North and South

At the onset of the American Civil War, following the secession of the South from the Union to create the Confederate States of America, the North and South were two completely different worlds in terms of their way of life. Simply put, each region had a different goal for itself, had moved in a very different direction over the past 100 years since the end of the Revolutionary period. When the Civil War began in 1861 the two armies that would meet in battle after battle throughout the turbulent, bloody years of the Civil War were as different as any two groups could be, despite the fact that they were from the same country, in terms of their geography, their politics, and their military, all of which were contributing factors in the ultimate outcome of the war itself. The geography of the two regions of the United States can be linked to perhaps the major difference in terms of the two sides. In the North, where climates were colder, summer’s were shorter, and the productivity of small farming was low, industrialization became a major part of their way of life. People in the north mostly lived in towns or cities, and their livelihoods depended on going to work everyday at a factory or within some industry. They were used to taking orders and fulfilling them on a deadline. In the South, with their warm climate and long growing seasons, farming became a way of life. They lived an agrarian lifestyle, and therefore became more independent in terms of their views and thoughts. They had never had to answer to someone telling them what to do in the way that factory workers in the North did, which led to free-thinking and a sense of strong-willed independence. Their geography affected the way they thought and felt about themselves, and this would be an extremely important factor in the Civil War. The political climates of each region were affected by the types of mind sets that each group developed because of their ways of life. In the North, the prevailing idea was to create a strong and centralized federal government that would supercede any of the politics of the individual states. The view was that the federal government would have to be stronger than the states so that the country could create a higher power, so to speak, in government that would establish rules, regulations, and laws that all states had to abide by. Basically, the North wanted the government to be a mini-version of working for a business in the North–people not questioning the decisions of the federal government, and instead simply obeying. This idea went against everything the agrarian, independent South stood for. Besides the institution of slavery, the issues went much deeper as southerners felt that only a local, state government could really know the issues and problems for their individual states, and only a state government was best to deal with it. The secession from the Union to create the Confederate States of America just prior to the Civil War is a perfect example of how serious the South was about this. Militarily, the North and the South were very different as well. The North had three-times the population of the South, which meant many more soldiers to help the Union cause if the war was long and drawn out. In the North people were used to taking orders and blindly following them; in the South, people were much more independent-minded. The North also had one major advantage, the fact that they were industrialized and could quickly open and run factories to supply the army with any necessities, including arms and ammunition. This created a major divide in the two armies, that would end in a Union victory. The North and South were two completely different places, despite the fact they resided in the same borders. Their differences were too large to overcome without a war, and the Civil War was the cumulation of the politic and social bickering that had been happening for years. It is hard to imagine the South winning in light of so much stacked against them, and the North was simply better prepared due to their way of life and their industry to fight a long-standing war. Works Cited Nelson, Rebecca, ed. The Handy History Answer Book. Detroit: Invisible Ink, 1999. 105-110.

Nursing Home Facility versus a General Acute Care Hospital

A nursing home facility also known as a rest home can be defined as a place of residence for people who need constant nursing care. A nursing home offers a range of services in addition to skilled nursing and custodial care. These services include a room all meals, social activities, personal care, 24 hour nursing supervision and access to medical services. On the other hand a general acute care hospital is a health facility or institution which offers emergency medical, surgical and intensive care together with maternity services for admitted patients as well out patients. This care is given around the clock with the presence of a registered nursing staff and daily visits of the physician (Morton, P. Hudak, C. & Gallo B. (1998). Most nursing homes provide two basic types of services which include skilled medical care and custodial care. Skilled Medicare services are offered by trained professionals and can be required for a limited period of time in case of an injury or illness. Consequently, skilled care may be needed on a long term basis if a resident/ patient requires injections or other treatments which are long term. This skilled medical care involves physical therapy where the resident is helped to walk or get on or out of bed and even toileting. In case the patients or residents have wounds the nurse is supposed to assist in wound care which involves dressing and administration of antibiotics and monitoring on intravenous fluids. Custodial or personal care includes assistance in dressing, bathing, eating, walking and even toileting. Custodial care is required since people recovering may temporarily need assistance before they are able to work for themselves. Skilled and custodial care in a nursing home facility is given by a licensed and registered nurse who is supposed to be on duty all day long. The care is given until the patients are able to return to their homes and take care of themselves without much assistance or when the facility feels that there could be no further improvements on the individual patient. Some nursing homes do not have facilities that are certified for Medicare for example beds therefore; this facility is more of a residential home since it provides a room, meals and other necessary requirements for daily living and recreation. The patients here are treated more like a family since the nurses are able to cater more to their specific needs whether emotional or medical (Weiss Man.et al, 2001) While receiving skilled or rehabilitation, the nursing home will provide custodial care together with professional services, however the Medicaid paid does not cover all the cost of care and this means that the resident must cater for the other costs. A physician attends residents in a nursing home occasionally when need arises. Whereas in a General Acute Care Hospital, nursing, care is oriented and motivated by urgency. Diagnostic and therapeutic modalities are readily available and therefore immediate medical care decisions are necessary. Like in a nursing home, nursing care here is given by a registered nurse who is present all around the clock. In this facility medical care is instituted on admission and there are daily visits of the physician Like in the nursing home, skilled care is given to the patients together with custodial care until patients have recovered or when they are referred to a nursing for fur ther monitoring and care by a physician. Nursing services are highly specialized due to a high rate of admissions and emergency. A high percentage of professional staff in the nursing department may also contribute to the specialization (Green gold NL.2004). This kind of facility attends to acute cases which may not be taken care of at home or a nursing home. Equally all the facilities are certified and patients are attended at individual level. Conclusion There are significant differences on the care of patients in a Nursing Home Facility and in a General Acute Care Hospital. These differences are so pronounced and are not necessary since both of the two facilities are health care facilities and all the residents’ medical care on a daily basis. The main objective of a health care facility is the provision of quality services. References: Green gold NL. When can we change an established medical practice? AHA News: 2004:40:6 Morton, P. Hudak, C. & Gallo B. (1998). Critical care nursing: a holistic approach 7th ed. Lippincott, Williams, Wilkins Weiss Man, DE; Griffre, J; Muchka, S; Matson, S. Improving pain management in long term care facilities. Journal of palliative medicine; 2001; 4:4:567-573 Â  

