Strategic analysis and directions for Google Essay

Strategic analysis and directions for Google - Essay Example Figure 1: Comparison between Tata and Toyota by volume manufactured). In some categories, such as heavy buses and heavy commercial vehicles, Tata Motors even produces more vehicles (see Appendix 1 for full data). Going by revenue, the automotive industry, which develops, designs, manufactures, markets and sells motor vehicles a significant economic sector of the world. The industry, though very capital intensive, yet is marked by fierce competition and demand elasticity being plagued by a host of recent political, economic and social macroeconomic developments such as: credit crisis, fuel crisis and technological changes necessitated due to global climatic change. Economic developments: The automotive industry suffered significantly during the previous ensuing years as part of global financial meltdown, which affected the American, European and Asian automobile manufacturers. Canada too felt the heat due to the Automotive Products Trade Agreement. Geopolitical developments: Substanti al increase in fuel prices triggered by geopolitical developments resulted weak car demand, which further weakened the automotive industry. Sports utility vehicles, pick-up trucks and other high gasoline consuming vehicles were under pressure due to fuel hike and their sales decreased substantially. Many American manufacturers such as Ford, GM and Chrysler were forced to roll out more fuel efficient vehicles. Technological changes required due to global climatic changes: Due to impact of global climatic changes and the resultant stringent emission norms increased investments in technology significantly. The tell-tale situation of the industry is marred by negative growth leading into the automotive industry crisis of 2008-2010. Table 2: Percentage change in global car manufacturing during 2007 to 2010. Year Production Change Source 22007 73,266,061 5.80% (OICA, 2007) 22008 70,520,493 -3.70% (OICA, 2008) 22009 60,986,985 -13.50% (OICA, 2010) Figure 2: Percentage change in global car production year 2007 - 2010 As a result of these macroeconomic developments, the industry is currently undergoing radical changes and is moving towards consolidation by means of mergers and acquisitions and strategic tie-ups and partnerships for joint production, and marketing and selling. Chances are that more weaker and unprofitable companies will further be taken over and acquired and in the end will leave only those strong enough to sustain the downturn. Under these circumstances, Tata Motors need to maintain economy of scale and need to invest more on R&D and innovation, and also need to explore new products and markets. All these have to be undertaken simultaneously under the constraints of the emerging geopolitical

The surprising fact about the 17th century Spain is not so much its Essay

The surprising fact about the 17th century Spain is not so much its decline as a great power but its survival for so long.' Do y - Essay Example Spain was able to survive. The Spanish government’s decline as a great power is not as important as the how long Spain continues to survive until the end of the 17th century. Henry Arthur (1980) emphasized the English general Oliver Cromwell’s death in 1658 had inflicted a huge loss on the English Army as well as the strength of the French army. Cromwell had joined forces with the French to prevent the Stuarts from regaining the throne in England. The French were interested in the alliance because they did not want the Stuarts to return the English throne. History shows that the Stuarts did return to the English Throne in 1658 after the political turmoil that erupted in England in the same year. When King Charles II ascended the English throne, England stopped its attacks on Spain. Initially, the English commander, Cromwell, sought Catholic France’s alliance in order to defeat Catholic Spain because Cromwell believes God prefers that the Protestant religion shoul d flourish in Europe. Cromwell initially attacked the Spanish trade and treasure routes. Cromwell tried to attack the Spanish forced on Hispaniola. However, the Cromwell attacked failed because the Spanish defensive forces in Hispaniola were too strong compared to the incoming English army. Defeated, Cromwell’s forces fled and reached the shores of Jamaica in May 1655. Overall, the English Admiral Robert Blake attacks did not completely win the war against Spain. The English – French alliance was entitled the Treaty of Paris was signed in March 1657. The treaty emphasised France will join England in attacking Spain in the battle of Flanders. The treaty specified that English will send an estimated 4,900 soldiers and France will send 19,900 soldiers to fight the Spanish soldiers. The war reached the Gravelines, Mardyck and Dunkirk localities where Spain had more gains compared to the English side. Further, during Spain’s war against England, England suffered huge losses. The Spanish counter attack had eradicated the English shipping trade. In the same light, Spain also suffered huge losses when Admiral Blake blockaded Cadiz. The blockade caused a stoppage of the Spanish economy which generated most of its cash inflows from imported silver and gold coming from the Americas. Spain’s King Philip IV was extremely worried with the English Attacks in Italy, Flanders, and Portugal. Furthermore, William Guthrie (2003) reiterated the 30 years French – Spanish war precipitated from the Habsburg rivalry. France attacked Spain at Les Avins in 1635. In response, the Spanish forces used its Southern Netherlands forces to implement speedy counter attacks on French defensive positions. The counterattacks had literally maimed the French economy. In 1643, the French army crushed the previously invincible Spanish army in Rocroi, Northern France. During this time, the Catalonia revolts and the Portuguese revolts had undermined the strength of the Spanish army. During this war, the Spanish forces were trapped between the French forces on one side and the Dutch forces on the other side. As expected, the Spanish forces were trounced by the advancing French forces at the battle of Lens. However, could not overrun the losing Spanish forces strategically entrenched in Flanders. The In the Peace of Westphalia, France was given the Alsace territory. Likewise, Spain

