Grenada Invasion History and Significance

On October 25, 1983, nearly 2,000 United States Marines led an invasion of the Caribbean island nation of Grenada. Given the codename Operation Urgent Fury, the invasion was ordered by U.S. President Ronald Reagan to counter threats by Grenada’s Marxist governments to nearly 1,000 American nationals (including 600 medical students) living on the island at the time. The operation succeeded in less than a week. The American students were rescued and the Marxist regime was replaced by an appointed interim government. In 1984, Grenada conducted free democratic elections and remains a democratic nation today. Fast Facts: Grenada Invasion Overview: The U.S.-led invasion of Grenada prevented a communist takeover and restored a constitutional government to the Caribbean island nation.Key Participants: U.S. Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force troops, along with troops of the Caribbean Defense Force, opposed by Grenadian and Cuban military troops.Start Date: October 25, 1983End Date: October 29, 1983Other Significant Dates: October 25, 1983—Allied troops capture the two airports on Grenada and U.S. Army Rangers rescue 140 captive American students October 26, 1983—U.S. Army Rangers rescue another 223 captive American students December 3, 1984—Grenada holds free, democratic electionsLocation: The Caribbean island of GrenadaOutcome: U.S. and allied victory, Marxist People’s Revolutionary Government deposed, Former constitutional, democratic government restored, Cuban military presence removed from the islandOther Information: The official U.S. military codename for the Grenada invasion was â€Å" Operation Urgent Fury.† Background In 1974, Grenada gained its independence from the United Kingdom. The newly-independent nation operated as a democracy until 1979, when the New Jewel Movement, a Marxist-Leninist faction led by Maurice Bishop overthrew the government in a violent coup. American officials became concerned when Bishop suspended the constitution, detained a number of political prisoners, and established close relationships with communist Cuba. Shortly after taking power, the Bishop government, with the help of Cuba, Libya, and other countries, began building the Point Salines Airport. First proposed in 1954, while Grenada was still a British colony, the airport included a 9,000-foot-long runway, which U.S. officials noted would accommodate the largest Soviet military aircraft. While the Bishop government vowed the runway had been built to accommodate large commercial tourist aircraft, U.S. officials feared the airport would also be used to help the Soviet Union and Cuba transport arms to communist insurgents in Central America. On October 19, 1983, an internal political struggle boiled over when another Cuban-friendly Marxist, Bernard Coard, assassinated Bishop and took control of the Grenadian government. Elsewhere, at the same time, the Cold War was heating up again. On November 4, 1979, a group of armed, radical students in Iran seized the American embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. Two rescue attempts ordered by the administration of President Jimmy Carter failed, and the Iranians held the American diplomats hostage for 444 days, finally releasing them at the very moment Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th President of the United States on January 20, 1981. The Iran hostage crisis, as it came to be known, further eroded the already tense relations between the United States and the Soviet Union that had never fully recovered from the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. In March 1983, President Reagan revealed his so-called â€Å"Reagan Doctrine,† a policy dedicated to ending the Cold War by eradicating communism worldwide. In advocating his so-called â€Å"rollback† approach to communism, Reagan emphasized the rising influence of the Soviet-Cuban alliance in Latin America and the Caribbean. When protests against Bernard Coard’s Marxist government in Grenada became violent, Reagan cited â€Å"concerns over the 600 U.S. medical students on the island† and fears of another Iran hostage crisis as justification for launching the Grenada invasion. Just two days before the invasion of Grenada began, the October 23, 1983, terrorist bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon had taken the lives of 220 US Marines, 18 sailors, and three soldiers. In a 2002 interview, Reagan’s Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger recalled, â€Å"We were planning that very weekend for the actions in Grenada to overcome the anarchy that was down there and the potential seizure of American students, and all the memories of the Iranian hostages.† The Invasion On the morning of October 25, 1983, the United States, supported by the Caribbean Defense Force, invaded Grenada. The U.S. contingent totaled 7,600 troops from the Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force. President Reagan's Remarks on the Grenada Rescue Mission followed by Remarks by Prime Minister Eugenia Charles of Dominica in the Press Room on October 25, 1983. Courtesy Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The allied invading force was opposed by about 1,500 Grenadian troops and 700 armed Cuban military engineers working on the expansion of the Point Salines Airport. Despite having a clear advantage in manpower and equipment, the U.S.-led forces were hindered by a lack of intelligence on the capabilities of the Cuban troops and the geographical layout of the island, often forced to depend on outdated tourist maps. The primary objectives of Operation Urgent Fury were to capture the island’s two airports, the disputed Point Salines Airport and the smaller Pearls Airport, and to rescue the American medical students trapped at St. George’s University. By the end of the invasion’s first day, U.S. Army Rangers had secured both the Point Salines and Pearls airports, and rescued 140 American students from St. George’s University True Blue campus. The Rangers also learned that another 223 students were being held at the university’s Grand Anse campus. These students were rescued over the next two days. By October 29, military resistance to the invasion had ended. The U.S. Army and Marines proceeded to scour the island, arresting officers of the Grenadian military and seizing or destroying its weapons and equipment. The Outcome and Death Toll As a result of the invasion, Grenada’s military People’s Revolutionary Government was deposed and replaced by an interim government under Governor Paul Scoon. Political prisoners, jailed since 1979 were released. With the free elections held on December 3, 1984, the New National Party won control of the once-again democratic Grenadian government. The island has functioned as a democracy ever since. A total of almost 8,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, along with 353 troops of the Caribbean Peace Forces participated in Operation Urgent Fury. U.S. forces suffered 19 killed and 116 wounded. Combined Cuban and Grenadian military forces sustained 70 killed, 417 wounded, and 638 captured. In addition, at least 24 civilians were killed in the fighting. The Grenadian military suffered a crippling loss of weapons, vehicles, and equipment.   Fallout and Legacy While the invasion enjoyed broad support from the American public, mainly due to the successful and timely rescue of the medical students, it was not without its critics. On November 2, 1983, the United Nations General Assembly, by a vote of 108 to 9, declared the military action â€Å"a flagrant violation of international law.† In addition, several American politicians criticized the invasion as a rash and dangerous overreaction by President Reagan to the deadly bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon that had killed over 240 U.S. troops just two days earlier. Despite the criticism, the Reagan administration hailed the invasion as the first successful â€Å"rollback† reversal of communist influence since the start of the Cold War in the 1950s, and evidence of the Reagan Doctrine’s potential for success. The Grenadian people eventually grew to support the invasion. Today, the island observes October 25—the day of the invasion, as Thanksgiving, â€Å"a special day to remember how the U.S. military rescued them from a communist takeover and restored constitutional government.† Sources and Further References Operation Urgent Fury. GlobalSecurity.orgCole, Ronald (1979). Operation Urgent Fury: The Planning and Execution of Joint Operations in Grenada. Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffZunes, Stephen. The U.S. Invasion of Grenada: A Twenty Year Retrospective. Global Policy Focus (October 2003)Nightingale, Keith, Thanksgiving in Grenada. The American Legion (October 22, 2013)

A Handbook to Simplify Ethical and Moral Leadership Essay...

