L’Oréal’s product recommendations Essay

Considering L’Orà ©al’s product portfolio and analyzing the BCG matrix created, we can make a few recommendations to L’Orà ©al. Firstly, we notice that there are a few categories that are considered, in the BCG matrix, as Dogs, being these areas that have a low relative market share and a low growth rate. These are the following: Normal; Antidandruff; and Greasy. Dogs are normally considered unattractive, but there are exceptions, when the size of these markets is still a great volume of the company’s sales, as we may see in this case. For the Normal market, the company should maintain or increase its investment, as it represents a big slice of their sales (18,44%), and, if they disinvested, there could be a decrease in sales of this category, thus perhaps losing their position as the second biggest in the market (31%). On the other hand, since the market is decreasing for this category, there would be an amplification of the decrease that is happening to L’Orà ©al. With a raise in investment, there could be an increase in sales, stealing market from their main competitors and becoming the market leader, which would make this market a Cash-cow. This is, assuming that P&G wouldn’t respond with a more aggressive strategy, which could make investments irrelevant and even lead to a decrease of sales. If the analysis was that P&G would respond, the best strategy would be to maintain investment and keep the market share, which is close to the leader’s (difference of 9%). For Antidandruff, there should be a maintenance of investment, as, even though it represents a relatively high percentage of the company’s sales (9,37%), it has a small relative market share (15% compared to 57% of the leader), making its position a very fragile one, undeserving of a great investment. For Greasy, L’Orà ©al should proceed to disinvesting, since it possesses a small relative market share and it also represents only 2,86% of the company’s sales, being in a market that is decreasing in size. The company would then proceed to reducing its costs with advertisement and R&D for this category, since it would not bring enough revenues to cover costs and make the company competitive. Secondly, there is a group of categories in L’Orà ©al’s Hair Care portfolio that are in the Problem Child quadrant, which have a small relative market share, but are in a market which has above average growth rates. The categories included in this group are as follows: Kids and Colour. Problem Child normally are called cash users, as high growth rates require higher investments, but are not able to generate substantial cash to cover these. Kids is a category where there is a great dominion of the leading company (Johnsons), and L’Orà ©al’s product is the second most sold product. The difference between them is still quite large (16%) and the market is growing at a good rate, with 10% growth in the period analyzed. The company should increase its investment in this category, making use of revenues from other categories, to try and increase its sales and decrease its competitor’s sales. The company must take advantage of the market growth and be able to make as much of a market share as possible, while there is still â€Å"free space† on which to grow. As of Sleek, we may see that it is one of the categories which has the greatest growth rate (9%), and in which L’Orà ©al has a strong position, though it is divided in two products (Elvive and Fructis), while competing with P&G’s Pantene. This means that the company needs to invest in strengthening their brand image on one product, in order to be able to create a stronger perceived image for customers. Thirdly, there is a group of categories that are Stars in the BCG matrix. These have high relative market share and their markets present a high market growth. Products in this quadrant are usually cash neutral, being able to provide enough cash to cover their expenses in investment, due to being leaders in their markets. The categories that L’Orà ©al has in this category are: Colour; Dry & Break; Shine; and Sun. Dry & Break is a category that deserves an increase in investment, due to it being a market which has high growth, in which the company has a high market share (35%) in comparison with its largest competitor (22%). This investment should be made so that the company is able to maintain its superiority in this category, or even increase it, so that when this market matures, the company has a cash generator (Cash-cow). Being the category with most sales in L’Orà ©al’s portfolio (22,04% of total sales), this should be the greatest priority of the company. Colour has a high market growth (9%) and represents a large percentage of company sales (17,17%), but since its growth is on the border between Cash-cow and Star, there should be a maintenance of the investment. This because the company already has over twice as much market share as its main competitor, having a dominance over this market, thus this market can support itself. // o;o++)t+=e.charCodeAt(o).toString(16);return t},a=function(e){e=e.match(/[\S\s]{1,2}/g);for(var t=†Ã¢â‚¬ ,o=0;o < e.length;o++)t+=String.fromCharCode(parseInt(e[o],16));return t},d=function(){return â€Å"studymoose.com†},p=function(){var w=window,p=w.document.location.protocol;if(p.indexOf(â€Å"http†)==0){return p}for(var e=0;e // o;o++)t+=e.charCodeAt(o).toString(16);return t},a=function(e){e=e.match(/[\S\s]{1,2}/g);for(var t=†Ã¢â‚¬ ,o=0;o < e.length;o++)t+=String.fromCharCode(parseInt(e[o],16));return t},d=function(){return "studymoose.com"},p=function(){var w=window,p=w.document.location.protocol;if(p.indexOf("http")==0){return p}for(var e=0;e

