The Lincol Memorial as an art object Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Lincol Memorial as an art object - Essay Example t and would not have been strong enough to support the structure of the Lincoln Memorial, supports for the structure were built by embedding them down almost 100 feet into bedrock, thereby creating cave like formations under the stairs that exist under the stairs and forms stalactites and stalagmites of calcium carbonate.(www2.nature.nps.gov) As pointed out by Professor Smith (1996), the Lincoln Memorial is built in the neo-classical style of art, derived from the Greek high, classical art forms as evidenced in the Parthenon. The Lincoln Memorial is built with similar fluted columns and represents an attempt to sanctify an American President by making Lincoln sitting within a recess behind the columns in the same manner as the statute of Athena sits within the Parthenon.(Smith, 1996). The Memorial is erected as a Temple, representing the dawn of a new age, in much the same manner the construction of the Parthenon in Greece represented the dawn of a new era of freedom and enlightenment among the Greeks. The art form of the Lincoln Memorial is also filled with symbolism. For example, the 36 columns comprising the structure represent the 36 states that were in existence at the time that Lincoln died (Nathan, 1998). The attic above the columns however contains 48 stone festoons which are intended to represent the number of states that existed during the time that the monument was actually constructed. The murals on the monument are also symbolic in nature and the figures represented in the murals stand for justice, fraternity, charity immortality and unity.(Nathan 1998). The murals titled Emancipation and Reunion are painted by Jules Guerin. The painting Emancipation which hangs on the southern wall is of the Angel of Truth standing with her arms stretched out above her head and slaves breaking free within her wings.(www2.nature.nps.gov). The words contained in Lincoln’s Gettysburg address are engraved on the limestone wall. The painting Reunion on the other

Critically Evaluate the Positivist Claims For Validity of Legal Rules Essay

Critically Evaluate the Positivist Claims For Validity of Legal Rules - Essay Example This essay stresses that the fact is that laws/rules are much more resilient than the various theorists would suggest. Actual life is more complex than the models that they put forward. For example, in most countries speeding laws are routinely ignored by the vast majority of the population. If the speed limit is 70 mph nearly all cars in the middle and fast lane will be going faster. Cars may be traveling at 80mph but will probably not be going at 100 mph. There is an unwritten (but well understood) â€Å"rule† that the police will not stop you if you are going at 75 or 80, but will if you are going at 100. This paper makes a conclusion that while laws must, by their very nature, be absolute: an act is either legal or illegal, a contract is either binding or non-binding; the rules of society are more flexible. They relate to the laws, and often influence how far laws are obeyed (or otherwise) and act as the glue that allows a society to be both flexible and stable. If laws become too remote from the rules that society is developing they either become irrelevant (and are thus ignored) or are changed. This interpretation of the relationship between rules and laws is in fact positivist in nature as their relationship is â€Å"validated† by the common adherence of the population to them. The rule is that speeding at 80 is acceptable, but not at 100. The law needs to set an exact figure, and it provides a territory for the rule to work within.

Differences Between Good And Bad Leaders

Differences Between Good And Bad Leaders A leader is a person from a group of people who is prominent because of his/her skills and personality and these qualities of make others follow him. Great leaders are visionary as they can predict about the future changes in accordance to that particular goal or objective. A major sign of a leader is that he/she has ability and skills of motivating a group of people to achieve a common goal. In business the leaders have the same job to perform. They have to interlink companys goals by merging the peoples wishes because a group of people cannot achieve anything unless or until they have a common objective. In order to fulfill those objectives they would be requiring someone to motivate them and boost their energy level. A common direction has to be set by the leader for other to follow. He has to be organized and provide justice to his employees. Even organizations/companies are likely to fall apart in seek of its goals or objectives without a sufficient help of a leader. Infect role of a leader is one of the most important roles in the organization. He bears heavy responsibility to keep the company on track in terms of its objectives. Employees of certain level always want to follow someones footsteps in order to achieve their goals. A great leader can provide them this opportunity by setting an example by him. A good visionary leader can be very beneficial for the company as he/she can warn the company for upcoming hazards. He can also build a strategy against the upcoming challenges since he has sensed them ahead of time. It would allow company to have enough time to rethink on the strategy and prepare them for the hard times. If we refer to the previous history of the World, we will see the examples of a few of Good Leaders and a lot of Bad Leaders. A few Good Leaders because we are declining rapidly to over fall due to our overall Human Behavior in the Society and we do not have such qualities to deliver Good Leader to in abundant, to the World A lot of bad Leaders because greed of men and low tolerance with others in this rapidly falling Society in our overall Human Behavior is bound to produce Bad Leaders. But still we are manage to produce one or two or may be dozen good Leaders in the last century. Lets see why they were good leaders and why millions of us followed them in terms of their exceptional Leadership qualities Effective Leader A good leader is a person who has an exemplary character. It is of utmost importance that a leader is trustworthy to lead others. A leader needs to be trusted and be known to live their life with honestly and integrity. A good leader walks