Developed Through Pips Visit To Satis Essay

Essay Title: Discuss How The Theme Of Class Is Developed Through Pips Visit To Satis (enough) House Charles Dickens’ expertly created bildungsroman about a youthful common boy’s desire to be a gentleman develops the theme of class and its social importance throughout the story. Dickens’ aim was to show the corruption in English society at the time and he displays it through Pip’s, the main character, visits to Satis house – a house owned by a mysterious, middle classed woman with a beautiful daughter that is bemused by Pip’s appearance and lower class and therefore abuses him for it. Dickens portraits the upper class as evil, selfish villains in the novel and is on the lower class peoples side, always revealing the disgraceful riches the upper class owned while the poor got poorer. Great Expectations is a social commentary that gives a strong opinion on society. Pip is a classic example of the lowest level of a working class child; he’s an orphan, lives a miserable life with his obnoxious and beastly sister, and gets abused by everyone that sees him. ‘Universal struggle,’ this is how Pip describes life as a desolate young boy. Pip strives to become his dream fantasy; a gleaming, bright gentleman and to do that he must overcome many things. Firstly, Pip can barely read or write, â€Å"I struggled through the alphabet as if it had been a bramble bush,† this just adds emphasis on the true lowness of Pip’s class as only the rich got educated while the poor got overlooked. In fact, when the poor did get educated, it was of a very low standard with the teachers sleeping in class and cramp, overheated rooms, with very little ventilation, much the contrary for the lavish, learning system accustomed to the rich and upper-class youths. Also, Pip is innumerate meaning he cant count, â€Å"I fell among the thieves, the nine figures,† this tells us that Pip is lacking basic life skills and must adapt to life without reading, writing and counting which adds to his struggle of dreaming to become a gentleman and gains sympathy off the reader because of his desperate situation. From pip’s first visit to Satis House, we realize the staggering difference between Pip and Miss Havisham’s child, Estella, and how their class and background affect their attitudes towards each other and their views on society and life overall. The setting of Satis House flabbergasts Pip so much, he can barely explain everything around him, â€Å"satins, and lace, and silks all of white†¦ † The description brings to mind a very rich, selfish and stagnant person which is how Dickens represents all the rich and upper-class people. Pip is confused of how to prepare himself for his first visit to Satis House, â€Å"I was not at ease regarding the manner in which I should acquaint myself under that lady’s roof. † This shows that the poor scarcely get in contact with the rich and are bewildered with how to present themselves. On the other hand, Estella proudly calls Pip by the name â€Å"boy† and mocks his clothes which in turn makes Pip realise his â€Å"lower class† so he therefore begins to clean and pamper himself after the suffering. Dickens builds up tension by describing Satis House as unkept and decayed which is a reflection of Miss Havisham’s odd personality and it’s a bit bias to be honest, because all Dickens’ fantasies about the rich being evil, rude and a bit crazy are fitted into one character especially and her eerie house. One time, Miss Havisham questions Pip in such a way at one point, that he gets scared out of his wits and his answers to her spiteful questions are all monosyllabic, â€Å"who is it? † â€Å"Pip†¦ † In essence, Dickens’ disrespect to the upper-class is such, that he represents them all in one lady that is so low, she bully’s innocent little boys and makes them feel ashamed for who they are and even makes Pip accept he’s lower then her which one may argue is a good thing as it inspires Pip to greatness later on but is atrocious, giving that status is not all there is to life. Estella is the â€Å"lady† in the book. When she meets Pip, her presence with him clearly shows the enormous gap between their two respected classes. Of her first few words to Pip, she looks at his tatty state and says disgustingly, â€Å"come here, boy. † She judged him by his looks and clothes and instantly recognized his lower state and treats him like an animal and he follows reluctantly, falling for her looks, â€Å"being a girl, beautiful and self-possessed. † By being attractive, Estella has a power over Pip that she can allow herself to be rude and sly to him, yet he will still fancy her, ridicule him and he’ll still show respect, so Estella has the upper hand in all cases. Dickens’ use of imagery glorifies Estella in every way as Pip is drawn to her, â€Å"like a moth to the light,† but in reality his desire to be good enough for Estella leads him to selfishness and being big-headed, just like the rest of the upper-class in Victorian England at the time, according to Dickens that is. Estella is very lucky, in the sense she has access to food and wines while Pip’s struggling for bare bones with bread and water for snacks. Unfortunately, this was the case for everyone at the time it was rare for the lower-class to have luxuries even close to those of the rich and it all blatantly shows between the meetings of Pip and Estella. â€Å"I wish my boots weren’t so thick nor my hands so coarse. † This is the moment Pip feels ashamed of himself for the first time. He accepts defeat in a cowardly manner and is disappointed at life and why he, amongst others, is a common, miserable and poor, weak boy. He even calls himself â€Å"ignorant and backwards,† in his defeat, which is quite the contrary really until after visiting miss Havisham and being in her household.

