Exchange Student in Japan

Being an exchange student in Japan is considered as a life-changing experience for me. It's like a great prize I've been given. My whole experience so far has been abosolutely wonderful. Studying abroad is not a general education. It taught me life and gave me a lot experinces. Having a year during exchange allowed me to think out of the box and think deeply about what I desire to achieve in the future. Moreover, I've learnt many new things such as Japanese language which has improved very fast as time has gone, solving problem skill, or receiving an education in another teaching style which is completely different from my home. I'm very thankful for everything. However, there were some problems and obstacles happened to me. I was experienced a bit of home sickness because it was my first time living really far from home so it was very hard at first. But I got recovered very quickly because I had nice friends and Kyoto people are very nice and welcoming. And other problems that I wasn't expected before. After I retuned home, I wish that I could use what I've learnt from this exchange program to fulfill and to lead my life to a better position. Accomplishment of Objectives 1. Objectives and Significance: Describe the objectives and significance of the overseas study you implemented. First, I would like to have an opportunity to learn new languages apart from English which could be a special skill in the future. I believed that being in a language society that we want to learn will improve language skills in real life rather than studying in Thailand. As I was being surrounded by Japapese language every day including speaking and listening in the right context. Language learning took place very quickly under these environments. As the result, I am be able to communicate in Japanese even I'm not so fluently but it has improved much more than I expected. The second is I think that studying abroad would help me to open up the new worldview that I never had before both inside and outside classrooms. Studying in Japan gave me an experience with different education systems. There was an opportunity to choose courses that are not taught in Thailand and I got a very good education by studying in particular subjects with professors who have different teaching styles which are totally different from my home university. This allows me to study more effectively in the new way and extend my ideas and attitutes. Third, I would like to have an opportunity to make friends with people all around the would who speak different languages and have different backgrounds so we could learn something new and exchange ideas, attitudes to each other because culture is more than just a language but include lifestyle, belief, values and habits of people in the society. I learnt how to communicate in new more ways. Not only speaking but also using body-languages and gesture in order to express my own opinions and to interact with people who have different background to understand others clearly. And these have been developing my interpersonal skills. I feel like I could communicate easily with anybody right now. The last is I expected to improve myself to be more mature and more stronger. As when I was in Thailand, my parent always give me supports whenever I need help so that I want to practice to rely on myself and I want to try seeing things differently. Plus, I got a chance to discover new strengths and face new challenges including solving problems under unfamiliar situations. Finally, I returned home with a wider perspective and I've became more open-minded, confident in myself and choices I've made. Future Perspectives Describe briefly whether you could achieve your goals as they were initially planned. Also, explain clearly how to utilize the accomplishments of this opportunity, such as scholarly paper, dissertation or presentation at a conference. As I've gained so many experiences and life-long knowledge from this exchange program, I wish these experiences could help me achieve my future goals which are the future career and I want to further my study abroad. When I was in Japan, I've seen the interesting study style and saw how other students do presentations in class. Therefore, I've got many interesting ideas and that was really attract me to continue my studies abroad because I think there're so many things that I haven't explored yet. Moreover, It helped me working on my dissertation more efficiently since I've talked to many professors in Kyoto university and they gave me a lot of suggestions about doing a dissertation.

Is technology a blessing or a curse in australia Essay

Good Evening fellow speakers, judges and audience. Tonight I will be speaking about the topic is Technology a blessing or a curse? What is technology, the definition of technology in the Macquarie budget dictionary is the branch knowledge that deals with science and engineering. To me it means anything that helps us to live our lives easier. Over the past decade, Australia has been advancing with all of its technology. It is said that this decade had the most technological advancements ever. Some examples are phones, television, and computers. Most of the things we have now like tablets and touch phones were a dream for people in the last century. If any of you have watched star trek enterprise, you would see that they used items that seemed like a tablet but wasn’t one. Also technology is a blessing in the educational area. It is because we now have the smart board, which helps the teachers with showing different resources, and it also helps the students because they can learn more about the subject. Technology is a blessing. The reason I choose this topic to relate to Australia is because Australia is rapidly developing in all areas. But the most is in the technological area. This century is said to be the technological era. Technology is a blessing because without it we would not be able to many things like contacting loved ones who are overseas, watching TV, calling people instantly with telephones and driving to different places in a car etc. Everything we do everyday involves using technology. Imagine the world without technology, no phones, no electricity, no sewage, no clean water and no cars. All these things have or use or need technology. Another reason it is a blessing is because in schools and workplaces, it is easier for the people to access the information needed for that time. For example for most of the students here would have used technology for there speech. If it were not for technology, we would have to do simple things to us now and have it harder to do. For example sending an email to a relative overseas who would receive it within 10secends would become writing a letter and sending through a postal office, which takes a long period of time. Technology is also a curse. The new advancements of technology have caused major side affects on us humans and the environment. The first floor is that there is an increase of teenagers needed glasses to read and see. Another reason is that in our environment it is impacted a lot by the extra greenhouse gases, which are killing animals, destroying habitats and warming our world causing the polar ice caps to melt which increases the sea level. To use technology, now you need electricity and power. To make these things you need to burn coal, which releases carbon emissions. Another reason it is a curse is because us humans are becoming very reliant on Technology. Teenagers always want the new iPhone or parents asking their kids how different items work. We are becoming dependent on technology too much that if we were to just remove technology, we could not live a good life and we have to start learning different things like sending a letter. In conclusion I believe that technology is a blessing rather than a curse because it has helped us have an easier life to live. Without technology we would have to walk to school, which might be over 15km away but now we just have to go by public transport or drive by car to different places.

White-collar Crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

White-collar Crime - Essay Example White-collar crimes normally take place within a business and can involve embezzlement, lying, cheating, fraud, or blackmail. The individual uses resources that their business has to offer to allow them to achieve whatever their crime is, though they mainly involve money or stealing items or services to sell illegally to others. However, there are also instances of white-collar crime that consists of a high social class, respected individual committing a crime someplace other than their place of employment. Examples of this would be an individual attempting to fraud a bank, becoming involved in racketeering, or even a person using someone else’s position in business for personal gain (Wand, 2009). What sets white-collar crimes apart from other crimes, such as street crimes, is not so much the individual committing the crime, but the crime itself. White-collar crimes tend to be sophisticated in nature, as well as less violent. A street criminal would hold up a convenience store at gunpoint to obtain money, yet a white-collar criminal would fraud a bank or counterfeit money. A street criminal may harm someone in the process of his robbery, but this is uncommon in white-collar crime, though it still has the chance of happening. Reference Wand, K. (2009). White-collar crime. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Cengage Learning.

The Natural Disasters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Natural Disasters - Essay Example These two cases were of great significance to the governments of both nations and hence elicited responses as they occurred. The earthquake that took place in Italy provoked the government to declare a state of emergency and it dedicated all its attention towards the earthquake and the effect it had on the general Italian populace e.g. the prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi decided to cancel an official visit to Russia in order to pay a visit to and assess the area that had been hit by the earthquake. Such a declaration was not made in China. Relevant government officials undertook an assessment of the area and immediately got into directing their efforts towards combating the effects of the disaster and looked into disaster preparedness. It has been recorded that Italy had been warned of the earthquake by a seismologist but the government had decided to ignore it and decided not to act on it. China embarked on the mass disposal of the bodies and influenced the DNA tests that were meant to assist with the identification of the bodies yet Italy’s engagement in this is unknown. The governments of the two countries embarked on resettling the survivors and the displaced persons to areas of safety and took measures to ensure the people stayed off the affected areas to avoid the possibility of accidents and to maximize safety. The displaced persons were offered tents, food, and water among others. Both countries also arraigned necessary services e.g. medical, temporary academic and water, at the campsites.

Fibromyalgia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fibromyalgia - Research Paper Example Typically, the pain that patients face should have been ongoing for a minimum of three months for a correct diagnosis. However, as disabling as the pain is, it does not result in any deformity or damage to internal organs. This is what differentiates fibromyalgia from numerous other rheumatic conditions for instance, systemic lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and polymyositis. This is because these conditions are typified by tissue inflammation that results in damage to muscles or internal organs and deformity to joints (Shiel, 2012). During diagnosis, pain is mapped out from the upper and lower parts of the waist, either sides of the body and the axial skeleton; this accompanied with fatigue, sleep interruptions and non-restorative sleep should lead the physician to diagnosing the patient with fibromyalgia. In addition, the incidence and intensity of the pain is noted to verify the progression of the condition (Lesley et al, pg. 458). Furthermore, in establishing fibromyalgia in patients, the tenderness and pain should be verified using a force of 4kg on a minimum of 11 of 18 tender points within the body. Generally, the diagnosis of fibromyalgia relies on information from the patient, since its existence cannot be determined by objective medical findings, radiographic anomalies or regular laboratory tests. The information provided by the patient indicates the exact location of the pain and its severity as this will help in finding the proper treatment (Lawson, 2009). Notably also, is that even though there are no blood tests or X-Rays that specifically point to diagnosis of fibromyalgia, there is a need to carry out blood tests to exclude other medical conditions and laboratory tests to explain causes of certain symptoms (Lesley et al, pg. 462). Causes and Risk factors Because of the condition being present within families, for example, between mothers and their daughters, researchers have arrived at the conclusi on that a genetic component may be the cause. It is commonly preceded by a physical trauma in the form of a rigorous disease/injury. This sets off the progression of the condition with the central nervous system acting as the point of origin as patients experience pain to stimuli that are not ordinarily experienced by other individuals (â€Å"Fibromyalgia Fact Sheet†, n.d). Over 80% of persons affected by fibromyalgia are women that fall under the age bracket of 35-55. The condition is onset by pathological conditions in some patients while in others by somatization subsequent to traumatic events. Although not recurrent, the elderly, men and children have been seen to be affected by the condition. Conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus contribute to the risk of developing this condition (â€Å"What causes fibromyalgia†, 2012). Continuous studies have also shown that fibromyalgia patients have advanced levels of a chemical signal known as substance P found in the nervous system, and within their spinal fluid a nerve growth factor. Moreover, patients exhibit levels that are minimal, of chemical serotonin that originates in the brain. This suggests super-sensitivity in the central nervous system particularly around the brain, due to the severity of the pain that patients experience. This has led scientists to highlight that pain perception among fibromyalgia patients is distorted (â€Å"What causes Fibromyalgia†, 2012). Symptoms The primary symptom of fibromyalgia, which is pain, is attributed to

