Medivial Christianity Essays - The Canterbury Tales,

Medivial Christianity In discussing Chaucer's collection of stories called The Canterbury Tales, an interesting picture or illustration of the Medieval Christian Church is presented. However, while people demanded more voice in the affairs of government, the church became corrupt -- this corruption also led to a more crooked society. Nevertheless, there is no such thing as just church history; This is because the church can never be studied in isolation, simply because it has always related to the social, economic and political context of the day. In history then, there is a two way process where the church has an influence on the rest of society and of course, society influences the church. This is naturally because it is the people from a society who make up the church....and those same people became the personalities that created these tales of a pilgrimmage to Canterbury. The Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England was to take place in a relatively short period of time, but this was not because of the success of the Augustinian effort. Indeed, the early years of this mission had an ambivalence which shows in the number of people who hedged their bets by practicing both Christian and Pagan rites at the same time, and in the number of people who promptly apostatized when a Christian king died. There is certainly no evidence for a large-scale conversion of the common people to Christianity at this time. Augustine was not the most diplomatic of men, and managed to antagonize many people of power and influence in Britain, not least among them the native British churchmen, who had never been particularly eager to save the souls of the Anglo-Saxons who had brought such bitter times to their people. In their isolation, the British Church had maintained older ways of celebrated the major festivals of Christianity, and Augustine's effort to compel them to conform to modern Roman usage only angered them. When Augustine died (some time between 604 and 609 AD), then, Christianity had only a precarious hold on Anglo-Saxon England, a hold which was limited largely to a few in the aristocracy. Christianity was to become firmly established only as a result of Irish efforts, who from centers in Scotland and Northumbria made the common people Christian, and established on a firm basis the English Church. At all levels of society, belief in a god or gods was not a matter of choice, it was a matter of fact. Atheism was an alien concept (and one dating from the eighteenth century). Living in the middle ages, one would come into contact with the Church in a number of ways. First, there were the routine church services, held daily and attended at least once a week, and the special festivals of Christmas, Easter, baptisms, marriages, etc.. In that respect the medieval Church was no different to the modern one. Second, there were the tithes that the Church collected, usually once a year. Tithes were used to feed the parish priest, maintain the fabric of the church, and to help the poor. Third, the Church fulfilled the functions of a 'civil service' and an education system. Schools did not exist (and were unnecessary to a largely peasant society), but the Church and the government needed men who could read and write in English and Latin. The Church trained its own men, and these went to help in the government: writing letters, keeping accounts and so on. The words 'cleric' and 'clerk' have the same origin, and every nobleman would have at least one priest to act as a secretary. The power of the Church is often over-emphasized. Certainly, the later medieval Church was rich and powerful, and that power was often misused - especially in Europe. Bishops and archbishops were appointed without any training or clerical background, church offices changed hands for cash, and so on. The authority of the early medieval Church in England was no different to that of any other landowner. So, the question that haunted medieval man was that of his own salvation. The existence of God was never questioned and the heart-cry of medieval society was a desire to know God and achieve intimacy with the divine. Leading a life pleasing to God was the uppermost concern, and the wide diversity of medieval piety is simply because people answered the question, 'How can I best lead a holy life?' in so many different ways. Beginning with The Pardoner's Tale, the theme of salvation is truly paramount. Chaucer, being one of the most important medieval authors, uses this prologue and tale to make a statement about buying salvation. The character of the pardoner is one of the most despicable pilgrims, seemingly along for the ride to his next gig as the seller of relics. For