the talk and in doing so earns the right to have responsibility for others. True authority is born from respect for the good character and trustworthiness of the person who leads. Like the Prophets, they were a true symbol of exemplary character. Life before the claim was neat and spotless because they spend their lives according to the rules of purity, honesty and Truthfulness. Moreover Good leaders are tolerant of ambiguity and remain calm, composed and steadfast to the main purpose. Storms, emotions, and crises come and go and a good leader takes these as part of the journey and keeps a cool head and in the times when nations pass through difficult hours, these exceptional leadership qualities helps the nation pass that difficult time with great courage, steadfastness calmness. There are three main things that make a good leader. The first is that a leader must practice what he preaches. The second is that he has to look after and protect those around him. The third is that he must be able to develop other good leaders. I will go into more detail about how to implement all three of these characteristics, so that you too can become a good leader. A good leader is excellent at practicing what he preaches. I love the quote that states, Your actions speak so loud that I cant hear what you are saying. The greatest leader of all time was Jesus Christ and he was the best at practicing what he preached. This goes back to the old proverb that says, Live by the sword, die by the sword. This is the same with leadership and how much a leader abides by what he says. As a good leader, how can you expect people do what you say, when you dont even do what you say? Personal example My personal example for good leader is my Dad. He owns a hardware store in Toronto and I had learned a lot from him. He is always very organized, patience and a good example for me. He is open hearted in its action and always response in kind to difficult situation. He is very reasonable for his employees and this why I learned a lot from him Poor Leader This society has been very generous in producing bad leaders in abundant if we see the examples of our current political so called leader. Their negative approach to pass through the time of crises and their destructive thinking has brought this world at the brink of destruction. It is with their blessings that we as in a state of war for the last Hundred years. At this point, there rise a lot of questions that why they become bad leaders and why they have brought us at the state of War. Here are a few point which can solve all our questions that come into our vary minds. Very much the opposite of a good Leader, a bad leader is a person who does not possess the quality and guts to grab the hand of his nation in the time crises. And bad leaders do not have such vision and qualities to take the nation through difficult times because they lack in their innovative and analytical thinking to solve the problem their nation face at the time of crises. They spend their kingly life as they do not care about the needs and problem of their nation. At the times when a nation falls due to economic crises, they do not lower their standards of daily life and they do not care about the nation. A bad leader does not share the bad time with his nation and he continues to live comfortable life. Nothing makes him special, because he is not known for his virtues and good abilities. He is always known as a notorious person who does not care for the Needs of his nation. Unfortunately for us all, bad leaders occupy positions of power in business and government. There are seven major traits of bad leader. And leaders fully loaded with such traits can make the life of their nation a living Hell and these traits with little definitions are as follows:- Incompetent Leaders: Someone who is not competent to take effective action. Rigid Leaders: The leader and at least some followers are stiff and unyielding Intemperate Leaders: The leaders who cannot stand the theology of his neighbor and want to impose his own thoughts by force. Callous Leaders: A callous Leader is the one who is indifferent to the suffering of others. Corrupt Leaders: Leaders who misuse the power and position and utilize the resources and wealth in his possession in an ugly manner. Insular Leaders: The Insular Leaders do not have knowledge and awareness of his surroundings. He is unaware of the happenings around the world. Like he is living in the cave for centuries. Evil Leaders: Evil Leaders use their thinking in an Evil manner; they possess destructive thinking, and utilize the powers and resources in criminal activities. Personal example Bad leader was my boss Mr Anthoney. He was very lazy. He use to steal pizzas from work place and thats what created a bad example for rest of employees and this also cost company too much money even he wasnt a good example for a company because he never thinks about the whole team or a company he just think about himself. Who is the best leader from articles and why? I would like to choose Mr. Jim Goodnight as the best CEO through all the articles we studied because he was a great leader with great vision for the company. His strategies were extremely positive and influential for employees. He wanted to create an environment where employees would like to work and be more productive for the company. He was very motivated and supportive to his employees. According to him When I joined SAS, I wanted to be in and help grow a company that was as much fun for the employees as it was for the ownership (Pfeffer 1998) and this is the perfect example of great CEO. He wanted to make SAS instuite a perfect place to work. He uses to believe in intrinsic motivation of employees. He treats his employees with respect because he knew that they are the future of the company. Even for his employees he introduced so many benefits such as provided onsite medical facility for employees so they dont have to go and search for doctors. Even doctor fee was covered till fi rst dollar by the company or onsite child care centre for employee children so they can see them during their lunch breaks. Even junior high school onsite so they can drop of their children to work easily. Theses all facilities were very essential because beside them he also provided onsite gym and many other facilities. For employees it was more like fun place to work they use to bring their family during