The British Culture

People can generally identify themselves as part of a larger culture, which means that they hold many of the same values and beliefs as those around them. But they might not be aware of being part of one or more subcultures. These exist within the larger culture but are marked by differences. A subculture is a group of people who are part of a larger culture, but who separate themselves by their own unique beliefs and behaviours. In the 1950s David Riesman, a United States sociologist, distinguished between the majority that passively accepted the styles, standards and meanings given to them and a minority. This subculture sought its own meanings of things, interpreting them in what Riesman calls â€Å"subversive values. † Culture sociologist Sarah Thornton believes that subcultures raise their status through their subculture so as to differentiate themselves from other groups. Ken Gelder states that subcultures are very social, sharing conventions, values and rituals with those in their subculture even if they do not share those values with the greater culture, in the following research; we will see all the different British subcultures which make the United Kingdom one of the richest cultures in the world.. The England culture: It sometimes becomes difficult to separate the culture of England from the influences of the culture of the United Kingdom. England Culture has come along way and has developed over several millennia, to recent movements such as Brit Art and now encompasses a variety of forms which include photography, painting, sculpture and performance art. Cuisines of England also influence the England culture to a great extent. The urbanized workers of England were in many cases cut off from regional food traditions as the country was the first industrialized country of the world. More recently, a new style of cooking called Modern British has emerged that combines traditional British ingredients with foreign culinary influences. English folklore that has evolved in England over a number of centuries is yet another aspect that influences the Culture of England. England thrives with folklore in all forms such as the traditional semi-mystical Arthurian legends and semi-historical Robin Hood tales, to contemporary urban myths and facets of crypto zoology. Culture of England is lame till we include the heritage of the country as it is massively affected and influenced by it.  Also you can read about  History of the Culinary Arts. In recent years, Stonehenge has become a focus for modern summer solstice celebrations. Though the Stonehenge pre-dates the existence of England as a nation, it is believed by many English people to hold an iconic place in the culture of England. English literature has been made rich by the famous works by the popular writer of the past like William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and many more. Just like literature, English music has been instrumental in influencing the England Culture to a large extent. Talking about food, there are few food-related taboos in England. Some of the English avoid some foods for so-called hygienic reasons, such as onions and leeks, which can cause bad breath. There are also some types of foods that are considered uncivilized. Traditionally, the people of England have never eaten horses, dogs and other carnivores or insects. Slowly, the eating of meat is looked on as uncivilized. As part of the shift away from meat toward fruit, vegetables, and fish, people have become more distanced from the production of the meat they eat and less willing to eat as wide a variety of meats. The Scottish culture: The Culture of Scotland will give you a glimpse of the rich historical past of the country. Scotland is a nation which is well positioned in the north-west part of Europe. Scotland also beautifully shares a border with England. It is bordered by the Irish Sea and the North Channel to the southwest, the North Sea lies to the east while the north and west part of Scotland is bordered by Atlantic Ocean. The Culture of Scotland is influenced by the residents of the Scottish Highlands who basically belong to the Celtic descent. To the Southern part of Scotland, the residents are Scots with little bit of Nordic and Anglo-Saxon influence. The people of Scotland have a love for learning. If we look at the history of Scotland it is found that their history is full of educated persons who acquired university educations. In the beginning of the 20th century, Andrew Carnegie who was the Scottish-born American industrialist made education easy. In the Culture at Scotland, we can find the celebrations of Hogmanay, which is basically the celebration of to mark the beginning of New Year. In the Culture of Scotland, there is the tradition of taking out Torchlight Parade in Edinburgh. People take part in the Torchlight Parade which is held on the 29th December on each and every year. The people taking part in this parade carry wax torches and walk on foot through the popular streets of the city. The Hogmanay street party organized on New Years Eve last for three nights. We can also find the celebrations of Christmas like that of any other European countries. People take part in Christmas celebrations with great pomp and glory. During this period people go to churches and arrange gala lunch and dinner parties for ones friends and relatives. There is also many Scottish celebrations, one of them is the Burning of the Clavie which celebrates the New Year, old style, which falls on 11 January (unless 11 January is a Sunday, in which case the celebration is held on 10 January). The Clavie is a half-cask, mounted securely on a pole, and filled with staves of wood and inflammable liquid. If we are interested in the Scottish food, the region has a very distinctive cuisine that is usually based on traditional foods. Food of Scotland mainly comprises of the Scottish foods. Food of Scotland is really mouth-watering which will positively satisfy your appetite. Some of the popular traditional Food of Scotland that you can try out while on a tour to Scotland is: -Scottish Beef: The beef cattle belonging to Aberdeen Angus breed reared in Scotland. Steaks made from these cattle beefs are really very tasty. Bannocks or Oatcakes: This dish is an oat flour biscuit that is baked on a griddle. Nowadays people usually prefer to sample bannocks with cheese. The culture of Wales: The nation of Wales is a major part of United Kingdom but the Culture of Wales is quite distinct from the rest of England. The nation of Wales is known to preserve its own distinguishing culture, language, art and music. The national emblem of Wales includes leek and daffodil. The Welsh Dragon is a significant part of the Culture of Wales. The country of Wales is extended 274 kilometers in the north to south and about 97 kilometers east to west. The eastern side of the country of Wales is bordered by England, the southern side is covered by the Mor Hafren or the Bristol Channel, the western side has St. George's Channel and the northern side has the Irish Sea. The total area of the coastline is over 1,200 kilometers and includes several islands that lie off the Welsh mainland. The Welsh culture exhibits the true essence of the region and tourists are introduced to the colorful and vibrant cultural heritage of the nation. Gradually with the change in times a mode rn outlook developed among the Welsh and thus a different meaning was attached to the Culture of Wales. Cultural Tours of Wales provide you an idea of the religion, arts and crafts of the region as well as the language. Religion, music and sport are among the indispensable part of the Cultural Heritage of Wales. Basket making, candle making and knitting are among the popular arts and crafts of Wales. Wales is famous for music and poetry and Culture of Wales has a great affinity to the most well-known musical image of Wales. Wales has a long tradition of folk song and has a long history of the instrumental tradition. The most widely practiced religion in Wales is Christianity and include to the diverse Culture of Wales. Culture of the performing arts in the Swansea provides you great source of entertainment. Festival of Music and the Arts plays an important part in promoting Wales Tourism. The Festival of Music and Art brings a great cultural gathering. Culture of Wales is presented mainly at the Swansea, Pembroke, Llandeilo, Narberth and Tenby. These places are perfect for the region's deep-rooted cultural aspect that includes arts and craft and musical performances. When it comes to entertainment, the country of Wales posses a rich culture and history and the people here enjoy lots of festivals. Festivals and Events in Wales are celebrated throughout the year; the festival of Eisteddfodau for example, known as cultural gathering, is one of the major Wales Festivals and Events. The biggest celebration is the Royal National Eisteddfodd of Wales, which is generally held in the early period of the month of August. There is another version of this festival of International Eisteddfod festival that is held every year in the month of July. The festival of Eisteddfod is a cultural competition that has its root in the ancient times. This festival celebrates the victory of the British from the Norman invasion. Among the other Festivals and Events in Wales, one is the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show. This festival is held in July and in these festivals there is a wonderful exhibition of several spectacular agricultural products that have their own beauty and are unique. You can also enjoy a host of oddball events throughout the year. The city of Brecon is known for its jazz festival and the fine food festival of Abergavenny is also very popular. The Irish culture: Ireland is rich in history and has also been the home to many talented writers including the likes of Oscar Wilde. Ireland has made a large contribution in literature and the very traditional folk music combined with the beautiful steps of the Irish dance all reflect the rich culture of Ireland. The people of Ireland are known to be very hospitable and friendly in nature. Having a family life is considered of great importance in Ireland. The traditional ways of the Irish culture can be seen in the rural areas of Ireland. Here, a lot of traditional customs are followed which is quite a contrast to the modern life that is led in the urbane areas of Ireland. Ireland also has a large number of people who own their own palatial residencies. The modern Irish culture follows a more open method of communication between the Irish people. The Irish believe in displaying their affection rather than curbing the same. English still remains to be the most spoken language today. The native dialect can be found in some of the rural areas of Ireland. The Irish language was introduced by the Celts and many senior citizens can be found speaking in the traditional Irish language. The homes in Ireland still follow the same rule and are built in a similar fashion, as was the pattern of the olden days. Bright and cheerful colors can be seen splashed on the walls of most homes with colorful doors. Homes of Ireland are generally terrace houses with the central heating system having replaced the traditional fireplace. Although there is no official religion for Ireland, special consideration has been given to the Catholic Church. One can see the Roman Catholics, Methodists, Jewish, Presbyterianism and even a small percentage of other religions such as Islam existing in Ireland. Talking about food, Stories related to the old Irish culture have the mention of honey being widely used especially to make mead. Meat was widely eaten along with poultry products. The potato formed a major part of the food in Ireland amongst the labor class. Today, the food habits have influences from all over the world. Although meat has always been the main item in Irish food, fast food has also taken over. New Irish dishes are being churned out to maintain some healthy eating habits amongst the Irish people; these focus mainly on fresh vegetables. The British norms & values Norms are defined as specific but tacit standards of what is socially and individually acceptable; values as explicit but general statements of principle, of which the content is continually changing through changing norms, changing circumstances, changing policies and the accompanying ethical debate. The relation of norms, values and policies is shown by an historical example. The inherent conflict within both norms and values is discussed and the role of the policymaker is defined, both as an artist in conceiving and devising one among many possible but always partial realizations of contemporary norms and values, and as a partially conscious agent in reshaping the norms and values of his time. The psychological implications of this are briefly indicated. Britishness is the state or quality of being British, and is used to refer to what binds and distinguishes the British people and forms the basis of their unity and identity, or else to explain expressions of British culture, such as habits, behaviours or symbols that have a common, familiar or iconic quality readily identifiable with the United Kingdom. Dialogue about the legitimacy and authenticity of Britishness is intrinsically tied with power relations and politics; in terms of nationhood and belonging, expressing or recognising ones Britishness provokes range of responses and attitudes, such as advocacy, indifference or rejection. In the 16th and 17th centuries most people in this island lived in small village communities. They knew all their neighbours. They dressed alike, and almost all of them were white. The vast majority belonged to the same religion, and spoke much the same language. And, at regular intervals, these very similar people, possessed of very similar values, would cheerfully go and watch some of their number being burnt alive at the stake, or slaughtered with swords, because they were deemed to possess the wrong brand of Christianity. As this suggests, promoting common â€Å"British values†, even assuming that we knew what these were, is never going to be enough to prevent some stray, impassioned individuals in our midst from wanting on occasions to kill their neighbours on God's behalf. Acts of violence against one's own countrymen that are legitimated by religion are emphatically not new. Nor have such acts ever been unique to Islam. Historically – in this country, as in most other countries – religion has often proved a more consistently lethal and divisive force than any secular ideology. It has also often been a more divisive force than race. Yet, in recent decades, pundits and politicians have devoted far more time to worrying about racial divisions in British society, than they have to thinking imaginatively about the consequences of our new religious pluralism. This, despite the fact that, since 1945, Britain, like other European states, has entered uncharted territory as far as religion is concerned. Before the Second World War, most Britons were at least nominally Protestant. Now, all the world's religions are represented here. It is a great experiment. But it comes accompanied with new risks, tensions and uncertainties. Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, made a speech in 2006 to promote Britishness. Brown's speech to the Fabian Society's Britishness ( British intellectual socialist movement ), Conference proposed that British values demand a new constitutional settlement and symbols to represent a modern patriotism, including a new youth community service scheme and a ‘British Day' to celebrate. In 2007, the majority of people in many non-white ethnic groups living in Great Britain described their national identity as British, English, Scottish or Welsh. This included almost nine in ten (87%) of people with mixed heritage, 85% of Black Caribbeans, and 80% of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Non-whites were more likely to describe themselves as British than whites. One-third of people from the White British group described themselves as British; some respondents opted to call themselves English, Welsh or Scottish. 19] A study conducted for the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) in 2005 found that, in England, the majority of ethnic minority participants identified primarily as British, whereas white English participants identified as English first and British second. In Wales and Scotland, the majority of both white and ethnic minority participants identified as Welsh or Scottish first and British second, although they saw no incompatibility between the two identities. 20] Other research conducted for the CRE found that white participants felt that there was a threat to Britishness from large-scale immigration, the ‘unfair' claims that they perceived ethnic minorities made on the welfare state, a rise in moral pluralism and perceived political correctness. Much of this frustration was found to be targeted at Muslims rather than minorities in general. Muslim participants in the study reported feeling victimised and stated that they felt that they were being asked to choose between Muslim and British identities, whereas they saw it possible to be both at the same time.

Rewarding team performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rewarding team performance - Essay Example There is a perception that rewards are often more costly for the employer but to have a motivated and enthusiastic team gives much more returns to the business and even contributes towards the growth which are much more profitable for the firm in comparison to the cost that the employer incorporates reward system. Rewarding team performance can be defined as a mechanism through which the employees are motivated to create more high standards of performance so as to contribute towards the growth and success of the organization (Armstrong, 2012). It can also be termed as acknowledging the hard work of the team to achieve the common goal by the management. According to Bob Nelson in his book, â€Å"1001 ways to reward employees† states that there are many different forms of schemes for rewards that are used by many organizations to reward and motivate their staff. The rewards that are given to the employees can be very costly or less costly but all that should be taken into consideration by the employer is that the rewards that are given should be of value to the employees and the entire system of rewarding should be unbiased where the same team member should not be given rewards. An organization that has lower budget for their reward system can use methods such as a voucher, thank you note, cake, etc., to appreciate performance of the team. The organization with a bigger budget for the team reward system can incorporate measures such as team events, lunch, a holiday package, etc. The most formal way of rewarding team performance is through bonuses, increase in salaries, promotions, etc. The bonuses or salaries that are linked to the performance require an organization to set goals or KPIs so as to measure the overall performance or that of an individual. The incentives then can be classified as performance related bonus as team or individual basis on achieving the goals, performance

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Reviews and Evaluations - Essay Example cause of justice, the impact that the verdict will have on the safety of the society, the past record of the defendant and the extent to which the defendant poses a threat to the society. The first and foremost premise regarding the extension of death penalty in case of the insane murderers is that the term ‘insane’ is very broad and fluid in its scope and interpretation. To a great extent it would be right to claim that taking the life of a fellow human being or human beings in most cases is in a way an act of insanity. Perhaps, every murderer commits a murder in a very imbalanced and gruesome state of mind. So if one agrees with the logic that insane murderers should be pardoned, then there is no denying the fact that almost every murderer will seek pardon on the grounds of insanity or committing a murder in a state of mental imbalance. Convicts will resort to citing reasons like migraine, depression, rage, eating disorders, addictions, phobias, inability to manage anger, etc as an excuse for getting away with their crimes, as all these ailments qualify to be classified as forms of mental instability. This will give way to a wrong precedence in the soc iety and will exponentially dilute the deterrent effect of the justice system. The other big reason for supporting the death penalty in case of mentally ill murderers is that the justice is not driven by insubstantial emotions and allocates a definite punishment for all sorts of crimes. Claiming immunity by a murder convict on the grounds of insanity is irrational in the sense that in such cases the accused tends to exploit one’s mental illness as an excuse for the crime one committed. Insanity could definitely serve as an explanation for committing a crime. However, the absurdity of allowing an explanation to turn into an excuse for letting a murderer goes scot free trivializes the claims of justice and mocks the plight of innocent people murdered by that person, not to mention the agony of their family and

