Canterbury Tales And Medieval Women Essays - The Canterbury Tales

Canterbury Tales And Medieval Women Geoffrey Chaucer's Impression of Women during Medieval Times Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales in the late 1400s. He came up with the idea of a pilgrimage to Canterbury in which each character attempts to tell the best story. In that setting Chaucer cleverly reveals a particular social condition of England during the time. In this period, the status, role, and attitudes towards women were clearly different from that of today. Two tales in Chaucer's collection specifically address this subject: the Miller's Tale and the Reeve's Tale. The interplay between the tales and characters further enhances the similar viewpoints these stories have towards women. In the Middle Ages, most women married and began raising children soon after reaching puberty. They remained largely indoors, having no true chance to receive a formal education or to gain any social or economic power. Husbands commonly had full control of their wives, often limiting their public lives solely to the family. " A wife . . . must please her husband and be totally obedient to him, even when he is unjust and violent." (Blewitt, 662) In both the Miller's and the Reeve's tales Chaucer presents the women of the household indoors in all instances. Alison of the Miller's Tale lives in a cottage alone with her husband John and fly Nicholas, a scholar. Her implied role besides sexual purposes includes tending to house chores, just as the Miller's wife and daughter in the Reeve's Tale. Although, the women's sole purpose as a wife comes naturally as one of sexual purposes a wife's first duty was to provide her husband with an heir, and she could be divorced if she was barren. (Rhinesmith, 601) The wife must be loyal to her husband and obey him, even when her husband commits fiendish acts such as affairs. In these two tales, Chaucer brings about the ideas of protection and immortality. With men often leaving the house to tend to their own chores, the women of the house have plenty of chances to, "play around" with other men without their husbands knowing. John, the carpenter in the Miller's Tale, constantly worries about his eighteen year-old wife, Alison. "Jealous he was," the Miller told us, "and he kept her closely caged, for she was wild and young, and he was old, and thought she would likely make him a cuckold." (Chaucer, 118) This protection of the women of the home parallels that of Reeve's Tale, in which Simon, the miller, protects his wife and daughter, Molly, when he finds the mischievous Alan and John have slept with them. "By Holy God I'll have you tripes for daring to dishonor my daughter. . ." Simon exclaims. (Chaucer, 118) Full of rage, he attacks Alan as to sustain his protection for his women. Immortality is discussed in the Miller and Reeve's tales in the sense that the women of both tales have no true sense of integrity. Both John and Simon show some level of restraint over Alison, Molly, and the miller's wife, for "Restraint is recommended (for women) in regard to sexual behavior." (Blewitt, 662) Fly Nicholas, who pays rent to stay with John and Alison, finds John frequently leaves the house for many days as part of his job. Nicholas is portrayed as the sliest character in both tales, knowing all for love, sexual pursuits, and astrology. He approaches Alison one day and makes an intense sexual pass, and after little resistance, Alison accepts the pass. Alison then readily engages in sex with Nicholas, being assured that John will not find out. She stops not even once to think of what this will cause to her faithful and loving husband. Another such offense comes about when Alison openly sticks her, "Rompi" out the window for Absolom to kiss. Her overall character seems as one that has no shame. To the same extent, the miller's wife and daughter, Molly, commit a similar crime of lewdness. John and Alan, angry at the trick Simon has played on them, decide to sleep with Simon's wife and daughter that very same night. Carefully and cunningly, John gets Simon's wife into his bed, while Alan gets himself into Molly's bed. Molly, just as Alison readily accepts Alan's sexual offer, for Chaucer writes, "They soon were one." (Chaucer, 172) John uses a different approach to get Simon's wife, leading her to falsely believe his bed is actually hers. He instantaneously begins to have fun, but again the wife believes it is her husband who, "Thrusts like a madman,

Kantianism Nagel, Moral Luck

Kantianism: Nagel, Moral Luck Moral luck is a term used by Nagel to describe the external factors beyond our control, which act upon moral decisions we make. Nagels opinion is that people make moral decisions that may have good or bad intentions, but because of moral luck the outcome may be contrary to what he/she intended. Moral luck can be constitutive, the kind of person that someone is. Some people are born with certain characteristics, which enable them to be more virtuous then others. Others are born with a nasty streak of envy or jealousy, which makes it that much harder for them to make moral decisions. Another type of moral luck is ones circumstances. People are faced with different types of situations and problems, and certain situations make is easier to make the right moral decision. Nagel also describes two types of consequential lucks. One type is antecedent, in which certain consequences took place before the moral act and influence the moral decision to be made. The other type o! f consequential luck is the way actions and decisions turn out. Basically, moral luck is all the outside factors, which are beyond human control. These factors will determine whether a moral act turns out to be found moral by others or by oneself. A student may decide that he will not study for a specific exam because he intends to cheat off his neighbors paper. However, upon arriving to class he finds that all the seats but one in the front of the classroom are taken. The student, who had every intention to cheat no finds himself unable to look at anyones paper and must take the test on his own. This is an example of moral luck. According to Kant the student should be judged as having committed a moral wrong because Kant believes that moral acts must be judged on good or bad will. The student definitely had bad will in this case, however any Consequentalist would say the conseque...

The Philosophical Naturalism Of David Hume Essay

The Philosophical Naturalism Of David Hume - Essay Example Humes influence is evident in the works of quite a lot of other philosophers, among whom are: Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, Jeremy Bentham, Charles Darwin, and Thomas Henry Huxley. The diverseness of these writers shows what they gleaned from reading Hume; it reflects not only the richness of their sources but also the wide range of Humes empiricism. Contemporary philosophers recognize Hume as one of the most thoroughgoing exponents of philosophical naturalism. David Hume sought to develop more fully the consequences of Locke's cautious empiricism by applying the scientific methods of observation to a study of human nature itself. He was of the opinion that we cannot rely on the common-sense pronouncements of popular superstition, which illustrate human conduct without offering any illumination, nor can we achieve any genuine progress by means of abstract metaphysical speculation, which imposes a spurious clarity upon profound issues- that we are entirely unjustified in thinking that we can ever know anything about matters of fact. He thought that the alternative is to reject all easy answers; employing the negative results of philosophical skepticism as a legitimate place to start. Hume felt that since human beings live and function in the world, we should try to observe how they do so. The key principle to be applied to any investigation of our cognitive capacities is, then, an attempt to discover the causes of human belief. According to Hume, the proper goal of philosophy is simply to explain why we believe what we do. His own attempt to achieve that goal was the focus of Book I of his book, the Treatise of Human Nature and all of the first Enquiry.

Convertible Debentures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Convertible Debentures - Essay Example Some small companies are not able to meet the financial parameters for raising equity; thus, convertible debentures are issued instead of selling shares of stocks (Market Outbox par.3). Another motive of corporations for issuing convertible debentures is that they are able to raise equity without giving up control of ownership until such time that the debentures are converted into shares of stock. Furthermore, with debentures, the assets of the company will not be tied up unlike other forms of debt which require assets as collateral for the loan (Business Finance ,par.2). It is believed that issuing convertible debentures is a good alternative for companies who want to raise capital in short term intervals. It is win-win solution for both the issuer and the investor. It is attractive to investors because of the guaranteed interest payments and an option to convert to equity if the price of the stocks goes up. The company on the other hand is able to enjoy lower interest payments and can offer their shares at a premium based on the present value in the

Arguments in Favor of Capital Punishment and its Alternatives Essay

Arguments in Favor of Capital Punishment and its Alternatives - Essay Example This punishment has been applicable since ancient times to curb crimes and bring felons before justice. World’s major religions such as Christianity and Islam have also prescribed death for murder, necromancy and rape attempts as presented in Holy books including Bible and Quran. For instance, we have to consider the viewpoints, arguments, opinions, ideas, and understanding of every individual as we live in the democratic society where every person enjoys the freedom of speech, expression, and open communication. It is worthwhile to mention the fact that anti-capital punishment campaigners usually disregard the universal truth that everyone is mortal when defending Life Imprisonment against the death penalty. For instance, such campaigners argue that life-long wait for natural death by criminals will increase their agony of torture and emotional anguish in comparison to the pain and hurt they receive before hanging in public for death. However, they fail to provide a legitimat e explanation against the argument raised by endorsers of the death penalty â€Å"whether Life Imprisonment to culprits is the just decision for those who have lost their loved ones killed by felonies for personal reasons†. Some of the major arguments raised for and against capital punishment will now be demonstrated in the following sections to reach an appropriate conclusion. The first major argument in favor of Capital Punishment by supporters is that it leads to permanent eradication of notorious criminal groups, gangs or individuals from society. In addition, the death penalty serves as an example that no one is beyond the law as well as permitted to take law in one’s hand by brutally assassinating the innocents in society. Also, the punishment makes society safer and restores the confidence of the general public, which remains frightened from the presence of such malefactors in prisons.