Policy Development paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Policy Development - Term Paper Example Domestic Violence is one form of Interpersonal violence which is defined as violence committed by a person or persons inside a home against Elderly, young adult, intimate partner or children by another member of the same family. (Hayes-Bautista, Schink and Chapa, 2005) However, US Criminal Justice Policy only includes criminal murder or attempt of murder, forced or simple physical attack, sexual harassment, and burglary as violent crimes under the criminal codes. Most commonly their own children or children of their children abuse elders of the family. (De- Chesnay, Mary, 2008) Sometimes the poor health of older adults disturbs other members of the family as they become bound to listen to music in a low volume. As older people stay inside all the times so they don’t let others watch television channels of their own choice, which annoys other members of the family. Most of the older members of the family walk and talk slowly that also bothers others. Particularly in the case of violence against the elderly, lots of people agree to include emotional or mental abuse and neglect as a type of violence even if there is no existence of physical force. (Kilpatrick and Acierno, 2003) This is true that that mental or emotional abuse or neglect is ethically wrong and can prove to be extremely harmful to the elderly. Though, the main focus of this paper will be the US Government Policy for Elderly Abuse and Domestic Violence. Since the main objective of this document is to talk about US policy for Domestic Violence against Elderly it will be useful to first define public policy. Public Policy is defined as a group of laws, dictatorial measures, courses of acts, and financial support priorities in relation to a given issue that is publicized by a legislative body or its representatives. (Davidhizar & Shearer, 1999). Any policy is implemented by obeying legislation and regulation. The policy has played a major role in the manner America and other nations o the world d eal with the dilemma of violence against the general public or elderly. US policy has made authorizing laws for Elderly physical or mental health issues, that also deals with the dilemma of violent crime against elderly at domestic or general level. The US Government has fixed the particular amount of funding that is spent in running programs that promotes prevention of elderly from violence at domestic or general level. Accoring to famous American Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, domestic violence is a major causative agent for poor physical or mental health problems in elderly. After his research, considerable efforts have been made to improve the usage of public health approaches and prevent the occurrence of domestic violence in adults. For a number of reasons that include major immigration flows, lower mortality, and longer life expectancy, most of the growth in America's elder population in the recent past has been driven by growth in the numbers of elderly of all nationalitie s and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. The US Government is now showing a special interest in improving policies against Elderly Abuse. (Kilpatrick, 2003) Its main reason is, such types of crime eventually cost a lot to the society.  

Organizational Development in HRD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational Development in HRD - Essay Example The last manager to be terminated, Leon McLaughlin had 15 years of Marine experience, but he could not deliver results. Although, he did his best, he was handicapped by the lack of funds, which were originally promised, leading to underperformance. The main task before the new manger, Jack Keltner, is how to successfully run Fourwinds Marina through new strategies, even while generating funds. Strengths Lake Monroe is a happening place in Indiana with all safeguards and opportunities FourWinds has been providing optimum services for the last few years There are other value added services, which would complement it Jack Keltner’s previous good performance in Marina’s accounting department Weakness Managers are being changed in a short-term manner, without long-term perspective Thus, there is no optimum continuity of the various organizational processes, initiated by each one of them Charges for anchoring boats are also increasing, leading to higher operational costs Oppo rtunities Indianapolis metropolitan area’s population is over one million, and they have some $3.5 billion dollars to spend annually.

