Wall Mart - Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wall Mart - Community - Essay Example Wal-Mart is American Public Corporation that came into existence in 1962. Although it began as a grocery retailer, in now operates as a major chain of large discount stores and warehouses. Its various stores offer a wide variety of products, all of which are priced lower than its competitors. Although price is a major criterion, upon which many customers make buying decisions. Offering the lowest price and remaining profitable has many challenges. Wall Mart has over the years remained one of the largest retailers, and therefore becoming one of the leading private employers. There is a need therefore to investigate the claims made by the community so that the actual influence of Wall Mart on the community (Hicks, pg 2). The history of the problem can be traced from the concerns that most corporations have focuses on profit maximization at the expense of the interests of the community and employees who gives the economic power to such companies. The primary data I used to get a good understanding of how Wall Mart operates and the nature of issues facing included visiting a number of branches to observe the shoppers, employees and to interview employees and customers. I also observed the type of customers by age and interviewed about their perception of the impact made by Wall Mart to the local community. The secondary data I used included scrutinizing the annual consumerism report that compiled by organizations that represent employees and consumers. Majority of the people we interviewed were of the opinion that Wall Mart has over the years made a significant contribution to the local communities and the American economy in general. Many believed that since Wall Mart was founded based on offering the lowest price for all social groups; it has made important contributions to their lives, which can be categorized as follows. Wall Mart entered the market to offer

Eminent Domain and the Taking of Private Land by Governmental Entity Term Paper

Eminent Domain and the Taking of Private Land by Governmental Entity - Term Paper Example Brigham, that the right to own property and to possess it is a valuable and protected right. It is within this context that the right to made whole is interpreted. In making the owner whole under eminent domain, the courts must not confine quantification of damages to mere compensation for the value of the property. The courts must also take account of the expense that the proceedings will undoubtedly put on an unwilling private owner. It therefore follows that in making the owner whole, the government must take responsibility for all costs incurred by the owner in challenging the proceedings and proving damages.3 Therefore the significance of the right to own property is reflected in substantive and procedural laws that accompany eminent domain. As demonstrated in the Dade County ruling, the mere taking of property with compensation for the value of the property will not amount to just compensation. Compensation understandably must put the owner in the position that he or she would have been in but for the takings. This means the expenses that the owner is forced to undertake pursuant to the takings’ proceedings must be accounted for. Thus the constitutional basis of property rights is supported by the property owner’s right not to be deprived of his or her property without due process. Specifically, Article 1, Section 2 of Florida’s Constitution provides that â€Å"no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law†.4 Due process has been established to mean that the individual in question shall be accorded the opportunity to be heard and to challenge any intended action to deprive the individual of his or her private property.5 Thus procedural fairness is required in the deprivation of private property under Florida’s Constitution. Therefore reasonable notice and the administration of justice via a fair hearing are prerequisites for the taking of private property by the state in Florida purs uant to Florida’s constitution. Procedural due process however, can have different implications depending on the legal context. This is because procedural due process is tied to substantive due process.6 The connection between procedural fairness and substantive fairness lies in the general imposition of the right to challenge governmental taking of private property.7 Procedural fairness refers to the process that official must follow in depriving a citizen of his or her property. In this regard, the degree of procedural fairness typically corresponds with the severity of the proprietary right at risk. Substantive fairness proceeds on the basis that the law permitting deprivation of property is constitutional and presumes that any law that encroaches upon human rights is unconstitutional and therefore not valid.8 Deprivation of property conceivably invokes two different legal contexts, both of which can be deemed serious proprietary rights: police powers and eminent domain. P olice powers refer to the right of states to legislate for the protection of safety, health and morals.9 Thus police powers do not technically deprive the individual of his or her property, but rather deprives the individual of the right to use his or her property as he or she sees fit.10 Police powers are typically associated with ordinances and regulatory frameworks relative to zoning, building codes, health/safety standards, rent controls and city planning.11 These police powers are