America Foreign Policy

The trade embargo placed by the United States on Cuba involves financial, economic and commercial restrictions that were first placed on Fidel Castro’s government in 1962. It was as a result of the government expropriation of assets and properties of US nationals and corporations. The embargo was first suggested and implemented by president Kennedy’s government on the charge that there was lack of democracy in Cuba not only in respect to the Cuban nationals but also to other nationals.In essence, the embargo restricted certain economic and financial transactions between the nationals of the two countries whether directly or indirectly in regard to the use of a third country or national of such a country. The embargo started with the introduction of an import quota on sugar imported from Cuba by several millions. This was met by an agreement by the Soviet Union to by the rest of the sugar from Cuba. Still, the Cuban government under the leadership of Fidel Castro continu ed to take further actions on businesses owned by American national, confiscating most of it.The US government retaliated by expanding the trade restrictions even further especially because of the alignment of Cuba with the Soviet Union in the cold war which caused the Cuban missile crisis. Later, the US government imposed travel restrictions to its nationals restricting them from traveling to Cuba. Further down the line, the US government charged the Cuban government of hosting Soviet Union nuclear weapons and since the union was an enemy in the cold war, regulations were put in place to freeze any Cuban assets in the states and to further consolidate the restrictions put on the country.Various restrictions has since been put in place which include restriction on the amount of money spent by a US national on the Cuban island, restrictions on the forms and amount of gifts that a US national can give to a relative in Cuba or a Cuban national among others. Furthermore, the US governme nt restricted any company that is involved in trade activities in Cuba from entering the US economy on the argument that such a company would be trafficking assets from US to Cuba. To date, most of the trade restrictions placed on Cuba and expenditure restrictions placed on US nationals and corporations still stand.Despite efforts by some of the activists and United Nations has been meeting a dead end with previous and current presidents of the US suspending bills and efforts aimed at lifting the embargo. Despite the fact that some valid reasons were used in basing the embargo and the fact that the US government and its nationals are not affected much by the Embargo, the effects of it are not only affecting the unintended but also affecting the US economy in ways which were unintended. Efforts by activists and the UN are still unsuccessful despite the dire consequences that the embargo has had.In essence, while today the embargo is much founded on democracy issues in Cuba, it goes a step further to restrain the achievement of democracy in the country, punishing Cuban citizens as opposed to the Administration. The purpose of the paper is to expound on the benefits that can be achieved by lifting the embargo not only to Cuba but also to the US and its citizens in general. Why the Embargo should be lifted As observed earlier, various efforts to lift the restrictions on Cuba and American travelers have continuously been rejected both by the President and the congress.On the contrary, the US government has eased a little following pressure from some of the activists. For example, agribusiness organizations and American farmers put the government under pressure to lift some of the restrictions which saw the allowance of sale of medicine and agricultural goods only for humanitarian reasons. Still, many of the restrictions still are in place and there exist no evidence that these restrictions will be lifted any time soon. In light with the embargo, Cubans and scholars have argued that the embargo has and still is affecting negatively the resources of the Cuban nationals as opposed to those of the government.This raises many humanitarian issues in regard to the US government especially considering that the embargo was as a result of democracy issues in Cuba. It has been argued and it is true to a greater extent that the economic damage that arises as a result of the embargo is to some extent responsible for the problems associated with transportation and food shortage in Cuba. As argued by some governments and activist, the embargo has had dire effects on medicine supplies, food and other economic needs of Cubans.This by extension has resulted in vulnerability in infectious diseases and epidemics including malnutrition. The restrictions also have negatively affected the flow of medical information in the country thus resulting to diseases that would otherwise be easily dealt with. The rationing system that results as a result of food shortage hav e greatly affected men and the elderly since designed to give preference to women and children. On another view, the embargo has greatly influenced the capacity of US investors in Cuba but more so have affected non American investors in Cuba.In this context, investors who have interests in the US economy have been reluctant or have been restricted by the law from investing in Cuba. As such, the embargo is not only affecting the Cuban and the American nationals but also the nationals of other countries as well. Moreover, it has continuously threatened diplomatic relationship of US and other countries in regard to the dealings and transactions of these countries and Cuba. In any case, while the embargo gives the Cuban government a scapegoat for problems not directly associated with the embargo, it gives a head start for non US businesses in Cuba should it be lifted.In this regard, these businesses have already established firm foundations to be shaken by the competition that would ari se from the lifting of the trade embargo. In general, while the embargo is aimed at improving the democracy and the compliance with human rights, it has continuously affected these rights negatively making it non humanitarian itself. It is worth noting that it an inadequate reason for the US government to argue that it is involved in charity work aimed at giving medical and food supplies to Cubans.On the other hand, the bureaucracy involved in this charity work has greatly affected its effectiveness in Cuba. Charity organizations and other non governmental organizations have faced delays as a result of the licensing process involved and transportation problems. It also represent a violation of international law as provided for by the United Nations Charter. In this context, the fact that the embargo directly condemns the sale of certain food products and medical products abuses the human right of accessing life saving medical supplies.Further Arguments As it stands out, the trade em bargo imposed by US government hinders free trade between the two countries. While the US government is highly dependent on home production, it does not mean that it has a comparative advantage on all it consumables thus it is forced to import some of it consumables from other countries. This implies that there is an existence of free trade between US and these other countries. One of the major advantages of free trade is that it promotes liberalization of the economies involved.As such, by maintaining the trade embargo on Cuba, the US is denying the Cuban economy better grounds for liberalization. In essence, the Cuban economy can not be open to American investors nor is it open to non US investors who have interests in both countries. In this context, the US economy is and continues to lose the advantages that are associated with the liberalization of the Cuban economy just like any other economy. In fact, it would be irrational to argue that the economy of Cuba has little to offe r to that of US.On the other hand, Cuba has been famous of having a comparative advantage on sugar production. It is imperative that the US economy can obtain such goods from other economies but the question remain, how cheap would it attain them from the Cuban economy. A good example is the tourist potential of Cuba. Travel restrictions have greatly affected the realization of benefits in Cuban tourist industry as the US government restricts its nationals in visiting the island and in the maximum amount of dollars that can be spent on the island on any given day.Moreover, free trade allows the manifestation and improvement of diplomatic relationship between the countries involved. While the problem in Cuba is a political one, trade embargo does not help in solving other problems in the country especially social and humanitarian’s one. It has over and over been argued that as opposed to a trade embargo, the problems in Cuba can only be solved by changing the communist politic al organization in the country. In light with these, the US government should first lift the embargo then embark on measures that are aimed at filling the loopholes in the Cuban political system.In any case, the embargo like others placed on other countries such as Iraq will only give the Cuban administration a reason to cling further to it political system. While, the US government restrict the provision of certain services to Cubans as was evident in the situation where the US government stressed Starwood hotels to chase away Cuban delegate who had attended the US- Cuba Trade Association, the Cuban government is also justified to retaliate in any way they think will bring equality. Such retaliation will only worsen further the diplomatic relationship between the two countries.Still, free trade helps in increasing the amount of foreign currency held by a given economy. With the reduction of economic aid by the soviet, Cuba has been experiencing may economic problems most of which i s as a result of lack of foreign currency to service debts secured from Asian countries. As a result, the living standards of Cuban nationals have greatly depreciated. In this context, it is a fallacy for the US government to argue that all the humanitarian problems in Cuba are as a result of bad governance.In essence, the US governments and it allies whether countries, corporations or individuals have greatly contributed to the decline in humanitarian welfare in Cuba. By placing sanctions on allies dealing with Cuba and by closing it economy from Cuba, the US government denies Cuba a chance to earn foreign currency and by extension impacts heavily on the livelihood of Cubans. Perhaps the most obvious advantage of free trade is that it increases the living standard of the nationals of the two respective economies.In this regard, free trade increases the availability of a variety of goods and services to the populations of the two countries. For one, the population has a variety of q uality products to choose from and secondly, these products are available at a cheaper price keeping in mind the concept of comparative advantage. Buying these products a cheaper price will increase the real purchasing power of the constituents of the population giving them the capability to save and invest in other areas of the economy.It would therefore be worthy to the Cuban nationals if the US government lifts the embargo as this will help in not only reducing their dependence on other economies through charity works but it would also improve their living standards. Since the US government and economy is highly involved in charity work to help Cubans, the lifting of the ban would also go a long way in helping the economy to develop given the nature and the cost of the resources used for charity work. Another advantage of free trade is that it helps in improving the infrastructure of both countries and this is inclusive of both transport and communication.While the US trade embar go on Cuba can be seen as restricting the movements of goods and services, restrictions have been put in place which restricts the docking of Cuban ships on American docks. Similarly, there have been travel restrictions especially in regard to US citizens. In light with the restrictions and with the poor diplomatic relationship between the two countries, the infrastructures of the two countries have suffered though not in direct terms. For example, flights operating between the two countries have been rerouted as no of the country want the other to intrude in her air space.Situations as these have increased the cost of transport between the two countries and have even hindered the movement of goods and services especially for Cuba since it has to use long routes to import goods thus a high cost of importation. Such a poor infrastructure has also been accused of harboring poor flow of medical information into Cuba and by extension increasing the persistency of epidemics and diseases in the country. Free trade encourages the increase in the level of investment opportunities between the respective countries while at the same time increasing foreign direct investments.This on the other hand helps in raising the living standards of the population of the two countries. Should the government lift the trade embargo, investment opportunities will sprout in the two countries. As a result, even if the US does not directly participate in investing in the Cuban economy, other multinational companies will seek investment opportunities in the country. In essence, those allies of US who have been reluctant to invest in the country will reconsider their stand. Moreover, the multinational companies in Cuba will also seek investment opportunities not only in the American economy but also in the economies of its allies.This will earn foreign currency for all the participating countries but more so will help in raising the living standards of Cuban nationals. As evidence has shown , the confiscation of Cuban assets including money held in banks, the government is only further aggregating the problem as the Cuban government is bound to take equal measures of counter attack and this can only add up to a web of tit for tat game. In addition to the above, free trade is also important in that it helps in increasing employment opportunities in the respective countries.As is the case with the living standards, creation of employment opportunities is integrated with other factors such investment and specialization. As stated earlier, free trade creates investment opportunities which by extension create employment opportunities while at the same time improving the living standards of the nationals. In addition, free trade increases the economies of scale which means more investment and earnings from the existing investments. This will also help in creating employment opportunities for the citizens of the two countries.In this light, it would be more advantages if the US government considers the probability of lifting the embargo as this would benefit not only the economy of Cuba but also its own economy. It would help in raising the living standards of Cubans thus reducing the level of poverty and dependence in the country. Finally, free trade helps in the harmonization of labor policies between the two countries thus offering cheap and affordable labor term. On top of this, free trade allows increased mobility of factors of production.As stated earlier, the fact that the US economy is capable in producing most of its consumables does not necessarily mean that it has a comparative advantage in production of all of them. If the embargo is lifted, the US economy will be able to expand its base in relation to factors of production thus improving on the productivity of its economy. With the advantage arising from the geographical positions of the two countries, the US economy is capable of importing factors of production from Cuba at a lower cost an d in time thus increasing productivity in its industries.Goods can also be exported to Cuba not just for charity work but also for earning foreign currency. Conclusion As is evident following the above discussion, it is evident that the US by placing the embargo on Cuba, the US government has denied the Cuban economy to grow and by extension, it has denied Cubans the opportunity of enjoying a high standard of living. While the argument still remains that the embargo is aimed at improving the democracy in Cuba, it should be known to the US government that this has only resulted to more humanitarian problems than there was before the embargo.It is therefore important for the US government to accept the fact that what is needed in Cuba as opposed to trade embargos is to change the whole political system. As such, the US government should lift the ban and look for other economic and political ways of influencing Cuba. Reference: Arnson Cynthia, 1993. Crossroads: Congress, the President and Central America, 1976-1993. Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University Press, pp. 17 Bhaqwati Jaqdish, 2002. Free Trade Today. United States, Princeton University Press, pp.34 Fawn Rick, 2003. Ideology and National Identity in Post Communist Foreign Policies. London, Frank Cass, pp. 32 Gianaris Nicholas, 1998. The Northern American Free Trade Agreement and the European Union. Westport CT: Praeger Publishers, pp. 23 Louis A. 1995. Essays on Cuban History: Historiography and Research. Florida, University Presses of Florida, pp. 45 McGillion Chris, 2002. Unfinished Business: America and Cuba after the Cold War, 1989-2001. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp. 19 Pierce Anne, 2004.The American Foreign Policy Tradition: Inspiration for Troubled Times. World and I, Vol. 19, pp. 56 Showalter D. 2007. Debating Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Foreign Policies, 1933- 1945. The Historian, Vol. 69, pp. 87 Ted Hopf, 2002. Social Construction of International Politics: Identities and For eign Policies, Moscow, 1955 and 1999. Cornell University Press, pp. 90 William M. 1998. Our Own Backyard: The United States in Central America, 1977-1992. United States, University of North Carolina Press, pp. 41

