Montblanc International GmbH Essay Example for Free

Montblanc International GmbH Essay Introduction of Montblanc International GmbH Montblanc International GmbH was founded in 1906, by a stationery trader Claus-Johannes Voss, a Hamburg banker Alfred Nehemias and the Berlin engineer August Eberstein and is a subsidiary of Compagnie Financiere Richemont- Cartier, Dunhill, Chloe and seven others companies; It is German Manufacturer of writing instruments, jewellery and leather goods. Montblanc International GmbH is a MNC with Singapore based operations This purpose of this report is to analyze on the external forces, environmental and major factors that might affect the business of Montblanc International GmbH locally, functions of management and recommendations in achieving success in the next 5 years. Montblanc’s background The company is in the industry of luxury goods and engages in the development and production of writing instruments. It also offers watches, leather, jewellery, eyewear, and fragrance for men and women. Their products are sold through selected retailers and jewellers and about 360 boutiques in more than 70 countries. â€Å"A century of tradition, efficiency, craftsmanship, heritage, culture, and creativity are the key defining factors of Montblanc, one of the world’s most consistent and successful luxury brands.† (Petcu, 2012) These are key factors which led to the success of Montblanc of today. Mont Blanc makes their pens a symbol of high standards, reputation and class and stands to be one of the topmost companies that produce an extensive range of luxurious accessories such as pens and watches. Some of their pens are collector’s items, guaranteeing a lifetime of high-value purchases and usually is an ideal gift for someone with high authority or studying. Their selling points are quality and nostalgia, men and women who desired a life expensive luxury and creativity and talent. They target professional and people who wanted to be seen as a professional by selling their products at a higher price and serial number on every pen they produced to act as an identification of an authentic Montblanc product. Their key products are their fountain pens, with special and limited editions and they have their own customer service and repairs for their products. They do not sell replacement parts and provide 2 year warranty for all products. 4 Environment factors that affects Montblanc 3.1 Changing demographic â€Å"SINGAPORE: The Singapore government is taking a comprehensive look at its population policies in view of the countrys changing demographics.† (Saad, 2012) Changing demographic refers to changes of the population, e.g. age, gender, race employment status and etc. In Singapore, there is an increase in ageing population. With higher employment rate, people are more financially stable as compared to the olden days and are more willing to spend on luxury goods. And as compared to generation X, generation Y are more willing to spend on luxury products and wants to be seen as chic and trendy. Social status plays a important factor to them. Moving from generation X to Y, a new generation Z has emerged, this being the Net Generation. â€Å"Generation Z is highly connected, as many members of this generation have had lifelong use of communications and media technologies such as the World Wide Web, instant messaging, text messaging, MP3 players, mobile phones and YouTube, earning them the nickname digital natives. (Mira, 2012) Thus, Mont Blanc should tap onto the ever-changing world wide net to market their products. 3.2 Lower trade barriers Trade barriers are restrictions induced by government on international trade which will affect the country’s economy. Purchasing power is one of the key factors that affect the company. If the country economy is good, the purchasing power of Singaporean to purchase their products will increase. Instead of just purchasing the cheapest product in the company, buyers can purchase a higher quality product if the economy is doing well. Also if the economy hits inflation, people will think twice about spending money. Lower trade barriers also increase the competition in the market as more competitors of the same industry start swarming into Singapore which will affect the company. Montblanc’s competitve advantage is its well established brand in the world and in Singapore. Competitors will be able to able to copy its products and design, but branding is something that will help Mont Blanc to maintain its competitive edge and increase the barrier of entry to competitors. 3.3 Globalization of production Globalization of production helps to save cost of production as products are split into many parts and produced in countries where labour and production cost are cheaper. Many production has moved their productions to China, however, Montblanc’s products are only produced in Germany. â€Å"The international business environment is forcing many firms to see the entire world as the stage for manufacturing, production, and marketing.† (Gomez-Mejia Balkin, 2012) With increased accessibility and improved telecommunications, moving their production factory to China will help to lower costs. Parts and raw materials can be sourced at other places for cost efficiency. However, quality control must be maintained at all times, regardless of where productions are. 3.4 Technological innovations Today, internet access is almost worldwide and we can’t deny its advantages. According to a research made on internet statistics, there are around 3.7 out of 5.2 millions of the population in Singapore who use Internet and the internet penetration rate in Singapore is 77.2%. (Consultant, 2012) Figure 1- users of internet in Singapore Due to long working hours and increased job demands, more and more working people are finding it difficult to visit our traditional brock and mortar shops. Retail experience still do matter for some, however, online shopping is becoming more popular in Singapore. Mont Blanc, being a trusted brand, will benefit even more from online shopping as people already has a standard expectation of the quality of their products. Currently, in Singapore, people can only shop for Mont Blanc products in their retail outlet or their US online store. However, cost of shipping and longer waiting time might play and important factor too. 2 Majors factors affecting Montblanc 4.1 General business environment General business environments are the factors and conditions such as economic, legal, political, and social circumstances that affect everyone in an industry. Singapore of today is pro-business environment, capable of attracting foreign investments and business entrepreneurs into Singapore. The business environments here are quite stable in terms of political, economic and legal. Singapore government are firm and not corrupted and is strict regarding piracy and copyrights and are providing assistance for people who wanted to start a business. Cases of selling of unauthentic branded products are low in Singapore. 4.2 Economic conditions Fluctuation in interest rates can have an impact on consumer purchasing. When interest rates are high, consumers may be less willing to purchase luxury goods. Higher inflation is normally accompanied by higher prices, so consumers may be less willing to buy luxury goods, If wages dont rise at the same rate of inflation, their spending power will decrease. Figure 2- Inflation rate in Singapore 2011 and 2012 The rate of unemployment can have a major effect on sales too. The more the number of people who are um-employed, the less money that is circulated into the economy through the purchase of goods and services. 