Apple Is Expanding Its Distribution Channels

Apple is Expanding its Distribution Channels Cliff Edwards of Business Week harped on conflicts with existing retailers such as CompUSA and Sears, quoting CompUSA’s Lawrence N. Mondry, who declared, â€Å"When you choose to compete with your retailers, clearly that’s not a comfortable situation. † Mondry could have been describing the experience Mac buyers had when they stepped into most CompUSA stores. It was even worse at Sears. Realizing that they were being held over a barrel by big retailers that were used to calling the shots with computer OEMs and frequently provided a horrible purchasing environment for Apple products, the company did what it had to and took control of distribution. Apple retail stores would give the company the opportunity to â€Å"leapfrog† past dependence on other retailers. Daniel T. Niles of Lehman Brothers also saw the possibilities, telling MacWorld, â€Å"Apple has the ability to start attracting new customers with the launch of their higher-end retail store strategy. You can’t mention the surge in Mac sales without touching on the â€Å"Halo Effect† of the iPod. Apple made the iTunes/iPod combination available for Windows users. That move created several new distribution opportunities for Apple. First, it gave Windows users the opportunity to try Apple products without having to take the frightening plunge into the world of Macintosh. Apple finally had ac cess to a vast pool of Windows users it had previously been unable to touch. Second, it opened up a secondary market for iPod accessories and tie-ins. Had the iPod only been available for Macintosh users, a secondary market would have developed, but it would have been much, much smaller. Apple would never have been able to strike deals with auto manufacturers, for example. The connector on the bottom of every iPod (except the shuffle) became the point of entry to an incredible array of third-party products, and as that market grew, the iPod rapidly became the de facto standard portable multimedia device. Third, it gave the iTunes Store a tremendous head start. While a digital music store is handy in itself, none of the previously-existing stores had made much of a dent in consumer behavior. They didn’t operate particularly well with Windows-based MP3 players, and they didn’t offer broad enough music libraries. Apple struck deals with all the major labels and created a store that provided an easy, addictingly-convenient interface and seamless integration with the iPod. As the universe of purchased iPods grew, so did the market for the iTunes Store. The integration of iPod and iTunes also created a gestalt effect as Apple moved beyond music. Just as the Apple retail stores bypassed middlemen, the iTunes/iPod combination created a direct link between Apple and its customers. As Apple adds more capabilities to the iTunes Store, and does the same with the iPod, the two should continue to energize each other, provided Apple rolls out the right kinds of features. In 2001 Apple Computer has been taken a decision to open a series of retail stores that would display their entire line of Apple computer products, software and peripherals. Part of the decision, Apple's declining share of the computer market. Now the company has opened over 130 stores, including in Japan, Canada and the UK. It's latest annual report states that they will continue capital expenditures for retail operations, indicating that they have a long-term strategy for opening more stores. Apple Computer Store Products Hardware: It includes, iMac, Mac Mini, iBook, Mac Book, Mac Book Pro, iPod, Apple Cinema Displays, Airport Cards, iSight, Apple accessories etc. These are purchased from the Apple Store Online or by the phone. Apple Software: It includes iLife, iWork application bundles, Mac OS X, DVD Studio Pro, FinalCut Pro, and other miscellaneous Apple software titles. Third Party Software: It is made for Mac OS X, such as productivity software, design software, utilities, games much everything new that has been released for Mac OS X. Select Third Party Accessories: In this Apple ranges starts from Apple notebooks and iPod sleeves to speakers, printers, scanners, memory upgrades, and digital cameras. In Apple Store there are two types, those are: Retail store Online store The Apple Store, Regent Street, London, UK, is part of a chain of retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. , dealing in computers and consumer electronics. As of April 2008, Apple has opened 209 stores, including 181 in 37 US states, 15 in the UK (14 in England, 1 in Scotland), seven in Japan, and 4 in Canada. Recently, Apple opened its first store in continental Europe, in Rome in Italy. In 2008, Apple will be opening 3 Australian stores, 1 located in Melbourne and 2 in Sydney. This store is the first Apple Store in Europe. It opened in autumn 2004 Will Apple's stainless steel architecture have to take a background to the historic buildings of other countries? In Japan, Apple uses English almost exclusively. But other countries may not embrace English, preferring to see their own language used in store signage. Apple will have to balance the cost of constructing a store, recruiting a suitable staff, and operating the store against the potential revenues, which in turns depends upon the registered Macintosh community, median income, currency trends and general retailing environment–just like at home! Apple’s centralized and extremely consumer oriented approach to mobile software distribution is revolutionary My argument is that it’s revolutionary in the same way the iPod and iTunes were revolutionary. Basically, the formula is similar to why Apple succeeded w/ the iPod and iTunes despite competition from manufacturers like Sony, ancient models for music distribution, and technology inept publishers Apple’s Solution: take the carriers out of the picture and give the developers a low cost or zero cost distribution channel Jobs began Apple's turnaround with the 2001 introduction of the iPod, which defined and then dominated the portable-music-player market—and which became central to the resuscitation of Apple's computer line. The Mac, once derided as a toy, today is the best personal computer on the planet, period. And the iPhone is the best smart phone. Nothing else comes close. As of the third quarter of 2008, Apple's iPhone was outselling the Research in MotionBlackBerry, even though the iPhone had been in the market for only 15 months. When measured by revenues, Apple has become the world's third-largest mobile-phone maker, behind Nokia and Samsung. All this is happening just as mobile devices are poised to become the most important computing platform. same or similar products. Strategic management, horizontal integration is a theory of ownership and control. It is a strategy used by a business or corporation that seeks to sell one type of product in numerous markets. To get this market coverage, several small subsidiary companies are created. Each markets the product to a different market segment or to a different geographical area. This is sometimes referred to as the horizontal integration of marketing. The horizontal integration of production is where a firm has plants in several locations producing similar products. Apple is leader on the MP3 player market. Dynamic approach: history of a firm can explain its leader position. In my example, Apple innovates with its couple iPod+iTunes and keeps the leadership since Some points of its strategy are astonishing because they look similar as Apple strategy for PC. Apple doesn't want to licence its own DRM, so if you want buy a song on internet for your iPod you have to go to the iTunesMuciStore and to listen this song directly on a MP3 player you must have an iPod (some consumers lodge a complaint against Apple). So, Apple does the same thing for its MP3 player than the computers about twenty years ago. Short term Apple wins but the market increases and we can't know how this leadership will progress and if Apple would change its strategy. The theory of games can help us to understand this choice and the risks. Installed firms are Stackelberg leader on the market, the potential entrance adapt its quantity. (Bain, J. (1968) Apple Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries design, manufacture, and market personal computers, portable digital music players, and mobile communication devices, and sell various related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, its retail stores, its direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, it sells various third-party Macintosh, iPod, and iPhone compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and various other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores, and digital content through the iTunes Store. The company sells its products to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government, and creative customers. As of December 27, 2008, it had 251 retail stores. Apple Inc. , formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc. , was founded in 1976. The company is headquartered in Cupertino, California Company Background Apple Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively â€Å"Apple† or the â€Å"Company†) design, manufacture, and market personal computers, portable digital music players, and mobile communication devices and sell a variety f related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions. The Company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, its retail stores, its direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, the Company sells a variety of third-party Macintosh ® (â€Å"Mac†), iPod ® and iPhoneâ„ ¢ compatible products, including application software, pri nters, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and various other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores, and digital content through the iTunes Store ®. The Company sells to consumer, small and mid-sized business (â€Å"SMB†), education, enterprise, government, and creative customers. The Company’s fiscal year is the 52 or 53-week period that ends on the last Saturday of September. Unless otherwise stated, all information presented in this Form 10-K is based on the Company’s fiscal calendar. Business Strategy The Company is committed to bringing the best personal computing, portable digital music and mobile communication experience to consumers, students, educators, businesses, and government agencies through its innovative hardware, software, peripherals, services, and Internet offerings. The Company’s business strategy leverages its unique ability to design and develop its own operating system, hardware, application software, and services to provide its customers new products and solutions with superior ease-of-use, seamless integration, and innovative industrial design. The Company believes continual investment in research and development is critical to the development and enhancement of innovative products and technologies. In addition to evolving its personal computers and related solutions, the Company continues to capitalize on the convergence of the personal computer, digital consumer electronics and mobile communications by creating and refining innovations, such as the iPod, iPhone, iTunes Store, and Apple TV ®. The Company desires to support a community for the development of third-party products that complement the Company’s offerings through its developer programs. The Company offers various third-party software applications and hardware accessories for Mac ® computers, iPods and iPhones through its retail and online stores, as well as software applications for the iPhone platform through its iTunes ® App Store. The Company’s strategy also includes expanding its distribution network to effectively reach more of its targeted customers and provide them with a high-quality sales and post-sales support experience. Consumer and Small and Mid-Sized Business The Company believes a high-quality buying experience with knowledgeable salespersons who can convey the value of the Company’s products and services greatly enhances its ability to attract and retain customers. The Company sells many of its products and resells certain third-party products in most of its major markets directly to consumers and businesses through its retail and online stores. The Company has also invested in programs to enhance reseller sales, including the Apple Sales Consultant Program, which places Apple employees and contractors at selected third-party reseller locations. The Company believes providing direct contact with its targeted customers is an efficient way to demonstrate the advantages of its Mac computers and other products over those of its competitors. At the end of fiscal 2008, the Company had opened a total of 247 retail stores, including 205 stores in the U. S. and a total of 42 stores internationally. The Company has typically located its stores at high-traffic locations in quality shopping malls and urban shopping districts. A goal of the Company’s retail business is to expand its installed base through sales to customers who currently do not already own the Company’s products. By operating its own stores and locating them in desirable high-traffic locations, the Company is better positioned to control the customer buying experience and attract new customers. The stores are designed to simplify and enhance the presentation and marketing of the Company’s products and related solutions. To that end, retail store configurations have evolved into various sizes in order to accommodate market-specific demands. The stores employ experienced and knowledgeable personnel who provide product advice, service, and training. The stores offer a wide selection of third-party hardware, software, and various other accessory products and peripherals selected to complement the Company’s own products. Business Organization The Company manages its business primarily on a geographic basis. The Company’s reportable operating segments consist of the Americas, Europe, Japan, and Retail. The Americas, Europe, and Japan reportable segments do not include activities related to the Retail segment. The Americas segment includes both North and South America. The Europe segment includes European countries as well as the Middle East and Africa. The Retail segment operates Apple-owned retail stores in the U. S. and in international markets. Each reportable geographic operating segment and the Retail operating segment provide similar hardware and software products and similar services. Further information regarding the Company’s operating segments may be found in Part II, The Company has signed multi-year agreements with various cellular network carriers authorizing them to distribute and provide cellular network services for iPhone 3G in over 70 countries. These agreements are generally not exclusive with a specific carrier, except in the U. S. , U. K. , France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, and certain other countries. The Company expects