Marine industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marine industry - Essay Example Credible statistics and claims were uttered in line with this phenomenon. Perhaps, one might say such things are inevitable, we cannot deny the fact that these things could happen without the leniency and negligence of people working with regards to their duties plus the fact that these things could be avoided. Dr. Anita Rothblum of the United States Coast Guard research and development center stressed that over 40 years, the shipping industry focused on improving ship structures and reliability of ship systems to reduce casualty and ensure proficiency and reliability. However, the casualty is still high. She further pointed out that " Maritime system is a people system" and people do play a big part with regards to these errors. Moreover, she explains that 75-96% percent are caused by human errors and tanker accidents, collision, fires and explosions cause some of these incidents. This claim is not new to marine authorities 1. At present, if we are to base on the biggest of perhaps one of the most tragic disasters of ship industries in the world, the tragedy of MV Doa Paz in the Philippines is perhaps the perfect example of human error to date.

Technology Studies Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Technology Studies Case Study - Essay Example It is no surprise that moisture is one of the main dilemma of the hotel maintenance department because UK copes up with something like 25,000 gallon of water annually. Nearly all moisture problems are much less severe than they actually look. Moisture can be very dangerous to our health. It can intensify respiratory problems and it can even encourage mites and moulds to grow. The properties of moisture can be very serious and even makes the whole surrounding cold and unpleasant to see. Moisture can be anywhere. They could be on the roof, on the walls, on the floors, windows, doors and pipeline. Oftentimes, the presence Saturated up through permeable materials like concrete hollow blocks into the floors and walls of the home, and it usually occurs in building which did not have any waterproofing in the track of its construction. Consequently, rising moisture can be detected easily. We can conclude that there is rising moisture in the area if, the wall is in contact with the ground, if the walls feel dampy and cold to touch and if there are stains on wall decorations. Nevertheless, rising moisture rarely goes up above one meter on the wall. Penatrating moisture is frequently caused by the building plumbing. The trouble comes in when the water is tolerable to enter the property. Symptoms of rising moisture frequently becomes noticeable during the rainy season. It usually affects roofs, ceilings and walls. Water marks appear if water continues to enter the house. It can be caused by groove or roof problems which had allowed rainwater to trickle in and soak area of walls. This is frequently seen in old houses that has solid wall. Penetrating moisture is very Not easy to find and may require proficient help. There are many ways of treating moisture. Rising moisture is worse at the bottom of a wall than at the top. Aside from blocked airbricks, the most frequent cause is 'bridging", this is when soil from the garden climbs up directly on the house wall and trap moisture. This problem is frequent and it can be easily worked out. Excavate the soil from the house so that the soil can no longer knock against the wall. A technique used in old properties is the inoculation of chemical in the problem areas. If the moisture is getting higher through the floorboard, a moisture-proof membrane maybe frayed so it is best to have a refitting. Penetrating moisture More often than not forms when water get into the property. Check up in details grooves, downpipes, flashings and window frames. It will be best to check everything inside and around the property area. Check the sealing of window frames to make sure that there must be a drip groove to get rid of rainwater. If there are blocks, clear them comprehensively. An ill-fitted roofing on a flat roof will probably cause moisture and a fractured wall can let water in. Repair a fractured wall with protective material and fit insulation rubber to all door frames. Application of Outdoor water proofing fluid will be helpful if the outdoor brickwork is already absorbent. A moisture proof track is also one means of avoiding increasing moisture. This is a process where in two layers of bricks with a space between can avoid moisture. This is frequent

Discuss The Effects That Multinational companies can have on a host Essay

Discuss The Effects That Multinational companies can have on a host acountry - Essay Example The many economic benefits to host countries have prompted many countries around the world, including developed and developing countries to focusing on attracting multinational companies or foreign direct investments as they are also called. Even countries that were otherwise hostile to these types of investments have been seeing them in a positive light. The targeting of these multinational companies has become an important development strategy as countries such as Ireland provide grants towards start up costs and research and development (Jensen 2006:38 ). One effect that multinational companies have on a host country is the economic and financial benefits that are gained by the host country. Especially in developing countries this is a welcome change for both the worker and the political directorate. High employment levels are a panacea for political and social stability. In many cases multinational companies pay higher wages than local companies. The high demand for workers also contributes to the higher wages. The workers also receive training in technology, management, and entrepreneurial expertise that can be transferred to other facilities and areas in the country. Some employees also receive training in the parent company overseas. Consequently, the host now will now have a more highly skilled workforce that will be better able to compete with other countries. The host country will also receive economic gain through revenues paid to the government. Generally the companies are subjected to the different tax guidelines of the countries. In many cases the bargaining power of the host country helps these countries in securing major financial benefits. These tax incentives will increase economic growth and progress and will also help in stabilizing local currencies. The host country will also benefit from improved and new infrastructure. These developments help not only as an immediate benefit but in the long run as well.

