Do you agree with the view that the Beatles “changed the world in the sixties”? Essay

It’s clear from any angle that The Beatles had an incredible impact on the world in the sixties, but I think it’s evident stating they â€Å"changed the world† is going too far, and in actual fact they merely reflected a changing world. Source 18 mentions the view that â€Å"The Beatles changed the world in the sixties†, and it references to some of the contemporary debates from the decade, which the four-man band had an influence on: â€Å"legalization of drugs, the war in Vietnam† and â€Å"traditional and alternate religions†. Ian Inglis also declares them as one of the â€Å"twentieth century’s more significant achievements† which is true to an extent – some of their views and actions on the decades disputes were eye-openers to society. Although, source 18 also makes the comment that the band are â€Å"innovators†, which is supported by source 17’s view they’re not the â€Å"architects† of the â€Å"new youth culture†. This shows it the counter argument: they voiced a shifting world and society. To say the Beatles â€Å"changed the world in the sixties† holds some truth – they were the first band to speak out about the Vietnam War, the first band to openly experiment with alternate religions and criticize other traditional faiths and the only band to publically call for the legalization of marijuana. So source 18’s view that the four men were â€Å"prominent across a wide range of categories† including â€Å"historical, sociological, cultural and musical† and that â€Å"their opinions were sought out, heard and acted on† is obviously evident – especially when relating to the bands protests against the Vietnam War. Perhaps one of the bands most famous demonstrations, in 1965, sent shock waves through the country – the Beatles were the first band to be honored with the nations highest award, but Lennon rejected his to protest against Britain’s involvement in the war with Vietnam. He also coined the renowned phrases â€Å"make love not war† and â€Å"give peace a chance†. It’s obviously apparent that the band voiced and shaped some of the strongest protests against the cruel war – they helped to expose to society how bad the situation was in Vietnam, giving the conflict details higher awareness than before. Without their high profile protests, it’s hard to say how the population would have reacted to the horrifying circumstances of the war, but the Beatles gave them a route to take, they used the population to support their view against conflict and unnecessary deaths, therefore this argues that the band changed the world to manipulate their opinions. Supporting this is the negativity in source 16,Lennon says â€Å"the same idiots are running everything† – his insulting words, aimed at the government, are acceptable considering the war is still current in 1971 when the statement is made, he’s angry at the pointless fighting and deaths- much like the rest of the population. The Beatles involvement with alternate religions made headlines and influenced a higher awareness in the world; therefore this could also argue the view that they changed the world. â€Å"Indian Mysticism† and â€Å"Transcendental Meditation† were two of the faiths they experimented with, however it was their dismissal of the Christian/Catholic belief that was the bigger impact – source 18 supports the idea they made â€Å"significant achievements† in the â€Å"cultural category†. George Harrison was the first member of the band to experiment with a new religion – Hinduism which he took interest in after being handed a book on reincarnation during the filming of â€Å"Help!† in 1965, the other members shortly followed suit. Their choices to explore other faiths and cultures became high profile and famous decisions – 65 reporters followed the four men when they travelled to India in February 1968, where they advanced in meditation classes and followed the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi religion. All of this was new and exciting or shocking to western civilization – no one of high status had done outrageous things like this and therefore it encouraged the more rebellious youth culture to change. Not only did their views on alternate religions make headlines, so did their opinions on traditional faiths. August 1964, the Beatles press officer said the band were â€Å"so anti-Christ they shock me which isn’t an easy thing† – this opinion is furthered by Lennon’s 1970 song â€Å"God† in which he sings â€Å"I don’t believe in Jesus† and â€Å"I don’t believe in Bible†. Also notice the lyrics his 1970 song Imagine, â€Å"imagine there’s no heaven†¦ no hell below us†¦ no religion too†. The sixties was still a time where traditional faith was strong, people went to church every Sunday and the contraceptive pill  was only legalized in 1961 – so for the four men to openly express they’re non-believers, it was shocking. New youth culture would have seen it as an escape to live life with more freedom, as the older and younger generation gap was wider