Poverty and the Global Sex Trade Essay

As the global economy continues to slide downhill, the global poverty case worsens. Major businesses are forced to shut down, causing more and more people to lose their jobs everyday. People are willing to do anything just to earn money in order for them to put food on their plates. Because of this, many are forced to do things they don’t even want to do. This is the case of the global sex trade. Fueled by the worsening global poverty, more and more people resort to prostitution in order to survive. The culprit: poverty Before we discuss the growing problem of global sex trade, we should focus first on its main cause: poverty. In the 2005 World Bank report on poverty, it is stated that almost half of the world’s total population or more than 3 billion people live on less than two and a half dollars a day (Shah, 2009). Also, around 80% of all humanity lives on less than ten dollars every day (Shah, 2009). With that established, we can say that majority of the people are suffering from poverty, pushing us to doing whatever we can to earn money for our survival. The facts mentioned above were taken even before the global economic crisis that we’re experiencing now. So if we consider it as another factor, it is easy to assume that the global poverty problem even worsened. From what I’ve read, I can say that everyone is affected by the global poverty problem. Even the rich people are shutting down their businesses. But still the ones more affected by the worsening case of poverty are the poor people. They are poor to begin with, so as the poverty problem worsens, their situation also worsens. They’re poor even when they have a job, so when they get fired or laid off because of the global economic crisis, then they’ll be the ones who will be forced to do anything just to earn money. They’re more likely to commit crimes or be involved in prostitution not because they wanted to, but because they have no other choice. The crime: global sex trade We have now established that poverty could push people into doing things they don’t want to do. We now focus on the specific problem of sex trade or sex trafficking. According to Sarah M. Gonzales, as spokesperson of Captive Daughters Organization, sex trade acts â€Å"as the delivery system for prostitution† and that it involves a lot of young, poor women and even under aged girls turning to sex trade and prostitution as that they would be able to provide for themselves and their families because they’re left with no other choice (Gonzales, 2008). What most of us don’t know is that usually, sex trade is a big business, wherein some people are exploiting others for their own profit. It is a big business, coming in second to drug and gun trafficking worldwide. According to the United States government, the profit that criminals make out of the sex trade business can reach up to $9. 5 billion annually. There are efforts to curb this problem, including the arrest of the people behind major sex trade business. But as the poverty problem worsens, more and more people resort to this business despite its illegal, exploitative nature. The trade has continued to grow worldwide, as we continue to suffer more with poverty. In order to address this problem, two aspects should be addressed properly. One is capturing the criminals who orchestrate the sex trade, and the other one is addressing poverty, which is the main reason why sex trafficking continues to proliferate. The victim: the youth For me, I am against sex trade, and with the worsening of its global condition, I firmly believe that we should give our best efforts to solve this problem. In order to further understand why we need to give more focus on this problem, we have to look at the ones who are directly affected by these problems. It isn’t really the middle-aged working class who suffer more from this problem. It’s the youth who bears this burden in their shoulders. At times of need, these young men and women are compelled to risk their bodies and their lives just to earn money to support their family. They’re the ones exploited; the ones who are supposed to be our future would end up getting exploited and abused all because of poverty. This exploitation of the youth in sex trade is not confined to one part of the world only. It affects every corner of the globe, rich and poor countries alike. As long as poverty exists, the youth will continue to be exploited and be a global commodity in the sex trade. According to Stephan Faris, a WEnews correspondent, a foreign prostitute in Italy could make â€Å"far more than Nigeria’s average income of less than a dollar a day† and this could be a very encouraging deal for a girl’s family to send their daughter into sex trafficking (Faris, 2002). When sex trafficking became popular, Nigerian girls were seen as good for making money, though before they were viewed as something dispensable (Faris, 2002). They found their worth only as a source of income for them, so the families are really open to sending their daughters to sex traffickers, not minding where they’re sent. It is a pretty harsh environment for these young women, because their only chance to survive is to sell themselves for sex, and in foreign soil, they have no one else to rely on except themselves. At a very young age, they have to experience such things already, all because of poverty. The adverse effects of Global Sex Trade Another reason why I believe that we should give more attention to worsening case of global sex trade is its adverse effects. These outcomes affect not only those directly involved with the sex trade, but also other people in our society. Probably the most evident effect is the increasing rate of HIV/AIDS prevalence. In a United Nations report made available through the U. N. Wire, it is said that â€Å"the influx of sex workers has sparked fears about the spread of AIDS† in various places including refugee camps, communities, and a lot more (Nuhu, 1999). The situation is worsened because some people, including government officials, lack a sense of commitment to address this problem, and the people living in the community have very limited understand about these diseases. It is also said that with the worsening case of poverty, those who are likely to be affected by HIV/AIDS are the young children who are trying to make a living out of prostitution. Solving the problem For me, I can see this as a challenge to us all. Of course, we have to consider ourselves first before we deal with others, especially in this time of need. But still, there are some things that we can do to help solve this problem. One is through information. We can contribute to the solution by spreading what we know, about the causes, the victims, and the effects of this problem. The people who are able to give or lend a hand should do so, especially if they have some extra money or help that they can spare. Even though we are dealing with the poverty problem ourselves, we could still do something to stop another problem like sex trade from worsening. It does not only protect the young people who engage in the trade, but it also protects the whole community, including us. References: Faris, S. (2002). Italy’s Sex Trade Pulls Teens Pushed by Poverty. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from http://www. womensenews. org/article. cfm/dyn/aid/1005/context/archive Gonzales, S. M. (2008). Poverty & Sex Trafficking. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from http://www. captivedaughters. org/gatesfoundation. htm Nuhu, A. (1999). Poverty Fuels Commercial Sex Trade, HIV/AIDS. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from http://www. unwire. org/unwire/19990618/3267_story. asp Shah, A. (2009). Poverty Facts and Stats. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from http://www. globalissues. org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats

