DNA The Thread of Life Essay Example For Students

DNA: The Thread of Life Essay The thread of life, is deoxyribonucleic acid, otherwise known as DNA. It is the spiral shaped molecule found in the nucleus of cells. Scientists haveknown since 1952 that DNA is the basic substance of heredity. This washypothesized, and later confirmed by James D. Watson and Francis Crick. Theyalso know that it acts like a biological computer program over 3 billion bitslong that spells out instructions for making the basic building blocks of life. DNA carries the bodies genetic code, controls the development of an embryo,is capable of duplicating itself, and is able to repair damage to itself. DNAcan be manipulated to change all kinds of things. All DNA molecules consist of a linked series of unites callednucleotides. Each DNA nucleotide is composed of 3 subunits: a 5 carbon sugarcalled deoxyribose, a phosphate group that is joined to one end of the sugarmolecule, and one of several different nitrogenous bases linked to the oppositeend of the deoxyribose. There are 4 nitrogen bases called adenine, guanine,thymine, and cytosine. In DNA adenine pairs with thymine and guanine withcytosine. Medicines ability to diagnose continues to exceed its ability to treator cure. For example, Huntingtons Chorea is an inherited disease that developsbetween the ages of 30 and 45, can be diagnosed before any symptoms appear. This can be hard for both the individuals with the disease and their family. There is a 3 billion dollar project underway right now called the HumanGenome Project, a 15 year program to make a detailed map of every single gene inhuman DNA. With automated cloning equipment to steer scientists through the DNA,scientists are finding human genes at the rate of more than one a day. This maynot sound like very much but as technology increases the rate at finding themwill increase. Since January 1993 to January 1994 scientists have located thegenes for Huntingtons disease, Lou Gehrigs disease, and the bubble-boydisease. Scientists are expected to find the first breast cancer gene any weeknow. Even with the best tools of today, the progress is full of surprises. Human DNA is not like that of plants, in which the trait of color of a flower isdetermined by one gene.Even the color of a human eye can involve theinteraction of several genes. Some complex genes, such as cystic fibrosis, cango wrong in any number of places. Scientists have already accounted for 350places where the cystic fibrosis gene mutates, and more are being uncoveredweekly. Many environmental factors, some physical, others chemical, can alterthe structure of a DNA molecule. A mutation occurs when such alterations leadto a permanent change in the base sequence of a DNA molecule. Mutations resultin an inherited change in a protein synthesis. DNA is damaged by exposure toultraviolet (UV) light. The DNA does have the ability to repair it self,however. DNA can also be used to match suspects in a crime. Each persons DNA isdifferent from everyone else, except in the case of identical twins in which itis identical. By comparing substances left at a crime scene (blood or semensamples) law enforcement agencies are able to match the DNA at the crime scenewith a certain suspect. A recent example of this is the O.J. Simpson case, inwhich the lawyers are trying to match up O.J.s DNA with the DNA in the bloodfound at the crime scene. Many questions have been raised by a number of people and scientistsabout the ethics of DNA research. It was once feared that the insertion of adisease causing substance could cause a deadly epidemic in the generalpopulation upon accidental release. But, since 1973 when they first used thetechnique it has been transferred thousands of times without any of the fearedcatastrophes occurring. But, still there are many questions remaining to beanswered. Is it right for people to change their babies eye color, or anyother aspect of their baby? Should employers be allowed to see your DNA, to seeif you are at risk for a certain disease? Category: Science

Strategic And Business Policy Management -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Strategic And Business Policy Management? Answer: Introduction Strategic management refers to efficient management of organizations resources in order to fulfill the strategic objectives of the business. Strategic management involves setting objectives, allocating resources to these objectives, devising an action plan and ensuring that the management rolls out strategies across the organization (Wheelen Hunger, 2017). Strategic management differs from traditional approaches to management owing to its tactical nature. Decision makers of leading organizations consider external as well as internal environment while strategizing the plan for the firm. The essential purpose of strategic management is to ensure that companies are competitive and stand out in the industry of operation (Rothaermel, 2015). This also involves internal and external communications of the business so as to ensure transparent flow of information. The advent of strategic management is seen in various aspects of different businesses. With the increasing globalization, digitization and changing scenarios, it is