Business Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Business Management - Essay Example When compared to large numbers of changes occurred over the last few decades in technology, lifestyle etc. the management system and concepts across the world seem to have evolved a little change (Hamel and Breen, 2007, p. 4). Bateman and Snell (p. 14) stated that business management is the process in which managers are to work with people and other resources with a view to accomplish organizational goals both effectively and efficiently. Efficiency is related to achieving organizational goals with minimal waste of resources by making best possible use of people, time, money and materials. Effectiveness refers to achieving organizational goals in a way that desired and expected results are gained. Managing a business takes a number of different segments and sections such as human resource management, financial management, marketing management, knowledge management, total quality management and so on. Since the contemporary business contexts are influenced by major economic and market forces such as globalization, technology advances, competition etc. organizations are increasingly giving importance to certain management segments so as to maintain competitive advantage and to compete with other market players. As management is basically the process of managing resources in a firm and getting things done through people, process or technology, different organizations follow different management styles. The management process in a business organization is comprised of the very basic four elements such as planning and strategizing, organizing, leading and controlling and decision making (Gomez, Mejia and Balkin, p. 5). These basic four elements are typically very prominent at almost all different organizations and these are widely used worldwide for effectively managing the resources. These four basic components of management are also the key elements in all other

Organisation for Facilitating Globalization - IMF and World Bank Essay Example for Free

Organisation for Facilitating Globalization IMF and World Bank Essay The fund is an autonomous organization affiliated to United Nations Organisation. Starting from the initial membership of 31 countries at the time of inception, the Fund has a membership of 186 countries. It is financed by various participating countries with each country’s contribution fixed in terms of quotas according to the relative importance of the national income prevalent in the country and international trade. The total financial resources of the fund is equal to the quotas of all the countries combined together. The contributed quota of a country determines its borrowing rights and voting strength. The following are the functions of International Monetary Fund: 1.Monitoring economic and financial developments of its members; 2.Providing machinery for international consultations; 3.Providing machinery for altering sometimes the par value of currency of a member country; 4.Functioning as a short term credit institution; 5.Lending institution in terms of foreign exchange; 6.Providing machinery for the orderly adjustment of exchange rates and 7.Functioning as a reservoir of the currencies of all the member nations who can borrow the currency of other nations. 8.Granting loans for financing current transactions other than capital transactions; World Bank: The International Bank of Reconstruction and Devlopment popularly known as the World Bank was formed as a part of the deliberations at Brettonwoods during 1945. It was floated in order to give loan to member countries initially for the reconstruction of their war ravaged economies and later for the development of the economies of the poorer member countries. The World Bank provides its member countries long term investment loan on reasonable terms. World Bank has granted many loans for financing specific projects. During the recent years, it has also been engaged in giving structural adjustment loans to the heavily indebted countries. The World Bank is an inter governmental institution, corporate in form whose capital stock is entirely owned by its member governments. The World Bank group consists of the following: †¢World Bank; †¢International Development Association; †¢Inernational Finance Corporation; †¢Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency †¢International centre for settlement of Investment disputes. Reference: http://classof1.com/homework-help/international-economics-homework-help View as multi-pages