4 Management Functions 5.1 Planning and Strategizing Planning is a basic managerial function and is the process of setting goals and objectives for the company and how it will be accomplished. It is important to plan as it set the organization’s objective clear and specific, .e.g. the targeted market of consumer, the image for Montblanc, price of their products, and also the setting of financial and operational budgets various products. The importance of planning is that it reduces risk of uncertainty, facilitates coordination and decision-making. Other than that, it also promotes creativity and allows a basic of control of the organization. To plan for an online store in Singapore, research has to be made in detail on the spending power people on luxury products, segregating into the different market segments and determining which segment has the highest spending expenditures on such luxury products. Forecasting sales by observing sales of other luxury products such as miu miu and prada which has moved into local online stores can help to minimize unnecessary cost in warehousing and manpower. 5.2 Organizing Organizing is arranging the internal structure of the organization, arranging and coordinating to achieve desired success. Organizing helps to organize resources and manpower according to the plan, increasing the effectiveness and efficiency and the success rate of achieving the organization’s goal. Figure 3- Organizing Structure of MontBlanc Montblanc adopted a organization structure which decentralized the organization into 3 divisions and the productions of dfifferent products are from 3 different factories. This structure benefits the organization as the deciding power are decentralized to each of the divisions where the management are more familiar with the culture and economy of the specific countries. Marketing and logistics play an important factor in online stores. Thus, internally, Mont Blanc has to hire a team of experts to push out their online store to the net savvy market. 5.3 Leading Leading helps the management to control and supervise the actions of the staff. This helps them to assist the staff in achieving the companys goals. A leaders influence over employees also affects and is affected by the effectiveness of the organization. The leader may partially determine which rewards are rewarded to achieving task goal accomplishment and choosing the rewards that have the highest value for the employee. â€Å"The key to our success is our people they ensure the company ´s success regardless of their role in the organization. We consider Montblanc ´s development to be the responsibility of everyone in the company.† (Montblanc) Giving bonuses and commissions as rewards are related to sales goals and effective in motivating the employees to achieve the goals. Communication and Interaction between the leader and subordinates are important, knowing their specialties and sending them for further development, matching their skills with the task requiring will increase the employee’s expectation and performance. Being considerate and humble, assigning right tasks, meaning goals and allowing subordinates to involve in the setting of goals and decision making will increase their satisfaction in their work and hence increase the efficiency of the organization. 5.4 Controlling Controlling is the process of examining performance, comparing actual against planned actions, and taking corrective action if necessary. It is important to to examine the performance so as to keep track of the financial status of the organization, whether if they are in the right directions and also allow them to attentive to any changes in the economic that might affect the plan. Recommendation Firstly, as the decrease in the trade barriers, as a General Manager, I suggest that Montblanc should decentralized their source of production and sought for lower cost production in less developed countries such as Thailand, China, Indonesia as their cost of labour and materials are much lower than developed countries. This will help them in saving money on shipment cost and increase the profits of the organization and providing an alternative for them if any problem occurs in their current factories. Constructing a service centre in Singapore will increase the efficiency and reputation. People will only to wait for weeks instead of months. Secondly, due to the rapid evolution of the technology in the Singapore and the increase of demand of online shopping in Singapore, Montblanc should start selling products online to go with trend, creating their personal shopping website that allows consumers in Singapore so that consumers could purchase with just a click instead of going down to the respective boutiques. Thirdly, in terms of demographics, generation Y and Z are more willing to purchase luxury goods; hence Montblanc should introduce a new design/series which is attuned to the needs and wants of the younger generation. This will not only bring in a different feeling and image of Montblanc, it will provide a new market target group for the organization, bringing it to a new level. Other than that, they can try to venture into different industries and provide a larger range of products with its well-known reputation. Lastly, Montblanc is an established brand and thus, the more they should improve the branding of their products as it is a competitative advantage for them. Conclusion In conclusion, Montblanc is affected by environmental and major factors of different countries. Changes of which will determine the success of the organization. Nevertheless, functions of management are a key factors to success as their success depends on their people and with well applied of the functions; When staff are motivated and appreciated, they are more willing to work harder for the company and even contribute ideas to the development of Montblanc. This will definitely bring Montblanc to greater success in its industry Works Cited Consultant, S. S. (2012 Ð ¹Ã ¸Ã » June). Singapore Internet Statistics 2012. Retrieved 2012 Ð ¹Ã ¸Ã » 07-October from LarryLim: http://www.larrylim.net/singapore-internet-usage-statistics.htm Gomez-Mejia, L. R., Balkin, D. B. (2012). Mangement- People| Performance| changes. In G.-M. Balkin, Mangement- People| Performance| changes (Internation ed., p. 56). United states of America: Pearson Education . Mira. (2012, January 29). Scribd. Retrieved October 08, 2012, from Scribd.com: http://www.scribd.com/doc/79714833/Generation-Z Montblanc. (n.d.). Montblanc management Style. Retrieved 2012 Ð ¹Ã ¸Ã » 08-October from Career: http://world.montblanc.com/3166.php Petcu, O. (2012 Ð ¹Ã ¸Ã » 20-September). Montblanc, the DNA of a true luxury brand. Retrieved 2012 Ð ¹Ã ¸Ã » 07-10 from Business of luxury: http://www.cpp-luxury.com/montblanc-the-dna-of-a-true-luxury-brand/ Saad, I. (2012 Ð ¹Ã ¸Ã » 01-March). Singapores population at demographic turning point. Retrieved 2012 Ð ¹Ã  ¸Ã » 07-October from Channelnewasia.com: ttp://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1186292/1/.html

“The Origin of Species” Response Essay Example for Free