important the organizations also adapt themselves to the environment. Therefore the change in the strategic decisions of the firm was imperative and largely recommended. This discipline was originated in 1950s and among various contributors to the same, Peter Drucker, Alfred Chandler and Igor Ansoff have played important roles (Grant, 2016). Over a period of time, strategic management has grown and developed into a separate field of study. Managers today are conducting various processes and adopting various strategies in order to enhance their performance and market power. Businesses conduct SWOT analysis to analyze their internal and external environment, PESTLE analysis is conducted to gain a deeper insight about the operating industry of the business and similarly Michel Porters five force model enables companies to gauge the competitiveness of the market. All these tools which are widely used today are all gifts of strategic management. This has changed the face of organizational management and has led to various organizations growing leaps and bounds and making a significant mark on the industry of operation. This report throws light on the importance of strategic management as well as three approaches of the same. The approaches covered in this report are stakeholder approach, industry organization approach as well as dynamic capabilities approach to strategic management. The benefits, limitations, viability as well as implementation issues for all of them are discussed for deeper understanding. Examples have been provided as and when required. Approaches to Strategic Management There are various approaches to strategic management and different companies adopt different approaches. This is due to the different nature of businesses in different industries. No single approach can be used for all the organizations due to the difference of resources, leadership and culture of the business. The three important approaches to strategic management are as below: Stakeholder approach Freeman (1984) has been largely credited behind this theory and its inception. Stakeholder management approach was also given by Ian Mitroff in his book Stakeholders of the organizational mind published in 1983. As the name denotes, this particular approach to strategic management keeps all the stakeholders of the business in the center. Stakeholders of any business includes all the people who are directly or indirectly related to the business. These include customers, employees, investors, media personnel, government bodies as well as unions. This approach ensures that the strategy development as well as performance assessment of any business revolve around its stakeholder expectations (Tantalo Priem, 2016). There are various businesses who follow this approach and they believe that the success of any organization depends on their stakeholders. If all the stakeholders of the business are truly satisfied and their needs are appropriately fulfilled, then the growth and development of the business is inevitable. The first step in this approach is to identify the exact needs of all the stakeholders, followed by analyzing and strategizing how the business can work towards fulfilling those expectations (Johnson, 2017). Viability of the approach: The approach is currently adopted by various businesses and has proved to be successful. However, it is difficult for the approach to be viable for every business especially those with clashing stakeholder interests. Suggested benefits: This approach has proved to be largely beneficial and effective for various leading organizations today. Such an approach by any business enhances the goodwill and the brand positioning of the firm. When the organization values its stakeholders then it builds a relationship of mutual respect and the stakeholders in turn work for the benefit of the organization. Secondly, in the process of identifying the needs of the stakeholders and defining objectives of the firm, communication among stakeholders improves and leads to transparency, effective flow of information as well as trust (Weiss, 2014). Lastly, a stakeholder approach to strategic management keeps the firm well aware in a 360 degree perspective and hence prevents the possibility of an unwanted or unforeseen risk to the firm. Implementation issues: Implementing any strategic management approach is largely difficult. Stakeholder approach may be faced with the following issues: Stakeholders may have conflicting interests. Then it will be difficult for the firm to formulate objectives and strategies which align all stakeholder expectations appropriately (Minoja, 2012). Difficulty in communication is a major issue associated with stakeholder theory as it is not always easy to be able to communicate with all the stakeholders and gauge their exact expectations from the firm. Limitations: The limitations associated with stakeholder theory are as below: First of all it is difficult to legitimately identify and list down all the stakeholders of the company. According to analysts, competitors are also stakeholders of the firm. Yet, practically it is difficult to focus on competitor expectations while formulating strategies of the business. No matter which strategies are applied, some