International Business And Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Business And Accounting - Essay Example The consumers across the globe have expanded choices in terms of services and commodities available in the market. The international trade volumes have spurred economic growth and development in third world countries and this is reflected in terms of expanded business opportunities, increased employment and improved wages. The diversity in market structures, financial environment, cultural practices, consumer behavior, and industry trends present risks and challenges to international companies. Trading in goods and services in such conditions assume new complexities that can restrict the potential of growth and development (Evenett & Hoekman, 2006). Based on these observations, the paper provides an in-depth assessment of the implications and impacts of free-trade agreements from the differing perspectives of business, consumer, worker and society. The subsequent sections highlight the pros and cons of free trade agreements and how it impacts each section of the society and economic framework. Problem Identification and Analysis International trade and economic cooperation has been driven by government initiatives and international communities that frame their decisions on the inputs from private sector. Regional trade communities and bilateral trade agreements facilitate trade and investment through improved transparency, removal of non-tariff barriers, market liberalization policies, establishment of trading norms and standards, and improved bilateral understanding to support trading in services (ASEAN-China report, 2001). While globalization of economies and market liberalization practices have defined new opportunities for unrestricted trade and commerce between countries, regional trade... This essay stresses that global trade is beneficial for kinds of economies, whether developed or developing. Producers’ benefit from selling their goods in international markets generating higher revenues and consumers benefit from expanded choices of products available in the market. The international trade can help reduce poverty levels and erase income inequalities in developing economies promising improved standards of living. The international trade is regulated through a set of rules that the governments of the countries have created over the years. The poorer countries have restricted access to markets in developed countries due to the imposition of various trade barriers and agricultural subsidies. This paper makes a conclusion that markets have become more volatile as a result of global impacts and this has created the need for changing strategies in business operations and tactful government intervention to insulate the country’s economy from harmful economic effects. Monetary and fiscal policies are highly instrumental in regulating the country’s economy and creating market stability. The key strategic focus of governments while formulating trade agreements should be on eliminating trade disparities and establishment of norms that define quality of products and services delivered to the end consumers. The developed economy must focus on ensuring a fair trade practice that helps in reducing trade barriers and any form of economic exploitation.