Inventory Management and Production Planning and Scheduling Essay

Inventory Management and Production Planning and Scheduling - Essay Example These usually shares 50%-70% of the total items yet contribute only 5% to 20% of their total value. As A items are most valuable in the business operation, stricter and tighter inventory control policies are implemented for their maintenance. For one, A items requires the most accurate and detailed records which are done through a more rigid control on transaction documents. Also, daily updating is done to gain a regular accurate insight of their demand and order quantities. I believe that these tighter inventory policies for type A items are logical. Since they constitute the highest dollar value of the total stock of merchandise, they must be treated with utmost care. These items do entail the stricter documentation as loss of only a minute portion will lead to huge losses for the company as their per unit value is relatively high. Also, inventories with higher values are typically marketed at a higher price to customers. Type A are considered high-end products as they typically require a huge amount of purchasing power from the consumer. Since they are sold to the high-end market, a loss of a single sale of the inventory will lead to a significant loss to the company. Closely monitoring the level of these stocks will yield a higher profitability for any business operation. B items, though given a less strict policy than A items, requires normal control which involves accurate records and timely attention. As opposed to A items which require daily updating, order quantity and order points for B items only need to be revised on a quarterly basis. These stocks require only normal processing, yet they are given top priority when critical situations arise. Moderate control policies are implemented in keeping B items as they comprise only an intermediate value of the company’s total inventory. These items do not require

Cultural influence in Architecture. A casestudy of HSBC HEadquarter Dissertation

Cultural influence in Architecture. A casestudy of HSBC HEadquarter building, Hong Kong Norman Foster) - Dissertation Example The study will be focusing on the headquarter building of HSBC Bank (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) which is located in Hong Kong. Designed by Sir Norman Foster, the building emerges from the obscurity of the night time beneath to a dynamic new lighting scheme. HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations with its branches all over the world. Its headquarter building is one of the most significant architecture building of the world. It recently illuminated the building in what is a colorful dress of dynamic lights. This was launched in January 2004 and called as the HSBC illumination which became the integral part of the Victoria Harbour Lighting Plan. As part of the plan the permanent lighting and the special effects makes the building to be one of the most prominent planned building of the country. The HSBC headquarter building is built to preserve the values of the past. The place at which it is constructed is preserved to mak e sure that the land is still treated as the HSBC property. The structure of the building has been modified to modern terms but the initial roots of the structure were maintained keeping in mind the cultural values of HSBC and Hong Kong at the same time. History The first HSBC building in Hong Kong was Wardley House which was used as the office from 1865 to 1882. It was then demolished in 1886 before it was rebuilt in the same year. The main feature of the constructed building was the division of the structure into two separate buildings. The building which was on the Queen’s Road Central was in the Victorian style with a verandah and an octagonal dome. The arcade which was harmonized with the adjacent buildings was then constructed on the Des Voeux Road. The early settlers in the Hong Kong that came from Britain had a lot of interest in Feng Shui. This is the reason that most of the buildings that were created in Hong Kong at that time were on the philosophies that were ther e in the concept of Feng Shui. This made the British and the Chinese believe that the ones who had a direct view of the water, whether it is a river, a sea or an ocean, are more likely to prosper compared to the ones that are not build with keeping Feng Shui in mind which is directly linked to the wealth associated with water and what it can add to the construction of the buildings. Keeping this in perspective, the HSBC building was constructed in the area which was wide open view in front of it. It was made sure that there is no other building which blocks the HSBC building’s view of the Victoria Harbour. This benefited the traditionally followed concept of Feng Shui which had the country’s cultural belief associated with it. Thus, the HSBC building is consider having a good Feng Shui. The HSBC building illuminated Hong Kong’s capacity to stun the people who visit the country. Even though it is not the largest skyscraper in the country, or to be more precise, t he city, but it is considered to be the most extraordinary building of the country. The location of the building has remained the same at present to where it was initially constructed in 1965, but it has expanded itself in area with the passage of time taking over the space that could be occupied by four more buildings in the surrounding area. Design The design of the building was given by English Architect Norman Foster. Along with stamping the visible symbol of stability and power on the fabric of the urban city, the new HSBC

Healthcare Law & Ethics - Advanced Directives Essay

Healthcare Law & Ethics - Advanced Directives - Essay Example Firstly, the will should be made by someone in his sound state of mind. Secondly, a living will should be specific about the duties or decisions to be made. Thirdly, a living will should be voluntary. This means that the maker of a living will should not be under duress to do so. 2. A health care proxy is a written document that permits a patient to appoint someone called an agent to make specific decisions affecting the health of such patient in the event the patient is incapable of making decisions. However, so long as the patient is in position to make decisions himself, the health care proxy will not be effective. Health care proxy should meet certain conditions. In most cases, people appointed as health care proxies are people who are closely related to the patient such as next of kin. Another condition of a health care proxy is that it can not be signed by the physician attending to the patient. In addition, the patient can issue other instructions to nullify the preexisting conditions. The common health care proxies are issued when someone is about to undergo a major medical operation. 3. Durable power of Attorney refers to general, specific as well as health care instructions or powers given to someone that will be exercised when the issuer becomes mentally incompetent. Someone can also sign a durable power of attorney form. Fundamentally, they are not different from other powers of the attorney. However, a few texts or words are added to make them durable. However, just like other powers of the attorney, they only become effective only when the issuer becomes mentally incompetent or incapacitated. Such powers may require the appointed agent to make decisions concerning matters such as how to handle bank transactions, purchasing life insurance, settling claims, buying and selling of property, management of real estates, among others. Such instruction should be make by someone in his

Company Data Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Company Data - Research Paper Example 79). Take Pfizer, one of the top ten largest drug suppliers in the world that belongs to big pharma. It is considered to be the most profitable as it ranked number one in the worldwide sales on drugs designated as prescription (Clinton & Mozeson, 2010, p. 70). The company is also the highest spender in terms of research and development (R&D), and in merger and acquisition activities. However, some surprising facts have been discovered during the Pharm Exec’s industry audit and Stealth pharma audit. The main focus of this paper is to review pharmaceutical company data between the audit of stealth pharma and big pharma such as Pfizer. After the gathering of data, surprising facts will be gathered and developed analyses. Company Data Pharmaceutical companies decided to venture in other parts of the world because of higher opportunity and promised benefits that would surely outweigh the difficulty of globalization. Japan, Western Europe, and North America are among the countries i n the world that are high in pharmaceutical sales (Campbell, 2008, p. 16). The current trend of pharmaceutical companies nowadays is merger and acquisition which is not only practiced by big pharma but also to stealth pharma in order for them to expand their sales, market capitalization, and market share. Pfizer is one of the big pharmas that acquired several companies for the past ten years. For the year 2001, it acquired its direct competitor Warner-Lambert for $90 billion, and by 2003 the company decided to merge with Pharmacia for $60 billion in order to reduce its R&D cost (Lawson, Hatch, & Desroches, 2008, p. 157). Recently, the company has acquired Wyeth for $68 billion; this is to back up the company’s dropping of revenue caused by patent expiration and portfolio diversification (â€Å"Pfizer,† 2009). More companies believed that through pharmerging, their market share would increase as competition has been reduced for companies that merged and acquired are dir ect competitors in the market. On the other hand, it has been manifested that big pharma’s expenses on R&D (approximately $304 billion) are much higher compared to the disbursement of stealth pharma which is only $157 million (Trombetta, 2007). From this point of view, it is expected that big pharma would gain higher revenues in comparison to the anticipation of stealth pharma. Usually, large pharmaceutical companies in America are required to spend more on R&D as part of government regulations in exchange with the granting of patent and trademarks that give the company an exclusive right to manufacture and sell the drugs. For instance, â€Å"Pfizer spent almost $7.6 billion on R&D for drugs and slightly over $2 billion on plants and equipments† and in exchange, the company’s drugs are under the U.S. patent protection (Siegel, 2008, p. 109). Three Surprising Facts A professor from Harvard Business School, Gary Pisano said that, â€Å"The record of big mergers a nd acquisitions in big pharma has not just been good. There’s just been an enormous amount of shareholder wealth destroyed† (as cited in Karnitschnig & Rockoff, 2009). It had been a surprised fact that merging among stealth pharma had been successful considering that biotechnology companies have increased in numbers and they have managed to be at the top twenty firms. It had been interesting to discover that

