Nucor Steel Case Study

There are many competitive forces that are affecting Nucor Corporation. Some of the primary ones are the market size, number of rivals, and pace of technological change. The market size is shrinking because of the increase in competing international steel companies. The number of rivals in America is declining due to higher labor costs than in foreign countries. There is a very fast pace of technology in the steel industry and it seems that the company, that obtains the newest technology, flourishes. This is due to the difficulty in lower costs of steel production. Better technology is one of the only ways to decrease costs because labor is pretty much at a set cost and all that is left is the cost of iron and making the steel. If a company can get its hands on a new technology that allows it to under price its competitors then it has a big advantage in the steel industry. Nucor’s main rivals in the steel industry are AK Steel Holding Corporation, Mittal Steel Company, and U. S. Steel. The five forces for the steel industry are the buyers, substitutes, suppliers, threat of new entrants, and rivals. The buyers have a fairly strong power on the steel producers. This is because of the low switching cost between competitors. Unless a contract is signed between a steel company and its buyer, there is little cost to the buyer if it wants to switch to a different steel company. There are not very many substitutes for steel, as steel is a commodity, so the substitute power is weak. Steel is a one of a kind item in that it is very strong and very versatile in its use. It is used in buildings, automobiles, bridges, garage door openers, and many other everyday objects. Suppliers also have a weak power in the steel industry. The suppliers are supplying iron to steel companies. Iron is very common and many companies sell it. Also, steel companies frequently integrate backwards and provide their own iron to their steel mills. The threat of new entrants is very weak due to high entry barriers and the current struggling competitors. The rival power is moderate to strong because there are a fair number of steelmaking companies. Also steel dumping occurs, but I will be talking about that later. According to this analysis, Nucor is in a three star industry, so it seems to have an okay chance at surviving. It is not the best industry to be in, but Nucor still has been able to flourish due to its organizational philosophy and technological innovation. 2) The driving forces behind the steel industry are industry growth rate, globalization, technological change and manufacturing process innovation, exit of major firms, and frequent change in cost. The steel industry is falling. There is a declining demand for steel and many companies have already gone bankrupt or are on the verge of going bankrupt. Some of these companies are Bethlehem Steel and Ling-Temco-Vought. The steel industry is very difficult to compete in because more steel is being produced than there is demand for it. Globalization is also a problem for the steel industry in America. Due to globalization it is getting easier for competing companies to send their products to other countries. This causes a problem for companies like Nucor because America has strict labor laws. In other countries labor is exploited and workers are paid very little, while in America, companies must pay their workers a minimum wage. One good thing that America does do is provide tariffs on incoming steel products to help American companies better compete with the international companies. Some countries are subsidiaries to the steel companies in their countries. This means that the governments have a vested interest in the company and want it to succeed. The companies can then sell products, like steel, at a much lower price due to the incoming funding form the government. China has been accused of this and America has taken action to alert the World Trade Organization to settle the matter, but this is only one step to â€Å"leveling the playing field† with China. The technologies for making steel are constantly changing and this allows for more efficient and therefore cheaper steel products. It seems that the companies, who obtain these technologies, obtain a significant head start in the industry. Like I said before, many companies are going bankrupt and are leaving the exiting the industry. Since steel is a commodity it leads to very volatile prices and can change quite frequently due to demand. By looking at Exhibit 1, you can see how the average price per ton decreased form $425 per ton in 2000 to $354 per ton in 2001. This exhibit shows how many tons of steel Nucor sold during certain years from 1970 to 2006. It is interesting to see that Nucor’s net income was fairly low during the years of 2000-2002, but increased to $1,121. 5 million. This is because of Nucor’s many acquisitions during the low period. Just a few years later in 2004, the price of steel was back up to $595 per ton. These driving forces very easily impact the steel industry’s competitive structure in a bad way. These driving forces make it very difficult for steel companies to compete in this industry. 3)The prospects for future profitability of the U. S. steel makers are very unattractive. Unless America can successfully combat China’s enormously, inexpensive, production ability, I do not see any American steel company surviving. China just has too big of a production ability and has the workforce to do it cheaply. Nucor will have to expand in this industry in the United States to survive. If the WTO negotiations with China go well then American steel companies may have a chance in the steel industry. If they do, then America can increase tariffs on incoming steel products and give American steel companies a chance to survive. Future profitability looks grim for American steel companies because of what I described before. China has been accused of subsidizing its steel companies, therefore funding them to make it possible to â€Å"dump steel† which is the process of selling steel at prices below the cost of making it. China would do this because then it would eventually under price foreign competitors and run them out of business. This, supposedly, happened back in 2000-2001 and devastated the steel industry in America, causing many companies to go bankrupt or be bought by other companies. Nucor was lucky enough to have survived this fall out and acquired many steel plants at low prices. The steel industry did bounce back in 2005-2006 and this allowed Nucor to grow quite rapidly due to its previous acquisitions. If America can again survive the big Chinese power, then Nucor will succeed, but right now it looks bleak for the American steel industry. 4)Nucor has adopted a low-cost strategy based on four parts. These parts are acquisitions, technological innovation, plant innovation, and joint ventures. The acquisition part of the Nucor strategy is that it has acquired many different steel companies in 2000-2001, when the steel industry in America was suffering. Because of the low time in the steel industry, Nucor could purchase steel companies at lower prices than normal. This helped its low-cost strategy substantially because it allowed Nucor to grow yet still remain a low-cost steel producer. Exhibit 2 shows Nucor’s financials, and very accurately illustrates the hit Nucor took during the low period of 2000-2003. This was a perfect time for Nucor to buy other steel companies, as this was one of the only ways for it to grow. Nucor invested heavily in new technologies. Investing in new technologies is very important for steel companies to do, as it is very easy to reduce costs if the company has a foothold on a new technology. Nucor focused on the introduction of disruptive technologies to give it an advantage in the market as compared to its competitors in terms of product quality, cost per ton, and market share. One example of this is the Castrip process. This new process produced flat-rolled, carbon, and stainless steels in very thin gauges. It allowed Nucor to produce steel in fewer steps, and helped produce savings in its operating expenses, therefore increasing Nucor’s net income. The Castrip process needed lower-quality scrap steel, which decreased costs of the scrap steel, and required 90% less energy. Also this new process cut green house gases by 80%. Nucor also increased its capital investments on the newest machinery to provide more efficient steel plants. By providing its workforce with the best possible technology, Nucor was able to max out production yet still retain a safe working environment. The implementation of hard working plant managers, produced hardworking managers that are aggressive enough to implement methods to improve product quality while keeping costs low. Nucor’s last strategic part was its joint ventures. By investing in joint ventures, Nucor was able to grow internationally with out the full capital risk. Some examples of this were its joint ventures in Brazil, Australia, and Trinidad. The joint venture in Brazil was between Companhia Vale do Rio Doce and Nucor. The goal was to produce an environmentally friendly pig iron plant that used eucalyptus trees as fuel. The use of eucalyptus trees as fuel removed 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for every one ton of pig iron produced. Another joint venture was three other companies in Australia. This plant used a new technology process called HIsmelt. This new process converted iron ore to pig iron at a lower cost and higher quality than previously known pig iron producing technologies. The Trinidad plant was acquired in 2007 and was originally in Louisiana. The plant was moved to Trinidad because of the constant supply of natural gas as fuel therefore lowering costs. This plant reduced scrap metal dependence by as much as 25%. It also allowed for a higher quality production of sheet steel. Nucor’s four-part strategy has lead to a competitive sustainable advantage as seen in exhibit 2 between the years of 2004-2006 when its net income soared to more than $1,757. 7 million. Nucor used a cost-based advantage to achieve its competitive sustainable advantage. )Nucor employed an organization philosophy consisting of decentralization, individually operated plants, a three layer structure, good compensation practices for its employees, and good employee relations. Nucor’s decentralized structure allowed for its employees to make quick decisions that did not have to go through all of the bureaucratic steps like that in a centralized company. A decentralized co mpany relied on higher quality employees that could analyze a situation and react quickly and successfully. The individually operated plants were akin to the decentralized company. Each plant was individually responsible for its profits. The three layers consisted of the executives at the headquarters located in South Carolina, the general managers that ran the plants and talked to the executives, and the hourly employees that did most of the labor at the plants. The general managers ran the plants individually form each other and were expected to reach, at least, a 25% return on its total assets. If a general manager failed this, the executives would interfere and had no hesitation in replacing an unsuccessful general manager. The individual plants allowed for team like competitions between plants to see who could be the best performer. Nucor was nonunion, but provided salaries based on competing plants’ salaries in the area. Nucor offered a generous compensation bonus to good work that differed for each worker. Hourly workers received bonuses if they produced more than the standard number of tons. Department managers earned annual bonuses depending on percentage of net income to dollars of assets. Nucor also had great employee relations. Nucor offered 401k plans by matching up to 25% of employees’ contributions. Medical and dental plans were very common for Nucor employees. There