Carrie Chapter Fourteen

‘They will,' she said. ‘I set it up.' it won't even be close. Why do they keep applauding? What's going on in there?' ‘Don't ask me, babe. The school song suddenly roared out, full and strong on the soft May air, and Chris jumped as if stung. A soft gasp of surprise escaped her All rise for Thomas Ewen Hiiiiyyygh. . . ‘Go on,' he said. ‘They're there.' His eyes glowed softly in the dark. The odd half-grin had touched his features. She licked her lips. They both stared at the length of jute cord. We will raise your banners to the skyyyyy ‘Shut up,' she whispered. She was trembling, and he thought that her body had never looked so lush or exciting. When this was over he was going to have her until every other time she'd been had was like two pumps with a fags little finger. He was going on her like a raw cob through butter. ‘No guts, babe?' He leaned forward. ‘I won't pull it for you, babe. It can sit there till bell freezes.' With pride we wear the red and whiiyyyte A sudden smothered sound that might have been a scream came from her mouth, and she leaned forward and pulled violently on the cord with both hands. It came loose with slack for a moment, making her think that Billy had been having her on all this time, that the rope was attached to nothing but thin air. Then it snubbed tight, held for a second, and then came through her palm harshly, leaving a thin burn. she began. The music inside came to a jangling, discordant halt For a moment ragged You continued oblivious, and then they stopped. Then was a beat of silence, and then someone screamed. Silence again. They stared at each other in the dark, frozen by the actual act as thought never could have done. Her very breath turned to glass in her throat. Then, inside, the laughter began. It was ten twenty-five, and the feeling had been getting worse and worse. Sue stood in front of the gas range on one foot, waiting for the milk to begin steaming so she could dump in the Nestle's. Twice she had begun to go upstairs and put on a nightgown and twice she had stopped, drawn for no reason at all to the kitchen window that looked down Brickyard Hill and the spiral of Route 6 that led into town. Now, as the whistle mounted atop the town hall on Main Street suddenly began to shriek into the night, and falling in cycles of panic, she did not evert immediately to the window, but only tamed the heat oft under the milk so it would not burn. The town hall whistle went off every day at twelve noon and that was all, except to call the volunteer fire department during grass-fire season in August and September. It was strictly for major disasters and its sound was dreamy and terrifying in the empty house. She went to the window, but slowly. The shrieking of the whistle rose and fell, rose and fell. Somewhere, horns were beginning to blast, as if for a wedding. She could see her reflection in the darkened glass, lips parted, eyes wide, and then the condensation of her breath obscured it. A memory, half-forgotten, came to her. As children in grammar school, they had practised air-raid drills. When the teacher clapped her hands and said, ‘The town whistle is blowing,' you were supposed to crawl under your desk and put your hands over your head and wait, either for the all-clear or for enemy missiles to blow you to powder. Now, in her mind, as clearly as a leaf pressed in plastic, (the town whistle is blowing) she heard the words clang in her mind Far below, to the left, where the high school parking lot was – the ring of sodium are lamps made it a sure landmark, although the school building itself was invisible in the dark -a spark glowed as if God has struck a flint-and-steel. (that's whew the oil tanks are) The spark hesitated, then bloomed orange. Now you could see the school, and it was on fire. She was already on her way to the closet to get her coat when the first dull, booming explosion shook the floor under her feet and made her mother's china rattle in the cupboards. From We Survived the Black Prom, by Norma Watson (Published in the August, 1980, issue of The Reader's Digest as a ‘Drama in Real Life' article): †¦ and it happened so quickly that no one really knew what was happening. We were all standing and applauding and singing the school song. Then – I was at the usher's table just inside the main doors, looking at the stage – there was a sparkle as the big lights over the stage apron reflected on something metallic. I was standing with Tina Blake and Stella Horan, and I think they saw it, too. All at once there was a huge red splash in the air. Some of it hit the mural and ran in long drips. I knew right away, even before it hit them, that it was blood. Stella Horan thought it was paint, but I had a premonition, just like the time my brother got hit by a hay truck. They were drenched. Carrie got it the worst. She looked exactly like she had been dipped in a bucket of red paint. She just sat there. She never moved. The band that was closest to the stage, Josie and the moonglows, got splattered. The lead guitarist had a white instrument, and it splattered all over it. I say: ‘My God, that's blood!' When I said that, Tina screamed. It was very loud, and it rang out clearly in the auditorium. People had stopped singing and everything was completely quiet. I couldn't move. I was rooted to the spot. I looked up and there were two buckets dangling high over the thrones, swinging and banging together. They were still dripping. All of a sudden they fell, with a lot of loose string paying out behind them. One of them hit Tommy Ross on the head. It made a very loud noise, like a gong. That made someone laugh. I don't know who it was, but it wasn't the way a person laughs when they we something funny and gay. It was raw and hysterical and awful. At the same instant, Carrie opened her eyes wide. That was when they all started laughing. I did too. God help me. It was so †¦ weird. When I was a little girl I had a Walt Disney storybook called Song of the South, and it had that Uncle Remus story about the tarbaby in it. There was a picture of the tarbaby sitting in the middle of the road, looking like one of those old-time Negro minstrels with the blackface and great white eyes. When Carrie opened her eyes it was like that. They were the only part of her that wasn't completely red. And the light had gotten in them and made them glassy. God help me, but she looked for all the world like Eddie Cantor doing that pop-eyed act of his. That was what made people laugh. We couldn't help it. It was one of those things where you laugh or go crazy. Carrie had been the butt of every joke for so long, and we all felt that we were part of something special that night It was as if we were watching a person rejoin the human race, and I for one thanked the Lord for it. And that happened. That horror. And so there was nothing else to do. It was either laugh or cry, and who could bring himself to cry over Carrie after all those years? She just sat there, staring out at them, and the laughter kept swelling, getting louder and louder. People were holding their bellies and doubling up and pointing at her. Tommy was the only one who wasn't looking at her. He was sort of slumped over in his seat as if lied gone to sleep. You couldn't tell he was hurt, though: he was splashed, too bad. And then her face †¦ broke, I don't know how else to describe it. She put her hands up to her face and halfstaggered to her feet. She almost got tangled in her own feet and fell over, and that made people laugh even more. Then she sort of †¦ hopped off the stage. It was like watching a big red frog hopping off a lily pad. She almost fell again, but kept on her feet. Miss Desjardin came running over to her, and she wasn't laughing any more. She was holding out her arms to her. But then she veered off and hit the wall beside the stage – It was the strangest thing. She didn't stumble or anything. It was as if someone had pushed her, but there was no one there. Carrie ran through the crowd with her hands clutching her face, and somebody put his foot out. I don't know who it was, but she went sprawling on her face. leaving a long red streak on the floor. And she said, ‘Ooof!' I remember that. It made me laugh even harder, hearing Carrie say Oof like that. She started to crawl along the floor and then she got up and ran out. She ran right past me. You could smell the blood. It smelled like something sick and rotted. She went down the stairs two at a time and then out the doors. And was gone. The laughter just sort of faded off, a little at a time. Some people were still hitching and snorting. Lennie Brock had taken out a big white handkerchief and was wiping his eyes. Sally McManus looked all white, like she was going to throw up, but she was still giggling and she couldn't seem to stop. Billy Bosnan was just standing there with his little conductor's stick in his hand and shaking his head. Mr Lublin was sitting by Miss Desjardin and calling for a Kleenex. She had a bloody nose. You have to understand that all this happened in no more than two minutes. Nobody could put it all together. We were stunned. Some of them were wandering around, talking a little, but not much. Helen Shyres burst into tears, and that made some of the others start up. Then someone yelled: ‘Call a doctor! Hey, call a doctor quick!' It was Josie Vreck. He was up on the stage, kneeling by Tommy Ross, and his face was white as paper. He tried to pick him up, and the throne fell over and Tommy rolled on to the floor. Nobody moved. They were all just staring. I felt like I was frozen in ice. My God, was all I could think. My God, my God, my God. And then this other thought crept in, and it was as if it wasn't my own at all. I was thinking about Carrie. And about God. It was all twisted up together, and it