Charles Dickens and Curleys Wife Essay Example for Free

Charles Dickens and Curleys Wife Essay A comparison of Nancy from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and Curleys Wife from Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. In the two books both characters can be compared with each other but in many ways they are different in looks, language and personality, but the reasons for which the authors created them is much the same. I believe that Steinbeck created Curleys wife, so that the reader feels sorry for her because most of the other characters in the book try to stay clear of her and do not get to know her, and in a sense, judge her by the way she dresses. On the other hand Steinbeck is trying to express to the reader that looks do not count for everything. The main reason for Curleys wifes creation in my personal opinion is because all of the characters in the book are misfits for example; Lennie is not clever and acts like a child when he is with George by the riverbank and threatens to leave because George becomes annoyed with him. Also Crooks the Negro is crippled and cannot walk very well, but in his own way he is special and well educated. In the same way Dickens creates Nancy as the type of character that the reader feels sorry for but at the same time accuse her for the mistakes she has made, such as running away from Bill Sikes but returning to him because she loves him and cannot bring herself to leave. As the book progresses the reader begins to gain more respect for Nancy but I believe that there is a reason for Nancys death, which is brought about by Oliver and this, is that doing the right thing does not always mean that it is not dangerous to yourself. The two characters have different opinions on their partners and are not treated in the same way, but neither of them is happy with her life. Curleys wife is unhappy with her life and this is most likely because Curly is over possessive of her and all he ever talks about is fighting which makes her a little scared of what he may do to her if he is in a mood. She is always flirting with other men on the ranch like when she is alone with Lennie she says, What you got there sonny boy. We are also given the impression that she is a tart by the way Steinbeck describes what she wears, She wore her bright cotton dress and the mules with red ostrich feathers. Her face was made up and the little sausage curls were all in place. Curleys wife married Curley to get back at her mother after her dreams had been broken because the letter, which she had been promised from Hollywood never, arrived. On the other hand the only reason Curley married her was for his reputation and we know that he is vein due to the way he keeps one hand in a glove in order to keep it soft for her. Curley is also worried about what she may be up to when he is absent and therefore is always snooping around after her, which makes his wife feel trapped. Nancy in much the same way is not loved either but she does really care about Bill Sikes. Unlike Curleys wife, Nancy is assaulted by Bill on many different occasions and is eventually killed by him. The main difference between the two characters is that Sikes is not overprotective of Nancy in the same way Curley is and will let her go out as long as he knows where she is going, the reason for this is that Sikes knows that Nancy is loyal to him. When Nancy meets up with Rose and helps to save Oliver she also offers Nancy a new start but the offer is declined because Nancy does not want to leave Bill Sikes and she says, The main contrast between the two characters is that Nancy loves Bill, but Curleys wife does not love her husband but she cannot leave him because she lives on the ranch and has no other place to stay. The characters partners opinions compare because neither of them really care for their lover. Sikes treats Nancy like a punch bag and she is scared of Curley because he has hit many other people and she is suspense waiting to see if he will lash out at her. In Of Mice and Men Curleys wife is known to some of the other characters such as Crooks, George and Candy as a tart or a bitch and a good example of this is when she walks into the bunkhouse and George says, Jesus what a tramp, so thats what Curly picked for a wife. As George is saying this Lennie is admiringly staring at her saying Shes purty in response to Georges insult. Most of the men on the ranch try to stay clear of her and George warns Lennie about her too, Listen to me you crazy bastard, dont you even take a look at that bitch. I dont care what she says and what she does. I seen em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jailbait worse than her. You leave her be. Lennie refuses not to listen and ends up not taking any real notice of what George has says to him. Oliver respects Nancy, like Lennie is fond of Curleys wife and both of them seem to have child like qualities that judge the characters for who they are and not how they dress or look. In the same way as Curleys wife is despised by the ranch workers, Nancy is looked down on by the upper class people of the nineteenth century. The main reason the upper class residents do not respect Nancy is because she is a prostitute and in the time of Dickens this occupation was the lowest of the low for a woman. When Nancy goes to visit Rose, who is the adopted daughter of the women whose house Oliver broke in to, she is looked down on by the servants and thrown out of the hotel because of the way she looks. Come! said the man taking her to the door, None of this, take yourself off. The servants are not the only characters that look down on Nancy, Fagin and Sikes treat her badly and Dickens describes Sikes as using Nancy as his punch bag. Bill Sikes persists this behaviour even though Nancy looks after him when she is ill and says that she would even walk around the jail if he was arrested, just to be with him, but Sikes replies that she would be useless to him unless she brought a file to help him escape. On the whole I feel that neither of the character are loved and they are judged by the way they look, not by the people they really are inside. Each of the characters is special to one person, in Curleys wifes case Lennie and in Nancys, Oliver. I feel that the biggest difference between the two books is the language and the reason for this difference is the time at which they were written. In John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men the language is simple but strong, the reason Steinbecks characters speak in this way is because thats the way 1930s Americans would have spoken, for example, when George, Crooks and Slim are talking about Lennie, George says, If that crazy bastard foolin around too much, jus kick him out, Slim. There is also a large amount of slang used between the characters, like when George and Curly are talking and George replies, He was gunna put some tar on a split roof.

