ICT and Education Essay

Information and Communication technologies (ICTs) are invaluable in the education of young people today. The internet is the most recent ICT development that is popular with the young generation and can therefore be a very important tool in the education of the young people. Internet-based instruction and course delivery is convenient since it makes education more meaningful, responsive, reliable and relevant. Education technology has embraced the internet both for teaching and learning since it is a paradigm shift that enables both beginning computing level, undergraduate or elementary level, and the advanced computing level, for graduates to be more reliable and responsive. A digital native refers to those people who are born in places where digital technologies- ICT, such as computers, mobile phones and the internet already thrive. The ICT will at this juncture be less important to the education of such young people as compared to those who had no access to ICT earlier at home therefore have to learn and adopt ICT later in life (Anderson & Garrison 2003). This term is used to refer mostly to young people in the 21st century who are in deed in the digital age as compared to those born before this period. ICT will be invaluable to digital natives, also called the millennium learners, as they are well endowed with the necessary skills required for one to be in tandem with the dynamic teaching and learning techniques. ICT is significant to education in a number of ways such as: Facilitating faster access to varieties of learning resources that will enhance teaching and learning, provides immediate feedback from people who are remote of distance, provide authentic and updated information, learning can take place at any time of the day or night, facilitates multimedia education approach, provides online libraries and even caters for children with disabilities (Linn, Davis & Bell 2004). Students are able to actively contribute to the construction of knowledge since the internet promotes cooperative learning while at the same time the students can receive immediate feedback from the teachers. The internet has led to a redesigning of course features such as: online resources, syllabi, virtual classrooms, online discussions, interactive learning and fewer lectures (Roxanne & Turoff 2007). Learning is shifted from teacher centered to learner centered as a result of the internet which caters for the needs of the students more adequately and is self-regulated by the students. In addition, the learners develop critical thinking skills, interpersonal skills, better cognition and better management skills. Virtual classrooms are the simulated and computer based environment where there is real time teaching of students from different locations all over the world as if they were at one place at the same time. Instructions are delivered remotely via the internet in these virtual classrooms to teach at high schools, colleges and university to deliver distance education Kariuki & Louis 2004). This method is increasingly becoming popular with students who can now learn from the comfort of their homes and is therefore becoming a major component for education mostly in the developed nations like Britain, the United States, China and Germany. Interactive learning has been developed through the use of engines and programs like face book and twitter where students can chat with their tutors and class mates live to get reading materials, instructions, submit their completed tasks to their tutors and receive immediate feedback on their progress (Plank et al 2009). The internet is therefore an invaluable tool that has significantly impacted to the development of teaching and learning in line with the dynamic world. Reference Kariuki James & Louis Henry (2004), â€Å"The myths about e-learning in higher education,† Taylor & Francis: London Anderson T. & Garrison R, (2003), â€Å"E-learning in the 21st century: a framework for research and practice,† Routledge, London. Starr Roxanne & Murray Turoff, (2007), â€Å"Education goes digital: The evolution of online learning and the revolution in higher education, Routledge Publishers: London. Plank D et al (2009), â€Å"Emerging Web Technologies in Higher Education: A case of incorporating blogs, podcasts and social bookmarks in a web programming course based on students learning styles and technology preferences,† Taylor & Francis: London. Linn M. , Davis E. & Bell P. (2004). â€Å"Internet environments for science education,† Routledge: New York.

Residential Schools

IntroductionFor years, the aboriginal people have been discriminated in Canada. They were perceived as inferior because their native traditions were very different from the white Canadian traditions. In the 19th century, the Canadian government created mandatory residential schools to assimilate the Natives into English speaking and Christian Canadians. The schools were church-run and government funded. They did so thinking their traditions would diminish or be completely eliminated in a few generations. However, the residential schools affected the Natives and the Government negatively, despite it’s original objectives.The residential schools did not provide the proper education for the Natives. Also, many of them were living under poor condition and got abused which lead to different types of traumas in their  adult lives. To continue, the government`s goals were not reached and they had to apologize to the Natives to try to gain their respect. The impact of poor education The education in residential schoolsThere was a total of 130 residential schools across Canada, and about 150 000 children attended those institutes. The main goal of the schools was for the Natives to learn English and adopt the Christian and Canadian culture. To do so, the children were prohibited to speak their language or practice their culture, or else they would receive severe punishments. Aboriginal residential schools provided an inferior education to students than the general population in the public school system. They focused on training students for manual labor in agriculture, industries and domestic work such as cooking, sewing and laundry work. Over 40 pour cent of the teaching staff had not received any kind of professional training. Many students had to work for the school involuntary and unpaid after class because the school could not run without it.The impactWith such a poor education, students who reached the age of eighteen only had up to a fifth grade education . This caused a lot of problems later on when the government tried to incorporate Aboriginal students into public schools. Many of them struggled to keep up with the adjustment and those who wanted to attend university were often restrained to do so. That incident made it difficult for Aboriginal communities to break the cycle of poverty.Residential school conditionsThe poor conditionsMany students were taken away from their families, and were not able to communicate with their siblings who attended the same school. The students were forced to do labour work during their stay at the school and were fed poor quality food. The food that was given was sometimes rotten, moldy and infested with maggots. As a form of punishment, many of them were sexually, mentally and physically assaulted. Also, some of them were forced to sleep outside in the winter and they were used for medical experiments. Survivors remember having needles pushed into their tongue if they were caught  speaking thei r language.These abuses, along with the poor hygiene, overcrowding and inadequate food and health care, resulted in an outrageously high death toll. In 1907, a study by the government medical inspector P.H Bryce reported that 24 pour cent of the kids died ar the schools and 47 to 75 pour cent of those who were discharged from the schools died months within returning home (http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca).The impactThe negative impact of the residential schools on the Native communities still remains to this day. Even the people who did not attend those schools still share the same millstones as their ancestors. These include domestic violence due to personal trauma and the loss of Aboriginal language, culture and traditions. Some of those who have attended the schools suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome and the effects make it challenging to take part in social, family and professional environments. Many of the children grew up without experiencing a nurturing family life and without the acquaintance and skills to raise their own families.Also, the sense of worthlessness that was implanted in the students resulted to self-abuse. The extremely low self-esteem contributed to a high rate of substance use, alcoholism and suicide. The damage caused by the residential schools has caused intergenerational trauma which is the cycle of abuse and trauma from one generation to the next (http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca).The government’s roleThe government’s main goalThe government believed that the socio-cultural difference between themselves and the aboriginal people was too wide. They described the Natives as a savage, ignorant, uncivilized and in need of guidance group of people. They assumed that by creating residential schools, they would be able to easily assimilate the Natives, â€Å"If anything is to be done with the Indian, we must catch him very young. The children must be kept constantly within the circle of civilized con ditions,† ( Davin). Their strategy was to rapidly adapt them to mainstream society through education.However, it did not go as intended. In 1950, despite all their efforts to extinguish the Native culture, the government realised that the integration was not working. Regardless all the  damage that was done, their culture was still surviving. It is at that point that the government recognized the devastating effects of the residential schools. Nevertheless, it wasn`t until 1986 that all doors of the residential schools were closed. The government’s apologyIn 1980, survivors of the residential schools started suing the government and churches for all the destruction the residential schools had caused to their individuals and communities. The federal government and churches involved approved to pay collective and individual rewards to the survivors of the residential schools, in 2007. They also promised to the Native culture that they would establish supporting programs to help heal their grief, and to launch a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is used when a country wants to reconcile and resolve policies or practices, in other words, unify Canada. In 2007, the government announced they would be giving 1.9 billion dollars to the aboriginal people who were forced to attend the schools as a compensation package.They also provided 120 million dollars to the Aboriginal Healing foundation as well as 100 million dollars given by the churches to finance services towards healing initiatives ( www.CBC.ca). On June 11th 2008, a ceremony was held by the House of Common to publicly apologize for the government`s participation and to recognize the negative impact it has done. That apology was left with a wide range of reactions. Some believed that it was a positive step for the government to build a relationship based on mutual respect while others believed that it would not change the government`s connection with th e Aboriginal people. The idea of the residential schools did a lot of harm to the government`s image because many Canadians lost respect towards the government after the truth behind those schools came out.ConclusionTo conclude, residential schools affected the Natives and the Government negatively despite their original objectives in many ways. The residential schools did not provide the proper education for the Natives. Also, many of them got mentally, physically and sexually abused which lead to a cycle of trauma and abuse for the future generations.To continue, the government`s initial goals were not reached and they lost the respect and trust of many  Canadians. Although the government tried to help the Native population financially and through healing support, it is difficult for the victims to leave the past behind. The Aboriginal communities still struggle to adapt to our society, which proves how persistent a nation can be.

