Outback

Outback Steakhouse in Knoxville, TN, who recently assumed the new position of Joint-venture partner, and who will now be overseeing 12 restaurants located between Huntington, WV, and Pittsburgh, Is profiled as part of Nation's Restaurant News' NOR 50 General Managers Orchestrating Success feature. Throughout his years at the Knoxville property, Stanton Increased sales by a whopping 133% to $4. 3 million dollars. While Stanton rewards his employees financially, he also is keen on showering them with the respect they deserve.He notes that one of the most blissful aspects of his Job is to attach his staff evolve, slowly working their way through the ranks of the restaurant world. Joint-venture partner raises the stakes, ropes in customers, lassoes $4. 3 million in sales Since 1995 Tim Stanton has spent much of his time at the bustling Outback Steakhouse In Knoxville, Teen. He has watched sales grow, led a staff that Is alert and happy and enjoyed the unwavering support of his family. No w things are about to get even better.View Image – Stanton, who recently was made Joint-venture partner, soon will oversee 12 restaurant locations as well as four more that still are under construction. This month Stanton assumed the new position of Joint-venture partner. Instead of overseeing one Outback in Tennessee, the 43-year-old now will watch over 12 restaurants located between Huntington, W. Va. , and Pittsburgh, as well as four that are under construction. â€Å"This Is It,† Stanton says. â€Å"This Is my best tour of duty. All the rest were stepping stones. At Outback those with generalization responsibilities are not known as general managers. Instead, they are called managing partners and have partial ownership of their restaurants. As a result, managing partners have a personal stake in the success of their operations. For Stanton, who served as managing partner of the Knoxville restaurant for nine years, It was that vested Interest that motivated him to generate sales aggressively. â€Å"It's an ownership,† Stanton says. â€Å"l made a commitment to generate sales. Without sales, there are no profits.Without profits, there Is no business. It's the perfect triangle. Ten percent of the bottom line is profit. † Throughout his years at the property, he increased sales by a whopping 133 percent to $4. 3 million dollars. Colleagues are in awe of the accomplishment. He took a store that was in a good place and increased sales,† says Sheer Monnet, who worked alongside Stanton in Knoxville, helping to manage the front-of-the-house as well as tend bar. â€Å"His bosses weren't seeing those results in other stores, and so they said, ‘Maybe you can show us how to do it. † As a Joint-venture partner, Stanton will work hand in hand with managing partners, guiding them through operational challenges and keeping Outback's mission fresh and alive. His new home base will be Pittsburgh, and his hours, often 70 to 75 h ours weekly while he is in Knoxville, are likely to get longer. You goat do what you goat do,† he says of his managing-partner days. â€Å"If I needed to be in early, I came in early. If I needed to work late, I worked late. † In Knoxville, Stanton managed a staff of 70, with more men in the kitchen and more women in the front-of-the-house.As Joint-venture partner, Stanton will oversee 840 people, and that number is likely to grow because building the Outback brand within his new territory will be one of his mandates. But Joe Roberto doesn't foresee any problems. Station's supervisor for a year and a half, Roberto is a Nashville, Teen. -based Joint-venture partner who worked directly above Stanton and now shares similar responsibilities for a different regional market. â€Å"He's incredibly driven and extremely motivated,† Roberto says of Stanton. â€Å"He's detail-oriented and passionate about food quality. He's demanding but fair. † View Image – T he in Knoxville, Teen. Has been the site of many community fund- raisers and has contributed to such organizations as The Heart Association, The Lupus Foundation and Race for the Cure. As Monnet recalls, Stanton was an inspiring boss. â€Å"He's an extreme perfectionist,† she says. â€Å"He sets his expectations high and knows what needs to be done. † Stanton is no stranger to the restaurant industry. The Illinois native actually went to school for coal-mining technology, mistakenly thinking that's how he wanted to spend for mom-and-pop establishments and fast-food chains, and decided he needed to become a part of it.To escape the cold Midwestern winters, Stanton became area manager of the Long John Silver's franchise market in the Southeast. He also worked for eight and a half years as a Chili's general manager and credits that company with teaching him the importance of fresh food. When he learned about the opportunities at Outback, he made the leap. Based in Tampa, Flat. , Outback now has 825 namesake steakhouses as well as several other full-service concepts. View Image – Stanton says he rewards his financially and also is keen on showering them with the respect they deserve.Monnet says the fact that Stanton was such a dedicated managing partner made the Knoxville Outback feel more like a comfortable home than an impersonal and stuffy business. She says Station's own family was very involved with the dynamics of the restaurant. It was not uncommon to see his wife helping out with the books. His sons and daughters also worked there at different times. L would love to Just slow my kids down from growing up,† says Stanton, a self- described family man who has been married for 21 years and has four children.While Stanton rewards his employees financially, he also is keen on showering them with the respect they deserve. He notes that one of the most blissful aspects of his job is to watch his staff evolve, slowly working their way thr ough the ranks of the restaurant world. â€Å"There is someone who came on board with me who went from [being] server to bartender to key employee,† he notes. â€Å"Someone else also came on board as a server, hen started working in the back on salads, then went on to become key employee and then manager. Some people are not focused on life yet but have that fire in them. For his employees Stanton likes to keep it simple, believing that it is the little things that keep everyone happy. He's the kind of guy who might let someone take the day off or, for a more morale-boosting team event, rent a movie theater out for a fun afternoon flick. He says the most important thing he has learned along the way is that communication is vital. He always listens and also encourages his staff to get involved. And he does so not Just in the restaurant. An avid community leader, Station's generous spirit reaches out to his own backyard.Under his leadership the Knoxville Outback has been the s ite of many community fund-raisers for grade schools and churches and has contributed to such diverse causes as The Heart Association, The Lupus Foundation and Race for the Cure. Once, around Halloween, local children were encouraged to pick pumpkins, decorate them and bring them to the Knoxville Outback to display them so that customers could vote on their favorites. Despite his stellar accomplishments, Stanton maintains that he is doing nothing less Han acting upon his commitment to Outback. We have to be committed and set the bar high,† he says. â€Å"We have to be ready and take care of the guests as a group goal. You need great food and great people. It's a team. Some people are exceptional in themselves. Surround yourself with great people, instill pride in them and give them something they can take pride in. † Sidebar Tim Stanton Outback Steakhouse Outback Steakhouse Inc. Concept type: casual Steakhouse Company location: Tampa, Flat. Unit location: 330 N. Peters Road, Knoxville, Teen. No. Of years with company: 9 years, 6 months Age: 43 Hometown: Carbondale, Ill.Personal: married, four children, ages 9 to 21 Most rewarding part of your Job: seeing the people I work with grow with the company work with. Tip for otter general managers: Surround yourself with great people. What the boss says: â€Å"I've known Tim Stanton for eight years,† says Ben Novel, vice president of operations for Outback Steakhouse. â€Å"He Joined Outback in 1994, and since then he's been up there, winning Proprietor of the Year six times. â€Å"During his tenure Tim became a managing partner and grew sales from $3. 2 million to $4. 3 million. It's a spectacular thing. He's a developer of people.

India’s Population Boon or Bane Essay

Is India’s population boon or bane This is such a topic that has left everyone with a big question mark and indeed a debatable question with India holding over one billion people, i. e. , more than a sixth of the world’s population. The reason why people are perplexed to this question is because the population can be a boon as well as a bane, it depends how one takes it, in which context. Before moving on to the answer and concepts which will determine whether a population of about 1. 8 billion is a boon or a bane, we must look at some stats and figures: it has been projected that India will be the most populous country of the world by 2025. By 2050, there will be around 9. 1 billion human beings on our planet, up from 6. 5 billion today of which 1. 6 billion will reside in India. A country’s power lies in the hand of citizens and India’s growing population can mark India’s rising power. Technology, innovation, entrepreneurial skills, savvy India’s got in tonnes but these skills itself is not going to take us to the front ranks of the world. The front ranks of the world will happen when billion plus population is empowered. China and India are the two fastest economies of the world and no one is to deny the fact that China is so far ahead right now that India’s momentum could easily get snuffed out. Looking at the history and forecasts made for India’s demography, one can say that India’s demography put her on the driver’s seat. Looking at the current scenario, half of the country’s population is younger than twenty-five. By 2020 the average age of the Indians will be 29 years compared to 37 years for China and 48 years for Japan. This makes quite clear that in coming years, the efficiency of working age group in India will be more than any other country and productivity will increase with time. By 2050, China could have 90 million people in the eighty-five year plus group but India would still be a young country. (Bahl, Superpower? 2010) However, if India fixes its urban operating model, it has the potential to reap a demographic dividend from the increase—of around 250 million expected in the next decade—in the working-age population. By 2025, nearly 28 percent of China’s inhabitants will be aged 55 or older, compared with only 16 percent in India, whose demographic profile is much more youthful. If India optimizes the productivity of its cities and maximizes their GDP, the economy could add more than 170 million urban workers to its labour force from 2005 to 2025, compared with 50 million in China over the same period. (Sankhe 2010) Population has two sides, just like the sides of a coin in a same way India’s population is boon as well as bane. This population of 1. 18 billion which is considered as so-called boon for the country is also the reason behind its stagnant growth in Human Development Index. HDI is not just the measure of the overall social growth of an economy but it is also a replica for the State to take certain economic measures to curb poverty, unemployment rate and form policies which leads to an increase in literacy rate, a balanced sex ratio and better education & health facilities in the country. Today, India is ranked 119 as per the latest UNDP report, even though it is second fastest growing economies of the world and the only reason which could be mentioned for this stagnant growth is population, because this never ending increase in population leads to high poverty rate, unemployment rate and poor literacy rate. According to estimation in 2007, poverty rate is 25% while unemployment rate stood at 10. 7%. (https://www. cia. gov/index. tml 2010) Not only had this, per capita income is estimated to be $3,100 for the year 2009, though it has increased over the last two years since 2007 but no one can deny the fact that poor has become poorer and affluent has gone wealthier with time. The increase in per capita income, in case of India, not suggests reducing social disparity but indicates an increase in the number of millionaires and billionaires in the nation. Population has become a reason for the increase in poverty as well s unemployment which for some time hinders the country’s development but slowly and slowly this very own population becomes the reason for our country’s success. More the number of people more will be the contribution in our country’s success. But what is important, high ranking in HDI or the social benefits for the lower strata of the society? The answer will be different by two different people; the one who believes in overall social development of the economy will definitely go for the latter. Government has the responsibility to cater to the needs of the general public in the society. But when it comes to population of over 1. 8 billion, it’s not that an easy job. What can government do to stop this increase in population? Apart from awareness amongst the masses, nothing, being a democratic nation it can’t impose ‘one chid norm. ’ At the same time, this population contributes to the manpower, entrepreneurial skills, capital, etc. Therefore everybody is in jeopardy, whether they should favour an increase in population or take some serious measures to prevent this increase in population. Hence, there is no end to this debate and there will be altogether different set of arguments from different individuals, religions, castes and communities. Bibliography https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html