was awful. Stella looked over at me and said: ‘Carrie's back.' And I said: ‘Yea, that's right.' The lobby doors all slammed shut. The sound was like hands clapping. Somebody in the back screamed, and that started the stampede. They ran for the doors in a rush. I just stood there, not believing it. And when I looked, just before the first of them got there and started to push, I saw Carrie looking in, her face all smeared, like an Indian with war paint on. She was smiling. They were pushing at the doors, hammering on them, but they wouldn't budge. As more of them crowded up to them, I could see the first ones to get there being battered against. them, grunting and wheezing. They wouldn't open, and those doors are never locked. It's a state law. Mr Stephens and Mr Lublin waded in, and began to pull them away, grabbing jackets, shorts, anything. They were all screaming and burrowing like cattle. Mr Stephens slapped a couple of girls and punched Vic Mooney in the eye. They were yelling for them to go out the back fire doors. Some did. Those were the ones who lived. That's when it started to rain †¦ at least, that's what I thought it was at first. There was water falling all over the place. I looked up and all the sprinklers were on, all over the gym. Water was hitting the basketball court and splashing. Josie Vreck was yelling for the guys in his band to turn off the electric amps and mikes quick, but they were all gone. He jumped down from the stage. The panic at the doors stopped. People backed away, looking up at the ceiling. I heard somebody – Don Farnham, I think-say: ‘This is gonna wreck the basketball court.' A few other people started to go over and look at Tommy Ross. All at once I knew I wanted to get out of there. I took Tina Blake's hand and said, ‘Let's run. Quick.' To get to the fire doors, you had to go down a short corridor to the left of the stage. There were sprinklers there too, but they weren't on. And the doors were open – I could see a few people running out. But most of them were just standing around in little groups, blinking at each other. Some of them were looking at the smear of blood where Carrie fell down, the water was washing it away. I took Tina's hand and started to pull her toward the EXIT sign. At that same instant there was a huge flash of fight, a scream, and a horrible feedback whine. I looked around and saw Josie Vreck holding on to one of the mike stands. He couldn't let go. His eyes were bugging out and his hair was on end and it looked like he was dancing. His feet were sliding around in the water and smoke started to come out of his shirt. He fell over on one of the amps – they were big ones, five or six feet high – and it fell into the water. The feedback went up to a scream that was head-splitting, and then there was another sizzling flash and it stopped. Josie's shirt was on fire. ‘Run!' Tina yelled at me. ‘Come on, Norma, Please!' We ran out into the hallway, and something exploded backstage – the main power switches, I guess. For just a second I looked back. You could see right out on to the stage, where Tommy's body was, because the curtain was up. All the heavy light cables were in the air, flowing and jerking and writhing like snakes out of an Indian fakir's basket. Then one of them pulled in two. There was a violent flash when it hit the water, and then everybody was screaming at once. Then we were out the door and running across the parking lot. I think I was screaming. I don't remember very well. I don't remember anything very well after they started screaming. After those high-voltage cables hit that water-covered floor †¦ For Tommy Ross, age eighteen, the end came swiftly and mercifully and almost without pain. He was never even aware that something of importance was happening. There was a clanging, clashing noise that he associated momentarily with (there go the milk buckets) a childhood memory of his Uncle Galen's farm and then with (somebody dropped something) the band below him. He caught a glimpse of Josie Vreck looking over his head (what have i got a halo or something) and then the quarter-full bucket of blood struck him. The raised lip along the bottom of the rim struck him on top of the head and (hey that hurt) he went swiftly down into unconsciousness. He was still sprawled on the stage when the fire originating in the electrical equipment of Josie and the Moonglows spread to the mural of the Venetian boatman, and then to the rat warren of old uniforms, books, and papers backstage and overhead. He was dead when the oil tank exploded a half hour later. From the New England AP ticker, 10:46 P.M.: CHAMBERLAIN, MAINE (AP) A FIRE IS RAGING OUT OF CONTROL AT EWEN (U-WIN) CONSOLIDATED HIGH SCHOOL AT THIS TIME. A SCHOOL DANCE WAS IN PROGRESS AT THE TIME OF THE OUTBREAK WHICH IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEENELECTRICAL IN ORIGIN. WITNESSES SAY THAT THE SCHOOL'S SPRINKLER SYSTEM WENT ON WITHOUT WARNING, CAUSING A SHORT-CIRCUIT IN THE EQUIPMENT OF A ROCK BAND. SOME WITNESSES ALSO REPORT BREAKS IN MAIN POWER CABLES. IT IS BELIEVED THAT AS MANY AS ONE HUNDRED AND TEN PERSONS MAY BE TRAPPED IN THE BLAZING SCHOOL GYMNASIUM. FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT FROM THE NEIGHBOURING TOWNS OF WESTOVER, MOTTON, AND LEWISTON HAVE REPORTEDLY RECEIVED REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE AND ARE NOW OR SHORTLY WILL BE EN ROUTE. AS YET, NO CASUALTIES HAVE BEEN REPORTED. ENDS. 10:46 Pm MAY 27 6904D AP From the New England AP ticker, 11:22 P.M. URGENT CHAMBERLAIN, MAINE (AP) A TREMENDOUS EXPLOSION HAS ROCKED THOMAS EWIN (U-WIN) CONSOLIDATED HIGH SCHOOL IN THE SMALL MAINE TOWN OF CHAMBERLAIN. THREE CHAMBERLAIN FIRE TRUCKS, DISPATCHED EARLIER TO FIGHT A BLAZE AT THE GYMNASIUM WHERE A SCHOOL PROM WAS TAKING PLACE, HAVE ARRIVED TO NO AVAIL. ALL FIRE HYDRANTS IN THE AREA HAVE BEEN VANDALIZED, AND WATER PRESSURE FROM CITY MAINS IN THE AREA FROM SPRING STREET TO GRASS PLAZA IS REPORTED TO BE NIL. ONE FIRE OFFICIAL SAID. ‘THE DAMN THINGS WERE STRIPPED OF THEIR NOZZLES, THEY MUST HAVE SPOUTED LIKE GUSHERS WHILE THOSE KIDS WERE BURNING.' THREE BODIES HAVE BEEN RECOVERED SO FAR. ONE HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THOMAS B. MEARS, A CHAMBERLAIN FIREMAN. THE TWO OTHERS WERE APPARENT PROM GOERS. THREE MORE CHAMBERLAIN FIREMEN HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO MOTTON RECEIVING HOSPITAL SUFFERING FROM MINOR BURNS AND SMOKE INHALATION. IT IS BELIEVED THAT THE EXPLOSION OCCURRED WHEN THE FIRE REACHED THE SCHOOL'S FUEL-OIL TANKS, WHICH ARE SITUATED NEAR THE GYMNASIUM. THE FIRE ITSELF IS BE LIEVED TO HAVE STARTED IN POORLY INSULATED ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT FOLLOWING A SPRINKLER SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. ENDS. 11:22 PM MAY 27 70119E AP Sue had only a driver's permit, but she took the keys to her mother's car from the pegboard beside the refrigerator and ran to the garage. The kitchen clock read exactly 11:00. She flooded the car on her first try, and forced herself to wait before trying again. This time the motor coughed and caught, and she roared out of the garage heedlessly, dinging one fender. She turned around, and the rear wheels splurted gravel. Her mother's '77 Plymouth swerved on to the road, almost fishtailing on to the shoulder and making her feel sick to her stomach. It was only at this point that she realized she was moaning deep in her throat, like an animal in a trap. She did not pause at the stop sign that marked the intersection of Route 6 and the Back Chamberlain Road. Fire sirens filled the night in the cast, where Chamberlain bordered Westover, and from the south behind herMotton. She was almost at the base of the hill when the school exploded. She jammed on the power brakes with both feet and was thrown into the steering wheel like a rag doll. The tyres wailed on the pavement. Somehow she fumbled the door open and was out, shading her eyes against the glare. A gout of flame had ripped skyward, trailing a nimbus of fluttering steel roof panels, wood, and paper. The smell was thick and oily. Main Street was lit as if by a flashgun. In that terrible hallway between seconds, she saw that the entire gymnasium wing of Ewen High was a gutted, flaming ruin. Concussion struck a moment later, knocking her backwards. Road litter blew past her on a sudden and tremendous rush, along with a blast of warm air that reminded her fleetingly of (the smell of subways) a trip she had taken to Boston the year before. The windows of Bill's Home Drugstore and the Kelly Fruit Company jingled and fell inward. She had fallen on her side, and the fire lit the street with hellish noonday. What happened next happened in slow motion as her mind ran steadily onward (dead are they all dead carrie why think carrie) at its own clip. Cars were rushing toward the scene, and some people were running in robes, nightshorts, pyjamas. She saw a man come out of the front door of Chamberlain's combined police station and courthouse. He was moving slowly. The cars were moving slowly. Even the people running were moving slowly. She saw the man on the police-station steps cup his hands around his mouth and scream something; unclear' over the shrieking town whistle, the fire sirens, the monster-mouth of fire. Sounded like: ‘Heyret! Don't hey that ass!' The street was all wet down there. The light danced on the water' Down by Teddy's Amoco station. ‘-hey, that's-‘ And then the world exploded. From the sworn testimony of Thomas K. Quillan, taken before The State Investigatory Board of Maine in connection with the events of May 27-28 in Chamberlain, Maine (abridged version which follows is from Black Prom: The White Commission Report, Signet Books: New York, 1980): Q. Mr Quillan, are you a resident of Chamberlain? A. Yes.