M&Ms Project Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

M&Ms Project Report - Assignment Example The results were that 51 bags were sampled( 17 students * 3 bags each=51) and the number of candies evaluated was 2872 which were of different colors. 2. Finding out the Standard Deviation and Mean The next phase was to identify the average number of candies/ bag. The statistical average of a sample is called mean . In our case it is 2872/51 which is equal to 56.3 candies/bag. This gives an idea whether the number of candies that was fixed to be in a bag before marketing was more or less than a predecided amount. This is an important aspect of quality check. Apart from mean the Standard Deviation which is the positive square root of mean of squared deviations of all scores from their mean was calculated. The SD thereby indicate the spread or scatter or deviations of scores around a central value(mean). It is expressed by s= square root(summation of deviations/sample size). In our case it is + 1.9234 candies which means in some bags the probability of more or less candies than the mea n(56.3) is 1.9 that is either it can be 58.2 or 54.4. 3. Confidence Interval and Its Importance The confidence interval of a parameter is the range of scores within which the parameter has a given probability of lying.This is called fiducial probability.The two scores forming the lower and upper limits are called confidence limits. The fiducial probability is called the confidence level and when expressed as a percentage gives the degree of confidence in expecting a parameter to lie the given confidence interval. It is thus an interval estimate of a parameter and is more dependable than a point estimate( like the mean). In our analysis for example if we want to evaluate the CI we can infer that the proportion of blue candies in lying between 0.2087 and 0.2391 is 95%. It can be calculated as follows: Upper Limit= Mean + Standard Score (z) at the level of alpha * Standard Error of mean Lower Limit= Mean - Standard Score (z) at the level of alpha * Standard Error of mean. Therefore 1-a lpha=0.95 or 95% fiducial probability. This means that higher the fiducial probability wider the confidence interval and greater the probability of population mean falling in that interval but the lower will be the precision of estimate for true value of population mean. In our case study from the confidence intervals of various candies it seems that the error of 0.11(upper limit-Mean or Mean- Lower Limit) is minimal with the yellow candies so the proportion of yellow candies can be truly estimated the most if we consider the whole population of candies/bag in the M& M industries. The number of candies with a confidence limit has a error of +0.5 4. Part 4- Testing of Hypothesis and Z test. In this portion we try to find out whether the proportions of candies which are estimated are true and there exists no whatsoever any statistical difference of significance of various candies in different bags. The minor difference what is seen is speculated to happened by chance due to sampling a nd there is no significant difference (null hypothesis retained). But if the difference is statistically significant it means certainly that the proportio

ExxonMobil Case Essay Example for Free

ExxonMobil Case Essay 1. Provide a brief description of the industry. â€Å" ExxonMobil has evolved over the last 125 years from a regional marketer of kerosene in the U.S. to the world’s largest publicly traded international oil and gas company.† Providing energy helps stabilize economies and improve living standards worldwide. Today, ExxonMobil operates in most of the world’s countries and is best known by familiar brand names: Exxon, Esso and Mobil. ExxonMobil creates products that compel modern transportation, power cities, lubricate industries and provide petrochemical building blocks that contribute many consumer goods. ExxonMobil is an extremely large industry providing 9.2 million jobs, and 5.3% of the U.S. employment. The labor income is $533.5 billion, and 6.0% of U.S. labor income. ExxonMobil operates in 77 countries worldwide, and employs 82,100 employees (Exxon Mobil Corporations, 2003-2012). 2. Outline a recruiting and selection strategy for your selected MNE that could be used to effectively meet organizational requirements for operating in multiple countries. The HRM staffing selection by ExxonMobil appears to be geocentric. A strategy that is valuable for the success of the organization because it enables the development of a global perspective. In addition, this tactic has generated an internal pool of labor. The organization has many successful years of working with governments and partners to deliver on their pledge of performance. ExxonMobil focuses on integrating local knowledge and experience of its partners with global capabilities to deliver outstanding results and benefits. ExxonMobil has a proven record of job creation, outstanding training and career development for national staff, support for local industry and community investment. ExxonMobil brings the advantage of established business management and support systems and experienced support staff to all i ts partnerships. The company is organized along functional lines, with each global company specializing in a particular sector of the oil, gas, and chemical businesses. The organizational structure is designed to encourage the employment of people with diverse skills quickly and effectively worldwide. In the selection of an expatriate, IHRM should consider cross-cultural suitability, family requirements, technical ability, and language to be primary factors. ExxonMobil takes pride in being an equal employment opportunity. Multinationals must resolve any issues of equal employment in all its locations. The various laws must be considered, and therefore ExxonMobil has established â€Å"The Standards of Business Conduct†. â€Å"It is the policy of Exxon Mobil Corporation to provide equal employment opportunity in conformance with all applicable laws and regulations to individuals who are qualified to perform job requirements regardless of their race, color, sex, religion, national origin, citize nship status, age, genetic information, physical or mental disability, veteran or other legally protected status. The corporation administers its personnel policies, programs, and practices in nondiscriminatory manner in all aspects of the employment relationship, including recruitment, hiring, work assignment, promotion, transfer, termination, wage and salary administration, and selection for training. Managers and supervisors are responsible for implementing and administering this policy, for maintaining a work environment free from unlawful discrimination, and for promptly identifying and resolving any problem area regarding equal employment opportunity.† In addition the company incorporates other special policies that include: develop and support educational programs, and policies that facilitate employment of minorities and women. Arrangements that help meet the needs of the diverse work force and balance work and family obligations. The company encourages training and development efforts, practices, and programs that support diversity in the work force that represent minorities and women. A work force is promoted free of sexual, racial, and other harassment. Accommodations for the disabled and the management responsibility in all matters are emphasized at every level or the organization. It appears ExxonMobil has adopted a formal open typology. This process would promote the continued success of the organization with: clearly defined criteria and measures, training, open advertising for vacancies, and panel discussions (Exxon Mobil Corporations, 2003-2012). 3. Outline a training and development strategy for your selected MNE that could be used to effectively meet organizational requirements for operating in multiple countries. In order for an established organization like ExxonMobil to train and develop a qualified staff, HR management must play a critical role. Special universities should be development for Exx onMobil like McDonald’s and Motorola with in-house training facilities. This allows for the important training and development. ExxonMobil already focuses on cultural awareness and technical ability. As HRM this training would be intensified. International teams would be developed in an effort to encourage innovation and transfer knowledge. In addition, teams may breakdown functional and national boundaries, enhance communication, develop a global perspective, and develop shared values (Peter J. Dowling, 2010). 4.Outline a compensation strategy for your selected MNE that could be used to effectively meet organizational requirements for operating in multiple countries. IHRM should recognize the correlation of compensation and performance. IHRM must ensure that the compensation policy is consistent with the overall company’s policies. Compensation must also be competitive and provide excellent incentives. IHRM compensation strategy would include: above average salaries, competitive benefits, opportunity for financial advancement, opportunity for career advancement, provide assistance for any adjustment issues such as: housing, family, education, daycare, and repatriation. The Balance Sheet approach would compensate expatriates. This approach helps the employee maintain the living standards they are accustomed to, in addition, to providing the associate with a financial inducement. The balance sheet approach allows for personal goods (food, personal care, clothing, furniture, transportation, and health care), housing, income taxes, and reserves (which include savings, benefit payments, contributions to pensions, education expenses, investments, etc. Balance sheet approach offers several advantages that include: equity facilitates re-entry, and it is easy to communicate (Peter J. Dowling, 2010) .