SWOT analysis of IKEA The WritePass Journal

SWOT analysis of IKEA Introduction SWOT analysis of IKEA IntroductionReferences:Related Introduction The following essay is a critical analysis of two of Gareth Morgan’s metaphors in relation to a real organization that, over the course of the organization existence and expansion, has in some way applied these two metaphors for attaining success and sustainability. The metaphors that will be discussed for this study are the image of an organization as an organism, and an organization as a culture. The organization studied in relation to these metaphors is IKEA, the home furniture retailer. Relevant examples within the organization evolutionary process will be given where necessary to illustrate the significance of the metaphors in question. It is, however, vital to learn the organization background to delve any further. IKEA prides itself to be the most successful and largest furniture retailer in the world, and boasts provision of everything and anything for a home, having products suited for people of all ages, and all this at low prices. The company promises excellent value for money spent with all of their products designed with an emphasis on natural colours to bring a light and airy atmosphere within a home. This concept is based purely on IKEA’s Swedish origins, where people pride themselves in living in harmony with nature with simple home designs which offer maximum efficiency in all weathers (iamaceo.com/marketing/ikea-brand-success-strategy/). IKEA’s vision, â€Å"to create a better everyday life for the many people† is reportedly largely aimed at the global middleclass which is also evident from their business idea, â€Å"to offer a wide range of well designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them† (ikea.com/ms/en_GB/about_ikea/press_room/student_info.html). To achieve this global mission, IKEA is well known for having a rapid internationalisation process from its Swedish origins and its rapid expansion into countries with cultures very different from its original Swedish national culture (Hollensen, 2007). With 265 stores worldwide, where 235 are owned by the IKEA group while the remaining 30 by franchisees outside the group; the extent of IKEA’s expansion is obvious (IKEA, 2007). Although owned by franchisees in some countries, the IKEA concept and trademark are solely owned by Inter IKEA Systems B.V in Netherlands. This means Inter IKEA Systems B.V is the franchiser for all IKEA stores within or outside of the IKEA group, ensuring uniformity of corporate values right from the centre (IKEA, 2007). Having looked into the organisation’s background, it is now important to study Morgan’s metaphors, which can then be applied to the organisation. Firstly, Morgan suggests that organisation theorists, after decades of comparing organisations as mechanistic entities, have moved to the biological sciences for more apt comparisons, where individuals, groups, organisations, populations or species of organisations, and their social ecology are paralleled with molecules, cells, complex organisms, species and ecology (Morgan, 2006, pg 34). The idea derived from drawing such comparisons is that certain species of organisation are adapted to certain external conditions just as certain species of organisms are to certain environments (Morgan, 2006, pg 33). Such metaphoric views have changed the classical mechanistic focus on efficiency, and structure to the basic element of survival with more emphasis on the organisation-environment relationship (Morgan, 2006; 1998). This can be f urther complimented with modern environmental analysis methods like SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) and PEST (political, economical, sociological and technological) analyses, that have been developed solely for comparing an organisation’s internal abilities to the external factors that may or are affecting its survival and performance in that environment (Johnson et al, 2008; Kotler, 2003). Within the metaphor of an organisation as a living organism, Morgan introduces certain characteristics like the open systems approach, adaptability to the environment (contingency theories), different species of organisation etc (2006; 1998), but this essay will mainly look into the organisation as an open system, and its adaptability to the external environment. The open system approach is based on the theory that organic systems at the cell level, as complex organisms, and as part of a population of organisms, exist in constant interaction with their environment, and this interaction is vital for the very survival and sustainability of the organism. A similar approach can be applied to an organisation, where individuals, groups, and the complex organisation are in constant interaction with their market environment for survival (Morgan, 2006; 1998; Dowling et al, 2008; Johnson et al, 2008). In support of the open systems approach Morgan discusses the law of requisite variety according to which, the internal regulatory/functioning mechanisms of a system must be at least as diverse as its environment in order to deal with the variety and challenge posed by the environment (Morgan, 2006; 1998; Watson, 2002). This brings us to the challenge of adapting internal characteristics to the external environment, also called ‘contingency theories by Morgan (2006), where he argues that all organisational systems are open systems in relation to the environments they operate in, and careful management is needed to â€Å"satisfy and balance internal needs and to adapt to environmental circumstances† (Morgan, 2006, pg 42). This approach assumes that the environment dictates the changes within the organisation, and that managers employing different approaches to management, must continuously strive to bring about a strategic fit between internal and external factors (Morgan, 2006; Johnson et al, 2008). This is especially applicable to multinational organisations that have to constantly adapt themselves to local conditions, whilst still working towards the original corporate objectives. Dowling et al (2008) summarise this by saying, â€Å"the International Organisation will be called on to operate across a wide variety of competitive environments and yet somehow balance these diverse social, political and economic contexts with the requirements of the original home context.