A Year in the South 1865: The True Story of Four Ordinary People

A Year in the South 1865, written by Stephen V. Ash, was published by First Perennial Press in 2004. It runs to 304 pages and deals with a year in the American south during the final year of the bloody United States Civil War.This war cost more American lives than any other conflict in the nation’s history and turned families against each other as sides were drawn. Stephen V. Ash, appropriately enough, teaches history at the University of Tennessee and has authored other books on the Civil War, including When the Yankees Came: Conflict and Chaos in the Occupied South.A Year in the South 1865 covers the twelve month span between January and December of 1865 as the war was winding toward its rather foregone conclusion. Ash has chosen to revisit this story of the fall of Dixie in a personal way, using four citizens of the bellicose Confederate States of America that stood in armed rebellion against the federal government of the United States as narrators.The year 1865 was chaotic in the United States, seeing the assassination of a great American leader, the end of the armed conflict, the beginning of the period termed Reconstruction and the emancipation of slaves in American States.Each narrator has a unique vantage from which he views the occurrences related in this work. One of the figures is a former Confederate soldier, one is a slave, wanting his freedom more than anything else, one is a widow, hungry and hopeless and the fourth is a planter and Christian minister whose faith is sorely tried.By 1865 the handwriting was on the wall. Early in the year North Carolina’s effectiveness as a haven for blockade-runners was broken.   William T. Sherman’s sweep through Georgia, creating a swath of scorched earth as he marched, was repeated in South Carolina, virtually destroying the state. It was blitzkrieg without the air support. It was lightening on the ground and it was devastating in its intensity and frightening in its brutality.Sherman lef t nothing behind. Against this backdrop the forces of the Army of the United States Federal Government came closer and closer to Richmond, and all but the deaf and blind understood the fall of Old Dominion was a fait accompli.Lee evacuated the capital in early April and the end was imminent. Jefferson Davis had made peace overtures to Lincoln early in the year, with demands that the independence of the south be recognized. Lincoln knew the war was all but over and dismissed the peace feeler out of hand.The Old South is dead and the four protagonists of the Stephen Ash work bear witness to the birth of the New. Ash captivates the reader with vivid tales of triumph and tragedy as the protagonists try to cope in a society whose very fabric is rent and bloodied in the ashes of disheartening defeat. Each of the individuals presented in this book are writers and keep journals of their times.This is a fascinating look into the lives of four ordinary people who are witness to a microcosmic view of the death throes of an age now long dead and of the nova that produced the New South, which is much the same today as when it first began in that painful birthing period in the year 1865. The subtitle of this book calls 1865 the most tumultuous 12 months in American history. It is not merely hype.John Robertson was a Confederate soldier, doing his duty as he saw it, though this duty caused him to stand in rebellion against his nation’s government and take arms against that institution. It must be understood today that the American civil war is more than just a difference of ideologies that lead to an armed confrontation.It is a renunciation of vows and oaths of loyalty to one’s own. It is to turn traitor to the homeland. â€Å"If such there breathe, go, mark him well; for him no minstrel raptures swell;†¦and, doubly dying, [he] shall go down to the vile dust from whence he sprung, unwept, unhonored, and unsung,† wrote Sir Walter Scott in The Lay of the Last Minstrel.Robertson is the target of vigilantes during the year of 1865, pursued by those with different ideologies. In the course of the year he is to flee over a thousand miles to escape the wrath of those bent on taking revenge on him for his perceived part in the bloody conflict.The cities of the South are occupied by what amounts to an alien army, while the frontiers of the relatively young republic are less civilized, and the citizens of the wilderness territories are subject to more than a modicum of frontier justice as well as to the dockets of more than a few kangaroo courts.The politics of this period are such that the victorious north is determined, by hook or crook, to impose its will upon the defeated insurgents in general, and those it can identify as ex-soldiers in particular. Ideally it will achieve its aims at the polling place, but if it can not, it is not adverse to a bit of armed confrontation of its own.Robertson finds himself the subject of reprisals as union loyalists seek their revenge on those who are available to them and he is forced to flee for his life.At one point he finds it expedient to move into the north, and comes to rest in a community in Iowa, where he feels like a fish out of water, unable to cope with cultural differences and what he perceives as a cold and calculating veneer spread over the peoples.Yankee and German immigrant merchants are not as warm as his fellow Southerners. The lack of Southern charm and hospitality is more than he can bear and he ultimately realizes that he cannot stay in such a place.This same hospitable citizen of a once genteel South hates Negroes with a blind passion and is willing to give his life to see that a form of government that holds some human beings to be chattel will survive and prosper. Ash quotes him as describing some blacks as, â€Å" ‘the greasiest bunch of nig[g]ers I ever saw.’ Just being around them made him sick,† (56).   When the shoe is on the other foot there is a great lack of understanding as to why man must be so callous in regard to his fellow man. Robertson is shocked to learn that bigotry can be directed toward him. Isn’t he white? Isn’t he a Southerner? Did he not fight to preserve his heritage? He feels forced to flee from is home in Knoxville.He feels that the Negro is rising above his station and the world, it must seem, has turned upside down. It is ironic that Robertson’s saga, his tale of misery in the aftermath of a war which he violently abetted, is found in the same tome as is found the tale of a former slave whom he considered below him and fit only for servitude. Robertson would not have liked to share the stage with a Negro in all likelihood.He is stunned that he becomes the second-class citizen in his travels and he has difficulty believing the incredible lack of manners exhibited by northerners. He finds it unacceptable that they do not offer the simple hospitality of a hot meal to visitors and he feels that they are looking down on him. Robertson eventually becomes a preacher, accepting the call to spread the gospel of Christ to his fellow man.Louis Hughes begins his narrative as a slave who has risen to what is stereotypically considered to be a plum assignment for a man in his position, that of house-slave.He becomes the family butler eventually. Having a good job as a slave seems similar to the old adage of enjoying a comfortable seat in hell. His is witness to the death of his twin children as his wife is too over-worked to see to their needs and they die of neglect.He tries to escape, and is recaptured by a military patrol. When he is returned to his rightful owner he is beaten by the kindly old white master, who puts him in stocks to administer the requisite justice, pausing when he tires, to rest and read the newspaper (120).It is the disparity of view and juxtaposition of these two narrators that adds so much flavor to this history. Hughes seems to be the more sympathetic of the two, and is the more altruistic.He is called upon to demonstrate his intestinal fortitude and acquits himself well. He manages to save members of his family and proves his ability to learn and expand. He comes to Milwaukee, where he becomes a nurse, doing much good for those in need. Both men travel far and see much. Their sojourns give added dimension to their tales and prevent them from narrating with a frog’s eye concept of life in the post-bellum American South.Cornelia McDonald is the widow of a Confederate officer. She lives in Lexington, Virginia. Her story is the only one told from a woman’s perspective and it fills in many of the gaps left by the tales related by the male narrators in that she deals more with the domestic issues of her day. She is also witness to the abject hunger and devastating poverty which settled over the south like an all intrusive fog, penetrating to the core of the land, pervasive and all encompassing.He r bitter struggle to simply find enough food to subsist is a telling point in this work. All too often a history will deal only with the nuts and bolts of the events, relating the politics and mechanizations that occurred in the reconstruction of a defeated and fallen society, overlooking the seemingly insignificant issue of bread.McDonald’s tale covers this aspect of the bitter year when a once proud and even arrogant people lost everything, falling lower than they believed it possible to fall.McDonald is left with seven hungry children and struggles daily just to find them enough food to survive. She relates a tale of how she unwove a mattress to recycle the threads into a suit of clothing for one of her sons (36). It is a story reminiscent of the classic scene described by Margaret Mitchell of how Scarlett O’Hara took the velvet drapes from the windows of her once glorious Tara and had the material tailored into a ball gown.Planter cum preacher, Sam Agnew is the fou rth member of this group of narrators of the year 1865 in this southern history. He bears further witness to the hunger and utter destitution left in the wake of the merciless marauding Union army.He comes bearing tales of the land and people in a way unique to a farmer who has witnessed a period when even heaven seemed to conspire against the south, withholding rain and desiccating the crops, bringing famine and disease (150).McDonald is perhaps a metaphor for the land, relating how she survived that year of infamy, prospering eventually, and becoming a friend of the revered icon of all that is Southern, General Robert Edward Lee.She relates rather poignantly how Lee remains the courtly Southern aristocrat in defeat and urges his fellow Southerners to forgive and forget and move on with their lives. She does not mention how this courtly aristocrat, a graduate of West Point, reneged on his solemn oath to the United States and took up arms against it.She fails to mention that what he and the other Southern officers, who had once been Union officers, had done was treason and could have resulted in their execution.It seems the least bit fatuous for an historian like Ash to glorify the mien of Southern gentry who were largely responsible, if not for causing the war, then at least for extending it by years with the military expertise they had been taught in a United States military academy. Had they all refused to gainsay their sacred oaths the war might not have been prosecuted for lack of leadership.Works CitedAsh, S.V.   A Year in the South 1865: The True Story of Four Ordinary People Who Lived Through the Most Tumultuous Twelve Months in American   History   New York: First Perennial Edition 2004   

Supports or argues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Supports or argues - Essay Example Therefore, Wade Allison’s contributions in the support of the massive use of nuclear power should be disregarded since no one knows when the use of such nuclear power may be uncontrolled. Allison clearly states notes the health concerns of nuclear radiation; however, he diminishes this fact and narrows it down to small quantity of admission like in the case of X-ray examinations. It is true that small amounts of absorption of radiation into the body are less harmful to the body. Nonetheless, he must have considered that erection of the nuclear power plants may emit such small radiation, but constantly. In other words, medically administered radiations are usually monitored and controlled and are never continuous; thus, they have minimal effect to the human health (Jha and Boseley 02). For instance, examining internal tumors in the body or cracked bones among other internal organs may only subject a person to the radiation once after sometimes. On the other hand, nuclear power plants will subject the environment and the humanity to a constant dose of radiation thereby increasing health risks related to the radiation. Additionally, imagining of a situation where such nuclear power plants are erected about ten to twenty in every nation. What is the amount of the nuclear related radiation will be submitted into the atmosphere? Nonetheless, it is worth noting that small amount of radiation is never highly dangerous to humanity and the environment, but cumulative small amounts per power plant will lead to enormous amounts of nuclear particles into the environment that cannot be tolerated by the human body thereby leading to devastating global health problems (Jha and Boseley 02). Reading from the Allison’s understanding of the history of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he should have noted that massive emission of nuclear related particles or radiation into the environment usually have long and dangerous effects to the present and generation

Health And Safety At Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Health And Safety At Work - Essay Example The injury suffered by the three-year-old child called K involved him hitting his head on the bottom stairs and developing complications that eventually led to his death. Upon litigation, the school authority developed defense mechanism that though the entire school was rugged and had steps leading to classes, there was an ‘out of bound’ sign at the place where K injured. Another defense was that such accidents had never occurred since the inception of the school in 1930 because every act of the children had been under the supervision of experienced teachers. The prosecutor tried to convince the court that the defendant, which was the school failed to perform its duties of supervising the children while out for break even. The prosecution also pointed out that indication of â€Å"out of bound† sign in the region of the accident was lacking the support of the clause ‘reasonably practicable’. This is because the school had assessed the risks attached to that region but failed to set fence or hindrance mechanisms against access to the point. After examination of witnesses and inspection of the region of the accident alongside scrutinizing injury records of the school, it became evident that Hillgrove School had great cognition for safety than any other neighboring school. Thus, the jury concluded that the occurrence of the accident in that particular region was unforeseeable noting that there were evident steps by the school to enforce practicable efforts towards risk aversion. Another case involving place of work injury circulated between Mr. Shaun Riley and Chargot limited in 2008. In this case, Mr. Riley sustained fatal injury while driving a dumper truck belonging to Chargot Limited (Horlock & Snarr 2009, 390). This case also involved other appellants among them, Ruttle Contracting Limited who was the principle contractor in the site and George Henry Ruttle, the director of Chargot Limited and

Manborg film critical review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Manborg film critical review - Essay Example Apart from this, the movie was also found to have a plot that was outdated and too far-fetched. This paper shall look at certain aspects of this movie that shape its ideological viewpoints and the audience that it was aimed at. The movie talks of the return of the Nazis who reigned over Germany during the era between the two world wars and during the Second World War. The movie depicts a demonic version of this set of people and the only way out for the people of the world is in the efforts of a man who is also partially a robot. The rise of this man from an ordinary foot-soldier to a manborg, or a being who is part-human and part-machine is something that is not completely explained in the movie. The rise of this man is not something that does not need to be problematized. The resistance of the world to the problems that affect the whole of humanity is located in Euro-America. This is to say that the hero and the messiah fall within certain frameworks of eurocentricity. The inabilit y of the movie to move beyond this is also seen in the conventional nature of the villains.