â€Å"The Origin of Species† Response Essay In â€Å"The Origin of Species†, Charles Darwin painstakingly explores the different character traits exhibited among species. He looks at natural selection as a way of explaining extinction and adaptation and tries to prove evolution as the main theory of human origin. He states, â€Å"this whole volume is one long argument† (362), and that is exactly what this book is. There are no definite answers provided to the question of the origin of existence, but instead, many unanswered questions are posed and explored. Darwin argues on the issue of variance, stressing that it is most likely that any single species may derive from one common ancestor. He goes on to state that although not everything is known or can be proven about origin in ‘modern’ times because of ignorance about current climatic effects on our universe, it is most likely that the Earth itself affects certain groups of descendants of a certain species, making them extinct, while other migrated groups continue to thrive. In other words, species who remain in one area are bound to become extinct due to environmental factors, while those who migrate, or move from their homeland may have a better chance of survival. In doing so, roots become harder to trace, and changes in the species are inevitable due to their new surroundings. Darwin also believes that the world has had more groups of species than we will ever be able to uncover in our lifetime, so we will never truly know all that walked or lived on the Earth. I am personally fascinated with Darwin’s theories, experiments, and unanswered questions. It is intriguing how Darwin questions and test life and the origin of life. Many times in my own life I have wondered about the origin of life and questioned the religious answer versus the scientific answer. It was courageous and bold of Darwin to explore this issue the way that he did, especially since he came up with no true answers, merely a very educated and studied argument with sections of admitted ignorance on certain subtopics. The language is highly technical and â€Å"stiff†, so it does not make for a very fun read, but once the reader gets used to the content, it becomes easier. I agree with the concept that ‘only the strong survive’ and believe that natural selection is inevitable or the world would be uninhabitable. I disagree with Darwin’s explanations of complex questions, stating things such as, â€Å"I can answer these questions and grave objections only on the supposition that the geological record is far more imperfect than most geologists believe† (365). This weakens his argument, but still allows room for possible validity in his argument. However, it is noble that Darwin stuck to his theory and defended it, despite his lack of ability to actually prove it, â€Å"Grave as these several difficulties are, in my judgement they do not overthrow the theory of descent with modification† (367). From reading The Origin of Species, I learned how complex science can be. I learned that theories need to be tested and explored, and sometimes even if they fail, the original hypothesis remains unchanged. I learned that one must acknowledge the weaknesses in one’s own argument in order to make it stronger or more valid and I also learned that sometimes in life, there are no answers; some of life’s questions will always remain unanswered. Works Cited Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species. Spark Publishing: New York. 2003.

The Hotel New World Collapse Commerce Essay

The Hotel New World Collapse Commerce Essay Public relation officers agencies are very important people to any organisation as they are the ones who in my opinion keep the ball rolling day in day out. Being a public relations officer, he or she must learn how to handle the media learn how to get clients to keep the business running and most importantly learn how to manage a crisis. There was crisis which took place in 1986, the Hotel New World collapse. 15 March 1986, at approximately 11.25 am The Hotel New World, which is also called the Lian Yak building, located at the junction of serangoon road and owen road, collapsed killing 33 people with 17 survivors. This collapse was a major factor why buildings in Singapore now are much more versatile and less likely to collapse. This was a major disaster which could also be classified as a crisis. And I believe there could have been more effective ways where they could have reacted better and save more lives. 2. Crisis management First and foremost what is crisis management? Crisis management, also known as firefighting, is where you know how to avoid the crisis if its possible and appropriately react to the crisis if it cannot be solved (Bernstein, 2011). During a crisis having a crisis team would be essential. Also the members of the team should be able to tell the higher officials in their organisation what to do during a crisis with no fear. The team members should consist of two spokesperson who are the mouth. One will be a backup. A leader who is the brain, someone who will make the important decisions and are accountable for those decisions, such as the CEO or owner of the organisation. And a lead in-house professional and the full PR agency team also known as the hands, for breadth of reach and redundancy reasons (Anthonissen, 2008). The spokespersons, also known as the mouth are representatives of an organisation. How many spokesperson an organisation needs depends on the size of the organisation as they might have many outlets in many countries. But the basics are two spokesperson. The first one would be the primary spokesperson. He or she would represent the company while handling the media. The second one would be a backup He or she will represent the company if the first spokesperson is not available or if is need to explain the crisis in another location. Also these spokesperson need to be media trained. They should know how to handle the media as its the organisations reputation which is at stake. Thus making a wrong move in front of the media would further add to the crisis hence the spokesperson need be a specialist but must be able to handle the media well. Next is the brain which is the crisis committee. This crisis committee is led by the leader who might be the CEO or owner of the company. The committee`s first job is to make a decision on how will they be operating during a crisis. A very simple way to operate is to make sure majority of the team agrees on the decisions made. But this might not be the best option as ex British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher said, Consensus is the negation of leadership. The team must co-operate with the leader to make it an effective committee. Also in the team one person has to be in-charge of all the communications taking place during the crisis This person has to be responsible for- getting the team together during the crisis Communicating the needs of the committee to the mouth Approving all communication messages before they go live Reporting the situation as it develops to the crisis committee Reporting the total crisis once it`s all over (Anthonissen, 2008). Usually the people who are in charge of communications point are the lead in-house communications professionals. During the crisis having a media contact team is also vital. As during the crisis calling up the media and updating would be time consuming thus this team would handle the information being given to the media. The team will need to inform he media about press conference etc. To have a good media contact team they must- Have good press contacts Have a clean and updated full media list at any given time Understand how journalists and editors from different