ECON ARTICLE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ECON ARTICLE - Essay Example The LCD-panel manufactures had been producing flat screens faster than the TV industry could absorb and thus were forced to cut their wholesale prices by as much as 30%, which lowered their profits. Now they demand that TV makers, distributors, and retailers should cut their margin in order to generate more sales. On the other hand retailers complain that their margins are not really much because the high cost of storefront display and marketing TVs does not leave high profits for them. In addition, they have to invest heavily in training sales personnel also. They further have a lot of money tied up in inventories of the costly TVs. Moreover, the average selling price of flat screen TVs have dwindled to about $3000 from $5000 two years ago. The LCD panel makers, meanwhile, face stiff competitive pressure from other screen technologies such as Plasma and High Resolution Projection TVs. Since September 2004, plasma TV prices have plummeted and contributed to high market share gains over LCD sets. Retailers of plasma screen also apply a similar margin to plasma sets as well. But plasma screen factories are not as costly to erect as LCD screen plants, and there is less competition among plasma screen makers, so the profit squeeze is not as bad. A slightly encouraging trend that the flat TV producers can find relief in is that the low price is likely to increase the sales volume. Though there is a gradual decrease in prices and an increase in sales of flat screen TVs, most analysts predict that it won’t take off as quickly as flat screen computer monitors. Monitors primarily being used for commercial purposes, the purchasing has been driven by businesses while TVs are chiefly purchased for domestic use by consumers. These customers rather tend to be more sensitive to price than any other consideration. Due to increased production, the supply of flat TVs has

Individual Business proposal for electronic and communications Essay

Individual Business proposal for electronic and communications engineering - Essay Example Hospitals are busy places where people are on call all the time. Hospitals have a number of paging systems today which attempt to reach doctors and staff. These range from pagers, which are based on walkie-talkie and two-way communications technologies from the 1960’s, overhead sound signals, which use a public address system, and even lights which send a coded page to specific people or departments. In answering a page or a summons, a staff member must normally call a number or look at a short paging message; usually, the message is â€Å"call your paging service.† There are several problems with the current systems in place. First, it requires too much work on the part of the staff member. If he/she is in the midst of tending to a patient, she must stop and look at the pager, or go to a phone to follow up on the page. He or she must then talk with a dispatcher or listen to a message. The communication is one-way; if he/she has questions about the page, there is no way to get an immediate answer. Each staff member in a hospital needs to be able to communicate with everyone else in a way that does not interrupt their workflow. If a nurse is tending to a patient, for example, he/she must be able to talk to someone without having to step away from the bedside, or use one or two hands for communication. In addition, the person must be able to reach a ‘live’ person on the other end when something is needed, in order to request immediate information or action. The communications system must be transparent to the user, and take little or no training. It should be applicable throughout the institution, but also offsite. If, for example, a physician is visiting with a patient in his offices, and would like to enquire about the availability of a bed at a local hospital, he/she should be able to immediately contact the appropriate hospital staff

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Enlightenment And Religion - Essay Example Holy Bible was the last word and everything about a man was God-centric, God-decided, and God-given. KANTIAN CONCEPT: Enlightenment was an effort to break through this stagnant cultural context into the freedom of reason and knowledge. That’s why the German philosopher Immanuel Kant called enlightenment as the great leap forward for the humanity. â€Å"For Kant, Enlightenment was mankind’s final coming of age, the emancipation of human consciousness from an immature state of ignorance and error†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Sapere Aude (dare to know) was Kant’s watchword taken from the Greek poet Horace† (Roy Porter, The Enlightenment, PP1). For Kant Enlightenment was an intellectual liberation; a release from man’s self-imposed tutelage. Because of this tutelage man was not able to understand the realities around him without the guidance of a super intellectual guardian. The situation is self-imposed not because the man had no intelligence but because he was not able to use the intelligence. Getting out of the intellectual dependence of the other was what Kant professed. Enlightenment was an intellectual movement. It was mostly a middle-class movement against the hereditary aristocracy and religion; a movement for the humanity in general and for the common man in particular. Though this movement is often associated with the 18th century, the roots of it go back further. Thinkers and writers who thought about the betterment of human life and society, who wanted to place ‘Reason† in the center of all human intellectual activity, who wanted to fight the tyrannical political system, and combat superstition and ignorance were trying to enlighten the people around them. Putting reason in the center of human inquiry opened the door to scientific curiosity and inquiries. Though the church could stop Galileo, they couldn’t stop the development of scientific ideas.

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Solar cells - Research Paper Example Most of the energy sources we are using at present are nonrenewable in nature. Fossil fuel energy and nuclear energy are the popular energy sources at present; however, these energy sources are not only getting exhausted but also causing problems to the environment. Moreover these energy sources are non-renewable in nature. On the other hand, solar energy is a renewable energy source. But the technologies available to exploit solar energy is not developed properly yet. Whatever the solar energy exploitation technologies available now are expensive compared to the other energy sources and hence still we are relying on conventional energy sources such as coal, fossil fuel, nuclear energy etc. However, solar energy seems to be the most important renewable energy source which may help us to solve our energy crisis in future. â€Å"Solar energy systems consisting of solar collectors, sensible energy storage and a closed loop flow circuit† (Garg & Garg, p.75). Solar panels represent solar collectors and sensible energy storage means photovoltaic cells or sola r cells. Solar is cell is an equipment which converts solar energy into electrical energy. Photovoltaic cells are currently used to operate solar devices. Photovoltaic cells contain certain chemicals which may undergo chemical reactions (Photovoltaic effect) in the presence of solar energy to produce electricity. Solar panels collect energy from solar radiations and transmit it to the solar cells which convert this energy into chemical energy first and then to electrical energy when required. An inverter helps the transmission of electrical energy from solar cells to the electrical circuits when needed. It is believed that solar energy can solve the energy crisis up to certain extent if utilized properly. It should be forgotten than the solar energy exploitation technology is highly expensive. However, sunny cities and wealthy rural areas can think about the