Tennis Ball Investigation :: Papers

Tennis Ball Investigation Aim: Investigate the factors that affect the bounce of a tennis ball. Key factors (variables): 1) Height of drop 2) Surface of bounce 3) Gravitational pull 4) Room temperature/ball temperature 5) Weight of ball 6) Material of ball 7) Brand of ball 8) Age/wear of ball 9) Size of ball 10) Force of drop/push How the key factors will affect the bounce: 1) The higher the drop the higher the bounce 2) The harder the surface the higher the bounce 3) The weaker the gravitational force the higher the bounce 4) The warmer the ball the higher the bounce 5) The lighter the ball the higher the bounce 6) Discontinual-unknown 7) Discontinual-unknown 8) The newer the ball the higher the bounce 9) The smaller the ball the higher the bounce 10) The more force put into the drop/push the higher the bounce I have chosen to investigate 1) Height of drop. Prediction ========== [IMAGE] I believe that the higher the height the ball is dropped from the higher the bounce, because when the ball is lifted the higher it is lifted the more energy is needed to lift it. Therefore more energy is converted from chemical potential energy in the body, to kinetic energy when the ball is being lifted, to gravitational potential energy (G.P.E) when the ball has been lifted to the height of the drop. The more G.P.E the ball has a the start of the drop (point A), the more energy is converted to kinetic energy while the ball is dropping and then to elastic potential energy (E.P.E) while it is static on the floor (point B). At this point the ball looses a percentage of its energy to sound and heating the floor. I know that it is a percentage of its energy that it looses rather than a fixed amount because I know that the more energy the ball has the louder the

The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

An essay on 'The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness by Erich Fromm. Amount of pages: 478. The book goes on in explaining the ways of aggression and how it reaches into man. Citing aggressive examples in the behavior of necrophilics and Hitler. The author goes into the early life of Hitler and his parents. How it had effect on what he became and his destructive way of life. He was a man that laid half way between reality and his fantasy. He had played war games up until the age of sixteen and after that he commanded his army like they had been a game. Taking risks with soldiers as well as ignoring precise information that would have been critical to his plans; and also the ignorance of British and US tolerance. He was a psychotic man who is a very good example of how far a man with destructive purpose can rise. Trying to explain aggressive behavior, there is focus on a core issue, instincts. Going through animal behavior and comparing it with human behavior and how similar our instincts are. There is also focus on examining primitive tribes. The object of these findings were to find out how warlike the tribes are. In the hunting-gatherers tribes, war is not as popular and profitable as in modern society. Two reasons for this is that these tribes don't have most valuable items and there is no shared type of currency to take. In these tribes, war was infrequent and not lead by permanent leaders. As opposed by modern days. What also differs is the conquest to kill as many of the enemy as possible. Aggression is ruled into several categories, such as Benign aggression which is one of a defensive type and malignant aggression which actually roots into other conditions. Premises, necrophilia, cruelty and destruction. The joy of destruction and abuse of it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Destructiveness rest not only in acts but as worships. There is a case of idolatry, a man totally devoted to the monster of destruction. Kern, von salomon. A man like this and his acts are by no means normal, and supposedly caused by the world he knows, all morally, socially, honor, obedience is lost. The aggression takes control for many reasons. Although an extreme case of aggression, we see what may be societies cause on it's own people. Such a thing is a window to this picture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another focus would be on Milgram's electric experiment.