news media work Be practised at media tools Have facilities to translate documents and provide simultaneous translations at a press conference or media interview, if required Have ability to move very quickly(Anthonissen, 2008). Therefore having these qualities would make the media contact team much more useful and essential to update the media about the crisis. Thus that would be one burden of the shoulders of the leader and therefore concentrate on how to resolve the crisis much more efficiently. A good public relations officer will not think that crisis would not happen in his or her organisation and would be well prepared for it. Therefore they must be well prepared for a crisis by looking into what could be the possible areas that might cause a crisis. Next they must come up with a crisis plan. A good public relations officer will plan out everything in detail on what to do when a crisis occurs. This crisis plan can include information such as what are the steps to take by the staffs, crisis management team members. Lastly they must implement the action plan. Planning for a crisis is one thing. But facing a real crisis will be very stressful and it will be a much tensed environment thus no matter how hard an organisation plans out a crisis plan it would be tougher when faced with a real crisis. Therefore it is important to select members of a crisis team for their ability to remain calm and in control while under pressure (Ali, 2011). Also during the crisis every member of the crisis management team should have a copy of what the crisis plan is. Also they should know what their roles are during a crisis. Therefore ensuring a smooth crisis management during a crisis. There are three types of crisis. They are creeping crisis, slow-burn crisis and sudden crisis. Creeping crisis is where a crisis is foreshadowed by a series of events that decision-makers dont view as part of pattern. An example of a Creeping crisis is when the steps take to save a persons life in an emergency situation is not clear. Slow burning crisis is where the signs or warning has been given about the situation but it has not caused any damage to the organisation yet. An example of slow burning crisis is when the organisation goes thru a lawsuit, discrimination complaints or when the organisations reputation is at stake. Sudden crisis is where the damage has been already inflicted and the crisis will get worst if the damage is not contained well. An example of sudden crisis is when a fire breaks out in the building or when the building collapses. The Hotel New World disaster is classified under the category of sudden crisis as it the building collapse was an unexpected event which took place too quickly for anyone to react in time. 3. Analysis The Hotel New World crash shocked everyone in Singapore. It killed a total of 33 people. The crisis is considered to be one of the worst in Singapore history. Before the collapse the building was also in the headlines as it left 35 hotel customers unconscious in August 1975 due to a carbon monoxide leak. The building came down within less than a minute. It was completely demolished. There were 17 people stuck in under rubbles still alive who were eventually the survivors. The building was occupied by an industrial and commercial bank and a night club. But major parts of the building were taken up by The Hotel New World. On 15 march 1986 at approximately 11.25 the lian Yak building came crashing down to rubbles. The building was brought sown within less than 60 seconds. The first call to the SCDF was made at 11.33 sending out their men to the area. First to arrive at the scene was station officer Abu Bakar. He was in charge of the first two fire engines which arrived at the scene with the thought of just nothing more then just a fire outbreak. Upon reaching at the location he then realise its way worst then what he had expected. There was not enough time for anyone inside the building to have escaped in time. Once the rescue team had arrived at that place they started planning on how to operate this mission as this building collapse was the first of its kind in Singapore thus the rescues team were not well trained for this situation and also the equipments were not the appropriate ones used for this type of rescue mission. By noon most of the ministers had arrived at the scene too and almost all the available rescue officers were deployed in order to help the survivors escape thru the rubbles. On first 2 days they tried removing the rubbles first then finding for people. After that on the second day the rescue officers consulted experts whom were at that time tunnelling for the MRT lines in Singapore. Then with their assist the rescue team had work intensively to find for survivors. On 19 march 1986, the rescue mission was called off. A total of 50 people were trapped under the rubbles of the building. 33 people died at the scene. There were only 17 survivors. Then president, Mr Wee Kim Wee had then set-up a group on 22 march to investigate why the building crashed without any warning. This team which was assembled consisted of Mr Justice L. P. Thean, Dr A Vijiaratnam, Professor S. L. Lee and Professor Bengt B. Broms. On 16 February 1987 the final report was submitted to the president. It gave the full details about the building the building owners and especially on why the building crashed was revealed. The main cause of the collapse was in the structural design. According and to the Report of the inquiry into the Collapse of Hotel New World, Analyses of the structural design showed that the dead weights of many structural elements were underestimated and that a large number of individual structural members were grossly under-designed. This is quoted directly from the report. This shows that the building is in fact a ticking time bomb. And the mistake was indeed made 15 years ago when the drawings of the building were made was the. Next w as the construction. The quality of the way the building was being constructed was unsatisfactory according to the report. Reinforcements were less than what was stated in the R.C drawings. Also there was no professional supervision in the construction site which was one of the many factors leading to the collapse. And finally three of the pillars in the building had cracked thus bringing the Lian Yak building down on 15 March 1986. It could stand its own weight because the building was like a time bomb waiting to collapse and when there were new installations placed in the roof the Lian Yak the building it could not hold any longer thus collapsing. The inquiry also brought to light that the managing director of Lian Yak Realty was the one who was the overall in-charge of the building. But unfortunately he had died in the collapse. It was revealed that he had actually used draughtsman to build the building. And the engineer did not calculate the weight of the building properly thus making the building collapse. Also after this incident, the Singapore government had made all their constructions of building rules much more tighter, did checks on existing buildings and find out which buildings were at risk and also they gave the power of authorising and inspection of the buildings to the Ministry of National Development. In my opinion this disaster could have been easily avoided. It was due to carelessness which caused 33 people lives. First and foremost I believe the managing director should not have overseen the construction of this building alone and they