The Beer Industry Insights Essay Example for Free

The Beer Industry Insights Essay Carlsberg Group is the fourth largest brewer in the world. Our extensive port- folio of beer brands provides a beer for every occasion and palate. Our flagship brand, Carlsberg, is one of the best- known beer brands in the world, and Baltika, Carlsberg, Tuborg and Kronen- bourg are among the biggest brands in Europe. In addition, we have a wide range of leading beer brands in local markets. Our business is focused in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia, where we have strong market positions. The rest of the world is mainly serviced through export or license agreements. Western Europe: Carlsberg is the second largest brewer in Western Europe, and in 2012 they had a 40bp market growth in this area. Eastern Europe: Carlsberg holds a strong no. 1 position in the region’s main market, Russia, and very strong positions in the other markets in the region. In 2012 they had a 38,2% market share in the area. Asia: Carlsberg’s Asian portfolio of businesses consists of mature markets such as Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore as well as investments in growing beer markets such as China, India and Vietnam. In 2012 their organic beer volume growth was 9%. China is the worlds largest beer market. Carlsberg and the Market: For more than tree decades, Carlsberg has been one of the largest commercial sponsors of professional football, and Carlsberg beer and football are almost inseparable. * Since 2008, stadium beer sales has gone up 40% * There has been 6. 6 million visitors to fan parks * There has been 1 million cups of beer sold during half-time at the final. *Carlsbergs focus concerning the macro environment: see corporate social responsibility report COMPETITORS Heineken Heineken is the 3rd largest brewer in the world. HEINEKEN is a proud, independent global brewer committed to surprise and excite consumers everywhere. Four key attributes make the Company different: Heineken ® is the first and only truly global beer brand, enjoyed in 178 countries around the world; a unique, worldwide footprint with operations in 71 countries, ensuring a broader reach for our brands than any other brewer; an internationally diverse, dynamic, committed and entrepreneurial team of around 70,000 employees; and the passion of the Heineken family remains as strong today as it was in 1864 when we first started brewing beer. Western Europe: HEINEKEN is Europe’s leading brewer. We have operating companies in 10 countries and an Export and Duty Free business. Revenue â‚ ¬7,785 million, 42,3% Central and Eastern Europe: HEINEKEN has a rich product portfolio of leading brands.? We have operating companies in 14 countries and we own and operate more than 50 breweries across the region. Revenue â‚ ¬3,280 million, 17,8% Americas: We operate 20 majority-owned breweries and seven joint venture breweries in a region characterised by attractive, growing and profitable markets. Revenue â‚ ¬4,523 million, 24,6% Africa and the Middle East: HEINEKEN first imported beer into Africa in 1900. Today we have operating companies? in 20 countries in the region and brew a number of blockbuster brands. Revenue â‚ ¬2,639 million, 14,4% Asia: The acquisition of Asia Pacific Breweries means we now have? a presence in 19 countries in the region and operate 25 breweries. In India our joint venture company is UBL. It is the market leader and has 18 breweries. Revenue â‚ ¬527 million, 2,9%. Organizarion goal and objectives: Heinekens five business priorities: Each one helps us to achieve our goal of winning in all markets with Heineken ® and with a full brand portfolio in markets where we choose. * Aims for sustainable growth as a broad market leader and segment leadership * Expand and optimize brand portfolio * Embraced innovation as a key component of their strategy in areas of production, marketing, communication and packaging * Goal is to grow the business in a sustainable and consistent manner, while consistently improving profitability SWOT Heineken Strengths1. Heineken’s leading brand portfolio includes more than 170 international premium, regional, local and specialty beers. 2. The company has undertaken various advertising and promotional initiatives, which has improved its brand equity. 3. Strong brand portfolio helps the company to create a favorable image in the market and ensures stable revenues.? 4. Heineken has a large network of breweries. It owns over 125 breweries in more than 70 countries. 5. Since the breweries are located close to their end markets, the company is in a position to serve fresh beer to customers. 6. A geographically widespread plant network reduces transportation costs as well. 7. Strong network of breweries helps the company boost customer satisfaction and reduce costs8. Excellent branding and top of the mind recall owing to advertising and sponsorship initiatives| Weaknesses1. Beer markets in Western Europe faced a challenging year due to the combined impact of the financial crisis, mixed weather, smoking bans and unprecedented increases in excise duties? 2. Maintaining corporate values, image and quality standards in various countries is a challenge3. Being a leader susceptible to fake imitation products| Opportunities1. Heineken’s acquisition of other breweries and brands2. Expand product line – for new areas and to accommodate changes in taste and preference.? 3. Innovations contribute to the top-line growth and to the strength of the Heineken brand in particular. 4. Integration forwards and backward. 5. Driving top-line growth by winning customers at the point of purchase has been the key rationale behind the roll-out of Heineken’s extra Cold program. 6. Falling trade and ownership regulations in foreign countries. | Threats1. Tax regulations on the beer industry2. An increasingly negative perception in society towards alcohol could prompt legislators to restrictive measures. 3. Slowed industry growth rate. 4. Legal issues dealing with underage drinking – retailer’s license may be revoked or suspended. 5. Heineken has many operations in mature beer markets where the attractiveness of the beer category is being challenged by other beverage categories. 6. Changing buyer taste and preference. 7. Input costs (including transportation and energy) have accelerated to unprecedented levels in the past few years. | AB-InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev is the leading global brewer and one of the world’s top five consumer products companies. Our dream, shared by 118 000 people around the globe, is to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World. That means brewing beers with a heritage of quality and craftsmanship dating back to 1366, while maintaining an unwavering commitment to responsible drinking, environmental stewardship and the betterment of the communities in which we operate. A true consumer-centric, sales-driven organization, we have a strong, balanced brand portfolio, including six of the 10 most valuable beer brands in the world*, and we hold the No. 1 or No. 2 position in many of the? world’s leading beer markets. In 2012, our total revenues were 39. 8 billion USD. Our portfolio consists of over 200 beer brands, including three global brands, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s; fast-growing multi- country brands Leffe and Hoegaarden; and strong â€Å"local champions†, such as Bud Light, Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Quilmes, Michelob Ultra, Harbin, Sedrin, Klinskoye, Sibirskaya Korona, Chernigivske, Hasseroder and Jupiler, among others. Headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, Anheuser-Busch InBev operates? in 23 countries worldwide and works through six geographic Zones: North America, Latin America North, Latin America South, Western Europe, Central Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific — enabling consumers around the world to enjoy our products. Strategy: the words we live by â€Å"Our dream inspires us to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World — our People and our Culture make it happen. † Dream: Our shared dream energizes everyone to work in the same direction: to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World. Everything we achieve begins with our shared dream: to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World. This dream has inspired us not only to build and grow one of the leading global consumer products companies but also to commit ourselves to improving the world around us by promoting responsible drinking, environmental stewardship and involvement in our communities. Our dream is ambitious but credible, and we know that by stretching to achieve great things, we will become the size of our dream. People: Great people, allowed to grow at the pace of their talent and compensated accordingly, are the most valuable assets of our company. We know that great people are the key to transforming a great dream into reality. Our dream is shared by 118 000 AB InBev colleagues around the world, who represent our greatest asset and our only sustainable competitive advantage. It is because of our people — and their talent, engagement, drive and sense of purpose — that we have been able to deliver on our commitments to our customers, our shareholders, our communities and one another. Great people, motivated by leaders who clear the way for them to perform at their best, attract more great people to our company. And we believe that great people are attracted by an atmosphere of meritocracy, informality and candor. Our approach is to hire people with the potential to be better than we are, to ensure that leaders engage them fully and to provide challenging experiences to help them develop. We invest heavily in attracting the best people, developing their potential and enriching their opportunities through a range of programs and initiatives. Culture: * We are never completely satisfied with our results, which are the fuel of our company. Focus and zero complacency guarantee lasting competitive advantage. * The consumer is the Boss. We connect with our consumers through meaningful brand experiences, balancing heritage and innovation, and always in a responsible way. * We are a company of owners. Owners take results personally. * We believe common sense and simplicity are usually better guidelines than unnecessary sophistication? and complexity. * We manage our costs tightly, to free up resources that will support top-line growth. * Leadership by personal example is the best guide to our culture. We do what we say. * We don’t take shortcuts. Integrity, hard work, quality and consistency are keys to building our company. North America total volumes increased 0. 6% in 2012 AB InBev’s shipment volumes in the United States and selling-day adjusted sales-to- retailers (STRs) grew 0. 7% and 0. 4%, respectively. The company estimates it continued to make good progress on market share in the U. S. , with market share down less than 20 bps in 2012, due to significant improvements in the premium-plus category following the roll-out of Bud Light Platinum and Bud Light Lime Lime-A-Rita. These innovations helped the company to grow the market share of the Bud Light Family by approximately 70 bps in 2012 Michelob Ultra, Shock Top, Stella Artois and AB InBev’s other high-end brands also grew share, while company’s share remained under pressure as a result of softness in Budweiser and the company’s pricing strategy of closing the gap between sub- premium and premium brands within its portfolio. In Canada, beer volumes increased by 0. 1% in 2012 mostly driven by a tough comparison in terms of industry, poor weather and the ice hockey lock-out. Latin America North volumes grew 3. 0%, with beer volume growth of 2. 7% and soft drinks up 3. 7%. In Brazil, beer volumes increased 2. 5%, benefiting from an estimated industry growth of 3. 2%, a strong 2012 Carnival execution, the positive effect of higher consumer disposable income in 2012 additional price promotions in the fourth quarter of 2012 following the partial postponement of the tax increase announced on September 2012 as well as strong execution of commercial initiatives. Premium brands continued to grow ahead of the rest of the company’s portfolio. The company estimates that Budweiser, which has been in the market over a year, became the largest international premium brand in Brazil during the fourth quarter of 2012 Stella Artois is also growing quickly with over 45% volume growth during 2012 The company estimates that its market share was down by 50 bps during 2012 reaching an average of 68. 