Modern technology is enhancing social life

applied science is inseparable in solving new puzzles, enhancing affectionate life and ensuring a remedy upcoming (Diamond 240). Technology is the application of scientific know leadge to reach among others industrial and commercial objectives of an organization or a rescript. It has cultural, organizational and technical aspects (Freeman and Francisco 142). Technology has become a powerful tool that is being utilize to repair neighborly life and solve human problems give c be p overty and deceases. In addition, engine room has increased the power of human beings to control and manipulate personality thereby enhancing our efficacy to adapt to the surround (Global Scenario assort Report 19).Despite totally the wins of engine room, it has contradict positioning make analogous un affiancement. It is therefore important to prise dangers and promises of a technology in order to formulate safeguards to eliminate its negative contacts or its mis go for. It is to a fault important to attribute limits on some technologies comparable biotechnology so as to harness their full likely without moody the dignity of human beings (Freeman and Francisco 327).DiscussionThere argon many argonas in which technology impact positively in the participation. The globalization of the internet for example, has extended and empowered the human network (cisco trunks E25). It has changed positively the manner in which friendly, political, commercial and personal interactions argon occurring. The internet presents a platform on which businesses preserve be run, emergencies tail assembly be addressed and individuals endure be informed. It is being utilise to shop at upbringing, science and government. (Global Scenario Group Report 24).Education has immense impact on a society. It trains the human mind to think and make right decisions. Through instruction, unrivaled acquires knowledge and information which rouse be employ to solve problems like unem ployment in a society (Cisco Systems E27). Technology erects the processes of communication, collaboration and engagement which are fundamental urinateing blocks of education. It supports and enriches students learning experiences.It helps to deliver learning materials like synergetic activities, assessments and feedbacks to a larger number of students faster and cheaper. In contrast to traditionalistic learning methods which declare unityself only two sources of expertise, that is, the textbook and the instructor which are limited in format and timing, online courses pot contain voice, data and moving picture which enhance understanding (Cisco Systems E30). Technology has indeed removed geographical barriers to education and alter students learning experiences.Technology has facilitated the formation of global communities through social networks like facebook. This has fostered social interactions independent of geographical location (Global Scenario Group Report 27). Th e online communities change sharing of worthy ideas and information receptive of increasing productivity and opportunities in a society. For example, one can post to a forum to take health and treatment information with other members of the forum from all over the world. Though this kind of interaction is not physical, hoi polloi are static able to share their social experiences and values more efficiently with people from diverse backgrounds.Technology has also helped to decoct poverty. Advancement in technology has led to new efficient sources of zip fastener even to poor rural communities. The accessibility of cheap sources of energy opens up a society to investments and stinting activities (Diamond 253). For example, technology has made it possible through genetic engineer to engineer crops that win over solar energy to fuels more efficiently.Governments are thus able to provide cheaper efficient sources of energy even to poor rural communities since solar energy is available virtually anywhere in the world (Freeman and Francisco 307). Genetic engineering can also be used to fix plants that produce valuable products like silicon chips for computers efficiently. This can result in meliorate income and musical accompaniment standards to members of a society. Technology can therefore bring almost social revolution by enriching villages thereby attracting people and riches from cities (Freeman and Francisco 331).Technology enables farms in multinational bums to function as part of the global economy. Through advancement in technology, hoidenish outputs have ameliorate thus ensuring food security. Technology helps farmers to parry losses apparent movementd by natural disasters like drought. For example, a farmer can use a laptop enabled with a Global Positioning System to plant his or her crops with preciseness and qualification resulting in high harvest-times.At harvest time, the farmer can use technology to co-ordinate harvesting wi th the accessibility of grain a car transporter and storage facilities using mobile tuner technology. This can help to reduce losses caused by delays. The grain transporter can monitor the vehicle in-route to maintain the best fuel efficiency and safe operation. In addition, through technology changes in status can be relayed to the driver of the vehicle instantly (Cisco Systems E34). Technology has thus improved efficiency and effectiveness in the agricultural sector. It has enabled societies to have abundant florid food.Modern technology is also widely used in the entertainment and cash in ones chips industries. The internet has enabled people to share and enjoy many forms of re humanity, regardless of their location. For example, one can explore different bewilders interactively without having to visit them. Technology has also enabled the creation of new forms of entertainment, such as online games (Cisco Systems E36). Entertainment is important in a society since it reduce stress and problems caused by depression.Fears have been raised about some technologies such as nuclear weapons being used to cause massive destructions in the world (Freeman and Francisco 308). just the global lodge has the ability to enforce controls and limits on technology use to fasten that technology is not misused. A beneficial technology cannot therefore be abandoned when measures can be put in place to shape and get its use. Moreover, governments in the form of regulatory institutions and professional bodies have the potential to regulate technologies that are susceptible to misuse to ensure that they do not impact negatively on values of the society (Freeman and Francisco 316).ConclusionTechnology is embedded in all aspects of our society and has extensive implications on culture and social activities. Technology has significantly improved health, agriculture, education, transport and communication sectors. These are critical sectors in any society as they contri enti relye to development and improvement of living standards. Although some technologies mogul have side effects, measures can be put in place by governments and the international community to ensure that all technologies are used for the benefits of the society.Analysis and evaluation1.The sources I used are qualified on the subject of technology and its social impacts. Cisco Corporation is a leading and credible technology firm. Its products are widely accepted all over the world. In the Cisco Corporate friendly Responsibility Report of 2009 the organization outlined its make activities and how they contribute to the social welfare of the community. Cisco also offers certification courses that are very popular world wide.The Cisco Networking academy Program is a good example of how technology can be used to enhance learning experience. In the program, the instructor provides a syllabus and establishes a antecedent schedule for completing the course content. The expertise of the i nstructor is supplemented with an interactive political platform comprising of text, graphics, audio and animations. In addition, a tool called packet tracer is provided to build virtual representations of networks and emulate functions of various networking devices (Cisco Systems E31).Freeman and Francisco in their book give a lot of examples of how technology can be used to enhance social life. They also point out some side effects of modern technology and how they can be addressed. In addition, the publisher of this book, Oxford University Press is a credible publisher and the source can thus be relied on.Some social impacts of the modern technology are prevalent in homes and workplaces. For example, the impacts of the internet on job are common. Majority of people have embraced electronic commerce and are buying goods and services online from the comfort of their homes. Electronic commerce has thus opened new doors of opportunities that are being exploited in the society.Diam ond in his book explores the rise of civilization, discussing the evolution of agriculture and technology and their impact on the society. He gives clear examples of how technology has improved the social welfare of communities especially through improvements in agricultural production. Some of the examples he gives are common and can easily be related to what is going around.The Global Scenario Group report is a credible source. Its main sponsors who include Stockholm environs Institute, Rockefeller Foundation, the Nippon Foundation, and the United Nations Environment Programme are advocacy organizations in the palm of technology and the environment. The research explored the historical background of technology, the current situation and what the future force look like. It gives clear examples of major scientific discoveries that are effort technology and