stakeholders will always be benefitted more than other stakeholders. This may often lead to conflicts (Verbeke Tung, 2013). It is difficult for the firm to prioritize stakeholders in case of a conflict. Industrial organizational approach The industrial organizational approach of strategic management is based on economic theory. This theory asserts that the external environment and factors affecting the firm are more important than internal ones (Waldmen Jensen, 2016). This is specifically true with the objective of gaining competitive advantage in the industry. This approach asserts that the organizational performance largely depends on the industry variables and those should be kept in mind while devising organizational strategies. This approach helps firms in gaining a 360 degree status of their external environment and strategies their future actions by keeping that in mind. Such an approach is expected to help organizations maximize their revenues by gaining a deeper insight on the industrial environment (Gupta, 2013). This approach is largely adopted by pharmaceutical companies. For example, Glaxo Welcome produces a drug Zantac which is used for treating ulcers and heartburn. The drug is sold at a significantly higher price as compared to its manufacturing cost. This has been possible because Glaxo owns a large number of patents that exhibits other pharmaceutical companies from manufacturing a similar drug. This approach adopted by the company by taking advantage of the available information of its external environment has helped the business increase generated revenues as well as earn a market leadership. Viability of the approach: This approach however is not entirely viable in the longer run. In the above example also, it must be noted that Novopharma has won the permission from the US federal court to manufacture a generic version of the drug. Therefore, it is important that organizations weigh the benefits of the approach as well as its long term viability while industrially approaching strategic decision making. Suggested benefits: There are various benefits that are associated with the adoption of this approach to strategic management. Increased awareness of external environment helps the firm analyze its strengths and weaknesses and hence leads to improved growth (Shabanova Ismagilova, 2015). Industrial environment approach allows the company to remain prepared for unforeseen risks arising due to external environment. This approach assists firms in gaining a competitive advantage in the industry which eventually leads to improved performance and enhanced brand value (Campbell, Coff Kryscynski, 2012). Such an approach assists businesses in enhancing their market power. Implementation issues: In the process of adopting industrial organization approach to strategic management, there are various issues that may be faced by the company. Firstly, it will be difficult for the company to gather all the required information in order to be so deeply aware of the industry and secondly it may not always be possible for businesses to possess all the necessary resources to gain the competitive advantage after having all the information. Limitations: This approach as well has a few limitations as given below: Lack of importance given to the internal stakeholders of the business may affect performance of the firm. Increasingly available industry information and the quest to become market leaders may lure businesses into unethical practices. Dynamic Capabilities approach Dynamic capabilities approach of any business is based on the idea that the firm is capable to build, integrate and reconfigure its external as well as internal competencies in order to address its changing environment (Teece, 2012). This approach underlines that a firm must be adaptive to the ever changing business, economic, social or political environment that the business operates in. The strategies adopted by the firm change with the change in the environment and hence the organization becomes better prepared for unforeseen circumstances. In the vividly changing scenario of the world, it is important that businesses can also become flexible with their approaches. Hence such a strategy will enable the company to be prepared at all times. No doubt, in order to accomplish the same, the business needs additional resources and improved competencies. However, such an approach is largely adopted and recommended by leading businesses. The two big examples of companies demonstrating dynamic capabilities are Apple and IBM. They are both technological innovators and have consistently worked upon improving their offering to suit the changing consumer needs. Viability of the approach: The dynamic capability approach is largely viable and highly effective in the changing business scenarios that exist today. The approach in fact is sure to lead the organization to success in the future. Suggested benefits: Given the speed with which the business environment changes, it is largely beneficial to adopt and implement an approach which provides the firm with the needed flexibility to suit the changing environment (Beske, 2012). The benefits of this approach are as below: Such an approach provides the business a competitive