Housing Prices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Housing Prices - Essay Example In this paper, we will first have a look at the whole U.S. mortgage crisis scenario as that has been the major factor that has brought this whole situation into the public perception. Understanding the situation in the light of statistics is very important, as even though this whole topic is so dense and enormous that it cannot be in this paper, but it is certainly essential to have a feel of the situation before we move along. Then, we would move onto the U.S. housing market and try to understand the shifts in pricing over the past decade and the reasons behind these shifts. Furthermore, we will try and determine the implications of the housing market on the economy of the country in general i.e. what effect will the volatility have on the demand and supply equilibrium of the market itself and the greater effect this will have on the economy in general. This is an important section of this paper as this provides the rationale for conducting an analysis on the housing prices and also helps us understand key economic indicators which can help us understand the market better and perhaps prevent market meltdowns like the one suffered in 2006 from occurring again. Finally, we will conclude the paper with our final remarks on the conducted analysis. [1] The U.S. mortgage side has been ruined. ... Even those from lower classes "benefited" from this housing price bubble by being able to own houses with small down payments. Rising prices of housing led to increased borrowing on home equity. The Americans were enjoying their time in the U.S as housing prices shot up 40% between 2000 and 2006 to a high of $234,000. The ratio of median house price to median household income rose from a historically steady ratio of three times (from 1970- 2000) to five times in 2006. This could not be sustained. Housing prices tapered off and started to decline in early 2006 and furthermore in 2007 and 2008; in compliance with what we have seen in the recent two years. With a $20 trillion housing sector, every 10% fall erodes off $2 trillion in household wealth. Almost in parallel, rates of default and foreclosure began to climb. In 2006, 1.2 million household lends saw foreclosure, up 42% from the previous year. The basic definition of sub-prime mortgages is basically lending to borrowers who want to buy a house but who have a weak credit rating. Lenders did so by providing small or zero down payment, and low introductory adjustable rate mortgages. Between 2004 and 2006, there were bookings of $1.5 trillion (15% of the total U.S. housing lends) of sub-prime mortgages. Total sub-prime lends form 25% of the housing mortgage market; these sub-prime lends were fine as long as the housing market continued to boom and interest rates remained stable. When these conditions disappeared, sub-prime borrowers defaulted. The defaults caused an implosion of Mortgage-backed securities and the Collateralized debt duties industry. The blow out shelled in June 2007 with the collapse of sub-prime mortgage hedge funds managed by Bear Stearns, quickly followed by suspending other funds managed

THE GLOBAL CAR INDUSTRY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

THE GLOBAL CAR INDUSTRY - Essay Example A major change in the iron and steel industry will make great changes in the prices of cars. The market is greatly impacted by the reputation and quality of the product. A car company with good reputation that provides higher quality products and good after sales service will definitely capture more markets. But above all the primary factor that drives the industry is the usage of latest technology for the product as well as for production. This report studies clearly the competitive position of the car market. The report is based on Daimler Chrysler, one of the biggest car makers of the world. The company has its presence in almost all parts of the world either through production plants or through distribution channels. The company has many competitors which are equally potential and competitive to Daimler Chrysler. Therefore, the company is running through a highly competitive environment and is in a process of framing new strategies for its betterment. The report critically analyses the current position of the company as a car manufacturer. The current strategies of the company and its future plans are also referred in the report. The industry is highly influenced by the economic condition of the country. Daimler Chrysler was founded in the year 1998 by the merger of two old and giant company’s Daimler Benz of Germany and Chrysler Corporation of US. German based Daimler Benz has been in the industry since 1926. US based Chrysler Corporation was formed in the year 1925. Daimler Chrysler is one of the leading manufacturers and distributors of passenger cars and commercial vehicles in the world. â€Å"Today, the company is a leading supplier of premium passenger cars as well as the world‘s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles† (Corporate Profile-overview. 2008). The company operates in the various sectors of automobiles through its various brands. The different brands of the company

Invention Synopsis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Invention Synopsis - Essay Example Many alternative fuel sources like electricity, LPG, CNG etc. have been discovered and develop but the problem doesn’t seem to go away. Something needs to be done about it. During the mid and late 1970’s, Elsbett of Germany began works on a new type of fuel for automobiles, Vegetable oil. The concept of SVO (Straight Vegetable Oil) was born. It is the concept that diesel engines can also run on vegetable oil (Addison, n.d). This oil can be unused or recycled. Recycled vegetable oil must be clean, free of any water or particles. Vegetable oil serves as a substitute for diesel fuel which is the prime fuel source for heavy transport such as trucks and busses. These make up a large percentage of commercial and private transport. Converting these vehicles to run on an alternative source could save millions of dollars on oil purchases. Apart from commercial vehicles, a significant percentage of private vehicles are also diesel powered. If converted to SVO, this could further improve the situation. Furthermore, there are conversion kits and services available for gas/petrol powered cars. People, who do not own diesel powered cars, would definitely want to convert seeing the sharp drop in fuel prices. SVO fuel is cheaper than diesel and much cheaper than petrol. So, what’s the catch? Until now, the vehicles that have used vegetable oil fuel have done it privately or individually. Companies do provide conversion services and filtering and recycling of used vegetable oil on a small scale, but nothing is being done on a scale comparable to other primary fuel sources. Maybe this is the reason why it’s not getting popular. My idea is to provide this service on a bigger scale. A company that has a contract with local restaurants and food outlets to purchase this used oil at low prices, filter and recycle it and provide it to the general public. With the growing fuel prices today, a proper outlet for a cheaper fuel source would be a welcoming

Romeo and Juliets Changes Essay Example for Free

Romeo and Juliets Changes Essay By the end of act 2 Romeo and Juliet have changed considerably from how they were first presented to us. By the end of Act 2, Romeo and Juliet have changed in different ways. It is not evident that the changes they have made are that considerable. Juliet becomes much more mature and less like a young girl. Romeo on the hand, doesn’t seem to have changed as much as Juliet. He does become more responsible and seemingly more mature, but his impulsive behaviour leads to his death. Romeo changes by the end of Act Two in the case of his maturity. He is first presented as a â€Å"lovesick puppy† over Rosaline, although he hardly knew her. He states â€Å"sad hours seem long† which shows him pining over Rosaline, whom he apparently ‘loved’. When he attends the Capulets’ party however, he then claims to have fallen in love with Juliet. This shows that he is a rather â€Å"fickle† character who perhaps doesn’t know the meaning of love. However by the end of Act Two, it seems that he remains firmly in love with Juliet, which shows that he has matured and no longer â€Å"loves only with his eyes†. He also shows more courage and bravery to love Juliet no matter the consequences. His attitude towards his friends changes as well and he is no longer as crude and jovial as them. He shows a more serious outlook on life. Although he does perhaps mature as the play progresses, his immature and impulsive behaviour remains as it was before. This recklessness is what leads to his banishment and death. Juliet is first portrayed to us as mild-mannered and obedient. The images Shakespeare presents us are of Juliet as a young child who is very innocent. As the play progresses however, she is shown to be falling in love with Romeo. This shows that she is maturing and she is now portrayed as a young women and not a little girl. She also defies her parents in marrying Romeo which shows that she now changed from the mild, innocent girl that we first see. She is brave enough not to trust her Nurse after she â€Å"betrayed† her. Her Nurse was previously her best friend and she had trusted her with everything, so the fact that she was able to lie to the nurse and defy her shows that she is no more strong-willed and independent. She advances from an dutiful child to a more mature woman who defies her parents and is braver by the end of act two. Throughout the play, the characters change in maturity and in their attitudes towards their parents and friends. Romeo and Juliet appear to love each other deeply and this is what makes them more mature, rebellious and strong-willed. Although they change in these ways, Romeo still remains impulsive and reckless and this leads to his downfall.