to ship iPhone 3G in over 70 countries by the end of calendar year 2008. Markets and Distribution The Company’s customers are primarily in the consumer, SMB, education, enterprise, government, and creative markets. The Company distributes its products through wholesalers, resellers, national and regional retailers, and cataloguers. No individual customer accounted for more than 10% of net sales in 2008, 2007, or 2006. The Company also sells many of its products and resells certain third-party products in most of its major markets directly to customers through its own sales force and retail and online stores. Significant portions of the Company’s Mac computers, iPods, iPhones, logic boards, and other assembled products are manufactured by outsourcing partners, primarily in various parts of Asia. A significant concentration of this outsourced manufacturing is currently performed by only a few of the Company’s outsourcing partners, often in single locations. Certain of these outsourcing partners are the sole-sourced suppliers of components and manufacturing outsourcing for many of the Company’s key products, including but not limited to final assembly of substantially all of the Company’s portable Mac computers, iPods, iPhones and most of the Company’s iMacs. Although the Company works closely with its outsourcing partners on manufacturing schedules, the Company’s operating results could be adversely affected if its outsourcing partners were unable to meet their production commitments. The Company’s purchase commitments typically cover its requirements for periods ranging from 30 to 150 days. Foreign and Domestic Operations and Geographic Data The U. S. represents the Company’s largest geographic marketplace. Approximately 57% of the Company’s net sales in 2008 came from sales to customers inside the U. S. Final assembly of the Company’s products is currently performed in the Company’s manufacturing facility in Ireland, and by external vendors in California, the Republic of Korea (â€Å"Korea†), the People’s Republic of China (â€Å"China†) and the Czech Republic. Currently, the supply and manufacture of many critical components is performed by sole-sourced third-party vendors in the U. S. , China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Singapore. Sole-sourced third-party vendors in China perform final assembly of substantially all of the Company’s portable products, including MacBook Pro, MacBook, MacBook Air, iPods, iPhone, and most of the Company’s iMacs. Margins on sales of the Company’s products in foreign countries, and on sales of products that include components obtained from foreign suppliers, can be adversely affected by foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and by international trade regulations, including tariffs and antidumping penalties. The Company’s operations and performance depend significantly on worldwide economic conditions Global markets for personal computers, digital music devices, mobile communication devices, and related peripherals and services are highly competitive and subject to rapid technological change. If the Company is unable to compete effectively in these markets, its financial condition and operating results could be materially adversely affected. The Company competes in global markets that are highly competitive and characterized by aggressive price cutting, with its resulting downward pressure on gross margins, frequent introduction of new products, short product life cycles, evolving industry standards, continual improvement in product price/performance characteristics, rapid adoption of technological and product advancements by competitors, and price sensitivity on the part of consumers. The Company’s ability to compete successfully depends heavily on its ability to ensure a continuing and timely introduction of new innovative products and technologies to the marketplace. The Company believes it is unique in that it designs and develops nearly the entire solution for its personal computers, consumer electronics, and mobile communication devices, including the hardware, operating system, several software applications, and related services. As a result, the Company must make significant investments in research and development and as such, the Company currently holds a significant number of patents and copyrights and has registered and/or has applied to register numerous patents, trademarks and service marks. By contrast, many of the Company’s competitors seek to compete primarily through aggressive pricing and very low cost structures. If the Company is unable to continue to develop and sell innovative new products with attractive margins or if other companies To remain competitive and stimulate customer demand, the Company must successfully manage frequent product introductions and transitions. Due to the highly volatile and competitive nature of the personal computer, consumer electronics and mobile communication industries, the Company must continually introduce new products and technologies, enhance existing products, and effectively stimulate customer demand for new and upgraded products. The success of new product introductions depends on a number of factors, including timely and successful product development, market acceptance, the Company’s ability to manage the risks associated with new products and production ramp issues, the availability of application software for new products, the effective management of purchase commitments and inventory levels in line with anticipated product demand, the availability of products in appropriate quantities and costs to meet anticipated demand, and the risk that new products may have quality or other defects in the early stages of introduction. Accordingly, the Company cannot determine in advance the ultimate effect of new product introductions and transitions on its financial condition and operating results. The Company’s success depends largely on its ability to attract and retain key personnel. Much of the Company’s future success depends on the continued service and availability of skilled personnel, including its CEO, its executive team and key employees in technical, marketing and staff positions. Experienced personnel in the technology industry are in high demand and competition for their talents is intense, especially in the Silicon Valley, where most of the Company’s key employees are located. The Company has relied on equity awards as one means for recruiting and retaining this highly skilled talent. Accounting regulations requiring the expensing of stock options have resulted in increased stock-based compensation expense, which has caused the Company to reduce the number of stock-based awards issued to employees and could negatively impact the Company’s ability to attract and retain key personnel. Additionally, significant adverse volatility in the Company’s stock price could result in a stock option’s exercise price exceeding the underlying stock’s market value or a significant deterioration in the value of restricted stock units (â€Å"RSUs†) granted, thus lessening the The Company’s business is subject to the risks of international operations. The Company derives a large and growing portion of its revenue and earnings from its international operations. As a result, its financial condition and operating results could be significantly affected by risks associated with international activities, including economic and labor conditions, political instability, tax laws (including U. S. taxes on foreign subsidiaries), and changes in the value of the U. S. dollar versus local currencies. Margins on sales of the Company’s products in foreign countries, and on sales of products that include components obtained from foreign suppliers, could be materially adversely affected by foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and by international trade regulations, including tariffs and antidumping penalties. The Company’s primary exposure to movements in foreign currency exchange rates relate to non-U. S. dollar denominated sales in Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada, and certain parts of Asia, as well as non-U. S. dollar denominated operating expenses incurred throughout the world. Weakening of foreign currencies relative to the U. S. dollar will adversely affect the U. S. dollar value of the Company’s foreign currency-denominated sales and earnings, and generally will lead the Company to raise international pricing, potentially reducing demand for the Company’s products. In some circumstances, due to competition or other reasons, the Company may decide not to raise local prices to the full extent of the dollar’s strengthening, or at all, which would adversely affect the U. S. dollar value of the Company’s foreign currency denominated sales and earnings. Conversely, a strengthening of foreign currencies, while generally beneficial to the Company’s foreign currency-denominated sales and earnings, could cause the Company to reduce international pricing, thereby limiting the benefit. As strengthening of foreign currencies may also increase the Company’s cost of product components denominated in those currencies. The Company has used derivative instruments, such as foreign exchange forward and option positions, to hedge certain exposures to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. The use of such hedging activities may not offset any or more than a portion of the adverse financial effects of unfavorable movements in foreign exchange rates over the limited time the hedges are in place. The Company’s retail business has required and will continue to require a substantial investment and commitment of resources and is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Through September 27, 2008, the Company had opened 247 retail stores. The Company’s retail stores have required substantial fixed investment in equipment and leasehold improvements, information systems, inventory, and personnel. The Company also has entered into substantial operating lease commitments for retail space with terms ranging from 5 to 20 years, the majority of which are for 10 years. Certain stores have been designed and built to serve as high-profile venues to promote brand awareness and serve as vehicles for corporate sales and marketing activities. Because of their unique design elements, locations and size, these stores require substantially more investment than the Company’s more typical retail stores. Due to the high fixed cost structure associated with the Retail segment, a decline in sales or the closure or poor performance of individual or multiple stores could result in significant lease termination costs, write-offs of equipment and leasehold improvements, and severance costs that could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and operating results. The Company’s headquarters are located in Cupertino, California. The Company has a manufacturing facility in Cork, Ireland. As of September 27, 2008, the Company leased approximately 4. 2 million square feet of space, primarily in the U. S. and to a lesser extent, in Europe, Japan, Canada, and the Asia Pacific region. The major facility leases are generally for terms of 3 to 20 years and generally provide renewal options for terms of 1 to 5 additional years. Leased space includes approximately 1. 8 million square feet of retail space, a majority of which is in the U. S. Lease terms for reta il space range from 5 to 20 years, the majority of which are for 10 years, and often contain multi-year renewal options. As of September 27, 2008, the Company owned a 367,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Cork, Ireland that also housed a customer support call center. The Company also owned 805,000 square feet of facilities in Sacramento, California that include warehousing and distribution operations, as well as a customer support call center. In addition, the Company owned approximately 2. 3 million square feet of facilities for research and development and corporate functions in Cupertino, California, including approximately 1. 0 million square feet purchased in 2007 and 2006 for the future development of the Company’s second corporate campus in Cupertino, California, and approximately 107,000 square feet for a data center in Newark, California. Outside the U. S. , the Company owned additional facilities totaling approximately 129,000 square feet as of September 27, 2008. The Company believes its existing facilities and equipment are well maintained and in good operating condition. The Company has invested in internal capacity and strategic relationships with outside manufacturing vendors, and therefore believes it has adequate manufacturing capacity for the foreseeable future. The Company continues to make investments in capital equipment as needed to meet anticipated demand for its products. Globalization, Technology, and E-business are all major factors influencing today's business world. They influence many of our business related decisions on a daily basis. Some of these decisions could be deciding to use a computer to order a new desk from Singapore or using your cell phone to make a conference call in India. Even Apple's management functions are not immune to these critical factors. Apple began selling personal computers produced in the garage of one of the founders in 1976. They were incorporated in 1977. Apple's first important product, the Apple II, personal computer was released in 1977 and by 1982 sales had increased to over $750 million. (Kimmel, 1998). It was clear that globalization played a big part in this success. Globalization is becoming a must have for large organizations to excel above their competition. With that being said globalization has been influential to Apple's revenue. According to Apple, their â€Å"international sales accounted for 43 percent of the quarter's revenue† (Dowling, 2005), this is continuing to rise. The rise in revenue is a result of excellent management and planning. Because of the need to go international, Apple created a strategic plan to go forward in the direction of globalization. This type of globalization will involve countries with different needs and different markets. For instance, planning a marketing scheme must involve the different variables that apply for each market. When planning globally, company structure must be taken into consideration. With that being said organization and control go hand in hand Steve Jobs came back once again as the CEO of Apple in 1997. This time he had a new game plan, and Apple started to focus on the digital lifestyle of consumers. This proved to be Apple’s most successful business strategy to date because a once ineffective company now had ruled the computer world. In 2005, Apple announced that it would start using Intel-based chips to run Macintosh computers. In April 2006, Apple announced Boot Camp, which allows users of Intel-based Macs to boot either Mac or Windows OS. This functionality allows users who may need both OSs to own just one machine to run both, albeit not simultaneously