The curriculum resourcing of the teacher librarian Assignment

The curriculum resourcing of the teacher librarian - Assignment Example Once the best materials are selected, the students and the teacher will have an ample time to complete the required curriculum in the required time. The library is a celebrated institution in the life of a student. The library contains the resource that the student will need to get a better understanding of the studies he or she partakes. Hence, it should require well-informed curriculum materials. Introduction A library is a structured assortment of books, journals and even on line material an institution or community for gathering information uses that (Bishop, 2007). In the life of a student, the library offers a haven of information resource that can be used to ease the study work of the student. For students, this is usually critical because most of what they learn in school is mostly found in the library. Getting the necessary information; therefore, becomes vital to these young scholars. The resources found in the library are taken through thorough processes before they are qu alified to be included as resource materials in the library. This is because a lot of care has to be taken when these sources of information are being gathered (Church, 2007). The absolute best books and journals should be used for the accomplishment of the apprentices, and the school. The compelling thing is that libraries consisted of stone tablets that were gathered in a room for storage in the past. These shows those even in the past, libraries were significant. The processes of acquiring the libraries' resource materials have changed drastically since then (Clayton & Gorman, 2001). The process of acquisition of the resource material has become more complex with time. This is because a number of factors such as units of study or subject/topic requirement must be considered for a resource material to be selected. The student should benefit from the resources choosen, or that are available to him. Most of the learning institutions have adopted new ways to ensure this (Conger, 2004 ). The modern library can have on-line platforms and visual aid gadgets just to mention a few. This has created a bigger platform for the student to use. So what make a dependable and resourceful library? What are the acquisition and selection procedures for these resource materials? In order to answer the following question we need to understand the need to be satisfied for the curriculum point of view. Curriculum In a modern school or any other learning institution, there are sets of courses that the learner needs to cover. These courses are put in an organized manner that ease and smoothes the student’s process of learning through out the learning period. These sets and the order they are organized in is called a curriculum (Craver, 2001). For the student to pass the studies he or she is taking, they must fulfill the curriculum to the satisfaction of their teacher or examiner. For a good curriculum, some few aspects should be carefully considered. These environments surrou nd the student throughout the teacher’s course (Evans & Saponaro, 2005). They affect the learning process of the student, hence if lightly taken; the student may have trouble in his studies. One of the main aspects to be considered is the unit of works the student will have to take. The units of work are courses that student require to pass the level of education or to

Central bank interventions and foreign exchange rate volatility 01291 Essay

Central bank interventions and foreign exchange rate volatility 01291 - Essay Example Some researchers are on the opinion that such intervention policies are ineffective and may lead to increase the degree of foreign exchange volatility whereas other academic intellectuals sighted that central bank volatility can become the potential reason behind reducing exchange rate volatility. Another consensus views central bank intervention as ineffective and a waste of taxpayers’ money. In this paper the effect of central bank intervention, exchange rate regimes and currency risk hedging decisions will be analysed in order to evaluate whether the central bank intervention impacts positively on the level of volatility of foreign exchange rate or not. Central bank intervention has always been a controversial policy among all researchers across world. According to a report from Wall Street Journal, central bank intervention is not only futile to manage exchange rate but also perilous as it may increase volatility of exchange rate. However, it is also evident that in some cases such intervention has a positive or limited effect of such volatility as well (Suranovic, 2004). During the period of Bretton Woods Exchange Rate System, central bank intervention had become necessary each time the exchange rates surpasses their parity bands. In 1973, after the dissolution of this exchange rate system, the intervention policy became country specific. In 1977, International Monetary Fund (IMF) formulated three distinct guidelines for its member countries to bring uniformity in the intervention practices. First, countries were not authorized to manipulate exchange rate for adjusting their Balance of Payment (BOP) or for gaining any discriminat ory competitive advantages. Secondly, countries were legitimated to intervene only for countering the disorderly market conditions and finally, countries were directed to always take into account the exchange rate interests of other