Development of Management Strategy for Growing Company

Development of Management Strategy for Growing Company Introduction Nowadays technologies are growing so fast that if we will not be able to adopt them in time, than our company becomes non-competitive. This project was done with an aim to apply gained knowledges in engineering and management course, to analyse how selected firm can be developed from engineering and management sides. Engineering studies will help from the one hand to apply engineering knowledges, but from the other hand to get known new technologies and how they make our life better. Universities experience in management and marketing studies will help to do analyses of rival companies and make clear how companys management can be improved or adopted from existing successful companies. There are two important processes in building construction, foundation and roof. Both constructions are equally important for building wellbeing. Foundation need to be designed and build up right in the beginning of construction, but roof need to be carry during all buildings life period. It means that roofs are every sequenced time of period that depends on material, need to be overlaid or repaired. On this theory was born projects engineering part. For projects object was selected a construction firm that focused on roof construction, its technologies and sheet metal works. By exploring roofing market will be determined its growing technologies with an aim to adopt them to selected firm. Exploring major roofing companies management, will help to improve chosen firm current way of management. Generally this project is based on roof technologies, management marketing research. Gained experience will be applied to chosen firm development in all directions. Aim Develop management strategy for a small company. Objectives 1. Literature review of management prescriptive strategy development: * Analysis of environment * Analysis of resources * Development of companys vision, mission and objective * Types of management strategies 2. Choose a company with an aim to apply management strategy 3. Literature review of chosen company 4. Develop management strategy to the chosen company 5. Develop additional management improvements 6. Conclusion Strategic Management Essence of Strategic Management According to the Emergent view there are strategist that suggest that it is hard to predict future and strategy need to be more dynamic with an element of risk. The Prescriptive view Strategic management is about defining a purpose and plans of organisation and work out the actions to achieve desired purposes. The essence of Strategic Management consist from two levels that are shown in Figure 1 and described below : * General corporate level Decision making process depends from in what type of business company belong. The leadership and culture of corporation are very important strategy management. * Individual business level Decision making process generally based on competing for customers, generating value from tangible and intangible business resources and focus on resources that can bring competitive advantage. Strategy is about relations of internal capabilities and external relationships. Figure 1 Essence of Strategic Management (Lynch, p5, 2010) (Lynch, p5, 2010) Approaches to Strategic Management There are exist two different approaches to strategy: Prescriptive and Emergent approach. The prescriptive approach Approach is based on idea that future is predictable and strategy development begins from Where-we-are now and all objectives and steps how implement ideas are developed. The prescriptive theory have three core areas: Strategic analysis, Strategic development and Strategy implementation. All three areas are closely related sequentially. The prescriptive strategy development process shown in Figure 2. Figure 2 The prescriptive strategic process (Lynch, p19, 2010) The emergent approach Approach is based on view that strategy emerges and developed during further period of time based on unpredictable environment. The final objective of emergent approach is unclear and objectives are developed during its realisation. Strategic analysis, Strategic development and Strategy implementation are interrelated. But because strategy is implemented by improvisation and allow mistakes, it is not need to make clear distinction in development and implementation phases. The prescriptive strategy development process shown in Figure 3. Figure 3 The emergent strategic process (Lynch, p19, 2010) Analysis of Environment Analysis of environment is a research of everything and everyone in external environment. It includes suppliers, customers, competitors, government, technologies etc. There are exist nine different tools how environment can be analysed and they are shown in Figure 4. Figure 4. Environment analysis tools (Lynch, p74, 2010) Environment basics There are three basic things that should be analysed: * Market definition and size Question need to be asked in this area is What is the size of market?. It is important to know market size because it will help to design strategy objectives. Market size usually shown in annual sales.  · Market growth After establishing market definition and size need to evaluate how much the market has grown in particular period of time, usually in a year. Market growth rate will influence strategy objectives. Organization that would like to grow quickly will be interested in fast growing market  · Market share It can be defined as ratio of all sales in a market that is detained by particular company. There are different ways how market share can be measured, but most important of them are Sales revenue and Sales volume. (tutor2u) (Lynch, p79, 2010) Degree of turbulence It is important to evaluate external conditions of organisation, specially dynamic of environment. In strategy environment will have high degree of turbulence it will be hard to apply analytical techniques. Environmental forces that influence organisation: * Changeability Degree of environment changeability that shows rate how external factors likely to change. Changeability splits further in such factors: o Complexity Degree of complexity of such factors as internationalisation, technological, social and political. o Novelty Degree of how often new situations influence environment. * Predictability Degree of how changeable environment is predictable. Predictability is subdivided in two categories: o Rate of change How fast environment changes. Usually rated from slow to fast. o Visibility of future Based on previous experience determine how predictable is future. Figure 5. Dynamics of environment. (Lynch, p81, 2010) After doing analysis of factors above will be possible see how stable will be strategy for particular environment. In predictable environment with low turbulence can be used prescriptive approach. In case of high turbulence better to use Emergent approach because of high rate of change where designed objectives can lose their value in short period of time. PESTEL analysis PESTEL is checklist type analysis that is widely used to analyse environment in different directions. Analysis rely on past experience and events that after listing can be used to forecast future or apply them on company improvement design. Factors that need to be discovered in PESTEL analysis:  · Political: o Government policy o Regulations  · Economical o World trends o GDP o Inflation o Unemployment o Energy costs  · Social o Changes in lifestyle o Demographic o Customer demand o Population o Culture  · Technological o Patents and products o Technology development o Speed and change of technologies o Innovations  · Environmental o Public opinion o Green issues o Recyclability o Renewable energy  · Legacy o Law o Health and Safety (Lynch, p82, 2010) Industry life cycle Entity of strategy will change as company move from one life cycle phase to another. In the Introduction phase, company try to attract interest in new product. As product became more recognizable and increase in demand than industry moves into next phase called Growth and with demand increase amount of competitors. Over time when market is saturated and most customers are satisfied with product life cycle proceed to Maturity phase where growth is slowed down. Few competitors may join in this phase, but hard to survive because of high competition. After Maturity phase cycle start to Decline. Whole process is shown in Figure 6. Figure 6. Stages of industry cycle. (Lynch, p87, 2010) Company have more opportunity to survive and gain more profit in life cycle early ages while entry barriers are low and there are only few competitors. But it is hard to determine the beginning of life cycle because if its unpredictable duration. (Lynch, p87, 2010) Key factors for success The Japanese strategist Kenichi Ohmae argue that for successful strategy organisation should define key factors for success that will help to define objectives more correctly. Key factors are resources such as skills, labour, experience or attributes that can bring competitive advantage to organisation. Key factors can be determined not only from internal advantages but also designed based on external environment. There are three factors need to be analysed:  · Customers What exactly customers want? Who are they? Are there any special segments? Why they buy from us? Need to be evaluated (Lynch, p95, 2010): o Price o Service o Product or service reliability o Quality o Technical specification o Branding  · Competition What factors help company to compete successfully? Who are our competitors? What factors influence competition? Need to be evaluated (Lynch, p95, 2010): o Cost comparison o Price comparison o Quality issues o Market dominance o Service o Distributors  · Corporation Companies technologies, organisational ability and marketing? Key resources of our competitors? Need to be evaluated (Lynch, p96, 2010): o Low-cost operations o Economies of scale o Labour costs o Production output levels o Quality operations o Innovative ability o Labour/Management relations o Technologies and copyright o Skills (Lynch, p94, 2010): Porters five forces One of the most important organisation analysis that need to be performed is evaluating environment forces that influence particular company. Such evaluation will help to gain better competitive advantage than rivals. Professor Michael Porter provide model (Figure 7) that helps evaluate forces that will help to understand organisation opportunities. Figure 7. Porters five forces model (Lynch, p95, 2010) The bargaining power of suppliers Every organisation require raw materials to produce product or service it mean that organisation depend from raw material suppliers. There are shown how suppliers can influence organisation: * If there are few suppliers it means that it is hard to switch to another supplier in case supplier is exert its power. * There are no substitute raw materials that supplier provide. * Organisation costs depend from suppliers price. If supplier increase price for provided material than costs will increase and organisation need decide: increase product price or not. Increased price can lead to lose of competitive advantage but if price stay the same that profit will be smaller. The bargaining power of buyers To make a profit organisation sell their products or service to customers. Every customer have need, wants and own opinion about particular product. Organisation should make customer power analysis to understand who have more influence over other. There are some issues: * There are only few buyers. Organisation have weak position and generally depend from customers and want to attract them as more as possible. In this case customers can easily influence organisation. * Product or service is undifferentiated. Customer can easily switch to product offered from other organisation. The threat of new entrants Entrance of new rivals is possible whet profit margins are attractive and entry barriers are low. Porter argue that there are seven factors that influence entry barriers: 1. Economies of scale Production cost are reducing when product volume significantly increased. These cost reductions provide entry barriers, because company entered in such market forced to keep small price to be competitive. 2. Product differentiation Brand, level of service, attracted customers provide entry barrier because by entering in such market will lead to spend extra funds and time to make new brand more recognizable and establish in the market. 3. Capital requirements Entrance in some markets require investment in technologies equipment, distribution etc. 4. Switching costs When customer is satisfied with provided service or product he is not thinking about other products and it is hard and require high investments to influence customers opinion. 5. Access to distribution channels Production need to be effectively distributed. It takes long time to establish own distribution channels and make it work profitably. 6. Cost disadvantages independent of scale Already established companies invested hardly in infrastructure and gained mayor buyers in the market. It becomes hard for new company to find what to start with, because infrastructure is already established and it is hard to involve changes. 7. Government policy Government tend to secure local companies and publish law that defend them. The threats of substitutes Substitutes is something that can replace a product or service usually provided for smaller price. Things that need to be analysed relative to substitutes: * Customer ability to switch to the substitute * The possible threat of obsolescence * What costs will provide switching to substitute Rivalry among existing firms Some markets and companies are more competitive than others. There are thing that need to be analysed (Model of competition): * Number of competitors * Size of competitors * Growth rate * Product differentiation (Lynch, p97-101, 2010): Four links analysis Most organisations links together to perform better with other companies help. Co-operation can lead such factors: * Reduce costs * Increase organisations sustainability * Open new market sectors The Co-operation usually divided in four subgroups that help more clearly define co-operation type and how it might be improved:  · Informal co-operative links and networks The organisation links and co-operates together on mutual basis without contract. The analysis need to be made to find out what opportunities will provide such link. Usually analysis contain from strengths and weaknesses. Need to pay attention by forming mutual contract because in case fraud it will be hard to prove that particular company is right.  · Formal co-operative links Formal co-operation is linked with legal contract. The difference from informal co-operation is in degree of formality. Such links usually form alliance or joint ventures that works together for many years to gain competitive advantage over rivals and take more market share.  · Complementors The Complementors are companies that supply products that add value to final product. Usually such co-operation is based on several companies that provide different skills and resources that work together on manufacturing of one product. Such organisations have interdependence between themselves.  · Government links and networks The organisations that have linkage with government. (Lynch, p102-105, 2010) Competitor analysis In most markets there are more than one competitor. It is hard to evaluate each of them and because usually it is done by taking few companies and making narrow evaluation. It will help to understand what advantages and disadvantages compare to organisation rivals have. Broad analysis of competitors and their power helps to find their forces. Basic analysis will consist from making competitor profile based on such issues:  · Objective An analysis of competitors objectives help to forecast its strategy. If competitor tend to gain market share then probably will start to implement aggressive strategy. If seeking profit growth than possibly competitor will invest hardly in new plant or improve technologies. Every objective can help to forecast rivals action. Companies annual statements can be useful in evaluating but need to be analysed wit attention because of factor of bluffing.  · Resources The type, size and amount of resources that provide competitive advantage to company need to be analysed.  · Past record of performance Can provide companys successful performance that can be adopted.  · Current products and services  · Links with other organisations Evaluate links, alliances and other types of co-operation than deliver competitive advantage.  · Present strategies Innovation, customers, investments, market share, product range etc. Evaluate how such things used for strategy purposes. Customer analysis Customer is crucial resource of company profit income. Any company will always be interested in as more as possible customer attraction. There are measurements that can be used in customer analysis: * Identification of the customer and market * Market segmentation and its strategic implications * The role of customers service and quality Previously market was based on Mass marketing theory where one product was sold to all customers. Nowadays is used Targeted marketing where company aims on particular market segment and provide product or service only for this segment. Market segmentation can deliver more opportunities to strategy: * Particular segments can be more profitable than others * Some segments can have less competitors that can provide competitive advantage * Some segments can have higher growing rate. (Lynch, p107-108, 2010) Analysis of resources and capabilities Analysis of resources and capabilities gives not only opportunity to look how resources provide competitive advantage but also help understand two important things: * How resources can provide higher profit and better service * Which resources provide competitive advantage and how they can they be improved all time. There are two way that goes interdependent: Value added and Sustainable competitive advantage (Figure 8). Path of resource analysis (Lynch, p119, 2010) Resources and Capabilities Resources and capabilities analysis aim is to recognize where is value added resources and explore what resources deliver competitive advantage to company. There are four questions need to be addressed to company with regard to resources and capability analysis (Lynch, p122, 2010): 1. What kind of resources and capabilities company own? 2. Why organisation have these resources? 3. Why they are important and what advantage they deliver to company? 4. How they can be improved? Figure 9 Sequence of resources and capabilities analysis (Lynch, p122, 2010) Analysis of resources and capabilities starts with full range analysis of resources. It is hard because of some resources are hard to measure. Resources and capabilities can be divided in three categories (Lynch, p123, 2010):  · Tangible resources Are physical resources that contribute to companies value added. These can be modern equipment, location, etc.  · Intangible resources Resources that have no physical presence. It can be companies recognisable brand name, culture, skills level etc.  · Organisational capabilities Such resources as management or leadership that manage tangible and intangible resources. Value added The role of resources in company is to add value and gain profit. The value adding process shown in Figure 10 and can be defined as the difference between product output price and the costs of input. Figure 10. Add Value process (Lynch, p130, 2010) The Value chain The value chain is a value of all activities that is linked with functional parts. Each part makes contribution in value add process. Company perform two types of activity that add value to product or service: Primary activities and support activities. Primary is activities that process itself. Support activities are performed by management and human resources. Porter designed companys value chain process that is shown in Figure 11. Where margin is difference between Total Value and Cost of performance Figure 11. The value chain (Lynch, p132, 2010) The primary activities add value to company by its own way and they are(Lynch, p132-133, 2010):  · Inbound logistics The areas that related to receiving raw materials and goods from suppliers, storing them till they will be required, moving and carrying within company.  · Operations The production area where products or services being produced.  · Outbound logistics The distribution of final product to customers. It is about transportation, warehousing, wrapping etc.  · Marketing and sales Analysis of customers needs and wants and deliver to customers information about what product or service company offer.  · Service It is about before product selling pre installation or after selling service. The support activities:  · Procurement The person or department that is responsible for purchasing raw materials or goods. The goods need to be purchased for as low as possible price and highest quality.  · Technology development The important are that need to be updated all the time.  · Human resource management Training, recruitment, management improvement, employees motivation is important for companies success.  · Firm infrastructure Background planning and control of system. The value system Every company have own value chain and at the same time belong to wide system that involve supply and distribution chain and customers chain. The competitive advantage can deliver suppliers that supply better goods to you rather than rival organisations. The value chain need to be evaluated and improved. Sources of competitive advantage (Lynch, p147, 2010): * Differentiation The development of exclusive feature or service that could appeal particular market. * Low costs Development of low cost product or service can attract more customers. * Niche marketing Concentration on particular market and distinguish and provide all necessary to appeal customers from this market. * High performance or technology Improved performance and customers needs satisfaction better than competitors will provide growth in the market share.  · Quality Provide quality that competitors not able to match. * Service Provide service that competitors not able to match. * Vertical integration The backward acquisition of raw material suppliers can increate competitive advantage. * Synergy The combination a parts of business that together could deliver better result success and profit than separate. * Culture leadership and style of an organisation The way how company is organised and managed. The good managed company will lead to employees satisfaction and improve their attitude to company. It will improve service, quality and deliver good environment for innovation. Resource based sustainable competitive advantage There are seven resource elements that can deliver sustainable competitive advantage:  · Prior or acquired resources Easier to create value on already available to company strengths rather than start from beginning.  · Innovative capability The innovation is important because it can deliver competitive advantage and improve entity.  · Being truly competitive Identify resources strength and opportunity is not enough because they need to be comparatively better than competitors as well.  · Sustainability Resources are more competitive if they dont have and cannot be substituted.  · Appropriability Resources must deliver success only to individual company, but not shared among others.  · Durability Good resources should last as long as possible. There is no reason to identify a competitive resources if they are not sustainable.  · Imitiability Resources should be hard to imitate. Defined resources need to be classified in hierarchy of resources (Figure 12) by their importance and delivered competitive advantage. Figure 12 Hierarchy of resources (Lynch, p151, 2010) Improving competitive advantage There are three methods how resources and capabilities can be improved (Lynch, p158-160, 2010): * Benchmarking Compare practice and experience with other companies and identify what improvements can be performed. The compared industry can be perform another kind of job, need to be copied only companies principles of operation. * Leveraging Exploit companies resources fully. That method can be subdivided in 5 prescriptive routes: 1. Concentration Focusing companys resources on the key objectives. 2. Conservation Exploit every resource or aspect available to company. 3. Accumulation Evaluate fully resources of company and use it where appropriate. 4. Complementarity Analyse resources with an aim to combine them. New combination can deliver competitive advantage. 5. Recovery Make sure that all resources generate produce as quickly as possible. * Upgrading resources The resource analysis can show that an organisation is losing its competitive advantage, so resources and technologies need to upgraded. Vision, Mission and objective of the company. Strategy purpose is explored by established mission and objectives of company. To identify mission and objective need to be evaluated why company exist and how value adding can be generated? Additionally need to be explored companys vision based on opportunities and how it can be evaluated. The purpose of the organisation The purposes of organisation need to be defined clearly otherwise it will be hard to establish proper strategy. To define purpose more clearly need to be considered six questions (Lynch, p221-226, 2010): 1. What is our activity and what should it be?  · Need to be considered the area of activity is it business or non-profit organisation?  · Evaluate what company is focused on should company concentrate on the purpose or it can be broad?  · Do company focuses on profit or diversifying? That issue can be defined broad or narrow.  · Usually strategists define purposes based on the competitive resources of company. 2. What kind of organisation do we wish to be?  · The company usually chose one of two areas: o Culture and style Organisations chose this area based on previous experience and developed history. o Challenges to be posed to members of the organisation. 3. What is relative importance of shareholders and stakeholders?  · Some companies purpose is to satisfy shareholders wealth. 4. Do we want to grow organisation?  · Is company growth is included in purpose or it should stay the same size? 5. What is our relationship with our immediate environment and with society in general?  · The purpose need to be considered with environment within which company perform. In immediate environment need to be assumed such factors as turbulence, competition etc. Society in general is about pressures that influence company. 6. How do we bring all these consideration together?  · The summary of purposes need to be stated in few sentences that will specifically describe. Vision for the future It is imagination of company that stakeholders, shareholders or owned would like to see it after a period of time. There are two views on the values that need to be explored to develop a strategy: * The irrelevance of strategic vision For approaching short-term goals strategic vision can be not performed. * The value of strategic vision Vision is a challenging and imaginative picture of the future role and objectives of an organisation, significantly going beyond its current environment and competitive position (Lynch, p227, 2010). There are a lot of reasons to develop a strategic vision and most important is that the vision is going far in future than organisation is and help to develop purposes how to get there. New vision can help to develop mission and objectives. The mission The mission of an organisation outlines the broad directions that it should and will follow and briefly summarises the reasoning and value that lie behind it (Lynch, p236, 2010). The mission need to be defined based on previously explored purposes. In prescriptive strategy mission is set to be realised in next few years. The role of mission is to develop direction which company will follow and try to realise. There are five elements of the mission statement that need to be explored and chosen appropriate: 1. Explore the nature of the company. In this case can be asked such questions as What business are company in? and What is desired business for company? 2. The mission should be developed from customers point of view rather than companys. 3. The mission should show the basic values and beliefs of the company. 4. The elements of sustainable competitive advantages need to be shown in the mission. 5. The mission need to show the particular reason for its choice to realise. The objectives Objectives are the aims that need to be realised to implement the mission. This process cover what and when is need to be done. In most cases objectives should be quantified and measurable, but sometimes such objectives as ethic, employee or customer satisfaction is hard to measure. Company should apply any measurements to hard measurable objectives with an aim to get a feedback how successfully they implemented. Usually companies set objectives in two areas: 1. Financial objectives Such as profit, cash flow, earnings per share etc. 2. Strategic objectives Such as customer satisfaction, market share, product quality etc. (Lynch, p242, 2010). Strategy options development When the purpose of company is defined need to develop a strategy options how to achieve it. After options development need to chose more suitable and that will bring advantage. SWOT analysis As a starting point of strategy options development can be summarising current position using SWOT analysis. SWOT is analysis that helps to find companys internal Strengths and Weaknesses, and external Op

