Wal-Mart Company Strategy :: Wal Mart Walmart Business Papers Analysis

This essay will examine Wal-Mart's company strategy in several sections. Three elements of successful strategy formulation and a fourth element, which exemplifies the implementation process of company strategy, will be looked at. Followed by this, an analysis of key factors contributing to this strategy will be detailed. These include looking at Wal-Mart's competitive strategy, the CEO's leadership, and company strategy strengths and weakness assessment. The material used to analyze Wal-Mart strategy consists of the company's annual reports, its Fact Sheets and other information found on the company Internet site. Other information is obtained from outside sources such as Fortune Magazine, and from outside groups who are critical of the corporation. The focus of this analysis will be placed on identifying the resources of the firm, its weaknesses and strengths in terms of its competitive environment. The sections examined will highlight the leadership style of Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott, who inherited the corporate legacy of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. Other elements such as the culture, the corporate organization and values of the company come to play. 1. Strategic Goals This section looks at three successful elements of strategy formulation and a fourth element, where the strategy is implemented successfully. These are as follows: †¢ Dominate the Retail Market wherever Wal-Mart has a presence. †¢ Growth by expansion in the US and Internationally. †¢ Create widespread name recognition and customer satisfaction with the Wal-Mart brand, and associate the retailer with the reputation of offering the best prices. †¢ Branching out into new sectors of retailing such as pharmacies, automotive repair, and grocery sales. a. Dominate the Retail Market Everywhere A key strategy of Wal-Mart is to dominate the retail market. Company founder Sam Walton put in place a retail philosophy the company still follows. Wal-Mart is primarily a discount retailer because they sell their products at the lowest possible prices. By selling at the "lowest price." Walton outlines that the essence of successful discount retailing to cut the price on an item as much as possible, lowering the markup, and earn profit on the increased volume of sales. (Wal-Mart pricing philosophy document, www.walmart.com). Another subset of this strategy is the competitiveness of every unit. Each store is encouraged to ferociously compete against all other stores in its customer base until the Wal-Mart store gains dominance over its local competitors (Quinn, 2, 115). Wal-Mart is currently ranked as the world's number one retailer and the number one company in the world in terms of sales (over $200 billion) on the Fortune 500 list (www.

Weight Loss Through Hypnosis :: Dieting Health Papers

Weight Loss Through Hypnosis Why weight loss through hypnosis? The escalation of obesity rates in this country has sparked a flurry of activity amongst both serious researchers and charlatans to discover the perfect weight loss method. Hypnosis represents one of the more appealing methods dangled before the eyes of those who are hungry for a seemingly easy solution to a complex problem. Unfortunately, hypnosis suffers from frequent misrepresentation by those with a penchant for profits who capitalize on the widespread ignorance regarding its mechanisms of action. A careful review of the scientific literatures exposes many of the claims about weight loss through hypnosis on the intemet as overly optimistic at best and openly fraudulent at worst. Who Wants To Sell You Hypnosis and Why? The material available on the world wide web about hypnosis as a weight loss method is distributed by people trying to sell videotapes, audiotapes, books, or seminars. Dr. Mchael Beaulieu, for example, asserts that his one hour hypnotherapy cassette which costs a mere $19.95 will "quickly erase old habits and establish new ones--INSTANTLY! (http://web.idirect.conVO/o7EIosefat/). The reader should automatically doubt this overzealous exclamation because intuitively one knows that weight loss cannot be instantaneous. Dr. Beaulieu talks about his appearance on the Sally Jesse Raphael show as if this credit somehow substantiates his claims. Similarly, the Clauser Hypnosis Clinic provides testimonials as evidence for weight loss, as much as 122 pounds after only one session (http://magic.mistic.net/hypnosis/). Although many of these apparent quacks claim to have worked at prestigious universities, the consumer must acknowledge that this fact cannot be easily verified and even if true does not guarantee credibility. A business known as Mind Works states that "you can think yourself thin" with hypnosis for $25.00 per session" (http://essexct.com/Mndworks/). Mind Works like other advertisers neglects to explain the process by which hypnosis will occur. Lisa Barnett gives a list of her credentials as a researcher in neurolinguistic progranuning and hypnosis who can reduce weight through her $39.95 hypnosis audiotape (http://www.dbcity.com/weightioss/). The old adage let the buyer beware rings true for claims being made that single sessions of hypnosis can bring about weight loss with no effort on the client's part. Hypnosis--The Natural Cure? Many of the advertisers on the intemet want you to believe that because hypnosis is natural, it cannot harm you and is a superior method of weight loss. Dr. Mike highlights the natural side of hypnosis since it does not involve drugs and Guarantees his clients will lose weight (http,://www.