than ever – young people looked up to the band as idols. The famous four lead this contemporary debate more than other factors did – they helped to shape a new younger religious culture, supported by source 17, they made new religion and dismissal of the traditional â€Å"instantly chic for the millions of fans who looked to the group for guidance†. Furthermore, the Beatles drug use was constantly in the press during the sixties – a time where the world learnt more and more about different pills, inhalants and injections. Source 18 states that the Beatles opinions on the â€Å"legalization of drugs† were â€Å"sought out, heard and acted on† – particularly in 1967 when the four young men called for the ‘legalization of marijuana’ through an advertisement in The Times. This was a big thing – it was a fairly new drugs in UK and American culture, before the sixties tobacco and alcohol were the only widespread drugs. Although their plea didn’t work, the advertisement still created higher awareness of the hallucinogenic drug, which encouraged more people to try or use it. In 2004, Paul McCartney admitted they used drugs as an influence to most of their music – including â€Å"Got to Get You in my Life† which was about cannabis and confessed the infamous suspicion that â€Å"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds† was about LSD. By the late sixties the band had managed to change how the youth spent their time – the younger generations now started to hang out in private open areas, listening to their psychedelic rock, growing their hair long, dressing in colourful clothes and taking mind-altering drugs – the hippie era had begun. Although, it seems to me, it’s more evident that the Beatles didn’t â€Å"change the world in the sixties†, but in fact they merely reflected a changing world – this opinion is supported by both source 17 and 18. It’s stated by Allan Kozinn in source 17 that â€Å"although they seemed to be the leaders of the new youth culture, they were by no means its architects† which is also supported in source 18 by the inclusion of the words â€Å"innovators† and â€Å"spokesperson† – these words infer that the four men were imitating original  views and opinions. Source 16 also agrees with this opinion to an extent – Lennon often had a controversial provenance when talking to the media or the press, in this instance he would be saying â€Å"it’s still the same society and world, yet the middle class people follow our stupid ways† which refers to the â€Å"it’s exactly the same†, â€Å"the bourgeois system† and â€Å"we dressed up† comments. Also with Lennon’s statement we have to consider that in 1971 the band had split – this is the same year as the statement was made; therefore it’s going to be negative. Source 17 states that the Beatles had the â€Å"ability to detect trends early† and made them â€Å"instantly chic for millions of fans† – I think it’s evident this was the case for their involvement in the protests against the Vietnam War. The four young men didn’t create the anti-war views and opinions, they already existed among millions of people considering the UK was only just getting better after World War 2, the men simply gave the ideas a louder voice, they catalyzed the protests into the media so larger amounts of people would see and agree. In an interview with Lennon and McCartney, in 1968, they were asked, â€Å"the US has been plagued by the Vietnam War, and the world has been concerned, what’s your views?† in which Lennon replied, â€Å"it’s another piece of insanity.† In the question we can understand that the rest of the world had the same views as the Beatles did, the four men are repeating the views to create higher awareness and support – evidence of media manipulation. Two years earlier, during a press conference in New York, George Harrison made a similar reply to a similar question: â€Å"it’s just war is wrong and it’s obvious it’s wrong† – using the word obvious shows that he knows it’s a widespread opinion. Through all of this we can see that the band weren’t alone on their views and opinions – in fact I think that most of their ideas they will have heard before from their elders. They use their popularity and status to showcase the concerns the public have had for many years, the issue of the Vietnam War is horrifying and disturbing to many of the younger and older generations – most people would want a stop to it straight away, source 18 supports this argument through the words â€Å"innovators† and â€Å"spokespersons†. Arguing this even further is their 1968 song â€Å"Revolution† which includes the lyrics: â€Å"we all want to change the world, you tell me that’s evolution’, this inclusion of the words â€Å"we† and  Ã¢â‚¬Å"you† makes it sound like their voicing the we as the population (including themselves) and the you is the government/constitutions. Musical influences and voices are used again by Lennon in 1971 in his song â€Å"Imagine†: â€Å"imagine there’s no countries†¦ nothing to kill or die for†¦ imagine all the people living in peace†. I don’t think