How does Shakespeare adapt the holinshed chronicles to create an entertaining piece of theatre? Essay

The Holinshed Chronicles, first published in 1577, contained factual accounts of the reign of Macbeth, and was used as the source material for Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’. During this essay, how Shakespeare used, edited and manipulated this information will be analysed. There are several reasons why Macbeth was a good choice for Shakespeare to base a play on. Firstly, Banquo, a character in ‘Macbeth’, was related to the current King of England and Scotland, James I, so if Shakespeare portrayed Banquo as a good person, his play would gain instant popularity with the royal family. Another reason Shakespeare was drawn to Macbeth was because the factual story of Macbeth included the predictions of three strange women, or witches, and as people in the early 17th century took witchcraft very seriously, it added extra tension for the audience, and once again suited the interests of James I, who had a well known interest in witchcraft. It was typical for Shakespeare’s plays to derive from other people’s work, for example, ‘Macbeth’ was taken from the Holinshed Chronicles. Another example of this is the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’, which was taken from an Italian poem, and turned into a play by Shakespeare. When creating ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare’s main aims were for his play to be popular with the Royal Family, and therefore popular with the general public, which meant that he would make a lot of money from the production. It was also important that the play wasn’t too long, and was easy to perform on stage. Shakespeare included three witches from the beginning of ‘Macbeth’ to incorporate Macbeth into the central role of the play straight away. According to Holinshed, there were not only witches, but also â€Å"certeine wizzards† who prophesied about Macbeth. Rather than include too many ‘supernatural’ characters and complicate the performances on stage, Shakespeare created Hecate, a very powerful witch to make up for lack of witches and wizards from the Holinshed Chronicles. From their first appearance, the witches are in full control of what happens around them, â€Å"When shall we three meet again?† And where and how they appear. This is crucial to the play, as it gets the interest of the audience from the very first scene, because at the time when the play was first produced, there was a very strong belief about witches and the supernatural. Shakespeare is very creative with the way he uses the witches to incorporate the audience into the play. The witches often equivocate when talking to Macbeth, misleading and confusing him, â€Å"The power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.† This technique is also effective when used to create dramatic irony, for example when it is used at the beginning of the play, â€Å"All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter.† Shakespeare clearly highlighted the witches power throughout the play by using the various aforementioned techniques throughout the play. The witches language also helped for them to be taken seriously by the Shakespearean crowd, because they talked in iambic pentameter, and the people watching the play most probably wouldn’t speak like that, so it helped to give the witches an extra ‘edge’ in the performance. The inclusion of the witches in the play was of up most importance, and was most probably a factor in Shakespeare’s decision to use the story of Macbeth for his play. It must also be taken into account that the play wasn’t being performed with any effects, just a stage, so it was crucial that Shakespeare made the scenes possible to perform, (Shakespeare’s plays were never meant to be read) whilst still using some form of stagecraft. A good example of this is from the â€Å"witches dance† scene. This would have looked good on stage, but it was equally simple to perform, with no additional effects required. In ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare portrays Duncan as a good ruler, who is well respected and liked. This conflicts with the Holinshed Chronicles, which suggest that Duncan was a terrible leader with little support or respect. Even though Shakespeare uses the Chronicles as the main source for his play, he mixes factual information with fiction, to make the play more appealing and exciting. Duncan first appears in the play in battle, and seems like a commanding character in control of his actions, but is later revealed to make errors in judgement, â€Å"He [the traitor] was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust.† His judgemental errors show again when he admires Macbeth’s castle, â€Å"This castle hath a pleasant seat† which will ultimately be the place of his murder. Despite this, Shakespeare again portrays him as a good king, as this is the main reason that Macbeth has doubts over his murder. One of the main reasons Shakespeare wanted to portray Duncan as a good king was to make the murder of him more dramatic. If he had portrayed Duncan as a bad monarch whom people disliked, his murder wouldn’t have been such a terrible act, and Macbeth would have faced little consequences. Instead, we are given an opportunity to see Macbeth rise to his zenith and quickly fall to his nadir shortly after in the play. Another reason for the murder of a ‘good’ Duncan was to grab the attention of an audience that were watching the play at a time when there was a great belief in the Divine Right of Kings. It is widely believed that Shakespeare changed Duncan’s character in a similar way to the other characters he portrayed differently than Holinshed – to cater to James I, the current King of England and Scotland. Throughout ‘Macbeth’, Banquo is seen as the opposite of Macbeth, where as in the Holinshed Chronicles, it’s written that Banquo was as eager as Macbeth, and willing to support him throughout his plots and kingship. We first see Banquo at the beginning of the play, with Macbeth when they meet the witches, who tell the prophecies about Macbeth. Whilst Macbeth is thinking about the prophecies and plotting his next move, Banquo shows doubts, â€Å"Are ye fantastical, or that indeed which outwardly ye show?† This highlights the contrast between Macbeth and Banquo from the beginning of the play. As the play advances, we see the relationship between the two put under great strain, as Banquo is the only person who knows about Macbeth’s plots and murder of the king, â€Å"I fear thou played’st most foully for’t.† Despite this, Banquo still pledges his loyalty to the new king, but is however murdered anyway due to the paranoia of Macbeth, and the seriousness in which Macbeth takes the witches predictions of Banquo’s children becoming king. There were several reasons why Shakespeare would have wanted to do this to Banquo’s character in ‘Macbeth’. Firstly, it highlighted the contrast between Macbeth, and his once close friend. It also highlighted Macbeth’s paranoia over the predictions of the witches, so much so that he was driven to murder his close friend to keep his throne. It is also another adaptation of Shakespeare’s that emphasises how he tried to adapt the play to suit the current king of England and Scotland, James I. At the time of writing it was believed that the king was a descendent of Banquo, so Shakespeare would have wanted to portray him as a good character, therefore gaining the approval of the Royal Family and making the play instantly popular. Macduff, a crucial character in the plot of ‘Macbeth’, is only first seen in the middle of Act 2, and plays a rather scarce role in the play. However, this does not reduce the significance that he has on the plot of the play. Macduff is suspicious of Macbeth as soon as he takes the throne, and suspects that he killed Duncan. Macduff’s suspicions of Macbeth are key to the plot, as it is he who flees to England to build an army capable of challenging Macbeth when he hears that his family have been murdered by Macbeth, â€Å"Within my sword’s length set him. If he scape, heaven forgive him too.† This is another example of a character being the friend of Macbeth at the start of the play, and turning against him as the play progresses. â€Å"Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself†. In productions of ‘Macbeth’, Macduff’s main scene’s, such as his campaign in England and final battle with Macbeth, are hard to produce on stage. This has resulted in many productions cutting his scene in England, and Shakespeare changing the location of Macbeth’s final battle. According to Holinshed, when Macbeth finds out about Macduff being born by Caesarean section, â€Å"Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely ripped.† he flees, and is pursued by Macduff. However, in the play, Macbeth and Macduff fight at Dunsinane and Macbeth is ultimately slain. This is an example of how stagecraft was a major hurdle in Shakespeare’s productions, and how they were written. Shakespeare based Lady Macbeth on a person from Holinshed, Queen Gruoch of Scotland, however, he strongly exaggerates and changes the character to suit her role in the play. Lady Macbeth plays a key role in the plot of the play from the first time we see her, at the end of Act 1. Without Lady Macbeth, it is very probable that the play’s plot wouldn’t be able to exist, as it is Lady Macbeth who fuels Macbeth’s ambitions throughout the play. She is constantly twisting the thoughts of Macbeth and propelling him to do the awful things that he does throughout. In Lady Macbeth’s first appearance, when she hears of the witches predictions she calls on evil spirits to assist her in her plans for Duncan’s murder, â€Å"Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe topfull of direst cruelty.† As the play progresses, we see Lady Macbeth overpower the will and thoughts of Macbeth, for example, when she proposes the murder of Duncan, Macbeth goes back on his word, saying that he wants nothing to do with the murder. At the end of that same scene, however, Lady Macbeth has managed to manipulate his thoughts, and get him to go through with the murder, â€Å"I have given suck and know how tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this.† Even though it’s Lady Macbeth who is in control of events in the play, she too suffers great anxiety after all the terrible things she does. By the end of Act 3, there are signs of her conscious taking over her, with her taking no part in the murder of Macduff’s family, a major plot in Act 4, an act in which she doesn’t feature at all. By the beginning of Act 5, Lady Macbeth starts to sleepwalk, and give away everything that her and Macbeth have plotted and done, â€Å"The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these hands ne’er be clean?† This adds dramatic effect to the end of a scene to keep the audience interested in the play, and offers a different perspective on a strong looking character. Macbeth is the main character of the play, and is probably the most interesting character to analyse. We first see Macbeth in the first half of Act 1, where he is a military hero, with no real ambition but to do the best he can for his country. Throughout ‘Macbeth’, we see him manipulated by his wife and murder his way to kingship, sometimes against his will, but other times, such as when Macduff’s family are murdered, there is no mention of outside influence. Although it seems like it is Lady Macbeth who is in command of what happens to potential threats and Macbeth, she never actually commits any of the murders herself. This could suggest that she knew what consequences could come from the beginning, and wanted it to be on Macbeth’s shoulders, not hers, however, she also suffers from mental illness due to the murders later on in the play. During his transition from hero to hated villain, we see how much Macbeth is plagued by his conscience and the knowledge that what he is doing is wrong, â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business, he hath honoured me of late.† There are two factors that prevent his conscience from taking command however, the witches and Lady Macbeth, both of whom he can’t ignore. As the play progresses, Macbeth struggles to trust anyone, even his wife, who he earlier said was his â€Å"dearest partner of greatness†. This leads to the murder of a lot of people that Macbeth doesn’t trust, including Banquo, who was his good friend, and ally for a short period of time. Although he is easily manipulated, he can also manipulate other people, depending on who he’s around, for example, when talking to royalty, or important people, Macbeth could talk in verse, or iambic pentameter. He also had the ability to talk well to â€Å"low-status characters†, such as the Porter or the Murderers, speaking in prose. We also see a different side to Macbeth during his soliloquies, as we see what he is thinking at crucial parts of the play. For example, in Act 5, Scene 5, when he performs his famous â€Å"Tomorrow† soliloquy, we see an insight into his emotions and feelings about how he feels he has lost his friends and family. Shakespeare’s use of the soliloquies of Macbeth throughout the play creates a unique opportunity for the audience to see a glimpse of what Macbeth is thinking and feeling, creating a better audience response throughout, and maybe giving the audience a chance to feel sorry for Macbeth, before he dies honourably in battle. There are many different techniques that are used throughout the play, and a lot of language in different styles and formats. It is crucial to remember that Shakespeare’s plays were written in the 16th Century for the 16th Century, not for us to read in a book 400 years later. Shakespeare uses lots of imagery in his plays, which was crucial for an audience of that time, as the play was only performed on stage with no special effects, (apart from the occasional trap door†¦) so the use of imagery in the play allowed the audience to get a better picture on what was happening in the play. Shakespeare’s ability to use both iambic pentameter and prose makes ‘Macbeth’ stand out, because you are given a chance to see the intelligence of characters such as Macbeth, who use both iambic pentameter, â€Å"To know my deed, ’twere best not know my self† and prose, â€Å"I did so, and went further, which is now the point of second meeting.† The language that Shakespeare chooses to use is also crucial to understanding the relationships between characters, such as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In the early scenes, the two use iambic pentameter when talking to eachother, which shows a trust and understanding between them. However, in the later scenes, this trust is broken, and the language used in the scenes containing these characters reflects that as their consciences start to eat away at them, â€Å"Out, damned spot! Out, I say! One, two. Why then ’tis time to do’t?† Stagecraft was of up most importance when the play was performed in the 16th century (and now) as the play was never meant to be read, just performed. With limited equipment/effects, it was difficult to produce a play that was easy to perform on stage, however, Shakespeare wrote his plays in such a way that they grabbed the attention of the audience whilst being simple to perform at the same time. A particularly good example of stagecraft is the witches’ dance from the beginning of Act 4, â€Å"Double, double told and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.† This is particularly effective, as it can be performed easily on stage, but it also grabs the attention of the audience to keep them interested. Also, because it doesn’t require any spectacular effects, it could be performed fairly easily in 16th century Britain. Because the play is limited to a number of acts/scenes, it was necessary for Shakespeare to either miss out sections mentioned in Holinshed entirely or edit them to make them more performable. A good example of this is the final battle between Macbeth and Macduff. According to the Holinshed Chronicles, Macbeth tried to flee from his castle, but got caught by Macduff and killed. In ‘Macbeth’, the whole scene takes place at the castle. This allows the scene to be performed whole on stage, so there is no loss of tension between scenes, and it makes it easier and cheaper to perform, because less sets are required and it isn’t as broken up. In reality, Macbeth’s reign over Scotland lasted 17 years before he was killed, however, this would have been inappropriate for a play of this length, so Shakespeare had to narrow his reign down to only a few months. This helped the performance, because it made it much more dramatic, creating a better audience response. Settings of the play also had to be narrowed down, due to time, cost and convenience on stage. For example, in reality, there was lots more English involvement, and Shakespeare only covers a very small scene in England. This is because the play is explained well enough without the English scene, so it was un-necessary to add more scenes which weren’t needed. After having the chance to study the play from both the book and movie, it’s clearer what limitations Shakespeare had. For example, in a film, special effects can be added, and more scenes made available in the production. On stage however, there are more limitations, for example, when Birnam Wood ‘moves’ towards Dunsinane Castle, effects can be added in a film, but on stage you are limited to basic props and no additional technology. This changes how the audience interprets the story, because you get a better idea of how it was from a movie, with more advanced editing, compared to watching it how it was probably performed originally on stage, In conclusion, there are various ways in which the Holinshed Chronicles are adapted to make an entertaining piece of theatre, but in my opinion there are a few key points. Firstly, I think that ‘Macbeth’ has been so entertaining and successful, because there was already an interesting plot and opportunity to impress the current king. Secondly, Shakespeare’s use of iambic pentameter and prose makes the language of the play very interesting and it is clever how the information in Holinshed is twisted, manipulated and made more dramatic to create a very entertaining piece of theatre.

