PUMPING IRON IN Saudi Arabia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PUMPING IRON IN Saudi Arabia - Essay Example This encourages the participants. Another purpose the author wanted to issue in this case is about gender. The gymnasium is occupied by men only. This raises a major concern about the health fitness of the women. All the participants in the gymnasium were men. The author has also raised religious issues involved. The author has clearly presented the picture of the Gym in question. He begins by describing the location of the gym. The author has also provided information on the charges that one needs to pay in order to become a member. Then, the author proceeds to describe the facilities that are found in the Gym. The Gym is packed with high quality exercise machine (Dyatt 2009). However, the author emphasizes on the fact that the equipments are old and the surfaces are peeling off though clean. The author has also revealed the uniqueness of the 10th Street from the fact that it observes the religious aspects carefully. For instance, the rights are put off and the door closed during the prayer of Saleh (Dyatt 2009). The lights are put off and the door locked automatically even if workout is in the middle. The author has also revealed that failure to observe these rules can lead to loss of license. When the lights are off, the carpets are out between the exercises machines after which the faithful faces Mecca in rows for prayer (Dyatt 2009). Meanwhile, other people would continue to work out quietly besides them. Both groups are expected to proceed harmoniously. The author have also emphasized that working out in the darkness is really interesting. It motivates people as it exaggerates the appearance of the people. The strong looks stronger in the darkness (Dyatt 2009). The author has also introduced the gym manager who is also a weight lifter. He is a friendly man who is interested in every attendant. He is determined to help the new weight lifters. The author has also revealed

Data Gaps And Limitations Environmental Sciences Essay

Data Gaps And Limitations Environmental Sciences Essay An extensive site history and description of the Trimpell Middleton petrochemical site has been put forward and documented in the phase I site investigations carried out for Environmental Agency and documented in the Atkins scoping study. This historic site is situated to the North and West of Middleton and positioned on National Grid with reference SD420590 (Semple, 2013 as cited in Atkins, 2000). It is about 2km south-east of Heysham and occupies an expanse of 116 hectare. The site was built and managed as a joint project between Trinidad Lake Asphalt, Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and Shell to produce aviation fuel during the World War II after which it was closed down in 1945 (CSM). It became operational again in 1948 under the ownership of Shell and ICI with a reform in its production techniques and with the introduction of new chemicals (CSM). The main refinery operations and chemical productions closed down in the 1970s and the site became derelict and has been decommissioned. The only finger prints observable in the site is the operations of SRM limited formerly Solrec Limited who are in to solvent refinery and recovery (CSM). The site is considered in two basic areas for the purpose of this report. These are the Main Refinery Area (MRA) and Final Production Tank Farm (FPTF). The main refinery area includes all the land initially occupied by the refinery, located to the west of Middleton Road and an extension which is assumed not to have been occupied by the refinery. The Northern part of the site was purchased by Solrec Limited in1975 while the Lancaster City Council has the ownership of the central and south-western parts (CSM). The Final Production Tank Farm (FPTF) is situated between the railway passageway to the east and Middleton road to the west and contains four giant tanks buried within the vicinity of supporting buildings and parts of the undeveloped land. At present, the Lancaster City Council is the known owner of the two storage tanks in the northern most part while the two other storage tanks and the remaining part of the FPTF in the furthermost south towards the railway passageway are thought to be owned by Middleton Business Park Ltd (CSM). SITE GEOLOGY The site has its central part lying flat with a rising land to the east in the direction of Middleton Road and Trimpell Tip and to the west near Whittam Hill. The site is elevated in both the northern and southern parts compared to the central part which is low-lying with the furthermost southern part of the site having a lower topography than the central part (CSM). Over these years, the site topography and ground elevation has changed because of dumping activities including inert waste materials in some parts of the site (CSM). This is documented in the report and was also observed during the site reconnaissance visit. PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES: In the operational years of the refinery, gasoline was stored in tanks at the banks of Heysham and was conveyed to the tanks on Whittam Hill for refinery use. The conveyance relied on gravity and supported by the topography (CSM). The refinery operation stopped after the World War II and restarted in 1948 with the refinement of crude to produce gas oil, fuel oil, gasoline and butane (CSM). Sulphur was removed from the crude at the Hower Baker Plant possibly by conversion to hydrogen sulphide and absorbed into an alkaline solution in the caustic soda plant (CSM). Knowledge of recovery of sulphur or the sulphide is lacking. The catalytic cracking process introduced sour water condensate which was likely to contain hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, phenol and some other