Leadership strategy Essay

A primary task of high performance leadership is to provide strategic direction to the organisation, various departments and divisions within the organisation, and to the people who ultimately implement strategic leadership. But regular employees are seldom involved in the process. Authoritarian governance has had two powerful and mutually reinforcing dynamics: People at â€Å"the top† of the organisation, normally in senior managerial positions, have tended to maintain control over strategic processes. They have often become alienated from the realities of operational or shop floor demands and challenges People at operational levels have been part of authoritarian behaviour in different ways (passivity, fear, frustrated) The core challenge is to position strategic leadership as an integrated set of activities and processes which ensure that people across all levels and functions understand their own roles and accountabilities as it relates to the organisation’s strategic leadership Successful strategic leadership occurs when people across all levels and functions have a common understanding about a few essential issues: Knowledge of how strategic leadership is formulated, translated and communicated, implemented and assured within the organisation The formal business processes. The specific and different roles, rights and accountabilities of stakeholders Clear understanding of personal and team roles Comprehension of the various requirements and roles Popular acceptance that legitimate hierarchy and rank are essential components Definition and acceptance of the roles, rights and accountabilities The challenge is crafting solutions which create legitimate and popularly supported rank and hierarchy, and with clearly understood boundaries which describe what may and what may not be done by optimally empowered people Rank, hierarchy and boundaries per se are not only a feature of authoritarian systems. They are an essential part of successful democratic workplaces where a culture of high performance through high involvement can thrive There is still a need for clear definition of a range of roles, rights and accountabilities. There is a need to define two mutually reinforcing parameters: What are the roles, rights and accountabilities that have to be acknowledged by everybody to ensure the organisation’s capacity to fulfill the requirements of high performance What are the constraints, the limits or conditions of high involvement Drucker proposes that strategic leadership needs to fulfill requirements in four areas: Effectiveness Efficiency Long-term Short-term VISION (Long-term effectiveness): Understanding the organisation’s total competitive environment, and positioning it in the present so that it is appropriately placed INTERDEPENDENCE (Long-term efficiency): Identifying, balancing, integrating and aligning all of the external and internal variables that are likely to have an impact on the organisation’s capacity to fulfill its strategic leadership STRUCTURE (Short-term efficiency): Establish replicable standards, approaches and methods which minimize the need for duplication and enhances the capacity to deliver uniform or required quality as a matter of course ACTION (Short-term effectiveness): Taking the necessary steps and action to ensure the delivery of products and services which meet the needs of both internal and external customers An integrated strategic leadership consists of all four VISA elements. The dominance of only one element could perhaps be described as: Only vision: Exciting bankruptcy. People cannot identify with the development of strategies Only Interdependence: Happy bankruptcy: never-ending cycles of consultation Only Structure: Precise bankruptcy: bureaucracy and red tape Only Action: Busy bankruptcy: people perpetually busy but not necessarily productive The absence or weakness of any component of strategic leadership will undermine the success of the organisation: 0ISA: Weakness of vision leaves people without common direction V0SA: Poor interdependence almost always leads to some stakeholders feeling that their legitimate interests are not being met VI0A: Insufficient emphasis on standardization leads to lack of essential disciplines and conformance to necessary standards VIS0: Ultimately the organisation can only survive and thereby satisfy the interests of all its stakeholders if it has a high propensity for action Organisations and teams regularly develop a bias that values some elements more than they do others. Personal styles and approaches also contribute to establish our individual preferences and approaches. It is useful to rate your personal approaches and preferences, as well as that of your team or organisation Vision provides a compelling dream that galvanizes and aligns the behaviours and contributions of people across all levels and functions. A real vision is very active. It is filled with drive, energy and perpetual motion. The vision, or long term effectiveness element of strategic leadership, is achieved by fulfilling the following requirements: 1. Scan the external environment and conditions 2. enable leadership to anticipate long-term forces of change 3. create a challenging view of the future 4. tension between the desirable future and those elements of the present that could inhibit progress 5. communicated with passion 6. evaluated against the present 7. new challenges emerge 8. leadership must always act with insufficient information 9. interacting with stakeholders 10. dynamic and living process Interdependence acknowledges that no organisation operates in isolation. Every organisation is a system operating within a system. It requires the acknowledgement and willingness to embrace the interests of a variety of diverse stakeholders. The interdependent or long-term efficiency component of strategic leadership is fulfilled in the following ways: 1. Variables must be identified 2. The interests of all stakeholders must be defined and appreciated 3. Balance and meet all possible diverse stakeholder needs 4. The support of all stakeholders must be gained and increased over time 5. Interaction must be facilitated between stakeholders for them to appreciate their interdependent nature 6. There will inevitably be conflict between stakeholders 7. The roles and