5%, primarily due to price increases in the third quarter of 2012 Latin America South total volumes decreased 0. 8%, with beer volumes up 0. 1% and non-beer volumes down 2. 2%, respectively. In Argentina beer volumes declined 0. 4%, driven by an uncertain consumer environment and a weak industry. However, a strong performance from Quilmes and Stella Artois led to continued strong market share performance. Western Europe own beer volumes declined 3. 5%, while total volumes declined 4. 2%. Total own products, including cider, declined by 3. 0% in 2012. Own beer volumes in Belgium declined 4. 1%, driven by a weak, weather-related industry performance in the first half of the year. In Germany, own beer volumes fell 1. 4%. The company estimates that its market share was ahead during 2012 driven by a strong performance of its focus brands Beck’s and Hasseroder. In the United Kingdom, own product volumes decreased by 8. 2%, mainly driven by a weak industry and market share pressure due to competitive activity in the off-trade channel. Central and Eastern Europe volumes decreased 11. 3%. In Russia, beer volumes fell 12. 0%, driven by industry weakness following regulatory changes. Market share loss was driven by the implementation of tax-related and other selective price increases ahead of competitors, and promotional pressure in key account channels. However, the company continued to make progress with the optimization of its brand portfolio, with its premium and superpremium brands, including Sibirskaya Korona, Bud, Stella Artois, Hoegaarden and Lowenbrau gaining share, and now representing 35% of total volumes. Bud reached an estimated market share of 1. 4%. In Ukraine, beer volumes decreased 10. 3% in 2012 driven by a weak industry and market share loss. However, Bud achieved an estimated market share of 1% during the nine months since launch. Asia Pacific beer volumes grew 1. 9%. In China, beer volumes grew 1. 9% as industry volumes in our footprint declined by almost12% during the last quarter of 2012 due to severe cold and wet weather. Nevertheless, the company estimates it gained market share in China. The focus brands Budweiser, Harbin and Sedrin grew 8. 1% in 2012 SWOT AB InBev Strengths * They have a leading position in the market, due to which they are now an international company. * Their production line is very strong, and this is the reason why their brand is known all over the world. * They are much concerned about the making of their brands. These capabilities make them one of the leading brands around the globe. * They came up in the market when there was no such other beverage making industry in the country. | Weaknesses * Their concentration in the market is low. And this is the only reason why their customers are moving to other brands. * The trust on wholesalers is one of the major negative point about the company. * Anheuser Busch is having a problem in making the sufficient amount of beverages needed. * People have taken on the truth that due to some reasons this company is producing an imperfect amount of beer or beverages when it is needed the most. | Opportunities * By growing beer consumption in China, they will do more business. As China is one of the emerging countries and is a well named IT country, this will definitely help their business to expand internationally. * Joining hands with other companies and setting up the business in other countries, will led them to have strong sponsor ship and life time agreements. * By focusing on other drinks, they will increase their brand and in doing so their market shares will increase. * They can also run their business directly through the computers. So that the clients can be connected with them. | Threats * If some other beer Brewer Companies unites together, than this will be really challenging for Anheuser Busch to survive in the market. * The rise in the prices of the raw materials, which are used in the manufacturing, will result in the decrease of their production. * The change in the preferences is also another big risk for the company. * If they ever drop their real image in the market than it is going to be real hard for them to keep up the position in the present market. | SABMiller SABMiller is the 2nd largest brewer in the world, with more than 200 beer brands and some 70,000 employees in over 75 countries. We also have growing businesses in soft drinks and we are one of the world’s largest bottlers of Coca-Cola products. SABMiller has become a global leader by doing business locally, pursuing operational excellence and offering high-quality products backed by innovation and a commitment? to sustainability. Our success is built on a clear strategic direction, a shared vision and mission and a common set of values. Latin America: 32% Contribution to group EBITA 2012. 17 breweries, 14 bottling plants. * Our primary brewing and beverage operations cover six countries across South and Central America (Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Peru). * In each of these countries, we are the number one brewer by market share. * We are also the third largest brewer in Argentina. * We bottle soft drinks for The Coca-Cola Company in El Salvador and Honduras, and for Pepsico International in Panama. * Regional office: Bogota, Colombia. Strategic focus area: * Drive strong top-line growth by expanding consumer occasions and entering adjacent categories * Increase share of alcohol and capitalise on differentiated and expanded brand and package portfolios * Optimise and extend distribution network and sales reach * Protect our licence to trade and business sustainability * Pursue operational excellence and efficiency in our businesses, optimising resources? and costs Europe: 14% Contribution to group EBITA 2012, 17 breweries. †¢ Our primary brewing operations cover eight countries – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain (Canary Islands) and the Netherlands. †¢ In the majority of these countries,? we are the number one or two brewer by market share. †¢ A further 16 countries including Russia, Turkey and the Ukraine are covered in a strategic alliance with Anadolu Efes through either brewing, soft drinks or export operations. †¢ We export significant volumes to a further eight European markets, of which the largest are the UK and Germany. †¢ Regional office: Zug, Switzerland. Strategic focus area: * Drive superior organic revenue growth and margin expansion through growing perceived category benefits and value per serving * Structure and shape the category by driving our full brand portfolios in growth segments in key markets through innovative 360 degree marketing programmes * Continue to drive differentiation through innovating in product, packaging and dispense systems * Design for scale, cost advantage and focus North America: 13% Contribution to group EBITA 2012. 8 breweries. †¢ MillerCoors is a joint venture with Molson Coors Brewing Company, formed in 2008 by bringing together the US and Puerto Rican operations of both groups. †¢ Headquartered in Chicago, MillerCoors is the second largest brewer in the USA, with 29% of the beer market. †¢ Our wholly owned Miller Brewing International business is based in Milwaukee, USA and exports our brands to Canada and Mexico and throughout the Americas. †¢ Regional office: Chicago, USA. Strategic focus area: * Win in premium lights with strengthened positioning of Coors Light, Miller Lite and Miller 64 * Through Tenth and Blake Brewing Company extend and grow MillerCoors’ import and craft portfolio * Create value through strong revenue management. * Create leading capability and superior growth in retail sales * Support the three-tier distribution system to drive effectiveness and value Arfica: 13% Contribution to group EBITA 2012. 32 breweries, 19 bottling plants. * Our brewing and beverage operations? in Africa cover 15 countries. A further? 21 are covered through a strategic alliance with the Castel group and we also have? an associated undertaking in Zimbabwe. * In most of these countries we are the number one brewer by market share. * We bottle soft drinks for The Coca-Cola Company in 20 of our African markets (in alliance with Castel in 14 of these markets). * Regional office: Johannesburg, South Africa. Strategic focus area: * Drive growth in beer and soft drinks through full brand portfolios, wider price ranges and expansion into adjacent categories * Step up investment behind our mainstream brands and differentiated premium portfolio * Increase share of alcohol through accessible brand and package offerings * Further develop sales and distribution to enhance our outlet presence and extend our geographic coverage * Mitigate high imported input costs through innovation and local supply chains. Asia Pasific: 6% Contribution to group EBITA 2012. 23 breweries, 2 bottling plants. CR Snow, our partnership with China Resources Enterprise, Limited, is the largest brewer in China. †¢ With the acquisition of Foster’s in December 2011, we have a major business in Australia. CUB4 only contributed to our results from mid-December 2011. †¢ We are the second largest brewer in India. †¢ We have an operation in Vietnam and we export to various markets including South Korea and Cambodia. †¢ Regional office: Hong Kong. Strategic focus area: * Integrate the Foster’s acquisition and deliver the commercial and operational targets * Further build market leadership in China and enhance profitability * Continue to drive Snow, the largest beer brand in China, with additional premium variants to increase revenue * Pursue market liberalisation in India and focus investment on growth and profitability in selected states South Africa: 22% Contribution to group EBITA 2012. 7 breweries, 6 bottling plants. The South African Breweries (Pty) Ltd. (SAB) is South Africa’s leading producer and distributor of lager and soft drinks. It also exports brands for distribution across Namibia. †¢ Our soft drinks division is South Africa’s leading bottler of products for? The Coca-Cola Company. †¢ We have hotel and gaming interests through our associate Tsogo Sun Holdings Ltd, the largest hotel and gaming group in South Africa. †¢ Regionaloffice: Johannesburg, SouthAfrica. Strategic focus area: * Leverage scale to drive productivity and reinvest savings in market-facing activities * Engage the competition in all alcohol categories * Ensure that key brands resonate. * Shape a culture of partnership and superior ?service offering in all classes of trade * Ensure societal leadership Four strategic priorities Financial goal: To deliver a higher return to our shareholders than our peer group over the longer term Strategic priority: * Creating a balanced and attractive global spread of businesses * Developing strong, relevant brand portfolios that win? in the local market * Constantly raising the profitability of local businesses, sustainably * Leveraging our skills and global scale SWOT SABMiller Strengths1. A strong portfolio of brands? 2. Strong sales and distribution network? 3. Presence in 75 countries across 6 continents? 4. SAB Miller also owns over 150 market-leading local brands5. Excellent marketing and branding have made the brand top of the mind6. Nearly 70,000 people form a part of the workforce| Weaknesses1. Have been unable to get a momentum in emerging markets? 2. Intense competition means market growth is limited| Opportunities1. Partnering the local breweries in particular countries can yield a bigger market share ? 2. Launching successful brands which have a strong following and brand equity in the newer markets3. More advertising and sponsorship would increase brand recall| Threats1. A strong competition from other brands? 2. Laws and regulations on advertising and establishing the business? 3. Slumping economy all over the world has been the greatest concern as disposable income of consumers in lowering| * Who are the key players in the industry and their relevant size? AB-InBev, Heineken, SABMiller * What are their objectives and strategies? * What are their strengths and weaknesses? * What are their market shares, the performance of the competitors in revenues, profits, and shareholder value? * What are the competitor’s capabilities, its organization, and its strategic alliances?

