Response question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Response question - Essay Example He discusses the healthy food of Asia but since they are following the U.S then who is left for us to look up to? No doubt his video is informative but due to lack of guidance about the lifestyle and diet it deviates from the main topic. Had he told about the correct diet and provided a chart of healthy food it would have served for the right purpose. Obesity is becoming common and has deformed the human figure in the past few decades. In this way we are moving forward to devolvement. The children are fed on junk and processed foods. They consume all the foods that are unhealthy from the age that is vulnerable and they become use to it. They refuse to intake the home made food and rely more on the take away foods. Though Ornish has not mentioned the reasons of obesity and did not talk about the prevention, however this is one of the common reasons. As obesity is common among people and they do not pay any heed to it and as a result they are unaware of the consequences. His video fails to provide the methods of prevention. Exercise can help a great deal in losing weight and getting rid of the obese figure. He does not talk about the life style either. These missing points make his video lacking in this very important aspect. He should have guided the people about the proper diet and lifestyle that are required in the prevention of the fatal

Maintaining a Competitive Edge in Business

Maintaining a Competitive Edge in Business INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The performance of nay business nowadays is very much triggered by stringent competition due to the existence of other players in the respective industries with the iam of providing the general consuming public with products and servces which were previously made available by other suppliers. To survive such predicament, businesses execute their own set of strategies. Various operations strategies have ben identified in order to maintain their sustainable competitive edge and to establish their place in the market as against other players in the industry. In this paper, the researcher will closely analyze the case of J. Sainsbury, a leading supermarket with interests in finance in the United Kingdom. The researcher will identify the performance objectives of the entire industry and compare it with that of J Sainsbury, and analyze order qualifiers and order winners as regards to the business operation of the business. More importantly, the researcher will also give suggestions on what steps can the company do in order to maintain its sustainable competitive advantage despite the growing competition in the industry with the entry of other players and the growth of previously identified competitors. PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Performance objectives refer to a set of goals and aims specified by the company or the industry which are expected to be achieved after implementation and execution of a set of strategies which are formulated top improve the performance of the organization. The supermarket industry in the United Kingdom is very diverse and competent as each have varying strategies and tools on how they can better serve the public so that they will have an increased market share as against the other players. The key performance objectives of the operations of these supermarkets are geared towards increasing their market share and generating more profit. One of the performance objectives of the entire supermarket industry in the United Kingdom would be to increase their economic value which involves earnings in profit, creation of new customers, innovation, and the best use of available resources. Furthermore, another performance objective of operations in the industry would be imp rovement of the companies social function which entails their ability to perform the conduct of their business while reaping benefits which are beneficial to the society such as corporate social responsibility measures. One more performance objectives would be to improve its human capital which in turn will reciprocate better service in the industry. Another performance objective of the business would be helping in the growth of the nation through improving internal and external environment of the company. The last performance objective of the company would be to be able to expand operations on other areas of the business aside from food retail which has been the industrys main business. ORDER QUALIFIERS AND ORDER WINNERS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Order qualifiers refer to the characteristics various products which are offered by the company that can qualify for such products or services to be considered for purchase by the customer. On the other hand, an order winner refers to the characteristics of a product or service that wins the order or the final and most important factor which triggers the purchase. A company is said to be in a trouble if its best investments or its sustainable competitive edge is not important to the general consuming public. Order qualifiers and order winners are important for the firms products and services because eit stipulates the criteria which are identified by the consuming public and these criteria must be present in their offerings for such to be considered as a valuable option.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For instance, in the United Kingdom, when the shoppers think of which supermarket they should buy their needs, they consider these supermarkets in terms of order qualifiers. Order qualifiers would include which ones has the lowest price, highest quality of products, socially responsible business, most accessible, among other factors, nonetheless, presented with this qualifiers, the customer will choose which one to visit base on the order winner or the characteristic or final consideration which makes them choose that supermarket, normally the organizations sustainable competitive advantage. For instance, it can be assumed that what makes J. Sainsbury an order winner is its focus on quality which makes them the best in food and health as they deliver to the public a perpetually improving quality shopping experience exceeding customer expectations. THE OPERATONS OF J. SAINSBURY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being one of the leading supermarkets in the United Kingdom, J. Sainsbury has been continuous in providing the public with a shopping experience of the highest quality in terms of the products and services which it offers. The remaining section will discuss the operations of J. Sainsbury in line with the performance objectives in the industry which have been earlier identified.