Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Merrill Lynch-Bank of America Merger

Ethics is a branch of philosophy that focuses on the moral, philosophical characteristics from formal, systematic and ethical principles. Moral judgments are calculated from ethical principles which need to be applied as a standard for everyday choices in life and business. This is directly related to the decisions human beings make. Cavico (2009) states utilitarianism is more than just moral philosophy. It is a way of reformation and used extensively in government decision making. This will be discussed further in the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch merger.Utilitarianism is considered a scientific system of ethics and not just a philosophical theory of ethics. Utilitarian ethics follows the belief of maximizing the greatest good for the largest number of people. As utilitarianism is identified, one needs to learn that the greatest good could be based on aggregate principle or a distributive principle. The Bank of America-Merrill Lynch merger will be assessed in regards to who, what an d how the greater good will be affected in this merger. Within utilitarianism, a moral philosophy is developed that focuses on the consequences of specific actions.An action is done, then observed and then analyzed. After identifying all the people that were involved, one needs to ask the question, â€Å"Do the sum of good consequences outweigh the sum of the bad consequences? † Quantify all the good and bad consequences in the scenario and if the good consequences are greater than the bad consequences then the action was moral and vice versa. In this paper, the actions of the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch merger will be discussed, evaluated and quantified with the Richard DeGeorge Utilitarian perspective.Pinpointing the stakeholders in this case will show who was direct and indirectly affected and how they were affected. Furthermore, it will be discussed the overall affect it had on society from a global perspective, reaction from competitive markets and the economic impact it created within the United States and worldwide. Critical points and actions will dominate the course of action on how utilitarian ethics was applied in this situation. Identifying the individual people or groups that were in this scenario will be evaluated on a pleasure v. ain scale where it will show the extent of good or bad in the situation and the possible outcomes that followed. The pleasure v. pain comparison will then be quantified on a grading scale that represents extreme pleasures and pains in Bank of America-Merrill Lynch merger. After totaling up the good and the bad points, it will determine if the actions in this merger were moral. In late 2008, Bank of America and Merrill Lynch were in negotiations for a business deal. Bank of America was going to buy Merrill Lynch for one of the largest bank mergers and acquisitions in the world.On the surface, Bank of America thought the merger was a good idea and a good business deal to pursue. Former Chief Executive of Bank of America, Kenneth Lewis, and the board of Bank of America saw this business deal as a way to expand into different sectors of the financial markets and strengthen many of its counterparts. With all the extensive financial records of both companies and balance sheet assessments, the deal looked great for smooth sailing. Catastrophically, the deal went through and contributed towards a massive failure in our financial markets that affected and crippled everyone worldwide.The private deal that once seemed so good has now become a nightmare. All of a sudden, the government has stepped in and has announced it will give twenty billion dollars in assistance from tax payer’s money. Investors and the public were shocked something of this magnitude was happening and felt betrayed, cheated and crippled. Within all the mayhem, the actions that will be evaluated come from Merrill Lynch and Bank of America and their failures to disclose pertinent financial information that would have shown greater losses than expected.United States (2009) stated the lack of transparency to investors and to the public showed that there was a negative atmosphere among them that they feared to disclose from the public. In addition to this, rumors circulated that the government had ties to this merger and flexed its power in order to make the merger happen. There were a great amount of people affected in this merger. Merrill Lynch as a company was being bought out in order to be saved financially. Merrill Lynch’s investors, shareholders and CEO, John Thain were a part of this corporation.Bank of America was the number one candidate for purchasing Merrill Lynch at the time. Bank of America’s investors, shareholders and CEO, Kenneth Lewis were all a part of this major merger. United States (2009) includes the Secretary of the Treasury, Hank Paulson and Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke were on the governmental side of this merger that apparently knew what was going on and forcefully made Bank of America buyout Merrill Lynch. This merger can also contribute to affecting the general public, global economies cross the world and the financial banking industry. As this case develops, there is uncertainty that Merrill Lynch and former CEO, John Thain, have to reveal massive amounts of losses and at one point a fourth quarter loss of fifteen billion dollars. In response, former CEO of Bank of America, Kenneth Lewis analyzes this and decides it may not be a good idea to pursue the merger. Secretively, the Fed, Paulson and Bernanke force Lewis to buy into the deal because if he doesn’t this could create a complete and total meltdown of the financial systems.Utilitarian ethics was used by considering the global economy; the government had to step in to minimize the blow as best as they could to help the greater good of society. In addition to this, there has been speculation that if Lewis hides these huge losses before the merger and reveals the m after the merger he could gain more government help in regards to the massive hit Bank of America now faces. Although the economy is in a meltdown and financial banks are getting hit harder than ever before, this merger may prove to save some of our largest financial institutions and lessen the blow of a complete loss for the global economy.On one spectrum of the scale we have the financial banks abusing high leverage investments in order to gain more money without caring about negative consequences but then on the other hand, the nation is faced with minimizing damages and saving as much as it can because in a result of total loss, the public could be in a greater state economic loss. With Merrill Lynch being saved and Bank of America taking on the bigger role of keeping afloat, Merrill Lynch now has the opportunity to be bought out and saved compared to total collapse and bankruptcy.In this case, it was a smart move for Merrill Lynch to be acquired by Bank of America and a fores eeable good in the future of the financial markets. Kenneth Lewis took the daunting task of acquiring Merrill Lynch and the bad debt expense that the company brought with it. Acquiring Merrill Lynch would provide a huge blow to Bank of America at first but restructuring and getting government help in the merger would prove to be a successful task that would provide foreseeable good in the future. Some people believe that Paulson and Bernanke used their governmental power to make this merger happen.Bank of America’s Acquisition (2009) states they forced Kenneth Lewis to buyout Merrill Lynch and if not Kenneth Lewis and the board of Bank of America would have been terminated. Although this may have been a threatening action, it was in the government’s best interest to make this merger go through or a total collapse of the financial markets would be devastating for the American population and further seep into global chaos. It is a very tough situation to assess but follo wing Utilitarianism considered the greater good of the population and this needed to be done.In addition to this, individual investors were hit very hard with the downturn of the economy. In many cases, people lost more than fifty percent of their investments which sounds terrible but comparing it to a nongovernmental bailout, those individuals would be left with nothing. In this research study, it is needed to define the severity of good and bad consequences for each individual or group that was affected in this case on a numerical grading scale. Each individual or group will be considered according to the Richard DeGeorge Utilitarian approach.The scale will be ranked from +5 being the best and -5 being the worst situation from a pleasure versus pain standpoint. Merrill Lynch being bought out by Bank of America is more of a good thing. Ranking it at +2 gives Merrill Lynch and Bank of America merger the positive side because without this merger people would be in greater amounts of trouble. Ranking a +1 for investors and shareholders of each company provides a positive side of this outcome. Although investors did lose over fifty percent of investments into the companies, this loss is better than losing everything that was invested.Other financial markets were consolidated and restructured. By getting rid of bad assets, other financial institutions could start over and reinvest in the proper markets. This was also a learning lesson for the financial industry and for them to never repeat these careless mistakes again. A rank of +3 will be given to the financial markets. Hank Paul and Ben Bernanke did prove to show excessive force in making this merger happen but only in regards to saving the U. S. economy and limiting the blow that it could’ve potentially produced.Giving the government a ranking of +2 shows they provided a better option for America and the possibility of avoiding a complete financial meltdown. Assessing our global economy by looking back at it over the past five years gives it a ranking of 0. This explains that as a country and globally, we have made minimal increases in our economy. One month says we are getting back on the right track while the next month says we are sinking deeper and deeper into recession. The economy shows a recovery in the stock arket one month but the next month there is speculation that the European markets are going to crash and take everyone with them. Living in these highly volatile times gives uncertainly and fear for most investors which hinders potential growth and recovery. After summing up all the pleasure and pain rankings, the total equals +8. This shows that amidst all the chaos, deceiving and cheating, the outcome created a positive effect that saved our economy as best as possible rather than let it sink and destroy everything.This tragic merger proves to be a morally correct standpoint regardless of the tough actions that were taken in order to achieve this outcome. No individu al cheated the system or manipulated the system in order to gain financial strength. It was in the best interest of the individual companies and the U. S. economy to keep them in tact or greater consequences could’ve occurred. Saving two of our largest banks provides us with a loss in investments but something that would be accepted rather than total and complete collapse of our financial systems.Primary Source: United States. (2009). Bank of America and Merrill Lynch: How did a private deal turn into a federal bailout? : joint hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, first session. Washington: U. S. G. P. O. Secondary Source: Bank of America’s Acquisition of Merrill Lynch: A â€Å"Shotgun Merger†?. (2009, June 16). My Bank Tracker. Retrieved August 4, 2012, from www. mybanktracker. com/news/2009/06/16/bank-of-americas-acquisition-of-merrill-l ynch-a-shotgun-merger/