Environmental Degradation In Rural Bangladesh Environmental Sciences Essay

Environmental Degradation In Rural Bangladesh Environmental Sciences Essay Introduction Today, as people in developed countries generally enjoy a high standard of living, at the other end of the spectrum, the poor in developing countries are struggling to make ends meet. 22% of the population in developing countries live on less than $1.25 daily and 75% of these people live in rural areas (The World Bank, 2012). This group of rural poor are the greatest victims of environment degradation. In this essay, by looking at the case study of Bangladesh, we will get a deeper insight into why the poor puts great pressure on the environment. In turn, we will uncover why environmental degradation affects the poor most severely resulting in the reinforcement of environmental degradation. Thereafter, we will explore some possible measures to help developing counties like Bangladesh to break out from the vicious cycle of poverty and environmental degradation. Environmental consequences of poverty Although majority of researchers have attributed poverty as a key factor for causing environmental degradation, we have to note that other factors such as profit motives, and institutional failures are also responsible for environmental degradation. Nevertheless unlike other factors, poverty and environmental degradation shares a unique relationship that causes them to reinforce each other in a vicious cycle. We would first look at how poverty causes environmental degradation. In Bangladesh more than 40% of the population lives below the international poverty line and are vulnerable to food insecurity and natural disaster (Aid Effectiveness, 2009). 85% belong to the rural poor (Drakenberg, 2006). Bangladesh faces a series of environmental problems including deforestation, land degradation, air pollution, water shortage and contamination, as well as loss of biodiversity. The poor play a vital role in influencing these aspects of environmental degradation. Firstly, poverty leads to deforestation. The existing natural forests in Bangladesh are decreasing at a rate varying from 2.1% /year to 3.3% /year (Rahman, 2012). This is due to exploitation of forest resources for commercial logging, fuel wood collection as well as agricultural land expansion. Commercial logging provides a viable income for the poor as the timber logs could be sold for cash. This monetary benefit could encourage more trees to be felled resulting in unsustainable deforestation. Bangladesh has a high fertility rate, due to desire for more children to help in the fields and for social support in old age. The growing population requires more trees would have to be felled to provide fuel for their cooking needs. There will also be a need to increase food production for the larger population causing large tracts of forest to be cleared and converted into agricultural land for growing of crops. Deforestation, with loss of forest cover is responsible for soil erosion and lo ss of fertile top soil decreases agricultural productivity. Secondly, poverty contributes to land degradation. Land degradation arises due to soil exhaustion, salinization and desertification. Similarly, due to population growth with poverty, multiple cropping with a shorter fallow period was done to increase food supply. To increase land productivity, farmers use fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides heavily. These methods of intensive land use may be effective in increasing agricultural output in the short term. However in the long run the soil would gradually lose its nutrients, land is degraded and desertification creeps in. Though irrigation is helpful in ensuring stable water supply for crops all year round, mismanaged irrigation due to lack of knowledge of rural farmers could result in reverse osmosis and accumulation of salt (Duraiappah, 1996). This causes a backlash and soil productivity drops. Thirdly, poverty affects water resource. Irrigation reduces ground water which may result in a water shortage if there is insufficient water for the large rural population. In the north-western part of Bangladesh, aquifer level of ground water was lowered when extraction of ground water for irrigation is not adequately recharged and coupled with high rate of evaporation (Mahbuba Nasreen, 2006). Furthermore, Bangladesh faces problem of water contamination due to fertilizers and pesticide run-off from the farmlands. In 2002, more than the 65% of the countrys population were at risk of arsenic poisoning. 61 of the 64 districts had arsenic levels which were found to be above the national accepted standard of 0.05 mg/litre (Mahbuba Nasreen, 2006). Lastly, poverty contributes to air pollution. The poor depend on biomass and firewood for fuel. The burning of these fuels degrades the air quality and can cause respiratory problems. Although there are substitute fuels which are less harmful to the environment, the poor have yet to gain access to them and may not be able to afford. Moreover, due to a lack of education, the rural poor may not have the knowledge on how to protect their living environment. They extract more resources from the forest to meet the needs of the growing population, not taking into consideration the externality cost of resource loss since access to the forest is free and unrestricted. To them, the immediate needs are of priority and they dont tend to plan far for the future due to the uncertainties of life. As a result, the poor have no qualms about the unsustainable land use practices and lack vision for long-term optimal resource management. This mindset is detrimental to the long term sustainability of environmental resources and unplanned use of resources is likely to result in environment degradation. The mindset of the poor has led to loss of biodiversity where flora and fauna as well as wetlands are overexploitation. In Bangladesh, inland and coastal capture fisheries have declined and about 30% of inland fish species have become endangered (Drakenberg, 2006). Environmental degradation reinforce poverty Firstly, the rural poor are most vulnerable to environmental degradation because they rely heavily on the fragile natural resources for their daily living. 55% of rural women work as farmers in the field, and they rely on the environment for fuel wood, food and water. Desertification is detrimental to the poor as it affects their supply of basic needs from forest resources. Over extraction of water for irrigation leads to lowering of ground water level and water becomes salinized, causing a severe shortage of drinking water.In Bangladesh, rural women are responsible for collecting fuel wood, water and food for family consumption from forest. Deforestation and water shortage causes shrink in food and water availability and women have to work harder and travel further to search for resources. This enduring task is demanding on their health and scarcity of food could lead to malnutrition (Jahan, 2008). The poor being reliant on natural resources for basic needs and agricultural land for food, is offered hardly any food security due to the fragile nature of the natural environment. When their agricultural land becomes less fertile due unattainable land use practices, the familys income is drastically reduced; the poor remain in their vicious cycle of poverty and their basic needs and nutrition could be compromised. Likewise near the coastal areas, the poor rely on wetlands for capture fishery as their main source of food and income. With the destruction of wetlands for conversion to shrimp cultivation area, it drastically reduces the vulnerable food supply of the poor and increased salinity over coastal land endangers their health. Secondly, environmental degradation affects the poor most severely as they are the group that continues to live in places facing land degradation as these polluted areas are cheaper to live in. Being unable to afford to move to a better land, the poor are exposed to Arsenic pollution from contaminated water sources (Mahbuba Nasreen, 2006). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that, 37 million people in developing countries suffer chronic poisoning due to exposure to toxic pesticides from working in fields that use chemical fertilizers and pesticides extensively (Jahan, 2008). The poor also have to make do with cheaper source of fuel for cooking and heating. Burning fuel wood and dung causes respiratory infections affecting women and children, causing child mortality. Vicious cycle of poverty and environment degradation Source: Poverty and environment, 2000, Figure 9.2 Vicious Cycle of Poverty and Environment Degradation in Developing Countries, pp. 201. As seen in the context of Bangladesh, farmers hard-pressed by population growth and increasing poverty overexploit natural resources and extend cropping onto fragile marginal lands which results in a loss of sustainability and environmental degradation. Decline in agricultural productivity on degraded lands then triggers poverty which in turn forced many farmers to continue degrading their land further to extract subsistence output (Duraiappah, 1996). Overtime, this phenomenon creates the vicious circle between poverty and environmental degradation as seen in the diagram above. Urbanisation further aggregate environmental degradation and worsen life of the rural poor. Government may allocate more funds to support the growing industry of engineering, electronics and information technology which would generate more income for the economy (United Nations ESCAP, 2010). Conversely, the agriculture sector would receive less funds and manpower is reduced with young men moving to work in urban areas. This leaves behind the elderly and women to manage the marginal agricultural lands. Urbanisation causes air pollution from vehicular and industrial emissions, loss of biodiversity from human interference to natural habitats and deforestation which contributes to global warming. The poor at the receiving end become victims to these problems. In many developing countries, governments generally do not address the sustainability issues if there is little public pressure and they find no political rewards in enhancing environmental quality. Nevertheless for developing countries to achieve environmental sustainability, support from the government is definitely essential. As highlighted, the poor are the biggest victims of environmental degradation; conversely poverty can exacerbate ecological problems. To ensure long term environmental sustainability, possible measures needs to target poverty alleviation and environmental management. Possible measures to achieve sustainable development Source: National sustainable development strategy, 2008, Figure 3.1 schematic representation of the vision, strategic priority areas and cross-cutting areas, pp. 6. In 2008, Bangladeshs government came out with a national sustainable development strategy (NSDS) to guide the country towards alleviating poverty and environmental problems. As shown in the table above, the strategy aims to achieve sustainable development by ensuring sustainable economic growth, agricultural and rural development, social security and environment management (DOE, 2008). Having sustainable economic growth means to accelerate growth while ensuring environmental sustainability. Bangladesh strives to ensure economic growth with higher private investment, increased inflow of FDIs and effective trade policies (DOE, 2008). It includes the agricultural sectors in the economic progress by providing them with electricity, roads, and telecommunications to improve connectivity with urban areas. One possible direction for sustainable economic growth is to promote investment in renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy and hydroelectricity. Bangladesh has abundant sunlight year round, wind and high energy waves; this can generate profits and reduce air pollution from fuel burning (M. S. Islam, 2011). Agricultural and rural development measures ensure food security for the growing population without causing environment degradation. Crop productivity can be increase with agriculture diversification and improved technologies. To reduce reliance on irrigation and lower risk of salinization, storage of surface water is enhanced and rainwater harnessed. To prevent deletion of marine fisheries resource, fishing is regulated avoid over exploitation. To enhance forest biodiversity, forest protected area could be extended and rural folks could be educated with knowledge on sustainable resource use (DOE, 2008). Social security is achieved with sanitation, shelter and empowerment through education. It involves provision of housing facilities, clean drinking water, electricity, medical services and ensuring food security for all (DOE, 2008). Additionally, primary and secondary education is made available and compulsory for all, enabling empowerment of the poor. Environment management protects the environment and its resources. To manage water shortage and contamination, water conservation is encouraged and pollution sources are identified and managed. Loss of biodiversity is addressed by monitoring unsustainable consumption of biological resources. Also, scientific and traditional knowledge are to be integrated to effectively conserve the ecosystem. Most importantly, environmental sustainability considerations need to be integrated in policies concerning forest, water, land, agriculture, industry and energy (DOE, 2008). Conclusion As discussed, poverty and environmental degradation has close interlinks and reinforce each other. Poverty is a key contributing factor to various environmental problems of deforestation, land degradation, air and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Consequently, environmental degradation has the greatest impact on the poor, causing them to be ever more vulnerable and having to further degrade the environment to meet their basic needs and ensure survival. To achieve sustainable development in developing countries like Bangladesh, possible measures would have to target both poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability. Likewise these measures would work best if backed by strong government support and properly planed and organized. Bangladeshs elaborated NSDS shows a strong commitment to solve environmental issues and ensure a better standard of living for current and future generation. Nevertheless, it is still too early to determine the effectiveness of the strategies; time will tell if Bangladesh is able to break free from the vicious cycle of poverty and environmental degradation.