Novel Elliptic-function Low-pass Filter (LPF)

Novel Elliptic-function Low-pass Filter (LPF) Performance of microstrip low pass filter with stub loaded Electromagnetic Band Gap ground plane Mariselvam V, Raju S Abstract A novel elliptic-function low-pass filter (LPF) is Presented, which consists of a Electromagnetic band gap on the ground plane. The Electromagnetic band gap provides the required wideband attenuation in stop band, while the slot provides steep transition from pass band to stop band. A 5.4 GHz five-pole LPF is developed and experimental results show that it has a sharp cutoff frequency response. The measured pass band insertion-loss is below 0.4 dB, and the rejection band over 15 dB is from 5.425 GHz to 8.25 GHz, Which increases from 2.95 GHz.      Keywords:  Defected ground structure (DGS), elliptic-function filter, low-pass filter (LPF). 1. INTRODUCTION Recently, defected ground structure (DGS) has become one of the most interesting areas of research in microwave and millimeter wave Applications [1]. It could be widely used in microwave circuit design such as power divider, power amplifier and especially in filter design [1–9]. Low pass filters (LPF) design require that both in-band and out-band performances should be: low loss, high selectivity, high rejection, and wide spurious free frequency ranges. Many novel types of microstrip filters have been proposed and designed. Periodic or non-periodic DGS are realized by etching a slot in the backside metallic ground plane. The etched slot disturbs effectively the current distribution in the ground plane of microstrip line and the results in resonant characteristics [2, 3]. IT is well known that typical properties of low-pass filters (LPFs) can be obtained by adding periodic structures to transmission lines. The representative periodic structures for planar transmission lines and/or microwave circuits are photonic band gap (PBG) and defected ground structure (DGS) [4, 5]. The PBG has been known as a popular periodic structure for planar transmission lines. However, drawbacks of PBGs have been also discussed as follows. 1) A large area is needed because a number of periodic patterns should be adopted. 2) It is obscure to define the unit element, and difficult to extract the equivalent-circuit elements for the PBG unit element. 3) Therefore, it is very restricted to extend its practical application to microwave circuits. To the contrary, one can easily define the unit element of the DGS and model the equivalent circuit. In addition, since only a few DGS elements show the typical properties of periodic structures, the resultant circuit size becomes relatively small. Furthermore, the structure of the DGS is simple and it is easy to design the DGS pattern. For these reasons, since [4] has introduced the structure and called it a DGS for the first time, the DGS has been extensively applied to design microwave circuits such as filters, power dividers, couplers, amplifiers, oscillators, and so on [1], [6]–[12]. There is much previous research about the characteristics of LPFs having periodic structures on microstrip or Coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission lines [13]–[16] However most of them are not analytical because they mainly depend on electromagnetic (EM) simulations to design LPFs and predict circuit performances. To the contrary, in the design of LPFs using DGSs including this study, all design steps are based on theories and reasonable explanations as follows. The equivalent-circuit elements of the DGS is extracted and used for replacing the series inductances in the LPF Prototype circuit. The LPF is composed of the extracted equivalent lumped Elements, thus, it is an ideal LPF, is designed, and is compared to the realized LPF using the DGS practically. Two methods to design a three-pole LPF using the DGS has been proposed in [1] and [6]. In these papers, the sizes of two DGS patterns in the LPF were exactly the same because two inductances in the three-pole â€Å"L1 (series) C2 (shunt) L3 (series)† prototype LPF are identical. In [6], discontinuity elements such as tee- or cross-junctions were adopted to connect open stubs to realize the shunt capacitance. However, in the three-pole LPF proposed in [1], there are no junction elements, thin transmission lines for high impedance, or open stubs. In addition, the width of the transmission-line elements in the LPF has been remarkably broadened. Thus, advantages such as compact design and error-robust realization fabricating the layout have been obtained. However, in order to design -stage LPFs using the DGS, e.g., a five-stage like â€Å"L1 (series) C2 (shunt) L3 (series) C4 (shunt) L5 (series),† two different dimensions of the DGS have to be adopted because L3 is no t equal to L1=L5, although. In order to select the proper dimension of the DGS for L3 careful consideration based on filter theories, extracted equivalent- circuit elements of various DGS dimensions, and some related topics of transmission lines should be taken. The size of the DGS for L3 is determined by accurate curve-fitting results for equivalent-circuit elements to correspond exactly to the required inductance. In addition, the length of transmission-line elements between DGS patterns is determined through the consideration for the equivalent capacitance and additional parasitic inductance, as well as the required shunt capacitances in the prototype LPF. Therefore, a design of a five-pole DGS-LPF requires many more complex steps than the previous three-pole DGS-LPF shown in [1] and [6]. Thus, the goal of this paper is to propose a new technique to design an -pole LPF having (â€Å"DGS-LPF†), and to generalize the previous design method for N>5 using different sizes of DG S patterns. For this purpose, modeling for the equivalent circuit of the DGS, a curve fitting for determining the required different sizes of the Fig.1 Top view of the Microstrip line with a DGS pattern and its dimensions in mm Fig.1a. Bottom view of the Microstrip line with a DGS pattern and its dimensions in mm DGS that reflects the inductance values in the prototype LPF and a practical design example will be successively discussed. In order to show the validity of the proposed method, a five pole DGS-LPF, as an example, is designed and measured in this paper. The five-pole DGS-LPF has a much wider microstrip line than conventional microstrip LPFs, and does not include high-impedance lines, which have been essentially required in conventional design. The series inductances in the prototype LPF are realized by DGSs, while the shunt capacitances are realized by the widely compensated transmission line. Therefore, no discontinuity elements such as tee- or cross-junction for connecting open stubs are required because there are no stubs in the DGS-LPF. 2. DGS PATTERN AND MODELING FOR THE EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT Fig. 1and 1a shows a microstrip line having a dumb-bell DGS and its -parameters from an EM simulation. Two elliptical defected areas and one connecting slot correspond to the equivalently added inductance (L) and capacitance(C), respectively. Accordingly, a resonance occurs at a certain frequency because of the parallel L–C circuit. Inversely, it is intuitively known that the equivalent circuit includes a pair of parallel inductor– capacitor from the resonant phenomenon in the -parameter. This means the microstrip line having the DGS does not have all-pass characteristics, but restricted pass band properties. Fig.2. Equivalent circuit of the microstrip line with unit DGS using ADS In addition, slow-wave characteristics are observed due to the added– components of the DGS [3], [5], [9]. The defected areas can be realized by not only ellipse, but also other geometries such as triangle, circle, hexagon, octagon, spiral, and so on. It is very clear that the resonant frequency (wo) of the DGS and 3-dB cutoff frequency (wc 3dB) exist as shown in Fig. 1.The equivalent – circuit of the DGS can be extracted because this kind of electrical characteristic is observed from a typical L –C parallel resonant circuit. The equivalent circuit of the DGS and one-pole Butterworth prototype of the LPF are presented the DGS in Fig. 2. The equivalent L– C elements are calculated by (1–3) because two reactance values of Fig. 2(a) must be equal at wc 3dB as follows XLc= (1) XL = ωZo g1 (2) XLc | ω= ωc, (3) Where w'(=1), g1 (=2) and Zo (=50ÃŽ ©) are the normalized 3-dB cutoff frequency, element value of one-pole Butterworth prototype LPF, and port impedance, respectively, and wo = (1/√ Lk1Ck1). The calculated L2and c2 of the DGS shown in Fig. 2 are 3.2 nH and 0.8194 pF, respectively. Fig. 3 shows an excellent agreement between the previous -parameters shown in Fig. 1 and the new ones calculated using Lk1and ck1. Advanced Design System (ADS), a circuit simulator from Agilent Technologies, has been used for the calculation. This agreement means that the modeling technique is valid in extracting the equivalent-circuit elements. It should be noted that this is one of the great advantages of DGS because it is possible to define the unit element of the DGS and to establish the equivalent circuit of it, while the conventional Planar transmission lines with a periodic structure such as a PBG have difficulty in defining the unit element and to extract the modeled circuit element. 2.1 DESIGN OF THE FIVE POLE LOWPASS FILTER A. Prototype LPF and Adoption of DGS The method to design a five-pole LPF using the DGS is discussed here. Fig. 3 depicts the prototype circuit of a five-pole LPF. Here gi (i=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), represent the normalized element values of a Chebyshev prototype LPF for the given ripple [17]. According to the design theory of filters, in order to transform the prototype LPF to the LPF composed of lumped elements, the values of L1,C2,L3,C4 and L5can be determined owing to the impedance and Fig.3. Five-pole Chebyshev prototype LPF with Elliptic DGS Fig.3a. Equality of a series inductor to an LC parallel circuit frequency scaling rules expressed in (4)–(6). Here, ωc means the Cutoff frequency of the LPF L1 = = = L4 (4) L3 = (5) C2 = = C4 (6) Fig.4. Performance of the designed five pole LPF using ADS Fig.5. Performance of the designed five pole LPF using CST 2.2 PERFORMANCE OF THE DESIGNED DGS-LPF FIG. 6 shows the measured S-parameters of the designed DGS-LPF, as compared with the theoretical performance (circuit simulation) and the EM simulation by CST-MWS. As shown, the measurement result agrees with the EM simulation very well. The designed elliptical function DGS-LPF exhibits a much shaper transition knee than the Chebyshev one reported in [5]. Its transition bandwidth from 1 to 20 dB attenuation is only 0.45 GHz. The measured pass band insertion loss is less than 0.3 dB. The stop bandwidth corresponding to 15dB rejection is from 2.95 to 8.25 GHz. The total length of the designed DGS-LPF is 17 mm, and compared with the LPF reported in [5], it is reduced about 40.88% and compared with the LPF reported in [6] it is reduced about 14.66%. Fig.6. Measured result of the designed five pole LPF using Agilent Network analyzer N5230A 3. PERFORMANCE OF THE PROPOSED DGS LOWPASS FILTER Fig.7. Top view of the Microstrip line and its dimensions in mm Fig.7a. Bottom view of the Microstrip line and its dimensions in mm The proposed five-pole DGS-LPF has a much wider microstrip line than conventional microstrip LPFs, and does not include high-impedance lines, which have been essentially required in conventional design. The series inductances in the prototype LPF are realized by DGSs, while the shunt capacitances are realized by the widely compensated transmission line. A stub like elements which gives a inductance effect is introduced in the proposed DGS-LPF. DGS combined with microstrip line causes a resonant character of the structure transmission with a resonant frequency controllable by changing the shape and size of the slot. There is a huge evolution in terms of defected shapes: dumbbell, periodic, fractal, circular, spiral, and L shaped [12–14]. In this paper, a novel elliptic shape DGS is proposed for the LPF design. The use of elliptic shape DGS will be shown to give sharp cut off frequency response as well as a good performance in the pass band. The analysis of the dimension parameters with different dimension parameters was demonstrated as a design guide. The equivalent circuit (EC) has been extracted to characterize the proposed low-pass filter. The equivalent circuit model agrees with the field simulation results. The theoretical and measured results are presented with good agreement for LPF. The total length of the designed DGS-LPF is 15 mm, and compared with the LPF reported in [5], it is reduced about 60% and compar ed with the LPF reported in [6] it is reduced about 29%, the pass band increases up to 5.425 GHz from 2.95 GHz and the stop bandwidth corresponding to 15dB rejection is from 5.425 GHz which is suitable for WLAN application Fig.8. Comparison Performance of the designed five pole LPF Fig.9. Equivalent circuit of the microstrip line with unit DGS using ADS Fig.10. Measured result of the proposed five pole LPF using Agilent Network analyzer N5230A Tab 1: Performance of the five pole LPF using CST Tab 2: Dimensions of the proposed DGS designs Tab3. Prototype elements of the five pole elliptic function LPF Fig.11. Top view of the prototype Fig.11a. Bottom view of the prototype 4. CONCLUSION This letter has presented a new LPF to obtain elliptic-function response using Dumbbell shaped DGS. The designed LPF exhibits sharp cutoff frequency response, low insertion loss, and excellent stop band performance. The proposed design procedure can be extended to arbitrary -stage LPF. In addition, its physical structure is only composed of defect and microstrip line, so it is easy to fabricate. Since this design is simple, analytical, and does not require any optimization process, this kind of equivalent circuit model of DGS and its design technology may be further applied to various microwave circuits such as low-noise amplifiers, diplexers, mixers, and so on. References SERGIO PALMA PACHECO, JIANEI WANG, JONG- GWAN YOOK, AND LINDA P. B. KATEHI, â€Å" Micromachined Filters on Synthesized Substrates Rhonda Franklin Drayton,† IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech, 2001, Vol. 49, No. 2. SYSTEMS PIERRE BLONDY, ANDREW R. BROWN, â€Å"Low-Loss Micro machined Filters for Millimeter-Wave Communication†,1998 IEEE vol.38, pp 22-23. C. Y. CHI AND G. M. REBEIZ â€Å"Conductor loss limited stripline resonator and filters,† IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., 1996, vol. 44, pp.626–629. S. V. ROBERTSON, L. P. B. KATEHI, AND G. M. REBEIZ, â€Å"Micromachined self-packaged W-Band bandpass filters,† in IEEE MTT-S Symp. Dig., 1995, pp. 1543–1546. J. S. LIM, C. S. KIM, D. AHN, Y. C. JEONG, AND S. NAM, â€Å" Design of low-pass filters using defected ground structure,† IEEE Trans. Microw.Theory Tech., 2005, vol. 53, no. 8, pp. 2539–2545. JINPING YANG AND WEN WU â€Å"Compact Elliptic-Function Low-Pass Filter Using Defected Ground Structure† IEEE Microwave and Wireless components letters, 2008, Vol. 18, No. 9. GAËTAN PRIGENT, ERIC RIUS, FRANÇOIS LE PENNEC, SANDRICK LE MAGUER, CÉDRIC QUENDO, GONZAGUE SIX, AND HENRI HAPPY, â€Å"Design of Narrow-Band DBR Planar Filters in Si–BCB Technology For Millimeter-Wave Applications † 2009 IEEE xplor.Vol.13. R. F. DRAYTON, S. PACHECO, J.-G. YOOK, AND L. KATEHI, â€Å"Micromachined filters on synthesized substrates,† in IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp. Dig., 1998, pp. 1185–1188. S. DEEPAK RAM PRASATH, A. THENMOZHI, P. SRINIVASABHARATHWAJ, S.RAJU, AND V.ABHAIKUMAR â€Å"A Novel Miniaturized Filter on Micromachined Multilayered Substrates† IETE 2008, Vol.54, No.2. RHONDA FRANKLIN DRAYTON, SERGIO PALMA PACHECO, JIANEI WANG, JONG-GWAN YOOK, , AND LINDA P. B. KATEHI â€Å" Micro machined Filters on Synthesized Substrates†, IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech.,2001, vol.49, no. 2. S.RIKI BANERJEE AND RHONDA FRANKLIN DRAYTON, â€Å" Circuit Models for Constant Impedance Micro machined Lines on Dielectric Transitions†, IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech.,2004, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 105-111. B.F. ZONG, G. M. WANG, H. Y. ZENG, Y. W. WANG. â€Å"Compact and High Performance Dual-band Bandpass Filter using Resonator-embedded Scheme for WLANs† RADIOENGINEERING, 2012, VOL. 21, NO. 4. K.ANNARAM, SURESH NITHYA. â€Å"Investigation of Compact Low Pass Filter with Sharp Cut–Off using Metamaterial† RADIOENGINEERING, 2013, VOL. 22, NO. 3. PIERRE BLONDY, ANDREW R. BROWN, DOMINIQUE CROS AND GABRIEL M.REBEIZ, â€Å"Low-Loss Micro machined Filters for Millimeter-Wave Communication Systems†, 1998. JIA-SHENG HONG AND M.J.LANCASTER, â€Å" Microstrip Filters for RF/Microwave Applications †, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 2001 About Authors Mariselvam VENKAT Obtained his BE degree from PTR College of Engineering and Technology, Madurai and ME from Thiagarajar college of Engineering Anna university Chennai in 2010 respectively. He is now pursuing PhD in the Electronics and Communication Engineering department, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai., India. His area of interests includes microwave and millimeter wave circuits. [emailprotected] Raju SRINIVASAN Obtained her BE degree from the PSG college of technology university of madras ,India and M.tech degree from NIT Trichy ,India 1982 and 1984 respectively she received her PhD from Madurai Kamarajar University, Madurai in 1996 .She is now working as a professor and head of the department of Electronics and Communication Engineering Department, Thiagarajar college of Engineering Madurai, India her areas of research interest are wireless technologies, RF circuits and systems. [emailprotected].