Personal Narrative- Wearing Christian T-Shirts :: Personal Narrative

Personal Narrative- Wearing Christian T-Shirts A life defining moment of mine was when I started wearing Christian t-shirts instead of everyday t-shirts. The old t-shirts just seem so bland to me now, and I did not really care for them as much as the others. I also preferred the messages that were on the Christian t-shirts. Most of the time the messages would make fun of something, like laundry detergent Tide, or commonly use phrases, such as armed and dangerous. After a short period of time, I started to shop only at Sunshine for my t-shirts. It was one of the only Christian Book stores that had a decent selection of t-shirts in Brazoria County that was closes enough to go to. The best part is that Sunshine’s selection would be different every time. They also had ordering book at Sunshine, so if there was a shirt that they did not have it was probably in a catalog somewhere. Wearing the Christian t-shirts help me keep my focus on how I should act as a Christian. The t-shirts also help me strive to be a better Christian than what I am. Wearing Christian t-shirts have done sever thing in my relationship with God. There are several occasions were the t-shirts have affected the way I act. Many times while I was at high school some people would always pick on. Having the t-shirts on helped remind me that I was a Christian and that I should not act that way that the other people were. I also believe have the Christian t-shirts leaded to some persecution event though it was never said that way. However, I am here now so it could not have be that bad. I also strive to become a better Christian because of my t-shirts. One reason for this is if you need help who are you going to ask a friend you know is a Christian or a friend who is a Christian who wear a Christian T-shirt everyday.

Tribute to Matt Stone :: Comedy Scripts Comedians Essays

Tribute to Matt Stone Episode 201 - Not Without My Anus Icons provided by Christopher Pirillo at Just South of South Park AdvertFXApplet provided by Secret Sid South Park Announcer:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the last South Park you've waited four long weeks to find out who the father of Eric Cartman is. Now, finally, the shocking truth about Cartman's lineage will not be seen tonight so we can bring you the following special presentation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  [Honk] HBC Announcer:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now, get ready for Canada's hottest action stars. Terrance and Phillip in the HBC Movie of the Week, Not Without My Anus, based on a true story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  [Canadian Courthouse - 10:18 A.M.] Scott:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ladies and gentlemen, before you today sits a murderer. On the night in question, this monster entered the home of Dr. Jeffrey O'Dwyer, and struck him repeatedly in the head with this hammer. That monster is sitting right over there, and his name is Terrance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  [Dramatic Music]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  [Fart] Phillip:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Uh, Terrance, you farted in court. Terrance:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Yes Phillip, I'm making a case for our defense.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  [Laughter] Scott:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All of these things link Terrance to the murder: hair fibers, blood samples, nail clippings, a piece of his shirt   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Terrance looks about confused. Scott:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A watch with his initials on it, a day planner with the murder scheduled, a haiku called "Time to Kill Dr. Jeffrey O'Dwyer." "Dr. O'Dwyer, time to have your head smashed in, with my new hammer." Terrance, you may be a famous surgeon, but you're not God. Je accuse Terrance. Terrance:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Would you like a monkey claw Phillip? Phillip:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Yes please.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  [Fart]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  [Laughter] Terrance:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  That's called the monkey claw cause it feels like my colon is being ripped apart by a thousand monkeys. Phillip:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The monkey claw is smelly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Judge hammers her gavel. Judge:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Come on, get a move-on, I ain't getting a younger up here. Phillip:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My sentiments exactly Your Honor. I see from your accent that you're Southern Canadian. Judge:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  That is correct. Phillip:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Good people of the jury, my client Terrance is an innocent man.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  [Fart] Terrance:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oh ho, Phillip, now you farted during the closing argument. Phillip:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I have, haven't I Terrance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  [Fart]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  [Laughter] Scott:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Your Honor, the defense is trying to make a mockery of this court. They think farts are funny, but they're not. Judge:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sustained. Phillip:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Good people of the jury, my client Terrance is no more a murderer than you or me. He loves puppies and hates mean things. Would a murderer go to the zoo and feed animals like this?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Phillip shows the jury of Terrance with a llama. Phillip:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Of course not. So, in summation, find Terrance innocent, or else he'll kill you.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  [Gasp]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  [Laughter] Phillip:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Just kidding. The defense rests.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Terrance pounds his fist on the table as he laughs uncontrollably.

Inner Depths of The Dwarf Essay -- Dwarf Essays

Inner Depths of The Dwarf "Human beings need flattery; otherwise they do not fulfill their purpose, not even in their own eyes." These are the words of the bold and heartless main character of Par Lagerkvist’s novel, The Dwarf. The keen insights of this twenty-six inch tall man, described throughout the book, are both shocking and thought provoking. Told from the point of view of the dwarf, the book entails numerous expressions of hatred towards humans and towards the dwarf’s own "detestable" race. The dwarf also displays his disgust for the Princess intermittently throughout the novel. Living as the servant and confidante to a Prince during the time when the Black Death was wiping out Europe, the dwarf experiences many instances in which he must commit wicked crimes for the Prince. He does so willingly, considering his lack of conscience. Ultimately, these crimes force him into eternal imprisonment in the dungeon under the fortress, where he can only write daily recordings of his empty life dur ing the hours when the sun shines through the cracks, and hope to be called upon again by the Prince. From the beginning, the dwarf condemns human beings as "a pack of ingratiating cows" who value nobility and beauty and who babble about virtue, honor and chivalry. He believes humans are "shrouded in mystery," but he exclaims, "nothing ever comes up from my inner depths," nothing is mysterious about him. Despite these feelings, he is loyal to and respective of his lord, the Prince. He expresses his gratitude for the graciousness of his masters, and he remains allegiant, though he is erraticly appalled by their actions. Yet, the main feelings of disgust come from his view of his race and of himself. "It is my fa... ... and therefore, longs to kill everything. Why should these disgusting creatures who call themselves men exist? He claims that it is human culture to fight and that "All human culture is but an attempt at something unattainable, something which far transcends the powers of realization. There it stands, mutilated, tragic as a torso. Is not the human spirit itself a torso?" These shocking insights demand thought from the reader on the subject of human culture and the human spirit. The dwarf's pensiveness is extremely effective in relaying the meaning of the work as a whole. His belligerent, negative attitude portrays the sense of despairing and savagery, which makes the novel so intense and interesting. This attitude is responsible for noticing the cloudy view that humans have of the world, but "Human beings like to see themselves reflected in clouded mirrors."