was also a tuition reimbursement of up to $2,750 for any employee. For the children of employees, Nucor would provide a scholarship up to $2,750, which would encourage employees to stay until their went to college. As seen here, Nucor treated its employees very well to reduce employee turnover and attract the best employees. Nucor required a high human capital if it were going to use a decentralized structure. The high quality employees that Nucor attracted helped Nucor execute its low-cost strategy, and led to superior results. )Nucor’s leadership, great strategy, and execution were what led to why Nucor was so successful in the steel industry. The great leader that Nucor relied upon was Kenneth Iverson, who changed Nucor from a nuclear energy company into a steel company. As seen in the last question, the decentralized structure helped Nucor react t problems quickly due to the ability of employees to take t he authority to solving problems. To be a great company, you need all three. This was evident in the case of Nucor because it was turned around and became a very successful company in a very different and difficult industry than where it started. )The SWOT analysis of Nucor is as follows. The strengths of Nucor are its strong market position, historically based position, increased production capacity, and strong technological focus. Nucor had a strong market position that allowed it to flourish in the steel industry. The strong market position is shown by its ability to stay out of the red during hard times. This is seen in exhibit 1. Nucor continued to have a positive net income, even during the low period between 2000 and 2002, as seen in exhibit 1. Nucor’s historically based position has given it a long-standing presence that is known to most steel consumers. This has helped Nucor because it tells the consumers that Nucor has been able to provide quality steel year after year. As seen in exhibit 1, Nucor has increasingly produced steel starting at 207,000 tons in 1970 to 22,118,000 tons in 2006. This growth is enormous and not once did Nucor’s steel sales fall below its previous year. Nucor’s strong technological focus has allowed it to become a power in the steel industry. It used electric arc furnaces when they were a new technology and encouraged further innovation into the steel production methods. Some weaknesses of Nucor are that it is mainly located in America and that the steel industry is already very developed. The fact that Nucor is mainly in America limits its growth. Nucor cannot compete with international companies so it is best to stay in America, but that continues to limit its growth because Nucor can only sell so much steel in the United States. The steel industry is very developed due to the early demand for the high amounts of steel back when the steel industry started. Now demand has lessened and the developed companies are fighting to stay alive. Nucor’s opportunities are joint ventures and new technologies. Nucor has taken advantage of some of its joint ventures in Brazil and Australia. This is good because is allows for an expanded production line and further integration backwards. New technologies are a good way for Nucor to grow as it can decrease its costs and therefore increase its net income. This is a necessity for Nucor due to its â€Å"prison-like† existence in America. The threats on Nucor are foreign competitors and decreasing demand. Foreign competitors are growing in the developing nations like India and China. These nations are very large and China already produces one third of the steel in the world. Decreasing is also a problem, which is caused by the increasing amount of suppliers. Nucor’s distinct competencies are its highly successful strategy and high quality human, technology, and leadership capital. 8)My assessment of Nucor’s stock is that it has done the best out of its American competitors as shown in exhibit 3. Exhibit 3 is a comparison of the stocks of Mittal Steel (MT), U. S. Steel (X), AK Holding Steel Company (AKS), and of course Nucor Corporation (NUE). As shown, exhibit 3 shows these four stocks from 1999 to 2009. Mittal Steel did surpass Nucor during the years of 2007 and 2008, but currently Nucor is the highest. This is good because it shows the reaction to the recession, and it shows that Nucor bounced back the best. I personally would not purchase any steel stock because I believe that the growing steel industries in China and India will over power the American steel companies. However, if I had to invest in a steel company, it would in fact be Nucor. 9)Nucor needs to address the growing steel industry in Asia. Daniel DiMicco needs to do something to ensure that Nucor survives. I would recommend further investment in new steel technologies, and if it comes to it, Nucor may have to change industries again, like it did back in 1970. DiMicco may want to make sure that he is not â€Å"keeping all of Nucor’s eggs in one basket† by staying in the steel industry. Moving into the energy industry may be a smart move as there is a definite need for alternative energy. Nucor’s current, increasing net income could help invest in alternative energies that would help Nucor become sustainable. 10)The biggest recent event is the possibility of China potentially steel dumping, which would under price Nucor substantially. This would lead to the downfall of Nucor. Another current event is the new technology of producing â€Å"Green Steel† (http://news. n. msn. com/business/article. aspx? cp-documentid=1090378). This is a new technology that takes waste plastic and converts it into steel. Since plastic is mainly carbon, it is possible to produce steel from the waste plastic. This would solve the problem of what to do with the plastic that is no longer used and help produce cheap steel that also lowers emissions. Lower temperature is needed in this new process therefore reducing the energy needed. This new technology converts waste into very much needed, and useful steel. Nucor Steel Case Study There are many competitive forces that are affecting Nucor Corporation. Some of the primary ones are the market size, number of rivals, and pace of technological change. The market size is shrinking because of the increase in competing international steel companies. The number of rivals in America is declining due to higher labor costs than in foreign countries. There is a very fast pace of technology in the steel industry and it seems that the company, that obtains the newest technology, flourishes. This is due to the difficulty in lower costs of steel production. Better technology is one of the only ways to decrease costs because labor is pretty much at a set cost and all that is left is the cost of iron and making the steel. If a company can get its hands on a new technology that allows it to under price its competitors then it has a big advantage in the steel industry. Nucor’s main rivals in the steel industry are AK Steel Holding Corporation, Mittal Steel Company, and U. S. Steel. The five forces for the steel industry are the buyers, substitutes, suppliers, threat of new entrants, and rivals. The buyers have a fairly strong power on the steel producers. This is because of the low switching cost between competitors. Unless a contract is signed between a steel company and its buyer, there is little cost to the buyer if it wants to switch to a different steel company. There are not very many substitutes for steel, as steel is a commodity, so the substitute power is weak. Steel is a one of a kind item in that it is very strong and very versatile in its use. It is used in buildings, automobiles, bridges, garage door openers, and many other everyday objects. Suppliers also have a weak power in the steel industry. The suppliers are supplying iron to steel companies. Iron is very common and many companies sell it. Also, steel companies frequently integrate backwards and provide their own iron to their steel mills. The threat of new entrants is very weak due to high entry barriers and the current struggling competitors. The rival power is moderate to strong because there are a fair number of steelmaking companies. Also steel dumping occurs, but I will be talking about that later. According to this analysis, Nucor is in a three star industry, so it seems to have an okay chance at surviving. It is not the best industry to be in, but Nucor still has been able to flourish due to its organizational philosophy and technological innovation. 2) The driving forces behind the steel industry are industry growth rate, globalization, technological change and manufacturing process innovation, exit of major firms, and frequent change in cost. The steel industry is falling. There is a declining demand for steel and many companies have already gone bankrupt or are on the verge of going bankrupt. Some of these companies are Bethlehem Steel and Ling-Temco-Vought. The steel industry is very difficult to compete in because more steel is being produced than there is demand for it. Globalization is also a problem for the steel industry in America. Due to globalization it is getting easier for competing companies to send their products to other countries. This causes a problem for companies like Nucor because America has strict labor laws. In other countries labor is exploited and workers are paid very little, while in America, companies must pay their workers a minimum wage. One good thing that America does do is provide tariffs on incoming steel products to help American companies better compete with the international companies. Some countries are subsidiaries to the steel companies in their countries. This means that the governments have a vested interest in the company and want it to succeed. The companies can then sell products, like steel, at a much lower price due to the incoming funding form the government. China has been accused of this and America has taken action to alert the World Trade Organization to settle the matter, but this is only one step to â€Å"leveling the playing field† with China. The technologies for making steel are constantly changing and this allows for more efficient and therefore cheaper steel products. It seems that the companies, who obtain these technologies, obtain a significant head start in the industry. Like I said before, many companies are going bankrupt and are leaving the exiting the industry. Since steel is a commodity it leads to very volatile prices and can change quite frequently due to demand. By looking at Exhibit 1, you can see how the average price per ton decreased form $425 per ton in 2000 to $354 per ton in 2001. This exhibit shows how many tons of steel Nucor sold during certain years from 1970 to 2006. It is interesting to see that Nucor’s net income was fairly low during the years of 2000-2002, but increased to $1,121. 5 million. This is because of Nucor’s many acquisitions during the low period. Just a few years later in 2004, the price of steel was back up to $595 per ton. These driving forces very easily impact the steel industry’s competitive structure in a bad way. These driving forces make it very difficult for steel companies to compete in this industry. 3)The prospects for future profitability of the U. S. steel makers are very unattractive. Unless America can successfully combat China’s enormously, inexpensive, production ability, I do not see any American steel company surviving. China just has too big of a production ability and has the workforce to do it cheaply. Nucor will have to expand in this industry in the United States to survive. If the WTO negotiations with China go well then American steel companies may have a chance in the steel industry. If they do, then America can increase tariffs on incoming steel products and give American steel companies a chance to survive. Future profitability looks grim for American steel companies because of what I described before. China has been accused of subsidizing its steel companies, therefore funding them to make it possible to â€Å"dump steel† which is the process of selling steel at prices below the cost of making it. China would do this because then it would eventually under price foreign competitors and run them out of business. This, supposedly, happened back in 2000-2001 and devastated the steel industry in America, causing many companies to go bankrupt or be bought by other companies. Nucor was lucky enough to have survived this fall out and acquired many steel plants at low prices. The steel industry did bounce back in 2005-2006 and this allowed Nucor to grow quite rapidly due to its previous acquisitions. If America can again survive the big Chinese power, then Nucor will succeed, but right now it looks bleak for the American steel industry. 