recreation that provides the student with a sense of freedom, fun, and accomplishment that stays with that person forever. Private pilots also begin with the same detailed training that commercial pilots need. (Schofields, 2008) For both types of students the training environment for flight should be conducive and all tools needed for training should be available in order to ensure a clear understanding. (Scho fields, 2008) Theoretical and Practical Skills The main objective of flight training is to impart airmanship skills on the students, putting in mind the principles of flight, and the ability to safely operate and navigate an aircraft with precision. Training on flight courses covers two areas that are the on-ground theory lessons and the practical training in the air. Students in flight schools are acquitted with a wide scope of knowledge on the areas that are related to flights. (Schofields, 2008) Students learn basic principles of flight, meteorology, flight rules and regulations. Also flight school students are trained in navigation, radio communications, and the aircraft itself. The use of sophisticated instruments, systems, and other equipment ensure that the students have a wide-ranging knowledge on several different areas of operation that relate to aviation. When a student is fully trained, and correctly demonstrates proficiency in these areas, he or she is awarded a certificate to show that they are professionally acquitted with the necessary knowledge and skills for flight. (Schofields, 2008) Availability of Facilities Aviation schools should have FAA flight facilities and equipments at the location of operation. This gives the student an added advantage in that they can access the facilities as they need, and also gives them an opportunity to attend ground lessons, which is a major part of the study. Flight schools tend to use less commercialized airports for training flights this gives students training without the crowded airspace. (Flight Training, 2004) Strong Training Format In order for students to be fully prepared to take off on flights they are subjected to a specialized and strong training format that is followed by the school. Aviation flight schools when training students should train them using modern equipment, and facilities. This will give students the opportunity to learn what is currently used in the field of aviation. When the training is based on new and modern technology the students are in a better position since they can fit in the field. (Flight Training, 2004) Most of the Aviation schools have developed a structured curriculum, which is used to demonstrate various airplane systems which include a complete set of working flight instructions to enhance learning opportunities. They use multimedia services and the Internet to gain more information on the new developments in the field. A proven training system ensures that students are fully trained before they are given certificates to practice flight as a career or for recreational purposes. (Flight Training, 2004) There are many curriculums for a flight school to adopt, in fact some flight schools may have more than one to cater to the needs of their students; such as structured accelerated programs, or a self paced pay as you go open schedule program. (K.  Hansen, personal communication, April 7, 2008) The idea behind a strong training format that a flight school adopts, or develops, is for retention. Not just of students for the flight school, but primarily the student’s knowledge. (J. Gifford, personal communication, April 7, 2008) Emphasis on FAA Standards â€Å"The flight school falls under a variety of Federal Aviation Regulations†¦FAR Part 91 is the basic set of regulations for general flight operations. In addition to that, flight training can be conducted under FAR Part 61, the regulation for flight training or under a combination of FAR Part 61 and 141. (Vincent, 2008) Flight schools are divided into FAA-approved (part 141) and non-approved (part 61) they are usually divided based on the regulations under which they operate. FAA-approved schools â€Å"voluntarily submit their procedures and training to a higher standard of curriculum use, regulation and paperwork in exchange for lower hour requirements prior to a student receiving a flight certificate or rating. † (Vincent, 2008) Also they are periodically audited, this is done to ensure that they follow the laid down training format. Have detailed FAA certified course outlines, the course outlines are detailed and certified to ensure that what is covered in one aviation institution is covered in all other schools. It must meet trainee pilot performance rates to maintain certification. While non-approved (part 61) schools do not have similar requirements, they cater for students who need more flexibility with lesson content and scheduling. (Flight Training, 2004) FAA standards are emphasized in every aspect of learning including equipment maintenance and flight training. This is usually achieved through taking of FAA tests in the classroom at the conclusion of each course, the FAA certified CATS testing program certifies the tests. (Flight Training, 2004) Emphases are put mostly on the fundamentals, and safety of the flights this is usually achieved through ground school courses, which are continually offered to the students. They are used to ensure that they have a complete understanding of the fundamentals. The student pilots are provided with aeronautical decision-making and flight maneuvering skills in order to remain safe under all circumstances. Modernized Facilities and Equipment Today there is a demand by students for the use of newer model glass panel equipped aircraft. Some of the instruments that these aircraft include are uplink NEXRAD weather images, traffic and terrain collision alert systems, autopilots and leather interiors. These are tools that can help students when they are carrying out their practical lessons. (Miller, 2008) However cost is also a concern, newer aircraft cost more to purchase and operate compared to older models. Many flight schools often have a variety of aircraft types to â€Å"offer several options for training and rental purposes. (AV, 2008) However if the student’s needs, and or budget do not allow them to always fly the latest and greatest airplane out there, it is essential for them to know that the aircraft they do fly are safe and properly maintained. Students want to be assured that â€Å"the safety of [their] aircraft is [their] number one priority. † (AV, 2008) Continued Trainings for Licensed Pilots Aviation schools also offer trainings for pilots who wish to advance in their field, receive additional endorsements or ratings, or simply stay current. The hours of operation also run from early morning to late evening, weekdays and weekend training times, which enable even the busiest professional to fit flight training into his schedule. This helps the pilots to gain more knowledge, and continue to keep aviation in their schedules. (Miller, 2008) For many flight schools the idea is not only to teach new students how to fly but to continue to cater to all their students, or customers, needs past, present, and future; to become their one stop shop for aviation. (G&B) Professional Instructors When performing aircraft operations as a student pilot the teaching is done one on one, and students want to know that their flight school has professional instructors who are fully trained and have all the required qualifications for the training that they provide. (K. Hansen, personal communication, April 7, 2008) These instructors are former students themselves that have experience, have demonstrated exceptional skill, and received additional training. Accomplished flight instructors are also personally committed to educating the students one on one and helping them to learn. Flight Instructors are â€Å"pilots who know their way around the cockpit as well as the classroom. † (AV, 2008) Conducive Environment Although parts of the students training involves ground school, and sometimes simulations, the majority of flight training is conducted in the actual real world environment. Because of the uniqueness of this kind of environment it should be a goal of the flight school to make this environment as conducive as possible for learning. Having facilities that the student can access that has similarities to a school and not a rental agency will also help â€Å"provide a personal, comprehensive environment for learning. (AV, 2008) Students should be treated and recognized as an individual, a student, and then a paying customer, not simply as cash flow; by a school that can take â€Å"pride in being able to cater to [students] needs. † (AV, 2008) This motivates the students, fosters learning, and generally establishes long-term relationships with the flight school for the student pilots aviation needs. The students should be equipped with Radio communication skills; this is because radio communications lie at the base of procedural flying. Proficiency in radio communication is fundamental to becoming a skilled procedural pilot. In air communications is an essential tool for all pilots. A student pilot should spend time, and effort to acquire an accurate radio technique. Good radio communication skills are of great value to the student at all aspects, and stages of his flying. Radio communications are designed to satisfy both the formal theoretical needs and the practical needs of all students’ professional and private pilots.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 - Research Paper Example The Sarbanes-Oxley act of 2002 is actually named â€Å"Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act†. As such, the act sought to change the way in which top management, accounting firms, and investors interacted with one another. By certifying the legitimacy of information, the framers of this act sought to correct many of the issues that had seemingly plagued auditors and oversight committees for years. The first of these changes can be described with regards to the creation of a public company accounting oversight Board (PCAOB). Much as the name implies, this particular entity is required as a means of providing a level of oversight with respect to the registration and analysis of compliance that audits and auditors are able to put forward. Through such an entity, the overall level of oversight that auditors and committees can affect is drastically increased; tangentially leading to a situation in which the potential for abuse is subsequently reduced. A further core component of Sarbanes-Oxley is with respect to what is known as auditor independence. By establishing key standards for auditor independence that help to limit conflicts of interest and promote the overall truthfulness, veracity, and reduction in bias, this particular complement of Sarbanes-Oxley is directed at restricting the level of integration that key firms can provide to another. For instance, prior to Sarbanes-Oxley, it was perfectly legal that a particular accounting firm could also serve the joint function of consulting with the same firm that they were hired to analyze and recommend key accounting practices/approaches (Gupta et al., 2013). Naturally, the conflict of interest within such a case is profound and creates a situation in which either the accounting procedures and/or the consulting would be adversely affected by the conflict of interest

Human resource issues (A REPORT) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human resource issues (A REPORT) - Essay Example Organizations that display this commitment are also characterised by a distinct culture of service leadership and role modelling by top management. It is probably more difficult for competitors to duplicate high performance human assets than any other corporate resource. In both the industry, the way service is delivered by this human resource can be important source of differentiation as well as competitive advantage. In addition, the strength of the customer/frontline staff relationship is often an important driver of customer loyalty (Bove & Johnson, 2001). Service staff plays a key role in anticipating customers needs, customizing the service delivery, and building personalized relationships with customers with ultimately lead to customer loyalty. Highly motivated employees remain at the core of service excellence and becoming a key variable for creating and maintaining competitive positioning and advantage (Hemp, 2002). The important impact of service staff on customer loyalty w as integrated and formalized by James Heskett and his colleagues (1994) in their research on the service-profit chain. The authors demonstrate the chain of relationships between; Unlike manufacturing, all the service staff in hospitality or retail industry remains in continuous contact with customers and Schneider & Bowen (1993) shows that employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction are highly correlated. Organisations have opted various HR tools and practices over the year to attain the success. Attractive compensation packages are used to attract good quality staff. Broadened job designs are accompanied by training and empowerment practices that allow frontline staff to control quality. With more focussed recruitment, more intensive training, and better wages, employees are likely to be happier in their work and to provide higher quality, customer pleasing service. Regular customers also appreciated the continuity in service relations resulting in lower