their potential impacts.If I had adequate time, I would do extra research to find more information on effective measures th e international community can take to ensure that technology is not misused. I would particularly focus on tools the international community can employ to protect technology from irresponsible individuals like terrorists. This is because technology itself is not bad, but it is the human beings who in some cases use it irresponsibly. Therefore, if correct measures and controls are put in place technology can be used for the benefit of all in the society. This can eliminate fears and most of the side effects of technology.2a. Technology shapes institutions, values and day to day activities in our society. It affects identities, relationships, social structures and economic activities (Freeman and Francisco 316). Technology is thus inevitable in the modern world. The internet has heighten our social, political, commercial and personal interactions enabling us to share information and ideas more efficiently. Technology has significantly improved the quality of education. It has enabled learning materials to reach a larger number of students efficiently and cheaply. An improvement in the quality of education enhances the social life of a community since it enables individuals to make creative decisions capable of solving social problems.Technology has facilitated the formation of online communities were members can share their diverse experiences and ideas. This has the potential of increasing productivity in a society. In addition, technology has helped to reduce poverty. It has resulted in efficient sources of energy even in rural areas thereby opening up rural areas for investments and developments. Modern technology has also improved efficiency in the agricultural sector therefore ensuring food security. Moreover, I discussed how modern technology has been used in the entertainment and give way industries to create new forms of entertainments like online games. Finally, I noted that although some technologies have side effects, governments and the internation al community have the potential to direct and control the use of technology for the benefit of the society.2b.Some of the evidences I used include the Cisco Networking Academy Program which is an example of how technology can be used to improve quality of education. The second evidence is of a farmer using a laptop enabled with a Global Positioning System to plant his crops with precision and efficiency. The example illustrates how technology can be used to improve agricultural production. The third evidence illustrates how genetic engineering can be used to engineer crops that convert solar energy to fuels more efficiently. The energy can then be used in the rural areas to create wealth and employment opportunities. Finally, I illustrated how technology has been used in the entertainment and travel industry to create new forms of entertainment like online games.2c.The major presumptuousness I made is that the international community has the potential to control and direct the use of technology. This is only possible if there is peace and cooperation among all countries of the world. But this is not the case especially in the Middle East. The instability in countries like Iran and the existence of extremists have increased fears of technology being used to cause massive destruction.3.Someone might ague that technology is a problem because we rely on it so much and that although it makes us better it also make us worse. My position is that in any human community there must be control and order. It is therefore the responsibility of governments to ensure that the society is protected from negative effects of technology. Some people might point out the destructive effects of technology on the environment to ague against it. But if correct measures are put in place we will be able to assess the dangers and promises of any technology in order to formulate effective safeguards against its side effects.Works citedCisco Systems, Inc. Cisco Corporate Social Responsibi lity Report. cisco.com. Cisco Systems, Inc. 2009. Web. 2009.Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel The Fates of Human Societies. New York. W.W. Norton. 1999. Web.Freeman, Chris and Francisco Louca. As term Goes By From the Industrial Revolutions to the Information Revolution. England. Oxford University Press. 2001. Web.Global Scenario Group Report. Great Transition The forebode and Lure of the Times Ahead. gsg.org. Global Scenario Group. Web. 2002.

The Practice of Clinical Psychology

University of Phoenix Material The Practice of Clinical psychological science Worksheet Answer the following questions. Your response to each question mustiness be at least 150 words in length. 1. What argon at least two heavy issues associated with clinical psychology? Provide an simulation of a situation that could be legal scarcely unethical. Explain your response. Confidentiality is 1 issue associated with clinical psychology. It intersects the legal and ethical jurisdictions in the realm of psychotherapy. These issues ar in conflict when legal requirements contradict the APAs Ethics edict (Plante, 2011).Confidentiality agreement exceptions between patient and therapist include danger that is fast (suicide, homicide, or some(prenominal) type of abuse). When the Code of Ethics and the law expose the Code of Ethics should always be followed and any discrepancies should be explained to a court of law (Plante, 2011). in that location are, however, exceptions to the confi dentiality rule in specific situations, a patient may opt out of confidentiality. This may be when a patient wants to involve their spouse, child, or even a friend in their therapy (Plante, 2011).Clinical psychologists must be careful by documenting exceptions in writing, to abide by lawfulness because of concerns with confidentiality. Forensic activities are another area where legal issues may pertain a psychologist. It is important when psychologists are giving expert testimony that they fixate sure the assessment tools they choose to use were developed specifically for the object the psychologist is using it (Plante, 2011). This is an ethical issue with legal implications rather than a legal issue. 2. What are at least two ethical issues associated with clinical psychology?Provide an eccentric of a situation that could be ethical but illegal. Explain your response. A major point of concern in any ethical discussion in psychology is competence. Appropriate training and cult ure that concerns changes in a psychologists vary field must be kept up to date (Plante, 2011). According to Plante (2011) 50% of the material in condition(p) during a psychologists graduate work becomes obsolete 10 to 12 days after they graduate. This means that clinical psychologists seduce to relearn half of their specialized field every ten years or so.Psychologists must recital in the field in which they have been trained. It is important that clinical psychologists are not being misleading or deceptive in publicise or public statements (Plante, 2011). A psychologist must never overstate their points of views or their qualifications. Psychologists must correct any misleading statements that have been made by another person on the psychologists behalf. This causes the psychologists to be very clear close their points of view and not overstate their credentials (Plante, 2011). 3. Define professional boundaries, term crossings, and term violations.What effects do boundar ies have on the therapeutic human relationship? Dual relationships are at the heart of most professional boundary violations in the U. S. (Plante, 2011). A dual relationship is when the patient and psychologist develop a relationship outside the professional one. This could be as simple as the psychologist and patient going out for coffee or as perfect as the psychologist and patient engaging in a sexual relationship. Of rails psychologists are disciplined when the violations happen, but are encouraged to avoid conflicts of entertain and dual relationships with patients (Plante, 2011).Boundary crossings and violations happen when the psychologist engages in an extra psychotherapeutic relationship with the patient. There is a counter argument in this area and that is the psychotherapy must sometimes occur in the patients natural environment. This happens if the patient is severely disabled. To maintain a relationship that is professional and boundaries that are professional the r elationship must be kept in a setting that is professional and in situations that is professional.There are some situations though that are unavoidable such as a psychologist who has a small townspeople practice and knows everyone in town (Plante, 2011). 4. What are at least two cultural limitations associated with assessment and handling? In your response, discuss the use or misuse of assessment instruments, therapy techniques, enquiry results, or any other facet of clinical practice that could have potentially harmful, culture-specific implications. There are some behavioral problems that are culturally specific and require treatment approaches that are culturally specific (Plante, 2011).For example during the Victorian Era, conversion disorders were popular but are not today. I t is telling hta most psychological studies that have been conducted in the prevail 50 years have been on the Caucasian race from the swiftness and middle classes (Plante, 2011). This would mean that the results of these tests to minorities is questionable. Culturally specific treatment options are being looked at by psychologists, as legitimate alternatives to traditional individual 50 minute insight oriented psychotherapy.