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first performance objective identified was economic benefits. J. Sainsburys operation undeniably surpassed is economic benefits as illustrated by the profits which the company earned in the previous year. According to the companys Chief Financial Officer, they made good progress despite the challenging economic environment and their sales even soared 6% higher from the previous year which is indicative of a good economic performance. The company is also generating more than 18 million customer transactions on a weekly basis with a 16% market share. Furthermore, in terms of its social function the company also showed in its operating review its continuous emphasis of corporate social responsibility as being significant in the growth of their business. The company has made a positive difference in many communities by being able to support charities such as Comic Relief where they raised almost 10 million pounds and Active Kids where their donation almost reached 70 million pounds worth of sport equipments and other items. They have also implemented efforts to reduce to negative environmental impact of some supermarket practices such as when it comes to plastic bags. The improvement of the workforce has also been identified as a performance objective in the industry. Such has been shown by the company thorugh its efforts to improve the quality of the labor force for better service. It also continuously gives out monetary bonuses and incentives for good service performance which will motivate the employees to do better because they know that they are being recognized. Another performance objective earlier identified was being able to help in the growth of the nation. J. Sainsburys has been committed to this by providing employment opportunities which gave the citizens an avenue of earning as they work in a dynamic corporate environment. It also perpetually creates opportunities to help the unfortunates in the nation by involving in partnersh ips with different groups. The last performance objective of the industry as earlier identified would be being able to expand their operations to open more opportunities and to serve more markets. J. Sainsburys response to this objective would be improvement in its non-food sector such as sales for home and lifestyle items. They have also expanded business through their additional channels to reach more market such as going on-line. RECOMMENDATIONS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As what has been shown by the discussion above, it can be assumed that the performance of J. Sainsbury in the market is doing well. The financial performance is indicative of good business while their corporate social responsibility is indicative of how well they help the society by bringing back whatever they have earned from the public. The strategies which have been identified and formulated by the company showed success in being able to maintain its competitive advantage in the market and in being able to manage competition from other players in the industry. The increase in their net sales is indicative that they were able to manage other players and they were able to do business in a good way despite the challenges which where brought about by the global economic downturn.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be able to maintain its competitive position in the industry, J. Sainsbury must be able to perpetually put an emphasis on its on-going strategies and how maximum benefits can be reaped from such. Competition will always be rough in an industry which is as rough as the supermarket business in the United Kingdom. Both small and big players will have continued efforts in order to outplay and compete against each other. There will be competitive efforts which will focus mainly on price as such ahs been deemed as the most important order qualifier among the general consuming public. To be able to manage such competitive strategies, J. Sainsbury must always remember that the lowest price does not guarantee the most market. Price is a big indication towards purchase, but more emphasis should be put into quality as such is more important. There is a significant need to be able to compete on price. Nonetheless, the need to compete on quality can otherwise prove to be mo re paramount among consumer concerns.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The operations strategies which have been earlier identified will help the company increase its share in the market or at least retain its current position. The researcher recommends that the company must put a continued emphasis on its efforts towards helping the community and the entire nation. The corporate social responsibility or the set of practices of every organization which are geared towards the environment should always be of paramount concern. The general consuming public is being increasingly aware of how to protect the environment. With that, the company must be sensitive towards this concern and must continue its efforts towards providing the public with an environmentally friendly shopping experience such as through the bags their use and improvement in their waste disposal practices in order to keep the environment clean. Moreover, they should also continue their efforts to help communities in which they pay back from the revenues they have earned from the public. A portion of their earnings shall be directed towards helping others by showing value to the same society which gave them the profit in the business. More importantly, it should continue to generate employment opportunities in the United Kingdom to be able to help the nation and to help improve the performance of the business by employing more competent and qualified individuals who can render excellent customer service which in the long run will translate into increased profit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The competitive environment for supermarkets in the United Kingdom is tough. Nonetheless, with the formulation of effective individual operation strategies, the business will be able to outplay competition and survive in the marketplace as it continue on its perpetual efforts to help the public by offering them with a shopping option of the highest quality. REFERENCES: J. Sainsbury Annual Company Report (2009). Retrieved on April 29, 2010 from http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/files/reports/ar2009_report.pdf Business Studies (n.d.). Objectives of Business. Retrieved on April 29, 2010 from http://www.nos.org/Secbuscour/cc03.pdf Waterman H. (2007). UK Supermarket CSR Reports: A Comparison Using Environmental and Social Reporting Guidelines. Retrieved on April 29, 2010 from http://www.fcrn.org.uk/researchLib/theses/supermarket%20CSR%2007%20Holly%20Waterman.pdf