Erikson’s Fifth Stage of Psychosocial Development Essay

As a developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst, Erik Erikson crafted eight stages of human psychosocial development. The stage that has impacted my life the most is Identity versus Role Confusion, the fifth stage. This stage deals with adolescents twelve to eighteen years old. Erikson’s fifth stage prompts teens, like me, to ask ourselves who we want to be, what we want out of life, and what values and beliefs we live by. Erikson’s Fifth Stage of Psychosocial Development Erik Erikson was a developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory of human psychosocial development (New World Encyclopedia, 2013). Erikson’s theory has eight stages. They span from birth to death. According to Gorrindo, Fishel, and Beresin (2012, pg. 282-283), â€Å"Erikson’s stages . . . describe challenges for the individual based on cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal/social issues.† Erikson’s model of psychosocial development consists of those eight stages, but each stage is characterized by a psychological â€Å"crisis† (New World Encyclopedia, 2013). The Encyclopedia has stated that â€Å"when the outcome of the crisis is favorable, the person achieves a certain virtue or strength; when it is unsuccessful, the person develops a maladaptive character and continues to struggle with this conflict later in life.† The theoretical stage that most impacted my development is Erikson’s fifth stage, Identity versus Role Confusion, which takes place in the adolescent years of twelve to eighteen. As described in Myers’ Psychology textbook (2010, pg. 201), the fifth stage addresses teenagers working at refining a sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they become confused about who they are. Erikson’s fifth stage makes adolescents wonder, â€Å"Who am I as an individual? What do I want to do with my life? What values should I live by? What do I believe in?† Erikson called this quest the adolescent’s search  for identity. Identity versus Role Confusion is a very important stage because it helps you figure out who you are and what you will do in life. In this stage you form an identity or image of yourself, or you become confused about your role in society. Identity refers to the organization of the individual’s drives, abilities, beliefs, and history into a consistent image of self (Kasinath, 2013, pg. 1). According to the New World Encyclopedia (2013), Erikson’s search for his own personal identity led him to postulate the importance of personal identity in psychological growth. Erikson also believed that we continue to develop our personality, or identity, through adolescence and even throughout adulthood. Kasinath (2013, pg. 2) has suggested that â€Å"the components of identity that Erikson stressed are acceptance of one’s appearance, knowledge about where one is going, and recognition from others. Kasinath also states that â€Å"role confusion is most frequently caused by failure to formulate clear ideas about gender roles and by indecision about occupational choice.† So far, I have only been confused by what occupation I want to have. I have formed most parts of my identity, but because I am only fifteen years old, I am still continuing to create my sense of self. In this stage, childhood comes to an end. Cognitively, teenagers are able for the first time to consider abstract, existential questions (Gorrindo, Fishel, and Beresin, 2012, pg. 289). Gorrindo and his co-writers also stated that teenagers are thinking about the meaning of life, who their parents and family are, and who they wish to be when they leave home. Also stated by Gorrindo is, â€Å"preparation for separating from family and achieving independence is an important theme.† In relation to my life, these themes are reoccurring. I think about these statements and quotations every day. Erikson’s fifth stage, Identity versus Role Confusion, involves thinking about who you are as an individual and what you want to do with your life. I think about these aspects all the time. I wonder who I am, why I am here, and what I want to do. But because I am inquiring about this, it helps me dig deep and discover who I am. From the age of twelve to now (fifteen) I have changed my mind multiple times about my occupation choice. I wanted to be a lawyer, an FBI agent, and then a musician, and now finally a doctor. When I finally decided I wanted to be a doctor, it was because I realized who I was and that I wanted to help people. As suggested by Douvan (1997, pg. 16), â€Å" . . . the seach for meaning  and for fit, the hard work of building an identity that both satisfies an inner need for meaning and continuity and can find acceptance in one’s society.† Douvan also states that â€Å"it is hard for our current students to imagine that there was a time when identity struggle was not inscribed in adolescence. The search for an identity is ingrained in students’ minds since the first day a person asked you what you are like and what you want to be when you grow up. The fifth stage also involves questioning what values you should live by and what you believe in. I have formed so many of my values and beliefs in this stage of psychosocial development. My values shape who I am and make me want to be a doctor. My values also help me in friendships, relationships, and life situations. My beliefs help me form opinions and have a say in topics. Identity and values/beliefs go hand-in-hand. My identity leads to my beliefs and values, but my beliefs and values help shape my identity. In the adolescence, the students develop capabilities for abstract thinking and understanding the perspectives of others (Kasinath, 2013, pg. 1). As an adolescent, I have grown to be able to think critically and abstractly. I have also learned to listen to others and see things from their point of view. Erik Erikson’s fifth stage of psychosocial development, Identity versus Role Confusion, has most impacted my development. In this stage, the adolescents form a sense of self by testing roles and integrating them to form a single identity or they become confused about who they are. Erikson’s fifth stage makes adolescents wonder who we want to be, what we want out of life, and what values and beliefs we live by. References Douvan, E. (1997). Erik Erikson: Critical times, critical theory. Child psychiatry and human development, 28(1), 15-21. doi:10.1023/A:1025188901554 Gorrindo, T., Fishel, A., & Beresin, E. V. (2012). Understanding Technology Use Throughout Development: What Erik Erikson Would Say About Toddler Tweets and Facebook Friends. FOCUS: The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry, 10(3), 282. Kasinath. H. M. (2013). Adolescence: Search For An Identity. I-manager’s Journal on Educational Psychology, 7(1), 1-6. Retrieved July 13, 2014 from http://search.proquest.com.portal.lib.fit.edu/docview/1476284556?pq-origsite=

Assessing the Arguments Related to Shareholder Primacy and Stakeholder Dissertation

Assessing the Arguments Related to Shareholder Primacy and Stakeholder Theory in Corporate Governance - Dissertation Example Historically, the shareholder primacy theory has occupied a significant role in the corporate governance strategies based on the Anglo-American model. Shareholder primacy theory takes the position that the corporation is owned by shareholders and thus exists for the sole purpose of maximizing shareholder value. The role of shareholder primacy in corporate governance has been challenged by the European model of corporate governance which recognizes stakeholder value. Stakeholder theory looks more keenly at relationships between the corporation and its stakeholders, and presumes that profits flow naturally from improving stakeholder value and should not drive corporate decisions and behaviour. It therefore follows that theories of shareholder and stakeholder value espouse divergent presumptions on what factors should drive corporate behavior. In light of the recent global financial crisis of 2008-2009, there has been considerable debate over whether or not shareholder primacy should play an even greater role in making management accountable. Even so, these arguments are countered by arguments that express concern over the possibility that shareholder primacy would have a negative impact on the corporation or organization’s wider class of stakeholders; employees, creditors, the community and consumers.... icism of Shareholder Primacy 24 2.3 Stakeholder Theory 28 2.3.1 Definition 28 2.3.2 Origins of Stakeholder Theory 30 2.3.3 Developments and Current Stakeholder Theory 32 2.3.4 Criticisms of Stakeholder Theory 34 2.4 Conclusion 36 2.5 Chapter Summary 37 Chapter Three 38 Shareholder Primacy in Corporate Governance 38 3.1 Introduction 38 3.2 Shareholder Primacy in Practice 38 3.3 Shareholder Primacy and Corporate Governance in the UK 42 3.4 Conclusion 46 3.5 Chapter Summary 47 Chapter Four 47 Stakeholder Theory and Corporate Governance 47 4.1 Introduction 48 4.2 Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility 48 4.3 Stakeholder Theory and Corporate Social Responsibility in Practice 49 4.4 Conclusion 54 4.5 Chapter Summary 54 Chapter Five 55 Findings/Conclusion 55 Bibliography 58 Chapter One Shareholder Primacy and Stakeholder Theory: Issues and Background 1.1 Introduction Historically, the shareholder primacy theory has occupied a significant role in the corporate governance strategies ba sed on the Anglo-American model.4 Shareholder primacy theory takes the position that the corporation is owned by shareholders and thus exists for the sole purpose of maximizing shareholder value.5 The role of shareholder primacy in corporate governance has been challenged by the European model of corporate governance which recognizes stakeholder value. Stakeholder theory looks more keenly at relationships between the corporation and its stakeholders, and presumes that profits flow naturally from improving stakeholder value and should not drive corporate decisions and behaviour.6 It therefore follows that theories of shareholder and stakeholder value espouse divergent presumptions on what factors should drive corporate behavior. In light of the recent global financial crisis of 2008-2009,

Religious terrorists are modern manifestations of historical Essay

Religious terrorists are modern manifestations of historical traditions of extremism - Essay Example will evaluate various literature and research already carried out, which examines religiously stimulated violence and terrorism by Christian, Jewish as well as Islamic extremists. Efforts to better understand the root causes of different types of religious political violence have been carried out through studies. They give hope that they might provide an opening for a more productive negotiations between political and various religious leaders of all faiths on ways to minimize religiously stimulated terrorism. Religious terrorism is an act of violence, which is influenced by religious beliefs. Mostly, the perpetrators commit the violent act based on their personal goals, which may or may not necessarily value other people’s values and beliefs. They also believe that their actions are justified due to their belief that it is for a greater good. However, this is not always the case. History redirects to the significant role that religion play in political and social change. All around the world, there are various instances of faith-grounded and faith-stimulated persons, groups and associations. Current examples include the high prominence of the African church with its leaders during the anti-apartheid fight in South Africa. Another example is the liberty theologians of Latin American republics who got involved in societal reorganization and political action in reaction to the human need and social discriminations they witnessed around them (Cherribi, 2009). Although there exists quite a number of religious activities that were meant to fight for the better good of a population, there are, however many instances that prove otherwise. In these cases, their activities tend to be selfish and only advocate for the good a smaller group that shares the same interests. Therefore, I consider it to be a constructive way of change. A particular religious group can be perceived to be extremist or terrorist, if and when its actions instill direct or indirect harm to the

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Transportation in Manchester - Report - Essay Example The rural population moves to these urban cities for better opportunities of work, a chance of a better education; this influx of people is from foreign countries too. This human congestion leads to traffic congestion. Although, human influx helps these cities prosper in terms of human capital, intellectual capital and provision of labour; the paradox of traffic congestion comes into play (Smith, 1980). This report will highlight some of the issues that the city of Manchester faces due to traffic congestion. Also, some probable, implementable solutions to the problems will also be provided. Some of them may already be at work, however, can be implemented in a much better way. According to research in 2002, there are nearly half a million traffic jams in the Britain every year; this means that weekly there were about 10,000 congestion reports in a week. Surely, this figure has decreased in light of the initiatives taken by the transport authority; it still hasn’t completely solved the problem. The issues of traffic in Manchester are never-ending. These issues are likely to multiply if proper policy implementation and technology is not used to curtail the issues. Changing population demographics pose a threat to this deteriorating situation in the city. It is expected that by 2015, there will be multiple changes present in the size and of the city’s population; people will more to new places to work, with diverse backgrounds, increase in autonomy of the people in the policy system etc. The issue of hassle-free transportation has to be catered to on urgent basis and proper planning should be done, based on future projections and trends. One of the biggest issue that the people of Manchester faces considering the transport system is the traffic jams at rush hour. This is a pressing problem being faced all over the world. Traffic congestion at peak hours occurs as most of the vehicle owners start moving around the city. The