New Jersey Legislature

The untried island of tee shirt law-makers is the branch of government seated in tender-fashioned jersey asseverate House at the lens hoodital in Trenton. The legislative assembly is bicameral, meaning that it consists of devil houses. These houses atomic number 18 called the General Assembly and the newfangled island of Jersey Senate. The New Jersey commonwealth Legislature and governor has been rail under a cloud of suspicion, corruption, graft and a Treasury that had pass the first half(a) of this decade in debt. These problems seemed to have alleviated a little since New Jerseys new governor, Jon Corzine, a similark office in January of 2006.He has not been the complete reason for the turnaround but his greens knowledge ideas concerning fiscal responsibility and personal sacrifice has led by example and the idea that ineffective government and the New Jersey State Legislature linked, is turn kayoeding to fade. The study of my utter legislative body revea ls some classical questions that need to be addressed and answered First, should the size of the legislature be increase or decreased?Second, Should the legislatures pay be raised(a) and should the romp be on a full magazine or part time basis? And lastly, should t here be term limits and does the legislature meet overly often or too little? These questions raise many a(prenominal) opinions as the citizens of New Jersey be ready for their government to again lay down for them and their needs.The General Assembly is the lowest house of the legislature. It contains eighty members and its requirements to be among its personify unrivalled must be at least twenty one years of age, have resides in the postulate for at least ii years and must live in the district that it the member represents. The province of New Jersey is made up of forty districts. The members of the New Jersey Legislature are chosen by forty electoral districts, individually district electing one member to the Senate and two members of the Assembly.Districts are redefined after severally census. New Jerseys current district map is base upon the 2000 census. Even though New Jersey is a small solid ground, it ranks tenth in people in the country and is one of the almost exceedingly population density in the country. The high concentration of districts is a equitable idea and is advantageous towards the move in a democracy, that all of its citizens voices whitethorn be heard. The upper house which is what the Senate is referred to, is made up of forty members and the qualifications for its members is that for each one must be thirty years of age, must live in the state for at least four years as hearty as reside in the district that he/she is wanting to represent.alternatives for the state of New Jersey are unique in the feature that they are held on odd-numbered years whereas the volume of the states in the Union hold their elections on even numbered years. New Jersey is a lso unique in the occurrence that Senators serve four year terms except during the first two years of the decade. This 2-4-4 cycle was put into place so that the senate can consider the changes that the census has displayed if in that respect was a significant change in the population density of one district over another. ( Wikipedia) The General Assembly is headed by the speaker, whereas the Senate is headed by the President.Each house is led by a bulk and minority leaders, assistant leaders as well as what is referred to as whips. The Legislature is empowered to make new law, subject to the regulator of New Jerseys power to veto a bill. However, the veto may be overridden by the Legislature if there is a two-thirds majority in favor of overriding in each house. (Wikipedia) This is typical in most of the states spirits as well as in the federal Constitution. The governor can veto a bill but if the legislature comes back with a 2/3 majority right to vote, then the Governors veto is made null and void.This is an essential aspect of a democracy That the final word in a decision, is left up not to a single individual, but to the people as a whole. The Governors decisions can be overridden solely by the majority will of the people. This aspect of New Jerseys Constitution should never be changes and if so, it would serve as an impediment to the democratic system here in New Jersey that we all enjoy and respect.However, one spokesperson where this democratic ideal was not followed was in the 2006 blockage of the New Jersey Legislature. Even though the shutdown was finally decided upon by Governor Corzine, it speaks to a deepr ineptitude regarding the state legislature and its ability to slip away operative for its citizens. It was the first shutdown in the history of the state and it occurred when the Legislature and the Governor failed to agree on a state cipher by the deadline set forth in the state Constitution. It began on July 1, 2006 and lasted u ntil the 8th of July. on the whole government services were not revived until July 10th. The background into this most late(a) failing by the state legislature helps to affirm that the job of a member in the state legislature should be full time, there should definitely be term limits and the pay should remain constant as farsighted as thousands of government workers were told that they were non essential and told to stay national for a week with stunned pay.The shutdown was over contrastive opinions concerning the states budget and the unchecked spending by Corzines predecessor despite the large debt that the state was suffering through. As a way to set an example, Governor Corzine, bypassed the $175,000 annual budget and took only a ceremonial $1 salary. The simpleness of the members should take note of this and should follow the Governors example.The New Jersey Constitution states under Article VIII that a states expenses for the year be provided for in a single budget act. (Star Ledger) The constitution also specifics a provision stating preventive streaks against going into debt. A start to New Jerseys troubles was ignoring this sound advice. Governor Corzine, in an attempt to pass his budget, came into conflict with fellow Democrats within the General Assembly.The main closure of contention was the Assemblys refusal to increase the state task from 6% to 7% in order to fill the budget gap. Corzine stated that there was no other way in coming up with the currency as the states constitution forbade other forms of revenue raising. Months out front the shutdown, Corzine states that he would not accept a budget that did not include a tax increase and he stood firm in this prison term and the General Assembly did the same which eventually resulted in the shutdown.When the budget failed to pass, the shutdown occurred. This resulted in 45,000 workers being told that they were non essential and would have to stay home for an indecisive period of time. Some of these institutions included the casinos, the Motor Vehicle Commission and superintendence stations as well as the New Jersey political programe section of Education to name a few.Other shutdowns would include, state beaches, public parks, historical sites and horse racing. New Jersey did have enough comprehend so far to keep prison, state police offices, hospitals and child welfare programs running. A sense of urgency prevailed across our state and an emergency July 4th session of the State Legislature was called. (state.nj.us)On July 6, 2006, Democratic factions within the General Assembly reached a via media budget. That tentative budget proposed an increase in the state sales tax from 6% to 7%, which is estimated to generate an additional $1.1 billion in revenue. The plan also included a requirement to use half of that for direct relief toward New Jerseys property tax highest of all states. The plan also called for the same dedicated purpose for all of the money raised by this sales tax increase in subsequent years. The new budget law includes a provision for a constitutional amendment which must, like all such amendments in the state, be approved in an Election Day referendum, to be held on November 7, 2006. New Jersey voters approved this measure by a 2-1 margin statewide. ( wikipedia)On July 8Th, both houses of the legislature passed the proposed budget. At 6 a.m. that day, Corzine signed executive order ? 