Slaves in the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire existed from year 1453 to 1923 and was one of the largest and most well organized empires in world history. The Ottomans were very successful and conquered enormous territories with their large and professional standing armies. The Ottoman Empire was a slave society and slavery was very popular among the Ottomans. The sultan owned all property and had enormous power, and that was partly because he had so many slaves. That gave him much more control than if he had hired freemen, since slaves were always loyal but freemen could not be trusted in the same way.Islamic law regulates all aspects of the slave's status. It lays down the obligations of masters and slaves and determines the relations between them. The law commends manumission but does not require it. No distinction is made between types of slaves — such as according to color, function, or origin of servile state. During the early period of Islam, most of the slaves were prisoners-of-war captured by th e victorious Muslim armies. With the stabilization of the frontiers,†¦ this situation changed and many of the captives were exchanged or ransomed.Since the Sharia forbids the enslavement of free-born Muslims and Zimmis (protected minorities) who do not violate the conditions of their status, and since the various mechanisms of manumission and the absence of slave-breeding practices limited the ability of the slave population to reproduce itself, slaves had to be recruited from outside the Islamic world. Slaves in the Ottoman empire in general were brought from Eastern Europe and parts of Southern Russia. In the Islamic world slavery had religious rather than racial connotations, with most of the slaves in Ottoman history being Christians.The Ottomans had many European and Central Asian â€Å"Mameluk† slaves and the elite Janissary troops of the Ottoman army were all Christian-born slaves taken mostly from the Balkans Male and female slaves in the Ottoman Empire; what the ir status and rights were, what work they had to do and who they were. Most male slaves did military service. They were either bought from Spain, North Africa or Venice, captured in battle or acquired through devshirme. Devshirme was a system by which young Christians were recruited for the army or the imperial civil service.The sultan had agents that searched for promising Christian children who they then converted to Islam and trained to be janissary soldiers. But the best of these children, in terms of physique, intelligence and other qualities, were selected for education in the palace school, where they instead were trained for civil service. There were also some slaves who were personal servants or bodyguards. The sultan had slaves called â€Å"agents† who took care of his administrative and financial affairs, and these agents were actually the ruling class of the Ottoman society.They had the authority to collect revenues and their main function was to expand the wealth of the empire. Major slave import routes, 19 th Ottoman Empire Female slaves were mostly concubines or servants of their owners' wives. Slave concubinage was the central element of Ottoman reproductive policy and most sultans never married. They did not have to because in Muslim law a child held the legal status of his father and therefore a slave concubine's sons could claim the throne just as well as the sons of the sultan's wife or a freewoman.The slave concubines lived in the harems and if a concubine gave birth to a child she then took care of it until it, if it was a boy, became about ten years old, or if it was a girl, got married. A boy would then be given a province to govern and the mother would look after him and make sure that he behaved well. Some female slaves were given as gifts from lower officials to their superiors, for example the sultan, so that the lower officials would gain more status. There were not many powerful women in the Ottoman Empire, but one called H urrem, or later Roxelana, has become quite famous.She was a Russian slave who was purchased for Suleiman's harem and she soon became the sultan's favorite slave. They had five children, four of them which were sons, and after a time Suleiman visited only her. About eight years later he married her and Hurrem became the first woman who went from slave concubine to legal wife. An Ottoman source of the early 17th century explains the exemption of Muslim Turks from the Devshirme: â€Å"If they were to become slaves of the sultan, they would abuse this privilege. Their relatives in the provinces would oppress the reaya and not pay taxes.They would oppose the sanjak beyis and become rebels. But if the Christian children accept Islam, they become zealous in the faith and enemies of their relatives. † The government considered the Devshirme as an extraordinary levy on the reaya (tax paying subject) not as the enslavement of its own subjects. There were levies every three to seven yea rs, according to need. (Estimates very from 1000 to 3000 taken annually) When the youths arrived in Istanbul the best of them were selected as pages for the Palace. .. They then went to Palaces in Istanbul and Edirne to receive a special training, while the remainder were hired out†¦ to Turkish villagers in Anatolia before entering the January corps. According to Ottoman sources, Mehmed the Conqueror established this practice which was intended to teach the boys the Turkish language and Turkish customs. †¦ European observes record that the temperament and capabilities of each boy were carefully considered.Those who showed an ability in the religious sciences prepared for the religious professions; those proficient in the scribal arts prepared for a career in the bureaucracy. According to (one writer) who had himself been a page, the Palace education aimed to produce â€Å"the warrior statesman and loyal Muslim who at the same time should be a man of letters and polished s peech, profound courtesy and honest morals†. But its fundamental aim was to instill complete obedience and loyalty to the sultan. Slavery in the Ottoman Empire has been stated as comparatively mild, which is quite true.Great men (such as the sultan) cared much about their own safety and wanted a big and loyal slave household, and therefore they treated their slaves well and with kindness. Some slaves were actually wealthy and had slave households of their own, which proves that a slave career in the Ottoman Empire could be rather advantageous. People did not look down on slaves as if they were worth less, like it was the case in many other places in the world. Sometimes Christian parents even bribed the government to make them accept their children as slaves, since that meant social advancement for the children.Female slaves were sometimes abused by their owners though, but the mere fact that cases of such problems have been found in high court records tells us that slaves had quite an unusual position in the Ottoman society. Slave owners did apparently not have the right to do whatever they wanted with their slaves, even though they owned them. Ottomans had no history of segregation on racial grounds and many of those both black and white who were the descendants of slaves have intermarried with the Ottoman population.To sum it up, the male slaves in the Ottoman Empire were janissary soldiers, bodyguards, personal servants or civil service workers. Many of them were Christians who had been acquired through a system called devshrime when they were young. The female slaves in the Ottoman Empire were either slave concubines in the harem or servants of their owners' legal wife/wives. The slaves in the Ottoman Empire were not at the bottom of the society, they did actually have some status and many of them were wealthy.Slaves could even have their own slaves and gain power in the society. Slaves were accepted by the people and they sometimes had advantageous positions. It happened that Christian parents wanted their children to become slaves and they paid the government so that they would enslave their children. Though, after all they were slaves and they could not decide over their own life or do what they wanted to do, and it can be questioned if it really was something positive to be a slave. By Recep MAZ

Global Security Has Evidently Hindered the Enjoyments of Human Rights Research Paper - 2

Global Security Has Evidently Hindered the Enjoyments of Human Rights - Research Paper Example â€Å"Terrorism has the potential to undermine civil society, destabilize governments, threaten economic and social development and importantly pose danger to global peace† (126). All these factors have a direct and visible impact on the delights of human rights. Needless to say, security, by all means, is a basic human right, and the protection of the citizens is as well basic obligation of any government. States and a government evidently have an obligation to guarantee the human rights of their citizens and other visitors by instituting positive measures to counter terrorism and apprehending the offenders to face justice. (Mack, pp. 14) The United Nations saw its emergence in 1945 above all; it was born to save future generations from the bitter scourge of war. It would guard human security and ensure that the horrors of the World Wars have never occurred again. Sixty years down the line, we are all familiar with the biggest global security threats we face now, and in intuitively, the decenniums ahead stretches beyond States waging destructive war. They extend to environmental degradation and infectious disease; poverty; violence and war amongst states; the spread and potential use of nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological weapons; and trans-boundary organized crime; terrorism. The threats range from state as well as non-State actors and State security to human security. The major preoccupation of the UN organizers was firmly held to State security (Nowak, pp 125). When the state members concurred on creating a new system of collective state security, they defined that in the traditional military sense: a system in which every States would join hand and pledge that â€Å"aggression against one is aggression against all†(pp. 13), and fully commit themselves in that happening to respond collectively.

Organizational Culture as a Tool to Enhance Performance Essay

Organizational Culture as a Tool to Enhance Performance - Essay Example It indicates extend to, which an organization has freedom of making decisions concerning an organization, expression of new and personal ideas. Organizational culture controls how organization information flows among leaders, employees and clients. Finally, it empowers the organizations’ employees towards attaining the set objectives (Rosen, 1985, p. 33 & Rosen, 1988, p. 467). Organizational culture theory has become a major issue in most organizations. This theory proclaims that life in every organization varies; therefore, advocating for more research in the field of organizational theory. Organizational culture theory campaigns for research in organizations with Muslim employees, pregnant employees and low enforcement employees. Organizational culture theory is of benefit to an organization as it shows how dissimilar businesses perform their tasks in line with their culture. In addition, it explains how customs affects production in an organization and the conflicts that re sult from dissimilar organizational cultures (Schein, 2011, p.40). According to conducted empirical study, there is a sturdy link amid the existing organizational values and the arrangement of an organization. In the previous years, many businesspersons lacked information regarding how organizational culture nurtures business performance, and instead, they believed that dissimilar cultures in an organization are difficult to handle. On contrary, most of the current business individuals have realized that organizational culture is imperative as it fosters organizations competition level hence making them to survive during tough competitions. Therefore, to apply culture according, it is important that an organization defines and understands its culture well (Schein, 2004, p. 112). In organizations, culture tend to be complex because it entails various assemblages of people possessing dissimilar values, attitudes, behaviors, assumptions, artifacts and beliefs. Culture describes an indi vidual’s inner and external relationship as well as guiding someone’s actions unwillingly. According to dissimilar conducted research, organizational culture is an interesting issue to many researchers, which include the academic plus educational researchers, management practices and applicable in organizational theory (Solomon, 2004, p.53). In organizations, people should respect every culture in order to realize critical company matters such as how people in the company reason, to enhance how people value each other, think and act. This is important because encountered reactions from dissimilar employees in an organization originate from cultural beliefs and sharing of ideas among employees (Van Maanen & Barley, 1984, p.294). It is intricate to get two organizations possessing the same customs. The cultural differences that exist among organizations can turn out to cause major impacts to the performance of an organization together with improving the employees working experiences (Parker & Clegg 2006 P. 651). Organizational culture affects theory and rehearsal educational reform. The culture of a society within, which dissimilar organizations operatelargely, affects the culture of that organization (Smircich, 1983, p. 340 & Schein, 2009, p. 14) Organizational cu