Building Nsanje Port on Shire Zambezi Waterway

Building Nsanje Port on Shire Zambezi Waterway Project Description Malawi is a landlocked country that relies on Mozambican ports on the Indian Ocean for transportation of imported and exported goods. The project will open new doors for Malawi and reduce transport costs. Currently Malawi uses Beira and Nacala port in Mozambique from which transporters cover a return distance of about 1700km from Blantyre. Using Nsanje port, transporters now will cover a distance of 238 km for a return journey to Blantyre as opposed to Beira port. Reduction in transport costs may lead to reduction of other goods such as agricultural inputs. This will be a benefit to the Malawians who depend on agriculture for their economy and it will also improve food security in the country. The project will also provide Malawi with a multimodal transport linkage to other land locked countries of Zimbabwe and Zambia; the people of Nsanje district will be empowered socially and economically due to new infrastructure and markets that will be established to support the services of the port; the visual scenery of Nsanje district will improve with the building of the port; creation of temporary and permanent jobs; time saving and reduction on wear and tear of vehicles due to reduced travel distance. Though the project will have positive effects but will also have negative impacts such as loss of fishing area and income for fishermen who used to fish along the shire river; air and water pollution due to construction work that will take place on the site; the project will affect the water species found along this area of the Shire river; empowerment of people socially and economically may increase the spreading of HIV and AIDS as this districts already has high percentage of HIV patients due to cultural beliefs; urbanization due to viable environment for small scale and large scale businesses; natural visual scenery will be affected by new built structures, risk to flooding along the Shire river; conflicts with hosting communities and negative influences on religion and local culture. Location The project will be located at Nsanje District in Malawi. Malawi is located between latitudes of 09ËÅ ¡ and 17ËÅ ¡ south and longitudes of 33ËÅ ¡ and 37ËÅ ¡ east. Malawi is bordered by Zambia in the East, Tanzania in the North and Mozambique in the South and West. Nsanje District Assembly is found at the tip of Southern Malawi where Malawi shares borders with Mozambique. It is at this place that the shire river passes along the boundary between Malawi and Mozambique flowing into Zambezi river and then to Indian Ocean through Chinned Port. The site was selected because of the wider width of the river as it connects to Zambezi River offering a better place for the port. Location map is shown in relation to the Shire River and location for the proposed port. Malawi Map showing location of Nsanje, Imagery showing location of the port, Shire River and Nacala corridor from Mozambique. MALAWIS EIA LEGISLATURE In Malawi the Environmental Act enacted in 1996, provides the legal framework for the protection and management of the environment, the conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources. EIA processes are outlined on section 24 of the Act to which all private and public developers must adhere to. The Act has outlined projects for which EIA is mandatory before implementation of the project as gazetted in section 24. The section also stipulates all activities that must be carried out by the developer before any implementation. The developer has to submit a project brief to the Environmental Affairs Department (EAD) who administers the environmental Act. The Director assesses the project and is supported by expertise from the technical committee of environmental affairs (TEC) which participate in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requirements; project briefs reviews; Terms of Reference (ToRs) and EIA reports; develop and monitor project auditing programme and recomme nded course of action to the Director though the director is not bound by the TEC report. The act also stipulates that only the EAD is mandated to issue out certificate under section 26(3) for which an EAI is required. For thorough evaluation of project activities that might have significant impact on the environment by the port developer, the EIA is supported by various Malawi government Acts and policies as indicated in table 1 and other international legislatures as attached on appendix I. Malawi legal documents 4.2 EIA Process The EAI process is carried out in phases in a project cycle in which EIA requirements are integrated within the cycle (EMA, 1996). The project cycle is carried out in phases and begins with a concept then pre-feasibility and feasibility studies before a detailed design and implementation phase. The objective of the cycle it to provide detailed and up-to-date environmental information at key stages in the cycle. This helps the developer to identify early results from an EIA and able to take action on any significant changes and adopt them during project implementation. The project cycle also provides opportunity to the developer, consultant, relevant authorities, interested parties and the general public to assess the impacts of the project on the environment and provide alternatives on adverse effects. The project cycle focuses on identification of negative impacts, reasonable alternatives and assessing the relevant issues so as to ensure that the EIA becomes a useful to decision mak ers. All the activities in the project cycle are done through screening and scoping. 4.1 Screening Screening allows a project to be assessed whether an EIA is required or not and establishes the basis for scoping (Theodorsdouttir, 1999). In Malawi, screening is done through a project brief which is a document that highlights critical issues prepared by the developer and in this case the Malawi Government and is submitted to the Director of Environmental Affairs Department and who is supported by TEC to assess whether it requires EIA or not. Building of an inland port is among the projects that EIA is mandatory in Malawi therefore an EIA is to be carried out (EMA, 1996). 4.2 Scoping Scooping ensures that all relevant issues to be addressed in an EIA are established and makes sure that all relevant authorities, interested and affected parties are involved, alternatives to the project are identified and to make sure that the resources are conserved and used wisely. In Malawi, comprehensive identification of the significant impacts are based on the Terms of Reference (ToRs) which are prepared by the developer and approved by the director (EMA, 1996). ToRs are identified in the scooping process. The figure I below outlines all the EIA process in Malawi. 4.3 ASSESSMENT METHOD There are various methods of assessing environmental project impacts such as checklist, network diagrams, graphical comparisons overlays and matrices (FAO, 1995) In this assessment matrices as shown in figure 2 have been used to come up with the most significant impacts as matrices easily identify impacts in a summary form and provides better bases for evaluating most significant ones Leopold et al. (1971). 4.4 Environmental Plan Impacts identified in the matrices are further assessed by Stakeholders, EAD, TEC, general public and the developer to evaluate the impacts and also identify mitigation measures. In the environmental plan potential project impacts are identified in regard to project phases as indicated in Appendix II The most significant impact Water Pollution The most significant environmental impact on this project is water pollution. Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies through pollutants which are discharged directly into water bodies without adequate measures to remove harmful compounds. Water pollution may take place due to effluents derived from soil erosion, accidental spills, waste oil, fertilizers and detergents, heavy metal and pesticides, heat and micro-organisms (JICA/GOK, 1992). 5.1 Significant Impacts Drinking Water: Water is considered safe if it can be used by human beings and other living creatures without any effect (UNEP, 1999). Polluted water is not safe for drinking for the communities living along the river and can easily wipe away a large population of human beings and animals as the birds shown in figure3. Odour: Sediments in the water under the structures may cause water stagnation and after sometime the water may produce odours that may be nuisance to the people working around the area Impact on irrigation: Water polluted with chemicals and oil spills may affect irrigated crops. Recreation: Polluted water will not be good for swimming or recreation as it may affect the people in contact with polluted water. To reduce water pollution, there is need to provide mitigation and monitoring measures as shown in table III below. Significant impact Project Activity Possible Mitigation measures Prediction and Monitoring measures Water pollution Landfills and site development Careful site selection and layout design is important to reduce stagnation. Dredging should be carried out to remove any deposits and sediments in the water Enhance the water law Act to punish offenders who deliberately pollute water Construction of break waters, bays and terminals Make a fence around the construction area Quarterly meetings during the construction phase should be held to monitor the negative environmental impacts. TEC and EAD to monitor the activities Dredging and disposal of dredged materials Proper disposal of dredged material plays an important role in preserving the environment.   Monitor sediment deposits and use Secchi disk to check depth and visibility (United Nations, 1992). Waste Management Encourage recycling and devise proper means of disposing both solid and liquid waste District Assembly to monitor all dumping sites and advise residents accordingly. Transportation of construction materials Proper handling of raw materials is required i.e. Cover cement and sprinkle water frequently on dusty roads Monitor handling of the raw materials. Vessel traffic operations Appropriate regulations should be put in place to cater for ship discharge, emissions and oil from cargo, ship spills and disposal of waste Use of Microwave remote sensing satellites and receivers aboard ship vessels to monitor ship movements, oil spills and grease and ship leakage in the river (Woodhouse, 2006). Use predictions models to monitor water quality such as Artificial Intelligence models, Artificial Neural Network models and Mathematical assimilations (Najah et al., 2009) Cargo handling and storage Special equipment should be provided for handling cargo and transportation of goods and   Provision should be made for periodical clean-up of floats and wastes   Developer to monitor that cargo handling equipment is regularly serviced Waterfront and cargo operations Provide regulations on effluent from waterfront industries and monitoring of water quality TEC to monitor all activities probably by employing a full time environmental specialist. Transportation of goods All roads leading to the port must have bitumen to avoid dust which may pollute the water.   Stakeholders to monitor where they there expertise is required. 5.2 Acts that govern the legislature for water are; Environmental Management Act 1996 which stipulates the conservation and sustainability of utilization of natural resources and water is one of the natural resources. Water Resources Act 1969 The act governs the control conservation, apportionment and use of water resources in Malawi. Water Works Act The act makes an offence if any person willfully and negligently causes water pollution. 5.3 Baseline data Baseline data is the collection of relevant information proposed in the project with the purpose of determining the status and trends of environmental factors (e.g., water pollutant concentrations). This offers opportunities to predict changes in terms of importance and provide for means of detecting actual changes once the project is initiated. Baseline data plays an important role in EIA assessment and monitoring of environmental effects (Wathern, 1988). Alpha (1995) recommends the following data to be collected for checking water pollution: Dissolved Oxygen Water conductivity Water salinity Turbidity Temperature PH Use of questionnaire to get more information from the communities around the district Assembly on the activities that take place along the river Measurements on sediments. Maps showing river catchments area 5.3.1 Parameters for checking water quality UNEP prescribes measurement of various parameters for assessing, water quality and these include:- Temperature recommended is between 25 and 35 Suspended solids it is recommended is 30mg/l Biochemical oxygen Demand (5-day at 20 C) Clean water is between 4mg/l to 10 and more than 10 is considered polluted Heavy metal concentration should not exceed 0.1mg/l in combination Lead (PB) less than 0.1mg/l Mercury (Hg) less than 0.005 mg/l Silver (Ag) , Zinc(Zn), Chromium (Cr), Arsenic (As) less than 0.05 mg/l Nickel (nI) less than 0.3 mg/l Copper (Cu), Cyanides (CN), Hydrogen Sulphide (S) less than 1.0mg/l Free Ammonia (NH 3 ) less than 0.2mg/l Phenolic Compounds (Phenol) 0.001 mg/l Nitrates (N) 10mg/l Phosphates Floating materials oils foam and greases. Bhardwaj, 2005, suggest water quality criteria as shown in the table below: 5.4 GAPS Measurement of water quality can only be undertaken by people with special expertise and with special equipment which cannot be used by a local person and the water measuring instruments are not up-to-date and not enough to cover all water bodies in the country (UNEP, 1999). Conclusion This project has a significant impact on water which is critical to water species and human beings therefore mitigation measures have to be followed to reduce water pollution in the Shire river which its impacts may have an effect over a long distance and all the way to the Indian ocean and affect so many people and all water habitats.