† (Pg 25) IKEA has been one of those international organisations that have had to constantly adapt to the different environments where it operates. The company had initially employed an ethnocentric approach of management where only Swedes were recruited for management positions so as to ensure the original ‘Swedishness’ of the organisation. But this approach eventually met with criticism and a temporary setback in IKEA’s overseas operations, where the organisation was faced with the task of revising its overseas recruitment policies in order to meet the demands of local cultures and employment laws (Kling and Goteman, 2003; Kochan et al, 2002). According to Bjork (1998), every time IKEA was faced with a struggle due to internationalisation, new cultural management policies would be implemented, the latest being Diversity Management. IKEA has had to rapidly transform itself from an ethnocentric corporation to an organisation that embraces people of all backgrounds, and has in many communiquà ©s expressed the importance of having a culturally diverse workforce in order to obtain competitive advantage on the global scene. This is evident from the organisation’s recruitment websites in various countries, where emphasis is given for potential employees to ‘be themselves’, but at the same time adhere to shared corporate values such as ‘simplicity’, ‘cost-consciousness’, ‘hard work’ etc, but almost all of the websites show a picture of a man and woman of Scandinavian origin (see case, also Bjork, 1998). This has created a paradox within the IKEA Group’s core values, where there is still a strong emphasis on the company’s Scandinavian background. This is found more on the websites of stores directly owned by the IKEA Group, whereas the stores owne d by outside franchisees are more receptive to their local environments. IKEA in Dubai, UAE, for example, is franchised by Al Futtaim Group, which acts as the main recruiting agency for the company. Since its opening in 1991, the Dubai franchise has been a major success story in terms of recruitment and organisational performance, which led to its expansion into neighbouring Abu Dhabi. (ikeadubai.com/content/careers.asp afuturewithus.com/careers/al-futtaim/home.aspx). The above, if studied in context with Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, would suggest that IKEA was more or less forced to employ external organisations, like in the case of Dubai, for its local recruitment procedures, as Middle Eastern cultures pose stronger environments due to rigidity in peoples’ cultural and traditional preferences, requiring the organisation to recruit local personnel to manage local workforce and operations (Hofstede, 1997; Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 1998). This may not be largely applicable in western operations, as again according to Hofstede, western cultures are weaker and more flexible to adapt, creating flexible environments in which to operate, thus not requiring external agencies for local operations, and IKEA may even get away with having its Scandinavian focused marketing efforts in such environments (1997; Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 1998), and moreover, ‘brand’ culture is more prevalent in the west than in the Middl e East (Kotler et al, 2006). It can thus be asserted that in the case of the Middle East, the environment dictates the changes within the organisation in accordance to Morgan’s adaptability theory (2006), whilst in the west; the organisation may have more of an influence on the external environment due to the power of the brand upon consumers’ psych, which is in contradiction with Morgan’s theory of the environment being the dominant party. The above clearly shows IKEA’s existence in accordance with Morgan’s organism metaphor due to the organisation’s focus to change its internal capabilities to match with the external environmental factors. The company seems on the right track by employing external agencies with more local knowledge to manage local operations exhibiting need for change, and to tap into local talent, which may also prove less expensive when compared to its Scandinavian counterparts (Keeley, 2003), especially where the environment seems the dominant force. The organisation as a culture metaphor is slightly intertwined with the above concept of the organism, where the organism metaphor refers to a series of internal changes within the organisation to fit with external changes, the culture metaphor refers to a change in the very behaviour of the organisation through a change in its corporate culture (Morgan, 2006). Corporate or organisational culture, as defined by Schein (2004) is, â€Å"A pattern of shared assumptions a group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way you think, perceive, and feel in relation to those problems† (Pg 17) In other words, the methods the organisation uses to bring about the internal changes to align with the environment are expressed in the form of culture. Schein (2004) puts the definition in simpler words by saying, â€Å"it’s the way we do things around here†. But since organisations are made up of groups and individuals, where each individual brings in their own personality and characteristics to a group, based on their own cultural mental programming (Hofstede, 1997) in the society, the organisational culture then becomes a culmination of different cultures and perspectives brought in by the external society. This brings us to the assumption that organisational culture is largely affected by societal and national cultures (hofstede, 1997; Morgan, 2006). In light of the above discussion on the changes IKEA was forced to bring about for its international operations, it may now be significant to learn about the company’s corporate culture. IKEA’s corporate culture is based on the concept of shared values, some of which, as the organisation proclaims, are togetherness, cost-consciousness, respect, and simplicity. These values project a very democratic form of leadership where considerable freedom is given to employees to contribute to the company’s success. IKEA claims to treat all employees, no matter what rank they carry, as partners in the business. The company also boasts no restrictions upon employees in using their own initiatives and offers full support to meet each individual’s needs, ambitions and capabilities. But perhaps the most important proclamation is that â€Å"you can take IKEA out of Smaland but you can’t take Smaland out of IKEA†. Smaland being the village in Sweden where the founder Ingvar Kamprad was born and raised, and also the place to which IKEA attributes its qualities like humility, simplicity and hard