Compare and contrast each of these four concepts, 1) Customer Care (2) Essay

Compare and contrast each of these four concepts, 1) Customer Care (2) Kaizen (3) Just-in-Time( 4)Total Quality Management - Essay Example Kaizen is a management approach to making an improvement in quality as well as maintaining it that emphasizes internally driven and fairly continuous assessments of possible causes of quality defects, after action which is aimed at improving quality. Quality is the meeting as well as more than what the clients expect. Quality will be gained by means of meeting client requirements. Success will be achieved if quality is well managed. Kaizen is the idea that an analysis of the process is the starting point rather than an analysis of the employee. Kaizen seeks to improve the process as oppose to blaming the employee for process flaws. Kaizen works under the basis that improvement comes by small incremental changes using the scientific method. Its main objective is to make changes and look at the results and then adjust them accordingly. This process makes Kaizen very flexible. It is moreover flexible in the sense that; large-scale preplanning and wide-ranging project scheduling are replaced by means of smaller experiments in perfection, which can be rapidly adapted as new improvements are recommended. Something that organizations can do to help improve overall effectiveness or efficiency is to conduct a kaizen. The more American definition is to look at all the processes involved and to look for ways to eliminate any types of waste that there might be. For example Toyota Corporation is a company that has taken part in various kaizens to help with their processes. Eaton Corporation has also conducted different kaizens in attempt to improve a number of their procedures that they have in place in a number of areas. If a company doesnt find ways to be efficient or effective, they will fall behind their competitors in their respective industries. It is extremely essential for companies to utilize any ideas or suggestions that the employees might have in order to turn out to be more effective or proficient. Continuous improvement or Kaizen as it is

Case Study Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Case Study Analysis - Essay Example For a long time, public administration has reluctantly been viewed as a science by several other disciplines. Perhaps, this is attributable to the idea that public administration theories rely on other disciplines in predicting and explaining relationships among elements articulated in its administrative functions. Nevertheless, public administration system entails studying human beings in an organizational setting, but which operates in a political environment (Rabin et al 2006). In this regard, public administration theory is derived from other disciplines, but studied as a single entity due to its unique traits of enjoining different dynamics to have an effective administration. In a broader sense, public administration is explained by two theories; universal design theory and situational design theory (Farazmand, 2001). In universal design theory, scientific management, classical and bureaucratic theories explains the structuring the public administration. Situational theory deno tes on the human aspect of the organization. Common theories that emphasize on this theory include behavioral approach, system approach and human relations theory among others. In the United States, the public administration can be argued to have utilized theories of public administration effectively. However, Milakovich & Gordon (2012) argued that it is indispensable for the public administration to consider exploring all available ways of bridging the existing gaps. For instance, with the increase in the number of migrants in the United States, the department of homeland security has been face with the challenge of controlling foreigners streaming to the United States. Going by the scientific management theory, Fredrick Winslow Taylor emphasized on the need to have social prosperity between the workers and the management. This aims at developing science of each element of man’s work and

Blog Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 13

Blog - Essay Example In response, the Cleveland Indians Baseball Team has responded to the racism critics by backing itself up for having recreated its current logo as a throwback to its Indians blue ‘C’ logo that the team used between the 1915 and 1927. The team has adjusted its logo over time since 1927 until the time it acquired its current logo which is a reconstruction of its original logo. Looking keenly at the Cleveland Indians’ logos since 1928 to present, there is a unique progression that is tied to racism. In 1928, the mascot used by the Cleveland Indians had a whole red painting, with just some few places bearing black color. In 1929-1932, they changed the logo to another mascot with red face and white helmet. In 1933-1938, there was a change of the logo to a mascot with a brown face and a brown and red helmet. Coming to 1938-1945, the mascot logo was changed to bear a red face and a white helmet again. In 1946 to 1950, the logo was changed to the head of a cartoon with a brown face and red and black helmet before they changed the color in 1951-72 to a red face and red and white helmet. This went on with one more change before they finally acquired their current logo which is a red ‘C’ from 2014 to present. All these are criticized to portray

Critical review of three seminar readings Essay

Critical review of three seminar readings - Essay Example However, propaganda warfare is not a new tactic. In fact, Sun Tzu in his â€Å"Art of War† (6th Century BC) taught that an essential part of conducting warfare involves deceiving the enemy thus putting him into a disadvantage, ironically but logically, by making him believe that he is in a more advantageous form or position. Critique Indeed, this has been an essential part in the conduct of the cold war wherein Two-time Pulitzer Prize awardee Walter Lippmann argued that their side dwell on what is true and morally upright whilst on the enemy’s was mere propaganda. Well, though most conflicts are seen as a brutal show of force, an equal and sometimes bigger of this plays out using propagandas. As such, even wars are used by politicians and even terrorists to advance their own agendas. Hence, whether willingly or unwillingly, the technical sophistication of mass media has made it probably the most effective conduit for advancing these agendas; and both Bush and Bin Laden has greatly capitalized on this. Thus, Kellner’s critique of US broadcasting networks on his â€Å"Media Propaganda and Spectacle in the War on Iraq: a Critique of U.S. broadcasting network† offers to expose the sins of commission as well as the sins of omission committed by the various networks and taken advantaged of by President George W. Bush. As such, the author launched into an immense rhetoric of lashes against the administration’s ploy to use the War on Iraq through the various US media outfits in an effort to cement itself as the ultimate harbinger of good. In effect, this has set the stage to launch various theatrics such as â€Å"the coalition of the willing†, preemptive strikes and surgical bombings. The author painted a stark picture of a Bush Jr.-driven invasion that seem to be based on the desire to wrap up what his daddy had started and reinforce the United States position as the resident global watch dog (Kellner 2004, p. 330). Of course such an invasion cannot be crafted overnight and against the backdrop of the 9-11 terror attack in late 2001, the architects of war got busy in 2002 to drum up the assault on Iraqi soil. Indeed, war is an ugly business but one cannot argue that though it brings forth economic damages, it can also be profitable for some. Back in the old days, it is the victor that seemingly solely benefits as they thrive from the spoils of war. Nowadays, one does not need for a war’s conclusion but from war itself comes the golden opportunity for media mileage and political leverage. Hence, the exploitation of these opportunities at the expense of Iraq and her people seem to be the center of the paper. Indeed, the facts were stated fully to support the allegations in this paper. However, it would seem that only one side of the story was covered. A quick review of the references used would indicate an inclination on the need to assert the wrongful acts committed during the incursion. There are indeed various areas of concern that may have been committed in this discourse. In effect, the discourse has seemingly singled out President George W. Bush against Saddam Hussein hence bringing about Manicheanism, wherein Bush seems to have been demonized in the critique. The paper likewise went about to decontextualize violence putting heavy emphasis on the attacks made and painting it as irrational while at the same time neglecting the

Experimental Research Design Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Experimental Design - Research Paper Example Difficulties in adjustment typically manifest in forms of the child later being involved in troubled relationships with their partners or spouses, substance abuse etc (Franke, 1983). This study will discuss a research design that will attempt to evaluate the validity of these claims. That is, we will design a research that carries out an impact evaluation of the conditions created by Our population of interest is people who as children witnessed divorces of their parents. Since we are concerned with how these people adjust to life after growing up, we want to evaluate the quality of life of grownups whose parents were divorced. For each treatment we shall evaluate whether the mean was different. For instance, consider the variable ‘age’. The way the impact of this variable will be evaluated is, we shall look at differences in mean age among groups I to IV. Similarly for each of the other three treatments, we shall look at whether the mean scores of the variables differ across the groups. If we find significant differences, then this will imply that the variable for which such a difference was found indeed has an influence on the impact of parent’s divorce on the child’s adjustment. The research design here is essentially a â€Å"Posttest only Control group† type for each separate treatment. Defining the age treatment as â€Å"treatment T>0 if age was greater or equal to 3 years† the diagram for this test can be shown as follows: Barber, B.L. & Eccles, J.S. (1992). Long term influence of divorce in single parenting and adolescent families and work related values, behaviors, and aspirations. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 108-126. Forehand, R., Wierson, M., McCombs, A., Thomas, R., Fauber, L.A., Kempton, T., & Long, N. (1991). A short-term longitudinal examination of young adolescent functioning following divorce: The role of family factors. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100,