Parents and their Children’s Educational Attainment

Never before in the United States have parents been so disgruntled about their children†s education. The main reason behind this massive disruption is that public schools are not living up to parent†s standards. Therefore, parents are taking their children†s educations and futures into their own hands, and doing so quite efficiently. Many parents are turning to [â€Å"an alternative†] means of educating known as home schooling. Home schooling is simply [â€Å"education of school- aged children at home rather than at school. ] Parents are choosing home schooling over public because public schools are not meeting their children†s academic, individual, and handicap needs. First, parents are choosing home schooling over public schooling because public schools are not meeting student†s academic needs. [Parents expect their children will learn to read, write, and acquire basic math skills by the time they graduate. ] However, public schools throughout the United States are failing to teach these basic achedemic skills. Recent studies show that [† Of the 2. million who graduate, as many as 25% cannot read or write at the eighth grade level or â€Å"functionally literate,† level, according to some estimates. â€Å"] This is a tragic statistic for a nation claiming to be so developed. There are more opportunities to education in the United States than any other country in the world, yet evidence shows that the United States ranks [† at the bottom of 19 industrial nations in reading, writing, and arithmetic. â€Å"] In addition, students are ranking lower than ever on Academic Achievement Tests (ACT). Children who attend public schools rank in the [† 50th percentile. ] whereas, home schooled children [† typically score at the 65th to 80th percentile†¦. â€Å"] To add to these statistics, [† in December 1989, the education press reported the amazing news that children schooled at home seemed to be five or even ten years ahead of their formally trained peers in their ability to think. â€Å"] These statistics prove that home schooled children are doing better in math, science, reading and writing, compared to children attending public schools. Secondly, parents are choosing home schooling over public schooling because public schools ar e no longer taking student†s individual needs into consideration. Since students are taught lessons based on an academic calendar year, they are expected to be able to complete specific tasks by the end of that year. When students fail to meet these expectations they are required to repeat the same grade the following school year. For example, at the end of a school year if a student is having difficulties reading but doing well in other subjects he or she will be required to repeat the same grade. If students were properly tutored in the areas they are having difficulties in they would not have to repeat the same grades. Unfortunately public schools do not give special tutoring to students like they once did. Teachers in the public school systems are teaching students as though they are on an assembly line. They no longer work [â€Å"one-to-one†¦. â€Å"] with them. Unlike public schooling, home schooling allows parents to teach in a style that best fits their children†s needs. For example if a child is not prepared to move on to a higher level, the parent can continue with similar lessons until the child understands. Also, children are not held back in the same grade if they are lagging behind in particular subjects. Their parents can move them to the next grade and tutor them in the subjects they are having trouble in. Children who are home schooled also get individual attention from their parents. They do not have to worry about waiting for their teacher to find time to help them. In sum, parents are finding that home schooling meets the individual needs of their children better than public schooling. Finally, parents of children with physical and mental disabilities are finding that home schooling meets their children†s handicap needs better than public schooling. A major downfall of public schooling is that handicapped students are graded in the same style as the rest of the students. In public schools, children with handicaps are still expected to complete all of their assignments in the same given time as other students. Teachers are not taking these children†s handicaps into consideration. For example, children with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) have trouble staying focused and are easily distracted. As a result of constantly being distracted, they are not able to complete their assignments. This type of grading style has become a great concern for parents of handicapped children. Because of situations like this one, parents are making decisions to teach their handicapped children at home. By teaching their children at home they are in an environment that is equipped to aid in their development. For instance, children with ADD [â€Å"are in an environment where they cannot be influenced by the action of other children†¦. â€Å"] and cannot be easily distracted. In addition, they have special time to complete their assignments. They can also have all of [† their assignments tailored to fit their abilities and needs. â€Å"] By home schooling children with learning disabilities are given equal chances of succeeding in their education which they otherwise would not get in public schooling. Public schools may have been the center for learning years ago. However, today they are not meeting children†s academic, individual, and handicapped needs. As a result, parents are choosing to educate their children through home schooling. Statistics show that home schooled children are ahead of children who attend public schools by a noticable degree. In addition, Handicapped children are having their needs met better at home more so than in public schools. They are being given an equal chance at succeeding in their education that they otherwise would not have when attending public schools. In summary, parents are choosing home schooling because it currently offers the best solution to their problems facing the public school systems.

Psychology 23 questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Psychology 23 questions - Essay Example People might develop learned helplessness when too many things have been out of their control in their lives. People with learned helplessness believe that because they couldnt solve past problems they wont be able to solve future ones. They are often depressed. Type A people feel like they are under pressure, are impatient and competitive. They yell at people and get angry easily. Type B people are calm and non-aggressive and easier to get along with because they are more cooperative. When patients dont follow the doctors orders it is called noncompliance. Patients can be noncompliant for many reasons, such as not understanding instructions, not having enough money for treatment, fear or even not trusting the doctor. Negatively framed ads use methods like focusing on the harmful aspects of certain foods, or use shaming tactics to get people to choose certain products. They might show someone as looking stupid for eating a certain type of food, for example. Positive framing tries to persuade people by focusing on the benefits of certain products and behaviors. Negative: There were some lite beer commercials that showed men who drink lite beer as being feminine. One man carried a purse and the other wore a skirt. This meant they were weak. This would work amongst young males because they are usually more worried about their image than older men are. Positive: most cruise commercials show sunny skies, happy people, and relaxing things to do. By not focusing on negative things people are escaping from, the ads make people associate the cruise with fun and adventure. Factors associated with happiness include optimism, time for both work and play, a sense of control over ones life, self-esteem, close relationships, spirituality. Happiness improves overall quality of life by helping one to handle stress and to avoid depression or feelings of

How Organizational Change Affected DOD Employees Research Paper

How Organizational Change Affected DOD Employees - Research Paper Example   The management of change is extremely important in the development of an understanding between employers and employees because it focuses on the people within the said organization and how they resist changes that are imposed on them (Rusaw, 2005, p.482). It also comes to look at how, afterward, these employees come to accept these changes as being part of their work environment. It has been found that the administration of the Department of Defence tend to aim at creating an environment which is highly receptive of change because they have come to realize that the acceptance of change is the key which determines whether the changes that they implement become either successes or failures. The strategy which is used by the Defence Department when making changes to the organisation has come to be found to be what makes the difference on how well these changes are received by its employees, and as such, it is what determines the level of success that newly implemented management str ategies have not only on the employees but also on the department itself (Durant, 2008, p.282). It has been found that the best means that the Defence Department implements changes among its employees has been its recognition of the fact that it is a normal human behavior to resist change. One of the most pertinent issues that it has come to address when implementing changes has been the recognition that its employees will not automatically accept any of the new changes that it attempts to implement.   