Labor Relations Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Labor Relations - Case Study Example In the second instance, the teacher reportedly lied in response to certain queries while being investigated. Lying is reported in response to queries over the copying and distribution of sheets as well as in response to queries over his relationship to a member of the African American community in school. The findings of the school board concluded that Daniel W. Burrell had lied under oath and this mandated that he be removed from service immediately. The Board’s position on the matter of distributing racially oriented jokes is also highly clear and the Board holds that Mr. Burrell had violated his responsibilities and associated expectations by the distribution. Moreover, Mr. Burrell was furnished with due process of law before dismissal in line with concerned laws over teacher’s rights. Therefore, there is little doubt that the proceedings of this case were carried out by the book in letter and spirit. A look at the relevant laws affirms such view points. Under law, a teacher may be dismissed from service for immoral conduct, incompetence, neglect of duty, substantial non compliance with school laws and fraud or misrepresentation amongst other things. Being a teacher, Mr. Burrell is supposed to serve as a beacon and as a role model to the community in general and to his students in particular. However, the distribution of racially discriminatory material is unjustifiable even if humour is speculated. Furthermore, under his freedom to teach Mr. Burrell could expose students to new streams of thought by using racial or otherwise socially compromising material but the racially centred jokes do not constitute such an intention. Therefore, the distribution of racially centred jokes through personal initiative has nothing to do with Mr. Burrell’s professional responsibilities. Instead, such behaviour deserves discouragement at an official level. Mr. Burrell had the

Early years in the uk context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Early years in the uk context - Essay Example The development and learning requirements only apply in England, but the welfare requirements are applicable to the entire United Kingdom schools (Department for Education, 2012). All the childcare providers, nurseries, child-minders, pre-school, and kindergartens are obliged to be registered through the Childcare Act so as to legally operate. To remain registered, they have to comply with the Learning and Development (in England), and Welfare requirements (for the entire U.K) except where exempted (Department for Education, 2013). Learning and development (L&D) are requirements with a legal force given by the 2012 Early Years Foundation Stage (Learning and Development Requirements) amendment order, under Section 39(1)(a) of the 2006 Childcare Act. The Welfare and Safeguarding requirements got their legal force from the 2012 Early Years Foundation Stage (Welfare Requirements) Regulations, under Section 39(1)(b) of the 2006 Childcare Act. The 2006 Childcare Act allows the Secretary of State to give exemptions from the development and learning framework under certain circumstances, under Section 46 (Department for Education, 2012). Early childhood education and care for young emerged in England during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The first U.K nursery school was established by Robert Owen in 1816 at New Lanark, Scotland for mill workers’ children. ... In the process, he strived to create the future citizen via a process of physical activities and informal teaching. Even though, his ideas were way ahead of time, this example established significant interest in the area of early childhood education. This followed the founding of infant schools across the United Kingdom (Kwon, 2002). The Education Act was passed in 1870, establishing compulsory elementary schooling for any child from 5 years of age. Elementary education was made compulsory for children between 5 and 13years of age in 1880 (The Scottish Government, 2011). In the absence of schools or institutions specialized for the younger children, the elementary ones were made to admit children below the age of five so as to protect them from the unhealthy and poor physical conditions in slums and the dangerous streets (TES Magazine, 2012). Five female inspectors from the Education Board investigated the admission of infants in U.K elementary schools and their instructing curriculu m in 1905. They reported the inappropriateness and recommended that all the children below five years should have separate facilities with a different approach of teaching from the older children (The Scottish Government, 2011). They criticized rote memorization and the monotonous emphasis on repetition in the curriculum for elementary schools. As a result of this report, all children under the age of five were excluded from the elementary schools, officially (Kwon, 2002). By the mid 20th century, the family size had declined with the closure of day nurseries reducing the opportunities for children to interact and play with each other. Playgroups were, therefore, included as a new preschool provision. In 1972, Secretary of State for Education, Margaret Thatcher, presented an education

Corporate Social responsibility assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corporate Social responsibility - Assignment Example Nowadays unethical activities can no longer be hidden, as every activity against ethical CSR is investigated, communicated and broadcasted through internet by the media (Kakabadse, Rozuel, & Lee-Davies, 2005). However, if the other side of the coin is analyzed, it can be seen that that due to recent scandals, many reforms in business environment have been noticed. Firstly, the financial performance of the organization has improved (Galbreath, 2009). It has be analyzed by DePaul University that after the financial crisis and economic downturn, companies are engaging themselves into ethical business, which is revealing better financial performance as stated by S&P 500 Index (Silberhorn, & Warren, 2007). The operating cost has reduced due to CSR initiatives because companies are more concern about reducing their rate of emission, cutting down waste and by selling the recycled materials. To enforce ethical CSR activities and corporate governance in companies after the Enron scandal the A merican government also introduced Sarbanes-Oxley Legislation (Cromb, 2008). Answer 2 Stakeholders are the people or groups of people who have major interest in the growth and profitability of the organization. However, the interest of every stakeholder towards the organization is not the same. So based on the level of interest the stakeholders are segregated as primary and secondary stakeholder. The primary stakeholders are those who get the most affected by the positive or negative outcome or performance of the company. However, this differentiation is done for ethical decision-making. According to Figure 1, Freeman depicted a view of the primary and secondary stakeholders (Brockett, & Rezaee, 2012). Figure 1: Freeman's Structure for Primary and Secondary Stakeholders Source: (Colle, 2005) The segregation is done on the basis of fiduciary duties, legitimate interest towards the firm, invested capital and efforts. As can be seen in Figure 1, the primary stakeholders are shareholder s, suppliers, customers, employees and government. All these individuals and groups have financial and personal interest associated with the organization. They have direct contribution towards the positive or negative growth of the company, so they are the stakeholders who should be ethically receiving first priority in profits and decision-making. The secondary stakeholders are the competitors, society, local and global communities, etc (Colle, 2005). They are not indirectly related to the organization, but neither do they contribute towards the profitability of the organization nor they receive a share of the profit of the company (Ayuso, Rodriguez, Garcia, & Arino, 2007). Answer 3 The sets of rules, polices, principles and processes set by the company to monitor and control the company and its functions is known as corporate governance. The corporate governance also helps the company by providing guidelines for fulfilling the goals and objectives of the company. It is also respon sible for safeguarding the stakeholder's interest. Corporate governance assists the companies to lay down the foundation for planning our CSR activities for the company because unless and until the operational functions are ethically conducted, CSR will reap no result. However, stakeholders of the company have significant role to play in this case, as it has been discussed further in this section of the study. There are approaches around the world based on which the role of the shareholders in corporate

The Club Essay Example for Free

The Club Essay The Club (1978), written by David Williamson, is a satirical play that follows the fortunes and misfortunes of a football club over the course of the season. David Williamson cleverly integrates the realistic portrayal of characters and dialogue into the play in order to effectively provide the reader with an insight into the power and politics of sport and the commoditisation of players. The main themes in The Club that David Williamson communicates across to the reader are power and the concept of ‘human loyalty verses materialistic gain’, which will be explained in further detail below. Power is also explored extensively in The Club; much of the play is based on power struggles between the characters. As mentioned earlier, the power struggle between Laurie and Jock is evidenced by Laurie’s accusation that Jock supported the committee’s traditional approach only to stop Laurie from succeeding. Obviously some of the characters are much more successful than others. For example, Gerry is able to skilfully manipulate the other characters so he can accomplish his own hidden agenda. However the two players, Danny (the team Captain) and Geoff, do not really become involved in these power struggles except when they aid Laurie at the end of the play. Ted (the president) has the most obvious power at the start of the play, although he steadily loses it throughout as the other characters strive to improve their standing. The desire for power is basically universal, and there is resentment from those who are not in power towards those who are. These sporting attitudes have been clearly evident in sport in the last few decades. Attitudes towards commercialism are also explored in The Club. In the play, the Club itself is just beginning the road to commercialisation with the purchase of Geoff Hayward (the star recruit) for $90,000. However, Gerry (the administrator) and Jock’s plans for next year not only include the dropping of some Club traditions, but also extensive commercialisation as wealthy entrepreneurs are recruited for sponsorship money which will be used to buy more players. Jock is a person who supports the commoditisation of players when it is in agreement with his goals. For example when trying to avert a players’ strike, Jock claims that former Club heroes would be disgusted by the idea, â€Å"I want to turn all those photographs around so they don’t have to look down on this shameful scene. † However, it is later revealed that Jock supports the buying of players and a coach who has not played for the Club, both of which are against traditions, to ensurethat the Club wins a premiership next season. This hypocritical attitude towards tradition is probably a fairly typical Australian attitude. This attitude presented by Williamson is probably even more widespread now, as success and the reaching of goals is seen as being even more important today. Loyalty is also an important issue in The Club, although each of the characters is loyal in very different degrees and ways. Some of the characters, like Danny, are fiercely loyal to others; for example Danny threatens a players’ strike if Laurie is forced to resign, â€Å"If that bloody committee of yours gives Laurie the boot tonight, then we don’t play tomorrow. † Other characters, like Jock and Gerry, lack loyalty to other people and will manipulate and lie for their own personal advantages but are loyal to the Club as a whole. Gerry believes that, â€Å"Loyalty to any one individual is a luxury you can’t afford in a business with a multi-million dollar turnover. † Gerry’s pragmatic attitude is perhaps typical of the attitudes which are becoming commonplace in the cutthroat business world of the 1990s. In The Club, David Williamson utilises realistic dialogue to assume convey meaning and enrich the text of the play. Williamson achieves realistic dialogue through the constant use of many language devices including emotive language insults, interruptions, sarcasm, idioms, colloquialism, slang, irony, jargon and hyperboles. The main purpose is to depict power and domination between characters. This is done through a device such as tone, as it creates an atmosphere of tension and conflict. Tone is shown between the two most powerful characters, Gerry the football administrator and Laurie the Club’s coach. Gerry’s tone is calm and uses very formal language, which indicated his power and control over other characters. ‘You’re scarcely in a position to be delivering ultimatums, Laurie’. Laurie also shows control by his tone and word choice. ‘If you play well enough and the team plays well enough for the rest of the year, they’ll find it pretty hard to sack me’. The tone in Laurie’s dialogue changes from exasperation to control indicating that he has become his own master. Laurie’s approach to dealing with situations shows his power and dominates. The shift in tone of Gerry and Laurie’s dialogue emphasises the power shifts that take place in ‘The Club’. The frequent use of slang and colloquial language represents the Australian culture and way of life. Also, use of football jargon such as ‘goal-to-goal line’ shows how familiar the club members are with their sport. Another purpose shown throughout the play is the conflicting relationships between characters. Williamson has created this purpose through the use of sarcasm used by the characters. In the first scene, Ted and Danny have come across as having a conflicting relationship as there are many problems associated with the football club. ‘This is lovely, really delightful, a strike threat’. By Ted using sarcasm it gets Danny worked up therefore has created a conflicting relationship. Danny who is a young footballer complains about how little money he has in the back. ‘I can hardly wait, I’m taking my two best friends to Pizza Palace and putting the other half in the bank’. This has added tension between the two characters, and has showed how they use dialogue to create conflicting relationships. Sarcasm adds a feeling of resentment and reflects an unwillingness to be open to the prospect of resolution. Williamson’s portrayal of characters, even nowadays, reflects many Australian attitudes very accurately, even though the play was written many decades ago. Some of the attitudes expressed, especially those regarding the commoditisation of sport, are even more relevant today than when the play was written, while others, such as tradition, are still equally relevant in the current Australian society. By studying ‘The Club’ it has also helped demonstrate how purposes are made by using a range of language devices such as tone and sarcasm, therefore showing how dialogue helps express its underlying theme or power and relationships. It is because of this that David Williamsons 1978 play The Club is still being performed as it gives audiences a realistic perspective into the past, present and future of sport.