Introduction: Having been chosen as a new leader in our organization, you have already demonstrated your abilities and expertise to guide and enhance the successful outcomes of a business. Leadership behavior is not only based on knowledge and expertise, it is an expectation that leaders understand the vision and core values that guide moral and ethical leadership at all times. Although morals and ethics are synonymous for the most part, the terms are distinguishable. Simply put, ethics is determinant of acceptable guidelines for behavior of a group or organization while morals exude individual beliefs of right and wrong derived from personal values (DuBrin, 2010). Guiding Leadership Principles – As a manager, it is customary that†¦show more content†¦You may have researched the ethical standards and practices of the company before making a decision to embark on a career with us. If you have, you have reinforced our great decision by hiring good people that will abide by our cultural values. Ethical culture may be viewed as the character or decision making process and a component of corporate culture that captures the rules and principles that are deemed appropriate conduct within that organization (Ferrell, Fraedrick, Ferrell, 2009). The intent is for you to not only help your team in making sound decisions, but act in accordance with the organization’s values and beliefs that follow the law. These moral and ethical decisions should follow the guiding principles for avoiding conflicts of interest, respecting company property and assets, honoring privacy, vendor relations, promoting respectful behavior, and giving bac k to the community. Part of being an ethical leader is addressing mistakes that do happen through accountability which in turn enhances the respect of not only the company but that of all stakeholders and the community. A code of ethics enhances a code of conduct and compliance. Compliance addresses what employees and companies must do while ethics deals with what should be done. Our organization benefits from doing what is right, pleasing not just customer, rather all in the supply chain. Clearly this is beneficial from a competitor standpoint as well. It is important to be a good businessShow MoreRelatedStrategic Hr in Samsung5902 Words   |  24 Pagesorganisational design, culture, and HR policies and practice. 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Martin Luther King`s Persuasion Techniques Free Essays

The remarkable feature of Martin Luther King’s rhetorical style is emotional appeal and dramatic descriptions. In his essay, â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† he uses argumentation and persuasion techniques in order to convince readers in his position and ideas. King possesses intelligence and ana ­lytical interest raising the audience to high emotional level. We will write a custom essay sample on Martin Luther King`s Persuasion Techniques or any similar topic only for you Order Now The main techniques selected for analysis are emotional appeal, logic, historical and current examples, testimonials, and fact and figure. Testimonials help King to give some recommendation to readers based on his own experience and life situations. King directly addresses his opponents: â€Å"MY DEAR FELLOW CLERGYMEN† (King). He uses testimonials to make his point and persuade listeners to agree with him. Using â€Å"fact and figure† technique, King persuades readers in rightfulness of his views supported by real facts: â€Å"the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound† (King). The audience feels that it is not a voice of the author, but a voice of the leader who really bears enormous burden of segregation trying to help millions of people to become equal with majority. Logic is another technique used by King to appeal to the audience and their mind. Following Walton, â€Å"The problem then is to understand generally how argumentation schemes can be seen as being a part of some framework of logical reasoning† (1996, 10). Logic means clearly expressed ideas and facts which allow the audience to follow thoughts and notions explained by the author. In the Letter, every argument forestalls the next one. â€Å"In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps †¦ â€Å" (King).   Vivid arguments and personal examples are logically connected which helps the audience to grasp the idea of the essay. Control of powerful feeling intensifies emotional appeal and adds dramatic effects. To give dramatic descriptions with intensity, to make the imagined picture of reality glow with more than a dim light, requires the author’s finest compositional powers. In the Letter, King creates a vivid image of racial segregation as â€Å"a burden† with deprives many racial minorities a chance to be free from oppression and humiliation. â€Å"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by oppressor† (King). There is intensity of illusion because the author is pres ­ent, constantly reminding readers of his unnatural wisdom. Values are universal norms of behavior and conduct followed by all people in spite of their racial or ethical background. King uses eternal human values in order to join different nationalities and minority groups. â€Å"Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you†(King).   The moral quality depends not on the validity of doctrines, but on the moral sense and arguments presented in the work. In both books, a certain amount of plot is based on emotional response. Exclamation marks, rhetorical question and parallel structure of sentences add emotional coloring. He appeals to such human values as tolerance and morals. Idiom and metaphors create sense of reality (How to Be Persuasive. 2001). King deals with his personal sufferings and expresses the effects of the segregation on his fellow friends on a scale of universal significance. Historical and current examples create a sense of reality which helps the audience to grasp the idea of equality and its role in historical process. The main feature of this essay is that King uses historical information based on reason and expiations of the events which attract attention of the audience. Historical examples include: St. Thomas Aquinas, Socrates, Adolf Hitler. King expects that his letter helps many people to â€Å"awake† from long sleeping and start fighting, because the new social order and ideas, and no doubt that in his society the main role is featured to democracy and freedom. â€Å"If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ (King). Personal tone is an important element of his rhetoric, because it creates a certain vision of segregation and inequality from the author’s point of view (Arguments and Persuasion Techniques in Writing, 1999). His language is logic and accurate, concise and creative. King’s rhetoric has strength, depth and delicacy of feeling. In sum, in this essay King uses traditional rhetoric techniques which help him to persuade the audience and appeal to their emotions and mind. More obvious rhetoric effects are achieved by explicitly controlling the reader’s expectations with the hopes and fears held by a common citizen. Works Cited Page 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   King, M.L. Letter from Birmingham Jail. 1963, n.d.   http://www.nobelprizes.com/nobel/peace/MLK-jail.html 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Arguments and Persuasion Techniques in Writing. 1999. http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/argpers.htm 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How to Be Persuasive. 2001. http://www.rinkworks.com/persuasive/ 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Walton, D.N. Argumentation Schemes for Presumptive Reasoning. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1996. How to cite Martin Luther King`s Persuasion Techniques, Essay examples