Mononucleosis :: essays research papers

ITION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Infectious mononucleosis is a clinical syndrome that can be characterized by a multitude of symptoms. They include malaise, headache, fever, pharyngitis, pharyngeal lymphatic hyperplasia, lymphadenopathy, atypical lymphocytosis, and mild transient hepatitis. This disease occurs most often in adolescents and young adults. Mononucleosis is one of these diseases that are grouped into a class known as a viral infection; more specifically it is caused by the Ebstein-Barr virus (EBV). EBV is a herpes virus. In vitro, EBV only infects human B-lymphocytes. This viral infection results in lymphocyte proliferation and immunoglobulin secretion. The virus usually remains dormant, but can be activated using certain chemicals or when subjected to certain bodily conditions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To understand how this virus affects the body, we must first have a brief overview of the body and it’s immune system. OVERVIEW The body’s defense mechanisms can be split into two groups; non-specific and specific defense mechanisms. Non-specific mechanisms basically are the barriers that keep pathogens from penetrating the body. For example the epithelial membranes that cover the body, the strong acidity of the stomach killing pathogens before they have the opportunity to infect the system, these are just a couple, there are many others. Specific mechanisms help the individual acquire the ability to defend against specific pathogens by prior exposure to these pathogens. This is a function of the lymphocytes, which will be discussed later on in depth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mononucleosis affects the epithelium of the mouth where it is first introduced to the body, but that is the extent to which it is involved in the nonspecific defense mechanisms. The place where it does the most damage is the B-lymphocyte, which is a key component of specific immunity. To understand better what the infection does to the body we must look at the role of lymphocytes in the body briefly and how they do their work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B-lymphocytes are the ones that are affected directly upon when the body is subjected to this type of infection. Their role in the body is vital for immunity. They are grouped into five subclasses, depending upon some of the polypeptides in their makeup. The basic role of B-lymphocytes is to secrete antibodies that they have made due to them coming into contact with an antigen. Each B-lymphocyte has two sites where specific antigens can combine, and this binding is what promotes the body’s reaction to the infection. The B-lymphocyte is involved in what is called humoral immunity.