Analysis On Jit Sourcing Strategy Information Technology Essay

Analysis On Jit Sourcing Strategy Information Technology Essay Outsourcing problems are very complex where even a small decision when taken wrongly can lead to unpredictable risks. From JITs outsourcing experience, the following questions should be considered in order to analyse the case. How to strategically select the appropriate activities that can be outsourced or be maintained internally? How to identify the relative risks and benefits of outsourcing the selected activities? (Quinn, J. B. Hilmer, F. G., 1995). It has been identified that most managers do not consider the risk factors into account while giving importance only to the costs and benefits of outsourcing and offshoring. Many IT jobs outsourced offshore are help desk jobs. People who hold such jobs typically do not have computing discipline degrees. Murphy and Chabrow (2003) argue that the IT jobs outsourced offshore were the routine, repetitive, and largely uninteresting ones. They are well trained and well versed in the product that they are supporting but in-depth questions regarding the internal workings of the product usually require that a person with a computing discipline degree be summoned to assist. (Antonio M. Lopez, Jr., 2004). Similar to many other outsourcing projects, the key reason for failure in JIT outsourcing activity is poor management and governance. In order to identify the root cause for this failure, we need to frame the key stages of the outsourcing cycle followed by JIT. Based on the success of Corporate Intranet, selective sourcing was decided. Also, it should be noted that corporate Intranet did not involve any vendor employees and was only purchased and handled completely by the JIT. IT outsourcing problems usually happen at the contract and post-contract stages (Alborz et al.s 2003), where how to negotiate and come out with a sound contract, how to manage the contract, and how to build up and maintain a good relationship become the most critical issues IT executives need to face. Managers have to carefully select which IT activities to outsource. John Smith in JIT had an uncertainty about the IT departments value. In order to resolve the internal Infrastructure department issue, some of the IT activities had been selectively outsourced without a proper strategy. An increased IT costs and poor service level in vendors has been mainly due to ill-defined relational contracts and non-flexibility in adapting to both business and technical changes. Thus, many IT activities like JIT did should have remained in-house, but instead were handed over to the vendors.( Lacity, M. C. Willcocks, L. P. Feeny, D. F., 1996). The IT outsourcing lifecycle suggested by (Sparrow E., 2003) can be used to identify the outsourcing process implemented in the IT department of JIT. Initiation Vendor Selection Contract Negotiation Transition Service Delivery (Continuous) Contract Renewal/Termination Pre Execution Execution Time In the Initiation stage, the plan was to outsource the Datacentre management and PC help desk activities to outsourced vendor in order to give provision and for the IT infrastructure group employees to concentrate completely on the enhancement and up gradation of projects within that division. The main motive of outsourcing is generally cost cutting or for maintaining the legacy systems. However, it is required that whatever outsourcing option a company adopts, there is always a need for a capable IS managers to manage the IT operations effectively. It is just not enough to just outsource the work. A companys IT managers should also know how to manage contracts and relationships with third parties. The main motives for JIT outsourcing of Datacentre and PC helpdesk were to reduce IT Infrastructure cost, Improve service quality in PC helpdesk and resolve employee retention in the IT infrastructure section. The IT employees were highly qualified and disliked to work on PC helpdesk. There was employee retention in the infrastructure section. The IT employees spent more time on day-to-day maintenance activities due to which they had no time to enhance the existing projects or innovate new ideas for a competitive advantage over other firms. A study found that only 54% of the agreements realized expected cost savings (Lacity and Willcocks 1998). More recently, a Gartner Dataquest Report claimed that about one of every three outsourcing contracts targeting cost reductions failed to match expectations (Caldwell 2002b; Caldwell 2002a).It should also be noted that, when a company outsources its IT services to a third party vendor, how can it be sure that the vendors skills would be updated? Moreover, in JITs case, cost reduction has been the major concern to decide the outsourcing. Therefore, it cannot expect the vendors CMPI to be updated on technical capabilities and process management. (Earl, M. J., 1996). In the Vendor Selection, JIT finalized with two vendors for each outsourcing projects. The vendor was mainly selected based on the cost/benefit analysis, expertise level. The Datacentre activities in JIT did not face any cross-cultural issues. However, the PC Helpdesk activity required that the staff should know Japanese language as well, in order to support the rotational staffs. Hence, it is essential that the outsourcing firm should be able to understand and manage the cross-cultural differences. (I Oshri, J Kotlarsky, LP Willcocks, 2009). Among the two vendors that JIT finalised for PC helpdesk outsourcing, CMPI was not an experienced company in handling this, whereas, Outsourcing Solutions had proposed a unique business model to provide technicians in four different levels covering all aspects including the cross-cultural differences in JIT. The proposal of Outsourcing Solutions had to be compromised considering just the cost factor. The third stage is the Contract Negotiation. In this, JIT had a Service level agreement with both the vendors for a one year contract. Willcocks and Kern (2000) suggest that strategic intent as well as technical capability shape both contract structure and interpersonal relationship development. In JITs case, the strategic intent and technical capability of DR solutions was strong. But, it was not the same with CMPI. Thus, it resulted in a very poor interpersonal relationship. Thus, a relationship that aims to tap into the technical leadership capabilities of a vendor to achieve IT efficiency may generate higher value if it is run as a partnership; whereas, one that aims to achieve IT efficiency by tapping into a vendors widely available resource pool, may be better managed as a technical supply pay-per-service relationship. In the transition stage, both the datacentre and helpdesk activities were moved to DR Solutions and CMPI vendor appropriately. The IT manager John Smith did not have a clear cut plan with the outsourcing vendors .Immediately after the contract begun; there was not much of monitoring or management of IT operations. (Earl, M. J., 1996). Because of this, it is also likely that the company might have to some of its crucial competencies or capabilities. In JITs aspect, there has been value capture of the outsourcing companies but no value creation. Moving the Datacentre from JIT to DR Solutions was not efficient in terms of preplanning. Although JIT had involved 5 different specialists for the deployment, there was no one to actually monitor the process. Moreover, it was not an appropriate time to relocate the Datacentre to the DR Solutions. In the Service delivery stage, although Datacentre activities was a success, the CMPI employees allocated for PC helpdesk did not possess enough troubleshooting skills right from the beginning, in order to manage the escalation calls they received. They could handle only the quick fixes. They also were reluctant to handle the calls from Japanese executives which clearly convey that, CMPI employees were not well versed in Japanese language. This is another major drawback in CMPIs business model. Governance is considered not just in terms of pre-specified frameworks for a formal relationship, but that emerge in interactions between client and provider (Mintzberg, 1978). It involves both the client as well as the vendor. The MOG model addresses the question of how a companys governance affects the outcome of outsourcing in terms of Value Capture and Value Creation. .