hydrocarbons. Knowledge of the fate of the sour water produced is lacking. Mercaptan, an intermediate product would possibly have been removed by the use of sulphuric acid or sodium hydroxide during production of gasoline in a process of sweetening. This could be by conversion of mercaptan to disulphide (CSM). Ammonia was produced in the main refinery site in the ammonia stalls. Possible by-products of this process are coal tars and ammonia. Hydrogen used in ammonia production was produced in a water gas plant. The residues of this process were carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide which were removed by brushing with caustic soda and injection with copper liquor respectively. Methanol was produced and was stored in ICI product tanks thought to have been previously used to store petroleum. This manufacturing technique stopped and methane was produced by the addition of high temperature steam to waste oil obtained from Shell production activities. ICI went in to manufacturing of insulating board after the war using isocyante process and asbestos was thought to have been used in the process. Insulation board production was continued by Kingspan Insulation and Coolag Limited after ICI left. Knowledge of their manufacturing details is lacking. Also within the vicinity of the site is Trimpell Tip where waste from the refinery and nitrates processing such as incinerator residues, domestic and commercial waste, potentially combustible substances and inert materials were disposed. HIGHLIGHTS OF PHASE I The process of contaminated land management as described in contaminated land report 11 (CLR II) falls within three paradigms. These are risk assessment, option appraisal and implementation of the remediation strategy. The phase I investigation aims to define the purpose of the investigation, identify arrears of concern and to refine a preliminary conceptual site model using available information (CLR II). This is achieved by collating and evaluating desktop information, site reconnaissance survey and possibly interview from people who have historical or current information of the site. In doing this, all the information gathered would be needed to construct a conceptual site model that takes in to cognizance all contaminant sources, pathways and receptors or potential receptors. The report documented in phase I investigation (CSM) has identified areas of concern which is a major objective of the initial environmental site assessment. This includes the refinery area and the final production tank farm. The report makes known the historical sequence of events that have taken place in the site from agricultural use which preceded the refinery to its current derelict state. The report also describes the siteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s environmental setting including the topography and geology. DATA GAPS AND LIMITATIONS The report from the scoping study of the phase I investigation provides basic information about the site including site history and description, geology and a range of production activities that took place at the site. However, there are uncertainties and incompleteness on knowledge of certain historic activities and operations that took place at the site. The most pronounced limitation in the site scoping study is the lack of knowledge of the precise locations where certain operational activities were carried and knowledge of the extent of pollution impacted on the site by reason of those activities. Report shows that some locations of historic facilities (structures) have been identified while some are yet to be traced. Example is the underground tanks whose locations are yet to be determined. Knowledge of some underground utilities is lacking such as piping and sewer system and consequently their pollution or contaminant linkage is not ascertained. Other notable information includ es: The historic processing and manufacturing areas have been identified but there are missing information in the phase I report regarding the disposal and fate of most of the chemicals used in the manufacturing and processing operations. The areas of concern have been identified but contaminant releases and migration mechanisms are yet to be determined. The site geology such as topographical features is known but knowledge of its hydrology, hydrogeology, drainage routes, direction of ground water flow is not known. Contaminants of concern have been identified but whether release has occurred at the areas of concern is yet to be identified. Information is lacking on the background concentrations of the site as this would be a parameter to consider during remediation processes. Because of the gap and limitations in information from the phase I report, the need arises to propose and develop a phase II site investigation and conceptual model which would be used to fill the missing gaps or information. OBJECTIVES OF PHASE II The purpose of phase II investigation is to pull together enough information to determine if release has occurred at each area of concern identified or not (CDEP, 2010). A release is established to have occurred if concentrations of contaminants of concern detected exceed the limits stated in the reasonable confidence protocol (CDEP, 2010). In this stage, consideration will be given to both environmental setting and potential receptors. The site scoping study shows a possible presence of a wide array of contaminants generated from refinery or petrochemical operations, fertilizer works, railway haulage and asbestos manufacturing related process. The potential receptors of concern for these contaminants are humans, fauna, flora, controlled waters and ecological receptors. From the phase I study, a number of significant pollution linkages have been identified with most of them being probable and possible pollution linkages. A complete