The Ethicacy of Providing Health Coverage for Inmates While The Essay

The Ethicacy of Providing Health Coverage for Inmates While The General Populace Is Offered None - Essay Example In making a judgment and ethical decision concerning this issue, two prominent ethical standards can appropriately address them: the utilitarian approach and the rights approach. These two can collectively define and explain ethical elements in the subject and could fill the weaknesses posed by each other. Utilitarian approach is fundamental in expressing the view of the common good and in reaching the best possible compromise so that questions from both sides of the ethics divide can be effectively and justly resolved. Meanwhile, the rights approach is important in arguing for and against healthcare for prisoners because the discussion is, after all, about the satisfaction of human/individual rights. This is significant because acts that respect rights are often universally accepted as ethical. The Ethical Issues The health care within the American prison system is not uniform because each of the federal and state prisons has its own health care delivery system. However, this does n ot dispel the fact that medical and health options are available to all prisoners regardless of the system of the prison health care system they belong. Many people raise the point that healthcare for prisoners is unethical because it is expensive and takes a lot from the taxpayers’ money just so criminals can live a healthy life. To digress a little, this question effectively highlights the stakeholders involved in the debate – the prisoners, the authority, the general populace and the health care practitioner. But the argument is that they do not deserve such a care because they are serving their punishment in the first place. Here, bias is supposedly a given since convicted criminals are being deprived of certain rights as part of their penalty and rehabilitation. This point is, of course, valid. Beginning in the 1980s, the rising population in the prisons has significantly claimed a significant share of many states’ budgets. According to a study by Maddow (2 001), the US health care prison cost have dramatically risen at a faster rate than the rest of the correctional costs and that today prison officials are beset by rising numbers of expensive illnesses such as HIV/AIDS as well as the ever-present threat of Eighth Amendment lawsuits. (p. 191) Two points are being emphasized by critics: one, criminals do not deserve healthcare; and, secondly, they are not paying for the care services. These points sometimes also cloud the health care providers’ judgments. There are instances wherein bias sets in and appropriate and sufficient medical services are withheld. But this is not entirely surprising. One, for instance, can consider the case cited by Gaines and Miller (2010) summarized below: A prisoner, who was convicted for fourteen years because of robbery, has been hospitalized due to his heart ailment. The doctors declared that if the patient did not undergo heart transplant, he would die. Now, the state’s Department of Corre ctions have to deal with not only with spending more than $1 million in order to pay for the medical expenses but that it also had to muscle its way in having the prisoner prioritized from among the 4,100 names that are in the national waiting list for a new heart. (p. 499) The above case underscored the

The Promotional Strategies of Smart and Globe Essay Example for Free

The Promotional Strategies of Smart and Globe Essay Starting from telegraphic and telephonic systems in the19th Century, the field of telephonic communication has now Expanded to make use of advanced technologies like GSM, CDMA and WLL to the great 3G Technology in mobile phones. Day by day, both the Public Players and the Private Players are Putting in their resources and efforts to improve the Telecommunication technology so as to give the maximum to Their customers. In business, it is important to use various and innovative promotional strategies to expand the demand of your product and to earn more consumers. It is one of the main things a business or a company must do to keep on working. There are 3 different ways to promote a product: to show information to consumers as well as others; to increase the demand; and change the product. Any use of those three is called the promotional strategy. Considering that competition in the business field is continuously growing, implementing efficient strategies through promoting products are indeed significant for all operators in any industry. Background of the Study Over the years since cellphones were widely used, various networking companies have succeeded in promoting their products to their subscribers. But up to this moment, only two networking companies have truly taken the top-spot of the networks – Smart and Globe Telecom – two of the most widely used networks today. The two networking companies have been using different strategies to promote their products, such as SIM cards for cellphones and Wireless Internet connectors for computers or laptops. SMART Telecommunications, being the largest mobile operator in the Philippines, is also the Internet service subsidiary of the  Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company  (PLDT) for over 45 million cellular subscribers (Smart Comm. 2010). Smart Communications, Inc. is the Philippines’ leading wireless services provider with 34. 2 million subscribers on its GSM network (Smart Comm. , 2008). Of its total subscriber base, 20. 9 million subscribers are served under the brands Smart Buddy, Smart Gold and Smart Infinity and another 13. 3 million subscribers are served through its subsidiary, Pilipino Telephone Corp. , under the brand Talk ‘N Text. SMART has built a reputation for innovation, having introduced world-first wireless data services, including mobile commerce services such as Smart Money, Smart Load and Smart Padala. SMART also offers a 3G service, Smart 3G. These actually help SMART attain a very versatile service for its subscribers. (www. smart. com. ph) On the other hand, Globe Telecom provides mobile, fixed line, and broadband Internet services. It is the second largest mobile operator in the Philippines, with 27 million customers second only to SMART and PLDT. It also provides various services like SIM networks and Wireless Internet connectors. The most effective way to attract and retain the value- conscious Philippine mobile customer was to spur action through time-limited marketing promotions† (Globe Telecom, 2009) Globe Telecom will start to offer 3G mobile services during Q2 2006. The operator will provide its next-generation services free of charge as part of a promotional campaign in select cities . As mobile growth continues at a steady pace in the Philippines there were 36mn subscribers at the end of 2005, representing penetration of about 43% we expect 3G services to be a key source of growth in the industry. With BMI forecasting mobile penetration rates to exceed 70% in 2009, there will be little room for further subscriber growth. Globe Telecom also recognized that the most effective way to attract and retain the value-conscious Philippine mobile customer was to spur action through time-limited marketing promotions. (www. telecomsinsight. com) They attained more production through time valuing and speed production, because they believe that being quick brings in more services! In such an environment, success comes to the fast, nimble and intelligent—de? ed by the ability to target market opportunities with tactical campaigns, monitor their effectiveness and ? ne tune them in short order. That’s exactly how Globe Telecom—the number two provider in the Philippines, with 27 million customers—is approaching the competitive challenge. Globe speci? cally recognized that the most effective way to attract and retain the value-conscious Philippine mobile customer was to spur action through time-limited marketing promotions—for example, reload HSDPA service with PHP30 and also get 24 hours unlimited SMS product. Call it opportunistic marketing in the extreme. (http://www-05. ibm. om/innovations) The main objective of this research is to assess the different promotional strategies of SMART and Globe Telecom Networks in the Philippines. The reasons that pushed the researchers to write about this topic is because one of the most widely used technologies today involve the use of networking, and the main providers of such networking use different promotional strategies to beat the competition. The researchers will provide adequate information about the processes and procedures of the networking companies and also the different perceptions of the respondents the researchers are going to interview. Objectives of the Study The research entitled â€Å"The Promotional Strategies of Smart and Globe as Perceived by the Selected Mass Comm Students of New Era University† has the following objectives: 1. What are the promotional strategies of Smart and Globe? 2. What benefits do respondents enjoy out of these promotional strategies? 3. How does Smart and Globe execute these promotional strategies? 4. What problems are experienced by the respondents on these promotional strategies? 5. What solutions are rewarded to help respondents when it comes to the problems on promotional strategies? Scope and Limitations The research titled â€Å"The Promotional Strategies of Smart and Globe as Perceived by the Selected Mass Comm Students of New Era University† includes the information of the respondents’ perceptions according to the survey that will be given, and also the information from the references used. The research will only limit its survey to 50 selected First Year Mass Comm Students of New Era University. Also, The Researchers did not include any other network companies besides Smart Comm. and Globe Telecomm. Significance of the Study The research entitled â€Å"The Promotional Strategies of Smart and Globe As Perceived by the Selected Mass Comm Students of New Era University† will be beneficial to the following: The students, or the teenagers, who are usually the most extensive users or subscribers of the said networks. Based on how they are the one that is easy to convince on the promos of Text or Call promos of the network companies. The general readers, who will get to know the promotional techniques of Globe and Smart. Especially on the marketing management of the telecom company to find out how they can improve more their innovative strategy on promoting or making promos on telecommunication industry. The network company of Smart and Globe Telecom, who will understand and observe in this study the convenience of the text/call promos they promote to their subscribers and on their preparedness on how they approach to the competition. Definition of Terms The definition of these terms will help the readers to better understand this research paper. a. Promotion is one of the four elements of  marketing mix  (product, price, promotion, and place). . Cellphones   is a device that can make and receive  telephone calls  over a  radio link  whilst moving around a wide geographic area. c. Strategy a word of  military  origin that refers to a  plan  of action designed to achieve a particular  goal. d. Innovative is the creation of better or more effective  products,  processes,à ‚  services,  technologies, or  ideas  that are accepted by  markets,governments, and  society. e. Network A  directory  of people maintained for their advancement f. Consumers someone who trades  money  for  goods  as an individual. g. Subscriber a person who  subscribes  to a  publication  or a  service h. SIM card a small,  removable  card  smaller than a  credit card  which stores  mobile phone  data  such as  contact  names  and  numbers,  SMSs  and  security  information i. Company An  entity  that  manufactures  or  sells  products  (also known as  goods), or provides  services  as a  commercial  venture; a corporation j. Fixed Line A  fixed  telephone  communications  cable. k. Operator A  telecommunications  facilitator  whose job is to establish temporary network connections. l. Subsidiary A  company  owned by the  parent company  or  holding company.