Analysing a Company: DHL

Analysing a Company: DHL   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The aim of this strategic planning document is to thoroughly analyze a company and based on the analysis find the right strategy that fits the companys business purpose and mission. The right strategy, depending at what is directed, should help the company strengthen its position on the market; increase profits; help with further development. If a company implements a wrong strategy, it can cause bad damage or it can have huge financial impact on the company which could even end up in bankruptcy, which wipes the company off the market. The company chosen for this paper is DHL Express with focus on European region. DHL is part of the Deutsche Post DHL (further DP DHL) brand/group. The reason why I have chosen DHL for the Strategic Planning Document is that I have been working for DP DHL group for four years. I work specifically for IT Services which is the service line that internally supports the whole IT technology of the whole DP DHL group. ABOUT THE COMPANY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DHL was founded in San Francisco exactly 40 years ago by 3 budding entrepreneurs Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn. It went from small company shipping papers by airplane from San Francisco to Honolulu1 to global company shipping EVERYTHING around the world. DHL delivers time-critical shipments as well as goods and merchandise by road, rail, air or sea. DHL transports courier and express shipments via one of the worlds most extensive networks to over 220 countries and territories. The company employs more than 300,000 employees all around the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DHL Express provides wide range of easily accessible services and solutions for their customers; from transport of letters, information to transport of parcels and goods. It operates in more than 220 countries around the world and employs more than 100,000 employees. DHL Express is number one in Europe with 25% of market share. Brief history 2 1969 DHL founded by Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn in San Francisco; 1974 The first UK office opened in London. Globally, DHL had more than 3,000 customers; 1979 DHL extends its services to delivering packages. Only document services had been available until now. 1983 DHL is the first air express forwarder to serve Eastern European countries. An international distribution centre was opened in Cincinnati, USA; 1985 A state of the art hub was opened in Brussels. More than 165,000 shipments are handled per night 1998 Deutsche Post became a shareholder in DHL; 2002 Deutsche Post World Net became the major shareholder in DHL and 100% shareholding was completed by the end of the year. DHL: Our Company Portrait [online]. Available at www: DHL: Steps to success [online]. Available at www: 2005 DP DHL acquires Exel, the British logistics corporation. Exel primarily offers transport and logistics solutions for key customers; 2008 DHL opens new state of art European air hub at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany. DHL legally operates under Groups title defined as Deutsche Post AG and uses its brand name DHL. As previously mentioned DHL is part of DP DHL group and is formed by 3 divisions: Express, Global Forwarding, Freight and Supply Chain supported by internal services Global Business Services. Mail is a standalone division that is part of Deutsche Post brand. All four divisions together create Deutsche Post DHL as the picture below describes. DP DHL: Corporate Presentation, October 2009, p. 3 [online] Available at www. DHL has a divisional form of structure. The DP DHL group is organized into four operating divisions, each of which operates under the control of its own divisional headquarters. The Group management functions are performed by the Corporate Center. Management responsibilities are structured in accordance with decision-making, responsibility and reporting lines: Board departments Corporate departments Business departments Service departments Regions Departments DHL Express provides standardized products and services courier, express and parcel (CEP) both locally and globally depending on the country. Whether it is document or parcel, road or air, DHL Express provides several different types of services that are divided to four basic groups: 1. Same Day An immediate pick-up of a shipment by a dedicated courier, with an emergency delivery within the same day via a dedicated network. 2. Time Definite Express door-to-door delivery by a certain time on an overnight or next possible business day basis. 3. Day Definite Reliable door-to-door delivery within a certain number of days 4. Optional Services Shipping convenience with a range of optional services to support your express transportation DP DHL: Annual Report 2008, p. 22 [online] Available at www. DHL: Express Services Good afternoon [online]. Available at www: External Analysis Courier Express and Parcel (CEP) services exist in every single country around the world. It is neither country specific nor region specific industry. There are thousands of logistics companies operating locally or internationally around the world and Europe is not an exception. PESTLE PESTLE analysis is a view on external environment companies operates in. There are five external factors that influence life of organizations: Political environment, Economical environment, Socio-cultural environment, Legal environment and Environmental factor. The below PESTLE analysis focuses on CEP companies in European market. Political Environment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  European region is stable environment that is not affected by any significant political crisis in countries and no major changes in political structure are expected in near future. More than half of European states are integrated into European community, European Union and create one of the biggest single markets for trade and investment in the world. EU enlargement has removed border lines and has made trade and business more accessible for its members. It has brought greater opportunities for businesses, wider range of companies and benefits for their customers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  EU has created closer links with immediate neighbors and enables bigger exports, free movement of services, payments and capital for trade and investment. Prior liberalization in 90s there were many national postal operators acting as monopolies. EU decided to start postal reform that firstly completely liberalized CEP market. Liberalization has enabled both national postal operators (Post Offices) and private postal companies to enlarge their business portfolio into parcel and express market. This happens through acquisitions of well-established companies and smaller national companies. Exactly, as it happened to DHL through acquisition by Deutsche Post in 2002. Full liberalization in Europe will be completed by 2012 which gives current companies time to strengthen their positions, build new networks and gain wider portfolio of customers. EU has also built up confidence in European political and economical future of each member which enables companies to make longer term decisions, strategies and investment plans. Currently the CEP market is highly competitive and companies have to have capital to establish strong and powerful position in such an environment and have to have built up networks supported by the modernist technologies. Summary: Europe is stable environment where no major political changes are expected. Full liberalization of European postal market that will be finished by 2012 will bring more competition especially on domestic level. However, there is a potential to merge or acquire those companies operating in the local markets and increase market share. Big companies operating on international level have an advantage of built global networks and modern technology behind them. Economical Environment CEP is highly potential market and its growth is directly related to the level of GDP. Global trade is on the rising level and together with industrialization has made CEP services more important for majority of industries. Additionally, product life cycles have been reduced, quality awareness among customer is growing and in order to succeed companies are forced to maintain high quality standards. The global economic crises caused decline in economy and it has affected the entire logistics sector. Volume of shipments decreased and the recession slowed down the whole market. Even the big corporations have to fight with decreased revenues and change their investment plans and business strategies. Governments around Europe support investment plans by structural reforms and programs that encourage investors to invest. During the big economic crisis in 30s this did not happen and governments tended to act individually without multinational or even global cooperation. Todays economies learnt from those mistakes which help to lower the implications, increase customer demand and support start of growth. Due to the crisis companies changed their investment plans but did not stop them. Merges with smaller companies, agreements and strategic acquisitions represent one way of increasing the competitive advantage. Emerging markets represent big opportunity in long-term perspective. There is potential for investment and development in emerging markets and it is expected that industrialization will bring opportunities, the economy will growth and market for services will accelerate. The crisis negatively affects profits of every company on one hand but on the other hand big corporations with strong brand and position in the market have to exploit this opportunity. Smaller companies do not have potential to expand because they are in bigger risk of losing money or even bankruptcy if they fail. Big corporations are able to absorb that risk much easier. Companies have started to reduce cost and people have started losing their jobs. Restructuring of company structure is one of the way how to move forward. IT is core element of every company that operates in logistics industry. Companies have to invest huge amount of money to development and maintenance of their IT infrastructure. Recent trend leaves development in Europe and transfers hosting and maintenance of the infrastructure to Asia. Summary: Conclusion from the Economical environment analysis is that companies should not stop their investment plans because of economic crisis. It is important in current situation to strengthen position in the market and expand if possible. Emerging markets represent a potential of rapid economy growth. The risk of loss is the same for all companies but for big corporations is more acceptable. Reduction of cost is evitable for every company and restructuring or outsourcing are the ways of dealing with it. Socio-Cultural Environment The third aspect of PESTLE analysis focuses on forces within society. Social and cultural forces affect customers attitudes, interests and opinions. Companies must be able to offer products and services that aim to complement and benefit customers needs and wants. If they do not quickly respond to changes in society they will lose market share and demand for their product or service will decrease. Removing of border lines makes trade and business in Europe more accessible. Emerging markets are place that is constantly developing and rapidly growing. Although the infrastructure is not as developed as in Western countries, there will be improvement with economic growth. It is important for the company to establish its brand and achieve good and reliable image and service quality among its customers. The portfolio of services that is offered in developing countries is not usually complete and focuses on the biggest needs and wants of the business. Companies do not have the only affect and responsibility to their customers. There are different parts of society they are in contact with. There are needs of employees, investors and the society as a whole. Research Development department play an important role in this area. Customer satisfaction surveys, employee satisfaction surveys, market surveys help the company to build its brand and image, increase employees commitment and shape public awareness. CEP market and logistics industry play one of the key roles in the economic growth globally not only within European market. Increases in volumes of goods transport has lead to higher CO2 emissions which according to climate scientists have direct affect on global warming. It is social cost for the society and governments discourage those social costs with fines, taxes and legislation. Companies responsibility is to decrease these cost and work with more efficient and environmentally friendly means of transport. Social cost have negative affect on customers spending but could be balanced by larger offer of environmental friendly oriented products. Summary: Social forces affect customers needs and wants and it is important for the company to know it and benefit from it. Therefore the role of Research Development is very important. Company has to respond to changes in society quickly not to loose market share and demand for services. Customer satisfaction surveys, market surveys, employee surveys play important role in building companys brand and image in the market. Border lines have been removed within EU and services are more accessible in the whole Europe. Emerging markets represent an opportunity for companies to enter and establish their brand and image. Additionally, there are also social costs for the society that companies have responsibility for. The affect on environment is significant and companies role is to decrease those costs by working with more efficient and environmentally friendly technology which is then balanced by larger portfolio of environmental friendly oriented customers. Technological Environment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Technology environment is vital part of every business that rapidly moves it forward. Technological innovations have changed the world and manner in which every business operates. Technology has created society expecting immediate results. Information exchange between customers, companies, people or any stakeholders is faster. That gives benefit to businesses as they can react quickly to any changes in the operating environment. However, the ability to quickly react also brings extra pressure on companies because they are expected to deliver on time and without any delays. Customers in service industry have to continuously face new challenges in planning, managing and monitoring their business processes. Companies in CEP market (and not only there) started offering customized logistics solutions to meet challenges: for example safety transport of sensitive products such as pharmaceuticals and vaccines to the healthcare industry done within a temperature-controlled environment. Operations in logistics industry is not only about cars, vans and aircraft there are other parts of infrastructure that needs technological development and improvement: posting, collection, sorting, transport, warehousing, delivery and last but not least Information Technologies. IT is core. Speed and reliability are key success factors to be able to meet standards and quality and gain advantage among competition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is important to pay special attention to IT area because service industry is fully dependent on it. Companies invest huge amount of money to development and maintenance of their IT infrastructure. As mentioned above IT is one of the key elements for logistics and operations processes. Systems must be accessible and available at all times; security is evitable unauthorized access to data and data manipulation must be prevented, to ensure that software is not delivered with defects or too late. Companies have to fight with decreased revenue and reduce their cost in times of economic crisis but importance of IT technology is so significant that they cannot stop investing in it. Otherwise there is a threat that they will fall behind and loose their market share.