work. (ikea.com/ms/en_US/jobs/join_us/ikea_values/index.html) This clearly indicates IKEA’s attachment to its roots in spite of its internationalisation. This also suggests that the core-culture of IKEA, especially where individual branches are directly owned by the IKEA group, is quite rigid and is aimed at promoting its Swedish culture to the rest of the world rather than incorporating the different local cultures that it operates in, but where the branches are owned by franchises in places or countries with strong national cultures, IKEA has had to change its internal culture to align with the national culture(s). Hence the organisation can be seen as a culture due to the fact that, like in the case of IKEA, it has a set of values and beliefs and methods of doing things that are shared and expressed, and taught to new comers as the right way to go, where these values and beliefs and expressions are largely influenced by the individuals and their own perceptions, which are then shared by a group, and are extended to the whole organisation (Morgan, 2006; Schein, 2004; Mullins, 2003; Robbins, 2001). This is especially evident in the case of IKEA, where the dominant cultural element initially has been the Scandinavian focus, as the organisational structure was largely made of Scandinavian personnel and the culture was passed on to new recruits. But due to the company’s aim of expanding worldwide, they have had no choice but to change this internal cultural focus to incorporate other cultures to make up a core organisational culture based on Scandinavian principles rather than personnel, but a culture that embraces differences in local operations, hence creating flexibility. After studying the two metaphors, the writer is inclined to the assumption that both these metaphors deal with the same element of changing the internal to align with the external. It may be plausible to think that a distinction between the two may not even be necessary, because, if an organisation changes its internal operations, at some level, it is ultimately engaging in changing some aspect of its behaviour, which suggests change in culture. So the main critique for Morgan may be that he has introduced too many divisions of metaphors when they are all intertwined in some respects with each other. References: DuPraw, M., Axner, M. (1993). Working on Common Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges. Alexandria, VA: Public Broadcasting System Hammer, M.R., Hart, W. And Rogan, R. (1998) ‘Can You Go Home Again? An Analysis of the Repatriation of Corporate Managers and Spouses’, Management International Review, 38(1): 67-79 Hendry, C. (1994) Human Resource Strategies for International Growth. Routledge: London Hickson, D., McMillan, C., Azumi, K. And Horvath, D.   (1979). ‘Grounds for Comparative Organisation Theory: Quicksands or Hardcore?’ in Lammers, C. And Hickson, D. (eds) Organisations Alike and Unlike, Routledge and Kegan Paul Hofstede, G. (1997). Cultures and Organisations: Software of the Mind. McGraw Hill, London Hollensen, S. 2007. IKEA: Expanding through franchising to the South American market? Case Study III.1, Global Marketing A decision-oriented approach, 4 ed. Essex, England: Financial Times Press IKEA. 2007. Facts Figures, IKEA Group 2007: Corporate PR, IKEA Services AB Johnson, G. Scholes, K. Whittington, R. (2008). Exploring Corporate Strategy. 8th Edition. England: Pearson Education Ltd Keeley, T.D. (2003). International Human Resource Management in Japanese Firms. Palgrave, London Kerr, C., Dunlop, J.T., Harbison, F. And Myers, C.A. (1973). Industrialism and Industrial Man. Penguin, USA Kling, K., Goteman, I. 2003. IKEA CEO Anders Dahlvig on international growth and IKEAs unique corporate culture and brand identity. The Academy of Management Executive, 17(1): 31-37 Kochan, T., Bezrukova, K., Ely, R., Jackson, S., Joshi, A., Jehn, K., Leonard, J., Levine, D., Thomas, D. 2002. The Effect of Diversity on Business Performance:: Diversity Research Network Kotler, P. (2003). Marketing Insights. John Wiley Sons, Inc: New Jersey Kotler, P., Pfoertsch, W. (2006). B2B Brand Management. Springer-Berlin: Germany Larkey, L.J. (1996). â€Å"Toward a theory of communicative interactions in culturally diverse workgroups†, Academy of Management Review, 21:463-91 Milliman, J., Von Glinow, M. And Nathan, B. (1991) ‘Organisational Life Cycles and Strategic International Human Resource Management in Multinational Companies: Implications for Congruence Theory’, Academy of Management Review, 16: 318-39 Morgan, G. (2006). Images of Organisation. Sage: London Morgan, G. (1998) Images of Organisation. Sage Publications, London Mullins, L.J. (2003). Management and Organisational Behaviour. Pitman Publishing, London Neuliep, J.W. (2008). Intercultural Communication: a contextual approach. Sage Publications, USA Robbins. S.P. (2001) Organisational Behaviour. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, Pearson Education International Rollinson, D. (2005). Organisational Behaviour and Analysis. 3rd edition. Pearson, England Schein, E.H. (2004). Organisational Culture and Leadership. 3rd edition. John-Wiley, San Francisco Schuler, R.S., Budhwar, P.S. and Florkowski, G.W. (2002) ‘International Human Resource Management: Review and Critique’, International Journal of Management Reviews, 4(1): 41-70 Scullion, H. (2001) ‘International Human Resource Management’, Human Resource Management. International Thompson: London Scullion, H. And Linehan, M. (2005). International Human Resource Management. Palgrave-Macmillan, New York Torbiorn, I. (1997) ‘Staffing for International Operations’, Human Resource Management Journal, 7(3): 42-51 Trompenaars, F., and Hampden-Turner, C. (1998) Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business. 2nd edn. McGraw-Hill: New York Watson, C.V. (2002). Multiculturalism. Open University Press, Philadelphia Online Resources: Iamaceo (2011) â€Å"IKEA brand success strategy† iamaceo.com/marketing/ikea-brand-success-strategy/ Assessed on the 23rd of February 2011 IKEA (2011) â€Å"Student Information† ikea.com/ms/en_GB/about_ikea/press_room/student_info.html Assessed on the 24th of February 2011 IKEA Dubai (2011) â€Å"Jobs at IKEA† ikeadubai.com/content/careers.asp Assessed on the 25th of February 2011 A future with us (2011) â€Å"Jobs at IKEA† afuturewithus.com/careers/al-futtaim/home.aspx Assessed on the 25th of February 2011 IKEA (2011) â€Å"Join us† ikea.com/ms/en_US/jobs/join_us/ikea_values/index.html Assessed on the 26th of February 2011