4)Nucor has adopted a low-cost strategy based on four parts. These parts are acquisitions, technological innovation, plant innovation, and joint ventures. The acquisition part of the Nucor strategy is that it has acquired many different steel companies in 2000-2001, when the steel industry in America was suffering. Because of the low time in the steel industry, Nucor could purchase steel companies at lower prices than normal. This helped its low-cost strategy substantially because it allowed Nucor to grow yet still remain a low-cost steel producer. Exhibit 2 shows Nucor’s financials, and very accurately illustrates the hit Nucor took during the low period of 2000-2003. This was a perfect time for Nucor to buy other steel companies, as this was one of the only ways for it to grow. Nucor invested heavily in new technologies. Investing in new technologies is very important for steel companies to do, as it is very easy to reduce costs if the company has a foothold on a new technology. Nucor focused on the introduction of disruptive technologies to give it an advantage in the market as compared to its competitors in terms of product quality, cost per ton, and market share. One example of this is the Castrip process. This new process produced flat-rolled, carbon, and stainless steels in very thin gauges. It allowed Nucor to produce steel in fewer steps, and helped produce savings in its operating expenses, therefore increasing Nucor’s net income. The Castrip process needed lower-quality scrap steel, which decreased costs of the scrap steel, and required 90% less energy. Also this new process cut green house gases by 80%. Nucor also increased its capital investments on the newest machinery to provide more efficient steel plants. By providing its workforce with the best possible technology, Nucor was able to max out production yet still retain a safe working environment. The implementation of hard working plant managers, produced hardworking managers that are aggressive enough to implement methods to improve product quality while keeping costs low. Nucor’s last strategic part was its joint ventures. By investing in joint ventures, Nucor was able to grow internationally with out the full capital risk. Some examples of this were its joint ventures in Brazil, Australia, and Trinidad. The joint venture in Brazil was between Companhia Vale do Rio Doce and Nucor. The goal was to produce an environmentally friendly pig iron plant that used eucalyptus trees as fuel. The use of eucalyptus trees as fuel removed 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for every one ton of pig iron produced. Another joint venture was three other companies in Australia. This plant used a new technology process called HIsmelt. This new process converted iron ore to pig iron at a lower cost and higher quality than previously known pig iron producing technologies. The Trinidad plant was acquired in 2007 and was originally in Louisiana. The plant was moved to Trinidad because of the constant supply of natural gas as fuel therefore lowering costs. This plant reduced scrap metal dependence by as much as 25%. It also allowed for a higher quality production of sheet steel. Nucor’s four-part strategy has lead to a competitive sustainable advantage as seen in exhibit 2 between the years of 2004-2006 when its net income soared to more than $1,757. 7 million. Nucor used a cost-based advantage to achieve its competitive sustainable advantage. )Nucor employed an organization philosophy consisting of decentralization, individually operated plants, a three layer structure, good compensation practices for its employees, and good employee relations. Nucor’s decentralized structure allowed for its employees to make quick decisions that did not have to go through all of the bureaucratic steps like that in a centralized company. A decentralized co mpany relied on higher quality employees that could analyze a situation and react quickly and successfully. The individually operated plants were akin to the decentralized company. Each plant was individually responsible for its profits. The three layers consisted of the executives at the headquarters located in South Carolina, the general managers that ran the plants and talked to the executives, and the hourly employees that did most of the labor at the plants. The general managers ran the plants individually form each other and were expected to reach, at least, a 25% return on its total assets. If a general manager failed this, the executives would interfere and had no hesitation in replacing an unsuccessful general manager. The individual plants allowed for team like competitions between plants to see who could be the best performer. Nucor was nonunion, but provided salaries based on competing plants’ salaries in the area. Nucor offered a generous compensation bonus to good work that differed for each worker. Hourly workers received bonuses if they produced more than the standard number of tons. Department managers earned annual bonuses depending on percentage of net income to dollars of assets. Nucor also had great employee relations. Nucor offered 401k plans by matching up to 25% of employees’ contributions. Medical and dental plans were very common for Nucor employees. There was also a tuition reimbursement of up to $2,750 for any employee. For the children of employees, Nucor would provide a scholarship up to $2,750, which would encourage employees to stay until their went to college. As seen here, Nucor treated its employees very well to reduce employee turnover and attract the best employees. Nucor required a high human capital if it were going to use a decentralized structure. The high quality employees that Nucor attracted helped Nucor execute its low-cost strategy, and led to superior results. )Nucor’s leadership, great strategy, and execution were what led to why Nucor was so successful in the steel industry. The great leader that Nucor relied upon was Kenneth Iverson, who changed Nucor from a nuclear energy company into a steel company. As seen in the last question, the decentralized structure helped Nucor react t problems quickly due to the ability of employees to take t he authority to solving problems. To be a great company, you need all three. This was evident in the case of Nucor because it was turned around and became a very successful company in a very different and difficult industry than where it started. )The SWOT analysis of Nucor is as follows. The strengths of Nucor are its strong market position, historically based position, increased production capacity, and strong technological focus. Nucor had a strong market position that allowed it to flourish in the steel industry. The strong market position is shown by its ability to stay out of the red during hard times. This is seen in exhibit 1. Nucor continued to have a positive net income, even during the low period between 2000 and 2002, as seen in exhibit 1. Nucor’s historically based position has given it a long-standing presence that is known to most steel consumers. This has helped Nucor because it tells the consumers that Nucor has been able to provide quality steel year after year. As seen in exhibit 1, Nucor has increasingly produced steel starting at 207,000 tons in 1970 to 22,118,000 tons in 2006. This growth is enormous and not once did Nucor’s steel sales fall below its previous year. Nucor’s strong technological focus has allowed it to become a power in the steel industry. It used electric arc furnaces when they were a new technology and encouraged further innovation into the steel production methods. Some weaknesses of Nucor are that it is mainly located in America and that the steel industry is already very developed. The fact that Nucor is mainly in America limits its growth. Nucor cannot compete with international companies so it is best to stay in America, but that continues to limit its growth because Nucor can only sell so much steel in the United States. The steel industry is very developed due to the early demand for the high amounts of steel back when the steel industry started. Now demand has lessened and the developed companies are fighting to stay alive. Nucor’s opportunities are joint ventures and new technologies. Nucor has taken advantage of some of its joint ventures in Brazil and Australia. This is good because is allows for an expanded production line and further integration backwards. New technologies are a good way for Nucor to grow as it can decrease its costs and therefore increase its net income. This is a necessity for Nucor due to its â€Å"prison-like† existence in America. The threats on Nucor are foreign competitors and decreasing demand. Foreign competitors are growing in the developing nations like India and China. These nations are very large and China already produces one third of the steel in the world. Decreasing is also a problem, which is caused by the increasing amount of suppliers. Nucor’s distinct competencies are its highly successful strategy and high quality human, technology, and leadership capital. 8)My assessment of Nucor’s stock is that it has done the best out of its American competitors as shown in exhibit 3. Exhibit 3 is a comparison of the stocks of Mittal Steel (MT), U. S. Steel (X), AK Holding Steel Company (AKS), and of course Nucor Corporation (NUE). As shown, exhibit 3 shows these four stocks from 1999 to 2009. Mittal Steel did surpass Nucor during the years of 2007 and 2008, but currently Nucor is the highest. This is good because it shows the reaction to the recession, and it shows that Nucor bounced back the best. I personally would not purchase any steel stock because I believe that the growing steel industries in China and India will over power the American steel companies. However, if I had to invest in a steel company, it would in fact be Nucor. 9)Nucor needs to address the growing steel industry in Asia. Daniel DiMicco needs to do something to ensure that Nucor survives. I would recommend further investment in new steel technologies, and if it comes to it, Nucor may have to change industries again, like it did back in 1970. DiMicco may want to make sure that he is not â€Å"keeping all of Nucor’s eggs in one basket† by staying in the steel industry. Moving into the energy industry may be a smart move as there is a definite need for alternative energy. Nucor’s current, increasing net income could help invest in alternative energies that would help Nucor become sustainable. 10)The biggest recent event is the possibility of China potentially steel dumping, which would under price Nucor substantially. This would lead to the downfall of Nucor. Another current event is the new technology of producing â€Å"Green Steel† (http://news. n. msn. com/business/article. aspx? cp-documentid=1090378). This is a new technology that takes waste plastic and converts it into steel. Since plastic is mainly carbon, it is possible to produce steel from the waste plastic. This would solve the problem of what to do with the plastic that is no longer used and help produce cheap steel that also lowers emissions. Lower temperature is needed in this new process therefore reducing the energy needed. This new technology converts waste into very much needed, and useful steel.