it can be said the Beatles changed the world’s opinion on the Vietnam war – here it’s evident that they all have the same view and they simply gave it media coverage and a larger voice due to their popularity. Again, the argument is strengthened by the fact the Beatles religious views didn’t become widespread, nor did they introduce them to the UK in the first place – their alternate religions and the high profile reports about these different faiths were not the initial introduction of them into British society. Since amendments were made to the ‘British Nationality law’ in the 1940s, people from the commonwealth islands (including India) had been immigrating to the UK for nearly 20 years – this meant that people of the Hindu and other religions had already introduced these faiths into British society and the world was already changing to be more cultural before the Beatles choice to follow them. The band only created higher popularity for these faiths amongst the population. Also their views on Christianity and Catholicism weren’t widely accepted; 1966 John Lennon made the statement the Beatles were â€Å"more popular than Jesus† which created uproar in America, especially in the south that are strong Catholics. Younger generations burned all their merchandise and refused to accept the band as role models again. There was no change here taken place, only rejection of the new – which opposes sources 17 and 18. However source 16 does support this: â€Å"the whole bourgeois system is exactly the same†, Lennon recognizes that they didn’t change the world due to religious or other issues. Despite this, the view that they reflected a changing world is once more reinforced by their drug use mentioned in source 18, which before seemed to be solely created by them – but according to Paul McCartney, they were introduced to drugs, before they became famous, whilst they were in Hamburg. He stated, in 2004, that they â€Å"felt everyone was doing them† and they were â€Å"told to inhale this, but it did nothing for me† when talking about  Benzedrine. This tells us that it wasn’t the Beatles who initiated drug use, but in fact others introduced them to it. Also, relating back to the ‘legalization of marijuana’ advertisement, we have to consider that it also had signatures from sixty-four other celebrities, including the Rolling Stones who were infamous for their drug and alcohol use, which suggests it was a widespread movement not a singular band who lead the way into the psychedelic era. The wheels of the hippie period had started turning, originating in America in the early sixties, a long time before the Beatles arrived on the drug scene. Seemingly America influenced the Beatles into taking the harder drugs, such as LSD, not visa versa, just the bands music, media coverage and opinions expressed the issue with hallucinogenic drugs more than they’d been dealt with before. All in all, I think although it could be argued that the Beatles changed the world in the sixties – they created leading protests against the Vietnam War, they introduced new religions to the younger generations, they were brave enough to announce their dis-belief in the tradition faiths and created the start of the psychedelic era – all of which received great support from the new youth culture. Source 18 supports this thoroughly: â€Å"the Beatles changed the world in the sixties†¦ twentieth century significant achievement†, source 17 also upkeeps the argument: â€Å"instantly chic for millions of fans who looked to the group for guidance†. But, it’s evident that the four men’s involvement with the Vietnam War protests were only echoing the public’s opinions, that drug use was popular before the band became famous and their religious views didn’t have an affect on the world – the Beatles only followed the crowd and their status expressed the issues. Which is again supported through both source 17 and 18: â€Å"although they seemed to be the leaders of the new youth culture, they were by no means its architects†, â€Å"innovators† and â€Å"spokespersons†. In conclusion I think you can see the shifting world influenced the Beatles views and opinions and it was their famous status that seemed to express new ideas to the youth and society – they gathered their anti-war, alternate religions and drug use by things they experienced happening in the moving world of the sixties. Source 16 also disagrees with the statement that the Beatles â€Å"changed the world in the sixties†, Lennon says, â€Å"nothing happened†, that the world was  Ã¢â‚¬Å"exactly the same† and the band â€Å"dressed up†. Despite it seems he’s recognizing no change, he does notice the four men had a slight influence – â€Å"middle-class with long hair†, their trademark look was popular which they had adopted from the late 50s ‘mod’ fashion and the changing ‘hippie’ fashions. In conclusion, I don’t think the Beatles changed the world in the sixties, I think it’s evident that the band merely reflected the changing world, giving it a louder voice due to their famous status.