Primary Essay

â€Å"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation†. This is the first line of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech. Martian Luther King’s speech took place after the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. He delivered the speech on the Lincoln Memorial steps. He voiced this speech to millions of people both blacks and whites. This speech is one of the greatest speeches of the civil rights movement, because it has many rhetorical tropes such as; repetition, assonance and consonance, pathos, logos, metaphors and ethos. Martin Luther King Jr. uses a lot of repetition in his â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech. They are scattered throughout the speech but in very close proximities of each other. One of the repetitions in his â€Å"I Have a dream†. Not only is this the name of the speech of the speech but in today’s world it has become a commo n phrase used in everyday life as people announce their dream to either themselves or loved ones. The phrase is even used by children who dare to dream big. Martian Luther King Jr. uses this phase to show what he sees in the future of America. One of the phrases he uses with it is: â€Å"I have dream the one day this nation will and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.† Another is â€Å"I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their nature. I have a dream today.† That part of the speech was very personal and touching. Using his own children as an example helped to touch people where the heart is. Repeating â€Å"I Have a Dream† helped people to start thinking about their own personal dreams that they might have had also. Two other repetitions Martin Luther King Jr. uses is â€Å"Let freedom ring† and â€Å"Free at last†, but I will be using those phrases in another part of this analyzed paper. In Martin Luther King Jr. speech he also uses many assonances and consonances. These are the most occurring and mostly found toward the end of his speech. One of them is â€Å"Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!† This was the last word of the speech. He used this phrase to show all the listeners that African Americans have come so far and fought so hard  to get where we are today. Even though today there are many forms of slavery today, but it is nowhere near as bad as it was when slavery first started. That phrase was a very strong and powerful closing. It more than likely gave African Americas to strength and mind set to believe that the world is not what it used to be. It gave African Americans the mind set to move forward in life and stop dreading on the past. Martin Luther King Jr was trying to get us to open our mind set to see a greater tomorrow. Others are â€Å"molehill of Mississippi†, â€Å"Lookout Mountain†, â€Å"curvaceous peaks of California†, and â€Å"Rockies of Colorado†. They all have a poetic feeling to them. Martin Luther King Jr. uses pathos in his speech as well as many other things. He uses pathos to appeal to all the people who were truly listening to his speech’s emotions. One of the things he says to appeal to their emotions are, â€Å"When will we be satisfied? We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of cities. Martin Luther King Jr. is basically saying that it is time for African American to stop moving and letting the white people take what is ours. Martin Luther King Jr. once again wants us to open our minds and see the foolery that the white people have dragged us through. Martin Luther King Jr. also says, â€Å"I have a dream that my four children will on day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character†. As I stated earlier while speaking on the repetition of â€Å"I have a dream†, that phrased grabbed attention to all those people in the audience who had children and also wished the same things for them. No parent want their child to suffer the way they did. Most parents pray to God that there children have a life that is tenfold of their own. Logos means reason. Martin Luther King Jr. uses logos to show why he is delivering this speech and why he wants things to change. He is delivering this speech to show how many blacks and other races, that weren’t being treated equally, really did not have freedom like they should. â€Å"It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro†. â€Å"Instead of honoring the sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’†. These quotes are just a couple of the logos quotes Martin Luther King Jr said in his speech. Metaphors, which is another useful rhetorical trope, are essential to help audiences fully understand an idea as it compares an idea with something the audience is familiar with, which is important to bring out modes such as ethos and pathos. King uses a series of more complicated metaphors in the middle of his essay. He claims that by the Constitution and Declaration of Independence,† the forefathers of America were â€Å"signing a promissory note† that all men, whatever color, would be granted the same rights. However, King then says in the view of the Negroes, the US government have given the Negroes a â€Å"bad check,† a bad check that does not promise them the same results that have been given to the white population. Later on. King says that many equal rights activists have been â€Å"battered by the storms of persecution† and the â€Å"winds of police brutality.† Through this metaphor. King paints the upholders of the Jim Crow laws, the laws suppressing blacks, in a bad light. These two metaphors both relate to ethos as the first metaphor invokes the ethic of keeping your promises while the second metaphor involves torture, something which most of the American population was against. Finally, King uses several last metaphors when he writes that with faith, it is possible to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a â€Å"beautiful symphony of brotherhood.† This metaphor, on the other hand, is related to pathos as the audience immediately feels good due to the king’s choice of words. All of these metaphors are aimed to make the audience realize that continued racial in justice will lead to total chaos while racial equality leads to a beautiful society. Overall, the metaphors King uses are effective to support the ethos and pathos as they make the audience realize that the U.S. has cheated the Negros, that those who uphold the Jim Crow laws are evil and that it is possible to transform the U.S. society. In conclusion, Martin Luther King, Jr’s most famous speech was the I Have a Dream† speech given in 1963 during one of the most famous marches in history, the 200,000-strong â€Å"March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom.† At the time, America was in the grips of racism and segregation, making the lives of many blacks living hell. â€Å"I Have a Dream,† however, played a major step into changing it. It managed to inspire a generation of blacks to never give up and made thousands of white Americans bitterly ashamed of their actions, forging a new start for society. Even now, it continues to make generations of people, not just Americans, to give up their racist beliefs and advocate social  colorblindness. W ithout King, America would be probably still heavily segregated. Other than the speech’s heartwarming and moving content, King’s effective structure along with the usage of all three rhetorical modes and certain rhetorical tropes and schemes has revealed the reason â€Å"I Have a Dream† as a masterpiece of rhetoric and it persuades hundreds of thousands of people support the blacks instead of treating them unfairly. Works Cited â€Å"The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.† The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. â€Å"Rhetorical Analysis of the â€Å"I Have a Dream† Speech.† Teen Ink. Web. 13 Feb. 2014 â€Å"Free Martin Luther King I Have a Dream Essays and Papers | Martin Luther King I Have a Dream Essays and Papers | Sorted by Rating. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. Laconi, Ally. â€Å"How to Write a Primary Source Analysis | EHow.† EHow. Demand Media, 16 May 2010. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

Nosrdstrom Case Study Essay

1. The regional Manager of Human resources suggests that you start using a personality assessment too, such as the MBTI, in hiring new employees or your store. What are the benefits of this approach and what are the drawbacks. Now a days good service have become the most important value that a company no matter the industry need to have, therefore the need of employees who really enact it in their daily work is really important and it is in this value where personality plays and enormous part; personality is that thing that define who you are and how you understand the world, they way you act in an specific situation will completely depend on your personality which is constantly shaping depending on the experiences you have during your life time. Being this said an assessment tool, as an MBTI will help you foresee how a person would perform in a specific job with some specific needs and functions regardless of their studies. Note that sometimes this approach might mislead into assumptions of someone’s personality because of how it is perceived, the way we avoid the common errors of perception as first impression error, selective perception, stereotypes among others will succeed or disorientate the approach and will end up with no correct personality description which will mislead you into wrong conclusions. 2. Can a friendly, customer-oriented attitude be developed in person? Can Nordstrom â€Å"train† employees to prioritize making customer happy, or it is purely a matter of personality? Yes it can be developed in a person, but it would depend on its personality how this skill will shine and if this value will be enacted. Something like service, which is customer-oriented attitude, will depend on how this person  understand the world, how he communicate and what are his preferences. Being this said, it is not something that depends whether on the training or in the personality, there has to be a smooth connection between both. Nordstrom for example does an incredible work by hiring people which personality allows them to perform great on their customer-oriented service, a skill they train into each of their employees and due to their personality it is easily adapted and enacted since it is felt natural. 3. Describe the ideal Nordstrom salesperson in terms of the personality traits that are involved in core self-evaluation (CSE). Warmhearted, conscientious, and cooperative. Wants harmony in the environment, works with determination to establish it. Likes to work with others to complete tasks accurately and on time. Loyal , follows through even in small matters. Notices what others need in their day-to-day lives and tries to provide it. Wants to be appreciated for who he or she is and for his or her contribution.

Corruption in Electricity Sector

INTRODUCTION Corruption is a topic of interest and concern in academic circles, in the media, among people of different professions, within the civil service, among members of parliament, politicians, government officials, members of the business and financial communities, students, foreign investors, aid agencies and non-governmental organizations. In other words, the term corruption is not new to Bangladesh. A general impression conveyed by the media and by popular discourse is that among ordinary people in Bangladesh; corruption is viewed quite clearly as ‘a way of life'.A recent survey carried out by the Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad reinforces that impression: the survey found, among other significant data, that 95 per cent of respondents believed that the police were the most corrupt department in the land, followed very closely by the customs, the department of excise and taxation, the bureaucracy, and the judiciary. A solid 62 per cent of respondents believed that the pri mary responsibility for corruption in Bangladesh lay in the hands of government officials. Corruption is not identifiable as a single, separate, independent entity which can be isolated and destroyed.Corruption is a complex set of processes involving human behavior and many other variables, some of which are difficult to recognize or measure. Even though corruption manifests itself as a force on its own and often generates its own momentum, it is linked to many other factors, and it is by understanding these factors that we can hope to understand corruption. What is corruption? There are several meanings of the word corruption but when we use the term, we usually refer to a specific kind of exchange, activity or behavior.For instance, corruption could mean a process of physical decay or degeneration; the loss of innocence; a state of moral impurity or moral deterioration; perversion in taste or language; and also the wrongful, negligent or willfully corrupt act of a public official in the discharge of his or her public duties. Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It hurts everyone whose life, livelihood or happiness depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority. Corruption (philosophical concept), often refers to spiritual or moral impurity, or deviation from an ideal.Corruption is not just an economic exchange, generated by a monetary or ‘economic' motive. Neither is corruption an exclusively political activity, motivated by a desire to attain or retain political power. The process of corruption is more than economic or political – it is a social process as well, existing side-by-side with, and sometimes complementing economic and political activity. Historical Background: Power is the key source of productivity and an effective breakthrough to the modernization of the world society.Electricity was first installed at Dhaka in 1901, and in 1948, the Electricity Directorate was established in East Pakistan. D uring that period, the highest plant size was only 10 mw Steam Turbine in Siddhirganj along with other plants in Chittagong and Khulna. Box 1: Historical Background of The Power Sector 1901: Electricity was first installed at Ahsan Manjil, Dhaka City (Generation: 21 MW by Public; Distribution: 17 towns by private companies) 1948: Electricity Directorate (ED) 1959: Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) 1960: EPWAPDA statuary org. 972: Bangladesh Water Development Board and Bangladesh Power Development Board 1978: Rural Electrification Board 1991: Dhaka Electricity Supply Authority 1996: Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh and Dhaka Electricity Supply Company 2002: Ashuganj Power Supply Company Ltd. 2003: West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd. 2005: North West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd Source: http://www. bpdb. gov. bd The construction of the Kaptai hydro-electric project with an installed capacity of 40 MW and commissioning of Dhaka-Chittagong 32 KV tran smission line in 1962, was a milestone in the history of power development in this country. Each year the demand is increasing at the rate of 10 – 12 percent or 800-1000 mw and the government is also commitment to meet the MDG (Millennium Development Goal) regarding the access to electricity for all by 2020, the country’s power generation has to be increased by at least 8 per cent each year. Besides, to ensure energy security, there should be an arrangement of 16–22 percent power to be reserved in both of public and private sectors through quality investment†3.Since only 12 percent of the households in the lowest 20 percent of the income distribution have access to power, the need for better access to affordable and reliable electricity to the majority of the people of Bangladesh by 2020. However, the yearly growth of the generation verses the demand for new connections provides the reverse scenario. Therefore, the determination of consumer tariffs and the reliability of power are important issues in terms of the policy formulation, as energy prices should be based on production costs and efficiency, and subsidies should be given on the basis of social and economic need.Overview of the Power Sector in Bangladesh: The Government of Bangladesh is committed to provide affordable and reliable electricity to all citizens by 2020. However, the nation’s 1386 million people, only 42 percent7 have access to electricity, which was only 3 percent in 1971; but per capita electricity consumption is 165 kwh/unit, still one of the lowest in the world, against India’s 561 kwh per. Unfortunately, 79 percent of the connected suffer severe load-shedding, and 60 percent of the consumers face low voltage supply. The power sector of Bangladesh is usually characterized by natural monopolies10.Conventional wisdom states that since natural monopolies threaten competitive pressures, they should be regulated either by the government, through inde pendent regulatory agencies or directly by public enterprises. Table 1: Key Statistics of the Power Sector SectorPublicIPP+Captive Installed Capacity5275 mw2490 mw* De-rated Generation Capacity4582 mw Generation (Effective)Demand* Maximum Generation (sep’ 07)4130 mw5368 mw Minimum (Jan’ 07)2331 mw Transmission Lines (230 and 132 KV in km)4119 Distribution Lines in Km2,64,891 Access of electricity (%)42Per capita generation 165 kwh Per capita consumption 140 kwh Consumer Number including WZPDCL97. 33 lac Agricultural Consumers2. 16 lac System Loss (Average Percentile) 21. 3 Source: Power Cell, February 25, 2007 * 1290 mw generation in IPP and 1200* captive power consumption Moreover, allowing another firm would increase cost or inefficiency. The Power sector includes the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity among different holdings including residential, commercial, industrial and service sectors under the guidance of the Power Division of MPEMR.At p resent, BPDB has total installed capacity of generating 4680 MW in 65 units, including the public and private sectors. The Independent Power Producers (IPP) is now producing 1290 mw in 37 units of power plants located at different parts of the country11. In this situation, the GoB drafted an energy policy accounting the increased scope of gas exploration and power generation to meet the future demand for both renewable and nonrenewable energy. Currently, 80 percent of power is non-renewable indigenous gas-based, and 70 percent of the commercial energy is recovered by gas12; the rest 20 percent is from power and 10 percent from coal.Due to poor generation, the maximum demand served was the lowest of 3000 mw at peak hours in January, 2007. Though there was no significant increase in power generation, the transmission network was expanded rapidly by the funding from ADB. However, due to the intervention of vested interest groups, poor co-ordination, the absence of accountability and tr ansparency is perverse. Power shortage hampers the contribution of power to GDP growth and creates huge excesses/unbearable demand.Under these critical circumstances there is an immediate need to identify or diagnose the major reasons for the unavailability of power as well as the low level performance of the power sector. Corruption is one of the major threats to global development, especially in developing countries; for instance, â€Å"corruption is jacking up the cost of power projects in the Philippines, delaying their implementation and providing Filipino households and businesses with expensive but unreliable electricity services†.According to the Household Survey on