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Media Influence on Students

Children's use of media is socialized mostly in the family (cf. Bryant, 1990). Television is an essential part of family life. Viewing occurs mainly with other family members, especially for young children. For instance, in one longitudinal study, more than 70% of the time that 3- to 7-year-old children spent watching general audience programming occurred with a parent (St. Peters, Fitch, Huston, Wright, ; Eakins, 1991). Moreover, television habits are formed early. The amount of television viewed is somewhat stable from age 3 onward, probably because it depends on family patterns that do not change readily (Huston, Wright, Rice, Kerkman, ; St. Peters, 1990). The process of learning is composite and multifaceted. The child should negotiate a series of vital tasks as he or she grows. The child must protect a sense of attachment to mother, father, and family (Bowlby, 1988). Then the child must move through the phases of separation and individuation (Mahler, Pine, ; Bergman, 1975). Here, the baby begins to move toward being a person (i.e., toward developing an internalized world of thought, emotion, and judgment that will facilitate the baby to be autonomous and self-regulating). From there, the child must start to deal with his or her issues of sexual identity, competition, power, and insertion in the group, elements that Freud (1933/ 1964) termed the Oedipal phase. The relationship between unconscious fantasy and the growth of the personality can be understood from the following: The growth of the personality occurs with the maturation of the perceptual apparatus, of memory as well as from the hoarded experience and learning from reality. This process of learning from reality is connected with the development and changes in unconscious fantasy. There is a constant struggle with the child's invincible fantasies and the encounter of realities, good and bad. (Segal, 1991, p. 26) It is also been asserted by experts that media is somewhat unethical for children. Television with its extreme reaching influence spreads transversely the globe. Its most significant part is that of reporting the news and sustaining communication linking people around the world. Television's most prominent, yet most stern feature is its shows for entertainment. Violence in entertainment is a main issue in the growth of violence in society, Violence is the exploit of one's powers to mete out mental or physical injury upon another, and exemplars of this would be rape or murder. Violence in entertainment attains the public through television, movies, plays, and novels. On July 26, 2000, officers of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry issued a â€Å"Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children,† which was subsequently endorsed by both houses of the United States Congress. At this time, well over 1,000 studies—including reports from the Surgeon General's office, the National Institute of Mental Health, and numerous studies conducted by leading figures within our medical and public health organizations—our own members—point â€Å"Overwhelmingly to a causal connection between media violence and aggressive behavior in some children. The conclusion of the public health community, based on over thirty years of research, is that viewing entertainment violence can lead to increases in aggressive attitudes, values, and behavior, particularly in children†¦.† (Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children, Congressional Public Health Summit, July 26, 2000). â€Å"The effect of entertainment violence on children is complex and variable. Some children will be affected more than others. But while duration, intensity, and extent of the impact may vary, there are several measurable negative effects of children's exposure to violent entertainment†¦. We in no way mean to imply that entertainment violence is the sole, or even necessarily the most important factor contributing to youth aggression, anti-social attitudes, and violence†¦. Nor are we advocating restrictions on creative activity. The purpose of this document is descriptive, not prescriptive: we seek to lay out a clear picture of the pathological effects of entertainment violence. But we do hope that by articulating and releasing the consensus of the public health community, we may encourage greater public and parental awareness of the harms of violent entertainment, and encourage a more honest dialogue about what can be done to enhance the health and well-being of America's children† (Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children, Congressional Public Health Summit, July 26, 2000). New interactive digital media have become an integral part of children's lives. Nearly half (48%) of children six and under have used a computer (31% of 0-3 year-olds and 70% of 4-6 year-olds). Just under a third (30%) has played video games (14% of 0-3 year-olds and 50% of 4-6 year-olds). Even the youngest children — those under two — are widely exposed to electronic media. Forty-three percent of those under two watches TV every day and 26% have a TV in their bedroom (the American Academy of Pediatrics â€Å"urge parents to avoid television for children under 2 years old†). In any given day, two-thirds (68%) of children under two will use a screen media, for an average of just over two hours (2:05). (PR Newswire; 10/28/2003) Moreover, children at elementary level constantly struggle between fantasy and reality can be seen in the child's deep ambivalence concerning accepting the difference between â€Å"what's real† and â€Å"what's made up.† The child frequently attempts to obliterate differences, particularly those existing between the sexes and the generations. The child wants to be everything; he or she wants to be his or her own cause, he or she wants to be unlimited. The child wants to be a boy and a girl; to be his or her own father and mother; to know everything without learning and so forth. One can readily see that TV (as well as movies and video games) can be experienced as a means to gain the delusion of gratifying those wishes. However, teachers and parents distinguish that fantasy and daydreams persist to play an active, at times predominant, aspect of the child's development all through his or her formative years. In many cases, it is not until early adolescence that we see children able to assimilate their fantasies with rational thought in a way that make certain that external reality takes an increasing hold over perception, reasoning, and behavior. Although many more years are required before the child matures into a person who adeptly and constantly discriminates the internal from the external in a usually integrated fashion. It is this slow and accruing process of thought and fantasy being integrated with the resultant increase in the growth of the personality that seems to undergo the most inhibition when the consumption of media images becomes extreme or defensive. Children's animated cartoons show how outer, media-based images â€Å"mimic† the form of unconscious fantasy. The cartoon is a psychologically charged, exciting portrayal of fantastic (animated) characters. Its form is simple: An underdog (disguised child) comes into conflict with others (the top dog = parents or older children). There is danger, threat of destruction or death that is conquering in a magical and effortless fashion where pleasure and laughter are the outcome. The Coyote wants to eat the Roadrunner; Elmer Fudd wants to shoot Daffy Duck. Throughout complex and irrational activities, the â€Å"victim† triumphs over the â€Å"villain.† Furthermore, there are no real consequences attendant to the use of immense aggression and force. Magically, all characters reappear in the next cartoon and the cycle of conflict and decree, pleasing the child's wish to overcome limitation and smallness, is repeated once more. Further, teacher in classroom can develop the child's ability to be creative, to construct a â€Å"transitional space† (Winnicott, 1978) within which to form new blends of inner and outer, is inhibited to the degree that the child's mind is saturated with media-based images, characters, stories, and inspiration. The child must transform the â€Å"raw material† of both his or her inner and outer world in a pleasing synthesis in order to feel truly knowledgeable and in charge of his or her existence. The passivity by-product of TV viewing leads to a restraint of autonomous inspiration and produces what teachers are seeing more and more: anxious, irritable, angry, and demanding children who are unable to â€Å"play† and who demand to be â€Å"entertained† in a mode that approximates their experience of TV viewing. The use of drugs and alcohol utilize the same mechanisms as TV to achieve their psychological effects. As the substance user's body and mind are chemically altered, deep unconscious fantasies of security, charisma, power, or limitlessness are activated. Hence, Winn (1985) was accurate in describing TV as the â€Å"plug-in drug† as the â€Å"use† of TV to fend off depression, anxiety, and conflict is identical in its function to that of drugs and alcohol. The faction of â€Å"instant gratification† can be seen to plea to the universal wish to be the satisfied infant sucking at the breast: a mere cry, the feed and the bliss of satisfied sleep. The reality is unfortunately much more difficult, for what we see are increasing numbers of frustrated, angry, and uncooperative children, experiencing their wishes as demands, and their hopes as entitlements. However, learning is fundamentally based on more about how to communicate effectively with children on the subject of coping with the intimidating aspects of their environment. It is significant to recognize that some level of fear is suitable and indeed may be important to survival in certain situations. On the other hand, overburdening children with fears of horrendous disasters that are either unavoidable or highly unlikely to threaten them personally may add undue stress to the procedure of growing up. Because television is one of children's main sources of information about the world, we need to be capable to make reasoned decisions about what to expose our children to and when. We also require being able to explain crucial features of life to them in an age-appropriate way that preserves their youthful optimism while encouraging necessary and suitable precautions. Work Cited Bowlby J. (1988). A secure base: Clinical applications of attachment theory. London: Rutledge. Bryant J. (Ed.). (1990). Television and the American family. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Freud S. (1964). New introductory lectures on psychoanalysis (standard edition, 22). London: Hogarth Press. (Original work published in 1933) Huston A. C., Wright J. C., Rice M. L., Rerkman D., & St. M. Peters ( 1990). â€Å"The development of television viewing patterns in early childhood: A longitudinal investigation†. Developmental Psychology, 26, 409-420. Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children, Congressional Public Health Summit, July 26, 2000. Also Available At: http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/jstmtevc.htm Mahler M., Pine F., & Bergman A. (1975). The psychological birth of the human infant. New York: Basic Books. New Study Finds Children Age Zero to Six Spend as Much Time With TV, Computers and Video Games as Playing Outside; One in Four Children Under Two Have a TV in Their Bedroom. WASHINGTON, PR Newswire; 10/28/2003 Also Available at http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m4PRN/2003_Oct_28/109334573/p1/article.jhtml Segal H. (1991). Dream, phantasy and art. London: Tavistock/Routledge. St. M. Peters, Fitch M., Huston A. C., & Wright J. C., & Eakins D. (1991). â€Å"Television and families: What do young children watch with their parents?† Child Development, 62, 1409-1423. Winn M. (1985). The plug-in drug: Television, children and the family. New York: Penguin Books.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Nestle Group