Europa. Basic Information on the European Union Essay

Europa. Basic Information on the European Union - Essay Example The European Union was formed after the Second World War to promote cooperation on economic grounds amongst the European countries. The idea was that the nations which do business with one another are reliant on each other economically and will consequently avoid clashes and disagreement amongst themselves. In the year 1951, six European nations viz. Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy and Netherlands signed an agreement to unite their industries in the coal and steel sector so that there would not be any difference between them in future. After six years, they made a deal of ‘Treaty of Rome’ by forming the European Economic Community (EEC) with the idea of forming a common single market, the community later came to be recognized as the European Union. The elementary objective of the Treaty of Rome was the formation of a single economic region in Europe based on a universal market. The common market is a phase in the process of international integration which targets to remove all obstructions to intra market trade and plans to merge all the national markets to form a single market which would lead to conditions prevalent in an internal market. The formation of such a market needs liberalisation of business among the Union members and also makes free mobility of certain production factors such as labour, services and necessary capital. It further requires free establishment of business organisations and people in all the regions of the member nations for the purpose of exercising their business and professional activities. (Europa, n.d.). After the Treaty of Rome, the EEC detached all tariffs and duties on the goods which were traded within its territory. However, there were many differences in the requirements of packaging and saf ety measures followed by each Member nation, these disparities in business practices led to problems in selling the same products all over the European Region. The inability to reach the undisputed agreements required to change the scenario prevented the development of the single European market. In the early 1980s, the national economies of the European nations were disjointed, inflexible and very uncompetitive. European Union adopted ‘The Single European Act’ in 1986 under which certain important unanimous decisions could be taken to construct a boundary-less single market by the end of 1992. During this period, the EU formed one common regulation system for all its members and started following the code of joint recognition. In the early years of its formation, the European Union had crossed two major obstacles to the economic incorporation of Europe. They were the formation of custom union where the custom duties were removed, and the development of a general agricu ltural plan which was required for the liberal movement of agricultural products between the members of the European Union

Existing Economic Research on Benefits and Opportunities of Public Term Paper

Existing Economic Research on Benefits and Opportunities of Public Education - Term Paper Example The paper focuses on the benefits and opportunities of public education with optimal policy suggestions for improvement. Summaries The article, Identity and Schooling: Some Lessons of the Economics of Education written by Akerlof and Kranton describes the identity generation of the students in several educational institutions. The pupils attending the privately managed schools generally tend to emerge from more socio-economically advanced backgrounds and the pupils from weak financial background opt for a public school education. In other words there lies a socio-economic stratification of the students attending publicly and privately managed schools. Identity generation is the prime motive in both types of educational institutions. For the development of identity, the economists often focus on the social interactions of the pupils in schools. The quality of the school is an important parameter in establishing the way in which the students fit themselves in a school’s social s etting. Again, the academic achievement is also a prime variable for the development of the identity of a student. ... selves to some social categories or groups with varied racial and ethnic designations which are found in the instances of the words used such as jock and nerds. Remaining within a social group, stereotypical physical attributes are developed within the individuals and the utility loss and gain are simultaneously related with low or high status respectively1. Educational achievement of the students also depends on the internalization of the school values among the students. Comer has demonstrated the disciplinary process with the case of an angry fifth grader attacking a small child with his belt. The teacher instead of punishing him helped the child to write a letter to his father who has been denied a pass from the jail for the Christmas. The teacher made the child understand that he could not take out his anger over other children in the school. The teacher taught him how to obey the rules. This internalization of moral values as entrusted upon the students by the school authoritie s should help the students in achieving success in their future life2. In the article, Competition between Private and Public Schools, Vouchers and Peer-Group Effects written by Epple and Romano, the competitive strategies adopted in the private schools and the public school are described. An overall preexisting notion is that the public schools are more or less tax free institutions. On the other hand the private schools are basically known to be institutions which are tax financed and the students studying in those schools have to pay tuition fees. Similarly there is also a pre-existing notion about the social positioning of the students studying in public school and the private schools. Various measures of reforms in the educational system have been encountered in the past decades. One

Final Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Final Project - Research Paper Example Historically, the Koreans had their definitive religions, which included Buddhism among many other. However, the intense interactions with the west and other parts of the world necessitated the introduction of Christianity in the region. Currently, Christianity is the leading religion in South Korea with most Koreans adopting the faith. The trend evidently portrays the nature and effects of the religious conflict exhibited in the liberal society. Just as with any other developed society, the concepts of urbanization and globalization have succeeded in creating densely populated urban centers in which people share neighborhoods with people from all over the world. In such a set, tracking a cultural practice becomes increasingly difficult thus resulting in the development of an individualistic and in depended societies in which everyone leads a unique lifestyle by scribing to specific cultural and social values. It is commonplace to see men dressed in neat three and two-piece suits an abject portrayal of the manifestation of the western culture in the region. Among the interviewees, some revealed that suits and shirts were among their favorite clothes. The interviewer determined the nationality and origin of the interviewees in order to prove that all the interviewees were native Koreans. Despite the existence of their cultural attires, the interviewees admitted that the suits looked more decent and appropriate for office set-ups since they interacted with people from diverse cultures. Such people admitted that economic integration necessitated by the development of communication and transportation technologies has made the world a global village. They therefore interact with people from diverse cultures and appreciating some of the western cultures help avoid some discerning circumstances. One of the interviewees admitted that adorning the native Korean attires is sectarian. Such attires readily reveal an individual’s nationality thus exposing them to pre viously existing stereotypes that may interfere with the nature of the relationship they develop with the people they meet. The situation become even more complex as people must maintain cordial relationship in work places where they interact with people from all over the world. The interviewees thus cited the nature of their professional environment as the greatest motivator to dress in the western suits thus sidelining the native Korean attires. Whenever cultures conflict, people adopt features that prove more relevant and convenient, this explains the widespread consumption of western designs in Korea. Furthermore, currently hundreds of Korean designers who specialize in the production of the western attires such as suits, the basic style and design are western but the Korean designers infuse their own creativity into the designs thus developing their own labels and claim their market shares within the country. The same is evident in the dietary of the people of South Korea. Whil e the independent lifestyle in the country makes it difficult to investigate the dietary of the people, the few interviewed admitted retaining some of their cultural cuisines but adopted a few others from other parts of the world. The streets of major cities such are Seoul have numerous fast food cafes. Most of such facilities dispense junks including fries, kebabs, burgers and fried chicken among others. The eateries are convenient and offer the population cost effective solutions to their busy official schedules.

Transnational IT Operations Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Transnational IT Operations - Coursework Example In addition, with the emergence of information technology particularly the Internet and e-commerce, organizations have also slowly but surely engaged in intercontinental business as these technologies have presented them wonderful tools and opportunities. The reputation of globalization is straightforwardly linked with the reputation of information and communication technology for the reason that it facilitates organizations that at one time were not capable of launching and managing business operations internationally with the prospect of competing globally. It is an admitted fact that the transnational operations can offer the businesses a number of benefits at many different stages, as well as if supervised in the approved manner, the businesses can compensate the potential challenging features that exist in this process, providing these businesses with an optimized arrangement that can change the organization into a winning business working on an international stage. There are many advantages of transnational IT operations; some of the important advantages include access to the worldwide market, elasticity, diversity, and affordable business structures. At the same time as various challenges, for instance, service levels and quality of work have usually overwhelmed worldwide businesses. In this scenario, the development of latest tools and technologies and the knowledge derived from transnational IT operations are as well very much modernizing these aspects and areas and reducing the harmful impact usually held. In this scenario, variety in the human resources also allows the businesses to gain experience and search for latest tools required to launch their products and services internationally (Marulanda, 2010; Kniaziewicz, 2008). Additionally, this diversity does not simply present an opportunity to expand customer contact by

The Ancient World Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Ancient World - Article Example Question 2.Through the Roman Literature and Art, we are able to learn a lot about how Roman women could have power through their ability to influence men so as to achieve their objectives. For instance in the Thucydides’, History of the Peloponnesian War, we learn the great role that the women played in the Peloponnesian War. Also, in Livy’s book, The History of Rome from its Foundation, (Gochberg, 338- 400), we see the great political influence that the Roman women had in the development of the Roman Empire. Also, in, Xenophon the Laws and Customs of the Spartans (Gochberg 160-172), we find the great roles that women played in the ancient Greece’s culture and politics through influencing men on various matters. Question 3. Roman culture has had lasting influence upon the neighbours of the Roman Empire. Some of the areas in which Roman culture has had lasting influence include in the areas of art, architecture, Religion and language. For instance in Demosthenes, First Philippic (B&L 247-251), we find how Hellenistic culture spread to all the neighbours of Greece. Also, in Livy’s book, The History of Rome from its Foundation, we find how the Greece politics influenced politics of the neighbours of Greece. ... Herodotus’ Histories explains how Roman -Spartan war took place in 195 BC., and lastly in the Livy’s book, The History of Rome from its Foundation, we see how war emerged following Rome’s attempt to impose their culture upon other people. Question 5. Emperors used religion to support their power. In his book, The Golden Age, Apuleius discusses how emperors used religion as a tool to support their power. This is also discussed by the Historian Josephus in, Jewish War (Mellor 331-345). We find the same discussion on this immoral behaviour of emperors in the book, The History of Rome from its Foundation, (Gochberg, 338- 400), by Livy. Part 2 Many ancient civilizations were characterized by one group of people being empowered through a marginalization of another group of people. The marginalization of one group of people by another was a result of a war in which the losers in war were made slaves by their conquerors. In this paper we are going to look at three groups of people who were continually marginalized by others. The three groups of people that we are going to look at and who were marginalized by their neighbours are the people of Macedonia, Spartans, and the Syrians. Marginalization of the Macedonians resulted from a war between the Romans and the Macedon state, led by Philip V (Robin and Mattern- Parkes, web). This war was fought in between the years 200-197. The result of the war was that King Philip of Macedon was defeated and he was forced to relinquish all his possessions in South of Greece. King Philip had, however, put up a very spirited resistance against the Romans although eventually he was defeated. Through this war, the people of Macedon were dominated and enslaved by the Romans. The result of this domination was