Ethnic Segregation and Its Effects in America Assignment

Ethnic Segregation and Its Effects in America - Assignment Example From the American mapping, New York leads among the most segregated large cities with a great degree of racial diversity which intensifies the high rate of ethic segregation in the city. Ethnic segregation in the US is mainly seen in the residential settings. Research shows that the whites are populated in one area while the backs, Asians and Latino have their own separate residential sites. The whites are mainly found clustered together with few other races in their midst. Birth weight segregation similarly has high degree regarding the segregation as it separates the Asians, blacks, whites and Latino from each other. Many places are known by the originality of the persons. Racial diversity impacts negatively on the American residents. Research shows that the African American residents have problems in accessing good quality jobs or even lack them in the long run. Researches shows that the spatial segregation of blacks from the whites led to segregated modes of employments and hence race based employment which leads to varied economic status and thus high poverty rates among the blacks as compared to the whites. Ethnic segregation similarly leads to health segregation. Research shows that the blacks are prone to very poor health conditions as perceived from the birth results. The discriminated persons similarly have limited access to the health facilities which diminishes their health conditions.

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

English - Essay Example The government has been steadfast in fighting the various forms of crimes. Although, there have been some notable achievements in this campaign, it is clear that a lot have to be done to bring the vice to the lowest levels. Apparently, a number of issues are allegedly caused by the increased crime rates. These problems includes increased public burden, increased expenses and cost to the society, the need to involve so many parties to resolve the vice, and the need to enact and modify existing laws to accommodate new form of crimes. Records show that crime has been around for a long time now. It is also evident that criminal activities have caused lot of pain and problems to the society. A Lot of resources are used every year to fight this battle. However, there is need to double the efforts since the crimes rates are generally considered quite high. This has caused concern to many people since such levels of violence being experienced are a threat to the stability of the society. The major crimes that are causing chaos include terrorism, theft, violence, rape, fraud, trading illegal drugs among many others (Osofsky, 2005). These criminal activities have left tremendous suffering to the community. Many people end up in jail when they are caught committing felony, while others have been killed in these unfortunate circumstances (Osofsky, 2005). The major concern is that the victims are mostly the innocent people in the community. Lots of money have been lost, stolen or destroyed when these criminal activities take place. This lead to negative effect to the economy of the country while at the same time destroying peoples’ financial status and their source of income. Government spends quite an amount on both human and material recourses to fight the vice, which would otherwise be channeled into other productive areas such as improving infrastructure and other beneficial sectors. Inadequate measures by the responsible parties have perpetrated the criminal act ivities in the society. Police officers, lawyers, and human rights organizations all have a key role in ensuring that there is an acceptable level of peace in the community. They have a responsibility in ensuring that every individual in the community is safe. However, they have in many cases they have failed to honor their duties by performing below the expected standards. In some instances, there have been claims where police officers have failed to respond on time to a distress call from crime victims only to appear when the damage already done. Some criminal investigations have been unsatisfactorily been carried out while others remain pending and closed cases (Allen, 2000). The Human Rights Organizations have also been found insufficient in carrying out their duties. They are allegedly biased in offering their services to the victims. The poor people in the community are not fully represented in the organizations. Judicial system on the other hand has been accused of being corr upt. These individuals are â€Å"bought† to rule cases in favor of the guilty parties (Regoli, 2009). The policies and legislations that are meant to regulate crime rates have been found to be highly ineffective. More often than not, criminals manage to evade justice by taking advantage of loopholes in the judicial system that is brought about by the existence of ineffective legislations. Most of these legislations were enacted a long time ago. Today’s crimes have changed becoming more sophisticated in the process (Allen, 2000).

Direct and e-Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Direct and e-Marketing - Essay Example One of the basic principles of the Direct Marketing is usage of a database for storing personal customer data and their purchase history. Roll notes that fundamental benefit to the business is that you are able to treat your existing customers in a different way to new prospects and thus create loyalty and maximize profitability. (Roll 2003) So the main purpose of the Direct and e-Marketing for Les Cadeaux Gourmets is to carry out an active strategy and to get more sales from the returned customers. Customer lifetime value (also variously referred to as lifetime customer value or just lifetime value, and abbreviated CLV, LCV, or LTV) is a marketing metric that projects the value of a customer over the entire history of that customer's relationship with a company. Use of customer lifetime value as a marketing metric tends to place greater emphasis on customer service and long-term customer satisfaction, rather than on maximizing short-term sales. (Wikipedia). As Les Cadeaux Gourmets spend some money for advertisement to attract a number of customers, it would be unreasoned to loose them. Calculating customer lifetime value will help company to know exactly how much each customer is worth in dollar terms and therefore exactly how much a marketing department should be willing to spend to acquire each customer. Thus it would be possible to range customers from the most profitable to the least ones and to concentrate the company's efforts on the most profitable customers. Use of customer lifetime value can also help to predict what customers will buy over years. For example, if Mary Smith buys a toy for a 4-year baby in 2005, she will probably order a toy for a 5-year baby in 2006. If Mr. Jones buys bath & body care pieces in March three years in a row, it's possible to make a conclusion that he makes presents for the birthday of his wife and send offering with new products to him in the next March. So Les Cadeaux Gourmets should truck its customers' purchases and use them for planning its advertising campaign. Also the company should monitor customers' responses over time for as long as the relationship with them lasts. Geodemographic profiling uses detailed information based on postcode to match differing lifestyle profiles to the customer database. Postcodes do not resolve down to individual addresses but provide pretty good targeting. Les Cadeaux Gourmets can use geodemographic division of customers into some categories and then offer its goods to each specific category. For example, customers ranking by nationality allows taking into consideration national traditions. Les Cadeaux Gourmets can congratulate customers from Israel with Hanukah, customers from the Middle East with Ramadan and wish other customers Merry Christmas. As a result of this national-specific proposals could be sent to each category. Use of external database with information about postcodes and countries also allows choosing seasonal proposals: in winter there is cold in the US and hot in Australia. Les Cadeaux Gourmets can use this information for advertising of clothes and other season-specific goods. Special databases cover such categories as consumer expenditure, crime statistics, business and employment, and many others. One of the more powerful special databases is called a segmentation system. A segmentation system is useful because it allows users to add another dimension by displaying lifestyle clusters

A Modest Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

A Modest Proposal - Essay Example The majority of the people who were born in Ireland were Roman Catholics and they used to work as labors of agriculture or tenant farmers. The owners of the land known as landlords required a high compensation for leasing their land. These landlords were usually Protestants and were considered to be the ruling class. The majority of them were not the natives of Ireland by birth nor did they use to live over there permanently. If some labors lost the job they were doing, their position in a job was soon taken over by the other people who are poor living there. Ireland, at that time had the same level of starvation as it can be seen in today’s third world countries along with no social security system. Swift’s â€Å"Modest Proposal†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s beginning is based upon the real poverty of the people living in Ireland. Swift presented this pamphlet in a sympathetic manner, but provided the facts and details which indicated an excessive population beyond the capacity of the farmers. mentioned about selling children for slavery as a possibility of living, but is against this as nobody will ever buy children who are younger than twelve years of age rather than being against for this possibility due to its cruelty and wrongness.