pathway exists between contaminant sources and the s ite drainage (CSM). This pathway is complete through discharge of site surface water run-off to the Morecambe Bay which is the ecological receptor. The phase I report recognizes a probable significant pollutant linkage through volatile emission, dust generation, direct contact to infrastructure, fauna and human health. Also, likely to exist is a significant linkage in which ground water or surface water could reach deeper groundwater in the aquifer. For the final production tank farm no significant pollution linkage was identified. Noteworthy that the tanks were sealed off during decommissioning and such suggests no significant linkage. However, a probable pollutant linkage has been demonstrated to exist between shallow groundwater and the site drainage system (CSM). There is probable existence of a pathway from groundwater and contaminated soil through dust generation, volatile emission and direct contact to infrastructure, fauna and human health. Table 1: List of possible contaminants to be found on the site Contaminants Class of chemical Fuel oil Organic Gasoline Organic Butane gas Organic Phenol Organic PAHs Organic Coal tars Organic Naphtha Organic Waste oil Organic Alcohols Organic Esters Organic Ketones Organic Toluene Organic Xylene Organic Hexane Organic Cellulose thinner Organic Chlorinated Solvents Organic Sulphur Inorganic Caustic Soda Inorganic Ammonia Inorganic Mercaptans Inorganic Copper Liquor Inorganic Sulphuric acid Inorganic Nitrates Inorganic Asbestos Inert materials Table 2 CONCEPTUAL SITE MODEL AND PHASE II INVESTIGATION Identified Potential Areas of Concern (Potential Sources) Potential Release Mechanism (Potential Migration Pathway) Expected Release Locations Suitable for Sampling and Analysis for Phase II Investigation. Underground storage tanks Tank leaks, over fills, Piping, valve, and dispenser leaks. I) For probable tank leaks, the underlying soil at the edge of the tank and sidewall can be sampled. II) For over fills, sample collection should be underneath the tank or vent pipes at the low lying or by the sloping area. II) For piping and valves, sampling should be along the pipes, pipe joints, and the vicinity of the valves. Underground water Leaching, from the vadose zone through the fringe capillary in to the underground aquifer. Sampling wells should be bore at the lowest lying area of the site, from the site geology; the central and southern parts are the lowest lying areas, so sampling should be carried out within that area. Permanent or temporary wells could be installed. A temporary well enables the detection of contaminant release while permanent well enables to monitor the ground water flow and the effects of season and tides on the fate of contaminants. Trimpell Tip Leaks, degradation and leaching. Within, beneath, down slope within the vicinity of the tip. Delivery and Loading areas Spills and leaks Cracks on the asphalt or motor way reinforcement. If there are no basement where cracks could be found, then areas with sparse vegetation which are observable within the vicinity of concern. Fire service water dam It could be a reservoir or sink for an array of contaminants which seep into it. It can leach downwards or the degradation products may persist and can also be remobilized into the surrounding environment. Beneath, adjacent to the dam. Legacy structure (building) which are fingerprints of the remaining in the site. Spills, volatile emission and depositions. Cracks on walls and floors, joints between the building roofing, wall and floors. Main refineryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s drainage system Migration, leaching to underground water. Underground water or soil core. Solrec Limited Release from solvent recovery and refinery plant. Spills and leaks. Soil within the vicinity of plant, water sample from the low lying terrain of the site Gasoline storage tanks on Whittam Hill. Leaks, spills from over fills Adjacent and underlying soil. SAMPLING STRATEGY The limitations and gaps of the phase I study suggest the need for more site interrogation through sampling to ascertain the presence of contaminants at the areas of concern. The sampling approach to be used will be more direct based on the information that has been obtained from phase I on the particular areas of concern. In addition, the data quality objective is very important in designing a sampling protocol needed to achieve site specific objectives. Ground water The identification of a probable pollutant linkage for ground water or surface water seepage into deeper groundwater necessitates a sampling protocol for groundwater. Besides, ground water sampling is an integrated sample which is representative of more spatial zone. This is because of effect of several environmental system including the unsaturated soil, capillary fringe and aquifer constituents on the underground water (USEPA, 1995). Table 3: Proposed sampling locations, number of soil samples and permanent monitoring wells to be installed for underground water sampling. Sampling Locations Number of samples Number of wells Well depth Main Refinery Area 2 1 Final Production Tank Farm. 2 1 Up Gradient of the site (North). 