The Leadership Processes Of Daimler Chrysler

The Leadership Processes Of Daimler Chrysler Since its establishment in 1924, Chrysler has been the leading automobile company manufacturing various motor vehicles such as the Chrysler Six; which was the one of the first modern cars to be built. Chrysler Six was claimed to be the first car scoring several firsts, for instance, oil filter, air cleaner, high compression engine, four wheeled hydraulic brakes and other such tech parts. Chrysler took over its competitor, American Motors Corporations in 1987. This was one of its initial mergers and acquisitions that placed Chrysler on the third position of United States auto manufacturers. On the 12th of January 1998, Chrysler Corporation merged with the German company, Daimler. In the period leading up to the merger, both companies were experiencing high profit growths. Daimler admired Chryslers entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking while Chrysler respected the methodological engineering and technical capabilities of Daimler. The two companies were interested in a merger as it would complement their capabilities and resources which would produce greater profits. The merger was touted as a corporate merger of equals and held high expectations among all stakeholders of the organizations (Darling, Seristo, Gabrielsson, 2005). Soon after the merger, both subgroups experienced various conflicts due to different national and corporate cultures, business practices, management and leadership styles and inefficient communication networks. Negotiations between senior leaders frizzled and led to the lay-off of then Chryslers CEO, Robert Eaton. Due to the lack of management support, communication and the eventual domination of Daimlers culture over Chryslers, key executives who had been credited with Chryslers success in the 1990s left the organization. This resulted in a management brain drain which evolved into a crisis situation for DaimlerChrysler. Subsequently, an organizational restructuring, production cutbacks and cost cutting measures were announced. However, it was unable to resolve the crisis and thus faced huge losses which eventually resulted in a merger failure. Chrysler dropped from its third position in the United States automobiles chart when it went through a merger with Daimler-Benz. Although it was a merger of equals, it was soon overridden by Daimler-Benz due to Globalization, Classical Approaches, Systems Approaches, Management Styles, Leadership Processes as well as Culture. Soon it was realised that Daimler and Chrysler could not function successfully, and thus in 2009 DaimlerChrysler filed for bankruptcy which left a mark on the history of United States automobiles. The main focus of our report will centre on Chrysler, throughout the period before and during its merger with Daimler, and how internal and external factors affected its operations. GLOBALIZATION When Chrysler first started out, it scored several firsts in the industry such as an oil filter, air cleaner, high compression engine, four-wheel hydraulic brakes, and other advanced Chrysler parts. As the company progressed on, it went through several disturbances in its environment continuing into its merger with Daimler. Globalization started taking its toll on Chrysler.Globalization, according to Miller, K. (2009), is the improvement of transportation and telecommunications system making our world, both on a personal and organizational level ever more connected, efficient and interconnected towards a more global economy (p. 2). Chrysler embarked on its journey of manufacturing efficient automobiles through various improvements such as significantly expanding the electronics and computer content on vehicles, with applications ranging from power train controls for improved fuel economy and reduced emissions, to enhanced safety systems and chassis controls and to on-board communication systems. Moving on in the years, Chrysler developed vehicles using outdated and expensive structures even as its sales and resources shrinked. Since Chryslers business was heavily weighted to North America, this made the organisation more vulnerable to local economic fluctuations and less able to take advantage of developing markets, as stated by the New York Times. Climate change also made an impact on Chrysler. As Stephen J. G. said, The decision to drive cars long distances to work was common among people in North America and Europe in the past 60 years. Cities grew larger. The development of suburbs often placed homes far from work places; massive road construction encouraged extravagant car useà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Driving a car is the most air polluting act an average citizen commits. Chrysler produced auto vehicles that were manufactured without any consideration to its environment. Stephen J. G. (2008), said that Chrysler faced criticisms for their larger vehicles as they were exploiting the innate human tendency to seek domination over othersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Bigger is better. However, in 2009, due to climate change, Chrysler changed their tactics, targeting buyers with their higher fuel efficiency and smaller automobiles. Soon after, Chrysler came up with a Hybrid car which boasted fuel efficiency. Chrysler is further expanding on this idea by following it through till 2011 by making new models of the car but using the same technology, for instance, the electric vehicle Dodge Ev. We can view Chrysler in two different views, namely the Utopian view and the Dystopian view. For the Utopian view, we know that Chrysler will continue to change along with globalization and expand its horizons further than North America. It can also adapt with other cultures and societies by learning from its past and bringing it forward to use it in its future. Despite several downfalls, Chrysler always manages to pick itself up and survive through mergers, with Daimler in 1998 and Fiat in 2009. In terms of the dystopian view, clearly, due to its several changes, Chrysler is losing its original organizational structure. Chrysler is maintaining its image by retaining the Chrysler logo for its automobiles despite merging with various other organizations. Nevertheless, even though Chrysler has worked hard to preserve its external image, it has undeniably lost its charm to potential buyers and its customer base. SYSTEMS APPROACHES During the period of cultural change in the 1990s, Chrysler made some improvements to its organizational system. It increased the involvement of people in its operations which improved the permeability of its operations with its suppliers and customers. Before the merger with Daimler, Chryslers management had allowed permeability in its operations in which there was a two way communication between Chrysler and its customers through feedback and information flows. Recognizing the importance of receiving information from customers for improving their focus on development, Chryslers system processes utilized positive, growth and deviation amplifying feedback. In which, customers were requested to provide feedback about their products. Through processing these inputs from customers and workers, Chrysler modified its products to achieve higher profits (Zatz, 1994). In addition, Chrysler improved its system properties namely, holism and negative entropy. The CEO, designers and assembly line workers held meetings together to create and gather information and ideas. This resulted in the creation of successful products by the company (Zatz, 1994). This shows the property of holism where the end product achieved was greater in value than what the employees could have created individually. Chrysler also practiced negative entropy as it valued customers feedback and provided information of its operations to the public. However, after the merger with Daimler, Chryslers existing organizational system processes and properties were replaced by the dominant Daimlers system. This resulted in organizational restructuring, production cutbacks, cost cutting measures and numerous worker layoffs. The loss of Chryslers successful system resulted in high losses for DaimlerChrysler (Darling et al, 2005). The merger also brought about a high level of uncertainty among employees of Chrysler. According to Cervone, T (2009), communication was an area where DaimlerChrysler fell apart, because there were differences about what needed to be communicated and how to communicate. Daimlers style of communication was solely top-down management communication. However, Chrysler used a more in-depth and extensive communication network with its employees. Therefore as employees were unable to receive important information after the merger, equivocality was high among employees of Chrysler. This was due to the different enactments by employees which created multiple informational environments due to the limited information received in the communication networks. Karl Weicks Theory of Organizing states that reducing equivocality is central to the process of organizing in an organization. It also states that through the use of assembly rules and communication cycles, equivocality should be resolved. In the case of DaimlerChrysler, no effort was made to reduce equivocality and this eventually resulted in the departure of key executives of the organization, creating huge losses for the merger (Darling et al, 2005). The period of merger was a time of uncertainty, disorder and constant conflicts among employees of Daimler and Chrysler. There were various conflicts that stemmed from a vast difference in national and corporate cultures, conflicts on compensation as well as travel expenses. Failure to integrate or assimilate the organizational practices and cultures of both companies created disorder in the merger. Furthermore, the period after Chryslers CEO was fired by Daimler due to differences and the subsequent domination of Daimlers management, pulled Chryslers employees further into disorder (Darling et al, 2005). The New Science Systems Theory states that when systems are at the edge of chaos, order can emerge from disorder. It emphasizes the importance of relationships and being open to information to create new and innovative organizational processes. The high level of disorder present in the merger could have been advantageously used by the management of DaimlerChrysler to create a sustainable and innovative new system. However, as there were problems in the management itself and a lack of information flow and disharmony among employees in the organization, this opportunity was lost to DaimlerChrysler. CLASSICAL APPROACHES As with most German companies, Daimler embodied the concept of absolute formality. There was a high emphasis placed on the respect that junior workers had to show those higher up in the hierarchy, and it was expected of workers to take extreme care not to make mistakes when names and titles were concerned. Chrysler, being an American company, was practically the complete opposite of this. There was very little emphasis placed on hierarchies within the company, and the management encouraged a very comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. Many a time, mid-level executives could make decisions without fear of negative repercussions from higher-ups. In fact, it was this spontaneity and risk-taking attitude that Chryslers success was partially attributed to. (Vance Paik, 2006.) Upon the merger of the two companies, the actions of Daimler-side co-chairman Schrempp made it clear that despite touting the merge as a marriage of equals, Daimler was still fighting to retain dominance in the newly merged DaimlerChrysler. The Chrysler executives were used to ensuring that their opinions were heard by the rest of the board, no matter what their level was in the corporate hierarchy. This style of communication was unheard of in German companies, and Schrempp felt so threatened by this openness that he removed them from the company to preserve his position and power. (Badrtalei Bates, 2007.) Schrempp also axed some individuals from the post-merger management board, and a large majority of those fired hailed from the Chrysler division. Communications-wise, we can see that Daimler favored a top-down, formal style of communication within the company as seen from their strict hierarchy and style of decision-making. Chrysler, on the other hand, preferred to encourage an open floor of discussion, allowing as many employees as possible to participate and took their input into consideration. The main mistake committed by the DaimlerChryslers managerial board was that of being far too rigid when it came to the issue of communications within the company. (Vance Paik, 2006.) In Daimler-Benz, all decisions were made by a board of management executives in the main headquarters in Germany. Those in the lower levels of management had no power in making decisions, as everything would first have to be put past those at the very top of the corporate hierarchy. This cost the company their stability in the time period immediately after the merger, where many problems had the tendency to occur. Despite Chryslers executives being those who were used to making decisions on their own, without having to go through higher levels of authority, they were unable to make any quick decisions which might have saved the company due to Daimlers insistence on forcing them to adopt German style of decision making, which was an arduous, intricate process, and thus took a very long time. Although Frederick Taylors theory of Scientific Management offers that there is only one best way to accomplish any task, the case of DaimlerChryslers failed merger shows that this is not necessarily so there are situations which call for spontaneous, quick thinking as well. (Badrtalei Bates, 2007.) The reason for Chryslers apparent assimilation into Daimler, as opposed to there being a stabilized platform of equals between the two, was made clear by the remark passed by Schrempp in an interview conducted in October 2000. In it, it was insinuated that the German co-chairman had intended for it to be an acquisition of Chrysler instead of a merger of equals from the very beginning. This was ironically the exact same view that Chrysler chairman Robert Eaton had rejected so vehemently. It is then easy to see exactly why such a large majority of the Chrysler executives (about two thirds) had been either fired or left the company and replaced by managers from the Daimler corporate grid (Darling et al., 2005). DaimlerChryslers Hierarchy MANAGEMENT STYLE Despite many labelling the merger of DaimlerChrysler as the deal of the century (Keegan, 2005) where the merger of equals would bring out the best of both organisations, DaimlerChrysler went under major crisis after their merger. According to Darling, Seristo and Gabrielsson (2005), crisis is defined to be situations that interrupt an organisations usual activity and process (pp. 346-347). Crisis occurred within the newly merged company due to a few reasons; Firstly, the merger of Daimler and Chrysler resulted in irreconcilable differences in its managerial and leaderships styles. Managerial-leadership, or the lack of it, makes or breaks an organisation in times of crisis. According to Blake and Moutons Managerial Grid, Chryslers management belonged to the Country club style of management, where organisational leaders exhibited a high concern for its people as compared to the low concern for production. Chrysler, being an American based company, had its managers concentrating efforts on the establishment of a pleasant workplace with friendly and comfortable human relations. On the other hand, Daimler exercised the authority compliance style of management. As quoted from Daimlers Chairman Dieter Zetsche, Daimler systematically train [their] employees so that every one of them