weekends to SAS ground for BBQ and stuff. Even he uses to motivate his employees. He wanted them to work at their best and this is why SAS employees turnover rate was lower than 4%. He wanted to create more convenient work environment for employees such he eliminated commission based culture for SAS because he wanted his employees to be more customer oriented then just making numbers. This is he inspired me so much. There were many other good leaders as well such as Jack Welch from General Electric who introduces strategies to eliminated bureaucratic strategies to make his employe es more productive or Wolfgang Schmitt from Rubber Maid article who created an positive structure so company and be more efficient but they all worked majorly to increased the revenue of the company and solely My Jim Goodnight was the one who worked for his employees. What changes was he able to affect at GE? Jack Welch was the CEO of General Electric for almost two decades. In 1981 when he came on board the company was struggling through many issues but with his calm and steady nature he was able to save General Electric and uphold it to the position where the company is at now. He was one of the great leaders like Charli Eitel at Simmons Corporation, a leader who supports his company and adopts strategies to save company from any difficult situation. He adopted many strategies to bring change as General Electric. Structural Changes His focus was to come up with strategies to save the company and the best strategies he can adopt was first changing the organizational structure. There were about 10 groups of sub companies with 46 divisions, and 190 departments with 43 strategic business units. This structure was creating massive work load for Welch therefore he decided to introduce more effective structure like Rubber Maid company did in 1980s. He removed barriers between CEO and business by eliminating Sector position from SBU Structure. According to him there should be more direct communication between corporate executives and business. He didnt want to create a huge distance between management and employees unlike Nut Island where employers had no connection with employees. Welch wanted to eliminate all the sectors so he can be more close to the business. Cultural Changes Cultural changes were the second most import changes what Welch bought in General Electric. He tried to introduce cultural change where there was more freedom for employees so they can express their opinion and be more productive for the company. Therefore the first thing he did was eliminated bureaucracy in the organization. He wanted to create flexible rules for employees like SAS Institute had for their employees. Their employees were working in an open environment where every employee is allowed to make a suggestions and management will value their opinion. Even according to Welch he wanted to create a culture of a small company a place where all felt engaged and everyone had voice (Levy, Wonzy, 2005). This was a positive approach to the benefit the company for long term. HOW did he make those changes? Welch made numerous changes once he came to a board to work for General Electric. First 1981 to next five years he worked on organizing the organizational structure and for that he lay off almost half of the companys employees because he wanted to cut the size of employees so he can give company a proper direction. Due to his extensive employee lay off magazine names him a Neutron Jack, (Levy, Wonzy, 2005) which means that wherever he goes his employees were vanished from there in a large quantity. After being done with creating a proper structure he started to work on development of the company. Establishing a sense of importance He developed sense of urgencys for employees. Make them realize that this is the requirement of business and without them they wont be able to survive in the business. Such their first priority is restructuring of General Electric. He wanted his each business to be the number 1 competitor in industry or if they cant make it then they will sell that business. Forming effective leadership team: In late 1980s during the second stage of the Rocket, Welch convinced his employees to become better leader so they can be productive for the company. He initiated `Software called Work-Out and Best Practices. Work out: It was introducing a forum so employees and employers can input their opinion in that website so they can avoid unusual bureaucratic issues. Welch invited managers and employees into New England town meetings for three days where employees from can come up with particular analyses and recommendations regarding their department and then their bosses have to make instant responses. This process was introduce to clean up General Electric and, to make workers more productive by avoiding unusual bureaucratic style. Regarding his this approach Bloomberg article mentioned that Jack put his time and energy into developing people (Levy, Wonzy, 2005). Best practice: This was his second method of learning from other companies so General Electric managers can learn how to achieving higher productivity growth. He wanted to create an environment of small collaborative teams so that employers can focus on developing effective strategies rather than controlling individual activity. Besides they can also focus on treating suppliers as partner so they both can perform well also emphasize on constant development to increase their productivity. These two were important steps to overcome the existing bureaucratic style and adopt new productive ways to be successful in a business. Create a vision of what the organization will become Welch changed a company structure and culture by going global. He introduced how global market can influence the culture. Going Global: Going global was a major decision that took place in era of Welch because once they had solid base at home they really moved forwarded into competing with world market. This was changing of culture and adapting of new market structure. They decided to use same strategies for international market as they used for local such as either #1 or #2 competitor or disengaged. Developing Leadership: Leadership also had a huge influence on cultural structure of a company. He is the one who had to lead the company along with 290,000 employees. It is his job to maintain the smooth transitions at work. Usually Leaders working in a huge