should have had group or a team which represents the Lian Yak realty company. Also I believe the communication process which went through the organisation was poor as in the end the managing director was at fault for hiring draughtsman to build the building. This shows that the organisation did not check what was the managing directors doing or who he was employing at the construction site. This is where a public relation officer would be vital. As they can come with a check list on what can be done when there is a crisis. What are the minor and major things to take note during a crisis. Also in my opinion I believe the government could have done their part by ensuring all the rules and regulations for construction were followed strictly. The recommendations that were given in the report could have been implemented earlier. They should have learnt from past disasters such as the collapse of Broadways Grandest Hotel which took place in the year 1973. Also they could have better prepared the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in theses type of crisis. They could haves sent them for training overseas instead of taking the hotel new world collapse as a lesson. This crisis clearly shows that nobody was prepared and had the mentality that the building will never collapse thus in my opinion a contributing factor for so many deaths. 4. Evaluation There are ways that could prevent this kind of sudden crisis. There are a lot of measures to be taken to avoid such crisis would be vital in life and death situations. Thus one must be prepared to face all kinds of situation. The definition of being prepared here is having a plan ready to be executed when there is a crisis (Anthonissen, 2008). This firstly there must be a check list created on what to do when a crisis occurs. When creating the check list the public relation officer must think of all possible crisis and what are the steps to avoid the crisis or escape the crisis. Like I earlier mentioned one must not be too complacent and think to themselves that the crisis would not happen. As a public relation officer we must expect the unexpected. Thus creating a check list would be beneficiary to anyone who uses it during a crisis. Also like earlier mentioned having a crisis management team would be very vital. Successful managers are those who work with successful teams (Hunsaker, 2001). Not only that the team should consist of people from various departments thus they would be aware of what to do when a crisis situation occurs. Thus it would be easier for them to escape during a sudden crisis compared to only one person handling the whole situation. This causes more stress on that individual this sharing the workload would be the best thing to do therefore having a crisis management team is definitely a positive impact. There also ways where we can prepare the people by having drills to for a sudden crisis would be a good solution to better prepare them and make sure they know what to do when having a crisis. There are three types of crisis drills. They are Tabletop exercises, Drills and Full scale exercises (Bernstein, 2011). Firstly the tabletop exercises. These exercises are usually done with the people sitting around a table. Its a discussion where the key manager explains the roles of the people during a crisis (Bernstein, 2011). Next is the Drill. Drills are where a specific department might be put to test to see how they would react when in crisis. External officers might sometimes do the evaluation. Finally the Full-scale exercise. As the names says it full-scale exercise, the organisation, the people working in that building will be put to test when they re-enact a crisis situation and would then see how quickly they escape and checking if their crisis management has been successful The Hotel New World collapse could have been a crisis avoided but the collapse has now educated the people the relevant authorities on how to improve their crisis management skills. The SCDF got experience on how to manage a sudden crisis like The Hotel New World collapse. The Singapore government came down hard on the rules of buildings. From a PR point of view, in my opinion the Lian Yak Realty failed in handing this sudden crisis. Yes this was a lesson but I believe the Lian Yak Realty should have been better prepared and should have at least done their part in the aftermath of the collapse. I am sure this crisis should have been avoided if there was a proper organisational structure in Lian Yak realty. This was an incident which changed the future of Singapore in terms of how the buildings were constructed and how to handle a crisis.

War and Media Essay -- War Television Essays

War and Media Perhaps one of the greatest impacts on the lives of the peoples of Earth is that of our own self-destruction; of wars, death, and decay. It is therefore very reasonable to suppose that at the forefront of these events would be the media, capitalizing on their ability to bring to the people, those less immediately afflicted by war, news and developments concerning the actual war, statistics, and shocking images from inside the various war zones. Though many may think that the purpose of this type of reporting is for the intellectual benefit of the viewers, some have argued that it is instead a sort of real-life â€Å"reality television show.† Tom Engelhardt wrote in an article entitled â€Å"The Gulf War As Total Television,† found in The Nation, that the Gulf War â€Å"†¦proved promising exactly because the boundaries between military action and media event broke down in such a way that military planning could become a new form of media reality.† (Engelhardt, 108) If one follows this dissertation, we seem to pick up on how the Gulf War was actually a sort of ploy by the government and the newly conglomerated media industries to boost ratings and provide high-rated entertainment as opposed to news coverage. It is known that at this point in history the broadcast industry was in very real danger of falling through, even though they had mass financial support by various companies across the US, due to the cable industry and the then newly formed Fox network. This makes a lot of sense when you look at how the broadcast networks were planning taking back the industry, by getting in with the governme nt and making the production of a lifetime. â€Å"The history of the war has always been suppressed in the national... ...p://www.bsu.edu/library/doresearch/resourceguides/terrorism.html> Cohen, Jeff. â€Å"Stenographers to Power: The Gulf War As a Case Study in Media Coverage.† Stenographers to Power. Ed. David Barsamian. Monroe ME: Common Courage Press, 1992. 139-162. Engelhardt, Tom. â€Å"The Gulf War As Total Television.† The Reference Shelf: The Media & the Public, Vol. 66, Num. 5. Ed. Casey Ripley, Jr. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1994. 108-115. Johnson, Peter. â€Å"Media, War and Scrutiny.† USA Today 17 Oct. 2001. 34 pars. 19 Nov. 2002 Kennedy, William V. The Military and the Media. Connecticut: Praeger, 1993. Neuharth, Al. â€Å"Media Mesmerize with Attack Coverage.† USA Today 13 Sept. 2001. 14 pars. 19 Nov. 2002 War and Media Essay -- War Television Essays War and Media Perhaps one of the greatest impacts on the lives of the peoples of Earth is that of our own self-destruction; of wars, death, and decay. It is therefore very reasonable to suppose that at the forefront of these events would be the media, capitalizing on their ability to bring to the people, those less immediately afflicted by war, news and developments concerning the actual war, statistics, and shocking images from inside the various war zones. Though many may think that the purpose of this type of reporting is for the intellectual benefit of the viewers, some have argued that it is instead a sort of real-life â€Å"reality television show.