clearly understands that compliance is not optional its an integral element of [their] corporate culture (2009), which is characterised as high concern for production and low concern for people. The organisations main objective would be to ensure that its managers focus on arrangements of components in the workplace to maximize efficiency and attain goals. Hence, unlike the American based Chrysler, German Daimler management had little concern for human needs. According to Darling et al. (2005), The DaimlerChrysler merger à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ was not an ordinary merger. This merger had embedded within it the existence of two very strong yet different organizational cultures that were expected to become integrated to facilitate achievement of the goals and objectives of the merged cross-cultural global enterprise. Failure to successfully integrate the two cultures gave rise to a crisis that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ threaten[ed] the existence of DaimlerChrysler. As there was no clear distinction of a culture after the merger, employees from both companies encountered various intergroup conflicts. These conflicts escalated during the interactions of these now interdependent sub bodies of an organisation that lived in mistrust and continued to perceive opposition of goals, aims, and values, each perceiving the other party as potentially interfering with the realization of these goals. Both companies failed to drop their existing organizational culture and find a shared direction or vision. The merger was thus marked by deep distrust between the two subgroups, as could be seen from how Daimler and Chrysler both openly showed their conflict. They failed to reach a compromise, much less a collaboration to solve the differences to resolve the conflict. Many later commented that the DaimlerChrysler merger was nothing more than an outright acquisition of Chrysler by the German automaker (Keegan, 2005). American President of Chrysler group Jim Holden, together with the management, was eventually replaced by Zetsche and the German management from Daimler, who tries to instil the German practice on the American organisation, hence causing the organisational culture of Chrysler to be dominated by the Daimler management. As the merged organisation fought to survive in the highly competitive manufacturing sector, they adopted the Likerts System I due to the Blake and Moutons Authority-Compliance leadership style, the exploitative authoritative organisation, which is characterised by motivation through downward communication, top-level decision making, the giving of orders, and top level control. Although the strict hierarchical regime might have worked with the German Daimler, it only served as a harsh culture shock to American based Chrysler. Chrysler and Daimler succeeded on their own because of their unique features. Merging without collaboration simply meant that their uniqueness had to be sacrificed, hence causing them to lose their edge in the market. LEADERSHIP PROCESSES After the merger of DaimlerChrysler both subgroups experienced a high level of change. Many problems surfaced during the organizational change process. Firstly there was a lack of management support by Daimler and Chryslers management. According to Darling et al. (2005), Chryslers CEO, Robert Eaton who was in charge of the integration of the two companies, lacked the leadership skills or political savvy needed to help the new entity develop a unique culture that represented the best of both worlds. Secondly there was inconsistent action on the part of the management on both sides. Daimler-Benz and Chrysler both had extremely different styles of management and corporate culture. As a result, both companies experienced clashes in operational practices during and after the merger, which quickly escalated in intensity and frequency to the point where the merged company found itself entering a state of crisis (Darling et al, 2005). The leaders of DaimlerChrysler were thus unable to form a clear management vision to be shared with others in the organization. Ownership tension, characterized in this case by these two issues, hampered the successful implementation change efforts and subsequently resulted in a failed merger. In addition, communication between the two subgroups was poor. Daimler practiced an autocratic top down communication style, while Chrysler used an in depth and extensive communication style (Cervone, 2010). As the cultures and communication networks of the two subgroups were not assimilated, there was no clear communication network to both subgroups. Also there were differences about what needed to be communicated. This resulted in uncertainty and anxiety among all organizational members. Despite the multitude of problems experienced by DaimlerChrysler, during the change process, there was no clear effort by the leaders to successfully implement the change process by providing effective management support and reducing uncertainty for organizational members. These problems escalated and subsequently became one of the main factors that caused the merger failure. CULTURE In the early 1990s, Chrysler experienced several problems that stemmed from a lack of a strong culture in the organization. Chrysler was historically known for its innovation but along the years, lost its core value by producing outdated products. Its relationships with its customers and various stakeholders deteriorated. These problems adversely affected the companys profits (Zatz, 1994). In order to boost its falling profits, Chrysler made efforts to create a strong organizational culture that increased individual and organizational performance to greater levels. Chrysler began by revamping its core assumption of innovation with a multitude of effective values. These values supported individual participation, growth and improvement in processes which resulted in an overall increase in organizational performance. They are also described as themes for excellent cultures by Peter and Waterman. The values Chrysler incorporated are; the involvement of people in which ideas were solicited from suppliers, customers wants and needs were collated via customer feedback, assembly line workers were included in the planning process and mechanics were consulted early in the process. The value of learning or the Hands-on, value driven theme in which members actively took part in the analysis of past mistakes and achievements in order to improve their overall processes was implemented. In addition the value of quality was created. Chrysler had in place a product quality improvement partnership program to improve quality by increasing teamwork. This is similar to the theme of Simultaneous loose-tight properties as employees exhibited a unity of purpose of achieving quality through diversity in the form of teamwork. The program was a success as it produced the 1966 Grand Cherokee and Chrysler PT cruiser which consistently appeared at the top of the quality charts (Zatz, 1994). These values were encouraged by top management and in time, supported by all employees. This form of synergy was represented in the organizations behaviours and artefacts. Chrysler adopted a participative decision making style, practised wide communication on all networks, implemented low power distance which resulted in a freewheeling open culture that was indifferent to positions or hierarchy. Chryslers Onion Model in the 1990s In 1998, Chrysler merged with Daimler. The merger was touted as the merger of equals. However, Daimler and Chrysler failed to consider the vast differences in their national cultures during merger negotiations. This led to conflicting corporate cultures, unresolved problems and ultimately a failed merger (Darling et al, 2005). The German culture of Daimler-Benz was generally less individualistic then Americans. They were uncomfortable with anxiety and ambiguity, practised indirectness in communication and gave respect for title, age and background. While, Daimlers culture consisted of an autocratic leadership style, top- down management and limited involvement of employees. Daimler was characterized as being conservative, efficient and safe. This collided with Chryslers values and opposed its American values of a free-wheeling and open culture. They were characterized as being risk-taking and innovative. Therefore, misunderstandings soon occurred due to the differences in their communication styles, planning and decision-making processes and leadership styles (Darling et al, 2005). During the merger, there were long heated discussions between the CEOs of Daimler and Chrysler about the differences in their corporate cultures and behavioural traits. They recognized the differences but were unsure of how to assimilate the cultures. Finally, they decided that if the differences were far apart, they would pick a spot in the middle and they would merge (Cervone, 2010). By doing so, the CEOs failed to recognize that organizational cultures are often ambiguous. There are potentially multiple manifestations to a corporate culture which are diverse and dynamic. Thus, picking a spot in the middle of two different cultures will not create an effective culture for DaimlerChrysler. Also, organizational cultures are not unitary. It is impossible to characterize an organization as having a single culture as there are multitudes of subcultures existing in conflict or harmony with one another. As such, the CEOs decision to pick a culture that is midway between their cultures will not result in success. This would fail to recognize the subcultures within the organization that largely impacts its behaviours and decisions. In addition, organizational cultures are complicated. Integrating two independent companies with divergent cultures into one cohesive organization is a major undertaking (Zatz, 1994). Simply picking a culture will not create a sustainable culture for DaimlerChrysler. This objectifies culture by simplifying it and de-emphasizing the complex processes via which organizational culture is created and sustained. Culture is in actuality pervasive and it affects the everyday business of the firm (Weber, Camerer, 2003). Thus, more effort is needed to collaborate both cultures. The leaders should create joint basic assumptions and related values for the organization. This would create a shared meaning among all employees and subcultures which would in turn create similar behavioural traits. This level of synergy in cultures will result in success for DaimlerChrysler. Furthermore, organizational cultures are emergent. It is a product of constant interrelationships between organizational members in different contexts and settings. After the merger, cultural workshops were put in place to integrate both subgroups of the company. These workshops were not supported by both members and thus failed. Subsequently, no other efforts were made by the management to integrate the members. As no clear distinction of a culture was made, Daimlers culture grew to be more dominant and oppressing to employees of Chrysler. Employees became increasingly dissatisfied and there were constant cultural collisions in the interrelationships between Daimler and Chryslers employees. This led to the departure of key Chrysler executives who had led the company to success in its domestic and international markets for creativity, efficiency and profitability. As a result, the companies faced huge losses (Zatz, 1994). This situation could have been avoided by integrating employees of both corporations. By creating opportunities for employees to interact in settings such as orientation of members to the newly merged company, company events, department dinners or joint work teams, would have increased familiarity and created cohesive relationships between employees. Also, communication networks should be expanded and fully utilized to disseminate information during the merger in order to reduce uncertainty and increase support of the merger. These methods would have allowed a cohesive culture among members of both companies to emerge over time. CONCLUSION Why was Chrysler a success? Chrysler initially pioneered several automobile parts, making it more accepted in the automobile market. After being criticised for not being environmentally friendly, Chrysler replied to the criticisms by introducing a new line of automobiles such as Hybrid cars and electric cars in the Dodge EV series and brought the brand back into demand. Why was DaimlerChrysler a failure? The merger of Daimler and Chrysler did not thrive as many people had predicted. It would have became the collaboration of the century if only they had managed to solve the problems that occurred within the newly formed DaimlerChrysler. The issues they faced were: There were problems with the organizational system processes of the newly merged organization. Chrysler, on its own, constantly strived to improve its system properties, for instance, holism and negative entropy. However after it was merged with Daimler, they went under organizational restructuring, production cutbacks, cost cutting measures and numerous worker layoffs resulting in a high level of uncertainty among employees due to limited information received in communication network. Daimler embodied the concept of absolute formality, while Chrysler placed very little emphasis on hierarchies within the company. Furthermore, Daimler was still fighting to retain dominance in the newly merged DaimlerChrysler. The main mistake committed by the DaimlerChryslers managerial board was them being far too rigid when it came to the issue of communications within the company. The lack of a suitable managerial-leadership also caused a crisis. Daimler exercised the authority compliance style of management over Chryslers style of management of the Country club. The merger was thus marked by deep distrust when they failed to even reach a compromise to resolve their conflict. Chrysler experienced several problems that stemmed from a lack of a strong culture in the organization. Chrysler was historically known for its innovation but along the years, lost its core value by producing outdated products. Daimler and Chrysler failed to consider the vast differences in their national cultures and assimilate them during merger negotiations, thus causing DaimlerChrysler to lose its edge in the market, which ultimately led to a failed merger. What they should have done to solve the problems? During the negotiations prior to the merger, leaders of Daimler and Chrysler should have identified the vast differences in the national and corporate cultures of both companies. As both of the companies merged to complement their capabilities and resources, the domination and oppression of Daimlers culture over Chrysler adversely affected the merger. Chrysler experienced a loss of culture and an erosion of its successful values which reduced its overall capability. Therefore, the leaders of DaimlerChrysler should have exhibited cultural sensitivity and emotional intelligence to facilitate the growth of a cohesive culture. Through the collaboration of shared meanings and values, DaimlerChrysler would have created a successful merger. What happened to Chrysler in the end? Chryslers sales tumbled 30 percent in 2008 and it ended the year with only $2 billion in cash and reliant on a government bailout to keep it afloat. After which Fiat took an interest in Chrysler after thorough research of whether it will have minimal downside and be profitable. As JP Morgans analyst Himanshu Patel said, the merger for both Fiat and Chrysler could help the U.S. automaker secure another round of bailout funds. This is a strategic alliance, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer with Solaris Asset Management in New York By Gilles Castonguay and Poornima Gupta We hope that Chrys