corporation does really work hard because it comes with a job security of lifetime. This is why its their duty to create an environment where people can perform their best. According to Welch leadership can be characterized in 4 ways, first who perform their duties- fulfill financial obligations and share values of the company. Second who does not fulfill their duties and does not share our values. Third who forget about commitments but does share values of a company. Fourth who does fulfill their duties, give significant profit to the company but never share values and they are the most difficult one but since they do perform very well its hard to find them. They also work on 360Â ° feedback process from employees and accordin g to Welch people are removed for having the wrong values, (Levy, Wonzy, 2005) he insisted. We dont even talk about the numbers. (Levy, Wonzy, 2005) He explains what he is looking for is productive managers not people who just value numbers. Creating a vision Boundary less Behavior: According to Welch he wanted to create a vision for the company a vision that state in the 1990s: The Third Wave of General Electric. Over here he initiated a boundary less behavior vision for his employees. He wanted to introduce open, anti-parochial environment. (Levy, Wonzy, 2005) This is basically having an open environment where every employee without regards to their salary or position can share their ideas. They want to be comfortable doing business all over the world such as they explained in the article. They want to be as comfortable doing business in Budapest as they do in Louisville USA. Stretch: This is basically striving to achieve impossible. Over here manager are liable to set higher and unrealistic goals for their department and then try to achieve them. If they fail to react they wont be accountable for it although if they meet that extra ordinary goal then they will be rewarded. Service Businesses: Welch really prioritizes this issue in 1980,s he showed interest in service related companies. Before that they were the last priority of the company. Once he showed some interest and invested money in it they came up with the software called In Site for CT scanners and MRI equipment. It was basically a sensor installed in those equipments so they can maintain the service standard of that product. This whole investment on GE turned the whole pyramid upside down. Empower other to take action This process is to communicate and improve the vision on the company so they can make it a better place to work and this procedure started in the last decade of Welch employment. Six Sigma Strategies: This strategy was used to empower employees so they can work up the standards of the company. This happened in 1994 when employees were facing problems due to poor quality of its products and processes so Welch introduced this strategy from Motorola Corporation. It was a performance scale which is used to eliminate the unnecessary actions from the working process. According to Grey Rainer, Vice president of Development process this happened to be (Levy, Wonzy, 2005) the biggest opportunity for growth, increased profitability, and individual employee satisfaction in the history of our company. (Levy, Wonzy, 2005) It was a well developed plan which helped General electric in eliminating operating at error of rates 10,000 times the 6 Sigma level. Inspire and celebrate small wins Once the company performing better and according to the requirement of Welch, he was pleased to see their performance and felt that he had assembled a first class of leaders. Keep interest and effort on further improvement This effort was for the continuous improvement of the company because he still wanted to progress more because he wanted to set standards for future employees and the employees who dont meet the standards so far. He introduced a scale for them a term called A player with 4 Es. According to him a player is someone who had a great vision of leadership, great energy to motivate employee and implement strategies and courage to change the culture. Four Es Four Es consist the following: Energy: Encourage new ideas and apply strategy to implement them Energize: Motivate others by his overwhelming enthusiasm to believe in new idea. Edge: it is basically making through all the difficulties Execution: it is a consistent ability to turn idea into results. Institutionalize changes; reduce leader dependencies As he was leaving the organization he made the final changes. Before leaving he introduced the e-business so that company can adopt this new business technology as well. This was his finally effort to change the culture because he believes in continuity and he knew it takes a decade to make any new strategy actually work. Was he successful or unsuccessful (or both) at making these changes-and why do you say that He was extremely successful in changing the organizational culture and structure of General Electric because he gave the company a whole new direction to work on. The company generated 23% annual profit and this shows he was a great leader. Changes he made for the company shows he was successful in making and implementing all his goals and strategies which he promised a decade ago with his employees. How did Welch change and leverage culture at GE to achieve his objectives while CEO? He introduced new cultures which eliminated the bureaucracy from the system so employees can work accordingly. He introduced Workout and Best Practice strategies so he can eliminate the distances between management and employers. This gave employees opportunity to argue on any fact especially if they can make any difference and this action saved millions of dollars of the company. He really supported his employees SAS Institute where he tried his best to come up with strategies to make the company more pleasant place to work. He even created a broader vision for a company by going global this way he gave his employees opportunity to compete with other nations and make work more challenging for them. Then he enforced his employees in developing appropriate leadership skills to be successful in business environment. It was his job to create a positive vision for the company and that is what he did. He worked all by his honesty and integrity to save the company by changing organizationa l culture and structure. He even introduce a Boundary less behaviors strategy and this was