† Tom Engelhardt wrote in an article entitled â€Å"The Gulf War As Total Television,† found in The Nation, that the Gulf War â€Å"†¦proved promising exactly because the boundaries between military action and media event broke down in such a way that military planning could become a new form of media reality.† (Engelhardt, 108) If one follows this dissertation, we seem to pick up on how the Gulf War was actually a sort of ploy by the government and the newly conglomerated media industries to boost ratings and provide high-rated entertainment as opposed to news coverage. It is known that at this point in history the broadcast industry was in very real danger of falling through, even though they had mass financial support by various companies across the US, due to the cable industry and the then newly formed Fox network. This makes a lot of sense when you look at how the broadcast networks were planning taking back the industry, by getting in with the governme nt and making the production of a lifetime. â€Å"The history of the war has always been suppressed in the national... ...p://www.bsu.edu/library/doresearch/resourceguides/terrorism.html> Cohen, Jeff. â€Å"Stenographers to Power: The Gulf War As a Case Study in Media Coverage.† Stenographers to Power. Ed. David Barsamian. Monroe ME: Common Courage Press, 1992. 139-162. Engelhardt, Tom. â€Å"The Gulf War As Total Television.† The Reference Shelf: The Media & the Public, Vol. 66, Num. 5. Ed. Casey Ripley, Jr. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1994. 108-115. Johnson, Peter. â€Å"Media, War and Scrutiny.† USA Today 17 Oct. 2001. 34 pars. 19 Nov. 2002 Kennedy, William V. The Military and the Media. Connecticut: Praeger, 1993. Neuharth, Al. â€Å"Media Mesmerize with Attack Coverage.† USA Today 13 Sept. 2001. 14 pars. 19 Nov. 2002

lab on solutions :: essays research papers

I Introduction A. Purpose: The purpose of this experiment was to determine if the temperature of water effects the rate at which salt dissolves. B. Hypothesis: If the temperature of the water increases then the rate at which the salt dissolves will increase.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  C. Science Concepts: Solution- one substance dissolved in another   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Solute- the substance that gets dissolved   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Solvent- the substance that the solute gets dissolved in Characteristic property- a property that is unique to a substance, does not change depending on the amount of a substance, and can identify the substance Physical change- when a substance changes physically but is not chemically effected Solubility- the amount of a substance that can be dissolved in a given amount solvent at a given temperature In the experiment the solubility of salt was tested in different temperatures of water. The solute was the salt and the solvent was the water. The salt dissolved in the water to form a solution. When the salt dissolved a physical change took place. Solubility along with melting point, freezing point, and density is a characteristic property. II Procedure 1. massing cups and a triple beam balance were used to measure 0.5 grams of salt 2. 100 ml of cold water was measured and poured into a beaker using a graduated cylinder 3. the temperature of the water was measured and recorded on a data table 4. the salt was poured into the water and the stop watch was started 5. the water was stirred as the salt crystals dissolved 6. the number of seconds it took for the salt to dissolve was measured and recorded on a data table 7. the experiment was repeated using room temperature and warm water  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   8. each group did one trial III Results/Conclusions A. Experimental Data: The results of the experiment indicate that the warmer the solvent was the faster the solute dissolved. When the water was 9 °C it took 51.66 seconds to dissolve. When the water was 57 °C it took only 13.15 seconds to dissolve.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B. Graphs and Tables: see attached C. Evaluate Prediction/Hypothesis: The results of the experiment support the hypothesis. The hypothesis stated that the slat would dissolve faster if the water was heated. The salt in the warmer water dissolved about four times faster than the salt in the cold water. IV Extension and Summery A. Extension: Some causes of experimental error may have been how fast the stirrer was stirring. This could have been fixed by having the same person stirring each time.

The New Deal :: American America History

The New Deal The New Deal was a political and social plan that was the presidential campaign platform of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Although Roosevelt was very vague about what it was and actual measures to be taken while running for president, the New Deal was the shinning hope for many Americans who had lost their jobs or were living in poverty. After the United States had plummeted into the greatest depression to face this country while Herbert Hoover lead the country, many voters were looking for anyone with a promising plan and a bright outlook. As banks closed and unemployment rates soared, Roosevelt promised a balanced budget, and spoke of Hoover's rash and excessive spending. The election of 1932 was a landslide in Roosevelt's favor, and he quickly took over as soon as he began his term. Roosevelt called a special session of Congress lasting from March 9 until June 16 in 1933. Roosevelt began to put his "New Deal" into action. With a democratic majority in Congress on his side, Roosevelt churned out legislation rapidly from the generally sluggish machine of Congress. Banks had been closing all over the country due to frightened citizens withdrawing all of their money. In order to increase trust in them, Congress passed the Emergency Banking Relief Act of 1933, which allowed the government to reopen closed banks, and regulate banking and foreign exchange. The Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act was later passed in order to form the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, insurance to civilians for their banking deposits up to $5,000, which was later raised. These to bills encouraged the public to once again trust their banks, and to deposit money in the banks instead of hiding it "under their mattresses." Compared to the more than 4,000 bank failures of 1933, there were only 57 in 1934 because of these actions. The Agricultural Adjustment Act and the Home Owners' Loan Corporation were both formed to help farmers and other households with paying their mortgages, as well as helping the mortgage-holding banks to stay in business. The Frazier-Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act suspended mortgage foreclosures for three years, and moved farmers with small amounts of poor land to better areas. Trees were planted in the deserted areas in an attempt to prevent soil erosion and block the wind. Moving on from this, Roosevelt decreed that all privately owned gold be turned in to the Treasury and to be paid back in paper money.