Ebola Virus Mechanism of Infection

Ebola Virus Mechanism of Infection The Ebola virus (EBOV) is an enveloped, non-segmented, negative-strand RNA virus, which  together with Marburg virus, makes up the filoviridae family. The virus causes severe  hemorrhagic fever associated with 50-90% human mortality1. Four species of the virus (Zaire,  Sudan, Cà ´te d’Ivoire, and Reston ebolavirus) have thus far been identified, with Zaire typically  associated with the highest human lethality2. A fifth EBOV species is confirmed in a 2007  outbreak in Bundibugyo, Uganda3,4. Infection with EBOV results in uncontrolled viral  replication and multiple organ failure with death occurring 6-9 days after onset of  symptoms5. Fatal cases are associated with high viremia and defective immune responses,  while survival is associated with early and vigorous humoral and cellular immune  responses6-9. Although preliminary vaccine trials in primates have been highly  successful10-13, no vaccines, specific immunotherapeutics, or post-exposure treatments are  currently approved for human use. Since 1994, EBOV outbreaks have increased more than  four-fold, thus necessitating the urgent development of vaccines and therapeutics for use in the  event of an intentional, accidental or natural EBOV release. The EBOV genome contains seven genes, which direct the synthesis of eight proteins. Transcriptional editing of the fourth gene (GP) results in expression of a 676-residue transmembrane-linked glycoprotein termed GP, as well as a 364-residue secreted glycoprotein  termed sGP14,15. EBOV GP is the main target for the design of vaccines and entry inhibitors. GP is post-translationally cleaved by furin16 to yield disulfide-linked GP1 and GP2  subunits17. GP1 effects attachment to host cells, while GP2 mediates fusion of viral and host  membranes16,18-20. EBOV is thought to enter host cells through receptor-mediated  endocytosis via clathrin-coated pits and caveolae21, followed by actin and microtubuledependent  transport to the endosome21, where GP is further processed by endosomal  cathepsins22-24. Essential cellular receptor(s) have not yet been identified, but DC-SIGN/LSIGN25,  hMGL26, ÃŽ ²-integrins27, folate receptor-ÃŽ ±28 and Tyro3 family receptors29 have all  been implicated as cellular factors in entry. Here, we report the crystal structure of EBOV GP,  at 3.4 Ã… resolution, in its trimeric, pre-fusion conformation in complex with neutralizing  antibody Fab KZ52. GP1 is responsible for cell surface attachment, which is probably mediated by a region  including residues 54-20132. GP1 is composed of a single d omain (∠¼65 Ã… Ãâ€" 30 Ã… Ãâ€" 30 Ã…),arranged in the topology shown in Fig. 2a, and can be further subdivided into the (I) base, (II)  head and (III) glycan cap regions (Fig. 2a and Supplemental Fig. S3). The base (I) subdomain  is composed of two sets of ÃŽ ² sheets, forming a semi-circular surface which clamps the internal  fusion loop and a helix of GP2 through hydrophobic interactions (Fig. 2b). Moreover, this  subdomain contains Cys53, which is proposed to form an intermolecular disulfide bridge to  Cys609 of the GP2 subunit17. Cys53 resides near GP2 in the ÃŽ ²2-ÃŽ ²3 loop at the viral membraneproximal  end of the base subdomain (Fig. 2a-b). Our EBOV GP contains an intact GP1-GP2  disulfide bridge, based on reducing and non-reducing SDS-PAGE analysis. However, the region containing the counterpart GP2 cysteine is disordered, which may reflect functionally  important mobility in the region. The head (II) is located between the base and glycan cap   regions towards the host membrane surface. Two intramolecular disulfide bonds stabilize the  head subdomain and confirm the biochemically determined disulfide bridge assignments17.   Cys108-Cys135 connects a surface-exposed loop (ÃŽ ²8-ÃŽ ²9 loop) to strand ÃŽ ²7, while Cys121-Cys147 bridges the ÃŽ ²8-ÃŽ ²9 and ÃŽ ²9-ÃŽ ²10 loops (Fig. 2a). The glycan cap (III) contains four  predicted N-linked glycans (at N228, N238, N257 and N268) in an ÃŽ ±/ÃŽ ² dome over the GP1  head subdomain (Fig. 1b and 2a). This subdomain does not form any monomer-monomer  contacts and is fully exposed on the upper and outer surface of the chalice. The central ÃŽ ² sheets  from the head and glycan cap together form a fairly flat surface and, in the context of the GP  trimer, form the three inner sides of the chalice bowl. Ebola virus GP2 GP2 is responsible for fusion of viral and host cell membranes and contains the internal fusion  loop and the heptad repeat regions, HR1 and HR2. Many viral glycoproteins have fusion  peptides, located at the N terminus of their fusion subunit, which are released upon cleavage  of the precursor glycoprotein. By contrast, class II and class III fusion proteins, as well as class  I glycoproteins from Ebola, Marburg, Lassa and avian sarcoma leukosis viruses, contain  internal fusion loops lacking a free N terminus. The crystal structure reveals that the EBOV  GP internal fusion loop, which encompasses residues 511-556, utilizes an antiparallel ÃŽ ²Ã‚  stranded scaffold to display a partially helical hydrophobic fusion peptide (L529, W531, I532,  P533, Y534 and F535) (Fig. 2c). The side chains of these hydrophobic residues pack into a  region on the GP1 head of a neighboring subunit in the trimer, reminiscent of the fusion peptide  packing in the pre-fusion parainfluenz a virus 5 F structure33. A disulfide bond between Cys511  at the base of ÃŽ ²19 and Cys556 in the HR1 helix covalently links the antiparallel ÃŽ ² sheet. This  disulfide bond between the internal fusion loop and HR1 is conserved among all filoviruses,  and is analogous to a pair of critical cysteines flanking the internal fusion loop in avian sarcoma  leukosis virus34,35. Interestingly, the EBOV internal fusion loop has features more similar to  those observed in class II and III viral glycoproteins (in particular to flaviviruses) than those  previously observed for class I glycoproteins (Supplemental Fig. S4). It thus appears that  regardless of viral protein class, internal fusion loops share a common architecture for their  fusion function. EBOV GP2 contains two heptad repeat regions (HR1 and HR2), connected by a 25-residue  linker containing a CX6CC motif and the internal fusion loop. The crystal structures of postfusion  GP2 fragments30,31 have revealed that the two heptad repeat regions form antiparallel  ÃŽ ± helices and that a CX6CC motif forms an intrasubunit disulfide bond between Cys601 and  Cys608 (Supplemental Fig. S5). In the pre-fusion EBOV GP, HR2 and the CX6CC motif are  disordered. By contrast, the HR1 region is well ordered and can be divided into four segments:  HR1A, HR1B, HR1C and HR1D (Fig. 2c), which together assemble the cradle encircling GP1. Similarly, heptad repeat regions in influenza and parainfluenza viruses also contain multiple  segments in their pre-fusion helices that substantially rearrange in their post-fusion  conformations33,36,37. The first two segments, HR1A and HR1B (residues 554-575), together form an ÃŽ ± helix with an  Ã¢Ë† ¼40 ° kink at T565, which delineates HR1A from HR1B. Interestingly, the bend between  HR1A and HR1B contains an unusual 3-4-4-3 stutter, which may act as a conformational  switch31, rather than the typical 3-4 periodicity of heptad repeats (Supplemental Fig. S6). A  similar stutter has also been noted in parainfluenza virus 5 F33. The Ebola virus HR1C (residues  576-582) forms an extended coil linking HR1B to the 14-residue ÃŽ ± helix of HR1D (residues  583-598). HR1D forms an amphipathic helix and the hydrophobic faces of each HR1D join to  form a three-helix bundle at the trimer interface. Although the breakpoint maps directly to a  Lee et al. Page 3 Nature. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 June 22. NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript  chloride ion binding site in the post-fusion conformation of GP230,31 and at least two other  viruses38,39, no chloride ion is observed here as HR1 and HR2 do not come together to form  the six-helix bundle. Instead, the pre-fusion GP2 adopts a novel conformation, intimately  curled around GP1 (Fig. 1c). Ebola virus GP-KZ52 interface KZ52 is an antibody isolated from a human survivor of a 1995 outbreak in Kikwit, Democratic  Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire)40. This antibody neutralizes Zaire ebolavirus in  vitro40 and offers protection from lethal EBOV challenge in rodent models41, but has minimal  effects on viral pathogenicity in non-human primates42. KZ52 is directed towards a vulnerable,  non-glycosylated epitope at the base of the GP chalice, where it engages three discontinuous  segments of EBOV GP: residues 42-43 at the N terminus of GP1, and 505-514 and 549-556  at the N terminus of GP2 (Fig. 3 and Supplemental Fig. S7). Although the majority of the GP  surface buried by KZ52 belongs to GP2, the presence of both GP1 and GP2 are critical for  KZ52 recognition43. It is likely that GP1 is required to maintain the proper pre-fusion  conformation of GP2 for KZ52 binding. Indeed, KZ52 is the only antibody known to bridge  both attachment (GP1) and fusion (GP2) subunits of any viral gly coprotein. Given that KZ52  requires a conformational epitope seen only in the GP2 pre-fusion conformation and that the  KZ52 epitope is distant from the putative receptor-binding site (RBS), KZ52 likely neutralizes  by preventing rearrangement of the GP2 HR1A/HR1B segments and blocking host membrane  insertion of the internal fusion loop. Alternatively, IgG KZ52 may sterically hinder access to  the RBS or to a separate binding site of another cellular factor, especially if multiple attachment  events are required for entry. The KZ52 epitope of GP is convex and does not have a high shape complementarity to the  antibody (Sc index of 0.63), although ∠¼1600 Ã…2 of each GP monomer are occluded upon KZ52  binding. The antibody contacts a total of 15 GP residues by van der Waals interactions and 8  direct hydrogen bonds (Supplemental Fig. S7). Ten out of 15 residues in the structurally defined  KZ52 epitope are unique to Zaire ebolavirus (Supplemental Fig. S6), thus explaining the Zaire  specificity of KZ52. Ebola virus GP glycosylation We generated a fully glycosylated molecular model of EBOV GP to illustrate the native GP  trimer as it exists on the viral surface (Fig. 4). The majority of N-linked glycosylation sites are  concentrated in the mucin-like domain and glycan cap of GP1. Given that the mucin-like  domain is ∠¼75 kDa in mass (protein and oligosaccharide), the volume of this domain is  predicted to be similar to each GP monomer observed here. The crystal structure suggests that  the mucin-like domain is linked to the side of each monomer and may further build up the walls  of the chalice, forming a deeper bowl (Fig. 4). Although a mixture of complex, oligomannose  and hybrid-type glycans are found on intact, mucin-containing GP144, those glycans outside  the mucin-like domain are likely to be complex in nature: the mucin-deleted GP used for  crystallization is sensitive to PNGaseF, but not to EndoH treatment (Supplemental Fig. S8).   Modeling of complex-type oligosaccharides on the EBOV GP indicates that the majority of  the GP trimer is cloaked by a thick layer of oligosaccharide, even without the mucin-like  domain (Fig. 4). The ∠¼19 additional oligosaccharides on the full-length GP (17 on the mucinlike  domain and 2 more on GP1, disordered here) further conceal the sides and top of the  chalice. The KZ52 binding site and, presumably, the flexible regions of HR2 and the  membrane-proximal external region (MPER) remain exposed and perhaps vulnerable to  binding of antibodies and inhibitors. Lee The development of neutralizing antibodies is limited in natural Ebola virus infection. Many  survivors have low or insignificant titres1,7, and those antibodies that are elicited preferentially  recognize a secreted version of the viral glycoprotein that features an alternate quaternary  structure and lacks the mucin-like domain43. The glycocalyx surrounding EBOV GP likely  forms a shield that protects it from humoral immune responses and/or confers stability insideor outside a host. The mucin-like domain and glycan cap sit together as an external domain to  the viral attachment and fusion subunits, reminiscent of the glycan shields of HIV-1  gp12045,46   and Epstein-Barr virus gp35047, perhaps pointing to a common theme for immune  evasion. Alignment of filoviral sequences indicate that regions involved in immune evasion  have a low degree of sequence conservation [i.e. GP1 glycan cap (∠¼5%) and mucin-like domain  (0%)], but the N-glycosylation sites in the glycan cap are mostly conserved among all EBOV  subtypes (Supplemental Fig. S6), indicating the functional importance of these posttranslational  modifications. Sites of receptor binding and cathepsin cleavage Although a definitive receptor for EBOV remains to be identified, previous studies32,48,49  have determined that residues 54-201, which map to the base and head subdomains of GP1,  form a putative receptor-binding site (RBS) for attachment to host cells. Additional  experimental studies have identified at least 19 GP1 residues, assigned into four groups based  on the location in the structure, that are critical for viral entry48-50 (Fig. 5). Many of these  residues are apolar or aromatic and are involved in maintaining the structural integrity of GP1  for receptor binding or fusion. However, six residues (K114, K115, K140, G143, P146 and  C147) cluster within a ∠¼20 Ãâ€" 15 Ã… surface in the inner bowl of the chalice and may thus  represent important receptor contact sites. All residues in the putative RBS are highly conserved  among Ebola virus species (Supplemental Fig. S6). Importantly, this putative RBS is recessed beneath the glycan cap and perhaps further masked  by the mucin-like domain (Fig. 4), suggesting that additional conformational change or removalof the mucin-like domain could reveal additional surfaces required for receptor or cofactor  binding. It has been demonstrated that endosomal proteolysis of EBOV GP by cathepsin L  and/or B removes the mucin-like domain to produce a stable ∠¼18 kDa GP1 intermediate which  has enhanced viral binding and infectivity22-24. The precise site of cathepsin cleavage is  unknown and the role of cathepsins in natural infection is as yet unclear. However, formation  of an ∠¼18 kDa GP1 fragment implies that cathepsin may cleave near the GP1 ÃŽ ²13-ÃŽ ²14 loop  (residues 190-213). Indeed, this loop is unresolved in the pre-fusion structure, suggesting  enhanced mobility and accessibility to enzymatic cleavage. Cleavage within this loop would  remove the entire mucin-like domain and glyc an cap region (Fig. 5). As a result, ÃŽ ²7 to ÃŽ ²9  strands and their associated loops would become exposed. These regions of GP are in proximity  to the previously identified residues critical for viral entry. The fold, location and  physicochemical properties of this site should now provide new leads in the search for the  elusive filoviral receptor(s). A summary of the Ebola virus mechanism of infection, including the events of cathepsin  cleavage and conformational changes to GP2 during fusion, is presented.