Analysis of the Macro Environment of Barcelona Football Club Essay

Analysis of the Macro Environment of Barcelona Football Club - Essay Example The main objective of Nunez as the president of the club was to make Barcelona as world-class club. To accomplish this goal, Nunez gave the club stability on the pitch and off the pitch. He had some strict attitudes in himself as the president of the club that intensely affected the image of the club. He held to a stringent policy regarding wages and discipline of the players and the team’s support staffs that actually helped the club to achieve its success. He did not meet demands of players like Maradona, Romario and Ronaldo for the sake of the club. During his era, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, Copa del Rey Cup, European Super Cup and many more. His presidency lasted for 22 years as resigned in 2000 after the loss to Real Madrid in the champions League (Hamil, Walters & Watson, 2010, pp. 477-480). PESTEL Analysis of Nunez’s era: The PESTEL analysis discusses the Political factors, Economic factors, Social factors, Technological factors, Environmental factors and Lega l Factors. During the era of Nunez, all these factors led to remarkable changes. This paper discusses on the political and the economic factors. By the start of the era of Nunez, the club and the country came out of the rule of the fascist dictator General Franco (Vincent, 2007, p. 93). He deteriorated the membership model of ownership at the club, reduced club members’ rights and eroded the democracy within the club statutes. Apart from this the degree of government intervention was very low during Nunez’s presidency due to Spain’s transition to democracy (Casals, 2011, p. 112). During his era, there was a lack of transparency regarding the choice of assembly members. During the Nunez era, the emphasis was on the maximization of the club’s economic potential. There was a lack of transparency regarding the accounting procedure, setting and monitoring of the annual budget. The economic situation of the club was not satisfactory during this era. And this le d the club to face almost the problem of bankruptcy at the end of 2003 (Hamil, Walters & Watson, 2010, pp. 477-480) (see Table 1 in the Appendix). The era since Joan La Porta (2003-present): The era of Joan La Porta (2003-2010): Politically and economically weak situation of the FCB was recovered in the era of Joan La Porta. He opposed the former president Nunez and elected as the president of the club on June 15, 2003 (History of FC Barcelona, 2011). And his era lasts to June 30, 2010 (History of FC Barcelona, 2011). He was the most victorious president in terms of prizes won by the club. During his era the arrival of Frank Rijkaard, as the manager of the club and Ronaldinho, as the superstar footballer of the club led to the success of the club. The new style of his management of eventually helped the club to achieve an unbelievable success. His initial era as the president did not start with success. During the starting season of his presidency, the club could not manage to win a single trophy. But he requested players and fans to have faith on the team management and the team ultimately started playing fantastic and fascinating football after the signing of some of the greatest domestic, such as Puyol, Xavi, Valdes, Presas etc. and international footballers, such as Deco, Eto’o, Edmilson etc. His era also underwent from some of criticisms too. Some of the members of his team management thought that he always tried to use his