Strategic Human Resource Management And Assessment Centre Management Essay

Strategic Human Resource Management And Assessment Centre Management Essay Answer: Strategic Human Resource Management is the efficient way of organising the workforce by the implementation of a particular strategy, where employees performance can help to accomplish the planned organisational targets, such as increasing revenue or improving the profit margin. Strategic Human Resource management helps to recognise the business strategy that you can adopt. For example, you implement an effective training and performance improvement plan to improve customer service. More satisfactory customer service will bring in more revenue. It gives clear direction for a business, without strategic human resource management managers will be unaware about business goals, targets and competitors and it can give rise to uncertain environment. Strategic human resource management is also about considering the companys internal strengths and weaknesses. This is very important as the strengths and weaknesses of a companys human resources have a direct effect on the how a company will do in the future. 2.   Explain the advantages and disadvantages of using an assessment centre to select employees Answer: Assessment Centre is a process whereby a group of participants undertakes a series of job-related exercises under observation, so that skills and character persona can be assessed. Various methods of assessment may be used, including interviews, group discussions and group problem solving exercise. Assessment centres are used in selection for recruitment and promotion and in training and development, and aim to provide an organization with an assessment process that is consistent, free of prejudice, and fair. Assessment Centre brings about many advantages. It provides organisations with the opportunity to see how an individual performs in a work situation. It provides more in depth profile of a worker which can help an organisation to gain more knowledge about an individual. Assessment centres not only help the organization in placing the right candidate for the right job but also helps in developing the participants. When participants see others handling the same exercise di fferently, it gives them an insight into their own performance thereby raises the credibility of the selection procedure. Stimulations can also help to assess leadership skills. However some anticipated disadvantages of assessment centre could be: Assessment Centre requires highly skilled observers as the observers may bring in their own perceptions and biases while evaluating. Those who receive poor assessment might become de motivated and might lose confidence in their abilities. Assessment Centre is very costly and time consuming 3.   Explore the reasons why recruitment, selection and training costs are ‘one and a half to three times a persons salary Answer: Recruitment is best described as the way in which an organisation tries to source or attract the people from whom it will ultimately make selections. Recruitment strategies include efforts to reach better pools of candidates and to sell the organisation as an employer of choice. Selection is about choosing between job candidates. It is about how to make a fair and accurate assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of applicants and how to identify the candidate who is most likely to perform well in the job. Employment recruitment is composed of several stages: verifying that a vacancy exists; drawing up a job specification; finding candidates; selecting them by interviewing and other means such as conducting a psychometric test; and making a job offer. Effective recruitment is important in achieving high organisational performance and minimizing labour turnover. Employees may be recruited either externally or internally. Selection is a two way process and should be just as m uch about employees as the other way round. Employee needs to decide the company is a place they can work in. The company needs to decide the employees will fit within organisation, job and team itself or not.   The search of a perfect selection method continues. More attention is paid to the cost of the poor selection. It should be noted that in recruitment agencies are often used as they provide expert advice on how advertisements should be worded and where placed which tend to be very much expensive. There are direct costs of working with external agencies. Direct advertising cost, as local press, corporate website, specialist journals the costly as well. These are very real costs to the employers Administration costs that are sending out job information, letters, arranging selection events, etc. Managers time that is short listing, interviewing, selection, taking up references Training cost in order to ensure everyone has the necessary skills to recruit. Administration costs of new employee that is payroll, pensions, etc Recruiting from overseas that is employers looking for overseas staff and then by giving selected employees work visa and arrangements for their travel. After that their accommodation cost can be very much expensive. 4. Analyse the strategies a business can use to retain its staff Answer: Employee motivation and performance management depend on good systems that offer both financial and non-financial rewards (non-monetary rewards). In reality, despite the views of Herzberg that monetary methods of motivation have little value, firms still use money as a major incentive. There are a variety of payment systems that a business could use to motivate its employees. Some of the Financial rewards are: Share ownership: This is a common incentive for senior managers who are given shares in the company rather than a straight forward bonus or membership of a profit sharing scheme. It means that some staff is also shareholders. Because of share ownership the employees will work harder as they have a stake in the company, just like a shareholder has. Workers are less likely to leave the firm. Performance-related pay: This is paid to those employees who meet certain targets. The targets are often evaluated and reviewed in regular appraisals with managers. It is system that is being increasingly used in businesses in the UK. It is easier for managers to monitor and control their staff. It reduces the amount of time spent on industrial relations (negotiations with trade unions). Fringe Benefits: These are often known as ‘perks and are items an employee receives in addition to their normal wage or salary e.g. company car, private health insurance, free meals. It encourages loyalty to a company so employees may stay for longer and also it helps meet workers human and social needs. Piece-rate is paying a worker per item they produce in a certain period of time. It was recommended by the motivation theorist Taylor and had close links with working on production lines. It tends to increases speed of work and therefore productivity. Some of the Non financial rewards are: Job enrichment means giving workers more interesting, challenging and complex tasks. Workers should also be given the opportunity to complete a whole unit of work rather than individual separate tasks. This is motivating for several reasons as it gives workers the chance to test themselves and use their full range of ability it is more motivating as it increases the complexity or challenge involved in the task, rather than just simply providing more variety to the work. Workers should be able to obtain a greater sense of achievement and possibly more praise or recognition of their work when they have successfully completed a tougher task. Job enlargement means simply giving workers more tasks to do of a similar nature or complexity. This will reduce the monotony or repetition involved in a persons work but over time this will not increase a persons satisfaction or sense of achievement. Team working is where employees work in groups or teams. Thi s can meet a workers social needs as a person can more easily build friendships and feel a sense of belonging to a unit or group and hopefully to the business as a whole. This applies in much the same way as being a member of a sports team or any other team representing a school or college. A business can create a number of different types of team; examples include production teams (often known as cells), quality circles and management teams. Team working has other advantages to a firm over and above improving motivation. It can lead to greater flexibility of production, as employees are likely to be multi-skilled (able to do more than one persons job) as they have learnt from other team members or undertaken formal job rotation. This means they can cover any absences and can quickly adapt to a new production technique. Empowerment is like delegation. It is when power or authority is given to employees so they can make their own decisions regarding their working life. For instance w orkers have control over how to use their time and deciding the priority of tasks that need to be done. They are encouraged to consider problems they face and come up with some solutions. For empowerment to be successful, workers must have adequate training and/or good skill levels in order to be trusted to make the correct decisions. If they do not, then expensive mistakes can be made that could affect the whole business. It is the managers job to judge whether a subordinate can cope with more authority and decision-making power. It should be noted however, that even if managers pass down authority to their subordinates, they are still responsible for the work that is done by them. Essay:   5.   ‘Modern Organisations operate in increasingly dynamic and uncertain business  Ã‚   environments Does this reduce or increase the need for human resource planning?   Justify. (Word limit 1000 1500 words) Answer:   Modern Organisations operate in increasingly dynamic and uncertain business  Ã‚   environments this increases the need for human resource planning. Human resource planning has traditionally been used by organisations to ensure that the right person is in the right job at the right time. Due to Increase in environmental instability the need for Human resource planning in leading organisations has increased. It is the process by which management determines how the organisation should move from its current manpower position to its desired position. Through planning, management strives to have the right number and the right kinds of people, at the right places, at the right time, doing things which result in both the organisation and the individual receiving maximum long-run benefits. Currently human resource planning occurs within the broad perspective of organisational and strategic business planning. It involves forecasting the organisations future human needs and planni ng for how those needs will be met. It includes establishing objectives and then developing and implementing programmes to ensure that people are available with appropriate characteristics and skills when and where the organisation needs them. It may also involve developing and implementing programmes to improve employee performance or to increase employee satisfaction and involvement in order to boost organisational productivity, quality, or innovation (Mills, 1 985b). Finally, human resource planning includes gathering data that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing programs and inform planners when revisions in their forecasts and programmes are needed. In other words, Human resource planning is directly and closely associated with the development and success of an organisation. If an organisation is desperate to be dominant in its industry, compared with other rivals, it should pay more attention to the function of Human resource planning and apply it scientifical ly. Virgin Atlantic is the second largest long haul airline in the UK and the third largest European carrier over the North Atlantic. Since Virgin Atlantic Airways was founded in 1984, it has become Britains second largest carrier serving the worlds major cities. Now based at both Londons Gatwick and Heathrow airports, it operates long haul services to thirty destinations world-wide as far apart as Las Vegas and Shanghai. Its route network has grown rapidly to include destinations in the US, Caribbean, Far East, India and Africa, and they have won virtually every award the travel industry has to offer. Virgin Atlantic has enjoyed huge popularity, winning top business, consumer and trade awards from around the world. The airline has pioneered a range of innovations setting new standards of service, which its competitors have subsequently sought to follow. Despite Virgin Atlantics growth the service still remains customer driven with an emphasis on value for money, quality, fun and innovat ion. Virgin Atlantic has carried around 53m passengers since it began operations and now employs almost 9000 people worldwide. Human Resource planning plays an important role in Virgin Atlantic Airways. The future in any country is uncertain i.e. there are political, cultural, technological changes taking place every day. This effects the employment situation. Accordingly Virgin Atlantic Airways may have to appoint or remove people. Therefore Human Resource Planning can only be a guiding factor. If Virgin Atlantic Airways does not plan for the future they have less opportunity to survive the competition ahead with a lot of competitors like British Airways, Bmi, British midland, American Airlines, Continental and Delta. Without the process of human resource planning if Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to find out how many people will be required in future they will have expansion problems. In case of recession if Virgin Atlantic Airlines wants to undergo retrenchment, withou t human resource planning it will be difficult for the business to decide which departments cost should be cut down, which departments workers should be fired and how many people should be laid off. Therefore major issues of a business such as expansion, diversification, technological change, should be backed up by the availability of human resources. As it suggest modification in the plan when the expected manpower is not available. Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to take further actions. The company will not be able to identify the number of jobs which will become vacant in the near future. Without Human resource planning Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to offset uncertainty and change. Sometime the organisationmay have machines and money but not men and consequently the production cannot be started. The individual needs of the employees for the promotions transfers, salary enhancement, better benefits will not be provided if business is unaware of human resource planning, therefore employees will suffer from financial and non financial rewards and will lose the interest in the business resulting in absence and risk for business in long term. Without human resource planning business will be unable to anticipate the cost of salary, benefits and all the cost of human resources facilitating the formulation of budgets in a society. Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to provide required working conditions in a business. As according to Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, also referred to as HASAW or HSW, is the primary piece of legislation covering occup ational health and safety in the United Kingdom. The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for enforcing the Act and a number of other Acts and Statutory Instruments relevant to the working environment. Workplace health and safety is an important issue for every business. Every employee needs to be aware of the importance of these issues in the workplace and the best way to improve staff awareness of these issues is by providing access to a health and safety course. Without human resource planning Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to closely know what important safety measures should be taken into an account as well how staff awareness of importance of these issues can be improved. Resulting in a lot of unhealthy activities as well harmful incidents for workers. To summarise an effective HR planning helps the company to prepare ahead of time for these vacancies rather than acting in a reactionary manner when an employee resigns unexpectedly. Another benefit of having a recruiting plan in place is that the recruiters know where to target theirjob searchto find the best candidates. Successful recruiters plan ahead and know what skill sets are essential for the right candidates, and they know how to interview effectively. Companies that include HR planning are prepared for future open positions that result frombusinessgrowth and expansion. Another benefit of HR planning is having career-development procedures, which consist of identifying future company leaders and helping them grow. This means that when an executive or manager leaves or retires, there is already someone ready to promote into the position.Successful HR planning includes training models and procedures. This training includes new-hire training to teach new employees about the com pany culture, internaldatabases, software, and the skill sets necessary for specific positions. The benefit of this type of training is that all employees are taught the same thing in the same manner, which creates consistency and accuracy in daily work. Effective HR planning incorporates aspects of employee management, such asperformancereviews and disciplinary procedures. Companies benefit from having these systems in place because they help managers do their jobs and prevent potential lawsuits. Standardized performance reviews help managers look for key items when reviewing and ranking subordinates and ensure that everyone is reviewed on the same scale. Therefore without Human resource planning business will not be able to survive in short term. As Human resource planning is a backbone of a business survival.