2 1 Mid-point (Low lying Central Area) 2 1 Down gradient (South) 2 1 Solrec Recovery Plant Site 1 1 Slope down side of Timprell Tip. 1 1 Outside Area of Concern (Background sample) 2 1 The collection of samples at each of the designated area of concern should be close enough to be representative of the area. Monitoring wells designed with screened intervals intercepting the saturated zone at the upper portion are suitable for assessing the occurrence of release to the ground water. Consideration of the site geology such as the length at which release is expected to occur, groundwater flow path and transport characteristics of the potential contaminant of concern should be made before sampling (USEPA, 1995). A single ground water sampling event may not be sufficient to establish a release, so multiple sampling or permanent wells are proposed for complementary purpose. With this strategic arrangement of bore holes, it would be possible to obtain ground water which could be interrogated for non-aqueous phase liquid, oily sheen and samples for laboratory analysis to know if there is organic or inorganic contaminants in the water sample. The observation of high or low pH solution would be suggestive to changes in natural status of the aquifer which could facilitate the mobilization of contaminants of concern. Soil Sampling and Analysis A soil sampling program is being proposed having identified a probable significant pollutant linkage through volatile emission, dust generation, direct contact to human health, fauna and infrastructure. The object of this is to establish if there is a complete pathway for the source emission to reach the receptors. This would involve sampling and analysing core soil samples from designated target areas so as to better characterize the site. A technical bias or judgemental sampling would be used since information has been known about the areas of concern. Sampling can also be carried out for cracks on the walls of legacy structures present on site to reveal the presence of contaminants. Table 4: Proposed sampling locations, number of samples and sampling zones or depth. Sampling Locations No of Samples Core depth Main Refinery Area 3 Surficial Final Production Tank Farm. 3 Surficial and Saturated Slope down side of Timprell Tip 2 Saturated zone. Gasoline storage tanks on Whittam Hill. 2 Surficial and Saturated zone Underground storage tanks 2 Saturated zone Outside the area of concern (background sample) 4 Surficial and saturated zones. The surficial sample which be able to detect if a release has occurred or not but a saturated sample would be representative of an integrated sample affected by the environmental quality of enormous zones of unsaturated soil, capillary fringe and aquifer material. The analysis of the samples should be judgmental for cost effectiveness. Because the contaminants of concern have been identified in the preliminary site investigation, there would less need for a broad spectrum of analytical parameters instead; analysis should be streamlined to the identified contaminants of concern which are mostly petroleum based organic contaminants and a few inorganics. Soil core samples can be observed for non-aqueous phase liquid in sample which usually have characteristic black dint. Detection of organic contaminants in the analysed samples above background concentration or within the reasonable confidence protocol would mean the empirical confirmation that a release has occurred. Noteworthy that dr illing fluid that could contaminate the well should not be used as not to have false positives and the environmental professional has to demonstrate that any contamination observed is not artificial but represents the site contamination state. The occurrence would be suggestive of a significant pollution pathway.

Sophocles Antigone - Antigone and Creon, the Powerful Protagonists Es

The Two Protagonists of Antigone In the classic model of dramatic structure, two characters move the action of the play from introduction to climax to resolution with their conflict. One of these characters is the protagonist; the other is the antagonist. The protagonist is generally regarded as the "good guy," and the antagonist is the "bad guy." In Sophocles' play Antigone, the lines between protagonist and antagonist are blurred. In the Greek tradition, the title character is the protagonist, but in this play, the supposed antagonist Creon also displays characteristics of the protagonist. Webster's Dictionary defines protagonist as "one who takes the leading part in a drama; hence, one who takes lead in some great scene, enterprise, conflict, or the like." At a cursory glance, Antigone seems to best fit this description. Her actions and the following consequences certainly form the plot of the play. She first decides to bury her dead brother in violation of Creon's edict. When soldiers of Thebes unbury the body, she returns to bury it a second time. She is caught in the act and brought before Creon, who sentences her to die. She commits suicide in prison as a final attempt to thwart Creon's plans. ontigone's refusal to leave her brother's body unburied even after she has buried it once reveals her stubborn streak, a common trait among protagonists. The fact that Creon is on his way to release her from jail when her dead body is discovered is yet another example of stubbornness. She will not give in to adversity or strife under any circumstances, which is both admirabl e and, in the case of Antigone, fatal. Creon is portrayed as a strict leader who believes in adherence to his laws over those of the gods. He is not... ...he plot, and Creon directs the consequences. Antigone has conflict with Creon the antagonist, and Creon has conflict with Antigone the antagonist. Antigone dies a tragic death because of her flaws, and Creon realizes his mistakes and suffers greatly because of his flaws. Both Creon and Antigone are protagonists. They are both main characters who are essential to the plot, and they both maintain the traditional role. Sophocles may not have intended audiences to see both characters as protagonists, but that is the logical conclusion. Now, if one were to ask for the real antagonist to come forward, one would most likely realize that the real antagonists were forward already. Works Cited: Sophocles. Antigone. Trans. Robert Fagles. Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. 6th. ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice, 2002.