Process of Matrix Acidizing

Process of Matrix Acidizing CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1. Preface: Well stimulation techniques are applied regularly to improve productivity and maximize recovery from oil and gas wells. One of these techniques is matrix acidizing which is probably the most extensively performed job due to its low cost as compared to hydraulic fracturing, and it’s appropriateness to both production improvement and to restore original permeability in damaged wells. Acidizing treatments in general can be classified as : Acid washing Matrix acidizing Fracture acidizing ( or acid-fracturing) In acid washing, the purpose is simply tubular and wellbore cleaning. Treatment of the formation is not considered. Acid washing is most often Carried out to clean out scale and other materials restricting flow in the well. In fracture acidizing, acid is injected into a fracture created by a viscous fluid or the acid itself used to create the fracture. As acid progresses in the fracture, it reacts with the fracture walls, resulting in dissolution etching. Matrix acidizing which is the focal of this research, is defined as the process in which an acid is injected into the formation at pressures below the fracturing pressure of the formation so that fractures are not created. The injected fluid will react with the formation and dissolve some of the materials present and hence eliminate the formation damage and/or increase the permeability in the near-wellbore region.(1)The acidizing process leads to improving the maximum recovery in both sandstone and carbonate reservoirs and increasing economic reserves. In carbonate formations, matrix acidizing acts by forming conductive channels, called wormholes, through the formation. These wormholes penetrate beyond the near-wellbore region, or extending from perforations, as illustrated in figure (1.1). Acid-induced wormholes in carbonate rocks are similar to the holes made by earthworms underground, hence the name.(2) Often, acid will form  primarily single wormhole from limited numbers of perforations, without significant branching. That is the case when strong acids are used, such as HCl. Weaker acids, such as acetic acid, and retarded acid systems tend to create more branching of wormholes, which is preferable but only to a certain range. Retarded acid systems comprise viscosified acids (e.g., surfactant or polymer surfactant-gelled acid, emulsified acid, and foamed acid) or chemically retarded acid. The nature of wormholes created is controlled by the injection rate, temperature, and formation reaction characteristics.(2) In carbonate formations, the most frequently used acid is hydrochloric acid (HCl) which reacts with carbonates and form water (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and a calcium or magnesium salt. Typical reactions in carbonates are(3): For Calcite: 2HCl+CaCO3 CaCl2+CO2+H2O .(1.1) and for Dolomite: 4HCl+CaMg(CO3)2 CaCl2 +MgCl2+2H2O+2CO2 .(1.2) Figure(1.1): CT- Scanned wormhole structures from a core-flood experiment(4) 1.2. Formation Damage: Formation damage is a common expression denoting to the impairment of the permeability by different processes. It is an undesirable functioning and economic problem that can take place during the different phases of oil and gas recovery from reservoirs, such as drilling , hydraulic fracturing, workover operations, and production. Formation damage indicators include permeability impairment, skin damage, and decrease of well performance. Figure (1.2) represents the common formation damage mechanisms in the order of significance.(5) Seven formation damage mechanisms were summarized by Bishop (1997).(6) These mechanism are: Fluid–fluid incompatibilities; for example emulsions formed between formation water and oil-based mud filtrate. Rock–fluid inconsistency; for instance contact of possibly swelling clay by nonequilibrium water-based fluids will reduce near wellbore permeability. Solids invasion; such as the invasion of drilled solids or weighting agents . Phase /blocking; for instance the invasion of water-based mud in the near wellbore region in a gas well. wettability alteration; for example emulsifier adsorption altering the wettability and fluid flow features of a formation. Fines migration; for instance the movement of fine particulates in a rock’s pore structure , as a result bridging and plugging will form in pore throats. Biological activity; such as the bacterial agent that enter into the formation during drilling. 1.3. General Information about Field under Study: The Badra field is located in Wasit governorate 160 Km toward southeast from Baghdad city and extends across the borders to Iran. The Badra-1 discovery well was drilled in 1979. A second appraisal well (BD-2) was drilled in late-1980s but was abandoned due to the war before reaching the planned TD and main target Mauddud reservoir. No DST, coring or production testing were done. Two appraisal wells (BD-4 and BD-5) were drilled; coring and testing was in 2013. In 2011, 169 sq.km seismic 3D acquisition was done and interpreted. Figure (1.3) shows the oil field and Badra field location. Figure (1.2): Classification and order of the common formation damage mechanisms Figure  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­(1.3):Zagros Province and Oil fields 1.4. Objectives of the Present Study: The present research aims to design matrix acidizing process for one of the Iraqi oil wells (Carbonate formation) using Hydrochloric acid (HCl) . The purpose is to follow up the formation damage occurrence due to drilling mud and completion fluids and removal, permeability improvement, and minerals dissolution in the carbonate formation caused by the acidizing process. As well as evaluating the matrix acidizing behavior, the effect of rock heterogeneity, and to determine the optimal injection rates of the acid to create channels in these formation. A new laboratory apparatus will be designed and constructed to perform the planned experiments. The setup should reproduce ,as much as possible, the characteristics of the treatments conditions to investigate the effects of matrix acidizing on carbonate rocks having variable mineral composition. Extensive experiments are required to be conducted to study the validation of the operative suitability and reliability of the apparatus under a broad range of pressure, flow rate, volume pumped, and acid concentration along with different additives. The licensed StimPro software will be applied , for the first time, for matrix acidizing process for Iraqi carbonate formation.