The Cat and his Master Essay examples -- Puss in Boots Folk Tales Essa

The Cat and his Master Puss in Boots is a strange little folk tale in which a talking cat performs deeds of heroism in order to further his master's lot in life. It is saddled with a moral which implies that through hard work and ingenuity one can rise above his station. This hardly seems to be the case, however, when we look at the contributions made by the miller's youngest son and master of the puss himself. Furthermore, the symbolism peppered throughout the tale would seem to indicate that there is more going on. The tale begins with the death of a miller, who leaves his sole possessions to his three sons. The youngest of the sons winds up with nothing but what he believes to be a lowly cat, which he is convinced will be good only for a meal and a muff. The young man begins the story in a passive hopelessness, bemoaning the fact that he received the least of his father's goods in his inheritance, and he retains this passivity throughout. He never makes any contribution to his own well-being, beyond his initial decision not to eat the cat, and to let the cat demonstrate his cunning and deceitful skills. He lets the cat do all of the thinking and all of the work. He even becomes the "Marquis of Carabas" at the whim of the puss, and follows all of the cat's instructions, including swimming nude when the cat directs him. He doesn't even ask for an explanation. The moral states that "hard work and ingenuity will take a young man further than his father's money," but the young man certainly shows n o signs of hard work nor ingenuity. In fact, he seems to be an icon for naivety and blind faith. This does not, however, mean that the moral is wrong. There are several aspects of this story which take folk tale conventions and turn ... ...ter. He traps animals and delivers them to a person of power, displaying his ability to negotiate. He puts a plan into action that will place his master in a position of power and manipulates the peasants to back up that plan. He craftily dupes the ogre into using his incredible powers against himself. In all of these instances we see evidence of the underdog using his wits and cunning to overcome the odds and be in control of the world around him, an idea that must have had appeal to people with little or no control of the events in their lives. Indeed, it is an idea that still has appeal today. Works Cited Darnton, Robert The Great Cat Massacre http://www.geocities.com/pashathecat/History/Cat_Massacre.html Perrault, Charles. "Puss in Boots." Folk & Fairy Tales Comp. Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek. 2nd ed. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview, 1996. 94-97.

Ancient Greek Medicine Essay -- Greek History

Ancient Greek Medicine While Greek Medicine particularly from the 5th century B.C onwards, increasingly used scientific method to develop cures, there still however remained people that considered medicine to be a religion. The ancient Greeks (Hellenic) made important discoveries about the human body and health, so by the sixth century BC, medicinal practices focused largely on a more clinical approach involving observation. Their discoveries were made by firstly studying the human anatomy using dissection and vivisection, finding ways to heal using things such as plants and herbs, then finally practising surgery on the human body using different instruments. Before the scientific method developed, most people still saw medicine as a religion, and believed that superstitions, evil spirits and punishments caused illness from the gods. The best-known ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, made several important medical discoveries in Ancient Greece. He was born on the island of Cos, living from 460 B.C. - 377 B.C., and is revered as the 'Father of Medicine'. He was the first man to make medicine a profession and to see medicine as a science and not a religion. Hippocrates devised an oath, which every new doctor still swears to this day. Hippocrates and his followers looked at the cause of the disease rather than the symptoms. Hippocrates saw that diseases came from natural causes; he discovered that thought came from the brain and not from the heart, and he saw that the body needed to be treated as a whole and not just a series of parts. The theory of the four humours originated from the works of Aristotle. The idea of Humours is usually credited to Claudius Galen, a Greek physician of the second century A.D. But although he organized the idea more accessibly, he was probably not its creator. Centuries earlier, in the fourth century B.C., Hippocrates wrote of the bodily humours in his Hippocratic Corpus. The physician believed that the body was made up of four components or â€Å"four humours†. The four components are: Blood formed at the heart – Spring – Air, Phlegm in the brain – Winter – Water, Yellow Bile in the liver – Summer – Fire and Black Bile in the spleen – Autumn – Earth. Hippocrates argued that when these four fluids were out of balance disease occurred. The ideal place for a good balance of humours was (naturally) found in the centre of Greek ... ...that the strigil, a curved piece of metal with a handle used for scraping oil and sweat off the body after exercise was often used to get into small openings, so as Galen said, â€Å"After having heated the fat of a squirrel in a strigil, insert it into the auditory canal.† The invention of these instruments meant they improved as new shapes were devised. Gradually new metals and alloys were found to provide sharper edges and cheaper equipment. Most instruments were made of bronze and occasionally silver. Iron was never used as it was forbidden by the Greeks and so never used on religious grounds. Some instruments were manufactured by specialist blade makers who specialized in medical instruments rather than by an ordinary craftsman. The Romans employed many Greek physicians and through them the Greeks discoveries in medicine gradually spread throughout the ancient world. Greece was a country that gave birth to some of the most important medical pioneers in human history. Through Continuous studies, they changed people from seeing medicine as a religion. Their study of disease and the human body to the scientific method has resulted in the advanced medical knowledge we have today.