A Separate Peace - Thematic Analysis :: essays research papers

An analysis of John Knowles A Separate Peace brings up the theme of man's inhumanity to his fellow man. What makes this novel unique is that in protesting war, Knowles never overtly referred to the blood and gore of war; he showed the consequences of war, some paralleling the nature of war and some simply laying out how World War II affected noncombatants thousand miles away. There have been many books written about war, what happens, why it happens, and why wars should stop. Knowles explains through the life of Finny why war never will cease, with only one death in the entire book; a quiet one at that. When Gene is responsible for Finny's fall off the tree, the reader is in some confusion as to what really happened. All the book reads at this juncture is "Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step near him, and then my knees bounced and I jounced the limb. Finny, his balance gone, swung his head to look at me for an instant with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways, broke through the little branches below and hit the bank with a sickening, unnatural thud." The reader does not know whether it was accidental or intentional. It is not until later that Finny realizes that Gene is responsible for his crippling, and what a natural thing it was to do. Gene bounced the branch just to see if he could make the invincible Finny fall; at least, this is why Gene claims he did it. This is true, but at some level, Gene was scared of Finny, of his confidence, his abilities, and his potential for breaking records. Consider Gene's paranoia over Finny's attempts to make him advent urous. Gene interprets these genuine acts of friendship as attempts to prevent him from reaching the top of the academic ladder. This paranoia parallels war in that after it is declared, no one is safe. Countries, leaders, people suspicious of all who are perceived as a threat, causing them to lash out at anyone even peripherally involved. Adequately proven in A Separate Peace, there are also historical examples: the Nazi death camps, the American Japanese-American relocation camps, and the McCarthyism of the fifties. Apparently, in America, the Constitution rules until war is declared, then paranoia and vindictiveness take charge. When Gene had the opportunity to get back at Finny, he did, which is so human it is disheartening.