Measuring Business Performance Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Measuring Business Performance - Coursework Example Kinney (2009) defines effectiveness is the state of doing the right things within and the limits that have been put, on the other hand efficiency is the state of doing things the right way. Effectiveness aims at outcome regardless of how resources are used while in efficiency focus on the process considering resource allocation. A good example is a company that deals with customer care services, if a worker achieves their daily target then they are effective. However, reaching targets does not mean all the calls successfully connected the customer. On the other hand, a worker may not reach the daily set targets but all his or her calls connect to customers, this is efficiency. 1. Efficiency and effectiveness enables a company saves resources and ensures maximum utilization of the same. When employees work efficiently, they utilize most of the resource with minimal or no wastage respectively. In doing so, the purposes for which the resources were intended for will are met. If efficiency is not there, some resources will be wasted meaning that new ones will have to be purchased thus affecting maximization of the resources. 2. Effectiveness and efficiency leads to expansion of a business. Through effectiveness company can meet targets and produce large volumes of quality goods per a given period of time. This means that the company will sell more goods per unit period. Increase in sales leads to purchase of new equipment that will demand space. The company will therefore expand so as to provide room for the equipment. 3. Efficiency and effectiveness increases profit margin of a company. When a company is efficient, it means that they are maximizing the use of the available resources. If effectiveness is applied, then the company will produce more commodities with minimum materials hence bringing up the profit margin of the company. Lyons (2013) note that in case of inflation, it is very hard to determine the performance of

Discussion Question 1 Week 4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion Question 1 Week 4 - Assignment Example In a cigarette industry where I am employed, in the past twenty years, the U.S. cigarette companies used to spend as much as $1.1 billion on marketing alone. That marketing involved advertising, labeling and promotion of cigarette smoking. Before the enactment of the law in 1970, brands of cigarettes regularly sponsored the American television and radio programs in 1960s and 1950s. In early 1970s, marketing of cigarettes then extended to newspapers, magazines and to billboards. Ten years before the enactment of the tobacco law, all tobacco companies continued to advertise, promote and label cigarette packages with messages such as â€Å"approved by doctor† along with images of beautiful models and athlete who are enjoying their life with cigarettes in their hands to raise the awareness, sales and preference of the cigarette brand. Due to the kind of cigarette advertisements by cigarette companies, consumers of cigarettes continued to smoke without knowing the health impact of excessive usage of tobacco and cigarettes. That was because smoking advertisements were majorly focused on glamorizing smoking and did not expose the grim realities of using tobacco. For all that period, the cigarette companies did not succeed in fulfilling the promise of enlightening its consumers about health effects caused by smoking. Adamson (2010) states that the failure of manufacturers of cigarettes to discharge these promises making the consumers to remain misinformed concerning the smoking risks associated with their health. The Tobacco Control Act was endorsed to regulate advertising and marketing of cigarette and tobacco. These included introduction of new warnings for products of smokeless tobacco and prohibition of manufacturing products that used deceptive descriptive terms like â€Å"low†, â€Å"light† and â€Å"mild†. In the next 10 years, if this law is not repealed, it will lead to a negative impact on cigarette business. This is

The Chimney Sweeper Timed Write Essay Example for Free

The Chimney Sweeper Timed Write Essay These poems have many similarities, but also have some differences. Diction, poetic techniques, and the tones of each poem are some of the similarities and differences. The author’s purpose for writing both these poems is to show how things change from innocence to experience over time, and to show how it affects the people involved. These poems are similar in the way that the author uses meter, figurative language, and poetic technique. Irony is also a big part of the way the poems can be seen as similar. In the first poem the author writes, â€Å"So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.† This is ironic because if the kids do carry their duties out, they will actually be harmed, and will not be safe as the quote implies. Similarly the author uses irony in the next poem, which shows more experience rather than innocence like the first, when he writes, â€Å"Who make up a heaven of our misery.† This is ironic because heaven is always thought to be a happy wonderful place, where no one is sad or in pain or anything else of that nature. Another way these poems are similar is the way the author uses symbols. In both poems the colors white and black are used. In the first poem â€Å"white hair† shows the innocence, while in the second poem, â€Å"A little black thing† is showing the experience and how it has been stained. Other symbols in the poems include lambs, snow, and soot. These represent innocence, purity, and the stain of experience on the innocence of the children. Lastly the meters are the same in each poem, both are anapestic. These poems have many similarities to show the connection between the two different poems and how innocence will change to experience. Although these poems have many similarities, the author uses differences in each poem to show how things change, and when they change from innocence to experience things are very different. In the first poem you can almost hear a childlike playful tone, it seems as though the kids do not know what they are getting into and are kind of excited about a new adventure. While in the second poem, songs of experience, the tone is darker, the kids are not excited about the adventure; they are scared and know how dangerous it is. It talks more about death and criticizes monarchy and religion, as though they are blaming them for their misery and pain. Both of these tones are best described in, â€Å"Tho’ the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;† This is from the first poem, they are still happy although they know they are in a danger. From the second poem, â€Å"They clothed me in clothes of death,† this is a very somber line and shows how the child now knows the dangers and has experienced tragedy. The author uses these differences to show us the way that, as life goes on sometimes perspectives change, and sometimes it is for the worse.