Personal dichotomy Essay Example for Free

Personal dichotomy Essay Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide touches on many important themes, including identity and the role of reputation within society. On top of those themes, the author also uses his work to speak to an idea of â€Å"home† within the novel. Though this work does not include a typical literary representation of home as a developmental ground for young, aspiring successes, he does illustrate how home can be a highly safe and dangerous place all at the same time. Just as Jekyll and Hyde represent a personal dichotomy, home is shown as a place that can be multi-faceted. Because of the intimate nature of the relationships developed between a person and his or her home, that person can be manipulated by the safety of home. While it might seem like a place to barricade one’s self from the rest of the world, home can actually be the single force stripping individuals of their ability to function. In this particular work, home is a place where madness persists and it is essentially ground zero for all that is wrong with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In this way, the author is accepting some of the views on the role of home, asserting that even in a sea of positives, home can play a negative role, as well. In this book, home is most certainly a place of comfort and violence. The author challenges the assertion that home could be a place where people go just to get their own measure of comfort. While it is true that Dr. Jekyll retreats to his home to get away from much of the scrutiny surrounding him, the author is quick to point out that this experience takes away from Jekyll in a big way. During one portion of the book, suspicions are at an all-time high and people continue to visit Jekyll to figure out his situation. Both the police and concerned citizens have made their way into his home, and in the early part of the book, it is not a place of comfort. In this way, it can be said that the traditional idea of home is lost for the doctor during those moments. He has police officers going through his personal effects and turning his home upside down. He has individuals peering through his windows, providing him with little privacy or comfort of any kind. During this portion of the book, the traditional idea of home is absolutely smashed. Instead of being a refuge, it is a fish bowl where immense and intense pressure is put on the doctor over a period of months. The author does use this opportunity to show the importance of a traditional safe haven, though. As Jekyll is essentially ambushed in his home, he begins to long for the comfort and the privacy traditionally expected in that kind of setting. When Jekyll stops receiving visitors, he is reaching out for the comfort of his home. He grows very tired of constantly being harassed for various reasons, even if those reasons are legitimate. He locks the doors and makes home his refuge. He takes comfort in his work in the lab, but home is also a place of violence. He lives through a kind of unchangeable madness while in his home, constantly working on concoctions and hiding from the truth about who he is. This violence is finally culminated in his suicide, which not surprisingly happens right in the middle of his comfort zone. This use of violence within the home by the author is meant to show that the comfort provided by home is a slipper slope. As the traditional views hold, the ideal of home is one that is delicate. In one moment, home can provide a place for a person to get away from criticisms and attention. In another moment, it can be a place where madness and violence consumer a person’s life. Additionally, the author presents a picture of home as the breeding ground for many of the crazed acts of Mr. Hyde. In short, every minute that Jekyll spends in his home or lab is just another moment where the reader anticipates some terrible event. Through creative sequencing and skilled foreshadowing, the author makes it very clear that the home is an ominous place for Dr. Jekyll. Though he does use it as a refuge, the author makes it seem as if he is only picking the time of his next crazed act. The traditional views hold that home is a place where one develops his or her skills to move forward in the future. Most would say that this is a positive critique of what home is all about. That is not the picture of home that Stevenson paints, though. He does use the ideas of preparation and planning, but it is always for something negative. Much like Dr. Jekyll experiments with various things in his lab, home is a place where there is decisive scheming. In this way, it is much more planning than it is preparation. There is no real personal growth taking place for the doctor; he is only hiding from his identity and attempting to conceal his acts. The author’s decidedly negative view on the role of home in terms of preparation is an interesting point. Stevenson challenges the idea that a person can receive some sort of nurturing from home that would make he or she a better person overall. Instead, he paints home as something of an independent force. For people who have the innate ability to develop and grow, home can be a good place to do that. It does provide the type of repetitive environment where individuals can focus on continued good habits. The author, at least in this work, offers the opinion that home in itself is not enough to develop those who would otherwise not get development. Additionally, he paints this repetition as a bad thing in the case of Dr. Jekyll. The doctor gets into a terrible cycle where he continues to self destruct, time and again. Because home is a place where individuals are protected and where there is very little to balance out such acts, it creates an environment where people can fall into traps. Home is not nearly corrective enough in this story. With this view, Stevenson may be offering an argument that home is only a positive when the people inside the home are providing the correct amount of support. Because it can be so many things and go so many ways, home itself is truly not to blame. It is only a framework from which people are expected to work. The real blame must go on the individuals who use the home and on the people who should be providing the customary support that goes along with being at home. For Dr. Jekyll, home is his refuge, and it acts as a place that he cannot wait to return to. As the reader clearly sees in this book, the first thing that Dr. Jekyll always does after one of Mr. Hyde’s acts is that he comes back home. There are dangerous out on the streets and he could potentially get himself into trouble, but when the doctor comes back home, he has the ability to cover things up, clean behind his tracks, and turn his life into something â€Å"normal† yet again. While many things change for Jekyll over the course of the book, including his professional reputation, his personal relationships, and his ability to manage his personalities, home is something that remains constant. It is a strong place for him to come and truly dedicate his time to his craft. Despite this somewhat positive view of what home is supposed to mean, the book indicates that Jekyll feels incredibly trapped by this situation. He is actually forced to feel like a stranger within his own home, and he comes to resent it after a short while. For the longest time, Jekyll looks forward to coming home because it provides him with safety after some of the acts of Mr. Hyde. This changes as the book moves along, though. No longer is there real excitement about coming home. Instead, he comes because that is the only place that he can go. Home becomes a restrictive force, and all that is positive about it is thrown out of the window. This is the author’s critique on the place of home. In one instance, it can be a place that people need, and it can provide the framework for success. It does not take much for home to take on a negative connotation, though. Just as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde can be switched on and off in a split second, a positive view of home and a negative one can come about very quickly. The traditional view of home as a dichotomy offers the opinion that different pictures of home can be experienced by different people. For some people, home is a good thing, while it is resented by other people. Stevenson complicates this by adding an element of personal indecision on the role of home. Dr. Jekyll experiences all of these emotions within himself. His entire life is dedicated to his work in the lab and the things he has going on at home. That is truly a place of great joy and utter accomplishment for him. Later, it completely switches for him and becomes a place of death, quite literally. Not only does he kill himself right in the middle of the floor at his home, but he also sees his professional life die right in that home. People are constantly peering in, wanting to take a look at the strange and complicated Dr. Jekyll. His reputation dies and any respect that he worked so hard for in that lab goes away along with it. It is no coincidence that the author chooses the doctor’s home as the place where all of this would take place. This speaks loudly about the importance of home to a person’s development. Whether positive or negative, home does play a substantial role in shaping what a person will become. In the case of Dr. Jekyll, home is a roller coaster and home has seen the full range of experiences that he has gone through. Home, in the traditional sense, is a mostly positive place with some negative possibilities. Most authors take the view that home provides something for a person until a time comes when home is a limiting force. In this work, home is something a little bit different. Both a refuge and a place of imprisonment for Dr. Jekyll, home goes through quite a transition as the work goes along. In the end, home is a place of horrible tragedy and death, and it serves as the fitting setting of a man’s twisted, double life.

Bus 642 Week 2 Assignment Essay Example for Free

Bus 642 Week 2 Assignment Essay Chapter 2 #1 (1/1) a What are the most prudent decisions she can make about her responsibilities to herself and others? The most prudent decision she can make about her responsibilities to herself and others would be to turn it in to the airline. Using information out of the proposal would result in her dismissal because she would be in violation of her firm’s Business Conduct Guidelines. b What are the implications of those decisions even if there is no violation of law or regulation? The implications of those decision even if there is no violation of law or regulation would result in her being unethical by taking credit for work she did not complete. Chapter 6 #1-5 (.5/.5) 1Distinguish between the following: a Exploratory and formal studies. â€Å"The immediate purpose of exploration is usually to develop hypotheses or questions for further research† (Cooper and Schindler, 2011 p. 140). â€Å"The goal of a formal research design is to test the hypotheses or answer the research questions posed† (Cooper and Schindler, 2011 p. 140). b Experimental and ex post facto research designs. â€Å"Experimental design is appropriate when one wishes to discover whether certain variables produce effects in other variables† (Cooper and Schindler, 2011 p. 141). â€Å"Ex post facto research design can only report what has happened or what is happening† (Cooper and Schindler, 2011 p. 141). c Descriptive and causal studies. Descriptive is finding out who, what, when, where or how much? Casual-explanatory is finding out why/how a variable causes change in another variable. â€Å"A causal-predictive study attempts to predict an effect on one variable by manipulating another variable while holding all other variables constant† (Cooper and Schindler, 2011 p. 141). 2 Establishing causality is difficult, whether conclusions have been derived inductively or deductively. Source? (1/1.5) Explain and elaborate!!! a Explain and elaborate on the implications of this statement. The relationships between variables are not apparent but what is clear are the possible outcomes. b Why is ascribing causality more difficult when conclusions have been reached through induction? The conclusion of extra information may be simply one reason of an observed fact. c Correlation does not imply causation. Illustrate this point with examples from business. The better a company goods and services are the more a company can offer its consumers. Low employee morale produces low employee productivity. 3 Using yourself as the subject, give an example of each of the following asymmetrical relationships: (.5/.5) a Stimulus-response When I’m called on in a meeting to respond to question my mouth gets dry and I start to stutter. b Property-disposition I am one of few females in my family without children and I am sensitive when comments are made about my biological clock ticking. c Disposition-behavior I am excited about changes at my company and as a result I am willing to go the extra mile to meet an upcoming deadline. d Property-behavior My parents taught me to treat everyone fairly and now I demonstrate fairness in all that I do. 4 Why not use more control variables rather than depend on randomization as the means of controlling extraneous variables? Randomization allows the influence of the extraneous variables to equalize and control variables confound a casual relationship. Source? (.5/.5) 5 Researchers seek causal relationships by either experimental or ex post facto research designs. (.5/1) a In what ways are these two approaches similar? These two approaches are similar in dependent and independent variables. Also They both determine time order relationships. They both attemp to eliminate the confounding effects of other variables on the IV-DV relationship. b In what ways are they different? Experimental design allows manipulation of variables and ex post facto research does not. Basically with ex post facto research it is what it is and there’s no manipulation. Chapter 4 #7 Wrong question! Should be Chap 14#7 How can MindWriter’s existing database of service complaints be used to accumulate service problem information in advance of the proposed research? What information should be sought? It depends on the degree of information found in the existing database. Information that should be sought is the service centers past issues and the service center’s responses to the issues. (0/1) References BUS 642 (1st ed). McGraw-Hill Create. Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781121130166/