Define Biotechnology and Write an Essay on the Current Status of Plant Biotechnology in the 21st Century by Focusing Mainly on Genetic Engineering

Define biotechnology and write an essay on the current status of plant biotechnology in the 21st century by focusing mainly on genetic engineering O O O FAQ | Register Now | Sign In HOME PHYSICAL SCIENCESPHYSICS SPACE CHEMISTRY APPLIED PHYSICS AEROSPACE OPTICS EARTH SCIENCESENVIRONMENT ENERGY ATMOSPHERIC PALEONTOLOGY GEOLOGY OCEANOGRAPHY LIFE SCIENCESGENETICS & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EVOLUTION MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY & ZOOLOGY IMMUNOLOGY NEUROSCIENCE MEDICINECANCER RESEARCH PUBLIC HEALTH PHARMACOLOGY CLINICAL RESEARCH AGING VISION SOCIAL SCIENCESANTHROPOLOGY ARCHAEOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY SCIENCE EDUCATION & POLICYSCIENCE HISTORY PHILOSOPHY & ETHICS CULTURETECHNOLOGY MATHEMATICS SCIENCE & SOCIETY SPORTS SCIENCE RANDOM THOUGHTS HUMOR VIDEO CONTRIBUTORS Home > Life Sciences > Genetics & Molecular Biology > Humboldt Fellow and Science Recent advances in plant biotechnology: Applications in Agriculture. By Ashwani Kumar | August 21st 2009 11:29 AM | Print | E-mail | Track Comments Humboldt Fellow and Sc ience More Articles †¢Climate change and green economy-a cleaner option for sustainability †¢Sitopaladi churna is an ayurvedic medicine for cough and cold †¢Ethnobotany and Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi)All Articles About Ashwani Professor Emeritus ,Former Head of the Department of Botany, and Director Life Sciences, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. 302004, India At present†¦ View Ashwani ‘s Profile Ashwani Kumar Recent advances in plant biotechnology: Applications in Agriculture. Ashwani Kumar Professor of Botany, Department of Botany and P G School of Biotechnology University of Rajasthan Jaipur 302004. [email  protected] com Tel 0141 2711654 ( Off) 0141 2654100 ( Res) Mob (0) 9414057484 Abstract:Biotechnology is an area of production and research in which biological systems and biological principles are employed to solve technological problems. In this sense it becomes all inclusive. And during the last decade the advancements in biology have led to the develo pment newer areas like , cellular engineering, biochips and biomaterial science, stem cells, nanobiotechnology etc. Biotechnology is a vast subject and covers Gene and genome analysis: analysis of genes and gene networks showing the potential for industrial application; gene expression studies; biotech plant breeding, e. g. marker assisted breeding.Transgenic technologies: Production and analysis of transgenic crops; gene insertion studies; gene silencing; factors affecting gene expression; post-translational analysis; molecular farming; field trial analysis; commercialisation of modified crops; safety and regulatory affairs Functional genomics: bioinformatics; gene function studies for applied uses Comparative genomics: applications to crop species; use of current crop databases Physiological studies: pathways relevant to an application; secondary metabolites; manipulations of physiology for stress resistance – abiotic and biotic stress resistance including salinity and drou ght stress.Development of salt resistance plant using plant biotechnology. Host pathogen interaction and role of plant biotechnology for developing resistant corps Developmental studies: developmental mechanisms leading to a further understanding of an industrial use of plants. Plant tissue culture and its role in plant biotechnology. Introduction: Scientists have been improving plants by changing their genetic makeup since the late 1800s. Typically, this has been accomplished through crossbreeding and hybridization, in which two related plants are cross-fertilized and the resulting offspring have characteristics of both parent plants.In the breeding process, however, many undesirable traits often can appear in addition to the desirable ones. Some of those undesirable traits can be eliminated through additional breeding, which is time consuming. Breeders can then further select and reproduce the offspring that have the desired traits. Many of the foods that are already common in our diet are obtained from plant varieties that were developed using conventional genetic techniques of breeding and selection. Today, by inserting one or more genes into a plant, scientists are able to produce a plant with new, advantageous characteristics.The new gene splicing techniques are being used to achieve many of the same goals and improvements that plant breeders historically have sought through conventional methods. They give scientists the ability to isolate genes and introduce new traits into foods without simultaneously introducing undesirable traits. This is an important improvement over traditional breeding. Because of the increased precision offered by the bioengineered methods, the risk of introducing detrimental traits is actually likely to be reduced. Gene and genome analysis:Detailed studies have been conducted on plant genome and physical and genetic maps are available for several plants. As an example of studies on genome the rice genome is discussed here. Rice has a much smaller genome (430 Mbp per haploid genome) than many other crops that belong to the Poaceae family. Due to the genome colinearity, high similarity in gene order and gene content, among the Poaceae family, the importance of rice genetics has been emphasized, and comparative analyses among rice, wheat, and maize have been intensively studied.As a result, rice becomes the model crop for the molecular genetic approach. This crop is available for many applications, including the construction of a high dense map, expressed sequence tag (EST) and full genomic sequence database, bacterial and yeast artificial chromosome (BAC and YAC) libraries, quantitative traits loci (QTL) mapping for yield and morphology, functional genomics by knockout mutagenesis using T-DNA insertion, map-based cloning, and genetically modified rice using transformation techniques. ( see review Cho et al. 2007 cited in Kumar and Sopory 2007).State-of-the-art Genome Profiling (GP) : The traditional approach for species identification is exclusively based on phenotypic traits such as morphological, anatomical, chemical properties and others, which are often affected by environmental factors and thus are difficult to analyze and unreliable. Interspecies homogeneity, intraspecies variability and the existence of undescribed species often lead to phenotypic misidentification. Moreover, species, which are phenotypically far less prominent, cannot be always identified in this way.To overcome these problems, genotypebased (nucleic acid-based) techniques have been employed as an alternative or complementary approach and have continuously been developed including RFLP ,AFLP, RAPD, 16S rRNA or 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis and others. These methods provide a possible way to identify species directly based on their genomic sequences but none of them have been shown to identify species in general, mainly because of the insufficiency in the amount of information which they can provide.In this stream, the whole genome sequencing is surely the most definitive solution for species identification though simply too redundant for such purposes and impossible in practice to analyze all the constituents of a heavily dense population. On the other hand, the information obtained from the comparison of a single gene is often not sufficient to place a species at the appropriate position on the phylogenetic tree.In order to deal with above issues, previously Nishigaki and co-workers have described a realistic solution conforming to the notion of the amount of information sufficient for species identification and demonstrated this by inventing a novel method called Genome Profiling (GP), which is a temperature-gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE) analysis of random-PCR products. Next, the complexity of the generated data, genome profiles, can be simplified by extracting feature points in GP, i. e. species identification dots (spiddos) which can be used for fur ther processing of measuring the similarity of two species by calculating Pattern Similarity Score (PaSS). Further, the technical advances by constructing internet-based GP databases (named On-web GP), and developing a highly reproducible and miniaturized system (micro-TGGE) have moved this technology towards being a universal, general and global tool for species identification( see review Biyani 2007 cited in Kumar and Sopory 2007)..Recombinant DNA technology: Gene targeting (GT) Gene targeting (GT) is a key technology for the rational, accurate and safe exploitation of plantsthrough genetic manipulation. Moreover, it offers the potential to completely knockout the expression of target genes or to make specific changes to gene function, objectives that cannot be achieved by conventional transgenesis. The ability to target DNA integration would permit the locus-specific integration of a transgene into a predetermined ite of the host genome, avoiding the accidental inactivation of an endogenous gene localized at the insertion site or the unexpected expression profiles of the transgene itself, the so-called position effect. Systematic isolation and sequencing of genomic DNA flanking the insertion sites (known as FSTs or Flanking Sequence Tag offers the opportunity to rapidly characterize plants altered in a candidate gene sequence. This approach is notably most useful in fully sequenced genomes such as in Arabidopsis thaliana.With 125 Mbp and 26,422 genes, the Arabidopsis genome shows very limited synteny with the 420–466 Mbp and 60,000 predicted genes of the rice genome. The recombination machinery has been well conserved throughout evolution, as an essential component of cell survival. In nature, homologous recombination is a DNA maintenance pathway that protects chromosomes against damage affecting both DNA strands, such as double strand breaks (DSBs) or interstrand crosslinks. DSB repair (DSBR) has been one of the most investigated homologous repair p athways see SHRIVASTAVA1, SHARMA2 AND KUMAR 2007 cited in Kumar and Sopory 2007).Recently plastid genome transformation technique has gained prominence due to its better integration and less chances of random spread. The genome propagated by higher plant plastids, the plastome, is typically a double stranded DNA molecule of 130 to 160 kb. Over one hundred copies of this genome can be present in a single plastid. It is ideally represented as a circular monomer containing 2 inverted repeats, even though reality is more complex since linear and circular multimers have been frequently detected The complete sequence of this highly polyploidy genome is available for about 20 different species of angiosperms http://megasun. ch. umontreal. ca/ ogmp/projects/other/cp_list. html). The first successful transformation of tobacco was performed using as marker a mutant plastid DNA fragment covering the 16SrRNA gene derived from a line resistant to spectinomycin and streptomycin. Major improvement s in the selection process were soon obtained with the dominant aadA marker gene, inactivating spectinomycin or streptomycin. When fused to GFP, this marker can be used to track the selection process.Genes encoding resistance to kanamycin, nptII and more recently aphA-6 are also possible options, and could be more appropriate for some species (Kumar et al. , 2004a see review Dubald. 2007 cited in Kumar and Sopory 2007). There are three different fates for the external DNA to get integrated into the native genome. They are homologous recombination, illegitimate recombination or nonhomologous end joining, and single-strand annealing. . Single-strand annealing (SSA), a third path of repair, requires the presence of repeated sequences on both sides of a break.After exonuclease degradation of the 5’ ends, repair occurs by annealing of the two complementary sequences, a process leading to the loss of the genetic information contained between these repeats. With respect to the speci es preferential DSB repair pathway, HR but also IR mediates transgene integration. This second aspect explains the inefficiency of GT in higher plants, which use HR as a minor pathway of repair. Thus, despite the fact that transgene integration processes are still unclear in plants transgenic DNA would be preferentially integrated by end joining whether or not sharing homology within the host genome.GM crops: The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found no evidence to indicate that either ordinary plant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or the DNA inserted into plants using bioengineering presents food safety problems. Nor are the small amounts of the newly expressed proteins likely to change dramatically the safety profile of the plant. If safety concerns should arise, however, they would most likely fall into one of three broad categories: allergens, toxins, or anti-nutrients. FDA has extensive experience in evaluating the safety of such substances in food.It is important to n ote that the kinds of food safety testing typically conducted by developers of a bioengineered food crop to ensure that their foods meet all applicable requirements of the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act (FD;C Act) address these potential concerns. In the event that something unexpected does occur, this testing provides a way to detect such changes at the developmental stage and defer marketing until any concern is resolved. As aforementioned, some of the food safety concerns that could arise include: Allergens: Foods normally contain many thousands of different proteins.While the majority of proteins do not cause allergic reactions, virtually all known human allergens are proteins. Since genetic engineering can introduce a new protein into a food plant, it is possible that this technique could introduce a previously unknown allergen into the food supply or could introduce a known allergen into a â€Å"new† food. Toxins: It is possible that a new protein, as introduced into a cr op as a result of the genetic modification, could cause toxicity. Anti-nutrients: It is possible that the introduction of anti-nutrients, such as molecules like phytic acid, could reduce essential dietary minerals such as phosphorus.The use of genetic engineering techniques could also result in unintended alterations in the amounts of substances normally found in a food, such as a reduction of Vitamin C or an increase in the concentration of a naturally occurring toxicant in the plant food. LEGAL AND REGULATORY ISSUES: One important component in ensuring food safety is the U. S. regulatory structure. The FDA regulates bioengineered plant food in conjunction with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).FDA has authority under the FD;C Act to ensure the safety of all domestic and imported foods for man or animals in the United States market. The exceptions to this are meat, poultry and certain egg products, which are regulated b y USDA. The safety of animal drug residues in meat and poultry, however, is regulated by FDA. Pesticides, including those bioengineered into a food crop, are regulated primarily by EPA. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) oversees the agricultural and environmental safety of planting and field testing bioengineered plants.Bioengineered foods and food ingredients must adhere to the same standards of safety under the FD;C Act that apply to their conventionally bred counterparts. This means that these products must be as safe as the traditional foods in the market. FDA has the power to remove a food from the market, or sanction those marketing the food if the food poses a risk to public health. It is important to note that the FD;C Act places a legal duty on developers to ensure that the foods they market to consumers are safe and comply with all legal requirements.Area under the commercialization of genetically modified (GM), often called biotech crops con tinued to grow for the ninth consecutive year at a sustained double-digit growth rate of 20% in 2004 (James, 2004). The estimated global area of approved GM crops for 2005 was 90. 0 million hectares with $4. 70 billion global market value—based on the sale price of GM seed plus any technology fees that apply. The global value of the GM crop market is projected a more than $5. 0 billion for 2005 (James, 2004). Commercialization of genetically modified (GM) crops continued to grow for the ninth consecutive year.It reflects the substantial improvements in productivity, the environment, economics, health and social benefits realized by farmers, consumers and society. At the same time the growing controversy over GM food products increased interest in food labelling and identity preservation (IP) of GM crops. Hence, an IP system must be designed to provide assurances that the desired traits are present (or absent) in a product from the seed source, through all steps of production and delivery, to the end user. There are numerous regulatory issues related to GM crops.These include the testing and acceptance of new GM crops for commercial introduction, both domestically and internationally. Nearly every country has different approaches and many have their own regulatory framework, with an intent to prevent cross-contamination of the conventional food and feed industries. IP tracking software is also available in market to ease the burdens associated with precise record-keeping requirements. The economics of IP has been calculated by various scientists depending on different applied IP systems.Niche-marketing opportunities will grow, because of the availability of GM crops and finally, IP of agricultural commodities from GM crops can provide greater choice and value desired by both agricultural producers and consumers (DOSHI AND FRANCOIS EUDES, 2007 cited in Kumar and Sopory 2007) Based on annual percentage growth in area, of the eight leading GM crop countries , India had the highest percentage year-on-year growth in 2004 with an increase of 400% in Bt cotton area over 2003, followed by Uruguay (200%), Australia (100%), Brazil (66%), China (32%), south Africa (25%), Canada (23%), Argentina (17%) and USA at 11%.India increased its area of approved Bt cotton, introduced only two years ago, from approximately 38,038 hectares in 2002/ 03 to 560,000 hectares in 2004/05 seasons with Bt coverage of 11. 65% and approximately 300,000 small farmers benefited from Bt cotton( see review DOSHI AND EUDES, 2007 cited in Kumar and Sopory 2007). . REGULATORY ISSUES RELATED TO GM CROPS: There are numerous regulatory issues related to GM crops. These include the testing and acceptance of new GM crops for commercial introduction and the introduction of food products containing ingredients from GM crops, both domestically and internationally.Nearly every country has different approaches and many have their own regulatory framework. Regulation is a very dynami c issue with changes being reviewed and proposed in many countries on an ongoing basis. Numerous regulatory actions are consequently being proposed as governments react to consumer concerns and pressures. Several countries have or have proposed to create new agencies to specifically cover GM crops. Approaches range from cautious acceptance to attempts to ban (growing and even imports), at least for the foreseeable future, all crops and products with GM traits.Each is approaching the testing, introduction, and acceptance of GM crops in its own manner and on its own time schedule. Table 6 summarizes the current status of some of the regulations related to introduction, approval, and commercial acceptance of GM crops. Table 6. Status of regulations over GM products. Abiotic and biotic resistance: Coat Protein Mediated Resistance: CP is an important structural protein as it not only protects the viral nucleic acid from degradation, but also plays an important role in virus infection.Its functions includes acquisition and transmission of virus by vectors, cell to cell and long distance spread of the virus in host plants, and for some viruses, it regulates one or more steps of virus replication. Coat Protein (CP) mediated resistance has been demonstrated for 17 groups of viruses, and so far this strategy has shown best promise. CP transgenes have been shown to be effective in preventing or reducing infection and diseases caused by homologous and closely related viruses (Gonsalves, et al. , 1998).Coat protein-mediated protection has been reported for Tobacco mosaic virus, TMV,Tomato mosaic virus, ToMV, (Sa), Cucumber mosaic virus, CMV, Alfalfa mosaic virus, AlMV, (Loesch-Fries et al. , 1987; Tumer et al. , 1997), Potato virus X, PVX, Potato virus Y, PVY, Potato leaf roll virus, PLRV, Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) and a number of other viruses. CP-mediated resistance in Cantaloupe, Papaya, Potato, Squash and Tomato has been tested under the field conditions with fair d egree of protection against most of the viruses (Table 4). ( see review Verma and Parveen 2007 cited in Kumar and Sopory 2007)Anti-HIV Agents Among Desert Plants Around 40 million people are affected due to the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus globally. During the past decades, a large number of anti-viral screening experiments on medicinal plant extracts have been reported and have led to the selection of several extracts active towards herpes viruses. A promising result of a naturally occurring antiherpetic agent was given by n- docosanol (a natural 22 carbon saturated fatty alcohol) which is undergoing phase III clinical trials in patients. Clinical testing of the topical formulation, or systemic administration of drug suspensions has demonstrated good therapeutic index, since high doses of n- docosanol do not elicit appreciable toxicity. The findings show that natural products are still potential sources in the search for new antiherpatic agents (Hattori et al. , 1995). Various pla nt extracts used in Ayurvedic medicine for inhibitory effects on HIV virus have been studied (Hattori, personal communication). A large number of such plants occur in semi-arid and arid climate of Rajasthan. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) , the great pandemic of the second half of the 20th Century, is still a threatening disease world wide.Many research approaches are currently aimed at developing novel agents to arrest the replication of HIV through various targets. These may include the inhibition of reverse transcriptase (RT), protease (PR), membrane fusion and integrase. HIV PR enzyme has been demonstrated to play an essential role in viral replication ( see review Kumar 2007 cited in Kumar and Sopory 2007) A range of HIV PR inhibitors have been designed and applied in clinical trials such as Sanqunavir, Ritonavir and Indinavir. However, the development of drug resistance by virus, irrespective of the target, remains as an overwhelming problem in AIDS chemotherapy.Thu s there is great need to search for and develop new and different anti-HIV candidates from plants and natural products are of considerable importance. In search for anti-HIV active agents from natural products, many attempts at screening traditional medicines have been made. Biotic and abiotic stress: Environmental abiotic stress conditions, and especially drought and salinity, are currently the major factors which reduce crop yields world-wide leading to the fact that more than 800 million people are chronically undernourished..The United Nations Environment Program estimates that approximately 20% of agricultural land and 50% of cropland in the world is saltstressed This salinity, in particular, is an increasing problem and nearly half of the area under irrigation, is at risk to be lost due o building up of salinity. Therefore genetic improvement of salt tolerance has become an urgent need for the future of agriculture in arid and semiarid regions.. One way of solving this problem would be breeding tolerant varieties of crop plants that can be grown on saline soils, but these breeding programs are time consuming and remained elusive .Hence, many metabolic changes are known to occur in plants subjected to salt stress, physiological parameters such as ionic relations have been suggested to be used as tolerance indicators since they can be related to salt tolerance mechanisms. Biofuel production: India has over 180 million of wasteland out of which 90 million ha is uncultivable. The degraded and denuded lands arise due to soil erosions as well as secondary salinizations. However Calotropis procera is a potential lant for bioenergy and biofuel production in semi arid regions of the country because it is able to grow on such lands. The plant has a growth potential of 2 dry tones to 40 dry tones per ha depending on the agro climatic conditions of it’s growth. The plant has high level of regeneration potential and could be harvested up to 4 times a year. The plant yields valuable hydrocarbons which could be converted into diesel substitutes. The bio-diesel derived from Calotropis procera is free from NOx gases, S02 and Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and has high cetane value.Due to it’s enormous potential for growth under adverse climatic conditions Calotropis procera is suggested as potential plant for bio-diesel production under semi-arid and arid conditions ( Anita and Kumar,2005, Anita et al. 2005). Jatropha curcas also provides non-edible oil which could be converted into methyl ester with a gain of glycerine ( Anita and Kumar 2007) . The JME is used as mix in the ratio of 05, to 20 percent blend to fossil fuel diesel and in Germany the use of Rape seed methyl ester is increasing. Soil salinity: Soil salinity affects plant production in many parts of the world, particularly on irrigated land.NaCl is the predominant salt in most saline environments. Many crop species are sensitive to high concentrations of salt with nega tive impacts on agricultural production. Maize (Zea mays L. ) is considered a moderately salt-sensitive plant.. Salt resistance of plants is a complex phenomenon that involves biochemical and physiological processes as well as morphological and developmental changes.. In addition to general osmotic stress, high concentrations of Na+ are toxic to maize and molecular mechanisms for salt resistance have not been fully identified or characterized (Zoerb et al 2004).The analysis of the plant’s proteome is an important amendment to the analysis of the genome, because gene expression is altered under salinity stress. The proteome, in contrast to the genome, is not static but rather dependent on a number of responses influenced by internal and external factors. The plant adaptation to environmental stress, such as soil salinity, is expected to have a strong influence on proteins. One approach to study the molecular mechanisms of plant responses to salinity is to use 2D polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Furthermore, the dentification of differentially regulated proteins can lead to the identification of proteins and their corresponding genes which are involved in the physiology of salt resistance. The high resolution achieved by 2D gels and computer-assisted analysis of the differentially regulated proteins were used to examine those proteins whose synthesis was modulated by salt treatment and to quantify these changes. As far as we know, our investigations are the first to characterize the differentially expressed proteins from roots and shoots of maize after treatment with low and high salt stress.Plant material was an efficiently Na+-excluding maize inbred line developed in our laboratory. According to Munns the growth response to salt stress consists of two phases, first, a water-deficit that results from the relatively high solute concentrations in the root medium and, second, ion-specific stress resulting from altered K+/Na+ ratios or Na+ and Cl? concent rations that are toxic to plants. The aim of this study was to elucidate biochemical and physiological reactions of glycophytes to salt stress in the first phase of salinity. While all major crops, as well as most wild species, are glycophytes, i. e. ensitive to relatively low salt concentrations, there are plants naturally adapted to conditions of high salinity in the