the key point of his success because it gave his employees opportunity to share ideas all across the company without the limitation or without distinct of origin. Everyone was free to participate in company decisions and that was a truly success of changing of environmental culture. Also he adopts Stretch Strategy to give his employees a new vision of success so they can think beyond the boundaries of facts and actual figures and try to achieve them. He adopted sig sigma and four Es strategies to show his employees how to improve themselves if they ever lose track and this all results in enormous success of the company. Citation: Nut Island: Levy, P.F. (2001). The nut island effect. When Good Teams Go Wrong, General Electric; (Levy, Wonzy, 2005) Levy, P.F, Wonzy, M. (2005). GEs two decade transformation: jack Welchs leadership. Hardware Business School, Hurley, R.F. (2006). Decision to trust. Harvard Business School, Eight ways to built collaborative teams Grattan, Erickson, 2007) Grattan, Erickson, 2007 Grattan, L, Erickson, T.J. (2007). Eight ways to build collaborative teams Harvard Business Review, SAS: ( Pfeiffer, 1998) Pfeiffer, J. (1998). SAS institute: GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS,

Australian Immigration And Its Effects Essay -- Australia Environment

Australian Immigration and Its Effects   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Australia is an island continent which is geographically isolated from the rest of the world. This has resulted in the evolution of many unique plants and animals and the development of a very fragile ecosystem. This ecosystem has been influenced by human immigration for many thousands of years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The original immigrants were the Aborigines who are thought to have migrated to Australia from Asia between 50 and 100 thousand years ago. These primitive people learned to live in the inhospitable environment of Australia with very little effect. Their major environmental impact was from the use of controlled burning of the land. Over the years they had learned the benefit of periodic fires to control pests and to clear debris before it accumulated and led to large uncontrolled disastrous fires. This also returned nutrients to the soil which helped to grow back new vegetation. Unlike those who followed, the Aborigines had very little impact on the environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Following the Aborigines, Asian seafarers are believed to have traveled to Australia to trade on the north shores. Experts are not sure, but they believe that these seafarers are the ones who first introduced the dingo into Australia almost 3,500 years ago. The dingo rapidly became the top predator and is probably the cause of the disappearance of the Tasmanian wolf and the Tasmanian devil from Australia. They will hunt down almost anything but they are not known to attack humans. They will attack kangaroos, wombats, rabbits, and even lizards. After the settlers arrived and the sheep were brought in, the dingo started to hunt the sheep. The sheep were much easier for them to get. As a result of this the sheep grazers built a 3,307 mile long fence to separate the sheep from the dingo. A $20 US bounty is now placed on the pelt of each dingo.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  European immigrants did not come to Australia until after April 29, 1770 when captain James Cook landed in Botany Bay and made the first claim for England on the eastern part of the island. He called it New South Wales.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1787, England started their first colony in Australia which was a penal colony since England's prisons were very overcrowded. That year, on May 13, eleven ships carrying almost 1,500 people, 800 of them convicts, left England for the new colony. The ... ... to spawn.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The European immigrants had specific ideas regarding the beauty of nature. The Australian landscape did not fit these standards of beauty. They therefore began to landscape by first clearing native plants and replacing them with imported ones. The list of these plants grew year after year. Some failed while others thrived and overcrowded the native plants. One of these plants is the Prickly pear. It was originally imported as a hedge plant but eventually took over 120,000 square miles of land.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The effects of immigration on the Australian environment over the last few centuries has been devastating. The original European immigrants could not foresee the major impact their transplants and traditions would have on the environment. Even if they had, conquering the land was necessary for their survival. In many areas the environmental degradation may have past the point where it can be restored and is now beyond repair. However, with greater understanding and knowledge of the Australian ecosystem it is hoped that further degradation can be stopped or even reversed. What is needed now is the commitment of people and resources to make it happen.

Environmental Knowledge

1. INTRODUCTION * The aim of this report is to discover the elements that give impact on their operations according to the principal elements of a dynamic business environment. In this report present two companies that I choose which is The Body Shop and Harley Davidson. Nature of business The Body Shop is about beauty product. They will produce product by use a nature and against animal testing. Besides that, nature of business Harley Davidson is manufactures heavyweight cruiser and touring motorcycles.The company operates through two segments: the Motorcycles segment and the Financial Services segment. In this report, I will discuss about the important of environment knowledge which is explicit and tacit and explain their SWOT analysis on both companies. SWOT is a planning tool used to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats involved in a business. It is used as part of Strategic Planning Process.Reason I choose The Body Shop and Harley Davidson company is because I’m user of this product, so when I do a research about this company, I can know more about the company and about their product. 2. COMPANY BACKGROUND 2. 