19 to restore government services.The fact that 1% of the sales tax was so bitterly fought over was in the forefront of the minds of the members of the legislature. Most of them were up for reelection very much sooner than the governor. Many of New Jersey citizens deucedd the state legislature more than the governor and 71% of people polled said that they would not vote for their district representatives if they had voted for the sales tax rate hike.New Jersey voters clearly blame the state legislature for the budget crisis, and say the property-tax relief that the legislature insisted on in the compromise is more politics than real reform. Of those polled, 23% indicated that they will not vote for those representatives who voted for the sales-tax hike in the future. The state legislatures next election will be in November 2007, but Corzine does not face another election until 2009. (Star Ledger)From the above mentioned description about the most recent shutdown of New Jerseys state legislature, it is plain to see that the elected officials from my state are not doing what are the supposed to be doing. I think that the blame needs to be shared. The governor did gain points with me by bypassing the salary of the governor in order to help alleviate the financial problems of the state.I realize that he is already a millionaire but there are many governors and even members of the House and Senate of this country who have millions of dollars, yet such ideas of fiscal responsibility and self sacrifice to the smalle st degree is not even considered. The governor did fight to raise the sales tax against the state legislature, who many of them fought against this occurring. except it was not the governor who created the mess in the first place but rather inherited it after his predecessor James McGreevy was forced to pure tone down.I had always thought that the members of my state legislature were already out of touch with its constituents. One already has to me a person of financial content if they wish to even be able to afford to run. Many members of the state legislature are not there for the salary. They have alternate sources of income in different types of investments. Also, the campaign promises of the majority of the members of the State Legislature are saturate with promises of wanting to make a genuine difference in their home state. Let us put those promises to the test and put a cap on their current salaries.This is especially necessary when the states treasury is in as much tro uble as it is and hard working people have to be told that they are non essential and lose out on a weeks worth of pay because its state legislatures do not know how to balance a budget until it is too late. Personal and state revenue was lost on many different levels due to the shutdown. And to say that because this was the first shutdown in our states history, it somehow is going to be the last is naive. It is naive as long as our state legislatures feel that ignoring a problem is the same as fixing it.As long as each state legislature does not treat this job as one of their top priorities in their life and that this is most certainly a full time job that demands their time, attention and respect for the members that he/she represents. A member of the state legislature should recognize these things and if he/she does not, then it is up to an informed public to apply their precious right to vote and to make a change with that vote. As far as term limits are concerned, I would like each member of the state legislature realize that his job is not rock-steady and is depended upon a stellar work record. However, do term limits limit the lighten speech of the representatives constituents?If a public figure is doing a job well done, then they should be rewarded with another two or four year term. This is definitely the case in The United States Congress. For that adamant in the ruff that has all of the above mentioned qualities and is in the State Legislature, I would not be against term limits except for the number of terms for a governor. That number should be set at three since a lengthy appointment to the highly responsible job of governor can only breed apathy. And a state legislature that does not seem to be in touch with their job responsibilities, can breed a much more dangerous apathy that of its citizensWORKS CITEDhttp//www.statelocalgov.net/state-nj.htmwww.wikipedia.comwww.njleg.state.nj.us/CNNs Larry King travelwww.state.nj.us

Pestel Analysis of Mobile Phone Industry

Pestel Analysis of brisk Phone Industry Political Mobile hollos maintain in a flash start a tool with which political parties throw out directly target voters. the great unwashed with smart bring forwards sess now receive video advertisements and messages via the internet. According to the Economic tidings Unit (2012), 83% of Americans who own a smart hollo or tablet atomic hail 18 registered to vote. This reinvigorated gimmick is c exclusivelyed m-campaigning and is currently most coarse in America. Barack Obama and helping hand Romney be both using this as a medium for their campaigns. cause French President Nicolas Sarkozy set up a Twitter level to help him in his re-election bid.This shows the growing importance appreciation of alert phones by politians. There is potential here for some companies to use this strength as a bargaining tool with g entirely overnments and potentially charge political parties to be in possession of built in apps on the phones. (Eco nomic Intelligence Unit, 2012) Thanks to location-tracking, potential supporters whitethorn receive an automated message urging them to drop in comely as they ar passing a voter-registration office, or to turn up to a nearby rally (EIU, 2012) The supple phone foodstuff in Africa is one which is heavily affected by politics.The more(prenominal) unstable a country is the more the economy is constrained. This has a negative effect on imports going into these countries. Africa has a history of political instability and coups. According to AfricaGoodNews. com the run(a) few decades accept seen a vast decline in the number of war torn countries. The number of countries in Africa considered completely(11) and partially(34) free today has go tremendously since 1972(3 and 10 respectively). These figures suggest that, from a political point of take up at the very least, Africa has turned a major corner. A mod more stable standard of life looms over the horizon.This may emblem a new era of stability in the continent. (AfricaGoodNews. com) According to Techwireasia. com mainland mainland China is the biggest telephone market in the world. They boast over 1 one one million million million million roving phone subscribers. However political factors have a huge influence on the market. The three biggest players in the market China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom be majority-owned by the Government. This can be a potential oportunity or threat. It can be an opportunity as want term agreements with these providers can cement a companies place in the market and provide a platform for further maturation.On the other hand these companies in the next few years may begin to promote and try out to make deals with China based manufucturers and slowly dilute the market portion of the market leaders. (Techwireasia. com, 2012) Economical The global smartphone market is quite an competitive market. crosswise the globe masses are paying high prices for thes e products. In Ireland the prices for the summit three phones on the market are the HTC One X (519. 99), the Samsung beetleweed SIII (569. 00) and the iPhone 5(579. 99) (Carphone Warehouse, 2012). These phones are in excess of 500 to buy which is expensive to the bonnie person.At such a high price, such profounds are very spiritualist to a customers sparing situation. We will find out now at such stinting indicators which could influence sales in this persistence. The ingathering of an economy can be measured by its Gross domestic Product(gross domestic product). According to figures released by Trading Economics (2012) the GNP in the Euro athletic field is -0. 4%. This figure represents the effect of the financial and economic crisis Europe now finds itself in. European countries like Italy(-2. 6%), Greece(-6. 3%), Portugal(-3. 3%) and Spain(-1%) are all in recession.Other countries which have a positive gross domestic product are experiencing very slow gain like Germany (0. 5%), France(0. 25%) and Austria(0. 2%). The smartphone industry will suffer in Europe due to these figures and sales egress will be slowed significantly. These figures can be used to highlight countries and regions where economic issue is strong. It is shown in tables 2,3 and 4 (Appendices) that there is strong economic growth in Asia, easterly Europe and Africa. (Trading Economics, 2012) These are areas in which the officious phone industry should concentrate marketing strategies.Countries which show huge market opportunities are China, India and Australia. These countries are booming. China has a population of 1. 3 billion and GDP of 7. 4%. India has a population of 1. 2 billion and GDP of 5. 5%. The mobile phone industry should place huge emphasis on trying to gain a share of these expanding markets. Africa is a continent cognise more for its poverty than prosperity. However it is a continent with great potential. From an economic perspective many countries are showing st rong economic growth such as Rwanda and Nigeria for example which have a GDP of 9. % and 6. 3% respectively. Over the past decade six of the worlds ten fastest-growing countries were African. In eighter of the past ten years, Africa has grown faster than East Asia, including Japan (The Economist, 2011) If we look at unemployment figures released by the IMF (2012) we can see a similiar trend that shows unemployment rising slope across europe with the notable exception of Germany. The rate for the euro area for the plump for quarter of 2012 is 11. 2%, up from 7. 6% in 2007. Rates in North America dont look too good either with Canada at 7. 2% and US at 8%.Again we can see that the shining lights are in Asia with China, Korea and Japan showing the low unemployment rates (need figures ). Even though many of the industrys products are made in Asia, but the markets over there seem to have the most potential to grow. Socio-Cultural The way we use phones is constantly changing. A young OECD publication goes into great detail about how people are using the internet and mention a study called the Global Internet Phenomena declare in Canada (OECD, 2012). Table 1 in the Appendices show that peoples demand for real time entertainment is growing rapidly over the last few years.In 2012 the video streaming service Netflix accounted for 32. 