Matrilineality

The term matrilineal descent (or uxorial descent, or matrilineality, or matrilineage) refers to a system of tracing family ties, inheritance and succession only through female ancestors in the family. Despite of its being quite uncommon, this type of social organization exists in many world’s cultures and regions, and practically can be put to the following: â€Å"†¦relatedness through females is treated as culturally more significant than relatedness through males† (Holden, Sear & Mace, 2003). Therefore, according to the system of matrilineality, an individual is supposed to belong to the same descent social group as his/her female ancestors (mother, grandmother, etc.). This concept is contrary to more widespread and popular social system of patrilineal descent, in which a person belongs to his/her father lineage. Patrilineal descent is a prevailing concept; nevertheless, matrilineality can have more common sense, because it is always easier to identify a person’s mother then his/her father. The term matrilineality is used both in sociology and anthropology, because historically such powerful cultures and civilizations like Ancient Egypt, Indo-European, Slavic, Chinese, Japanese, Middle Asian cultures, including the Minangkabau and many others, could rise and develop due to matrilineal customs and the power of their determined and clever Queens, Princesses or other female rulers. Strong elements of matrilineality are preserved in some contemporary cultures and religions, in particular, in Orthodox Judaism, which states that a person must be a child of a Jewish mother in order to be considered a member of this religious group. References: Holden, C.J., & Rebecca Sear, Ruth Mace. (2003) Matriliny as daughter-biased investment. Evolution & Human Behavior. 24: 99-112 Luomala, N. (n.d.). Matrilineal Reinterpretation of Some Egyptian Sacred Cows. Personal Web-Site of Professor Ronald Bolender. Sweet Briar College. Retrieved June 9, 2007

Portfolio Assessment

Portfolio assessment is a multi-faceted process characterized by the following recurrent qualities: * It is continuous and ongoing, providing both formative (i. e. , ongoing) and summative (i. e. , culminating) opportunities for monitoring students' progress toward achieving essential outcomes. * It is multidimensional, i. e. , reflecting a wide variety of artifacts and processes reflecting various aspects of students' learning process(es). It provides for collaborative reflection, including ways for students to reflect about their own thinking processes and metacognitive introspection as they monitor their own comprehension, reflect upon their approaches to problem-solving and decision-making, and observe their emerging understanding of subjects and skills. * They clearly reflect stated learner outcomes identified in the core or essential curriculum that students are expected to study. * They focus upon students' performance-based learning experiences as well as their acquisition of key knowledge, skills, and attitudes. They contain samples of work that stretch over an entire marking period, rather than single points in time. * They contain works that represent a variety of different assessment tools. * They contain a variety of work samples and evaluations of that work by the student, peers, and teachers, possible even parents' reactions. Source: Paul S. George, (1995). What Is Portfolio Assessment Really and How Can I Use It in My Classroom? Gainesville, FL: Teacher Education Resources. Purposes of the Portfolio The Professional Portfolio we describe at PortfolioMaker. a differs from others you may see elsewhere in that it includes the following two main purposes: * To demonstrate your professional knowledge and skill in what some people call teaching ‘competencies' and which we call ‘Dimensions of Teaching'. * To emphasize your reflections on your entries. Your reflections will prove to be an integral part of the whole portfolio process because without them, the portfolio remains merely a scrapbook, a collection of information — not a portfolio. Our philosophy of the Professional Portfolio builds on the work of Donald Schon (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Basic Books. * To illustrate your knowledge and skills in interviews or job appraisals. * To make your teaching visible so that you can: * Ensure that your teaching includes practices that reflect the reasons that you chose this profession. * Reflect on your practice and establish learning goals and/or targets. * Reflect on your practice to determine the extent to which you have achieved these goals and/or targets. * Ensure that your teaching reflects your beliefs about what good teaching should be * And, to celebrate your professionalism. Different Types of Portfolios * Documentation Portfolio: This type is also know as the â€Å"working† portfolio. Specifically, this approach involves a collection of work over time showing growth and improvement reflecting students' learning of identified outcomes. The documentation portfolio can include everything from brainstorming activities to drafts to finished products. The collection becomes meaningful when specific items are selected out to focus on particular educational experiences or goals. It can include the bet and weakest of student work. Process Portfolio: This approach documents all facets or phases of the learning process. They are particularly useful in documenting students' overall learning process. It can show how students integrate specific knowledge or skills and progress towards both basic and advanced mastery. Additionally, the process portfolio inevitably emphasizes students' reflection upon their learning process, including the use of reflective journals, think logs, and related forms of metacognitive processing. * Showcase Portfolio: This type of portfolio is best used for summative evaluation of students' mastery of key curriculum outcomes. It should include students' very best work, determined through a combination of student and teacher selection. Only completed work should be included. In addition, this type of portfolio is especially compatible with audio-visual artifact development, including photographs, videotapes, and electronic records of students' completed work. The showcase portfolio should also include written analysis and reflections by the student upon the decision-making process(es) used to determine which works are included.