Does Increased Carbon Dioxide Emissions Cause Global Warming? Essay

The warming of the Earth’s atmosphere is one of the most important environmental issues in the world today. The volatile climate and changes of heat in the atmosphere are connected with an increase of large amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It is often talked about that the primary reason why the global warming situation is increasing is due to the increase of the amount of greenhouse gases present in the Earth’s atmosphere, primarily the amount of carbon dioxide emissions. The increased carbon dioxide amount in the atmosphere that causes global warming is a cause of concern for many people because of its potential dangerous effects to the Earth and the environment. However, there are opposing arguments against this claim, and they refute that it is not accurate to mainly attribute the problem of global warming to the increasing carbon dioxide emission caused by the activities of humans. Audience My audience will be the one’s opposing the claim that carbon dioxide emissions cause global warming. The one’s opposing this claim believes that global warming is natural and the greenhouse gases do not cause global warming. That is true to some extent; however, if we did not build all of the industrial plants after the Industrial Revolution, which produces all of the carbon dioxide emissions global warming would not be as bad. To many scientists global warming refers to the observation that the Earth is warming, without any indication of what might be causing the warming of the atmosphere. This definition indicates that global warming can be due to various factors, and one of these reasons includes the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect, meanwhile, is a warming near the surface of the Earth that results whe... ...make our planet the only planet known to be habitable. I was able to use this book to better improve my reader’s knowledge of global warming and the effects of global warming. "What is Global Warming? - National Wildlife Federation." Home - National Wildlife Federation. National Wildlife Federation, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. . This article defines global warming and talks about how it is happening now. The article also goes in depth of how global warming is caused by humans and the effects that global warming are causing. Another thing the article talks about is what we can do to solve the problem of global warming. This article helped me by explaining the reasons of global warming and also by telling me ways that the global warming issue can be fixed. Another reason the article helped was by explaining the different causes of global warming.