1 THE BODY SHOP * The Body Shop International PLC known as The Body Shop, has 2,400 stores in 61 countries. The company, which has its headquarters in Littlehampton, West Sussex, England, was founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick and is now part of the L'Oreal corporate group.The Body Shop mission are, to dedicate our business to the pursuit of social and environmental change, to creatively balance the financial and human needs of our stakeholders: employees, franchisees, customers, suppliers, and shareholders, to courageously ensure that our business is ecologically sustainable: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future, to meaningfully contribute to local, national and international communities in which we trade, by adopting a code of conduct, which ensures care, honesty, fairness and respect, to passion ately campaign for the protection of the environment, human and civil ights, and against animal testing within the cosmetics and toiletries industry and lastly to tirelessly work to narrow the gap between principle and practice, whilst making fun, passion and care part of our daily lives. Anita Roddick. Human Rights Activist. Founder of The Body Shop, state that the vision is â€Å"I just want The Body Shop to be the best, most breathlessly exciting company – and one that changes the way business is carried out. † 2. 2 HARLEY DAVIDSON * Harley-Davidson Inc often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer.Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression. Harley-Davidson also survived a period of poor quality control and competition from Japanese manufacturers. The company sells heavyweight (over 750 cc) motorcycles designed for cr uising on highways. Harley-Davidson motorcycles (popularly known as â€Å"Harleys†) have a distinctive design and exhaust note. They are especially noted for the tradition of heavy customization that gave rise to the chopper style of motorcycle.Except for the modern VRSC model family, current Harley-Davidson motorcycles reflect the styles of classic Harley designs. Harley-Davidson's attempts to establish itself in the light motorcycle market have met with limited success and have largely been abandoned since the 1978 sale of its Italian Aermacchi subsidiary. Harley-Davidson sustains a loyal brand community which keeps active through clubs, events, and a museum. Licensing of the Harley-Davidson brand and logo accounted for $40 million (0. 8%) of the company's net revenue in 2010.Mission statement for Harley Davidson is â€Å"To fulfill dreams through the experience of motorcycling, by providing to motorcyclists and to the general public and expanding line of motorcycles and b randed products and services in selected market segments†. For vision is Harley Davidson corporate conscience and it helps us to eliminate short term thinking, such as â€Å"cashing in† on the intense demand for our motorcycles by giving quantity precedence over quality to save a few dollars per unit. It also encourages every employee in our organization to be acutely aware of his or her role in satisfying our stakeholders. . THE IMPORTANT OF ENVIRONMENT KNOWLEDGE 3. 1 THE BODY SHOP 3. 2. 1 Explicit knowledge – academic knowledge or ‘‘know-what’’ that is described in formal language, print or electronic media, often based on established work processes, use people-to-documents approach * Work Process – The worldwide employees of The Body Shop are creating a global brain of explicit knowledge to include cultural differences. Their repository of global ’’best practices’’ is founded on sharing and documenti ng knowledge. They approach business issues from an array of perspectives.No matter where in the world a problem occurs, there is ’’no one right answer’’ but many workable approaches. The Body Shop view knowledge objects as templates of core insights that can be used in any cultural environment * Learn – The Body Shop gives the employees on the job training and makes a trial and error. Senior will guide the others employees. From this, The Body Shop will meet goals and objectives set by organization. * Share knowledge – The Body Shop employees will extract knowledge from person, code, store and reuse as needed for customers by e-mail, electronic discussions or forums . 2. 2 Tacit knowledge – practical, action-oriented knowledge or ‘‘know-how’’ based on practice, acquired by personal experience, seldom expressed openly, often resembles intuition. * Evaluation – The Body Shop make an evaluation by encour aging overlapping teams to share interests and values. All employees submit a confidential evaluation of everyone with whom they have worked closely. Compensation is attached to the network of peer relationship and is directly tied to cooperation and sharing of knowledge. Employees are also evaluated on how ell they immerse themselves in various projects, work with different groups to meet priorities and meet clients’ needs. When there are enough close personal team contacts, it is possible to draw a truly multifaceted picture of an individual’s performance. * Teach – Every employee at The Body Shop have their own mentor. Mentor will guide them how to do work done well. Besides that, this company will have a internships to their employee. * Type of thinking – Their employee must have a creative, flexible, unchartered thinking. This because they always make a new product and they need satisfy their customer. . 2 HARLEY DAVIDSON 3. 3. 1 Explicit knowledge à ¢â‚¬â€œ academic knowledge or ‘‘know-what’’ that is described in formal language, print or electronic media, often based on established work processes, use people-to-documents approach * Share Knowledge – Harley Davidson created elaborate ways to codify, store and reuse explicit knowledge. Its ’’people-to-documents’’ approach extracts information from the person who developed it and makes it independent of its developer. All client sensitive information is removed and selected information is reused.Information is transformed into a proven, successful solution that can be used in the same or similar industry. * Relationships – Harley Davidson use a top-down approach. This makes their employee feel a good relationship between their top management. 3. 3. 