advantage and hence leads to improved performance. Dynamic capabilities approach leads to continuous innovation and hence improved offerings (Peteraf, Stefano Verona, 2013). Dynamic capabilities approach enhances firms goodwill and brand positioning. Implementation issues: The biggest issue faced by the organization while implementing this approach is the lack of resources. It is not always possible for the firm to obtain, sustain or possess enough financial, technological or human resources so as to be able to consistently adapt to the changing environment. The second issue faced is the inability or the inefficiency of the firm to predict all the changes in the environment that is expected to impact the firm. Limitations: the limitations associated with dynamic capabilities approach of strategic management are as below: Inability of all the stakeholders of the organization to adapt to the changing strategies of the business. Lack of availability of resources technological, human, financial or knowledge. Conclusion Strategic management is the most empowering as well as disrupting change brought about in the business world. It refers to the idea of tactically defining the company strategies in order to accomplish well thought of objectives. Leading businesses today are adopting strategic management approaches to improve performance, maximize revenues, enhance brand value and ensure effective stakeholder returns (Hill, Jones Schilling, 2014). Strategies are being adopted in different functional segments of the business. These include human resource management, operations management, financial management, risk management and stakeholder management. The strategic nature of the policies and objectives adopted by the company are giving them an advantage in the face of increasing competition in all leading industries. Every company adopts a different strategy as it may deem useful. This report has explained the three leading approaches to strategic management, their benefits, limitations as well as implementation issues. References Beske, P., 2012. Dynamic capabilities and sustainable supply chain management.International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management,42(4), pp.372-387. Campbell, B.A., Coff, R. and Kryscynski, D., 2012. Rethinking sustained competitive advantage from human capital.Academy of Management Review,37(3), pp.376-395. Freeman, R.E. (1984) Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, Pitman, Boston Grant, R.M., 2016.Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley Sons. Gupta, A., 2013. Environmental and pest analysis: An approach to external business environment.Merit Research Journal of Art, Social Science and Humanities,1(2), pp.13-17. Hill, C.W., Jones, G.R. and Schilling, M.A., 2014.Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. Johnson, G., 2017.Exploring strategy: text and cases. Pearson. Minoja, M., 2012. Stakeholder management theory, firm strategy, and ambidexterity.Journal of Business Ethics,109(1), pp.67-82. Peteraf, M., Di Stefano, G. and Verona, G., 2013. The elephant in the room of dynamic capabilities: Bringing two diverging conversations together.Strategic management journal,34(12), pp.1389-1410. Rothaermel, F.T., 2015.Strategic management. India. McGraw-Hill Education. Shabanova, L.B., Ismagilova, G.N., 2015. PEST-Analysis and SWOT-Analysis as the most important tools to strengthen the competitive advantages of commercial enterprises.Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences,6(3), p.705. Tantalo, C. and Priem, R.L., 2016. Value creation through stakeholder synergy.Strategic Management Journal,37(2), pp.314-329. Teece, D.J., 2012. Dynamic capabilities: Routines versus entrepreneurial action.Journal of Management Studies,49(8), pp.1395-1401. Verbeke, A. and Tung, V., 2013. The future of stakeholder management theory: A temporal perspective.Journal of Business Ethics,112(3), pp.529-543... Waldman, D. and Jensen, E., 2016.Industrial organization: theory and practice. Routledge. Weiss, J.W., 2014.Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Wheelen, T.L. and Hunger, J.D., 2017.Strategic management and business policy. London. Pears

Advertising to Emotions Essay Example

Advertising to Emotions Essay Example Advertising to Emotions Essay Advertising to Emotions Essay Advertising to Your Emotions When a message is transmitted through the media by way of advertising, it can provoke many emotions in the audience. Often times advertising can strike a cord with people and reach them through their insecurities and guilt in an effort to persuade them into buying something that they believe they need. An advertisement can very easily play on someones emotions to get him or her interested and hooked into their product before the person even realizes it. No advertisement is more effective than one that makes you feel something because of how emotion and Emory are tightly linked together. When we watch television, we are usually so caught up into the TV show or movie that we dont even realize how vulnerable our minds can be. Lets say youre watching your favorite movie and a commercial comes on; this commercial starts off with very sad, slow music and someone starts speaking in a