Financial Application Package in Australia

Question: Discuss about the Financial Application Package in Australia. Answer: Introduction MYOB or Mind Your Own Business is a multinational corporation in Australia. This company provides retail software, payroll, and accounting for medium and small business, and is well known in New Zealand and Australia. Its products are used by over 10,000 accounting practices and 1,000,000 business owners in both of these countries. There are two versions of MYOB accounting software MYOB Basics for the desktop version and MYOB LiveAccounts for the cloud. This literature review takes the Australian accounting company MYOB, and discusses its history from the companys inception, development of its product, gradual evolution into cloud application, and focus on the user adoption. Current market size is evaluated globally, and prediction made according to a modern survey. There are existing competitive players in the market, and they are listed categorized according to desktop publications and cloud applications. Competitive advantages are discussed in the form of reducing cost by adopting cloud application, the accuracy of data, automation and collaboration. MYOB is not user-friendly, and it is detailed mentioning the necessity to train separately for using this application. Literature Review History Team Teleware, Inc. and Christopher Lee developed an accounting software product in the United States in the 1980s and used the name MYOB. Equity was provided by Christopher Lee after Data-tech software; the Australian publisher purchased the intellectual property rights in 1996. On 9th July 1999, the company changed its name to MYOB, which was registered on ASX or Australian Stock Board Exchange. Following development in business, MYOB Limited merged with Solution 6 Holdings in 2004, which expanded the reach of MYOB with accounting practices in New Zealand and Australia, while expanding its range of services and products for the same (Myobecommerce.com.au, 2016). Domain registration, email hosting, and web hosting are some of the packages released as online services by MYOB in May of 2008. Tim Reed stepped in as the new CEO after replacing former CEO Craig Wrinkler in June 2008. To refocus the companys business in New Zealand and Australia, MYOB shut down its operations from Asia, I reland, UK and the USA in 2008 (Myob.com, 2016). A successful takeover bid for MYOB is completed in January 2009 by the equity consortium led by Archer Capital, which led back to the private ownership. MYOB was sold by Archer Capital on 21 August 2011 for an undisclosed amount. Development and Adoption The biggest improvement MYOB made in their software development cycle is by adopting the lean startup concept for stocking inventory to the proper levels to minimize waste. Lean startup concept puts emphasis on building products by taking continuous feedbacks from the user so to not reduce inventory with products nobody would use. One such concept called Andon cord is utilized by the Toyotas production system (The Pulse Australia, 2014). Andon cord is a literal rope in the production line which the workers can pull anytime to halt the production system if it affects product quality and safety. Since the whole production line comes to an end, therefore everyone can prioritize the task until it is resolved (Yinglian, Boegh and Qi, 2012). Over the past three years, MYOB had invested in a major way to deliver cloud solution from providing desktop-only software. Company's flagship accounting solution AccountRight Live was launched in November 2012. After the launch of AccountRight Live, t he company got feedback that the softwares speed was not up to the expectation (Myob.com, 2016). After the company had planned many exciting features internally, it changed its roadmap to focus only on performance and speed, as the company prioritized the needs of the user first. MYOB decided to focus on power users who can memorize keyboard shortcuts and work with less number of steps. As of 2014 the company did welcome feedback reports from users involved in any user tests or feedbacks in forums or blogs. Current Market Size The application market for global financial services has been forecasted to grow from $ 66.92 billion in 2014 to $ 103.66 billion by 2019, at 9.1% CAGR. Applications market of global financial services is divided into following regions Latin America, Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North-America. Software classified according to the regions are Customer Experience and Enterprise IT, Business Transaction Processing, BI and Analytics Applications, Risk and Compliance Management, and Audit (Mayer, Melitz and Ottaviano, 2014). Present leaders in the market Other Accounting software present in Australia is which are considered to be the best are mentioned below. Competitive desktop accounting software is MoneyWorks Express, Reckon Accounts EasyStart. Competitive cloud accounting software is Intuit QuickBooks Online Simple Start, Saasu, and Xero (Odhiambo and Nyasha, 2015). Competitive advantage After MYOB had moved towards cloud accounting by popular demand, it gave the users a lot of freedom in accessing their files from anywhere and from any device, be it onsite, at home or client's place. It helps in collaboration between the partners, suppliers, and customers. It also happens to increase the productivity of the workforce by reducing the stress of the client and strengthening the organization (Technologies, 2016). MYOB automates most of the input process saving a lot of time compared to manual accounting systems. Many times multiple entries are necessary for the same information, and MYOB automates this very task by syncing information and minimizes process that is time-consuming by automating payroll, purchase orders and credit notes and more (Symons, 2014). Business Analysis becomes much simpler and automatic as the application can generate reports of profit and loss statements, cash flow statements and more instead of different teams working on the same and then delivering reports after a limited time. It aids in controlling, monitoring and managing the business in just a few clicks of the mouse (Freeth, 2012). Human error can creep in when the workload becomes excessive or stressful. MYOB automates these tasks reducing burden and can even remove duplicate entries and redundancy errors. MYOB updates the records instantly, so the users are seeing the updates in real time. Account records are updated instantly in customers accounts, which help in having financial stability of the company in the long-term (Angelovski, Angelovski and Le Nguyen, 2014). According to Hossack, (2015), operating systems, hardware including its maintenance and accounting fees can take a large part of the organizations money. The cloud application from MYOB saves from all these hassles and requires only a subscription fee every month. This also eliminates the need for backups, updates, and maintenance. Current challenges encountered and literature gap There is a major concern with data security when it comes to cloud accounting systems like MYOB, and 46% respondents who took part in the Software Advices survey expressed this concern. Online content is always susceptible to frauds, hackers, and other risks. MYOB is not easy, to begin with, and therefore an organization's workforce intending to deal with this cloud application has to be trained separately (Venkatraman and Fahd, 2016). The company is trying to benefit from the Solution 6 acquisition as a strategic target, which will help MYOB in its growth and both the companies had been having discussions and talks. Merging both companies will help common branding, a stronger presence in the market, and the ability to resolve accountancy and business users and closing the gap between them. However, the CEO of Solution 6 Craig Winkler believes that MYOB would not be recognized globally (Idm.net.au, 2016). Conclusion The company MYOB adopted the lean manufacturing concept which helped it cutting costs on those products which are not necessary, and by creating Andon Cord, which is a literal cord the staffs can pull, to halt the production in case of manufacturing defect. The company then moved its desktop-only software to a cloud application by taking user feedbacks into account. There are currently existing accounting products for both desktop version, and cloud -like Competitive desktop accounting software is MoneyWorks Express, Reckon Accounts EasyStart. Competitive cloud accounting software is Intuit QuickBooks Online Simple Start, Saasu, and Xero.MYOB is also ahead of the competition regarding the accuracy of its entries, removing duplicate entries; cloud application makes investment quite cheap and much less hassle and automates most of the tasks and generate reports in real-time. However, the threats to online data security persist coupled with the non-novice friendly of the software makes it difficult for organizations to adapt to. Recommendations MYOB is not novice-friendly and the fact that a striking user-interface is the first thing that appeals to most users, MYOB loses out in that aspect. Instead of providing training sessions to those who are adopting it, it should try to make its interface simpler and easier to understand when every other product and application design are opting for clean and bold looks. Besides studying user feedback, MYOB also has to research and analyze the market. If it has to step ahead of the game among its competitors, it will also have to focus on releasing new features which are innovative and original, so that it creates a trend in the financial market. References Angelovski, S., Angelovski, V. and Le Nguyen, Y.H., Mace Engineering Group Pty Ltd., 2014.Sales Order Data Collection And Management System. U.S. Patent Application 14/483,178. Curtis, V., 2015.MYOB Software for Dummies-Australia. John Wiley Sons. Freeth, S., 2012. Tools: A switched on business.Connected Home Australia, (Mar 2012), p.52. Hossack, S., 2015. Cloud-based accounting and productivity tools for practitioners and taxpayers.Taxation in Australia,50(5), p.265. Mayer, T., Melitz, M.J. and Ottaviano, G.I., 2014. Market size, competition, and the product mix of exporters.The American Economic Review,104(2), pp.495-536. Myob.com. (2016).Accounting Software with Payroll Job Costing | AccountRight | MYOB. [online] Available at: https://www.myob.com/au/accounting-software/accountright [Accessed 24 Aug. 2016]. Myob.com. (2016).The MYOB Story. [online] Available at: https://www.myob.com/nz/about/group/story [Accessed 24 Aug. 2016]. Myobecommerce.com.au. (2016).History General Information. [online] Available at: https://www.myobecommerce.com.au/history [Accessed 24 Aug. 2016]. Odhiambo, N.M. and Nyasha, S., 2015.Financial systems and economic growth: empirical evidence from Australia(No. 18927). Symons, M.J., Single Funnel Pty Ltd, 2014.Customer relationship management (crm) systems. U.S. Patent Application 14/192,692. Technologies, R. (2016).MYOB: Benefits and Challenges for your Organisation. [online] Blog.rgtechnologies.com.au. Available at: https://blog.rgtechnologies.com.au/myob [Accessed 24 Aug. 2016]. The Pulse Australia. (2014).Lean startup: Behind the scenes at MYOB - The Pulse Australia. [online] Available at: https://myob.com.au/blog/lean-startup-behind-the-scenes-at-myob/ [Accessed 24 Aug. 2016]. Venkatraman, S. and Fahd, K., 2016. Challenges and Success Factors of ERP Systems in Australian SMEs.Systems,4(2), p.20. Yinglian, L., Begh, J. and Qi, S., 2012, May. Who Can Haul the ANDON-CORD in the Software Development Process. InInternational Conference on Trustworthy Computing and Services(pp. 714-720). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporations Employee Training Program