Blessed Are the Peacemaker

CHAPTER ONE: Peace Makers INTRODUCTION: The followers of Jesus have been called to peace. When he called them they found their peace, for he is their peace. But now they are told that they must not only have peace but make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and tumult. Now, PEACEMAKING is a divine work. For peace means reconciliation; and God is the author of peace and of reconciliation. †¦ It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the particular blessing which attaches to peacemakers is that â€Å"they shall be called sons of God. For they are seeking to do what their Father has done, loving people with his love. 1. 1Who are the Peace Makers Being a peacemaker is part of being surrendered to God, for God brings peace. We abandon the effort to get our needs met through the destruction of enemies. God comes to us in Christ to make peace with us; and we participate in God's grace as we go to our enemies to make peace. For no one has ever been converted by violence. Mak ing peace makes us God's children—and kin to each other. According to Michael H. Crosby, in his work ‘Spirituality of the Beatitudes’. The peace intended is not merely that of political and economic stability, as in the Greco-Roman world, but peace in the Old Testament inclusive sense of wholeness, all that constitutes well-being. †¦ The â€Å"peacemakers,† therefore, are not simply those who bring peace between two conflicting parties, but those actively at work making peace, bringing about wholeness and well-being among the alienated. However, they play a vital role by their impact by creating peace where violence has taken control. It is important to note that peacemakers are honoured insofar as they speak about peace as something already victoriously won that we can celebrate as part of our glorious past or as something that will be won in the other world. They continue to be dishonoured insofar as they continue to point out injustice, hypocrisy, and suffering. They are noble when their actions bring to light, problems far away from us; they are an odious nuisance when they point out our own sins. We are called peacemakers as Christians by our ways of life. However, in our reflection, it’s interesting to point out that, none of those theologians seem to give much thought to how one deal with evil. Are we supposed to give in and allow violent, evil people to make slaves of us all? That would be the result of peace making at any cost. Hitler and his people would be ruling the world today, people would be evaluated according to their mental and physical abilities and those who are for whatever reason unable to participate and contribute would end up in concentration camps. Muslim extremists are not all that different; a good example is the recent religious crisis in Jos Plateau state. Perhaps Mr. Bush and his people were wrong for starting the war and as he himself has said, we might never know the answer but evil and injustice must be fought against with every thing we have. Jesus commanded us to do good and that includes putting down evil action. As long as there are violent self-serving leaders in charge of underdeveloped countries there is nothing we can do. The poor will ever benefit from our charity. 1. 2The Cry of the Beatitudes: Get a New Heart One after the other the beatitudes tell us that the blessings of eternity will be given only to those who have become new creatures. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. If we don't obtain mercy, we receive judgment. If we don't see God, we are not in heaven. If we aren't called the sons of God, we are outside the family. In other words these are all descriptions of final salvation. And it is promised only to the merciful, the pure in heart, and the peacemakers. Therefore the beatitudes are like long spikes holding down the lid of the coffin on the false teaching which says that if you just believe in Jesus you will go to heaven whether or not you are merciful or pure in heart or a peacemaker. In fact, from beginning to end the Sermon on the Mount cries out, â€Å"Get yourself a new heart! Become a new person! The river of judgment is at the door! † You recall the words of verse 20: â€Å"Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven† (Matthew 5:20). And at the very end of the sermon in (Matthew 7:26f), the Lord calls out over the crowds, â€Å"Every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it. † In other words, a life of disobedience to the beatitudes and to the Sermon on the Mount will not stand in the judgment no matter what we believe! 1. 3How to Become Sons of God When Jesus says, â€Å"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God,† he did not tell us how to become a son of God. He simply says that sons of God are in fact peacemakers. People who are peacemakers will be recognized as the sons of God at the judgment and they will be called what they are and welcomed into the Father's house. To see how to become sons of God we can look, for example, in John 1:12 and Galatians 3:26. John 1:12 says, â€Å"To all who received him (Jesus), who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. And Galatians 3:26 says, â€Å"For in Christ we are all sons of God through faith. † In other words, we become sons of God by trusting in Christ for our forgiveness and hope. What Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:9 is that people who have become sons of God have the character of their heavenly Father. And we know from Scripture that their heavenly Father is a â€Å"God of peace† (Romans 16:20; 1 Thessalonia ns 5:23; Hebrews 13:20). We know that heaven is a world of peace (Luke 19:38). And most important of all, we know that God is a peacemaker! God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them† (2 Corinthians 5:19). He made peace by the blood of the cross (Colossians 1:20). In other words, even though by nature we are rebels against God and have committed high treason and are worthy to be eternally court-marshaled and hanged by the neck until dead. Nevertheless God has sacrificed his own Son and now declares amnesty free and clear to any who will lay down their arms of independence and come home to faith. God is a peace-loving God, and a peacemaking God. The whole history of redemption, climaxing in the death and resurrection of Jesus, is God's strategy to bring about a just and lasting peace between rebel man and himself, and then between man and man. Therefore, God's children are that way, too. They have the character of their Father. What he loves they love. What he pursues they pursue. You can know his children by whether they are willing to make sacrifices for peace the way God did. By the sovereign work of God's grace rebel human beings are born again, and brought from rebellion to faith, and made into children of God. We were given a new nature, after the image of our heavenly Father (1 John 3:9). If he is a peacemaker, then his children, who have his nature, will be peacemakers too. CHAPTER TWO: 2. 1The Spirit of God Is the Spirit of Peace To put it another way, as Paul says in Galatians 4:6, â€Å"Since we are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father! ‘† And therefore, as he says in Romans 8:14, â€Å"All who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. † And being led by the Spirit always includes bearing the fruit of the Spirit. And the fruit of the Spirit is peace! So you see why it must be so, that the children of God must be peacemakers. It is by the Spirit of God that we are made children of God, and the Spirit of God is the Spirit of peace. If we are not peacemakers, we don't have the Spirit of Christ. So we do not earn or merit the privilege to be called sons of God. Instead we owe our new birth to the sovereign grace of God (John 1:13). We owe our faith to the impulses of the new birth (1 John 5:1). We receive the Holy Spirit by the exercise of this faith (Galatians 3:2). The fruit of this Spirit is peace (Galatians 5:22). And those who bear the fruit of peace are the sons of God. Our whole salvation, from beginning to end, is all of grace—therein lies our hope and joy and freedom. But our final salvation is not unconditional, we must be peacemakers—therein lies our earnestness and the great seriousness with which we must deal with these beatitudes, and seek the grace of God in our lives. Now let's look at . . . what it means to be peacemakers. 