Corruption in 2005, â€Å"around 10 percent of the consumers are using illegal connections and around 48 percent paid bribes for taking a new connection or meter†. This corrupt practice was first identified in 1956. According to Husainy, â€Å"Dacca Electricity Supply Co. was also nationalized in 1 956 due to virulent corruption in new connection due to excess demand, maintaining uninterrupted power supply; though some improvement was observed but not significant at all during that period. †In terms of distribution of electricity, non-technical loss and pilferage of electricity make the sector more vulnerable and the bribery and harassment of the staff faced by 70 percent of the consumers18 are few of the examples of the mismanagement of this sector. Under the above circumstances, it is necessary to identify the prospect and governance in the power sector. This study tries to find the source of corruption in several issues of procurement, generation, transmission, distribution and human resource management, including the effectiveness of the existing act to combat the corruption and abuse of power.Purpose of the study: Broad Objective: The broader objective is to review the governance system of the power sector and to identify the nature of corruption likely to be presen t in the different division of the power sector. Specific Study: ?To diagnose governance failure and demand-supply shortfalls ? To identify whether any governance failure exists, regarding human resource, administration, finance etc. ?To identify the rate of corruption are occurred in this sector. To identify the actual lose has been occurred in this sector and so forth. ?To identify the sufferings and harassment faced by the consumers, especially by the poor in the commercial services including new connections, day-to-day services, billings load shedding. Methodology: Data Collection Process for Secondary Materials: Literature, articles, periodicals, reports, acts and rules, also electronic journals, documents of power sector, case studies on power generation and distribution have been reviewed. Collection of Primary Information:The primary sources of qualitative data are informal discussions with stakeholders, employees and experts of the power sector and documents on the procurem ent and distribution sides to assess whether any mismanagement or illegal practices such as abuse of power and/or funds and resources took place. Rapport building played an important role in the extraction of the qualitative data. Key informants were sector experts, policy makers, academicians who provided specific case studies and recommendations to improve the governance of the power sector, including procurement, BERC, generation, distribution and legal practice.Consumer Survey on the Quality of Commercial Service and Billing: A cross section survey among all types of consumers was administered during 5 May to 5 June of 2006 to find out the quality of services provided by different organization including DESA and DESCO. The instrument of the survey, i. e. the questionnaire, was developed by the researcher and then validated through field tests. The questionnaire on consumer survey covers the nature and extent of the corruption and harassment faced by the consumers. Questionnaire for Consumer Survey:The components of the questionnaire were six: i) the basic profile of the consumers with the information on the socio-economic profiles of the consumers/adult respondents, consumption pattern of electricity, ii) the types of connection, the new connection process, problems and harassment faced by consumers, the amount of bribe transacted during the connection process; iii)the quality of electricity service in terms of meter reading and billing process, illegal practices such as collusion with meter readers, fake billing, and other day-to-day service-related problems; iv) load extension, load shedding and voltage variation, losses of equipment due to voltage fluctuation; v) and finally, the consumers’ satisfaction regarding the different commercial services has also been illustrated through this measuring scale. Sampling Technique: A multi-stage stratified sampling technique has been followed to determine the sampling of the consumers for the survey  œ Stage 1: Consumption pattern of DESA DESCO, to put the proportionate weight in determination of the number of the sample for each agency. Then, the proportion of consumers across the distributors is considered in stage 2.Stage 2: Based on this proportion, different types of consumers are considered to select the sampling from each distributor agency. Stage 3: Distribution of Sample Consumers sing the standard formula of random sampling, the precision level or observed probability of corrupt practices was extracted at 0. 7 at a 5 percent level of error. Sample size, 1027 was determined using the design effect and across agencies in regional clusters. Distribution of Sampling Consumers: DistributorDistrict/Area Or Ward D C ISub totalTotal DESA DESCO Dhaka, Mirpur Dhaka, Karwan Bazar 10 10 10 10 10 10 30 30 60 (D= Domestic, C= Commercial, I= Industrial) Governance Failures and Problems in the Power Sector:Under the co-ordination and guidance of the Power Division, BPDB, a holding com pany, is solely responsible for generating, transmitting and distributing power through PDB, DESA, DESCO, WZPDCL and REB/PBSs though out the country. Usually, the Prime Minister is in Charge of the MPEMR and a State Minister runs the Power Division under the guidance of the PM. The PDB Chairman is Chairman of the newly converted holding company of BPDB21 and the Secretary of corporatized companies such as PGCB and WZPDCL. Furthermore, Chairman of DESA is also the Chairman of DESCO. The newly established BERC is to regulate planning, tariff fixing, dispute settlement and licensing.The following Flow Chart-1 shows the functional relationship between the different wings of the power sector. Adverse Power Crises: According to the ADB (2005), â€Å"Consumption of electricity in Bangladesh grew at an average annual rate of 8. 