The Major Alliances of World War I

The Major Alliances of World War I By 1914, Europes six major powers were split into two alliances that would form the warring sides in World War I. Britain, France, and Russia formed the Triple Entente, while Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy joined in the Triple Alliance. These alliances werent the sole cause of World War I, as some historians have contended, but they did play an important role in hastening Europes rush to conflict. The Central Powers Following a series of military victories from 1862 to 1871, Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck formed a German state out of several small principalities. After unification, Bismarck feared that neighboring nations, particularly France and Austria-Hungary, might act to destroy Germany. Bismarck wanted a careful series of alliances and foreign policy decisions that would stabilize the balance of power in Europe. Without them, he believed, another continental war was inevitable. The Dual Alliance Bismarck knew an alliance with France wasn’t possible because of lingering French anger over Alsace-Lorraine, a province Germany had seized in 1871 after defeating France in the Franco-Prussian War. Britain, meanwhile, was pursuing a policy of disengagement and reluctant to form any European alliances. Bismarck turned to Austria-Hungary and Russia. In 1873, the Three Emperors League was created, pledging mutual wartime support among Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. Russia withdrew in 1878, and Germany and Austria-Hungary formed the Dual Alliance in 1879. The Dual Alliance promised that the parties would aid each other if Russia attacked them or if Russia assisted another power at war with either nation. The Triple Alliance In 1882, Germany and Austria-Hungary strengthened their bond by forming the Triple Alliance with Italy. All three nations pledged support should any of them be attacked by France. If any member found itself at war with two or more nations at once, the alliance would come to their aid. Italy, the weakest of the three, insisted on a final clause, voiding the deal if the Triple Alliance members were the aggressor. Shortly after, Italy signed a deal with France, pledging support if Germany attacked them. Russian Reinsurance Bismarck was keen to avoid fighting a war on two fronts, which meant making some form of agreement with either France or Russia. Given the sour relations with France, Bismarck signed what he called a reinsurance treaty with Russia, stating that both nations would remain neutral if one was involved in a war with a third party. If that war was with France, Russia had no obligation to aid Germany. However, this treaty lasted only until 1890, when it was allowed to lapse by the government that replaced Bismarck. The Russians had wanted to keep it. This is usually seen as a major error by Bismarcks successors. After Bismarck Once Bismarck was voted out of power, his carefully crafted foreign policy began to crumble. Eager to expand his nations empire, Germanys Kaiser Wilhelm II pursued an aggressive policy of militarization. Alarmed by Germanys naval buildup, Britain, Russia, and France strengthened their own ties. Meanwhile, Germanys new elected leaders proved incompetent at maintaining Bismarcks alliances, and the nation soon found itself surrounded by hostile powers. Russia entered into an agreement with France in 1892, spelled out in the Franco-Russian Military Convention. The terms were loose but tied both nations to supporting each other should they be involved in a war. It was designed to counter the Triple Alliance. Much of the diplomacy Bismarck had considered critical to Germanys survival had been undone in a few years, and the nation once again faced threats on two fronts. The Triple Entente Concerned about the threat rival powers posed to the colonies, Great Britain began searching for alliances of its own. Although Britain had not supported France in the Franco-Prussian War, the two nations pledged military support for one another in the Entente Cordiale of 1904. Three years later, Britain signed a similar agreement with Russia. In 1912, the Anglo-French Naval Convention tied Britain and France even more closely militarily. When Austrias Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in 1914, the great powers of Europe reacted in a way that led to full-scale war within weeks. The Triple Entente fought the Triple Alliance, although Italy soon switched sides. The war that all parties thought would be finished by Christmas 1914, instead dragged on for four long years, eventually bringing the United States into the conflict. By the time the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, officially ending the Great War, more than 11 million soldiers and 7 million civilians were dead.