(Moments of Governance in IS outsourcing: conceptualizing effects of contracts on value capture and creation). Having char ged $180/per user/month, the employees felt that they were not receiving a quality service from the PC helpdesk. Thus, John smith decided to improve the quality of service by outsourcing to CMPI and also increasing the user charge $200/month. This did not bring any change in the quality of service. This in turn has increased the expenditure in the Infrastructure division of JIT. Also, there was also a need for expense reduction. Even before finalising the contract with CMPI, John smith had the doubt whether the employees from CMPI would be able to handle the numerous numbers of calls received by JIT per day. In order to identify the core capabilities of the outsourcing suppliers, the framework proposed by (Feeny, Lacity and Willcocks,2005) can be applied. In this framework, the capabilities of the outsourcing suppliers have been rated based on their Delivery, Relationship and Transformation Competency. Based on the given information, Compared to the Outsourcing Solutions vendor, CMPI had lacked in the leadership, as CMPI had less experience in providing IT services. It had provided services only to 20 companies. Whereas the Outsourcing Solutions vendor had the credit of providing services to Fortune 500 companies. Considering the technical expertise level, CMPI had highly skilled technicians. However, they did not follow any specific business model to implement the helpdesk activities. Whereas, Outsourcing solutions had proposed with a specific business plan with 4 PC helpdesk technicians of 3 different levels for JIT. Also the technicians had excellent resumes and references with them. Also, CMPI were not willing to give an upper limit on the amount of time its employees would take to resolve an escalated call. This information was very unclear when compared to Outsourced solutions. While the Relationship and transformation competency of Outsourced Solutions is much better when compared to CMPI, the cost has been very high. This forced JIT to choose CMPI.(I Oshri, J Kotlarsky, LP Willcocks, 2009).If a company decides to outsource IT services just focusing on costs; It is assuming that its directions and necessities are clear. (Earl, M. J., 1996). Key Problems with JITs Sourcing Strategy: JIT was focusing more on cost cutting instead of the quality of the service provided by the vendors. This is because, although the vendors CMPI chosen for PC helpdesk activities were not expensive, they did not have as much of experience as the other vendor Outsourced Solutions. The existing IT division employees at JIT felt that PC help desk Job was not a very productive and was not improving their career as all these employees felt they were overqualified to perform the mundane job. Moreover, as they were spending most of their work hours on maintenance and PC problems, they were unable to concentrate on upgrading or enhancing the existing projects. This eventually started demotivating them. There was poor governance and Management right from the beginning of the outsourcing contracts initiation. The Service Level agreement was not made clear during the initial contract with CMPI. There have been poor contract and relationship issues. According to Deming (1986), a poor communication or a poor coordination between the vendor and the client is mainly due to poor vendor performance. Some of the anticipated benefits of outsourcing such as cost reduction, expanded, updated skills from vendors and increased flexibility often failed to materialize. (An enterprise perspective of Software Offshoring).Most companies that are outsourcing IT for the first time are not aware of the hidden costs that might start occurring post contract. These may arise as a result of insufficient planning or an unexpected turn of events. (Daniel C. M. Tan, 2009). The IT director John Smith, who was solely responsible for both the outsourcing projects, did not actually investigate deep into similar outsourcing cases. Based on just the Corporate Intranet outsourcing that gave a success to JIT, he proceeded with this outsourcing decision. He did not give much interest for getting consulting, although he just got a suggestion from one of the known consultants. In Information technology, Customized services are generally not outsourced. As, Michael Cunningham (Ask IT Professional IT Advisory Services Company) Said to John Smith, IT outsourcing is significantly less mature than other outsourcing sectors. Before outsourcing the Datacentre and PC Helpdesk activities, the JIT Company had little knowledge on the Outsourcing strategies. From the clients perspective, IT outsourcing decision makers are usually short of experience to select and evaluate service providers and immature in negotiating contracts, managing contracts and maintaining good relatio nships with the providers.(Q.Cong, 2000). Recommendations for fixing helpdesk problems faced in 2002: Aron and Singh (2005) suggest that firms should base their outsourcing and offshoring decisions on the assessment of operational and structural risks. For activities that present high operational and structural risks (e.g. corporate planning), they recommend to execute in house and onshore. Activities that present moderate operational and structural risks (e.g. supply chain coordination) they suggest to outsource carefully, using extended organization offshore, and monitor closely in real time. Activities with low operational and structural risks (e.g. transaction processing) are suitable for outsourcing to offshore service providers. With the datacentre outsourcing, although there was a problem in the transition phase, it got resolved immediately due to the vendors dedication and strong relationship with JIT. However, there was no risk management planned for both the outsourcing. With the PC helpdesk outsourcing, rather than choosing the in-house facility, choosing the right vendor/vendors for outsourcing will always be cheaper and efficient for mundane IT tasks. According to Willcocks and Lacity, over 75% of organizations in the developed economies outsource 15%-50% of their IT budgets, typically with multiple suppliers. JIT can continue for the same SLA with CMPI. But, instead of re-negotiating the contract only with CMPI, it can also involve into a new contract with Outsourced Solutions. As Willcocks (2008) said, outsource only business and not your problems. Outsourcing should be viewed as an opportunity and not just as a cost cutting strategy. Hence, JIT should consider the quality, their experience and capability while choosing to outsource the tasks to vendor. As JIT is going to outsource a part of its helpdesk activities to the new vendor, the cost can be reduced. Also through the adoption of multi-vendor strategy, competition between two vendors result in the right pricing for the client and the quality of service will be improved. In order to resolve the PC helpdesk problem, my recommendation would be to continue with the existing vendor (CMPI) and shift some of the other helpdesk activities to a new vendor. In this case, the new vendor can be Outsourced Solutions, which means JIT can follow a multi-vendor Outsourcing Strategy. Or, JIT can cancel the contract with CMPI and choose Outsourced Solutions for better service. Benefits / risks of Single vendor Outsourcing strategy: By adopting a single vendor strategy that JIT already follows, it needs to track only a single implementation. Complexity of management will be much minimized. This is mainly adopted by clients to benefit from lower operational costs. Similarly, JIT also adopted the single vendor strategy only to lower its operational costs. But, cost should not be the only criteria. Vendor management, capability, and experience, of vendor should be given more importance. The client can expect the highest level of vendor capabilities through a well-planned Service Level Agreement. The risks could be poor quality of service by the vendor. There is also a possibility of too much dependency created on the vendor by the client. At the end, this can result in a situation for clients where they cannot move out of the vendor at their will. However, as JIT failed to follow this strategy efficiently, I would recommend that a multi vendor offshore outsourcing can be adopted by JIT to solve the issues faced in its Infrastructure section. Benefits /Risks of Multi-Vendor Outsourcing: As mentioned earlier, JIT did not follow a risk mitigation methodology while choosing the vendors for both the Datacentre and PC helpdesk activities. Thus when JIT outsources the PC help desk activities to CMPI as well as Outsourced Solutions, it can reduce the risk level because, even when CMPI does not provide a quality service, Outsourced Solutions will be there to backup. Working with multiple suppliers provides a strong element of power for a company for at least two reasons. First, if a supplier underperforms, it becomes easier to transfer the work to a supplier that is already executing the same processes. Second, working with multiple providers will generate a competitive climate among them that, if managed carefully, can become very beneficial for the customer, both in terms of the quality of service delivered and in terms of price. As there are two vendors (CMPI and Outsourced Solutions), there is increased domain and technical expertise. This will also enhance the service quality as each vendor will try to compete with the other vendor while providing its services. However, in multi-vendor outsourcing, the companies engage an array of vendors; the managers should be increasingly adept at managing the entire portfolio of vendors. Thus, John Smith should think beyond cost to ensure the success of the PC helpdesk outsourcing. (Lacity, M., Willcocks, L. and Feeny, D., 1996). Firstly, vendors familiarity with the business is most important. Although, CMPI was familiar with helpdesk activities, it was not aware of the actual activities happening in the Infrastructure section in JIT. (Kakabadse, A., and Kakabadse, N., 2000) Secondly, there should be good involvement from the JITs IT team to equally co-operate with the vendors employees. (Kreitner, R. and Kinicki, A., 2007).