Reaction Paper Self Concept

Angela Foster Reaction Paper Communications 11/26/2010 â€Å"Self – concept is such a powerful force on the personality that it not only determines how you see youself in the present but also can influence you future behavior and that of others. Such occurences come about through a phenomenon called the self-fulfilling prophecy. A self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when a person’s expectations of an event, and his or her subsequent behavior based on those expectations, make the event more likely to occur than would otherwise be true† (57).Self-fulfilling prophecy is a very powerful source on your personality. For me this is basically just positive thinking, and if you think you will do well then you will. For example, when I first started school, I really didn’t know how to study, and for my first psychology test I went in totally unprepared. I lacked confidence because I was unprepared and nervous because I hadn’t studied much, and when I went in to t ake the test I just knew that I would not do very well. It was no surprise to me when I got my test back that I had failed it.I knew that I was going to have to get it together if I was going to pass my classes and the first step was to learn how to study. I found ways to study that worked for me, and when I went in for my next test I was more confident. I had an optimistic attitude, and confidence that I would do well on the test, so it was no surprise when I got my test back I had made an A. There are two types of self-fulfilling prophecy, self- imposed prophecies and when someone’s expectations govern another’s actions. â€Å"Self-imposed prophecies occur when you own expectations influence your behavior† (57).If you think you can, and set your mind to doing something the results can be great. It isn’t just the observer’s beliefs that causes one to do well, â€Å"the observer must communicate that belief† (58). For example if a teacher ha s hopes for a child but does not encourage them or push them to the next level, then the child may not use their full potential. â€Å"The effects of teacher attitudes, beliefs, and values, their expectations have been tested repeatedly† (Wilkins). Another example of other’s expectations influencing one’s behavior is that of a parent towards a child.If a parent has faith in a child they must let them know or a child may not have the confidence they to need to blossom. Positive results do not just happen because of a positive attitude though. Just like the saying â€Å"Faith without Works† is very true. People cannot just lie around and expect good things to happen. You must take action and put footwork behind what you are working on and plan to accomplish. So with the combination of some knowledge and a positive attitude, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.

An Analysis of the Declaration of Independence and Its Use

An Analysis of the Declaration of Independence and Its Use American history is recorded in various literature materials, such as biographies, books, articles, newspapers, and even statues. Although some of the events are directly stated in the sources, some information about the socio-political and economic issues can be inferred from them. Also, a lot of material on the peoples living statuses, their ideologies, needs, and wants can be gleaned from them. This is the case with the document The Declaration of Independence. It is a useful text that covers a myriad of historical happenings, the drive behind its making, and the authors ideologies and beliefs. Summary of the Declaration of Independence Having been fed up with the colonial system and governance of the British over America, a group of native legislators from thirteen states in the United States of America met to state their position on the matter. These individuals, led by John Adams from the state of Massachusetts, chose Thomas Jefferson to come up with a writing that detailed their grievances, their determination to be free, and the decision to declare that they will no longer be under the oppressive rules of the colonial government. Thus, Jefferson drafted these particular claims and put it before the committee of five congressmen to review and vary the contents where possible. The main tenets of The Declaration of Independence are two-faceted: the need to enjoy certain rights and the reasons for refusing to continue being governed by Great Britain. These forms are the basis for the preamble, which states that every man is equal and has particular inherent rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and the right to be happy; truths, which must not be denied. On the other hand, The Declaration of Independence narrates the ordeals that the Americans experienced. They include being forced to use foreign laws, forced taxation, extrajudicial killings, use of natural resources, and military forces to benefit the colonizer rather than the colonies and the refusal for the natives to have their own representatives in the legislature. The Analysis of the Document The Declaration of Independence was thus a response to the tyrannical British rule and the need to be free from its powers. During 1774, people had started to realize that no human being was less than the others through Enlightenment. In this sense, they wanted to be as free and independent as the colonizers, with the ability to make their own governing rules including their legislations. As a result, Americans needed to remove the barriers to their freedoms and violators of their human rights. One of the ways in which the Enlightenment affected the Declaration was in the need to have Americans making their own laws and defending their right to life, liberty, and making own social choices in place of those imposed on them by the British. These ideas are put in the form of the facts and reasons that brought the thirteen states together. For instance, a part of the Declaration states that He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected the State r emaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within (UShistory.org 1). Moreover, the main author of the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson was instrumental in giving the document its content, power, voice, and shape as it is. Being the leader of people, he voiced his discontentment about how Americans were denied the right to choose their own leaders into the parliament. This is constitutional rights that ensure that democracy is practiced. Also, human rights are protected by legislators who make them. As a consequence, when Jefferson saw that these rights were being infringed upon, he ensured that he find ways of allowing the subjects to enjoy them. That is why he included their violation as one of the grounds for defying colonial rule through the Declaration. Besides, the Declaration clearly shows that Americans were oppressed. They were paying mandatory and exorbitant taxes; they were forced to serve in the army for the benefit of the British government; their people were killed at the slightest opportunity, and the laws governing their existence were made by the British who neither knew nor understood the American peoples needs and wants. All these information is laid down in the Declaration in the form of facts submitted to a candid world (UShistory.org 1). Here, the facts are summaries of the sufferings and the need to be independent from the colonial rule. Contrarily, although The Declaration of Independence was framed by the need to have American political representation, freedom, and equality for every citizen, it sidelined some sections of the population, which were the women and minorities (Wade 1). These group of people was the most affected by the colonial rule, which forced them to provide labor for little or no pay at all. There is no portion of the declaration that states anything about their torture and mistreatment by the colonial regime (Wade 3). Therefore, it is always assumed that the only people who faced mistreatment and sufferings were men who served in the army, the American leaders who were denied the opportunity to make their own laws suitable for Americans needs, and the men who paid taxes as the heads of their families. In summary, The Declaration of Independence is an important source of American history, which was influenced by socio-political and economic ideologies. The main author, Thomas Jefferson, applied his political knowledge and experience to draft the text, which gave the citizens an opportunity to exercise constitutional rights of equality, right to life, and right of liberty as against the colonizers. Also, the document was shaped by the Enlightenment ideas, which called for human treatment of all human beings. Nonetheless, the source was exclusive of women and minorities plights as it completely failed to mention how they were oppressed.

The Crown Court Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Crown Court - Essay Example Summary offenses dealt with at the Magistrate Court include less serious ones such as traffic offenses or failure to pay taxes and will generally include all cases, including triable offenses, where the defendant has opted for a summary trial. However, the Crown Court hears those cases involving indictable offenses which include the category of serious offenses such as rape or murder. In so far as triable offenses are concerned, all offenses start at the Magistrate Court but the Crown Court deals with all those offenses which the Magistrate Court feels is so serious that only the Crown Court can with it, or where the defendant has requested for trial by jury. â€Å"Approximately ninety-six percent of criminal cases are dealt with summarily at a Magistrates Court.†2 A comparison of workloads of the two courts in terms of trials which was conducted in 1999 showed that â€Å"over four times as many trials took place in the magistrate's courts as in the Crown Court.†3 The q ualifications required to sit as a judge in a Crown Court is that the person in question must be a fully qualified solicitor or barrister and must have spent a minimum time of at least seven years in practice, after qualifying. In the case of magistrates, no formal training is advocacy is required and magistrates are drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds. Lay Magistrates only undergo a short period of training and the exhaustive legal qualification and practice requirements required of judicial authorities in the crown courts are not expected of them. They are appointed by Lord Chancellor on the advice of the local advisory committees. However, the advantage with lay magistrates is that they are sensitive to local conditions prevailing in the area where they serve.  While judicial officials receive a salary, magistrates are not paid and give their time on a voluntary basis to engage in the business of administration of justice.  

Critically analyse and evaluate the video games software industry Essay

Critically analyse and evaluate the video games software industry dynamics - Essay Example Some of the barriers to an entry to video game industry is: a) The Capital Requirement of Entry The capital requirement in video game software industry is very high as lot of money and resources is required for advertising, production, research and development (R&D). A company with less funding capacity neither can afford to make large bulk of orders nor it can survive in long term scenario (Altwein, 2006, p.3). Most of the companies that are already established have been facing fierce competition from new ones which have been coming up. Some companies like Ataria of the United States collapsed in 1980s due to fierce competition from new entrants. (Brightman, 2006). b) Economies of Scale Although economies of scale is not a strong barrier to an entry to video game software industry yet a company can only compete to market if it has an ability to create good economies of scale in industry (Altwein, et al, 2006, p.4). 1 c) Expected Retaliation and Access to Distribution Channel The expected retaliation and access to distribution channel also play an important role to an entry to an industrial sector as both factors determine the future prospective of a competitor in the market. Same thing is applied for video game software industry too. For example in 1983, when Nintendo entered the market with the FAMICOM, although the expected retaliation was at quite a low point for the global video gaming market resulting the disillusionment of customers, yet as Nintendo was already a familiar player in the market having access to distribution channel network, hence it was much easier for it to distribute its products to a large market area (Altwein, et al, 2006, p.4). ii) Threat of...This is because the industry is supported by growth in the information system sector which has not been affected by the economic recession. There have been no macro or micro economic policies which has affected the operations of the industry. On the world front, the growth of the economy in the world has translated to increased use of computers which has led to growth of the industry. There has been increased disposable income as the middle class continue to emerge in all parts of the world which as led to increased use of video games (Gold 2003, p. 65). There has been increased change in the culture in the world which has favoured increased use of video games. As more and more communities of the world depart from their traditions, there has been increased use of video games as alternative entertainment for children. This has been recorded in the emerging markets of the world. But in general there has been increased use of computer games which are supported by video games. This has been a great shift in the culture of the people who have now embraced computer games as a wary of recreation. This change in culture has seen computer games become the culture of most adolescent in the world.