Corporate Strategy Tata Corus Acquisition Marketing Essay

Corporate Strategy Tata Corus Acquisition Marketing Essay Corporate Strategy is about enabling an organization to achieve and sustain superior overall performance and returns. It is a core responsibility of senior executives and encompasses a range of critical activities, from defining and refining corporate vision to strategic performance measurement and management. Organizations are facing exciting and dynamic challenges in the 21st century. In the globalised business, companies require strategic thinking and only by evolving good corporate strategies can they become strategically competitive. A sustained or sustainable competitive advantage occurs when firm implements a value creating strategy of which other companies are unable to duplicate the benefits or find it too costly to initiate. Corporate strategy includes the commitments, decisions and actions required for a firm to achieve strategic competitiveness and earn above average returns. Corporate growth strategies Growth can be achieved by different means. One approach is from within and another is from outside -that is combinations. Different forms of combinations are: Amalgamation/Merger: Merger takes place when there is a combination of two or more organizations. Merger does create a new corporation. Acquisition/takeovers: One Company acquires another companys controlling interest. The acquired company operates as a separate division or subsidiary by offering cash or securities in exchange for majority of shares of another company. Sales of Assets: A company can sell its assets to another and cease to exist. Holding company acquisition: This is a quasi merger. Either the total or majority of a firms stock will be acquired. The purpose is only management and control of other. Mergers can also be classified into the following forms: 1. Horizontal mergers take place when there is a combination of two or more organizations in the same business, or of organizations engaged in certain aspects of the production or marketing process. For instance a company making footwear combines with another retailer in the same business. 2. Vertical mergers take place when there is a combination of two or more organizations not necessarily in the same business, which complement either in terms of supply of materials (inputs) or marketing of goods and services (outputs). For instance a footwear company combines with a leather tannery or with a chain of she retail stores. 3. Concentric mergers take place when there is a combination of two or more organizations related to each other either in terms of customer functions, customer groups, or the alternative technologies used. A footwear company combining with hosiery firm making socks or another specialty footwear company, or with a leather goods company making purses, handbags, and so on. 4. Conglomerate mergers take place when there is a combination of two more organizations unrelated to each other, either in terms of customer functions, customer groups, or alternative technologies used. For Example: A foot wear company combining with a pharmaceuticals firm. In our project report, we explore the various facets of perhaps one of the most important acquisitions ever made by an Indian Company, that of Tata-Corus. History of the two giants TATA Group Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in the Bombay House in Mumbai, India. In terms of market capitalization and revenues, Tata Group is the largest private corporate group in India. It has interests in chemicals, steel, automobiles, information technology, communication, power, beverages, and hospitality. The Tata Group has operations in more than 80 countries across six continents and its companies export products and services to 80 nations. The Tata Group comprises 114 companies and subsidiaries in eight business sectors. Its total revenue is $67.4 billion, profit $1.74 billion and total assets $52.8 billion. The main aim of the TATA group is to improve the quality of life of the community it serves. The group has played a pioneering role in a variety of fields after Indias independence and it is widely respected for the initiatives it has taken in different fields for upliftment of the country. TATA Steel Tata Steel Group is one of Indias largest integrated private sector steel companies. The group manufactures and distributes steel, welded steel tubes, cold rolled strips, bearings, and other related products. Tata Steel Group operates across Asia, Europe, and Australia. Tata Steel Group is headquartered in Mumbai, India and employs about 86,600 people. The group recorded revenues of INR 1,473,292.6 million (approximately $32,147.2 million) in the financial year ended March 2009 (FY2009), an increase of 12% over FY2008. The operating profit of the group was INR141,279.5 million (approximately $3,082.7 million) in FY2009, compared with an operating profit of INR 141,213.4 million (approximately $3,081.3 million) in FY2008. The net profit was INR49,509 million(approximately $1,080.3 million) in FY2009, a decrease of 59.9% compared with FY2008.It is the worlds sixth largest steel company with capacity of 31 million tones per annum (tpa).The group is the worlds second most geographically diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and commercial presence in more than 50 countries. Tata Steel Groups strong market position gives it advantage of scale and increases its bargaining power. The story of Tata Steel is a century old. And so is the story of steel in India. Etched with the visions and hardships of a single man, the story has flowed through ages to re-define steel in every way. The saga, which started in 1907, completed a century of trust in 2007 and carries on. Over the years this one company has discovered different avenues of effective steel utilisation and its story defines and re-defines conventional wisdom in more ways than one.The Steel Company obtained its first colliery in 1910, adding six more in course of time. Several mines were spread over the states of Bihar, Orissa and Karnataka. The Tatas soon became the first to own a fully mechanised iron ore mine in India at Noamundi. The Coal Beneficiation Plant at West Bokaro undertook beneficiation of low-grade coal, thus helping in the conservation of the fast dwindling resources of high quality coal. The collieries, the mines and the quarries together furnish the bulk of the raw material requirements of the plant. When the entire world was reeling in the Great Depression, the Tatas survived and supplied nearly three-fourth of the countrys steel requirements. By the Second World War, Tatas production capacities had expanded enough to make their prices lower than those of steel produced in England, raising them to an authoritarian position. Post-Independence the Tatas decided to set on the Herculean task of nation building. The much-required steel for the newly devised Five-year Plans came from the Tata factories. The Company undertook the Howrah Bridge in Calcutta, the Bhakra-Nangal Project and the Damodar Valley Corporation, the port at Kandla, the city of Chandigarh and many more important projects. The last decade of the twentieth century happened to be a very hectic period of self-renewal and growth for Tata Steel. An extensive technological overhaul, several improvement projects, cost control measures, optimising IT support and a strong customer-centric approach were all instrumental in finding the right direction for changing outlooks. At the turn of the millennium, Tata Steel had earned the complete trust of the whole wide world and emerged as a strong entity in the global steel industry.The last decade has been marked by Tata Steels prominent role in the overall development of the country, even during phases of economic turbulence and its decisive foray into more and more global territory. Intense strategic thinking about future expansions, plans for organic growth and initiation of new projects are a few highlights in Tata Steels expanding and more penetrative roles in the larger perspective. The acquisition of NatSteel in 2004 was Tata Steels first overseas acquisition a nd the series of joint ventures and mergers that followed found a peak when the acquisition of Corus, happened in April 2007. But in every positive step that the Company has taken towards growth and expansion, involving diverse cultures and geographies, Tata Steel has never lost sight of its great heritage of social and community responsibility. The long journey of Tata Steel has seen the Company re-define its performance parameters in a number of ways to become the global steel industry benchmark for value creation and corporate citizenship. It ensures a total commitment to its ethical business practices and a people oriented vision. SWOT Analysis Of Tata Steel Strengths Strong market position Integrated steel operations in India Strong research and development (RD) capabilities Weakness Dependence on third party suppliers for raw material in Europe Dependence on Europe Opportunities Expansion in India Joint ventures to develop mining activities Anticipated demand for steel in India Threats Consolidation in the global steel industry Environmental regulations Corus Group Corus Group plc was formed on 6th October 1999, through the merger of two companies, British Steel and Koninklijke Hoogovens, following the privatization of many steelworks companies by the U.K. government. The company consists of four divisions which include: Strip Products, Long Products, Aluminum and Distribution and Building Systems. With headquarters in London, Corus operates as an international company, satisfying the demand of many steel customers worldwide. Its core business comprises of manufacturing, development and allocation of steel and aluminum products and services.The company has a wide variety of products and services which comprise of the manufacturing of electrical steel, narrow strip, plates, packaging steel, plated steel strip, semi finished steel, tube products, wire rod and rail products and services. However, the company is also engaged in providing a variety of services including design, technology and consultancy services. Corus products and services are acq uired by customers from diverse fields such as commercial and military aerospace ventures, the automotive, construction, engineering, defense and security, as well as the rail and shipbuilding industry. In terms of performance, the company is regarded as the largest steel producer in the UK. It is headquartered in London, the UK and employs 21,300 people. The group recorded revenues of  £9,733 million during the fiscal year ended December 2006, an increase of 6.3% over 2005. The operating profit of the company  £457 million a decline of 28.9% over 2005. The net profit was  £229 million in fiscal year 2006, a decline of 49.2% over 2005. SWOT Analysis Of Corus Group Strengths Diversified product portfolio Strong technology Diversified geographic presence Weakness Rising expenses Lack of scale Weak returns Opportunities Positive outlook for the aircraft industry Growing US construction industry Growing Chinese steel market Threats Economic slowdown in the US and Eurozone Consolidation in the global steel industry Increase in energy and fuel costs The Deal The deal (between Tata Corus) was officially announced on April 2nd, 2007 at a price of 608 pence per ordinary share in cash. This deal was a 100% acquisition and the new entity was be run by one of Tatas steel subsidiaries. As stated by Tata, the initial motive behind the completion of the deal was not Corus revenue size, but rather its market value. Even though Corus is larger in size compared to Tata, the company was valued less than Tata (at approximately $6 billion) at the time when the deal negotiations started. But from Corus point of view, as the management has stated that the basic reason for supporting this deal were the expected synergies between the two entities. Corus has supported the Tata acquisition due to different motives. However, with the Tata acquisition Corus has gained a great and profitable opportunity to make an exit as the company has been looking out for a potential buyer for quite some time. The total value of this acquisition amounted to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¤6.2 billion (US$12 billion). Tata Steel the winner of the auction for Corus declared a bid of 608 pence per share surpassing the final bid from Brazilian Steel maker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) of 603 pence per share. Prior to the beginning of the deal negotiations, both Tata Steel and Corus were interested in entering into an MA deal due to several reasons. The official press release issued by both the company states that the combined entity will have a pro forma crude steel production of 27 million tones in 2007, with 84,000 employees across four continents and a joint presence in 45 countries, which makes it a serious rival to other steel giants. The official declaration of the completed transaction between the two companies was announced to be effective by Court of Justice in England and Wales and consistent with the Scheme of Arrangement of the Tata Steel Scheme on April 2, 2007. According the Scheme regulations, Tata Steel was required to deliver a consideration not later than 2 weeks following the official date of the completion of the transaction. At the time of acquisition, nearly 49% of Corus was owned by British shareholders, 11% by North American shareholders, 10% by Dutch shareholders and another 30% by shareholders in Germany, France, Belgium and other countries. At first, it had appeared that Tata would get Corus unopposed as the bid had received favourable initial response from the Corusà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ Board. The Corus board had unanimously accepted Tata Steels takeover proposal and had even recommended it for shareholders approval. However, things changed soon after CSN entered the fray, making a more competitive offer than Tata. The bidding process continued for three months with CSN countering each successive move by Tata with a higher bid for the equity of Corus. For example, when Tata raised their bid to $9.2 billion for Corusà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ equity in early December 2006, CSN countered it with $9.6 billion within hours of the Tataà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s offer. When months of takeover battle could not determine the winner, UKà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s Takeover Panel announced that it would hold an auction with a maximum of nine rounds to decide the winner. The auction took place on 30th January 2007. On the auction eve, Ratan Tata along with Tata Steel managing director B Muthuraman were monitoring the Corus auction taking place thousands of miles away in London. The Tata Sons director Arun Gandhi, their investment bankers and advisers were in London representing Tata Steel. The entire deal timeline is detailed below: Deal Timeline September 20, 2006 : Corus Steel has decided to acquire a strategic partnership with a company that is a low cost producer October 5, 2006 : The Indian steel giant, Tata Steel wants to fulfill its ambition toExpand its business further. October 6, 2006 : The initial offer from Tata Steel is considered to be too low both by Corus and analysts. October 17, 2006 : Tata Steel has kept its offer to 455p per share. October 18, 2006 : Tata still doesnt react to Corus and its bid price remains the same. October 20, 2006 : Corus accepts terms of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¤ 4.3 billion takeover bid from Tata Steel October 23, 2006 : The Brazilian Steel Group CSN recruits a leading investment bank to offer advice on possible counter-offer to Tata Steels bid. October 27, 2006 :Corus is criticized by the chairman of JCB, Sir Anthony Bamford, for its decision to accept an offer from Tata. November 3, 2006 : The Russian steel giant Severstal announces officially that it will not make a bid for Corus November 18, 2006 : The battle over Corus intensifies when Brazilian group CSN approached the board of the company with a bid of 475p pershare November 27, 2006 : The board of Corus decides that it is in the best interest of its will shareholders to give more time to CSN to satisfy the preconditions and decide whether it issue forward a formal offer December 18, 2006 : Within hours of Tata Steel increasing its original bid for Corus to 500 pence per share, Brazils CSN made its formal counter bid for Corus at 515 pence per share in cash, 3% more than Tata Steels Offer. January 31, 2007 : Britains Takeover Panel announces in an e-mailed statement that after an auction Tata Steel had agreed to offer Corus investors 608 pence per share in cash April 2, 2007 : Tata Steel manages to win the acquisition to CSN and has the full voting support form Corus Valuation Due Diligence Tataà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s original bid for Corus had been at 455 pence a share in mid-October 2006, valuing Corusà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s equity at $8 billion. But as a result of the bitter fight with CSN of Brazil, Tata finally paid a price of $12.9 billion in an all-cash deal, raising doubts that the acquisition would likely turn out to be a winnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s curse. Within weeks of the acquisition announcement, Tata Steel had lost over $1 billion in market capitalization, as the market reacted negatively to the high price paid. The wealth-accretion advantages of the deal, if any, would accrue in the long term. Immediately, it meant raising huge amounts of debt and equity to finance the deal. Both Moodyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s Investors Service and Standard Poorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s said they might lower Tataà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s debt rating which meant that debt financing would likely neither be easy nor cheap. To finance the Corus buy, Tata Steel embarked upon what was perhaps the biggest fund-raising exercise by an Indian company. It raised funds through a number of sources. These included a rights issue of equity shares, rights issue of convertible preference shares and long-term debt including foreign currency structured issues. Tata Steel and its fully owned subsidiaries Tata Steel UK and Tata Steel Asia Singapore were involved in the unprecedented fund raising exercise by an Indian company. Tata Steel UK was also the SPV for the Corus takeover. The whopping about $13 billion was planned to have been raised as shown in the table below Company Source Amount ($ Mil) Tata Steel Internal generation 700 Tata Steel External commercial borrowings 500 Tata Steel Preferential issue of equity shares to Tata Sons 640 Tata Steel Rights issue of equity shares to its shareholders 862 Tata Steel Rights issue of convertible preference shares 1,000 Tata Steel ADR/GDR EQUITY ISSUE 500 Tata Steel UK Non-recourse debt raised from a consortium of banks 6,140 Tata Steel Asia Singapore Bridge finance 2,660 Total 13,002 By early April 2007, Tata Steel had completed the $12.9 billion (Rs 52,700 crore) acquisition of Corus Group plc at a price of 608 pence per ordinary share in cash. The enlarged company would have a crude steel production of 27 million tonnes in 2007 and would be the worlds fifth largest steel producer with 84,000 employees across four continents. Need for the Deal Introduction The Tata Iron and Steel Company (name later changed to Tata Steel) was established by Sir Jamsetji Tata in 1907. By 2006 it was Indias largest integrated private sector steel company. With its recent acquisitions and mergers, the company has become a multinational with operations in various countries. It was recognized as the worlds best quality steel producer in 2005. Though domestically the company had seen significant growth in the 100 years, it ranked a poor number 56 globally in terms of steel output. In order to enhance its market share in the global market Tata steel made several smaller foreign acquisitions, including Singapores NatSteel and Thailands Millennium Steel. But these small incremental deals would not enable Tata Steel to capture the sudden opportunity that had arisen in the steel market. We believe that Tata Steel had to act in response to the changing environment, the industry structure and to exploit its competencies and resources at its disposal, which led to its decision of acquiring Corus, a steel firm much bigger in size compared to Tata Steel. We propose to explain the need for the related linked diversification, logic and reasoning behind the deal through the Resource-Based Model of Above Average Returns and the I/O Model of Above Average Returns. Resource-Based Model of Above Average Returns Deriving Synergies There were a lot of apparent synergies between Tata Steel which was a low cost steel producer in fast developing region of the world and Corus which was a high value product manufacturer in the region of the world demanding value products. Synergies also existed in terms of sharing and manufacturing practices, shared services and purchasing. Also there were other synergies between the two companies; Corus was a large player in value-added services while Tata Steel was one of the lowest cost producers of steel in the world. According to Tata Steel Annual Report of 2007-08 the expected synergies and efficiencies had already started flowing in and would bring in annual benefits of USD 450 million per annum by year 2010. Raw Material Tata Steel also has a relative cost advantage because it owns iron-ore mines which Corus did not. Corus was fighting to keep its productions costs under control and was on the lookout for sources of iron ore. (Tata Steel owns enormous volumes of high-quality iron ore and other minerals needed for steel-making. Captive raw materials linkages have given the modernizing and expanding Jamshedpur mill a competitive edge. Tata Steel is set to build greenfield mills in iron ore-rich states of Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh). The joint entity will have a self sufficiency in raw material. Cultural There was a strong culture fit between the two organizations both of which highly emphasized on continuous improvement and ethics. Tata steels Continuous Improvement Program Aspire with the core values: trusteeship, integrity, respect for individual, credibility and excellence. Coruss Continuous Improvement Program The Corus Way with the core values: code of ethics, integrity, creating value in steel, customer focus, selective growth and respect for our people. Importantly, the rest of cultural differences between the two companies had been taken care of and the two merged entities were working under their joint management. Tata Steels earnings per share had improved after the merger. Sharing Competencies According to Ratan Tata, post-merger the immediate focus would be on extracting synergies from Corus. He felt that there was scope to make Corus a competitive steel company by inculcating the creativity and cost-consciousness in Corus as had been generated in Tata Steel. Product Mix Geographical and product mix possibilities. The combined entity will emerge as the second most geographically diversified steel company. It will have access to high valued- added product mix and strong market positions in automotive, construction and packaging. Reputation The Corus acquisition allowed Tata Steel to enhance its reputation and acquire a Global name. This has the potential to open up other markets for steel for Tata Steel, improve its bargaining power with respect to suppliers and customers. Sharing Complimentary Strengths Corus has a strong Research and Development (the number one position in the entire world) and product development for value added products in auto, construction and packaging which compliment what Tata Steel is doing in the fast growing Asian markets. A merger would complement their respective strengths. Low Cost Slabs Tata Steel has large supply of iron ore slabs from its green fields established in India in places like Orissa, Jharkhand, etc. Tata Steel can supply this slabs to Corus once these green fields in India are complete. In addition, there will be other ways to create value, linked to the projects of Tata Steel in India today. Patents and Technological know-how Corus has eighty-one patents that have been filed and assigned to the Corus by the United States Patent Trademark Office. Tatas completion of the acquisition meant it ended up becoming the owner of these patents. There would be technology transfer and cross-fertilization of RD capabilities between the two companies that specialized in different areas of the value chain. Distribution Network Tata has a strong retail and distribution network in India and SE Asia. This would give the European manufacturer a in-road into the emerging Asian markets. Tata was a major supplier to the Indian auto industry and the demand for value added steel products was growing in this market. Hence there would be a powerful combination of high quality developed and low cost high growth markets. With Tata Steel the cheapest manufacture of steel in the world the new company will become highly profitable. Strategic and Integration Committee A Strategic and Integration Committee was formulated to develop and execute the integration and further growth plans. Appropriate cross functional teams were formed under this committee to look into specific issues. There were some concerns over the lower return of capital employed and EBIDTA margins in 2007-08 which seemed to have declined. As debt would be repaid over the years, the EBIDTA margin as well as return of capital employed were likely to improve, but would need to be carefully watched. I/O Model of Above Average Returns Scanning At around eight per cent of GDP growth, India is seen well poised for a burst in development, a high increase in production output and a surge in demand for various goods from the common people of India. Industry experts are buoyant and bullish on the economic, demographic (in terms of young workforce, increase in incomes and hence an increase in consumption), and the helpful political environment (in terms of tax reliefs to industries, a commitment from the government to implement and introduce policies which further the interests of commerce). The Tatas were able to identify the early signals of potential changes in the environment and detect the changes that were underway. They were able to connect the dots and realize that as a result of the above changes in the environment the steel industry would look more and more attractive. There would be more need of steel due to the growth of car and aviation industries. Monitoring It was clear that in a fragmented steel industry to get the cost advantages and a competitive edge to exploit the emerging opportunities consolidation was needed in the steel segment. This logic was the basis for a spree of mergers and acquisitions pursued by Tata Steel. The rapid progress of the Indian automobile, engineering and construction industries means that the country will need more and more high-quality steel and it is seen that the global steel prices are on an incline. Access to Corus technology will, in course of time, allow Tata Steel to move up in the value chain. The acrimonious but successful Mittal-Arcelor deal also gave Tatas sufficient signal on consolidation being the emerging trend in the steel industry. Forecasting Although, Tata Steel was Indias largest integrated private sector steel company but globally ranked number 56 in terms of steel output. The Tatas realized that the Corus buy would instantly catapult Tata Steel to the position of 5th largest steel producer in the world, and provide access to the latest technology and strategic European markets as Corus had plants in Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. It was also expected that Tata Steel would benefit from reduced production costs due to large volume, combined RD operations and broader product range. Corus acquisition would also dovetail with Tata Steels efforts to move up the value chain, as the former had built a reputation as an established supplier to the aviation and auto industries. Assessing Brazilà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s CSN and other players were also trying hard to acquire Corus which meant that a quick acquisition was the only alternative. Tatas had and assessed the situation realized the need to act quickly and swiftly. It was clear that a small window for a big opportunity had opened up for Tata steel. This was a risky consolidation, considering that the future of Tata Steel is dependent mostly on Corus performance but it is well known that entrepreneurial decisions involve risk. We can understand that it may be one of the entrepreneurial decisions that Tata Steel had to make for the future success of the company. Aftermath of the deal Post merger integration is the biggest challenge in any acquisition. But before we look at the challenges, let us first look at the immediate synergies that TATA Steel aimed at before going for the deal and how it obtained them after the deal. Synergies Advantages After the acquisition, TATA-Corus combine became the 5th largest steel producer in the world with an output around a quarter that of the largest, Arcelor Mittal. Before the deal, TATA Steel was not ranked among the top 50 global steel producers in 2005/06, producing just 5.3mn tonnes. Corus, by contrast was the 9th largest producer with an output of 18.2mn tonnes. Economies of scale have a very significant impact on any steel firm. This deal came at a time when consolidation in the steel industry was a necessity with increase in demand from China A growing presence in Asia and the developed European economies would surely leverage the economies of scale from Europe and harness growth from Asia The two corporations made a formidable presence a presence in 42 countries, a combined capacity of 25mn tonnes and a collective sales turnover of Rs 1 lac cr (March 2008 estimates at the time of the deal) The deal came at a perfect time for TATA Steel after its successful acquisitions of Singapores NatSteel in 2004 and Thailands Millennium Steel in 2005. Acquisition of Corus, a steel giant in the Western markets, gave TATA access to the vast distribution network as well as the opportunity to become a global player. TATA is a low cost producer of steel and Corus is famous for its value additions and technology especially in manufacturing of steel used in high rise buildings. The acquisition paved the way for TATA to access the RD facilities of Corus as well as to introduce its low cost production techniques in the Western markets. This can be considered as one of the most important synergies in the entire deal. The deal helped the TATAs in getting 20mn tonnes of steel capacity at virtually half the price as such a capacity would have required nothing less than $20bn $25bn as per 2006/07 estimates. The synergie