Management On Nestle International Ltd MGT: 141 Principal of management Prepared For: Afrins farid Assistant Professor Faculty, Business Administration Prepaid By: Km Iftakharul huq| 12310527| Nusrat jahan| 12310305| Estiaq hasan| 12310312| Israt sharmin| 12310217| Farzana sultana| 12310219| Rakib hasan| 12310532| University of Information Technology & Science (UITS) Contents December, 12, 2012 To, Afrins farid Assistant Professor Faculty, Business Administration University Of Information Technology & ScienceSubject: Submission of a report. Dear Madam, With due regards and respect we state that we are very thankful to you as you assigned us this report on ‘’Management in Nestle International Ltd’’. it is a great opportunity for us to acquire the theoretical & practical knowledge about five functions of management in Nestle International Ltd which is a reputed multinational organization . we have tried our best to gather what we believe to be The most comple te information available. Sincerely THE MANAGER 2. HistoryNestle – the world's largest food group, not only in terms of its sales but also in terms of its product range and its geographical presence: Nestle covers nearly every field of nutrition: infant formula, milk products, chocolate and confectionery, instant coffee, ice-cream, culinary products, frozen ready-made meals, mineral water etc. We are also a major producer of pet food. In most of these product groups and in most markets, Nestle is the leader or at least a strong number two. We are a very focused Company, with more than 94 percent of the sales coming from the food and beverage sector.Nestle is present around the globe, on all continents, with around 230,000 people working in more in an 84 countries with 466 factories and with sales representatives in at least another 70 countries. Many of our brand names are familiar to you: Nescafe, Nido, Maggi, Polo, Smartest, Milo, Perrier, Friskies, KitKat, Crunch†¦. S ome of our products have broken records: 3,000 cups of Nescafe are consumed every second. and KitKat merited an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's best-selling chocolate bar with 418 KitKat fingers eaten every second around the world!Nestle management provided their employees functionally with good environment, they also influences their employees various facilities like Healthy Salaries, increments. We are acquired more experience to research and analysis this report, that help us future job performance. We create this by Microsoft office 2007. Finally, we thanked those people who are help through valuable information of as. Also thanks our honorable Teacher Afrins farid for her guideline 2. 1Background of the Report: Management is a phenomenon.It is a very popular and widely used term. All organization are involved in management because it helps and directs the various efforts towards a definite purpose. We are student of BBA program, our principal of manag ement Afrins Farid Assigned as to prepare a report on ’Management in Nestle International Ltd’’. We have made a survey for required information in Nestle official site in net. We have selected our topics as ’Management in Nestle International Ltd’’. We have prepared our report on December 07, 2012 which will be submitted by December 12, 2012. . 1. 2Objective: The report aims to provide information on suggest more valuable information a report on ‘Management on Nestle International Ltd’. The objective of Nestle is to gain more market share and become the global market leader in the Food and Nutrition industry. The company has to experience a hardship in order to sustain that position especially to stay ahead of Cadbury. It is because that Cadbury is being acquired by Kraft food which is the world leader in the chocolate business.Nestle's business objective, and that of management and employees at all levels, is to manufacture and market the Company’s products in such a way as to create value that can be sustained over the long term for shareholders, employees, consumers, business partners and the large number of national economies in which Nestle operates; 1. 2 Management. Objectives: The report aims to provide 3Primary employee motivated effected by the Nestle International Ltd though information on suggest more valuable information to how the 1. 2. 1Scope of the study:There is a certain boundary to cover this report. Our particular report only covers on how the ‘Management on Nestle International Ltd’. we mainly focus five function of business ; managerial skills. 1. 2. 2. Limitation of the study: We are lucky enough to get change to prepare a report on ‘Management on Nestle International Ltd’. We tried heart ; soul to purpose a well-informed a report. But unfortunates we faced some difficulties’ when preparing this report. We tried to overcome the difficulties. In spite of trying our level best some difficulties that hamper our schedule report work.The employee of regional office of Bangladesh was too busy of their work. For this, they did not sufficient time to fulfill our queries and some of them neglected us to support. 1. 2. 3. Difficulty in collecting data: Many employers of the organization were not well known about all information that we asked them. Many of them also hesitated to answer the questions. These things humped the information collection. 1. INTRODUCTION Nestle with headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestle and is today the world's leading nutrition, health and wellness  Company.Sales for 2007 were CHF 107. 6 ban, with a net profit of CHF  10. 6 bn. We employ around 276  050 people and have factories or operations in almost every country in the world. The Company's strategy is guided by several fundamental principles. Nestle's existing products grow through innovation and renovation while m aintaining a balance in geographic activities and product lines. Long-term potential is never sacrificed for short-term performance. The Company's priority is to bring the best and most relevant products to people, wherever they are, whatever their needs, throughout their lives.The Nestle Addresses navigation at the top of this page will give you access to Nestle offices and websites around the world. We demonstrate through our way of doing business in all the countries where we are present a deep understanding of the local nature of nutrition, health and wellness; we know that there is no one single product for everyone – our products are tailored to suit tastes and habits wherever you are. 1. 1Nestle at a glance: Nestle S. A. Industry Food processing Founded Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company (1866) Ferine Lactee Henri Nestle (1867)Nestle and Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company (1905) Founder(s) Henri Nestle, Charles Page, George Page * Henri Nestle endowed his company with the symbol derived from his name. His family coat of arms, the nest with a mother bird * protecting her young, became the Company's logo and a symbol of the Company's care * and attitude to life-long nutrition. The Nestle nest represents the nourishment, security and sense of family that are so essential to life. * Headquarters Vevey, Switzerland * Area served Worldwide * Key people Peter Brabeck-Letmathe (Chairman)Paul Bulcke (CEO) * Products Baby food, coffee, dairy products, breakfast cereals, confectionery, bottled water, ice cream, pet foods) * Revenue CHF 83. 64  billion (2011) * Operating income CHF 12. 53  billion (2011) * Profit CHF 9. 487  billion (2011) * Total assets CHF 114. 09  billion (2011) * Total equity CHF 58. 27  billion (2011) * Employees 328,000 (2012) * Website www. nestle. com 1. 1. 2 KEY DATES 1866|   | Foundation of Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Co. | 1867|   | Henry Nestle's Infant cereal developed| 1905|   | Nestle and Anglo Swiss Condensed M ilk Co. new name after merger)| 1929|   | Merger with Peter, Cailler, Kohler Chocolats Suisses S. A. | 1934|   | Launch of Milo| 1938|   | Launch of Nescafe| 1947|   | Nestle Alimentana S. A. (New name after merger with Maggi)| 1948|   | Launch of Nestea and Nesquik| 1969|   | Vittel (initially equity interest only)| 1971|   | Merger with Ursina-Franck| 1973|   | Stouffer (with Lean Cuisine)| 1974|   | L'Oreal (associate)| 1977|   | Nestle S. A. (new company name)| |   | Alcon (2002: partial IPO)| | | | 1981|   | Galderma (joint venture with L’Oreal)| 1985|   | Carnation (with Coffee Mate and Friskies)| 986|   | Creation of Nestle Nespresso S. A. | 1988|   | Buitoni-Perugina, Rowntree (with Kit Kat)| 1990|   | Cereal Partners Worldwide (joint venture with General Mills)| 1991|   | Beverage Partners Worldwide (joint venture with Coca-Cola)| 1992|   | Perrier (with Poland Spring)| 1993|   | Creation of Nestle Sources Internationals (2002: N estle Waters)| 1997|   | Creation of Nutrition Strategic Business Division (2006: Nestle Nutrition)| 1998|   | San Pellegrino and Spillers Pet foods| |   | Launch of Nestle Pure Life | 2000|   | Power Bar| 2001|   | Ralston Purina| 2002|   | Scholler and Chef America|   | Dairy Partners Americas (joint venture with Fonterra)|   |   | Laboratories inneov (joint venture with L’Oreal)| 2003|   | Move pick and Dreyer's| 2005|   | Wagner, Proteika and Musashi| 2006|   | Acquisition of Uncle Toby’s and Jenny Craig. Creation of Foodservices Strategic Business Division|   |   | Lactalis Nestle Produits Frais (associate)| |   | Jenny Craig, Uncle Toby’s and Delta Ice Cream| 2007|   | Acquisition of Novartis Medical Nutrition, Gerber and Henniez. |   |   | Re-launch of Foodservices as Nestle Professional. |   |   | Partnership with luxury chocolate maker Pierre Marcolini. 1. 1. 3 Vision Beyond sound nutrition, the future of foods wi ll increasingly be driven by science. Nestle scientists are looking ahead to the foods of the future. Nestle  R&D  is translating nutrition and food science in two ways: * From consumer needs into research priorities * From emerging science into consumer benefits, and services. The vision of Nestle  R&D  is long term. 1. 1. 4 Mission At Nestle, we believe that research can help us to make better food, so that people live better life. Good food is the primary source of good health, so we are trying to make good food.To provide fresh and pure products to the customers, we introduced (SHE) Safety, Health and environment policy to protect health of our employs and keep clean our surrounding environment. 3. Senior Management: The executive board, a distinct entity from the board of directors, includes: * Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Nestle S. A. * Paul Buckle, Chief Executive Officer, Nestle S. A. * Werner Bauer, Executive Vice President, Nestle S. A. , Chief Technology Officer, Head of Innovation, Technology, Research & Development * Friz van Dijk, Executive Vice President, Nestle S.A. Asia, Oceania, Africa, Middle East * Chris Johnson, Executive Vice President, Nestle S. A. United States of America, Canada, Latin America, Caribbean * Jose Lopez, Executive Vice President, Nestle S. A. Operations, GLOBE * John J. Harris, Executive Vice President, Nestle S. A. Chairman & CEO of Nestle Waters * Nandu Nandkishore, Executive Vice President, Nestle S. A. CEO of Nestle Nutrition * James Singh, Executive Vice President, Nestle S. A. Finance and Control, Legal, IP, Tax, Global Nestle Business Services * Laurent Freixe, Executive Vice President, Nestle S. A. Europe * PetraeaHeynike, Executive Vice President, Nestle S. A. Strategic Business Units, Marketing, Sales and Nespresso * Marc Caira, Deputy Executive Vice President, Nestle S. A. Head of Nestle Professional Strategic Business Division * Jean-Marc Duvoisin, Deputy Executive Vice P resident Nestle S. A. Head of Human Resources and Centre Administration * David P. Frick, Senior Vice President and ex officio Member of the Executive Board Brazil headquarters in Brooklin Novo, Sao Paulo According to a 2006 global survey of online consumers by the Reputation Institute, Nestle has a reputation score of 70. 4 on a scale of 1–100. . 1. Management of Nestle Management of Nestle believes in an open door policy and highly discourages bureaucracy in the operational process. The Organization offers an international and multicultural working climate which is conducive to creativity, innovation and the development of personality, and which gives new employees responsibility at an early stage of their career, and opportunities of fast development of high performers. Nestle is a human company where people are the most important asset and where they can develop their personality and skills to their own and their families' satisfaction.Nestle offers a competitive compensa tion package and social benefits in line with Nestle's commitment to high standards. In addition, the organization offers progressive development through on-going training throughout your career. Training possibilities are available to all staff. Nestle recently introduced e-learning in Bangladesh, a web-based programmed for self development. When joining Nestle, your training is not over – it is only just the beginning Management is defined as the process of setting and achieving goals through the execution of 5 basic management functions that utilize human, financial and material resources. Efficiently means using resources optimally / best possible use * Effectively means getting the things done/making right decision and implementation 4. PLANNING Planning of Nestle: Planning: Deciding what needs to happen in the future (today, next week, next month, next year, over the next five years, etc. ) and generating plans for action. * Decision Making and the Planning Process Stra tegic goals Strategic plans Tactical goals Operational goals Operational plans The organization’s mission The Environmental Context †¢ Purpose †¢ Premises †¢ Values †¢ Directions Tactical plansKinds of organization plan * Strategic Plans * A general plan outlining resource allocation, priorities, and action steps to achieve strategic goals. The plans are set by and for top management. * Tactical Plans * A plan aimed at achieving the tactical goals set by and for middle management. * Operational Plans * Plans that have a short-term focus. These plans are set by and for lower-level managers. 4. 1. 1 Time frame for planning * The Time Dimension of Planning * Is based on the principle of commitment. Planning must provide sufficient time to fulfill the managerial commitments involved. Long-range Plans * Cover present and future strategic issues; normally extend beyond five years in the future. * Intermediate Plans * Usually cover from 1 to 5 years and parallel tactical plans. * Are the principal focuses of organizational planning efforts. * Short-range Plans * Have a time frame of one year or less. * include action plans and reaction (contingency) plan 4. 1. 2Planning Staff * Planning staff personnel gather information, coordinate planning activities, and take a broader view than individual managers. * Planning Task Force * Created when the organization wants special circumstance addressed. * Board of Directors * Establishes corporate mission and strategy. May engage in strategic planning * Chief Executive Officer * Usually serves as president or chair of the board of directors. Has a major role in the planning process and implements the strategy 4. 1. 3. B arrier to goal setting and planning: 4. 1. 4Policies and strategies in the planning process * They give mid and lower-level managers a good idea of the future plans for each department in an organization. * A framework is created whereby plans and decisions are made. Mid and lower-leve l management may add their own plans to the business's strategies.. Organizing: (Implementation)pattern of relationships among workers, making optimum use of the resources required to enable the successful carrying out of plans. Nestle has a Board of Directors, led by our Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, who was the former Nestle CEO. There are 14 members of the Board of Directors. Full details of each member and the committees that they operate within can be found in our Board of Directors section. The day to day management of the Nestle business is taken care of by our Executive Board members.The 13 designated Board Members manage diverse parts of the global business and a full curriculum vital of each member can be found in the Executive Board section. In addition to how our managers carry out their work as leaders, Nestle pragmatically implements The following organizational principles: †¢ Being as decentralized as possible to optimally respond to the needs of consumers, wi thin the framework defined by our fundamental policies, strategic directions and operational efficiencies †¢ Ensuring collaboration of all Nestle businesses and compliance with Nestle principles, policies And standards (Nestle in the Market approach) Building and maintaining a structure which assures operational speed, with a strong focus on results and removing unnecessary obstacles. †¢ Establishing flat and flexible organizations with minimal levels of management and broad spans of control, which also enable people development. †¢ Setting a shared vision and common goals to leverage the strength of people and organizational alignment. †¢ Defining clear levels of responsibility. Teamwork does not affect the manager’s duty towards his/her people and business results . A team must always have a leader who assumes full responsibility 4. 2. 1.A Mutual commitment: Living up to the Nestle Management and Leadership Principles is a commitment and a responsibility for everyone in our Company. To be effective, engaging and inspiring, all Nestle people must â€Å"walk the talk† and lead by example in their daily work; in this context, actions speak louder than words. Therefore, at Nestle, in addition to professional skills – and regardless of origin, nationality, religion, race, gender, sexual orientation and age – the capacity and willingness to live up to these principles are the key criteria’s for progressing within the organization 5. Staffing:Job analysis, recruitment and hiring for appropriate jobs. Staffing involves: -Manpower planning -Recruitment selection ; placement -training ; development 5. 1. Training: Process of altering employee behavior ; attitudes in a way that increases the probability of goal attainment * The most common topics covered in cultural training include: Social| history | Politics| Business| customs| Economics| | | | | Training and development is the field which is concerned with organ izational activity aimed at bettering the performance of individuals and groups in organizational  settings.It has been known by several names, including  employee development,  human resource development, and  learning and development. Major types of cross-cultural training programs Environmental Briefings Cultural Orientation Language Training Cultural Assimilators Sensitivity Training Field Experience Orientation ; Training Programs at Nestle Formal Orientation Local Training International Training Literacy Training Nestle Apprenticeship ProgramInternational Training Nestle’s success in growing local companies in each country has been highly influenced by the functioning of its international Training Centre, Switzerland. International Training: Classes are carefully composed to include people with a range of geographic and functional backgrounds. Typically a class contains 15–20 nationalities. The Centre delivers some 70 courses. Attended by about 1700 manag ers each year from over 80 countries. Only 25% of the teaching is done by outside professionals, as the primary faculty is the Nestle senior management.Its providing services for over 30 years. Managers from around the world to learn from senior Nestle managers and from each other. Country managers decide who attends which course. The programs can be broadly divided into two groups: 1. Management courses 2. Executive courses Training and trainer around the world: Local 1. DMBP: Distribution Management Best Practice. Trainer: Anirban Basu, Nestle India. 