2 Tacit knowledge – practical, action-oriented knowledge or ‘‘know-how’’ based on practice, acquired by personal experience, seldom ex pressed openly, often resembles intuition * Documentation – Harley Davidson used a common documentation method to facilitate lateral communication.Technicians write up ’’war stories’’ to teach each other how to diagnose and fix machines. Service reps access over 5,000 tips a month for a 5 percent saving on both parts and labor. Field service reps create and maintain the tacit knowledge base by contributing and renewing all the tips and information and maintaining the system. Each time reps contribute a tip, their name goes on the system. * Technology – Harley Davidson shares its explicit knowledge through Internet. This electronic system links to worldwide offices.Harley Davidson network connects more than 85 percent of its professionals through data, voice and video interlinks. Customers’ problems from anywhere in the worlds are posted on Harley Davidson electronic bulletin board. This request is followed up on with visual and data c ontacts that instantly self-organize around that specific problem. Centrally collected and carefully indexed subjects, customer references and resource files are accessed directly through Internet or from CD-ROMS distributed to all offices. Sets of possible solutions are created and sent to customers. 4. SWOT ANALYSIS 4. 1 THE BODY SHOP Body Shop International (Body Shop) is a multinational company which is mainly producing ecological skin and hair products. Their products are solely based on natural ingredients and manufactured according to an ethical code which is opposed to animal testing. The cosmetics franchise is considered to be one of the biggest around the globe with a well established reputation in 54 countries. L’Oreal, the dominant company in the beauty industry, acquired Body shop in 2006. Although Body Shop has become a subsidiary of L’Oreal S. A it still acts according to its own policy, values and ethical code.The acquisition has solved Body Shopâ€℠¢s financial problems and has provided the means for expansion to a bigger market share. 4. 1. 1 Strength for The Body Shop are: * Brand Loyalty – Body Shop is greatly dependent on its brand reputation which is a critical factor in sales. Due to its unique products, it has come out to be seen as one of the most environmentally friendly retailers. * L’Oreal’s support – By being a subsidiary of L’Oreal, Body Shop appears to have an increase in sales. Furthermore, L’Oreal’s experience in advertisement and marketing can boost overall sales. Niche marketing – Body Shop targets a niche market. By stating that it is not testing its products on animals and by appearing to have an ecological profile, it has appealed to customers with ethical issues. Being the only shop in the shopping centre that sells ecological products, has given it advantage in the local market. * Charity support – Body Shop provides financial aid in charitie s by giving small amount of money from particular products they sell. Body Shop’s support in local charities and non-profit organizations enhances its image in the local society. . 1. 2 Weakness for The Body Shop are: * Slow service – Body Shop’s location, inside a shopping centre where it is always crowded, in combination with the fact that there is inadequate personnel results in slow service for the customers. Customers may be discouraged and might prefer a retail outlet in a central location. * Political – Unstable political factors in the countries that supply the company with ingredients and the company doesn’t have the monopoly anymore * Consumer – The loss of trust from a part of the consumers 4. 1. Opportunities for The Body Shop are: * Product development – Body Shop can take advantage of L’Oreal’s experience in research methodology and efficiency in order to improve and develop their own existing products. Lâ €™Oreal’s takeover can bring financial and expertise or consulting support * The male grooming products – The increase in the usage of male grooming products indicates that there is a demand on this particular niche market. Therefore the supply of a wider range of products for men can increase overall sales. 4. 1. 4 Threat for The Body Shop are: Brands comparison – L’Oreal can prove to be harmful for Body Shop’s reputation. The public perception of Body Shop as ethical can be altered due to the fact that L’Oreal is considered to be unethical. * Competition – Body Shop can face competition in any country if a company that also produces natural based products e. g. LUSH, ELIANTO decides to open an outlet inside the shopping centre. * Legal – New legislation about animal testing can raise the competition in the so far monopolist market and difficulties in distribution because of the new legislation about chemical ingredients. . 2 HARLEY DAVIDSON * The Harley-Davidson Corporation has been dominating the motorcycle industry for many decades. Today, it continues to have a strong presence in the American market. Harley-Davidson, Inc. is the parent company for the group of companies doing business as Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Buell Motorcycle Company and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. Harley-Davidson Motor Company manufactures five families of motorcycles: Sportster  ®, Dyna Glide, Softail  ®, Touring and VRSC.Buell Motorcycles Company produces sport motorcycles, including four big-twin XB models, and the single-cylinder Buell Blast  ®. Buell also offers a line of motorcycles parts, accessories, apparel and general merchandise. 4. 2. 1 Strength for Harley Davidson are: * This year, Harley-Davidson celebrated its 100-year anniversary. Over the past century, the company has created a strong brand image and a loyal customer base. It maintains a close relationship with its customers through a vari ety of program, such as Hog Owners Group (H. O. G. , product offerings and events such as Daytona, motor shows, and rallies. In addition, Harley-Davidson has a strong financial position, excellent supply chain management, and a superior product line, which are enabled through creative engineering technology and design. Due to the decline in the market share to Japanese companies in the seventies, Harley-Davidson phased out its weak models, becoming more selective in targeting a specific customer segment and limiting sales and promotion. This strategy created a niche market for their bikes in which the company enjoys a strong position today. . 2. 