Architecture and culture in italy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Architecture and culture in italy - Essay Example For this reason, even authors such as Ernest Hemingway, notorious for his brevity and deceptively simple-sounding stories, can reveal much about the areas they write about. In the novel Across the River and Into the Trees, written in 1950, Hemingway provides a great deal of detail about Italy both in what he says and in what he doesn't say. The story begins with a morning of duck hunting. The protagonist emerges slowly, simply called the shooter at first. His personality is the first thing that becomes known about him as it is revealed through his words with the boatman, his thoughts and his actions. Although coarse and irritable, he is also gentle in his treatment of others and his appreciation of beauty. This is seen in his irritation with the boatman as they work through the ice of the canal, "Get your back in it, jerk" (3) as compared to his understanding of the same man at the end of the book once the Colonel realizes it was his military jacket that set the man off. Throughout t he novel, most of which is a flashback to the days just prior to the duck hunt, the people of Italy are consistently referred to as polite and more honest than people elsewhere: "It's a tougher town than Cheyenne when you really know it, and everybody is very polite" (35). Yet there are continual hints that things are not quite as idyllic as the Colonel wants to picture it. Such an instance is introduced in scenes such as the one where the Colonel, then a general, knocked two men unconscious for having the impertinence to whistle at Renata at an even earlier time period or the scene in which he finds it necessary to scare two punks away from him by pretending to be carrying pistols in his pockets as he walks around Venice with Renata's family emeralds in his pocket. The Colonel's ability to appreciate the beauty of the landscape around him also helps to reveal the character and geography of Italy. This initial landscape is seen as particularly inhospitable, though, full of icy canal s and tall grasses - giving an impression of a frozen marshland. It is expanded as the Colonel and his driver make their way across country as "one farm blended, almost blurred, into another farm and you could only see what was far ahead and moving toward you" (14) and given texture as the driver starts to talk about the artists of the country, such as Titian: "if he painted any pictures of that country up around there, with those sunset color rocks and the pines and the snow and all the pointed steeples" (15-16). This glimpse of the country is also given a dual nature as the Colonel approaches the city, looking out at the flat canal-lined boulevard that they're following and remembering the ghastly scene of soldiers bodies, bloated and floating on unmoving water in those canals and yet also observing the peaceful, gentle motion of a sail from one of the barges moving slowly through one of those canals. This image of Italy finally opens up into the streets of Venice with the mention of St. Mark Square and the Colonel relives his last day with his girl, a 20-year-old native beauty in a segment that takes up most of the bulk of the book. In this consistent representation of the dual nature of both the people and the place, the book is very much in keeping with the historical era in which it was written. The second World War had just ended in which many of the older men fighting had already seen their share

Xplain the benefits of special journals and subsidiary ledgers Essay

Xplain the benefits of special journals and subsidiary ledgers - Essay Example This statement is also used to show net profit or loss the company or business incurred after a given accounting period. Balance sheet also known as statement of financial position is a financial statement showing the summary of financial balance of a business. The statement also shows the company’s financial condition. The two financial statements have different accounting transactions presented in these statements (William et al, 2008). While income statement describes the performance of a business of the current year, balance sheet shows the company’s overall position as from the beginning of the year to the current year. The transactions posted on the balance sheet include assets, liabilities and equity, the balance sheet has three parts arranged in liquidity order, assets are followed by liabilities. The difference between assets and liabilities gives capital, in the balance sheet the records of each account is usually maintained using double entry book-keeping, which is an accounting system. The transactions posted on income statement include revenues and expenses, this statement is however, divided into two parts the operating and non-operating sections. The operating section shows information concerning the revenues and expenses of the business, which comes because of regular operations of a business. Non-operating section shows information not related to direct regular operations of the business (Dani els & Mortimer, 1980). Information from these financial statements is normally posted in different journals and ledgers. Transactions made on income statement affect it in different ways, for example, an increase in sales by a certain amount affect the income statement since it will provide an additional income thus increase in net profit and vice versa when income from sales reduces. These sales also have an effect of balance sheet. Employee’s transactions, which amount to

Obesity Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Obesity Policy - Essay Example Obesity Policy Obesity can occur in any age group but it tends to increase with age " infants with excessive weight gain have an increased incidence of obesity in later life (Charney etal 1976)4. It has a female preponderance and certain genetic component in its causation as evidenced by twin studies, which show a close relation between the weights of identical twins even when they are reared in dissimilar environments (Falkner 1980)5. Physical activity and fitness's are important modifiers of mortality and morbidity related to over weight and obesity (WHO 2003)6 but according to Falkner it is the reduced energy output that is the main etiological factor behind obesity. Food habits play important role in weight gain and obesity, the composition of the food, the periodicity at which it is consumed and the amount of energy derived from it are the factors, which modulate body weight. A diet containing more energy than needed may lead to prolonged postprandial hyperlipidemia and to deposition of trigly cerides in the adipose tissue resulting in obesity (Oliver 1981)7. Other factors include psychosocial, familial tendency, endocrine, ethnicity and drugs like corticosteroids etc. Its is a positive risk factor for hypertension, diabetes, gall bladder diseases, congestive heart disease and certain cancers (hormonal and large bowel). It also predisposes to other conditions like varicose veins, abdominal hernia, osteoarthritis of knees and hips. Flat feet; sleep apnea and respiratory problems etc. the Framingham Heart Study in United States of America reveals that there is a dramatic increase (20%) in sudden death among overweight adults as compared to those with normal weight. Healthy People 2010 are a comprehensive set of disease prevention and health promotion objectives for the Nation to achieve over the first decade of the new century and one of the objective is to reduce obesity up to 15% in adults by 2010.the objectives are 19-1: - increase the proportion of adults who are at a healthy weight from 42 % to 60% by 2010. 19-2: - Reduce the proportion of adults who are obese from 23% to 15% by 2010. 19-3: - Reduce the proportion of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese from 11% to 5% by 2010. In order to achieve this objective health care planning has to be done and an obesity policy has to be made which has to be implemented at various health care levels, the work done has to be evaluated and depending upon the results relevant modification should be made in the policy to achieve better results. OBESITY POLICY The policy is to educate the American public on the dangers and medical quandaries that obesity causes and to help eradicate this epidemic from our nation. PLAN: Health education is planned in connection with a health service for proper implementation. This health service provides health education about hazards of obesity in the following three methods Individual approach: by personal interviews in hospitals, consultation rooms, and health care centers or peoples houses. Health education is given at every interaction with the patient about the etiology, risk, prevention and control of obesity. It will be the principal duty of the physician and nursing staff to

Generating Evidance for Evidence-based Practice Thesis Proposal

Generating Evidance for Evidence-based Practice - Thesis Proposal Example Organizational culture is often discussed hand-in-hand with readiness assessment when thinking of the implementation of systems such as an electronic based competency records because organizational cultures are not readily changed and as such, if there is no effective readiness assessment in place, changes are that the changes will not be effectively undertaken. Having said this, it is important to point out that readiness assessment is a much integrated approach that is used in measuring how agile the need to undertake changes within a healthcare facility can take place. In effect, a readiness assessment that is directed at comparing the effect of completeness when converting inpatient registered nurse competency records from a paper to an electronic document system would consider a number of factors and that could either speed up the change process or slow it down. Some of these factors could be internal or external and generally constitute the environmental factors affecting chang e (Grayson, 2008). Specific examples of these could be mentioned as issues of technology, infrastructure, personnel, social adaptability, among others. Problem Description Background of the problem The importance of RN competence records can never be overshadowed in a healthcare setting where the need for ensuring high class training of nurses is a priority (Kalb, 1999). In the midst of the relevance and importance of keeping competence records in ensuring positive nurse attitude, nurse functions and education, it will be admitted that there is currently a paradigm shift where much focus is no the use of technology in guaranteeing and assuring efficiency and effectiveness (McKessy et al, 2008). It is against this background that it is important to assess the impact that an electronic competence record would have on nursing practice. Stakeholders/change agents In a bid to ensuring the effective use of RN competence records, there are a number of stakeholders whose roles stand out so clear and importantly in the delivery of responsibilities. Whether by the use of the traditional paper and pen competence records system or by using the electronic system, certain key stakeholders need to play relevant roles to bring about changes in the delivery of responsibilities within the hospital responsible for the training of the nurses. On a broader perspective, these stakeholders will be identified as the curriculum planners, supervisors/trainers, nurses/trainees, and the larger society. As stakeholders, the present proposal is going to affect these agents directly. For example the curriculum planners are going to be equipped with useful policies that need to be incorporated into existing curriculum provisions for trained and registered nurses in order to ensure a sound transition from traditional competence records to electronic competence records. Supervisors and trainers are also going to have their works and duties enhanced whiles the larger community is going to benef it from an effectively trained nurse with all necessary competence mastered. The evidence-based question Throughout the conduct of the evidence-based practice, there is going to be one pivotal question that is going to guide the researcher on the trend of data collection and the scope of literature review. Essentially, the evidence-base

Competition and markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Competition and markets - Essay Example Oligopolistic firms are interdependent and large. One firm is hugely affected by the deed of the other. Some of the characteristics of oligopoly are small number of large firms that generate substantial market control depending on the size of the businesses. Second characteristic of the oligopoly market is interdependence in decision-making process because the number of competition is few and any slight change in price or good eventually affects other firms (Nechyba, 2011). Firms in oligopoly regard the response of other firms in an industry. Thirdly, firms in an oligopolistic market normally use aggressive advertising, marketing, and promotion in order to fight for its place in the market. Advertisement and sales costs the oligopolistic firms a lot of money. Companies tend to carry out their own product’s promotion and the firm’s name to attract a significant number of customers (Landsburg, 2011). Franchise in oligopoly market applies a small element of differentiation, which creates distinction between its own product and other competitors’ products as it aims at increasing its market share in the industry. Additionally, there is no price reduction in the oligopolistic market since prices are sticky and rigid for the reason that any price cut by one firm may eventually call for reaction by the rival firms, which may affect the whole industry (Landsburg, 2011). Some of the competitors of the oligopolistic firms such as the franchise are the large few companies operating in the same markets. The availability and formation of cartels may threaten franchise and lead to closure of the business. Firms may further use tacit collusion by fixing the prices without all firms’ consent and when quantity produced and price fixing is done explicitly. Price leadership may largely affect the prices of the franchise especially when one major firm in the industry decides to set price lower than the prevailing market price