The scope of the research In this research project, the proposal will dwell on the strategies that the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation uses in its bid to ensure optimal employee performance. The paper will offer the best strategies to ensure optimal performance of the employees. At the beginning, the paper will provide an intrinsic proposal after which it presents the research problem.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation’s Employee Training Program specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More After this, the research will authenticate researches that have been carried out on the topic, besides presenting a comprehensive literature review to establish the present stand on the topic. Finally, the research proposal will deliver the final outcome which will be include proposals on the best ways to overcome the problem, reflect upon it, and finally present the most appropriate alternati ve approach that will minimize or solve the problem. Research background The problem is the need to incorporate training and development as part of the human resource management policies of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC). Currently, the human resource management department have policies that do not optimally reinforce training and development among the employees. As a result, the company loses its engineers to its competitors due to lack of a successful training program. Besides, the company does not have a very clear career path for the employees. In many jurisdictions, it is mandatory to have an independent training and development management function in an institution. Reflectively, design and skill development are the nerve centre for skilled and competent labour force. Unfortunately, there are scenarios where the human resource management department of the ENEC is not very efficient and therefore fails to take up key control issues in time. There is no proper sc hedule for periodic and continuous employee training and development within the ENEC, which has a quantifiable module for tracking the feedback and level of engagement among the employees. As a result, it is almost impossible to monitor the performance of each employee against the set targets. Besides, the lack of training and development may be attributed to low employee morale and redundancy at the organization. It is therefore necessary to establish the most appropriate and sustainable training and development strategy for the ENEC to monitor and micromanage its employee productivity as is the case at the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Research problem Despite the fact that the ENEC spends several millions in training seminars and internal programs, the training modules have not been modified to fit within the organization’s corpor ate culture. Therefore, this research paper will establish the most appropriate approach that the ENEC should adopt to improve on its training and development strategies. The ENEC will greatly benefit from appropriate training and development strategies, which translates into better employee growth and development, affirmative action, and client satisfaction. Rationale of the research The need for employee efficiency in the ENEC necessitates more research in the area of management styles and their impacts on organizational performance within the UAE. It is for these reasons that the research will attempt to provide a framework for organizational performance as directly influenced by the type of management strategies at the ENEC. From the business point of view, the ENEC will be in a position to double its current labour output and will spend less time in constant replacement of the employees who resign. From the personnel engagement and motivation point of view, the ENEC will be in a position to provide better career paths, opportunities for personal and organizational growth, and motive employees to perform optimally. At the end of the research, the ENEC, which wants to further improve organizational performance and increase its commitment to efficiency, will have mechanisms that it can use to decide on the most appropriate management style. Research aims and objectives This study attempts to explicitly review the human resource management strategies in the ENEC and their impacts on the quality of employee performance feedback. The primary aims and objectives of this research paper will be; To provide sufficient information to the human resource management department of the ENEC on the real management problems that has facilitated the occurrence of poor performance among the employees. To establish the views of the employees of the ENEC on the level of job satisfaction within the current training and development programs. To establish the link between the cu rrent output of the ENEC and the scope of its human resource management strategies. Research questions What is lacking within the training planning at the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation? What factors of human resource planning has not propelled the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation to its optimal success route? How does the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation deal with different challenges with its employee training planning? What could be the reasons behind constant employee resignation, despite the attractive remuneration packages? Significance of the research This research will assist the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation in the UAE to implement effective employee management strategies that promote efficiency and sustainability of employee performance feedback. It will be a compilation of best human resource management strategy practices.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation’s Employee Training Program spec ifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The study will also provide recommendations on how the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation can effectively manage its employee performance in order to guarantee employee satisfaction. Research methodology Research methodology encompasses elements like research design, study location, target population, sample and sampling procedures, research instruments, pilot testing of the instruments, data collection process, and data analysis procedures. These elements will be discussed in a more coherent manner. It must be noted that this section is very important to this study due to the fact that it gives the methods used to collect the primary data from the source. This research will be conducted using research survey study approach. The researcher chose the qualitative approach rather than a quantitative because the scope of the research is focused, subjective, dynamic, and discovery oriented. The qualitative app roach is best suited to gain proper insight into the situation of the case study. Besides, qualitative data analysis is more detailed than a quantitative one. Moreover, this approach will create room for further analysis using different and divergent tools for checking the degree of error and assumption limits. The researcher will dispatch 120 questionnaires as part of the quantitative survey. The research will be declared effective when 80 questionnaires are fully filled and returned. This research will target senior and junior staff at the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. The research will target to interview 6 participants. The study will opt for open and close-ended questionnaire in data collection since it is economical on time, finance, and energy unlike qualitative method which may not be economical especially when the sample size is put into picture. In the collection of data procedure, the research will adopt a drop and pick module for the sample population. Each respondent will be given a time frame of a week to respond to questions in the questionnaire. Where necessary, further clarification will be accorded to participants.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Data Analysis The collected quantitative data will be coded and passed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version seventeen. In the process, cross tabulation will be used to compare and contrast perception on the effectiveness of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation’s training program. In order to quantify the relationship between the independent and dependent variable, ANOVA will be essential besides figures, charts, and tabular representation of correlation analysis. Expected findings It is anticipated that the human resource management strategies, that will be recommended, will ensure optimal performance and sustainability of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation’s labour function as have been the case at the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. The improvement in employee performance will be quantifiable through comparing the past employee performance feedback of the company with the performance after six months of implementation. This report on Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation’s Employee Training Program was written and submitted by user Trinity Osborne to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Medical outsourcing versus in-house development Essay Example

Medical outsourcing versus in Medical outsourcing versus in-house development Paper Medical outsourcing versus in-house development Paper Outsourcing has been a very controversial topic in the modern business environment.   This is because of the diverse benefits and costs that organizations which outsource, or fail to outsource, face.   Outsourcing involves sub-contracting services to other companies or firms, as opposed to in-house employees performing them. According to Altinkemer Chaturvedi (1), a company or firm enters into a contract with a vendor and the contract defines nature of outsourced services.   Such companies that have been given these contracts are usually professionals in that field, and provide the services more efficiently and relative easily, than the company that contracts them. The major reason that companies outsource services is to concentrate on their core activities and to save money.   It is also done to conserve use of labor, land, technology, capital and other resources.   In the medical field, outsourcing is also common due to similar reasons.   Services that can be outsourced in this field include surgery, treatment, IT services, facility management, catering among other services. Benefits of medical outsourcing. Cost One benefit of medical outsourcing is the reduction in cost.   According to Lauren (68-73), patients who would have otherwise not afforded health care are given a chance to access it, from specialists who charge cheaper than the medical facility.   Countries such as Philippines and India are reputed to be relatively cheap and this is the reason that foreigners flock to these countries.   This is however a benefit that is mostly enjoyed by the patient, since it is an opportunity cost is foregone by the hospital, in case the facility could have handled the problem. In terms of the health facility, outsourcing non-cores services reduces costs, due to increasing efficiency and effectiveness of operations.   This is achieved through delegating such duties to professionals.   Costs are also reduced since the medical facilities do not have to invest in capital equipment for activities that they outsource.   The vendors own their own equipment that they use to operate their activities.   Plant ownership and fixed overheads are eliminated, which saves money for the facility. Core services. Another benefit of medical outsourcing, especially if it involves facility management, is the fact that the medical facility can concentrate on providing its primary service, that is health care.   Other services provided by hospitals include catering, cleaning and maintaining stocks among other services. These services, though necessary, are the non-core services that are provided by medical facilities.   Outsourcing them would enable the medical facilities provide quality health care.   According to McEntee (12-18), such services would be delegated to professional in those fields, which would reduce the energy and time that medical facilities use in providing them. Customer satisfaction. Outsourcing non-core activities would also enable the medical facilities improve satisfaction by clients.   According to Ronan (77-88), this is through provision of high quality services due to two reasons.    The first reason is that the facility concentrates in its core specialty, which leads to attainment of higher levels of productivity.   The second reason is that such activities are delegated to professionals in those fields, who perform them effectively, and with relative ease, since that is their specialty.   This has the overall effect of improving effectiveness and efficiency of operations and hence achieving the objectives and goals of medical facilities.   This enables the needs of the customer to be satisfied. Career opportunities. When activities that are outsourced by medical facilities are performed within the premises of the hospital or health center, this provides opportunities for employees to learn from professionals.   They can get access to new skills or more efficient methods of achieving the desired tasks.   This may even create alternative careers for such employees.   Acquisition of new skills improves their professional resume, which may help advance their careers.   They are also able to make informed decisions due to access to a variety of information.

Criminal profiling Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Criminal profiling - Research Paper Example Offender Profiling Criminal Profiling or Offender Profiling is the method that is utilized as a tool to locate or predict the profile and characteristics of an unknown criminal offender. In different regions of the world, criminal profiling is considered by different names like, criminal personality profiling, criminological profiling, behavioral profiling or criminal investigative analysis. As far as geographical profiling is concerned, it is a different method of profiling an offender. In the year 1990, 2005 and 2011, a number of television serials and films like â€Å"Criminal Minds† and a film entitled â€Å"The Silence of the Lambs† have introduced many names, which according to FBI version, highlights the salient features of "criminal investigative analysis." Here we cite, Holmes and Holmes, which indicates three main objectives of criminal profiling. Initially it is to provide complete information about law enforcers along with a social and psychological analytical background of the offenders (other serial killers) that would be helpful for the police who needs help in the investigations (Holmes and Holmes 139). Amongst many kinds of criminal profiling, one is called linkage analysis. Gerard N. Labuschagne, a well known profiler has connected his analysis on the behavioral attitude of the offender, which plays an important role in detecting or determining the possibility of crimes that have been committed by one or more offenders. Gathering many evidences relating to offender’s crime style such as modalities of committing crimes and the signature of the offenders will be of great help to establish an essence for a linkage analysis. An offender’s modality is the tendency of killing victims. An offender’s signature, if found similar in each killing, may be helpful for the investigator to trace the actual culprit. It is worth mentioning that the linkage analysis is effectively utilized in a case or cases where the DNA test facility is not available (Labuschagne 186). Labuschagne, who can be stated as a profiler of repute is of the view that in gathering and looking at the a spects of the offender’s crime pattern, investigators must take into account five procedural assessment a) gather data from multiple channels b) review available data to pin point prominent features of each crime c) categorize the significant features d) compiling a written report that identifies the findings (Labuschagne 189). Historical background In the case of â€Å"ordinary† criminals, straight forward process, involving all relevant indications and establishing a rational objective for the crime, which most often helps lead to the actual perpetrators, is adopted. Apparently, it may be objectless crime, if it comparatively presents difficult and complex conundrum. It is true that an investigator cannot find a clue of a criminal until and unless concrete evidence is there to connect with him with the crime (Sillup 2010). Describing cited subjects is nothing but criminal profiling. Criminal profiling is an art of tracking down the real perpetrator rather than scienc e. It is based on careful observation of physical evidence of a crime