Usage and Benefit of a PEST analysis

Usage and Benefit of a PEST analysis PEST is general analysis as external macro environment that will affect to the firm and the company. In the analysis, the macro environment is identifying of the opportunities and threats will affect the outcomes and organizational plan and means and the situation due to the control of political, economic, social and technological forces. With regards to this, can say that is the proper term to these factors. However, changes in  the macroeconomic environment  can  create the new markets of chances and the articles are sometimes   to  construct  a more affirmative analysis of  the term PEST. Macro environment is that many country-specific needs and interests of the implementation for all the countries. In the following are the examples of the factors will considered in the PEST analysis. For examples, political factors, economic factors, social factors and technology factors. Usage and Benefit of PEST The decision making of organization in the management will affect by many factors in macro environment. Examples of macro environment change as employment law changes, economic recession, tax changes, government policy changes, international trade regulation, changes in exchange rates, changes in trade policy, income distribution and demographic changes as population, gender or composition. To analysis those factors as PEST model, as below: Political factor is due to the degree of intervention economy as government policy. Futhermore, also due to the government need to provide what kind of the good services or product to consumer and the subsidizing firms is belong to what level of it and the priorities which in the term of business support known as important role. Political factor can affect many business area such as dictates the legal regulation as government impact the business with the taxation policy such as the price of goods and services will be rises when there is no tax on that or the company profile will direct be taxable, the health of the international as government must pass and force the laws to regarding the label and packaging of the protection of consumer, the base installation of the economy as the rail system. For examples, in the San Francisco Coffee House, the company have an agreement known as Franchise Agreement. The Franchise Agreement is specified as form of Licence of Agreement. This agreement is the factor of protect the operation of San Francisco Coffee House and the rights parties of the company. Particularly, this agreement is expert skilled of obtained to franchising and the intellectual of property right. This agreement is identify the intellectual of the franchisors property and other proprietary is going to protect by this licence. This agreement is also focus on the relationship between the parties of each other in a positive way and a expert constructive manner to them. Beside that, this agreement will also emphasize the need and requirement of the operation San Francisco Coffee House. The benefits to have an agreement are due to failure to protect their own property or business format and the most important is their profits as well is could take an legal action of that. By the way, once have abundant protections of the agreement, the company can benefit from the licence of their intellectual property as well and it is more easier to protect their property when it is registered and the most important can prove their ownership. Economic factor is a major impact of a firms behaviour and organization of outcomes. This is regarding to economy recession, economic growth from overall of the market as the demand of the products rise when the higher national economic growth, monetary policy as interest rates as the higher interest rates it will cause more to borrow it will deeper the investment, foreign exchanges rates as the rises of foreign currency will impact the exporting goods more difficult, tax changes and inflation as it will make the wages demand of the employee higher and the cost of selling price rises too. Economic factor is due to the purchasing power of consumer. Such as the economic is known as the mood of consumer confidence as well, as the economy downturn the consumer do not have the confidence to purchase any goods or services, it will impact the market and the enterprise organization. During a recession, many firms are slow down to react to the falling demand levels will drop. Futhermore, a fi rm making similar product may utilize a price cutting policy. This will demand to a response to all the firm otherwise they may lose the market share. For examples, San Francisco Coffee House which in Croatian, in the market of Croatian, a great variety of international product and services is increasing. In the market San Francisco Coffee House, the salary grows up obviously, therefore the consumer of demand will increased for higher quality of the world brand names as well. This is due to the in Croatian is widely not available and the economic growth. In Croatian, the young consumer is target of international brand while the older people is still looking for domestic brands. As analysis, the purchasing habits also changeable geographically. The San Francisco Coffee House is most owned by foreign country as recent years those acquisitions occurred to San Francisco Coffee House. Although they would be entrepreneurs of the capitalization options while characteristic of domestic mark et in Croatian is bankruptcy for those smaller entrepreneurs. This reason is due to they are struggled to collect the trade debt. The traditional arrangement problematic is made by the international ownership of local banks even though this kind of problem is common of domestic market. The benefit of economic factor in San Francisco Coffee House is a decision related to the choice, another good means a good few. Income and wealth is not infinite, because only so much time. Trade off for individuals, business and society. In addition, economic assumes that people act rationally and try to make action to get their own compared to  the costs associated with  the greatest  interest. Change  is often  rational  considerations,  rather than  making  the average marginal effect. Political factor is

Journal Article Critique Essay -- essays research papers

Research Article 1 Roberts, T. (2003). Effects of Alphabet-Letter Instruction on Young Children’s Word Recognition [Electronic Version]. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95 (1), 41-51. Title The title of the article gave a fair representation of the topic as it was clear and concise in the wording. The title encompassed the idea that alphabet letter instruction on young children’s word recognition would be explored through experiments and analysis. Reading on through the article it was evident that the effects of alphabet letter instruction on you children’s word recognition were addressed. Introduction Experimental studies have been undertaken throughout the years in relation to alphabet letter instruction. The first of these experiments were undertaken with kindergarten and year one students in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The purpose of these early experiments was to examine the hypothesis that letter-name knowledge played a causal role in the relationship between letter-name knowledge and early reading. If knowledge of letter names was a causal factor, then instruction that increased children’s letter-name knowledge should increase early reading performance. It was concluded from these early studies that there was little educational benefit to be gained from letter-name instruction. A man by the name of Ehri in 1983 critiqued these early studies and concluded they suffered from a number of methodological flaws. The concluded flaws included training may have been too short and not thorough, treatment groups differed, training did not include instruction in how to use letter-name knowledge for word reading and training the children in small groups resulted in insufficient learning. Since the early studies and Ehri’s conclusions a great deal of research has demonstrated that letter knowledge is integrally involved in word recognition. The hypotheses and purpose of this later study was to examine anew the effects of letter-name knowledge associated with instruction on beginning phonetic word recognition with methodology correcting for the flaws of previous studies. After instruction the children’s ability to learn 3 types of word spellings was examined. An argument was then formulated that efforts to increase children’s attention to letter information are needed, given its clear importance in early reading. Method The subjects for this stud... ...ponent. The core of this difference seem to centre around how children should be helped to read words not in their sight vocabularies, with parents highly valuing the use of word phonetics and teachers highly valuing the use of context. There were no limitations and future research noted in this study. Critique This article discussed the views and opinions of both parents and teachers in regards to beginning reading. Literacy development is a major issue within early primary classrooms. Parent’s views on this were that literacy development is the responsibility of the school. The foundation of literacy definitely comes from the school but it is at home where it is practiced and reinforce and may even overarch the schools responsibility. Children whose parents are unable to assist them at home with their literacy development definitely fall out in respect to ongoing help and support. Children in my primary school classes whose parents were unable to help them struggled with their reading, word recognition and literacy skills the entire way through primary school. This shows that literacy development is not primarily the schools responsibility but the child’s parents at home also.

Essay --

The great potato famine was a period of great starvation, disease and emigration in Ireland between 1845 and 1852 which made the Irish population dropped my 25 percent. The potato famine started in September 1845. It was so bad it killed over millions of men children and women... The leaves on potato plants turned black and curled and then rotted and there was a fog over the fields a crossed Ireland. This fungus named â€Å"phytophthora infestans† caused the potato leaves to turn black and curl up. In this paper I will be talking about the history of the potato, the migration of the potato blight, land consolidation, agriculture laws in Ireland, and food exports in Ireland during the time of the famine, potato dependency, and the Irish/England relationship at the time, Ireland History, and then I will be wrapping it up with my conclusion. First I’m going be talking about the history of the potato. In this paragraph I will be talking about the history of the potato. The potato comes from the Andes, where they can grow in one single field they can grow 40 potato. The potato was introduced to England in 1565. Sir Walter Raleigh planted potatoes the first time in Ireland around the 1580s. Potatoes are the main nutrient source and support of life, and without it, hundreds of people will die. And the cause of the diseases a lot of people died. At first Ireland used the Potato as a back-up grain. Observers reported seeing children crying with pain and looking like they haven’t eaten in forever that made them look like skeletons. A lot of bodies were buried without coffins, and were buried with a few inches below the soil. Over the next ten years a lot of people died about 750,000. More than a million Irish people died about 1 every nine d... ...nd London during 1847. Now I will be talking about Irelands History. I will start beginning talking about Irelands History. Ireland's population growth in the first half of the Nineteenth Century had been great. Until The Great Potato Famine. The Great Potato Famine was most disaster in Ireland History. In the spring of 1847 the British helped out Irish and had soup kitchens for the people that didn’t have any food. Conclusion! During the great potato famine over two million people died. One million died because of starve starvation. And the others died from diseases associated with the famine. After the famine the people hunger suffered for years after. Now that I told you everything in the paper I will talk a little bit about them to finish my essay. The History of the Potato, The potato is the most important thing In Ireland and without it people will die.