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 108

Assignment Example Another objective of this kind of event is to carry out a research on dementia, in doing this there will be more voluntary participation and making knowledge dissemination easier and making translation and knowledge tools available to the entire public present in the arena. Another possible objective of this event could be to carry out a surveillance system where a possible group of a provincial or territorial partner carry out a short survey to know an approximate number of people affected by the disease. Besides, they can perform a risk reduction and a screening mechanism for dementia and hence formulating an agreed method of prevention and treatment for the targets acquired. Such kind of events also bring about the caregiver effects where through the educational talks given by the present guests, the people present can use to show more care to the people affected by dementia. Through the educational programs and the banners, the people present can be educated about this and can therefore get a different perspective of handling and even treating the affected patients. In order to create awareness of this kind of event, several measures must be taken. For instance, digitally advertising the event through the internet can help a great deal in making sure that the event reaches every individual. Most people in the 21st century have a regular access to the internet at least once a week or even more frequently, this makes the internet adverts more convenient. However, in other cases, brochures and leaflets can also be used in order to disseminate the information and make sure that the information reaches every possible ear. Besides organizing the Marathons or the semi marathons, other fun events such as sack racing and other games such as Basketball with reasonable registration fees; these could help attract more people to the fund raising and hence more funds being raised. To raise more eyebrows, in the

History Shows There Is No Such Thing as Absolute Power Essay Example for Free

History Shows There Is No Such Thing as Absolute Power Essay ‘The undiminished ability to act in a particular way, or direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events’. Immediately one thinks of mighty Alexander, seizing every territory he set his eyes upon, or Joseph Stalin suppressing the entire population of the huge Soviet bloc with an iron fist. There are certainly individuals in history that would be regarded as absolutely powerful. Absolute power covers both being able to suppress and control opposition and support, and being able to achieve one’s aims, as both are interdependent. However, history as a study and analysis of the past through examining evidence, has shown that cultural relativism renders absolute power a much sought-after but unattainable possession; no person or organisation has been perfectly in control of their people since knowledge of other cultures has emerged, although some have attempted to claim to command it; even in the 21st Century, as seen by the North Korean rhetoric about the state’s absolute devotion to the Kim dynasty; for example, informing the population they should be willing to ‘become human bulwarks and human shields’ to defend their new leader Kim Jong-un. Since the Greeks first explored beyond their frontiers and came across cultures and religions which differed from their own, and since King Herodotus tried to pay the Greeks and Callatians to swap their respective burial practises (the Greeks burned their dead- the Callatians ate the corpse of their father) and was refused for any money, cultural relativism has existed as an obstacle to obtaining absolute power. Without cultural relativism, there are potential examples of absolute power being flouted. One that springs to mind is the ancient community who built Stonehenge. A supposedly ‘primitive’ people felt compelled to cut bluestones and transport them from south-west Wales either carrying them across hundreds of miles of mountainous and rugged terrain without technology, or by shipping them gradually over in handmade boats, before assembling them into the neat arrangement we can still see today. One prominent theory as to why this project was undertaken is that the stones are religious monuments designed to be worshipped or designed to intimidate worshippers into fearing their god. Either way, this points to a religious leader who had absolute power over his people, meaning he was able to persuade them to carry out this enormous logistical challenge. However, this essay will argue that cultural relativism has meant that apart from isolated communities such as that which built Stonehenge, no individual or organisation has possessed absolute power. On the other hand, some ancient historians would argue that the great Emperors of ancient times had absolute, autocratic power: the mighty King Darius and his vast Persian Empire, in which every provincial leader answered to him. Alexander the Great conquered almost the entire known world. Julius Caesar and his famous ‘veni, vidi, vici’ quotation, a demonstration of the ease with which he overpowered enemies. King Darius may have theoretically held absolute traditional authority over his Empire, being entitled by tradition to rule over every citizen, but it is clear that he didn’t hold absolute power. The wealthy Greek merchants in their colonies threw out Darius’s Persian provincial governors, and when Darius attempted to punish them by attacking their homeland, he was defeated. Even the fact that he had to resort to military force shows that he didn’t hold absolute power over the Greeks who were meant to answer to him as they were living in his Empire, but furthermore his military failed to preserve his power. This shows that he did not hold absolute power, and the Greek merchants rejected his leadership because they disliked it relative to the culture they were used to. Moreover, although Julius Caesar is and deserves to be recognised as an immensely powerful figure in world history, after emerging as the most successful of the Roman generals and doing the most to promote Roman interests in the further provinces, it is clear that he still didn’t hold absolute power. Absolute means universally valid and without dependence on anything else; Julius Caesar did not have the power to win over everyone, which would have prevented his murder. Evidently his power was dependent on the support of his Senate, which he failed to retain. There were over sixty conspirators involved in his murder, and he did not have the power to stop them- demonstrating that he didn’t hold absolute power over his people, as they found his leadership unacceptable relative to others. An anecdote which supports the claim that Alexander the Great did not hold absolute power is the story of his encounter with Diogenes. Alexander came across the philosopher sunbathing, and asked him if there was any favour which, as leader of the biggest Empire in the world, Alexander could fulfil for Diogenes. The philosopher simply requested that he stop obstructing the sun. After this experience, Alexander is said to have claimed that ‘if I were not Alexander, I should like to be Diogenes’, as he found the philosopher’s complete indifference to the offer of a favour from the world’s most powerful man to be such an incredible phenomenon. This shows that Alexander’s military and material wealth and power didn’t stop him from wishing he could instead be this anti-materialist philosopher. Diogenes had the power to make Alexander feel that he would prefer to be someone else, so that, even momentarily, he scored an emotional victory over him; if Alexander had had absolute power over his Empire, nobody should have been able to defeat him in any way. Throughout the Dark Ages, and the Middle Ages, it could be argued that the church had absolute power in parts of Europe, as the typical image of the ordinary European peasant is one of devout, God-fearing Christianity. However, an interesting and relevant point that Carr made in his book, What is History?, is that, with religious leaders and monks being the only literate people throughout this era, records of this time are written solely from their perspective, and therefore give the impression of a very devoutly religious period in Europe. However, this could be a falsified impression, as the enlightenment and other events such as the atheistic Communist revolution later on in Russia in 1917 demonstrate that the peasants and ordinary working classes of these countries were perhaps not as influenced and submitted to control by the church as first thought. Constantly through these times there were bitter disputes between the Pope and bishops, and the nobility and royalty that ruled over Europe, the most famous of which ended in Henry VIII abandoning the Vatican and establishing the Church of England. These power struggles display that neither the religious authorities nor the monarchies had anything that could be described as absolute power. Perhaps the monarchy were against the idea of Papal consultation, relative to the image they had of rulers before the Common Era who weren’t constrained by religious authorities- but obviously this would have been rejected by their religious subjects. This is another case of cultural relativism undermining absolute power. After the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution, with the decline of religious authority and an autocratic hereditary hierarchy in Europe, the power balance alters. Although some areas are still governed by monarchy, for example Russia with the Tsars, other areas see the introduction of parliamentary systems and constitutional monarchy. One key theme of the enlightenment, debatably, was to eliminate even the idea of ‘absolute power’ and absolutist, arbitrary rule by promoting democracy and fair government. For example, in France, with the execution of Louis XVI, a Republic was established. However, the result was far from a fair society in which the government was held to account. Power in France moved between different dictatorial regimes until it was seized by Napoleon Bonaparte and the Consulate. Some would argue that Napoleon held absolute power; he conquered as he willed, and ruled over a large empire autocratically despite the fact that many in Europe now supported the idea of deliberative government. He even had the audacity to declare that he wouldn’t ‘give a fig for a million lives’ in the face of conquering new territories, something that surely only someone with absolute, unassailable power would be able to say without being removed from a position of responsibility. However, on the other hand, it is evident that he failed to retain absolute power. During his rule, there was unrest throughout his territory: from 1808, for example, the Spanish people began an ongoing and constant campaign of resistance against Napoleon’s men, which could not be suppressed despite his best efforts. Then, eventually, he was defeated, and then defeated again, and ended up alone in exile on the Island of St Helen. It is possible that if the people had not had knowledge from foreign sources of more benevolent and successful rulers, they would not have overthrown Napoleon; their ability to relate their experience to other cultures caused them to oppose Napoleon. This Napoleonic style, of attempting to seize absolute, autocratic power and ruling without the security of populism has been demonstrated in dozens of scenarios since Napoleon’s fall, with a myriad of totalitarian dictatorships in Europe and beyond which attempted to suppress and rule with absolute authority. However, each example can be knocked down. Hitler, it could be argued, took power on the merit of his charismatic personality and the appeal of his vision of a strong German people- whether by attracting enough popularity or simply making his thuggish SS a large and strong-willed enough organisation to secure his high position. From then on he suppressed opposition both at home and in German-occupied territory. The way in which he achieved this largely as an individual and then ruled so strongly whilst often ignoring suggestions from his advisors, could be described as holding absolute power over Germany and the territories conquered. Furthermore, some optimists might argue that the instigation of the Holocaust against the Jews and other ‘undesirables’ implies that he had absolute power over people, as ordinary human nature would produce repulsion at the very idea, and yet it was carried out. On the other hand, there is much evidence of resistance within Germany against Hitler’s regime- ranging from political opposition by Catholics and across general German society against the T4 programme (‘euthanasia’ mass murder of disabled people), to the ‘Red Orchestra’ Communists distributing propaganda leaflets, and of course the numerous assassination plots and attempts by Hitler’s own men. The ‘Red Orchestra’ example is very useful to my argument; they had not lived under a Communist system, but had read the teachings of Karl Marx and other Communist writers and therefore felt that relative to the Nazi system, Communism would be the best for Germany. While it is true that none of these were successful as such (except, to some extent, the opposition to T4), they certainly weren’t what Hitler desired and he had not the power to prevent them. Another major dictator of the 20th Century was Josef Stalin; although the Communist state was already in existence, he still needed his skill and slyness to seize power by using his role as party secretary to eliminate potential opponents, and especially by propelling himself ahead of Trotsky in terms of popularity through behaviour such as deceiving him into travelling to an eastern province so that he wasn’t present at Lenin’s funeral. He then purged Russia, the Communist Party and the army in order to ensure absolute control, and this made internal opposition to his regime virtually inexistent in terms of visible or united resistance. His Stalinist ideology also catapulted the USSR very quickly from a backward nation to a major world power, enabling them to withstand the German Operation Barbarossa (consequently, another failure of Hitler’s) and then even to push on until they formed a stand-off with the USA and Britain in Germany. With no opposition to him within his country (and so no possibility of assassination or being toppled), and these incredible achievements, some would infer that he must have had absolute power. Be that as it may, when we explore Stalin’s aims we can see that he was largely unsuccessful. His five-year-plans demanded unattainably high increases in output- such as 200% more iron produced and 335% more electricity. However, there is much evidence that factory owners and officials ‘cooked the books’ and exaggerated production when reporting back to the Party, in order to prevent being punished for failing to keep up. This would mean that Stalin could not achieve all that he wanted. Furthermore, one of his stated aims was to reverse Russia’s backwardness in order to avoid being ‘crushed’ by the developed capitalist powers. While he did generate huge industrialisation which propelled the USSR forwards so that in 1945 it emerged as one of two world superpowers, it was at the expense of over twenty million Russians dead in around two decades, due to famines caused by economic reforms or in the gulags and the purges; this huge cost is a death rate that resembles a backward nation far more than a developed one, and so some would argue that it shows that Stalin also failed in this aim. Finally, his struggle with the Western powers, for example through annexing eastern European countries into the Soviet bloc, although continued to some extent by his successors, was lost in the end. By 1990, the USSR had begun to unravel significantly as former members became independent countries and satellite states such as Ukraine and Estonia, and turned to democracy and the free market, after first breaking the propaganda limitations in order to learn of the other way of life, until Russia formally ended Communism in the year 1991. Stalin’s legacy failed to prevent cultural relativism from reaching into the population of the USSR. On the other hand, it could be argued that although he failed to prevent the future further expansion of the USSR his huge legacy in turning Russia around into the developed nation it is today shows his absolute power. Stalin and his ideology are still popular in modern Russia, as he is seen as a hero by many for seeing off the Nazi German invasion. This legacy, coupled with the extent to which he did manage to prevent notable opposition within his territory and beyond (for example, the assassination of Trotsky in Mexico), make him an individual who was close to achieving the coveted status of having absolute power in his ‘empire’, but still his failure to achieve what he wanted demonstrates that it would be untrue to describe him as such. And now approaching the present in terms of era, an example which was mentioned much earlier on in this essay, the Kim dynasty in North Korea; they make use of the personality cult, controls on education and media, and the secret police which were used to implement Stalin’s leadership in the USSR; however like him, they have been unable to carry out their aims. Kim Jong-Il aimed to make North Koreans the ‘most prosperous people on Earth’, but under his new economic reforms, millions died in a famine and all were affected by a famine which resulted in the army downgrading the height requirements for soldiers to sign up. They have also failed to prevent the black market from flourishing in North Korea and more importantly, they haven’t been able to stop Chinese smugglers from bringing in evidence of the prosperity experienced in South Korea and other countries. Therefore despite not being in particular danger of being overthrown by the people, due to their repressive regime, the Kim dynasty have not had the power to fulfil their plans. The same could be said of the solid Communist Party in China: although they are relatively secure in their position, with legal sovereignty guaranteed over the United Front as stated by the constitution, they have had to open up to imports and exports and allow free market economics, as their Communist planned economy failed. In modern times, nobody has succeeded in fully repressing their people, as defection and resistance has always been possible if not completely successful. Absolute power cannot be attributed to any modern day regimes, because knowledge of outside cultures always finds a way in, and the people learn of their relatively poor situation and rebel. One of the important phenomena to observe over the next few years is that of South Korean DVDs being smuggled into North Korea and allowing the people exposure to other cultures; this could potentially lead to an inability to further repress the people, to combine with the failure to achieve the Kim families’ aims. It is important to consider religion when looking at this question, as we have already conceded that religious authorities in some isolated communities could have held absolute power over their followers. One could argue that especially in the case of the Abrahamic religions, which are characterised by their belief in one single, omnipotent and omniscient God, absolute power is demonstrated by the infallibility of those who represent this one God- for example, the Pope, or the Iranian Ayatollah. In the most devout of communities and times, any religious disagreement could end in death- for example, the burning of Protestants or Catholics at the stake during the European battle between these two ideologies. This can be seen as religious authorities suppressing any opposition to the rule of God. Then, there are many examples of God’s representatives influencing people to act how he would will; for example, the Crusades saw hundreds of rich knights, under the influence of the Pope, leaving the luxury and relative safety of their castles and estates to recover Jerusalem, a city they had never visited. This can be seen as religion and its leaders having the absolute power to control the actions of others. However, for one thing the misuse of the aforementioned tradition of burning religious enemies, by which people would accuse those they disliked or coveted of belonging to the undesirable faith, shows that often people weren’t following the leadership of God but using this phenomenon to their selfish advantage. Another point against religious figures having absolute power is the decline in religious participation and the growth of atheism- this ongoing decline in terms of support of god as a leader demonstrates a decline in power. In times of strife, such as the suffering of the Russians under the Tsar, people lose their faith in religious hierarchies- and in this particular example the atheistic Soviet system was spawned. In addition to this decrease in willingness to submit to religious commands, there is a clear increase in actual opposition to religion- the growth of Humanism and the growing popularity of figures such as Richard Dawkins, who preaches anti-religion and anti-theism, show that God is being undermined as a leader and so can’t have absolute power over humanity as some religious leaders would intend. From exploring all these example of hugely powerful individuals and organisations, ranging from the autocratic emperors of Ancient civilisation, to the absolute monarchies of the middle ages, the Church and the modern totalitarian dictatorships and regimes such as Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany, or even the Communist Party in the People’s Republic of China, we can see that although their achievements are often incredible, and required huge amounts of power and ability, none of them have been able to perfectly fit both criteria- full suppression of opposition and the full ability to achieve what they wished. Inability to fulfil their political aims can often be put down to a failure to crush opposition, and the failure to crush opposition was caused by knowledge of other cultures which the people enjoyed the idea of more than they enjoyed their own; cultural relativism. When people get the idea into their heads that there are other systems which would benefit them and make their lives better, it is impossible to fully and permanently extinguish this and continue reigning on without reforming policy (failing to do what you want) or falling from power (failing to protect against the opposition). Therefore, the only time when history can show us absolute power is in isolated communities in which the people had no understanding or conception of an alternative way of life, such as the Ancient Britons who built Stonehenge. Bibliography A Little History of the World- E.H. Gombrich What Is History? E.H. Carr Nazi Aggression- Planned or Improvised? (The Historian)- Hendrik K. Hogrefe Webography Who Built Stonehenge? Stuart Carter (First Science) http://www.livius.org/caa-can/caesar/caesar_t09.html http://www.e-classics.com/ALEXANDER.htm http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/reps.html (Stalin) http://www.chinacyber.com/china_glance/politics.htm Polak