Value and Drawbacks of Activity Based Management Research Paper

Value and Drawbacks of Activity Based Management - Research Paper Example This paper seeks to present a concept proposal for value and drawbacks of activity based management. The paper will develop a problem statement, discuss the significance of the problem, the advantages and drawbacks and explore existing literature on the topic. Statement of the problem The scope of activity based management and its relation to activity based costing identifies the management approach as a key line towards improved profitability of an organization. With its objectives of identifying and controlling activities that do not add value to processes, activity based management is essential in controlling production costs towards managing profitability. It forms the basis on which strategies are developed for effective elimination of ‘non-additive’ processes through activity costing (Maher, Stickney & Weil, 2007). Based on the significance of the management approach, the concept will seek to investigate the significance of value and drawbacks of activity based man agement. Significance of the research The concept into value and drawback of ‘activity-based’ management is based on the importance of the management approach to an organization. ... This understanding will promote successful application of the management approach for improving â€Å"organization performance and value† (SAS, 2007, P. 3). Pre Literature review Activity based management has been practiced over a long period in which it has evolved to a wide scope. This has been because of the capacity of the management approach to bridge other line management for collective management of organizations. Activity based management uses the data and information on all the operational activities in making relevant and result oriented decisions. By providing information on cost of products, services, processes, activities, and distribution channels, among other information; activity based management establishes a central role in managing an organization’s operation costs for relevant managerial decisions. Activity based management is, therefore, essential for its information for decision-making (CIMA, 2001). Drury also argues that activity based management approaches an organization’s operations from different perspectives and leads to improved customer utility. The management approach, therefore, benefits both the organization in its operation processes and customers through the organization’s products (Drury, 2007). Activity management accounting can, however, be costly to develop and implement, instituting limitations, especially to ‘small-scale’ organization. The management approach has also failed to eliminate arbitrary costs in operations. As a result, it is perceived as ineffective in achieving its objectives (Weygandt, Kimmel & Kieso, 2009). Complete literature review. Drury (2007) claims that activity based management is a management information tool used by the managerial board in appreciating results of

Black world study- Intellectual Autobiography Essay

Black world study- Intellectual Autobiography - Essay Example When we find new meanings in old things, it means that our intelligence has developed. Our intellectual development is being changed by many different factors including people, circumstances, observations etc. Some of them have more influence on us than others; still I believe that many things around change at least some small part of us in every moment of our lives. Because it is actually perception and knowledge what constantly make us more intellectually developed. The person that shaped my intellectual development probably more than anyone else in my life was my mother. She is never pitiful to me and after I do something that hurts me, first of all, she asks me what conclusions have I already made about the situation. This makes me hold on complaining for a minute and realize what mistakes I will never do anymore. Thus my mother has developed a strong capability of critical consideration of every incoming situation and information that happens to me. Using this ability helps me to learn faster and do not get stuck on the same things having troubles proceeding them. I believe that, because of my mother, now I can work with my personal development using critical thinking and analytical skills, so I learn easily. When my friend advised me to read â€Å"The Shack† by William P. Young I was really skeptical about the book because it seemed to me that Christian books like this are aimed to reach out to me and teach me a decent living. But the friend assured me that the book was a â€Å"life-changer† and I needed to read it whatsoever. He was right about the book. Before I read it I hadn’t realized that books actually can trigger so much emotions, feelings, and realization about the life. The text changed me as a person and definitely raised my intelligence. The point is that the book doesn’t only show you a completely another way of looking at God and what is bad and what is good in this life but also extends your