Family Pet German Sherpard named Sam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Family Pet German Sherpard named Sam - Essay Example This is his flag signaling friendship. This black merges with the soft brown that covers the rest of his body, and enhances his sharp white teeth set in strong jaws, his black button eyes, and long pink tongue. The black eyes seem to sparkle each time he sees a family member, and the long pink tongue is extended as if to extend a warm greeting. Sam’s majestic â€Å"WOOF† is typical of his specie: strong and commanding. It is a wake-up call. The lieutenant calls all to attention; and if you were a stranger, or someone who is easily scared, then you would be forced to freeze into the poster of a soldier on parade. Sam rests by lying down, almost absorbed into the carpet, doormat, chair, or any area that allows him to comfortably blend his soft body, stretching his long, sturdy front legs out in front, and resting his large well shaped head on them. Many times he sits on his equally well- built hind legs and assumes a stately air. This is when he demands that the tiny white spot on his chest, like a lone star, is noticed and get stroked. He keels over like a boat on the ocean. He rolls himself into a fluffy black and brown ball, and whimpers with pleasure. His huge well- manicured paws, showing soft brown padding, reach out to you to return the favor. At these times, Sam is famous for letting out low happy growls that seem like chuckles, and sometimes like spoken words. By scientific standards, Sam has reached midlife but this definitely does not show because his behaviour brings out the youth in him. He is only six years old, and still going strong. He has the energy of a typical child of this age. He is worth his weight in gold, weighing fifty kilograms and showing no signs of fat. He is a healthy dog that is quite friendly with members of the family, both expecting and allowing each person to spend time with him exchanging a handshake, rubbing his head, or being

Research Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research Assignment - Essay Example Walker describes the relationship of mother with the daughter that gradually upturned when the mother begins to understand and recognize the thoughts of her daughters, regarding the importance of cultural values. The same theme of parent-child relationship is described in several other narratives including short stories and poems like Tillie Olsen’s short story â€Å"I Stand Here Ironing† and Ben Johnson’s poems â€Å"On My First Son† and â€Å"On My First Daughter†. The authors of these work pieces have discussed the intricate relationship of parent and their children in quite different ways, and shows depth and potential involvedness within parent-child relationships. In â€Å"I Stand Here Ironing†, Olsen depicts a mother worried about the thinking style of her child whereas â€Å"Everyday Use† tells about the mother that is happy after realizing that her daughter possesses some true feelings and thinking in her heart regarding the i mportance of cultural heritage. The poems of Ben Johnsons also talks about the parent-child relationship but in a different manner as these are written to depict the sorrow of the parents on the death of their children. The essay describes these literary works to explain the variation in the depiction of a common theme of parent-child relationship. It is unveiled that the parent-child relationship is commonly used as the central theme in various narratives; however, the topic is so deep and multifaceted that the writers have described this theme in distinct styles. It is also unveiled that regardless of children age, position and social conditions the parents always have a deep love, affection and concern for their children shown these narratives in different styles. The short story â€Å"Everyday Use† depicts the intricate relationship between mother and her two daughters. There was disagreement among them over the issue of preservation of cultural heritage that ultimately a ffected their relationships. The mother and both the daughters understand the value for traditions; however, their perspectives about the treatment of the traditional things were different from one another. The story is written in the context of political and social transformation when African Americans were struggling to preserve their cultural values and identities (Bates, p154). The family described in the story had several things that remind them of their African culture roots, while the family members regard these things as their cultural heritage. However, the standpoint of mother and both daughters were different from each other because they view the traditions and cultural heritage in different ways. The mother earlier thought that her alder daughter Dee has the sense of appreciation for the traditional treasures, and that she understands the values of cultural heritage. The younger daughter, Maggie, seems quite insensible to her mother because she thinks Maggie gives no val ue to the traditional things and just regards those as items of everyday use. The relationship of the mother grew differently with both daughters on the basis of the opinions she held for them. The mother believes that the preservation and protection of cultural heritage shows that one should have value for the memories of their ancestors, so

Essay for maternal health Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

For maternal health - Essay Example She is 12 weeks pregnant. Time has come for Ruth to attend an antenatal check up. She needs to decide on whether she needs care by midwife or care by obstetrician. Midwives usually deliver at home and obstetricians deliver in the hospital. Though hospital settings have more infrastructure and expertise to take care of complications occurring during and after delivery, since most of the deliveries are uncomplicated, home delivery is sufficient for uncomplicated pregnancies under the supervision of midwives or any other trained health personnel like general practitioner. Review of literature indicates that most of the studies on the safety of delivery by midwife are on low-risk and uncomplicated pregnancies. Low-risk pregnancy means pregnancy which is less likely to have medical complications. This is determined by the fact that there are no obvious medical problems during pregnancy, the woman has started her prenatal care before19 weeks of gestation, has had 4 visits of antenatal care through the 28th week, e very 2 weeks for the next 8 weeks and then weekly for the last 4 weeks (Macfarlane, McCandlish, & Campbell, 2000). It is obvious that high-risk pregnancies need to be delivered in the hospitals under expertise supervision and monitoring. According to Davies, Hey, Reid and Young et al (1996), general practitioners are apprehensive about inability to handle complications arising during homebirth. Also, some studies like Bastian, Keirse & Lancaster (1998) have revealed that home births carry high death rate due to "underestimation of the risks associated with post-term birth, twin pregnancy and breech presentation, and a lack of response to fetal distress" (Bastian, Keirse & Lancaster, 1998). Certain emergencies like cord prolapse, inverted uterus, or bleeding of the mother and breathing problems with the infant, may need immediate intervention which can be instituted only when the patient is in the hospital. Since Ruths is a

Judaism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Judaism - Essay Example But what sets Judaism apart from other monotheistic faiths, like Islam and Christianity? Cunningham and Katzew clearly explained that Judaism acknowledges only the the Torah as a source of revelation. The Torah, in general, comprises the thorough description of God’s plan for hmanity. In their essay, Cunningham and Katzew provide an exploratory, analytical, and thorough description of the theology and tradition of Judaism. They provide an explanation of practices, values, and beliefs, theology as conveyed in mythological stories, and standards of symbolic act and rites. They also talk about scripture and revelation, God’s teachings, the series of tradition represented in the narrative of the oral and written Torah, and signs and representations in Judaism. But more importantly, Cunningham and Katzew take a courageous leap forward by arguing that none of the historical epochs can be dismissed from the shared processes between Christianity and Judaism. The authors support the assumption that the major monotheistic religions are

Electronic commerce and application Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Electronic commerce and application - Assignment Example This paper explores the existing debate between first-mover and follower firms to study the impact of each of them. The synthesis of the existing literature points out that the first-mover advantage in e-commerce comes from both the customer and the producer side. It has been documented that the first-mover firms have an opportunity to obtain greater knowledge about customers and securing their trust. Works of researchers like Reichheld and Schefter (2000) had comprehensively pointed out the advantages that accrue to the producers on account of FMA. Another recurrent factor in the academic discussions is the higher market share that results from the FMA. They suggested affiliate relationships, establishing partnership with major portals and increasing access to financial resources as the major advantages (Barney, 1991). One of the major examples of firms using e-commerce for growth is Netflix which has introduced features like personalization tools and recommendations systems as a useful mechanism to differentiate between customers in the rental business. Similarly, e-bay had also banked on the e -tailing technology to rapidly expand its set of buyers and sellers. Despite the advantages that can be earned from the FMA, several researchers have also shown that follower firms can also gain a number of advantages by replicating the efforts of the leading firms (Suarez and Utterback, 2007). For instance, the research of Golder and Tellis (1993) had shown that late movers can easily become free riders on the first-movers allowing them to obtain similar knowledge regarding buyer education and enhanced security in transactions. Other researchers like Suarez and Utterback (2007) have shown that late movers can have additional advantages as the market uncertainties and technological drawbacks are removed by the time they enter. Finally, factors like customer satisfaction and customer needs can only be comprehended after a certain time span has elapsed proving

Education and Recess Essay Example for Free

Education and Recess Essay Since public schools have started recess it has been set in place to allow students time to express their energy, become active and socialize. Although within the past years, most schools have removed recess from their schedules. School administrators argue that recess wastes time, causes problems and is dangerous. But it is actually a good thing for students. In most schools, the average school day is about eight hours long. During the elementary school year especially, students are bursting with energy that causes their minds to wander. Recess is a great way to allow students to wind down and expel some of their pent-up energy. Also during this time it was usually the teacher who went outside with the class. So while the kids are taking a breather the teachers can too. A growing problem in America today is obesity. Many school cafeterias have switched to a healthier menu and schools have removed snack machines, in an attempt to improve students eating habits and weight. Meanwhile, the same school boards are removing recess from their schedules As a result, obesity rates have tripled in the past forty years. School administrators believe that recess is not needed because the students are required to take Physical Education. Although P.E. is physically active it does not give students many options. Students are graded on their performance and participation so P.E. is not much of a relax and recoup time. In school, it is important for students to develop necessary social skills. In class, students are unable to communicate because they are busy doing their work. Recess allows students to develop relationships, experience and deal with confrontations and learn about other people. These skills will be extremely important in almost every job. You may have noticed all of the big time business men or woman, and they got that job by being a good people person. That’s because when they were kids, recess was an every day thing. In conclusion, recess should be a thing student’s experience everyday. It should be something students think back on as adults and think of how it helped them. If schools go on with out recess for too much longer the obesity and people skills of the future could not be good. If I ever become  an important member of the school board you know what my vote for recess is going to be. What’s yours?