Singapore Differ From Other Countries In Asia Geography Essay

Singapore Differ From Other Countries In Asia Geography Essay As one of the Four Tigers of Asia, Singapore has been widely acclaimed for its rare economic phenomenon that caused its rapid growth and promotion to the status of a developed country. However, what truly sets Singapore apart from the rest is that amid the fast paced industrial development and rapid urbanization, Singapore was able to at achieve a high level of environmental standards that allowed it to be renowned in the region as a â€Å"Garden City†. Therefore, it is of great interest that we discuss the key factors to Singapores success in achieving a clean and green physical environment and the extent of its achievement. Through comparison with other Asian countries, we will also aim to identify the difference between these attempts. â€Å"Brown† Policy Upon independence in 1965, Singapore was faced with a number of critical environmental issues such as removal of waste, lack of clean water supply, land pollution etc. While at the same time, the nation also had to tackle economic and social issues, which further complicates the efforts in environmental planning. In other Asian countries that experienced similar rapid economic growth, most of these countries adopted the â€Å"Grow First, Clean Up Later† policy and thus have the tendency to neglect the environmental issues and concentrate more on economic and development growth. (T.Rock, 2002) For instance, the larger cities in South East Asia such as Bangkok contributes to half of Thailands economic growth, however it still faces numerous environmental problems such as air and water pollution that are still not given due attention. (Refer to Excerpt 1.1) Therefore, we can see that the importance attached by the government to environmental issue is a key factor to the success of its environmental management programme. (Chia, 1987) (Source: Extracted from Tapvong, C., and Kruavan, J., Water quality improvements: A contingent valuation study of the Chao Phraya River, EEPSEA Research Report, 1999.) Unlike its counterparts, the Singapore government adopted the â€Å"Brown† Policy which gives priority to developmental goals such as urban expansion and economic growth while at the same time ensuring that pollution issues that arise be addressed appropriately. (Teo, Yeoh, Lai, Ooi, 2004) Through this policy, economic growth and environmental management becomes partners in national development rather than nemesis. For example, while Singapore government greatly promoted industrialization in the 1970s, legislations such as the Clean Air Standard Regulations (CASR) and Trade Effluent Regulations (TER) were introduced that requires industries to follow stringent standards in effluents and air pollution control. Relocation efforts of the population to public housing estates were also packaged with environmental management plans such as the establishment of sewage and sanitation system and solid waste collection and disposal facilities. (Teo, Yeoh, Lai, Ooi, 2004) Government Support Noting the importance of governmental support, Singapore became among the earliest countries in the world to introduce a Ministry solely focused on environmental issues. The seriousness of environmental management efforts differentiated Singapore from the rest of the NIEs in the region in the 1970s. (Teo, Yeoh, Lai, Ooi, 2004)The creation of Anti Pollution Unit in 1970 under the Prime Minister Office and Ministry of Environment in 1972 signaled to polluters the governments commitment to environmental issues. (T.Rock, 2002) (Source: Adapted from Chia, L.S. (Ed) (1987), Fig 2, pg 117, Environmental Management in Southeast Asia.) The Ministry of Environment formed in 1972 changed its name to become Ministry of Environment and Water Resources in 2004. Under the Ministry are 2 statutory boards, namely the National Environmental Agency and Public Utilities Board. The trio forms the main institution group in charge of environmental issues and sustainability. (Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, 2008) With the establishment of Ministry of Environment, environmental policies were translated into legal framework with cooperation from other governmental agencies. Adequate legal support thus provided the support necessary for enforcement. The extensive organization structure of the Ministry of Environment also allowed for an encompassing approach towards environmental issues. (Source: Adapted from Chia, L.S. (Ed) (1987) Fig 3, pg 119, Environmental Management in Southeast Asia.) To keep up with the complexity and changing nature of environmental issues, legislation passed by the Ministry were also amended frequently. One such example will be on the control of air quality and traffic congestion. To aid in solving the air pollution problem, the Singapore government passed legislation in 1st May 1990, which instituted a system of limiting the growth of motor vehicles by requiring all citizens to bid for a Certificate of Entitlement before gaining the right to own a car. (Didier Millet and the National Heritage Board, 2010) After observing that this does not effectively decrease the traffic congestion problem in CBD areas, the government was quick to implement the Electronic Road Pricing system with rates that will be adjusted where necessary to minimize congestion on the roads. Implementation and Enforcement To ensure effective implementation and enforcement, the Ministry of Environment was also vested with the direct authority to enforce the environmental legislation it introduced. This distinguishes Singapore from other countries that have well-defined environmental legal framework but lack the effective enforcement. A unified environmental authority responsible for policy formulation, implementation of environmental programme and coordination of other agencies backed with substantial monitoring, enforcement and inspection capabilities no doubt contributed to the success of environmental management in Singapore. (Chia, 1987) The National Environmental Agency (NEA), formed in 1st July 2002, becomes the main institution empowered by National Environment Agency Act to effectively check on industries and to enforced and implement the environments standards as per required by the respective environmental legislations passed by Ministry of Environment and Water Resources. (Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, 2008) (Source: Adapted from Chia, L.S. (Ed) (1987), Appendix 1, pg 161, Environmental Management in Southeast Asia) In contrast, countries in the region such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia without an unified umbrella environmental institution faces the fragmentation of environmental responsibility among their governmental agencies, which often impedes progress in environmental planning. (Chia, 1987) For instance, Indonesias environmental impact management agency, the BAPEDAL under the State Ministry of Population and Environment (SMPE) lacks legal authority to inspect and enforce the standards they have implemented. For example, only the Ministry of Industries (MOI) and the local police had the authority to enter factories to take emissions samples and they rarely did so, thus it becomes extremely difficult for BAEPAL to monitor and enforce industrial emission. Moreover, the court refused to grant legal standing to the emission standards or to the result of monitoring by BAEPAL, which effectively made it virtually impossible for prosecution of polluters. (T.Rock, 2002) Extent of Singapores Success As a result of the above factors, Singapore can be said as the most successful country in ASEAN to meet the environmental standards set by the World Health Organization and US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). In Figure 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3, we can observe that Singapore has achieved the most remarkable result in Ambient Air and Water Quality as compared to other East Asian Newly Industrializing Economies. (Source: Extracted from T.Rock, M. (2002). Table 1-2, pg 4, Pollution Control in East Asia, Lessons from the Newly Industrializing Economy. ) (Source: Extracted from T.Rock, M. (2002). Figure 7-1, pg 144, Pollution Control in East Asia, Lessons from the Newly Industrializing Economy.) (Source: Extracted from T.Rock, M. (2002). Figure 7-2, pg 145, Pollution Control in East Asia, Lessons from the Newly Industrializing Economy.) As compared to 1980s, Singapores has also improved greatly in its air pollution control, with its air quality performing way below the standards set by USEPA in 2008. For example, the Sulphur Dioxide level in 1978-1989 fluctuates around the range of 30-40 ÃŽ ¼g/m3 , while between 2006-2008, the Sulphur Dioxide level is controlled around the range of 11-12 ÃŽ ¼g/m3 . (Source: Extracted from Sani, S. (1993). Overall Pollution in Singapore, Pg 90, Urban Environment in ASEAN: Changing Regional Concerns and Approaches. In M. Seda, Environmental Management in ASEAN.) Pollutant Averaging Time Unit 2006 2007 2008 USEPA NAAQS1 Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) Annual ÃŽ ¼g/m3 11 12 11 80 Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) Annual ÃŽ ¼g/m3 24 22 22 100 Carbon Monoxide (CO) 1-hour3 mg/m3 3.7 2.3 2.3 40 8-hour3 mg/m3 2.6 1.7 1.5 10 Ozone 8-hour4 ÃŽ ¼g/m3 127 140 103 1476 Particulate Matter PM10 24-hour3 ÃŽ ¼g/m3 2282 69 57 150 Particulate Matter PM2.5 24-hour5 ÃŽ ¼g/m3 802 35 30 35 Annual ÃŽ ¼g/m3 23 19 16 15 Lead Quarterly average ÃŽ ¼g/m3 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.157 [Fig 4.5: Environment Clean Air Statistic from 2006-2008] (Source: Adapted from Ministry of Environment and Water Resources. (2009, August 31). Key Environmental Statistic: Clean Air.) In a short span of 30-40 years, with a sound environmental management program coupled with strong government commitment on environmental issues, Singapore has successfully developed itself from what may described as a slum in 1965 to a world recognized â€Å"Green† city in the 1990s onwards. Differences in Situation Even as Singapore can be proud of its achievement in environmental planning and management, we have to keep in mind that it is also due to a difference in situation as compared to our neighboring states that these can be accomplished. Firstly, ever since independence in 1965; Singapore has been ruled by the main political party, People Action Party, without any significant contest from oppositions. This has simplified and resulted in easier coordination of law enforcement with strict administrative measures of environmental legislation. In addition, a one party rule in Singapore has allowed for high degree of commitment across all governmental agencies and resulted in a more effective set up of administrative structure, provision of funding and manpower for the building of pollution control and waste disposal facilities. (Chia, 1987) As there is little change in political powers in Singapore, the PAP government were also able to adopt the Long-Term, Integrated Planning principles which is to align all our policies from energy to transport to industry and urban planning and take a long term and complete view of our needs and circumstances (Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development, 2009). The mandate given to the PAP government assured them that there will be not be any unforeseen change in their political power in the near future and thus allowed them to have the decisiveness and flexibility to enact long term policies, a strong advantage that countries like Thailand with a dynamic unstable political system may not enjoy. (Sani, 1993) Furthermore, geographical advantage has prevented the Singapore government to face natural adverse conditions that often complicates the implementation of environmental policies such as earthquakes, flooding, drought, volcanic eruptions that our neighboring countries have to deal with constantly. Conclusion In conclusion, Singapores success in environmental management is largely due to the commitment and emphasis placed by the government in this area. With adequate legal, financial and manpower support, coupled with close cooperation between governmental agencies has allowed establishment of environmental facilities, institution and implementation of environmental legislation to proceed in a coordinated, well-planned manner. However, it is also due to the small area size of the city state, the political monopoly of PAP and the absence of natural disaster that has also made it easier for the government to manage. Bibliography Chia, L. S. (Ed) (1987). Environmental Management in Southeast Asia. Singapore: National University of Singapore, Faculty of Science. Didier Millet and the National Heritage Board. (n.d.). Certificate of Entitlement. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from Singapore: The Encyclopedia: http://www.singapedia.com.sg/entries/c/certificate_of_entitlement.html Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development. (2009). A Lively and Liveable Singapore: Strategies for Sustainable Growth. Singapore: Ministry of Environment and Water Resources and Ministry of National Development. Ministry of Environment and Water Resources. (2008, June 02). About MEWR: Our History. Retrieved February 16, 2010, from MEWR Official Website: http://app.mewr.gov.sg/web/Contents/Contents.aspx?ContId=2 Ministry of Environment and Water Resources. (2009, August 31). Key Environmental Statistic: Clean Air. Retrieved February 24, 2010, from MEWR Official Website: http://app.mewr.gov.sg/web/Contents/Contents.aspx?ContId=52 Sani, S. (1993). Urban Environment in ASEAN: Changing Regional Concerns and Approaches. In M. Seda, Environmental Management in ASEAN (pp. 83-110). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. T.Rock, M. (2002). Pollution Control in East Asia, Lessons from the Newly Industralizing Economy. United State of America: Resources for the Future and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Tapvong, C. a. (1999). Water quality improvements: A contingent valuation study of the Chao Phraya River. Thailand: EEPSEA Research Report. Teo, P., Yeoh, B. S., Lai, K. P., Ooi, G. L. (2004). Environmental Planning and Management. In Changing Landscapes of Singapore (pp. 19-33). Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education(Asia).