Aromatherapy

The history of aromatherapy is linked strongly to the development of aromatic medicine. The ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians all used aromatherapy oils. In the Doreen of France there are cave paintings found to be 18,000 years old that depict the use of plants for medicinal purposes. The origins of aromatherapy have been lost with time before the keeping of any records. It is although believed that crude forms of distillation, the main method that essential oils are now obtained, were practiced thousands of years ago In Persia, Egypt and India.Distillation was used mainly for the extraction of exotic flower waters. The medicinal use of plants and their extracts In India has been continuous from ,000 years ago to the present day. One of the oldest known books on plants Is Indian and is called â€Å"Veda†. This book highlights the various uses of plants for medicinal and religious purposes. The human was seen as part of nature and the preparation was considered a sacred prac tice. Arrived medicine is one of the oldest forms of medicine practiced since ancient times. There is more information available about the development of plant use in Egypt.The Nile Valley became known as the Cradle of Medicine. Some of the plants brought to this area were codeword, cinnamon, frankincense and myrrh. In Egypt 5,000 years ago, there was a strong link between perfumery and religion. Each God was allotted a particular fragrance. It was the priest who formulated the aromas. The Egyptians used plants, aromatic oils and aromatic resins In the embalming process. They successfully preserved human bodies for 3,000 years using this method. The process of embalming and mummification was developed by the Egyptians in their search for immortality.The ancient Egyptians first burned incense that derived from aromatic woods, spices and herbs in honor of the Gods. It was their belief that as the smoke SSE up towards the heavens it would carry their prayers and wishes directly to the deities. The development of aromatics as medicines delivered the creation of the foundation that aromatherapy was built upon. In the hot climate and with poor standards of sanitation, aromatic substances were used to make life more pleasant and safer. The Egyptians were passionate about the use of simple fragrances and used them In their dally lives.At celebrations and festivals women wore perfumed cones on their heads that melted in the heat and released a beautiful scent. After washing, they sun and to refresh their skin. The use of aromas for religious and medicinal purposes was also adapted in other countries such as China, Greece and Rome. The Greeks expanded the knowledge of the Egyptians by recording and classifying the actions and main properties of plant medicinal. The father of holistic medicine, Hippocrates, was an advocate of massage and recommended the use of daily massage and a scented bath.He also recognized the medicinal values of aromas. Greece is subsequently famou s because of the presence of Hippocrates. Another Greek, Messages, formed a perfume called ‘Angelino'. It was capable of healing mounds and in the reduction of inflammation. The Greeks used the knowledge they had gained from the Egyptians to classify the future study of plant medicine thus making a vital contribution. Because of the influence of the Egyptians and Greeks, the Romans became more appreciative of perfumes and spices. The word perfume derives from the Latin per fume, meaning â€Å"through the smoke†.This refers to the burning of incense. There are many biblical citations making reference to incense together with the use of ointments and plant oils. As the Roman Empire spread, the knowledge of the healing properties of plants parade also. Roman soldiers went on long Journeys and collected seeds and plants which in time reached Britain and other countries, eventually becoming naturalized. Among these were parsley, fennel, sage, thyme and rosemary. The Romans u sed lavish means for plant aromatics with baths and massage being most recognized.Romans also used aromatic plants for beauty treatments, cosmetics, hygiene, and medical treatments. Distillation In 980 AD a man named Vaccine was born in Persia. He is responsible for making a vast improvement to the basic distillation units known then. He extended he length of the cooling pipe forming a coil shape. This enabled the vaporized plant molecules and steam to cool down more rapidly and efficiently. With improvements to the distillation process, more attention was giving to essential oils because of new formulae for ointments and perfumes.It is believed that the use of essential oils as we know them today began at this time. During the Holy Wars, the Crusaders were treated for stomach problems with the same plant medicines used by the natives. These would include the floral waters and essential oils. On their Journey omen they would have stopped at various Mediterranean islands where the kn owledge of plants had been preserved from Roman times. The Crusaders brought home perfumes and flower waters for their wives relaying the stories of the medicines being known once again in Italy and perhaps for the first time in the rest of Europe.During the Middle Ages aromatic plants such as Thyme and Melissa were cultivated in monasteries. In the 12th century a German Abbess, Hildebrand, grew lavender for therapeutic properties which he also used as an essential oil. Throughout the 14th century, Frankincense and Pine were found to be burned in the trees. Perfume candles were burned inside and garlands of aromatic herbs and spices were often seen worn around ones neck in a bid to fight against the deadly plague which raged throughout Europe. Venice was the gateway to trade with the Arabs.Perfumed leather for gloves was first discovered here. In 1 533, Catherine De