Does Health Policy assist in combating some of the health problems in Essay - 1

Does Health Policy assist in combating some of the health problems in United KINGDOM(DEMENTIA POLICY IN UK) - Essay Example Looking at these alarming statistics, it can be noted that incidences of dementia will only continue to grow. Attention needs to be paid to the ways in which it can become an item of national priority with comprehensible plans being laid out for public spending and service development. Dementia is most commonly found in old people, it is said that 1 in 5 people over 80 have some form of dementia while in those over the age of 65, only 1 in 20 seem to be affected (PSSRU, 2007). However, this is not to say that it cannot occur in young people, in UK, a growing number of younger populations are showing early signs of dementia. While no, one, clear factor has been identified as a cause of dementia, it is said that genetic background, lifestyle, age and medical history could lead to the initiation of dementia. The way each individual experiences dementia depends a lot on their physical upkeep, emotional quotient and family support. However, being a progressive disorder, its symptoms eventually become more rigorous as time passes. There are many varieties of dementia and they are classified depending on the different ways in which the infections affect the brain. In this paper we discuss the four major types of dementia that affect the UK population: 2. Vascular dementia is always found in persons who have suffered a stroke (it could be a single stroke or a series of small strokes). This dementia takes form when the oxygen supply to the brain fails following a stroke and brain cells die (Alzheimers Society,

Presentation for the Global marketing into CVs and Wallgreen PowerPoint

For the Global marketing into CVs and Wallgreen - PowerPoint Presentation Example The company has stores in more than 32 states and is expanding gradually in Florida. The expectations of the Florida market have been beyond anticipations due to customer acceptance and better sales figures in the new areas of expansion. Another marketing strategy used is altering the format of the stores, which has generated high margins of profit. CVS has moved from a 9600 square feet prototype convention to bigger and better free standing facilities, which has seen $22 billion in sales and ranked second among competitors in 2012 (Callegarri, 2003). On the other hand, Walgreens has based its marketing strategies on customers. This has resulted into a huge shift in direction. The strategies used include: identifying the customer need; building relationships internally between customer service, IT and operations and marketing departments; a clear outcome and goal and marketing communication; and making the company system simpler. This has seen Walgreens open more stores to cater for customer need as a marketing strategy. Another marketing strategy used by Walgreens is customer initiatives such as the launch of Customer Centric Retailing initiative in 2008, which brought huge profit margins (Nulman,