Corporate Social Responsibility (Csr): Bangladesh Perspectives Essay

Corporate means formed into an association and endowed by law with the rights and liabilities of an individual. Social responsibility is an ethical ideology or theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society- at- large. This responsibility can be passive, by avoiding engaging in socially harmful acts, or active, by performing activities that directly advance social goals. To find a universally agreed definition of CSR is difficult if not impossible. Rather than adding to the futile debate on what elements constitute CSR, we choose to focus on the broader principles upheld by CSR. We view CSR as a universal business strategic imperative that can be ‘localized’ to suit organization’s business objectives. It is not a question of ‘one size fits all’. A definition of CSR has come up in Bangladesh as â€Å"a set of business practices based on ethical norms and transparency that contributes to the sustainable development of internal and external stakeholder in the best interest of business, society and environment†. While debate continues regarding elements that define CSR, few can deny that CSR practice improves operational efficiency, increases standards and reliability in the supply chain, and positively affects employee motivation and loyalty which, in turn, leads to greater productivity. Other drivers for companies to engage their stakeholders include the fact that CSR practice strengthens a business’s license to operate. By facilitating services needed in the community in which a company is seeking entry, CSR practice often enables the company to gain popularity with its customer base, which, in turn, leads to increase sales or retention of market share. It is important to note, however, that CSR practice is not exclusively for the large companies; neither is it only for those whose concerns are in the export business. Such prevalent misperceptions need immediate rectification, particularly in Bangladesh, where all businesses, both large and small, can enhance their competitiveness through greater adoption and implementation of CSR. By embracing the values of CSR, the Bangladesh private sector can send a strong signal to the global market that they are discharging their commitments to society. Failing to do so voluntarily inevitably leads to adverse external pressure, often with more strict guidelines and under extremely tight timelines. The Centre will help the private sector be more proactive rather than reactive. CSR practice in Bangladesh is a relatively new phenomenon and is often misperceived as philanthropy or charity. Also, very often, there is a clear lack of integration of CSR with core business strategy. Perhaps the greatest challenge in CSR implementation is the fact that CSR practice is perceived by many as a cost – a threat – rather than as a business opportunity. There is also a lack of quality data and resources to develop a business case for CSR and enable the private sector to relate better by learning from peers. It is these observations and learning that led us to develop the CSR Centre Concept. Through the Centre, we hope to make available better products and tools that will increase awareness on CSR practice benefits, and will also help quantify the intangibles of CSR. By championing CSR under a specialized institutionalized framework, we hope that the CSR Centre will have greater economic impact and value addition that have so far eluded business in Bangladesh. It is very true that few of us have the luxury of committing additional resources to new initiatives. That is where the benefits of CSR come to the fore. CSR is about partnerships and sharing resources, and is not limited to just financial commitments. Partnerships based on equity principles, where businesses can reach out to others with complementary strengths, is a cornerstone of good CSR practice. Through such resource collaborations, businesses can find long term win-win solutions to complex problems, expand their network and find new business opportunities in an increasingly competitive world, and, more importantly, free up resources to concentrate on core competencies. Strategic CSR practices, consistently applied in Bangladesh, will improve the general competitiveness of the private sector vis-à  -vis global competition, as well as develop Bangladesh’s international image as a responsible global manufacturer and service provider. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as defined by the CSR Centre is a set of business practices based on ethical norms and transparency that contributes to the sustainable development of internal and external stakeholders in the best interest of business , society and the environment. While debate continues regarding elements that define CSR, few can deny that CSR practice improves operational efficiency, increases standards and reliability in the supply chain, and positively affects employee motivation and loyalty which, in turn, leads to greater productivity. Other drivers for companies to engage their stakeholders include the fact that CSR practice strengthens a business’s license to operate. By facilitating services needed in the community in which a company is seeking entry, CSR practice often enables the company to gain popularity with its customer base, which, in turn, leads to increase sales or retention of market share. It is important to note, however, that CSR practice is not exclusively for the large companies; neither is it only for those whose concerns are in the export business. Such prevalent misperceptions need immediate rectification, particularly in Bangladesh, where all businesses, both large and small, can enhance their competitiveness through greater adoption and implementation of CSR. By embracing the values of CSR, the Bangladesh private sector can send a strong signal to the global market that they are discharging their commitments to society. Failing to do so voluntarily inevitably leads to adverse external pressure, often with more strict guidelines and under extremely tight timelines. The Centre will help the private sector be more proactive rather than reactive. CSR practice in Bangladesh is a relatively new phenomenon and is often misperceived as philanthropy or charity. Also, very often, there is a clear lack of integration of CSR with core business strategy. Perhaps the greatest challenge in CSR implementation is the fact that CSR practice is perceived by many as a cost – a threat – rather than as a business opportunity. There is also a lack of quality data and resources to develop a business case for CSR and enable the private sector to relate better by learning from peers. It is these observations and learning that led us to develop the CSR Centre Concept. Through the Centre, we hope to make available better products and tools that will increase awareness on CSR practice benefits, and will also help quantify the intangibles of CSR. By championing CSR under a specialized institutionalized framework, we hope that the CSR Centre will have greater economic impact and value addition that have so far eluded business in Bangladesh. It is very true that few of us have the luxury of committing additional resources to new initiatives. That is where the benefits of CSR come to the fore. CSR is about partnerships and sharing resources, and is not limited to just financial commitments. Partnerships based on equity principles, where businesses can reach out to others with complementary strengths, is a cornerstone of good CSR practice. Through such resource collaborations, businesses can find long term win-win solutions to complex problems, expand their network and find new business opportunities in an increasingly competitive world, and, more importantly, free up resources to concentrate on core competencies. Strategic CSR practices, consistently applied in Bangladesh, will improve the general competitiveness of the private sector vis-à  -vis global competition, as well as develop Bangladesh’s international image as a responsible global manufacturer and service provider. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) when defined at this age of changes world over is a set of business practices based on ethical norms and transparency that contributes to the sustainable development of business and society where environment is being built-in as an essential element. While debate continues regarding elements that define CSR, few can deny that CSR practice improves operational efficiency, increases standards and reliability in the supply chain, and positively affects employee motivation and loyalty, which, in turn, leads to greater productivity. For such reasons the term â€Å"stakeholders† is being redefined to include all the apparent external stakeholders. Because of the inclusion of environment into CSR, even the bottled water businesses are now under threat to abandon the plastic bottles and the petroleum companies are under threat to find out alternative energy sources. For companies to engage all their stakeholders, internal and external include the fact that CSR practice strengthens a business’s license to operate. By facilitating services needed in the community in which a company is seeking entry, CSR practice often enables the company to gain popularity with its customer base, which, in turn, leads to increased sales or retention of market share. Business Executives and leaders are being encountered in Talk Shows as to how they are reinventing their corporate missions to combat climate change, give back to local communities, communicate in an age of Facebook, blogs and they cannot opt for the option to remain unspoken. In Bangladesh, a global food conglomerate Nestle has some operations but zero stakes in bottled water business though this particular company has about 50% share in this particular business in some of the countries of the world. Under their CSR practice in Bangladesh, as it is understood they have drilled a Deep well in Gazipore, Dhaka and built a water storage tank in order to serve the local habitation with water. By providing free water to the surrounding community, from a deep tube well they are virtually laying the foundation of their future bottled water business. Therefore, this free supply by a company is not free in fact. Same Nestle was assailed by environmental activists on Facebook and Twitter globally for business practices that contribute to deforestation; within weeks, Nestle had announced a partnership with an independent non-profit, somewhere in the world to eliminate its dependence on unsustainable forest products. Internet with social media facebook and twitter already revolutionized our social communications not only at local level but also globally for day-to-day changes in a complex reality of urbanization, globalization, commercialization together with reshape-up of regulations world over. In this age of gradually reducing Government stake in businesses world over, businesses are taking up the responsibilities by way of commercialization of public goods. Alongside tap waters, people are taking bottled waters; alongside Ramna Park, people are using Nandan Park; alongside free roads, people are being pursued to get prepared for Toll Roads, instead of partly export oriented units investors are being motivated for setting up cent percent exporting units. Instead of 100% local investments a free flow of factors of productions including both labour and capital (such as inflow and outflow of Foreign Direct Investments) world over is in demand which would gradually help a reduction of dependence upon the systems of Governments. With development of a consumer-base, investors are being motivated to invest in locally marketable products with surplus only to export. Moreover, there is a growing concern over environmental degradation world over endangering human habitation on the earth so the emerging comparative systems of economics and social transformations are incorporating environment as an important element for socio-economic proportion. Bangladesh as well as whole of the deltaic region on the southern side of Himalaya is under a threat due to changing water flows in the down streams of Himalayas caused by increased melting of ice in Himalayas as well as landslide causing movements of billions of tons of silts towards downstream. Tectonic plates in the north and south of Himalayas are in clash at the point in line of Himalayas, which is threatening habitation in entire South Asia, down not only flow of silts and changing flows of water streams, but also series of earthquakes ranging from mild to severe are going to take place. It is not a threat to a particular country like Bangladesh but to the whole region. Therefore, it will have to be addressed in CSR practices. In Bangladesh, the companies are directly, involved in CSR practices alongside independent organizations formed by volunteers who are being aided by the corporate. National budget of Bangladesh of fiscal 2011-12 created provisions for tax-deductible contributions under CSR. Similar provisions exist in countries around the world. CSR activities are always non-partisan around the world to help advancement of holistic and free play of thoughts and actions in a pluralistic social framework. It is important to note, however, that CSR practice is not exclusively for the large companies; neither is it only for those whose concerns are in the export business. Such prevalent misperceptions need immediate adaptation, particularly in Bangladesh, where all businesses, both large and small, can enhance their competitiveness through greater adoption and implementation of CSR. By embracing the values of CSR, the Bangladesh private sector can send a strong signal to the global market that they are discharging their commitments to society. Failing to do so voluntarily inevitably leads to adverse external pressure, often with more strict guidelines and under extremely tight timelines. This is a situation, in which the private sector needs to be more proactive rather than reactive. Particularly in the area of housing/habitation in industrial cluster zones, the CSR should contribute by building high-rise dormitories through trade bodies. This will help strengthening of local Bangladesh Taka in view of the demand for wage-hikes. CSR practice in Bangladesh is a relatively new phenomenon and is prone to frequent misperceptions as philanthropy or charity. In addition, very often, there is a clear lack of integration of CSR with core business strategy. Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s case has shown this but others are yet to follow the same. Perhaps the greatest challenge in CSR implementation is the fact that CSR practice is perceived by many as a cost, a sort of threat rather than as a business opportunity. Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s case as enunciated is a good example of CSR. From which it is clear that CSR does not only implies cost but also lays the foundation of business. There is a lack of quality data and resources to develop a business case for CSR and enable the private sector to relate better by learning from peers. It is necessary for businesses to assimilate data from all over such as the one of Nestle. Global changes in post Washington consensus era are giving the messages of corporate leadership for societal changes as the days of governments, on the points of views are over. It is very true that few of us have the luxury of committing additional resources to new initiatives. That is where the benefits of CSR come to the fore. CSR is about partnerships and sharing resources, and is not limited to just financial commitments. Partnerships based on equity principles, where businesses can reach out to others with complementary strengths, is a cornerstone of good CSR practice. Through such resource collaborations, businesses can find long-term win-win solutions to complex problems expand their network and find new business opportunities in an increasingly competitive world, and, more importantly, free up resources to concentrate on core competencies. Strategically drawn CSR practices, consistently applied in Bangladesh, will improve the general competitiveness of the private sector vis-à  -vis global competition, as well as develop Bangladesh’s international image as a responsible global manufacturer and service provider.