Colonial Society and Economy :: American America History

Colonial Society and Economy There were numerous effects of the French and Indian War; the Peace of Paris of 1763 ended the French and Indian War, closing all French power in North America. With the Death of King George II, the new English king, King George the III, wanted to put an end to the French and Indian War, pursuing peace and agreement. With this agreement, the Peace of Paris of 1763, came many stipulations. The French lost all of their land in North America. Many of the area settlers were forced to leave their homes, and many stayed behind to fight for their country. However, British rule was already set to dominate North America. Due to new government rule, King George III, peace was now the mindset of the English. After the Peace of Paris of 1763, land and possessions were divided among Britain and Spain. Britain got all of the French lands and possessions east of the Mississippi River and all of Florida which was owned by Spain. To make up for Spain losing Florida, they received Louisiana, which at that time was New Orleans and all the French land that was to the west of the Mississippi River. After allocating this land, the French had none left in North America. Also, in the West Indies, the French forfeited Tobago, Dominica, Grenada, and St. Vincent, which was most of what they had in the area. Basically, the Peace of Paris of 1763 left the French with nothing, and that was the goal. The people of the Americas were also effected by the ending of the French and Indian War. After the English received Spanish Florida, they invited all of the Spanish settlers to stay and continue practicing their religion, Spanish Catholicism, but most did not stay. The Spanish king had ordered the Spanish settlers to leave the colony and gave them all free transportation to Spanish owned lands in the Caribbean. Most of the Spanish settlers sold their property within a year at very low prices and moved to Mexico and Cuba. The French settlers, however, mainly stayed in the area. French authority roused them not to leave, but instead to stay in the now Spanish territory and work to create a movement against further English expansion. There were a great number of French settlers in the area because the French territory, Louisiana, was very large.

Essay --

Childhood Obesity In The United States Childhood obesity is definitely a problem today because of the shocking levels that it has reached up to in the past couple of years. Genetics and the change of lifestyle and culture created children who are less healthy than people were in the last 20 years. Obesity is the result of these changes. There is a difference between being overweight and being obese. Being overweight means a person’s weight is high in comparison to other people who are the same height. This does not have anything to do with one’s level of body fat. For example, someone could be heavier because he or she has a lot of muscle mass. â€Å"† (Roth). Obesity is when a person has a very high amount of body fat in comparison to his or her lean body mass. Obesity in America increased by eleven percent between 1991 and 2003. A different study showed a comparison between 1988-1994 to 1999- 2000. The percent comparing these two periods of overweight kids increased an average of 4.1 percent for tho se between the age of two and nineteen. Recent research is doing a good job so far by the real reasons of obese children. Scientists are doing this by looking closely at nutrition and genetics. A high glycemic index comes from simple carbohydrates. For the body to digest these simple carbs it must produce lots of insulin, which lowers one’s blood sugar and makes them feel hungry. Carbs that are Complex have a lower glycemic index and do not need as much insulin to digest, making one’s blood sugar not as low. This means people do not feel as hungry as soon after eating these foods. One experiment showed children who ate foods with a low glycemic index for breakfast were not as hungry at lunch resulting in the child eating less food. Childr... ...tion classes because of problems with money. They use the money on other academic classes. Another factor that contributes to childhood obesity is that more parents are working late, which leads to fewer family meals. This results in ordering more food from restaurants, which is usually higher in fat content. Another environmental factor is that in major cities, there is less room for children to play. Some parents are able to send their children to after-school gyms and activities, but those cost money and require transportation. These are two things that not all parents have. This problem is conflict theory. In conclusion, children are getting fatter everyday. However, scientist and researchers are finding many ways to get rid of this problem. They have done a good job so far and eventually most people will be aware the importance of a healthy diet and exercise.

My Brother Cried :: Personal Narrative Death Papers

My Brother Cried I stand there shivering as tears stream down my face and roll onto my coat. I cannot believe she is really gone-- she was only four months old. It is not fair to take her away from her family; she was only a baby. I listen as the bishop and the priest try to comfort our pain, but somehow they make it more of a grievous reality-- Stephanie is really gone. When the bishop finishes blessing the grave, I hear the echos of Stephanie's anguished mother, "Don't take my baby away, I love her!" I ponder her words as they ring in my head; it makes me think, "Did I really love her?" I know I did, but at first I tried not to. I cry because of my heartlessness; Stephanie only needed love and attention while she existed on earth. As I watch her mother weep, I condemn myself-- a terrible aunt. Despite my crude heart, I soon realize that Stephanie touched all of our lives, not just mine, in some way or another. Stephanie Becomes Extremely Sick Stephanie Christine Schank was born on a quiet, rainy Sunday in October. Immediately after church, my older brother Chris and I traveled over thirty miles north from Silver Spring, Maryland to Gaithersburg to see our newborn niece. Despite the familiar picturesque autumn scenery, we drove on Interstate 270 in dismal silence. We heard something might have gone wrong during the birth. Chris and I did not know what to expect. Upon arrival at Shady Grove Hospital, a nurse guided us to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. A million troubling thoughts raced through my mind. Could something possibly be wrong with the baby? No way! That would never happen to a righteous Mormon family. Why would God give a honorable family an affliction as serious as this? I never expected anything unfortunate to happen to my family or me, and especially not to my brother and his wife. I thought about Marisel, Stephanie's mother: perhaps she had a hard birth and the doctors needed specialists. I rationalized an y possible problem and convinced myself that everything was fine. Chris and I sat in painful silence as we waited patiently for someone to come answer our many questions. Finally, Mike, my oldest brother, and his home teacher strolled down the hallway. I assumed that Mike had taken him back to see Stephanie and Marisel.

Nonverbal Essay

223 S. 2nd Street Sunbury, Pa. 17801 The date TITLE OF YOUR ESSAY On February 24, 2010 my supervisor, Roy Love and I had a 45 minute Meeting concerning a few of the problems, which I feel was a bad Reflection of our ability to perform what was required of us at Congra. I felt the problem of fellow co-worker taking too much Time off, which was putting too much burden on the rest of the Of my co -workers. We also discussed the problem of a fellow Co-worker Performing the duties require in his task assignment. Mr. Love and I We have worked together for about 1 year. I felt I knew him well enough to Know he was a fair man and did his job in a profession standard. When Mr. Love and I was talking I got myself not making direct Eye contact, while I was constantly rocking back and forward. I feel uncomfortable about talking about fellow co-workers I feel it wrong to talk behind the backs of my fellow workers. During our meeting I felt my tone of voice I felt my toner of voice getting louder when I was upset. Considering the meeting I Should not felt this way because it better to get your opinions Out in the open, so things ca gets resolved. When things go Unresolved there becomes a lack of communication, which Causes a lot angry displayed to the other co-worker. Then The company which contacted to perform this service in their Plant feels maybe they made a mistake hiring his cleaning This cleaning crew because they were living up to Conga’s standards. During the course of the meeting we ask matt to joint in the In this meeting. Mr. Love explains to him why he was asking to join the meeting. Mr. Love Explain the problem I was having with his absenteeism and his poor Job performs. I felt uncomfortable in talking with Matt because he Was a young man who did not take critizing lightly? He showed His angry in the way he stood and his express on his face. After the Meeting he did not talk to me the rest of the night. I discovered that I had a least 3 bad nonverbal listening habit, This needed a great deal of improvement. I need to learn a lot Move how to improve my eye contact skills. My posture needs a Great deal of improvement and try to go into a meeting with a Calmer altitude and I need to learn that he only my supervisor And he will not judge me for my opionions. When there is a problem Not be afraid to talk to him one on one. He appreciate my open and Honest concerning these problems and hope to get them resolved Quickly. My reaction to what I have learn during this meeting was I Need to stop and think before I enter a meeting in the way I Approach the person I am going to talk with and that what your Body language, gestures, eye contact and tone of voice is what The listener sees first of all. I feel I have a better understanding What other see and I plan to improve that in the future..