2. FMBP: Field Management Best Practice. Trainer: Ziaul Hafiz, Nestle Bangladesh. 3. DMBP plus: Distribution Management Best Practice.Trainer: Anirban Basu, Nestle India. Managing Partner: Good to Better. Trainer: Anirban Basu, Nestle India. International 1. SDS: SAR (South Asian Region) Distributor Solution (Distribution Management System), Chennai, India, 2009. 5. 2Findings ; Recommendation Nestle said that from the factory floor to the top management, training at Nestle is continuous. And because it is mainly given by Nestle people, it is always relevant to your professional life. Approach is unique in many ways: * It reflects the company's decentralized nature.Whichever country you are working in, you will be given the knowledge and tools you need to respond to local needs * It encourages you to broaden your horizons, by working with people from many different countries and cultures in the course of your career For international assignment Preliminary Visits Preliminary trip of host country Accept or reject the assignment based on experience Language Training Host country language skills and adjustment: improves expatriate’s effectiveness and negotiating ability, info of host country, social support * Role of English language Knowledge of corporate language: a common company language –English Practical Assistance Adaptation to new environment, assist in relocation 6. Leading/directing: Determin ing what needs to be done in a situation and getting people to do it. Nestle managers at all levels are more with leading and inspiring people to add value to the Company and society rather than with exercising formal authority. This calls for a high personal commitment of each employee and a common mindset geared towards results. In an increasingly dynamic world, leaders face Significant challenges and opportunities.These stem from shifts to new social patterns and unprecedented worldwide competition. Achieving ongoing success requires that each Nestle leader understands the context and capitalizes on it, as described in the following principles: Lead to win †¢ Has built credibility as a result of coherent action, leadership and achievement. †¢ Is able to think from different perspectives and to create a climate of innovation. This implies openness to risk and the possibility of making mistakes, but also the willingness to correct and learn from them. †¢ Believes in the importance of alignment and management of expectations. Has broad interests, a good general Education, responsible behavior as well as a balanced lifestyle. Manage for results †¢ Embraces personal commitment and courage in execution. This includes the capacity and the willingness to take initiatives and risks while maintaining composure under pressure. †¢ Values proactive cooperation in order to create synergies at local, regional and global levels. †¢ Embraces change and is able to implement it and manage its consequences. †¢ Believes in achieving business objectives rooted in compliance and sustainable practices. Grow talent and teams Has a passion for building and sustaining an environment where people have a sense of personal commitment to their work and give their best to promote our Company’s success. †¢ Cares for and develops the leaders of tomorrow through addressing all areas that Allow them to progress in their work and to expand their c apabilities. †¢ Understands the importance of continuous learning and improvement, as well as sharing knowledge and ideas freely with others. †¢ Is committed to giving and receiving honest, accurate and timely feedback, including performance evaluation, in a climate of mutual respect . Believes in the importance of building diverse teams, and promotes the advantages of gender balance. Compete and connect externally †¢ Constantly looks for ways to satisfy our consumers and customers while attracting new ones in unique and compelling ways. †¢ Displays curiosity and open-mindedness as well as a high level of interest in other cultures and lifestyles. †¢ Believes in openness and dialogue with outside stakeholders about future trends in society, technology, consumer habits, and business opportunities. Understands the external impact of our operations and, as a result, proactively seeks to engage and partner with the community, authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders. Strategic leadership To force the businesses to become more efficent To crete a regional manufacturing network To integrate the company ‘s business on a global scale 7. Controlling/monitoring: * Types of Controls 1. Areas of Control 1. Physical resources—inventory management, quality control, and equipment control. 2. Human resources—selection and placement, training and development, performance appraisal, and compensation. . Information resources—sales and marketing forecasts, environmental analysis, public relations, production scheduling, and economic forecasting. 4. Financial resources—managing capital funds and cash flow, collection and payment of debts. Strategic control Structural control Operations control Financial control * The Purpose of Control 2. Control is one of the four basic management functions. The control function, in turn, has four basic purposes. Adapt to environmental change Limit the accumulation of error Contro l helps the organization Cope with organizational complexity Minimize costsSteps of controlling process: Establish standards Measure performance Compare performance against standards Maintain the status quo Correct the deviation Change standards Determine need for corrective action 2 1 4 3 Checking progress against plans. 1. The regulation of organizational activities so that some targeted element of performance remains within acceptable limits. 2. Provides organizations with indications of how well they are performing in relation to their goals. 3. Control provides a mechanism for adjusting performance to keep organizations moving in the right direction. Basic rolesCategory Role Example Interpersonal Figure head Leader Liaison Representing the org. Motivating employees Coordinating activities Informational Monitor Disseminator Spokesperson Scanning industry reports Sending memos Making speech Decisional Entrepreneur Disturbance handler Resource allocator Negotiator Developing new i deas Resolving conflict Examining budgets Pursuing agreements * Interpersonal: roles that involve coordination and interaction with employees. * Informational: roles that involve handling, sharing, and analyzing information. * Decisional: roles that require decision-making. 8.Management skills: * Political: used to build a power base and establish connections. * Conceptual: used to analyze complex situations. A conceptual skill is the ability to imagine the integration and coordination of the parts of an organization – all its processes and systems. A manager needs conceptual skills to see how factors are interrelated, to understand the impact of any action on the other aspects of the organization and to plan long range. * Interpersonal: used to communicate, motivate, mentor and delegate. * Diagnostic: ability to visualize most appropriate response to a situation. Technical: Expertise in one's particular functional area. Technical skills are the knowledge of and ability to us e the processes, practices, techniques or tools of a specialty responsibility area. E. g. accountants, engineers, salespersons, etc. Implementation of policies and strategies * All policies and strategies must be discussed with all managerial personnel and staff. * Managers must understand where and how they can implement their policies and strategies. * A plan of action must be devised for each department. * Policies and strategies must be reviewed regularly. Contingency plans must be devised in case the environment changes. * Assessments of progress ought to be carried out regularly by top-level managers. * A good environment and team spirit is required within the business. * The missions, objectives, strengths and weaknesses of each department must be analyzed to determine their roles in achieving the business's mission. * The forecasting method develops a reliable picture of the business's future environment. * A planning unit must be created to ensure that all plans are consist ent and that policies and strategies are aimed at achieving the same mission and objectives. . Levels of management Most organizations have three management levels: first-level, middle-level, and top-level managers. [These managers are classified in a hierarchy of authority, and perform different tasks. In many organizations, the number of managers in every level resembles a pyramid. Each level is explained below in specifications of their different responsibilities and likely job titles. 9. 1. Top-level managers Consists of board of directors, president, vice-president, CEOs, etc. They are responsible for controlling and overseeing the entire organization.They develop goals, strategic plans, company policies, and make decisions on the direction of the business. In addition, top-level managers play a significant role in the mobilization of outside resources and are accountable to the shareholders and general public. According to Lawrence S. Kleiman, the following skills are needed a t the top managerial level * Broadened understanding of how: competition, world economies, politics, and social trends effect organizational effectiveness. The role of the top management can be summarized as follows – * Top management lays down the objectives and broad policies of the enterprise. It issues necessary instructions for preparation of department budgets, procedures, schedules etc. * It prepares strategic plans ; policies for the enterprise. * It appoints the executive for middle level i. e. departmental managers. * It controls ; coordinates the activities of all the departments. * It is also responsible for maintaining a contact with the outside world. * It provides guidance and direction. * The top management is also responsible towards the shareholders for the performance of the enterprise. 9. 1. 1Middle-level managers Consist of general managers, branch managers and department managers.They are accountable to the top management for their department's function. They devote more time to organizational and directional functions. Their roles can be emphasized as executing organizational plans in conformance with the company's policies and the objectives of the top management, they define and discuss information and policies from top management to lower management, and most importantly they inspire and provide guidance to lower level managers towards better performance. Some of their functions are as follows: * Designing and implementing effective group and intergroup work and information systems. Defining and monitoring group-level performance indicators. * Diagnosing and resolving problems within and among work groups. * Designing and implementing reward systems supporting cooperative behavior. 9. 1. 2. First-level managers Consist of supervisors, section leads, foremen, etc. They focus on controlling and directing. They usually have the responsibility of assigning employees tasks, guiding and supervising employees on day-to-day activities, ensuring quality and quantity production, making recommendations, suggestions, and up channeling employee problems, etc.First-level managers are role models for employees that provide: * Basic supervision. * Motivation. * Career planning. * Performance feedback. Factors that influence a manager to fit in one of the style: * The task that is being undertaken * The traditions of the organization * The type of Labor Force * The size of the group * The personality of the Leader * Personalities * Time 10. The Nestle factories are operating in the region of: 1. Africa 2. America 3. Asia 4. Europe 5. Oceania Being a company dedicated to food from the beginning, Nestle remains ensitive to culinary and eating habits, and responds to specific nutritional problems, whilst also setting and matching new trends such as growing out-of-home consumption and caring about the wellbeing of its consumers. * Zone Asia, Oceania and Africa ; 6. 6% organic growth, strong performance in most emerging market s ; Japan continued to suffer deflation but achieved positive RIG, With good performances in Soluble coffee and Chocolate ; China slow due to product exchange in Dairy, but on improving trend ; South Asia, Africa and Middle East amongst the highlights 0. 1Nestle Focus in Bangladesh Nestle is the world's leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness Company. In Bangladesh we have Maggi noodles and soups, breakfast cereal, Nescafe, coffee mate, baby food, milk and a seasoning. However, worldwide we have more than 10000 products in different variants. As of today, we employ over 276,000 people across more than 500 state-of-the-art facilities around the world. But it was never our ambition to be the biggest at what we do – it was our ambition to be the best. That sums up what we mean by Nestle Focus.It means we also appreciate that size and success are nothing without the finer details – such as genuine care for our consumers, a commitment to our people and a wider sense of respo nsibility towards our customers, suppliers and our communities. When you work for us, you'll see the difference that makes at every stage. It will mean becoming part of an organization which can offer you subsidiary of Nestle S. A. whatever you want from your career. Nestle Bangladesh Limited started its first commercial production in Bangladesh in 1994. In 1998. Nestle S. A. ook over the remaining 40% share from our local partner when Nestle Bangladesh became a fully owned Nestle Bangladesh's vision is to be recognized as the most successful food and drink Company in Bangladesh, generating sustainable, profitable growth and continuously improving results to the benefit of shareholders and employees. Our factory is situated at Sripur, 55 km north of Dhaka, the factory produces instant noodles, cereals and repacks milks, soups, beverages and infant nutrition products. Today Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. is a strongly positioned organization.The Company will continue to grow through our poli cy of constant innovation and renovation, concentrating on our core competencies and our commitment to high quality, with the aim of providing the best quality food to the people of Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, Nestle started its operation in 1994 and its factory is situated in Sreepur, Gazipur. Nestle Bangladesh directly employs more than 650 people and more than 1000 people are employed by suppliers and distributors in connection to Nestle. Our products in Bangladesh are Nido, Nescafe, Maggi noodles and soup, breakfast Cereals, Coffee-Mate, Nestea, Nesfruta ,Nesfrappe and many more.Nestle is present around the globe, on all continents, with around 230,000 people working in more in an 84 countries with 466 factories and with sales representatives in at least another 70 countries. Nestle is the world's largest food group, not only in terms of its sales but also in terms of its product range and its geographical presence. Nestle covers nearly every field of nutrition: infant formula, m ilk products, chocolate and confectionery, instant coffee, ice-cream, culinary products, frozen ready-made meals, mineral water etc. Nestle is a focused company, with more than 94 percent of the sales coming from the food and beverage sector.Did you know 3,000 cups of Nescafe are consumed every second? KitKat merited an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's best-selling chocolate bar with 418 KitKat fingers eaten every second around the world! 10. 2 Selected awards, certifications and rankings * In May 2006, Nestle’s executive board decided to adapt the existing Nestle management systems to full conformity with the international standards ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems) and OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems), and to certify all Nestle factories against these standards by 2010.In the meanwhile a lot of the Nestle factories have obtained these certifications. For instance, Nestle’s three factories in Japan (H imeji factory: Hyogo Prefecture, Shimada factory: Shizuoka Prefecture and Kasumigaura factory: Ibaraki Prefecture) have each obtained ISO standard certifications: ISO14001, ISO 22000 (Food Safety Management Systems) and OHSAS 18001 as of the end of December, 2008. * In 2009, Nestle Waters earned a sixth LEED certification. The certification was given by the U. S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design which the company become its first recipient.It highlights the environmentally conscious elements of the facility which enables them to receive the certification. * Nestle Purina received in 2010 the Malcolm Balding National Quality Award for their excellence in the areas of leadership, customer and market focus, strategic planning, process management, measurement, analysis and knowledge management, workforce focus and results * In September 2011, Nestle occupied 19th position in the Universal’s global ranking of Best Employers Worldwide. Accordin g to a survey by Universal Communications Nestle was in 2011 the best employer to work for in Switzerland. Based on independent research by the Corporate Research Foundation Institute, Nestle (South Africa) has been certified in 2011 as a Best Employer in South Africa. * Nestle USA has been recognized by Business Week magazine as one of the â€Å"Best Places to Launch a Career. † Business Week ranked Nestle USA #25 on their annual list of the best companies for new college graduates to launch their careers. * For the twelfth consecutive year, Fortune Magazine included in 2011 Nestle in their list of The 10 Most Admired Companies in the World. Nestle won in 2011 the Stockholm Industry Water Award for its leadership and performance to improve water management in its internal operations and throughout its supply chain. * The International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) honored Nestle in 2010 with the Global Food Industry Award. * In May 2011, Nestle won the 27th W orld Environment Center (WEC) Gold Medal award for its commitment to environmental sustainability. * In 2011, Nestle Malaysia won an award of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants for their Sustainability Reporting. On 19 April 2012, The Great Place to Work ® Institute Canada mentioned Nestle Canada Inc. as one of the '50 Best Large and Multinational Workplaces' in Canada (with more than 1,000 employees working in Canada and/or worldwide). * In April 2012, Nestle obtained an A+ rating from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for their global annual report on Creating Shared Value. To reach A+ the company provided new data in their annual report on a number of criteria such as human rights, diversity and gender, climate change, biodiversity and corruption.Nestle was the first food and Beverage Company to achieve an A+ rating from the GRI for a global sustainability report. * On 21 May 2012, Gartner published their annual Supply Chain Top 25, a list with global supply chain leaders. Nestle ranks 18th in the list. Address: Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. Address: Gulshan Tower, Plot # 31, Road # 53, Gulshan North C/A City:Dhaka Location:Gulshan Phone:+880-2-9882759 Ext-255 Category: Milk Products Produce: For tetra Ltd 9, Prince Street P. O. Box-92032 Oakland, Newlands Nestle consumer service Post box no-11037, Uttra,Dhaka Care line number: 01730637853 0800217777 e-mail:concumer. [email  protected] nestle. com