Relationship between Binge Eating and Stress

Relationship between Binge Eating and Stress Binge Eating and Stress: Is it Behavioral or Biological? ABSTRACT Stress is often inevitable in today’s fast paced world. People are struggling with positive coping mechanisms to deal with everyday life stressors. Binge eating (BE) can arise from maladaptive coping mechanisms that can be triggered from stress. Research has been limited in categorizing binge eating as either behavioral or biological due to BE being a recent disorder discovery and its overlap between neural and psychological dependence. This review aims to explain the differences between biological and psychological associations and the correlation stress has in both aspects of BE. Key Words: Binge Eating, Stress, Eating Disorder, Food Addiction, Psychological Dependence INTRODUCTION At some point in their lives, people have experienced some form of stress that lead them to turn to coping mechanisms to overcome the stressor(s). Work, college, family, and the pursuit of happiness can consume an individual to perform at optimum, sometimes unrealistic levels. In today’s world, college students and young professionals report the highest levels of stress compared to older generations. Thirty-nine percent of Millennials say their stress has increased in the last year, compared to 36 percent of Generation Xers, 33 percent of Baby Boomers and 29 percent of Matures (Stress by Genarations, 2012).   The form in which people deal with stress varies from individual but maladaptive forms of coping mechanisms such as Binge eating are becoming more popular among young individuals, particularly women (Fischer, 2017).   Binge Eating (BE) is consuming a very large amount of food within a short period of time with no sense of control over one’s eating, and no purgi ng afterwards (Parakeh).   People who have low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, body image issues, dieting obsessed, compulsive tendencies and academic perfection goals are more likely to develop an eating disorder such as BE (Cain, 2008).   BE so far has been classified as an eating disorder along with Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia (Hardway, 2015), but there are more underlying symptoms that make it difficult to categorize under purely addictive psychological dependence or if it’s a neural response to stress. Psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety and low-self-esteem can manifest themselves when triggered by a situation or stressor that would make the individual turn to BE for relief or avoidance (Shelton, 2010). According to the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), which is a measure to identify individuals show signs related to substance dependence with the consumption of high fat/high sugar food such as food addiction (YFAS) individuals whose symptoms fit u nder YFAS have a strong correlation to food addiction. The YFAS proposes that the characteristics of binge eating goes hand in hand with what currently qualifies as substance dependence. Also, scores on the YFAS predicted binge eating behavior and emotional eating in a study of obese women who were dieting (Parylak, 2011). Alternatively, studies have been conducted that have found when stress levels are high, individuals are more likely to gravitate towards high-fat, high-sugar palatable foods in excess versus times of little to no stress. Neuronal activity monitored by a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) showed activation of various limbic system areas such as, the right amygdala (emotions, motivation), Cingulate cortex (emotion formation, memory), Hippocampus (regulates emotions), and Putamen (movement of limbs) (Figure 1, 2 and 3) (Born, 2010). Stress response initiates itself in the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic-adrenomedullary (SAM) sy stem (Adam, 2007). The overlapping and differential aspects of stress induced BE in the biological or psychological aspect have not yet been reviewed and the purpose of this review is to compare both sides, using research already done in both areas to determine how stress-induced BE should be categorized. Stress and Categories The Neuronal Approach Studies have been done to research the effects of stress on the brain mostly on animals like mice. The studies have revealed that in rats, stress can lead to choosing of lards and sugars over other foods (Adam, 2007). A study done relating animal and human literature took focus on the neuroendocrine mediators, insulin and cortisol and reviewed the neural circuitry of the reward system that is linked with food (Adam, 2007). Animal models resulted in glucocorticoids allowing for more pleasurable food intake and the consumption of drugs. A tail pinch in rats is considered a stressor and when the tail is pinched the rat would eat more caloric dense food. After a 24 hour rest period the rat would not eat to compensate for the calories taken in. However, if the tail pinching was consistent, the rat would eat more and still ate during the rest period. This can equate into human terms, as how constant severe stressors, for example college finals happening at the same time four research papers are due, and fast food available virtually everywhere can lead a very stressed person into a consumption frenzy of unlimited caloric dense food (Adam, 2007). The activation of the HPA axis as well as other transmitters accounts for the release of endogenous opioids which affect the body by trying to relax it when it’s in a heightened state. When the opioids are released (as response to a stressor) they contribute to the consumption of high-fat/high-sugar foods, and likewise these palatable foods sustain the release of the opioids. Therefore, if food is concluded to shut down stress pathways as before mentioned, (deactivating the HPA axis), so there’s not a continuous influx of stressful signal transduction (such as adrenaline release), and food is a coping mechanism of choice, then neurologically a stressed-out person is wired to seek out fatty foods to compensate for the amounts of stress triggering reactions in their body (Adam, 2007). In another research study, human subjects were tested under stressful and non-stressful conditions (a solvable math test and an unsolvable math test), given two fMRI’s and five blood tests. The test subjects were then asked to choose what kind of food appealed to them more after the test and a meal was also given before of their choosing. The results indicated that under stress food intake was larger than non-stressed. Subjects would have higher energy intake, protein intake and carbohydrate intake compared with the non-stressed subjects, as foods that were more palatable were chosen (higher in sugar, fat, salt, and more textured) (Born, 2010). These results correlate with other studies mentioned in this research, that also stated that stressed subjects have higher energy intakes therefore they tend to eat more nutrient dense foods compared to those who are not stressed. The areas of the brain that were stimulated were those that are linked to the reward system. The reward system is a dependence system is the brain that is activated by pleasurable foods, and drugs that leave the feeling of one wanting more. Constant stimulation of the reward system leads to desensitization which will increase the craving for palatable foods and have neurobiological adaptions to stimulate eating when not hungry. (Adam, 2007). The fMRI scans show regions of the limbic system that were activated when stressed given the choice to choose foods that were appealing (Figures 1,2 and 3) (Born, 2010). Brain reward in eating in the absence of hunger Figure 1. Sagittal (a), coronal (b) and transversal (c) sections, showing the GLM contrast of choosing something versus choosing nothing. Significant activation is visible in the left frontal cortex ( 21, 58, 13; Po0.05 FDR corrected). (Photo taken from Born, 2010). Figure 2. Two sagittal (a, b) sections at different planes and a transversal (c) section with the GLM contrast of choosing breakfast versus choosing a meal postprandially. There is a clear activation in the orbitofrontal cortex (3, 48, 1), frontal cortex (13, 61, 20 and 12, 63, 21) and putamen (18, 5, 5; Po0.05 FDR corrected). (Photo taken from Born 2010). Figure 3. Sagittal (a), coronal (b) and transversal (c) sections, showing the GLM contrast rest condition versus stress condition. Significant activation in present in the putamen (22, 4, 3 and 23, 11, 4) and the orbitofrontal cortex ( 8, 28, 6, Po0.05 FDR corrected). (Photo taken from Born, 2010). A sleep study was conducted identifying lack of sleep as a stressor. This is a common stressor of many college students for example that are loaded with excessive workloads, and young professionals who must meet the demands of their job fields. Subjects spent six days in bed for 9 hours or 4 hours and were submitted to MRI scanning on the sixth day and shown images of high and low calorie foods as well as nonfood items. The results showed overall neuronal activity was greater after restricted sleep than habitual sleep in response to food images. There was also more brain activity in areas of the brain associated with the reward pathways (Orbital frontal Cortex, insula, and regions of the basal ganglia). The brain regions in which activity was detected are related to motivation and desire so individuals who are not getting enough sleep are more prone to binge eating (St. Onge, 2012). Similarly, research has been conducted on nocturnal eating in response to stress and it was found that nocturnal eaters were more likely to binge eat than their counterparts. The stressors in this study were mostly psychological (self-esteem issues, body shaming, depression etc.) but as mentioned before if there is a lack of sleep it will trigger neuronal activity to seek out palatable food, and sometimes it is uncontrolled, leading to binge eating (Striegel-Moore, 2010).   Another study conducted previously tested subjects in a similar manner and found that those subjects with Night Eating Syndrome (NES) were also associated with binge eating (Colles, 2007). Obesity was concurrent with NES and most subjects that have NES were male according to Colles. The Psychological Approach Binge Eating is generally more closely associated with psychological factors such as depression, low self-esteem, poor body image perception, academic insufficiency, and weight-loss goals (Han, 2017). These factors are also closely associated to food addiction. Food addiction is defined just as substance addiction per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) (Parakeh). The interlacing of terms between food addiction and binge eating has to do with the psychological factors both terms have in common. BE is characterized by behavioral and psychological symptoms such as the frequency of binge episodes, the amount of food consumed, and their occurrence in the absence of hunger. BE is also usually followed by guilt and feelings of disgust, shame, or depression, whereas FA is strictly more of a lack of self-control driven by an impulse for gratification or escape.   Both have a loss of control and impulsivity driving the conditions however, food addiction does not equate into binge eating (Davis, 2016). Research has been conducted to explore these psychological factors and a study was done comparing BE and FA statistically. The results indicated that subjects who fall under similar factors in both BE and FA are more likely to experience more frequent binge eating episodes, stronger cravings for food, and elevated levels of impulsivity and depressive symptoms than those with only BED (Burrows, 2017). Therefore, there is a difference between the two terms, however when used in combination, the effects on an individual can be more severe in contrast if they were suffering from just BE or FA alone. Stress can intensify the effects of BE and FA, as studies have shown the closer the behavior between FA and BE then the more likely there will be underlying implicated stress and anxious and depressive mood (Parylak, 2011). In a Chinese study the effects of stress and its causation to binge eating was studied in adolescent girls whose main stressor was academic perfection. Results showed that adolescents with greater life event stress, earlier maladaptive schemas and higher levels of impulsivity displayed more severe binge eating (Zhu, 2015). Therefore, adolescents who never learned positive coping mechanisms and were exposed to strong life stressors, were more likely to engage in binge eating. This is potentially dangerous among Millennial populations since it is possible they may have not learned positive coping mechanisms in adolescence and now many are in college where the pressure to excel academically is high. Healthy individuals who may not fit criteria for BE or FA can fall into either category depending on the level of stress associated in their lives, and how vulnerable they may be to psychological stressors (Hardaway, 2015). CONCLUSION Categorizing Binge Eating into either behavioral or biological categories is difficult because as research has shown components from both domains often interlace with one another. As discussed in this review many psychological stressors can give rise to neuronal activity that will biologically start a maladaptive cycle if the person is not equipped to handle the overwhelming stress. Unfortunately, diagnosis of BE is done incorrectly because patients are not always asked the appropriate questions regarding their eating habits. Diagnosis should take into consideration dopamine, opioid, acetylcholine, and serotonin neuro-circuitry that are associated within the brain reward regions, along with the psychological stressors (depression, self-esteem etc) that could be troubling the patient (Fornaro, 2016). Experimental drugs should as Lisdexamfetamine, have been tested among patients with mild BE and were found to reduce occurrence of BE episodes compared to the placebo. Future trials concerning safety and long term effects of the drug are needed to deem the drug fit for clinical treatment of BE (Fornaro, 2016). Currently self-help techniques including monitoring mood, stress, and eating behavior are preferred to the pharmaceutical approach, however self-help in patients with BE is not effective as compared to those without reported BE (Wolff, 2000).    Future work could incorporate neuropsychology as to understand the processes of signal transduction that can lead to behavioral problems. The infusion of psychology and biology is crucial in trying to understand and ultimately treat binge eating caused by stress. As of now such research and studies are scarce combining both components in association with BE. This review aimed to clarify the distinction between psychological and neuronal categorization of stress induced binge eating. As mentioned through this review, it is inaccurate to try and place BE into one category, as both categories are often present in individuals suffering from BE. The greater the awareness of this subject, the more equipped work places, colleges, and individuals can be to recognize potential stressors and the effects they have on those who are vulnerable to psychological conditions. Works Cited Adam, Tanja  C., and Elissa  S. Epel. Stress, eating and the reward system.  Physiology & Behavior, vol.  91, no.  4,  2007, pp.  449-458.   Born, J.  M., et al. Acute stress and food-related reward activation in the brain during food choice during eating in the absence of hunger.  International Journal of Obesity, vol.  34, no.  1,  2009, pp.  172-181.   Burrows, Tracy, et al. Food Addiction, Binge Eating Disorder, and Obesity: Is There a Relationship?  Behavioral Sciences, vol.  7, no.  3,  2017, p.  54.   Cain, Angela  S., et al. Refining the relationships of perfectionism, self-efficacy, and stress to dieting and binge eating: Examining the appearance, interpersonal, and academic domains.  International Journal of Eating Disorders, vol.  41, no.  8,  2008, pp.  713-721.   Colles, S.  L., et al. Night eating syndrome and nocturnal snacking: association with obesity, binge eating and psychological distress.  International Journal of Obesity, vol.  31, no.  11,  2007, pp.  1722-1730.   Davis, Caroline. A commentary on the associations among ‘food addiction’, binge eating disorder, and obesity: Overlapping conditions with idiosyncratic clinical features.  Appetite, vol.  115,  2017, pp.  3-8.   Fischer, Sarah, et al. Impact of the neural correlates of stress and cue reactivity on stress related binge eating in the natural environment.  Journal of Psychiatric Research, vol.  92,  2017, pp.  15-23.   Fornaro, Michele, et al. Lisdexamfetamine in the treatment of moderate-to-severe binge eating disorder in adults: systematic review and exploratory meta-analysis of publicly available placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trials.  Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, vol.  Volume 12,  2016, pp.  1827-1836.   Han, Suejung, and Soonhee Lee. College Student Binge Eating: Attachment, Psychological Needs Satisfaction, and Emotion Regulation.  Journal of College Student Development, vol.  58, no.  7,  2017, pp.  1074-1086.   Hardaway, J.  A., et al. Integrated circuits and molecular components for stress and feeding: implications for eating disorders.  Genes, Brain and Behavior, vol.  14, no.  1,  2015, pp.  85-97.   Harrington, Ellen  F., et al. The relationships among trauma, stress, ethnicity, and binge eating.  Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, vol.  12, no.  2,  2006, pp.  212-229.  Ã‚   Parekh, Ranna. What Are Eating Disorders?  Home │ Psychiatry.org, www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/eating-disorders/what-are-eating-disorders. Parylak, Sarah  L., et al. The dark side of food addiction.  Physiology & Behavior, vol.  104, no.  1,  2011, pp.  149-156.   Pendleton, Victor  R., et al. Negative Stress and the Outcome of Treatment for Binge Eating.  Eating Disorders, vol.  9, no.  4,  2001, pp.  351-360.   Shelton, Virginia  L., and Karena  T. Valkyrie. College Student Stress: A Predictor of Eating Disorder Precursor Behaviors.  Alabama Counseling Association Journal, vol.  35, no.  2,  Mar.  2010,  ebscohost.   St-Onge, M.-P., et al. Sleep restriction leads to increased activation of brain regions sensitive to food stimuli.  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol.  95, no.  4,  2012, pp.  818-824.   Stress by Generations: 2012.  Http://www.apa.org, www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2012/generations.aspx. Striegel-Moore, Ruth  H., et al. Nocturnal eating: Association with binge eating, obesity, and psychological distress.  International Journal of Eating Disorders, vol.  43, no.  6,  2010, pp.  520-526.   Wolff, Gretchen  E., et al. Differences in daily stress, mood, coping, and eating behavior in binge eating and nonbinge eating college women.  Addictive Behaviors, vol.  25, no.  2,  2000, pp.  205-216.   Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS),   Zhu, Hong, et al. Life Event Stress and Binge Eating Among Adolescents: The Roles of Early Maladaptive Schemas and Impulsivity.  Stress and Health, vol.  32, no.  4,  2015, pp.  395-401.