Medici influenced the production of essential oils and perfume in France. The area of Grease in France became the main perfume producing area. The Renaissance period brought with it the wide use of essential oils because of improvements in methods of distillation. The first botanical gardens were introduced in Europe prior to the birth of Christ. They were later to be found in many monasteries. During the 16th Century, Royal Hungarian Water was produced by the distillation of alcohol with fresh rosemary blossoms.Another infamous water was introduced by a Franciscan monk who left Italy to live in Cologne in 1665. The recipe for ‘Aqua Memorabilia' was made world famous by his nephew J. M. Farina. It is known nowadays as the well known ‘AAU De Cologne'. It was used as a health-promoting lotion and included the essential oils of bergamot, lemon, orange, lavender, thyme and smeary. These were then diluted in strong ethyl alcohol. In Britain by the year 1700, the use of essential oils was widespread. It was used in mainstream medicine until the time came that chemistry allowed the synthesis o f materials within the laboratory.Around the time of the Bubonic Plague, doctors would walk through streets wearing hats with large ‘beaks'. Within these beaks they placed aromatic herbs so that the air inhaled passed through them and this air was believed to be antiseptic. The decline of the use of herbs in Britain is partly due to the Industrial Revolution. The relocation of peoples housing to smaller terraced houses with little or no gardens resulted in a decline of the use of fresh herbs. By the year 1986, chemistry was becoming increasingly important.The drugs produced through the synthesis of the therapeutic properties from plants have proved to be very powerful in the role of modern medicine. The synthetic copies of the natural healing materials tend to be toxic and do not appear to have the same respect for the living human tissues. During the early years of this century a renewed interest in natural healing methods became apparent. This was no doubt stimulated by the side effects shown after long properties of essential oils. Essential oils were used on the wounds of those who suffered in the awful trench warfare of 1914- 1918.Gatepost © discovered in his research that essential oils take 30 minutes to 12 hours to be absorbed by the human body after application to the skin. Aromatherapy was introduced by beauty therapists using massage techniques which is why aromatherapy has appeared to be, for many years, a massage using essential oils. The main use of aromatherapy in Britain was to relieve stress and improve skin conditions by massage and only sage. Today aromatherapy is growing hugely in popularity and is recognized widely for an alternative treatment by many people.The use of the essential oils and plants has increased hugely in recent years. It is in general considered to be a complementary therapy. It is also being recommended by professional health careers as a complement to traditional medical treatments. Aromatherapy has been associa ted with massage as a method of delivering essential oils. There is growing evidence that aromatherapy treatment has many positive side effects on medical conditions either alone or in conjunction with traditional medicine.

Discuss the proposition that the experience of downsizing leads to the Essay

Discuss the proposition that the experience of downsizing leads to the de - motivation and demoralisation of employees - Essay Example 693). Specifically, the debate on whether or not downsizing demoralises and motivates employees is the issue this paper would like to delve on. Nothing is constant in this world except change. Change is progressive. It is inevitable that it has to be addressed, no matter what. The more you avoid it, the worse you end up, yet you should not also deal with it haphazardly. In a fast developing world, change is something you should always prepare for, because the faster development occurs and so is with change. This is the dilemma most companies, big and small, confront today especially so that in a continuously changing global economy, companies see their survival primarily on the displacement of employees. What initially was an American phenomenon has transcended national borders. Several European organizations (including Volvo, British Airways, Vivendi, and Alcatel), as well as Asian companies, such as Fuji, Sony, Toshiba, Nissan, and Daewoo, have experienced layoffs, divestitures, and closings in recent years. This downsizing is especially significant given the labour laws, worker councils, and national cultures that traditionally have supported lifelong relationships between employers and employees. In China, for example, mores were at one time so strong that this type of organizational activity was referred to as ‘taking away someones rice bowl’ (that is, the company would be removing an individuals means of income). (Marks & De Meuse 2003, p. 3) These downsizing practices have been gaining criticism from different sections of society in every part of the globe. This dilemma becomes more pronounced as the world economy worsens because competition among corporations becomes stiffer and harsher further sharpening the inherent contradiction between labour and capital. In their study of industrial relations systems in the UK, Turnbull, Blyton & Harvey (2004) observed that, adversarialism rather than