Socrates Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Socrates - Assignment Example Upon making his defense against those accusing him, Socrates went forward to respond to the charges that were being leveled against him. To begin with, Meletus had indicated that Socrates was an evil doer in that he was found corrupting young people, did not believe in the state gods, and had introduced personal divinities. To defend himself, Socrates asked Meletus to offer himself in order to respond to some questions he wanted to ask to him. Socrates was particularly skillful in his questions, which resulted in Meletus not only contradicting himself but also making accusations that were totally meaningless. His statements meant that Socrates was the only person in Athens who was affecting the young people. At the same time, Socrates admitted that no one would deliberately make people worse and at the same time, live with them. From this point of view, it is difficult to say that Socrates was making or turning the people worse, or Socrates was doing so involuntarily. In either case, Socrates was not responsible for any crime; therefore, ought not to be punished. The Meletus opposition to Socrates was based somehow on grounds of religion because he simply did not confide his faith in the gods associated with the state. In fact, when interrogated about it, Meletus insisted that Socrates was an atheist. Of course, the charge was ridiculous, and Socrates made that clear by indicating that Meletus had disagreed with his earlier statement that Socrates had introduced new divinities and yet did not confide his faith in any supreme being (Plato 3-7). In reality, Socrates, whilst not accepting the widely accepted conceptions of religion, was a religious person. Socrates had a deep belief in the religious meaning of the world and life, along with a strong belief in God as a source of moral obligations. Socrates, for many generations, has been considered as a hero and