Benefits of Family Counseling Essay Example for Free

Benefits of Family Counseling Essay This is a very arguable statement, and there are many reasons for it to be. I believe that the reasons for family counseling completely out weight the reasons why some families shouldnt participate in it. Family counseling is often looked at as a tool to help families with problems, but counseling can be helpful to everyone. Counselors try to help with all scenarios of life, work, school, friends, etc. Even if you are a pretty balanced person you can still get tips from a professional, whether your family has been through a major turmoil, or could simply gain from refining their communication skills with each other. Counseling can be a way to help everyone in a family. Therapy for children as well as parents can help reduce all types of stresses for everyone involved. Major abuses, little arguments, as well as general venting can all be addressed in a calmer, quieter atmosphere. These are just a few reasons why every family should attend counseling. By attending counseling it can help children learn how to deal with tough situations, strengthen communication, and overcome differences. We all have to face obstacles in our lives and some of them can be pretty tough. To teach children, through adolescence to adulthood, skills to deal with tough situations could mean the difference and difficulties in how many college graduates there are, how many overcome poverty, and how families are in a secure loving environment. Teaching youth to face their difficulties instead of running or quitting is highly important, and should be one of the emphasized parts of school. In our society many people think that if things are hard for them, obviously it is not something that they should be doing. I think that with the guidance and some positive reinforcement that people can learn to overcome their difficulties. Being in a new situation or learning new skills is hard and everyone struggles. Because we allow teens to quit, many young adults decide not to attend college. They often feel that since they didn’t do well in high school college would be too difficult. With parents and a professional both helping kids to overcome difficulties at an early age it will instill within them that obstacles are just a part of life that they have to overcome; quitting is not an option. Many times kids learn how to deal with differences from their parents or other people around them. A lot of parents yell and show anger when they are mad at their spouse or their boss, or even their children. Cartoons normally deal with problems through violence and teachers even yell at kids. All of this teaches children that it is okay to act with anger and violence, and that these are solutions to their problems. Then parents get mad at them for mimicking them and their environment, and then what happens? Most of the time parents show more anger, yelling, and sometimes use violence to correct them. With all of this, I believe that it’d be nice to have a professional help parents in order to teach them the proper way of disciplining without aggression, and to help children learn the right way of solving their everyday problems. Communication and discipline problems between parents and children are very common and can lead to marital problems as well. Divorce and the creation of stepfamilies also create difficulties. Often, the partners themselves are the problem because of poor communication, continuous conflict, sexual problems or even in-law problems. If a low income mother and child had counseling how do you think it would affect them? I think that not only would the child benefit from it, but it may even teach the mother what is possible for her: a better job, how to find a stronger more secure relationship, and how to teach her child. The child would learn skills, and by doing so, set goals for future achievements. With the help of a counselor and a well taught mother, the probability of the child may doing crime, selling or using drugs, participating in a gang, or living in prison, is significantly lower. Strengthening communication skills is also important, often time teens can be to out spoken and not think before they say something that can hurt someone feelings. Other times teens can be really shy and not open up to anyone. Communication skills are fundamental, and should be worked on. Communication is a skill that will have to be worked on throughout life because in different environments different communication skills will be needed. The biggest negative about family counseling is the cost. There would probably be families or certain people in the family that did not contribute in the experience, which means that the counseling would have little or no effect on their lives. Another downside is that it is possible in the environment to focus on one person and blame them for certain family problems. I am sure that there are other negatives about family counseling but in my opinion nothing really significant. I think that the government can use add to schooling tax dollars and use some of it for this program. Regardless if all families and all family members use the program to benefit, I think many people Family counseling relates to the narratives in many ways. Some of the families experience a death, others have parents get divorced, or teens getting pregnant and having a baby. I think counseling could help with these major emotional distresses, and also help with the everyday problems that some of the other narratives experience as well. The narrative represent just a few people in our society, but I believe that they, like most people, could use a little more guidance to stay on a stable, successful path with strong relationships and a positive knowing belief in themselves. I think this program should be financially supported from the government. It should become a law in which I think will ultimately preserve our rights and freewill. Laws are being passed all the time that conflict with our constitution and with crime and fear spreading epidemically it’s just a matter of time before most citizens will give the government complete control in order to stop the chaos. The foundation of this country is crumbling and I think it is time to reinforce it, so that we can continue to follow the path of our dreams, and not fall like every great kingdom in the past. I believe to stay as a free country, and a prosperous nation thing have to change, in fact many things will probably have to change. I think my idea of a professional guiding both, parents to raise their kids and to help lead kids to overcome difficulties is a good starting place for a significant change in this country. I think that counseling could help with every family, even if it is just to bring them closer together. Whether it is a stable family, or a family with stepparents and stepsiblings, that need to learn that these people are now someone that is going to always be around, and are in the same situation. They can learn from one another and become close like real family. From family counseling our society maybe better educated, more responsible, less violent, more dependable, and have a stronger sense of belonging.

Economic Costs of Civil War

Economic Costs of Civil War Costalli, S., Moretti, L., Pischedda, C. (2014). The Economic Costs of Civil War: Synthetic Counterfactual Evidence and the Effects of Ethnic Fractionalization. HiCN Working Papers, 184. This paper provides an analysis of the role of the civil war in the destruction of the economy of a particular region. This paper directly relates to the topic of big business because it is virtually impossible for any business organization to achieve growth in an environment that is not stable. Civil wars and conflicts normally have the capability of destroying the economy of a given region, and this is better reflected in Iraq, Sub-Saharan Africa and various regions of the world, which are prone to civil wars. This paper provides a detailed analysis on the impact of civil wars within an economy, and the best policies to enact for purposes of protecting a given economy from collapse. This paper directly relates to the current issues that involve the manner which organizations are doing business. This is because of globalization, and the era of multi-national corporations, where business organizations are involved in an expansion strategy aimed at increasing the share of their markets, and their profits. However, these organizations cannot invest in a hostile climate that is full of civil war. This is because they would most definitely make losses, and infrastructures do not exist, that can help in the facilitation of business activities. Therefore, having a complete understanding of the political and business environment of a particular region is important because it helps in the development of a decision on whether to expand in a given economy or not. The reason I choose this paper is based on the fact that the world is cur5rently experiencing a series of civil wars. This includes a civil war in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Nigeria, etc. These wars play a role in limiting the growth of these states, and in the conduction of international trade. For example, a country such as Nigeria, Iraq and Libya has various multi-national corporations which are in charge of drilling oil, and exploring oil substances. Civil conflicts and political instability would scare off international investors, leading to the collapse of the economies of these countries. The limitation of this paper, is that it does not provide adequate information on how top prevent civil wars. I intend to get this information from books, specifically books written about democracy and politics. Political journals would also be another source of information aimed at supplementing the information contained in this article. This is the first article I would review, specifically because it introduces us to factors that may hinder the emergence of big business organizations within an economy. Sab, R. (2014). Economic Impact of Selected Conflicts in the Middle East: What Can We Learn from the Past? IMF Working Papers. This paper examines the causes of conflict, in making countries to be unstable. This paper concerns itself with Middle-East, where it analyzes how civil wars, political instabilities has led to a slowdown in economic growth, high inflation, loss of revenues, large fiscal deficits etc. Through this paper, we are able to learn that it is virtually impossible to carry out business activities in a political environment that is not stable. This paper relates with the current business environment, because of the concept of international trade, where multi-national companies normally seek to invest in stable political economies. Therefore, we are able to learn while these companies do not invest in most unstable countries of Middle East. The motivation of using this article, is based on the need of understanding how politics play a role in influencing the growth of business organization. There are gaps in this paper, and one is that it does not provide the methods to use in promoting good governance and political stability. Therefore, I intend to use books, specifically, books on democracy and governance for purposes of addressing the shortcomings of this article. This is the second article I would review, because it is directly related to the first article. Wandschneider, K. (2014). Capital Controls and Recovery from the Financial Crisis of the 1930s. C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers, 10019. This paper relates to the topic Big Business because it outlines and explains the various capital regulatory measures that were enacted by government organizations in the financial crisis that occurred during the periods of 1930s. It is very essential to understand the response of the regimes during these eras, in terms of capital flights, because big business organizations are always characterized by the control of large capitals that they use for purposes of investing within the regions or areas of their operations. To safeguard the collapse of an economy because of capital flights, it is necessary to introduce capital control measures that are targeted to big business organizations. Hence this article is very important, because it provides this kind of information. The information contained in this article is highly relevant in the current business environment. This is because the world has just experienced a global recession which was similar to that which took place in the 1930s. The response of the government was also the regulation of large business enterprises, and interfering with their activities for purposes of protecting them from going bankrupt. This aspect of the regulation of big business organization is therefore important, because of the great role they play in the development of the economy of a particular state or region. The global recession affected almost all major international companies, and they were at the verge of collapsing, hence the intervention of their home governments. This paper is therefore a motivation to me, because it explains the methods used in controlling and regulating big business organizations so that they may not fail in their operations. However, this paper only centers on the role of government in regulating big business organization, hence the reduction of capital flights from these economies. It does not explain the role of other stakeholders such as investors, customers, etc. I intend to find this kind of information from other journals of economics, finance and business. References: Costalli, S., Moretti, L., Pischedda, C. (2014). The Economic Costs of Civil War: Synthetic Counterfactual Evidence and the Effects of Ethnic Fractionalization. HiCN Working Papers, 184. Sab, R. (2014). Economic Impact of Selected Conflicts in the Middle East: What Can We Learn from the Past? IMF Working Papers. Wandschneider, K. (2014). Capital Controls and Recovery from the Financial Crisis of the 1930s. C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers, 10019.