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Outsourcing or in other words subcontracting is a way of reducing cost in IT area. Development of new technologies, software or applications goes to another organization. Usually, the company is specialized in software development. Or hosting and maintenance of applications or services are transferred to another company. The decision whether to do in-house or outsource is often based on achieving lower production cost and usage of available resources in better way and focus energy on the core competencies of the business. Summary: Modern technology and environment is key to success of the company that helps to maintain or gain competitive advantage. IT is the most important technology factor for logistics business because speed and reliability are equal to success. However, there is an indisputable constant threat of falling behind.Investments to the modernist technologies are evitable and in times of economic crisis are much more important then anytime before. Company has to decide if it runs internal IT organization or if it outsources most of the services and reduce cost. Legal Environment Legal rules play a role in nearly every aspect of companys operation from state regulations through contracts to treatment of employees. Legal factor is very important because companies work within legislative framework where legislation can either place numerous obligations or can create market conditions beneficial for business. CEP market is regulated by Postal directive applicable in all EU states. Full liberalization process will be completed by 2012 which gives current companies time to strengthen their position, build new networks and get more customers before new competition arrive. CEP market was fully liberalized during 90s and no special license or authorization is required in most of the EU countries. Ten states of EU require companies to receive explicit decision of National regulatory authority that is called general authorization that enables them to start operating in those countries but it does not represent a barrier. General authorization document contains several conditions that are related to e.g. confidentiality of correspondence, restrictions on transport of dangerous goods, data protection standards, etc. As I said previously there are social cost for the society that must be balanced by companies obligations in terms of fines, taxes and additional legislations related to regulation of aircraft noise, regulations concerning emission standards, obligations to reduce greenhouse gas that forces companies to invest into more environmentally friendly means of transport. Summary: Legal factor is important for operations of every company. Companies have obligations like directives, taxes and rules that they must be aligned with to be able to operate in the market. Legal factor can either place numerous obligations on the company or can create market conditions beneficial for business. Liberalization is an example of the benefit. Removal of border lines together with liberalization enabled building and strengthening of positions in the logistics market. There are no special and expensive authorizations necessary in CEP industry which is another benefit for companies. On the other hand there are obligations that balance the above benefits in terms of fines, taxes and directives that are mainly related to environment. Companies are forced to invest into environmentally friendly operations. Environmental Analysis Transportation industry causes major impact on the green house gases in the atmosphere. Mobility has increased and brought many indisputable advantages that must be weighed against the social, economic and environment costs it causes. Countries issue legislation that forces companies to reduce emissions. Companies have started implementing projects that help them to find out ways how to reduce pollutions and to be compliant with issued legislation. Transportation companies are dependent on fossil fuels and to reduce their dependency they have to look for commercial vehicles and aircraft powered differently or non-conventionally. Change of vehicle is not the only option that would reduce air pollution there are other ways that companies could take: to make their business more efficient and effective, to reduce shipping time, to take uniform approach, to offer climate-neutral products or train employees. Research Development department plays important role in those projects because it helps to come up with new ideas, technologies, procedures and processes. Summary: Transportation industry has great effect on air pollution globally. It is undisputable fact and companies are forced to fulfill the requirements of governments to reduce their contribution on pollution of the global environment. Companies have started implementing projects that help them fulfill those requirements. Research Development department is key to the success of it. PESTLE Summary Based on the PESTLE analysis I have identified opportunities and threats that will be taken into account during the SWOT analysis. Opportunity: Full liberalization of European postal market that will be finished by 2012 brings new opportunities to increase market share by acquisitions or merges with other logistics companies or newly liberalized companies. Established companies wit big market share, global network and technology have competitive advantage. Opportunity: Border lines have been removed within EU and services are more accessible in the whole Europe. Emerging markets represent a potential of rapid economy growth therefore it is an opportunity for companies to enter and establish their brand and image and gain bigger market share. Threat: Role of Research Development department in the company is very important. Company has to respond to changes in society quickly not to loose market share and demand for services. Customer satisfaction surveys, market surveys, employee surveys play important role in building companys brand and image in the market. Threat: In times of economic crisis economy slowed down and revenue decreased. Reduction of cost is evitable for every company and restructuring or outsourcing are the ways of dealing with it. Threat: Social costs represent a responsibility of companies towards society. The affect of transportation and logistics companies on environment is significant and companies role is to decrease those costs by working with more efficient and environmentally friendly technology which is then balanced by larger portfolio of environmental friendly oriented customers. Companies are forced to invest into environmentally friendly operations by fines, taxes and directives placed by governments. Therefore, companies have started implementing projects that help them fulfill those requirements. Threat: Modern technology and environment is key to success of the company that helps to maintain or gain competitive advantage. IT is the most important technology factor for logistics business because speed and reliability are equal to success. However, there is an indisputable constant threat of falling behind. Investments to the modernist technologies are evitable and in times of economic crisis are much more important then anytime before. The role of Research Development is evitable here. Porters Five Forces   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Courier Express Market is highly competitive market and its growth is directly related to growth of GDP. Customers of logistics companies are demanding. Technology improvements reduce product life cycles, quality awareness among customer is growing and in order to succeed companies are forced to maintain high quality standards. DHL Express has three biggest competitors in CEP market. They are UPS, TNT and FedEx. As you can see in the Picture 2 below DHL Express has the highest market share of 25% as a single company in Europe. All four major competitors operate internationally and have global network with good and modern technology behind them. The picture below also shows us that third of the European market is dismantled among small and medium sized companies that operates independently. European market portrait Customers of logistics companies vary from individuals to big industrial or manufacturing companies. All of them expect that the delivery service will be simple and convenient and that the delivery will be on time without any delay and in a good quality. Customers are more and more demanding because range of suppliers is broadening and they are looking for customized and innovative solutions for delivery of their goods. DP DHL: Annual Report 2008, p. 58 [online] Available at www. The range of offered products is wide but could be introduced in three basic categories: Courier services are fast, door-to-door pick up and delivery services of high-value goods or urgently required documents. Express services are time-sensitive, usually guaranteed services and have delivery time a specific day (in general the next day) and/or specific time. Parcel services are the transport of largely standardized packages with usually non-guaranteed delivery time of 2-3 days (Time-definite and Day-definite) Porters Five Forces mode will help me to analyze five forces that influence the logistics industry and better understand the environment in which DHL Express operates in and competitive advantage the company has or could gain. Threat of New Entrants HIGH   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CEP market is large and very attractive to business. Everyone needs to deliver package or parcel. Everyone needs to use courier. Logistics industry is important and dominates to the service sector. It is very easy to entry. There are no special legal barriers, patents or licenses necessary to run the business. There are exceptions as described in PESTLE analysis but those exceptions do not represent impossible to achieve requirements. The market is still growing and there is an assumption that will grow further.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are no border lines among members of EU which would threaten new companies to enter the CEP market. Company that wants to succeed in such a competitive environment has to have a good network that enables it to operate on local and international level. Good network requires time and financial investment. High technology standard is must. Companies have to protect themselves from the threats of new entrants therefore it is important for them to find ways to turn disadvantages in their favor. They have to capitalize from their historical experience and try to find better ways to provide their service. Current big players in CEP market are well established leaders that have significant cost advantage that is unavailable for the new entrants. Large companies have buying power that allows them to offer discounts to their customers. Simply, bigger the business is lower average unit cost they are able to produce. Customers loyalty is another important factor that increases barriers to entry for other competitors. Loyal and satisfied customer will be unlikely tempted to go to competitors or new entrants. Established companies usually do business set on long-term partnerships and contracts. The basic rule says that customers get everything they need or want.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many advantages that economies of scale gives to big corporations but there are also limitations that must be taken into account. Those limitations give competitive advantage to smaller and medium sized companies. Large companies are very complex and with higher complexity the product range is widening. This makes it difficult to succeed and be the best. Specialization and innovative ideas are crucial. Large companies are also known for their high level of bureaucracy which gives smaller companies big advantage because they can satisfy customer faster and it is what matters in logistics industry. Also large companies have thousands of employees with different labor relations in every country which causes additional legal cost. In case of powerful workers union it can decrease power of the company and make their operation more difficult especially in time of restructuring.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As I have mentioned modern technology is an important factor that significantly helps to increase market share and creates more barriers for new entrants. Outsourcing or off shoring are possibilities for companies to take advantage of other economies of scale and use their buying power and specialization in favor of further development. Summary:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In summary, logistics market is large and is attractive to business because when GDP grows the demand for services grows. There is no special barrier to entry. In fact, it is very easy to entry. The market is still growing and there is an assumption that will grow further. Successful companies have built networks that enable them to operate on local and international level. Good network requires time and financial investment. High technology standard is must. Historical experience and appearance in the market is an advantage for companies like DHL. Big companies and corporations use economies of scale in their favor. Bigger company can provide higher discount and has lower profit. Customers loyalty is another important factor that increases barriers to entry for other competitors because of long-term partnerships and contracts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the other hand there are also disadvantages for big companies that must be taken into