Effect of screening mammography on breast cancer Research Paper

Effect of screening mammography on breast cancer - Research Paper Example This listing of alternative treatments, under the current legal system, must even include the risks and benefits of non-treatment (Marshall, 2005). Despite being clinical screenings, including annual screening mammography and other treatments, being named the most effective method for reducing mortality and detecting early cancers by the United States Preventative Services Task Force (Greco et al., 2009), there is great difficulty in determining the actual efficacy of the technique on mortality rates (Spencer et al., 2004). The difficulty lies in separating the effect of screening on the actual mortality rates of detected cancers versus its effect on the time of detection, what researchers refer to as the lead-time bias (Spencer et al., 2004). Also, any longitudinal study faces the issue that as medical science improves, long-term survival rates for cancer patients improves as well. The sample becomes contaminated as the researchers cannot separate survival due to better screening or due to better treatment (Marshall, 2005). ... d screening mammography is generally done routinely only for women, a perception of its effectiveness should be examined under Madeleine Leininger's theory of transcultural nursing. Women in and of themselves could be considered a cultural group, and they are also subject to high levels of pressures on their behavior due to their cultural environment. Cultural care requires making allowances for the age, ethnic background, and other personal background characteristics of a patient (Hammerschmidt, Zagonel, and Lenardt, 2007). Breast cancer screening effectiveness must be looked at through the eyes of the women in different cultures, generations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and income brackets (Shyyan et al., 2006; Wujcik et al., 2009), as the usage of screening treatments by all of these women is integral to the success of any study. Research Methodology The determination of effectiveness requires quantitative analysis of numerical data. The literature research method should theref ore focus on finding such statistics, but also ensuring that such statistics are comparable. Data from different age groups, for example, should not be analyzed together without allowances for that variance. CINAHL was searched for articles that contained the phrases â€Å"breast cancer†, â€Å"screening mammography†, and â€Å"breast cancer mortality†. The search was limited to articles since 2001. Additionally, Google Scholar was used to locate articles and information about the Leininger theory of cultural care. All sources used are from peer-reviewed medical and nursing journals to ensure the quality of the research. Review of Literature Two major types of studies exist about screening mammography: attempts to determine, empirically, the success of screening techniques, and the general

Healthcare reform Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Healthcare reform - Research Paper Example The health reforms have targeted three major areas: uniformity of plans across gender, age and people with pre-existing diseases; accessibility to quality healthcare; and rein in cost (Whitehouse). The cost effectiveness would broadly be addressed by enforcing measures to control wastage, fraud and abuse in Medicare. The austerity measures and savings would further enable the healthcare industry to spread medical insurance to larger segment of population who have not been covered under healthcare plans due to lack of finances. $630 billion have been allotted in the budget of 2010 which would be used as reserve for the healthcare reforms over a period of ten years (OMB). Graham (2011) asserts that ‘Affordable Care Act offers the potential to address the needs of racial and ethnic minority populations, by bringing down health care costs, investing in prevention and wellness, supporting improvements in primary care, and creating linkages between the traditional realms of health and social services’. Thus, it can be successfully concluded that reforms initiatives in healthcare would go a long way in promoting equality and non discrimination at all levels of healthcare