Case: Valley Wide Utilities Company Essay

Problems A. Macro 1. The company faced with financial inefficiencies resulting from an expansion of its facilities. 2. President Delgado appointed John Givens and Hilda Hirsh to provide a broad outline of MBO performance standards, identify key standards controlling performance, and more specifically, isolate goals not easily attained. B. Micro 1. During the past year, performance evaluation problems are surfacing, dissatisfaction is emerging, managers are stating MBO standards are too tight and unfair, and workers are threatening to leave. I. Causes 1. John and Hilda may not have the knowledge or skills to evaluate and change performance levels of individuals or teams. 2. Hirsh was only looking for failure to report under the cover of the MBO system II. Systems affected 1. The company just increased the performance level on several items, bur they didn’t set a specific goal. 2. When the problems appeared, the company should talk about it together, and find out what they should do next, but they didn’t. III. Alternatives 1. Lower the standard of the system. 2. The manager should make a plan or goal from the review, then tell the employees how to do next. IV. Recommendation The company should do what I said before. Case: valley wide utilities company Problems C. Macro 3. The company faced with financial inefficiencies resulting from an expansion of its facilities. 4. President Delgado appointed John Givens and Hilda Hirsh to provide a broad outline of MBO performance standards, identify key standards controlling performance, and more specifically,  isolate goals not easily attained. D. Micro 1. During the past year, performance evaluation problems are surfacing, dissatisfaction is emerging, managers are stating MBO standards are too tight and unfair, and workers are threatening to leave. V. Causes 3. John and Hilda may not have the knowledge or skills to evaluate and change performance levels of individuals or teams. 4. Hirsh was only looking for failure to report under the cover of the MBO system VI. Systems affected 3. The company just increased the performance level on several items, bur they didn’t set a specific goal. 4. When the problems appeared, the company should talk about it together, and find out what they should do next, but they didn’t. VII. Alternatives 3. Lower the standard of the system. 4. The manager should make a plan or goal from the review, then tell the employees how to do next. VIII. Recommendation The company should do what I said before. Case: valley wide utilities company Problems E. Macro 5. The company faced with financial inefficiencies resulting from an expansion of its facilities. 6. President Delgado appointed John Givens and Hilda Hirsh to provide a broad outline of MBO performance standards, identify key standards controlling performance, and more specifically, isolate goals not easily attained. F. Micro 1. During the past year, performance evaluation problems are surfacing, dissatisfaction is emerging, managers are stating MBO standards are too tight and unfair, and workers are threatening to leave. IX. Causes 5. John and Hilda may not have the knowledge or skills to evaluate and change performance levels of individuals or teams. 6. Hirsh was only looking for failure to report under the cover of the MBO system X. Systems affected 5. The company just increased the performance level on several items, bur they didn’t set a specific goal. 6. When the problems appeared, the company should talk about it together, and find out what they should do next, but they didn’t. XI. Alternatives 5. Lower the standard of the system. 6. The manager should make a plan or goal from the review, then tell the employees how to do next. XII. Recommendation The company should do what I said before. Case: valley wide utilities company Problems G. Macro 7. The company faced with financial inefficiencies resulting from an expansion of its facilities. 8. President Delgado appointed John Givens and Hilda Hirsh to provide a broad outline of MBO performance standards, identify key standards controlling performance, and more specifically, isolate goals not easily attained. H. Micro 1. During the past year, performance evaluation problems are surfacing, dissatisfaction is emerging, managers are stating MBO standards are too tight and unfair, and workers are threatening to leave. XIII. Causes 7. John and Hilda may not have the knowledge or skills to evaluate and change performance levels of individuals or teams. 8. Hirsh was only looking for failure to report under the cover of the MBO system XIV. Systems affected 7. The company just increased the performance level on several items, bur they didn’t set a specific goal. 8. When the problems appeared, the company should talk about it together, and find out what they should do next, but  they didn’t. XV. Alternatives 7. Lower the standard of the system. 8. The manager should make a plan or goal from the review, then tell the employees how to do next. XVI. Recommendation The company should do what I said before.