Final Research Project Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Final Project - Research Paper Example I started by looking at the main company website which is at http://www.chevron.com/ I was interested to find out how the company chooses to present itself and so I looked under the tab â€Å"About Chevron† which was on the top left of the screen. There was a short statement: â€Å"At Chevron, we are relentlessly focused on producing safe, reliable energy now and for the future. How are we doing it? By applying the energy we have most in abundance Human energy.† This was not what I expected, because I know already that the main product area is fossil fuels like oil and gas, and I did not expect it to focus on its people. On other tabs there was information on the manufacturing side of things, and distribution through pipelines, shipping and gas stations. The company profile section provided the most factual information such as the founding date in 1879, in an area near Los Angeles, California. The global workforce is about 60,000 employeees and there are another 4,000 s ervice station employees who are linked to the main company. Its production figures are a little out of date, quoting 2.7 million barrels of net oil-equivalent production per day. From its location in California the company expanded in the 1920s to ventures in the Philippines, Alaska and Colombia in the quest for oil. In the 1930s they worked in Saudi Arabia and then from the 1940s through the 1970s they built pipelines to transport the oil from their wells. In 2001 the company merged with Texaco to become the second largest U.S. based energy company. The future ventures of the company focus on the Gulf of Mexico and Kazakhstan. There is a recognition that all kinds of energy are going to be needed in the future, not just oil and gas, and so I was pleased to note that a lot of money is being invested in research. This is an area that I would be interested in working for. The company is bound to present itself in the best possible light and so I looked next for external sources that would give more neutral information. The website www.business.com/directory/ provided a link to the Chevron company website that I had just been looking at, and it also had a link to the Wall Street Journal share prices for Chevron. This is the second source that I used. It gives an up to date snapshot of the company’s performance on the markets and I noted that the share price over the last 12 months had risen: Chevron stock prices, year to 1/14/11 Source: http://online.wsj.com/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=CVX As my third source I followed the course instructions to look at the Hoovers business information page and there I found a list of subsidiaries and locations for the Chevron company. I was interested to note that Chevron U.S.A. which manages the US side of the business has its headquarters in San Ramon, California. The offices and research areas are not located in the same place as the oil and gas fields. I was reassured by my research on the company because I foun d its home web pages to be professional and positive. The market trend over a year is positive, with share prices rising despite the increasing costs of finding oil resources as older fields are getting used up. The company has been involved in mergers, and shows flexibility in its links with other countries, always looking for new sources of raw material. I could see also that there were areas of the business outside pure manufacturing, like the development of additives and various kinds of research. In

Environment Factors Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Environment Factors - Research Paper Example A business environment is the collection of factors that affects the operations of a business. Business environment can further be categorized into external and internal factors. The success of a company is evaluated by its ability to utilize its business environment. This paper will, therefore, analyze the business environment of the Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola success story begun in Atlanta, Georgia, before the drink became a major drink in the global market (Stonebtb, 2010). Venturing into the global market created a new set of problems for the company that could only be overcome through an appropriate combination of various factors within its business environment. Global marketing involves complex processes due to the number of parties involved in the distribution of goods and services. Global economic interdependency is viewed as a remedy to the complexity of international trade. Currently, Coca-Cola has associate firms in different countries that market or produce Coca-Col a products. This phenomenon is a form of international interdependence. International interdependence is, however, subjected to international business law and restrictions. Most countries have laws or policies that are aimed at protecting local businesses and industries. These laws are meant to create a balanced relationship between foreign companies and the mother company. Global interdependence has also contributed to the growth of the Coca-Cola Company by enabling it to acquire a firm foundation within host countries. On the other hand, trade practices and policies regulate relationship between beneficiary firms and the mother company by ensuring equitable distribution of proceeds. Demographic and physical infrastructures of a firm have a great impact in the development of a company. Currently the company has various brands that are associated with different demographic groups within a given society. Different packaging and flavors of soft drinks produced by the company identifiy these brands. The company has different packaging for various groups within the society. Different packaging and brands names are also associated with different genders within different societies. Consequently, different flavors of soft drinks produced by the company define the demographic characteristics of the consumers. These demographic infrastructures strengthen the company’s brand. In addition, the company demographic infrastructure creates or enables the customers to identify themselves with various brands that the company produces. Coca Cola’s physical infrastructure includes production facilities and units in different countries across the globe. The company has also a satellite connected communication facility that alleviates global communication and networking. Due to its scope of operation, the company considers culture as an important aspect of strategic management. The company markets its products across different cultures and this creates the needs for cultural sensitivity. In addition, the company employs a large number of employees from different cultural background. The Hofstede’s cultural dimension index has been useful to the company in determining the different roles to be assigned to members of different societies working within the company. Cultural differences within the company have, therefore, enabled the company to acquire a global