Memory :: essays research papers

â€Å"Can our memories be described as accurate? Why or why not? What important implications might this have for our lives?†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Memory is the tool we use to learn and think. We all use memory in our everyday lives. Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experiences. We all reassure ourselves that our memories are accurate and precise. Many people believe that they would be able to remember anything from the event and the different features of the situation. Yet, people don’t realize the fact that the more you think about a situation the more likely the story will change. Our memories are not a camcorder or a camera. Our memory tends to be very selective and reconstructive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eyewitness testimony is especially vulnerable to error when the question is misleading or when there’s a difference in ethnicity. However, using an eyewitness as a source of evidence can be risky and is rarely 100% accurate. This can be proven by the theory of the possibility of false memory formation and the question of whether or not a memory can lie. For instance, a group of students saw the face of a young man with straight hair, then heard a description of the face supposedly written by another witness, one that wrongly mentioned light, curly hair. When they reconstructed the face using a kit of facial features, a third of their reconstructions contained the misleading detail, whereas only 5 percent contained it when curly hair was not mentioned (Page 359). This situation shows how misleading information from other sources can be profoundly altered.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Children’s memories are easier to confuse as those of adults. For many years most adults believed that children’s memories could not be trusted because children tend to confuse reality with their fantasies. Children just as adults can be accurate in what they report and they also like adult can distort, forget, fantasize, and be misled. As research show, their memories processes are only human. All I know is that I wouldn’t like to be accused by a group of children or students. It’s not quite as reliable as you may have hoped a memory would be.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Explicit memory is a conscious, recollection of an event or an item of information. It is usually measured using recall or recognition methods. Recalling has the ability to retrieve and reproduce information. Recognizing has the ability to identify information you have previously learned, read, or heard about.

We Must Prevent Obesity in Children :: Childhood Obesity

Americans are the fattest people on the planet and continue to expand. According to a survey of adult men and women in the United States during 1999-2000, published in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 30.5% of Americans are obese, up from 22.9% ten years earlier, and nearly two-thirds (64.5%) are overweight (Flegal et al.). Excess weight isn’t just a matter of looks. Obesity magnifies the risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other ailments–already overtaking tobacco as the leading cause of chronic illness (Brownell and Horgen 4). An especially disturbing aspect of this trend is that children are increasingly obese. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the percentage of obese children aged 6 to 11 almost quadrupled from 4% in 1974 to 15% in 2000, and the percentage of obese children aged 12 to 19 increased from 6% in 1974 to 15% in 2000 (United States). Obese children have a 70% chance of becoming obese adu lts with a much higher risk of serious illness than those of normal weight (Brownell and Horgen 46). Furthermore, obese children suffer many serious health problems today. Pediatricians now routinely treat atherosclerosis and type II diabetes, diseases that used to be frequent only among older people (Tyre 38). Today’s children are among the first generation in American history who may die at earlier ages than their parents. For most people in the United States, obesity is a matter of individual choice and old-fashioned will power (Lee and Oliver). The usual advice for overweight people is to eat less and exercise more, but how applicable is this advice for children unless they have strong guidance from adults? How can children make intelligent choices about eating in an environment where overeating is normal and where few adults know what’s in the food they eat? The United States has been successful in addressing teenage health problems: drug use has dropped, teenage pregnancy has been reduced, and teen smoking has declined. We need to take a similar proactive response by taking concrete steps to reverse the trend toward more obese children. Many have blamed the rise in obesity on a more sedentary life style, including the move to the suburbs, where people drive instead of walk, and increased viewing of television. One study of children watching television found a significant drop in the average metabolic rate during viewing (Klesges, Shelton, and Klesges).

George Lucas: One of the greatest filmmakers Essay -- essays research

George Lucas: One of the greatest film makers â€Å"With the exception of maybe a handful of people, no one has made an impact on the movie making world like George Lucas has. With hundred of hours of film with his mark out there, Lucas has amazed his audiences time and time again with expert story telling† (The Gods of Filmmaking). George Lucas has written, directed, and produced countless films, many of which are some of today’s most highly regarded films by critics all over the world. â€Å"George Lucas’s devotion to timeless storytelling and cutting-edge innovation has resulted in some of the most successful and beloved films of all time† (Inside Lucas Film). George Lucas is one of the greatest writers of his time, one of the best directors of his time, and has paved the way in visual and audio effects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George Lucas is widely believed to be one of the greatest writers of his time. He has written many movies that have won academy awards such as THX 1138, The Star Wars Trilogy, American Graffiti, and Indiana Jones. George Lucas has not only written Movie he has also written a couple of TV series such as The Young Indiana Jones and a cartoon version of Star Wars. George Lucas has also written many Sci Fi short films and many Sci Fi books.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George Lucas wrote the move Star Wars in the late 1970’s. â€Å"The film became and international success because of its creative special effects, appealing characters, and suspenseful story of good versus evil† (World Book 513). The original Star Wars garnered 8 Academy Awards for George Lucas. He did not stop at just making one Star Wars movie, George Lucas went on to make 2 sequels, both written by George Lucas, by 1983. The first sequel he wrote was â€Å"The Empire Strikes Back† in 1980, which was nominated for a PEO award in 1981 and took the Academy award in 1980 for sound. In 1983 Lucas gave it another go by releasing â€Å"The Return of the Jedi† which did not win any awards but was nominated for best film in the 1984 PEO awards.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1973 Lucas co-wrote American Graffiti with Gloria Katz. â€Å"The film was Lucas’s homage to the memories of his own teenage years in Modesto, California, and remembered with vintage cars and dragsters; drive ins, an almost non-stop rock soundtrack, teenage activities, and characteristic hair and clothing style†(Greatest Fil... ...ts Entertainment Co. does not only make game it also creates novels, toys, clothes, board games, and etc. based on Star Wars and other Lucas Film products.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As you can see George Lucas is one of the greatest writers of his time, one of the best directors of his time, and has paved the way in visual and audio effects. He has created some of the greatest films of all time and is an innovator in creating new and exciting ideas. George Lucas has taken his success and expanded it to provide entertainment to people all over the world. He hasn’t just settled for enough he’s pushed the limits of his imagination and created things people never thought possible. Works Cited â€Å"American Graffiti†. Greatest Films. March 19, 2005 . â€Å"George Lucas†. The Gods of Film Makking. March 19, 2005 . â€Å"George Lucas†. World Book. 2004 Ed. â€Å"Geroge Lucas† Geroge Lucas Biogrpahy. March 8, 2005 . â€Å"Geroge Lucas†. George Lucas Bio. March 8, 2005 . â€Å"Geroge Lucas†. Inside Lucas Film. March 19, 2005 . Kline, Sally. Geroge Lucas Interviews. New York: International Press, 2000 â€Å"Raiders of the Lost Ark†. Movie Gazette. March 19, 2005 . â€Å"Star Wars†. Movie Gazette. March 19, 2005 .