Lego Case Essays

Lego Case Essays Lego Case Paper Lego Case Paper TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction1 Strategic Analysis2 A. Internal Core Competences2 B. Company mission and vision3 C. Future goals4 D. Organizational Structure5 E. 7-S model analysis76 Improvements9 Open Innovation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 A. Organization of innovation. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦11 B. Matrix Innovation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦.. 12 Reference14 Appendices†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15 A. Memos†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦15 B. Project A Log for mm215†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦.. 17 Executive Summary LEGO Group began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, and has a long history which started with making wooden toys, plastic toys and then getting to the famous brick. Because of the foreign competition, many companies, including LEGO, had to reevaluate their strategies to regain competitive advantage. As a consequence, the current corporate vision in Lego energizes all employees. Furthermore, the bond between them and top management can make every decision become a successful strategy. LEGO Goals focus on increasing, developing and expanding â€Å"direct to consumer† activities. The company has three main divisions in order to secure a successful implementation: â€Å"Market and Product† division, â€Å"Community, Education and Direct† and Operation division. This report discusses the 7 S model analyses: strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff and skills. Excelling in this areas, LEGO became the fourth biggest toy manufacturer in the world and the brick was called the â€Å"Toy of the Century â€Å". LEGO Games provide the opportunity for a unique combination of building with Lego bricks and social play with family and friends. LEGO core values are: fun, creativity and quality. The company structure consists of the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer and four Executive Vice Presidents each responsible for their own business area. The company has always been a family business and now it’s the first time when an outsider becomes part of it, but with his visionary leadership style pulled LEGO out of the crisis. The biggest innovation of LEGO is the way they work with users and other external agents for development and product improvement. For the manufacturing of new products LEGO implemented a mechanism known as LEGO Development Process (LDP). The company has split its innovation efforts into 8 distinct areas, from product development to business model innovation. This report reviews and synthesizes the information presented on the project, and shows case of the Group’s strategies and vision. The issues of diversity and innovation occupy a central role in showing the company’s values. Nevertheless, the Group must advance and focus on its fundamental mission, adapting to the external realities that affect the market. Introduction The LEGO Group, a privately held company based in Billund, began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen (1891 – 1958), a carpenter, who began making wooden toys in 1932. In 1947, it started to produce plastic toys, and in 1949, LEGO began producing the now famous bricks, calling them â€Å"Automatic Binding Bricks†. Bricks are colourful and they are accompanying array of gears, mini-figures and various other parts. LEGO Company takes its name from the two Danish words ‘Leg Godt’ meaning â€Å"play well. † The LEGO Groups motto is ‘det bedste er ikke for godt’ which means roughly only the best is good enough’. This motto was created by Ole Kirk to encourage his employees never to skimp on quality, a value he believed in strongly. The motto is still used within the company today. Today, LEGO Group ranks among the four biggest construction toy company around the world. Globally, there are approximately 10,000 employees in the LEGO Group, which is presented in more than 130 countries. The concept of â€Å"Play Well† serves their philosophy for all LEGO products today, a philosophy encouraging children to be open and curious, to stimulate their creativity, imagination and learning – while they’re having fun. In 1968, LEGOLAND Billund opened and it became Denmark’s most popular tourist attraction outside the capital. LEGOLAND parks are family parks in which children enter an exciting world of adventure built of LEGO bricks. There are 4 LEGOLAND’s in the world and soon there will be 5. There is one in the south of England, which opened in 1996, one in USA, in California which opened in 1999 and one in Deutschland, which opened in 2002. LEGO Group announced the opening of 2 new LEGOLAND parks, in Florida at the end of 2011 and in Malaysia in 2012. Strategic Analysis The threat of foreign competition has caused many companies to re-evaluate their strategies in order to regain the position of competitive advantage. The whole purpose of a strategic analysis is to figure out the most suitable planning strategy in respect to the company’s production and people, to set overall goals for the business and to develop a plan to achieve them. This process involves stepping back from the day-to-day operations and asking where the business is heading. 1 Internal Core Competences [pic] All the internal core competences that LEGO promote are properly balanced, adding value to the company strategies. Leadership The corporate vision is inspirational and energizes all employees throughout the company. Leaders are energetic, communicating strategic decision and lead by example. The top management within LEGO Group knows how to help its employees to expect and respect data-driven decision making, by making strategy everyone’s job: the work force understands the strategy and further, understands how their locale, everyday decision can contribute to successful strategy implementation. Corporate Culture The shared values of the LEGO Company within the employees are what link the organization together so that everyone lives the values, nurturing an attitude of relentless growth. Teams are infused with purpose, personality and passion for continuous improvement. Empowered Employees The employees of the LEGO Company are sharply aligned with the corporate vision and strategy, having a decision-making authority. All the innovators employees have the freedom to experiment, fail and begin again more intelligently. Performance Management LEGO Group has two major systems that are performance wise: motivation systems and suggestion systems. Motivation systems encourage extraordinary performance from all employees, as suggestion systems involve them in continuous efficiency improvement. Corporate Capabilities Combining all the structures, LEGO has established strong corporate capabilities on the basis of high promotion of effective creativity, ideas and knowledge. Within the company, teamwork is made a religion and innovation teams are empowered and diversity is leveraged. 2 Company mission and vision For the vast majority of companies, having well-defined visions and mission statements changes nothing. The exercise of crafting them is a complete waste of time and talent, if visions and mission statements are used for nothing but being published in the annual report and displayed in a reception area. In connection to this, LEGO Group has a remarkable strategy of sharing the missions and vision among all the employees and customers. Mission: ‘Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow’ LEGO’s ultimate purpose is to inspire and develop children to think creatively, reason systematically and release their potential to shape their own future experiencing the endless human possibility. Based on the world famous LEGO brick, the company currently provides toys, experiences and educational materials to children living in over 130 countries. The LEGO Group has approximately 10,000 employees and is the fifth-game material in the world. Vision: ‘Inventing the future of play’ LEGO wants to pioneer new ways of playing, play materials and the business models of play leveraging globalization and digitalization it is not just about products, it is about realizing the human possibility. In order to achieve this, LEGO is: We try to achieve this by providing a wide range of fun and high quality, based on our build system. In the hands of children, encourage products to implement the unique LEGO style: a style fun, creative, engaging and stimulating all at the same time. This activity provides children self-esteem and allows them to experience the special pride of getting things. Throughout the process, develop automatic and informally a set of future skills of ou tstanding importance: The resolution of problems from a creative standpoint, structured, curiosity and imagination, interpersonal relationships and physical motor skills. Building with LEGO is ultimately synonymous with play. 3 Future goals The LEGO Group has seen continued growth over the previous five years, and sales have increased by double-digit growth rates in the last few years. On this basis, seven growth goals have been defined by the company: Increase market share in USA Increase market share in Eastern Europe Invest in emerging markets Develop innovative new products Expand â€Å"direct to consumer† activities Expand LEGO Education The company’s aim is to create growth in the area of educational materials for preschools, schools and educational institutions all over the world. Expand Electronic Activities The LEGO Group currently operates on electronic platforms through the www. LEGO. com website and video games. According to LEGO’s website, its electronic presence will be further expanded, in particular through LEGO Universe – the first MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) from the LEGO Group, which was launched in the second half of 2010. 4 Organizational Structure An organizational structure combines activities such as task allocation, coordination and supervision, which are directed towards the achievement of organizational aims. In order to secure the successful implementation of the LEGO Group strategy a new organizational structure was introduced in Feb 2006 with three main divisions: 1. The ‘Market and Products’ division is focusing in creating value for the customers and ensure a higher degree of innovation. 2. The ‘Community, Education and Direct’ Division is developing the group xisting and new direct-to-consumer sales and ensure that the unique LEGO communities are catered through direct dialogue. 3. In order to ensure optimal operation and efficiency, all the supplies of products via the value chain , as well as the supply chain and central functions will be united within the ‘Operations’ Division. 