The Signalman and the Red Room are well known examples of nineteenth Es

The Signalman and the Red Room are well known examples of nineteenth century ghost stories. Write a critical comparison of these two stories. A critical comparison of "The Signalman" and "the Red Room" which are well known examples of nineteenth century ghost stories The Signalman" and "the Red Room" are well known examples of nineteenth century ghost stories. Write a critical comparison of these two stories. "The Signalman" by Charles Dickens and "The Red Room" by H.G.Wells are both well known examples of pre-twentieth century ghost stories and are based on the supernatural. Both these tales create suspense and tension in the atmosphere around the people in the story. The stories are set in first person and we are given the thoughts and feelings of the narrator. The pace of "The Signalman" is a slow one the reader isn't given the impression that it is a ghost story but it unravels as the story goes on; this slowly builds up suspense. The atmosphere at the start of "The Signalman" is an eerie one. It is a deep, damp cutting with a dark tunnel described as ... The Signalman and the Red Room are well known examples of nineteenth Es The Signalman and the Red Room are well known examples of nineteenth century ghost stories. Write a critical comparison of these two stories. A critical comparison of "The Signalman" and "the Red Room" which are well known examples of nineteenth century ghost stories The Signalman" and "the Red Room" are well known examples of nineteenth century ghost stories. Write a critical comparison of these two stories. "The Signalman" by Charles Dickens and "The Red Room" by H.G.Wells are both well known examples of pre-twentieth century ghost stories and are based on the supernatural. Both these tales create suspense and tension in the atmosphere around the people in the story. The stories are set in first person and we are given the thoughts and feelings of the narrator. The pace of "The Signalman" is a slow one the reader isn't given the impression that it is a ghost story but it unravels as the story goes on; this slowly builds up suspense. The atmosphere at the start of "The Signalman" is an eerie one. It is a deep, damp cutting with a dark tunnel described as ...

Stereotypes Essay -- essays research papers

Gender Stereotypes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today’s society, people stereotype to generalize certain groups; such as religion, beliefs, or even discriminating groups of people because of there race, gender, or appearance. Stereotypes can be very harmful and unfair. Gender stereotypes have been around since the beginning of time, and are still very prominent today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a child, I was brought up with the idea boys are strong, aggressive, and the leader; where as, girls are weak, passive, and the follower. My mother, made it clear to my sister and I, that playing sports was not acceptable for a young lady. Young ladies should be playing with dolls and playing house. Growing up, my friends and I would get together to play house, and every time we would play; Steve was the working father, Kelsey was the daughter and I was the housewife. Even at a young age, women are portrayed as the homemaker, cooking and cleaning, and the male going to work and bringing home the â€Å"bacon.† When children are playing house, adults should guide them in the right direction. Simply explaining to the child woman work also can do this. As a teacher’s aide, I have the opportunity to work with children, and seeing first hand how children have been influenced by stereotyping. While observing the students, I noticed a little girl, Emily, crying. When I approached Emily she was very upset. I asked Emily what was bothering her and she replied, â€Å"Nathan,† said â€Å"I can’t ...

The Distinguished Works of the Preeminent Black Author, Ralph Ellison E

The Distinguished Works of the Preeminent Black Author, Ralph Ellison Ralph Ellison is one of the most lauded yet misunderstood writers of the twentieth century. Ellison is considered a short-story writer and an essayist at heart, but his most distinguished work is the novel, Invisible Man. Ellison has been called everything from "the greatest black American author" (Brennan) to unnecessarily "excessive" in his writing style ("Ralph Ellison: 1914-1994"). For the most part, Ellison is held in high regard in the literary community. The critical consensus on Ralph Ellison is that he is one of the most influential and passionate authors of his generation. Ralph Waldo Ellison was born on March 1, 1914 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Lewis Alfred Ellison and Ida Ellison (Kennedy and Gioia). From his birth, it seems Ellison was destined to become a writer; his father named him after the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. Early in life, Ellison was influenced by his mother who was an ardent social activist (Kennedy and Gioia). Ellison was raised in a middle-class white neighborhood. After graduating from high school in Oklahoma, Ellison was awarded a scholarship to the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Ellison left school early and moved to Harlem ("Ralph Ellison: 1914-1994"). It was here that he met two of his greatest early influences: the poet Langston Hughes and the novelist Richard Wright (Kennedy and Gioia). In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Ellison was primarily an essayist who was published in several American periodicals. It was in these early years that he wrote "King of the Bingo Game" and the Buster and Riley trilogy. In 1952, Ellison's In visible Man was published in what became his most notable work. Invisible Man won Ellison nume... ...riticism. Galen Group. 16 Apr. 2001 http://www.galenet.com/servlet/LitRC/. Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia. "Ralph Ellison: Biography." Literature Online 24 Apr. 2001 http://longman.awl.com/kennedy/ellison/biography.htm. Langman, F. H. "Reconsidering Invisible Man." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Gale Group. 17 April 2001 http://www.galenet.com/servlet/LitRC/. Mitgang, Herbert. "Invisible Man, As Vivid Today as in 1952." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Gale Group. 16 Apr. 2001 http://www.galenet.com/servlet/LitRC/. "Ralph Ellison: 1914-1994." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Gale Group. 16 April 2001 http://www.galenet.com/servlet/LitRC/. Schor, Edith. "Ralph, Ellison, Journeyman: Three Early Stories." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Gale Group. 17 April 2001 http://www.galenet.com/servlet/LitRC/.

A Comparison of Discipline Models

A Comparison of Discipline Models ComparisonsWongKagan, Kyle and Scotts Morrish Theories†¢His concept is a belief that the students’ accomplishments are pretentious by the procedures used. †¢This philosophy has a solid positions that are shared with the students †¢It constructive and creative foundation. conveys the realistic skills of the students †¢ nurtures communication with the students in the classroom †¢This model includes procedures and approaches envisioned to assist students with being respectful, accountable, and cooperative.Strengths†¢It has a very clear procedural and specifies arrangements required (what to say, goals to have in mind, expectations, etc. ). †¢Can easily be followed because it is designed (before school after school and what happen throughout the day. have Communal and clear prospects for students †¢ Positive and creative basis. †¢convey the prospective of the students. †¢ nurtures communication and responsibility. †¢ This exhibits a strong consideration of human nature and how students have a tendency to respond. This model has three clear elements – training, teaching, and managing – and this makes it easily implemented and measured by the educators. Weaknesses†¢One of the weaknesses is that it has cause-effect connections between principles and student engagements that are not totally true. focuses additional on the success and behavior of the teacher as to what to do and when) than the requirements of the students†¢ One of the flaws is using the classroom to support the student’s ability to master adverse outlooks and shape abilities that are optimistic weaken negative Behavior. This model is based on normal potentials and thus inferences on response more than launch. Advantages†¢The theory shows entirety of what the teacher has control over, all grades can utilize It nurtures discipline and direction, likelihood and uniformity. â⠂¬ ¢ A since of pride for the students as they gain knowledge and their abilities, with the help of the teacher change their negative into positive. teaches the students individual, and knowledgeable progress †¢ This concept, when applied correctly and known by the students, can bring about a well-designed classroom. †¢ Students who are taught this concept will learn reverence and restraint. Disadvantages†¢The key disadvantage to this philosophy is its inflexibility. It also does not take in to account differences, o r individual student’s needs, and unforeseen procedures †¢ Some teachers that are applying this concept may struggle thru modification to student requirements and conduct. Educators who us this concept may be too expectant and may have some dissuasion, and place to high of demands on the students. †¢ Students may become overly depend on the teacher and perform in definite ways to receive attention. †¢ Centering on attitudes can cause an educator to spending less time on class content. †¢ This theory may possibly struggle with collective and outlooks in some the social order or settings. †¢ Students may not absorb the concept of complying, and could cause future upheaval.