soft, calm voice. Most of us would make the connection that its a commercial about the ASPIC needing donations to save unwanted animals and we immediately start to feel sad and guilty that we cant do anything about it. Id be willing to bet each animal lover that sees that commercial automatically think of their own pets and begin the What if Chain of thoughts. Guilt can be one of the most damaging and motivating emotions one could experience. If you had no intention in donating money to an organization like the ASPIC before, but all of a sudden decided to after watching a heart wrenching commercial, then they got you good. That right there is the key to bringing in their donations. Not to say donating isnt a wonderful thing to do, but playing on ones motions can almost guarantee more donations than not. According to an article written March 19, 2013 titled, The Truth About ASPIC, detonators bring in about 150 million dollars annually. Wicked there be nearly as much money if they didnt have those commercials to make everyone feel so sad? Who knows? The advertising we are confronted with on a daily basis tries to persuade us into believing that we need (or do not need) a particular product or service. Lets look at another example: This is an advertisement showing how much better life can be for your dog when e/she is in shape and healthy. The physical attributes of this advertisement is what makes it so appealing considering most dog owners want their dogs to be healthy. This ad however shows skinny dogs engaging in human-like sexual acts as the fat dog watches, which gives it a certain level of humor but still sadness. Yes, this ad is designed to be funny but its also designed for humans to remember how over weight people are Judged and play on the desires to lose weight. It plays on your emotions to automatically make you feel that your dog is fat and would be happier if e/she lost weight. Right then youre hooked, because then what you might do is try to find the product they are selling and be interested in buying it so that you dont Tell guilty Not only ten product Itself out perhaps a new lease Ana collar, let treats, and dog toys to get your dog more physically active. This type of advertisement could actually create a domino affect from one product to another. Advertisements that bring out the negative emotions sort of give consumers a deep connection with the ad and possibly even the product. However, creating these advertisements also risks creating negative associations with that brand. Some people who come across those sad commercials might Just turn the station or channel so they dont have to hear it or see it; then there is very little chance that advertising product or service will receive a profit. Its those consumers who automatically associate the advertisement with negative thoughts and actions that help the product or service decline in profit. So why do they go through the depressing steps of advertising? Simple, it works. According to an article on Scenically. Mom, When consumers are interested in an ad, they are better able to devote mental resources to thinking about it. Therefore advertising aimed at interested consumers can tap into more complicated emotions, such as bittersweet nostalgia, anxiety, and guilt. Advertisements with positive emotions and uplifting events, outcomes, or people will not always enhance persuasion more than ads with sad and downh earted emotions. For example, when it comes to funny advertisements, if too much of the ad is focused on humor, people ay not even notice who the advertiser is. To go into a little more detail, a company called Ace Matrix and their team looked at every national commercial from January 2011 to March 2012 to measure the effectiveness of humor in advertising. What they found was that funny commercials were more appealing but in actuality were not more effective in convincing viewers to buy their product. The attention and likeability was high; however, low information and relevance on many funny ads resulted in lower desire for the product than non-funny ads. Negative emotions at he start can grab the viewers attention and draw them in to the ad; then turning points can define memorable branding moments. By traumatizing a problem that your brand will solve, negative emotions will actually drive motivation. After writing this paper I was then curious enough to see if negative over positive emotions actually won over my memory and it did. Every commercial I remember from the past is sad in some form of way. The ASPIC/animal shelter commercials, children in 3rd world countries seeking donations, even the Saleslady commercial room last years super bowl came to mind. Then when I try to think of a funny commercial from the past, I really have to sit and think for a while; nothing immediately came to mind. When it comes to these certain advertisements I now realize I am exactly the demographic the companies shoot for. I love animals and those in need of homes in combination with sad music Just rips me to pieces. What is even more ironic is that I actually do donate to shelters in need. In that sense, I can see how advertisers using negative emotions can appeal to consumers to get them to buy their product.