5 7-S model analysis7 [pic] You can divide the factors into so-called hard and soft factors. Strat egy, structure and systems fall under the hard element because they can be easy to identify and affect. On the other hand there are shared values, style, staff and skills which fall under the soft elements because they can be difficult to identify but are equally important to have a successful company all around. Strategy: The company plan or route-map to maintain competitive advantage Structure: The company hierarchy Systems: The day-to-day processes and procedures throughout the company Shared Values: The core values of the company Style: The company leadership style Staff: The companys employees and their broad abilities Skills: The skills and competencies of employees Strategy: LEGO is always trying to have a competitive advantage. Always trying to expand and get the LEGO band into other countries and have also inspired to open LEGO amusement parks around the world – USA, Germany, Japan and England. Their market share in the US has increased with 5% over the past years and it is also their assessment that it can increase more over the next years. They have become the fourth biggest toy manufacturer in the world and manage to keep their position because they are very innovative and always come up with new concepts and new ideas of fun and play for kids to engage in. Structure: The company structure consists with the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer and 4 executive vice presidents with responsibility for their own business areas. This has both pros and cons. They all specialize in their area and that can be a pro because they know everything there is to know about their area and they are excellent at their job. It can also be a con because it also means they do not know a lot about the other business areas and it would not be the easiest thing to go help the other vice presidents if they needed it. Systems: LEGO has since 2005 been undergoing major organizational change and the CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp introduced the LEAN process in the company. It is a system that has two main areas, customer value and waste. Shared values: LEGO Games provides the opportunity for a unique combination of building with LEGO bricks and social play with family and friends. Players build the game from bricks, play it – and can then build a new version of the game or change its rules. The many games in the series have been developed on the basis of LEGO core values: fun, creativity and quality, and with an appeal to children aged five years and older. Style: The company has always been a family business with a member of the original family at the top, but now for the first time it’s an outsider that has been made Chief executive officer. He has a very visionary leadership style, and you can see that because he pulled LEGO out of a crisis and saved it from destruction, and focuses on how the leader defines the future for followers and moves them towards it, with his 4 vice presidents each responsible for their own business. He carried out the LEAN process and it has shown to be a great success. One of the areas in LEAN is about reaching the full potential of the employees and having them think about improvements regarding the customer’s needs. For this to work it is very important that the management have an attitude that shows trust, recognition and respect towards the employees. The company also has a unique and admirable style when you look at their code of conduct making sure that all their suppliers work after their high standards, and LEGO require that their suppliers sign a statement saying they follow the Code of Conduct of LEGO which is regarding: Child labour Pay and work hours Discrimination Force and harassment Forced labour Work environment Environment Fighting corruption Staff: The LEGO Group has 10,000 employees and they are both experienced and competent and they care a lot about all their employees being trained by someone more experienced so they learn from the inside and from the best. They show their employees a lot of trust so that they fe el confident and like a big part of the organization. Skills: The creative core of LEGO is made of 120 designers, always making sure LEGO is ahead on the toy ideas. Most of them have designer degrees and art school degrees although this is not a requirement to be a part of LEGO’s creative core. They always have to be on top of things and they are very skilled and capable, which is also a part of the great leadership style at LEGO. By doing the analysis of all these elements of LEGO it gives an overview on the internal organization, and it is clear that LEGO is a very functional company with a very capable CEO who is always up front on the marked and trying to make LEGO even bigger. There is always room for improvement but LEGO has a good solid organization for that Improvements Every process produces information on the basis of which the process can be improved. The focus is on continuous improvement throughout the organization through constant effort to reduce waste, rework and complexity. LEGO Company has business process thinking and it is based upon the central belief that is fundamentally the simplicity, shared vision and technology enabling that creates value to the customers and builds a good image for the organization. Integrating best practices Outline best possible strategies Because of their organizational structure with four vice presidents responsible for their own business areas, it could be a good idea to have them work in each other’s areas to get a wider knowledge about the other areas and make it easier to help each other if needed. World Class Competitiveness Market impact, focus on a balanced culture Further definition of client’s needs Development of an Integrated Strategy Built outcomes into new strategies Simplifying the processes, measures, and data gathering for a better action planning. Employee force development Prioritizing the options, resourcing the teams and find the most suitable plan for action. External improvement Developing the customer relationship Long term relationship with the suppliers Customers focus and feedback Open Innovation Since the discovery of its benefits, many companies are distinguished for being at the forefront of work processes and methodology, have opted for open innovation. He who works alone, he adds, who works in networks, it multiplies. The scenario has changed and we need not only internal innovation, the advantages or benefits that represent the adoption of open innovation models in companies or organizations, such as cost reduction, flexibility of structures, accelerated innovation and creativity or increase revenue, but we need for an organization to be more efficient against the competition, both in creation and in the capture of value. What is it? Basically expand innovation, listening in decision-making organizations to all its members and outsiders and not limited to R D Department or the Directorate. Open Innovation brings together innovative products and innovation model business across the R D process. In the research phase, companies seek and discover inventors, start-ups and other sources of available technologies that can be used as a basis for internal development project or assembly. In the development phase, established firms can acquire innovations outside that provide the opportunity to develop new generations of technology. In the marketing stage, it can buy or sell products or technologies, depending on the potential value that can be generated. Open innovation has acquired a new dimension, thanks to booming Internet collaborative tools and social networks. The most important for each organization must be clients, users and beneficiaries of each product or service. There are many cases in which companies currently have user communities of each brand that have given a boost in times of decline. External flows of technology, experience and knowledge through the collaborative work we now, say that open innovation have even become an almost essential tool for some companies when it comes to reinvent itself, leaving behind the obsolescence that seemed doomed their products and services. The biggest innovation of LEGO is the way they work with users and other external agents for development and product improvement. An example of this is what happened whit the product LEGO Mindstorm, a line of building blocks and programmable robots. Given its complexity, users, children and adults, without programming knowledge could not build their robots and make them work correctly and that frustrated them, so that meant Lego was facing a drop in sales. The first step to solve this problem was to seek advice from the outside. They got prototypes mountable in 20 minutes and easy to use for people without computer and programming skills. Later, they took a real leap electing 5 people from their community of consumers, 5 people with experience in computer science, programming and design and were fans of Lego. They worked on a new prototype of Lego Mindstorm, but were not paid with money but with advantages in the purchase of new products that were not yet on the market and free tickets to LEGOLAND. In addition to that, 100 users formed a community of developers. Shortly after the release of Mindstorm, a hacker revealed the programming code and hung it on the network. Lego then saw a new opportunity to increase the added value of their products to share with the world some of their knowledge. Another example of Open Innovation is the website that created LEGO, Lego Factory, where people can customize and design their own toy and buy it. Also, people can upload their designs and if they are good, Lego makes them to sell to the public. This makes LEGO closer to the people and that consumers will identify more with the company and its philosophy. And its a very good method of developing the user loyalty. 1 Organization of innovation For the manufacture of new products LEGO implanted a mechanism known as LEGO Development Process (LDP). This mechanism became a cumbersome bureaucratic mechanism because the workers had to fill in many forms, and each product took a long time to arrive to the market and only a few products were finally launched to the market. This process was modified and simplified, steps were removed, and the results to be obtained at each stage of the innovation process were clarified. The company has split its innovation efforts into eight distinct areas, from product development to business model innovation. It divides responsibility for them across four areas of the firm: the functional groups, the Concept Lab, Product and Marketing Development, and a unit called Community, Education, and Direct. To implement the new innovation process and manage and coordinate innovation across the entire company, LEGO created an Executive Innovation Governance Group. This committee determines innovation goals and strategy, decides the portfolio of innovation projects that the LEGO Group will take on, coordinates efforts, it delegates authority, allocates resources, and monitors the development process through the LDP review points. The four areas in which it divides the process of innovation are: 1. Functional Groups: Create core and enabling business processes in functions from Sales to manufacturing and supply chain. Areas of Innovation: core processes (sales, operations, financial planning), enabling processes (forecasting, marketing planning) 2. Concept Lab: Develops fundamentally new products and play experiences; located in its own building. 3. Product and Marketing Development (PMD): Develops the next generation of existing products and innovates on existing play themes (for instance, â€Å"pirates†), packaging, and campaigns. Areas of Innovation: Messaging (advertising campaigns, websites) Offerings (products, packaging) Platforms (toys’ technology elements) 4. Community, Education, and Direct (CED): Supports customer communities and taps Them for product ideas; manages the LEGO retail chain, the online store, and educational-market offerings; creates online play experiences. -Areas of Innovation: consumer interaction (communities, customer service), sales channel (retailers, direct to consumer), business model (revenue, pricing). 