Johnson and Johnson Analysis Essay

Executive Summary This report was carried out in order to show the scenario planning of Johnson and Johnson .The report provides information about the history of the company, countries of operations and the sectors of operations .The company sales have seen significant growth in recent years and US have the highest percentage of sales of about 44% .The report also draws attention to the PESTEL framework of the pharmaceutical industry showing how Political ,Economical, Social ,Technological, Environmental ,and Legal factors affects companies operating in this industry .Johnson and Johnson have contributed to the environment and also helps in improving living in the society through providing of valuable drugs to cure several diseases and having good cooperate social responsibility. The SWOT Analysis of Johnson and Johnson shows that the company is one of the top players in the industry and has a lot of potential for further growth due to financial strength and experiences. The company sales has increased worldwide allowing for its expansion in more countries and they carry out further research and development on new products. Johnson and Johnson research and development is helping to identify new opportunities which in turns help in complimenting company strength .Several ranges of opportunities are available for the company and the breakthrough in technology and innovations has allowed for new products and services to be available for consumers. Further investigations shows the Porter five forces where threat of new entrant for the pharmaceutical industry is low and posses low threat to Johnson and Johnson as the company is already established and have a good number of customers around the world .The bargaining powers of buyers and suppliers , rivalry among competitors and threats of substitute are also discussed . The company is recognized as the 6th largest in the world for consumer health and the world largest providers of diverse medical diagnosti c devices, It is recommended that Johnson and Johnson reach out to more people around the world and focus on the rural areas to be able to help solve more deadly diseases in the world hence improving their cooperate social responsibilities. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction Johnson and Johnson founded in 1886 is a United States multinational company which specializes in medical devices and diagnostics, Pharmaceuticals and consumer products. The companies headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey have around 250 subsidiaries companies and operations in over 59 countries. Johnson and Johnson balance their short time and long time goals in their strategic planning by focusing on the important sector and fundamentals of the pharmaceutical business. They invest heavily in research and development and unveils new business opportunities .The company also focus on environment ,employees wellbeing and safety precautions to ensure they conduct business in an ethical manner. The company is included in the Fortune 500 companies and they help in improving quality of life in the world by researching on health care products which will help cure several dangerous diseases in the world. Their researchers are also committed with working with mothers to ensure they provide product that best meet the healthcare needs of mothers. The report include information about the history of Johnson and Johnson ,the PESTEL analysis of the pharmaceutical sector ,the SWOT analysis of the Johnson and Johnson and the Porter five forces which affects the level of competition in the pha rmaceutical industry . A conclusion and recommendation was also provided in the report. 2.0 Background of Johnson and Johnson The history of Johnson and Johnson dates back to 1886 which was founded by three brothers on the idea of using sterile suture alongside bandages to treat wounds. Since its inception it has grown to be one the most comprehensive manufacturer of health care products and also a well-established provider for the pharmaceutical market. The company is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey with around 250 subsidiaries companies and operations in over 59 countries and over 120,000 employees, the company products are sold in over 165 countries. Barron magazine in 2008 ranked Johnson and Johnson the world most respected company and in 2011 they  recorded worldwide sales of $65 billion. (Johnson & Johnson 2012) Johnson and Johnson business are in three segments which are Pharmaceuticals, Medical devices and Diagnostics, and Consumer products. The current chairman of the company is Alex Gorsky he took over from William Weldon in 2012. Pharmaceutical segment produces several medicines which helps cure most of the world most dangerous and widespread diseases products under this category include anti-infective, dermatology, neurology , pain management anti-psychotic and several other products ,the products are usually distributed directly to retailers ,and hospitals and health care professionals for prescription to patients. Johnson and Johnson is committed to help people have healthier lives and live longer by contributing to research of deadly diseases and finding possible cure for them ,Johnson and Johnson invested about $5.1 billion in 2011 for pharmaceutical research and development of new medicines. In 2013 the pharmaceutical segment contributed about 39% to the company annual revenue. The company consumer health segment include products like baby care ,skin care, oral care women health care ,wound care as well as wellness and nutritional products . The products are readily available across several distributors stores, pharmacy and retails outlet. In 2013 the consumer health segment contributed 21% to the company total revenue. While the Medical devices segment produces varieties of innovative products which are primarily used by health care professionals in several fields which include diagnostics ,vision care ,surgery ,diabetes treatment ,sports medicine and other products . The products are distributed to wholesalers, retailers, pharmacy, and hospitals. In 2013 the Medical devices and Diagnostics contributed 40% to the company total revenue. Johnson and Johnson sales have seen significant increase in recent years with sales of 29.5 billion in 2010 and 31 billion to international market making total sales of 61 billion. In 2011 sales of 28 billion to United States and 36 billion to international market making a total of 65 billion for the year and sales of 29, billion to US in 2012 and 37 billion to international market making total sales of 67 billion in 2012. This shows Johnson and Johnson products are doing well both in the United States and in the international market. Figure 2.0 Johnson and Johnson sales by Geographical Region Adapted from http://www.slideshare.net/mortress/johnson-johnson-27883863 on May 2 ,2014. The figure above represent the percentage of sales by the geographical area with US having the highest percentage of sales and Asia -Pacific and Africa 25 % ,Europe 20 % and Western hemisphere 11 %. Johnson and Johnson was ranked in Newsweek Green Rankings as the third in United States among large companies that ensure environmental friendly operations. Examples include reduction in water use and wastage also increase in company transparency. They are member of national Green power partnership and a report published on the company website shows how the company intends to reduce waste usage and disposal also introducing several new sustainable products which are eco friendly in year 2015. 3.0 PESTEL Framework of Pharmaceutical Industry PESTEL analysis is a comprehensive useful and structured tool which help significantly in analyzing the Political, Economic, Social ,Technological, Environmental and legal external factor affecting an industry. It is very useful to identify external factors which is likely to impact future strategies (Barry, 2010) . it also effective for business planning ,marketing and product development by helping to understand market growth, business potential and directions of business operations. The pharmaceutical industry has a number of challenges this challenges can be clearly identified using the PESTEL analysis hence allowing for proper strategies to be undertaken. 3.1 Political Factors The Pharmaceutical industry has seen several increases in political attention of recent years. This is due to the role health care plays and its economic importance. Political interest affects the overall health care sector making the pharmaceutical companies to lobby with government in many of their activities .The challenges of the companies to provide affordable medicines and right to make profits comes along side economic hardships. Pharmaceutical companies must be able to respond actively to shift in government policies and should adhere to trends of ethics, compliance and  accountability in order to be successful in the market (Bennett, 1998). Health has become expensive and several debates on health care like the US Medicare debate and UK National Health Service debate are aimed to ensure health care are affordable and not financial burden. The regulations of pharmaceutical companies around the world has become more stringent increasing the cost of doing business in the indu stry, Johnson and Johnson operates worldwide and they must keep updated of the political situation which may affect their operation of in all country they have operations. 3.2 Economic Factors The pharmaceutical industries has seen a lot of mergers and acquisition of recent years the acquisitions has helped in providing availability of new products and comprehensive database of pharmaceutical products. Most of the companies are funded through cash flow and banks loans and some through the sales of shares and securities .Even with the global economic crises the money spent on health care still continue to increase. Pharmaceutical companies operating internationally should be aware of the currency problem they may face for example when the Ireland switched to euro it cause a lot of difficulties such as accounting and it takes a lot of time for it to be convenient . The pharmaceutical industries should be able to predict the economic challenges they are likely to face and ensure they use all opportunity for growth when they have it. 3.3 Social Factors Most Companies around the world integrate both social and environmental factors in their business operations and also in dealing with their stake holders which is a concept of cooperate social responsibilities. Pharmaceutical companies have contributed a lot to the health care system and have produce a lot of products which help in curing dangerous and harmful disease. Pfizer produces liptor which helps significantly in controlling cholesterol and is usually prescribed for diabetes. The industry should be able to scan the problem of obesity among children and be able to control through providing sufficient health care to fight it .The industry must be able to swiftly respond to changes in the environment and should adhere to ethical and corporate philanthropy so that the society can benefit from  their operations. 3.4 Technological Factors The increase in technological research has seen many development in the pharmaceutical industries this force the top players in the industry to adopt this innovation and invest spending on research and development to encourage innovation in the sector. Modern technology have changed the way most pharmaceutical companies operate and they have to keep updated to the change in technology in order to provide the best solutions to customer problem .The advance in technology has created several new business and service which include social media health care ,customized treatments and other services 3.5 Environmental Factors Stake holders of pharmaceutical industries are now becoming more aware of the need for the companies to be proactive in environmental agenda .The business operation should be linked one way or the other to issues concerning environment. There are several opportunities in ensuring companies incorporate environmental issues into their cooperate social responsibilities hence allowing for development of new product which are eco friendly and cater for the need of the environment. Elder generation consumes more drugs than the young ones which is a cause of concern and most companies put more emphasis for drugs research on elderly patients above 65 years. (Johnson and Johnson, 2008) The society deserve to have access to good health care services and the industry should play a vital role in ensuring research for drugs that are eco friendly and best meet customer demands. 