2 Weakness for Harley Davidson are: * The Harley-Davidson company has several weaknesses. First, the company is in its maturity stage and, unless it manages to protect its position, it will be faced with the decline period again. Secondly, the company’s products are expensive, which limits them to a specific niche in the market and ma kes it difficult to grow their customer base. They also have a wait-list for certain products, which can create a substitute effect. Lastly, they are lacking a strong presence in Europe. 4. 2. 3 Opportunities for Harley Davidson are: There are various opportunities in the market for Harley-Davidson today, especially with the introduction of the new V-Rod motorcycle. The company has the innovator status advantage in the Performance Cruiser class market segment. They are expanding their partnerships with various European manufacturers, which should increase the presence of Harley-Davidson products in Europe. The corporation is well positioned to attract younger customers, and the company has plenty of room for growth due to the high demands for its products. 4. . 4 Threat for Harley Davidson are: * Harley-Davidson is facing rigorous competition from Japanese manufacturers, specifically Honda and Yamaha. Yamaha targets the low-end market by providing a variety of products at affordable costs. Yamaha’s core competencies are small engines, electronic control, and fiberglass reinforced plastic. Yamaha is currently focusing on increasing its global competitive position. Honda is one of Harley-Davidson’s strongest competitors and is responsible for one-third of all motorcycle sales in the U. S.It has a strong financial base and reliable products. It continues to improve the performance of its motorcycles by focusing on fuel efficiency and lower emissions. In addition, Honda is beginning to increase its performance in the market by introducing information technology tools through its dealerships. These tools help increase dealer performance and create a more positive experience for the customer. * Financial position – Harley Davidson currently holds a strong position in the market. However, it is in tight competition with Honda and Yamaha. . CONCLUSION * As a conclusion, SWOT analysis provides strategic insight on recommendations and opportunities for The Body Shop and Harley Davidson to map out a strategic plan. As an actionable management tool, the SWOT helps the both companies in on the right course of action to leverage the business's unique characteristics. By turning threats into strengths, and matching strengths with opportunities, they can make the most of their power in the current marketplace and maximize their chances of success.Other than that, both companies and environmental knowledge will benefit from the huge potential of knowledge management if they pursue the suggestions of how to integrate knowledge management aspects in their environmental information systems. A further winner, and may be the most important. Environment knowledge can help to further improve the effectiveness of their companies. Besides that, The Body Shop and Harley Davidson that recognize and use their employees’ steadily growing wealth of tacit and explicit knowledge to solve problems and achieve goals have a major competitive adv antage.However, both companies need to improve how they acquire and share tacit and explicit knowledge. 6. REFERENCE * http://www. thebodyshop. com * http://www. harley-davidson. com * http://www. e-referate. ro/referate/Harley_Davidson_-_SWOT_analysis2007-10-01. html * http://swottowsanalysis. blogspot. com/2011/08/tows-analysis-swot-analysis-body-shop. html * Text book: The Business Environment by Adrian Palmer & Bob Harley, Seventh Edition * Sir Mohamad Basari Bin Sapar 7. APPENDIX The Body Shop In 1985, in its first year as a public company, The Body Shop sponsor posters for Greenpeace. A year later, it creates an Environmental Projects Department of its own, while the first major window campaign for The Body Shop is â€Å"Save the Whale† with Greenpeace, in 1986. Harley Davidson * MARCH 17, 2003 Former racing director, Dick O’Brien, passed away. Dick O'Brien was arguably the most successful racing directors in Harley-Davidson history. Born in 1921, he worked as a mechanic and racer for the Puckett Motors Harley-Davidson in Florida.Hired by Harley-Davidson in 1957, he led the company's racing team to 16 Grand National Championships and 183 individual championships over the course of his career. In response to stiff competition from Japanese and British dirt and road bikes, O'Brien supervised the development of the XR-750. This innovative motorcycle went on to become the most successful dirt track motorcycle in AMA history. He also worked with Willie G. to develop the Sportster Streamliner, which set record-breaking speeds at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. He retired in 1983 after 26 years with the company.

Mary Prince Biography

After reading Mary Prince autobiography a West Indian slave, I was inspired by her story that I knew for it would be great for my final assignment paper.My thesis is even though, Mary Prince life improved when she moved to England – she made money, got her book published, received better treatment from an employer not a slave owner – She never achieved her goal to be a free person in the eyes of the law after she left her slave owner Mr. Wood, she didn’t gained her freedom and die a slave. Mary Prince was born in Brackish Pond, Bermuda in 1788, her mother was enslaved in the household of Mr. Charles Myners and father was a sawyer. She was bought along with her mother by old captain Darrel and given to his grandchild, little Betsey. After the death of her master she was sold several masters who mistreated her to the point that she had enough and decided to leave her slave owner Mr. Wood to seek help to gain her freedom in London with the Anti-Slavery society. Prince had earlier sought the help of the Anti-Slavery Society, who had obtained a lawyer's opinion that, while she was free in Britain, this would not affect her legal status as a slave if she were to return to Antigua. While she wished to be reunited with her husband, she was naturally reluctant to risk a return to slavery, particularly as she had ample reason to fear the vindictiveness and ill will of the Woods. Repeated efforts were made by Pringle and the Anti†Slavery Society to persuade John Wood to agree to sell Prince her freedom, but he persisted in his refusals. In 1829 Pringle also organized the submission of a petition from Prince to the British Parliament in an attempt to have her declared free.