Greg Sirico Essays - McCulloch V. Maryland, Free Essays, Term Papers

Greg Sirico Essays - McCulloch V. Maryland, Free Essays, Term Papers Greg Sirico Adv American Gov. November 14th ?98 McCulloch v Maryland Can congress incorporate a bank? Can a state tax the national government? These were some of the key issues that brought up in the Supreme Court case of McCullloch v Maryland. James Madison, the judge in this case, rules in favor of the National Government. He proclaimed that it was constitutional to have a national bank, and not appropriate for Maryland to tax the bank. Now we turn the tables toward Maryland. In my reasoning I believe that Maryland can uphold their right to tax the national bank, as well as make claims of the ?necessary and proper clause? being incorrect in it?s meaning. Maryland in my opinion holds very good references and ideas which lead me to believe that the national bank should never have been created, and if so created be able to have been taxed. Both points coming from the Constitution. Maryland as well as every other state in the union, has the power to tax. It is a concurrent power, which enables them (Maryland) to obtain the power to tax. The power to tax is the power to create. Since the national bank itself is in Baltimore, I believe the state, in which it is holds ground, which is Maryland, has some type of property tax upon the national bank. In this point we can see how the state government has some kind of right to tax the national bank. Moving forward, we come across the Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause). It is stated in the Constitution that the government is empowered to imply this clause to issues at hand. The controversy issue is the appropriate definition for this word, necessary. However, necessary in Maryland?s point of view means ?indispensable? and Madison defines it as ?convenient?. Now in this point, it is unjust to provide the national government with such power as this. If it is in fact convenient for the national government, is it convenient for us the people? The answer is no, this gives leverage to Maryland?s argument that necessary should in-fact mean as is. As we can see through my, and the state of Maryland?s view, the national bank should have never been created, and even if such an idea would have been about, it is still reprehensible for taxation. Maryland in my belief was correct in it?s arguments, and points. Now as I conclude, I have shown you my reasons why, and have brought me to my final decision that there really is no equality between the state government and the national government. In seeing this, it is appropriate to believe that the congresses can in-fact do as they PLEASE.

Clean Air Act essays

Clean Air Act essays Pollution in the United States is getting worse and worse by the day. Poor air quality is a serious issue and health risk in cities throughout the country. The main source of the pollution problem is our transportation. Cars produce roughly one half of the pollution in our cities, and about a quarter of the greenhouse gases. The internal combustion engine is the single largest source of air pollution in the United States. Toxic gases are emitted into the atmosphere as byproducts of the combustion process and also from evaporating gasoline. The main pollutants consist of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, hydrocarbons, and particulates, each of which are harmful to the human body and contribute to global warming. Carbon monoxide is the largest pollutant emitted. It attaches to the hemoglobin in the blood and lowers the bloods oxygen-carrying capacity, which causes headaches, drowsiness and blurred vision, and is fatal with prolonged exposure. Hydrocarbons cause eye irritation, coughing, wheezing, shortage of breath and serious lung damage. Nitrogen oxide causes acid rain and taints the quality of our water. Pollution is obviously a very serious problem that is putting each of us risk, as well as damaging our environment. Unfortunately this is not something that can be solved any time soon, however we must make an effort to deal with it. Gasoline is not the only way to power an automobile. There is technology out on the market, along with much more still in development, that provides logical substitutes to our current automobile fuel. Several companies have started mass production of cars that are fueled by both electricity and gasoline, known as hybrids. These hybrids only use gasoline during acceleration and run off an electric battery the remainder of the time. This allows these cars to travel up to 70 miles on one gallon of gas and they are still able to move at speeds ne ...