2% from FY 1994 to FY 2004 and forecast is to grow at an annual rate of about 8% for the next 10 years. † Since the early 1990s, the supply of power went down and system loss shot up and the frequency of load shedding increased vigorously by the middle of the 1990s. In this situation, the Government proposed the National Energy Policy in 1995, but this also failed to meet the crisis and finally Power Cell formulated the Private Power Generation policy in 1996 in order to boost the generation of power.Crisis in the power sector or the staggering demand-supply gap has emerged due to several key reasons. Since the generation of power did not increase at the rate of the increase in demand, the gap between served generation and peak demand has increased over the period shown in Figure 1. In mid ‘90, the shortage was almost zero, but the staggering gap and the demand has been increasing, the official figure is at 4250 mw, but the production is only at 2100-2200 mw which resulted in a 2000 – 2200 mw shortfall in generation. According to the PSMP 2006, the real demand was forecasted at 6200 mw in 2007, but at the same time the amoun t of power generation went down to 3,200 mw.It is noted here that the demand for power has been increasing at a rate of around 10 percent per year and furthermore then the total shortage of power would be around 435032 mw in 2010 or even more than the current estimate (shown in figure 4) if the progress of the establishment of the proposed power plants is not completed as per schedule. In estimating demand, the PDB does not usually consider economic growth and the exact demand of the prospective consumers. The crisis also emerged due to the absence of a vision and mission by PDB and DESA as well. Absence of clear organization goals of the PDB and DESA: The Power sector is such a dynamic sector that it requires clear organizational goals or objectives and the strength to take sharp decision. In reality, however, the PDB and DESA do not have clear working paper, organizational goals.As a result, there is always a sense of confusion between policy makers and the management. This hamper s the productive growth of the sector as well as its day-to-day services. New Connection Process and harassments faced by the consumer: The staff is responsible for completing the several tasks associated with a new connection. In a particular holding, no more than one residential connection is provided, with each flat considered flat as a separate entity. Requirements need to be fulfilled as per tariff rules and pro-poor documentation. In reality it is quite tough for an applicant to complete the process by himself due to harassments by the staff and agents or media.According to the survey, on average, 27percent of the consumers (the highest figure being 42 percent) face the harassment during the new connection process. A new connection process and the tyranny of â€Å"media† or â€Å"broker† According to the 2006 survey, among the applicant for a new connection, 94. 2 percent took the new connection through an agent in order to avoid the hassle and to save time; only 4. 3 percent of the consumers got the new connection by themselves. According to the consumer survey in the case of both LTI and HT connections, 94 percent of the applicants took the help of brokers or agents such as meter readers, MLSS/Fourth class employees, or electrical Contractor. Process of new connection IN DESA;Average bribe of a new connection: Reduction of bills at cost of bribe in DESA: The S & D Office disconnected the line with an outstanding amount of Taka. 3,00,000 and filed a case against ‘x’ consumer of Lalbagh S&D. The Meter Reader proposed a bribe of Taka. 1, 50,000 to settle the case. The concerned consumer agreed to the proposal in order to become benefited and to avoid harassment. Finally, the case was dismissed and office issued the reduced bill for only Taka. 28, 000 for the following month. It is noted here that the meter reader did not provide any bank receipt to the consumers, just a paper upto clearance. This is a reflection of the DESA†™s management system.Average bribe to reduce meter change Delay in Providing New Connections: According to the 2006 survey findings, if any consumer does not pay a bribe then the consumer can get connection even before the deadline of around 30 days; the longest delay in DESCO for providing a new connection was 103 days, but at the payment of bribe the connection took only 6 to 7 days for getting a new connections in DESA and RDB respectively. Interestingly, the PBS, through efficient in maintaining the desired import-collection ratio, also makes delays in getting new connection if the consumers do not bribe to the officials (Table 9). Complexities in File Processing:Bureaucratic dilemma/delay is a regular phenomenon in Bangladesh; and it is also practiced during the provision of a new connection, as application files pass through around 36/38 hands/tables before an applicant get a connection. Though the office claims that the delay is due to the insufficiency of MLSS and inadequa cy of the required documents, the real cause of the delay is illegal practice152 or the paying of bribes to speed up the process. Bribe for meter change: Office staff takes monthly bribes to reduce the electricity bill of the consumers by issuing a minimum bill against the huge bill of the power consumed (which are remaining unadjusted and stored in the meter).When the cumulative amounts of the unpaid bills, especially of HT consumers, become high, the meter reader proposes to change meter claiming to be concerned amounts showing the damage. Taking a handsome bribe, officers change the meter claiming to be concerned about the clients showing the cause of the consumer’s safety and GoB loose huge amount of revenue. Consumer, on average, pays an extra Taka 2056 as bribe to the meter reader, lineman, foreman or the Gatish of the meter reader if he/she wants to change the damaged meter. Interestingly, the highest amount has to be paid (i. e. Taka 8685 and Taka 2748) by the consume rs of the corporatized or said to the efficient organization REB. PBS and DESCO161. Erroneous and/or false billingOn average, 39 percent of the consumers of all the distributor agencies claimed that they received excess bills and the meter readers with the help of ledger keeper and the billing section. In case of the unavailability of receipts, consumer has to pay the bill with a fine including a surcharge; the significance of the chi-square value162 justifies the allegation on the wrong meter reading. It supports the presence of erroneous and bogus billing in the PDB, DESA and PBSs as well. If any honest consumer, particularly, is the small industries category (such as cold storage, cinema halls etc. ) where refrigeration plants, air conditioners had standard loads, does not agree To conclude with meter reader and wants to pay the correct bills, he is likely to be in serious trouble.Conclusion and Policy Recommendation: A number of efforts have been made by the present caretaker go vernment in order to mitigate the power failures. These efforts include the following: Cancellation of the tendering process of small power plants addressing the allegation of nontransparent process and attempt for re-tender. Identification of major targets to rehabilitate and maintain the power station, and sign of treaties to establish both public and private power plants. Unfortunately, it is alleged by local power company that the aid providing agencies have put several clauses in the bid manual so that they cannot submit the bid papers fulfilling the conditions.Approval of five IPPs (three foreign companies) of 1,930 mw capacity, increasing the share of IPPs in the total power generated up to 3,190 mw (62%). Unfortunately, no significant decision has been taken yet to identify the leakages and rampant theft of power. Appointment of two members for the BERC and development of several guidelines along with the methodology of the determination of power tariff. However, in this met hodology, the peak and off-peak demand was not considered. Besides, there is no vivid guideline from BERC on how submitted documents and information by applicant IPPs would be cross-checked and the previously completed contracts between PDB and IPPs are out of the proposed formula.This study was undertaken with the aim to diagnose the problems prevailing in this sector. The scope of this study includes review the state of governance in this sector, demand-supply shortfalls, the current procedure of power plant procurements and identifying the nature and extent of corruption, accountability of the staff, investigate the sufferings and harassments faced by the consumers, day-to-day services, billing, load shedding, and rural-urban disparities. Information from both primary and secondary sources has been used in preparing the report. Sources of secondary information included acts and rules, published articles, periodicals, reports, as well as official documents.Primary sources of infor mation include a consumer survey, informal discussion with stakeholders, employees, and experts of the power sector. The consumer survey covered the nature and the extent of corruption and harassments faced by the consumers. The cross section survey among all types of consumers (1027) was administered to find out the quality of services provided by different organization including PDB, REB/PBSs, DESA and DESCO. Adverse power crises and governance failures The PDB’s official report shows a shortfall of generation of around 2000 – 2200 mw. However, according to PSMP 2006, the total shortage of power would be around 4350 mw in 2010.The reasons for power shortages are identified below. Policy Level Failures: The government failed to put adequate emphasis on the power sector; there has not been any clear and specific guideline to estimate the real demand and supply; there have also been violation of the PSMP in the form of politicization of the location, size and types of p lants, emphasis on short-term planning, inadequate autonomy in making financial and administrative decisions, appointment of foreign consultants for rent-seeking purpose despite the availability of local hands, and imbalanced expansion of distribution lines for rent-seeking purposes Limitations and malpractice within the procurement process:The procurement process in power sector has been distorted due to unwanted intervention in the procurement process, complexities of the bidding process, wrong evaluations, absence of uniform Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC), delay in hiring consultants and resolving disputes due to bureaucratic dilemma, corruption such as putting specific condition, nepotism, extortion by vested interest groups, collusion between the bid officials and bidders, false experience certificate submitted by bidders, appointment of contractors for maintenance and rehabilitations without any tender, abuse of funds by plant and policy-level staff, supply of low qualit y machinery violating the contract, and power purchase agreements made at high rates. As a result, around Tk 4,007 crore or US$ 688 million (from purchase of the 6 power plants and outsourcing the maintenance and rehabilitation works to a foreign company) during 1996-2005 have been abused.Inadequate financial capacity: Around 17000 crore Taka is required to meet the demand for power of 8000 mw by next 2010; but the concerned organizations have inadequate financial capacity due to i) cumulative increase of unpaid bills and unaccountable indebted organizations, ii) poor rate of collection (caused by high T&D losses, legal shelter taken by large bill defaulters, low density of consumers in several PBSs of REB), and iii) instantaneous increase of financial burden due to contract with IPPs at a floating exchange rate, iv) contract, under PPA, with IPPs at high tariff arte, v) high input cost of diesel based generation plants. References:Analysis of the Sustainability of the Electrical Po wer Sector, Advanced Engineering Associates International (AEAI), February 2003, Asian Development Bank, 2005, Sector Assistance Program Evaluation of Asian Development Bank Assistance to Philippines Power Sector. Asian Development Bank, â€Å"Special Evaluation Study on Cost Recovery in the Power Sector Operation and Evaluation Department†, SS-55, April 2003 Bacon, R. W. and Besant-Jones, J. , 2001,’Global Electric Power Reform, Privatization And Liberalization Of The Electric Power Industry In Developing Countries’ The International Bank of Reconstruction and Development, The World Bank. Washington. D. C. Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission Act 2003, BG press, MPEMR, GoB, 2003, DhakaBose, Sudhansu, Poor collection efficiency of Indian state owned power distribution companies: causes and remedies, White Paper, Wipro InfoTech Complexity of Electric Power Distribution Governance†, Journal, 26 (3), 1-39, 2004 Dr. Hardiv H Situmeang, June 1, 2005, THE CHA LLENGE OF FINANCING POWER PROJECTS. Jakarta Fiany, Ronald, et. al. July 2003, Governance Problem in the Brazilian Power Sector, Oxford University Gilbert, Richard and Kahn, Edward et al, 1996, International Comparisons of Electricity Regulation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. HYPERLINK†http://www. stenmar. com/oil_and_gas_sector. asp† http://www. stenmar. com/oil_and_gas_sector. asp

Article of Marketing Strategies of Bajaj Auto