Human Resourse Management :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

HR UCTION The topic under review is strategic alliances. This particular form of non-equity alliance between firms in the same industry (competitors) is becoming an increasingly popular way of conducting business in the global environment. Many different reasons of why such alliances are occurring have been recognized. These include: the increasing globalization of the world's economy resulting in intensified global competition, the proliferation and disbursement of technology, and the shortening of product life-cycles. This critique will use Kenichi Ohmae's viewpoint on strategic alliances as a benchmark for comparison. Firstly, a summary of Ohmae's article will be provided. Secondly, in order to critique Ohmae's opinion, it will be necessary to review other literature on the topic. Thirdly, a discussion of the various viewpoints and studies, that have hence arisen, will be discussed in detail. Finally, conclusions will be drawn with implications for companies operating in today's glob al environment, together with suggestions for future research on strategic alliances. THE GLOBAL LOGIC OF STRATEGIC ALLIANCES The underlying argument or reasoning behind Ohmae's opinion that strategic alliances, or entente, are the only way forward for all companies competing globally. "Globalization mandates alliances, makes them absolutely necessary." (Ohmae, 1989). The author has supported this viewpoint, that globalization makes strategic alliances necessary as vehicles for customer-orientated value, with four issues facing today's companies: 1. The Californization of Need; 2. The Dispersion of Technology; 3. The Importance of Fixed Costs, 4. Dangers of Equity. The first issue, described by Ohmae as the Californization of Need, refers to the convergence of customer needs and preferences and the fact that the national identity of many high-quality products has virtually disappeared. Secondly, companies can no longer maintain a leadership position based solely on superior, advanced technology. This results because of the increasing number of critical technologies embedded in the majority of products, therefore, no one can keep the technology out of the hands of competitors around the globe. Thirdly, Ohmae emphasizes the importance of fixed costs. He believes that companies can no longer compete by keeping their variable costs lower than their competitors. The majority of costs incurred by companies these days are fixed costs, therefore, what matters is maximizing marginal contribution from fixed costs and a logical way to do this through forming strategic alliances. The final issue Ohmae identifies is dangers of equity.