Use Of Power In Organizations

Use Of Power In Organizations Personal power is power that resides with an individual, regardless of his or her position in the organization. Someone usually exercise personal power through rational persuasion or by playing of followers identifications with him or her. An individual with personal power often can inspire greater loyalty and dedication in followers than someone who has only position power. The stronger influence from the fact that the followers are acting more from choice than from necessity and thus will respond more readily to request and appeals. Of course the influence of a leader who relies only on personal power is limited, because followers may freely decided not to accept his or her directives or orders. The distinctions between formal and informal leaders are also related to position and personal power .A formal leader will have , at minimum, position power. And an informal leader will similarly have some degree of personal power. Just as a person may be both a formal and an informal leader, he or she can have both position and personal power simultaneously. Indeed such a combination usually has the greatest potential influence on the action of others. An individual with both personal and position power will have the strongest overall power. Likewise , an individual with neither personal nor position power will have the weakest overall power. Finally when either personal or position power is high but the other is low, the individual will have a moderate level or overall power. The Uses of Power in Organizations Power can be used in many ways in an organization. But because of the potential for its misuse and the concerns that it may engender, it is important that the mangers fully understand the dynamics of using power. In using expert power, managers aware of their education, experience, and accomplishments as they apply to current circumstances. But to maintain credibility , a leader should not pretend to know things that he or she really does not know. A leader whose pretension are exposed will rapidly lose expert power. A confident and decisive leader demonstrate a firm grasp of situations and takes charge when circumstances. Managers should also keep themselves informed about development related to tasks that are valuable to the organization and relevant to their expertise. A leader who recognizes employee concerns works to understand the underlying nature of these issues and takes appropriate steps to reassure subordinates. For e.g. , if employees feel threatened by rumors that they will lose office space after the next move, the leader might ask them about this concern and then find out just how much office space there will be and tell the subordinates, a leader should be careful not to flaunt expertise or behave like a he know everything. Suppose a manager has asked subordinates to spend his day finishing an important report. Later, while the manager is out of the office, the manager boss comes and ask the subordinates to drop that project and work on something else. The subordinates will then be in the akward position of having to choose which of two higher-ranking individuals to obey. Exercising authority regularly wil reinforce its presence in the eyes of subordinates. Verifying compliances simply means that leaders should find out whether subordinates have carried out their request before giving rewards otherwise subordinates may not recognize the linkage between their performance and subsequent reward. The request that is to be rewarded must be both reasonable and feasible, of course, because even the promise of a reward will not motivate a subordinates who thinks a request should not or cannot be carried out. The same can be said for a request that seems improper or unethical. Among other things, the follower may see a reward linked to an improper or ethical request. Finally if the leader promises a reward that subordinates know she or he cannot actually deliver , or if they have little use for a reward the manager can deliver, they will not be motivated to carry out the request. Further , they may grow sceptical of the leaders ability to deliver rewards that are worth something to them. Bases of Power Leaders are not automatically endowed an unlimited amount of power over subordinates . leaders also differ in terms of the sources of bases upon which power over subordinates can be exerted. There are five different powers that affect leadership which include expert power, referent power, legitimate power, reward power and coercive power. The first base of power is labelled coercive power. The basis of the influence is the fact that one person can punish another. Thus , a subordinates may do what a leader request because the leader has the power to fire the subordinates. Although the threat of punishment may give a leader considerable power over subordinates ,coercive power generally is not a very efficient base of power. The second power base described by French and Raven is labelled reward power. This is essentially the opposite of coercive power. That is subordinates do what the leader wants because the leader has the ability to reward them in some way. For example, a subordinates may comply with a leader request that he or she work overtime because the leader has the power to grant this employee a larger pay increase when raised are given out. The Third power base is labelled legimate power. This power emanates from the position that one holds in an organization. In most organization settings, the fact that one employees is another employee is another employees supervisor means that the supervisor has a legimate right to make request of the other person. Note that this legitimate right is independent of the person holding the position. The Fourth power base is expert power. This is power based on the fact that an individual is perceived as an expert on something to ask a group of subordinates to work on a weekend may bring the group before making the request. When exchange is used as an influence tactics, the leader offers subordinates something in return for complying with the request, or perhaps offers them a share of the benefits that accrue when a task iis accomplished. The fifth is Pressure. This involves the use of demands ,threats ,or persistent monitoring to make subordinates comply with a request . Suppose a supervisor wants to make sure a subordinates is on time every morning. One way to do this would be check the persons desk to see if he or she is present by the required time. Although pressure may at times get leader the behaviour they desire, this almost always comes in the form of compliance on the part of the employee. Leadership Good leaders are gifted, everyone cant lead it . If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process, of self-study, education, training, and experience. To inspire the workers to a higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things to, know, . It do not come naturally, but when we acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders practices are continually works and studying to improve their leadership skills. Before we get started, lets define leadership. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others, the objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. The most popular definitions is that leadership is a quality of the persons possess that allows them to rule, and lead other people. That quality consists of a persons charisma, power of thought, intellectual potential, organizational talents, and sense of responsibility. Other leadership essays examples give a different definition: leadership is concrete knowledge of psychology and social interaction, anyone can certainly develop the ability to be a leader. We have seen someone ordinary leading a company or an organization. We have seen someone who is leading a country, but has no charisma, no special skills. There is little doubt youll answer no. We can give the example of Hitler whenever he gives the speech everyone claps he was just a amazing person but the secret is whenever he comes in the stage he used to practice in front of mirror .Unfortunately, there are so many people in our world who are in the top positions, who have influence and power, although nobody really sees a real leader in them. Perhaps being a leader simply means being in a position over other people. Of course, their are some strategy to lead someone is to have the skills to make someone undertake what you want. Although it does not signify that this someone has no other solution. A real leader is someone who is respected by other people and due to this respect is followed by them. Being a leader demands something distinctive should be there in a person something that makes him or her special, something stronger, and probably better than others so he compete with others. Thats why its not correct to think its virtually anyone can easily be a leader but not the perfect. Of course, to be a good one, we should improve our self, gain more and more practical knowledge as well as the experience, although with effort the leadership potential we can become a good leader. The Power of Leadership What is leadership? What is power? We define the two as a cornerstone of any successful team, organization, or for any successful country. If there to analyze the U.S. we could see this very clearly. The U.S. is the leader and one of the most dominating countries in the world, hence being called world power. What we estimate that leadership compliments from power, and power compliments leadership. When these two qualities are used in a responsible manner success soon and follows the right path . If we refer to the history books, we can come to the conclusion that wars are won by good leadership and a responsible use of power. Whenever we mention the word Power most of the people will think that power is evil, corrupt, self-serving, manipulative and hurtful. When we used power is in an ethical and in purposeful way, there is nothing evil about it. Leadership is interpersonal influence, exercised in a situation, and directed, through communication process ,and it is an attainment of a specified goal or goals. If we would delegate responsibility to someone, we need to analyse that person with the power as well. Managers and leaders always commit the mistake of giving people responsibility, and not giving them the actual power so that they can execute their responsibilities well. How many people have we met that they are frustrated with their jobs simply because they had job responsibilities that they did not have much power to fulfil. They try their very best, but they gave resigned or frustrated because they realize they simply do not have the better resources; decision making power; time to fulfill it. In other words, they were given a task, but they were not given the resources to complete that task. Leadership, power and influence is a theme within management or the organization that is constantly developing. Leaders are now a days developing new and innovative ways to empower themselves and the followers in order to get the best out of them they follow the leaders to become like him or her the advantage is that the work is done properly and the followers. We have decided to look at the assumption that what leadership is based on,and the different types of relationships between the people, rather than the skills and abilities of just one person. We know this theory allows for a large network of interaction of people from all walks of life, they have the ability to shape these people through the influence and power of the leader. So the objective was to examine the forms of power and the relationships of different power. There are five sources of power that are commonly referred to when describing leadership. The different approaches with supporting evidence gathered from successful leaders. They demonstrated the challenges experienced it face the reality and how they have overcome from the situation ,these obstacles through the use of leadership, power and influence. Different leadership patterns are applicable to different genders, while these behavioral strategies note above present unique solutions for men and women. It is believed that females as a rule would have softer leadership styles related to care, nurture and sensuality rather than to ruthless and aggressive search for the implementation of the corporate objectives. Females as a rule stress the importance of relationship while men stress the importance of a task. Still, there are many examples of task oriented females and caring males. Also it is believed that females in the organizations are likely to gain authority only if the company deals with people and relations rather than with some dry figures and statistics. Leadership, as one can say involves the following four things Motivating other people. Some leaders and some must be followers. The leaders comes front in time when needed or crisis and present innovative solution. Leaders know what they want, to achieve and what is their ambition. The behavioural theory of leadership was created after the followers of the trait leadership theory could not find enough traits to explain why some people choose good leaders and why some could only be followers. The reason is the most logical way was to explore how the leaders behaved in their daily activities and especially towards their followers. The leadership would makes group of different behavioural patterns and activities together and then put a label on them calling them in styles. Concern for task. This behaviour of leaders is represented by tangible and calculable achievement linked which improved productivity of the organization of labor and motivation the personnel. Concern for people. This behaviour of leaders is represented by the tangible concern for people who works in the organization and have desire to establish proper relations rather than to treat them as units of production and corporate overhead. In this manner the leader establishes the group called the old boy club where each worker would become very much comfortable. Thus, if needed, each worker will give their best to do even more to make other friends happy. Directive leadership. This behavioural leadership style is represented by the leaders taking continuously and takes the decisions for other, and expecting the others rather to follow the instructions. Participative leadership. This behavioural leadership style is represented by the leaders goals to engage people make them busy to the task and increase their commitment by allowing them to make decisions for the company they work for. As a rule the leadership would use any two of the four general leadership styles shown above, they redesign them or rename them, plot them on some graph and then establish mixed strategy. Many others leadership would use other combinations and plot other leadership styles and schemes based on the leadership behaviour. Speaking about some practical situation, it is believed that those leaders engaged in participative and people-oriented leadership, they can enjoy better employee motivation and satisfaction leadership styles. Conclusion The power and bases of leadership is the day to day needs of human beings, and what i found while doing these assignment is Leader didnt came in the earth by god gifted. They make them self to become a good leader the one who have desire to become a leader he or she should work on it, give effort, gain knowledge, and practically do some research so that he or she could lead others. The leader should have the quality to motivate others make himself the brand image so people follow him or her.It is not the easy task to lead a country or a followers the courage should be build on him/her so that he/she could utilize the power of the leader. He/she should have decision making abilities and he/she should take the decision which will give them fame .Finally i would like to conclude by saying that everything is possible if you have the goals.

My Private Library Essay -- Descriptive Essay

Just like waking up in the morning and inhaling my first conscious-breath of the day, reading is something essential to me. As I child, I used to dream of having my own and private reading place where I would sit and spend my whole day reading my favorite books without any disturbance. Thanks to my dreams, I now have a wonderful private library in my house. This place is not similar to any other ordinary library but a mini place where you can find a massive number of interesting books of different varieties. Before you come into my library, you will have to obey a simple rule which is not that difficult to follow. Well, it is to be loaded with high reading spirit and I bet you that you will have no space in your heart to say good bye to this place. I can assure you on that as I myself experience the same thing everyday before I leave to work. As I sip my daily morning black coffee from my special coffee mug, I walk into my private library which has an automatic opening and a small hall as we enter. Just beside the couch which is in the hall, there is a mini map on the types of...