Evaluating a Health Promotion Website Essay Example for Free

Evaluating a Health Promotion Website Essay Health Information Technology (HIT) has been introduced into the National Health Service (NHS) in order to improve the quality, efficiency, safety and cost effectiveness of the delivery of health care. The application of computerized information technology in health care settings has so far played a vital role in improving the accessibility of information and has replaced more labour intensive and unproductive methods (Shekelle and Goldzweig, 2009). The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2009) maintain that that nurses’ skills, knowledge and practice must be guided by the best available evidence. Often this evidence is found on the internet however many sources of information can be inaccurate so a good standard of critical evaluation is required (Kim, Eng, Deering et al 1998). To evaluate the quality and reliability of a chosen website the use of a framework can be helpful such as Roberts (2012) 5 C’s website tool. This framework evaluates five areas: credibility, currency, content, construction and clarity. The website The Royal College of Psychiatrists (RC Psych, 2012 a) was chosen to be evaluated because as a mental health nursing student this will develop an awareness of how information technology is implemented and applied to practice in health care. Additionally, by using Roberts (2012) 5 C’s framework to critically evaluate this website, knowledge and skills of the quality and reliability of HIT will be acquired. Main Body RC Psych is the professional and educational organisation for psychiatrist in the UK as well as being a registered charity (RC Psych, 2012 b). Their website is aimed at improving the lives of individuals affected by mental illness through educating the public. They claim to be at the head of developing and promoting best practice in mental health services through their education, training and research projects. Additionally they are involved in the publishing of the following world-class journals; British Journal of Psychiatry, The Psychiatrist, Advances in Psychiatric Treatment and International Psychiatry (RC Psych, 2012 c). Credibility Having gained a royal charter this shows us that the organisation has been recognised by the Queen and seconded by the government to call itself a registered organisation of the highest regard. As stated by the Privy Council Office (2012) organisations granted a Royal Charter must have a solid record of achievement. 75% of its members should be qualified to at least first degree level and the work completed by the organisation must be in the interest of the public. Professor Peter Tyrer is named as the Editor, of the website, and is said to be responsible for the editorial and production aspects of its publications in addition to the production of their online continuing professional development (CPD) e-learning resources and its sales and marketing (RC Psych, 2012 d). After researching Peter Tyrer it is evident that he is highly qualified within the field of mental health and is a professor of community psychiatry for the Department of Medicine, within the Imperial College London (Imperial College London, 2012). The website offers a vast amount of information around mental health including conditions, diagnoses, treatments and types of therapies. The advice provided is produced in the form of online leaflets for the use of the public as well as professionals. Within the website there is no evidence to show that the same specific authors are used regularly for their published articles however, at the end of each article the producer, editor and sometimes an author are named in addition to any expert that has been involved in the making of it. All these leaflets are produced by the RC Psych Public Education Editorial Board that is responsible for producing 300 educational leaflets. These leaflets have been accredited by the NHS Information Standard and subsequently gained numerous awards (Byrne, 2011). They have achieved Plain English and BMA patient information awards and have received consistently positive feedback for the web versions. The editor of these leaflets is Dr Phillip Timms who is currently employed as a consultant Psychiatrist for the South London Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust as well as a senior lecturer in psychiatry at King’s College, London (BMJ Masterclasses, 2012). This site’s web address shows that it is delivered by a UK based academic body as it has an ac.uk URL. This confirms their credibility and reassures the reader that they are qualified experts able to give advice in this field (Roberts, 2010). Combining all this it is apparent that the producers of the website have appropriate qualifications and expertise to offer advice in regards to mental health and supports the credibility of the organisation and the website. Some of these points also link into the other five C’s for example, the awards that the leaflets have received show that the content and clarity of their work has been assessed and found to be of an acceptable standard. Currency When using a website for personal development reasons or to recommend to a patient the information being accessed should be the most current evidence available that has been proven in practice. In regards to the advice provided on the website RC Psych (2012 e) states that they endeavour to update it every two to three years. This is reflected in the articles by showing the date the information was last updated and the date it will be reviewed in the future. Additionally RC Psych (2012 d) state that their information derives from the best evidence available at the time of writing and is updated regularly to reflect any changes in knowledge. Another way to determine the currency of information is to consider the references used to back it up (Roberts, 2010). If the sources are dated then what you are reading may not come from the most current research so there may be more up to date evidence elsewhere. The dates of the references used throughout the website are quite varied however, they do contain many recently published articles and up to date clinical guidelines so this suggests that they are