Bluesky Shopping Mall

Analytical Report on Blue Sky Shopping Mall Executive Summary Blue Sky Shopping Mall is a large shopping mall in a thriving business center in Myaynigone. However, it is in a bad shape and its growth is declining. Several factors, such as the lack of vision and mission and long-term plan, unsuitable organizational structure, lack of target market and market strategies and the high turnover rate affect the growth of the Shopping Mall. This report sets out a plan and recommendations to reinvent a new invigorating image of the Shopping Mall. Based on a situational analysis, it draws up an organizational structure best suited for the Mall.The organization structure explains the type of management needed, the importance of strong and visionary leadership, some marketing strategies and marketing mixes. Moreover, this report gives recommendation for some aspects of human resource management. It seeks to revitalize the Shopping Mall and make it a profitable business, serving the needs of the customers best. Introduction In the beginning of the year 2013, our Chairman Dr. Patrick Hong made an acquisition of Blue Sky Shopping Mall. The Shopping mall is located in No. 7, Bargaya Road, Myaynigone, Sanchaung, Yangon.The location of the Shopping Mall is very strategic in many aspects. The area has a thriving business environment with Dagon Center I and II, Gamonepwint, City Mart, and some other fashion shops, restaurants, Car Accessories Shop and Car Show Room. The Shopping Mall is a nine-storey building with a car park next to it. The Shopping Mall has eight sectors, starting with store-room at the basement, Food Court, Department Store, Clothing, Sports, Cosmetics, Appliances, Housing Accessories, and Recreation (play stations, playground for children and cinemas) on the ninth floor. I. Business Administration 1. 1.Long-term Business Plan Situational Analysis Blue Sky Shopping Mall was established in January 2010. The newly founded Shopping Mall initially enjoyed considera ble reputation and generated much profit. However, now it is not doing very well. The situational analysis below looks into some positive facts as well as some of the main causes of decline. A. Internal Factors: Strength and Weakness a. Strengths i. There are some experienced and skilled employees with potentials for becoming leaders. ii. The majorities of employees are young, hardworking and eager to learn to become more competent in their jobs. ii. As each sector (e. g food/clothing) occupies a floor, the interior organization of the Shopping Mall is simple and easy for shoppers to search for items they need and easy to manage. iv. The quality of the retailed products is as good as those from Dagon Center I and II and Gamonepwint. b. Weakness Organizational structure i. The organizational structure takes a centralization approach with all the decisions made by CEO. This has a heavy negative impact on the whole operation of the Mall. With too many matters at the hand of the CEO alo ne and decisions could not be made in time and problems pile up. i. There is no delegation of power given to supervisors of each sector. They have to wait for the decisions of CEO. The problems in each department became graver and solutions and directions became long overdue. This greatly hampers the efficient running of the Shopping Mall. iii. Having too many matters in hand, the CEO could not establish good relationship with the staff. He could only inspect each sector in rare occasions. Some employees take advantage of his absence and shun their responsibilities. This causes much quarrelling among staff.And as the number of problems increase the CEO becomes stressful and authoritative and could not trust his subordinates. iv. The few numbers of security personnel at the entrance of the Mall cannot cope with the long line of people pouring into the Mall. As a result, people become frustrated with queuing up and gradually turn away from the Mall. v. There is no clear job descriptio n given to supervisors, the staff in each department become confused. The direct effect of this disorientation is apparent in maintenance such as cleaning, replacing expired products, mistaken price label and shortage of stocks. vi. The cashiers are not well-trained.They take a long time to serve the customers. This causes unnecessary long queue at the payment counter making the customers feel stressed and sometimes quarrel among themselves. vii. The lack of clear break time schedule among the cashiers adds another problem to the long queue at the payment counter. viii. The staffs at the customer information are not well trained. The consequence is they cannot give necessary and satisfactory answers or directions effectively to the customers. Their discourteous manner causes great unease and unpleasantness to the customers. ix. The staffing of â€Å"general inspectors† is absent.These are people who go around to make sure that everything in a sector is running well. When ther e is a need in a sector there is no one to remind or report to the supervisors. Consequently, things do not get replaced or repaired soon enough. x. The food court has few drinks and items on the menu and the waiters and waitresses are not trained. Marketing i. One of the greatest weaknesses of the Shopping Mall is that it has no clearly defined target market. ii. In effect, there is no proper marketing plan. iii. No promotion such as new product launch, seasonal sale events, and special items sales and so on are carried out. v. Due to the centralization approach to management with nearly all the responsibilities resting on CEO, he could not give time to do market Survey. Human resource management i. The recognition and rewarding of certain workers in terms of their achievement is not carried out consistently. It is done casually and arbitrarily and thus leadership failed to encourage hard work and celebrate