The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club This paper is an analysis of five dissimilar teenagers representing a cross-section of middle class high school students in the suburbs. The students meet each other for the first time during a Saturday morning detention session. Each student arrived to the school by different means, which is a precursor to determining the type of individual each one is. The group is comprised of a â€Å"princess†, an â€Å"athlete†, a â€Å"brain†, a â€Å"criminal†, and a â€Å"basket case†. These are the roles the students play during the week. Because of typical stereotypes and status levels, at the onset, the students don’t want anything to do each other at the beginning of the detention session. However, once confronted by the controlling principal and realizing they have a whole day to spend together, the students begin to interact. Once the students start communicating with each other, they realize that they are more alike than unlike. Each one of them has their own issues they are dealing with, they each long for self-acceptance; they all fight against peer pressure; they all desire parental approval. Eventually through the course of the day, they break through the barriers and begin to understand each other and accept each other as well as themselves. The students eventually develop a group identity and call themselves, â€Å"The Breakfast Club. † Claire is the â€Å"princess†; an upper-class, popular prom queen who was punished with detention after she ditched classes to go shopping. She enjoys her wealth, but this causes others to envy her. She is a bit shy and doesn’t easily reveal information about herself. She is very insecure with herself because she is not very smart and isn’t athletically inclined which is why she wants to be a part of the â€Å"in† crowd at school. She feels neglected by her parents and is yearning for attention from them. She was driven to school for the detention session in a BMW by her father. As he dropped her off he explained to her that this is a strict punishment and perhaps she shouldn’t skip school to go shopping. Bender the â€Å"bad boy† on the other hand, is a lower-class young man who is perceived to be a ociopathic criminal; he is desperate for attention at school. This may be due to a lack of attention at home or perhaps abuse. Because of his rebellious nature, Bender finds himself in detention more often than not. Bender wanders up to the school by his own free will. His parents are not shown at all during the film. Andrew the â€Å"jock† is a regimented and determined wrestler who wants break free from the athlete role in order to think for himself. His father demands that he succeeds athletically as he doesn’t tolerate losing, he requires Andrew to be No. in his athletic endeavors. His father doesn’t care what Andrew wants in life, he just wants him to win all of his wrestling matches. Andrew was dropped off to the school by his father who was chastising him before dropping him off and explaining that he could potentially lose his athletic scholarship due to his behavior. Brian the â€Å"nerd† is a straight – A student who struggles with expectations of high grades. His parents seem to push him to do very well in school. However, he doesn’t have any confidence in himself and relies upon his success in school to motivate him. His self confidence was crushed when he received a failing grade in shop class. He was sent to detention because a teacher found a gun in his locker which he was going to use to kill himself; however, it wouldn’t have worked because it was a flare gun. Brian was dropped off to the school by one of his parents and his younger sister. He was told to get his homework done while in detention. Lastly, Allison the â€Å"kook† is an introvert who is ignored by her peers. She is a very quiet girl hardly ever speaking, which makes it difficult for people to understand her. When she does speak, she usually does so in self defense. She longs for attention, in order to receive it; she acts like a mentally unstable individual. She suffers from boredom and is very reserved. She shocked the group when she emptied her purse which held nothing but useless items in an attempt to gain attention from the others at the beginning of the detention session. Allison was dropped off to the school, but you can’t tell by who as the person drives off before any words are exchanged. She states that she did nothing wrong to get sent to detention. She displays very peculiar behavior during the detention session. At the onset of the detention session, each student’s status is conveyed by their existing peer social status in school. They form bonds, with whom they feel most comfortable with, for example, Claire and Andrew immediately sit down next to each other and begin exchanging conversation about the friends they have in common within the â€Å"popular† crowd that they are a part of. Brian is next in line in the school social status scene because of his intelligence but he is still considered to be a geek by his peers. In contrast, Allison and Bender are at the bottom of the school social scene. As the morning detention session progresses, each member of the group surrenders their previous roles as they assume new positions within the group. Bender, who usually has a low-status position, assumes a leadership role because of his expertise with detention. He is on a first name basis with the janitor and Mr. Vernon, the principal. Mr. Vernon displays a tough outer shell but seems to fear Bender. Bender is clearly the dominating force in the group. His rebellious personality is displayed when he breaks the established rules and moves from his seat after being told not to. He also tore up a library book and removed a screw from one of the library doors so it couldn’t stay open in order for Mr. Vernon to keep an eye on them. When Mr. Vernon questioned the group as to why the door is closed and wouldn’t stay open the group covered up for him. This behavior clearly displays Bender’s disregard for authority. Instead of being condemned by his peers, Bender’s questions and actions are valued within the group. He leaves the session with a new found respect for his new friends as well as an attraction to Claire whom he had constantly made fun of for being a snob throughout the detention session. He also dropped the tough guy persona and accepted himself as someone who was good in his own way. Claire and Andrew also go against their normal high school behaviors during the session. Andrew no longer appears to play the macho athlete role and actually cries in front of the others as he describes how his father has pressured him to be someone he doesn’t want to be. He expressed how at times he wished for his knee to give out so he wouldn’t be able to wrestle anymore. He finally comes to realize that he doesn’t need to be the man his father expects him to be and that his life is his own to determine and not what his father desires. It is clear that he that he has broken from the grips of his father when he leaves the detention session partnered with Allison. Allison seems to be the epitome of defiance towards his father's law to stay on course and choosing his own path from now on. Claire appears to be very conceited and often asks the group â€Å"Do you know how popular I am? Everyone at this school loves me. † Looking at her from the others perspective, she appears to be very self-centered and more important than the others. Although Claire leads the group to believe she had been sexually active due to peer pressure, she ultimately admitted to the group that she is still a virgin. Allison actually tricked her by lying and being deviant, having Claire to admit she was a virgin. Allison then expressed to the group that being sexually active is actually a double edged sword in their social setting because if a girl admits to being sexually active, she is considered to be a slut while if she denies being sexually active she is considered a prude. Her observation demonstrates she isn’t exactly who the group perceives her to be. Eventually the group allows Claire to see that there is much more to life than being popular in school. On the surface, Brian appears to be submissive; however, the traditional geek ends up asking bold questions and seems to become more secure than his new-found friends. Throughout the session, Brian seems to follow along with whatever his peers are doing while at the same time reminding them that there isn’t supposed to be any â€Å"monkey business. † He actually goes against his normal behavior and along with Andrew and Claire partakes in smoking marijuana with Bender. The group views Brian as their most intelligent member and therefore, they encourage him to write their required 1000 word detention essays. This opportunity allows him to have a bit of power within the group. Through the peer discussions, it becomes apparent that Brian and his parents have required him take on more than he can handle which drove him to his breaking point. Through the relationship with his newfound friends, Brian is able to release the load and the perception of himself being an academic over achiever. He leaves much more confident than when he came and is determined to let go of his past failure. Allison is very quiet during the detention session; her mode of communication was squealing for the first half of the session. The others see her as an outcast and her strange behavior while at detention confirms their perception. During lunch, she takes a sandwich out of her bag, removes the meat, and puts cereal and sugar in its place. She appears to be satisfied with the lunch that the others find disturbing. Until this point, the other students had barely noticed her presence in the room. She continues performing random acts throughout the movie. It is clear that she craves attention both positive and negative and this is her way of obtaining it. While speaking to Andrew, she confides that the attention that she receives at school is much more than she will ever receive at home. She finds her life at home unsatisfying and expresses that her parents don’t give her any attention. Allison’s parents consider her an outcast. She leaves the school well respected by Andrew who seems to have developed a liking to her. She realizes that she should be respected by all as long as she acts as though she wanted the respect she deserved. The janitor â€Å"Carl† is the eyes and ears of the school. He seems to know the students at the school very well and tells Mr. Vernon â€Å"Someday, these kids are gonna take care of me,† Mr. Vernon told him â€Å"don’t count on it. It appears as though Carl previously attended the school. He shows much respect to the students and seems to be able to relate to them and their issues. Mr. Vernon is the school principal who dislikes Bender because he doesn’t have any respect for authority. He is very uptight and tries to get the students in trouble. It appears from his behavior that he thrives in h is position of power; one may safely assume that when he was the age of the students, he probably wasn’t popular or well liked by his peers. Carl caught Vernon reading the private school files; he then blackmails him to keep quiet. He eventually bonded with Carl and declares that he has various fears about the current generation. The group went through the predictable developmental stages including forming, storming, norming and performing phases. The group was formed because each of the students broke a school rule. While in this stage, the students are becoming oriented with each other and learning more about the group. The rules and procedures are being established. During the storming stage, conflicts begin to arise and social tension is apparent. For example, Claire expressed that she doesn’t â€Å"belong here. Bender continuously antagonizes Claire. Bender and Andrew have shouting matches almost bringing them to blows. Also, Allison had a strange outburst during Claire’s disclosure about her parents. The principle tries to set clear expectations and norms by telling the students that there is to be no moving, no talking, and no monkey business while in detention. However, in his attempt to establish the norms; the results prove to be unsuccessful because the group does not agree to Mr. Vernon’s rules. Instead, the students become quite rebellious and show disrespect for authority. Most of this behavior is exhibited by Bender who uses his status, power, and leadership within the group. In regards to performing, the group eventually accomplishes its task which was to write the 1000 word essay with Brian as the leader of this undertaking. The group also achieves other goals such as killing eight hours of detention while remaining free of boredom. They learned about each other and experienced and new found respect for through self-disclosures. They also rebelled against the established norms with each other. By the end of the day, they had established their own cohesive group and learned to look past their stereotypes of each other. However, they question whether or not they will remain as friends come Monday morning. I believe that this movie is a true depiction of high school life in the suburbs, as each group of students has stereotypes about the other groups amongst their peers. It is up to us the individuals to break down the barriers that prevent us from appreciating each others qualities and learn not to criticize and/or condemn our peers.