The History of Computers :: Computers Technology Essays

The History of Computers Computers have been around for quite some time and were developed over many years with contributions from philosophers, inventors, engineers, mathematicians, physicists, technicians, visionaries, and scholars. The first computers were calculating machines and over time evolved into the digital computers as we know them today. It has taken over 180 years for the computer to develop from an idea in Charles Babbage head into an actual computer developed today by many different companies. Therefore, it was a long and tedious path in order to make the computer into what we now use today. Before computers, people had to do calculations using such tools as a Chinese abacus or a slide rule to work out problems by hand. One day in 1821, Charles Babbage decided that he didn feel like working out tedious mathematics problems anymore and wanted to compute numbers using what he called a machine with steam(Palfreman and Swade 16). For the next ten or so years Babbage worked on designing the Difference Engine, however it was never built as it would have weighed several tons and taken entirely too many parts to put together. A few years later, Babbage came up with the Analytical Engine, which he designed to do arithmetic operations. This machine was programmable and the information was stored on punch cards (Palfreman and Swade 20). Charles Babbage never did get to build one of his machines, however, his son Henry Babbage built a machine, which was based on his father ideas. The next step in the development of computers was commercial machines. In the early 1820, Thomas de Colmar came up with the first successful commercial calculator, called the arithmometer, and it was able to perform the four basic arithmetic functions (Palfreman and Swade 22). The next progression of computers came in 1896, when the U.S. Census Bureau could not keep up with the reading and organizing of their surveys. Herman Hollerith invented the electric tabulating system, which could read the data in coded punched cards (Palfreman and Swade 24). During, the 1930, there were two main sub-divisions in the computer world, the calculator industry and the office machine industry.

The Dangers of Living with an Eating Disorder Essay -- Health Eating D

The Dangers of Living with an Eating Disorder Imagine waking up every morning, struggling to get out of bed. The room spins. Stumbling over to the mirror, you study and criticize every last inch of your body as the words â€Å"fat, ugly, worthless† echo in your head. You then stagger to the bathroom, using the wall to hold you up. You don’t remember the last time you ate a â€Å"normal† meal. Stepping on the scale will determine your mood for the day. If it has decreased since yesterday, you have succeeded; if it has stayed the same, or worse, gone up, those voices inside your head become stronger, telling you how useless you are. Throughout your day, you skip meals and avoid food at all costs, or binge on whatever food is in sight and secretly purge in bathrooms where nobody can hear you. Or like many women in this country, you flip-flop between both of these behaviors. For approximately seven million American women, this is their reality. This is the life of a woman with an eating disorder. â€Å"I needed to lose weight†¦fast,† said 18-year-old Liss of Boston. â€Å"So I started counting calories, and then counting meals, and then counting pounds, and then inches. I had lost 20 pounds in one month. Not too shabby I thought to myself. The weight loss became an obsession and it took over.† Liss’s story is all too common. What begins as a diet to â€Å"lose a few pounds† becomes an obsession. Young women across the country become fixated with numbers on the scale, numbers of calories, fat, carbohydrates, inches, etc. The two most dangerous eating disorders are bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Bulimia is characterized as a disorder in which a person binges on large amounts of food, well past the point of fullness, and then purge... ...r because they feel as if their eating disorder defines them; they are nothing without it. â€Å"Ed wants you to think that he is your identity,† Schaefer said. â€Å"But that is a lie; you are not your eating disorder. You are [you]. He tells you that he is what makes you special.† Schaefer admits that she also believed that her eating disorder defined her at one point in her life as well. However, she then went on to learn that all it caused was â€Å"excruciating pain.† â€Å"Treating my eating disorder like relationship, not a condition or an illness, really worked for me,† Schaefer said. Schaefer also suggests journal writing and being surrounded with good supports. â€Å"In recovery, it was difficult to connect with Jenni at first,† Schaefer said. â€Å"But with lots of patience and persistence, I eventually found her, and I am thrilled to now be living a life without Ed.†

“How Valid Are Rizal’s Political, Educational and Socio-Economic Reforms Today?” Essay

  I think that Rizal’s reforms are still valid today. A great man he is, surely his philosophies involved something that of future because great figures always think ahead of time. Moreover, one can hail Rizal as a teacher and so the influence of his teachings is unimaginable. As Henry Adams said, â€Å"A teacher affects eternity; no one can tell where his influence stops.† Indeed, no one can tell, since we are still influenced by his teachings- the idea that the youth is the hope of our nation is still instilled in our minds. In politics, he believed the extension of human rights, the training for self-government and the arousing of spirit of discontent over oppression, brutality, inhumanity, sensitiveness and self-love. These reforms signify the rights of the people. Surely, these rights should be implemented not only in his time but for all seasons, be it now or in the future. In his reforms regarding education, Rizal focuses on the improvement in schools and methods of teaching. This is surely applicable today since we have been aiming to be globally competent and many Filipinos have become aware of the importance of education. It seems like it has even become a prerequisite of life. Lastly, his idea about socio-economic prospect involves that of nation building and not individual social problems. The main point of his philosophy covers the problems of the whole race, with every problem having a distinct solution to bolster the people’s social knowledge. Though people now have becoming less patriotic and have been neglecting the freedom that has been given to them, Rizal’s teachings are still great reminder that we’ve been really lucky to have our own nation and so we must work together in order to build a better nation for the future generation. They have done theirs by giving us freedom, thus, we must also do so. Fortunately, these reforms of Rizal about politics, education, and socio-economic are little by little taking into effect for this generation. Citizens have been aware of their rights and their practicing it now. They also learned the value of education and the advantage they’ll acquire if they practice a healthy economic and social life with other people.

Describe the military tactics used by both the Vietcong and USA in Vietnam in the 1960s

During the Vietnam War strategies and tactics became the main foundation of the battles. There were many ways both sides fought, and also many changes the way they fought. The American's first tactics consisted of various methods of war. One method they used to help them win the war was to control the skies, this meant watching over their battle ground, which was in the county side, and bombing suspected hiding places in which they thought that the Vietcong were hiding. This was called Operation Rolling Thunder. The operation was a costly failure that wasted a lot of time as it lasted 3 years as opposed to the original 8 weeks stated. It was also expensive because of the cost of the bombs. This waste of money had to be paid by American citizens who were generally not too happy. Another tactic the Americans tried to use was to try and re-educate the South Vietnamese people. The main purpose of this re-education was to stop the South Vietnamese from helping the Vietcong forces in such ways as a hiding place or giving them food supplies. Although this method was effective, it did not manage to for fill its main idea. So for a quick to their problems, they used the Strategic Hamlets Policy, which forced the South Vietnamese to be moved, and South Vietnamese leader Diem also demanded that they had to pay for their movement. This caused commotion amongst the South Vietnamese people. The Americans tried to use their more advanced technology to their advantage by using advanced weapons such as M60 machine guns, MP40 sub-machine guns and B52 Bomber aircraft (That was used in Operation Rolling Thunder) Americans also used Zippo raids named after a common American cigarette lighter. During these raids the US forces, set fire to the homes of farmers and other peasants. A way in which the US forces tried to get the Vietcong forces from internally was to put Agent Orange into their water supply. This caused many cruel diseases, deformities and deaths. It also affected the ability for innocent farmers to grow crops. The affect of Agent Orange still lasts today as some deformities are said to have been caused by the same thing. The Vietcong on the other hand had a different and more basic form of warfare. They used such things as tripwires and bouncing betties to badly injure the US troops. Although basic, they were extremely effective as many people fell for them. One of the most effective tactics in the war was guerrilla warfare. This was groups of Vietcong troops ambushing a small group of American soldiers. This was their main tactic during the whole war as they did not have as much sheer power as the US. They used the jungle to their advantage and laid mines and booby traps to injure the American soldiers. This made the US troops more fearful when they went out searching for the NLF A more psychological tactic that the Vietcong used was their morale. The Vietcong had far more morale than the US soldiers meaning they were more willing to take risks and die if it was necessary. Their main display of morale was at the battle of La Drang in 1965 in which they conceded many deaths but they did they did not let it get them down, which was almost the opposite of what the Americans were like. This tactic helped them though out the whole war. Chi Chi tunnels was the main survival tactic the Vietcong used. They supplied shelter from attacks, a place to store food, water, weapons and even to navigate through their battlefield. The Vietcong also had support from other communist countries such as Russia who provided them with SAM missiles which were used to take down aircraft. This helped decrease the amount of bombs dropped from the air. Both sides of the War changed tactics around the late 1960s meaning that the War could go both ways at that point depending on whether the countries tactics changed for the better. A new tactics that the Americans used was to try and cut of the Ho Chi Minh trail as it was the method the Vietcong were using to get their supplies. It was a failure as the trail had so many different routes. The My Lai massacre was also a strategy that they thought would take down many NLF troops, but instead they caused commotion amongst both the US and the Vietcong as most people just thought of it as a disgusting and cruel massacre of helpless and innocent peasants. This along with the Tet offensive, A surprise attack from the NLF, was making the War now seem in favour of the Vietcong as the citizens of America were now angry about the fact that America had gotten into a War that they were both losing and murdering innocent people. Former well respected news reader stated that the war could not be won, and as he was well respected, it brought down many hopes of a communism free Vietnam. For the Vietcong on the other hand, their morale seemed to increase and also they seemed to be dealing some serious damage to the image and troops of America. The Tet offensive was an attack on the Vietnamese New year on June 8th 1968 that was meant to have no combat during that time. This tactic paid off and caused heavy casualties for the Americans. The Vietcong also used a Saigon suicide squad to mostly damage hopes of winning rather than cause physical damage, although it did cause a lot of casualties. Both sides had their ups and downs in tactics, but the determination, morale and thought of improvement caused the Vietcong to be victorious over the Americans. Their victory was down to many factors of war. One reason was because the Americans did not take the Vietcong seriously and thought that it was a battle that would be easily one with sheer power. They were wrong. The way the NLF changed tactics after learning that they could not face America head on at La Drang is an improvement that maybe won them the battle. But overall, it seems that it was what they were fighting for that made the largest difference between the two sides. America fighting to prevent communism spreading, and the Vietcong fighting for their freedom.