Sunday, July 28, 2019

The Realistic Theory of International Relations Research Paper

The Realistic Theory of International Relations - Research Paper Example Two options are available to the players in such a scenario. To gain power and to survive, countries can attack and capture other areas ruthlessly as Napoleon and Hitler did. The other option is to see that a balance of power is maintained. This can be done by diplomatic relations, alliances or by force. Bilateral trade agreements, aid to other countries are examples of diplomatic relations. NATO and the European Union are examples of alliances. There was a time when the US and the USSR were the two balancing powers of the world. The US attacked and also supplied arms to Vietnam fearing that the spread of communism in the country and other places may shift the balance of power in favour of the USSR. It would be effective to define realism at this point. A Cambridge University Press publication defines realism in three steps. An instance where this theory does not hold good or becomes ineffective is the case of terrorism. Terrorism is practically invisible even if countries who abet t errorists are identified. The terrorists do not come to the negotiating table nor do they work in visible organized structures. If the opponent is not available for negotiations or to fight with, it is not possible to think of survival or strength. A country may be hit by a terrorist attack at any time. Security becomes practically ineffective if suicide attacks are resorted to by the terrorists. Even a strong nation like the US can be shocked by attacks such as the September 11 suicide attacks on the Twin Towers. But there is practically nothing that can be effectively done by any country in such a situation. The US attacked Iraq and set up a new administration.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

1.To what extent do you agree that globalisation has undermined the Essay

1.To what extent do you agree that globalisation has undermined the power of the nation state Give evidence to support your argument - Essay Example se of other countries whereby they hold mutual interests but this has far changed since the affairs of the world have been interrelated in a manner whereby multiple states have common interests on particular issues. To maintain order in the operations of individual states, a new level of rules has been formulated differently from the ones that have jurisdiction within the boundaries of different countries (Hamilton, 2015). For instance, each country has its economic policies and the manner that it governs its domestic and international trade relations. However, with the increased need for expansion into the global market firms are now competing with on the global platform and thus much of the regulatory frameworks that are set out by their native countries will fail to control the operations at the international arena due to the disjoint that might arise from the different policies that are applied by various nations. It is from this premise that a new set of international regulation s are set to control how firms from different countries relate or rather conduct business with each other universally (Okpara, 2008). In that light, globalisation tends to undermine the power that nation states initially held in that for example in the economic perspective a firm has to subscribe to international policies on top of the policies of its native country for it to conduct operations effectively in the international arena. In some instances, the foreign policies override or rather collide with policies of individual countries but the former supersedes the latter since the interests of the world are more than those of individual nations. In such situations the autonomy and power of nation states is substantially undermined since the objective of statehood of coming up with policies that protects its interests seems to be overridden by global concern (Homann, Koslowski, & Luetge, 2007). Notably, the extent to which this system works depends on the superiority of the nations in

Friday, July 26, 2019

European Monetary Union without a Banking or Fiscal Union cannot Essay

European Monetary Union without a Banking or Fiscal Union cannot succeed. Please critically evaluate this statement with s - Essay Example Before going into detail as to why and how fiscal and banking union can facilitate success of monetary union, it will be prudent to delve deeper into the aspects that are responsible in creating a state of financial instability in the European Union. It is worth noting that unlike the United States, fiscal measures are not exercised by the EMU and that is where the major crux of the issue lies. Genesis of Crisis EU witnessed a sovereign debt crisis and an unprecedented banking crisis in the recent years. It is important to note that both did not surface in isolation but they were interrelated. Sovereign debt crisis had its genesis in poor fiscal management over several years violating Maastricht Treaty. A fairly large number of Spanish banks are afflicted with their own sovereign debt and because of that have lost their substantial Tier I capital. Thus, banking crisis has its roots, albeit in an indirect way, to the fiscal mismanagement. It is also true that the US subprime crisis di d contribute to the woes of the European banks. When seen in terms of the fiscal mismanagement, the genesis of debt crisis is old. ... The irony was that much of the borrowing was not revealed because each successive government had to meet the euro norm that restricted borrowing at 3% of GDP. Everything was fine until global financial crisis surfaced in 2008 that exposed many EU countries for their imprudent fiscal policies. Debt levels went so high that it was impossible for the country to repay them. While providing the rescue package, the European Union attached several conditions that further compounded Greece's woes. In May, 2010, Greece was provided with funds of 110bn Euros so that government could pay its creditors. It was soon realized that given funds were not enough and another tranche of 130bn euro was planned. Maastricht Treaty among the member states specifies that total debt should not exceed 60 percent of GDP. Even this norm was flaunted by the member countries considerably. For example, in 2000, Greece had total debt of 103.4% as a proportion of GDP that rose to 145% and 165% in 2010 and 2011 respec tively. Italy too had the total debt-GDP ratio of 108% in 2000 that rose to 120% in 2011 (BBC News, 2012). Fiscal Discipline – A Necessity In the above perspective, it is quite obvious that monetary union cannot achieve desired results in the euro zone area as far as the financial stability is concerned. A fiscal discipline is extremely necessary; however, monetary union has no control on fiscal imbalances created by the member states. Cottarelli (2012) from the IMF argues that in view of the current situation and to bring the EU out of crisis, a Fiscal Union is an absolute necessity built on the following criteria. 1. The Fiscal Union can enforce stronger constraints on state deficits and debt creation that will help

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Project manament Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Project manament - Article Example Before the initiation of a project, a feasibility study is usually conducted in order to assess the viability of the project. The study helps organization understands the potential benefits of a project keeping in view company constraints. The study helps organizations understand the required capital resources for the project and the time it would take to complete the project. It helps them to plan the project more effectively in order to achieve desired results1. The study also helps understand where the project must be initiated, what measures must be taken, and what are the potential benefits of the project for company. Hence, it is very important to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study that helps an organization to achieve the desired goals of the project. Project evaluation is carried out after the completion of project in order to judge the effectiveness of the project. This process is carried out to understand whether the desired objective of the project has been achieved or not. Evaluation helps organizations to be aware of the corrective actions they need to take. There are two main kinds of evaluation 1) Ongoing evaluation and 2) Post project evaluation. Ongoing evaluation is carried out during the course of the project in order to assess whether deadlines are being met and whether interim objectives are achieved or not. On the other hand, post project evaluation assesses the success of project completed. It evaluates whether the laid down objectives before the project were achieved or not. Cash flows are the term used for the expected cash inflows and outflows during the completion of the project and post completion. Cash flows give a clue about the expected revenues and costs for project completion. Evaluating expected cash flows is one of the most important factors of accepting or rejecting a project. Like all other aspects of a project, risk