dead stars essays

dead stars essays The story is focused in the life of Alfredo Salazar, who is the son of Don Julian and the brother of Carmen, who is a lawyer and engaged to Esparanza to whom he is deeply in love with until he met Julia Salas who made him confused about his love for his fianc. Alfredo met Julia in Judge Del Valles house, a friend of his father, who is his sister-in-law. He was puzzled with her smile every time he addresses her and he was charmed with her speaking voice. The daily routine of Alfredo and his father every Sunday morning after the mass is to go to the judges house that made Alfredo and Julia closer and know each better. He forgot that for several Sundays, he had not waited for Esperanza to come out of the church and he was already beginning to lie about his neighboring stuff. This is the beginning of his attraction to Julia. Esperanza did not enter in the picture because she was not prone to unprovoked jealousies that made Alfredo entertain the feeling towards Julia. When Don Julian invited the judge to Tanda, where he has a coconut plantation, a house, and a beach, they had this goodbye conversation because Julias parents want her to spend Holy week with them. The line The end of the impossible dream! meaning they have to be apart soon, pro ves that Alfredo is really in love with her. The time when Alfredo felt a violent commotion in his heart that he did not feel for Esperanza when he saw her is already a big problem because he will be soon married. He was already lying with his feelings but he still keeps his word to Esperanza. At the end of chapter two, the conversation is cut when Esperanza went out weeping with what his fianc had said. This situation made Alfredo think of what must be done. In chapter three, the paragraph started about Alfredo going to Santa Cruz, where he would defend a case and how it would disturb him because Julias lake town is ...

Bargaining Power And Strategic Management In Business Case Study

Bargaining Power And Strategic Management In Business - Case Study Example Suppliers would have low bargaining power as they risk losing the account of one of their largest customers if the client is not satisfied by the terms offered. With many suppliers being present in the industry, it would be very easy for asos.com to switch suppliers thus weakening the position of suppliers in the market. Bargaining Power of Customers Asos.com is heavily reliant on the internet as its main channel of distribution. It does not have a presence as a traditional brick-and-mortar store and thus needs to target a young, fashion-conscious market segment and provide them with an interactive, pleasurable online shopping experience in order to drive sales. Secondly, the number of internet buyers in the UK has increased tremendously and with internet access spreading and the number of retailers offering online services also increasing at a fast pace, customers have more options to seek out the bet prices and switch firms, thus providing them with significant buying power over fi rms and minimizing the risk of exploitation. Fashion retailing being very concentrated in nature and the fact that asos.com does not have any differential advantage over its rivals suggests that the industry is highly competitive and customers exert a lot of influence over firms in the industry and dictate buying patterns. The threat of New Entrants A quick look at the group profits tells us that the industry is a highly attractive one and opportunity seekers will find it quite a lucrative industry to enter into. Thus profitability might eventually decrease if the number of players operating in the market increases further. However, it must be noted that customer loyalty, access to distribution, achieving economies of scale and capital requirements might present significant barriers to entry.