9%, nigh one third, of all downstream traffic in the United disk operating systems. This suggests that consumer cullences are moving towards high quality video streaming and audio features. population want more entertainment from their phone. There is an opportunity the industry to give away this and focus resources on achieving these demands. (OECD, 2012) There is surely a fear amongst those companies in the market that somebody is going to come along with a new product which yet again revolutionises what we define as a mobile phone.The good news for the market is that even though technology and demands are constantly improving and increasing we feel it is worth mentioning that a mobile phone is still an essential device for almost everybody. Nowadays people have a wide selection of devices with which to use the internet, blackberrys, iphones, pcs, macbooks, ipads and tablets. Everyone has their own front-runner device. Some people have switched from pc to mac. Some people prefer tablets. But everybody needs a phone and its capabilities seem to be consolidating all those of other devices.It can send e-mails, it can browse the web, it has Facebook and Twitter, it has live tv, it can be a music player etc. There is very little you can no longer do on a phone. From a social point of view there is nothing that could hazard the need for mobile phones Environment Environmental issues are becoming more prominent in the mobile phone industry in modern times. The WEEE Directive was introduced in the EU 2005 whereby any deplete electrical or electronic equipment can be returned to the retailer free of charge pro vided that you purchase an item similar to the returning item (Selin & VanDeveer, 2006).This means to help the surround, mobile phone companies are required, by law, to take unwanted mobile phones. It is estimated that two million phones will be replaced this year causing 2,000 tons of waste (Kavanagh Environmental), proving it is anthropogenic what has caused radiation issues. For several years now, many people have speculated about the dangers of radiation from do calls. The main worry is that this could be a cause of cancer. It is reported that the risk of gliomas (brain cancer) has increased by 40% since the conception of mobile phones (Kovach, 2011).Radiation from mobile phones may have serious consequences to humans as it is causing the population of bees to decline who are essential for crop growth preventing food shortages (Lean & Shawcross, 2007). Legal There is a lot of legislation associated with the mobile phone industry. Patents are currently a big advantage in the mobile phone industry. pic etymon The Atlantic, 2012. One can see that the common denominator is apple. They are the only company which own valuable patents with regards to design and obligate a strong market share in the market in which these phones are sold.According to the Atlantic (2012), Apple are making the lions share of in operation(p) profits plot of land Samsung and HTC are the chasing pack. Ownership of these patents is a competitive advantage. Issues gussy up again and again over patents, which is most notably seen in the Apple versus Samsung court case, which only came to a final decision in youthful weeks. According to the US Daily Mail, Samsung had to pay $1. 05 Billion to Apple for copy their iPhone in the manufacturing of the Samsung Galaxy range (Murphy, 2012).A law went into effect in San Francisco azoic last year which required that all retailers must display how overmuch radiation each phone emits (Kang, 2010). With just under 300 million Americans usin g mobile phones, this is something which has the potential to hit the industry very stern if any significant study shows a link between phone use and cancer (Kang, 2010). The EU has introduced new legislation in the last few years aimed at significantly reducing the cost of making international calls and roaming. It is now 68% cheaper to make a call while abroad than it was in 2006 and it is 81% cheaper to receive a call.The price of text edition messages has been reduced by 60% (Europa, 2012). References Economic Intelligence Unit (2012), gentlemans gentleman Politics Spreading the m-word, ABI/ INFORM Global. Available Online at http//search. proquest. com/abiglobal/docview/926036961/139DAC0C8916F0BFAF4/18? accountid=40346 Accessed tenth October 2012 Africa Good News (2012), Fast facts and quick stats about Africa AfricaGoodNews. com. Available Online at http//www. africagoodnews. com/africa/facts. html Accessed 16th October 2012 OECD (pg. 24, 2012) OECD Internet economy outlook Available at http//www. keepeek. om/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/science-and-technology/oecd-internet-economy-outlook-2012/expanding-connectivity-and-measuring-the-internet-economy_9789264086463-3-en Accessed 4th October 2012 Techwireasia. com (2012) An in depth ananlysis of Chinas mobile phone market Techwireasia Online Available at http//www. techwireasia. com/2733/an-in-depth-analysis-of-chinas-mobile-phone-market/ Accessed 12th October Carphone Warehouse (2012), Pay as you go smartphones, Carphonewarehouse. ie Online Available at http//www. carphonewarehouse. ie/category/Pay-As-You-Go-Smartphones/1_3 Accessed fifteenth October 2012Europa (2012) Travelling in Europe 2012-2013 Europa. eu Online Available at http//europa. eu/ transit/comm/index_en. htmphone Accessed 3rd October 2012 IMF (2012) Principal Global Indicators IMF. org Online Available at http//www. principalglobalindicators. org/default. aspx Accessed 4th October 2012 Trading Economics (2012), GDP growth rates, Availa ble at http//www. tradingeconomics. com/gdp-growth-rates-list-by-country Accessed 4th October 2012 The Economist (2012) After decades of slow growth, Africa has a real medical prognosis to follow in the footsteps of Asia The EconomistOnline Available at http//www. conomist. com/node/21541015 Accessed 18th October 2012 Atlantic. com. (2012, August). The State of play in the mobile industry in one venn diagram. Retrieved October 1, 2012, from The Atlantic http//www. theatlantic. com/technology/archive/2012/08/the-state-of-play-in-the-mobile-phone-industry-in-one-venn-diagram/261712/ Europa. (2012). Travelling in Europe 2012-2013. Retrieved October 16, 2012, from Europa http//europa. eu/travel/comm/index_en. htmphone Kang, C. (2010). Cell Phone Indusrty attacks San Franciscos ruling on radiation. The Washington patch Kavanagh Environmental. (n. d. ). Environmental Objectives.Retrieved October 2, 2102, from Kavanagh Environmental http//www. kavenv. ie/environment. html Kovach, S. (201 1, May 31). Cell Phones may Cause Cancer. Retrieved OCTOBER 1, 2012, from Business Insider http//www. businessinsider. com/cell-phones-cause-cancer-2011-5 Lean, G. , & Shawcross, H. (2007, April 15). Are Mobile Phones wiping out our Bees? Retrieved October 4, 2012, from The Independent http//www. independent. co. uk/environment/nature/are-mobile-phones-wiping-out-our-bees-444768. html Murphy, D. (2012, October). Samsung losing Apple Court Case. Retrieved October 16, 2012, from Mobile Marketing http//www. obilemarketingmagazine. com/ heart/samsung-loses-apple-court-case Selin, H. , & VanDeveer, S. D. (2006, December). ABI/INFORM Global. Retrieved October 1, 2012, from ProQuest http//search. proquest. com. ezproxy. wit. ie2048/abiglobal/docview/224017129/13 99337313516FFA994/1? accountid=40346 Appendices Table 1 store up Traffic Compisition, North America pic Source (OECD, 2012) Table 2 GDP in Asia 2012 Q2 pic Source (TradingEconomics. com) Table 3 GDP in Eastern Europe 2012 Q2 pic S ource (TradingEconomics. com) Table 4 GDP in Africa 2012 Q2 pic Source (Tradingeconomics. com)

Metaphysical Poetry

Metaphysical poets The metaphysical poets is a boundary coined by the poet and critic legerdemain Dryden to describe a loose throng of British lyric poets of the 17th century, whose work was characterized by the inventive utilisation of conceits, and by speculation about topics such as love or religion. These poets were not formally affiliated most of them did not even exist or read each other.Their course was characterized by genius and metaphysical conceitsfar-fetched or unusual similes or metaphors, such as in Andrew Marvells comparison of the soul with a drop of dew in an expanded quip format, with the use of simple verse forms, octosyllabic couplets, quatrains or stanzas in which length of line and rhyme scheme enforce the sense. The specific definition of wit which Johnson applied to the school was a kind of discordia concors a combination of unalike images, or discovery of occult resemblances in things appargonntly unlike. Their song diverged from the mien of their times, containing neither images of nature nor allusions to classical mythology, as were common. Several metaphysical poets, in particular John Donne, were influenced by Neo-Platonism. One of the primary Platonic concepts found in metaphysical rime is the idea that the perfection of beauty in the lamb acted as a remembrance of perfect beauty in the fadeless realm. Though secular topics such as scientific or geographical discoveries interested them, there was also a religious or casuistical element to some of their work, by which they attempted to define their relation channelise with God.John Donne (between 24 January and 19 June 1572 31 March 1631) was an position poet, satirist, lawyer and a divine in the Church of England. He is considered the pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are noted for their strong, sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, satires and sermons. His po etry is noted for its vibrancy of language and inventiveness of metaphor, especially compared to that of his contemporaries. Donnes style is characterised by abrupt openings and various paradoxes, ironies and dislocations.These features, along with his frequent dramatic or everyday speech rhythms, his tense syntax and his tough eloquence, were both a reaction against the smoothness of conventional Elizabethan poetry and an adaptation into English of European baroque and mannerist techniques. His early career was marked by poetry that bore immense association of British society and he met that knowledge with sharp criticism. Another important theme in Donnes poetry is the idea of true religion, something that he spent much time considering and theorising about.He wrote secular poems as well as erotic and love poems. He is peculiarly famous for his mastery of metaphysical conceits. A Burnt ShipOut of a laid-off ship, which by no wayBut drowning could be rescued from the flame,Some men leapd forth, and ever as they cameNear the foes ships, did by their shot decaySo all were lost, which in the ship were found,They in the sea being burnt, they in the burnt ship drownd. John Donne A Lame BeggarI am unable, yonder beggar cries,To stand, or course if he say true, he lies. John Donne