committed to producing up to date information and evidence. This is seen in a leaflet on depression where RC Psyche (2012 f) cites a recently updated guideline by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2009) which looks at the treatment and management of depression in adults. The currency and credibility of the website can also be reflected in its content and therefore this should also be assessed during the evaluation process. Content As well as being credible and current the content must be assessed for its objectivity, accuracy and completeness (Roberts, 2010). The content of a website can be judged by assessing what the website aims to achieve. This could be selling a product, persuading the audience to believe in something or to provide the reader with unbiased and up to date information on a specific topic (Roberts, 2010). RC Psych (2012 a) profess that they aim to improve the lives of individuals with a mental health illness. They aim to do this by educating people through making information and advice available on their website. This would indicate that it falls under the category of providing unbiased and up to date information to the public. The articles on the website are written in the third person so prevents the author from expressing personal opinion. Furthermore the leaflets produced provide links to various other sources of information on the topic being discussed. This encourages further reading which provides a complete and balanced view preventing bias and, where treatment is recommended, allows the reader to make an informed choice (Roberts, 2010). The references used within the website are taken from well known and respected sources that provide current and acknowledged recommendations such as NICE, the Department of Health (DOH) and various field related journals. This indicates that the website seeks to provide and maintain up to date, accurate and unbiased information that concurs with information available in books and journals on the same subjects. Construction The construction of a website, for example, the layout, colours, fonts, sizes and ease of access can determine whether or not a reader believes the website is of good quality or not (Roberts, 2010). A study by Lindgaard, Fernandes and Dudek et al. (2006) found that the first 50 milliseconds that the reader is exposed to a website can cause the reader to form an opinion as to whether a website is worth using or not. On first impression, the website in question looks colourful and professional. The eye is drawn to the bolder writing that states the websites purpose and there are minimal graphics to distract the reader from this. There is a lot of information on the home page of the website and could be considered cluttered, however it is divided into clear sections and appears well organised, giving clear subheadings which guide the reader to their areas of interest easily. The main colour used for the website is grey and presents a professional look. It is subtle but effective in breaking up different sections of the website without being obtrusive. The font size is varied throughout but mainly of a larger size making the website easy to read. There is no option for the reader to change the font sizing or colour which could cause some difficulty as it is not possible to suit everyone with one font size, style and colour (Roberts, 2010). As this is a registered charitable organisation it would be unfair to expect them not to promote money making offers. There are two links to buy books that are published by the royal college of psychiatrists and an option to support them in future development projects. They have presented these links as the last things you would come across on the website. Because of where they are situated it comes across to the reader that they are more interested in providing free and accessible information to educate the pubic over making money. Clarity Clarity is another important area to consider when evaluating a website. Due to our continually growing multi-cultural society it is important that websites cater for all groups in society and not just the English readers. One part of the website caters for professionals working in psychiatry and another to the public wanting to learn more about mental illness. Both sections are presented and written in a way that is understandable to the general public. In the public section they offer their advice in 21 different languages in addition to visual aids using BSL sign language as well as audio pod casts and printable versions. This shows that they have made an effort to cater for diverse cultures and needs. Unfortunately it appears that they have not taken into account the needs of people with dyslexia. Approximately two million people in the UK population are affected by dyslexia of which around 35 to 40 percent experience visual disturbances when reading (Dyslexia Action, 2012). The British Dyslexia Association, (2012) states that the reading ability of an individual with dyslexia can be negatively affected by bright white backgrounds and the use of too much text. By changing the background to an off white colour and spreading out the information over larger areas this would cater for yet another group in society. Conclusion Having the ability to access health information via the internet has given nurses the capacity to constantly improve their knowledge base and skills knowing that they are delivering the best possible care derived from the best available evidence. The RC Psych website not only offers nurses a place to go and build on their knowledge and skills but it also provides them with a safe, reliable and easily accessible knowledge base that they can confidently refer their patients to. The evaluation of this website has shown that the website contains quality, reliable evidence and could be recommended to anyone interested in the field of mental illness. In addition to this the use of the five C’s evaluation tool has provided a great foundation to the development of evaluating skills. It has given an opportunity to discover that the evidence being accessed is suitable for developing personal practice and to help educate patients and is accepted within the NMC code of conduct (Roberts, 2 010).