Strategy Innovation Essay Example for Free

Strategy Innovation Essay â€Å"Strategy innovation is the capacity to re-conceive the existing industry model in ways that create new value for customers, wrong-foot competitors, and produce new wealth for all stakeholders. † (Hamel, 1998) This quote is used by Schoenberg to highlight the importance he places on strategy innovation, and the main two drivers of strategic innovation he cites: industry factors and firm factors. However, although there is wide ranging agreement with this view, there are also several dissenting voices amongst the academic community, who often view other factors, and drivers, as being more important to the success of a firm. One key area where factors outside the firm and industry have a great impact is in the social and environmental pressures facing business, which many companies have become increasingly aware of over the past decade. Many management scholars and consultants have argued that these new demands offer terrific opportunities for progressive organizations, and innovation is one of the primary means by which companies can achieve sustainable growth. (Johnson et al, 2005) This argument is backed up by the view that companies that ignore these pressures do so at their own peril, but the reality is that managers have had considerable difficulty dealing with sustainable development pressures. In particular, their innovation strategies are often inadequate to accommodate the highly complex and uncertain nature of these new demands across the economy and social spectrum as a whole, partly due to an excessive focus on the firm or industry (Hall and Vredenburg, 2003) Indeed, a strategy that integrates the goals of innovation and sustainable development is needed to ensure sustainable competitive advantage, rather than conventional, market-driven innovations approaches. Sustainable development innovation (SDI) (Hall and Vredenburg, 2003) is in fact driven by science that has yet to be accepted fully by the scientific, political and managerial communities, and the industry sector Amid such uncertainty, sustainable development innovation is often difficult and risky, however when faced with increasing pressure to consider sustainable development, many organizations have revised their business models and innovation strategies, and these changes are often highlighted in corporate sustainability reports and Web pages. Hall and Vredenburg, 2003) Hart el al (2003) looked at the most fundamental part of the strategy innovation process: new product development (NPD). They looked at criteria such product uniqueness, market potential, market chance, technical feasibility, and intuition, and found that these decreased as the NPD process unfolded. Overall they found that the success rate of NPD usage could be modelled by a model which held true across firms of different sizes, holding different market share positions, with different NPD drivers, following different innovation strategies, and developing different types of new products. Hart et al, 2003) This is yet another indication that there must be other factors at work besides the basic industry and firm drivers. Another viewpoint on the subject of innovation is that the very essence of a company is its values and priorities: what it considers important, and where its investments are made? Thus, a host of values and priorities, and combinations thereof, underlie business strategies. (Grant, 2005) Some firms have a cost-driven culture that supports a value position in the market place, whilst othe rs place priority on delivering a prestige customer experience. Aaker (2004) claims that innovation, quality, and customer concern are the three values and priorities worth highlighting because they are so frequently seen as drivers of corporate brands, however, the question must always be: has the firm provided customer benefits by being innovative? A reputation for innovation enhances credibility, however, it is not easy achieving an innovative reputation, and firms are often better advised to focus on providing quality and value. Aaker, 2004) Schoenberg’s arguments are also heavily based on the concepts of strategic positioning (Porter, 1980) and the resource based view (Barney, 1996), although he does not make overt references to these theories. However, the influence of previous strategy writers is clear throughout his piece: â€Å"value gap analysis is equally relevant to the Who question of strategy and to market positionings based on differentiation. (Schoenberg, 2003) helps to place his work in context with that of Porter’s (1980) Also, â€Å"The implication for those that seek innovative strategies is: does the proposed form of strategy innovation fit with your core competences? † shows that he is developing Barney’s resource based core competencies, within the context of innovation strategies, in order to ensure that his concepts remain relevant to organisations. Indeed, Schoenberg clearly states in his conclusion that he believes strategy innovation does not â€Å"represent a radical departure from onventional approaches to strategy formulation† (Schoenberg, 2003) and that it is merely a method for combining the two main strategy theories, which have often previously been viewed as being contradictory. Indeed, Johnston Jr. and Bate (2003) outline five phases to help firms innovate: staging, aligning, exploring, creating, mapping, however they warn that it is important to make sure that managers build into their organizations the capability to continuously innovate so that they become more resilient, and better prepared for future changes. Finally, to be truly considered strategy innovations, new products and initiatives that alter a firms business model must first turn a consistent profit, a fundamental necessity of both Porter’s (1980) and Barney’s (1996) models. Strategy innovation has always been about solving problems for customers in ways that they, not the sponsoring company, perceive to be superior or unique from their present way of addressing those problems. Strategy innovation can be incremental, involving minor changes to the firms business model, resources and capabilities. Or it can be a radical departure, as when a firm decides to make a positioning shift, and market its existing products and services to new customer groups. (Johnson et al, 2005) In conclusion, strategy innovations can occur in any part of an organisation: customer service, marketing, advertising, selling, production or distribution. However, whatever their source, successful strategy innovations have one thing in common: They result from discovering new ways to create value for customers, as measured by bottom-line results to the sponsoring company. Tucker, 2001) New innovations present themselves when companies and their leaders imagine opportunities to do more with their products and services than they have in the past, whether through acquiring or reallocating resources, or altering competitive positioning. Strategy innovation may be spurred by a desire to grow, but this desire should never be allowed to overshadow what the proposed new way of doing business will do for the customers, either existing or future, and the firm as a whole.