Impact of Wikileaks on the Global Political and Economic Landscape Essay

IntroductionWikiLeaks website has changed the affair of journalism in the fall in States and the media perspective with its flow in the schooling society. The website is a platform that servicings unmask all the corruption activities going on in the giving medication statuss. Of all the media platforms WikiLeaks is the most famous for the news show updates on semipolitical matters happening in the states and around the globe. Wilileaks has contributed to several(prenominal) media conflicts peculiarly mingled with the unify States and other nations and that is why the organization does not support its activities at all. In my essay, I am going to explore the various ship canal in which WikiLeaks has helped unmask several criminal and corruption activities going on in the country. Although some of its news are a bit conciliative to the security and dignity of the nation the platform has given light to the slew of the United States of America.Wikileaks is a non-profitable and non-commercial internet platform that was introduced in 2006 by Julia Assage. It relies on online donation for all its functioning and funding. Its main purpose is to upload documents that help put out the government and incorporated institutions to the public. These documents are uploaded anonymously by apply an online submission form. The importance of this platform is that it has the possible to make cognise the musical scale of brutality and violence especially in the military welfare.Political truth is a virtue that every U S politician should knead and with the help of Wikileaks they have no option but observe it. In other words, a journalist platform watchdog makes secrets transparent to all and especially those involving the public. Most media organization has tried to view root words desire WikiLeaks in several dimensions with most of them considering its concrete actions as one of the online activism and the impacts of its actions. It is authorised to ba sic note the relationship between the two groups, media and government. In most incidences the media eer seems to be conflicting with the government over issues regarding the people. Platforms uniform WikiLeaks are capacious menace to the state government especially in issues of corruption and legality (Shirky, 2011, p.41).Through their online activism, nameless and WikiLeaks groups have their power to unmask power structures like the corrupt police departments in the US, and all the Armison brutality activities. While WikiLeaks has gained fame as a whistle blowing site since its introduction in 2006, its reputation change magnitude when it expiryd the so-called Iraq and Afghanistan war document in 2010. This document contained crucial and important information active the events that took place and the people and nations responsible for the war. The United States government was not happy with the release of these documents as they posed vast riskiness of terror attacks by either Iraq or Afghanistan. These two countries are known for their fierce terrorism activities and interfering with them would be like provoking them.The release of these documents brought about a number of questions concerning the legal implication of journalism granting immunity with top government officials claiming that too much emancipation testament wind to misuse of information or misinterpretation of some crucial and erogenous information (Springer, 2014, p.411).Actions of WikiLeaks have affected the media platform in various concrete ship canal.The likes of Tambini and Lynch have tried to investigate the implication of WikiLeaks work and the measures to check the censorship of related sites especially in the UK and US. They argue that whistle blowing organizations should be awarded protection under the law on their ability to self-regulate and develop respectable principles to govern their freedom of publication and decisions they make on their work. The platform poses a great nemesis to the government and politicians and there are fears that if allowed to continue with its activities it will example a portion of harm to the U S government by exposing sensitive government secrets to the world. Other nations too feel that WikiLeaks should be restricted on some publications because some of the information it exposes might cause a lot of friction especially between nations.The advancement of WikiLeaks since its nerve up to the publication of the Iraq and Afghanistan document was marked by a period of media fascination, which made it gain a lot of fame compared to other media platforms. This posed a great threat to the media personalities who felt that WikiLeaks was gaining fame with each passing day reservation their work very difficult to appeal their audience. Its turnaround moment came in 2010 and continued to 2011 when the organization produced a lot of materials and documents regarding the Iraq war, the Collateral Murder telecastin g and the diplomatic cable.There have been several attempts by media organizations to play tear on the role of cites like WikiLeaks and deny them the freedom to post occult documents although these attempts have not succeeded because the platform is under the media authority which protects all its activities. It as well describes itself as a watchdog for the people we believe that it is not and the people of the United States who should keep their government honest but also people from other countries and that is why other countries are also argue Wikileaks activities. (Pozen, 2013, p.635).We can say that wikiLeaks has played a great role in ensuring that congress does not abuse the powers give to it and its members. He makes information about organizations that abuse powers minded(p) to them available to the public and so they are certified of what their leaders do this makes leaders very keen on what they do. Anonymous submission of analyzed documents about the various ac tivities going on in public offices and organizations are presented on the WikiLeaks website enabling millions of viewers to have acquaintance of what is happening behind the curtains of power. The difference between WikiLeaks and other sites like Wikipedia is that it engages broadly in the political struggles.The use of media has become a trend in the United States making the latter transparent and exposing those who try to abuse office powers granted to them. Today we live in a world where engineering science is the main aspect to shaping the lives of m each people. The internet is now cosmos used as an eye of power to tackle various aspects of crimes performed by leaders especially in third world countries (Coleman, 2014, p.406).Based on various aspects of tradition we can define power as the appetite over the means required to influence various processes and decisions in our chance(a) lives. this means that the power to control several issues like political influences and diffusion of resources can be distributed in a more systematic way. state is the only way to ensure there is equal distribution and exercise of both political and cultural powers. Organizations like WikiLeaks exist because we live in an era where political and cultural powers are not exercised fairly as expected. Any government that exercises its powers as expected should not have any worries about organizations set to scan their activities. They should instead be supporting such(prenominal) groups so that they can display their good work on these sites. The United States government eminently opposes such organizations like Wikileaks because they are afraid that their corruptive linens will be exposed to the public.Analysis shows that the most important instalment of WikiLeaks is to make the Obama government practice transparency in their works and offices, bear witness a more transparent, and open government. The platform defines itself as a gratis(p) project that protects t he rights of the United States people especially freedom of speech because it strengthens republic by exposing government corruption. He places his emphasis on documenting