The impact of Climatic Change on the Decline of Black French Truffle

Introduction1.2 BackgroundTruffles grow under a very sensitive environment; they naturally occur in the Mediterranean region of Europe. This has been a mysterious crop grown under a veil of secrecy for years in this region of Europe (Ruffles Estate, 2013). This crop is regarded as a delicacy and has sustained its appeal to food lovers all around the world. Truffle are actually a unique edible mushroom that grows underground also regarded as a fungus and is considered a delicacy complimenting the best foods worldwide. Its aroma as well as flavour is commonly described as unique (Ruffles Estate, 2013). The most preferred quality in truffle market is the black French truffle also known as Tuber melanosporum is one of the most expensive varieties in the market and occurs naturally in parts of France also geographical referred to as the Mediterranean basin (Jolly, 2012). However, the Tuber melanosporum is becoming scarcer, and there is a common idea that this scarcity is due to global ch ange of the climate (Jolly, 2012). This has led to a sharp price increase of this rare commodity, but most of all is the concern of the gradual decline in its availability. Europe, and more so, the Mediterranean basin has seen a steady decline of this rare species over the last 40 years (FAIR, 2000). This decline has been both in quantity, as well as quality, however this paper will examine the former.1.3 Project Aims and ObjectivesThis project’s principle aim is to collect and analyse data using both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the increasing decline in the production of black truffles from France also referred to as Perigord truffle and Tuber melanosporum. In this regard, the project will adopt cause-effect deductions, hypothesis testing, and observations to develop understanding this decline in truffle production and in particular whether it affects the natural occurring or cultivated truffles. A secondary aim of this project considers the reasons for the decline of production of the black French truffle. This project, through careful analysis of related research acknowledges the fact that there is a general decline in natural occurring truffle and that this decline is associated with various factors. The study seeks to identify the main reason for the decline in production and harvesting of black French truffles. The study also aims at providing recommendations to address the decline in truffle production. This study will be documented accurately in order to provide subsequent researchers with all the information necessary to further the development in this field of study. Literature Review In consideration of Truffles biological and ecological growth and development Smith and Read (1997), assert that root symbionts are most significant in checking the ecosystem function in most temperate forests of the world, and this includes the rare ectomycorrhizal fungi. Their main function is the provision of the much needed trace minerals to the truffles as well as protection from drought, disease causing agents and pests (Garbaye, 2000; Govindarajulu et al., 2005). Smith and Read (1997) further add that truffles reciprocate provision of food and protection from disease with provision of carbon to the micro-organisms. The ecology in these temperate regions is complexly interconnected, the mushrooms that are produced by the micro-organisms and are significant sources of food for the animal populations in the forests (Carey et al., 2000). However, according to FAIR (2000), the black truffles production in Europe has dramatically declined over the last half century, this is both in quality as well as quantity. Furthermore, efforts have been made to increase the vegetation that promote truffle growth, but the decline has persisted. This trend had been identified earlier by Cherfas (1991), and in his research, he claimed that the decline had begun over 100 years ago in the natural habitat, in the temperate forests. The cause of this decline in the growth and development of black truffles has been the subject of inquiries and research. There is still little explanation for these long term decline in both natural and cultivated truffle.Research is needed to help understand this decline, the real difficulty lay in understanding the underground microbial since experimental environments fail to match the necessary real world conditions (Macdonald et al., 2005). As a matter of fact Lamon et al (2009) agree that there is sca rcity of much needed extended observations of quantitative data generated from natural the natural setting. Chevalier et al. ( 2001), assert that both Tuber melanosporum and Tuber magnatum are the most valuable species in the market. These varieties are also the endangered species at the brink of extinction. Hall et al. (2001), in their findings explain that geographically, Tuber melanosporum naturally occurs in France, Italy, Bulgaria and certain areas in Europe. Martin, F. et al (2010), specifically examines the decline in the production of Tuber melanosporum, however, he also adds that they naturally occur in the Mediterranean habitat. Sourzat (2002), in the french publication, explains that T. melanosporum’s fruits best in its natural setting characterized by rocks, forests that are open that are generally warm with mild winter seasons, as well, as regular precipitation in the summers. In addition, best production is expected on the slopes where the produce receives protection from excessive cold and dry wind. According to Hall et al. (2001), research reveals that truffier es grown in rainy areas with lower temperatures and have not yielded any truffles. In fact, truffles of the T. melanosporum species grew best in climatic regions with between 600-1500 mm average precipitations, average temperatures of 18-21 degree Celsius in the summer and the winter, an average of 1-8 degree Celsius (Zambonelli & Di Munno, 1992). It seems areas that continuously have frozen ground in the cold seasons are not suited for the growth of T. melanosporum because the fruits spoil when frozen. Fontana and Bonfante (1971) in their publication introduce the idea of growing truffle fungi in an artificial environment. They explain that this idea was to supplement the deficit of the produce collected in the natural habitat. This method was developed back in the 1970s indication that the decline of truffle had already been the cause of concern in the market. By the turn of the millennium, truffle grown in orchards accounted for half of the truffle produced around the world (Hall et al., 2003). It also important to note that a majority of these orchards are developed within truffles natural geographic areas. Having highlighted the required natural habitats for the truffles, and in reference to their decline, there are several suggestions based on various research on this decline. Cherfas (1991) traces back the history of this decline by asserting that the number of mushroom species gathered in every foray dropped from 72 to 38 between 1912 and 1982 in the Netherlands. In the same publication, it is revealed that chanterelles in central European market in mid 1970s were found to have reduced in size 50 times than those in 1950s. Hall et al.(2003) in their publication reveal that, by the 20th Century, T. melanosporum in the French market had dropped to 2000 tons annually and a further decline was witnessed by the turn of the 21st Century by 150 tons. It is true that the truffle harvesting in France has been an affair by a small number of people who mainly collected them from their natural setting. As seen in the previous paragraph, there is an increase in production of truffles in orchar ds as a supplement to the dwindling natural supply. In a later publication Hall et al., (2007), affirm that the decline in natural truffle harvest has persisted and is at an all time low of between 12 to 150 tonnes per year from the 1000 to 2000 tonnes in the 1990s. The steady decline in the production of truffle has led to the rise in price per unit over the last decade with an increase in demand (Lee, 2008). The decline of French Truffle has been a point of concern in the scientific research circles with some as Hall et al. (2003) in their study, pointing at water and air pollution, in addition to other factors including, the dynamism in forest structure and the lack of knowledge in traditional gathering as a result of world wars. Similar findings have been published in a report by Amaranthus (2007) citing destruction of truffle natural habitat, urban development, among the reasons for the decline. Such factors are most likely to continue reducing the production figures and specifically those in their natural settings (Amaranthus, 2007; Hall et al., 2007). Garvey and Cooper (2004), in their report further allude that this decline in natural habitat has resulted in the production of truffles on cultivated farms where the trees or truffieres are inoculated. However, these remedies cannot beat the native oak and hazel vegetation as the major producer of the French black truffles in France. In the recent years, the decline in truffle has been experienced in many regions of the world and especially the fast declining French black truffle or the Tuber melanosporum. However, it appears that most researchers are turning to climate as the main culprit. Buntgen et al.(2012) in their study on drought induced truffle decline explains the effect of climate on the production of truffle. They claim in their research that the effect of climate can either be directly or through the truffles symbiotic host vegetation. This literature review delves much into this article because of its relevance to the topic. Buntgen et al. (2012), provide in depth review on the yearly inventory of regional collection of truffle from Spain consisting of Aragon, France mainly a Perigord or Tuber melanosporum, and Italy a combination of Piedmont and Umbria. In this analysis, they indicate that the change in truffle production between 1970 and 2006 was similar between the species from Spain and France that is Aragon and Perigord respectively. Their analysis also found a lack of similarities in changes of production between Perigord and Piedmont–Umbria from France and Italy respectively. This observation from the regional-scale coherency is consistent with Sourzat (2002) observation that western mediterranean basin is the home of truffle fruiting. In addition, the harvests of Aragon and Perigord have revealed significant correlation, this the authors relate to the similarity in summer precipitation, whereas lack of correlations was found between Piedmont and Umbria production and precipitation (Buntgen et al., 2012). The difference in levels of sensitivity here is understandable because the Piedmont and Umbria experience double summer precipitation than Spanish Aragon with Perigord ranging in between (Zambonelli & Di Munno, 1992). The average of the three, truffle production outcomes, their regional mean correlated both positively and negatively at higher significant lev el of 99.9 percent with between June and August rainfall totals as well as maxima temperatures. The authors, Buntgen et al.