Faisal - Operational and process management Essay

Faisal - Operational and process management - Essay Example The paper also described views on how this company can better their stand in the crowded footwear industry and end up being a stronger competitor to its key challenges in its business environment. The paper presented a number of models and theories for both the analysis of the prevalent systems at Crocs, and offered insights on how they can integrate into success and create a more stable company. The paper also portrayed different perspectives by providing postulations against vertical integration as strategy to gain competitive advantage. 1.0 Introduction Crocs, Inc. was initiated in the year 2002 in Colorado and is arguably one of today’s fastest growing brands and organisations at the world level. The company initially produced footwear for all age categories under the same brand and is now sold well in over 100 countries. The brand features a special kind of plastic that is softened by body heat of the individual wearing the shoe, resulting in high degree of comfort. Sales for the company jumped 256% in 2006 (Thompson, 2006). There has been much discussion about Crocs’ success and besides the popularity of its shoes, the major reasons for the enormous growth of the company has been its efficient chain supply management. Crocs, Inc. has shown that being flexible and being focused on digressing from the conventional norms of the industry, they could achieve more success and profits than their peers (Ashkanasy and Wilderom). This efficiency was the result of their Chief Executive Officer’s vision of satisfying customers by developing an ultra efficient process of production that would facilitate the company to make and supply at short notice, hence creating a competitive advantage in the industry. The Crocs supply chain has been revolutionary in footwear production but there is need to evolve in line with changes in the global industry environment. In the long run, a conventionally thinking organisation has no future. Alteration in technol ogy, delivery procedures, customer demands, and legislative policies demand that a company focuses on its core competencies rather than venturing into all possible diversification schemes. 2.0 Industry analysis By the use of the Product Life Cycle (PLC) concept (Waters and Water, 1999), it is quite visible that the footwear industry as a whole is near saturation and this is likely to run for a long time. It is least likely that the demand for footwear will fall significantly but there are possibilities that with the development of cheaper and more durable products, the industry’s profitability will decline after some time. Using the following Five Forces Model analysis of the global footwear market, the following observations can be made. 2.1 Entry Barriers Entry barriers are engineered to elbow out potential starters from entering a market. These barriers seek to serve the monopoly powers of the incumbent organisations in that industry, thereby maintaining monopoly margins. Some known barriers include limit pricing, patents, cost advantages as well as marketing and advertising among others. This industry appears to offer relatively easy entry for new participants. The advantages of cost are fairly low with quite a large number of players locally and globally. However, it is worth noting that the manufacturers have significantly easy access to factors of production, particularly raw

Business College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business College - Essay Example Therefore, in order to understand these markets, it is important for the western country to comprehend these differences from country to country by using the five contexts of framework. The five contexts include a country's social and political arrangements, openness, product, labor, and capital markets. Business executives can form their strategies around this by asking questions that relate to the five contexts, and thus begin to develop upon the country's individual strengths. While doing this, it is also important for the business to measure the positives and negatives of forming a relationship with this country. If they discover that the negatives outweigh the positives, other aspects may need to be considered. It is a good idea to link social performance targets to executive competition, in the researcher's opinion. Social performance targets give the company an overall goal and focus when entering into any new business strategy or plan, and therefore help to give the company a stronger approach to accomplishment. Competition, and certainly executive competition, is always a good way to trigger the best and brightest ideas. By allowing executive competition, hopefully the best ideas and goals will come into play in the atmosphere of the business. With this occurring, the business could then link social performance targets to executive competition, seeing which goals are the best, and figuring out the direction the company would need to take in order to proceed and reach the best possible goals. Thus, competition should put forth several good options, and the social performance target can then be chosen and used to provide solid direction. Question 2. a. Companies have used centralized Organizational Structures. However, the current organizational trends are to change then into lean, flatter decentralized structures. Describe briefly some of these changes taking place in the organizations. Decentralization removes the focus of power, or shifts the focus of power, from few individuals to more individuals. The concept allows for power to be spread out more equally in the business, thus allowing individuals to all have a part of company decision making. Decentralization still relies on authority for decision making, but it also must rely on lateral relationships rather than a direct order from above. More and more companies are chosing to use decentralization because it brings many minds into the framework. With several people in the decision making strategy, the hope is that many ideas will come to light, and that way, the best of these ideas can be chosen and acted upon. Therefore, these industries are seeking what is best for the business. Many of these companies are therefore spreading out power as well as the decision making process instead of putting all of the power in the hands of a few individuals. While this process may make decision making take longer, the hope is that for the company, it will provide the best possible answers and