soil. These plants, known as halophytes, include a large taxonomic variety and occupy diverse habitats, from extreme dry to temporarily waterlogged sites or salt marshes, and can tolerate NaCl concentrations similar, or even higher than that of sea water, ca. 500 mM (Figure 1). It is – without doubt – necessary to develop sustainable biological production systems which can tolerate higher water salinity because freshwater resources will not come up with increasing demands of agricultural practice in near future.The sustainable use of halophytic plants is a promising approach to valorize strongly salinise d zones unsuitable for conventional agriculture and mediocre waters. The development of cash crop halophytes and the breeding of salt resistant crop varieties will require a clear understanding of the complex mechanisms of salt stress tolerance, which we are still lacking despite intensive research during the last decade (see review KOYROAND HUCHZERMEYER 2007 cited in Kumar and Sopory 2007).Recombinant proteins: It has been estimated that 1 g of recombinant antibody could be produced in leaves of a plant crop for only about US$100 while the current prices for monoclonal antibodies range from US$2000 to US$5000 per gram. Indeed the cost of producing 1 kg of recombinant protein from most major field crops is estimated to be 10 to 50 times lower than the cost of producing the same amount by E. coli fermentation. Whole plants also have an advantage when tissues such as a fruit, tuber, etc. an be used to express the protein of interest (James and Lee 2001), and an area of undisputed adva ntage occurs when the oral delivery of pharmaceuticals, as well as feed and food enzymes, is possible. However, there are also some evident obstacles that arise when a whole plant is used for large-scale protein production( see review SODERQUIST and LEE 2007). Cell-free systems have proved to have high utility at the genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic levels and to form a vital component of many aspects of recombinant gene expression, and of both structural and functional proteomics..Compared with DNA microarrays, protein bio-chips provide more challenges and have yet to be perfected due to the complexity and inherent difficulties with protein immobilization. Novel cell free translation system is unique discovery: A novel cell-free translation system is described in which template-mRNA molecules were captured onto solid surfaces to simultaneously synthesize and immobilize proteins in a more native-state form. This technology comprises a novel solid-phase approach to cell-free tra nslation and RNA–protein fusion techniques.A newly constructed biotinylated linker-DNA which enables puromycin-assisted RNA–protein fusion is ligated to the 3? ends of the mRNA molecules to attach the mRNA-template on a streptavidin-coated surface and further to enable the subsequent reactions of translation and RNA–protein fusion on surface. The protein products are therefore directly immobilized onto solid surfaces and furthermore were discovered to adopt a more native state with proper protein folding and superior biological activity compared with conventional liquid-phase approaches.We further validate this approach via the production of immobilized green fluorescent protein (GFP) on microbeads and by the production and assay of aldehyde reductase (ALR) enzyme with 4-fold or more activity. The approach developed in this study may enable to embrace the concept of the transformation of ‘RNA chip-to-protein chip’ using a solid-phase cell-free trans lation system and thus to the development of high-throughput microarray platform in the field of functional genomics and in vitro evolution (Biyani et al. 2006). Plant tissue culture: Another area of biotechnology is micropropagation of plants.The aim of this technique is a fast production of a great number of genetically identical plants from a highly valuable mother plant or e. g. monosexual male and female plants. These plants can be either directly sold on the market for planting, used for breeding purposes, for genetechnology or the technique is used as a method for basic science studies. Using petiole explants from transgenic plants containing the auxin responsive MAS promoter linked to the GUS reporter gene (Fig. 15, 16) the distribution of auxin within the cultured petiole could be followed during the induction phase of somatic embryogenesis (Neumann 2000 and Neumann 2006).Interestingly, the cells forming the glandular canal contain high concentrations of auxins as shown by using transgenic plants containing the auxin sensitive MAS-promoter coupled to the GUS-gene ( Fig see below ), whatever the significance. Rhizogenic centers develop near vascular bundles prior to those embryogenic centers. Fig. 2 Plasmid pPCV812 with the MAS promoter and the GUS reporter gene, hyg=Hygromycin resistance, Ap/Cb=Ampicillin/Carbenicillin resistance (courtesy of Dr. Z. Koncz, Max-Planck- Institut Cologne, Germany, for providing the plasmid) Genetic factors play a central role to induce somatic embryos, i. . to provide the competence of the species for the process. Here, great variation can be found even within a genera such as Daucus. Eight of twelve Daucus species cultured in identical conditions produced somatic embryos (D. halophilus, D. capillifolius, D. commutatus, D. azoricus, D. gadacei, D. maritimus, D. maximus, D. carota ), whereas four species (D. montevidensis, D. pussillus, D. muricatus, D. glochidiatus) were not competent to do so. Under identical culture co nditions, only 8 out of 12 species and subspecies of the genus Daucus proved capable of somatic embryogenesis.Random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis indicated a polymorphism between the genomes of individual species that were capable of embryogenesis and those that were not. Two specific bands (1. 1 kbp, 0. 68 kbp) were detected only inthe genomes of individuals with the capacity for embryogenesis. These were cloned and sequenced, and the homology of the nucleotide sequences of the various species was detected: this ranged from 74% to 92% for the larger sequence and from 92% to 97% for the smaller one. These DNA sequences would appear to be useful as a marker of the capacity for somatic embryogenesis in the genus Daucus (Imani et al. 001) The sequences obtained in this study have been registered with the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL). The access numbers for the sequences are: AJ278039 DCA78039; AJ278040 DCA78040; AJ278041 CA78041; AJ278042 DCA78042; AJ278176 DCA278176; AJ278177 DCA278177; AJ278178 DCA278178; AJ278179 DCA278179. No open reading frames were detected. We performed later additional studies with other Daucus species (D. capillifolius; D. carota ssp. Azoricus and gadecaei) as shown in Table 1 to determine the use-fulness of these RAPD products as markers for identifying the ability of Daucus species to generate somatic embryos (Fig. b). There was a 100% correlation between the embryogenic potential of the species (Table 1) and the occurrence of the 1. 1-kbp and 0. 68-kbp band (Imani et al. 2001). Micropropagation Technique in Enhancing the Productivity of Crops have been taken up at large scale at TERI ( see review Saxena, 2007 see Kumar and Shekhawat 2007) Some of the activities undertaken at MTP include: †¢ Large-scale production of superior quality planting material of various economically important plant species using tissue culture technology †¢ Mass multiplication of those species which are difficult to regenerate by co nventional methods f propagation or where conventional methods of propagation are inadequate to meet the demand of planting material †¢ Development of new micropropagation protocols and refining of others so as to make them suitable for large-scale production of plants †¢ Helping the entrepreneurs/industry through technology transfer, mother cultures and training of staff †¢ Assisting clients in setting-up their own tissue culture labs †¢ Creating awareness Till date over 15 million plants of forest species, cash crops, medicinal and aromatic plants, and ornamentals (foliage and flowering) have been dispatched to various state forest and horticulture epartments, private entrepreneurs, nurseries, farmers etc. for field demonstrations and routine plantations. In addition, MTP is in possession of micropropagation protocols for over 90 economically important plant species. Field demonstration plots of tissue cultured plants have been laid at different locations to ev aluate and compare their growth performances with conventional plants. Besides transfer of technologies to industry for commercialization, MTP has been instrumental in capacity building and creating awareness about tissue culture technology through seminars/ workshops/training programmes, exhibitions, etc. Dhawan and Saxena 2004; Saxena and Dhawan, 2004). Secondary metabolites: Since the establishment of plant tissue culture techniques in 1960’s, significant contributions have been made to the development of biochemical studies on secondary metabolism such as structural elucidation, biosynthesis, enzymology, metabolic regulation system, intracellular distribution of metabolites and relevant enzymes, metabolite transportation, molecular biology and many others . However, one of the greatest difficulties and challenges in the application of plant tissue culture to metabolism research has been that unorganized callus tissues have often failed to ccumulate metabolites usually det ected in the mother plant. In some cases, metabolic potential was recovered through the development of a production medium, change in culture conditions or selecting cell strains of high productivity (Fujita and Tabata, 1987). It is commonly observed that recalcitrant callus tissues begin to synthesize secondary metabolites after organ – such as shoots and roots – differentiation . Although somatic embryogenesis occurs in cultured cells of numerous plant species, it has rarely been applied to secondary metabolite production. Recently secondary metabolite production by somatic embryo ultures and especially by those of Corydalis species has been reviewed by HIRAOKA and Bhatt, 2007) . References: Anita Kumari and Ashwani Kumar (2005) SOME POTENTIAL BIOFUEL PLANTS FOR SEMI-ARID AND ARID REGIONS AND IMPROVING THEIR GROWTH AND PRODUCTIVITY In : CARRASCO J. E. , L. SJUNNESSON, P. HELM, A. GRASSI (eds) BIOMASS FOR ENERGY, INDUSTRY AND CLIMATE PROTECTION. pp 279-281. Anita Kuma ri, Ashwani Kumar, V. R. Kumar (2005) PRODUCTIVTY OF CALOTROPIS PROCERA IN SEMI-ARID REGIONS OF RAJASTHAN AND ITS USE AS RENEWABLE SOURCE OF ENERGY In : CARRASCO J. E. , L. SJUNNESSON, P. HELM, A.GRASSI (eds) BIOMASS FOR ENERGY, INDUSTRY AND CLIMATE PROTECTION. pp 276-278 Dhawan V and Saxena S (2005) Production of superior quality disease-free planting material. In: Chadha KL, Ahloowalia Imani, J. , (1999): In situ- Nachweis der Auxinverteilung in kultivierten Petiolenexplantaten von transgenen Pflanzen wahrend der Induktion der somatischen Embryogenese bei Daucus carota L. Diss. Justus Liebig Universitat, Gie? en, Germany J. Imani †¢ L. Tran Thi †¢ G. Langen,B. Arnholdt-Schmitt †¢ S. Roy †¢ C. Lein †¢ A. Kumar K. -H. Neumann (2001) Somatic embryogenesis and DNA organization of genomes from selected Daucus species.Plant Cell Rep 20:537–541 Prasad, BS KV and Singh SK (Eds. ) Crop Improvement and Production Technology of Horticultural Crops Proceedings of First Indian Horticulture Congress – 2004. pp 174-184. Kumar A. (2004) Calotropis Procera: a Potential Plant for Hydrocarbons from Semi-Arid and Arid Regions In : Van Swaaij, Fjallstrom, Helm and Grassi (eds):. Biomass for energy, industry, and climate protection. Proceedings of the Second World Conference ETA-Florence, Rome Italy WIP-Munich , Germany pp 173. Kumar, A. and Sudhir Sopory ( eds) ( 2007) Recent advances in plant biotechnology.IK International New Delhi Kumar A and N S Shekhawat ( eds) (2007) Plant tissue culture, Molecular markers and their role in agriculture production. IK International. New Delhi Neumann, K. -H. (1995): Pflanzliche Zell- und Gewebekulturen. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart,304 pages Neumann KH (2000) Some studies on somatic embryogenesis, a tool in plant biotechnology. http://bibd. uni-giessen. de/ghtm/ 2000/uni/p000004. htm Neumann, K. -H. (2006): Some studies on somatic embryogenesis: a tool in plant biotechnology. In: Kumar and Roy (eds) Plant b iotechnology and its applications in tissue culture.I. K. International, New Delhi . pp 1-14. Shekhawat V. P. S. and A. Kumar 2006 Somaclonal variants for salt tolerance and in vitro propagation of peanut. In: (Eds. ) A. Kumar, S. Roy and S. K. Sopory. Plant Biotechnology;its Application in Tissue Culture. I. K. International New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore. pp. 177-196 Shekhawat, V. P. S. , Kumar, A. , and K. H. Neumann. 2005. Bio-reclamation of secondary salinized soils using halophytes. Biosaline Agriculture ; Salinity tolerance in Plants. (Eds. ) M. Ozturk, Y. Waisal, M. A. Khan and G. Gork, Birkhauser Verlag , Switzerland. p 145-152. Shekhawat, V. P. S. , Kumar, A. , and K. H. Neumann. 2006. Effect of NaCl salinity on growth and ion accumulation in some chenopodiaceous halophytes. Communication in Soil Science and Plant analysis 13-14 (37), 1933 – 1946 Manish Biyani, Yuzuru Husimi, and Naoto Nemoto (2006) Solid-phase translation and RNA–protein fusion: a novel approa ch for folding quality control and direct immobilization of proteins using anchored mRNA Nucleic Acids Res. 2006 November; 34:140-. Saxena, S and Dhawan V (2004) Changing Scenarios in Indian Horticulture In : PS Srivastava, A Narula and SSrivastava (Eds. ) Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Markers. Anamaya Publishers, New Delhi. pp. 261-277. Related Articles on Science 2. 0 Applications of biotechnology in plant tissue culture Biotechnology and genomic tools Biofuels include Medicinal plant cultivation. Recent advances in plant biotechnology: Applications in Agriculture. Know Science And Want To Write? Register Now To Get Your Own Column! What's Happening Top Articles New Comments Events 1. 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