Print Media

Popular Culture and Print Media Print media is classified as anything that is in print and is also used to inform the public. The most prominent forms of print media are newspapers, books, magazines, direct mail, and yellow pages. Outdoor advertising like billboards and transit posters are different types of print media but are very effective in conveying the advertisement across. What one sees and reads has a big influence on what he or she says, how one says it, and his or her action. The influence print media has on people and communities have contributed to the change in popular American culture today. Print media is placed to catch everyone attention, it is everywhere one may look. People will find some form of print media strategically placed to catch onlooker’s attention. More than a communicative feature, print media has influenced American culture and consumerism over the years. Print media sets the trend on what is fashionable and what is out of fashion. More important, it serves as a significant factor to inspire and impede consumerism. By influencing one’s consciousness and perception, print media has formed society into what has become â€Å"American Culture† of today. The influence print media has can make one desire the thing he or she use to dislike, believe in principles he or she used to have an aversion to, and continually consume items in excess. Print media has been extending the knowledge of the news or chronicles across the nation by keeping the public up- to- date on information pertaining to one’s life, services, products, and the environment. Several trends that have propagated by the print media are food, fashion, and weigh loss programs. People are focused more on these trends today than ever before. Print media has made it more accessible for people to obtain whatever information he or she needs to keep up with these particular trends. Because of the down economy, more people are cooking at home instead of dinning out. People prefer to cook meals that are quick and easy to prepare and are healthier for the family. A few of the popular trend includes; organic or soy dairy product, ethic foods, one dish meal, vegetables, and ruits. This food trend has caused the prices of the items in the grocery stores to increase. In turn, the increase has sparked the owners of the grocery stores to enhance the distribution of sales advertisement. They are more sales advertisements printed and mailed to the consumer’s home nowadays than ever before. People can plan what they want to buy, before they leave their home, according t o what is on sale. These advertisements sent through the mail also allow people to budget accordingly or even cut out sale coupons that will make their shopping more cost efficient. Magazines and tabloids are a few sources that primarily focus on fashion. Usually, they employ a fashions staff that includes a team of fashion writers who are used often to highlight the different fashion trends. In addition to, magazines and tabloids, one can find an entire section dedicated to fashion in newspaper like the Sunday Times Style Magazine. This particular magazine is committed entirely to the most up- to- date fashion. These fashions set the trends that young and older people like and are willing to wear. These papers often use celebrities to advertise certain product such as clothes by a specific designer or brand contributes to the fashion culture of today. Weight loss programs have also propagated he print media market. This is solely because many people are trying to be healthy and fit. They currently have whole magazines dedicated to weight loss. These are Body and Soul Magazine and Shape Magazine and they provide people with information about diets, fitness, healthy eating, and recipes from home. They also provide expert advice on how to live healthier from doctors or fitness gurus. The advertisements in these magazines show people who are skinny and healthy and this makes people reading these magazines want to be like them. Today print media has become one of the most successful industries. The different types of print media give the people an excessive amount of options to choose from. Whether it is from a newspaper or magazine, every source has a particular benefit. Print media is driven by the need for advertisers to reach the audience they are targeting and in places were people are looking for information.