(2012), posits in their analysis that both the natural and the cultivated truffles in the Mediterranean are seasonal and are subjected to the season between November and February a claim supported by Mello et al., (2006). In addition, this is dependent on the summer condition with rainy and cold weather instrumental in the fruit body development as supported by Gallot, (1999) in his publication more than a decade prior to Buntgen et al., (2012). Buntgen et al. (2012) postulate that given the relationship between fungi and host vegetation, there is bound to be competition for moisture due to the amount of rainfall in this season and this correlate significantly at 99.9 percent level with the yield. Fischer and Schar, (2010) present a suite of a dozen climatic models leading to rise in mean temperatures and decrease in rainfall totals for the Mediterranean region until the end of the 21st Century. This is indicative of the increased summer evapotranspiratio n. It is interesting to note that the simulated southwest European climatic conditions representing the last ten years are consistent to the drop in the production of truffle harvest (Buntgen et al., 2012). Nonetheless, Buntgen et al. (2012), state that it is unclear whether the truffle will reach tipping points as a result of the projected shift in climate, this is regard to their physiological and biogeochemical fruit body development. In their assumption, the expected or projected summer dryness will result in a sustained decline, in truffle yield, while the regions north of Alpine arc are most likely to provide suitable habitat for the truffle due to their calcareousness. Based on their observations, Buntgen et al.(2012), are inclined to the idea that climatic change and more so reduced summer precipitation and increased temperatures are the cause for truffle yields in the Mediterranean basin the natural habitat of T. melanosporum. Mello et al. (2006), in their analysis claim that the reduction in future summer rainfall coupled with summer aridity will result in drought resistant strain of T. melanosporum within its natural setting or distribution range. Samils, et al, (2008) in their research predict that the expected drop in truffle harvest in the Mediterranean region, will have a significant impact not only on the local tourism, but the agriculture as well as the global prices of this valuable commodity. This is most likely to increase the value of other varieties with artificial metabolism and not specific to the requirements of their ecological niche as the T. melanosporum (Mello et al., 2006;Gallot, 1999). This might see an increase in T. aestivum cultivation in areas where traditionally T. melanosporum was predominant as well as an increase in demand of truffle from non-traditional T. melanosporum producing regions outside Europe (Buntgen et al., 2012). Splivallo et al. (2012), in their analysis of the Burgundy truffle, suggest that the change in climatic conditions that were said to have begun a century ago has no impact on the current burgundy truffle distribution. However, they concur with Buntgen et al.(2012) on the impact of climatic change on species with narrower ranges such as the French black truffle, Perigord or Tuber melanosporum, and Italy a combination of Piedmont and Umbria. They support this by claiming that if the climate fails to restrict the distribution of these two species, then even a slight temperature increase in northern Europe as predicted by Buntgen et al. (2012) might result in its northern expansion. They confirm what Chevalier et al.(2001) had outlined that rainfall, soil composition are also factors that contribute to the decline in the production of Perigord. Splivallo et al. (2012), concur with Buntgen et al.(2012) assertion that other options will be needed to avert the looming shortage of this truf fle species, success cultivation lies in orchard farming as a change from the current empirical practices. They claim that cultivation of truffle in a bid to mitigate the effects of climate change which is a major cause of the decline should be based on scientific evidence. Therefore, the rise in temperature, in its self, will not be sufficient for the shift of truffle production in the northern European region (Splivallo et al., 2012). Methodology and Procedure3.1 Research DesignThis study will adopt a mixed methods research design. This process entails collecting and analysing data using both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the research problem comprehensively. When both qualitative and quantitative methods are combined in research, they supplement each other allowing a comprehensive analysis of the research problem (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003). According to Charles & Mertler (2002), quantitative methods deal with numerical data using cause-effect deductions, hypothesis testing, and observations to develop an understanding of the research issue. On the other hand, qualitative methods require the researcher to develop a complete picture of the research issues by conducting an in-depth analysis of words, as well as, compiled reports by the study participants. In this approach, the researcher adopts a constructivist approach to have a complete understanding of the problem centred on different conte xtual aspects (Charles & Mertler, 2002). In the mixed research methods, the uses pragmatic philosophy by affirming that truth is what works. Therefore, mixed methods integrate both text and numerical data to give a clear overview of the research problem. In this regard, this study will use surveys and interviews since they are the most popular data collection research tools (Creswell, 2002). In the first step of data collection, a web-based survey will be used, and data analysed using discriminant function. The qualitative method will involve semi-structured interviews to collect textual data from people to regarding the decline of Truffles.3.2 Research SampleThe target population sample will be about 1,200 environmentalists and hoteliers in France regarding the decline of truffles. These individuals are people who have been working in the hotel and environmental sectors in France. For the first quantitative stage of the research, a convenience sample will be chosen comprising indi viduals studying truffles decline, locals, and environmentalists, as well as, hoteliers. For the qualitative phase of the research, a smaller sample will be used to understand the main issue regarding the decline of French truffle (Creswell, 2002, p. 194). This is to ensure the selected participants will give appropriate answers to the research questions. Besides, for the qualitative part of the research, participants will be notified of their selection for voluntary follow-up individual interviews. Given the use of mixed methods research in the study, selection of participants for the qualitative part will rely on the outcomes of the quantitative stage. The use of this approach will ensure the researcher gets a multidimensional outlook of the research problem. For this research, the participants will be chosen centred on the statistically significant difference outcomes of the discriminant function analysis.3.3 Data CollectionFor the quantitative phase of the research, a cross-sec tional survey will be used; this implies that statistics will be gathered at one point in time (McMillan, 2000). The survey used for this research will be of different formats including multiple choices, yes/no questions, self-evaluation items, and open-ended questions. The questionnaire will comprise twenty four questions divided equally into six sections. The first section will contain questions regarding truffles and the participant’s understanding of truffles measured on a 7-point Likert scale. The second part will evaluate the participants’ awareness regarding the decline of truffles using a 7-point scale. The third part will provide information regarding the factors participants believe to cause a decline in truffles. The current issues regarding management of truffles will constitute the fourth part while the fifth segment will provide data answering how ecological factors influence truffles survival. Demographic questions will be in the sixth part of the survey regarding data about the participants’ age, residency, gender, and employment among others. Besides, the final question in the survey will be open-ended asking for additional information about truffles decline in France. The survey will be web-based accessible through a URL address given to the participants. For the qualitative method, in-depth semi-structured face-to-face interviews will be used to collect data. Half of the research sample will be interviewed regarding the research question. Historical texts will be further used to validate the data collected from the interviews. The interviews will include twenty open-ended questions pilot-tested before the interviews. The interviews questions will be formulated based on the results from the quantitative method. During the interview, the participants will be debriefed to obtain reliable information for the interview questions though, they will be issued with the questions prior to the interviews. The interviews will be tape recorded with the participants’ consent and a copy of the transcript emailed to them after the interview. The respondents will also be allowed to review their answers for the interview transcripts to ascertain their correctness.3.4 Data AnalysisPrior to the statistical analysis of the survey results, the data will be screened on both univariate and multivariate levels. This will help the research detect any multicollinearity in the collected data. Any data that shows a high probability in another category will be excluded during the analysis since they may give a poor model fit (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2000). The research’s data screening will entail descriptive statistics for the variables, linearity and homoscedasticity, normality, multivariate outliers, multicollinearity and singularity. The descriptive statistics will be tabulated, and a frequency’s analysis conducted to determine the validity of the survey questions. The discriminant function analysis will be used to determine the proportion by which the variables differ, and classify the functions into predictable groups. The results will then be reported in the form of discussion. Nonetheless, all the statistical analyses will be conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS) version 11.0. In most qualitative research, data collection and analysis progress concurrently. For the qualitative analysis, data collected from the interviews will be coded and analysed for premises using the Qualitative Software and Research (QSR) N6 for qualitative data analysis. Furthermore, a visual data display will be used to identify the relationship in the data collected from the interviews. Data analysis for this phase of the research will involve creating a comprehensive description of the results; the researcher situates the cases in its context to make the case descriptions, and premises related to particular activities in the study’s outcomes (Creswell & Maitta, 2002). The researcher will construe the meaning of the results and describe them in the discussion section of the research proposal. Bibliography Amaranthus, M., 2007. Independent Truffle Expert’s Report in Product Disclosure Statement for the Oak Valley Truffle Project. Oak Valley Project. Buntgen, U. et al., 2012. Drought-induced decline in Mediterranean truffle harvest. Nature Climate Change, 2, pp.827-29. Carey, A.B., Colgan, W., Trappe, J.M. & Molina, R., 2000. Effects of forest management on truffle abundance and squirrel diets. Northwest Science , 76, pp.148–57. 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