Elemica Global Expansion Strategy Business Information Technology Essay

Elemica Global Expansion Strategy Business Information Technology Essay Elemica is a global e-commerce company in the chemical industry which provides web-based order management and supply chain applications and services. This report aims at outlining the strategy for Elemicas e-business trading hub global expansion. First, the environmental analysis of Elemica has been discussed. The SWOT analysis of Elemicas current business is discussed, followed by evaluation of elemicas online B2B industry using Porters five forces model. The various ICT challenges which will be faced by Elemica during global expansion have been identified. The various risks, opportunities available, associated costs and critical success factors for the global expansion have been discussed. A strategy map has been defined along with a balanced score card which measures the effectiveness of the B2B expansion strategy. After exploring all the opportunities and risks involved and evaluating the effectiveness of the strategy, the following recommendations have been made: Switch to cloud computing in order to easily expand into international market and be updated with the latest technology. Follow all the regulatory compliances in its e-business initiative and apply business ethics to be followed in different countries. Ensure that all the cross-border transactions follow security protocols and are safe and secure. Being sensitive to cultural differences in expanding countries and making the change management process smooth. These recommendations will thus help Elemica to successfully expand its B2B e-business strategy and establish a dominant position in the world market. Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 Table of Contents 3 1.INTRODUCTION 4 2. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS 5 2.1 COMPANY ANALYSIS 5 2.3 CORE COMPETENCIES 8 2.4 MAJOR COMPETITOR 8 2.5 CURRENT BUSINESS MODEL 8 2.6 MARKET ANALYSIS AND TRENDS 9 2.8 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES 11 3. BUSINESS CASE FOR ELEMICA 13 4.PROPOSED PROJECT PLAN 19 4.1 PROJECT PLANNING AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT 19 5.ASSESSING ONLINE B2B INDUSTRY TRADING HUB 21 5.2STRATEGY MAP 24 6.RECOMMENDATIONS 26 6.4 BUSINESS PROCESS REDESIGN AND SYSTEMS INTEGRATION 28 6.7 SUPPORT SERVICES 29 CONCLUSION 30 LIST OF REFERENCES 31 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 33 1.INTRODUCTION This report aims at understanding the business of Elemica and hence, develops a strategic plan for the global expansion of e-business at Elemica. As the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Elemica, an in-depth analysis of the company is presented in the report. It includes environmental analysis of Elemicas online B2B trading industry hub and also identifies the potential for global expansion of e-business. The report will assist the company to expand its core activities in the international market. It also highlights the risks associated with expanding the e-business globally. It identifies the target groups, the characterization of target groups, and how to build value into Elemicas services as desired by its customers, which are essential for the success of e-commerce (Fellenstein Wood 2000). Many inhibiting factors related to culture, security, language, legal rules, cross-border data flow, ethical regulations etc. which are present in global systems (Laudon Laudon 2006), have also been discussed. It also evaluates the entire plan by providing a Balanced Score Card to measure its effectiveness and a strategy map that will ensure the integration of strategy with implementation. The basic purpose of this project is to determine whether Elemica should go ahead with the global expansion of its online B2B trading hub or not. . 2. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS Elemica is a global e-commerce company founded by 22 leading corporations in the chemical industry which provides web-based order management and supply chain applications and services. It provides a single hub which provides companies with a one-stop solution through which companies can buy and sell chemicals to one another through their ERP systems or web alternative. It enables companies to link their internal IT systems through a neutral platform. Elemica is the first e-commerce company in the chemical industry which has successfully commercialized its ERP-to-ERP connectivity. It provides a modular, hosted solution that simplifies sales, procurement and financial processes; integrate supply chain partners in order to diminish communication barriers; and reduce overhead and errors. 2.1 COMPANY ANALYSIS Elemica is a privately held company with 150 employees. It has 2500 partners in its supply chain network and $60 billion in annual transactions. It is headquartered at Pennsylvania with offices in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Seoul, London, Singapore, Shanghai and Tokyo. VISION: To be the leading provider of supply chain integration and optimization services to the industries we serve; tire and rubber, chemical, energy and selected manufacturing industries. Clients rely on Elemica solutions and services to deliver Bottom Line Results, Enhanced Supply Chain Reliability, Quick and Easy Implementation, and Deep Industry Expertise. (Source: www.elemica.com) SWOT ANALYSIS: It is necessary to conduct a SWOT analysis of Elemica in order to develop a competitive advantage by identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (Friend, 2009). It will enable Elemica to build on its strengths, overcome its weaknesses, identify the opportunities available and reduce its exposure to threats. STRENGTHS: One of the most sophisticated technology platforms in B2B space A single hub for all transactions One stop solution to its clients Addresses e-commerce needs of companies of all sizes Helps companies automate their businesses Creates efficiencies and economies of scale Reduces clients overhead and errors WEAKNESSES: Does not buy, sell or own a product Highly fragmented chemical industry with large number of companies Internet is required for the service OPPORTUNITIES: Expansion into international markets Diversifying its industry such as the rubber and tire industry, etc. where B2B e-business is possible Including reviews and feedback from long term customers so that new companies get attracted Facility of online auctions Providing for private collaborative hubs THREATS: Non-acceptance of business model in international markets Outdated technology in some time Emergence of new competitors with better technology 2.2 VALUE PROPOSITION OF ELEMICA Value proposition is the benefit that a companys products or services provide to its customers. (Turban et al, 2010, p. 591). The value proposition offered by Elemica is as follows: A single hub for all the companies to do all their transactions. Only one connection needed for all transactions unlike some other companies offering similar services. A super platform which connects the ERP systems of all participating companies which allows the companies to electronically communicate with each other and to conduct the transactions. Acts as an intermediary which only links all the companies together and then they can conduct confidential transactions electronically. Enables a company that signs up for its services to conduct business with all the other buyers as well as suppliers which are linked through Elemica. It offers four modules: procurement, logistics, and customer replenishment (automate inventory replenishment and ordering), and order management. Provides support of Elemicas Professional Services and Implementation Team to its new clients. This ensures that the on-boarding process is successful and increases acceptance of the business value with its major trading partners. Addresses e-commerce needs of chemical companies which are of all sizes. Results in improved operational efficiency, reduced costs and a higher percentage of safe and reliable deliveries 2.3 CORE COMPETENCIES The core competency of Elemica is to provide web based order management and supply chain applications and services. It delivers this by: Providing four modules: procurement, logistics, and customer replenishment (automate inventory replenishment and ordering), and order management. Single hub for all transactions. 2.4 MAJOR COMPETITOR The major competitor of Elemica in this space is ChemConnect, which was founded in 1995. It offers services similar to Elemica, but it does not connect the ERP systems of the participants. It has 9000 customers and is spread out in around 150 countries. (Figures as in 2009). 2.5 CURRENT BUSINESS MODEL Elemica provides a one-stop solution to all its customers to carry out transactions. It integrates the flow of information among the trading partners by using a Business Process Network (BPN). Once a client is connected to Elemica, it gets access to thousands of buyers and suppliers. The clients are charged for the service on the basis of volume of usage. The business model works in the following way: When a client is in need of some material, it puts up a message on its ERP system. This message goes to Elemicas platform asking its members for the availability of the material. Several of Elemicas members respond to the message by responding with quotations. At this point, both the purchaser as well as the seller is anonymous. The client decides from whom to purchase based on the quoted prices. When the shipping is arranged, the identity of the parties is revealed. When the order is confirmed, the platform is used to paln and co-ordinate delivery, automate invoice and pay one another. Elemicas revenues are generated by charging transaction fees from its clients on a per-transaction basis. Elemicas business model is sustainable because it integrates all the supply chain partners, thus reducing the communication and transaction time. The customers are able to connect to a large number of buyers and suppliers on a single platform, without having to purchase any internal system for themselves. Also, since they are charged on a transaction basis, the revenues are continuous and sustainable and are more efficient than older EDI based solutions which charged on the basis of inter-company transactions. Also, it addresses the needs of chemical companies of all sizes. It thus results in increased operational efficiency, lowering of costs, less inventory, and safe and speedy deliveries. These results in customer satisfaction and thus result in attracting more new customers. 2.6 MARKET ANALYSIS AND TRENDS With the advent of internet, there has been a major shift in the way companies do business. There has been a high visibility of B2C e-commerce, whereas it is the B2B e-commerce which provides a large amount of marketplace spending ( Pierfrancesco Manenti, 2010). The total spending by B2B e-commerce is more than 85% of the total spending of B2X e-commerce all over the world (according to IDC estimate). Research has shown that B2B e-commerce is more used by the firms in U.S. However, it is growing at a fast pace in Europe as well because the manufactures are becoming more acceptable to this concept. It has been found that only 4% of the total turnover in manufacturing sector is generated through B2B e-commerce sales (data from Eurostat). Hence, there is a great scope for e-commerce to expand in new countries as well as expand their business domain, which provides Elemica with a great business opportunity. 2.7 EVALUATION OF ELEMICAS ONLINE B2B INDUSTRY TRADING HUB The best way to evaluate Elemicas online B2B industry is by using Porters five forces model. According to the model, there are 5 forces which affect the industry and the economic value that gets divided among the industry players (Turban, 2007). Threat of new entrants: Due to continuous advances in technology, there is always a threat of a new company coming up with a latest technology and dominating the market scenario. This might make Elemica outdated. Hence, there is a high risk of new entrants coming into the market which makes it inevitable for Elemica to continuously improvce it systems and be updated with the latest techniques. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers is limited for Elemica because Elemica just provides a platform for them to make transactions. Also, the suppliers in the chemical industry are also buyers themselves, and hence are dependent on each other. Also, Elemica provides them with a neutral platform where they can easily transact with intermediate costs and time wastage removed. Threat of substitute products or services: Threat of substitute products/services entering the market is high because e-commerce is a very dynamic business. Any new technology or concept can easily replace it. Also, physical transactions can also easily act as a substitute to online services. Bargaining Power of Buyers: The bargaining power of buyers is again limited because of the interdependence of buyers and suppliers on each other. But since they have a large number of options available, they can easily choose from among them and get the best deals. Rivalry among Existing Competitors: There is a large scope for e-commerce online industry to grow as a whole. Also, with limited competitors in this space, there is less of a rivalry and majorly the company providing easy and better services will dominate the market. 2.8 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES With Elemica planning to expand globally, there are several ICT challenges that will be faced by Elemica: As the customers will become increasingly global, a major chaleenge for Elemica is to manage the relationship between buyers and suppliers who may belong to different countries and cultures. Hence, Elemica must develop a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system in order to ensure that the customer relationships are long term, sustainable and add value. It will also need to be considered as to how Elemica will integrate the legacy systems that the companies currently use. Instead of connecting the ERP systems of the companies to the hub, Elemica can switch to cloud computing which will eliminate the need for integration. In order to keep up with the latest technology, Elemica can switch to cloud computing which will provide all the network facilities over the network without any need for connecting the ERP systems of the clients. The companies will then be able to access their account at any computer with internet access. This will reduce the costs incurred as well as attract more number of customers globally. While handling cross-border transactions, Elemica needs to be extra careful about the security issues and the data transfer protocols and standards to be followed. It needs to be in compliance with the international copyright laws and security standards. 