2 Matrix Innovation After failed innovations in different types of products, to make it easier and specific new process development (LPD) for each area, to help coordinate and identify the innovations necessary to develop a new product, LEGO creates the Matrix Innovation. This matrix identifies four areas in which innovation can take place within the company product, business, communication, and the process as well as the innovativeness of the improvements. In completing the matrix is achieved coordinating innovation efforts and identify where they need to focus resources. Matrix also used innovation as a guideline for restructuring the company and clarifies specific innovation responsibilities for each department. This allows each group to have greater authority and responsibility in achieving their goals. It also serves to coordinate this new form of open innovation in which ideas are taken into account and use the work of consumers, retailers, start-up companies, inventors and others who are interested in helping in developing Lego products and innovation. Reference http://1000ventures. com/business_guide/org_balanced_5elements. html businesslink. gov. k/bdotg/action/detail? itemId=1079687246r. i=1079687767r. l1=1074404796r. l2=1074446322r. l3=1079687477r. s=scr. t=RESOURCEStype=RESOURCES http://en. wikicollecting. org/the-lego-group http://cache. lego. com/upload/contentTemplating/AboutUsFactsAndFiguresContent/otherfiles/download98E142631E71927FDD52304C1C0F1685. pdf lmcuk. com/management-tool/the-7-s-model-for-organisational-change http://aboutus . lego. com/da-dk/corporate/default. aspx ouh. dk/wm267615 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing docstoc. com/docs/6899468 http://blogs. alianzo. om/redessociales/2008/08/08/innovacion-abierta-casos/ slideshare. net/dsanchezbote/open-innovation-comunidad-de-innovadores-presentation josemira. com/2011/01/articulo-el-fenomeno-de-la-open-innovation/ www. LEGOFactory. com innovationgovernance. net/legostudy. html innovationgovernance. net/legomatrix. html Appendices Memo To: Meg Sonderlund From: Maria Carlsen Date: October 10th 2011 Subject: My development during project A During the week of our project A regarding the LEGO Group I feel like I had a personal development with understanding and helping my group members. It was a challenge to communicate and work together as a team with someone who is from another country and speaks another language, and is maybe used to doing things differently from me. I always fall into the role of the leader in a group and is used to doing things my way and just had everyone follow me. But this week I got a lot better at slowing down and listening to the others and explaining what I meant and what I am doing so they could understand and also lean. I was really nice to help and show them ways to do things, and I also learned from them. I got better at Word processer by the help from one member of my group and she also showed me how to do a great layout for a paper and a power point. It was a challenge to work together in such a big group and with people that have such different backgrounds, but I really enjoyed it and I think I also became a better team player this week and got better at doing things together instead of just doing my own thing and finish my part. This group came together and I also made some friendships I don’t think I would have otherwise so that makes this week a success. To: Meg Sonderlund From: Hannah-Rebecca Doukhan Date: October 10th 2011 Subject: The memo of Project A During this week of Project A, I have improved some knowledge about the LEGO Group, in constructing a paper and in Word Processor. I can use my class of Communication and Organization to write the paper. Furthermore, I have improved my English and met new people. Indeed, during this week I learned so many things about LEGO Group. I already knew the company because in France we have the LEGO toys, but I didn’t know that it is a Danish company and that it is the fourth biggest toy company around the world. It was so interesting to learn things about this group because it is very stimulating to be acquainted with a company better. Furthermore, for the presentation of the paper, we have to make a table of contents automatically generated by our word processing program. But I did not know how to do this. So I did some researches on Internet and now I know how to make a table of contents automatically on Word. When I arrived in Odense, I had some difficulties in speaking English and still have, but this week helped me to improve my English. I think I have made more progress during this week than since I got here. All the day I spoke English with the other members of my group and I had to be understood by them, so I had to make effort. During this week, I have met some nice people. And it was so exciting to speak with them. They helped me improve my English, they corrected my mistakes. To conclude, I think I can say that this week was a very good week. I learned so many things and it was more stimulating than classes. To: Meg Sonderlund From: Laura Dragomir Date: 07. 10. 2011 Subject: Personal Development This memo has a key role in showing case of my personal development while working in a group for Project A. In the beginning it took me a lot of time and energy in understanding and accepting the others ideas and proposals, but soon I found out how interesting and challenging a group task can be. I have learned to develop my analytical skills and to be more concise about all the knowledge that I want to pass on. Furthermore, I was introduced to a practical issue of analyzing a theory model and I believe that my knowledge in that area has improved considerably. Other than the achievement and improvement of the practical skills I have also enjoyed the social part of the group project. I got to know my group colleagues better than I would have done it in the class room, and it was very exciting to learn about their different life stories. Other than reaching a positive result in the group project we also established a connection with each other. To:Meg Sonderlund From: Maria Enasoae Date: October 7, 2011 Subject: The Memo of Project A During our first project, the Project A, having like task the LEGO Company, I consider that we gained more knowledge about LEGO, we had the opportunity to implement some things from the communication class, and not the last is that we learned working like team. We met during this week; we talked and exchanged ideas between us, sharing tasks that we hope to be fully accomplished. Like every beginning, was a little bit difficult to work with people that you don’t know very well, speaking in English instead of your mother tongue, different culture, different ways of thinking, but I think the end was a benefic one and we made a pretty good job. We worked allot for this project, we tried to find as many topics discussed to lead us to a favorable result, each of us coming up with an idea and finally choosing the one that we all agreed. We learned how to make an Executive Summary, Appendix, and Analysis, how to write them in Word, how should be the page, and many other interesting and useful staffs. Besides working to this project we made time also for coffee breaks and lunch, moments of relaxation in which we had the opportunity to socialize, to find out more one about each other, we talked about us and our personal life, daily life, things that we like and things that we don’t like, we learned how to communicate, and in my opinion the communication is crucial between members of a group or organization to be successful in their jobs. I think now, after this project, we learned many new and interesting things about us, like team, we get used more one with each other and become more confident regarding our qualities and also defects. Now, that the project it’s done and our mission has ended for the moment, we hope that will have achieved good results to be proud of. It was a nice and positive experience, first project like group, so for us it was a first step until the next projects, and our target for the future is to reach higher and higher like team. We thank you all for your interest and attention, hope you liked our project and team work! To: Mary M. l. Sonderlund From: Gustavs Erglis Date: October 7, 2011 Subject: Project A Project A was a great experience for me, because I’ve never really done anything like this before. At first it was very hard for me to understand what the objective was, and what do I have to do, but thanks to my group mates I kind of managed to get through my part of the work. Also I really liked that this was the second time we did a case together, so we didn’t have to spend much time getting to know each other. I gained a lot from this project. For example, I learned something about the strategic analysis, for any means I don’t want to say I’ve gotten very good at it, but at least now I have some knowledge about this. We had a very nice atmosphere in our group, everybody was very friendly and helped me, when I had some difficulties. In the end I can say that I really enjoyed doing this project, and I’m glad that we got through without many major difficulties. To: Meg Sonderlund From: Amador Ignacio Fidalgo Omil Date: October 10th 2011 Subject: The memo of Project A Work on this project on LEGO Group has been interesting because I learned many things about this company and also because it helped me to improve my English skills a little because I have a low level. I liked working with my classmates because they listen to my views and helped me when I had some problem with vocabulary or looking information. And I liked to know the working method of Lego. Learning this new concept to me that is the Open Innovation as Lego takes into account the opinions of its users to develop or improve their products. I think it is a philosophy of work very interesting and exciting to the fact that consumers can make decisions on the product creation process that subsequently will buy. Maria Carlsen Hannah-Rebecca DoukhanPROJECT A Laura DragomirLog for group 2 Maria Enasoae Gustavs Erglis Ignacio Fidalgo Monday October 3rd The group met and got the assignment on the LEGO Group. We all agreed on going home and each find some information about LEGO and come up with some ideas on how to do the paper and which model to use, and then we agreed to meet Tuesday morning to brainstorm all of our ideas and start the paper. Everyone did a really nice job and came up with different interesting ideas for our project. Tuesday October 4th We met at 9 o’clock and started brainstorming and showing the others what we came up with for the paper. At first we had a hard time getting started and trying to figure out what to write in the project and which models to use. After some discussion and debating we made a rough draft of the table of contents and divided it so we each had an area to focus on and also decided to do a little bit of homework each day so we do not fall behind. After dividing the different parts of the paper we could decide to stay at the school and work or go home. Some went home and some stayed a little longer. Wednesday October 5th We met at 10 o’clock this morning and started reading what everyone did at home. Everyone did a really good job and had a lot to share. We now have 17. 000 keystrokes and are almost done with the paper, so all we need is just a few last parts of the paper and all the appendices, and for everyone to read through the paper so we can do the power point. That is what we plan to start tomorrow. This day was a really good day. We worked very well together as a team and listened to each other and tried very hard to understand and explain if someone had a hard time with the language or something else. Thursday October 6th We met at 10 o’clock to finish the paper and start our executive summery and power point. We all had some different ideas of what to write in the executive summery and we discussed a little bit and tried to put everyone’s ideas into it. Hannah-Rebecca worked on the layout of the paper and the power point and the others worked on the summery and the grammar in the paper. Friday October 7th Today we just finished the last grammar corrections in the paper, the table of contents and the last touch to the power point. Some members of the group had some jobs they did all through the week. Hannah-Rebecca worked on the layout of the paper and the power point and did a very fine job on both. She is the creative one in the group, and Laura and Maria C did all the grammar and spelling corrections in the paper. The rest of the members helped out where it was needed and also did work from home like everyone else in the group. This team worked very well! Tietgen Business College MM215 COM 1st Semester Project A 2011 Carlsen Maria Doukhan Hannah-Rebecca Dragomir Laura Enasoae Maria Erglis Gustavs Fidalgo Ignacio Group 2 21,054 keystrokes Meg Sonderlund Peter Storm-Henningsen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ProductBusinessCommunicationProcesses 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Meg Sonderlund Peter Storm-Henningsen 1st semester mm215 21 22