accountabilities that various people and stakeholders have to fulfill must be defined quite clearly 8. Keeping people adequately informed is a crucial element of interdependence 9. Mutual trust and respect 10. help people to define their own specific contributions to the organisation As organisations become more complex, and as the world within which we operate becomes increasingly unpredictable, the need for Structure increases significantly. Successful organisational strategic leadership has to establish and maintain a range of activities that introduce and maintain Structure: 1. The specific interests of stakeholders need to be both quantified and qualified 2. In today’s competitive environment it is essential for organisations to establish required benchmarks of performance 3. There is a constant interplay between specific stakeholder interests and meeting required benchmarks of performance 4. provision of relevant and useful information 5. Standards have to be set and communicated on an ongoing basis 6. Standards are no longer a fixed point on the horizon 7. The discipline of continuously and regularly monitoring performance is one that cannot be sacrificed 8. It also has to look at elements such as leadership style, living of values, and commitment to the subtleties of people development 9. Consequences of non-conformance need to be defined, understood and applied 10. people across all levels and functions thrive on information–driven problem solving Action is the level at which products and services are actually delivered to meet the interests of customers. Creating and keeping more customers. A sustained and high propensity for action is achieved in the following ways: 1. The organisation’s vision must be made relevant to operational areas 2. Customer needs cannot be fulfilled only by sales and distribution functions 3. Accountability has to be placed as close as possible to the source of action 4. people have to be continuously part of determining the limits and constraints within which they are expected to operate 5. Successful action is driven by leaders who establish their personal power of presence (top executives have no time) 6. Quality and productivity has to be an in-built function 7. demonstration of attitude and will 8. Emphasis on people development 9. attitude that accepts error as an inevitable consequence of innovation and action 10. A propensity for innovation and action LEARNING The growing complexity and competitiveness of the international and local economic environments within which organisations have to survive and prosper makes it essential for leaders of the future to value learning Leaders must develop the capacity to think simultaneously about paradoxical and contradictory requirements. The act of leadership is, as Peter Drucker puts it, the challenge of constructive destruction, of doing things differently and doing different things Kolb: real learning has only taken place when every one of the four facets has been included in the process: Abstract Conceptualization: â€Å"think about the previously unthinkable or unknowable†. It requires the capacity for hypothetical formulation Reflective Observation: need to stand back and observe what is happening Concrete Experience: ability to continuously asses what has worked and to pass this experience on to others. concrete experience remains one of the only ways in which organisations can develop replicable application of processes and activities that ensure minimum conformance to standards Active Experimentation: often organisations still limit the ability and space for people to become involved in such activities. Active experimentation requires calculated risk-taking The relationsip can be described as follows: Abstract conceptualization x reflective observation x concrete experience x active experimentation = Learning and Leadership Abstract Conceptualization x 0 x 0 x 0 = 0: we often remain hamstrung by old experiences which may have become irrelevant 0 x Reflective Observation x 0 x 0 = 0: Nothing happens and there is no real threat that anything will happen! 0 x 0 x Concrete Experience = 0: People relying predominantly upon concrete experience for their learning are caught in a perpetual search for the infallible, predictable, pre-planned, scheduled, structured, all-eventuality, and all bases covered solutions to problems – â€Å"late adapters† 0 x 0 x 0 x Active Experimentation = 0: All that matters for them is the exhilaration of making things up as you go The Consequences of Undervaluing any Facet of Learning: 0 x Reflective Observation x Concrete Experience x Active Experimentation = 0 (The absence of Abstract Conceptualization): It is much easier to define this symptom than it is to resolve it Abstract Conceptualization x 0 x Concrete Experience x Active Experimentation = 0 (The absence of Reflective Observation): The number of continuously changing variables which are capable of influencing the performance of an organisation are virtually endless. people either stopped taking a hard and reflective look at what was going on, or they stopped asking appropriate questions. he managers, and more often the specialist staff functions, start to confuse doing lots of things with an integrated and holistic approach, but they lack congruence and theoretical integration. without an integrative framework and commonly shared model, people rapidly lose their commitment and stamina to sustain focused activity Abstract Conceptualization x Reflective Observation x 0 x Active Experimentation = 0 (The absence of Concrete Experience): things become redundant while they are still on the drawing board or as soon as they are launched. age-old and essential facet of learning – the assimilation and valuing of concrete experience. The single most common symptom is that untested assumptions abound Abstract Conceptualization x Reflective Observation x Concrete Experimentation x 0 = 0 (The absence of Active Experimentation): People develop an inward approach to problems and issues. It does not take too long for such insularity to develop into suspicion of external developments By critically evaluating how organisations learn, and constantly determining whether all the facets of learning are being fully developed and utilized, we can provide a much more tenacious learning environment.