achievements. ii. The lack of continual capacity building of the staff, as was seen with the cashiers and the staff in customer information sector, has severe negative effects on the growing numbers and demand of customers. ii. The pay and benefits of the workers are not clearly designed, thus lack incentive for workers. iv. The morale of the staff begins to decline. This affects the spirit of service given to customers. All the mentioned weaknesses create a high turnover rate. B. External Factors: Opportunities and Threats Opportunities v. â€Å"Let’s go shopping. † is a popular phrase among people these days. When they say that they usually mean going to a shopping mall. Even when not buying, people like to just stroll in the Shopping Mall to get air-condition, or a meet their friends in it.It is a good rendezvous because it is clean; it is easy to reach by public transport; it offers affordable prices and thus makes it very convenient. In other words, it is a very good place to attract people, especially the young, to spend money. vi. As m ore and more young people meet their friends or watch movies at shopping malls, the social attitude is somehow synonymous with having money to spend. The young could be very reliable and profitable target customers. If the Mall is designed to cater to them in terms of ambience, products, prices and services they would flock to the Shopping Mall. ii. Given a good pay and good work environment, many young people can be recruited to contribute to the rapid attainment of the objectives of the Shopping Mall. Young people are energetic and creative. If only their potentials were channeled into the right direction, they could make up a very strong and efficient workforce. viii. The location of the Mall is very strategic. It is located in a thriving business area. The population around the area is quite dense. There are many schools, training and language centers in the areas. Young people make up the bulk of the population.Many forms of public transportation reach the area. The car park is a major asset to the Mall. All these conditions offer a tremendous opportunity for the Mall to be very successful. Threats i. The main rivals near Blue Sky Shopping, Dagon Center and Gamonepwint and City Mart are doing very well. They could take all customers and gain their loyalty. ii. Recently there has been heavy traffic congestion near Myaynigone area. This could turn away potential customers to other less congested shopping malls. Long-term Business Plan Vision To be a leading Shopping Mall creating space and value for the young.Mission Through young, energetic, and creative workforce, we know the needs of customers and fulfill them with delivering the latest quality products at workable price, at convenient location and provide a perfect rendezvous and best customer services. Objectives 1. Strategic objectives i. To reinvent a new image of the Shopping Mall with a new name and a new organizational structure in 6 months ii. To attain 10% market share within a year and increase it yearly 2. Tactical objectives i. To put in place the new management system ii. To build workers capacity for skills and services ii. To give space for young leaders with their creative ideas and promotion to win loyalty of young people 3. Operational objectives i. Run the new management system effectively in three month. ii. Conduct human capacity building for supervisors, managers in 3 months. iii. Expend capacity building to the rest of the stuff in a year. iv. Elect at least 30 new potential leaders in a year 1. 2. Organizational Structure CEO Finance manager| | Marketing manager| | Human Resource manager| | General Manager| | Purchase manager| | Security manager| | | | | | | | | | | |Senior accountants| | Sale promotion manager| | HR executives| | Engineers| | Supervisors| | Supervisors| | | | | | | | | | | | Junior accounts| | event manager| | supervisors| | Supervisors| | Sector heads| | Staff| | | | | | | | | | | | Auditors| | Advertisement team| | Trainers| | sector head s| | staff| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cashiers| | Public relation team| | staff| | staff| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Sector head| | sector head| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | staff| | staff| | | | | | | | | Since all the sectors operate almost daily routine retailing, the organization is re-structured as seen in the chart above.Clear job description and special authority are given to sector heads to make key decision as they are more familiar with every day market and situation. They will work closely with the CEO in attaining the Shopping Mall goals and sales targets. In this sense, decentralization is more conducive to the Mall success and fit more into the management system. The chain of command, which means, â€Å"an unbroken line of authority that links all individuals in the organization and specifies who reports to whom†, can be seen from the organizational structure.In a Shopping Mall setting, daily retailing of a wide range of products need to have a very strong and clear scalar principle, which clearly defines authority and responsibilities. Span of Management Chief Cashier Staff 1 Staff 2 Staff 3 Staff 4 Chief Standby Staff 1 Staff 2 Staff 3 Staff 4 Replace inspector Staff 1 Staff 2 Staff 3 Staff 4 Customer service Staff 1 Staff 2 Staff 3 Staff 4 Sector Head Since the business is retail and each floor containing one sector, it is easier to organize the span of change.Each sector has a sector head with standby inspectors, cashiers head, replacing head immediately under him/her who would supervise about ten staff. In diagram one sector would look like this. 1. 3. Leadership 1. 