It is required to provide protection for men, machines, materials, products or even the companyaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s secrets. It has to serve as a part of the production facilities and as a factor to maximize economy and efficiency in plant operations. It should be such, as would offer a pleasant and comfortable working environment and project the managementaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s image and prestige. Besides, it involves considerable investment of capital. In a way, a factory building is to a plant what skin and bones are to a living being, the structure and appearance heighten the functioning as a whole of the body corporate, or of a living body. It is for these reasons that the factory building acquires great importance. The management of an existing factory may, on certain occasions, feel the need for raising a building. This may be an improvement on, or an addition to, the existing building for purpose of expansion or growth, or a new structure necessitated by product diversification or market considerations. A factory building may be rented, if available in the place, when the management decides that way. But, generally speaking, no large factory, or even a medium-sized factory, is housed in a rented accommodation. The reasons are that, in the first place, ready made factory buildings are not available to suit particular needs, except for small plants. In the second place, a rented building does not indicate prosperity and progressaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬ a fact which is important to a manufacturing concern in so far as its public image is concerned. Whether a building has to be constructed, or rented, or improved, or expanded, certain factors, which are of vital importance to every plant, should be borne in mind. These considerations relate to: 1. The design of the buildings. 2. The types of materials for construction; and 3. The types of buildings Every factory management enlists the services of architects, engineers and contractors to ensure that these considerations find their due place in the consideration of factory buildings. more at http://www. citeman. com/136-importance-of-factory-buildings-in-operations. html#ixzz2O9Gy3LP6 Article of Marketing Strategies of Bajaj Auto It is required to provide protection for men, machines, materials, products or even the companyaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s secrets. It has to serve as a part of the production facilities and as a factor to maximize economy and efficiency in plant operations. It should be such, as would offer a pleasant and comfortable working environment and project the managementaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s image and prestige. Besides, it involves considerable investment of capital. In a way, a factory building is to a plant what skin and bones are to a living being, the structure and appearance heighten the functioning as a whole of the body corporate, or of a living body. It is for these reasons that the factory building acquires great importance. The management of an existing factory may, on certain occasions, feel the need for raising a building. This may be an improvement on, or an addition to, the existing building for purpose of expansion or growth, or a new structure necessitated by product diversification or market considerations. A factory building may be rented, if available in the place, when the management decides that way. But, generally speaking, no large factory, or even a medium-sized factory, is housed in a rented accommodation. The reasons are that, in the first place, ready made factory buildings are not available to suit particular needs, except for small plants. In the second place, a rented building does not indicate prosperity and progressaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬ a fact which is important to a manufacturing concern in so far as its public image is concerned. Whether a building has to be constructed, or rented, or improved, or expanded, certain factors, which are of vital importance to every plant, should be borne in mind. These considerations relate to: 1. The design of the buildings. 2. The types of materials for construction; and 3. The types of buildings Every factory management enlists the services of architects, engineers and contractors to ensure that these considerations find their due place in the consideration of factory buildings. more at http://www. citeman. com/136-importance-of-factory-buildings-in-operations. html#ixzz2O9Gy3LP6

Data mining and e-learning Thesis Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Data mining and e-learning - Thesis Proposal Example Data mining is often regarded as an inseparable facet of effective e-learning process aimed at better knowledge management. However, critics have also been of the view that data mining presents certain challenges that undermines its effectiveness as an ideal tool of knowledge management through e-learning (Ari, 2008; Monk, 2005). As argued in Abdullah (2008) and Chen & et. al. (2004), experiences of the data users in data mining and their accurate interpretation skills to use those data in knowledge management techniques when focusing on e-learning, often generate issues related with complexities and cost as well as time constraints. Emphasising this particular debated issue, the objectives of this particular research have been determined as the following. According to Moore & et. al. (2011), e-learning approach to knowledge management is fundamentally described as a web-based mechanism, which assists the users as well as the learners towards accessing knowledge or information in a convenient and time-efficient manner. In this similar concern, Moore & et. al. (2011) identified that the notion of e-learning emerged as one of the effective ideas in enhancing the knowledge of people through the incorporation of various innovative technological advancements. In this present day context, it can be apparently observed that data mining methods have been widely adopted in the application of e-learning for the purpose of solving numerous problems that arise while retrieving or gathering any data in today’s globalising world. As per the study conducted by Han & et. al. (2011), data mining is utilised in the field of statistics to support decisions in various fields of research including business or education, which tends to apply several techniques, neural networks, visualisation modes and decision trees among others. The various sorts of data mining techniques