Human Resources Code of Ethics Essay

Message I am thrilled to join Company X’s management team. My colleagues have been stellar in providing me support and helping me accilmate to the organizational culture, which is different from what I am accustomed to. I have encountered my first challenge, a challenge that is incumbent that I bring to your attention along with three detailed solutions, inclusive of attractive and detractive aspects of each. It is also important that I share with you the methodology I employed to arrive at these conclusions, since it is reasonable for you to have access to and test the methodology employed to engender these solutions. I will also recommend to you an appropriate course of action. Separately, I will present a report, which will report the findings of an analysis that I conducted on our company’s ethical decision-making process. This report will include strategies to mitigate against concerns I will have raised in the memorandum. I will also discuss the process of creating a code of ethics that will provide for employee growth through ethical decision making and continued company revenue growth. Production Concern Company X is the leader in the production of toy whistles for children the world over. Our principal production plant is located within the United States and, naturally, is under the purview of production guidelines set forth by the U.S. government. The quality-assurance department recently informed me of a production issue that has arisen. Toy whistles that have been manufactured and are on schedule for shipment undergo an arduous testing process to ensure that the  constitution of each toy meets federal regulations. Toy whistles that will be shipped to South American countries have, unfortunately, failed lead-level requirements; they are slightly higher in lead than what is legally tolerable. Our company has decisions to make about how we address this considerable concern. After analysis, collaboration with team members, and sufficient reflection, I have developed three solutions to address this concern. Each solution has attractive and detractive aspects, both of which I will discuss. Ethical, legal, and financial considerations must be made with all solutions. Solution 1: Cease shipment; Re-produce Toy Whistles At current lead levels, the toy whistle would not be shipped to customers. The entire production process would re-apply, which includes re-securing the raw materials necessary to make replacement whistles, re-producing those whistles through the production process, and commissioning the quality-assurance department to verify that the whistles meet all federal guidelines for selling and consumption. It will also be important that the quality-assurance department provide a quality verification of its own processes. Such a verification will be necessary, since antecedent quality processes failed to identify the higher-than-normal lead levels of our toy whistles. Solution 1: Explanation of Method Used to Select Solution A combination of brainstorming and SWOT analysis were employed to determine three solutions for our company’s quandary. The brainstorming process involved three team members who reviewed the situation and offered ideas—any ideas—as solutions. Each team member produced two ideas, totaling six possible solutions. The following is a breakdown of submissions by team members: Bob Jones| Celine Jiles| Patti Durant| Stop Production; Adjust Lead Levels| Continue Production; Bribe Foreign and  Domestic Government| Stop Production; Offer Different Product| Stop Production; Make Plastic Whistles| Continue Production; Ignore Lead Levels| Stop Production; Close Business| A SWOT analysis was performed on each decision alternative to test its integrity. SWOT is an acronym for â€Å"Strengths,† â€Å"Weaknesses,† â€Å"Opportunities,† and â€Å"Threats† (Bradford, Duncan, & Tarcy, 2000). The goal is to reduce the possible responses to those that require attention. Bob Jones Solution A Strengths: Legal and ethical approach to doing business. Promotes high levels of customer service. Holds all parties accountable for their actions due to process review and refinement. Weaknesses: Delayed production. Poor customer-satisfaction surveys in the short term. Costly to hold up production. Opportunities: Favorable contract renegotiation if determined process failure with supplier. Possible acquisition of new customers if mitigative steps made known. Threats: Possible government intervention if lead levels are exposed. Possible customer revolt if mitigative steps to lead levels not perceived correctly. Customer churn—possibly to competitor—due to production delay. Board of directors overhaul of C-level management Based on these considerations, Solution A is a viable candidate for resolution. Bob Jones Solution B Strengths: No delay in production. Customer satisfaction not harmed. Foreign government receptive to bribes. No disruption to revenue. Weaknesses: Domestic government not receptive to bribing. Massive costs due to bribing. No consideration for customer health. Short-term solution. Socially irresponsible course of action. Opportunities: Short-term customer growth. Relationship-building with foreign government. Threats: Considerable legal actions from both domestic and foreign government if not receptive bribes. Possible legal threats from customers. The costs associated with Solution A indicate that it is not a viable solution. Celine Jiles Solution A Strengths: Legal and ethical approach to doing business. Promotes high levels of customer service due to considering customers’ health. Holds all parties accountable for their actions due to process review and refinement. Weaknesses: Massive delays in production. Abrogation of contract with current supplier. Extensive training costs for new products. Extensive project-management costs to deploy new product. Substantial increase in customer churn due to offering different product. Possible negative press in foreign market. Possible domestic layoffs due to change in product. Opportunities: New streams of revenue due to new product. New streams of customers due to new-product demand. New, lower cost contracts with new suppliers. Possible employment of foreign workers to replace costly domestic workers. Threats: Legal threats from current employees subject layoff. Possible customer revolt if competitor unable to make up for our departure from whistle market. Increased regulatory scrutiny possible based on new product. Intractable board of directors. Based on these considerations, Solution A is a viable candidate for resolution. Celine Jiles Solution B Strengths: Minimal delay in production. Avoid lead-level requirements. Safter products for customers, thereby increasing customer satisfaction. Avoid legal issues from foreign and domestic governments. Contract abrogation with supplier if process failure due to supplier. Socially responsible course of action. Weaknesses: Contract abrogation with existing supplier if Company X process failure. Short-term customer dissatisfaction due to minimal production delay. Training for production of new whistles. Costly process refinements. Opportunities: Possible acquisition of new customers. Long-term customer growth. Possibly reduced prices with contract negotiations for new suppliers. If process adjustments made public, possible acquisition of customers in other countries. Threats: Minimal threat of legal action from domestic or foreign governments due to initlal lead-level failures. Minimal threat of substantial customer churn. The strengths of Solution B indicate that is viable enough to be considered. Patti Durant Solution A Strengths: Reduced production costs. Short-term customer satisfaction due to on-time delivery. Possible increased customer acquisition. Weaknesses: Very short-term solution. Disregard for long-term customer health. Disregard for domestic legal mandates. Socially irreponsible course of action. Long-term profit loss. High customer churn in long term. Opportunities: Short-term increase in streams of revenue. Threats: Extensive legal threats from public and private sector. Abrogation of current contracts iminent. Long-term erosion of shareholder confidence. Solution A should not be further considered due to the blantant disregard for customer safety. Patti Durant Solution B Strengths: Regard for customer health. Weaknesses: Total loss of all revenue and profit. Opportunities: No known opportunities. Threats: Possible legal action from suppliers, employees, customers, and governments due to abrogation of contracts, inability to pay out on employee pensions, or willfully missed customer demand. Solution B is unquestionably not worthy of further consideration. Solution 1: Advantages and Disadvantages The important advantage this solution offers is that our toy whistles’ lead levels will not detrimentally influence the health of our customers. Our identification of this issue will allow our company to take mitigative actions before the whistles are in the hands of our consumers. Another advantage of this solution is that our customers will be unaware that there could have been an issue with the whistles. Our consumers’ ignorance allows our company to avoid a public-relations concern or public excoriation of our product and company brand. There are no government mandates that our company must disclose these sorts of issues if they are discovered before being delivered to our customers. An important disadvantage to this solution is that the investigative process and resultant process refinements will prove costly and timely. It is evident that a production and service failure has occurred, since our whistles’ lead levels currently contravene United States legislative mandates; however, we are not certain where in the supply chain this failure has occurred. Unnecessary people-power must be devoted to resolving this issue sufficiently to prevent issues in the similitude of this one. Another disadvantage to this solution is the effect it will have on employee morale. To be specific, the judgment of the managers of these processes is dubious and will have to be investigated. It is unquestionable that coaching and development, inclusive of corrective action, will have to be meted to all parties involved in this situation. And because of the cost of resolving this matter, some managers and their employees may have to have their employment terminated. No matter how delicately the corrective action will be handled, other employees will inevitable respond negatively. This situation may encourage discussions of unionization. It may engender unnecessary employee churn. Or for those who have their employment terminated as a result of our investigation, it may very well involve contending against ex-employee litigation for perceived wrongful termination, which will involve government agencies and their investigations. Solution 1: Ethical Considerations This solution is an ethically viable option. The reason is that the lead levels prescribed by the federal government are ostensibly predicated on customer saftey and, if more stringent, supersede lead-level requirements of the target country. Providing customers, especially young children, with high-lead toys is immediately unethical and demonstrates a disconnection from social responsibility. Solution 1: Financial Considerations This solution, however, is the most costly and will make profit from these sales impossible unless we increase the price of the toy whistles. The  following are cost considerations of this solution: 1. Vetting Raw-Material Supplier: It is possible that the raw materials that we obtain from our supplier do not possess the integrity that we expect, which would cause products to fail quality verfifcations. An audit would be required of the supplier. This audit would entail the following costs: a. On-site inspections: $10,000, inclusive of labor costs and travel expenditures b. Report of findings: $5,000, inclusive of labor costs of presenting the findings c. Negative findings: $10,000, inclusive of replacing and contracting with a different raw-materials supplier. d. Positive findings: $15,000, inclusive of sunk costs of on-site inspections and reporting of findings (since no issue would have been with the supplier) 2. Vetting Production Processes: There may be deficiencies in the production process that cause higher levels of lead to result in our products. Here are the costs associated with this vetting: e. Departmental inspections: $7,000, inclusive of labor costs f. Report of findings: $5,000, inclusive of labor costs of presenting the findings g. Negative findings: $50,000, inclusive of making process adjustments, training on new processes, and follow-up labor costs h. Positive findings: $12,000, inclusive of sunk costs of inspections and reporting of findings. As easily noted, the costs of making process changes are considerable. However, the costs of these changes should not, by themselves, be an impetus to continue to produce high-lead toy whistles.