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Teaching Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Teaching - Personal Statement Example This cooperation occurs between students and their peers as well as students and teachers. Social literacy is supported for example, where there is opportunity to work in groups, discuss issues, and contribution to class works. Appeal to the interest of children: this principle supports science literacy since it is based on a curriculum that responds directly to the interest of children. This provides opportunities for knowledge construction. The tenet also allows a constructivist teacher to recognize and stimulate the interest of children. This will support science literacy when for example, the teacher observes what children do, solicit the ideas of children, and propose activities that entice children. Teaching in terms of the type of involved knowledge: this tenet defines the kinds of knowledge helpful to constructivist teachers. Physical knowledge, conventional or social knowledge, and logico-mathematical knowledge may be used among children. This supports science literacy in that varying strategies are used for different types of knowledge. For example, with conventional knowledge, children are shown and told the information via direct instruction, in physical knowledge, the children are assisted in getting chances to act on things and their reactions noted while a teacher provides experiences in logico-mathematical knowledge through which student reorganize their own knowledge. Choosing content challenging children: this principle creates a culture of inquiry and develop teaching curriculum based on ideas which allow a very in-depth study. It supports science of literacy through providing activities appropriate for wide development levels. For example, it analyzes activities in terms of relationships and regularities. Promote reasoning among children: this principle supports science literacy because it encourages

Hot Melt Extrusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hot Melt Extrusion - Essay Example HME technique does not require time consuming drying step and compressing step; and therefore, the processing steps are significantly reduced. Due to fewer unit operations involved in HME operation, production time is greatly enhanced. During the HME process, the polymer-melt itself act as a thermal binder. HME eliminates problems arising from poorly compactible materials. An extruded rod obtained from HME procedure can be directly incorporated into tablets after cutting. Uniform dispersion of fine particles is obtained due to vigorous mixing and agitation conditions of HME operation. The energy requirements in HME process are low as compared to high shear granulation. The HME process requires lower investment for equipment as against other processes. HME technique also provides new strategies to increase dissolution rates for sparingly water soluble drugs, enhance bioavailability of the active ingredient, improve content uniformity of dosage formulation, modify drug release, and als o helps to mask the unpleasant taste of the drug (Repka et al. 1043; Crowley et al. 909). A single- or twin-screw extruders are used for HME process. The extruder is composed of a feeding hopper, barrels, single or twin screws, die, screw-driving unit, heating/cooling device for the barrels, conveyer belt to cool down the product, and solvent delivery pump. The monitoring devices on the equipment include temperature gauges, a screw-speed controller, an extrusion torque monitor and pressure gauges. During the HME process, first a dry powder blend of drug, polymer, and other adjuvants/additives is prepared. Then, this soild mixture is fed into the feeding section of the extruder. The material is transferred to the melting section. The heat is applied to the material in the melting section to form the polymer-melt. This molten mass is transferred in the metering section which is then

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Why did the Macmillan administration chose to opt for EC membership Essay

Why did the Macmillan administration chose to opt for EC membership - Essay Example The treaty worked to free the movement of goods, services, capital and labor between its member nations. In 1960, as a result and in an attempt to destroy or absorb the proposed EEC common market, the U.K. and Sweden created the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). EFTA was an attempt to conserve Britains role and economic position which was remotely attractive to major Western European states. In 1963, the Prime Minister of U.K., Harold Macmillan, decided to change Britain’s foreign policy towards the European Community and attempted to join EEC. He suggested to unite the member countries of EFTA with ECC to incorporate all of Europe but France vetoed further talks. Macmillan saw that the exclusion from EEC was damaging to Britain both economically and politically. The following sections will presents the reasons why Macmillan’s administration chose to opt for European Community membership. To maintain Britain’s world role in the face of economic enervation, Macmillan did not follow Anthony Eden’s policy of reliance on the United States. He evolved the British strategy to include a new relationship with Europe to complement the increasingly unreliable American proxy (Ruane & Ellison 2004:1). Eden’s administration saw that the maintenance of the British extended empire placed a burden on the countrys economy beyond its resources. They manipulated a foreign policy to ensure that the country’s strength was equal to its obligations. They aimed to persuade the U.S. to assume burdens of an international defence organization while retaining for Britain as much political control as possible. This was the only solution Eden came up with to spread the burden of two major obligations for which Britain currently bore primary responsibility. In January 1957, the Suez Canal crisis brought down Prime Minister Eden and caused his resignation to be succeeded by Harold

Monday, July 22, 2019

Ladies & Gentleman Essay Example for Free

Ladies Gentleman Essay The point was about the term â€Å"ladies and gentlemen. † It would be easy to think of upper class women in flashy dresses and extravagant hats and men in tailcoats and top hats when talking about ladies and gentlemen. However, one of my goals when using the terms is to make their definitions much more than mere appearance, if appearance at all. This modernization of the terms helps bring the definition into the current century and throw away the traditional and very close-minded definition. It is for this reason that I believe being a lady or gentleman is based on personality, how a person treats others, I speak for most people who use the term â€Å"ladies and gentlemen† in reference to a person’s conduct, not a person’s class, social standing, race, sexuality. Some, when faced with the terms â€Å"ladies and gentlemen,† will immediately assume the worst by using the outdated definitions. Some will also dig for reasons to label those who use â€Å"ladies and gentlemen†. In labeling us this way, these people do not facilitate any sort of progress for the terms or for any sort of unity for women, or men, ladies or gentleman. We live where we ought to not judge people by the color of their skin, their class, gender, or sexuality, with all of this, there are still groups who refuse to take off their blinders. Ladies and Gentleman, now there is a saying that has been with us for a long time, but what does it really mean and where did it come from? Let’s start with the ladies as we all have been known to do in the century we live in today to always allow ladies to be first. The term ladies could mean many different things to many different cultures so let’s get the one that is primarily recognized by all. There are numerous definitions of a lady and I am sure that we all have varied opinions of what a lady is, but here is a few from the dictionary. â€Å"Chiefly British A general feminine title of nobility and other rank, specifically, Used as the title for the wife or widow of a knight or baronet. Used as a form of address for a marchioness, countess, viscounts, baroness, or baronets’. Used as a form of address for the wife or widow of a baron. Used as a courtesy title for the daughter of a duke, a marquis, or an Earl. Used as a courtesy title for the wife of a younger son of a duke or marquis† (Ladies, n. . ). To discuss gentleman, as in reference to ladies is an entirely different topic but closely related . However to separate them is almost UN heard of in this society we live in today. The writer here feels it of necessity to come up with a definition of what is a gentleman where did this term come from. The definition of what the dictionary states is :, A man of gentle or noble birth or superior social position: Hes too much a gentleman to be a scholar†, Used as a form of address for a group of men (gentleman, n. . ). Now we have a general idea of what a Ladies and a gentleman Are, let’s put them together to get a better understanding of â€Å"Ladies and Gentleman†. To take a look at them individually is one aspect to consider but let’s look at what a well rounded person is first and foremost prior to becoming a Lady or a gentleman. IUomo Universal Literally, â€Å"universal Man† a self reliant, multitalented, freethinking individual â€Å"(Sayre H 2008-2012). From the art work to the poetry of art and even the given philosophy that was all just a cultural part of growing with the ages was known to make Ladies and gentleman and primarily a humanist in all forms of the century. It was certain beliefs and attitudes to help make people what is universally known as well rounded . However the importance from education to cultural practices from philosophy made them who they were and their practice of becoming ladies and gentleman. In a survey conducted I was able to poll ten people and from vary ages and backgrounds. Although they all had varies opinions on what a lady and what a gentleman is. It was a little redundant on what the ladies had to say concerning their definitions, and what the men had in their responses. The simple fact from the ladies side was mostly about the dress of a lady and how they carried themselves in public. However on the men’s side of the scenario it was mostly about them being of a maternal instinct, and mannerisms of a lady one being polite, sincere and genially whole. However when it came to the Gentleman part of this survey it was all about having decent employment and being a good provider, and once again a good father figure. Funny as it seems this was from both the male and the female’s opinion. My age bracket was from one, my son who is twenty one, to my neighbor who is in their sixties. The ladies were a woman in their mid twenties to my mother in her late seventies. Their vocations were that of manufacturing to one of a professional woman a teacher. However it was an interesting fact when I asked these questions to my girl who was brought up well as she calls it blue blood, or if you will high society and her idea’s and experiences being brought up to be a lady. The fact that she was taught to courtesy in her early years and to have proper mannerisms of that type of upbringing to be able to be presented to other able blue blooded men at eighteen for a possible mate to ensure of proper breeding from their bloodline was somewhat a crazy response to my questions on being a lady or a gentleman. Therefore to some things up and to suggest whether or not I agree with Castiglione and his descriptions of a woman and that of a man or should we say a lady and a gentleman? To be or not to be the real question, a woman, lady or man or gentleman. Therefore I will share my opinions on the positives, I see fit and the negatives that I believe could be harmful to ones general character. To be born out of nobility would be an awesome deal but when and where we were born and the freedom of choice in our upbringing is one I am a little half and half on if that makes sense, in other words I do believe it is wonderful to be born with your parents and having them part of your life to help guide you, and to prevent errors in their culture to help make you a well rounded person. However to feel that a judgment is made upon you from whose family you were born into and how you were to dress and what reactions one would have towards you because of your nobility at birth and being told you believe this way or that way I feel is wrong. Therefore to be judgmental of the skin the dress and down to the language and how it is spoken to others and to deem their worthiness by a person’s size is a little farfetched but perhaps in that century the judgment rang true of a person’s actions be it male or female. To be a lady who plucks eyebrows or powders their face, or to be a wanton women to honest men or I believe the proper term here is harlot. Men of good posture and build for fighting wars or one whom is of a cowardice nature, but what of those men who flatly just did not measure up to the standards of a fighter for wars. In our society today we are somewhat powerless of what our physical stature is to become and therefore almost impossible to say what we will become and surely plays an important role in the attitude towards that.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Rail Transport Track