3. BUSINESS CASE FOR ELEMICA 3.1 OPPORTUNITIES AND OBJECTIVES The opportunities available with Elemica are as follows: Expand its business to other countries and thus provide online supply chain integration by acting as a neutral platform for all the transactions. The challenge is to expand the system into other countries and also take care of the logistics for distribution. Adopting latest technologies so that the existing technology does not become obsolete. This will add more customers to the e-business and also make the business model more sustainable. For global expansion, Elemica can shift to cloud computing. This will save the companies from connecting their ERP systems to central software. The applications needed to run the business could be stored on servers. This will save the company costs and companies across the globe can easily do business just by logging into the internet. It will help them connect to anybody and anywhere in the world. Also, the customers can easily collaborate and work on big projects in real time. Another opportunity in the area of expansion for Elemica is that it can allow buyers to compare products from different vendors and customize their product requirements from a variety of vendors. Elemica must also start interaction among the vendors wherein they can post their comments and reviews about its services. This will help attract new customers and also enhance the credibility of the company. 3.2 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS Critical success factors (CSFs) are a few key activities that can determine the success or failure for any type of organization (McLeod Schell, 2001). By identifying the critical success factors, companies can develop strategies and also prioritize their activities for future business (Ward Peppard, 2002). The critical success factors for Elemica to go in for a global expansion are: Need to be more customer oriented in order to be sensitive to cultural differences and be responsive to their varying needs. The web interface must also be in the local language of the countries where Elemica plans to expand. Deliver secure and reliable connection to its users. Ensure that all the transactions and data transfers remain confidential and privacy policy is adequate. Compliancy with international standards must be maintained before entering into expansion into international markets. The tax implications must be kept in mind for the success of a business in other countries. It needs to be ensured that the company is in compliance with the local tax rules. Need to be up-to-date with the latest technology so that the business model does not become obsolete and also to prevent competition. 3.3 COSTS AND BENEFITS (ROI) It is essential to calculate the return on investment before taking any business decision to ensure that the returns will be favorable for the business. It is a tool which helps in evaluating information technology and electronic commerce investments (Turban, 2008). The ROI formula divides the total net benefits (revenues less costs, for each Year) by the initial cost, resulting in a ratio that measures the ROI for each year or an entire period (Turban 2010). The various costs involved in the expansion of Elemica globally will be: Marketing costs: A marketing strategy needs to be developed in order to attract customers all across the globe. Also, advertising costs will be incurred to establish the brand image of Elemica in new countries. This will be a significant cost because the marketing campaigns need to be customized according to different locations and local markets. Operating costs: Operating costs will differ for each country. This will include the training assistance program costs and other support costs to its customers. These costs will vary because the currency values in each country will vary and the exchange rates also need to be taken into account. Also, operating costs will increase because now the hub needs to be customized for local markets and more number of customers means higher maintenance costs. Employee costs: More number of employees will be needed to handle the expanding business. Local people will have to be recruited in order to understand the local needs and be responsive to them accordingly. Administrative costs: Administrative costs will go up with an increasing number of customers. Opportunity costs: It is the cost associated with not taking an electronic commerce initiative (Schneider, 2007). If Elemica does not go ahead with the expansion, some costs will be incurred for not going with this plan, called as opportunity costs. The revenue will be generated through: Transaction fees: The clients are charged on a per transaction basis. With increased number of customers, the number of transactions will increase and hence the revenue. Training fees: The training fees charged for increasing acceptance and making the on-boarding smooth will also increase with increasing number of members. 3.4 BENEFITS OF EXPANDING GLOBALLY The benefits associated with expanding globally are: It will offset sales decline in the domestic market, if any. Even if there is not much decline in revenues in the domestic market, having a global network will act as a safeguard for future. It will increase the life cycle of our services because it may be possible that this technology gets outdated in the domestic market, but in new markets this might still be new. If Elemica goes into cloud computing, it will attract a large set of new clients, both in the domestic as well as international market, thus leading to increased revenues and higher market share. It will improve its competitive position and help in establishing itself as a global brand. 3.5 RISKS ASSOCIATED Having a web based platform makes the system susceptible to risks associated with the internet. Hence, it is important that the problems which will most likely cause damage is addressed (Van der Walt, 2002). Hence, the risks associated with global expansion of Elemicas e-business are as follows: Security issues: With data and transactions scanning across the globe, there might be security concerns and different protocols to be followed in different countries. Also, there might be concerns regarding the misuse of information that is transferred over the internet. Payment issues: With difference in currencies and exchange rates, it might become difficult to make payments among the collaborating parties, which might result in loss of cross border transactions. Threat of Frauds: Proper mechanism would have to be in place to prevent any fraudulent customers to join the network and take undue advantage. Server crashes: There might be server crashes due to expansion into remote areas which might cause the entire system to fail and thus result in huge losses. Improper integration: Risk of improper integration of the hub with ERP systems in remote locations. Violation of laws: There might be systems which may violate the home country laws, thus creating troubles for Elemica in future. Cultural differences: The local people in target countries might not be comfortable with the concept of online buying and selling of stock. This may lead to a failure of the entire business model in that country. Hence, a proper understanding of the local culture needs to be developed before entering into expansion. Changing technology: Elemica needs to be up to date with the latest technology so that their services do not become obsolete. Lack of IT infrastructure: It might be possible that some countries might not have appropriate internet infrastructure. This will hamper the expansion of e-business in that country. 4.PROPOSED PROJECT PLAN 4.1 PROJECT PLANNING AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT Elemica needs to develop a detailed project plan to carry out all the planned projects, evaluate the various options available, identify specific milestones, allocate requisite resources, and manage the projects (Turban et al. 2010). There are five basic stages in developing a project (Haughey, 2010): Initiation Planning and project design Execution Monitoring and controlling systems Completion Elemica will first need to identify a project champion who will ensure that proper time, resources, and attention is given to the project throughout its initiation to implementation (Turban, 2008). Then a project team needs to be established who will develop a detailed project implementation plan. For expansion strategy, Elemica can pilot test it in some other country, which will help identify the problems and successes, thus helping in modifying the strategy accordingly (Turban, 2008). Accordingly, staff requirements are identified and fulfilled; and training given to them for the latest technology. After the completion of the proposed plan, it should be reviewed at each stage in order to overcome the inefficiencies and loopholes which were identified and then constant monitoring of the project needs to be done. Change management is a major issue which needs to be handled by Elemica during its global expansion because people will resist change. An appropriate communication strategy needs to be developed which will aim at keeping all the employees as well as Elemicas clients up-to-date with the companys strategy and latest happenings. This will help them cope with the changes (Schneider, 2007) and also help them adopt the new changing culture easily. Confidence and buy-in needs to be inculcated within the employees so that their support can be garnered for the project, which will be essential for the success of the business. 4.2 RESOURCE ALLOCATION The various resources which need to be allocated during Elemicas expansion will be human resources and IT resources. Human resources will include business managers, project managers, web designers, graohic designers, system operators and administrators (Schneider, 2007). IT resources which will be needed are the hardware and software development and its maintenance. 5.ASSESSING ONLINE B2B INDUSTRY TRADING HUB 5.1BALANCED SCORE CARD The most popular system for performance management is the use of a balanced scorecard (Turban, 2007). It was designed by Kaplan and Norton in 1996 and it describes a holistic measurement system which flows from the overall strategy of the organization and crystallizes into measureable indicators (Kaplan Norton, 1996). A balanced score card evaluates the effectiveness from the following 4 perspectives: Financial Customer Internal Business Processes Learning and Growth PERSPECTIVE OBJECTIVE METRIC RATIONALE 1) Financial Increased market share 1) Increase in the number of clients 2) Increase in the revenues 3) Increase in the number of locations where Elemica provides services Increase in market share is an important metric in determining whether the global expansion of the business has been successful or not. Only if there is an increase in the market share, it will indicate that the business is successful and is gaining more customers. Increased ROI 1) Increase in the number of transactions between clients, hence resulting in increased revenues. 2) Increase in the number of customers. It is important to measure the revenues earned in order to ensure that even if market share might have increased, the revenues have also increased along with it. Also, it is important to know that the returns are increasing on the money invested. 2) Customer Increased customer satisfaction 1) Increase in the number of repeat transactions 2) Decrease in the number of customer complaints 3) Increase in the number of positive customer reviews 4) Reduction in the response time for resolving customer complaints. Customer satisfaction is a top priority for the success of any business. Customer satisfaction ratings will indicate whether the existing customers are satisfied with the services and this in turn will determine the new customers getting added to the network. Increased visibility of Elemica 1) Increase in the number of transactions on Elemica. 2) Increase in the number of new subscribers. 3) Increased visibility among other chemical companies. This will determine whether the new marketing campaigns and expansion strategy has worked or not. Whether it will be able to generate more revenues or not. 3)Internal business processes Increase in efficiency 1) Increase in the quality of service 2) Decrease in the lag time between a complaint and resolving that complaint. 3) Increase in the number of transactions that can be handled at a particular time. 4) Increase in the speed of transactions This will help in delivering best service to the customers and will help in continuously improving upon the existing services. Better technology and transaction security 1) Increase in the transaction security even while cross-border transactions take place. 2) Adopting the latest technology and making the hub more user friendly and easy to implement. This will take of the security concerns which may arise during the expansion process in different countries. Also, the latest technology will keep Elemica inline with the competitors and help in dominating the market share. 4) Learning Growth Better skilled staff competent to handle latest techniques and varying cultures 1) Increase in % of employees who are highly skilled. 2) Develop the competencies in the staff to work in a dynamic and competitive environment. A highly skilled and competent staff will ensure that the company progresses and delivers the best to its customers all across the globe. This will also help in identifying the gaps in the skills of employees and work upon them. Increased organizational learning 1) Increase spending on RD to improve the technology used, hence delivering better services. This ensures that the latest and the best technology is used and the organization is ready to respond to the changing environment all across the globe. 5.2STRATEGY MAP The strategy map below shows the linkages between the four perspectives of Balanced Score Card and how they result in achieving the overall business strategy. INCREASED SHAREHOLDER VALUE HIGH ROI MORE MARKET SHARE FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE LEARNING GROWTH PERSPECTIVE HIGH EFFICIENCY CUSTOMER SATISFCATION INCREASED VISIBILITY SECURITY COMPLIANCE LATEST TEHCNOLOGY MORE CUSTOMERS MORE CITIES MORE TRANSACTIONS SKILL DEVELOPMENT INCREASE IN RD COMPETENCIES HIGHLY SKILLED AND COMPETENT WORKFORCE INTERNAL PROCESS PERSPECTIVE CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE 6.RECOMMENDATIONS The following recommendations are in order of their priority. Each one will be needing 5-6 months to implement and can be started concurrently. 6.1 OUTSOURCING OF ICT INFRASTRUCTURE In order to strengthen the ICT infrastructure of Elemica, it should adopt cloud computing. It will hence result in business process automation. All the facilities will then be available over the network without any need for connecting the ERP systems of the clients. This will help in reducing the costs of setting up hardware or software and its maintenance. Clouds are a pool of easily usable as well as accessible virtualized resources such as hardware, development, platforms and/or services (Vaquero et al. 2009, p. 51). Shown below is how cloud c