3. 6 Legal Factors Companies operating in the pharmaceutical industries have a lot restriction and must ensure they comply with the regulatory and legislative standards. The breakthrough in internet is also changing the legislative boundaries as more people demand for rights of better and affordable healthcare .In many developing countries the social environment and political factors influences the decisions pharmaceutical companies make in providing health care and drugs .Several regulatory bodies check for food and drugs in the market and (F.D.A) food and drug administration conducts product testing labeling and other related operation in verifying drugs and food. They charge some fees  in submission and review of application .Also the Irish medicine board has power over Trinity Biotech in regulating the market of introducing new products into America. (Trinity Biotech, 2008) The legal changes in a county can affect the industry positively or negatively, it is the duty of companies operating in thi s industry to keep up to date with legal changes as they occur in the country. 4.0 SWOT Analysis. 4.1 Strength Johnson and Johnson has built a strong brand image since its inception in1886 and have helped significantly in solving several health problems by providing drugs that solve illness and diseases. The company offers a range of diversified products which cut across baby cares surgical products, pharmaceutical products, internet publishing women sanitary and several more and have built a wide range of customer loyalty. The companies have significant sales and sufficient marketing strategies allowing it to be one of the top players in the world in provision of health care products. Johnson and Johnson have about 29,950 internet domains and conduct business globally allowing for global sales of their product and hence differentiating them from competitors. The company supports environmental awareness and work on several programs such as introduction of Health future 2015 which is aimed at allowing the society to be more health cautious. Johnson and Johnson has operations in more than sixty(60) countries and have about 275 subsidiaries companies hence allowing for a comprehensive economies of scale and strong customer database. 4.2 Weaknesses Johnson and Johnson faces several pressures globally to reduces prices of products and preserves expirations of copyrights .The company spend a lot of time ,money and resources on research and sourcing for information. Diversification is also a weakness for Johnson and Johnson as they spend more money trying to grow other sector of their business which they could  invest more resources on the highly profitable sector. Competitors such as Pfizer and Abbott laboratories are becoming more specialized than Johnson & Johnson concentrating more on pharmaceutical product and having a big market share in the sector. A subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson recalled 43 over the counter children medicines which include Benadryl, Tylenol because it was revealed by US that some of the products do not meet the specifications. Johnson & Johnson also recalled Auricular surface replacement in 2010 due to failed prostheses rate increase. 4.3 Opportunities Johnson and Johnson can grow significantly since it’s an established brand in the market by concentrating on more ranges of product for economy class and improving presence in rural communities which will help see company growth also it has a lot of opportunities to improve on the market share by focusing on technological innovations and product development . Acquisition of customer health unit of Pfizer is also a major boost for Johnson and Johnson which will help develop the pharmaceutical sector also acquisition of other related pharmaceutical companies will make Johnson and Johnson strengthen its capacity and be able to cover more countries around the globe. (MoneyNews.com) Johnson and Johnson research is improving and they made a breakthrough research in cancer therapy. Zytiga has captured about 30% prostate cancer market in the United States and saw a sales growth of 70% globally as a result of strong share and market growth. 4.4 Threats Strong competition from pricing pressure and global currency fluctuation is a threat to Johnson and Johnson, despite having a strong portfolio of medical devices and diagnostics it is facing a serious pricing pressure for instance the segment growth is only about 0.5% .Other forms of threats to Johnson and Johnson is the brand image weakness due to the recalls of drug by Johnson and Johnson from the market. The currency risk of doing global business has a negative impact and intentional pharmaceutical sales reduced by 2% due to the movements in currency. Competition risks is a serious problem for Johnson and Johnson and they face risk of losing patent for their best selling drugs in few years to come for instance their drug Remicade which generated about 6.2 billion in revenues for the company in 2012 will lose its Europe patent in 2015. This may cause their pharmaceutical sales to reduce due to several competitions from other lower priced drugs companies. 5.0 Porter Five Forces In the pharmaceutical industry there are several companies with varying interest. Innovation in the industry is one of the main factors driving growth and economic success .The comprehensive positioning of a company is important as the society is well networked and consumers are continuously exposed to several new products, marketing campaigns which may confuse the consumer on which product to get or which pharmaceutical company is best to patronize. Companies in this industry should ensure their messages are direct, simple and supports customers’ needs. Attention should be focused on the customers and competitors in order to make the company attain a valuable position in the market (Jobber, 2006) A company must ensure the follow this criteria to successfully position themselves in the market this criteria include consistency, credibility ,clarity and competitiveness. Figure 5.0 Porter Five Forces Adapted from http://www.scribd.com/doc/63026751/PESTEL-Analysis on May 2 ,2014. 5.1 Threat of New Entrant Threats of new competition is quite low in the pharmaceutical industry ,the high cost associated with research and development of drugs serve as barrier to allow new companies to easily join this industry. Government regulation of medicines and drug related products is also a major head ache for companies trying to enter the business. The threat of new entrant will not influence Johnson and Johnson because it has developed to be one of the biggest pharmaceutical company having operations around the world and have the finances, customer loyalty and experience to expand its market and carry out new product research. New entrant will face several problem including problem of expenses, research and development, government restriction and regulations hence letting for only few or no new entrant into the industry. 5.2 Degree of rivalry among existing firms The competition in the pharmaceutical industry is very high and many companies tend to come out with drugs and product which are more effective than the competitors. The main competitors in this industry are in private and public sector where competition is based on the reliability of products, pricing and also customer service. Mergers and acquisition began in the last century this are due to the threat of company patent expiration. Evidence shows that sales decrease significantly as a result of many companies producing similar product. (American Economic, 2006) Competition among rivals is not likely to have high impact on Johnson and Johnson, although the demand of medical supplies increases but the prices still remain stable so the competition in prices is not much. Johnson and Johnson also have several sectors which the company focuses on hence creating a wide range on several opportunities and allowing them to have added advantages over other competitors. 5.3 Bargaining Power of buyers The increase in price of drugs have made patients to lose their bargaining power and consumer have no choices but to but the drugs prescribe to them by the doctors. The buyers of pharmaceutical products are all in different places and they have no power to influences the pricing of the products. When drugs are patented companies may set prices to include high profits but as soon as the generic versions are available buyers then have more bargaining power. Most buyers tend to switch to generic products that are more affordable and provide related functions. 5.4 Bargaining power of suppliers The bargaining power for pharmaceutical industry is low due to sales of product mostly concentrates on the top players allowing for a low bargaining power for suppliers. Johnson and Johnson use a standardized manner in choosing suppliers for different categories of their product which include the medical devices and diagnostics, Pharmaceuticals and other products.  Although the suppliers have little or no power in bargaining the prices of the product, they may influence the prices for the market in a particular country. 5. 5 Threats of Substitute The demand for substitute product in this industry is on increase the demand for generic product is high because the brand name products are expensive .The generic drugs companies have little cost associated with research and development allow them to be able to provide similar drugs at much cheaper rate. The threat of substitute for Johnson and Johnson is high due to the availability of traditional medicinal herbs and also other related generic product which claims to do the same function as most of the branded product for Johnson and Johnson. Some of the traditional medicines are even more expensive and customers tend to believe the branded product due to the fact that they may get compensated when they face any problem using the products. 6.0 Conclusion and Recommendation Johnson and Johnson is an established company with a good research and development team The company also have enough finances to take care of daily operation and with global presence around the world they revise their vision in order to increase their products and services to customers. Their strategy also involve identifying the problem people face globally in the world and trying to provide solution to them hence helping in improving the way of life in the society. Johnson and Johnson have built a reputable brand in the world and it is recommended they go deep down into the rural areas and poor countries to improve way of living. Provide free vaccination for children and help in providing affordable drugs to people that cannot afford mostly the under developed countries. Also it is recommended they help in making awareness of protecting the environment. They should concentrate more on the segment that provide most profit for the organization and not waste time trying to develop segment which does not bring much profit to the organization. This will allow for further research and development of the sector most especially the pharmaceutical segment of their operations. 7.0 Referencing Alex (2013). Johnson and Johnson SWOT & PESTEL analysis .Retrieved online from http://anelecka.blogspot.com/2013/01/johnson-johnson-1.html.Accessed May 25,2014. American Economist (2006) Global competition and the Pharmaceutical Industry in theUnited States Retrieved from http://www.allbusiness.com/government/4062804-1.html Accessed on 22nd May 2014. Barron Magazine The Market’s Finest, by Michael Santoli, Barron’s Magazine, September 2008. Dhruv, M (2003). Factors affecting Phamaceutical industry strategically Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/mortress/johnson-johnson-27883863 on May 2 ,2014. Implementation. Oxford: EG Books, Elsevierp.13 Jobber, D.,Fahy, J. (2006)Foundations of Marketing: , London: Mc-Graw-Hill Johnson & Johnson (2011) .Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year Results | Johnson & Johnson†. Retrieved from http://www.Jnj.com. on May 18, 2014. MoneyNews (2006) â€Å"Johnson & Johnson to Buy Pfizer Unit†. Retreived from www.moneynew.com on May 22, 2014. Trinity Biotech (2007) Trinity Biotech Annual Report Plc [online] Retrieved fromhttp://www.financialregulator.ie/data/in_mark_annurepfiles/Trinity%20Biotech%202007.pdf on 22nd May 2014.