3 The Importance of leadership in a rapidly changing world The importance of a leader in an organization can be compared to the captain of a ship. The captain not only directs the ship where to go, he/she encourages the crew member, supervise the crew to serve the people on board, and look forward to the danger, take the route that would give maximum satisfacti on during their ride on the ship.Without a leader with excellent management and interpersonal skill as well as with a clear vision toward the future, the crew will be disoriented, the ship would not get to its destination, the journey would be unpleasant, and the ship might even sink amidst the prevalent dangers in the sea. Due to the weakness of leadership in many areas as mentioned in situation analysis, the Blue Sky Shopping Mall got into a bad shape and is not reaping profit. In this age of rapid change in technological advances in telecommunication, social transformation, mass media culture and globalization, leadership must constantly adapt to these changes.If leadership in an organization could not keep abreast with the paces of these changes, that organization will certainly fall behind. The case of Blue Sky Shopping Mall is an example of the failure of leadership to respond to changes. The number of customers increased in the first years; however few security personnel coul d not cope with increasing numbers. As the number increased it demanded better and efficient services. In this respect also the CEO failed to respond. Moreover, CEO could not respond rapidly to a number of problems, which were actually, opportunities; especially he failed to look into the market demand of the young.As more and more people are becoming more aware health and environment issues the retailed products should co-respond to these shifts of expectation. In terms of ethical issues, the low wages of the staff in proportion to the hours of work, the Blue Sky earn a bad image in the public’s eye. When the CEO became too distant from the staff, and failed to share the values and views of the customers and the employee, the dynamic of the organization was very much weakened. All these shortcomings pointed out that leaders should constantly cooperate in the organization they lead. In other words, leadership is the lifeblood of an organization. . 4 Organizational Control As seen in the organizational structure chart, individuals at the top management will work closely with all the employees. Since the organization will continue to use existing employees only serving more or less the same products, the organization control focus will be on concurrent control and feedback control only. II. Marketing Marketing Strategies A. Segmentation Considering the opportunities in situational analysis, the strategic location of Blue Sky in an area which is populated by young people and people of white color jobs, we segment our market in the following categories. . Location 2. Age group 3. Income B. Targeting Since Shopping Mall gives retailing services, the most profitable portion of customers would be young adult, especially women, given the fact that the working population of young adults in Yangon is female aged between 16-35. Another target is families. Not only newly-wed but also families with children can be assumed to have a certain regular income. They make up a significant portion of population compared to people age-group below 18 and above 60. Still another target within the income group is people with middle income. They have considerable income to spend.Therefore, the Shopping mall should create value for this class of people. C. Positioning Shopping Mall can meet the needs of the market tremendously since it retails a wide range of products. Therefore, the positioning becomes very important. According to the text book, positioning means a product should have a clear, distinctive, and desirable place in the market (Pre-MBA marketing Principle, p 24). Since Shopping Mall retails many kinds of products to different target of customers, it is very crucial to consider and plan positioning with great care and in great detail.To have a clear positioning, the Mall should stock all the relevant products to meet, at the maximum satisfaction, the needs of the targeted groups. Shortage of stocks or lack of varieties of certain products could affect customers’ expectation and could lose their loyalty. Thus, the supervisor of each sector should immerse themselves into the market and constantly try to fulfill the market needs. It could use the slogan â€Å"We have what you need†. Another element of positioning is the product must be distinctive. In this sense, the Shopping Mall should cater to the targeted customers.The Shopping Mall should earn a reputation that fulfils the specific needs of the young adults, the middle-incomer, and the families. For instance, for the female young adults, to get the latest fashion and cosmetics, they should associate the Shopping Mall with their needs. Or when they want to meet their friends, they should automatically choose â€Å"Blue Sky Shopping Mall†, ‘because that’s the best place young people hang out. ’ Excellent service should be another distinctive feature of Blue Sky Shopping Mall. The last element of positioning is desirable. What could be more desirable for customers’ value than low price?Since the target group is the middle income group, the low price positioning would appeal and meet group’s need. In summary the marketing strategies can be shown in table as follows. Segmentation| Targeting| Positioning| location| Yangon, especially Myaynigone and Hledan| Clear place – â€Å"We have what you need. †| Age-group| Young adults and adults| Distinctive place – young and lively ambience| Income| Middle income group| Desirable – affordable to low price| Marketing Mix a. Product/customer solution Retailing service is considered as a product. In fact, it creates the best value or solution for customers’ needs and problems. b.Price/customer cost As mentioned in marketing positioning, we consider affordable to low price to be attractive to