Bacillus Anthracis :: Medical Biology Bacteria Essays

Bacillus Anthracis Background: Bacillus anthracis is a gram-positive spore-forming rod. It was the first bacterium to be used to prove that bacteria caused diseases, when Robert Koch (1877) produced anthrax spores and injected them into animals. Bacillus anthracis is a commonly found in soil of grazing areas. Bacillus anthracis is not a major threat to humans and natural cases are rare even where spores are present. Encounter: Bacillus anthracis is commonly found in soil in low amounts. It affects livestock and can be transmitted to humans through improper handing of an infected animal or by eating undercooked meat from the animal. It is rare for human-to-human infection. Types of Infections and Symptoms: There are 3 main ways that anthrax can infect you. Cutaneous infections are the most common and the least deadly. The normal infection produces a small painless ulcer. If left untreated the Bacillus anthracis may make its way into the bloodstream and death will occur in about 20% of cases. Intestinal infection which comes from eating undercooked meat, and is more deadly then a cutaneous infection but less deadly then a inhalation infection. The symptoms are severe stomach pains along with diarrhea. The death rate if left untreated is between 25% and 60%. Inhalation infection is the most deadly of the infections and happens when you inhale Bacillus anthracis spores. The disease initialy resembles the common cold. This is not the uncommon type of infection, however it is important because of the possible bio-terrorism that could be associated with it. It is fatal if left untreated How it avoids the immune system and damages the host: Bacillus anthracis is a unique because it’s the only one that has a capsule of poly-D-glutamate polypeptide. The capsule helps the bacteria avoid being phagocitzed. This lets the bacteria gain a foothold inside the host. Bacillus anthracis toxin is an A-B toxin comprised of 3 protiens. The protective antigen the edema factor, and lethal factor. Individually all 3 proteins are harmless, but when together they are able to attack the lungs. The first protein is the protective antigen which helps neutralize antitoxin antibodies. The edema factor protein helps bolster the Virulence and is responable for seeking out the target cells. The last protein is the lethal factor, which is protein that is causes cell death. The toxin seeks out our cells, and is able to injects the toxin directly into them, the toxin is deadly inside the cell and quickly produces cell death.

Chem Sba 1

Name: Derell Ruan Form: 4B1 SBA: Chemistry Aim: To determine which gas, Ammonia or hydrogen chloride defuses faster. Hypothesis: Ammonia will defuse faster than hydrogen chloride. Materials Equipment: Chemicals: * 2 retort clamp and stand Ammonia * 1 ? m glass tube * 2 250cm3 beakers * Cotton Wool * Stop clock * Meter rule * Tweezers * 2 Rubber bum Method: The equipment was collected. * The glass tube was placed between the two clamps ensuring that it was leveled. * A small amount of hydrochloric acid was poured into the beaker. * The cotton wool was placed at one end of the glass tube using tweezers. Seal it off with a rubber bum. * Repeating steps 3-5 simultaneously. * The stop clock was started, keeping record of time taken to the white cloud to form. * The meter rule was used to measure the distance of the white cloud from each end of the tube. ResultsChemical| Distance| Time ( in sec)| Rate of Diffusion| Molecular weight | Ammonia| 90| 285| 0. 315| 17. 03| Hydrochloric acid| 60 | 285| 0. 210| 36. 46| Interpretation of results: The purpose of the glass tube is to eliminate air currents and to let the gas molecules will move on their own. The gas molecules follow a path through the tube as they collide with the air molecules in the tube. Ammonia will diffuses faster because it has a faster rate of diffusion and it is almost twice a light as Hydrochloric acid.A cloud like figure should show up when the gases collide. Conclusion: The reaction which is taking place is: ammonia + hydrogen chloride > ammonium chloride NH3Â  (g) + HCl (g) > NH4Cl (s) The exact time taken for the cloud to form depended on the dimensions of the tube, and the amount of the solutions which are put on the cotton wool. The cloud formed nearer to the hydrochloric acid end of the tube because ammonia diffuses faster than hydrochloric acid.This is because hydrogen chloride has almost twice the molecular weight of ammonia, and the rate of diffusion is inversely proportional to the square r oot of the molecular mass of the gas. The hypothesis was correct and is proven by the results of the experiment and what was interpreted was also proven by the results of the experiment. Limitations: The experiment could not have been conducted several times enabling the results to be more accurate, because of the high risk that it could have done to the human body.