Coca-Cola Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Coca-Cola Company - Essay Example The products range from diet, caffeine free to the vanilla -flavored type of products. The mission of the company has been that of refreshing the body, mind and spirit; to inspire the moments of optimisms through the brands and actions of the employees and also to create value through making a difference whenever the persons are involved in their business activities. The internal factors that have been affecting the operations of the company include; research and development, operations and logistics, human resources and information systems. The management of the company has constantly been involved in carrying out research work that is aimed at developing unique and innovative products into the market .The company has over 2600 products but it intends to produce more products to meet the needs of the customers within a specified period of time. The products that are being researched on are those that have lower calories and are healthier for the consumption by human beings .For instance the coke diet that consists of vitamins is suitable for diabetics due its low levels of sugar. The operations and logistics of the company involve the chain of distribution to ensure that their products reach their designated customers. It involves the production of syrup concentrates that it packs and later on sells to the franchised bottling plants such as the Coca Cola enterprises. The distributors later on distribute the products to well known manufacturing companies that combine the syrup with the carbonated water to make products which are availed to the customers within the stipulated period of time. The distributors then deliver the product to retail stores, vending machines companies and restaurants as well as the food service providers. The importance of undertaking this task is to ensure that the individual distributors get the right ingredients of the final product that can suit the needs of the customers and also suit to the tastes and preferences of the customers. The employees of the company are charged with different responsibilities of ensuring that the company achieves its goals and objectives so as to enhance its growth and development. The company has employed a human resource strategy that aims at motivating, maintaining and also attracting the best employees. The strategy of maintaining and retaining the employee's enables it to remain stable and to continue its operations into the foreseeable future. The management has realized that labor turnover can be very expensive for the company in terms of training thus they try to motivate them. It has been noted in last few years there has been a high rate of turnover and improper lines of communication that have contributed to a decline in the sales revenue of the organization. The employees have found it difficult to air their views about how the operations of the company should be carried out and that has contributed to disagreements on how the operations of the company should be undertaken .Some mechanisms have been put in place that are aimed at eliminating the communication differences that have constantly been eminent within the organizations. The human resource department has continued to perform employees' performance appraisals and evaluations which are undertaken three times a year for each of the employees so as to retain and maintaining and reduce the rate of labor turnover. The

Business Plan for Sneaker Store Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

Business Plan for Sneaker Store - Thesis Example The business will have its headquarters in Boston with the aim of serving target market in the United States to find less costly and quality sneakers. All products offered by Nike, Adidas and some Chinese brands will be offered by KicksFly Corporation but a different platform will be utilized, i.e. the product will be offered to the customers via stores and online portal. For this reason, this business is developed which entails core activities of the business and certain proposed strategies that will help the business to grow its sales revenues. Kicksfly Corporation is a shoe business that ensures delivery of 100% authentic athletic and casual wear shoes. The business will have its headquarters in Boston with the aim of serving target market in the United States to find less costly and quality sneakers. All products offered by Nike, Adidas and some Chinese brands will be offered by KicksFly Corporation but a different platform will be utilized, i.e. the product will be offered to the customers via stores and online portal. KicksFly Corporation’s products came from top of the line suppliers across the globe, in order to serve a diverse customer base. Our target consumers are youngsters and health conscious adults with upper middle to the upper end incomes of United States of America. The competitive edge that KicksFly Corporation will be having in the target marketplace is that its products are made from authentic raw material that does not cause discomfort to the customers. In addition to this, the retailing method to be implemented by KicksFly Corporation will be a whole new experience for the target consumers. Stating these perceived advantages, KicksFly Corporation expects that the marketing and business level strategies of the business will help it to attract the targeted consumers who need comfortable sportswear and casual sneakers. Since the retailing method adopted by KicksFly