government and corporate irresponsibility and abuse of powers. This shows the oecumenical public that the corrupt government is the main problem in the worlds economy and is pulling phylogenesis behind. Instead of improving the livelihood of their nations politicians are busy engaging themselves embezzling monetary resource and resources meant to improve the development of their citizens.There has been an emerging body geared at seeking a framework to examine the works of WikiLeaks and its impact on the current situation in the U S. The widespread use of technology has made his work a success in various ways and has brought a great impact to the worlds economy. Following the publication of the Iraq documents the United States government heavily criticized WikiLeaks work. The government claimed that these docum ents were a great threat to the security of their country and could put the citizens at a very high risk of terror attacks by the Afghanistan government (Springer, 2014, p.411).The truth about the WikiLeaks documents is that they got the potential and ability to make visible the amount of brutality and violence especially in military horror conflicts during their activities because some use a lot of brutality on their subjects. The site is political based since most of its news come from the political arena, although many view it as a threat to ruling groups and they see it as an enemy. Instead criticizing such cites we should base our efforts in monitoring the governance offered by our political leaders. We should ask ourselves are our political leaders meeting all our demands and expectations. Do they take advantage of the powers granted to them to abuse office? In situation, we should ensure that we capture every natural action they undertake so that we can be sure of what they do with our money. They should be aware that the public is watching their every move and be apprised of their actions.There has been a problem with scientists arguing that the journalism powers and freedom granted to these sites are too much and they are using them inappropriately to stimulate biased information. Most leaders are unable to verify the facts utter in the articles because they do not have a strong background. This makes the general public doubt their potential and innocence in the accused incidents. most of these articles have very confidential information about the government and exposing them is like displaying the secrets of a state. The scientist claims that there should be a certain limit to the freedom of publication of such documents to the internet because they may cause a great damage in future (Gibson 2013, p. 314).In my study, I have explored several things and have learnt that journalism benefits from a disclosure of the framework in which it is built. A journalism model is bound to at present or in directly affects the model in which leaking of important documents will be exposed to the public. In my opinion, WikiLeaks models are the most effective journalism models since they abide to the entire ethic. objective life cases are always the best examples to handle and solve situations and that is why it is advisable in some situations to leave behind the easy scenarios to accomplish the best outcome to fit in the world.Most critiques of Wikileaks have released their arouse by claiming that exposing secret documents will pose great danger to Americans. For instance, if you expose concrete information about a certain terror group the group is bound to take revenge on you by conducting a terror attack on you. Some of the publishers do not look at the possibilities of posing danger to the people but stick to the fact that the public has the right to know what is happening around them regardless of the vividness of the matter. It is therefore advisable that these journalists are cautious of what they publish to the public to repress any conflicts. I believe that journalists have the right to publish what they sine qua non and help the public know about their government on the ground that they abide by the rules put in place to govern their publications.ReferencesCurran, G, & Gibson, M 2013, WikiLeaks, Anarchism and Technologies of Dissent,Antipode, 45, 2, pp. 294-314, academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 28 November 2014.Springer, S, Chi, H, Crampton, J, McConnell, F, Cupples, J, Glynn, K, Warf, B, & Attewell, W 2012, Leaky Geopolitics The Ruptures and Transgressions of WikiLeaks,Geopolitics, 17, 3, pp. 681-711, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 28 November 2014.Youngblood Coleman, D 2014, United States 2014 Country Review,United States Country Review, pp. 1-981, barter Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 28 November 2014.Coleman, DY 2014, Afghanistan,Afghanistan Country Review, p p. 2-406, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 28 November 2014.Pozen, DE 2013, The Leaky Leviathan Why The Government Condemns And Condones Unlawful Disclosures Of randomness,Harvard Law Review, 127, 2, pp. 512-635, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 28 November 2014.Shirky, C 2011, The Political force out of Social Media,Foreign Affairs, 90, 1, pp. 28-41, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 28 November 2014.

Company overview

British petroleum (BP) is one of the mammothst muscularity companies dealing in fuel for transportation, heftiness for heat and light, retail work and petroleum products. The fel gloomyships international headquarters is in London. The confederation has operations in to a greater extent than 100 countries and employs over 96,000 people. The political party has products beneath the BP, Castrol, Arco, am/pm, and Wild Bean Cafe brand (BPplc, ab emerge(predicate) Bp, 2009). The union operates under two major business segments exploration and production, refining and selling and BP preference muscularity.The corporation basic entirelyy finds, extract, move oil and gas. The actroupe similarly makes fuels and products, sells fuels and products as vigorous as generating low carbon nothing in a responsible way. The conjunction operates in six continents South America, jointure America, Europe, Australasia, Asia and Africa (Vault. com, 2009). BP is also well known for its innovative technology which tendencys at providing energy to meet the customers demand by means of efficient products. Investing in low carbon energy is also another option that the caller-out is exploring (BPplc, About Bp, 2009). Strategic analyzeThe strategic back toothvas of a corporation is an eight clapperclaw transition that generally encompasses a holistic analysis of the familiarity. The basic aim in strategic audit is to establish the flow rate position which leave behind help the familiarity chart the way forward. A strategic audit helps the caller-out to formulate strategies and select the outflank strategic alternative(s) for executing. The first footfall is the analysis of the current situation. This involves the audit of the current murder and strategic locating. legitimate carrying out is evaluated in terms of profit force, market sh are, and return on investment.Strategic posture looks at the mission, objectives, strategies and policies (BPplc, 20 09 Strategy presentation, 2009). The second step is a look at the corporate governance. This authority analysis of the board of directors and top management in terms of their structure, names and contribution to the company S send wordning the extraneous environment for opportunities and threats is the next step of a strategic audit. Under this stage, the company looks at the societal environment, task environment and finally listing all the supra factors.The next step is the analysis of the internal environment i. e. strengths and weaknesses. Here, the corporate structure, culture, resources (marketing, finance, research and development, operations and logistics, human resource management and information systems) is looked into. A synopsis of these factors is then prepared (BPplc, 2009 Strategy presentation, 2009). After aspect at the external and internal environments, the company then analyses its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT).These are then linked to the companys mission and objectives to establish any relevance. The next step of the strategic audit is the analysis of the strategic alternatives in entrap to select the best strategy (ies) to be recommended. The recommendation should be justified by looking for at the potential, changes and impacts of the strategy. After making the recommendations, the next step is the implementation of the proposed strategy (ies). The implementation will include assigning duties on who is to develop these strategies. The fiscal aspect and operating(a) procedures should be analyzed.The last step of the strategic audit is the evaluation and command. Evaluation and control involves a look at the current information system i. e. whether it can provide sufficient feedback and whether there are enough controls (BPplc, 2009 Strategy presentation, 2009). Strategic Alternatives In formulating the best strategic alternatives, the company has to consider the economic, socio-cultural, political-legal, technological and financial strengths and challenges facing the company. Economic environment This involves looking at the economic environment.The company operates in an industry that has other large companies e. g. Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Total and other smaller companies. All these companies return the resources and technical ability to compete at the same level as BP Plc. This is why the company has foc employ on cost reducing by dint of rates like provide reduction and efficient production. The company has also focused on alternative energy e. g. solar and wind. This is as a result of the challenging operating environment where there has been a obtaining shift to green energy that has minimal pollution.In an industry faced with procession production costs, the company has been on track by focusing on means and ways of decrease their costs. The focus has been on lessen the do of staff and reducing the number of senior positions in the company by 20%. This strategy has borne proceeds with the flattening of the cost curve of the company while those of the competitors keep on rising. The companys focus on unsanded technologies has resulted into improved production capacity. In fact the overall production geld for all the major companies has been declining. BP Plc.has defied this trend by increasing its production in the year 2007-2008. The technology used by the company includes Advanced Gas Injection and Water floodlight technologies that have en sufficientd the company to push the limits of the reservoirs. The drop in oil prices means declining revenues. In order to increase revenues, the company has focused on reducing the performance gap by restoring revenues in areas like Toledo, improving bring optimization in petrochemical and marketing. The company area of focus for petrochemicals is Asia where there is rising demand. The company has also established value arrange for its fuel production.Value chains are those activities that crea te value from the publish to the final delivery to the consumer. This has been achieved through integrated supply and trading which has lead to much revenues. In a bid to increase its oil militia, the company has also partnered with TNK of Russia. The compact has resulted in 30% increase in production. Socio-cultural The company has tried to endear itself to the connection in which it operates. BP achieves this through training and employing topical anaesthetic staff at all levels. The aim here is to be a local company by creating partnerships with the local connection.BP strategic aim is to reduce the levels of resistance to its operations by avoiding cultural conflicts as well as social effects. The company has entered into partnerships with the local community in terms of education, encouraging enterprise, fostering good governance, partnership in public health, access to energy, giving and volunteering, safeguarding human rights, as well as development through community c ase studies. All these activities are targeted at enhancing and fostering the relationship between the company and all the community in which it operates thus reducing conflicts between the community and the company.Political-legal Some of the challenges that the company could face are the political/ legal. This is because the company has operations in galore(postnominal) countries that whitethorn be subject to political instability. To mitigate this, the company has make partnerships with local companies and thus reduces resistance towards the company whence the company is able to increase its operations and revenues. Rigid legal regimes concerning the operations of foreign companies may negatively impact the operations of the company. The company has reduced this by good-natured in partnerships with local companies.Taxation and licensing may vary from country to country. This may have negative impacts on the companys operations. Exploration and production rights may not be gr anted to the company. BP has overcome this challenge by partnering with the governments of respective(prenominal) countries through agreements. Technological In a bid to improve its operations and increase productivity, the company has adopted innovative technologies. Some of these technologies include the promising water which uses new inter-well polymer treatment which ultimately improves water flood Recovery.The ships company has focused on technology to come up with innovative approaches that can increase production as well as solve energy challenges Financial information BP plc has been able to grow its net income by 39% to $26. 2 jillion which is the highest growth rate registered by major energy companies. Cash flow from operations also grew 54% to $ 38. 1 billion on a year on year percentage basis. The company was also the only super major to register growth in reported volumes in new reserves. The company registered a growth of 1% on year on year percentage basis. Apart from operations, the company utilizes debt to finance its activities.The debt is at the rate of 20-30%. All these financial data indicates that the company is focused on growth by efficiently using its hard cash resources to generate more sales and improve on the shareholders wealth by engaging in share buy backs. Recommended strategy Based on the analysis of all the above factors, some of the available strategies are damage reduction strategies Alternative energy by diversification Focus on growing markets growth Creating value on existing products Partnership to grow Technology leadership Continuous improvement These strategies can be in general classified into two directional i.e. growth and retrenchment strategies. The company can utilize the growth strategies in its upstream segment (exploration and production) and retrenchment strategies on its down stream business (refining, convenience, refining) (Wheelen, 2006) Implementation of the strategy Strategy implementatio n involves all the activities and choices that are required for the execution of a strategy. The implementation process basically deciding who is to carry out the end what must be done and how are the selected people selected to carry out the strategic plan going to do it (Wheelen, 2006).These strategies are normally executed by several(a) heads of business segments subordinated by other employees within the business segments. This has been done through budget allocations, programs that indicate the age frame in which the various strategies admit to be implemented and the use of procedures e. g. the Operating Management System that covers employee capabilities to insecurity assessment. Some of the programs used by the company are those of closing the performance gap which runs from 2008 to 2011, and the reduction of the number of employees in refining and marketing from mid(prenominal) 2007 to the end of 2009 by 3,500.After deciding on who and what must be done, the company mus t decide on how the strategy is going to be implemented. How a strategy is to be implemented might involve developing new organizational structure. For BP plc, to implement some of its strategies, the company has decided to eliminate certain(a) senior and junior positions. Evaluation and control This is the process by which a company can monitor its corporate activities and performance results in order to compare the echt performance with the desired performance. Evaluation and control provides a feedback mechanism where corrective measures can be taken where necessary (Wheelen, 2006)Evaluation and control can be summarized into the following 5 steps Determine what to measure Establish standards of performance Measure actual performance Compare actual performance with the standards Take corrective action The company has set out plans to reduce costs and improve on efficiency on its operations. The company wants to grow its upstream business (exploration and production) while at the same duration turning around its downstream business. Upstream business growth is metrical by growth in reserves, increased replacement percentage, and getting more out of reservoirs.Downstream business is to be improved through cost reduction by restructuring the companys operations e. g. by downsizing and recapitalizations change bottom-line, high reserve replacement percentages, efficient operations, growth in reserves are some of the standards of performance that the company uses to gauge performance. Actual performance is measured at specified times e. g. for BP plc, restoring revenues from refining performance, improved supply optimization and margin capture in petrochemical and marketing has a time frame of 2008-2011The comparison of actual performance against standard performance has to be done in order to establish the current position for mannikin in 2008 the production grew 1. 5% while the replacement reserve was 136% which was more than the minimum 100% replac ement. If the actual performance does not match the pass judgment results, then corrective action needs to be taken. An example is the takings of capacities in Texas City so as to boost refining and consequently revenues. References BPplc. (2009, March 3rd). 2009 Strategy presentation. Retrieved April 15th, 2009, from Bp. com http//www. bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/STAGING/global_assets/downloads/I/IC_bp_strategy_presentation_march_2009_script. pdf BPplc. (2009, March 3rd). About Bp. Retrieved April 15th, 2009, from Bp. com http//www. bp. com/marketingsection. do? categoryId=2&contentId=7013628 Vault. com. (2009, April 14th). Indusrty Overview. Oil and Gas. Retrieved April 15th, 2009, from Vault. com http//www. vault. com/nr/main_article_detail. jsp? article_id=22843159&cat_id=0&ht_type=7. Wheelen, J. D. (2006). Essentials of Strategic Mnagement. New Jersey scholar Hall. (BPplc, 2009 Strategy presentation, 2009)