Rail Transport Track SLOVENIAN RAILORADS Rail transport Is the transport of passengers and goods along railways or railroads. A railway can be broken down into two major components. Basically these are the items which move, the locomotives, passenger carrying vehicles (coaches), freight carrying vehicles (goods wagons / freight cars) and those which are fixed, usually referred to as its infrastructure. This category includes the permanent way (tracks) and buildings (stations, freight facilities, viaducts and tunnels). The operation of the railway is through a system of control, originally by mechanical means, nowadays, in most places, electronic and computerised. The volume of traffic on the line dictates the number of tracks required for its operation. These consist of short stretches of double track which allow trains to pass each another. Alternatively, and particularly on freight lines, there may be longer sections of the line that are double track. These sections must be able to accommodate the longest train which normally works on t hat line. Effective traffic control is carried out by a token system. where only one token is available for each single line section. Originally this token was physically exchanged between signalman and driver, later by mechanical means using a device on the locomotive cab side whilst nowadays this system has largely been replaced by an electronic system. The development path of Slovenske Ã… ¾eleznice leads us past old Austria, which Slovenia formed part of until 1918, when Slovenians could witness the start and flourishing of railways in their country. Therefore, the table unavoidably contains major events from the histories of both Austrian and Slovenian railways. Infrastructure Transport corridors Because of political and economical co-operation between European countries after 1990, the need emerged to design a trans-European transport network including all types of transport and to join all European countries by 2010. In railway transport, the network is composed of ten trans-European corridors: 5th corridor and 10th corridor Types of railway track Railway tracks are divided into main and local tracks. They are also divided by the number of tracks. One of them are one-track rails (trains use the same track for both directions) and the others are two-track rails (each track is used for train traffic in a certain direction. Superlatives and statistic dates In terms of the length of the lines and its infrastructure, it is difficult to compare Slovenian railroad with other railway in Europe. However, given Slovenias geographical variety our lines involve some interesting information. Some of those are: The steepest line is from PrvaÄ ina to Ã…  tanjel, the highest railway station is 582 above see level and the lowest is in Koper only 3 m above see level. The longest bridge is in Novo mesto (575 m). The highest bridge is in Most na SoÄ i which is 30 m high. The oldest line is form Ã…  entilj to Celje which was bild on 2 June 1846. Some statistics dates for Slovenian railway: The length of all lines of railway is 1228,6 km. There number of viaducts and culverts is 3.181 and there length is 13,1 km. There are also 93 tunnels and galleries and there length together is 37,3 km. In Slovenia we also have 128 stations, 11 of them are only for freight transport, 10 for passenger transport and 107 for combined transport. International transport In Slovenia passenger transportation is not as important as cargo transportation. That is especially because the trains in Slovenia are slow, uncomfortable, and quite old. Luka Koper is a very important factor for railways and the international transport in Slovenia. Cargo arrives to Slovenia by see and in the harbor it is unloaded of ships and it continues its way mostly by railways to countries like: Austria, Slovakia, Hungary,†¦ In Slovenia the biggest percent of passengers represent the students. And that is especially because of their economical condition. But in many countries across the Europe the trains travel with speeds up to 300 km/hour, are much more punctual, comfortable and also cheep. Slovenia has a direct railway connection with some of those countries. From Ljubljana it is possible to travel to some of European countries. TICKETS AND DISCOUNTS There are a lot of different kinds of tickets and discounts. Different companies give discount to different passengers. Mostly yang people to the age 26 have discounts, and also children and elderly. Some railway companies give discount also to larger groups. SLEEPING CARS AND COUCHETTES Because travelling abroad usually means that journeys will be long, passengers have a possibility to decide for sleeping cars or couchettes. Usually that is possible if the departure is at night. The advantage for travelling with night trains is that you are well-rested, because you are able to get some sleep. Night trains are very convenient if you travel from one city to a another city and you have a byssi schedule. TRANSPORTING CARS AND ANIMALS Cars and bicycles can be transported to trains, but only on certain stations, and at certain time. Cars must not be to high or to heavy. Reservations for cars must be made early enough, and you must be there early enough to load the vehicles. Animals can also be transported, but only smaller animals. The owners are fully responsible for their pet. But the animal must not disturb other passengers. Inland transport 1. DISCOUNTS: Special discounts have children and youth, the elderly and pensioners, families, bigger groups, groups of young people, groups of children,†¦ 2. TYPES OF TICKETS; One way: They sell one-way tickets for all types of trains, for all days of the week, up to two months in advance. Return: They sell return tickets for all types of trains, for all days of the week, up to two months in advance. School: For primary school pupils, secondary school pupils, apprentices and students of college and university programmes, for daily journeys from the place of ones residence to the place of schooling or of performing obligatory practice, and back. Semi-annual, Annual and Monthly: All passengers can buy tickets, whereas student tickets are reserved for pupils, students and apprentices upon submitting the appropriate evidence (certificate or application). Flat rate: For those wishing to travel on all lines of Slovenske Ã… ¾eleznice on all types of trains, first or second class. Slovenian Rail Pass: Slovenian Rail Pass is valid for an unlimited number of journies in Slovenia within 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 successive days. It is intended for  persons, who do not live in Slovenia. 3. WAGON OR TRAIN RENTAL-it is possible to rent special wagons attached to regular trains or even an entire special train. A special wagon must be ordered at least 8 days in advance and a special train at least 15 days in advance. 4. TRAIN AND BUS Combined Train Bus Ticket Combined train bus tickets (weekly and monthly tickets), in co-operation between Slovenian Railways and KAM-BUS since 1996, are available for the Ljubljana-Kamnik line.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Tuesdays with Morrie Analysis

Tuesdays with Morrie Analysis In the Book Tuesdays with Morrie Mitch Albom asks the reader a continual question that reverberates throughout the book: a question that he wrestles back and forth with. His question is simple but deep and compelling; have you had someone close to you leave your life, not completely, but physically? Everything just seemed right when they were in your presence. The moments spent could only be described as what seemed so lovely and pure, the memories often pondered fondly. You keep yourself busy with many a task to dull the senses of what the mind plaques on your inner most being. The feelings of apathy and complacency are feelings that have not brushed across your mind until now, like an artist with a single stroke, a shiny gloss that hazed over your thoughts, now dry and crackling, chipping away and falling far from your mind as if they were never there. Realizing what you had is coming to terms with where you came from and where you are now. Morrie Schwartz was Mitch Albooms sociology professor at Brandeis University whom he has not spoken with in years, and when he discovers that his dear old professor has taken ill with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gherigs disease) while watching a Nightline interview that Morrie did with Ted Koppel he wastes no time in getting back in touch with him. From the onset Mitchs cognitions of what Morrie use to look like are dwarfed by the reality of just how deeply aging and terminal illness have affected his once jovial and lively professor. When he arrives at Morries home in Boston he sees a frail and aged man waiting outside in a wheel chair, a far cry from the dancing fool he remembers him to be. As his first visit is underway he realizes just how confined his old professors life has become, from not being able to leave his home to having a nurse at the house to aid him in tasks that a healthy individual does with ease, becomes a daily routine. After his first visit to Boston Mitch vows to keep coming back every Tuesday in keeping with the same schedule that they had while Mitch was a student of Morrries at Brandeis, because as Morrie says were Tuesday people Mitch. Tuesday after Tuesday Mitch returns to Morries house in West Newton to take in every bit of Morrie he can and extrapolate every ounce of knowledge and wisdom his aging professor can muster, and for sixteen Tuesdays they explored many of lifes central concerns family, marriage, aging, and happiness, to name a few. It becomes increasingly evident just how cruel and unrelenting a disease such as ALS can be, it takes from Morrie the one thing that allows him to exercise his right to free and reckless abandon, his dancing. The slow degenerative effects of this inexorable malady are played out in every stage of the book from the first time we see Mitch baring handfuls of Morries favorite foods to the following where he has trouble lifting his hands to his chin and his in house nurse has to spoon feed him. Morrie had expressed to Mr. Koppel in their first meeting that what he dreaded most about the disease was the likelihood that one day soon, somebody else would have to clean him after using the lavatory. It happened; his worst fear had come to fruition. Morries nurse now has to do it for him, and he realizes this to be the utter surrender to the disease. He is now more than ever entirely reliant on others for virtually all of his necessities. He articulates to Mitch that in spite of the troubles of his reliance on others, he is trying to revel in being an adolescent for a second time. Morrie reiterates that we ought to discard culture if it is not beneficial to our needs, and conveys to Mitch that we must to be loved such as we were when we were children, continuously being held and rocked by our mothers. Mitch sees that at 78 years age, Morrie is generous and giving as an adult while taking and receiving just as a child would. As Morries ailment worsens, so does his hibiscus in the window of his study. It acts as a representation of his life as a natural process of lifes cyclical process. He conveys a story Mitch and also to Mr. Koppel of a wave rolling into shore, signifying death. Morrie articulates his fear of it, but reassures Mitch with that he accepts it and will come back as something far greater. Morrie echoes an aphorism to Mitch When youre in bed, youre dead to signify his ultimate surrender and on Mitchs last visit to see him that is where he laid, like a child, small and frail. This notion of dependence (birth through childhood)-independence (teenage years through adulthood) dependence (late adulthood to death) seems to be the resounding tone throughout our textbook as well, where life is a set stage of transitions from birth-maturing-aging-and death. We care for people when they are young, nurture to foster mature and productive adults, and then again care for them when they cannot do so for themselves. I have and would recommend this book to anyone and everyone, not only for the way it touches me when I recollect upon it and makes me cry with tears of hope and gladness that such a person lived but also for the numerous and invaluable lessons it imparts upon its readers. Alblom has made me change the way I see the world, I see aging as a wonderful and beautiful part of life, not a process to detest but to relish in its loveliness and splendor. There is a beauty in aging that I had not recognized before this book, Morrie Schwartz breathes new life into the coming generations