Biography of Babur, Founder of the Mughal Empire

Biography of Babur, Founder of the Mughal Empire Babur (born Zahir-ud-din Muhammad; February 14, 1483–December 26, 1530) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in India. His descendants, the Mughal emperors, built a long-lasting empire that covered much of the subcontinent until 1868, and that continues to shape the culture of India to this day. Babur himself was of noble blood; on his fathers side, he was a Timurid, a Persianized Turk descended from Timur the Lame, and on his mothers side he was a descendant of Genghis Khan. Fast Facts: Babur Known For: Babur conquered the Indian subcontinent and founded the Mughal Empire.Also Known As: Zahir-ud-din MuhammadBorn: February 14, 1483 in Andijan, Timurid EmpireParents: Umar Sheikh Mirza and Qutlaq Nigar KhanumDied: December 26, 1530 in Agra, Mughal EmpireSpouse(s): Aisha Sultan Begum, Zaynab Sultan Begum, Masuma Sultan Begum, Maham Begum, Dildar Begum, Gulnar Aghacha, Gulrukh Begum, Mubarika YousefzaiChildren: 17 Early Life Zahir-ud-din Muhammad, nicknamed Babur or Lion, was born into the Timurid royal family in Andijan, now in Uzbekistan, on February 14, 1483. His father Umar Sheikh Mirza was the Emir of Ferghana; his mother Qutlaq Nigar Khanum was the daughter of Moghuli King Yunus Khan. By the time of Baburs birth, the remaining Mongol descendants in western Central Asia had intermarried with Turkic and Persian peoples and assimilated into the local culture. They were strongly influenced by Persia (using Farsi as their official court language), and they had converted to Islam. Most favored the mystic Sufism-infused style of Sunni Islam. Taking the Throne In 1494, the Emir of Ferghana died suddenly and 11-year-old Babur ascended his fathers throne. His seat was anything but secure, however, with numerous uncles and cousins plotting to replace him. Evidently aware that a good offense is the best defense, the young emir set out to expand his holdings. By 1497, he had conquered the famous Silk Road oasis city of Samarkand. While he was thus engaged, however, his uncles and other nobles rose in rebellion back in Andijan. When Babur turned to defend his base, he once again lost control of Samarkand. The determined young emir had regained both cities by 1501, but the Uzbek ruler Shaibani Khan challenged him over Samarkand and dealt Baburs forces a crushing defeat. This marked the end of Baburs rule in what is now Uzbekistan. Exile in Afghanistan For three years, the homeless prince wandered Central Asia, trying to attract followers to help him retake his fathers throne. Finally, in 1504, he and his small army turned to the southeast, marching over the snow-bound Hindu Kush mountains into Afghanistan. Babur, now 21 years old, besieged and conquered Kabul, establishing a base for his new kingdom. Ever optimistic, Babur would ally himself with the rulers of Herat and Persia and try to take back Fergana in 1510 to 1511. Once more, however, the Uzbeks utterly defeated the Mughul army, driving them back to Afghanistan. Thwarted, Babur began to look south once more. Invitation to Replace Lodi In 1521, a perfect opportunity for southern expansion presented itself to Babur. The sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, Ibrahim Lodi, was hated and reviled by his citizens. He had shaken up the military and court ranks by installing his own followers in place of the old guard and ruled the lower classes with an arbitrary and tyrannical style. After just four years of Lodis rule, the Afghan nobility was so fed up with him that they invited the Timurid Babur to come to the Delhi Sultanate and depose him. Naturally, Babur was quite happy to comply. He gathered an army  and launched a siege on Kandahar. The Kandahar Citadel held out for much longer than Babur had anticipated. As the siege dragged on, however, important nobles and military men from the Delhi Sultanate such as Ibrahim Lodis uncle, Alam Khan, and the governor of Punjab allied themselves with Babur. First Battle of Panipat Five years after his initial invitation to the subcontinent, Babur finally launched an all-out assault on the Delhi Sultanate and Ibrahim Lodi in April 1526. On the plains of Punjab, Baburs army of 24,000- mostly cavalry- rode out against Sultan Ibrahim, who had 100,000 men and 1,000 war elephants. Although Babur appeared to be terribly outmatched, he had something that Lodi did not- guns. The battle that followed, now known as the First Battle of Panipat, marked the fall of the Delhi Sultanate. With superior tactics and firepower, Babur crushed Lodis army, killing the sultan and 20,000 of his men. Lodis fall signaled the beginning of the Mughal Empire (also known as the Timurid Empire) in India. Rajput Wars Babur had overcome his fellow Muslims in the Delhi Sultanate (and of course, most were happy to acknowledge his rule), but the mainly-Hindu Rajput princes were not so easily conquered. Unlike his ancestor Timur, Babur was dedicated to the idea of building a permanent empire in India- he was no mere raider. He decided to build his capital at Agra. The Rajputs, however, put up a spirited defense against this new Muslim and would-be overlord from the north. Knowing that the Mughal army had been weakened at the Battle of Panipat, the princes of Rajputana gathered an army even larger than Lodis and went to war behind Rana Sangam of Mewar. In March 1527 at the Battle of Khanwa, Baburs army managed to deal the Rajputs a huge defeat. The Rajputs were undaunted, however, and battles and skirmishes continued all over the northern and eastern sections of Baburs empire for the next several years. Death In the autumn of 1530, Babur fell ill. His brother-in-law conspired with some of the Mughal court nobles to seize the throne after Baburs death, bypassing Humayun, Baburs eldest son and appointed heir. Humayun hurried to Agra to defend his claim to the throne  but soon fell gravely ill himself. According to legend, Babur cried out to God to spare Humayuns life, offering his own in return. On December 26, 1530, Babur died at the age of 47. Humayun, 22 years old, inherited a rickety empire, beset by internal and external enemies. Like his father, Humayun would lose power and be forced into exile, only to return and stake his claim to India. By the end of his life, he had consolidated and expanded the empire, which would reach its height under his son Akbar the Great. Legacy Babur lived a difficult life, always battling to make a place for himself. In the end, however, he planted the seed for one of the worlds great empires. Babur was a devotee of poetry and gardens, and his descendants would raise all kinds of arts to their apogee during their long reign. The Mughal Empire lasted until 1868, at which point it finally fell to the colonial British Raj. Sources Moon, Farzana.  Babur: the First Moghul in India. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, 1997.Richards, John F.  The Mughal Empire. Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Finite Element Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Finite Element Analysis - Essay Example This is a comprehensive finite element study on an infinite plane in finding the stress concentration factor point A of the plane to obtain the longitudinal stress profile from the points adjacent to the hole. The study is also focused on giving the stress value in the point A of the plane. In doing the exercise, the convergence study of the element will be achieved. The method of analysis in this particular study is by ANSYS program. However, the method is compared to the Saint-Venant principle to create more clarity and credibility. Introduction FEA comprises of a computer representation of a design/material, which is stressed and examined for particular results. Finite element analysis is used in new product design, and accessible product elegance. A company is able to authenticate a recommended plans will be able to execute to the customer’s provisions prior to manufacture/ assembly. Modifying an existing product or structure is utilized to qualify the product or structure for a new service condition. In case of structural failure, FEA may be used to help determine the design modifications to meet the new condition. The complete logical explanation for the state of stress caused by a hole in a plate is essentially and relatively complex. Since the study is focused on providing the actual stress on the finite element, the relation of the Saint-Venant principle and the study is directly useful in the comparison of the used model in the study. The principle states that the strain in the bodies at points that are sufficiently remote from the points of the applied load depends on the static resultant of the loads and not the distribution of the load. This comes to the realisation that the stress produced is a resultant of the point loads. The stress concentration is an increase in the stress along the cross section area that can be discontinued in this case by a hole in the plate. For instant, the distribution of the stress if there was no hole in the pla te will be non-uniform in the strain as the strain grows linear further away. In this study, the use of a quarter of the shape is used due to symmetry reasons. In this case, the solution is an analytical since the plate is infinite and large with a hole. Results from the simulation done will be compared with the solutions. Increasing the mesh density is useful to determine the closest solution to the problem. This is in line with making sure one knows the point of mesh refinement has reached. In this problem, the mesh density was increased by doubling the element from 12, towards 192 elements for each percentage error calculations. Objective The paper is focused using engineering method in providing a definite stress analysis on the longitudinal points of A and B using nodally average values obtained from the calculations. The main aim is to determine the stress concentration factor in the point A of the plate and the longitudinal stress in between points A and B. In the end of the study, one will be able to conduct a stress analysis with ANSYS without any difficulty as the procedures are stipulated in every step of the calculations. The results of the project will give the deflection, percentage error and the stress on the plate. The use of a quarter of the shape is utilized to produce the calculations of one part that will provide the merit to calculate the whole value of the plane.

Paper 3 Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

3 - Term Paper Example o lower the women into the lowest type of cesspool possible that cheapens their identity and individuality by portraying them as nothing more than objects of sexual desire who cannot amount to anything if they do not sell their sexuality. On television, the high standard and regard for women can be seen in the character of Kate Becket on the detective show Castle aired over ABC. She represents her gender and white race in a manner that commands the respect of the men and others around her. Unlike the Madonna and Lady Gagas out there who cheapen themselves in order to stay ahead of the game, Beckett is the epitome of the female sex as she manages to come across as sexy without having to reveal too much flesh but also being an independent minded woman who can take care of herself if no man is there for her because she is a self- respecting police officer who uses logic instead of her heart to get her ahead in the game of life. Kate Beckett represents the modern woman who does not need to dress seductively all the time and act trashy or like a tramp in order to get her man or get ahead in her line of