How did the United Staes policy in Iraq,Afghanistan and the Middle Essay

How did the United Staes policy in Iraq,Afghanistan and the Middle East, particularly during the Bush administration affect the U.S interest in Latin America after 2002 - Essay Example When George Bush took over power, he was among the people ready to fight against these criminal activities in Latin America. However, the US invasion in the Middle East led to its disengagement from Latin America. This is because a good number of Political bodies were against this move to Iraq. Their argument was that the already weak economy would further deteriorate since the US would intentionally increase gasoline prices. The US in its proclamation states that its key interests in other countries are in line with promoting democracy and peace. This includes eliminating oppressive governments in most of the Middle East countries while at times supporting the same oppressive regimes depending on how they agree with their economic interests. This support has led to controversies bringing the topic back at home. The Latin America’s budgets are in a vacuum just because the US wants to use such oppression to impose is policy reforms over Latin America (Youngers). By evading discussion like terrorism, it has become very easy for the US Southern Command to encourage most of the military operations in the internal affairs of most Latin American countries. The US has economic interests in the Middle East. It uses diplomatic missions, relief assistance to cover up its main agenda. This on the contrary displaces most Latin American nations who are the leading oil sources in the American region to compete effectively. While the US promises to support them in fighting issues like terror, it goes ahead to enter deals with terror related

International Management Ethics and Values Essay - 1

International Management Ethics and Values - Essay Example She’s frequently hungry and almost always tired, she said. â€Å"Living and working like this, by the time you are twenty, you are already old, and your health is failing. When you reach thirty, they fire you. It is not just. I have no savings. I have nothing.† Akter came to Washington to tell her story as a coalition of civic, labour and religious organizations launched a public campaign seeking to highlight what it calls labour abuses in Bangladesh and other poor nations. Spearheading the push is Charles Kernaghan, the labour activist who exposed poor working conditions at Central American factories that made goods for the Kathie Lee Gifford clothing line. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokesman Bill Wertz acknowledged there have been â€Å"violations of working hour standards† at the factory where Akter works. He said the retail giant is trying to work with the suppliers to make improvements. If the manufacturer doesn’t shape up, Wertz said, Wal-Mart may sever i ts ties to the factory. â€Å"We can’t condone certain kinds of practices and won’t do business with companies that fail to improve,† he said. That’s what Akter is afraid of. If Wal-Mart terminates its purchasing agreements with the factory, she and her co-workers could find themselves without jobs. Lisa Rahman, nineteen, of Dhaka, Bangladesh, said that’s what happened at the factory where she used to work after she and other workers began complaining about bad working conditions, including twelve hour workdays, filthy restrooms and unsanitary drinking water. She worked at the Shah Makhdum factory, which made goods for Walt Disney Co., including clothing in its Winnie the Pooh line. â€Å"I was crying all the time,† she said. After workers at the plant complained and took their woes to the media, Disney pulled out of the factory, leaving 200 employees out of work, she said. Mark Spears, Disney’s compliance director, said the company h as â€Å"experienced poor conditions, in Bangladesh.† When the company investigated the allegations, it found that conditions were not as serious as workers had alleged. But its subcontractor decided to cease buying goods from the manufacturer. â€Å"Clearly the publicity may not have helped,† Spears said. Kernaghan said the ease with which multinational corporations relocate has a chilling effect on the willingness of workers to speak out about what he said are widespread abuses of workers in many poor countries. He said he has been urging Disney and other companies to stay and work to improve conditions rather than exit quickly to avoid bad publicity. â€Å"All it would take is one word from Michael Eisner,† Disney’s chairman and CEO, and the jobs could return to the factory where Rahman worked, he said. â€Å"Bangladesh has good labour laws,† said officials from the country. â€Å"It is unlikely any factories would permit such poor working cond itions,† they added. â€Å"Can a person work eighteen hours a day?† said Mohammed G. Hussain, commerce counsellor for Bangladesh’s embassy in Washington. â€Å"It’s impossible.† The officials questioned why Kernaghan and his associates are raising the sweatshop issue publicly, pointing out that it could affect employment in the deeply impoverished nation, where 40 percent of adults are unemployed. Adapted from K.G. Grimsley, â€Å"‘Already Old’ In Bangladesh†, The Washington Post, 25 September 2002, as reprinted in J.K. Milne, Ethics for International Business