our targeted customers. c. Place/convenience Blue Sky Shopping Mall. A convenient place where all the public transport can reach, an ambi ence especially designed for and cater to the young, a place of great value to customers where their needs are fulfilled with the best service. d. Promotion/two-way communication In line with our objectives and target customer needs, promotions in the form of fashion shows, movies festivals, today special food, and some other creatively appealing to the young populace should be carried out.Frequent sales could promote the interest of the customers. III. Human Resource Management To respond to the high turnover rate, besides installing a new organizational structure, the following issues should be addressed adequately. The Human Resource Team should tackle the following areas: 1. Job, role, competency and skills analysis The first step in planning a workforce to fit into a new organizational structure, a comprehensive job, role, competency and skills analysis of the existing resources should be carried out in order to allot them in the areas they are best at.That way the organization will move smoother and faster to achieve its goal. 2. Training and Development After the analysis of job, role, competency and skills, a careful plan should be drawn up to train and develop the employers beginning with the most critical teams such as section heads, security personnel, cashiers and customer information services. 3. Creating a clear work schedule Part of the problem we saw in situation analysis was the lack of clear schedule, which causes much confusion and even quarrels among the workers. A schedule with reasonable amount of rest and clear timetable for lunch shift should remedy the chaos. . Pay, benefit and reward system As an incentive to promote high performance, reasonable pay according to competency and skill should be clearly made known to employees. Besides, benefits such as holidays, medical insurance, bonuses plan should be put in place and implement them consistently and transparently. Rewards for extraordinary performance as in sales or customer relations hip or taking up responsibility with good attitude should be promoted. This will not only encourage them to realize their potentials but also motivate the workforce to strive toward better performance. 5.Opportunity for personal development Since the majority of the employees are young people, the management could pick from the large pool of talents to drive forward the organization with momentum and efficiency. In this regard, potential workers should be handpicked and trained for specific task, within a framework. This is beneficial not only to the employees but also for the organization. 6. Warm and creative work environment enlivened by shared vision Most importantly, the employees are not just paid workers. They are human beings with feelings and emotions. And work has value for their lives.Thus work should give them meaning for their lives. To that end, the work environment should be warm and there should be space for their creativity as the worker population is young. If a vi sion of the Shopping Mall could be shared, it would facilitate the process. One important point is that unlike the top-down management, the people in higher position should show care, concern, and intimacy with all the employers. Only then, work environment could be warm and creative. Conclusion The business plan for Blue Sky Shopping Mall shows the overall plan of how to revitalize the Shopping Mall.The report points out areas of weakness where the Shopping Mall needs to tackle to improve its growth. The report believes that the recommendation gives a picture of what the Blue Sky Shopping Mall would look like after re-structuring the organization and imputing vision, mission, marketing plans and plans to reshape the workforce. There is a great chance that Blue Sky Shopping Mall can regain its former glory. Reference list: * MBA premaster course of business administration * http://www. capitaland. com/about-capitaland/our-mission * http://www. capitamallsasia. com/corporate/our_visi on_mission. aspx

Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions in India Essay

The corporate sector all over the world is restructuring its operations through different types of consolidation strategies like mergers and acquisitions in order to face challenges posed by the new pattern of globalisation. The intensity of such operations is increasing with the de-regulation of various government policies as a facilitator of the neo-liberal economic regime. The intensity of cross-border operations recorded an unprecedented surge since the mid-1990s and the same trend continues. Earlier, foreign firms were satisfying their market expansion strategy through the setting up of wholly owned subsidiaries in overseas markets which has now become a ‘second best option since it involves much time and effort that may not suit to the changed global scenario, cross-border mergers and acquisitions became the ‘first-best option’ to the leaders and others depended on the follow-the-leader’ strategy. The Indian corporate sector too experienced such a boom in mergers and acquisitions that led restructuring strategies especially after liberalization, Four types of growth strategies adopted by the firms. Firms started with domestic production and began to export to the foreign markets, establishment of subsidiaries in overseas market was the next stage and as a fourth phase, firms started to acquire firms in foreign markets instead of establishing subsidiaries. The increasing magnitude of investment through cross-border mergers and acquisitions and its emergence as a major component of FDI even in the case of developing countries such as India, why firms are engaging in cross-border consolidations instead of establishing subsidiaries or to engage in export-oriented growth.