2. 2What It Means to Be a Peacemaker The promise of sonship in the second half of the Matthew 5:9 points us to Matthew 5:43-45 for our main insight. Both of these texts describe how we can show ourselves to be sons of God. You have heard that it was said, â€Å"You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. † But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Notice verse 45, â€Å". . . so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. † The thought is the same as in Matthew 5:9. There, we must be peacemakers to be called sons of God. Here, we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us if we would be sons of God. So probably Jesus thinks of peacemaking as all the acts of love by which we try to overcome the enmity between us and other people. And if we ask for specifics, he gives two examples. The first thing he mentions is prayer (verse 44): Pray for those who persecute you. Pray what? The next chapter tells us. In Matthew 6:9-10 Jesus says, â€Å"Pray like this. † Pray that you and your enemy would hallow God's name. Pray that God's kingdom be acknowledged in your life and his life. Pray that you and he would do God's will the way the angels do it in heaven. In other words, pray for conversion and sanctification. The basis of peace is purity. Pray for yours and pray for his, that there might be peace. Then in Matthew 5:47 Jesus gives the other specific example of peacemaking-love in this text: â€Å"If you salute (or greet) only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? † In other words, if there is a rupture in one of your relationships, or if there is someone who opposes you, don't nurse that grudge. Don't feed the animosity by ignoring and avoiding that person. That is the natural thing to do—just cross the street so that you don't have to greet them. But that is not the impulse of the Spirit of a peacemaking God, who sacrificed his Son to reconcile us to himself and to each other. Peacemaking tries to build bridges to people. It does not want the animosity to remain. It wants reconciliation. It wants harmony. And so it tries to show what may be the only courtesy the enemy will tolerate, namely, a greeting. The peacemaker looks the enemy right in the eye and says, â€Å"Good morning, John. † And he says it with a longing for peace in his heart, not with a phony gloss of politeness to cover his anger. So we pray and we take whatever practical initiatives we can to make peace beginning with something as simple as a greeting. But we do not always succeed. And I want to make sure you don't equate peacemaking with peace-achieving. A peacemaker longs for peace, and works for peace, and sacrifices for peace. But the attainment of peace may not come. Romans 12:18 is very important at this point. There Paul says, â€Å"If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. † That is the goal of a peacemaker: â€Å"If possible, so far as it depends on you . . . † Don't let the rupture in the relationship be your fault. 2. 3A Tough Question: Peace and Truth? What raises a tough question: Is it your fault when the stand that you take is causing the division? If you have alienated someone and brought down their anger upon your head because you have done or said what is right, have you ceased to be a peacemaker? Not necessarily. Paul said, â€Å"If it is possible . . . live at peace. He thus admits that there will be times that standing for the truth will make it impossible. For example, he says to the Corinthians (11:18-19), â€Å"I hear that there are divisions among you; and I partly believe it, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. † Now he would not have said that, if the genui ne Christians should have compromised the truth in order to prevent divisions at all cost. It was precisely because some of the Christians were genuine—genuine peacemakers—that some of the divisions existed. (Also see 1 Corinthians 7:15. Jesus said in Matthew 10:34, thus: Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's foes will be those of his own household. In other words, you must love peace and work for peace. You must pray for your enemies, and do good to them, and greet them, and long for the barriers between you to be overcome. But you must never abandon your allegiance to me and my word, no matter how much animosity it brings down on your head. You are not guilty; you are not in the wrong if your life of obedience and your message of love and truth elicit hostility from some and affirmation from others. CHAPTER THREE: 3. 1Social Injustices as Demands for Personal Repentance There is another explanation for why he preaches the way he does. In Luke 13:1-5 some people confronted Jesus with one of Pilate's atrocities. Here's the way he responded: There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And e answered them, â€Å"Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. † He took a major social outrage of injustice and turned it into a demand for personal, individual repentance. â€Å"Unless you repent you will all likewise perish! † That's what he always did. Why did he do this? Because for Jesus, the eternal d estiny of a human soul is a weightier matter, a bigger issue, than the temporal destiny of a nation. . 2The Truly Weighty Matter in the World Today Now let's go back to the question. Why does a message on peacemaking from the Sermon on the Mount focus on the individual issues of prayer and greetings and personal reconciliation? Aren't these personal issues insignificant in comparison with the issues of nuclear war, military budgets, arms talks in Geneva, apartheid in South Africa, and religious crisis in northern Nigeria, civil wars in Central America, religious oppression in Romania and Russia, and international terrorism? The answer is no, because the point of these personal issues in the Sermon on the Mount is to make crystal clear that every individual within the hearing of my voice must become a new creature if you are to have eternal life. You must have a new heart. Without a merciful, pure, peacemaking heart you cannot be called a son of God at the judgment day. And that is the truly weighty matter in the world today. Is the Son of Man confined in his views of the world, is he out of touch with the real issues of life because he regards the eternal salvation of your soul as a weightier matter than the temporal destiny of any nation on earth? Blessed are you peacemakers who pray for your enemies and greet your opponents with love and sacrifice like your heavenly Father for the reconciliation of people to God and to each other, for you will be called sons of God and inherit eternal life in the kingdom of your Father. CONCLUSION Blessed are the peacemakers. But if you look around you, peacemakers are extremely rare. In fact, conflict is basically everywhere on the face of this earth – because of religion, because of politics, because of just simple old bald-faced human nature, we have massacres and destruction and ayhem and wars all over this earth. Even our court systems seem to make everybody unhappy with the judgments that are rendered. And of course we hear many things coming out of Congress that sometimes make you wonder just exactly what are they trying to do? And of course Cincinnati has become, in the last little while, renown for its conflicts as well. Isaiah the prophet wrote these words, he said, â€Å"Th e way of peace they have not known, there is no justice in their ways. They have made themselves crooked paths and whosoever takes that way, shall not know peace. â€Å"